The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　Besides Prince Charles, the office also includes Principal Arte, Professor Sylph, Professor Cazell, Professor Lily, Professor Jones, and Professor Haldelbold.

　Professor Steven Harvey, who had accompanied him last week, was not present. Duck glanced at the people present and immediately understood.

　Tonight, besides solving the problems, I also need to help the new professors trigger hidden trials for testing purposes.

　Among them, Professor Lily is the Dean of the Magic Academy, Professor Jones is the Dean of the Noble Academy, and Professor Bode is the Dean of the Fool's Academy.

　To make the hidden trials widely known, at least the deans of the respective academies must first be informed of them.

　However, the professors didn't seem very interested in this hidden trial. Professor Bode sat alone in a chair, drinking tea, his face gloomy, seemingly lost in thought.

　Professor Jones was having a close conversation with Professor Sylph, laughing at her for triggering the Magic Academy's trial despite being a professor at the Knights Academy.

　Professor Sylph sneered: "Why don't you look in a mirror first? How did you manage to trigger the Noble Academy Trials?"

　Professor Jones didn't take it seriously.

　Professor Lily is very concerned about the "anomalies" Charles encountered during his hidden trials at the Academy of Noble Families.

　As for the hidden trial itself... she wasn't very interested either.

　The concept of "fate" always gives people the feeling that the future is predetermined.

　But the idea that "the future is predetermined" negates individual effort.

　Moreover, Professor Lily herself disliked the so-called "fate".

　Dak randomly found an empty seat and sat down.

　The office was quite lively; the professors always seemed to have endless topics to discuss.

　However, this atmosphere is not so pleasant for those who cannot fit in.

　Like Professor Bode, Charles sat alone in a chair, pretending to read the newspaper.

　But unlike Professor Bode, he is not actually someone who can enjoy "solitude".

　Furthermore, it was clear that he was slightly nervous in this situation.

　Theoretically, he shouldn't be nervous about this.

　So, it's probably because he's nervous about what he'll be doing tonight. Having made up his mind, Dak proactively asked, "Are you worried about encountering any unusual situations tonight?"

　Charles turned to look at him, his eyes flickering, and nodded: "There are always some shadows."

　Darke smiled and said, "Actually, there's no need to be nervous. Last time it might have just been an accident. The professors have all tried it and haven't encountered any abnormal situations. Besides, I've already tried the Noble Academy's hidden trial. Although the trial itself is somewhat difficult, there were no abnormalities throughout the entire process. In my opinion, there's really no need to worry too much."

　He offered words of comfort, but Charles, after listening, focused his attention elsewhere: "You've passed the hidden trial of the Noble Academy."

　Dark nodded slightly and said, "It's approved."

　Charles's expression changed slightly; he turned to look at the newspaper, his eyes darting around uncertainly.

　.

　By passing the hidden trials of the Noble Academy, one can obtain the destiny of an "Emperor." Although Darkdemon is not royalty, he has the potential to become one.

　Charles desires the "Emperor" destiny to become an "Emperor," and he has little interest in improving his magical abilities. Even if he does improve his magical abilities, it's merely a stepping stone to becoming a "King."

　But now, Darkdimon has already obtained the "Emperor" destiny before him...

　No matter the time, "first" always carries special significance. And Dak is indeed the first person in recent years to be granted the destiny of an "emperor".

　This left him no choice but to think about it.

　This idea is so shallow that it can't be hidden from people at all.

　Dark shook his head slightly, then added, "I used a 'Fate Talisman'." "What is a Fate Talisman?" Charles asked.

　Dak then casually explained what a "destiny talisman" was. There was nothing to hide, and the professors didn't see anything wrong with it.

　After hearing this, Charles exclaimed in surprise, "There's such a treasure?" Dark and Professor Sylph exchanged glances and said, "Want to learn? I can teach you."

　Charles rolled his eyes, but shook his head and said, "Forget it, I'm afraid I can't learn it in a short time."

　Dark smiled and said, "That's true." The two then chatted about everyday matters.

