Lizbeth’s lips curled into a mischievous smile as she fluttered toward his side. “I’ve compiled all the important points that need to be addressed in the next patch. Here, let me show you.”
With a flick of her tiny fingers, she conjured a floating projection and slid it into place before Victor’s eyes. Several important matters were listed and marked clearly. Among them, there was one in particular that stood out, which was a revision to the current guidelines. At this point, players seeking a more “sexual” relationship, whether with other players or NPCs, could no longer be outright prohibited. After all, some of them were already partners back on Earth, and Victor couldn’t realistically deny them that freedom forever.
Of course, many rules and regulations still had to be enforced, such as players being required to take full responsibility for their actions and forbidden from violating Earth’s common laws and human rights. Moreover, they would be limited to maintaining only one relationship at a time, ensuring that they treated “NPCs” with greater seriousness. And should any player deliberately attempt to break the guidelines, the Shadowlink Mark could immediately seize control of their body.
As Victor read through the screen, mentally weighing priorities for the update, he realized something. “But wait, the academy’s about to level up, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it make more sense to hold off until then before releasing the update patch?”
“That’s a good idea, Master.” Lizbeth nodded in agreement, already perched lightly on Victor’s shoulder.
Activating the Master Shadowlink Mark, Victor accessed the academy’s main tab.
Academy Name: Sanctum of Interdimensional Magi
Headmaster: Victor Asteriscus
Academy Points: 33,920
Academy Grade: Level 5
Total Acolytes: 4,837/5,000
Total Professors: 7/5
Total Assistant Professors: 40/20
Progression Value: 4,840/5,000
So close! At this pace, the remaining criteria should be completed in three— no, two days at most!
If the academy leveled up to level six, it would unlock another System building known as “Mystical Dungeons.” Just from the name alone, Victor could imagine what sort of building it was, including its purpose and features. It would most likely serve as an artificial dungeon or battlefield, where players could venture in and slay monsters and magical beasts. Whether they could obtain loot inside, however, remained uncertain until the academy actually leveled up.
Still, this update patch promised a wealth of new content that players would find exhilarating. Not much time had passed since the last update, and yet another “storyline” was already on the horizon. If that didn’t count as the developers’ relentless effort, Victor had no idea what would be. After all, he intended to make this update patch the transition to the open beta phase.
On a side note, Victor had already updated Eleanor’s role to professor now that she had advanced to Elemental Adept Magus. As for Valeria, she still hadn’t returned to the academy, which meant her experiment was far from finished.
Shaking his head, Victor’s thoughts wandered a bit to his magical mount: Lumen. It had been a couple of months since he last saw her. Actually, during the war against the Merlin family, Lumen had taken part, aiding the players in hunting down the scattered remnants of their forces. Yet Victor himself hadn’t caught sight of her then — he had been too occupied battling Alphonse.
As her master, Victor could still sense the magical beast’s mana signature. It pulsed faintly from deep within the northern forests, far beyond the regions players ever dared to tread. What was more, her mana was steadily growing stronger by the day, already brushing against the threshold of the Nexus Temporal rank.
“The north, huh…” Victor murmured. If he were to go to the north past the Thornwood Forest, he would reach the borderlands between this kingdom, the Luminos Kingdom, and the Demornial Kingdom. But that route was perilous — fraught with volatile supernatural phenomena. Only Magi above the Elemental Adept rank could cross safely. Anyone weaker would perish before they even realized what had struck them.
It serves as a natural barrier… shielding the academy from a sudden incursion by the Demornial Kingdom and the Magus forces supporting it… Victor thought.
Aside from Lumen, Victor occasionally checked in on Silken. She had now grown to the size of the queen spider he had once fought, commanding hundreds of Lesser Hiveborne Arachnids under her brood. He had tasked her and her offspring with scouring the entirety of Thornwood Forest, mapping out anything the players had overlooked and missed, from hidden resources and magical beast nests to ancient ruins, while also keeping watch for any signs of supernatural phenomena.
Since Victor believed the players could handle the Merlin family invasion, he hadn’t summoned Silken to take part. However, the corpses of the invaders were mostly handed over to her and her brood, allowing them to multiply further instead of being converted into points in the essence converter.
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Speaking of which, Victor recalled the five Elemental Adept Magi who had been captured during the Merlin family’s invasion. In addition, there were also Gardacle and Maverick, who were still confined within the Asteriscus Manor, with the former nearly executed for treason against the family. But Victor had stopped it from happening at the very last moment.
His decision, obviously, had nothing to do with benevolence or pity. In truth, Victor always adhered to the principle of keeping friends close but keeping enemies even closer. So far, they hadn’t been able to stir up trouble, watched closely as they were by the Asteriscus elders and restrained by the subordinate Shadowlink Marks.
“By the way, Master. The Spell Generator program has finished upgrading the spell model you requested to Bet tier,” Lizbeth remarked from the side. “This one really ranked among the longest to generate.”
“Speak of the devil.”
