As soon as the jade box opened, an icy chill spilled out, and the temperature in the Supply Storeroom began to plummet. Han Shuo could not help shivering again before focusing all his attention on the object inside the green jade box.
It was an emerald-green sphere, its surface like jade, shimmering with a faint green halo. A tiny red spot inside it, like a rolling drop of fresh blood, swirled ceaselessly within the sphere.
A sudden pain struck his head. Han Shuo felt his Mental Power begin draining rapidly into the sphere, somewhat like the sensation of casting necromancy. As his Mental Power flowed into it, the sphere's surface grew an even richer green, and the bloodlike red spot inside abruptly flashed with a glimmer of blood-red light.
Agony! It was as though a keen dagger were viciously churning inside Han Shuo's head. As his Mental Power drained rapidly away, the pain in his head became unbearable. In all his life, Han Shuo had never endured such brutal pain.
In this moment of excruciating pain, Han Shuo should have lost consciousness and passed out. Strangely, however, his mind was clearer than ever. He even felt that it was precisely this unprecedented clarity that magnified the pain without limit.
Clutching his head in both hands, Han Shuo let out hoarse, inhuman growls like a beast being sliced apart piece by piece. His Mental Power continued flowing slowly into the sphere, and the inhuman agony went on.
At that moment, veins bulged across Han Shuo's forehead, neck, and exposed arms, writhing over his body like earthworms. The muscles of his already somewhat sturdy body bunched together, seemingly filled with power on the verge of exploding.
Just as Han Shuo felt his Mental Power was about to be drained dry, the Demonic Essence within him flowed from his neck into his brain. The instant it entered his splitting head, the searing agony seemed to intensify tenfold.
The Mental Power that had just rushed into the sphere surged violently back like a towering wave, engulfing Han Shuo in an instant. Finally unable to endure it, he passed out.
When Han Shuo slowly regained consciousness, he felt as exhausted and weak as though he had completed a march of ten thousand miles. His mind, however, was remarkably clear. As he focused on his surroundings, he discovered that he could distinctly make out even the grain on the wooden door ahead.
Han Shuo gave a soft murmur of surprise, startled by the change. The last time he had experienced this sensation was when he had first acquired Mental Power by accident and felt his senses sharpen. Now the sensation was even clearer, prompting him to hastily gather his Mental Power to test it.
An expression of wild joy instantly spread across his face. The saying that good fortune follows survival really is true, Han Shuo thought. He had actually survived that perilous ordeal, and now misfortune had turned into a blessing: inexplicably, he felt that his Mental Power had increased enormously, by more than he had gained through over two months of arduous meditation.
Something so inconceivable had truly happened. Still astonished, Han Shuo looked again at the dark green sphere before him. The faint green halo on its surface seemed a little dimmer now, but the bloodlike crimson drop inside looked even more vivid.
Frowning, Han Shuo moved a few inches farther away and examined the emerald-green sphere carefully. Suddenly, he felt that it closely resembled something. After thinking it over, he gave a startled shudder as he realized that the sphere looked very much like an eyeball. Once that impression took hold, the more closely he studied it, the more it resembled one.
As the crimson drop rolled within the emerald-green sphere, it seemed like an eye turning to examine him, giving Han Shuo an extremely uncanny feeling. He shivered, his skin crawling, and abruptly snapped the jade box shut. With a click, the box locked itself again, and the key inserted into its slot popped out on its own.
Shaking his head, Han Shuo dismissed the association between the sphere and an eyeball and silently pondered. The more he thought, the stranger the sphere seemed. Had his Demonic Essence not suddenly circulated into his brain today, the sphere would certainly have drained his Mental Power dry, and he would have been unable to withstand the inhuman agony, becoming a genuine madman or idiot.
Yet when his Demonic Essence had finally circulated into his brain, the Mental Power being drained away had abruptly returned like a river reversing its course, even greatly increasing his Mental Power. This made the sphere seem still more mysterious and unfathomable to Han Shuo. He vaguely felt that it was certainly no ordinary object; otherwise, Duke would not have killed Dylan over this jade box.
No matter how he thought about it, Han Shuo could not work out what the emerald-green sphere inside the jade box was or what it did. But since it had nearly turned him into a real idiot, even recalling it now left him shaken. He immediately put the jade box away beneath his bed again, planning to investigate further only after discovering what was inside and what it did.
The next day.
After getting up, Han Shuo felt much better physically than he had the day before. While washing early that morning, he spotted Keri and Borg in the distance, actually cleaning the stone statues along the path. Judging by their appearance, they seemed to have risen much earlier than usual, and they were still yawning incessantly.
When Keri and Borg saw Han Shuo, they forced friendly smiles at him from afar, taking the opportunity to remind him to plead with Teacher Fanny for them soon.
