Academy's Undercover Professor

C67: Relic

Chapter 3/3 for the week.

Rudger traveled the continent in search of relics, to be precise he was looking for the fragments of the ‘sculpture’ he was possessing.

He faced many cities, many countries, and many peoples. As a result, he unintentionally ran into relics that had nothing to do with the ‘sculpture’.

A normal magician would not see one relic in his life but Rudger has seen several so far. When it came to relics Rudger was more experienced than anyone else.

“Stay still.”

He recites like a command and generates magical power. The Almighty Stone violently generated magic to resist Rudger, but Rudger was not surprised. Sometimes, unusual relics have this kind of ‘will’.

The Almighty Stone exists to satisfy the needs of others. The fact that the Relic scatters waves of desire around it is also because the blind purpose of ‘granting desire’ has sublimated into its will and has an effect on the surroundings. Relics were also cursed objects in a way.

So it resisted Rudger, but Rudger laughed at the Relic’s will.

“Anyway, you can’t make my ‘real’ wish come true.”

Even before seeing the Almighty Stone, Rudger did not believe in its power. It could grant wishes but only in the limits of its power. A wish with limits is not a wish after all, it’s just a fake.

“If you’re a fake then act like a fake, do as I tell you.”

The Almighty Stone did not give up. Instead of scattering waves of powerful magic around it, it focused them on Rudger. Green energy wrapped around Rudger’s body.

Rudger frowned at the magic that permeated his mind.

“Useless struggle.”

But he didn’t push or block the stone’s magic. Rather, he did a daring thing by increasing his magical power even more in his hand holding the stone.

“Woo woo woo!”

The Almighty Stone that was bewildered. What the hell was this man doing? Instead of defending, he would rather accept its magic power?

The Almighty Stone did not stop invading Rudger’s mind while questioning Rudger’s actions. It went inside Rudger thinking that it was a good thing.

The magical power that the Almighty Stone had spread out was blocked at some point as if it had hit a wall.

The Almighty Stone, whose purpose is to respond to the inner desires of humans, questioned the situation in which it could no longer enter the interior of Rudger.

It was not Rudger’s magic that blocked the Almighty Stone but a power completely different from Rudger’s magic. What stopped the Almighty Stone was a strange power that was impossible to even classify.

It is an incomprehensible force that could not even be analyzed.

“It would be better to stop there.”

Rudger warned of the ‘will’ of the Almighty Stone.

“If you go beyond that, it won’t be good for you or me.”

Rudger’s warnings were sincere, however the will of the Almighty Stone has to fulfill its role to the best of its ability. There is no emotional element in it.

The Almighty Stone accepted Rudger’s proposal. If it goes any further, it will be ruined and will not be able to fulfill its role in the future.

“You did well.”

Rudger put his powers on the Almighty Stone and forcibly entered one ‘wish’.

“I have a fragment of this relic.”

He did not hold the stone, so he took a piece from his inner pocket with his hand.

“Tell me where the four remaining fragments are.”

At that moment, a dazzling green light burst from the Almighty Stone. If it was an open field, the light was so bright and strong that it could be clearly seen even if one was far away. However, in the closed space that blocked the source of the magic wave, the light eventually only illuminated the inside.

When the light completely went out Rudger lifted his hand from the Almighty Stone.

“Two, yes.”

Rudger wanted all four locations but the Almighty Stone could only show two locations and he roughly knew where one was.

‘The income this time is the position of one piece, not bad.’

Just by finding one more fragment whose whereabouts are unknown, he saved years that might have been wasted.

‘Even so, I didn’t know it would be so close.’

The location of the piece he unintentionally learned of was in Leathervelk.

“I’m glad I got to find one.”

“Woo woo.”

The almighty stone vibrated as if protesting against Rudger. Since it helped, it wanted him to take it outside but Rudger ignored that will.

“You are a dangerous thing that will destroy the humans you touch so you will continue to stay here.”

“Woooo.”

The Almighty Stone tried to protest violently, but Rudger had already cast a shadow over his body and had disappeared into the darkness. The Almighty Stone, left alone, flickered in green light as if protesting, but soon became quiet because there was no one to listen to it.

* * *

Returning to my room, I sat on the sofa for a while to rest because of the magical power I had consumed. Jumping over space is not something you do multiple times, as a result I feel dizzy and numb now.

In addition I consumed a lot of magic power using the spell and dealing with the Almighty Stone.

[───]

A noise creeping through my brain, I frowned at it and shoved a pill into my mouth. The magical energy contained in the drug spreads through my body and replenishes the consumed energy, but it is not enough.

This time, it took more time, especially since I consumed a lot of mana.

