Chapter 230: Chapter 229: Co-ed Dormitory Chapter 230: Chapter 229: Co-ed Dormitory “Tap, tap, tap,” footsteps sounded as Richard entered the Stone Building and approached the wooden staircase—A-233 was clearly on the second floor.
The staircase was carpeted, but it was so dirty that its original color was unrecognizable—a dark, filthy mass stained all over.
Richard stepped on it, pulling Pandora along as they ascended; he did not feel much softness underfoot but rather a sticky viscosity, as if walking on the surface of a mollusk. He involuntarily frowned, reminded of the giant octopus he had encountered at sea.
“Squeak, squeak,” amid the eerie creaking of the wooden stairs, Richard reached the second floor and saw the narrow, cramped corridor. Because the walls were thick and the windows at both ends were especially small, only a bit of sunlight streamed in, casting gloomy shadows that added to the sinister atmosphere.
Richard’s brow furrowed deeply as he pulled Pandora further down the corridor, eyes scanning the door numbers.
“230, 231, 232, 233… here it is.” Richard pushed the door forcefully, and with a “squeak,” he opened the door to his own room.
Richard led Pandora inside and saw that the room covered roughly ten square meters—not particularly small, but certainly not large.
The floor was covered with a carpet that should have been blue, but due to the room’s dampness, it was overgrown with moss and lichen, turning ocean blue into forest green and emitting a pungent odor. Around the carpet were various stains from spilled liquids—yellow, black, purple, and the largest one red, possibly blood.
In the corner hung spider webs, and the surrounding walls were covered with sharp scratches, as if a madman had furiously clawed them with his nails. At the center of the wall was a pink “flower” burst open, suggesting a bottle filled with liquid might have shattered there.
Looking around, Richard saw the pathetic state of the furniture: a bare wooden bed, a table with three legs, a chipped candlestick, and two chairs—one wobbly and the other like a malnourished beggar bludgeoned by thugs. The surface’s brown varnish was mostly peeled off, nails protruded from the chair back, and the chair seat was split, sharp wooden splinters sticking up, ready for someone to sit on.
The whole room presented a scene akin to hell.
Seeing this, Richard already thought about moving out as soon as he familiarized himself with the entire White Stone Tower Academy. For now, it was best not to be too hasty.
Richard sighed and muttered, “Looks like it needs a good cleaning.”
Turning his head, Richard looked at Pandora, who still held their luggage, and asked, “Want to help?”
Pandora glanced over, then looked away, and with a “thud,” set the suitcase down and unsteadily walked to the bare wooden bed. She found a relatively clean spot, lay down, and closed her eyes… and slept.
Shaking his head with a hint of helplessness, Richard stepped outside. It took some effort, but he found a bucket and cloth downstairs, filled the bucket with water, and came back up.
With nobody around, he closed the door, set down the bucket, and began releasing spells to control the air, cleaning the dust in the room. Then, using the “Water Droplet Condensation” spell, he formed dense droplets and evenly moistened the stain-covered areas, wiping them dry with the cloth. Lastly, he dumped all the dust, stains, and a dead black scorpion’s body into the bucket, turning the water pitch black—a job well done.
As for the presence of the black scorpion’s body, that related to a small incident during the cleaning process.
While cleaning the wooden bed, Richard noticed Pandora cooperatively moving her body to allow for a thorough cleaning, making it clear she wasn’t sleeping.
Once he ascertained that, Richard looked at Pandora and asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to help?”
Pandora’s response was straightforward; she lay motionless on the cleaned bed plank.
A blind, jet-black scorpion, an inch long, emerged from some corner at that moment. Crawling onto the bed, it slowly approached Pandora’s body, and upon recognizing her as a living being, decisively raised its tail, flashing its venomous hook.
Then… what greeted it was a slap from Pandora.
After a crisp sound, the black scorpion didn’t struggle at all, facing the powerful “Two-Dimensional Foil”-level reduction blow, it literally went from a three-dimensional creature to a two-dimensional specimen. Its raised venomous hook didn’t even break Pandora’s skin, instead shattering directly.
Having dealt with this minor matter, Pandora turned over and continued “sleeping.”
Richard, having witnessed this, understood: he would have to clean the entire room by himself, as he couldn’t count on Pandora, just like the saying goes—you can never wake someone who is pretending to sleep.
And now, you can never wake a dragon that is pretending to sleep.
With a “creak,” Richard, who had finished cleaning, carried a bucket and stepped out, ready to head downstairs to pour away the dirty water. Just as he was leaving, he saw down the corridor a young woman with a shapely figure repeatedly waving her hand in distaste as she backed out of a room—yes, indeed, the auditor’s dormitory at White Stone Tower Academy was coed.
It must be said that the management of auditors at White Stone Tower Academy was quite rough.
The main purpose of enrolling auditors was to collect a portion of Crystal Coins, the so-called Examination Exemption Certificates. After completion, students were left to fend for themselves within the academy. Exceptional students like Macbeth might emerge with distinction, while the majority, after being drained of value, would be eliminated.
Therefore, auditors received the poorest treatment, the poorest identity tags, and the poorest dormitory—not uniformly arranged like for other students, but wherever there was space available, hence it was common for freshmen and upperclassmen, males and females to mix.
Such circumstances inevitably led to some licentious incidents at night, possibly resulting in situations with one man and one woman, one man and multiple women, multiple men and one woman, or multiple men and multiple women in a single room.
More complex situations were not unheard of, after all, many auditors were nobles from various countries, influenced by their parents and accustomed to a variety of tastes.
White Stone Tower Academy’s stance on this was indifferent as long as it didn’t cause trouble, but if it did, wizards would personally intervene.
Temperatures below freezing to create ice, temperatures above a thousand degrees for flames, acid liquid that rapidly corroded the body, lightning that charred a person to crisps—those who didn’t abide by the rules would soon understand what punishment meant.
Thinking about these, Richard ignored the girl and continued walking towards the stairwell.
But behind him, the girl’s voice rang out, “Hey! That… that boy, stop!”
“Hmm?” Richard stopped and looked towards the girl. “Did you call me?”
“Yes, it’s you.” The girl nodded, affirming.
“Is there something?” Richard raised an eyebrow and voiced out.
“There is.” The girl nodded, then asked, “You were just cleaning, right?”
“Well, would you be interested in helping me clean my room?” The girl looked at him, her eyes shining persuasively, as if tempting him. “There’s a reward for you!”