Chapter 426
'Body' and 'Transformation'
Chapter 426 'Body' and 'Transformation'
After settling into her new home, Hiltiya first explored the house. Although it was newly built, it was clear that the designer had put a lot of thought into making it livable and close to nature.
Before coming here, Hilti thought that the 'Tethys Academy' would be a place with a very regular architectural style, full of straight lines and sharp angles. However, it seems that the 'Mithril Clock' school is not so rigid. The streets and gardens are also quite nice.
She opened the box, took out her things, and then began to make her bed. The house had bedrooms on both the first and second floors, but she still preferred to live on the second floor, probably because the windows offered a wider view and she could occasionally feel the breeze.
After making the bed and putting on the blankets, Hilti went to the bathroom on the first floor. The space wasn't big, but it wasn't a problem for her to take a bath and wash up by herself.
After testing the hot water and finding it worked, Hiltiya took off her clothes and took a relaxing hot bath before changing into a light and comfortable nightgown.
It was already evening, but she didn't really want to go out for dinner. So she found some pastries and cookies that Luo Wei'er had given her in the box, went to the table, and ate them slowly, occasionally looking out the window at the sunset.
At night, Hilti read a book for a while, then fell asleep peacefully, only waking up slowly at dawn.
Since Lovell and Aurora left, she felt her life had become much quieter, as if she had returned to her old life in the woods.
There is quite a bit of open space in front of and behind this mansion, which would be perfect for planting flowers and plants.
After changing into simple clothes and putting on light sandals, Hiltiya went to the front yard of the house, where many roses were planted, some of which had already sprouted buds.
It's a rare 'black rose,' it seems to have been planted specifically to match the name of this place. She touched it with her finger, blinking her eyes as she observed it closely.
Since joining the Mage Alliance, she hasn't planted any flowers or plants. More than a year has passed, and she feels a bit rusty.
Let's try picking it up again now, but it will take time. After all, as 'Hedra,' she didn't know any gardening skills before, Hilti thought to herself.
Then she went to the backyard of the house, where there were no neat flowers and plants, mostly just ordinary weeds, but they had been trimmed once and were not messy.
Suddenly, Hiltiya remembered that a long time ago, on the camel caravan on the way to the woods, she had bought the seeds of the 'Eyeball Fruit'. At that time, the seller could not cultivate it himself and could only deceive others. Later, she could not find any relevant information in the woods. It was not until she dealt with the 'Hundred-Eyed Cult' that she learned why the other party could not cultivate it.
Because the 'Eyeball Fruit' is not a native species in nature, but a strange species born from the power of the 'Lord Who Sees All Truth' worshipped by the Hundred-Eyed Cult during the erosion of the Seventh Era, which combined with some plants in this world.
After the great war, most of the life on the other side of the astral plane was expelled, and the influence of the 'Lord of All Truth' on this world gradually weakened. Species born from His power were also rejected by the world and found it difficult to display their past power.
However, she can use secret techniques related to 'alien' to reactivate the vitality of these seeds.
The 'Mithril Clock' is a faction that specializes in 'Secret Words, Golden Steam, and Alienism'. They also possess many secret techniques related to 'Alienism', including the determination of standard time, which is also related to 'Alienism'.
Currently, she is majoring in 'Secret Words', and later she can study some secret techniques related to 'Golden Steam' and 'Alien'. When she reaches the fifth level, she can choose to fuse with another element.
However, she has only been at the Tethys Academy for a short time, and she will need to find out more before deciding which job to advance to.
When a mage reaches the third tier, they will generally choose 'Spell Furnace' or 'Spell Page' as their core ability. The former is the choice of the 'Golden Steam' attribute, and the latter is the choice of the 'Secret Word' attribute.
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Core Card: [Spell Furnace] [Golden Steam]
'You have mastered the art of spellcasting, like a blazing furnace, able to freely mold the spells you desire using the power of elemental manipulation.'
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Affects [Spellcasting Ability], allowing the use of elemental power to construct spells, but due to the instability of the furnace, the power will be reduced. (Spell versatility +1, power -2)
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Core Card: [Spell Page] [Secret Word]
'You have mastered the construction of runes, like a beautifully crafted cover page; you can combine runes to create the spells you desire.'
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This affects [Spellcasting Ability]. You can construct spells using runes, but due to the limitations of the title page, you can only use the runes recorded within it, resulting in a slight decrease in power. (Power -1)
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Once a mage obtains one of these two core cards, they can use various spells more freely without each spell occupying an ability card slot. Of course, the trade-off is that the power of the spells is often less than that of wizards of the same rank, and more preparation time is required when activating or changing spells.
