Chapter 585: The First Person to Sacrifice for

The parlor of the Colin Estate was bathed in thin morning light filtering through the windows, falling upon a wool rug, the air filled with the scent of citrus.

Sitting on the edge of a velvet sofa, Professor Cairns, dressed in a morning coat, sat with his spine rigid, struggling to overcome the discomfort of his restraint.

His eyes nervously scanned the opulent parlor, unsure where to rest them without appearing impolite.

Like Professor Hector, he was least skilled at interacting with people, especially those of noble status.

These cunning nobles were unlike his students—not only hard to read, but their joys and sorrows never revealed themselves to him easily.

Cairns stole a glance at the maid standing in the corner, his gaze landing on her head, silently marveling at how wonderful youth was.

Indeed, when it came to enjoying life, secular nobles understood it far better; the Academy's problem-solving prodigies still lacked depth.

Who would have thought that filthy beast ears paired with a maid's uniform could produce such a magical effect? Why hadn't he thought of it in his youth?

Thinking that the prince he was about to meet was such a refined and elegant man, Professor Cairns felt a growing anticipation for the upcoming meeting.

The Colin family's background directly determined the price his skills could command!

Yet the professor from the Academy did not know that Campbell nobles had no tradition of hiring demons as servants; they still relied on servants bound to their families for generations, and rarely employed even other Campbell people they didn't know well.

Hiring these "marginal groups" was entirely Prince Colin's personal taste. After all, he himself was an orphan of the Temple, and his greatest skill was uniting these marginalized people.

As Professor Cairns waited anxiously, steady footsteps echoed from the nearby hallway.

His right hand instinctively clenched the half-worn hat pressed against his chest as he rose from the edge of the sofa.

At the same moment, a voice as warm as spring breeze drifted in from the hallway entrance.

"Professor Cairns, I apologize for keeping you waiting. I was occupied with family matters and took a little longer than expected—please forgive the delay."

The newcomer was a dashing young man, his face as handsome as rumored. His deep purple hair surpassed every noble ornament in the lavish parlor; even the haughty Professor Cairns felt inferior—this man was undeniably far more handsome than he was.

Of course, his nervousness wasn't solely due to Prince Colin's beauty; it stemmed mostly from his own dire circumstances.

Professor Cairns forced a gentlemanly smile and bowed with an imperial noble's etiquette.

"Not at all, Your Highness. It was I who intruded upon your home—I hope my abrupt visit did not disturb your morning."

"You are too kind, Professor Cairns. The wind of knowledge you bring only illuminates my humble estate."

Watching the uneasy Professor Cairns, Luo Yan nodded in return and gestured with a smile.

"Please, sit down."

The two took seats on the sofa.

The waiting maid stepped forward, pouring tea for Prince Colin and refilling Professor Cairns's cup.

The quiet fragrance of tea mingled with the citrus scent, soothing and refreshing.

Seeing Cairns's tension ease slightly, Luo Yan opened the conversation.

"I once studied at the Academy and heard rumors of you. It seems… you've just returned from a long expedition?"

These words struck a raw nerve in Cairns; his face twisted into a smile worse than a sob.

"Long… Your Highness, it was far too long."

Luo Yan lifted his teacup and took a sip.

"Could you summarize it briefly?"

Cairns nodded, offering no concealment.

"I plunged my consciousness into the Void Realm, but the Solipxi people there were too primitive—they could not perceive my presence. I was like a fly lost in a sea of flowers not meant for me… until I finally found the exit, long after."

"Then you interacted with them?"

"No, Your Highness—more accurately… I became them."

Seeing the surprise on Prince Colin's face, Cairns paused, then continued.

"You may not believe this, but I may have undergone several cycles of reincarnation in that world."

"... Reincarnation?"

"Yes," Cairns nodded, his expression indescribable. "As a Solipxi—sometimes a mage, sometimes a sailor, sometimes the king's chef or minister. Those memories were like fragmented dreams: sometimes a second felt like a year, sometimes seconds spanned a lifetime."

