magic high school

Chapter 6: The Dawns Here Are Quiet

"In that case, let one of you take the international friends away, and leave the rest to us," said the blood-soaked Soviet soldier. "I'm the regimental commander; I'll stay."

"I'm the company commander, I'll stay."

"I'm the chairman, I'll stay."

As the words were spoken, only the Soviet soldier carrying the lantern was left. When he tried to raise his hand to ask to stay, the commander slapped him hard on the shoulder and said, "You take your international friends and leave. That's an order."

"I……"

"This is the commissioner's order!"

The fat man stood at the reactor entrance, his body emitting a blazing white light. He turned around, grinned at Li Ge, and gave him a thumbs up.

Then, he turned around and rushed inside.

Soviet soldiers rushed in as well. Inside were tracks and a dilapidated mining cart. Under such intense radiation, even steel could not withstand such corrosion, let alone human flesh.

The lantern bearer immediately led Li Ge away. In the end, Li Ge only saw the group of Soviet soldiers and the fat man's back as he rushed towards the nuclear reactor without hesitation.

As he gradually approached the birch forest at the edge of Chernobyl, it was as if the countdown had reached zero.

The world was instantly filled with pure white.

There were no loud noises, no shockwaves, only a silent, all-encompassing whiteness, and the mushroom cloud in the distance felt warmer than ever before, without the slightest hint of burning.

The mushroom cloud, which seemed to occupy almost the entire sky, was as clear and bright as if it had been cleansed by holy light.

In the white light, Li Ge seemed to see distorted figures gradually fading away, walking side by side into the distance.

The lantern bearer walked at the back, stopped, and gave a standard Soviet military salute in Li Ge's direction.

"Comrades, did we finally win?" he suddenly asked.

Li Ge fell silent. He understood that the Lamplighter might realize he was just an illusion, a phantom of a soldier in that homeland called the Soviet Union.

Nevertheless, he still wanted to know whether they had won.

Whether it's Chernobyl or the Cold War...

"Yes, we won..." Li Ge said. "We won. The people of Chernobyl have been evacuated, and the pollution has been brought under control as much as possible. This is the greatest disaster recovery operation in human history..."

Then, silence fell over the conversation.

"Thank you..." The lantern bearer seemed to understand Li Ge's meaning. He slowly pointed into the distance, towards the west, as if telling Li Ge the direction.

That's the direction of Moscow.

As dawn broke, when Li Ge turned back again, the lantern bearer was nowhere to be seen. They had long since died in this city strewn with corpses. In the end, the young people disappeared into the birch forest.

Li Ge continued walking forward, towards Moscow. This time there were no obstacles, and the city was no longer shrouded in mist and darkness. The dawn painted the sky with a rosy hue. However, before this dawn, there was no applause, no weeping, and no singing amidst the wind and rain. In his ears, the whole world was silent.

Dawns here are quiet.

[Newbie Assessment Dungeon: Silent Dawn has been cleared]

[Candidate ID: 9528; Exam Evaluation: Full Marks!]

The white light faded.

Li Ge stood in a magnificent hall that seemed to float in the starry sky, with a floor flowing with magical light beneath her feet, a rotating star map dome above her head, and a magnificent, dazzling galaxy.

The female knight and the man in black robes appeared one after another, all looking bewildered, but the newsboy was nowhere to be seen; perhaps he had been eliminated.

Li Ge also secretly glanced at their watches. She got a perfect score, while their scores seemed to be "average".

At the front of the hall, an elderly man stood on the podium. His silver hair was neatly combed, and his very rugged face was covered with wrinkles. He was dressed in a suit, wearing a monocle, and even had a red rose-like flower pinned to his waist in a rather flamboyant manner.

My first impression was that he was a damn flamboyant and handsome old man.

The old man tapped the table with his wand, coughed lightly, and said, "Quiet, freshmen."

The old man's voice was loud and clear, carrying an unquestionable air of authority.

"Congratulations on passing the entrance exam. I am Vice Principal Moriarty, and on behalf of the Magic High School, I welcome you to the school."

His gaze swept over the crowd, lingering on Li Ge's face for a moment, a barely perceptible smile flashing in his eyes.

"Most of you have accomplished the basic tasks, which is commendable."

"But there is one person!" Moriarty pointed at Li Ge, "Examinee No. 9528, Li Ge, you not only discovered the source of the pollution, but also assisted the indigenous people in completing the purification in an unimaginable way."

"Excellent, very good! Our magic high school really needs someone like you!"

The flamboyant vice principal spoke in a melodious and rhythmic voice. Li Ge knew he shouldn't understand the language, but for some reason, it was as if the meaning of the language was directly poured into his mind, and he could understand it instantly.

However, the old man's words sounded like an invitation from the head of the Western Depot, as if to say, "Our Western Depot needs someone like you."

"In any case, you have demonstrated the qualities we value most: intelligence gathering ability, analytical skills, imagination, empathy, and decisiveness in critical moments," Moriarty said solemnly. "Magic high schools exist precisely to cultivate 'saviors' with these qualities."

Savior?

This word sent a jolt through all the students, a violent jolt, as if their entire bodies were on vibrate mode, constantly trembling.

At this moment, Li Ge seemed to finally realize whether he had been conscripted by the weasels or recruited by the God Space.

It seems like this school offers pretty good benefits? At least better than the Weasel and the Main God Space.

Thinking of this, Li Ge wanted to slap himself. His requirements were so low. Was he satisfied as long as he was stronger than the weasels and the main god? Li Ge, you can't really expect to be on the same level as those black guys.

"Now, collect your initial supplies and proceed to your assigned dormitories." The vice-principal waved his wand, and several orbs of light flew towards the new students, transforming into packages. "Tomorrow morning, the Sorting Ceremony and each person's Noble Phantasm Awakening Ceremony will be held. At that time, you will officially choose your future path."

"Disband."

The flamboyant old man tapped the ground with his wand in a showy manner. The next moment, a spatial rift-like thing slowly tore open behind him, and the old man fell backward into the spatial rift.

Then the spatial rift closed perfectly, as if the space had never been torn apart at all.

This move once again shocked these inexperienced freshmen. Even Li Ge had the feeling, "Holy crap, this magic is so flashy, can I learn it?"

Then Li Ge began to check his bag, which contained a card that looked like a student ID and a formal watch, just like the futuristic watch he had seen before, but this watch seemed to be more technologically advanced.

Li Ge operated it briefly. The watch could not only display his physical condition in real time, but it also served as a class attendance clock, card swipe, and various other functions. After Li Ge tapped it, something similar to a holographic projection appeared on it.