<954 – Slave Hunting (1)>
Oknodie lightly interrogated Buzhaar’s captured assistant.
“Assistant, you came to catch me on the professor’s orders, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“And the reward was also prepared by the professor as bait to lure me here?”
“Not quite. An assistant has the discretion to secretly take a few unique cells.”
“What will you do if you get caught doing that?”
The assistant shrugged, saying it wasn’t a big deal. In front of Oknodie and the professors, the assistant was helpless, but in other places, they were a seasoned embezzler who could even pick the professors’ pockets.
“So how do you plan to dispose of the unique monster cells that were prepared as goods? If you consume them, I can teach you the mana manipulation techniques to aid in settling and detoxification.”
“Oh, that’s fine. I have absolutely no desire for monster cells!”
“Really?”
“Feel free to take them all!”
Oknodie returned the monster cells, carefully stored in a high-end capsule, back to the assistant. Was this some sort of 3.3% cash-back event even when robbing someone of their entire fortune? Was this Oknodie’s last remnant of conscience at 3.3%?
“All the monster cells are part of Professor Buzhaar!”
“I see. The monster cells are part of the professor… Huh?”
The assistant’s face hardened.
“What did you just say?”
“The monster cells are part of the professor!”
“Is that really true?”
“I have no reason to lie!”
“There’s no need to sow discord between the professor and me. Who do you think you are to do that?”
The self-aware assistant didn’t waste unnecessary time. The relationship between the professor and the assistant was mostly about classifying the levels of monster specimens from a few research dimensions, deploying troops to catch something, and secretly spreading monster cells in observational experiments to create rare monsters. That was it.
Occasionally, the professor would glance at the assistant’s independently conducted research reports, but those were rare and brought about only growing resentment before the professor’s ruthless feedback.
What remarkable bond could they have that warranted loyalty to the professor? It was simply out of fear and respect for the strong professor, who was useful, despite the burdensome tasks, and the fear of showing the papers.
“But wait, did you really give me that kind of cell to eat?”
“You’ve eaten them just fine until now!”
“That’s when I didn’t know what I was eating! Professor Buzhaar’s part, what exactly does that mean?”
For a moment, the assistant felt grateful for Oknodie’s rare kindness, but then a sense of realistic unease crept in behind the shattered impression. Oknodie’s talk upgraded vague unease into specific fear.
“All monster cells can have their powers stripped away by Professor Buzhaar, you know?”
“What?!”
“With just a flick of a finger, he can absorb them.”
“Crazy. So all attempts to create the strongest monsters…”
“If you gain too much experience, you can ascend, but if you diversify your investments well, you can use them in bulk when needed and remain in the Middle Realm. Isn’t that great?”
“So, we’re just external batteries, auxiliary batteries, or something like that to Professor Buzhaar?”
“It’s not entirely like that.”
“There’s human affection or something too, right?”
“No? If a new method or application for the monster cells that you didn’t realize is developed, he’ll just absorb it back. The doppelganger technique is generally there for that! It’s a technique that divides and uses cells, so it’s a bit different from regular doppelganger techniques, but a doppelganger is still a doppelganger!”
Imagining doppelgangers multiplying through a method called ‘cell doppelganger’, like a farmer planting seeds in a field, Professor Buzhaar grew numerous monsters from monster cells in the research dimension.
Only he and the principal knew how many generations of improvement and how long this professor had engaged in monster farming.
Thinking of things he did without the principal knowing, it might also be the case that many were known only to himself.
“Professor Buzhaar is more terrifying than I thought…”
“Yeah, that professor is indeed something!”
“Why is it that you, not me as the assistant, know more about it… but even that doesn’t guarantee it’s true…”
In fact, it was natural for Oknodie to know more about Professor Buzhaar. Having spent his two decades as a graduate student under Buzhaar, if there were still things Oknodie didn’t know, that would be even scarier.
