The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 88
Catherine gulped hard.
“Wh-What do you mean by that? Kill Professor Van? You must be joking…”
“Haha, does it sound like a joke? I’m dead serious. I’ve always wanted to kill him anyway. Here on Whirlwind Island, there won’t be any evidence left, isn’t this the perfect opportunity?”
It was real.
Upon seeing her father Duke Alfonso’s eerily gleaming eyes, Catherine’s face drained of color.
‘Professor Van, what are you doing? Wake up please!’
Unaware of the looming threat to his life, Van remained motionless.
‘Dammit.’
Chaang!
She pointed her sword at her father.
“Stop this. I cannot allow such an act.”
“Hmm?”
Duke Alfonso looked amused.
“Do you wish to die, daughter?”
“!!”
Her heart sank.
It was more terrifying than facing any other being.
Not simply because of Duke Alfonso’s strength, but because Catherine had always feared her father.
“B-But I cannot allow it. I will stop you.”
“How amusing. Daughter, could it be that you have feelings for Van?”
“Wh-What nonsense!”
“Very well, then let’s do this. Immediately stop this foolish sword act and return to the family to marry Van. Then, I’ll spare both your lives.”
Duke Alfonso stroked his chin.
“In fact, I’d prefer to just kill you both here, but if you can be of use to the main family, it may be worth keeping you alive.”
“You lie. It’s not for the family, but to use us as your pawns, isn’t it?”
“Haha. That’s precisely it. Prestigious mage families exist solely for my benefit.”
Duke Alfonso grinned slyly.
“What will you do? Wouldn’t following my words be better than dying here? In return, if you obey me, I’ll personally instruct you.”
Duke Alfonso extended his hand.
A gesture Catherine had once yearned for.
“Receiving my teachings was your wish, was it not?”
Catherine bit her lip hard and glanced back at Van.
Van remained motionless,
As if entrusting everything to her.
At that moment, Catherine’s heart sank heavily.
“I refuse.”
“You refuse?”
“Professor Van is more trustworthy than you, father.”
“!!”
Catherine gritted her teeth fiercely.
“It’s only natural that Professor Van’s teachings are far better than yours!”
Paaaat!
Resolved to face death, she swung her sword.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Duke Alfonso’s figure scattered like sand.
‘What is this? Was it merely an illusion?’
As she blinked, a chilling sound echoed.
‘Evil spirits!’
They were Level 2 evil spirits.
And not just one, but a horde.
‘I can’t handle them with my strength.’
She instinctively began to step back but forced herself to stop.
If she fled, Van would be in danger.
Moreover…
You can do it.
Van had always believed in her.
Her, the most inept of all.
She didn’t want to shatter his expectations.
“Ah, I just have to do it! Come at me! I’ll slice you all up!”
* * *
An indeterminate amount of time passed.
Catherine’s body was covered in wounds.
Formidable evil spirits and illusions kept emerging to torment her.
If not for the high-grade potions and restoratives Van had prepared, she would have collapsed long ago.
‘Ha. Unbelievable, this is really working.’
Uwooong!
The earth’s energy imbued her sword.
She had mastered the technique while desperately fighting for her life.
‘Am I now a Level 3 Dual Knight? No, I still know nothing of swordsmanship.’
No, that wasn’t entirely true.
From constantly battling, her movements had vastly improved compared to the beginning.
‘I really do have a talent for knighthood.’
Catherine’s expression grew complex.
Had it not been for Van, she would have never realized it.
‘That annoying professor.’
Catherine glanced toward where Van was.
He remained completely motionless.
Yet, there was one difference from before.
Faint thread-like strands hovered around him.
While she didn’t know what they were, they clearly marked an important phase.
“As much as I dislike you, thank you.”
Catherine now gripped her sword, its blade chipped and battered.
“So I will repay this debt, even if I have to do it in the afterlife.”
It wasn’t a mere expression of resolve.
She had failed to clear the relic’s trial.
The time limit has expired!
Blade Vortex descends to punish the failed challengers!
Kuwooong!!
With a deafening roar, a vortex blade sprang up before her.
Getting caught would shred her body into pieces.
‘How can I possibly stop that?’
While Van could achieve miracles, it was impossible for her.
‘Still, I won’t give up.’
Before that whirlwind reached Van, she would resist to the utmost.
Even if it meant nothing.
‘I suppose this is the best I could do.’
Yes.
From childhood until now.
There was not a single moment when she hadn’t given her all.
No one could deny that claim.
‘This much should be enough…’
Suddenly, her heart clenched.
Enough?
But that wasn’t the case.
‘However, there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s impossible.’
At that moment.
“How pitiful.”
“!!”
It was Van!
He remained enveloped in the transparent strands, his eyes half-open.
“Unable to overcome even a single vortex like that, yet you aspire to bring a prestigious mage family to its knees?”
