Nearly three weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
Dekan enjoyed his vibrant campus life. His daily routine still consisted of attending classes, crafting cards, and researching poisons. Most mornings, he spent with Cornelia. They were practically inseparable during their mandatory classes.
The difference now was that Croix might occasionally join them for lunch or afternoon library time. He would occasionally discuss advanced spell-related questions with Dekan. However, due to Croix's affiliation with the Mage College, his class schedule didn't always align with Dekan and Cornelia's.
Sunday.
The early morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a patchwork of fragmented shadows on the floor of Dekan's living room. With his eyes closed, Dekan furrowed his brows and turned over on the sofa. He stayed up late last night.
Even though he and Mielle tried to wrap up their research on poisons by 10 PM and go their separate ways, there were always those one or two days when they got carried away and lost track of time.
So they had no choice but to stay in Dekan’s dorm. Dekan gave up his bed for Mielle, who had no qualms treating his dorm room as her own.
Dekan felt like he wanted to sleep a little more, but there had been a faint sound in his ears since a while ago. Mielle must have already woken up. She was even more disciplined than Dekan.
After a while, he heard a gentle and slightly playful voice saying, "Thank you, I had a very comfortable sleep last night."
"Alright, alright, you can go now."
Dekan still didn't open his eyes but mumbled.
"You sure are a hard nut to crack."
Mielle's tone seemed a bit unhappy, but a mischievous smile couldn't help but appear on her face.
"You've always had this attitude in your speech. The one who takes things seriously loses."
"Hoo, then I'll be on my way, you continue to rest well."
"’Extremely Poisonous Spike 3.1' on the table, you can take it. I'll be able to make another one on my own soon."
Dekan sat up, rubbed his eyes, and looked at Mielle.
Once the blue-quality card is successfully developed, it will be easy for Dekan to reproduce it.
"Oh, alright."
Upon hearing this, Mielle smiled and walked into the card-making workshop, taking away the masterpiece they successfully developed together last night.
[Extremely Poisonous Spike 3.1]
[Category: Spell Card]
[Rarity: Blue Rare]
[Tier: 3]
[Effect: Inflicts continuous weak poison and bleeding status. This spell can be triggered from a distance, and the poison cannot be purified.]
[Note: Current version is 3.1, equipped with new communication toxins, bringing an unparalleled tormenting experience! - Developer's Diary.]
"By the way, you'll be going to the Shadow World again next week, right?"
Seeing Dekan awake, Mielle started chatting with him again.
Dekan asked, "Yeah, do you want to join me?"
Mielle replied, "No, no, I'm a civilian worker. I won't go to dangerous places like that. I’m just sighing that I might not see you for a while."
Although Dekan wanted to tease her, he remembered saying similar things in the past and restrained himself.
According to Dekan and Cornelia's agreement, next Wednesday would be the second Shadow World raid for Team Beautiful Heart.
However, Dekan and Cornelia were both only at tier 3 and couldn't team up with Croix, who was at tier 6.
According to the rules, teams could have a maximum of a two-tier difference.
Otherwise, it could seriously affect the survival rate of other challengers.
Cornelia was not far from reaching tier 4, but Dekan needed some more training to reach tier 4.
They might be able to clear the Shadow World together before Croix graduates.
In addition, Dekan had promised to take Teacher Cat on a Shadow World adventure.
The duration of the Shadow Worlds were somewhat random, ranging from half a day to a month or more.
After challenging a Shadow World, there would be a cooldown period during which they would be rejected by the Shadow Worlds.
If they spent a long time only challenging a tier 3 Shadow World, the rewards would be too low for Dekan and Cornelia.
So, it would be better to bring Teacher Cat, who was at tier 5, to increase the team's difficulty.
After seeing Mielle off, Dekan was fully awake.
Today, he had an important thing to do.
Yesterday, he saw Cornelia feeding cats in the back mountain again.
It seemed to be her most important project on weekends.
Dekan noticed that these days, whenever Cornelia saw Teacher Cat sticking to him, the loneliness in her eyes couldn't be hidden.
After all, even Croix got along well with Teacher Cat.
It was only Cornelia who seemed to make Teacher Cat scared.
Although Teacher Cat had become much closer to Cornelia compared to the beginning.
But that instinct of fear seemed to be engraved in her soul.
Other elven cats were even more reluctant to approach Cornelia. She had to rely on cat lure potions for them to get a bit closer.
They were about to enter a Shadow World again.
And this time, it was Dekan, Cornelia, and Teacher Cat as a team.
Dekan was worried that Cornelia's mood would be even lower in the Shadow World.
So he had to make a decision now.
Should I sacrifice myself a bit to make Cornelia feel better?
"A six-foot tall man can't turn into a cat," Dekan shook his head.
So on this sunny Sunday morning, Dekan used the "Polymorph: Elven Cat" in his dorm room to become a noble and graceful light gray elven cat, resembling a western doll.
"Well, I guess that's because I'm so kind-hearted."
This sensation of lowered perspective and a light body unexpectedly felt quite good.
Strangely, Dekan found himself addicted to it.
That was one reason why he was somewhat resistant to turning into a cat; he was afraid of becoming addicted to this state.
His body felt so agile that he had the urge to dance.
"Just once, just once..."
After letting go of his hesitation, Dekan hummed a song with his nose, taking steps with his agile four legs.
Since he had transformed, he might as well enjoy being an elven cat.
Soon, he arrived at the grassy area in the back mountains.
Basking in the comfortable warmth of late autumn, he couldn't resist rolling around on the soft grass for a few rounds.
The gentle breeze was just right.
Ah, it was so enjoyable.
Dekan felt like he was experiencing something twice as relaxing as his human form.
Could being a furry ball be this blissful?
The sense of weariness that had already disappeared returned.
When Dekan came to his senses, he had already fallen into a deep slumber.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
When Cornelia came to the back mountain with cat lure potions and cat food, she saw a lazy little cat lying under the tree where she often stayed.
Cornelia hesitated for a moment but decided to approach.
As expected, the elven cat would probably be scared away by her in a little while and run off.
However, as she approached step by step, the little cat didn't react at all.
This made her heart gradually race.
