"As for you? Well, I'm sorry to say, but you have virtually no foundation to stand on," Ulbram said.
"That's to be expected," Evans smiled wryly. He had a degree in Art History and barely passed his required math classes. Ulbram was kind enough to say only that he had no foundation, rather than saying he was hopeless.
"For you, I recommend starting from the basics, beginning with a crash course in Basic Euclidean Geometry."
"I understand," Evans said, his face slightly red. However, he quickly composed himself, his expression returning to a calm, natural look. There was nothing to be embarrassed about: some people were not good at some things. Anyway, he had his own talent, and that was enough.
"You know, there is a bolder path you could try."
"Oh?"
"Your lack of knowledge may not be a bad thing," Ulbram continued. "Instead of learning all of this math and then switching to another system, you could try to learn the Gremorian System directly."
"What? Can he do that?" Tom Nguyen uttered. "I mean, is this wise?"
"That's why I say it's a bold attempt," Ulbram explained.
"Why do you make such a suggestion?" Evans asked.
"Unlike these two, who already have too many concepts fundamentally etched into their psyche, your mind is freer, for lack of a better term. When they make the switch, they will have to unlearn many things and even alter the way they think. But you? If you directly learn the Gremorian System, the initial stages of adaptation will be harsh, but if you can get through them, you will skip the painful deprogramming process."
Evans stood quietly with his brow slightly furrowed.
"You're not really entertaining this idea, are you?" Tom Nguyen asked. "Think of the risk involved."
Evans did not answer him. Instead, he glanced at Zane and asked, "What do you think?"
Zane's body jerked backward a few millimeters, not expecting the question. However, he did not immediately offer his opinion. Instead, he asked Ulbram: "How does this virtual learning function exactly? Do we attend mandatory classes? Do we have grades? What are the details?"
"The Virtual Learning Lab is designed to supplement your classes. You will enter a virtual world taught by an Arcane Spirit — hmm, you can think of it as Artificial Intelligence. There are many classes, but they are not mandatory. You can attend whenever you wish, or, if you prefer, you can watch a video of the lecture and then attend the class to ask the Arcane Spirit any questions you have. There are tests and grades, but they exist solely to keep track of your progress."
"And everything is free?" Zane asked, with squinted eyes.
Ulbram coughed slightly, "The currently offered classes are all free."
"Currently offered?" Zane thought, catching this delicate use of words. However, he did not bring it up. Instead, he asked. "But?"
"Well, there are some paid services," Ulbram replied, trying to hide his flushed face. This young Earthling's eyes were so judgmental that he couldn't help feeling strange. Secretly reaffirming himself, the powerful hobgoblin continued:
"First, there is a Perception Dilation Service, which can allow the user to spend up to five hours in the Virtual World while only 1 hour would have passed in the real world. However, this service requires a sleeping cabinet and expensive potions to prevent the mind or soul from collapsing.
"The second service is Knowledge Infusion, which means the content of the curriculum will be directly injected into your mind."
"Are you saying I can instantly master the information?" Evans immediately asked.
"Mastering might be an exaggeration, but your understanding would be similar to a C+ or B-minus student."
"I'll use —"
"Wait, student, let me finish explaining the caveats that come with that service," Ulbram uttered.
"Oh, my apologies. Go ahead."
"Firstly, the infusion can only be done once or twice a month, and the students must buy the necessary potions separately. Without them, the process will injure the soul, which, in turn, will affect the growth and development of your mental energy.
"Secondly, according to the tower's law, I'm obligated to remind you that knowledge infusion does not nourish the soul."
"Nourish the soul? What does that mean?" Tom Nguyen asked.
"The Mage Path is essentially a slow and methodical process of growing and expanding the Soul, and the clearest manifestation of its growth is the increase of a mage's mental energy. As a result, mages have studied countless methods to improve their soul or mental energy, and the most common, safe, and efficient methods are meditation, potions, extreme external stimuli, and studying."
"The dimension shifts," Zane thought after hearing the term "extreme external stimuli." Earth doesn't have much time to grow, so the tower chose this method to accelerate everybody's growth.
"I didn't know studying had such an effect," Tom Nguyen commented.
"There is a common saying in the Astral Cosmos: every mage is a walking world of knowledge. Although it's somewhat of a self-pat, it's kind of true," Ulbram proclaimed.
