Chapter 17: Professional Classification of Higher Academies in the Steam Era

After agreeing on the meeting time, Dr. Shi Nai De gave Xia De a document bag containing the Academy's materials. He then left the room in a hurry, looking like he really had things to do.

After the doctor left, Xia De did not open the document bag but leaned on the sofa and looked at the ceiling. Just as he said, he couldn't make up his mind immediately, summarizing what happened today in his heart and recalling every detail in his memory:

"In the worst case, everything is a scam, and the doctor is actually an evil cultist trying to drag me to be sacrificed. But this possibility is not high..."

He thought in his heart and patted his head:

"What do you think?"

【Can be trusted.】

"But can I trust you? For example, can you tell me who you really are?"

【I am you.】

"You are definitely not the 'other me' in the heart of a Ringed Shushi; I am very sure of this."

Xia De looked at the ceiling pattern composed of color blocks and geometric patterns with a melancholy expression, and then looked at the quite good crystal chandelier. He guessed Mr. Bill Shi Nai De's income and then realized what a huge amount of gold pounds that would be.

"In any case, the information in hand is too little, or rather, there is no information channel at all, so I can only listen to what others say."

In Xia De's own thoughts, the doctor could be trusted. All the information from this morning until now did not have any contradictory or illogical parts.

And what the doctor said also made sense; wanting to encounter a force willing to guide ordinary people to come into contact with the supernatural and mysterious was not a simple matter. Xia De had initially understood this era; the supernatural and mysterious were not obvious, and the light of human civilization made steam industry flourish. The mysterious and supernatural were just a small part of the shadows of civilization.

From this perspective, Xia De should instead thank the doctor; he didn't ask for any money but revealed those precious knowledge.

Xia De knew he was moved by St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy; he wouldn't deny this point. The three major wonder academies and the five Orthodox Churches were the only formal training paths for Ringed Shushi, and he would only consider these methods.

The Academy and the Church each had their pros and cons, and now it was the Academy that first contacted him, and Xia De was also worried about his identity as an outsider. Compared to Ringed Shushi with looser management, the Church had a greater possibility of seeing through his identity, especially since the doctor had clearly stated that gods truly existed.

He didn't know the power of the gods for the time being, but he didn't exclude the possibility that the other party was "all-knowing."

"I can accept St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy, but I still have to see the information that the so-called 【Relic】 can provide."

He made up his mind in his heart, knowing that such a choice might not be the best, but Xia De would not regret it; this was his own decision.

"Then take a look at this."

Thinking in his heart, he was about to tear open the document bag. But the door was suddenly opened at this time. Because it was opened directly without knocking, Xia De thought the doctor had returned early. But the person who opened the door was a young woman, and she was also surprised that it was Xia De sitting here.

"Sorry, I thought Dr. Shi Nai De..."

She looked to be about 20 years old and was the most beautiful girl Xia De had seen since coming to this world. Golden long hair, green eyes, a genuine "blonde hair and green eyes." She looked very quiet, like a student or a teacher. She was wearing a very ordinary dark blue dress, and her only accessory was the butterfly-shaped hair ornament on her hair.

"Sorry."

The blonde lady said, apologizing immediately after being surprised. She wanted to close the door again, but then paused, her emerald eyes looking at Xia De with some doubt, which made Xia De feel a bit embarrassed instead.

"This light is... are you a talented individual who is awakening?"

Now Xia De understood why the doctor discovered him at a glance at the newspaper office door yesterday; it seemed that the vision of Ringed Shushi was different from that of ordinary people.

"Really a talented individual?"

Although surprised, the blonde lady still maintained enough calmness. She looked at Xia De with those beautiful eyes, the corners of her mouth curling up:

"Bill actually really found a talented individual? When did his luck get so good? Did he use some strange 【Relic】 to overdraw his luck?"

"I..."

Xia De wanted to say something, but the other party shook her head at him:

"Sorry, in our group, only the fifth-year doctor has the qualification to recruit students, so before you officially enroll, I cannot reveal any information to you. This is part of the contract with the Academy; we must abide by the rules."

Taking a step back, her hand gripped the door handle, and a smile of goodwill appeared on her face:

"But the conditions of St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy are really quite good. You can happen to meet the doctor within 72 hours, which is also very lucky; you can consider it carefully. Oh, also, if you really join St. Byrons, remember, don't choose the Chemistry Academy major."

After speaking, she nodded slightly to say goodbye and closed the door from the outside.

"One of the four people in the correspondence Ringed Shushi group where Dr. Bill Shi Nai De is... Is this really happening to meet me, or is she acting for me?"

Sometimes Xia De also thought he had paranoia, but coming to a completely unfamiliar world, he thought this could make him live better instead.

"However, a school that teaches mysticism actually has a chemistry major?"

He twisted open the winding of the document bag and saw those more detailed Academy materials. On top was the promotional paper the doctor took out this morning, and behind it was the Academy's real enrollment document.

Xia De flipped through the thick stack of materials and finally understood. St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy has 10 professional academies under it, and different academies have different learning methods and professional knowledge—

Chemistry Academy, specializing in herbs and potion making;

Mechanical Academy, good at mental abilities, cultivating alchemy abilities;

Astronomical Academy, the training ground for diviners and stargazers;

Ancient Literature Academy, the academy for spirit rune interpretation and analysis and ancient language inheritance;

Mathematics Academy, the academy for rituals, spells, and wonders;

Folklore Academy, studying history before the Sixth Era, collecting ancient literature and modern literature, specializing in the 【Enlightenment】 element;

History Academy, cultivating investigators, time-space retracers, specializing in the 【Profanity】 element;

Library Management Academy, the training academy for Secret Keepers and caretakers; containing 【Relics】 is the Academy's main responsibility, and it is also the strongest major of St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy, specializing in the 【Whisper】 element;

School of Theology, teaching theology, studying the history of Old Gods, specializing in the 【Miracle】 element; cooperation with the Orthodox Churches is also usually handled by the School of Theology;

Political Economy Academy, not open to correspondence Ringed Shushi, so there is no information.

The reason for using ordinary subject names to refer to the various professional academies under St. Byrons, rather than simply "Containment Academy" or "Wonder Academy," was to allow correspondence Ringed Shushi to reasonably state their study life in the world of ordinary people, reducing the possibility of the Academy being exposed to ordinary people.

It was also through these materials that Xia De understood that the Ringed Shushi system explained by the doctor actually missed some important content.

For example, once a Ringed Shushi is fully awakened, they will produce a spirit rune belonging to the soul according to the soul's characteristics, also known as the "Core Rune."

The core rune is engraved in the central hollow of the destiny ring, rather than on the destiny ring, which is related to the advancement of the Ringed Shushi. And the content of the core rune is also the basis for the Academy to recommend joining a professional academy.

For example, Dr. Shi Nai De, Xia De guessed that his core rune was highly likely related to "mind," so the doctor should belong to the Mechanical Academy.

"So, before becoming a Ringed Shushi, I cannot decide what I will learn. However, can I actually travel through time?"

He shook his head because these enrollment documents made him feel the culture and system of this steam era again.

He flipped through carefully, carefully noted down the important information, then put the read documents back into the bag, and got up, preparing to put them on the office desk in the room.

This reception room only entertained important guests. There were a lot of papers scattered on the desk. The doctor probably didn't have time to tidy up, and he wasn't afraid of Xia De peeking, because most of them were about the operation of the clinic, and a small part didn't use the common language of the Northern Kingdom at all.

Very unfortunately, Xia De didn't know why, but he actually understood those strange characters; he indeed possessed the special nature of understanding all languages. ===== CHAPTER 18 =====