NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 1025
<1025 – Master of Darkness (3)>
Meanwhile, at the same time.
Gift Academy.
There isn’t a single class that isn’t terrifying, but among them, there’s one that’s particularly scary for Cooking Oknodie.
“What’s wrong, Cooking Oknodie?”
“It’s just that the professor keeps offering bribes…”
“What on earth are you talking about, Cooking Oknodie…?”
It’s so worrisome that even Jiang, who rarely gets flustered, is caught off guard by Cooking Oknodie’s predicament!
“I ate all the Spirit Herbs meant for the lecture! It’s so unfair. I really didn’t eat them!!”
“Are you serious? Are you really being falsely accused?”
“I am!! If you accept a bribe, it’s considered an admission of guilt, and they’re trying to trap me, it’s terrifying!!”
Here’s how it all went down.
Oknodie looted and scarfed down the Spirit Herbs while Red Mountain Professor thought he had Cooking Oknodie under close surveillance by sending them to the instructor.
And it wasn’t just one or two Spirit Herbs that disappeared.
No, a whopping nine gates were completely wiped out!
They said he was the apprentice of Professor Bronze, the Rogue, but did he use some thief’s secret technique or what?
What a bizarre situation.
Red Mountain Professor couldn’t endure Oknodie’s elusive antics any longer and decided to give a gift as a plea to just eat this and leave him alone.
However, Cooking Oknodie showed no signs of accepting the gift offered in reconciliation, so while Cooking Oknodie trembled with fear, Red Mountain Professor was also shaken by fear.
Of course, Jiang, who was clueless about everything up to that point, seriously discussed Cooking Oknodie’s problems.
“I guess I need to ask Jezel for help.”
The professor’s malicious harassment was not something ordinary students could handle. Unless the Student Council President stepped in to protect the students’ rights, there was no way to respond.
“Is that so? Were there such problems?”
“There are!!”
“Indeed, being falsely accused is troublesome.”
“Exactly!!”
“It makes me feel worse that you all went to your Main House during Summer Vacation without me.”
“Hyah?!”
Cooking Oknodie, who was greatly shocked, quickly realized something was off and got mad.
“But Jezel definitely came to my Main House during Summer Vacation, so I don’t know what you mean…!”
“Right. We had meals at the cafeteria. We almost didn’t finish it, and we went through a forced warp with Jonnas too.”
While Jezel, who was sullen at the remarks from Cooking Oknodie and Jiang, suddenly changed her expression to a smile.
“Looks like it’s you two. Recently, we’ve received reports of aggressive Doppelgangers targeting human identities, so I acted cautiously to prepare for any unexpected incidents. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.”
“…Does that relate to Oknodie?”
“I think it’s not unrelated since it happened after the death of the Doppelganger Queen.”
“Truly, the Academy never seems to have a dull moment.”
Even without Oknodie, incidents occur at the Academy. This fact felt increasingly real.
“I’ll formally send a letter of complaint to the professor.”
“I expect nothing less…”
Jezel quickly jumped into action.
She stressed that forcing a student to accept an unwanted gift could be considered stalking, and without evidence of Oknodie’s theft of the Spirit Herbs, it was wrong to assume him as the culprit.
She clearly warned that if such incidents continued, administrative actions would be taken.
“Then who actually stole my missing Spirit Herbs, and how am I to get compensated for it?!”
“That would be an unfortunate incident due to the professor’s mismanagement. Properly storing and safeguarding lecture materials is one of the primary responsibilities of professors and instructors.”
“These cruel bastards…! Fine. If that’s how it is, prepare a lecture hall with hellish defenses where no one can touch without the principal’s appearance. I’ll set a trap that will make that little rascal regret it for a lifetime!”
Turning away with a heart completely dry of compassion, as dry as his gaze, Red Mountain Professor.
Jezel realized that her efforts to resolve the situation had only sparked worse trouble for Red Mountain Professor.
“…Jiang, I’m sorry, but could you keep an eye on what the professor is planning?”
“I’m the one giving you a task, yet it’s coming back to me.”
“It’s because you’re the second most reliable talent in this field.”
“Really? Then thanks. But who’s the first?”
“It’s Instructor Hitler, who’s quite talented given his background with the Thief Guild. People looking for Oknodie often seek out Instructor Hitler too.”
“If he’s the most reliable talent, shouldn’t you just get him to do it?”
“Instructor Hitler has gone to oversee the fourth years as they work on their Graduation Projects.”
“Oh.”
That had happened too.
“How’s that situation going?”
“They say they’re caught in a vicious cycle where the land they need to explore just keeps widening, so they can’t finish.”
