Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 330: Obelli (2)

Roteron of the New Mage Tower.

A Lexuror-level mage and the hero who played a critical role in stopping the Liberation Army’s terrorist attack.

He had supposedly received a medal directly from the Emperor, and yet he still hadn’t left the Imperial Castle.

That in itself wasn’t a problem.

The issue was—why had he called her out so blatantly?

‘No way...’

Iona narrowed her eyes.

She was a beastkin.

And no one understood better than Iona what kind of discrimination beastkin still faced in this world.

Things had improved somewhat compared to the past, but the prejudiced stares hadn’t disappeared.

Especially among mages—who were often arrogant and elitist—that bias ran deep.

Roteron was a 6th-Circle mage.

To rise to such a position, he couldn’t possibly have an ordinary personality.

Iona clenched her fists unknowingly from the tension.

This was the Dvalk Imperial Castle.

Even someone like Roteron couldn’t act recklessly here.

Still, if he were an extremist who hated beastkin, there was no telling what madness he might unleash.

Her unease was justified.

Then, as he silently observed Iona, Roteron opened his mouth.

“You don’t need to worry. I didn’t summon you here with any harmful intent.”

“......!”

“Judging by that reaction, you really had no idea. I thought you were a smart and perceptive girl—but maybe not entirely.”

“Who are you...?”

As Iona asked that, Roteron raised his white-gloved right hand to his iron mask.

And then, slowly, he removed it.

Roteron, who had concealed his identity behind a mask until now, was revealing his face before her?

The moment she saw his face gradually come into view, Iona’s eyes widened.

“...It’s been a long time, Iona.”

With his face fully revealed, Roteron gave Iona a faint smile.

Brown skin like hers. Eyes with a beast’s glint.

And long, curly brown hair.

They looked so alike, they could’ve passed for siblings.

“Teneron...?”

Iona spoke the name as she looked at him.

Roteron was just an alias.

His real name was Teneron.

And as his appearance showed, he was Iona’s half-brother.

“What are you doing here?”

“For a reunion after so long, that’s the first thing you ask?”

“Don’t dodge the question. You were in line to become the next chieftain, and then you just vanished. You ran away.”

“I had no choice. The elders hated the idea of me learning magic.”

“So you abandoned the Obelli name to pursue magic?”

“I was born out of wedlock. The Obelli name never really suited me anyway.”

Teneron was Iona’s half-brother and an illegitimate child of the Obelli family.

He possessed extraordinary talent as a warrior, and his mind was as composed as a wolf pack’s leader.

The beastkin highly valued bloodlines.

Even if Teneron’s blood was half impure, the other half was true Obelli. As long as he had the ability, ascending to the position of next chieftain would’ve been easy.

But one day, Teneron disappeared.

No one had hired assassins.

No one had declared him unfit for the role.

He had simply vanished on his own.

Iona had never understood it.

She hadn’t had a bad relationship with Teneron.

When they were young, Teneron often played with her.

He would even secretly show her magic he had learned in secret, hiding from the elders’ watchful eyes.

“You could’ve become chieftain.”

“No. I couldn’t. That position... you’re the one suited for it.”

“Why? Because of some silly magic?”

“It’s not silly. And Iona, you’re in no position to say that. You, too, are a beastkin who enrolled at Seorn.”

“...That’s...”

Because I was enchanted by the magic you showed me.

And more than that—because I believed our people couldn’t stay trapped in the tribe forever.

But Iona didn’t say those words aloud. Teneron likely already knew.

“You still look like you don’t accept it.”

“You saw that?”

“Others say you have no expression, but that’s only because they don’t know you. You’re terrible at hiding how you feel.”

Teneron gave a short laugh, then wiped away his smile.

“Iona. Do you know why I gave up the chieftain’s seat and chose to live hiding my identity?”

“There was another reason?”

“Because that title had lost all meaning to me.”

“....”

To say the chieftain’s role was meaningless—

That was a denial of the very foundation of beastkin society.

Beastkin tribes were built around their chieftains, and their federations were powerful.

All beastkin took pride in that structure and never forgave those who insulted it.

Yet here and now, Teneron, who bore Obelli blood, had trampled that pride.

“Teneron. I may believe our people must change, but there are things you shouldn’t say.”

