WTYTIAAN Chapter 72

Chapter 72

In a few short seconds, Yan Yunqing watched Allison’s expression shift from initial curiosity to confusion, then a slight furrowing of her brow.

She set down the letter of recommendation and began to seriously assess the young man before her.

He had short, slightly messy black hair, suggesting he hadn’t taken good care of it for some time. His face was remarkably handsome, with clear, ruby-like eyes – truly beautiful eyes.

Allison sighed inwardly, then picked up the letter of recommendation again and gently pushed it back towards him.

“Xavier – is that the name, right?” Allison softly spoke the fake identity Yan Yunqing had created for himself.

Because the corpse brother Yan Yunqing had encountered was completely unrecognizable, his mimicry skill was ineffective. Furthermore, he had discovered that another letter from his so-called uncle stated that he had only briefly seen the newborn Xavier once as a child. Therefore, the uncle who provided the letter of recommendation likely wouldn’t recognize Xavier’s appearance.

And most of the people connected to Xavier who could recognize he wasn’t Xavier were dead. Even if there were any left, they wouldn’t possibly be at the Sigret Academy. After all, the former Xavier was useless and spent his days indulging in wine and women in his fiefdom.

Odrich’s former fiefdom was hundreds of thousands of miles away from Sigret Academy. Yan Yunqing wasn’t worried at all that anyone who could recognize Xavier would appear, so he simply used his own appearance to replace Xavier’s identity.

Otherwise, maintaining the skill usage all day would eventually reveal flaws. He wouldn’t dare to make such easily exposed disguises in Sigret Academy, where great swordsmen and great mages were everywhere.

As for whether his identity would be revealed in the future? Sorry, once he’d fleeced the academy of its resources, no, its skill books, he’d decisively run away, change his identity and be free as a bird. Why would he care about his identity being exposed then?

Besides, the players would be online in less than a year. At that point, the entire Ermann Continent would likely be plunged into chaos by the Fourth Disaster. He’d be hidden among them, so why would he need to worry about his identity being exposed?

“I’ve read your letter of recommendation, and your level… well, it does meet the requirements for recommended admission to our school.”

“However…” Allison looked Yan Yunqing up and down, drawing out her words. Her slender fingertip lightly tapped on the letter of recommendation. “Sigret hasn’t restarted the recommended admission assessment for many years. It’s not that no one has received letters of recommendation, but those who have heard about the assessment content have all voluntarily given up.”

“Without exception, they all chose to participate in the normal entrance examination during the second year of the academy’s admissions.”

Allison leaned back, crossed her arms, and looked at Yan Yunqing. “So, do you have the confidence to pass this assessment?”

Yan Yunqing raised an eyebrow. “Since those before me gave up after learning the assessment content, shouldn’t I also be able to learn about the so-called recommended admission assessment content?”

Allison spread her hands. “Of course.”

“It seems you’re prepared.” Allison stood up. “In that case, come with me.”

Yan Yunqing was puzzled. “Can’t you just tell me the assessment content here?”

Allison walked to Yan Yunqing’s side and raised her index finger, gently waving it in front of his eyes. “No, no~ The assessment content for recommended admission isn’t decided by me, or any teacher in the academy, but by the magic crystal left behind by the founding headmaster of this school.”

“It’s said that the founding headmaster left behind tens of thousands of exam questions in that magic crystal. Every student admitted through recommendation can draw one of them.”

Allison said regretfully, “Even I don’t know what the complete question bank contains!”

“That’s so troublesome?” Yan Yunqing was surprised.

“Of course.” Allison covered her lips and giggled. “In your understanding, is recommended admission just a way for you to take the exam at a different time?”

Yan Yunqing: …He really thought that was the case.

“In Sigret’s thousand-year history, there have only been a little over a hundred people who have received recommendation slots. And those who have recommendation slots don’t easily recommend students to Sigret, because once the slot is used, whether the student passes the assessment or not, it won’t be returned to them.”