Luo Yan's surprise deepened, then transformed into keen interest.

This was a fascinating clue.

Though he no longer pursued scholarship at the Academy, he remained curious about "his children."

He set down his teacup and asked:

"Mage, sailor, chef, minister… do you know any of these people in reality?"

Cairns blinked.

"You mean in the real world?"

"Of course."

Looking at the prince's eyes brimming with curiosity, Cairns thought carefully, then nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness… my father was a sailor. Chefs exist everywhere—I know several skilled shopkeepers on the Artisans' Street outside the Tower of the Sage. As for kings and ministers… when I was at the height of my fame, I occasionally met them. The Kingdom of Rod and the Academy maintained close ties; we occasionally interacted with their nobility."

"Have you dreamed of other professions? More fantastical ones—like piloting a ship that crosses the star-sea?"

What on earth was that?

Cairns was utterly baffled. He stared blankly for a long while, then shook his head.

"No, Your Highness… is this important?"

Luo Yan smiled and shook his head.

"Not important. I'm just curious."

A soul from World A entered World B and participated in its cycles of reincarnation. Yet interestingly, the soul from World A still cycled within its own "framework," never truly entering World B's system.

Its existence resembled a "Player," not the opposite—a "NPC."

This was a fascinating phenomenon, aligning subtly with the fundamental principle of the Void Realm—

The Void Realm could only respond to inner resonance, amplify that resonance, but never reveal to a person something they did not already know.

Professor Cairns's experience clearly fit this principle.

In his unconscious dreams, he could become the chef he had seen, the mage he had been, the king and minister he had encountered—but never the captain of a research vessel, or anything else beyond that.

Because no such profession existed on the continent of Aus.

Perhaps this was also why he awoke, rather than being permanently trapped there.

And if one wished to turn a "Player" into an "NPC," fully entering another world's reincarnation system, perhaps this angle could be explored.

Of course, this was merely one line of thought.

Luo Yan had never intended to keep his Players permanently in his world; his desire for control was not that strong. Mutual benefit was the ideal state—it preserved the illusion each held of the other.

Unless a Player voluntarily requested it, he might consider offering it as a reward for completing a game.

For example—

Let Players exchange points accumulated from their past life for a new life's starting conditions.

Watching the prince lost in thought, Cairns hesitated long, then finally cleared his throat softly.

"Your Highness, I understand your interest in Void Realm 440. I heard you… conducted research on that realm. I must thank you—I wouldn't have awakened without you."

Luo Yan looked at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

Cairns gave a bitter smile.

"To be honest, I awoke the moment the Void Realm's connection was severed."

Severed?

Luo Yan's surprise deepened.

He remembered clearly that when he left, Void Realm 440 still retained a faint connection—yet it had vanished entirely.

He wanted to say it was a pity, but then remembered that Professor Cairns had returned precisely because the connection broke, so he swallowed the untimely remark.

After a pause, he asked:

"Before you left, did you see anything?"

Cairns nodded.

"Yes. An old man told me we would meet again—then everything vanished."

We will meet again…

Luo Yan savored the words.

If this was spoken to Cairns, and they had indeed met again—after all, the man before him was the "Father of the Solipxi."

If it was spoken to the humans of the continent of Aus, its intent was worth pondering.

A warning?

That gaze from the Void…

Watching Prince Colin fall silent once more, Cairns continued speaking of himself.

"Later, I awoke from my slumber to find myself… cough, your Colin Tower. Miller had grown up—I fell asleep before he became so mature. And the blackboards hanging in the Mage Tower, the formulas written on them—all things I'd never seen before."

"That's truly… regrettable," Luo Yan's expression grew peculiar, and what followed made it even more so.

Professor Cairns sighed, muttering on.

