How to Survive at the Academy
chapter-62

Glast’s Expedition (11)

His field of vision was narrow. It had always been Professor Glast’s old concern due to his myopia.

Given his profession required extensive reading, struggling with nearsightedness and a limited field of vision was inevitable.

The life of a teacher is ultimately a sedentary one.

Like the majority of professions, repeat the same thing for decades, and it all becomes routine and patterned.

Even the tumultuous and chaotic one-year academic schedule becomes predictable after a decade or so of repetition.

The unexpected anomalies and problems that pop up now and then fade into just another past experience with time.

What remains in memory are the seemingly identical everyday landscapes churned out in the same mold.

Seated at his large desk in the personal research room, engrossed in reading the annotated tomes of the sages, analyzing the holy mana, managing the academic curriculum, reviewing teaching materials for the students.

And then, the scenery outside the window changes.

Snow falls.

Rain pours.

Wind blows.

The sun rises in the east, and before you know it, it’s fleeing to the western sky.

The youngest professor who screwed up comes begging for forgiveness, flustered.

First-year Elemental Studies students who wish to preview intermediate magic come seeking him out in his research room.

The head chancellor on his way to some affair stops by to share a cup of tea.

So immersed in work at the same spot, painful memories soon fade away.

If it’s a wound that won’t heal, then gradually forgetting is the only option.

If there’s no way to cure it, then the only thing left is to find a way to forgive the pain.

At some point, dark circles deepen, eyes become hollow, and hair turns coarse. Even rumors calling him a ‘walking skull’ don’t bother his emotions much anymore.

Sometimes while sitting at the research desk waving the quill pen, the surroundings blur.

Is it that cursed nearsightedness again, or is it a sign to rest because of depleted stamina? He pondered, although the workload wasn’t exceedingly harsh compared to normal times.

Fragments of old memories occasionally flood back into his mind.

He straightens his back, leaning against the chair, and runs a hand over his face. As always, he closes his eyes tightly.

Remembering Muri’s face any longer is pointless. It’s nothing more than self-harm.

Then what should he paint over the darkness beneath his eyelids?

There’s nothing to draw. It’s like a blank canvas before a novice painter.

Just as he was about to give up on filling in the gaping blankness, as vast as the sea, he opens his eyes to find Taely’s party, with swords drawn, facing him.

Ed descends from the balcony. Having just reviewed the overall situation all the way back to Tricks Hall, he is considering returning to the underground waterways. He didn’t want to leave the scene of the incident until the very end.

As Ed steps down from the balcony, Lucy hops down after him, clasps his sleeve tightly, waddling along.

When Ed asks if there’s something wrong, Lucy shakes her head a couple of times and insists on going together.

Together, they descend the stairs from the rooftop of Tricks Hall.

Taely’s sword cuts through the air on the rooftop of the mana tower.

Before it reaches Glast, a protective magic manifests, blocking the sword’s advance. With a clanging sound, Taely’s sword is deflected.

But then Zix, with knuckledusters equipped, throws a punch along Glast’s path, accompanied by strengthened wind magic. However, even this was anticipated by Professor Glast, who manages to manifest a high-tier Holy Mana spell ‘Time Prison’.

Ensnared, Zix is rendered immobile. Following the successive Time Prison, both Elvira and Adelle are also subdued.

Taely counters the incoming assault with a Blade Saint technique, while Clevius remained safe outside the melee range. Nonetheless, more than half of their combined power had been neutralized.

Despite this, Taely’s eyes are still ablaze with fighting spirit. Even the cowardly Clevius gets inspired by those eyes, and, with trembling hands, he enters the fray.

Professor Glast dodges the slashes from the two warriors, constantly creating distance between them. And then he begins to draw out one magical artifact after another.

Ed, having reached the first floor of Tricks Hall, confirms that the situation is mostly under control.

The chaos is subsiding, and the expressions of the stumbling students seem to have relaxed.

Lucy, clutching his sleeve, crosses the first-floor corridor with Ed.

Fragments of mana golems are scattered everywhere – the aftermath of Taely’s combat.

The lead researcher Melveric, who fought against him, is unreachable, unconscious.

The student body president Veros, who attempted to confront the rampaging Taely in the corner, takes a break as well. Taely, angry over the kidnapping of Aila, must have been filled with rage. Even Veros couldn’t stop him.

