Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 301: An Uncomfortable Alliance (2)

‘Damn it.’

Ludger let out a quiet sigh inwardly as he looked at Casey, who was staring at him in disbelief.

He’d heard the sounds of a fight and figured it wasn’t far—so he rushed over, intending to join the fray. But to think it had been Casey and Terrina.

Following behind through the passage Ludger had cleared, Bellaruna and Chris also stepped out and spotted the two.

Their expressions brightened noticeably at the sight of new allies joining them.

‘Well, there’s no helping it.’

Since they’d already run into each other, even if things got a little tense, they’d have to move together.

“So we meet like this.”

Ludger spoke first—he couldn’t just stand there silently.

Casey didn’t respond. She only stared at Ludger fixedly.

It was Terrina who answered in her place.

“Yes. I didn’t expect to run into you in a place like this, Professor Ludger Cherish.”

“And you must be Commander Terrina Lionhowl. The feeling is mutual.”

“Wasn’t the Analysis Unit supposed to withdraw immediately after studying the World Tree?”

“That was the plan. But the path was blocked off. Since we’re trapped in here, we had no choice but to move deeper inside.”

“I see. In any case, it’s fortunate. I’m glad we could reunite like this without anyone getting hurt.”

As she spoke, Terrina stared directly at Bellaruna.

Chris and Ludger, she knew—but the elven woman didn’t exist in Terrina’s memory.

“And who might she be?”

“She’s Bellaruna Petanada. She joined our group as an expert on the World Tree.”

“An outsider? And wasn’t the World Tree analysis supposed to be handled by Mr. Chris Bennimore?”

“There’s no harm in having one more specialist. Besides, her identity has been personally guaranteed by Her Highness the First Princess.”

Just as he’d done with Chris, Ludger invoked the name of the First Princess for Terrina’s benefit.

At that, Terrina narrowed her eyes, a wrinkle forming on her brow.

‘Her Highness Aileen?’

Of everyone here, Terrina had the closest relationship to Aileen, the First Princess.

But even she couldn’t claim to fully understand her.

Aileen was a woman whose true thoughts were difficult to grasp.

That said, adding an elf to the group didn’t strike Terrina as suspicious—especially considering Aileen’s secretive nature and how she often withheld her plans even from her closest confidants.

There was no real reason to doubt Ludger’s words.

‘Besides, from what I heard at the camp, it seems Her Highness had a prior meeting with Professor Ludger Cherish.’

Terrina gave a light nod, her suspicions fading.

“So then—have you discovered anything during your analysis?”

When Terrina followed up with a question, Ludger replied that they had and began explaining to Terrina and Casey everything they had learned.

He told them about the demonic power sealed inside the World Tree, and how the black mages were attempting to use it.

“I see. So that’s what made those Liberation Army test subjects mutate like that...”

It was then that Casey, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

“Never thought something like demonic power could actually exist in a place like this... and to think our enemies are trying to use it.”

“If you think about it, it’s just as strange that a massive secret facility like this even exists beneath the capital—and at its heart, the roots of a dead World Tree.”

“Well, that...”

“This is reality. It’s already happened. What we need to do now isn’t be shocked about what we’ve found, but stop the Liberation Army and the black mages as quickly as possible.”

In that regard, the fact that all their scattered forces had managed to regroup here was an incredible stroke of luck.

As Ludger stressed the urgency of the situation, Casey reluctantly nodded.

She understood.

But even so, there were still many things she wanted to say to Ludger.

Still, this was a moment when every second mattered.

There was no time for personal questions.

‘Even if I asked right now... this man would just pretend he didn’t hear it, like always.’

Then I’ll ask later—after all of this is over.

Of course, she knew that by then, she probably wouldn’t have the courage.

But if she didn’t make that decision now—at least in her heart—she felt like this uncomfortable knot would never come undone.

“In that case, let’s move quickly.”

With that, the party—now five in number—set off swiftly toward the central chamber.

Here and there, they were ambushed by groups of chimeras and Second experimental subjects.

But their enemies, who had barely posed a threat before, now stood no chance against a party with nearly double the strength.

Every time Terrina swung the swords in both hands, the test subjects were cleaved down and collapsed.

And against the spells of Ludger, Chris, and Casey, they crumbled without resistance.

