Chapter 123: Imposter

"Could I have a moment of your time?"

"Huwaa! Professor Erica!"

Professor Fel Petra was very surprised to see Erica Bright entering the laboratory.

She swung the prosthetic arm she had been tinkering with and quickly greeted Erica.

"H-hello! I-it's a good morning, right?!"

"Yes, it is. I'm sorry, but could I have a brief conversation with Professor Deus?"

At Erica's gentle request, Professor Fel immediately rushed out of the room, her pink hair fluttering behind her.

"How come you hear a bouncing sound instead of footsteps when she runs?"

Findenai, who was brewing tea as she stood beside me, clicked her tongue while watching Professor Fel's impressive chest bob up and down.

She then shrugged with an annoyed expression, took a cigarette from her pocket, and put it in her mouth.

"I'll go for a smoke."

I thought she had stopped smoking, but it seemed like she quickly returned to the habit. Maybe she didn't like the cigarettes I had given her since she didn't smoke them.

"I-I'll go too."

Owen, who was assisting Professor Fel, also exited with a commotion. Since everyone found out that Erica was my fiancée, it seemed like they were obsessed with not interrupting our time together.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Since there were no separate lectures today, I wasn't too busy. I just planned to carry out some research with the Dark Spiritualist using the research materials I ordered before.

However, I could sense the urgency coming from Erica, who was visiting me.

"Aria was absent from my lecture without prior notice."

"..."

I involuntarily furrowed my brow at those words.

Aria didn't attend a lecture?

She knew that I preferred it when she behaved like a proper student. So she always tried her best to remain as such.

In fact, that was the only reason she was still attending the academy even though there was nothing left for her to learn.

"When I noticed she didn't attend my lecture, I felt something was off and looked into it. It turns out she hasn't attended any other classes after your lecture last Monday."

It wouldn't be a big deal if an ordinary student didn't attend classes.

Many students would even actively skip classes, simply wanting to play or sleep in.

In a dormitory setting, where students could choose their own lectures, such behavior was common due to the high level of autonomy.

However, Aria wouldn't skip class on a whim.

"I guess I will have to go and check on her."

It seemed like I needed to go to her dormitory.

"I'll come with you. A female professor should accompany you since it's the girls' dormitory."

As if she had been waiting, Erica offered to accompany me and we headed to the girls' dormitory together.

Despite it being 10 in the morning, the dormitory was still bustling with students.

Since class schedules varied for each student, some would skip morning classes and attend in the afternoon, or they'd have a free period for the day.

The female students didn't seem too pleased to see a male professor entering the dormitory, but with Erica sticking close by my side, they simply greeted us and moved on.

"It would have been inappropriate if you came without me, right?"

"Yes, you are right."

Indeed, if Erica hadn't been here, I would have come across quite a few hurdles on my way to Aria's room, consuming a considerable amount of time.

Knock. Knock.

"Aria? Are you in there?"

Erica knocked and asked. But there was no answer inside, so I glanced at the Dark Spiritualist beside me.

As a ghost, the Dark Spiritualist just slightly phased her head through the door.

And then.

[D-D-D-Deus?! What kind of situation is this...?]

The Dark Spiritualist called out to me in a frenzy. I quickly gathered mana and forcefully turned the doorknob to enter.

Inside, we could see Aria floating in the air with both legs crossed.

It was a common breathing technique used in murim novels. Mana whipped around the room violently, refusing our approach.

"W-What's going on?"

Erica looked at me as if seeking an answer, but I myself couldn't help but wonder what Aria's intentions were for behaving like this.

As mana began to seep out of the room, I thought we should stop her for now.

However, did she sense our presence?

Aria deliberately and gradually began drawing the mana back into herself. Soon, the room became completely quiet with her descending to the floor slowly.

"Professor?"

Paying no attention to Erica who was beside me, Aria suddenly opened her eyes and looked at me, tilting her head.

"What's happening here?"

Aria looked truly puzzled. Since she never lied to me, it seemed like she genuinely didn't know what the problem was in the first place.

"I heard you have not attended classed for the past two days."

"Whaaat?!"

With her eyes open wide, Aria was startled and asked Erica to confirm if it was true. Erica sighed and nodded.

"That's right. You're in big trouble with your grades now."

When Erica lightly mentioned something that didn't seem like a big deal, Aria muttered to herself and scratched her head.

"Has it really been that long? It feels like only 30 minutes have passed."

"Sigh, Aria. What exactly were you doing?"

What was she doing that made two days feel like 30 minutes? And what was that flow of mana raging around just a moment ago?

She needed to explain herself.

"Uh, well. Recently, I've been feeling like there's something wrong with my body. I've also been having frequent headaches lately, so I tried to cleanse the mana and the impurities in my body a bit."

Was such a thing even possible?

So, it turned out that it was possible to do something like the breathing technique in murim novels. I remembered that in [Retry], we could only have a simple rest and there weren't any such techniques.

