Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 102

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 102
“Delighted to see you all.”
The Vice Principal greeted them with a gentle smile.
With his warm impression—the sort that reminded one of a kindly grandfather—and the holy radiance surrounding him, he looked every inch a saint.
But his inner nature was filthier than any demon’s.
‘The Pope of Apocalypse.’
In Elysium Online, excluding the Foreign Gods themselves, there were three figures counted as final bosses.
The Principal, the Vice Principal, and the Director.
Of the three, the Principal was the strongest.
The Director was the most dangerous.
And the Vice Principal was the most troublesome.
The Vice Principal’s martial prowess was weaker than both the Principal and the Director.
Yet he earned the reputation of being most troublesome because his weapon was “politics.”
The Vice Principal had planted his people throughout the Academy. The head of the Academic Affairs Department was immediately one of his appointees.
With that network, the Vice Principal manipulated the Academy as he pleased.
If the Vice Principal marked you, you could forget about having any real Academy life.
What truly terrified about the Vice Principal was that he implanted Fragments of Foreign Gods into his people, turning them into Corrupted Beings.
Thus the Vice Principal raised an army of Corrupted Beings.
Corrupted Beings were already formidable, but with the Vice Principal’s Blessing and healing added on top, they became a literal undead army.
Their strength was one problem, but the real issue was that this army consisted of Academy staff and students.
Destroying the army left the Academy half-annihilated; failing to destroy it meant the Academy was entirely consumed by the Foreign God.
This was why the Vice Principal ranked as the most troublesome villain.
However, the Vice Principal was the sort of shadowy figure who moved the board from behind the scenes quietly.
He rarely made direct public appearances.
So why had he shown up here?
“The Vice Principal will personally allocate special funding for you.”
Bernadette explained in a low voice.
Just then, the Vice Principal looked at Leon and chuckled.
“I hear you received a perfect score in lecture satisfaction. Ha, the record I set during my teaching days has been broken just like that. How delightful.”
“Thank you.”
Leon answered flatly.
Even as a professor, it was rather presumptuous behavior toward the Vice Principal.
The other professors were taken aback, but the Vice Principal maintained his smile without concern.
“Would you mind sharing the secret behind your high lecture satisfaction ratings? It would be most helpful for the other faculty.”
“I simply worked diligently.”
“Diligence and integrity—the most essential virtues. Ha, congratulations.”
The Vice Principal extended his hand to Leon.
‘The Vice Principal is offering his hand?’
Ordinarily, the Vice Principal greatly avoided physical contact with others.
He despised everyone except himself.
That he would now offer a handshake was deeply odd.
Only then did I grasp why the Vice Principal had appeared in person.
‘He’s checking to see if any professor has taken a Crack.’
The Vice Principal was most sensitive to Cracks among the three Academy leaders.
Unlike the Principal and Director, the Vice Principal had to plant Fragments of Foreign Gods into his army to cultivate them, so it made sense.
Even low-grade Cracks mattered to him.
In the previous two Crack incidents, the Vice Principal had deployed Karel and Elena, but both times came up empty.
That must have been quite damaging to him.
He seemed to suspect that some professor had taken a Crack.
To determine whether someone possessed a Fragment of a Foreign God, direct physical contact was necessary—the way it had been when I’d grabbed Volcan’s head.
That was likely why the Vice Principal was deliberately trying to shake hands with Leon.
My suspicion turned to certainty with his next action.
“The Vice Principal will personally bestow a Blessing, it seems. Professors who wish to receive it, please come forward one by one.”
The Vice Principal was a Cardinal.
A Cardinal stood just below the Pope.
Faced with a Cardinal’s Blessing, the professors had no choice but to line up.
“Ha. It is humble power, but if it aids the faculty in any way, I gladly offer it.”
The Vice Principal, wearing a benevolent smile, began shaking hands with the professors one by one.
‘Confirmed. He’s searching for whoever took the Crack.’
There were professors who did not receive the Blessing.
All the Black Magic professors refused. There was a compatibility issue.
Beyond that, there were others who did not accept it.
The twin witches, Rocksvale, and the King of Adventurers.
The Vice Principal scanned those who had rejected the Blessing.
‘He’s searching the right places.’
Then the Vice Principal said something to Bernadette.
“Ah, the Vice Principal says he’ll Bless the teaching assistants as well, in appreciation of their hard work.”
The teaching assistants erupted in cheers, moved by the Vice Principal’s benign smile.
Now he was checking even the assistants after the professors.
The Vice Principal seemed genuinely furious.
Of course, the Vice Principal likely didn’t truly expect to find the Crack thief among the assistants.
Yet he was checking even the remotest possibility.
“W-what an honor!”
Without exception, all the teaching assistants moved toward the Vice Principal.
Even the teaching assistant specializing in Black Magic joined the line.
Regardless of compatibility issues, as a teaching assistant, one couldn’t miss the chance to gain the Vice Principal’s favor.
‘This has become troublesome.’
Even the Black Magic teaching assistant was standing in line for the Vice Principal.
If I refused the handshake here, suspicion would definitely fall on me.
The Vice Principal was meticulous; he missed nothing out of place.
But if I took his hand, the Fragment of a Foreign God would be detected.
What could I do—
‘What if I close my Life Force?’
The Black Aura was power from the Foreign God.
The way I’d handled the Black Aura by closing my Life Force—I should be able to do the same with the Fragment of a Foreign God.
‘It’s worth trying.’
Thanks to Evangeline, I’d already significantly lowered my Corruption Level.
The opponent was the Vice Principal.
Partial concealment wouldn’t suffice. I had to hide it completely.
