The Graduate Student Wants to Assassinate the Professor - Chapter 68

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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 68

But Yoprim cleanly ignored him and pointed to someone else. Even as Yoprim answered that person’s question and fielded inquiries from several others, Khalid kept his hand raised throughout.
Only when Khalid was the sole person with his hand up did Yoprim finally show his displeasure openly and nod toward him.
“Professor Huaderica.”
“Yes, I’ve been observing the research results, and I don’t understand why you’ve restricted the use of magical formulas so severely. I’m currently conducting research on semi-permanent preservation without limiting the scope of magical formulas, but it seems Dr. Undrelake’s research doesn’t account for this aspect at all.”
My research has far broader applications than yours, but your research seems rather cost-ineffective.
Yoprim, who grasped the true meaning behind Khalid’s words, ground his teeth in response.
“I haven’t yet entered the follow-up research phase. And I understand that Professor Huaderica’s research approaches this from a different direction entirely. Therefore, the applicable scope must necessarily differ.”
“Ah, then when will you be entering that follow-up research?”
So you’re presenting research that isn’t even complete?
Yoprim, understanding Khalid’s implication once again, drew a deep breath.
The follow-up research couldn’t proceed due to insufficient funding. Yoprim had planned to attract investors through this presentation and then move forward with the subsequent research.
“I intend to supplement the theory soon. Once that’s done, it will be applicable to a similar scope as… your research, Professor.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to simply follow my research results then?”
Mine seems superior, doesn’t it?
At this point, Yoprim genuinely wanted to kill Khalid.
Social decorum be damned—couldn’t he just grab that bastard by the hair?
“That remains to be seen with time.”
“Ha, I worry that time might be wasted… though of course, Dr. Undrelake will surely manage it well enough.”
‘Professor, please stop poking at him.’
Leoryna squeezed her eyes shut from her seat beside Khalid. At this point, she was beginning to feel sorry for Yoprim.
Yoprim glanced toward where his investors were seated. Jordiо seemed more interested in Khalid’s provocations than in his presentation itself, watching Khalid with curious eyes.
Finally, Yoprim snapped.
“Please shut that mouth of yours!”
Yoprim hurled magic at Khalid. It wasn’t anything particularly impressive—merely a trivial spell that temporarily stole the target’s voice.
But as the magic flew toward Khalid, his outer robe caused unexpected trouble. It deflected Yoprim’s spell.
The deflection itself wouldn’t have been a problem. The real issue was…
Boom!
For reasons unknown, the magic bounced off Khalid and struck the wall with an explosive sound, tearing a Hole through it.
The magic that pierced through the wall created a small explosion in the Adjacent Lecture Hall.
The people in that lecture hall stared at the sight in utter disbelief.
“Yoprim, you bastard!”
Just as Khalid was about to say something, Pongko suddenly trembled and spoke urgently to Leoryna.
“Leoryna! The mana concentration in this area has suddenly intensified!”
“Intensified mana concentration? What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like! Mana naturally disperses in the natural world, but somewhere, mana is abnormally concentrated…”
“So basically, something dangerous is happening?”
“It seems that way.”
Leoryna and Pongko were exchanging words when Khalid and Yoprim glared at each other as if ready to kill—and suddenly, someone burst into the Lecture Hall.
“This is terrible! The mana of the presenter in the Adjacent Lecture Hall has gone berserk and is attacking people in the Conference Hall! Everyone must evacuate immediately!”
At the intruder’s words, people murmured and rose from their seats. Leoryna did the same.
What Pongko had mentioned about “the mana concentration thickening” seemed to be exactly what mana runaway was.
“I don’t know what’s happening, but there are several mages here—why can’t they stop a mana runaway?”
Khalid clicked his tongue and, rather than evacuating, headed toward the Adjacent Lecture Hall, where the door had been hastily closed to contain the high-concentration mana. Leoryna followed him and asked.
“Professor, shouldn’t we evacuate?”
“What do you take me for, asking me to flee from such an event? I am—”
