Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 252 Feels Inferior to Sincarlo

Ethan felt that this world was full of unsolved mysteries, and that research into planes and the magic network still needed to be done.

For example, he had no idea how he and Winter had "instantly teleported" from the bottomless abyss to the academy. Geographically, the distance between them spanned most of the western continent.

Perhaps the summoning ritual was a spatial teleportation spell created by the "ancients"?
After exchanging ideas with Sincarlo, Ethan gained a deeper understanding of the ancients. He speculated that the earliest group of people who created highly advanced technology and left behind countless prophecies and spells were very likely the game designers.

But now, he couldn't think any further.

A strange man yelling and screaming jumped out, brandishing a scythe blade and launching a leaping slash at him and Winter. Judging from his moves and the height of his jump, Ethan suspected that this guy in the black cloak might have been a katana user before.

So before he could land from his jump attack, he was slapped away by the wind element.

This is the risk that every swordsman faces, and Ethan was once one of them.

He had emphasized countless times that one should never be blinded by the gentle and weak appearance of the blue-haired girl. The wind element is definitely the most aggressive elemental spirit in nature, and the only elemental spirit that will take the initiative to attack when he does not use magic.

After Ethan's persuasion, the wind element moved much more gently this time.

She simply split the figure that leaped high into the air, along with the ancient tree dome above his head, in two. The resulting cracks in the ground inevitably caused the island to tremble. The intense shaking woke the teachers and students from their sleep. The source of the tremors was the forest outside the academy. As soon as they stepped outside, they saw swathes of trees collapsing into the cracks.

This is not a spell that requires tearing the earth apart; it fully demonstrates the gentle side of the wind element, indicating that she has made significant progress under her earnest guidance.

"Watch out, they are—"

Franky yelled a warning, he had to remind the two of the true identity of the "Dean," but then he belatedly realized that the roots binding his mouth had come off and his bound body was free. The bright moonlight shone on him, and he subconsciously looked up and could see the moon through the crack that had been cut in the ground.

"...Time Traveler".

After an unknown amount of time, Franky finally spoke the second half of his sentence in a voice only he could hear. He stared at the figure that had fallen to the ground and been split in two. This time, time did not rewind. A strong wind blew off his cloak, revealing the reddish-purple skin underneath. Underneath the cloak was a face with a mouth and three tentacles, and grayish-brown pupils.

He swallowed back the warning that "they can bring the dead back to life."

At least at this point, the traveler appears to be completely dead.

The library's history books contain descriptions of time travelers, but there is absolutely no record of the elemental magic that Ethan just used.

Franky could only vaguely sense that it must be some kind of profound wind elemental magic.

The essence of magical duels is numerical values.

A thought suddenly popped into his mind: Ethan had just demonstrated to him that time travelers could be killed by elemental magic, and his surprise attack had failed. He probably needed to think more about his own problems.

The Lightning Bolt is the most powerful spell he has mastered. With his current magical reserves, casting it three times in actual combat is already his limit. This spell has also been included in the Ministry of Magic's "Level 1 Controlled Spells" list and is considered "to be used on people unless absolutely necessary."

However, Franky deeply felt the numerical gap when faced with Ethan's elemental magic that could casually tear the earth apart.

"Calm down. Urta and I are friends, friends of the Deep Sea Clan."

Ethan also clearly saw the appearance of the red octopus-faced creature. It looked like a subspecies of the deep-sea race. From an ecological point of view, Urta and his people lived in the deep sea all year round, which is why they had dark blue skin. As for these red octopus-faced creatures that attacked him as soon as they met, they probably lived in magma.

Regardless, Ethan didn't want any more murders to happen, and he explained to the "dean" that "he just triggered the counter-spiral, which was not my intention."

The old man, who looked very much like the academy's dean, was clearly also a subspecies of the deep-sea race. His white beard was whipped about by the wind in anger, and he soon lost his disguise, revealing the true nature of his tentacles.

Even now, Ethan still doesn't know why these two subspecies of the deep sea attacked them. Could it be, as Winter said, that their sudden appearance interrupted their bondage play, causing them to become enraged and want to fight them to the death?

Ethan could only say that there was absolutely no need for it.

Humans have freedom of choice, and so do the subspecies of the deep-sea race.

Winter has many quirky habits, and Ethan has felt more than once that he has the characteristics of a modern person.