"My misfortunes weren't limited to that, Your Highness. I lost not only the Mage Tower but also my laboratory. My former colleagues treated me as if I were a plague—none dared speak to me."

"I couldn't figure out what I'd done wrong. The only person I harmed was myself. Even the Council of Sages said nothing—why were they all so moved by their own self-pity?"

"Only later did I learn that because of my record at the Colin Tower, they all regarded me as an elder of the 'Science' school—and now, the Sage candidate Professor Uriel views the Science school as a thorn in his side, a splinter in his flesh…"

"Oh, Saint Xisi above, I was utterly stunned! I'd just awakened from the Void Realm—I didn't even know how to spell the word 'science.' How could I be an elder of the Science school? No one told me?"

At this, the middle-aged mage, over fifty, his eyes turned red, his lips trembling.

He had endured them seizing his inheritance while he slept—but this sudden, inexplicable slap in the face, he simply could not bear.

If he had someone protecting him like Professor James Wally, that would be fine, but the key point is he never accepted any favors from Prince Colin.

Later, one of his former students, Miller, helped him by writing a letter of recommendation.

After inquiring around, he learned that the Prince was in the southern Duchy of Campbell, so he traveled here.

Luo Yan coughed lightly.

"This… I'm truly sorry."

Though Cairns's plight wasn't his fault, to claim no connection whatsoever would clearly be irresponsible.

"Your Highness, I don't blame you. You needn't apologize to me."

Looking at the earnestly apologizing Prince, Cairns took a deep breath, nodded slightly, and continued.

"I've spent decades in the Academy. I was there since I was a child—I know exactly what it's like."

Luo Yan softly comforted him.

"Uriel's actions were indeed excessive."

Cairns shook his head.

"I don't even blame Uriel—he has no time to care about a washed-up misfit like me. Even if he were petty, he'd never personally persecute me… It's merely his eager underlings, who'd rather kill ten thousand than miss one."

That's gambler's thinking.

Most Academy mages come from poverty; with no safety net, they've staked their entire talent and life's work on the Tower. Their brilliant minds are inevitably selfish and cold to the extreme.

Professor Cairns knew this well—he knew he was the same kind of man.

At least, he once was.

Uriel was the rising star he once was; he himself was the fallen Uriel.

Though they held different life scripts, they were the same kind of people.

It's not their impoverished origins that deserve blame—it's the Tower that drove them to desperation, and the Sages who looked down from its peak.

Luo Yan glanced at him again, surprised, a hint of admiration in his eyes.

"I'm surprised you think this way… To be honest, this is precisely why I left. Compared to those who call themselves Sages, I think you're the one who truly deserves the title."

"You flatter me, Your Highness," Cairns chuckled bitterly. "I'm not even a professor anymore."

Some saw through it all before stepping into the Tower; others only understood after losing everything.

He belonged to the latter.

That's why he felt utterly disheartened and began to consider leaving.

But for Academy mages, removing their robes wasn't an easy choice.

Their abilities and talents were indeed "rare," but not "scarce" on the continent of Aus. There was no second Academy where he could continue shining as before.

Not all nobles were willing to pay for his wand; their power didn't come from the extraordinary—it was merely an accessory.

Magic wasn't a technology that could be quickly monetized; it only seemed mysterious to ordinary people.

Professor Cairns couldn't possibly survive by drawing magical scrolls, nor could he go to the frontlines like imperial soldiers to fight demons.

The only way to quickly turn magic into gold was probably robbery.

But he couldn't defeat major nobles; harassing minor ones once or twice might work, but by the third time, his name would top the Adventurers' Guild's wanted list.

Behind the Adventurers' Guild stood the Church—there were plenty of heroes like Gant who had already built legends or were building them, and they just needed his experience.

Second-Era exalted beings couldn't act as recklessly as First-Era ones, relying solely on their powers.

