All around the natural landscape lecture hall, expansive glass windows offered a panoramic aerial view of the campus grounds. Zinc screens mounted on the glass filtered out the harsh glare, allowing soft sunlight to spill across the room and gracing the learning environment with a warm, harmonious atmosphere for discussion.
As if wanting to join the students' chatter, Teacher Teresa leaned against the podium and sighed like someone engaging in casual break-time banter.
"The academic delegation from the Aloran Kingdom coming the month after next actually includes students who want to observe Dean Loren's [Original Slate - Wind]. However, the bearer of [Original Slate - Regeneration] on their side—the Grand Master of the Kingdom Knights, the 'Undying Sword Emperor'—isn't very approachable. Whenever our students go over there, it almost always ends up being a wasted trip, which has gradually strained relations between the two sides.
"The prominent figures who possess slates today are at least Tier 8 or above, and nearly all of them are the undisputed masters specializing in their respective fields.
"So, students, if you ever happen to meet a bearer of an [Original Slate], you must never offend or slight them! Not every supreme powerhouse is as gentle and kindhearted as Dean Loren."
Standing on the podium, Teacher Teresa toggled the display on the magical projection, smiling as she looked down at the students engaged in noisy, impassioned debates.
Although an [Original Slate] was a supreme existence among magic cards—one could even call it an indispensable possession for anyone striving to reach the pinnacle of power in this era—it was, by the same token, an exceedingly dangerous poison, liable to bring fatal catastrophe upon its owner.
Without formidable might capable of defending the slate, a bearer could very easily be killed and robbed of it!
Using a slate left distinct, unmistakable traces of special empowerment.
Unless the bearer never utilized any skills or even items aligned with the slate's domain, their secret would soon be laid bare before the world.
"..."
Sitting in the back row, Lanqi had originally intended to ask Hyperion what was troubling her. But seeing the teacher resume the lecture, he turned his attention toward the front, listening attentively with a nod.
To his mind, an [Original Slate] truly was a supreme artifact that only the strong were worthy of holding.
That was precisely where its true value lay.
"In the world today, of the thirty-two [Original Slates], the vast majority are in the hands of humanity, while the rest are scattered among other races such as the demon race, the Blood Clan, and the elves..."
Speaking up to this point, it should have been a matter of pride for those living in a human nation, but Teacher Teresa's tone and expression shifted slightly, as if she were deliberately trying to skirt the topic of the slates' numbers.
"..."
Many students below fell silent. They knew why.
Of the roughly twenty Original Slates held by mankind, a staggering ten were in the clutches of the Resurrection Church.
They belonged to the ten supreme Cardinals.
This was not only a humiliation for humanity, but a nightmare and calamity feared by every living being across the Northern and Southern Continents.
"In the entire Hutton Kingdom, there were originally two Original Slates, but now only Dean Loren's [Original Slate - Wind] from the School of Sages remains."
Teacher Teresa could only steer the conversation toward their own nation's circumstances.
The Hutton Kingdom was a fairly powerful realm on the Southern Continent. While it could not compare to the Creti Empire occupying the entire southernmost territory, it still ranked among the very best of all the kingdoms.
Unlike weaker kingdoms, even if one of the Resurrection Church's Cardinals descended upon them, the kingdom possessed the strength to mount a defense.
"What about the other one?" a student in the hall immediately raised their hand to ask in confusion.
"..."
Teacher Teresa parted her lips slightly, but as if suddenly realizing something, she hesitated for a moment.
In the back row of the lecture hall, Lanqi noticed Teacher Teresa's gaze involuntarily drift toward Hyperion for a brief second before darting away.
Lanqi turned his head, only to see that Hyperion's expression beside him had already dimmed.
At the podium, Teacher Teresa coughed twice to clear her throat, collecting her words.
She had overlooked the fact that a key party involved was sitting right here in this classroom.
For a moment, she had no idea how to phrase it.
Yet at this stage, trying to brush it aside would be far too awkward.
"The other, [Original Slate - Darkness], went missing along with Duke Micah Aransal," Teacher Teresa explained briefly, then began switching the image on the magical projection screen, hoping to move on to the next chapter of the lesson.
However, once those words fell, an uncontrollable storm of discussion erupted across the classroom like a tidal wave.
Although many students had heard before enrolling that Duke Micah, residing in the royal capital of Ikerite, was not only noble in rank but originally one of the foremost powerhouses of the Hutton Kingdom, they had not known that he was also the bearer of an [Original Slate]—a piece of intelligence reserved for the upper strata of society.
Consequently, Duke Micah's disappearance into thin air struck people as all the more bizarre and baffling.
Was it a defection, or was someone else involved?
Or had someone close to him stabbed him in the back, working hand-in-glove with the enemy?
In truth, many in the royal capital had long suspected Duke Micah Aransal's closest daughter, Hyperion, as well as his mysterious demon wife, who had vanished without a trace years ago.
