Chapter 13. Art Appreciation
Fulan had originally not planned to attend the Art Appreciation class. After all, there was no assessment for it, which meant there were no points to earn.
However, relying on the images lingering in her memory and a faint trace of curiosity that remained, she decided to go anyway.
The moment she entered the classroom, she ran into someone familiar—Bella from the Swordsmanship Class. Sitting beside her was a girl with golden hair.
Bella raised her hand and beckoned for her to sit with them. Fulan did not refuse and walked over.
Bella first introduced the blonde girl to Fulan.
“This is Laiyi, my friend.”
Then she introduced Fulan to Laiyi.
“This is Fulan. I met her in the Swordsmanship Class.”
After exchanging greetings, Fulan sat down beside them.
“Fulan, which family’s territory do you come from?”
Bella assumed that since Fulan possessed a Breathing Method, it must be some kind of family inheritance she had practiced for many years.
She probably just happened to complete it right before that Swordsmanship Class. Otherwise, how could Fulan so easily use the Breathing Method in real combat?
Without several years of practice, that would have been impossible.
Everyone’s physique, physical condition, and resistance to impact were different. Even if someone observed how others used the Breathing Method in combat, that person was not themselves.
Therefore, being able to use the Breathing Method in real combat must have required years of exploration and adjustment before succeeding.
It certainly could not be that someone simply observed how they would use it in the future and then instantly learned it in the present. That would have been ridiculous.
“Ah!? I do not have a family.”
The original owner of this body had been a complete orphan, raised in an orphanage. After her spiritual talent was detected, she had been sent here.
“Then how did you obtain your Breathing Method?”
“I bought it from a street stall.”
“??!”
Bella’s smile faltered slightly, though she knew Fulan must have had a reason for giving such an obviously false answer and was merely brushing the question aside.
Soon, the Art Appreciation class began. A male teacher wearing luxurious clothing walked to the front, carrying several paintings.
He first pulled aside the curtain covering one of the paintings and began explaining.
“We can see that this painting depicts a scene of the natural wilderness. From the movement of the deer leaping forward, we can observe the tension contained within the composition...”
Fulan widened her eyes but could not feel anything from the painting. The teacher’s explanation went in one ear and out the other. She did not absorb a single word.
She turned to look at the two people beside her. Bella appeared just like her—her soul seemed to have already drifted out of the classroom. Laiyi, on the other hand, was staring intently at the painting.
Bella noticed Fulan looking at them and whispered softly,
“Oh, so you do not have any affinity for natural spells either...”
Fulan felt as though she had just heard something extremely useful. She wondered how the original owner of this body had known absolutely nothing and still come here to stare at paintings. Meanwhile, she herself felt absolutely nothing while looking at them.
Grabbing Bella’s arm with the spirit of someone unashamed to ask questions, she asked Bella to explain further, completely ignoring Bella’s surprised expression.
As it turned out, the purpose of this Art Appreciation class was indeed to appreciate art. However, the paintings had been specially processed by the teacher.
Apprentices who possessed an affinity with certain spells would become immersed when viewing them.
Many apprentices had specifically chosen this course to determine which type of spells they were suited for. Naturally, this information would not appear in the official course description.
After hearing this explanation, Fulan could not help but feel impressed—and slightly exasperated—with the original owner of the body.
They were all apprentices, so how did everyone else know so much while she knew absolutely nothing?
Fulan began recalling which paintings the original owner had been interested in. Although the person had changed, the body was still the same. Perhaps it still retained some degree of affinity.
Then Fulan witnessed the original owner’s peculiar aesthetic sense.
The first painting showed only a woman’s face, while her body was that of an owl. It looked rather unsettling. Fulan felt nothing at all.
The second painting depicted a warrior killing an enemy with a sword. However, the hand gripping the sword had grown dense, overlapping scales, and his eyes were vertical pupils. Fulan still felt nothing.
After that, the paintings the original owner had liked were almost all variations of these themes—wolves with human faces, a mage whose face was covered in scales, and similar grotesque images.
Fulan made a firm decision that she would never come to this class again. She would be better off going home to practice Wind Blade.
She still had not brewed the Energy Potion, and that meant money!
The teacher suddenly unveiled the final painting.
The background was pitch black, dotted with many points of light, resembling the starry sky at night.
Fulan suddenly felt as though she understood it.
She stared intently at the painting, ignoring the teacher’s explanation entirely.
This was not the real night sky. The moment she looked at it, a strange realization emerged. She sensed that the distance between every “star” was exactly the same. They were not randomly scattered points.
When all the stars were connected, they formed a mysterious pattern that carried a peculiar meaning in her eyes.
[You have observed the star alignment of a certain moment preserved within a painting. It seems to have produced an indescribable effect on you. Astrology proficiency +20]
When she regained her senses, she saw Bella and Laiyi staring at her from the side. Feeling slightly embarrassed, she turned her head away.
“Fulan, have you tried spells of the Astrology School?”
Laiyi spoke first. She had been paying close attention to Fulan’s reaction. Fulan had been far too immersed. Laiyi had never seen anyone who could completely ignore the teacher’s voice while he was explaining and only regain awareness after the painting had been put away.
“Uh...”
Fulan hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell the truth.
“Yes. I have an Astrology spell.”
“What is that supposed to mean? Just because a spell has the word ‘star’ in its name does not make it an Astrology spell!”
Laiyi felt that Fulan was simply making things up. If she did not know, she could just say so.
“Well then, how about this? I invite you to join the Night Sky Book Club. They can provide some spells from the Astrology School.”
Laiyi was also a member of that club. Although she did not possess much talent in that area, she did not mind helping someone else.
Fulan knew that some clubs existed somewhere between being controlled by a school and being completely independent.
They served as a transitional choice and generally did not set very high entry barriers.
These clubs rarely possessed spells. After all, a transitional organization was still a transitional organization. The schools calculated these things very clearly.
However, this Night Sky Book Club actually had spells?
Some spells were exclusive to specific schools. If you did not join them, you simply could not buy those spells.
Fulan was very interested in spells, which naturally made her interested in this Night Sky Book Club as well.
“Is it controlled by a school?” she asked, wanting to confirm first. For now, she did not want to join any particular school and preferred to keep her options open.
“No. Very few people know about this club. It is invitation-only, and some of the members are also part of school-controlled clubs.”
“All right. I will join. When do we go?”
“The morning after tomorrow. Come here... and I will take you there.”
“Oh, right.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know of any clubs that teach Enchantment? I have always wanted to join one.”
Fulan had asked Teacher Lita before, but Lita had said she did not know. So Fulan decided to ask the two apprentices she could at least talk with.
Although their expressions were still filled with surprise, Fulan received a definite answer.