Seeing Little Bruce go to the other side of the long table to discuss Shiller's hand injury with Barry and Halley, Shiller reveals a smile and says, "My other personality is somewhat curious about that shredder, and I deeply regret the harm his reckless operation has caused."
"Humph." Victor let out a somewhat disdainful humph. Anna also shook her head, obviously too accustomed to Shiller's various nonsense, she didn't believe his words at all.
"Well, the truth is, I needed to get a bit hurt, and one of my personality traits is exceptionally unlucky. As soon as it surfaces, all kinds of misfortunes always come. So, I invited him to try the magical shredder," he said.
Shiller calmly rolls up the noodles in his plate with one hand until they become a perfect spindle shape wrapped around his fork.
"I don't understand what's the point of this," said Anna, visibly puzzled. "If you want to get hurt, why don't you just do it yourself?"
"Different personalities do not share the sense of pain."
Anna and Victor exchanged a glance. The expressions on their faces were both "Is that possible?! " and "Don't you feel a bit dishonest?"
Across the long table, Little Bruce had squeezed in between Barry and Halley. Barry moved his stool to the side with some disgust, looking at Little Bruce with dissatisfaction and asking, "Why are you abandoning your meal and coming over here again?"
"Did you guys see? That Rodriguez's hand is injured."
Halley's chewing paused for a moment, but Barry raised an eyebrow and looked in Shiller's direction. Even though they were quite far apart, he could still see Shiller keep one of his hands under the table.
"What does this prove?" Halley took a sip of oatmeal porridge and said, "Maybe he just doesn't want to use that hand today. I don't think anything could hurt him."
"But don't you think it's too coincidental?" Little Bruce put down his plate and utensils, stood up and took a piece of bread from the front with tongs and put it into his own plate, saying, "Yesterday we saw someone hurt their arm by a tree man, and today his arm is hidden in his sleeve."
"You suspect Director Rodrigues?"
"He indeed seems suspicious."
Barry sighed and said, "I really don't understand why you want to meddle in these matters. Why do we have to get involved? Can't we just stay put?"
"So, I told you you're an idiot." Little Bruce seemed to be in a slightly better mood, not as irritable as before. He only continued to speak in his mocking tone, saying, "Do you think these matters have nothing to do with us?"
"Isn't it so?"
Little Bruce let out a cold laugh and said, "What do you think the magic realm is most lacking right now?"
Barry was somewhat baffled at the rapid change of topic, and then Little Bruce asked quickly, "What kind of people do you think this academy ultimately wants to cultivate?"
"Of course, powerful magicians."
"Are magicians the powerful ones? Aren't the powerful ones those angels and demons? All the power that magicians use comes from them. What's the use of just being powerful? Weren't the previous grand mages of the magic realm powerful?"
Barry was left speechless by Little Bruce's questions, then Little Bruce said in a string of words, "A little understanding of the history of the magic realm shows that the terrible state of the magic realm today has nothing to do with individual capabilities. The problem lies in the standpoint."
"Constantine told me that there are too many betrayers in the magic realm, who either deliberately or unintentionally harm humans from the angels and demons' standpoint, eventually making the magic realm completely a tool of these powerful beings, thereby threatening the interests of all mages, or even the interests of ordinary people."
"This magic academy, established by the cosmos, is there to reverse this situation. Therefore, their goal is not to develop the abilities of mages, but to establish solid stands for the future mages."
"So, how does this relate to your involvement in these matters?" Barry was still a little confused.
Little Bruce sighed somewhat helplessly and said, "Can your brain hold anything other than greasy sausages? Isn't what I said clear enough?"
"Barry, now, there is a room containing the energy core of the magical defense network, which is vitally important to humans. Both teachers and senior students repeatedly emphasize that we must not get close to that room. So, what should we do?" Halley turned to look at Barry and asked.
"What else can we do? Shouldn't we follow the rules?"
"So, one day if we learn from angels and demons about a treasure hidden somewhere, should we also strictly abide by their rules, never crossing boundaries or touching a single molecule?"
"Um..."
Harley finished the last bit of porridge in her spoon, pushed the bowl aside and said: "Like I said, many magicians do not betray the human race willingly, sometimes they are not even under the control of angels and demons. Rather, they are simply told by their surroundings that obeying their masters and gods is the right thing to do, so they do it."
"The vast majority of ordinary people lack the ability to transcend their circumstances, which is why peddling arguments like 'if you're not successful you're just not trying hard enough' is utterly wrong. Without the ability to step outside one's circumstances, one can work themselves to death and still be stuck within a certain class."
