Otherworld TRPG Game Master

45 – Becoming the Genius Professor of the Academy

Personal Goal: Tease academy students to enhance their overall understanding of fantasy magic or get them into the Purple Tower or make them buy lots of Purple Tower items.

Responsibilities: Bulk up students using simulations.

Secret Mission: Uncover dark sorcerers within the academy.

Crucial Duty: Introduce female students to Pingvallez regularly.

“…I don’t remember writing the last sentence. Pingvallez, was it you?”

“Well, yes?”

I deleted the last sentence about duties and obligations.

————-

All administrative tasks are tedious and exhausting. Both the giver and the receiver find a corner writhing in pain. The admission process for professors at the academy was no different.

“So, we invited you as a professor to teach the relative laws of fantasy magic…”

“Shouldn’t we give broader authority? It’s the Crown Prince’s pick.”

“I don’t think blindly assigning tasks to unverified individuals is a good idea. At least after verifying their character and abilities…”

“Pingvallez, want to play word chain?”

“Sure. Mithril.”

Professors, administrative officers, academy vice principals, student representatives, and others gathered, raising their voices about my treatment. In the midst of it all, I passed the time with Pingvallez.

The root of all these problems lay in the fact that the Second Prince, who forced me into the academy using his authority, didn’t properly sort things out. If he’s going to push me, he should put me in a high position. If he just sends me away, what would happen?

As if that weren’t enough, he also shared the insane method of using realistic fantasy magic, saying, “Since he can use practical fantasy magic, he can supplement the academy students’ lack of practical experience.”

The irony lay in the fact that the prince himself believed in dimensional magic. It was a mess caused by the prince mistaking illusion magic for dimensional magic and trying to pass it off as such.

And that’s how the chaos began.

A heated debate erupted among the academy staff about how to delegate tasks to the suddenly arrived magician, followed by a large-scale word chain game with Ping Ballez.

“Distorted lament.”

“Sigh of the sword.”

“Is it a real artifact?”

“Are those real spells?”

From Noble mtl dot com

A heartwarming word chain game of mutual professional doubt ended in a tie after three rounds.

After an hour and a half of chatter, the academy staff concluded that they should first assess my abilities. A bureaucrat with round glasses stood up and approached me, asking, “What’s your rank?”

“Third grade.”

“You haven’t even achieved enlightenment. Do you think you’re qualified to teach students?”

“Are you ignoring the Second Prince’s discernment?”

“Um…! No, I mean, I am simply loyal to the empire…”

The bureaucrat suddenly lost his strength and became flustered. After repelling the first opponent, a magician with a shrewd look came forward and interrogated me.

“I’m Alejandro Menuvare. I’m a silver-grade magician of the Golden Tower and responsible for ‘Elementary Elemental Principles’ maintenance at the academy. I don’t mean to belittle you, but I have achieved enlightenment.”

He meant to belittle me.

“Hmm.”

“There are quite a few students who have reached the third grade. This is the academy, the foundation of the empire’s national power. Your skills may be sufficient outside, but they are considered inadequate for teaching at the academy. It would be better for you to step back, if only for the sake of the students’ learning, don’t you think?”

“Um, excuse me, Alejandro…? What are you talking about?”

“What does that mean… huh?”

Silver Ddari, muttering all sorts of worries to the camphor tree cloaked in illusion, snapped out of his reverie at the voice calling from the side. His face turned as red as a tomato from the creeping embarrassment, and he retreated, chewing on his handkerchief.

His mental barrier was thick in its own right, but when disguised as information about a woman, it easily slipped through. Just looking at the dense tabletop seemed to reveal everything about women. Indeed.

Finally, the cross-eyed Viking came out wielding a large battle axe in one hand.

“Nice to meet you, shrimp! I’m Alecson, in charge of the ‘Art of Close Combat’ course! Supplementing real combat experience with illusion magic, isn’t that great? If you can realistically implement combat, that is!”

“Hmm.”

“A shrimp who seems to have no real combat experience, how can you implement real combat! Come here and try to take my axe! If you can bring me down, I’ll acknowledge you!”

“How about a simulated sword?”

I answered, quietly opening the large bag that had been hanging on my side. It contained various materials for building a simulation room at the academy. Among them were the combat data I had diligently collected so far.

A long time ago, when I was beaten by the cleaning golem.

Since then, I had been inputting combat data to the AI and running an endless loop of battles as long as magic allowed in accelerated time. It was not perfect. There is no end to the path of the sword.

But I could at least approximate it.

“Do you think you can win by just talking?”

“Let’s see.”

“Okay, I’ll step to the right oblique with the axe in hand first──.”

I input the combat data of the cross-eyed Viking and waited. The AI output the next move, and I just repeated it.

After a while.

“Sob… sob…”

The cross-eyed Viking was embracing the axe and crying sadly. Despite twisting his body forcefully three times, he was completely defeated. The cross-eyed Viking who lost to the mage in simulated combat later reflected in this way:

There were no emotions in the mage’s sword.

Excluding all emotions and pondering solely on how to kill a person, it was the contemplation of a completely deranged murderer or a swordsman capable of such, according to the rumor.

————-

Engaging in a serious one-on-one confrontation, she was confident in her victory. After all, academy professors were like walking human weapons, making a profession out of killing people. Even a mere graze from the likes of “Thorn of the Earth” could result in serious injury.

However, if given a bit of time to prepare and an opportunity to seize the initiative, it was a piece of cake.

Thanks to the friend who, considering me as a mere novice, let her guard down, proving my skills became a walk in the park. I earned the recognition of the faculty and proudly became a professor in my field.