“Iona. That’s why you’re not ready. You’re swayed by something as trivial as a title.”

“...What on earth happened to you?”

Rather than getting angry, Iona asked calmly.

Why had this promising warrior thrown everything away and disappeared?

Why had he abandoned the Obelli name?

Why had he even hidden his face?

Why had he lived as Roteron?

“Iona. You know what my power is.”

“...The spirits of ancient heroes you once showed me?”

Back when he was still Teneron—

He had shown Iona his true power.

Before fully mastering [Origin] magic, he had inherited strength from the spirits of great heroes. He was considered a prodigy.

That alone had made him a chieftain candidate.

“It was powerful. I still believe that.”

“Until I met a true monster, that is.”

“A... monster?”

Iona couldn’t understand.

Who was this “monster” Teneron was speaking of?

“No one knows. It was pure chance that I encountered him—in a desolate plain, with no one around to witness it.”

Teneron could still recall it clearly whenever he closed his eyes.

“I experienced a crushing defeat.”

“Defeat? You were defeated?”

“Yes. I fought using everything—strength of the chieftain, warrior spirit, heroic souls. And I lost. Do you know what the funniest part was? He fought me using nothing but his own skill and power.”

“How...?”

Only the strongest warriors became chieftains.

Teneron had been among the most promising.

“He was a beastkin like me. But he was different. A beastkin—but something beyond. I thought we were fighting honorably, but he... he was hunting me.”

“Hunting... a chieftain candidate? Who was it?”

“Phantos. He called himself Phantos.”

It was a name Iona had never heard before.

But she noticed Teneron flinch—just slightly—as he said it.

Teneron was afraid.

“Long, disheveled white hair. A towering, muscular body like it was carved from a thousand-year-old boulder. And those eyes... the kind that saw everything in the world as prey. He looked like a descendant of the white bear tribe from the distant northern lands.”

Teneron had fought him.

And suffered a devastating defeat.

Phantos had claimed victory—and then disappeared without killing him.

As if Teneron’s life wasn’t even worth considering.

Teneron had felt humiliation... and at the same time, an overwhelming realization.

He had been living inside a narrow well.

What next chieftain?

What strongest warrior?

He wasn’t worthy of either.

Phantos.

That monstrous beastkin was the true strongest.

“He scoffed at the idea of being a chieftain. Of course he did. With power like that, he could’ve become a legend among all races on the continent.”

“Then why...?”

“Because it wasn’t enough for him. Even the title of chieftain was too small to contain that monster.”

“....”

“He was right. To our tribe, the chieftain is a glorious title—but in the grand scheme of the world, it’s small and insignificant. And I didn’t put in all that effort just to climb into such a petty seat.”

“So you left? Because the title wasn’t enough?”

“Yes. I wanted something greater. That’s why I chose to study magic. I needed to control the power I wield more precisely. Back then, I was just a reckless brat swinging a huge weapon around.”

That’s when Teneron changed his name to Roteron.

To go deeper into the study of this power—

The magic of [Origin].

And that knowledge lay in the hands of mages alone.

“Of course, it wasn’t easy. Living among mages while hiding who I was—it felt like walking a tightrope over a cliff every day.”

He wore a magic-treated mask to conceal his beastkin identity.

He suppressed his scent and his instincts.

Lived as a human—but far more restrained than any real human.

Even among mages, Roteron’s masked behavior was seen as eccentric and unwelcome.

But through tireless effort, Roteron rose to the rank of Lexuror.

He became a pillar of the New Mage Tower.

“Then why are you telling me all this now?”

“You seemed to be looking for me.”

“I was?”

“Yes. Wasn’t that why you came?”

He was right.

Iona had wanted to see more of the world—but part of her reason for coming to the Empire had also been to find Teneron, the missing next chieftain.

“I’ll just say it now—give up. I’m not going back. The position of chieftain no longer holds any appeal for me. To be honest, I hope you’ll abandon it too and live the life you want.”

“......I decided to experience the wider world in order to become chieftain.”

“I see.”

Teneron—no, Roteron now—nodded as if he understood.

Iona had always been like this, even as a child.

She rarely expressed emotion and wore a constant blank face, making it hard to tell what she was thinking.

But inside her was a grand ambition—to revive their tribe.

Both of them had left to see the ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) world.

