The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 400 The Fake Labyrinth Core

"...A line is one-dimensional, a plane composed of countless lines is two-dimensional, and the space we live in is a three-dimensional world composed of length, width, and height."

In the Magic Science class, Prince Colin's voice was gentle and clear, and his warm smile was like the rising sun over a snowfield, making it impossible to look away.

Behind him, a coordinate axis made of light elements was slowly rotating, visually demonstrating to the students present the unfamiliar concept called "dimension".

It turns out that people who are too handsome are not suitable to be mentors, even if it's just a cameo role.

After all, most of the attention was focused on his face, not the blackboard behind him.

However, Luo Yan didn't care.

His expectations were very low from the beginning.

Even if only 10% of the magic apprentices heeded his teachings, it would be enough for the transmission of knowledge.

"...So I would like to ask you all, does our world have a fourth dimension? And if it does, what would it be like?"

This intriguing question plunged everyone in the audience into deep thought, and whispers filled the lecture hall.

"Could it be time?"

"No... I don't think it's time. Time is something I can clearly feel; I even know where it comes from and where it goes. However, a two-dimensional line segment can theoretically never touch a coordinate system that doesn't belong to it. Do you remember the concept that His Highness Colin mentioned when he was teaching algebra?"

"I disagree with your point of view. Can you clearly sense that this shouldn't be used as a yardstick for measuring objective things...?"

Amidst the whispers, the light of critical thinking shone brighter than ever before. In this hallowed hall, hailed as the crystallization of knowledge on the continent of Austro, such a scene was once extremely rare, with only a handful of unorthodox scholars occasionally guiding their students to engage in similar reflections.

Most mentors unconsciously teach two other things: seize opportunities like monkeys, using any means necessary, and hide in their shells like turtles when it comes to taking responsibility.

It wasn't just the young apprentices who were subtly influenced; the teaching assistants and mentors sitting in the back row also listened with utmost attention.

They subconsciously connected this concept with the "void" they were studying, their eyes gleaming with a thirst for knowledge, and they did indeed gain a lot of inspiration from it.

Six months ago, they probably wouldn't have taken Prince Colin's casual remarks seriously, but things are different now.

Following the significant research breakthroughs achieved with the consecutive births of Virtual Realm No. 440 and Virtual Realm No. 178, Corinta has practically become the benchmark in the field of Virtual Realm research. It wouldn't be an exaggeration for them to respectfully address His Highness as "Virtual Realm Mentor."

Even though the towering tower may harbor filth and corruption, and the rules may be as strict as those of the Kingdom of Rhodes' castle, and the strong may act with impunity as if in a wild jungle, the idea that the accomplished are teachers still exists here.

While sitting in the corner with his teaching assistants and mentors whose eyes burned with thirst for knowledge, Professor Hector frowned slightly and pondered.

Prince Colin's theory on dimensions was indeed eye-opening, but he was even more surprised by how much the prince's control over magic seemed to have improved.

Only he, being a fellow platinum-level member, could perceive such subtle changes. The particles of light dancing behind Colin were like an extension of his body, moving as freely as breathing.

As is well known, mental strength is one of the important attributes for measuring the strength of a magician.

On a large scale, this attribute can be reflected in a magician's total magical power, while on a micro scale, it manifests as a meticulous control over magic.

Just like the same fireball spell of the Iron level, the fireball summoned by an Iron level magic apprentice is constantly shaking and unstable, and it is even impossible to guarantee where it will hit. However, the fireball summoned by a Steel level teaching assistant not only burns stably and can last for a long time, but can also accurately hit the target 100 meters away.

Professor Hector tried to clench his right hand, which was hidden under the table, and a tiny fire elemental appeared in his palm, circling his wrist.

He tried to imitate Prince Colin's manipulation of the light element, but was shocked to find that he could not reach the same level as that prince!
"That's strange..." he muttered, his stubbornness rising. He concentrated and tried several more times, but still couldn't do it.

Realizing the fundamental difference in their mental strength, Hector finally snapped his fingers in admiration, dispelling the light emanating from his fingertips.

"Never mind...maybe this guy had some kind of lucky encounter."

People who like to get stuck on a single point inevitably get stuck on another, and he couldn't help but start wondering what Colin's adventure was all about.

He always felt that apart from being good at researching the virtual realm, His Highness didn't seem to have done anything particularly special.
Is it...

Can teaching apprentices improve their skills?

Hector was startled by his discovery, and the more he thought about it, the more... well, it didn't seem impossible!

After all, he had never seen that prince spend time in the meditation room; he spent most of his time in the laboratory and classroom.

He's been to the lab before, but the classroom... he hasn't really been there much lately.

He suddenly felt a little tempted.

