The tall, handso figure with black hair and black eyes, calm and rational, matched the hearsay and various rumors among the students.
Ti had left no trace on this Exorcist, and it was said that he looked the sa twenty-odd years ago.
Only amid the burning hiss of flas, the Gatekeeper elder lifted his gaze over his glasses and announced Lu Li’s departnt.
"Mysticism Departnt!"
The resounding applause enveloped the entire church. The long table of the largest Mysticism Departnt erupted in cheers, nearly lifting the grand hall.
At the professors’ seats, Professor Hagrid clapped his hands red. Professor Caesar reminisced about sothing with a smile and clapped. Professors from other departnts also did not shy away from expressing their friendliness and welco. The tall and elegantly beautiful Professor Chris raised her glass in acknowledgnt.
The Gatekeeper elder, who would usually call out "Quiet" at this ti, did nothing. When the applause and cheers subsided, he gestured to Lu Li, "Please proceed to your academy, Mr. Luli."
Lu Li nodded in acknowledgnt, walking into the cheer.
Taking a seat, the surrounding students were flushed with excitent, about to engage in conversation—
Bang—bang—
The Gatekeeper elder struck his cane to restore silence in the hall.
"Before the banquet begins, low-year students must rember the three inviolable rules."
"First, contact your class leader or professor if you have any issues; acting on your own will result in a deduction of credits."
"Second, do not leave this level rashly; the lower levels are for middle and upper-year students and lower academy areas, unless you receive a friendly invitation."
"Third, the Swamp, the foul sewers, and the Mysterious Dense Forest are forbidden zones, strictly prohibited without permission." The Gatekeeper elder sternly glanced at the low-year students, "Don’t waste your precious lives."
"Now, please let Deputy Dean Professor Chris start the party."
The Gatekeeper elder retreated to the edge, drawing the students’ attention to Professor Chris at the seat’s center.
"Before the party begins, there is one last matter. Since most of you possess unique talents and abilities..." Deputy Dean Chris’s elongated eyes scanned the long table, pausing on Lu Li, "...and the selection during the admission ritual may have hindered your talents and abilities. Within a month after admission, you may freely choose whether to transfer departnts."
"Now—"
With light red nails tapping on a wine glass, the residual sound echoed as Professor Chris opened her lips, "Let the party begin."
The noise arose, and the students’ focus returned to Lu Li and the food itself.
Apart from a few newly admitted students burying their faces in the dining table to eat, students from the Mysticism Departnt and other departnts turned to stare at Lu Li.
"Lu... Lu Li, hello... You can call Zolun."
The student across the long table shivered with excitent at seeing an important figure.
Beside him was a newly admitted girl about thirteen or fourteen years old, relatively calm, perhaps due to her somber deanor, briefly extending her hand, "Floral Lins."
"Lu Li."
Lu Li did not reach for Floral’s outstretched left hand.
"Dogat!" A boy with food residue on his face raised his eyes from the pie basin, extending dirty, greasy hands to clasp Floral’s fair hands, "I have no na. They all call Dogat because it feels effortless to eat ."
Floral withdrew her hands in disgust, wiping them continuously with a handkerchief.
The boy suddenly pinched a black insect climbing up Floral’s hand to her arm, chewing and swallowing it under her somber gaze, his eyes lighting up, "Not bad! Are there more?"
Further self-introductions from other students halted their discord, and Lu Li was soon inundated with questions.
"Is this your real na?"
"Don’t answer! There are countless bizarre entities out there wanting to know the Exorcist’s real na." A student from the adjacent Alchemy Departnt warned Lu Li, "Don’t tell anyone."
The most frequently asked was whether Belfast really possessed sunlight and why he ca to the Barren Lands’ Giant Tree Academy.
The banquet lasted an hour and felt unfinished for Mysticism Departnt students or those close to Lu Li.
Those a bit further away felt regretful.
As the banquet ended, low-year students gradually left, while the newly admitted students were led by the class leader to their resting areas.
The admission of students was not in the sa batch—every two to three months, new students would arrive, joining the low-year classes, ensuring a constant influx of fresh blood.
Because of Lu Li’s presence, everyone behaved quite well—or wanted to showcase themselves.
"I heard my brother say they really dislike the Gatekeepers," A short-haired girl curiously asked on the way to the resting area.
"Don’t get too close to the Gatekeepers; they are dangerous," the class leader replied.
"Why?"
"Gatekeepers have complex origins; so are graduates, others are Hunters, and serious conflicts are heard between Gatekeepers and students in other grades, even—"
The class leader stopped speaking, realizing he had revealed too much.
"What is the lower academy?" Dogat asked, being brought from the slums, he knew nothing.
"It’s where another group of students is hosted. Humans are allocated to the upper academy while Aliens and different species are in the lower academy."
"Can Aliens join the academy?" A young adult questioned in surprise.
"Why not? As long as they are sensible and love peace."
If Puxiu and Ophelia were present, they would be allocated to the lower academy.
The students temporarily stopped questioning, while the class leader continued explaining other rules, "To be promoted to higher grades, you need to accumulate credits. You can earn credits through exams, trials, performance, and achievents until you et the conditions within a year."
"What happens if you don’t have enough credits?" A student asked.
"Leave the academy."
Many students were startled from the cozy warmth of the banquet.
They thought of the glory of Giant Tree Academy and its dangers and mortality rates...
The class leader then introduced the freshman students to the core courses: Mysticism Course; Alchemy Course; Botany Course; History Course; Divination Course, and a new Language Course.
Apart from the core courses, there are elective courses: Wilderness Survival Course; Bizarre Knowledge Course; Otherworld Study Course; Combat Skills Class.
These courses are offered as general courses for students to choose from and complent their core courses.
Strictly speaking, core courses can also be multi-selected, but scheduling conflicts are often faced—as well as heavy howork and severe consequences from failed progress tests.
Arriving at the periter of the resting area, the class leader assigned students to rooms behind each crooked wooden door shaped like tree houses.
The Mysticism Departnt had single-person resting rooms, while the Alchemy Departnt and Divination Departnt could choose between single or multiple occupants, and other departnts had only multi-occupant dormitories.
Lu Li was unsurprisingly assigned to the best resting area, a ticulously adorned tree house complete with a window.
If the wooden window was pushed open, one could see the starlit Alchemical Tower’s light piercing the primal darkness. If on the brightest noon, one could overlook Midnight City’s dim outline.
"Please rest well, and proceed to the classroom on Gossip Path for the Mysticism Course tomorrow morning."
The class leader left his instructions, leading the remaining students away.
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