Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

“This is a joint hospital set up by the arcane sorcerers, open to all races. I personally think you’d prefer to lie here rather than on the lich’s testing ground in the cold basement.” Ariana left her seat. “I’ll go to the dining room and call Nia back. She woke up thirty minutes earlier than you and should still be eating.”

“Let’s go together. I’m fine, I don’t need to stay in bed anymore.” In fact, Lyle couldn’t be better. Apart from having an extra presence in his head, Lyle felt like he had been reborn.

Ariana looked him up and down and agreed to his suggestion, "Then go to the restaurant to find Nia, I'll go settle the hospital bills."

Hospital fees? Lyle fidgeted with his fingers. "How long was I unconscious? Are hospital fees expensive?"

“One hour, Lyle. But I prepaid for a year, so if you want to stay in that room a little longer, I can settle the bill later.”

"No, no, no, you go ahead, Ariana." That's our little bit of money, we have to get it back.

After parting ways with Ariana, Lyle followed the signs and found the restaurant.

On his way to the restaurant, Lyle noticed that the hospital was extremely busy, with people of all races being carried in on stretchers.

He also heard the doctor yell.

"Three more wounded have appeared at the Black Abyss Arena. Send stretchers over there quickly!"

"Prioritize emergency treatment for elves, humans, and flesh-and-blood races!"

"Other races are next!"

"Liches? If the liches want to come, let them go to the basement themselves!"

Watching the doctor scream as he rushed out of the hospital, Lyle sighed at the gap between classes and pushed open the door of the attached restaurant.

He instantly spotted Nia, the girl who had taken over the center of the restaurant with her claws outstretched, countless tentacles grabbing at the food on the surrounding plates as she frantically devoured it. Beside her were a tall bear-man dressed as a maid, licking his plate, a Black Abyss demon eating a chicken leg while crying, and a burly human vomiting.

"Nia, what are you doing?"

“Nia is fighting!” she replied energetically, before throwing herself back into eating.

After some investigation, Lyle realized that this was the venue for a competitive eating contest. The reason it was set up in the hospital's affiliated cafeteria was to make it easier to carry the contestants into the gastroenterology department.

The burly human was already unconscious; the tears of the Black Abyss Demons proved his defeat. The bear-man was still persisting, but the gap between him and the Stomach of the Abyss was widening.

Beside the bear-man, several muscular men dressed in maid outfits were striking cringe-worthy poses and offering their support.

"Sisters!!! For the sake of pure maidhood!!! Hang in there!!!"

Lyle stopped paying attention to the game; he felt his head starting to ache and his stomach churning—a terrible feeling.

Twenty minutes later, Nia, holding a golden fork trophy, swaggered out of the hospital with Lyle and Ariana.

Chapter 405 The Nameless Battle

Lyle and Ariana's destination, naturally, was to return to the Black Abyss Arena. The Wandering Tournament was now in full swing, and the Black Abyss Arena had become the center of the city's revelry.

"Defenders, charge!"

In the name of nature!

"Fight for Hell!"

"For next month's research grant, for 100,000 Oreos!"

"Die, you trash lich!"

Lyle could hear all sorts of roars from outside the stadium, as if he were back in the fervent atmosphere of watching the World Cup.

Since he didn't have to participate, Lyle became very interested in the tournament and pulled Ariana towards the Andrei Lich's booth.

"You're back, Doctor of Plague."

"Peace and happiness, the doctor of plague."

Lyle greeted his lich colleagues cheerfully, then pulled Ariana back to their original seats, which were now empty.

"Damn bastards, they've all run away." Lyle, who wanted to settle scores, couldn't find his familiar and close friends and could only sigh in regret.

Just as he and Ariana sat down to watch the gladiatorial match, he heard a familiar voice.

"The top doctor in the epidemic!"

That was a bright sound.

They didn't run away! How dare they show their face again!

His anger flared instantly, and Lyle glared fiercely in the direction from which the sound came from, which was behind him.

And then...and then I was dumbfounded.

Those nine people were not sitting in the stands behind Lyle.

Instead, they were hung on flagpoles at the edge of the arena, dangling like cured meat, swaying in the wind.

Shining, manipulating, adapting, miracles, inspiration, gentlemen, journalists, delusions—all are on display.

Oh, and there's also a Mr. Dark.

Although the scene before him was just as he had expected, Lyle felt a sense of unease.

"Who did this?"

"Brother Jing." Linggan briefly explained how the enraged president of the Magic Research Club, Senior Jing, had hung the two lawbreakers on the flagpole. Moreover, following the scholar mentor's instructions, he had also impaled the skull of Miracle on his ribs, and Mr. Miracle was still cursing in his abdomen.

Lyle shifted his gaze to his three old acquaintances, the troublemaking trio from the literary society. The gentlemen and the others were still exchanging greetings without a care in the world.

