"You bastard—you actually dared trick me!"
Facing Teri's furious outburst, Linen casually wagged a finger:
"That's not quite right, Teacher Teri. From the start, I clearly said the decision of whether to trust me or not was yours alone. All these students can attest to that. Besides, didn't I even return your credits?"
"So," Linen raised his eyes slightly, "exactly what did I trick you out of?"
Teri, already blinded by rage, suddenly felt her anger choke back down her throat, leaving her utterly trapped.
Linen hadn't left the slightest opening.
In desperation, she resorted to the line she'd used countless times before:
"The South fami—"
But seeing Linen's triumphant eyes, Teri suddenly jolted awake.
In the past, her family name had been her strongest backing. Now, however, the South family had been purged as traitors. She was already lucky not to have been swept away with them—if she dared threaten Linen now, even a few extra heads wouldn't save her.
Realizing the severity of her mistake, Teri quickly altered her words:
"I'll never forgive you!"
Pfft!
At that, Linen couldn't hold back and openly laughed.
He suddenly found this assistant teacher—whose intelligence seemed rather questionable—almost cute in a pitiful sort of way.
Sadly for her, this was the end of her role.
"That's enough, Teacher Teri."
Another voice suddenly came from the crystal orb.
Compared to Holly, the Arcana Artifacts Master, this voice was crisp, younger, yet still commanding authority.
"Headmaster Sorgana?!"
Several students immediately recognized the voice's owner.
"Forcing your way into the exam is something I'll overlook this time, since Master Holly herself chose you as an assistant, believing you possessed some Artificer talent."
"But losing your temper and attempting to threaten students—that's truly disgraceful for a teacher."
Sorgana's emotionless voice rang out, each word striking Teri like a horrifying judgment.
The fierce confidence Teri had shown at the banquet—ready to confront even Sorgana herself—vanished entirely, replaced by overwhelming panic.
"I apologize, Headmaster. I was just impulsive—"
"Impulsiveness is still a mistake," Sorgana interrupted mercilessly. "Mistakes must be punished. According to academy rules, abusing authority or threatening students both warrant demotion. Unfortunately, there's no position lower than assistant teacher."
Teri's eyes widened in terror, as if already anticipating her fate. Sorgana's final judgment soon followed:
"You are dismissed, Teacher Teri. The academy appreciates your service all these years, but from this moment onward, you're free to go."
"No, no! Please, Headmaster!"
Teri's despair was total. After her family's destruction, the academy had become her last refuge. If expelled, she would become even lower than the mud-born peasants she once despised.
Begging Sorgana was clearly hopeless—who else could possibly save her now?
Yes—him!
"Give me another chance, Linen! I swear I'll never oppose you again, if you just speak up for me…"
Teri cast her final, desperate hope toward Linen, but his eyes—icy and filled with disappointment—instantly plunged her already sinking heart into a frozen abyss.
"Teacher Teri, even at the end, you still don't understand who you should be begging forgiveness from."
Linen's merciless voice struck Teri's heart blow after blow, leaving her utterly confused.
"From the very beginning, I had no grudge with you. But the one you bullied and schemed against wasn't really me, was it? The one you should truly apologize to was never me, either."
With that, Linen quietly stepped aside, revealing Elena behind him.
Then, leaning toward Teri, Linen crouched down and gently patted her cheek:
"Even though I never personally witnessed it, consider this repayment for the way you've 'taken care' of Elena for half the semester."
Yet, the moment Teri's gaze landed on Elena, her regret and fear instantly turned to disbelief:
"You want me to apologize to this… mud-born?!"
Quickly pushing away her confusion, Teri turned to Elena, about to beg forgiveness. However, in the office above, aside from the indifferent Holly, who watched impassively as an elf, both Sorgana and the Empress had seen enough.
So disgusting. Let's end this quickly.
Silver light swirled around Sorgana's fingertips. With a simple snap, Teri was enveloped by teleportation magic, forcibly removed from the academy amid her heart-wrenching pleas.
Linen, witnessing this entire scene, felt no anger—only pity.
This was why he believed that, despite her apparent coldness towards him, his mother was still a good Empress for the Empire.
Teri's attitude merely represented the countless elite nobles of the Empire.
In the eyes of those old noble factions, ordinary citizens weren't even humans like themselves—just "mud-born."
