Chapter 49 Black Luo

Morning.

The continuous rain of several days finally stopped.

The dark clouds in the sky also dispersed.

In the air, the faintly pungent smell of magic-source coal finally dissipated after days of relentless rain.

The air was exceptionally fresh.

The rain was gone.

Replaced by cold, extreme cold.

Pedestrians on the street, hurrying along, were all bundled up in thick clothing.

The mist exhaled from mouths and noses was clearly visible.

Wearing a black single-breasted robe and a brown men's cashmere hat, Gunie hurried along Old Stone Street toward the academy.

Though it was called 'walking,' Gunie's speed was already equivalent to a normal person's brisk jog.

Thanks to the strength of his blood and body, Gunie's current speed was already quite astonishing.

"Hoo... breathe..."

As he walked, Gunie gently sensed his own changes.

Yesterday, after obtaining the Soul Seal Codex, by this morning, he had essentially been idling for half a day.

And in that half day,

Gunie clearly felt that his growth was remarkably exaggerated.

His neural sensitivity, dynamic vision, static vision, touch, smell, hearing, and three-dimensional super-perception of his surroundings had all increased by at least 30%.

From the collision of carriage wheels against the bluestone slabs on the road not far behind him, Gunie could tell how far away the carriage was.

By breathing the air through his nose, Gunie could sense that the outside temperature was around 6 degrees Celsius.

Through super-perception measuring his own speed, his current brisk walking pace was about 5 meters per second.

"Just one night of idling, and such a big change?" Gunie pinched his cold nose.

Then, he accelerated the blood flow near the nasal bone, quickly warming his nose.

"I have to say, the idling effect of the Soul Seal Codex is truly astonishing."

"It is itself a codex, and with the whisper buff, under the idling system, growing so fast is only natural."

"I feel that my fifth secret crossing rune is almost ready to condense, and even the sixth and seventh are not far off."

"In a few days, I can become a true blood curse master."

Walking, Gunie mused to himself.

...

Olof Tower, seventh floor.

At this moment, the seventh floor had only Gunie.

Sitting at the desk, Gunie.

The rustling of the pen tip on the test paper sounded intermittently.

Sometimes frowning, sometimes pausing to think, sometimes writing quickly...

At this moment, Gunie was working on the test paper given by his mentor Olof.

This matter was crucial to his advancement in rune analysis, and Gunie could not afford to be careless.

The test paper covered a very broad range of knowledge.

And many questions were quite tricky. Fortunately, Gunie's idling of spells allowed him to understand many details intuitively, reaching the essence, which, combined with his own learning, enabled him to answer and solve problems relatively smoothly.

After finishing all the questions and checking them once,

"Ding ling ling..."

The bell signaling the end of the exam rang abruptly.

"Two hours have passed already?"

Hearing the bell, Gunie abandoned the idea of a second check.

At that moment, Mentor Olof quietly emerged from a side door.

"Mentor." Gunie stepped forward and submitted the test paper.

Taking Gunie's paper, Olof condensed a peculiar rune in one hand and lightly tapped the paper.

"Hum!"

A slight ripple of runic energy spread out.

A faint blue light quickly swept across the entire paper.

Without needing to read the paper, using spell contact to quickly know all the content, and processing the knowledge in the 'Memory Hall' for grading—this was one of the abilities of a 'Scholar.'

After the runic ripple bloomed for a few seconds, a quill pen flew over directly.

Then, at the top of the paper, it quickly sketched two numbers.

96.

"Ninety-six points, very good." Seeing this score, Mentor Olof nodded slightly.

This Gunie, hardworking and talented, he was quite satisfied with him.

"Hoo..."

At this moment, Gunie also breathed a sigh of relief.

This score had exceeded expectations.

Olof turned his hand over.

A thick black hardcover book appeared in Olof's hand—as thick as a fist, twice the length and width of an ordinary book, with a total page area four times that of a standard book.

This thick book, as soon as it appeared, left a deep impression on Gunie.

In the center of the black hardcover was a concrete pattern of a 24-sided rune.

"This is the first volume of Rune Analysis."