First, I concentrated my Life Force as much as possible into one point. My blood felt as though it were all rushing to that single location.
My mind grew hazy for a moment, but I gritted my teeth and moved my Life Force.
Soon I was able to gather it into a single point.
I wrapped Holy Power around that point.
Having tightened my Life Force with no gaps, moving my Holy Power was difficult.
‘Move. Just move.’
I forced my Life Force with desperate effort.
It was already exhausting, and using the Sign of the Cross would only make it harder.
Using the Sign of the Cross risked drawing attention.
I had to operate my Holy Power at a level microscopically below maximum.
Then the Vice Principal stood before me.
The Vice Principal smiled kindly and extended his hand.
I slowly took his hand.
‘What level could he be?’
The Principal, Vice Principal, and Director were the Academy’s final villains.
Taking his hand should let me gauge his strength level.
At least, that’s what should have happened—
‘I feel nothing.’
The Vice Principal surely possessed a Fragment of a Foreign God.
If so, I should have sensed the Fragment upon contact.
But I sensed absolutely nothing.
My ability to hide the Fragment came from lowering my Corruption Level thanks to Evangeline.
The Vice Principal was the first to fall among the three Academy leaders.
His Corruption Level should have been far from low.
The possibility that the Vice Principal was hiding a Fragment the way I was seemed remote.
‘He’s stronger than I can even gauge?’
Then the Vice Principal released my hand.
Without a word, he returned to the platform.
“Mm.”
Standing on the platform, the Vice Principal surveyed the room.
He wore his customary benevolent smile, but his eyes were ice-cold.
“I shall offer a prayer.”
The Vice Principal traced the Sign of the Cross—deliberately in reverse.
Yet no one noticed.
The pure white light radiating from the Vice Principal’s back was so brilliantly dazzling that it blinded the eyes.
The pure white light completely covered the Grand Hall.
The Black Magic professors panicked and tried to flee, but the white light had already spread.
Holy Power and Black Magic are opposing forces. Light of this intensity would be pure poison to Black Magic.
Yet the Black Magic professors remained untouched despite being engulfed in the pure white light.
In fact, they looked relieved.
Of course they did.
This was merely a counterfeit of Holy Power.
I examined the light that covered our surroundings.
To the ignorant, it would appear as pure white light, but to me, holding a Fragment of a Foreign God, its true form was visible.
The pure white light was the wailing of tortured souls—those sacrificed as offerings to the Fragments of Foreign Gods, screaming and shrieking.
Souls masquerading as Holy Power shook the Grand Hall.
I couldn’t even fathom how many victims he’d sacrificed.
Join the Glory. Oh, join the great Glory.
Glory. Glory.
Inhuman voices hammered at my consciousness.
It was nearly indistinguishable from a Chasm itself.
‘Is the Vice Principal this strong?’
Of course the Vice Principal was strong.
He was one of the three final villains of the Academy.
The problem was that he was far stronger than I’d anticipated.
The weakest of the three main villains in terms of raw martial power, yet so formidable.
I couldn’t even imagine how strong the Principal and Director were.
Moreover, the Vice Principal was a villain who grew stronger over time.
The fact that he was already this powerful was a fairly catastrophic variable.
‘Damn this hard mode.’
The pure white light meticulously scanned everyone—not just the assistants, but even the Security Corps members outside.
Yet people noticed nothing, only marveling and applauding.
This was why the Vice Principal was called the Pope of Apocalypse.
‘If not for Evangeline, I’d have been caught for sure.’
Without lowering my Corruption Level, I would certainly have been exposed here.
‘I’m already indebted to Evangeline.’
I lifted the corners of my mouth and cheered along.
The pure white light gradually subsided.
The Vice Principal’s smile faded.
The Vice Principal said something to Bernadette.
Bernadette’s pointed eyebrows trembled.
Soon she climbed onto the platform.
“Professor Piren, who received the lowest score, will have your contract terminated if your satisfaction rating remains low in the next evaluation.”
“Y-yes, understood.”
At Bernadette’s cold voice, the man called Piren trembled visibly.
Bernadette immediately turned her gaze elsewhere.
“The Midterm Examination period begins shortly. It is the most critical time in the Academy. We cannot allow students’ efforts to be diminished or inadequately recognized.”
Bernadette was right; the Midterm Examination was indeed crucial.
As with all Academy novels, exams were the main event.
Then Bernadette added in a frigid tone:
“Therefore, our Academic Affairs Department will provide support. We will assign an additional Academic Affairs staff member to each professor during the Midterm Examination period.”
The Academic Affairs staff were the elite among elites.
Assigning them to the professors was truly an extraordinary gesture.
Naturally, the professors cheered and were delighted.
‘He means to monitor the professors.’
Unable to find the Crack thief, the Vice Principal was now assigning Academic Affairs staff to surveil the faculty—clearly.
It was a clever approach.
The problem was that the Crack thief wasn’t a professor.
‘The Vice Principal is far stronger than I anticipated—’
The Vice Principal was like a queen ant. Left unchecked, he would exponentially lay eggs and expand his territory.
The fact that he was already this powerful was a critically dangerous variable.
I had to suppress him by any means necessary.
Since the Vice Principal built his army with Corrupted Beings, clearing even low-grade Chasms would allow him to grow significantly.
Conversely, if Chasms weren’t supplied to him, the Vice Principal would inevitably lose his grip.
Conveniently, I’d already lowered my Corruption Level through Evangeline’s quest, and as Academic Affairs staff were stationed with the professors, their numbers would dwindle.
And now began the Midterm Examination period.
In other words—
‘I monopolize the Chasms.’
I lifted the corners of my mouth as high as they would go.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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