Victor’s mouth hung slightly open as he took in the scene before him.

  Lizbeth averted her gaze, clearly wanting no part in what was happening. Eleanor, on the other hand, was visibly shaking, barely holding back laughter.

  “Ta-da!” Eleanor announced with a grin, gesturing dramatically toward Lillie. “Presenting: Magical Girl Lillie.”

  “M-Mentor!” Lillie squeaked, realizing that Victor had been standing there the whole time. Her cheeks flushed an intense crimson like a tomato, as if she might combust from embarrassment at any moment. “You have come back? Why didn’t you tell Lillie…?”

  Victor pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a weary sigh. “Can someone explain what exactly is going on here?”

  “Well,” Eleanor cleared her throat, still grinning, “she did say she wanted to try something fun, so I showed her a few trends from Earth. You know, the internet you let me access through the Shadowlink Mark…”

  As she continued to speak, Victor began piecing together the situation. It seemed Eleanor had been spending her spare time introducing Lillie to various facets of Earth’s pop culture, including magical girls. She had probably only stepped away briefly to meet him when the twelve dirigibles arrived, which then caused Victor to walk in on… this.

  Maybe granting her unrestricted access to the internet through the Shadowlink Mark hadn’t been the wisest idea, after all, Victor thought while staring at the ceiling in exasperation. Still, despite everything, he couldn’t help but admit—

  It was kind of funny seeing Lillie dressed like that. Oh well…

  “Ahem. Anyway, I will not question what you two are doing,” Victor said, looking at both Eleanor and Lillie. “Besides, it’s also good to have a hobby and have fun.”

  Lillie blinked in surprise. “So… Mentor Victor is not mad at Lillie?” she asked hesitantly, stepping a little closer with timid hope in her voice.

  “Haha! Of course not. Why would I?” Victor gave a small chuckle and reached out, gently patting her head. “It’s good to see you smile. You’ve been through a lot. If dressing up like this helps you relax and feel joy, then by all means, be the magical girl you want to be.”

  Victor was speaking honestly. He had promised to give Lillie a lifetime of peace and happiness, and as her mentor, he would fulfil it to the best of his ability.

  Lillie quickly smiled with joy. “Thank you, Mentor!”

  “Although,” Victor added jokingly with a smirk, “maybe save the transformation sequences for when you’re not being watched.”

  “Eek—!” Lillie immediately covered her face with both hands, practically curling into herself with embarrassment. “L-Lillie didn’t mean to…!”

  Eleanor, unable to hold it in any longer, immediately threw her arms around Lillie. “Aha! You’re so cute! You should’ve seen your face just now! Absolutely priceless!”

  Victor squinted at her. “Don’t you have anything better to do than loiter here, Eleanor?”

  “Whoops! You caught me.” She tapped her head playfully with a grin, then twirled around and headed toward the door. “Catch ya later, then!”

  Lizbeth, trying to suppress her amusement, glanced at Victor with a remark. “Should I schedule a room for her next performance? I’m sure the players would appreciate the entertainment.”

  Victor sighed and shook his head with resignation. “All right. That’s enough teasing. Lillie, get changed when you’re done. I’ll need to talk to you about a few things later.”

  “Yes, sir!” Lillie gave a firm nod.

  With that settled, Victor turned on his heel and made his way back down the hall toward his room. It had been a long, arduous journey, and while part of him desperately wanted to collapse into bed and sleep for a week, there was something more pressing that he needed to check first — the main missions’ rewards. After everything he had accomplished, it was time to see what the System had in store for him.

  As Victor entered his office, before he could do anything, something small hugged the back of his head.

  “Master!” Lizbeth’s voice could be heard from behind him.

  “Did you miss me again?” Victor joked.

  “Is it wrong for a fairy to miss her master?” She tilted her head.

  “Well, no…” Lizbeth had been his very first friend ever since he regained his past life memory, so it would be a lie to say that Victor didn’t treasure her.

  After appeasing Lizbeth, Victor opened the academy’s main page through his Master Shadowlink Mark.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Academy Name: Sanctum of Interdimensional Magi

  Headmaster: Victor Asteriscus

  Academy Points: 20920

  Academy Grade: Level 4

  Total Acolytes: 1917/2000

  Total Professors: 1/2

  Total Assistant Professors: 9/8

  Progression Value: 1810/2000

  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

  …

  “Nice.”

  It had been a little over two weeks since he had returned to his homeland, and much had changed at the academy. It was just a little bit away before the academy leveled up.

  Still, what caught his eye the most was the massive total of 20,920 AP that had accumulated over this time. With this many academy points, I wonder how many Nexus Temporal lootboxes I can pull…

  A gleam of anticipation flickered in his eyes. But that wasn’t all, just when Victor returned, the System had issued a new notification following the successful migration of the Asteriscus family.

  [Mission Accomplished!]

