Chapter 452: Resurrection Department, Number of Mages

"Still alive!"

The dormitory was already in a state of semi-collapse, but this corner was still relatively safe. However, before Xia Duo could even feel relieved, another massive explosion echoed, and the ground shook with moderate intensity.

This time, Xia Duo truly had reason to be relieved, because apart from this corner, every other place had collapsed. At this moment, Kuli finally regained his senses, "It must be a demon! It must be a demon that came to sneak-attack the school! Aidi, thank you for saving me."

"Don't mention it, we're friends!" Xia Duo said casually.

However, the "demon" Kuli spoke of did pique his interest. Having been in the school for so long, there was no image of a demon in "Aidi's" memory, and there was only one sentence describing demons.

Demons resemble humans, have handsome appearances, skin ranging from copper-red to grass-green, pointed ears, can use Magic, and are also skilled at seducing humans.

Therefore, it is best to kill them directly upon seeing such characteristics, otherwise there is a risk of being seduced into falling.

For some reason, Xia Duo suddenly thought of the Elf; the descriptions of demons in the school books matched the appearance of the Elf almost perfectly.

However, if they really were Elves, why would they come to sneak-attack the school?

In "Aidi's" memory, there seemed to be no instance of demons sneak-attacking the school. Could it be that the "protagonist" had arrived and caused trouble?

Xia Duo felt that things could not be that simple. Just as he was searching for information about demons in "Aidi's" memory, the collapsed stones outside the corner where he and Kuli were hiding were shaken by an invisible force, trembling as they began to move.

The sound of falling debris and the friction between the stones awakened Xia Duo from his thoughts. He noticed the Magic Aura condensing on the stones and knew that people from the school had taken action.

He also wondered if the invading demon had been dealt with.

"Can the people inside still move? If you can, give a response!" A strange voice came in from outside.

"Yes! Yes!" Kuli shouted impatiently.

Before long, all the stones were moved away. Xia Duo walked straight out of the ruins of the dormitory. Outside was a scorched earth, as if it had been bombed by missiles. The core was at the outer wall of the dormitory opposite, extending from there into a glazed area over ten meters long.

"What great luck, only these six survived in this area."

Hearing the voice, Xia Duo looked around. Almost everyone on the opposite side was dead, except for one person whose thigh had been broken off; he was floating as he was moved out of the ruins, emitting wails like a slaughtered pig.

As for this side, besides Xia Duo and Kuli, three other students had also survived, though they were also covered in dirt and grime. One of them, perhaps because of the position they were in earlier, had their entire upper body looking as if it had been grilled—blackened and even oozing oil. At this time, they were also floating to the side, motionless, unable to even let out a wail.

"Are your bodies alright? If there's a problem, speak up. Today is an emergency, and the school will be responsible for half of the medical expenses."

Xia Duo sensed slightly and said, "Thank you for your concern, Teacher, I am fine. I just happened to be hiding in the corner. May I ask, Teacher, was that a demon attack just now?"

"Correct. You are graduating soon, so I won't hide it from you. This is already the 32nd demon attack incident this year."

"..."

Seeming to feel that the students before him were afraid, the teacher comforted them again, "Don't be afraid. This is because the Empire has just achieved a phased victory, and the demons are starting to get anxious, which is why they are launching attacks so frequently. You must learn to adapt. Their end is not far off, and the Empire will eventually achieve final victory. Arcane Supreme!"

"Arcane Supreme!" Xia Duo also followed along and shouted the slogan.

Just as they were talking, an old man with graying hair descended from the sky, his face full of anger. After landing, he asked, "How is the situation here?"

"Principal, of the two dormitory areas, nearly half have already gone to the venue. Of those remaining, only these six are still alive. Treatment has already been arranged, but the others are—"

"What about their Souls?"

"Only ten were intercepted."

The anger on the old man's face grew even more intense, "Send them to the Resurrection Department. I want to see them appear at the graduation ceremony. You handle this personally; do not delay."

