Chapter 602 - Problem students

At the scheduled time I’m in the garden where we first appeared. Exactly a day has passed since we split, and I’ve already gathered a little bit of information. Well, most of it I’ve just heard or noticed. It’s not like I actually talked to anyone.

Tess appears first, holding Biscuit in her arms. He'd decided to stay with her for a while. The corgi is probably protecting her or just being an emotional support. Even though he's only awake for one or two hours a day because of the food coma he keeps falling into, she doesn’t seem to mind.

"I only have ten minutes before I have to go guard that girl again," she says right away.

“Someone interesting?” I ask.

“Human girl, a bit older than Izzy. Extremely bratty. Descendant of a powerful family that has ties to one of the Champions of this planet.”

“That’s all?”

“You think that is not enough? Nat, there are currently 9 Champions on this planet and an Absolute living somewhere in seclusion. Just having ties to one Champion means a lot.”

“Huh, I would expect more of a planet of this sort of development. Didn’t Eladore have more of them?”

“I think Eladore did have around 20, even though the Mind Mage Emperor called his Champions Paragons instead. But I wouldn’t consider Eladore standard. Plus, just around 50 years ago there were some wars where a few of them died, so that’s it.”

I nod, and noticing Maya coming closer we wait. She wears the same gray clothes as Tess and, when she reaches us, lets out a long sigh.

“Fuck, I hate that girl. Can I smack her?” She complains about her ward.

“Why not? Do it,” I say.

“Absolutely not, don’t do it,” Tess answers at the same time.

Maya sighs again. “But I want to. That little brat keeps talking shit just because she has some rare trait and will probably marry her fiancé, who’s the Champion’s disciple and supposedly next in line to become one himself.”

“What trait?” I ask.

Maya looks me up and down. “Damn, these clothes really suit you. Why the hell do you dress so lazily most of the time? Such a waste. And it’s some sort of powerful physique or something; that little shit keeps blabbering about it but never tells the details. Also, I spoke to Sophie and she won’t be able to join us. She said Izzy and Lily won’t either, as they are in class.”

“Heyoo,” Dennis calls as he and Aaron come out from behind the fruit trees to join us. Even after just a day, their uniforms look messy and lazily thrown on. They’re both grinning like they don’t have a care in the world. I think those of us with student roles might be enjoying this place the most.

“Kim won’t be coming, he’s got class,” Aaron adds before stopping.

Dennis shakes his head. “He seems way too into this place. He started studying right away. What a nerd.”

I interrupt before they can fully rant. “So, I guess no one was able to locate the Ruler Candidate.”

“No way,” Dennis says right away. “We asked sneakily, but people just laughed at us, saying how dumb we must be, thinking something like a Ruler Candidate exists.”

“Kim said he was going to check out the library. But he also asked some old professor about random stuff, then started theorizing and sneaking in questions about the candidate thing. He asked if there was any chance of something like a Ruler candidate. That old guy nearly choked on his tongue and said that in his 400 years or so, he’d never once heard of a Ruler Candidate.”

“Well, that makes for a more interesting setting, doesn’t it? We are possibly looking for one of the future Rulers that is currently alive in the system,” Tess wonders.

Maya crosses her arms over her chest. “So in the real version of this world, someone else was acting as protector of the Ruler candidate and now that person has been removed and we replaced that role?”

“Possibly.”

“It could at least tell us who the candidate is.”

“The system is an asshole.”

“I know it, Nat, damn it.”

“Don’t forget.”

“I won’t, and I never did,” Maya promises. “So the candidate could be one of the students. Some of them are ten, others are twenty, and no one even knows what the criteria are. Or damn it, it could be one of the professors, or even some random animal.”

“Probably someone weaker than us,” Tess theorizes. “Most of us are over level 250, and we seem to be above the average level of Hell difficulty attendees. So the average level of attendees coming to this floor could be level 230, meaning that the Ruler candidate is likely weaker than that. There’s also the possibility that it’s a “fake” Ruler Candidate, kind of like how Myrra was a “fake” Champion Candidate on the fourth floor.”

“A weak Ruler Candidate,” Dennis says with an amused tone. “Aren’t Absolutes often capable of destroying an entire planet, entirely destroying it instead of just life on the surface? Wouldn’t a Ruler be capable of more?”

“Not for sure,” Tess disagrees. “We know that the original Lissandra killed Rulers, so the difference between a weaker Ruler and a powerful Absolute cannot be that big.”

“So you become Ruler just for a fancy title?” he asks.

I answer this time, “You most likely get the 4th stage of your subclass as the only person within the system. With it comes some access and the ability to slightly interfere with the system, tutorial, Beyond, and stuff. Maybe you get some fancy unique passive tied to that 4th stage as the only person in the universe, or maybe an active skill.”

“Or maybe you get your own kingdom. It’s called Ruler, isn’t it? A Ruler needs something to rule over,” Aaron interrupts.

For a moment I want to disagree, but as I think about it, it makes sense somewhat. Maybe instead of a kingdom you would get some sort of extremely powerful domain?

“Whatever it is, search carefully. Don’t let your guard down. We know the start of the floors is usually the safest, but there is always the possibility of being unlucky and dying, so keep that in mind and don’t push too much. It’s okay even if you enjoy your school life a little,” Tess warns him.

“You bet I will! Aaron and I already found a bunch of cool guys. I mean, they are a bit snobbish, but otherwise fun guys.”

In deep thought, Aaron says, “It makes me wonder how it will look on Earth after some time. People here would proudly walk around, telling you that some Lord Champion passed a mile or two from them. So, how important will we be if Nat becomes Absolute? You think my kids will be even more snobby, talking all the time that their dad used to be in the same group as Mana Daddy Absolute?”

