High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1196: Chapter 258: The Footsteps of History

Many times, people participate in the course of history unconsciously, creating significant historical events.

Many times, great changes happen right beside you. Without you realizing it, history takes a significant step forward. When you suddenly look back, you profoundly realize your ignorance and powerlessness.

People can only feel the vibration caused by the footsteps of history touching the ground.

For the long span of history, each forward step requires years, decades, or even centuries. But it only takes a day or two for its footsteps to make people tremble.

These one or two days don’t really change anything.

They just serve as traces of change, engraved in the river of history, turning into deep footprints for posterity to look back on.

In the second semester of the 2008-2009 academic year, by the eleventh week after school started, some sensitive historians and diviners had already faintly perceived that grand yet minuscule tremor. They dropped the yellowed ancient scrolls in their hands, and in panic, they heated the whitened bone pieces and turtle shells, their eyes fixed on the crystal ball until both their eyeballs and the crystal ball turned bloodshot, but to no avail.

This wasn’t surprising.

Because the world still appeared steady and orderly, without the slightest oppression of an impending storm.

This week, the hunting teams of the Wizard World were still hunting native divine spirits in the New World; the exploration teams of the Wizard World were walking in the depths of the starry sky, communicating with different civilizations; the Nine Four Seasons Square of the Wizard World was still bustling with people, as massive amounts of magic materials and alchemy products were traded and exchanged between entities, and the young wizards were overjoyed with the new wizard robes and the new edition of the Law Book.

This week, on Buji Island, in the depths of Silent Forest, two mice were melting the first brass ingot meant for making divine spirit bodies with the help of an imprisoned doctor; a wandering wizard and Duke Milton were having an all-night long talk in the top-floor private room of the bar, coordinating the dance steps between the Moon Council and the Dark Council; and a yellow and white fur tabby cat was squatting on a dusty bookshelf, quietly watching the winding dark streets through the dirty glass window.

This week, at First University, a little witch prone to fainting fainted again, reportedly due to anemia this time; the student council organized an informal hearing to discuss which of the two scholarship students made more mistakes, but the scene ended up in chaos; and a veteran student who had failed two grades, encouraged by his girlfriend, was desperately mustering the courage to face the isolation from two faculties.

”They can never isolate a person who is willing to open his heart,” Liu Feifei whispered to Nicolas as they were entering the academic building, ”Smile at every classmate who smiles at you, smile at every classmate who pretends not to see you... If you warm yourself, others who come near you won’t feel the cold.”

The hot breath from the witch’s lips brushed past his ear, making Nicolas feel a tickle at the bottom of his heart.

He shifted uncomfortably, just as he saw Zheng Qing carrying a pile of textbooks, his expression gloomy, walking by nearby. He glanced at the witch by his side; she blinked silently, encouraging him.

Nicolas took a light breath and tried to greet Zheng Qing with a more cheerful tone, ”How is the hearing going? I heard from Feifei that you did well in the hearing...”

Before he could finish, he felt his waist pinch as a pair of slender fingers gave him a twist, making him inhale sharply.

The witch was exasperated by the silly question from the boy, while the warlock didn’t understand what he had said wrong.

He was truly sincere.

Zheng Qing, who had been depressed by the noisy voices at the hearing, couldn’t help but smile when he heard Nicholas’s clumsy and stiff greeting. ”She definitely didn’t tell you that I struck out,” he said.

He was referring to the first round of questioning when he spoke out of turn and had his right to answer questions revoked by the chairperson. But, obviously, Nicholas did not understand the sports joke Zheng Qing used to mock himself.

”Struck out of the game?” Nicholas repeated the term, confused, and looked at Liu Feifei, unsure of what to say next.

The witch sighed slightly, then put on a smile and looked at Zheng Qing. ”It doesn’t matter, it was just an informal hearing... according to those senior students in the student council, the council probably just wanted an excuse to get people from Alpha and Jiuyou to sit together and talk, to see if they could alleviate some of the tension between the two sides.”

There was actually this reason?!

Zheng Qing was stunned for a moment before realizing why the hearing had been organized so hastily and why he wasn’t allowed to engage in a deeper, more direct debate with Sepulano. However, he didn’t think the hearing had much of a positive effect on the tension between the institutions.

”Alleviating that is impossible, we can’t alleviate it this semester. Just like today’s meeting, it was only due to Augustus and Lei Zhe’s presence that suppressed things that no one broke out the Law books and started fighting,” Zheng Qing said, glancing at Nicholas. ”Unless they can reach a consensus on something, it’s hard to even make them talk...”

Nicholas wasn’t stupid, he immediately understood the implicit meaning in Zheng Qing’s words, and his expression became significantly disheartened.

It seemed that the consensus that Jiuyou and Alpha both disliked was indeed him. Liu Feifei obviously noticed this as well and showed a hint of unease.

”This afternoon is Old Yao’s ’Philosophy of Magic’, why did you bring a Fishman Language textbook instead?” She looked at the textbooks in Zheng Qing’s arms, trying to shift to a lighter topic.

Zheng Qing sighed deeply.

”My brain must have a hole,” he joked about himself dismissively as he explained. ”For some reason this morning, I thought I had a Fishman Language class this afternoon... so I brought the wrong books.”

While they were talking, the three of them arrived at the corner on the second floor. Around the corner, a stone statue with both hands wielding swords watched expressionlessly as each student passed by, while a portrait of a famous alumnus on the wall featured an Elder Wizard dozing off.

”Zheng Qing?” An abrupt voice interrupted the young wizards’ casual conversation.

Zheng Qing looked up.

He saw a tall witch in a red robe smiling and waving at him. She looked a bit familiar, but at that moment, Zheng Qing couldn’t recall where he had seen her.

Luckily, the witch didn’t expect him to ponder deeply.

”I’m also an assistant in Professor Montreya’s lab. The Rune decomposing that the professor assigned you before, did you finish it? I haven’t seen you at the lab for the last two weeks,” the witch quickly explained her purpose.

Zheng Qing’s face twisted.

”Um, I’ve already taken leave with the professor, I’ve had some other matters these past two weeks and might not be able to make it to the lab...” Thinking of Professor Montreya’s stern face and realizing he hadn’t been to the lab for three weeks, the young scholarship student felt a bit guilty. ”You can ask other assistants to help with the Rune analysis; I’m really sorry.”