From this moment on, Owen's status became equal to theirs; he was no longer just the top student but the new school dean. In fact, Owen's position as school dean was worth more than all of theirs combined.
The deans of the four elemental disciplines, at most, could excel in their specialized fields, but Owen?
He had mastered and thoroughly understood Variant Magic, Ascension Magic, Demotion Magic, and even Dimension Magic. He could teach far more than they could.
"Anyway, congratulations, Owen. It's impressive that you've become a master-tier level 5 mage at such a young age. The younger generation is truly formidable," Duncan said, smiling with a mix of sincerity and insincerity.
Owen barely managed a smile in response. This old Duncan was no good, and no one understood that better than Owen.
On the surface, Duncan appeared to be diligent in his studies, spending more than half of his time in the laboratory.
But Owen knew the truth. In the original story, this old Duncan later created many horrific and inhumane spells.
To research the scroll John gave him, Duncan dismembered dozens of gnomes.
Later, in his pursuit of god-tier magic, he even drained the mana from his own students.
The former chief of the academy, who was also John's father, was Duncan's student, inheriting the same dark tendencies.
Leaving someone like him in the academy would only spell disaster in the future.
However, for now, Duncan still had considerable influence in the academy, and Owen couldn't just eliminate him without cause or evidence.
"Duncan, you're too kind. I was just lucky to gain some opportunities in the Tower. I can't compare myself to you or the other mentors and school deans. I'm still young and, although I've founded a school, I lack experience. I'll need your guidance and support."
Owen's words were impeccably polite and humble, and Duncan repeatedly praised him in return. But Duncan didn't believe a single word.
Just as he was hypocritical and gloomy by nature, Duncan was also not someone who would easily trust others.
"Since no one has any objections, let's settle this matter. As for the location of the school, I'll determine that as soon as possible and begin construction. I want it ready before the new students arrive. As for the name..."
Catalina turned to Owen with a smile and said, "Since you're the school dean, why don't you name it yourself?"
"Me? Mentor, please don't make things difficult for me. You know my naming skills aren't exactly great..."
"No problem, take your time to think about it. Let's adjourn the meeting. Everyone else may leave. Owen, you stay behind."
Owen wasn't surprised by this.
From the moment they walked in, he sensed that the mentor had something to discuss with him.
Once everyone had left, Owen got straight to the point, "Mentor, what do you want to talk about?"
"It's about the next top student. Now that you've become the school dean, the academy needs a new top student. Owen, who do you favor?"
"...If I were to nominate a few people, Andrew, Farm, Trisha, and Glena are all excellent candidates. They're members of the student council, and their abilities aren't bad. But... none of them are really suitable for the position of top student."
"Your thoughts align with mine. Andrew is loyal and brave but lacks insight. He's good at following rules but isn't great at adapting to unexpected situations. Fal is too arrogant and doesn't have the absolute strength to back it up. Making him the top student would likely cause public resentment. As for Trisha and Glena, they don't have any character flaws, but their abilities aren't strong enough to take on the role."
Catalina's expression grew more somber as she spoke.
"Crossbridge Academy truly seems to lack successors... Owen, the choice of top student must be made carefully. It concerns the dignity of the entire Crossbridge Academy. So, I wonder if we should broaden our search beyond the current students. With the incoming freshmen, Owen, I need you to find a highly talented individual and personally mentor them. It doesn't matter if there aren't obvious results in one or two years. What's most important is that this person must be capable of leading Crossbridge Academy after you. I'm counting on you for this."
"I understand, mentor. I'll give it careful consideration."
The selection of a new top student was indeed a difficult issue. Catalina had thought long and hard but couldn't come up with a suitable candidate, causing her much frustration.
After all, once it was announced that Owen had become the school dean, the next Starlight Duel Tournament would definitely take place on schedule, if not sooner.
The other academies would want to know if Crossbridge Academy had anyone who could carry the banner after Owen.
One year, two years, even three years—they could afford to lose, but after three years, if they were still losing, it would be unacceptable to Catalina and the entire academy.
"There's one more thing, Owen. Within the next month, I want to see results from the new school. Not everyone supports this decision, and if you can't show results quickly, many who have long harbored dissatisfaction might voice their discontent, including Vice Headmaster Duncan, who has always had reservations about this matter. So... the initial funding might be a bit tricky."
