Sylvia Kingdom’s Northern Region, inside the bustling city called Snowveil City.
Vieno wore an outfit of understated luxury, purple cat ears standing upright on her head, each adorned with several precious gemstones.
She sat before a simple, antique desk, with an exaggeratedly large floor-to-ceiling window behind her.
On the desk lay a parchment scroll spread out flat.
The writing on it constantly shifted, and a few lines of delicate script gradually appeared, causing Vieno to frown slightly:
“Recruit students for the Academy in Deya City? What exactly is Wilona planning? By the way, where is Deya City again?”
Vieno opened a map and first spotted the large characters “Mist of Calamity” before noticing the small words “Deya City” nearby.
“Hmph, that little one sure gets around— actually went there to play. But with Gadelia by her side, nothing there could really harm her.”
Recruiting students in Deya City… Vieno thought for a moment. As the Dean of the Royal Magic Academy, Wilona’s small request was something she could easily handle.
But would giving in like this spoil her too much?
There was no helping it. The Beast God had been favoring Wilona lately, making it impossible for the rest of them, as guardians, to reprimand her.
They could only have peers try to keep her in check.
Besides, if they didn’t help, Wilona might just pray to the Beast God herself.
If that happened, she’d definitely realize how much the Beast God liked her, and she’d become even more unruly!
“Fine, let’s recruit then. I’ll just have Krof handle it while he’s on a business trip in Sylvia.”
……
“Second Rank… I really am Second Rank now!”
At night, in Suho Manor, Suna lay in bed clutching her pillow between her legs, still having trouble believing the results from this afternoon’s test at the training grounds.
Since native inhabitants couldn’t gain experience points like players, they could only confirm their level through intuition or testing tools.
Even after leveling up, strength improvements didn’t happen instantly but gradually.
“That demon was right— just walking back and forth in the Mist could get me to Second Rank. Still, I feel kind of cheated…”
After all, the process was agonizing!
Heh heh, Principal Tia’s half-hour lecture wasn’t as effective as this good news. Suna hummed a little tune, planning to share this with Truth first thing tomorrow.
Too bad Truth wasn’t with her during the level test today…
I wonder what Truth is up to now? That one often disappears; what if she’s possessed by a demon doing something bad?
Suna frowned again, almost forgetting she still needed to research ways to break contracts with demons.
“Knock knock knock.”
Outside, a brief knock sounded, and Suho Earl’s slightly urgent voice came through:
“Suna, I have good news!”
“Really? Come in and tell me!”
What kind of good news? Is it about dealing with the demon situation, or something about my three brothers?
Suho entered and sat on the bed’s edge, his face full of excitement:
“This is unprecedented. I got news from Mailun’s father that the Royal Magic Academy from the North will be recruiting students here in Deya City!”
“What? Seriously?!”
As a mage, Suna was very familiar with the Academy’s reputation— it was one of the top three magic schools in both Sylvia Kingdom and the Northern Empire.
The reason it ranked in both countries was because the Royal Magic Academy was established in Snowveil City, which sat on the border between the two nations.
Historically, the city had been ruled alternately by humans and Beastmen, resulting in frequent cultural clashes.
A shared human and Beastmen territory… Suna found it hard to imagine. Wouldn’t they discriminate against Beastmen like they did in Deya City?
Deya City was on the southwestern border of Sylvia Kingdom, while Snowveil City was on the northern border. So Suna knew very little about Snowveil.
But now her father said an Academy so far away— practically halfway across the kingdom— was coming to recruit in Deya City?
What was the point?
After confirming again and again with her father, Suna’s excitement slowly turned into nervousness. What should she do?
This was a golden opportunity, but she had just reached Second Rank— nowhere near as strong as her senior peers!
“So, what’s your plan, Suna?” Suho asked.
“Hmm… I want to try, but the chances of success are probably very low.”
“I thought so…” Suho sighed and patted his thigh. “Honestly, I selfishly want you to stay in Deya City and live carefree, but like your brothers, you won’t be able to stay put. You’ll be running around the world sooner or later.
