At that mont, Brenda realized what genuine decency looked like.
Lana might not like her, but she never displayed hatred.
There had only ever been a certain calmness in her eyes, as if she understood that Brenda’s past actions were influenced by sothing beyond her own awareness.
The Lana she once thought scheming and vicious suddenly seed... understandable.
As she watched Lana’s retreating figure, Brenda murmured softly, "She really is beautiful."
Back at the mansion, Lana imdiately began cultivating again.
anwhile, Brenda passed by one of the classrooms and spotted Cassandra inside. Cassandra appeared to be muttering to herself while staring into empty space.
A chill ran down Brenda’s spine.
For a mont, she wondered if Cassandra had been possessed.
With hesitant steps, she pushed the door open slightly and entered.
Cassandra was so absorbed in her murmuring that she did not notice Brenda at all.
Brenda heard fragnts.
"...allow it... win the competition... copy the design..."
Suddenly, Cassandra turned around.
Brenda nearly jumped in fright. She quickly forced a smile and patted her own chest to calm down.
"Hello," she said awkwardly. "I was just passing by."
Cassandra’s expression instantly shifted back to normal.
"Oh, hello," she replied smoothly. "I was just practicing a script I need to present."
With that, she walked away.
Brenda frowned.
’What kind of script includes words like "copy," "take over," or "allow it"?’ she wondered uneasily.
At the sa ti, fear crept in again, and she hurried away, still half-convinced Cassandra might actually be possessed.
anwhile, Lana imrsed herself completely in crafting talismans.
After five days of relentless work, exhaustion clinging to her like a second skin, she finally perfected an invisibility talisman.
It could now keep her invisible for a full ten minutes straight.
That alone was a significant achievent.
She also began experinting with teleportation talismans.
Unlike other talismans, which either worked or failed imdiately, teleportation talismans revealed their stability only after activation.
At first, she created two.
With just one glance, she could already tell they were flawed.
Out of curiosity, she activated them anyway.
In the next second, she was teleported barely a ter away.
Lana sighed. "As expected. Failures."
Teleportation talismans, she soon realized, were far more demanding.
Even after five hours of continuous effort, she could not produce a single perfect one.
It took another two to three days before she finally succeeded.
The mont she completed it, pride swelled inside her.
"This one definitely works," she declared confidently, showing it to Mr. Crow.
Mr. Crow examined it carefully.
"You should test it outside," he advised. "Sowhere open."
Lana waved her hand dismissively.
"What could possibly go wrong?" she said lightly. "At worst, I’ll teleport sowhere outside the mansion. That’s still fine."
Mr. Crow could only nod, though he still felt uneasy.
"If you end up teleporting into so ridiculous place, don’t bla ," he warned.
But before he could finish lecturing, Lana had already activated the talisman.
The next second, space twisted around her.
When her vision cleared, she found herself standing in a place that looked strangely familiar, yet wrong in small details.
The tiles resembled those of her own bathroom, but the arrangent was slightly different, the lighting softer, and there was a faint scent of unfamiliar perfu lingering in the air.
Lana frowned. ’What... is this place?’
Just as she turned around...
She froze.
Lucy stood right there, wearing nothing but a bikini, clearly in the middle of changing.
For a split second, both of them stared at each other.
Then they scread simultaneously.
"Aaaah!"
Lana imdiately covered her eyes and spun around.
"I’m sorry! I’m sorry!" she blurted. "I ca here by mistake!"
Lucy grabbed a towel, her face flushed with shock.
"Who are you?!" she demanded.
"It’s !" Lana said hurriedly, still covering her eyes. "I was testing a teleportation talisman and sohow ended up here. I’ll leave right away!"
Before Lucy could even process her explanation, Lana activated another talisman and disappeared.
Silence fell.
Lucy stood there, stunned, clutching the towel tightly around herself.
From her perspective, nothing about that situation made sense.
’Lana... is from the Mystic Departnt now,’ she thought uneasily. ’But how could she suddenly create teleportation talismans? That’s impossible...’
Her thoughts spiraled further.
’Wait... did she co here intentionally?’
Lucy shivered.
"No, no," she muttered. "She can’t possibly have that kind of interest in ... Besides, my boss already has his eyes on her. If Lana really starts bothering , I’ll definitely lose my job. How would I survive then?"
The more she thought about it, the more anxious she beca.
After showering, she sat on her bed and even rehearsed possible ways to reject Lana politely, just in case Lana ever "confessed."
...........................................
anwhile, Lana had no idea she had caused such a massive misunderstanding.
She was back in her room, completely focused on preparing more teleportation talismans.
In one week, she would be participating in an exchange student program at Spineridge University, a far more prestigious institution than Shadowridge University.
Because the founders of the two universities were close friends, they had arranged a collaborative exchange system.
Students from various departnts would attend, not just Lana.
This would be her first ti joining such a program, and she was genuinely excited.
She packed enthusiastically while continuing to refine her talismans. It took her three additional days to fully stabilize the teleportation process.
In total, she had spent six exhausting days crafting talismans nonstop. Her fingers ached, and her mystic energy felt drained.
Finally, she stopped.
"I need a break," she muttered.
That break coincided perfectly with the exchange program.
..............................................
When she arrived at the university’s departure area, she saw a luxurious bus waiting.
It looked less like transportation and more like a mobile lounge, almost like a vanity van, except twice the size.
From its design, Lana could tell it probably contained separate resting spaces for each student.
Just as she was about to step inside, the driver raised his hand to stop her.
Lana assud he wanted to check her ID and took it out, but the driver barely glanced at it.
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