Returning to the Academy

After entering Rogue Encampment once, Diya came out feeling as if his head were about to split apart, as though an incomparably sharp awl were drilling back and forth inside his skull, and as though something were trying to force its way into his brain from the outside. The sensation made Diya clutch his head in both hands, curl his body up, and roll back and forth on the floor, yet he did not dare make a sound, afraid Uncle Fu would hear.

Who knew how much time had passed before Diya's body stopped rolling, and then he sank into sleep. His mental power was slowly, gently recovering.

"Young master, it's time for lunch. Young master." Knock, knock—the sound of rapping came from the door as Uncle Fu called from outside. Diya opened his eyes blankly and slowly sat up. Hearing Uncle Fu's voice, he finally answered, "I know, Uncle Fu. I'll be out."

He shook his head. Diya found that the pain had vanished. On the contrary, he seemed to be even more spirited. After carefully checking himself over, Diya discovered in surprise that his mental power had actually grown by a tiny, detectable amount. Could it be that after mental power was completely exhausted, recovering it again could produce a growth effect?

If that was the case, should he use this method in the future to increase his mental power? Although that feeling after draining his mental power dry was far too painful, to become even stronger, he had no choice but to endure it.

Opening the door, Diya left his room and entered the kitchen to begin eating. Afterward, he returned to his room again.

"Diablo, do you think this method is feasible?" Diya asked, explaining the mental power training method he had just thought of.

"It's feasible, sure, but, mm, let Radish tell you." Diablo's voice fell silent, then rang out again, carrying an icy chill and speaking in an even, neither high nor low tone. "The Mental Power Overdraft Training Method can effectively increase mental power, but each use will overdraw a certain amount of potential. It must recover for a period of time before it can be used again; otherwise, it will endanger the soul."

"Uh." Diya was very unused to Radish speaking in this tone, but he continued asking, "How long does it take to recover?"

"You need half a month."

"Oh." Diya was slightly disappointed. It could only be used once every half month. "Diablo, come out. Do you have any mental power training methods?"

"Heh heh, as expected, you can't stand that sullen show-off. No. This great lord's mental power is naturally powerful and doesn't need training." Diablo first boasted about himself, then said, "Back in Hell, those human cultivators who opposed me did have some decent mental power training methods, but unfortunately Hell has exploded now, and they were all blown into oblivion. But maybe your luck will be good. If you get fragments in the future, perhaps there'll be something inside them. In short, that'll depend on you."

Diablo did not have one, and Diya had no other way. He could only try his luck in the future. Methods for training mental power were extinct on Brahma Continent as well—or rather, they had never truly appeared. Mages and summoners did not deliberately train their mental power. It was merely that in the process of cultivation, their mental power naturally increased passively.

With nothing to do, Diya flipped his palm, and the Horadric Cube appeared in his hand. He vaguely remembered that the Horadric Cube could store things. Diya took out Flick Sword and put Flick Sword into the cube. Abruptly, a third of his mental power was sucked away all at once, and only then did the little sword shoot into the cube with a whoosh.

Diya could not help a bitter smile. Before, he had still been satisfied with his mental power, which far surpassed ordinary people's, but looking at it now, it seemed far from enough. He wondered whether putting things into the Horadric Cube consumed different amounts of mental power according to their mass and such.

Diablo did not know either, so Diya could only test it himself. With a thought, he took Flick Sword back out, which consumed another portion of his mental power. He had no choice but to sit and let his mental power recover naturally.

After some time, his mental power had more or less recovered. Diya picked up other things and tried putting them into the cube. Sure enough, the mental power consumed was different.

After several tests, Diya was finally able to confirm that when putting things into the Horadric Cube, the mental power consumed was closely related to the size and volume of the item, and also somewhat related to the quality of the item. The smaller and poorer in quality it was, the less mental power it consumed.

It seemed that although this cube could be used as a storage item, the strength of his mental power still needed to be improved.

The afternoon passed by in a hurry again. Another night came, and the morning sun rose once more, repeating the same motion every day, yet always so full of vitality.

Today, however, seemed a little different. There were more clouds in the sky than usual, and they were somewhat thicker too. After Diya ate breakfast, he went out. This time, he was going to the academy to take a look, and drop by the library while he was at it to see if he could find any information about mental power.

When Diya arrived at the gate of Carlos Academy, the gate had long since been shut. The gatekeeper was lazily basking in the sun. Seeing Diya walk over, the gatekeeper impatiently opened the gate and let Diya enter.

