<361 - Deal with the Professor>
The Skull Instructor revealed a feeling of jealousy.
“You really are lucky. You can’t come this deep into the Catacombs without an invitation from a professor. I never got to come here in my lifetime.”
“Ah. I understand that feeling. It’s enviable that just breathing fills the Dark Mana, right? Just entering lets you rake in a ton of mana, but the actual entry time is usually around third or fourth year, it’s just unfair!”
“The increase in mana is a secondary factor. They say fools use magic instinctively; proper magic is strengthened by experience and understanding. Just wandering around here will make your summoning magic pretty strong.”
The instructor was not wrong.
Magic is a force strengthened through imagery.
If you have comprehensive knowledge and prior experiences to vividly and clearly envision that imagery, the power of magic becomes even stronger.
To experience such a terrifying Catacomb, wouldn’t you have to go to an officially managed hero’s graveyard in some country?
Of course, getting permission for that wouldn’t be easy.
If you performed hero-level feats and died, you could visit easily, but…
Well, I’ve already experienced it all, so it isn’t particularly new for me; it’s just nice that my mana is increasing.
‘But still, this is the first time I’ve entered the Catacombs this easily!’
Professor Sadako originally only taught during the first semester of the first year and would fade into the background after that, leaving by the time the second year arrived.
Seeing someone like her still lecturing in the second semester of the first year while exuding that wicked energy deep inside the Catacombs, I felt a strange sense of pride.
“Hello, Professor! You seem lively today!”
Standing in the center of six glass tubes emitting a crimson energy and with her long hair covering her face, Professor Sadako unleashed a bizarre Mana Flow Technique that would terrify even a demon if they saw it.
Boom!
The six tubes shook violently, looking as if they might burst open at any moment.
Knowing what would happen if even one of those tubes opened, it was shocking, but the professor calmly spoke.
“The first tube to open… will be mine…”
The six tubes that had been tumultuously shaking suddenly calmed down as if nothing had happened.
Senior-exclusive DLC content sealed!
Having finished that odd technique, the professor finally turned her head towards me, her once crimson robes now pure white.
“Have you come to learn the secret of summoning arts, the Malicious Heart Technique…?”
“Nope! I came to put a permanent petrification curse on a ghost and keep using its duplication ability!”
Seeing the hooked ghost I dragged in with one hand, the professor nodded.
“Are you not interested in the Malicious Heart Technique?”
“Nope!”
Looking at my firm refusal, the professor pulled a black orb from her sleeve.
“If you learn now, I can give you the Essence of Darkness as a gift…”
“I already have that!”
When I pulled out the Essence of Darkness I had received from Papa’s mansion for snacks, the professor sighed and put it back into her sleeve.
It looked more vibrant and seemed to contain higher quality mana than mine, but it wasn’t tempting enough to change the Mana Flow Technique I was practicing.
“The ghost I want you to help is this one!”
Raising the ghost like a one-handed weapon, the professor stared deeply into its eyes through her long hair.
The hooked ghost trembled and started to thrash around.
“Close your eyes.”
Tremendous mana gathered in Professor Sadako’s eyes.
As soon as I hurriedly closed my eyes, an overwhelming amount of mana swept through the room.
Swoosh!
When I opened my eyes, the hooked ghost I was holding had turned into a solid statue.
6th-tier summoning magic [Prison of Sentinels].
It was the upper-level magic of 4th-tier summoning magic [Gargoylization], which petrifies the target with conditions for the petrified state to be released.
Now the hooked ghost, with its mind intact, was trapped in a petrified state, becoming a soul that could not escape its prison.
Professor Sadako looked at the poor ghost with a sense of accomplishment, explaining.
“A ghost is a soul wandering because of the attachments from its past life. A demon is an impure spirit that harms the living out of resentment. If they are filled with grudges, they can exert strength, but if those grudges are consumed, their strength temporarily disappears…”
Squeak…
“Even pretending to be weak is useless… I already know you planned to take hostages in your unique dimension to torture them to forcibly generate vengeful energy to replace the strength you consumed…”
Professor Sadako was not easily fooled by the hooked ghost’s desperate squeaks.