Saying this, Olof handed the book to Gunie.

As soon as Gunie took it, he felt the book was exceptionally heavy, probably forty or fifty jin.

"Take it back and read it first. After finishing the first chapter, come to me, and I will explain the entire first chapter to you in detail."

"Then go back and ponder and comprehend it on your own. If you don't understand, come to me again."

"Research-based self-study? That will raise many questions." Gunie thought to himself.

As if aware of the drawbacks of this learning method, Olof spoke softly.

"You must know, rune analysis is far, far more difficult than spell studies."

"This research-based self-study is also a test of your own talent and insight in rune analysis."

"And you must understand, in rune analysis, all I can lead you through is the introduction."

"After the introduction, your future achievements depend on yourself."

"This research-based self-study allows you to have the leeway and foundation to slowly explore the world of runic mysteries on your own after the introduction."

"Rather than me lecturing and you learning now, when you later begin to spontaneously engage with the world of runic mysteries, you'll be completely in the dark, not even knowing how to explore."

"Mm, I understand." Gunie nodded slightly.

The mentor's role in rune analysis was only to lead the introduction, not to teach.

...

In the afternoon.

With the ringing of the school bell.

In the classroom, Gunie stood up and packed his things.

Then he quickly glanced around.

"After a whole day of idling, my perception has increased quite a bit."

"Hmm... the idling of the Blood Pool Codex is also very effective; my physical and blood strength improve noticeably every day."

Casually, Gunie caught a familiar figure in the corridor crowd out of the corner of his eye.

"Black Luo."

Chasing out, Gunie quickly called out in the corridor.

The short-haired, slightly thin Black Luo, holding books, turned back in surprise.

"Gunie?"

Seeing it was Gunie, a faint smile appeared on Black Luo's slightly pale and tired face.

"You... look not in good shape, didn't rest well?"

Walking on the forest path after school, Gunie spoke softly.

"Mm, because of that matter, I've been at home... not going out lately."

"You, how have you been?" Black Luo seemed a bit down.

"Mm, my father is very resourceful; those Blood Ear Elves don't dare to come after me."

Gunie could tell that Black Luo seemed off.

"Probably something wrong with her family."

"I'm leaving school in a few days." Black Luo suddenly spoke.

"Ah!" Gunie blurted out. "Not finishing this semester?"

"No." Black Luo shook her head.

"The family has spent a lot of money to support my schooling."

"Now, the family is sending me to a border outpost, and I've agreed. Only there can I obtain a supernatural profession and become a supernatural professional."

"A powerful supernatural professional is what our family needs."

Hearing Black Luo's words, Gunie felt slightly relieved.

Nobles had the easiest access to supernatural power and were the most likely to become supernaturals.

However, noble families also consumed a lot of family resources to cultivate supernaturals.

When these noble offspring graduated, they were expected to become supernaturals and contribute to the family.

This path was somewhat arduous.

But it was one of the best paths for those noble children.

Walking, Black Luo suddenly stopped.

Then, she turned sideways, her bright, clear eyes looking at Gunie.

Gunie was also stunned by this scene.

Then, Black Luo stepped forward and directly hugged Gunie.

This sudden move left Gunie frozen in place.

"Don't move." Black Luo spoke softly, her voice so low only Gunie could hear.

Gunie: "..."

"They will still assassinate you."

"They... will still assassinate?" Gunie's heart sank slightly.

Although Veya had helped him deal with those Blood Ear Elves last time, and Gunie had not felt their spying since,

through some of Old Cohen's information channels, Gunie knew that those Blood Ear Elves were still in Sugg Ruins City, and in considerable numbers.

They were plotting to assassinate him.

And he, in turn, was secretly investigating them, wasn't he?

But... how did Black Luo know so clearly that they would still assassinate him?

After a moment's hesitation.

"Mm!" Gunie responded softly with a nasal sound.

Black Luo released Gunie, glanced at him, and instantly her cheeks flushed red.

Then, she quickly turned and left, swiftly escaping Gunie's sight.

Feeling the lingering warmth of her body, Gunie fell into thought.