Chapter 136: Chapter 136

Elise wisely chose not to {Inspect} anyone in the room. She had learned from Oberon that while powerful, {Inspect} was also a very obvious skill to anyone with {Aether Sense}, and considering what the title of this class was, she fully expected at least half the people present to have it. It was the same reason she had yet to use it on Samantha, since she sensed early on that Samantha was suppressing her aether.

Elise made eye contact with the redhead, and gave her a small smile, but neither spoke. Elise was fairly certain that they weren’t being influenced not to speak, but she also wasn’t entirely comfortable in the room. Oberon was one thing, but being surrounded by people with so much aether made her feel uncertain whether even saying words was safe. After another minute of uncertainty, she took a seat in one of the many empty chairs and waited for the professor to say something.

It took half an hour for the odd, ever-changing professor to make any moves, and in that time, three more people arrived. The first two were a pair of muscular men who looked like they belonged in the physical courses and had the aether to match. That is to say, they did not have very much aether, and as far as Elise could tell, it wasn’t being suppressed. That meant the only two possibilities were that they had very high mental defense skills, or that their aether suppression was so complete that it never even wavered.

The final one was a frail-looking girl in an expensive-looking dress who walked with her head slightly angled upward so she looked down her nose at everyone shorter than her, which at the moment was everyone present, as they were all sitting down. She had a respectable amount of aether. Not quite as much as the professor, or the boy in the corner, but more than almost anyone else Elise had sensed in the building. She looked all around the room, her gaze lingering on the muscular men, before taking a seat in the chair furthest from everyone else.

Five minutes or so after she arrived, the professor finally stood up. Their form remained changing, but as they moved, Elise was able to get a reasonable estimate of their actual height based on their stride length. She also felt like she was slowly becoming somewhat resistant to whatever was happening. She could sense the aether moving through the connection between her and the professor, and after some minor experimentation, she found that {Charm} worked to somewhat counteract it.

It wasn’t perfect, but the professor’s form didn’t shift quite as much, and the variations were lesser, so when added to the stride length, she felt she had a pretty good guess of their general appearance. When the professor sat back down and disabled whatever Skill they had been using, she felt a sense of smug satisfaction when her guess was mostly spot-on.

The professor was a man, but he was short and quite thin. He was almost thin enough that she suspected some kind of malnourishment. He looked no older than forty, and wore a simple suit and a pair of round glasses that magnified his eyes and made them look bigger than they were.

“Welcome,” he said, his voice quiet and soft. “The fact that you all made it in here means that you have qualified to take the most hidden class in the entire university. Having taken this class will also open up career opportunities that are normally nearly impossible to get. You are free to leave, if you wish, but I hope none of you will, because, while my opinion is biased, I believe this class to be the most valuable one in the entire University.”

“Are you not going to introduce yourself?”

Elise turned to see the haughty young women somehow looking even haughtier as she stared down the professor.

“I was just getting to that,” he said with a smile, looking unfazed. “My name is Professor Emmet Larcombe. I am not in the direct line of succession, but I am a full-blooded member of the Larcombe family. You likely have not heard of me before, and that is intentional. My line of work is… subtle. I request that you call me Professor Emmet, so as not to get me confused with the other Professor Larcombe.”

Elise glanced back at the haughty woman again to find that she seemed rather satisfied. Evidently, the professor’s status was high enough that she did not feel the need to make a fuss. Elise was thankful for this, because she did not want to deal with another arrogant noble making a big fuss over status. Though she suspected it would be unavoidable if they actually had class together in the future.

“Now, some of you may be confused. I doubt most of you have even heard of aether before, let alone aetheric illusions. Aetheric illusions are-”

He paused as there was suddenly a knock on the door.

“Strange,” he said. “There shouldn’t be anyone else coming.”

As he walked to the door to open it, Elise focused her {Aether Sense} at the door and realized that she recognized the person standing there. The professor opened the door a crack, and through the small opening, Elise saw Sophie’s face, though her eyes were yellow, and she looked somewhat angry.

“I’m fine!” sent Elise with {Whisper}.

Sophie visibly relaxed, but didn’t deactivate her draconic eyes. Instead, she looked at Emmet with newfound interest. And apparently, based on his next words, Emmet was looking at her the same way.

“Very, very interesting,” he said. “Are you a new student?”

“Yes,” she said. “What’s going on in there?”

“Why don’t you come in and see?”

“Can I go tell my brother first?”

“Yes, but he is not permitted inside.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back!”

Emmet closed the door, then turned back to the class and smiled. Though he kept a tight rein on his aether, and she couldn’t read his emotions, Elise could tell he was excited. When Sophie returned, she didn’t even have time to knock before he opened the door to let her in. She deactivated her eyes after stepping inside, and they returned to their normal green as she went to sit next to Elise.

“Now, I apologize for the repetition, but I can’t have any of my students get left behind.”

