45. Chapter 45 – World of Shadows: Purgatory Cloister Academy

Chapter 45: Shadow World: Purgatory Cloister Academy
As Ranchi felt his surroundings light up again, his vision gradually came into focus.

He found himself sitting in the back row of a classroom as wide as a theater.

The only source of light in the dimly lit space was the dim, almost touchable golden color of the shimmering light coming from the few oil lamps hanging on the walls.

They flickered constantly, like the pulse of life, both ensuring some visibility and adding some sense of mysterious drama to the place, the shadows of the tables and chairs twisting and lengthening in the dim light of the lamps, rustling in the silence along with a few shifting black shadows.

Though when Ranch did look like a classroom as far as the eye could see at the moment – the long tables covered with red tablecloths were neatly arranged, the brand new black and gold chalkboard loomed over the distant forefront stage of the classroom, and the frames and carvings of the windows looked quaintly ornate.

But the sense of spaciousness that the space, which should have given a person a sense of spaciousness at a visual estimate of about three hundred square meters, had somehow disappeared, and the rich scent of blood that shouldn’t have been there was accompanied by an ineffable sense of eeriness.

For a moment it made Ranqi suspect that he had come to the netherworld.

His eyes shifted downward, only to see a piece of roughly textured and ancient parchment on a red tablecloth, with an ink bottle and a feather quill resting next to it.

The surface of the parchment was branded with a mysterious script that was different from human language, but after the Shadow World’s own translation spells, Ranchi was probably sure that it was a demonic language magic exam paper with exam questions.

Why is it still school?

Ranchi’s heart was overwhelmed with shock.

He thought he had escaped from the school with great difficulty, but he didn’t realize that he had just escaped to another school!
Even worse.

Originally, he was just listening to lectures at Ichorite Academy, and it seemed like he was about to start taking exams straight away when he came to this demonic school!
Holding the mood of going to his grave, Ranch raised his head in a small sweeping motion, only to feel a sudden sense of detachment steeping through the air.

The students in this classroom had different images, one stranger than the other.

Each carried an unnameable feature, most with sharp horns and bizarre lines and exoskeletons on their skin, and some even had long, thin, black tails.

And on the classroom’s walkway, two guys shaped like examiners were roaming around methodically, dressed neatly and deeply in classical clothing resembling suits.

But surrounded by the smell of blood and evil, they looked particularly eerie.

It was bad at first glance.

Compared to the artificial Shadow World [Cold Hidden Flame of Winter] and [Infinite Phantom Canyon], which had previously experienced themes that seemed milder, this current real Shadow World was clearly not in the same weight class!
Soon, the relevant information of the Shadow World was also presented to Ranchi’s sight.

This was a hint that could only be seen by those who were Shadow World challengers-

[Shadow World: Purgatory Cloister Academy]

[Level: Fourth Order]

[Number of challengers: 6]

[Historical Background: This is a time that was once the darkest era for humans. Humans, who could only have day, and night, were all slaves of the blood race, yet there were some who, for the sake of the dignity of the human race, would not hesitate to crush away their dignity. Wanting to take back the south that was shrouded by the blood moon, the only way to create a miracle was to obtain the power of demons. Thus, a crazy plan was born – a group of humans disguised as demons through the forbidden surgery of the Imperial Experimental Grounds, crossing the northern extreme cold danger into the demonic world, trying to integrate into the demonic society and learn the magic of the demons ……]

[Mission Overview: you are lurking in a demon world academy too absurd for human civilization to scout for information, and tonight, will be the most dangerous night of all, and you will need to work hard to get through it safely].

[11 hours and 59 minutes remaining]

[Mission Objective 1: The academy is over 60% explored. Current progress is 3%.]

[Mission Objective 2: Investigate the source of tonight’s danger.]

[Mission Objective 3: At least one person survives until the end of the time limit, current survival is 6/6.]

[Challengers Ranch & Hyperion will start in an exam scenario that will last 2 hours, subject: Demon Magic]

Any cheating during the exam, once detected by the invigilator, the invigilator will have the right to kill the candidate. If at the end of the exam the candidate is judged to have a score of less than 50, he/she will fail the exam and the invigilator will kill him/her immediately.

[You may hand in your papers early and raise your hand to seek help from the examiners if you need it.]

[The remaining time of the exam is 1 hour and 59 minutes.]

As Ranchi’s intention converged, these information panels that resembled the artificial shadow world could be hidden or shown again.

It was only after he finished comprehending the contents of his first real shadow world that he frowned tightly.

Fourth rank, what the hell is that?

Ranch didn’t comment on the nightmare scenario of the opening “exam” for the moment.