"%&@&@##!"

This was the "dean's" answer.

Before Ethan could figure it out, the other party charged forward recklessly.

"They are time travelers."

Winter's eyes were much sharper. She had been startled by the "Dean" earlier, after all, she was infamous in the academy. She was afraid that the dean would grab Ethan's hand and accuse him of the "Dark Lord's" deeds, so she had been hiding quietly behind him, looking like a little bird clinging to someone.

She had never been so proper in front of her academic advisors, and now she realized that the dean was an imposter.

"Wind element, hit him!"

She gave orders to the blue-haired girl.

Before Ethan could even speak, the last subspecies of the deep-sea race triggered the blue-haired girl's counterattack spiral.

For the island, her slap was gentler than before, without damaging the terrain. Ethan only saw a few scattered afterimages disappear into the moonlight.

Franky's mind raced as he pondered, but he couldn't figure out what kind of spell "Wind Element, Drain Him" ​​was.

But soon, he lost interest in studying the spell, and Franky felt a hostile gaze fall upon him.

"Wait a minute, I'm not a time traveler!"

He explained quickly.

He felt that, in a sense, the time travelers' summoning ritual had succeeded; they had indeed summoned the "evil god" here. The only problem was that it didn't seem to be the one they wanted to see.

Winter scrutinized him. "How can you prove it?"

"I……"

That's a good question, leaving Franky speechless for a moment.

History books have never provided a method for identifying time travelers. They are mysterious and powerful, and even the descriptions of their appearance cannot be traced back to their origins.

"I think we should go back to the academy first and make a long-term plan."

Ethan was somewhat confused by the abrupt change in the conversation. Just a few minutes ago, he was thinking about how to leave the edge space, but in the blink of an eye, he found himself here.

He was no longer the clueless young man from Riverwood; during this adventure, he had acquired more and more life skills.

Just like now, looking at the Time Traveler broken in two on the ground, his body started moving on its own.

He lifted the upper half and placed it on the wriggling tree root, which swallowed it as if it were food. Then he did the same with the lower half. He returned to the scene of the crime, lit a flame in his palm, carefully examined the ground, found all the places splattered with dark green blood, and directed his ancient tree friend, whom he was meeting for the first time, to handle the cleanup.

"Could the tree roots here, and this place, be renovated?"

This is a big project.

A tremor ran beneath their feet as the blood-stained tree roots bent forward. Ethan then took the opportunity to chat with the ancient tree about his tree-man friend.

"Old Mu has become a bestselling author in the capital and is currently filming a movie. It won't be long before it hits theaters."

"This technology can then be introduced into the college."

……

Franky felt the world had gone mad, and he had to think things through carefully.

First, someone murdered two time travelers. Then, they buried the time travelers' bodies in the roots of a tree, and had the ancient tree renovate the ground to cover the bloodstained parts. They also mentioned a tree person named Old Mu, as well as movies and theaters...

What the hell are you talking about?
Franky could picture himself reporting what was happening to the Ministry of Magic, and his superiors would angrily shove the report at him.

However, the appearance of time travelers must be reported to the Ministry of Magic. In the Second Age, for example, they could very well cause a catastrophe that would overthrow civilization, and it seems that they do intend to do so—they want to use the magic network to summon an evil god, the one considered the origin of time travelers.

However, the summoning ritual went wrong, and Ethan and Winter emerged from the magic network instead.

Why does the summoning ritual fail?

Why are Ethan and Winter in the Magic Network?

Wasn't the magic network destroyed?
The thought of these issues made Franky's head spin. If he were to write a report for the Ministry of Magic, he would have to explain these issues in the document.

Yes, and winter too.

Franky heard the echo from the white sphere. Clearly, Winter was hiding a huge secret. He didn't know if Ethan knew these secrets, nor was he sure if he should mention the echo from the sphere to the two of them.

If Winter wants to cover up these secrets, speaking out rashly will only bring him death.

On his way back to the academy, Frankie was lost in thought.

The campus was bustling with activity tonight. Even though it was late at night, all the energy-storing crystal lamps at the college entrance were lit up, and the dean and mentors were discussing the formation of an investigation team at the college gate.

With such a commotion on the island, they couldn't possibly ignore it.

