The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 30

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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 30. Professors in Both Hands (2)
Whoooosh!
I stretch my hand toward the roaring flames.
A horrific agony as flesh burns courses through my arm, spreading across my entire body.
Grit.
I swallow the groan threatening to escape between my lips, enduring the pain through sheer willpower.
The time I must endure with my hand plunged into the blazing inferno is approximately five minutes.
Five minutes would be a brief span for mana cultivation, but if one must keep their hand submerged in those roaring flames for the entire duration, the story changes entirely.
Most people would scream and yank their hand away at the mere touch of a matchstick flame, let alone a raging fire—so how unbearable must five minutes of continuous burning be?
“Ugh. Ah, mm.”
Suppressed groans leak through my clenched teeth.
Though these flames were illusions born from my mental imagery rather than real fire, the vivid pain of searing flesh felt no different from reality.
‘Just a little longer.’
I can only draw upon the Primordial Flame to increase my mana four times a day.
To accumulate more mana, I must extract as much ‘flame’ as possible from within this inferno.
“Nngh.”
Thus, an eternity compressed into five minutes passes.
I slowly withdraw my hand from the flames.
Upon my palm as it emerges sits a small flame, no larger than a fingertip, burning brightly.
‘It’s grown larger.’
At first, the flame I could extract from the Primordial Flame was scarcely the size of a candle, but through repeated cultivation, it has gradually expanded to the size of a fingertip.
‘Though… this is still woefully insufficient to truly command the Primordial Flame.’
I gaze at the colossal inferno burning with savage fury as if to devour the world itself, and offer a bitter smile.
Four times daily I sever my own life force to gradually absorb the power of the Primordial Flame, yet the Primordial Flame nestled within my heart remains utterly unmoved.
‘It’s like ferrying seawater in a wooden bucket.’
What difference could it possibly make to extract and absorb merely a single candle’s flame, or a fingertip-sized spark, from an inferno burning as if to consume the world?
‘Well, I’ll master it eventually.’
There’s no point worrying about a problem I cannot solve immediately.
“Exhale.”
I cut through my thoughts and slowly open my eyes.
The searing agony consuming my body gradually fades as my consciousness rises from the depths of the mental realm.
Before my eyes lies nothing but a shabby bed, a table, and a single shelf—the entirety of my Dormitory room.
I rise from the bed where I sat and stretch lightly.
“Let’s see. How much mana have I accumulated this time?”
As I awaken the mana dwelling within my stigma, a noticeably increased reservoir of magical power surges through my meridians, flooding my entire body with vigor.
‘Excellent.’
If ordinary Candidates possess mana valued at ten, I’ve accumulated perhaps three.
Even with this growth, I still fall short of half the average Candidate’s mana capacity.
“But considering I didn’t even reach ten percent when I first returned, this represents tremendous progress.”
In absolute terms, I’m still far behind, yet compared to when I first regressed, my mana has nearly tripled in mere weeks.
At this pace, I would catch up to the average mana capacity of the Candidate Program in just two to three months.
‘It might even be faster than that.’
Just as the size of the primordial flame I could absorb in a single instance had grown from the size of a candle to the size of a finger.
If I could continue to increase the size of the flame I could absorb.
‘I could obtain a quantity of mana I never even dreamed of in my previous life.’
As I imagined the future, a thrilling sensation rippled down my spine.
“No, this isn’t the time to be pleased.”
The future was the future.
The mana I currently possessed fell far short of even half the Candidate Program average.
‘This level is woefully insufficient to face Ashtaroth.’
Since the Demon God’s seal remained firm, the Archbishop’s power would not be at full strength either.
‘But an Archbishop is still an Archbishop.’
The Archbishops stood at the apex among tens of thousands of Demon Humans, so I could never afford to let my guard down.
“Ah, that’s right. Now that I think about it, I haven’t delivered this yet.”
I clicked my tongue as I glanced back at the backpack containing the mana-infused Seven-Star Grass sitting in one corner of my room.
After obtaining the Seven-Star Grass in the Ley Line Cave, I had been so caught up in various matters that I had completely forgotten I needed to deliver it to Jade.
‘Let me go find Jade first.’
I shouldered the backpack containing the mana-infused Seven-Star Grass and stepped outside.
* * *
“I’ve brought the Seven-Star Grass you requested.”
Dust swirled thickly in the laboratory.
Jade let out a soft exclamation as he gazed at the table piled high with mana-infused Seven-Star Grass.
“Even though mana-infused Seven-Star Grass grows naturally in abundance around the Academy, it wouldn’t have been easy to find… and you’ve gathered quite a lot.”
Jade’s eyes sparkled like stars as he looked at me.
If I were to put that bright, gleaming gaze into words, it would be something like ‘As expected, you’re the only one fit to become my assistant!’
‘I’m not doing it.’
Though I had never worked as an assistant under a professor, the vacant, lifeless eyes of the assistants I occasionally encountered while walking around the Academy made me absolutely certain I didn’t want that fate.
“Is this quantity sufficient?”
“We won’t know for certain until the actual manufacturing begins, but this should be more than enough.”
“Then when do you think it will be completed?”
