Chapter 30: Loved by His Own Book

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lami’er, who had finally arrived, looked at the two of them chatting leisurely as if they had all the time in the world.

Rage surged in his heart once again.

Having hidden himself in the shadows, he was confident that as long as he wasn’t instantly restrained like before, no one would be able to detect him.

This time, he would show his true strength.

“You can start running now. I’ll give you one minute to escape…”

His figure appeared before the two of them.

He let out a cold laugh, his rough voice echoing through the valley as he announced his arrival.

Seeing Lami’er suddenly appear surprised them slightly.

Out of polite courtesy, Ailundun still asked:

“Why should we run? Didn’t we already pass the exam? Is this some kind of overtime segment?”

Ailundun tilted his head, confused.

“Like a bonus for extra credits?”

“…”

Lami’er was speechless.

This brat is definitely doing it on purpose.

Without hesitation, he waved his hand.

A dark book appeared in his grasp, and he began chanting an obscure incantation toward the two of them.

Drip… drip…

The black book floated in mid-air, and the mana from both of them immediately began flowing toward it like a tide.

“What kind of book is that…”

Feeling her mana gradually draining away, Luofulei frowned.

She had no immediate countermeasure.

For now, she could only allow a portion of her mana to be siphoned off.

Lami’er vanished again into the shadows, continuing his chant.

The black book hovered and trembled in the air.

Once activated, the Black Book would continuously drain mana from its targets.

If it wasn’t satisfied, it would search for additional targets.

He had already calculated it.

The combined mana of Ailundun and Luofulei should be just enough to fill it.

At worst, he could even sacrifice some of his own.

Thinking this, his mood improved slightly.

Let them taste what it feels like to be drained dry.

With every chant, the Black Book wriggled more violently, emitting a dark glow as it continued draining their mana.

When the activation was complete, it hovered as if it had gained a life of its own.

Mana would recover naturally, and short-term depletion wouldn’t cause lasting harm—but the sensation of exhaustion would be real.

And once they recovered, it could simply drain them again.

He intended to enjoy this slowly.

“…”

Luofulei felt her mana constantly draining.

Sweat formed on her forehead, and she bit her lip tightly, enduring the pain.

Lami’er, hidden in the shadows, felt increasingly satisfied watching them struggle.

Finally… revenge.

But Ailundun remained standing there blankly, showing no reaction at all.

“Hm?”

Lami’er sensed something wrong. He looked again and realized—

Ailundun was completely unaffected.

He froze.

This brat… has almost no mana at all.

So he can’t even feel mana exhaustion.

Then how did he even pass the earlier exam?

Lami’er was stunned.

Something felt deeply wrong.

Unaware of the truth, he suddenly felt the entire evaluation system of the academy had become questionable.

Meanwhile, the Black Book continued hovering above them.

But when it turned toward Ailundun, it seemed to recoil in disdain, as if uninterested.

It flipped its pages irritably, black characters floating in the air as it searched for another target.

Until it locked onto Lami’er.

Hidden in the shadows.

The moment it sensed his vast mana, far exceeding the others, the Black Book trembled with excitement.

It began draining him instead.

Lami’er’s expression changed instantly.

He tried to escape, but the book had already locked onto him.

Once activated, it would not stop until it was fully satisfied.

The Black Book was thrilled.

It even rearranged its glowing symbols into a “delighted expression.”

Black light erupted.

It began draining Lami’er’s mana directly.

At that moment, Lami’er’s face completely changed.

On the ground, Ailundun looked at the book acting strangely in the air, occasionally shaking and pointing in random directions like it was malfunctioning.

He found it hard to understand.

People shouldn’t… at least, really shouldn’t behave like that.

He walked over and supported Luofulei as she nearly collapsed.

A warm hand rested on her shoulder.

Luofulei stiffened instantly.

“I… I can still hold on…”

Leaning against him, her face flushed.

“Stop forcing it. Let’s move back first.”

Ailundun helped her up.

“Where’s Lami’er?”

Luofulei suddenly remembered, her expression tense.

“Well…”

Ailundun paused, looking slightly troubled.

“How should I put it…”

After a moment, he finally said:

“It seems like… he’s being loved by his own book.”

“Huh?”

Luofulei froze.

Loved by his own book?

She couldn’t process it at all.

As Ailundun supported her, the warmth of his body made her cheeks turn red again, and she stopped thinking about it.

“Thank you…”

She whispered softly.

Later, Ailundun brought her to a tree farther away.

They rested briefly.

After recovering, Luofulei felt much better.

They sat quietly, waiting for the exam to end.

As for Lami’er—

No one paid attention to him anymore.

[Time Remaining: 0]

[Judging Examination Results]

[Examination Results Being Processed]

“…”

[Examination Passed]

The familiar black text appeared.

The two quickly checked it.

Snow continued to fall lightly.

A cold wind swept through the valley.

After confirming the exam was over, they returned to the village.

Finally relaxed, they could enjoy the rare, beautiful scenery of the Secret Realm.

The world looked like a land wrapped in silver.

The cold wind passed through, scattering snowflakes gently over them.