Chapter 54: How Long is “Longer”?

Zheng Yichen did not notice a pair of eyes in the tavern watching him with a hint of curiosity. He never discovered the owner of those eyes, even when he left the tavern.

After leaving the tavern and returning to his residence in Sta City, Zheng Yichen directly left the Necromantic Body. He dragged it and threw it like trash into the Necromantic Teleportation Array set up there. Activating the array simply teleported the body to its linked destination, a very clean and environmentally friendly way to handle it.

Not long after, the Necromantic Teleportation Array activated again, and a Ghost Maid jumped out from it.

“Oh, I’ll go back soon,” Zheng Yichen said, waving his hand at the Ghost Maid, who was conveying a message. “I discovered a strange place today, and I wanted to ask Loris about it.”

——What question?

The Ghost Maid tilted her head slightly, very simply expressing her meaning.

“Hmm, a very strange tavern. I’ll talk about it when I get back.”

The Ghost Maid nodded and walked back into the Necromantic Teleportation Array behind her, disappearing from the residence. They could appear and vanish freely in the castle because the entire castle was covered by a Necromantic Teleportation Array.

The Necromantic Teleportation Arrays there were hundreds of times more advanced than the super-basic, single-target version Zheng Yichen had created. Under the effect of the castle’s Necromantic Teleportation Array, the Ghost Maids could appear anywhere within the castle where they were allowed to be at any time.

“How was today’s match?” Zheng Yichen asked Petty when she returned.

“I won!” Petty said quite happily. This was not surprising. The combat power of first-year summoning students was practically negligible.

When Zheng Yichen spread the Magic Weapon Summoning Book, he specifically avoided them. Though it seemed like cheating, it was clearly better not to aid the enemy. With the unrestricted suppression from Magic Arms, it wasn’t strange for Petty to win!

“Too bad you weren’t there, Connor.”

“It’s okay, hearing the result is enough for me,” Zheng Yichen waved his hand, indicating he didn’t mind missing the process. “Will you continue tomorrow?”

“Mhm… I already passed the elimination round,” Petty nodded, explaining her current situation. Today’s matches were mainly to select the most outstanding students from each department, allowing them to qualify for advancement. Of course, today’s matches were primarily battles between students in the same class.

Tomorrow, the class restrictions would be lifted, turning into competitions within the same department. On the third day, the departmental restrictions would be removed, and the winning students from each department would compete in the finals. The ultimate winner would receive the championship prize! There were several champions, corresponding to different grades.

The prizes for the annual Olin Academy championship were quite precious. After all, it was a competition held only once a year, so the rewards couldn’t be too shabby.

“Well then… good luck.”

Petty slightly opened her mouth. She really wanted Zheng Yichen to watch her match, but she was just an ordinary student. Even if her performance this time was relatively excellent, it was only within her own grade. In the whole Academy, she was very ordinary.

She hadn’t used any extra Magic Arms in this fight, basically just using Low-level Magic Weapons, which was very common. Any Magic Weapon Summoner could do the same.

She planned to use Intermediate Magic Weapons during the final match to give herself a better chance of winning. She had only studied Martial Arts for two months. Even with great effort, she couldn’t compare to others who had studied for several years. Therefore, Intermediate Magic Weapons could only be used as her trump card.

“I will definitely win,” she said with a firm tone. Zheng Yichen’s presence allowed her to accumulate Mana at the maximum rate every day. In just over two months, she had already exceeded the results of more than half a year of training. She could use all the Magic Arms in the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. If used appropriately, Intermediate Magic Weapons could help her counter Mages and Warriors!

Back at the Castle, Zheng Yichen told Loris about the situation he learned at the tavern today. After listening, the pseudo-loli calmly replied… don’t mind it.

Um, waiting for more details, Zheng Yichen saw she didn’t intend to say more and couldn’t help scratching his head. “Is the situation there related to some kind of Magic?”

“Mhm, not something harmful,” Loris nodded gently. Zheng Yichen quickly flipped through the Magical Grimoire but didn’t find any related types of Magic. He looked at her again, puzzled.

“Although Bona Kaine’s Magic Book records many spells, some things aren’t something its creator could know about, such as Arcane Arts.”

“Arcane Arts, huh…” Understanding, Zheng Yichen put away the Magical Grimoire. Magic was manageable; as long as you put in effort or paid some price, you could obtain it, even if it wasn’t widely circulated. Arcane Arts were different; they were destined not to be known by too many people. Even if you knew the name and effect, the core certainly wouldn’t be leaked.

If the Magical Grimoire really recorded many Arcane Arts, its author probably wouldn’t have peace afterward. Knowing the secrets of so many others’ unique Arcane Arts, those people would never allow such a person to keep living. The strength and uniqueness of Arcane Arts lay in their secrecy. Once the secret was leaked, some might not even compare to ordinary Magic.

“In short, it’s fine to go there, but don’t try to uncover its secrets.”

“Understood.” Seeing that Loris didn’t intend to explain in detail, Zheng Yichen didn’t press further. Since she said so, that place probably wasn’t dangerous. After all, the feeling in that Mysterious Tavern was really comfortable and memorable, yet it didn’t make him want to become addicted.

As long as he just acted as a customer there, nothing should happen.

“…Also, I need to go out for a while. It will be longer.” After the meal, Loris suddenly said to Zheng Yichen.

“Huh? How long?” Zheng Yichen’s mouth twitched. For ordinary people, “longer” might mean ten days, half a month, or half a year. For Longevity Species, “longer”… was a bit frightening.

Zheng Yichen hadn’t yet adapted to the life of Longevity Species. He felt every day was very interesting, not having the mindset of using years and months like days.

“About half a year,” she glanced at Zheng Yichen. “During this time, if you stay here, nothing will happen to you.”

Trouble? What trouble could there be? There were over seventy powerful Wraiths here who had Reached the Tier. Who would come here to make things difficult for themselves? But… Loris suddenly leaving made Zheng Yichen feel a bit uncomfortable now.