Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics
Chapter 4761 - 3834: The School Doctor’s "Daily Routine" (12)

Chapter 4761: Chapter 3834: The School Doctor’s "Daily Routine" (12)

The two of them walked one after the other into the secret room. They quickly discovered that the decor here was completely different from the extravagant appearance outside, yet it appeared more ancient and solemn. It was as if under the school’s brand-new facade, there was a more antiquated soul.

The deeper they went, the dimmer the lights became, and the more intense the mysterious atmosphere grew. The air started to become increasingly damp, with moss and vines creeping through the floor cracks. They walked for an unknown amount of time before an extremely old-looking room appeared before the Batmen.

This was a small room of just around ten square meters, with a very low ceiling supported by many wooden beams, making it feel more cramped and oppressive. It was entirely different from the spacious and luxurious decor outside.

The decor here was also very simple: upon entering, there was a slightly worn-out desk, and behind it, a chair with obvious signs of use. Behind them were two rows of bookshelves filled with various magic tomes. Several boxes were piled in the corner, but they were all empty. Overhead was a hanging lamp, and there was an oil lamp on the desk, providing the only two light sources, making the room very dim.

"I think there’s something seriously wrong here," Arkham Batman said, "We need to take a closer look."

The Primary Universe Batman clearly agreed with him. The two began rummaging around, but in fact, there weren’t many places they could search, mainly just the books on the shelves. What surprised them was that most of these books contained records of black magic.

To be precise, they were descriptions of some evil rituals, such as how to sacrifice bodies, how to trigger large-scale fires, how to corrode magical shields, and so on. Although they required substantial energy to be effective, these methods didn’t seem pointless.

The real critical clue appeared on the surface of the desk. The Primary Universe Batman picked up a yellowed notebook. He opened it to find the name "Brandis Saffire" written on the first page.

Batman opened the notebook and discovered it contained some theories about Earth Magic Defense Network, which, at first glance, were extremely complex and arcane—far beyond Batman’s comprehension. However, there was a piece of paper on the desk with a simple map drawn on it, showing the continents of Earth, with light points marked on each continent.

The Primary Universe Batman didn’t know much about the Earth Magic Defense Network, but he did know that similar planet’s shields required energy nodes. Batman speculated that these light points must be the nodes of the Earth Magic Defense Network.

Among them, the Americas—more specifically, North America—had a marked light point in the area of New York, with several names written nearby, the first being "Wong."

"Do you remember that book ’The 100 Most Famous Mages in the History of the Magic Realm’ we saw earlier?" Arkham Batman asked.

"You’re suspecting this Saffire might be one of them?"

"Otherwise, why would he have a secret room in the school?"

The Primary Universe Batman pondered for a moment, then said, "The table and chair show signs of recent use, indicating he’s been here recently. We’d better not disturb anything on the desk and investigate his background first."

The two carefully put everything back in place, ensuring not to leave any traces—something that was easy for Batman. Ensuring that even if another Batman were to come now, no one could tell they had been there, they left the room.

Back in the library, they stopped wandering aimlessly in the forbidden book section and started searching for introductions to people in the magic realm. But it seemed that the magic realm didn’t like to record such things, as what they found was very scant. After searching for over an hour, they found just two books: one specifically introducing the Supreme Magician, and the other being that ’100 Famous Mages.’

The Primary Universe Batman began flipping through it quickly, but even by the end, he didn’t find Saffire’s name. It was only in the afterword of the book that he saw the author had written the following: "The magic realm wouldn’t have reached its glory today without the contributions of the Grand Mages. Due to space constraints and limited ability, the record cannot be entirely comprehensive. Moreover, some forbidden names have not been recorded."

"Forbidden names..." The Primary Universe Batman murmured.

"This Saffire might be a black magician," Arkham Batman said as he closed the book introducing the Supreme Magician, "This book mentioned that after The Ancient One became the Supreme Magician, a fellow villager became a black magician. It seems this universe’s magicians and black magicians have been in conflict."

"What concerns me more now is why he marked one of the nodes of the Earth Magic Defense Network," the Primary Universe Batman said, "and his secret room is within the school, right under the Supreme Magician’s nose, with recent activity traces. How did he manage to evade the Supreme Magician?"

"This is indeed worth pondering," Arkham Batman said, "I think he might be a professor."

The Primary Universe Batman squinted his eyes, considering that it sounded far-fetched, yet he couldn’t entirely dismiss the possibility. After all, the magic energy in this universe was far more abundant than he imagined, and it wouldn’t be surprising if magicians had spells that allowed them to disguise themselves as others.

"But who could it be?" Even Batman couldn’t prematurely conclude. After all, he was truly lacking in knowledge about magic.

