Chapter 756: The Sky Like a Furnace, Enveloping the Four Corners 4k
A day later.
Under the escort of wind elementals, five flying dragons soared through the border line, plunging into the desolate and abandoned demon territory.
From high above, the once fertile land of the demons now appeared withered and bleak; the soil was black, as if scorched.
Different soils nurture different creatures.
The flora and fauna within the demon territory have always differed greatly from those in human territories.
Even today, many scholars continue their research on the creatures found within the demon territory.
For these scholars, the establishment of the Free City was indeed a godsend.
Especially after the Adventurer’s Guild was established there, they could simply post tasks according to their needs, and a vast number of adventurers would rush to help them collect samples.
And like these scholars, countless others across the world benefited from the convenience provided by the Adventurer’s Guild in the Free City.
It was due to the support of such individuals that the Free City quickly became the largest gathering place for adventurers, just half a year after establishing the guild.
The number of applied Adventurer’s Guilds also increased from one to three.
…
As dusk approached, under Professor Shylph’s guidance, the five flying dragons gradually slowed down.
Professor Pavar Jones steered the dragon into a sudden dive, conducting a brief search of the ground environment in a short time. After confirming safety, he led the remaining four dragons to land.
The combined aura of the five dragons instantly made nearby animals flee in panic, increasing the safety level by +1.
“Having traveled a great distance from the Mana Academy to the Free City, we can reach the city before midnight if we continue.”
Professor Shylph paused, speaking slowly.
“But it’s unnecessary.”
If it were just a few professors on a mission, she would have flown directly to the Free City without delay.
But with students accompanying them, she naturally considered the educational aspect.
For students who usually stay within the academy, experiencing camping in the wild is equally important.
Tonight was perfect for a lesson.
The five flying dragons formed a circle, creating a campsite when they landed.
With the dragons’ bodies serving as natural barriers, a relatively safe area could be rapidly established even on open plains.
Professor Shylph explained the precautions for camping in the wild while setting up “wind nodes” around the campsite. Once six nodes were set, a hexagram magic array flashed across the ground, spreading a barely perceptible barrier covering nearly a mile.
“This layer of wind barrier has a faint presence. Its primary function is not defense but filtering air and providing early warning.”
“In the wilderness, the most dangerous things are often not the beasts charging at you, but the ubiquitous poisons.”
“Especially when exploring unknown lands, taking anti-poison measures is crucial.”
“Even the strongest adventurers have weaknesses; constant vigilance is key to survival.”
She suddenly paused and turned to look at Professor Jones.
Professor Jones calmly stated, “There is an adventurer team nearby.”
Professor Shylph sighed and said, “Hold off on letting them in… We need to prepare and confirm our direction.”
Wit Gold felt a chill, his expression tightening.
Others nodded slightly, understanding.
Though subtle, to this day, the demon soul within Wit Gold did not know its true identity.
This was because, under the restraining ring, every time Wit’s soul consciousness took over, the demon soul would fall into a deep sleep.
Thus, everyone needed to ensure that once it was awakened, it wouldn’t blow their cover…
Wit also had to try not to think about these matters when switching consciousnesses, to avoid any slip-ups.
Thinking about his body soon being controlled by the demon, Wit grimaced.
“Don’t worry, Wit,” Professor Shylph comforted him, “it will be over soon.”
Wit nodded.
Unlike the demon soul, he had more authority and wouldn’t fall into a deep sleep when switching consciousnesses.
Yet, this made it even more unsettling.
He had to watch helplessly as his body was taken over by the demon.
“Keep going, Wit,” Dark came over and patted his shoulder, “since resistance is futile, why not try to enjoy it? Observing the world from behind the scenes can be quite intriguing.”
Wit stomped his feet, forcing a smile, “I’ll try.”
His feet were already clad in the gravity boots he received back from Dark as a Christmas gift, each step heavy with weight.
The professors approached, subtly surrounding Wit to prevent any mishap when the demon soul switched back.
Under such cautious actions, Professor Shylph retrieved the switch and pressed the red button.
“Beep—”
Instantly, the connection between Wit and his body was severed.
The demon soul, still unaware of its identity, finally opened its eyes—only to close immediately!
“It’s a nightmare! A nightmare!” the demon soul performed its usual act of self-deception.
The green hat on its head changed color to red based on the metal box on top.
“Open your eyes,” Professor Shylph’s voice was icy.
The demon soul was forced to open its eyes, its eyelids trembling violently.
But it was sealed off from its magic, unable to resist.
Professor Shylph’s face revealed a look of disgust as she directly asked, “Before nightfall, quickly sense how far away your comrade, bearing the same fate, is from us?”
The demon soul glanced at the device in Professor Shylph’s hand and said, “It’s already evening; I need to close my eyes to concentrate.”
So, Professor Shylph complied, closing its eyes.
Wit’s soul, now in the background, fell into darkness.
After failing to open its eyes, the demon soul twitched its lips, “It’s still far away.”
“How far?” Professor Shylph asked.
“I don’t know, my senses are blurry,” the demon soul replied. “What about the direction?”
