Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 147 - 140 Tense Candidates

Grape, Medusa, and the slightly older Nia sat side by side on the worn wooden table, their heads swaying in sync with the shadows moving under the light.

"Miss Medusa, what is Lyle doing?" the Light Bat Grapes scratched its own nose with its tiny claws, feeling the need to move around and relieve the fatigue it had just experienced.

"Cramming for an exam, you could think of it as the desperate thrashing of prey before death," Medusa’s tail curled up at the edge of her coiling body, making small, rattlesnake-like movements. It didn’t make a similar rustling sound; it was a stress-relieving action, similar to a human’s leg shaking.

"One round, two rounds, three rounds... one hundred and thirty-two rounds, one hundred and thirty-three rounds..." Nia propped up her eyeballs with two tentacles, one of which moved with Lyle’s movements as if glued to him, until Medusa’s little tail drew the attention of Nia’s big eyes. Nia extended a tentacle to flick at that small piece of wood tail with a pale pink hint.

The action was quickly stopped by Medusa.

"Nia!"

"Nia wants to play with Medusa’s tail," Nia completely pressed her body against the edge of the table, the tentacles now neatly lying along the edge, with the lower half of her big eyes hidden under the table, looking up at Medusa like a shy child.

"That’s not allowed."

"Hmm." A tentacle drifted to the edge of the table, drawing circles with its mucus, watching as the surface of Medusa’s eyes became sparkling and looked as if they would squeeze out water with a little pressure.

"...I really don’t know where you learned to act so spoiled," she sighed, her small body sliding across the wooden table, and finally resting her head on one of Nia’s jelly-like black tentacles, "This is the last time, okay?"

Whether Nia listened or not, no one knew, only Medusa’s tail continued swaying left and right following the weathervane on the distant roof.

Lyle muttered spells under his breath, flipping through the pages of the book of notes he left behind from studying curse spells.

His words were filled with a venomous air that had nowhere to vent, eventually dissipating in the room and making the eerie atmosphere a few degrees denser.

As if possessed, Medusa, who considered herself a dependable big sister, decided to check if her foolish little brother needed to see a psychiatrist.

Following Lyle’s trouser leg that peeked out from his boots, Medusa climbed up, assuming a posture that Lyle definitely wouldn’t ignore, slithering out from his collar while smearing the cold, slimy substance Nia had left on her scales onto his neck.

She hung on Lyle’s ear, her tiny dragon claws resting on his auricle.

"This is futile, Lyle, even if you chant these spells a thousand times, your magic power won’t change at all," Medusa struck him with the biggest blow, trying to get this boy, who hadn’t slept in a day and a night since he sent away that mermaid girl, to stop, "But your Emo language has gotten much more fluent. If you want to improve your speaking or learn the noble accent, big sister can teach you one-on-one."

"You’re right, Medusa," Lyle’s response brought her a second of relief, as he turned to look outside. In the sunlight, his haggard face with a sickly, reddish pallor came into view, "My cursing technique won’t improve if I continue to chant alone. I need some targets to cast spells on."

"You’re planning to cast a curse on someone?" This was the first time Medusa had heard Lyle plan to curse someone, and a touch of absurdity grew in her heart. The upcoming exam seemed to have scared him quite a bit, "So, who are you planning to curse? Some innocent passerby?"

"How about Dalinxi? A week ago, when I bought potatoes from him, he shortchanged me by half a Yule. Or maybe my neighbor Dafen, who still hasn’t given up keeping pigs in his garden—an ordeal I’ve endured for over two months..." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Cursing Technique is not all there is to Spirit Summoning Studies. You can’t pass the exam by just enhancing your curses." Medusa tried to dissuade Lyle from his idea.

"You’re right, Medusa." Lyle’s response gave her another second of relief, but he stuffed the crumpled paper with those damned spells into his pocket and turned to pull out a fake Spirit Summoning Studies textbook with "One Hundred Tips on Raising Turkeys" on its cover. "Reviving the dead and transforming the departed are the mainstream of Spirit Summoning Studies. I need to get myself some bodies to transform, but where can I find corpses?"

Suppressing the urge to slap him with her tail, Medusa realized that it was better to guide than to block, especially at this point with Lyle. "How about the White Bone Forest? There are plenty of bones you can use there, and with your luck, you might get to familiarize yourself with advanced transformations using aberrant materials."

"The White Bone Forest is sealed off as the venue for the next exam, and all Spirit Summoning Studies students are forbidden to approach it," Lyle muttered through gritted teeth, biting on his index finger and managing to think of what he believed was a good idea before a bite mark made its imprint. "What about Cassandra Cemetery? I’m familiar with that place."

Medusa’s tail whipped across his face, nearly yanking his soul out of his body. Lyle touched his burning face, listening to her assessment.

"Not a good idea. The night-time security in Cassandra has greatly improved recently; just because it’s quieter at night doesn’t mean the cemetery is unguarded. I doubt those Tomb Guardians would be in the mood to sleep on the job."

"But I sneaked into Andrei’s Mausoleum before and wasn’t caught..."

"Moreover, those who are buried there surely had their families invite priests to conduct restful ceremonies before interment. If your resurrection spells alarm those clergy... Lyle, how well-done do you want to be on the stake?"

"And there’s Mr. Ralph!" Grape also joined the conversation, "When I roam around Cassandra, I often bump into Mr. Ralph on his patrols at night."

"Uncle Ralph? Are you sure, Grape?"

"Tall, black gloves, pale skin with a cadaver’s face, meticulous security uniform, eyebrows so furrowed they could hold an egg, an eerie aura, dragging lifeless humans into alleyways." Grape recited with rhythm in his speech.

Lyle wasn’t sure whether Grape’s description had been artistically enhanced, but he knew that if he got caught by Ralph in the cemetery, it would definitely be his end. Being dragged into an alley by Ralph like a dead fish to receive a lesson in love, Lyle suddenly felt much more clear-headed.

"Maybe the exam isn’t such an urgent matter after all."

"You’re absolutely right. You should rest well now, and then take some time to visit the City of Wandering to clear your head. A good mindset always does wonders during exams."

"You’re right, Medusa." A struggle appeared on Lyle’s face, his expression uncertain as he sought guidance from his teacher. "Could I cast a spell before bed to have that idiot Dafen fall into his pig manure pit, just for a second?"