Chapter 44: The Magical Beasts Research Institute
mbers of Starfall University all seed to have more personality than Rast had expected.
However, he more or less understood now why Ishta was so feared and revered.
Rast couldn’t help but glance at Ishta, who sat beside him playing with her golden hair.
Just as "All Roads Lead" was the embodint of Rodri the conductor’s inner image—his obsession with escaping at the first chance—so too was Ishta’s Eye of Secrets a reflection of her ntal image.
A girl capable of exposing your deepest secrets at any mont was naturally treated like a wild beast by her fellow students.
“Every Night Traveler is a madman in the eyes of others”—Shiltina’s words grew more weighty.
After parting ways with a visibly regretful Rodri, the two of them stepped into the carriage of the Silver Gear.
“To have the academy send a private train for you… looks like your relationship with Vice President Shiltina really is extraordinary.”
Ishta continued the conversation that Rodri had interrupted earlier.
“However…” She glanced at Rast, hesitating slightly before continuing. “Getting too close to Shiltina is definitely not a good thing.”
“This isn’t just my personal bias against her. It’s a recognized truth at Starfall University.”
“Oh? Why?”
Rast paused slightly in his movents.
“The ‘Raid Demon’... Vice President Shiltina’s nickna is far from a complint.”
Ishta hesitated. “Considering the danger level of the Nightworld Remnant, anyone with common sense knows that teaming up is the better choice compared to going in alone.”
“There are too many unknown variables and dangers in the Nightworld. Solo exploration always ends in an accident eventually... A simple example—within a hazardous environnt, a team can take turns keeping watch, while a solo traveler must remain alert at all tis, unable to even enjoy a mont’s peaceful sleep.”
“And if Night Travelers of different Sequences and Long Orders, each wielding different Night Blades, form a party, their complentary abilities would greatly increase their margin for error and chances of survival.”
“However, Shiltina has always been one of the rare few who go it alone.”
Ishta spoke softly, “Actually, she used to be part of a team—”
“But even the strongest team in her year couldn’t keep up with the intensity of Shiltina’s Nightworld Remnant strategies, nor her obsession.”
“After a particularly severe accident that even alerted the Board of Directors, the team completely fell apart.”
“Since that incident, Vice President Shiltina has always acted alone.”
“People say her obsession with clearing the Nightworld Remnants has reached a level of mania. Sooner or later, she’ll die in the Nightworld… and those who accompany her would only end up as sacrifices to her pathological obsession.”
Hooonnnng——
The Silver Gear gave a long, low whistle.
Monts later, the carriage trembled slightly, and the view outside the window began to blur and flow faster.
Rast’s gaze shifted slightly. “Isn’t Starfall University’s mission to conquer the Nightworld Remnants and prevent the Twillight Calamity from descending upon the real world?”
“If that’s the case, shouldn’t soone like Shiltina, with her level of dedication, be your role model?”
“In theory, yes. But in reality, every Night Traveler has their own agenda. How could anyone truly live up to such ideals?”
Ishta led Rast through the carriage of the Silver Gear. “So students join Starfall University to grow stronger through the Nightworld, others to rise in status and wealth…”
“And even those who genuinely hold noble ideals and want to prevent the Twillight Calamity… if the catastrophe struck their own hotown, sure, they’d give their all. But if it were to happen in a noble’s territory, or a distant foreign land, how many would truly be willing to sacrifice everything to stop it?”
“The high nobles in the royal capital have also cultivated many high-ranking Transcendents in secret. But unless the Twillight Calamity actually threatens their own lands, their own interests, how many of them would be willing to send their forces into the Nightworld?”
“Most people are selfish. Soone like Vice President Shiltina is, in the end, a rare exception.”
Ishta looked at the rapidly changing scenery outside the train window. “Even I myself admit that I couldn’t be like Vice President Shiltina.”
“Right, since you’re about to enroll, let give you a quick rundown of how Starfall University is structured.”
Noticing that their conversation had grown rather heavy, Ishta shifted the topic.
“Although Starfall University exists solely to combat the Nightworld and the Twillight Calamity, in practice, there’s a great deal of division in duties.”
“The ‘Ruins Institute,’ formally known as the Institute of the Key to Ruins, focuses on researching the Nightworld and its lost history, culture, languages, and customs.”
“They provide all the intelligence support for Night Travelers exploring the Nightworld Remnants. Most of the confidential archives and intelligence on the Nightworld are stored within the ‘Arcane Tower’ and are divided into different confidentiality levels according to student clearance.”
“The ‘Ashen Institute,’ also called the Forging Institute, is responsible for weapons and equipnt support—things like forging and repairing Emblem Armant... If the Twillight Calamity ever does strike the real world, the tech-based weapons they’ve installed at our bases will form the first line of defense. Those busy people you saw at the base earlier were from the Ashen Institute.”
“The ‘Lionheart Institute’ is the purest combat unit, with the simplest mission—clear the Nightworld.”
“The ‘Clockwork Institute’ is the logistics departnt. They handle supplies, Night Traveler itineraries, and the like. Rodri the coward is a mber of that group.”
……
Ishta quickly explained the internal structure of Starfall University to Rast.
“Of course, aside from these four core departnts, there are others of lesser importance.”
“For example, the Arts and Culture Departnt, which organizes campus events and festivals. Or the Descent Institute, which evaluates the ntal state of Night Travelers and provides psychological counseling. I’m a mber of that one.”
“Oh right, there’s also the most forgotten and marginalized departnt in all of Starfall University… the Magical Beasts Research Institute.”
“Magical Beasts Research Institute?”
Rast repeated the na.
“Mm, the original intent behind establishing that institute seed to be—since not just humans, but certain special plants and animals can also obtain Sequence Long Orders and Night Blade powers, it’s necessary to research these extraordinary creatures.”
“But as far as I know, the Magical Beasts Research Institute still has very few mbers.”
“If you ask , it’s just a place where freeloaders collect their salary for doing nothing.”
“If more funding and resources could be diverted from the Magical Beasts Research Institute to the Descent Institute, I wouldn’t have to work so hard, running all over the continent conducting psychological assessnts…”
Ishta’s words abruptly stopped, her expression freezing as she stared ahead.
Rast followed her gaze.
He saw, in the carriage where there should have been two empty seats, a furry, snow-white creature curled up, gazing at Ishta with ruby-like beast eyes.
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