The faculty had already guessed. The two new students were none other than Emrilia and Betty! It was truly fate's meticulous arrangement that they ended up in the same class as Roseriel!
And what was even more coincidental? Emrilia and Betty were assigned seats directly behind Roseriel!
After a brief round of self-introductions, Emrilia and Betty, filled with excitement, made their way to their seats and finally began their first day of study after transferring schools!
The class continued as usual, but since more than half the lesson had already passed before Emrilia and Betty arrived, the bell rang surprisingly soon.
“Emrilia, can you understand what the teacher is saying?” Betty suddenly asked Emrilia, who was clearly spaced out.
“It’s so profound, I can barely follow it.” Emrilia’s distraction was precisely for this reason. On just the first day, she realized she couldn't keep up; the material being explained was entirely new to her, sounding utterly nonsensical.
It wasn't just her; even Betty was sporting a grimace, sighing, “I don’t get it either. Ah, as expected of such a renowned academy!”
“Sister Betty, then what should we do? Should we try to switch to a slightly lower-level class?” Emrilia inquired.
Because Kenny had gone directly through the principal’s back door, the supervisor in charge of assigning them classes took them very seriously and placed them straight into the best class available. Every student here was a top performer in their grade, so it was only natural that the two of them struggled to keep up with the curriculum!
Their conversation traveled, word for word, to Roseriel, who was seated in front. This wasn't intentional eavesdropping; it was just that the volume of their voices made it almost impossible for her not to hear!
For some reason, when she heard them discussing switching classes, Roseriel’s heart gave a sudden jolt. Her subconscious strongly wished for them to stay, as she could potentially glean information about that little boy from their words!
She could never figure out why that little boy would go to the "Moonlight Spring" so late at night? What were those bizarre visions she witnessed? And what was that mysterious power of his?
Roseriel had never been so intensely curious. The primary reason was the sheer shock she had experienced at the time; Zhong Shenxiu’s figure had left an indelible mark deep within her soul!
Such an enigmatic young boy—surely no one who had seen him could ever forget!
“Here, take this. These are the most fundamental notes!” Roseriel turned her head toward Betty and Emrilia, placing the thick magic notebook from her desk onto theirs.
Emrilia and Betty were first stunned, then both stared fixedly at Roseriel!
Roseriel felt a little self-conscious under their gaze and quickly turned her head back.
Carefully, Emrilia and Betty opened the magic notebook. Their eyes widened in delight upon seeing the contents—it was recorded with such meticulous detail that they could actually understand it!
“Thank you, you are too kind! You’ve helped us immensely!” Betty expressed her gratitude sincerely.
“Big Sister, what should we call you?” Emrilia asked with enthusiasm.
“Roseriel!” Her voice was soft, yet it carried clearly.
“Sister Aeriel, you are truly wonderful. We were just worrying about what to do. My name is Emrilia,” Emrilia laughed happily. As the saying goes, rely on your sister at home, and rely on classmates outside—it’s absolutely true! (Ugh, considering how badly she was bullied, that saying seems ironic!)
“I’m Betty!” Betty was quick not to be left out and introduced herself immediately.
Emrilia and Betty were both quite talkative, and in moments, they seemed to have become quite familiar with Roseriel. “Roseriel, we will return the notes as soon as possible. Thank you again for your help,” Betty said gratefully once more.
“Don’t mention it,” Roseriel replied calmly.
Just then, a sudden, piercing shriek erupted from Emrilia’s mouth, pitched so high it sounded like she was in mortal danger.
Both Betty and Roseriel were startled by the outburst and turned to look at her with confusion. Not just them, but every student in the class turned with questioning gazes.
Emrilia realized her lapse and quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.
“What is it, what happened?” Betty asked, looking visibly tense.
Emrilia pointed a finger at Roseriel with wide, astonished eyes, yet she remained silent.
Roseriel was completely bewildered, wondering why Emrilia was pointing at her. Did she have something on her? Or was there something about her worthy of such shock?
“Emrilia, what is it? Just say it clearly!” Betty urged from the side.
After a moment of mental regulation, Emrilia finally managed to gasp out two words: “Elf…!”
An elf? Betty was initially confused, but when she looked at Roseriel again, she finally noticed the pointed ear peeking out from beneath the strands of her hair.
“She really is an elf!” Betty’s voice was even higher than Emrilia’s, and she showed no regard for the surrounding students.
