Mist Empire’s Rise: Fake Noble to Fog Queen

 

Luo Wei's peculiar expression prompted Professor Tobias to peek into the box as well.

"This is..." she uttered in confusion.

Inside the box, how did a green turtle appear?

She looked again. Oh, not a turtle, but a turtle shell.

But a turtle shell wasn't right either!

The bottom of this sandalwood box was inlaid with a rare magic stone, and its body was inscribed with spatial and summoning magic patterns, primarily serving three functions.

The magic stone was used to test students' aptitude directions, the spatial magic pattern stored the teaching aids she had made, and the summoning magic pattern could produce the most suitable teaching aid based on the student's talent.

But she had only made crystal balls and tarot cards as teaching aids, so how could a turtle shell appear?

Professor Tobias's first reaction was to suspect that something was wrong with the summoning magic pattern.

"The magic pattern might have loosened a bit," she said, closing the lid and checking that the pattern lines had indeed dimmed somewhat.

Hearing this result, Luo Wei's tense nerves relaxed a little.

As long as the problem wasn't with her, it was fine.

Professor Tobias relit the magic pattern. "Alright, try again."

"Yes, Professor."

Luo Wei reopened the lid, looked down, and her heart immediately sank.

A faint green light swirled on the turtle shell, matching her now greenish complexion.

Professor Tobias frowned, took out the turtle shell and tossed it aside, then carefully examined the magic pattern again.

Confirming there was no problem, she closed the box. "Try again."

After Luo Wei opened the lid for the third time, the expression on her face could no longer be maintained and collapsed.

The box was empty, not even a chicken feather could be seen.

Professor Tobias fell silent too. She glanced at the sandalwood box, then at this unfortunate student, her crimson lips moved slightly, and finally, she asked the student behind her to come forward and try.

Luo Wei reluctantly stepped aside, and the male classmate behind her nervously stepped forward, afraid that he would encounter the same problem as her.

"May the god of fortune bless me..." he muttered as he opened the box, inside which appeared a stack of tarot cards.

"Oh, I got tarot cards!" he exclaimed happily as he took them out.

At this point, Professor Tobias's gaze towards Luo Wei became peculiar.

"It seems the problem isn't with the box," she said meaningfully, then picked up the turtle shell from beside her. "Perhaps this is the will of the gods. You should use this."

Luo Wei accepted the turtle shell with a stiff face.

Looking on the bright side, at least she had gotten something, right?

The rest of the class was curious about what had happened at the front. When they saw Luo Wei turn around holding a green turtle shell, they all burst into laughter.

"Haha, why is she holding a turtle shell?"

"I'm dying of laughter, is she going to divine with a turtle shell?"

"How does she use it, by sticking her head inside?"

"Hahahaha—"

Those noble students laughed uncontrollably, looking at her as if she were some rare species. The commoner students were also lowering their heads and giggling, just not daring to laugh out loud.

Luo Wei returned to her seat expressionlessly, ignoring the mocking gazes around her.

She looked at the turtle shell in her hand, countless guesses flashing through her mind.

Why was it different from the others?

Had someone tampered with it to make her look foolish, or was her luck really that bad?

Professor Tobias wouldn't stoop to bullying a weak student, so the problem was likely with herself.

What mechanism did that box use to drop items?

Was it based on the wish of the person opening the box, or some characteristics about them?

Luo Wei had a vague answer in her heart.

Her biggest difference from other students was that she had come from another world.

The civilization that had nurtured her was Chinese civilization, and the oldest form of divination in Chinese civilization was oracle bone divination.

It was likely that when mentioning divination, her subconscious thought of turtle shells, so a turtle shell appeared in the box.

Knowing that she hadn't been set up, Luo Wei's gaze towards the turtle shell softened.

Turtles were good, turtles symbolized longevity, surely it would help her live longer.

As for the laughter around her, let them laugh. She couldn't control other people's mouths anyway.

When the person involved didn't react, those students found it less amusing after laughing for a while and gradually fell silent.

"Finished laughing?" Professor Tobias's ghostly voice floated over the classroom.

The students tensed up, not daring to make any more sounds. The large room suddenly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Since you're done laughing, let's continue with the class."

"Now, place your hands on your tools, close your eyes, and start meditating."

Professor Tobias showed no intention of pursuing the matter, much to everyone's relief.

They quickly closed their eyes and listened for her next instructions.

"...You enter the night, darkness before your eyes... Walk forward, no sound of wind, no obstacles, and no end in sight."

"This is your spiritual world."

"Let yourself stop, relax, and slowly raise your head."

"Something seems to have lit up in the darkness, focus on it, follow its trail."

Luo Wei kept her eyes tightly shut. In the pitch-black space, it seemed as if a light source had truly appeared, flickering and rising upwards like the morning star.

When she realized it was a star, the entire sky lit up.

The myriad stars were arrayed in their respective positions, recreating the star chart on the classroom wall.

The stars twinkled, emitting a cold, clear radiance.

Professor Tobias's voice came from beyond the sky: "Tell me, what is it?"

"Don't open your mouths, answer with your consciousness."

A chorus of gasps echoed through the classroom. Many people had opened their mouths halfway, but upon hearing the latter part of the instruction, they abruptly held their breath, their faces turning red from the effort.

But Luo Wei could no longer hear these sounds.

She was entranced by the star chart, as if soaring through the universe. Nebulae surrounded her, and the celestial river flowed past her feet, like a dazzling and gorgeous dream.

The stars shifted, the Milky Way reversed, and she glimpsed the traces of stellar orbits, like destined encounters, overlaps, then separations, in an endless cycle.

The movement of the star tracks accelerated, and after reaching a critical point, the shapes of the celestial bodies suddenly disappeared. Only golden lines remained in the sky, intertwining and entangling, rotating rapidly, finally transforming into a massive spiral of star tracks, stirring the four corners of the universe.

Luo Wei felt a wave of dizziness. The rotating star disk seemed to have become a mysterious and profound black hole vortex, drawing in the entire universe. The terrifying suction force seemed about to engulf her as well.

The dizziness grew stronger. She wanted to close her eyes, but suddenly a sharp ringing erupted in her ears.

Space collapsed.

A sudden sense of weightlessness assailed her, and in the instant of falling, she abruptly opened her eyes.

The figures in the classroom swayed back and forth. It took her a good while of squinting before she realized that her own eyes were seeing double.

The others were still meditating, and Professor Tobias was lecturing in a gentle voice.

Judging by their appearance, meditation seemed effortless for them, yet she had given up so quickly. Was her aptitude really that poor?

Luo Wei pondered for a few seconds, then closed her eyes again.

Unfortunately, she couldn't concentrate no matter what, and she couldn't enter her spiritual world anymore.

She could only pretend to meditate with her eyes closed, listening to Professor Tobias's lecture while tracing star chart trajectories in her mind.

TBC