Whispering Verse

"Actually, there's an item I've been wanting to find in the college library."

Shade hesitated for a moment and then spoke.

The sorceress smiled:

"So tell me, what do you need?"

"A stone slab, about this big."

Shade gestured with his hand:

"And there are yellow corners on the four corners. I'm not sure if it's brass, gold, topaz, or other materials."

The first two are silver and ruby ​​respectively, and the third one has no reason to be blue or black.

"To be honest, this stone slab is related to time. I need to rely on this special item to complete the advancement of a thaumaturgy. The information I have found so far shows that the stone slab is most likely in St. Byrons. "

Shade told the truth, and Miss Daniste thought about it for a while:

"I can search the library's asset manuals and files. If I really can't find it, I can try to go to the [Hall of Secret Keepers] to find the records."

"Hall of Secret Keepers?"

Shade raised his eyebrows, and the thirteen-ring sorceress asked with a smile:

"Did I mention this? Well, this is a special space similar to the [Silver Moon Library]. The three major colleges can all use part of its power. Because of its characteristics of inheriting knowledge and storing memories, previous libraries The administrator may have left the information inside."

Shade nodded, guessing in his mind that the special space corresponding to the ancient god [Secret Keeper Tutor] was the [Secret Keeper Hall].

The entrance to the [Dark Dungeon] is controlled by the Church of Dawn. It is not surprising that the three major colleges can use other spaces:

"Thank you then, Miss Daniste."

The sorceress shook her head:

"It's just a small thing. Someone's going to pick up the mirror tomorrow, probably next Wednesday or so, and I'll be able to get it and test it out, and I'll get back to you then."

"Okay, I'm always available."

If it were Wednesday, the Devil's matter would have been settled.

"Then let's hope that Lykins Priscia's aura actually works."

The sorceress said lazily:

"Otherwise, I don't know where to go to find a ring warlock who might meet the requirements."

Two things made progress overnight, which put Shade in a good mood.

Because Miss Denister said someone would be coming on Saturday morning, he got up very early to wait for the pick-up person to come to his door. The knock on the door came at seven o'clock in the morning. Shade, who was sitting in the dining room watching Dorothy cook, stood up almost immediately. After opening the door downstairs, standing outside the door was an elegant middle-aged man wearing a black felt hat, round glasses, and a golden beard.

The carriage parked behind him was not a standard four-wheeled taxi. The carriage and shaft were dark in color, and the driver sitting high up looked like he came from the Far North.

The elegant middle-aged man took off his black velvet gloves and shook hands with Shade, looking at him curiously:

"Mr. Shade Hamilton?"

Dralion is not very standard, with an accent from the northern ice plains.

"Yes."

Shade also stretched out his hand, and then learned that it was a 9th-level warlock.

"I am Lyon Associate Professor in the College's Library Management Program."

He stood at the door of Sha De's house and said, and then saw Sha De's surprised expression:

"Don't be so surprised. Miss Daniste said there was an important item for me to pick up."

"Oh, I just didn't expect Miss Denister to send yes, right here."

Shade immediately gave way to the door and pointed to the large box placed on one side:

"Did Miss Denister mention that this was dangerous goods and that they needed to be transported with caution?"

"Yes, our librarian is cautious."

Associate Professor Lyon smiled and nodded. Shade never thought that one day he would discuss such a thing at home.

The middle-aged associate professor asked the coachman to help, and the three of them carried the box to the carriage. He also gave Shade a receipt with the school's seal and his own signature to prove that the items had been handed over. This was also his private contact. Credentials for Correspondence Ring Master.

Of course, the name of the item on the receipt is "The carcass of an ancient mutated and unknown species of cannibal rabbit (a class of dangerous goods)".

"I almost forgot, there's this."

As he spoke, Associate Professor Lyon handed Shade another piece of parchment. This is the college’s reward order, issued by Associate Professor Lyon, which is to acquire “the carcass of an ancient mutated and unknown species of cannibal rabbit (a class of dangerous goods)”. The reward release date was Monday last week, and the reward was two practical credits. There were no other physical rewards, but the seals and signatures were complete.

"Congratulations, Mr. Hamilton, you have completed my reward outstandingly."

The professor smiled and patted Shade on the shoulder, took back the parchment he had just given, and then winked at him:

"You see, when you are acting, you have to do a complete set. This time there will be absolutely no omissions."

"It's really rigorous."

Shade nodded and invited politely:

"Would you like to go upstairs and have a cup of hot tea? The temperature is really low today."

"Forget it about tea, I still have to escort this person to the next stop as soon as possible. Miss Danister is in a hurry."

Associate Professor Lyon waved goodbye to Shade:

"It stands to reason that professors like us who are on business trips cannot have contact with local correspondence students at will. This time it is because of the reward order, so it is an exception."

After boarding the carriage, he handed Shade three strawberries in a paper bag:

"It's a gift for meeting people. I rarely interact with correspondence students, but I have to admit it."

Before the carriage drove away, he looked up at No. 6 Saint Teresa Square:

"Students today are really rich."

The college professor waved goodbye to Shade and left No. 6 St. Teresa Square in a hurry.

"Where did the strawberries come from?"

When Shade returned to the second floor, Dorothy had already brought breakfast to the table. The cat, who looks particularly soft in winter, lay down next to the plate, pressed its little paws under its body, and stared at the food.

"It was given by the professor just now."

Dorothy didn't ask why a college professor appeared downstairs so early in the morning. She took the strawberries and looked at them:

"It seems that the professor is well versed in the power of nature and plants. This is a strawberry that has been treated with the high-circle thaumaturgy [Natural Fruit].

