Magic Was Too Useful! (Please Keep Reading)

"Name?"

"Lu Yi."

"Soul Power Level?"

"Level seventeen."

"Age?"

"Twelve."

The registrar's pen stopped. He looked up at Lu Yi. "Twelve by your actual age or your traditional age?"

Lu Yi frowned. "I turned twelve a month ago. Why?"

"Can't register you! You're over the age limit," the registrar said flatly.

As the registrar moved to toss his registration form into the trash, Lu Yi hurriedly caught his hand. "I got it wrong! I gave you my birthday on the lunar calendar. I'm actually a few days short of twelve!"

But the registrar remained unmoved, his expression strictly business. The people waiting behind Lu Yi were plainly growing impatient.

Bei Bei, who had taken Huo Yuhao through the special admissions line, noticed something was wrong on Lu Yi's side. He started forward, then stopped when Lu Yi handed over a letter. "I have a recommendation letter from Zhang Lexuan of the Shrek Inner Court!"

The registrar almost laughed. Did Lu Yi really think he wouldn't check?

Every year, people tried to enroll with forged recommendation letters. Even when caught, the worst that happened was expulsion.

They tended to have one thing in common: their Soul Power had only just passed level fifteen. Lu Yi fit the pattern perfectly.

After all, someone who had reached level twenty wouldn't need to go to the trouble of forging a letter.

And surely anyone who could earn a recommendation from an Inner Court disciple would have to be a genius of at least level twenty-five?

He took the envelope and opened it. Inside was stationery bearing the Shrek Inner Court watermark, along with a bright red official seal. The amusement vanished from his face.

"There's nothing wrong with the recommendation letter!"

Keeping his expression steady, the registrar slipped the letter back into its envelope and hurriedly picked up his pen to fill in the remaining information.

After accepting Lu Yi's tuition of ten Gold Soul Coins, he seemed to have second thoughts. "Sorry about my mistake just now. Is there anything you need, or any questions you have? If I can help, I will!"

"Questions?" Lu Yi wasn't surprised by the change in attitude. He thought for a moment. "Actually, there is one thing!"

The registrar brightened. "Go ahead!"

"Could you put me in another class? Any class at all, as long as it isn't Class One!"

The homeroom teacher of this year's Freshman Class One was none other than the notorious Zhou Yi.

Lu Yi clearly remembered that she liked to throw her weight around and expel students at the drop of a hat.

Yet she was forever boasting about how effective her teaching methods were.

Well, of course. Expel everyone who failed to meet the standard, and everyone left would meet it. It would be hard for her promotion and graduation rates not to look good.

But Lu Yi had magic to study as well as Soul Power to cultivate. He had no intention of following Zhou Yi's approach.

The registrar breathed a sigh of relief at Lu Yi's request.

Such a small favor was easy for him. He agreed at once.

Then he remembered the relationship between those two teachers and had an idea of his own. He turned, placed Lu Yi's records and recommendation letter in a sealed pouch, and walked over to the row of cabinets behind him.

Apart from cabinet number one, the cabinets were still empty. Even so, he put the pouch straight into cabinet number nine.

He took a key from a drawer beneath the cabinets and returned to Lu Yi.

"Here's your dorm room key." Then he lowered his voice and said conspiratorially, "I made sure you got a room on the second floor. It's not as damp as the first."

Lu Yi thanked him, took the key, and collected his uniform and badge. Huo Yuhao happened to finish registering and came out at the same time.

Bei Bei and Tang Ya accompanied the two of them to look at the list of freshman class teachers.

When she saw that Zhou Yi was the homeroom teacher for Class One, Tang Ya looked at Lu Yi and her disciple with sympathy. She couldn't understand how that old hag had ended up teaching freshmen.

Lu Yi's gaze, meanwhile, went to the name of Class Nine's homeroom teacher.

"Mu Jin?"

Lu Yi didn't remember much about this teacher. He only vaguely recalled that he and Zhou Yi were at odds.

He doesn't get along with Zhou Yi? Then he might actually be a normal teacher!

With the deadline for that day's advancement assessment approaching, Bei Bei and Tang Ya pointed the two of them toward the dormitory and hurried away.

"Lu Yi, which room are you in? Mine's 1024." Huo Yuhao glanced at the room number on his key, then ran a hand over his brand-new freshman uniform, his eyes full of anticipation.

Lu Yi put his uniform into the Storage Bracelet Zhang Lexuan had given him. He checked the tag on his own key, and his eyes went briefly unfocused. "I'm in 2025."

"Huh? How did your room end up on the second floor?"

As they spoke, they arrived in front of the enormous dormitory building.

Perhaps because the sun was already sinking, Lu Yi didn't see Mu En, who was a peerless powerhouse yet liked to cosplay as an old dormitory caretaker out front.

Their rooms were on different floors, so they went their separate ways.

"Creeeak."

Lu Yi pushed open the worn dorm room door, revealing the sparse furnishings inside.

An old wooden table, two old plank beds, and two slightly warped metal lockers.

Most importantly, there was no bathroom!

There wasn't even a sink.

The most advanced piece of technology in the whole room was probably its simple Soul Guidance Lamp.

Lu Yi stepped inside. A faint smell of dust reached his nose, but at least there was no musty odor.

It really is much drier than the first floor! Lu Yi thought, running a finger through the dust on the table.

Judging by the even thickness of that dust, no one had lived in this room for at least half a year, and no one had cleaned it in the meantime.

But that was no problem for Lu Yi.

He gently shut the dorm room door. A Yellow Soul Ring rose beneath his feet, and his Wand appeared in his hand.

He began sweeping it toward the furnishings, murmuring an incantation.

"Scourgify!"

A breeze swept through the closed room, lifting the thick layer of dust from the table.

Yet the breeze didn't scatter the dust everywhere. Instead, the tabletop instantly regained its original color, and even its old, ingrained stains disappeared.

Lu Yi kept his Wand moving, aiming it at the beds this time.

The same thing happened again.

Only when the entire room was spotless, as though it had been washed with water, did Lu Yi lower his Wand. A little sweat had formed at his temples.

Cleaning the whole dorm had taken just over a minute and used only twenty percent of his Soul Power.

With the room clean, Lu Yi took all his belongings out of his Storage Bracelet and laid them on the table.

Earlier, when he had tried to trap the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, his bag had torn. His notes, cauldron, and many personal belongings inside had suffered varying degrees of damage.

He raised his Wand again, but this time the incantation changed.

"Reparo!"

The moment the words left his mouth, the objects on the table seemed to come alive.

Torn pages and fragments of every size were drawn into a whirlpool. As they spun through the air, they fitted themselves back together.

When the movement stopped, everything had returned to its original state and settled back onto the table.

Magic really was useful!

Lu Yi's chest rose and fell as he excitedly picked up his repaired bag.

But when his hand easily touched the inside of the bag, his smile vanished.

The Undetectable Extension Charm had failed.

"No!"