Camus couldn't be bothered to say more to them.
Anyway, given their level of battle aura cultivation, they could tell just by listening that the little girl on the table was still alive—
The blonde man hovered his hand over the young girl's chest, as if wanting to feel her heartbeat, but then he hesitated.
Then, expressionlessly, he covered her mouth and nose.
His palm was broad, his fingers long and elegant, with veins meandering across the back of his hand. It easily covered her entire face.
Right now, he was just pressing down on the lower half of her face, covering it tightly without leaving a single gap.
Su Cheng was quickly suffocated awake.
She grabbed the man's distinctly jointed wrist and shot him a glare full of anger.
Camus slowly let go, studying her with the gaze of a doctor examining a patient. "I hope you had a good dream."
"I dreamed I drowned in a sea of vinegar," Su Cheng snapped. "Your potion is a disaster, though it's definitely much better than last time."
As she spoke, she undid her outer garment. "Is that thing still there?"
The blood mage lowered his gaze, his eyes sweeping across the girl's bare back.
CR
Beneath a few crisscrossing thin straps, both the red heart and the thorns looked very dim.
However, the pattern was still clearly branded there.
"...Yes," Camus observed for a moment. "Let's monitor the curse over the next month."
His expression was quite serious; the helplessness, shock, and displeasure from a moment ago were all gone, replaced once again by a state of academic research.
Su Cheng couldn't help but feel there was a hidden meaning in his words. "What might happen? Did you achieve that 'ninety percent' of yours?"
"Yes, you will never again die from being unable to find an outlet for your lust."
The blonde man said calmly. "The next step is to consider removing it, but that will be quite troublesome. It has practically fused with your body, and with your current level of strength, reshaping your physical body is highly unrealistic—"
Su Cheng's pupils dilated in shock.
Reshape the physical body!
The curse didn't seem to be mentioned again in the middle and late stages of the novel. Could this be the reason?
Lin Yun later made some sort of deal with the God of Death, paid a certain price, and gained an immortal body, which was why he could be killed multiple times by the God of Purity.
If his physical body was reshaped, perhaps this curse disappeared with the death of his first body?
But him gaining that kind of power happened hundreds of chapters later—in other words, several years down the line.
Camus paused. "Its frequency of acting up will be highly irregular. However, once it flares up, I suggest that if you have the means, you shouldn't just ignore it. Because right now, death has only been downgraded to weakness, and you will likely still experience pain during that time."
Su Cheng massaged her forehead. "I understand. Regardless, thank you. At least I won't die."
This had been her biggest headache.
As long as she didn't die, everything else was manageable.
Her greatest fear was the curse acting up when there were no living people around.
Lin Yun had indeed never encountered such a situation. Even if he was alone somewhere and the curse truly flared up, the author would arrange a romantic encounter for him.
But did she dare bet that she would receive the same treatment?
After all, it was impossible for the two of them to have the exact same experiences.
When the sky was just beginning to brighten, Su Cheng took a large sum of money and went to the Magic Guild.
The moment she entered the lounge of Cross Star Academy, she once again drew the collective attention of the instructors and staff.
"Look, our esteemed new student has returned—"
A man leaning back on the sofa with his legs crossed, reading a book, said lazily.
His orange-red curly hair shone exceptionally bright under the lights, like a burning torch, making his complexion appear even paler. The ruby at his ear also radiated a brilliant glow.
Su Cheng had a very deep impression of this examiner.
The moment she met his eyes, her gaze couldn't help but drift across his chest.
Xiao Yun was still wearing his mage robes. The magnificent lapels adorned with gold buttons were wide open, revealing half of the butterfly tattoo on his pectoral muscle.
Su Cheng coughed lightly. "Hello, Your Excellency, and everyone else. I am here to pay my tuition."
The red-haired man glanced at her, then lowered his head to continue reading. Two other staff members called her over and showed her the fee schedule.
This amount also included the costs for textbooks, room and board, and so on. Su Cheng read through it once, then pulled a handful of gold and silver coins from her pocket.
The tuition fee was not a small amount. If it were someone from a less privileged background, they would most likely have to deliberate carefully, and might even need to sell their house and land just to afford it.
But judging from Cross Star's attitude, they really didn't covet students all that much.
In contrast, because the number of students was inherently small, they did not have the competitive elimination systems established by other top academies.
