Ep26 - Academy’s Undercover Professor

EP.26 Difference in Class Dungeon. It refers to a threatening space created by a crazed sorcerer or an ancient architectural structure crafted by great beings of the past. Among them, the dungeon we are exploring belongs to the latter. After being conquered by the advance party, the dungeon is now being used for practical training. Managed by the empire, anyone can use it by following the proper procedures. As a result, the place was not only bright but also extremely well-kept. One might even say it was even cleaner than the research lab of the violet sorcerer's tower when exaggerated. "I heard that academy students often come here because the facilities are so clean." "It must be helpful for gaining experience comfortably." "That's certainly true. Starting a career as a mercenary...” Senior Scarface and Teardrop Guy walked ahead, sharing anecdotes. The academy students grown in a warm greenhouse seemed to lack the ambition or, that one time, an academy student was hired and ran away upon seeing a goblin. As the conversation turned to how tough their lives were, I slowed down, falling behind. I had heard the same story twice last night. The amphibious thief seemed to have the same thoughts. By the look of it, he seemed to be keen on exchanging other interesting stories. It was as if he was signaling by his side. One thing leads to another. To ensure a fair trade, I asked the amphibious thief, "Why aren't you speaking?" Last night, after eating delicious (illusory) food, didn't he marvel at the taste of home? His voice had sounded fine then, and it didn't seem like he didn't know how to speak. But as he was dismissing most everyday conversations with signals, it was only natural for me to be curious. After hesitating for a moment, the amphibious thief stuck out his tongue. There was a clear mark on his tongue like a tremor caused by something. It was a pattern I had never seen before. The patterns commonly used in the tower were memorized, so... If I didn't know it, it must be a pattern used secretly or discreetly. Judging from his attempt to hide it, it didn't seem to have a good meaning. I took a rough guess at the shape of the mark. "Vampire, bat, or bloodsucking?" "No. This is the shape of a thorn-coated dish. A stamp for offerings.” “Is it used by dark sorcerers?” "Yeah. I barely escaped. Thanks to Lowlenn." The amphibious thief glanced at Teardrop Guy with a strange look. His eyes seemed to mix sentiments of goodwill, gratitude, and affection. In my mind, a story emerged. Wicked dark sorcerers assaulting the amphibious community for experiments, killing those who resisted, and capturing test subjects. Dark and gloomy days. Approaching death. Just before succumbing to the ritual, Teardrop Guy appeared bathed in sunlight, wielding a longsword and a shield to rush in... Hmm. Something similar might have happened. "By the way, can I see it?" If he was so reluctant, even using signals to avoid showing it, there was no reason for him to show it to me, who he had only met a few days ago. I cautiously grasped the necklace. It was one of the 49 artifacts the tower lord intended to give me. I felt tense, worried that the amphibious thief might say, "From now on, you cannot leave after seeing this mark!" The thief pointed at me with his index finger. "It smells similar." "...Similar?" "Yes." Interpreting the flow of the conversation, this meant it smelled like the scent of a slave to me, didn't it? But... I used cleaning magic daily... Could this be a slight to a university student of higher learning...? While hesitating about whether I should explain how good the welfare was at the violet tower, the amphibious thief nervously walked ahead, leaving me feeling uneasy. I had a feeling I might be missing something. ------------------------------------------- "Screams of terror!" I was startled, and I covered my mouth. Among the members, I was the only one who would be expected to scream like that. Nevertheless, the scream could still be heard through my hands. It was someone else screaming. Who was it? Was it time to call Teardrop Guy back into Teardopgay again? Or did the amphibious thief or the elven archer unexpectedly reveal a surprising secret? No, that wasn't it. The high-pitched scream was coming from Scarface Senior. Teardrop Guy also looked at Senior with a bewildered expression. Senior screamed as if he had seen a cockroach crawling in the bathtub. I followed his gaze to see... "A golem?" "It's a golem, a stone golem." It was a golem. A tiny cleaning golem, no less. It was about a meter tall and had no attack arms. It had only one duster. I patted Senior Scarface's trembling shoulders and stared at the golem. Had I missed something because of my limited experience? Or maybe the golem had an embedded "Unlimited Revulsion" illusion magic? To me, it just looked like a regular golem. No magic was visibly installed. Teardrop Guy asked the question I was most curious about on my behalf. "Why are you so terrified, no, disgusted... It's just a golem." Senior