Swordsmanship Genius Sees the Future

Chapter 46 - Below the Pit (3)

The option of immediately killing the Dean existed, but the risk was too great.

The problem wouldn't just be the academy's destruction; I'd instantly become everyone's enemy.

People don't know the Dean is a traitor.

"Ugh..."

I perfectly mimicked Zedebek's reaction from the illusion.

"Ugh, ugh..."

"Hmm? What's wrong, Ray?"

"Dean, I'm dizzy... My body suddenly..."

"Is your body paralyzed? Can't move at all? Hmph, I see. Good."

The Dean smiled broadly, revealing her true nature.

"Consider it an honor, Ray Granvelle. This was too good to be wasted on you."

"Ugh..."

"What you just drank is a poison called 'Potion'." The Dean stood up and approached me.

"It's a poison that was researched for a long time to intoxicate even those with strong Aura. But your Aura is weak, isn't it? That's why I said it was a waste. Don't be too disappointed."

"..."

"It's so difficult to produce that what you just consumed is all of the finished Potion. A new batch won't be ready for about six months."

"..."

"Oh dear, it seems you can't even speak now. How pathetic. If I had my way, I might have called Zedebek instead of you, but..."

The Dean began poking various parts of my body with her finger.

"Heh heh. It's working well. Anyway, what's done is done, right?"

"..."

"The first 'harvest' was decided to be the winner of the overall division. Ah, take this opportunity to learn: a person must keep their word. That's how you establish authority. No matter how inefficient it may be."

"..."

"Anyway, it's unfortunate. After all that hardship to win, it turned into misfortune instead. And you're the sole survivor of the Granvelle family, no less. How pitiful. But what can be done?"

The Dean took a step back and sighed.

"Actually, I rather liked you, Ray Granvelle."

"..."

"You don't believe me, do you? It's true. You overcame your curse. What curse, you ask? You're from a main family but your Aura is weak, what else could it be but a curse?"

It was true.

Our thoughts were surprisingly similar.

If not for this situation, could we have had a more honest conversation?

"You must have wanted to give up in the middle. You must have wanted to quit Aura and swordsmanship entirely. But you didn't give up, and you ultimately reached this level. By dedicating yourself to swordsmanship instead of Aura... That's amazing. Could I have been like you?"

"..."

"If I hadn't given up in the middle and had dedicated myself to swordsmanship, could I have reached a higher position than I am now?"

"..."

"Then I wouldn't have had to betray... No, no. In the end, swordsmanship is also talent. Such a miraculous thing couldn't be possible without innate talent."

Suddenly, the Dean's face contorted.

She looked like a snake.

Was that the Dean's true form?

"That's right. Otherwise, there's no way you could have reached such a level at this age. And no way I could have survived there. Ah, my apologies for the late introduction. I am a traitor who pledged myself to the Poison King Family. A convert, a spy. It doesn't matter what you call me."

"..."

"But the place I defected to is the Poison King Family. It has nothing to do with the Poison King Cult, your enemy. So I actually have no idea what happened. What on earth did the Poison King Cult do to the people they kidnapped? And how did you survive there? What exactly happened?"

Indeed.

What on earth happened there?

But if she really wanted to know, shouldn't she have asked before I drank the poisoned tea?

"Hmph... Yes. If you can't speak, you can't answer, can you? You deserve this, Ray Granvelle."

"..."

"Someone like you deserves what they get. You're from the Granvelle family, known as a prestigious swordsmanship family, and a genius who reached 7-star swordsmanship at just 15 years old, aren't you? You even defeated a big shot, the future of the Black Luna family, with just swordsmanship. All the students of the academy, and even the high-ranking officials who were invited, all watched your performance... I'm jealous. Truly jealous. Everything I've wanted my whole life, you already have at that age. Heh heh... Hahaha!"

The Dean burst into laughter.

"Ha! Haha... Oh dear, what am I saying? I have no filter in front of a student. Heh heh... It's sad that I can only be honest at times like this. I've talked too much. It's almost time for the paralysis to wear off, so I must do what needs to be done."

The Dean sighed and snapped her fingers.

Click!

"That was the signal just now. Ray Granvelle. Forget everything you heard me say in this place just now."

I closed my eyes.

Here, I had to close my eyes.

Otherwise, she'd realize that the poisonous aura hadn't swept through my eyeballs.

"Ugh, ugh..."

And how much time passed?

"...Huh?"

I slowly opened my eyes and looked at the Dean with a blank expression. "...Dean?"

"Yes, Ray. What's suddenly wrong?" the Dean asked with a worried expression.

No, wait.

This was my first time directly facing the Dean.

So should I act like I don't know the Dean here?

Or should I just pretend to have forgotten only what I just heard, as if under command?

I don't know.

Of course, the Dean wouldn't know exactly either.

She said this was her first brainwashing.

I looked around like someone who had lost their memory.

"Where exactly is this...? Is this the Dean's office? When did I come in here?"

"Oh dear, you must be tired."

The Dean patted my shoulder with a worried expression.

"You've been unconscious for two days since the competition, haven't you? It seems I called you in vain. You should return to the dormitory and rest today. I'll make sure to explain your absence from lectures, so don't worry and go back."

