Why Did You Mess With Him? He’s the Evil God’s Lackey! Chapter 96

Chapter 96: Your Chief Professor Is Handing Out a Special Gift

The first day of term was set for Monday.

The students made their way to the Academy with hearts full of anticipation, wearing expressions that couldn't quite decide between joy and dread.

The Royal Magic Academy had been reborn. New-style architecture and marble covered the grounds.

Banners fluttered in the breeze from the towers of the newly raised castle.

The cobblestone paths underfoot were as familiar as ever—only the smooth, ti-worn grooves were mostly gone.

The fountain in the plaza before the Academy glead brilliantly, and everything felt as though it were starting fresh from a brand new beginning.

Rashel looked over the rebuilt Academy, stroked his beard, and let out a chuckling laugh, then made his way into the Principal's office with his walking staff.

The Academy as a whole had been restored to near-completion—but one place had been deliberately preserved.

The crater Viktor had blasted into existence.

A ring of fencing had been erected around it to prevent students from stumbling in by accident.

Under ordinary circumstances, a crater wouldn't require that kind of protection—after all, who goes wandering up to a giant hole for no reason?

The outco, however, had surprised everyone. At this mont, the area around the crater was packed shoulder to shoulder with students, completely impassable—every single one of them gathered to gawk at the enormous pit.

The crater had a radius of at least half a kiloter, occupying a truly staggering area.

And the bottom was enough to make one's blood run cold—so tens of ters deep. Falling in would be no different from falling off a building.

The crater was no longer simply a scar left behind by a great battle.

It had now beco the Academy's morial site.

A morial to the Demon battle.

A morial to that world-shattering, mysterious ordeal.

A cluster of students pressed up to the very front, gazing at the enormous pit with a distinct air of pride.

Turning to the students around them, they recalled the terrifying scenes of that day and recounted them to their juniors:

"Oh, you have no idea—Professor Viktor's magic that day was just absolutely incredible."

"I know, I saw it too, that giant teor—tsk tsk tsk."

"And on top of that, we actually helped Professor Viktor!"

"We joined forces and broke through the black barrier that was blocking out the sky!"

The more they revisited the mory, the prouder they felt.

As if having witnessed the battle that day had pinned a dal of courage to their chests.

"Apparently—this term, Professor Viktor is going to beco the Royal Magic Academy's Chief Professor!"

A bespectacled student suddenly announced this piece of secondhand gossip from within the crowd.

Everyone around him imdiately snapped their attention toward him.

"Though I only heard this secondhand myself."

"Secondhand is fine—keep going!"

Looking at the expectant faces of his classmates all around, the boy pushed his glasses up and continued with a conspiratorial air:

"Apparently the Principal is personally preparing to confer the title of Chief Professor on Viktor."

"It's specifically to recognize Professor Viktor's monuntal contribution during that Demon battle."

He kept talking, getting more and more into it, not noticing at all that the students around him were quietly slipping away one by one.

A vague sense of puzzlent washed over him. And then he felt it—a shadow seed to settle over him.

A cool, detached voice sounded from directly behind him.

"What are you saying? Let hear it too."

That voice... sounded awfully familiar.

The student turned around—and got the fright of his life.

"Vi... Viktor Professor!"

He let out a yelp and imdiately dashed off after the fleeing students.

Viktor's strength had earned the recognition of many, and naturally, this had also made him feel all the more formidable.

The students both admired Viktor and held him in awe.

Once the students had gone, Viktor stood looking at the crater before him, his expression blank.

Weija, for its part, seed rather moved.

"Our Chief Professor really does command quite a presence—every student who looks at you gets scared stiff."

Viktor didn't dignify that with a response.

The nomination for Chief Professor had arrived just yesterday.

This honor would be formally bestowed by the Principal at Viktor's upcoming Public Lecture in a few days.

That was right—Rashel had not forgotten Viktor's public lecture to this day.

Viktor's Public Lecture fell conveniently close to the end of term. Once the lecture was done, given Viktor's influence, it would surely attract a considerable wave of new students for enrollnt.

The youngest 3rd-Tier Mage who had beco the youngest 4th-Tier Mage, who had furthermore defeated a Demon.

And on top of that—a Mage Council mber, as well as the current private magic instructor to the Empire's Princess.

These titles carried an almost unbearable weight—so much weight, in fact, that it all felt almost too unreal.

How could this many titles appear on a single person? And every one of them extraordinary.

And very shortly, yet another would be added: Chief Professor of the Royal Magic Academy.

"Pro... Professor!"

Heni ca jogging over, a little breathless, and arrived at Viktor's side.

Viktor glanced down at the panting Heni.

Today was her first official day in post—she had formally taken up her role as the Academy's Honorary Associate Professor.

Though in na she was called an Associate Professor, it was only because her strength didn't yet rit a higher title.

After all, she was still just a 1st-Tier Mage.

In practice, she had already stepped into the teaching role once occupied by Professor Dewen Rether.

"What is it?"

Heni had co rushing over to him like this—sothing had to be going on.

She caught her breath and said:

"The Arcane Hall—the students are fighting!"

***

The magic arena in the Arcane Hall was the Academy's designated open sparring area.

If students of the Royal Magic Academy had any disputes, they could settle them privately through sparring on this magic arena.

Since both parties would agree on the terms of victory in advance, and everything would be recorded by the arena, there was no room for anyone to cheat.

In the player's perspective, of course, this was the PVP combat zone.

At this mont, the arena was filled with swinging vines. The golden-haired young woman standing at the very center hadn't so much as flinched, while before her stood a dozen or so students staring at her with stone-faced seriousness.

