Chapter 5

Alicia closed her eyes, carefully organizing the various pieces of information about the other world that kept appearing in her mind.

Perhaps because Locklip also played Mount Koushaku, the world map looked very familiar: two huge continents to the east and west, with an endless sea in between. However, the middle of the sea was no longer empty; in the deepest part of the sea, there was a small piece of land, surrounded by islands like satellites.

Near the South Pole, there was a medium-sized continent known as the Land of Despair, where various demons and undead creatures reigned supreme—Locklip had created two parallel worlds from the beginning. One was the world of humans and other intelligent beings, Zorlivin, and the other was the demon-ruled Delonsa. These two worlds were connected by a portal on the Land of Despair. The invasion war of the Burning Legion in the other world broke out on the Land of Despair...

It was clear that the human alliance had been defeated at the time, otherwise they wouldn't have lost the entire continent. Fortunately, the world where the demons lived had no vast oceans, and they clearly lacked any maritime technology. Moreover, as creatures with enhanced bodies, the demons' technological level was quite low—they didn't even have specialized siege weapons when attacking cities, and they didn't need them—so they couldn't launch attacks on the other two continents.

The eastern and western continents' alliance had also tried to counterattack, but all of them ended in惨败. Later, the abyssal sea between the two continents suddenly became unpredictable, filled with huge waves and whirlpools, making navigation between the two continents impossible, and contact was thus severed. A single continent would not rashly launch a counterattack on the Land of Despair, and since the demons were trapped there and couldn't get out, after thousands of years, humans gradually forgot about the Land of Despair.

Since Locklip planned to send our protagonist, well, the heroine, to the western continent, he only provided her with information about the western continent, and nothing about the eastern one.

The western continent, due to the absence of demon threats for thousands of years, had long since split from a unified nation into three major empires and many small principalities. The three empires were: the Tansang Empire, which occupied the north with the largest land area, but most of it was barren land with abundant mineral resources, and the harsh cold produced elite warriors; the Birea Empire, which occupied the southeast, a plain country with fertile land and pleasant climate, bringing abundant agricultural products, dense forests nurturing a large number of magical beasts and increasing the production of magic cores, making it a paradise for mages; and the Roland Empire, which was the smallest in the southwest, but due to the highlands and mountains between the Tansang and Birea Empires being dominated by beasts, and the hurricanes from the abyssal sea affecting the eastern sea routes, the two countries' trade (minerals and agricultural products) had to pass through the Roland Empire, making this small empire the richest.

Scattered among the three empires were small principalities, which served as buffer zones, so they lived the most comfortably during peacetime. Of course, once a major war broke out, they became cannon fodder... However, there was a city called Reiz City in the center of the continent that belonged to no country, an independent city. This city had few guards and no major power backing it. It was able to remain independent because, after the fall of the Land of Despair thousands of years ago, the only human great sage in the western continent, Master Reiz, realized the gap between humans and demons and founded the first magic and martial arts academy, the Garden of Hope.

The name "Garden of Hope" was naturally in contrast to the "Land of Despair," and Master Reiz also hoped to reform the traditional human method of education, where masters taught apprentices by hand. The reform was very successful, and a large number of mages and warriors emerged at an unprecedented rate, quickly closing the gap in both quantity and quality between humans and demons. Unfortunately, just as humans were preparing to counterattack, the elderly and overworked Master Reiz fell ill and died. Without the leadership of a hero and due to the harsh environment, the human alliance's most likely chance to defeat the demons failed due to the collapse of the western continent's army.

To commemorate Master Reiz, the city where the Garden of Hope was located was named Reiz City. The city had no mayor, and everything was managed by the successive deans of the Garden of Hope. Similarly, even without explicit regulations, no foolish force would dare to attack Reiz City—after all, the Garden of Hope was the source of all kinds of talents, and attacking it would be tantamount to declaring war on the entire continent's talent pool.

"So, are you planning to send me to the Garden of Hope to learn martial arts?" After organizing the information, Alicia took a deep breath and said.

"Exactly. I won't interfere with what you want to do after you learn."

"Like leading humans to repel demons?"

"You don't really think you can just unleash your power on the battlefield, do you? Besides, even if you could, you need to charge up first."

Alicia nodded: "That's true. I may be invincible individually, but that doesn't mean I can take on a thousand enemies alone."

"Good to know."

"Alright, then help me forge an identity and give me some money."

"…You really don't know how to be polite, do you?" A sweat drop appeared on Locklip's forehead.

"This is a prerequisite for crossing over, you think I've been writing so many crossover novels for nothing!?"

"Relax, relax, I've already prepared your identity. You can go start your new life in the other world with your luggage." Locklip waved his hand, "I won't give you ready gold, you have to earn it yourself."

"Such a miser..."

A purple lightning bolt flashed, turning the dim cave into daylight.

The poor little girl was struck by the lightning, and her long, straight golden hair turned into a funny afro.

"You can call me a perverted lolicon, or you can step on me, but remember: the great Lord Locklip is never a miser. Otherwise, you would have been taken to drink the River Styx by now."

"Sorry, sorry..." Faced with the darkened lolicon god, Alicia chose to back off.

"Good, very good." Locklip came over to help Alicia fix her hair, "And don't you think the money you earn yourself is more meaningful?"

[To be lectured by this perverted lolicon, and I can't even argue. Heaven, is my moral education score worse than his!?!]