"Perhaps we could subtly hint to the Supreme Magician," Arkham Batman suggested.

"But he isn’t willing to see us at all right now. He has no patience for us," the Primary Universe Batman sighed, "Finding Shiller would be more reliable than finding him."

"Then go find Doctor Shiller."

"He might be even less willing to see us now."

After sitting in the library for a while, the two left. But soon, the library welcomed two new guests: Shiller and Mephisto.

"Alright, listen, the script for the second part goes like this." Mephisto was walking in front, walking backward while gesturing and explaining the script to Shiller.

"With the first-year finals approaching, the little wizards will receive library cards. They can come to the library to borrow books and prepare for exams. But at this time, the hometown of that little girl faces a severe natural disaster, and she wants to find a solution, so she starts thinking about the restricted section."

"The other two protagonists have no other choice but to accompany her on a night tour. The three of them managed to get the librarian’s seal and entered the restricted section one night."

Accompanied by Mephisto’s words, the two also reached the restricted section.

"’Suddenly!’ Mephisto raised his voice, pointing at a nearby bookshelf, "One of the little smart ghosts suddenly noticed something odd about the colors of the books on the shelf, as if they were the same color as the chandelier above the registry desk..."

As he said this, he turned to look at the bookshelf and was just about to say something when he suddenly froze.

The bookshelf he was pointing at was filled with dull, thick tomes in gray, either black or white, with not a hint of color.

A visible question mark appeared above Mephisto’s head. He went around to the other side of the bookshelf but found no colors there either. He came back, with even more question marks above his head.

"Where are the books?" Mephisto couldn’t understand, "Chris told me that the props inside the school were all set up, so why aren’t there any books? Could it be the wrong bookshelf?"

He scouted around and then the entire restricted section, but still couldn’t find any colorful books. Completely puzzled, he dragged Shiller to the registry desk and said, "Oh well, it’s not a particularly difficult mechanism. Open it for me!"

Mephisto pointed his finger, and a hidden door behind the counter opened. He continued, "Behind this hides a great secret, that is, Black Magician Saffire is still alive, and he’s planning to attack the New York Temple in the second year..."

Both of them walked into the secret room. The door to the secret room closed. Mephisto quickly walked to the table, picked up a notebook from it, and said, "This is the first time Saffire’s full name appears in the film. The little wizards don’t know who he is, but they deduce from his bookshelves that he might be an evil Black Magician. And one of the protagonists, deducing from the consumption of kerosene in the lamp, suspects he might have been here recently."

"And then this," Mephisto raised a map, "This is the map of the Earth’s Magic Defense Network Temple locations. Among them, the New York Temple is circled, hinting at Saffire’s plan. The names beside it are the mages guarding the New York Temple, led by Great Mage Wang. The little wizards will see him in their meditation class the next day, where they will try to find out about Saffire..."

"Please wait, Professor." Primary Universe Batman quickened his pace and called out to Wong, who was about to leave the classroom, then said, "Regarding meditation, I still don’t quite understand, could I ask for your guidance?"

Wong smiled and said, "Of course, but it needs to be finished before 10 o’clock. I’m not a full-time professor, I still need to return to the New York Temple at noon."

Primary Universe Batman recalled the name on the map and said, "You mean the New York Temple in the Magic Defense Network? It must be important, right? I better not delay you..."

"No, no, no, there are other Great Mages there. It’s just that the New York Temple can order takeout, and the food is better than here, so I usually choose to eat there. There’s still two hours until eleven, enough to solve your problems."

Primary Universe Batman understood. Wong’s words revealed quite a bit: for instance, the New York Temple must be in a bustling area, otherwise it would be hard to have many takeout options; Wong is Asian, from his English accent, one could tell Cantonese or Minnan might be his native language, possibly from Hong Kong; he might like Chinese food, suggesting the New York Temple is near a Chinese community.

"No, I insist on being sure of your lunch time. It would be bad if I delayed your meal." Batman said this, then heard Wong say, "Alright, we eat promptly at 11:30."

Batman thought: Magicians don’t need time to travel, a teleportation portal goes there instantly. This means ordering takeout probably takes about half an hour. The New York Temple must be within a half-hour delivery range of streets gathered with Chinese restaurants.

Though Batman is not a frequent visitor to New York, he had a general idea and quickly pinpointed a few streets. After ruling out various dangers, he was almost able to determine the location of the New York Temple.

But he didn’t rush to ask about Saffire, instead patiently inquiring about meditation issues, while discreetly observing this Great Mage, rapidly sketching his profile in his mind.

Open-minded, forgiving, highly skilled— this is Batman’s impression of Wong. He doesn’t think this Great Mage is likely to be Saffire. So after the questioning ended, he and Arkham Batman headed to the cafeteria to discuss what’s been gathered.