Hearing that, countless alpacas stampeded through Jiang Lin’s mind.
Why did it have to be this kind of coincidence?
And why did this guy have to show up at the worst possible time—and bring grilled fish too?!!
Was he really that idle?!
Jiang Lin quickly made up an excuse:
“Ah, eating in the room makes the smell too strong. Cleaning it up later would be a hassle. I’ll bring Little Black out and we can go eat at the cafeteria together.”
Zach seemed to buy it and nodded.
“Is that so? Then let’s eat at the cafeteria.”
He even put away the packaging box in his hand.
Jiang Lin was just about to step out and close the door behind him—
But Zach suddenly said:
“Hey, Jiang Lin, let me check out your single room. I want to see if I should pay to upgrade my place.”
Jiang Lin’s brain started racing. If he refused again, it would look suspicious.
So he moved aside, leaving half the doorway open.
“Sure. Come in, then. My room’s a bit messy—don’t mind it.”
Zach laughed.
“We’re both guys. What’s there to mind?”
He walked in and started looking around.
“Eh, Jiang Lin—have you not slept since you arrived in Clearwater City?”
Seeing the bedding on the bed still not laid out, Zach asked.
Jiang Lin nodded as if it were obvious.
“Of course.”
Zach seemed to relax, nodding with satisfaction.
“Mm. I didn’t slack off after you left either. After the exam ended, I haven’t slept once.”
But then Zach’s nose twitched. He frowned, puzzled, and asked Jiang Lin:
“Hey, Jiang Lin… why is there a familiar fragrance in here?”
Hearing that, Jiang Lin immediately thought, This is bad.
But he still smiled and replied smoothly:
“Oh, that? It’s probably the room’s built-in air purification array formation doing its job. The academy’s purification array formation might smell similar to common aromatherapy.”
“Is that so?”
Zach rubbed his chin.
He turned his back to Jiang Lin, pretending to casually inspect the single dorm, but in reality, he relied on his sharp sense of smell to track down the source.
In the end, he locked onto the big wardrobe in Jiang Lin’s room!
…
Actually, today Zach really had planned to go to Clearwater City for the Saint Brilliance Magic Academy entrance assessment.
But while lining up at the Court of Space, he spotted a familiar figure in front of him—
His crush: the little priest girl Aili!!
After the assessment, he’d gone on a few dates with Aili, and he could clearly feel like success was getting closer and closer.
So a while ago, he suggested they go to Clearwater City together for the entrance assessment.
But she refused, with a perfectly reasonable excuse: she hadn’t finished her breakthrough quest yet, and wouldn’t be able to take the assessment for another month.
It sounded fair, so he accepted it and headed to Clearwater City alone.
Yet what he never expected was that he’d run into her anyway—on the way to Clearwater City!!
And her destination was also Clearwater City.
Zach was instantly devastated.
So the things she said before were just casual excuses. She simply didn’t want to go with him.
Still, Zach was curious. What was she going to Clearwater City for?
What if she really had something urgent come up?
So he used his assassin advantages: hiding in the shadows and tailing her without exposing even a trace of presence.
He followed her all the way into Saint Brilliance Magic Academy.
At that moment, Zach’s heart sank halfway.
So it really was that—she simply didn’t like him.
She’d rather travel all this way alone to take the assessment than go with him.
But he still followed, intending to ask what was going on—what she was trying to do.
What surprised him was that she didn’t go to the admissions office. Instead, she wandered around campus.
And finally, to his shock, she walked straight into the boys’ single dormitory area.
His mind exploded with possibilities.
It would’ve been too obvious to follow her inside, so he waited outside.
But after nearly half an hour, she still showed no sign of coming out.
He panicked.
Thinking about the fact that this was a boys’ single dormitory, and what could happen when a girl goes in… Zach decided he wouldn’t be the kind of simp who just waits outside to hear a few vague sounds.
Then he thought of someone she might know here—
Jiang Lin, his old classmate.
So he asked the dormitory auntie for Jiang Lin’s room number, and that led to what had just happened.
If Jiang Lin didn’t know, then he’d drag him along to “catch them in the act.”
But seeing Jiang Lin’s reaction—especially how he tried to send him away—Zach knew something was off.
So he casually pulled out a sealed box and claimed he’d brought grilled fish, lowering Jiang Lin’s guard so he could get inside and investigate.