Ed consoles Veros, whose term is almost over, for the hard work. Veros shakes his head, revealing that as the student body president, his attempt to stop Taely was merely a part of his duty. He fully understands Taely’s unilateral actions.

With the second semester nearly over, they’ll get busier with the holidays, and after the next student council presidential election, it will be time to start preparing for graduation. Smiling bitterly, Veros reminisces about his term, considering whether he achieved anything significant other than being caught up and led by situations he encountered. Then he looks up at the night sky through the broken ceiling.

Clevius lands a solid hit on Professor Glast’s shoulder—a significant but not deep wound. Glast furrows his brow and activates ‘Shock Enhanced Pulse Sphere’.

Pushed back by the shock, Clevius nearly falls out of the mana tower but is caught by Taely. Clevius, terrified, couldn’t help but overreact.

Glast, having put some distance between them, tends to his shoulder wound. Clumsily tying up the bloody robes, he starts chanting basic elemental spells to thwart the advancing melee fighters.

The spells that required focused effort for inexperienced students were effortlessly cast in rapid succession by the seasoned Professor Glast.

Facing only two melee warriors proved a challenge. However, Taely bravely charges through the barrage of elemental spells.

Striding through the underground teachers’ quarters towards the entrance of the waterways, Ed and Lucy encounter Lortelle from the residential complex.

Asking Lortelle how he dealt with King Elte, he explains that for the time being, he’s locked him up in the mercantile union’s guest room.

After all, as time passes, Elte will lose all his power and privileges. As long as he’s contained, there shouldn’t be any further issues. The upper hand has already switched sides; there’s no more trickery possible.

Ed questions if Lortelle doesn’t feel conflicted about imprisoning his father once, to which Lortelle shakes his head.

And then Lortelle reveals that the very notion of loss is nothing but a deception for her.

To have lost implies that one has once held something precious.

Lortelle admits to never having had a family or even a friendly relation that could appreciate genuine interaction.

Even loss is a privilege of those who have owned something. With that thought, Lortelle and Ed look up at the mana tower together.

The light emanating from the mana tower solemnly wraps around the academy.

Professor Glast unleashes a new Holy Mana, filling the rooftop of the mana tower.

High-tier Holy Mana spell ‘Time Acceleration’.

In an instant, the mana coursing through Professor Glast’s veins surges, and his movements become unbelievably fast.

His actions were slow and ungainly, yet his speed was inexplicably quick, as if Glast’s time was being fast-forwarded.

Even the basic spells were cast too quickly to overcome, let alone withstand.

Taely’s hair bleaches white as his determination surges, his eyes glowing with a fiery crimson.

Awakened Taely pierces through the basic spells, shrinking the distance.

Startled by Taely’s accelerated pace, Glast quickly retrieves and activates the Shock Enhanced Pulse Sphere again, but Blade Saint Taely cuts right through it.

Glast, forced to give ground, suffers a slash to his flank. Blood flows, and agony peaks.

Professor Glast’s pupils shake violently, with noticeable instability in his mana reaction.

But Glast’s wind blade cuts effectively, hitting Taely.

Injured in the abdomen, Taely falls, but again rises, bleeding, driven by the noble resolve to save Aila.

Weakness eventually creeps into the faltering Holy Mana. Elvira breaks through the momentarily weakened Time Prison.

Elvira quickly grasps the situation and begins throwing explosive concoctions. Hope returns to Taely’s party with the newly gained ranged support.

Professor Glast hastily begins chanting a new Holy Mana spell ‘Miniature Time Reversal’.

Ed, Lucy, and Lortelle walk side by side, reaching the entrance to the underground waterways.

They’re debating whether to check inside when Dorothy, the lead alchemist and third-year student, ascends from the entrance, now recovered.

Ed politely asks if she’s feeling alright. Dorothy complains about her severe headache and dizziness, sharing the terrifying confrontation with Yenika vividly.

Ed listens quietly, not sure what to say. Dorothy looks up, observing the mana towers filling the sky, and cautiously mentions that she’s unsure about Professor Glast’s plan. Nevertheless, to her, he’s a treasured mentor who acknowledged her potential.

Feeling somewhat distant as if he was always looking faraway, she still would choose Glast as the top teacher she’s met at Sylvania.

Hearing Dorothy’s words, Ed understands why she took part in these plans. Despite everyone bad-mouthing the seemingly ill-tempered Glast, he had played his role diligently as a mentor to someone.

