Chapter 4159: The Academy's Rewards

Vige guessed Xia De's thoughts correctly; Xia De frowned and nodded:

"If the technology of the vampires from the Drinor Kingdom era truly shares the same origin as the 【Blood Spirit School】, then many things can be explained clearly. My vampire friend said that during the Drinor era, the power of vampires in the Arcadia region was immense. The vampire members within the 【Blood Spirit School】 were most likely those who joined them only after the Drinor Kingdom was destroyed."

Xia De looked toward the direction of Grey Rock Pass outside the window:

"This truly is a major discovery. If we search for information regarding local vampires from the Drinor Kingdom era, we might find evidence of cooperation between the two sides... The disappearance of the high-ranking local vampires may be related to their knowledge of past history."

"Speaking of which, the oracle given by that God of Vampires, ordering Welandor to send people to assist Mr. Bernhard in resolving local matters, can now be explained. After all, if the New Human technology is truly related to vampires, then this is a great blasphemy to them. Vampires do not have half-breeds, so they have always believed their bloodline is pure. Now that humans can utilize their bloodline power to evolve their own race, even if they only obtained scraps, it is unacceptable to the vampires."

This discovery solved some historical problems. Although it currently seems unable to provide substantial help for Xia De's investigation, searching for information from the Drinor Kingdom era has become a new direction for the inquiry. If someone had recorded what technology the vampires of that year actually used, it might allow Xia De to discover the flaws in the "New Human technology."

This will become the key to completely defeating the "Blood Weepers."

Although Vige regretted that the time she spent with Xia De today was short, she knew Xia De had important business to attend to at Saint Byron's tonight. So, after bidding Xia De farewell with a somewhat "fierce" kiss, she waved goodbye to Xia De:

"If nothing happens in the next few days, would you be willing to go out for a walk with me? After all, the weather has been quite nice recently."

Xia De, who was preparing to leave, did not refuse:

"Of course, but tomorrow I'm afraid I cannot. I want to stay home and read, but the day after tomorrow is fine. Where shall we go?"

Tomorrow, Princess Lei Lei Qianya and Dorothy would be holding the Red Butterfly Day activities, so Xia De would only come over to take a look in the morning.

Although Vige was disappointed that Xia De still could not stay long tomorrow, thinking that they could properly go out on a date the day after tomorrow, she immediately showed a smile:

"This is a surprise! I will wait for you at home the day after tomorrow; remember to come early. Oh, coincidentally, the day after tomorrow is also the time for the Chaos Blessing; I can take you into the Council!"

Today was actually the Red Butterfly Day, but due to the matters on the Danist side, Xia De had already informed Princess Lei Lei Qianya and Dorothy that this special day would be postponed. The girls did not mind; after all, there were still three opportunities to meet outside of the Red Butterfly Day, so they were not in the least bit anxious now.

When Xia De returned home this evening, Luvia and Winnie were present in the house. The Ice Maid Miss was preparing dinner for everyone, while Luvia was flipping through the portion of the materials given by Miss Feliana that Xia De had left at home.

Since Luvia had not come yesterday, Xia De took the time before dinner to inform Luvia of the information given by the Pseudo-Human that the "Sea of Origins might be the venue for the Chosen One ritual," and mentioned that "a gate exists on the Pink Beach" and "opening the door requires a Life Seed."

Not only Luvia, but Winnie also heard Xia De's words, so after dinner began, the Maid Miss also said:

"I once saw a 'Life Seed.' This was a gift offered by a witch who came to pay respects to Her Majesty Chloe to the Witch Emperor. No, no, that seed is not in the current Ice Castle; that seed was later used by Her Majesty to save a very loyal follower."

Winnie spoke of her impression of the "Life Seed":

"The appearance of the Life Seed is like a glowing red dot of light, very, very small, about the size of a pea. The life energy contained within is not vast; at least, the life force of a single seed cannot compare to Xia De's."

Winnie sat beside Luvia; she would only take a seat when Xia De invited her.

"However, the life energy of that seed was extremely condensed. The life energy in an ordinary person's body is like a surging stream; the fire source contains ice that is somewhat more condensed than the stream; the life energy of the Life Seed is completely compressed into a single point."

Xia De proposed a hypothesis:

"So, can a Life Seed be obtained by compressing the life fire to its limit?"

Winnie shook her head:

"I am not sure. But Her Majesty Chloe said that besides life force, there is something else within the Life Seed. However, since Her Majesty is a witch specializing in ice power and her research on life is not deep, she did not continue to study that seed."

