Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 620 - 573 The Principle of the Dean

The thick stone walls of the Spiral Tower isolated the hubbub of the city outside the window as the towering elder, holding a staff, descended the stone steps at a steady pace. Artifacts placed in the niches of the walls shone like new, and every time he passed by those items, the old man could feel a new vigor entering his body, as if the times when he obtained them were being returned to him, and he was still that young and robust soul.

A rush of footsteps came from below, the loud clanks of iron boots against the ground drowned out the elder’s steps, disrupting his rhythm. He simply stopped and waited for that impatient guest to make their presence known.

That sound, after approaching the elder, came to a halt. Only when he resumed walking did the iron boots follow his pace, step by step.

"Actually, you could have spoken first, our Enforcer, Mr. Law, you seem to be in quite a hurry," said the principal with an appreciative gaze, looking at the younger man half a step behind him, modest and well-mannered.

"I will abide by Andrey’s rules, with the principle of the principal’s priority."

The principal sighed, "I was just speaking in anger at the time. Those doctrines are only to restrain those unruly brats, alas, those who don’t listen still don’t listen, and those who are short of a few brain cells are still short of a few brain cells. So, my young friend, what would you like to tell me?"

"Thirty minutes ago, the individual who destroyed all of Andrey’s Defensive Barriers and wreaked havoc on the southwest Spiral Tower with that meteorite was the Giant Dragon professor, who crafted for himself a Dragon Bone, causing Andrey to suffer grievous losses."

"The costs for building repairs, compensation to the afflicted Liches, repairs to Andrey’s defense measures, and those outsiders caught up in all this... I request your permission to allow the Executive Committee to legally punish the culprit responsible for all these losses."

"Oh, dear, you’re quite a Dragon Slayer~" Just like the whimsical joke of an eccentric old man, the principal displayed his sense of humor, moving towards the next step down the stair, "I never recall that the Executive Committee catching someone needs my permission. Have you encountered any trouble, child?"

Mr. Law’s iron mask reflected a chilling light, and his eyes stared fixedly at the whimsical leader of Andrey who was feigning ignorance.

"We sensed the aura of the Lich Crown on the Giant Dragon professor’s body, which I suppose was a scholarly experiment authorized by you, principal. Without a doubt, another highly destructive experiment. Your specially approved academic research has put Andrey in danger once more, and I hope you can revoke that rule and cancel the priority given to scholarly experiments!"

"Quite a good idea, dear," the principal halted his descent, his pristine phalanges stroked over the spikes of beard made of sea urchin spines, as if pondering for a few seconds. The principal then posed a new question, "Dear Mr. Law, could you repeat the losses we suffered?"

"Castle damage, innocent victims, the destroyed Defensive Barriers..."

"Hmm, the Giant Dragon professor has turned into a skeletal dragon, hasn’t he? How does he look? Spectacular? Or mighty?"

"Extremely dangerous," Mr. Law changed his tone, "but as you know, the Liches are fond of such things."

"The experiment was a success, truly invigorating news... Alright, let’s tally up what the Giant Dragon professor’s reckless actions have led to."

The principal began to count on his fingers, "First, he destroyed a tower..."

"That was a garden co-planned by the Plant Research Society along with four other Magical Plants societies, and I highly suspect this seemingly accidental incident was also deliberate. The Giant Dragon professor has always been at odds with the botanists..."

"I wouldn’t tolerate it either if I found out my beloved pets’ bones were turned into plant fertilizer. Compensation is definitely in order, remember to send the bill to the Giant Dragon professor, if his fingers can still fit into the keyhole of his treasure chest... Those botanists also illegally spread their seeds throughout Andrey, so let’s confiscate that area and with the Giant Dragon’s compensation, build a swimming pool to moisten my slightly dry beard. What do you think is a better material for it, seaweed or anemones?"

"...I’m sure your pool would be put to good use by the Liches."

The principal waved a hand, indicating it wasn’t a concern, "What’s next? Compensation for the victims?"

"Yes. This group includes the Liches and outsiders..."

"Take the Liches out of the list of victims, if they have the strength to demand compensation, that’s pretty spirited, isn’t it!"

Mr. Law had an I-knew-it look as he amended the list in his hands.

"What about those outsiders? They are gathering near the teleportation array, and I believe that the Liches lured there by Mr. Giant Dragon are continually adding to their psychological burden. If not handled properly..."

"Let the Sword of Andrey deal with them, accusing them of trespassing on private property."

"..."

"What was the other matter?"

"Regarding the Defensive Barrier, it is a composite Defensive Barrier constructed by large spellcasting guilds such as the Magic Research Society, the Advanced Magic Research Society, and the Barrier Society. It is a barrier that consumed a great deal of time and effort to create. Although the last maintenance was done thirty years ago, to destroy those barriers is to slap the faces of those dominant guilds. I think those proud presidents need an explanation."

"Does Mr. Jing think the same?" Mr. Dean shifted the topic to ask about the president of the Magic Research Society’s thoughts.

"Mr. Jing is somewhat disheartened; that Magic Compression Layer was left behind by Scholar Mr. when he was the president of the Magic Research Society."

Public opinion, yet another issue that a leader must consider.

"By the way, Mr. Law, what level of strength has the new Giant Dragon reached?"

"Five locks."

"The threshold between man and god, huh..." Mr. Dean adjusted his wide-brimmed wizard hat, allowing shadows to cast across his face, making the pale blue soul flame seem even more eerie.

"Law, the Giant Dragon did not destroy Andrey’s Defensive Barrier; he simply helped us find the outdated barriers’ flaws."

"But..."

"No buts, just directly tell those arrogant presidents that their barriers were breached by a five-lock Spellcaster. Tell them to update Andrey’s Defensive Barrier for me, or else, I will entrust this sacred task to Mr. Giant Dragon who defeated them."

"Reverse psychology?"

"Those fellows are old hands at Andrey, reverse psychology won’t work on them. The arrogance of being powerful won’t cover their spirit of doubt as Seekers, their attitude in pursuing perfection. They might even thank the Giant Dragon for giving them a new target, of course, they’re unlikely to thank him to his face." Mr. Dean chuckled.

"Mr. Law, praise is more effective than punishment, and unrestricted support is indeed my principle, the most important principle. A fledgling in a cage will never fly. Just as I provided to you back then, I gave the Executive Committee complete autonomy, so, my good child Law, go ahead and do it."

"Then you immediately established the new rule that academic meetings trump all, you’re deliberately making things harder for me..."

"Hahaha... Hahaha... I’m getting old, getting a bit forgetful. I must hurry to congratulate Mr. Giant Dragon on his new accomplishment; I’ll take my leave first." Mr. Dean leaped over the railing, his movements flowing like clouds and quick as lightning. Mr. Dean jumped down the staircase, freefalling to the bottom of the Spiral Tower in an instant.

Extracting his legs from the web-like pit, Mr. Dean dusted off his clothes.

"Giant Dragon... I wonder since when it has only been memories remaining..."

"If only we could relive the glory of the old days..." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Damn! This is bad, I forgot that bastard is allergic to the Giant Dragon, I need to get there quick!"