"I understand, mentor. It's a tough task, indeed."
Owen rubbed his temples. After exchanging a few more words with Catalina, he left the headmaster's office.
When he returned to the Chief Mansion, he found Elaine moving things around. Owen approached to see that Elaine had bought a lot of expensive furniture and was redecorating her room.
But the problem was... soon, maybe tomorrow, maybe even today, the mentor would announce that Owen had become the school dean, and he would have to move out of the Chief Mansion. Didn't Elaine know this?
"Elaine, what are you doing...?"
"Ah! Owen, you're back! I brought some furniture from my family to decorate my room. If you like any of it, I can give it to you!"
"There's no need for that, but I'm no longer going to be the top student. Once the school is established, I'll be the school dean, so I'll have to move out of the Chief Mansion."
Elaine's eyes widened in surprise at this.
"Then what will I do with all these things?"
"You'll have to move them out for now..."
"There's no need for that, Master Owen. The headmaster just issued a notice—we don't have to move."
Just then, Fiona walked over and handed a document to Owen.
The document not only announced that Owen would be establishing a new school but also officially renamed the Chief Mansion as the school dean's office and residence, effectively assigning it to Owen.
The language of the document was full of affection and favoritism towards Owen.
As for the new Chief Mansion? Since there was no new top student yet, it wasn't a pressing concern.
"The mentor really thought of everything, even these details. Well, then, there's no problem. Let's move in quickly and have dinner."
...
After dinner, Owen, as usual, spent some time in the courtyard before returning to his room. After a quick wash, he changed into his robe and started reading.
Just as Owen was about to rest, a knock came at the door. He removed his glasses and looked up.
"Come in."
"O-Owen..."
Elaine peeked her head through the slightly opened door, glancing around before fully entering the room.
"Owen, you're still up?"
"I was just about to go to bed, just reading a bit."
Owen closed the book and set it aside, then asked, "Elaine, is something on your mind?"
"Well... yes, actually. What book were you reading? 'How to Be a Good Mentor'? Haha! Owen, I can't believe you read things like this!"
"Preparing for the future, I suppose. After all, I don't have any experience teaching students. It's a new challenge, so I'm starting from scratch."
"I... I'm having trouble sleeping. I used to share a room with my roommates, but now that I'm alone, it's a bit scary."
As she spoke, Elaine walked up to Owen, her smooth, pale legs swaying in a way that made it hard for Owen to keep his eyes open.
"So... can I sleep with you?"
"Well... it's not impossible, but I have to warn you, I'm a restless sleeper."
"That's okay, I don't mind!"
"Alright then, go grab your bedding. But just this once—you still need to get used to it."
Elaine quickly nodded and ran out of the room, returning shortly with a pink comforter, which even had a few stuffed animals sitting on it.
"I... I can't sleep without them."
"No problem. I'll sleep on the outside. It's late, so let's get some rest. I'll read a few more pages and then turn in."
"Owen, are you not done reading yet..."
Elaine curled up in the bedding, only her head visible as she stared intently at Owen.
Half an hour had passed since she entered, and apart from the sound of pages turning, the room was unusually quiet—too quiet for her liking!
She was a beautiful woman in her prime, yet Owen seemed more interested in that old book. How could it be more appealing than she was?
But Owen was struggling internally, though he couldn't say it out loud.
Having lived two lives, he had never experienced anything so intimate.
The most he had ever done with a girl was hold hands, and now, all of a sudden, they were going to share a bed. How could he not be nervous?
Owen swallowed hard and took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible.
"Alright, that's enough. I should get some sleep."
Putting the book down, Owen stood up, keeping his eyes firmly on his feet as he used muscle memory to lift the comforter and lay down, his body tense.
The bed was the same as before, but no matter how he lay, Owen couldn't seem to get comfortable.
"Let's... let's get some rest."
"Mm..."
The room fell silent once more, with only the sound of their breathing and increasingly rapid heartbeats filling the space.
Five minutes later, Owen felt a corner of his comforter being lifted.
Ten minutes later, he felt a hand sneaking under the covers.
Thirty minutes later, Elaine had completely slipped under the covers, her warm, soft body pressed against Owen's, her heartbeat racing.
"Ahem, Elaine, what are you...?"
"I-I'm cold."
"Alright."
An hour later, somehow, Owen and Elaine ended up in each other's arms.
