Chapter 132: Spear? Blood-Colored Barrier

"Are you here, Sister Avia?" Wendy's loud cry rang through the corridors of the Stevenson Magic Academy, shattering the serene campus atmosphere, the girl clad in warrior's armor and carrying a greatsword on her back.

"Keep it down!"

"Shh..."

"Lower your voice."

Doors on both sides of the hallway flew open, revealing angry faces. Some began to scold her outright, while others, recognizing Wendy as the professor's granddaughter, could only pinch their noses and insist she quiet down.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm looking for someone, excuse me." With a sheepish flick of her tongue, Wendy scurried away toward the other end of the hall.

"That's strange, where did Sister Avia go? She should be in the experimental workshop around here." Wendy scratched her head, walking through the academy building meant for student research. She didn't dare shout anymore, but how else was she to find Avia?

"Wendy? What do you need?" Suddenly, Avia's voice echoed in Wendy's mind, causing the girl to jump in shock.

"Uh, is that you, Sister Avia?" Wendy whispered, sounding uncertain.

"No need to speak aloud, I can hear you. It's not like I didn't hear you shouting just now. Hurry in. You must keep quiet here, you know; everyone is conducting experiments, and a single mistake could lead to disaster."

Avia's reply resonated in Wendy's mind again, and a laboratory door beside the corridor swung open, clearly inviting her inside.

Wendy looked around uncomfortably. Was Sister Avia watching her from somewhere? It felt a bit strange. Shaking her head, she tiptoed into the lab like a thief.

The door closed. Avia sat in a chair, intently examining a new magical device she was fine-tuning. Wendy didn't dare disturb her; for some reason, both Brother Wang Yu and Sister Avia were quite intimidating when they were focused.

Using a miniaturized Mage Hand to attach the final component to the long, iron-pipe-like object, Avia let out a breath, placed the item on the table, and turned to face Wendy.

"Wendy, what brings you here?"

"Um, the teacher asked you to come with me. Also, what is this thing? A stick?" Wendy relayed her message, unable to suppress her curiosity.

She wasn't sure exactly how skilled Sister Avia was at alchemy, but she knew it was impressive. Once, when the magical circuits on her gravity-enchanted greatsword were damaged, Avia had fixed them. So, what was this stick-like device for?

Could it be some powerful alchemical weapon, like an enchanted staff capable of unleashing explosions or flames?

The thought made her hands itch. Unlike Brother Wang Yu, who was just as strong bare-handed as he was with a weapon, Wendy loved all kinds of gear.

"This?" Avia blinked, picking up the iron rod and pointing it toward Wendy.

"Mm-hmm!" Wendy nodded vigorously, her ponytail dancing to reflect her intense desire.

"Let's see..." Avia tapped her chin in thought, then nodded. It should be fine. Although the energy core and control unit weren't finished, it was close enough; she could act as the power source herself.

"Step aside." Avia gripped the iron rod and gestured for Wendy to move back.

"Eh?" Wendy was puzzled, but she complied. She soon understood why. Student labs were equipped for many things, including testing new spells and alchemy. Behind Wendy stood an iron-clad dummy used for power testing.

"It really is a weapon. But wouldn't it be more suitable for me? Sister Avia is just a mage, after all." Seeing the dummy, Wendy realized what Avia was doing, grumbling inwardly about why she couldn't be the one to use it, given that she was the warrior.

"Bang!" A sharp, crisp explosion erupted. A flash of fire burst from the tip of the "iron pipe," and Wendy felt something blurry streak past her eyes at high speed.

"Ah?" Wendy looked toward the direction of the blur, her eyes widening. A clear hole had appeared in the iron plate on the dummy's chest. Something had pierced the heavy armor.

"What is this?" Wendy ran over, staring at the hole, utterly baffled. What had just happened? What could have punched through the armor?

She peered into the hole and used a small dagger from her belt to pry inside, pulling out a flattened metal pellet. This was what had pierced the armor and embedded itself deep into the dummy's metallic core.

"What is this?" Wendy asked, holding the still-warm pellet toward Avia.

"This is a bullet, and what I'm holding is, I suppose, an unfinished 'gun'."

Avia checked the slightly hot "barrel." The effect was unexpectedly good. By using a simple Flame Blast spell to replace the gunpowder Wang Yu had described, she discovered that magic possessed a unique advantage over firearm technology.

It could create impact and explosions out of thin air, leaving no residue after the reaction, and it didn't even need reloading—one could trigger the blast inside the "barrel" to provide thrust to the bullet.

Realizing firearms through magic was actually quite simple. Compared to the Weaver's Book, which had taken repeated failures to complete, this prototype was finished on the very first try.

"The power is decent. Because we possess the overly convenient power of mana, our world's development of various 'force' applications is quite crude. Creations like the Dwarven 'magic muskets' essentially use mana to push enchanted projectiles, which is highly inefficient."

"Based on some vague theories Wang Yu provided, building a complete firearm is difficult, but his simple hints were a huge help. Compressing the explosive magic and converting it into kinetic energy for the bullet yields entirely different results."

"A Flame Blast that would normally only leave a scorch mark on iron armor can easily pierce it once its energy is transferred to a bullet. In any world, this invention of energy conversion is a true milestone."

Avia was very satisfied with the prototype. She hadn't done much—just fashioned a barrel and used her own Flame Blast to replace gunpowder.

The power of that pellet was enough to inflict lethal damage on any enemy below the rank of a formal knight without superior armor.

"Uh, but Sister Avia, a gun shouldn't be like this, right?" Wendy felt a shiver as she watched Avia stare at the barrel with a gentle smile. She was just as scary as Brother Wang Yu right now.

