A woman in a white robe stepped out of the room and faced Angelet. Angelet slightly bowed in a gesture of respect. The woman, wearing the white robe of a formal witch, seemed to be an official witch.
In that moment of bowing, Angelet's eyes swept across the woman's face.
This was a soulless woman.
Her eyes were covered with black eyeshadow, and when she closed them, they looked like two black holes.
Her face was pale, and her skin bore gruesome wounds, with decaying black flesh underneath.
The image of a recently emerged female corpse from a mushroom grave flashed through Angelet's mind.
The witch swiftly left the corridor without looking at Angelet and disappeared around the corner.
"Are you Angelet? Come in," the voice of the teacher echoed from inside the room.
Angelet stood straight, entered, and closed the door behind him.
"That was the witch Christine you just saw. She is also my student and can be considered your senior."
Liliana smiled, but her smile was more frightening than reassuring.
"Professor, I..."
"No need to say. You want to apply for residence in a more distant place, right? Including today, you are the fifteenth person. I only have eighteen students in total." Liliana sighed.
"Since you returned from the revenge mission, I have been paying more attention to you. The academy is facing a major problem this time, and it's better for you to leave as far as possible. Go to the border of the normal folk, although there are scarce resources, it's better than participating in the War of Witches."
Angelet bowed respectfully.
"There are many countries near our Ramsouda. Which one do you want to go to? The Kingdom of Ramsouda? It's the nearest. Or do you want to go to the Kingdom of Santiago?"
Liliana asked.
"I want to go to the Kingdom of Ramsouda. I may come back someday."
"No problem, but Ramsouda has twenty-four provinces. Most of the students in the academy have applied to go farther away. There are only three of you staying in the neighboring provinces of Ramsouda. The national territory is vast, about 10,000 square kilometers, so it will be difficult for you three to meet. From now on, it's all up to you. You have to find magical materials on your own."
"It's better than going back to my homeland," Angelet said with a smile.
"On the other side of the sea, most magical materials have disappeared. By the way, Professor, I have collected enough magic stones. Can your Shamo elixir..."
"Of course, I just left it here."
Liliana smiled and took out a small silver bottle from the drawer.
Angelet felt a bit joyful, handing over a high-quality magic stone that he had prepared. One high-quality magic stone was equivalent to more than ten medium-sized magic stones, enough to exchange for one bottle of Shamo. After receiving the silver bottle, he bowed again.
"I will inform the guards, and they won't stop you from leaving. Alright, you can go."
"Thank you, Professor."
Angelet left the room with a hint of regret. He had been at the academy for a short time, yet he was forced to leave. He would have to plan for his future on his own.
As a third-level student, he could become an official apprentice if recognized by Professor Liliana. This could provide many things for free, such as Shamo elixir. These were genuine potential seedlings. They were also highly valued in the academy. Students like Angelet were merely trade partners, paying tuition fees and receiving some basic knowledge without being nurtured.
Therefore, no one in the academy cared about his departure. Only the young third-level students were highly regarded.
"Nevertheless, leaving like this is not necessarily a bad thing," Angelet murmured as he walked through the corridor.
"Zero, how much mana do I have?"
"Mana is 3.4, still 2.6 lower than the promotion standard of 6."
Angelet frowned. "To the central trading square for the last time."
...
The underground trading square of the academy.
There were fewer miscellaneous stalls. The ones that used to sell alchemy crafting tools were gone. There were far fewer students on the square.
Only a few wooden houses stood alone on the square.
The faint yellow flames on the surrounding stone walls occasionally made crackling sounds, and the entire square seemed unusually quiet.
On the gray and white stone ground of the square, miscellaneous rubbish, broken glass, cracked copper rings, and other debris were scattered everywhere. The gray robes were torn and discarded, etc.
Occasionally, some bloodstains could be seen on the ground.
Angele furrowed his brows and walked towards a small wooden house in the middle of the square. Occasionally, he could hear some sensitive words from the low voices of the students around him. Words like betrayal, escape, failure, and retreat echoed in Angelet's ears.
He quickly reached a relatively deserted wooden house. He glanced quickly, took out a small bag, opened it, revealing a little fine gray powder.
"Luminous powder, two magic stones per bag," the shopkeeper, a man in a gray robe with a beard, immediately greeted him.
Angelet nodded, handed over the magic stones, and continued to choose other items on the counter. Perhaps leaving for a long time meant that he could not come back, so he could only buy as many things as possible and take them with him. These were rare magical materials in the future.
After choosing and selecting, another man in a gray robe with yellow hair suddenly stepped forward to Angelet. With normal hair and a small face, he looked very inconspicuous.
The man spoke loudly as soon as he reached the counter.
"Boss, I have some things; can you see if they are worth exchanging for magic stones?"
"It's you again. I told you that those things of yours are worthless. Last time, I gave you three magic stones just because we share the same teacher."
The shopkeeper seemed helpless.
The man with yellow hair looked a bit worried, presenting a cloth bag he was carrying:
"First, take a look, maybe you can find something valuable?"
"As I said, your things are for Alchemy students. Who doesn't know that items for Alchemy students are very expensive? Before, you didn't listen to my advice and spent magic stones recklessly. Now it's too late."
The shopkeeper seemed to be a kind person and spoke very politely.
"Anything related to Alchemy?" Angelet's interest was piqued.
He remembered the young man with yellow hair and small eyes; he had encountered him when buying alchemy crafting tools.