Plus, since you made a contract with that demon, there’s no way to solve it here in Deya City. So I’m thinking it’d be best for you to go study at the Royal Academy.
They never lack geniuses there, and there are plenty of advanced seniors. They should have ways to solve your problem.”
Girls can’t be kept down, huh…
“Why are you thinking so far ahead? Does Father really have confidence in me?”
Suna pouted. Look at her strength! But then she thought more carefully— maybe she actually had a decent way to get into the Royal Magic Academy.
That was to make a deal with the demon on Truth’s body!
That should work, right?
“Haha!” Suho Earl didn’t say more and got up, heading out the door.
“I’ll try my best to help you.”
He left behind a dashing silhouette. Suna’s mouth opened wide— try his best? Wait, Father isn’t…
Just as Suna thought, her father, Suho Earl, was preparing to unleash his financial power!
……
The next morning, Truth stretched after spending the night in the research lab. She had spent the entire evening adjusting the three “BOSSES” in the Mist, making their territories more logical.
Now the Thornflower Sprite, Corrupt Tree Demon, and Poison Vine Dryad were steadily providing energy, currently at 150 points.
Once they reached 500 points, the Mist would spawn its first true First Rank BOSS!
“Perfect. The only problem is my own level. Damn it, I can’t get experience from killing my own minions—so annoying!”
【Name: Truth】
【Level: LV.10 (89/652)】
【Race: Human】
【Attributes: HP 48, Constitution 52, Mana 99, Intelligence 72, Strength 22, Agility 31, Faith 942】
【Skills: Healing Mist (Proficiency 83%), Enhanced Senses (Proficiency 25%), Lens Shield (0%)】
【Talent: Mistveil Exalted (Fusion Progress 10%), Mist Faithful LV.4】
【Faith Points: 4】
【Available Attribute Points: 0】【Mist Energy: 150】
“Ah… four extra faith points. Must be from Tia’s contribution.”
Truth never wasted time worshipping herself out of boredom, but after reaching First Rank, the real use of faith points became apparent— they gave benefits to followers!
Too bad four points weren’t enough for anything yet. Keep pushing. I should find time to call Suna and the others for an adventure.
Truth left the lab intending to check on Suna’s sleeping posture at Suho Manor, but as she approached the Academy, a burly man blocked her way. Looking up, she saw Mailun.
“Good morning, Little Truth!”
Since Truth scolded him recently, Mailun had disappeared from the Academy for days and reappeared today.
“Not so good.”
Truth felt awkward being called “Little Truth” and ignored him, walking around his side, only to be blocked again.
This time Mailun ruffled his hair and gazed at Truth affectionately:
“You know what? After some reflection these past few days, I realized something!”
“Hmm?”
“That Suna likes you!” Mailun struck exaggerated poses, pointing at Truth with both hands and pausing after every few words for a flashy gesture:
“So! I! Just need to win you over! Then Suna will! Also be! My girlfriend!”
“What did you say?!”
Truth was stunned. How did he come to that conclusion?
“So, enjoy my pursuit from now on!” Ignoring her reaction, Mailun continued:
“As a meeting gift for confirming our relationship, I’ll tell you a huge exclusive: the Royal Magic Academy in Snowveil City is recruiting here!”
Heh, this is a top-tier school in many people’s minds. As soon as I mention it, everyone will be eager for more info, right? Mailun thought.
“I want to curse you.”
Truth’s expression stiffened. Why suddenly mention some royal academy? She’d never heard of it!
Mailun was confused. This wasn’t how he imagined it— shouldn’t she be begging for details like recruitment requirements or dates?
Then another man about Mailun’s size appeared in front of Truth, his face beaming with excitement. It was Reg:
“Boss, thank you so much! I’ll never forget your great kindness this lifetime!”
Great kindness?
What… is going on now? Truth looked baffled. I didn’t do anything!
Reg was still overjoyed.
If Mailun weren’t there, Reg would have knelt to worship Truth. Last night, while placing a bounty on Anderson in the Black Market, Reg overheard some big news.
