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

　Dak bent down and picked up the cat grass at his feet, a slight smile playing on his lips.

　A new day has begun.

　……

　The first weekend of the new semester.

　The first-year students, still buzzing with excitement after the Duel Club recruitment, were spreading the word and causing a ruckus everywhere, making the castle's atmosphere seem even warmer.

　Dark set up a pavilion for the magical elves.

　Professor Nini assigned a paper on ghost-absorbing monsters, and he needs to go to the library to find information.

　Around 10 a.m., Dak finished writing his paper. Instead of returning to his dormitory, he continued studying in the library.

　From morning to night.

　A number of people gradually entered the library, most of whom left after checking their information, while a few stayed.

　To his surprise, Dak saw Witt and Robert, who were biting their pens as they tackled their homework, displaying a rare kind of determination.

　However, Dark didn't pay much attention to them and quickly immersed himself in his own research.

　Learning about "zoos" will require a lot of time.

　The issue of "integration" has been largely resolved.

　The "fusion" experiment has been delayed because Pandora hasn't returned yet.

　But this kind of thing can't be delayed any longer.

　If his senior didn't arrive, he planned to refine it by himself.

　Even if you take a few detours to master magic, it still has its significance.

　Of course, it was because he had enough credits that Dak dared to say such a thing.

　He was ready to go to Traveler's Street early Sunday morning to buy the materials for "Fusion". At a price of 1500 credits per set, he could buy three sets first.

　Anyway, there's no problem with "fusion" no matter how many you make—the real fear is not being able to make even one!

　……

　Suddenly, my vision was slightly obstructed.

　Dak looked up and saw a smiling face.

　His face immediately lit up with joy: "Senior, when did you get back?"

　Pandora pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him: "This morning."

　Dark looked him up and down, then suddenly asked, "Did something good happen?"

　Pandora's eyes narrowed into crescent moons.

　She raised her index finger and said cheerfully, "It's a secret."

　It seemed to be genuine joy.

　Dark thought for a moment, then said after careful consideration, "But I'm very curious."

　Pandora shook her head slightly: "Curiousness isn't allowed either. Hmm, it's not the right time yet. I'll tell you when it's time. So? I heard you've done something big again?"

　“It wasn’t anything serious,” Dark said, not pressing further. “We just encountered some danger in the secret passage…”

　Both of them kept their voices very low, trying their best not to disturb the people in the reading room.

　Dark recounts in detail the secret chamber, the treasure, and the vampires.

　Pandora also revealed some of her holiday itinerary.

　She left St. Marian after the Christmas ball.

　Without stopping anywhere else, she rode the magical elf and flew all the way to her birthplace—the Forest of Exile—within a week.

　“The Forest of Exile?” Dark raised an eyebrow and almost couldn’t help but raise his voice.

　Pandora rested her chin on her hand, gazing into the distance as if reminiscing: "It was a cursed, forgotten land. People died one by one, vanished one by one. Whether punished or abandoned, none could escape the curse of death..."

　The understated words revealed an undeniable despair.

　Pandora remains grateful to Principal Arte, who brought her out of there.

　She is the only living person in the Forest of Exile.

　When she was very young, there were people in the Forest of Exile.

　They taught her the language, they taught her to hunt, and then they died one by one, leaving behind only graves piled with stones.

　Three years after the war, the Forest of Exile was completely forgotten, and no one was sent there again.

　It wasn't until Principal Arte suddenly appeared before her that she realized there was another world outside.

　……

Chapter 249 The Great Fusion of Darkdemon (3k)

　Dark had already sensed that Pandora's childhood was bound to be difficult, but he never expected it to be this difficult.

　As its name suggests, the Forest of Exile is a place where sinners are exiled.

　Although it was abandoned after the war, the existence of the Forest of Exile has not been forgotten.

　It's just that that area is indeed cursed, so no one wants to go near it.

　It's truly a stroke of luck that Pandora was able to emerge alive from the Exiled Forest.

　As for why she grew up in the Forest of Exile...

　Dak didn't want to delve into it further.

　During the chaos of wartime, not all those sent to the Forest of Exile were guilty.

　A large portion of them are people who are guilty but cannot be punished.

