The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 99

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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 99
After hearing Hans’s explanation, a wave of dizziness washed over me.
‘Damn it. The Barrier’s condition is far worse than I thought.’
It wasn’t simply Hans’s incompetence.
‘To fix this, you’d need at least a Level 6 Magical Artifact specialist.’
Of course, if I were standing there, I could have resolved it.
‘I can see the solution well enough now, but there’s no way Hans can pull it off with his current abilities.’
As I’d just said, Level 6 mastery was required.
Which meant there was only one answer.
I opened my mouth urgently.
“I’m giving you a task. You have three minutes—make it happen.”
-A, a task, sir?
“What is your magical world? Organize your thoughts in three minutes and give me the answer.”
-S, sir?
His voice trembled with confusion.
Naturally it did.
-Are you telling me to reach Star Rank 6 in three minutes?!
Yes.
Level 6 is the realm of the “Owner”—one who establishes their own world.
It was an unreasonable demand, but it had to be done.
‘Hans can’t activate the Barrier any other way. He has to reach Star Rank 6.’
-What do you take me for?! It’s impossible!
“Why is it impossible?”
-Why is it impossible?! Is that even something to say? I’m not you, sir!
“You’ve spent over ten years striving to reach Star Rank 6. You’ve abandoned everything for enlightenment, followed me even though I’m half-broken. If you can’t do it, then who possibly could?”
-I, that is….
Hans fell silent.
‘Hans is no mere Level 5.’
For reference, those who reach the peak of each Level receive a special title.
The peak of Level 9 is the Heavenly One.
The peak of Level 8 is the Seeker of the Way.
The peak of Level 7 is the Master of Conduct.
The peak of Level 6 is the Craftsman.
The peak of Level 5 is the Master.
‘Hans reached the Master’s realm long ago. He’s just never realized it because his self-regard is so low.’
“Three minutes… no, thirty seconds have passed already. If you can’t do it in the next two minutes and thirty seconds, you never will. That’s how transcending one’s realm works.”
-!!
“What do you want? To stay stuck in this place forever?”
Through the communication line, I heard Hans swallow hard.
-C, can I really do this?
“Of course.”
I nodded.
“Because I, Ecclesia, will guide you.”
-!!
I couldn’t see what expression Hans was wearing now.
But I could guess.
Hans was the person who’d stayed closest to me since I became “Ecclesia.”
We were inseparably bound together.
More than anyone else.
That was why.
The idea had come to me.
“Hans, close your eyes.”
-Sir?
“From now on, I’m going to give you the key to reaching Level 6.”
-!!
No matter how powerful I was, this made no sense.
Every mage needs a different enlightenment. The clue I gave could actually do harm.
But Hans was the exception.
I knew everything about him.
“Don’t think of anything. Empty your mind and just listen to what I say.”
There was no answer.
He was trusting me, following my words without question.
I closed my eyes as well.
‘If I were at the same level as Hans? What enlightenment would I need?’
I put myself in Hans’s shoes—a thought experiment.
It wasn’t merely about magical attainment.
The weight of defeat pressing down on Hans.
And the wounded pride buried deep in his heart, the part he himself refused to acknowledge, along with his burning desire for Magic.
‘He always seems frivolous, but that’s just a mask for his own powerlessness. In truth, Hans is far from an empty vessel.’
This was beyond the ability of a Master of Conduct in Magic.
It came from my life on Earth—from meeting countless people and living through their experiences.
It mattered.
Level 6 meant establishing one’s own world.
That is, one had to penetrate one’s inner depths.
After synthesizing it all, a single enlightenment suddenly struck me.
What Hans needed to understand was this:
“Hans, be honest.”
—!!
I lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile.
“Your true nature is that of a greedy mage. Seize everything, take it into your hands. As long as you do not surrender, all of it will be yours—even if it be a star itself.”
The moment those words ended.
The space beyond the communication channel fell deathly silent.
A moment passed.
Then a transformation occurred.
The world trembled.
* * *
—I can do it.
Hans let out a hollow laugh.
‘I’m no genius like you, sir. What could someone like me possibly achieve.’
And yet.
—Ban Ecclesia will guide you forward.
It was truly strange.
Ordinarily, what Ban said sounded like nothing but pretentious nonsense, but at moments like this, his words carried an irresistible power.
You found yourself believing him, logic and reality aside.
And then,
—Your true nature is that of a greedy mage. Seize everything, take it into your hands.
It was as though his head had been struck by a hammer.
He had always suppressed himself, convinced he was too worthless to succeed.
Yet no one was more covetous than he was.
‘I won’t give up anymore.’
The Star Rank 6 realm.
Wealth piled high as mountains.
Even the lifelong ‘dream’ that had drawn him into Magical Artifact specialization.
He would surrender none of it.
Most of all,
‘Linden, you bastard—I cannot let you have Ban’s innermost circle!’
If he failed this time, he would never be able to face Ban again.
Fierce greed drove him forward.
Whoosh!
It was not merely a matter of steeling one’s resolve.
Level 5 was the realm where one first treads the Demon Path.
Level 6 was the realm where one began to build one’s own world through the Demon Path.
Hans’s Demon Path world was pure, unadulterated greed.
Yielding to no one.
“How dare a mere Barrier device defy me?! I permit no insubordination! Kneel before my greatness, Hans the Magnificent!”
The result was astonishing.
Uuuwoooong!!
Six stars rose into being.
Imperfect still, but he had taken his first step into the realm of a Level 6 Demon Path Mage!
“Wait, sir?! How did you—?”
“Silence, Linden! Insolent fool! From now on, address me with respect—call me ‘Master!'”
Boom!!
The air around him rippled with explosive force.
“Did you see that?! This is the greatness of Hans, the right arm of Eccles! Everyone, show your respect! Hahahaha!!!”
Eccles’s foolishness rivaled that of the Black Flame Dragon.
Yet no one dared laugh at Hans.
Click.
The Barrier activated.
Hans had worked a miracle.
* * *
“!!”
Rune’s face went pale.
The fierce momentum he’d been driving forward stuttered to a halt.
‘That’s it! The Barrier’s stopped the Moonlight Gate!’
It was over now.
Or so I thought.
“Kekeke, remarkable, Eccles. So this is the extent of your power. Truly, you may be the one who changes the fate of the Demon Realm itself.”
“…What nonsense are you spouting?”
I had no intention of going anywhere near the Demon Realm.
But he kept up his delirious rambling, oblivious to reality.
“I was originally just observing to see exactly how your existence might influence the Demon Realm, but this incident has changed my mind.”
Crack.
Space tore open with a deafening sound, and an object materialized in Rune’s hand.
A sword.
The problem was it wasn’t an ordinary blade.
‘Damn it—why is that here?’
The Demon King Sword.
A weapon wielded by the Demon King himself!
“Stop. Do you want to die?”
The Demon King Sword was no mere masterwork.
Rather than granting a burst of overwhelming power, it consumed its wielder.
Only the Demon King could control this most terrible of cursed blades.
“You are far too dangerous to leave unhandled. Even if it costs me my life, I must eliminate you.”
Ching!
Rune drew the blade.
In that same instant—
“Gaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!”
Rune let out a horrifying scream.
His very soul was being consumed by the cursed sword.
“Ev… everything… for the glory of the Demon Realm.”
With those final words—
Rune’s eyes turned blood red.
His mind had been completely swallowed by the Demon King Sword.
‘Damn it all! What glory in the Demon Realm? Just a bunch of fanatics!’
Not all demons were like him.
The Demon King himself had little interest in the world’s affairs, and there were many reasonable demons too.
The problem was the faction serving Lochran, the demon duke.
Extremist demon supremacists—nearly every incident the Demon Realm caused was orchestrated by his ilk.
“How dare you! Who gave you the right to lay hands on our Eccles!”
“Eccles, flee.”
“My benefactor, I will protect you!”
Randolph, the former chancellor, Bernstein, and Amanda of the Black Circle stepped in front of me.
What caught me off guard was that Kansir and Balas moved to shield me as well.
“Hmph. If you died here, I’d lose my chance to trample you further, wouldn’t I?”
“I would rather use this opportunity to become indebted to you. Henceforth, I shall serve you as my benefactor of life.”
Both were unexpected, but the most surprising was the next figure.
Chancellor Karakk stepped diagonally in front of me, blocking the path.
“…Chancellor?”
“Well? Why aren’t you running?”
Karakk averted his gaze slightly.
As if trying to hide embarrassment.
“Don’t misunderstand. Professor Ban is a direct subordinate under me. I’m simply leaving him alive because it looks better that way.”
I felt a jolt of surprise.
Until now, I’d appealed multiple times to join Karakk’s faction.
Yet each time he’d only harbored doubts, and now for the first time he was making a statement that seemed to acknowledge me as part of his faction.
‘Of course, the question is how much of what he’s saying I can actually trust.’
It might have been a fleeting whim swept up in the moment.
And even if it were sincere, there was no telling when he might reverse course.
Still, it was undeniably unlike Karakk to speak that way.
A question occurred to me.
‘Is it even possible for Karakk to change?’
I shook my head.
It would be impossible.
In any case, this wasn’t the time to dwell on such things.