"It's just a name; no need to worry about it." Avia waved her hand, using the same excuse Wang Yu had given when she asked why his name sounded so strange.

She would carry the barrel with her. For now, this alchemical work was essentially done. Later, she could use stronger metals to build a barrel capable of withstanding more powerful explosions and refine the simple spherical pellets into more aerodynamic bullet shapes.

At the same time, she could try enchanting the bullets—stealth, acceleration, explosion, or even poison. After all, a metal bullet body was an excellent carrier for magical circuits.

"Let's go. Didn't the teacher ask us to come over?" Avia stood up and opened the lab door. She had rented the space for quite a while, and no one would come in.

"Oh, right, right. I'll take you. Grandpa told us to go somewhere we've never been. I need to remember what he said." Wendy hurried after Avia, pulling out the small slip of paper Weber Lanchie had given her.

"By the way, Sister Avia, can I play with that 'gun' thing later? It looks really cool." Although Wendy didn't understand the principles, the sheer power was enough to tempt her.

"Sure, once I've perfected it. You can't use it yet."

"Awesome! Thanks, Sister Avia!" Wendy's shout, uncontrolled in her excitement, drew angry glares from neighboring labs.

"Ah, uh." Wendy ducked her head and scurried away.

...

The two walked through the lab corridor to a building connected by a skybridge to the library and archives. This was where the academy stored its books.

Usually, every professor had their own library. Materials they deemed shareable were placed in the public library for students and other teachers to consult.

Their own research results and precious, rare knowledge were kept in private libraries, accessible only to their students or those they trusted. Some cash-strapped professors even charged a fee for access.

Avia had been here many times; the teacher often opened the library for her. Despite her high learning capacity, she hadn't even finished half the books in that room.

She looked around, puzzled. The library building was unusually quiet today, as if no one was inside. This only happened during large assemblies; after all, knowledge was the treasure students and teachers alike pursued.

"Eh, where are the usual teachers and students?" Wendy scratched her head, equally confused. Grandpa had sent them to a strange place, and now everyone was gone...

"Could it be... a birthday surprise?" Avia didn't even know when her own birthday was. Maybe Brother Wang Yu knew? Did Grandpa know too? That would be too kind of him. Damn, he wasn't even that nice to his own granddaughter!

Unlike Wendy's carefree nature, Avia was much more cautious. Vigilance was her constant creed; one should always be wary of anomalies.

Mana and Void lenses formed over her left and right eyes. Both observation skills activated, and Avia scanned every corner of the building.

Strange traces? None. Void aura? Nonexistent. Magical arrays? Just the standard ones for cleaning and theft prevention...

"Doesn't seem to be a problem..." she muttered. Recalling how Wang Yu used his "ripple" ability to check the answers provided by teachers, Avia set aside her lingering unease.

They climbed the stairs to the door of Weber Lanchie's study. Wendy took out the key and opened the door.

"Eh, Grandpa isn't here? So many books!"

She looked around, failing to find her grandfather. She had never been here before; Weber Lanchie didn't like his clumsy granddaughter touching his precious collection.

"The teacher isn't here?" Avia was familiar with this place. The teacher had invited her here to read many times. It was normal for him to be away; Avia's reliability was well-trusted.

But it was this very familiarity that caused Avia to overlook something minute. The magical circuit on the key Wendy held, used to pass the library's detection, had subtle differences from the one Weber Lanchie usually gave Avia.

Once the system detected a forged key, this library—covered in arrays and reflecting Weber Lanchie's personality—wouldn't simply lock the door. It would lure the intruder in, seal the room, and wait for the academy's guards to arrive.

"Eh? What's happening!" As Avia stepped into the room, the entire building's arrays activated. As Wendy gasped because the key her grandfather gave her suddenly shattered, the library door slammed shut behind Avia. A series of seals tightened, locking the room completely.

"!" Avia spun around, but it was too late. The lockdown was complete.

"What's going on, Sister Avia? What is Grandpa doing?" Wendy wasn't too panicked; she didn't believe her grandfather would ever harm them.

“……I am not sure, what is the teacher trying to do?” Avia’s brows knit together in a deep frown; why had he suddenly locked Wendy and her in this room, and yet, there seemed to be no malevolent magic circles manifesting to harm them?

“Ugh, Sister Avia, why does my head feel so dizzy?” Wendy’s words suddenly grew fragmented and intermittent. Clutching her crimson hair, she appeared heavy with sleep, her footsteps faltering and unsteady.

“Hmm? What is it?” Avia looked toward Wendy, sensing nothing amiss herself, but then, a shift within her mental sanctum caused her eyes to widen in sudden, sharp alarm.

Outside the vast castle that represented her inner temple of the mind, a transparent barrier had unfurled, enveloping her entire fortress within a space that mirrored the likeness of Wang Yu’s bedchamber.

The outer shield was currently repelling a steady stream of viscous, crimson fluid, which poured down from the starry expanse of her mental realm, cascading onto the protective barrier surrounding her castle, only to be blocked and cast aside.

With a dull thud, Wendy’s lethargy reached its breaking point, and her head lolled as she collapsed onto the floor.

“The mental protection Wang Yu gave me back then…” Avia felt a surge of intense anxiety; she still had no grasp of what was unfolding or what her teacher had orchestrated.

A sudden, jarring crimson glow seized her attention. She cast her gaze toward the library window, which had been reinforced with layers of sealing spells, and saw that beyond the glass, a scarlet, hemispherical barrier was rising, beginning at the perimeter of the Stevenson School of Magic and encompassing the entire campus, along with a portion of the sky above.

The whole academy was now shrouded in an eerie, blood-red light.