Reading and Exams

After dealing with Shalltear's matter and seeing that no one else popped out of the portal, Ryan nodded in relief.

It seemed everyone was still quite rational, except for...

Lowering his head to look at the girl still troubled by the textbooks, Ryan sighed.

Although he was unhappy that Shalltear had disregarded her own safety, she had done it for him. To be honest, he felt a little happy inside.

Shaking his head to suppress that inappropriate thought, he raised a hand and used undead magic to summon a Death Knight, sending it through the portal to proceed according to the original plan.

Great Tomb of Nazarick, sixth floor.

The circular Arena.

The decision to establish the World Portal on the sixth floor had been Ryan's final call.

Every Floor Guardian had wanted the portal built on their own floor so they could see their Supreme Being more often.

But compared to the other floors, which were filled with glaciers, lava, or tombs—not to mention the eighth floor, the final defense line packed with traps, and the private areas on the ninth and tenth floors—

the forest on the sixth floor was the most suitable. At least it would not frighten any potential visitors in the future.

Although the Great Tomb of Nazarick looked like an utterly villainous organization from every angle, Ryan still had a heart that yearned for kindness deep down... Ahem, in his heart.

At the very least, they could not look evil on the surface.

Ryan greatly agreed with one saying: if you wanted to get ahead, you needed a good appearance.

Even a thoroughly evil organization had to occupy the moral high ground.

After all, across the myriad worlds, righteous organizations were always better at lowering people's guard and earning their acceptance.

At this moment, most of Nazarick's important personnel had gathered on the sixth floor.

The instant the portal successfully opened, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. That was also why no one had been able to stop Shalltear when she rushed inside.

As a result, Albedo, who had been smiling happily before, now had anger written all over her stunning face.

"Um, I think we should send someone over to take a look first!"

Aura raised her hand and spoke somewhat awkwardly.

Although she and Shalltear often bickered, their relationship was actually very good.

Now that Shalltear had simply gone in and vanished, Aura was quite worried.

"We definitely need to send someone, but no one from Nazarick can go. We still can't be sure whether the portal truly succeeded. To be safe, have the monsters native to Nazarick go over and scout the way!"

Albedo took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and calmly gave the order to search.

Thud...

Just as Albedo finished speaking, heavy footsteps sounded from the portal.

The moment they saw the Death Knight, everyone let out a long breath.

Since the Death Knight from the planned arrangement had appeared, it meant the portal had successfully connected to the world where the Supreme Being was, and it also proved that Shalltear had not met with any accident.

"Everyone, I'll go take a look first!"

Joy flashed through Aura's eyes. Without waiting for anyone to reply, she ran inside.

"I... I want to go too."

Watching her sister run over, longing flashed through Mare's eyes.

"But someone has to stay behind and guard this place..."

Seeing the desire in Mare's eyes, Albedo hesitated.

"Then this old man shall guard it. After all, this old man's appearance does not seem particularly suitable for showing himself in the Supreme Being's world."

With a long hiss of vapor, the insect king Cocytus saw the disappointment in Mare's eyes and volunteered.

"Then we'll trouble you, Cocytus."

After thinking it over, Albedo agreed and led the others through the portal toward the world where their Supreme Being was.

On the other side,

Ryan could not help smiling when he saw the figure who had rushed out immediately after the Death Knight he summoned entered. "It's Aura. Where are the others?"

He reached out and rubbed the little girl's head as he asked.

"They should be behind me, right?"

Aura twisted her body slightly in embarrassment. Breathing in the foul air of Mars, she looked around and could not help asking, "Is this Lord Ryan's hometown? It feels so desolate."

Yellow sand stretched all around them, the air quality was terrible, and the temperature was not suitable for normal people to survive in. It was nothing like what Lord Ryan had described before.

"This place?" Ryan chuckled. "Not quite. Just think of it as somewhere I specifically chose to place the portal."

"As for my hometown..."

"Finish reading these books, and I'll take you to my world for a good trip. How does that sound?"

A set of textbooks appeared in Ryan's hand as if by magic. Shalltear, who had been secretly watching from the side, brightened immediately.

These textbooks were actually for everyone to study, not specially prepared to punish her?

What a merciful master! He could not bear to punish her even after she made a mistake. What should she do? Her body seemed to be feeling a little strange...

"Shalltear, because of your recklessness, the others only need to score sixty on the final exam for these textbooks before they can freely travel to my world. You, however, need to score eighty."

Ryan's calm words made Shalltear, who had been fantasizing, freeze. She answered miserably, then looked at the stack of textbooks as tall as she was and felt like crying without tears.

"We have to study and take exams... Hehe... hehe..."

Circles began spinning in Aura's eyes. She was at the lively, restless age; how could she have the patience to study such things? But this was a task personally assigned by the Supreme Being, and he had even said he would take her out to play once she passed the exam. She was so looking forward to it—what should she do?!

Just as Ryan was about to smile and offer a few comforting words at the sight of the little head drooping at once, he saw Albedo leading a group of people out of the portal.

"Guardian Overseer Albedo greets—"

"Enough. I've already said it several times. Stop kneeling at every little thing."

Ryan interrupted as he watched everyone come out and immediately kneel in a row.

He did not expect Nazarick to return to the free and joyful atmosphere of the guild in the past, but excessive formalities also made him uncomfortable.

He knew very well how loyal they were to him, and knowing that was enough.

"Yes, this subordinate understands."

Seeing the impatience in Ryan's eyes, Albedo did not press the matter. A gentle smile appeared on her beautiful face as she rose on her own.

"Shalltear!"

When her gentle gaze swept over Shalltear, it abruptly turned icy. Shalltear, already in the wrong, shuddered and picked up a textbook, pretending to read it in hopes of avoiding Albedo's gaze.

"Ahem, Albedo, I've already given Shalltear a scolding. Let's just leave it at that..."

Seeing the somewhat stiff atmosphere, Ryan pleaded softly.

Damn it, he was clearly the Supreme Being, so why did he feel so lacking in confidence?!

Ryan roared inwardly. Hearing this, Albedo withdrew her cold gaze from Shalltear and turned back with a gentle expression. "Your will is everything to us, but you are far too kind. Someone as unruly as Shalltear should be properly taught a lesson!"