IRM Chapter 44

The day Ji Chi emerged from the Demon King’s Castle happened to be when the training period for each academy was drawing to a close.

As the number of magical beasts had gradually recovered over the past few days, even showing a continuously rising trend, some of the smaller academies had already taken the lead in leaving this dangerous place, leaving only students from a few top academies on the continent, who continued to hone themselves without stopping for a moment.

The bear guys stood at the edge of Northland Academy’s campsite, reluctantly bidding farewell to the little mages. They were truly reluctant to part, because they would soon have to return to the Northern snowfields—that place filled with orc strongmen everywhere—and might never again have the luck to encounter a group of cute and delicate little mages.

Third Brother wailed as he hugged Brandon tightly, nearly squeezing half the life out of the young master. “Brandy, I’m going to miss you so much!”

The young master’s budding sense of farewell melancholy instantly shattered into pieces. He weakly squeezed out a few words through his teeth. “My name is Brandon…”

Third Brother immediately let out a confused “Huh?” with snot and tears still smeared on his face.

Seeing this, Evan immediately took several steps back. He wore a proper smile on his face, but his eyes showed no emotion.

He had become increasingly silent these past few days, and much more vigilant. Apart from Ji Chi beside him, he now held deep distrust toward everyone.

As for why Ji Chi was special, Evan had pondered this for a long time over these days. Finally, at the moment he woke up one morning, he suddenly realized——

Because Ji Chi didn’t need him.

Ji Chi didn’t need Evan’s abilities, didn’t need Brandon’s wealth, and didn’t need Saintess Coralie’s power…

In his eyes, everyone was simply a person, nothing more. They might have different backgrounds and personalities, but they were all clean and pure, without any heavy expectations or desires attached to them.

This was very reassuring.

Ji Chi looked at the bear guys quite speechlessly, thinking it was truly a miracle that these four kids had managed to grow up to this size.

Seeing the bear guys still endlessly arguing “Huh? Wasn’t it Brandy?” “Are you stupid? He already said it was Brant!” “You remembered wrong too! It’s clearly Brand!”

Ji Chi quickly stopped this utterly mindless debate and rescued the young master who was about to cry from sadness.

The farewell time was almost over. Ji Chi curved his eyebrows and waved at the bear guys along with his little companions. “Hope to meet again in the future.”

****

Magic Academy Mission Registration Office

Most of the little mages from first-year Class S had already assembled.

Half a month of arduous training had made everyone grow considerably. With a single glance, Ji Chi could see that everyone’s attribute values displayed above their heads had increased by a small margin.

Of course, their small group had gained the most.

Brandon had clarified his future path as a melee mage, Evan had directly advanced to Senior Mage, and Saintess Coralie had obtained the Demon King’s Castle, one of the top forces on the Demon Sword Continent.

As for Ji Chi, he looked down at his panel and, rounding things off, he basically owned all the magical beasts and Bosses on the continent… Of course, whether he could summon the Boss he wanted was another matter entirely.

Saintess Coralie clutched the S-rank mission form they had accepted earlier and stepped into the tent with a calm expression.

She was now nominally the ruler of the Demon King’s Castle, but had still decided to remain at Magic Academy to continue her studies, because she believed Magic Academy would bring her greater gains, which would benefit both her and the Demon King’s Castle’s future.

Saintess Coralie ignored the shocked or disgusted looks from others. With her slightly curly black hair flowing loose and ruby-like eyes, she looked at Madam Emma and handed over the S-rank mission form. “This is the mission we accepted. Although I don’t know what the specific standards are, I believe we completed it excellently.”

Madam Emma had learned everything when Professor Joseph emerged from the Demon King’s Castle. She looked at Saintess Coralie with some complexity, her eyes holding no ill feelings, only faint worry. “Yes… you all performed excellently. Magic Academy is proud of you.”

Madam Emma spoke the last sentence very solemnly and loudly. She was using her own way to remind other students not to isolate or exclude anyone based on racial reasons.