Now that I knew Archbishop Ashtaroth was hiding somewhere within the Academy, I needed to obtain the completed Stigma Amplifier as quickly as possible.
“Since the manufacturing method itself is already perfected, it shouldn’t take long. Probably… I can have it done before the Sealing Ceremony.”
“That’s a relief.”
“But what exactly do you intend to use this Stigma Amplifier for?”
Jade continued, narrowing his wrinkled eyes.
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to use it during the Candidate Program ranking evaluation exam?”
“Pardon?”
Did Jade think I was gathering the Stigma Amplifier to use during the evaluation exam?
‘Well, I suppose.’
Jade knew that I had consistently ranked last in the comprehensive Candidate Program evaluation for the past three years, so his misunderstanding was only natural.
I let out a soft chuckle and shook my head.
“There’s no need to worry about that, Professor.”
“But….”
“If I use a stigma amplifier during the evaluation, you’re welcome to report me to the Academy for cheating.”
“Hmm.”
Jade Bastian stroked his unkempt beard with his hand and nodded.
“I see. If you’re willing to stake that much on it, I won’t pry any further.”
“Thank you for understanding, Professor.”
I bowed respectfully and surveyed Jade’s Research Laboratory.
The laboratory remained in a state of utter disarray, resembling nothing so much as a garbage dump.
The environment was so deplorable that even a healthy person placed here would likely fall ill.
‘The thought that I’m going to be drinking a stigma amplifier manufactured in this pigsty doesn’t sit right with me at all.’
Given that this was a potion affecting stigmas, meticulous and sanitary manufacturing conditions were essential—yet looking at the state of this laboratory, I couldn’t trust it one bit.
“Then I’ll begin manufacturing right aw—”
“Wait a moment, Professor.”
I stopped Jade Bastian, who was about to start manufacturing immediately.
“First, we clean.”
“Clean?”
“How much longer do you intend to keep this laboratory looking like a garbage dump?”
“Ahem. A g-garbage dump?! This is actually quite systematically organized and—”
“Enough.”
I cut off Jade Bastian’s protests and immediately set about cleaning the laboratory.
‘Good grief. A pigsty would be cleaner than this.’
While it had looked filthy to the eye, once I began cleaning, dust and debris came cascading out in torrents.
I grabbed a broom and mop, working at a brisk pace to clean the laboratory.
My experience from cleaning the Academy for eight hours every day during breaks to earn living expenses clearly hadn’t gone to waste—the laboratory, which had resembled a garbage dump, was gradually transforming into a livable space.
“Is there… anything I can help with?”
“Just stay out of the way and leave, Professor.”
What help could I expect from someone who had allowed the laboratory to fall into this state?
I waved my hand dismissively and ushered Jade Bastian out of the laboratory.
After approximately three hours of what amounted to warfare in the form of cleaning.
“Phew. Now it finally looks like an actual place where people live.”
“Oh, oh my!”
Jade Bastian gazed around the laboratory, now incomparably cleaner than before, letting out continuous exclamations of amazement.
“Is this… really my laboratory?”
“Whose else would it be?”
I smiled softly and continued.
“I’ve gathered all the reagents on this side, and the magical tools needed for potion manufacturing on that side. As for the research materials, I’ve sorted and organized them by category for now, but I think it would be best if you review them once more later.”
“…Y-you!”
Jade Bastian suddenly grasped my hand and cried out in a fervent voice.
“As expected, you’re my teaching assistant!”
“No.”
Since when did I become your teaching assistant?
“Ahem! A teaching assistant who’s gone to such lengths deserves recognition. As a professor, I can’t simply stand by. I’ll treat you to lunch today, so come along!”
“Wait, hold on….”
Jade Bastian seemed delighted with how pristine the laboratory looked and grabbed my arm, dragging me along.
Jade Bastian pulled me toward the Exclusive Dining Hall—a place reserved only for professors and their teaching assistants.
While it was slightly less impressive than the Main Building Cafeteria with its buffet-style setup, it was still an upscale establishment filled with quality dishes.
“Go ahead, order whatever you’d like!”
Jade Bastian declared enthusiastically as he stepped into the dining hall.
“…Dale? What are you doing here?”
I had just run into Lucas Kane, who was about to enter the dining hall himself.
“You are….”
“….”
An awkward silence settled between Jade Bastian and Lucas Kane.
‘Now that I think about it, Lucas Kane did slap Jade Bastian two years ago.’
Recalling the incident between the two professors, I took a step backward.
Jade Bastian stepped forward, blocking my path, and spoke up.
“Do you have business with my teaching assistant?”
“Teaching assistant? Since when did Dale become your teaching assistant?”
“He hasn’t officially become one yet, but he’ll be joining my department after graduation.”
Excuse me?
Professor Bastian? I told you I have no intention of being your teaching assistant.
Who keeps calling me their teaching assistant without permission?
“Ha. Dale working under you? What nonsense are you spouting?”
Yes, exactly.
Please set him straight, Professor Kane!
“Dale will join my department after graduation and lead the Warrior Department alongside me!”
“No.”
Why are you doing this too, seriously.

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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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