Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

The Ilvermorny library is an independent cylindrical tower. To get from the school hospital to the library, you must first leave the main castle, either through the back door to enter the central courtyard or through the side door to the corridor bridge. Neither way is close, but since the other side of the central courtyard houses the principal's office, Bruce and Night Owl choose the corridor bridge.

"Why are you so sneaky?" Bruce, walking in front, asks Night Owl behind him.

"I was about to ask you, why are you swaggering around?" Night Owl couldn't help but look at him, glancing left and right, "This school is full of magicians, aren't you afraid of being discovered by them?"

"If I were afraid of being discovered, would I still be night prowling?"

Night Owl was rendered speechless.

"You seem to know a lot about magic." He started another topic.

"If I didn't know, would I come here just to trigger paranoid delusions like you?"

Night Owl fell silent again.

Actually, at the very beginning of Battleworld, his relationship with Bruce was pretty good because Bruce fit the image of a younger brother in his mind very well.

Most Batmen are too mature. Classic Batmen, represented by Primary Universe Batman, might only be around 40 years old, but their aura seems to be like they're 400.

Night Owl has an indescribable aversion to this overly mature Bruce Wayne. Doctors can hardly treat themselves, and Night Owl can hardly be considered a professional psychiatrist. He doesn't know why he's repulsed, he just keeps a respectful distance from these Batmen. But every time he sees them, it still upsets him, and over time, he ends up conflicting with these Batmen.

Bruce, who embodies a youthful image of Batman, is quite rare. Some Batmen, even if they look young, are lifeless. Bruce might be the liveliest and most cheerful Batman in the entire multiverse.

No, actually, Night Owl always felt that Bruce wasn't Batman. Although some Batmen also admit they are Bruce Wayne, they never abandon the identity of Batman; whereas Bruce has completely shed the Batman identity. He's just purely Bruce Wayne, neither a superhero nor a volunteer police. This greatly aligns with Night Owl's expectation of a brother.

So after discovering Bruce, Night Owl deliberately approached him. They got along well at the start.

This is what they call knowing a person by looks but not by heart. The pig's nose is stuck in the green onion to pretend to be an elephant, there's always a day when it gets revealed. Whether Bruce is Batman or not is debatable; he's starting to seem a bit inhuman.

Night Owl wanted a brother who fit his stereotype, ordinary, lively, controllable, living under his wing, full of admiration and gratitude towards him.

The real Bruce is the complete opposite of his stereotype — bizarre, whimsical, rebellious, and with just three words can make his blood pressure spike five times.

They can work together. Bruce's abilities are indeed strong, but there's a severe problem with their relationship: for them to work together properly, or to have a peaceful discussion, everything has to be on Bruce's terms. Whatever he wants goes.

If Night Owl proposes an opposing view, Bruce will argue with him. And his level of arguing is extremely high, whether it's reasoning, convincing with logic, or unreasonable bickering, he knows and applies them all proficiently. Night Owl can't win against him.

And physically, Night Owl has never seen such an indiscriminate Batman. They say if Batman gains superpowers, there will be trouble, but Bruce is full of superpowers and is still lively and kicking. Night Owl can't beat him either.

What frustrates Night Owl even more is, if Night Owl doesn't play with Bruce, there are plenty of people who would. Bruce doesn't lack friends, even within the Batman ensemble, or expanded to the Multiverse Justice League, he has many like-minded friends. Not to mention, he can get along well with villains like the Joker. He is the only Batman in Battleworld who's been to the Joker's base and came out unscathed.

Everyone has to admit that Bruce is someone with a lousy personality but great charm. More precisely, his charm comes from his uniquely lousy personality. Batmen can be righteous or evil, but he's the only shameless one.

As the saying goes, the harsh fears the reckless, the reckless fears the one who doesn't value life. In Batman's universe, the normal fears the mad, the classic mad fears the uniquely mad, and the uniquely mad fears the unique and interesting mad. Bruce is evidently the last type.

Whether it's Batman or Joker, or most of the justice and villain groups in the multiverse, few are tasteless mediocrities. They are mostly geniuses who can see through and appreciate the most unique and interesting parts of a person's soul, like seeing the gleam of a pearl through an ugly shell. Bruce is the brightest pearl in the multiverse.

This makes Night Owl inexplicably angry, with a touch of unexplainable depression and sadness. Every time he spends time with Bruce, he gets furious, wishing to kick him to the edge of the cosmos; but when not with him, he feels inexplicably unsatisfied.

He keeps oscillating between these two states. Right now, he's clearly in the former state. Bruce can infuriate someone with a single word; Night Owl can't help but wonder how the prim and proper classic Batmen from Primary Universe or Arkham Batman can endure him.

Whether they're pretending or not, at least when they're with Bruce, they appear relatively calm. This makes Night Owl wonder, is he the only petty-minded person in the entire multiverse?