Not far away, a girl sitting next to Ilana blushed and quietly looked away from Professor Hector, who was looking down.

This disrespectful old man is quite persistent...

Professor Hector and Angela weren't the only ones daydreaming.

Sitting below the podium, Skyein's mind was not on that mysterious dimension, nor on the back row of the classroom, which was separated from the blackboard.

Prince Colin acted as if he hadn't received his letter, continuing to teach his students with a smile, as if nothing had happened.

This made Skyein, who sent the anonymous letter, feel uneasy.

He worried that the benevolent prince might ignore his warning due to a lack of evidence, and he also regretted that his actions had been too rash.

Especially when he has no concrete evidence whatsoever.

His judgment was based entirely on Professor Alistair's recent series of strange actions.

That gentleman had recently become unusually enthusiastic about mentoring junior apprentices, but at the All Souls' Day Labyrinth Trial, the time when one could most gain prestige, he withdrew from the position of head and handed over the post to his mentor, Merck, who was far less experienced and capable than him.

This is one of them.

The second point is that unusual instruction.

Stopping Rastina's plot against Ilana was an excellent favor to Prince Colin and Ilana herself, and it was such a small matter that the professor didn't even need to get involved; he could have handled it himself.

However, Professor Arist's choice was to "wait and see" and not to do anything unnecessary.

This is tantamount to letting things slide into the worst possible situation.

Although Skyein couldn't understand what substantial impact the persecution of a promising apprentice would have on Prince Colin, he couldn't let such a blow discourage the prince, make him give up everything in the Academy, and leave this snowfield.

However, what worries him is that all signs indicate that Professor Arist was indeed deliberately pushing this matter behind the scenes.

As for how that person pushed things along, that's beyond the knowledge of an apprentice like him.

Thinking of this, Skye sighed helplessly in his heart.

Although he initially only came to play the prince's student because of Professor Alistair's orders, and did not even agree with the prince's doctrines or scholar status, after observing the prince for so long, he was still somewhat influenced by the prince.

Especially after witnessing firsthand the series of changes that took place in the Great Sage's Tower, he didn't actually want Prince Colin to be ousted.

Putting everything else aside, Professor Aristotle's recent changes alone are enough to prove the prince's "value".

Before that prince arrived, Professor Aristotle would never have given an apprentice like him a second glance, let alone focused his attention on him like he had before.

Even though that gaze was somewhat unsettling.

In order to compete with Colin in terms of prestige, the once aloof professor now has to occasionally lower himself and play the role of a kind elder.

Needless to say, the teaching assistants and mentors who had the opportunity to participate in virtual reality research probably felt it even more deeply.

The presence of that prince was like a beam of light from the holy city, shining into the shadows of the tower, and forcing certain beings that had been lurking in the shadows to restrain their claws and begin to watch their behavior.

After class, Skye followed the crowd to the apprentice canteen.

The air was filled with the aroma of toast and stew, but he had no appetite, his mind filled with a jumble of thoughts.

If His Highness Colin hadn't noticed, was there a more direct way?

For example... directly find Ilana and warn her to withdraw from this dangerous trial?

Or, perhaps we could give that apprentice named Ange and Miss Rustina behind her a good talking-to?

However, he quickly dismissed these ideas.

If Professor Aristotle finds out that I'm trying to be clever, not only will I not be able to help that prince, but I might also get myself into trouble.

Even now, he still can't figure out what the professor's scheme is, or whether it's all just his own imagination...

Just then, a familiar yet unpleasant boastful voice reached his ears.

Sgein looked in the direction of the sound and saw a mage spitting as he boasted to the trainees next to him about his upcoming participation in the maze trial, as if he had already secured the final victory.

"...The labyrinth trial is not actually that scary, especially for experienced mages like us."

Looking at Finn, whose face was filled with adoration, Kurs continued in a seasoned tone.

"If you just want to rack up points, farming monsters and finding treasure chests on the first floor is the best option. The rewards are usually pretty good, and most teaching assistants are quite generous with that, since the budget comes from the Mage Tower. Of course, us veterans are generally aiming for the championship, which is a bit more difficult; we have to go deep into the core of the maze—"

Finn's eyes widened in surprise.

"The core of the maze?! Is the trial actually in the maze?!"

"Cough, of course not... Where in the northern wilderness can you find such a large maze?"

Kuers coughed lightly, a little embarrassed, but quickly changed to a smug tone.

"That's something similar to the labyrinth of hell, made by great sages, based on divine power rather than evil curses! So, the monsters inside are actually quite safe and generally won't cause any deaths."

Finn shrank back in fear.

"So there are still risks..."

“That’s natural. Every trial has its risks, and the labyrinth trial is no exception,” Kurs said with the air of someone who’s been there. “Just like the great exploration we’re about to embark on after graduation, you always have to go through these.”

