Chapter 123: The Burn Off Technique

"... we can move unto the next part which is how the problem can be solved!"

***

Mr. Davin raised a hand, signaling for the classroom to quiet down.

The anxious whispers gradually faded, leaving only the occasional rustle of notebooks as the students turned their attention back to the front. Beside him, Mr. Kingsley adjusted his spectacles before stepping forward, his gaze sweeping across the rows of students.

"The solution to miasmic contamination during physical reality guiding is not a shield," Mr. Kingsley began, his voice carrying clearly through the room. "In a densely contaminated area, a standard spiritual shield can actually make the situation worse. Rather than eliminating the corrupted energy, it can trap the contaminated air against you and allow it to remain in close contact with your spiritual energy."

Ethan’s brows lifted slightly.

So simply shielding himself from the miasma was not enough.

Mr. Kingsley tapped the holographic board behind him, and a glowing diagram appeared. It showed the outline of a Guide’s hand surrounded by two distinct layers of spiritual energy.

"The method we use in this situation is called Sacrificial Energy Overload," he continued. "More commonly, it is referred to as the Burn-Off technique."

Ethan immediately leaned forward, his pen hovering over his notebook as he focused completely on the explanation.

"When you cannot enter a Sentinel’s Mental Sea and are forced to perform physical reality guiding through direct contact in a contaminated area, you cannot expose your pure core spiritual energy directly to the environment," Mr. Davin explained as he took over, slowly pacing across the front of the classroom. "Instead, before making physical contact with the Sentinel, you deliberately draw out a secondary layer of your spiritual energy or pheromones and push it toward the very surface of your skin."

The diagram on the holographic board changed, showing the Guide’s hand surrounded by a thin outer layer.

"Think of it as a disposable glove," Mr. Davin said.

Several students immediately began writing.

"This outer layer is not meant to protect your spiritual energy from the corruption. It is meant to be sacrificed."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he listened.

Mr. Kingsley tapped the holographic display again.

"This sacrificial layer acts as a decoy. When you begin physical reality guiding, the surrounding miasma will naturally be drawn toward your active spiritual energy. Instead of allowing that corrupted energy to reach your core, you deliberately give it something else to attach itself to."

The illustration showed the surrounding corrupted energy being drawn toward the outer layer surrounding the Guide’s hand.

"The miasma will cling to that outer layer and mingle with it, gradually corrupting it while you continue guiding the Sentinel. That is exactly what we want to happen."

A few students exchanged surprised looks.

Mr. Kingsley continued without pause.

"Your core spiritual energy must remain completely sealed and separate from that outer layer. As long as you maintain proper control, the corruption remains on the sacrificial layer while the spiritual energy inside your core and pathways remains pure."

Ethan quickly wrote down several points.

Sacrificial layer.

Core remains sealed.

Corruption stays on the outside.

It was surprisingly clever.

A hand suddenly shot up from the front row.

"But Professor, what happens after the guiding is finished?" the student asked. "If the outer layer is already contaminated, won’t the corruption eventually seep into our actual spiritual energy?"

Mr. Davin smiled faintly.

"That is where the second part of the technique comes in."

The classroom became even quieter.

"The Burn-Off."

Mr. Davin stopped pacing and faced the students directly.

"The moment you break physical contact with the stabilized Sentinel, you must execute a rapid, localized mental flare."

The holographic diagram changed once again.

A small spark appeared around the outer layer of energy surrounding the Guide’s hand.

"It is a quick burst of your own mental energy, concentrated entirely on the contaminated outer layer. You ignite the sacrificial energy with that spark and burn it away before the corruption has an opportunity to reach your true core."

The image showed the outer layer breaking apart and disappearing while the inner spiritual energy remained untouched.

"You are not burning your actual spiritual pathways," Mr. Kingsley clarified. "You are deliberately destroying the contaminated layer you created for that exact purpose. Physically and spiritually, it is burned off before it can come into contact with your core energy."

Ethan’s expression became more serious.

So the entire technique depended on control.

