Chapter 6: Enrollment 

He still remembered the last memory before coming to this world—falling asleep at an internet café while playing a game.

He had just finished several consecutive days of overtime and decided to pull an all-nighter at the café to unwind. On the computer screen, a brand-new game was loading.

Because the loading was taking forever, he decided to take a short nap and play when he woke up.

Looking back now, he had probably fallen into the oldest trope in the book.

—Dying suddenly in front of a computer and transmigrating into the game world.

Of course, unlike the protagonists in those stories, Ye Xu hadn’t even managed to start the game.

Moreover, as a newly released title, 《Magitech Knight》 was a next-generation game that heavily utilized cutting-edge AI technology.

Although it had fixed starting maps and basic NPCs, everything after the opening was semi-randomly generated by AI according to set rules.

Because of that, even knowing he had transmigrated into the game world, Ye Xu had never treated this world as just a game.

All he wanted was to create his own story and walk toward the future he chose.

Ye Xu speculated that the bottomless, terrifying magical power within him originated from the extraordinary spirituality possessed by a transmigrator’s soul.

Of course, the advantages of being a transmigrator went far beyond that—for example, superhuman perception and insight, the ability to always propose unique solutions to problems, and…

Right now, every strand of hair to the tips of his toes radiating a desperate “I don’t want to go to school” aura!

He genuinely couldn’t understand why Lady Nal was so adamant about making him attend school, nor why she equated “going to school” with “youth.”

After all, in his previous life he had lived less than thirty years. He had only graduated from university a few years before dying of overwork at the internet café. More than half his memories were tied to campus life.

“CLANG, CLANG—”

“Wooo~~~”

Amid the rumbling of the magitech train, Ye Xu gazed at the scenery flashing past the private compartment window and let out a helpless sigh.

“Not bad, not bad—my little Ye looks the prettiest~”

Lady Nal, sitting beside him, was admiring Ye Xu—who had changed into the male uniform of the Magic Academy—with complete satisfaction.

In the floor-length mirror of the compartment stood a refined, breathtakingly beautiful young man.

Neat, short black hair with a faint purple sheen, amethyst eyes. Even without the inviolable regal aura of his Emperor’s Daughter form, he still possessed a delicate beauty that would make girls jealous.

During the half-month since arriving in the Ross Kingdom, Nal had dragged Ye Xu all over Rossfar City.

Only today, the opening day of the Magic Academy, did she finally pack his luggage in a rush, rent two whole premium compartments on the direct magitech train to the magical city, bid farewell to Simar, and personally escort Ye Xu to school.

In that half-month, Lady Nal had fully embraced her role as “big sister.” Her way of addressing Ye Xu had long since become “my little Ye.”

For Ye Xu—who hadn’t formed such an intimate, family-like bond with anyone in a very long time—this left him somewhat at a loss.

—Though deep down, his heart was warm.

“Your collar’s a bit crooked~”

In the distance, the towering walls of the magical city appeared on the horizon. Realizing they were almost there, Lady Nal hurriedly stepped forward to give Ye Xu one final adjustment.

Clearly whether as Ye Xu or Ye Lalar, he was taller than the barely 1.6-meter Lady Nal, yet in front of her, Ye Xu always felt like an actual child.

—He had never felt this way even in front of the older Simar.

“Alright, alright, Lady Nal, that’s enough. We’re here. Time to get off.”

Ye Xu took a small step back, lightly touched his slightly warm cheeks, and sighed as he watched the decelerating train enter the city walls.

“Okay, okay, I’m done.”

This magical city lay north of Rossfar, also on the western border of human territory.

The so-called magical cities—and the Magic Academies within them—were completely neutral cities uniformly established and managed by the Magician Association. Several existed across human lands.

Like the Association itself, they upheld the principles of “knowledge sharing” and “education without discrimination.”

Though also founded by the Thirteen Sages led by the first Radiant Sun Emperor, unlike the feudal empire that still relied on bloodlines, the Magician Association was truly the guardian of human civilization. Its highest ranks were filled purely by the capable.

The magical cities and their academies were extensions of that will.

Land and operating funds were provided jointly by surrounding nations, yet they belonged to no single power.

Their purpose was to collect all magical knowledge on the continent and disseminate it unconditionally through the academies.

