The inner world was still filled with a swirling white mist, and tall buildings on the horizon appeared as mirages amidst a sea of clouds. Based on the common architecture of Gotham City, many fantastical buildings floated in the sky.
Among them, the most striking were the Gothic steeples of varying heights. These cylindrical towers floated overhead, connected by floating stairs. Up close, you could see students in mage robes passing through them.
Each tower was surrounded by nurous Gothic windows with pointed arches. Looking in, you could see the bright common rooms where students either stood or sat. So were gathered in groups, whispering in conversation while others sat alone at desks, engrossed in their books.
Directly opposite the windows was a giant bookshelf that took up half the arched wall. It held almost every book projection found in the magic realm. So students climbed tall ladders to the top, fetching bulky tos and piling them higher than their own heads. They then wobbled their way to a desk and began to devour the books.
A brown-haired boy who seed older stood by the felt board at the entrance of the common room. He pulled out the pin that had been holding the previous course schedule, replacing it with a new one. After securing it, he admired his work, nodding with satisfaction and announcing,
"To all second-year students, please rember, the latest Magic Theory class has been moved to tomorrow afternoon. Bring your essays completed after the last class, Professor Shearer will be reviewing them."
The mont his words fell, a woman's voice chid in from behind him: "Kane! My dear class president, what did you write your essay on? Let have a look, I can't even put half a word together."
The boy, addressed as Kane, turned to look at the redhead behind him, furrowing his brow: "Miss Spencer, you do realize you should have at least listened to Professor Shearer when he was setting the assignnt, don't you?"
"Actually, I did listen. I just didn't understand," Miss Spencer, her red hair ssy, exclaid, ruffling her locks: "You're well aware I've been living with my mother in tropolis up until recently. I can't make heads or tails of those complex taphors you Gothamites use."
"What does that have to do with anything? It was all there in the textbook..."
"Help, soone, please help !!! Why do I have howork as soon as I return?!!"
Another piercing scream resonated from the entrance. Both Cain and Miss Spencer turned around, only to see a platinum blonde girl charging in. She braked abruptly in front of the course schedule, her eyes growing large as she took in every detail. A louder wail followed.
"Harley, didn't you take a three-month leave? Why are you back so soon?" Kane asked, appearing concerned.
Harley opened her mouth, showing a sowhat complicated expression before speaking: "It's tough to explain, but... alright, have you guys ever imagined an alternate-universe 'you' that's a complete hopeless romantic? I've had enough of her!"
"Joker, Joker, Joker, as if she can't live without the Joker! Our business was going so well, but she insisted on spending her energy creating a big surprise for her 'puddin'. She's such an incurably foolish woman, I'm not going to work with her anymore!"
Kane and Miss Spencer exchanged glances, neither of them understood what Harley was talking about. But they didn't mind, for they knew this Harley Quinn was always a bit off-beat and liked to blurt out shocking things. She was one of those typical Gotham genius loonies.
The Institute was very tolerant of such individuals. Or perhaps, after experiencing the first few months, any remotely sane person would keep their distance from the School of Magic Theory, as the subjects researched here were too profound, obscure, and insane.
The magic of the DC world wasn't a force that appeared out of nowhere. It primarily ca from angels and demons. Therefore, to deepen the study of magical theory, one had to delve into the origins of demons and angels. This was bound to involve theology and religious studies, which inevitably required the study of history and culture. Many words in these disciplines couldn't even be found in the dictionary.
Even for adults, studying history, culture, and religion could be arduous tasks. How many children at this age could have the patience to study these subjects?
Given these circumstances, this school shouldn't have many students. Yet there were, conservatively speaking, at least a dozen people in this common room alone. This wasn't the only common room, indicating the school did have quite a few students.
In short, most of the students here were locals from Gotham, and more specifically, from well-off Gotham families. In essence, they were almost entirely descendants of the major Gotham families.
This brown-haired Kane was from the Kane family, while Miss Spencer was the second daughter of the current head of the Spencer family, one of the Twelve Families. Similarly, the youngest son of a branch of the Lawrence family was jotting down the schedule by the board. There was also Miss Drake, Old Drake's niece and Tim's cousin from the Drake family.
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