Handling administrative matters, having a separate professor’s dormitory and personal quarters assigned—juggling various tasks, time swiftly passed. Now, while waiting for the school start date just a week away, it was time to tackle the lecture preparation I had postponed until the last minute.

Thanks to the (forced) explanation by the Second Prince, I became well acquainted with the academy’s structure. Subjects were divided into required and elective, with the former being mandatory. As for the latter, you could choose whatever you had the luxury to study.

Unlike modern university courses, what differed here was that grades were not crucial for graduation. Even if you covered the academy in Fs, you could still graduate. It was just that no one wanted to be such a loser.

I had to teach “Fantasy Magic Response” as a required subject, and for electives, I was told to teach whatever I wanted.

Among the professors, there were cases where they taught things like “How to Tear Apart a Wyvern Barehanded” to discourage students from enrolling. I don’t know if they wanted to play a prank or genuinely wanted to teach, but students seemed to turn away from such classes.

“What should I teach…?”

“Are you pondering what to teach so that students won’t sign up?”

“No, I have no intention of playing tricks. Since we’ve ended up like this, it would be better if we help each other out. There’s a lot to convey in this harsh medieval academy, so it’s more of a dilemma.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like ‘How to Pretend to Be a Cool Medieval Knight’ or ‘Eleven Ways to Steal a Man’s Heart.'”

“…?”

Ping Baleze’s expression subtly changed. Then, at some point, the switch to the insane mage killing mode was flipped, and she stepped on the accelerator, thrusting forward.

“Do you like men? I thought so.”

“No. Be careful with your words, Leze.”

“Then, what are the eleven ways to steal a man’s heart? Please explain.”

“In theory, men know men’s hearts the best. So, they also know the best ways to steal them.”

I was confident. Here, where clichés were not rampant, each flirtation was crucial. I had conquered numerous men, including the Northern Duke and even the Second Prince, effortlessly.

Though it was said in jest, I was convinced that teaching would be effective. Just the thought of a noble lady rushing to make a toast already made my heart race.

“Mad wizard. You must also pretend to ponder the revelation of the dark sorcerer.”

“Pingvallezrez, I have thought about that part.”

A grand event that would breathe dreams and hopes into the bleak academy life. Adding a little twist to it seemed like catching two birds with one stone.

“Why did the dark sorcerer become a dark sorcerer?”

“Perhaps due to a tragic event in the past, or a quest for power, or hostility towards the goddesses. Usually, it’s one of these.”

“Yeah, in the end, it’s because they lacked the strength to achieve something, that’s why they chose to become a dark sorcerer. Look at this.”

I took out a longsword with a bit of magic imbued in it and handed it to Pingvallezrez. She took the sword and began to examine it closely.

“This is worth about fifteen silver coins.”

“Hey, I bought it for just one gold coin…”

“Idiot.”

“…Awaken, Dark Blade!”

As I recited the activation spell, a jewel embedded in the hilt of the longsword opened up, and an iris appeared. The iris moved erratically for a moment, then narrowed as it focused on Pingvallezrez.

– Are you my new master? I commend you for awakening me, but that’s──

“Suck!”

Thud!

Pingvallezrez’s fist shot out, drawing a perfect circle as she put her entire body weight into the punch, cleaving the longsword in half. The Dark Blade… was dead.

Pingballes loaded the next regime and aimed at me.

“What is this?”

I started explaining before that fist shot towards me. It was a shame about the gilded half-broken sword, but first things first, my neck being intact.

“It’s an illusion, a fantasy. A toy sword crafted with illusion magic.”

“Indeed, I didn’t sense any sinister aura.”

“Releasing such a convincing fake magical sword to lure dark wizards. I’m becoming a fisherman of people.”

“With a sword that has no special functions, can you deceive anyone?”

“You know nothing; the crucial thing is storytelling… “

Yeah, the crucial thing was storytelling. If you set up a situation that makes you want to believe, even a toy sword could turn into a genuinely sealed magical sword with immense power. I’ll spread this along with all kinds of hidden traps throughout the entire academy.

If it falls into the hands of someone who doesn’t seem like a dark wizard, it will become a purified magical sword, declaring, ‘Moved by your pure heart, I will choose death myself.’

I crossed my legs and extended my hand. Pingballes stared blankly and said,

“What is this?”

“You have to ask. Two gold coins.”

“It’s supposed to be a fifteen-silver coin one.”

“Oh, except for the fact that I got ripped off. I only accounted for the alchemical ingredients used in crafting.”

“…”

Pingballes avoided eye contact. What’s going on? Two gold coins should be a small amount that comes out of the ground when you dig. It’s nothing compared to the support funds the mage tower receives.

“Um, the mage tower receives a lot… Well, the defense force is a bit stingy.”

“Did you accumulate debts then? Get down.”

“Yes.”

Pingballets immediately sprawled out. I sat on her sturdy backside and stretched out my legs. I lightly held Pingballets’s ponytail, and that’s what we’ve been doing lately—just the two of us. Because we were bored.

Not being able to see Matopju’s face made me even more restless. Is he eating well, taking care of himself, or is he vigorously engaging in the Matop’s friends’ magical antics, I wonder sometimes?

With a faint gaze, as I cautiously tried to sketch Matopju’s face in the sky beyond the window, the door of the private room creaked open.

A familiar red head shook.

“I’m a new student named Selvier. I heard there was someone from Matop, so I came to say hi… Mom?!”

“Oh, hello…”

“W-Why are you here, or no, it seems urgent, so I’ll come back later!”

The Red Tower magician closed the door and hurriedly left.

I remained silent and cautiously muttered, “Seems like an unpleasant misunderstanding, right?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Sigh…”

It was spring.