Chapter 77
After Lortheran marched north and conquered what is now Angara County, he began preparations to establish a kingdom.
However, the demons were causing trouble in the south, forcing him to put these matters aside and once again lead his army north to resist them. At that time, Lortheran was advancing triumphantly, and with Veris not by his side, although some of his men reminded him not to be too arrogant and complacent, Lortheran did not listen.
The cost was the loss of an elite force, as well as his comrade-in-arms, the elf Hill.
This devastating loss dealt a heavy blow to Lortheran, but he quickly rallied. Filled with rage, he personally led his army to sweep through the Demon King's Forest and descend into the Demon King's Abyss. There, he fought a great battle with the Demon King Vesper and sealed him away in the Frost Cavern at the very bottom of the Demon King's Abyss.
If he hadn't been exhausted, he would have killed Vesper!
After the establishment of the new kingdom, more things followed, and Lortheran's plan to take revenge on Vesper was repeatedly delayed. He also couldn't reopen the seal, so he had to let it go.
The demons are leaderless, and if they cause further chaos, the northern region cannot withstand any more turmoil.
This was the result of a ruler's careful consideration.
Lortheran loathed the demons to the extreme, and it has only weakened over the years.
When Veris sent him the message, he was also unsure of Veris's attitude.
Garcia found Lortheran a clean and legitimate identity, even though everyone knew that the man on the throne was almost certainly not a legitimate member of the royal family.
But who cares?
The old prime minister was the first to bow down and submit, followed by the officers in charge of the guards. Among the remaining ministers, many were related to the former royal family. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, they reluctantly accepted it.
What else could they do? They jumped out, pointed at the man who exuded an imposing and powerful aura without anger, and said, "You are of inferior royal blood and should not be on this noble throne. The one who should be sitting on the throne is the late king's only surviving child."
However, when this example is given, it is already known that someone has done so.
The late Queen's brother, Duke Serenfini, has been quite agitated lately, probably because the shock of his sister becoming a criminal has been too great for him. Previously, everyone always praised the youngest duke as a promising young man, polite, with a clear sense of right and wrong, and fiercely opposed to evil.
But why isn't he still so fiercely opposed to evil now? It's an undeniable fact that his sister poisoned so many people.
Duke Serinfini went to Garcia to plead his case, but Garcia waved him away, telling him to go back or he would be dealt with as well.
Regardless of the queen's intentions, there were witnesses and physical evidence, and she herself confessed to the crime. It was common knowledge that the king ordered the queen's execution after waking up.
What grievance could there be? Go tell the other innocent members of the royal family.
Serinfini was like an unkillable rat, constantly sidling up to the Prince's residence. Eventually, Garcia got annoyed and said coldly, "Your Excellency Duke Serinfini, if it were before, you were my sister-in-law's brother, and we would have been good friends. But now, your sister has poisoned so many of my relatives. We are now sworn enemies."
"His Majesty the King has secretly issued a decree that if it weren't for your father's great contributions to the kingdom, you would absolutely not have been able to keep your dukedom."
These words caused Duke Serinfini's young face to flush red and then pale, and he finally walked out of the Prince's mansion in defeat.
However, Duke Serenfini was not discouraged. Instead, for some unknown reason, he reached into the palace and first had someone instigate the young prince, and then spread rumors in the palace that the young prince was the next king.
Duke Serinfini would never have survived this long if Garcia and Lortheran hadn't been too busy dealing with him.
Garcia might have only threatened to strip him of his title, but Lortheran was far less lenient.
He frequently beat and scolded his descendants, and even considered it a blessing for the royal family and people to die if they were not talented. In his later years, he became even more ruthless. If court officials, nobles, or even families related to one of his sons by marriage offended this king, they would all face the same fate—death.
Lortheran had secretly set up an assassination agency, but it was discovered by Veris in less than half a month. Veris berated Lortheran and, upon questioning him, revealed that he had killed quite a few people in the past two weeks. Veris was deeply troubled.
