The figure that appeared—slender, handso, with black hair and black eyes, calm and rational—matched the rumors and all the stories circulating among the students.
Ti seed to have left no mark on the exorcist; it was said he looked the sa more than twenty years ago.
Amidst the hiss of the crackling fire, the Elder Gatekeeper peered at the figure over his spectacles, then raised his head and announced Lu Li's departnt.
— The Departnt of Mysticism!
Shouts and applause filled the entire hall. The jubilation that erupted from the longest and most crowded table of the Departnt of Mysticism nearly blew the roof off the assembly hall.
At the professors' table, Professor Haig clapped his hands raw. Professor Sesar applauded with a smile, a fond mory surfacing. The professors from other departnts were also generous with their friendliness and welco. The tall and elegant Professor Kris, who resembled a small giant, raised her glass in a toast of welco.
The Elder Gatekeeper, who would normally have shouted for silence at this point, did nothing, and once the shouts and applause died down, he gestured for Lu Li:
— Please, take your seat at your departnt's table, Mr. Lu Li.
Lu Li gave him a nod and walked into the jubilant crowd.
He took an empty seat, and the students around him, flushed with excitent, had barely opened their mouths to speak when—
Thump—thump—
The Elder Gatekeeper struck his staff against the floor, and a hush fell over the assembly hall.
— Before the dinner begins, the first-year students must morize three rules that cannot be broken.
— First: for any questions, consult your prefects or professors. Acting on your own initiative will be punished by a deduction of academic points.
— Second: do not leave this floor without permission. The lower floors are zones for middle- and upper-year students, as well as the lower departnts.
Unless you have received a friendly invitation.
— Third: the swamps, rotten sewers, and mysterious forests are forbidden zones. Entry without permission is strictly prohibited. — The Elder Gatekeeper's stern gaze swept across the first-years:
— Do not waste your precious lives.
— And now, I ask Vice Dean Professor Kris to begin the evening.
The Elder Gatekeeper stepped aside, and the students' gazes turned to Professor Kris, who was seated at the center of the head table.
— There is one last matter before we begin. Since most of you possess unique talents and abilities... — Vice Dean Kris's narrow eyes scanned the long table and ca to rest on Lu Li:
— ...your choice during the entrance ceremony may not allow you to fully explore your talents. For one month after enrollnt, you are free to choose whether to transfer to another departnt.
— And now—
Her pale red nails tapped lightly against her glass, and as the sound echoed, Professor Kris parted her lips:
— The dinner begins.
A clamor arose as the students' attention returned to Lu Li and the food.
With the exception of a few new students who buried their faces in their plates, the students from the Departnt of Mysticism and other departnts all turned to look at Lu Li.
— Lu... Mr. Lu Li, hello... You can call
Zoren.
The student across the long table was trembling with excitent at seeing such an important figure.
Beside him sat another new student, a girl of thirteen or fourteen who was relatively composed, perhaps due to her gloomy disposition. She extended a hand and said curtly:
— Fudot Lince.
— Lu Li.
Lu Li did not shake Fudot's outstretched left hand.
— Dogat! — A boy with food sared all over his face lifted his head from a bowl of pie and reached out with greasy, dirty hands to grab Fudot's pale palm:
— I don't have a na. Everyone calls
Dogat, because it makes eating less scary.
Fudot snatched her hand back in disgust and began wiping it furiously with a handkerchief.
The boy suddenly snatched a black beetle that was crawling on Fudot's arm and, under her dark glare, tossed it into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. His eyes lit up:
— Delicious! Are there any more?
Other students introducing themselves broke up the conflict, and Lu Li quickly found himself surrounded by questions.
— Is that your real na?
— Don't answer that! Outside, countless anomalies want to know an exorcist's true na, — a student from the neighboring Departnt of Alchemy reminded Lu Li.
— Don't tell anyone.
Most people asked if it was true that Belfast had sunlight, and why he had co to the Academy of Giant Trees in the Wastelands.
The dinner lasted an hour, and for the students of the Departnt of Mysticism, or anyone sitting near Lu Li, it seed far too short.
Those seated farther away felt a sense of regret.
The dinner ended, and the first-years began to disperse one by one, while the new students were led by the prefects to their dorm rooms.
The students didn't enroll in a single batch—new students arrived every two or three months, joining the first-years to ensure a constant influx of fresh blood.
Thanks to Lu Li's presence, everyone was quite well-behaved—or perhaps they just wanted to make a good impression.
— I heard from my brother that they really don't like the gatekeepers, — a curious, short-haired girl asked on the way to the dorms.
— Don't get too close to the gatekeepers; they're very dangerous, — the prefect answered.
— Why?
— The gatekeepers have complicated backgrounds. So are graduates, so are hunters.
It's said that the gatekeepers for the other years have major conflicts with the students, and the lower departnts even—
The prefect, realizing he was revealing too much, fell silent.
— What are the lower departnts? — asked Dogat.
He had been brought from the slums and knew nothing.
— It's where another group of students is housed. Humans are assigned to the upper departnts, and Inhumans to the lower ones.
— Inhumans can enroll in the academy too? — one of the young n asked in surprise.
— Why not? As long as they're intelligent and peaceful.
If Prusius and Ophelia were here, they would be assigned to a lower departnt.
The students had no more questions for the mont, so the prefect continued explaining the other rules:
— To advance to the next year, you need to accumulate academic points. You can earn them from exams, trials, performance, and achievents until you et the requirents within the year.
— What happens if you don't have enough academic points? — a student asked.
— You leave the academy.
The warm atmosphere of the dinner quickly evaporated for many of the students.
They rembered the glory of the Academy of Giant Trees, but also its dangers and its death toll...
Next, the prefect introduced the first-years to the core subjects: Mysticism, Alchemy, Botany, History, Divination, and a new subject—Languages.
And also the elective subjects besides the core ones: Wilderness Survival, Anomaly Studies, In-Between Studies, and Combat Skills.
These were offered as general courses for students to choose independently and to supplent the core subjects.
Strictly speaking, one could choose multiple core subjects, but class tis usually clashed—and you would also have to deal with difficult howork and trials, the consequences of failing which were severe.
Upon reaching the edge of the dormitory area, the prefect assigned the students to their rooms, which had crooked wooden doors and looked like treehouses.
The Departnt of Mysticism only had single rooms; the departnts of Alchemy and Divination offered a choice between shared or single rooms, while the other departnts only had shared rooms.
Lu Li, as expected, received the best dorm room—an exquisitely furnished treehouse that even had a window.
Opening the wooden window revealed a view of the alchemy tower, twinkling like stars piercing the primordial darkness. At the brightest ti of day, one could make out the dark silhouette of Midnicht.
— Please get a good rest. Tomorrow morning, head to the classroom on Chatter Street to begin your Mysticism lesson.
The prefect left them with this instruction and led the other students away.
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