Ryan rubbed his chin, his gaze sweeping across the mission board in the Mission Hall as he gradually sank into thought.

  The missions posted on the board were all centered on the Northern Border Icefield.

  Clearing out dark creatures roaming the icefield, escorting caravans through dangerous frozen terrain, investigating unusual disturbances in the icefield.

  Not a single mission involved the Central Continent.

  That meant he had no chance to head to the Central Continent under the pretext of a training mission at all. Ryan frowned, calculating silently in his mind.

  He reviewed the mission board several times over, and in the end selected a task marked as hunting a snow demon at the fifth level of Senior Mage and bringing back its core.

  The reason for choosing this mission was simple. The time limit was long enough to allow him to detour to the Central Continent to handle his own business before returning.

  The snow demon's strength was within a range he could handle. With his combat experience, dealing with it would not be difficult.

  Ryan raised his hand and tore down the scroll bearing the snow demon mission.

  The moment he did so, the apprentices around him who had been browsing their own missions all turned their gazes toward him at once.

  One of them could not help stepping forward and offering a warning."With your Journeyman Mage level, you might find it hard to deal with that snow demon."

  "It has entrenched itself in the Northern Border Icefield for many years and is extremely vicious. Quite a few Senior Mages have fallen at its hands."

  Ryan spoke with certainty, a confident curve forming at the corner of his mouth."I never fight a battle I am not sure I can win. This mission is one I am confident I can complete."

  "Since you are so sure of yourself, I will not try to persuade you further." Seeing his firm attitude, she stopped meddling.

  Someone personally brought back to the academy by the Headmistress and taken on as an apprentice was unlikely to be an ordinary figure.

  But her next question left Ryan completely speechless.

  "The fragrance on you is quite special. What kind of purification wash did you use?"

  Ryan instantly fell silent. He himself had no idea what rare flowers Evelyn had used to refine that purification liquid.

  "This is my natural body scent. I was born with it." Unable to come up with a reasonable explanation, Ryan forced himself to say this under her surprised gaze.

  "So that is how it is." The female apprentice clearly did not fully believe him, but seeing that Ryan was unwilling to elaborate, she tactfully refrained from further questioning, nodded, and turned to leave.

  In fact, although apprentices at Glacial Arcana Academy studied ice magic that required a calm and detached mindset and discouraged emotional entanglements, that did not stop them from pursuing refinement.

  Many female apprentices took advantage of their training missions outside the academy to search for fragrant flowers, bringing them back to be processed with special magic into bathing oils, which they used every few days.

  After all, what girl does not want to smell pleasant?

  Seeing that the apprentice no longer pressed the matter, Ryan let out a sigh of relief. He then turned and walked deeper into the Mission Hall, stopping in front of the desk of the elder responsible for mission registration. He placed the mission scroll onto the table.

  The female elder, who was busy handling other registrations, took the scroll without lifting her head, picked up a pen, and swiftly signed a mission number onto it.

  "Keep it safe," she said while continuing to write.

  "After completing the mission, bring this scroll and the snow demon core back. You can exchange them for the corresponding reward here."

  She paused and added,"The time limit is one hundred days. If you do not return to submit the mission within one hundred days, this mission scroll will be reposted on the board for other apprentices to accept."

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  "Of course, if you have already completed the mission but fail to return in time, and another apprentice later accepts the mission and discovers that the snow demon has already been dealt with, the mission will be marked as completed directly and will not be reposted."

  She set down her pen, raised her head, and handed the mission scroll back to Ryan.

  However, the moment her eyes landed on Ryan's face, her movement abruptly stopped, and she froze in place.

  "Thank you." Ryan snatched up the registered mission scroll and turned to leave without looking back, leaving her frozen in place, her gaze fixed on his departing figure, full of astonishment.

  "You're a Journeyman Mage. Are you really sure you can complete this mission?" she called loudly toward the door once she snapped out of her shock.

  She had been stunned, not by Ryan's appearance, but by the sheer audacity of this Journeyman Mage. To dare take on a mission requiring the defeat of a snow demon at the Senior Mage level, this was utterly reckless!

  "I am confident I can kill the snow demon. No need to persuade me. Wait for my triumphant return!" Ryan stood outside the Mission Hall, tightly clutching the scroll in his hand.

  Cold snowflakes drifted onto his head and shoulders, and paired with his resolute tone, there was a tragic sense of heading to the battlefield.

  She rolled her eyes dramatically and said without restraint,"I wasn't trying to persuade you. I just doubt your abilities. Don't die, or there won't even be anyone left to collect your body!"

