Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

"...This club only has Raymond. Although Andrei has a rule that a club cannot be established if there are not enough members, there will always be some exceptions. We have retained some barbaric traditions. Might makes right."

"When you can suppress all dissenting voices by force, the rules can only become your servants."

Lyle's ability to attract hatred towards Mr. Raymond has reached a new level; 2,800 clubs can keep running, but Raymond can't recruit a single new member.

"The alienation of the students from the Holy Light is one aspect. Another reason is that Raymond actually has another requirement for joining the members, which is a kind soul."

"This is also why Mr. Raymond, despite the principal's objections, released the Detective Evil at the orientation party; he was looking for suitable members."

"I remember, it seems like today's batch was completely wiped out."

"Being recognized as a pure soul is not so easy. Although I am not clear about the criteria of the Holy Light, most of the members of Andrei have lost their awe of the world. All they have is an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Those who can be recognized as good are probably only souls that are truly unpolluted and those with Holy Light brains."

"What if Mr. Raymond finds someone who meets his criteria?"

"That is truly a tragedy for that gentleman."

"Ok?"

“Pure souls have appeared before. Not long ago, there was an Andre member who was judged to be good. Mr. Raymond persuaded him day and night, endlessly trying to reform him. The extent of his entanglement was outrageous.”

"So that person gave in?"

"That man went to the church to confess. It is said that when he was burned at the stake, he said, 'I would rather be reduced to ashes by the Holy Light than submit to your tyranny.'"

"..." Lyle suddenly had a bad feeling.

"It is a great misfortune that the gentleman neither gained nor spread knowledge in Andre. If he had been discovered by Raymond a few years later, the outcome might have been different."

"Is there a way to control Mr. Raymond now?" Lyle viewed Raymond as a monstrous threat.

"There are now ways to delay Raymond's entanglement."

Is it just a delay? Is there no solution to the pathogen?

The gentleman understood Lyle's meaning: "The solution to the problem has always existed, but no one has been able to implement it."

The most thorough solution is simple: eliminate Raymond.

Without continuing on that topic, Lyle began to look around.

The Holy Light exhibition hall occupies the main position, and not far away, there is an extreme style that is the opposite of Holy Light.

A long marble table, carved with a pattern of tangled thorns, sits against a backdrop of a black curtain adorned with starlight. A gentleman in full black disguise sits there, surrounded by stacks of old parchment. Opposite the table is a chair with a carved cross on its back.

The gentleman stepped forward, supporting himself on the table with his left hand and shifting his weight onto the long table.

"Sir reporter, is this year's theme again about night and dreams?"

The reporter put down his pen. "What can I do? It's the editor-in-chief's decision. If I could, I'd like to wear a colorful floral dress. I recently got an authentic one from Scotland, and I'd like to try it on at the recruitment event."

The reporter and the gentleman are very familiar with each other.

"As you might have guessed, as long as Mr. Darkness is around, our recruitment theme will not change."

This is the infamous former Dark Council...Literary Society.

They didn't even hang up a banner, perhaps because Mr. Dark harbored resentment towards the club's name.

"How was tonight's haul?"

The reporter patted the stack of parchment next to him. “One hundred and eighty-two articles, from which twenty outstanding ones will be selected. Mr. Wang Xiang is looking for inspiration right now, so we can show them to him.”

Did you see that, Mr. Raymond? Holy light can't save your social circle.

"And who is this?" The reporter noticed Lyle, who was standing to the side, seemingly lost in thought but outwardly silent.

"Mr. Epidemic Doctor, a new friend, has an excellent understanding of medical knowledge."

"The one that studies the bodily functions of living organisms?"

"That's part of medicine."

"Impressive, Physician! With your extensive professional knowledge, your writing is sure to be unique. How about joining the literary society? Since you were brought here by the Gentleman, there's no need for an assessment. You can join directly if you agree, how about that?"

What a remarkable gentleman, what remarkable nepotism.

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"It's alright, I trust the gentleman's judgment."

"Reporter, I didn't contact the doctor for the sake of the literary society."

“Ah~” The reporter made a meaningful sound, looking at Lyle with a curious gaze. “That’s alright, joining the literary society won’t be a problem, right? How about it, Mr. Plague Doctor, the conditions remain the same.”

"Please let me think about it."

"It's alright. Even after the recruitment fair ends, the doors of the Literary Society will always be open to newcomers. However, I won't be staying here for long. From now on, you'll have to ask the gentleman to take you to visit the Literary Society."

"Ok."

The doctor and Lyle moved on to another exhibition hall.

"The reporter seems to be in a very... anxious state."