Depending on the style of each school, the core secret techniques they choose also differ slightly. For example, all members of the 'Lightning School' use the [Spell Furnace], and they are proficient in shaping lightning, transforming 'Golden Steam' and 'Sky Dome' into powerful thunder.
The 'Fire Spirit School' and 'Mist Spirit School' both use the [Spell Furnace], while the 'Mithril Clock' and 'Phantom School' both use the [Spell Page]. Each type of secret art has its advantages and disadvantages. However, in the later stages, each school has secret methods to combine the two and no longer distinguish between them, which can be considered as different paths leading to the same goal.
She doesn't know what core arcane techniques the 'Mithril Clock' school offers; she probably won't know until the official start of the semester.
Over the next few days, Hilti began to tour the vast academy, visiting various locations to familiarize herself with the environment, following the instructions in the student handbook.
She learned about the locations and layouts of various places, including the library, restaurant, school, laboratory building, training ground, botanical garden, observatory, ceremonial hall, fireplace hall, and precision workshop. Although she couldn't enter some of these places yet, she still got a good feel for their locations and layouts.
This continued until the day before the opening ceremony.
"Hello, is Miss Hedra home?" Around ten o'clock in the morning, Siltia heard a knock on the door.
She went out and opened the door, where she saw two maids standing one behind the other, both dressed in neat black and white maid uniforms, with the former carrying a basket.
"Yes, it is. May I ask what brings you here?" Hiltiya replied.
"Hello, Miss Hedra." They looked to be in their early twenties and were all first-class citizens. They first bowed politely and then took the clothes out of the basket.
"This is your school uniform, consisting of two sets: an inner lining and an outer layer, plus a short cape." The two people had come to deliver the clothes.
"You can try it on now. If there's anything that doesn't fit, we'll trim or replace it for you on the spot."
"Okay." After taking the two sets of clothes, Hiltiya closed the door temporarily and went back inside to change.
About five minutes later, she came out again and had the two maids check her.
This school uniform is entirely black, with a simple mage robe style. There are no extra patterns or embellishments, but the stitching on the edges is meticulous, and the material and tailoring are excellent. It is also very comfortable to wear and does not feel restrictive.
The upper part of the school uniform looked like a whole piece of black cloth, but upon closer inspection, some cutting and sewing were done on the sides and back to make it more in line with the curves of the human body, which also outlined Hiltiya's beautiful figure and gave her a faint youthful charm.
Overall, the outfit is rather conservative and simple in style, suggesting that the Tethys Academy has a strong academic atmosphere and does not want students to stray from this serious environment and become distracted by other things.
Judging from Damian's attire when he entered the school that day, the uniforms of the upperclassmen seemed much more stylish, mature, and flamboyant, probably to inspire the freshmen who were still in the lower grades.
The young woman stood on the steps by the door, letting the two maids adjust and check her clothes. A few minutes later, the two maids nodded slightly. "It suits you very well, Miss Hedra."
"The complimentary cape can be worn in snow and light rain to effectively prevent your hair from getting wet. If the cape is damaged, please write it on the cardboard above the laundry basket and we will replace it for you later."
"We will come to collect your clothes and wash them on Wednesdays, Fridays, and weekends, and then deliver them to you the next day in a clean storage box. You can take them out as needed."
"If you need any supplies or help with cleaning, you can leave a message on the cardboard, and maids from the academy will come to help with the cleaning."
"Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, which will be held at the 'Wisdom Palace' in front of the central square. Please make sure to arrive in your school uniform before 8:00 a.m."
"Finally, we wish you a pleasant life and studies here. Goodbye." With that, the two maids bid farewell to Hiltiya and left.
Watching the two figures walk away, Hilti felt surprisingly good. Perhaps their style reminded her of the maids who took care of her in her family when she was a child.
The Mezalans family is the originator of the 'maid' profession, having created the earliest maid manual. It is said that the family still preserves that 'bible' of the maid profession, through which one can successfully advance to a higher level of the maid profession and gain many abilities. For a long time, the royal maid team of the Sun Dynasty was trained and taught by the 'Mezalans' family.
I think I had a special maid troupe when I was little. I wonder what happened to them now. Some of them took on the role of older sisters during my childhood, taking care of me and giving me a lot of guidance.
Sometimes, she would share her little thoughts and ideas with the maids before telling her mother. For young Sylvia, the Aster Witch Sheryl was far too powerful. Even though Sheryl would restrain her aura when she was with her daughter, her overflowing spiritual power and strong mind would unconsciously influence Sylvia.
Occasionally, she would hear her mother complain that she wasn't close to her, saying, "Little Tia prefers to play with the maids in the house."
Some memories from the past surfaced, causing Hilti to space out for a while. She then returned to the house, looked at the clothes she was wearing, and temporarily took them off and put them away.
