Professor Sadako took out the Dark Essence that boosts the resistances of Undead and Good Corpses, made from melting the metal core of Living Armor, and the Metal Ball that increases physical resistance.
“Don’t just take hits; eat it.”
“I-I’m fine.”
“Your body is small. You’re lacking muscles. If kids can’t eat and grow, they’ll end up feeling bad when they take hits.”
“I’m really fine… It’s because I’m on a diet.”
“Every single word drives me crazy. What diet at a time when you should be eating and growing?”
Even if Oknodie was full, he would pile up the food given to him in his food pouch for later. But it was Professor Sadako who was even less pleased with Hestia who was weaker than Oknodie but was still trying to save herself.
Hestia was at her wit’s end.
The rumors about the terrifying Professor Sadako were rampant.
To think that this true embodiment of fear had a granddaughter who couldn’t even feed herself! The current champion, Seoguyeon, who was also known as the Fearsome Velvet, was treated like a toy and shattered by her.
“I’m more worried about Oknodie. His stress from the lectures recently is no joke; his expression is really bad. How else could we have gathered the seniors’ strength to come to Professor Sadako’s Catacombs?”
Hestia’s gaze suddenly landed on the Skull Instructors kneeling side by side with their hands raised in front of the wall.
– What are you looking at, damn it.
– Are you not gonna roll your eyes?
– You’ll regret this, really.
“…”
What a bunch of punks they are, not instructors at all.
While the instructors were using intimidation tricks, a pair of dark fists born from the black darkness behind Professor Sadako struck the skulls with a thud each.
It was common for skulls to be cracked or heads to roll on the floor. Some even ended up with fractures or completely smashed skulls.
Drag, drag.
The battered corpses were grabbed by dark hands and shoved into coffins. As the instructors tried to pick up the skulls on the floor with both hands, they were smashed by a gigantic curtain of darkness.
“Who said you could lower your hands?”
Seeing a fellow instructor being dragged crumbly into a sarcophagus, the others broke out in a cold sweat that couldn’t be shed, putting together the skulls themselves.
Witnessing Professor Sadako’s lethal instructor training, Hestia rolled her eyes in horror.
Getting on this terrifying professor’s nerves might lead to hearing “A sarcophagus is empty?” and collapsing right then and there, waking up inside one.
“Well done getting this far.”
“T-Thank you?”
“That’s not a compliment. There are 37 layers of destruction. The total cost for repairs is 30,220,000 points. The time it will take to reopen the Catacombs is 25 days, thanks to this delay, the 4th-year excursion schedule is pushed back, and now I’ll get scolded by the Principal.”
“…”
“How are you going to take responsibility?”
If she didn’t take responsibility, she’d happily make Oknodie the Undead instead. To avoid bringing even more disaster to Oknodie, it would only be fair for this incident’s responsibility to fall on her.
Hestia steeled her resolve and thought of her precious relationships as she bid her farewell.
Goodbye, Hat Friend.
I won’t forget the comfort you gave me.
Take care, Howling Mandragora.
I left the fighting manual in your new home, so read it diligently and reach the realm of martial gods…
Goo Stone Golem.
Make sure to learn fighting techniques well from Howling Mandragora and grow well in the wild to become a splendid giant stone golem…
And Lotto, if you fix that filthy temperament, you might not be a great noble, but you’ll definitely be an excellent martial artist… or maybe not…
Hmm, honestly, that’s a stretch, but you might get married…
And Oknodie.
I’m always sorry and grateful for dragging me to the paper dungeon on weekends despite my flaws.
I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
Looks like this is where I bow out…
“I’ll take Oknodie’s place as the Undead. So please, don’t impose harsher punishment on Oknodie.”
“…What do you think I am? I wouldn’t turn a second-year freshman into an Undead just like that.”
“…Does that mean you’re not punishing me?”
“If I turn you into an Undead now, your elite Iron-Blooded physique will only become a Blood-Red physique after 3 more years, and if you wait 10 more years, you’ll reach the Diamond Body. I’m not so short-tempered that I can’t wait before turning you into an Undead.”
“………….”
So in the end, you’re still going to make me an Undead!
“Dim-witted mug… Just looking at that face tells me you’re clueless. Stop thinking weird thoughts. The academy students will try to use even their insufficient power to survive, and they often die off on their own to become corpses. Where do you think those corpses will be stored?”
Hestia realized the horrifying truth.
Professor Sadako’s resting room appeared beyond the instructors.
This place was merely where Professor Sadako rested.
There were still deeper doors within the Catacombs.
4th Year, Teaching Assistants, Instructors.
The Numbers Instructors.
The door that housed the bodies of former graduates who had wandered the world after graduation and perished.
