The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 34

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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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Chapter 34
—This bastard…!!
It snarled in fury, but I remained unmoved.
‘90%. Almost there.’
Then it said something I hadn’t anticipated.
—Don’t think this will end like this… Even if I perish… I’ll take all of your lives with me.
“!!”
The moment I grasped what it was about to do, my eyes flew wide open.
‘No!!’
Too late.
Roooooaaaar!!
The Fragment’s body convulsed, and a terrible aura began pouring forth.
‘It’s going to self-destruct! I have to stop it!’
But how could I possibly stop it?
Even I couldn’t manage the impossible.
Sure enough, a message appeared.
—Probability of preventing the Fragment’s self-destruction with current abilities: 0%
‘I know already! Stop rubbing salt in the wound!’
Sometimes this Success Rate Judgment System really got under my skin.
‘A sudden self-destruct? What’s with this Great Stature being so extreme?! I’m sorry for being so presumptuous, Lord of Hwanmong. Would calling it a draw be acceptable?’
Of course, no answer came back.
But then, Randolph, the former chancellor, suddenly let out a cry that made no sense to me.
“O unnamed Ascendant who watches over us! I beseech you, aid us in this hour! Save these students, if nothing else!!”
‘…What’s the old man talking about? An Ascendant? I’m not an Ascendant.’
I blinked.
‘Did he mistake my help for an Ascendant’s intervention? I’m not one, you know?’
But in that moment.
A single method flashed into my mind.
I recalled the Success Rate Judgment System’s message.
‘It said I can’t stop it with my current abilities.’
The implication of that statement was,
‘I need to acquire the ability to stop that self-destruction.’
To be more specific:
“If I use an Ascendant’s power, I can stop that self-destruct.”
If someone heard me, they’d tell me to get a psychiatric evaluation. It was insane.
Worthless drivel not worth debating the plausibility of.
Yet I pursued this absurd train of thought.
‘It’s not impossible. This is the World of Hwanmong. In theory, anything can happen here. I can at least “mimic” it.’
Most importantly,
I turned my gaze to survey the World of Hwanmong.
“…100%. My control over this world is now absolute.”
The Fragment had lost its dominion the moment it began its self-destruct sequence.
‘Though this doesn’t mean I can do anything without limit. It’s impossible to overstep the boundaries of my own vessel.’
That is, I could do things like eliminate mana insensitivity, but forcing myself to a higher level of cultivation was out of the question.
However.
‘There’s still one thing—a single technique from Ascendant Illicit Magic I can mimic.’
Because this was a space of Hwanmong.
And because the Fragment, the target of the technique, was also a creature of Hwanmong.
Above all else, it was possible precisely because I was the master of this world.
‘I’ll mimic the Primordial Void, the ninth Star Rank manipulation-type Illicit Magic of the Shaper of the Radiant Veil.’
For reference, the “Shaper of the Radiant Veil” is the epithet that the cancer patient Joanna will earn after her awakening.
In other words, what I’m about to mimic is an Illicit Magic that Joanna will use only after reaching the Ascendant stage far in the future.
‘…Though I have no idea whether Joanna will actually grow to become an Ascendant this time around.’
I let a look of concern cross my face.
With control of Hwanmong’s realm, I could see from a distance—and Joanna stood frozen, her eyes hollow and vacant.
A stark contrast to Katrine and Rivel, who were desperately holding their own against the demons.
‘…My plan to enroll Joanna in Rubines Academy is completely falling apart.’
I sighed.
Not all sixteen protagonists could become Ascendants.
Without proper “cultivation,” there was a high chance they would “fall behind” or “fall into corruption.”
Only the two heroines of the game, Katrine and Rivel, grew stronger on their own without any effort.
Even they required extraordinary dedication to reach the ultimate Ascendant stage known as Heavenly Position.
‘If this really is hard mode, I need to raise Joanna to at least Rank 8 Grand Mage—specifically to the final stage of Seeker of the Way.’
It felt overwhelming.
Still, that was a problem for another time.
I closed my eyes and gathered my focus.
‘The Primordial Void is the ultimate illicit magic that reduces a designated being to nothingness.’
As it happened, I knew everything about the Primordial Void in detail—and there was a reason for that.
I’d originally played through the game for a client back on Earth.
One of our clients was apparently a huge fan of Joanna, so I’d studied the game carefully on the side.
‘The first activation condition is to understand and master the world.’
I’d become the master of this World of Hwanmong, so I’d satisfied that condition.
But I hadn’t met the second condition: ‘possessing the qualification to intervene in the essence of one’s target.’
‘It’s fine. Hwanmong was never real to begin with. The root of the Lord of Hwanmong is the same.’
In other words, what I was trying to do was simply make the non-existent remain non-existent.
That was entirely different from what true Primordial Void did—erasing something that genuinely existed.
That’s why I’d called it mimicry.
‘Though it’s hardly easy. Even mimicry is a Rank 9 spell.’
Crash!
My perception expanded.
Everything in the World of Hwanmong fit within my awareness.
Complete understanding.
It was only possible because I pierced through the nature of all magic.
Understanding meant perfect dominion was within reach.
As the perfect master, I commanded the World of Hwanmong.
“As one who has rightfully claimed the True Name of your lord, I command thee.”
In truth, I didn’t need to recite such cringe-worthy incantations even in a dire moment—it was just the Black Flame Dragon’s fastidious habit, clinging to formality even in extremis.
