Chapter 75: Conspiracy (1)

As I rested my head on one hand and stared at the ceiling, I once again felt how quickly time passed at the academy.

When I first arrived in this room, everything was pristine and white, but now, over time, it had taken on a yellowish hue, marked by signs of everyday life.

Beads of sweat formed along my forehead. The coolness of the early summer nights had vanished, and the heat of the tropical nights made it impossible to sleep.

“Damn it, what kind of dorm doesn’t have air conditioning?”

I let out a hot breath and stood up. The sheets were damp from the sweat covering my body.

I pulled off my shirt and tossed it into the laundry basket. When it landed, an unpleasant sound echoed from the soaked fabric.

“It’s hot. Too hot.”

The crickets chirped, as if mocking me. There were two distinct sounds; it seemed they were mating in the middle of the night.

I clicked my tongue and sat in front of the desk. The pencil twirled between my index finger and thumb like a propeller.

Now that I was familiar with this desk, I looked like a proper student. Not that I was actually studying.

“…What matters is the future that’s coming.”

I looked at the words written in the open notebook—fragments of hastily jotted-down thoughts.

『Academy Council of Elders. ☑』

『Unknown Instructor. ☐』

—––––––––––—

『God of the Sword. ☐』

『G.M. ☐』

Since I wasn’t in the habit of writing often, the content was minimal. Even so, they were key points and easy to review.

I slowly scanned the text with my eyes, absorbing its meaning. The dotted line in the middle separated two distinct topics.

Above was reality; below was the dream.

I decided to ignore the bottom section.

Having given up on sleep on such a hot night, the abstract could wait. I turned my attention back to the upper section and murmured,

“The Council of Elders will be investigated by the Auditore family.”

Even among nobles, their sense of superiority varied. The pinnacle of that mentality was the Council of Elders. To them, even the Auditore family, defenders of order, were little more than mere pawns.

Ordering the death of a student without solid reasoning? It’s no wonder the Auditore family felt insulted being treated like hunting dogs.

Thanks to that, I had unexpectedly gained the Auditore family’s assistance.

“There are no allies more reliable than them.”

As a former player, I knew very well what happened if you made enemies of the Auditore family.

There was an episode in the second half of the game where the true power of the Auditore family was revealed.

I couldn’t recall the exact details, but the situation was similar to this one.

The Council of Elders had conspired against the protagonist, Leon, but their plot was uncovered by the Auditore family.

That was the only time the Auditore family stepped out of the shadows and acted openly.

At first, the Council of Elders laughed at them. They couldn’t imagine that a family so steeped in bloodshed would dare to challenge them.

However, for the Auditore family, defenders of order, there was no distinction between social classes. In the end, they not only wiped out the Council of Elders but also eliminated the nobles beneath them.

After that, no one in the story dared to oppose Leon. With the power structure’s leadership eradicated, who would be foolish enough to challenge them?

The Auditore family’s purge of the Council of Elders was a gift from the developers to the players.

Leon, as the player’s avatar, didn’t have to dirty his hands; the Auditore family did it for him.

Thinking about it, a sense of frustration washed over me.

‘Damn it, while I’m breaking my back here…’

I frowned. The suffocating heat made my head feel like it was burning. I shook my head to clear it and wrote in the notebook:

『Academy Council of Elders. ☑』

One less concern. With the Auditore family in charge, the truth would soon be uncovered. I would know who was behind it all when the time came.

“One remains…”

『Unknown Instructor. ☐』

Unlike the Council of Elders, I had no clues about her.

I could barely recall her appearance, and even that was uncertain.

I only had suspicions, but I believed that instructor was a villain. Surviving on the deserted island had made that clear to me.

— Anyway, I agreed to the contract because of her complaints, and look how she’s handled her job.

The words of the Fifth Corps Commander, Agor, confirmed it.

If that instructor really was a villain, she could change her appearance using magic. However, even such deception had clear limitations.

