Deng Lun's high boots fell upon the spiral staircase, leaving hollow echoes within the solitary fortress, where the silence seemed capable of swallowing sound itself.
This time, before he had even reached that familiar door, the scenery around him began to warp and melt.
That dreamlike, starry blackness gradually swallowed him. By the time he came back to his senses, he found himself back in that academy lecture hall, forever seemingly frozen beneath the afterglow of sunset.
Upon the stone podium, that blurred figure still stood there like a sculpture, as though he himself were an inseparable part of the classroom.
Deng Lun froze for a moment, then quickly composed himself, bowed deeply, and spoke respectfully. "Student Deng Lun greets Teacher."
Seeing that the blurred figure gave no response, not even the slightest ripple, Deng Lun could only brace himself and continue his report.
"Teacher, the situation has changed. Those goblins suddenly seemed as though wisdom had been poured into them. Not only did they seize the Ice Elemental Plane fragment, they also pushed their front through the Planar Rift into the northern part of The Gloomy Lands."
"The Faldor Front is far too close to our Eternal Night Territory, and there is practically nothing between us. In order to stabilize those Greenskins for the moment, I... I could only agree to their extortion demands first and promise them a sum of gold coins in exchange for a temporary truce..."
At this point, Deng Lun paused, unease stirring in his heart. He had expected to receive his teacher's rebuke for weakness.
Yet that figure remained as silent as an abyss.
After a long while, just as Deng Lun felt the pressure growing heavier and heavier, a calm voice sounded in his mind.
"You did very well."
Deng Lun had just