When Li Fei walked off the field, the eyes of the students held not only adoration but a thread of awe.
"Miss Spell Encyclopedia… is probably unbeatable within her tier already."
"Unbeatable within her tier? Unbeatable across the low Sequences! I'd thought Alex represented the peak combat power of the low Sequences—and then Miss Spell Encyclopedia hammered all three of them flat single-handedly…"
Amid the whispering, someone suddenly cried out:
"I get it now!"
"Get what?"
"Miss Spell Encyclopedia has been hiding her true strength this whole time!"
"Surely not…"
"Just think about it. In the exhibition match, from start to finish she only cast first-tier spells; in the elimination rounds, basic battle-qi; in the first final, intermediate battle-qi and intermediate natural magic; and then there was that inconceivable power just now… savor it, savor it carefully! Have you noticed? The stronger the enemy, the stronger she gets! I have every reason to suspect that Alex never forced out her true strength."
"And don't forget—this last match, she didn't use a single spell!"
"Hsss… well-reasoned and well-supported. Convincing."
"Just how strong is Miss Spell Encyclopedia? Terrifying, simply terrifying."
...…
"Ha, I lost."
Barrett caressed a wineskin with great reluctance, a look of heartache on his face, but then his eyes rolled, as if he'd just remembered something delightful, and rather grandly he handed the wineskin over to Nicole: "It's yours now."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony."
Seeing Barrett honor the wager so readily, Nicole arched an eyebrow and quickly guessed what he was scheming, then accepted the wineskin with a benign smile.
"So, uh, Nicole, about that…"
The bald Dean's face was piled with smiles, and he was just about to say something when a muffled "thud" cut his words short.
With his keen hearing, he could naturally make out that, accompanying that muffled thud, there was also a dense series of bones snapping.
Barrett glanced suspiciously over his shoulder, only to see, at the very edge of the highest point of the stands, a little half-bottle of champagne sitting there, with a wine glass lying beside it, rolling along with a gurgle, until at last it too slid off the high platform and shattered to smithereens.
"Was that classmate who just fell off sleepwalking? Looks like they got hurt pretty badly?"
"It's fine."
Nicole's smile didn't fade: "Take a painful fall, and you'll naturally learn your lesson."
...
Lilith slowly came to, her eyes brimming with a holy, gentle light, her whole body warm all over.
She realized that her mentor had used life-system magic to heal her injuries.
Just as she was about to give thanks, Lilith suddenly heard a familiar chittering and chattering by her ear, and the next moment a force flung her into mid-air; after hanging there for half a second, she plunged hard back down.
"Aah!!"
Lilith snapped fully awake at once, flailing her arms and legs as she shrieked.
Luckily, she was spared the pain of landing on her bottom—the girls of Class Three, Year Two, caught her with a flurry of hands, and then, with remarkable coordination, all let out a coquettish cry of "heave-ho" at the same time, tossing her up into the air once more.
"We won!"
"Our priest class has a championship-team member now too!"
"Cause for celebration, cause for celebration!"
Clearly, Lilith was very popular in her class. The moment the outcome was settled and the dust cleared, Lucoa—who had been their opponent in the final round of the elimination bracket—led the charge onto the field, the girls following close behind to form a ring, ceaselessly tossing Lilith into the air, cheering and leaping for joy, leaving many a student staring wide-eyed.
One should understand that, across every year of the Magic Academy, Class Three represents "life-system magic," and is also the cradle of the priest class. Transcendents of this type have always been heavy on females and light on males, mostly healers… and so what you got to see was a crowd of girls, every one of them in white robes and white stockings, gentle and kindhearted in temperament, clustering Lilith in their center, repeating the motion of hoisting her up high.
It has to be said, the Magic Academy's class divisions really do have their cleverness to them. These lively, innocent little mage-maidens were not only each beautiful of face and kind of heart—when they moved, their figures rose and fell, all but spilling into view, so that on looks alone one was convinced they would go on to become outstanding priests. At this moment, pressed close together, they were like a troupe of well-nourished girl-brides draped in spotless white wedding gowns; beneath their swaying skirt hems were pure and enchanting white silk stockings, looking innocent yet not without a sprightly charm, weaving together into a scene both pleasing to the eye and heart-stoppingly striking—and this is precisely the origin of why every year's Class Three is dubbed the "Bride Class."
Mm—only the repeatedly tossed Miss Lilith looked a touch meager and shabby, dragging down the class average…
In the end, under Lilith's tooth-and-claw protests, the girls halted their celebratory ritual, and Lucoa caught her in a princess carry, her smile blossoming like a flower as she said:
"Congratulations, Lilith."
Because they were too big, Lilith couldn't quite see her smile clearly.
"Lilith won twice! Once when all the opponents fell, and once when her teammates fell."
"That's right! So what if there was a public confession? Wasn't it still Lilith who got carried one-handed through the whole final?"