Ye Xu had heard of them long ago but had never interacted much.

—After all, he had taught himself the foundations of magic, alchemy, and magitech engineering, then built his own unique system on top of that.

Now being forced to study at an academy under the Magician Association made him feel uncomfortable all over.

Still, since he had promised Lady Nal he would attend, Ye Xu would keep his word.

“CLANG, CLANG—”

The wheels screeched against the rails as the train finally entered the magical city.

Lady Nal pulled Ye Xu to sit as they waited for the train to stop, watching the scenery change outside the window.

Accustomed to the prosperous royal capital, even Ye Xu couldn’t help but be captivated by the sights on his first visit to a magical city.

Unlike cities with uniform national styles, the architecture here was wildly diverse.

Wooden magic bookstores and magitech shops selling all manner of magical tools lined the streets, their windows filled with strange and wondrous items.

In the distance, stone and even all-metal alchemy and magitech workshops belched multicolored smoke. The rising mist carried a dense magical aura.

Most pedestrians radiated faint mana fluctuations, walking in twos and threes. It was common to see people heatedly debating magical theory on the roadside or intently studying the functions of some alchemical creation or magitech device.

Without a doubt—this was a true holy land of learning…

Ye Xu gazed at everything outside, his eyes filled with deep longing.

Watching him like this, Nal gently pressed her lips together, unable to hide the heartache in her eyes any longer.

—As the genius acknowledged by all human society, no one understood Ye Xu’s thirst for magical knowledge and his passion for magitech and alchemy better than she and Simar.

If he wished, he could find a quiet corner of the world and immerse himself completely in his pursuits.

Yet he had chosen to use that talent to forge a better future for everyone—until he was swept into vortex after vortex, unable to escape.

But…

At least for now, this child was by her side.

So during this time, everything he had lost—she would make up for it.

“Little Ye, what do you think? Your big sis didn’t lie, did she?”

“The magical city is pretty great, right?”

Nal gently stroked Ye Xu’s soft cheek and smiled.

“Mm… surprisingly…”

“It really is nice.”

Ye Xu didn’t hide his true feelings.

He genuinely loved the atmosphere of this city.

“Hehe~”

The train was about to stop. Nal pulled Ye Xu up to prepare to disembark.

The moment the compartment door opened, a grand, majestic academy occupying the city center came into view.

“That’s the Magic Academy.”

“It’s a boarding school. Two days off per week.”

“There are also several long fixed holidays each year.”

“Your brother and I got you a single dorm.”

Nal pointed at the towering academy gates in the distance, then continued, “Little Ye, remember to get along with your classmates and make lots of friends. If you ever miss home, come back anytime to see your sister and brother, okay~?”

Like a mother sending her child off on a long journey, she gave endless gentle reminders, handed him his enrollment documents and student ID, and patiently explained how to check in, what to do after entering, and how everything worked.

The elegant noble lady and the strikingly beautiful black-haired, purple-eyed young man naturally drew countless gazes.

Ye Xu’s freshly calmed face flushed again.

“Alright, alright, Lady Nal—”

“I got it. You can go home now.”

Having lived over forty years across two lives, Ye Xu wasn’t so helpless that he needed repeated instructions for something this minor. Lady Nal’s worry stemmed more from fear that this special child wouldn’t fit in and would be ostracized…

Of course, she wasn’t worried about Ye Xu’s safety.

—She was worried about his mental well-being… and the fate of any poor soul foolish enough to mess with him.

“Okay, okay, okay.”

Seeing Ye Xu already mortified, Nal smiled and stopped at the right moment.

Then she pulled him to the third carriage right next to their compartment and entered a code on the door panel.

The next moment—under the stunned gazes of everyone at the station—the carriage shell slowly split open from the middle.

Inside stood a brand-new, over-four-meter-tall Magitech Knight, pitch-black with purple accents. Its armor thickness and armament clearly marked it as a top-tier military-grade machine.

“From now on, for any internal or external combat missions at the academy—”

“You’ll use this one.”

“And remember…”

Completely ignoring the dumbfounded crowd, Nal continued her instructions.

This was the final gift she and Simar had decided on together.

Today’s Magic Academy was less a school of magic and more a knight academy in all but name.