What followed were things that couldn't be described.
The next morning, as usual, Fiona came to wake Owen up. But when she pushed the door open, she was instantly stunned.
Elaine was lying on Owen's shoulder, clinging to him like an octopus, and Owen wasn't pushing her away; instead, he had his arm around her waist, holding her as they slept soundly together.
For a moment, Fiona felt like the sky had fallen.
"This is... this is too much!"
Fiona bit her lip hard, then slammed the door shut, the noise waking Owen and Elaine. They looked at each other and blushed, quickly averting their gazes.
Both of them knew exactly what had happened the night before. There was no memory loss from drinking or anything like that—it just happened naturally in the moment...
But to say they weren't embarrassed would be a lie; neither of them had ever experienced anything like this before.
"I'll go take a bath first."
Owen threw off the covers and got up, while Elaine simply hid under the comforter, too shy to make a sound.
Meanwhile, Fiona, who had stormed off in a huff, sat in the living room, the scene from earlier replaying in her mind, causing tears of frustration to well up in her eyes.
"Master Owen is such an idiot, and Elaine is just a schemer!"
She had stayed by Master Owen's side for so many years, and now Elaine had swooped in and stolen him!
Although Fiona knew that Master Owen liked Elaine and that the two of them had mutual feelings, making what happened somewhat understandable, she was still upset!
Not long after, Owen emerged from the room, and Fiona stubbornly turned her head away. Owen sighed and walked over to her.
"Good morning, Fiona."
"It's not a good morning! Not at all!"
"Did you not sleep well?"
"That's not it! Doesn't Master Owen know the reason? I bet you slept soundly, didn't you?"
There was no good way to answer that, so Owen chose to stay silent.
"Elaine and I truly care about each other, so it's not that... strange, right? But you, barging in suddenly, wasn't that strange?" Elaine said as she came to sit beside Fiona, the blush still lingering on her cheeks.
"W-Who cares about you? But could you please let me know next time you plan to do something like that? It was really awkward seeing it..."
"O-Okay..."
Elaine stuck out her tongue. She hadn't expected Fiona to just walk in, but then again, Owen didn't seem to mind, so maybe he was used to it by now.
"Alright, I'll go make breakfast. Master Owen, what would you like?"
"Anything you make will be delicious, Fiona."
"Flattery won't make me happy!"
Fiona huffed and walked away.
Although there was a slight awkwardness from being caught, Owen felt a sense of relief now. He was more concerned about the system notification he had just received.
[Congratulations to the host for finding one of the Fated Partners. Fate rewards have been unlocked, and you will receive additional fate points in your daily rewards. These can be exchanged for various rewards in the points shop.]
[Congratulations to the host for meeting one of the hidden conditions for breaking through to god-tier. Please continue to work hard.]
Owen was a bit taken aback by this.
First of all, the hidden condition for god-tier—it was related to a partner? And this so-called fate reward only left him more confused.
The system mentioned that Elaine is one of my Fated Partners, which means... there are others?
This... this is so embarrassing!
Owen instinctively grinned, but as soon as he realized Elaine was still there, he quickly changed his expression.
"So... the weather is nice today, huh?"
"Owen, it's raining today."
"Exactly! I like rainy days, is that a problem?"
...
Meanwhile, at the ruins of the Tower in the Far East!
The space around the ruins suddenly twisted in a bizarre manner, and after a brief moment, a figure broke through the spatial rift.
"I finally managed to find a way back! How infuriating! How dare he call me Peanut! Stupid Owen, you'll pay for this!"
Tina bit her lip as she looked around.
The Tower had completely collapsed, and those who had come to investigate had already left.
After all, there was nothing to be discovered from a pile of rubble.
But...
"Where is this place? And where is Owen?"
Tina felt a headache coming on.
Before setting out, she forgot to ask her father about the Fallen Dimension.
Now, she was completely in the dark, not knowing where to go to find Owen.
With no other option, Tina chose a direction and started walking. Soon, she arrived at a city and, after some inquiries, learned that the city was called Stonehaven, thousands of miles away from Crossbridge Academy, in the opposite direction!
Although she had gone the wrong way and was getting further from Crossbridge Academy, Tina wasn't entirely out of luck.
