A grand stage play without an audience would be quite improper.
As the core institution of the mixed-blood dragon-slaying community, Cassell College had every right to attend this magnificent performance.
The college was still in the middle of a meeting.
Norma, the most advanced cloud-based AI system, had a control scope that extended across the entire world.
Although Fenrir's appearance and disappearance lasted barely over a minute, Norma's powerful computing capacity still managed to analyze and extract some key data.
For instance—the figure seated atop Fenrir's head.
A blurry image was constantly refined and processed until it was finally presented clearly on the screen.
It was a young man.
He looked about seventeen or eighteen years old.
There was a slight smile on the corners of his mouth.
But this ordinary-looking young man, the kind you'd see anywhere at school, was sitting on top of a Dragon King's head.
"A high school student?"
Chu Zihang said coolly.
His tone betrayed no emotion.
Everyone seemed to have the same impression.
The face had the softness and innocence typical of someone still in school.
It radiated youth and passion.
"How interesting... a high schooler riding on the Dragon King's head,"
Caesar said with a smirk, as if he'd just discovered something amusing.
As the school's golden boy and student council president, perhaps only slaying dragons and charming beauties could still pique his interest.
Nono sat beside him, her beautiful eyes fixed on the screen.
"Even with profiling, there's not much we can deduce," she said softly.
Principal Ange looked at his most outstanding students and spoke:
"Children, your bloodlines are among the finest in the Academy. The awakening of the Dragon King is a warning—an omen of their return. But this is no longer that era. These remnants of an old world no longer belong here."
Ange's eyes gleamed with a dangerous light.
His hatred and fury toward the Dragon Kings were etched into his bones.
Everyone present agreed with this sentiment.
This was what they had been born for. This was a human world now.
The era ruled by the Black King had ended long ago.
Any king who tried to return—
should simply die.
Just then—
Norma's holographic figure began to flicker, like an old television struggling to change channels.
Ange stared at the glitching projection and asked:
"What's going on, Norma?"
But Norma didn't respond. She remained motionless on the screen. As the most advanced AI system, such a malfunction should have been impossible.
No one should have been able to quietly shut Norma down like this.
After all, this state-of-the-art cloud computer was protected by multiple layers of powerful firewalls.
Even the world's most elite red-hat hacker groups would need days to break through just the outermost layer—and only if Norma didn't fight back.
"Norma?"
Ange called again.
If Cassell's cloud computer was compromised, all the Academy's secrets would be laid bare—like a naked woman exposed to the world.
Ange immediately prepared to activate the more advanced system—EVA.
Cassell College, as the secret party's dragon-slaying training ground, held countless critical secrets. These secrets could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands.
Then suddenly—
"Hello," a calm young male voice came from the computer.
Norma's figure stabilized.
"Principal Ange," Norma said, "someone has bypassed the firewall and hijacked the mainframe. He has stolen my highest-level access and is now communicating with you directly."
This was no good news.
Angers' expression darkened.
A video window popped open on the computer screen.
A boy appeared.
He looked about 80% like the person in the photo.
He was the one who had just greeted everyone.
"Hello there, hybrids of Kassel College."
The person who had hacked into Kassel College was none other than Ren Asakura.
The excellent students of Kassel stared at the figure on their screens, each reacting differently.
Some were intrigued, while others frowned deeply.
"You actually managed to bypass Norma? That's interesting."
Caesar leaned back in his chair, a grin spreading across his face.
"Who are you?!"
Angers' golden eyes, burning like flames, locked tightly onto Ren Asakura's image on the screen.
"Oh, Principal Angers! I heard you were flashy, and now that I see you—yes, you're totally flashy. That sharp suit, mixed with that leftover-lunch-scented cologne... Oh my God, Maria! A man over a hundred can still exude such flair? No wonder young girls can't resist the charm of an older man."
"Hahaha!!"
The vice principal burst out laughing beside him.
His disciple, Finger, sat next to him looking utterly embarrassed.
Others clearly wanted to laugh but didn't dare.
"This is too good. Someone finally said it—exactly what I've always thought about Principal Angers. Spot on!"
The vice principal slapped the table, clearly delighted.
"Oh, and this must be the Vice Principal, the legendary Night Watcher. I hear you're a total badass—no weaker than Angers himself. Slaying dragons is child's play for you, but you've got zero interest in actually doing it. All you do is lurk on forums, act like a cowboy, and lock yourself in your little office surrounded by porn posters. Drunk off your ass every day—wow, now that I see you, it's all true. Just a worthless drunk."
Ren Asakura's words were sharp and unforgiving, but they also revealed his uncanny familiarity with both the principal and vice principal.
The vice principal's smile froze.
Those secrets were known to almost no one but the principal—
and one other person: his former prized disciple, Finger.
Finger clamped his hand over his mouth, doing his best not to laugh—
because if he did, his teacher would beat him up.
"Oh? Let me see who else is here. What's this?"
Ren Asakura suddenly put on a surprised expression, looking to his right.
From the camera's perspective, he was looking at a photo.
It was an image of him—one created by Norma using cloud computing and patchwork algorithms.
It wasn't identical, of course, but it was a close match.
"Wait, is this supposed to be me?! Damn it—why didn't you use a beauty filter? Don't you know going filterless is seriously rude these days? Like a woman leaving the house without makeup."
Ren Asakura sounded furious, but the teasing tone in his voice was unmistakable.
"Oh, dear Miss Norma, could you do a little Photoshop magic for me? You know a handsome face is a guy's best gift to attract women. If someone tried to date online with this photo, I'd barely rate a seven."
His narcissistic rambling shattered everyone's first impression of him.
The boy who had appeared atop the Dragon King's head had seemed mysterious at first glance—
But once the veil of mystery lifted, he was just… a clown.
°°°
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