Female One

Knowing Kel'Thuzad had one advantage: Orendo finally learned how to access the library's second floor and above.

Starting from the second floor of Dalaran's Great Magic Library, one needed the status and abilities of a full-fledged mage to enter. Moreover, the number of books dropped sharply from the second floor onward, and books in certain sections required approval to access.

From the third floor onward, one needed a certain status or had to make contributions to the academy before gaining permission to browse there.

As for the fourth floor—the top floor—only Archmages and above could enter.

Orendo finally understood why he so often ran into Kel'Thuzad near the library. That guy was actually a part-time library administrator, the same job Orendo had held back on Earth!

For the moment, Orendo had no desire to browse the second floor or above. After ten straight days of reading day and night, even merely "turning pages" had left him utterly exhausted.

He planned to rest for a few days while organizing and meditating on the contents of the books on the library's first floor. Then, he would press onward to the next level.

One consequence of reading extensively on the first floor of the Great Magic Library was that Orendo had learned of many directions mages pursued in their exploration.

The mages of this real world were nothing like the energy turrets in games. In Orendo's eyes, after combining what he knew from Earth, they were more like a blend of scholars and scientists.

The difference was that scholars and scientists on Earth studied earthly knowledge and science.

Mages on Azeroth, these hybrids of scholars and scientists, studied mystical knowledge and magic.

A mage who could only cast Fireballs, hurl Frostbolts, and bombard people with Arcane Missiles was no mage at all—they were called magical thugs!

After bidding farewell to the still-cold Kel'Thuzad, Orendo returned to the apprentice dormitory where he had lived for ten days.

Standing at the entrance and looking at the tall building, as well as the blue, faintly purple-glowing blue fatso at the door, Orendo finally noticed that something was off now that he had free time.

There were two apprentice dormitories. Though the other one had few residents as well, with only a handful of apprentices coming and going, it was far more normal than this communal dormitory, where only he had entered or left all this time.

He also recalled that Nielas Aran had twice accompanied him back out of boredom, saying he wanted to see what the communal apprentice dormitory was like.

Yet each time, upon reaching the entrance, he remembered some urgent matter and hurried away. In short, he never managed to enter this dormitory.

Previously, Orendo had been wholly absorbed in the library's books and had not thought much of it. Only now that he had some leisure did he notice it.

"Eye of Truth, is this caused by some kind of magic?" He conveyed his doubts to the Eye of Truth in his mind.

[Scanning...]

[This building possesses a total of thirteen magical effects. The current database cannot determine whether they are the spells the host suspects...]

The first floor held the most books, but it was also the lowest level. It was as though even after absorbing all the knowledge there, Orendo's own level could not rise any higher.

The same went for the Eye of Truth. It had yet to reach the point of knowing everything.

Perhaps he was overthinking it.

Or perhaps such a possibility really existed. But for now, it did not seem to be harming him.

Thinking of the icy beauty mage living in the dorm room beside his, Orendo guessed that if such a spell truly existed, she was the one who had set it.

Who exactly was she?

With that thought in mind, and with his mind finally free to wander now that he had time to spare...

Orendo gathered his courage and entered the dormitory. As if possessed, he came to her door, stood there blankly for a while, then finally gritted his teeth and knocked softly.

Doo~ doo~ doo~

The knocking sounded.

There was no response.

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to return to lie down for a while, planning to decide that night what he should do next...

Creak.

The door opened.

The icy beauty mage, a full head taller than him, stood expressionlessly behind the door, looking down at him.

"What is it?" she said.

Blocked by her magnificent Mount Hyjal, Orendo could not see the scene behind her. All he could see was her Mount Hyjal, brimming with feminine allure, and her exquisite little face.

"Um..." He had not expected her to actually be inside, much less open the door. "Good afternoon. The sun is shining brightly outside. Wouldn't you like to go for a walk?"

He truly forced himself to say it, making it up as he went. In reality, he was fully focused on worrying that she might suddenly attack.

He had no desire to end up like that black-clad thief, Moroes, flattened to the ground by a single spell and left lying there for three days!

Orendo was already beginning to regret it, regretting why he had gone looking for trouble.

Bang!

Her reply was an utterly decisive door slam.

That immediately filled him with relief.

This female mage put far too much pressure on him. Even the Eye of Truth's assessment of her was:

[Host, before this female of your species, you are like an ant standing before a giant dragon. You are the ant.]

Knocking on her door had just been curiosity killing the cat. Now that this little cat was afraid, naturally he wanted to flee at once. He thought to himself, This neighbor feels far too dangerous. I should rent a place outside like the other apprentices do!

Violet Academy provided two communal dormitories for probationary apprentices and mage apprentices, but fewer than fifty apprentices lived in them year-round.

That was because over eighty percent of mages and mage apprentices came from noble or wealthy families. Apart from their initial curiosity, no apprentice was willing to live in cold dormitories.

Take Nielas Aran, for example. Though he was from the South, his family owned property in Dalaran.

In other words, Nielas Aran had his own house in Dalaran! Aran went home every day, and the same was true of the other apprentices and mages born to noble and wealthy families.

As members of the wealthy class, even if they could not afford property in Dalaran, mages would rent a house outside.

Only the small number of truly ordinary apprentices chose to live in the dormitories. And once they became full-fledged mages, they could obtain their own accommodations within the academy or outside it, so there were truly very few apprentices living in the dorms.

If not for the convenience of reading, Orendo would not have stayed here either.

To avoid the female mage who put as much pressure on him as Mount Hyjal, Orendo decided to move out immediately.

He quietly left, turned back into his room to pack a couple of clothes, opened the door, and crept a few steps toward the corridor.

Creak.

The sound of a door opening came from behind him.

Orendo's entire body stiffened, and he stopped instinctively. The next moment, that cold voice sounded. "Come back."

"Ah..." He slowly turned around, wanting to say something. "Um..."

"Come here. Come in." Her door was open, yet she had not even stepped out. Only her voice came from within the room.

Orendo turned his head and estimated the distance to the dormitory's main entrance. The dormitory was essentially a small, square-shaped castle, and the entrance was not far past the corner of the corridor on the other side.

Walking would take about three minutes. If he ran... twenty seconds should be enough, right?

[Based on current conditions, the host has a 0.00000001% probability of successfully escaping before Female One.]

That probability...

And what did Female One mean?

[This female is the strongest female the host has encountered. Without knowledge of her name or information, Female One is her designation.]

"Are you saying I'll die if I go in?" Orendo could not help asking the Eye of Truth in his mind.

[Based on current conditions, if the host enters Female One's room, there is an 8.991% probability of survival.]

Between a probability with that many zeroes and one of around nine percent, Orendo naturally knew which to choose.

He tossed the bundle containing only two changes of clothes by the door, hoping that if some academy instructor came here, they might notice something unusual. Having made this barely better-than-nothing preparation, Orendo braced himself and entered her room.

The moment he entered.

Creak.

The door closed again.