Chapter 105 - 39

The transition through the golden conduit was weightless, a silent blur of shifting starlight that gave way to an expanse of untouched, twilight wilderness.

The pocket realm stretched under a vast, indigo sky illuminated by twin silver moons and swirling, aurora-like bands of atmospheric mana. Towering crystalline flora—ancient trees carved from luminescent amethyst and frosted quartz—hummed with ambient magical energy, shedding faint, glowing spores into the cool, pristine air. Rolling hills of silver-tinted grass undulated toward a distant mountain range whose jagged peaks glittered like polished obsidian.

The incoming freshmen gasped in unified, breathless awe, stepping cautiously onto the shimmering grass as their diagnostic tokens hummed to life.

"Look at the mana density!" a high-tier female mage exclaimed, her eyes wide as she held up her measuring rod. "The ambient concentration is four hundred percent higher than the capital! It feels like breathing pure, liquefied spirit-nectar!"

"Keep your formations tight and maintain perimeter discipline," Professor Aria barked sharply, her golden eyes cutting across the excited group as she stepped through the conduit behind them. "The high mana density means native flora and localized phenomena will react aggressively to unrefined magical discharges. Assistant Katherine, deploy the primary environmental mapping arrays."

"Right away, Professor!" Katherine replied crisply.

She stepped forward, her tailored dark coat accentuating her sweeping, voluptuous silhouette as she unbuckled a brass-bound diagnostic casing from her hip. With smooth, practiced confidence, she executed a sequence of three complex runic hand-seals. A cluster of floating, silver diagnostic lenses separated from the casing, darting into the air like glowing fireflies, spreading out in a wide perimeter to map the region’s spatial stability and mineral veins.

Dr. Elena Vance walked up beside Arthur, holding her medical ledger while taking a slow, deep breath of the crisp, crystal-scented air. She let out a quiet, appreciative hum.

"The atmospheric purity here is absurd, Arthur," Elena noted, adjusting her silver-framed glasses as she scanned a glowing blue health-scan chart. "The high concentration of passive spirit-particles naturally accelerates cell regeneration and purifies respiratory pathways. If we build a specialized convalescent wing and alchemy synthesis lab here, we can cure chronic mana-deficiency disorders in a fraction of the time."

"That is already scheduled for Phase Two, Sis," Arthur said smoothly, standing with his hands folded behind his back, his dark eyes scanning the glowing horizon with absolute, sovereign calm. "Greta’s foundries are already pre-fabricating the titanium-alloy foundation frames, and Lyra has approved the central bank’s initial infrastructure bond for the northern portal link."

Before Elena could reply, a low, rhythmic vibration rippled through the silver grass beneath their feet.

High above the crystal canopy, the ambient space groaned. A sudden, localized spatial tear opened five hundred yards to the east, swirling with unstable, dark crimson energy. Out from the rift poured a massive, territorial entity native to the pocket realm—a sixty-foot-tall Crystal-Hide Behemoth. Its towering, quadrupedal frame was encased in thick plates of impenetrable diamond-hard quartz, its eyes blazing with wild, agitated crimson mana as it roared, a sound that shattered several smaller crystal trees into glowing dust.

The student group panicked instantly, drawing their blades and scrambling backward in chaos.

"Rift entity detected!" a vanguard student shrieked. "It’s a Class-S physical-type mana-beast! The barrier team hasn’t set up the heavy suppression anchors yet!"

Professor Aria’s hand flashed to the hilt of her executive blade, her golden eyes narrowing as she prepared to step forward and vaporize the creature. But before she could unsheathe her weapon, Arthur held up a single, calm hand, signaling her to hold her position.

Arthur turned his gaze toward Katherine, who had stepped in front of the panicked student line, holding her diagnostic staff steadily despite the terrifying roar echoing across the valley.

"Katherine," Arthur’s deep, soothing voice drifted across the wind, cutting through the noise with absolute clarity. "What is the primary weakness of a crystalline physical entity operating in a high-density mana field?"

Katherine paused, taking a swift, deep breath to anchor her heart. She looked at the raging behemoth, her deep violet eyes instantly analyzing the glowing mana-flow lines running through its quartz armor, recalling every foundational formula Arthur had taught her in the back row of Lecture Hall 101.

"Its quartz shell isn’t armor—it’s an overloaded thermal regulator!" Katherine called out, her voice clear, confident, and ringing with absolute authority. "If you disrupt the core mana-frequency at the neck joint with a inverted acoustic pulse, the thermal expansion will shatter its external plates without harming the creature’s core!"

"Execute," Arthur commanded smoothly, a faint, proud smirk touching his lips.

Katherine didn’t hesitate. She adjusted the runic dial on her diagnostic staff, channeling a precise, razor-thin thread of her own refined mana into the ambient air. With a swift, elegant thrust of her staff, she released a focused, high-frequency harmonic wave directly toward the roaring behemoth.

CRACK!

The acoustic wave struck the monster’s neck joint with surgical precision. Instantly, a blinding flash of golden light spider-webbed across the behemoth’s diamond armor. The massive quartz plates shattered cleanly, raining harmless, glittering crystal shards onto the grass. Stripped of its overloaded thermal armor and disrupted by the calm, harmonized mana-flow, the gigantic beast blinked its glowing eyes, let out a soft, confused grumble, and flopped heavily onto the silver grass, completely pacified and exhausted.

The entire student group stood frozen in absolute, jaw-dropping silence. A first-year assistant had just neutralized a Class-S dimensional behemoth in less than three seconds using a diagnostic staff and a basic harmonic formula.

"Flawless analysis and execution, Assistant Katherine," Professor Aria declared, her sharp face softening into a proud, approving smile as she recorded the result. "Ten points to the clinical research department."

Katherine turned around, her face burning a bright, adorable crimson as the surrounding students erupted into enthusiastic cheers and applause. She walked back to Arthur, her deep violet eyes wide with trembling, sweet happiness.

"I... I did it right, Arthur?" she whispered breathlessly, her heart hammering against her ribs.

Arthur reached out, his long, slender fingers gently wiping a speck of crystal dust from her cheek before smoothly taking her warm hand in his.

"You executed it perfectly, Katherine," Arthur murmured, his deep, soothing voice carrying a warmth that made her knees go soft. "You are worthy of standing beside me anywhere in the cosmos."

Elena stepped up beside them, giving Katherine an affectionate hug while winking at Arthur. "Now then, supervisor... let’s mark out the foundation sites for our new research wings. We have a whole new dimension to annex before sunset."

Arthur offered a low, captivating smirk, looking out over the breathtaking crystal valley under the twin silver moons. His empire had crossed another frontier, his sister was by his side, his consorts were securing the realm, and the sweet, brilliant girl holding his hand was ready to walk beside him into eternity.