Saul had already flown to the position Penny indicated, but there were no visible people in sight.
âTheyâre hiding.â
Saul landed on the ground.
âYou flew over so conspicuouslyânormal people would first hide and observe, right?â Penny complained from within the diary.
Just as Saul and Penny were bantering, a thin black shadow suddenly rushed toward Saul from a crack in the wall.
âMeow!!!!!!â
âMeowââ
Saul casually waved his hand, sweeping the black shadow back against the wall.
The shadow hit the wall, letting out a shrill cat cry.
âItâs actually a cat?â Herman said incredulously. âA cat dared to attack you?â
âHehe, has it been driven mad by pollution radiation?â
âOrâŠâ Saul stepped forward and planted his foot on the dirty cat that had slid from the wall to the ground. âIs this exactly what you want me to misunderstand?â
âAh, it hurts, it hurts! I was wrong, wrong, wrong!â
The little cat spoke, actually uttering human words.
âEh? Is it actually an intelligent demonic creature?â Penny said in surprise.
She rarely encountered intelligent demonic creatures.
Although Little Algae had intelligence, it wasnât much.
So seeing this talking cat, Penny was still very curious.
She even wanted to keep the cat as a pet.
âNo.â But Saul shattered her dream. âItâs a wizard.â
âHuh?â
Penny knew some wizards could transform into animals, but that was generally short-term transformation or illusion.
But the cat before them had already been beaten to this state by Saul yet still hadnât changed back to original formâtruly amazing!
She became even more interested.
Saul looked down at the orange cat playing dead under his foot. âThis is my first time seeing a wizard completely transformed into an animal. I really want to take it back for dissection.â
âNo, no, no, no, no!â The cat on the ground was so scared its fur stood on end.
At this time, more footsteps approached, and the second living person who had been hiding nearby finally appeared.
âSorry, sir. We didnât intentionally attack you. Itâs mainly that dangerous people appear here from time to time, so we need to confirm visitorsâ identities and purposes.â
Saul looked up and saw a man with a face full of graying beard walk out from the shadows.
Saulâs gaze swept across the otherâs face.
Although this manâs hair and beard were already graying, the skin on his face looked like that of a middle-aged man, without too much sagging or wrinkles.
His gaze then fell on the otherâs shoulder, seeing an existence like a slime monster huddled on the manâs shoulder.
The white-bearded man had been watching Saulâs line of sight, and when he noticed him looking at his shoulder, the muscles in his back tensed.
âHe can discover my symbiotic sprite?â
Seeing the wariness of the man across from him, Saul seemingly casually looked away.
Then he bent down and picked up the cat under his foot.
âAttack was a test, feigning injury was a test. May I ask if your testing is finished?â
Saul casually tossed the cat away. âA second-rank wizard still disguising as first-rank magical power fluctuationsâis this your third test?â
The tossed cat flipped in mid-air and landed steadily on all fours.
But then it slowly straightened its upper body and clasped its hands in front of its chest. âSorry, this place is really too dangerous. Weâre also acting out of self-preservation.â
After this dirty orange cat clapped its hands, the dust on its body was cleaned completely, and a red jacket appeared on it.
âBut we can consider this an opportunity to get acquainted. Your strength is formidable, your mental power quite sharp. Among the second-rank wizards Iâve seen, youâre quite powerful. If you donât mind the little misunderstanding just now, letâs cooperate.â
Saul smiled slightly. âCooperate on what?â
The catâs expression froze, and it looked back at the white-bearded man.
White Beard took over, âSince weâve reached this point, we wonât hide anything. The dean of Bayton Academy has gone madâthis has already spread in small circles. The second-rank wizards who came here are basically all for his door-opening method.â
âDoor-opening method?â This was the first time Saul had heard of this.
The orange cat stared with round eyes. âDonât tell me youâre just simply passing through. Itâs spreading among second-rank wizards now that Bayton Academyâs dean went mad because he tried to open doors but failed. We entered the inner city that Caugust sealed off precisely to obtain their deanâs method for pushing open the inner door, right?â
Saul slightly raised his eyebrows, his pupils contracting, showing a look of surprise while trying to restrain that surprise.
âThen why do you two want to cooperate with me? If you canât give a convincing reason, I can only consider this the fourth test.â
The orange cat seemed not to expect Saul to be so difficult and couldnât help but âmeowâ once.
The white beard beside him proactively said, âActually the reason is simple. You probably havenât been to the current Bayton Academy yet, right? If youâd been there, youâd know a massive tree with a diameter of over a hundred meters has appeared there.â
Saulâs first reaction upon hearing this was disbelief.
After all, a giant tree with a diameter of over a hundred metersâhe would definitely be able to see it from this position. But when he looked toward Bayton Academy now, he could only see the academyâs walls.
Those walls werenât very tall either, less than three metersâthey couldnât possibly hide a big tree.
The orange cat waved its two paws frantically. âThatâs not a big tree, itâs a big tree stump! It only rises two meters above ground level, then itâs like it was cut in half by an even more massive axe.â
The white beardâs mouth hidden under thick whiskers curved upward. âYes, itâs a broken tree, but whatâs truly terrifying are actually its roots. Each of those roots has strength approaching that of a true wizard. Even if they canât kill us, they can still prevent us from entering Bayton Academy. We two have already tried several times and keep being blocked outside. Now that weâve finally met someone of considerable strength like yourself, we naturally want to cooperate.â
The orange cat jumped up and down. âIf you still donât believe us, you can go look at Bayton Academy yourself first. But I should warn youâonce you cross the wall, youâll immediately be attacked by tree roots.â
âNo need,â Saul said after thinking for a moment. âFor something that can be easily verified as true or false, you presumably have no need to lie. So if we cooperate, what do we need to do? And what countermeasures do you have for entering Bayton Academy to find the door-opening method?â
This question directly silenced the two across from him.
Seeing this, he asked incredulously, âYou donât mean to tell me you have no battle plan whatsoever?â
The orange cat jumped up. âItâs really that there are too many of those tree roots. Weâve tried other methods too, but they all failed in the end.â
âThat tree stump is very likely a third-rank demonic creature. To enter Bayton Academy, thereâs no way to take shortcutsâwe can only force our way through. Cat Wizard and I are a bit lacking, but adding you should be enough to get in.â
Perhaps fearing Saul still wouldnât believe them, the orange cat pulled out a black stone from its jacket pocket.
A recording stone.
âThis contains footage we specifically recorded to review our previous battles. You can examine it. Of course, if you could also find a better attack route, that would be even more perfect!â
(End of Chapter)
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