"I'm sorry. I'll attend my lectures right away."

Aria tidied up her disheveled hair while checking my reaction. She then began immediately grabbing her notes and got ready to leave.

Since it didn't turn out to be a big deal, Erica and I waited for Aria outside the door.

Just after Aria hastily gathered her belongings, came out, and passed by us, a strong killing intent suddenly surged towards Erica and me. In an instant, a hand filled with fighting spirit aimed directly at my throat.

Kwaang!

"Keugh!"

[I-I saved you!]

If the Dark Spiritualist hadn't used mana to push me away, the hand would have grabbed my neck and pinned me against the wall. I would have ended up just like Erica.

Heavy breaths escaped Aria's mouth as she tried to overpower Erica and me at the same time.

After restraining Erica who was struggling to get out, Aria glared at me with fighting spirit and enmity.

"Who are you?"

"What are you talking about?"

I frowned at the sudden question while searching for a way to save Erica.

One wrong move could result in Aria breaking Erica's neck.

I calmly responded to her question. Even though it was a sudden turn of events, I remained composed; getting flustered or worked up here would be dangerous.

Aria's words were enough to confuse me.

"Where did Professor go?! How dare you disguise yourself as Professor right in front of me? It seems like you think you have multiple lives?"

"Calm down, Aria. I do not know what you are talking about, but I am Deus Verdi."

I conjured a blue flame, on the palm of my hand—the Necromancer's Flame.

I hoped that this burning flame, which only a Necromancer could create, would serve as evidence of my identity.

Aria sneered disdainfully and gritted her teeth.

"Seeing that you're a Dark Mage as well, you're from Dante, aren't you? Are you here for revenge? I've warned you, if you mess with Professor, I'll kill you all."

The overwhelming killing intent emanating from a regressor like her, which enveloped the entire corridor, made me dizzy just standing there.

"Get a grip. Think logically, how could a Dark Mage from Dante infiltrate the academy?"

"I don't know. But you managed to do it, didn't you?"

Aria applied more pressure with her hand. The more pressure she applied, the more Erica struggled.

Pretending to struggle, Erica pressed her face squarely against Aria's.

Then, she emitted a golden light.

Aria's body was pushed back, sending her flying as she crashed through another door and smashed through a window, flinging her outside.

What Erica had used wasn't simple light magic, but suppression magic infused with spirits.

"Gasp! Gasp!"

While Erica gasped for breath as she clutched her throat, I gave her a pat on the shoulder, indicating that she had done well, before immediately chasing after Aria.

Likewise, I leaped out of the window and lightly landed outside with mana surrounding my body.

Despite being hit by Erica's magic head-on, Aria's vision was only blurred for a moment as she quickly regained her senses.

"Aria, have you come back to your senses?"

At my words, Aria replied while gritting teeth, still filled with hostility.

"I told you not to pretend to be Professor."

"Huff, I am the real Deus. You know me as Kim Shinwoo."

Although I didn't particularly like uttering my original name while inhabiting this body, I needed to gain Aria's trust for now.

For some reason, she suddenly mistook me for someone else.

"Alright, I'll admit that you do look like him. And I don't know how you know Professor's real name, but you're definitely an imposter."

I could feel a weird sensation akin to a buzzing shock tingling, spreading through my head. It felt like I had seen this exact reaction from Aria somewhere before.

I contemplated for a moment.

Without wasting any time, my mind raced and reached an answer.

"No way...."

Screeech!

Aria's left foot glided on the ground, widening her stance. Since she didn't have a sword right now, she seemed to be preparing to fight me using martial arts as she adjusted her posture.

"You know your little play is costing you your lives, right?"

"Aria."

"Shut up. I know you look alike, but you're not Professor."

"Listen to me carefully from now on."

Why had she suddenly changed like this?

Though I wasn't certain yet, her symptoms seemed almost identical to something I knew.

This wasn't knowledge from a game or common sense I learned on this continent.

It was knowledge from Earth.

Did I learn it from a simple trivia book I read before?

Or was it something I saw on TV?

Or perhaps someone told me about it and I just coincidentally remembered it now?

Anyway,

"I suspect you are currently experiencing symptoms similar to Capgras syndrome."

Capgras syndrome.

It was a symptom where people believed that someone close to them had been replaced by a 'different' person with the exact same appearance.

Some who suffered from this psychological disorder believed that the person they saw as family was actually someone else in disguise, and in severe cases, they would even mistake themselves for a stranger in the mirror.

"I'm sick?"

While Aria still stared at me with suspicious eyes, I cautiously continued speaking after taking a deep breath.

"It is okay, stay calm and take deep breaths. I will help you."

The reason wasn't clear yet, but Aria seemed to have developed Capgras syndrome.

So, I tried to calm her down as much as possible. However...

"Huff."

Aria raised the corners of her mouth and clenched her fist tightly.

"You really talk like Professor."