Not long ago, they issued a ban to the students, suspending classes tomorrow. Until the matter is investigated, all students must stay in their respective dormitories and no one is allowed to leave the college without permission. Violators will be penalized with a deduction of 12 credits—the highest level of punishment.

The Discipline Department will take on the role of inspectors, and will conduct room checks in the student dormitories every so often.

Anxiety spread throughout the college; students couldn't sleep and kept discussing things in bed.

The college hadn't experienced any turmoil requiring school closures and bans for many years, but for the members of the Mole Club, it was undoubtedly a thrilling night.

"Look, it's Mr. Franky!"

One of the mentors exclaimed with delight. Most of the mentors thought that Franky, an outstanding graduate of the academy, was a perfect example of someone who had turned over a new leaf. He had been a member of the Mole Club, but one day he suddenly had a change of heart and became a model student who followed the school rules. The academy asked him to give a speech as a student representative at his graduation, recounting his growth.

After spending some time at the Ministry of Magic, Franky returned to the academy and took charge of the students' disciplinary issues.

The establishment of the Discipline Department had an immediate effect, and the college's instructors no longer needed to worry about students sneaking into their offices for quite some time.

However, the surprise didn't last long. When they saw Winter walking alongside Franky, everyone's vision went black—the sky had fallen!

They didn't even need to investigate the source of the unrest anymore; it was obvious to anyone with a brain that Winter had caused something to explode.

Why is this little darling back? Didn't someone say she went to the bottomless abyss? She should have stayed there for at least a few months, right?

The mentors were demoralized.

Ethan noticed the changes in the instructors' expressions. In just a few minutes, they seemed to have experienced the highs and lows of life, and all of this pointed to Winter, who was standing next to him with her head down, looking like a guilty thief.

"Teacher, what have you been doing?"

He knew that Winter used to trespass into the restricted area during her time at the academy, taking pleasure in going against her teachers, but that was several years ago. She even returned to the academy as a teacher for a period of time after graduation, so the misunderstanding should have been cleared up long ago. Why is everyone so terrified of her now?

This spectacle is no different from the descent of an evil god.

"hey-hey……"

This was clearly not a topic that could be explained in a short time, so Winter decided to respond with a silly laugh.

She took Ethan's arm and huddled behind him, using him as a shield against the despair in the mentors' eyes.

After many years, Winter returned to campus once again. As is customary, she should lead the members of the Mole Club to "do something big," but now she has mixed feelings and is seriously considering for the first time how to salvage her image in her mentor's eyes.

Returning to her alma mater with her lover, she naturally hoped to leave a good impression. When Ethan talked to her professors about her experiences, she hoped to receive their praise.

So, what are her strengths?

She has good grades, has won many medals in college competitions... and she's pretty too, that's about it.

So, what are her shortcomings?

……

Hiss, Winter gasped.

She believed that any one of these mentors could easily drag Ethan into recounting all the misdeeds she had committed at the academy, and they could go on for a whole night without repeating themselves.

She was definitely going to marry Ethan and live with him in the future, and she didn't want to give Ethan the impression that she might blow up the house at any time.

Winter wasn't fully prepared to return to school. If she had known she was going back, she would have gone to Rowena first and asked her to make a large batch of brainwashing magic scrolls so that the people under the spell would involuntarily start praising her when they talked about her.

Ah, if only Rowena were at the academy.

"Mr. Franky, what's going on outside?"

Of the group, only the Dean remained calm. His gaze lingered on Winter for a moment before he turned to Franky and asked seriously.

The dean has always been a calm person.

Even if you are suddenly blown away by a forbidden magic in the library, you can cast a feather fall spell on yourself before landing and calmly dust yourself off after landing.

"This……"

Franky hesitated, knowing the dean would ask that question, but he couldn't find the right words to say in a short time.

Moreover, he couldn't mention the time travelers in front of so many people. He looked around at the crowd; the crisis was not over. Among these people, there were one or more accomplices of the time travelers. The infiltrator had erased his memory and covered up the truth that he had seen time travelers in the abandoned magic network.

"Dean, we need to have a serious talk."

The conversation involved only four people and took place in the dean's office.

However, upon hearing those three forbidden names, the Dean finally lost his composure, almost blurting out, "Time Traveler, are you sure, Mr. Franky?"

As the dean spoke, he walked toward the bookshelf in his office and picked out a book from the far corner.

