In the library's washroom, Edrick knelt devoutly on the floor, kneeling and bowing toward a huge floor-to-ceiling mirror.
[Faith Essence Points gained: 20]
"It really works!" Edrick cheered with surprise, clenching his fists.
The Flower Maiden was dissatisfied: "Are you bugging the game?"
Edrick shrugged, "This is reasonable. If I don't believe in myself, then what kind of deity am I?"
It was no wonder that Edrick was so eager to obtain Faith Essence Points. Although Griff had started to earn some Faith Essence Points, the amount was still too small. Since he had just started preaching, the believers were still half-believing and half-doubting, so his income was very unstable.
Time was running out. Not to mention the war that could break out at any moment, he only had half a year to live. Now he had to find a way to obtain more Faith Essence Points.
Ten thousand Faith Essence Points could buy one year of life, and 20,000 Faith Essence Points could unlock the next level.
"What are the benefits of the next level?" Edrick asked, "Is it the same level as a Pathseeker?"
"Hmph, how can mortals be compared to deities? Although you are only an apprentice, once you become an official Village Deity, you will gain more talents and skills, and your current skills and attributes will also be greatly improved."
"20,000 can make me an official Village Deity?"
"No, 20,000 can make you a Village Deity in training."
Edrick didn't want to ask about the difference between a provisional Village Deity and an apprentice Village Deity, nor did he want to ask how much Faith Essence Points it would cost to become a full-fledged Village Deity. Just as Edrick was about to get up, a voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Classmate, are you being bullied?" A kind-hearted, short, brown-haired boy with glasses and a book under his arm couldn't help but ask as he passed by.
"I'm fine, thank you."" Fortunately, Edrick had a thick skin, so he waved his hand indifferently. The brown-haired boy didn't seem to be very talkative. He nodded to Edrick and left the washroom.
He was not tall, and his clothes were expensive but old, but they were very clean. He was carrying several heavy books and had a sword tucked into his waist, which was not common in Stellaxis.
Edrick was a little worried. He noticed that the boy had many small wounds on his body, and he didn't walk properly, as if he had hidden injuries. This boy was a collection of all the characteristics of a bully. Although this was a university, in Stellaxis, where the aristocratic class was entrenched, bullying might be even more serious than on Earth.
Perhaps it was the sword that made ordinary people afraid to mess with him?
Edrick followed the boy out of the restroom. To his surprise, the brown-haired boy was also heading to the large classroom where the general education class was being held.
"My name is Edrick Croft." Edrick felt that this kind brown-haired boy would be bullied, and he, an apprentice deity with extraordinary powers, was well-suited to fight for justice.
"Alaric FitzLobkowicz," replied the brown-haired boy.
Edrick was a little surprised by the surname. Over the past two days, he had crammed a lot of basic knowledge about this world, and the surname Lobkowicz appeared in "A Thousand-Year History of the Zodiac Dynasty." Before joining the Luminous Covenant, they were the guardians of the North, one of the three great ducal families of the kingdom, with vast territories and glorious titles.Moreover, the prefix "Fitz" was typically only used by noble collateral branches or illegitimate descendants.
Although a true noble would disdain such a surname, for commoners, this prefix signified a higher status and was a symbol of honor.
It seems this kid doesn't need my protection after all. No, maybe I could even have him protect me? But who knows? There are plenty of true nobles at school, and a duke's illegitimate son might just be their target.
While Edrick was lost in his thoughts, the two of them walked into the general education classroom.
This was a general education class called "Fantacy Path," which covered relatively basic content.
Edrick had previously thought that most of his classmates had already received several years of primary and secondary education and might not need such a basic general education class, but after actually attending the class, he realized that he had been a little too presumptuous.
These students did have a good foundation, but that foundation included general language grammar and writing, basic elvish, basic history, basic chemistry, basic physics, and other miscellaneous subjects. Before entering university, they knew very little about Ethercraft because there were no teachers capable of teaching it in either high school or junior high school. Only highly skilled individuals with at least the title of lecturer were qualified to teach it.
There were many Pathseekers in this world, but they were not so common that any high school could train them.