"Does doing good deeds help increase mental energy?" Zane suddenly asked.
Ulbram looked at him and smiled, "You must have a connection with a shaman."
"So, it's true?"
The hobgoblin nodded, "Shamans are connected to nature and the environment. By helping others, they will indeed receive a small measure of nourishment for their souls. And after accumulating many good deeds, nature itself or the spirits will also reward them handsomely. But that's only if they follow the correct path."
"Wait, what you described sounds eerily similar to how the titles operate," Tom Nguyen conveyed, and Zane nodded.
"You're quite astute," Ulbram praised. "The Soul Crest allows you to skip the accumulation parts or other hidden criteria and directly receive rewards for your actions. Hmm, maybe the word "reward" isn't the most appropriate. Let's call it feedback."
"But who is the one who gives the feedback?" Zane inquired.
"Nature? The Universe? GOD? The Dao? There are many different names in different civilizations, but the most accepted one is the Plane Will or the Dimension Consciousness."
"Are you insinuating our planet — no, our dimension — has its own will or consciousness?" Zane asked.
"Whenever life aggregates, a [Will] will be born from the collective consciousness of all the living creatures. It's one of the fundamental laws of the Astral Cosmos, so even a chaotic place such as the Abyss Plan has its own [Will]," Ulbram explained.
"The world of magic is truly full of endless wonders," Tom Nguyen sighed.
Zane nodded: this short sentence perfectly encapsulated how he had been feeling since the tower arrived in this dimension. And something tells me, this feeling or sentiment will last a long time. He would not be surprised that the more he learns about magic, the more he'll come to appreciate its wonders.
While deep in his appreciation, Zane suddenly thought of something, "Does the Plane Will have any connection to egregores?"
Ulbram looked him in the eyes and squinted," Maybe, maybe not — I don't know enough on the subject to answer your question."
"Is that so?" Zane gave him a knowing glance.
"Egregore?" Tom Nguyen asked. He was well-read, but even he had not heard of this term.
Ulbram did not answer; instead, he turned to Evans, "We've gotten off topic, so let's reel it in. Now that you understand all the rules and regulations, do you still want to proceed with the infusion?"
Evans pondered briefly, "What do you guys think?"
"I don't think it's worth it," Tom Nguyen replied without hesitation. "The risks seemed to be too much, and the benefits not worth the reward."
"Can you really not commit?" Zane asked.
"I'm really bad at math. The only math class I've ever passed with a B in college is statistics," Evans replied truthfully.
"That's terrible," Tom Nguyen commented.
"I'm an art student, okay?"
"Not an excuse."
"In that case, you should use the resources available to you," Zane suggested. "Since you are only using it to catch up, I don't see any reason not to do it — as long as you don't make a habit out of it. Of course, the best approach would be for you to learn magic in a manner that fits your artsy personality."
At first, Zane thought magic was similar to science and technology. But after reading the first few paragraphs of the dissertation that Professor Burbank sent to all the students, he understood that people can see magic in many ways, including music and architecture.
"There is such a program," Ulbram suddenly said.
"There is?" Evans asked with a slightly raised voice.
"Yes. Some people look at a spell diagram and see rigid rules and laws, and others see music sheets, paintings, drawings, and even poems."
"Then —"
"Sadly, you still need some foundation of mathematics to learn magic through such a lens," Ulbram stated, instantly crushing Evans' dreams.
Evan's ears twitched, and for a moment, he thought he could hear the sound of his heart beating and hear blood rushing into his head. Luckily, he swiftly controlled his emotions. "Is there no way to have it both ways?"
"Technically speaking, there is."
Having learned from his mistake, Evans did not get riled up and waited for the hobgoblin to finish talking; he refused to be fooled twice.
"You could choose to undergo a Data Transmission, which means the content of the course will be injected into your mind, and you will remember everything clearly for a year as if you had photographic memory. However, you will need to slowly understand and master the content yourself.
"This approach does nourish the soul, but to a lesser extent, since you're skipping the memorization part. And you still need to protect your soul and mental energy to prevent injuries."
"You might as well not say anything," Evans shook his head. His issue is that he couldn't understand the content, so what's the point of memorizing everything?