After breakfast, Han Shuo swept the corridor outside the Necromancy Department classroom and listened to another of Teacher Gene's lessons on the fundamentals of magic, then headed straight for the Trial Ground.
"Brian, Fitch is in the Trial Ground asking Teacher Fanny about magic. Please hurry and put in a word for us, or we really might be done for!" At the entrance, Han Shuo encountered Keri and Borg, who had just helped clean the Trial Ground. The moment they saw him, they hurriedly pleaded with him.
Han Shuo nodded and said lazily, "All right, all right. I'll go see Teacher Fanny now."
Fitch was at odds with Gene, and he had long since become an intermediate mage, so naturally he did not need to keep attending Gene's lectures on basic magic.
When Han Shuo entered the Trial Ground, he found Fanny standing with her back to the entrance, a black strip of cloth tied behind her head. Her black mage's robe clung tightly to her perfect figure. From behind, she had a slender waist and narrow shoulders, while her full, round bottom formed an exquisite, captivating curve.
Beside her, Fitch gazed at Fanny with an entranced expression, his eyes gleaming with a greedy mixture of adoration and lust as they roamed ceaselessly over her beautiful body. He did not notice Han Shuo's arrival at all.
"Fitch, watch carefully. Even blindfolded, I can use my memory of what I saw earlier to direct dark creatures to find the correct target." Fanny's eyes were covered by the black cloth. As she spoke, several zombies crossed some obstacles and smashed the clubs in their hands into wooden dummies.
Absorbed in her instruction, Fanny naturally had no idea that Fitch was not really listening to her at all. His attention was now focused entirely on the beautiful curves of her body.
Seeing that Fitch was not listening to Fanny's explanation at all and was merely letting his gaze roam over her body, Han Shuo thought, No wonder this fellow has failed so many times to advance to High Mage.
From the look of things, Fitch was certainly using questions about magic as an excuse to spend time alone with Fanny. With her eyes covered, Fanny must have been teaching him how to direct dark creatures' attacks with his mind.
As Han Shuo made his way over, he noticed the many obstacles around him and could not help carefully avoiding them as he moved toward Fitch and Fanny.
Just as he was about to reach them, Fitch finally snapped out of his idiotic stare at Fanny. Turning his head slightly and seeing Han Shuo, he revealed a trace of undisguised disgust in his eyes.
Then Fitch moved the magic staff in his hand and murmured a couple of incantations. Some of the obstacles on the ground suddenly seemed to come alive. Several broken, bleached bones shot toward Han Shuo's bottom, while some ropes abruptly drew taut and coiled toward him like snakes.
Because of what had happened the previous night, Han Shuo's body was somewhat weaker than usual today. His steps grew disordered as he dodged in panic, and eventually a rope that suddenly appeared tripped him, sending him stumbling toward Fanny and Fitch.
At that moment, Fanny was concentrating intently on gathering her Mental Power to control the dark creatures as they attacked their targets, still explaining things to Fitch without pause. Although she heard some noises, she paid them little attention.
As he was about to fall into Fitch and Fanny, Han Shuo remained calm inwardly, though his hands kept flailing as he tried to grab something to steady himself. Just then, a sneer curled Fitch's lips. He raised his Magic Staff slightly and swung it toward the falling Han Shuo, plainly up to no good.
Flustered, Han Shuo forcibly twisted his body a little to the left in midair, trying to avoid Fitch's attack. As he toppled toward Fanny, the results of his Demonic Cultivation Art showed themselves. His waist suddenly tensed, and with an exertion of his lower abdomen, his body miraculously stopped just before he fell onto her.
But Han Shuo failed to pull back his flailing right hand in time, and it landed on Fanny's full, pert bottom. Instantly, through that exquisite contact between his right hand and her bottom, a rapturous sensation of round, plump softness traveled into his mind.
As though possessed, Han Shuo even gave it a gentle squeeze before abruptly coming to his senses and springing backward. Realizing the outrageous thing he had just done, he was utterly terrified. Fanny definitely won't let me off now. Why did I have to squeeze her bottom just then-even if it did feel wonderful!
As he sprang away, Han Shuo saw Fitch beside Fanny staring at him with blazing eyes and trembling all over, as though Han Shuo had committed the atrocity of murdering his entire family. Fanny also gave a startled cry and immediately tore off the black cloth covering her eyes.
Fanny definitely won't let me off now. I'm done for, done for, Han Shuo thought.
Smack! Smack! Two slaps abruptly left a pair of red handprints on Fitch's face as he glared furiously at Han Shuo. Fanny, her face filled with rage, stared murderously at Fitch, her ample breasts heaving as she shouted angrily, "Damn you, Fitch! How dare you take advantage of the situation to grope me!"
Before you continue