Don't confiscate my identity as a human race

The expansive garden of the Magic Engineering College is lush with greenery, the leaves of the plants sparkling with a crystalline gleam from the morning dew.

At this moment, with the arrival of the staff of the Magic Engineering College, the automatic irrigation system in the garden also starts its operation.

However, Lanci and Vivian are still lingering not far from the entrance of the Old Literature Building.

All because of the question Vivian had suddenly asked.

During his time in Nanwantian Border, Lanci had never met anyone who would discuss this topic with him.

Even though Butler Hans and Maid Francine both highly praised his paintings, they had never discussed professional art-related topics with Lanci.

Lanci pondered for a moment, then answered with a smile,

"The difference... The statue of the goddess is carved vividly alive, her eyes gentle and loving, immersed in this rugged starfield, sometimes vast, sometimes calm, sinking deeper into the tranquil embrace, yet it also seems like resurfacing, soaring high."

"Indeed."

Vivian nodded in approval upon hearing Lanci's answer.

While she agreed with Lanci's view,

still, this seemingly similar insight to that of the masters, after hearing it repeatedly, has also made her feel a bit unimpressed.

However, very soon,

She heard Lanci's additional remarks.

"But to say why this piece as a whole is so touching, I think it has to start with the Southern Cross Constellation behind the statue of the goddess."

"Why so?"

Vivian furrowed her brow, asking.

Typically, the praise for this piece has always been centered around the goddess, and while the background is excellent carving work, it is not the main focus of the piece and serves more as a way to set off the goddess.

"The constellation carved by Mr. Jera actually varies subtly from the official school emblem, not due to a mistake, but a difference in the observation angle..."

Lanci looked once again at the carving on the dome, his clear and focused emerald eyes seemed to accurately discern the position of each star, and he exclaimed quite captivated,

"Just guessing... Could it be that the sculpture master, Mr. Jera, on the night of his observation of the stars, spontaneously carved out this piece? The starry sky that night may have been like the answer from the creator, providing Mr. Jera with the factor that made this piece naturally full of spirit. Under such realization, he looked at the starry sky and poured his heart into it. In the end, it's hard to say whether he was carving lapis lazuli or whether he was carving starlight. It is precisely this starry sky behind the goddess that makes the whole piece fully integrated, highlighting the statue of the goddess to the extreme but not taking away any of her captivating radiance."

"!"

Lanci's passionate remark obviously startled Vivian.

His keen eye and take on the carved piece were unique and profound.

Vivian remembered, according to the records of Ichrite Academy, magic artisan Jera did indeed complete this piece during the night.

Although it is impossible to verify the late Master Jera Zelt's state of mind during the creation, it happens to match perfectly with Lanci's viewpoint.

Vivian couldn't help but raise her head to look at the carving again, she found Lanci's words increasingly plausible.

"You..."

Then she turned her gaze to Lanci's profile.

There seemed to be some doubt as to whether Lanci was truly seeing this carving for the first time.

"I'm sorry if my conjectures have offended Master Jera, Princess Vivian."

Lanci could feel Vivian's gaze, he turned his head and gave a sunny smile.

"I heard that your ancestors were all merchants, is that why you are so good at appreciating?"

Vivian came back to her senses, nodded lightly, and then asked.

Although Lanci has a good eye for art, Vivian doesn't know what he excels at, and how good his own artistic creation is.

"Just a little understanding, out of interest."

Lanci answered modestly.

Vivian knew that Lanci always spoke modestly. Indeed, if Lanci had a remarkably high level of artistic attainment himself, it would have been impossible for him to remain completely unknown in this field.

"To be honest, the royal treasury also has a collection of works by magic artisan Jera. Each one of them could be called a national treasure."

In Vivian's tone, there was no hint of arrogance, just a rare chance to meet a peer who could talk to her, and she couldn't help but share a bit,

"If my brother Prince Aynor saw you, he might invite you to appreciate them... Nevermind, you'd better not meet him. If you ever meet a third-year student from the Magic Engineering College named Aynor, you must avoid him."

Halfway through her words, Vivian braked abruptly. Her tone of voice changed suddenly, her face somewhat gloomy.

"Is Prince Aynor not as approachable as Princess Vivian?"

Lanci asked curiously.

He hates it when people only say half of what they mean or speak ambiguously,

But out of politeness, he still used a more appropriate way of speaking to express his question.

"Am I approachable? Well... My brother is also very approachable, but the problem is that he's too approachable."

Vivian nodded thoughtfully after a moment of reflection, then further explained.

Her brother, the second prince of the Hutton Kingdom, is a very unique character.

The prince, despite his royalty, sneers at power and status, yet only loves elegance and art.

And he loves to show off.

If Aynor discovered Lanci's novel perspective on art appreciation, he would certainly invite Lanci to tour the royal palace, to appreciate and review his many collections, to show off his ways to Lanci.

"I see. Prince Aynor sounds like a kind person, I will be careful to avoid him so as not to cause him any trouble."

Lanci finally understood.

The prince was simply too enthusiastic, and he might lose control when he encounters someone he could resonate with.

"Well, you don't have to worry too much."

Vivian was sure that even if her foolish brother actually met Lanci in the future and found him lovely, he wouldn't bother Lanci much in the long run.

