Chapter 42: Dawn of The Dead ? (4)

"Dude......"

Squeak.

"Professor Ferzen must think we are geniuses to understand that crazy lecture of his......"

Squeak.

"Yeah....I even got nightmares about him the other day."

Squeak.

Despite having the stairs right next to them, the group of students continued to walk on the ramp, so Lizzy had to control her corpse servant as it slowly pushed her wheelchair behind them.

"......"

I want to tell them to step aside, but......

Since there was still some time until the lecture, Lizzy thought it would be best just to bear with it, since she didn't want to draw unnecessary attention.

"You four."

"Man, even I had......Yes?"

A dignified and calm voice echoed in the hallway.

But for those students, that voice was far from calm. For them, it was the prelude of a disaster as they mechanically looked back.

"Ah, it seems that all of you are capable of checking what's behind you. I was wondering if I should contact the doctor to check your necks."

"Ah....."

The group immediately stiffened because of his presence.

And without even saying anything, they opened the way for him as if the Emperor himself was there.

"Have a good day."

"Yes, professor......"

Ferzen then walked past them.

And looking at his broad back, Lizzy led her wheelchair following him as she bit her trembling lips.

And those students quickly escaped towards the classroom. Lizzy stopped her wheelchair at the end of the ramp and opened her mouth.

"That...... was unnecessary."

Stomp.

"......"

Ferzen looked down at her.

"I didn't do it for you. It is the duty of a professor to help his students when they're mistreated."

"It wasn't like that......."

"......"

"I had time anyway. And I refuse to receive special treatment just because of my legs......."

"Lizzy."

"......"

"This trail of thought is called self-justification. And furthermore, you are doing it in a rather foolish way."

Squeez.

As she heard his words, Lizzy gripped the helm of her skirt as her knuckles turned white.

"Who was the one who condemned me to live in this foolish and unsightly way......."

"......"

"You enjoy watching me suffer, don't you? Does it excite you? Seeing the way I am forced to live after you broke me? I couldn't care less about trash like you.... But don't you dare to pretend to be kind to me, trying to appear as a changed man....I'm not an object for you to play around with as you wish."

Ferzen quietly listened to her resentful speech, and after she was finished, he opened his mouth as he straightened his suit.

"If I looked hypocritical in your eyes...... You are sadly mistaken. The same man who crushed your ankle is me, and I did not change."

"......"

"I was the same before... and will stay the same in the future."

After saying his piece, Ferzen turned around.

"I will overlook this disrespect this time. But the next time you refer to me in this way, I shall punish you without mercy."

After leaving her with this warning, the man disappeared from her sight.

After a long while, Lizzy moved toward the classroom, as her mind was clouded with intense emotions.

* * * * *

"As written in the bulletin boards of Educational Building A, and in the dormitory..... The deadline for your assignment is April 12th, about three weeks from now."

After completing the attendance check, I rolled up my sleeves and approached the blackboard to start my third lecture.

"Today, we shall delve into the topic of Auror Knights."

Auror Knights.

The level known as the peak of the Knight arts. When one gains the power to negate magic.

But other than that......

"Auror knights, just like wizards, possess mana in their bodies, but there is a fundamental difference between them. Does anyone know why?"

"Professor, Auror knights, unlike wizards, can't circulate their mana at will."

Nodding my head at this answer, I tapped the blackboard.

"Yes, that is correct. Unlike wizards, Auror Knights can't circulate mana. Because of this.....Their training regiment is considered to be the most difficult process to ever exist. That is why they are so strong and so rare."

"......"

"Many are ignorant of this aspect of Auror Knights, and the objective of this lecture is to teach all of you about this topic. As this knowledge will be helpful when controlling the corpse of an Auror Knight."

Activating my ❰Digitization❱ talent, I drew the human body on the blackboard.

"Think of their mana as a solid block of ice. How could one circulate it then?"

"Professor, since mana has attractive properties, can't a wizard help with it?"

"No. If that was the case, then all one would have to do to become an Auror knight was contracting a wizard to help them."

"......"

Looking at the class and seeing that no one understood the real process, I continued my explanation.

"Since no one understands the training process, think of this example."

After knocking on the podium to attract their attention, I continued speaking.

"We as humans need to supply our bodies with nutrients through our food intake, and this is converted as energy. But imagine if you didn't eat, from where would your body take the necessary nutrients to continue its operation?"

......Ah.

"Does this clarify it?"

