High School of Demon Hunting

Upon hearing the words ’Special Contribution Award from First University’.

Others only nodded thoughtfully, but Zheng Qing suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What award?"

The young wizard instinctively tapped his ear, and without waiting for the fat wizard to repeat, he snatched the slender slip of paper and quickly read through it with squinting eyes.

No mistake, it was indeed the ’Special Contribution Award from First University’.

Damn it.

He felt a bit clueless.

Indeed, he did know this name. If he recalled correctly, at the beginning of the term, in order to gather credits, upon Su Shijun’s suggestion, he had submitted an application for the ’Special Contribution Award’ to the academy, using the reason of the Yuzui Hunting Team’s participation in the Battle of the Black Prison.

The thing is, it’s been months without any news; he assumed the application had long been tossed into the trash. What’s more, his credits were already sufficient for graduation, whether or not considering the deductions and additional points from the Special Contribution Award, just based on the existing courses and the certificates he earned, he could have graduated smoothly, so he had long put this matter in the back of his mind.

More importantly, when he submitted the application, Old Yao once joked that he ’accomplished something even tens of thousands of demon allied armies couldn’t achieve; such a sensational contribution, how could they not record it to warn other students’ — no matter how he heard it, this remark had a sarcastic tone to it, so Zheng Qing deservedly did not harbor hopes for the award.

But unexpectedly, approaching graduation with less than a month till the end of term, he suddenly heard this name again. Although he wasn’t sure if the award was really for him, his intuition told him that this was probably related to him.

Just thinking about it made him feel tired.

Seeing Zheng Qing stop in his tracks, the companions looked at each other, easily noticing his unsettled expression.

"What? Is this related to you?"

Doctor Xiao smiled tea-like and kindly reminded him: "Is it the transformation of the Great Elf, or the paper in ’Magic’? Hmm, either of those projects is related to Su Councilor. If you go up on stage with her to receive the award, hmm..."

He smiled with some mischief.

Zheng Qing gave him a glance.

"No, it’s not related to me, it’s related to ’us’." The captain of the Yuzui Hunting Team wasn’t in the mood to banter with the doctor, tugged at his mouth, and said irritably, "We participated in the Black Prison battle last year, right? At the start of this semester, I submitted it as a project to add some credits..."

Speaking of adding points, he recalled that the ’Special Contribution Award from First University’ could add three credits. Reflecting on how he was worried about registering as a shape-shifting wizard for two credits yesterday, it’s truly unpredictable how circumstances change.

Zhang Ji Xin furrowed his eyebrows tightly.

"The Black Prison matter?"

He scratched his head with an uncertain tone: "...I remember my brother said that belonged to ’non-public projects’, right... When did non-public projects also get awarded publicly?"

"Don’t look at me, I don’t have as many connections as you guys; if even you guys don’t know, I know even less."

Doctor Xiao found it uninteresting, adjusted his glasses, and continued heading towards the First Hall: "— But if I were you, I would arrive early just in case the time comes up on stage and you’re not present, causing more gossip."

...

...

Compared to the opening ceremony or other events, First Hall had many outsiders today.

Among them were magical tribes such as Wisdom Giants, Fishmen, Horse-Men, and Ghosts, as well as aliens like multi-armed, Danube, and three-eyed beings. There were also some guests that made Zheng Qing almost think he was seeing things — like he saw a panda leaning against a hall pillar napping, and a beautiful-horned deer leisurely admiring the corridor murals.

Aside from these bizarre guests, most of the guests still had normal appearances; although they stood together with the school’s wizards, many of them wore luxurious and formal robes, forming a stark contrast with First University’s staff dressed in plain black or gray robes.

Xin Fat Man, quick-eyed, had been jotting notes since entering with a feather pen and small notebook, his mouth never resting:

"... The slim tall sickly-looking warlock beside Lady Tilda, Alpha’s acting dean, left hand side, is the Security Committee member of the Wizard Council; he has a more famous title, Trident Sword’s current director..."

"... The elderly man in a high-collared tight-sleeved robe talking with Professor Charles is the famous education critic Lloyd Phineas. If you pay more attention to the ’Post’ or ’School Newspaper’, you can often see his vehement articles... It’s not just you guys; even our editorial staff don’t understand why those big papers would invite him to be a commentator."

"... Yo, the two people beside Professor Zhou are interesting too. You know Professor Zhou, right? Zhou Fukai, the spokesman of the Joint Professors Meeting. On his left is Huang Shi, the Witchcraft Federation Committee spokesman, while the ghost on his right is Ned Prues, the spokesman for the Moon Council... If the Danghag spokesperson were to stand with them, it would be even more interesting. Hmm, Danghag’s representative today is Chief Justice Sam Marshall, who is bowing and chatting with Professor Garcia ... I bet Professor Garcia is complaining to him about the Fishmen’s rights being violated."

"... Standing beside Lady Bella is the head nurse of Saint Mango, and those surrounding Professor Li are from Nina cosmetics at Fiesel Magic Medicine Company; it’s not a surprise, just like how Martin Todd Company’s people would definitely look for... Hmm, eh? They didn’t look for Professor Tesla? Hmm, indeed, Doctor Du Zemu is more famous now."

"... The one in the toga robe is James, the lead journalist for the ’Daily Horn Newspaper’, and the one beside him in the white linen cloak is Louwei Pulitzer, a senior editor of the ’Beta Town Post’. Hmm, you should recognize this one, right? I remember you were interviewed by her."

Zheng Qing nodded slightly. His impression of this lady was extremely deep — or rather, his impression of her ChunQiu style articles was extremely deep.

"Are there too many people here?"

He turned his head to quietly consult his own diviner, with a touch of tension in his voice, thinking about possibly going up on stage in front of so many people to accept the award; he felt a mad urge to flip the hourglass, back to a few months ago, and strangle himself.

Xiao Xiaolian’s face was no less confused than his.

"Both numerous and jumbled, exceeding standard... it’s hard to grasp the focus."

He took off his glasses, rubbed his aching eyes, and squinted toward the terrace at the few vague figures there: "— If a few Fallen Wizards or Black Wizards came on site, hey, the whole Alliance’s notable powers would all be present!"