Yize’s mind was screaming: He was afraid of dying! He was truly terrified of dying!
That territory, where even the empire’s heavy-defense families had been annihilated by a massacre of monsters, was obviously a deadly tiger’s den just thinking about it.
All he wanted was to hide away safely in Starlight Academy until the end of his days; he had no desire to get involved.
It seemed Claire had already anticipated his refusal, and her tone allowed for no argument: “Your senior sister Sarah is far away at Liyue Academy taking her advanced magic examination, and Senior Dio is in seclusion honing his martial skills, so neither can help at this crucial moment.”
She paused, her gaze scrutinizing Yize: “This investigation into the Raymond Territory is a joint mission issued to all the academies by the Empire. According to regulations, each academy must send a student with a proper identity, someone who can represent the academy’s reputation. Swan is your direct junior disciple, so in every respect, sending you shows just how seriously Starlight Academy takes this matter. With your identity, you’re the most suitable.”
Yize groaned inwardly, trying one last time to struggle: “Teacher, how am I even presentable? In terms of strength, I’m not even sure I’ll pass the graduation exam; in terms of reputation, hardly anyone in the academy even knows me… Such an important task, shouldn’t you discuss with the other teachers and send a more outstanding direct disciple instead?”
Claire’s beautiful eyes widened, carrying an innate authority: “If I say you’re presentable, then you are! As my disciple, that’s the most significant identity card you have! Starlight Academy’s attitude must be clear; this is about your junior’s deep blood grudge, and we must not take it lightly. You are the most appropriate person to go.”
At this point, Yize understood there was no more room to maneuver.
What made his heart sink even further was the person assigned to go with him—Senior Emma. She had already mastered third-rank magic, but her specialty was in healing and enhancement spells. [Healing magic is extremely difficult to learn and requires a rare affinity for the light attribute.] This was clearly a pure support role.
And what about Yize himself? He was just someone who had barely grasped basic second-rank spells and knew nothing about martial skills—a complete slacker. One support, one slacker—not even a decent main attacker. In this world where strength reigns supreme, let alone facing monsters, even if they ran into students from other academies, they’d only be beaten up.
Seeing Yize’s expression as if he’d lost a loved one and had no will to live, Claire finally softened her tone and added, “You don’t need to worry too much; you two won’t be alone. The academy will send another teacher’s direct disciple to go with you.”
“Who?” Yize latched onto this like a drowning man grabbing a life-saving straw.
“Luke.” Claire said the name, then habitually criticized Yize, “Look at Luke—he entered the academy later than you, but he’s already a third-rank mage and tops every exam in his class. And you? You muddle through every day, doing nothing but sleep or slack off. Do you have even an ounce of ambition?”
Yize didn’t mind her disdain at all, instead climbing up the pole, “Teacher, your criticism is absolutely right! I’m hopeless—definitely a rotten log that can’t be carved. If I go, I’ll only embarrass the academy and you. For the honor of Starlight, let’s pick someone else, shall we? There are so many talents here; surely there’s someone a hundred times more suitable than me!”
Claire ignored his self-deprecation and delivered the final order: “You’ll pass through several noble territories on your way to the old Raymond estate. You’re a commoner and don’t know noble etiquette, so for all matters on the road, you must follow Emma’s arrangements. Do not lose face for the academy or become a laughingstock.”
Yize: “……” He felt like a duck being forced onto a rack—no matter how much he flapped, he couldn’t escape his fate.
Just as he was racking his brains, hoping for one last chance, that damned system notification sounded in his mind again:
[God-Level Choice System at your service. Please make an appropriate choice as soon as possible, Host.]
[Choice 1: Keep making excuses. Difficulty: S. Reward for completion: +10 Protagonist Points]
[Choice 2: Roar angrily, “I’m not going! What can you do to me?” Difficulty: S. Reward for completion: +10 Villain Points]
[Choice 3: Say respectfully, “Yes, Teacher, I’ll take care of it.” Difficulty: E. Reward for completion: +10 NPC Points]
The system’s judgment of difficulty was never wrong.
Yize instantly changed his expression, straightening his chest, his face breaking into a look of utmost reliability. His voice was firm and powerful, full of the air of someone saying, “If not me, who else?” “Yes, Teacher! Rest assured, I’ll handle this! I guarantee the mission will be accomplished—I won’t betray your trust!”
Claire: “……” His change of face was so fast she was at a loss for words for a moment.
