Hidden Danger

The pitch-black night was swept by a howling chill wind through the mountain forest, making the leaves rustle as they collided.

A dim kerosene lamp swayed its way along a country dirt road. Only when it drew nearer could one see that it hung from an unmanned carriage.

Inside the carriage, a wizened old man with skin like chicken and hair like a crane held a smooth Magic Crystal in his hands, letting out dry chuckles from time to time.

"Finally found it. Finally found it."

That ghostly howl spread from the carriage into the surrounding darkness. Anyone who heard it would truly think they had encountered a ghost.

"Brown, how about I give you back your freedom?"

Fini came to Chen Cheng's dormitory with reddened eyes and spoke to Chen Cheng, who was hiding from the stares of onlookers.

The moment Chen Cheng saw the redness around Fini's bright eyes, he knew the little girl had been crying.

And judging by the way she addressed him, she must have been wronged.

He hurried to Fini's side and said:

"Who bullied our young lady? Tell me. I'll break his legs."

As he spoke, Chen Cheng flexed his muscles and put on a fierce expression.

Seeing Chen Cheng clown around like that, Fini could not help but laugh. Then she rolled her eyes at him and said irritably:

"Wasn't it because of you?"

Chen Cheng, who had just been acting like a fool, immediately looked awkward upon hearing it was because of him. Then, somewhat lacking confidence, he said:

"How could that be? I've clearly made you look great lately.

Everyone outside says I'm a legend now. As the master of a legend, who wouldn't envy you?"

"You've made me look too great. Those people all say you're a genius, and that making a genius like you into a slave means I'm cruel."

"They also said that if I don't restore your freedom, then everyone in our family is a barbarian."

As she spoke, the little girl began to cry in grievance.

Seeing this, Chen Cheng immediately pulled her into his arms and kept comforting her by her ear.

"I never treated you like a slave. What right do they have to say that about me?"

The little girl spoke into Chen Cheng's ear as she cried.

"They're the bad ones. Look at the servants around them—every one of them gets ordered around like a dog.

Now look at me. If I didn't have such a kind, beautiful, and generous master as you, then even if I had talent, I would never have had the chance to learn magic."

"We should be condemning them instead. The slaves in their households should all be able to learn magical knowledge like I do, because nobody knows whether another genius like me might emerge among them."

It took Chen Cheng quite some time to comfort her before the wounded heart of little Fini finally settled down.

"You're such a bad person. If those words got out, wouldn't those people end up being neither inside nor outside, human nor demon?"

Fini wiped away her tears and scolded him with a smile.

Yet Chen Cheng said seriously:

"Hmph. Who told them to make you angry first? I'm only giving back what they did to you."

"You really are a huge villain. I truly don't know how your brain grew."

After Fini calmed down, Chen Cheng saw that a key had suddenly appeared in her hand.

The moment Chen Cheng saw that key, he knew it was the key to his Slave Collar.

Just as Fini prepared to remove the collar for him, Chen Cheng stopped her.

"What, young lady? You're going to abandon me just because of a few farting words those people let loose?

And didn't we agree that I would be your Little Slave, the kind who would never part from you for this whole lifetime?"

Chen Cheng stopped Fini not because he was a masochist, but because he knew someone had to be directing the rumors forcing Fini's hand, and that person clearly harbored ill intentions.

Although he was currently rumored outside to be a legend, only those who knew the truth understood that he had already become a cripple.

During the school term, he could remain at the academy under its protection. But once the term ended, if he did not have the identity of Baron Kekebor's slave and was merely an ordinary civilian—

Then Chen Cheng believed that the moment he stepped out of the academy gates, those nobles with twisted minds would probably tear him apart at once.

Fini's hand paused slightly after hearing his words. She immediately thought of the awkwardness of Chen Cheng's identity as well.

She still remembered how, on their very first day at the academy, Chen Cheng had fiercely mocked that fellow Coles for her sake. If Chen Cheng did not have the status of her family's servant or the status of a noble after the term ended, then Coles, that petty-minded fellow, would certainly have him killed.

"That's right. Why should I do what they want just because I heard a couple of their words? I refuse to. Just watch me make them die of envy."

Fini's attitude changed at once.

After her state of mind shifted, Fini realized that she was currently leaning against Chen Cheng's chest, while Chen Cheng still held her. She could even feel the warm breath from his mouth by her ear.

In an instant, a girl's sense of shame welled up. She broke free from Chen Cheng's embrace, declared that she was going to annoy those sour people, then dashed out of Chen Cheng's dormitory in a puff of smoke.

