“Investigators” or “Time Explorers” are not a special profession of Saint Byron's Comprehensive College. Ring術士 whose core Ling Rune is related to the concept of 【Time】, or who have obtained Ling Runes related to 【Time】, can travel through time using the relic 【time key】, which fluctuates in level from Poet Grade (Level 5) to Angel-level (Level 1), to explore the past before the sixth epoch.
The 【time key】 is a one-time use relic, and different keys open different eras. All time keys are related to the fallen Old God, the Father of Infinite Trees.
This is an extremely powerful Old God, belonging to the good deity faction. Contact with related Knowledge and traces has a probability of obtaining the golden 【Miracle】 Ling Rune. According to legends and records from some ancient steles, the Father of Infinite Trees fell during the fourth epoch of chaos, but he, using his concept of “infinity,” integrated his body into continuous infinite time and space, thereby communicating with the past and the future.
The 【time key】 is a 【relic】 left by this fallen Old God. Because the fallen Old God exists in continuous time and space, the time jumps that can be opened by borrowing his relic are not limited to time points before the fourth epoch, when the Father of Infinite Trees fell.
However, for some unknown reason, to date, no 【time key】 capable of returning to a time point in the past of the sixth epoch has ever been found, which is also an important subject for Ring術士 studying time.
In any case, the doctor asked Xia De to draw those two Ling Runes. While transmitting the message of Xia De's core Ling Rune to the College, he briefly introduced him to this common Knowledge.
Ling Runes belong to a past language and are basically non-repetitive. Unless one has seen a Ling Rune with the same meaning, it cannot be fabricated, thus proving that one is not lying.
But before Xia De could ask questions like “What about time stability?” or “Will time paradoxes occur?”, the College's reply had already arrived:
“If Xia De · Su Lun · Han Mi Er Dun is willing to join the History Academy, the History Academy is willing to list him as a key cultivation target and provide him with a Secret Keeper Level relic for self-defense upon his joining the College.”
“What does that mean?”
Xia De looked at the doctor.
“It means they value your talent, but it doesn't change your status as a Letter-based Ring術士. A key cultivation target means you don't have to complete more mandatory practical credit tasks, and buying books at Saint Byron's will be a bit cheaper. As for a Secret Keeper Level (Level 3) relic... it's exactly what it sounds like.”
The doctor shrugged:
“They are always like this, unsparing with talented people, but they will never break the rules.”
“So I should agree?”
“Unless you have a reason to refuse.”
The Writer replied simply, pushing back a strand of golden hair from her temple:
“There are always some key cultivation targets every year, but I think there's no harm in this.”
Thus, Xia De successfully became a first-year Letter-based Ring術士 of the History Academy, a subordinate of Saint Byron's Comprehensive College.
Becoming a Ring術士 requires contact with the four elements, and advancing as a Ring術士 also requires the four elements.
For each ring, at least one golden 【Miracle】, one silver 【blasphemy】, one brass 【inspiration】, and one black iron 【whisper】 Ling Rune must be engraved on the Destiny Ring to accumulate enough spirit to sublimate the ring count.
There is an upper limit to the accumulation of spirit at a certain ring, so engraving four Ling Runes is no different from engraving four hundred Ling Runes before sublimation. In fact, engraving too many Ling Runes also has disadvantages, because the Ling Runes required for each ring's advancement must be engraved at that ring.
Under normal circumstances, the engraving of Ling Runes is not a simple matter. Correctly balancing the number of Ling Runes with the contradiction between one's Miracle and spell research is also a very important matter.
Ring術士 from one to Four Ring are called Low-Ring Sorcerers, five to eight rings are Middle-Ring, and above Nine Ring are High-Ring Sorcerers.
This division is not due to the numbers, but because during the Four Ring and Eight Ring sublimations, in addition to the four necessary Ling Runes, it is also required that all sixteen Ling Runes of the current stage, one per ring, form a connected meaning with the Ring術士's own core rune. This is called “Sublimation Words.”
In Schneider's doctor's group, only the doctor himself, a PentaCircle, had completed four sublimations.
When he advanced from Four Ring to PentaCircle, he used the black iron whisper - 【Running】 from the first ring, the silver blasphemy - 【Malice】 from the second ring, the brass inspiration - 【Hound】 from the third ring, and the golden Miracle - 【Light】 from the fourth ring, along with his own core rune 【Dream】, to construct the Sublimation Words for advancing from Low-Ring to Middle-Ring—
【Light's Hound runs in a malicious dream.】
The type of rune for Sublimation Words is not restricted; the doctor just happened to meet all four types.
If the conditions for Sublimation Words are not met, then one can never advance from Four Ring to PentaCircle, or from Eight Ring to Nine Ring. And because the four Ling Runes used must come from different Four Rings, there is no opportunity for compensation.
