Time flew by, and soon the day of the departure ceremony arrived.
Early morning sunlight poured over the campus of Glory Cael Magic Academy, coating the ancient institution in a layer of golden light.
Deep within an old laboratory building, two figures slowly crawled out through the doorway.
Greg and Victoria, the elite students who were about to represent the academy in the second-year division and first-year division, didn't look like elites at all at this moment.
Their hair was a disheveled mess, their clothes were stained with various colors, dark circles hung heavily beneath their eyes, and their gazes were hollow and dazed—as though they had just emerged from a long, grueling war.
Behind them, the laboratory was an absolute disaster.
The lab counters were piled high with assorted bottles, jars, and scattered notes, while a strange scent blending potion fumes and scorched odors lingered in the air.
Alice collapsed into a chair, her oversized professor's robes making her look like a deflated purple balloon. Her ice-purple eyes were half-open and half-closed, clearly exhausted to her limit.
Meanwhile, Chloe was slumped over the edge of a counter. Her silver-framed glasses sat crookedly on the bridge of her nose, her slightly wavy brown hair was strewn across the tabletop, and she was subconsciously muttering sleep-talk about material ratios.
Though they all looked thoroughly bedraggled right now, the final outcome was good. They had succeeded.
After countless explosions, countless failures, and countless moments on the verge of breakdown, they had finally succeeded in using Golden Glow Spider Silk to create a new type of magic conduit.
The mana conduction efficiency of this magic conduit was terrifyingly high, even raising the usage limit of Basic Gems—which normally shattered after a single use—to two times.
It was a groundbreaking achievement capable of rewriting current magic conduit manufacturing standards.
Alice carefully held the finished product in her hands, her ice-purple eyes flashing with a light that was weary yet satisfied.
But as she closely examined the item's form, her expression turned slightly delicate. Looking up at her top disciple, she hesitated before asking,
"Um... Greg, why did you specifically make it look like this?"
What she held in her hands was a belt-shaped magic conduit, with a delicate slot designed in the middle of the belt just large enough to hold two standard-sized magic gems.
Greg looked at the belt, crossed his arms, raised his chin slightly, and spoke in a tone that sounded as if he were declaring some supreme truth:
"This is a man's romance. You wouldn't understand."
Alice blinked. Though she could not understand the meaning of his words at all, seeing Greg's unquestionable expression, she did not press the matter.
She had always been a little afraid of her top disciple, even after working together like this.
Because she could feel that although her top disciple had indeed changed a lot, he still didn't see her as a respected Instructor, but rather as a workhorse he could continuously exploit.
So she simply placed the belt into a specially made storage box with great care, then looked up and reminded him:
"Um... we should go clean ourselves up too. Assembly time is almost here, and we can't exactly attend the departure ceremony looking like this, right?"
Greg and Victoria exchanged a glance, looked at each other's bedraggled states, and nodded in unison.
Looking like this was indeed unsuitable, especially for Greg, who had various schemes planned for later.
The three of them walked out of the laboratory, and Greg said goodbye to Chloe in the hallway.
"Thanks for your hard work during this time, Chloe. Without your help, we definitely wouldn't have succeeded in developing this. Thank you."
"It's nothing! Please don't worry about me. I'll keep cheering Big Brother on from now on!"
Standing by the door, Chloe had a hint of reluctance in her eyes behind her glasses, but she still let out a bright smile. "Please make sure to shine at the exchange meeting!"
Greg nodded and was about to say something when Chloe turned back to Victoria, her smile instantly morphing into a provocative grimace.
"As for you—don't drag Big Brother down, small fry."
Victoria's brows furrowed instantly. "Huh? Who are you calling small fry!? I bet you want to pick another fight, don't you?!"
"Bring it on! Who's afraid of who?!"
Seeing that the two were about to start their daily bickering again, Greg decisively reached out, grabbed the back of Victoria's collar, and dragged her away.
Seeing this, Alice hurriedly followed after them.
Behind him, Chloe's triumphant laughter and Victoria's indignant shouts rang out, accompanied by Alice's occasional chuckles beside him.
Greg felt that although this period had been a bit painful, having gotten through it, it actually felt quite fun.
Since the three of them lived in different directions, they soon needed to temporarily part ways.
"Well then, I'll head back to the dungeon first. Let's just meet directly at the assembly location later."
Having said that, Greg turned around and left first.
Alice nodded. She originally intended to head straight back to the faculty housing area, but remembering what Greg had just said, she looked at Victoria with a completely baffled face:
"W-Wait! What does he mean by heading back to the dungeon?!"
Victoria said calmly, "Because the dungeon is his home."
...
Being a guy, Greg didn't take long to get ready.
After changing into a clean academy uniform, briefly combing his hair, washing the dust off his face, and casually tossing a black cat into his shadow along the way, he walked out of the dungeon feeling completely refreshed.
By the time he reached the assembly location, most of the people had already gathered.
The assembly point was set at the main square in the center of the academy.
Moored at the center of the square was a massive airship—a behemoth whose streamlined hull glinted with a silver-white metallic luster under the sunlight.
The airbag was full and rounded, decorated with the emblem of Glory Cael Magic Academy—a star floating above an open spellbook.
On both sides of the airship's gunwales were intricate magic rune arrays, the core devices responsible for lift and propulsion.
The entire airship hovered silently about one person's height off the ground, casting a massive shadow that delivered a powerful visual impact.
Surrounding the square, crowds of students had gathered to see them off.
Waving flags and banners in their hands, they shouted the academy's name and cheered loudly for their departing peers.
Greg scanned his gaze across the crowd of exchange representatives, quickly spotting several familiar faces.
Silvia stood in the line of first-year representatives, holding a small booklet and frantically memorizing study points with her head buried in it.
Her lips moved rapidly and her brow was slightly knit—clearly making use of the final moments for a last-minute cram session.
Next to her, Lilith adopted a completely different posture. Resting her hands on her hips and holding her head high, she spoke in a proud tone. It sounded as though she was comforting Silvia not to be nervous, but in reality, it was more like bragging about how thoroughly prepared she was.
As the Student Council President, Vivian stood at the very front of the line as usual, assisting the lead professors in maintaining order.
Her expression was cool and composed, her aqua-blue long hair fluttering gently in the morning breeze, emanating a reliable and steady aura.
In the third-year team, Greg also spotted a familiar petite figure—Senior Yelena.
It seemed that after he left the Student Council, this Senior had continued working hard all along.
Rate on N.U.
