Chapter 440: Dark Demon’s Divination Talent Awakens (4k)
“What is this…”
Professor Metia Bartholomew was initially engrossed in observing the students’ behavior within the Astral Labyrinth when she suddenly noticed an unusual fluctuation from the back of the classroom.
Dak Demon, immersed in the Astral Labyrinth, showed no change on his face, but the atmosphere around him had clearly shifted.
As a seasoned diviner, Professor Metia could tell just by looking that it was the aura of “divination talent” manifesting.
“Divination talent,” as its name suggests, is innate and present from birth. Some are born with it, while others may awaken it later in life. However, this doesn’t mean it develops after birth.
In short, those without the talent will never develop it, regardless of any effort. Those who awaken their talent later in life simply have had it hidden deep within them all along.
Professor Metia immediately realized that Dak’s hidden divination talent was finally surfacing.
But was it really so?
…
For a long time, there has been a close bond between magi and their golems, often likened to siblings.
Therefore, in certain magical concepts, a magus and their golem are considered one entity.
Dak understood this deeply.
If one considers that his golem, Eevee, possesses divination talent, could he himself also be seen as having this talent?
This is a very simple logical question.
While Dak influenced his golem, he was also being influenced by it.
And with the journey through the Astral Labyrinth, the divination talent originating from Eevee began to bloom within him.
…
Walking through the mirror tunnel, Dak felt the profound sense of divination talent blossoming more deeply.
As he changed, the tunnel between the mirrors also transformed accordingly.
He stopped abruptly, and the mirrors no longer reflected his image. Instead, a constellation resembling a long snake appeared on the mirrors, extending forward.
“Hydra constellation?”
Professor Metia, who had turned her attention to Dak due to his abnormality, frowned as she observed the constellation.
The Hydra constellation is the longest and largest among the eighty-eight constellations.
If this was Dak’s inner constellation…
Just as she thought this, Dak moved forward again.
Not long after, when he paused once more, the mirrors on both sides revealed another constellation: Gemini!
Gemini, as Dak’s outer constellation, symbolizes twins, representing dual aspects.
After his previous experience, Dak quickly continued after recognizing Gemini.
Soon, he encountered new constellations and continued onward…
When he finally walked through the tunnel, all eighty-eight constellations were reflected in the mirrors.
Professor Metia, who had already become numb and shifted focus to other students, only redirected her attention back to Dak after he exited the tunnel.
She then saw Dak enter a circular palace.
The dome-shaped ceiling allowed him to see the complex star map carved above—every planet of the eighty-eight constellations was depicted.
It was an incredibly vast star chart!
Simply looking up made one feel insignificant.
The golden-eyed dwarf cat wobbled to the center of the hall and looked up at the eighty-eight constellations, bewildered.
“What’s going on?”
His goal was to complete his assignment by finding his own inner constellation within the Astral Labyrinth, not by seeing all eighty-eight constellations.
This situation was meaningless to him!
…
However, Professor Metia confirmed the scene and said with a look of expectation, “It seems my intuition was correct. Dak Demon is ‘the multitude of stars.'”
From the moment she first saw Dak, Professor Metia believed he was the “son of stars.” Now, this seemed further validated.
Her initial purpose for accepting the position of professor was to interpret a prophecy related to the stars, black fog, and the abyss.
Thus, she had always paid special attention to Dak.
This time, her certainty was only reinforced.
…
As Dak was lost in the eighty-eight constellations, a mirror door suddenly opened on one side of the hall, and a cute brown-haired girl stumbled out.
Guided by some mysterious feeling, Eevee entered the palace.
Seeing the upright dwarf cat, it sniffed and then brightened its eyes, running over clumsily.
Dak was surprised to see a human child in the Astral Labyrinth, but before he could react, Eevee was already by his side.
A small golden cat, about two or three years old, hugged him.
“Meow!”
The joyful exclamation revealed Eevee’s identity.
Curious, Dak stroked its hair, gaining more understanding of the Astral Labyrinth’s wonders.
…
The journey in the Astral Labyrinth was far from over.
After recognizing Eevee, Dak took its hand and entered a side door from the corner of the palace, then continued through the mirrors inside.
He wouldn’t stop until he found his inner constellation.
“Boom!”
Intense flames suddenly rose from beneath his feet.
Though unharmed, he felt the heat.
Instinctively lifting his foot, the flames erupted, surging outward and turning the area into a sea of fire.
“Crack!”
The world seemed to crack under the intense fire, with fissures spreading from the void.
The entire world shattered in Dak’s eyes.
Colorful fragments surged from the cracks, filling his vision.
The world, once monotonous, was re-contaminated with brilliance.
Pieces rained down from above, threatening to shatter the already broken world.
“Bang—”
The nine o’clock bell suddenly rang.
Dak abruptly opened his eyes, seeing Eevee lying on the table.