Their previously slow and laborious progress picked up speed.

Even amidst the ongoing battles, Casey couldn’t help but quietly marvel at Ludger’s magic.

‘He’s incredible.’

Ludger’s spells weren’t flashy or large in scale.

In the magic world, many people equated circle level with power—and by that standard, Ludger wouldn’t even be considered a “powerhouse.”

But anyone with deep understanding of magic and a sharp eye would have been utterly shocked watching him fight.

He drew the maximum effect from the minimum amount of mana.

He never wasted a drop. There was no inefficiency whatsoever in his casting process.

His magic was flawless—like mathematical equations clicking together without a single misstep or error.

And every spell he cast struck directly at a fatal point.

That economy of motion was so extreme it felt almost inhuman.

‘He’s strong. And what’s more... this isn’t even his full power.’

Casey knew Ludger wasn’t using his full strength.

Back when he had been active as Professor Moriarty, he had fought her on even footing while cloaked in a black shadow.

She still didn’t know what magic that was—but she was certain that in the time since, his power hadn’t diminished—it had only grown.

After all, she’d seen it herself at the Kunst Auction. He had even defeated that monster from Jévaudan.

‘And that spatial-jumping magic I saw back then... he hasn’t used it yet, but that alone could turn the tide of battle.’

She found herself wondering—where does this man’s power end?

And just as that thought crossed her mind, the underground corridor trembled again.

“They’re trying to shift the terrain again!”

Terrina caught on immediately and shouted a warning.

The group had already been through this several times, so they reacted quickly.

As the ground began to rumble, Ludger and Chris moved without hesitation.

Behind Chris, a massive flower-shaped spell circle bloomed and sent vines shooting out toward the passageways that were beginning to shift by section.

The light-green, translucent vines spread out like roots the moment they touched the walls, forcibly holding the moving blocks in place.

But the blocks were so forceful that the vines were pulled taut to the breaking point.

“Do it now! I can’t hold them for long!”

At Chris’s shout, Ludger grasped his staff with both hands and slammed it into the ground.

Thwoom!

Mana burst from the tip, radiating out in concentric circles along the floor.

That mana instantly interfered with the mechanisms moving the structure—and cast a spell from within.

Rumble!

Pillars of stone shot up from the interior and destroyed the core devices that operated the blocks.

The wall that had been about to descend in front of them halted—along with every other moving section of the terrain.

“I-It worked!”

As the shifting ceased, Bellaruna shouted in joy.

Up to now, what had hindered them most wasn’t the chimeras or the Second test subjects—it was the constant changes in terrain.

Especially since the shifting clearly targeted their growing group—it was more than obvious.

But the enemy had grown too reliant on that function, repeating the same tactic over and over.

And after being subjected to it several times, Ludger’s group had gained a basic understanding of how the inner structure worked.

And the result was now clear.

By destroying the core machinery that changed the underground facility, the Liberation Army could no longer alter the terrain.

In other words—no one could block their path anymore.

Chris dismissed his summoned spell and adjusted his glasses, genuinely surprised.

“When I first heard the plan, I wasn’t convinced... but we actually pulled it off.”

“If the interior was running on precision machinery, all we had to do was destroy it.”

Ludger made it sound easy, but without the use of [Coordinate Designation Magic], this feat would have been impossible.

The core device had been hidden deep within—far beyond visible range.

Just knowing the location wasn’t enough to affect it with magic.

What made it possible was Ludger’s spell—one that allowed him to strike across space so long as he had the coordinates.

The core device didn’t move. It stayed in place. Which meant, for Ludger, targeting it was the simplest thing in the world.

“With this, the most annoying problem is resolved.”

Casey didn’t look especially impressed, as if she had expected the plan to work from the start.

After all, given everything Ludger had shown so far—wasn’t this par for the course?

At this point, even things like this were hard to be surprised by.

“However... it seems the enemy’s realized something went wrong. They’ve gone all-in.”

Terrina tightened her grip on the sword in her hand as if she had sensed something.

A Master-class knight like her—her sharp senses picked up countless presences charging toward them from afar.

Compared to the earlier groups that had stalled for time, this new wave was at least five times larger.

The enemy must have realized they could no longer rely on terrain manipulation—and were growing desperate.

