“No, this won’t do. Veen is right. Given my current situation, I don’t know a single high-level magic spell. There’s a high probability I won’t be able to win.”
Lilith shook her head impatiently. Then, she suddenly looked up, her eyes brightening. “Right! I can go find Aurora. As the principal of the Magic Academy, he must have high-level magic.”
“No time to lose, I’ll go find him right now!” Lilith threw on her black robe and flew back toward the Magic Academy.
Meanwhile, at the Magic Academy.
Principal Aurora felt like his heart might need to file for worker’s compensation with the Mage Association today.
He had just barely relaxed from the tension of seeing off Veen and the man in black, pouring himself a cup of tea to calm his nerves.
When he looked up, he saw that mysterious Excellency in black had returned.
Aurora’s hand jerked, nearly dropping his precious bone china teapot.
He forced himself to stay calm. “Excellency... why have you returned? Is there something else our academy can do for you?”
Lilith kept her face beneath the hood stiff, doing her best to maintain the air of a top-tier expert.
She pretended to ponder for a moment before speaking slowly:
“There is indeed one matter.”
Aurora’s heart leaped into his throat. “Please, speak! As long as the Holy City Magic Academy can do it, we will not refuse!”
Lilith was very satisfied with his attitude. She nodded and then uttered a request that made Aurora almost think he was hallucinating:
“I need a large quantity of magic books. Preferably high-level ones—offensive, defensive, auxiliary... the more the better, and as comprehensive as possible.”
Aurora: “...Huh?”
He froze for several seconds before asking cautiously, “Forgive my presumption, but with your strength, Excellency, do you still need... these magic books?”
This was a super-powerhouse who had leveled a mountain range with a wave of his hand and even intimidated a Calamity like Veen into retreating!
Shouldn’t such an existence be creating their own magic? Why were they still looking at magic books to learn?
Lilith had long expected this question. She remained unhurried, even deliberately letting a hint of a profound smile enter her voice.
“The path of the strong is endless. It is always good to learn more. And one can never have too many trump cards. Don’t you agree, Mr. Principal?”
Aurora was hit with a sudden realization!
“I see! As expected of a top-tier powerhouse’s mindset, it truly is different. One is never too old to learn; you aren’t satisfied with your current power and are still constantly seeking breakthroughs and accumulation!”
The gaze Aurora directed at the man in black was instantly filled with admiration. That shred of doubt vanished in a flash, replaced by deep submission.
“What you say makes perfect sense, Excellency. My vision was narrow.”
Aurora bowed hurriedly. “However... high-level magic books are indeed extremely rare. Our academy has a heritage of several hundred years, yet our collection of complete high-level magic volumes consists of only about ten books, some of which are fragments or copies.”
He saw the man in black move slightly and quickly added, “But if you need them, Excellency, the academy is willing to open our entire collection to you.”
“Furthermore, I can immediately submit a special application in the academy’s name to the kingdom’s department of magic records to access the Kingdom's Secret Vault. Given your merit in resolving the crisis in the Holy City today, the kingdom will surely provide full support and be happy to offer them!”
Lilith’s eyes lit up. Such a good thing existed? And it sounded like she could get her hands on the good stuff in the kingdom’s treasury for free?
She suppressed the joy in her heart and maintained a flat tone. “In that case, I thank you. How long will it take to prepare?”
Aurora quickly calculated in his head.
“Three days at the earliest,” Aurora said somewhat anxiously, fearing the powerhouse would find it too slow.
Lilith nodded. “Very well. I shall return in three days.”
With that, her figure slowly faded and finally vanished.
Principal Aurora let out a long, long sigh of relief, wiping away non-existent cold sweat from his forehead. Today’s ups and downs were far too stimulating.
But he didn’t dare delay. He immediately sat at his desk, spread out a sheet of magic parchment, picked up a pen, and began writing furiously.
...
When he finished, he double-checked it several times, stamped it with the academy’s highest-level seal and his own principal’s seal, and called for his most trusted Vice Principal.
“Immediately use the fastest magic transmission to send this application directly to the royal palace. Hand it personally to His Majesty and the Chief Court Mage. Remember, this is top priority; there must be no delay!”
Aurora’s expression was as solemn as if he were assigning a mission concerning the survival of the continent.
The Vice Principal saw the principal’s grave face and the thick application letter. He didn’t dare ask questions and nodded heavily. “Understood. I will deliver it personally!”
Watching the Vice Principal’s hurried departure, Aurora sat back in his chair, took a sip of the now cold black tea, and smacked his lips.
“Three days... I need to have the library staff organize our own high-level collection first and make a list. Then prepare the best reading room... Oh, right, I should also prepare some tea and snacks. Although a powerhouse might not need them, etiquette must be observed...”
The old principal began muttering to himself as he planned the reading guide for the mysterious expert, his face showing a mix of nervousness and anticipation.
On the other side, Lilith, who had already slipped back to her dormitory and changed back into her pajamas, threw herself onto her soft, large bed and rolled around twice while hugging her pillow.
“Yay, it’s settled!” She buried her face in the pillow and laughed muffledly. “High-level magic books, the Kingdom's Secret Vault... Once I learn them, I’ll hang the First of the Four Calamities up and beat him.”
She was already starting to fantasize about learning all sorts of cool high-level magic and then showing off in front of the First.
“But... three days. That’s a bit hard to wait.”
Lilith rolled over and stared at the ceiling. “What should I do for these three days? Hmm... maybe I’ll go ask Instructor Arret for some leave and go out to have some fun.”
She rubbed her chin, thinking this was a good idea.
“Right, I also need to think about how to study in the man in black persona three days from now. They definitely won’t agree to let me take the high-level magic books away, so I can’t really just sit there and flip through them page by page. I need to find a way to quickly copy or record them...”
Lilith’s large eyes darted around as she began to devise various reasonable plans that fit her expert persona for reading the books.
“Right, Construction Magic!” Lilith’s eyes lit up. She could use magic to record the contents of the high-level magic books and then take the records with her to read slowly.
That way, she wouldn’t have to flip through them one by one there. Lilith was incredibly excited at the thought and immediately got out of bed to go to a nearby magic shop to buy some snacks to reward herself.
After eating, she went back to bed. After successfully copying an ordinary book, Lilith went to sleep contentedly.
Rate on N.U.
