The Professor's Secret and the Ruins of the Sword God
I was utterly shocked when a voice suddenly called out from beside me. “Z-Zeon? Why is Professor Libra here?”
Just moments after I accepted Libra’s invitation and we were heading to the cafeteria for a meal, Karne had stealthily slipped in between us without anyone noticing. I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sudden voice. Even Libra seemed unaware of her presence; her eyes widened as she stared at Karne.
“…I’m more curious why you’re here.”
Karne tilted her head at my words, as if asking what I meant. No, I literally meant why are you here? When I asked, she said she hadn’t eaten yet either. She’d originally planned to skip lunch, but then she spotted me heading to the cafeteria and followed…
Heavenly Demon Divine Art — Internal Reaction
“Yeah, I figured it was something like that. Knew it.”
Cheonma nodded at Karne as if she’d expected this all along. Hoya, on the other hand, could only tilt her head since this was her first time seeing the girl.
With Karne naturally joining our group, Libra looked at both her and me with warm, friendly eyes and said, “Hehe, I had no idea you two were friends.”
“You know Karne?”
“Of course. She’s a student in the class I teach. Karne, would you like to join us for lunch?”
“Y-Yes, please!” Karne answered enthusiastically.
“And you… Zeon, was it? What about you?”
“I…”
Eating with Karne was no problem at all. The only thing that bothered me was that if she joined us, it would be difficult to hear the details about the Sword God’s legacy that Libra was supposed to share.
Don’t worry, dear. I’ll make sure to share the information properly.
Libra’s words slipped directly into my mind, as if she had read the hidden thoughts on my face. ‘Telepathy.’
It was a spell that transmitted one’s intentions precisely to the intended target without moving the lips.
“The flow of mana is incredibly faint. Her skill in handling mana surpasses even that man’s. Has she already stepped into the realm of a Grand Magician?”
So Libra really had reached the level of a Grand Magician. In the game, I never had a chance to fight her, so I had almost no information on her full strength. But from Cheonma’s praise just now, I could tell she was already among the few Grand Magicians in the world.
“It’s fine. We already know each other anyway.”
“Hehe.”
“Then that’s a relief. Come on, let’s get going.”
With Karne joining us without any issues, we arrived at the cafeteria…
“Whoa…”
“It’s packed.”
“Told you, didn’t I? Today they’re serving something delicious.”
The cafeteria was absolutely swarming with students. The chaotic scene was almost on the same level as yesterday’s evening buffet, and it was enough to kill my appetite without me even realizing it.
“Hmm, there are way too many people… This won’t do. Let’s eat somewhere else.”
“Somewhere else?”
At Karne’s question, Libra made a quiet gesture for us to follow and began walking ahead. We left the cafeteria, turned to the side, and discovered a small building attached right next to it.
Creak.
“Come on in~”
“E-Excuse us?”
“This place is…”
The interior we entered looked similar to the main cafeteria. The only difference was that the people here weren’t students—they were professors. A few students could be seen here and there, but their numbers were extremely small.
“You two are really lucky. Thanks to me, you get to eat in the professors’ exclusive cafeteria. Normally, only professors or their direct disciples are allowed here.”
Indeed, I noticed a few students with exhausted faces scattered about. So they must all be direct disciples.
Everyone looks so gloomy.
They should think a little harder. Why would anyone willingly walk into that kind of hell?
“U-Um, then aren’t we not supposed to be here?”
“Don’t worry too much about that. You’re children I personally brought along.”
Karne’s expression relaxed a little, as if she felt relieved by Libra’s words. But I still had some unanswered questions, so I asked, “Professor, what’s different about the food here?”
“Nothing? It’s exactly the same as what the students eat.”
“Then there’s no reason to separate the locations like this, is there?”
“We eat breakfast and dinner in the same space as the students. The only time we use this place is during lunch.”
Scrape.
We filled our trays with food and settled into a quiet corner away from everyone else. It was to prevent any risk of someone tracing the mana traces during telepathy and eavesdropping on our conversation.
“We need our own space to talk too, right? Things like discussions about exams or certain peculiar students.”
Shall we talk while we eat?
I flinched. She naturally spoke out loud with her previous answer while simultaneously sending additional thoughts through telepathy.
“Th-The exam, you mean…”
“Of course~ The midterms and finals~.”