Yize trusted the system’s judgment completely.
An S-rank difficulty meant that if he resisted any longer, Claire might kick him out of the sect on the spot in a fit of rage.
See? This world was full of malice—even the relationship between master and disciple was so fragile that they could become enemies at any moment.
At last, Claire showed a satisfied expression and waved her hand at Yize and Emma, who stood quietly beside him, “Alright, you two go prepare. I have a few more words to say to Swan.”
As if receiving a royal pardon, Yize almost stumbled out of the dean’s office.
Only when the heavy wooden door closed behind him did he let out a long breath, but his nerves didn’t relax for a moment—the earlier system notification had shown a D-rank risk, meaning the danger wasn’t over yet.
His first instinct was to rush straight to the boys’ dorm and lock whatever pitiful sense of security he had behind his door. However, someone was even faster than him.
A cool and aloof figure, as precise as a sharpened ice pick, blocked his path without a sound.
“Junior Yize,” Emma’s voice was calm but carried a penetrating chill, “are you… very afraid of me?”
Yize subconsciously lowered his head, not daring to meet her gaze. His eyes just happened to fall on the crisp lines of her uniform, making him even more nervous as he mumbled, “Senior Emma… you, you wanted to see me for something?”
Emma let out a soft snort through her nose, her tone suddenly turning sarcastic, “Junior Yize, don’t you think it’s odd? Starlight Academy isn’t that big or that small. You’re a living, breathing person, not in hiding, not vanished, yet in two or three years, I’ve never ‘run into’ you once. Isn’t that probability a little too low?”
“Heh… maybe, maybe it’s just… fate hasn’t brought us together yet?” Yize gave a forced laugh, his back soaked in cold sweat. Of course he’d been intentionally avoiding Emma. There was no other reason—just pure awkwardness.
Ever since he became Claire’s disciple, Yize had treated “keeping a low profile to survive” as his golden rule. With “average” talent, he kept his head down and almost never got involved with the other brilliant direct disciples.
Take Senior Sister Sarah, for example—not only was she acknowledged as the top student of Starlight Academy, with unmatched strength, but she also possessed a stunning beauty that made her unforgettable wherever she went. More importantly, she was one of the heroines you could romance in [Epoch] the game! Let alone the main heroine—Yize didn’t even dare get close to any important supporting characters who might affect the plot. Besides, noble students who admired Sarah were as countless as the fish in a river. As her closest junior, Yize was always watched by countless eyes in the dark; he naturally kept his distance whenever he could.
Other senior brothers and sisters also had extraordinary backgrounds, all swept up in the whirlpool of fate. To avoid being caught up in a possible “plot kill,” Yize made a habit of keeping a respectful distance from everyone.
As for his “grudge” with the Emma standing before him, that went back two or three years…
Back then, Yize had already been surviving in the academy for a while, and thanks to some randomly assigned talent points from the system, he’d made a bit of insignificant progress.
The system provided all sorts of points for distribution, not just basic stats like attack, defense, magic, spirit, and constitution, but also professional skills like potion-making, poison-crafting, forging, and barrier formation.
During that period, luck seemed particularly “fond” of potion and poison skills, with several random points landing in those columns. The subtle feeling from the stat boosts and an itch to experiment made him eager to put his insights into practice.
The academy had various skill labs. After all, not every noble scion had exceptional talent in magic or martial arts—learning skills like potion-making or forging was another way to contribute to their families.
With his identity as the dean’s direct disciple (even if he was a loser), Yize had no trouble borrowing a fully-equipped potion lab.
Coincidentally, Senior Emma was also interested and talented in potion-making and toxicology—skills that suited her role as a support mage. Since they were both under the dean, their potion labs were assigned close together, so “accidental” encounters were inevitable.
Until that day, when Yize, as usual, was studying the standard potion formula provided by the academy and, struck by sudden inspiration, started making what he thought were genius improvements. Fearing his ideas might slip away, he jotted down modifications directly on the precious original blueprint.
Just as he finished and was about to leave in satisfaction, he overheard a stifled conversation between two women from the neighboring lab.
Out of pure human curiosity, he found himself eavesdropping by the half-open window…
Inside were none other than Senior Emma and their potion instructor, Ms. Isha.
And their following conversation was explosive.
Ms. Isha’s face was icy as she said to Emma, “It’s my problem. After thinking it over, I still feel we’re… not really suited for each other. So, let’s part ways.”