Chapter 18: Trouble Breaks Out, and the Tension Tightens!

Before breaking through to Level One Mage, the Fireball Spell An Xia cast had only been about the size of a ball.

But after reaching Level One Mage, the quality of his spiritual power improved, and the Fireball Spell instantly swelled to the size of an exercise ball.

A fireball sixty-five centimeters in diameter fell from the sky.

The pressure created by its tremendous speed was like a howling gale, not to mention the scene that would follow once it struck the ground and exploded.

Three seconds later, the fireball hit the ground.

A blazing light erupted at the point of impact, and the great tree was instantly burned away by the flames spreading from the explosion.

An Xia seemed to see a flash of blue light appear at the center of the Fireball Spell’s explosion, but when he looked again, it had already vanished.

It was probably just that the extreme temperature at the center had altered the color of the flames for an instant.

An Xia did not think any further in that direction.

Very soon, the aftershock of the Fireball Spell explosion faded away.

Taking the place where the tree had stood as the center, everything within a three-meter radius had been scorched black.

The ground itself had been thrown upward toward the sky, leaving the area in utter ruin.

An Xia smacked his lips.

The power of the Fireball Spell had exceeded his imagination.

It was about as strong as a rocket before his transmigration.

Aside from the increase in power,

An Xia also had the feeling that he could keep constructing the Fireball Spell’s rune without stopping.

But when he looked at the devastation caused by the fireball ahead of him, he abandoned that idea.

One fireball had already done this much.

If he threw out dozens more, would he not destroy the academy’s back mountain altogether?

Set the mountain on fire, and you would end up behind bars.

An Xia had no desire to stare through iron bars with tears streaming down his face.

After that, he decided to test Spiritual Impact.

He began constructing the rune again, and the moment it was finished, he released it directly.

This time, the ghostly giant had grown even larger.

The club in its hand had upgraded into a baseball bat, and its entire appearance had become much clearer, no longer as vague as before.

Moreover, An Xia had a faint sense of familiarity with the ghostly giant’s face.

It looked almost like... his own face?

If Lang Ning had been struck by a blow from a ghostly giant like this during the Freshman Competition, then it would not have been a matter of being stunned for ten seconds.

An Xia figured Lang Ning would have gone down on the spot.

Still, the time for their next clash was coming soon enough, so there would be no lack of chances to let Lang Ning experience it for himself.

With a wave of his hand, he dispersed the ghostly giant and prepared to leave the academy’s back mountain.

But the instant he turned around, he saw a flash of blue, along with the sensation of hair brushing past the tip of his nose.

Strands of a faint fragrance curled toward him from the person in front of him.

An Xia’s heart began to pound rapidly and violently, so loudly that in the deathly silent back mountain of the academy, it was perfectly clear.

Looking at the tall figure standing close enough to touch, An Xia could not help swallowing before he called out with difficulty,

“M-Mentor Abyss...”

Abyss still wore her cold, beautiful expression as she gazed at An Xia with her pale blue eyes.

Even though the two of them were standing so close, An Xia did not feel the slightest trace of romance.

After all, when you were standing this close to a block of ice, it was already fortunate enough if you did not freeze stiff.

An Xia had no idea when Abyss had arrived, nor did he know whether she had seen his entire performance from beginning to end.

Talent was a good thing, but when one’s talent was not merely strong, but absurdly monstrous, then it ceased to be a good thing.

So after An Xia learned how vast the gap was between his spiritual power and that of Melva and the others, his first instinct had been to hide the truth.

After all, there was a saying from before his transmigration: a common man was innocent, but possessing a treasure made him guilty.

An Xia did not dare gamble his life on the morality of others.

Now that Abyss had most likely discovered everything, and he could not read her thoughts at all, his heart grew incomparably heavy.

“What are you afraid of?” Abyss suddenly asked.

“I...” An Xia opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat and refused to come out.

“The elemental gathering just now was caused by you?” Abyss asked directly, getting straight to the point without the slightest detour.

But given her personality, that was entirely in character for her.

An Xia lowered his head obediently.

“Yes... Mentor Abyss, could you please not tell anyone else?”

There was even a trace of pleading in his voice.

He put on his most pitiful expression.

But Abyss did not answer.

After a long while, An Xia raised his head.

When he looked at Abyss’s face, he discovered that a trace of amusement had appeared on that face which was always so cold.

“It seems you have developed some mistaken understanding about certain things.”

Abyss let out a soft sigh, then turned and walked back toward the academy.

“Follow me.”

It was a scene very much like the one from more than a month ago.

Abyss’s words drifted over with the wind, and An Xia could only follow in silence.

He had no idea where Abyss was taking him, but judging by the faint expression she had revealed, there probably would not be any problem.

The two of them crossed the academy and arrived in front of a large building.

Standing outside, An Xia seemed to hear something like wailing and shrieking from within.

He shivered.

Abyss looked back at him once, and An Xia gritted his teeth and continued after her.

Inside the building, everything was spotless, without the slightest trace of dust.

Yet the wailing grew clearer and clearer, ever more mournful and melodious.

For a moment, all kinds of wild imaginings filled An Xia’s mind.

Could this building be the place Lance Magic Academy used to imprison its enemies?

Or perhaps it was where they conducted human experiments?

An Xia had heard plenty of rumors.

For example, it was said that behind every bottle of potion produced by those potion masters lay the hard work of countless experimental subjects.

Back in his town, there had even been a similar story used to frighten children.

Whenever a child refused to behave, the elders would say that if they kept crying, they would attract an alchemist, who would take them away for experiments.

Following Abyss upstairs, he drew closer and closer to the source of the noise.

When they reached the fifth floor, Abyss stopped in front of a large door at the end of the corridor.

Standing behind her, An Xia felt goosebumps rise all over his body as the ghostly wailing coming from inside the door poured into his ears.

Just what kind of horrifying scene was waiting in there?

An Xia did not dare to imagine it.

He watched as Abyss raised her hand and pushed the door open.

The next instant, the scene behind the door entered An Xia’s eyes.

An Xia had already prepared himself to face some vast horror, but the moment he saw it, he froze.

Behind the door was a spacious office.

An old man sat at a desk, sprawled over its surface, while behind him the burly Mentor Fenno kept hammering his back with his fists. Each blow made the old man cry out loudly.

What the hell!

So that was what all that wailing had been about!

The vigilance in An Xia’s heart instantly disappeared, replaced by utter speechlessness.

Seriously? You were just getting your back pounded, and you had to scream so dramatically?

When he saw Abyss and An Xia, Mentor Fenno stopped punching, nodded politely, and then said to the old man, “Remember to pay,” before leaving the office.

The old man also straightened up in his chair, coughed twice, and said, “I twisted my waist recently, and my spine has been feeling uncomfortable, so I asked Fenno to help loosen it up.”

Abyss nodded, seeming to indicate her understanding.

Then she pulled over a chair from the side and sat down opposite the old man.

At the same time, she cast An Xia a glance.

An Xia understood the meaning of that look and likewise pulled over a chair and sat down.

“The current headmaster of Lance Magic Academy, Douglas.”

Abyss introduced the old man’s identity to An Xia.