Chapter 9 The Spatial Ring

That loud shout immediately drew the attention of several students from nearby dormitories, who rushed out to see what was happening. In no time, a large crowd had gathered outside Dormitory 2015.

Seeing Victoria and Bill’s curious gazes, Fatty Marler quickly recounted the conflict that had occurred at the entrance to the academy.

“Hmph, that wretch Tracy harassed Roland’s companion—how despicable! And now he has the nerve to come here and cause trouble!” Bill’s handsome face flushed red with anger.

Victoria’s brows furrowed slightly.

“Valen, look, these are the two who bullied me earlier!” Tracy, full of bluster, strode up to Roland and his friends, introducing them to three boys at his side.

“You two dared to bully Tracy from Dormitory 1991? Apologize immediately, or don’t blame us for being harsh!” the burly youth called Valen said coldly.

Roland’s expression darkened; he hadn’t expected Tracy to twist the truth so brazenly and act so arrogantly. Stepping forward, he stood face-to-face with the four intruders.

“Hey, we haven’t even settled the score for harassing my roommate’s companion, and now you dare show up here!” Marler roared, moving to stand beside Roland.

Bill, handsome and spirited, could no longer hold back. Puffing out his cheeks, he stood on Roland’s other side.

“As a member of Dormitory 2015, I can’t miss out—am I late?” A tall, thin boy squeezed through the crowd and joined Roland’s group.

“Good brother, we’ll chat later—let’s drive off these rude kids first!” Marler waved his hand grandly.

Each side now had four members—Dormitory 1991 and Dormitory 2015—locked in a tense standoff. The surrounding freshmen watched with interest; they hadn’t expected such drama on their very first day at the academy.

Just as a fight seemed imminent, a cold, clear voice suddenly rang out: “You four from Dormitory 1991, leave here at once!”

“Who’s that?” Tracy and the others looked toward the speaker, spotting a blonde woman in a purple dress standing not far away.

“Well, beautiful lady, if you’re willing to come with us, we’ll leave right now!” Tracy’s eyes flashed with admiration as he responded flirtatiously.

“Yes, lovely miss, with your company, we’d much rather leave than stand here bickering with these boring boys!” Valen, the burly youth, ogled Victoria shamelessly.

At this moment, Bill—Victoria’s younger brother—was not angry but wore a strange, mischievous expression, watching the four troublemakers with ill-concealed glee.

What followed left Tracy haunted for years: the blonde woman’s face turned frosty, her snow-white arm slowly lifted, and as her alluring lips moved, a jet of black energy suddenly formed at her delicate fingertip. In an instant, the energy shot toward Tracy and Valen faster than the eye could follow.

An intense chill caused Tracy to shudder; he felt his entire body tremble, his heart seeming to freeze and stop beating.

“Whoa…” Exclamations erupted from the crowd. The freshmen watched as Tracy and Valen stood rigidly in place, unmoving, their bodies covered in a thin layer of white frost!

“You two, hurry up and carry them away. Remember, don’t come to Dormitory 2015 looking for trouble again, or next time it won’t be so easy!” Victoria said icily to the two terrified boys from Dormitory 1991. Her temper was infamous; countless boys in the academy with dubious intentions toward her had suffered for it. If any of them had been present, they would have declared that these two impudent fellows had merely received a minor warning—a little ice magic—from the “little witch,” and were extremely lucky.

“Hey, stop staring—everyone’s gone!” Roland pulled Marler, who was still peering out the door, and said irritably.

Victoria had already left, and the crowd of freshmen dispersed, murmuring as they returned to their own dormitories.

Marler, reluctant to leave, shuffled back inside and, seeing the handsome boy nearby, his eyes brightened. He strode over, slapped him on the shoulder, and exclaimed, “Hey, Bill, your sister is so beautiful, so charming—does she have a boyfriend? Where does she live?”

Bill grimaced at Marler’s hefty hand, “Fatty, my sister’s also a student at Porter Academy. She’s in fourth year, but I advise you not to pursue her. Since arriving at the academy, she’s been chased by countless boys, all of whom failed. She’s focused entirely on cultivation, and her talent is extraordinary—some say she might graduate as a seventh-level mage before she turns thirty, just like Thomas and Kerson.”

Porter Academy had six grades; new students entered as first-years, and upon qualifying as a second-level mage, they advanced. This continued until reaching the seventh level, at which point they could apply for graduation.

The higher a mage’s level, the harder their cultivation became. Usually, graduating at sixty or seventy was considered impressive—most spent decades stuck at a single level. Graduating before thirty was extremely rare; in Porter Academy’s thousand-year history, only two people had done so: Thomas and Kerson.

On the continent of Aragon, ordinary people could live to about one hundred and fifty, meaning sixty or seventy was only middle age. Moreover, cultivation greatly improved one’s constitution, lengthening their lifespan.

Roland recalled hearing this from Teacher Harvey. That Victoria had the potential of Thomas and Kerson was truly astonishing.

“Wow, sounds tough—but I, Marler, am not one to give up easily!” Fatty declared, as if making a solemn promise.

“Hey, aren’t you afraid Miss Victoria will freeze you into an ice sculpture with her magic?” the tall, thin boy teased.

At this, Marler shuddered, recalling Tracy’s miserable fate.

Seeing his reaction, Roland and the others burst out laughing.

“By the way, brother, what’s your name? We didn’t get a chance to ask earlier,” Bill said.