The course schedule at the Academy of Mysteries was relatively flexible. Two staff members handed her a long scroll listing various compulsory and elective courses.
"You will need to pass the assessments for five compulsory courses and ten elective courses over a period of ten years. Some elective courses require a written application, and you can only begin studying them after obtaining the consent of the instructing tutor—"
"If you have a preferred elective course, you should apply as early as possible. Otherwise, if the quota is full, the tutor may no longer accept new students."
Su Cheng flipped through the course list while listening to their explanation.
There were no attendance requirements here either. Because there were so few students, it was even frequently possible to book short one-on-one sessions.
Her fingertips traced over the course selection sheet. "This 'Theory of Elemental Genesis and Spell Construction (Beginner)', it's about how to weave spells, right?"
"Yes. If you look at the prerequisite courses listed after it, it means you need to pass the exams for 'Elemental Magic Runes' and 'Principles of Incantation Construction' and score over ninety points before you can apply to join the course..."
The staff member beside her said.
Su Cheng nodded slowly, suddenly looking forward to attending school a bit.
"You'd better not obsess over that one."
A voice came from behind.
Su Cheng turned her head. Xiao Yun leaned against the sofa, casually remarking as he turned a page, "I am also one of the lecturers for that course. Anyway, according to my standards, you definitely don't qualify."
Su Cheng: "..."
Anticipation level minus one.
Su Cheng glanced at him speechlessly. "It sounds like you aren't the only one who can make the final decision. What if someone else lets me pass, would you be very upset?"
I'm going to choose it, I'm going to choose it!
"I have nothing to lose even if I don't pass," Su Cheng crossed her arms. "And if I do pass, it'll make you frustrated."
Xiao Yun gave a soft scoff. "If an irrelevant new student could make me uncomfortable, I would have died of anger a long time ago."
The lounge was dead silent, with everyone staring at them with wide eyes.
Some couldn't help but reveal a look of admiration.
Su Cheng thought back on her interactions with Xiao Yun. It seemed that right from the very beginning, this redhead hadn't liked her much.
However, the busty mentor in the original novel seemed to have this kind of temper too, never showing a good face to anyone, let alone Lin Yun who drooled over her and even got handsy.
Forget it.
She had already offended a god anyway. When you have too many lice, they stop itching. Whatever happens, happens.
Su Cheng thought indifferently, then looked at the staff member next to her. "Excuse me, when are you returning to the imperial capital?"
The person said the team would stay until the last day of enrollment. If any new students wanted to travel with them then, they would naturally take them along and return in a flying carriage.
Such carriages were naturally drawn by magical beasts. The beasts they chose were usually much faster than ordinary horses and could fly for several days without resting.
Therefore, a journey that would take months for an ordinary person would only take a few days.
"Do you want to go with us?" the staff member asked. "If you want to go by yourself, that's fine too."
Su Cheng planned to discuss it with the commander again, so she didn't answer immediately.
She crossed the guild hall and saw several figures standing under the entrance porch from a distance.
They all looked in her direction in unison.
Kai stood in the shadow of the pillar with a greatsword on his back, holding a book about the God-Favored, reading very seriously.
Sasha leaned against a pillar, sizing up the passersby. Occasionally, when someone winked at him, he would smile back depending on his mood.
Camus had his arms crossed and his hat brim pulled low, revealing only the lower half of his face, still wearing that unhappy, aloof expression.
The entrance to the Magic Guild was always bustling, and many people waited there. However, all three of them were exceptionally handsome, inevitably drawing a lot of attention.
Su Cheng ran over. "What happened?"
Sasha stood up straight. "Did you forget?"
He suddenly reached out, grabbed her waist, and lifted her high into the air. "The welcome party for our new member—"
Su Cheng: "...You guys just want an excuse to binge drink, right?"
Kai tilted his head slightly to look at her. "Weren't you drinking happily before too?"
Su Cheng looked at him helplessly, enjoying the feeling of looking down from above for a few seconds. "Because you only brought back that one kind of beverage!"
But it was indeed quite delicious.
So she went with them to a tavern closest to the Mercenary Guild.
The three of them were very familiar with the way, clearly having been here more than once.
The tavern was filled with the warm aroma of toasted bread, stewed meat, and ale. Brass chandeliers hung from the ceiling, their crystal shades filtering the light into a honey-like color that spilled gently onto the black oak tables.