"Bagging Miss Spell Encyclopedia at the start of term—Lilith, you did splendidly!"
"B-but I still think a triangle is more stable…"
Amid the laughter and cheer, the flushed-crimson Lilith shook her head with all her might, whimpering "oo, oo" as she dealt out a whipping to her classmates with her twin ponytails.
——A triangle is too sharp; a regular polygon is gentler, and the more sides it has, the closer it draws to the perfect circle...
The stepmother curled the corner of her mouth, and her gaze shifted onto Grace once more.
The short-haired teacher Ye Shu, who carried a literary married-woman's serene air about her, stroked Grace's head and congratulated her in an unhurried tone. Grace listened quietly, looking very well-behaved.
In a wretched childhood, only the affection and care her foster mother occasionally showed could bring Grace any warmth, which is why, faced with older women who treated her with genuine gentleness—Ms. Ye Shu, for instance, or Lady Annie—Grace would soften all over.
Li Fei's gaze, meanwhile, drifted toward the girlfriend at Ye Shu's side—the "North Star," Selene.
Faced with that smiling-eyed greeting, Selene remained cold as ice, looking right past Li Fei as though she weren't there.
This left Miss Top Courtesan, accustomed to Selene's gentle and radiant side, a little unaccustomed.
Looks like you really don't remember me, Miss Madwoman.
——But from now on, I'll make you unable to forget me.
Li Fei turned her head leisurely, bathing alone in countless burning gazes, and suddenly felt a touch listless.
She did not lack love, but she had no real friends, because friendship spoils all too easily—yet love, in the end, can never fully take the place of friendship.
"Kind of feel like a cola right now."
Li Fei chuckled softly and breezily left the field, returning to the lounge and digging out her phone.
Lifelong Champion at Turning Straight Girls Gay: I won!!! [Smug] [Smug] [Smug]
Even with Miss Spell Encyclopedia setting a gem of a standard beforehand, the runner-up showdown still didn't leave the spectators bored.
Klein's clutch piece of mass crowd-control stunned the whole arena; the Tentacles, carrying the Touch of Weakness effect, played a decisive role. Their assassin teammate also seized a fleeting opportunity, opening with a backstab that took out Zack, then joining forces in a fierce battle against Daniel and bringing him down at the cost of both being gravely wounded, before racing without pause to reinforce Kova, who was single-handedly holding off Alex, delivering a splendid clash of three heroes battling Lü Bu.
In the end, Alex reenacted Li Fei's feat of taking on three at once, winning a wretched victory while coughing up blood—though the gold content was lower by more than a notch, it could still be called splendid.
Three finals, nine team members, all displaying table-pounding brilliance—Zack excepted; he was either getting one-shot or on his way to being one-shot.
And the exchange event—prepared in intense, drumbeat fashion from the very start of term and watched by all—thus drew to a close.
The Three Mage-Maidens Squad claimed the crown with a 2:0 record, the Cleaver Squad took runner-up at 1:1, and the War-Rogue-Mage Squad placed third.
Such standings left people stunned. The originally unfavored pure-mage team, made up of two new students and one healer, shattered everyone's prediction that "making it out of the elimination rounds counts as success," advancing all the way with triumphant momentum, defeating many a formidable rival like Annesia, Kova, and Alex, taking the championship in an upset, and becoming the biggest dark horse of this event.
The Magic Academy, the Dean's office.
"Little sis, I've been in Loxibrook for a while now… Oh right, there's a matter I'm not sure I should bring up."
Barrett chatted Nicole up with a chuckle, and only once he felt the mood was about right did he shoot a glance toward Chloe.
Miss Angel fished out a proposal document and passed it into Nicole's hands.
Nicole took the document amiably, spread it open, and saw that it was filled with empty phrases like "cooperation brings mutual victory" and "advancing shoulder to shoulder." The core meaning was simply this: to allow students to be enrolled simultaneously in both the War Academy and the Magic Academy, holding dual student status.
There was precedent for such a thing. After all, the War Academy and the Magic Academy—two behemoths that all but monopolized the resources of Transcendent education—had always been of one branch, with competition and collaboration coexisting; for certain students of outstanding aptitude who genuinely possessed the potential for "dual cultivation of magic and martial arts," the upper echelons of the two schools would also negotiate and grant accommodations.
But in the past, such cases counted as special favors for special students, with no written regulation to support them. In terms of formal standing, the student still belonged to one particular academy, and the teaching resources they could obtain at the other academy were limited—nothing more than attending courses, perusing certain bits of knowledge, and so on; the latter's core resources would not be opened to them.
Barrett, evidently, intended to launch a "reform," using the Loxibrook branch as a pilot program, so that certain students would truly possess dual student status at both the War and Magic Academies, with the schools treating them equally and without discrimination.
Since branch deans hold a high degree of autonomy, and given Nicole's and Barrett's special standing, so long as they made the call to run a pilot program on their own little patch of turf, the Main Academy generally wouldn't interfere.
