Portrait of Princess Ranni of the Moon

Jump, thrust, run!

A single strike and escape!

After stabbing the mysterious and unpredictable Mist Hidden Noble with his sword, Seth immediately retreated, determined not to give this powerful figure a chance to retaliate.

Without even looking at the results of his attack, he chose to retreat based on his premonition of danger.

During his retreat, he prepared for the worst: what if the other party suddenly appeared in front of him, or what if the other party unleashed an unpredictable spell?

He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't come to his senses until he jumped down from the attic and was more than ten meters away from the Mist Hidden Noble.

The monster didn't chase me?

He examined the dripping blood from the rapier, recalling the feel of his hand just now; he must have truly struck his opponent and caused injury.

But how badly is this damage to the enemy? A minor injury? A slight injury? Or something that can heal in the blink of an eye?

He didn't even dare to imagine that his attack could cause serious injury or even death to the other person; that was just wishful thinking.

To be able to manipulate illusions and mists that even professors skilled in magic like them couldn't unravel—this level of magical mastery is definitely at the level of a master, surpassing that of ordinary people.

Seth stared intently at the attic, as did the others, all waiting for the other's reaction. Tu Erqi had stacked several layers of protective shields, but she still felt it wasn't enough.

There was no sound from the attic, but if you looked closely, you could see its slender figure lying on the ground.

That pose! Is it drawing Magic Array?!

Everyone was startled. Just then, Luo Jieer suddenly pointed ahead and said, "The fog is dissipating!"

Indeed, the thick fog was gradually dissipating, and the demons hidden in the fog turned into dust amidst their unwilling roars.

Seth looked at the still slightly moving figure in the attic, then at the dissipating mist and illusion, and gave an expression that said, "I understand."

"It can't maintain the illusion while preparing the Magic Array, which is a good opportunity to leave," he said immediately.

"That's right, let's hurry up and leave." Tu Erqi echoed, and before she could cast a Mass Invisibility Spell, everyone hurriedly fled.

How lucky! It's good that the other party neglected to control the hallucinations.

Seth and his companions didn't linger in battle. To clear the level before the elves, they only needed to defeat the final boss; the elites along the way were completely negligible.

Besides, that flute-playing figure is mysterious and unpredictable; they might not be able to defeat him.

Running away may be shameful, but it's useful!

Seth looked back, but the pavilion had disappeared as the mist dissipated, and he could no longer observe the actions of the Mist Hidden Noble.

But since we can't see the other party anymore, it must mean that we have already run out of its attack range, right?

He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, marveling at his good luck.

This academy is truly fraught with danger. Seth thought to himself.

In the attic, unseen by them, the Mist Hidden Noble lay prostrate on the ground, his pierced body trembling as if clinging to life.

He gasped for breath for a while, then finally collapsed to the ground, turning into ashes.

The purple specks of light that fell from his body were left unpicked and abandoned, and it's unknown which lucky person will end up picking them up.

After running for a while, the professor and his group, panting, found a secluded corner to rest, finally able to relax a little.

This academy, or rather, the academy itself, doesn't feel like a place for learning; it's more like a maze disguised as an academy.

At least they've never seen a school built in real life with such a twisty, convoluted layout. A normal school wouldn't need hidden doors or anything like that, would it? Not to mention the classic "cannot be opened from this side" sign. Hopefully, the designer of this academy will see that line when they need to pee or go to the toilet.

Along the way, they noticed a strange phenomenon: the "academy" elements here seemed rather scarce.

It's a very subjective feeling, just like the previous thought that this place was more like a maze. In the magic Classroom Area, there were portraits of magicians hanging on the walls, and classrooms along the corridors filled with unreadable books.

Once inside the academy, however, the number of classrooms and books decreased, and monsters were everywhere.

The portraits were still there, but the intensity of the battles along the way was too great for them to have time to examine them closely. They didn't even explore many obvious or hidden side paths, and just kept moving forward along the main road.

Until the very end.

"There's no way out," Luo Jieer said. He thought he could walk directly to the area where the leader was by following the main road, but he ended up in a dead end.

A wall appeared in front of them, blocking their way. The wall was covered with huge paintings.

As always, it's a portrait, but this time the subject is painted in a style that's quite different from the others.

That was a, well, a beautiful woman with blue skin, two faces, and four arms?

"Moon Princess, Ranni," Tu Erqi whispered, reading the name beneath the portrait.

This must be another magic instructor from the academy. I always feel that as long as someone is associated with the profession of "magician," it's not surprising that their appearance is completely out of the ordinary.

There are many portraits in the academy, each with the name of its subject, but Ranni is the only one they have found with a title so far.

Moon Princess – that name sounds impressive.

Her portrait was specially hung at the end of the main road and was much larger than the portraits of other mentors. Does this indicate that she was more important than the others?

This must be the central figure in Raya Lucaria, everyone thought.

Does this portrait hold any implications, such as the wearer's social status or school of magic?

Or perhaps, one might encounter the Moon Princess on the top floor of this magic academy?

Luo Jieer hoped not. Although the other person was very beautiful, he could tell from the portrait that she was extremely powerful. He didn't have the confidence to defeat the ancient magician.

Compared to his worries, Seth was more interested in Ranni's background. He wanted to flip the portrait to see if her background was recorded on the back, but he was blocked by an invisible shield before he could get close.

Just like the portrait of Topus, they were not allowed to get close, but they didn't know about Topus and just found it very novel.

Even the portrait is protected by a shield, which means it must be very important.

As the protective shield rose, a magical script appeared.

