You Should Be Afraid

Through the portal, Luke returned to Library Room 36.

There was no sound outside.

Luke cautiously poked her head out, but there was no one there.

The sheriff and the Imperial Secret Agents must have gone elsewhere. Now that they had the Book of Calamity, they could leave Aolu Academy and let them keep searching here.

Luke emerged from Library Room 36, then cautiously climbed the stairs.

At that moment, a little head poked out from behind a chandelier on the ceiling.

It was a tiny monkey, no bigger than a teacup.

It stared at Luke with wide eyes. After she disappeared at the top of the stairs, it jumped down from the chandelier. It turned into an owl in midair, spread its wings, and glided silently to the spiral staircase. Then it changed back into a monkey and swung up the railing.

Luke had no idea she was being followed. Relying on her familiarity with Aolu Academy's layout, she left the library and slipped into a grove of trees.

Beyond the grove stood Aolu Academy's main teaching building.

It consisted of four castle-like structures, connected by three passageways—one each at the upper, middle, and lower levels.

In the basement of Northeast Castle, there was a hidden entrance to the sewers. Following them would take her out of Aolu Academy. If she found the connection to the main space outside, she could return to Raging Wave City.

Aolu Academy was now on its highest alert. Along with the large numbers of Imperial Secret Agents and sheriffs searching for the intruding Elf, the academy staff had also been mobilized.

They formed patrols and protected the teaching building at the center.

Some upper-year students had been assigned to guard the entrances and exits of the building, as well as the windows along its outer walls.

They had been told that the intruder was a female Elf Slayer with short green hair that reached her ears and two ornate curved blades at her waist.

If they spotted the intruding Elf, they were not to engage. They were to flee immediately and seek protection from the nearest staff member.

Luke crouched behind a clump of grass and used her Concealment skill to dim herself and blend into her surroundings.

After a patrol of Aolu Mages passed along the path ahead, she leaped out nimbly and sprinted to the corner of Northeast Castle.

How was she supposed to get inside?

Luke realized she had underestimated Aolu Academy's response. Shadows moved everywhere inside and outside the castle. There was no chance of sneaking in.

Should she log off and come back tomorrow?

Just as Luke hesitated, a faint voice called from above her: "Professor Clear Sky, Professor Clear Sky..."

Luke looked up and saw Haidixike, whom she had met on the academy shuttle, leaning out of a second-floor window and waving at her.

"Professor Clear Sky, someone's coming from that way... Hurry, get up here!"

Luke heard someone approaching too, and immediately teleported to the second-floor window and slipped inside.

It was a corridor.

Luke's sudden teleportation startled Haidixike, who was guarding the window, along with the three children with him. Lydia, the girl who had sat beside Luke on the shuttle, was among them.

Luke smiled at the four nervous-looking children. "Everyone at Aolu Academy is trying to catch me now. Aren't you afraid?"

"We... We believe you're a good person, Professor Clear Sky... No, a good Elf. Councilor Virgil must be framing you. My father says he's a liar, a scoundrel, a criminal who deserves to be hanged.

"We'll help you hide.

"Lydia, go check whether anyone's coming from up ahead."

"Okay, okay."

Luke's friendly manner eased Lydia's nerves. Clutching her Magic Wand, she mustered her courage and ran toward the other end of the corridor.

Luke turned to Haidixike and the other two children. "Thank you for helping me, but helping me will put you in danger.

"I know how to get out. You should find somewhere safe to hide, and don't tell anyone you saw me."

Haidixike put on a brave front. "Professor Clear Sky, we're not afraid of danger. We can—"

A blade pressed against Haidixike's neck, stopping him from finishing.

Holding the knife, Luke said to the three terrified children, "You should be afraid! Councilor Virgil was right. I'm very, very dangerous! And I'm not a professor at Aolu Academy. I made all that up.

"Children, just because you think someone is a good person doesn't mean they are.

"Next time something like this happens, make sure you listen to your teachers.

"Do you understand?"

The three children stood rigid, staring blankly as they nodded.

Just then, Lydia ran back from up ahead, shouting, "Someone's coming! Run!"

But when she saw her three friends being threatened with a knife by the Elf, she froze in shock.

Behind her, a squad of Imperial Secret Agents charged around the corner.

The moment they spotted the intruding Elf, they all drew their blades. They knocked Lydia down and trampled over her.

Seeing that the Imperial Secret Agents had each unleashed a combat skill as they charged, with no regard for the three academy students beside her, Luke quickly sheathed her knife and charged at them.

"Run!" Luke warned Haidixike and the other two.

With a blade in each hand, she enchanted them with Ice Wheel, sending a blast of freezing air forward.

Clear Sky's level shot up to 100.

Luke had no idea what had happened to Lydia after the Imperial Secret Agents trampled her. That enraged her. She would rescue the girl who had tried to protect her as quickly as possible.

But just as Luke was about to swing Ice Wheel at the Imperial Secret Agents, an owl rushed past her from behind.

The corridor immediately filled with howling wind. The powerful gust shoved the charging Imperial Secret Agents aside and pinned them against the walls.

At the eye of the storm, the owl transformed into an old man dressed in a black mage's robe. Leaning on a long-handled Magic Wand, he walked between the Imperial Secret Agents, who had been swept apart by the wind, and picked up Lydia, who lay unconscious on the floor.

The wind stopped. The agents crashed heavily to the ground.

"Headmaster Wilfred!" Haidixike shouted when he saw the old mage.

The Imperial Secret Agents struggled to their feet. Faced with the headmaster of Aolu Academy on one side and the Elf Slayer Clear Sky on the other, they didn't know what to do.

One of the agents, who seemed to be in charge, asked Headmaster Wilfred, "Headmaster, we're helping you capture the killer. Why did you attack us?"

Wilfred checked on Lydia and confirmed she wasn't in mortal danger. Then he handed her to an Aolu Mage who had rushed over after hearing the commotion.

"Helping me capture the killer? Then why did I see you hurting my students?

"I should never have let you in.

"Get out. All of you, leave Aolu Academy."

The Imperial Secret Agents knew they had angered Headmaster Wilfred. They also hadn't expected him to show up here at just that moment.

With things having turned out this way, leaving was their only option if they wanted to live. They would report what had happened to Councilor Virgil and let him deal with Headmaster Wilfred.

The Imperial Secret Agents slunk away.

The three students ran along the wall to stand behind Wilfred, then checked on Lydia.

Wilfred tapped his Magic Wand against the floor. The window behind Luke sealed shut.

"Elf, tell me why you infiltrated Aolu Academy."

Luke smiled. "Infiltrated? I came here openly on an Aolu Academy shuttle, and I entered through the front gate."