Yujin stared at Ines, who was extending her hand, and thought to himself.
‘Professor, huh…’
Honestly, this was a situation even Yujin hadn’t anticipated. But it wasn’t something he couldn’t accept either.
Yujin is the mage who established Space-Time Magic. Moreover, no one else knows this knowledge. When it comes to the field of Space-Time Magic, he’s both a pioneer and the sole expert.
Of course, the origin of all magic, including Space-Time Magic, is Dragons… but regardless, Yujin is now a Dragon too. And since he’s the one who refined mortal-useable techniques, calling him a pioneer isn’t wrong.
Anyway, being a pioneer in a specific field implies there’s no one better in that area. From the Academy’s perspective, there could be no more suitable candidate for a professorship.
However…
“I don’t intend to release Space-Time Magic to the public yet. Since I already mentioned this during my lecture, I believe you understand why I’m asking: do you still wish for me to take on the role of professor?”
Yujin has no intention of releasing Space-Time Magic to the world. Simply put, he doesn’t plan to teach his specialty.
Didn’t he already make it clear during the lecture that Space-Time Magic is too advanced for humanity right now and would only teach it to those who truly seek answers?
Yet, Ines offered him the position anyway.
“Or are you taking my words from the lecture lightly?”
It sounded like she wanted to force him into teaching Space-Time Magic at the Academy despite his refusal.
The President shook her head.
“No, not at all. My apologies—I may have been too brief in explaining. Let me clarify.”
With that, Ines added further explanation.
“First off… Yujin, as you said, I fully understand your statements from the lecture. The proposal isn’t about directly teaching Space-Time Magic at the Academy.”
“Not directly, you say?”
“That’s right—not directly.”
As she spoke, Ines opened a pocket space and retrieved something. It was…
“The paper I published, correct?”
“Yes. I read the paper you submitted to the association.”
After saying this, Ines flipped through a few pages of the document.
“Frankly speaking, I’ve never encountered theories like these before—mysterious concepts that feel almost otherworldly, magical circles structured entirely differently from anything seen so far… Honestly, I couldn’t fully grasp it myself.”
“…”
“But as I kept reading, an idea struck me. Perhaps these ideas require background knowledge to truly understand. Concepts that seem revolutionary to us might just be common sense to the author.”
Upon hearing this, Yujin inwardly marveled. She had pierced through his intent.
In reality, Yujin crafted the paper with a structure that required understanding modern scientific concepts about spacetime, additional physics knowledge, direct teachings from Tiamat regarding Space-Time Magic, and the dragon-like intuition he possessed to fully comprehend it.
He wrote the paper primarily to undermine the Association’s authority and free himself from their interference—not because he wanted humanity to understand or utilize Space-Time Magic.
As mentioned earlier, while technology itself has no inherent morality, its users do. He didn’t want his creation misused, so keeping it hidden seemed best.
But the President before him had indeed seen through his intentions. As rumored in the game, her insight was impressive.
“As a fellow mage, I deeply resonate with your belief that ‘mages must explore and uncover value.'”
“…”
“But the knowledge you’ve presented feels so alien… almost from another world. So I humbly request—if not Space-Time Magic itself, could you help future students interpret it?”
Despite being among the strongest mortals and the President of the Academy, Ines asked with great respect.
This moved Yujin slightly. His words during the lecture weren’t empty—they reflected his genuine beliefs.
To him, an ideal mage pursued truth and knowledge as their vocation, guided by proper ethics and morals rather than vanity or privilege. This was what he envisioned for the mages of this world.
Unlike himself, who had clawed his way up from the bottom after a stroke of luck killing monsters, true mages contributed meaningfully to society. Helping cultivate such individuals might give him some pride too.
Most importantly, people define and prove their worth through action. Lying around doing nothing with the riches gained from Tiamat’s tomb wasn’t appealing to Yujin.
Being a professor could be meaningful work—why not give it a try?
Still…
‘Tiamat’s contract comes first, though.’
