Chapter 24: Words of Sublimation (Requesting Votes)

"Investigators," or rather "Time Explorers," are not a specialized profession of St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy. Any Circle Practitioner whose core spiritual rune is related to the concept of [Time], or who has obtained [Time]-related spiritual runes, can travel through time using the [Time Key]—a relic with a fluctuating grade ranging from Poet (Level 5) to Angel (Level 1)—to enter time points prior to the Sixth Epoch to explore the past.

The [Time Key] is a single-use relic, and different keys open different eras. All Time Keys are related to the fallen Old God, [Father of the Infinite Tree].

He was an extremely powerful Old God belonging to the Good God alignment; contacting related knowledge or traces provides a chance to obtain a golden [Miracle] spiritual rune. According to legends and certain ancient stone tablets, [Father of the Infinite Tree] fell during the Chaotic Era of the Fourth Epoch, but through his own concept of "infinity," He merged His body into the continuous infinite spacetime, thereby communicating with the past and the future.

The [Time Key] is a [Relic] left behind by this fallen Old God. Because the fallen Old God exists within continuous spacetime, the time jumps enabled by His relics are not limited to time points prior to the Fourth Epoch when He fell.

However, for reasons unknown, no [Time Key] has ever been discovered that can return to time points within the Sixth Epoch. This remains a vital research subject for Circle Practitioners studying time.

In short, the Doctor instructed Shad to draw those two spiritual runes. While transmitting the news of Shad's core spiritual runes to the Academy, the Doctor also gave him a brief introduction to the common knowledge of this field.

Spiritual runes are a language of the past and are essentially non-repetitive. Unless one has seen a rune with the exact same meaning, it is impossible to fabricate one; thus, they can serve as proof that one is not lying.

But before Shad could ask questions like "What about temporal stability?" or "Will time paradoxes occur?", the Academy's response actually arrived

"If Shad Solen Hamilton is willing to join the History Department, the History Department is willing to designate him as a key talent for cultivation and, upon his enrollment, provide him with a Keeper-grade relic for self-defense."

"What does that mean?"

Shad looked at the Doctor.

"They value your talent, but it doesn't change your status as a correspondence Circle Practitioner. Being a 'key talent' means you won't have to complete as many mandatory practical credit tasks, and you can buy books in St. Byrons at a discount. As for the Keeper-grade (Level 3) relic, it means exactly what it says."

The Doctor shrugged

"They are always like this—not stingy with talented people, but they will never break the rules."

"Then should I accept?"

"Unless you have a reason to refuse," the Writer answered simply, flicking a strand of blonde hair at her temple. "There are always a few key talents every year, and I don't think there's any harm in it."

And so, Shad successfully became a first-year correspondence Circle Practitioner in the History Department of St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy.

To become a Circle Practitioner, one must come into contact with the Four Elements, and advancing through the Circles also requires the Four Elements.

For every Circle, one must engrave at least one golden [Miracle], one silver [Profane], one brass [Enlightenment], and one black iron [Whisper] spiritual rune upon the Life Ring to accumulate enough Spirit to sublimate the Circle.

There is an upper limit to the amount of Spirit accumulated within a certain Circle; therefore, engraving four spiritual runes is no different from engraving four hundred before performing sublimation. In fact, engraving too many runes can be detrimental, because the spiritual runes required for each advancement must be engraved within that specific Circle.

Under normal circumstances, engraving spiritual runes is no simple matter. Correctly balancing the number of spiritual runes with one's research into Thaumaturgy and Incantations is also extremely important.

Practitioners from the first to the fourth Circle are known as Low-Circle Practitioners; the fifth to the eighth are Mid-Circle; and those above the ninth are High-Circle Practitioners.

This classification is not due to the numbers themselves, but because during the sublimation at the fourth and eighth Circles, in addition to the mandatory four spiritual runes, one is required to select one rune from each of the sixteen runes of that stage to form a connection with the practitioner's own core rune. This is known as the "Sublimation Word."

In Dr. Schneider's group, only the Doctor himself, a fifth-circle practitioner, had completed four sublimations.

When he promoted from the fourth to the fifth Circle, he used the first-circle black iron whisper—[Run], the second-circle silver profane—[Malice], the third-circle brass enlightenment—[Hound], and the fourth-circle golden miracle—[Light], to construct a Sublimation Word with his core rune [Dream], bridging the transition from Low-Circle to Mid-Circle

[The hound of light runs through the dream of malice.]

There are no restrictions on the types of runes used in a Sublimation Word; the Doctor just happened to satisfy all four types.

If one fails to meet the conditions of the Sublimation Word, they will never be able to promote from the fourth to the fifth Circle, or from the eighth to the ninth. Furthermore, because the four runes used must come from four different Circles, there is no opportunity for compensation.

The choice of a Sublimation Word can be guided by past examples, which has formed the [Codex of Sublimation], containing thousands of records. Circle Practitioners look up examples based on their core runes and prepare from the beginning of each stage. Consequently, every faction treats its own [Codex of Sublimation] as its most important secret.