"A very pioneering proposal."
Nicole narrowed both eyes and said in a calm tone: "Lord Barrett has put thought into this."
"Not at all, not at all. It's the 'tuition reduction regulation' Lady Nicole established a while back that truly commands admiration—more than enough to feel the earnest, heartfelt care Your Excellency has for the students."
The bald Dean grinned in praise.
"Since Your Excellency has even prepared the document, then surely, for this dual-enrollment regulation, you already have candidates in mind?"
Nicole shifted the subject, inquiring in a gentle voice.
"Let me think…"
Barrett made a show of pondering for a while: "I think Classmate Grace would be quite excellent—not only is her spell foundation very solid, but her aptitude in the scouting system is also rather remarkable…"
"And who else?"
"Ah, Classmate Li Fei—there's no one more suitable than her. That battle-qi, that footwork, that ruthless streak, tsk tsk tsk…"
Barrett slapped his thigh, the dagger emerging as the map unrolled to its end.
"Why not transfer the Twin Stars over to your academy as well, to help Your Excellency return to the Main Academy all the sooner—how about it?"
"Hey, that'd be wonderful… ahem, no—Lady Nicole, you've misunderstood, that's not what I meant."
Faced with Nicole's benign smile, Barrett ultimately recalled the terror of being scorched by a fixed star.
"Cooperating with you isn't out of the question. But since we're to cooperate, we might as well go deeper."
Nicole seemed not to have noticed Barrett's odd reaction, unhurriedly laying out her conditions:
"I think certain Folded Spaces could entirely be opened to each other; the resources within would greatly benefit the students of both academies. For instance, the War Academy's D-53, D-62… C-09; and of course, our academy's D-07, D-41… would be opened to the War Academy as well. I wonder what your thoughts are?"
With each number Nicole spoke, the bald Dean's heart contracted once.
The conditions she laid out were not harsh, yet agreeing to them was by no means easy either—she had taken aim at several rather resource-rich C- and D-grade Folded Spaces, while steering clear of the truly core B-grade and even A-grade Folded Spaces, landing with precision right at Barrett's negotiation bottom line.
Barrett swiftly weighed the gains and losses.
With the Folded Spaces opened to each other, the War Academy's side would surely come out the loser—but at least Nicole had given a token bit of compensation.
If, on these terms, he could get Li Fei and Grace to join the War Academy… overall it should be a profit. Compared to low-grade Folded Spaces, outstanding teaching talent and student stock are what form the very foundation of the two great academies.
Beyond that, Barrett also genuinely wished to carry through his own ideals and bring about the cooperation of the two academies; he felt the benefits of this matter outweighed the harms.
And once the scales in his heart began to tip, one small private motive became the last straw swaying his decision—Barrett had been "farmed out" of the Main Academy on account of certain failings, and he needed "political achievements" to prove himself, to win back that breath of pride.
And was there any political achievement that could prove his teaching ability better than Li Fei?
In the span of a single instant, Barrett had his answer:
"No problem."
"Very good."
Nicole curled the corner of her mouth and added offhandedly: "Oh right, you're welcome to pick people from me, but I wouldn't want my students' mindsets to be affected by a sense of disparity when they go over to study at your place…"
"Rest assured on that."
Barrett caught the implication behind Nicole's words and slapped his chest, vowing with full-throated vigor: "Your students are my students! Whatever caliber of treatment they enjoy at the Magic Academy, once they come to me, it'll be the same treatment—not a hair's worth less!"
——Isn't it just two slots for silver-grade students? Does a trifle like that even need you to spell it out?
Seeing the cooperation sealed, the bald Dean let out a sigh of relief too, and couldn't help leaning back against the chair, whistling, the very picture of a man in a fine mood.
Although it was only a verbal promise, Barrett knew Nicole's way of doing things quite well. This seemingly gentle, intellectual woman had always been one to make good on her word, and those who dared to deceive her generally met with none-too-pleasant ends.
"Mr. Herbert."
Nicole turned her gaze to the old mage waiting off to the side, and said in an unhurried manner: "I will notify the Main Academy regarding Li Fei's promotion to gold-grade student. Once the paperwork is done, I'll tell her myself."
The two words "myself" were given a slight extra stress, evidently a reminder to a certain blonde female teacher slurping away at slime jelly not to leak internal decisions.
But the white-haired, white-bearded old mage's heart grew solemn, keenly sensing that what Nicole had said was "notify," not "apply."
Amid his surging emotions, Herbert nodded without changing his expression:
"Much obliged, Lady Dean."
"Wh-what? Gold-grade?"
The bald Dean was dumbstruck.
"Just as you see."
Nicole raised her teacup, a faint, maiden-like cheerful slyness in her voice: "Well then, here's to a pleasant cooperation, Lord Barrett."
____
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