Chapter 240: The New Students Were Not Simple At All

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As today was the first day of school for the newly admitted students, Baiyi did not conduct any proper lessons; instead, he replaced it with an overview of the previous classes that had already been conducted. He then prompted the students to consider what they would like to learn, and he asked Tisdale, the appointed class head, to gather everybody's opinion. Baiyi could only choose to only teach certain subjects, for his time was limited.

Having made that arrangement, Baiyi gave the students some time to themselves while he prepared to ponder some student-related matters. However, as he prepared to leave, he suddenly heard a melodious hum coming from the corner where the potted sunflower was.

"Senior Sunny... said... it wants to bask in some sunnnn..." murmured Nota faintly, softly translating to Baiyi. As a fairy of nature, she understood the languages of animals and plants, and she could even communicate with them directly. Their kind was naturally blessed with these abilities, unlike humans who could only do something similar if they happened to be a decent druid.

'But wait a moment... did t-this potted sunflower asked to bask in the sun?!' Baiyi pondered for a bit, and then he decided that there was nothing really wrong about it. He turned around, thinking to move the sunflower to the courtyard.

However, before he could do that, the Fox lifted itself from the ground, grabbed the sunflower pot by its mouth, and rushed towards the courtyard with it.

"Hey! Tha—"

Before Baiyi could finish his sentence, the fox was already back from the yard in an incredibly dextrous manner.

"Will it be alright?" asked Baiyi, feeling a little concerned because the sunflower gave him a very good first impression.

"I-it's alright..." explained Nota the fairy. "Prefect Sunny is not such a weak plantling..."

"Ah… what will happen now?" pondered Baiyi for a moment, and then he concentrated some psychic energy to observe the courtyard. He was stunned for a while, before turning around in order to scan the fox and the owl. When it was Nota's turn to be scanned, the girl emitted a slight squeal.

"Oh...so that was the reason..." nodded Baiyi, as if he understood something immediately. He then announced to everyone present in the scene, "There are not many rules in my place. I shall explain those shortly. However, there is one important rule that I must absolutely declare now, so pay attention; no one should touch the flowers and seedlings that I planted in the animal-moneybox! Are you listening clearly? No one should disturb them!"

He spoke in such a loud volume, that the sunflower, who had just bent over to look at the newly-germinated sprouts in the kitty-money box, instantly straightened its stem, afraid to go near it.

After announcing this important rule, Baiyi returned to his room. In the Void, he asked, "So, how do you guys see this development?"

"Very good, very good... a bunch of interesting students indeed." Baiyi's Master, the Archmage, was the first to reply. 'He still has something positive to say about this… mess?!'

"They're quite outstanding, and they possess good fundamentals, so it doesn't require much effort to teach." Originating from the Door of Conundrum as well, the Scholar spoke well on behalf of his descendants. "That little missy from the noble family is an exception of course; she will require more effort and attention."

"Their basics are good, no doubt." nodded Baiyi in agreement. He had previously witnessed the symbol of the Door embedded on his new students. It was a little different from the one on Baldy, whose symbol had an open Eye. However, the symbol worn by the new students all had closed Eyes, which represented 'Thinking and Imagining'— a stage they were still mastering.

Most of them, except Vidomina, already had four lashes on their symbols. The closed Eye would open when the fifth lash appears, indicating that they had successfully become proper Sages.

Baldy did not lie to Baiyi, after all. He might not have declared the whole truth, but at least, what he had said was legitimate. These students were qualified enough to be deemed potential Sages, and they actually did not require that much intensive teaching from Baiyi, even though they had been placed under his care. On the contrary, they might even have to assist Baiyi in tutoring his original four apprentices.

These four potential Sages, possessing four lashes on their Eye symbols, were even qualified enough to be professors in a common academy. This was because they originated from the Door of Conundrum — the portal holding a world's worth of knowledge.

"What you said is not wrong, but if you wish to teach, there's still a lot more to teach them!" said the Scholar in the Void. "Your rank is considered that of a Master Sage, which is a completely different level; they would require a lifetime of learning in order to reach where you are!"

"In my opinion, the fact that the Door of Conundrum assigned these students to you was an acknowledgment of their respect for you," interrupted the Soul Armature Practitioner. "When I was young, I did consider joining the Door of Conundrum, but I didn't manage to pass the test. They were an extremely proud organization indeed."

Actually, with the portfolio of abilities and deeds that the Soul Armature Practitioner possessed, it was quite possible for him to be a Master Sage. However, the Door of Conundrum was an academic community full of pride and wisdom, and unless one took the initiative to apply, the Door of Conundrum would not lower their egos to beg for anyone's participation.

