“Master… good luck!”
Su Yun stood at the academy entrance. Her petite figure was rimmed with gold by the morning sunlight as she lifted her small face and called out in a soft, gentle voice brimming with a unique liveliness—quiet, yet clear.
Her fluffy ears twitched lightly with her words. That cute, energetic 모습 instantly drew the attention of the surrounding students who had just endured the “mountain-climbing” ordeal. Quite a few of them turned their heads to look.
A crowd had already gathered here—some panting heavily, others pale-faced—all squeezed onto the platform at the academy gate like warriors who had just crawled back from hell.
“Ahh… I’m done for… whose idea was this, anyway?!”
Mo Qingqing was drenched in sweat. A few strands of hair at her temples were plastered damply to her cheeks as she clutched the cold white marble railing. Her body trembled slightly while she gulped in air, her chest heaving violently.
Her luxurious mage robe was in disarray, utterly lacking its usual elegance and composure. At this moment, she looked like a general who had just retreated from the battlefield—exhausted and furious.
The number of steps was different for everyone.
Although the height from the foot of the mountain to the summit was the same for all,
the higher one’s magic level, the more steps one seemed to have to climb.
As for Su Yun, along this seemingly endless route, she felt she had climbed only about two hundred steps. Her stamina was barely affected at all—it felt more like a light morning exercise.
Finally, after more than two hours of torment, Mo Qingqing dragged her exhausted body and staggered through the academy gates.
Without the slightest hesitation, she immediately wrapped an arm around Su Yun, treating her as the only soft support available, and plopped herself down onto the nearest lounge chair—completely unconcerned with maintaining her noble image.
“Ughhhhh… you’ve got to be kidding me… whose idea was this?!”
Mo Qingqing let out something close to a wail, her voice filled with grievance and helpless fury toward the one who made these rules.
The moment she stepped onto those seemingly ordinary stairs, she felt all the magic in her body sealed tight by some invisible force. She couldn’t mobilize even a shred of it; every ounce of magic felt completely locked inside her.
What drove her even crazier was that she had tried to leave the stairs and take a detour—but her body simply wouldn’t obey. Every time she was about to step out of the stairway’s range, an even stronger force yanked her right back.
She couldn’t imagine what kind of deranged mental state a ruling power must have been in to create a staircase specifically designed to torment people like this.
Deadly. Absolutely deadly.
Even now, her legs were still aching nonstop, the soreness surging straight to her head and making her want to collapse and fall asleep on the spot.
Still, now that her magic was no longer restricted, with her level as an intermediate witch, her stamina would recover in no time.
She took a deep breath, magic stirring her life force as it flowed through her body—
But the moment she thought about having to climb that damn staircase every single day starting in a few days, Mo Qingqing felt the urge to slam her head into a wall. The frustration weighed on her chest like a massive stone.
By contrast, Su Yun didn’t look tired at all.
She sat beside Mo Qingqing, her little face rosy, her eyes clear, showing no sign of fatigue.
She only felt that her body was brimming with strength. Whether running or fighting, she could clearly sense that her stamina was like a bottomless spring—no matter how much she used, it never ran dry.
Even though the staircase sealed magic, for some reason it couldn’t seal her stamina, allowing her to move freely even in a magic-restricted environment.
She found it strange as well. Only when Mo Qingqing was “playing” with her did she feel overwhelmingly exhausted, as if her body had been completely drained.
It felt as though the source of her stamina deliberately left during those moments, avoiding those “intense activities.”
That was why, at such times, she would feel extremely fatigued, her stamina reduced to that of an ordinary little girl.
Very strange.
But considering this was a world filled with magic and miracles, the thought didn’t seem all that strange either. Maybe this was just some kind of special constitution unique to another world.
After resting for a while, Mo Qingqing’s breathing gradually steadied.
She loosened her tight hold on Su Yun, though she didn’t fully let go—instead, she adjusted her position to hold her more comfortably.
As a body pillow, Su Yun was always perfectly qualified.
Whether it was the fluffy tail, the soft little ears, or that petite, tender body that carried a faint milky scent and vibrant life energy—
Every part of her brought a sense of calm.
The delicate texture and gentle posture felt like the finest form of healing.
Every inch of her seemed like a delicacy ready to be “consumed,” exuding an irresistible allure.
Still, this was the academy, with plenty of eyes around. Mo Qingqing didn’t dare go too far.
She simply held Su Yun quietly for a while, savoring the life energy emanating from her.
That peculiar fragrance truly made people feel comfortable and relaxed, washing away all the irritation from climbing the stairs.
Once her strength had mostly recovered, the two began strolling through the academy.
The view inside finally improved Mo Qingqing’s mood.
Su Yun, meanwhile, found the layout incredibly familiar—almost as if it had stepped straight out of every anime academy she remembered.
The ground was paved with special runic stone slabs, forming spacious training grounds that emitted a faint glow.
Bright classrooms with tall, transparent windows and neatly arranged desks and chairs.
A grand assembly hall with a domed ceiling painted with stars and ancient magic runes.
The lush green sports field even had small magical creatures frolicking about.
There was also a cafeteria that hadn’t opened yet, and several rooms whose purposes weren’t clearly labeled—but whose functions were obvious at a glance, such as the library and alchemy laboratories.
Mo Qingqing, however, found all this fascinating. She looked around with keen interest.
“Secret realm training room?”
“Treasure pavilion…?”
“Where did they even come up with all this?”
Her tone carried a rare hint of surprise and curiosity, as if she had finally developed a sliver of interest in the idea of “going to school.”
Of course, it would be even better if she didn’t have to climb those damn stairs.
Su Yun’s attention was also drawn to a room with a sign hanging beside it.
She walked up to the wooden plaque, which gleamed faintly in the sunlight. Written on it in ancient runes and common script were the words:
“Parallel Combat.”
“Parallel Combat? What’s that?” Su Yun tilted her little head.
Could it mean fighting a version of herself from a parallel world?
She couldn’t help feeling a bit curious—what if she hadn’t followed Mo Qingqing and had instead joined the Elemental Legion…
Would she have ended up surrounded by a blooming harem everywhere she went…?