And once inside, he became completely certain.
Aili—she was here!!
But seeing Jiang Lin’s bedding still intact, the knot in his chest loosened a little.
At least the worst thing hadn’t happened…
But then again… what if—
No, no, no—what was he thinking?!
In the end, Zach pretended to wander and stopped at Jiang Lin’s wardrobe.
Meanwhile, Jiang Lin watched him the whole time. His instincts screamed that something bad was about to happen.
Sure enough, the next moment, Jiang Lin’s Chronowalker’s Evil Eye showed him Zach’s motion to open the wardrobe door.
No time to think—Jiang Lin dashed forward and grabbed Zach by the wrist.
“Classmate Zach, what are you rummaging through?”
Jiang Lin kept a smile on his face, while wondering whether to hit him with a “great memory erasure spell.”
Zach was shocked that Jiang Lin reacted so fast. He struggled hard—but Jiang Lin’s grip was like iron tongs. There was no escaping.
With strength like Jiang Lin’s… and Aili being such a delicate girl… if—
Zach’s mentality started crumbling.
What he feared most now was opening the wardrobe and seeing Aili inside, disheveled.
But since it had come to this, and he couldn’t break free anyway, Zach decided to fully give up pretending.
“Aili is in your room, right?”
Jiang Lin looked utterly stunned.
How did this guy know?
Then he realized a possibility.
Maybe when Aili came, she happened to run into Zach—and he tailed her.
With Zach’s skills, if he wanted to hide, Aili probably wouldn’t notice.
That would also explain why he just happened to show up at the exact time Aili came to find him.
At this point, there was nothing to hide.
And right then, Jiang Lin’s wardrobe opened by itself.
Aili looked out at the two of them, pitiful and soft.
She greeted them:
“Hiii…”
Zach looked like he was about to cry.
“Aili… can you explain why you were hiding in Jiang Lin’s wardrobe?!”
…
A few minutes later, the three sat facing each other.
“So you’re saying… after entering the God-blessed Land, you ran into an injured Jiang Lin, and because you were worried about his safety, you came here early?”
Zach’s expression was skeptical.
“Then why did you hide in his wardrobe?”
Aili pouted and fidgeted with her fingertips.
“I told you before I’d come later… but I came early, and I was afraid you’d misunderstand…”
Jiang Lin’s face went dark.
If she’d explained earlier, none of this would’ve happened…
But Zach felt a surge of excitement.
She considered my feelings—she really does have me in her heart!!
Just then, someone knocked on Jiang Lin’s door again.
That knock nearly shattered Jiang Lin.
Who now?!
He didn’t open immediately. He looked at the two of them and said:
“You two don’t have anyone else you can’t let see, right? My wardrobe can’t fit two people.”
After a brief silence, both shook their heads.
Only then did Jiang Lin open the door.
Standing outside was a familiar tall figure—
Golden hair, golden eyes: young miss Anya Castrot.
So, a few minutes later, the four old classmates were sitting in Jiang Lin’s room in a neat row.
“Miss Anya Castrot, how did you find my room number?” Jiang Lin asked curiously.
Anya Castrot gave almost the exact same answer as Aili:
She found Nora in class, then asked the dormitory auntie for Jiang Lin’s room number.
Old classmates reunited, naturally they chatted.
The three asked Jiang Lin about life inside Saint Brilliance Magic Academy, and about the assessment content, and so on.
They were about to go out to eat—when the door got knocked again.
Jiang Lin rushed to open it, only to find four geniuses from a neighboring friendly school in Boulder City.
They asked him in confusion:
“Jiang Lin? Why did the dormitory auntie already know we came to find you before we even said anything?”
…
After that, Jiang Lin took everyone out to a restaurant and they had a big meal.
Everyone ate happily; the atmosphere was warm and lively.
Back at the academy, they began the entrance assessment.
Out of the six people besides Aili, everyone passed with excellent results.
In fact, Anya Castrot, Frederick, and Lina Greenwood—each the top student of their respective academy—earned scholarship eligibility.
Among them, Anya Castrot scored the best and had a strong chance at a special scholarship, though the exact distribution would be decided after school started.
Soon it was near sunset, and it was time to part ways.
None of them were short on money, so most chose to take a long-distance teleportation array back home.