"I understand. By the way, Principal, was that demon caught?"

"Get out!"

"Yes!"

A white light flashed, and the person disappeared.

This scene left Xia Duo somewhat stunned. The invading demon wasn't caught? But there was no time to think too much; the Principal had already arrived in front of them and began to soothe their hearts.

Before long, the two most seriously injured students were already able to move. The one with the broken leg had already grown a new one, and the upper body skin of the one who had been "grilled" had also grown back, making the whole person look much fairer.

Except for Xia Duo and Kuli, the others were all more or less injured. After treatment, the six of them went to the venue together to attend the final graduation ceremony.

The venue.

Xia Duo watched the stage with a distracted mind. The so-called graduation ceremony looked more like a purposeful, planned mobilization meeting. People from the Scroll Factory, the Judgment Court, and the Army came to the meeting to give speeches, attracting graduates to join.

Besides high wages and high benefits, there were also subsequent growth paths. For example, the Scroll Factory could lead to the Research Institute, the Judgment Court could lead to becoming a Grand Justice, and the Army would naturally lead to becoming a Marshal.

Glory, responsibility, sentiment, and profit—everything bound the graduates to the chariot of the Empire.

Because they were subjected to the demon attack, Xia Duo and the others were treated as victims of the demons, personally recounting the atrocities of the demons, along with the ten who had just been resurrected and were still somewhat unclear-headed, causing the graduates off-stage to be filled with surging emotions.

Many people changed their plans on the spot, shouting that they wanted to join the Army and go to war with the demons.

Not to mention the inexperienced graduates, even Xia Duo, an outsider, was almost moved. The entire venue was filled with an incomparably fanatical atmosphere, making the cleverly hidden Magic Aura of the mental Spell even more obscure.

After all, he was an Advanced Rank Mage, and Xia Duo had always been extremely sensitive to scenes with such abnormal emotions. When he realized there might be the influence of a mental Spell, he immediately entered a state of focus, and sure enough, he discovered the clues.

Mental Spells were not taboo in the Main Plane, and they were even less so here, but Xia Duo did not like them.

Finally reaching the last segment, it was somewhat similar to graduation ceremonies on Earth. The Principal put a Graduation Badge on every graduate and presented a Graduation Recommendation Letter, while high-ranking officials of the Empire were also present to give blessings one by one.

"Aidi, may your path of Judgment be smooth! Arcane Supreme!"

"Arcane Supreme!"

Shouting slogans, saluting—after the whole set of procedures, Xia Duo felt physically and mentally exhausted. However, he did not dare to show it in the slightest, because everyone else was very excited; if he wasn't excited, wouldn't that be very abnormal!

Fortunately, the number of graduates in this batch was not large. If it were really like a school on Earth with thousands per batch, that would be too terrifying. The Second Magic Academy of the Arcane Empire had less than two hundred per batch.

However, just thinking that these hundred-plus people were all Official Mages made it fearful and terrifying.

Because it wasn't a hundred-plus people every few years, but every single year.

At the graduation ceremony, the Principal introduced the number of past graduates, which was about at this level. Now Xia Duo still didn't know how many Magic Academies the Empire had in total, but judging by the name "Second," there should at least be two.

That would be at least three hundred Official Mages every year.

And the Empire had been established for nearly a thousand years, this—

Although it was impossible to have grown at a rate of three hundred per year from the very beginning, considering such a long history, the number of Mages in the Empire must not be a small number.

What's more, Xia Duo was calculating based on two Magic Academies. If there were hundreds of Magic Academies, that would be truly too terrifying.

If Mages had this kind of number, what about ordinary people?

Leaving the venue, Xia Duo could not wait to learn about the history of the Arcane Empire; the parts of Aidi's memory concerning the history of the Empire were extremely scarce, mostly consisting of the deeds of the Great Sage.