Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 22, Professor Ritas's First Expedition

After walking carefully in the dense forest of shadow mist for a long time, Ritas heard a sigh from the white disk he carried with him.

There was no sound, so Ritas thought that the goddess of bathing had gone to take a bath a long time ago, and felt a little surprised.

"When I went to take a shower just now, I felt more and more upset the more I thought about it."

It turns out that he went after all.

"Fairy Queen, no, Ruby, how could she be that kind of person secretly? I even bought her action figure!"

Ritas could empathize with the Bathing Goddess's disillusionment.

Although it is not obvious from the current Ritas, when he was a child, he loved fairy tales and other dreamy things.

So, after entering school as a teenager, he met Ruby, who called herself the "Fairy Queen", and heard from her that he was the only one chosen, and that fairies would only appear in front of people as kind and innocent as him.

Little Ritas can be said to have completely fallen.

He even began to believe in fairy tales again and believed that the world was beautiful.

But soon, he discovered something was wrong.

Why did the Fairy Queen keep ordering me around all day? Why did the Fairy Kingdom face the danger of destruction every day?
Little Ritas felt that something was increasingly suspicious, so after a while he disguised himself and headed to the Fairy Lake.

Then he learned that for the Fairy Queen, almost everyone who appeared at the Fairy Lake was "selected". Moreover, he did so many things for the Fairy Queen and made such a huge contribution to the Fairy Kingdom. But the Fairy Queen didn't even remember his name.

That day, after returning to the dormitory, little Ritas burned his favorite fairy tale book.

To some extent, Ruby also contributed to Ritas becoming an "adult".

"The most annoying thing is that she only gives you 3% of the World Tree Resin! I've done so many commissions for this thing! And in the end, she gives you only three drops at random!"

"."

I'm actually angry about this.

It seems that Ritas was just being wishful thinking when he said he had empathy with the goddess of baths.

"I should have recorded a video earlier, 'The True Face of the Fairy Queen'. Hehe, it sounds like a hit. If I do this, will Ruby's ranking drop in the next popularity vote? No, considering the moral character of this game player group, it might even rise."

"Speaking of which, how do you use things like Morning Dew, World Tree Resin, and Fairy Scale Powder?"

Listening to the Bathing Goddess saying something incomprehensible again, Ritas changed the subject.

"How do I use it? Once the conditions are met, click the upgrade button. The materials and experience points disappear, and the star pattern is upgraded. It's that simple. Do I need to be taught?"

"So where exactly is this 'upgrade button'?"

"Ah, think about it, should I be the one to press it? But I don't have it either. Then it's Miriam who should be operating it. You can ask him, maybe the system is in his possession?"

"Although I'm not entirely sure, I don't think he has any so-called 'system' related to other people."

Ritas said with a sigh.

"Well, now that you mention it, the logic of Star Emblem, no, role-playing games is quite strange. The character you control is not you, and you can manipulate others, but they are not you either. However, it seems a bit off topic that we shouldn't completely substitute the logic of reality into the game. If you really don't know how to use it, why don't you let Mercie eat it all?"

"This"

Ritas began to wonder again whether the Bathing Goddess liked Merci.

In the end, Ritas and the Bathing Goddess were unable to come to a conclusion.

However, Merci can't even control her power now, so upgrading is still too far away.

Moreover, let's not talk about whether Ritas is obliged to help Merci upgrade the star pattern. At that time, we also have to consider whether Merci is willing to take risks, use suspicious props or even perform suspicious rituals to upgrade her power.

If we have to say that the Bathing Goddess provides any useful information.

That is, after the "Star Mark Emblem" is upgraded, the star pattern that was originally only the size of a palm will expand accordingly.

Moreover, the correct name for the star pattern upgrade is not "upgrade" but "awakening".

Deep in the Shadow Mist Forest.

As the fog thickened, visibility in the forest became increasingly low.

Unconsciously, all the magic tools that Ritas carried with him were activated. Compared with before entering the forest, the "fully armed" Ritas' body was at least twice as bloated.

"It's just some rabbits, why bother?"

"No one can guarantee that the only monsters that appear here are the horned rabbits. Moreover, even if we are facing a horned rabbit, we cannot be careless."

