Stars Falling Before Their Eyes 2.0

A fierce pounce!

A fierce hug!

Raging

"Mr. Jia Paer, why are you just watching!"

Luo Jieer was chased around the hall by the Rune Bear, his clothes torn to shreds by the Bear Claw, but he managed to escape fatal attacks several times.

He was panting heavily and covered in sweat when he turned around and saw the other three watching him like they were watching a show.

Hiss--

He gasped, his anger rising but he quickly suppressed it. Calm down, these people are not people he can afford to offend.

But it's so heartless of you not to come and help!

"Seth instructed us to give this kid a good workout," Tu Erqi said gleefully. "This kid doesn't write papers and stares at monsters all day. No wonder Seth is angry."

Luo Jieer's body was covered by an invisible Magic Shield, which Tu Erqi had cast on him when he encountered the Rune Bear.

However, this shield only protects his body, covering his clothes and such in front, which is why it creates such a tattered and miserable appearance.

His ability to survive multiple near-death experiences was also due to He De Si's secret help. As a professor in the field of magic manipulation, he could even manipulate the magic within others from a distance, subtly altering their magic release and helping Luo Jieer perform certain physical actions.

There seem to be three Orange Seniors, but they are actually all helping each other.

What is Jia Paer doing?

Luo Jieer turned around and saw the Sword Saint making various hand gestures at him, as if he were being directed.

I don't understand!

He clicked his tongue and, taking advantage of the brief moment he dodged the Rune Bear's pounce, cast an invisibility spell followed by a Flash Magic —though it was more of a quick speed boost—and also made a Cast Sound, hoping to run away while the Rune Bear was distracted by the noise.

However, the Rune Bear, already alerted, was not Cast Sound and ran towards Luo Jieer with incredible precision!

Damn it, footsteps and smells can't be hidden!

Luo Jieer ran in a disheveled state. He did know how to use the silencing spell, of course, but casting that spell required time to incantate, making it completely unsuitable for the current environment.

If only I could learn instant-cast silencing magic from a magic academy, I think there should be some in the Zane Dungeon.

So far, the magic produced in the Zane Dungeon has required almost no preparation time before casting, which is very convenient, but it can't be described as groundbreaking, because there are also many magics in this world that can be cast instantly.

After the initial chaos, Luo Jieer felt he had discovered the Rune Bear's attack pattern and even dared to try a counterattack.

Then he was forced back by the opponent's sudden change of tactics, a frenzied scramble, and had to run for his life.

No, it's impossible to predict the behavior patterns of wild animals.

"Aww! ┗|`O′|┛"

Rune Bear suddenly leaped up, its massive shadow instantly engulfing Luo Jieer, a distance too great for even a blink to dodge.

Just when it seemed he was about to perish under the Mount Tai Pressure, his savior finally arrived.

"Rub--"

The familiar sword light made his vision suddenly blur. When his vision gradually cleared, he realized that he was being held under Jia Paer's arm, Rune Bear was slowly falling to the ground behind him with a heavy thud.

Cause of death: He was stabbed multiple times and dismembered in seventeen ways; it was a suicide.

Luo Jieer breathed a long sigh of relief and thanked Jia Paer profusely; this man made him feel so safe.

"Not bad," Tu Erqi said, shaking the Image Stone in her hand. "Show the video to Seth later, and maybe he'll calm down. Don't blame us for not helping; it was all your mentor's request."

Luo Jieer's facial muscles twitched as he began to reflect on his past mistakes of repeatedly skipping Seth's assignments.

Despite his unshaven appearance, he's only in his thirties, which is the prime age for magicians to make their mark.

Although I have graduated, if I want to stay in the association and take on a higher position, I need to publish academic papers and do a bunch of miscellaneous things, which is really energy-consuming.

He had always wanted to use monsters as the topic of his thesis, but it was simply not going to pass the test, so he had to change to something else. However, he was not interested in or knew much about other topics, so writing the thesis became a sham.

Finally, Seth was angered.

These days, there aren't many responsible professors left. He figured he should visit them with gifts to apologize and focus on writing his thesis.

Clang—

As the Rune Bear dissipated, the Spades Key fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Jia Paer picked up the key, watching the slowly dissipating Mimic Tear, and a complex expression appeared on his face.

[Mimic Tear] and [Tear Drop Larva] differ by only a few words, but their expressions are completely different.

He had been slightly hoping that killing the opponent would result in the Tear Drop Larva dropping, which is why he acted before the other professors could to steal the kill.

As it turned out, he was overthinking things.

"Sigh." Jia Paer sighed and put the Spades Key into his pocket.

There are three keys, but we're still missing the Heart key. Should we continue exploring or go back to see what's inside the Spade room?

The group decided to continue exploring, but they couldn't find the monster carrying the red heart key. Strange, where did it hide?

Undeterred, they continued forward until they finally discovered there was no way forward.

After passing through a door hidden by a lot of clutter, they returned to the classroom door where the Sorting Hat was located.

After all that, it turns out it's China Unicom!

If the map on the right can be connected to the starting corridor at the entrance of the sub-instructor's hat classroom like the left, then the entire map will be like a "sun" lying flat. Although the roads on both sides have many twists and turns, they will always return to the starting corridor in the end.

Could it be that the heart key is actually hidden on the right side of the map?

They ultimately decided to check out the Spade room first, their curiosity finally getting the better of them.

