Chapter 3804

A little later, Shiler began conducting psychological surveys for the ordinary freshmen. In reality, he just borrowed a self-study period to have them fill out questionnaires, then called those with higher anxiety scores in for individual talks.

The results were actually quite good. After all, those who dared to venture into the magical world alone were not lacking in courage or willpower, so they weren't about to develop extreme emotions just because they couldn't keep up with others in their studies. However, there were indeed some who were overly anxious, and Shiler provided them with psychological counseling. By the time he finished, it was already evening.

This evening, Shiler met with the Owlman in the Forbidden Forest again in secret. Because Shiler hadn't fully grasped the material himself last night, he had only taught some very basic knowledge, but today, it was time for the main course.

Shiler considered himself no master teacher, but he was at least teaching everything he knew. He taught the Owlman everything he had understood himself, holding nothing back. But alas, the knowledge just wouldn't stick in the Owlman's brain.

Looking at the books and notes on the table, the Owlman also felt a bit of an existential crisis. Yes, he did feel that the classes usually taught at the magic school were a bit childish—wasn't it just waving wands and chanting spells? At most, adding a bit of meditation. The magical theory and history weren't difficult either; he had never feared anyone when it came to rote memorization.

But now, learning this black magic, he felt it was truly too difficult. It couldn't be called difficult, exactly; it was just too mystical, completely counter-logical and counter-intuitive. The causal relationships weren't clear, yet the connections between various things were exceptionally complex, as if there were another set of logic behind it all that couldn't be seen through.

Actually, there really was. Shiler knew the truth: these seemingly unrelated mystical things weren't entirely chaotic; it was just that the logic behind them was at too high a level. Let alone humans, even magical creatures and most ordinary demon gods couldn't even touch the edges of it.

If one had to find a word to summarize it, it would probably be—Universal Structuralism.

The fundamental logic of these things was hidden too deep, equivalent to the underlying code of the universe. If the Owlman had listened to just a few more lectures on Universal Structuralism, he might have been able to deduce the general idea. But because he thought Lucifer was just spouting nonsense, he hadn't listened to a single lecture. Shiler even suspected he didn't know who Lucifer was.

Of course, the name Lucifer was famous, but it was hard to guarantee there weren't others with the same name, or that someone wasn't using it as a codename. Even if it were the real Lucifer, in the legends most people knew, he was just a fallen angel. Except for a very small number of Batmen, no one knew he was God's own son.

Plus, the things he taught sounded truly abnormal. Even among those Batmen who wanted to broaden their horizons, few could last through an entire lecture; most would start self-studying once they heard the later parts.

Because he couldn't touch the underlying logic of the universe's structure, his own life form wasn't well-suited to understanding such things, and on top of that, Shiler, the teacher, hadn't fully mastered it himself—the Owlman's experience learning black magic was nothing short of torture.

He even suspected that Shiler was deliberately messing with him. Yet, Shiler had listed out the research processes and historical evolution of these spells, and he couldn't find a single flaw. Everything looked perfectly normal; it was just that every time he tried to learn, he got nowhere.

Having wasted another evening for nothing, the Owlman couldn't even draw the simplest magic circle to make someone trip. He really began to doubt his own intelligence.

Fortunately, Shiler had anticipated this result. To ensure the Owlman firmly walked the path of black magic, he had prepared more than one carrot.

"I think it might be because you haven't come into contact with those dark existences, which is why you can't understand the mysteries within," Shiler said. "Have you heard of contracts?"

The Owlman's hand stopped immediately, a flash of sharp light crossing his eyes. He hadn't forgotten that the Sorcerer Supreme had specifically emphasized that no student was allowed to come into contact with contracts during their studies.

And the more the Sorcerer Supreme forbade something, the more evil and profitable it must be. It went without saying that contracts were both dangerous and powerful.

"The essence of magic is borrowing debt," Shiler's voice echoed in the small hut. "We borrow power from those dark existences hidden in the depths of the universe, and in return, we pay a price. That power is incomparably great. The Sorcerer Supreme must have emphasized to you not to touch contracts too early, because even in my view, this is extremely dangerous."

"Are you also here to advise me to prioritize safety?"

"Of course not. Black magic itself is dangerous, and black magicians face danger at every moment. If you lack the courage, then don't deal with black magic."

Shiler was determined to lead the Owlman astray, so he said: "For a magician, the most important thing is choosing the object of the contract. From whom you obtain power determines what kind of magician you will become. Most black magicians contract with owners of dark and evil rules; they are extremely dangerous, so one must be exceptionally careful when dealing with them."

Shiler spoke intermittently about many things, combining theories of black magic; it sounded very professional, but in reality, it was complete nonsense.

In Marvel, the only rule for dealing with demon gods is to beat the hell out of them. Although you might not be able to beat anyone at first, you have to take things one step at a time. The upper limit of the strength of your contract object depends on how much trouble you can cause them after obtaining power, enough to force them to compromise.

For example, among the Great Mages at Kamar-Taj now, some have contracted with Dormammu and Mephisto. In truth, they can't beat these two demon gods, but they have ways to cause them trouble.