Looking at this group of clueless magic apprentices, Skyein's lips curled into a mocking smile. He hadn't intended to say anything, but somehow, he blurted out a word of advice.

"Professor Merck is in charge this time, so it won't be that easy."

His intention was to dissuade this "classmate" from joining in the fun. However, after a moment of surprise, Kuers retorted with a displeased expression.

"Who are you? What's it to you?"

Sgain realized he had spoken out of turn.

"forget it."

He shrugged indifferently and walked past the two of them, his initial desire to intervene vanishing.

Just as Skye turned around, he happened to see Miss Ophia Castellion at the other end of the dining hall.

At this moment, the duchess was discussing something with two senior magic apprentices dressed in blue mage robes, with an elegant, proper, and unquestionable demeanor.

Judging from the two magic apprentices' obsequious attitude, they had probably received quite a bit of benefit from this lady.

Otherwise, even if there is a huge gap in status, they wouldn't need to be so respectful to a nobleman from a holy city in a place like Xuebang.

This isn't the Kingdom of Rhodes.

"Is the 'special fireworks' I asked you to prepare okay?"

"Of course, Miss Castellion!"

"I can assure you that its power will absolutely satisfy you! However... it might be a bit too powerful. Are you sure you want to use it in the maze?"

Bain patted his chest excitedly, and Harder nodded excitedly beside him, though a hint of worry still lingered on his face.

Without Miss Castellion's sponsorship, their research would never have progressed so rapidly. However, they were still taken aback by her crazy idea when they learned that she planned to bring that incredibly powerful magical artifact into the labyrinth.

Isn't this going a bit too far?
"It needs to be powerful."

Ophia nodded in satisfaction, then glanced casually in the direction where Ilana and Angela were not far away.

Especially when she saw that slightly chubby girl who was always pestering Ilana, she couldn't help but curl up a confident smile like a master strategist.

Dear Miss Ilana will soon realize who her true confidants are. Those who hover around her every day may not be true friends; they could be poisonous bees carrying venom.

But it doesn't matter——

She will descend from the heavens like a messenger of justice, delivering a divine judgment to the smug villains at the most crucial moment!

Having seen similar plots in knight novels before, she had long wanted to try it out!

Hehehe...

Seeing Miss Castellion suddenly grin and smile, Bain and Harder exchanged glances, a sense of foreboding creeping over them.

But Miss Castellion didn't tell them what she was planning, and for the sake of the gold coins, they could only go along with her nonsense.

At that moment, Miss Castellion's confident gaze struck Skyein, who was wandering in the mist, like a bolt of lightning.

All the fragmented clues in his mind suddenly connected at this moment, forming a blurry yet complete puzzle!
Professor Arist's target was not Ilana at all, but a duchess who thought she was clever and was planning to play the hero and save the damsel in distress—Ophelia Castellion!
He had predicted that Ophia would enter the maze to protect her friends!
The "surprise" that Rastina prepared was just an appetizer; the professor had already laid out a much bigger conspiracy in the labyrinth!

All of this was to make it reasonable for Ophia to be drawn into danger!
Sge had previously heard from Professor Hector's assistant that the Duke of Castellón had personally entrusted his daughter to His Highness the Prince.

If the Duke's daughter were to meet with misfortune during the trials of the Academy, Colin would have to bear enormous political risks, regardless of the truth!
At that time, His Highness will be forced to leave the Academy and return to the Holy City to deal with this enormous trouble...

Skye felt a slight chill in his hands and feet, and finally understood the deeper meaning behind Professor Alistair's seemingly contradictory behavior.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of Milos, the junior who was abandoned in the admissions scandal and eventually died tragically in a foreign land.

He finally understood the real reason why he didn't want Prince Colin to leave.

It wasn't that his presence would make people like Arist restrain themselves, but rather that he was fundamentally different from the other magicians here.

No matter how Alistair disguises himself, in this lord's eyes, magic apprentices like him are always just ants that can be sacrificed at any time.

Kindness and generosity are merely expedient measures.

Only that gentleman would listen patiently, like a father, to the cries from the depths of their souls and respond to them.

No matter how faint the voice may be, or how unrealistic it may seem...

At least he's willing to listen.

……

At the same time, in the wasteland far from the Great Sage's Tower, several giant, multi-legged monsters, each the size of a small mountain, were quietly lying in the snow.

These are monsters summoned by the Academy to transport large quantities of supplies.

The teaching assistants were busy directing the metal golems and magic apprentices to unload heavy supply crates from the backs of the monsters and carry them into the entrance of a deep cave not far away.

The cave's dome was so high that its top was invisible; only the light from the magical floating lamps illuminated the vast construction site below.