The Royal Magic Academy was recruiting.
He never expected Truth to bring such a giant institution to recruit in Deya City— a small border town only mildly famous for the Mist Dungeon!
Who else but Truth could pull off such a feat? Could it be the nobles whose highest rank was at most Third Rank?
And why did Truth do this?
Obviously, to fulfill her small wish!
Truth had truly given Reg a chance to step onto a bigger stage, and such a magnificent one at that. Just thinking about it almost brought Reg to tears.
“From now on, I’m your most loyal underling! This boss really knows how to feed me well!”
“Ahaha… glad you’re happy…”
Truth smiled awkwardly, completely unsure what Reg was talking about. Mailun, however, seemed to get the gist.
“Hey, you can’t just confess like that. Line up— clearly I came first!”
Confession… Seeing the other students gathering to watch, Truth had a headache. Thinking it over, she didn’t hesitate to order Reg:
“Reg, hit him.”
Without hesitation, Reg threw an uppercut to Mailun’s chin. Mailun staggered but quickly returned a punch.
“A duel between rivals? I like it. Today I’ll show you my half-Second Rank strength!”
The two immediately started brawling at the Academy entrance, attracting countless students’ attention.
Two minutes later, half-Second Rank Mailun was pinned to the ground, his face swollen and bruised. Reg wasn’t in much better shape either.
Seeing this, Truth thought she could get some experience points too— why not? She raised her hand and released Healing Mist to cover both fighters, letting them heal while continuing to fight:
【Experience +3】
【Experience +3】
Wow, it’d been days since she last got an experience prompt. Not bad, considering she’d been busy dealing with the Mist lately…
Outside the Academy, Suna had come early to inquire about the Royal Academy’s recruitment.
If Father could smooth things over with money, that’d be great, but she didn’t have much hope. She preferred relying on her own strength to enter.
“What if I’m too weak and Father can’t help? Will I have to make another deal with the demon?”
Suna anxiously walked to the Academy gate, where a crowd of students had gathered. Could it be that the Royal Academy people had come to announce recruitment rules?
“Damn it, when did you get Second Rank? Not fair!”
“Were you fair when you used your high rank to bully others?”
Mailun and Reg’s voices echoed from the crowd, along with other students’ murmurs:
“Seriously, fighting over a girl at the gate. If outsiders saw this, they’d laugh their heads off.”
“Doesn’t Mailun like that Miss Suna? Why is he suddenly into someone else, and a flat-chested, flat-bottomed priest at that?”
“What do you know? Even small can be cute!”
This has nothing to do with recruitment… What on earth are they talking about? Suna was bewildered as she pushed through the crowd and saw something far beyond her expectations.
Mailun was locked in a strange hold behind him by Reg, who was choking him with hands and feet.
Mailun’s tongue stuck out ridiculously long, but he still refused to give up, clawing at Reg’s thigh with grimy hands. Reg’s face twisted in pain.
Both looked miserable. Beside them, a petite priest wearing a cleric’s ring squatted, right hand extended, releasing a strange mist-shaped healing spell, looking very pleased.
“Truth? Mailun? Reg?! What are you three doing so early?”
Suna was shocked. What was going on? Could it be as she thought— Mailun and Reg fighting over Truth?
I suddenly have two rivals… no, two guys trying to steal my good friend?
And from their stance… it looks like a life-or-death duel for love?!
In truth, Mailun wanted to surrender long ago. He felt like he was suffocating but couldn’t admit defeat with so many onlookers.
Reg didn’t dare stop without Truth’s command. He planned to choke Mailun unconscious first, though his leg hurt badly— the other had even used some childish fight tactics!
Truth only wanted to get some experience and teach Mailun a lesson, but she hadn’t expected this fight to last so long. Clearly, they had unresolved conflicts.
“Keep fighting, I don’t mind.”
“Could you three not make a fool of yourselves here?!”
Seeing them never-ending, Suna shouted in embarrassment from the side.