abcnovels
Chapter 70: Dean Endiagon
Chapter 70: Dean Endiagon
Chapter 70: Dean Endiagon
‘No, first, let’s calm down.’
Endiagon was a golem created by black magic, into which a soul had been transferred using black magic, enjoying something akin to immortality despite being bald.
If he’s not a black magician, then those folks with white powder under their noses dancing the tap mustn’t be druggies either.
There’s a very high chance that Endiagon is a black magician.
But that doesn’t necessarily make Endiagon an enemy.
Black magicians are considered enemies of the world.
That’s the general perception.
Mostly, it’s an accurate belief.
But it’s a generally accurate story, not an absolute truth, isn’t it?
‘I’m a black magician myself, right? Leading a healthy and upright life.’
Moreover, as far as I know, there are quite a few black magicians who are not ‘aligned with evil.’
Unlike Harashin, whose membership consists purely and straightforwardly of ‘evil-aligned’ individuals.
Black magic isn’t some secret passed down only through the insular cult of Harashin.
This means there is no need to indulge in all sorts of despicable acts to get into the good graces of such cult scum.
I’ve only studied from textbooks at home without attending any academy, lectures, or tutoring.
That’s possible with black magic.
So why are black magicians treated as enemies by the world?
Simply put, the force itself is inherently villainous.
Turning people into living corpses by shattering their minds.
Reviving corpses to be their slaves or soldiers.
Spreading plagues to kill the land itself.
Absorbing the life force and power of others.
You don’t know what assassins have gone through to learn their craft.
If that’s the reason assassins are shunned—
You don’t know what black magicians intend to do with their skills.
That’s why black magicians are shunned.
‘Schrödinger’s cult scum…!’
Until their purpose is revealed, black magicians are both cult scum and not cult scum.
So what about Endiagon?
Based on the information given to me?
Endiagon is not ‘chaotically neutral’—neither cult scum nor not cult scum.
There’s no doubt he’s ‘aligned with good.’
Endiagon was an excellent educator and person of character.
The world’s largest and best-equipped academy running smoothly, with minimal burden on its students and free from corruption, was all thanks to the clarity of Endiagon at its head.
For a superhumanly powerful individual like Endiagon to remain uncorrupted by selfish desires and be devoted to the public good was proof in itself of outstanding character.
Thus.
As far as I know, Endiagon is an indisputable ‘hero.’
A figure in the realm of justice and an ally of the players.
But now, an unfavorable variable had been added.
The possibility that Endiagon might be a black magician and that he could be plotting something diabolical.
It hinted at the potential for a hero’s fall or betrayal.
What should be the correct course of action for me now?
‘Just cleanly obliterate him?’
Let’s discard that crazy thought before it even arises.
If I obliterate someone of the dean’s stature without even being certain whether he’s a friend or foe, the situation would surely unfold favorably.
‘I should verify it myself.’
It seems like the best course of action.
Unwrapping the package to determine whether Endiagon truly is one of us or if he’s an enemy masquerading as an ally.
The question is how to verify that—
‘An artifact?’
Two artifacts came to mind.
One was the Absolute Promise.
To make Endiagon promise to speak only the truth using the Absolute Promise, then ask him to reveal his true identity.
However, a powerful being like Endiagon might not be affected by the Absolute Promise.
Moreover, it’s currently being used by Redar and me.
Hence, I thought of the second artifact.
[Title: What the hell? Is this quest from Hitomi or what?]
Content: Some pervert used the artifact I provided to dig up the past of the hottest beauty in the district, pretending to be her dead boyfriend, now dating her—is this even correct?
[Oh]
[Oh seriously]
[I’m kinda turned on]
[I’m a manga artist, and thanks for the material;]
[I noticed this game has a lot of that insane perverted kind of quests;]
[If romance is what you’re after by handing out legendary artifacts, are you more of a romanticist than expected?]
[If that’s love-capturing, you idiot, then is threatening with a sword asking for a date a way to capture her heart?]
