The Transmigrated Professor

I had spent the entire night doing work, so it was no wonder I greeted my morning at 11 AM.

I opened my eyes to the warm rays of the sun, the gentle waves of the sea, and the eyes of a golden snake, staring at me from above my chest.

In my previous life, I would have been shocked to open my eyes to such a scene, but considering what I had gone through in that Dungeon, my threshold for fear had gone through some major changes. Guess I was slowly assimilating into this world.

 

But it was shocking, nonetheless, to wake up to a snake in the morning.

 

“Can you change into another animal, like a puppy or something?” I asked out of curiosity. I remembered Arcadeus' special ability from the novel. It was also the main reason why I decided to choose him.

“Well, I am the Formless Spirit. Whenever I go up a new Rank, a new form is added to my arsenal.”

“How far are you from the D Rank?”

“I am pretty close to it. But before that, can you give me something to eat? I am hungry.”

I took out another two corpses, before going to freshen up in the washroom. When I returned, the bodies were gone, leaving behind a very swollen snake.

‘What a glutton!’

I left the room and went down to get some sustenance. Miss Maria’s daughter, whose name I learned was Jasmine, greeted me.

“You slept in today, Mr. Ray.”

“I was up all night doing work.” I explained. “Can I get something to eat?”

“Well, we usually stop serving breakfast by 10, but for you, I can make an exception.” She said with a shy smile.

Jasmine went into the kitchen and a few minutes later came out with toast and eggs, along with a cup of espresso. While I ate my breakfast, Jasmine took a cloth and started to clean the tables. I could feel her stealing glances at me from the corner of her eye.

Ray seemed quite popular with his handsome face and good physique. What a surprise that such a good-looking man was still an amateur in the love department. Too bad, I didn’t have his looks in my previous life. I could have become a model or maybe even an actor.

Ignoring Jasmine's glances, I focused on the scenery. The waters were waving outside the windows and I felt quite relaxed. I could understand why Father Jacob said this was the best lodge to stay at. It was a good place to relax, if not for the recent monster invasion.

 

After having breakfast I went out to explore the town. The buildings didn’t have a lot of damage since all the monsters stayed in the waterways. A few broken boats were drifting here and there, but otherwise, it was all good. Many people were floating in gondolas, selling all kinds of stuff. Most of them were packing up their wares, which mostly consisted of the leftover fish and other types of seafood that had been caught and brought early in the morning.

As I walked on the side paths, many of these drifting residents stared at me, but none of them approached me, a treatment quite familiar to me now. Not that I complained. The only reason I came here was because of the Dungeon, and now Mike. I will probably never see the people here again and thus, didn’t feel the need to befriend any of them.

 

During breakfast, I asked Jasmine about Mike, and I realised why he was antagonised so much. 

According to her, a few years back another Dungeon had opened up in the area. At that time, Mikael’s father, Mark, used to tell people that he knew someone in the Hero League, so when the Dungeon opened the people asked Mark for help. But after waiting for many weeks, no help came, and finally, the island citizens had to close the Dungeon themselves. The Dungeon may have been a weak E Rank, but the damage to the town was still a lot. The people started blaming this on Mark and forced him out of the town to the edge of the island along with his infant son, where he died years later.

When I heard the story, I couldn’t even believe how ridiculous it was. Even if Mark knew someone at the League, Heroes affiliated with it are not allowed to take arbitrary missions, so I could understand how no help was given to them, much like this time. Forcing the blame on one person and orchestrating him, and now even blaming his son. I couldn’t understand what was going on inside the minds of these people.

‘I better take Mike away from here as soon as possible.’

I soon found myself in front of the church. I entered it and found Father Jacob kneeling in front of the stained glass in prayer.

Religion never played a major role in the novel, but I knew many references to it existed. I had helped Aries in his research a lot, whenever he hit a writer's block and didn’t know what monster to make the main troupe go against. 

Though I am sure, with the threat of the Demon Lord and the mana that has attached itself to the planet, new and old religions are bound to pop up.

Noticing my entrance, Father Jacob quickly finished his prayer and stood up to greet me.

“Hello, Father, do you know where Mike is?”

“Mike? I am pretty sure he’s at his house right now. It's on the southern beach.”

“Thanks. It's just that Mike asked me to train him while I am staying here.”

“I am sure he’s excited about his lessons. He always wanted to be a Hero and go to the Human Continent.” Father Jacob subconsciously smiled, like a father smiling at his son, who said he wanted to go to the moon.

“Well, you will be joining him too, won’t you?”

“I will have to settle my affairs here before I leave.”

“No need to hurry, Father.”

