The goddesses attempted to gain my salvation.

------

forest.

Sunlight could only filter through the dense foliage, casting dappled patterns of light.

Although it was daytime, the entire forest was shrouded in a chilling atmosphere, sending shivers down one's spine.

Nina pushed up her glasses and walked slowly through the forest, finally stopping in front of a huge, thick tree, then kneeling on one knee.

"Master...you called me?"

The response to Nina was a magically altered voice, indistinguishable between male and female.

"Yesterday, the three assassins we sent out failed."

Nina's heart skipped a beat. An unspeakable pressure descended upon her, making her feel breathless for a moment, and beads of cold sweat appeared on her face.

"You know what this means?"

Nina replied in a trembling voice, "It means... the secret of the cipher might be exposed..."

The voice above sighed.

“Nina, you are a very good girl. I knew that half a year ago when you came to me wanting my help.”

Six months ago, Nina's world collapsed after she caught Orina and Ryan having sex in bed.

By chance, Nina encountered this voice.

After she confided her desires to him, he told her about the secret text and the sacrificial magic.

Let her use these things to fulfill her wishes.

But......

Nina never expected that West and those high-and-mighty guys were only thinking about making money and acting on their own desires, and had no intention of helping her kill Ryan at all.

A few days ago, Nina was on her routine night patrol outside the academy when she discovered that many of the stone tablets had been dug up.

Later, Nina learned that everything was done by Ryan and the female mentors, one of whom, Freya, was even capable of deciphering the cryptic texts.

This was something she never expected.

The secret of the coded message is about to be revealed.

This not only means that the so-called Church of Immortality is about to be destroyed, but also that her plan has completely failed.

"Master...it's all my fault...please forgive me." Nina placed her forehead on the ground, trying her best to appear as humble as possible.

However, his voice remained completely devoid of emotion.

"I am very disappointed in you."

Nina felt a chill run down her spine and quickly said, "Master! Please give me another chance! I will find a way to keep the secret of the cryptic text!"

The voice above my head was very gentle.

"I will give you this opportunity."

After saying that, Nina suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and began to vomit violently.

Her vomit was all thick, black liquid!

Nina looked up in alarm, following the sound towards the top of the tree trunk.

But there was no one there.

"Master! Please! Don't kill me! No!!!"

Nina's hysterical screams, the black liquid constantly gushing from her mouth, nearly suffocated her.

"Master!!! Don't abandon me!!!"

But there was no sound to answer her anymore.

The black liquid on the ground suddenly seemed to come alive and crawled towards Nina.

It travels upwards along her legs, eventually enveloping her entire body, continuously penetrating through her skin and into her body.

After a brief wail and scream, everything came to an abrupt end.

After a long while, the black liquid completely merged into Nina's body.

The life of Nina has completely disappeared from the world.

Instead, there was someone with the exact same exterior as her...

puppet.

"Go. Go and do what you're supposed to do."

The puppet revealed a sinister smile, turned around, and walked towards the academy.

"...Yes, Master."

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Strength Assessment Begins

Today is the day of the first-grade ability assessment.

The magic academy was bustling with activity and excitement.

All the kings and nobles who could be named from across the continent gathered here.

They are all parents of first-grade students.

The purpose of coming here is to see how far the child has grown.

Some of them lived far away and arrived half a month in advance, then stayed temporarily in the surrounding area.

Those who lived closer rode horses at breakneck speed, covered in dust.

However, none of this matters.

As long as the child's abilities improve significantly, that's better than anything else.

However, among these people, Claire was the only exception.

Her father, the old King Berlein of the Duchy of Ferrante, could not possibly come.

In his eyes, Claire was nothing more than a scourge cursed by a demon, a sinner expelled from the duchy.

As long as she can stay at the magic academy, she can graduate, enter the Basmah Church, and become some kind of clergyman, forever atoning for the sins of the duchy.

As for the results?

Bernardin wouldn't care.

Of course, for Claire, the moment her blood-related father imprisoned her in the basement, he became utterly dispensable in her life.

Now she only hopes that Ryan will see all the wonderful performance she gave during the evaluation.

Then, reward yourself with a loving kiss.

If we can do some fun things together again in the future...

That would be perfect!

In the early morning, Claire tidied herself up in front of the mirror.

Today she is wearing the academy's combat uniform.

Overall, it looks similar to a regular uniform, but there are many more armor pieces in some important places.

For example, the long iron boots worn over black knee-high stockings, the iron waistband, the breastplate, and the wrist guards, etc...

It looks quite like a Valkyrie.

Looking in the mirror, Claire tied her long pink hair into a ponytail, turned it left and right, and nodded in satisfaction.

At the same time, there was a knock on the door.

Claire excitedly went to open the door and immediately saw Ryan.

"Mentor Ryan!"

Claire threw herself into Ryan's arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, and stood on tiptoe to kiss him.

Ryan paused for a moment, then quickly pressed Claire's head down.

"Hey! Claire, look around!"

"Hmm? The surroundings?"

Claire then realized what was happening and quickly looked to the side.

result......

She saw a familiar figure.

Like Claire, Maggie is wearing a combat uniform!

Maggie stared wide-eyed at Claire in horror, her brain unable to process the situation.

"Claire?!"

"What are you doing......"

"Wait! When did you and Mentor Ryan... develop this kind of relationship?!"

"No, no! Claire! He's your professor, and you're his student! You two can't be dating!"

"That's not right! The academy doesn't allow dating at all!"

Clearly, Maggie was completely bewildered, not even knowing what she was saying, her face as red as an apple.

Claire hadn't expected Maggie to come.

Blushing, she awkwardly put her hands behind her back and kicked at the pebbles at her feet.

“Mentor Ryan…”

"I didn't mean to..."

Seeing Claire's aggrieved look, as if she had done something wrong, Ryan smiled wryly and patted her head.

"It's fine."