Chapter 24: An Academy Overrun with Schemes and Trickery

After finishing the second class, I returned to the graveyard and lay down under a shaded tree.

The breeze was cool and pleasant—it was the perfect spot to relax.

As I was leisurely passing the time, Itshin came over and leaned his face close to mine.

“After thinking it over… don’t you think it’s a waste?”

“What is?”

“The technique Sherthia and Maya taught you. I may not know much outside of martial arts, but the rumors around the academy say it’s a pretty incredible skill. Are you really okay with giving it away without any compensation?”

“If you mean that, it’s fine.”

I waved my hand to assure him he didn’t need to worry.

Even I think it’s a ridiculously powerful technique, but I had my reasons for spreading it.

“You do realize that telling the students to keep it confidential is pretty much meaningless, right? The ones who learned it are already passing it on to their close friends and family.”

“Of course I know. I said it was a secret, but with that many students, it was bound to leak.”

“You knew, and you still shared it?”

“Yeah. Even if it becomes globally known, the demons can’t use it. If it helps humanity grow stronger, I’m all for it.”

“Hey, do you really think demons are your only enemies? I’ve been through this—you’ll find that humans are far nastier. You can crush demons with brute force, but killing even one human comes with all kinds of restrictions.”

“As if I didn’t know that already.”

A human could become a demon, but a demon was never born as a human.

The reason was simple—humans are never inherently good.

Humans can be more brutal and cruel than demons.

That’s why people end up on the path of corruption.

In fact, in the story, Luke often fought villains who weren’t demons.

It’s a paradoxical situation—he has to protect humanity from demons while being wary of humans themselves.

“I don’t do things that cause me to lose out.”

“You’re saying that so confidently… sounds like you’ve got something fun planned. Are you going to let me in on the secret?”

“I left out a key piece of information when I shared the technique.”

“It’s not something life-threatening, is it?”

“Come on, what kind of person do you take me for? Of course, I told them the important warnings!”

If Itshin’s talking about it, he probably means the risk of mana poisoning from storing converted mana.

I already gave the students a stern warning about that.

If someone still ends up with mana poisoning, that’s not my fault.

That would be because they ignored my advice or tried to pass it on to others without fully understanding it.

“The part I left out is about amplification.”

“Amplification?”

“I’m talking about the extended version!”

The method I shared only allows someone to cross a single stage.

But if they also learn the part I left out, they could leap two stages.

Even the current version of the technique is revolutionary, but human greed knows no bounds.

People will start craving even stronger versions of the skill, and some will try all kinds of experiments to push its effects further.

But the breathing technique, created by the collaboration of two heroes, may seem simple but is incredibly sophisticated.

No matter what they try, they’ll never be able to uncover the part I omitted.

“When the breathing technique I taught starts spreading widely, I’ll have my friend in the newspaper club spread a rumor.”

“You’re going to say what you shared was just a teaser, and make people come running to you for more, huh?”

“Exactly.”

Imagine there’s this insanely well-made and highly praised game.

Then imagine a DLC is announced.

“Don’t you think the players who loved the base game would desperately want it?”

“Of course they would. They’ll be obsessed with trying to get the extra info from me.”

“But as for that DLC—I’ll only reveal it to those I trust completely. Even if people start waving bundles of cash in my face, begging me to take their money, I won’t sell it.”

“Instead, I’ll release just tiny bits of the information, slowly… so they can’t ever turn against me.”

“If that’s your plan, wouldn’t it have been better to charge for the original technique from the start?”

“You think marketing is easy? And if I sold it for money, there’d definitely be people trying to resell it at jacked-up prices!”

Before I came to this world, there was this limited edition item I really wanted.

But someone hoarded them all, and it sold out.

***

The next day, I saw it being resold for ten times the original price—and I swear, I felt a burning urge to ask how their parents were doing.

‘Maybe that’s why I didn’t want to see this technique, born from my two masters, get sullied by human greed.’

Besides, the more publicly it spreads, the easier it’ll be to make it known.

“Still, if people find out you deliberately left out key information, there’s going to be an uproar. You okay with that?”

