"Lotus, can you tell me a few things about the Spirit World? What does it look like? What do you do there? Your population… Your enemies there… Your friends or anything…"
Vale asked a series of questions as he can't contain his curiosity... His knowledge about the Spirit World is greatly limited. Knowing about the place she was living in before would greatly impact his understanding of her.
Lotus pursed her lips as she slowly sat on Vale's bed…
"I think I've lost some of my memories after leaving the Spirit World… I can only recall a few things like the rules we've had, the mighty beings that were protecting our home, the things I've done in the place, and some residents of the Spirit World… It seems that this is done to protect the security and privacy of the Spirit World…" She replied after a moment of thought.
"I guess that's understandable. In any case, you mention that the Spirit World needs to be protected… I wonder who are you wary of in the Spirit World… Is it us, humans? I mean, the Practitioners of Arcane Arts?" Vale asked as he crossed his fingers hoping that she would deny his question.
Lotus then shook her head and clarified.
"It's not… It is the other race from the Abyss. However, you can also say that we're wary of your kind. Especially those who practice the Darkness Path and the Mystic Path." Lotus answered.
Vale frowned for a moment before nodding in acknowledgment… He needs to process what she just said.
'So the Abyss is real…' Vale muttered inwardly as he read about it in the forbidden book that he obtained from Master Heinz. However, he didn't take note of it before since he thought it was something he wouldn't encounter any time soon.
"The other race from the Abyss… Are you referring to the Church's enemies? The demonic race?" Vale asked as he easily connected the clues he had.
Of the five prominent churches in the continent, only the Church of the Fortune Goddess and the Church of the Divine Sorcerer introduced the demon race that ought to bring humans into eternal suffering…
If there was a place where the demon race resides, the Abyss seems to be the perfect place for them.
Lotus looked at Vale after hearing his question before nodding her head.
"I see… Then why are you warry of us who practices the Darkness Path and Mystic Path? Aren't we supposed to be your friends? I think you should be more wary of the Holy Arts Faction or the Radiant Path. I'm pretty sure they'll be exorcising your kind once they saw someone from the Spirit World..." Vale added.
However, Lotus didn't answer and only looked at Vale with exasperation…
Vale's eyes widened as he seemed to understand what she was trying to say by that reaction.
"Are you telling me that the Holy Arts Faction has deep ties with Spirit World? Aaah--That's actually possible." Vale paused as he realized that a faction greatly tied with one of the churches might indeed be connected to the Spirit World.
It's certainly possible since the Church probably needs the resources or powers that the Spirit World can provide.
"Yes… As for the other details, I can't remember them." Lotus replied.
"I understand… Can you at least tell me what can you do aside from hiding in my shadow and taking corpses with you?" Vale asked as he decided not to pry too much to matter she can't remember.
Lotus then looked at Vale with a meaningful gaze before answering…
"I can fight…"
Just these words alone made Vale smile from ear to ear.
He chatted with Lotus for a while before she felt tired and returned to his shadow.
Since Vale is not using his Dark Energy to sustain Lotus' presence in the real world, she had to use her own energy…
Well, being able to stay active outside his shadow for almost two hours is already a good thing. Although it would lessen the amount of time if she decided to use her abilities, it is still quite a decent addition to his tactics. It can be considered as his additional trump card.
He now felt a bit more confident fighting against the Slender Zombie.
Headmaster Jean soon came to pick up the corpse and left his room like nothing happened.
On the next day, Vale attended the class and got the results of his previous monthly assessment.
"Congratulations, Vale… You got a perfect score on your monthly assessment. As you inquired before, you're allowed to request a Class Advancement Examination… If you pass, you can skill this class and use your time freely. If you fail, however, you have to be my Student Assistant for the rest of the year. So, what's your plan?" Professor Russel Ravinie of the Intermediate Arithmetic Class announced after entering the classroom.
No one uttered any words as they waited for Vale to answer.
They were all interested in whatever the outcome will be.
Vale hesitated for a moment before asking some questions.
"Do I have to perfect the Class Advancement Exam as well?"
Although he's confident in his skills, he still felt worried that there would be plenty of tricky questions that he might miss one or two…
"No need… You only have to at least get 85% and you're good." Professor Russel answered.
"If that's the case, can I also ask about the coverage of the exam?"
"The coverage is everything that I'll be teaching for the rest of the year. You should've checked the Intermediate Arithmetic book already."
"I understand… Please allow me to take the exam, then."
As soon as Vale said this, everyone in the class, except Leonore, looked at Vale with mixed emotions. Some of them are shocked, and excited, while a few of them disdained his guts.
As for Leonore, she didn't attend the class today due to some unknown reason.
"Very well, I'll fill up the request form for the Class Advancement Examination. Once one of the Vice-Headmasters approved of it, you'll be immediately informed. It will take a week or even less so it won't be long."