“Dissolve into void and nothingness, insignificant thing.”
A deafening roar tore through the air.
It sounded as though the world itself was trembling.
I was forcibly returning the Fragment to its original nothingness.
But then something unexpected happened.
Snap!
The spell’s activation suddenly halted.
For no reason at all.
As if someone had deliberately blocked it.
I understood the reason immediately.
‘…My Stature isn’t sufficient.’
What I’d just unleashed was an act of interfering with causality, even if it was only a limited mimicry within the World of Hwanmong.
Something permitted only to Ascendants.
‘…Does the system know about this?’
I gritted my teeth.
At this rate, I’d be caught in a backlash and die.
There was no time to worry about the world’s trivial(?) rules.
‘I need to cheat my way through.’
As someone who’d been a sales king, I was skilled at shortcuts.
I compared the current situation to my time back on Earth.
If being an Ascendant was a ‘qualification’ and the thing checking it was a ‘verification system,’ then I needed to exploit that system’s ‘blind spot.’
‘I’ll pretend to have the Stature.’
It all came down to ‘pretense.’
I began to imagine.
Myself as an Ascendant.
Beyond a magic specialist (Rank 4, Expert),
beginning to walk the Magical Path as an elite mage (Rank 5, Supreme),
possessing a firm world of my own as a Magical Path master (Rank 6, Owner),
and eventually perfecting magic entirely in my own image (Rank 7, Master),
ultimately transcending even that (Rank 8, Grand).
I imagined myself challenging the ultimate itself and ascending to the heavens.
‘It’s only imagination, after all.’
I was a master of magic.
When that stature truly became mine, I could sense intuitively what form I would take.
The strange thing was, it didn’t feel foreign at all.
As though this were the Ascendant Stature I was always meant to possess.
I released the magic I’d held suspended, as if in a trance.
This time, the world didn’t forbid me.
A deep, resonant hum filled the air.
The Fragment began to crumble into dust and scatter.
It was a magnificent sight.
Everyone in the hall watched in awe.
‘Oh thank god. I’m alive. Why does becoming a single professor have to be this hard? From now on, I’m living like a mouse—quiet, invisible, forgotten.’
But contrary to my wishes, things took a strange turn.
A cascade of messages bloomed before me.
-You have vanquished a Fragment of Great Stature!
-All the world will come to praise this achievement!
Up to this point, it was manageable.
It was a significant event, after all.
As long as no one found out I was the one behind it, I’d be fine.
But then.
-You have experienced the Ascendant Stature!
-Your soul imprints a unique experience!
-You acquire the additional trait ‘Ascendant Stature (imperfect, temporary, partial)’!
: Under specific conditions, you can temporarily manifest a restricted Ascendant Stature!
‘…What is this?’
…Impossible.
An absurd trait had spawned itself into being.
* * *
The tumultuous practical examination came to an end.
The entire Empire was turned upside down.
A Fragment of Great Stature had awakened, after all.
But what shocked the world most was what came next.
“An unknown Ascendant saved Rubines Academy?”
“Indeed! Former Rector Randolph himself said that an Ascendant’s magnificent magic obliterated the Fragment!”
“Interesting—do we know which Ascendant?”
“Not at all. Some say a brand new Ascendant has emerged! They say their magic is unlike any known Ascendant’s.”
A new Ascendant!
It was news that could shake the world.
An existence that could upset the balance of the entire continent.
People chattered endlessly.
“This Ascendant must belong to our Empire, surely? What a blessing! Perhaps they could even subjugate the Demonic Realm where the Demon King dwells!!”
“Not just the Demonic Realm—they could conquer those ‘Ran’ creatures too!!”
“Long live the new Ascendant!”
And I, the supposed great Ascendant everyone was talking about,
‘…I’m ruined. How did it come to this?’
…was tearing my hair out.
‘This is all because of that old man Randolph.’
I sighed heavily, again and again.
Randolph seemed deeply moved by the new Ascendant who had saved them, and he wouldn’t stop talking about it.
-The Ascendant’s magnificent magic split the World of Hwanmong itself. The grandeur of that sight!
-Surely this is an Ascendant of righteous nature. Ah, how can I ever repay such a debt?
He was drawing attention relentlessly.
He was so focused on me that he barely paid Katrine and Rivel any mind.
He swore he would find me, and I felt a chilling threat run down my spine at his determination.
‘…I absolutely must stay hidden. The moment I’m exposed, the life I dreamed of is over.’
The fortunate thing was that there seemed to be no possibility of this secret coming to light.
How could anyone possibly connect an Ascendant to a mediocre half-talent like me?
As I’d expected, former Rector Randolph didn’t recognize me at all.
“It’s been a while, Ban.”
“Yes, Rector.”
“I’m no longer Rector, so just call me by my name. By the way, I hear you’ve accepted a position as a temporary professor?”
“I have.”
“Hmm. Yes, thanks to you expanding the security detail in advance, we were able to protect the students without any casualties. As the former Chancellor, I offer my gratitude.”
There had been considerable debate about whether I would be appointed, but my merits in expanding security and protecting the students were recognized, and I received a final passing judgment.
Yet Randolph, the former Chancellor, still seemed displeased with me, his brow furrowed.
“I acknowledge this achievement, but mark my words well. You are still a ‘temporary professor.’ I’ll be watching you closely going forward.”
His cold, sharp tone—still regarding me as yesterday’s failure—filled me with satisfaction.
It was very good indeed.
Very good.

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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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