Scarface took a deep breath and muttered. "If I had to pick the one thing that a illusionist should fear the most, I'd choose a golem, my junior." "Expanding personal experiences into a general category is a good attitude..." "Go and fight it, junior. If you defeat 'it,' I'll deduct 30 models from the human modeling." "I'm looking forward to it." I rolled up my sleeves and stepped forward. There was no reason to refuse a guaranteed win. If I managed to catch that little cleaning stone golem, it would mean 30 models, almost like a modeling copy magic. Despite pouring my entire life into setting up simulations to make it in TRPG, who was I after all? I was nearly the successor of the tower lord. There was no way I couldn't defeat a single rock lump. As a nearby butterfly flitted around, blocking my view as if vehemently opposing me, it couldn't hinder my passion toward earning 30 models. I drew my staff... ------------------------------------------- "Grant of Primordial Nightmares! Abyssal Ursine Desolation!" Nothing worked. "Resetting Elenniar's Mark, Spatial Coordinates Discordance!" Nothing, nothing at all! The golem's eyes flashed red. Whee-ee-ee-ee. It approached me with an unpleasant noise, enduring all my spells head-on! "Come forth, Heart—!" Using extreme measures, I launched a charge using the maximum capacity of holograms that could be summoned without assistance─up to 10 physically capable illusions! Both Heart and the household knight corps, as well as New Faces, joined the fray! (I made sure to mask Heart just in case trouble arose.) They all together attacked the golem, but it was not enough. The physical power was critically lacking! Since the golem was without belief, the power my holograms could exert was at the level of a child's cotton fist. The cleaning golem stubbornly pressed forward, seemingly undeterred by the pouring concentrated assault. "It's─ It's ridiculous! Are you not even ticklish?!" -Beep. Buzz. "No─ Nooo!" Boom! Boom! The golem’s duster swatted at me. Forced into a corner, I had to crouch down and endure the golem's blows. Its duster struck my body all over, brushing away the dust... It was so disheartening, tears threatened to fall. I needed to devise a plan. There must be a way to turn the tables. I can't lose. It was just a cleaning golem! I...! "I don't─ I don't want to lose..." The golem had no soul and did not possess sophisticated sensory mechanisms to disrupt. Illusion magic wasn't effective. Perhaps if it had been a golem capable of advanced reasoning like a reversal-- There was no such magic. If it didn't exist, I'd create it! "Backward we walk, clinging steadfastly, you who walk the skies and plummet to earth, circulate back to heaven─ Forthwith, Contingent Ego Im⋯" The duster shoved into my mouth. My spell, about 80% complete, was shattered into pieces. I lost all my enthusiasm and collapsed to the floor... The cleaning golem, as if declaring victory, briskly brushed the duster on my face, then departed to the depths of the dungeon. Only then did I understand the meaning behind Senior Scarface's scream. It was a deep sigh... Complete and utter defeat. All of my resistance had been crushed. ------------------------------------------- The adventure... was a success. I acquired combat data from Teardrop Guy and other adventurers, and learned how ogres move. The first step was significant. If I input the data into the AI, and endlessly rotate through accelerating time, then─ do you understand? Original swordsmanship, martial arts will emerge. A limitless time and an infinite monkey have been said to write Shakespeare’s plays. With the fundamental data included, it will likely have a higher chance than that. The probability of producing a plausible figure will increase with the additional data. Martial arts... it can be done! Following the disastrous defeat against the golem, my interest was piqued in raising my combat capabilities. If someone were to poke me as I passed by, wouldn't I just die? Paired with the previously mentioned combat data, if I could shape an ungifted illusionist into a warrior through a simulated martial art, it might really be able to mimic summoning spells. There's a need for enhancement even in the fundamental physical power. It's demanding in terms of budget and effort. Utilizing all these findings, I will create a session to entertain the 1st Princess. But for today, I just wanted to quietly drift off to sleep with the sorrowful wounds of defeat... That night, I dreamed of being chased by the golem. ------------------------------------------- In a room of the dungeon where the adventurers had left, a cleaning golem that was in a dormancy state "awakened." And it pondered. Why can it think? Who is it, and what is the knowledge bestowed upon it? That's when enlightenment dawned. It uncovered about 20% of empty space, missing links, conundrums regarding its existence, and offered its first answer through piecing together collected puzzle fragments. Q: Who am I? A: Abraham, a professor at Miskatonic University. <End>