Chapter 86: The Lecture

The guiding guardian's radiant light gradually faded, leaving the transformed artifact resting in Hughes's palm. Gazing at the intricate patterns etched into the guiding guardian, Hughes was utterly ecstatic—he had finally completed the creation of this magical item.

“Beep! Low-level magical item—Guiding Guardian successfully forged!”
“Beep! Guiding Guardian: Low-level magical item, defensive magical item!”
“Beep! Guiding Guardian defense: 14 points against physical attacks, 15 points against magical attacks, instant activation upon receiving an attack!”

The data displayed by the chip only made Hughes value the guiding guardian in his hand even more. Magical items were rare to begin with, especially instant-activation defensive ones. Though this was merely a low-level artifact, it was priceless on the market.

“With this guiding guardian, unless a full-fledged wizard acts against me, I have nothing to fear!” Given its defensive strength, as long as its energy wasn't depleted, Hughes could essentially ignore attacks from first- or second-level apprentices. Even against several third-level apprentices, Hughes could rely on the guiding guardian's defense and his own physical attributes to slay them.

“This guiding guardian came at just the right time!” After admiring it for a while, Hughes found a cord and looped the gold and dark-gold interlaced artifact around his neck.

The cool guiding guardian rested against Hughes's chest, concealed beneath the loose robes of the academy's wizard apprentices, making it impossible for anyone to tell he was wearing anything.

“I've really made the most of these past six months!” Hughes recalled what Gregariel had said; within half a year, Hughes planned to leave the Shadow Ring.

He straightened his clothes, ensuring nothing revealed he was wearing anything unusual. Once ready, Hughes strode out of the dormitory—it had been three days since he last stepped outside, all for the sake of guarding his magical item.

Upon leaving, Hughes headed straight to the dining hall, where he ate and drank his fill before making his way to Lindsay's shop, hoping to gather some information.

“You look a bit worn out!” As Hughes entered, Lindsay, who was at the counter, remarked upon seeing his face.

“Well... I've been busy with an experiment!” Hughes knew that after days and nights spent forging the guiding guardian, his appearance was far from its best.

“Is that so! I thought something might have happened to you!” Lindsay handed Hughes a sheet of paper.

“What’s this?” Hughes glanced at the contents.

“Twenty vials of natural potion, forty stamina potions, forty hemostatic potions! So many! Is this all for you?” Hughes was troubled by the quantities listed. He had already sold off his potion reserves to purchase materials for the guiding guardian, and now faced such a demand. Yet, with Lindsay asking, he felt reluctant to decline.

“Don’t worry about it! This isn’t for me; a wizard family asked if you could make that many potions. They’re willing to pay twenty percent extra, but want them delivered within two months. I couldn’t decide, so I’m asking you!” Lindsay explained.

Realizing this request wasn’t from Lindsay, Hughes felt much relieved.

“Please refuse on my behalf. I’ll be teaching public classes on potion-making soon, and I don’t have time to brew anything!” Hughes asked Lindsay to turn down the offer. With so much to do in the next six months, his time was truly limited.

“Alright, I’ll let them know!” Lindsay took back the sheet.

“By the way, do you know what caused the commotion in the library area a couple days ago?” Hughes wanted to inquire about Gregariel.

“You haven’t heard? Oh, you must've been busy!” Lindsay’s expression turned oddly amused as she looked at Hughes.

She realized that every time something important happened at the academy, Hughes was oblivious—he always learned about it from her.

“Hm? What does she know?” Hughes wondered, noticing Lindsay's peculiar look.

“Someone sneaked into the Shadow Ring and was exposed in the library, leading to a battle!” Lindsay replied readily.

“How did the Shadow Ring discover the intruder?” Hughes sought more details.

“Well, it wasn’t a person—it was a snake, less than two meters long, but astonishingly, a full-fledged wizard. By the time the academy gathered, the snake had already escaped!”

“You were there?” Hughes assumed Lindsay had witnessed the event due to her detailed account.

“No, I wasn’t! It’s all rumor. Everyone at the academy knows about it now!” Lindsay leaned in, speaking conspiratorially.

“And the academy is furious this time—finding that snake won’t be easy!”

“Really? That snake is so powerful?” Hughes feigned ignorance, pressing Lindsay for more.

“Absolutely! Believe it or not, at first the Shadow Ring didn’t even notice the intruder. An apprentice, upon submitting a task, was observed by a stationed wizard in the task hall to have traces of memory-reading magic. That’s what drew attention!” Lindsay animatedly illustrated the story as she spoke.

“Memory-reading!” Hughes thought of Gregariel’s uncanny ability to locate his residence—most likely by reading someone’s memory.

“In any case, the Shadow Ring is quite enraged and has already sent people after the snake!”

“Oh, I see!” Hughes cared little for the academy’s actions. Gregariel had already escaped, which was good news. Hughes believed Gregariel wouldn’t be easily captured.

Having learned what he wanted, Hughes didn’t linger in Lindsay’s shop. After a brief rest, he departed.

Originally, Hughes considered warning Lindsay about a possible conflict between the Shadow Ring and other wizard organizations, but decided it was still too early—he’d wait a bit longer.

“Knock, knock!” Just as Hughes closed his dormitory door, he heard someone knocking.

“Long time no see, Hughes!” Lima greeted him cheerfully as Hughes opened the door.

“Lima? What brings you here?” Hughes was surprised to see her.

“Well, Hughes, in about a week the academy's public courses will resume. I’m here to deliver your schedule!” Lima handed him several sheets.

“Monday, three to four in the afternoon...” Hughes read the lines.

“These are your class times for the next three months. Just follow them for your lectures. As for the content, that’s up to you. With your potion-making expertise, I’m sure you’ll manage. Plus, you have a week to prepare!” Lima explained her purpose in detail.

“Alright, I understand. I’ll be there as scheduled.” Hughes glanced over his timetable—it was quite full, with classes nearly every other day, mostly in the afternoons. Having accepted the academy’s benefits, he had no choice but to attend.

“Good, then I won’t keep you any longer!” Lima, task complete, promptly departed.

“Chip, record all the potion-making class times from these sheets and remind me when the time comes!”

“Beep! Recording complete!”

Hughes glanced at the packed schedule, concerned he might forget a day—but thankfully, his chip would keep him organized.

“Chip! Summarize the basic knowledge of potion-making for me and transmit it!”

“Beep! Summarizing... Estimated time: three minutes!”

Listening to the chip, Hughes quietly awaited the three minutes.

“Beep! Summary complete, transmission beginning!”

A wealth of fundamental potion-making knowledge flooded Hughes’s mind, much of it unfamiliar to him.

When teaching public courses, Hughes would cover these elementary topics.

“Busy days ahead!” Hughes muttered, looking at his schedule and recalling the mountain of tasks awaiting him.

“The chip has almost finished collecting knowledge from the library—next comes the spell templates!” Hughes had previously purchased only zero-level defensive spell templates. Though he also lacked offensive ones, he stored them in the chip, planning to improve them in the future.

“I’d better start brewing potions first!” As he thought of spell templates, Hughes remembered that he’d spent all his magic stones on materials. To buy more spell templates in bulk, he’d have to brew potions to earn them.