I loaded the Mysticism panel.

On his first night back in Briston, Richard locked himself in his bedroom.

The notebook I brought back from the Imperial Capital University library was spread out on the left side of the table, while the gargoyle was placed in the right corner as a paperweight.

The curtains were drawn tightly, and the desk lamp cast a warm yellow glow around the table.

Downstairs in the living room, her father was flipping through the newspaper, and Evelyn was whispering something to her mother. Their voices drifted up through the floorboards, muffled and indistinct.

He went through the original materials in his notebook in his mind again and again on the train, until he fell asleep.

Back in his room, he first carefully organized the things he had forcibly crammed into his brain into a notebook.

No matter how strong a long-term memory is, it is ultimately not as reliable as what is written in a notebook.

He was busy until after 1 a.m., and Evelyn's room lights were long gone. Only then did he put down his pencil, rub his eyes, and prepare to go to sleep.

………………

When Richard returned to Greenwood on Thursday morning, he thought he had gone to the wrong school.

As soon as he stepped into the teaching building, two boys walking towards him in the corridor stopped at the same time.

"Williams!" one of them waved at him, a smile plastered on his face.

Richard didn't recognize them and nodded politely.

I walked less than twenty steps toward the classroom before I was stopped again.

This time it was a girl from the next class. She came out of the side door with her textbooks in her arms and almost bumped into him.

"Excuse me... Oh, you're Williams? The one with the Cicero Cup?"

"right."

"That's amazing!"

The girl ran away after she finished speaking, leaving behind a lingering smell of soapy water.

Richard frowned and quickened his pace toward his classroom.

He had a general idea of ​​what had happened, but the experience of witnessing it firsthand was far more chaotic than he had anticipated.

When the classroom door was opened, dozens of pairs of eyes turned to look at it.

After a brief silence, applause began in the back rows and quickly spread throughout the classroom.

Warren stood next to his seat and clapped his hands the loudest in the entire arena.

Mason joined in the commotion, raising his fists above his head.

He huddled in a corner, but he was still clapping enthusiastically until his hands were red.

Richard put his backpack on the table and nodded to everyone as a greeting.

Just as the applause had not completely subsided, the front door of the classroom opened again.

The principal himself walked in.

Principal Dr. Fletcher was an elderly gentleman in his early sixties, with his hair parted in the middle and styled with a thin layer of hair wax.

He rarely comes to the classroom in person, and only makes an appearance once a semester at the opening ceremony.

The noise in the classroom quickly subsided after he appeared.

Fletcher stood in front of the podium, his gaze sweeping across the students' faces before finally settling on Richard.

"I'm here today to announce something."

He took a letter from his jacket pocket, unfolded it, and read it aloud in the tone one would use to deliver a speech in an auditorium:

"In this year's Cicero Cup Latin Speech Contest in the Imperial Capital, our student Richard Williams won second place in the entire Empire."

Applause erupted in the classroom once again.

This time it was much louder than before, because the principal was also clapping.

"This is one of the best results in Greenwood's history." The principal folded the letter and put it back in his pocket.

"The last time a student achieved a top-three finish in an Empire-level competition was twenty years ago."

He then spoke for two minutes, offering words of encouragement, nothing more than the usual platitudes about "studying hard," "bringing honor to the school," and "the power of role models."

After he finished speaking, he nodded slightly to Richard, turned around and left the classroom.

After the applause stopped, the classmates who couldn't even remember his full name before all looked at him with a subtle expression.

I can't quite put my finger on whether it was respect or curiosity, but it was probably both.

Richard took his textbook out of his bag, flipped to the chapter for today, and waited calmly for the school bell to ring.

When it was lunchtime, as Richard carried his tray toward Warren's table, at least four people greeted him along the way, three of whom he didn't recognize.

Warren was already seated, with a more lavish plate in front of him than usual.

Two steaks, a bowl of cream soup, a large glass of fresh milk, and a plate of baked pudding.

"Extra food today?" Richard sat down next to him.

"Here you go," Warren said, pushing the second steak towards him. "To celebrate."

"Does your family own a cafeteria?"

"My dad said," Warren mumbled, chewing on a piece of bread.

"His exact words were, 'You should get to know Williams' social circle better; all expenses will be reimbursed, and you can even invite him to your home sometime.'"

He swallowed the bread and pointed at the steak with his fork:

"Strictly speaking, this piece of meat was invited to you by my dad; I was just running errands."

"Please thank Mr. Crowley for me."

Richard was indeed hungry. He had only eaten a few slices of dry bread on his way back from the capital yesterday, and hadn't eaten much this morning.

He cut a piece of steak and put it in his mouth. The improved [Eating] skill made the taste of the meat juices in his mouth more vivid than before.

He glanced at the panel while chewing.

The progress bar rose faster than he expected, probably due to the quality of the food.

High-protein, high-nutrient-density foods provide more effective input to the body with every bite, resulting in more benefits recorded on the digestive system.

The steaks sponsored by Warren are no longer just "saving him money for lunch"; they are directly driving skill development.

Mason was gnawing on a chicken leg across from him, his mouth glistening with grease.

"What exactly did you talk about in that speech? It made all those rich kids in Beijing look bad."

"I couldn't continue. I came in second place. The first place went to the Montagu family."

"The Montagu family? What else is there to say... Second place is already impressive, okay? When has Greenwood ever produced a second-best in the entire empire?"

"Didn't the principal say that twenty years ago?"

"Doesn't that mean you're a once-in-twenty-years genius?"

"I'm not a genius, but the question was just cleverly chosen; it happened to be something I had prepared for."

That's half true and half false.

The topic of the impromptu debate did happen to fall within an area he had studied countless times, but getting second place was definitely not just due to luck.

During lunch break, Richard borrowed a phone from the school administration building and dialed the number Warren had given him.

The phone rang six times; I answered it.

"Clement artifacts." The old man's voice came through the microphone, dry and monotone.

"Mr. Clement, I am Richard Williams, the student who saw the Sphinx lamp last time."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"Oh...it's you." The old man vaguely remembered it. "That lamp is still there, but nobody wants it for now."

"Two pounds, right?"

"Two pounds. I told you I'd give you a maximum of two months, and now that time is almost up."

"I'll come pick it up when I have time this weekend."

Okay, remember to bring cash.

The phone hangs up.

………………

In the evening, the family finished dinner.

The father was flipping through the newspaper in the living room, while Evelyn was doing her homework at the dining table.

My mother was in a good mood today; she even hummed a tune while cleaning up the dishes in the kitchen.

"I'm going up."

"Have you finished your homework?" Evelyn asked without looking up.

"That's about it."

"You're locking the door again?"

"Uh, yes."

"Alright...get some rest." The younger sister sighed.