Chapter 21: It Was You, Huh? (2)

I looked at Professor Bastion, my eyes full of doubt. “You’re asking me to find it myself?”

He simply nodded with a straight face. “That’s right. I already know where the mana-infused Seven Star Herb typically grows, so finding it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“And where does it usually grow?”

He pointed to a dusty clump lying on the floor. “Here.”

Obviously, he didn’t mean this mess of a lab.

“You mean the academy?” I asked.

“Yes. I doubt there’s anywhere else on the continent where you can get mana-infused Seven Star Herb as easily as you can here.”

Nowhere else on the continent, huh? I wondered.

However, I could vaguely guess why. “Is it because of the seal?”

Professor Bastion’s eyes gleamed with interest. “Oho! Not bad, considering you got the lowest score in the first-year history class.”

“Why did you even look up my grades from first year?”

“Wouldn’t it make sense to know the academic performance of a potential assistant after graduation?”

“No, it wouldn’t.”

Because I am not going to work in your disaster of a lab, I said to myself.

“Hehehe. Well, in any case, I would give that answer about 80 out of 100. It’s not exactly the seal itself, but rather the ley lines connected to it,” he added.

“The ley lines?”

That rang a bell. I remembered Senior Sophia mentioning something about it before, that a network of ley lines brimming with mana was running underneath the Hero Academy.

In a voice that held a rare trace of excitement, Professor Bastion explained, “Well, since we’re already on the topic, let me give you the short version. Five hundred years ago, after a grueling battle, the Great Five Heroes finally succeeded in sealing the Demon God.”

“Are we starting a history lesson now?” I asked in a grumbling tone.

“Just shut up and listen,” he said without any hesitation, then continued with his impromptu lecture, “After sealing the Demon God, Reynald built this Hero Academy right on top of it.”

That much I did remember from first-year history class.

“Do you know why Reynald established an academy on such dangerous land?” Professor Bastion asked.

“To build a fortress, wasn’t it? To protect the seal on the Demon God?”

Despite fierce opposition, Reynald insisted on establishing the academy directly over the sealed Demon God. Historians debated his reasoning even in current times, but the generally accepted theory was that he wanted to create a hub for heroes across the continent, a way to keep the seal protected from the demons by sheer presence.

And, well, it did work, I thought.

At first, many nations resisted sending their promising young hero cadets to such a perilous place, but Reynald made it clear: without graduating from this academy and earning the proper credentials, no one would receive a Hero License and be recognized as a hero. Left with no choice, countries reluctantly complied.

However, five hundred years later, nobody cared about that. Most people now didn’t even remember that a Demon God was sealed beneath the academy, unless they paid attention during their history electives.

Of course…That won’t be the case for much longer, I thought.

Not many people knew the seal was weakening aside from me, someone who had already lived through the consequences of it.

“A fortress… That was definitely part of the reason,” Professor Bastion said thoughtfully.

“There’s more to it?”

“You remember the ley lines I mentioned earlier? Reynald… Ah, actually, to be precise, my ancestor, the Great Sage Julius Bastion, linked the seal to that network to reinforce it.”

“He connected the seal… to the ley lines?”

Professor Bastion stroked his white beard. “That’s right. To use a metaphor, it’s like chaining the Demon God down with an iron lock—the seal in the academy—and wrapping it up with a steel chain—the ley lines.”

“Huh! That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

“Of course it is. That knowledge is passed down only in House Bastion.”

Ah! That’s why I hadn’t heard of it even in my past life,I thought.

“In short, this entire academy was constructed as a massive tool to channel the ley lines’ power into reinforcing the seal,” Professor Bastion added.

The academy itself was a giant sealing mechanism. This made me realize that the academy could have been connected to the decline of the seal in my previous life.

One more reason to stay here, I guess, I thought.

I had not planned to leave the academy before graduation anyway, since I needed to reconnect with my old comrades. But now, there was an additional mission, which was to find out why the Demon God’s seal was weakening. However, that was not something I could figure out right away. For now, I needed to focus on what was in front of me.

“So, because of the ley lines, the Seven Star Herb grows abundantly around here, right?” I asked.

Professor Bastion gave a satisfied nod, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “Precisely.”

He then took a sip from his coffee cup and chuckled softly. “Talking like this reminds me of the old days, when I used to teach.”

His eyes looked wistful as he glanced up at the ceiling. He had stopped teaching cadets after an incident two years ago. I recalled his nickname, the Disciple Slayer. Having worked with him for the past few days, I couldn’t imagine him living up to such a grim nickname.

Sure, he’s eccentric, but killing a student? No way, I thought.

I was curious about his past, but now wasn’t the time for that. I had too many things to do right now.

Professor Bastion looked at me. “Anyway, if you bring me a mana-infused Seven Star Herb, I can create the Soul Stigmata Amplifier Potion.”

“But if you already know where it grows, why not go get it yourself?”

“Oho! You want an old man like me to go out and pick herbs?”

Old man, my foot. If we’re talking about lifespan, I’ve lived dozens of times longer than you. I wanted to say that, but of course, I couldn’t.

Still, after he had guzzled down research funds to the tune of a million gold, his brazenness in asking me to fetch ingredients made my neck heat up in frustration.

“Hehe. Besides, if I go pick it myself, the Holy Empire might come knocking,” he added.

“Was there an issue with… Oh

.”

Professor Bastion was a leading figure in soul stigmata research, something the Holy Empire strongly disapproved of. If he started foraging for the Holy Empire’s national flower, it would cause all kinds of problems.

