I passed through a grandiose entrance that read "Brightgood Institute of Magic". I trotted on my mount along the lengthy drive to get to the very first facility I could see. It bothered me a lot how the institute decided to put the entrance 3 kilometers away from the building. They must have wanted to discourage the people from thinking of getting an apartment outside of school. Thinking of the overrated rent for the dorms, then it would appear that my hunch was true.
I strolled down the pine tree lane thinking of why I was here. For one reason, it was because I needed to find out how to break a gate. Not because I want to be a hero, but because I people to protect. I also don't want to run away when I could have helped in the first place. MCs from the novels I read had two extremities, some tend to be over helpful, the others are jerks.
After the lonesome parade of me, I arrived at a very stylish building, all slapped up in filigree and arches. It kind of makes you wonder where the futuristic technology went, but when you remember that people here are into magic, everything makes sense.
Entering the building, I found that there wasn't anyone here. Or more specifically, no information desk, or clerk, or any soul for that matter. Thankfully they weren't that heartless, the faculty seemed generous enough to provide a map. And it was huge, like an entire wall huge.
According to the map I was near the reception hall and the reception desk was way over to the other side of the hall. I walked over the corner and saw the hall was very long.
"Tsk." I had already dismounted the steed before I entered the building but this lengthy hallway made me want to use it again. Not wanting to violate any rules, I walked towards the receptionist. I arrived after what seemed to be half a kilometer walk.
"Hello, I'd like to ask if Professor Ceida is around."
"Might I ask if you have an appointment with the professor? I'm afraid she would deny a meeting if it wasn't appointed. She is after all a very busy person." The receptionist said.
"I don't have an appointment, but I'm sure he'll meet me if you could show him this." I handed out the letter Count Ervinsyl gave me.
"I wouldn't be sure, but I'll see to it that she receives the letter." She took the letter then hastily ran off to somewhere.
Having nothing to do, I walked over to a corner and meditated over the Six Blooms Spear Art. I tried to comprehend the meaning behind the movements and their connection to the seasons.
According to the Chinese culture the orchid represents spring, the lotus for summer, the chrysanthemum for autumn, and the plum for winter.
The question then lies on what the fifth bloom was. As its name says, it was the spider lily of death. In Asian traditions, the spider lily was known to be the flower on the other side of the river, or in others the flower of the graveyard. Both of which indicate that the higanbana was connected to the spirit world.
Or death. Similar to what the vision has shown me. Or is there a deeper meaning to it?
'First, let's try to line out the seasons.'
In my head, I note down the temporal names that the technique mentioned. There was Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Death. From what I've seen, one could infer that the sixth would either be life or birth. It's like the cycle of life.
If there was a seventh bloom then it would be transcendence. Which would be represented by a lotus.
"Wait, what?" The thought broke me out of my meditation.
"If lotus meant transcendent, then why was it a part of the cycle?" This was detrimental to what transcendence should mean.
To break out of the cycle was the main point of transcending. Contrary to what the lotus represents. The lotus had a lot of meaning. Sun, fire, enlightenment, self-regeneration, purity, and a lot of other things. But most of all it represents rebirth. This was from the beliefs of all the civilizations of Asia and North Africa. If this was true, then there should only be five blooms, with lotus representing the other three phases of life.
But when you think about it, shouldn't the spear be all about poking and stabbing. It was definitely not made for twirling around. You have the whip for that. And worst still, the type of spear used was an overlord spear. Not for whipping out like what a bending spear was made for.
"Um, hello?"
A feminine voice pulled me back to reality. It was the receptionist from before.
"Yes? Do you need something?"
"Ah. No. The professor wanted to meet you. She said to bring you to the research center."
"Thank you. I'll be in your care." I stood up and followed after her.
We passed through several huge infrastructures and arrived at a building with a dome roof. Inside was a large collection of aged books and artifacts. There were some inactive golems inside glass cases and a lot of steles with Ynquish writings.
'No. Those aren't steles. Those should be part of the walls from the ruins.'
This place should be the research center dedicated for the study of the Ynquish civilization. There are a lot of researchers here studying the technology of the fallen race.
We arrived at the overlook that was placed opposite the entrance. It was quite wide for what you call a mezzanine. It had the same area as my house! It was also connected to terrace outside of the building, which also had the same surface area.
Whoever was seated on the desk in front of the door that lead to the terrace should be the Head Researcher. And as I expected, the receptionist brought me to her.