Chapter 46: Elemental Vision

Six days later, Sunday.
Morning.
Dormitory.
The sun was bright, and a gentle breeze swept through.
Xalio stood by the window, enjoying the caress of wind and light.
With both arms resting on the window frame, he silently sighed, "It hasn't been easy at all~"

His mental attribute had increased from 1 point to 8.5 points without using a single free attribute point, entirely earned through reading books.
Such a hands-on experience of self-improvement naturally evoked a myriad of emotions.
Today was the long-awaited day of harvest.
"It's about time."
Xalio walked over to the desk and leaned down to turn to the final page of the book.

As the punctuation at the end of the text came into view, a strange coolness gathered deep within his mind, starting from the back of his head and rapidly spreading to his forehead.
His brow relaxed, and his thoughts became crystal clear.
Xalio couldn't help but close his eyes, savoring the unprecedented refreshing pleasure.

"Successfully memorized *Principles of Elemental Manifestation*, rewarded with 75 experience points, 0.7 mental attribute.
"[Level] lv.11
"[Experience] 1320+75→1395/1400
"[Mental] 8.5+0.7→9.2
"Detected that the host's mental attribute has reached 9.2 points, the mental ocean begins to transform...
"It is projected that when the mental attribute reaches 15 points, the mental ocean will conclude the first stage of transformation.
"Character template updated, new character trait unlocked: [Elemental Vision], a new sub-entry added to the [Mental] attribute."

The coolness in his mind slowly dissipated.
With his eyes closed, Xalio opened his character template.
[Mental]
[ [Mental Ocean] Transforming.
[Character Traits]
[Elemental Vision]
When you open your eyes, you will passively receive the light emitted by elements.
The higher the mental attribute, the better the effect of elemental vision, and the clearer and more complete the elemental light you will see.
(Remainder omitted)

Once equipped with [Elemental Vision], must one passively receive elemental light? Can't one choose not to see it?
Xalio raised an eyebrow and opened his eyes.
The book was still a book.
The window was still a window.
Nothing seemed to have changed.
He opened the dormitory door and stepped into the corridor.

He suddenly paused in surprise.
Not far from the doorway, at the corner of the hallway, a cyan circular luminous body was suspended in mid-air.
Xalio rubbed his eyes, stepped closer to observe it up close, and simultaneously cast Appraisal.

*Principles of Elemental Manifestation* had been added to his [Knowledge Reserve].
His mental attribute had also reached 9 points.
The feedback from Appraisal was no longer question marks or unknown entities.
He was now able to view the information of elemental minions.

[Item Name] Surveillance Guardian
[Item Number] esp03003.01
[Item Type] Elemental Minion
[Item Grade] Expert Tier
[Item Quality] Completion 98%, Excellent
[Lifespan] Remaining available duration 12 years and 2 months
[Maintenance Status] Next maintenance required within 3 months
[Surveillance Range] 15*15*15m
[Item Characteristics]
Immovable, unstealthable, anti-stealth incapable, constant levitation
[Item Description] Crafted by Starry Night Academy Castle Manager Dim.
[Solidified Array] Unknown
[Structural Value] Unknown
(Unable to obtain more information due to insufficient knowledge reserve, mentality, and perception)

Xalio curiously circled around the cyan light sphere, testing whether he could avoid seeing the elemental light.
Clearly, whatever the Golden Finger stated was absolute.
Once the mental attribute reached 9 points, upon opening one's eyes, it was impossible not to see the elemental light.
Unless...
Lower the mental attribute back below 9 points?
Xalio shrugged.
It had taken so much effort to raise his mental attribute to 9 points; why would he lower it again?
He stood hesitating in front of the surveillance guardian for a few minutes, then returned to the dormitory, picked up his school bag, and walked toward the toxic alchemy district.

The moment he stepped into the castle hall, Xalio stopped in his tracks, his expression shaken.
The ceiling, dozens of meters overhead, was paved with dozens of huge stained glass windows.
The morning sunlight streamed through the stained glass, casting bright pillars of light down into the hall.
Within each pillar of light floated a massive white orb of light.
They hovered quietly in the light pillars, slowly rising and falling, as if fast asleep.

Along the walls and stone pillars of the hall, a surveillance guardian hung every ten meters.
On the surrounding walls, doorways leading to various parts of the castle were outlined with light bars of different colors.
Those elemental minions cleaning the marble floors and wiping the stone brick walls were much smaller orbs of light compared to the surveillance guardians.
They were roughly the size of a fist.
Acting swiftly, operating with precision, they had clear divisions of labor.
One small orb of light was responsible for pressing the rag against the wall, another for pushing it, the next for taking the rag off the wall, and yet another for washing the rag...
Every single step corresponded to a small orb of light.
Dozens of small orbs of light combined to jointly complete the wiping of an entire stone wall.

