Chapter 85: The True Ancient School

Stepping out from the teleportation array, he noticed that perhaps due to the strengthening of his elemental body, the dizziness from teleportation had grown significantly weaker.

Suddenly, he paused in surprise, for he saw someone here whom he had not expected.

“Lando, you’re back.”

A simple, unadorned greeting, yet it warmed Lando’s heart.

“Alice, you… Yes, I’m back!”

They exchanged a smile; though it was not quite a reunion sweeter than a honeymoon, the awkwardness and distance of a long separation vanished in an instant, leaving only the easy understanding that comes from deep friendship.

“How did you know I’d be back at this time?” Lando asked.

“Hehe, I overheard Mentor Otto mention it by chance. He said he happened to be busy and couldn’t come to greet you, so I volunteered for the job.”

By chance? Seeing Alice’s expression, as if waiting for praise, Lando silently gave his mentor a thumbs up in his heart. Mentor Otto, I’ll admire you for the rest of my life!

Laughing and chatting, the two made their way to the laboratory, where they found Otto, who had just 'happened' to finish his work.

Otto said to them, “You’ll depart in three days. An imperial ship will come to collect you. Until then, you may arrange your time as you wish.”

“Yes, Sir!”

Watching Lando and Alice leave together, Otto couldn’t help but feel that youth truly is a wonderful thing.

...

In the days that followed, Lando and Alice set aside their studies and research, choosing instead to explore the academy’s star, browsing the shopping centers and sampling local delicacies.

Some icefish from the World of Four Kings had also been delivered by Toru, preserved in specially crafted ice cages—one fish per cage, lending them an air of luxury.

After experimenting with several, Old Moore ultimately chose to prepare fish soup—not relying solely on the ingredients themselves, but employing special techniques and adding other auxiliary ingredients, enhancing the icefish’s flavor severalfold. Both Lando and Alice praised the dish endlessly.

Three days passed in a flash. Otto led Lando and Alice aboard the imperial ship sent to collect them—a small vessel, no larger than a city bus, with a flattened teardrop shape and a dark exterior that seemed to absorb even light itself.

Unsurprisingly, the interior was much more spacious than the exterior suggested. The rest cabin was roomy, and only Otto had access to the command center—but the mentor showed no interest, since there was no one inside; the ship was piloted by an intelligent core.

After two days of travel, their small ship docked within a massive mothership. Upon disembarking, Lando saw hundreds of similar ships packed densely together, and many identical cabins.

Guided by the mothership’s intelligent core, the trio arrived at a large hall, where about two hundred people had already gathered, most of them young men and women about Lando and Alice’s age, though there were also several who clearly looked to be teachers.

These teachers all seemed to recognize Otto, greeting him warmly; Otto returned their greetings with a smile.

“Mentor, I didn’t know you were so famous!” Alice whispered to Otto.

“My recent exposure has been a little high, that’s all,” Otto replied with calm modesty.

He then began to introduce the assembled groups to Lando and Alice.

“See those with cats and dogs at their sides? They’re from the new school—Biological Eden. Their focus is on the evolution and mutation of life forms. By deepening and improving ‘transmutation magic,’ they’ve developed all sorts of pets: battle types, highly intelligent ones, fast runners, beautiful varieties, and more.”

“Over there, those all wearing virtual world glasses—they’re from the new school called Virtual Genesis. Before reaching the legendary level, their arcanists aren’t much different from ordinary ones, but once they do—ah, I once crossed paths with a legendary-level arcanist from their school. The way he could alter the constants of space-time within a small area nearly scared me to death! Only after I looked into it did I realize I’d been overthinking, but their methods are not to be underestimated.”

“And those over there…”

It seemed they had arrived early. They waited so long that Mentor Otto introduced the various schools present, yet there was still no further action.

“Mentor, why are there so many from the new schools? It looks like only a handful from the ancient schools?” Alice asked.

Lando was curious as well. Of the two hundred or so present, only about twenty seemed to be from the ancient schools—a strikingly disproportionate number.

Otto didn’t answer directly, but instead asked, “What’s your impression of the ancient schools?”

“Old-fashioned, inefficient, destined to be replaced by us from the new schools!” Alice answered quickly.

Lando nodded. He had witnessed the efficiency and power of the new schools firsthand; if the ancient schools were as described in the books, then Alice’s assessment wasn’t wrong.

Otto gave a faint smile. “The ancient schools were established at the founding of the Empire, growing alongside it. They survived the War of the Godborn, the Age of Darkness, the Second Empire-wide War… It’s fair to say that with each expansion and transformation of the Empire, the ancient schools reaped unimaginable benefits. Why, then, do you think they’re in decline, nothing but toothless old tigers?”

“The vast majority of today’s grand arcanists come from the ancient schools. The new schools only make up a minority. Do you still think the ancient schools are old-fashioned and inefficient?”

The two were left speechless.

“But… but, the books say…”

“And what do the books say?” Otto asked with a smile.

Only now did Lando realize he’d been misled by the textbooks at the Silver Tower. So many books praised the new schools, extolling their virtues, and listed flaws and shortcomings of the ancient schools. Yet not a single book gave a direct comparison of their respective strengths or detailed their differences.

All the facts he’d learned were true, but pieced together, they led to a false conclusion.

“For qualifications like those of primitive worlds, the ancient schools won’t bother sending their genius disciples. The ones you see here are second-rate at best, maybe worse.”

Suddenly, Lando recalled the two ancient school sisters he’d met during the exploration of the Awakened World. The exploration was supposed to be a reward for outstanding arcanists, but the two of them had seemed quite unremarkable to him—one reason for his low opinion of the ancient schools. Now he understood: to the truly elite, these resources were beneath notice, and the participants were merely average or below.

“We’ll see how things go. If there’s a chance, I’ll let you witness the fierce competition within the ancient schools, where you can see the true strength of their top young geniuses with your own eyes.”

At Otto’s words, Alice remained calm, appearing uninterested.

But Lando’s heart began to race, as if something inside him had been set alight, and a smile crept unbidden to his lips.

Otto saw this and nodded to himself in satisfaction.

“The most brilliant geniuses… I would very much like to see them for myself!”