But Anya Castrot said her family had businesses here, and she’d likely stay in Clearwater City for the next two months to get familiar with the environment, so she wouldn’t return to Boulder City.
Frederick also had relatives here, so he would stay as well.
As for Aili, she wanted to cultivate in Clearwater City for a while. After finishing the entrance assessment, she’d go back to Boulder City later.
Hearing that, Zach asked where she would stay.
Aili said that since she was already used to not sleeping, it didn’t matter where she stayed—any place to rest was fine.
In fact, even if she stayed at an inn, two months of expenses would still be cheaper than paying 14 gold coins for a round trip.
So around dusk, everyone said their goodbyes one by one.
Jiang Lin got Frederick and Anya Castrot’s addresses in Clearwater City, so he could drop by later if he had time.
Soon everyone left, and before long only Jiang Lin and Aili remained.
Once the others were far away, Aili scooted up beside Jiang Lin again. This time she said nothing—she just clung to him, pouting and poking her fingertips pitifully.
Jiang Lin glanced at her again, the same look as always:
(￢￢)
“Do you have something you want to say?” Jiang Lin asked.
“It’s just… the thing I told you about before… do you think it could work?”
She blinked at him with watery, pleading eyes.
Jiang Lin looked back, silent.
He hadn’t expected her to still not give up.
She was pretty. Not on the “campus belle” level of Anya Castrot, but pretty enough to hook classmates like Zach and “simp #2” into becoming eager, willing fish on her line—so she definitely wasn’t plain-looking.
And compared to Anya Castrot, she clearly understood how to show off her charm.
For example: if Jiang Lin stared at Anya Castrot, she’d stare back and ask if he wanted to fight.
But if the same thing happened with Aili, she’d give a flirtatious look—maybe even blow a kiss.
So Jiang Lin still couldn’t figure out why she insisted on hanging around his dorm.
If this got out, he wouldn’t care, but if Aili wanted to fish for targets, she wouldn’t be able to anymore—and she might even get hit with nasty rumors.
Could she be trying to fish for him using this method?
But after so much time together in Boulder City, she should know he wasn’t someone she could reel in.
Jiang Lin fell into deep thought.
After thinking for a long time and still not understanding her motive, he finally refused:
“Our dormitory is separated by gender. It’s not good for you to stay in the boys’ dorm, and it’ll look bad. Besides, if you end up studying at Saint Brilliance Magic Academy, if people see you, they’ll gossip.”
It was a very solid refusal.
Hearing it, Aili looked disappointed and muttered, “Okay…”
“Then what are you planning to do next?” Jiang Lin asked.
If she truly didn’t have money for an inn, he could help. It wasn’t a big expense for him.
Aili shrugged.
“I suddenly remembered I also have relatives in Clearwater City. My parents told me to go find them after I got here.”
Jiang Lin’s face went dark. So she really didn’t have many truthful sentences in her mouth.
Was this what a “shameless woman” was like?
He’d actually believed her.
“I’ll go tell my relatives, then write my parents a letter to report I’m safe. After that, if I’m free I’ll come find you to hang out.”
Aili said.
But Jiang Lin shook his head.
“I don’t have time to hang out with you. How can you be so complacent? I need time to cultivate.”
Aili’s face went dark too.
“Fine. Then I’ll come cultivate with you.”
She still wouldn’t give up.
Jiang Lin fell silent.
After parting with Aili, Jiang Lin returned to his daily cultivation routine.
Now that he had reached 1st-rank adventurer, he could learn super-tier skills above high-tier skills.
But super-tier skills were more than ten times harder than high-tier skills. To become proficient required an enormous amount of time.
Even in the academy library, there weren’t many super-tier skill books—they had to be borrowed from a Middle Magic Academy.
And the hourly borrowing fee was far higher than before: 10 gold coins per hour.
With all that, very few 1st-rank adventurers learned super-tier skills.
After all, a high-tier skill used skillfully in real combat could be stronger than a super-tier skill used clumsily—especially at the 1st-rank stage.
Jiang Lin had just reached 1st-rank, and he wasn’t in a hurry to learn more skills. His current set was still enough, and could keep up with his combat intensity.
So for now, he focused on leveling.
First, he’d stay in the dorm and raise his level to 20 before worrying about anything else.
Rate on N.U.
