The Time Miracle, Future Vision, sounded quite formidable, but for him, a one-ring Ring術士, it was too dangerous; the returns didn't justify the risks.
"I want to hear about the other two," Xia De said cautiously.
"The second Miracle is Echoes of the Past. You can randomly hear sounds that have appeared in a certain area within the last 24 hours. The duration and clarity of the extension still depend on your level and understanding of the runes, while the exact time you hear is entirely up to luck."
"Randomly hear?"
"Yes, but the Miracle itself has been improved. When used, there's a high probability of hearing human voices. This means if a human voice only appeared once in a certain area within 24 hours, then there's a high chance you'll hear that specific voice directly."
Professor Garcia explained, then added, "Because looking into the past is easier than looking into the future, even as a one-ring Ring術士, using this Miracle will have very good effects. This is much more useful than divination; the results of divination are never this clear and concise."
Professor Garcia seemed to have some opinions about the Astronomical Academy, which reminded Xia De of their last meeting, when Professor Sanchez brought a prophecy related to "blood." Now it seemed that whether it was rhode cards or staying away from blood, the prophecies were incredibly accurate.
"Is this Miracle harmful to hearing?" Xia De asked.
"You can check the catalog in your hand; it has detailed descriptions. The answer is harmless, as long as it's not activated for extended periods. So, even if you don't get lucky once, you can try multiple times."
Xia De nodded again; this Miracle was quite good. It was useful for both his Detective career and his adventures as a Ring術士, though it was a pity it wasn't an offensive ability and relied too much on luck.
"But why do I need so many offensive abilities? Silver Moon Slash is already completely sufficient, and the Father of Infinite Trees quest reward also includes a Miracle," he thought to himself.
"And finally, Laleg's Leap. The effect is simple: spatial teleportation," Professor Garcia said lightly, but Xia De immediately perked up; this one was truly excellent.
However, the professor shook his head, telling him not to get excited yet: "The material world is relatively safe, but in the seams of space and time, danger lurks almost everywhere. The danger of time and space abilities compared to other Miracles is precisely due to this reason. Laleg's Leap can only be used by holders of the 【Time-Space】 rune or runes with upward-extending concepts, and no matter who uses it, they can only move within a range of 10 feet (about 3.04 meters) and must have a direct line of sight to the target location."
"That's still good," Xia De said with a smile.
"The consumption of using the Miracle is very high, and to avoid attracting strange things, the user must strictly adhere to the rule of using it no more than once per hour. This ability was originally not available to Letter-based Ring術士; this time, with two rewards stacked, I fought for you to have it appear in your catalog."
Although he repeatedly emphasized the danger, Professor Garcia clearly recommended this one, as his attitude towards Future Vision was almost undisguised.
So, Xia De didn't really need to choose; the answer was right in front of him.
But he still pretended to ponder for a moment before making a decision with a look of great determination: "Professor Garcia, I think Echoes of the Past and Raglai's Leap are more suitable for me."
Professor Garcia smiled and nodded: "Just as I thought. Also, the learning materials for your Time Perception Miracle are ready."
He pointed to the doctor's manuscript paper on the desk. After a flash of light, a large pile of glass bottles containing various potions and materials appeared.
The learning materials for Time Perception were a century-old pocket watch and a specimen of a rare plant called "four-leaf clock flower," which only grew in the New World. The appearance of its stamens changed strictly with time.
Xia De learned the Miracle on the spot, pressing the clock flower specimen to his left chest and the pocket watch to his right chest. Closing his eyes, he listened to the ticking of the hands for a moment. The antique pocket watch quickly corroded, and the specimen turned into a pinch of black ash.
From then on, the pocket watch became a decorative item for Xia De, and he no longer had to reach for it by his bedside immediately after waking up.
The learning materials required for Echoes of the Past were two living insects called "stone clock worms." One was entirely black, and the other was entirely white. Xia De needed to insert the two living insects into his ears...
"Are you sure you really want to do this?" Xia De held the small glass jar containing the worms, watching the two of them squirming continuously, their short, dense appendages wiggling. Then he looked at the professor in disbelief; he didn't even want to touch them.
"Quite sure," the professor nodded, signaling Xia De to continue.
Xia De didn't want to recall what happened and what he felt in the next few seconds, but he still learned this Miracle.
This Miracle also did not require casting materials, so it could be used immediately.
As the elements pulled the spirit, flowing through his Destiny Ring, and the 【Time-Space】 rune flickered with spiritual light, a buzzing sensation appeared in Xia De's ears, followed by the clear words of Doctor Schneider. His emotions were very agitated as he spoke: "I will guard you with my life."
"Hmm?" Xia De raised an eyebrow, listening to the past voice.
He didn't stop using the Miracle, so the voice continued to transmit. The next sentence was still spoken in the doctor's voice, but it wasn't in the common tongue. The language sounded like a knife scraping bone, or maggots wriggling on a corpse, or even magma gurgling in the deepest abyss.
Xia De believed that if it weren't for his Divine Radiance state protecting him, he would absolutely not have been able to remain calm in front of Professor Garcia:
"Schneider, the world is destined to be destroyed! Your soul is destined to belong to me!"
A strong headache made Xia De instinctively shut down the Miracle. His breathing quickened, and he even smelled sulfur in his nasal cavity.
Just by listening to that strange and terrifying language across time through a Miracle, he felt so uncomfortable. That language itself was probably a power within the mysterious system.
"From the looks of it, you can't help him yet."
"Yes, not yet."
He responded in his heart. The woman seemed to see his determination and merely chuckled. Her laughter soothed the wounds in his heart from listening to the unknown, terrifying language. Xia De liked her laughter very much.
Professor Garcia didn't know what Xia De had just heard. He was talking about the Miracle, Raglai's Leap. This Miracle was created by a Ring術士 of Serex Higher Medical College at the end of the fifth epoch. It was a rare ability that allowed Ring術士 to perform low-risk spatial teleportation themselves.
Its power lay not in the short distance of movement, but in its "low risk." The name of the Miracle's inventor was directly recorded in the history of the Three Great Arcane Academies.
There were three core materials required to learn Raglai's Leap: "obsidian from a spatial rift zone" and "ground bone powder of a Haas hound" were both available at the academy and sent along. But the last one, three weathervane bluegrass, was temporarily unavailable.