The tall boy smiled, “Nice to meet you all, I’m Gebaz—looks like I’m the last to arrive.”

“What? You’re called ‘Gebaz’?”

Not only Roland and Bill, but even Marler’s eyes widened. Then Marler let out a loud laugh, and Roland and Bill laughed so hard their stomachs hurt.

“Uh, what’s so funny? Is my name really that amusing?” Gebaz asked in confusion.

Bill wiped tears from his eyes and pointed at Marler, “He’s called ‘Marler,’ and you’re ‘Gebaz’—ha ha ha…”

Marler and Gebaz—when said together, it sounded like a notorious curse from the Europa Empire. Separately, their names were fine, but together, the effect was unbeatable.

Gebaz soon realized and could only laugh wryly.

Roland and Bill thought to themselves that with these two jokers, life in Dormitory 2015 would surely be full of fun.

After a long bout of laughter, the group finally settled down. Fatty Marler, rubbing his aching stomach, found an empty bed and plopped onto it, causing the frame to creak loudly. “Now that everyone from Dormitory 2015 is here, shouldn’t we introduce ourselves and get to know each other?”

The others nodded in agreement.

“I’ll start. My name’s Marler, eleven years old, from Hertz City, the imperial capital. During the academy entrance test, my spirit power was twelve times that of normal people, and I have high single-element affinity.”

Coming from the imperial capital, riding a sixth-level black-striped leopard, and with that swagger, Roland thought, “He must be rich or noble.”

“I’m Gebaz, ten years old, from the Ruan Empire. My entrance test results were nineteen times normal spirit power, and super single-element affinity,” said the tall boy.

“Wow, much more talented than me. No wonder—Ruan Empire is the center of the Dark Alliance; without such talent, you couldn’t even enter an academy founded by the rival Light Alliance,” Marler observed.

“Now it’s my turn. I’m Bill, ten years old, from the Aragon Empire. My test scores were seventeen times normal spirit power, and high dual-element affinity,” the handsome boy announced.

Everyone drew a sharp breath. The layout of the Aragon Continent was as follows: west of the Maya Mountains was the Light Alliance, led by the Europa Empire, and the Dark Alliance, led by the Ruan Empire. East of the Maya Mountains, near the “Sea of Chaos,” lay the continent’s oldest nation, the Aragon Empire.

The Aragon Empire valued martial prowess; its founding emperor, Aragon, was a martial god. When he ascended, he swept across the continent, unified all powers, and established the first fully unified empire—which was named after him.

They hadn’t expected Bill to hail from such a mysterious and ancient land.

“My name’s Roland, just turned ten, from Bosang Town, Europa Empire. My test scores: nineteen times normal spirit power, super dual-element affinity.”

“Heavens, your talent surpasses even Gebaz! Looks like the honor of Dormitory 2015 will rest on you two,” Marler and Bill exclaimed.

The group then arranged themselves by age: Marler, the eldest; Gebaz, second; Bill, third; Roland, fourth.

“Four brothers in the same dormitory—what a stroke of fate! We should celebrate with a drink!” Marler declared excitedly.

“Great, I’m starving,” Roland said, rubbing his belly.

“When I entered the academy, I passed a cafeteria—it looked pretty good. Shall we eat there?” Bill suggested.

“Sure, let’s go now.” They all stood up, ready to head to the cafeteria, but Marler remained unmoved, waving his hand, “No need to go out—I brought food.”

Hearing this, the others were puzzled; Marler’s hands were empty, and he had no baggage at all. Where was this food he spoke of?

“Big brother, are you joking? Where’s the food?” Bill complained.

Fatty Marler chuckled, “Don’t worry, the food’s here.”

He walked over to the large table by the window, waved his pudgy hand, and suddenly, the table was laden with dishes, along with two jugs of wine and four cups.

“Big brother, did you use some kind of magic to conjure up fake food?” Gebaz hurried to the table, picked up a bright red shrimp, and tentatively put it in his mouth.

“Wow, delicious! Big brother, how did you do this?” Gebaz asked, chewing happily.

Roland also looked at Marler in wonder.

“Marler, you must have a ‘space ring,’ right?” Bill, from the Aragon Empire, stared at the black ring on Marler’s finger.

“Heh, you’re sharp, Bill! That’s right, it’s a space ring—all the food came from inside!”

“Wow, a space ring! I’ve heard of them, but never seen one. Big brother, let me see!” Gebaz stopped eating and came over, slipping the ring off Marler’s finger.

Roland, Bill, and Gebaz all crowded around to examine it.

“Hey, be gentle—don’t damage my treasure! Before coming to the academy, I had to pester my old man for days to get this ring,” Marler said.

“How much does this ring cost, Marler?” Roland asked, holding it up.

“Gold coins? Even if you had hundreds of thousands, you might not get one. My old man pulled a lot of strings and spent a fortune to obtain it,” Marler sighed.

The others were amazed—hundreds of thousands of gold coins and still hard to get!

“Marler, how much space is inside?” Bill, now holding the ring, asked.

“About two or three cubic meters,” Marler replied.

“My pony would fit in there!” Bill said excitedly.

“Bill, you’d have to kill your pony first—the space ring can’t hold living things!” Marler laughed.

As Roland marveled at the magical space ring, Kuss suddenly flew out from nowhere, “Hmph, it’s just a lousy space ring. If you practice necromancy and can create a ‘necromancer’s space,’ that ring would be nothing in comparison!”