You have granted the world a moment of peace.

If it were a puzzle Yugi, they would see a prompt like this at this point.

You have discovered a mysterious portrait. Although you don't know its purpose, your intuition tells you that it contains important information.

"What does 'a moment of peace' mean?"

Seth frowned, completely baffled.

His intuition told him that this message was important, but his inability to decipher it made him restless, and in the end, he had no choice but to give up.

What exactly does "peace and tranquility" mean? Does it refer to peace?

"We won't find anything new if we keep looking," Tu Erqi said. "Let's go back and look at the forks in the road."

"Hmm." Before leaving, Seth took one last look at Ranni's portrait, firmly imprinting this mysterious figure in his mind.

If the main road is impassable, then we must start exploring from among the many and complex side roads.

For the first time, they felt tired of the dungeon. Unlike Yugi, there was no mini-map here, and even if a Yugi had a mini-map, it would still make people dizzy. The maze of roads made the professor and his group feel nauseous.

Exploring this place was torture for the four of them, especially since they used an almost cheat-like invisibility spell. If they hadn't been invisible and had just fought their way through, they probably would have died several times over.

They carefully assassinated the scout monsters along the way, thankfully their deaths did not trigger deathrattles that would summon more monsters.

Tu Erqi and her companions walked backwards, exploring each fork in the road. Soon, they reached a dead end on the first path, and the Explosion Crystal at the end attracted a wave of monsters that attacked them.

"Change to the next one."

Soon after, the second path also led to a dead end, but this time there were three treasure chests. The group happily went to open them, then angrily cursed:

"Damn it, there are three Treasure Chest Monsters. Switch to the next one."

They didn't finish the third path because large iron balls kept falling from the ceiling of the corridor, and there were recesses on both sides of the corridor that could accommodate one or two people.

It's easy to see how to get through these traps and mechanisms at a glance, but they're just too complicated.

"... Let's move on to the next one."

By the time they reached the fourth path, they were already somewhat weary of it.

If only the number of people exploring at the same time could be increased by another zero, this kind of open map would be perfect for many people to explore together. It was only then that Luo Jieer understood why the Lake Liurnia area did not have restrictions on the number of people or time.

When they were halfway there, they wanted to rest, but just then they heard a commotion and shouts coming from not far away.

The group exchanged glances, surprised to find that there were other people present.

When Luo Jieer arrived, his eyes widened and he called out the name on the other side.

"Lu Lu Wo!?"

"Huh?"

Lu Lu Wo, who was riding on the neck of the Royal Wraith and driving the cart, let out a surprised sound. She loosened her grip, and the Royal Wraith immediately charged towards Luo Jieer like a wild horse!

"Wow!" Luo Jieer only had time to let out a cry of surprise before the enormous Royal Wraith rushed in front of him, swinging its arms, which numbered more than those of the Grafted Noble.

"Don't worry!"

Tu Erqi promptly deployed Magic Shield around her junior. With the shield, there's no need to worry about monster attacks, right?

Luo Jieer breathed a sigh of relief, but—

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The Royal Wraith roared and swung its arm in a wide arc. The next second, its "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms" slammed viciously into the Magic Shield. Tu Erqi's proud defensive magic shattered in less than a few seconds! Endless slaps rained down on Luo Jieer's face in an instant.

"F*** you!" Even Tu Erqi couldn't help but swear. What a brutal slap that was!

As Luo Jieer's body flew backward like a tattered sack, Lu Lu Wo finally reacted. Numerous chains emerged from under her cloak and tightly bound his arms, but this was not enough; it could only restrict his movements temporarily.

"Do it!" she shouted.

Tu Erqi thought she was being spoken to, but suddenly a group of adventurers emerged from other corners and pounced on the Royal Wraith.

Oh, where did this group of burly men come from?

"Awooo!"

The Royal Wraith let out a terrified cry and, covered in sweat, passed away!

"Call"

Lu Lu Wo wiped the sweat from her forehead, clapped her hands, and said, "Thank you all for your hard work. Luckily, no one was injured."

Indeed, no one was injured, because Luo Jieer died a more serious death and has now been resurrected at the academy gate.

Well, I doubt he can get back here by himself unless someone goes back to pick him up.

"What are you doing here?" Without a moment's mourning for Luo Jieer, it was Tu Erqi who arrived next to ask the question.

She glanced at the people opposite her and found that in addition to the old members of the Skyrim Strategy Team, there were also sixteen unfamiliar faces.

Those people were all dressed as adventurers, and they didn't look like mere fodder. They weren't as good as true elites like Leon, but they were still experienced veterans.

How did the Skyrim Strategy Team manage to quietly assemble such a group of people?

"Come and take down the leader, he's just behind this road." Lu Lu Wo pointed behind her.

So this is how you get to the boss's room!

Before Tu Erqi could react, she continued:

"But I advise you not to go. You can't win. We just escaped back."

Tu Erqi frowned, not because she felt that the words were disrespectful to them, but because she felt that the leader who even the Strategy Team admitted they couldn't defeat must be incredibly powerful.

It can't be as strong as that mysterious monster that manipulates the mist, can it?

She exchanged glances with Seth and the others. What should they do if they couldn't defeat the leader in the end?

Seth shook his head. He was worried about the leader's strength, but he didn't want to lose the match against the elves.

Lu Lu Wo watched them deep in thought, then suddenly said:

"How about we team up? I've already figured out the strategy, but I'm short of people."

"I'll take you inside first to experience fighting the boss, and then you'll understand what my tactics will be."

The plot is about to accelerate.