Professor Emmet proceeded to go through the entire same introduction as he had before, almost verbatim. Elise allowed herself to get distracted during this time, focusing {Aether Sense} around the room. She noticed that there were formations across all the walls, roof, and ceiling, and they seemed to be containing the aether of everyone within to prevent if from leaking outside. It was quite an impressive formation, to be able to suppress so many powerful people. She began wondering how aether formations were even possible, based on what she knew about the energy, but had to stop when Emmet caught back up with where he had stopped before.

“Aetheric illusions are one of the most powerful, subtle, and dangerous categories of Skills in the world. The categorization is also somewhat erratic, as it is hard to tell what qualifies as an aetheric illusion and what doesn’t. Before I go into that though, I believe a brief explanation of aether is in order, as I doubt most of you have heard of it.

“Aether is generally kept secret from the public. Frankly, I do not know the reason for this. It is an old custom passed down for generations, and most scholars on the subject believe it is because knowledge of aether being disseminated would be dangerous. I personally disagree, and believe that awareness will allow for better defenses, but spreading word of it is criminal, and I have no desire to spend my life in a prison cell.

“Aether is one of two major energies in the world. The first of these, and the one more commonly-known, is mana. Mana is used for affecting the physical world, while aether is used for affecting the mind, body, and sometimes, even the System itself. If you have any Skills that do not use mana—which I am certain all of you do—those Skills instead use aether. There is some minor overlap, as there are advanced electrical Skills that are capable of affecting the mind using only mana, and methods of bodily healing exist with both energies, but the two are very distinct in how they work. This update ıs available on novelFirｅ.net

“I’m sure that you can now guess how an aetheric illusion differs from an ordinary illusion. An ordinary illusion uses light and sound, and often combinations of other elements in order to trick all five senses. An aetheric illusion uses only aether, and affects only the target’s mind. There is no physical evidence of an aetheric illusion. They cannot be seen by outsiders. Any person you see on the street could be suffering from an aetheric illusion, and you might never know.

“Not anymore though. This class will cover all types of aetheric illusions, their uses, and how to tell if someone has been affected by them. I will also teach you how to use and defend against these illusions, as there are methods, and there are Skills that you can unlock to help with your efforts.

“Does anyone have any questions?”

Immediately, one of the muscular men shot his hand into the air.

“What kind of career opportunities will this unlock?”

“As aether is kept secret, many of these positions are kept secret, and I cannot share them with you until you officially join the class. However, I can say that they pay, on average, five times as much as ordinary positions. You will also be privy to a whole new underworld of sorts. Information you didn’t even know existed. Connections to people all over the world. In my experience, these benefits are worth more than the pay increase.”

“Awesome,” said the young man, smiling and glancing at his friend.

They bumped fists, clearly happy that they had made it into the class.

“What were your criteria for selecting students?” asked the haughty girl without raising her hand. “Why are we here, but not any of the others out there?”

“If you are in here, that means that you either possess enough aether to be able to resist the Skill I used to hide the room, or you possess a strong enough mental defense Skill to overcome it, or some combination of the two. Or…” he glanced at Sophie. “Nevermind. There are other methods as well, but I will not divulge them. Regardless, anyone who manages to find this room qualifies to learn about aether.”

Elise was a bit surprised at the girl’s politeness, but once again chalked it up to the professor having high enough status for her to respect him. For a few seconds, no one else moved or spoke, then the masked woman raised her hand.

“You say that it is illegal to speak of aether, yet here you are, telling us about it. Is this not illegal?”

“This course and everything I am doing with it are officially sanctioned. Of course, there’s always the chance that one of you decides to tell their friends or family about aether. There’s usually one of those every year. But, as I said, it is illegal to do so, and you will be punished.”

“But if others have done it before, how has news never gotten out?”

“As I explained, aether is used for mental skills, and there are many hidden groups that specialize in aether… You are free to try to spread the news, but you will have to bear the consequences of doing so.”

“...I understand. Thank you.”

“Excellent. Anything else?”

At that, Elise raised her own hand, and at the exact same time, Samantha did. Elise was about to defer to the other woman, but Samantha was a hair faster, gesturing for Elise to speak, and the professor noticed that.

“Yes?” he said, looking at Elise.

“Is this the only aetheric illusions course? Are there more advanced ones?”

“There are more advanced ones available to students who have completed this course.”

“Are there other aether-based classes? Or at least, explicitly aether-based classes?”

“Yes, but like the advanced courses, they are only available to those who have completed the basic Aetheric Illusions course.”

“And you, young lady?” asked Emmet, turning to Samantha.

“What time does this class take place?”

“The time is not yet set. As it is a small class, I will set a time based on all of your schedules to make sure that you have time for it. Should you choose to enroll, it will be automatically placed into your schedule when the official schedules are finalized. If you have any time constraints not specified by your class schedules, please let me know when we are done here so I can accommodate you.”