Unfortunately, there were always some people who willingly trapped themselves at the bottom of a small well, unable to tolerate the existence of any “different” beings.

“How can Magic Academy accept a demon student? That’s a dark creature!” A student from a senior class couldn’t help but speak out.

Saintess Coralie’s previous identity as a saintess had been too eye-catching. With such a “fall from grace,” quite a few people wanted to take the opportunity to trample her into the mud.

This was exactly the situation Madam Emma had been worried about. She put on a stern expression and said to that senior student. “Magic Academy doesn’t discriminate by race, nor does it teach students to discriminate based on race. I don’t want to hear such questioning again.”

That student seemed to extremely detest dark creatures—there were always some people who formed misunderstandings and malice toward certain groups based solely on hearsay. “What kind of questioning is this? Aren’t dark creatures naturally sinister? Fine, fine, I won’t say anything more. I don’t want to be cursed by dark magic for no reason!”

He seemed to back down, but successfully aroused suspicion and fear in other students.

“Right… have you heard about dark magic? It’s really terrifying…”

“Of course I have. I also know that people generally can’t detect it before a curse takes effect.”

“So is the academy really going to let a demon in? What if something happens?”

“…Nothing should happen, right? Isn’t she a saintess?”

“But didn’t many people in the Church get killed by demons this time? This saintess seems very suspicious…”

Saintess Coralie lowered her eyes and listened to the stream of discussions and criticisms. This was something she had anticipated early on.

However, Saintess Coralie had thought she would be very displeased hearing these words, but she quickly discovered that compared to the constraints of the Church, these doubts really didn’t matter at all.

But before Saintess Coralie could act, Brandon exploded first. His red hair curled up again: “Don’t talk nonsense! Has Saintess Coralie hurt anyone during all her time at Magic Academy?”

“Oh! Sorry! She actually has!” The young master had spent so much time with Saintess Coralie that he’d learned her sarcastic tone quite well. “She accidentally hurt your fragile heart, right? Let me see… already a third-year but still just a Junior Mage—someone who’s about to repeat a grade would indeed see everyone as a demon——”

A guy who had already repeated a grade protested. “Hey, you’re casting too wide a net there.”

The young master pretended not to hear Ji Chi’s words. Looking at the senior student whose face was alternating between green and white, he got carried away and spoke without thinking, “Not to mention Saintess Coralie’s own magic is far superior to yours—even the creatures she summons could block your filthy mouth with one finger!”

Hearing this, Evan frowned and coldly reminded, “Brandon, don’t say anymore!”

But it was already too late. More students looked over with surprise.

“Summon… what do you mean? Is Saintess Coralie also a summoner?”

“Two professions? How is that possible!”

“Wait… didn’t they say she’s the Demon King’s child? Then maybe it really is possible?”

Brandon realized his slip of tongue. His hair drooped down again as he let out a sigh and apologetically said to Saintess Coralie, “Sorry… I didn’t mean to. I was just too angry…”

Saintess Coralie didn’t mind at all. She shook her head. “It’s fine. It would have been exposed sooner or later anyway.”

But the senior student now seemed to have regained some ground and sneered. “Ha! What’s a summoner doing studying at Magic Academy? You’re not actually trying to manage both professions, are you? Such a thing that goes against natural law—aren’t you afraid of meeting a bad end!”

“Oh, really? Then I’m also very curious—what kind of bad end could that be?” Ji Chi suddenly spoke up.

His dark eyes stared directly at that student, burning with suppressed anger.

He really detested these people who presumed to decide others’ lives for them. Things they themselves couldn’t do, or thought impossible to achieve—they rashly drew such conclusions for others as well.

They would mock, advise, or obstruct, but refused to acknowledge the efforts others put in.

And there were particularly many such people.

Ji Chi’s expression turned cold as he walked toward him step by step.