“Aww, those poor seniors.”
“Anyway, I trust you’ll handle the surveillance mission well.”
Jiang had a thought that Red Mountain Professor couldn’t possibly accomplish much on his own.
After all, getting close to Oknodie had raised their standards, making them accustomed to the professors threatening students like it was routine.
That thought flipped after seeing the offerings Red Mountain Professor had gathered for his magic.
‘How many national treasure-level magical tools are there?!’
During his reign over the Cheonryeong Mountain Range, Red Mountain Professor had pulled together numerous high-value materials and concocted magical tools by smashing the heads of Boss Monsters.
A line of various precious items stood neatly on the altar.
The efficiency of the magic circle for offering sacrifices varies greatly based on the completeness of the configuration and the satisfaction of the one making the offerings.
However, there are also certain offerings that anyone would gladly accept.
Such as extremely expensive and valuable magical tools.
They can be used directly, given to an apprentice, or sold for a fortune, allowing influence over various countries or talents in the Middle Realm.
In Jiang’s eyes, these magical tools were at a level that could easily lure in other professors of similar rank.
Such rare offerings come at a steep price.
There’s no reason to offer precious goods to the weak.
What kind of high-level person would such valuable offerings even be presented to?
“Oh, Principal Omoshiroi, please accept my treasures!”
“?!”
Though he expected a great person’s name to be called, he never imagined that the recipient would be the principal.
Jiang’s eyes widened.
The air ripped apart, and a greedy dragon’s hand swept all the offerings on the altar.
[Kekeke. That one seems really pissed off.]
“Being taken advantage of by Oknodie times without number. I’ve held my temper long enough.”
[What do you want in return?]
“Curse whoever comes for the most valuable Spirit Herb in the Eastern Empire, turning them into a rat. Let’s show them some real punishment!”
In response to Red Mountain Professor’s condition, the principal’s mischievous voice echoed back.
[The most valuable Spirit Herb in the Eastern Empire is Everlasting Grass. It allows a mortal limited immortality. Do you believe you are worthy of it?]
Red Mountain Professor showed hesitation.
He couldn’t believe such an amazing Spirit Herb still existed.
In the Western world, any Spirit Herb left alone quickly becomes a Mandragora monster, getting yanked out as soon as they grow larger.
Thus, legendary items like Everlasting Grass are things that are only heard about in tales.
However, in the Eastern Empire, where weird creatures prevail and human movement is restricted, it wouldn’t be strange for Everlasting Grass to still exist in its natural state.
“Even if I can’t turn them into a rat, I’ll be satisfied if you at least add a mustache and a rat’s tail.”
[That much is doable. I’d love to see the little rascal with a mustache and tail looking pitiful.]
Red Mountain Professor succeeded in his deal with the principal!
Following the gate the principal opened, an excited Red Mountain Professor stepped inside.
Is he perhaps granting enough exploration time?
The gate remained open even as an hour passed and then two.
With the indoor security magic completely lifted, Jiang quietly landed on the floor without a sound.
Traversing through all the obstacles on the floor like a leopard, Jiang felt a bit insecure.
He could feel he’d grown a full centimeter taller.
‘It’s because I didn’t train Mana Flow Technique diligently in proportion to my growing mana.’
A tall stature is a symbol of strength!
Reflecting on that, Jiang reached the gate and slyly pushed a twig through the other side before pulling it back out.
The twig was perfectly fine.
Confidently stepping through, he locked eyes with Red Mountain Professor, who had his arms crossed and was staring at the gate.
Swoosh.
As Jiang’s body, which was about to return in reverse order, suddenly got yanked out by Red Mountain Professor’s wiggling pipe.
“You’re a friend of Oknodie. What’s going on in my external lecture hall?”
There was no way he could admit that he was there to spy.
Jiang quickly came up with an excuse.
“I just saw a gate I hadn’t seen before and wanted to check it out.”
“Exploration’s a good thing. Why don’t you observe it in full?”
“…”
Jiang, forced to attend the lecture!
“Actually, I came here to spy. Please send me to the punishment room.”
“What do you mean? The actions of a proactive student eager to learn aren’t punishable.”
“I steal answer sheets too.”
“Make sure to show it to me for the midterm exam. Let’s really leak it and mess with the other professors.”
Jiang, who would rather receive punishment than participate in the lecture, was ultimately overwhelmed by Red Mountain Professor’s stubbornness.
“Sigh. So where are we exactly?”
“It looks like the garden of the Capital of the Eastern Empire.”
“…”
Jiang’s senses were suddenly set off with a major alarm.
He had a bad feeling that he was about to get wrapped up in a huge incident.