It was still breakfast time, and the hall was crowded, mostly with mercenaries.
The four of them found a spot in the corner. There were a few curved long tables here, with people sitting in twos and threes nearby, leaving only a few empty seats.
In front of them was an old woman writing scribbled runes on parchment, constantly muttering to herself. The people around her couldn't help but keep their distance.
Behind them were two middle-aged men who looked like merchants, whispering about the goods in a certain alchemy workshop. They glanced around from time to time, as if afraid someone would overhear them.
A group of young people were laughing and playing cards nearby, sounding very noisy.
Su Cheng: "...Now I know why there are empty seats here."
Her teammates didn't mind this messy environment at all. They sat down as if it were perfectly normal. Soon, a waiter hurried over and handed them the menu.
She listened as Camus quickly rattled off a string of dish names. After he finished, he asked her what she wanted to eat. Su Cheng thought about it and said she would just have the local specialty.
Then Kai began to list off the names of the drinks as if enumerating his family treasures.
Su Cheng blinked. "By the way, is the commander incapable of getting drunk?"
Sasha looked at her sideways. "Do any of us look like we can get drunk?"
Su Cheng: "...Me?"
"Hahahaha," the vampire suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter. "Now I'm a little curious."
Su Cheng knew that none of the three were ordinary people, and she didn't think she could compare to them. "I usually only like to drink sweet fruit wines and mead anyway."
She really didn't know how much alcohol this body could handle, but she hadn't had any reaction after downing cherry wine before, so her tolerance probably wasn't terribly bad.
"...Don't even think about forcing me to drink those bitter, sour, or spicy liquors," she said blankly. "I can't appreciate them at all."
"I figured," Sasha curled his lips. "You two really have the same taste."
He glanced at Camus as he spoke. "It's obvious you're missing out on a lot of fun."
The latter ignored him, gracefully picking up his knife and fork, and began to cut the baked potato in front of him. The cheese, minced meat, and chives crumbled under the blade.
Soon, more than a dozen wine bottles were placed on the table.
Su Cheng carefully looked at the labels on those bottles, then decided to follow the example of a certain blood mage. Whatever Camus drank, she would drink.
So she first tried a type of Flame Thorn Bee Nectar Gin.
It was a gin infused with magical bee honey and vanilla grown near the hive, carrying a sweet, floral aftertaste.
Su Cheng was incredibly amazed after taking a sip and couldn't help but tilt her head back and down the whole thing.
"You'd better eat something," Kai finished a bottle of strong liquor at the same time and casually pushed a pot of slow-stewed beef short ribs over. "Otherwise, that might still get you drunk."
The clay pot contained a ring of onions, potatoes, and roasted garlic slices, along with black pepper and beer sauce, smelling absolutely delicious.
Su Cheng silently picked up her knife and fork. "I hope I don't eat my way to high blood pressure—"
"Although I don't know what that is," Kai chuckled, "if it's some kind of disease caused by weight gain, I'm sure you don't need to worry."
Su Cheng looked at him in confusion.
"Didn't you say before that you wanted to learn battle aura?" The commander smiled and met her gaze. "You swore an oath. You can't break your oath, right?"
Su Cheng felt like she might be getting dizzy from the alcohol. "What does that mean?"
"A massive amount of exercise," Sasha gloated. "For an ordinary elemental mage who wants to be a warrior, the introductory stage might still be a little painful."
Su Cheng: "......"
She put down the wine bottle. "I'll go buy two more bottles. Camus, do you want any more?"
The blood mage leaned back in his seat. "Yeah, buy four bottles."
Su Cheng was already sitting on the outside, making it easy to get out. Hearing this, she stood up, pushed through the crowded people, and walked toward the tavern's counter.
The bartender was very busy, having several customers to attend to, so latecomers could only wait in line.
There was also a row of seats in front of the bar. A seat was empty at the moment, so Su Cheng hopped onto it. Perhaps a bit dizzy from the alcohol, she accidentally bumped into the person next to her.
"Ah!" She hurriedly apologized. "Sorry!"
"It's fine—"
The customer next to her turned his head to look at her. His voice was lazy, yet it carried a strange sense of amusement.
Su Cheng suddenly met a pair of pale green eyes.
Within that radiant emerald green, bright as a mountain forest in early spring, a pair of cold, sinister snake pupils slit open. Like two sharp blades tempered with malice, they pierced straight into her eyes.