[That’s a raid battle strategy right there]
‘The Voyeur’s Diary’
Recalled due to a notorious quest that had once been the talk of the community,
it’s a legendary artifact that shows the target’s past in the form of a diary.
With it, I could discover what kind of past Endiagon had and who he truly was.
Whether he is genuinely a hero or a villain pretending to be one.
‘Let’s see where the Voyeur’s Diary is…’
By now, it should be rolling around somewhere in the back alleys of Arien’s black market.
The Voyeur’s Diary is a consumable artifact.
If someone uses it, its power diminishes, making it harder to see Endiagon’s past.
It seems I will have to sweep the back alleys’ black market as soon as possible.
“As you strive to do your best, always question whether you are truly at your best. Keep on doubting and striving.”
Lost in thought, I found myself suddenly paying attention to the end of Endiagon’s speech.
“Remember, your goal is not to be someone else, but a better version of yourself.”
Snap.
Endiagon flicked his fingers.
A multitude of blue lines stretched out from the bald but youthful dean.
These blue lines crafted a massive magical circle of mana on the canvas of the grand auditorium.
Vast mana filled the interior of the auditorium.
“Wow!”
“That is!”
“Isn’t that, you know!?”
The freshmen expressed both surprise and anticipation.
“This is…”
Phibian beside me also prepared for the imminent phenomenon with a face full of expectation.
“Now then. I shall conclude the entrance ceremony by presenting a modest gift I’ve prepared for you all. Freshmen, once again I welcome you to the academy. May your future be filled with passion and blessings.”
Snap!
The flick of Endiagon’s fingers felt distant.
Before I knew it, I was no longer in the grand auditorium but placed within a different space.
‘Where is this…’
It was my future.
***
After enrolling in the academy, I studied and honed various sword techniques, including Bauer’s sword.
Eventually, after relentless dedication, I developed my original sword technique that incorporated my talent for assassination.
Although unstable, there was no sword better suited for me than the Deceiver’s Sword.
While perfecting the Deceiver’s Sword, I reached a level of five stars and before long, I graduated from the academy.
With my academy graduation, countless paths lay before me.
Out of the numerous options, I chose to become a legally recognized mercenary, an adventurer.
My status as an academy alumnus guaranteed a lot.
Thanks to that, I was granted a high rank upon becoming an adventurer.
A status that regular adventurers would have to strive for decades and achieve countless feats to attain.
“Looking forward to your future exploits, Ceylon. Or, should I call you Lord Ceylon now that you’re an academy graduate?”
As the holder of that rank, I was guaranteed not only wealth but honorable and substantial missions befitting my standing.
And so, I was in the church.
The mission I undertook this time was to escort a priest.
The priest engaged in prayer.
Adventurers accompanying me on the mission guarded the priest’s surroundings.
The looks from the other adventurers were less than pleased.
“What’s with that kid…”
“They expect us to follow the orders of someone like him?”
Nepotism.
That was how other adventurers perceived me.
A fledgling in his mid-twenties who had just graduated from the academy couldn’t stomach the fact that he received the same rank and was treated the same as the highly respected professionals immediately upon joining the adventurers’ guild.
“Yay~”
“We’ll take care of it ourselves~”
“If this is his first mission, what does he think he knows.”
“Shit, seems like there’s a major for adventurers at the academy.”
“Giggle, giggle.”
The adventurers acted as if they were taking orders from me, the leader of this mission, in name only.
Then, all of a sudden, the prayer room went dark.
Simultaneously, assassins emerged from the darkness and launched their attack.
They were the minions sent by political adversaries who stood against the priest.
Our mission was to protect the priest from these scoundrels.
“Aarrgh!!”
“Damn it!”
Separate from not heeding my orders, the under-skilled adventurers were now in danger from the assassins’ ambush.
“Ah…!”
Saving those worthless fellows, I gradually overpowered the assassins one by one.
And then the last one left showed disturbing movements.
“Could that be… No way!”
“Harashin!?”
Indeed, he was an assassin from Harashin, just as the adventurers had mentioned.
