"Alienspawn of the White Mist..." Edrick muttered the words silently. He had finally found some information about transmigrators. Although the information was not detailed, he was able to judge this world's attitude toward transmigrators from the professor's words. Clearly, "Alienspawn of White Mist" was not a compliment.
"Professor, you mentioned earlier that they would replace the original souls of this world. What does that mean?" A fairy girl with rare blue hair and long ears raised her hand to ask. She was the one who had suggested vampire skin would glow like diamonds. Professor Lysandra Vesper's description of vampires had been a significant blow to her.
However, she had clearly recovered and shifted her attention to the new concept of the Alienspawn of White Mist.
"It means exactly what it says. That world is not on the same plane as ours, so time travel can only happen to souls. Souls from that world inevitably search for a physical body. When they invade our world, they destroy the original soul and devour its memories." Professor Lysandra Vesper's expression became serious when talking about the Alienspawn of White Mist. "Imagine that one day, your familiar family and friends are suddenly replaced by strange souls who retain their original memories but have completely different personalities..."
Silence fell, and everyone in the class couldn't help but fantasize, feeling chills down their spines.
"Teacher, this isn't really a horror story, is it?" the blue-haired girl asked in a low voice. Because the classroom was quiet, everyone could hear her.
"This is a real phenomenon. You may not have heard of it, but there are relevant records in official institutions. The Holy See and various governments have always made hunting these Alienspawn of White Mist a top priority." Lysandra Vesper said. She then shrugged and said, "Some theologians believe that the word 'demon' originally referred to the Alienspawn of White Mist, but it later took on a broader meaning. Well, overuse and misuse have turned this word into a derogatory term with no real meaning."
It was clear that Lysandra Vesper had some reservations about the Holy See, but that was her right as a university professor. When they joined the Luminous Covenant, all countries signed an agreement with the Holy See to guarantee a certain degree of academic freedom in schools. However, today, that freedom is increasingly rare.
The funny thing is that those who suppress freedom always have their own excuses.
"Teacher, has the phenomenon of the Alienspawn of White Mist existed since ancient times?" Edrick raised his hand and asked.
Lysandra Vesper nodded. "That's right. No one knows the history of the previous era, but people have speculated about the Alienspawn of White Mist since the beginning of this era. The early Alienspawn of White Mist did not seem to be very good at hiding, but, over time, they became more cunning and difficult to detect..."
"However, I think the answer to the Ship of Theseus is whether the person who inherits the original memories is the same person as the original." When Lysandra Vesper finished speaking, Edrick abruptly raised his head.
The Ship of Theseus is a philosophical question proposed by ancient Greek scholars on Earth, and the concept also exists in this world. It seems that it was brought here by a transmigrator. Actually, it was brought here by an Alienspawn of White Mist.
Edrick had always felt that the development of civilization on the continent of Arcanis was strange, as if it did not follow normal social development laws. Many of the explosive advances seemed to be due to the Alienspawn of White Mist.
"Fortunately, we have already developed effective methods to identify the Alienspawn of White Mist, so you can rest assured that there have been none on the Arcanis continent for a hundred years." Lysandra Vesper's words added to Edrick's inner thoughts.
There hadn't been any transmigrators for a hundred years, yet he had only been here half a month and had already seen three suspected transmigrators. This didn't seem like a coincidence.
One was a fake Lacus, another was a detective named Charlotte Holmes, and the third was Nyx.
Edrick couldn't help but recall the scroll with the magical array that Griff had brought him yesterday. Besides the magical array, the scroll recorded its usage method and accompanying rituals in the universal language. It even specified the array's purpose: to open the door to the Shadow Mansion.
What troubled Edrick most was the seemingly meaningless symbol at the bottom of the scroll. At least, it held no meaning for the people of this world.
Yet, Edrick could decipher its meaning: "Když tomu rozumíš, tu peux me croire, możesz mi zaufać, du wirst es verstehen."
It was written in Czech, French, Polish, and German, and coincidentally, Edrick recognized all four languages.
"Když tomu rozumíš" (if you understand), "tu peux" (you can), "mi zaufać" (trust me), "ohne Zweifel" (without a doubt).
It was obvious that Nyx, the leader of the resistance organization Shadow Legion, was also a Transmigrator.
However, Edrick wasn't going to casually try a magic array brought by a stranger, even if that stranger was also a Transmigrator. They could still be enemies or friends; he didn't know yet.
At the very least, he had to figure out what the magic circle was for. Unfortunately, his current understanding of Ethercraft wasn't enough to decipher it.
So, after class, Edrick decided to take it to the library. Magic circles were very complex, but ultimately, they followed linguistic logic. The meaning of each symbol was relatively fixed, as was the meaning of their arrangement.
Therefore, as long as Edrick could find the meaning of each symbol in the books, he would be able to decipher the circle.
On his way to the library, Edrick encountered Alaric FitzLobkowicz again. He was walking with a blue-haired elf girl, and a red-haired human girl followed behind them. Edrick speculated that she might be a maid, which was common in this academy full of noble children.
Honestly, the three of them looked very out of place together.
The blue-haired girl was undoubtedly the daughter of a noble family. Her hair, as deep and vast as the ocean, shimmered softly in the sunlight, the tips curling gently as she walked.
Her features were delicate, and her eyes exuded an air of natural composure and confidence. A faint smile played at the corners of her lips, and she moved with grace and refinement.
She was tall and slender with a graceful figure. She wore a well-tailored velvet gown with a gold-thread embroidered hem adorned with her family's coat of arms and intricate patterns. A silver belt adorned with gems cinched her waist, further emphasizing her dignified and noble demeanor.
In contrast, Alaric FitzLobkowicz's attire was much simpler.
