"Eh, y-yes..."

Lilina recognized her face. She’d seen her earlier—she was the academy’s twelfth dean.

"Don’t be afraid, child..."

Coline suddenly noticed something. She teleported right in front of Lilina and grabbed her shoulder.

"Yikes!"

Lilina flinched, her body shrinking back slightly.

*What are you doing, old hag? Let her go!*

"Gurgle!"

Wu Yan wrapped two tentacles around Coline’s arm, straining to pull her hand away.

But though her hand looked frail, he couldn’t budge it.

Wu Yan was frantic. He didn’t dare cast a spell—he couldn’t control his magic output and might hurt Lilina. As a Dark Beast, his strength was too small. He felt utterly helpless.

Coline held her breath, studying Lilina for seconds. Then she turned to the teachers. "Restart the match. This girl takes first place. The others compete again."

Coline vanished with Lilina...

"Restart the match! You heard me!"

"Back on stage now."

...

"Did that Dark Beast really knock us off?"

"How? Aren’t Dark Beasts the most useless Monster Beasts..."

"We were defeated—that’s fact. The President didn’t recruit her randomly..."

"No wonder the President chose a Commoner Class student. She’s this strong..."

"Then we shouldn’t trouble her anymore!"

...

Scottia watched it all.

She actually cast a spell—forcing a first-level spell to Fourth Level Spell power...

Though prepared, Scottia was still stunned.

She caught the dean’s eye so fast. But better the academy knows early. This will be hard to handle...

Coline brought Lilina and Wu Yan to her private viewing room.

"Dean!"

"Everyone out. I have urgent matters!"

Coline’s command left no room for argument.

"Yes!"

When the room emptied, Wu Yan scanned it.

A massive crystal wall dominated one side, showing Platform Six where Lilina had fought. Sofas draped in Monster Beast furs filled the space. The floor was carpeted in furs too. A small table held steaming tea and rare pastries—none Wu Yan had seen in the cafeteria.

*What a decadent place! Take me with you to live like this!*

"Gurgle!"

Wu Yan excitedly waved his tentacles.

*Being dean here must be bliss. Aren’t all these girls potential harem members?*

"Um... what did you need from me..."

Lilina’s voice wavered. Facing the dean made her nervous.

"Girl, your name?"

"L-Lilina!"

"Lilina, you’re mana-saturated, aren’t you?"

"Yes!"

"You don’t come from a wealthy family. Your Contract Beast enabled this, didn’t it?"

Coline fought to stay calm, but years of...

"Yes..."

"How... how do you communicate with it..."

Coline’s excitement spilled over; her arms trembled.

"Little Dark is smart. At first, he didn’t understand me. But after time, he learned to communicate..."

"He didn’t understand you from the start..."

Coline could barely believe it. She’d assumed a special breed or unique method.

But it was the unthinkable—learned after birth.

It had only been a month since she heard the news...

A Dark Beast mastering a language in a month? Even humans rarely achieve that.

How could the dumbest creature learn so fast?

A voice interrupted from the door.

"Dean, preliminaries are done!"

"Hmm. Understood."

Coline steadied herself. "Lilina, return to the match. Don’t leave campus these days. We’ll discuss your case soon—you may be summoned anytime."

"Yes, Dean!"

"As compensation, take this mental power potion. It boosts mental strength."

Coline flipped her palm, producing a potion, and thrust it at Lilina.

Lilina recoiled. "N-no, Dean! It’s too valuable—I can’t accept!"

She didn’t know its effects, but any mental power potion was priceless. The dean’s gift? Absolutely top-tier. She couldn’t take it.

Coline wasted no time. She shoved the potion into Lilina’s hands. Then she vanished with Lilina and Wu Yan.