Simultaneously, all the students in the classroom opened their eyes.
Their previously still expressions suddenly became animated.
Some faces twisted in fear, others lit up with smiles, and some were filled with sadness…
Many students began discussing the constellations they found.
The classroom was instantly filled with noisy discussions.
“Dak, what is your inner constellation?” Diana, sitting in front, turned her head and asked with sparkling eyes.
Dak knew without asking that Diana had found either the Big Dipper or Little Dipper, and she was surely satisfied.
But excitement cannot be shared.
Those who found their inner constellations and those who didn’t couldn’t communicate.
Recalling the last scene before leaving the Astral Labyrinth, Dak shook his head slightly: “I can’t be sure yet.”
Diana curiously asked: “Is that so?”
Dak then asked: “What about yours? Is it the Little Dipper?”
Diana exclaimed: “It’s the Big Dipper!”
…
“Clap clap clap!”
Professor Metia gently clapped her hands, and the eighty-eight crystal balls scattered throughout the classroom stopped spinning and flew towards her, arranging themselves like a star map.
The students, captivated by the sight, stopped their discussions.
Under the starlight, Professor Metia looked even more mysterious. She smiled and said, “The Astral Labyrinth reflects oneself. No matter if you’ll continue with astrology, learning to understand yourself is crucial.”
“Now, our class is over. I suggest you record your experiences in the Astral Labyrinth as soon as possible to avoid forgetting them. Submit your assignments by the 27th of this month. This will be your final major assignment for Astronomy and will be included in your final grade.”
Then, with a slight wave of her hand, the eighty-eight crystal balls merged into twelve, then into one, with stars shining within.
“We have three classes left before the end of term. If you have any questions about interpreting the assignment, you can ask me during these classes. I hope you take this final assignment seriously. Class dismissed.”
…
As Professor Metia announced the end of class, the students left amidst various discussions echoing under the night sky.
Dak placed little Eevee on his shoulder and followed the crowd down the stairs, but a worried expression couldn’t help but appear on his face, matching Eevee’s.
This wasn’t just because they hadn’t found their inner constellations in the Astral Labyrinth, but also because of the destructive scene they witnessed before leaving.
Being in the Astral Labyrinth created by astrology, every sight had meaning.
Especially with Eevee, who possessed divination talent, nearby.
That destructive scene must be foretelling something!
…
Dak didn’t know he also had divination talent, but he still took the scene seriously.
According to Professor Metia’s assignment, he needed to predict the future for the next few months while finding his inner constellation.
Regardless of whether the prediction was true or false, he had to write something down.
…
After returning to his dorm from the Spiral Bell Tower, Dak immediately recorded his experiences in the Astral Labyrinth.
Beside him, Eevee, accustomed to holding a pen with its paws, tried to write as well.
Though it used many phonetic annotations to replace difficult characters, the content flowed smoothly.
After completing his record, Dak read Eevee’s.
Since entering the Astral Labyrinth, Eevee had followed its instincts, moving through the mirrors.
Unlike Dak, it encountered many students, all in animal forms, walking upright, which was strange to it. It timidly avoided them until it followed a glowing fox.
Following the fox, it had many intriguing encounters, making its journey much richer than Dak’s.
After wandering for several minutes, it finally caught up with the fox, only to collide with a mirror and enter the palace.
Everything it saw and heard afterward matched Dak’s experience.
“Judging from this, your inner constellation should be the Fox constellation.”
“Eevee?”
Eevee tilted its head, thought for a moment, then nodded vigorously, finally relaxing.
After confirming its inner constellation, it could attempt predictions by researching and analyzing constellations.
In any case, it must get a high score on the final Astronomy assignment!
…
Eevee’s earnestness was highly infectious. Even the playful vampire noble rarely read her notebook.
Dak glanced over, pondering the vampire noble reading intently.
Among his golems, only this one was fully humanoid.
After some time, the vampire noble learned to speak.
Though she looked seven or eight years old, many young girls at Saint Maryann Academy had similar appearances.
“If possible, maybe she should start with the first year next semester?”
With this thought, Dak couldn’t help but consider.
Humanoid and beast-form golems gave different impressions.
If possible, he wanted to give her better education.
She also met the requirements.
Joining Saint Maryann Academy wasn’t easy.
Most students were admitted through applications, undergoing tests and paying tuition.
In short, one had to pass the entrance test.
Dak was invited and admitted without taking the test, so he didn’t know its difficulty and thus was concerned.
He wasn’t confident about the vampire noble’s admission.
“If the front door is blocked, we might have to find another way.”
…
That night, Dak made little progress on his astronomy assignment, but he successfully refined the second improved version of “Bliss III Moon” by extracting a drop of “Greed.”
Now, he had two improved versions of “Bliss III Moon,” and the uncontrollable original could finally be retired.