I exited the church and started heading to the beach where the portal had dropped me off. 

The golden sand that whistled below my feet seemed nostalgic. The longer I spent here, the more I was starting to forget about my previous world. I could barely remember the voices of my parents. Even the shrill voice my little sister had whenever she fought with me, was something I needed to concentrate on, to remember. Although it was just stating the obvious, I was glad that such mundane noises remained the same. 

 

I didn’t know what had happened to my body after I collapsed in the middle of the road. Did I die? Or did someone find my body and send me to the hospital? If it was the latter, then I am sure I would leave this dream, the moment I woke up. But if it was the former, then I would find the mysterious being who sent me here and force them to send me back to my original world. 

But to get the answers that I wanted, I had a nagging feeling that I first needed to proceed with the main storyline. A few tweaks here and there were okay, like Mike not turning into a villain, and an extra like Ray surviving. But the main arcs would have to happen as in the novel. Then, I am pretty sure that the being would come to me.

Walking on the beach, I found myself outside a houseboat, docked on the sand. Its wooden structure seemed quite old but still usable. I could sense Mike moving inside the boat. 

“Mike, I am here for our training.” I yelled inside.

There were a few crashes to be heard and moments later the tanned teen came out to greet me.

“Oh, hello, Sir Ray. Please come inside.”

I stepped foot on the wooden floor. Inside, there were two rooms - one bedroom with all the essentials, and the other was a kitchen with storage.

It was cramped but seemed efficient for one person to use. Inside the kitchen, there was a bucket, filled with a few fish.

“Would you like to eat one, Sir?” Mike offered me. I could see that this was the rest of the boy’s meal for the day.

“Nah, I just had breakfast at the lodge.” I politely declined his offer.

“Why don’t we start your training now? Unlike inside the Dungeon, where I gave you more of a rushed practical training, now I will be teaching you the proper basics.”

The two of us went a bit farther from the houseboat, to avoid damage to any nearby boats. Mike was holding the Lightning Dagger I had given him inside the Dungeon.

 

“Well, then, I can’t help you with your fighting style. I am kind of new to it myself, but I’m sure I can be of help to you in your mana control.”

“Right, isn’t that what you teach back at the Academy?”

“Yes. That I do.”

“Wait, but don’t you need that ball thing to measure my mana compatibility before we can start?”

 

“Usually, yes. But, lucky for you, I am here. And I know what your Mana Compatibilities are. Now about Awakening in the Human Continent, the people there are surrounded by Heroes, Dungeons and monsters ever since they are born, an environment that you won't find in these islands. That's why the students that I teach are already able to sense and wield mana from the moment they Awaken. It's like an instinct to them. But the good thing is, you Awakened at only 16 years old, while most people Awaken when they turn 17 or 18. So, if you train your mana properly in this extra year, you will be able to reach their level if not even higher.”

"Are you saying I can become equal to the students of one the top Hero Academies? Aren't you aiming a bit too high, Sir Ray?"

Well, Mike was originally one of the strongest Fallen. It won't be calling it a long shot to say he can become one of the top Heroes as well, especially now that he Awakened a few months earlier, and would receive tutelage under me. 

"You should aim high. After all, you will be learning under one of the Professors of that very Academy. Now come, let's help you get a feel of mana."

Mike put his palms on top of mine, and I began the exercise. I took my mana and started to push it toward Mike. Feeling the foreign body entering his body, he tried to get free but I clenched his hands tighter. 

When using magic, mana flows through every part of your body. Right now, I was bringing Mike into the loop, giving him a feel of the mana circulating inside his body, by making his mana act defensively towards my foreign mana.

“Are you getting a feel of mana now?” Mike nodded to my question as he tried to move mana on his own this time. 

“Just so you know, you can’t cause someone to Awaken by forcing your mana into them. Unless it's absorbed naturally, a person will never Awaken.”

“That makes sense. Otherwise, the entire human population will be Heroes.”

“Now that you have a hold of your mana, let’s show you what it can do.”

I took my sword out of my ring. I pushed fire mana into it, giving the black blade a red hue. I swung it lightly on the sand and it left behind a deep scorching line in the ground.

“As you see, mana helps you by imparting certain properties in your weapons, allowing you to fight better. What I just displayed was fire mana, increasing the attack power of my sword.”

“Wait, isn’t this different from how you fought Vritra? It was all flaming at that time.”

“You mean this?” I asked, setting the blade on fire.

“Yeh, like that.”

“Oh, this is something kind of exclusive to the Sword Art I practise.”

“Will I be able to do that?”

