On a vast plain in the eastern part of the Southern Continent, a behemoth was roaring. Chains marks were visible on its body, as if it had used its immense strength to break free from its shackles.
Dozens of magic beams struck its body, but most were reflected away.
A leading black robed magic user furrowed his brows. After chanting for a long time, dozens of massive slashes fell from the sky, leaving scars of varying depths on the beast's body.
“All Mages, fall back! Its strength is still increasing; your magic is about to lose its effect.”
“Professor, the supporting professors will take a few more minutes to arrive. We won't be able to hold it back.”
“We cannot let it break free. Palysis City is just ahead.” Blood trickled from the corner of the black robed mage's mouth. Facing the behemoth hundreds of meters away, they were like ants before an elephant.
“Kimira has also broken free from its restraints! Several professors from the North Academy are currently hunting it down, so they can't provide support!”
In the northern sector, a giant humanoid figure was running rapidly. Its body was covered in black, needle like fur, and its head resembled a goat's skull. Its bulging muscles radiated an intimidating aura.
Countless chains lunged from various directions in space, all of which it nimbly dodged. Several figures pursued it closely from behind. The earth shook violently and mountains rose, yet the figure leaped over them with ease.
Suddenly, the sky seemed to darken considerably. A black figure draped in a dark robe appeared in the air. He reached out, his hand beneath the robe appearing to be encased in armor. A massive gate manifested before the humanoid beast; it slammed into it with brute force, only to be thrown back by the impact.
The mage, appearing like a reaper, extended a hand from his sleeve and grasped a pitch black staff. The Great Gate of the Abyss opened, and countless hands reached out toward the humanoid beast, seizing its body and dragging it toward the far side of death.
It roared in unwilling fury, but it was to no avail. The parts of its body touched by the hands withered rapidly, its struggle weakening until it was dragged into the gate by the multitude of hands.
Several professors bowed to the figure in the sky. He nodded and vanished in an instant.
On the eastern plains, the battle continued. The behemoth was still resisting fiercely, and the black robed mage's attacks grew more intense, falling like a torrential storm. However, the opponent's defense was simply too powerful.
“This is bad!”
The behemoth roared and charged forward. Its muscles hardened, allowing it to withstand the black robed mage's most powerful strike as it lunged hundreds of meters ahead.
The black robed mage tried to pursue, but his body felt as if it were being held back by something. He looked back to see a golden chain.
A pillar of deep blue light fell. It possessed the texture of water, but it certainly lacked the power of ordinary water magic.
Boom! A massive crater with a radius of several hundred meters was smashed into the plains. It looked bottomless, like an abyss.
“Is this... the River of Time?” The black robed mage was stunned. The plain before him had been replaced by a giant pit. “The weight of a thousand years...”
The behemoth seemed to have been crushed into the ground. After some investigation, no signs of life remained.
A blue silhouette in a white robe descended before him. In just an instant, his injuries were not so much healed as his physical state was reverted to how it had been before the battle.
He bent down and bowed to the figure before him. It was Clo.
She held a staff engraved with a clock in one hand while reading a letter in the other, appearing to be deep in thought.
Snap! She snapped her fingers, and the giant pit instantly returned to the original appearance of the plains.
“The problem is solved. There is no need to bow when you see me; I recall the rules of the Institute of Time state as much,” Clo said, tucking the letter away. “Let me ask you a question.”
“Ah... Master Five Staves, please ask away.” The black robed mage straightened his clothes. “The cause of this incident is related to the sea. The remains of their ancestor, that deity, are about to resurface, and then...”
“Stop!” Clo raised a hand. “It's not that question.”
The air fell silent for a moment as Clo seemed to be organizing her words.
“At your level, what kind of position would you hold at the Academy?” Clo asked very seriously. For her, such common knowledge questions were things she had never cared about before.
“Director of the Inspectorate, perhaps. Or if we are just speaking of the rank of Great Mage, the dean of a department.”
“Alright, I understand.” Clo nodded. She took out a pen and a sheet of stationery, writing as she walked into a teleportation gate.
At sea.
By now, it was the middle of the night. Li Yue had changed into a decent set of casual clothes and combed her hair, revealing her previous appearance: white hair and red eyes.
Although she didn't know how much that professor could see through her, she felt it was better to expose half of herself to lower his guard, just to be safe.
After all, the letter he sent had started with:
Honorable Great Mage.
On the deck, all the passengers seemed to have been ushered back to their cabins early. A long table had been set out, and a few people were already seated. Li Yue's arrival wasn't too late; following her habits from her previous life, she arrived a minute or two early.
While it was generally more appropriate to arrive exactly on time here, arriving early saved her from being watched by everyone as she took her seat. Since not everyone had arrived yet, she chose a spot at the lowest seat and sat down.
Several chefs appeared to have been waiting there for a long time. They stood to one side, next to a fish tank that had been moved over. Several deep sea fish swam inside, appearing quite large in size.
The fish tank seemed to simulate deep sea pressure, and there were many magic circles within it.
It seems they are taking this very seriously...
Li Yue frowned. Not far away, a hunched figure appeared, followed by several men in formal attire who looked like the wealthy man and guards from before, now out of their disguises.
“Sigh.” Li Yue let out a sigh and stood up, silently praying that everything would go smoothly without any trouble, all the way to the south.
Rate on N.U.