“All units, prepare for combat. From here on out, this is a battle of endurance.”

But their most troublesome enemy had never been the test subjects.

Now that the enemy’s terrain control advantage was gone...

The outcome of this battle would be decided by one thing alone—pure power.

“Break through!”

With Terrina’s bold cry, her twin blades sliced the first charging chimeras to pieces at the front lines.

The others followed suit, unleashing magic and their respective skills to mow down the experimental subjects.

The only one who broke formation was Bellaruna—who quietly crept over to a fallen test subject and sneakily collected a ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) sample.

“Hehe.”

* * *

“What about repairing the core device?! Anyone?!”

“Throw in the chimeras! Buy some time!”

The Liberation Army and black mages stationed in the central chamber were panicking.

From the start, their objective had merely been to stall for time before the enemy arrived.

But from the sheer number of Firsts and Seconds being wiped out, it was clear the opposing force wasn’t ordinary.

If they were knights, they were Master-class.

If mages, they were 5th-Circle or higher.

Judging from the individuals who had infiltrated the facility, the term “one-man army” wasn’t an exaggeration. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

And yet—those kinds of opponents were storming in.

Thinking they could stop them head-on? Only an idiot would consider that.

So instead, they’d intended to exploit the terrain advantage to stall as long as possible. But even that had failed.

The core machinery had been destroyed—by Ludger.

“Damn it! Wasn’t that core mechanism buried over 100 meters deep in solid bedrock? Not even a Swordmaster could pierce that!”

“We’re in trouble! More than half of the Seconds we deployed are already down!”

“They’re picking up speed! At this rate, they’ll be on us in ten minutes!”

With bad news pouring in from all sides, one of the black mages—his skin pale as ash—trembled in horror.

He stole a nervous glance toward his master, Andrei.

“Why do you keep sneaking looks at me?”

“L-Lord Master... I...”

“Enough. This isn’t the time to get angry. It only proves how powerful our enemy is.”

That wasn’t to say Andrei wasn’t angry.

Even now, he was repressing an enormous fury.

But panic or outbursts of emotion were irrational.

Especially in moments like this—only logic would see them through.

“What’s the status on the Third test subject?”

“Still not fully calibrated. It’s approaching the final stage, but... whether that’ll finish safely...”

“Skip the last process. Proceed with full speed. Inject the rest of the demonic power.”

“B-But if we do that, something might—!”

At that, Andrei turned his gaze on his disciple, and his eyes gleamed like embers of rage.

The disciple immediately clamped his mouth shut.

“You still have the gall to say that, even now?”

“Th-That’s not what I meant...”

“This is why you’re unworthy. At this rate, they’ll be on us before the Third even awakens. Then all our efforts will be for nothing.”

So even if something went wrong—it was better to activate the Third now.

“Understood? We’re not in a position to be picky anymore.”

“E-Even so, we still need more time before the Third can awaken!”

“Then make it happen. I’ll buy us the time.”

“...What?”

Before the disciple could ask further, Andrei rose to his feet and summoned his magic.

From his frail-looking, aged body, a tremendous surge of power erupted and blanketed the chamber.

The black mages and Liberation Army soldiers froze in place, staring at Andrei in awe and fear.

“Don’t just stand there like idiots. Do your jobs.”

Andrei cast his gaze toward the corridor leading outside.

“I’ll handle our incoming guests.”

Just then, with a thunderous blast, the sealed door exploded and a cloud of dust billowed out.

Two figures emerged from the smoke.

One was a female knight in a white military uniform, her black ponytail swaying—Veronica de Ville.

The other was an Imperial battle mage assigned to her unit.

Andrei looked at the two with a wrinkled smile tugging at his lips.

“Well, well. I didn’t expect company this early.”

“......”

As Andrei looked at Veronica, she also understood at a glance—he was the strongest enemy present.

Without a word, she drew her sword, a cold gleam in her eyes.

The frost gathering at the blade’s edge made it clear—this was no ordinary aura she wielded.

She’d heard of it before.

The Cold Steel Knights of the Empire—whose blades were imbued with the northern frost.

“Interesting.”

As Andrei summoned his magic, his black robe billowed wildly around him.

“Consider this a warm-up... before the real guests arrive.”