First of all, I won’t ask how you’re using the Sword God’s power. I’m the kind of person who protects my students’ pr… pr… privacy!
That’s not primer, it’s privacy.
…Oh my. You can do it too?
Libra seemed quite surprised that I could use telepathy. Honestly… I was surprised too. I hadn’t expected it to work so immediately. I couldn’t transmit words as smoothly as Libra, but I could still convey my meaning clearly without it cutting off midway.
Still, it’s better if you don’t reply. The mana traces from your telepathy are too strong, so they’d be easy to track.
“Exactly as she says. For now, just listen to what that woman has to say.”
“There are many people here who could reverse-trace the transmission or secretly eavesdrop.”
I nodded. Since I couldn’t use telepathy properly yet, the simplest way to show my understanding was to nod my head.
Good. Then I should first tell you how I learned about the Sword God’s legacy, right?
“She could have just gotten straight to the point.”
“Ah, it looks like the story’s going to be long.”
I wished she would just get straight to the point too. But the one holding the information wasn’t me—it was Libra. In other words, in this place, she held the upper hand, not me.
Last time, that old geezer asked me to go to the Sword God’s ruins near Elhalm, remember?
“Elhalm? Isn’t that definitely the habitat of the elves?”
“I didn’t have much connection with the elves, how curious.”
Elhalm. The habitat of the elves, known as the guardians of nature. It was the location of the World Tree that supported the world, and like the empire’s four pillars, it was protected by the four Spirit Kings of the major elements. It was also a place visited once in the main scenario.
‘If it’s ruins near Elhalm, it has to be the Half-Ruined Jade Well. But the Sword God’s legacy is there?’
I still remembered the geography of that place clearly. However, no matter how much I thought about it, there was nothing that connected it to Cheonma.
…No. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. I should listen a little more first. There was no reason for Libra to feed me false information in the first place, and there was always the chance there was another ruin I didn’t know about.
The beautiful ice crystals scattered around and the small lake deep inside were so picturesque I wanted to capture them in a painting. I still wonder how the lake stayed so clean for such a long time.
‘It really is the Half-Ruined Jade Well.’
The description Libra was giving matched the scenery of the Half-Ruined Jade Well I remembered almost perfectly.
While investigating the lake, I sensed a small magic formation deeper inside. It was a type of barrier meant to hide something from the outside world. It was so beautiful and intricate that at first I thought it was just one of the nearby ice shards and nearly walked right past it. Anyway, after breaking the barrier and going inside…
‘…There was a giant crystal, right?’
There was a giant crystal.
I knew that place. It was somewhere a very familiar guy appeared. You know, the one I fought in the simulation. The lake’s minion. The place where that guy shows up is exactly the Half-Ruined Jade Well.
And there, I discovered murals and some record documents on the walls. Murals…?
I didn’t recall any murals or record documents being in that place.
There was information about the abilities the Sword God used.
“Oh?”
“There’s talk about my power?”
Thanks to that, I was able to find even more successors who inherited the Sword God’s power. By the way, you are the seventeenth successor I’ve discovered. I don’t know if you’re a blood descendant like numbers one, twelve, and fourteen, but since the level of power you inherited is clearly similar to theirs, I suspect you are a successor as well.
What the… I didn’t even know where to begin. There were sixteen other people besides me who inherited the Sword God’s power? Did that mean they all used the Heavenly Demon Divine Art like I did? And she just said “successor,” right? A blood descendant? It sounded almost like she had children…
Successor?! I have no blood-related family!
Maybe they’re from a distant branch?
I grew up in the forest! I don’t even know my parents’ faces, let alone have a family!
Ah… I’m sorry.
If Cheonma was saying that, then those so-called successors felt a bit suspicious.
Using the map and traces I obtained there, I was able to locate a place where the Sword God’s power was especially thick. The other successors also confirmed they could sense the Sword God’s power, so don’t worry.
“Hah…”
“Something smells incredibly fishy here.”
I felt the same. This was on a scale of fishiness I hadn’t even imagined.
We’re gathering the successors who inherited the Sword God’s power to raid that place soon. I’ll be participating as support. If you’re okay with it, would you like to come along? Since you’re also a successor of the Sword God, simply participating in the raid should let you claim a portion of the Sword God’s legacy.