Chapter 16: Correspondence Education Enrollment Invitation

"Detective, now that the accident caused by the Poet-level relic has been resolved, and I have helped you solve the trouble of the former detective's death, let us return to the initial topic."

The blue-eyed doctor on the single sofa looked at Xia De:

"What is your opinion on St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy now?"

"Because the awakening time for Ringed Shushi is only 72 hours, the main training methods of the Orthodox Churches and the three major academies are actually recruiting from core believers and the industries under the academies, which is also more convenient for observation. But both sides do not mind recruiting fresh blood completely unrelated to their own forces, it's just that the training is different from those trustworthy talented individuals."

"Then can you give an example of the treatment for us ordinary people who were originally unrelated to the mysterious after joining the Church or the Academy?"

Xia De thought for a while, chewing on the meaning of the words, feeling that not getting complete trust was reasonable.

"Of course, for the Orthodox Churches, those Ringed Shushi who are not devout believers cannot leave the diocese within ten years of successfully taking office, and their access to Church support will also be restricted. It takes at least 20 years to be completely trusted."

"And for the three major academies, the conditions are more complex. We use correspondence methods to train talented individuals who do not originally belong to the mysterious world."

"All foreign students accept correspondence teaching, cannot directly contact the Academy itself, and even more so cannot enter the Academy. According to the region, correspondence Ringed Shushi are divided into different groups, each group of 3 to 7 people. When there is at least one Six-Ring Shushi, one Five-Ring Shushi, and one Four-Ring Shushi in the group, and the condition of more than 5 people is met, the group as a whole can pass the test and truly enter the Academy. It must be the whole group; no one can be abandoned. This ensures that the whole group supervises and guarantees each other."

The doctor introduced, which made Xia De raise an eyebrow:

"If I join St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy..."

Dr. Shi Nai De nodded, acknowledging Xia De's guess, and pointed to himself:

"Then the group I am in will once again have five Ringed Shushi. Now we have four people; the specific information of the others is not convenient to reveal before you join. But I promise, at least wait until you meet the Three-Ring requirement before conducting the formal enrollment test. After all, we are still far from other conditions."

That was why Bill Shi Nai De was so enthusiastic about guiding Xia De to join the Academy; "wild" talented individuals were really hard to find, probably only slightly less difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.

Seeing that Xia De was still thinking, the doctor said again:

"Mr. Hamilton, I am very satisfied with you—your background, your origin, and your attitude toward the mysterious. A few hours ago, when we saw that tragic scene together, the intolerance you showed and the feigned calmness were all quite good. Please consider my proposal carefully; the conditions here are quite good."

"I don't understand, why are the Orthodox Churches and the Academy so... vigilant toward people like us?"

Xia De was still hesitant; it was difficult for an outsider to easily trust others in the early stages of entering this world.

"You haven't become a Ringed Shushi yet, so you don't know how dangerous this world is. The world is like a crazy ocean, and the world of normal people is just a small isolated island. And Ringed Shushi can go deep into that deep sea, gain more, and therefore are more easily driven mad, more easily distorted by the whispers from evil things and the malice from nature. Even if we have 'another me' to resist those distortions and strangeness together, Ringed Shushi who are not trained from childhood are more likely to take a wrong step and lose control of themselves, which would be a quite terrible thing."

The doctor introduced simply, as if he didn't dare to speak too clearly. Xia De felt that perhaps the worldview of this world not only included steam and mysticism but also the rules of agnosticism or Cthulhu culture.

"Then, is it possible to naturally become a Ringed Shushi without guidance and training?"

Xia De asked again.

"Absolutely impossible. You don't understand Ringed Shushi; you don't know what this is. We mentioned in the morning that within 72 hours of the awakening of Ringed Shushi talent, if there is no guidance, many situations will occur. Most situations are going mad, a small part is death, and in extremely small probabilities, they will turn into strange things—monsters piled up with flesh and blood, spirits howling madly. Probably the terrible existences you can imagine that will give you nightmares just by looking at them."

