Chapter 48

It has been a month since the friendly visit of the Druid expedition ended. Despite the bizarre welcome ceremony, the calm and humble, kind and inclusive Druids quickly integrated into Atlas Academy. The Necromancers, who were somewhat reclusive, were soon won over by the Druids' warm and respectful attitude. The two groups became quite close, exchanging insights on cultivation, reflections on the path of magic, and views on the great cycle of life and death. In short, after a month, everyone at Atlas, from top to bottom, had grown to like these not-so-bad guys.

After a tearful farewell to the Druids, the people of Atlas soon realized they had to face another major issue—having sent off the Druids meant that their own expedition team would be returning, which meant...

The Great Demon King Sigma was coming back! Ahhhhhhhhh!

Sigma Washington, the most problematic child in the history of Atlas Academy, had a bizarre and twisted personality, a deranged mind, a small heart, and a strong desire for revenge. He was extremely afraid of ghosts and constantly thought about skipping school, with his ultimate goal being to violate school rules and get expelled. To achieve this, he behaved tyrannically in the academy, earning a notorious reputation. It was said that he had a nickname, "Explosive Shit Demon," for his habit of throwing high-intensity explosive scrolls into public toilets. This nickname alone revealed his strong tendency to seek revenge on society. Yet, this troublemaker was a once-in-a-millennium genius, with unparalleled necromantic talent. His family, the Sakura Washingtons, were known as the Reaper Clan, famous for producing madmen and powerful fighters. The combination of these factors made Sigma a terrifyingly powerful fighter. If he went berserk, no one below the Holy Domain level in Atlas could subdue him.

It's easy to imagine how such a troublemaker cast a vast shadow over the people of Atlas. The cloud had drifted to the Natural Kingdom for a month, and everyone was still reeling from it when it returned...

When everyone heard that the troublemaker had gone to Florence, they all breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that Sigma would cause some trouble at the Natural Academy and be severely reprimanded by the Druids. Ideally, he would be locked up for ten to twenty years to dampen his arrogance. However, things did not go as planned. Not only did Sigma return alive and well, but he seemed to have gained a lot, being exceptionally generous. Almost everyone he knew received valuable gifts, even the chef who cooked like he was stirring pig slop was forced to drink a pot of poison dart frog soup.

Sigma even held an auction, selling items from the Druids, ranging from enchanted items to spell scrolls, from life elixirs to alchemical materials. He even used a Holy Domain-level chaotic scroll, "Meteor Shower," as the finale, making people secretly worry that he might have raided the Druids' treasury...

There were also rumors that the Great Demon King, due to the poor food in Florence, had killed two Holy Domain-level individuals in a fit of rage. The Druids, instead of retaliating, had paid him a large sum of money to settle the matter. Of course, this was clearly nonsense. Kill Holy Domain-level individuals? Sigma was only a mid-level Mage; even if he reached the high level, he could at most take down one, not two.

Regardless, Sigma returned alive and well, and now he seemed very well-behaved, but it was only a matter of time before he reverted to his old ways. As the ancient proverb goes, good and orderly people do not live long, but chaotic and evil bastards can live for a thousand years.

And that was exactly the case. Just after leaving the budget approval committee's office, Sigma ran back to the dormitory area, trying to peek into a female student's room.

And he was being exceptionally arrogant.

"Open the door! Open the door! Alice, open the door! I've come to bring you water!" Sigma pressed his whole body against the door, pounding on it and peering through the keyhole.

A panicked female voice came from inside, clear and obviously flustered: "No, you can't come in! I warn you, you can't come in! Give me two minutes, just two minutes! We can talk outside!"

"No need, Lady Alice, your time is precious, I wouldn't dare trouble you. Just let me in, I'll say a few words and leave!"

Hearing this, the girl inside became even more flustered: "No, absolutely not! If you come in, you're dead!"

"Damn, why are you so stingy? Can't you just let me take a look? Just one look!"

"Not a chance! You scumbag, if you come in, you'll definitely want to touch!"

"Touch? How can what an alchemist does be called touching? It's a rigorous and serious research attitude, a practical investigation. Besides, touching you won't make you lose any flesh, and I might even give you some valuable feedback and suggestions!"

"Ha! If you touch me, I'll definitely get pregnant!"

"Bullshit, don't you know that mechanical girls can't get pregnant?"

Just as Sigma was persistently arguing, the door suddenly burst open, and a fragrant breeze blew in. A petite figure collided with Sigma and pushed him back several meters.

Then, the blonde girl quickly closed the door, pressing a few buttons on the star dial next to it. With a loud rumble, three mechanical wheel locks extended from the wall, securing the door tightly. The magic lights flashed, and the three-layer defense system was fully activated, setting up layers of alarms. Such a tight defense could not be easily breached even by a Shadow Master of the Dark Brotherhood.

After doing all this, the girl looked at Sigma with a wary eye, as if guarding against a thief: "You can't relax for a moment, you dirty fetishist."

The girl was wearing a blue robe, with bright and smooth golden short hair. If one had to describe her appearance, one would have to lavish praise on her magnificent golden hair and exquisite, beautiful face, and then moderately compliment her "graceful and light" figure, like a forest elf.

—Translation: A "graceful and light" figure means her chest is not very ideal.

Alice Losa, a student at Atlas Academy, specialized in the field of alchemical golems.

Her research direction was vastly different from the mainstream golem field. She scoffed at non-human war golems like gargoyles and was uninterested in humanoid auxiliary golems like steel golems. Her creations were more like dolls, almost indistinguishable from real humans in every aspect, yes, every aspect.

Therefore, it was quite reasonable for Sigma, who was dedicated to creating multifunctional, highly realistic Death Knights, to take an interest in her.

Sigma had one good quality: he was diligent and eager to learn. Acknowledging that he was not as skilled as Alice in this field, he sincerely sought her guidance. Alice, who had a good relationship with Sigma and did not see through his ulterior motives, warmly welcomed the academy's top student. She not only answered all his questions but also enthusiastically invited him to visit her alchemical laboratory...

Then, a terrifying thing happened. As soon as Sigma stepped into the laboratory, his eyes nearly popped out. He surrounded the beautiful dolls, which were almost indistinguishable from real humans, and extended his "sinful" hands, touching, looking, sniffing, and rubbing...

From that moment on, even though they were still good friends, Alice never let Sigma enter her laboratory again. And Sigma earned a special nickname from Alice: "dirty fetishist"...

***

PS1: Yes, the second volume has begun. This time, I've learned from the mistakes of the first volume: no preaching, no rambling, no over-the-top drama, no impatience, no rushing, and a good dose of humor. I'll focus on character development, show more of the customs and culture, and write more about the girls, occasionally adding some fan service... And, of course, I'll be asking for votes (with starry eyes).

PS2: Thank you to Z for the generous donation. The second patron of the book has appeared, let's celebrate...