  Ryan's mouth twitched violently. The tragic atmosphere he had been creating was completely ruined by her one sentence.

  "Why don't we make a bet?" Ryan's eyes gleamed as he called toward the room."A bet on whether I'll survive this mission."

  "The academy rules explicitly forbid gambling. Violators will be thrown into the dungeon and made to reflect on their actions for three months," came the reply.

  "Fine then." Ryan pouted slightly.

  "Look at this counter piled high with mission scrolls. You must be exhausted from all the work, right? Unlike me, about to head out for training. How free I feel."

  As he spoke, he stretched lazily and yawned, letting out a deliberately satisfied sigh, his tone full of teasing.

  "Get lost!" The female elder's veins bulged in frustration. She slammed the counter, wishing she could just draw her weapon and charge out to strike him.

  Seeing the situation turn sour, Ryan didn't dare linger. Laughing heartily, he turned and ran, his steps racing toward the academy gate.

  After wandering around Glacial Arcana Academy these past few days, Ryan was not entirely clueless. At least he had figured out the location of the academy gate.

  "Senior sisters and junior sisters! I'm leaving. No need to worry about me!" Standing in front of the academy gate, Ryan shouted to the passing apprentices.

  Some female apprentices who were about to go out or had just returned were startled by the sudden shout, shivering slightly and turning to look. They muttered to themselves, thinking, How flamboyant is he? And his voice is way too loud!

  "Don't leave! I'll see you off!" A female voice, full of anger, suddenly rang out.

  A female apprentice was speeding toward him from afar, her aura fierce. She was clearly one whom Ryan had offended earlier.

  Ryan's expression changed. Without hesitation, he activated his magic and blurred into a residual image.

  "Farewell." Ryan's laughter carried a trace of triumph as he sped away, gradually disappearing into the vast wind and snow.

  ...

  Evelyn and the three senior elders watched Ryan's figure disappear into the distance.

  The observation mirror projected a clear image of the scene below, even showing Ryan hopping and dodging as he tried to evade the pursuing senior sisters.

  "Mora, you will act as his protector," Maelira spoke first, her gaze falling on Mora.

  "Why don't you go yourself? According to the academy's rules, an Archmage is usually sent as a protector. Isn't having an Archmage enough?"

  Mora looked displeased, her brow furrowed. She and the other two senior elders had been running the academy for years and had long stopped personally acting as protectors for apprentices.

  Normally, when apprentices went out for training and needed protection, an Archmage under their command would be assigned.

  "This boy has the potential of a Grand Magus. He deserves for you to personally accompany him," Maelira said firmly, speaking with reason and a trace of admiration for the talent.

  But Mora was no fool. She would not be persuaded by a single sentence."If that's the case, why don't you go? Your magic is deeper and more stable than mine."

  "I will go!" Evelyn, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.

  "No!" The moment Evelyn's words left her mouth, the three senior elders shouted in unison, urgently stopping her. Evelyn, as Headmistress, could not leave the academy lightly.

  Over the next while, the three elders took turns reasoning, explaining rules, and even subtly applying moral pressure. In the end, Mora reluctantly accepted the task, persuaded by a mixture of logic and emotional appeal.

  "Keep a close watch on him."

  As Mora prepared to depart, Evelyn suddenly added,"An apprentice with the potential of a Grand Magus appears once in a century."

  Hearing this, the three senior elders clearly sensed the deeper meaning in Evelyn's words.

  Even without the reminder, she would undoubtedly take care of Ryan, as he was a once-in-a-century genius.

  Evelyn, knowing Mora would take him seriously, still felt the need to emphasize it. This excessive concern was undeniably unusual.

  Although Evelyn used the excuse of his Grand Magus potential, the three senior elders couldn't help but sense that something was off.

  The Headmistress's heart was completely invested in this boy. What would they do about that?

  Once Mora's figure vanished into the snowstorm, Maelira and Elara looked at Evelyn's back, uneasy. They quickly stepped forward to urge,"Headmistress, it's time to return to Holy Ice Hall."

  After a long moment, Evelyn responded faintly and turned, flying toward Holy Ice Hall.

  "Maelira, the Headmistress is acting stranger and stranger," Elara said first, her tone filled with concern.

  "There's nothing we can do about it," Maelira replied with a heavy sigh, her tone filled with helplessness.

  "Do you think we should just kill that boy? He is a genius with Grand Magus potential. Killing him would be a loss to the academy," Elara said, her own sigh echoing in the empty space.