He was a second-ranked person and Huberian was a third-ranked person, but if the Shadow World had learned math, they shouldn’t have been matched into a fourth-ranked Shadow World?
However, what Ranqi was more concerned about was that, according to the Shadow World’s hints, he should have been temporarily disguised as a demon by the Shadow World’s mechanism.

Would it look detrimental to his image?

Ranchi looked down at his body, besides wearing the deep black uniform of this Purgatory Cloister Academy, his joints seemed to have alabaster crystallized exoskeletons that glowed with a faint radiance.

Touching his head again, there were indeed two extra pieces of horns, and judging from the faint light reflected on the ink bottle, his black hair and green pupils had not changed his features, while the horns and the lines on his face were pure white.

……

Meanwhile, on the campus of Ichorite.

The college at 5:00 p.m. was immersed in a deep serenity, a moment when the setting sun had slowly begun to sink towards the western horizon, spreading its final golden red color over every corner of the campus.

Not far from the entrance to the college, in the Jera Memorial Plaza, a group of passing students had already begun to enjoy their after-class time, discussing their dinner choices, while a number of students were also sitting on the plaza’s steps, watching the rotating campus newsflash projected on the open-air jumbo screen in the center of the plaza.

From time to time, this open-air giant screen would rotate the current Shadow World reality that the students in the academy were challenging.

Since the Shadow World was a projection of history, the Shadow World Challenge itself would often be no less than a wonderful and unique movie.

Students often come here to watch the Shadow World live action.

It’s a way to have fun, enjoy life, and learn at the same time.

Of course, there are also many students sitting on the steps in front of the giant screen, just relaxing and discussing with their friends about the lesson they just finished, or quietly reading books and immersing themselves in their own world.

“Hmm? There’s a new Fourth Order Shadow World?”

“Surprisingly, it’s an extremely rare Demon History Shadow World ……”

On the steps, a student suddenly said as if muttering to himself.

This caused many students to raise their heads and gaze towards the screen at this moment.

Since there weren’t many students who challenged the Shadow World on the first day of school, it was obvious at a glance that a newly opened challenge had appeared.

Moreover, it was a dark-toned screen with extremely distinct thematic features.

“Wait, aren’t those two new students?”

Soon, a student noticed the [Challenger Information] section below this Shadow World Live and let out a gasp!
(End of chapter)

Chapter 45: Shadow World: Purgatory Cloister Academy
As Ranchi felt his surroundings light up again, his vision gradually came into focus.

He found himself sitting in the back row of a classroom as wide as a theater.

The only source of light in the dimly lit space was the dim, almost touchable golden color of the shimmering light coming from the few oil lamps hanging on the walls.

They flickered constantly, like the pulse of life, both ensuring some visibility and adding some sense of mysterious drama to the place, the shadows of the tables and chairs twisting and lengthening in the dim light of the lamps, rustling in the silence along with a few shifting black shadows.

Though when Ranch did look like a classroom as far as the eye could see at the moment – the long tables covered with red tablecloths were neatly arranged, the brand new black and gold chalkboard loomed over the distant forefront stage of the classroom, and the frames and carvings of the windows looked quaintly ornate.

But the sense of spaciousness that the space, which should have given a person a sense of spaciousness at a visual estimate of about three hundred square meters, had somehow disappeared, and the rich scent of blood that shouldn’t have been there was accompanied by an ineffable sense of eeriness.

For a moment it made Ranqi suspect that he had come to the netherworld.

His eyes shifted downward, only to see a piece of roughly textured and ancient parchment on a red tablecloth, with an ink bottle and a feather quill resting next to it.

The surface of the parchment was branded with a mysterious script that was different from human language, but after the Shadow World’s own translation spells, Ranchi was probably sure that it was a demonic language magic exam paper with exam questions.

Why is it still school?

Ranchi’s heart was overwhelmed with shock.

He thought he had escaped from the school with great difficulty, but he didn’t realize that he had just escaped to another school!
Even worse.

Originally, he was just listening to lectures at Ichorite Academy, and it seemed like he was about to start taking exams straight away when he came to this demonic school!
Holding the mood of going to his grave, Ranch raised his head in a small sweeping motion, only to feel a sudden sense of detachment steeping through the air.

The students in this classroom had different images, one stranger than the other.

Each carried an unnameable feature, most with sharp horns and bizarre lines and exoskeletons on their skin, and some even had long, thin, black tails.

And on the classroom’s walkway, two guys shaped like examiners were roaming around methodically, dressed neatly and deeply in classical clothing resembling suits.

But surrounded by the smell of blood and evil, they looked particularly eerie.

