Lanchi Receives an Invitation

The red brick buildings, majestic and solemn, blended the ancient engineering and wisdom of the Magic Engineering Institute.

The two walked along the school road.

A clear stream meandered by the roadside, reflecting the emerald green branches and leaves of the trees, exceptionally peaceful in the early morning. Looking further into the distance, the flower field on the opposite bank belonged to the Alchemy Institute's botanical garden system and also served as a teaching and research base for bioengineering.

Passing through this tree-lined path, one could reach the Sage Institute's schoolhouse area.

"If you want to challenge the Shadow World as soon as possible, you should consider joining a team. For example, go investigate, go understand. Choosing a suitable team will be of great benefit and help to you."

Vivian thought for a moment and finally decided not to scold Lanchi, but to teach him properly.

Since Lanchi humbly asked her about the difficulty of the Tier 3 Shadow World, he wasn't a reckless fool.

He just had a bit of confidence that matched his talent.

For young people, this was normal.

And even if she spoke harshly to Lanchi, he would still maintain this gentle demeanor.

The person Vivian was least willing to hurt was a good-natured person; scolding such a person would only make her feel guilty.

"..."

Lanchi fell into a brief silence because of Vivian's words.

After passing the exam last time, Lanchi had a chat with Hughberlian on the stairs of the Learning and Education Building. He also went to investigate and learn about challenging the Shadow World in the academy.

There were indeed a few teams in this academy that were widely recognized by students as the strongest.

Among them were teams established in recent years.

There were also teams established many years ago – their leaders had changed through several generations, and they still used the inherited team name today.

The reason these teams could be called the strongest was not only because they had experienced Gold Tier leaders, but also because some of the older teams had Platinum Tier "Fourth Year Students" or "Part-time System" members holding down the fort.

Although the top Platinum Tier powerhouses were mostly just nominal members and would not interfere with the leader's decisions, they would also rarely actually team up with other students.

But sometimes, their slight guidance was incredibly valuable help for newcomers!

What's more.

Any Platinum Tier had a truly top-tier "Association Registered Permanent Team."

If they were fortunate enough to be noticed by them, they might be recommended to a team standing at the peak of the Southern Continent once they were strong enough!

This would be a shortcut to advancing to Platinum Tier.

However, these were not things Lanchi should consider in the short term.

He still had a long way to go before reaching Bronze Tier and Silver Tier.

Today, Lanchi had already received notification from the Southern Continent Shadow World Management Association that the school had submitted all the necessary documents for his "Registered Exam Exemption." He only needed to complete the final steps at the association to become an Iron Tier Registered Challenger.

"Ah, I don't know what kind of team suits me."

Lanchi finally spoke.

He had almost no connections in the Royal Capital. Many of the things he knew now were kindly told to him by Hughberlian and Vivian.

"It's fine, there will be many ways to learn about them after school starts, and teams might even approach you proactively."

Vivian said calmly.

To say that Vivian wasn't at all envious of Lanchi's first place would definitely be a lie.

She had initially thought she was a strong contender for the top spot in the Sage Institute.

She hadn't expected that her overall score would end up being significantly lower than that of the gentle young man before her.

Throughout the years, freshmen who achieved excellent results in the Entrance Examination were always potential targets sought after by many teams.

After speaking, she added,

"Although your strength is still a mystery to all the upperclassmen, just your first-place Entrance Examination result in the Sage Institute will make people want to recruit you."

Lanchi's performance in the third round of the examination had been personally sealed by Loren, the Dean of the Sage Institute, and even Vivian couldn't get any information about it.

Therefore, there were currently many doubts about Lanchi—

For example, that Lanchi and Hughberlian had just happened to encounter Examiner Ferrat having a sudden cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, and thus got lucky and passed the third round of the examination.

The official Sage Institute had not offered any explanation, and the influential figures behind Examiner Ferrat, who were from the same faction, even if they knew something, remained silent about the examination situation.

"Is that so?"

Lanchi hadn't expected that he would likely be actively recruited after school started.

However, choosing a team and refusing others' kind invitations would be quite difficult.