Professor Glast’s wounds heal in an instant, and the ominous red mana enveloping the sky intensifies.

‘Miniature Time Reversal’ magically rewinds the injuries on his own body, making them as though they never existed.

Witnessing the full-out magic exertion, Taely, Elvira, and Clevius can only widen their eyes. The power of Holy Mana magic, defying causality, momentarily undermines Taely’s resolve.

But defeat is not an option. As long as Aila’s life is in peril, Taely will never give up. From a life filled only with harsh trials, only Taely knows the magnitude of Aila’s significance.

The unfolded Blade Saint techniques advance to a second phase, each move engrained in Taely’s mind.

But Professor Glast is no easy opponent.

The extensively researched Holy Mana magic of Professor Glast envelops Taely and his compatriots. High-tier Holy Mana spell ‘Nightmare Imprint’, impervious even to Taely’s Blade Saint technique.

Taely momentarily loses consciousness, and sinks into the mire of nightmares.

The party led by Taely plunged into an illusion, facing death hundreds of times over.

Stabbed, sliced, wounded, they repeated these hallucinations until their minds nearly shattered.

Though it seemed but a moment in time, it was a trial so intense one’s heart could break hundreds of times.

Nevertheless, Taely, Clevius, and Elvira shattered the illusion in an instant.

While Clevius retched and Elvira streamed with tears and snot, Taely gritted her teeth and charged once more at Professor Glast.

However, her weakened body was unable to penetrate Glast’s defenses. The lesser spirits summoned by Professor Glast rose in unison, bombarding Taely with elemental magic.

Despite numerous attempts at sword strikes to break through, Taely was eventually brought down in a battered state without reaching the professor.

As Professor Glast prepared to deliver the final strike, a spear of ice burst through his abdomen.

Zix had shattered the time prison during Taely’s battle, using the disruption in Glast’s celestial magic to his advantage.

Without hesitation, he cast a mid-tier Frost magic spell ‘Ice Spear’.

Though it was somewhat crude in execution compared to the ice magic specialist Lortelle, it was sufficient to subdue the professor in an emergency.

Blood splattered from Glast’s mouth, a critical injury.

Yet, time magic, invoked at the expense of his lifespan, started to reverse his wounds.

After Dorothy left, Ed and Lortelle decided against entering the underground waterways, suspecting instability due to continuous earthquakes.

Ed lamented over leaving his magic engineering supplies and formulas at the Soul Library, but valued his life too much to risk entering.

Content to observe the situation from afar, Yenika emerged from the forest.

Confirming that the Elte mercenaries had retreated without incident, she returned later than expected, possibly having made a detour.

Asked by Ed where she had been, she mentioned wanting to verify something important.

Yenika recounted what Tarkan had told her after the Ophelius Tower seizure incident:

– “Come to think of it, I’ve detected strange magical energy on the outskirts of the northern forest. I should check it out when I have time.”

– “Since it becomes more active at night, it seems to be related to celestial magic. Merilda will determine the exact location.”

Convinced that it was associated with celestial magic, she felt compelled to investigate personally. No Magic Towers had manifested deep within the northern forest.

Was the engraved magic circle intended for some other purpose? Yenika was too intrigued to ignore it.

She asked if Ed would join her, and he, equally curious, nodded in agreement.

As they prepared to depart, a rustling in the bushes and a startled squeak revealed Assistant Professor Claire Elfin huddled alone, clinging to her knees.

Injuries might heal, but pain is not so easily forgotten.

The pain of being stabbed lingered in Glast’s mind, his spirits shaken.

He pushed the forbidden magic to its limits, his eyes bloodshot, his pale complexion ashen.

Enhanced claw hands, Shockwave Orbs, Abyssal Call, Ignition, Wind Blades, Enfright, Demon Contagion, Time Acceleration, Basic Elemental Magic, Short-Range Spatial Movement, Anti-Gravity, Cleansing Winds, Demon Golem Summoning, Explosion, Demonic Tribe Release, Spatial Freeze, Disaster Elixir, Night Butterfly Elixir, Smoke Cloud Elixir, Steel Rock Elixir.

Using every form of magic engineering equipment, elemental, summoning, spatial, interference, and curse magics, as well as alchemical elixirs, he dominated the battlefield. Even with ample space at the top of the Magic Tower, nowhere was safe.