“First,” I say, and they turn to me, “possibly yes, give it a few decades. Second, say Mana Daddy one more time and I will make sure to mention all the details about Miss Tutorial magazine you guys have been working on with Brainiac and Lootenant.”

“Yo, yo, yo! Just calm down,” Dennis interrupts me as soon as he can. He stays close to me, with his hands on my suit, almost as if he is about to shake. “It was just a joke, hehe. No need to be petty.”

“He is the Ruler of Pettiness,” Aaron whispers. “You shouldn’t forget that.”

“Oh, come on,” Dennis smiles and looks up at me. “Me and Nat are buddies, right?”

I stay quiet, which seems to make him even more nervous.

Good.

Tess, from somewhere behind Dennis, says, “I’ve also heard rumors about this planet’s Absolute. Supposedly, before going into seclusion, he left behind a powerful weapon, and no one knows who has it now.”

“What weapon?” I ask, ignoring Dennis.

“I don’t know yet. But apparently, it’s strong enough to kill even the Champions.”

“Could the Ruler Candidate have it?” Maya joins the conversation.

I think for a moment. “Maybe? Maybe the Absolute knew about the candidate and left it for them. Or maybe it has nothing to do with that. I’ll try to ask about the weapon too, but I have to go now. I won’t be able to join you tomorrow, so the day after that.”

“Sure,” Tess agrees, and the others say their goodbyes.

Before leaving, I make sure to poke sleeping Biscuit’s belly.

***

Of course, Professor Elian’s office is much nicer than mine. It has more windows, letting in more natural light. The defenses here are also likely better than those of some fortresses. Part of me wonders if it is something he has made or if it was done by the Academy.

Even though he lets me in, he ignores me for a few minutes and keeps writing on blue paper with a pen that leaves white lines. Every so often, he adds symbols and inscriptions. In the quiet of the room, the scratch of the pen on the paper actually sounds kind of nice.

Someone else would likely be annoyed by being treated this way, but I use this as an opportunity to examine the room, the professor, and the fancy items lying all around the place.

Only after around five minutes longer does he stop, carefully puts down the paper, and leans back in his chair.

“May I ask something of you, Assistant Professor Gwyn?”

“Sure, please ask.” I decide to be polite until I learn more about this floor.

“There is a rumor about an Underground Duel Network, so please, if you notice anything about that, make sure to investigate further. Another problem might be classrooms taking ranking competitions too seriously. I have been notified that some of the students plan to blackmail or even wound competitors, and that is not something we want in the academy.”

“I will keep my eyes open.”

“Thank you. Do so, and I’ll forget your breaches of protocol from your first day. Now, I’ve been assigned two students, but I don’t have time for them at the moment, so I’m asking you to supervise them. There may be more coming as well. One of the servants will bring you the documents so you can look them over later. And finally, an administrative note: the head accountant asked me to check if you have an account you want your salary sent to, or if you’d prefer to receive it weekly and in person.”

“In person is okay.”

“Understood. You can go then.”

The sound of the pen scratching on the paper sounds again, and the door opens by itself and closes quietly as I leave.

An hour later, I get the documents and, while reading them, head to the classroom mentioned. I also finally find out that the main specialization of Professor Elian is his [Mana Manipulation] skill combined with his Mana Wavelength Iris. The man also seems to be a descendant of someone from the First Generation, so a lot of prestige comes with that.

I even sneakily ask one of the servants about any rumors involving Professor Elian. Whether it’s just the kind of thing people normally speculate about or because of the authority I’ve been given, the servant tells me it’s theorized that Professor Elian has [Mana Manipulation] at a really high level. Apparently, even a Champion was impressed, considering Professor Elian’s age.

From what I’ve heard, Champions usually have skills in the 80s and Absolutes in the 90s. So maybe somewhere around 70 or higher? That would be quite high, especially since his current level feels somewhat similar to mine, around 300.

He might look like he's under 30, which is young, but he could easily be 100 or something like that.

Thinking of these things, I open the door into the smaller classroom.

It’s a bit later in the day, and the weakening sunlight filters through the windows, casting a warm glow over a dozen tables and smaller blackboards. Even this room carries that same air of luxury.

Inside the classroom, two students I assume are problem cases wait: a thylarin girl with six arms and a human boy with his guard, a young man standing quietly behind him.

The thylarin girl has the usual pale blue skin, orange eyes, and brown hair. She looks at me with curiosity but sits slightly apart from the boy. The boy, legs crossed, looks clearly bored. He has curly brown hair and a noble-looking face.

His human guard stands behind him, dressed in the same gray uniform Tess wears. He’s unarmed, but one sleeve of his suit is completely missing, revealing a slim, muscular arm covered in tattooed inscriptions. His long red hair and blue eyes give him an odd presence.

Both the girl and the boy are around 15 years old.

“Huh, where is Professor Elian?” the boy asks.

I wonder what the protocol is for this. Am I supposed to greet him? Should I be the one to speak first after entering? Was what he did considered rude?

Not knowing, I just shrug it off and move to the table I sit on. “Professor Elian is busy and has asked me to take care of this.”

“You?” the boy asks with clear disdain, looking me up and down. “My parents didn’t pay a ridiculous amount of money for me to be taught by an assistant professor. Let’s go, Melo. We’re leaving,” he says to his bodyguard.

It is so cliché, I almost want to laugh. Almost.

I say nothing as he passes by me, and only when he is about to open the door do I use my secret weapon:

“I bet noble ladies’ pets have better [Mana Manipulation] than you.”

***

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