"They might verbally say they look up to me with respect, but the newcomers and I are still freaks of the society. What they did was grouping us freaks into a heap," said Baiyi ruefully. "Anyways, that's fine. At least, I don't have to deal with identity issues with this bunch."

Baiyi was considered a nuisance in the eyes of evil influences such as Godsfall. If Baiyi was not at the top of their wanted list, he would at least be amongst the top ten. Considering the fact that these bunch of loonies could even infiltrate the Judiciary Court, it was quite possible to think that they might have their numbers in the loosely-managed Door of Conundrum as well. Hence, if the Door had indeed assigned him some normal beings, Baiyi had to apply caution by spending some time to validate their identities.

However, for the duke's daughter, two animals, a potted plant, and a fairy — they would not need such screenings because they would never join Godsfall! Similarly, no cultist would bother to indoctrinate them, either.

"That potted plant over there... I believe it is good with illusions? Quite some skills there I see. If it wasn't for Honourable Hope's scrutinizing stare, it could've gotten away with it," said the Charlatan, whose presence was almost negligible on normal days, as he praised illusionary tricks on Sunny the sunflower's body. As a master practitioner of illusions, this was an honorable compliment indeed.

"Flora, such as soul-eating plants, were naturally blessed with illusionary abilities. They commonly use illusions to disguise themselves into harmless plants to hunt for prey. Honestly speaking, it's quite a rare event to see this rare creature here evolve to this point in order to assimilate human knowledge. It must've accumulated thousands of years just to muster such consciousness and ability from their most primitive form," explained the Explorer.

Born with the imitational skills, or natural illusionary abilities, this creature called the soul-eating plant was usually planted on forbidden grounds as booby traps. The Explorer seemed very familiar with them; perhaps he had encountered them quite frequently in his life before.

That's right. Sunny the sunflower's original form was not this pretty illusion of a harmless, animated-looking flower. Rather, it was like Medusa's hair in the myth or tentacles from the erotic romance works. Its nimble branches originally looked like little rattling snakes with sharp, terrifying fangs.

Just to make it clear, this creature did not have any sort of special fetish towards young, beautiful girls; young girls were merely fresh meat in its eyes. Something to consume and not to toy with, so do get your mind out of the gutter.

Besides Sunny the sunflower, the kitsune and the owl also had traces of disguise. Baiyi noticed hints of shrinking enchantment on the former; beneath its thick, luscious coat, runes were inscribed inconspicuously. This meant that its original size was much bigger than the animal that was before him, so it was definitely not just the size of an abnormally big dog.

This was not surprising. The Kitsune was naturally not the strongest animal in the ecosystem — unlike wolves, tigers or leopards — yet it is still constantly faced with threats like bloodlusting hunters and mink-loving ladies. Living as a Kitsune was stressful indeed. Hence, it was hardly a preferred choice for shapeshifting. Most kitsune magical beasts were rarely seen. Thus, for this Kitsune to be able to evolve into such a stage was quite impressive indeed.

As for Potter the Owl, it was the quickest to reveal himself. Before, Potter stood on the Kitsune's head, but later on, it flew to a corner and hung upside down, observing the chatter below with narrowed eyes as it listened intently. Although its appearance was still that of a fat, roundish owl, how would a normal owl hang itself upside down?

According to academic records, Shadownyx Owls did not even possess a physical form. From the account of witnesses, they were like fog in darkness; their entire being was shrouded in a constant mass of black mist. As for their original form... it did not resemble the appearance of an owl, most definitely.

But...seeing Potter did such an incredibly convincing imitation of an owl — without any giveaways on its appearance or any traces of magical effects — it must be a creature that was naturally born with such shapeshifting abilities. Due to its a realistic transformation, a lot of people might have seen the Shadownyx Owls, but they were not aware that it was really the owls, because that mass of black fog surrounding the owls was their true form.

Baiyi suspected that their original form was not even that of birds. This assumption was only made because the Shadownyx Owls had adopted their fowl-sounding name.

It was the Nota the fairy who did not possess any traces of disguise; she was just as she looked. To put it in other words, a beauty like her who did not apply any assist magic, upgrades, or software was no different from Mia and the rest — a bunch of naturally beautiful maidens.

Nota's personality was a little too soft and weak. Baiyi could not help but to worry that she would get bullied because of this. Now that she had joined the team, the lowest tier in the ecological food chain of this household would no longer be Attie, perhaps?

Last but not least, there was Vidomina. Everybody was hoping that she would have some sort of illusionary or shapeshifting effects on her, but it was a pity that she was entirely natural; even her clothes were normal. At a glance, she was the real thing, without a trace of imitation...

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