Most of the time, they each silently gazed out the window at the scenery.

Motionless.

Unfamiliar yet beautiful landscapes flashed by in high speed, appearing and disappearing in an instant.

After a day of travel, it was now noon on the second day.

Lanqi rested his chin on one hand, shifting his gaze from the scenery flowing like a moving painting outside the window to glance at the clock on the train.

As sparse buildings and pastures typical of city outskirts began to appear, Lanqi felt they were nearing their destination.

"By the way, Tata, what's your understanding of the Shadow World?"

He seemed to have finally tired of the scenery and turned to ask Talia a question.

As what he originally knew to be the not-yet-fully-developed highest difficulty random dungeon, Lanqi had likewise found numerous materials about the "Shadow World" in this world's books.

However, the mysterious "Shadow World" was far more complex than he understood, having completely transformed in this real world into countless dangerous dungeons of infinite number.

And the Icerite Magic Academy he was about to attend was initially established with the goal of "cultivating talents capable of conquering the Shadow World."

The entrance exam would naturally be related to this as well.

"Neglecting the Shadow World or failing to conquer it will lead to natural disasters in certain parts of the world, but completing it allows one to gain power and wealth."

Talia answered simply, her eyes unmoving.

Before she agreed to be Lanqi's teacher, this was how she responded to any questions Lanqi asked about magic cards.

Hearing this, Lanqi nodded, not intending to pursue the topic further.

It was the same as what was written in the books.

For the people of this world, the Shadow World was like a double-edged sword.

Conquering the Shadow World would yield substantial rewards, including core materials for making magic cards, as well as naturally occurring magic cards more powerful than man-made ones.

Failing to conquer it would lead to natural disasters in certain parts of the world. If left unattended, the Shadow World would automatically close after a certain time limit, similarly resulting in disasters eroding the real world.

Therefore, countries and major powers around the world were dedicating all their efforts to cultivating talents skilled in conquering the Shadow World.

"The Shadow World... appears without warning at fixed or random entry points in this world. They are projections of historical fragments of this world or alternate worlds."

Talia added another sentence.

Seemingly out of her responsibility as a teacher, she would answer a little more to questions related to magic cards, but only just a little.

However, they had both grown accustomed to this form of communication that always stopped short.

"I see..."

Lanqi muttered thoughtfully.

The books in the border library recorded that Shadow Worlds gradually opened periodically, infinite in number, with potentially different timelines and worldviews. Some were easy and simple, while others were extremely dangerous.

After entering a Shadow World, people would acquire unpredictable new identities to enact historical fragments.

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This meant that no weapons, costumes, or ordinary magical items could be brought into the Shadow World.

Except for — magic cards bound to the soul.

This was also why magic cards had become the mainstream tools of this era, providing indispensable help in conquering Shadow Worlds.

Looking at it this way, the Shadow World and magic cards indeed had an inexplicable causal relationship. The raw materials for magic cards needed to be produced from the Shadow World, yet magic cards made it easier for people in the real world to complete Shadow Worlds.

It's hard to imagine how the ancient beings in the pioneering period, when Shadow Worlds first emerged, managed to beat those hellish dungeons without magic cards...

"We've arrived."

Talia's voice, like water droplets falling onto ice, interrupted Lanqi's thoughts.

He turned his head to look and saw that the scenery outside the window had slowly come to a stop. It was a station with a roof built of reddish-brown bricks.

The towering towers at both ends made the entire building appear solemn and magnificent. The interior of the station was elaborately decorated, with marble pillars, murals, and stained glass windows all showcasing the weight of history.

Unlike the South Vantina Border City-State, this royal city called Icerite, while grand and prosperous, also retained many historical elements.

Lanqi didn't hesitate long, taking down his suitcase from the luggage rack and following Talia off the train that had reached its destination.

......

Walking through the concourse of Icerite Central Station, the clamor gradually faded away.

Lanqi and Talia arrived at the edge of a spacious square and boarded a small sightseeing carriage, beginning their new journey in this city.

The afternoon sun shone on the carriage, gently swaying, bringing a sense of leisure and comfort.

In the distance, one could see tulips and calla lilies clustered together in the royal botanical garden, with various plants like gauze and mist, lush with greenery.

The sound of hooves echoed on the ancient cobblestone streets, wheels humming as they rolled. Even just leaning back in his seat, Lanqi could witness Icerite's unique architectural style along the way: magnificent houses, brick-red walls, pointed eaves, and exquisite ancient carvings.

The carriage drove past winding canals, and with the breeze, ripples spread across the water's surface, reflecting the image of willow trees gently brushing the water.

"When we get to the academy later, want to take a look around together?"

Lanqi turned his head and asked Talia beside him.

"What do you think?"

Talia retorted to Lanqi's seemingly friendly but actually shameless invitation.

Since she was supposed to protect Lanqi, she actually had no choice, even though after these three months she still hadn't figured out who exactly was trying to kill Lanqi.

She only knew that Lanqi was telling the truth when he said "someone wants to kill him."

Along the way, the carriage passed over an ancient stone bridge. The mottled beige stonework bore witness to the passage of time. Below the bridge, canal water gently lapped against the stone piers, emitting a peaceful sound. Overhead, a flock of seagulls circled in the sky, soaring freely.

"Can't be helped, visiting the academy today is very important to me."

Lanqi closed his eyes and shrugged as he spoke.

Unlike the Alchemy Department and Magic Engineering Department, the Knight Department and Sage Department actually began the first part of their assessment during the application process.

That is, the attribute test.

If one's attribute growth potential was too poor, they might be directly disqualified from taking the formal examination.

Since the recruitment goals of the Knight Department and Sage Department were to cultivate rare talents capable of conquering high-level Shadow Worlds, and once entering a Shadow World, not only might the challenger face great mortal danger, but it would also concern the survival of companions and whether they could help the real world avoid being eroded by disasters. Therefore, the entrance exams for these two departments had strict requirements for the practical combat qualities of candidates.

After passing the first part of the attribute test, the formal exam, which was the second part, would use artificially simulated Shadow Worlds to assess students' actual coping abilities. The third part of the final assessment was a functional combat test arranged by the department.

After detailed research on the academy, Lanqi finally chose to change his application from the Alchemy Department to the Sage Department, which specialized in magical combat.

Because his innate attributes or functional affinity had no possibility of becoming a physical profession, he had little hope of passing the first round of the Knight Department.

"..."

Talia didn't speak again.

She was well aware of Lanqi's itinerary and arrangements, and had also heard from him about the exam format he would face next.

It was just that based on her experiences accumulated over her long life as a long-lived species, traversing the demon realm and numerous human countries, she still didn't know how to define Lanqi as a combat profession.

She'd leave this headache-inducing problem to Icerite Academy.

After all, it wouldn't be her who would suffer.