“What will it appear as on our official schedules? I don’t think you can just put ‘Aetheric Illusions,’ right?”

“A History of the Effects of Natural Disasters on the Jelorian Trout Population,” said Emmet with a smile.

At that, Elise felt a small fluctuation of the aether to her left, but it was gone before she could figure out where exactly it came from. She was fairly certain that what she felt was amusement though.

“Any more questions?” asked Emmet.

“No, that’s all I wanted to know,” said Samantha.

No one else spoke up, so after a few more seconds, Emmet clapped his hands together and smiled.

“Well then, that’s all I had for today. If you have any schedule constraints, tell me now so that I may make accommodations. Also, please write your names on the sign-up sheet so I know how to find you. Otherwise, you are free to leave, but please remember that discussing aether with anyone who is not already aware of it is illegal, and will be punished. Have a lovely rest of your day!”

With that, the room began bustling with activity. The masked woman quickly signed her name and walked out of the room while the two muscular men started discussing training times, and the rest aside from Elise and Sophie lined up by Emmet’s desk. Meanwhile, Sophie turned to Elise, her eyes sparkling.

“This is so cool!” she exclaimed loudly enough that it made everyone else in the room look at her.

“Yeah, I guess,” said Elise.

It was indeed interesting that such a class existed, but she was also certain that she knew a large portion of what they would be learning, or could at least get the information from Ostra if she wanted it. Still, the possibility of learning some mental defense Skills and perhaps some aetheric illusion Skills was enticing.

“It’s like a secret society!” said Sophie. “Do you think we’ll get code names?”

“That depends on your occupation,” said Emmet, looking at Sophie with a smile before turning back to Samantha, who was explaining what times she wouldn’t be available outside of her scheduled classes.

“Awesome!” said Sophie.

“Don’t forget to tell him about your schedule constraints,” reminded Elise.

“You’re at the Academy in the mornings.”

Sophie jumped to her feet and ran to the back of the short line where she stood just behind the haughty girl. Samantha finished giving her schedule a moment later, and waved to Elise and Sophie as she walked out of the room.

The unassuming boy was next, but Elise could barely hear what he said, as he whispered everything. As he walked out, Elise narrowed her eyes as she watched him go. There was something strange about him, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. She was really curious what his Class was if he had so much aether while being so seemingly socially inept, but she still didn’t want to risk using {Inspect} on anyone in the room while Emmet was there.

The two muscular men signed their names and left without talking to Emmet, having decided that they would just schedule their extracurricular training around whenever this class was.

The haughty noblewoman explained at length to Emmet that she had tea parties to attend on the weekends and social events that could occur on any evening that she would have to be ready for, before finally it was Sophie’s turn.

After Sophie explained her situation, she turned to trot out of the room with Elise on her heels, but Emmet’s voice stopped them both.

“Just a moment,” he said.

Elise and Sophie both looked at him curiously.

“You two know each other, correct?” he asked.

“Yes!” said Sophie. “We’re sisters!”

She wrapped Elise in a one-armed side hug to show their closeness, which Elise awkwardly returned.

“Then you are aware of how your younger sister found this room, yes?”

Elise assumed he was talking about the draconic eyes, so she nodded.

“And you know where she got that Skill?”

“Do you also have it?”

Emmet turned to Sophie. “Is it alright if I speak freely about your skill?”

“Your {Dragon Eyes}... Are they your own, or did you get them from a teacher?”

“Teacher,” said Sophie.

“I hope I am not overstepping when I say this, but is there any way that I could possibly meet your teacher? I am more than willing to bring a tribute if necessary. I have never met a dragon before, and would very much like to do so, if possible.”

“Sure, I can ask,” said Sophie with a shrug.

“I would be most grateful,” said Emmet, bowing his head. “That is all I had. Thank you for indulging my curiosity.”

“Sure. Seeya later. Let’s go, Eleanor!”

They found Nick and Bianca waiting for them near the stairs. Nick asked Elise to let them know next time she went somewhere hidden like that, which Elise agreed to do. It had been somewhat foolish to do what she did without telling anyone.

They spent another hour or so looking around at the other classes, but both Elise’s and Sophie’s schedules were getting quite full, and nothing else caught their eye enough to take on, so they decided to leave. As they walked back, Elise thought about the classes she had just registered for, and more specifically the Aetheric Illusions class. She hadn’t been quite as enthused before, but the more she thought about it, the more she looked forward to it. She had been learning everything from monsters so far, so seeing the humanoid side of things would be more than a little interesting.

Beyond that, there were multiple interesting characters in the class, and though she wasn’t usually one to go digging into people’s backgrounds, she couldn’t help but feel curious about them. Who was Samantha? Why was that woman wearing a mask? Where had the two men gotten their mental resistance Skills? What Class did the other boy have? With a whole semester ahead, she would hopefully have plenty of time to find out all the answers.

Of course, that would have to wait a bit though. For now, she had to figure out how to spend three weeks in the city.