IRM Chapter 67

The Magic Division under the Combat Academy was the most elite magical advanced study institution in the Saint Trilley Empire, with the entire Magic Division comprising only a few hundred teachers and students combined.

Logically speaking, in an academy with such a simple personnel structure, finding the headmaster to make a request or something shouldn’t be difficult. But the Magic Division was different—Headmaster Harvey’s office had already been listed as one of the academy’s top ten supernatural incidents. It was said that only specific professors could find its exact location.

Joseph was clearly one of them.

Ji Chi hadn’t believed in such superstitions before. After his transfer application had been intercepted by Joseph for the tenth time, he had also spent an entire day turning the academy upside down, trying to find out exactly where the headmaster’s office was.

Unfortunately, that office was like it had been erased by time itself—there wasn’t a trace of its existence to be found.

Left with no choice, Ji Chi could only circle around and come back to find Joseph.

He stared at the old professor’s face, pale with a greenish tinge, knowing that this time it was most likely hopeless. He sighed inwardly, planning to wait until Madam Emma returned before asking her to think of a solution.

After all, she was the most easy-going teacher in the entire academy.

“It’s possible.” Joseph suddenly agreed in a muffled voice. After glancing at him, he turned and walked away, leaving behind an unclear sentence. “Stay behind after tomorrow afternoon’s training class. I’ll take you to find him.”

Ji Chi froze, putting away his obedient smile. He looked at his retreating figure with some surprise. After a long while, he finally expressed his thanks with a hint of puzzlement, softly saying, “Thank you.”

The breeze conveyed this gratitude for him. Joseph received it but only gripped his grimoire with a heart full of complicated feelings.

The Demon King Castle incident, divine taboos, Harvey’s explanations, the coexistence of multiple professions—these endless bizarre events had bit by bit completely destroyed the common sense he firmly believed in, making him begin to question whether his obstruction of Ji Chi was right or wrong.

Forget it, I’ll just trust Ji Chi this once. Joseph closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them and walked forward with determination.

He hoped Ji Chi could bring him a different possibility, and also let him fantasize about how brilliant and dazzling his Vincent would have been if he could have lived to the present.

During the next day’s magic training class, Ji Chi was exceptionally attentive. His clear, bright black eyes were focused intently on Joseph, as if the old professor had grown a ton of muscle on his body.

His performance today was truly too unusual, making the young mages in the class curiously glance at him again and again.

Joseph’s voice explaining the spell procedures paused. His eyes swept over the young mages with displeasure. “Where are you all looking? Is your attention really this easily distracted? If you don’t properly train your focus normally, do you want to lose concentration during battle? How many lives do you all have to withstand such repeated negligence!”

The young mages were scolded until their heads felt as large as bushels. They hung their heads down and no longer dared to let their eyes wander.

Joseph snorted. His gaze imperceptibly paused on Ji Chi for a few seconds, a trace of relief flashing in his eyes.

Although he understood very well that this little rascal’s good behavior today was entirely an act to curry favor with him, it didn’t prevent the old professor—who was used to being emotionally manipulated—from feeling satisfied by just this much.

The old professor finished the afternoon training class in a pleasant mood and dismissed the class. “That’s all for today’s training class. Remember to practice the spells I taught today several times when you go back. Ji Chi, you stay behind.”

The young mages, having long grown accustomed to this, left Ji Chi with a sympathetic look and whooshed away without a trace. Their swift movement spell was quite proficient under the shadow of Joseph’s after-class detentions.

Soon only Ji Chi and the old professor remained on the training lawn. Joseph casually released a small wind vortex, blowing away the grass clippings stuck to their robes.

As Joseph put away his wand and walked forward, he said, “Follow me. I’ll take you to the headmaster’s office now. There’s one thing you need to remember—Headmaster Harvey generally doesn’t wear a hat in his office. Don’t look around everywhere, especially at some very conspicuous things…”

Joseph’s reminder was quite tactful. Ji Chi quietly processed this for a moment, then nodded with understanding.

They came to a building standing alone next to the teaching building. It should be considered the Magic Academy’s administrative building, with quite a few of the empire’s renowned mages coming and going through the open white door.

“Good afternoon, Professor Joseph!”

“How was your day today, Professor?”

As soon as they entered, many mages slowed their pace and greeted Joseph with smiles, their tones all filled with respectful admiration, clearly recognizing the old professor’s abilities.

Joseph nodded to each of them in turn and directly led Ji Chi to the top floor.

