At the main entrance of the Royal Magic Academy, countless students gathered in clusters.

  They craned their necks curiously toward the gate, whispering excitedly among themselves:

  "That's the Crown Prince!"

  "He looks so handsome in that golden armor."

  All the students' gazes converged on a single point.

  There stood the Crown Prince, majestic before the academy gates, clad in gleaming golden armor.

  Sunlight reflected off his armor, casting dazzling golden rays in all directions.

  Students crowded against the railings, their eyes reflecting the prince's radiant golden figure.

  Their mouths hung open in awe.

  Their admiration surged toward the Crown Prince like powerful waves.

  This reception was completely different from how they reacted to Viktor.

  Although Professor Viktor possessed incredible power, few students dared approach him.

  After all, facing such a prestigious professor required tremendous courage.

  Merely being near Viktor, students could feel an invisible pressure, as if a thousand-pound stone weighed on their shoulders.

  This wasn't solely because of Viktor's immense power.

  Professor Viktor simply carried too many titles.

  Chief Professor of the Royal Magic Academy, member of the Mage Council, an Imperial Count, and Princess Aurelianne's private tutor...

  With so many roles stacked together, students' hearts would tremble at the mere mention of Viktor's name.

  But the Crown Prince was entirely different. His reputation spread widely throughout the capital.

  Kind and gentle, patient and attentive, he treated everyone equally—from high ministers to small children, even street beggars.

  He had even slain a giant dragon once, bringing its head back to the capital, demonstrating his extraordinary power.

  He was powerful yet humble.

  He had guarded the Monster Rift in the empire's south for years without a single defeat, making enormous contributions to the empire's security.

  Under these glowing accolades, students were filled with admiration for him.

  Even the light reflecting from his golden armor brought students a sense of peace and security.

  The Crown Prince had thus earned a title that matched his accomplishments—

  [Perfect Hero]

  Now, as he entered the academy, he wore a kind smile and waved to the students on both sides.

  His face, showing signs of maturity yet still steady, carried the warmth of a spring breeze.

  Guards followed the Crown Prince into the academy, and seeing this, the students grew even more excited:

  "Will it be like previous years?"

  "I wonder if I'll be chosen..."

  They discussed among themselves, their eyes filled with endless expectations for the Crown Prince.

  In fact, the Crown Prince returned to the Royal Magic Academy almost every year.

  He would always select young mages to join his forces guarding the southern border.

  To address the southern conflicts, the Crown Prince's legion needed to recruit new mages annually.

  They could either fight on the battlefield or handle healing and logistics in the rear.

  Usually, these logistical tasks were prioritized for students who joined the legion from the academy.

  Many students selected by the legion were willing to join, following the Crown Prince to the empire's southern border to train themselves.

  For these students who had never experienced real warfare, joining a frontline legion was undoubtedly an exhilarating prospect.

  Moreover, after such training, students would add this experience to their graduation records.

  They might even have the opportunity to join the royal 'Yade Mage Corps' with priority.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Even for noble families, this was an extremely prestigious honor.

  More importantly, even nobles would allow their children to go south for training.

  After all, this was an army personally led by the Imperial Crown Prince stationed at the southern border.

  The legion was full of elites and powerful individuals.

  Although at the front lines, the safety of students in the legion was almost guaranteed.

  After all, the Crown Prince recruited these students from the academy for training—he certainly couldn't let them become cannon fodder.

  In short, military service offered excellent benefits with almost no drawbacks.

  At this moment, the Crown Prince who had entered the academy occasionally waved to the surrounding students on both sides.

  He could clearly see the admiration and expectation in the students' eyes.

  In fact, the Crown Prince greatly enjoyed this feeling of being the center of attention, being viewed as a hero.

  But...

  As the Crown Prince walked along the path until there were far fewer students around, he couldn't help but sigh deeply in his heart.

  His return this time was partly because he heard that his sister Aurelianne had been chosen by the Emperor as the future heir to the throne.

  But there were more reasons beyond that.

  Now, the southern conflict had become more tense and urgent.

  The original Monster Rift had expanded daily, with powerful monsters continuously pouring out, becoming impossible to effectively block.

  This caused heavy casualties among adventurers and soldiers stationed around the rift.

  Obviously, relying solely on adventurers entering the rift to clear monsters was far from enough.

  Even the top adventurer guilds were struggling to resist the powerful onslaught of numerous monsters.

  Especially the most renowned adventurer guild, the Beast Guild.

  After announcing their allegiance to the Kravina family, the Beast Guild had shifted from neutral to becoming a Kravina family force.