Taely’s party began to turn the tide of battle. Despite impending defeat, Taely remained undeterred.

His fierce willpower shone brightly, driven by his unwavering desire to rescue Aila. No one could help but admire such determination.

With Taely leading, the punitive force broke through Glast’s obstructions.

Dodging, neutralizing, and enduring, the close-combat warriors slowly inflicted wounds on the professor.

Avoiding, distancing, defending, but Glast was naturally weaker up close.

Blood sprayed from his shoulder again, a dagger grazed his collarbone, and magic pierced his thigh.

Despite this, he overcharged the forbidden magic once more, rewinding time on his body. Even though the lethal wounds kept coming, he refused to fall.

Despite feeling like hitting a robust wall with bare fists, Taely and his party didn’t despair or give up.

Defeat was not an option. They would not succumb to pain. They would not cave to adversity.

This was the path of heroes.

Finally, Adelle, known as ‘Romanticist Adelle’, shattered the remaining Time Prison and joined the battlefield.

Seeing Yenika’s face, an alarmed Claire began apologizing profusely for something she seemed to have deeply feared.

Not wanting to be outdone, Yenika awkwardly bowed her head, apologizing in return, though her relief did not diminish her discomfort.

When Ed asked Claire why she was there, she explained she fled the waterways due to the peril. Observing the bruised skin, ruffled hair, and bloodshot eyes, Ed nearly asked if Yenika’s terror prompted her tears, only to find streaks already drying.

After a flustered response, Claire admitted her tears and recounted her arduous years under Glast’s tutelage at Sylvania.

“Professor Glast… he’s just an utterly detestable person. A stubborn old bigot, spiteful, with a skull-like face, offloading his work, arrogant, dogmatic, prone to lecturing, brash, and critical… Someone you simply could not like.”

Despite her intuitions and keen discernment, she still regarded him as the epitome of a scholar amid the people she met at Sylvania.

With Adelle’s support, excelling in purification and bolstering allies, the battle shifted further. Despite repeated lethal injuries, Glast kept rising, unblinkingly, his blood-soaked robe tied tightly.

Though Taely’s injuries were severe, he lacked the ability to rewind time.

His blood-soaked condition didn’t prevent him from hoisting his sword anew. Despite the mental strain, his will could not be broken. It was as if he had surpassed human limits, becoming nearly zombie-like from sheer determination.

Glast deflected Clevius’ sword strike and repelled him with a wave magic. Elvira’s basic magic struck his abdomen, but he resisted with a ki shout, summoning celestial power.

However, Zix’ wind magic struck from behind. While some attacks were parried, injuries were inevitable; his shoulder was pierced again.

Taely unleashed a gust with her sword to clear the obscured vision after a smoke elixir was broken. Attempts to blast Taely away failed when Adelle’s interference magic temporarily disabled the magical circuits of Glast’s equipment.

Despite trying to counter with basic magic, Glast’s abdomen was already pierced by Taely’s sword.

“Gargh.”

Glast spat blood once more, staggering. Yet, he invoked celestial magic again.

His body’s time would not reverse further.

The overburden of magic refused any further miracles.

“Ah, kerh.”

Taely withdrew his sword and struck again.

Glast failed to block.

Perhaps he anticipated his wounds would heal, and battle would continue, but the last fatal blow was irreversible.

Losing blood, Glast stumbled backward.

“Uh, huh.”

Taely’s party remained on guard, in case it was an act. They readied for additional strikes if needed.

But all spells Glast had cast were undone, and the summoned spirits watching their rear were soon unsummoned and disappeared.

“Kr, hoo…”

A hissing breath left Glast’s mouth amongst the blood. He stumbled to the tower’s edge, the night wind tickling his bloodstained cheeks.

The Magic Tower, now devoid of magical flux, began vibrating subtly—signs of impending collapse.

At last, Glast uttered a self-mocking laugh.

“So, you’ve won.”

He closed his eyes then opened them to the sky, arms wide, embracing the star-filled night. Although only the cold air filled his grasp, a smile remained.

This feeling… certainly stemmed from self-mockery.

Ultimately, his final thought was singular and as anticipated.

“I miss you… Muri…”

Was it a last will or lingering attachment?

As he exhausted his residual magic, his body’s strength waned.

Behind him lay an abyss.

Amongst the chilly air, Glast’s body floated momentarily.