Self-reliance

...It seems that this old man is indeed obsessed with research.

Looking around, there is no longer any detailed division of areas in the entire room.

Or perhaps, there should have been some, but all places, such as the aisles, beds, and windowsills, were all covered with layers of books and materials pouring out of the desks, so that it was impossible to tell what these places were originally used for.

Maybe people who are focused on their work are just so casual... It feels like the owner of this room can pick up a piece of parchment and continue writing and drawing wherever he goes.

"Haha, some magicians are like this. They are so busy researching that they don't bother to clean up."

Ruixia seemed to understand and wondered if his sister had ever acted like this before.

After each of them found a place to stay and entered the house, they closed the door and prepared to carefully look through the list of tasks given to them by the old man.

As a result, as soon as Ruixia opened it, her hand seemed to be hit by a huge force - the scroll did not completely fall out of her hand, but the falling end bounced rhythmically on the ground, and then rolled away for a long distance.

It was not until it was blocked by the opposite wall that the three of them reacted and showed their most shocked expressions to varying degrees.

"No, no... Is he crazy?! This is called 'getting some information down'? This is basically asking us to move the room directly to him! - No, this is too uneconomical. Ruixia, you must bargain with him later. Don't think you can get rid of us with such a small reward for such a huge workload!"

Morena was indignant, but because there was too much debris on the ground, she couldn't even take big steps. She could only take small steps and wave her stick furiously on the spot.

The two of them, who knew her personality very well, knew that she would come to help after complaining, so they just smiled at each other, turned around and rolled back the list that had been ejected.

"Those with this kind of markings should be put together, and those with that kind of bookmarks should be sorted separately. And what else is there... Oh, 'Analysis and Simplification of Sealing Techniques'. So that old senior also studied this. No wonder he was asked to keep the spare key..."

Ruixia was even watching with some interest, and Ximu seemed to have noticed something.

"……Happy?"

"Um?"

Ruixia blinked, and it took her a moment to react. She scratched her cheek sheepishly, "Not really. It's just that compared to fighting and killing, I really prefer dealing with these simple tasks that can be completed with enough patience."

"You call this simple?"

Morina pointed at the incredibly long scroll in astonishment, then spread her hands to indicate the information in the whole room, with an astonished expression as if to say, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"A machinist has to remember a lot more than that. Besides, everyone in my family is always this messy when they're busy. My father and I are responsible for cleaning up. I'm used to it."

Ruixia was smiling and looked confident. It seemed that she was really used to tidying up.

Is that so…?

Seeing his luxurious clothes and lavish spending, Ximu and Moli Na had always assumed that he was the kind of rich second generation who came out to experience life. They didn't expect that he could not only do these chores, but also seemed to have a family background in learning them. It was really unbelievable.

Seeing that they looked unconvinced, Ruixia did not explain much. She just released the "swarm" to set up the formation, and started to fight with the scroll in her hand.

"This, this, this... put it here. That one, yes, Ximu, is the one at your feet. Just put it on the area to your left. Molina, you put that document in the wrong place. Forget it, I'll clean it up. You can help Ximu sort out the pile on the windowsill..."

With such clear instructions, the house that seemed impossible to clean up before gradually began to reveal its original appearance.

Gazing at the gradually increasing, orderly stacks of "book mountains," Molina felt a sense of accomplishment, but she couldn't help but question, "Wait a minute...isn't that old man just focused on making demands without considering how we're supposed to transport all this stuff down there?"

Each of these piles of classified information is taller than a person. Even if they are transported down one by one by manpower, how to cross the water under the rock wall is indeed a problem.

"He said this was a commission, so he meant for us to solve this problem."

Ruixia sorted and put away the last stack of parchment in her hand, dusted off her hands, and sat down on the tall mountain of books to rest for a while.

"Can't you just put it in your bag and take it with you?"

Ximu's proposal made sense, but Ruixia smiled wryly and shook her head, saying, "Although my backpack can indeed hold more things than its actual area, it is also limited... If there were nothing inside, I might be able to give it a try, but I'm afraid it's not possible right now."

The things in his bag were all real materials, such as potions, scrolls, magic crystals, etc. These had to be readily available if needed during battle, and it was impossible for them to be taken out and put somewhere else.

"Actually, I've already thought about it."