In order not to hear this noise, I always had medicine in my mouth. This time, of course, I did benefit from this annoying noise.

The Almighty Stone penetrated my mind, but thanks to that, I was able to get over it without being seriously injured. Still, I can’t help but be annoyed. It’s fortunate that this is ‘stage 1’, but if it gets worse than this, it will be hard to recover.

I lightly pressed my finger on my flaky forehead as if it were acupressure. Perhaps thanks to being still for about 30 minutes, the noise from my head disappeared at some point.

I sighed in relief and stood up. Now that I know the whereabouts of the fragments, I held the contact crystal ball, sent magical energy, and a response came immediately.

[Brother, did you call?]

“Yes.”

Hans responded immediately even though it was already past midnight. He must have been waiting for me to contact him.

[The fact that you contacted me now means that the work you were trying to solve is over?]

“It ended sooner than I expected.”

[I hope that’s good.]

“You can advance the appointment. The weekend would be better.”

[I thought it was just the right time. I don’t think you contacted me to say this, what else do you need?]

He’s been working with me for quite some time, so he’s quick to see things like this.

“I found the whereabouts of another fragment.”

[…Where?]

“In Leathervelk. Look for it in the auction house.”

[There would be only one auction house in Leathervelk.]

“Yes.”

Leathervelk’s unique auction house <Kunst>. It is one of the auction houses operated by ‘Luke’, the largest auction company in the Exilion Empire, and the branch in Leathervelk is one of the largest in the continent.

The influence of the Kunst auction house was not limited to just Leathervelk or the Exilion Empire. The Kunst auction house has a very high participation rate because rich people from all over the continent can gather to purchase goods.

High-quality antiques, historical items, and even outstanding artifacts are good things that attract rich people and those people invest huge amounts of money to show off their wealth.

That’s what made the Kunst auction house that it is today and if my prediction is correct, the ‘fragment’ I’m looking for will be in the Kunst auction house.

‘The timing isn’t bad because a big event will be held at the Kunst auction house soon.’

If it was Hans, he would be able to easily check the list of items that would soon appear in the Kunst auction house.

“Check the list and find out when it’s going up for auction.”

[You don’t have to tell me that brother. Anyway, isn’t the Kunst auction house a bit big?]

“Yes.”

[Then I think the ‘usual’ method would be a little difficult.]

At Hans’s slightly worried voice, I realized what he was worried about.

“I know. For now, I plan to act as a guest properly.”

The Kunst auction house maintained a terrifying security as it was a place where all the wealthy people gathered. When an auction is held, they hire knights to assure security. This means that the scale of the auction is huge, and the reputation of Luke, who conducts it, is great.

Even wizards participated and the valuable items were enchanted with security magic. It was difficult to stick to the old way in such a place.

“Don’t worry too much. There is still plenty of time left anyway.”

[I see. Let’s check the list of items first. Huh?!]

“What?”

Suddenly Hans screamed, and I wondered if something had happened.

[It’s not really a big deal. It’s because one annoying carnivore is smoking.]

“Annoying carnivores?”

[Brother called them. One is already here.]

“I see.”

They arrived earlier than expected.

At that moment, a voice shouted from beyond the crystal ball.

[Madam! Wait! I’m going!]

Seeing Hans shouting like that, she must have come first.

[Anyway, brother. See you again in the near future.]

“Yes. Suffer.”

I ended the call with Hans.

I obtained something by using the Almighty Stone, and all those who tried to steal it died. With this, the case related to the wish-granting stone has come to an end.

‘With this incident, almost all doubts the president had have been removed, so that’s enough.’

It was now time to return to the daily life of the teacher, Rudger Chelici. The only thing that bothered me was Flora Lumos.

‘I don’t think we met by chance in the forest.’

She came to exactly where I was even in the Silent Forest? But if it wasn’t just a coincidence and she came after me on purpose that’s even more absurd.

The “Ater Nocturnus” I used erased my own existence, so it is not something that students could perceive.

‘The good news is that, based on her reaction, she didn’t see me using magic.’

Perhaps it was because the high-ranking destruction magic used by the president drew her attention instead but that doesn’t change the fact that it makes me wonder why she was there.

‘I have to be careful.’ Flora Lumos’ behavior was also worth paying close attention to. However, since I made a big point this time, I will be quiet for a while. With that in mind, I fell asleep since I have to get up early again tomorrow.

* * *

Early morning in front of my office I found a girl walking around.

“Flora Lumos.”

“Huh? Ah, ah! Mr. Rudger?”

She must’ve been worried about me because of what happened yesterday and she was waiting for me in front of my office.