“That’s not my problem. If you’re thirsty, dig your own well. Why should I do it for you? And besides, I already did them a favor by sharing the basic breathing technique. Once it leaked despite being labeled a secret, they betrayed me first—so now I’ve got a perfect excuse not to share the rest.”

“You really are a merchant, aren’t you?”

“Thank you! I’ll take that as a compliment!”

“If you keep living so cunningly, you won’t live long. People might send assassins just to pry the secret from you.”

“You really think I’d just let them kill me, Master?”

“You used to be a gravekeeper, right? And a mortician before that? Guess we won’t need to call a separate undertaker then.”

“I’m just gonna toss them to the wild beasts on the mountain.”

“You little bastard… you’ve turned into Maya.”

‘Why hold funerals for people who brought death upon themselves?’

It’s better to toss them into nature and let them feed the ecosystem.

“Anyway, no need to worry. I’ve got it all planned out.”

“Yeah… I’ve learned that worrying about you is one of the most pointless things I can do.”

“Exactly, right?”

“Now get up. It’s time for sparring.”

“I’m feeling really tired right now, though…”

“You sure didn’t look tired when you were bragging your head off. Don’t fake it—get up. You just said I didn’t need to worry about you, remember?”

‘Dammit. I walked right into that one!’

***

Student Council Room

The professors and members of the student council were seated around a table, sharing tea and conversation.

However, unlike the calm and pleasant atmosphere at the beginning, voices were gradually growing louder.

“Our faculty plans to strongly recommend to the Chairman that the temporary instructor be dismissed. But we can’t do it alone—we need the passionate voices of the students as well. Surely, our excellent student council will stand with us?”

“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.”

“And why is that?”

“The student council exists solely for the students—to hear their voices and speak on their behalf. We are not here to represent the opinions of the faculty.”

“I’m sure the students agree with us!”

“Do they really? Every single student who took Professor Tao’s class praised it.”

“Don’t be so rigid. A single word from you, as the student council president, and the students would understand.”

Bang!

The student council president, Haisel Delan, slammed the table and shot up from her seat.

Clearly upset, her brows furrowed deeply as she glared at the professors.

“If I’m being rigid, then you’re acting like children throwing a tantrum!”

“What did you just say?!”

“Have you lost all respect now that you’re president?!”

“Are you threatening the president right now?”

“We won’t stand by if you insult the president—even if you are professors we respect!”

The atmosphere heated up rapidly as a standoff formed between the professors and the student council.

It was a powder keg—if one person made a move, a fight could break out.

“That’s enough, everyone.”

It was none other than Professor Philderim who stepped back first.

Wearing a gentle smile, he tried to calm the situation.

“If professors and students start fighting, it will only stain Wellton’s reputation. Regretfully, we professors will respect the firm stance of the student council.”

“Thank you for understanding. We would love to help, but since our priority is the students, we will pretend we heard nothing about this matter.”

“Hahaha! So if the students come to want the instructor gone, you’ll join us then?”

“If that is their will, we will follow it.”

Led by Professor Philderim, the professors quietly left the student council room.

Their first plan had failed, and grumbles of frustration echoed among them.

But even then, Professor Philderim smiled calmly as he tried to console his peers.

“Don’t worry. Even if we failed to win over the student council, we still have many good cards left to play. Let’s call it a day for now.”

“We don’t have the luxury of time—we must drive that temporary instructor out of the academy as soon as possible!”

“If you rush things, you’ll only mess them up. Please, listen to me.”

Professor Philderim raised the necklace hanging around his neck.

In that moment, the ruby embedded in the pendant glowed red, and the professors exposed to its light lost the spark in their eyes.

As if hypnotized, they nodded along with Professor Philderim’s suggestion.

Then, they turned and quietly dispersed.

“Stubborn fools—always so damn rigid.”

Philderim’s voice suddenly changed, and his tone became far more casual.

Clicking his tongue, he glared at the departing professors.

“Useless idiots. If they mess this up, I’ll need a backup plan.”

Still grumbling, Professor Philderim turned and walked away.

His steps were headed toward the dueling grounds.

‘Even if I fail… I’ll make sure this academy blooms with a flower of blood.’

Clutched in his hand was a seed infused with dark magic.

No one knew where that seed would eventually take root.