“Don’t worry. Of course, I know a lot about your senior, the assistant!”
“…About me?”
“Real name, Tasha. If placed in a party with Jigoku, the [Lady Boys] party effect increases mana attribute concealment by 200%, and when new students need points, they have a hobby of selling cheap second-hand clothes in the black market!”
The face of assistant Tasha turned pale.
“How… how do you know that?”
“There’s my mother who lives alone in my hometown. After losing her husband, she longed for him and wished for a son, so she has to dress as a man in front of her.”
“How do you really know this stuff? Are you threatening Professor Buzhaar’s family?!”
“Oh please. If I wanted to threaten you, I’d use the cells hidden in the monster-making project to threaten you, no need for this talk.”
Oknodie’s innocent wish to show off what he knew turned into an extreme threat for Tasha.
“Does this raise the credibility of my information a bit?”
“…Yeah. I find it quite credible.”
“Then get along with Senior Alex, whom we captured earlier. I’ll call you if anything comes up!”
Feeling good after boasting his information power, Oknodie rolled around cheerfully and headed off somewhere again.
Senior Alex, who was left behind, felt confused about how he should react upon the arrival of Buzhaar’s assistant.
“Did you come to take me on Professor Buzhaar’s orders?”
“No. I was caught too…”
“Oh…”
Hearing the story that the tournament had gone horribly wrong, the troops were decimated, and the assistant was captured as a hostage, Alex began to entertain a thought.
Just maybe, Oknodie could defeat Professor Buzhaar and escape from the professor’s lab, thus avoiding the dreadful fate of merging with the terrifying monster core.
But quickly realizing a certain fact, he grew disheartened.
‘Professor Buzhaar would never just stand by and watch this happen.’
Now it was time for Professor Buzhaar to act.
*
According to Oknodie, all monster cells originated from Professor Buzhaar. This meant that every experience accumulated by those cells upon their demise would be attributed to Professor Buzhaar.
For a professor who had already created a new race called ‘monsters’ that rivaled beasts and evil creatures, the massive experience that cell attribution provided is something no one could even begin to fathom except the professor himself.
“Quite a fresh trick you’ve pulled.”
Professor Buzhaar merged the memories of the cells that had perished or fused poorly. He realized everything that had transpired between the assistant, Oknodie, and the professors, right from his seat.
“Hosting a tournament to enforce survival competitions, forcing adaptations that only the strong could endure, and letting weaker individuals be devoured—ultimately converging into a single vessel. It’s surprising how ‘similar’ this is.”
The formula for monster growth and the methods of producing the strongest monsters occurred repeatedly across countless research dimensions.
The only difference was that things happened more quickly with stronger individuals.
“It won’t yield ‘maximum efficiency’ like slowly nurturing the potential of abilities and waiting for cellular growth, but as for the growth rate, it is truly unparalleled.”
Those who had no certainty of surviving until the tournament ended were forced to compete by devouring each other to survive.
If he gathered monsters with a certain level and matured skills, and forced them to partake in a grotesque eating competition.
Buzhaar’s monster army could accelerate evolution at an astonishing speed and produce powerful professors in droves.
“Excellent. Truly excellent.”
Buzhaar realized.
“The heir to the world’s greatest evil organization. The new-generation Three Great Evils. The Dark Princess with the potential to be the Demon King. The minor evil dragon Oknodie, whom the principal protects. The wisdom contained in this frail body shall make me the ‘next principal’!”
This was the very wisdom he needed.
He lamented why the world felt cramped even while unfolding numerous research dimensions.
It was because there was no Oknodie in those countless worlds.
This child was a born assistant.
An assistant who would be insufficient even if used for a lifetime.
Once captured, it would be a treasure that could never be released even after decades or centuries had passed.
He was willing to sacrifice anything to obtain Oknodie.
“It’s time to open the ‘planes’ after a long while.”
The lust for power of Professor Buzhaar was reignited.
