He Scolded Me!

A group of Magic Apprentices in white robes entered. Floating before their leader was a ball of blazing white light—the Illumination spell commonly used by orthodox mages: Inch Light.

With the intrusion of this group of Magic Apprentices, the tavern immediately fell silent.

Don't be fooled by the people in the tavern calling themselves Magic Apprentices. Everyone knew it was nothing more than self-aggrandizement.

Before real Magic Apprentices, they were nothing.

In the Kevil Empire's magical certification system, Magic Apprentice was less of a rank than an identity.

—An elite group qualified to study magic and potentially enter the center of power in the Kevil Empire in the future.

They had to complete five to ten years of foundational magical education, gain an initial mastery of the Seven Conventional Magic Systems, and pass the Apprentice Mage examination before they could call themselves mages.

Perhaps different Magic Academies had different standards for the Apprentice Mage examination, but even Magic Apprentices trained by the academy with the lowest standards were not comparable to self-taught amateurs from the streets.

Simply gaining an initial mastery of the Seven Conventional Magic Systems was enough to give any one of them the ability to deal with most complicated situations!

Those were true Magic Apprentices.

"Desova, why didn't you reply to my messages? Do you know we've been looking for you for half the day? And you still have the mood to drink here? Hurry up and apologize to the instructor with me. You're so outstanding—if you're willing to apologize, the instructor will definitely forgive you. Don't worry, I'll ask my father to put in a good word for you too..."

Among the Magic Apprentices, a girl with waist-length hair, around sixteen years old, rushed over anxiously. She grabbed Desova by the arm and tried to drag him outside.

"Desova, let's go. Lowering your head once is no big deal. Magic God Korof once even apologized to a Magic Apprentice. What does this amount to for us?"

"Yeah, yeah, stop making trouble!"

"Online Courses may be another path, but no one has taken it before, so nobody knows exactly how it'll turn out. It'd be better to stay at Felix while taking Online Courses. I heard the academy has already softened its stance on Internet Divine Art."

The other Magic Apprentices also began trying to persuade him all at once.

Desova froze. Perhaps the alcohol was getting to him, but his eyes reddened slightly, and a trace of conflict flashed through them.

"Brother, are you dropping out?"

The young man whom Desova had treated to drinks looked astonished.

He was none other than Yu Sheng'an. However, this was not his true body, but a projection.

The reason he had struck up a conversation with Desova was precisely because Desova had been the first user to add one of his posts to favorites. The memory remained vivid.

Who is he?

The Magic Apprentices trying to persuade Desova turned to look at him.

The girl holding Desova abruptly changed expression. Pointing at the ring in Yu Sheng'an's hand, she said, "Why is the Mithril Ring I gave Desova in your hand?"

Holy shit!

Yu Sheng'an's mind buzzed. He looked at Desova in utter bewilderment. Damn, what a pure 24K titanium-alloy straight man!

"He's my friend. I gave it to him," Desova said.

"You—That was the Mithril Ring I gave you! I paid such a huge price just to conceal the Internet... You, you, you—how could you give it away?" The girl was so anxious that her eyes turned red.

Looking embarrassed, Yu Sheng'an placed the ring on the bar. "Miss, you've misunderstood. The ring fell on the ground, and I was helping him pick it up."

"Get lost! This has nothing to do with you!" The girl exploded, pointing at Yu Sheng'an as she cursed, "I was wondering why Desova suddenly wanted to drop out. Did you lead him astray? Huh? He's always been so outstanding. He was already improving magic in his second year—how could he possibly go bad? You must be behind this, right?"

The girl's frantic accusations left Yu Sheng'an completely dumbfounded.

What the hell does this have to do with me?

No, wait... I just got here, okay?

Damn it, why is she exactly like my college roommate's girlfriend?

What, playing games was my fault? Bad grades were my fault too? I was his good-for-nothing friend, some water monkey whose sole purpose was to drag him down?

"Dorothy, what are you talking about?" Desova snapped.

"You're yelling at me?"

Dorothy covered her mouth and stared at Desova in disbelief. Her eyes instantly reddened, and tears began falling in large drops.

The surrounding Magic Apprentices were dumbfounded. They stood there awkwardly, not knowing whom to support, much less what to do.

Every one of them felt like their brains had turned to mush.

Weren't they here to persuade Desova not to drop out?

How... how had this become about this guy?

What was even going on?