Even though Elena had become an Arcana Mage capable of changing her fate, showing genuine talent as an Artificer, nobles like Teri were so deeply entrenched in elitism they couldn't even conceive of equality. To them, even acknowledging such people was charity.
Why spare such vermin?
The only one capable of talking sense into these people was the Bloodstained Red Dragon.
Still, Linen differed from his mother, that ruthless woman. He wouldn't personally dirty his hands with Teri's blood.
Expulsion from the academy was enough.
Over the years, under her family's orders, Teri had offended countless people. Without the academy's protection, retribution would swiftly follow.
A Fourth Ring Arcana Mage sounded impressive enough to thrive anywhere in the Empire.
But this was Zijinghua's capital.
A Fourth Ring Arcana Mage could vanish into the shadows of the capital without even a ripple.
Teri herself had once been a part of that shadowy underbelly—she'd even taken pride in it, mocking those who disappeared into darkness.
Since she despised and looked down upon the "mud-born" so deeply, then it seemed fitting that the noble Lady Teri South should vanish from this world in the very form she so despised.
Yet, whether it was Teri or the South family, this was just the beginning. But since those old moneybags who were destined to burst into gold had decided to provoke him first, Linen considered this his small gesture of courtesy in return.
Judging by the shocked expressions on the surrounding students, another entry in the legend of Linen, Eden's infamous tyrant, was undoubtedly about to spread.
Now, not only had Teacher Teri's entire family disappeared, but even Teacher Teri herself had been personally escorted out by him…
Standing up, Linen casually took out a handkerchief from his pocket and calmly wiped the hand that had touched Teri's face moments ago.
Right then, however, a shy, soft voice pulled Linen from his thoughts.
"Um, Linen..."
Meeting Linen's questioning gaze, Elena felt her cheeks burning. She could barely bring herself to meet his eyes.
"Just now… you acted against Teacher Teri because of me?"
Hearing this, Linen instantly understood her misunderstanding. Quickly, he replied with deliberate coolness:
"You're overthinking it. I wasn't specifically trying to stand up for you. That was just part of our transaction. Hurry and get ready—the next round is starting."
"Just a transaction, huh…"
Elena stared at Linen's back, not even hesitating this time before smiling knowingly.
Now accustomed to Linen's roundabout ways, Elena had just one thought: This feels really good!
But when she remembered the "reward" she'd have to give Linen after this transaction, Elena's fair cheeks and slender neck flushed pink.
For a girl, that kind of thing was incredibly embarrassing, and she certainly wasn't as carefree about it as Hysteria.
Yet somehow, that made it feel even sweeter…
Meanwhile, having confirmed these human matters were concluded, Holly finally regained control of the exam.
She cast a glance at Linen, standing at the forefront of the students, a faint flicker of smugness briefly appearing in her eyes.
While she thoroughly disliked male creatures, she had to admit—this Imperial Prince had indeed caught her attention.
Holly was absolutely certain she hadn't leaked information about the placement of her artifacts to anyone, yet somehow, Linen had identified every single one correctly.
There were only two possibilities:
First, Linen was an astonishing genius in artifact appraisal—perhaps even secretly a Master Artificer himself.
However, Holly instantly discarded this possibility.
Having known the Empress for many years, she was deeply familiar with the Norton bloodline. Among these dragon-blooded barbarians, producing two talented Arcana Mages like Quinn and Linen in one generation was already a stroke of unbelievable luck. To also produce a genius Artificer? Impossible!
Thus, though she hated to admit it, Holly reluctantly considered the second, far less comfortable possibility:
Linen knew her exceedingly well.
The real test of the first round had indeed been designed to measure the students' admiration and dedication to her, to see if they'd studied her past and analyzed every artifact she'd created.
In Holly's eyes, it was natural for disciples to revere and thoroughly understand their master.
Yet, to her dismay, none of her favored students—not even Elena, who carefully took notes each day—had performed well. Instead, the one who seemed to know her best turned out to be Linen—a man.
Holly's feelings toward that shifted subtly:
"This somehow feels rather disgusting…"
Imagining Linen, a male, deeply understanding her, Holly felt an uncomfortable sensation like ants crawling over her skin.
Even if she were cursed to death, perished alone at home, and lost all her knowledge, she'd never accept a male disciple!