While she was haggling with the shopkeeper over the price of a meal, she suddenly overheard a lively discussion in the hall. Listening closely, she learned that Owen had already advanced to master-tier and had established a school at Crossbridge Academy, specializing in Variant, Demotion, Ascension, and Dimension Magic.
The school would officially begin enrolling students next week, and anyone who met the criteria could apply.
"Damn it, he's already become a master-tier mage so quickly!"
Tina was even more displeased.
If it weren't for her Fated Trial, she should have been a master-tier mage by now too!
"However... the academy is recruiting new students... Maybe I could try my luck?"
It was worth noting that although Tina also had a non-elemental mana core, her understanding of magic wasn't quite on par with Owen's.
If she could successfully join Crossbridge Academy and become one of Owen's students, she could secretly learn his magic while planning to defeat him!
With this thought, Tina's eyes lit up. She slapped a mana stone on the table, bought a map, found the location of Crossbridge Academy, and hurried off.
"Hmph! Owen would never expect me to sneak into the Fallen Dimension, let alone join Crossbridge Academy. Once he teaches me more magic, I'll use it to defeat him! Maybe I'll even break through to master-tier myself!"
Owen must be her Fated Trial. Otherwise, why else would she have trained for so long without making any progress?
The more Tina thought about it, the more convinced she became that she was right.
She didn't notice the dark, ominous eye slowly opening in the middle of her forehead, exuding a black mist.
It was menacing and terrifying.
If Owen were there, he would surely recognize it as the same eye he had encountered outside the dimension!
...
"No, no... this one won't do either. I'm really at my wit's end! Where did they even find these people?"
Owen set down a thick stack of lists, rubbing his temples in frustration.
Yes, the school had finally been established, but Owen still couldn't come up with a good name.
Even though he thought the names he suggested were decent, all of them were rejected by the mentor, who eventually settled on calling it the 5th School.
Owen had anticipated that setting up the school might be difficult, but he hadn't expected it to be this challenging!
Aside from a completed building, there was nothing.
Not even any equipment inside the building. In the end, Owen had to pay for it out of his own pocket.
Until results were seen, the academy wasn't going to allocate a significant portion of the budget to the 5th School.
Even if Catalina wanted to, it would only cause dissatisfaction among the other school deans.
But being a little short on funds wasn't the worst of it.
After all, Owen had plenty of valuable items; he could easily sell a few unused ones to make up for the shortfall.
However, the second problem soon reared its head.
After Crossbridge Academy announced the establishment of the 5th School, it garnered a lot of attention, and many people applied, wanting to join the school.
This should have been a good thing, as the purpose of establishing the school was to attract more outstanding students to Crossbridge Academy.
But the problem lay in the applicants themselves.
Owen couldn't understand the mindset of these people.
Clearly, they had basic four-element mana cores, which weren't suitable for learning other types of magic.
Even if they forced themselves to learn, it would only yield half the results with twice the effort.
Owen repeatedly emphasized that only those with non-basic four-element mana cores should apply, but it was as if they didn't hear him.
They were determined to get in, as if missing out would be a huge loss.
But the issue was, if they were only suited to learning basic four-element magic, what use would they be if admitted?
In three days, Owen reviewed over ten thousand applications, but only a little over twenty met the criteria.
This number was far too small for a school.
But there was no helping it.
The 5th School was still relatively unknown, and no one knew what quality the academy, under Owen's banner, would offer.
Parents were hesitant to send their children there, fearing that Owen might only be lending his name and not actually teaching.
If that were the case, it would be a wasted effort.
It was a well-known fact that once a student joined Crossbridge Academy, dropping out meant other academies wouldn't accept them.
This had become common knowledge, so the truly outstanding candidates were still on the fence.
Then came the third problem Owen had to face: he had only one month to meet the scrutiny of the other school deans and the vice headmaster. If he didn't achieve his goals, the 5th School would be forced to close.
Even though Owen wasn't thrilled about taking on this tough job, he had already invested so much; he couldn't just give up now.
"Master Owen, you should rest for a bit. You don't look well."
"No one would look well after going through these lists."
It wasn't that Owen looked down on basic four-element mages.
After all, there were those in the Fallen Dimension who became renowned using basic four-element magic.
There was no inherent difference in strength between the types of magic; it was the mage wielding it who made the difference.
But the fact remained that those with basic four-element mana cores generally had less aptitude for other types of magic, and Owen didn't have the time to train them individually.
