Labyrinth Corridor.
Ms. Hecate glanced up at Shawn, who had just walked in from outside, with a hint of appreciation and said, "You performed well yesterday."
Shawn slightly bowed his head and respectfully said, "Thank you, teacher, for the compliment."
Ms. Hecate gestured with her hand, indicating, "Please sit."
"The Secret Hand is a very useful spell. You have just mastered it and are already so proficient, which is impressive."
"However, it's not enough."
A dark red book floated mid-air in front of Shawn.
Then a delicately crafted teapot poured a cup of faintly fragrant red tea into a porcelain cup, which was delivered to Shawn.
"Thank you, teacher." Shawn reached out to take the floating teacup, briefly touching the confusion, glancing at it with the corner of his eye.
He only discovered yesterday that if he didn't remove the confusion but glanced at it with peripheral vision, he could still see a bit of supernatural things.
Numerous pitch-black Invisible Hands appeared in Shawn's vision.
The two Invisible Hands that had just given Shawn the book and served tea had just retreated, and behind Ms. Hecate, more than a dozen Invisible Hands were each busy with their tasks. Three Invisible Hands reached ten meters away, turned a corner at the bookshelf, and were searching through materials in a corner that Shawn couldn't see.
An Invisible Hand was busy under the long table, and it was then that Shawn saw a long sheepskin scroll, five or six meters long, spread at the table's edge, covered in obscure and profound mysterious text, while a peculiar black quill pen was writing in the air.
Behind Ms. Hecate, there were a total of sixteen Invisible Hands, and even with a quick glance, Shawn couldn't discern what each was doing.
"The Secret Hand is one of the most commonly used abilities of a wizard."
Ms. Hecate sized up Shawn and softly said, "You have a great talent; your Secret Hand is stronger than others."
"It's very suitable as your Specialized Spell."
Hearing this, Shawn was a bit puzzled and asked, "Teacher, what is a Specialized Spell?"
Ms. Hecate put down the Secret Scroll in her hand and patiently explained, "After the essence of magic was twisted, everything casters could master became much fewer."
"Blindness has obscured our knowledge."
"So the fated legends of the Dark Era thought of another solution, which is to specialize in a spell that we inherently possess."
"To make it stronger."
Understood.
Shawn nodded and said, "Is there a restriction on the Specialized Spell, teacher?"
Ms. Hecate replied, "Yes."
"You can only choose one spell specialization for the corresponding casting tier."
"Theoretically, the limit is twelve Specialized Spells."
Shawn cautiously asked, "Teacher, can Specialized Spells be changed?"
Ms. Hecate shook her head and said, "No. Specializing in a spell requires ritual reinforcement, and it becomes a part of us, an innate supernatural ability."
"You'd better consider carefully."
Shawn glanced at Ms. Hecate's back and cautiously asked, "What is the one-ring Specialized Spell you have, teacher?"
Ms. Hecate smiled and softly said, "The Secret Hand."
No wonder she has sixteen Invisible Hands!
Without hesitation, Shawn nodded and said, "Teacher, I want to learn this."
He would go back and ask the Butcher for a few more guns; he couldn't believe he'd lack firepower.
As a modern person, Shawn naturally preferred firearms. If there were RPGs in this world, he'd carry ten or eight of them; he couldn't believe he wouldn't blast those monsters to bits.
However, according to the original body owner's memory, this world should be at the level of the First Industrial Revolution because of the relatively primitive steam trains and several factories. In Dorne's big cities, there were even subways. If he remembered correctly, in his past life, subways only appeared around 1865.
Ms. Hecate seemed to be in a good mood today, as she smiled more, standing up, "Today, I'll teach you how to master new spells."
"After the essence of the world was twisted, it became challenging for all casters to master new spells."
"Relying solely on relearning to master new spells is unrealistic."
"It's too slow."
"Therefore, we need to steal and rob to reclaim our spells."
Alright then.
Ms. Hecate's words were as profound as ever. Seeing Shawn's somewhat dazed expression, she smiled and said, "Where did the spells you currently master come from?"
Shawn immediately understood and solemnly said, "Primitive Magic Power, the knowledge within it."
Ms. Hecate nodded in approval, "Yes. Knowledge."
"Knowledge in this world is special; it's a resource that can be seized or inherited."
"It's not just us."
"Those Evil Objects also seize each other's knowledge and power through slaughter, but they are different from us; they transform knowledge and power into an instinct of their own."
Understood.
Killing monsters drops spells!
Shawn was already feeling a bit excited.
Wait.
If killing monsters drops spells, what about killing people?
As if guessing his thoughts, Ms. Hecate sternly said, "You have to remember, this is very dangerous."
"Because by inheriting the power and knowledge of Evil Objects, you also inherit their madness and pollution."