“Well, how this Sword Art works, or at least the first stage of it does, is by fine mana control. Most Heroes don’t learn how to do it until they are in the B or A Ranks, when Heroes find themselves at the physical limits of the human body. And you just started to get a feel of mana. It takes people years to learn it. So, my advice is just to stick to the basics for now.”

Fine mana control was tough. Even with the Brahma Sword Art, it would take a lot of time. The only reason I was able to learn it in two months was because the original Ray practised his Art periodically. He wasn’t great at it, but he at least didn’t let his body forget the basics.

Though it also meant, it would be that much harder for me to be able to move on to the second stage. I would have to start my training back at the Academy, with the proper facilities. 

“By the way, where’s Deus?” Mike suddenly asked me.

“He’s sleeping at the lodge after his meal.”

 

‘I am not sleeping.’ Deus’ voice suddenly spoke in my skull. Startled, I looked around, trying to sense where he was.

‘Oh, I am not there, Master. I am just telepathically talking to you through our Seal.’ Deus explained.

‘Wow, this is kinda awesome.’ I thought back.

‘I know right? You can even summon me through my seal.’

I concentrated on the snake tattoo on my arm. 

‘Deus!’

All of a sudden, the Seal flickered and the next moment Deus was standing in front of me.

“Deus? How did you get here?” Mike asked.

“I just heard you guys talking about me and rushed here.” Deus flashed him a sly smile. “Are you guys training here without me? That’s so sad.” He spoke, flashing puppy eyes to Mike.

“Well, you are more than welcome to join.”

“Deus, I am teaching Mike how to use mana. Got any tips for him.”

“Hmm, well his main element seems to be Darkness with a Secondary element of Light. That’s a pretty rare and conflicting combination.” Deus commented, checking his Appraisal screen. “Oh and he’s a Spiritualist. Wow, did they already start popping up?”

“You know about Spiritualists, Deus?” I was kind of surprised that a novel character knew about them when the Spiritualists hadn’t even been discovered yet. 

“Well, duh. It's not like Earth is the first planet I was claimed on. Spirits have already appeared on various planets, you know.”

Now that was something I had no idea about. I wanted to ask Deus more about his past, but I refrained from asking since Mike was listening to us.

“Um, may I ask, what does a Spiritualist mean?” Mike hesitantly raised his hand, like a student asking his teacher to explain the lesson again.

Deus slithered up Mike and curled on his shoulders.

“My dear Mike…”  Deus hissed in his ears, teasing him. “It means that at the moment, you are quite useless as a Hero.”

“That’s not true.” I intervened. “You can practise swordsmanship and use mana just fine.”

“But without being contracted to a Spirit like me, isn’t he kinda useless now, Master.”

“Spirit Eggs have already started appearing on Earth, Deus. You are living proof.”

“Master, getting a Spirit Egg isn’t as easy as you make it out to be. ”

“Well, I had no problem finding you, did I?”

“Y-you won’t get lucky a second time.”

“I will.” I spoke up with confidence.

I patted Mike’s shoulder to reassure him. “Don’t worry, Mike. I will get you the strongest Spirit I can find.”

Well, it was the least I can do, considering I stole the Spirit he was originally supposed to get.

“Thank you, Sir Ray.” His eyes sparkled in awe. Gosh, this guy seemed like a kid at times.

For the rest of the afternoon, I helped Mike get a hang of his mana. Deus disappeared into the ocean, saying he was going to hunt monsters and train on his own. Before we knew it, the sun was already setting. Mike was now able to apply mana on his sword, though not for more than a second.

We decided to stop training for the day, and after saying goodbyes, I headed back to the lodge. Deus still hadn’t returned but I wasn’t really worried. Now that I knew we were telepathically connected, he could always talk to me if he was in any trouble. And I could always summon him back if I needed him.

At the lodge’s restaurant, I had some dinner and then went to my room to rest. 

The remainder of my days on the island were spent training Mike in the basics of mana and sword practice. Before we knew it, my day of departure had come. 

Mike and Father Jacob, who had come to bid me farewell, were standing in the hidden part of the beach where I had first arrived. Deus still hadn’t come back yet, but I decided to call him straight to the Academy.

Mike was on the verge of tears, seeing me leave. 

“Don’t worry, Mike. We will be seeing each other again in a month. In that time, don’t forget to practise what I taught you.” Mike nodded.

“Father, do take care until I return.”

“Don’t worry about us, young man.”

“Well, then goodbye you two. See you soon.”

I took out the white Marble from my ring and crushed it under my foot. Smoke started to come out of it, and soon, the mana in it engulfed my entire body. My vision blacked out for a moment, and then I was standing back in front of the portal that had taken me to Venezia Island.

‘Looks like I am back on the Human Continent.’