“Alright, fine.” With a sigh, I accepted his request. It was a waste of time, but there was no helping it.

“Hehe. I’ll send the location to your Hero Watch. Try searching around that area.”

The coordinates he sent pointed to the outdoor training grounds, where we recently had our demonic monster tracking class.

“Isn’t the outdoor training ground off-limits outside of class?”

“You can apply for a permit for research purposes,” Professor Bastion answered.

“Hmm! Alright then. I’ll head out right away.”

I have a mountain of other things to do, but… What can I do? When the young ones are too green to move, an “old man” like me has no choice but to handle it myself, I thought.

***

Following the directions displayed on my Hero Watch, I had been walking for hours. The forest was thick, and as expected, the sun began to set faster than usual, and darkness gradually fell.

“Looks like it should be somewhere around here on the map,” I muttered.

If I didn’t find it soon, I’d have to camp out here at night. I was no stranger to camping, and I had done it more times than I could count. Still, without Iris around, the idea of sleeping on the bare ground didn’t sound appealing.

“I need to find it quickly… Hm?”

I noticed a gap between some stones hidden behind the dense underbrush. It was just wide enough for a person to squeeze through. From within, I felt the faintest trickle of mana leaking out.

Could this be it?

Tilting my head, I pushed myself through the narrow gap. To my surprise, a spacious cave opened up before me. “Let’s take a look.”

Keeping my senses sharp, I scanned the area. Between a cluster of jagged stalagmites, I spotted several white flowers blooming quietly. Plucking one of the flowers from between the stones, I felt a subtle flow of mana within its petals. It was indeed the Seven Star Herb.

“At least I won’t have to camp outside.”

Smirking in satisfaction, I collected the rest of the Seven Star Herbs nestled among the stalagmites. After picking everything within sight, I had about two handfuls of the flowers stored in my bag.

This should be enough for the Soul Stigmata Amplifier Potion. Still… better to gather a bit more, just in case, I thought.

While the cave entrance had been narrow, the space inside stretched far deeper than I initially thought, and I had not explored the whole thing yet. I ventured further into the winding tunnel. Then, I noticed a faint glow far ahead.

Is that… light? Why would there be a light source here?

Silently, I crept toward the source, careful not to make a sound. I was surprised to see the light coming from a portable lantern, the kind often used for exploration. This lantern being here meant someone else was inside. Another person was inside the training grounds late at night. However, there were no training sessions scheduled today.

I had confirmed that when Professor Bastion issued me the permit to enter. Furthermore, no one without a permit could legally be here, so it couldn’t be a cadet. It was also unlikely that a professor would be here alone at this hour.

If it isn’t a professor or a cadet, who the hell is inside this cave at such an hour?

I held my breath and tucked myself behind a stalagmite. Then, a voice echoed through the cave.

“Agh, damn it! Why do I always get stuck with this crap work?”

A man who looked to be in his late thirties, with unkempt black hair and a tattered robe, came into view, muttering complaints as he hammered what looked like a black nail into the cave wall. He definitely did not look like a cadet.

Grumbling, the man pressed the nail into place. “Haih! If I can just become a priest, I won’t have to do this kind of grunt work.”

Then, a dark light seeped from the man’s chest, crawling along the black nail and seeping into the stone wall. The energy radiated an ominous, sticky aura that made my skin crawl. It wasn’t hard to recognize what that was.

It was the cursed energy granted only to those who were blessed and bore the soul stigmata of the Demon God and a power exclusive to only one type of being.

That’s dark mana … And he’s a demon.

Alongside demonic monsters, demons were humanity’s greatest enemies and the top extermination targets for heroes. There was no room for negotiation with their kind. There had never been.

I didn’t know why a demon was here, but finding it out was easy. Focusing mana into my legs, I crouched low. Then, I launched myself forward.

I’ll just ask him directly.

In an annoyed voice, the demon said, “Agh fuck why the hell is this taking so long toda— Urk!”

In a flash, I was behind him. I gathered mana into my fingertips and jabbed the back of his neck. His body went rigid, then collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. I used an acupuncture technique to seal his pressure point, a method I had learned from Berald in my past life. It was a technique that targeted mana flow points to paralyze the body.

Shocked, the demon asked, “W-what the…! W-who are you?”

“You don’t need to know who I am. Why are you sneaking into the academy? Just answer that,” I said.

“Guh! My body… It won’t move!”

“Yeah, figured you wouldn’t talk so easily.” I knew firsthand how stubborn demons could be. They never talked without pain. Grabbing him by the hair, I lifted his head and smacked him across the face. “Well, let’s start with one.”

A sharp sound cracked through the cave, the demon’s head jerking violently to the side.

“Gah! W-wait!” he said.

“Oh, I know, I know. There’s no way you’d spill your secrets this early.”

“No, wait!”

“Two.”

The more the cave echoed with clean smacks, the more his face began to swell, until it was barely recognizable. After about thirty blows, I took a brief pause.

“Ugh… ggh…”

“Damn, you’re persistent. Still not going to talk?” I said.

“Urgh… o-ohhh… aghhh!”

Blood and broken teeth dribbled from his mouth as he shook his head in desperation.

If words didn’t work, swords would. I drew my sword and brought it close to his face. “Well then, guess I have no choice.”

I smiled coldly, yanking his head up. “Two eyes, two ears, one nose, and one mouth. Of those, the only ones I need are one ear and a mouth. So, tell me, which of those do you need?”

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