Chapter 188: Lance is Also in Good Form Today

In the seventh floor atrium, a transparent domed skylight allowed sunlight to pour in. The soft, silky light played against faint shadows in the air, while the darkening sky outside suggested that a clap of thunder appearing at any moment wouldn't be surprising.

Lance walked down the hall toward the atrium, still cradling the little black cat. This was a route he knew like the back of his hand. Indoor greenery clustered along both sides of the hall, and it was interspersed with artistic decor and bas-reliefs that blended seamlessly into the surroundings. This added a touch of charm to the tranquil top floor of the building.

Although Lance was only a first year student, he had visited this place several times before. To enter an artificial Shadow Realm, he had to go to the seventh floor of the Learning and Education Hall, where the activation terminal was located.

Outside, the sky was gloomy, but as Lance stepped into the atrium, the lighting grew brighter, creating a sense of cozy comfort.

Boss Cat rolled over in Lance's arms, looking incredibly happy and content. "Lance, you really are such a good guy, meow!"

Not only was Ikerite University bustling with life, but it was also the perfect place to witness the kind of matchmaking stories the cat loved best! If Lance could win the wager against Adam fair and square using his own skills, he would successfully set up a wonderful date for Lawrence and Juliana!

Based on its observations of the young man so far, Boss Cat was ready to give him a perfect score of one hundred. The cat was increasingly pleased with Lance, and felt more and more convinced that he and Tali were a perfect match.

A cool, intellectual older woman and a gentle, brilliant young man. Wow~ The sparks that might fly between them are something to look forward to.

Just the thought of it made the little black cat squirm with excitement, curling up like a happy little caterpillar.

Lance grinned and held up his hand for a high-five with the cat. "Right? There's no one more kind-hearted than me."

He never sought fame or reward for his good deeds, but hearing praise still made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. In fact, it gave him even more motivation to keep doing good.

That meant today was the perfect time to really show Boss Cat what he was capable of. When he stepped past the marble threshold and into the staging area for the artificial Shadow Realm, Lance found that there were many people staring at him.

Most conspicuous among them was Theresa, who stood before the activation terminal holding a tablet-like magical device. She was clearly ready to oversee the proceedings.

The more senior students, who had previously been in the conference room on the top floor of the Sages' College's main building, had all gathered in the atrium to wait.

Soon, the massive magical screen in the atrium would display real-time footage from inside the artificial Shadow Realm.

Theresa had been the one in charge during Lance's entrance exam. Now, as she stood before him once more, she no longer had her usual gentle smile. Instead, her face was filled with tension and gravity.

The sign reading "Do NOT Force a Reboot," which had been conspicuously attached to the magical apparatus behind her, had remained in place. Theresa also vividly recalled Lance's examiner, Ferrat, being carried away on a stretcher after the third round of exams.

Theresa asked nervously, "Lance, are you certain you can beat Adam?"

Deep down, she wanted Lance to win, no matter what.

Lance nodded and replied, "I'll do my best. Don't worry."

Theresa felt somewhat reassured after hearing that. Whenever she saw Lance facing danger or adversity, she, like the other instructors, often couldn't fathom how he would manage to win. However, after witnessing him turn around situations time and time again, they had developed a certain intuition.

Whenever Lance appeared this calm and composed, it meant he was confident of success. Otherwise, he never would have made such a high-stakes wager, one he had initiated before even seeking permission.

What if he lost, though? Theresa truly couldn't imagine how Lance would persuade Lawrence to apologize. If Dean Lawrence was capable enough of handling his own minefield of romantic entanglements, then he would have gone to clear the air with Juliana long ago.

When it came to matters of the heart, Lawrence's situation was much like Lance's music classroom in Purgatory Corridor Academy: a hopeless deadlock. It was unsolvable, inescapable, and ready to explode at the slightest provocation.

They didn't have to wait long. Adam soon arrived at the atrium entrance exactly as promised. Bathed in the light, his figure cut through the enclosed space like a freshly forged blade. He no longer held back his formidable aura.

He strode toward Lance with a steady, powerful gait.

"Lance, are you ready?"

Adam's voice echoed through the space. His eyes burned with intensity as he fixed his gaze on Lance, as if he had come with a single purpose: to defeat Lance so thoroughly that he would have no choice but to accept his loss.

"Mm, let's begin." Lance nodded and turned his attention to the activation terminal for the artificial Shadow Realm.

One student whooped, "Good luck, Lance! This duel decides Dean Lawrence's fate!"

Another shouted, "The Sages' College is counting on you to bring us glory!"

More cheers rang out from the senior students.

There was no time for idle chatter. Following standard procedure, Theresa quickly led Lance and Adam to the Void Gate.

As she used the secret key to activate the terminal, Theresa said tensely, "You may begin."

A Void Gate materialized before the two young men in front of the terminal, displaying a countdown timer. Challengers were required to enter before the preparation time expired. As seasoned challengers, neither Lance nor Adam wasted time talking. They simply stepped into the Void Gate.

The seventh floor atrium fell instantly silent, as if all sound had been cut off. Every eye was fixed on the magical display screen.

The screen flashed with brilliant light as an extradimensional space, resembling a tunnel through time and space, opened up, followed by a brief moment of darkness. When the light returned, it began broadcasting the live battle between Lance and Adam within the Shadow Realm!

Meanwhile, at Gela Memorial Plaza, it was raining heavily at the moment, and many students were wearing raincoats and holding umbrellas as they stood on the stone steps watching the competition.

A scene of a prison cell was being displayed on the giant open-air screen, with Lance standing inside.

One student chucked, "I have long thought that Lance was suitable for the pure prison style."

Another shook their head. "Tell me about it. If Headmaster Lance hadn't been shackled, I wouldn't have been able to tell whether he was a prisoner or a warden."

Even though Lance was in prison and wearing a prison uniform, he still exuded his signature gentle and calm temperament.

However, on the edge of the plaza, a student from the Yaloran delegation saw something completely different.

Her eyes widened as she stared. Her nightmares had centered around a Radiant Demon in the Headmaster's Office of the Purgatory Corridor Academy Shadow Realm dungeon. That challenge had left a psychological shadow on her, and the demon of her nightmares had the same appearance as this person in the broadcast.

However, looks were not the most important thing. That aura and that faint smile... Even if that demon was pretending to be a human, she would never be able to mistake him for anyone else!

The moment the Radiant Demon lookalike appeared on the giant open-air screen, the air in the square next to her seemed to become a bit colder as she gazed at him from a different dimension.

Her nearly short-circuited brain finally began to function again. She looked at the area around her like a drowning person looking for a life-saving buoy. However, for some reason, her brother, who was always by her side, had somehow disappeared without a single sound.

Her classmates from the Yaloran Royal University next to her noticed something was wrong with her and began to call at her with concern.

"Hey, are you okay? Is something wrong?"

She wanted to speak, shout, and ask for help, but she couldn't control her vocal cords. Her vision began to spin, and the sounds in her ears were chaotic and buzzing. From time to time, she heard students from Ikerite University mention the word "headmaster."

No matter which direction she looked, the figure of the Radiant Demon on the large and small screens on campus surrounded her like a kaleidoscope.

Is this a dream? Or reality? Why has that Radiant Demon, that always appears in my nightmares, appeared in the real world? And where is my only support, my brother who will always be with me in Purgatory Corridor Academy?

As thunder exploded in the sky, her weak legs completely lost all feeling. Then she suddenly fainted on the stone steps of Gela Plaza!