But in the end, their goals had diverged completely.

“So, are you satisfied now that you’ve climbed this high?”

At Iona’s question, Teneron snorted and shook his head.

“Satisfied? I suppose... for a beastkin, I’ve reached a pretty high position. I made it to the 6th Circle without even relying on my [Origin] magic. But it’s still not enough.”

Roteron recalled the battle in the underground waterways.

He’d suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of Andrei, who wielded demonic power.

His iconic iron mask had shattered. Even his trump card—[Origin] magic—had failed.

He had gone all-out, and still, he couldn’t win.

Andrei’s strength alone had been immense, but what made it worse was the enhancement of his body using demonic energy and World Tree cells.

Losing had been inevitable.

In fact, just pushing Andrei back as far as he did was already a testament to Roteron’s strength.

But Roteron was not satisfied.

He didn’t try to comfort himself with excuses about how defeat was inevitable.

“I’m still weak.”

If he collapsed here, he would never be able to take revenge on that white-haired beastkin.

‘And that man...’

Ludger Cherish—was that what he was called?

The first time he saw him was in the Arcane Chamber’s Grand Hall.

There, Ludger had presented his new magical theory and captivated everyone’s attention.

Back then, Roteron had only felt uneasy—concerned that a single person was holding such vast information.

He hadn’t formed any personal opinion beyond that.

But in the underground sewer, he saw Ludger fight.

The way he pressured Andrei repeatedly with his magic.

It wasn’t that the magic itself was unusual.

Aside from the rare light attribute, his spells weren’t especially powerful.

And yet—the precision, the speed, the razor-sharp way they struck at openings...

He found himself mesmerized more than once.

In Ludger’s magic, Roteron saw something familiar.

That beastkin named Phantos.

A combat style that didn’t match his massive frame—

And that was exactly how Ludger fought.

Could such a person exist among humans?

Roteron was once again reminded just how vast the world truly was.

“I still think I’m lacking. I must become stronger. Only then will I be able to repay him for the humiliation of that day.”

“......I understand now. Thanks for explaining. But why are you telling me all of this here, now? You had chances before.”

“Ludger Cherish. That man found out who I really am.”

“He did...?”

“During the fight in the underground sewer, my mask was torn off. My identity as a beastkin was exposed. And people were there to witness it—Ludger Cherish was one of them. I heard you’re taking his class.”

“I am.”

Roteron nodded, satisfied that his information was accurate.

“You’re a member of the Obelli family. I figured he’d tell you about me. If not right away, then eventually. So I thought it’d be better if I told you myself.”

“Oh...”

So Roteron had come forward first, afraid that Ludger might reveal his identity.

But as Iona listened to all this, something felt off.

“...Was that necessary?”

Roteron frowned, clearly not understanding.

“What do you mean, ‘necessary’? We’re talking about a massive secret—that a 6th-Circle mage is actually a beastkin. Don’t you think he’d tell you, at least?”

Iona, a little exasperated, answered firmly.

“...He wouldn’t. Ever.”

“What?”

“What I’m saying, Teneron, is that you didn’t need to worry about that in the first place. Ludger Cherish would never leak that information.”

Iona was absolutely certain of it.

Ludger wasn’t the type to carelessly gossip about someone’s secret.

If someone asked why—she didn’t have a clear answer.

Call it a hunch, maybe.

But from what she’d seen of Ludger so far, she was sure of it.

“More importantly, let me ask something. Where is that beastkin named Phantos now?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t?”

“He’s incredibly elusive. Doesn’t keep company. Always travels alone.”

“So he has no close allies either?”

“Him? He’s the kind of guy who’d say his parents should be proud just for birthing him. Of course he doesn’t have friends or companions. He wouldn’t serve anyone either.”

Still—Roteron continued.

“Someone with that level of power... he’s definitely still out there, somewhere, fighting. I’m sure of it.”

* * *

“Hey. Hey, you.”

The dwarf girl, Seridan, thumped Phantos’s massive thigh with her gloved fist.

Only then did Phantos turn his huge head to look down at her.

“Cut it out already. When are you actually going to lose some weight?”

“...After I finish this.”

Still looking like he could roll away just by tripping, Phantos shoved another piece of chocolate into his mouth with a sheepish excuse.