Registration

He stepped into the academy, wondering whether Pembez had drunkenly let slip yesterday that Wisdom Shield was going to take him as his master.

Every student in the academy who saw Wisdom Shield cast curious looks his way.

There were even upperclassmen waiting at the entrance, ready to lead him to the academy's registration office.

"Good morning, my lord. I'm Fu Linna. Professor Pempes told me that you would be coming to the academy. Please follow me."

Fu Linna, who was about to graduate and continue her studies at the Royal Academy, led Wisdom Shield to the academy's student registration office.

Speaking of which, Wisdom Shield had ultimately still been played by that old man Pempes. He had originally wanted to become Pempes's personal disciple, but now he had become an advanced student of the academy instead.

However, Pempes's status as his master had not changed.

When he arrived at the registration office and pushed open the door, he saw that bald old man Pempes from last night, drunk beyond all recognition.

Yet at this moment, there was not the slightest trace of a hangover on his face. Instead, he looked exceptionally excited.

"Hey, my lord, welcome to Huidun Academy."

With a smile on his plump face, the old man spread his arms and came forward to embrace Wisdom Shield.

"Hello, Professor Pempes."

The two embraced, then separated.

"All right, don't be so nervous. Every student I know is nervous in one way or another on their first day of registration. But you are a lord, so there is absolutely no need for you to feel nervous."

Pempes launched into another long-winded spiel, but Wisdom Shield immediately got straight to the point.

"Then, Professor, which class will I be assigned to in the future?"

Wisdom Shield asked teasingly.

"Oh, that. I forgot—I haven't even asked what you've learned in magic so far."

Pempes slapped his forehead and chuckled.

When it came to his progress in learning, Wisdom Shield thought of his mentor Achilles again, of the sight of him sacrificing himself to save him at the very end.

Wisdom Shield suppressed the grief in his heart and listed his learning progress one by one.

His eager effort to curry favor with this professor was not merely to borrow his strength and connections. At the same time, he wanted to find himself a teacher, because the last incident had clearly taught him one truth.

Even if an enemy truly set a trap before him with a mountain of treasure as bait, as long as he possessed sufficient strength, the trap would no longer be a trap.

Only by possessing the power to break convention could he truly ascend that throne.

After hearing Wisdom Shield's learning progress, Pempes nodded.

It seemed that old Achilles had truly cared deeply about this disciple. Since the old man was gone, and they had been old friends for so many years, he ought to lend a hand.

Having thought it through, the professor, who had always seemed to have no schemes in his heart, laughed heartily.

"Not bad. With your current progress, you could absolutely continue your studies at the Royal Academy in the Royal Capital. But if you stay here, then from now on, you can only study by my side."

This was precisely the outcome Wisdom Shield wanted, and he agreed at once.

When the two pushed open the door and went outside, they saw a group of senior instructors lying in wait at the entrance.

Seeing the two emerge, the instructors wanted to ask which of their classes this lord would join in the future.

They had actually believed the drunken nonsense Pempes had spouted last night.

However, before they could speak, Pempes shattered their fantasies first.

"Who told you he was going to attend class with those little brats? Wisdom Shield will study by my side from now on. If you have nothing to do, then disperse."

Pempes treated his own words from last night as nothing more than a fart. The instructors who had come with anxious hearts now felt as though ice water had been poured straight into them.

But when they thought of the professor's bizarre personality, they secretly blamed themselves for believing his drunken ramblings.

Just as they were preparing to leave, Pempes called out to one of the instructors at the very back.

"You there. Yes, you. You look rather idle. Go to Magic Class One and bring that Bru... Brown here."

The instructor at the back pointed at himself, then accepted the order somewhat dejectedly and left.

After watching them go, Pempes began grumbling and cursing.

"All you do all day is think about these impractical things. I really don't know how that old fellow Adolf manages the academy. And that boy Brown, there's a lump of mush in his head too. This old man is truly cursed with a hard life."

As he spoke, Pempes shook his head in considerable vexation.

He did not care in the slightest that those instructors had come because of what he himself had said last night: Wisdom Shield would become part of the academy today, and they had all assumed that once he became a student, he would have to choose a class to join.

Wisdom Shield, standing beside him, paid no attention to his complaints. Instead, he seized upon the key phrase about there being a lump of mush inside Brown and asked curiously.

"Professor, isn't Brown a genius? I heard he was someone who survived after using Super-class Magic."

Pempes laughed when he heard that.

"He is indeed a genius, and he is also the first person I have seen in all my years who survived after using Super-class Magic."

"But do you really think using Super-class Magic comes without any aftereffects? That boy was lucky not to have been blasted into a bloody mist by Magic Energy."

Now his body was filled with fragments of Magic Runes that had been burst apart by magic power. He could be said to be a porcelain doll that would shatter at the slightest touch.

As he spoke, Pempes revealed a look of regret.

"Alas, although the injuries on his body can be healed, they have ultimately left scars whose consequences cannot be estimated. His path of magic will be extremely difficult from now on."

"Moreover, his identity is another hurdle. He has the name of a genius but not the reality of one. I'm afraid life will not be easy for him in the future."

Wisdom Shield also felt some regret for this slave genius who had caught his eye.

But when he thought of how someone like his own teacher had ultimately died from using Super-class Magic, and then saw that Chen Cheng was still alive and well, he could not help but sigh inwardly.

Soon, a gust of wind swept past. The instructor who had left earlier rode the wind back, bringing Chen Cheng before Pempes.

After greeting Pempes and Wisdom Shield at his side, the instructor rode the wind away.

The moment Chen Cheng saw Pempes, he immediately lowered his head in a bow.

"Professor."

Pempes nodded, then looked Chen Cheng over.

"Well, Brown, would you like this professor to remove that collar around your neck?"

Chen Cheng had not expected the professor to say something like that right away. He smiled and said,

"There's no need, Professor. Still, thank you for your kind intentions."

Pempes took it as another case of his blunt tongue saying the wrong thing, and apologized somewhat awkwardly.

"I merely said it without thinking. I had no intention of offending Baron Kekebor."

Those words left Chen Cheng with no easy response. Inwardly, he thought that if Pempes did not know how to speak, he should speak less, but outwardly he could only stand awkwardly before him.

"All right, let's not stand around here. Otherwise, people will stare at us like we're monkeys."

After saying that, Pempes laughed again, while Chen Cheng and Wisdom Shield could only smile awkwardly along with him.

Then, without anyone seeing what magic Pempes had used, the scenery before the three of them spun upside down. The next moment, they appeared in the room where Pempes usually researched magic.

The room was kept spotlessly clean. It was clear that someone came to clean it when Pempes was absent.

The suitcase Pempes had brought back yesterday was sitting in the corner of the room.

The bookshelves in the room were filled with magical tomes Pempes had collected from all over.

Pempes introduced his magic research room to the two of them. Beyond the study was a magic experiment room, where a long table stood covered with all sorts of unfamiliar magical tools.

After giving them a rough introduction, Pempes took several books on Chaos Magic from the shelves and handed them to Wisdom Shield.

"With your current store of knowledge, you should be able to understand these books. Read them thoroughly first, and then we'll talk."

Wisdom Shield accepted the books, each as thick as a brick. The moment he saw the titles on their covers, he knew that Pempes truly intended to teach him seriously.