35: Everyday Life (2)
After wrapping up a short break, the first words marking the start of class were a clean curse aimed at the academy president.
Ah, President, why the hell is that bastard making me do this?
[Now, for each semester, students who achieved outstanding grades in their respective departments will have the opportunity to select an artifact from the president's personal collection...]
Bullshit? Hey, I'm re-enrolling. Alchemy Department is shutting down effective today. I'm becoming a fresh academy student and raiding that bastard president's vault for artifacts.
Uh...
So, is that a professor retirement announcement?
After a brief moment of confusion, the other professors went down to subdue the rampaging Professor Nova and continued speaking.
[Yes, top-performing students will be granted the chance to choose an artifact from the president's vault.]
[This generation's grades were particularly high, so the president prepared something special. Is there really a need to write "special" twice?]
[Wait, why even mention that?]
[I want artifacts too!]
[Don't say that out loud, Nova!]
Do these people have some kind of disease where they can't function without causing a scene?
[Alright, all of you, shut up and let me teach.]
The first one to stir up trouble, Professor Nova, was also the first to regain her composure.
[If any of you get artifacts, bring them to me as tribute.]
Or not.
The president, as a great hero, possessed numerous high-performance artifacts. In the original story, Estelle had received a few and put them to good use.
I wanted one too. But it was a shame that only promising talents received them.
Because of Luna, I needed to hide my strength to some extent.
If I used my Authority just to get an artifact, I'd end up in an alchemist's lab instead of the president's vault.
Well, those artifacts only grow stronger in the hands of the powerful anyway. Someone like me wouldn't see any dramatic growth from using them.
I shook my head, rationalizing it to myself.
Ah, I don't want to teach. But I have to.
Now, where was I?
"You covered general regions, ruins, and Zones."
Oh, thanks for the answer.
Alright, moving on to demon beasts.
The screen displayed dozens of different demon beasts.
Hey, can you see the screen? Some look like animals, some resemble humans, and others don't look like living creatures at all. First off, demon beasts are ridiculously diverse. There are ones that look like objects, ones that blend into their surroundings for camouflage...
They appear however the hell they want.
Now, look at these two.
Two demon beasts were highlighted on the screen: one resembling a horse and another similar to a narwhal.
I wanted to see a unicorn, so I tried breeding these two together.
Why would you even do that?
So, what do you think came out?
"A unicorn."
Wrong. This is what appeared.
The next creature shown was... how should I put it?
A wheel? A grotesque wheel with far too many legs.
That's what popped out. Barely any trace of the horse or narwhal left.
So I got curious—what would happen if I bred these two?
The next image made me want to scream. Shit, take that disgusting picture down!
See? This is the kind of thing that gets created.
Other students, looking nauseated, made strange noises.
"Why are you showing us something like that?"
Well, I can't be the only one suffering.
Damn it.
I turned to look at Aria, but she already had her eyes closed. This probably wasn't the first time she'd seen something like this.
Anyway, demon beasts are divided into six ranks: Pawn, Knight, Rook, Bishop, Queen, and finally King.
A Pawn's combat power is low enough that even ordinary people with weapons can take one down. From Knight onward, it's difficult to handle without mana or high-powered weapons. Though some well-trained folks can manage without mana, that's the general rule.
Rook is probably the highest level most demon beasts can reach through natural growth. From here on, even ordinary people loaded with all sorts of cheat artifacts would struggle. Artifacts still require mana to use, and regular folks probably don't have enough to even scratch a beast of this level.
Next is Bishop. From Bishop onward, they start breaking the common sense of regular demon beasts. They don't reach the level of Queen or King Authorities, but they develop abilities that defy normal logic. If that ability is particularly broken, a top-tier Bishop could potentially rival a low-tier Queen.
I'll explain Queens and Kings together. These two ranks possess something called an Authority—similar to a user's Star Brilliance. Actually, it might even be better than that. To manifest Star Brilliance, you have to meet the absurd conditions set by those picky Constellations, but these guys have no such requirements.
Even if you manifest Star Brilliance, you get highly efficient abilities, but Authorities require no cost at all. The difference between Queen and King is simple: do they have one Authority or multiple? Most heroes can defeat a Queen. But Kings are different. Kings require multiple heroes working together to subdue.
Authorities are cheat keys. They let you use broken abilities with zero cost. To put it in game terms... imagine your opponent has map hacks. They're at an advantage, but not unbeatable. Good mechanics can overcome the information gap.
But what if they also have aim hacks and can shoot through walls? That's not something you can overcome on your own. Most normal players wouldn't stand a chance no matter what they did. There might be some exceptions, but...
Professor Nova didn't look particularly grim as she spoke.
But this isn't a game—it's reality. That said, there's only one King, while our numbers are many, and some heroes have abilities even more broken than most Authorities.
