Most of the time, they just quietly looked at the scenery outside the window.
Not moving.
The strange and beautiful scenery came into view on the highway and then flashed by.
After a day's ride, it is now noon the next day.
Lanqi supported his chin with one hand, shifted his gaze away from the flowing picture-like scenery outside the window, and looked at the clock on the train.
As sparse suburban buildings and pastures gradually appeared, Lanqi felt that the station was not far away.
"By the way, Tata, what do you think the shadow world is like?"
He seemed to finally get tired of the scenery and turned to Talia with a question.
As the highest difficulty random copy that he knew of and had not been fully developed, Lanqi also found a lot of information about the "Shadow World" in the books of this world.
However, the mysterious "shadow world" was much more complicated than he understood, and in this real world it had completely turned into an endless number of dangerous copies.
The Ikrit Academy of Magic, where he is about to go, was originally an academy established with the goal of "cultivating talents who can conquer the shadow world."
Entrance examinations will naturally be related.
"If you leave the Shadow World unattended or fail to conquer it, a natural disaster will occur somewhere in the world, but if you clear it, you will gain power and wealth."
Talia answered simply without moving her eyes.
Before she agreed to be Lanqi's teacher, no matter how Lanqi asked her questions about magic cards, she answered with this attitude.
Lanqi nodded when he heard this, and didn't intend to ask any more questions.
Just as it is written in the book.
For the people in this world, the shadow world is like a double-edged sword.
Completing the Shadow World will earn you a ton of rewards, including core materials for making magic cards, as well as natural magic cards that are more powerful than artificially made ones.
Failure to conquer will lead to a natural disaster somewhere in the world. If left unattended, the shadow world will automatically close after a certain period of time, which will also cause natural disasters to encroach on the real world.
Therefore, all countries and major forces in the world are doing their best to cultivate talents who are good at conquering the shadow world.
"Shadow worlds...will appear without warning at fixed or random entrances to this world. They are fragments of world history or projections of the history of other worlds."
Talia added.
It seemed that out of her duty as a teacher, she would answer a little more questions about magic cards, but only a little.
However, both of them have become accustomed to this way of communication where they only get to the point.
"I see..."
Lanqi muttered to himself thoughtfully.
The books in the Border Library record that the shadow world will gradually open up at regular intervals. There are endless numbers of them, and the timelines and worldviews may also be different. Some are easy and simple, while others are extremely dangerous.
After entering the film world, people will gain new and unpredictable identities to interpret historical fragments.
This means that no weapons, costumes, or ordinary magic props can be brought into the shadow world.
Except - magic cards bound to souls.
This is why magic cards have become the mainstream props of this era. They will provide indispensable help when conquering the shadow world.
From this perspective, the Shadow World and Magic Cards do have an inexplicable causal relationship. The raw materials for Magic Cards need to be produced from the Shadow World, but only with Magic Cards can people in the real world pass through the Shadow World more easily.
I really don’t know how the ancient creatures in the early days of the Shadow World could have fought through those hell dungeons without magic cards…
"We've arrived."
Talia's voice interrupted Lanqi's thoughts like water drops falling on ice.
He turned his head and found that the scenery outside the window had slowly stopped. It was a station with a roof made of ochre-red bricks.
The towering towers at both ends make the entire building look solemn and magnificent. The interior of the station is intricately decorated, and the marble columns, murals and stained glass windows all demonstrate the weight of history.
Different from the border city-state of Nanwantina, this royal city called Ikerite, while being magnificent and prosperous, also retains many historical elements.
Without much hesitation, Lanqi took the suitcase from the luggage rack and left the arriving train with Talia.
…
Walking through the concourse level of Ikerite Central Station, the noise fades away.
Lanqi and Talia came to the wide square, took a small horse-drawn carriage for sightseeing, and started a new journey in the city.
The afternoon sun shines on the carriage, swaying gently, bringing a sense of leisure and comfort.
From a distance, you can see the tulips and calla lilies in the Royal Botanical Garden clustered together, and the plants of various colors are like gauze and mist, full of green.
The sound of horse hooves echoed in the ancient cobblestone streets, and the wheels hummed. Even if he just leaned back in his seat, Lanqi could witness Ikerit's unique architectural style along the way: magnificent houses, brick-red walls, pointed eaves, and exquisite ancient carvings.
A horse-drawn carriage passed by the winding canal, and the breeze caused ripples on the water, reflecting the willow trees gently brushing the water.
"Would you like to go for a walk together when we get to the academy?"
Lanqi turned his head and looked at Talia beside him and asked.
"What do you think?"
Talia asked back in response to Lanqi's seemingly friendly but actually shameless invitation.
Since she wanted to protect Lanqi, she actually had no choice, even though she hadn't figured out who the guy who wanted to kill Lanqi was after these three months.
She only knew that what Lanqi said, "Someone wanted to kill him," was true.
On the way, the carriage passed an old stone bridge. The mottled beige bricks witnessed the vicissitudes of time. Under the bridge, the canal water gently hit the stone piers, making a tranquil sound of water. Overhead, a group of seagulls circled in the sky, flying freely.
"I can't help it. It's very important for me to go to the academy today."
Lanqi closed his eyes and spread his hands and said.
Unlike the Alchemy Academy and Magic Engineering Academy, the Knight Academy and Sage Academy had actually already started the first part of the assessment when applying.
That is, attribute testing.
If the growth of one's own attributes is too poor, one may not be able to participate in the formal assessment directly.
Since the enrollment goal of the Knight Academy and the Sage Academy is to cultivate scarce talents who can conquer the high-level shadow world, and once entering the shadow world, not only may the challenger himself be in great danger of life, but it will also affect the survival of his companions and whether he can help the present world from being eroded by natural disasters. Therefore, the entrance examinations of these two branches will have strict requirements on the practical qualities of the candidates.
After passing the first part of the attribute test, the formal examination, which is the second part, will use an artificially simulated shadow world to examine students' actual coping capabilities. The final assessment of the third part is a functional combat test arranged by the department.
After a detailed study of the academy, Lanqi finally chose to change his application from the Alchemy College to the Sage College, which specializes in practical magic.
Because his natural attribute inclination or functional compatibility made it impossible for him to become a physical professional, he did not have much hope of passing the first level of the Knight Academy.
"… "
Talia said nothing more.
She was very clear about Lanqi's schedule and arrangements, and she also heard from Lanqi about the format of the exam that Lanqi would face next.
However, based on her experience as an immortal species during her long years of traveling through the demon world and many human kingdoms, she still didn't know what kind of combat profession she should define Ranchi as.
Let's leave this headache problem to Ikrit Academy.
Anyway, she won't be the one who suffers.