丁丁漫画

“Oh, right.” Shi An suddenly raised his eyes to stare at the insect. His expression didn’t change, but his deep black eyes were unfathomable.

“!” The insect, who was lost in thought, felt a chill down its spine and stammered, “Wha-what’s wrong?”

Shi An’s expression turned thoughtful. “You just said that tomorrow we will sneak into the Academy?”

“……Y-yeah?” The question perplexed the insect. Isn’t that the case?

“It’s not ‘we’,” Shi An said while smiling, “Only you.”

The insect: !!!

Shi An’s smile was sincere and harmless, but in the insect’s eyes, it seemed like a call from the grim reaper.

“But it’s okay. I’ve figured out a way. I’ll help you sneak in.”

“……” The mangled remains of the two monsters flashed through the insect’s mind and its six legs started trembling in fear—AHHHHHHHHHH I don’t need that kind of help!

*

The next day.

The old butler drove Shi An to the pickup point. Feeling worried for Shi An, he explained various aspects, from getting along with roommates to everything else.

“……The Academy has already sent someone to pick up the luggage this morning. It will probably be sent directly to your dormitory……”

“……If you see Shi Rui at school, it’s best to avoid him and don’t get into any conflicts. Be careful and try not to get hurt…..”

Finally, before Shi An dozed off, the pickup vehicle arrived. The old butler bid farewell with reluctance while Shi An looked desperate to leave—it’s unclear whether he was really eager for school life or he had enough of the old butler’s nagging.

The Mage Academy sent out vehicles to bring all the freshmen to the enclosed campus located outside the city. The interior of the vehicle was spacious; its engine was powered by magic power, ensuring a smooth and fast journey. Inside the vehicle, there were no individual compartments, but the space between each seat was cleverly designed with semi-enclosed glass partitions that would provide some privacy while allowing new students to get acquainted.

When Shi An boarded the vehicle, the conversations inside instantly stopped. Everyone turned to stare at him. Their expressions were peculiar, unfamiliar, and aloof.

Shi Rui sat in the middle row, surrounded by several freshmen, subtly becoming the leader of that group. He smiled and waved at Shi An, calling Shi An over to the seat beside him. “Elder Brother, here.”

The students’ seating was arranged according to their enrollment test results. Despite that, the back row seats were almost full while the front row seats were empty except for a few students.

New students are required to go through a few assessments before officially joining the Academy. The ranking achieved in those assessments would affect their overall rank later. The assessments consisted of actual combat, due to which accidents happened every year. So new students were usually cautious and discrete because no one wanted to be a target. As for Shi Rui, it did not matter whether Shi An sat beside him or not––if Shi An sat, he was being presumptuous. If not, he was being unappreciative.

Shi An sat down on the first empty seat he saw, which had been unoccupied since morning, yawned drowsily, and closed his eyes. Everyone in the vehicle sucked in a breath.

“……” Shi Rui froze on the spot. SHIT! He really did not expect Shi An to be both presumptuous and unappreciative.

Shi An dozed against the vehicle’s window and looked as if he would fall into a deep sleep soon. The insect stealthily climbed out of Shi An’s sleeve, scanned the back row, and whispered, “My Lord, erm……why do I feel the mood seems a little off?”

Shi An raised his eyes sluggishly. “Does it?”

“Yes!” The mood in the air is very different!

Shi An thought seriously about it then said: “I’ve got it.”

“Huh?”

“It must be because this outfit is too ugly.”

“……” Huh??? What kind of reason is that?

“It’s all because the old butler took out my favorite outfit from the suitcase. He wouldn’t let me wear it and even forbade me from bringing it to school,” Shi An sighed dejectedly, then muttered with disapproval, “That human being has a terrible aesthetic sense.”

The insect recalled how its eyes were almost blinded when it first saw that outfit and felt: “……” After a long silence, heartfelt gratefulness and relief arose from the insect’s heart—Thank you, old butler. So much.

*

When Shi An woke up, the vehicle had already arrived at its destination. He rubbed his eyes, yawned, alighted from the vehicle, and followed the crowd in a half-asleep state.

“The first round of assessment will begin soon. Please get ready,” said a high-pitched male voice. According to the Academy’s tradition, the written assessment was held on the first day of school. The lineup for the next two rounds of assessment had been determined by the written assessment’s results. A teacher came and escorted the freshmen to a spacious hall.

The hall had about eighty percent similarity with the combat stimulation room that day. A big metallic gray door stood just outside the hall. Freshmen walked through the door one by one to their designated seats.

Shi An stood at the end of the line and grabbed the insect out from his sleeve.

The insect looked at the familiar sight in front of it, then turned to glance at the familiar human grabbing it then. “……” It took a deep breath and closed its eyes. “Let’s do it!” But until Shi An released the insect, it didn’t feel the expected pain. The insect opened his eyes in confusion. “Eh……? It’s over?”

Shi An glanced at the insect strangely. “It’s over.”

What? It’s really over?! The monster hurriedly did a self-check. Sure enough, its magic power was controlled to a minuscule amount. Even the most sophisticated detection device could not detect it.

“But……but……” The insect’s jaw dropped, then stammered out: “But that day……”

“Oh, that.” Shi An blinked. “You are already my subject. It’s not that troublesome to reduce your magic power. I just needed to determine the threshold of the detection device that day.” Before the insect could breathe a sigh of relief, Shi An continued speaking, “……plus, I am also curious about the internal body structures of current Abyss species.”

“???”

Shi An seemed to have felt the insect’s glazed stare and lowered his head to smile at it, looking both beautiful and sunny.

“……” The insect shivered and slowly looked away—Please, don’t smile. Any more of that smile and I will get human PTSD.