Furan originally didn't want to come to this art appreciation class; after all, there was no assessment, which meant none of the points she wanted. However, driven by the images in her memory and a lingering sense of curiosity, she went anyway.
As soon as she entered, she encountered an acquaintance: Bella from the swordsmanship class. Sitting next to her was a blonde girl.
Bella raised her hand and gestured for her to sit with them. Furan didn't refuse and walked over.
Bella first introduced the blonde girl to Furan.
"This is Lai Yi, my friend."
Then she introduced Furan to Lai Yi.
"This is Furan, I met her in swordsmanship class."
After both sides exchanged greetings, Furan sat down beside them.
"Furan, which family's territory are you from?"
Bella felt that for Furan to have a Breathing Technique, it must be a family inheritance practiced for many years, only happening to reach completion just before that swordsmanship class. Otherwise, how could Furan easily apply the Breathing Technique in actual combat? It would be impossible without several years of hard work.
Everyone's physique, physical fitness, and strike resistance are different. Although one can watch how others use a Breathing Technique in combat, that person is not you, after all.
Therefore, being able to use a Breathing Technique in actual combat must have required years of exploration to succeed.
She couldn't possibly be observing how she used it in the future and learning it now; that would be too ridiculous.
"Ah!? I don't have a family."
The original owner was a pure orphan who grew up in an orphanage and was sent here after her Spiritual Power talent was detected.
"Then how did you get your Breathing Technique?"
"I bought it from a street stall."
"??!"
The smile on Bella's face faltered a bit, but she also knew Furan must have some reason for using such lies to brush her off.
Soon, the art appreciation class began. A male teacher dressed in ornate clothing walked up, carrying several paintings.
He first unveiled one of the paintings and began his explanation.
"As we can see, this painting depicts a scene of the natural wilderness. We can see the tension in the leaping motion of this deer..."
Furan's eyes widened, but she didn't feel anything from the painting. The teacher's explanation went in one ear and out the other; she didn't take in a single word.
She turned to look at the two beside her. Bella, like her, felt as if her soul wasn't even in the classroom, while Lai Yi was looking at the painting with great focus.
Bella also noticed Furan looking at them and whispered:
"Oh, so you don't have an affinity for Natural Spells either..."
Furan felt like she had heard something extremely useful. She felt that the original owner knew nothing yet still came to look at paintings, while she herself couldn't feel a damn thing.
She grabbed Bella's arm and, in the spirit of humble inquiry, requested Bella to explain in detail, ignoring Bella's startled expression.
It turned out that this art appreciation class was mainly for appreciating art, but these paintings had been specially treated by the teacher. Some apprentices with an affinity for specific Spells would become immersed in them upon seeing them.
Many apprentices chose this course specifically to determine which Spells they were suited for. This information was not explicitly stated in the curriculum.
After hearing this, Furan was truly fed up with the original owner. Everyone is an apprentice, so how come others have so much information while you know nothing?
Furan also began to recall which paintings the original owner was more interested in. Although the person had changed, she felt the body was still the same. What if there was still some partial affinity?
Then Furan witnessed the original owner's peculiar aesthetic. The first one was just a woman's face with an owl's body; it looked quite creepy, and Furan felt nothing.
The second one was a warrior killing an enemy with a sword, and the hand holding the sword had grown dense, overlapping scales, with vertical pupils for eyes. Furan still felt nothing.
The paintings the original owner was interested in after that were almost all variations of these two—a wolf with a human face, a mage with scales on his face... Furan made up her mind never to come again. It would be better to go home and practice the Wind Blade Spell. She hadn't even refined the energy potions yet, and that was money!
The teacher suddenly unveiled the last painting. The background was pitch black with many dot-like highlights, just like the starry sky at night.
Furan suddenly felt she could understand it. She gazed at the painting, ignoring the teacher's explanation.
This wasn't a real starry sky. With just one look, a feeling came over her. She felt that the distance from each'star' to the others was identical, not just random dots.
All the stars connected to form a wonderful pattern, which held a mysterious meaning in her eyes.
[You have observed the astrology of a certain time captured in a painting. It seems to have an indescribable effect on you. Star Gazing Technique proficiency +20]
When she came to her senses, she saw Bella and Lai Yi looking at her from the side. She turned her head back, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Furan, have you tried Spells from the Astrology lineage?"
Lai Yi spoke first. She was very concerned about Furan's performance; she had been so immersed. She had never seen someone completely unable to hear the teacher's explanation and only coming to after the painting was put away.
"Uh..." Furan hesitated for a moment but decided to tell the truth.
"Yes, I have a Star Gazing Technique."
"What's that? Not every Spell with'star' in its name is an astrology Spell!"
Lai Yi thought Furan was messing around. Why make up such a Spell? If you don't know any, just say so!
"How about this? I invite you to join the Night Sky Reading Club. They can provide some Spells from the Astrology School."
Lai Yi was also a member of this club, but she didn't have much talent in this area. However, she didn't mind helping others.
Furan knew that some clubs were positioned between being controlled by a School and being completely autonomous, serving as a sort of transitional choice. Generally, they wouldn't set the threshold too high.
These clubs rarely had Spells. A transition was just a transition; people calculated things very clearly.
But this Night Sky Reading Club had Spells? Some Spells were exclusive to a School; you couldn't buy them no matter what if you didn't join.
Furan was very interested in Spells, and by extension, she was also interested in this Night Sky Reading Club.
"Is it not controlled by a School?" she still wanted to confirm. After all, she didn't want to join any School right now and wanted to keep her options open.
"No, very few people know about this club. It's invitation-only. There are also people in the club who have joined School-controlled clubs."
"Alright then, I'm in. When do we go?"
"Come here the day after tomorrow morning... and it'll be fine. I'll take you."
"By the way."
"How so?"
"Do you know any club that teaches Enchanting? I've always wanted to join that kind of club."
Furan had asked Teacher Rita, but she said she didn't know. So Furan wanted to ask these two apprentices she could actually talk to.
Although the looks in their eyes were still full of surprise, Furan got a definitive answer.