Chapter 40: Shaden's Compulsory Course

Although the blonde writer Miss Dorothy Louisa had also arrived, the academy would still deliver the items Shard needed to collect upon enrollment according to the original schedule. Therefore, the four of them had half an hour to continue chatting before that.

As the nominal leader of the Correspondence Circle Warlock group, Dr. Schneider was happy to initiate a topic.

Because of this, Shard learned more common knowledge regarding Circle Warlocks—for instance, under normal circumstances, coming into contact with a [Relic] of unfamiliar properties would not immediately trigger a prompt from "the other me." Thus, relying on "the other me" to find relics was unrealistic; the appraisal of [Relics] was a key research focus of the Library Management major.

Shard was clearly abnormal.

【Outlander, your soul is exceptionally sensitive to the four elements, which is why I can easily distinguish relics. This is not my uniqueness; it is your uniqueness.】

The whispering voice in his ear explained it this way. At first, Shard thought it was an excuse, but as he thought about it, he found the explanation quite reasonable.

Even he himself was unsure whether the uniqueness of "the other me" was truly inherent or if it was unique because of the Outlander.

The explanation for his middle name "Suren" could be that the entity had known his core runes in advance; the "Northern Common Language Gift Pack" could be explained by the entity obtaining the fragmented memories of the original owner through the characteristics of "the other me"; and the warning from the gazing ring was merely because she had discovered that peculiar relic.

Thinking this way, Shard became confused himself...

"Wait, why is your voice female?"

Shard nearly lost himself in his own circular reasoning.

【Perhaps even you cannot fully understand your own character.】

"Don't talk nonsense."

Shard believed the entity was implying he was somewhat effeminate.

Aside from the fact that relics could not be easily discovered, Shard also learned that Dr. Schneider's group typically met on Saturday afternoons to share study insights, ask questions, and communicate with the academy through Dr. Schneider's manuscript pages.

Even without these pressing matters, they could share intelligence, exchange items, or complain about the heavy academic workload. The latter was usually the primary content.

The group did not assign mandatory tasks to its members, but if someone needed help—such as performing an academy task to earn practical credits—the others were required to immediately consider if they had the time.

Seeing that ten o'clock was approaching, the group cleared the coffee table, allowing Dr. Schneider to place the manuscript page of the Poet-grade relic there. As the grandfather clock in the corner began to strike its first chime for ten, a roll of parchment tied with a red ribbon appeared amidst the flickering light from the manuscript page.

Shard quickly snatched it up, untied the ribbon, and unfurled the scroll. This was Shard's first-year training program for correspondence students.

St. Byrons Academy usually conducted unified grade promotion examinations at the end of every winter. Since Shard was enrolling in the summer, it was impossible for him to complete all his studies this year; therefore, he would likely need more than a year and a half to complete the courses in the curriculum tailored specifically for him.

"Actually, the first year usually takes one to three years, as these are foundational courses... Oh, you're going to be quite busy."

Priest Augustus sat beside Shard, allowing him to clearly see the list of mandatory first-year courses required by the training program

*Herbs We Know* *Basic Potions* *Introduction to Elementary Alchemy* *Introduction to Astronomy* *Introduction to Occultism and Ritualism* *Foundations of Spirit Rune Theory (Part I)* *Circle Warlock Basic Course - Thaumaturgy* *Circle Warlock Basic Course - Sorcery* *Introduction to Ancient Languages (Fifth Epoch 0–2000)* *Introduction to Ancient Languages (Fifth Epoch 2000–4000)* *Introduction to Ancient Languages (Fifth Epoch 4000–5793)* *Ancient Literature (Choose one from: Serious Literature, Popular Literature, or Other. Must be completed before Year 5.)* *Folklore, Religion, and Civilization* *History (I)* *Foundations of Time Travel Theory (Core Academic Course)* *Time Travel Practical Training (Core Academic Course)* *Relic Containment and Management (Core Academic Course)* *Basic Theology (Part I)* *History of St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy and General Education*

A total of 19 mandatory courses, totaling 53 mandatory credits. By the end of this year, if Shard obtained 15 credits, he could pass the year-end assessment and continue with the remaining first-year studies in his second year.

The books sent over immediately exceeded 100 volumes, including textbooks, required reading materials, and supplementary course literature.

Together with the other three, Shard continuously took the textbooks appearing from the manuscript page and piled them to the side.

Watching the height of the growing "mountain of books," the Outlander's anxiety about his future life suddenly vanished; he felt as if he had returned to his hometown, back to the life of a student.

"How is it? The 50-pound tuition is worth it, right? These mandatory courses are tailored for you by the school and are quite basic, since the first year is for building a foundation. But don't worry; aside from the core academic courses, you have three chances to fail other courses. If you fail three times, you must postpone the assessment for a year and pay the tuition again, but you won't be expelled."

Priest Augustus, thinking Shard was intimidated by the sheer volume of books, offered words of comfort. In this era of steam industry, the illiteracy rate remained high, and as an ordinary citizen, one might not encounter so many books in a lifetime. Thus, the priest comforted the "unworldly" young detective.

However, the life the Outlander was familiar with was exactly this kind of life.

For Shard's 19 mandatory first-year courses, he would need to submit several papers or course assignments after self-study, with some requiring exams or practical assessments.

Year-end assessments occurred at the end of the year, but exam seasons also took place in the summer in late July and in the winter in December. If Shard's progress was fast, he could pass some exams in late July of next month.

The above were only the mandatory courses for correspondence Circle Warlocks; to complete an entire academic year, one also needed to earn sufficient practical credits.

The requirement for first-year practical credits was 40 credits, but the History Department had set strict regulations on their source. At least 10 of these credits had to come from "Time Exploration" activities.

The History Department was the smallest department in St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy, and most students transferred into it in their higher years.

This was because the core of the History Department relied on time travel using the [Time Key], a relic of the Old God [Father of the Infinite Tree], which required spirit runes related to the concept of time.

Shard's core academic course, *Time Travel Practical Training*, involved using a key provided by the academy to perform a single time travel under guidance; the course could be completed by submitting a report. However, performing a nearly perfectly safe time travel through the course would not earn practical credits.

If one were to independently find or purchase [Time Keys] of varying grades from the academy, and could bring back valuable information, history, or knowledge, they would receive high practical credits and other rewards, such as relics, thaumaturgy, sorcery, or precious knowledge collected in the St. Byrons Grand Library.

Therefore, the History Department and the Library Management Department—along with time travel and relic containment—could be considered the easiest ways to obtain practical credits and academy rewards.

"Although these foundational courses look complex, once you get started, you'll realize the difficulty isn't very high. Look, this is the list of elective courses you are allowed to choose."

After the 100-plus books were finally all delivered, a new parchment scroll appeared on the table. The doctor helped Shard open it, glanced at it, and then handed it to him.

"Elective credits can be converted; 10 credits convert into 1 practical credit. Moreover, these electives are the truly valuable courses—they represent the real expertise of the professors. Of course, electives cost gold pounds..."

"Electives cost gold pounds?"

Shard was startled, then immediately realized this was not the world of the past. Besides, even in the past, while electives in his hometown were free, electives in some Western countries also cost money.

PS: You can try to guess whether Shard's "the other me" is truly special, or special because of the Outlander's soul, or both.

(End of Chapter)