"All ten of you have earned the privilege to enter Fragment, Heart of Xenith and the Pinnacle of Arcane Mysteries. Congratulations,

" the IMF staff member said with a smile.

The girls and I exchanged glances, grinning at one another. Flaria had transformed into her bird form, resting in my pocket.

"However… she cannot enter,

" the employee eyed Lin Luo.

"While she is quite the powerful talent, the truth is, she lost. Therefore, she is not eligible.

"

"Oh? Would you like to confirm that with your higher-ups?

" I challenged, a triumphant smirk on my face.

"The rules are set in steel, set by the Council of Arcanity themselves. Unless a Council Member directly says she can enter, no one can help you.

"

"She can enter.

"

As if on cue, my good ally and pawn arrived.

"She's… the examiner we fought…

" Feng Mian's eyes widened.

"S-Shadow Empress?

" the IMF staff trembled in fear, kneeling down.

"If I may ask… why is your honor here?

"

The Shadow Empress — Ling Xin — however, ignored the man's words and descended towards me, cupping my face. I didn't bother trying to avoid it.

"My, my, Xuan Kai~ you got some guts, asking me for a favor as trivial as this, you know~?

"

"If it's trivial, you shouldn't mind doing it, right?

" I shot back, snorting in unamusement.

"You little rascal~

" she giggled and embraced me. I didn't try to resist, since I wanted to show the IMF staff how close she was with me. That would make things a lot easier.

The girls, however, were a different story.

"Back off,

" Mei Gui said coldly, eyes filled with killing intent. Her Chaos spear was already materialized, placed above Ling Xin's head. Despite being on the verge of death, Ling Xin didn't even look.

I glanced sideways at Mei Gui and shook my head slowly. The other girls who were about to join in were also stopped by my look.

"Is that enough hugging me?

" I sighed.

Ling Xin backed off a short distance, then stepped forward once again, purposely rubbing her soft and bouncy assets against my chest as she winked seductively.

"Hm… was this all you had to ask of me?

"

"For now, yes.

"

"Really? You don't want me to spend a night with you or anything~?

" she stuck out her tongue and licked her lips.

"I'd be more than willing… even multiple nights is fine~ after all…

"

She leaned in and whispered by my ear.

"You're 18 now, aren't you?

"

"That makes me older than you, huh?

" I chuckled.

"Heh. Not for long,

" she said cryptically, before turning around and walking away. Then, turning back to me once more, she winked and tugged on her robe's chest portion a little bit, letting me get a glimpse of her cleavage.

"Let me know if you ever need something again, mkay~?

"

The IMF staff watched on in shock as Ling Xin disappeared into a Shadow portal, and I stepped up to him, bending down as he continued to kneel on the floor.

"So… can my friend here enter or not?

"

"S-She can. By all means.

"

I turned to Lin Luo and flashed a thumbs-up, to which she snorted in somewhat disgust.

I stood back up as the massive 3D hexagonal diamond shaped structure hovering above all of us suddenly began glowing orange. A rectangular portion of the walls suddenly slid downwards, revealing a bright glowing orange light shining from within, as a long staircase began sliding down from the opening.

"Wow…

" the girls completely forgot about Ling Xin's questionable interaction with me from earlier after witnessing this awe-inspiring scene.

Everyone present in the Fortress all turned their heads in that moment to look at the enormous gem-like structure levitating in the air known as Fragment, radiating a bright yellow energy that seemed like the sun itself.

The staircase soon extended down to directly in front of us, sending a gush of dust in all directions as it landed on the arena's grounds.

"Please, head up,

" the IMF staff said respectfully, gesturing us to head upwards like some sort of butler. The difference in attitude from before Ling Xin showed up to after was truly amusing.

The staircase was pure black, outlined by an orange glow to match the rest of the structure. On the sides were invisible barriers to prevent us from falling off, and the gate high up in the sky seemed to be beckoning us closer.

As we ascended the staircase, Xiang Peng let out a deep breath and glanced lovingly at Fragment.