That's how we were able to win. Unlike demon beasts that hunt each other, humans cooperate.
She flipped the screen. It now showed beings that looked almost identical to humans.
Now, Devils. There are two types: those who resisted the demonic energy's erosion and became Devils anyway, and those who didn't resist and just accepted it. The former aren't much different from demon beasts—they lose their reason and act purely on instinct. The latter retain their human intelligence. That's the difference. Their ranking system is the same as demon beasts, so I'll skip that.
Someone from the other side raised their hand.
Okay, go ahead and ask.
"Why do people become Devils?"
Ah... well, most of the time it's for the same reason. To survive against demon beasts or Devils, they absorb demonic energy themselves and join their ranks. That increases their chances of survival. Once you're a Devil, you might still become prey due to a demon beast's hunger, but you won't be hunted by instinctual impulses. Some Devils even seek out humans in the Demon Realm to turn them into Devils.
Any more questions? If not, let's move on to the last part.
She changed the screen again, displaying new images.
Now, the Demon Race. Honestly, I'm not sure if "Demon Race" is the right term for them.
The photos showed beings commonly known as dwarves, elves, and beastmen—familiar figures from fantasy stories in my original world.
It's not widely known, but the Demon Race doesn't instinctively view humans as enemies.
Many students tilted their heads in confusion at her words.
Unlike demon beasts, the Demon Race has specific individual names. Those with long ears are elves, the short stocky ones are dwarves, and those with some beast-like features are beastmen. Their characteristics vary too much to cover right now. Besides, they're ridiculously strong—most students here would be instantly killed the moment they encountered one.
She added that because their numbers were so small, the chance of randomly encountering them in the Demon Realm was close to zero.
As for common traits, their species is strong to begin with. If they just grow up properly, they reach at least Rook level. Their lifespans are absurdly long—there are even individuals who directly experienced the Hero Era, 1,800 years ago. And their numbers are very small. They travel in groups, but those groups aren't even large enough to form a village.
"You said the Demon Race doesn't instinctively view humans as enemies. So why are humans and the Demon Race hostile toward each other?"
I already knew the answer to this question, but since the other students seemed curious, I asked it.
Uh... sigh. Well, you'll all find out eventually anyway. Humans pulled all sorts of bullshit. First, the elves burned down the World Tree and stole its last remaining seed, hiding it somewhere. The one who found it and formed a contract with it was the Spirit King.
After finishing her sentence, Professor Nova added something as if she'd just remembered.
Ah, and before that bastard starts causing trouble again, let me clarify—he didn't burn it down or steal it himself. He just happened to find something that was hidden in the Demon Realm a long time ago. Last time I explained it this way, someone misunderstood and gave me hell for it.
The beastmen hunted the sacred beasts that were their objects of worship. The dwarves had their great cavern—where all dwarf tunnels connected—collapsed by humans.
Professor Nova went on to explain one by one the reasons why humans became hostile toward the Demon Race.
Sorry about that, you bastards.
Yeah, the vampires just screwed each other over. They kept attacking humans because they thought human blood tasted the best. Humans finally get one innocent incident on record! Ding ding ding.
She was honest about it. Her attitude suggested she saw no reason to hide things that weren't even her own doing.
Well, she wasn't wrong. It wasn't our fault, was it?
Shit, we're finally done. Now get out.
Professor Nova said this and left.
Once the professor disappeared, the students began chattering like horses that had broken free from their reins.
Amid the chaos, I made my way toward Iv.
After pushing through the crowd, two figures with dark blue hair came into view—the twins.
"Hey, is this the first time we've met like this?"
"Oh, Seoha."
"Oh, Luna's father."
Both greeted me warmly.
"How's life treating you? Managing okay?"
"Yeah, it's fucking fun. Oh, I beat the shit out of that cocky vice-top student the other day. I should've shown you."
Niv said this while struggling to hold back her laughter.
"N-Niv, stop...!"
Iv tried to rein in the laughing Niv.
"But he really was a pathetic vice-top, you know?"
Niv spoke as if she saw no problem with it.
Actually, there was a problem. The guy sitting right in front of them was the vice-top student.
"Hey, what did you just say?"
"Oi, Vice-Top. Keep it down. The real 'vice-top' is talking right now, isn't he?"
When the guy in front turned around angrily, Niv responded.
"Hey, let's go another round."
"Aah, I don't accept rematches from 'losers.' Just stay a 'loser' until the tournament starts."
"Agh, seriously."
I quietly watched the scene. The vice-top was clearly at a disadvantage in terms of compatibility. His fighting style involved enduring the early stages before landing precise, high-powered magic attacks, while this guy ignored mana concealment and went for an all-out assault from the start.
I continued observing the bickering pair.
"Before challenging me, go beat this guy first."
"Why should I get beaten up?! You crazy bitch."
Maybe it was time to pass Estelle's "crazy bitch" title over to Niv.
