Chapter 219: Each Goes Their Own Way on the Great Road (4k)
Professor Shylph’s expression remained as serious as ever.
However, Dark could still sense that her gaze towards him was slightly different.
This made Dark feel somewhat awkward, after all, he did give an unappealing gift during Christmas.
Fortunately, Professor Shylph was someone who maintained a clear distinction between public and private matters, and she didn’t dwell on it further.
Dark then proceeded to narrate in detail the reasons for his entry into the secret passage and his encounter with the vampire Vlad, including the outcome.
Regarding the use of the “Paradise” card to defeat Vampire Vlad, he did not hide much.
Although the school had banned professors from giving magic cards to students for free, even incomplete ones, during Christmas, Claire had effectively resigned, thus neatly sidestepping this rule.
Furthermore, since Dark himself took charge of the final two steps, it also did not violate the “handmade” regulation.
The only issue left was the moral aspect.
Therefore, Claire specifically pointed out that he should not use “Paradise” in events related to the competition.
Moreover, considering the special circumstances, Professor Shylph was not an unreasonable person.
She did not dwell on this matter further but instead expressed considerable approval of Dark’s actions.
Then, her expression visibly darkened!
“I distinctly reminded you that the secret room is extremely dangerous and forbidden! Especially for Wit and Robert, you have just finished serving your detention!”
…
The sudden shift in tone caught Wit and Robert off guard.
Wit, who was already drowsy, suddenly snapped awake.
Robert instinctively shrank his neck.
Scott’s expression wasn’t great either.
Only Betty protested, “Professor Shylph, that hasn’t become a rule, and it’s currently holiday time!”
Shylph: “Yes, so I will deduct fifty points from each of you!”
Betty: “Professor, that’s not fair! Sister Carrian didn’t say that!”
Carrian: “Cough, cough!”
Shylph gave her a fierce glare and then said, “One thing at a time. Considering your discovery of the vampire, you did indeed contribute, and once I verify the truth, I will add points as compensation. This matter will be offset.”
“It’s good that we won’t lose points…”
Wit gradually lay down on the sickbed, his eyelids starting to droop again.
Professor Shylph continued, “As for Dark repelling the vampire and saving the four of you, I will explain to the principal, and the rewards will be announced later.”
Dark couldn’t help but smile; it seemed the subsidies for “Fusion” and “Zoo” materials were coming through.
Shylph: “You should rest well in the infirmary. Sister Carrian will check your health. We will handle the rest properly.”
…
When Professor Shylph left again, Dark couldn’t help but look envious.
Whether it was the principal’s nearly teleportation-like entrance method or Professor Shylph’s ability to move like the wind, both were enviable skills.
He wondered when he would be able to master similar spells.
As these thoughts swirled in his head, the fatigue of staying up all night suddenly hit him.
Dark yawned and found a bed to lie down on, closing his eyes soon after.
Scott, Robert, and Betty followed suit.
The group quickly fell asleep.
Sister Carrian shook her sleep potion, activating her mana to heat it, allowing it to vaporize and help Dark and others enter deep sleep.
After carefully checking everyone’s health and confirming no injuries, she truly relaxed.
“I wonder if they were lucky or unlucky to encounter a vampire without getting hurt during their first year.”
She returned to her desk, turning to look out the window.
This winter was unusually different.
…
When Dark woke up, he realized he had missed significant news while exploring the secret passage.
Lying on the sickbed, he ate dinner brought by the imp beast and read the latest edition of The Wise One Daily, feeling a mix of emotions.
“Christmas indeed!”
Compared to their minor activities within the school, the outside world was much more lively.
At midnight on December 25th.
While the kingdom’s people celebrated the arrival of Christmas Day, the prison under the jurisdiction of the Saint Church was unexpectedly attacked by a heterodox sect.
To maintain stability, the Saint Church did not release this news until the day after Christmas.
Immediately afterward, the nobility criticized them harshly!
The Saint Church claimed that the prison’s defenses were very strong, and all the invaders were eliminated with no survivors!
But those who were not impressed by the church’s actions took the opportunity to argue, firmly believing that the church must be hiding information, otherwise they wouldn’t have delayed releasing the news for 48 hours after the incident.
The reason for suppressing the news was to stabilize the situation, but if all the invaders were eliminated, it should have been a morale-boosting event, one that should have been celebrated!
So, the church must be lying about this!
Such statements escalated, and speculation filled the kingdom’s newspapers.
The core reason behind this uproar was that most of the prisoners in Bustedia Prison were war criminals!
Some of them were even half-human, half-demons.
…
Dark temporarily put down the newspaper, finished the last sip of soup, and placed the utensils back in the basket, asking the imp beast to return them.
Wit and the others kept looking over, clearly wanting to eat too, but the imp beast could only provide one meal at a time, so they could only apologize.
…
The appearance of a vampire in the secret passage of Saint Maryann Academy should have been a major event.
However, the Saint Church was currently in a crisis, and the academy refrained from exacerbating the situation. The church was probably preoccupied with its own problems.
The Wise One Daily mentioned that the kingdom had intervened strongly, demanding a thorough investigation of Bustedia Prison.
Naturally, this included the influence of the peace faction.
Rumors spread wildly, and some prophets, eager to stir up trouble, made wild predictions about the resurrection of the Demon King, causing widespread panic.
Without knowing the truth, Dark couldn’t make any guesses.
However, not all of the prophets’ predictions were mere sensationalism.
The resurrection of the Demon King was inevitable; the only question was how it would happen.
…
Another half-hour passed.
Sister Carrian returned with mixed news.