"Besides, not all Extraordinary Relics can be used by me."
"If you don't want to go mad, it's best to put away your current thoughts."
Shawn asked softly, "Then, teacher, what kind of power and knowledge can be inherited?"
Ms. Hecate calmly replied, "The same Path of Myth, or a similar Professional Sequence."
"The latter is a bit more dangerous and also harder to digest."
Shawn seemed to understand a bit and said in a deep voice, "Teacher, if I kill an Evil Object with a wizard's power, can I seize its spell ability?"
Ms. Hecate nodded and said, "You can. But you'll need a bit of luck."
"Not all Evil Objects can leave behind Extraordinary Relics; some will return to their original owner."
"Of course."
"If you kill a powerful Evil Object, you will generally gain something."
Understood.
Fighting normal monsters doesn't always yield rewards, but fighting a boss definitely does.
Shawn began to get used to reinterpreting the world with his own understanding, so Ms. Hecate's words weren't so esoteric anymore.
Today's course content was not much.
After teaching some General Knowledge about magic, Ms. Hecate had the Ghost Maid bring several books for Shawn to read on his own.
Time passed by bit by bit.
Shawn's grasp of Reading Magic became more proficient, but he found that his speed of digesting knowledge was slowing down, as if the operating speed of his brain couldn't keep up. Before fully understanding the content he'd memorized, his learning efficiency was drastically decreasing, and the Reading Magic helped only with rote memorization.
Currently, not only the knowledge from the reading magic memory but also the memories of this body's original owner merging with soul resonance required him to go through them bit by bit, as if playing a slideshow in his brain.
Three hours passed quickly.
As Shawn put down the books and prepared to bid farewell to Ms. Hecate, suddenly, footsteps echoed in the labyrinthine corridor.
Someone!
A living person!
Shawn hadn't noticed when his perception became so acute.
A figure cloaked in a black robe walked in, looking tall and thin, holding a magic staff completely made of unknown bones, resembling the spine of some large creature. Behind him was a more petite figure, seemingly a young girl.
"Ms. Hecate." The cloaked man slightly bowed his head.
Hiss.
Shawn caught a glimpse of his face; the skin was wrinkled and shriveled, full of what seemed like age spots or corpse spots. His outstretched hand looked like dried wood, with clear visibility of the finger bones, and many black spots on the skin.
Behind the tall, thin man was a pretty girl, very cute, with lively eyes and a touch of freckles on her nose, looking about sixteen or seventeen years old.
She was curiously observing Shawn from a distance.
Otherworldly souls!
In the moment their eyes met, there suddenly seemed to be a hint of mind sensing.
Ms. Hecate frowned, seemingly a bit displeased, as she gazed at the tall, thin man in front, then her eyes fell on the pretty girl.
Because of Ms. Hecate's gaze, the girl clearly showed a bit of fear and carefully lowered her head.
"What do you take this place for?"
Ms. Hecate's expression grew increasingly dissatisfied, coldly and firmly saying, "A nursery?"
The tall, thin man had a hint of fear, lowered his head, and cautiously said, "Those are the orders from the chief."
Ms. Hecate fell silent for a moment upon hearing this and then said helplessly, "Fine, leave her here."
She waved a hand to indicate that Shawn could leave after class.
Shawn showed a very respectful expression, silently put down his book, turned to leave, and the pretty girl was also secretly turning her head to curiously look at him. The moment their eyes met, she even gave Shawn a very friendly, sweet smile.
She mouthed the words 'Hello' carefully.
The girl gave a very approachable impression, as if she were the girl next door, but Shawn knew what kind of eerie place he had come to, so at the moment they passed by each other, he turned his head slightly and gently moved a finger along the bridge of his nose in confusion.
In an instant!
Shawn saw dozens of bloated black heads clustered together as if they were vengeful spirits, their necks very thin and entangled together, with the ends hidden under the tall, thin man's cloak.
These vengeful heads floated in mid-air, appearing as if a bunch of human head balloons were tied together.
The girl's silhouette was surrounded by a black aura.
Shawn wasn't sure what that was, as if all the surrounding light was being absorbed by her, leaving a strange black halo.
Outside the door.
The Butcher still waited quietly outside the door. Seeing Shawn come out, he turned and said, "Let's go."
Shawn quickly caught up, hesitated for a moment, and said, "A new one came today."
The Butcher did not turn his head and calmly said, "Otherworldly soul. I know."
Shawn thought for a moment and said, "She..."
The Butcher turned around; his massive, burly figure resembled a mountain of flesh as he gazed at Shawn and said in a deep voice, "Don't easily trust other otherworldly souls."
?
Shawn gazed at the Butcher's back, mulling over those words in his heart.
.........