Chapter 79
Chapter 79
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 79 – Lan Qi Becomes a Bookworm2024-05-22 — Author: Poor Xixi
The heavy oak door creaked softly as it was pulled shut, its aged voice worn smooth by the years. The sound faded away as the last demon teacher left and the door of the principal’s office closed once more.
Outside the broad wooden-framed windows, the starlight of the Demon Realm spilled in, blending with the warm glow of lamps into a shimmering wash of brilliance.
By the window, beside a square tea table, Lan Qi sat comfortably in a soft woven armchair, looking very much like a retiree enjoying a quiet evening.
【Time Remaining: 0 hours 57 minutes】【Mission Goal 1: Academy exploration over 60%. Current Progress: 1200%】【Mission Goal 2: Investigate and resolve tonight’s source of danger — Crisis Neutralized】【Mission Goal 3: At least 1 survivor until time expires. Current Status: 6/6】【Challenger Lan Qi — Location: T01 Corridor, Principal’s Office】
After receiving the Great Poet’s triumphant report, Lan Qi checked the Shadow World status panel.
As expected, the mission state had shifted.
It seemed the objectives of this Shadow World had all been cleared, and time was already well into the latter half of the fifth period.
Soon, the Shadow World would conclude its reckoning.
And then, both he and Huperion would be sent back to the real-world Ikerite Academy.
“Nooo…!”
The thought alone was enough to make him groan. From being the principal of a dreamlike academy, back to being a student in that hellhole of a school? Just the idea made the countdown clock unbearable to watch.
He promptly shut off the [Shadow World Recording Program] function on his body.
The livestreaming could be toggled at will, since challengers in high-tier Shadow Worlds lasting days or even months often needed to live their own lives outside constant broadcast.
With mission goals complete, his records now wouldn’t matter to the Academy’s credit system or the South Continent Shadow World Association’s promotion points.
So at this moment, all he wanted was to quietly research and take notes on the Magical Beast Hair Processing Spells the magic professor had delivered to the principal’s office.
He had no intention of letting the Association log these spells. They were for him and Talia to study together later.
The principles of such forbidden sorcery were not for other humans to know!
Might as well end the broadcast and give the audience something more cheerful.
Once Lan Qi shut down his feed, the real-world viewers would only see Huperion’s perspective.
And surely, compared to watching him sit and read in the principal’s office, they’d much prefer the Great Poet’s dazzling smile.
“Now then—let me savor the greatness of demon wisdom!”
Leaning back contentedly in his armchair, Lan Qi flipped open the book of magical theory.
“…Although, why were Huperion and I matched into a fourth-tier Shadow World…?”
The thought slipped from his lips.
Could it be that a fifth-tier challenger had entered, raising the average difficulty?
He and Huperion were both beneath this world’s tier, so naturally, someone else must have been above it to balance things out.
The demon students summoned earlier varied in strength, hard to distinguish, and high-ranking challengers excelled at masking their power. It was nearly impossible to tell which four among them were challengers.
And of course, none of those four suspected that the “principal” was also one of them.
After all, who would imagine a student becoming the headmaster of a demon academy within mere hours?
“Ugh… if they really think I was some hidden NPC in this Shadow World, and later we meet in the real world—how embarrassing would that be?”
Lan Qi froze at the realization.
“…Forget it.”
He shook his head. The run was complete. No need to worry anymore. All he wanted now was to immerse himself in the magic he’d longed to study for half the Shadow World.
…
Above the base layer,Corridor F03.
The Demon Realm Botanical Laboratory, where even from behind closed doors, the scent of flowers drifted outward.
Inside, the first sight was a vast green lawn, like a carpet of jade.
Along winding paths grew every manner of Demon Realm flora—from towering eucalyptus-like trees to tiny wildflowers, from brightly colored tropical plants to thorny, twisted vines. Each seemed a treasure that could exist nowhere but here.
Under the subtle radiance of magical lamps, the pale, lush plants blurred at the edges, like ghosts in a misted night.
They didn’t boast gaudy hues or grand forms. Instead, they were quiet, poetic, standing still as time flowed, unchanged, watching each sunrise and sunset.
The Great Poet and Huperion had spread a picnic cloth beneath a tree. In this dim starlit pre-dawn, they prepared to enjoy delicacies they’d packed from the Demon King’s Royal Dining Hall.
It was four in the morning—close enough to breakfast.
Happiness all but overflowed from the Great Poet’s face. Lying prone on the cloth, she propped her cheek with one hand, her other hand gently brushing the stamens of a flower.
At her touch, the blossoms seemed to feel her warmth, their petals swelling and blooming miraculously.
Her summoning effect was to make flowers bloom en masse. But to trigger such beauty, Lan Qi had to pour in more mana during the summoning.
Naturally, she also possessed a modest power to coax plant growth—but always by consuming Lan Qi’s mana.
Now that he had promised to let her play as she pleased, she wasted no time in burning through his reserves.
Huperion glanced at her. Unsure what to say, but gradually, she let her guard down.
For in this moment, the Great Poet looked nothing like the scheming succubus from before.
Because of their arrival, the demon botany teacher of this Level 1 classroom had switched the lesson to “Free Observation.”
So long as students didn’t damage the plants, they could rest freely here and still earn a passing mark.
After the vice principal’s assembly and announcements, teachers knew who these two women were.
And since today marked the academy’s rebirth, it was cause for celebration. No one would make things difficult.
Time slipped away in this tranquil, timeless atmosphere.
Then—
A sharp wind swept through, making the grass rustle in unison.
The Great Poet looked up, puzzled.
She felt it—just a flicker—darkness dimming the world.
The thinning starlight grew cold, replacing the serenity of the garden with a heavy, suffocating silence.
And in the next instant—
A tearing sound split the air, echoing across the empty lawn!
A wave of deadly intent made Huperion’s spine go rigid, every muscle tensing as danger descended.