Chapter 5.2

Abyss Rift (2)

The insect docilely spilled out everything it knew after its attempt at killing Shi An was nipped in the bud.

After ten thousand years of slumber, Shi An could sense the many differences between this era and his era.

The Abyss and the surface are two sides of the continent. In Shi An's era, as long as one was strong enough, it was possible to travel between the two sides. But when the fantastical species disappeared, the Abyss sealed up tightly and could only crack open a few gaps occasionally. However, only the Abyss species could leave the Abyss while the poisonous air remained trapped inside.

And on the surface, after the fantastical species disappeared, humans created a civilization built on magic and technology, and gradually became the dominant species of this continent. However, this also intensified their conflict with the other magical species, to the extent that their relationship is almost irreconcilable now.

But Shi An did not care about such things. Rather, there was no progress on the things he is concerned about.

This insect neither knew any information about his body nor the whereabouts of his treasures. In addition, because it's too weak, it can only produce a smidgen of poisonous air. The concentration of poisonous air was too little for him to feel the same sensation that he had vaguely felt at the banquet room earlier. His body still took the human form and did not return to his dragon form.

"......Well then," Shi An sighed in disappointment, "Looks like you're of no use."

That confused the insect.

But before it could react, a ball of fire suddenly appeared in front of it. It instantly felt the waves of scalding heat.

"WAIT! WAIT!!" The insect screamed.

Shi An paused and asked amicably, "Hmm? What's wrong?"——that's if one ignores the dragon flame on his fingertip.

"I'm still useful! Still useful!" The insect uncontrollably kicked up its six thin legs in the air wildly. "I-I know where there are more powerful monsters that can produce more of this poisonous air into the Abyss!" It quivered as it spoke.

That got Shi An's attention. "Where?"

The insect cautiously grabbed Shi An's finger and obsequiously stammered: "The-the rift I crawled out of. I-I can take you there," it paused before continuing, "but......it might be somewhat difficult."

"Difficult?" Shi An frowned.

"The location of the rift is well-hidden and closely guarded. I used my weakest larvae form to parasitise three humans in a row and barely smuggled out," the insect said. "Do you know the Mage Academy?"

Shi An nodded.

"The rift is in the Academy. So if we want to get close to it, we must have a perfect disguise and wait for our chance......" the insect said gravely.

Shi An thought for a moment and cut in, "Or we can just wait for the school semester to start."

"......Huh?" For a moment, the insect did not comprehend what Shi An had said.

Shi An pointed to the letter he carelessly threw on the nightstand, which was stamped with the seal of the Mage Academy. The letter has five big words on it—Mage Academy Admission Notice Letter. "Looks like there's only a week left?"

"......" To actually accept the Abyss Dragon into the Mage Academy. There is a high chance that the human species is doomed.

*

"You guessed right," Zhuo Fu said with a grim face and pushed a report towards Mu Heng. "The Abyss has been unstable lately."

Mu Heng flipped through two pages of the report, his gaze moving casually across the words.

"For some time now, there have been endless reports of Abyss rifts appearing in various places. Although Abyss rifts appear from time to time, lately the frequency is too high." Zhuo Fu took a deep breath before continuing, "Especially now that even Abyss's species appeared in uptown......there is only one possibility."

"The new rift is nearby," Mu Heng finished, and closed the report.

Zhuo Fu squinted. "You already knew that."

"It was easy to guess," Mu Heng handed the report back to Zhuo Fu, "but it is hard to find." He lifted his gaze, his silver-blue eyes slightly narrowed, and added unhurriedly, "I already sent out my men to search every hole and corner of the city."

Mu Heng lightly tapped the desk with his fingertips. "Don't forget to get the approval documents done."

"......" You're goddamn exploiting the labour force!!

After Zhuo Fu left, only Mu Heng was left in the office. He lowered his gaze and picked up the information he was reviewing before Zhuo Fu returned.

On the first page, an elegant young man pursed his lips and smiled shyly and silently at him. Below the image were a few sentences summarising the first half of the young man's uneventful life. Except for the following words: inexplicable disappearance and surprising enrollment.