　Another group consists of innocent family members, or even those falsely accused.

　Moreover, judging from Pandora's age, she must have been sent there shortly after birth.

　The fact that Principal Arte took her out already says a lot.

　……

　Dark took a slight breath, trying his best to keep his expression from revealing anything.

　On Christmas Eve, he had no idea that Pandora's departure from school was actually to visit a grave.

　Christmas is a time for family reunions, but instead she could only mourn the dead.

　……

　"Don't do this."

　Pandora suddenly chuckled.

　"I'm not that fragile. And besides..."

　She raised her index finger to her lips again and shook her head slightly: "I can't say anymore, I have to keep it a secret."

　Dak was completely bewildered, but the muscles on his face visibly relaxed.

　He said, "Senior, now that you're back..."

　Pandora smiled and said, "'Fusion,' right? Tomorrow at 2 PM, is that alright?"

　Dak immediately beamed with joy: "Of course!"

　The two then chatted quietly about some trivial matters.

　When Pandora heard that Dark had successfully joined the Duel Club, she slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "I had completely forgotten about that. Congratulations!"

　Dark: "That sounds so insincere."

　“It’s not difficult at all,” Pandora said with a smile, then stood up and said, “Alright, I have some things to do tonight, so I’ll head back first. See you tomorrow.”

　Dark waved and said, "See you tomorrow."

　As Pandora's figure gradually disappeared through the reading room door, Dark suddenly realized: "Pandora, did you come here specifically to find me?"

　But then he thought about it and realized something was off: "She must have glanced this way while looking for Ms. Bella, since she couldn't possibly have known I was here."

　……

　Dak rested his chin on his hand, analyzing the situation rationally.

　However, they did not notice that Witt, who was also in the reading room, had been watching them for a long time.

　Witt had been peeking ever since Pandora entered, but he didn’t look directly at her to avoid being noticed.

　The pen tip, hanging on the paper, had not moved for a long time.

　Robert, sitting opposite him, was like a sponge, frantically absorbing knowledge—even though the knowledge in the books was pitifully little.

　But he continued to become increasingly engrossed, to the point that he completely failed to notice Witte's stagnation.

　He never imagined that he would one day have such a thirst for knowledge.

　But it feels good.

　……

　the next morning.

　In preparation for the afternoon's experiment, Dak went to Traveler's Street early in the morning and spent a long time buying all three sets of "fusion" materials.

　He has been studying "fusion" for a long time, and this is the time to verify the results!

　It was not yet 2 PM.

　Dak brought his materials, notes, and the key to the laboratory and arrived at the library ahead of time.

　Pandora was having a pleasant chat with Ms. Bella when she saw him appear at the door. She lowered her head, smiled and said a few words to Ms. Bella, and then came out from behind the counter.

　"Let's go."

　"Ah."

　The two looked at each other and smiled, saying nothing.

　But once inside the laboratory, the relaxed atmosphere vanished abruptly.

　The experiment has begun!

　……

　Having already experienced failure once, Dak didn't expect today's "fusion" to be successful.

　"Fusion" magic cards are inherently full of uncertainties, and the same goes for their forging process.

　Even if you think you've done everything perfectly, there are often many uncertainties when you actually put it into practice.

　Luck plays a significant role in the creation of "Fusion" magic cards.

　Only through repeated experiments and refinement can one have a chance of success.

　"Let's test the spell first."

　Pandora quickly flipped through Dak's notes.

　Dark's analysis of various questions is so detailed that it's hard to believe this is a first-year student's notebook.

　Especially in the writing of the "spells", it looks more complete than the last time.

　But merely "appearing" is far from enough.

　Throughout the experiment, Pandora only offered some guidance at crucial moments; Dark did everything else himself.

　It took about half an hour for Dark to complete the test of the "Fusion" spell and make minor adjustments based on the values ​​of various indicators, finally obtaining a spell that perfectly matched his current state.

　Then the formal forging process began!

　The essence of "fusion" is to use two or more magical spirits as core materials to create a brand new magical spirit on the spot.

　Unlike the true alchemy of magical spirits, this process is temporary, reversible, and unstable.

　This allows us to avoid many difficult problems.