Episode 716
“That damn old-fashioned dark elf.”
Himmel, a former sorcerer from the proud Ishtar lineage, held immense pride in the martial arts students he taught.
There weren’t many students majoring in martial arts. After all, not many in the central continent were keen on pursuing martial arts professionally.
Most were monks from the Holy Kingdom or students from the Eastern Continent studying abroad.
Given their strong sense of pride and relatively small numbers, the martial arts students tended to rally closely around their head professor, Himmel.
Convincing Himmel was crucial; without his approval, attracting martial arts students was impossible.
“The martial arts department is under suspicion too.”
Richmond, who usually only cared about monster bones, wasn’t meeting with professors and organizing a martial arts battle for no reason.
He planned to gather all the students for the battle, hoping to naturally identify Astaroth’s reincarnation among them.
Even a cunning demon might leave traces when forced to compete and collaborate with others in such a contest.
Thus, it was essential to closely monitor the martial arts students, who had a high proportion of foreigners. But with Himmel openly refusing, Richmond found himself in a bind.
“In that case…”
Richmond sighed, deciding to use a premeditated tactic.
Nodding as if in understanding, he turned away, muttering under his breath.
“Hmm, as expected… the martial arts department is avoiding the challenge. Understood.”
He spoke just loud enough for Himmel to hear as he slowly made his way out of the office.
“Please take the bait, take the bait.”
Outwardly calm, Richmond was inwardly desperate for Himmel to bite.
“Wait.”
Himmel’s voice stopped Richmond in his tracks.
Feigning nonchalance, Richmond turned back to face her.
“Yes? What is it, Professor Himmel?”
“What did you just say?”
Himmel rose from her seat.
Though she now lived as a martial artist, she was once the feared commander of the Raven Squad, which had terrorized the entire continent.
A sharp aura emanated from her.
“Damn it.”
Richmond hesitated under her intense gaze but decided to push forward.
“Well, it’s just that…”
“You said something about avoiding a challenge, didn’t you?”
Under Himmel’s pressure, Richmond let his words trail off.
“Dean Cloné mentioned that the martial arts department might not participate…”
Crack!
The sound of the floor cracking under Himmel’s feet echoed.
The martial arts department had evolved from an advanced course within the knight faculty to an independent major, thanks to Himmel’s insistence on training students differently from knights.
Principal Arina had supported Himmel’s vision, planning to expand the department into a full faculty if student numbers increased.
This had fostered a strong rivalry between the knight faculty and the martial arts department, especially between Himmel and Cloné, the head of the knight faculty.
Richmond had skillfully exploited this tension.
With a fierce aura, Himmel addressed Richmond.
“Those arrogant knight faculty brats…”
She trembled with anger as she spoke to Richmond.
“Go tell Cloné that our martial arts department will dominate this battle!”
Richmond bowed repeatedly, enduring Himmel’s intimidating presence.
“Yes, yes, I’ll be sure to pass that along.”
Quickly exiting Himmel’s office, Richmond wiped the sweat from his brow.
“Phew, I thought I was done for.”
Having secured Himmel’s participation, Richmond sighed in relief and hurried down the corridor.
Now, all that remained was to get Principal Arina’s final approval.
As Richmond disappeared down the hallway, a suspicious gaze followed him, only to vanish without a trace.
A tense atmosphere began to settle over Pannotia Academy.
“A martial arts battle?”
In her office, Principal Arina questioned as she signed documents.
Richmond nodded, trying to mask his fear.
“Yes, yes. By observing all the students in a martial arts battle, we might find a clue to identify him.”
Arina continued signing without responding, her pen moving steadily across the papers.
Once a sizable stack of signed documents had accumulated, she looked up at Richmond.
“Sounds interesting. Go ahead and organize it.”
Richmond was taken aback by Arina’s straightforward approval.
“Really? Are you serious?”
Arina smiled at him.
“Would you prefer to organize a fake tournament?”
Her smile sent a chill down Richmond’s spine, and he quickly shook his head.
“No, no, of course not. I’ll get started right away, Principal. Thank you for your approval!”
Richmond hurriedly left the principal’s office.
Once he was gone, Arina set down her pen and let out a light sigh.
The air shimmered, and a black-haired elf boy appeared, lying down with a tray of snacks on his stomach.
Hades munched on a snack as he spoke to Arina.
“What are you thinking? If Astaroth is here, you could catch him yourself. Why torment that poor half-lich?”
Arina chuckled at Hades’ words.
“A poor half-lich? Who are you calling poor?”
“Ugh, have you lost all your humanity? Zeke should see you like this…”
Suddenly, the air around Arina grew heavy, as if dark clouds were gathering.
Her usually bright expression turned somber, tears welling up in her eyes. Realizing his mistake, Hades quickly tried to console her.
“Whoa, whoa! My bad, my bad! I’ll make that artifact you asked for last time. Cheer up.”
Hades’ hasty apology brought a smile back to Arina’s face.
After a brief moment of sadness, she spoke to Hades in her usual cheerful tone.