As Khalid boasted to Leoryna and yanked open the door to the Adjacent Lecture Hall, his face turned deathly pale. The one who had caused the mana runaway was…
“A Dragon.”
A single figure stood motionless on the Lecture Platform. He was in a grotesque state—half human form, half dragon. Mana flowed from him in waves.
“Eek! We’re doomed! Run away! Please! Let’s get out of here!”
Pongko shrieked and burrowed into Leoryna’s arms. Khalid stepped out of the Lecture Hall and grabbed one of the people milling about nearby. “What happened?”
“What happened?! I was demonstrating a new incantation when some spell pierced through the wall and struck that Dragon! Because of that, the two spells tangled together, and I lost control of my mana—it went berserk!”
At those words, everyone’s attention turned to Khalid and Yoprim. Both wore awkward smiles simultaneously, but they couldn’t escape the murderous glares of the others.
“The problem is that our opponent is a Dragon—there’s no mage here powerful enough to contain one!”
Dragons possessed far more abundant mana than other races. However, their population was so small that few Dragons were active in the Mages’ Association, and even fewer were diligent enough to show their faces at conferences.
Thus, most of the people attending this conference were either human or elf, making it difficult for them to suppress a Dragon’s mana runaway.
Here’s a question: When someone with a higher Circle than yourself causes a mana runaway, what is the wisest course of action?
The answer was simple: “Just run.”
So the other mages did exactly that. Mana runaway affected the surrounding mana as well, carrying a risk of contagion. One misstep could cause your own mana to runaway too.
Sure enough, there were already victims. Two people lay collapsed before the Dragon, and they too seemed to have suffered mana runaway.
One was human, one was elf.
“Oh, this is troublesome.”
Yoprim also confirmed the fallen victims and sighed beside Khalid. Khalid grabbed Yoprim by the collar and spoke quietly.
“This is your fault.”
“If you’d just kept your mouth shut, I wouldn’t have exploded! And it was your clothes that deflected the spell!”
“So it’s my fault then?”
As Khalid and Yoprim bickered, Leoryna smacked both their backs repeatedly.
“This isn’t the time to argue about whose fault it is! What are we going to do about this?!”
At Leoryna’s intervention, the two glared at each other and stepped apart.
Khalid smacked his lips and addressed the crowd.
“All mages of 6th Circle and above, gather here! We may not be able to suppress the mana runaway itself, but we must prevent this state from spreading!”
At Khalid’s command, Yoprim seized the fleeing people and held them in place. Under the direction of those two, mages of 6th Circle and above assembled.
They formed a formation and unleashed a combined spell. The mana of the three afflicted individuals became contained within the barrier created by the others, and the situation seemed to stabilize somewhat. However, the consciousness of the three who had suffered mana runaway had not yet returned.
The situation calmed to some degree, and Academy Officials and organizing committee members hurried forward to evacuate the weaker mages in an orderly fashion. Meanwhile, Khalid and Yoprim remained alongside the higher-Circle mages, maintaining control of the mana runaway.
Khalid spoke to Leoryna, who was pacing nervously beside him.
“Leoryna, you should fall back. There’s no need for you to stay here—evacuate with the others.”
Leoryna was officially a 4th Circle mage, so she couldn’t participate in the mana sealing that only higher-Circle mages could perform. Knowing this well, she readily agreed.
Since Leoryna was publicly known as a 4th Circle mage, she couldn’t participate in mana sealing, which only high-circle mages could do. Well aware of this fact, she answered readily.
“Yes, understood! Thank you for your hard work, Professor!”
Leoryna retreated without hesitation, slipping into the crowd of evacuating personnel. Pongko found this utterly absurd.
“Wait, you’re just abandoning Khalid and running away?”
“What else can I do? My mana capacity is only fourth circle, and a fourth-circle mage would be a liability down there. It’s better to step back and get out of the way than to hover uselessly nearby. That’s how I can actually help.”
“I suppose that’s true, but…”
Pongko, despite being a mere rabbit, furrowed his brow with visible displeasure.
“Besides, I have another plan in mind.”
“Another plan? What is it?”

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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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