'Campus Network'

"What's power? What does power mean?" the old Palace Minister asked curiously.

Downs was stumped.

He scratched his head, wearing the standard completely-baffled expression.

"I forgot!"

The whole reaction radiated the beauty of a mind untouched by knowledge!

Generally speaking, that pure spark could only be found in [barbarian] professionals, widely acknowledged to be innocent in spirit and boneheaded in practice.

But... Your Excellency, you're the most knowledgeable and cultured mage around!

If you act like this, does your master know?

(Some master: read only, don't @ me.)

The old Palace Minister and Ganis' eyelids twitched uncontrollably, but what could they say?

"I want this one. Is there a problem?"

"N-no, no problem..." The two answered in unison.

And so, the matter was happily settled. After all, the king himself had ordered Downs to take whatever he wanted. He'd also been incredibly polite and taken only one high-tier item. Even if he didn't know what the thing was, that kind of restraint... Anyone who heard about it would praise him for his propriety.

Meanwhile, King Cervantes was pacing back and forth. He was on edge, but refused to let outsiders know just how much it pained him.

"What if that kid really empties my treasury? What am I supposed to do?"

He was truly consumed by anxiety.

Only when he saw a Royal Guard stride into the hall did he hurry to ask, "What did he take?"

"Artifact number thirteen."

"Thirteen...!?" The king's head felt like a great bell that had just been struck hard. A buzzing filled his ears as one hand clutched the ruby pendant at his chest. The muscles in his cheek and his right eyelid both twitched uncontrollably.

"Your Majesty, is something wrong?" Master Famite sensed that something was amiss.

The king knew that Master Level powerhouses had extraordinary perception. There was little chance his reaction had escaped the notice of the kingdom's own master. He helplessly put on a "happy" smile, like a man about to be led to the gallows.

He stopped pretending and simply let his bitterness show—the look of a man who'd just had a hundred million snatched from him.

"That thing is useless to the vast majority of people in the world. But for a tiny number of spellcasters, it might be a [stairway to godhood]."

The king was both furious and heartbroken. Though he'd already resigned himself to the fact that the other party was a Legendary Archmage he couldn't afford to offend, and said he could take whatever he liked, when push came to shove, the man had taken the brightest "pearl" in his treasury. The king's heart had shattered.

He remembered how the previous king had made a point of telling him on his deathbed, "Some things are worth far more than they appear. For example, XXX." Artifact number thirteen had been among them.

King Cervantes XIII was, at least, a competent and conscientious king. His grief was only momentary. Soon, he calmed himself with a series of actions, from deep breathing to gazing into the distance, and wiped away the few tears welling at the corners of his eyes.

"Never mind. Don't feel bad for me, either. The Age of the End of Dharma has lasted a hundred years now. This thing can only be put to good use by a mage, so handing it to a true Legendary Archmage is absolutely the right choice. In any case, since Your Excellency Tesla took it from us, he owes our kingdom a favor."

The king spoke with such conviction that Master Famite and the others fell silent.

Diplomacy was always built on national strength and military might. Put simply, the Cervantes Kingdom had first schemed against the good disciple of a Legendary Archmage. The archmage had retaliated by taking a chunk out of the kingdom. That was already an incredibly restrained response.

Famite wanted to tell the king: Your Majesty, just accept it. You can't outplay a Legendary Archmage!

Interestingly, when Downs returned to the Madela Mage Tower and a certain Legendary Archmage's disciple proudly presented the fishnet stockings in Laifu's field of vision, the archmage almost said, "My disciple, you understand your master so well."

Once he saw it clearly, Lein thought to himself: Pah! For a moment, I thought you'd gone ahead of your master to one of those places where they make money off other people's wives.

Ahem! I mean a respectable commercial KTV. Please don't get the wrong idea.

Taking a closer look, Lein was stunned.

The system clearly displayed: [Unknown (Magic Web Fragment)—A product of parts of the magic power going out of control and crystallizing after an untraceable magical network shattered. Special note: This (Magic Web Fragment) can be used to create a (Magic Campus Web) for a magic academy.]

Lein was completely speechless.

Campus Network—a term that filled him with anguish and hatred, yet left him powerless.

One person downloading with Xunlei, the whole dorm cursing him.

A game nearly won, then the power went out at eleven.

And some damnable elective courses you couldn't even enroll in without the Campus Network.

At the mere thought of it, Lein wanted to... Oh, he wasn't allowed to swear, so he had nothing to say.

Lein had never imagined that one day the wheel of fortune would turn, and he'd be the one setting up a Campus Network!?

Had he done something awful in his previous life without realizing it, only to end up with this thing in this one?

Jokes aside, Lein still took the matter seriously.

"Downs, come back here first. Let me take a look at that thing."

"All right, Master. I'll set off at once. If you're in a hurry, I can ride Bo Le back overnight."

"No need to go to all that trouble. Just teleport." In his haste, Lein failed to realize he'd said something astonishing again.

Downs watched in amazement as an oval portal nearly two people tall and wide enough for three to walk through opened out of thin air at his right. On the other side was the little valley he knew so well!

As awe filled Downs, he immediately solved a question that had puzzled him for months: Why had his master never mentioned leaving the valley? It turned out his master wasn't unable to leave; he simply didn't want to. If he could cross space so easily, why bother riding a horse—or even a dragon?

Downs brushed at his sleeves, as if trying to wipe away what little dust was on him. Then, holding the Magic Web Fragment in both hands, he solemnly stepped through the portal and offered the treasure to his smiling, silent master.

At that moment, Lein was terrified Downs would say, "Master, here are the fishnet stockings you asked for."

Fortunately, his good disciple hadn't yet suffered the influence of those otherworldly Eastern Ying teachers before his master had.

Downs' solemn presentation left Lein feeling just a tiny bit embarrassed.

Almost as soon as Lein touched the [Magic Web Fragment], the system provided a more detailed explanation:

[System analysis complete: This Magic Web Fragment can be converted by the host into a Magic Campus Web for teaching magic apprentices.]

[Magic Campus Web: The host can customize the specialties of the Magic Campus Web according to their own characteristics. Due to the insufficient area and quantity of this Magic Web Fragment, the current maximum capacity of the Campus Network is 5 users. The host can upload up to three (Super Magic Specialties), 9 Level 0 cantrips, 8 Level 1 spells... and 4 Level 5 Magic spells.]

[The academy supplies the Magic Net's power. Its maximum capacity is 100,000 points of magical power.]

[The host is automatically granted the highest authority on the Campus Network. This authority cannot be transferred or changed.]

[The host can currently designate one additional person as a Magic Transmitter. The spells and Super Magic Specialties they upload can be shared across the entire Campus Network. The conditions users must meet and the price they must pay are set by the host.]

[Would the host like to establish a Magic Campus Web?]