Hearing the doctor's words, Xia De completely understood the current situation. He sat up straight and summarized:

"My time is running out; I must make a choice as soon as possible. And, if I don't agree to join St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy, then you will definitely not let me leave with today's memories."

Xia De looked at the doctor, and the blue-eyed doctor nodded cautiously:

"I introduced it at the beginning; students of the three major academies will hide their identities in areas where the Orthodox Churches exist. Yes, if you refuse, I will use some inconvenient methods to erase your memory. I am good at manipulating emotions and dreams, so I am also good at changing memories. Of course, this is because you are just an ordinary person; it wouldn't be so easy for a Ringed Shushi."

Xia De did not think the other party was threatening him because of the doctor's words; these methods were for self-preservation. Xia De understood that no one should accommodate him.

"If you erase today's memory, then I wouldn't know about the 72-hour limit..."

He analyzed further.

"Yes, I think there might be new guests in the Tobesk City Mental Sanatorium. But don't worry, among all the mental sanatoriums in Tobesk City, I have familiar staff... Just kidding, Detective, we can relax a bit."

The doctor judged cautiously:

"I won't force you to choose to join St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy, which I belong to, but as adults, we must all pay the price for our choices. Moreover, compared to the Church, becoming a correspondence Ringed Shushi is actually more free. For an ordinary person like you who is not a believer, once you enter the Church's training system, you can certainly be taken care of by the Church, but you also cannot move freely."

"But correspondence Ringed Shushi are different. As long as you pass the exam every semester, obtain enough compulsory credits, complete the practical content, obtain enough practical credits, and don't do things like murder and arson, the Academy doesn't care what we do."

"Now, do you understand the difference between Academy-style Ringed Shushi and Church Ringed Shushi?"

"Understand."

Xia De nodded. Just listening to the doctor's rhetoric, the Academy indeed had more advantages.

"The three major wonder academies are St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy, specializing in 【Relic】 containment and utilization; Zalas School of Literature, specializing in wonders developed from elemental spirit runes, that is, the use of magic in stories; and Cerces Higher Medical Academy, they know everything, but are particularly good at alchemy."

"Mr. Hamilton, this is not only my opportunity but also your opportunity. Being able to enter the Ringed Shushi training system through formal channels, rather than through evil cult organizations and secret societies, do you know what a rare opportunity this is?"

The doctor said again; his profession made him very good at persuading others.

Xia De, who was hesitating, also nodded again. Although the original owner's brain was probably not easy to use, he was an outsider to the world. Even though his age was only in his twenties, he had his own judgment:

"Then, how do you prove that everything you have said so far is true? So far, the information I have obtained is all what you have said."

Xia De asked very seriously.

Although he was doubting the doctor, Dr. Shi Nai De was instead very happy, which meant the young man in front of him was moved.

"I can apply to the Academy for that Poet-level (Level 5) 【Relic】 to prove what I said. But once I do this, the Academy will know that I have discovered a brand-new talented individual here. The Academy won't force you to enroll, but it will definitely record your identity information. So, do you want to come into contact with the Poet-level relic 【St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy's Dream】?"

"Can I... consider it? Give me two hours? No, one hour, I want to think carefully about what happened today."

The amount of information was too large, and Xia De could not make a decision immediately. But he was inclined to trust the doctor in his heart, which was why he asked for some time to think.

"No problem, after all, for ordinary people, this information is really too much. You can consider it here, or you can leave here. It just so happens that I also have some small things to deal with, so we..."

The doctor looked at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room; the lower end of the pendulum inside the glass cabinet was a heart-shaped metal part:

"Meet here at two o'clock in the afternoon."

"No problem, I'll just stay here."

Xia De said; it made no difference where he thought. If the doctor wanted to be unfavorable to him, he didn't have to wait until now; the sanatorium just now was a very good place to kill.

"If you stay here, there are some Academy enrollment materials here that are not convenient to take outside; you can take a look. I will come back after I finish dealing with things. If you have any needs, you can ask Mrs. Kara for help."

Mrs. Kara was the middle-aged maid who brought the tea just now. ===== CHAPTER 17 =====