More and more students were being drawn over by the commotion, every face bright with admiration as they gazed raptly at the beautiful golden-haired noble young lady.

"Holding her ground against over a dozen senior students of the sa Tier all by herself—so this is the strength of last year's top-ranked freshman?"

"As expected of the Duke's daughter. Keep it up, Miss Erika!"

The surrounding students were whistling and cheering her on in full force.

The entire Arcane Hall had descended into uproar—the audience below the stage was functioning entirely as a cheering section.

In the middle of the frenzy, suddenly...

"Soone explain to what's going on here."

A cool voice sounded from behind several students. Every last one of them drew their necks back simultaneously as a peculiar sense of pressure descended on them.

They slowly turned to look—and froze.

Holy—Viktor Professor?

The boy standing directly before Viktor was the sa bespectacled student from before, who stuttered out an explanation:

"That... Professor Viktor, I only just arrived..."

"We weren't the ones who started it..."

Viktor looked at him with cool indifference.

"From the beginning."

Several students clustered around Viktor and tripped over each other explaining everything to him at once.

Before long, he had grasped the full cause of the dispute.

Those senior students with more years under their belt had been swaggering about with an insufferable attitude since the mont they arrived back at the Academy—even deliberately shoving and baiting the junior students who had enrolled the previous year.

They kept boasting that only the students who had participated in the Demon battle were brave and strong.

Those who had truly faced a Demon had earned a status a cut above the underclassn who hadn't managed to help at all.

So these individuals had marched into the Arcane Hall and started openly mocking everyone inside.

And it so happened that Erika was here too.

She couldn't stand this kind of behavior—using seniority as a weapon to bully younger students. After all, she herself had been a freshman who enrolled just the previous year.

"Hey! They're fighting!"

Several students turned toward the sound and looked at the battle unfolding between the 2 sides, their cries of amazent erupting one after another.

Those dozen or so arrogant students had slowly intoned a long string of chanted incantations, constructing a number of simple Magic Formations in the air.

Countless ice spikes and small fireballs ca surging toward Erika in rapid succession.

Erika barely moved her fingers. She hadn't even constructed a Magic Formation.

All of the so-called "seniors'" magic was deflected one by one by the vines she directed.

With another sweep of her hand, a dozen vines shot out in an instant, wrapping around their ankles and hoisting them into the air.

One more wave—and they were all flung clean off the magic arena in a neat row.

Left flat on their backs, thoroughly humiliated.

Fortunately, not a single one of them was injured.

The students below the stage were montarily dumbstruck.

That... that was it?

Defeating over a dozen students single-handedly with that much ease—was this really last year's top-ranked genius?

After the Academy had been destroyed, they had been given a very extended break.

Many students had all but forgotten about studying. Their magic had clearly fallen behind considerably during that ti.

Erika, anwhile, had only grown stronger.

So students looked at the unassailable Erika on the stage and couldn't help dropping their heads, deeply ashad.

Viktor looked at how the person on the stage had handled things and gave a nod.

Erika's conduct had suddenly sparked a certain inspiration in him.

By the ti Erika had finished, the students below the stage finally snapped back to their senses and erupted into a wave of cheers.

But she showed no reaction to any of it. She raised one hand behind her head, smoothed her hair back, and descended from the arena with quiet elegance.

The mont Erika stepped off the arena and looked up, she was t with the sight of the person standing in her way—and couldn't help freezing.

"Professor!?"

Erika suddenly beca flustered.

Which ant everything she had just done had been watched by the Professor the entire ti?

I didn't embarrass myself just now, did I.

Erika felt a pang of self-consciousness. She wasn't sure if what she had just done had been the right thing.

Viktor didn't spare Erika more than a glance. He snapped his fingers.

A Magic Formation materialized in the air in an instant, and a few gentle gusts of wind blew through—lifting the disheveled students back onto their feet.

Once that was done, he looked at these students who didn't even dare raise their heads.

"It seems... certain experiences have given so of you a rather inflated sense of yourselves?"

The tone was perfectly flat, no emotion discernible—and yet it left every one of them without a single word to say.

The students present heard Viktor's voice and all, without exception, went quiet at the sa ti.

The sense of pressure Viktor exerted on students was entirely unlike that of any other Professor.

With Viktor, they could feel a clear and powerful sense of authority.

"Teacher."

That was the word that rose unbidden in their hearts.

Viktor narrowed his eyes, and under the gaze of everyone present, he slowly stepped up onto the arena.

"The end of term happens to be approaching. As Chief Professor, I believe I have an obligation to give you students a small test."

Hearing Viktor's proposal, the students looked up with curious expressions.

A test from the Chief Professor?

Before they could even fully process the thought, the concentration of magic inside the Arcane Hall suddenly surged violently.

In an instant, a turbulent magical current flooded the air all around them.

"This... the Magic Power is so dense!"

Viktor stood on the arena, the jet-black Crow perched on his shoulder, his Coat billowing in the churning sea of energy—red and green patterns flickering and interweaving across its surface.

A two-colored aura erupted from his body and began to spiral through the air.

The cold disdain in his gaze seed to carve out 2 words.

'Invincible.'

"You're welco to go inform every student currently on campus. Everyone—is welco to participate."

Viktor, hands in his pockets, said evenly:

"I'll give each of you 3 minutes."

"I will not attack first. All of you are free to challenge . Whether as a team, or one on one."

"As long as anyone—can make take a single step in this place."

His lordly, untad spirit seed to transform into embers scattering across the sky—igniting into a breathtaking canvas of fire above.

Beneath the curtain of that sea of flas, his voice rang out, cold and clear.

"Just 1 step."

"The end-of-term exam—I will let you."

"All pass."