"If you do something despicable, you're dead! Those who can't think straight deserve to die even more!" The old man said confidently, showing the kind of willful and reckless behavior one has in old age.
After his resurrection, Lortheran became more restrained. Perhaps it was the youthfulness of his body that made his temper more youthful. Therefore, he did not immediately deal with Duke Serenfini, but instead turned his blade on certain ministers of the court.
After thoroughly disciplining the ministers—demoting some, transferring others away from the capital, imprisoning others, and executing others—the focus naturally shifted to the erratic Duke Serinfini.
Just as Lortheran was about to crush this arrogant brat, an urgent secret letter from the High Papacy disrupted his plans.
After reading the letter, Lortheran's first reaction was not anger, but excitement. He never thought that after so many years, he would have the chance to personally deal with the demons.
He hadn't led troops into battle for a long time. After gaining power, he frequently visited military camps. However, the army now was completely different from before, and its appearance was much better than those of the past.
After the initial excitement subsided, Lortheran summoned his ministers to discuss how to handle the rebellion.
Phoenix County is separated from the capital of Lortheran by the entire counties of Salem and Angara. The army must cross these two counties to reach Phoenix, but whether it can fully enter Salem or Angara is highly uncertain.
The ministers immediately started arguing.
The changes in the royal palace did not affect the Royal Academy, which was located dozens of miles away.
The new students have been in school for a while now, and the trip to the secret realm has left a shadow on almost everyone. We have to arrange for the church's pastor to comfort these young people.
Many people are like flowers grown in a greenhouse; it's normal for them to feel fear when suddenly confronted with murder.
When Arnold and the others officially become students of the Royal Capital Academy, these new students will have only been taking classes for less than two weeks and will soon be able to catch up.
As the final victors of the secret realm, Arnold and his companions naturally attracted the attention of countless people. As soon as they entered their respective academies, especially since they were led by senior students, they immediately drew everyone's gaze.
However, most of those gazes were scrutinizing and wary, with very few friendly ones.
The second-year students, of course, noticed the stares. The second-year student leading Arnold was a boy with gray curly hair. After leading him to the relatively deserted dormitory area, he whispered to Arnold:
"I heard from the deans that you came from Mercury?"
Arnold nodded: "Yes."
The boy frowned slightly and said, "Then you should be careful. Many students look down on people from outside the 11th district, and..." He hesitated for a moment, but continued, "...commoners."
The training of a pharmacist undoubtedly requires a large amount of resources. Many students in the Pharmacy Academy are either rich or noble, followed by those in the Alchemy Academy and the Warrior Academy.
The magic academy, which seems unattainable to outsiders, actually has the best atmosphere. This is because magicians cannot be forcibly created by money or magic potions; it is an innate talent. The students at the magic academy come from all walks of life, and everyone gets along very well.
—Compared to other colleges.
The magic academy has only a few hundred students, while the academy of potions has over a thousand.
Arnold frowned slightly after hearing this; it was the first time he had encountered such a situation.
Seeing his expression, the boy quickly waved his hand to comfort him, saying, "Just avoid dealing with those guys who look down on people. You don't have many general classes, and Dean Riveren is highly respected in the academy. They wouldn't dare to mess with you easily, right?"
He spoke with a hint of uncertainty.
Arnold looked at him, and he smiled sheepishly, saying, "Dean Riveren doesn't actually spend much time at the academy. He's the Archbishop of the Papacy and in charge of church affairs in the Fourth District, so he's very busy on weekdays."
"Once this semester is over, you can apply to study under Dean Riveren, just like Temir."
Arnold's eyes widened in astonishment. He heard an unfamiliar name and couldn't help but ask who it was.
The gray-haired boy explained, "Temir is my classmate and also Dean Riveren's student. I heard he's the heir. He hasn't been at the academy since last fall and has been studying with Dean Riveren. We have a good relationship. He spends the winters in the fourth district and is also involved in church affairs."