"In the face of beings much stronger than us, rebellion, skepticism, and defiance of authority are the crucial keys to preserving our sense of self. This is likely the first lesson all students must learn."
Barry deeply furrowed his brow, as he felt he was starting to understand. He caressed the fork in his hand and said: "So this is actually a trap set up by all the teachers and professors? Or, could it be seen as an entrance exam?"
"What else could it be? Don't you think there are too many loopholes in it?" Little Bruce cut the bread vigorously with the knife in his hand and said, "The new term has just started, and they keep repeating how certain places are dangerous and absolutely forbidden. If they're so dangerous, why not bring in some cement and seal off the entire corridor? How many students could break through such physical barriers?"
Barry opened his mouth, suddenly finding Little Bruce's points very reasonable.
In a school, where a group of teachers repeatedly tells a group of students that a certain place is off-limits, but don't bother to enforce any safety measures for that place, does indeed seem illogical.
Even if magic energy is precious, wouldn't it be enough just to block the entire corridor with some material? There are no teaching activities in the rooms inside the fourth floor corridor, blocking it wouldn't affect the normal operation of the school. So why don't they?
"The biggest loophole is that injured student." Little Bruce rolled his eyes and said.
"They start by establishing an impression of unquestionable authority through repetitive declarations and submission, then scare everyone with the example of a student who has suffered a serious injury. They use this example to underscore their rules forging a mental shackle in everyone's mind."
"Just like what those angels and demons do to the magicians." Harley sighed lightly, nibbling at her biscuit as she spoke. "First, they establish religious worship, granting believers the power to kill heretics as a warning to others. Then they emphasize 'those who follow me will prosper, those who oppose me will perish.' In less than a few thousand years, just a generation of listening to divine teachings and devout obedience will sear into the hearts of everyone."
Barry shivered, feeling a cold sweat breaking out all over his body. His fingertips trembled as he said: "So, you're saying, if I were to meet a demon now, and they tried to manipulate me in this way, I would really listen?"
"Most people would." Little Bruce's tone took on some other emotion as he continued, "I can't understand at all what you guys are thinking. You're so forgetful, negligent in thinking, dull and unperceptive. Living among you, it feels like I'm hanging out with a bunch of rocks."
"And yet, these obstinate, foolish stones shed so many tears. They don't even sympathize with their own foolishness, they sympathize with me instead. I'm just expressing my true feelings, but they think I'm being unreasonable."
Harley gave Little Bruce a look and rotated the biscuit in her hand, saying: "I've gotten used to this. I told my parents they might die, they just thought I was crazy. But when they actually died, everyone crowded around me, held me and cried, saying how pitiful I was, how much suffering I would endure in the future. They call this love, but all their abundant emotions, foolish theories and the malice hidden behind them just give me a headache."
"Without these so-called people who love me, I'm much too free wandering alone. The state I'm in now is the best it's been since I was born, but they just think I'm a pitiful orphan."
Little Bruce halted his eating, picking up the napkin next to him to wipe his mouth, saying: "At a young age, I noticed that many things I could understand at a glance went unnoticed by the average person, incomprehensible even when seen, unreasoned even when understood, ineffective even when actions were taken. And even when actions were taken, they were full of mistakes, resulting in confusion."
"I often feel like I'm not of the same species as you." Little Bruce, indifferent as ever, averted his eyes and said, "I would rather join the bats in the sky than wallow amid a pile of stones, pitying the while being pitied by a bunch of fools. While people often say that people cannot understand each other, I'm particularly unable to understand anyone."
As Barry opened his mouth to speak, Little Bruce cut him off, saying: "But I'm not interested in understanding you. I'm fine by myself."
With that, he hopped off the chair and walked alone towards the exit of the auditorium.
But the words he spoke affected him more than he thought, at least for a while he couldn't detach himself from the logical thinking in the conversation. So when he bumped into someone head-on, he was a bit surprised.
"Thud."
Little Bruce retreated two steps holding his head, while the other stood stiff. As soon as Little Bruce opened his eyes to find another person not a tearful child, he knew he had probably bumped into a professor.
The first thing that caught his eye was an extremely luxurious and complex magic robe, with a deep blue lining like the depths of the ocean, the edge embroidered with intricate patterns in golden thread. Next was the black long robe typical of other professors, but also adorned with detailed leaf and vine patterns, its hem trailing even longer than the other robes.
Little Bruce looked up to find a pair of bright blue eyes like arctic glaciers, and a face that was almost identical to his.