Way of the Knights

Chapter 259 - Benevolent

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The Gracious Thousand Arm Deity. A spirit entity that left behind a legend of outmost ferocity.

As Raven got stronger and the more he used the Archaic Thousand Arms Hammer, his compatibility and knowledge about his Spirit Entity deepens.

Spirit Entities grant someone unique abilities once awakened. In the Spirit Path, there is a stage called Spiritual Communion Realm, where one has to connect even deeper with their Spirit Entity and maybe learn a thing or two from them. 

Even though Raven is following a unique path right now, that didn't stop him from following some important matters on original paths. Through constant meditations and training, he was able to learn a few things from his Spirit Entity. One of them, is in full display right now.

'Thousand Arm Affection', a technique that was made by the Thousand Arm Deity himself. 

When used, he will channel his deepest emotions of Love and Care towards his target and cleanse them from any kind of negative afflictions that's corrupting their mentality. 

The Deity mostly used this technique to spare someone and force them to change their ways. Making them do what was correct and repent from their sins. Using his Benevolent Smile plus his Love and Care towards the Myriad Creations, he brought peace from those that needed it the most.

The Demonic Nine-tailed Fox, though a ferocious being, is still far away from approaching the level of the Deity itself. Even though it tried to resist the will of the of the Gracious Thousand Arm Deity, it could only do so for a mere seconds before succumbing to the warmth of it's love. 

As the light emanating out of the hands intensified, so was the conversion quickened. The process took a solid five minutes until the statue of the Deity behind Raven disappeared and the fox could no longer be seen. All that's left is the peaceful state of the resting student. 

"It's alright now." Raven said as he faced the rest of the class. "He's no longer in danger. He just needed to rest for a bit and he could return to his normal life. The Demonic Nine-tailed Fox is also pacified, no need to be afraid of this scenario happening again."

"Instructor, may I have a word with you?" Raven asked, the Instructor of this class stepped forward and they had a private conversation.

"Watch this child carefully." Raven said, "He might face some kind of obstruction after this. Try to give him some kind of an emotional support. I assure you that his Spirit Entity is already pacified, but due to what happened today, some of his classmates might see him as an evil being. Disperse this mentality once you see it, can I entrust this task to you?" 

"Rest assured, Instructor Raven. I will do everything in my power to help this student out." The class Instructor replied solemnly.

"Thank you." Raven replied, "Well then, since my task is done here I'll be returning to my class right now. Send this student to the infirmary and let him rest there, then you may continue with you class as well."

As soon as Raven said this, he disappeared from the spot and reappeared on the streets of the Academy. 

Unbeknownst to anyone, Raven hid one important detail from them. 

That would be the fact that the Spirit Entity of that student, is no longer called the Demonic Nine-tailed Fox.

Instead of calling it the Demonic Nine-tailed Fox, it would be more precise to call it the Benevolent Nine-tailed Fox instead. 

This change would definitely benefit the student. Due to the Nature of the Spirit Entity, it would definitely have some influence towards it's descendant. Raven had seen possessors of this Spirit Entity before and their attitudes tend to be a little too extreme, borderline insane if he's being honest. The malice and hatred that cursed the Demonic Nine-tailed Fox would be carried over to their descendant, at least a portion of it would. But even if it's just a portion, Raven doubted if a normal human psyche could handle that kind of burden, specially a kid.

Knowing this, of course Raven wouldn't be able to just ignore it. 

It also had to be known that will not be able to use the Thousand Arm Affection for the next six months. This is an imposed restriction by the Heavenly Laws themselves due to how powerful this technique was. The technique he used changes the very nature of the target, something that defies the Natural Order itself. It even affected a Spirit Entity, something that's already long gone and only a remembrance of the Starry Skies of the Spirit Realm. If he was the Gracious Thousand Arm Deity himself, then this restriction wouldn't exist. But he wasn't the Deity so the restrictions were imposed on him.

Raven made sure to prevent everyone from seeing the changes that happened to the Spirit Entity itself. He had reasons to do so. The biggest reason is that, he didn't want anyone to know that he could change the Nature of a Spirit Entity all on his own. Also, doing this kind of action is violating a rule that he made since this is considered as giving preferential treatment to a student. 

Of course, he would explain his actions on the faculty later. They may even impose some kind of forced service from the student in exchange for what he had done but that would be discussed later. 

***

"Good afternoon, Professor Raven." The class greeted as soon as entered the room. 

Raven nodded and greeted them back. He then sat down in his desk and checked for the attendance of his students. Seeing that everyone was here, he then promptly started the class.

"So? Is everyone ready for the quiz?" Raven asked the class.

"Yes, Instructor." The students replied. 

Raven then nodded and then pushed his badge. Immediately, multiple screens of light appeared and moved towards each students. The screens showed a simple interface that any student of his could easily interact with. 

"The quiz falls into the Identification Category. Once you begin, the screens of light will show an image of an Alchemical Ingredient. Your task is to identify them one by one. The quiz has 100 items, try to identify as many as you could. Don't let me catch you cheating or else I'll impose a penalty on you. Are there any questions?"

Seeing his students silent, Raven then said: "Since there's none, your one hour starts now!"

With a push of his badge, a timer appeared over his head. Once the timer started ticking, his students then began interacting with the light screens and started answering the quiz he prepared. 

This is Raven's Alchemy Class. So far he had at least twenty students in this class, some were already showing some promise. Raven wasn't the only Instructor of this course, there's also Jacob and Richard himself. 

Raven made this quiz personally and he arranged it to not be similar for any student. During the first week, Raven had been introducing them to at least 1000 kinds of medicinal ingredients. In his introductions, he taught the class on how to properly identify each ingredient so that they won't mistake it from something else entirely. 

He had informed the class that there would be a short quiz today, which spurred them to review everything that they've learned so far. 

Of course, Raven wouldn't give them a quiz for nothing. He wanted to give them some kind of an encouragement, so he told them that the top five of this quiz will receive some resources from him. 

The first place will be given a One Month Lunch Ticket at Canteen A as well as Five Sets of random Seeds that they could raise as well as 50 Gold Cards. 

The second place will be given a Three Weeks Lunch Ticket at Canteen A, Four Sets of random Seeds, and 40 Gold Cards.

Third Place: Two Weeks Lunch Ticket at Canteen A, Three Sets of random Seeds, and 30 Gold Cards.

Fourth Place: One Week Lunch Ticket at Canteen A, Two Sets of random Seeds, and 20 Gold Cards.

And the Fifth Place will receive a Two Week Lunch Ticket at Canteen B, One Set of random Seeds, and 10 Gold Cards.

Even though Alchemy is a rising profession in the Kingdom, it still doesn't change the fact that it's still a costly and stressful occupation. Of course, if one managed to get through it's challenges, a golden path is waiting ahead of them. This is why many are still hoping to join their ranks, and the trend is still continuing until today.

In front of this generous rewards, of course his students wouldn't be able to sit still. Of course they had to work harder and memorize to the best of their abilities. Each of those resources would greatly aid them in their path, and the more experience they gather as early as now, the more smoother their path towards their goal would be. 

Now, it's time to test their memorization skill and just much passion they have to pursue the road that they have chosen.