"The recruitment period for the literary society is not long, shorter than that of other clubs."

"Why shouldn't time be consistent?"

"Because Mr. Raymond will be back soon after he's finished beating him."

The literary society was one of the hardest hit by Raymond's suppression, and the reporter was desperately hoping to shut it down.

Let's pray for the reporter for a second.

"The Plague Doctor".

"What is it, sir?"

The gentleman carefully considered his words, "Mr. Plague Doctor...why...would you try eating...vegetable soup?"

What do you mean? Why do people eat? A philosophical question? It seems the gentleman is too fixated on this, so Lyle decides to answer truthfully.

"To survive, you must eat, or you will die."

"..." The gentleman stroked the bottom of his mask, where his chin was, and after a few seconds, he suddenly understood.

"The plague doctor is indeed very suitable."

"Suitable for what?"

"The clubs at the recruitment fair are not all of Andrei's clubs, and the small space cannot accommodate 2,800 exhibition halls. Therefore, most clubs still retain the old recruitment traditions."

"Member referrals".

"Some members selectively contact some new people, and after testing them, the members try to recruit them."

"So, the gentleman is also a similar guide you mentioned?"

"Although I do have a small task, it's not mandatory. My contact with the Plague Doctor wasn't purposeful either; it was mainly because we share similar interests. Of course, the Plague Doctor also meets my club's standards, which is a bonus for me." I could sense the joy in the gentleman's voice.

A frank gentleman is hard to dislike. So, I guess I passed his test.

"I remember there weren't many clubs for gentlemen, and it wasn't a literary club..."

"The Cup of Extravagance. The Plague Doctor's response to the vegetable soup made me think that the Plague Doctor would be a good fit for my club."

...Although I don't understand how cheap vegetable soup could be related to luxury, the feeling of being pre-selected and handpicked is really great.

"So, shall we head to the area where the Cup of Extravagance is held first?"

"The Cup of Extravagance is an exception as it doesn't have an exhibition hall. Let's not rush to go to the headquarters after Mr. Plague Doctor has finished his visit."

"Ok."

Chapter Fifteen: High Alert Ahead

An interesting phenomenon occurred at Andre's recruitment events: rival student societies liked to hold their events together, using them as a first step to suppress their opponents. One side would finish its presentation, then the other would take the stage, striving to highlight their strengths and downplay their weaknesses, incisively pointing out the other's shortcomings before proposing their own solutions.

For example, there's Bunker Building Spell 1.0 to counter Airdrop Spell Bombardment, Piercing Airdrop Spell Bombardment 2.0 to counter Bunker Hardening Spell, and Interference Spell 3.0 to hinder the casting of Airdrop Spell and Bunker Spell.

Andre did not stop this healthy competition. Technological equipment was upgraded, new people broadened their horizons and determined their development direction, while the opposing schools of thought accumulated anger and launched a heavy attack in the confrontation. Andre flourished.

Ten meters away, a booth was already surrounded by people.

There was no fancy decoration; a simple platform was built with a wooden frame, and a person stood on it as the lecturer.

The only visually appealing element was the image frozen in mid-air, roughly similar to the world map Lyle had seen, with all locations connected by a large white net—a simplified map of the world and the magic network.

Advanced Magic Research Society.

The person standing on the high platform wore a large black robe, the only part of their face visible being a plain, unremarkable white mask. The kind of ordinary person you'd easily blend into if you were in a crowd of Andrei.

However, he also has something special about him.

A black dragon head emblem was worn on its left chest, with the dragon's mouth wide open and its fangs clearly visible.

And his hands, at first glance they're just a bit darker, but if you stare closely, you'll notice a visual illusion, as if there's an afterimage, like looking through a transparent cloth.

The man coughed twice.

"Anle, welcome to the Advanced Magic Research Society. I am Death Star II. Now, I will show you the advanced magic research achievements of our Death Star faction."

"First, let me explain to you what a star is."

"In the universe, there are celestial bodies that are relatively fixed in position. In contrast, there are planets. Our Earth is a planet."

"Stars have extremely large masses..."

Mr. Death Star II had a loud voice that could be heard by all the onlookers. He was very patient and happy to answer the questions of newcomers.

The knowledge he explained did not exceed Lyle's level of understanding, of course, it was only general knowledge.

"Mr. Death Star, are you saying that stars can die?"

"Yes, stars are like giant fireballs; although they have plenty of fuel, they will eventually go out."

"What about the Earth? Will it die too?"

"Yes, they will die, although it will be a long time from now."

"how long?"

"So long that you realize that manually detonating the Earth is actually much faster than his natural death."