Dormitory 202.
Wang Yue opened the box with both hands. She squinted, staring at the long-lost Gaze Worm for a moment, before suddenly snatching it up. “You pest,” she scolded. “How dare you betray me?”
She gave it a hard squeeze!
“Squeak!”
However, the memories and thoughts Ed-Bear had stored inside it had long since dissipated. This Gaze Worm was a refurbished Special Grade Relic that had not yet acknowledged a master. Wang Yue’s outburst was more about venting her lingering frustration than anything else.
She applied a spiritual imprint to the Gaze Worm, regaining control. This time, the soul-binding process didn’t pass through Audara Ias’s hands, meaning there were no hidden traps. The Gaze Worm belonged entirely to her now.
The relic felt incredibly soft, like stress-relief putty. When squeezed, it oozed through the gaps in her fingers, only to slowly retract once she let go. As it changed shape, the pressure in her own heart seemed to diminish.
Squish, squish…
Wang Yue found herself playing with it quite contentedly.
Just then, her little maid approached and whispered in her ear, “Miss Loran Wright from Class One is here to see you.”
Wang Yue turned her head and saw a graceful yet melancholy figure standing at the door.
Loran Wright gave off the impression of an exquisite, elegant, Rococo-style porcelain doll. Her eyes, lips, figure, limbs, and fingers were all perfectly refined without a single flaw, resembling a fine European figurine accented with gold. She stood there with her hands folded over her skirt, her smooth, slender legs encased in snow-white stockings.
Is everyone in the Wright family like this? Wang Yue wondered. Her father was so refined he hardly looked human either.
Still, looking past the meticulously crafted image, the core of the girl was a cute child with delicate, clean features.
“Do you need something?” Wang Yue asked with a smile. She was in a good mood today.
“Yes… Could we speak in private?” Loran asked with a slight bow.
Wang Yue led Loran to the nearby lounge. The two weren’t exactly strangers, having crossed paths during the Class Competition.
“Wang Yue…” Loran looked up, her small face pale to the point of appearing sickly, her gaze flickering. “I want to know… what did you say to my father?”
“Are you feeling unwell? Should we go to the infirmary?” Wang Yue asked with concern.
“Please tell me! This is very important to me!” Loran was practically begging.
“Didn’t he tell you himself?” Wang Yue found it strange. She had assumed the Lantern-Bearer would go see his daughter immediately after their meeting.
“He left,” Loran said, shaking her head.
“He left without speaking to you? Oh… right. I suppose it isn’t convenient to reveal.”
Since Lord Aurora himself hadn’t breathed a word to his daughter, it clearly involved classified information. Wang Yue figured it was best not to run her mouth. Even though she was essentially just a tool for signal reception and reporting, she didn’t want to look indiscreet.
However, Loran’s state seemed increasingly unstable. Cold sweat seeped from her temples, tracing paths down her cheeks. Her eyes were rimmed with red, a precursor to tears.
The girl in white stockings suddenly took a few steps forward, her slippers clicking against the floor. She rushed to Wang Yue’s side and gripped her shoulders with trembling fingers. Looking pitiful and on the verge of sobbing, she cried, “Tell me… please…”
“Then go ask him! Why are you asking me?” Wang Yue found the situation more and more bizarre.
“We… haven’t… met… in five years…” Loran sobbed. Her grip tightened, and Wang Yue felt the pressure on her shoulders.
Then, this girl with beautiful White Gold hair began to recount the tragic experiences of her childhood, starting from her abandonment by her father to being fostered in a relative’s home…
This is a nightmare…
Wang Yue sighed inwardly. She was terrible at handling these kinds of situations. The sound of soft whimpering filled her ears, like the lonely cries of a kitten, tugging at her heartstrings. But there was nothing she could do; she couldn’t even find the right “chicken soup” platitudes to offer.
Give me a break… stop telling me your tragic backstory… why did you decide I was your personal sounding board?