When stepping onto the last stair, Ji Chi frowned slightly and his footsteps paused.

When he had previously searched for the headmaster’s office, this was the first place that had come to mind. But after he had painstakingly snuck to the top floor, all he saw was a blank corridor with snow-white walls on both sides—not a single entrance to any room.

But this time, he saw it—a solitary red wooden door at the very end of the right side of the corridor, quietly closed. The door frame was covered with scratches and faded marks, as if it had witnessed a long history, clearly not from the same era as the brand new surrounding walls.

This was the divine power of [Time]. No wonder he hadn’t been able to notice it before.

Joseph said to Ji Chi behind him, “Do you find it strange that there’s nothing here? Actually, the headmaster’s office is in this corridor, changing to a different place each day of the week. I don’t know what kind of magic this is—it’s quite annoying…”

Ji Chi: “…” Is it really okay to badmouth the headmaster right at the door?

Joseph walked forward while thinking with a furrowed brow, muttering quietly, “Wednesday, Wednesday should be at the far left… no, the right side.”

Joseph came straight to the red wooden door. Although what he saw was only a snow-white wall, his knocking hand truly and solidly struck a heavy wooden door.

The wooden door creaked open with a sound, welcoming the visiting guests.

Harvey sat behind his desk. Not far beside him was a tall coat rack with a thick wig hanging on it like a hat. On the branch fork next to the wig, a plump owl stood drowsily.

The afternoon sunlight happened to shine in from the window behind Harvey, reflecting off his shiny bald head and forming a conspicuous bright spot.

Ji Chi’s gaze only lingered on the shiny bald head for an instant before he looked away, strictly following Joseph’s reminder not to stare.

Harvey looked up and saw them, standing with a smile. “How rare! Look who this is! Young friend Ji Chi, every rumor about you is quite exciting.”

Ji Chi politely greeted him. “Headmaster Harvey.”

Harvey nodded with a smile, then turned to speak with Joseph. “What happened to the professor today, that you’re actually willing to bring him to see me? Aren’t you afraid he’ll transfer academies?”

When Joseph heard about transferring academies, his face darkened. He snorted and said to Ji Chi, “You tell him yourself.”

Ji Chi smiled and looked at Harvey. “Headmaster, I would like to have auditing qualifications for the Engineering Academy. May I apply to you for this?”

The academies in this world had very strict control over educational resources. Students who weren’t from the academy didn’t even have the qualification to enter it, so situations like small academies freeloading off larger academies’ classes wouldn’t occur.

Therefore, if Ji Chi wanted to freely enter and exit these academies, he could only apply to the academy’s upper management.

This was the second time Harvey had heard this request. The last time, Joseph had also been here, having his son Vincent apply to him for qualifications to enter and exit the Alchemy Academy.

Harvey recalled the past and sighed imperceptibly. He thought for a moment and said, “I won’t block any child pursuing knowledge, but after all, I’m only responsible for Magic Academy matters. As for the Engineering Academy…”

“How about this,” Harvey pondered. “Before long, it will be the new recruitment test for the Engineering Academy. I’ll get you a spot. As long as you can pass this test, I’ll persuade Headmaster Wayne to let you audit. How about that?”

Ji Chi knew this was the fairest and most just method. Without hesitation, he agreed and thanked him. “Of course. Thank you, Headmaster.”

Harvey looked at him deeply, saying meaningfully, “No need. I also hope to see a special child.”

Joseph didn’t understand Harvey’s implication. He only knew that Harvey had agreed, so he bowed slightly to Harvey, preparing to leave. “Then we’ll trouble you. If there’s nothing else—”

Joseph’s words were cut off halfway and instantly froze. Not only him, but time in the entire world had become stagnant.

The surroundings suddenly became terrifyingly quiet. Sound wouldn’t transmit, light and shadow wouldn’t change, and even the owl on the coat rack’s eyes remained in a state of one open and one closed, bizarrely frozen there, its open large eye eerily staring at Ji Chi.

Ji Chi knew this was again the power of the [Time] divine nature. It could stagnate the time of all things and could also trace back the world’s history.

But now, this power clearly couldn’t completely control him.

Ji Chi lightly moved his somewhat heavy fingers. A flash of contemplation passed through his eyes. He thought of the headmaster’s office he had previously searched for desperately but couldn’t find, knowing this was his [Creation] divine nature at work, allowing him to resist part of the power from other deities.

However, Ji Chi didn’t immediately show this. He just stood there calmly with an expression of nothingness, his gaze vacantly looking out the window, quietly waiting for Harvey to approach and see what he wanted to do.