The children of aristocrats and wealthy merchants usually had private tutors or family guests to teach them in advance, and most commoner families could not afford such luxuries.
"Today, we will talk about the path of blood. Among the many fantacy paths, the path of blood involves a lot of other complex knowledge, so this path is also the focus of our course."The young Professor Lysandra Vesper began her lecture. At just 30 years old, this beautiful professor had already earned the title of professor and was very popular at the academy. It was hard to say whether the students were there to learn what she taught or simply to see her.
Rumors inevitably circulated, but Lysandra Vesper didn't seem to care, or at least she didn't show it: "The development of every path is usually the result of the efforts and research of a group of people, but the Blood Path is an exception. The users of this path are the vampires we are all familiar with."
Edrick's eyes widened: There are vampires in this world!? He had never heard of real vampires before, not even in general knowledge books. Instead, they were more commonly found in street literature or the boastful tales of laborers.
They were elegant, mysterious, and powerful—at least that's how the stories described them.
When the teacher mentioned vampires, the students became excited. They were obviously very curious about this rare race. "Teacher, are there really vampires?"
"Are they as powerful as in the legends?"
"Are they afraid of sunlight?"
"Don't be silly. Vampires don't die from sunlight. Their skin glows like diamonds in the sun!"
"Can the Triangular Holy Light kill them?"
"They say they're afraid of silver and garlic?"
"Is it true that once you're bitten by them, you become a vampire?"
Due to the academy's special regulations, only first-year freshmen could choose general education courses. Otherwise, freshmen wouldn't be able to get into Professor Lysandra Vesper's class.These students, who had only recently come into contact with the Pathseekers, were full of curiosity about vampires, and the classroom atmosphere became lively. Lysandra Vesper was very happy to see this and patiently answered the students' questions: "Vampires are a real race, but they are not as powerful as the legends say. On the contrary, they are a rare race on the verge of extinction and are listed as an endangered species in the Free World's Endangered Species Protection List."
This was an answer that neither Edrick nor any of the students present had anticipated.
"The magical abilities attributed to vampires in legends are only partially true. While they are physically stronger and faster than other races, even the strongest beastmen cannot match them.Vampires fear sunlight, which is a deadly threat to most of them. Only a few powerful vampires can withstand the sun's rays, but even they are weakened by sunlight," explained Lysandra Vesper. "As the founders of the Aethercraft of Blood, vampires realized the special application of blood in Aethercraft. They can strengthen themselves by drinking blood because of their unique physiology."
"Unfortunately, it was this special structure that led to the tragedy of vampires. Humans who were also trying to study blood discovered that they could uncover the secrets hidden in blood by dissecting vampires. These pioneers discovered that vampires had a special organ that could convert blood into energy, which was the original blood Ethercraft of humans." As Lysandra Vesper spoke, Edrick suddenly felt uneasy. He knew why vampires were so rare.
"Unfortunately, in the early days, the blood Ethercraft could only be cast through this organ of vampires, and the price of this organ skyrocketed. This irrational price increase directly led to the vampire bubble a hundred years ago. Ah, students who are interested in the details can sign up for my economics course. In short, that economic bubble not only ruined the future of many merchants, but also led to the near extinction of the vampire race."
"So powerful vampires couldn't resist?" a student asked.
"The number of vampires and their social structure prevent them from forming a force capable of opposing other races on the continent,"Lysandra Vesper shook her head and sighed. "Vampires have difficulty reproducing. They need to expand their population through the 'first embrace' ritual, but this ritual is complex and extremely resource-intensive, making it accessible only to noble vampires who have both the qualifications and the means to perform it. Moreover, the frequency of such rituals is very low, and lower-tier vampires don't even have the right to mate. Without the motivation to create value, they have no incentive to survive or reproduce."
"The social structure of vampires is a primitive clan-based system, centered around a founding ancestor and connected by family ties. Different clans have no contact with one another, and noble vampires exert absolute control over common vampires. However, noble vampires also lack the motivation to expand their territories or innovate.They cling to tradition and resist change, hoping everything remains as it is. This rigid hierarchical structure is more primitive than the tribal societies of orcs three thousand years ago."
