Chapter 1 The Ikritt Academy Under the Sun

The Ikritt Academy was bathed in bright sunlight, a gentle breeze caressing its grounds.

Many campus areas were equipped with magic screens similar to those found in commercial districts.

These screens not only provided students and faculty with real-time information, announcements, and academic events, but also showcased a variety of interesting short films and live broadcasts of major campus events.

As a result, these screens sometimes became the focal point for people on campus to gather, watch, and discuss during their breaks.

Like right now.

A broadcast of the entrance exam, which many senior students found quite amusing every year, was underway.

Many people simply wanted to see the new students suffer or embarrass themselves, while some upperclassmen wanted to scout out potential newcomers in advance and recruit them into their teams.

On the screen, a scene of howling wind and snow, a vast expanse of white.

While other examinees were still struggling in the icy wilderness, Lanqi had already met the clearance conditions.

He sat in a warm house, baking snacks by the fireplace.

His skillful and comfortable demeanor showed no sense of tension from challenging the Shadow World, as if he were filming a new advertisement for Saint Kingdom-style desserts.

Next, he only needed to wait for the artificial Shadow World's time limit to expire, and then the terminal would complete his score calculation.

Even if not many students had paid attention to Lanqi's actions earlier, several exclamations of surprise quickly spread among the students.

"Do you guys know what this guy just did?!"

"What?"

"He's a real nutjob! He directly arrested that family!"

"Is that his idea of giving them a warm winter?"

"You have to admit, he did complete the requirements. He actually did it."

"Hahaha! What a logical genius!"

On the terrace of the Learning and Education Building, many people who were resting and waiting had gathered around the high-hanging screen, forming a lively little circle.

Many began to discuss what kind of rising star this young man named "Lanqi Wilford" was.

However, no one present had ever heard of this name before.

Only one student wearing alchemist's jewelry mentioned that he had heard of a company called "Wilford Trading Company," and that the chairman supposedly had a wayward son.

But he had never heard of a promising young talent named Lanqi.

"..."

Talia listened to the students' discussions about Lanqi, her attention gradually drawn to him.

Sitting on the edge of the terrace on an outdoor wooden chair, she silently lowered her head and looked away from the magic screen.

Although she had been observing Lanqi's movements in the corner of the split screen earlier, when she truly understood what Lanqi had done and heard the surrounding exclamations, she just wanted to escape from here, the farther the better.

Because she began to hear people say, "This guy named Lanqi's behavior is really inhuman; could he be a spy from the Demon race?"

This sent a chill down her spine.

Talia absolutely did not want to be mistaken as a dangerous object that needed to be closely watched because she was too close to Lanqi.

These things were really not what she taught...

In fact, after spending the past three months with Lanqi, she had gradually discovered that this young man's thinking and personality were somewhat unusual.

But it was not until this moment that she was finally convinced.

This guy was definitely out of his mind in some way!

Being by his side meant that she couldn't avoid being noticed.

However, according to the agreement, she had to protect Lanqi and continue to serve as his teacher.

The thought of leaving the academy with Lanqi later, and spending at least some time with him in this royal capital, made her feel like she was being roasted on a fire.

If her long-cherished dream of restoring her kingdom were to be exposed and ruined because of this human, she would want to die together with Lanqi.

Now she hoped that Lanqi would quickly come out of the examination room and leave with her as soon as possible.

And then she wished that Lanqi would never come out, because she didn't want to be seen with him.

"Lan...qi..."

Talia muttered through gritted teeth.

She clenched her fist, feeling that every second that followed was like sitting on pins and needles.

In the decades she had wandered alone after the Demon race's kingdom was destroyed, this was the first time that a human had made her feel so much pain.

...

The seventh-floor atrium of the Learning and Education Building combined modern design with natural elements, creating a peaceful and elegant atmosphere.

Skylights filled the entire space with sunlight, forming alternating patterns of light and shadow. Indoor greenery surrounded the atrium, and artistic installations and sculptures added a soft, humanistic touch to the space.

The proctor standing in this atrium, the Dean of the Sage Academy, Loren, now clenched his fists tightly.

He had personally selected this examination question.

According to historians' analysis, this first-order Shadow World, [Winter's Hidden Flame], was originally supposed to be a predicament encountered by the last sacred emperor of an ancient civilization known for its benevolence and righteousness, about ten thousand years before the present world.

Loren's most admired legendary figure had always been this benevolent and righteous sacred emperor.

Every deed of the sacred emperor filled Loren with admiration.

In fact, this exam, Loren not only wanted to examine the new students' "wisdom and temperament," but also hoped that they could understand the situation and state of mind under which the sacred emperor had helped the villagers.

And the helplessness and sadness that the sacred emperor felt after discovering the truth.

Yet, he was still able to unswervingly continue to uphold his firm belief in benevolence and righteousness.

"Damn it..."

However, this kid named Lanqi Wilford, his actions seemed to make the sacred emperor look stupid.

Is it okay to directly sacrifice the heart of benevolence and righteousness in exchange for the power of a demon?

Just like that, waiting for the end of the examination time, Loren looked up, staring at Lanqi, who was leisurely baking sweets on the giant magic screen in the atrium.

He felt a fire burning in his heart.

If he could enter the Shadow World, he really wished he could kick this damn stove away!

"Why is this guy, with such weak magic power, a student from our academy?"

Loren finally calmed down and muttered to himself in confusion.

From the moment he arrived at the examination hall, he had sensed the magic power on all the examinees.

He remembered that Lanqi's magic power was undoubtedly the lowest among those present, even inferior to many material-based examinees from the Knight Academy.

If he hadn't paid attention to Lanqi on the magic screen, Loren would have almost mistaken Lanqi for an examinee from the Knight Academy at first.

"If he could pass the first round of attribute testing during enrollment application, it can only be said that his mental attribute must be very high, supplementing the overall evaluation after being weighted..."

"But how will he pass the practical combat exam..."

The third round of assessment was different from the previous two rounds. There was no way to take shortcuts other than using one's own hard strength.

Loren was very certain that Lanqi was not a clergy member.

He couldn't feel any divine blessing on him.

Then Lanqi naturally couldn't use the cleric-type magic card that "influences healing with mental strength."

...

The angle of the light passing through the glass dome in the atrium gradually changed, like the hands of a clock, recording the passage of each moment.

The exam was finally coming to an end.

The examinees were sent out one by one from the giant vortex-shaped Gate of Emptiness in the order they entered.

It wasn't until all the examinees had left the artificial Shadow World that Loren gently touched the key on the terminal and closed the Gate of Emptiness.

Subsequently, the artificial Shadow World activation terminal began the final calculation of the examination results.

Loren stood on the high platform and looked out over the many qualified examinees scattered in the atrium who had not yet left the examination hall. Some couldn't hide their joy, while others had indifferent expressions.

Although it was impossible to know the Shadow World clearance status of other examinees during the exam, there were clearly many confident examinees who were very sure that their Shadow World scores this time were definitely among the best.