Chapter 9 - I am a Little Curious
Chapter 9 of "High School of Demon Hunting" kicks off with thrilling moments: âWizard?â Zheng Qing thought of the young girl from earlier, and winced in discomfort.âI guess... Read more!
âWizard?â Zheng Qing thought of the young girl from earlier, and winced in discomfort.
âI guess I could just about accept a Taoist.â
âThat includes Chinese Taoists, monks, Confucian scholars, church monks, priests, RBâs Onmyoji, ninjas, Indian Brahmins, Egyptian priests, American superhumans and even non-living entities such as the Blood Race, werewolves, evil spirits, and ghosts.
They are all classified as wizards, but historical factors led to different names,â explained Thomas.
Laughing, Zheng Qing responded, âYou mentioned the First University as a wizard university.
Does that mean there are middle schools and elementary schools for wizards too?â
âCorrect!â Thomas nodded, his serene green eyes filled with sincerity without any hint of humor.
âDo you know about Hogwarts?â Zheng Qing asked with a smile.
âOf course, outstanding graduates of Hogwarts can get exempted from the entrance exam of the Alpha College of the First University,â Thomas looked at Zheng Qing with surprise.
âYou know about this school too?
Do you have friends there?
If I am not mistaken, a girl mentioned this schoolâs name just now.
Hogwarts is a traditional middle-school located in England.
I attended middle school in the U.S.
titled âSuper Genius.â In actuality, apart from enrolling new students and some international cooperative activities, the First University does not have much contact with these middle schools.â
âWhatâs the date today?â Zheng Qing interrupted Thomasâs verbose explanation.
Glaring at the man across from him with a shiny head, his skepticism was apparent.
âItâs not April Foolsâ, is it?â
âYou donât believe?â Thomas raised his eyebrows.
Zheng Qing hastily responded, âIâm just a bit curious.
Not that I donât believe in theseâŚ
supernatural thingsâŚâ
Thomas cut him off seriously, âItâs not supernatural at all.
Isnât it very natural?
For a wizard, everything is natural.â
âWhat I meant was,â Zheng Qing retorted impatiently, âI never attended a wizard elementary school or middle schoolâŚ
Wouldnât it be obvious if this was only a university and not an elementary school?
Youâre expecting someone who doesnât even know addition and subtraction to prove â1+1â?
Iâm not Harry Potter!â
âWhoâs Harry Potter?
Iâve heard his name a few times today.â Thomas looked confused but continued seriously, âAlso, isnât â1+1Ⲡtwo?â
âAre you an alien?â Zheng Qing asked with wide-eyed surprise.
âTo be precise, I indeed have some extraterrestrial lineage,â Thomas answered unwillingly yet solemnly, âBut I advise you not to ask other students in school this way, itâs impoliteâŚ
If the school rule didnât require the interviewer by default to answer studentâs queries, I wouldnât bother to entertain such unruly interruptions.â
The waiter from the teahouse came over with a pot to refill their water, switching out the plate of dried fruits at the same time.
Zheng Qing picked a peanut, cracked its shell and tossed the nut into his mouth.
He munched as he shifted in his seat to find a more comfortable posture.
The conversation between the two of them had taken a strange turn.
He needed a small break to regroup.
âHow did you find me?â he asked Thomas after the waiter left, deflecting to a new topic.
Thomasâs raised brows swept over Zheng Qingâs head, as though he found the question as ridiculous as Zheng Qingâs disheveled hair.
Zheng Qing looked around; with the waiters standing behind the counter, flashing stiff smiles and the sporadic customers engrossed in their teawares, the entire teahouse was rather still.
Picking up his teacup, he took a sip and revised his question, âWhat I meant was, how did you guys know I was aâŚ
wizard?â
Thomas still looked puzzled as though he didnât understand Zheng Qingâs question.
âWhat I meant was, I donât remember applying to the First University,â Zheng Qing carefully reframed the question, âAnd as Iâve emphasized before, I never attended a wizardâs kindergarten, primary or secondary school.
I have hundreds of former classmates who can testify that from primary school to high school, Iâve stuck to this neighbourhood.â
âOh,â understanding dawned upon Thomas.
He looked at Zheng Qing strangely, âBut you do have the ability to cast spellsâŚ
Itâs like youâve completed elementary and middle school education in an unaccredited institution, once your abilities are up to par, naturally youâll be enrolled in the school.
Moreover, youâve appeared for the independent enrolment exam organized by the First University,â he took out a piece of paper and handed it to Zheng Qing as he smiled contently, âHere are the results of your global wizard matriculation exam, with full marks being 500, you scored 480.
Being the second among the newbies, itâs an excellent score!â
After saying that, he picked up his teacup, took a sip, nodded at the stunned Zheng Qing, and gave him an encouraging smile.
Images from the night Zheng Qing picked up Poseidonâs mother flickered in Zheng Qingâs mind.
Before he was rudely woken up in the KTV, he dreamt of running after a black cat, getting led into thick woods, entering a tall building, being forced into an examination hall by a pretty young girl, and participating in a bizarre exam.
âI always thought it was just a dream,â Zheng Qing felt like a fool.
âIt was indeed an examination in a dream.
Thereâs no faster way of gathering all the students than in a dream,â Thomas shook his head, âFrom Alaska to the Himalayas, the candidates are scattered all around the globe, the school doesnât have that many pumpkin carriages to send out to you.â
âYou guys go out in pumpkin carriages?â Zheng Qing asked, a large grin on his face.
âThatâs a figure of speech.â Thomas took a deep breath, âYou can consider it a dry joke.â
âCan you introduce thisâŚFirst University to me?â
âAs the name suggests, First University is the highest-ranked university in the wizarding world.â Without any refusal, Thomas thought for a moment and then elaborated:
âStudents here receive the finest education certified by many great wizards: Sky Script from around the world, spells that incorporate a variety of magic, creation of various magical potions, and deeper understanding of the worldâs origin, as well as a broader view of our history.
Itâs safe to say that the school incorporates all the worldâs best knowledge to teach the next generation.â
âThe history of the school is quite long, but there is still disagreement about the exact founding date.â
âFirst University develops upon the foundation of Jiuyou Academy.
Initially, there were only a few specialized colleges like the College of Magic Art, College of Potion, Alchemy Academy, and so on.
However, during the evolution of time, three hundred years ago, after years of discussions in the professorsâ meeting, they combined several of the then outstanding colleges in the wizard community to set up a new First University.
Even though the school greatly expanded its influence, internal disputes increased as a result.â
âFor example, disagreement about the schoolâs founding date.
Some insist on counting from the time Jiuyou Academy was established, asserting the school has thousands of years of history.
Others argue that the true establishment of the school was three hundred years ago, claiming that there is no basis of comparison between Jiuyou Academy and the present First University.â
Thomas shook his head, took a sip of the tea, and showed a dismissive expression.