It was bad at first glance.

Compared to the artificial Shadow World [Cold Hidden Flame of Winter] and [Infinite Phantom Canyon], which had previously experienced themes that seemed milder, this current real Shadow World was clearly not in the same weight class!
Soon, the relevant information of the Shadow World was also presented to Ranchi’s sight.

This was a hint that could only be seen by those who were Shadow World challengers-

[Shadow World: Purgatory Cloister Academy]

[Level: Fourth Order]

[Number of challengers: 6]

[Historical Background: This is a time that was once the darkest era for humans. Humans, who could only have day, and night, were all slaves of the blood race, yet there were some who, for the sake of the dignity of the human race, would not hesitate to crush away their dignity. Wanting to take back the south that was shrouded by the blood moon, the only way to create a miracle was to obtain the power of demons. Thus, a crazy plan was born – a group of humans disguised as demons through the forbidden surgery of the Imperial Experimental Grounds, crossing the northern extreme cold danger into the demonic world, trying to integrate into the demonic society and learn the magic of the demons ……]

[Mission Overview: you are lurking in a demon world academy too absurd for human civilization to scout for information, and tonight, will be the most dangerous night of all, and you will need to work hard to get through it safely].

[11 hours and 59 minutes remaining]

[Mission Objective 1: The academy is over 60% explored. Current progress is 3%.]

[Mission Objective 2: Investigate the source of tonight’s danger.]

[Mission Objective 3: At least one person survives until the end of the time limit, current survival is 6/6.]

[Challengers Ranch & Hyperion will start in an exam scenario that will last 2 hours, subject: Demon Magic]

Any cheating during the exam, once detected by the invigilator, the invigilator will have the right to kill the candidate. If at the end of the exam the candidate is judged to have a score of less than 50, he/she will fail the exam and the invigilator will kill him/her immediately.

[You may hand in your papers early and raise your hand to seek help from the examiners if you need it.]

[The remaining time of the exam is 1 hour and 59 minutes.]

As Ranchi’s intention converged, these information panels that resembled the artificial shadow world could be hidden or shown again.

It was only after he finished comprehending the contents of his first real shadow world that he frowned tightly.

Fourth rank, what the hell is that?

Ranch didn’t comment on the nightmare scenario of the opening “exam” for the moment.

He was a second-ranked person and Huberian was a third-ranked person, but if the Shadow World had learned math, they shouldn’t have been matched into a fourth-ranked Shadow World?
However, what Ranqi was more concerned about was that, according to the Shadow World’s hints, he should have been temporarily disguised as a demon by the Shadow World’s mechanism.

Would it look detrimental to his image?

Ranchi looked down at his body, besides wearing the deep black uniform of this Purgatory Cloister Academy, his joints seemed to have alabaster crystallized exoskeletons that glowed with a faint radiance.

Touching his head again, there were indeed two extra pieces of horns, and judging from the faint light reflected on the ink bottle, his black hair and green pupils had not changed his features, while the horns and the lines on his face were pure white.

……

Meanwhile, on the campus of Ichorite.

The college at 5:00 p.m. was immersed in a deep serenity, a moment when the setting sun had slowly begun to sink towards the western horizon, spreading its final golden red color over every corner of the campus.

Not far from the entrance to the college, in the Jera Memorial Plaza, a group of passing students had already begun to enjoy their after-class time, discussing their dinner choices, while a number of students were also sitting on the plaza’s steps, watching the rotating campus newsflash projected on the open-air jumbo screen in the center of the plaza.

From time to time, this open-air giant screen would rotate the current Shadow World reality that the students in the academy were challenging.

Since the Shadow World was a projection of history, the Shadow World Challenge itself would often be no less than a wonderful and unique movie.

Students often come here to watch the Shadow World live action.

It’s a way to have fun, enjoy life, and learn at the same time.

Of course, there are also many students sitting on the steps in front of the giant screen, just relaxing and discussing with their friends about the lesson they just finished, or quietly reading books and immersing themselves in their own world.

“Hmm? There’s a new Fourth Order Shadow World?”

“Surprisingly, it’s an extremely rare Demon History Shadow World ……”

On the steps, a student suddenly said as if muttering to himself.

This caused many students to raise their heads and gaze towards the screen at this moment.

Since there weren’t many students who challenged the Shadow World on the first day of school, it was obvious at a glance that a newly opened challenge had appeared.

Moreover, it was a dark-toned screen with extremely distinct thematic features.

“Wait, aren’t those two new students?”

Soon, a student noticed the [Challenger Information] section below this Shadow World Live and let out a gasp!
(End of chapter)