Why the Professors Are Calling (2)
Kael wondered inwardly, but decided he would learn the reason soon enough if he simply followed. He walked quietly behind Professor Lucia. Once again, their destination was her laboratory. Upon arrival, he found twenty professors packed shoulder to shoulder inside. With Principal Albert at the center, familiar faces—Professor Galen, Professor Anna, Professor Broad, and the beautiful lavender-haired professor—stared at him with eyes brimming with tension and anticipation.
“Welcome, student Kael,” Albert greeted.
Yet his voice carried a heavy weight of strain. What in the world is going on? Kael fought to keep his composure. Between Professor Lucia’s urgent summons, the full assembly of professors, and Albert’s grave mood, this was clearly no trivial matter.
Albert drew a deep breath and spoke slowly. A solemn light gleamed in his cloudy eyes.
“Student Kael, after lengthy discussion, the faculty has reached a decision. We have newly realized just how extraordinary your ability is within Tartaros Academy. Therefore, we have a request. For this evening’s meal, could you provide us with both butter and cheese at the same time?”
Originally they had agreed on only one of the two. Now Albert was asking for both simultaneously.
“Both at once?” Kael asked, one eyebrow lifting slightly.
Offering two different foods in a single day still felt premature. I need to proceed gradually, step by step. Only then will they truly understand the value of what I give them.
Albert seemed to have expected exactly that reaction.
“Yes, it must feel unreasonable to you. I understand perfectly that even offering strawberry jam one item at a time relies entirely on your goodwill.”
Albert assessed the situation with cool detachment, free of sentiment.
“Eating real food instead of coarse black bread or dandelion roots for even a single day here… is nothing short of salvation for us. That is why we make this request. But it is not a mere plea. We have prepared something truly special—something we believe will be exactly to your liking.”
Kael tilted his head at Albert’s words.
“To my liking?”
“Indeed.”
Albert raised his hand lightly. A blue subspace tore open in midair, and something heavy dropped from within.
With a resounding thud, a radiant suit of full-body armor emerged. Even without a wearer, it stood perfectly upright on the floor as though someone were inside it. The silver-and-blue armor reminded Kael of the tokusatsu hero suits from his previous life.
“What is this?”
Albert answered with unmistakable pride.
“We call it Astral Gear. It is a magical armor our faculty spent a hundred years perfecting. Wearing it grants even an ordinary person power comparable to a Grand Sword Master or an 8th-circle Archmage.”
Pride shone in every professor’s eyes. Professor Galen added heartily, “Superhuman senses and physical ability are only the beginning! Its durability laughs off a Sword Master’s aura blade without a scratch. Simply speak the activation word and you can freely wield magic up to the 8th circle! On top of that, it possesses self-repair functions—any damage restores itself automatically!”
Professor Lucia smiled as she continued, “We crafted it using only adamant, orichalcum, and mithril.”
Kael’s jaw dropped. Adamant, orichalcum, and mithril were all priceless magical metals in this world, each gram worth more than its weight in gold.
They made this out of those?
Its performance far surpassed anything he had imagined. Magic armor existed in the Caldria Empire, but at best it only granted the combat strength of a Sword Expert or a 4th-circle mage. Even then, the astronomical cost meant noble houses rarely bought them. After all, swordsmanship and magic were mandatory refinements for the nobility; failing to master them marked one as a disgrace, just as it had for Kael. This phenomenon no doubt stemmed from the noble families forcibly conscripted into Tartaros Academy.
Yet this Astral Gear was a masterpiece created over a century by twenty 8th-circle Archmages and Grand Sword Masters who had poured their heart and soul into it.
“The magic stones alone are worth more than the Emperor could pay even if he emptied every personal territory and all his assets. This is no mere magic tool—it is our greatest masterpiece!”
Kael’s heart raced at Albert’s declaration. Such an item exists! He instantly understood why they had claimed it would be to his liking. Acquiring that armor would instantly place him among the continent’s supreme powers. The same person once scorned as the shame of the Aberwin ducal house would become a transcendent warrior.