“Mr. Raymond. After he handed you over to Ariana’s care, he came and negotiated with us. He gave us a choice between hanging the flagpole and being punished with the Light of Andre.”

Lyle blinked. "You chose to hang the flagpole?"

“We chose the Dark Boss.” The reporter pointed to the Dark Man hanging next to them.

"So we became the light of Andrei hanging on the flagpole." The three of them pulled down the black cloth covering them, and instantly a dazzling light enveloped the entire Andrei stands.

"Damn the literature club! Turn off the lights!" The lich, nearly blinded by the lights, angrily threw stones and other small objects at the three people.

Lyle's lips twitched as he looked at his club members.

Shining a few, compared to the others, they were much more ordinary.

"So, how did you get up there, to the Executive Committee?"

With a flick of his wrists, he grabbed the flagpole behind him and gently pushed it upwards. Their skulls separated from the tip of the flagpole on their own.

"Boss, after much painful reflection, we realize we've done something truly wrong. Out of remorse, we've decided to hang ourselves on the flagpole. No need for you to do it! We'll punish ourselves!"

Good heavens, these guys are really something else. Their level of moral awareness is astounding.

The gentleman saw through their disguise instantly.

"What nonsense about learning from past mistakes! Don't believe them, Plague Doctor. They climbed up themselves when they saw Mr. Dragon getting up to come over. You should let Mr. Dragon give them their real punishment! Think about it, Plague Doctor! They are the culprits behind all this!!!"

The three members of the Necromancer's Figurine Club and the three members of the Literature Club swayed in the air as if they were about to fight, exchanging insults at each other, completely obscuring the harmonious scene from before.

Lyle was no longer angry; he had given up on these guys.

"Then just leave it hanging like that, I'm going to watch the game."

The two sides stopped arguing instantly and exchanged a brief glance.

The plan worked, the doctor's anger was extinguished, and the eight of them would not be subject to any further punishment.

Lyle was about to watch the game when Mr. Dark, who had been filling in for others, actually approached him.

"Plague Doctor! You haven't yet asked the Lord of Chaos, the One of End, why I have arrived here."

Ah, is it even necessary to ask why Mr. Darkness hung the flagpole?

"Didn't you hang it up because Mr. Raymond didn't like it?"

Mr. Darkness snorted coldly and chuckled.

"Naive! How could I have such a fool among my subordinates! Do you really think I was punished here because I feared the power of the Holy Light?"

"Is not it?"

"Naive! You are so naive! How could the Lord of Darkness possibly submit to the Holy Light! The real reason I came here... the reason I came here is... status! That's right! Status! This is the highest point in the entire arena! How could I possibly be on the same level as those mortals! I am transcendent and independent! I look down upon all others! I..."

Before Mr. Darkness could finish speaking, a bolt of black and red lightning struck him, causing him to sway in the air like a roly-poly toy.

The Protoss Lofdi's figure flickered on the high platform, looking into the darkness with an apologetic look in his eyes.

“I’m very sorry, Bishop Raymond, but I think you need some electric shocks.”

"Raymond! I will kill you!!!"

The farce at the very top of the stands continued, in the front row of the Advanced Magic Research Community. A group of advanced professors sat squatting on their small seats.

Death Star II gripped the edge of the stone wall, looking at the center of the arena.

"Um, could I ask for a leave of absence? My research has reached a critical stage."

"No." Mr. Apocalypse's voice was like a falling guillotine, shattering all of Death Star's thoughts. "Next is Mr. Nameless's first battle in our club. Although we cannot participate, we must stand with him, for the glory of the Advanced Magic Research Club and the new era of magic!"

Electromagnetism is the Death Star's old enemy, but this time it's rare that they agree on the same point of view.

"Well, I think Mr. Anonymous, as one of us and as a researcher, definitely won't notice our support, which has no real value. Can we please stop with the formalism, Apocalypse Boss? Everyone's time is very limited."

"Electromagnetism, your research funding is gone next month."

"No! Boss! Dear boss! I still have Laser as my apprentice! We can't let down the education of our apprentice! You can't cut my budget! That's our care for our apprentice! If you really have to reduce spending, then cut the Death Star. Anyway, his apprentice is dead, so it's a waste of money to keep him blowing things up all day."

Mr. Stasis was caught in the crossfire and decided to speak up.

"When it comes to educational care, none of us can surpass gravity."

Where did Mr. Gravity go?

"I suppose he's giving Mr. Wuming exam tutoring."

Chapter 406 The Professor's Concerns

When Mr. Gravity returned to the audience, the melancholy on his face seemed to speak volumes, and all the liches even wondered if he was the first lich to rediscover the emotion of worry.

Mr. Stasis moved to the left, making way for Mr. Gravity to sit on the rough, barely square stone seat.

“You know what, Gravity, the way you look makes me think you’re a newcomer to the Advanced Magic Research Society, not a professor. You look like you’ve just published your first academic paper, with uncertainty and trepidation in your eyes.”