After Fini left, worry appeared on Chen Cheng's previously calm face. Over the past few days, he had also noticed that something was wrong. The tales about him, a magical legend among slaves, had grown increasingly outrageous, and now this condemnation of Fini had appeared.

He knew he could use a few words to rid Fini of these worries for the moment, but if this went on for too long—especially once he truly recovered—Fini's days would become even harder.

"So I have to find a way to make my young lady a genius among geniuses in everyone's eyes."

Chen Cheng rubbed his chin and spoke thoughtfully.

Chen Cheng did have a way to create a magical genius: teach Fini the Variable Magic that was the latest result of his research.

But there was another enormous problem. Inscribing this Variable Magic required too much work, and the mental power required was several times greater than that of an ordinary person.

The reason he could do it seemed to be related to his transmigration.

When he was little, Samlet had told him that people like him, who were born knowing things, generally possessed powerful mental strength by nature.

Because their mental strength was powerful and their brains were highly active, they learned things faster than ordinary people, giving others the impression that they had been born knowing.

Thinking of this, Chen Cheng's head began to ache again, because this issue was directly related to his current research problem.

The only method he knew for increasing mental strength, that somewhat illusory power, was meditation.

By constantly coming into contact with the Sea of Magic during meditation, exhausting one's mental strength, and then waiting for it to be replenished, one could increase the capacity of one's mental strength.

At the same time, the incident caused by his use of Super-class Magic had made Chen Cheng understand that his Variable Magic was still too complicated and needed to be streamlined.

That way, even if he encountered such a situation again in the future, he could rapidly clear away the shattered Magic Runes within his body.

Rather than let broken Magic Runes pile up into a mountain as they did now.

Shaking those thoughts from his head, Chen Cheng took out the calculation paper from his drawer and began deducing the feasibility of the ideas in his mind.

Inside Earl Huidun's castle, Huidun looked at the written incident report on his desk, his face incomparably grim.

According to his investigation, that escaped farmer had gone to the church within Baron Fisher's territory both before escaping and after being captured.

Although the report said this was because the man was a devout believer, and that he had gone to the church to beg the God of Light for forgiveness for the sins upon him.

But none of that was the most important part. The most important thing was that on the day he returned, the escaped farmer imprisoned in the cell had inexplicably committed suicide, leaving behind a letter of repentance written in blood.

He came to the window and pulled back the curtains, gazing toward the church, the tallest building in the city. Looking at the statue of the God of Light atop its spire, its arms spread wide to embrace the world, he could not help revealing a mocking smile.

Amid that mocking smile, the report on the desk was slowly burned into ashes by a ball of black flame. Then a gust of wind blew in from outside the window, leaving not the slightest trace that it had ever existed.

Knock, knock, knock. A knock sounded behind Huidun, and he returned to his main seat before saying:

"Come in."

The door opened, and Adolf entered from outside with a smile, leaning on a magic staff.

"Earl."

"Headmaster Adolf, please sit."

"Thank you, Earl."

Adolf sat opposite Huidun, and Huidun asked with a smile:

"What has brought the headmaster here?"

"Oh, this old man came here first because of that old fellow Achilles. I feel saddened and sorry about it."

Hearing Adolf mention his mentor, Huidun's eyes reddened once more. Then he forced a smile and said:

"No, this is not the headmaster's fault."

Adolf lowered his head slightly before continuing:

"The second matter is that Professor Pembez will soon return from an exchange at the Royal Magic Academy. I wonder whether the Earl needs to make any preparations?"

Hearing this news, Earl Huidun raised his brows. He had not expected Adolf to come and tell him this.

All the support at his side was gone now, yet Adolf had informed him of Pembez's return. Could it be that this headmaster had already made some sort of choice?

But when he thought of his former marriage agreement with Melinda, this headmaster had been extremely unwilling in private.

The headmaster had long said that he would not interfere in any of Huidun's affairs. He would only be responsible for teaching students within the academy.

Huidun seemed to understand something. His expression shifted repeatedly, and then he asked in a slightly trembling voice:

"Does Melinda know about this?"

Huidun stared at Adolf before him. During the mere few seconds Adolf took to answer, it felt as if he had endured ten million years.

"Melinda does not know about this. It is this old man's own decision."

Then Adolf rose and bowed to Huidun.

"If the Earl needs to prepare anything, then please do so as soon as possible. This old man should return as well."

Adolf then tapped the ground with his magic staff, and the old headmaster vanished before Huidun's eyes.