The senior student hadn’t yet realized the danger and spoke righteously, “No one has ever been able to manage two professions! They either live mediocrely their whole lives, or die very…”

He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Ji Chi approaching closer, and snorted. “What? Did I say something wrong, all-element genius? Although my talent may be mediocre, I can improve bit by bit and live safely and steadily. Isn’t that better than those weird freaks?”

Ji Chi stopped at a distance in front of him, seriously listened to his string of grand theories, then suddenly smiled. His gentle and refined Eastern features made Ji Chi look harmless and pure.

“Just two professions and you’re this scared?” Ji Chi couldn’t help but sneer. “Then let me also tell you a grand theory: if you don’t have the ability, don’t comment casually, because that’s really laughable.”

The senior student hated most when people said he lacked ability. He angrily asked, “What do you mean?!”

Ji Chi curved his eyebrows and said leisurely: “Nothing much, I just want to teach you to count.”

“Look, this is the first one.”

Ji Chi extended his left hand, and a small fireball rose from his palm. The fireball was only palm-sized, but was entirely a translucent purple—the color that only the purest and most concentrated fire element could achieve.

The temperature that instantly rose made the surrounding people involuntarily retreat a good distance. That student did the same, saying with panic, “You—what are you trying to do? Can’t people even tell the truth anymore?”

Ji Chi raised a finger. “Shh, I already said I’m teaching you to count.”

“Look, next is the second one.”

Ji Chi’s left hand still held that fireball while his right hand pressed against the empty air beside him. His palm split open, an intermediate summoning circle appeared, and a wood elf responded to her master’s call, slowly walking out from the summoning circle.

Her entire body was surrounded by the fresh fragrance of plants and trees, her transparent wings decorated with petals and branches.

The wood elf looked at Ji Chi gently, and after sensing his thoughts, she closed her eyes and raised her palms toward the sky. Plants of various forms grew vigorously from her hands under her power, thriving and flourishing.

“How is this possible… this is a wood elf? How could a wood elf be here, cultivating plants for humans?!” Someone screamed in disbelief!

Wood elves weren’t high-level Bosses, but they could only be nurtured by the mother tree of elves. After growing up, they could cultivate various rare plants, making them exceptionally precious. The elf race protected them extremely carefully and would never allow them to appear alone in human territory.

The surrounding people were shocked, even momentarily forgetting that this wood elf had been summoned.

Ji Chi curved the corner of his mouth, withdrew his right hand, and had the wood elf pick the flowers and plants that had matured in front of him one by one.

“Look, finally the third one.”

Ji Chi scattered those precious flowers and plants into the air, where they were gently lifted by a breeze. Purple flames flowed softly beneath the plants with the wind, causing the tender petals and leaves to curl and char.

The fresh vegetation turned to ashes, leaving only clusters of pure, fragrant plant essences floating in the air.

Ji Chi held a transparent glass rod in his hand and, with a special rhythm, stirred and traced through those essences with natural ease.

Those essences gradually merged according to a specific sequence. Then, a dreamlike blue light emanated from those liquids, accompanied by an invigorating aroma that cleared the mind.

As Ji Chi stirred, he explained. “Extraction, blending, and finally—formation.”

He took out an empty potion bottle and crisply tapped the glass rod against the small bottle’s mouth, guiding the bright blue liquid to flow into the bottle along the glass rod.

In just dozens of seconds, an excellent potion that only Senior Alchemists or above could brew had been completed.

Under the incredulous gazes of a group of mages, Ji Chi lifted the potion and shook it, casually tossing it to that senior student. After watching him catch it in a fluster, he smiled and said, “It’s yours. This is an energy restoration potion—use it to supplement your brain.”

Looking at his face alternating between green and white, Ji Chi said softly, “Don’t use things you can’t do to deny others. As long as they’re working hard, they’re much stronger than you.”

Just before leaving, Ji Chi suddenly turned around and arrogantly raised his chin, pointing at him. “Oh, and please don’t call me an all-element genius—that would be too insulting.”

“Please call me an all-profession genius.”