Chapter 922 — The Escaped God

Today was the day the arcane net of the entire Empire was to be joined into one, and an event that could put the academy's teachers on edge was most likely connected to this "joining"—after all, those teachers were not like instructors in ordinary schools; they were the cream of the academic field, their names even listed in the various research departments directly under the Supreme Administrative Hall.

Not long before, he had heard a strange, faint howling from the direction of the Arcane Technology Research Institute; while crossing the academy plaza with his classmates, he had seen that the largest arcane net terminal on the plaza seemed to have malfunctioned, with several teachers anxiously inspecting the equipment; and when setting out from the academy for the North Shore Development Zone, he had glanced toward the Arcane Technology Research Institute and seen that the newly built nexus tower seemed to be rebooting, with several mages casting flight spells to inspect the arcane apparatus atop the tower...

This might point to a terrible accident—and his father, Bayu Franklin, Duke of the Western March... was one of those in charge of this "joining" project.

The more Elewyn thought, the more tense he became; he even wished he could run right now to find a usable arcane net terminal and contact Tenwood City to confirm the situation. Yet he knew how unrealistic such a thought was, and could only sigh quietly, tugging somewhat hard at the hem of his academy uniform.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from beside him, cutting short his wild fancies: "Don't worry. Nothing will happen."

Elewyn looked up and was surprised to see that it was Storm—always tense and introverted—speaking to him. He shook his head, about to say that it was something else he was worried about, but the other promptly added: "I mean about the arcane net... I know your father is the Duke of the Western March. I don't think anything will happen to him."

Elewyn's eyes went wide at once: "How do you..."

He had not expected the other to see through his thoughts—the joining of the arcane net was no secret in itself, but as ordinary students unrelated to the matter, they should not yet have connected the dots at this point; and as for this Storm, who was usually taciturn and even a little dull, he seemed even less the type with an unusually keen eye for observation and association... How had he made the connection to the arcane net?

Storm looked at the duke's son before him, and two seconds later gave a somewhat constrained smile: "My father is a tower keeper at the Luan nexus..."

Elewyn froze.

And before he could speak again, a short figure abruptly appeared in the room; after startling the students, that trademark loud voice rang out: "Students, all of you go back! It's over!"

Elewyn and the other senior students exchanged glances at once, and amid the astonishment someone stood up: "Over... what's over?"

"The incident has subsided ahead of schedule, so no more computing power is needed," Magnum waved a hand. "All of you, go on back. No classes this afternoon—take the rest of the day off."

Then, as though something had suddenly occurred to him, he added: "Oh, yes—even though the incident subsided early, your willingness to volunteer is still worthy of encouragement and commendation. Personally, I'll add two points to your overall assessment scores at the end of term."

The students were bewildered and taken aback, but the teacher's last sentence was something every one of them could understand. Those two points swiftly dispelled all their confusion, and the students in the lounge, as if fearing Magnum might go back on his word, burst into a chorus of thanks and then, without a moment's hesitation, hastily took their leave.

Eleven rose as well, preparing to depart with the others, and mentally planning to seize the first chance to confirm how things stood with his father. But just as he was about to head for the door, he heard that notoriously strict mentor call out behind him in a voice full of vigor:

"Eleven, Storm—you two stay a moment."

Eleven and Storm remained behind, puzzled and rather nervous.

Magnum drifted before them like a ghost, and after sizing the two students up and down, he waved a hand and said in a somewhat impatient tone: "Your families are fine—hurry on home."

……

On the great holographic projection at the front of the hall, the map of the Empire's full territory shimmered faintly across its surface. White points of light representing active nodes and the lines connecting them crisscrossed and interwove, forming a network that was not yet dense but already covered, in broad outline, the whole of the Empire.

Sorinborg, Shilin City, Winterhold… one major hub after another emerged upon the map as miniature projections, running quietly.

All communications had been restored; every network was connected.

"The hubs at every level have come online smoothly and joined the network… it succeeded?"

Rebecca stood at her own command dais, reporting the current situation to Gao Yang, but toward the end of her report she could not help scratching the back of her head, drawing out the last syllable in puzzlement.

Gao Yang, however, remained grave. He stared at the holographic map before him and said nothing for a long while.

The network merger had indeed succeeded—at least, all the data and evidence so far met the expected results. And yet… this inexplicable success gave him no peace of mind.

He was waiting for further word from the neural network.

This time he did not have long to wait—mere moments after Rebecca finished her report, the small arcane-net terminal mounted on the command dais suddenly lit up, and Duvalt's figure appeared above it.

This "Divine Humanity" bowed slightly to him. "Your Majesty."

"What's the situation on Naretir's side?" Gao Shao stepped forward at once and asked. "Have they caught the intruder?"

"The intruder was badly wounded, but still got away," a trace of regret and dejection showed on Duvalt's face. "Naretir only brought back some 'embers' that are difficult to analyze…"

"Got away?" Gao Shao's brow furrowed, and even as his heart sank he asked instinctively, "Then what exactly is this intruder? Can you tell its true form and origin?"

"It's—" Duvalt had barely gotten out a single syllable when his figure suddenly flickered as though struck by interference. Then he was shoved aside, and Naretir squeezed into view from beside him.

"It's a woman with no legs," Naretir gestured with signs no one could understand, speaking words that those present understood even less. "Runs faster than anyone…"

Gao Yang: "???"