During the three stages—Low, Mid, and High Circle—one can use the same core rune to string together a Sublimation Word. Therefore, having more core spiritual runes simply provides more options and does not significantly affect the difficulty of advancement.

If one does not wish to rely on the experience of past "Sublimation Words," or if the core rune is so rare that no examples exist, one can only attempt it on their own; if luck is on their side, they will eventually meet the conditions for sublimation.

However, Shad would not be eligible to consult the St. Byrons Codex of Sublimation until six months later, at which point he could determine the most important rune for his first Circle. The Academy was also concerned about the reliability of correspondence practitioners and wanted to ensure that these students would not back out once they became supernatural beings. Since advancing through the Circles is difficult, a six-month wait was not considered a delay.

Although there is no limit to the number of spiritual runes per Circle, obtaining them is quite difficult. For academic advancement, in addition to compulsory credits earned through exams and practical credits earned through Academy tasks, a student's grade must correspond to their Circle.

Thus, it is quite normal for a student to spend two or three years in a single grade. If one cannot find the required sequence of spiritual runes for their planned Sublimation Word by the fourth Circle, they will delay their promotion even if they have met the requirements for the four types of runes.

Of course, regarding the textbooks, basic Circle Practitioner courses, the Keeper-grade relic promised by the History Department, and the Investigator tasks, all of these would be discussed in three days, once the Academy had organized Shad's materials.

At that time, not only would the Academy provide the syllabus and training plan, but all four members of his group would also be present to offer him advice.

After confirming his enrollment in the History Department, Dr. Schneider announced that Shad could leave.

"Leave now?"

Shad asked, somewhat surprised, as he had been busy memorizing these common facts just a second ago.

"Is there something else?" the Doctor asked, equally surprised.

"I mean, since I've joined the Academy, I won't..."

It was Louisa, being a woman, who understood his meaning

"Mr. Hamilton, the enrollment process is indeed just this. I must repeat the Doctor's words: please remember, we are correspondence Circle Practitioners, and our connection to the Academy is not close. We cultivate ourselves; we seek knowledge from the Academy, and the Academy provides us with practical tasks to satisfy our credit requirements. We are merely correspondence students."

"Alright then."

Shad, who had been sitting almost all afternoon, stood up. The Doctor and the Writer also rose to see him off. The latter had business with the Doctor and could not leave yet.

As Shad was about to reach the door with the two of them, the Doctor suddenly spoke again

"Also, there are two taboos you need to remember. St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy stipulates that all Circle Practitioners of this Academy are forbidden from setting foot on the New Continent; this is an Academy taboo. The universal taboo for Circle Practitioners is that they are forbidden from committing suicide.

Setting foot on the New Continent will be viewed by the Academy as an automatic forfeiture of student status. As for a Circle Practitioner committing suicide, it would at least trigger a crisis no less severe than a Keeper-grade relic losing control."

The "New Continent" refers to the lands discovered during the Age of Discovery fifty years ago, outside the current "Old Continent," somewhat similar to the historical Age of Discovery. While the New Continent has no humans, its resources are incredibly abundant.

"Why?" Shad asked, puzzled.

"We don't know the Academy's regulations. As for the prohibition on suicide..." Louisa looked at the Doctor. "The Doctor believes it likely has something to do with 'the other me.' If we commit suicide, the other me might do something."

The Doctor shrugged

"That is the current understanding, and we haven't encountered any Circle Practitioners who committed suicide.

Shad, remember to come back in three days, on Wednesday at ten in the morning. At that time, in addition to Academy matters, you will also need to learn about the group's regular study sessions and our fixed academic year tasks. Oh, speaking of which, you can spend these next few days researching your own spiritual runes; I'll lend you this notebook."

Only then did he remember to turn to the desk, take a black-covered notebook from a locked drawer, and hand it to Shad. It looked quite old

"You can try experimenting with developing Thaumaturgy through spiritual runes, but since you've just gained your power, it probably won't go smoothly. Your most important task for these three days is to rest. The inauguration of a Circle Practitioner causes damage to both soul and body. Use your three days of bed rest to read this notebook. You'll likely sleep until noon tomorrow... See you in three days. And remember, you need to pay back 10 pounds within a month."

The farewell was somewhat abrupt, but Shad knew he had overstayed his welcome. He organized his chaotic thoughts and said seriously

"See you in three days, Dr. Schneider. Thank you, Miss Louisa."

"No need to thank me; I only came here today to witness," the Writer said, appearing to be in a good mood.

"And no need to thank me either. As I said, I only wanted to find a fifth Circle Practitioner for the group," the blue-eyed Doctor replied in a very low voice.

***

*PS: The truth behind the Circle Practitioner system is related to the world-building of this book. Sublimation Words have an origin; they cannot be pieced together randomly.*