章 12: Chapter 8 Listen to me, little one
Circe mustered a bit of energy and dug out an ancient language parchment manuscript from her magic books, tossing it to Luo En opposite her.
"Today, we shall discuss the remaining Hermes Script."
"Already finished it."
Luo En caught the manuscript and, without a glance, tossed it back into Circe's arms.
Hermes Script, also known as Hermes's symbolic language, is an ancient symbol system believed to have originated in Ancient Greece. Hermes, the Messenger god of Greek mythology, is said to have invented this system and taught it to humanity.
This symbolic language was extensively used during the ancient times of Greece and Rome, utilized for recording, communication, and mystical rituals.
Typically, they are roughly composed of a series of lines and geometric shapes, with each symbol representing a specific letter, word, or concept. These symbols were commonly engraved on stone, pottery, or paper, and could also serve as amulets or magic charms.
Furthermore, the shapes and arrangements of Hermes Script had certain symbolic meanings and were believed to convey hidden messages and powers, hence the subject was often one of the introductory courses essential for studying magic and witchcraft.
Circe scratched her head, her pastel-colored eyes filled with deep confusion.
"Hmm? Weren't there a few pages left?"
"I learned it on my own. Waiting for you to drag it out would have taken forever."
Luo En rolled his eyes, unable to suppress a scoff.
Since it's akin to an introductory required course, the difficulty is naturally not too high.
For such a booklet of just a few dozen pages, the fact that Circe could stretch out the lessons to over half a month still leaving one third remaining made Luo En suspect this woman wasn't a Witch of the Eagle, but a slow-as-molasses pigeon spirit, always procrastinating and delaying him.
Amidst his internal complaints, Luo En's purple eyes turned to the Enchantress of the Eagle across from him, a trace of disdain swirling silently within them.
"That quick? Then let me test you."
Circe, skeptical, opened the parchment manuscript and drew five different symbols on a slate with a stick.
Luo En glanced over them and began to answer without hesitation.
"This triangle represents fire, signifying energy and passion; the square represents earth, denoting stability and solidity; the circle represents water, for flow and change; the half-circle represents air, for thought and communication. And fire, earth, water, air are also what's often referred to in magic as the basic elements that constitute the world.
As for the last one, the spiral represents the soul, symbolizing growth and evolution...
The above are the individual applications, but these symbols combined can also form more complex matrices. Depending on the shape, size, and arrangement of each symbol, the effect of the matrix can vary accordingly, and this is what's called a Magic Array."
After systematically explaining the meaning of the five Hermes Script symbols, he paused briefly, pondered for a moment, and his gaze grew deeper.
"Its essence, is to take the [Elements] as the [Foundation], the [Symbols] as the [Medium], the [Soul] as the [Sovereign], defining the [Rules] according to one's own [Will], reconstructing a miniature [World]!"
"Who told you these things?"
"Guessed it…"
"…?!"
Circe's pastel eyes gradually widened, looking incredulously at the young man before her uttering astonishing words, then her expression soaked with a touch of bitterness.
"Do you know how many decades it took me to comprehend all this?"
"Just luck."
Luo En's face remained unrippled, his tone still calm.
Words and symbols are not only carriers of language communication but also represent the creator's and a civilization's view and understanding of the world, which inevitably contains a complete philosophical discourse.
Such insight was not something to be proud of; it was merely because he had examined the operational logic of more than one ancient language when designing those game narratives and structures, learning their general commonalities.
And when one principle becomes clear, all others follow.
Seeing her own rebellious student perform so well, Circe, as a teacher, couldn't help but abandon her attempt to muddle through and forced herself to perk up, pulling another book from the pile.
"Since you've almost mastered Hermes Script, let's move on to 'Alchemy Studies' next."
"We covered that last year."
Luo En reminded her expressionlessly, casting a desolate glance at his not-so-reliable mentor.
Circe coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject.
"What about this 'Alchemical Arts' then?"
"Three months ago."
"'Summoning Arts' and 'Transfiguration Arts'?"
"Summoning Arts is fine, but you mentioned that Transfiguration Arts isn't quite suitable for my constitution, as it seems to require a unique lineage. We just finished that course last week..."
"..."
Under the increasingly pointed gaze of her student, Circe's face turned unnaturally red, and she looked at the useless magic books scattered around, feeling inwardly dejected.
What's the rush to reincarnate?
The magic books she had gone to great lengths to collect had been nearly exhausted. What should she teach next?
A certain lazy teacher, straining her brain the size of a walnut as legends say birds possess, kept glancing at her overly exceptional student with increasingly mournful eyes.
That's why she hated teaching!
Finally, after racking her brains for a full thirty minutes, Circe weakly proposed today's lesson.
"How about a meditation class?"
Luo En put down the old textbook he was flipping through and nodded calmly.
In the sixteen years he had been living on Aiaia Island, leading a secluded and tranquil life, the Sword of Damocles overhead always filled his heart with a sense of emergency.
Therefore, to enhance his self-protection, Luo En spared no effort in learning magic and witchcraft, tackling them with the fervor of studying for college entrance exams in his past life.
Over the years, he had almost drained the Great Witch of her magical knowledge.
At this point, what he lacked compared to Circe was probably only in magic power, experience, and skills.
And as meditation is the foundational course for beginner witches, it is the main way to solidify one's spirit and enhance magic power.
Better to spend more time meditating and accumulating more magic power than to waste it under the inefficient and derelict teaching of this doddling teacher.
"Alright, wait a moment, I'll go prepare some things!"
With permission granted, Circe leaped up from her seat and rushed out of the temple in haste.
Luo En glanced at the back of the buffoonish teacher as she fled in what seemed like panic, shook his head helplessly, and reached for the Hermes Script manuscript, tracing the runes that Circe had written on a slab using a twig.
Although his theoretical knowledge was already top-notch, replicating the perfect essence of each Hermes rune was still quite challenging.
To overcome this, he had no choice but to engage in long and tedious practice.
By the time Luo En had traced roughly over thirty times, Circe finally returned to the temple, clanging a large, bubbling cauldron between them, and then set two coarsely crafted bowls on the ground.
With the thick stirring sound, two bowls were filled to the brim.
Luo En looked at the bowl in front of him, the soup black and green, and his eyes twitched involuntarily, his face etched with an expression that said, "Are you kidding me?"
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