There are three spade rooms in total. I randomly picked one at first, but found that I couldn't open it. After several attempts, I realized that I could only open them by following the order from left to right.

What are they trying to keep us in suspense all of a sudden?

"Squeak"

The first Spades Door slowly opened, and a musty smell wafted out, making everyone who stood there feel as if they had bumped into history.

In layman's terms, it's been so long since anyone cleaned it that the accumulated dust is choking us.

"It's too dark."

Tu Erqi snapped her fingers, and a small ball for lighting floated above everyone's head.

"Huh?"

When light shines into this pitch-black room, all of it is absorbed.

A streak of light suddenly flashed past everyone, like a meteor falling to earth, and gradually disappeared from top to bottom.

"What do you mean?" Jia Paer's superhuman eyesight allowed him to see clearly in the darkness what was absorbing the light—it was a mural.

But what is drawn on it is...

A second streak of light swept across the mural.

Then came the third and fourth lights. Suddenly, Tu Erqi noticed something and cast the illumination spell again, this time with increased power.

Then, countless stars fell from the universe, showering this earth with their light!

In the dimly lit secret room, with murals bathed in starlight, everyone finally saw its full appearance.

Those were vast snow-capped mountains.

At the very top of the highest mountain, a group of ragged travelers gazed at the starry sky, the stars falling before their eyes, a beautiful scene that captivated them.

Suddenly, the mural came to life.

The travelers watched the shooting stars without moving until the last one disappeared, and then they reluctantly left the mountaintop.

Their tattered clothes gradually faded under the blue starlight, transforming into the clothes Jia Paer had just seen—the robes of the Raya Lucarian Magician.

So these travelers who observed the shooting stars were magicians? No, something doesn't seem right.

Jia Paer continued reading and finally realized what was wrong.

The magicians persistently observed the starry sky, fascinated by the movement of the stars. After an unknown amount of time, the first person used magic.

When the Glintstone Pebble was born, the mages cheered.

The scene shifts rapidly, with new magic spells constantly being created. The ranks of magicians grow ever larger, branching out to teach students and spreading the knowledge of magic throughout the world.

He De Si suddenly clenched his fist.

The magicians arrived at a tranquil lake, and as they looked up, a magnificent and fantastical magic academy stood amidst the clouds and mist.

"Null--"

The lights in the room suddenly came on, instantly pulling everyone's attention back from the mural.

This was just an ordinary storeroom, filled with odds and ends except for the murals: ores of unknown purpose, sets of magician robes, and unfinished magic wands.

Looking at the mural again, it returned to the original snow-capped mountain and shooting star.

"It wasn't the magicians who observed the meteors, but the meteors that created the magicians."

Jia Paer drew his conclusion, and no one else questioned it, because the murals were already quite clear.

He De Si remained silent, making one wonder if he had lost the ability to speak, but in terms of mood, he was certainly the most agitated of them all.

Because he saw a meteor in Sellen's video, and he saw Sellen observing the meteor.

The corroboration of both parties increases the credibility of their claims!

"Magic originated from the stars?" Tu Erqi muttered to herself, "But the magic that is popular today does not have the element of stars."

"It's a gap in the lineage, and besides, the murals don't say that all magic comes from the stars," Jia Paer said. "Since one can comprehend corresponding magic from the stars, then fire, lightning, tornadoes, and so on can all produce their own magic."

"So this mural records the process by which ancient people discovered the Star Magic?"

Jia Paer nodded; that should be it.

Using images, paintings, and other means to tell a story is a common practice in the Zane Dungeon, and he has become accustomed to it.

The stories presented are often short and mostly incomplete, requiring people to use their imagination.

If you can connect on brainwaves, you'd probably really like this format.

"Splash!"

As the three were letting their imaginations run wild, a sudden sound of rummaging through drawers and cabinets came from the side.

Tu Erqi turned her head and nearly fainted, clutching her forehead as she asked, "Luo Jieer, what are you doing?"

"Let me try this on to see if it fits."

Luo Jieer pulled a magician's robe from the clutter and put it on. He also wore a tattered sapphire stone hood over his head, revealing only half of his head, making him look like a battle-damaged Kamen Rider.

"Okay, the hood is useless."

He reluctantly removed the sapphire stone shield, his experience exploring the dungeons leading him to believe that these shields would have some kind of amplification effect.

But the mage's robes do seem to have an amplification effect, don't they?

"Professor, why don't you try it?" He took off his robe and handed it to Tu Erqi, who waved it away with a look of disgust, then pulled out one for herself, using a cleaning spell to remove the dust before putting it on.

"There's a slight increase, and the magic power seems to have improved a little. This is actually a magical item?"

The increased magic power is nothing to Tu Erqi, but for mages whose strength is below Luo Jieer's, it means they can cast more spells and might just be able to turn the tide of battle.

Because the magic robe increases magical power at a fixed rate rather than proportionally, it is more useful for magicians of lower levels.

There are so many robes in the storeroom, wouldn't it be incredibly profitable to sell them?

However, it is impossible.

Luo Jieer searched for a long time but only found the first two robes that actually had an amplification effect. The rest were just ordinary items, which might be worth selling as cosplay costumes.

Most of the crates of ore had lost their luster and potency; only a small portion was still usable, and all of them were Cuckoo Glintstone.

"Huh, what's this?"

He found a purple dot of light at the very bottom of the box!

[Star Tear Drop]

A tool used for atonement.