　Charles had probably not talked about this kind of thing in a long time, because he talked nonstop.

　Dak was also a very good listener, so he let him talk and only responded occasionally to keep him from losing interest.

　Before long, Charles began to recount his daily studies in the palace.

　Even from his voice alone, Dak could hear the pain he had endured while confined to the palace to study.

　So he suppressed a laugh and continued listening.

　In reality, Charles's learning experience in the palace was only so-so. Although he described it as very painful, his overall study time was no more than that of Dak.

　However, having his time scheduled in a timetable created a sense of constraint for him.

　Moreover, he lacked self-awareness and the willingness to learn independently, which is why he felt extremely tormented.

　In short, it's the difference between living inside a prison fence and living inside a villa wall.

　But Darko certainly wouldn't point that out. To improve, you have to learn. It's a simple principle, but not everyone can grasp it.

　Charles also wanted to improve, but not in terms of magical abilities. There's no need to elaborate on that.

　They waited a while longer in the office until the last person, Professor Mitis Bartholomew, arrived, before leaving to begin their evening's business.

　Professor Mitya is a fortune teller with a thorough understanding of "fate".

　Since the hidden trial at St. Marian Academy involves "fate," inviting her to join us is certainly the right thing to do.

　"Here, take a look at the 'Destiny Symbol'."

　Professor Mitia walked over to Dark and patted him on the shoulder. Dark reached out, took out the "Destiny Talisman," and let her examine it at will.

　After moving up to his third year, Dark stopped taking the elective course "Astrology" and didn't see Professor Midia for a while.

　However, the two did not feel awkward at all and remained familiar with each other.

　Professor Mitia carefully examined the "Destiny Symbol" and couldn't help but marvel, "There really is something in this world that can forcibly change one's fate." Dark asked curiously, "Change one's fate... surely the gods who control destiny can do that?"

　“That’s not necessarily true.” Professor Mitia returned the “Destiny Symbol” to him and said, “In short, you should know that this is not something that can be changed casually. Changing a person’s destiny is equivalent to changing a timeline; it changes the entire world, not just a single person.”

　"There's such a saying?" Darke frowned abruptly.

　Professor Mitia leaned close to his ear and whispered, "So either this hidden trial transcends common sense and involves knowledge I haven't touched upon, or its actual effect isn't to change a person's destiny."

　Dak fell into deep thought.

　Professor Mitia's words completely overturned Dark's understanding of this hidden trial.

　But upon closer examination, that's just an internal reason.

　If you're only looking for superficial benefits, you don't need to pay too much attention to these principles.

　Moreover, he did not use the hidden trial to change his own (fate).

　This is all thanks to the "Destiny Talisman"...

　But when the topic of "fate charms" came up, combined with Professor Mitia's explanation, Dark suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "So, it's not something that can truly change a person's fate? Since 'fate charms' can be used, logically it should be 'overwriting,' not 'changing.' Only temporary 'overwriting' can revert to the original state after being removed. In that case..."

　He followed his own logic, exploring the details of the changes in his "fate." As dusk fell, magical lamps lit up the castle's corridors.

　Patrolling golems began to appear in the remote, secluded corners of the castle. Dark followed the professors, gradually ascending to the upper levels of the castle.

　Upon reaching the sixth floor of the castle, Principal Arte said to Professor Sylph, "Bring me a pen."

　Professor Sylph took the box out of her bag, broke the seal, and the "Scody's Quill" gradually floated up, enveloped in a silvery-white glow.

　Principal Art reached out and grabbed "Scotty's Quill" and handed it back to Charles.

　The artifact returns, but Charles...

　He didn't seem excited; in fact, he even trembled slightly when he grabbed the quill pen.

　It seems that last week's experience has indeed left him with some psychological trauma. After all, he really did escape death, and his soul almost dissipated.

　The fact that he dared to suggest trying again and come this far is proof of his courage.

　Principal Arte raised his hand, stopping Professor Pavajohns from his habitual encouragement, giving Charles some time to adjust himself.