The entire curriculum was built around training students to become qualified Magitech Knight pilots.

It kept the name “Magic Academy” only because so few students ultimately became true “Knights.”

Even so, the academy was filled with courses designed to turn students into knights—such as Magitech Knight dueling practice or real-combat assessments hunting magical beasts under instructor supervision.

Of course, real, valuable Magitech Knights could never be used as training units. The academy used old, retired machines from various eras—modified to resemble current models in size and shape but vastly inferior in armor and performance.

Students from powerful families could bring their own machines, but during assessments and duels, output was capped at training-machine levels.

The custom machine Simar and Nal had prepared for Ye Xu had two purposes:

First, they couldn’t bear to let him pilot those ancient pieces of junk.

Second…

They were afraid that if something unexpected happened and his machine’s performance was insufficient, he might be forced to reveal trump cards he shouldn’t.

Getting his identity exposed and attracting imperial attention would be the lesser evil. If he accidentally blew up the school… that would be awkward.

“…”

“Thank you, big sis Nal… and…”

“Tell… big brother thank you for me.”

Staring at the brand-new machine before him, Ye Xu was momentarily speechless.

Even as an earl family, House Nal possessed barely eighteen Magitech Knights—less than twenty in total.

Willing to custom-build one this advanced for him—Simar hadn’t exactly bled money, but he had definitely paid a real price.

Because the base model was clearly the next-generation military standard the empire had developed over the two years Ye Xu spent as Emperor’s Daughter.

Using knowledge he had provided and imitating the rebel army’s “Night Guard-type,” the empire had created the “Radiant Sun Empire Type-14 Military Standard Magitech Knight.”

Even within the empire, only a handful of great nobles currently had access to these.

For Simar, a noble of another country, to obtain one…

Though he felt it unnecessary, Ye Xu understood some gestures couldn’t be refused.

He could only etch this kindness into his heart and repay it later.

And so, his way of addressing the couple finally, truly became “big brother” and “big sister.”

Overjoyed at his words, Nal quickly had workers unload the Magitech Knight.

Then, seeing the train about to depart again, she tightly gripped Ye Xu’s hand for one final reminder.

“Mm, alright then, little Ye—your sister is leaving now.”

“Come home during holidays, okay? And make lots of friends!”

“Mm, I know.”

Ye Xu smiled and nodded.

Finally, after much gentle pushing and coaxing from Ye Xu, Nal boarded the train with great reluctance, her waving figure gradually disappearing from sight.

Ye Xu let out a long breath of relief.

Seeing that the clearly extraordinary noble parent had finally left, the crowd at the station—especially the students in uniform—swallowed hard, eyeing him and the Magitech Knight beside him, preparing to approach.

Just as Ye Xu stepped forward to bond with the machine, infusing it with mana so it would follow autonomously, and planned to complete enrollment and immediately apply for hangar space, a voice called from behind:

“Excuse me, classmate—are you also a new student at the Magic Academy this year?”

Ye Xu turned to see four students—three boys, one girl—all wearing the same academy uniform.

“…”

Whether as rebel leader or Emperor’s Daughter, Ye Xu’s personality had always been: avoid trouble when possible, keep a low profile.

So his instinct was to leave.

But Lady Nal’s words echoed in his mind again.

Thinking about it, he had lived over forty years across two lives. He had enemies, subordinates, retainers—but very few people he could truly call friends and talk to openly.

For a moment, Ye Xu let out a helpless sigh.

Then he took a deep breath, turned around, faced the classmates who had greeted him, and spoke:

“Yes. My name is Ye Laixi · Nal.”

“A new student this year as well.”

Seeing Ye Xu actually respond, the four were momentarily stunned.

But someone quickly recovered and hurriedly asked:

“Nal—as in the recently emerged earl family in the Ross Kingdom?”

Unlike dukes or marquesses who were too lofty and rare to approach, or viscounts and barons who were too low to notice, a newly risen, rapidly ascending earl family like House Nal had already made a name for itself in noble circles of neighboring kingdoms.

Surprised but smiling, Ye Xu nodded.

“Yes.”

“I am the younger half-brother of Earl Simar · Nal.”

After a brief pause, Ye Xu decided to stick to the forged identity and tell the truth as it was written.