Harvey didn’t yet know that this otherworlder who seemed to have cheats enabled had even obtained divine natures. He walked out from behind his desk, circled around Ji Chi, sizing him up and down without any courtesy, still making tsk-tsk sounds of evaluation.

“He looks quite ordinary. But compared to other otherworlders, being too ordinary actually seems abnormal…” Harvey kept circling around Ji Chi, the reflection on his bare scalp coming in waves, uncomfortably glaring.

“Moreover, you learned alchemy and summoning so quickly. What does your soul actually look like? I really want to take it out and study it. It must be beautiful and powerful, right?” Harvey pinched his chin and leaned close to Ji Chi’s face, very very close, as if trying to see through those pitch-black eyes to somewhere deeper.

Ji Chi endured for a while but finally couldn’t take it anymore. First, psychologically, he couldn’t accept a bald middle-aged man getting close. Second, physiologically, he couldn’t accept the stinging pain of the reflection shining in his eyes.

He suddenly stepped back and raised his hand to rub his eyes that were welling with tears. “Headmaster, why don’t you first research how to grow hair? I think that’s the more critical matter.”

Harvey, struck at his sore spot, was enraged. “Do you think I don’t want to? With so many frustrating matters, I grow one hair and lose two—what can I do about it!”

After reflexively venting his anger, he realized his power hadn’t disappeared, and time in this world was still under his control.

For the first time, Harvey felt developments had exceeded his grasp. He looked at Ji Chi with shock. “Why haven’t you been controlled by me? Only true gods… you actually obtained a divine nature?”

Severity suddenly gathered in Harvey’s eyes. A staff began to materialize faintly in his hand. “How did you obtain it? Who did you kill?”

Ji Chi raised his eyes to look at him. His right hand curved slightly—a defensive posture that could retrieve a weapon for counterattack in the fastest time. He sneered. “Before questioning me, why not consider other possibilities? For instance, you deities—isn’t there a single one among you who’s normal?”

Harvey froze. A detestable face flashed through his mind, instantly dispelling his desire to attack. “Oh right, I forgot about Phaestus, didn’t I?”

“I was wondering why the merfolk canceled the ritual. So it was your doing?” Harvey’s expression changed quickly, immediately revealing a peculiar smile. “They said it was the forgiveness of the God of Forging. I thought it was strange—even if Phaestus likes to play tricks on people, he wouldn’t specifically disguise himself as a mermaid…cough.”

Harvey didn’t continue because he discovered Ji Chi had already drawn his longsword and was staring at him with an unfriendly expression.

Ji Chi simply couldn’t understand. “What is wrong with you all? Are deities in this world selected based on their level of unreliability?”

“Well, not exactly…” Harvey touched his bald head, an helpless smile rising in his eyes. “Deities also have emotions. Being too serious makes it easy to break down, and once even we give up…”

Harvey didn’t continue. He just looked out the window at all things with an expression Ji Chi couldn’t comprehend—sorrowful yet tender.

Ji Chi looked at him suspiciously, feeling that this guy was putting on an act of profundity. But without evidence, he could only return to the main topic, nodding in acknowledgment. “That’s right. I passed Phaestus’s trial in the Weiss Sea, and he gave me this.”

As he spoke, Yuan Yuan emerged in response to his summons.

Yuan Yuan, with an additional pale golden crystal on its body, had become considerably smarter. It would sometimes secretly slip out to observe this world, but most of the time it hid somewhere unknown, doing who knows what.

Harvey leaned in, squinting to examine it. “Mm, that’s right. It’s that guy’s divine nature.”

Then he looked at Ji Chi with some sympathy. “Then you’re quite impressive. Passing his trial must not have been easy, right?”

Ji Chi didn’t want to recall the experience of being constantly toyed with. He put Yuan Yuan away and tried to make a request. “You see, I’m more or less a God of Forging now, so how about the Engineering Academy test just…”

Harvey hadn’t expected Ji Chi’s focus to be on this. He put his hands behind his back, looking at him with a smile. “That won’t work. Headmaster Wayne isn’t an easy-going dwarf. Even if Pheastus himself wanted to enter the Engineering Academy, he’d have to pass his test.”

Ji Chi’s face showed incomprehension.

Having won back a round in this inexplicable place, Harvey was in a much better mood. He said with a chuckle. “I really can’t help you with this. In any case, I wish you success in passing the recruitment test, new-generation God of Forging.”