Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 300: An Uncomfortable Alliance (1)

A vast cavity lay at the center of the underground facility.

More than half of the immense space was occupied by a massive structure:

The root of the dead World Tree.

Its base alone remained, clinging to the ceiling while its ivory-colored roots sprawled outward in every direction.

The smaller roots had pierced through the cavity walls and extended throughout the entire underground complex.

Because the trunk was affixed to the ceiling, the World Tree hovered significantly above the ground level.

Naturally, this created a domed space beneath the root system.

That space was crammed full of magical tools and arcane devices.

It was the laboratory the black mages of the Bioengineering School had established long ago.

Even now, black mages busily scurried about, continuing their research.

“How’s the progress?”

An elderly man approached and asked.

The man in his mid-thirties, hollow-cheeked and gaunt, who had been directing the black mages, bowed his head in response.

His skin was deathly pale, as though he hadn’t seen sunlight in years, and the dark hollows around his eyes made him look like a living corpse.

He spoke cautiously.

“Yes, Master. The extracted energy is stable enough for Phase Two. Phase Three is also progressing smoothly. If we can push past this stage, completion of the final phase seems within reach.”

Andrei Semov.

A mage who once held the greatest influence in the field of bioengineering and had made substantial contributions to modern medicine.

But his hunger for knowledge grew uncontrollable, and eventually, he crossed into the forbidden realm of human experimentation.

He lost everything and was forced to flee into the shadows.

Branded as a black mage.

But he had already laid pipelines into the underworld in secret. Using those, he formed a new faction and established his school of black magic—free to conduct the experiments he had always dreamed of, without fear of scrutiny.

Now, Andrei was studying the root of the dead World Tree.

More precisely, the mysterious power sealed within it.

“So Phase Three isn’t complete yet?”

Andrei frowned.

The disciple flinched and lowered his head.

“N-No, Master. The power is still beyond our control...”

“You called it demonic power, didn’t you?”

“Yes. A force that now only remains in legend—superior even to humanity.”

“Fool. There is no power greater than humanity.”

Andrei’s rebuke made the disciple tremble.

But Andrei ignored him and turned his gaze to the large cultivation chamber positioned at the edge of the cavity.

Inside were human test subjects submerged in green liquid.

“Look at those specimens. The humans of old rejected demonic power entirely. They never tried to understand it. But we are different—we use that power. And do you know why?”

“Why, it’s all because of your brilliance, Master.”

“Spare me the flattery. What’s changed is not me, but the progress of knowledge. Research, analysis, experimentation. All fear is born from ignorance and the unknown. Once understood, no power is truly frightening.”

To the ignorant, demonic power was an absolute taboo.

But for those who could wield it, it became the greatest of weapons.

“We’re lucky. Not only was this facility buried beneath the capital, but to have a dead World Tree down here—and the demonic power sealed within it.”

Thanks to that, Andrei had made unprecedented progress in his life’s research.

The World Tree and demonic power.

Two samples no scholar could hope to obtain in a single lifetime—now fully at his disposal.

He didn’t know why the World Tree had ended up beneath the capital, nor why demonic power had been sealed within it.

There was surely a reason.

But Andrei didn’t care.

He saw it all as an opportunity.

“With this, I can get revenge on every fool who ever mocked me. Even that lunatic Victor who always irritated me—I can surpass him too.”

But to achieve that, the research had to continue.

Progress was slower than planned, but still within acceptable parameters.

The real issue was the uninvited guests now arriving at the facility.

“What happened to the intruders?”

“We’ve sent the incomplete Second-class specimens after them. But judging by how they’re handling things, they must be quite skilled. The Seconds may not be enough.”

“Hmph. Even the Seconds aren’t enough?”

Second referred to the test subjects made from Liberation Army volunteers who willingly offered themselves for experimentation. They were injected with demonic power and chimera cells, then reanimated through necromancy.

Just as the black mages had categorized the stages of their research, they named the experimental results accordingly: First, Second, and Third.

First were chimeras created by mixing beast genes with the World Tree’s vitality.

Second were Liberation Army operatives infused with demonic power and chimera cells—then reawakened through black magic.

Even the Seconds were remarkably powerful, able to overwhelm most knights in combat.

So for them to be defeated now meant that the intruders were anything but ordinary.