Most of the time, Ritas would just bend over and squat behind the bushes, and would only move a distance after making sure the front was absolutely safe. He said with a serious expression,

"Besides, magic itself does not exist for fighting."

"So you don't have much combat experience?"

".I do not deny."

In the war years, there might be many great wizards active on the battlefield. However, in the continent that has been at peace for nearly a hundred years, almost no wizard would do something as dangerous as "fighting".

Monsters emerging from the maze?
Those are the jobs of mercenaries and adventurers.

Mr. Mages, usually they just play magic ball at most.

"From what I remember, the recommended level for this entire map is no more than level 10, and the Horned Rabbit is only about level 3. And although I don't know your exact level, since you are both a mentor and a professor, it must be very high. Xiao Li, do you know that it is very funny to see a guy who is almost at the maximum level being so cautious in the Novice Village?"

The Bathing Goddess said speechlessly,

"After all, if you're so risk-averse, why did you take this mission? It's not like you to take risks."

The Bathing Goddess herself did not notice that this was a tone that showed she knew Ritas quite well.

".really."

Ritas was silent for a moment before continuing,

"I just want to know clearly what is happening in this academy, this continent, and this world."

For Ritas, compared to the collapse of the academy, the advent of the devil, the end of the world, etc., what he cares more about is always the most fundamental reasons why the academy collapsed, why the devil came, why the world ended, etc.

Even in the assassination attempt that should have killed him, Ritas' strongest feeling was the worry and unwillingness that he would die without knowing anything. This made his already strong curiosity and desire to explore even stronger and more distorted.

He originally thought that there were two people who could satisfy Ritas's current curiosity, namely the Bathing Goddess and Livis.

But the more she interacted with the goddess of the bath, the more she felt that she "knew nothing." Or, in other words, the information she knew was shallow, biased, and useless.

As for Livis, she is most likely one of the reasons for the emergence of many "mysteries". Therefore, even if you ask, you will not get an answer.

"It appears! Xiao Li!" The sudden voice of the Bathing Goddess interrupted Ritas' thoughts.

Deep in the dense forest of shadow fog, Ritas, lying behind a bush, stared intently at the huge figure in the fog ahead.

Horned rabbit.

A monster that often appears in temperate environment mazes.

Due to its habit and ability to dig holes, it is one of the few monsters that often appears outside the maze.

And precisely because the horned rabbit is not a rare species of monster, there is a lot of comprehensive information about it.

Unexpectedly, it really appeared.
Ritas frowned slightly and thought in his mind.

"Is the Horned Rabbit really this big? It's almost as big as a wild boar, no, a bear. Are all the chess pieces of Star Pattern proportional in size?"

Although the goddess of bathing probably knew that her voice could not be heard, she still lowered her voice and sighed in a voice as soft as a mosquito.

Looking at the huge silhouette in the fog and the sharp horn on the forehead that pierced the fog, the goddess of bathing seemed to understand Ritas's caution.
The next moment, a wind blade passed by and instantly cut off the horn of the devil horned rabbit.

The horned rabbit seemed to have no reaction to what had happened. It just stared blankly at the horn that had fallen to the ground, then fell to the ground with its hind legs twitching and died.

“Eh? So easy? So what are you pretending to be when you’re at the highest level!”

The Bathing Goddess's understanding only lasted about three seconds.

Ritas ignored the goddess of bathing and patiently squatted in another bush for a while. After making sure that no other monsters were attracted, he stood up and checked the body of the magic horned rabbit.

"Is the thing you're sprinkling a potion to remove odors or something? Then are you going to cast some powerful magic to turn the corpse of the horned rabbit into ashes and then scatter it?"

"Wouldn't it make more noise if we did that?"

Ritas said in confusion, then picked up the broken horn of the horned rabbit and turned the body of the horned rabbit over and over to examine it carefully.

His expression became more serious.

"Oh? From this expression, did Watson discover some blind spot?"

".There is indeed something unusual."

Ritas sorted out the language.

"Judging from the development of its horns and body, this is an immature horned rabbit. It should be between four and five months old. Only adult horned rabbits have the habit of digging holes. Therefore, this horned rabbit should have been born in this area."