Just when Yu Sheng'an thought Dorothy would turn and run away, she suddenly pointed at him. Tears hung in her eyes as she shrieked:

"I get it! You're an Evil God believer, and you deliberately lured our Desova astray, didn't you? Go die!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she sharply raised her arm. The Magic Runes inscribed within her body activated in an instant.

The advanced form of Burning Hand—Scorching Ray—roared forth!

A blazing line of fire as thick as an arm shot straight at Yu Sheng'an's face.

Desova's expression changed drastically. His Magic Runes reacted instinctively, and a Rock Barrier surged up from the ground, smashing through the wooden floor and blocking the Scorching Ray!

This sudden scene stunned everyone in the tavern!

Some ordinary people scrambled and crawled out of the conflict zone, yet were unwilling to leave. One by one, they turned back to watch.

"Dorothy, don't!" The other Magic Apprentices finally came to their senses and rushed over to restrain Dorothy, preventing her from casting another spell.

If she actually killed someone, even with her powerful background, she would probably still have to spend a token year or so in confinement!

And when that happened, all of them would surely be dragged down with her.

"Don't hide! Come out here!" Dorothy shouted, pointing at Yu Sheng'an.

"Dorothy, he... he isn't an Evil God believer. You're overthinking it. Look at him—there isn't the slightest energy fluctuation around him. He's just an ordinary person!"

The Magic Apprentices held Dorothy tightly while trying to talk her down, and at the same time shouted at the young man.

"Get out of here!"

"Exactly, what are you standing there for?"

"Go, go! Are you waiting to die if you don't leave?"

Desova also looked grim. "Brother, you should leave first. Don't worry, I'll persuade her not to trouble you in the future."

"Persuade my ass, you dense straight man!" Yu Sheng'an rebuked him, looking utterly exasperated. If a girl gave you something, either don't accept it. But if you accepted it, why would you give it to someone else?

"You dare scold my Desova?" Dorothy instantly bristled.

"Not only did I scold your Desova, I'm scolding you too! What, young miss? You've got a bad temper, so everyone has to indulge you? The person you like gave me the ring—what the hell does that have to do with me? Aren't you being pathetic? He dared to trash your gift, so if you've got the guts, take it out on him! Why are you throwing your weight around at me?"

Yu Sheng'an pointed at Dorothy and cursed her out. There were hardly any obscenities in his words, yet every sentence struck straight at the heart!

Not only Dorothy, but even Desova and the other Magic Apprentices were left staring in shock.

"You—I'll kill you! Let go of me! If you don't let go, I won't let any of you off!" Dorothy went wild, flailing her arms and even threatening her companions. Magic power surged all around her body.

The surrounding Magic Apprentices' expressions changed drastically as they glared at Yu Sheng'an with hostility.

They felt that he simply didn't know what was good for him!

They had already given him a chance to leave. It would have been one thing if he refused to go, but he even dared to curse her out?

Did he really think Magic Apprentices were volunteers at a charity house?

Just then, Desova, who was facing the entrance, abruptly changed expression and cried out, "Dean?"

The others changed expression as well and spun around. Then every one of them looked as though they had seen a ghost.

They simultaneously released Dorothy, stood straight with their feet together, and lowered their heads in greeting. "Dean!"

As their voices fell, the tavern became deathly silent. A pin drop could be heard.

Countless onlooking patrons stared toward the entrance in astonishment—where a middle-aged man with black hair streaked with silver was stepping into the tavern.

Countless people were stunned.

The Dean?

A black-haired middle-aged man?

Then wasn't he the Dean of Felix Magic Academy, one of the Four Pillars of the Empire—Magic God Dendall?

At that moment, everyone was so shocked their scalps tingled. Their gazes upon Dendall were filled with fervent worship!

A few seconds later, a sudden clatter of overturned stools and fallen cups rang through the tavern. Countless patrons had hurriedly risen to pay their respects, causing the commotion.

Just then, a coquettish voice pierced through the tavern's stunned silence. "Grandpa Dendall, you have to stand up for me! This person scolded me!"

Dorothy no longer had her earlier furious, clawing demeanor.

She stamped her little foot and pointed indignantly at the young man, looking pitiful and helpless, her eyes brimming with tears. She looked like a rain-drenched pear blossom—enough to stir anyone's pity.

As her words fell, countless people in the tavern turned toward Yu Sheng'an in unison.

But this time, everyone's eyes were full of pity and sympathy—along with, of course, a little gloating.