Mu Heng subtly narrowed his eyes, all of his emotions hidden within the azure ice floe. At this moment, a knock sounded at the door.

"Please come in."

Wen Yao carefully pushed the door open. "Chief, the Mage Academy has sent another invitation letter. Do we send out the rejection letter as usual?"

"No," Mu Heng replied.

Wen Yao did not foresee this unexpected answer and froze momentarily. Then she watched Mu Heng put down the papers, nonchalantly crossed his long and pale fingers, and said, "I will attend this year's opening ceremony."

*

A few days before school started, the old butler was helping Shi An prepare the items he needed for school. He packed every item on the checklist tidily into the suitcase and grabbed the backpack Shi An had stuffed to the brim——he almost stumbled from its heavy weight.

"......What did you pack inside?"

Shi An picked up his backpack and hugged it tightly. "Personal items," he said with all seriousness.

The old butler looked at Shi An suspiciously for a while, but he did not continue asking in the end and turned to prepare other items.

The creases on Shi An's cuff moved and the insect quietly poked its head out. It glanced at the packed-up suitcase and felt absurd for a moment. "You......you really intend to just go directly into the academy like this."

"Of course." Shi An nodded and emphasised, "I received the acceptance letter."

"That's not what I meant......."

"The security measures at the Mage Academy are very strict, aren't you worried that......" The insect realised it had said the wrong thing and hastily added, "Of course! With your abilities, you definitely won't need to fear those weaklings. But they will eventually become a hindrance to our plan. And most importantly, although your current body should not raise any alarms, I am ultimately a monster. I'm afraid I can't fool their security."

The insect sneaked a peek at Shi An and saw the young man appear relaxed with his chin resting on the bag and lazily closing his eyes.

Realisation dawned on the insect. "You already have a solution, right?'

Shi An pondered for a long time, then honestly shook his head. "Nope."

"......." I goddamn—at this moment, the doorbell rang—From the moment he stayed here, no one had ever rung the doorbell.

Shi An got up and went down the stairs. He noticed the old butler standing by the door with an icy expression; before him stood a young man partly who resembled Shi Ze Chun.

"May I ask what you have come for?" The old butler said in a polite but stiff tone.

Shi Rui stood at the doorway with a dazzling smile. "I heard Elder Brother and I are in the same admission batch this year? So I wanted to come and say hello in advance."

Shi An blinked. Hmm? Who is this?

"You're probably not clear about the Mage Academy's opening ceremony, right?" Shi Rui asked, smiling. Without waiting for a reply, he continued: "Although they term it as the Opening Ceremony, it is actually a large-scale combat assessment."

"The assessment lasts for several days, and afterward, our assessment results will divide us into different classes. So......some methods that can fool machines might not be usable." Shi Rui said meaningfully, with a cryptic smile.

The old butler's expression darkened.

"Therefore, to cope with the assessment, Father has arranged a place for us to conduct combat stimulation. I am here to invite Elder Brother to come with me." Shi Rui's smile was genuine, with no hint of pretentiousness. All his malice was hidden seamlessly, as he appeared close and friendly with Shi An. "Brothers should help each other out."

The old butler frowned. He was well aware of the Young Master's ability.Although the Young Master passed the Mage Academy's enrolment test, he does not have any experience in magic training, let alone combat stimulation. He hoped the Young Master could shine and win back the Old Master's attention and position in the Shi family, but compared to that, he was more worried about Shi An getting hurt.

Just when the old butler was about to politely decline the invite, a clear voice spoke from behind: "Eh? Stimulation?"

That startled him, and he turned around only to see a young man stride forward with an earnest expression.

"Then can it stimulate that school enrolment test and the security measures inside it?" ——Preferably the kind that can help me test whether I can sneak a human-faced insect into that sort of place.

Shi Rui froze for a moment. He was thrown off by that question but reflexively replied, ".......Probably?"

Shi An' eyes lit up. "Good. Let's go then."