<707 – Poor Child (7)>
There’s a common misconception among students.
The bias that instructors are always on the professor’s side and the students are their enemies.
Sometimes, that bias might not be correct!
“Then if you really weren’t worried about us, would you have taken on most of the damage with your own body while using your abilities? It would’ve been easier and cooler to just let it all out.”
“That’s a good point.”
Astarot honestly agreed.
The students, who were slow to catch on, started feeling uneasy about the agreement of the one who had defeated the instructor.
“What’s going on here?”
“Weren’t they the enemy?”
The Arcadia Lady stepped forward with a stern expression.
“Actually, he was a kind instructor worrying about the students. Is that what you’re implying?”
“You may not know, but Professor Sadako currently possesses a period of rest. I simply wanted to protect this time.”
Deadcat, who had become hasteful thanks to having multiple lives and not valuing life, suddenly asked.
“Then, isn’t it an opportunity? During the resting period, wouldn’t there be a weakness with a 300% damage increase, leaving them to be cautious?”
“Senior Deadcat’s reasoning is plausible. By common sense, a master in a resting phase usually experiences a load of mental and physical fatigue needing a break.”
As a lot of students became interested in Jaku’s common-sense position as a first-year, the Skull Instructor clicked his tongue.
It wasn’t the flustered attitude of a culprit caught in the act; it was the frustration of a senior, tired of the nonsense spoken by these naive youngsters.
“The reason Professor Sadako is in a resting period is not because of mental fatigue. Her resting period is meant for when her heart grows savage, and her inner demonic nature is about to awaken.”
The answer was beyond imagination, and the flickering hope among the students sunk like a lie.
The skeleton soldier, assembling with a clatter wondering if he could resurrect in the chaos, sensed the now heavy atmosphere and crumbled his own bones again.
Arcadia, representing the students, asked.
“…Was Professor Sadako a demon?”
“No. In her younger days, even demons would consult with her for career advice. If she acted like how she lived outside the academy, the Gift Academy would’ve long become an undead training institution.”
“……So, the instructor wasn’t diligently fighting to protect us from Professor Sadako, but instead…”
“He was working hard to send back those who, like you, were dying to die.”
“Ah…”
“On top of overtime, dawn shifts, major cleanups, facility maintenance, supplying resources, and coordinating the souls of soldiers.”
Hearing the specifics so horrifying that it stirred guilt in her, Arcadia bowed her head deeply in apology.
“I’m truly sorry for causing so much trouble to the instructor who was considerate of the juniors!”
It was truly a situation where she couldn’t raise her head.
“It’s okay. Even if I were a student unaware of the circumstances, I would have been angry and charged into the professor’s office.”
“But do you acknowledge that we weren’t wrong?”
“If I found out a friend was being buried alive and undead were pulling their limbs down into the ground with their hands full of summoning spells while I was exhausted after trying to resist that, I wouldn’t even be able to call them a friend.”
Even the third-year seniors were shocked by the lecture content being more serious than they knew.
“Ahaha. We should definitely add Professor Sadako to the list of professors students should never attend lectures for. How have we not known such an important fact until now?”
“To begin with, it’s a low-interest professor that rarely finds students. So, it makes sense.”
“Does that matter?”
Tap.
A lot of dialogue had occurred, and many changes of heart had taken place.
The only thing that remained unchanged was the stride of Senior Velvet.
“After such a long time of physical activity and even insubordination towards the professor, I can’t just go back after having so much fun.”
The instructor silently stepped aside next to the door before Velvet.
With a dignified presence, Velvet passed alongside the instructor, fluttering her coat.
It was as if she had never cared about the instructor from the beginning.
The Skull Instructor, watching her closely, felt it.
Arrogant self-confidence?
No, it wasn’t that.
That student had earned the right.
An emotional storm swept through him like the overwhelming impact he felt when he first met ‘her’, Professor Sadako.
With awe for the mysteries of life and how far living beings could grow, emotions ran wild.
Even an artificial organ that replaced the already-dead heart of an undead felt fluttering with excitement, flowing mana as if it were blood.
‘The Fourth Stage of Domain Mark. She constantly wears such a mark?’.
Even masters would experience rapid mana depletion, only using the power of the Fourth Stage of Domain during necessary moments in a fierce battle, yet she activated it constantly.
Velvet possessed mana control skills that allowed such capability alongside a massive amount of mana.
Simply having a lot of mana wouldn’t suffice.
Purity.
The quality of mana itself had to be exceptional for sustainability and cost-effectiveness.
Mana’s cost-effectiveness usually cannot be resolved by mere effort.
In this space, aside from the Skull Instructor, only three others truly grasped that meaning.
One was Astarot, the next-generation warrior.
A key figure from the war generation.
His brilliant talent could wholly pierce the realm of Velvet.
This was also the reason he acknowledged Velvet and took a foothold in the Execution Headquarters and the Student Council.
Even with Titosso receiving the position of head of the Environmental Cleaning Department beneath the student council, he handed the title to Titosso and aimed to become the next head of the Execution Headquarters.
