The Realm of Winter

The Black Rock Python slowly writhed alongside Angela, its hard scales scraping against the ground with a sharp metallic scraping sound.

At this moment, it raised its massive body, its forked tongue flicking out and trembling slightly, its pair of pale yellow vertical pupils staring intently at Matthew.

Angela's red lips curled up slightly, forming a smile. "No wonder you refused my help; it turns out you've found a way to escape the school's mission."

"But your clever tricks won't work every time. What will you do when the next mission comes?"

She pressed her body close to Matthew and gently stroked his face with her bandaged right hand.

"And you should be able to notice that the time spent meditating has decreased again, and this rate will increase. If we don't address this quickly, and wait until the soul starts to atrophy before treating it, it will be impossible to recover completely."

"Come back, Matthew. Complete the experiment for me, and I'll definitely help you with the aftereffects. I promise I won't let you die this time!"

Matthew raised his hand and gently pushed Angela's hand away. His expression remained unchanged as he said calmly, "Thank you for your concern, but I will take care of the aftereffects myself."

"How unlovable," she said, her smile unchanged, seemingly unsurprised by Matthew's answer. "It seems you're still not giving up, but I can tell you clearly that, apart from formal wizards who study soul science, only I in the entire school can help you resolve the aftereffects, since it was caused by my experiment."

Matthew faced Angela directly, his gaze unwavering. "No need..."

"Shh..." She held up a finger and put it to Matthew's lips in a shushing gesture, "Don't rush to refuse... tomorrow night..."

"Come to my dorm tomorrow night, I have something good for you."

Angela leaned forward, her lips close to Matthew's ear, her tone laced with threat, "You absolutely must come, or you'll face the consequences..."

Before Matthew could react, she had already walked past him and left without looking back.

"Hiss—", the Black Rock Python hissed at Matthew, seemingly issuing a warning to him as well.

It crouched down, moved its thick snake body, and slowly followed behind Angela.

And so, the figures of the man and the snake quickly disappeared into the afterglow of the setting sun.

……

At night, Matthew sat alone on the bench in his room, a dark cloud hanging over his heart.

He didn't know what Angela's purpose was in contacting him this time, but it was definitely not good news. Matthew had absolutely no interest in the "good stuff" she mentioned.

He couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

The Tide School has basic protection regulations for its apprentices. Even if his aptitude is among the worst in the school, the school will not stand idly by and watch him be killed on campus. Some experiments that require the apprentice's use also require the apprentice's consent.

Matthew didn't think Angela would be so foolish as to challenge the school's rules and attack him directly.

"So what does she mean by 'you'll bear the consequences'?"

With everything in a daze, Matthew didn't continue pondering this matter.

"Mold, Angela, Dolan, the death mission every three months..."

He mentally made a list of those who posed a threat to him at that moment.

Fortunately, he has now created the Burning Claws, which gives him a certain degree of self-defense capability.

"But... that's not enough!"

He took a deep breath. "Strength! Strength! It all comes down to strength!"

Faced with absolute power, everything will fall into place...

He clenched his fists tightly. "I only need four more points of mental energy to advance to the intermediate apprentice level..."

"Meditate first!"

Matthew slowly closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his mental space.

He exhaled. "Take a deep breath..."

Transforming his mental energy into a carving knife, Matthew began to outline the irregular shapes of the Forgotten Map.

……

However, he had only been meditating for a short time when there was a sudden knock on the door of the room.

Matthew suddenly opened his eyes. The feeling of being interrupted from meditation was not pleasant. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he immediately felt lightheaded.

He held his throbbing forehead, his brows furrowed.

"Who could it be so late? Could it be that guy Milo?"

"Bang bang bang—", the door was knocked on again, the rhythm becoming more and more urgent.

Matthew slowly stood up and strode forward.

He reached out and placed his hand on the doorknob, then pulled the door open.

"Click—" As the crack in the door widened, Matthew saw a familiar face.

It wasn't Milo, but Geralt, who was on duty at the apprentice building.

Matthew was somewhat surprised. "Geralt...you were looking for me?"

Geralt looked tense, but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the door open. "Matthew, you finally opened the door! I thought you weren't here!"

Seeing the other person's hurried appearance, he had a bad feeling. "What brings you here so late?"

"The school just issued an order for you to go to the Winter Realm?"

"What? What's going on?"

Matthew's heart sank. Could it be that because the purge of the Winter Realm was not going well, the school changed its strategy and conscripted him to the battlefield?

Seemingly sensing his thoughts, Geralt smiled and said, "Don't worry, this isn't a frontier conscription."

The cleanup of the Winter Realm went smoothly; the army of low-level magical beasts has been defeated. This time, the school has assigned you to handle some post-war cleanup work.

Hearing Geralt's explanation, Matthew breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as it's not land reclamation, he can come back once this post-war treatment is completed.

However, the fact that the school of thought defeated the monster army so quickly was somewhat beyond his expectations.

"By the way, do you have any news about Mold?"

"Mold? He made great contributions in this monster extermination campaign, eliminating a large number of monsters."

I heard he speaks highly of you; it was he who recommended you to the school for the post-war cleanup.

Mold... it really was him!

"When does that school of thought schedule my departure?"

"Now!"

"Now?"

Gerald nodded. "Yes, now."

Matthew had no choice but to go into the room and quickly tidy up.

He already didn't have enough time, so he didn't intend to waste any time meditating.

He decided to bring the elf along too. In fact, he had long wanted to go out one day, so he bought an elemental bag from Tom.

Elemental creatures cannot directly enter the storage bracelet; they can only reside in this elemental space.

The little sprite looked at the cramped elemental bag with great resistance, shaking its little head like a rattle drum.

But under Matthew's unquestionable gaze, it drooped its head and reluctantly moved in.

"Hopefully, the post-war process won't take too long."

Matthew sighed and followed Geralt out of the dormitory.

As for Angela's threat, he had long since forgotten about it and never even considered going to her.

The rate at which he is reducing his meditation time is gradually accelerating. How much worse can the consequences get?

Soon, Matthew entered the hall alone and walked down the corridor to the teleportation room.

"Lord Nord."

Nord nodded noncommittally. "Let's go in."

The restrictions on the teleportation array were lifted, and the sealed gate slowly opened.

Without much hesitation, Matthew stepped inside.