For instance, there is a contractor of Mephisto who is useless at everything and leaves nothing behind. Logically speaking, a workaholic like Mephisto wouldn't want such a slacker, but in the end, he held his nose and gave him power. The reason is that this guy's ability to project his soul is exceptionally powerful; his soul can act independently.

Consequently, whenever Mephisto wants to swindle someone, this guy runs over, uses his soul to interfere with the target, sometimes fighting for control of the body, other times interfering with their brainwaves. All the good business deals Mephisto had his eye on were ruined by him, and in the end, he could only pay to make the trouble go away.

There was another one who also couldn't beat Mephisto, but was also very capable in a fight, and particularly stubborn and unwilling to believe in evil. He would go to challenge Mephisto to a duel every few days, and even dared to run into the Hell dimension to cause trouble, beating up every general under the old devil's command. Mephisto was also annoyed to death, and eventually contracted him too.

In short, the matter of humans contracting with demon gods basically follows two paths: either you use sweet talk to deceive, or you use your fists to beat them. If you want to rely on extensive knowledge, exquisite technique, and good talent to attract a demon god, that's basically a lost cause.

Shiler was doing this specifically to keep the Owlman from realizing this point, so he desperately steered the conversation toward technique, implying in every way that the better one studied, the better a demon god one could contract.

Although he didn't know how long it would take for the Owlman to realize the truth, he could at least drag it out one day at a time. It wouldn't be long before the other Batmen realized the truth and took action.

Shiler didn't believe for a second that the Batmen would obediently not touch contracts; they weren't touching them now only because they didn't have enough information. Once they felt confident, their move would surely be a lethal strike.

And as it happens, although the school is basically isolated from the outside, aren't there practice materials inside the school? Mephisto and the Scarlet Witch are both sources of power, and even the Hippo Goddess can contract others. By the time the Batmen have the hang of it and the Owlman realizes what's going on, it'll be too late.

After all, even a demon god like Mephisto, who is short on people, still picks the best of the best. With so many Batmen right in front of him, he will definitely choose those with strong operational capabilities.

Don't look at how he seemed to favor the Owlman at first; this old devil is very shrewd. Once he sees that the other Batmen have realized the truth so quickly and found the correct posture for dealing with demon gods, while the Owlman is still there in seclusion practicing, he will definitely think the Owlman's brain isn't working well, greatly lowering his evaluation of him, and most likely won't lend him power.

Not to mention the Scarlet Witch. Wanda's values are very normal; even if she were to lend power, she would lend it to righteous people. The Hippo Goddess is even more so; they both favor people with delicate minds and gentle emotions.

Having dragged it out for another night, Shiler was very satisfied with his results. He went back to sleep. Early the next morning, Wanda brought good news: Strange had agreed to the grade-skipping exam. Those who wanted to skip a grade could take the morning off for self-study, and the exam would be prepared after dinner.

Upon hearing about the grade-skipping, not only the Batmen but also the ordinary students were jumping for joy to participate. However, Shiler looked at the test paper Strange had stayed up all night to write; the amount of knowledge was vast, and without the memory of a Batman, it was indeed very difficult to pass.

The practical operation was also difficult, and they also had to be tested on flying. Now the Batmen couldn't escape it; they could only gather in groups on the lawn to practice flying.

Shiler stood by the window of the school infirmary watching the fun. You have to say, it's no wonder people love watching acrobatics; this stuff is entertaining.

It wasn't that the Batmen were afraid to fly; after gaining some trust in magical energy, they would try to fly. But perhaps they were just at odds with the sky; they really weren't very good at it.

Most Batmen went straight up and came down in a vertical line, which was already considered not bad. Then there were those who went up vertically and came down horizontally, as well as the black sheep like the Arkham Batman, who never followed traffic rules whether driving on the ground or flying in the sky, and troublemakers like Bruce, who loved watching the chaos and would blame one person after scolding another. For a moment, it was chaotic beyond compare.

And what surprised Shiler a bit was that the one who flew the best among them was actually Lego Batman. He wasn't even just flying well; Shiler even felt he flew more smoothly than Bruce. With those short arms stretched out, anyone who didn't know better would think he was Superman.

Lego Batman finally got his revenge, stopping in mid-air with his hands on his hips and laughing loudly, mocking one person's ugly flying posture one moment, and another's slow starting speed the next, and even daring to stir up trouble above Bruce's head, relying on his small size to zip around him like a fly, even plucking feathers from his wings.

But Lego Batman was a bit too carried away; he forgot where this was—not that this was a magic school led by the Sorcerer Supreme, but that this was a nature reserve in Massachusetts. Out of environmental considerations, the magic shield wouldn't stop animals.

Lego Batman was floating in mid-air, triumphantly watching the chaotic situation below, when he heard the cry of an eagle, and a huge black shadow arrived in an instant—a bald eagle, which snatched Lego Batman away with one claw.

The Main Universe Batman below immediately noticed the situation and shouted: "Stop! Everyone stop! Someone has been snatched by an eagle!!!"

?? Recently, some sensitive words in the text have been replaced, and I'm having a breakdown fixing the text; all the trouble is piling up at once.