Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Tracking Clues (2)

A few minutes later.

Professor Dave ate breakfast with me and explained the reason he had come to find me.

“…In conclusion, you faithfully carried out the conditions you and I discussed. Since you showed that much capability, I judged that it would be all right to share information with you.”

“Is that so?”

“Professor Noel and the other professors will be handling this morning’s class. Once we finish eating, come with me to Saengterminum’s Research Building. I will explain the curse to be placed on Aron in detail there.”

This was ridiculously good, was it not?

I had not expected my evaluation to rise this much.

It had not been something I had done in order to make a good impression on Professor Dave, but I saw no need to correct him.

“Ahem, that is true. I did my best in my own way, so I am grateful that you recognized it.”

“I was once a famous Instructor at Necropia, despite how I may look. A diligent student should receive a suitable reward.”

I cheered inwardly.

I had needed to confirm what kind of curse they would place on me anyway, so if he was going to show me the formula like this, preparing against the curse would become more than easy.

“…By the way, was my face really that startling?”

Good grief, are you holding on to that?

***

After breakfast, I headed to Saengterminum’s Research Building together with Professor Dave.

The Research Building was some distance from the campus where students took classes, so it took about ten minutes to get there by riding the mana train prepared at Saengterminum.

Inside the mana train, the professors of the Black Magic Department who recognized Professor Dave greeted him warmly.

“Why, is that not Professor Dave?”

“What brings you here at such an early hour.......?”

“I am going to show the curse currently being made to this student here.”

“The curse? He seems to be a first-year student... hm?”

The faces of the professors who recognized me stiffened.

“W-Wait, this student is the one we saw at the Disciplinary Committee.......”

“Damon David... You brought a Holy Magic Department student here?”

Had I already become a famous person among the professors?

Well, the Lucia rampage incident had been that big of a deal.

HSSSS.......

The moment the mana train stopped, I stepped onto the ground and looked around.

Right in front of me stood a modern building. 

At the entrance to the grand structure, which looked as if all sorts of rectangular blocks had been packed tightly together, a stylish sign was engraved.

The Research Building was divided into separate buildings by department.

And this place was used by the professors who researched Black Magic.

‘It has been a while since I came here too.’

Before my Return to the Past, I had also often visited this place as a student for Black Magic research.

Back then, I had been Direct Line of one of the Four Great Houses, so it had not been too difficult to obtain entry permission here.

I had not expected to visit again in this manner, though.

“Then let us go in.”

When Professor Dave tried to take me inside, the professors beside him tried to stop him.

“Are you truly going to bring a Holy Magic Department student inside?”

“And a first-year student at that? Even if he goes in, it will not be of much help.......”

The professors seemed displeased, but Dave was firm.

“If this boy had not been there, we would not have been able to bring Lucia into the Black Magic Department. Should we not show a suitable degree of sincerity as well?”

After persuading the professors, Dave deactivated the Security Formulas at the entrance and entered the Research Building with me.

The bleak energy unique to Black Magic lay everywhere, and researchers and professors moved busily through the corridors.

Professor Dave went straight deeper into the corridor.

As I recalled, the farther inside one went, the higher the importance of the research became.......

Well, it seemed the Dark Empire side had marked me, Aron, as a person of interest as well.

“This is the place.”

The moment Dave opened the large door in front of us, my field of vision opened wide.

The first thing I saw was a massive altar.

“This... looks similar to the altar I saw at the Valak Order.”

Its form was similar, but it was not emitting dense Demonic Aura.

“You have a good eye. The curse to be placed on Aron is currently being made on this altar.”

Inside the room, quite a few researchers were writing formulas or engraving them on top of the altar.

Just the people I could see seemed to number more than twenty.

Surely many professors from the Black Magic Department had helped create this curse.

So... all of these people were researching a curse to catch me?

“Hmm... May I go up and look at it? It looks quite fascinating.”

“As much as you like.”

I climbed onto the altar and slowly examined the formulas, pretending to be a Holy Magic Department student seeing a proper curse for the first time.

‘Damn it.......’

I barely held back the curse that nearly escaped my mouth.

‘The researchers and Black Mages must have been ground down badly making this.’

First of all, the ‘Detection Curse,’ which read the target’s location, occupied the position of the main formula.

With this level of precision, it would be possible to track the target throughout all of Saengterminum.

Besides that, there was the ‘Durability Curse,’ the ‘Weakening Curse,’ the ‘Gravity Curse,’ and so on.......

The formula was structured so that all sorts of curses would activate in layers, centered around the very middle of the altar.

And at the center of that altar... my fingernails and hair, the targets of the curse, were probably scheduled to be placed there.

“You will not get a feel for it just by looking at it. This is the ‘Durability Curse’.......”