The morning air was especially fresh. As the breeze brushed lightly past, Diya walked leisurely, yet his steps were quite fast as he headed toward the teaching building. He went upstairs, passed several classrooms, and once again arrived at the entrance to the summoning class.

Looking at the charming figure on the lectern, Diya did not feel surprised at all. He looked at her indifferently, then walked straight in and sat down in his exclusive seat.

Christiana had already decided that as soon as class ended, she would have Pig or a student take her to Diya's home to see what exactly was going on. She had not expected that, while class was underway, a figure would suddenly appear in the doorway. His black robe looked somewhat old, and his rather thin-looking body was not tall. What surprised Christiana was that this figure was actually the young man who had brought her back to Carlos Academy before.

There was not the slightest surprise in his eyes. He even looked at her calmly. Could it be that he did not know the person he helped back then was me? This thought flashed through Christiana's mind as she watched Diya walk into the classroom.

"Diya, how can you treat Instructor Christiana so rudely?" Gaia shot up from his seat, pointing angrily at Diya, while the corner of his eye still glanced toward Christiana, hoping this instructor would give Diya some punishment.

"Diya." Christiana repeated it once. So this was the person she had been looking for. Though walking into the classroom without greeting anyone made him seem extremely arrogant, he had helped her before, and judging by his behavior that night, it differed somewhat from what Pig, Gaia, and the others had said. With her preconceived impression, Christiana felt there might be certain things here that she did not know.

"You're Student Diya?" Christiana smiled faintly, her gaze returning to calm as she asked softly.

"That's me," Diya answered lightly. "Instructor, teach your class. Just pretend I don't exist."

"Ah." Christiana's little mouth parted slightly, and a trace of surprise appeared on her face. It was said that this student was very unconventional, and it seemed there was some basis for that. However, Christiana said nothing. This was not the right time to say anything either. "Students, we'll continue class. Student Gaia, please sit down."

Gaia sat down awkwardly. The scene he had expected had not appeared, leaving him extremely disappointed. In a while, he would go find Instructor Pig and tell him that this trash Diya had been extremely disrespectful to Christiana, and have Instructor Pig think of a way. Hmph.

The lesson passed quickly. Christiana's knowledge surpassed Pig's by who knew how much. No wonder she was able to replace Pig's position, Diya thought. And the same knowledge, when spoken by different people, had vastly different effects.

One was a fat-as-a-pig, vile-natured, hypocritical teacher; the other was a gentle beauty of peerless elegance, a woman whose looks could topple cities and kingdoms. Any normal person understood which one was more enjoyable to be taught by. Under circumstances like these, knowledge became especially easy to remember.

The magic bell for the end of class rang—

"Students, the next lesson is practical class, taught by Instructor Pig. Everyone, please go to Training Ground No. 9," Christiana said. She herself was an Elemental Spirit Summoner, while among the thirty students in the class, twenty-nine were Magic Beast Summoners, and the remaining one supposedly knew nothing at all.

Therefore, practical class had nothing to do with her. Christiana had never researched the incantations for summoning magic beasts, nor was it possible for her to research the incantations for summoning magic beasts.

"Goodbye, teacher," the students shouted in unison. One by one, they left the classroom, turning their heads every three steps. Apart from the girls, Diya waited until all the students had left the classroom before he stood up and was about to leave as well.

"Wait." Christiana hurriedly called Diya to a stop, somewhat annoyed in her heart. Such a great beauty was standing right beside him, yet he really ignored her just like that. It gave her no face at all.

"Instructor, is something the matter?"

"That day, thank you," Christiana said with a smile. A flash of amazement crossed Diya's eyes, then quickly faded back into calm. He nodded slightly. "It was nothing. Instructor, is there anything else?"

"You, seriously. Is being with me really that embarrassing?" The annoyance in Christiana's heart instantly expanded. She stamped her foot lightly and said in a coquettish huff. Diya's disregard made her feel extremely dissatisfied, and now he was impatient to leave again, as if she were some flood or savage beast that people feared.

"Not at all. I'm afraid Instructor would find it embarrassing to be with me." Seeing the touch of rosy red on Christiana's face, Diya first froze, then said. Abruptly, the blush on Christiana's face became even more obvious. She seemed to have thought of something, and her heart began thumping wildly in disorder, while at the same time she told herself, Isn't it just facing a child? How could I be like this? But that calmness of his really made one, made one...