CHAPTER 138
CHAPTER 138
If There Is a Way to Obtain an Entry Pass?
“Operating a school in such an irrational manner… I must admit, I’m quite surprised.”
The demon prince Kaisen spoke with admiration.
Dunais Academy was already known for its insane management, but seeing it firsthand made the rumors seem understated rather than exaggerated.
He had assumed the stories were overblown, yet reality surpassed them.
This was not an institution focused on educating students, but rather one driven by a passion to exploit and torment them. And if such passion truly existed, then this was not a proper educational institution.
“An attitude that treats students not as learners but as enemies… As expected, Dunais Academy is not a school. More precisely, it is an ancient relic that exists as a living entity, establishing relations with modern humanity. The appearance of a school is merely the result of that.”
“There are other theories as well.”
Kaisen’s subordinate Linser said this as he offered peppermint candies, licorice sweets, and sugar confections.
“What are these?”
“I purchased them from the shop. I assumed you hadn’t been able to have a proper meal, so at least have something to cleanse your palate.”
Even for demons always in a state of readiness for battle, Dunais Academy’s food was so dreadful that it was difficult to endure.
“You used academy coins? I heard those are outrageously overpriced. Still, thank you.”
Kaisen accepted the sweets and expressed his gratitude.
“However… it seems we have prior guests.”
Instead of attending classes, Kaisen’s group had headed toward the dungeon.
At the entrance, however, members of the Blue Tower, elves, dwarves, and demons aligned with the Empress faction were already present.
Given their large numbers, some of the Blue Tower mages, elves, and dwarves had attended lectures as auditors, while others had come to the dungeon.
‘Tch, a mistake. These demons don’t look easy.’
‘What do we do? If we had known, we should have ignored auditing and all come here.’
The Blue Tower mages sensed the formidable aura emanating from Kaisen’s group and were alarmed.
If trouble were to break out here, what would happen?
Dunais Academy would not step in to protect the auditors directly. If the demons attacked, they would have to rely on their own strength.
Thus, the team leader of the dungeon survey group, a female mage named Linjay, stepped forward.
“What brings you here? You are from Garmhau—”
“I am Prince Kaisen. Let’s not pretend otherwise since we’re all in the same situation. You want control of Dunais Academy, don’t you?”
“Ha… you’re straightforward. I like that.”
The dwarves laughed heartily.
“Though the Board Cards may appear in other chaos-plane dungeons as well, they will likely be most abundant here in the Dunais Academy dungeon. Furthermore, if you conquer this dungeon and reach its deepest point, you will find the heart of Dunais Academy—the site of the Ascension Ritual.”
For demons—or rather, those who served the Outer Gods—it was a sacred sanctuary where divine revelation had once descended.
“But without an entry pass signed by the principal, you cannot enter.”
“And Principal Ludwig Blackblad will never grant us entry passes.”
However, Prince Kaisen snorted and looked toward the Empress faction demons.
The Demon Grand General Bernhardt was not present. As with the Chancellor Gimel, Bernhardt was likely deploying forces here while commanding from the rear to counter the succession war.
The Empress faction demons saluted Kaisen with reluctant expressions upon seeing him. Though they were enemies, they could not ignore protocol.
“If you truly had no entry passes, you wouldn’t be here. You do have them, don’t you?”
“…We do not.”
“….”
Neither the elves nor the Blue Tower mages answered.
Many Blue Tower mages were alumni of Dunais Academy and possessed entry passes from their student days.
And the elves? They remained silent as well. The Empress faction demons also said nothing, but their silence was effectively an answer.
“Then I have a proposal.”
Kaisen addressed everyone present.
“At the next month’s board meeting, let’s propose that the dungeon be opened, citing that after auditing classes, the students’ abilities are sufficient. If that passes, students will be granted dungeon entry passes. We can either recruit them or form parties with them to enter officially.
Any entry passes you’ve prepared privately would also not arouse suspicion.”
“You’re suggesting opening the dungeon to students? There’s no way that will be approved.”
“Push it through as a board agenda. And if we inform the students that entry passes are highly valuable, they’ll welcome it, won’t they?”
“….”
“Until then… rather than risking conflict, why don’t we establish some rules among ourselves? Let’s take turns entering. If we all go in at once, there’s a risk of murder incidents inside the dungeon.”
At Kaisen’s suggestion of a rotation system, everyone flinched.
In truth, as Kaisen had said, they had all secretly prepared entry passes.
The problem was that the dungeon was filled with chaotic energy, and surveillance magic functioned poorly inside. In other words, once inside, eliminating inconvenient rivals was possible.