Having said that, he slowly stood up and carefully moved down from the mountain of information.

"Based on previous experience, mechanical artifacts won't simply vanish into thin air after we defeat them... So, why don't we just modify the existing mechanical dolls? And since we have a vacant room right now, wouldn't it be great?"

While Morina was wondering, Ximu had already heard the noise - she looked at Ruixia, and after seeing the latter nod, she walked to the door and opened it silently.

The combat puppets that they had dealt with earlier had now all come out of the door in an orderly manner.

Not only those that were intact, but also some that were broken were now carried or dragged over by other companions, so it can be said that none were left behind.

"...You mechanics are truly terrifying."

Morina's complaints are never late.

"We are one family, there is nothing to be afraid of."

Ruixia waved her hand and called some of them into the house, while the rest continued to wait at the door.

"Their style isn't very suitable for carrying things, so I need to modify them a bit...and the sofa and bed are vacant now, so you guys can rest for a while."

"It's not nice to just sit on someone else's bed."

Having said that, it was clear that Morina had no respect for the old man who evaded the important issues and tricked people into taking risks. As soon as she finished speaking, she sat down on his bed.

For Ximu, not entering combat mode was equivalent to resting, so at this moment, she felt that she was in good condition, so she suggested to Ruixia: "Why don't I go outside and take a look at the situation in other places?"

Ruixia, who was sitting among a pile of spare parts in an instant, raised her head, looked at Ximu, then looked at Molina, and finally shook her head.

"...Let's forget it. This place is treacherous. It's too dangerous to go out alone. Morina can't help you much either."

"Hey, you're still sitting here, who are you talking about?"

The two chatted back and forth for a while, but seeing that they hadn't reached a consensus and neither was willing to give in, Ximu finally gave up the idea for the sake of team harmony.

In reality, she wanted to take this opportunity to test the extent of her magic power's recovery, and then, under the pretext of exploring the terrain, to carefully locate the "sight" that was constantly directed towards her...

never mind.

If they continued to ask questions, she wouldn't know how to answer.

Anyway, from what Ruixia said, the academy is not affected by the mysterious magic circle, so they will definitely find a way to come back later, and there is no need to rush.

"But then again, that strange old man you mentioned, does he know that everyone in the academy has mutated?"

Once she had nothing to do, Molina's mouth naturally couldn't be idle. Ximu leaned against the window, looking at the inner courtyard in the night, while thinking about this problem.

Although they have only passed through the supply area and dormitory building so far and dare not make too many assertions, but so far, the "people" they have encountered have all been monsters that cannot communicate.

They are like a group of ghosts being gradually forgotten by time. They know that they should be individuals, but have long forgotten their specific appearance. They can only keep piecing themselves together and adjusting themselves, but can never return to the state they should be.

The old man had mentioned that the academy was experiencing chaos and no one would notice their entry.

Based on the story he told them, they naturally thought that because the school had entered a state of war, there might be some conflicts between teachers and students from different factions in the academy. This chaos referred to as "management chaos", which was why they neglected to check on outsiders.

But ever since they got off the waterwheel, strange things have basically never stopped happening.

The huge discrepancy between what the naked eye sees and what is recorded on mechanical instruments, the fragmented "auditory hallucination" phenomenon, the disheveled magician who seems to be cursed... Something even more terrifying must have happened in this magic academy, which ultimately resulted in such an abnormal and bizarre appearance.

"But what good would it do him to kill us?"

Ruixia, who was busy working nearby, heard their discussion and naturally joined in the conversation.

In fact, every time we talk about that weird old magician, we can't avoid these questions.

If he knew the danger here but didn't mention it at all, and only tricked them in to retrieve valuable information, then at best he was selfish and had a simple character problem;

If he has some other hidden purpose, then there is a lot of room for interpretation.

"Why not? Maybe he's in league with the mastermind behind that dense forest? Seeing that the monsters in that forest can't do anything to us, we might as well take advantage of them...ah."

Morina noticed the contradiction halfway through her speech.

If that were the case, he shouldn't have shown up.

Because when they arrived, the entire academy had been sealed. As long as there was no other way out, they would still be trapped and killed in the forest. There was no need to do anything extra.

He put them in the academy, which actually gave them some buffer time.

Is this old man who suddenly appeared an enemy or a friend?