Albert made his offer.
“We propose a trade. Let us seal it with trade magic.”
Trade magic was a high-tier spell designed to prevent fraud, usable only by Archmages of the 8th circle or above.
“Through trade magic, we will transfer full ownership of the Astral Gear to you. Once it recognizes its master, simply thinking that you wish to wear or remove the armor and uttering ‘Equip’ or ‘Release’ will cause it to don or doff automatically. It will also bind to your personal subspace.”
Kael tilted his head again. “But I haven’t even learned 1st-circle magic, let alone high-level spells. I don’t know how to use subspace magic.”
Professor Anna smiled gently and interjected, “Don’t worry, Kael. The Astral Gear will automatically generate a personal subspace upon owner recognition. You needn’t know any magic at all.”
“Oh.” As Kael let out a murmur of admiration, the lavender-haired professor added with a provocative smile, “Well, student Kael? Is this enough to satisfy you?”
Kael nodded. “All right. Let’s make the deal.”
He thought of butter and cheese. The shop window, now at Level 2, offered supermarket-grade goods. On top of that, he received 2,000 points each day. Acquiring butter and cheese would be effortless.
“A wise choice! Then let us cast the trade magic.”
All the professors stretched out their hands at once, raising their mana.
“Trade magic, activate! We shall complete a transaction that satisfies both sides!”
The collective trade magic unfolded. Ownership of the Astral Gear transferred completely to Kael. No status window appeared, yet he could feel the bond form.
Still, this was only temporary until payment was made.
“Equip.”
Kael tested it first. The Astral Gear dissolved into light and wrapped around his body. The armor adjusted itself perfectly to his frame, fitting as though tailor-made. A transparent membrane covered his vision, yet it felt so natural he barely noticed its presence; his sight remained completely unobstructed. In every way it felt like a second skin.
This is incredible!
Excitement surged through him; he suddenly wanted to test every function.
“Hehe, does it please you?” Albert asked.
Kael nodded. “Yes, I like it very much.”
Because of the nature of trade magic, failing to deliver payment would return ownership to the professors. Therefore Kael opened the shop window and purchased the butter and cheese.
40 points deducted. Remaining points: 5020
40 points deducted. Remaining points: 4980
Twenty packages of butter and twenty wheels of Camembert cheese materialized in Kael’s hands. He set them neatly on the desk. The transaction was now complete.
“Here are the butter and cheese.”
For a moment the laboratory fell utterly silent. The professors’ eyes glazed over with rapture.
“Ooh! Th-this is…”
Professor Galen reached out with trembling fingers and picked up a butter. He peeled back the wrapper, inhaled its aroma deeply, and let out a reverent moan. “Ooooh! Real butter!”
Professor Anna cradled a Camembert, unwrapped it, and stroked its surface with something close to worship. “It’s genuine cheese…”
Professor Bearden of the swordsmanship department held one of each in either hand and declared, “Student Kael, with this butter and cheese I feel I could swing my sword twice as hard as usual today. Haha! Thank you so much!”
Principal Albert’s eyes grew misty. “Student Kael, thanks to you… this old man, after five hundred years trapped here, is looking forward to dinner for the first time! Haha… I am truly happy.”
Watching Archmages and Grand Sword Masters rejoice like children over mere Camembert and butter, Kael felt an indescribable, bittersweet emotion. Honestly, he even pitied them. How hellish must their suffering have been for them to surrender an artifact as priceless as the Astral Gear and still beam with such pure joy over butter and cheese?
The Astral Gear—something the Emperor couldn’t buy even if he liquidated every asset, an item that would flip the entire continent on its head if revealed—has fallen into my hands for twenty 125-gram cheeses and twenty 150-gram butters. It’s absurd.
Yet Kael soon shook his head.
No. I can’t say they handed it over for just butter and cheese.