Chapter 152: The Kaleidoscope of the Hero
Dark tightly held Claire and placed her on the sofa.
Then he took off the small blanket from the back of the sofa and covered her stomach with it.
High-ranking magus tutors might not appear as frail as they seem. Although they may not exercise regularly, they would use magic potions to slightly enhance their abilities to adapt to the battlefield.
Claire was a hero on the battlefield and wouldn’t easily fall ill due to the cold winter. But no one dislikes being cared for by someone close.
Claire’s lips trembled slightly.
She couldn’t have failed to notice being moved from the carpet to the sofa.
She just didn’t want to open her eyes.
…
“Ah, I came here to ask about the ‘Zoo’ conjure method, but it seems there’s no time now.”
After observing Claire for a while, Dark realized she wouldn’t wake up anytime soon and decided to leave first.
It was the start of a new week, and he had classes in the morning.
“I’ll come back later tonight!”
Dark finally patted his cheeks and walked out of Claire’s dorm.
Once the door closed, Claire quietly opened her eyes and stretched out her hand in front of her, whispering, “Seems like it got a bit bigger?”
She had traveled extensively over the years and gained more experience, understanding the concept of “measure.”
So when she used the transformation spell on Dark, she deliberately shortened the duration.
This way, once Dark woke up, he wouldn’t notice that she had transformed into a cat.
As it turned out, this plan was successful.
Claire felt truly worthy of being called a “Sage!”
Leaning on the sofa, she gave a lazy smile.
“Is it about the ‘Zoo’? Sure. There’s no one else to pass it on to except him. As for Gold’s son, let Altair worry about him.”
…
The opening time for the Tower of Noble Academy was at five in the morning.
Dark left the teacher’s dormitory around four in the morning.
He adjusted his collar, exhaled, and decided to take advantage of this rare opportunity to enjoy the castle scenery at four in the morning.
But before that, he needed to confirm something.
“System, display metrics.”
[Bliss: 107]
In reality, it should be 107.5.
The system rounds down the metrics for capital sins.
It was the fourth day of August.
After three days of drawing, “Bliss” decreased from 109 to 104.5. Adding another 3 points brought it to 107.5.
The “Bliss” stored within the worm tree was 2.5.
If he drew five more times, he could keep “Bliss” at 100 and gain 10 points of Bliss to craft “Bliss III.”
But maintaining this was difficult.
…
Dark turned off the system metrics and slowly walked along the castle’s edge.
The faint light from the square windows prevented the corridor from becoming completely dark.
However, the biting cold wind managed to slip through.
The winter wind felt like needles, causing pain.
An imp beast fluttered its wings beside him, occasionally shivering.
Dark thought about getting it a Christmas gift—a hat or a scarf?
Out of habit, Dark returned to the window on the third floor of the castle.
Through that window, he could see the external bridge leading to the other side of the castle.
Then he heard sounds that shouldn’t be present at four o’clock in the morning.
Frequent footsteps and panicked screams.
Moreover, they were eerily familiar.
“Really restless!”
Dark paid attention, slightly intrigued.
…
But he didn’t know that Wit and Robert had entered the secret path since Friday night.
Only by truly entering the secret path did they discover how vast and complex the space was, far larger than imagined!
They carried enough supplies and stayed in the secret path for three nights until they finally escaped.
The school’s constructs were only deployed at the outer perimeter of the secret path.
The inner part was intricate and complex, requiring at least one or two days to explore thoroughly.
In theory, placing constructs at the outer perimeter was sufficient.
But Wit, guided by “Forbidden Love,” knew the secret path better than anyone. He not only avoided the patrols but also delved deep into the secret path by Saturday.
Now, the secret path had returned to normal, with only a few traps remaining.
From obtaining the treasure map to now, over a month passed. Wit finally cracked the ghostly treasure map by thinking from different perspectives.
Following the map’s route, they pushed forward together, overcoming obstacles.
On Sunday evening, after their final meal, they made a final push and found the location where the hero Brett Gold had buried the treasure!
It was a small secret room hidden within the featureless walls of the secret path.
Wit applied a layer of mana to his palm and used the “Exhaustive Search” method, examining all nearby walls, eventually finding the entrance to the secret room.
As the wall became transparent under the influence of mana, Wit felt an overwhelming joy.
He rushed in without hesitation and fell flat on his face!
The floor of the secret room was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting a swollen face.
Robert cautiously entered and was shocked by the room’s layout.
The entire room was constructed entirely of mirrors, giving the illusion of countless reflections.
“This is the hero’s treasure location. Where’s the treasure?”
Robert strained his eyes, but the room was so small; everything could be seen at a glance.
Apart from mirrors, there was nothing else, not even dust!
Forget about any “treasure chest.”
“Pain, pain, pain…”
Wit cried out in pain and struggled to get up.
The floor was too slippery, so he sat down, looking bewildered.
…
It took over a month.
They put aside their mana chess and studies.
Whenever they had free time at night, they explored the secret path.
Finally, they found the location depicted on the treasure map this weekend.
But it turned out to be such a place?
Where was the treasure?
Wit was stunned. He searched the entire secret room, trying to inject mana into each mirror, but none responded.
“Hey, Wit, could this be a joke from the hero?” Robert said hopelessly after several hours.
Wit’s eyes, already red from exhaustion, instinctively denied, “Impossible! This was left to me by my father. How could it be a joke?”
But as soon as he spoke, he wilted.
He suddenly realized that Robert might be right.
Robert continued, “You told me it was a treasure left by the hero during his student days… At that time, he surely didn’t know he would have a son.”
Wit calmed down, “Alright, I understand. You’re right. According to Principal Altair’s description, he is indeed a playful person.”
Robert weakly added, “Perhaps we just haven’t solved the puzzle yet. In any case, we found something, didn’t we?”
Wit, “We did find something.”
Robert, “We’re still first-year students. We have plenty of time to solve this mystery.”
Wit, “But the match is on Friday.”
Robert, “…”
—
