FALLEN ORACLE

**Chapter 2: The Fourth Kind of Contact (1)**

Chen Yi left the headmaster's office with a heavy heart and headed back to his dormitory.The headmaster's parting words still echoed in his ears: *"The Knights' Order has already arrived at the school. Losing your spellbook is a serious problem. You'll need to be careful."*On his way, Chen Yi passed the central plaza of the academy. In the middle of it stood a stone statue of the academy's founder, the Great God Yan Yan.The statue depicted the god with his robes flowing and his eyes sharp. His left arm held a spellbook against his side, his right arm stretched straight ahead, palm slightly curved. The five magic rings on his five fingers represented the five schools of magic: Strengthening, Psionic, Elemental, Summoning, and Healing.Only a sliver of daylight remained in the sky, from east to west. In the fading dusk, the god's body seemed shrouded in an eerie dark cyan glow.Yesterday, the triennial Rongqi Rite had been held right here.The rite was presided over by priests sent from the High God Church. Everyone on the continent spent the entire morning sincerely praying to the gods, with Rongqi Academy as the epicenter.During that time, no one was allowed to do anything else. They had to clear their minds and kneel toward the upper realm—the home of the gods—the red star visible even in broad daylight.After all, without magic, the continent of Alpha wouldn't have its current prosperity. And magic—magic was a gift from the gods.By tradition, the Magic Tournament was held the day after the Rongqi Rite. Trainees who performed well could advance to the next rank.Chen Yi had been stuck at the intermediate trainee rank for six full years.By tradition, anyone who hadn't advanced to advanced trainee by age nineteen was considered to have no magical talent and would be expelled from the academy. Chen Yi was now twenty-one.If not for the fact that he'd actually achieved some results without Divine Communion, he would have been kicked out two years ago.Even so, if he still couldn't advance this year, no matter what, he'd be expelled.Lost in thought, Chen Yi reached his dormitory. From a distance, he could hear more noise than usual. The Church's Knights' Order had apparently already searched through here.The Rongqi Rite was held every three years. Afterward, the Church dispatched its subordinate Knights' Order across the world, and local authorities were required to provide support.The Knights' Order's mission was to confirm the piety of the continent's people.That was the nice way of putting it.The blunt way was: they searched for f*******n books or ideologically dangerous individuals.In the eyes of the High God Church, any speech that speculated about—or showed disrespect toward—the gods was dangerous.Forbidden books were destroyed. Dangerous individuals were eliminated. Simple as that.Chen Yi had little respect for this triennial event that turned the entire continent upside down.He still remembered the ugly faces of the knights when he was a child, telling his parents—who knew no magic at all—that "the gods need some bread."Chen Yi ducked through the old, low doorway of the dormitory and stepped inside. A man has to bow when he's under someone else's roof.The gods in the upper realm occasionally sent their instructions down to the Pope of the High God Church. So on the continent of Alpha, the High God Church—which received divine oracles—was the unquestioned highest authority."You're Chen Yi?" A stranger's voice asked as soon as he entered his own dorm room."Yes," Chen Yi said. He noticed the man was wearing the uniform of the Kingdom of Klem's military police.So the Knights' Order had brought along local help for the search.Rongqi Academy was close to the continent's center—the Holy City of Catlerai, where the High God Church was based. That was why the knights had arrived here in half a day.For the Church, Rongqi Academy was naturally a key target. The people in the Church knew this well: the ignorant were easy to control, and wherever knowledge existed, there would be unstable elements."I've already searched your things. No problems," the military policeman said.Following his gaze, Chen Yi saw the built-in bookshelf beside his bed, almost completely emptied. All the books that had been on it had been thrown haphazardly onto the floor.Chen Yi suppressed his anger and said "Oh," then bent down to pick up the books."Your storage ring. Empty it out too," the policeman demanded.Chen Yi had no choice but to comply. He undid the custom spell lock on the ring and laid out the contents on the table, one by one.The policeman examined each item. Most of them were magic materials and odd plant roots."Your spellbook is blank?" The policeman finally found the main issue among the ring's contents."I lost my original spellbook a while ago," Chen Yi told the truth."You mages *lose* your spellbooks? What exactly happened?" The policeman's face was full of disbelief."I'd like to know that myself!" Chen Yi was already in a bad mood from losing his spellbook and losing the Magic Tournament. Being pushed around on top of it made his tone come out sharp."What kind of attitude is that? Resisting the search?" The policeman's temper flared too.His usual job was just patrolling the city. Boring as hell, and he still had to watch his superiors' moods. Now, finally, riding the coattails of the Church's Knights' Order, he could push around mages who usually looked down on everyone. Of course he was going to throw his weight around."Heh heh, sir, no need to get upset." A tall, thin man in the dormitory gave an obsequious smile. "He's my roommate. I can guarantee he's always followed the rules. He's just in a bad mood today. Please don't hold it against him."The speaker was Chen Yi's roommate, Phil. They'd lived under the same roof for eight years."None of your business!" the policeman barked."Sir, don't rush off. Look at this." Phil moved closer to the policeman, casually slung an arm over his shoulder, and pulled a velvet ring pouch from inside his coat."Th-this crest... you... y-you... General Tros is your...?" The policeman's eyes went wide when he saw the pouch. He stepped back as if shocked and stammered."My father," Phil said, the same obsequious smile still on his lips.General Tros was a war hero and elder statesman of the Kingdom of Klem. Phil Tros was his son. The military police naturally recognized the Tros family crest."I'm so sorry, so sorry. I didn't know the young general was here. My deepest apologies, my deepest apologies." The policeman bowed repeatedly. "A friend of the young general, of course, can't be a dangerous individual.""About the spellbook..." Phil rubbed his fingers together suggestively."Well..." The policeman's face, which had been full of fear a moment ago, twisted with difficulty. "The knights are downstairs. Losing a spellbook is such a strange thing... I'm afraid that won't be easy to explain.""Phil, thanks," Chen Yi waved a hand. "Let them search if they want. I have nothing to hide."The policeman exhaled in relief. "Thank you for understanding. I'll go get the mages upstairs right away."A moment later, the policeman returned with two long-robed knights of the Church."You do it," one knight said to his companion, jerking his chin toward Chen Yi.The other knight didn't say a word. He simply placed his hand on Chen Yi's head. The psionic ring on his finger glowed with an eerie light."Did you really lose your spellbook?" the knight asked."Yes," Chen Yi answered."Are you hiding anything to evade the search?""No."The knight lowered his hand from Chen Yi's head and shook his head at his companion—Chen Yi wasn't lying. The first knight sneered. "Lose your spellbook, huh. Someone that stupid can still be a mage? Let's go."With that, the two knights swaggered off. The policeman bowed again to Phil and scurried after them.