　Two or three minutes later, Charles took a deep breath and activated "Scotty's Quill" once again.

　Instantly, a powerful divine aura emanated from it. "I offer my sincerest prayers to the goddess who governs the future, hoping that she will grant me guidance in my destiny."

　Charles opened his hand, and the "Scoody's Quill" floated up again, stopping not far from his palm. Then, as if searching for something, it slowly began to spin.

　Perhaps his "opportunity" was indeed insufficient, because the "Scottie's quill pen" spun quite slowly.

　But it is still turning.

　This shows that Charles's "opportunity" was not entirely nonexistent.

　Dark and the professors exchanged glances, a suspicion creeping into their minds that Charles's "abnormality" might stem from his lack of "opportunity" yet his forced activation of the hidden trial, thus incurring its rejection.

　This conjecture is not impossible, but it is predicated on the existence of a "self" in the hidden trial, or on the existence of an underlying logic similar to that of AI.

　However, this would raise the possibility that Charles might encounter something "abnormal" again, which must be guarded against.

　After that, I waited patiently for a long time.

　Just as Charles himself was becoming anxious, the "Scooty's quill pen" finally chose a direction and guided Charles in that direction.

　Everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief and followed him toward the place indicated by the quill pen.

　"Scody's Quill" slowly adjusts as it guides you, just as the location of the hidden trial changes.

　It didn't stop until everyone arrived at a certain spot on the eighth floor of the castle, and the author pointed to a wall.

　"A wall"

　Dak was puzzled.

　Previous trials all used doors, windows, or other opening and closing mechanisms for entry and exit.

　This time, however, it pointed to a wall, which was indeed somewhat unusual.

　His first thought was that the wall might be one of the entrances to the secret passage. If that were the case, Charles's hidden trial would overlap with the secret passage, and that would be the real danger!

　Fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not occur.

　Charles walked to the wall and felt around for a bit, and surprisingly, he found the hidden mechanism on the wall.

　He pressed the mechanism and pushed it, and the wall immediately rotated at a right angle like a door, revealing its interior layout.

　It turned out to be a secret room hidden inside the wall! Darkton was astonished.

　He turned his head and saw that the professors were also quite surprised, clearly unaware that such a secret room existed inside the castle.

　Perhaps the existence of the secret passage distracted them, causing them to overlook this rather ordinary secret room.

　“Perhaps it’s Halloween residue,” Professor Cazell said. “Check it out.”

　Charles said, "Then..."

　Professor Sylph said, "This chamber has nothing to do with the trial. You are free to enter and try it. If you encounter anything unusual, just leave as soon as possible. We will wait here."

　Charles looked at the black vortex blocking half of the door, swallowed slightly, reached out and touched the vortex, and was sucked into it in the blink of an eye.

　Professor Cazell entered the secret room through another door. The room was cluttered with various items scattered all over the floor. Professor Cazell quickly scanned the room and frowned.

　Dak followed, looked around with a hint of doubt, and suddenly realized the problem.

　This secret room is about half the size of a student dormitory room. It's cluttered with things, but it has almost everything you could want.

　Among the items placed directly on the table or the floor were books, stationery, jars, tableware, clothing... and even some magical materials.

　But none of these things are important in themselves.

　Importantly, they were free of dust, and at a glance, it was clear that someone had used them recently.

　"Someone lives here."

　Dark thought of this immediately.

　Professor Cazell nodded solemnly: "It's almost certainly true."

　“Some people live here, reading books and newspapers, and there are even traces of experiments left behind.”

　Professor Cazell walked to a small open space in the middle, squatted down, touched the ground, and actually pulled out a hair from it.

　If this hair belongs to someone who lives here, then the professors can easily use it as a medium to find that person's location.

　But Dark immediately recognized it as "magical beast fur"! "This is magical beast fur," Professor Kazel said, picking up a hair and examining it. "Magical beast fur is only used in first-year classes. Who is this year's first-year magic theory professor?"