According to his agreement with Tiamat, Yujin had a duty to liberate the Dragons of the Maze and restore their former status. With no clear timeline for completion, dedicating himself fully to teaching wasn’t feasible.
Just as he was about to decline…
”…Yujin, would you like to try being a human professor?”
“Huh?”
Tiamat, who had been silent since meeting Ines, suddenly spoke.
”I just read your thoughts. You seem interested in the job of professor.”
“…That’s…”
Though momentarily speechless, Yujin quickly responded.
“But my contract with Tiamat comes first.”
”Hmm? There’s no need to rush fulfilling the contract immediately.”
“Huh?”
Confused, Yujin questioned her further, to which Tiamat replied:
”Ideally, we should complete the contract sooner rather than later… but the contract doesn’t specify a deadline. Besides, considering you’re still a hatchling in dragon terms—even if your soul is unusually mature—you need time to grow. The Maze is a divine prison, far beyond what a single Transcendent can handle alone, so preparation is necessary.”
“Ah…”
”Even freeing a few of my children shouldn’t be too hard for you now… but there’s no rush. Take your time pursuing other interests while preparing. I’ll wait.”
Smiling warmly, Tiamat radiated maternal kindness.
For a moment, Yujin felt touched but still hesitated to ask:
“But won’t the other dragons trapped in the maze be waiting anxiously?”
”They’ll be fine—they sleep for centuries at a stretch.”
“…I see.”
He briefly underestimated the time perception of dragons. Without a physical body, Tiamat couldn’t sleep, but dragons naturally hibernate for centuries.
“…Still, I should check first.”
Nevertheless, Yujin didn’t want to delay his contract with Tiamat indefinitely. So he asked Ines:
“I have one question.”
“Go ahead.”
Ines nodded encouragingly. Yujin inquired:
“Will I have enough time to explore the Maze while working as a professor?”
“Ah, so you’re also interested in the Maze, huh?”
Ines smiled and explained:
“As long as professors fulfill their teaching duties, they’re free to pursue other activities. Whether research or exploring the Maze, the Academy will fully support them. Procedures can be expedited, and you can form parties with other faculty members to venture down together. Moreover, you won’t lack lecture time since time flows faster deeper in the Maze.”
“Is that so?”
This was new information to Yujin, who was still a newbie when it came to the Maze Academy system.
“…Actually, I vaguely noticed the difference in time flow before.”
While Yujin pondered, Ines continued:
“One day in Layers 1-10 equals 12 hours in real time, Layers 11-20 equal 6 hours, and Layers 21-30 equal 3 hours. Time accelerates twofold every ten layers.”
“Wow…”
“Additionally, the Maze remembers how far each challenger has reached. If someone previously reached Layer 10, they can instantly teleport there.”
Yujin already knew this part.
In any case, this posed no major issues. If time flowed faster in the Maze, it wouldn’t interfere with his duties…
‘Dragon language allows instant warping to lower levels too.’
Meaning he could fulfill Tiamat’s contract without significant hindrance.
There was one lingering question though—while Tiamat measured the Great War in millennia, people on the surface considered it ancient history from thousands of years ago…
”Oh, the accelerated time flow applies only to mortals, not Transcendents. Transcendents follow their own absolute time scale. You’ve adapted to mortal time flow, but once you embrace your Transcendent senses fully, you’ll understand.”
‘That makes sense.’
Tiamat clarified his inner doubts. Anyway…
“And… as you know, many places will want you. Being affiliated with the Academy will shield you from unnecessary nuisances.”
“That’s true.”
Above all, this statement resonated deeply with Yujin. Having an affiliation meant fewer annoyances.
“Of course, I won’t bother you about Space-Time Magic either. Simply joining the Academy and giving a few lectures will suffice.”
“…Is that so?”
“Does that sound good?”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Yujin smiled and shook hands with Ines.
“Alright then. I accept your offer for the professorship at the Academy.”
