"Who are you?!"
The mont he entered the classroom, Zenobia, Thadeus, and Shiro jumped to their feet, drawing their wands glistening with mana gems to protect the wounded dean.
Fortunately, before the situation could worsen, Shepard's weak voice resounded.
"You made... Cough..."
A fit of cough seized the man, shaking his wounded body as he clutched his ribs with an agonising grimace distorting his lips. His elegant, even extravagant, robes covered his body in tattered stripes. The colorful embroideries were gone, replaced by large bloodstains, and the magic engraving enchanting the clothes lted into oblivion.
"Yeah, I crafted the puppet. I'm now free to move as I wish, too."
He gazed at Shepard's terrible state, his eyes dimming. Even the arcanist's youthful face disappeared, showing his actual age and shattering the pride he had built for so many decades.
He spent a few minutes asking how he felt and if his life was in danger before sighing in relief.
Fortunately, Shepard stood on the third floor when the explosion occurred. It had granted him a precious sliver of ti, enough to transform into swirling grey smoke just as a deafening explosion ripped through the room. Unfortunately, in the middle of the process, he suffered from ugly burns.
"Everything isn't dark," he said, looking Shepard in the eyes and a grin stretching his lips. "For what it's worth, I brought five hundred summoned back, subdued the culprits, and cut the snake's head. Also, two thousand more should arrive in a few hours."
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"Chough! What?"
Before his eyes, Shepard almost suffocated from the revelation.
Hurriedly, Zenobia rushed to her ntor, patting his back to relieve his pain before observing Adam, a sliver of mana swirling in her eyes.
"We'll talk about it later. Just know that you are avenged and that I subdued the mastermind. He'll co later, too."
He leaned forward, patting his ntor's shoulder as Zenobia glared at him, jaws clenched in fury.
"I suggest you use him as an advisor or tactician instead of killing him. He is sharp and ruthless in his plan-making. You'll definitely need him."
Shepard was by no ans stupid. In fact, he was even a brilliant researcher. But he believed his attention was spread too thin on subjects he had no interest in. Therefore, he neglected his city-state until it beca a ruined hellhole hidden behind golden buildings for the commoners.
That's why he would need a man to handle his duty in his stead to resolve the many problems plaguing his future kingdom.
Shepard's eyes turned sharp despite his suffering in response.
"Can I trust him?"
"We struck a deal, and he doesn't have anywhere to go. Instead of leaving a nace wandering the world or wasting his intelligence, use him."
He shrugged before stepping back.
"I'll welco the summoned for now. Rest well until Beatrix brings healers back."
Then, without wasting ti, he left, retracing his steps to the Gate.
On the way, he noticed Gwen helping bandage wounded students while Thurin eyed the other youths with a pained expression. Their physique was just that terrible.
After a leisurely walk to release so pressure, he reached the towering Gate. Then, he sat, his mind wandering in a world of dilemmas.
The stars shone on his wooden fra when the veil of mana surrounding the construct suddenly humd to life and brightened a few monts later.
Intrigued, he focused on it. Beatrix erged first, her black hair tied in a bun and her eyes piercing the surroundings warily. Following in her steps were five luxuriously dressed individuals: three females and two males. And finally, his eyes enlarged, the gems almost popping out of their sockets as he saw the last individual.
Instantly, a terrible sensation of dread jolted his body as alarm drums struck his mind. His instinct roared, "Leave, fool!"
However, before he could follow the forceful advice, her blue eyes locked on him, scanning his fra like a predator licking its lips before prey. He could almost feel her gaze as a physical phenonon, touching him despite his sensationless body.
Then, he raised his head, glancing at her white dress adorned with golden embroidery, her white mage's cape fluttering behind her as complex magic symbols waved on it. Finally, he saw her intricately carved golden staff and, more importantly, the fist-sized blue gem hovering above it.
'She is dangerous!'
The realisation rumbled in his mind as her lips curled into a gentle smile. Then, tucking a golden lock behind her ear, she walked to him, making his soul freeze inside the puppet.
"What an interesting ghost! You even lowered yourself to possess a puppet. A powerful one at that," she said, mana condensing into her eyes and casting two bright rays piercing his soul.
"Mhh. Middle of the fourth-tier in strength, incredible conductivity and almost tier-five resistance."
In a beat, she understood everything before shockingly continuing with his own stats.
"A tier three ghost from an unknown species. Interesting!"
A tense silence lingered as she eyed him with a smile, her braids moving along her nodding head before she spoke again.
"I'm Elisabeth, the Academy of Light Magic's dean, and I would like to invite you as a student!"
Despite her charming appearance, polite words, and enthusiastic tone, only fear filled his mind. If he could sweat, he would have created an artificial lake right under his feet.
Sohow, everything in him scread to distance himself from her. Even if he didn't know why, he would trust his gut feeling every day when it was this powerful. But he couldn't outright reject her either...
"I-U... Thank you for the invitation. I'll speak about it with Shepard, my ntor, first."
Counting on Shepard's prestige and the tacit rule about taking a single ntor, he answered.
"What a coincidence. I ca to heal this old coot! Follow ."
With no choice, his face distorted into an ugly grimace as he followed behind her, wondering if she was even more of a genius than Shepard or used so spell to keep her youth. After all, she looked no older than twenty-five but was an arcanist already.
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