Free Web NovelChapter 2737: Chapter 958: Exam Notification
Professor Yao’s words about the vortex resonated deeply with Zheng Qing.
However, his feelings were not stirred by the somewhat twisted persistence and downfall between Thomas and Nikita, but by the subtle and precise coupling that the word "vortex" could express.
Just like destiny.
The more he sorted through the events that had occurred recently, the more Zheng Qing felt a sense of awe towards the destiny that might exist in the unseen.
Here’s a small example.
The Battle of the Black Prison and the illegal magic experiments conducted by the Crow seemed like two completely unrelated matters. Yet, the vortex of destiny intertwined them—the incident where the Crow caused two faculty members to defect didn’t cause a huge uproar within the Alliance primarily because, after the Battle of the Black Prison, Professor Emma was promoted to Vice Principal of the First University.
Professor Emma was the former dean of Alpha Academy, and the wizard families who controlled the media resources within the Alliance had to some extent to save face for their own, hence they all deliberately downplayed these two scandals at the school.
Otherwise, with the already questionable strength of Professor Emma, her position would become even more precarious—a situation that would be unfavorable for all Alpha People.
In Old Yao’s words, destiny is like a vortex, spinning quietly beyond many people’s curiosity, and if one day you’re tempted to get closer and see what it looks like, it’s easy to get sucked in.
Zheng Qing felt that he was now, either consciously or unconsciously, being drawn into the vortex of the Crows’ destiny.
And he was sinking deeper and deeper into it.
This left him feeling quite troubled; when he returned to the dormitory in the evening, he discovered a cockroach skittering by the sink as he washed up and couldn’t help but complain to the doctor.
"Endless! Endless!"
The young assistant was in a frustrated mood, slapping a wet towel with a hint of irritation: "These guys can be seen everywhere... you can see them at home, see them at school, see them inside the school, see them outside the school... endless! Doctor, is there any magic to drive away cockroaches?"
The Black Gem Cat was crouched on the desk, tilting its head to glance at the young man who had just stepped out of the bathroom—after being rubbed for several hours by Zheng Qing, it had regained its vitality, and its intelligence seemed faintly enhanced.
"For potion preparation, please find Fat Brother, thank you."
Xiao Xiao was laying on the table, teasing the Black Gem Cat with a feather pen, and responded lazily without even lifting his head: "—but is it really the cockroaches that you are concerned about?"
"Who else if not them?"
Zheng Qing wrung the towel in his hand, as if by doing so he could wring the bugs to death—ever since the sprites moved into Greenhill Mansion, the comfort level of dorm 403 had noticeably decreased.
"Crows." The Fat Wizard answered the question with the keen insight of a journalist.
Zheng Qing was taken aback by the word.
It felt like swallowing a bite of dry black bread.
After a moment, he let out a heavy sigh: "Do you remember the Infant Spirit I mentioned to you before? During the class this afternoon, I asked Old Yao to take a look, and he said there was nothing wrong... Jiang Yu had also asked her elders at home to check, and they found no issues either."
"Isn’t that good?" Xiao Xiao lifted his head in confusion, evidently not understanding what was bothering Zheng Qing. Due to this brief distraction, the feather pen was immediately pounced upon by the Black Gem Cat.
Zheng Qing glanced at the joyous little cat and sighed once more.
"No, it’s not good at all."
He wrapped the towel around his wrist in circles, staring down at his gradually purple and swollen palm, as if seeing a python strangling its prey, watching as the target suffocated bit by bit: "—I wasn’t this sensitive and paranoid before."
"In a sense, this is a kind of progress."
Xin Fat Man also shifted his attention from his draft to comfort his roommate: "According to old-school wizards, a suspicious wizard is a good wizard... You weren’t suspicious when you decisively signed that unaware magic contract a year ago, but it was stupid. Comparatively, being a bit more suspicious might at least prolong your life."
Zheng Qing suddenly felt a bit stung.
And from both sides too.
He let go of the towel, shook it out, placed it on his face, and took a long breath: "I just don’t understand... with such a vast world of magic, why can’t everyone just keep a distance from each other, cordon off space, and conduct their own magic research... why do demons have to provoke wizards, and the starry sky has to spy on the earth?"
"There’s always only one reason for this kind of thing."
Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses and said sharply: "Because every wizard wants to grasp the truth, yet they choose different paths, and the resources in the world do not support everyone trying all paths... This leads to disagreements, disagreements lead to conflicts, conflicts burst into clashes... then death, and then new cycles."
"Additionally, the pursuit of power in wizard society cannot be resolved by confining oneself to a small space."
The Fat Wizard added from another perspective: "In a sense, wizards are no different from fireflies, both are phototactic creatures. When we can’t create our own light, we are attracted to other lights... From the perspective of dimensional theory, it is the natural attraction of higher dimensions to lower dimensions."
Zheng Qing didn’t expect such a serious discussion to arise from his casual remark.
He wasn’t in the mood for a philosophical discussion about magic right now.
Dong Dong!
The familiar sound of tapping on glass came from outside the balcony, instantly attracting the attention of the three warlocks.
Zheng Qing eagerly squeezed past, hung up the towel, opened the window, and let a blue paper crane into the room. The paper crane almost tumbled into Zheng Qing’s arms.
He cautiously picked up the paper crane by its wing and was surprised to see a small stamp on the tip of the wing with the word "Safe" on it.
The young man instinctively looked out the window.
Even though he couldn’t see anything through the dark night, he clearly knew there was more than one pair of eyes watching him from the darkness.
He couldn’t help but tug at the corners of his mouth, revealing a wry smile.
"Whose paper crane?" The curious voice of the Fat Wizard came from the inside.
"Mine." Zheng Qing answered quietly, standing at the balcony door, but not in a hurry to go inside.
"What is it?" Xiao Xiao evidently noticed Zheng Qing’s hesitant expression while holding the letter.
Zheng Qing turned the letter over several times, finally scratching his chin unable to hold back: "—It’s two exam notifications, one for ’Registered Talisman Maker,’ and the other for ’Authorized Talisman Bullet Maker’. The notice states that the exams for related subjects will take place this Saturday and Sunday and that I should prepare in advance... but why are my exam rooms all in the Magic Spell classroom?"
If not for the seals of the two examination committees, the Trident Sword, and the First University Institute of Applied Magic at the end of the notice, he would think someone was joking with him.