Catherine gritted her teeth.
Something welled up in her chest.
“What can I do when it’s impossible! No matter how hard I struggle, it won’t work!!”
It wasn’t anger.
It was a cry of despair.
Yet.
“If you think you can’t do it, then just give up. No one is forcing you.”
“!!”
“Well? What will you do? Time is running out. Hurry and choose. If you give up, I’ll take over.”
Feeling desperate as it was, his dismissive words made rage surge within her.
But as their eyes met…
‘Ah.’
It wasn’t dismissal.
It was a rebuke.
Why are you hesitating when you can do it?
‘Ah. It’s always like this. That annoying professor.’
“Shut up. Just sit there quietly and finish what you need to do. I’ll handle that measly vortex myself.”
Too vexed, she felt resolute to show him something amazing.
Van grinned and closed his eyes again.
“Don’t forget. Although you wield a sword, your most crucial weapon is not the sword.”
As those words ended, the vortex closed in.
“Hueep!!”
Instinctively, she cast the ‘Earth Fortification’ spell to harden her body like rock.
As an earth element, it was the opposing force to the wind vortex.
Fortunately, it provided enough defense.
‘But I can’t last long. At most, a few seconds.’
Zzzzzzak, the earth’s energy protecting her body began crumbling instantaneously.
‘Before that happens, I need to sever the rotational force generating the vortex with my sword.’
Gritting her teeth, she stepped forward.
But before she could take a single step, her body swayed and was swept up by the winds into the air.
“!!”
Catherine’s body spun helplessly in the air like caught in a high-speed blender.
She couldn’t even gather her wits to scream.
In her fading consciousness, mocking voices echoed.
So this is the bloodline of a prestigious mage family?
Lower than a bug. Better to just crush it.
Feeding such a child is a waste of even scraps.
Countless such insults she had endured before.
She wanted to shut them up, but ultimately accomplished nothing.
‘It’s over.’
Yet, why?
Van’s face surfaced in her mind again.
Always the same.
Eyes filled with unwavering trust in her.
As if saying:
I believe in you, so why can’t you believe in yourself?
A sudden realization struck her core.
‘Like hell it’s over! Alright, I got it! I’ll do it! I will succeed!!’
Catherine realized one crucial fact.
She had never truly believed she could succeed.
The efforts she put in day and night were merely an escape from reality.
While claiming to bring a prestigious mage family to its knees, she was in fact resigned to defeat.
As she was flung into the air, she gripped the sword she hadn’t let go of.
Paaaat!
Earth’s energy infused her sword.
The skill of a Level 3 Dual Knight.
‘Not enough.’
Though ignorant of swordsmanship, she realized something through the week-long struggle.
A sword must contain one’s will.
Not referring to the grandiose “Sword Intent”, “Essence of the Sword”, or “Code of Chivalry”.
The absolute will to cut.
A sword’s might varies vastly depending on whether that will is present or not.
‘Simply the will to cut isn’t enough. I must believe in myself. That I can do it.’
If the will to cut sharpens the blade, self-belief solidifies it.
And finally:
‘I will show him an amazing display and knock Professor Van down a peg!’
The will to achieve victory no matter what.
Paaaaaaaaaat!!
Her will infused the sword and magic.
Not just imbuing magic into the sword, but infusing intense will into both sword and magic.
Thus, magic and sword became one in perfect union.
The true “Magic Sword” realm of a Level 3 Dual Knight.
SHHUUKK
With a slicing sound, the winds abruptly stilled.
Kuwooong! Catherine dropped to the ground, dazed.
She had done it!
‘Really, did I… do it?’
As she stood there dumbfounded, an eerie sound echoed again.
A new vortex was forming.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me? It’s not over? What is this madness!’
Moreover, this vortex was even larger than before.
The previous one seemed cute in comparison.
‘Still, I’ll find a way to stop this one too.’
In truth, she had depleted both her stamina and mana, but Catherine steeled her will to fight, not surrender.
Unbeknownst to her, she had changed from her former self.
At that moment:
“I’ll take it from here.”
“!!”
Catherine’s eyes widened in surprise.
It was Van.
A faint, warm smile graced his lips.
Not his usual sardonic smirk, but a genuine, contented smile.
Her heart raced as she gruffly remarked,
“That face looks unsightly on you. You look better with your usual annoying look.”
“Well done.”
His sudden, unexpected praise struck her like an arrow to the heart, rendering her speechless.
Leaving Catherine behind, Van stepped forward.
“Stop this now.”
An utterance, though unclear to whom it was addressed.
“Stop it now. If you don’t cease, you will see your sanctuary crumble.”
“!!”
After those arrogant words, Catherine’s eyes flew open.
The vortex vanished, revealing a single entity’s presence.
It was the Heroic Swift Sword itself.