Xalio walked toward these nimble little creatures and cast Appraisal on the orb of light that was pushing the rag.

[Item Name] Blueprint Executor
[Item Number] he.c.r.p.03
[Item Type] Elemental Minion
[Item Grade] Expert Tier
[Item Quality] Completion 99%, Excellent
[Lifespan] Remaining available duration 7 years and 6 months
[Maintenance Status] Next maintenance required within 2 months
[Action Range] 20*0.7m
[Item Characteristics]
Unstealthable, anti-stealth incapable, constant levitation, blueprint-following execution
[Item Description] Crafted by Starry Night Academy Castle Manager Dim.
[Solidified Array] Unknown
[Structural Value] Unknown
(Unable to obtain more information due to insufficient knowledge reserve, mentality, and perception)

Staring at the blueprint executor wiping the wall, Xalio thought of something.
Since they could execute designated actions flawlessly according to a designed blueprint...
Then...
Could they be used in warfare?
Providing arrows for archers' quivers, transporting stones for catapults.
Or even, relying on the trait of being invisible to ordinary people, quietly infiltrating enemy camps...
*Principles of Elemental Minions* didn't write about these things.
Xalio was merely guessing.

He walked under a pillar of light in the hall and cast Appraisal on the huge orb of light suspended in mid-air.

[Item Name] Unknown
[Item Number] Unknown
[Item Type] Elemental Minion
[Item Grade] Master Tier
[Item Quality] Completion 100%, Perfect
[Lifespan] Unknown
[Maintenance Status] Unknown
[Action Range] Unknown
[Item Characteristics] Unknown
[Item Description] Unknown
[Solidified Array] Unknown
[Structural Value] Unknown
(Unable to obtain more information due to insufficient knowledge reserve, mentality, and perception)

Goodness, so many unknowns.
Perhaps it was because the book didn't introduce this kind of giant light orb.
Xalio twitching the corner of his mouth, scanned his surroundings, searching for the doorway to the toxic alchemy district.
Toxic alchemy was symbolized by the color purple within the academy.
Its passageway was framed by a circle of purple light bars.

Stepping through the doorway, the straight corridor that appeared before his eyes was lined with a row of surveillance guardians.
True to what Dim had said, he would pay special attention to the toxic alchemy district; the number of surveillance guardians here was double that of the dormitory.
However, in the shower room, there was only one surveillance guardian standing beside the iron locker.
Its line of sight was just blocked by the wall of the shower room, unable to see the situation inside.

Xalio followed the regulations, showered for five minutes, put on the special leather robe, and then stepped into the toxic alchemy district, walking past rows of toxin cabinets.
Walking all the way, a sense of confusion gradually rose on his face.
There were actually no elemental minions in the toxic alchemy district?!
Although he didn't know the situation in other alchemy districts...
Given that the toxic alchemy district housed so many terrifying toxins, shouldn't it be packed with surveillance guardians?

Full of question marks, he walked into the alchemy room and saw his mentor meditating, so he bypassed the soft sofa and walked toward the shelf holding toxin bottles.
Drinking the black-eyed poison was the very purpose of this trip.
After drinking this poison, Anjouer had been able to see small spots of light drifting out from her body.
The mentor hadn't explained much, only instructing him to drink the black-eyed poison himself and try it out once his mental ocean began to transform.
Now the timing was ripe.
Xalio wanted to figure out the relationship between these small light spots and elemental resistance.

He grasped the black-eyed poison, sat down in a chair, tilted his head back to drink it, and then stared at his own torso.
The distortion effect brought by the vision anomaly still persisted.
After his pupils dilated, the scene before him became increasingly bright, and the alchemy lamps on the wall were as dazzling as the blazing sun.
I see it!
Xalio looked at his hands in disbelief.
Just now, roughly two seconds ago, a small red light spot drifted out from the center of his palm, and as he turned his head, it shrank back in.
It was like a newborn, curious baby, tentatively poking its head out to look at the outside world, then scurrying back into its warm and comfortable nest.

What is this...
Xalio widened his eyes and raised his arms, keeping them completely still.
A few seconds later, tiny spots of light drifted out from his arms, danced around them in a circle before flying back into his arms, and then drifted out from another place...
The 1-minute vision anomaly effect ended.
The small light spots vanished without a trace, as if they had never appeared.

A second bottle of black-eyed poison was poured down his stomach.
Xalio cast Appraisal on the small light spots as they drifted out.
"Unknown entity, insufficient knowledge reserve, failed to obtain more information."