Rather than shallow power, he believed he could grow higher and farther under that woman.
Some masters learned a great deal merely by watching from the sidelines.
The second was Mandela Castera.
The top student of Class 980 and the strongest in the year.
To manifest various status effects by embedding mana into the wavelengths of sound, a highly purified mana and mana control skills were essential.
Over the past year, nobody exerted as much effort as Mandela, moved by the strength of Oknodie and the Class 981 juniors.
Having felt the powerlessness of her sound techniques through the Kraken commotion, Mandela achieved a greater growth than Deadcat, who realized the [Constant Activation of Life and Death].
Because of her, Velvet’s emitted waves responding with each step made her feel like the mana consumption was infinitely low.
Complete domination of mana wavelengths.
The benefits when used offensively were unpredictable.
The last of the three was Jiang.
The only one enlightened from Class 981.
“If you achieve a spatial affinity over 1000 points, you can replicate it!”
“How can you raise that affinity?”
“If you have a genius talent for spatial affinity, then it’s enough!”
“…What if you don’t have talent?”
“Then, just like how you raise resistances for other affinities, you need to experience relevant environments. For spatial affinity, experience various spaces.”
Just like yesterday’s conversation vividly echoed in her mind, it was a recollection from the time when Velvet treated Tetriforce the Blood Thief like a giant size shoe.
“How many of those spaces do you need to experience?”
“At least 1000!”
“And the maximum?”
“100,000!”
“I give up.”
Back then, Jiang was desperately clinging to her fox mask, trying to withstand the pressure before mightier opponents.
Now it was different.
Her hand that should hold the mask had no tremors whatsoever, instinctively hovering above the switch of a memorizing glove, maintaining a constant readiness for battle.
Just as the instructor interrupted them with logical reasons, Velvet could change her demeanor for some reason too.
“If you’re scared, then go back. I have no intention of herding frightened little lambs. I don’t have the qualities for such a leader. From the beginning, this is territory meant only for those who are prepared.”
“What are we prepared for?”
“To genuinely taste the unrestrained, uncaring, merciless strength of the former Great Evil, who was once the world’s greatest menace.”
“…!”
“Isn’t it interesting? That ‘Oknodie’ must have tasted such power once when he defeated a ‘Revolutionary’, so why is he so powerless in front of Professor Sadako?”
The perspective was entirely different.
She hadn’t come to save Oknodie.
She harbored doubts about her own strength.
She questioned whether the Revolutionary’s fame was just a facade.
Or she wanted to confirm if Professor Sadako was indeed special.
Whichever it was, one thing was clear.
This woman was a transcendent master who feared no great evil.
As a small finger poked Akadia’s side, which was bending under useless questioning.
Diiia~ Unnie! What are you thinking?
Just as Oknodie had done once before.
“Stop standing around like a fool. Everyone is waiting for you.”
“Jiang.”
“…Isn’t it too much to be overtly disappointed, even if you’re not Oknodie?”
“S-sorry. I just felt nostalgic…”
“Even if you don’t follow, I’ll keep moving forward. So decide. For the sake of the other classmates who haven’t found their answers. Whether to proceed or retreat. The goal has already been achieved.”
Going to protest to Professor Sadako for Oknodie.
This would be automatically completed as Velvet fueled her competitive spirit.
Only the difference lay in whether they would share that historic moment together or not.
“I want to follow as far as I can go. Your words have lingered on my mind.”
Why was Oknodie, one of the three great evils of the current era, strong enough to defeat the first Revolutionary, so powerless in front of Professor Sadako?
If Professor Sadako was truly that special and capable, why then was she so harsh with Oknodie?
As she referred to herself as Oknodie’s guardian, her words followed alongside Hestia, Oknodie’s potential mother, and friends trailing behind Arcadia.
Not everyone came forward.
Only about 10% remained.
That was, however, still a significantly impressive number.
“We need to hurry! Senior Velvet is moving away, and skeletons are reassembling to swarm us again!”
Dorothy urged the party to quickly hit the path, sensing the danger with the instincts of a Forest Guardian.
In the rush to follow Senior Velvet, only Titosso had an odd thought.
“If it were the usual Oknodie, he’d be cheering ‘Wow! Special training!’ Why has he seemed so exhausted these past few days?”
Had Oknodie also grown weary of training?
Was he faking it?
“Nah, no way! Can’t be faking it! So where in the world is Oknodie, and what is he doing right now?”
At the academy, there were other professors aside from Professor Sadako.
But if Titosso voiced that out, it seemed it would dampen the spirits of Velvet at the front, as well as the legendary masters Seoguyeon along with Astarot, Mandela, Arcadia, and the strong ones from the upper classes Jiang and others.
Titosso’s trained instincts from accompanying Oknodie and Jiang would seal his lips shut.
‘Sure, if there’s a lot to do, just foist it off to others—Oknodie always taught that!’
He could just casually ask what they’d do after dealing with Professor Sadako!
With friends and seniors realizing it, Titosso casually brought up and shrugged away the frighteningly clear truth.