In truth, seeing an elf at “Ivy Castle” wasn’t a major cause for alarm. This place was home to numerous famous academies, and every single one would have some elves enrolled.
However, for academies in smaller cities, elves were incredibly rare. The main reason was that smaller city academies offered far less favorable treatment to elves compared to their large-city counterparts. Major institutions like the “Dream Star Martial Arts Academy” not only waived tuition and fees for elves but even provided various subsidies!
Perhaps people might wonder why the academies did this; the most crucial reasons were the scarcity of elves combined with their almost unparalleled natural talent in magic. In a certain sense, the number of elves symbolized an academy’s overall strength. Furthermore, elves were invaluable competitors in inter-academy exchange tournaments!
For Emrilia and Betty, this was the first time they had ever seen a living elf, and at such close proximity—it was naturally astonishing! (It was akin to someone raised in a remote valley suddenly seeing an airplane overhead!)
Hearing that the shock was merely over this, the other students in the classroom all revealed expressions of finding the situation “novel and quaint,” before quickly returning to their own affairs!
Roseriel regarded the two excitable transfer students with a touch of exasperation, thinking to herself, I’m just an elf, is there any need for such loud gasping?
As that thought crossed her mind, she unexpectedly recalled something Zhong Shenxiu had once told her, something about planning to study her further.
After some more casual chatting, the three of them had gradually become acquainted. Roseriel hesitated for a moment before finally asking her first question: “Who was that little girl who came with you?”
“You mean Robin?” Betty seemed to find a topic she could latch onto, continuing immediately, “Robin is amazing, let me tell you. Robin’s instant casting magic is incredibly powerful!”
Betty launched into everything she knew, though it was strictly limited to what she had witnessed during the “Academy Ranking Tournament.” (In reality, her knowledge of Robin was quite limited!)
After hearing Betty’s narration, Roseriel’s curiosity grew even stronger. However, what she most urgently wanted to know now was information about that little boy. She carefully chose her words and then asked, “A few days ago, I saw the Robin you mentioned accompanying a little boy. Who was that little boy?”
The moment she asked this, both Betty and Emrilia’s expressions became somewhat peculiar.
“I’ll tell you secretly, but you must keep it confidential, okay?” Betty lowered her voice.
Roseriel nodded. She wasn't one to gossip; if not for her overwhelming curiosity, she wouldn’t have asked the question in the first place!
“That little boy is Robin’s master. His name is Zhong Shenxiu, and I’ve heard he’s even more formidable than Robin, though I haven't seen it myself!” Betty said mysteriously.
Emrilia, sitting beside her, chimed in, “Sister Aeriel, he’s also the leader of the ‘Ethereal Mercenary Group.’ Every member of that group is incredibly skilled. My sister is one of them; I’ll introduce you when there’s time!”
“Oh, right,” Betty added, “that little boy has a rather eccentric temper, and he seems to possess some kind of special demonic art. You should try not to provoke him!” Betty offered this advice as an experienced person—she had once been targeted by Zhong Shenxiu’s touch on an acupoint, leaving her paralyzed for half a day. That feeling was anything but pleasant!
Roseriel didn't show a reaction, but she committed every word to memory.
The narrative splits here. Meanwhile, Bitcher, who had emerged from the extra-dimensional space, had already left that forest and arrived in the neighboring “Cunbujiu Kingdom”!
The “Cunbujiu Kingdom” was a smaller nation, adjacent to the “Brilliant Kingdom,” though it was larger than the “Brilliant Kingdom”!
Bitcher’s adaptability was extreme; in just half an hour, he had completely blended into the city. No one noticed him, nor would anyone imagine he was a “monster” who had come from another dimension! After some wandering and discreet questioning, Bitcher finally uncovered the information he sought. To his utter astonishment, the “War” had concluded hundreds of years ago, meaning the era he was in was separated from his disappearance by centuries!
Amidst his shock, he learned something that filled him with delirious joy: the strength of the people in this current world had declined drastically. Even with the same rank titles, their actual power was several, even dozens, of times less than in the past!
Compared to the Sword Gods and Godly Mage Masters of this world, he was immeasurably stronger. Coupled with his few devastatingly powerful demonic insects, he was practically invincible!
The phrase “invincible” was enough to make anyone’s blood boil!
The dream of conquering this world began to take root in Bitcher’s mind. He had to establish his own massive influence before others who disappeared during the “War” managed to resurface!
And he had already decided: he would take his very first step in this small city.