NOVPUBIn the icy cold prison, a brief silence had fallen between the two rooms where Lanci and Adams were separately held.
In the darkness, only scattered sounds of freezing water droplets and the low hum of the wind blowing through narrow corridors could be heard.
"What reason would I have to deceive you?"
Lanci’s voice was filled with disappointment.
He was so severely frozen that his wrists had stiffened, making his exit from the Shadow World considerably slow.
"..."
Although Adams firmly believed that Lanci was lying, there was a moment where he began to question if he had misunderstood Lanci.
His acting was too convincing, as if he was disappointed due to mistrust.
However, there was also a possibility that his feelings were driven by his failed plans, utilizing his strong oratory skills.
"Lanci, I know that your greatest skill is using strategies and psychological warfare, so there are no underhanded tactics here. Today, I would just like to see who wins or loses. Pretending to surrender to trick me will only make you look foolish."
After some thought, Adams confidently replied, his voice cold.
He would not condemn Lanci either, as they had already agreed on the rules of this gamble – the end justifies the means, and victory is the ultimate truth.
No matter what Lanci says next, as long as he doesn’t follow Lanci’s logic, he would be fine.
This was Lanci’s biggest weakness.
If the opponent does not effectively communicate with him, none of his tricks would work.
As long as he sticks to this principle, he would win this gamble, and Lanci will lose!
In the neighbouring cell, Lanci didn’t respond.
He just slowly walked back into the depths of his cell and threw out all the accumulated resources from between the bars.
Hearing the crisp sound of impact, Adams looked out, a confused expression crossing his face.
Through the bars, he could see the resources in the corridor. Lanci seemed to have given up on the game, discarding all the resources!
"What are you doing?"
Adams asked in surprise.
"So that you don’t accuse me of tricking you, I’m really leaving. We humans should trust each other a bit more."
After saying this, any noise from Lanci’s prison abruptly stopped.
"..."
Adams stared through the bars at the resources on the ground, sinking deep into thought.
Could it be that he had indeed misunderstood Lanci?
If Lanci really meant well.
And he, on the other hand, ardently believed in his untrustworthiness.
Wouldn’t that make him look petty?
...
Meanwhile, at Jera Memorial Square.
Ripples formed on the stone floor in the rain, but it did nothing to dampen people’s enthusiasm. The giant outdoor screen on the square even attracted numerous passing students to stop and watch.
People held colorful umbrellas in their hands, forming clusters of small flowers. The rainwater slid off the umbrella tips onto the ground, making a "pitter-patter" sound.
This sound was almost drowned out by the buzzing discussion in the square.
"This damn Lanci, he’s playing with Adams again!"
"Don’t believe him, Adams!"
For some reason, the students of Ichrite Academy began cheering on Adams.
It was clear that Lanci was playing psychological tricks again.
This time, by abandoning resources, it was undeniably a huge gamble, aiming to dramatically amplify the confusion.
The first possibility is that he could guilt his opponent into dropping out of the Shadow World.
Second, he could mislead his opponent about his resource abundance.
Because many people familiar with Lanci had guessed -
Lanci undoubtedly had a way to recover the resources in the corridor!
This idea made the crowd erupt in cheers for Adams, baffling the several students from Arloran Academy who were watching in the square.
This wasn’t the home field of Ichrite Academy?
On the huge outdoor screen.
Inside the prison, Adams was getting more and more tangled the harder he thought.
His conscience was indeed nagging at him, worrying that he had misunderstood Lanci.
Before long, Adams’ brow relaxed once again and he smirked.
"Lanci, stop pretending. No matter how you try to sway my mind or what schemes you plan, I won’t believe a single word you say until this game in the Shadow World is over!"
Adams once again reinforced his will, shouting resolutely to Lanci in the next cell!
The more Lanci tried to communicate with him, the more suspicious he became.
By eliminating the emotional elements and thinking rationally, he could avoid Lanci’s traps.
Lanci would always just play mind games!
...
However, what happened next.
Jera Memorial Square, which was just bustling with endless debates and noise in the heavy rain, seemed to have been silenced by some invisible force at this moment.
The sound of rain falling on umbrellas and the ground, the laughter and chatter of students, everything disappeared, leaving only silence behind.
No one could easily make a sound, they all stared at the outdoor screen in disbelief.
Outside of the continuous rain, there seemed to be nothing unusual.
Only in the audience’s view of the screen -
Lanci had truly disappeared.
This implied that Lanci had left the Shadow World.
He had surrendered.
"Has Lanci gone mad?!"
"How is he going to explain this to Dean Loren!"
The square instantly descended into chaos.
The rain became heavier, and as it poured down, it formed splash after splash on the ground. The original silence was broken, replaced by a myriad of noisy sounds.