“What recovery frequency do you want for duplication…?”
“Once a week should be enough!”
“The recovery exceeding once a week…”
“You can use it however you like, Professor!”
“The deal is established… now let’s leave it here… There’s one tube left anyway.”
While Rosgini, who used a petrifying scroll, basked in sunlight and broke free from petrification, the hooked ghost wasn’t even allowed a chance to escape.
As the professor reached somewhere in the Catacombs, a massive coffin flew out with a Creak.
Rumble…
Clunk!
As the noisy coffin opened, the hooked ghost was stuffed inside, tears welling in its eyes as it begged for mercy, but the coffin shut without hesitation.
Though sounds presumably from the struggles of the hooked ghost could be heard inside, just by turning a switch on the coffin, the barrier was created.
The ominous energy filling the Catacombs served as the power source, casting a soundproofing spell, ensuring that the hooked ghost’s cries would reach no one.
‘Well, it was a nasty ghost in the first place, so it can live stuck for a bit!’
*
After capturing the most delicious hooked ghost for duplication and succeeding in enhancing the mob’s armor, rumors spread quickly across the campus.
“I heard if you catch a named ghost, it’s really good for your health?”
“It seems like that mob guy, being in the lower class, is now creating a significant stir in the upper class.”
“If we can defeat just one named monster, can we move up to the upper class next year…?”
Historically, things that drive people crazy are those considered good for vigor, health, and studies.
As the lower-class students embarked on name-monster hunts to seek promotion, even the previously quiet upper-class students felt tempted.
“If it’s that great of a monster, it should help even if we catch it, right? Honor, let’s have a match.”
“Sounds good. Let’s show the might of the Three Great Meritorious Families of the Empire by hunting named ones first. It’s a match. Cheddar, Leff, let’s compete on who defeats the most named ones!”
“We can’t let the Empire take everything! We’re going hunting too!”
“As a nun of the Thunderbolt Celestial Divine Church, I’ll lend a hand in the exorcism as well.”
Thanks to that, the weekly event strategies soared, ensuring that the events concluded safely without my intervention.
“Damn… I’ve been cursed that won’t heal my broken arm unless it’s through natural healing…”
“Ugh. The Cheddar of the Potato Pizza family is hit by a curse. If I had known, I should have prepared curse resistance like the brat from the border last semester, what a blunder. Of all things, to be afflicted by the curse of vision reduction, making it hard to study…”
Of course, just because the events ended without issue didn’t mean the students participating in named hunts were fine.
I, too, tackled my opponents head-on instead of meeting force with force, leading to serious aftereffects for everyone.
“Meow… Oknodie, how on earth did you manage to capture such a monster intact…?”
Zenia, afflicted by the curse of being hyper-aware of blinking, breathing, and where to place her tongue in her mouth, was exhausted, sprawled over her desk like dried fish.
“Good upbringing?”
“That’s cowardly! Zenia, don’t you want to benefit from the foundation?!”
Upon Zenia’s exclamation of wanting to become a foundation scholarship student, startled gazes fell upon her from all directions.
Though she was unaware of what she was saying as a Cat Beastfolk, honestly, upper-class students could say whatever they liked without consequence.
If a lower-class student did that, they’d be beaten up with “Are you trying to self-destruct with your dark mana!?” but for upper-class students, it was more of a tsk-tsk reaction, “That fool is speaking recklessly.”
But is the foundation really that bad?
They defended against chaos from the Beastman Resurgence Society and surprisingly held up the academic atmosphere in the second semester, helping students a lot.
“Then would you like to come to a new lecture I’m starting this time?”
“What lecture?”
“This week, my butler got a job as a professor at the Academy. Of course, I’ll be attending!”
The sound of pens scratching notes from the distance, where Honor Fried Chicken with a cast and Cheddar Potato Pizza with glasses were, suddenly halted.
Zenia looked up at me with surprise, her fur bristled.
She seemed so shocked that her fur was standing on end.
“Are you saying you’re not satisfied with 38 credits and want to take more lectures? Are you out of your mind!?”
So, that’s what surprised her.