“The reason Sigret has such a strict system is simply because – the academy only allows geniuses among geniuses to join the academy through special admissions.”

“Without exception, those in Sigret’s history who have passed the recommended admission assessment have become absolute powerhouses.”

Yan Yunqing: …Crap, what kind of person’s identity did he replace? Why could he even get such a special recommendation slot? Could this uncle be some kind of level 100+ powerhouse?

Wait, you have an uncle who can get you a letter of recommendation, but you can’t protect a baronetcy?

Is this water a bit too deep?

“…I understand. Then let’s take a look at the assessment content first.” Yan Yunqing hesitated for a moment, but decided to look at the assessment content first. If it was too difficult, he could turn around and go to Free City.

“Come with me.”

Yan Yunqing watched Allison knock on the wall behind the screen. After a while, a passage appeared before them. Allison gestured to Yan Yunqing, and he followed her steps.

The passage wasn’t dark. Magic lamps were installed on both walls. It was a spiral staircase leading downwards. After Yan Yunqing entered the passage, he discovered that Walkerly hadn’t followed, but had stayed in the headmaster’s office.

Yan Yunqing paused for a second, then followed Allison. The sound of their steps, extremely similar in rhythm, was especially clear in the quiet space.

Going down a floor, Yan Yunqing thought he would see a very solemn room. After all, Allison had said it was something left behind by Sigret’s founding headmaster. It should be carefully preserved.

As a result… he saw a study that was full of the atmosphere of everyday life?

It should be considered a study, right? But why was there also an alchemy table, even with a cauldron for brewing magic potions, that hadn’t even been washed?

Allison looked around and rubbed her forehead with a bit of a headache. “Oh dear, now where did I put that magic crystal…”

As she said this, she walked towards the pile of clutter, rummaging here and there, occasionally shaking off a layer of dust, causing Yan Yunqing to take a few steps back.

Yan Yunqing twitched the corner of his mouth. “Is this how you usually preserve the things left behind by the founding headmaster?”

With Walkerly gone, Allison simply didn’t bother maintaining her dignified and elegant exterior. She casually waved her hand and continued to search for the magic crystal that she didn’t know where she’d put. “Oh dear, I haven’t used this thing in years, and it won’t break anyway. You can just put it anywhere.”

“Besides, our founding headmaster left behind a lot of things. This entire room is filled with them. It’s too hard for me to carefully preserve every single one of them.”

Yan Yunqing:.

“Ah!” Allison seemed to have seen what she was looking for in that pile of clutter. She rummaged around and pulled out a crystal ball the size of a fist. “Found it!”

She wiped the dust off the crystal ball with her sleeve and presented it to Yan Yunqing as if it were a treasure. “Ta-da – this is it!”

Yan Yunqing couldn’t help but glance at the smudge of gray on her snow-white sleeve. “Are you really the headmaster?”

She looked so unreliable.

Allison was stunned, surprised. “You noticed?”

She was a little embarrassed. “Actually, I’m just the acting headmaster. The real headmaster is my sister, but she ran off somewhere last week, leaving a letter behind. I was forced to take the job.”

Allison sighed deeply, lamenting the heavy burden on her shoulders. “Ah, I really don’t want to take over this school. There are too many troublesome things.”

Yan Yunqing opened his mouth. He wondered if he should reconsider coming to school at all.

“Enough about that, let’s quickly draw your exam question!” Allison stuffed the magic crystal into Yan Yunqing’s hands. “Channel magic power into the crystal and you can draw a question.”

Yan Yunqing wanted to say something, but facing Allison’s bright eyes, he could only obey and channel magic power into the magic crystal.

As a little bit of magic power was transferred in, Yan Yunqing didn’t think there was anything wrong at first, but he discovered that the crystal ball was like a bottomless pit. No matter how much magic power he put in, the crystal ball could swallow it all.