“She can’t change her gender or the color of her eyes.”

Although magic could alter one’s appearance, it wasn’t omnipotent. I knew this from my experience playing.

Fortunately, I remembered that I stopped playing Miracle Blessing M right when the first villain, Lei Shen, appeared. She had disguised herself as one of Leon’s friends, but her deception was uncovered because of the color of her irises.

“She has purple eyes, and she’s a woman. That much is certain.”

The problem was that there were too many possibilities. I’d like to use divine sensitivity perception to identify her, but I still didn’t have enough knowledge about magic.

And I didn’t have the time or the motivation to lock myself in the library and study magic books.

General Yi Sun-sin once said that if you know your enemy and know yourself, you’ll win every battle.

But the range of knowledge required was just too broad.

If General Yi Sun-sin had known about the concept of magic, he would surely have taken back his words.

“I didn’t come here to study…”

My mind was a mess.

‘Should I wait for the enemy to come to me?’

Maybe waiting was an option. In short, patience.

If I waited, there was a high chance she would reveal herself eventually.

This was an opponent difficult to predict. If you enter a beehive without a good reason, you’re bound to get stung.

Instead of trying to defeat a player head-on, waiting for the right moment is the *“adult”* way to handle things—refined with experience and objectivity.

“What should I do?”

The night grew deeper, and my mind felt heavier. The moonlight shone softly through the window.

Tap, tap.

I tapped the notebook with my pencil as I pondered. My thoughts stretched far and wide.

Whenever an idea crossed my mind, I unconsciously drew a dot. Slowly, the blank page filled with black dots.

『◎●○●○●●○○●●○○○●』

It looked like a familiar pattern.

Chirrrr⎯!

The crickets sang excitedly in my ears. Summer was the season of love.

I let out a dry laugh. At first, their noise annoyed me, but eventually, it helped me organize my thoughts.

『Unknown Instructor. ☑』

I scribbled in the notebook and tossed the pencil onto the desk. It rolled off the edge and fell to the floor.

“Since when do I roll pencils like this?”

Waiting might be the prudent way to act, but youthful blood still coursed through my veins.

There’s a difference between courage and bravery. Now is the time to be brave.

I remembered my past days, bowing to customers and swallowing unpleasant words.

Maybe it had become a habit, and even in this world, it showed in my passive attitude toward everything. But this time, I planned to strike first.

Catching her off guard. This was an opportunity to change the situation.

“I guess I’ll have to visit Professor Damian soon.”

Professor Damian, the instructor of Divine Favor. He had told me to visit his laboratory if I ever had doubts.

I’m not sure why, but this professor had always been particularly friendly toward me.

Maybe he could help me make up for my shortcomings. Instead of complicating things, it was better to rely on an expert.

Chirrrr⎯!

A joyful sound. It had been buzzing in my ears non-stop for some time now.

“Damn crickets, shut up already.”

I grabbed Eternal Frost, the knife the owner had given me. Perhaps because of its name, the heat vanished, and the sound ceased immediately.

***

The early morning at Joaquin Academy was shrouded in an eerie silence.

A dozen hooded figures gathered in an abandoned building. The scent of mold permeated the dark space, setting the stage for an extremely suspicious clandestine meeting.

Their faces were hidden under the shadows of their hoods, forming a silent circle. Only their eyes shifted in the dim light.

Among them were individuals dressed in dirty gardener uniforms, others in instructor attire, and even some in professors’ white lab coats. Each seemed to indicate their hidden identity through their clothing.

Step, step.

A man dressed in a professor’s coat stepped into the center of the circle. After glancing briefly at those present, he spoke.

“I know everyone is busy, so I appreciate you coming to this meeting. You may simply call me ‘Professor.’”

His voice carried a refined tone, like someone gently delivering a sermon.

“Enough already. Professor, why the hell did you summon us here so suddenly? If we’re discovered meeting like this, will you take responsibility?”

