Professor Hubert Saw What Professor Desmond Was Thinking at a Glance.
He didn't speak, just shook his head with amusement.
'Alright then. Since Professor Desmond has that idea, let someone go try it. It isn't necessarily a bad thing anyway.'
"Back to the topic," Professor Hubert, who had just shown a slight smile, suddenly remembered the initial topic when he saw his phone on the table, "I know a lot of old friends."
"We used to often exchange discoveries, show off our successes and resources at hand, and tirelessly wave our hoes at each other."
Professor Desmond: "..."
'Can't really understand you old guys' hobbies. Totally incomprehensible.'
Professor Hubert glanced at him, "No one asked you to understand."
"But just within this week, nearly ten people contacted me, all saying that in their countries, ordinary people or beast tamers have discovered the appearance of folding spaces."
'Hm?', Professor Desmond, who was just making a sarcastic face, suddenly frowned upon hearing this.
"Right, you sensed something's off too, huh."
Upon hearing this, Professor Desmond nodded, "Indeed… within a week, nearly ten countries discovered folding spaces… is folding space being sold wholesale?"
"Buy one get one free?", As he spoke, Professor Desmond didn't forget to add another sarcastic jab.
Professor Hubert smiled, then sighed deeply.
"I just feel like this seems like a huge trap…?", Professor Hubert sighed again, "It's hard to describe that feeling."
"Individually, none of them seem unusual. Everything is so reasonable. It's normal for beast tamers to want to explore."
"But all at once, during the same time period, so many folding spaces appeared in different countries…"
Professor Desmond and Professor Hubert exchanged glances.
Too coincidental. However, they firmly believed there were no such coincidences in this world.
Unreasonably excessive.
"I think you'd better warn them, tell them not to rush in yet," Professor Desmond said seriously.
Professor Hubert hesitated, "It's not something I can stop just because I want to."
Folding spaces, minor secret realms, might contain endless "treasures."
Especially the kind never discovered before.
The first wave eats meat, the second wave might only get to lick the plate.
The only reason no one is rushing in en masse is because the discoverers have blocked the information, trying to keep the benefits for themselves.
"If we can't control them, at least we can manage our own, right?", Professor Desmond said after thinking.
Let go of the savior complex. Respect others' fate.
Professor Hubert sensed something was wrong, and Professor Desmond also noticed the issue after hearing him out.
They just didn't believe no one else besides them had noticed the anomaly.
But if people insisted on entering despite this…
What could they do?
Break their legs?
"I originally thought the same," Professor Hubert nodded.
Professor Desmond detected something unpleasant in Professor Hubert's words.
"But?"
"Yes, but," Professor Hubert smiled, took a sip from his thermos, and slowly said, "When I realized something was off, that there might be some trick inside, I tried to contact Ace Sterling who discovered this folding space, but couldn't reach him."
Prince wasn't like Peter. There shouldn't be a case where his phone couldn't receive messages or calls.
"He already went in?"
Professor Desmond immediately reacted. There was also that possibility for being unreachable.
"Yes," Professor Hubert sighed, "Later I contacted several other Aces. Among them, Ace Clyde knew something and told me Ace Sterling had already gone in."
"Psshhh—", Professor Desmond started to understand Professor Hubert's dilemma.
There's something fishy about the secret realm. The issue had clearly been spotted.
But just such a coincidence, a step too late.
"Ace Sterling moved a bit too quickly, didn't he?", Professor Desmond couldn't help muttering.
"One step slower. Just one step would have been enough!"
"Isn't it normal to make more preparations before entering such a secret realm?"
Professor Hubert defended Prince fairly, "Ace Sterling is already an Tier 8 Beast Tamer. No amount of preparation beats his confidence in his own strength."
Professor Desmond: "..."
'Well, true.'
'That's indeed the case.'
"Plus, Ace Sterling originally wanted to invite Ace Clyde to go in together. Two Tier 8 Beast Tamers joining forces, there wouldn't be any danger."
Professor Desmond nodded again as he listened.
After a pause, he couldn't help saying, "But Ace Clyde…"
"Ah, yes," Professor Hubert looked a little strange, "Ace Clyde happened to have something going on and couldn't go in."
Just a coincidence.
"Now there's nothing we can do but trust in Ace Sterling's strength, it should be fine, right?", Professor Desmond looked rather pained.
Only the things that were supposed to happen had already happened, and nothing could be changed.
Instead of worrying here, better to figure out how to prove that the appearance of this secret realm indeed had issues.
Professor Hubert glanced at Professor Desmond and sipped more hot goji berry tea, "That's not what worries me most."
Professor Desmond didn't understand.
"Since Ace Clyde didn't agree, Ace Sterling invited others, including Professor Asher."
"That's not…", Professor Desmond was just about to say something when he suddenly processed what Professor Hubert had said earlier. His eyes widened sharply.
Professor Desmond looked at Professor Hubert in shock, "Professor Asher?"
"That's right."
Professor Desmond let out a classic sharp screech.
'Professor Asher, that's Professor Asher!'
'A treasure… cough cough, Asher might not be quite yet, but is absolutely a genius.'
Barring accidents, a dazzling star that could shine over Soren's skies for fifty years.
"How could he?"
"How could he do that?"
Professor Desmond held his head in both hands, but the "he" he referred to wasn't Asher.
How could Asher be wrong?
Asher was just a gentle beast professor. Someone invited him, that's all.
Professor Desmond meant Prince.
'How could he!'
"In fact, setting aside the potential problems with the secret realm, Ace Sterling invited Ace Clyde's younger sister, Freya, a Tier 7 Beast Tamer."
"Plus Professor Asher, and even a student from Jade Dragon University, who's Ace Sterling's younger brother."