The only outcomes of walking one path to the end were two: either you ended up in Hell, completely ceasing to be human, or you lost yourself in slaughter and became a puppet of chaos.

That's why, when Prince Colin waved his hand, Professor James, who was tutoring nobles, immediately packed his bags and flew back—without a second's hesitation.

Because despite its many flaws, the Academy was still the best place for mages on this continent.

At least, for now.

"... So, what are your plans from here?" Luo Yan lifted his teacup and took a small sip.

From Cairns's nervous gaze, he had already guessed the professor's thoughts. But rather than speak first, he preferred to hear it from the man himself.

Cairns took another deep breath, nervously touching his collar, then pulled a letter from his chest and gently placed it before the Prince.

"... This is from Miller. I heard Your Highness is eager to recruit talent, so I've come boldly. Please forgive my impolite first visit—I never received your invitation, but... I truly wished to meet you."

"Professor Cairns, you're too courteous. Such matters don't matter. Moreover, I did ask my friends at the Academy to find me true talent. Without doubt, you are the guest I invited."

Putting Cairns's unease to rest, Luo Yan smiled and took the letter on the table, opening it to glance inside.

The handwriting was indeed Miller's.

His assistant held the former professor in high regard, praising him as a top scholar in both the Realm of Illusions and magical research.

But these were secondary.

Luo Yan valued more the other qualities Cairns possessed.

Someone who had endured feudal oppression knew better than anyone where feudalism's flaws lay.

If he didn't want the children of Lei Ming City to endure the same rain he once endured, this Mr. Cairns could build a true university in Lei Ming City.

Not a "guild-style" school that merely copied the Academy's model to deceive Lei Ming's citizens.

Though the Academy's model had merits, it needed reform to suit the new age.

Watching the Prince, who seemed still lost in thought, Cairns rubbed his hands—calloused from years of gripping his staff—with hope and trepidation in his eyes.

"... Your Highness, though I'm fallen and destitute, I am still a genuine Platinum-level caster. I trust Your Highness can see that."

"Moreover, I've studied the Source School for decades—in Source Theory, Alchemy, and Potion-making, I have decades of mastery... and the Realm of Illusions. Hmm, perhaps you don't care about that, but if you or your relatives have children of suitable age! I could teach them a little. If they later wish to study at the Academy, this knowledge would greatly help them."

At this moment, he resembled a shopkeeper selling off-season goods—his tone so humble it hardly sounded like a mage's.

He'd even forgotten that Prince Colin's children didn't need Professor Hector's approval—a single recommendation letter would suffice.

Only those without ability need to guess what's inside the Realm of Illusions.

"I don't seek any high position—a tutor's post would do, or even an adjunct mage."

"As for compensation... I only need a small mage tower as my laboratory, enough to let me meditate from a height among people. It's not my preference—Source Theory's meditation technique simply requires such an environment."

He hesitated, then carefully raised three fingers.

"Also... I don't need a salary, but I require research funding—about 3,000 gold coins annually. I'll show you exactly where every coin goes and what results it produces. Would that be acceptable?"

After speaking, Cairns's heart pounded violently.

Three thousand gold coins were no small sum—this amount was a fortune that ordinary people couldn't spend in generations!

But he wasn't being greedy—he knew magical research was truly expensive, and the cost dwarfed that of other fields.

Many rare materials had to be purchased through the Adventurers' Guild, and adventurers risked their lives for them.

Moreover, basic consumables like magic crystals were extremely costly to procure in bulk.

Surface-level magic crystal reserves were limited and poorly developed.

The Academy's magic crystals mostly came from dwarves in the Ten Thousand Swords Mountains, and those dwarves accepted only Imperial gold coins—not even silver coins issued by the kingdoms.

But he'd heard the Duchy of Campbell had a magic crystal mine—supposedly owned by some Baron Guss. Prince Colin had connections to obtain it.

If true, that would save a great deal.

In fact, this was one reason he came here.