Tomorrow is the official start of school.
—The following day, at the central square of the Thetis Academy—
Flowers were placed here, and triangular flags were hung. Students walked through the long corridor and came into the interior of the 'Palace of Wisdom', which was like a church or temple, very spacious and tall.
The opening ceremony was much quieter than Hilti had imagined, with only 76 new students. She even used her extra energy to memorize the names of everyone present.
"Now, let's invite Hedra to introduce himself." The teacher read out the last name on the roster.
The black-haired girl stood up and walked onto the stage amidst the slightly curious gazes of the crowd.
Although it wasn't explicitly stated, the freshmen probably guessed that the students who went on stage later had higher grades and rankings. Since Silti was the last to go on stage, her evaluation was probably the highest among the freshmen.
"Hello everyone, my name is Hedra, and I come from the Asura District..." Hiltiya gave a brief self-introduction, recounting her experiences, including her birthplace in Meteor Lake in the south, her studies in the Asura District, and the spells she was good at.
After it was over, there was sparse applause. Apart from a few students from the Asura district who were very enthusiastic, the other students were rather indifferent, some of whom were only interested in Hilti's appearance.
Afterwards, the teacher went up on stage and began to introduce the goals and precautions for the new students present.
"First of all, congratulations on coming to Tetis Academy. This is the best academy in the entire Mage Alliance. You have all gone through rigorous tests and selections to qualify to join here."
"I believe that none of you who have come here are mediocre, so Tethys Academy will teach you using the methods for teaching geniuses, instead of lecturing and reading to thin air like other ordinary academies."
"I will list out in detail the secrets and skills you will learn and master this semester, and give you a recommended course schedule. Most of you can follow this schedule to arrange your studies. If you have better ideas, you can adjust it yourself, but it is best to consult your tutor and seniors in advance, because some courses are not as simple as they seem on the surface."
"Currently, half of you have not yet advanced to become formal mages, which is actually a good thing, because you can choose better core secret techniques to advance in the academy, thus having great potential for development."
"As for students who are advancing, you have two choices: one is to spend half a year changing your advancement techniques, and the other is to put these aside for now and rebuild yourselves and core abilities according to the new techniques when you advance to the fifth level."
"I hope that in a year, each of you will successfully advance to the third level and complete the courses on the form. This is my expectation for a genius. If you think it's unreasonable, then you should consider keeping up or quitting."
"A year later, with the solid foundation you've built using this curriculum, you can start looking for projects that interest you among the various research topics and assignments offered by the college."
"These assignments will earn you valuable college points, help you gradually become familiar with things, and help you find what you love and are good at."
"Later, as you grow, you will also receive assignments that are more demanding, more rewarding, and require you to master more skills."
"In the next two to three years, you will repeat this process repeatedly, learning through practice, transforming theoretical knowledge into powerful abilities, achieving the balance of the 'three-phase law', until you become a powerful mage."
"Our school's motto is 'Make the world magnificent with clocks and rulers.' Many of you may not have truly understood this before coming to the Thetis Academy, but rest assured, in the next three years, you will have an increasingly clear understanding of your mission."
Before clocks were invented, people could only vaguely perceive the passage of time by relying on sunrise and sunset, and the shadows of the sun and moon.
Before the invention of rulers and compasses, people could only measure everything with their palms and footsteps, and their perception of the size and distance of all things was also vague and varied.
"The confusion, deception, falsehood, and hesitation brought about by ambiguity make it impossible for people to make decisions or lead humanity forward."
"The creation of precise time and rulers provided clear data for all observations, which could be communicated, recorded, and passed down, thus making the transmission of theories and the accumulation of experience possible."
"Because we have established standards and obtained clear and specific observation data, we can begin to use 'wisdom' to transform experience and then deduce future blueprints and visions."
"Only then did we have a direction, and only then did we have the continuous research, development, and accumulation based on the work of our predecessors, which led to everything you see today."
"This is the accumulation of knowledge and information [Castle], the record and inheritance of history and stories [Secret Words], and our reshaping of this world [Golden Steam]."
“We created the three new aspects of this world from nothing, and you will inherit this great mission and aspiration to continue to explore the path.”
“Pursuing this vision will allow you to better understand the ‘path’ you are on, and to better understand the essence of ‘nature and form’. The results it brings will ultimately enrich your life.”
“The ancient fairies once said that all advancement is ‘transformation’, and the essence of all life is that of a weak insect that needs a beautiful and powerful ‘shell’ for protection. The vision I speak of today is the ‘shell’ that you are about to conceive.”
"When you and this 'body' become one, perfectly integrated, then you will be great and immortal, beautiful and eternal."
Scaled species are hybrids; we were once scaled species. —The Book of the Stars
(End of this chapter)