"This lineup isn't bad."
There's a certain degree of safety assurance.
It's just… this particular secret realm has problems, serious ones, and now the situation is completely different.
Professor Desmond clutched his head and collapsed into the sofa. His eyes turned hollow, staring blankly at the ceiling.
He suddenly understood Professor Hubert's earlier expression.
Professor Desmond now felt equally mentally exhausted.
"Don't overthink it," Just then, Professor Hubert kindly tried to console him, patting him on the shoulder with a smile.
"What's already happened… we're powerless. We can only wish them luck."
Listening to Professor Hubert's cheerful tone, Professor Desmond grew even more frustrated.
'Damn it!'
'Professor Hubert definitely did this on purpose.'
'He's offloading his pressure onto me.'
Seeing someone else freak out, Professor Hubert feels less stressed himself.
Professor Hubert: 'Oh come on~ don't think so badly of others~ I'm not like that~'
Professor Desmond: "Heh."
'Like hell I believe you!'
Professor Desmond gnashed his teeth.
He worked hard to calm himself down, resolutely refusing to be affected.
And also, pray for Professor Asher.
'Professor Asher must be safe!'
———
"Achoo—"
Asher sneezed, rubbed his nose, and under the "concerned" gaze of the little jellyfish, smiled and said, "It's nothing."
"Maybe someone is talking about me?"
'Could it be Freya and the others outside?'
Asher wondered uncertainly.
'Maybe, hard to say.'
"But the information you revealed is kind of a lot," Asher rubbed his nose. Since he didn't feel like sneezing anymore, he dropped the matter.
What did the Double-Body Box Jellyfish say?
That is, the Double-Body Box Jellyfish is the king's guardian, and also the guardian of this space.
Responsible for guarding against those foreign species, not letting them truly enter the human world.
Asher: "..."
The Double-Body Box Jellyfish let out a long cry. He had to interpret the meaning from all angles and try to dig out deeper useful information.
"This really is… can't escape doing reading comprehension for life, huh?"
"Stuff like this shouldn't be engraved into my DNA," Asher clicked his tongue, but still began his reading comprehension.
For Asher, the most crucial point was the meaning expressed in the final sentence.
Not letting foreign species enter the human world.
What would happen if they entered?
Asher wasn't sure.
But thinking back to the black sludge, Asher knew. It definitely wouldn't be a good thing.
"This just makes it more of a headache…", Asher muttered.
Beast tides already coveting the human world.
Now another unknown and potentially dangerous black sludge foreign species… why is it so hard for humans to live in peace?
Asher sighed.
"You," Asher looked at the Angel.
Although, maybe it's the lies becoming reality effect, but Asher just felt that the Angel must know something too.
About the foreign species.
Asher stared at the Angel.
The Angel stared at Asher.
Over and over.
Even the excited little jellyfish calmed down gradually.
After what felt like a long time, the Angel finally spoke slowly, "Foreign species—an unidentified entity first appearing at the end of the Alchemy Era."
Asher took a deep breath.
'End of the Alchemy Era.'
'That refers to the period when alchemists declined?'
That painful transition before the rise of beasts.
Of course, this isn't written in any books.
It's all information Asher gathered, pieced together after meeting the Angel, either through the Angel or other channels.
"The fall of alchemists is inseparably linked to foreign species."
"The destruction and whereabouts of the foreign species are untraceable."
"Around the time humans began warring with beasts, foreign species stopped appearing," The Angel spoke calmly.
Asher rubbed his chin, "Sounds mysterious… very deep waters."
Exactly how long ago was the end of the Alchemy Era?
Unclear. Probably 2,000 to 3,000 years ago.
Then came the era of humans coexisting with beasts, 1,200 years.
So there's a gap of 800 to 1,800 years.
Alchemy flourishes.
Foreign species appear.
Alchemists vanish.
Beasts appear.
Foreign species disappear?
Human Beast Tamers rise to the stage of history.
Asher roughly summarized this timeline.
Whether foreign species disappeared after alchemists vanished but before beasts appeared, or afterward, when human Beast Tamers emerged, Asher wasn't sure.
Asher shook his head.
"Feels like my left brain is water, right brain is flour, shake them together and it's all mush now."
'Can't figure it out.'
'Feels like some very crucial info is missing.'
"That Sea Mirage and Mirage Pearl, what's the deal with them?", After some thought, Asher suddenly jumped to another topic.
The Double-Body Box Jellyfish, who had been snuggling the little jellyfish, was stunned for quite a while before realizing Asher seemed to be asking it.
Double-Body Box Jellyfish: "..."
'Can I just be ignored?'
'Let me snuggle the king in peace.'
'The king I regained.'
Seeing the Double-Body Box Jellyfish totally ignore him, Asher's mouth twitched.
This preferential treatment is just… too obvious.
Asher thought, 'I really don't want to use some tricks, but isn't this jellyfish getting a bit too cocky?'
Given it wouldn't harm him, Asher started his precise stab tactics.
"Speaking of, there's one thing I've always been curious about," Asher said with a smile.
The Double-Body Box Jellyfish, who completely ignored Asher, shuddered slightly.
Double-Body Box Jellyfish: "?"
'What's this? A sudden chill down my spine?'
'Never experienced it before!'
'Don't get it!'
'Continue snuggling the king!'
"This is clearly a sealed space. The Box Jellyfish king was born here and is protected here, so…", Asher dragged out his voice, smiling as he delivered a fatal blow.
"How did the little jellyfish appear in the human world, in the ocean current box jellyfish group?"
Double-Body Box Jellyfish: "..."
Little Jellyfish: "..."
Little jellyfish gently rubbed against the Double-Body Box Jellyfish, trying to convey one thing:
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