  [Congratulations on passing the mission. You have successfully migrated your whole family to the Thornwood Forest.]

  [The reward (deeper insights into the Omni-Elemental Fusion Method) has been issued.]

  “All right, it’s time to pull the Nexus Temporal lootbox reward,” Victor muttered with a grin as he descended into the underground basement alone.

  Standing before the Nexus Beacon, he could already feel his pulse quicken. It had been far too long since his last gacha pull, and he liked to think that his luck had been building up in the meantime. If there was ever a moment for a jackpot, it was now. Without hesitation, he claimed the reward from the mission, valued at a whopping 4,000 AP — the largest pull he had so far.

  To prepare himself, Victor played a short gacha ritual video on the side to bolster his luck. Even though it was ridiculous, it helped him focus.

  With a deep breath, he tapped the confirmation button. Immediately, the Nexus Beacon responded with dancing magical symbols. Then, with a flash, the lootbox materialized before him, suspended in the air with an elegant design. This one was unlike any lootbox he’d pulled before. Gold filigree coiled across its surface, and it was embedded with radiant gems. Even before opening it, Victor could sense that the reward alone would be invaluable for his next breakthrough.

  With a heart full of anticipation, Victor carefully reached out and opened the lootbox. Light spilled from within, bathing the entire basement in a blinding brilliance as it revealed its content.

  When the light faded, a small, oddly shaped item floated before him. It looked like a fragment of a cube, looking polished and metallic. In fact, it almost resembled a strange puzzle piece.

  “…A Rubik's piece?” Victor muttered flatly.

  He reached out and took it in his hand, rotating it between his fingers. The piece exuded a faint mana fluctuation, but nothing remotely close to what he expected from a Nexus Temporal lootbox.

  “This is it? A puzzle scrap?” he said, feeling his excitement rapidly drain away. “What a joke. All that buildup for… a chunk of junk?”

  He sighed and opened the item’s description to check.

  Cosmic Rubik’s Piece (1/4)

  A fragment of an ancient, esoteric magic artifact rumored to originate from the forgotten stars beyond the astral space. Though incomplete, this piece pulses faintly with cosmic energy, as if yearning to rejoin its other parts.

  Rank: Incomplete magic artifact (requires additional pieces to unseal full potential)

  Victor frowned. So, it’s one of those multi-part artifacts...

  It was a bit disappointing, sure, but it wasn’t all that bad. Even on its own, the piece exuded a subtle, otherworldly magic that was far from ordinary. If it really was part of a larger construct, then the full artifact might be something truly exceptional.

  He glanced at his remaining academy points. With over 20,000 AP, he could afford to take the gamble. The System clearly wants me to complete it. Fine. Let’s keep going.

  If each pull would add another fragment, then he would have a complete magic artifact that was possibly beyond the low grade, maybe even a mid-grade magic artifact that only Sigil Conversion and above Magi would have!

  Determined, Victor selected three pulls of the [Nexus Temporal Lootbox (4,000 AP)], spending a total of 12,000 AP in one go. The basement’s lighting lit up as magical symbols came out from the Nexus Beacon and spiraled through the chamber, swirling around him in a radiant dance.

  The first lootbox soon shimmered into being, and Victor opened it without hesitation.

  Cosmic Rubik's Piece (2/4)

  Another shimmering piece materialized beside the first, the two fragments resonating faintly as if magnetized by an unseen force. Victor put them together, and the pieces clicked seamlessly into place. The resulting fluctuation of mana from the combined piece intensified sharply, almost equaling that of a low-grade magic artifact, despite being incomplete.

  Victor’s anticipation rose as the second box hovered before him, and he quickly opened it. But instead of another Rubik’s piece, what appeared was something else. It was a single vial containing a swirling mixture of gold and black mana liquid, suspended in a jade crystal casing.

  Bottled Mana of a Fallen Magus

  A sealed sample of the thick mana once belonging to a long-forgotten Magus who perished in the pursuit of power. Can temporarily grant insight into a unique, ancient spell. One-time use.

  Victor’s expression instantly stiffened. “What?! This can’t be…”

  It wasn’t a bad item by any means, but it wasn’t what he was looking for. And he couldn’t help but wonder if this was truly worthy of a Nexus Temporal lootbox.

  “Calm down, me. There’s still one more.” Victor let out a breath, collecting his thoughts. A gamble’s still a gamble, he reminded himself. Not every pull will be a jackpot.

  There was, after all, still one more lootbox. Even if he ended up with just three pieces of the Rubik artifact, it would already be more than worth the 12,000 AP he’d spent. A three-piece partial artifact of that level could still rival most low-grade magic artifacts used by Nexus Temporal Magi.

  Unfortunately, the last lootbox would disappoint him once again. Rather than the third Rubik piece, what he got was actually a spell book — a Gimmel-tier spell book.

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