Yan Yunqing’s expression changed slightly. He wanted to withdraw his hand, but discovered that the magic crystal had begun to actively absorb the magic power from his body, not giving him a chance to stop. And his intention to let go of the crystal ball seemed to have been discovered. The crystal ball stuck to his hand as if coated with super glue.

Yan Yunqing was shocked. He looked up at Allison, who still had that smiling expression, only now it contained a bit of a meaningful edge.

What was going on?

A lot of terrible guesses popped up in Yan Yunqing’s mind for a moment. The magic power in his body was being drained bit by bit. Just when he couldn’t help but want to use a skill to attack the magic crystal, it finally stopped.

The surface of the crystal ball faintly lit up with a golden light. As it became brighter and brighter, Allison revealed a surprised expression. “Golden?”

Yan Yunqing’s blue bar was completely drained, and his face was a little pale. Seeing that he could finally take the crystal ball down, he hurriedly threw it away.

The crystal ball was tossed away by him, but it didn’t fall to the ground. Instead, it floated in mid-air, spinning quietly.

Yan Yunqing took a step back, watching the crystal ball vigilantly. “What is this going to do?”

Allison tapped her chin with her fingertip. “It should be drawing the question now. It’s the first time I’ve seen this crystal ball light up with golden light – ”

“What does that mean?” Yan Yunqing couldn’t help but ask, “What does gold represent?”

Allison shrugged her shoulders. “Ah, I don’t know. The founding headmaster never said anything about it. But before, some people guessed that the light emitted by the crystal represents the aptitude of the person inputting magic, and the question is drawn according to that aptitude.”

“Among the questions that have appeared before, white means the lowest difficulty, orange means the highest difficulty… but there really hasn’t been golden before.”

Allison looked at Yan Yunqing, her eyes shining with excitement. “You’re the first one to turn the magic crystal golden. I’m already starting to look forward to what your exam question will be.”

Yan Yunqing’s heart skipped a beat when he heard this, but he quickly put that heart back in its place. Anyway, if the exam question was too difficult, he could give up. There was no need to complete it.

Soon, the golden light emitted by the crystal ball slowly converged, condensing into a line of text in mid-air.

[Become the ‘Midas Touch’ of ‘Mandy Pelles’]

The same task prompt also popped up on his game panel, only it was a branch of the previous [Successfully pass the Sigret Academy entrance exam]. Specific information wasn’t given to him.

Yan Yunqing was stunned. He was very unfamiliar with both the name Mandy Pelles and the title Midas Touch. He couldn’t help but glance in Allison’s direction, only to find that her face was also filled with surprise and confusion.

“Is this Midas Touch very difficult to achieve?” Yan Yunqing couldn’t help but ask.

Allison thought for a while. “Hmm… so it’s this type of assessment? That’s different from the previous assessments.”

“The most difficult assessment I’ve seen before was to have a swordsman with only level 30 kill a level 80 magical beast out of level. Of course, that was indeed very unreasonable, so that student also gave up the right to recommended admission.”

Allison looked at the golden words floating in mid-air. “As for this kind of… well, I’ve seen event-type assessments before, but this one really hasn’t appeared in my memory. No wonder it’s golden.”

Allison clapped her hands and explained to Yan Yunqing in a friendly manner, “Your task is simple and difficult, depending on how you choose.”

“Mandy Pelles, an underground casino located in Free City, is the most luxurious and extravagant place on the entire continent. It’s said that the gold coins that pass through Mandy Pelles in a single day are enough to reach tens of billions of gold coins – ”

“It’s a dreamlike kingdom built of gold coins. Some people become rich overnight, while others lose everything. Everything can become a bargaining chip on the gambling table.”

Allison said softly, “Everyone who walks in is likely to be tempted by demons and fall into the abyss.”

“And the Midas Touch is just a title that Mandy Pelles gives to the luckiest guests. Winning more than 30 million gold coins in a single day makes you the lucky star of that day. And if you become a lucky star for more than three consecutive days, Mandy Pelles will give you the title of ‘Midas Touch,’ and you’ll enjoy the most premium service in all of Mandy Pelles, until your luck is exhausted.”