If they encountered each other inside, conflict could easily erupt. Kaisen proposed a rotation system to prevent overlap.
‘He’s scratching exactly where it itches…’
‘But scratching too precisely makes it suspicious.’
At that moment, one of the Empress faction demons stepped forward.
“How timid, Prince Kaisen. All these different races and heretics here are those who must receive the revelation of our great Outer God. Is it not the duty of the future king of Garmhau to subjugate them all? To abandon that so early?”
It was a blatant provocation.
Kaisen ignored him, but his subordinate Kamain could not hold back.
“You insolent fool! How dare you speak to His Highness like that—”
“My allegiance is not to him!”
“What did you say?!”
Kamain lunged forward in fury. The Empress faction demons watched, inwardly pleased.
‘He took the bait!’
‘As expected, he’s simple-minded…’
Their intention had been to provoke the First Prince’s faction and incite conflict.
However—
“Enough.”
With a wave of the prince’s wand, countless iron bars materialized and restrained Kamain and the Empress faction demons.
The sharp, cross-crossing iron bars—crafted entirely of steel—wrapped around Kamain’s neck.
Moreover, over half of the Empress faction demons were also caught off guard and restrained.
“….”
“This is…”
Those caught, three in total, had their necks pinned by two intersecting spears. If Kaisen had wished, he could have pierced them through entirely.
‘W-we’re not even close to being on the same level…’
Kaisen demonstrated his strength while simultaneously stopping the conflict.
He was essentially saying he wasn’t avoiding them out of fear, but out of adherence to rules.
The Blue Tower mages were also shaken by the display.
‘H-he’s incredible…’
‘As expected, we’re not in the same league…’
‘So this is the power of a demon prince? No wonder internal conflict among demons is a relief…’
Kaisen smiled and raised his wand.
“Now then… if everyone’s cooled down, let’s—”
But at that moment, Kaisen’s expression suddenly changed.
His spell had been interfered with by someone.
Before he could react, the iron bars shot off in a completely different direction.
Bang!
The summoned spears flew at terrifying speed toward the dwarves, elves, Blue Tower mages, Empress faction demons, and even Kaisen himself.
Kaisen barely evaded by deploying a shield spell, but the others were pierced.
“Ah, dear me. It would be troublesome if the auditors started shedding blood among themselves.”
From the darkness, flames burst forth. Within the blaze appeared an oil lamp, and a hand made of fire holding it.
“…Professor Magram?!”
“There seem to be many who would have died without immediate treatment. Fortunately, I happen to be quite skilled in healing magic. Since you are guests of the academy, I cannot allow you to die.”
“Tch.”
Kaisen remained wary of Magram, but blood trickled from the hand gripping his wand.
The shock from deflecting the earlier attack had injured his fingers.
Kaisen’s abilities were formidable, but Magram was on a completely different level.
‘Th-this man…’
To Kaisen, Magram appeared smiling and kind on the surface—but in his eyes, it looked as though a massive inferno storm pierced the heavens, with a grotesque eye gazing down from beyond.
“By the way… though it’s not quite payment for healing, I hear you wish to allow students into the dungeon. I understand you plan to vote on it at next month’s board meeting…”
“….”
“Why wait until next month?”
Magram smiled and extended his hand toward Kaisen.
After that, Eouros’s next class was detection magic.
The instructor was Nibles, a weasel-faced man… someone who looked like Gibbles with a palette swap, but dressed more extravagantly.
“Oh, Mr. Gibbles?”
“Ah, not that again. I am Instructor Nibles. Unlike that incompetent Gibbles, I hold official licenses from both Dunais Academy and the Blue Tower. I am also a Diamond-ranked mage in the Adventurers’ Guild. You may respectfully call me Nibles the Diamond.”
Nibles chuckled.
“I am his cousin. But I dislike being compared to someone without magical talent. I am, if I may say so myself, a rather accomplished mage. That is why I can serve as an instructor here. Do not treat me the same as that mere laborer. This is a warning.”
‘Hmm… in the game it was probably a palette swap to save data, but even as cousins they look very similar. Not identical—more like one has lived better. There are clear signs of better nourishment and living conditions.’
Idnia observed Nibles’ clean, glossy skin and hands. He appeared more well-fed than Gibbles and showed no signs of manual labor.
But then…
Idnia looked around and noticed something odd.
There were no auditors.
‘Did they think this class wasn’t worth attending? Or…?’
A vague sense of unease crept over her.