This is where Riveren's advantage lies: as long as a student catches his eye and possesses talent and good character, he is willing to take them under his wing to learn. As an archbishop, and with the Fourth District under his jurisdiction being close to the capital, he can travel back and forth in a day.
His students only need to complete the first semester of the first year of general education courses, and they can leave the academy in the second semester. During their time studying with Rivelen, they begin to get involved in church affairs. Once they finish their studies at the Royal Academy, they can seamlessly enter the church and take up positions no lower than priests. Because of the archbishop's recommendation, their promotion speed is very fast.
Arnold understood. This was a program that not only guided his pharmacy studies but also guaranteed him a job after graduation. Moreover, the job was very stable, with rapid promotions—it was practically a golden road!
The boy was excited.
He could already see a bright future beckoning to him!
The dormitories in the School of Pharmacy are divided into different grades, but this is not related to money; rather, they are designed by the instructors.
These rankings, of course, are also internal rankings among the students.
For example, if a certain professor has strange aesthetics and the dormitory design is extremely unreasonable, the students assigned to such dormitories will keep quiet and never say a word.
When the next batch of freshmen arrives, they will be unaware of such an insignificant matter, and will continue to be shocked by this terrible aesthetic design, silently ruining the next batch of students.
However, some professors simply throw money at the problem, decorating the dormitories in a lavish and opulent style.
Riveren's dormitory design is fairly standard, with two people sharing a room and a bathroom, along with a shared living room and a small laboratory.
It's called a small laboratory, but it's still a size bigger than a living room. There are two sets of experimental equipment. This building is the dormitory for Riviren students, and each floor also has a spare room for laboratory equipment.
The laboratory is engraved with various magic circles, with flowing light appearing and disappearing, to protect students in case of experimental explosions or other accidents.
"What? The research potion can explode?" Arnold was shocked.
The boy's expression was strange: "Generally speaking, it won't happen, but some students minor in alchemy and like to add all sorts of random things... Of course, there are precedents for this design, so you don't need to worry."
He patted Arnold on the shoulder: "You should be secretly happy. I heard that the magic circles in these dormitories and laboratories were designed by Dean Riveren after he shamelessly begged the Pope to design them himself. Then, they were copied down one by one and the Dean of the Magic Academy was asked to carve them onto the walls."
Arnold listened to his words, his mouth agape in shock, and he felt a surge of excitement once again for having chosen Riveren. This was such a wonderful opportunity!
There are a total of eighteen magic circles in the laboratory. Each magic circle is interconnected, forming a magic circle cluster, which can perform many functions.
Although Riviren's dormitory design was rather conventional, none of the pharmacists were poor, especially the teachers.
Having slept for a long time on wooden plank beds, open grass, or stones in the secret realm, Arnold was moved to tears when he saw the soft and warm bed in the bright bedroom.
Forget about being ostracized by other students; Arnold felt that he would be happy to get a beating for it.
I wonder how the other companions are doing.
Magic Academy.
Murphy stood in the luxurious and exquisite dormitory and couldn't help but be shocked.
Even if everything else is one thing, those dozen or so staffs hanging on the wall are just too exaggerated, aren't they?
The second-year student who brought him was clearly seeing them for the first time as well, and was even more shocked than him, stammering, "My god! Those, those are seventh-tier magic staffs! More than a dozen of them—"
"When did the dean become so rich?!"
Murphy blinked, composed himself slightly, and said, "I am not Dean Copperfield's student."
"What?"
The second-year student was taken aback. He only knew that he had taken the freshman to the separate building next to Dean Copperfield's student dormitory, and he assumed that the freshman was also Dean Copperfield's student.
Thinking about it, he took a few steps back and looked at the nameplate hanging at the door.
—Mentor: Vice Dean of Orlando
—Year: Orlando 288.
"My God! You're actually a student of His Holiness the Pope! No wonder this place is so luxurious!" The second-year student was shocked. He knew that Dean Copperfield, that miser, would never be willing to put so many wands in the student dormitory!
