The Necromancy Tower Master blinked, her small mouth parting slightly, before swiftly approaching Anaxa. "Would you mind stepping aside to speak privately?" she asked.
Before Anaxa could respond, Heinrich, standing beside him, shrugged. "Go ahead and chat," he said, then excused himself to attend to other matters, leaving Anaxa alone with the seemingly young and beautiful Necromancy Tower Master.
Anaxa crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "We don't seem to know each other, do we?"
"Indeed, we don't," the Necromancy Tower Master replied. "I simply hadn't expected that the innovator of the Magic Power Loss Theory, the recently renowned Wizard Anaxagoras, would be a..."
She trailed off, mouthing two words that Anaxa immediately recognized: Demigod.
The Necromancy Tower Master raised her right hand, revealing a stunning ruby ring on her ring finger. Upon closer inspection, a faint, hairline crack could be seen within the ruby, pointing directly toward Anaxa. "This is a magical artifact I devised long ago," she explained, "a device capable of detecting divine power."
The Necromancy Tower Master had researched this ring because of Tribios, a being who appeared no different from a normal human but was actually a demigod. During their first encounter, unaware of Tribios's true nature, the Tower Master had rejected her request, a decision she had regretted deeply for a very long time.
Having squandered such a rare opportunity to forge a connection with a demigod, the Necromancy Tower Master wondered if there might be other demigods hiding among the populace. Without divine power, such beings were virtually undetectable.
Driven by this possibility, the Tower Master spent years developing this ring, hoping to never miss another chance. Yet for over a century afterward, the ring remained dormant. She even began to doubt if her invention had failed entirely.
Until today, when the device finally reacted. The Tower Master spoke, "I meant no offense. I'm merely curious... Why would a... like you choose to study magic in the Arcane Federation?"
Normally, wouldn't demigods possess unimaginable power, far beyond that of mortals? Instant teleportation, manipulation of weather phenomena, superhuman strength, and so on. Why would such beings, far surpassing mortals, bother to learn human magic?
Of all the gods known to the Necromancy Tower Master, only one had ever done such a thing. Now, Anaxa was the second.
Hearing this, Anaxa raised an eyebrow. Heinrich hadn't even noticed his demigod status, yet this fellow had uncovered it. Instead of answering why, he retorted, "I'm not like the demigods you imagine. Besides, what I do is none of your concern, is it?"
The Necromancy Tower Master hastily replied, "No, no, that's not what I meant! If you wish to study Necromancy School texts, come to me. I'll share them freely. I wouldn't dare boast elsewhere, but when it comes to mastery of the Necromancy School, no one in the entire Arcane Federation surpasses me!"
After all, "Friedrich" had already been a formidable Necromancer three centuries ago. Now, after another three hundred years, his skill had naturally only deepened.
"Also," she continued, "please be extremely careful around Heinrich. He... has never shown any reverence for gods or divine beings."
But Anaxa replied, "Isn't a lack of reverence a good thing? These so-called gods are merely creatures with special powers, slightly more powerful than others."
The Necromancy Tower Master froze in shock. "Ah... Ah?"
If an ordinary person had said this, she would have dismissed it as mere arrogance and disrespect for the divine. But coming from a Demigod himself, the statement felt strangely unsettling.
From that day onward, Anaxa and the Necromancy Tower Master began frequent interactions—or, more accurately, the Tower Master took a particular liking to visiting him. Initially, she would bring Anaxa books, then casually strike up conversations, chatting about trivial matters.
Their conversations naturally revolved around magic. But what the Tower Master didn't realize was how extraordinary Anaxa truly was. During one such conversation, she casually mentioned a problem that had plagued her for decades, grumbling about its difficulty. Within five minutes, Anaxa solved it on the spot, finding the correct solution.
It's no exaggeration to say that at that moment, the Necromancy Tower Master remained frozen in disbelief for longer than it took Anaxa to solve the problem. This was precisely why she was so fond of seeking him out—even casual chats proved immensely beneficial.
As a result, most Wizards of the Transmutation Tower had witnessed the following scene: Anaxa walking ahead, followed by a bouncing, black-haired, red-eyed girl. Rumors inevitably spread, such as:
"Has the Necromancy Tower Master, a pure-hearted virgin who's been single for centuries, finally awakened her romantic senses?"
"Shocking! The Necromancy Tower Master is preying on the young and tender Anaxagoras, like an old cow devouring fresh grass!"
"Will Teacher Anaxagoras be drained dry by her and turned into a dried husk?"
Upon hearing these rumors, both Anaxa and the Necromancy Tower Master were utterly disgusted. The Tower Master immediately wielded her authority, and within two days, every trace of the rumors had vanished without a trace.
Time continued to flow. Anaxa and Hyacine spent their sixth, ninth, and twelfth months in the Arcane Federation living peaceful, uneventful lives. It's worth noting that the Arcane Federation had no winter or summer breaks; school truly ran year-round.
During this period, Anaxa mastered about seventy to eighty percent of the knowledge from the Transmutation Tower and the Necromancy Tower. Hyacine, meanwhile, diligently practiced daily after returning home, making remarkable progress in singing, dancing, and even her "cute act." Her improvement compared to six months ago was like night and day!
Finally, a year had passed, and it was time for their first promotion exam.
That morning, Hyacine woke up early, dressed, and arrived at the examination venue with Pela. The other students showed varying degrees of nervousness and anxiety.
But Hyacine remained completely unfazed. She even gently comforted Pela beside her, saying, "Don't be nervous, Pela dear! You've studied so hard and your Magic flows so smoothly. You'll breeze through this exam!"
At the same time, Hyacine was pondering how to pass the exam in an inconspicuous, ordinary way.