It might be self-praise, but my mental power has already surpassed the level of an average professor.
I wonder if there’s anyone besides Principal Omoshiroi, the transcendent evil dragon ruling the world, who has experienced as many deaths as I have.
I take pride in accumulating experiences that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods.
‘How on Earth did those newbie professors manage to kill me?’
But then I experienced a break in my memory.
Just like Ishtar did.
I, too, had the amazing incident where my spirit body was killed by professors during the test the previous day, and my memories evaporated.
At first, I was filled with fear, but then I felt something strange.
I already had figured out the professors’ techniques and builds.
For example, Professor Megastone, the geology professor, uses higher-tier techniques like Sandification and Sand Blade, as well as the ultimate versions, Earthification and Earth Blade.
These are what you call dual-tier techniques.
The damage is distributed based on the area of land that is stepped on, and the attack power increases proportionally to the area of the land.
The more he imbues his natural mana into elements that make up the earth, like soil and stone, the faster the magic deployment speed, range, and power increase.
A rock mage who stays in one place for too long is scary, but you can’t mess with an earth mage for that reason.
‘But the earth mage has weaknesses, right?!’
If an earth mage is invincible while standing on the ground, they are a joke when their feet leave the ground.
What if you vividly recreate the scene where the bugs living underground rush towards the earth mage?
Suddenly boiling water shoots up, or a volcano is about to erupt, or poisonous gas is about to spew?
They’d freak out and either try to block it or run away.
If you use mana, you can create triggers that make those phenomena happen even faster, and then they wouldn’t be able to stop it.
To not run away in fear, you would need to know that all of this is an illusion, not to be deceived by the dreadful sensations all over your body, and forcibly control all the rejection reactions that come from mistaking the illusion for reality.
Just like a martial arts master who can handle their body like a sword at the level of body-sword unity.
And like a magic master who naturally invokes the powers of magic at the level of natural magic.
You have to enter the realm of mental power increase that works separately beyond hierarchy.
This is a level used to distinguish between mass-produced masters and special masters, which general malicious professors usually fail to reach!
However, the professors who taught the special class this time are all kind-hearted, and the level of passive defense skills such as this natural unity is exceptionally high.
‘It’s true that it’s complicated, but it’s not like I don’t know how to break through!’
Unclean illusions can be easily shaken off.
But what about happy illusions?
A hint for obtaining the research results that someone desperately desires.
Improvement points needed for level advancement.
Advice on the enhancement points for boosting the power of the build currently being developed?
An illusion magic that shows the family figure to the professors who spend their time making money at the academy and seeing their grown children only in letters?
An illusion where the rational one who can never be reached shows affection and then, in turn, clings to me?
The illusion that is genuinely desired makes it impossible to resist, even if living a natural magic way, disarming oneself feels like pressing the one-hour suspend button on a virus firewall.
I know all about the professors’ family matters, who their ideals are, what research they are doing, and what improvement points they have, so how could I, despite being limited to just a spirit body, be killed by them?
It doesn’t make sense to say that they didn’t group together to focus on attacking me and crush me to death using hierarchical power during a test.
What’s more, they aren’t even malicious professors.
They’re kind-hearted professors who care about appearances and reputations.
Is it possible that those professors think I’m the absolute evil that must be killed?
“It’s really strange, isn’t it!”
After finishing the extra lecture, I consulted with Jaku, the rational one in our organization, the moment we returned to the academy, and Jaku looked at me like I was an idiot and said,
“It’s astonishing that you think professors wouldn’t kill you after all that suspicious behavior. If there’s such a thing as a smart fool, that would be a saying made for you.”
“Hey! What’s wrong with me?”
“Shut up, fool. Don’t be annoying just because you’re an idiot. Giselle told me that the seniors have a pile of work to check whether the club has adhered to the female quota for the organization that plays with Oknodie, whether the social minorities are being represented, and whether the minimum ratio for lower classes and underclassmen is being followed.”
It seems the fourth-year early graduation candidates are banding together to prepare for their group graduation project, causing the attack from the fourth years targeting the student council to spill over onto my club.
Jaku, being rational, seems to be overwhelmed dealing with such petty political attacks along with Giselle.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re saying you’ll take care of my annoying chores? As a token of gratitude, I’ll give you some points!”
“Thanks, even if it’s just talk.”
As he replied curtly and glanced at the points sent through the magic watch, Jaku’s face stiffened.
━━━
Oknodie has sent 1 million points.
━━━
“Wait, are you out of your mind? That’s the promotion fee for a third-year student that we’re supposed to earn in a year!”
“Does this help your duties?”
“Keep causing havoc while working hard from now on. I’ll take full responsibility for sorting it out.”
“Wow, really? You promise?”
“…I feel uneasy, can I cancel?”
“No refunds!”
I must cause chaos until I get back my million points!
*
After a short conversation with Jaku, I couldn’t bear the unease and decided to visit Professor Bronze.
“Professor, you know a lot and are smart, so I thought you might know how I ended up dead!”
“Is that so? So, you had such circumstances.”
“I told you!”