The Appraisal spell did provide feedback, indicating that the small light spots were not hallucinations caused by the black-eyed poison, but something that genuinely existed.
Just as he wanted to drink the third bottle of poison, movement came from the soft sofa.
Kurov paused his meditation, put down the wordless book in his hand, and said, "Can you see the elemental light now? Hmm... Entering the school for nearly 6 months, your mental ocean has finally begun to transform."

Xalio knew that the fact his mental ocean was substandard upon admission could not be hidden from a mentor who spent every day with him.
When Mason and Brandon entered toxic alchemy, both of their mental attributes had been 7 points.
After being forcibly transferred to potion alchemy, their mental oceans began transforming almost simultaneously, whereas Xalio at that time still couldn't see any elemental light.
Fortunately, the resident mage of Rosak City—Thrylos Messo—had labeled Xalio with a firm will.
In Thrylos's view, Xalio was extremely similar to the demon-hunting apprentices of the Eastern Continent.
Both forcibly gained elemental resistance through willpower amidst trials related to elements.
The academy had also adopted Thrylos's suggestion and assigned Xalio to toxic alchemy.
Otherwise...
The matter of his mental ocean being substandard yet still awakening acquired affinity would have been truly difficult to explain clearly.
Since his mentor didn't delve deeply into it, Xalio wouldn't proactively bring it up either.

He scratched the back of his head, "Professor, why does drinking the black-eyed poison cause small light spots to drift out from the body? What are these small light spots?"
"The textbooks you study now have been abridged and revised.
"Whether it is *Polymerization of Toxins*, *Encyclopedia of Poisons*, or *Introduction to Meditation*, the 25 basic textbooks lack a great deal of content...
"When you are qualified to practice meditation, I will naturally teach you this part of the content."

As Kurov spoke, he stood up and stretched, twisting his neck and arms. After meditating all night, his bones were inevitably somewhat stiff.
He shook his waist, summoned a tea cup to take a sip, then sat back down on the soft sofa and looked at his student, saying:
"I discussed it with the dean and made some adjustments to your exam schedule."
He noticed the other person's attention was drawn by the floating tea cup, "It's not elemental minions helping me hold the tea cup, just a little parlor trick. You'll learn it once you become a mage apprentice."

Xalio snapped out of it and asked:
"Professor, why are there no elemental minions in the toxic alchemy district? I thought this place would be covered in surveillance guardians."
Seeing his curious expression, Kurov chuckled softly:
"Ho ho, I know your head is full of questions right now...
"Still the same thing, I'll tell you when you're qualified to practice meditation.
"Now listen to me. Other students take consecutive 25-day exams in their dormitories. You are different. You'll come straight here for your exams, taking as many subjects a day as you can complete papers for.
"Making you coop up in your dormitory every day after finishing your papers is a complete waste of time."

Xalio hadn't expected this; fortunately, his mentor had considered everything thoroughly.
He flashed a sincere smile, "Thank you, Professor."
Kurov waved a hand, "Have you decided which branch of curios alchemy to choose?"
"I haven't finished reading both books yet... However, I've decided to choose the discipline of Ingenious Artifacts. I think alchemy stones suit me very well."
Xalio pondered for a few seconds and added:
"Elemental manifestation is also quite interesting, but for me, its entry barrier is a bit too high."

"In that case..." Kurov stroked his beard and gazed at the ceiling, "My proficiency in ingenious artifacts is much better than elemental manifestation and giant creations, so I can just teach you this discipline.
"I can substitute for potion alchemy, and oil alchemy as well.
"In that case, you don't need to run around to other alchemy districts for classes. After the final exams end, you can just come here every day, and I will teach you all four types of alchemy."

Upon hearing that he could save himself the trouble of running between different alchemy districts and wouldn't have to face other professors, Xalio couldn't help the corners of his mouth from curling upward.
Normally, one teacher taught a dozen or so students, but for him, it was a one-on-one tutorial; the teaching quality was more than doubled.
This was undoubtedly good news!
He thanked his mentor once again.

Kurov waved his hand once more, "Alright, go do whatever you need to do."
With that, he picked up his book and entered meditation.
Xalio packed up his poison bottles and slung his school bag over his shoulder as he walked out.
In his heart, he thought of Anjouer...
Wondering if this girl would be able to pass the exams.
"Sigh."
He shook his head and sighed silently.
If she failed this time, he would help her prepare for the make-up exam. If she failed the make-up exam, he would help her retake the course.
At least by doing everything he could, he would have no regrets or guilt.
(End of this chapter)