They crossed the corridor bridge, turned a corner, and entered the tower. The tower's floor was made of the same magic stone bricks as the Asgard Immortal Palace, carved with mysterious magic runes, and glimmering with a faint sheen. The walls were adorned with purple magic wood wall panels, with complex, intricate Mary-style candlesticks hanging on them. Ascending the spiral staircase of the tower, one could reach a giant crystal door of the library, through which faint lights flickered.

They pushed the door open and went inside. There was no one behind the reception counter, but the entire grand library was brightly lit, making Night Owl feel like he had walked into another world.

It was only now he realized that the candlesticks in the corridors were continuously lit, as if the entire campus never slept, dispelling any sense of nighttime mystery and tension. But it also made him click his tongue in admiration: these were all magic sources of light, lit every day like this, it's hard to imagine how much energy they consumed. The magicians of this universe were indeed extravagantly wealthy.

The Primary Universe Batman and Arkham Batman were also discussing this matter. The dormitory of Neptune Academy was located on the top floor of the main castle, occupying the entire west side of the top floor. To reach the school hospital, they had to head east first, then go downstairs. Along the way, they essentially toured the entire main castle.

Contrary to their imagined night exploration, feeling their way around cautiously in the dark, the castle itself was never plunged into darkness, and wherever they went was resplendent and brightly lit.

Not only the chandeliers and lanterns, but various magical artifacts also emitted light, such as the stars on the constellation patterns on the Gothic pointed windows, the Persian floral patterns on the carpets, the Luminous Pearls on the stair railings, swords and harps in the hands of European mythological figures on the ceiling, among others. Different magic glows intertwined and reflected each other. If it weren't for the faint pure moonlight visible through the window gaps, you would truly think the castle distinguished neither day from night.

The Batmen could only choose to not understand but respect such an extravagant behavior. However, thinking about the stingy style of magicians in their universe, a certain indescribable melancholy set in.

Indeed, magic comes at a price. Yet, even in their universe, magicians had paid sizeable costs, reducing themselves to being neither human nor ghost, but the magic power acquired probably wasn't enough to light a candle through the night here.

No matter how much price the mages in this universe paid, or who paid it, at least the returns they received were ample enough.

This made Batman feel somewhat indignant: it's the same magic, the same transactions, so why could the devils in their universe trample over the human race, venting their malice as they wished, causing magicians a lifetime of suffering, only to offer tiny gifts that couldn't even compare to the remnants of energy in this universe?

No comparison, no contrast. If compared only within their own great world, they all seemed roughly the same, there wasn't much to be unhappy about; but coming here, seeing such scenes, how could they endure such injustice?

When the two Batmen entered the school hospital like two black holes, carrying an oppressive aura and formidable pressure that ordinary people could hardly bear, Shiller almost thought they intended to take Night Owl's life tonight.

Unable to hold back, Shiller complained in his office: Revenge has a head, a debt has a master, must you two knights cause trouble on my turf?

Luckily, Night Owl ran fast—more precisely, Bruce took him and ran fast. Just a bit slower and his peaceful school life would have been shattered from the first day.

"How did you two get in here?" Shiller asked, "Only professors can access the school hospital. You... oh right, the Hippo Goddess's seal. This lady is still so soft-hearted. Come in."

Knowing they weren't ill, he didn't take the two to the ward but directly to his office. When entering, he also specifically cautioned them, "You'd better not plan on showcasing your formidable combat skills to me tonight. What I want to say is that everything in this office is very expensive, even if you damage a corner, you won't be able to afford it."

"A novel way of expressing it." The Primary Universe Batman sat down in the reception area, "I don't often hear people talk like that."

"You can ask your friend," Shiller, placing the tea set down from the cabinet, looked towards Arkham Batman, saying, "He not so long ago received my bill, seemingly somewhat satisfied."

The Primary Universe Batman glanced at Arkham Batman.

"You wouldn't want to know the amount," Arkham Batman also sat down and said.

"More than the military budget you approved this year?"

Arkham Batman fell silent.

Shiller looked at him in genuine astonishment and asked, "How much military budget did you approve?"

"You should ask him who he plans to fight," the Primary Universe Batman suggested, taking the teacup.

Shiller settled on the sofa opposite them, poured himself a cup of tea, and said, "You're a bit late, Night Owl is already gone. But it's just the start of the school year, there will be plenty of opportunities to find trouble with him later."

Shiller was subtly suggesting to the Batmen: to deal with Night Owl, there's no need to rush, and especially no need to take action in his school hospital. It's best for Batman's grudges to stay far away from here.

Surprisingly, the Primary Universe Batman showed no intention of leaving. Sitting squarely on the sofa, he said, "We shouldn't have come here for nothing tonight; there's indeed something I want to ask you."