<941 – Rolling Oknodie (1)>
Alex, infuriated by a relentless tea bagging, saw the professors crossing dimensions at a terrifying speed.
Among them, the one professor with overwhelming speed was none other than Professor Bronze, who had been tea bagged not once but twice by Alex.
“I found you.”
“Eww!”
“Ugh!”
“Thief. And…”
In a flash, Oknodie, who was hiding with the Guard Golem, trembled inside the golem as the awful truth was about to be revealed. Even though his presence had been detected, he was determined not to let his identity slip, causing Professor Bronze to furrow his brows.
“A suspicious character.”
It worked! Oknodie had narrowly concealed his identity. But even now, other professors’ Dimensional Gates were drawing closer.
“Shall we talk elsewhere? It’s a hassle dealing with multiple debtors.”
“I appreciate that you’re willing to bow your head. Go in.”
Professor Bronze pointed to the Dimensional Gate he had crossed. Oknodie and Alex had no choice.
Being lynched by nine professors vs. being kidnapped by Professor Bronze.
No matter how one thought about it, both options looked like a lopsided disaster waiting to happen.
[Special Dimension of Professor Bronze de Estrada]
[Treasure Vault of the Great Thief]
A special dimension developed solely for treasure storage.
As soon as Professor Bronze saw Alex and the suspicious humanoid Guard Golem step into the dimension, he immediately forced the installation of the Kerdaius Serpent (12-step ropes) and Magni’s Restraint (13-step shackles).
Not only did he block their getaway, but he also activated the Dimensional Coordinate Distortion Wave Generator, deploying seven types of Curse Items and thirteen kinds of formation.
[Resist coming in.]
[Resist hallucinations.]
[Resist cognitive distortion.]
As Alex, cursed by the magic, collapsed helplessly, Oknodie staggered in an awkward rhythm, following his senior down.
“The one who raided the main building’s dimension was the fearless Professor Pinkberry, but you guys aren’t her apprentices. It’s impossible that any of Pinkberry’s geeky students can communicate, after all.”
“….”
Wasn’t the treatment of Professor Pinkberry a bit harsh?
Oknodie almost protested but suddenly fell silent upon meeting the cold gaze of Professor Bronze.
The attitude Bronze Professor had towards a suspicious stranger surpassed mere cynicism and hid a chilling malice beneath.
“Alex. In contrast, the identity over there has been revealed. A rookie who entered Professor Buzhaar’s research dimension long ago. Having been rotting in that research dimension for ten years, thinking you could stay hidden is quite the miscalculation.”
As Professor Bronze manipulated the Mana Board, Alex’s doctorate enrollment confirmation popped up.
“If one of them is Buzhaar’s disciple, then it’s obvious the rest are too. It’s clear they were following Buzhaar’s orders, but how could you idiots not understand your status while hunting the treasures of the main building?”
“That’s right. We did everything under Professor Buzhaar’s command. We had to follow whatever he asked to pass the qualification exam after finishing the doctoral program!”
“Indeed. A cunning act, true to Buzhaar’s legacy. It’s an old-fashioned method so stale it’s oddly refreshing.”
Worried about inciting Buzhaar’s wrath, Alex cast an uneasy glance, but in this case, Oknodie was right.
Sending monster prototypes to kill someone and expecting anything different seems pointless.
“The treasure vault of the main building is not to be taken lightly; it contains valuable collections. What’s your secret to specifically stealing the Principal’s treasures?”
“We’ve been routinely tested on treasure detection in the research dimension, and all researchers falling below the standard were turned into monster cells!”
“I remember hearing about that. A retired professor warned about Buzhaar when he said something like that happened thirty years ago.”
Why was that considered a real thing?
Alex was more shocked by the reality of that statement than by Oknodie’s excuses.
“It’s a bit humiliating. After going through such a harsh survival test, your finely honed treasure-detecting skills deemed the main building’s treasures inferior to the Principal’s treasures?”
“To be honest, yes. Professor Bronze, despite being one of the continent’s top thieves, is always raiding the entire Middle Realm like it’s his home, taking whatever he desires, you know?”
No one understood treasure better than the dragon, who had raided S-Class princesses and the kingdom’s riches in the fringe regions since ancient times, taking free passes through the kingdom’s borders and enjoying free trials while casually munching on some small folk.
Born the strongest thief in the Middle Realm, even if he retired modestly, there was no way his skills would ever rust.
“I must acknowledge what needs to be acknowledged. I liked your spirit of not just flattering me in front of the professor.”
“Phew!”
“Now, it’s time to hold you accountable for your crimes. First, this will be the first method of assuming responsibility.”
Professor Bronze boldly revealed his communication magic device in [Speaker Mode], displaying the call status.
The contact was none other than [Professor Buzhaar].
This was the result of entering the unique communication number registered in every professor’s Emergency Contact Network.
– It’s rare to find a professor seeking this old man.
