The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 96
Upon arriving at the academy grounds, I was met with a shocking scene.
The corpses of Abyssal bones were scattered everywhere.
An unbelievable sight.
What was even more horrifying was the state of the bodies.
They were torn to pieces.
As if mauled by some beast.
“What happened here?”
“Well, that’s…”
Hans and Lindon looked around and then lowered their voices.
“It was Libel, that gloomy one’s doing.”
“Explain exactly what happened.”
“So…”
Hans and Lindon had been secretly keeping watch over the students, especially those in my class, following my orders.
But after Phase 4 erupted, Libel had sneaked out of his dormitory.
“He was always strange, but he became even stranger. His eyes turned blood-red, and he was mumbling incoherently, it seemed like he wasn’t in his right mind.”
I swallowed hard.
These were the precursors to one of Libel’s rampages.
“But who am I? Brave Hans stepped forward to check on Libel’s condition!”
“Sir, you were hiding behind me at that time. Even when you hide, your bald head is still visible, you know? Anyway, Libel was trying to enter a dangerous sealed area, and we tried to stop him when the Abyssal bones appeared.”
Lindon swallowed nervously.
“The bones seemed to take a liking to Libel, not killing him right away but attempting to torture him. But when the bones taunted him, Libel suddenly went berserk.”
Berserk.
Looking at the corpses of the bones, that was the exact word for it.
“Suddenly, using some unidentifiable power, he knocked down the bones and kept attacking the corpse even after it was dead, as if venting his anger.”
It was a scene of Libel’s rampage often depicted in the storyline.
“Damn it, why suddenly? What triggered this?”
Whatever the cause, it was a big problem.
‘If Libel goes on a rampage, it’s game over!’
As I’ve mentioned before, there are two kinds of game overs.
One is when one of the four prestigious academies or the world suffers irreversible damage.
This is called a ‘scenario game over.’
The other type is a ‘character game over.’
It occurs when one of the essential protagonists falls behind.
‘When Libel goes berserk, he drops out of the storyline.’
The power Libel possesses is of a type that can never be accepted by people.
Dark magic or demonic powers would be preferable.
The moment he is discovered, he can no longer remain at the academy.
“Has anyone witnessed Libel using strange powers?”
“There seem to be a few who saw it from a distance, but they were too far away to see clearly.”
“Where is Libel now?”
“He went into the sealed area.”
That was somewhat of a relief.
‘There’s still a chance. I just need to calm Libel’s rampage right now.’
But my heart was heavy.
‘…Can I do it?’
It was not an easy task.
Above all, it was dangerous.
‘Libel’s rampage can only be stopped by shedding blood.’
The reason Libel’s rampage necessarily leads to a game over is that, in the process, Libel causes an unforgivable catastrophe.
He becomes no different from a bloodthirsty beast.
And terrifyingly powerful enough to kill the Abyssal bones.
Then, the situation became even more difficult.
“Ohoho, what has happened here? I heard Abyssal bones appeared?”
Chancellor Karak had returned to protect the students, of all times!
Even in such a critical situation, he still dressed as flamboyantly as a Duke, but his eyes shimmered with an indomitable spirit.
‘If Chancellor Karak sees Libel in a berserk state, he will try to kill him.’
Chancellor Karak aims to take over the academy for his purposes and has no affection for it.
If necessary, he would sacrifice students without hesitation.
“Hmm. To see the Abyssal bones like this. What happened? And this energy? It’s repulsive. Who ‘created’ this energy?”
Despite appearances, Chancellor Karak was not a man to be underestimated.
He immediately recognized the essence of the power Libel harbored.
“It’s strange indeed. You mentioned that the student caught by the Abyssal bones was Libel, right? Libel has always been a bit odd from the start. Could it be that Libel did this?”
“I saw it! I was too far to see clearly, but Libel used some strange energy against the Abyssal bones!”
It was an upperclassman whose name was unknown.
Students who had been standing at a distance began to gather one by one.
“I think I saw it too.”
“What was it? It wasn’t mana, was it?”
Chancellor Karak looked towards the sealed area where Libel had disappeared.
“We’ll know if we go there directly, what kind of power Libel has used.”
‘No!’
The image of Chancellor Karak’s sword beheading Libel flashed through my mind.
It was actually a scene from one of the story’s bad endings.
With a determined expression, I blocked Chancellor Karak’s path.
“Please wait. I will handle this matter.”
“Hmm? Professor Van? Are you trying to cover for your student because he’s under your charge? If it’s Professor Van, you should be able to identify what this energy is. If it’s indeed Libel’s doing, then Libel is a ‘monster.'”
“Calling my student a monster. That’s offensive. Do you have any evidence that this energy belongs to Libel?”
“!!”
It was a do-or-die situation.
Sometimes, forcefulness is necessary over logic.
I took a strong stand.
“The matter of my student is for me to resolve. It’s not for the Chancellor to step in, so please do not infringe upon my ‘academic authority.'”
Academic authority.
A sacred right of academy professors that no one should violate.
“Hoho? It’s out of concern for Professor Van that I say this, but caring too much for a student can sometimes lead to bearing the student’s sins as well.”
“I can’t just stand back and watch out of fear of ‘misunderstanding.’ It’s about my student, after all.”
“!!”
Chancellor Karak’s face turned icy.
A different look from the ever-present composed smile.