However, for me, an assassin was not an unknown enemy, but rather a familiar opponent.
In the face-off against the assassin, my skill in the art of assassination truly shined.
For me, who understood the intricacies of assassination and practiced Ceylon’s swordplay that incorporated those intricacies, Harashin’s assassination techniques were ineffective.
The tension of the power balance was shattered in an instant due to that.
The intense fight was settled abruptly.
“Aaaargh!!!”
The Harashin assassin’s arms were sent flying, severed from his body.
“With such talents at your disposal, why…!”
The assassin knelt before me, looking up.
Without hesitation, I plunged my sword into his chest.
When it was all over,
The adventurers no longer disregarded me.
Moreover, the guild acknowledged my accomplishments and blessed my name.
From then on, I marched forward on the solid road of an adventurer.
One day,
I entered the adventurers’ guild.
“Lord Ceylon!”
“Welcome!”
“Is that…!?”
All the adventurers looked at me with eyes filled with admiration.
Ignoring them, I walked up to the counter and asked,
“What is today’s mission?”
Then, as if a curtain had fallen, darkness enveloped the world.
Like the end of a 3D movie.
This was the humble gift Endiagon had prepared for the newcomers.
An experience of the future.
Endiagon designed the ideal future for new students based on the information collected from the academy entrance exam.
He then allowed the freshmen to experience this future through an illusionary magic.
So that the freshmen could aspire to the ideal future they’d experienced beforehand.
‘So this is how I’ll be in the future.’
The future experiences given as gifts from Endiagon to the newcomers were famous for their high accuracy rate in certain areas.
Specifically,
Capabilities.
Therefore,
Right after my graduation from the academy, there was a high probability that I was a five-star swordsman, just like the future I had seen.
‘A real mess.’
Not favorable at all.
If I recall correctly, when players graduated from the academy, their average level was around the 60s.
Converting level 60 to stars would mean a seven-star rank.
To follow the main quest line as a player, one must be at least seven-star.
The five-star level I had seen in my future was far from sufficient.
The silver lining, however,
Was the high likelihood that Endiagon hadn’t considered the countless undisclosed variables when he foresaw my future.
Dark magic and assassination.
Not to mention quest rewards and the knowledge I possessed as a spirit medium.
If all those variables had been included in the foresight of the future, how might it have looked?
‘Perhaps I’d easily reach seven stars?’
But one can never be too sure.
With that in mind, I resolved to employ all possible means to elevate my rank as a swordsman.
To ensure I could follow the main quest line as a hero, not as a dark mage or an assassin.
“Huh?”
As things got sorted out in my head, the illusionary magic crumbled, and I was returned to the real world.
[Main Quest Clear!]
[Main Quest: The First Step Towards the World]
– Pass the academy entrance exam and obtain the status of an academy cadet.
It felt like I had watched a class change recap scene in a game.
The quest completion window welcomed me back to reality.
Before I knew it, I was holding an ID card, the proof of my status as an academy cadet.
It was a card-shaped, rectangular, black tablet.
Elegant cursive blue letters written on the front stated my credential as a cadet.
The back, blank and smooth, now bore a magical inscription. As I infused my mana, my portrait emerged in blue lines as if drawn by a magical circle.
“Wow…”
The blue lines that had drawn my portrait continued without stopping, inscribing another phrase beneath my image.
[Valedictorian of Ain Academy’s Swordsmanship Department Entrance Exam]
‘Wow~’
This is Ain Academy?
I was overflowing with a deadly amount of pride.
I fiddled with the ID card in my hands, thoroughly enjoying its feel.
‘How splendid.’
This ID card was evidence that I had transformed from a commoner to something akin to nobility.
With this, I would no longer be dismissed as a mere commoner anywhere.
In accordance with the name of the main quest, it was the first step towards a brighter world.
It was time for the next move.
The second main quest had arisen.
[Main Quest: The Sprout of a Promising Hero]
– Achieve the level of 3-star within one week.
The quest was to reach level 20, which is equivalent to 3-star, within a set period.