“Professor Buzhaar, the disciple you raised at your lab is being detained in the main building. If you pay the due amount, I am willing to transfer custody, but if you can’t provide a satisfactory amount, it will be impossible for you to reunite with your precious disciple ever again.”
– A disciple? How rare. I’ve heard the God of Death has died; do the escaped souls of the Netherworld already begin to rewrite the ledger of the afterlife?
“It’s pointless to play coy. I’ve already secured your disciples, Alex and another one.”
– Alex. Alex. Ah, is it that ‘fugitive’? I get that, but who’s the other one?
Oknodie broke out in a cold sweat.
“Speak up. If Professor Buzhaar doesn’t recognize your worth, you shouldn’t expect a good outcome.”
Not being recognized as Buzhaar’s disciple could mean facing some heavy repercussions from a furious Professor Bronze.
Impromptu, Oknodie decided to mention a keyword that would lead to being recognized as Buzhaar’s disciple.
“Professor Buzhaar, remember that failed experiment on the artificial emergence of Super Armor from seventy years ago?”
– Hoho. The one who knew of that experiment should have been disposed of ages ago. How intriguing. You can’t possibly be the ‘failed product’ who stirred enthusiasm over the data concerning an experiment gone wrong, right?
“That’s correct!”
– The form of a failed product barely maintains a shape. No, did the Super Armor belatedly manifest, reviving some semblance of self and form restoration properties, allowing its existence to endure?
Temporary invincible state that repels all status effects, Super Armor.
The existence of this ability was recognized through several Chapter Bosses, but there had been a time when Oknodie found a paper on Super Armor from a professor he encountered in rounds, although he never learned how to implement it.
That professor’s name was Buzhaar.
A professor in the round where he’d spent over twenty years unable to graduate.
The character may have been horrendous, but the data and knowledge accumulated were irreplaceably rare, and soon a deceptive and slightly kind voice he dreaded would materialize.
– Excellent. A creation abandoned by its creator achieved the fruits of research by itself; how can this not be called a miracle! Your existence is a miracle, and it brings me great joy.
“Really!”
– My disciple, what can I do to compensate for your achievements and the sufferings of your past? I vow to do my utmost to help you. Won’t you allow me to help you now?
If Oknodie grasped Buzhaar’s hand now, the cycle of research shuttle nightmares would repeat, making him another student cursed to never graduate.
But this wasn’t the day for employment referrals or a student talent show by Professor Buzhaar.
“Indeed. It’s undeniable you’re Buzhaar’s beloved disciple. But sadly, let’s end this casual talk here. If you want to take your hostage, you need to pay an ‘appropriate price’ to the main building.”
– I’ll soon bring a satisfactory amount.
The deal was done without a hitch.
Now, before Professor Bronze transfers custody to Professor Buzhaar, Oknodie just had to find a chance to escape.
While Oknodie racked his brain, suddenly, Professor Bronze grabbed the head of the Guard Golem Oknodie entered, peering intently inside the helmet.
“Hyik?!”
“This pathetic voice. Even using a distortion spell, it still stands out. My disciple, you’re far too inadequate to deceive anyone.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“Doesn’t it matter? You wouldn’t say you’re unaware of this monocle of mine, would you?”
Upon seeing the monocle Professor Bronze pulled out, Oknodie immediately realized that his deception was useless from the start.
━━━
[Gilded Monocle (Relic +14)]
Grade – Unique Level 2
Description – A wealthy magnate, wishing to grasp the value of all things in a glance, sought to supplement their lacking discernment with financial power. The magnate went bankrupt, but thanks to his commitment, the masterpiece, the gilded monocle, was born.
Effect 1 – Discerns all objects’ effects.
Effect 2 – Discerns all objects’ secret effects.
Effect 3 – Discerns all objects’ emotional valuations.
Effect 4 – ???
Effect 5 – ???
Effect 6 – ???
Effect 7 – ??? discerns the wearer.
Emotional Value – 1,800,000 Gold Coins, 180 million Points
━━━
This was a magical tool capable of discerning the identities of all the foundation’s scholarship students previously seen at the Numbers Magical Tool Storage.
It had the ability to instantly see through Oknodie’s [Hide], [Disguise], and [Trickery].
“I see, you could see through everything from the start?”
“I intended to observe my disciple’s antics but… how did you come across [Super Armor]?”
“Gah!”
“If you truly don’t want to be sold out, you’d better explain where you got that function from.”
“T-That’s a no-go! I went through so much to obtain that function! I can’t just hand over the fruits of spending dozens of rounds!”
“An retired Destroyer would surely leap at the chance to hear that our disciple gained dangerous powers from an unknown outsider.”
Professor Bronze knew exactly how to deal with Oknodie. Threats to those around him always worked better than threats directed at him.
“Your disciple’s fallibility was due to the oversight of Professor Jonnas, who played the parent role; perhaps I should have Jonnas scold you at the Academy.”
“Waaah, I’m sorry! I’ll give you the function; please let me off just this once!”
