"…"
Vale finally stopped writing after hearing the Headmaster's words. He shifted his gaze to the Headmaster who was looking at him all this time.
The headmaster's smile was something that Vale would never forget. After all, this is the smile that tore a part of his shadow when he first came here.
That was such a traumatizing experience. Although he already recovered from it, recalling how his shadow was ripped apart in front of his eyes wasn't a good memory.
Anyway, he couldn't tell whether the Headmaster is really in a good mood with this smile or this is just his normal 'business face'.
"Headmaster, you sold the spirit? Can the Moontomb family revive him with that? I mean, perhaps they can give him a new body or maybe put his spirit inside a fetus to be reborn?" Vale asked with a hint of concern.
The headmaster was stunned once again as he looked at Vale amusedly.
"You're really imaginative, Vale. Your idea is something that even I haven't thought of… Fusing a spirit inside the fetus to be reborn… That was good. It might be better if you become a member of the Evil Arcane Path! Your disregard for other's life is so perfect for them. I'm sure that your ideas would be more appreciated in that place. Do you want to change your path? I know some of the elders in that place…" The Headmaster said with a hint of excitement on his face.
Cough! Cough!
Vale almost choked at these words. He was being praised but it was definitely not something he would be happy about.
"Headmaster, you must be kidding. There is no Evil Arcane Path. Furthermore, I'm just joking. I just thought of those ideas because of Master Heinz."
Vale said before he silently apologized to his master for putting the blame on him. Those ideas were something he read from various books in his previous life. Since he thought that the world of mysticism is quite dark and ruthless, he thought that these ideas were something they've also considered.
"Haha… Who told you that there's no Evil Arcane Path?" The Headmaster asked.
"Well, even though we are treading the path of the Darkness, it is definitely not the same as being Evil. There's probably some semblance here and there but I believe that our path will not lead us to become the personification of evil."
"Oh? Don't you know about the Forbidden Techniques of this path? Anyway, I want to know what you think is the end of this path?"
Vale smiled and didn't hesitate to answer while writing on his paper.
"The Forbidden Techniques of the Darkness Path can indeed harm many people if practiced but most of these forbidden techniques will harm yourself instead of some other people… Anyway, I've already tried to think about the end of this path but I think that I'll get to learn more about it as I study here. For now, I only think that the Darkness Path is just another Arcane Path where I can learn a different form of mysticism. It depends on the practitioner on how he will use the knowledge of mysticism. If the person has an evil mind, even if he's practicing the Holy Arts, he would be walking the path of evil."
"…"
The Headmaster felt impressed at his words as he couldn't help but tap the desk a couple of times before replying with great satisfaction.
"Indeed, an evil mind will walk the path of evil no matter what Arcane Path he learns. Wise words. I can't believe I'm talking to someone who was barely 15 years old."
Vale smiled as he had already considered this matter ever since he learned about the Ghost Hand.
He no longer replied at he only smiled and continued to answer his test paper.
After a while, when Vale finished three pages of the exam papers, the Headmaster spoke.
"I just want to correct you in one thing… You mentioned that there is no Evil Arcane Path. However, among the twelve Arcane Paths, one of them is pure evil…"
Vale paused once more as he felt suddenly confused.
He didn't immediately react as he tried to recall all the twelve paths.
The four paths with the largest number of practitioners are the Knight's Path, the Elemental Arts, the Alchemy Arts, and the Mystic Arts.
These four paths can be said to have the lowest requirement since they'll accept anyone as long as you have a bit of talent in their path. They're also popular since the things you'll learn from them can be very helpful in everyday life.
Then, there were three other paths with unique requirements. They are the Rune Arts, Beast Arts, and the Summoning Arts.
Rune Arts require some sort of compatibility if you want to reach an Intermediate Level. If you can't, your skills will remain at an Elementary Level. The Beast Arts requires an affinity with animals or any other type of creature. As for the Summoning Arts, Vale wasn't sure but they have a thing called Grimoire and you needed to have compatibility with it which isn't an easy thing.
Then, there were the Holy Arts and the Dark Arts… These two paths have very distinguished ways of accepting people. Vale can prove that easily.
Then, there is a special Combat Art. He wasn't really sure about this as well but he only heard that they were adept at making enchantments and possessed a different form of Arcane Ability called Aura.
As for the other two, Vale didn't know much about them aside from their names. Nevertheless, he was sure that none of them were called Evil Arcane Path.
They were the Psychic Arts and the Transformation Arts.
"Headmaster, I don't think there is an Arcane Path that can be called the Evil Path. It depends on the person practicing the path and it can become an Evil Path or even a Virtuous Path." Vale said once more.
However, the Headmaster just laughed at this and said mysteriously.
"You will soon learn about it. However, I can tell you that you're right about one more thing, our Darkness Path is not the Evil Path."
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om