Chapter 34: Spirit Vision

Lin Nian opened his eyes, exerting almost all his strength. He pushed against the desk so hard that both he and his chair slid back several meters; the screeching of the chair legs against the floor finally dragged him back from his daze into reality.

Manstein stood by the desk, holding the exam paper, looking at him with a bewildered expression.

Lin Nian looked around. The classroom was still the same; through the window lay the corridor and the lush flowerbeds in the distance. Instructor Fushiyama Masashi was peeking through the window, looking at him with a stern expression, clearly itching to rush in and help him navigate his psychological difficulties.

"The exam is over, don't be nervous! You are still here, and you are safe. You just experienced a spirit vision; everything you saw was a hallucination caused by resonance." Manstein quickly sealed the exam paper into a file bag and walked over to Lin Nian. "Don't be nervous, no one here will hurt you."

"A hallucination? But I heard someone speaking, and I saw... snow! Yes, I saw so much snow." Lin Nian leaned forward, bracing himself on his thighs, gasping for air.

"That is a normal phenomenon. I have experienced such auditory and visual hallucinations during my own spirit visions. I heard the sound of wind—a hollow sound that filled the entire world, as if I were standing before the greatest typhoon in history." Manstein pressed his hand on Lin Nian’s shoulder to comfort him. "The exam is over, and you succeeded. Even without knowing the content of the 3E exam beforehand, you still completed the answers."

"Answers?" Only then did it register that the exam was over. Lin Nian looked up at the wall clock; it was nearly noon. He stared blankly for a long moment before saying, "But I never wrote any answers."

"That must mean you recorded the Dragon Language you heard during your spirit vision without realizing it." Manstein glanced at the snapped pencil on the desk. "What surprises me is that your reaction while answering was so different from how you are now."

"What was I like when I was answering?" Lin Nian rubbed his cheeks hard with both hands.

"Very calm—extraordinarily calm. Fushiyama Masashi and I noticed you had a confident smile on your face. While answering, you were even humming along to the Bach playing over the speakers. After you finished, you just sat there with your eyes closed, motionless; I assume you were resting." Manstein looked at Lin Nian with eyes full of admiration.

"What is this... possession?" Lin Nian felt a bit disoriented.

"No, these are all normal phenomena. It is possible you really will become the first student in history to be classified as an 'S-rank' bloodline. It is a distinction, but remember, you earned it yourself!" Manstein said earnestly. "The grading will be handled entirely by NOMA. Do you remember NOMA? The academy’s artificial intelligence secretary. With her handling it, you don't need to worry about any errors in your results."

"My mind is a bit of a mess... I have absolutely no memory of what you said I was doing while answering!" Lin Nian took deep breaths, hoping to calm himself down.

"That’s normal. Many students exhibit manic behavior during spirit visions; compared to them, your temporary amnesia is quite standard. I remember one student with an excellent bloodline who experienced physical issues after a spirit vision—his golden eyes suffered a mutation, one turning into a blood-colored heterochromatic eye, but it returned to normal after careful treatment," Manstein explained.

"Golden eyes?" Lin Nian heard another unfamiliar term.

"Hybrids possessing dragon bloodlines will see their irises and pupils mutate into gold when their emotions are heightened. This is a mutation triggered by dragon genes. At the same time, when these golden eyes are manifested, the carrier also secretes pheromones that can be transmitted through air, land, and water, causing creatures that behold them to feel a sense of submission. It is basically the same principle as a beast in the animal kingdom declaring its territory."

*But the way beasts usually declare territory is by urinating...* Lin Nian wanted to quip, but his current situation really wasn't the time for snide remarks.

"Did my eyes turn gold just now?" Lin Nian looked around, though he couldn't find anything resembling a mirror.

"Yes, it was the most beautiful color I have ever seen in my life," Manstein nodded and said softly. "You really don't need to be nervous. Everything you have experienced, we have all gone through. We understand your fear and confusion because we once sat here just like you, timid and in awe, uncovering these true histories."

Lin Nian’s breathing gradually steadied. After a long while, once the classroom had fallen into complete silence, he rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking weary. "Thank you, Professor."

"You're welcome. Your sister finished her exam on the third floor as well, but unfortunately, she turned in a blank paper. Otherwise, she would have had a chance to become a full-time student," Manstein said. "It seems you two truly aren't blood-related."