“Anyway, you’re mistaken, Lord Hades. There’s no such thing as a poor half-lich at our academy.”
“Even after seeing Richmond, you say that? He looks like a poor slave, suffering under a bad master and now plunged into an even worse hell.”
Arina shook her head.
“Who would call a lich with the potential to become the first 9th-circle necromancer poor?”
“What? What do you mean?”
Arina continued in a calm voice.
“If I had to choose the next person to achieve the 9th circle, I’d pick Professor Richmond without hesitation.”
Hades was taken aback by her words.
“9th circle? A necromancer? Faster than Zeros? Wow…”
“Of course, Professor Richmond has his issues… but that’s typical for someone from Nirvana.”
In her experience, everyone from Nirvana, except for Zeros, seemed to have a few screws loose.
Richmond was among the more eccentric ones.
Arina smiled as she spoke.
“Professor Richmond has something beyond talent. Just watch how he handles that cunning demon, Astaroth.”
“A Pannotia Unified Martial Arts Battle?”
Lyla Solma, the student council president and officially ranked number one in the academy, furrowed her brow.
Her parents were the founders of the Royal Guild, the most renowned hunter guild across the continent.
Her father, Jeffric Solma, was one of the Ten Stars, and her mother, Arin Solma, was an 8th-circle mage known as the Flame Angel.
Lyla, a prodigious sword mage, had been the talk of the academy since her admission.
As the academy’s brightest prospect, Lyla wielded significant influence as student council president.
The news of the martial arts battle had reached her ears.
Nuel Stone, the vice president and heir to the continent’s largest mercenary group, the Stone Mercenaries, spoke with a maturity beyond his years.
“Since the information came from Professor Luther, it’s reliable. At first, I thought it was just a rumor because Richmond was organizing it, but it seems to be happening.”
The secretary, Lina Aladov, was startled.
“So, it’s true? The martial arts battle will replace the finals? All the majors competing… it could be chaos!”
Matanah Viah, sitting nearby, let out a hearty laugh.
“Haha! It’s a festival, a festival! Everyone’s joining the martial arts battle, but sorry to say, our martial arts department will take the victory! Brace yourself, President Lyla!”
Ranked third in the academy, Matanah Viah always harbored a competitive spirit against Lyla, the perennial number one.
Despite an 8-0 losing streak, Matanah’s challenges continued unabated.
Lyla clicked her tongue at Matanah’s enthusiasm before turning back to Nuel.
“Professor Richmond, huh… I took his Defense Against Dark Magic class for general education once. He seemed a bit… unhinged.”
Nuel shook his head at the comment.
“My father says Professor Richmond is one of the closest people to the legendary Godslayer and the most skilled necromancer alive. You can’t judge him by appearances.”
Lyla fell silent at that. She, too, had heard stories from her parents about Richmond.
They said he was one of the war heroes who made a significant impact against the Celestials and angels during the Heavenly War.
‘He doesn’t look the part at all…’
She evaluated him silently, shaking her head. Whatever the case, it seemed unlikely that Professor Richmond had organized this martial arts battle just for evaluation purposes.
There had to be a hidden agenda from Principal Arina behind it all.
The principal was known for catching students off guard in unimaginable ways to make them stronger.
‘We can’t let our guard down for even a moment.’
Lyla addressed the student council officers.
“Regardless of Professor Richmond or the principal’s intentions, if a martial arts battle is happening… we can’t afford to lose.”
At her words, Matana jumped up from his seat.
“Well said, Lyla! Let’s make it official. I challenge you to a duel in the martial arts battle!”
Nuel, standing nearby, spoke in a stern voice.
“Matana, this martial arts battle is a team event.”
He continued, driving the point home with a firm tone.
“As far as I know, we’re on the same team.”
Matana’s eyes widened in surprise.
“A, a team?”
“Yes. You, me, President Lyla, Secretary Rina, and a few more student council members.”
Matana slumped back into his seat in despair. Rina tried to comfort him, but it didn’t seem to help much.
Amidst the chaos of the student council officers preparing for the battle, Lyla maintained a serious expression.
‘Every student has to participate… Fine, this is my chance to solidify my position as the top rank in Pannotia.’
The person who came to her mind was none other than the unofficial number one in Pannotia.
A student already hailed as a Sword Saint despite his age.
Junon Redeye.
Lyla’s eyes gleamed as she thought of the genius vampire swordsman.
“Hmmm~!”
Professor Alice hummed a tune as she strolled across the campus.
Just then, someone came running toward her.
“Alice!”
“Professor!”
It was none other than Al and Jeff.
Despite their age, the two were still inseparable and hadn’t quite shed their mischievous ways.
Alice beamed at them.
“Oh, Al, Jeff—no, Professors!”
Having grown up together, calling them professors still felt strange to Alice.
Al and Jeff, panting, spoke to Alice.
“Something’s wrong!”
“We need your help!”
The notorious troublemakers, now pale-faced, pleaded for help, causing Alice to tilt her head in curiosity.
“What happened all of a sudden?”
Al and Jeff shouted in unison.
“Serina and Shadia are fighting!”
“Please, go stop them!”