Chapter 123: Dark Demon Re-enters the Secret Passage
Headmistress Cynthia probably hadn't expected this outcome either.
After she had openly and frankly explained all the details of the incident in front of all the teachers and students, this was the result she got.
During the assembly, the students might have indeed felt sad about Professor Didi's resignation and condemned Professor Didi's dereliction of duty.
But once the assembly was over, that was that.
For most students, things they hadn't personally experienced were just heard and then forgotten.
Just like after feeling disappointed with the Hero's son, no one would specifically run up to Virt and shout, "You're not worthy."
At most, they would discuss it a bit when it was occasionally mentioned.
The fermentation of public opinion required a process and wouldn't be as straightforward as imagined.
In the end, what truly attracted their attention was something inadvertently mentioned in the so-called details of the incident—the secret passage!
There was a secret passage in the castle!
In the castle they had lived in for so long, in the castle they had explored countless times, there was actually a hidden, unknown secret passage!
This was much more attractive than any external matter!
In an extremely short period, the entire St. Marian was abuzz.
Coincidentally, today was also a Halloween holiday; with excess energy and nowhere to vent it, wasn't it natural to find something to do?
Thus, students surged out, excitedly scouring the grounds, trying to find the secret passage mentioned by the Headmistress.
...
And at this time, the clever Diana thought of Dark Demon, one of the insiders.
As soon as Dark Demon returned to his dormitory, Diana brought Rose to his door, her eyes full of excitement.
Dark Demon originally didn't want to join in such excitement, but after touching the parchment paper in his hand, he still decided to go take a look.
He was quite interested in what his mother had hidden in the secret passage.
...
On the other side.
The men and women who had just come out of the infirmary suddenly became popular.
Classmates they had never interacted with before suddenly appeared, fussing over them with concern, giving them goosebumps.
Even Robert was stopped by classmates on his way back to the dormitory. Those who hadn't paid him much attention recently somehow all looked exceptionally solicitous.
Robert was a bit touched at first, until they revealed their true purpose...
"Enough! I'm really tired, find someone else!"
Robert, struggling to break free from his classmates' grip, rushed into the Knight's House tower, coming face to face with a fully equipped Virt.
...
Virt also noticed that the academy was in an uproar over the secret passage matter only when classmates came looking for him.
He had been in his dormitory, trying to make a copy of the map his father had left him so as not to damage it.
As a result, the map, which was already like scribbles, became unrecognizable even to ghosts after passing through his hands.
He could only sigh somewhat happily, "Perhaps this is heredity," and then gave up on copying it.
It wasn't until classmates came looking for him that he suddenly realized the matter of the secret passage had been leaked. Students would find the entrance to the secret passage sooner or later, and the treasure his father had left wouldn't remain undiscovered forever as Headmistress Cynthia had said.
Once found by other students...
He already had a sense of competition with Dark Demon, and now he was even more anxious.
"Robert, quickly, I don't have time!"
Without Robert fully understanding the situation, Virt pulled him and ran out of the Knight's House tower.
...
There were actually many entrances to the secret passages in the castle.
Virt, because of the mist figurine he had obtained from "Into the Abyss," had a relatively better understanding of the secret passages.
Dark Demon, however, currently only knew of two entrances and exits.
One was the secret passage entrance near the Grand Magus statue.
The other was the secret passage entrance he had passed when following Virt out of the secret passage for the first time.
The most familiar, naturally, was still the secret passage entrance near the Grand Magus statue.
Nearly five o'clock.
Dark Demon brought Diana and Rose to the front of that Grand Magus statue.
He had passed by here several times but hadn't observed this statue carefully.
But this time, the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed, so he couldn't help but take out the treasure map to compare.
"Dark Demon, is this a secret passage map?" Diana asked, standing on her tiptoes.
Dark Demon turned his head slightly: "This is a treasure map my mother drew when she was a student."
Diana immediately became excited: "There really is a treasure map?"
Dark Demon smiled: "Since it's an adventure, how can there not be a treasure map? Let's go, I seem to have found a clue."
The first landmark in the treasure—the chess piece—was undoubtedly right in front of him!
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Dark Demon would never have been able to connect a chess piece with a statue.
But now, it was basically certain.
"As long as we find two more landmarks, we can determine the map's direction."
"There are a total of sixteen landmarks in the map; the treasure is the seventeenth."
"We're not in that much of a hurry. If we can find the second landmark tonight, it will be an extraordinary success."
Dark Demon said while carefully discerning the route on the treasure map.
What surprised him was that the line leading from the first landmark didn't point to the nearby secret passage entrance but was a straight line.
"A straight line?"
Dark Demon pondered for a moment, then looked strangely at the wall behind the Grand Magus.
"No way?"
Thinking that he had hidden here before but hadn't discovered anything, Dark Demon felt somewhat embarrassed.
He reached out and touched that wall. With just a slight infusion of magic power, ripples like a water surface appeared on the wall.
There was indeed a secret passage entrance here too!
Dark Demon took out his House Card, subconsciously about to summon DemiDevimon, but then his expression stiffened, and he put it away.
"I know, I know, this is the secret passage entrance, right!"
Diana, however, quickly took out her House Card and summoned her familiar.
A Panda, only half a meter tall, appeared aggrievedly at her feet.
"Go!"
Diana pointed forward, and the Panda headbutted into the wall.
After confirming it was safe, the three entered one after another.
Dark Demon, while leaving marks on the wall, said:
"There are torches on both sides of the secret passage; they will automatically light up when someone passes by."
"I've entered the secret passage three times. Although I haven't encountered any danger so far, I can't be sure that the entire secret passage is truly safe."
"And actually, even if there was no danger before, it doesn't mean there won't be in the future."
"If my speculation is correct, the environment of the secret passage is constantly changing!"
"In the afternoon, you should have all heard the Headmistress say that last night's incident originated from a student discovering the Moon Temple in the secret passage."
"But you definitely didn't realize."
"Actually, before that student discovered the temple, the Moon Temple didn't exist there."
"The issues involved here are very complex..."
Seeing Diana still craning her neck to look ahead.
Dark Demon couldn't help but say sternly, "I'm saying all this to tell you, follow me and don't run around!"
Diana and the Panda turned their heads at the same time, looking aggrieved.
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