Seeing that Loran showed no signs of stopping, Wang Yue had no choice but to reach out and gently stroke the girl’s head, making up a lie on the spot. “Don’t cry. Mr. Wright must have his reasons. Perhaps when he sees you, he… he’s reminded of his late wife. It might be too painful for him to bear.”
“Is that… true?” The crying miraculously stopped.
Wang Yue nodded vigorously.
“I’m sorry, I lost my composure…”
Loran was suddenly overcome with shame. She took the tissue Wang Yue offered, curling her fingers as she slowly wiped her tears, trying to blow her nose as quietly as possible.
She wouldn’t have normally acted this way, but the moment she entered the room and saw Wang Yue’s saintly silhouette outlined by the silvery moonlight from the window, the closed door to her heart had swung open. Her chaotic emotions had come pouring out all at once.
Specifically, when she felt Wang Yue’s Little Hand patting her head, it reminded her of a memory from her youth—tripping, crying, and being comforted by her mother’s touch.
Wang Yue had no idea that her accidental positioning and image had generated a faint, transcendent influence; she simply thought Loran was a temperamental and fragile girl.
“Mr. Wright is off to do something very important. If he succeeds, perhaps it will be made public,” Wang Yue added.
“And if he fails?” Loran asked worriedly.
Wang Yue thought for a moment. If he failed, Mr. Wright would be gone, and Loran would be a little orphan. But she used her Mystic Art to keep her expression perfectly controlled, offering a warm smile instead.
“Don’t worry. Failure is the mother of success. Mr. Wright will surely bounce back.”
Hearing this, Loran felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted. She took a deep breath and stepped back from where she had been leaning weakly against Wang Yue. With her cheeks slightly flushed, she spoke clearly, “Thank you! I feel much better now!”
Wang Yue, however, didn’t feel great. She was stacking lie upon lie—how was she supposed to fix this later?
Returning to the dorm, she met Mapeel, who brought word that Lilith was waiting for her at the training grounds. The first game was ready.
The two of them had already agreed on the terms. There was a single-use Contract Witchcraft that was drawn onto the contractor’s body with the tip of a wand. For the spell to take effect, it required the contractor’s mental submission during the drawing process. The effect of this Contract Witchcraft was identical to a Command Spell, but its placement was inverted.
Hmph. It’s time to start marking tallies.
Wang Yue changed into a loose-fitting training outfit and headed to the training grounds. She believed that becoming stronger through physical exercise had a racial threshold—what people called a “world record.” On Earth, even with performance-enhancing drugs, a human couldn’t run a hundred-meter dash in under eight seconds. No matter how angry a person got, they were still just sliding into a tiger’s stomach.
In a real fight, even if one reached the absolute limit of human potential, they couldn’t compare to monsters. A Special Grade Relic was more useful than anything else. She had heard that the “Shining Wright” had already turned his entire body into a relic, transcending humanity entirely.
That said, if she wanted to beat Lilith in the Command Spell Game, she couldn’t let her athletic abilities slip, or she’d be at too much of a disadvantage.
When Wang Yue arrived at the training grounds, she saw several familiar faces. The school didn’t strictly require it, but the little witches were all quite diligent.
As Wang Yue walked through the wood-paneled corridors of the Martial Arts Hall, she spotted Leona feeding fruit salad to Lulu’anna with a spoon. That arrogant, self-centered brat was actually opening her mouth obediently to be fed. Her small face was flushed, and her large, grape-like purple eyes were veiled in a misty haze.
Leona even went as far as to use her fingertip to wipe a smudge of mayonnaise from the girl’s soft lips, before popping her finger into her own mouth and pulling it out with a distinct pop…
A jolt like an electric shock ran through Wang Yue’s body. This… this is complete domestication!
Her heart hammered against her ribs. She clenched her fists and swore to herself: she absolutely could not lose to Lilith. She had to at least maintain an equal footing, if not an advantage. She could never let herself end up like that. Being fed like a pet… it was far too shameful!
