Chapter 451: Arcane Empire

Just as Xia Duo was considering what impact these events might have on him, the Projection Plane, from which there had been no news for nearly half a year, suddenly appeared, arriving so unexpectedly. While calling for the Tower Spirit to guide the teleportation, Xia Duo quickly stowed the 【Pioneer Scepter】 into his Personal Space and began to undress; he could guarantee that in the past twenty-some years, he had never undressed this quickly before.

Based on past projection experiences, items on one's body or in one's hands could not be brought in during projection; only those placed within the Personal Space could be brought over.

For the sake of insurance and to increase his strength, this time Xia Duo prepared to bring the 【Pioneer Scepter】 and the 【Crimson Shelter Robe】 with him.

Returning to the Tower of Time and then continuing to teleport to the Plane Exploration Layer Projection Hall, however, compared to the speed of teleportation, Xia Duo's speed in undressing was not quite as fast.

"Projection, immediate projection!"

As Xia Duo's consciousness began to Yaoyue toward the Astral Plane, his only thought was that next time, he must prepare an extra set of equipment to keep in his Personal Space as a backup.

Or develop a method for quickly changing equipment.

Although the current 【Crimson Shelter Robe】 appeared to be worn just like ordinary clothing, it would be fine if it were truly like ordinary clothes; the reality was that when putting it on, one had to link the Magic Net Strings connected to the robe to oneself, and when taking it off, one had to perform the opposite steps.

Similar to the "equipment binding" effect in games, if one did not unbind it first when taking it off, it might trigger passive Protection, which was detrimental to the maintenance of the robe.

If it were not for this, Xia Duo could have simply stowed it directly into his Personal Space.

The situation with the 【Pioneer Scepter】 was much the same, though its link with the user was minimal, not even on the same order of magnitude as the robe, and it could be unlinked almost in a single thought.

The speed of Astral Projection was extremely fast, or rather, when performing Astral Projection, one's sensory time was very short.

Before long, when Xia Duo "saw" that silver void which was no longer unfamiliar and even somewhat intimate, he knew he had "arrived"! The next moment, the silver void vanished, his consciousness felt a moment of trance, and Xia Duo felt someone pushing him, while a slightly immature voice came, "Aidi, which department do you want to join after graduation?"

Aidi? Xia Duo's consciousness stirred, and a hazy memory quickly became clear—Aidi, a graduating student of the Second Magic Academy under the Arcane Empire!

Graduation and departments triggered brand-new memories; while Xia Duo dealt with the person speaking with "mm-hmm"s, he simultaneously sorted through these newly emerged memories.

It turned out that the place he had projected to this time was a country known as the "Arcane Empire." "Aidi" had been naturally intelligent since childhood, stood out from the Apprentice School, was eventually admitted to the Second Magic Academy, and was now facing a critical life choice.

The Empire did not train students for free; all expenses had to be repaid by the students after graduation. If they could not graduate successfully, they would directly become Slaves, and the most inhumane kind at that—breeding tools.

As the memories of the projected body gradually unfolded, Xia Duo also gained more understanding of this new world. When he first learned about the Magic Academy, he had thought this was a relatively enlightened era, but in fact—

It was much darker here than in the Main Plane!

Once Empire Commoners reached adulthood, which was sixteen years old, they had to enter the Apprentice School to study Magic. If they could not become an Official Mage before the age of twenty, they were failures and would go to breed.

Whether it was the "Aidi" he had projected into this time, the classmate "Kuli" beside him, or other students of the Second Magic Academy, almost no one knew who their parents were.

Everything was handled by the Empire; it was practically a Mage manufacturing factory! Entering a focused state, the first five layers of the Magic Net were clearly visible, and Xia Duo suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness! In a world where almost the entire population was controlled by the Empire, only strength could bring him a sliver of comfort. Of course, he could leave directly, but it hadn't reached that point yet.

"By the way, Kuli, which department do you want to join?"

"Aidi, I asked first, you have to say first!" Kuli said with some dissatisfied "coquettishness."

Xia Duo shivered unexpectedly. Mages cultivated like a factory assembly line seemed to have somewhat immature minds! He moved away half a step without a trace, then said:

"I want to join the Judgment Court, how about you?"

"Me—" Kuli looked into the distance, eyes firm, "I want to join the Army and fight against demons."

Hearing this, Xia Duo's feeling became even worse. Besides being taught Magic Knowledge at the Magic Academy, these students were subjected to what Xia Duo saw as brainwashing.

Demons were the Empire's greatest enemy, and almost every student was taught to take pride in killing demons.

In reality, there were only three options available for graduates: one was the Scroll Factory, to become a glorious Scroll technician; one was the Judgment Court, to become a probationary Judge.

The last one was to join the Army and become a heroic Warrior fighting directly against demons.

Compared to being a worker or cannon fodder, Xia Duo felt that being a Judge might allow for slightly more time to himself and a higher degree of freedom. He had not come to the Projection Plane to be a beast of burden for the Arcane Empire, but to utilize time.

Of course, if he could harvest a little Knowledge along the way, he wouldn't mind.

As for "Aidi" himself, his ideal was actually to join the Scroll Factory and then further join the Research Institute to contribute to the advancement of the Empire's Magic.

It was just that Xia Duo had arrived, so this idea naturally had to step aside.

Unknowingly, Xia Duo and Kuli walked to the Dormitory Area of the Second Magic Academy. They had come this time to pack up some personal items, as new residences would be assigned after joining new departments.

If nothing unexpected happened, the two would likely have no chance to meet again. Xia Duo didn't care, after all, he wasn't really "Aidi," just wearing an "Aidi skin."

But Kuli was different; he and "Aidi" had lived and studied together for nearly four years, and now that they were parting, he was somewhat reluctant to let go.

Inside the dormitory, the two quietly packed their personal items. So-called personal items were actually just some books, notes, and other study supplies; everything else like clothes and tableware was provided by the Empire, so they didn't need the ones here, as new ones would be issued later.

After packing his things, Xia Duo prepared to leave. Seeing this, Kuli hurriedly followed, "Aidi, do you think we will meet again in the future?"

Just as Xia Duo was about to answer, a huge impact surged from one side of the wall. In the blink of an eye, he chose to give up resistance; the Magic Academy was covered in magical surveillance, mainly to monitor illegal Spellcasting. Once he displayed Spellcasting ability inconsistent with his identity, he might invite big trouble.

Not resisting didn't mean he wouldn't take any Protection measures. Following the instinct in "Aidi's" memories, he cast a Protective Spell while dragging Kuli to roll toward a corner in the direction of the impact.

With such a change suddenly occurring at the Academy, he assumed the school authorities would react quickly. He wasn't worried about being buried alive; even in the worst-case scenario, he had enough ability to escape.

It was just that it would certainly arouse the Empire's suspicion; this was his last resort besides leaving directly.

Compared to Xia Duo's calmness, Kuli's reaction was much slower. Facing the change, he was almost dumbfounded, only able to let Xia Duo drag him and stuff him into the corner.

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(End of chapter)