“If they managed to defeat the Seconds, they must be skilled elites.”

“Judging by their numbers, it appears they came as a small but elite force.”

“Indeed. Flooding a place like this with numbers would only create more casualties. A smart choice.”

“What are your orders, Master?”

“Deploy all of the Seconds. The Firsts as well. Even if they can’t kill them, we must buy time. Phase Three must be completed. What’s the status of the Third?”

“We’re experiencing some energy rejection, but it’s still within stability thresholds. At this rate, it should awaken within the designated timeframe.”

Andrei smiled faintly.

“Haha... Now that, I like. If all goes well, we might even see the Third wipe them all out.”

His gaze turned to the center of the cavity.

Inside a cultivation chamber far larger than the others, a man curled within a tank of crimson liquid.

“Such intense desire. Who would have thought a high-ranking Liberation Army officer would willingly volunteer for an experiment with no guarantee of survival?”

“It speaks to how desperate he is for power.”

“Exactly. And since we’re cooperating, we must deliver results. If the Third is successful... then the Final...”

Andrei trailed off mid-sentence and suddenly whipped his head around.

His gaze fell upon a line of chimeras standing in formation.

He narrowed his eyes and glared at them.

“Master?”

“...A rat has snuck in.”

Muttering to himself, Andrei raised a hand toward the chimeras.

At the instant mana sparked from his fingertips, one of the chimera’s heads exploded.

“Master! Why...?”

“That was an enemy. Seems someone over there has a deep knowledge of biology as well.”

“What do you mean...?”

“They hijacked control of one of our chimeras to spy on us. Looks like all of our movements have been compromised. And you didn’t even notice?”

“Then...”

“Accelerate the Third-phase research. From this point on, it’s a race against time.”

With that, Andrei turned and left.

As the chimera’s head burst and the link was severed, Hans—who had been monitoring from afar—suddenly raised his head.

“...Damn. He noticed?”

He had thought he could spy undetected by using their own chimeras.

He was wrong.

The elderly black mage—most likely Andrei, the head of the Bioengineering School—had noticed Hans’s interference and eliminated the scout.

Hans’s expression turned grave as he began jotting down everything he had just observed.

“Sedina.”

“Yes, senior?”

Sedina, waiting beside him, immediately responded.

Hans handed her the paper.

“I can’t do any more from here. It’s your turn now.”

“Yes...!”

* * *

Ludger and Chris were examining the corpse of a Second-class specimen.

“The body’s decaying rapidly. Must be due to necromancy.”

“That’s part of it. But I’d say it’s also because they forced incompatible power into the body. They gained ridiculous physical ability, but at the cost of a very short operational window.”

“Yeah. Judging by the rate of decay, they probably can’t last more than 15 minutes. It’s like they’re burning through their entire lifespan all ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) at once.”

“But since we don’t know what the enemy is doing inside, we can’t afford to waste those 15 minutes doing nothing.”

Chris nodded, then suddenly turned to Bellaruna.

“More importantly, I’m curious. Lady Bellaruna, how did you know the thing was going to move?”

“Eh? M-Me?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Bellaruna flinched.

She had been the first to act, even before the Second reanimated.

“Well... I noticed the usual signs of postmortem rigidity weren’t present... so I thought something might happen. And, well... black mages do mess with corpses, after all...”

"Is that so? Even considering that, your situational judgment is incredibly fast."

"......."

Ludger stared at Chris with a look of disbelief.

This man didn’t even bother to ask how an elf would know what a corpse in rigor mortis looked like.

‘If we stick around long enough, he’ll probably start clapping for Bellaruna if she ends up performing human experimentation.’

Just as Ludger was thinking that, an uneasy thought crossed his mind.

Surely she hadn’t already started experimenting on humans... right?

‘Judging by how she treats Hans, I haven’t seen signs of that yet, but still.’

It might have only been a matter of missed opportunity. Given the chance, it wouldn’t be out of character for her to try.

‘I thought Seridan was the biggest ticking time bomb, but turns out this one’s even worse.’

Ludger shook his head.

Right now, the important thing was the experimental subjects the enemies were using.

"We’ll need to stay on high alert. They won’t stop here."

"That’s for sure."

Chris nodded in agreement with Ludger.

"I wasn’t planning on underestimating them, but this is far worse than I imagined."