A man with a beard protruding from under his hood spoke harshly. The others remained silent, but their cold stares echoed his words. The eyes fixed on the professor were icy and threatening.

“Puhahahahahahahahaha.”

The professor burst into laughter. His laugh echoed so loudly it reverberated through the room.

“Hey, you lunatic! Why the hell are you laughing all of a sudden?”

The bearded man shouted, unable to hold back. A murderous spark flashed across his grim face.

Villains are those who have sold their humanity. They long forgot how to control their emotions.

Immediately, he rolled up his sleeves and channeled his magical power. Sharp stone spikes erupted from the muscles of his arm.

“Did you call us here just to laugh? Perfect, I needed to spill some blood after so long, you damn bastard!”

His aura was deadly. With a single blow, he could reduce anyone’s body to a mess of holes. But the professor simply stroked his chin and observed him.

“Ho… So you’re a loyal follower of the Fourth Corps Commander, Permash. Earth magic isn’t common. But how simple-minded you are. Take this opportunity to prove your worth by becoming my specimen.”

The professor smiled confidently. The others watched, assessing the situation.

“What the hell are you talking about, you damn worthless professor?”

Boom!

The bearded man slammed his fist against the ground, causing it to explode. Stone fragments shot up and clung to his body like magnets.

‘I don’t know what kind of magic this bastard uses…’

From behind his stone helmet, his eyes narrowed. The professor’s relaxed demeanor was infuriating. But he was confident in himself.

‘The best defense is an absolute offense.’

Even a simple rock, reinforced with earth magic, could match the hardness of a diamond.

He mentally calculated his strategy.

‘I just have to charge.’

It would make an earsplitting noise, but if anyone approached, he would simply kill them on the spot.

Thinking simply, acting on impulse, and being driven by violence—this was the way of the villains.

His feet slammed into the ground again.

Boom!

With an explosive sound, he charged forward like a rhinoceros, dragging debris with him. Dust and dirt caused some of the hoods to flutter. The others instinctively stepped back.

“I’ll punch a hole right through your face!”

With a line befitting a villain, he lunged at the professor. His spike-covered fist was inches from striking.

Then he saw the professor’s face. Dark, burning eyes and a sinister smile. That was the last image he remembered in his life.

Bang!

A dry impact resounded. The bearded man’s body collapsed powerlessly to the floor.

The eyes of the onlookers widened in shock. The chaos dissipated in an instant.

With a dull thud, a fountain of blood sprayed from the shoulders where his head should have been.

“Huff.”

The professor steadied his breath. Then he looked at the witnesses of the scene.

He placed a hand over his chest and bowed his head slightly—a surprisingly formal gesture for the situation.

“Now that I’ve made my introduction, let’s proceed to the main topic. Do you all agree?”

Everyone remained silent. Uncomfortably so. But no one spoke up.

They all recalled a common name upon witnessing the professor’s power.

‘Second Corps Commander, Quarn.’

A shiver ran down their spines. The professor smiled cruelly.

“I’m glad you’re all so understanding. The reason I’ve summoned you here is, as you know, the death of the Fifth Corps Commander, Agor.”

Frowning slightly, he gestured towards a woman dressed in an instructor’s uniform.

“Please step forward, Instructor… or rather, former student. Even after all this time teaching, I still slip up with that word. Anyway, she’ll explain the details.”

With that, the professor stepped aside. The woman walked to the center and spoke bluntly.

“…I’ll get straight to the point.”

Her eyes reflected a sharp hardness. Her lips moved with a resigned air.

“Contrary to what’s being said, my lord was not killed by the Swordmaster.”

“…”

Her eyes met the professor’s, who nodded slightly from where he leaned against the wall.

“Agor was killed by a student. His name is…”

The instructor paused. The weight of her words filled the silence.

“…Leon van Reinhardt, the next Hero.”

The professor smiled broadly.