The director looked deep into Lin Fang's eyes, his next words carrying a hidden meaning. "You seem very familiar to me. Do you know that?"
Hearing this, Lin Fang's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't help but think, Could it be? Have I been found out?
The director looked him dead in the eye and asked, "What is your relationship to Professor Lin Shi?"
Lin Fang breathed a quiet sigh of relief, thinking to himself that his professional abilities had gone unnoticed. Composing himself, he smiled back and answered, "Lin Shi is my father. Do you know him, sir?"
Hearing this, the director roared with laughter. "So you're my old friend's son! Here to enrol, are you? Need me to pull some strings?"
Just then a stunning pink-haired teacher stepped forward, reminding him, "Ahem. Director. People are watching."
The flustered director turned and waved away the nosy crowd. "Ah, just kidding."
He then turned back and clapped Lin Fang's shoulder, speaking quickly. "Ah, nephew, I've got a little something to take care of first. Once you're enrolled, I'll give you a full tour of the school."
Lin Fang watched his hurried retreat, unable to shake the feeling that this director was completely unreliable.
Just then the pink-haired teacher turned back, her voice ringing out to the candidates. "All right, everyone who passed the preliminary round, follow me. For those who didn't, don't be discouraged. There's always next time."
Meanwhile, in an investigation room at the Sunwheel branch of the Extraordinary Academy, a tense meeting was unfolding. An investigator stood analysing a board of information. Dean Yu Ya and He Sha had both vanished at the same time. The theory was that Dean Yu Ya had uncovered He Sha's secret and was ambushed while trying to hunt him down.
Another man, named Shuk, spoke up with a grim expression. "They both ended up taking each other out, but a third party, a mastermind, swooped in and stole He Sha's inherited talent." He slammed his hand on the table, absolutely certain. "No doubt about it. That has to be it. All we have to do is find the person who took his necromancy talent and we'll uncover the whole truth."
A superior officer sitting opposite him rubbed his forehead, looking absolutely drained. "Shuk, we understand you're eager for glory, but please stop with these harebrained theories."
Rejected, Shuk furiously slammed the table and shot to his feet. "None of you believe me, do you? Just you wait. I will find the proof."
After Shuk stormed out, someone asked nervously, "Aren't we going to stop him? He is the Duke's man, after all."
The other replied, "It's better he's gone. This is an academy for elites, not a place for them to park their people for a fancy title."
Suddenly the director from before appeared, his expression now ice cold. "The higher-ups have issued an order. Once He Sha is located, kill on sight. Is that clear?"
Someone asked, "And what if He Sha is already dead?"
The director smirked, his eyes glinting. "He may have already changed his appearance. Anyone using the skills of a necromancer — we are to eliminate every last one of them."
Back in the main hall of the academy, the pink-haired teacher stood on a stage to announce the next phase, calling out the mission for the final round.
"The requirement for this round is for all new students to clear the special level five dungeon outside the city, the Horn Demon Beast Lair. The time limit is three hours."
The students below immediately erupted into an uproar.
"A level five dungeon? But we're only level four or five."
"If we could take our time on the final boss, maybe. But three hours is way too difficult."
"Can anyone actually do that?"
The teacher simply smiled and clarified. "Of course, you aren't expected to go alone. You are allowed to form teams, but the team limit cannot exceed five people. Once you have a team, register with me to start the timer."
In an instant the entire hall exploded with activity.
"Four members, need one warrior."
"Wang Meng, elemental mage, looking for a team. My damage output is insane."
"I'm just a small healer here. Will any big brother carry me?"
Amid the deafening noise, Lin Fang stood alone, quietly reading the information board. Suddenly a pair of red boots stopped right in front of him. Lin Fang looked up. A girl with pink hair and twin buns, wearing a modified cheongsam, offered a friendly smile.
"Hi there. I'm a mage, level seven. I watched your preliminary round. To kill that many horned rabbits, you must be incredibly strong. I was wondering — would you like to team up?"
Lin Fang quickly sized her up. Level seven. She was definitely strong enough to solo this dungeon. If he were still just a farmer, he would have gladly accepted her offer. But his necromancer abilities — he absolutely could not let them be exposed.
So he looked up and politely declined her. "I'm sorry. I'll have to refuse. I prefer to act alone."
The girl didn't seem bothered in the slightest, still smiling as she replied, "Well, I wish you a smooth clear, then."
With that she turned and left Lin Fang standing by himself.
He walked over to the pink-haired teacher's registration table. She asked in surprise, "By yourself? The difficulty of this dungeon is nothing to scoff at."
Lin Fang answered with determination, "It's fine. Please assign me the mission."
The teacher handed him a mission scroll, remarking, "You're going alone for the solo clear reward, aren't you? The demon bear's gallbladder. That reward is a massive boost for low-level players like you, but you should still act within your means."
Lin Fang took the scroll with a confident smile. "Thank you for the warning."