Although the blonde writer Ms. Dorothy Louisa had also come, the academy still followed the original plan and sent over the items Shard would need after enrolling. So, for the next half hour, the four of them still had time to continue chatting.
Dr. Schneider, as the nominal leader of the correspondence ring warlocks group, was more than happy to start the conversation.
Through him, Shard learned more common knowledge about ring warlocks. For instance, under normal circumstances, encountering an unfamiliar [Relic] would not immediately prompt the “another me” to give an alert. Therefore, relying on the “another me” to seek out relics was an unrealistic endeavor. The identification of [Relics] was a primary research focus in Library Management.
Shard was clearly an anomaly.
[Outlander, your soul is extraordinarily sensitive to the Four Elements, allowing me to easily distinguish [Relics]. This is not my uniqueness; it is yours.]
The whispering explained this by his ear. Initially, Shard thought it was an excuse, but the more he pondered, the more reasonable it seemed.
Even he wasn’t sure whether the “another me’s” uniqueness was genuinely special or if it was special because of his outlandishness.
“Soren’s” middle name could be explained by the other party knowing his core rune in advance. The “Northern Common Language Gift Pack” could also be explained as the other party acquiring fragments of the original owner’s memories due to the “another me’s” uniqueness. The reminder about the ring was simply because she had discovered that peculiar [Relic].
Thinking this way, Shard himself got confused.
“Wait, why is your voice female?”
Shard almost confused himself.
[Perhaps even you can’t fully understand your own character.]
“Don’t say such weird things.”
Shard felt that the other party was implying he had some feminine qualities.
Besides [Relics] being hard to easily discover, Shard also learned from Dr. Schneider that his small group usually met on Saturday afternoons to share learning experiences, ask questions, and contact the academy through Dr. Schneider’s manuscripts.
Even if there weren’t any crucial matters, they could share information, exchange items, or complain about the burden of their studies. The latter activity was more often the main content.
The group did not impose mandatory tasks on its members. However, if someone needed help, like performing some academy tasks that could earn practical credits, others must consider whether they have the time to assist.
As it approached ten o’clock, everyone cleaned up the coffee table and let Dr. Schneider place the Poet-level relic paper there. When the clock in the corner started striking ten, with the first chime, a rolled-up parchment bound with a red ribbon appeared as the paper glowed.
Shard quickly grabbed it, untied the ribbon, and rolled out the parchment, which contained his first-year correspondence training plan.
St. Byrence Academy usually conducted grade advancement assessments at the end of each winter. Since Shard had enrolled in summer, there was no way he could complete all his studies this year. So, it would take him more than a year to complete the tailor-made courses on the training plan.
“Actually, the first year typically takes 1 to 3 years because these are foundational courses. You will be quite busy.”
Priest August, sitting beside Shard, clearly saw the list of mandatory first-year courses on the training plan:
[Herbs We Know]
[Basic Potions]
[Introduction to Elementary Alchemy]
[Astronomy Basics]
[Introduction to Mysticism and Ritual Studies]
[Basic Theoretical Runes (Part 1)]
[Ring Warlock Basics – Miracles]
[Ring Warlock Basics – Incantations]
[Introduction to Ancient Languages (Epoch 5: 0~2000)]
[Introduction to Ancient Languages (Epoch 5: 2000~4000)]
[Introduction to Ancient Languages (Epoch 5: 4000~5793)]
[Ancient Literature] (Choose one from Serious Literature, Popular Literature, and Others before Grade 5)
[Folkways, Religion, and Civilization]
[History (Part 1)]
[Basic Theory of Time Travel] (Core Course)
[Practical Training in Time Travel] (Core Course)
[Containment and Management of Relics] (Core Course)
[Basic Theology (Part 1)]
[History of St. Byrence Comprehensive Academy and General Education]
A total of 19 mandatory courses, totaling 53 required credits. At the end of this year, Shard needed to earn 15 credits to pass the year-end assessment and proceed with his first-year studies in the following year.
The books that followed exceeded 100 in number, including textbooks, reading materials, and supplemental course documents.
Shard, along with the other three, continuously placed the books that emerged from the poem paper sheet onto a pile.
Watching the ever-growing “mountain of books,” the Outlander’s anxiety about the future suddenly vanished. It felt as if he had returned to his homeland and school life.
“How about it, the 50 pounds tuition is worth it, right? These mandatory courses are tailored for you and are pretty basic. After all, first-year is all about laying the foundation. But don’t worry, except for the core courses, you have three chances to fail the exams. If you fail three times, you’ll have to wait another year to retake them and pay the tuition again, but they won’t expel you.”
Old Priest August thought Shard was intimidated by the number of books and consoled him. In this era of steam industry, illiteracy rates were still high, and an average citizen might never come across so many books in their lifetime, which is why the priest comforted the young detective who’d “never seen the world.”
However, it was precisely this kind of life that the Outlander was familiar with.
Shard’s first-year 19 mandatory courses required him to submit several papers or course works after self-study, with some needing examinations or practical assessments.
Grade-level assessments took place at the end of the year, but there were exam sessions in late July of summer and December of winter. If Shard progressed quickly in his studies, he could take some exams by the end of July.
This was all content for the correspondence ring warlock’s mandatory courses. To complete an entire grade, he also needed to earn enough practical credits.
First-year required 40 practical credits. For these 40 credits, the History Department had strict requirements. At least 10 credits had to come from “Time Exploration” activities.
The History Department at St. Byrence Comprehensive Academy had the fewest students, most of whom transferred in during higher grades.
Because the core of the History Department was the use of the Old God: [Father of the Infinite Tree’s] relic [Time Key] for time travel, which required runes related to the concept of time.
Shard’s core course, [Practical Training in Time Travel], involved using keys provided by the academy to perform a guided time travel and submitting a report to complete the course. However, performing a nearly fully safe time travel through coursework wouldn’t earn practical credits.
Finding or purchasing different levels of [Time Keys] relics independently, and bringing back valuable information, history, and knowledge, could earn substantial practical credits and other rewards, such as relics, thaumaturgies, incantations, or rare knowledge from the St. Byrence Library.
Thus, the History Department and the Library Management Department, with their focus on time travel and relic containment, could be considered the departments most likely to earn practical credits and academy rewards.
“Although these foundational courses look complex, once you get started, you’ll see they’re not too difficult. Look, here is the list of elective courses you’re allowed to choose.”
After over a hundred books were finally all delivered, a new parchment rolled out onto the table. The doctor opened it for Shard, glanced at it, and handed it to him.
“Elective credits can be converted, 10 credits turning into 1 practical credit. And these elective courses are truly valuable, showcasing the professors’ real expertise. Of course, elective courses cost pounds.”
“Elective courses cost pounds?”
Shard was surprised but quickly realized this was not his world. Even in his world, elective courses were free in his hometown but charged in some Western schools.
Priest August thought Shard’s confusion was about the foreignness of needing to pay, but little did he know, Shard was already accustomed to such a system.