Level 20.
It was a level I could have reached easily with a brief use of assassination techniques or dark magic.
‘Luck is on my side.’
I was momentarily delighted by this seemingly easy quest.
‘Wait?’
I went over the quest details again.
[Main Quest: The Sprout of a Promising Hero]
– Achieve the level of 3-star within one week.
>Swords Department: Reach swordsmanship level 20
>Magic Department: Reach magic level 20
The quest requirement of level 20 was conditional.
For the Swords Department, one must achieve level 20 in swordsmanship, and for the Magic Department, level 20 in magic.
‘It makes sense.’
After all, the quest was called “The Sprout of a Promising Hero,” so it wouldn’t make sense to clear it by leveling up dark magic or assassination techniques.
That would be the sprout of a loathsome wretch, wouldn’t it?
‘I must admit, fortune is smiling upon me.’
Reminded of this, I whispered to myself for the first time in a while.
Status Window.
Level: 17 (Swordsmanship)
Skills: Basic Swordsmanship lv.3 (Common), Bauer’s Sword lv.1 (Hero). Deceiver’s Sword lv2 (Legendary)
Being admitted to Agena Academy among other complex factors had fixed my job to a swordsman, restricting my dark magic and assassination techniques.
My swordsmanship level was 17.
Three more levels to complete the quest.
Just two hours should do the trick.
If it were a game, I could say that with absolute confidence.
But then I remembered.
Just one week ago, when I had freshly finished the entrance exam, my level had been 16.
And now, a week had passed.
Most of that time, I spent undergoing intense training by Yena.
As a result.
My swordsmanship level increased to 17.
Indeed.
Unlike games, leveling up was incredibly tough in reality.
‘They don’t give out experience points…!’
There was no experience point system like in games.
The most common way to level up in games was by defeating enemies and earning experience points.
But now that reality had set in.
The most conventional way for me to improve my level—that is, my mana sensitivity—was through diligent training and personal enlightenment.
It was through these ordinary methods that I had raised my level by one in the past week.
And now I had to go up another three levels in the remaining week.
‘Feeling dizzy?’
To make matters worse.
The single level gain was the result of private lessons from Yena, the swordsmanship instructor of the Lebringer family.
If using a gaming expression, it was like hitting the jackpot in terms of experience points.
Now enrolled in the academy.
Could I find another jackpot equivalent to boost my experience points?
The first idea that came to mind was private lessons from Herion.
But Herion was the top instructor in Agena Academy’s Swords Department.
He was far too busy to have time for a nobody like me for private lessons.
So, the conclusion I reached was:
‘I’m screwed!’
It was impossible to raise three levels in one week by normal means.
I needed a trick, a shortcut to gain levels instantly.
Two such methods came to mind immediately.
‘Elixirs and artifacts.’
Endiagon.
Lady Drin.
Lady Adryn.
Lady Mizu.
It wasn’t the time to leisurely help others find artifacts and elixirs.
‘An artifact that increases levels… one that boosts mana sensitivity…’
Artifacts were rare even in games, and even if I wore out the part of my brain responsible for memory, no suitable answer came to mind.
‘My head hurts…?’
The happiness I had felt just a moment ago fiddling with my academy student ID seemed like a distant memory.
“Hm…?”
That’s when I saw it.
Phibian was lying next to me, still lost in the pleasant reverie shown by Endiagon.
‘That ridiculing look on her face…!’
Unfortunately, now was not the time to make fun of others.
I needed to swiftly recall where to find an artifact or elixir that could enhance my mana sensitivity, and then go farming for it—
“Wait?”
Hold on.
Phibian?
The green necklace that Phibian was wearing?
‘Ah.’
I remembered.
In that moment.
An involuntary smile crept onto my lips.
A plan had formed in my mind—a plan that could solve my current situation.
I muttered the name of the key figure in my plan.
“Count Phibian, what did you see in the future?”
Suddenly dragged out of her reverie, Lady Phibian shot me a contempt-filled glare.