Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Claudora joined the Academy at almost the same time I did. Without a doubt, she was a remarkably talented young woman with a boundless future.”

Ignoring Rob on the floor, Cass clearly slipped into a distant memory.

”That talent of hers earned the recognition it deserved. During a major Academy operation, she was selected to join the team, ultimately bringing back an unimaginable harvest.”

”It appeared to be a form of contamination. She didn’t even know how she had been infected, but most importantly, this contamination gradually allowed her to acquire divinity.”

”Beyond that, any potion—even transcendent limbs—could be absorbed and fused into her body without the slightest rejection.”

”The price, of course, was her very existence. On both a mental and physical level, she was slowly muddling and fading away, gradually turning into a mindless lump of flesh.”

”Claudora’s sanity quickly took a hit. Yet, relying on her sheer willpower, she finally managed to escape back to us after exhausting every resource at her disposal. Using her last shred of lucid consciousness, she refused our attempts to treat her.”

”She believed her contamination was far beyond any hope of recovery. Instead, she demanded that we carve her into pieces to cultivate, test, and explore the origin of this divinity.”

”You must understand, crossing from the Mid Tier to the Demigod Realm has always been a heavenly chasm that has thwarted countless transcendents. Claudora believed this contamination held unparalleled value for bridging that gap.”

”Her sole purpose in fighting so hard to return was to bring this specimen back to us. In the end, I respected her wishes.”After reminiscing, Cass looked at Fu Qian.

”The current Claudora is firmly at the Demigod Rank and continues to exist in this form. Any Academy instructor who meets the requirements can apply to use her for testing. Naturally, you can as well.”

’No rejection effect toward anything in the transcendent domain?’

’That sounds exactly like a God to the Rebirth Club!’

Fu Qian nodded silently, marveling inwardly.

”Was something this bizarre the cause of that accident you mentioned?”

Cass had mentioned earlier that the Academy elites had suffered heavy losses in a certain operation.

”I cannot answer that.”

Unsurprisingly, Cass refused to answer his question. Right then, a pained groan drifted up from a piece of charred meat on the floor.

”The trails of their flight revealed information similar to divinity patterns.”

Propping himself up with one hand to sit up with great effort, Rob still didn’t forget to analyze the situation from moments ago.

”You really can’t afford to be the least bit careless!”

Cass had clearly held back with his purification earlier; he hadn’t outright killed the man.

As Rob spoke, he brushed the scorch marks off his body. However, his severed arm and the gaping wound on his stomach still looked rather severe.

”Go find someone to heal you, and stay away from these kinds of things for the time being.”

Cass’s tone wasn’t too harsh. It didn’t sound like he intended to hold Rob accountable.

”I’ll arrange for someone to keep an eye on things here for you.”

”Alright.”

Rob naturally had no objections to Cass’s handling of the situation. Staggering to his feet, he lumbered toward the door.

”Don’t worry, this doesn’t happen often.”

Watching him leave, Cass motioned for Fu Qian to walk out with him, explaining as they went.

”Not at all. I only felt a rich academic atmosphere.”

Fu Qian indicated that this was no problem at all, and he was being completely honest.

Now that Professor Rob had been ”purified,” the fresh scent inside the building had rapidly dissipated. The odor that replaced it was truly indescribable.

Heh heh heh!

Cass gave him a look that said he knew Fu Qian would feel that way.

”Welcome aboard.”

...

Today had truly been fruitful. A perfect blend of learning and entertainment!

After touring the Laboratory and learning some of the Academy’s history, Fu Qian simply took his leave and headed back to rest. Since Cass clearly had to clean up the mess left by the disaster-causing instructor, Fu Qian didn’t want to bother him to act as a tour guide any longer.

Of course, by going back, Fu Qian meant heading to Lanaya’s residence.

It wasn’t that he was dead set on tormenting his superior; mainly, he had no idea where he was currently living.

Walking all the way back to Lanaya’s place, he found that, unsurprisingly, the head of the Disciplinary Department hadn’t returned yet.

It wasn’t strange. The situation with Weilong and Ni Huayuan would likely keep them occupied for quite a while.

Lanaya was clearly very confident in the Academy’s environment, having set up no special defenses. Relying on his Master-Level Lockpicking, it took Fu Qian less than half a minute to get back into his room.

Along the way, he had even formulated an excuse in case Lanaya bumped into him upon her return: ’Before the matter is fully resolved, even as the hero who saved the Academy, I, as one of the parties involved, felt it inappropriate to demand special treatment. Thus, I have returned to continue my self-imposed house arrest.’

Call it a strong sense of self-discipline!

After returning to the room, Fu Qian didn’t rush to rest. It had been smooth sailing all day; it wasn’t as if he had worked hard anyway.

Sitting on the Chair in the darkness, Fu Qian closed his eyes and checked on the aftereffects of the cold quenching. After confirming that they had almost completely dissipated, he silently activated the Decree of Return.

That demigod, Claudora, was undoubtedly a legendary existence—both in the contamination she endured and how she responded to it.

She had fought through unspeakable hardships just to return and let her colleagues use her as experimental material, all to increase the chances of peering into the mysteries of a Deity.

’She was ruthless,’ he mused. He was actually starting to understand the slightly crazed demeanor of the people from Apocalypse.

Behind every veil of ignorance, there might lie a thick sludge of blood.

Speaking of which, while Professor Rob’s ideas had nearly caused a disastrous laboratory accident, they were indeed rather interesting. He could keep an eye on his progress later.

There was also the incident that had wiped out the Academy elites.

All in all, there were still plenty of things he could accomplish with his position as a Lifetime Professor. But for now... the timing was just about right!

Cutting off his train of thought, Fu Qian sensed his surroundings for a moment before taking off the Emissary Mask.

The night was already deep. Although the week had just begun and he wouldn’t be forcibly dragged into a mission exactly at midnight, Fu Qian had been deeply moved by the Academy’s excellent atmosphere. He felt inspired to work hard.

[Identity verification complete. Today’s work begins.]

The familiar Warehouse and the prompt appeared almost simultaneously.

[Warning: Leakage Incident]

Naturally, the leak also arrived right on schedule.

[Title: Dust to Dust, Code: 3-1041]

[Today’s tasks updated. Enter the Containment Scenario of 3-1041 and complete the re-containment.]

’Starting with a 3? The difficulty fluctuates quite a bit. Could this be the Warehouse’s disguised way of reminding me to strike a balance between work and rest?’

It was a shame. If it were in the past, he might have entertained such a guess. But having witnessed the evolution of employee benefits, Fu Qian no longer had any expectations for the Warehouse’s moral integrity.

[Consume 1 SAN Value to start?]

[Yes]