Chapter 2615: Descending Gently (64)

If you were to point out something unique about Robin in the Schiller Universe, compared to Robins from other universes, it's that they don't have Batman, but Bruce instead. Furthermore, in terms of abilities, they possess a skill that no other universe's Robins have—magic.

Because the magic realm of the Schiller Universe had experienced a major catastrophe and had long been waiting for a revival, seizing this opportunity, the knowledgeable of the magic realm, or more precisely the catastrophe itself, carved out the inner world within Gotham and established a Magic Academy there.

Years passed, and Gotham's inner world had been developed quite impressively. Besides the Magic Academy, four major ecosystems were created. The first was the Swamp Ecosystem, which belonged to the All Things Green; the second was the Paradise Ecosystem that Bruce used to study the matters of Heaven; the third was the Hell Ecosystem, established in connection with Beelzebub and Azazel; and the last was the Dark Ecosystem, for storing the energy of Barbados.

The inner world's Gotham is a projection of the real-world Gotham, possessing all the architecture of the real world. Combined with the landscapes constructed from the energies swirling within these ecosystems, it revealed a fantastical aura and an oddity that made it seem even more like Gotham than the real-world Gotham.

In the Swamp Ecosystem, countless plants intermingled with architecture, forming a forest of green and gray steel. In the Paradise Ecosystem, every building and road emitted light and divine songs echoed through misty clouds.

The Hell Ecosystem adhered to the rugged style of most areas, with the tallest office building being transformed into their palace by the Hell demon king. A perfectly good internationalist office building sprouted many obsidian spikes out of nowhere, and its interior was decorated in a retro style favored by Demon Kings. The Dark Ecosystem, used for storing energy from Barbados, resembled a haunted area from a horror movie, pervaded by a dense dark energy, with buildings within wilting and corrupting—it could be considered the most in line with the Silent Hill style within the inner world.

Schiller and Xi Wana's goal wasn't any of these ecosystems but the Gotham Magic Academy located at the intersection of the four areas, which had by then been developed into an oversized Hogwarts.

The reason it was bigger than Hogwarts was because it had even more students, in addition to the surviving, homeless faculty and the astonishingly destructive power of the magic there, which naturally required a larger space.

Schiller first took Xi Wana for a stroll around the school, admiring the scenery of the four ecosystems and introducing the sources of the power within the scenery, then finally, they both entered the school.

Inside the school was still a scene of thriving life. After entering through the main gate, they came upon the common manor forecourt with gray stone slabs forming the plaza floor, the statue in the center of the fountain depicting a dragon from Western traditional mythology, and the porch colonnade resembling the Roman Pantheon, built with Roman columns and arches.

However, at the moment, there was a large hole in the square to the right of the porch with several students laboriously filling it in—clearly someone's magic had gone awry and blown up the plaza. On the left, there was a group of people chasing after a giant sparrow, probably wanting to conduct an animal experiment, but the animal had escaped.

Upon entering the foyer, the space opened up dramatically with floating flower petals, dancing elves, and fountain water flowing from mid-air that somehow did not wet their clothes.

To the right was a row of busy magic elevators encircled by magical brilliance, moving up and down at great speed, with countless students and faculty bustling about, apparently in a rush to get to their classes.

The buildings of the four colleges had not changed much, and Schiller invited Xi Wana to visit the School of Magic Theory where he taught, located at the high point of the campus, which required climbing many stairs to reach.

Of course, the elevators were one of the few changes. The floating steps were aesthetically pleasing but troublesome to navigate and especially easy to fall off, so it wasn't long before elevators were installed throughout the school.

This time, however, Schiller led Xi Wana up the stairs, winding around the spire, and in the process, they could overlook the entire academy and much of the inner world's Gotham.

"It's magical," exclaimed Xi Wana. "I have to admit, this is the magical world I dreamed of as a child, not that dark, murky space."

"This is dark enough as it is," Schiller said. "If you've ever been to the Magic World Maya, or a place called Kamar-Taj, you'd know what a real Magic Holy Land is like."

Xi Wana, extremely interested, insisted that Schiller tell him about it, but Schiller said, "When you become the headmaster, you'll have to go to these places for academic exchanges. By then, you can see for yourself."

Xi Wana suddenly filled with anticipation for his life as a headmaster.

"It's no accident that he chose you, is it?" Schiller asked as he strolled up the stairs, turning to look at Xi Wana.

"I don't know, but perhaps," Xi Wana said with a smile. "I've always idolized magic, fantasizing about a more dreamlike world behind this dull and boring one, where I could embark on a legendary adventure."

"Is it because you truly yearn for it, or are you running away?"