The teaching assistants split up and placed glittering treasure chests and magical items as rewards in various corners of the maze.

Here, an underground labyrinth constructed of magic is gradually taking shape.

In the center of the cave, Merck stood with his hands behind his back, staring solemnly at the enormous crystal in front of him that emitted a soft, holy light.

This is the core of this labyrinth trial—the "artificial labyrinth core" replicated by the sages of the Holy Power School.

It can simulate some of the functions of the hellish labyrinth, using divine power to construct an independent domain and generate energy mirror images of various monsters for apprentices to challenge.

In fact, for nearly a century, Xuebang has been trying to use divine power to replicate the core of the labyrinth of hell, thereby helping the empire to conquer the underworld. However, due to the incompatibility of different magic systems at the underlying level, it has not made any effective progress.

In a sense, the labyrinth trials also served to assist the research of the Holy Power School.

Even if such things are only of concern to the mages of the Holy Power School.

A teaching assistant quickly stepped forward and respectfully reported, "Mentor, the core energy circuit is stable, and the mirror body generation module has been debugged. We can fill the maze with monsters at any time!"

"very good."

Merck nodded, his face expressionless, but in his mind he was thinking about whether there were any details that needed to be added.

The annual Maze Trial is one of the fixed events of the Academy. Although it is not as dazzling as the Sage Trial, it is still a competition that is highly valued by the higher-ups.

This was the first time he had been in charge of such a significant project, and he was thinking about how to use the opportunity that Professor Alistair had secured for him to make the All Souls' Day Trial a resounding success, or even surpass previous ones, in order to repay the professor for his kindness!

Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one eager to show off; his teaching assistants were too.

Just then, a teaching assistant suddenly spoke up solicitously, offering advice to Professor Merck.

"Mentor, to increase the realism and difficulty of the trial, I suggest that we innovatively add some undead creatures commonly found in mazes!"

These words immediately sparked heated discussions among the magicians, and soon a cautious teaching assistant raised concerns.

"But...our school doesn't possess those forbidden spells, so how are we supposed to generate and control them?"

The teaching assistant who made the suggestion immediately shared with excitement the insights he had gained from talking with adventurers at the Artisan Street tavern the previous night.

"That's easy, we don't need to create them ourselves! The northern border of the Kingdom of Rhodes is often infested with undead, we can commission the Adventurers' Guild or the border lords to capture a batch of the lowest-level skeleton soldiers and transport them directly over using the magic array at the border! It should be enough time to prepare now!"

There is a teleportation array on the border between the Kingdom of Rhodes and the Academy, but it has not been used for many years due to cost and other reasons.

However, the maze trial is different.

For the various mage towers, the budget for such vanity projects has always been unlimited. If simply paying an extra amount of magic crystals can add splendor to this All Souls' Day trial, why wouldn't the person in charge of the labyrinth trial be happy to do so?

As for capturing the undead, that's even less of a challenge. Any mass grave has plenty of those dimwits, and adventurers are happy to take care of it for them.

The villagers nearby even thanked them!
Merck was truly moved.

Previous trials have used magical mirror images, which are safe but lack originality. Introducing real undead would undoubtedly be the biggest highlight of this year's trial!

Its main advantage lies in its realism!

What's the point of fighting a bunch of slimes and goblins all day, especially since those things are mirror images woven from holy energy spells?

Many students are probably already tired of the boring monster-grinding, but they're just too embarrassed to say so.

Now, the Tower of Great Sages will grant their wish and teach them something "real"!
Merck, acting on his impulse, immediately interrupted the teaching assistants' argument and made the decision.

"That's a good idea! The Academy sends a large number of spellcasting talents to the Empire every year; they can't be completely ignorant of what undead look like!"

“But…” a teaching assistant couldn’t help but try to dissuade the professor from thinking it over again, but he was interrupted as soon as he finished speaking.

"Don't worry, if the mages of the Academy can't even handle the lowest-level skeletons, then they don't deserve to graduate."

Merck, who had defied all opposition, smiled faintly, glanced at the teaching assistant who had initially made the suggestion, and delivered the final decision.

"That's settled then, Camidiel. You're in charge of bringing over a batch of undead from the Kingdom of Rhodes, and you need to do it as soon as possible!"

"Yes, mentor!" The teaching assistant was overjoyed and immediately turned to carry out the order.

As everyone gathered around the core of the man-made maze, enthusiastically discussing how to "optimize" the trial, no one noticed that in the shadow of a huge stone pillar in the distance, a figure was quietly watching everything.

Having observed their conversation and decisions, Sarah's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile. Then, she took a light step back, brushing past the magic apprentices carrying the treasure chests, and silently disappeared into the deeper darkness...

(End of this chapter)