"What’s even more frightening is that they’re likely preparing something even worse further inside."

"I thought analyzing the World Tree would be the extent of it. How did it come to this?"

"Do you regret it?"

"No. I don’t regret it. I’ve made some good connections by coming here, after all."

"...You’re not even trying to hide it anymore."

"Hide what?"

"...Never mind. We’ve come this far—there’s no turning back now. We’ll break through as quickly as possible. Are you ready?"

"Hmph. Even if you didn’t ask, I’ve been ready for a while."

"That’s good to hear."

Chris and Ludger took up battle positions.

In the distance, Liberation Army members were approaching.

Chris immediately summoned his familiar from behind.

Normally, Chris didn’t care much for summoning his familiar, but ever since Bellaruna complimented him, he’d been doing it right from the start.

And it didn’t stop there—he even glanced at Ludger and asked,

"You’re not summoning your familiar?"

"I’m not. No need."

His own familiar was far too unique. Careless use could expose his identity.

So, as a teacher, Ludger had to refrain from using his familiar whenever possible.

"Arrogant."

Chris interpreted Ludger’s response as him being so confident in his own abilities that he didn’t need to summon a familiar.

"Let’s go with that."

Ludger had no intention of correcting the misunderstanding. He lightly replied and began casting magic.

* * *

Terrina Lionhowl drew the swords hanging from both sides of her waist.

With a sharp rapier in each hand, she moved like a flash of light, cutting down First and Second experimental subjects.

Chimeras were no match for Terrina.

They might have been threatening to normal soldiers, but to a Master who had surpassed human limits, even several at once were no challenge.

The annoying ones were the Seconds that launched sneak attacks from among the chimeras.

"Terrina! Behind you!"

"I know."

A sharp blade aimed at the back of her head.

Terrina tilted her head slightly to avoid the strike, then spun her body like a top.

Her sword, propelled by centrifugal force, swept out in a crescent arc.

Evasion and counterattack happened nearly simultaneously.

Her blade lightly grazed the Second’s jaw.

Even a Second, with reaction speed beyond human comprehension, couldn’t avoid the blow.

The head, sliced at an angle, thudded to the ground.

Terrina didn’t spare the corpse a glance. She simply swung her swords again.

From a distance, the barbs fired by the chimeras were sliced apart by her blades and fell harmlessly to the ground.

Even amidst the relentless waves of attack, Terrina’s breath remained steady.

To her, being outnumbered meant nothing.

That was the kind of strength a Master possessed.

"Terrina!"

"I got it."

As Casey gave the signal, Terrina immediately withdrew.

At the same time, countless drops of moisture condensed midair and transformed into sharp spikes, sweeping through the Firsts and Seconds.

"The area’s clear."

"Not for long. More will be swarming in soon. And you feel it too, don’t you?"

"Yeah. The chimeras aren’t the problem. It’s the Liberation Army’s experimental subjects... they’re getting stronger with time."

The first Seconds they encountered had revived with superhuman power after death.

Terrina and Casey had been surprised—but they still dealt with them without much trouble.

But the Seconds that came afterward were stronger.

They had undergone physical mutation without dying and retained enough reason to avoid blindly charging in.

"Their refinement is progressing."

"Exactly. And at this rate, we’re bound to face something even we’ll struggle with."

"Which means we need to break through before that happens."

"That’s not easy either. They alter the terrain the moment they see an opening."

"Constantly shifting terrain and increasingly powerful subjects... it’s blatant stalling, and even knowing that, it’s hard to counter."

From their position—unfamiliar with the area—it was extremely frustrating.

If they could trace the exposed roots of the World Tree backward, they might find the enemy base, but the enemy kept changing the terrain to obscure their tracks.

That’s when Terrina sensed something and fixed her gaze in one direction.

Casey was about to ask what was wrong, but she too sensed something and fell silent.

Boom!

One side of the wall exploded outward, sending up a thick gray cloud of dust.

An ambush?

Terrina and Casey prepared for combat.

But their fighting spirit dissipated the moment the dust settled.

"Hmm?"

The person who emerged seemed to have spotted them too, locking eyes with a hollow gaze.

Ludger Cherish.

They had come face-to-face with the man who, under normal circumstances, should have been here solely for analysis.