Time travelers are too distant for people of this era, just like mythical creatures that exist in history and legends have come into reality.

This mysterious race, capable of manipulating time, fits the criteria of mythical creatures. Although they often appear in human form, the destruction they cause far surpasses that of any other mythical being.

This stemmed from their superior intelligence and understanding of human nature, which allowed them to quietly depart after destroying the Garlog dynasty.

In reality, humans have never truly understood this group, nor do they know how many of them there are.

“I am quite certain that their appearance and their ability to manipulate time are exactly the same as those of time travelers.”

"Where are they now?"

The dean opened the long-forgotten old book and casually asked, "How could he have imagined what happened to Frankie?"

Surviving these mythical creatures is already legendary; perhaps he was lucky enough to escape by encountering Ethan and Winter returning to school.

"Uh……"

Frankie looked at Ethan for help, feeling that Ethan should be the one to explain. He thought Ethan's methods of handling the crime scene and covering up evidence were very professional, almost indistinguishable from those of a real gangster. If Ethan were in a border gang, he would undoubtedly be the kind of "cleaner" most trusted by the gang leader.

"They're dead."

The dean's hand froze.

He found it difficult to associate time travelers with the concept of death, because in almost every description of this race, they were associated with immortality. Their time magic could heal any fatal wound, and in the war against the heroes of the Garlog dynasty, even if they were beheaded, cut into pieces, burned, or buried, they would eventually be resurrected.

The warriors of the Galog dynasty had also captured time travelers. They conducted hundreds of experiments and used torture methods that would make even readers feel nauseous, but they still could not find a way to truly kill time travelers.

Perhaps only old age can take their lives.

Now, a thousand years later, an elemental sculptor did it the very first time he met a time traveler, and not just once, but twice!

The dean seriously doubted whether Franky had made a mistake in his judgment; perhaps the person they killed was just a red octopus-faced creature that looked somewhat similar to a time traveler.

This is what the deep-sea creatures that live outside the deep valleys look like.

"They are performing a summoning ritual, seemingly trying to summon some ancient being through the ritual."

Ethan analyzed that this was the first time he had heard of time travelers, but he didn't understand why everyone seemed so apprehensive when mentioning those three words.

His first impression of the time travelers was that they were a subspecies of the deep-sea race who could speak strange languages, but when it came to combat power, they didn't seem to have anything to boast about.

Could it be because the first time traveler's attack, which resembled the Dragon Ascension, was interrupted midway, preventing him from unleashing his true strength?
Ethan thought it was more and more likely.

In the past, when he was hunting, he was often carried out of the camp without being able to demonstrate his true strength.

He decided to offer some solace to those in the same predicament, saying, "This may be because the gods they worship have been sealed away, causing the power they share to become weaker and weaker, which could explain why they are so eager to perform summoning rituals."

"Makes sense."

The dean nodded.

Now, he has to change his opinion of Ethan.

He had heard many stories about Ethan and even witnessed Ethan creating an ice element magic scroll in the capital. He always believed that the way magic was used could reflect the personality of the caster. Therefore, in his imagination, Ethan was a rebellious troublemaker like Winter, or even Winter II.

After all, their elemental magic is inherited from the same lineage.

However, now it seems that Ethan's words and manner of speaking are more like those of the respected old professors at the college.

"Winter, how did you make that judgment?"

The dean steered the conversation toward Winter, noting that despite her unruly nature, the girl often possessed an astonishing intuition when it came to magic and mysticism.

Back when Lin Dong enrolled, he wanted her to take over the title of Hermit so that he could retire peacefully. However, Lin Dong's personality caused conflict between her and the Church of Life, which directly led to him serving as dean for several more years.

But now...

Although he asked about Winter, his gaze remained fixed on Ethan.

The more I watch, the more satisfied I become.

He felt that Ethan was the one who could truly inherit the title of Hermit.

"My judgment is that my husband acted in self-defense, and the octopus-faced man struck first."

Winter was determined to defend Ethan; she didn't want him to be summoned by the Ministry of Magic for a bunch of tedious investigations.

"I mean, what do you think about the time travelers appearing?"

The familiar feeling returned, and the dean's head throbbed with pain.

"I didn't watch much, but I feel he's not as good as Sincarlo."

(End of this chapter)