The selection of Sublimation Words can be aided by past examples, which constitute the 【the codex of sublime】 with thousands of records. Ring術士 search for examples based on their core runes and prepare from the beginning of each stage, so every faction regards its own 【the codex of sublime】 as its most important secret.
In the three stages of Low-Ring, Middle-Ring, and High-Ring, the same core Ling Rune can be used to connect the Sublimation Words. Therefore, having more core Ling Runes merely provides more options and does not significantly affect the difficulty of advancement.
And if one does not want to rely on past “Sublimation Words” experience, or if the core Ling Rune is truly rare and there are no examples to reference, then one can only try it oneself, and with luck, the conditions for sublimation will eventually be met.
However, Xia De will only be eligible to view Saint Byron's the codex of sublime in six months to determine the choice of his most important Ling Rune for the first ring. The College is also concerned about the reliability of Letter-based Ring術士 and needs to ensure that the Letter-based students who become extraordinary will not go back on their word. Moreover, Ring術士 advancement is inherently difficult, and six months is not considered a delay.
Although the number of Ling Runes per ring is unlimited, obtaining Ling Runes is quite difficult. College grade promotion, in addition to required credits obtained through study and exams, and practical credits obtained through College tasks, also requires the student's grade to correspond to their ring count.
Therefore, it is quite normal to spend two or three years in one grade. If one cannot find the planned Sublimation Words Ling Rune string for the Four Ring, even if the conditions for the four types of Ling Runes are met, people will still postpone their advancement.
Of course, discussions about textbooks, basic Ring術士 courses, the Secret Keeper Level relic promised by the History Academy, and the History Academy's investigator tasks will all take place three days later, after the College has organized Xia De's textbooks.
At that time, not only will the College's syllabus and training plan be provided, but all four members of the same group will also be present to offer Xia De advice.
So, after confirming his joining the History Academy, Schneider's doctor announced that Xia De could leave.
“Leaving now?”
Xia De, who was still memorizing these common-sense things just a second ago, asked with some surprise.
“Do you have anything else?”
The doctor also asked, surprised.
“I mean, since I've joined the College, isn't there...”
It was Miss Louisa, being a woman, who understood what he meant:
“Mr. Hamilton, the enrollment process is indeed only this. I must reiterate what the doctor said: please remember, we are Letter-based Ring術士, and our connection with the College is not close. We cultivate ourselves, we acquire Knowledge from the College, and the College gives us practical tasks to meet credit requirements. We are merely Letter-based.”
“Alright then.”
Xia De, who had been sitting for almost the entire afternoon, stood up. The doctor and the Writer also stood up to see him off. The latter had something to discuss with the doctor today, so she couldn't leave yet.
When Xia De was almost at the door with the two of them, the doctor suddenly said:
“Also, there are two taboos you need to remember. Saint Lawrence's Comprehensive College stipulates that all Ring術士 of this College are forbidden from setting foot on the New World; this is a College taboo. The universal taboo for Ring術士 is that Ring術士 are forbidden from committing suicide.”
“Setting foot on the New World will be considered by the College as automatically forfeiting student qualifications, and a Ring術士 committing suicide will at least cause a crisis no less severe than the loss of control of a Secret Keeper Level relic.”
The “New World” refers to the geographical discovery fifty years ago, land discovered beyond the current “Old Continent,” somewhat similar to the geographical discoveries of the previous world. However, the New World has no humans, but its resources are extremely rich.
“Why?”
Xia De asked, puzzled.
“We don't understand the College's regulations. As for forbidding suicide...”
Miss Louisa looked at the doctor:
“The doctor thinks it's probably related to ‘the other me.’ If we commit suicide, the other me might do something.”
The doctor shrugged:
“That's how it is for now; we haven't encountered any suicidal Ring術士 either.
Xia De, remember to come over at 10 AM on Wednesday, three days from now. At that time, in addition to College matters, you'll also need to understand the group's regular study sessions and our fixed academic year tasks. Oh, speaking of which, you can research your Ling Runes yourself these next few days. I'll lend you this notebook.”
Only then did he remember to turn to his desk, take out a black-covered notebook from a locked drawer, and hand it to Xia De. It looked quite old:
“Regarding developing Miracles from Ling Runes, you can try it yourself first, but since you've just gained power, it probably won't be very smooth. Your most important task for these three days is to rest. Becoming a Ring術士 is damaging to the soul and body. You can use the three days of bed rest to read the notebook. You'll probably sleep until noon tomorrow... See you in three days. Remember you need to pay back 10 pounds within a month.”
The farewell was a bit too sudden, but Xia De knew he had overstayed his welcome, so he sorted out his chaotic thoughts and said very earnestly:
“See you in three days, Doctor Schneider, Miss Louisa... Thank you.”
“No need to thank me; I was just here to be a witness today.”
The Writer said, looking quite pleased.
“No need to thank me either. I told you, I just wanted to find a fifth Ring術士 for the group.”
The blue-eyed doctor looked at Xia De and replied very softly.