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something and pointed to the ceiling: "Then upstairs, that should be the Holy Son's dormitory."
Upon hearing this, Murphy's smile faded slightly, and he simply nodded.
The second-year student was very talkative, but he didn't dare to wander around the dormitory. He waited outside until Murphy finished his tour before offering to take him for a walk around the magic academy.
"I just remembered something I heard before. The Holy Son is a year ahead of us, the same age as the current third-year students, but he finished his courses ahead of time, so he will graduate next month along with the seniors from other grades."
"I heard that when he first enrolled, some people looked down on him... those snobbish guys from the Pharmacy Academy. There are no academy boundaries in the dormitory area, only gender divisions, so some people came to the Holy Son's dormitory to do bad things."
The second-year student said excitedly, "I didn't expect it to be here. I heard that those people were all nobles from the capital. When they first stepped into this building, nothing happened. But when they arrived at the Holy Son's dormitory, they were trying to pry open the door when they triggered the door's protective array and were burned half to death on the spot."
His life was forcibly saved by a second magic circle. When the Holy Son returned from get out of class that night, he saw several people lying at the entrance of his dormitory. He frowned and notified Dean Copperfield, and then notified the Academy's Dean Soldas.
Upon hearing this, the two were not only shocked, but almost collapsed to the ground.
They rushed to the Pope's students' private building, where a large number of students had already gathered. The students from the Pharmacy Academy were even pointing at the Holy Son and cursing him.
At that moment, Soldas and Copperfield seemed to see their own deaths.
While Soldas sent a message ordering the Dean of the Academy of Pharmacy to come over, he also ordered his men to arrest these lawless noble young men. Meanwhile, Copperfield rubbed his hands together lewdly and asked the Holy Son if he was frightened.
The moment the title "Holy Son" was uttered, the arrogant young noblemen present were stunned into silence.
This person from this remote border county is actually the Holy Son?! How is that possible—
Sylvain, the Holy Son, stood quietly to one side, watching Soldas order his men to remove the rotting flesh lying at the entrance of his dormitory, his eyes calm and brooding.
Copperfield's heart pounded when he saw this.
Those who knew about the plan, sensing something was wrong, spilled everything out.
Soldas glared at the dean of the academy of Pharmacy, his face serious, and asked the Holy Son if he was injured.
Sylvain raised his eyes and smiled slightly: "I'm fine. I won't tell Father about what happened today."
Upon hearing this, all the deans present breathed a sigh of relief, except for Copperfield, whose face turned even uglier.
He said with a mournful face, "Why don't you tell us, Your Majesty?"
Sylvain replied gently, "It's nothing, how could I possibly bother Father?"
If we don't tell His Holiness the Pope, do you think he won't know? If His Holiness finds out on his own, the consequences will be much more serious.
Copperfield understood that this young prince, though not old, was someone whom the Pope had personally trained, and was certainly no ordinary person, nor could he possibly be someone of pure heart.
That same day, almost immediately after dealing with the group of noble young masters, a secret letter was delivered to Copperfield.
His Holiness's meaning was quite clear: if he couldn't manage the students of the Royal Capital Academy, he wouldn't mind personally teaching those lawless students what rules and laws meant.
As for teachers who can't teach well, well...
That incident had far-reaching implications, and since then, the nobles of the Pharmacy Academy have become much more restrained. They are extremely arrogant, relying on the powerful figures or generations of nobles in their families.
The mastermind was the young master of a duke's family. The duke was riding high recently, but overnight, Prince Garcia suddenly reported him to the emperor, revealing a whole host of crimes. After investigation, the whole family was imprisoned, and those with serious crimes were executed.
A family that prided itself on its glory vanished overnight.
The other people involved all had problems in their families, just to varying degrees.
This matter became a taboo within the Royal Capital Academy; everyone knew it was to avenge the Holy Son.
Don't say that those people didn't succeed; what if they had?