They had never imagined that Lanci would play such a big game, straightforwardly choosing to surrender!
Even though some people had guessed that Lanci couldn’t beat Adams, they never imagined that he would lose in this way.
"That’s not right..."
After a long period of commotion, a student hesitated and said-
"Have you noticed, the way Adams is desperately struggling, he probably firmly believes now that Lanci will play a psychological match to the bitter end with him..."
Many students looked up, and saw on the screen that Adams was still straining in the dark Cold Iron Prison.
Every now and then, he taunted the empty prison cell next to him:
"Lanci, there’s no need to suppress your voice, your acting is too crude!"
"Keep acting, it just makes you look foolish."
"Your mind games may work against the Goddess of Destruction, but not against me, who sticks to my beliefs."
"..."
The students in the square fell silent again.
Lanci lost effortlessly, but Adams won with great heroism.
He was played horribly by Lanci.
Adams, who would probably not come out until he reached his limit, no longer believes in anything.
In this Artificial Shadow World, known as the [Desperate Bony Cage], striving to break the record would be torturous.
That is a challenge that goes beyond the limits of human willpower.
After the challenge, you might have to lie in the hospital for a few days.
It’s hard to imagine what Adams’ mental state will be like when he comes out and finds that Lanci has actually quit early, and that he’s been waging psychological warfare with the air the whole time...
"That’s not right, it can’t be that simple..."
Immediately, students who understood Lanci discovered it.
Adams is on the second level, they’ve seen the third level, but Lanci’s scheme is not that simple.
...
Learning and Education Building, seventh floor atrium.
This special space is surrounded by towering glass curtain walls, and although it’s raining heavily outside, the whole space remains bright.
The outside world becomes hazy, rain continuously sweeps the glass, making it blurry at times, and then clear again.
The senior students of Sage Academy sat quietly in the atrium, their eyes all focused on the giant Magic Fluorescent Screen on the wall.
When Lanci disappeared from the prison on the screen, they could hardly believe that Lanci, who was held in high esteem by Sage Academy, actually conceded to Adams like this!
Until Lanci really walked out from the Void Gate of the Artificial Shadow World’s activation terminal, his ashamed smile looked like he felt he had let everyone down with his lack of skill.
But this smile made everyone understand.
This guy definitely did it on purpose!
Teacher Teresa hurried to Lanci’s side in utter surprise.
"Why did you concede, what are we going to do now?! Dean Loren is coming back tomorrow!"
Teresa anxiously blocked Lanci’s way and asked.
She never imagined Lanci would lose so decisively!
Lanci, however, stopped and looked calm.
"Do you think, Dean Loren should apologize to Knight Juliana?"
He smiled and looked back at Adams, who was still suffering in prison on the screen, and asked Teresa.
That dark and despairing icy cage, compared to this warm and bright atrium in the heavy rain, was like hell and heaven. Adams is over there, Lanci is here.
"..."
Teresa looked at the screen, feeling as if she had a fish bone stuck in her throat.
Now it really doesn’t matter who wins or loses.
Even if Lanci doesn’t mention the bet.
He has tortured Adams to such an extent.
Dean Loren is probably obliged to apologize directly to Knight Juliana now.
Wait a minute.
Teresa lowered her head and calculated on her fingers.
First, Adams got his wish and won against Lanci.
Then, if Dean Loren apologizes for the fact that "Juliana’s student was tortured so badly"...
Then Knight Juliana will receive Dean Loren’s sincere apology.
The bet that Lanci promised to Adams would be successfully fulfilled.
What’s next.
According to the agreement between Lanci and Juliana before-the third term is [If you can forgive him, he would like to invite you for a tour around the Royal Capital, revealing many important thoughts to you.]
Once Juliana accidentally forgives Loren...
"Forgiving Loren" condition would be fulfilled.
Lanci would then bring up this clause to Juliana, demanding her to fulfill her promise for a date with Loren.
At that time, Dean Loren will be forced to complete a series of chain conditions and then directly start the date!
Juliana, the upright knight, would certainly not break her word.
But how she would feel during this forced date, that can’t be said.
Teresa had to admit that Lanci was a genius, he could really come up with solutions that satisfy everyone’s needs, but every time it could also make people feel as uncomfortable as swallowing a fly.
He’s only still alive today because of his strong skills.
"Oh... I have to take a day off today, my cat at home is sick, I have to take it to the doctor."
Teresa mumbled and then quickly walked away with her hands in her pockets and her head down.
She’s left early today, it’s not her business.
Hopefully Dean Loren is okay when he gets back tomorrow.
The cat boss on the ground seemed to gradually understand the situation, falling into the Kitty Thinking Universe.
"???"
Its cat brain was a bit overloaded.