As I involuntarily swallowed,
“Is this the power of Professor Van?”
“??”
I tilted my head in confusion, then realized.
Chancellor, it’s precisely because you maintain such an attitude that you are being overshadowed by factions like the Rapalt Ducal family.
It seemed I had remembered a comment I had shot at Chancellor Karak during a previous joint competition and kept it to heart.
The atmosphere slightly lightened, and I leveraged my sales king experience to catch the right words needed for the current situation.
“It’s too kind of you to say. I can only be this way because you trust me.”
“Haha! Well, I can’t argue with that. Very well.”
Chancellor Karak looked at me squarely.
His usual crafted smile was there, but his eyes carried an eerie intensity.
“I’ll give you 30 minutes. If you can’t resolve it by then, I’ll step in.”
* * *
I may have stepped forward acting all confident, but the truth was, I felt completely at a loss.
Calming Libel’s rampage was that difficult.
‘But I must succeed.’
I clenched my fist and walked into the sealed area, only to immediately face a hurdle.
Grrrr.
It was a wolf-like magical beast.
‘Well, the sealed area is known for the appearance of magical beasts.’
The grounds of Ruby Academy are comparable to a medium-sized city.
It’s larger than the island of Yeouido.
Like Central Park in the middle of New York Manhattan, an enormous piece of land sits right in the middle of the city.
However, most of it was a sealed area where entry was forbidden.
The reason was simple.
Because it’s dangerous.
‘They’re not high level, but there are many of them. Should I have brought Hans and Lindon? I came alone because I was worried about worsening Libel’s rampage.’
As I’ve said before, my power is weak against a multitude of low-level opponents.
Even though I had reached 2nd Star, it still wasn’t enough.
Pappa!! Pro… teck!!!
Mari, as if to protect me, fluttered out of the magic pouch, but naturally, it had no effect.
Kakak!
The wolf-like magical beast leaped at me.
I was about to use my small and precious mana in that moment of no choice.
“Not so fast!!”
Swoosh!
It was Catherine!
Her stance was still rough, but her powerful sword cut through the wolf.
“What are you looking at! Scram unless you want to be sliced!”
Whimper
The wolf-like magical beasts retreated, their spirits dampened.
‘…It rushed me without hesitation, but to them, Catherine appears stronger than I am.’
Well, it doesn’t really matter.
What does it matter if a professor seems weaker than a student? It doesn’t hurt my pride.
Really. Truly.
“Why did you follow me?”
“Why? It’s about Libel, so of course, I had to come.”
Thinking about it, the two were always together.
I thought they were stuck with each other due to a lack of alternatives, but it seems they were actually close.
“No, I’m not friends with Libel! I dislike him because he’s gloomy.”
“Then why?”
“I wanted to knock some sense into him. Always mumbling gloomily like he’s stuck in his 8th grade syndrome dilemma, I knew he’d cause trouble like this. He thinks he’s the Black Flame Dragon or something.”
“…I see.”
After venting about Libel, Catherine sneakily glanced at me.
“And about this incident, I feel like I’m partly to blame too.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know, the elixir gift you gave me. I teased him with it. Like, ‘you didn’t get this, did you?’”
“……”
“Ah, I couldn’t help it! You have no idea how much he annoyed me. Jealous. Begging me to share. Whining like a little kid who didn’t get a present, I couldn’t not tease him. So, it’s not entirely my fault… No, I’m sorry. It was my fault.”
I sighed deeply.
‘So this was why he suddenly went berserk.’
There were many triggers for Libel’s rampages.
This time, it seemed to be a case of ‘tunneling.’
A specific approach flashed through my mind.
“Catherine, there’s something you need to do.”
“What is it?”
“It’s not difficult. Listen.”
Hearing what I had to say, Catherine’s face turned pale.
“How could I do such a thing! I can’t!!”
“It’s because of you that your friend ended up like this. You need to take responsibility.”
“Ugh.”
Reluctantly, Catherine nodded then flared up again.
“But, I’m not friends with him, okay?! I just hang out with him because I feel sorry for him!”
As we moved deeper, a turbulent energy could be felt.
It was the ‘monster’ energy Libel harbored!
“Libel,”
“Grrrr. P-Professor Van? L-Leave, please.”
“Snap out of it.”
“Go away!!!”
An intense energy surged from Libel’s body.
Fwwwuuuooo
I swallowed hard.
The surroundings were instantly devastated.
‘I can’t block that.’
No wonder the Abyssal bones were defeated.
‘He still has some reason left, but it’s precarious. He’ll try to kill me any moment now. Should I run away now?’
But I shook my head.
If I ran, Libel would be killed by Chancellor Karak.
It wasn’t just about game over or the end of the world.
Beyond that, I couldn’t let Libel die.
Why?
‘Because he’s my student.’
I signaled Catherine to start the plan.
With a disgusted look on her face, Catherine spoke up.
“Oh, ah. I’m so jealous of Libel. Professor Van was going to gift him his own wand. That’s a really precious item. Really, I’m so jealous.”
Her acting was as if she was reading from a textbook.
Yes.
My plan was to bait him with a gift.
It was a ridiculously childish strategy, but,
“…Lies.”
Suddenly.
Libel’s energy stopped.
“…Professor Van wouldn’t give a gift to a monster like me.”
He took the bait.
