Daniel's voice echoed in Reed's ears, snapping him back to focus.
Yes! Why was he scared? This was what he wanted—to battle these legendary warriors!
Determined, Reed's eyes steeled with resolve.
"Headmaster, what do I need to do to fight these powerful figures?"
Hearing Reed's response, Daniel knew he had recovered his composure. Reed's strength was in his resilient character; it was what allowed him to build such a solid foundation.
"Stand on the altar, then select the tier-sage figure you wish to battle. Their combat experience remains intact, but their levels will be equal to yours."
"I understand, headmaster," Reed replied, stepping confidently back onto the altar.
In the next instant, he found himself in the combat arena, facing the dragon-slayer sage.
A spear materialized in Reed's hand, while his opponent held a massive sword.
A few breaths later, Reed's form vanished from the battleground, reappearing on the altar, collapsing backward onto the ground.
"How was it?" Daniel asked, looking down at Reed.
"That was incredible. Thank you, headmaster. I loved it," Reed replied excitedly.
Daniel had observed the entire battle. Rather than a fight, it was more a one-sided defeat for Reed.
The intensity of the battle was far beyond what Reed could endure.
Even with the tier-sage phantom's level equalized, the opponent's experience alone was overwhelming.
Reed had been swiftly defeated.
An ordinary person might feel demoralized by such an intense challenge, but Reed was different.
Despite his loss, his face showed no frustration—only exhilaration.
He had longed to fight such formidable foes, and now the opportunity lay before him.
Reed returned to the altar once more.
"I'll return in a month to check on you," Daniel said before disappearing.
Instead of returning to his office, Daniel wandered around the vast space.
Technically, it was his first time in this place, containing all the world's knowledge.
Soon, he noticed something unusual—an air of lifelessness in the space, which shouldn't contain anything at all. Intrigued, he began to investigate.
This realm was beyond conventional size, and once he pinpointed the strange sensation, Daniel appeared in another location.
With his mind power, he sensed a rough, uneven wall ahead… or rather…
Unleashing his mind power further, he saw the truth of the wall before him: it was a colossal creature, resembling an enormous snake coiled in an ouroboros form, lying motionless as if it were dead.
"Interesting," Daniel murmured.
Encountering such a creature here suggested that it was no ordinary being, yet it seemed to have perished, bearing significant injuries.
This world held more secrets than he had realized.
At first, he had only given it a cursory glance, noting the creature's injuries and absence of mind power fluctuations, assuming it was dead.
But just then, he sensed a faint, nearly imperceptible sign of life from the snake.
The signal was brief, yet his powerful mind caught it.
With his mind power fully extended, Daniel examined the creature thoroughly.
Its internal magic pattern was unlike anything he'd ever seen, exuding a feeling of "perfection"—almost divine.
This piqued Daniel's curiosity even more. Moving to the snake's head, he extended his hand, intending to probe the creature's state.
Suddenly, his form rippled and disappeared.
As soon as he vanished, five presences appeared nearby.
Constructed entirely of mind power, their mere auras revealed that these figures were not weak.
Yet, they were unaware of Daniel's presence.
"What's going on? Is someone planning to break the rules?" one of the figures spoke.
"Aren't you just accusing yourself? Last I checked, you were close to losing," another retorted mockingly.
"Then come fight me! I don't care about the rules!" another voice burst out.
"Stop! Fighting here won't help any of us," one figure intervened, trying to calm the situation.
"We need to figure out who touched it recently!"
After some discussion, they confirmed that none of them was responsible, which meant someone else had entered this space.
"What do we do now? We've got a new arrival," one of them remarked.
"Who knows? Let's wait it out. Sooner or later, we'll see him!" They concluded, leaving the area.
Once they were gone, Daniel's form reappeared.
How intriguing! This world was becoming more and more interesting.
But for now, he'd finish handling things in Riverside City.
Daniel returned to his office to check on the students' requests, but found only three students left. Besides Green, only two others remained.
"Where are the others?" he asked Green.
"They couldn't think of anything specific, so they decided to use mana stones for breakthroughs over the next month."
Daniel didn't see this as a problem.
Sometimes, recognizing your own limits and being self-aware was a skill.
Turning to the three remaining students, two girls and a boy, he asked,
"What about you?"
"Headmaster, my name is Nora," one of the girls began, appearing both troubled and shy. "I… don't know what I need. If possible, I'd like you to help me choose my path, or perhaps a goal."
Unlike the others, Nora didn't have a clear direction or objective.
She'd always gone with the flow, yet her abilities were not to be underestimated, which was why she was here.
When Daniel posed his question, it made her realize she had no answer.
She had initially come to the academy for the previous headmaster, then followed the current headmaster's guidance, advancing, training on the frontier, and now joining the secret realm…
Nora had never made any of these decisions herself.
"Do you truly think that the path I choose for you would be what you truly desire?" Daniel asked, his calm gaze resting on her.
"I… I don't know, but you're so powerful, headmaster. I thought you might…" Nora's eyes showed uncertainty.
"Your path and your future can only be decided by you," Daniel replied, his gaze steady as he looked at her.