"Hey, you're a very versatile professor. You can even tell whether a horned rabbit is an adult. But what's so abnormal about that?"

"Generally speaking, this place is still within the Dean's territory. And the horned rabbits are gregarious. Therefore, it is hard to imagine that the Dean would allow a nest of monsters to grow and reproduce in her territory for four or five months. Moreover, the expansion speed of the horned rabbits is very fast. If left alone, after this nest of horned rabbits reaches adulthood and reproduces again, the next batch of horned rabbits may appear directly around the Fairy Lake."

"Okay, what kind of monster is the academy president you're talking about? He's so unreasonable. But... it's a bit strange. Because according to you, these horned rabbits must have been active around here for at least a few months, right? But Ruby and her group of fairies only discovered their existence recently."

Listening to the words of the Bathing Goddess, Ritas nodded.

Unexpectedly, in addition to making strange noises and making jokes, the Bathing Goddess also has moments of sudden inspiration.

"In short, we need to move forward with caution."

Before, when the Bathing Goddess said that Shadow Mist Forest would become a leveling point in the first semester, Ritas thought it made no sense. But now it seems that if the magic horned rabbits are allowed to reproduce, this thing may really become a reality.

As Ritas went deeper, he encountered more horned rabbits.

As wind blades flashed by, all the devil-horned rabbits turned into devil-horned rabbits.

There are many different opinions about the origin, but it seems that hundreds of years ago, the monsters that suddenly appeared in various places on the continent along with the mazes all had one common feature: they all had a "magic organ" that was both a weapon and a vital point.

However, these magic organs are not all the parts that distinguish between magic species and animal species. The magic organ of the magic horned rabbit is the horn, which is just a coincidence.

And Ritas's smooth hunting also stopped at a certain moment.

Because he began to encounter other monsters.

"Is that a tata bird flying over there? Ghost Claw! So cute. Is that a fire snake? It's breathing fire."

The Bathing Goddess commented on the monsters that appeared around Ritas one by one.

Ritas didn't expect that the Bathing Goddess, who had only a vague idea about the so-called "background" and "plot", knew the names of all the monsters by heart.

It seems that in the "Star Mark" game, the hero Miriam has upgraded his level by fighting monsters many times.

But Earls is a magic school!

Why does this student fight monsters everywhere like an adventurer every day?
Ritas always felt that this phenomenon was not as simple as the other Star Pattern world being a "game".

He temporarily suppressed the new doubts that had arisen in his mind, and felt that it was too risky to go deeper into Ritas in the same way, so he prepared to change his approach.

After squatting in the bushes and searching for a long time, Ritas finally found a suitable target.

Throwing out the bait potion, Ritas lured an adult and large horned rabbit to a place where there were fewer monsters.

A wind blade flashed by.

Ritas dragged the magic horn and the rabbit into the dense forest, and took out a large number of potions and a magic book from the package.

After a complicated process, various magic spells began to take effect.

Ritas cut open the belly of the horned rabbit as quickly as possible, leaving only a layer of rabbit skin frame, and used magic to throw all the other disassembled objects into the distance.

Then, Ritas crawled into the empty Horned Rabbit frame.

In a short moment, the external wounds of the devil horned rabbit, including its tendons, flesh, and skin, healed rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the horns returned to its forehead.

As the previously empty limbs of the horned rabbit were filled, Ritas turned into a horned rabbit.

"Can you even do something like this?"

Although the process was somewhat unbearable to watch, the Bathing Goddess could not help but marvel. Apparently, no one in the "Star Mark" game had ever done this.

"I guess, since it's your work, this rabbit won't have any flaws whether it's the smell or anything else."

After being amazed for a while, the Bathing Goddess asked a soul-searching question.
"But what's your current position inside? I remember you went in curled up. In other words, you were crawling?"

"."

"Professor Li, can I interview you? You can fly in the sky, but you insist on crawling on the ground. What kind of mentality is that? How do you feel now?"

"Please keep quiet."

The "horned rabbit" opened its mouth, uttered the words of Ritas, and then hopped deeper into the jungle.

(End of this chapter)