After parting ways with the Old Priest, Xia De followed the map and found the three-story gray building of the Rental Carriage Company office three streets away. The main business here was to pre-book carriage services for important trips, but there were also carriages available for cargo.
Xia De knew that his books were best not seen by ordinary people, so he specifically asked the coachman if he would inspect the goods.
"We are a professional rental carriage company. Even if you're transporting a corpse—no, even if you're transporting a whole carriage full of corpses—as long as you don't leave any traces, it has absolutely nothing to do with us."
The middle-aged accountant, who had taken the money from Xia De, emphasized with drooping eyelids:
"We are very professional."
Carriages for cargo were much cheaper than those for passengers, even if it also had to carry Xia De back. When Xia De personally moved the books, trip after trip, into his home at Saint Delan Square No. 6, he only spent less than 8 shillings in total.
Although Room 2 on the second floor used to seem very large, after moving in so many books, it became clear that the study's space was insufficient. Xia De, while controlling the curious orange cat Mia to keep her from touching his books, thought that when he had time, he definitely needed to develop the remaining space in this house.
He did not go out again that day. The exaggerated heavy fog outside was also not suitable for going out, so he honestly stayed at home, flipping through the books he had bought for 50 pounds, consuming gas and steam whose prices he did not yet know.
Most of the first-year courses for Ring術士 only involved Knowledge, not the transcendent, so most were memory-based examination subjects. As an Outsider who had undergone a complete education system, Xia De was very good at this and felt confident that he could finish most of the first-year courses by the exam season at the end of this year.
As for the courses that required practical application, he maintained great curiosity about power and also believed in his self-learning ability, so he thought he wouldn't need too long to finish those courses.
Since he had the textbooks, Xia De's main focus was naturally on 【Spellcraft】 and 【Miracle】, as these were the direct paths to gaining power. Although he kept the doctor's warning in mind, Xia De still believed he needed the most basic self-preservation abilities.
As a newly enrolled first-year Ring術士, Saint Byron's Comprehensive College did not directly mention too many Miracles and spells in the courses "Ring術士 Basic Course - Miracle" and "Ring術士 Basic Course - Spellcraft." The few types mentioned were clearly quite ordinary based on their effects.
Saint Byron's Comprehensive College provides three spells and four Miracles free of charge to first-year Letter-based Ring術士.
The free 【Spellcraft】 has a standard system; no matter which college a student is from, the first spells they encounter are the same.
Among them, the spells recommended for initial learning and use are 【Ignition】, 【Water Summoning】, and 【Moving Objects】. These are the most primitive forms of mysterious power manifestation since ancient times, and they have more advanced 【Spellcraft】 that can be extended from them.
Furthermore, the learning methods for these three spells do not require many materials, and casting them does not require casting materials. They are the most convenient spells, and Xia De learned and mastered them proficiently in half a night—
"Ha!"
He stared intently at the newspaper in his hand. The newspaper finally emitted a wisp of burning green smoke, startling the orange kitten, who was playing by patting the other side of the paper, into jumping into Xia De's arms.
"Ha!"
He continuously shook the empty water cup in his right hand. As he shook it, the inner wall of the cup actually became damp. Xia De, wiping the sweat from his forehead, placed the cup back on the table, but before he could inspect it, the soft orange cat Mia in his arms curiously pounced on the cup.
"Ha!"
He glared at the water cup as if his eyes would bleed, and the cup on the table automatically moved backward a bit. The orange cat, which had pounced on the cup, changed direction in mid-air, pushed off the table with its small paws, and jumped back into Xia De's arms, seemingly startled again.
This was a somewhat timid cat; its ferocity towards strangers was merely a means of self-protection.
As for the 【Miracle】 provided by Saint Byron's Comprehensive College for first-year students, it is determined by the Ring術士's core Ling Rune.
Xia De's talent was quite good; while 【Time-Space】 and 【Silver Moon】 were rare, they were not obscure. In the Basic Course - Miracle, the college's suggestion leaned more towards Miracles related to 【Silver Moon】, as for newly initiated mystics, the 【Time-Space】 Ling Rune was both dangerous and complex.
Therefore, among the four free Miracles provided by the college, the only Miracle related to 【Time-Space】 was 【Time Perception】, which gives Xia De the ability to know his current time point at any moment.
Although this Miracle sounded not very useful, it was quite troublesome to learn. As a basic Miracle provided by the college, the materials required for learning were naturally also provided by the college. A hundred-year-old pocket watch was easy to find, but the peculiar plant "Four-leaf Clock Flower," although the alchemy college had a nursery for it, had a troublesome harvesting process, so Xia De would only receive it from the doctor next month.
As for the Miracles related to 【Silver Moon】, the college provided three—
【Cindy's Silver Moon Gift】, gaining healing ability under the Moonlight of the Silver Moon, which can heal oneself or others. This is a Miracle that only holders of the 【Silver Moon】 Ling Rune can learn and use, and it is only for use at night.
From the naming convention, it can be seen that this is a Miracle developed by college-affiliated Ring術士, hence using a name as a prefix. If Xia De's 【Silver Moon Light Spell】 was strong enough, he could name it 【Xia De's Silver Moon Light Spell】.
【Moonlight Illusion】, casting some simple illusions using the power of Moonlight on any night. Any holder of a Ling Rune related to the Moon can learn this Miracle, but depending on the Ling Rune and the user, the illusions also have slight differences, and it is also only for use at night.
【Silver Moon Slash】, drawing a silver Moonlight in the air to attack enemies, with very good damage effects against enemies with elements of inspiration and blasphemy. This Miracle can only be learned by holders of 【Silver Moon】, but holders of other Moon, Star, or even Sun concept Ling Runes also have similar Miracles, just with different effects.
This is the only offensive Miracle among the three.
The night sky of this world has three moons: silver, yellow, and red. The three moons have different meanings in mysticism. The red moon is associated with flesh and reproduction, the yellow moon is "Moonlight" and "Guide," while the Silver Moon is synonymous with "Guardian," "Holiness," and "Mystery."
Therefore, Miracles related to the Silver Moon concept are different from those of other moons. If Xia De's Ling Rune was a higher-grade concept like 【Moon】, he would actually be able to learn even more Miracles.
The three Miracles were also specially chosen by the college, leaning towards healing, illusion, and attack respectively, which can be said to be very comprehensive.
The learning materials were also included with the books: a mercury-like liquid called "Silver Moon's Moonlight" in a thumb-sized glass bottle, a silver silk cloth embroidered with the holy emblem of an unknown Old God, and a broken silver dagger with only the blade remaining, the blade part engraved with a crescent moon.
However, having the materials alone was not enough to learn. Xia De also needed to prepare the corresponding environment and master the relevant incantations. None of these could be resolved in a single day, so by the end of that night, he had only learned 【Silver Moon Slash】.
The learning requirement for 【Silver Moon Slash】 only required the Ring術士 to be able to attach the Moonlight of the Silver Moon to the broken silver dagger, which was quite simple for Xia De now.
He repeated this process under the Moonlight at night. Each time Moonlight was attached, the dagger became shorter. On the 13th attachment of the silver Moonlight, the broken blade within the light completely turned into light and disappeared. Xia De looked at his slightly glowing hand and had a clear understanding that he had learned this offensive Miracle.