His coat was made of fine wool but was outdated in style and faded in color. The cuffs of his shirt were worn, and the buttons at the collar were loose.
His pants were neatly ironed, but the fabric was inferior to that of the blue-haired girl's dress.
His leather shoes were polished to a shine but showed signs of repair.
He tried his best to maintain a dignified demeanor, but compared to the girl's noble bearing, he appeared a little shabby and stiff. He wasn't even as well-mannered as the girl, who might have been a maid.
Standing together, they seemed like people from two different worlds, forming a stark contrast.
Coincidentally, Edrick wasn't the only one who felt this way. Several elves who clearly belonged to the upper class shared the same opinion.
"Miss Elisabeth," a high-ranking elf with silver hair said, "being with such a disgrace to nobility is truly a dishonor to your status."
Standing next to the high elf were two other elves, one of whom was the fattest elf Edrick had ever seen. Although Edrick had already accepted that elves were similar to humans during his first half-month in Stellaxis, this guy, who was almost as fat as a ball, broke his perception of elves. It was as if someone had stuck a pair of pointed ears on a pig standing on two legs!
The other elf had rare black skin, a trait of Sun Elves. Contrary to common belief, Sun Elves, who lived in hot regions and worshiped the sun, had dark skin. Meanwhile, Dark Moon Elves, who lived in primeval forests and preferred nighttime activities, lacked sunlight, giving their skin a pale, vampire-like appearance.
Edrick shook his head upon hearing this. It was a cliché he found amusing, and he wasn't surprised at all. Alaric FitzLobkowicz looked like an easy target, the kind of person who was bullied in school. Yet, he dared to walk with a girl like Sapieha.
Upon hearing the provocation, Alaric was about to react, but the blue-haired elf girl pulled him back. They were both short, and the slender Alaric couldn't break free from the girl's grip.
"You promised me!" the blue-haired girl whispered to Alaric before turning her head slightly toward the three elves and furrowing her brows. "Fael Syltharion, you should address me as Viscountess Sapieha."
Under normal circumstances, one must address a noble by their title unless they are very close. Hmm? Viscount? Edrick froze. Was the blue-haired girl actually a viscount? Had she inherited the title of Viscount Sapieha? Was she Elisabeth Sapieha?
Edrick recalled the description of nobility in The Thousand-Year History of Zodiac. In Zodiac, women held higher status, so the primogeniture system did not apply; instead, inheritance was passed through the eldest child, regardless of gender. Female nobles were not uncommon, but a female noble of this age was rare because elves are an extremely long-lived race and the university does not accept new students over the age of thirty.
At that moment, however, Edrick's mind was in turmoil, not because of the Zodiac Kingdom's complicated aristocratic system, but because he knew someone else with the surname Sapieha. More precisely, Edrick knew the Ripper. A year ago, Edrick had killed this noble young master, who had been committing crimes in Stellaxis.
"Fael Syltharion, mind your own business," Lady Sapieha said coldly to the three elves, showing no regard for them.
"Don't be so cold. After all, I almost became your fiancé," said Fael Syltharion with a forced smile, looking like a scheming merchant.
Lady Sapieha raised her chin and said, "Miss Sapieha may marry into the Syltharion family, but Viscount Sapieha will not."
"If it weren't for the honorable viscount, if it weren't for your honorable brother sacrificing himself on the ocean expedition, we would already be husband and wife. What a pity." Fael Syltharion's tone was genuinely regretful.
However, his words were malicious because, by mentioning Sapieha's brother, he forced her, according to noble etiquette, to express sorrow and regret over her father's death. Within that regret lay the unspoken sorrow over the lost opportunity to marry Fael Syltharion.
Sapieha's mouth twitched involuntarily, and only Edrick knew why. Sapieha's brother, the viscount's first heir, did not die during the ocean expedition but rather outside a private club near the docks of the Rust District of Stellaxis.
The Ripper cut open his stomach.
"You sharp-tongued brat." However, Sapieha did not follow Fael Syltharion's lead. Instead, she shouted, "During the class placement test, I'll break your teeth and stuff them in your ears!"
A strange metaphor, perhaps characteristic of elves?
Fael Syltharion did not get angry, but continued to smile at the two of them. "Having spirit is a good thing. It makes things more interesting. I hope you'll still be this spirited next month."
The class placement test was next month, and everyone was making their final preparations.
Edrick returned to his room from the library at midnight. The magical array on the parchment was not complicated. Edrick spent only an hour breaking it down using his basic knowledge. He discovered that the array consisted of only six runes.
In Ethercraft, all Aether is manipulated through basic runes and spells using special grammatical combinations. The problem was that Edrick couldn't understand the meaning of these six runes combined.
A basic fireball spell alone required 10 runes and an auxiliary spell.
There were currently 118 known runes in academia and 118 elements in the periodic table on Earth. He wondered if there was a connection between the two.
Learning new knowledge was both exhausting and exciting. However, there were too many things going on around him, making Edrick feel uneasy. The matters involving Lacus and Miryam had not been resolved, and now there was Nyx, who was even more difficult to deal with. Not to mention, Nyx was an Alienspawn of White Mist and was wanted by everyone.
"One can never be too careful," Edrick silently wrote in his survival guide for this strange world, adding the fourth rule.
Nyx hasn't shown any hostility yet, but she's still an unstable factor. No matter what this magic array is for, Edrick doesn't want to take any risks.
As he pondered this, Edrick approached the door to his room. Earlier, Lady Maria had mentioned that he would have new roommates moving in. Now, the nameplate outside the door bore two names: Edrick Croft and Alaric FitzLobkowicz.
But that wasn't what surprised Edrick the most. He stood at the door without entering because his keen hearing had already detected two unfamiliar female voices inside.