I Swear I'm Not a Demon Masquerading as a Human

The two of them mostly sat in motionless silence, occasionally gazing at the scenery outside the window. Unfamiliar yet beautiful landscapes flashed into view as the train sped along, then blurred past in an instant.

A full day had passed, and it was now midday on the second day. As he rested his chin on one hand, Lance looked away from the passing panorama outside and glanced at the clock inside the carriage.

When the landscape shifted to reveal the sparse buildings and pastures typical of the outskirts of a city, Lance had a hunch that their destination was drawing near. Seeming to have finally grown weary of the scenery, he turned to ask Talia a question, "By the way, Tali, what do you think of the Shadow Realm?"

In the world he originally came from, the Shadow Realm was known as a high-difficulty, randomly generated dungeon that had yet to be fully explored. Now that he was here, Lance had found a wealth of information about them in books.

Yet, the mysterious Shadow Realm proved far more complex than he had initially understood. In this world, it manifested an endless array of perilous dungeons that were alternate realities. Ikerite University had been founded with the specific goal of cultivating talents who were capable of conquering these dungeons. Naturally, the entrance exam was also linked to this objective.

"Ignoring a dungeon created by the Shadow Realm or failing to conquer it triggers a natural disaster somewhere in the world, but clearing one grants power and wealth," Talia answered simply, her gaze remaining fixed ahead. Her detached attitude was the same as before she agreed to be Lance’s teacher.

Lance nodded and showed no intention of pressing the issue further. It was exactly as the books described. To the people of this world, the Shadow Realm was a double-edged sword.

Clearing a dungeon created by the Shadow Realm yielded immense rewards. These included the materials needed to craft enchanted cards, as well as naturally occurring cards that were far more powerful than anything that was created by artisans.

Conversely, failure to conquer one triggered a calamity somewhere in the world. Even if these alternate dimensions were left alone, the automatic closure of one after a certain time limit would still cause the disaster to spill over and ravage the real world. That was why nations and major powers across the globe were pouring all their efforts into cultivating talents capable of conquering them.

Talia then added, "These dungeons appear without warning. Some occur at fixed locations, while others appear randomly. Ultimately, they are projections of fragments of history, either from this world or from other realms."

Now that she was his teacher, she was willing to elaborate a little more on matters that were related to enchanted cards. The two of them had grown accustomed to this style of conversation, where topics were touched upon briefly before moving on.

"I see..." Lance murmured thoughtfully to himself.

Books in the South Vantina library recorded that these dungeons opened periodically and endlessly. Their timelines and environments varied wildly; some were simple and easy, while others were incredibly perilous.

Upon entering the Shadow Realm, one would assume a new identity to reenact that fragment of a historical timeline. Consequently, standard weapons, equipment, and ordinary magical artifacts couldn’t be brought inside. There was only one exception: soulbound enchanted cards.

This was precisely why enchanted cards had become the dominant tool of this era. They were indispensable when conquering dungeons. Furthermore, there was an inextricable link between the Shadow Realm and enchanted cards. The raw materials for them came from the dungeons, while using cards made it far easier to clear them.

Lance couldn’t help but wonder how people without enchanted cards back then had managed to survive those hellish dungeons when the Shadow Realm first appeared...

"We've arrived." Talia’s voice was crisp and clear like a water droplet hitting ice, and it snapped Lance out of his thoughts.

He turned his head to look outside and saw the moving landscape was slowly coming to a halt. The train had pulled into a station featuring a roof constructed of reddish-brown shingles. Towering spires at either end lent the structure a majestic, solemn air, while the station's interior was adorned with intricate marble columns, frescoes, and stained-glass windows. The whole building exuded a profound sense of history.

Unlike the small border city of South Vantina, Ikerite was grand and bustling while also retaining a wealth of historical elements. Without much hesitation, Lance took his suitcase down from the overhead rack and stepped off the train alongside Talia.

***

They walked through the concourse levels of Ikerite Central Station, and the hustle and bustle of travelers everywhere faded away. Lance and Talia arrived at a wide square, boarded a small tour carriage, and started a new journey in the city.

The afternoon sun shone on the gently swaying carriage, giving off a sense of leisure and comfort. From a distance, Lance could see clusters of tulips and calla lilies in the royal plant garden. The colors of the various plants were like dots of mist, surrounded by a verdant green.

The sound of horse hooves echoed in the ancient cobblestone streets as the wheels hummed and rolled. Lance was able to appreciate Ikerite’s unique architectural style from the comfort of his seat. There were grand houses, brick-red walls, pointed roofs, and exquisite ancient carvings.

Carriages passed by along the winding canal, and with the breeze, ripples appeared on the water, reflecting willow trees gently brushing the water.

Lance looked at Talia beside him and asked, "When we get to the university later, do you want to go shopping together?"

"What do you think?" Talia asked in response to Lance’s seemingly friendly, but actually shameless invitation.

Since she wanted to protect Lance, she actually had no choice. Even after these three months, she still had no idea the identity of the person who wanted to kill Lance. She only knew that Lance's statement that "someone wanted to kill him" was true.

The carriage passed an ancient stone bridge, the mottled beige stones of which had borne witness to the passage of time. Under the bridge, the canal water gently lapped against the stone piers, making a peaceful sound, as a group of seagulls freely flew in the sky above.

Lance closed his eyes, spread his hands, and said, "There’s nothing I can do. It's very important that I go to the university today."

Unlike the College of Alchemy and College of Magical Engineering, the Knights’ College and Sages’ College began the first phase of their examination, the attribute test, at the very moment a person applied. If an applicant's growth potential was judged to be too poor, they may be barred from taking the formal examination altogether.

Both the Knights’ College and Sages’ College aimed to cultivate talents capable of conquering high-level dungeons in the Shadow Realm. Entering one placed the Challenger in mortal danger and impacted the survival of their companions, to say nothing of putting the world’s well-being at stake. Consequently, both colleges imposed strict requirements regarding an applicant's combat aptitude.

For those who passed the initial attribute test, the formal examination, the second phase, used an artificially simulated Shadow Realm dimension to evaluate the student's practical skills and adaptability. The third and final phase consisted of a role-specific combat test arranged by the college.

After thoroughly researching the university, Lance decided to switch his application from the College of Alchemy to the Sages’ College, which specialized in practical magic-based combat. Since his innate attribute and role compatibility made it impossible for him to become a physical-class combatant, he stood little chance of passing the Knights’ College’s first test.

Talia had nothing to say. She was well aware of Lance's itinerary and plans, having heard from him about the format of the upcoming tests. However, she still couldn’t categorize Lance into a specific profession. Of note, this was taking into account her various experiences throughout the years she had accumulated from first traversing the Demon Kingdom and then the numerous human kingdoms.

She would leave that headache to Ikerite University. After all, she wasn't the one who would have to deal with him.

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