After self-deprecating for a while, Alicia noticed that Locklip was still combing her hair and couldn't help but suspect, "Say, are you trying to touch my head, so you deliberately electrocuted me?"

"Uh, guessed it?"

"You should really die!!"

And so, the great and not miserly lolicon god was once again struck by a giant sword.

============================= I am the divider =============================

On January 31, 3192 of the Continental Calendar, the day when various academies across the continent were preparing to open and accept new students.

On the streets of Reiz City, a very eye-catching pair appeared: a young man in a simple but high-quality noble suit, his handsome face and impeccable elegance clearly indicating his noble lineage, causing countless girls to have stars in their eyes; and the little girl holding his left hand, whose incomparable delicate features and small yet subtly prominent figure, accentuated by a cute yet beautiful Gothic dress, made her look like a precious gem meticulously polished by the most skilled craftsman, captivating and mesmerizing. If one had to describe it, only the phrase "the favor of the Creator" could describe the girl's natural beauty. Although she looked only about twelve or thirteen years old, her beauty was already rare in the world—let alone what she would look like when she grew up.

This pair, of course, was Locklip and Alicia, and Alicia was almost at her wits' end. The reason was naturally that she couldn't bear the gazes around her.

"Why don't we go directly to the academy gate, and have to come to the street?" Alicia whispered.

"Of course, to show off a bit."

"…"

"Alright, I was joking." Locklip said, "Think about it, with your beauty, if you appeared directly at the academy gate without attracting the attention of the passersby, it wouldn't make sense. The Garden of Hope's philosophy is equality for all, and all nobles are prohibited from riding in carriages within 500 meters of the academy."

"Indeed. It's better to walk openly rather than hide. I should have considered that."

"Well, just enjoy the hot gazes around you. Believe me, they will be even hotter when you come of age. Get used to it now."

"Ugh~" Alicia couldn't help but let out a moan.

"Remember your identity, my dear sister?"

"…Enough."

As the creator of this world, Locklip, when he came to play, created a noble family, the Harris, with a superlative status in the Birea Empire, and gave himself the identity of the family's patriarch. He used a clone to replace himself when he was absent, and when he came in, he recalled the clone and took over. Now, he had擅自changed the family members' memories, making Alicia the little sister everyone remembered.

[Being your sister must be the most unfortunate thing in the world. And I'm sure you're not just a lolicon but also a sister complex!]

"You were thinking some very impolite things just now, weren't you?" Locklip glanced at Alicia.

"For you, even the most impolite things are not excessive."

"Alright, let's stop bickering." Locklip stopped and pointed to a nearby door, "We're here."

Alicia looked up. In front of her was a door large enough for a passenger plane to pass through, with a large sign in the common language reading "Garden of Hope"—supposedly written by Master Reiz himself. A long queue formed in front of the door, clearly of students coming to register.

The tuition at the Garden of Hope was very cheap, and excellent poor students could even receive scholarships, making it more attractive and capable of discovering talent among the common people than other academies on the continent. Therefore, every year, many commoners' children would come to apply to the Garden of Hope, hoping to change their fate—so it was no wonder there were so many people at the gate.

"Do, do we have to queue?" Alicia couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

"How could we? Although the academy emphasizes equality, it wouldn't really make the noble children stand in the cold." Locklip took Alicia's right hand and walked, "The Garden of Hope is not a charity organization. Its low tuition, which could make the academy go bankrupt in the second year, has a way to compensate. That is, by admitting noble children—those with mediocre talent. These students come to the academy for one purpose: to get a diploma from the Garden of Hope; and the academy charges them a large amount of tuition, otherwise it won't admit them. This way, everyone is happy, right? The academy can fully discover and cultivate talent without worrying about losing money, and the spoiled children can get a diploma as long as they pay and pass the exams. Isn't that a great thing?"

"Whoever came up with this idea should be worshipped."

"It was Master Reiz himself."

Locklip led Alicia to a door with few people but all dressed in noble attire, where there were dedicated people to mark the area and even arrange chairs. Of course, just entering that area cost 10 gold coins. After entering, the expressions of the young men and women, whether they were truly talented or just there to mix, were almost identical to those of the passersby on the street.

"Wait here," Locklip led Alicia to an empty chair, wiped the non-existent dust, and made a "please" gesture, "It won't be long."

"Thank you." Alicia nodded, carefully sat down, and began to curiously look around. Soon, she noticed a serious problem and pulled on the side of Locklip, who was smiling at a noble girl, and whispered, "Why do the applicants here all look about sixteen or seventeen years old?"

"According to the continental calculation, one comes of age at sixteen. Since outsiders are not allowed to enter the academy, nobles cannot bring servants, and all daily life must be managed independently. The academy generally does not admit students who are too young."

"But I don't look sixteen, do I?"

"Correct. But there is one situation where the academy will definitely admit you."

"Genius." Both said in unison.

"Right, you are my creation, and if you're not a genius, I would be laughed at by other gods." Locklip patted Alicia's head, "So I'm sure the dean of this year's Garden of Hope will not only admit you but also arrange a teacher to take care of your daily life."

"…Should I say thank you?"

"No need, who makes you my cute sister."

Just as they were talking, a young male assistant came to them, "R-r-respected sirs, it's y-y-your turn."

Alicia didn't mind, as she believed that even her original self wouldn't have looked much better in this situation. She nodded at the boy and let Locklip lead her away from the chair.

At the registration desk, two middle-aged women in magic robes sat, both surprised by the unusual pair. Locklip was clearly too old, about twenty, past the