Chapter 90: Lances Headmasters Functions are Unlocked

Chapter 90: Lance's Headmaster's Functions are Unlocked

Trees swayed gently in the breeze, and the morning sunlight filtered through the window and curtains, casting a serene, peaceful glow over the living room. Lance quickly prepared two cups of tea and carried the tray from the sink area into the living room before handing a cup to Associate Dean Ron.

He remained silent, sitting calmly and waiting for the older man to speak first. Finally, after a moment of thoughtful hesitation while holding his teacup, Ron said, "Lance, the primary reason for my visit is to ask you, on behalf of the college, about the origin of the Friendly Exchange card you used during the third test of the entrance exam."

Clearly concerned that Lance might feel pressured, Ron slowly continued, "Of course, if it is inconvenient for you to disclose this information, you are under no obligation to answer. I am simply curious and mean no harm."

Although Lance's performance in the artificial Shadow Realm two days ago had been impressive, Ron felt that it wasn't his place to give him specific feedback about it. Furthermore, the university's teaching and research committee still needed to deliberate carefully before deciding which segments of that artificial Shadow Realm should be sealed away as forbidden material and which, perhaps after some selective edits, could be used for instruction.

As for the Mute-inducing spell card Friendly Exchange, it had the potential to significantly impact the university's future teaching methods. In the interest of protecting Lance and in alignment with Dean Lawrence's perspective, Ron felt it necessary to discuss the matter with him directly.

A brief silence settled over the room after Associate Dean Ron finished speaking. While Lance was the one who had created the card, the crucial underlying principle of the poison magic had come from Talia. Since Friendly Exchange used demonic poison magic, tracing its origins back to the source could potentially cause trouble for her.

Lance had only planned to create two copies of it: one for himself and one for Talia. After all, their master-apprentice contract stipulated that any practical enchanted cards he created had to be shared with her.

Furthermore, he required her permission before selling any. Precisely because of this, their interests were inextricably bound together. Talia could confidently devote herself to fully instructing Lance, helping him amass wealth as quickly as possible to pay off his debts.

Sitting on the side of the sofa, Lance simply said this, "I obtained it from a mysterious old vagrant near the South Vantina border. She claimed it was a secret passed down through her family, but after some time had passed, she was nowhere to be found."

Having spent so much time with Talia, he had developed a habit of speaking honestly.

Upon hearing this, Ron nodded. "I see..."

Based on that, Friendly Exchange was unlikely to be the work of an up-and-coming card maker. Instead, it was an old card passed down through time that Lance had simply stumbled upon. Although the boy had hesitated slightly when responding, he had looked Ron straight in the eye without wavering, and his mana flow remained steady. None of the telltale signs of lying were present.

High-ranking mana-wielding professionals could often glean a great deal of information simply by observing the fluctuations of an opponent's mana. Consequently, the higher one's rank, the more one practiced controlling their mana to deceive adversaries.

However, Lance clearly had yet to master such mana control. In fact, Ron hadn't intended to test the student before him. He was merely concerned that if someone with ulterior motives were to question the boy later, Lance might easily let slip sensitive information.

Deep in thought, Ron stroked the stubble on his chin as he asked, "So, you're saying this card is likely a natural enchanted card originating from the Shadow Realm, rather than one crafted by a person?"

Natural cards could only be obtained from the Shadow Realm. Even a natural Purple card could very well be unique. Ron did indeed feel that Friendly Exchange resembled a card from the Shadow Realm more than something an individual could create.

Lance agreed. "Personally, I think it appears more like a natural enchanted card."

Hearing this, Ron finally breathed a sigh of relief. There was little need to worry about the worst-case scenario: that the card had already begun to circulate widely in the market.

With that, the associate dean rose from the sofa. He had grasped everything he needed to know. Ron looked at Lance earnestly, his expression grave. "Lance, Dean Lawrence has sealed the records of the third test of your entrance exam. He also warned all the other teachers who witnessed the practical assessment not to divulge any details."

Lance nodded. He finally understood why even Princess Vivian was unaware of the details surrounding his test. High Priest Lawrence had shielded him by keeping the information under wraps.

Ron continued, "So, for the time being, your Friendly Exchange card hasn't been revealed to the public. Although you briefly used it in secret during the exam room in the Demon Kingdom Shadow Realm dimension, the effect wasn't obvious. No one would realize the difference between it and a regular Silence spell card."

He paused and then said, "We can only help you cover this up for now. Once you use Friendly Exchange in the future, you must be wary of those who will inevitably covet it, like greedy individuals or crazed cultists. They might stop at nothing to acquire this incredibly valuable card and attempt to engineer a replica."

Although Ron knew Lance possessed a peerless talent at tormenting others, those utterly insane, law-flouting cultists had no qualms in sending life after life to target him, whereas the young Lance had only one precious life. As a student, he couldn't afford to risk himself against cultists who were deeply entrenched like a malignant tumor across the Northern and Southern Continents.

"I understand. Thank you, Professor Ron." Lance respectfully bowed to express his gratitude.

Associate Dean Ron still had plenty of official business to attend to. In fact, he had to plan well in advance just to carve out the time to visit Lance. "I'll be going now. If you need any help, feel free to come find me at the college's office."

He then looked at Lance with a pleased expression. "Also, as the Sages' College most outstanding freshman, you might get the chance this semester to join a school delegation visiting other prestigious institutions in the member nations of the Southern Continent's Kingdom Council. If you meet the leadership of those schools, there's no need to be as overly reserved with them as you are with me. You should reveal some youthful ambition. Though, of course, you must still remain respectful and polite."

Now that Ron considered Lance to be "one of their own," the more he looked at the lad, the more he liked him.

Lance nodded and quickly stepped ahead to open the dormitory door for Ron. "Understood. You can count on me."

After this brief interaction, Ron had a very favorable impression of Lance. The young man was far more gentle and polite than he had imagined before meeting him. At first, he had been somewhat worried that Lance's actual personality might be flamboyant or arrogant, potentially leading to major trouble in the real world.

Now, however, there was no need to fret over Lance. He was a student who knew where to draw the line and could clearly distinguish between the Shadow Realm and reality.

***

After closing the dormitory door, Lance leaned back against it and let out a breath of relief. "Phew, that was a close call. I almost started acting like the headmaster again."

Upon hearing that Ron was the associate dean, Lance had instinctively wanted to offer him guidance on his work. Throughout the entire conversation, he had to constantly restrain himself, maintaining the demeanor of a student rather than projecting the aura of a school's supreme leader.

However, according to Ron, he wouldn't need to exercise such restraint when paying academic visits to other schools. Lance was confident he could successfully display the youthful energy expected of someone his age.