Obviously, there was no way that Lanci, at his age, could be a true art master.

So, her brother would only show off to Lanci for a bit, and there shouldn't be any follow-ups.

While chatting.

They saw that the Old Literature Building had begun normal operations.

The two of them then entered the building to process their enrollment paperwork.

Everything was very easy with Vivian accompanying him.

He felt like he had become a minister himself.

In less than half an hour, Lanci happily left the Magic Engineering College and headed towards the dormitory.

The Student Service Center would send the students' temporarily stored luggage directly to their respective dormitories.

Lanci was quite satisfied with the school's services.

"Do you have a team in mind at the moment? If you don't join a team, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for you to challenge the Shadow World."

Vivian stepped leisurely with her hands interlaced, her finger tapping her elbow.

She posed the question to Lanci whilst they were on the way.

She also planned to go to the dormitory today. They would be classmates at the Sage Academy in the future.

Students who have been granted the status of registered challenger by the South Continent Shadow World Management Association can challenge the real Shadow World, and of course, they can also form teams.

Therefore, there are quite a few renowned teams in the school.

It's explicitly forbidden for freshmen to take on the Shadow World challenge solo per the school's rules.

So, even if some students obtain their challenger license in their first year, they still join a team, forming teams with upperclassmen to face the challenges.

"So, what if I team up with a first-year student to take the challenge?"

Lanci asked curiously.

He actually wanted to challenge the real Shadow World as soon as possible and didn't want to waste any time.

Because, once the Shadow World is opened, there will be a time of repulsion where you can't re-enter the Shadow World, so the saying, "the earlier you start, the earlier your cooldown starts," applies.

But to join a team, there's always some sort of accommodating, arranging, preparing stage. As a newbie, it's probably challenging to get into action quickly and directly.

"That would be pure suicide,"

Vivian looked at Lanci as she coldly asserted.

She didn't want Lanci to ruin himself due to his overconfidence and ignorance. After all, he was a promising talent in the Hutton Kingdom.

"Um."

Lanci found Vivian's attitude to be a bit scary, but he knew she was worried about his safety.

His understanding of the real Shadow World is only based on a few combat records and analysis documents. Vivian, as the princess, knows many powerful challengers, she undoubtedly understands the actual situation better than he does.

"Speaking of which, the real third-order Shadow World and the difficulty of the third round of the examination..."

"The difficulty of the third-order Shadow World far exceeds that of the Second-order [Infinite Phantom Valley], even with the addition of the most demanding challenges, they are not on the same level."

Vivian cut him off and answered confidently before Lanci could finish his question.

She found that Lanci seemed to have no awareness of the danger of the real Shadow World.

How could a second-order segment of the artificial emulation of the Shadow World possibly compare to the difficulty of a third-order Shadow World!

If Lanci truly does become arrogant and complacent because he passed the entrance exam and received his license, he will sooner or later cause serious trouble in the Shadow World.

Vivian took a deep breath and decided that even if it would make her appear harsh, it was her duty to vigorously wake Lanci up.

But before she could compose her needed scolding, Lanci asked again:

"What if, I mean what if, for the exam of [Infinite Phantom Valley], we add three negative conditions: 'Hillside Terrain', 'Examiner's Order Four promoted to Five', and 'Examiner's Starting Distance Halved', could it then compete with the third-order Shadow World?"

Vivian was taken aback after hearing this.

What kind of devilish conditions were these? Could someone really think of such things?

The nature of the exam would completely change.

"...Are you joking? If these three conditions are added, I believe it would be impossible for any freshman to pass. It would be close to a third-order Shadow World in a rampage state," Vivian replied hesitantly.

Generally, if serious errors occur during the process of the Shadow World, making it impossible to use the mechanism to defeat the final boss smoothly. Instead, even confronting a situation where the boss takes the initiative to hunt, is usually referred to as the Shadow World entering in a "Rampage State".

In a three-order Shadow World in a rampage state, a third-order challenger might have to face the hunt by the final boss of fifth-order.

Having said that, Vivian looked at Lanci puzzled again.

It couldn't be that Lanci and Hyperion experienced these conditions, could it?

If both of them passed the test under these conditions, how terrifying would Lanci be?

"I guess I have an idea of the difficulty of the third-order Shadow World now."

Lanci held his chin and nodded.

As long as he brought along his old teammate Hyperion, and they formed a team and matched into the real Shadow World, their respective order levels were two and three, and they would most likely get a second-order or third-order Shadow World.

Instead, it's likely going to be much easier than joining a team and forming a group with third and fourth-order upperclassmen.

"You... You didn't really encounter these three conditions with Hyperion, did you?"

Vivian turned her head suspiciously and stared at Lanci to ask.

Although she felt it was impossible.

But just a moment ago, she felt something weirdly calm and steady about Lanci, and even she, as a princess who is pretty good at discerning people, got the feeling that she couldn't really measure the depth of Lanci.

"Of course not, how could it be these three."

Lanci laughed, waved his hand, and shook his head.

What he ran into were the conditions 'Plain Terrain', 'Furious Firat', and 'One-third Distance'.

A bit different from what he told Vivian earlier.