As Cairns thought this, Prince Colin finished reading the letter and looked at him with an elegant smile.

"Mr. Cairns, I regret to inform you that I have no children, nor do any of my relatives have children requiring enlightenment."

The light in Cairns's eyes instantly dimmed; his straightened back slumped.

Of course...

How could a powerful Imperial Prince lack people eager to serve him?

Noble honor wasn't one family's honor—it was the honor of a network of families clinging to nobility. Among them, the birth of a few noble-souled exalted beings wasn't rare.

Even a Platinum-level mage might be merely icing on the cake for such a top-tier noble...

"I... I understand," Cairns forced a smile, reaching for his round hat, preparing to rise and take his leave. "I'm truly sorry for the abrupt disturbance."

Just as his hand neared the hat's brim, Luo Yan's voice sounded again, his elegant smile carrying a touch of delight.

"You misunderstand, Mr. Cairns. I didn't say you weren't suited to serve me—I only meant... having a former Academy professor, a true Platinum-level mage, act as a nanny for children would be a terrible waste."

Cairns froze.

He looked up, bewildered, at the young Prince. His cloudy pupils seemed to spark with renewed hope.

Luo Yan leaned forward slightly, sitting upright on the velvet sofa, his gaze piercing as he fixed his eyes on the fallen scholar.

"Mr. Cairns, as you saw upon arriving, this city is undergoing a transformation. We now have carriages faster than those in Shengcheng, and bell towers taller than the Grand Saint Clement Cathedral—but we lack a sage who can truly elevate our youth."

"We are establishing a secular comprehensive university, open to all talented youths, noble or commoner alike, where they may receive equal education—provided they prove themselves worthy."

"To build this university, I need a leader who can construct a teaching system from scratch and who possesses sufficient prestige and knowledge in a specific research field."

Looking at the wide-eyed Professor Cairns, Luo Yan's smile remained as warm as spring, but his tone turned utterly serious.

"Professor Cairns, as the future Chief Director and Honorary Chancellor of Lei Ming University, I formally invite you to serve as its first Chancellor! As for salary and laboratory..."

He paused, then smiled.

"We will equip you with the same standards as the Academy's Sages. As long as you build this university, funding will be unlimited."

He'd studied at the Academy himself—its research funds were so high for two reasons: one, the Empire's printing press backed them; two, magic crystals were genuinely scarce.

Would Luo Yan, the Councilor from Hell, lack magic crystals?

Magic crystal cannons were his own industry!

As for rare magical materials?

The Demon King himself was worried players had nothing to do—he'd just idle around and give him tasks. He could simply print some Hell Coins and let players fetch them!

Cairns was utterly stunned.

He opened his mouth wide, staring blankly at Prince Colin, his mind empty.

He had only come here to apply for a job as a private tutor, never expecting to be appointed head of a national university.

And the budget had no limit…

The staggering contrast left him speechless, as if he had fallen from the mud of reality into another unreal realm.

It took a full half-minute before Cains suddenly snapped back to awareness, trembling as he rose from the sofa. His eyes brimmed with ecstatic joy and a profound gratitude, the kind a scholar feels for one who truly understands him.

"Your Highness…"

He bowed deeply, performing the most precise mage's salute.

"I offer you all my wisdom—for you, and for this city!"

"I look forward to your performance," Luo Yan nodded with satisfaction, deeply pleased to have gained another Platinum-ranked demon general under his command.

The Dragon Clan is still too weak—eighteen demon generals lost, now reduced to just a handful, yet they blame humans for being too cunning and their territories too far from the Demon Capital.

What is it to expand the borders of Hell?

This is what it means to expand the borders of Hell!

Meanwhile, outside the manor's parlor window, two restless little heads pressed together, their eyes gleaming brightly.

No wonder he's the elder brother—

In just a few words, he won over a Platinum-ranked powerhouse!

Truly unfathomable!

(End of Chapter)