Kaimeng Comprehensive University, Lecture Hall 107.
"Persona deconstruction is a crucial research direction in the mind faction."
"Ordinary people and even sorcerers who know nothing of the mind inevitably engage in 'persona pre-construction' when meeting strangers—commonly known as labeling. Wealthy and gentle, poor and insecure, powerful and overbearing, weak and tender... We distill the other party's most prominent traits and integrate them into our own field of thought."
"Labeling is a completely normal mental activity. It helps us quickly find the most rational way to interact: humble before powerful foes, pushy and demanding before the weak. You could even say labeling is an indispensable survival skill."
"Yet for a mind sorcerer, this labeled 'persona pre-construction' is often the optimal window to cast our arts. Through persona deconstruction, we can influence strangers silently and imperceptibly, usually via two methods."
"The first method is the simplest: catering deconstruction. Generally speaking, after close interaction, people gradually modify their perception of others, shifting from simple labeling to complex labeling. For instance, 'wealthy and gentle' becomes 'wealthy, stingy with others, gentle, but only to friends,' and so forth. Through limited information, people deconstruct a complex individual into readily digestible concepts."
"Catering deconstruction means that after establishing a first impression, the mind sorcerer continuously reveals traits the other person 'expects.' For example, if I dress as a wealthy, witty middle-aged man striking up a conversation in a wine cafe, the other person assumes I drive a luxury car, and then, sure enough, I produce a luxury car key; they assume I live in the Upper District, and then I casually let slip that I reside in Phoenix Garden... So, how do you think my pickup went that night?"
"Present the first impression they favor, and steadily leak details that let them 'fill in' the persona on their own, and you can rapidly earn their trust. Because 'you' never said anything outright; everything about 'you' was deduced through their own reasoning—and people unconditionally trust their own judgment."
"Most victims of romance scams fall prey to precisely this technique, to the point of believing genuine love truly exists in this world. Personally, I don't recommend you employ this method. Even if you do, don't defraud anyone of their money; just enjoy a pleasant night and leave it at that."
"There are numerous other applications for catering deconstruction, which I won't expand upon here. Interested students may purchase my book, *108 Practical Persona Templates*, available for purchase and download on the Curtain."
"The second method is the most difficult: reverse deconstruction. You don't need to consider the impression you give others; you only need to construct in detail the impression others give you. In simple terms, through sorcery spirits, miracles, rhetoric, and other guiding techniques, you make the other person 'conform' to your impression of them."
"If you believe someone is kind and generous, then before you, they will become kind and generous. But you cannot simply label them; you must deduce 'why they are kind' and 'why they are generous,' and then reinforce their perception through various details, causing them to unconsciously cater to your 'impression'—even if they resist fitting into it."
"It sounds complicated, but students who have read *History of Social Change* will certainly connect this to an ancient social unit—yes, the family system that Financier spoke of last night."
"In the family system, male guardians and female guardians often utilized this reverse deconstruction to shape children into the 'good kids' of their vision. It is said that in ancient times, the simplest way to become a mind sorcerer was to nurture a perfect child."
"We won't debate the validity of Financier's claims here, but without question, reverse deconstruction suffocated children's individuality and stripped them of their human rights and freedoms, which is one reason why the family system was swept into the dustbin of history. Yet for us mind sorcerers, reverse deconstruction is a lifelong pursuit of study and research."
"A truly powerful mind sorcerer is no longer content with reverse-deconstructing intelligent beings, but instead reverse-deconstructs the world itself—'The world revolves around me.' This is the ultimate realm of a mind sorcerer!"
"That concludes today's lecture. Class dismissed."
With the bell signaling the end of class, the students hurried out, and before long, the lecture hall was more than half empty.
Beside Freya, Adela slumped limply over the desk with a heavy sigh. "At this rate, when will I ever summon a mind sorcery spirit so I can go gamble? This elective really does teach everything except real knowledge."
Today, Freya wore a cool, breezy strappy boat-neck camisole. She nodded in agreement.
The comprehensive university had no Mind Department—or rather, not a single university across the entire Blood Moon Country had one. At most, there were electives touching upon mind knowledge, such as the *Mind Analysis* course they were currently taking.
The professor talked a grand game up at the podium, but had never once explained how to summon a sorcery spirit. He merely rehashed interpersonal tactics over and over while peddling his book. If Freya's senses hadn't failed her, the professor had even cast a sorcery spirit like 'Suggestion' earlier, making the students believe *108 Practical Persona Templates* concealed methods for summoning sorcery spirits.
Though the course was terrible and the professor was trash, the price wasn't cheap in the slightest. Just for this single class, Freya's student loan balance had jumped by a full five percent.
These days, even though anyone could look up all sorts of knowledge on the Curtain for free, knowledge capable of making money was not only never free, but held behind extraordinarily high thresholds and strictly guarded secrets.
Take the biology department: the seventeenth century was the century of biology, and bio-implant masters were currently the highest-paying profession. Yet to acquire the relevant knowledge, one had to become an apprentice to a biology professor, which virtually guaranteed a binding ten-year employment contract.
The only overt profession tied to the mind faction was psychological therapist, but everyone knew true mind sorcerers were either criminals or politicians (in truth, the two were practically the same)—a field of immense risk and enormous returns. Naturally, gaining knowledge of the mind faction was exceedingly difficult.
If Freya weren't a Veela—meaning she had a high probability of summoning a mind sorcery spirit on her own—she would have preferred spending her tuition money on a few days of pleasure at a mud cafe.
Adela asked, "Dinner at Salais tonight?"
"Broke," Freya said lazily. "I just went to Frostfall last night."
"My treat."
"You won money?"
"Hehe." Adela flashed a catlike smirk. "During last night's Blood Moon Trial, I placed a heavy bet on Financier and made a killing."
"How much?"
"All I can tell you is, if I'd lost, I'd be working at a tea cafe for the next few months."
Chapter 141