If there wasn't food, the body would begin to consume its fat reserves.

And in the case of Auror Knight's, when there was no more fat to burn through......

The body would consume the next best thing - mana. And that mana would be absorbed through the body.

That is the training process of the Auror Knights.

"Of course, this is a dangerous process. Because there is a real risk of starvation. However, if one can repeat this process countless times, their bodies will be filled with mana."

Since an Auror Knight's mana was like a solid block of ice, locked in a closed vault, even if melted, the mana had nowhere to go.

But using this training process, one would push their bodies to the absolute limit of human nature, and the body would begin to use mana to restore the damage.

And in these areas that were healed by mana, pathways would be created.

In a word, Auror Knights are beings that reached the apex of humanity and reconstructed their bodies through mana.

If one reaches this stage, their mana, which is like a block of solid ice, melts, and even if they can't circulate it at will, their mana will naturally course through their bodies like blood.

And when their muscles contract, the mana would flow outside their bodies akin to a wet towel being squeezed......

This is the moment when their mana takes a specific shape and begins to generate aura.

"But professor...... Do we need to experience starvation in order to improve our comprehension?"

"Yes and no..... Doing this is like taking a dangerous shortcut. And even among auror knights, many don't go through this method, to begin with."

For a moment, I paused and organized my thoughts.

If Ciel Midford managed to survive Louerg's frozen wilderness and entered the Royal Road, he must have gone through this process several times already.

I sincerely hope that his body would have been consumed by Louerg's frozen wilderness as he died of starvation, but......

There is no way the 'Main Character' would have died in this way.

"Generally, during the training process of Auror Knights, they intentionally destroy their muscles while working out to force the mana to circulate in the damaged parts. But if they go too far in damaging their muscles, even with the mana reconstruction, the damage would be permanent."

"......"

Yes, because of this.

Detailed information about Auror Knights is scarce because their path is tortuous and difficult, and not many manage to walk through it.

"So, if you have an Auror Knight in your family or you possess the corpse of one....Take a minute to fully consider the difficulties that they must have gone through in their path."

In this brief moment of silence, many of the students had a pensive look on their faces.

Then I moved on with the lecture explaining how a Warlock could improve their comprehension of Auror Knights......

And after a while, I concluded the Lecture.

"That is all. I shall see all of you in the next lecture. Oh and......You were supposed to receive a corpse today, however, due to a change in the schedule, it will take three or four days more. I'll put a notice on the bulletin board, but for now, just keep this in mind."

If the distribution of the corpses were late, they would have less time to raise their synchronization rate, but since all of the corpses required the same amount of effort, no one voiced their complaints.

Looking at them now, even though it's been over a month, there are many who couldn't get used to the all-in-one desk as they still continued to struggle against this accursed creation of modern colleges......

After leaving the classroom, I stopped by the department office and instructed Alphonse to leave the notice on the bulletin board and return to my office in the administrative building.

'Today......'

It was the day when I would be on watch duty again.

I also made sure to constantly observe the hand mirror that was connected to the basement, but until now, my prey didn't make his move.

So my guess was more or less concrete.

If he was to make his move......

'Then it must be tonight.'

At first, I suspected that my prey would have been the professor on duty with me, but since I saw that my partner would be Yuriel, I discarded that notion.

Then by process of elimination, what remains must be the truth.

A professor on duty in the commoner's dorm.

The Imperial Knights or the Wizard Corps guarding the Academy.

My prey must be amongst them.

These are the only ones who can walk through the Academy under the guise of the nightfall.

'The trap is set.......'

All that remains is just waiting for the moment.

* * * * *

"I don't wanna be on duty today......."

During lunchtime, Yuriel spiraled on the table while constantly grumbling like a child to Lizzy.

But Lizzy, Yuriel's audience, gave her a curt answer while she was in deep thought.

If what Ferzen explained today was true......

Then Lord Brother must be working hard.

No, working hard doesn't even describe it.

He must've been putting his life at risk.

'Thinking about it.......'

He has never had the habit of writing a diary.

But I know he started writing one......

Ever since he and Father had gone to kneel and beg to Brutein.

So even if Roer died during his training, if he had left a diary behind, a warlock could use it to increase the corpse's performance......

Did he think that far?

"Hey, Lizzy, is the food not to your liking?"

"No. The food is great. Thank you."

Next time I meet Lord Brother.

I should give him a warm hug.

TL Note: Lazy Yuriel is cute too......