Amidst the clamorous classroom, the back row where Hyperion sat gradually became the eye of the storm, drawing every glance.
Although many students did not dare stare directly back at her, their discussions were inevitably accompanied by subconscious glances toward the person at the center of it all.
Beside Hyperion, however...
"Something's not right..."
Lanqi seemed utterly insulated from the noisy surroundings. He quietly knitted his brows, his lips parting slightly as he muttered to himself.
He now understood why Hyperion had looked so troubled earlier.
Yet the grave problem he had recognized lay elsewhere entirely!
In the game plot Lanqi knew, the concept of [Original Slates] certainly existed, but they were ultimate items that would only come into play in the very late game.
Even in the latest developmental progress of the storyline, the whereabouts of most [Original Slates] remained hidden from the players. One had to complete specific in-game side quests to potentially obtain clues from designated characters, and the slates' mechanics had not yet officially launched.
The side quest that would lead to the extermination of Lanqi's family, the Wilfort Chamber of Commerce—the [Wilfort Tragedy]—seemed to correspond to the whereabouts of a certain [Original Slate].
At the same time, such ultra-high-difficulty side quests were prerequisites for unlocking epic-tier quests.
Yet in this academy, it seemed one could directly inquire about the whereabouts of quite a few slates from a teacher, completely free of the endless convoluted mechanics cooked up by those god-awful game planners!
The real issue was that the characters possessing the slates seemed somewhat different from what Lanqi remembered!
First of all, his current point in time was still within the spin-off prologue; the original storyline of the main campaign was roughly two years away from beginning.
In the original plot—that is, two years from now—the bearer of [Original Slate - Darkness] was the Ninth Progenitor of the Blood Clan, Marquis Bernhard, who had only recently broken free of his seal!
It was definitely not Micah Aransal of the Hutton Kingdom.
And the Creti Empire to the south was in fact the Blood Clan's home base.
Right now, that empire seemed mighty on the surface, but in truth, it was already being gradually devoured and brought under control by the steadily awakening Blood Clan breaking out of their seals. In the future, they would even proclaim a completely absurd piece of legislation: the *Treaty of Co-Prosperity and Coexistence with the Blood Clan*.
Lanqi hardly dared imagine how deeply the Blood Clan's corruption would have infiltrated the empire by the time such a decree could actually be promulgated.
The game's content should not be wrong; it was merely a difference in timeline.
If everything unfolded according to the original plot, two years later the bearer of [Original Slate - Darkness] would become the Ninth Progenitor of the Blood Clan, Marquis Bernhard.
Whereas right now, the bearer was indeed Hyperion's father, Micah Aransal.
There was only one way to change the ownership of an Original Slate: kill the previous bearer and seize their slate!
In other words, Duke Micah's whereabouts were tied to the Creti Empire in the south and the Blood Clan!
If Duke Micah could not be rescued within a year and a half or so, he would truly kick the bucket for good.
Lanqi rested his chin on his hand in deep thought.
Upon closer reflection, relying on the information advantage he currently possessed, once his tier grew a bit higher, he could head to the Creti Empire within a year and a half to reinforce Marquis Bernhard's seal, whip the Blood Clan into shape, and then see if he could bring Duke Micah back alive.
With a towering patron like that backing him, what the heck would he have to fear from that [Wilfort Tragedy]? He could just follow Big Bro Micah around and swagger across the entire Hutton Kingdom without a care in the world!
As for why he was so confident about venturing into the Blood Clan's stronghold?
He had designed the core maps of the Blood Clan's ancient underground cities himself!
His knowledge of their traps, secret passages, and ancestral tombs was probably deeper than that of the Blood Clan's own marquises, grand dukes, and princes!
The atmosphere in the classroom was growing increasingly heavy, as if the conversation could no longer move past this sore topic.
More and more varied glances turned toward Hyperion with increasing frequency, making her already distressed heart sink into deeper unease. Her heartbeat and breathing grew ragged, and she refused to lift her head for the longest time.
Even with Lanqi sitting beside her, she could no longer find the slightest shred of comfort.
Right at that moment.
"Teacher, if someone finds the missing Duke Micah and recovers [Original Slate - Darkness] for the Hutton Kingdom, what kind of reward would they receive?"
Lanqi suddenly raised his hand, asking Teacher Teresa at the podium.
Such an absurd, seemingly playful question instantly drew stifled chuckles from many students. The classroom atmosphere inexplicably softened, and the discussion took a distinctly humorous turn.
"Then His Majesty the King would undoubtedly confer a noble title upon them and announce their heroic deeds across the nation, and Duke Aransal would unquestionably treat them as a trusted confidant," Teacher Teresa replied with a half-joking smile.
Having said that, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Teresa knew Lanqi had spoken up just to defuse the classroom tension and spare Hyperion from further humiliation.
Though she had noticed some of Lanqi's antics were truly ruthless and borderline unhinged, deep down he remained, for the most part, a remarkably gentle and considerate young man.
Chapter 103