Xi Wana lowered his head and touched the back of his hand, saying, "Before my family's tragedy, it wasn't exactly happiness. My father never liked me; he only liked my brother, but he never admitted it."

"He prided himself on being fair and a good father who upholds the principle of equality, but he really wasn't. What allowed him to maintain this facade was my excellence."

"I never made mistakes, so he couldn't find a reason to suppress me, until the accident happened. He finally had a way to unload all his dissatisfaction on me."

"As a child, I could always sense that something was off, but everyone praised him, and I felt very oppressed. I desperately wanted to escape, but there was nowhere to run, so I could only let my spirit fly, using it to dodge the uncomfortable, eerie reality."

"But is there anything special about that? Don't many children yearn for the magical world?" Xi Wana asked. "Besides, you said I have no magic talent. How could I be his first choice?"

"Precisely because you lack any magical talent, yet are utterly enthralled by the magical world, you are his choice," Shiller said with a somewhat scornful smile. "The easiest people to exploit in this world are those whose desires and ambitions greatly exceed their abilities. I suspect the successor he later found was also such a person."

"What exactly is magical talent?" Xi Wana inquired.

Shiller shook his head and replied, "Actually, I don't know either, as I am not a traditional Magician. If you'd like to find out, perhaps I could introduce you to one."

They had walked into the spire of the School of Magic Theory, a vast and expansive circular space. Countless arched bookshelves floated scattered through the air, and the light streaming through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows made everything clearly visible—even the airborne specks of dust.

Xi Wana gazed around in fascination, having never imagined that tranquility and peace could blend so perfectly with a grand sense of epicness.

At this time, many students were researching here, some vigorously scribbling away at desks on the ground or mounted on the walls. Seeing Shiller, they smiled and greeted him.

Shiller crossed the entire circular hall and left through another door, then circled down the exterior steps and took another elevator to his office, where he gave Xi Wana a brief overview of the current state of the academy.

In reality, there was nothing special to report—the academy operated as usual. Unlike other colleges, the School of Magic Theory didn't have many experiments to conduct, mostly involved reading dense, challenging tomes and writing articles.

This could be called an academy of speculation, its main research task being to extract potentially useful theoretical knowledge from various obscure and ancient magical texts, and then writing articles to inspire students from other colleges to undertake practical research.

Thus, the Immortal Species teaches the classes, students go back and study by themselves, find time to gather for study groups to share and exchange theories they've uncovered, propose topics, and start writing their papers once their topics are approved.

As of now, teaching is completely managed by immortal beings from Magic World Maya or other little magical worlds, like Lady Shangdu and Vivian, along with other lake Fairies, several fallen angels under Azazel, and even Lilith.

They don't actually need to teach these students anything, just talk about common knowledge from their lifetimes, and help them read books written in scripts only they can recognize.

Senior students can decipher one article a day on average, while for junior students it's mostly like a storytelling session. Angels and Demons tell tales of the war of the fallen, creatures from Maya recount stories of the great destructions of Maya. As for figures like Lilith, who are connected to the Bible, they generally relate the true accounts of the Bible stories.

Shiller took Xi Wana to sit in on half a class. The lesson was taught by a Demon general, who was spouting off about the spectacular achievements of Beelzebub thousands of years ago, spitting as he spoke animatedly to a group of young students.

"What's the point of this?" Xi Wana asked. "Does this knowledge help them master magic better?"

"Of course not, but the human race itself is incapable of mastering magic," Shiller explained. "The essence of magic is trade; humans can't produce Magic Energy and can't fully control how Magic Energy functions. We are merely borrowers."

"So..."

"So these stories are essentially about making students understand the magic realm and, more importantly, comprehend the entities that may lend them power in the future, identify their habits, and grasp their temperaments. This way, they'll have an advantage when they have to interact indirectly with them in the future."

"So it's like an intelligence course," Xi Wana laughed.

"You could see it that way," Shiller nodded, showing no intention of denying it. He said, "Like I mentioned earlier if you had understood the kind of person that old man was when you were summoned, none of the subsequent tragedies would have happened."

"These stories essentially let the students understand that these indescribable powerful beings, though they possess immense strength, are sentient beings with emotions and desires," he continued.

"So you can be wary of their power, covet their strength, but it's best not to develop any sort of worshipful attitude towards them. You certainly shouldn't take their words as gospel, or you'll undeniably face death."

"Questioning authority?"

"Exactly. When students see their human-like qualities, they naturally won't worship them as gods. You made this mistake before, didn't you?"

Xi Wana sighed, saying, "It's not him I worship but magic itself. However, he truly seemed the embodiment of magic."

"Enough of that. Let me take you to meet a traditional Magician. After that, you'll lose all your idealized notions of Magicians."