Lan Qi pondered. It seemed Duke Morodian wanted this meeting to be relatively discreet, so he didn't arrange a large-scale reception or apply through the academy. Instead, he had the warden personally deliver the message.

"Who told you to be such a busy person in the Empire, always appearing and disappearing like a dragon?"

Warden Bakas shook his head and joked, observing Lan Qi's expression to see if he would agree.

If he agreed, Duke Morodian Berenhardt would naturally owe him a favor. If he didn't agree, he certainly wouldn't offend Loch McCarthy.

Bakas had been trying to figure out the man's thoughts all the way, feeling that he was full of the mystique of a superior. He couldn't see what he was considering in his thoughtful eyes.

Lan Qi finally stopped and stood with Warden Bakas in front of the deep red double doors near the end of the corridor.

"No problem. Warden Bakas has already spoken. No matter how busy I am, I will make time. How about I wait for Mr. Berenhardt in my office after we finish discussing our cooperation project today?"

Lan Qi looked at Warden Bakas with a gentle expression, as if telling him that he would definitely give him face.

"... I'm truly flattered. Then, let me give Duke Morodian Berenhardt a reply first, and then we can start our pleasant conversation?"

Warden Bakas was slightly stunned, then smiled in acknowledgment.

He found the conversation with Governor Loch McCarthy very comfortable.

Compared to the powerful Duke Morodian Berenhardt, Loch McCarthy still respected him more and prioritized his discussion with him, placing Duke Morodian Berenhardt second.

"No problem, Mr. Bakas, this way please."

Lan Qi smiled and pushed open the heavy door, gesturing for Warden Bakas to enter the VIP conference room.

Although Lan Qi showed no reaction on the surface, he was wondering what Duke Morodian Berenhardt's purpose was for visiting.

He had always found it strange whether Chloris and Sidor had lied to him or whether the duke was still a fake.

Anyway, he would find out the truth about the duke after meeting him later.

As for now, his mind was mainly focused on the other side of the western suburbs of the Imperial capital, Herlom. Sometimes, his silence wasn't to make Warden Bakas feel that he was profound, but because controlling two bodies at the same time was a bit too much.

...

Western side of the Imperial capital, Herlom.

In the suburbs of Herlom, a huge square building stood majestically, surrounded by heavily armed Protos Imperial troops. Although the various Herlom-style buildings nearby each had their own unique charm, they all paled in comparison to this prison building.

The walls of Herlom Prison were dark gray, as solid as cold iron, covered with densely packed ancient magic runes. A cold light surrounded the building, and the magical fluctuations emanating from it could make the skin of visitors tingle, forming an impregnable protective barrier.

However, the part above ground was just the tip of the iceberg of this underground world-like prison.

Herlom Prison had a total of seven floors. Except for the ground floor, the first to third underground floors were the outer layers, and the fourth to sixth underground floors were the inner layers.

For ordinary Protos Royal Magic Academy students, just looking at its existence from afar would cause an invisible sense of oppression and terror to sweep through their bodies.

Therefore, the vast majority of third-year students would not choose the "Herlom Prison Guard Assessment" for their capstone diploma course.

Only by using legal imperial documents and procedures, and after passing several security checks, could one enter the interior of the basic level of Herlom Prison.

Around the boundary of the building, many figures in special imperial officer uniforms were patrolling. They were not ordinary imperial soldiers, but officers of the Magic Special Forces. Anyone who came and went, as long as there was a slight flaw or suspicious point, would be locked on by their sharp eagle eyes and probing magic.

All of this was because the interior of this Herlom Prison held many extremely dangerous imperial criminals.

In the past, in order to prevent the Rebirth Church or criminals from targeting the prisoners in this prison, the level of alert here was even higher.

Now that the Rebirth Church had become a legitimate organization, no matter which branch it was, it needed to maintain a good image of law-abiding behavior at this critical juncture, and even needed to assist the Imperial military to prove their willingness to cooperate.

With this group of former professional terrorists cracking down on other criminals, the frequency of imperial violence and crime began to decline sharply in the short term.

Early this morning, on the fortress-like exterior of Herlom Prison, Hyperion and four other figures had passed through the building's layers of security checks all the way. In the morning sun, their shadows were stretched very long, spreading straight on the wide road until they went deeper into the building. The shadows seemed to be erased, becoming a completely sealed space.

The student team's intern prison guard uniforms were adorned with the Protos Royal Magic Academy emblem, belonging to a joint prison guard uniform. As long as they chose the "Herlom Prison Guard Assessment" course, whether they passed or not, alive or dead, they would receive a set of clothing as a memorial.

"..."

Hyperion turned to look at the black-haired, green-eyed girl who was a little absent-minded.

At this moment, the Great Poet, transformed into a human form, was controlled by Lan Qi.

However, Lan Qi needed to control two bodies in different situations at the same time. Sometimes, the Great Poet would seem a little distracted. She almost fell or bumped into the security gate while walking. When she lost her balance, Hyperion needed to grab her arm and guide her to walk properly.

After nearly half an hour of security checks and registration verification, the five-person student team finally entered the labyrinthine basic level of Herlom Prison.

In the interplay of light and shadow, the basic level of Herlom Prison slowly unfolded its ancient and heavy curtain. This seemingly forgotten space was immersed in the construction and boundaries of the Demon World style in every corner.

Stepping into the wide hall, what came into view was the intricate crystal pipelines and magical machinery that stretched across the towering walls. Occasionally, one could hear the low echo of magical operation in the distance. These legacies of Demon World civilization emitted a deep and never-ending light, as if telling a story about power and destruction.

Under the dangerous mechanical structure was the last security checkpoint, as well as the core area of the basic level that Hyperion had now reached—a huge dark purple mirror.

For Hyperion, who often challenged the Shadow World and artificial Shadow World in the Southern Continent, she was familiar with the structure of this thing.

The demons used a magical engineering similar to the void gate of the artificial Shadow World to connect the basic level of the prison with the underground levels through this only interface. Each floor down had to comply with the rules and regulations of the prison boundary, otherwise it could not be broken through by any other means.

The basic level was only a preparation space for the participating intern prison guards. They could withdraw from the prison at any time. The work of the police officers on this level was also more clerical and did not require contact with prisoners.

Starting from the first underground floor, the dangerous assessment truly began. Each floor down would be much more dangerous, and there was no turning back to the previous floor. One could only go all the way down, and choose to end the assessment and return to the basic level on the third or sixth underground floor.

Today is also three updates, there is one more chapter later

(End of this chapter)