"To think… one day, I would be re-entering my home in this way…

"

"Are you going to be attending the university with us, once we get in?

" Feng Mian asked curiously.

"Sure, why not. I'll be a year above you, but there's no helping that. Also, I'll have to leave from time to time whenever trouble stirs, since that's my job, but it should be quite a bit of time before that happens — after all, I just returned from a dangerous mission.

"

"What's the school like?

" I asked, focusing on the more important question.

"Well… for one, it's very competitive,

" Xiang Peng murmured in thought.

"Classes are made of 16 people, and are made to compete with other classes. The stronger you are, the better rewards you can get in class competitions. I've never attended it myself, but from what I've heard, there's also this points system-

"

"Wait,

" Yu An Yan interrupted.

"Doesn't this sound…

"

"Kind of like our old school, huh?

" Qing Yue smirked as she finished her sentence.

"I think Shenzhen Magic High was influenced by Shanghai Magic Academy. That explains why the headmaster here was present at the Advancement Exams back then as well.

"

"How much do you want to bet, he's affiliated with the Midnight Syndicate?

" I chuckled as we neared the gate.

"W-What? Where did that come from?

" Feng Mian asked, confused.

"Don't worry about it,

" I replied cryptically, even though I already was 90% certain my guess was on the point.

Liu Jian had an unhealthy interest in me — if he was merely curious about my magic's weird color combinations, he wouldn't go so far. After all, anyone could manipulate their own magic's color combinations with either illusion magic or certain artifacts.

The only explanation was that he already knew about me beforehand… and the mysterious power dwelling inside my body. He couldn't be sure what exactly it was, but he was probably told by his superiors in the Syndicate that I was a target of interest.

Pair that with the words Sylvoir said to me…

… Yeah. I can't be 100% sure without any evidence, but I was almost certain Liu Jian had some sort of relationship with the Syndicate, even if he wasn't one of their direct members.

Soon after, the eleven of us arrived at the glowing orange gate. Beyond it was a corridor of similarly-colored light, leading into Fragment.

I took a deep breath and took the lead, with the rest of the girls following. Xiang Peng took up the rear end.

At the end of the corridor was a spiral staircase leading down, the scenery changing abruptly from a neon tunnel into a old-fashioned, medieval castle.

"Where is this…?

" Lan Xiao Su asked as we all collectively turned to Xiang Peng for help.

"Hey, don't look at me. I've never been here before either,

" she shrugged, completely useless as usual.

"There's no other way but to go down,

" I stated the obvious as the gates clanked shut behind us, not allowing anyone else to enter.

As we descended the dim stairwell, lit only by a few torches, however, a mysterious voice suddenly spoke to us, reverberating across the narrow halls of the staircase.

"Greetings, everyone.

"

"Who's speaking?

" I asked as we continued walking down the seemingly endless stairs, eyeing the walls in suspicion.

"You currently have two options, given your age range,

" the voice continued, completely ignoring my question.

"One, freely explore Fragment on your own, and make your own fate. And two… enter the Shanghai Magic Academy, the top university in the world. Which will it be?

"

"Can you elaborate on the first option?

" I asked, wanting to see exactly what he meant by 'make your own fate'.

"Making a name for yourself. There are many means to do this, but none are easy. It will be difficult, but should you succeed, you will become one of the most recognized individuals of the arcane world.

"

"Sounds like too much of a hassle,

" I smirked.

"Besides, I don't like attention. If there was a more discrete way to enter Fragment, I would've done that. So, I choose the second option.

"

"Acknowledged. And the rest?

"

The girls all chose the same option as me, without any doubt.

"Acknowledged,

" the machine-like voice said once more, as we suddenly found ourselves facing a door right as our conversation ended. It was as if the staircase was meant to drag on infinitely until we answered the questions — such was the power of magic.

The door then swung open of its own accord as the girls and I were blinded by a bright white light. As we covered our eyes, the voice left behind one final message, sending shivers up our spines.

"Welcome, everyone, to Fragment.

"