Chapter 76: Dekan After Dark
"Ah, if only Croix was here. I'd summon the Ruined Poet and he'd cast a big spell that would knock everyone out and then we could capture them one by one for interrogation. That way, we could clear the challenge at lightning speed without harming the lives of innocent challengers, no?"
Dekan spoke with a somewhat despondent expression.
Teacher Cat's eye twitched.
Your plan indeed didn't threaten the lives of other challengers.
After all, Croix's magic wouldn't even leave a scratch on the body. No matter how he attacked others, it wouldn't cause any harm.
Doing that in the Shadow Worlds was indeed not illegal.
But it didn't seem like something a normal person would do!
Teacher Cat couldn't help but be relieved that Croix couldn't team up with this guy for now.
Otherwise, Dekan would undoubtedly do something like that!
Outside the challenge, in the observation hall, almost all the students turned their gazes to Croix.
Ever since Croix met Dekan, his reputation at the school had undergone a complete transformation.
From a "useless young master," he was now the "cruelest interrogator."
Even though Croix hadn't actually demonstrated any interrogation procedures in the Shadow Worlds, everyone could already imagine the ferocity of the trio.
Under the meaningful glances of the crowd, Croix momentarily felt like burying his head.
His original dream was to become a great sage.
Later, due to reality, he thought that becoming a great healer was also fine.
Now, it seemed like everyone recognized him as a destined interrogator.
He felt a mix of emotions.
"What's wrong with being an interrogator?"
However, sitting beside him, his childhood friend Claire said coldly.
"Don't you find the work of an interrogator... cruel?"
"Hmph, it's much better than your useless and pathetic appearance."
...
In room 204.
Teacher Cat broke free from Dekan's embrace, jumped onto the bed, and watched Dekan and Cornelia from a distance.
"I seriously suspect that you two are rebellious challengers, meow! You're too suspicious, meow!"
"It's okay to suspect me, but Cornelia is definitely innocent. She's the only one with a certified regular challenger identity."
Dekan said helplessly, getting up to retrieve Teacher Cat.
Cornelia also knew that Teacher Cat was joking.
Even though she and Dekan had the "Criminal Duo" attribute, it only increased their chances of getting an evil alignment.
But becoming a rebellious challenger in this instance required a decisive condition: posing a threat to the world.
Teacher Cat seemed unwilling to let Dekan hold it again, darting around the room to evade Dekan's grasp.
Dekan sighed.
He checked the time; it was already half-past nine, and there was half an hour left until the werewolf's active time.
"Cornelia, if the three of us stay in the same room, the room's blessing will be nullified. Tonight, the three of us have to temporarily separate."
"Alright."
Dekan: "So, later, please take Teacher Cat to another room."
Teacher Cat: "???"
Shouldn't it be you taking me, and Cornelia staying alone?
"Dekan, are you an animal, meow?! You can't wait for me to die, can you, meow?!"
Teacher Cat was trembling with fear and shouted.
If it were to encounter the witch or werewolf, it would be a one-way ticket to death!
"Weren't you afraid of us? Then, go stay alone."
"No, no, absolutely not, meow!"
Teacher Cat pounced on Dekan, clinging tightly to his clothes.
No matter how much Dekan shook, he couldn't shake the cat off.
Teacher Cat cried and scolded at the same time.
Seeing the playful scene of a man and a cat, Cornelia couldn't help but show an envious look.
What a great relationship they had.
But thinking about her own Lil Gray, she didn't feel so sad anymore.
She sat on the sofa, her chin resting on her hands, her face unconsciously filled with a happy smile.
I really want to see Lil Gray soon.
Finally, after Dekan and Teacher Cat played around for a while, it seemed like both of them were getting tired.
So, Dekan let Teacher Cat hang onto him.
"You're not allowed to leave me, meow!"
"You're a really capricious cat, huh?"
"I don't care, meow, meow, meow!"
"Tsk."
Dekan clicked his tongue, his face wearing a planned smile.
"I actually found a bug," Dekan suddenly said.
After spending so much time with Dekan, Cornelia and Teacher Cat also understood the meaning of the word 'bug.'
"Once more than two challengers enter the same room, the blessing will temporarily deactivate, right?" Dekan had been investigating the structure of this ancient mansion during the day.
All the walls of the mansion were covered with complex barrier runes, making them indestructible.
The reason the bedrooms were safe was that the doors and locks of the bedrooms were also covered with similar barrier runes.
Only by using a key to open the door could one enter the room smoothly.
Or the witch's power could remove the runes on the door, allowing the werewolf to break in forcibly.
After the three of them entered the barrier together, the runes on the door temporarily deactivated as well.
"!"
Cornelia instantly understood what was happening. Before Dekan could continue speaking, she took out her hammer.
Though she didn't know exactly what Dekan was planning, she knew it required her hammer and her unmatched strength.
"What are you guys trying to do, meow!"
Teacher Cat suddenly realized what was going on and jumped onto the sofa in a hurry.
It knew Dekan was planning something not good.
Dekan walked to the door of the bedroom and circled a spot with his finger.
"Cornelia, help me make a hole in the door. Tonight, I'll deal with the werewolf."
Cornelia quickly went over with her hammer, aiming the pointed end at the door.
Then, there were several loud bangs in the corridor.
The entire corridor of the giant mansion was winding and labyrinth-like, with very low space utilization. It was like a maze.
Plus, each bedroom was large and had excellent soundproofing. Unless someone shouted loudly in the corridor, people in other rooms couldn't hear anything.
But with Cornelia's hammer blows, it sounded like someone was renovating on the second floor.
The noise even reached the first floor.
Other challengers were bewildered, but because it was almost the werewolf's active period, they didn't dare to come out and see.
With not much effort, Cornelia made a hole in this heavy solid wood door, at a height of over one meter.
"Alright, Teacher Cat and I will stay in 204; you go to 205. Tonight, you can rest well. We still have two days of play time ahead. Also, remember, as long as we're separated, when we meet again, we must first confirm the password."
"Alright."
After that, Cornelia left the room and went to the room at the end of the hallway with the key.
Dekan stayed in the room, looking at the hole in the door. Although the door was punctured, once Cornelia left the room, the barrier was restored. An invisible protective barrier was added to the void area.
Dekan knocked on it with his hand, feeling as if there was an invisible reinforced glass.
So Dekan stood in the room with his hands behind his back, staring through the hole in the door, much like a homeroom teacher observing students in the classroom from a rear window.