After each one is eaten, it can provide a small amount of healing effect and directly replenish one-third of the spirit of a low-level warlock or one-fifth of the spirit of a medium-level warlock. However, the effect of continuous use will be seriously reduced, and it will be combined with your [ Just like filling food, it cannot be stored for a long time. "

Dorothy checked:

"This can be stored for about 8 hours."

Today is Saturday, and the only thing I have to do is go to the doctor for a meeting in the afternoon. There is no possibility of a fierce battle that requires spiritual replenishment, so Shade gave three strawberries to Dorothy and little Mia respectively.

The fruit is quite sweet. Being able to eat fresh strawberries in winter makes even a foreigner feel that today will be a lucky day.

Spells and thaumaturgy that use fruits to obtain strange powers are actually very common. The ring sorcerers of the Church of Nature are quite proficient in this type of power, and the ring sorcerers of the Pantanal Voodoo Order are probably also very proficient. Most of them are not basic abilities and have prerequisites for learning.

For example, Dorothy masters the thaumaturgy "Magic Berry Art", which not only requires the [Fruit] Spirit Rune, but also requires the mastery of the "Food Preservation" spell itself. And "food preservation" is a spell that pharmacists such as Priest Augustus must learn, so the Ring Warlock system is quite magical, and Shade's understanding of it is just the tip of the iceberg.

After breakfast, Dorothy accompanied Shade to the photo studio and took the photos they took here a few days ago, so that Shade could put the photo of him holding Mia in an envelope and send it. To Miss Gold.

Dorothy looked happily at the photos of her and Shade, while Shade examined the single photos. The photos were divided into three parts, one for each of Shade, Lesia and Dorothy. Shade would hang a single photo of himself in the living room and bedroom, and a photo of him and Dorothy in the study.

Thinking about it this way, No. 6, Saint Teresa Square, feels more and more like home.

The afternoon was the study meeting for this Saturday. Priest August and Luvia were not able to attend because they were busy. Priest August was called to help by Bishop Owen, while Luvia was called to participate in the divination training of the Prophet Association. This was what Shade knew when he went to tell her about Sir Prisha at noon.

Even Dorothy was not there with Shade. On Saturday morning she went to her apartment to check the mail and found a letter from the Daily Steambird to discuss the reprint of the first volume of Hamilton's Detective Stories.

Therefore, there were only two people in the doctor's clinic that afternoon: Shade and Dr. Schneider. The doctor was not very surprised:

"At the end of the year, everyone has a lot to do. It's only the eighth day of the Sleeping Moon, and we'll really get busy in half a month."

Having said that, at least the current doctors seem to have a lot of time. Since everyone else was away today, he talked to Shade about the demon's progress.

"Probably tomorrow."

The doctor said in a relaxed tone:

"He failed to leave Tobesk range."

"no problem."

Shade nodded and asked again:

"Doctor, how are you preparing for your end-of-year exam? Although the devil's matter is important, the exam should be more important."

"Except for "Aether Mechanics", everything else should be fine, but I still have one final paper to hand in."

The doctor shrugged. He had stayed at the Fifth Ring Road for more than two years, and most of his fifth-grade courses had already been completed.

I chatted with the doctor about the scholarship evaluation after the end-of-year exams, and asked for a catalog of thaumaturgy and conjuration from the college. Shade, who had not purchased any new magic or spells for a long time, spent a total of 69 pounds on the spells "Flash Mark" and "Featherfall Curse".

The former can release a long-lasting mark on the surface of an object that can only be seen by itself and ring warlocks 5 levels higher, to mark its own items. The casting material is any dust; the casting material of the latter is feathers, which can make When it falls, its body bears more air resistance like a feather, thereby reducing falling damage.

The conditions for advancing to a higher grade include the number of spells and thaumaturgy one has mastered. Shade, who plans to skip a grade, therefore needs the ability of two grades. His number of thaumaturgy skills barely reached the standard, and his spells also barely reached the standard. But he really didn't want to say those spells from the "Pink Book", so he just found some basic spells to fill the quantity.

After all, the "Living Rope Trick, Partial Hardening, Status Transformation Spell: Pain and Pleasure, Summoning Burning Lamp, Hair Loss Spell, Lust Mark, Suffocating Gaze" may not seem like much, but appearing together on a certain Ring Warlock would be quite disturbing. suspicious.

Upgrading too quickly meant that Shade didn't have time to learn and delve into too many thaumaturgy spells. He planned to wait until he was promoted to the middle level before learning a few useful thaumaturgy spells. But in this case, his current savings of tens of thousands of pounds may not be enough.

Although only two people attended the study meeting that afternoon, it lasted until half past four. After saying goodbye to Dr. Schneider, Shade took the cat to the "Steambird Daily" newspaper office to look for Dorothy. As a result, he met a loyal reader of Miss Writer at the newspaper office. In order to answer questions from enthusiastic readers, they stayed at the newspaper office for more than an hour.

During this period, the cat kept by the newspaper office to guard the warehouse to prevent the documents from being bitten by mice suddenly scurried towards Shade, which aroused strong resistance from little Mia. Two cats running around in the editorial office almost caused a "disaster" here. But Mr. Carl Vinson, the laughing newspaper editor-in-chief, didn't care about this. Instead, he praised Shade's cat for looking very energetic.

The happy Saturday is coming to an end, which also means that a new time key will be opened tomorrow morning. After the adventure with the eight witches ended in Fifth Era 5177, Shade was looking forward to what kind of stories and people he would encounter next.