"I made some soup for you. Please have some."
"Hmm... Fiona, take a seat. I have a few things to ask you."
Fiona sat down as instructed, pushing the soup toward Owen, and asked, "What is it, Master Owen?"
"How much funding do we have left?"
"We have less than nine million gold coins remaining, and of the twenty-plus people you approved for enrollment, only fifteen have actually reported for admission. The others seem to have various excuses."
"Then there's no need to push them any further. We can consider it as them forfeiting their spots. As for the school, I actually have an idea."
As he spoke, Owen took out a few blueprints and laid them out in front of Fiona.
Looking at the complex devices depicted on the blueprints, Fiona was at a loss. She hadn't seen or even heard of such things before.
"Master Owen, these are..."
"Just some of my ideas, including but not limited to improvements in potion cultivation, recipe enhancements, and modifications to some magical devices. I plan to incorporate these into the curriculum as well. But before that, I'll need some equipment, and nine million gold coins... isn't nearly enough. Here's what we'll do: I'll give you two items. Take them back to the Raen family and see if they're willing to buy them. No need to haggle too much—just sell them at market price."
"I've noted it down, Master Owen. Is there anything else you'd like me to do?"
"One more thing: make sure the screening process is thorough. Don't let anyone slip through the cracks! Anyone with a basic four-element mana core shouldn't be presented to me—just exclude them directly. Even those with dual basic-element mana cores aren't suitable. If anyone has a problem with that, they can come to me."
Having given his instructions, Owen sighed in relief, finished his soup, and resumed reviewing the applications.
As luck would have it, maybe because the heavens took pity on him, Owen actually found a promising candidate.
"Bloodshadow dual-attribute mana core, S+ grade. Not bad—this is someone who can be deeply cultivated. Let's see, the name is... Elaine?"
Looking at the familiar playful photo, Owen felt a bit helpless.
He thought he had finally found a promising new student, but it turned out to be Elaine's application form.
On second thought, though, it made sense.
Even though Owen had tacitly acknowledged that Elaine was already a student of the 5th School, she hadn't gone through the formal written certification process yet.
After stamping the application with approval, Owen struggled to his feet, intending to take a walk.
The school was not far from Owen's Chief Mansion, just a ten-minute walk, so it was conveniently located.
When he returned to the Chief Mansion, Owen saw his fat cat running wildly in the yard, letting out ear-piercing screeches.
Chasing after it was a white dragon, about the size of an adult human.
Yes, that dragon egg had finally hatched, thanks to the tireless efforts of Owen and Elaine.
As the last dragon in the Fallen Dimension, it had shown its terrifying racial talent.
Even though it had been born less than five days ago, its combat power was already comparable to that of a diamond-tier mage.
If Owen hadn't repeatedly emphasized that no powers were to be used in the house, Milky might have burned the entire Chief Mansion to the ground.
Oh... Milky—that was her name, a name Elaine had insisted on.
As for why, Elaine's reasoning was that she was just a newborn baby, smelled sweet like milk, and was a girl.
Wasn't Milky a cute name?
As for changing it later, that could be done, but a child's childhood should be complete.
Owen didn't have much to say about it. Naming a dragon something like that seemed strange, no matter how you looked at it.
Of course, that wasn't the main point. The main point was that Milky's progress had far exceeded Owen's expectations.
In recent days, Owen had tried feeding her some of his modified herbs, and her size and strength were growing visibly by the day.
It seemed Milky sensed Owen's presence. She suddenly turned her head, and upon noticing him, a flicker of emotion, almost human-like, flashed through her golden eyes.
"Daddy!"
"..."
"Daddy!"
Owen really didn't want to respond. It was just too awkward—him, a human, being called "daddy" by a dragon. It felt bizarre no matter how he thought about it.
It was all Elaine's fault! Out of all the things she could have taught, she chose to teach this. Just imagining himself riding on a dragon's back in the future made Owen feel incredibly awkward.
But Milky, of course, didn't understand Owen's thoughts and continued to call him "daddy" in her cute, childish voice.
Seeing people start to approach, Owen had no choice but to respond. He also cast [Hardened Skin] to barely withstand the affectionate cuddling from the dragon.
The hard scales rubbing against Owen's skin even sparked with friction.
She was only five days old and already this strong. Owen couldn't imagine what it would be like in a month. One hug might just crush him!