Chapter 348 - 316: Humans Are Indeed Creatures That Fear Comparison (Part 2)

Chapter 348: Chapter 316: Humans Are Indeed Creatures That Fear Comparison (Part 2)

It looked like they were planning to set up several Orbits. Everyone was quite busy, leaving only Lloyd looking incredibly bored.

And in this godforsaken place, the more bored you were, the more miserable it felt...

Especially those students drifting about, who would occasionally float past his line of sight, reminding Lloyd of how eerily lifelike they were.

The floating books and pages were even more restless, emitting a tempting, sweet fragrance that made Lloyd want to reach out, pluck a page, and read the mysteries within.

He could even feel that these books and pages were more vibrant than the students. Inside them, there seemed to be some sort of restless impulse, suppressed with great effort.

Lloyd had reason to believe that were it not for the effect of the Miracle Magic—Time Freeze, this Forbidden Knowledge would have swarmed the humans before him long ago.

’Looking at it this way, the Miracle that Professor Fernando wants to find must be really important, huh?’

’Could this be humanity’s key defense against Forbidden Knowledge?’

’Are the future and hope really right in front of me? Am I taking part in some momentous, historic event?’

Lloyd could only let his thoughts run wild to distract himself and alleviate his inner misery and discomfort.

’Hmm... In my few days at the academy, I feel like I’ve heard "future" and "hope" mentioned constantly. It seems like everyone at Mizkatoke is incredibly pessimistic about humanity’s future. Is everyone trying to defy fate and change their destiny?’

’Is the situation really that bad?’

’The outside world seems to be doing fine, doesn’t it? A new wave of expansion is in full swing, humanity’s domain is set to expand further, and we’re about to welcome the seventh Saint.’

’And soon after, we should welcome an eighth—the Twisted Saint?’

As Lloyd thought of this, he couldn’t help but recall his persona as a humble, reserved, and low-key young man. He shook his head and changed his train of thought.

’There’s nothing wrong with exploring humanity’s future, of course, but why do I get the feeling that no one has a unified direction? It’s like everyone is fighting their own battle.’

’Professor Lawrence believes ’Space’ is the future. Professor Hazled believes a new future must be ’Twisted’ into existence. And Professor Fernando, whom I met today, thinks the future lies in the ’past’...’

’But that’s to be expected. There’s surely more than one path to the future. It’s a good thing that everyone is exploring their own way.’

’Then again, this Miracle Magic we’re searching for today... it’s really incredible, isn’t it? To think it can achieve such an exaggerated effect?’

’I wonder what that Magic is actually like?’

Just as Lloyd was thinking this, he suddenly saw a student float over, stopping about a meter away.

The student was posed as if climbing a ladder to retrieve a book, but had instead impacted the library floor head-first. His trajectory had shifted bizarrely, sending him hurtling right for Lloyd.

His eyes, which should have been completely frozen, seemed to twitch and stare straight at Lloyd. The corners of his mouth curled into an eerie, sinister grin.

His posture, with one hand raised to retrieve a book, now looked as if he were reaching out to grab Lloyd.

"Yikes!"

Lloyd let out a cry of alarm, his scalp tingling. He hastily took a Half-Step to the side, narrowly brushing past the student.

"Watch out! Stay closer to us!"

Lloyd immediately heard the lecturer from the history department calling out to him.

He no longer dared to act aloof and quickly moved closer to the main group.

No longer in the mood for his mind to wander, he lowered his head to look at the Orbits the others were setting up.

The skill of the two lecturers was, needless to say, exceptional. They looked extraordinarily practiced, and in this short time, had already completed at least thirty percent of their work.

As for the other few students, their work was almost too painful to watch...

The patterns they drew were crooked and the various components were all placed askew. If Lloyd were grading them, they would all fail.

In theory, the history department wouldn’t have just randomly selected team members. These students’ proficiency in Orbital Mechanics shouldn’t be so terrible.

But considering they were working while simultaneously fighting off Spiritual Contamination, it wasn’t so strange, was it?

The ’outlaws’ from the Taboo System performed the worst. Their progress was the slowest, and they frequently had to stop, either clutching their heads and groaning or dry-heaving, which severely hampered their work.

Mizkatoke discouraged discrimination based on one’s System, but even if Lloyd were to put aside his prejudices and judge them objectively, these few were still just plain awful.

One could only say that no matter how liberal Mizkatoke’s academic environment was, these people were still outlaws in the outside world. Their access to resources, connections, and foundational training before enrolling was surely no match for those who came from a proper Sect. They were starting far behind the curve.

Furthermore, under the influence of the Taboo System, their Rationality was generally low, so it was normal for them to perform this poorly.

Therefore, Lloyd’s disdain for them wasn’t entirely due to his persona as a righteous young man who despised evil as a personal enemy.

Ironically, it was the two students from the arts department, the ones many people looked down on, who were performing passably. If nothing else, the patterns they drew were at least decent, and their progress was slightly faster than the other students’.

’Maybe it’s because they’re both into Painting?’

However, this was a task others were responsible for, so Lloyd didn’t offer any commentary. After making a silent evaluation, he proactively asked:

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Hmm... In principle, this isn’t your task..."

The lecturer, Randy, had been about to refuse, but when he looked up at the other students’ abysmal progress and deteriorating mental states, he quickly changed his tune.

"However, the situation is special. Could you finish the rest of this for me? I’ll go help the others."

"This Orbit is... ’Suppression’?"

"Correct, but it’s been modified. Just set it up according to the most conventional ’Suppression’ layout. I’ll make the final adjustments."

"Alright, no problem. Leave it to me."

Lloyd nodded, then, as if performing a magic trick, he pulled out Spiritual Ink and the classic three-piece toolset from his pocket. With practiced hands, he began to prepare the Spiritual Ink.

Lecturer Randy was a little surprised by this, looking as if he wanted to ask, ’How are you so skilled at this?’

But Lloyd had already crouched down and started to complete the remaining sections.

Lecturer Randy then hurried over to help the student who was furthest behind, but he kept twisting his head around to glance at Lloyd’s progress.

That one glance left him even more astonished.

’So fast? So practiced? So steady?’

’Smooth lines, precise composition... His fundamentals are exceptionally solid. Is he just as good as I am?’

’Is he really from the Space System or the Mysticism System?’

Lecturer Randy couldn’t help but give him an extremely high evaluation in his mind, and his thoughts continued to race.

’Even among the third-year students from the Mysticism System, it’s rare to see fundamentals this solid.’

’No wonder he was snatched up by that Professor Lawrence, with his impossibly high standards. It seems I really underestimated him before...’

’And he seems to be from our Veto system as well. Looks like the Sects outside have produced another young genius.’

When Lecturer Randy realized he and Lloyd shared the same origins, he couldn’t help but feel a greater affinity for the young genius.

’If the opportunity arises later, I can secretly give him a few perks. I’ll just consider it pulling up a talented junior from the Sects.’

’Of course, I can definitely give him a higher rating as well.’

Lecturer Randy made a silent decision, then turned back to look at the progress of the student he was helping.

The student who had been responsible for this section was now clutching his head with both hands, weeping bitterly...

’His mental state hadn’t deteriorated to the point of immediate corruption, but I’m afraid he won’t be of much use anymore.’

’Sigh... Humans truly are creatures that are afraid of being compared...’