She reached out and gently touched the golden words. Immediately, the words shattered into foam, reassembling into smaller words, which clearly stated the conditions.

[Become the Top ‘Midas Touch’]

Allison sighed. “No wonder it’s a golden task. Becoming the top Midas Touch isn’t just about winning 30 million every day for three consecutive days. It’s about making your lucky star status last longer than anyone else in all of Mandy Pelles.”

Yan Yunqing was stunned. “Becoming the longest, wouldn’t that mean…”

Allison nodded. “In addition to maintaining your lucky star status every day, you also have to pray that the luck of those Midas Touch who have already been lucky stars for several days runs out. Only when they lose their lucky star status can they simultaneously lose their Midas Touch identity.”

“Of course – you can also snipe them and become the only winner.”

“Let me see…” Allison said. “Oh, the assessment time is three months. That’s really a harsh condition. After all, it takes almost two months to travel back and forth from school to Free City. Plus, getting familiar with Mandy Pelles’ rules, you have less than a month to become the top Midas Touch… This fits my judgment of a golden task very well.”

“How about it?”

Allison looked at Yan Yunqing leisurely. “What’s your answer?”

“Yes or No?”

Yan Yunqing lowered his eyes, and began to constantly estimate the success rate of the task. This task didn’t sound dangerous. Compared to encountering a task like single-handedly jumping levels to fight a level 80 magical beast, he’d rather accept this casino task.

At least going to the casino to earn 90 million gold coins was more possible than him single-handedly taking on a level 80 magical beast.

It was just the additional condition of the top ‘Midas Touch’ that stumped him. This wasn’t just a task that could be completed by earning 90 million. He also had to snipe those old gamblers who had been steeped in the casino for who knows how many years. Maybe Yan Yunqing couldn’t even guess whether the other party was cheating.

Yan Yunqing struggled for a while, but ultimately couldn’t bear to part with Sigret Academy’s vast skill library. He gritted his teeth. “I accept this assessment.”

Allison wasn’t surprised at all by Yan Yunqing’s choice. After all, compared to the exam question of single-handedly taking on a level 80 magical beast, this exam question looked quite mild on the surface. There wasn’t even any life-threatening danger.

However, could the exam questions placed in the magic crystal by the founding headmaster really be that simple?

What’s more, this was a golden task. She hoped that this overly talented little fellow could successfully walk out of that maze of desires, and not simply sink into it.

Allison gently tapped the magic crystal, and the golden words shattered again, rushing towards Yan Yunqing’s right hand, forming a countdown icon on his wrist.

’90 days’

“This is the deadline for you to submit your assessment results. When you step out of Sigret Academy, the assessment will automatically begin. When you complete the assessment, it’s not considered a complete success. You have to walk into Sigret Academy alive to successfully submit your assessment results.”

Allison said with a smile, “Do you have any questions? I can answer three more questions for you. After three questions, you should be ready to set off.”

Yan Yunqing thought for a moment. He did have questions he wanted to ask Allison, so he didn’t hide anything. “What’s the difference between entering the school through recommended admission and other students?”

Allison clapped. “Good question.”

“As I said before, Sigret Academy only allows geniuses among geniuses to enter the school through the rules of recommended admission, so extremely harsh conditions have been set. Over the years, very few students have been able to succeed. Of course, correspondingly, the school will also give the highest level of treatment to students who are able to pass the assessment.”

“For example, you can freely choose courses. Upon enrollment, you will have one million points. At the same time, you will have the highest level of authority in all facilities within the academy. In the library, you can view any books except for restricted books. In the alchemy room, you can retrieve any medicinal materials and formulas that are available in the academy…”

“These can’t be finished in a short time. If you can really complete the assessment and enter the academy, you will naturally be able to experience the benefits brought by recommended admission.”

Allison smiled meaningfully. “That’s the treatment of supporting a student with the full power of the school. You will definitely be so happy that you won’t want to leave.”