Lanchi also didn't know which team was most suitable for him, or if there were better options.

Then he would have to spend time and effort to understand.

"You don't like this feeling of being popular?"

Vivian looked at Lanchi's slightly dazed expression and asked curiously.

She was very puzzled as to why Lanchi didn't show much joy, but rather seemed a little troubled.

"Don't you think being favored and expected by people you don't know only makes you feel more pressured?"

Lanchi smiled humbly and turned his head to look at Vivian.

Although Vivian's interpretation of his thoughts was slightly off.

Lanchi could easily see what Vivian was thinking.

"...Indeed."

After a slight silence, Vivian nodded.

"Just like being a Princess, being highly anticipated by people, it must be very tiring, right?"

Lanchi's expression was relaxed, and his voice was gentle.

"Ah... it is very tiring."

Vivian sighed.

Although as royalty she bore many responsibilities and shouldn't agree with Lanchi's self-centered and laid-back ideas, she truly felt the same way deep down.

I really want to lie on the grass and sleep. I don't want to be exhausted all day trying to be a dignified and noble princess.

Wait.

Vivian quickly snapped back to reality.

I was supposed to be asking Lanchi questions, how did it turn into a chat about life with him?

And the more we talked, the more I wanted to give in to my inner desires and slack off.

This guy was just talking naturally, yet it was like a demon's whisper, unknowingly stirring up the laziness she had been suppressing in her heart.

Vivian quickly shook her head, stopping herself from continuing this irrelevant topic with Lanchi.

"Lanchi, if you don't have a particular preference, you can also consider the team I'm in. I can introduce you. It's mostly students from the Sage Institute and the Magic Engineering Institute, which is more convenient if you have card-making commissions. Plus, there's a Platinum Tier member, the strongest Mechanic among the Fourth Year students at the Magic Engineering Institute."

Vivian had already secured a team. Having grown up in the Royal Capital since childhood, she, being in a high position, naturally had many acquaintances.

She also believed this team was very attractive and wasn't just recommending it randomly to Lanchi.

As one of the strongest teams in the academy, compared to others, their biggest characteristic was their extremely sufficient logistics.

For example, trying to find an excellent Card Maker at the Card Maker Association for a card-making commission often involved difficult experiences like stepping on landmines, being overcharged, excessively long waiting lists, or being directly rejected.

However, within the team, it was usually much easier to talk to people and make friends with Card Makers.

"Does the Magic Engineering Institute also have combat professions?"

Lanchi asked in surprise.

His focus was clearly not on the team itself.

This made Vivian feel a bit frustrated. She thought she had made it sound very appealing.

Lanchi probably had no idea of the value of befriending a potentially skilled Card Maker from the Magic Engineering Institute!

As expected, a young man from the border like him has too little knowledge about the Shadow World.

Vivian sighed helplessly, but still explained to Lanchi:

"Students from the Magic Engineering Institute who go to the Shadow World aren't necessarily battlefield Card Makers. Truly powerful Magic Artisans are no worse than students from the Magic Knight Second Institute when it comes to fighting."

"As for the Alchemy Institute, don't underestimate them either. Offending some troublesome individuals there can also lead to big problems."

Vivian added, as if remembering something unpleasant.

"Hmm?"

Lanchi made a confused sound.

He knew that the Alchemy Institute had more scholars, physicians, pharmacists, and alchemists, leaning more towards research, but according to Vivian, there must be a few who were skilled in combat.

But what kind of person would be considered a big trouble?

Vivian shook her head painfully, speaking as if she had suffered greatly:

"The Intelligence Studies Major at the Alchemy Institute... I don't know who started it, but in recent years, it's gradually been developing towards the direction of unscrupulous reporters... The Hutton Times was actually first published by the Alchemy Institute, and now it's getting bigger and stronger. If you offend them, you're very likely to be relentlessly slandered."

As a highly anticipated princess, Vivian was afraid that one day her improper behavior would be caught red-handed.

"Hiss—"

Lanchi gasped.

He always felt that compared to joining a team, he wanted to join a newspaper more.

In a society ruled by law, isn't controlling public opinion much more powerful than fighting and killing?!