In exchange, Estelle could have "crazy gorilla."
"That's how it is, right?"
"Like hell it is!"
The vice-top guy looked at me with a determined expression.
Why was he taking that so literally?
"Iv, Niv, stop her."
I sighed and turned to Iv.
"Well, actually..."
"Yeah?"
"Telling us to enroll and then not showing your face for weeks after we did... asking us to take your side feels pretty selfish, don't you think...?"
"Did I do that?"
"You're even worse than that..."
Iv's gaze took on something close to resentment.
"Oh, I was busy. Sorry."
"Come visit when you're bored."
"Why? With that guy next to you, I doubt you'll be bored."
"There are too many people around, so it drains my energy."
Niv was definitely the outgoing type who attracted people, unlike the introverted Iv.
Look, even the vice-top guy was deliberately avoiding talking to Iv out of consideration for her.
"Oh, right."
I left Aria and Iv alone, hoping they'd get closer, and resolved to make it happen.
It seemed like it would be fun.
"Now that I think about it, I'm pissed. Hey, Yi Seoha, follow me to the rooftop."
I ignored Niv's nonsense and left the classroom.
***
After dealing with the kids for a while, I headed toward the main gate to leave the academy.
I could see a few students returning after training. Some friends had asked me to train with them, but I had urgent matters to attend to, so I slipped away alone.
"I'm afraid that's not possible."
"Ah, come on, just once. Let me check just this once."
"I'm afraid that's not possible."
Two people were arguing near the main gate.
One was the familiar face of Professor Kim Hyera. The other was...
Someone I'd never seen in person but recognized from illustrations.
The Spirit King, Mikhail.
Luna seemed to react to Mikhail as well—her fear spread through me, giving me the same chilling sensation I'd felt with the professor.
"We're classmates, aren't we? Just let me show the kids once. Nothing bad will happen, I swear."
"I'm afraid that's not possible."
"Even with my qualifications as the Spirit King hero?"
"You wouldn't claim ignorance of the entrance ceremony incident, would you?"
"Ah, shit. That was real?"
"Yes. According to the rules, even heroes and great heroes cannot enter without the president's permission. Outsiders are not allowed entry."
"Agh, that crazy bastard Lumieron. Was that actually true? Has he completely lost it? I should have tea with him while cursing him out."
"Please don't try to slip in naturally."
"Aaaah, sorry, it hurts—let go, it hurts."
He was pushed back outside the gate after trying to pass through naturally.
I quickly hid behind a nearby tree.
It was probably just planted for decoration, but thanks to it, I managed to hide in time.
I could have just come out and run away, but just in case, I stayed hidden.
There was still a chance he might recognize me from that brief glimpse.
And I might overhear something useful.
"Just let me see them once."
"I'm afraid that's not possible."
"The kids would like it too, right? A rare Spirit-user hero, the Spirit King."
"Yes, I'm sure they'd be thrilled if the Immortal Hero came to see their faces."
"Agh, why is that crazy bastard causing problems at a time like this?"
"I cannot grant entry permission. If you continue to cause trouble, I'll have to call another professor."
"Okay. How do I get entry permission?"
"Please inquire with the president."
"That guy doesn't accept internet contact, does he?"
"That's not my concern."
"When was the last time that guy came out of the academy?"
"Probably around two years ago."
Mikhail grabbed his head with both hands and shook it.
"Aaaagh, just once, please, I'm begging you!!!"
He was now on the ground, hugging her legs and pleading.
"Asking to see students without even explaining what's going on... I doubt anyone would agree to that."
What? That guy didn't even explain?
"Fine. Since you were involved too, you have the right to know."
His previously light atmosphere sank lower.
"There's still one remaining subject from the White Erosion experiment."
"That's nonsense."
"No, it's true. Look at this."
He held out some documents.
"As an outsider to the Alchemists, I have no way to verify the credibility of these documents."
"Ah, right."
"I'll find a way for you to contact the president, so please leave for today."
"Alright, thanks for at least doing that."
I heard footsteps in the distance, but just to be safe, I stayed hidden behind the tree, holding my breath.
"What are you doing here?"
Warm, shit—scared the hell out of me.
I turned my head toward the voice, my body stiff.
"Oh, hello?"
I spoke while trying to calm my heart, which felt like it was beating twice as fast as usual.
"Ah, I didn't mean to startle you."
"N-no, it's fine."
It was anything but fine.
I thought I was going to die of shock.
"That's good to hear. Is Luna's stabilization progressing well?"
"Oh, yes. I think I've got a handle on it."
"I see. If anything happens and you need help, feel free to contact me. I'll assist in any way I can."
She said this and left.
I also left the academy and headed home.
Since a hero was out for a stroll, there were many people around him.
I avoided crowded areas and managed to reach home without encountering the Spirit King.