Professor Shylph was usually decisive. After leaving early in the morning, she immediately gathered the remaining professors at the school and conducted a thorough search of the secret passage.
With the bat tracker temporarily made by Professor Kazel, they managed to capture all the bats in the passage in just one day!
However, Vlad was not among them.
This suggested two possibilities:
① Vlad had not yet possessed anyone.
② Vlad had possessed a bat and managed to evade the professors’ search.
…
The first possibility was more likely.
Souls were restricted areas.
Magus barely touched the surface of souls.
If Vlad had not yet possessed a bat and was still wandering around as a soul, he would indeed be hard to detect.
However, a soul could only remain detached for up to 168 hours. Ordinary souls would dissipate within 24 hours.
During this period, the soul would weaken over time, and its autonomous consciousness would rapidly fade, becoming a mindless wandering ghost.
If Vlad failed to find a bat to possess within 168 hours, he would have no chance of rebirth.
But these were assumptions based on normal circumstances.
Vlad’s soul seemed extraordinary!
…
The second possibility was almost zero.
But since it was within the secret passage, there might be hidden places unknown to anyone, even the professors.
…
To address this situation, the professors sealed all entrances to the secret passage and deployed constructs to guard them.
…
Not long after Sister Carrian returned, a notification from Professor Shylph appeared on the academy cards of Dark and the others.
From the moment the notice was issued, the secret passage became off-limits.
Anyone discovered entering the secret passage would be expelled immediately!
Such a strict ban was rare in the history of Saint Maryann.
This meant there was no room for any tricks.
If you wanted to challenge the limits of the academy’s tolerance, congratulations, now was the time!
Upon learning the results, Dark and the others no longer stayed in the infirmary.
They thanked Sister Carrian and left one by one.
…
Dark went straight back to the dormitory.
After three days apart, he found himself missing the cat grass plants even more.
The cat grass plants seemed to miss him too, as they rushed over to greet him with joy.
Dark squatted down, picking up all three cat grass plants and rubbing them affectionately.
After a long time of cuddling, he remembered to unfold “Paradise” and summon the golems one by one.
The dormitory instantly felt warmer.
Dark took off his clothes, bringing the three cat grass plants into the bathroom to wash off the dust. He then took a solid bath himself.
The trash slime somehow crawled onto the edge of the bathtub, so he grabbed it and applied it to his face.
“Floating…”
Overall, this treasure-hunting trip was quite fruitful.
Not only did he see rare sights, he obtained the Valkyrie’s creation array and even practiced against a vampire.
Especially after, the school helped clean up.
There was no better Christmas gift than this.
Dark thought happily.
This year was the only year Alvaraite didn’t give him a Christmas gift.
There was no choice but to take it himself!
…
Unlike Dark, who was content, Robert parted ways with Wit after leaving the infirmary.
It wasn’t that he wanted to separate, but Wit chose to follow the sect.
Everyone has their own path.
Robert couldn’t do anything about it.
He definitely wouldn’t stay with Scott.
Robert came from a military family and grew up surrounded by veterans, taught to settle scores and retaliate. There was no room for hesitation.
Since the start of the semester, he and Wit had been inseparable, but now they were going their separate ways, which felt lonely.
He arrived at the Knight Academy’s tower, nodding to the knight statue guarding the tower. The old knight smiled kindly and opened the door.
Robert entered the common room, watched a few moves of chess with the seniors, and was soon chased away.
He laughed and ran up the stairs, entering the dormitory and sitting by the bed for a long time.
“What is Wit doing now? Is he having fun with Scott and the others? By the way, what was the name of that sect?”
He rambled on about various questions, finally remembering he needed to take a shower.
After showering, he had nothing else to do.
He brought out the mana chess he bought on his first visit to Traveler’s Street, teasing the pieces and playing against himself.
At home, he could play alone for a long time.
But tonight, for some reason, he felt tired after ten minutes.
“Why am I so bored…”
“Why is everything so boring…”
“What else is interesting?”
The twelve-year-old boy experienced his first bout of melancholy.
Suddenly, he realized he had nothing except the mana chess!
…
“What would Wit do?”
“What about Dark? Emma?”
“What do they do when they’re alone?”
Robert couldn’t help but think.
Imitation was a fundamental trait of sentient beings, especially during childhood.
When personalities and habits were still forming, they were easily influenced by those around them.
Robert couldn’t imagine what Wit would do, but he immediately thought of what Dark and Emma would do.
[Read a book!]
A strange voice whispered from the depths of his heart.
“Read a book!”
Robert suddenly felt an urge to read.
He stood up abruptly and walked toward his desk.
Suddenly, he froze!
“There are no books!”
Except for textbooks, he had no other books!
[Textbooks are fine too!]
“Let’s skip the textbooks.”
Robert shook his head and retreated back to his bed.
“So boring…”
[Damn…]
…
The sect had a meeting tonight.
There were two purposes.
One was that after the three returned from the secret passage, the other members of the sect wanted to hear their adventure stories.
This kind of activity, where everyone gathered to listen to stories, seemed ordinary, but for the sect members, it was rare. They wanted to experience that feeling.
The other purpose was to give the sect a name.
New year, new outlook. No one liked being stuck in the shadows.
The members agreed to change their image in the new year and step into the spotlight as a club.
To achieve this, they first needed a flag.
Now that they had a flag, they needed a name.
Previously, although they all called themselves the Goddess Sect, they hadn’t officially named it.
And that name couldn’t be used anymore.
They needed a new, recognized name!
…
[Two-in-One 4000 words!]
[① Suggest a name for the sect]
[② Suggest a costume for Wit]