The spell model Lizbeth referred to was {Mind Programming}. Drawing upon the citadel’s near-limitless knowledge of mental manipulation, Victor had managed to elevate the spell to Bet tier. With it, he could now exert control even over Elemental Adept Magi. Combined with his strength as a Nexus Temporal Magus, this was now a trivial feat.
“All right then. Since I have a couple of days to spare, let’s use them to expand the academy’s roster of professors, shall we?” Victor grinned darkly, steepling his hands.
“Here you go again with that look, Master,” Lizbeth remarked. “If I weren’t your number one supporter, anyone else would have bolted by now.”
“Oh, shut up, you.”
[Congratulations, the academy grade has leveled up to level 6!]
[Requirements for total acolytes and progression value points have increased to 10000.]
[Mystical Dungeons is now available.]
Two days slipped by in a flash, and when the day’s new batch of players emerged from the Nexus Tower, the academy leveled up. Without delay, Victor opened the academy’s main tab.
Academy Name: Sanctum of Interdimensional Magi
Headmaster: Victor Asteriscus
Academy Points: 33,920
Academy Grade: Level 6
Total Acolytes: 5,033/10,000
Total Dean: 0/1
Total Professors: 14/10
Total Assistant Professors: 40/50
Progression Value: 5,010/10,000
Level 1 Academy Grade: Level-1 Nexus Tower, 1:1 time
Level 2 Academy Grade: Level-1 Nexus Tower, Magic Botanical Garden, 1:1 time
Level 3 Academy Grade: Level-2 Nexus Tower, Magic Botanical Garden, Alchemical Hall, 2:1 time
Level 4 Academy Grade: Level-2 Nexus Tower, Magic Botanical Garden, Alchemical Hall, Artificer Hall, 2:1 time
Level 5 Academy Grade: Level-3 Nexus Tower, Magic Botanical Garden, Alchemical Hall, Artificer Hall, Virtual Combat Chamber, 4:1 time
Level 6 Academy Grade: Level-3 Nexus Tower, Magic Botanical Garden, Alchemical Hall, Artificer Hall, Virtual Combat Chamber, Mystical Dungeons, 4:1 time
Level 7 Academy Grade: Level-4 Nexus Tower, Magic Botanical Garden, Alchemical Hall, Artificer Hall, Virtual Combat Chamber, Mystical Dungeons, Nexus Gate, 8:1 time
Level 8 Academy Grade: Level-4 Nexus Tower, Magic Botanical Garden, Alchemical Hall, Artificer Hall, Virtual Combat Chamber, Mystical Dungeons, Nexus Gate, Astral Observatory, 8:1 time
…
Hmm, what’s this? Total dean? Victor tapped on it to check, and it turned out that eligibility for the dean position required being at least a Nexus Temporal Magus. For now, Valeria could fill that role, and he doubted it would be long before she relocated here.
As a matter of fact, Victor had gotten some news from her that she would be moving in within a month, as her long-running experiment was nearing completion. That meant she could be incorporated into the update patch right after the one he was about to implement.
“Liz,” Victor instructed, “give the maintenance notification to the players so they log out in safe locations.”
“Sure…” she replied, though her gaze lingered on him with a questioning look. “But Master, is logging out really necessary anymore? At this point, it’s becoming more of an inconvenience than a safeguard. With the player base growing so quickly, it’s hard to manage. And after all, it’s not like we can freeze the lives of the real people in Seraphia.”
“Hrm… now that you mention it,” Victor muttered, rubbing his chin.
Back when the players were confined strictly to the academy grounds or nearby settlements such as the village, and their numbers were relatively small, calling for “maintenance” had been a simple precaution. It allowed Victor to manage updates in peace, keep the players from interrupting his preparations, and preserve the illusion that this was still a conventional game. But now, with thousands spread across the village, the city, the academy, and even the forest, the command had become clumsy and disruptive. Each forced logout carried risks — not only of inconvenience, but also of leaving the academy vulnerable at critical moments. Essentially, it was unproductive.
The reality was that the academy’s domain had already gained a momentum of its own. The players were deeply entangled in its workings and halting them all at once felt less natural than simply letting events unfold. Worse still, the practice could draw unwanted suspicion from outsiders. Both the people and the Magus forces Victor remained wary of might begin to question why such interruptions occurred at all.
“Perhaps we should consider phasing out forced logouts altogether,” he said at last. “And introduce this maintenance without logging out as a new cutting-edge feature. That way, we accomplish two things with a single move, don’t we?”
“Really, Master? How can you be so shameless?” Lizbeth pretended to snort in front of him, but then she chuckled. “Though I can’t agree more, hehe.”
Victor smirked faintly at her reaction. Shameless or not, he had long since understood that presentation mattered as much as substance. If the players believed the new “seamless maintenance” was an innovation, then it would become exactly that.
“All right, then. I’ll start upgrading the System buildings first since there’s plenty of AP to spare. Care to join me?” Victor asked.
“Mhm, of course.” The fairy gave a small nod, her wings fluttering. “I’ll also take care of the announcement.”
“Great. Let’s go.”
And so, the two of them set off together, making their way around the academy grounds.
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