  It wasn't that they weren't putting in effort, but the number of Beast Guild members remaining in the south had decreased significantly.

  Important core members of the guild had almost all left the southern empire.

  Most had relocated to the Kravina family territory of Bryston.

  They served as caravan guards or protected the territory's security in exchange for generous compensation.

  Fortunately, the guild leader Hela, known as 'Beast,' still remained in the south.

  And she was one of the most dedicated in blocking monsters at the rift frontline.

  Actually, the southern Monster Rift hadn't deteriorated so rapidly initially.

  If Albanie had discovered the problem in time, perhaps measures could have been taken earlier.

  But due to his negligence—

  Albanie only realized her disappearance almost a month later.

  Albanie had originally placed Sapphirose in the lower area of the rift to prevent monsters from spreading too quickly to the upper levels.

  These monsters were supposed to be Sapphirose's food, and she was meant to act like a restraint to suppress the expansion of the Monster Rift.

  But now, Sapphirose's disappearance had turned the lower level of the rift into an unmanaged dangerous zone.

  The monster respawn rate was accelerating daily, and stronger monsters were constantly rushing to the upper levels.

  The situation was becoming increasingly dire.

  If no solution was found,

  It would probably take less than two months.

  The empire's south would be completely engulfed by the monster tide.

  Thinking of this, Albanie sighed helplessly once again.

  Now, thinking too much was useless.

  What he urgently needed was to find a solution.

  And the first person Albanie thought of was Viktor.

  Albanie turned his head slightly and asked his guard in a low voice:

  "Any news about Count Viktor?"

  The guard respectfully lowered his head and reported to Albanie:

  "Your Highness."

  "Count Viktor seems to be teaching a class... after all, he is a professor at this academy."

  Albanie placed one hand on his chin, eyes fixed on the ground, thinking carefully.

  It seemed there wasn't really any problem.

  The reason he came to the academy to find Viktor was because he knew Viktor was a professor at the Magic Academy.

  But after arriving, he had overlooked this aspect of Viktor's identity.

  Viktor's multiple roles made his professorship seem relatively dim under his other prestigious titles.

  Albanie took a deep breath, came back to his senses, and looked toward a tall teaching castle:

  "Let's go directly to Count Viktor's classroom."

  "I hope we won't disturb his class."

  ...

  In the quiet classroom, Viktor sat in a chair with one leg crossed, holding a thick magic book.

  The blackboard behind him was filled with various magical knowledge written in white chalk.

  The blackboard behind him was covered with magical knowledge, the neat handwriting not wasting any corner.

  Those white lines of text burned like flames on the blackboard.

  Students looked at the knowledge on the blackboard as if it were treasure, desperately craving the nourishment of magical knowledge, writing frantically in their notebooks.

  Because the knowledge Professor Viktor imparted was truly exquisite.

  This had now become Professor Viktor's newest teaching method.

  He generally wouldn't appear at the academy, only returning to teach a few classes when he had time.

  However, his teaching style was rather unique.

  He would casually write something on the blackboard, conjure a chair with magic, take out a book, and then sit down quietly.

  Basically, once he sat down, he'd remain there for the entire class period.

  Such a teaching method might be criticized by many, but fortunately, the knowledge Professor Viktor wrote was exceptionally profound.

  Such deep magical logic, when written on the blackboard, somehow became so easy to understand.

  Of course, the students didn't know.

  The reason for teaching this way was simply because Henie was no longer his teaching assistant, and Viktor didn't know how else to teach.

  So he could only write down the magic that Vega had secretly told him.

  It was that simple.

  While Viktor silently rested and students frantically recorded knowledge,

  The quiet classroom filled with the sound of scratching pens was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

  The students put down their pens, all looking toward the source of the sound.

  Viktor didn't raise his head and said calmly:

  "Come in."

  The door opened, and a nobleman-like man wearing bright golden armor walked in:

  "Count Viktor."

  He stepped into the classroom, looking directly at Viktor.

  The moment the students saw the visitor, their eyes widened, their hearts surging with tremendous waves of shock.

  Wasn't this the Imperial Crown Prince Albanie?

  He had actually come to visit Professor Viktor!

  However, Professor Viktor wasn't as cordial as they had imagined.

  Viktor still kept his head down without looking at him, gently turned a page of his book, and responded calmly:

  "If you've come to chat with me, then wait here until class is over. Don't disturb the students."

  "If you've come to find me for other purposes... then I need to remind you."

  Viktor quietly closed his book, his eyes flashing with light, his voice cold:

  "I am the Princess's man."

  """

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