The Guide had to create an outer layer strong enough to absorb the surrounding corruption, but not so strong that it became difficult to burn away afterward. At the same time, the Guide had to keep the core energy completely separated from the sacrificial layer while continuing to guide the Sentinel.

That sounded much harder than simply knowing the theory.

Mr. Davin continued, "The technique is effective, but it requires precision. You must correctly judge the density of the surrounding miasma before deciding how much energy to sacrifice. Too little, and the contaminated energy can break through the outer layer. Too much, and you risk wasting excessive spiritual energy or causing unnecessary damage when you perform the Burn-Off."

The classroom immediately erupted into low, urgent whispers again.

Students began scribbling notes furiously, some checking what they had written earlier while others leaned toward their classmates to exchange comments.

"Burning off a layer of your own energy? That sounds incredibly painful if you miscalculate the density," someone behind Ethan muttered, sounding both impressed and uneasy.

Another student whispered back, "But it’s better than having your core corrupted. A corrupted core takes months in the medical wing to cleanse."

"I’d rather deal with a little pain on the surface than let the corruption reach my core."

Ethan remained focused on the front.

The more he listened, the more he understood why physical reality guiding was considered dangerous.

It was not simply about touching a Sentinel and pouring spiritual energy into them. The Guide had to constantly monitor the environment, protect their core, maintain the sacrificial layer, complete the guiding, and then burn away the contaminated energy at exactly the right moment.

One mistake could turn the person doing the guiding into another victim.

Mr. Davin looked across the increasingly restless classroom.

"Enough talking."

The whispers slowly died down.

Mr. Davin exchanged a brief glance with Mr. Kingsley before reaching toward the desk beside him.

He picked up a small glass container filled with liquid and held it up so the entire class could see it.

Ethan’s attention immediately shifted to the container.

Mr. Davin looked around the room, his expression calm.

"Since you now understand how the Burn-Off technique works," he said, placing the small glass container carefully on the desk in front of him, "it is time for the practical section."

Mr. Kingsley instantly stepped toward the main podium and tapped a control on the console.

A low mechanical hum immediately filled the lecture hall.

Ethan’s attention shifted toward the center of the room as the floor beneath the exact middle of the lecture hall began to retract. Several students leaned forward in their seats, watching as part of the stage smoothly separated and descended.

Then, from beneath the floor, something began to rise.

A heavy reinforced glass cylinder emerged from the depths of the stage, its thick transparent walls catching the light as it steadily rose until it stood fully above the floor.

Ethan stared at it with interest.

This was not an ordinary classroom demonstration.

"This," Mr. Kingsley said, gesturing toward the chamber, "is our Contamination Isolation Chamber."

The reinforced glass cylinder sealed itself with a quiet mechanical click.

Inside was a small, contained cloud of dark purple gas that swirled slowly within the chamber. At the center of the fog sat a mechanical node that pulsed rhythmically, its movements designed to imitate the chaotic spiritual pulse of a Sentinel who had not been guided.

Mr. Kingsley turned toward the class.

"This chamber is designed to simulate the conditions you may encounter when performing physical reality guiding in an environment contaminated by miasma."

Mr. Davin walked closer to the chamber and gestured toward the dark gas inside.

"This is synthetic miasma," he explained. "It is an artificially recreated form produced in the academy laboratories using the residual material obtained from dead monster ashes."

A few students immediately stared at the gas more carefully and intensely.

"This is a weakened, non-lethal version of monster miasma," Mr. Davin continued. "However, do not mistake weakened for harmless. It is highly reactive."

He pointed toward the swirling purple cloud.

"The moment this synthetic miasma comes into contact with raw spiritual energy, it reacts with it and stains the energy. For the purposes of this practical, the contamination will appear as an ugly, visible neon-black discoloration."

Mr. Kingsley reached toward the podium and picked up a small digital bracelet.

"This is your Core Tracker."

He held it up so everyone could see.

The device looked simple at first, but when Mr. Kingsley buckled it around his wrist, a holographic display immediately projected above it.