Elite Mages' Academy

Since it had been some time since the end of the examination, most of the students had returned to their rooms to rest. The occasional passers-by would not notice those young people walking around. It was one of Xiao Lin’s rare chances to interact with Gu Xiaoyue, and as he was wondering what to say, Gu Xiaoyue opened her mouth first.

“Are you alright?” Gu Xiaoyue’s eyes carried a faint hint of concern.

Xiao Lin’s heart was warmed as he smiled. “Relax, don’t forget that, as long as we don’t die, any physical injuries will automatically recover after leaving the simulated examination space. Speaking of which, it’s quite amazing. I’ve actually asked Song Junlang about the simulated examination space before. Did you know?”

Gu Xiaoyue looked at Xiao Lin, who was deliberately playing the fool, helplessly. She opened her mouth, but did not manage to say what she wanted to. There was a trace of worry in her eyes, but in the end she nodded slightly. Even though she was a stubborn woman, thanks to Xiao Lin, it was no longer the first time she changed her decision because of someone else’s words.

“Speaking about the simulated examination space, it’s actually a bit similar to the games on Earth. In truth, in a lot of the examinations, I couldn’t help but wonder if such lifelike NPCs were actually alive, even though they had already died in history. Well, you know this as well. We’ve encountered some weird things when it comes to time theory, so you can’t really say.

“That’s right, Poseidon actually recognized us at that time, and I hope you didn’t tell anyone. I was really scared, since sealing Posiedon felt very recent, but it was actually tens of millions of years ago…”

Gu Xiaoyue was not good with conversation, so in order for it to not fall into silence, Xiao Lin was always looking for topics of conversation, such as discussions about examinations and various guesses about Poseidon.

Gu Xiaoyue quietly listened, and would occasionally nod in response, but most of the time she did not seem to be listening earnestly. The worry on her face actually got thicker and thicker. She had wanted to interrupt Xiao Lin a few times, but she kept hesitating.

Xiao Lin might not have realized it himself, but his complexion was not great. Under the sunlight that shot through the trees, his face was pale and ashen, but Xiao Lin did not feel anything, and he was just walking along as he talked. After a long time, he finally realized something was off about Gu Xiaoyue’s expression.

“Hey, did I say something wrong?” Xiao Lin smiled with uncertainty, tilting his head. He thought that he had said something awkward to Gu Xiaoyue, and waved. “I don’t know what I said, but don’t take it to heart, I’m just…”

His words stopped there. After that, Xiao Lin felt like his heart had been grabbed by someone. He opened his mouth, and his nostrils flared as if he was trying to breathe. However, the suffocation felt like it covered his whole body, as if he had been plunged into an endless blackhole. He frantically struggled, but in the end he could only see the sunlight rapidly distancing itself from him.

The pain was hard to describe. Xiao Lin believed that it could be the most painful thing he would experience in his entire life.

Had the exam not ended? What was happening?

Those thoughts floated in Xiao Lin’s head before he fell unconscious. After that, his body fell limp, and the last thing he heard was Gu Xiaoyue’s calls for help.

Xiao Lin felt incredibly tired; the fatigue was not just from his body — it came from his soul. He wanted to sleep, and slumber forever. His muddled consciousness meant he did not know what was happening, nor did he know how much time had passed.

One night, he woke up in a blur, and he heard a soft sigh from his heart. The sigh was like a thunderous awakening that completely shattered his muddled consciousness. The chaos and the vagueness started to part as his memory started to become clear.

…

The next time Xiao Lin opened his eyes, he felt incredibly refreshed. It was like someone who had not slept for three days suddenly being thrown on a soft and comfortable bed. He definitely would not care about anything other than sleeping for a whole day.

Xiao Lin stretched comfortably before realizing he was not on his bed in the dormitory. It was a white room, with a white bed and sheets. It was clearly a hospital.

However, that in itself was strange, as Xiao Lin never heard about Dawn Academy having a hospital. After all, with the automatic recovery system, they would never need to go to a hospital, which was why Xiao Lin felt that it was very strange.

He pushed aside the blanket, and when he wanted to walk off his bed, he realized his feet were incredibly numb, as if he had not moved at all for a long time. He was caught unprepared; he slipped and fell immediately, but thankfully, his hand quickly grabbed the bed for support.

The door quickly opened as a few men clad in white clothes rushed in, curiously looking at Xiao Lin like they were looking at an alien.

“Who are you?” Xiao Lin was somewhat on alert.

The few men talked to each other in a low voice before quickly walking over; the man in the lead asked, “How do you feel right now?”

“Where is this?” Xiao Lin asked.

“Do you feel any weakness?” the man continued to ask.

“Who are you?”

“Did you have any dreams during this period?”

“What are you doing?”

“Do you still remember what happened before this?”

…

The two of them widened their eyes, talking in completely different circles. Quickly realizing he would not get the result he wanted, the man’s expression loosened, but he still maintained an apprehension against Xiao Lin. “Do you know how long you’ve been unconscious for?”

Xiao Lin paused, his recovering memory quickly returning. He suddenly remembered that he had been walking alone with Gu Xiaoyue when he suddenly fell unconscious. Then, he should be at Dawn Academy. He let out a sigh as he became more polite. “I’m sorry, I’ve troubled you. It’s possible that I overslept because the examination ended.”

“You overslept for an entire week?” The man narrowed his eyes as he emphasized the ‘week’.

“Huh?” Xiao Lin was stunned.

“You’ve been unconscious for a week. When you were sent here, you were in a fatal condition. If we didn’t inject the newest potions into you on time, you might already be dead,” the man said emotionlessly.