"We met at an orphanage. She is much older than me. Unless my parents were out of their minds, they wouldn't abandon two children to the same orphanage twice," Lin Nian took a deep breath. "I don't think it's a bad thing that she turned in a blank paper. I would rather she not experience the things I saw just now."

"Everyone's spirit visions have their ups and downs; it seems yours belongs to the latter. If you feel the need to talk, I will be waiting for you in Instructor Fushiyama Masashi's office this afternoon." Manstein patted Lin Nian’s shoulder. "But for now, you need rest. It’s lunchtime; perhaps a cup of hot chocolate will help soothe your spirit."

"Professor, you said earlier that spirit visions only occur when one resonates with the Dragon Language, but the exam was clearly playing Bach's music," Lin Nian asked, voicing his confusion.

"Just a little trick. We hid the Dragon Language beneath the normal music. The more difficult the question, the lower the tone of the Dragon Language. Only students with sufficiently excellent bloodlines can keenly resonate with those subtle sounds and record them as the answers to the exam." Manstein gently patted the file bag in his hand. "There were ten lines of Dragon Language in total. I counted, and your answer also contains ten. If they are all correct, you will be the first 'S-rank' student Kassel College has produced in years!"

"I..." Lin Nian wanted to say something, but when he looked up and saw the admiration and affection in Professor Manstein's eyes, he swallowed his words.

"Go and get some rest. Tonight, NOMA will send you the freshman course schedule. The school has selected a few introductory subjects for you to audit. Your grades for this half-semester won't be recorded in your GPA, and naturally, you won't earn credits early, so don't feel any pressure—just treat it as adapting to the academy environment." Manstein helped Lin Nian up from his seat.

As Lin Nian and Manstein reached the door, it was opened from the outside. Lin Nian looked up and saw Lin Xian standing there. The sunlight refracting down dazzled his eyes, bathing everything in a soft golden glow. For a moment, he was startled, and the mottled scenes before his eyes seemed to flicker back, but when a breeze stirred Lin Xian’s black hair, he realized he was still in reality.

"What’s wrong? Are you feeling smug because your exam score surpassed mine?" Lin Xian reached out, waved her hand in front of Lin Nian’s face, and smiled.

"No... I just suddenly wanted to ask if you had ever dyed your hair gold at any point?" Lin Nian couldn't help but ask.

"Gold? Do I look like a Shibuya-style girl to you?" Lin Xian laughed and shook her head. "I heard from Instructor Fushiyama Masashi outside that you did quite well. It seems I’ll have to cling to your success to afford meals from now on."

"The cafeteria has plenty of pork knuckles," Lin Nian rubbed his temples and chuckled softly.

"No, based on your knowledge and eagerness to learn, Lin Xian, I believe that even without a high bloodline, you will certainly achieve something during your time here. You must know that the Secret Party's work involves many fields of knowledge, large and small," Fushiyama Masashi added earnestly from the side.

"Kassel College's library is indeed quite interesting. I’ve visited often these past two days and have seen many novel theories. I will try to apply myself to the areas I excel in," Lin Xian nodded slightly at Fushiyama Masashi.

"Perhaps you two can continue discussing work matters in the cafeteria. I need to take these documents to the archives to enter them into NOMA’s computer, so I must excuse myself for now," Manstein lifted the file, nodded to the three of them, and turned to leave.

"Can you reveal what you saw in your spirit vision? I noticed you had a strong reaction earlier," Fushiyama Masashi asked Lin Nian.

"Snow... and a snow-capped mountain, a black sky, and an iron gate... they felt like scenes I had never seen in my life," Lin Nian said, struggling to recall the events during the exam.

"Don't force yourself to remember. It's a good thing if you can't recall it clearly. I can provide some psychological counseling for you later," Fushiyama Masashi said.

"Are you hungry, little dragon-man? Do you want to check out the faculty cafeteria today? I hear they have a few more specialty soups and dishes than the student cafeteria," Lin Xian patted Lin Nian on the back.

"A 'little dragon-man'..." Lin Nian muttered, following behind Fushiyama Masashi and Lin Xian.

Yet, for some reason, he kept glancing at Lin Xian’s back along the way, as if making some sort of comparison, nodding at times and shaking his head at others.