In the midst of the deathly silence, only this red-haired woman, who called herself a “Senior,” could speak with such unwavering composure. She had already moved on from the basic introduction to the Academy’s fundamental rules and disciplinary regulations.

  But Pandora’s mind had already… wandered.

  Everything Poppy was talking about, she’d already known it from Dulles’s diary. She even had a general idea of what the next few months at the Academy would be like. So, it didn’t really matter if she listened or not.

  The key was… the power that Poppy had displayed.

  This was absolutely not something she, a newly promoted second-rank Wizard, could achieve. To instantly… intimidate tens of thousands of zombies? The sheer scale of it… was just… wow.

  And yet, listening to her introduction, she was “only” a third-rank Demon Hunter Apprentice. Even she wasn’t… a true “Demon Hunter.”

  Then, what kind of power did a fourth-rank or a fifth-rank actually hold? And the true “Demon Hunters” themselves—what kind of terrifying concept were they?

  A thrill shot through Pandora.

  She had enjoyed the comfortable, pleasure-filled life of a noble for the past fourteen years, but… if she were given a choice—powerful strength, mysterious knowledge—who in their right mind would refuse?

  At least, she, a girl from another world, would not.

  However, she soon came back to her senses.

  The Demon Hunter Academy’s foundation, its power, was far more terrifying than she had imagined. Although she had reached the second-rank at a speed far surpassing her peers, in terms of actual combat strength… she could only scoff at herself.

  This scene before her was like a basin of ice water, dumped over her head. It made Pandora truly understand how much road was left ahead of her, and where the limits of her own power really were. It cleared her head of any delusions about her own strength.

  When her thoughts returned, Pandora’s gaze gradually calmed. She looked back at the Teaching Assistant, Poppy, hovering in mid-air. She saw that the black mist around her had forged an invisible, insurmountable fence.

  The zombies were clearly close—some just an arm’s length away—but they were terrified, afraid to take a single step closer. They could only pace back and forth, anxiously, at the edge of that black mist…

  A sudden flash of insight sparked in her mind.

  Was it possible… that her own second-rank Wizard’s power, could also do… something like this?

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  ………………

  The crowd, which had been on the verge of collapse from the zombie horde, had now regained its order.

  This order was forced into shape by Poppy’s irresistible, brutal, and terrifying power. No one dared to question. No one could question.

  As the procession slowly moved forward, Poppy could easily read the stronger emotion on the tender, fearful, and confused faces.

  —awe, longing, admiration.

  She was pleased. Her plan was proceeding perfectly.

  On one hand, she used a zombie tide that nearly shattered the walls of their sanity to create absolute deterrence, making them understand from the very first moment they set foot on this new land just how perilous their future would be.

  On the other hand, through a show of unmatched power, she let them clearly see just how incredibly expansive the future the Demon Hunter Academy could offer them.

  Excellent! A two-pronged approach!

  At least for the next three months, she wouldn’t have to worry about their motivation to learn. This bunch of “little Fruits”… no, she should call them “freshmen” now… would spontaneously, desperately, strive to learn, to obtain power.

  As for three months from now… there would be more realistic, more cruel factors forcing them to grow. “Death” wouldn’t be as “merciful” as it was in these first three months, so there was certainly no need for her to worry.

  As she thought distractedly, she walked at the very front of the group. Although her display just now had been enough to inspire a strong desire for power in these freshmen, she still intentionally, slightly, expanded the range of her black smoke’s shroud, allowing them to better observe this forgotten city of ruins. Especially, its “ecosystem.”

  She carefully manipulated that lively black smoke, as if it were a living thing, working to control its range. She let the zombies get as close to these freshmen as possible—close enough for them to feel the breath of death, but never close enough to cause actual harm.

  “Pay attention.” Poppy’s voice, conducted through the black mist, sounded clearly at the front of the group. “The ‘Infected’ here are not the same as the ones you’ve seen before.”

  “If you are bitten or scratched by them, you will become one of them.”

  She reminded the few freshmen who, emboldened by her protection, were getting a bit too bold, even straying a little from the group.

  One of them was Arthur.

  This youth, who had just tasted the power of being “King” only to have it completely stripped away in a single night, took the initiative to ask the suddenly appeared, absurdly powerful “Senior”:

  “Senior Poppy… are they also ‘puppets’?”

  Hearing this, Poppy understood immediately. This person was likely the leader of a small faction from one of the “Orchards,” so the Warden must have leaked some basic “inside information” to him.

  “No.” Poppy’s tone was flat.

  “They were infected from living people.”

  “The sources of their plagues are complex. They’re a cocktail of dozens of different plague viruses, and some were even deliberately added by the great Demon Hunters… mutagenic factors.”

  Her words sent a shiver down Arthur’s spine, and the spines of the other freshmen who overheard.

  “Before you plant a ‘Plague Seed’ and become a true apprentice of ‘The Corpse Hall,’ you’d better pray you don’t get infected by them.”

  “Otherwise, the path of ‘The Corpse Hall’… will be closed to you.”

  Arthur seemed to understand the deeper meaning. His ambition, which had just flared up after meeting a stronger person, was doused by a basin of cold water. He once again recognized the reality of his situation. He and the other bold ones retreated a bit more, returning to the center of the group.

  Poppy nodded silently to herself.

  In fact, at the very instant the zombie tide had erupted, she had already scanned everyone. It wasn’t a perfect reading, but it was easy enough to get a general sense of the degree of “Corpse-Red Mist” saturation on these youths who hadn’t yet received any training.