The demon soul turned westward with closed eyes and confirmed after a moment, “Still west.”
Professor Shylph pondered and asked, “Which path is farther, from the academy here or from here to your comrade?”
The demon soul hesitated, “Professor, I was asleep on the way from the academy here.”
“Oh,” Professor Shylph quickly said, “I understand, you can keep sleeping.”
“No, wait,” the demon soul hurriedly added, “don’t forget my half-life!”
Professor Shylph decisively pressed the green button, “Don’t worry.”
As Wit’s hat returned to green, the demon soul’s consciousness fell back into a deep sleep. Wit tried to open his eyes again—failing.
“Professor, professor, eyes, eyes!” he urgently said.
Professor Shylph then released control over his eyes.
Her gaze swept over Wit’s shoulder, asking, “Is it the truth or a lie?”
Dark stepped forward with the magical beast, “Heartful Eyes’ Goddess,” from behind Wit. “Heartful Eyes’ Goddess” spoke in a cold tone, “It’s the truth, but it’s hiding something.”
“What is it?” the professors asked simultaneously.
“Heartful Eyes’ Goddess” continued, “On the other side, it has sensed its approach.”
…
Since the second consciousness could sense the presence of the demon to the west, the demon to the west could sense the presence of this second consciousness.
This was expected.
However, Professor Shylph still said, “In that case, we need to consider the possible responses it might make. It might actively approach or set up escape routes. After all, the mind of the demon to the west should be intact. Of course, we don’t know if the soul consciousness reawakening in the demon’s body after entering the underworld retains past memories. But it’s best to prepare for the worst.”
Professor Steven Harvey immediately said, “We don’t need to be overly nervous; we have Wit, which is like having a radar. When closer, we can clearly perceive whether the demon to the west approaches or not. Though, it will be tough on Wit, as he needs to frequently switch to the demon’s consciousness to gauge its distance. Hmm, should we give them code names to distinguish them?”
“Again, naming?” Wit looked pale, though he was pale due to the frequent consciousness switching, not because of naming!
Lily was excited, “As expected of Harvey, a good idea! How about calling them Little Clumsy and Little Xi?”
“Hey, that’s a demon!” Wit couldn’t help but comment.
Lily glared at him, “Then what do you suggest?”
Wit instinctively said, “Why not call them the Imperfect Demon and the Complete Demon?”
“Ah?” Lily pressed on, “We need a code name, a code name that others won’t understand by chance! Who would directly call a demon by its name?”
Wit grew agitated, defending his naming taste, “Then, Alastor and Eldridge?”
Lily looked sideways, “Huh? What’s the difference from directly calling it a demon? Everyone knows Alastair Eldridge is the demon’s name, right, Dark?”
Dark nodded vigorously, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Although he didn’t know the demon’s full name before obtaining the information (laugh).
“What do you think?” Professor Harvey asked him.
Dark thoughtlessly said, “How about Sagga and Galon?”
Professor Harvey frowned, “Is there some hidden meaning?”
Dark laughed, “No hidden meaning, just twin names. Actually, I was thinking, how about calling them Number One and Number Two? Maybe there could be a Number Three later.”
“Number Three, no thanks,” Professor Harvey waved his hand, “but calling them Number One and Number Two is straightforward and doesn’t expose important information. I vote for it.”
“I agree too!” Lily raised her hand and glanced disdainfully at Wit.
What could Wit do? He could only vote in favor.
But Professor Shylph immediately declared, “No need for a vote, let’s call them Number One and Number Two. Wit’s second consciousness is Number One, and the one to the west is Number Two. Dark, you mentioned a Number Three… did you discover some signs?”
At this, Dark perked up, “Nothing, I just suddenly remembered Eudora… another [Revelation] I’ve seen.”
“Those two [Revelations]?” Professor Metia pondered.
Professor Shylph was reminded and her expression changed slightly.
Others, although unaware of the [Revelations], realized that Dark wasn’t speaking without reason.
“Can it be, there really is a third one?” Wit stammered.
But Professor Shylph shook her head after some thought, “Unlikely. If there is a third, how was it formed? Even if it exists, why can Number One sense Number Two but not Number Three? This doesn’t make sense.”
“This is what I haven’t figured out,” Dark nodded, “so I haven’t fully connected these two events, only considering possibilities.”
“Possibilities?” Professor Metia opened her eyes, “We must be cautious!”
She then added, “Although Dark’s [Revelation] was seen when limiting time to next semester and location to the academy, the limiting factors were astrology, which merely triggered the [Revelation]. It’s insufficient to conclude it will happen in next semester’s academy. As a precaution, we should consider the possibility of a hidden Number Three.”
Analyzing every detail and calculating every possibility is the nature of a diviner.
The possibility Dark pointed out was an interpretation of his own [Revelation], not to be ignored.
“If a Number Three exists, we would be facing unprecedentedly two demons!” Professor Metia said.
Everyone’s expressions turned grave.
But at this moment and place, it was impossible to discuss concrete plans.
“Let’s leave it for now,” Professor Shylph said, “the adventurer team outside has been waiting for a long time.”
…
Good morning!