But it didn't matter. Her selection exam had two rounds, after all. The first round had tested admiration and dedication—and failing that, pure luck.
Talent and effort were necessary for genius, but Holly had always believed luck also played a crucial role.
Yet, due to Linen's interference, all these students had effortlessly demonstrated incredible luck…
So, the second round would truly test the students' real abilities.
As Artificers—and as Arcana Mages.
Accompanied by a loud rumbling, the classroom transformed: the stepped layout flattened, tables and chairs sank into the floor, and the ordinary classroom became a practical combat training area.
Though students were initially startled, most quickly relaxed, having expected this change all along.
"As expected, a combat test was inevitable."
"Honestly, this is a relief. The first round nearly killed me from anxiety. Whether it's artifacts or fighting, let's just get this going already!"
Kaya, who'd been the first to make a transaction with Linen, remained quiet, carefully observing Linen's expression.
"Is something wrong?" Linen turned toward her, noticing her gaze.
Kaya returned his look with a smile:
"Hehe, nothing much. I just feel like Your Highness seems awfully confident about this second round. It's quite admirable."
Linen had a decent impression of this classmate—besides, her family belonged to his mother's faction—so he didn't mind chatting briefly:
"It's alright, I suppose. But you don't need to fish for information. If you'd like a hint about this round, I can give you one directly."
"Really, Your Highness?" Kaya asked, overjoyed.
Initially, she'd only joined the test for appearances, but the first round's surprising success had greatly boosted her confidence.
With Holly's Mage Armor covering her back, Kaya felt her actual combat capability had risen dramatically. Seeing the room turn into a battlefield, she even dared dream a little about snagging a disciple position.
Many students felt similarly. The first round had practically gifted them artifacts, boosting their confidence immensely.
Linen nodded:
"Of course. Let me tell you—the key to the second round is 'strength in numbers.'"
Strength in numbers?
Kaya pondered the phrase, quickly thinking she understood Linen's logic.
No wonder Linen had helped so many students pass the first round. Was this the reason?
Nearby students who overheard Linen's words immediately began pounding their chests confidently:
"Thanks to Your Highness's help, I've acquired this amazing Artifact Sword. For the second round, just let me know if you need anything!"
"Me too!"
"This Silver-Scale Breastplate is incredible! With it, the second round should be easy."
Linen merely smiled, as Holly's voice sounded at just the right moment:
"It seems everyone's confidence is quite high. Good, now the examiner for this round will enter."
As she spoke, a familiar silver Spatial Gate appeared, and from it emerged a rather plain, human-sized golem.
Was this ordinary-looking golem really the examiner for the second round?
Several students looked puzzled, some even disdainful—this second round would be far too easy.
Noting their expressions, Holly smiled mischievously, then snapped her fingers loudly.
Instantly, the bland, mannequin-like golem was armored head-to-toe: donning majestic armor, a crown-like helmet, sturdy boots, and wielding a longsword—it was now armed to the teeth.
This transformation was expected, but students quickly sensed something strange about the equipment.
That armor… that sword… those boots… why did they look so familiar?
"Hehe, yes. Some of you have noticed already. Every piece of equipment on this golem is an Arcana Artifact—and specifically, they're the artifacts you just claimed in the first round!"
Holly's voice brimmed with malicious delight:
"The more powerful artifacts you acquired earlier, the stronger and better-equipped the golem becomes. In other words, the second round's difficulty was determined by your performance in the first round. Isn't it delightfully surprising?"
Kaya stood dumbfounded.
Suddenly, she realized the true meaning of Linen's "strength in numbers": The more allies there were, the stronger the enemy became?!
Smiling bitterly, Kaya glanced helplessly at Linen. "Your Highness, it seems we must work together again now."
"I'm afraid not," Linen shook his head. No matter how powerful this golem might be, it couldn't handle everyone at once—and clearly, Holly wouldn't allow the students to gang up together.
But when Kaya saw Linen's calm expression, she grew slightly curious:
"You seem awfully confident, Your Highness. Did you happen to pick an exceptionally powerful artifact? Care to share?"
"It's decent enough." Linen smiled faintly, taking the silver box from Elena's hands. "This artifact really only has one practical use…"
"…And that's to render all your artifacts completely useless."
Kaya: ?