Edrick couldn't help but cover his face. His idealized view of vampires was completely shattered. And judging from the professor's analysis, the vampire race was utterly useless. But thinking about it, if such a race truly existed—with no weaknesses, innate superhuman strength, and the ability to expand their numbers with a single bite—then no other species would have survived in this world.
"Vampires were originally able to survive on the blood of most mammals, but those vampires who were not ambitious insisted on consuming the blood of intelligent beings because that was what their ancestors did. It was in keeping with tradition and considered elegant. So... well, at that time, vampires were hunted by all tribes."
Lysandra Vesper said as she wrote "Pureblood Order" on the blackboard."In the end, it was the famous Pureblood Order that put an end to vampire hunting and burst the vampire bubble. A hundred years ago, through the tireless efforts of many wise men, the Pureblood Order finally discovered a method of using blood and Ethercraft without relying on vampire organs, creating a path of fantacy. At that point, the nightmare of vampires was finally over."
Edrick never imagined that the Pureblood Order would be so powerful that they actually created a path of fantacy.
"I believe you all know a little about the principles of Ethercraft from your studies at school. Ether is a magical substance that exists everywhere, but when it exists as ether itself, it has no connection or influence on the real world. The mainstream explanation in academia is that ether exists in the ether layer, while we exist in the material layer, and the two layers do not interfere with each other," Lysandra Vesper began her lecture, and the students listened intently.
"Unless, through certain special methods, there are currently only two known ways to allow the material layer and the Aether layer to interfere with each other. The most primitive is the natural senses, through the innate talents of intelligent beings, using their own spiritual power or a specific organ such as the ears of elves, the patterns of Aridians, the crotches of vampires... to perceive and manipulate the Aether."
The students couldn't help but look up at Lysandra Vesper in astonishment. She smiled somewhat embarrassed: "Ah, didn't I mention that vampires have a special organ located in their groin? Because they don't need to mate to reproduce, what should be their reproductive organs are actually their Aether sensing organs."
The students couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild, and one by one, they wanted to catch a vampire to see what that area looked like.
"But back to the point. These races, which are born with Aether-sensing organs, have a greater advantage in Ethercraft, so in the early days of this era, they were the rulers of the continent. The rise of humans did not occur until the emergence of Ethercraft, which is the second method of using Aether—casting spells through runes and incantations." Lysandra Vesper said, drawing a complex symbol on the blackboard at an astonishing speed. "Runes and spells, through special combinations, can resonate with the omnipresent Aether and interfere with reality."
Through... runes and spells? Edrick couldn't help but look at the Flower Maiden in front of the TV: "The Mind Cleansing Spell and Cat Control Spell, why didn't they use runes and spells?"
He clearly remembered the feeling of casting the Cat Control Spell and the Mind Cleansing Spell. The Cat Control Spell was like a natural ability that he could use whenever he wanted, while the Mind Cleansing Spell was even more magical. It worked in a mysterious way at all times, shielding Edrick from almost all mental interference, just like breathing.
"Hmph, Ethercraft is just humans stealing Divine Authority, a clownish imitation. What you use may be called spells, but they are actually abilities exclusive to deities. You can call them divine arts."
"This is the five-layer system of Karaba. The mainstream academic community currently explains the world as five layers, which are the material layer we live in, the ether layer, the star spirit layer, the spirit layer, and the spiritual layer. Ethercraft is a skill that allows the material layer and the adjacent ether layer to influence each other."
"Teacher, what about the astral layer, the spiritual layer, and the spiritual layer?" a student asked.
"The highest spiritual layer is actually just a theory that exists in theory. The spiritual layer, as its name suggests, is a spiritual existence, a realm of abstract thinking and ideas. It is said that certain saints who have surpassed level 5 can interfere with the spiritual layer. As for the astral layer..."When she mentioned the starlight layer, Lysandra Vesper paused, "It is said to be a projection of our world, where there is another world completely different from ours. There are also some phenomena of crossing between the two worlds. Oh, I'm not talking about alarmist stories, but extraordinary phenomena that actually existed in history. Those souls that cross over will replace the original souls of our world. They are called Alienspawn of White Mist."