– 87.3%
Thanks to everyone combining their efforts, the odds were remarkably high.
But—
‘What happens to the others if I run?’

– All perish: 91%
– One survivor: 8.7%
– Two survivors: 0.3%
I swallowed hard.
Just as I’d feared.
‘The Demon King Sword allows anyone who wields it to temporarily manifest power equivalent to Level 8 mid-to-high tier.’
The Demon King Sword’s only weakness was its duration.
The power was so immense that most would collapse in an instant without enduring, but this creature was different.
Being a high-ranking demon at his core, and having just absorbed Moonlight Energy, he could sustain it for a considerable time.
‘Damn it, what do I do?’
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, I heard a voice I’d never heard before.
“Ha ha. So it was you, Ban’s spawn, who called me using his Highness? I came on a whim to see what was up, and look—the situation’s rather entertaining.”
!!
An old man had suddenly appeared beside me.
My eyes widened.
His hair was white, but his frame was as large and imposing as any fit young man, bearing a rugged countenance.
‘The former Imperial Knight Commander, Marquess Müller!’
A knight of Level 8, no less.
One who had reached the realm of Transcendence.
The trump card I’d summoned through Third Prince Mikhail, hardly daring to hope.
I hadn’t truly expected him to come, yet here he was at precisely the critical moment.
But there was a problem.
Marquess Müller’s gaze as he looked at me was cold.
More precisely, it was filled with contempt.
‘Right, Marquess Müller despises Ban.’
Because of the past discourtesy that Ban had shown him.
‘Something about… sword-wielders being nothing but shields for mages, telling him not to be presumptuous.’

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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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