"Ah... Yes, thank you, Dean."

I bowed my head with a captivated expression.

As I stood up, the Dean realized something and picked up the items on the table.

"Still, you should take these with you."

"These are..."

"Plaques. I just gave them to you myself, didn't I?"

"Huh? You did, Dean?"

I asked back with a bewildered look.

Only then did the Dean look satisfied and hand me the plaques.

"Yes. They're important, so don't forget to take them with you. Wouldn't it look good displayed prominently as a memento?"

"Ugh."

My stomach felt uncomfortable the entire way.

As soon as I arrived at the dormitory front yard, I bent down and vomited.

"Phew..."

It was a silver lump the size of a fist.

I intentionally vomited it onto my palm so it wouldn't scatter on the ground.

The lump was larger than the tea I drank.

As the Dean said, did it combine with stomach acid and reveal its true nature?

It was a poison not even in the Poison King's memories.

Was its name 'Potion'?

It was a new substance that simultaneously induced paralysis and brainwashing.

It's surprising how advanced the Poison King Family's technology is to create something like this.

On the other hand, their intelligence seems to be a bit lacking.

Why would they use something they worked so hard to create on mere academy students?

It would be far more useful to use it on high-ranking officials in key positions.

The Dean, being who she is, could easily create such opportunities.

"Anyway, this is still poison, so..."

I gestured towards the red orb floating above my head.

Come down and eat this.

Even without words, the meaning was conveyed.

The orb immediately descended and began to suck the lump of poisonous liquid from my palm.

This prevents future problems.

Poison doesn't just disappear.

If I threw it anywhere, I might be tracked later.

Conversely, the orb absorbs the poison and erases its toxicity.

So far, no one has noticed the orb's existence.

Not the academy's professors, not even the defector spy, the Dean, noticed the orb floating outside the window.

But the orb that absorbed the poison suddenly grew.

It swelled silently in an instant.

It had only consumed a handful, but its volume nearly doubled.

"Uh... What's wrong? What happened? Nothing's wrong, is it?"

The orb didn't react.

Normally, it would have conveyed its thoughts through various vibrations.

I'm uneasy.

Has something gone wrong?

Could the Potion's components have erased my family members inside the orb? I immediately put my hand into the orb.

To understand the situation.

My hand slipped in without resistance.

This was also strange.

Normally, it would have resisted or pulled back, indicating danger.

Anyway, it hurt. It felt like putting my hand into a pit of fire. Still, it was okay. Thanks to that, I could understand what was happening inside the orb.

The orb was growing. It wasn't just increasing in size. A fundamental change had occurred in the structure of the Leyline Poison that formed the basis of the orb. The Potion was that special. I hadn't known when I drank it. I had only thought it was a new poison with amazing effects. But its true nature was beyond imagination.

A structure so intricate it made my head spin.

A special compound that had not existed in the world before.

Thanks to it, a mere sip of the Potion fundamentally changed the structure of the Leyline Poison.

It was now strange to even call it Leyline Poison anymore.

The orb had transformed into something stronger and more special.

"I never thought this would happen..."

Suddenly, the hand I had put into the orb was forcefully pushed out.

Had it really changed?

Was it no longer the family I knew?

No.

Danger.

If you leave it in too long, you'll get hurt.

An familiar voice echoed in my mind with a faint vibration.

I instinctively sighed in relief. It was my family's voice. I didn't know exactly which of the three it was. The tone was also strange. But unlike before, I could clearly understand the meaning.

That just now, poison artificially created by humans.

Complex components. Precisely mixed mineral poison and biological poison.

Effects vary by age. Little to no effect on humans who have finished their growth period.

"So that's why they targeted students instead of adults." I nodded in agreement. I admired the Poison King Family for creating such a poison, and I admired the orb's analysis for understanding these facts.

The orb became stronger than before. Stronger and more precise. I hadn't expected it to become this just by eating the Potion, but... Anyway, it wasn't a bad feeling. If I kept finding and feeding it valuable poisons, could I make the orb even more precise? Like a real person? Perhaps a day would come when I could talk to everyone normally again, like before? That would be truly wonderful.

I smiled, looking at the orb. The orb floated back into the sky without any particular reaction.

Thank you, Dean. Thanks to you, I have a new goal.

By the way, to think even the Dean was a spy. And a defector spy, not someone born into the Poison King Family – such cases are impossible to identify. Because there's no smell.

And that smell was the problem. The Dean had no poison within her. So if I stabbed her with a knife, no hidden poison would erupt. And I wouldn't be able to enjoy the sight of her entire body melting and being swallowed by a stronger poison, despite her dealing with poison herself.

Somehow, I felt unmotivated. I know. The very thought of such things isn't normal. But it's true, so I can't help it.

Then I heard a frog croaking nearby.

Croak.

Right.

I need to feed the poisonous frog.

Suddenly, a new thought came to mind.

I have to kill the Dean anyway.

And quickly.

If I leave her be, she'll brainwash someone else in six months.

The problem is that it won't be fun, but if that's the case, couldn't I artificially add some fun to it?

Like feeding a frog?