Would His Holiness the Pope allow His Son to suffer any injustice? Even the slightest possibility is obviously unacceptable.
Then Copperfield received another secret letter from the Pope.
The students' dormitories are protected by a magic circle that prevents entry. Entry is only permitted with the student's permission and with the instructions of Dean Copperfield and Dean Soldas.
The second-year students spoke vividly, still within the premises of the Pope's student dormitory, and were not afraid of being overheard.
Murphy listened in a daze, and after he finished speaking, she asked in surprise, "How do you know so much?"
The second-year student said mysteriously, "Dean Soldas is my maternal grandfather. He told me that! I thought you were Dean Copperfield's student, but I didn't expect you to be the Pope's student. You must be very capable."
His talent level was only that of a fifth-tier mage, but that was enough for him to get into the magic academy, even though he was among the weakest students.
After graduation, I'll stay at the Royal Capital Academy as a teaching assistant, work my way up for seven or eight years to become a full-fledged teacher, and then work my way up for another twenty-seven or twenty-eight years. Maybe I can even become the dean.
He patted Murphy on the shoulder and laughed, "But don't worry, our academy has the best atmosphere. Those arrogant guys from the Pharmacy Academy don't dare to mess with us anymore."
As Murphy listened to his words, he thought of Arnold, who had entered the School of Pharmacy, and felt somewhat worried, but then he thought of his other companions.
So I couldn't help but ask, "What about the other colleges?"
The second-year student thought for a moment and counted on his fingers: "The composition of the Warrior Academy is more complicated, but they are all a bunch of brutes who only know how to fight. The people in the Alchemy Academy are also very rich, but they are very polarized. Some are very arrogant, no different from those in the Pharmacy Academy, while others are crazy and are said to have received the true teachings of alchemists."
"The Beast Taming Academy, I heard that their main task in the first year is to raise all kinds of animals. If you go over there, you might see them chasing pigs and sheep all over the place while trying to activate contracts."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but laugh. "It's really funny! You must go and see it if you have the chance. It's a must-see attraction for all freshmen at the Royal Capital Academy!"
Murphy was surprised; this was actually a tourist attraction?
The second-year student counted down to the last one, then remembered it was the astrology school. He gave a strange look for a moment before saying, "If you want to make friends with astrologers... I don't recommend that you get too close to them."
Murphy asked in confusion, "Why?" Are astrologers also eccentric or arrogant people?
"Because...they won't live long."
The second-year student said in a somewhat somber tone, "The Astrology Academy doesn't actually have many teachers. They only study general courses within the academy and then go directly to the Grand Papacy. They rarely appear at the Royal Academy and are very careful not to interact with us."
"The more outstanding an astrologer is, the shorter their lifespan will be. Astrology is about predicting the future, which is an act of overdrawing one's lifespan. Simple astrological interpretations are fine, but if the interpretations are too detailed, the lifespan will be shortened more severely."
Therefore, there are very few astrologers.
The Papacy also secretly searches for children with astrologer talent. Once discovered, they are repeatedly told that the prospects of becoming an astrologer are short-lived and bleak.
It's not surprising that many talented children are scared off and give up when they hear this.
"The astrology academy was established simply to prevent this profession from being lost," a second-year student sighed.
Murphy was stunned for a moment before saying, "Aren't there any exceptions?"
"have."
"The founding king, Lortheran I, was a born astrologer. It is said that he had eyes that could see through a person's appearance at a glance! He could know the stars without any calculations."
The second-year student said excitedly, "And also, His Holiness the Pope is also an astrologer! Moreover, he learned it later in life, so his lifespan is much longer and he is completely unaffected by the astrologer's lifespan theory."
He pulled Murphy aside and whispered, "Do you think the Pope is a god? He's lived for so long, and you're his student, you must have seen him."
Murphy: "..."
"I don't know either," Murphy said honestly.
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Author's Note: The Pope acted rashly for the sake of his male friend (just kidding).
See you tomorrow! [kiss]
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