The heavy oak door creaked softly as it was gently pulled open, its sound softened by the passing years, and the door to the principal’s office was promptly closed as the last demon teacher exited.
Through the large wooden-framed window, the starlight of the Demon World burst into the room, mingling with the warm lamplight to form a bright shroud of light.
Next to the square tea table by the window, Lanci sat comfortably on a soft woven-arm chair, giving off a somewhat relaxed and retired vibe.
[Time Remaining: 0 Hour 57 Minutes]
[Task Objective 1: Academy exploration degree exceeds 60%, current progress 1200%]
[Task Objective 2: Investigate the source of tonight’s danger ── current crisis resolved]
[Task Objective 3: At least 1 person survives until the time limit ends, current survivors 6/6]
[Challenger Lanci is in T01 Corridor, Principal’s Office]
Upon receiving the good news from the Great Love Poet, he checked the information panel of the Shadow World.
Indeed, the task status had changed.
It seems that the targets of this Shadow World have been accomplished, and the time is already in the second half of the fifth lesson.
Soon, the Shadow World will be closed and settled.
And he, along with Hyperion, will be teleported back to the Ichrite Academy in the real world.
"No!"
The thought of soon transitioning from being the principal of this dreamy campus back to a student in that hellish academy made Lanci unbearably sorrowful and he no longer wanted to see this painful countdown to the end of this dream.
Immediately, Lanci shut down the recording feature of the [Shadow World Record Program] on his body.
The live streaming function could be shut down or started at will, because sometimes, in high-order Shadow Worlds that lasted for several days or months, challengers often needed to live their own lives, and it was not always suitable for broadcasting.
Since all the task objectives had been finished, even if Lanci continued recording, it wouldn’t affect the calculation of his school credits or his promotion points by the South Continent Shadow World Management Association.
So now, he just wants to study and note down the "Monster Hair Processing Magic" brought to the principal’s office by the magic science teacher, in solitude.
He didn’t want these magic theories recorded by the association, and he just wanted to take them to Talia for research together.
No other humans need to know the principles of this forbidden magic!
Better to end the broadcast here and play some light and enjoyable content for the audience.
Once Lanci’s side was turned off, the live broadcast in the real world would only show Hyperion’s perspective.
He trusted that the audience in the real world would prefer to see the Great Love Poet’s blissful smile than watching him read in the principal’s office.
"Let me appreciate the great product of the wisdom of the Demon Race!"
Lanci leisurely leaned back into the recliner, flipping through the magic theory book with satisfaction.
"But why were Hyperion and I able to match into a Fourth-Order Shadow World..."
He seemed to think of something and began to murmur.
Could it be that a Fifth-Order Challenger entered, raising the average difficulty?
He and Hyperion are both below the order of the Shadow World, so there should also be someone in the challengers who surpasses the order of the Shadow World to balance it out.
Among the demon students who were just invited to the principal’s office, it’s hard to tell which ones are strong and which ones are weak, and high-order challengers are also proficient in controlling magic power, so it’s difficult to determine which four are the challengers.
Of course, these four challengers are completely unaware that Lanci, in the position of principal, is also a challenger.
After all, normally, most people would not think in the direction of "a student becoming the principal of a demon academy within a few hours".
"Hiss, if they’ve all mistaken me for an hidden NPC in this Shadow World, wouldn’t it be very awkward if I run into them in the real world?"
Lanci realized,
"Forget it."
Lanci shook his head, there’s really nothing else to worry about since the tasks are all completed already, now he just wants to concentrate on studying this magic which he had been thinking about for most of the Shadow World.
...
Located above the base level,
F03 Corridor.
The Demon World Experimental Botanical Garden, from where the scent of flowers permeates even through the closed door.
In this classroom, the first thing that catches the eye is a vast lawn, spread out like a verdant carpet.
Along the winding paths grow various Demon Plants, from giant Demon Eucalyptus trees to tiny Demon Wildflowers, from brightly coloured Tropical Plants of Demon World to spiky Demon World Vines, all seeming like natural treasures that could only grow on this land.
The plump and bright plants under the subtle blush of the Magic Lamp had fuzzy outlines, resembling ghosts in the night mist.
They may not possess vibrant colours or exuberant forms, but their tranquil beauty is like a silent poem. Standing there silently, they let time alter them, but still, they remain as they always had been, quietly waiting for every sunrise and sunset.
Great Love Poet and Hyperion have laid out a picnic blanket under a tree, ready to enjoy the delicacies from the Demon King’s Restaurant in the faint starlight of the early morning.
It’s currently four in the morning, technically time for breakfast.
Great Love Poet’s happiness seemed as if it was going to overflow, as she lay on the ground, her face propped up by one hand while the other gently touched the bloom of a flower with her fingertips.
Then, the flower, as if perceiving her warmth, bloomed miraculously in clusters.
Great Love Poet’s entrance effect was to make flowers bloom everywhere rapidly, but if Lanci wanted to trigger this beautiful effect when summoning her, he would need to spend more mana.
Accordingly, she also had a slight ability to make plants grow, but the consumption was all on Lanci’s mana.
Now that Lanci has agreed to let her play freely, she doesn’t hesitate in splurging his mana.
Hyperion looked at the Great Love Poet and, while somewhat lost for words, she felt gradually more relaxed.
The Great Love Poet at this moment seemed entirely unlike the mischievous Succubus she usually was.
Due to the arrival of Hyperion and the Great Love Poet, the Demon Teacher of Plant Science in this level 1 classroom temporarily changed the course content to [Free Observation].
Which means, as long as they didn’t destroy any plants, they could rest freely in the classroom and pass.
After the deputy principal convened an all-school meeting and issued an announcement, the teachers naturally knew the identities of these two female demons.
Today, the Purgatory Corridor Academy just got a new lease of life, so let’s celebrate and try not to give the students a hard time.
Hard to tell how much time passed under this tranquil atmosphere that made one forget time.
A bitter wind stirred up a rustling amongst the grass.
The Great Love Poet looked up with confusion.
She felt as if the view before her eyes had suddenly dimmed slightly.
The gradually chilling thin starlight caused the tranquillity in the botanical garden to be replaced by an indescribable silence.
The next moment.
A piercing noise of something cutting through the air came out of nowhere, echoing across the open pasture!
The intense sense of danger gave Hyperion a chill down her spine as she immediately tensened up.