Professor Dave explained each of the curses on the altar one by one, but inwardly, I had no choice but to smile bitterly.

This much was only what I had roughly grasped.

The fortunate part was that the formulas had not yet all been engraved on the altar. 

The area near the edge of the altar had been left completely blank.

So they had only made half of it so far......?

I smiled inwardly.

‘With this level of completion... I can make a counter-formula.’

Coming to see the formula directly had been the right answer.

The activation range of the formula was large, but since I had confirmed a formula that was already about half complete, this information alone would be more than enough to create a counter-formula.

“I did not expect you to be working on it this seriously.”

“When the curse is completed later, I will call you again. I will make arrangements so that you can help when we capture Aron.”

The fact that he was looking after me that much did prick my conscience a little, but.......

It was not as if I was doing anything wrong, so I could afford to be shameless about this much.

“Can I look around other places too? Seeing such a large altar made me even more curious.......”

I had come here to confirm the curse that would be placed on me, but.

Since I had already come all this way, I thought I might as well confirm one more thing.

“Is there also a place in this Research Building where artifacts are made?”

***

As I returned from the Research Building to the campus, I sighed.

‘Tsk, it is not going to be that easy.’

To state the conclusion first, it was a dead end.

Professor Dave had guided me to the artifact research division, but only to the area dealing with artifacts that had low security.

Research on high-grade artifacts was being strictly managed.

…Well, if the security grade had not been high, there was no way I would not have known about it before my Return to the Past.

In the first place, he said that high-grade artifact research was conducted through cooperation between each department, centered around the ‘Magic Department.’

However, if I looked at it the other way, that meant the person leading the artifact production project had quite a considerable position.

They were definitely a member of ‘Abyss’....... but I did not know who that person was.

For now, I had no choice but to wait until Jaeger finished repairing the artifact.

As we returned to the campus, Dave separately gave me a hint.

“I would like you to report to me separately on Yulia’s condition.”

“…You do not mean her physical condition, do you?”

“Of course not.”

Dave touched his own temple.

“Aron is acting in order to kill Yulia. Even so, Aron still has not been caught. Student Yulia must have many concerns of her own.”

As expected of an Instructor who had been well-regarded even at Necropia, he was certainly reliable in matters like this.

“Professor Noel said that she held a separate consultation with Yulia and saw no major problems, but... people often talk about such things to their fellow students.”

“I will bring it up. It is not difficult.”

I said that, but to me, Yulia’s inner state was not particularly worrying.

After all, after finishing six days of confinement, she had attended class without any particular changes.

…Rather, the part that worried me was elsewhere.

***

Near the end of lunchtime.

As the students who had gone outside returned to the classroom one by one to attend class, I also spoke to Yulia, who had entered the classroom.

“…You are asking if I am all right after going through something like that because of Senior Lucia?”

At my question, Yulia smiled triumphantly.

“You saw me fight in the Artificial Rift. Something like that is nothing to me.”

“Even if you are fine, did the Holy Order not say anything?”

“…Pardon?”

Yulia’s eyes grew round.

“Th-That... how did you know?”

“I wondered if the Holy Order would stay still when Aron says he is trying to kill you.”

Yulia was a Sacred Mark Successor whom even the Holy Order cherished dearly.

No matter how capable Yulia was as a Grade 1 who could take care of herself, there was no way they would simply overlook the fact that the life of a talent who had inherited a Sacred Mark at seventeen was being targeted.

“Apparently, they will bring people from the Holy Order, the same as me, into Saengterminum until Aron is caught.”

“Hmm... I did not think they would go that far.”

I swallowed a groan, but inwardly, I chuckled.

‘Somehow, things are flowing similarly to the previous timeline.’

Before my Return to the Past, the atmosphere at Saengterminum had become quite chaotic after Lucia, who came from a Branch Family of the Dark Empire, went on a rampage.

And starting from that rampage incident, the Holy Empire, which could no longer trust the Dark Empire, had made rather forceful demands of Levia, the Headmaster.

They had asked her to allow people from the Holy Order into Saengterminum in preparation for any abnormal incidents that might occur.

There had been no deaths this time as there had been then, but it was clear that the flow had changed into one where they had to prepare against Aron, who had become a wanted man.

Since Headmaster Levia knew that I was Aron anyway, from her point of view, there was no reason to refuse an increase in capable people.

I welcomed it with both hands raised as well.

After all, broadly speaking, were they not all Talented Freaks who would have to struggle to prevent destruction?

In the end, they were the ones who would have to suffer together with me, so I would be disappointed if they did not come.

“About the kids being dispatched here, they are not ordinary kids, are they?”

“That is right.”

If the flow was similar to the previous timeline, then the people coming would also be the same.

“All of them come from families that are quite well-known even in the Holy Empire.”