There were many recorded appearances of "Life Seeds" in the Fifth Era; even in the incomplete school history records of Saint Byron's, it was written that the witches of the Witch Academy had obtained more than one seed during the mid-to-late Fifth Era.

But unfortunately, by the Sixth Era, Life Seeds vanished without a trace. Except for the one at the Thexis Higher Medical Academy, there is no public record of a second seed being collected in this current era.

Luvia believed that changes in the world affected the appearance of the seeds. However, since the Life Seed did not involve the identity or ritual of the Chosen One, nor was it a relic or divine artifact, once they found the next special coin, Luvia believed she should be able to divine it.

After dinner, Xia De planned to go to the Academy. Before leaving, he also instructed Luvia:

"In a low-probability case, I will not return tonight, but I..."

The girl with purple eyes smiled, understanding very well:

"Danist also needs your consideration; it's fine. You just stay with her tonight; Xiao Miya is still at home to keep me company."

Xia De shook his head:

"What I mean is, I want to bring her back, to be with you..."

Luvia blinked, then revealed a gentle smile:

"Very well, I will wait for you both at home."

When Xia De saw Danist in the Academy library, it was seven o'clock that evening. The library area where problems had appeared at noon was still sealed; it would likely remain sealed for a week, and would only reopen to students once it was confirmed that there were no issues.

Amelia and Ellie had already arrived at the library. When Xia De saw them, Ellie was holding and reading a book titled "Catalog of Rare Apples," while Amelia was sitting on a small stool by the tea table, writing her course paper.

"Xia De, I also need to remind you; your paper titled 'Concept for Dual-Colored Moonlight Fusion Sorcery' has not been submitted to me yet. Even though I allow you to skip class, the course paper must still be submitted."

Danist said. As Amelia looked at Xia De with an expression of shared misery, the Librarian Miss actually added:

"Of course, if you truly have no time, you can give me an outline and attach your core viewpoints; I will help you complete the paper."

Amelia immediately knew that everyone was different.

The pointed-eared little elf's paper had only a small section left to finish, so Danist decided to wait until she finished before everyone moved out together. After Xia De sat down, Danist began talking to Xia De about the research status of the crystal ball still in the Arcadia region and conveyed Headmaster Pigman's words to Xia De:

"Headmaster Pigman said that this operation against the 【Skin Guild】 was excellent, and the Academy is also the biggest beneficiary. Under normal circumstances, just this single operation would be enough for you to receive the 'Feliana Medal' again at the end of the year. However, since this time the operation was nominally organized by the Summoner Organization, if you were given too many rewards for no apparent reason, there might be some problems."

Xia De nodded:

"I understand. Actually, there is no need to give me any reward; successfully containing the 【Skin Guild】 is enough for me."

Danist shook her head:

"Reward and punishment are the most basic rules of the Academy; there must be a reward. I discussed it with Headmaster Pigman and decided to count the portion of the reward that should have been yours directly to me. Now, you can already borrow most of the books in the Academy library at any time; let's not mention that. I cannot give you too many practical credits, but I will find a way to give you some in batches for the rest of this year."

"I have merged the other rewards together. In the end, you can obtain one Sage-level relic from the Academy."

"Sage-level?"

Xia De did not expect the Academy to be so generous; relics of this level are not even publicly circulated. Although Danist could let him borrow most of the books in the library, the Academy's relics belong to the collective; even Danist had no authority to intervene in the ownership of high-level relics.

The fact that a Sage-level relic could be offered only means this was a plan passed by the Academy Assembly, indicating that most professors recognized the value of this operation.

"Exchanging a Sage-level for a Sage-level is actually very fair; the 【Skin Guild】 itself is very powerful among Sage-level relics, not to mention its research value."

Amelia, who was writing her paper, said. Danist nodded:

"The number of Sage-level relics contained by the Academy that can be used safely to a certain extent is not particularly large. Since you can see the list this time, you must cherish the opportunity. You can come to me for the list at any time, but before that, you must think carefully about what kind of relic you currently lack."

Xia De thought for a moment:

"I seem to lack very few relics. For Angel-level, I have 【Arrow of Akenora】, 【Night Watchman】, 【One-Shot Kill Pistol】, and my staff. For Sage-level, I have 【God's Gift Box】, 【Source of Chaos】, 【Philosopher's Stone】, and 【Scar of the Stars】. Oh, there is also that 【Vampire Ring】 at the Sage-level, but I do not need to turn myself into a vampire, so I won't use it."