Yan Yunqing:.

Indeed, just listening to these few things that Allison casually said, he was already starting to get crazy excited.

“Second, I want to know who wrote my letter of recommendation?”

This was also a question Yan Yunqing was very concerned about. It related to what kind of secret Xavier’s identity was hiding.

Allison covered her mouth in surprise. “You don’t even know who wrote your letter of recommendation?”

Yan Yunqing didn’t panic at all about this. “My parents died because of the monster tide. I wanted to inherit the title of my family, but I was rejected. An uncle sent me this letter of recommendation, asking me to try to succeed in entering the school. If I succeeded, I would have the hope of inheriting my father’s title.”

He revealed a bitter smile. “He said he was my uncle, but I don’t have much of an impression of him. He seemed to have come to my house to see me when I was just born. After hearing about my parents’ accident, he wrote me a letter. I didn’t know at first that recommended admission was such a special thing.”

“I think, since this slot is so precious, if I fail to pass the assessment in the end, I have to repay that uncle and this Mr. Tobias DeWitt who gave me the letter of recommendation.”

Allison frowned. “Is that so?”

She pondered for a while. “I didn’t expect these big shots with recommendation slots to give them out so frivolously… Well, whatever, seeing that you’re really talented, this can be forgiven.”

“Tobias DeWitt, this name is indeed unfamiliar, but when it comes to his identity, you definitely won’t be unfamiliar.”

Allison chuckled. “He is the current Pope of the Light Church.”

Yan Yunqing’s pupils shrank sharply.

“Each pope has a recommendation slot for Sigret Academy. The previous pope recommended the Holy Son of the Church at the time. When I saw DeWitt’s signature just now, I thought you were the new Holy Son. It turns out there’s no relationship at all?”

“…Is that so? I really don’t have any relationship with the Church.” Yan Yunqing showed a confused expression on his face just right. “How could the Pope write me a letter of recommendation? Could it be that my uncle is also a member of the Light Church?”

Allison glanced at Yan Yunqing lightly, and spread her hands. “I don’t know about this. Perhaps you should write to your uncle.”

Yan Yunqing’s heart was beating very fast at this moment. He felt that this Xavier might indeed have an unknown identity. He had really just drawn an SSR card at random! A corpse brother picked up by the roadside could bring out an uncle from the Church, and even get the Pope’s letter of recommendation.

Tsk, it seems he has to be more cautious in the future.

“Alright, is there a third question?” Allison looked at the time, interrupting Yan Yunqing’s thoughts. “It’s almost my afternoon tea time. If there’s no problem, you can prepare to set off.”

Yan Yunqing swallowed his saliva. He had many more questions he wanted to ask. He listed them in his mind one by one, and then crossed them out, leaving only the last one.

It was also the real purpose of his going to Sigret Academy.

“I want to ask – do you know anything about the prophecy: ‘When war and disaster descend, the world will be destroyed, and only the Skyfall can save it.’ I need to know everything you know.”

Allison was stunned for a moment, her expression strange. “Prophecy?”

She looked Yan Yunqing up and down with surprised eyes again. “I thought you’d be more concerned about school matters… I didn’t expect you to ask this question.”

“This question has a long story to tell. If I were to tell you everything I know, it would take three days.” Allison shook her head gently. “What’s more, this prophecy involves some of the highest-level information in the academy, and I can’t reveal it to someone who isn’t a student of the academy yet.”

Yan Yunqing was a little disappointed. He had thought that if he couldn’t complete the assessment task, he could inquire a little about the Skyfall in advance, so that it wouldn’t be a wasted trip.

But Allison didn’t want to grant his wish.

“However… since I promised to answer three questions for you, I can’t break my promise.”

“If you’re really interested in this kind of news, after you come back from Free City, whether you complete this assessment or not, I will tell you some things I know.”

Allison winked at Yan Yunqing. “As for how much I’ll tell you, it depends on whether you’ve completed the assessment task!”