On the fifth floor of the School of Magic Engineering's main building, floor-to-ceiling crystal curtain windows offered a luminous view of the corridor. Faculty members occasionally strode past, the runner rugs over the hardwood floors softening their footsteps and muttering hushed echoes into silence.
The heavy door to the dean's office opened. Lanqi and Hyperion stepped out, turning back once more to bid Professor Borao farewell before heading off.
Walking along the corridor lined with glass curtain walls on their left, they resumed their conversation.
"Before I knew it, we ended up chatting with Professor Borao for so long," Lanqi remarked, squinting against the brilliant sunlight.
Aside from filling out forms and registering alongside Hyperion, they had spent the entire time in casual conversation with the professor.
"It feels like it's already past eleven." From this angle, Hyperion couldn't see the academy's clock tower, but she estimated the time was roughly there.
"Let's head home. We're done for the day, so we should get some proper rest." Lanqi trusted that Hyperion's sense of time was spot-on.
Professor Borao had assured them he would have their special approval letter ready tomorrow. Once they stopped by the School of Magic Engineering tomorrow morning to pick up their new credentials, they could challenge a Shadow World.
Lanqi and Hyperion had therefore agreed to enter a Shadow World together tomorrow, and bringing Boss Cat along would be plenty.
When they returned to the shop later, they would at least need to say goodbye to Tata, Pranay, and the others.
The higher the tier of a Shadow World, the longer it typically lasted. Last time, the fifth-tier Shadow World Banquet of Sanctuary Villains had taken a full six days; there was no telling how long he and Hyperion would be inside this time.
Furthermore, long-standing academic research showed that a Shadow World's difficulty took into account the magic cards challengers brought with them.
Ten thousand years ago, when living beings first began challenging Shadow Worlds, they did so without carrying any magic cards, and the difficulty was accordingly lowered somewhat. As the tier and quality of the magic cards challengers carried grew higher, the Shadow World's assessment of their combat power increased in proportion.
According to the formula established by that theory, if Lanqi were to carry three eighth-tier epic-grade summon magic cards, it would be no different from entering the Shadow World in a party with three great demons—he would honestly be better off leaving them behind.
If they actually ended up in an eighth-tier Shadow World, Hyperion would be placed in immense danger first and foremost. On top of that, the Southern Continent United Kingdom Council and the Shadow World Management Association would undoubtedly grow suspicious of them. Lanqi had no desire to invite trouble, let alone expose the existence of the three great demons before journeying to the Creti Empire.
"Remember a year ago when you suddenly decided to drag me into a Shadow World? You scared me half to death," Hyperion reminisced. On their very first day attending class at the School of Sages, Lanqi had called her over and dashed off to challenge a Shadow World without looking back.
Although it had turned out to be the right decision in hindsight, looking back now, she still couldn't comprehend how her normally rational and vigilant self had followed Lanqi on an impulse.
"Well, that Shadow World was precisely where we really hit it off," Lanqi said with a grin.
Before that Shadow World, they had only partnered during the entrance exam and were essentially brand-new acquaintances.
It was truly those twelve hours spent together in the Purgatory Corridor Academy that forged them into genuine friends who clicked.
"Yeah. Ever since then, without even realizing it, I've spent every single day with you," Hyperion murmured, a faint, natural smile gracing her lips.
The two strolled past numerous offices and classrooms belonging to the School of Magic Engineering, heading toward the main building's ground floor.
Just as they stepped out of the glass-walled iron tower building—
Suddenly...
"Meow, meow, meow! Lanqi, you're planning to take me into a Shadow World?!"
Accompanied by frantic mewing, Lanqi felt his clothes grow heavy. He looked down and saw a cat scrambling up his coat, clinging tightly with its paws.
Boss Cat had slipped into Lanqi's shadow at some point, eavesdropping on his conversation with Hyperion for half the morning.
"Of course. I even asked Professor Borao to secure a special-approval challenger license from Ikerite Academy for you so you can enter the Shadow World as a logistics magic artificer from the School of Magic Engineering," Lanqi said, scooping up the clingy little black cat.
When filling out the form, he had listed Boss Cat's profession as "a backpack."
Professor Borao had stared at the document, sensing that something was deeply amiss no matter how he looked at it.
While there were indeed magic artificers dedicated to carrying magic cards who hitched rides in parties, it was usually a seventh-tier big shot carrying a fifth-tier freeloader. How in the world did Lanqi's party end up as a fifth-tier big shot carrying a seventh-tier freeloader?!
"Meow, meow!"
Hearing that, Boss Cat rolled over excitedly in Lanqi's hands.
It had never challenged a Shadow World in its life; it had reached the seventh tier entirely by racking up years of seniority!
As a non-combatant, it had never dreamed it would one day have the chance to see a Shadow World for itself!
"Could... could I actually have a shot at becoming an eighth-tier spirit cat?!"
It had been stuck at the seventh tier for far too long, hitting a bottleneck known as a racial limit. It hadn't even been sure whether it could reach the eighth tier in this lifetime.
Without an external force like a Shadow World, it had zero hope of advancing to the eighth tier.
The eighth tier was just too cool.
In terms of raw combat power, an eighth-tier Boss Cat's base attributes might only rival a fifth- or sixth-tier powerhouse. But if it carried fixed-damage eighth-tier magic, it could probably wipe the floor with fifth- or sixth-tier opponents in an instant.
Then it would no longer have to bear the title of the shame of the seventh tier!
What was more, Shadow Worlds produced magic cards!
Those high-tier magic cards that had always been utterly out of reach might drop right into its paws inside a Shadow World!
"Indeed. An eighth-tier beast is worthy of being called a national guardian beast," Lanqi agreed with a nod.
Hyperion fell into thoughtful contemplation beside them.
Since ancient times, the protectors of many realms were not humans, but eighth-tier divine beasts that had lived in their domains for centuries, deeply respected and loved by generations of citizens.
"Meow!"
Boss Cat knew full well there were dangers involved, but hearing Lanqi's words, a voice seemed to echo incessantly in its mind: *Be brave! Step forward! You can't lose anyway, because the reward for winning is simply too great!*
"Lanqi, you've got to carry me all the way to a clear, meow."
Boss Cat harbored zero doubts about Lanqi's competence now.
Back then, the two of them—one person and one cat—had built everything from scratch and climbed all the way to the top in the Protos Empire.
"Relax, Boss Cat. Just get ready to tally up the rewards," Lanqi said, gently stroking its back.
"Meow, meow, meow! You're the best, Lanqi. I knew I didn't misjudge you!" Boss Cat let out another blissful purr. "If I could really become a national guardian beast one day and be worshipped by an entire populace, that would be a dream come true!"
It was only joking.
Even if it reached the eighth tier, it knew it could never become one of those legendary creatures revered as divine beasts. Still, if it could truly achieve the eighth tier, it would feel immensely proud of itself.
"Keep it up, Boss Cat!"
Lanqi high-fived the little black cat's paw.
"..."
Hyperion looked at the hopeful expressions on Lanqi and Boss Cat.
She couldn't bring herself to break the news to Boss Cat.
From the look of things, becoming a national guardian beast was indeed entirely possible... except that "nation" probably wouldn't be the kind of realm Boss Cat had in mind.
Chapter 528