“You came to the right place. Oknodie, second year. It was a very wise choice to come to the main building. You don’t need to worry anymore.”
Professor Bronze smiled refreshingly and patted my shoulder.
“Ooh, do you have some secret plan?”
“From tonight onwards, the main building will also join the ‘Kind-hearted Professors Club.’”
“…Huh?”
“It seems there must have been some administrative errors. It cannot be that this Bronze de Estrada, a guardian of the empire’s commoners and a trusted rogue, has not received an invitation to the kind professors’ meeting; that cannot be!”
As I was sweating cold, Professor Bronze’s gaze became a little hazy.
“Unless you think the main building is not a kind-hearted professor, I will have to increase the ‘no magic jump training’ at the 200m model tower to 2km.”
“I was just so happy I couldn’t speak!”
“I see. Then I’ll let you jump.”
Using non-magic skills, I successfully practiced the advanced technique of the rogue with my tearful gliding show today.
Professor Bronze fled quickly, thinking it was too much to deal with me since I was whining like a Titosso, who was crying up there saying he didn’t want to jump.
I need to ask someone with a style similar to mine for reference.
Originally, people who know a lot about other people’s love lives are often dense about their own, so having a helpful advisor is essential.
However, because of my super high specs, it’s hard to find someone great enough to give guidance unless they’re at the professor level…
But then I thought of a wonderful advisor who is a professor and wouldn’t suddenly make the night class harder just because they thought themselves kind-hearted.
“Jonnas! I was killed yesterday and resurrected, but I don’t know why. Can you help me?”
There was a loud crash as Jonnas dropped what he was washing.
And as a result, the lunchbox container made by Reap was horrifyingly split in half.
“Please explain the situation properly.”
“The professors held a night class, and a memory break occurred? The usual deal is that when the spirit body dies, the brain recovers the damage, but why on earth did I die suddenly even though I was having fun with the Chairman of the Foundation?”
“Please say such a story first beforehand next time, so we don’t have to keep using Reap’s lunchbox as a disposable one.”
“Sure, I’ll help with environmental efforts!”
After Jonnas took off his rubber gloves and washed his hands, he made himself a cup of coffee and naturally offered me one as well.
Jonnas, leisurely holding the coffee cup with one hand while I grasped the hot cup with both hands trying to raise my heat resistance, Jonnas quickly absorbed the heat from the cup.
While I was pouting in disappointment, Jonnas took a sip of coffee and opened his mouth.
“The level of your skills is already that of an associate professor. However, due to your inherently large capacity, it’s limited to partial implementation at level four area, and full implementation is difficult.”
“That’s right! It’s hard to unfold without doping.”
“If it’s in your spirit body state, you can actually exhibit stronger combat power with fewer constraints. So, I don’t think your memory loss phenomenon was caused by lack of skill.”
“Now I’m even more confused! If it’s not a lack of skill, then what’s the problem?”
“Perhaps it’s because you couldn’t bear to see someone’s death.”
That was an unexpected concept.
As a player who has used entire phases for viewing massacre endings whenever needed, how could I possibly have not been able to bear just one person’s death?
That couldn’t be true!
“It can’t be true. That’s the expression you have on your face.”
“Whoa!! Jonnas, have you learned mind-reading?”
“It’s all in your expression. And it is clear what the reasoning is.”
Jonnas’s words reminded me of something Ishtar had said.
– “What does Oknodie know about Oknodie?!”
I brushed it off as ridiculous back then, but Jonnas stared at me as if he knew more about me than I did.
Feeling inexplicably shy, I tried to subtly avert my gaze, and Jonnas’s voice became softer.
“You let many die during the Foundation Workshop Battle, didn’t you? You’ve let go of those who regarded you as important, who respected you as two fathers. I think that’s loosened the lock on your heart, releasing some of your emotional seals.”
“Me? No way.”
“Then answer this. Who has spent more time with you recently than Ishtar?”
Huh? Well, of course, Titosso or Jiang have attended more lectures with me and… Hmm? But I also hang out a lot with Ishtar after school, which is ambiguous, isn’t it?
Still, Giselle, Isabel, and Son Ohchun sometimes meet each other over the Revolutionary Army or Student Council matters… but I’ve had more time talking to Ishtar prior to that, though?
In a panic at realizing that every candidate I thought of spent more time with Ishtar, Jonnas asserted.
“You’ve deepened your bond with Ishtar recently. It’s evident even to me.”
“It’s that much?”
“The title of best friend should be returned by Jiang and handed over to Ishtar. If someone like Ishtar is in danger of death, I think you could change significantly.”
After contemplating that and realizing it, I understood.
In another phase, even if Ishtar were to die while catching the death flag, I would simply use that to access the necessary ending rewards…
Would it be the same this time?
No.
A screaming voice in my heart screamed that I would never allow that to happen.
“This time, I believe it’s time to make my stand!”
The collection of bad endings has ended.
Now it’s time to aim for the pinnacle of endings, the happy ending that waits at the top.
That’s why I can never allow myself to lose Ishtar, even if it’s just as a spirit body.