The scale of power itself was different.
The one who governs and manages all the corpses of the academy.
Professor Sadako had overwhelming asymmetrical power that would allow her to ignore even the combined strength of all faculty if she so desired.
This was the power of the ‘Seonhwang-pick Professorship’ planted deeply into magical studies, not the ‘Principal-pick Professorship’ of the Dragon Principal who had personally roamed the world and selected their professors.
No matter how many professors and graduates the Empire created, they couldn’t dare to execute the assault on the academy.
“Trampling on blessings is also my destiny.”
Professor Sadako didn’t offer Hestia any further chances, who was hesitating with drool at the thought of what delights Oknodie would enjoy.
“And don’t bow twice. That’s what you do when holding a ritual.”
“S-Sorry! I’m confused about what kind of greeting I should give to an Undead who is already dead…”
“Take this too. I don’t need it.”
As Professor Sadako returned Hestia’s crude offering, she thought she was in for a punishment and nearly cried.
However, even closing her eyes tightly, the anticipated pain never came.
No curse of decay, no explosion of body parts, no loss of vitality from the vampire touch happened at all.
As Hestia cautiously opened her eyes, she met the gaze of red eyes peering through long black locks, mere inches away from her face.
The terrifying aura that could easily swallow a person gazed intently at Hestia as Professor Sadako opened her mouth with a crunch.
“Lead the way.”
“W-Where to?”
“You asked for help, right? Oknodie.”
Did I just hear what I thought?
Is she offering to help?
Professor Sadako?
After we made this mess?
Is this person actually nice?
But she said she’d turn me into the Undead in ten years if I die, is she still nice?
As the doubts multiplied in her mind, Hestia felt black hands of darkness clamp down tightly on her head.
If her memory served her correctly, this hand’s power was enough to turn the Skull Instructors’ skulls to dust in a single blow.
With that overwhelming power, the dark hand placed pressure on her head…
Spin
180 degrees.
It pointed toward the exit of the Catacombs.
“I heard you were struggling with lectures.”
“Well, maybe you could, um, slow down the lectures, Professor…?”
“There are other ways.”
Professor Sadako was quite strict regarding education.
She alone monopolized all the corpses of the academy.
The lord of the night and master of the Undead.
The absolute being ruling over the fears of all, alive or dead, knew no compromise.
A queen who does not know compromise declared.
“Force all other professors’ lecture difficulties down. Save me.”
“What?!”
“So lead the way right now. To the other professors’ offices teaching Oknodie.”
Thus began Professor Sadako’s professor-smashing expedition to teach Oknodie.
*
Professor vs. Professor.
Hestia found herself witnessing a scene she never wanted to imagine, at the very closest distance, and was swept away by tremendous fear.
At this moment, she thought no one besides Oknodie could be as unfortunate as she was.
But the world is vast, and many are unfortunate.
Velvet, who received the bill demanding the payment for the restoration costs of the Catacombs from Professor Sadako, was also among those unfortunate people.
━━━
[Professor Sadako’s Soul Billing Notice]
Professor Sadako charges ‘Velvet Belle’ for the restoration of the Catacombs damaged by the Catacombs Expedition Team, to be fulfilled by one of the following methods:
① Pay 32,220,000 points within 10 days.
② Provide 10 Grade 7 corpses within a year.
③ The inevitable death coming in 2 years.
━━━
“…”
In other words, it means either pay or submit bodies or die.
She needed points, and not just a little.
She had the money, but…
If she paid that, all her future plans of borrowing Number Arts and doing something big for the Western Three Kingdoms would crumble.
– Senior, if you want to make a big score later, come find me! There’s a secret dungeon I’ve put off for conquering!
Cornered, Velvet recalled Oknodie’s suggestion.
Given that Oknodie was the cause of this chaos, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to say he bears some responsibility.
The damage caused by Oknodie.
Let’s fill it again with Oknodie’s power.
Velvet made up her mind to tackle the secret dungeon.
“Are we going to raid the 4th-year graduation dungeon?!”
“…You suggested that, right?”
What a crazy lady.
Darknodi screamed internally.
“That can’t be done.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to get special training from Professor Plato…”
“…That might be okay.”
“Why?”
“Because Professor Sadako will step in.”
“?”
“The kids don’t need to know. Just get ready for the dungeon conquering, it’s all good.”
“……”
In contrast to everyone’s intents, Darknodi’s academy life grew ever more difficult.
Even if she remembered the insane gaming mentality of a sadistic growth gamer, Darknodi’s misfortune was that she lacked the disposition to enjoy it.
For her, who wished for a happy academy life with friends and only to be cuddled by Jonnas the Butler, countless power-up events that were anything but enjoyable began to assail her.
