I looked at the mirror.
The reflection showed a face that looked at least ten years older due to fatigue.
Dark circles under my eyes were tainted black, flowing down to my chin.
The traces of the past three sleepless days filled with endless worrying were evident.
‘How on earth was I supposed to conduct that lecture?’
I looked around.
Explosive magical energy filled the room.
This was one of the rooms on the fourth floor, which I had partially turned into my workshop by filling it with my magic.
If I continued to infuse my magic for about a month, I could tame it completely.
It was nothing compared to my old workshop in the basement.
The magic efficiency was thousands of times better, the security was top-notch, and the sheer vastness of the space was beyond anything I could have dreamed of.
It was the perfect workshop I had always longed for.
But I couldn’t smile.
It was all because of that damned lecture.
I had no idea how to proceed with the lecture.
I thought about going outside to seek help, but quickly dismissed the idea.
I knew no one, and with the mountains surrounding me, I had no idea where to go.
Furthermore, how could I even ask for help? I didn’t have enough points to pay for it.
In the end, I had to squeeze out every possible solution from the things available to me and somehow finish that lesson plan.
I had thought of several options.
First, a lecture about magic books.
The ancient magic books available in the library.
I thought about sharing them with the students attending the lecture and having them discuss the knowledge and magic contained in the books.
This seemed like a feasible idea.
All I had to do was hand the books over, and the students could interpret them and learn on their own.
But there was a major problem.
I lacked the ability to supervise that class.
‘How could I lead the class and grade their performance when I didn’t even fully understand those magic books myself?’ With my current ability, learning even just two spells in a month was all I could manage.
It was an impossible task for me.
So, I put that plan on hold.
Then, I thought about focusing on practical lessons instead of theory.
Maybe a class that emphasized actual combat.
Having the students duel each other, gaining experience and mastering techniques through combat.
It seemed like a great idea.
But that too had clear problems.
Just like before, ‘how could I supervise it? How could I evaluate them?’ In the end, I had to abandon that idea as well.
Several other ideas for lectures came and went, all falling apart due to their limitations.
One clear truth emerged from all these countless lecture ideas.
The one thing that created all these limitations was only me.
Because I was weak, because I lacked skill, every class was stopped by a wall.
I realized then that I was simply not capable of conducting this lecture.
It was actually quite obvious.
I was just a freshman who had just entered the university.
‘How could I teach a magician who might have been here for years?’ No matter how I thought about it, it was an impossible task.
So, I spent a lot of time thinking through different scenarios.
The most certain solution was the professor’s help.
If the professor could help me even a little, then there was a way to organize the class.
Maybe a survival class or a practice-based lecture.
But after the professor declared that everything was up to me, she had shut herself away at the top of the tower and didn’t move a muscle.
I tried submitting several proposals, but her magical power came down from the tower and struck me right on the head.
The sharp pain made it clear that any help from the professor was out of the question.
A bit of resentment toward the professor bubbled up.
‘Why had she assigned me this problem? She must have known I lacked the ability, so why?’
That resentment circled back to my past self.
‘Why had I worked so hard?’ I should have just done things half-heartedly. If I had, none of this would have happened.
But it was too late now.
The face staring back at me in the mirror was the result.
This tired, haggard face full of fatigue.
I couldn’t go on like this.
I still had no answers, but I couldn’t give up here.
I had to present something to the professor by the end of this week.
“Dammit, if I could just dump everything on the professor like she did, I wouldn’t be worrying like this…”
I muttered in frustration, throwing the mirror to the ground.
The mirror shattered upon impact.
A doll waiting nearby quickly approached and began picking up the shards.
Wait.
Suddenly, something clicked.
I felt like I had just said something huge.
‘What did I just say?’ I replayed the situation in my mind.
I had thrown the mirror.
It had shattered, and the doll had come to clean up.
;So what had I said before that?;
I had been frustrated.
I had said, “If only I could dump everything on the professor like she did.”
‘Yes, that was it.’
That thought cleared my mind.
The professor had pushed everything onto me.
And now, here I was, struggling with no ability to handle it.
‘But, could I not do the same?’
The thought started to consume me.
Perhaps this was a form of resignation.
But it was the only hope I had.
After all, I lacked the ability and knowledge to conduct the lecture.
Then, the only option left was to find someone else to conduct it for me.
But there was a problem.
‘Who could I possibly hand this off to?’
The flow of thoughts stopped there.
‘I didn’t know anyone at the university.’
‘I didn’t know anything about it.’
‘If I mentioned this to the professor, she would certainly give me a hard time.’
‘So, who could I hand it off to?’ That thought kept swirling in my head, shaking my already unstable mind and causing pain.
I gritted my teeth.
Dammit, my body and soul were still unstable, not even having found their proper place after all this strain.
And those damn eyes… Thinking of them again made my soul scream.
“Wait.”
I examined my broken body and soul.
Now that I thought about it, the professor had said something.
The thing she had referred to as her treasure was among the gentler ones.
In front of that thing, I was nothing more than an ant.
No matter how weak I was, I wasn’t the only one.
Even students who were stronger and more skilled than me would be no more than slightly bigger ants in its presence.
What I lacked was power.
And in the tower, there were plenty of beings with that kind of power.
Treasure… yes.
The professor’s treasures.
From the 6th to the 9th floor, the treasures the professor had carefully selected exuded magical power from each floor.
How terrifying it was to come this far.
The professor had said that the stabilization was done, but every time I passed the room with the treasures inside, my heart would race from the magical energy.
The things in there were beings so powerful that I couldn’t even dare approach them.
Even their magical energy, which they carelessly released just because they noticed me passing by, was strong enough to melt me in an instant.
The faint magical energy, weakened by the layers of barriers, almost made me lose my sanity.
And then, floor 6.
The memory of when I first entered to clean it came to mind.
The bizarre magic that altered the entire floor.
At the time, I had no choice but to run away from the overwhelming power.
‘If I just threw the students in there, wouldn’t the treasures deal with them on their own?’ Well, they’d probably learn something from that experience.
If I thought of it in terms of treasures, several lesson plans quickly came to mind.
I quickly unrolled a scroll and wrote them down.
Thoughts erupted from me explosively.
All the pent-up frustrations from the past three days burst out like a flood of ideas.
Every wizard loves treasures.
No, when they see treasures, they lose their sanity and rush to grab them.
After all, each treasure is like a lifeline that can protect their life.
‘Then, what would happen if I handed these treasures out to the students?’ I could turn the entire class into a treasure hunt.
I didn’t even know what was inside the storage room.
I’d just throw the students in there, and if anyone grabs a treasure, I could just give it to them.
That way, people would gather, and I wouldn’t have to do anything.
I trembled in front of the completed lesson plan.
Such a perfect lesson! ‘Had the professor really thought that I could solve things this way?’ Thinking about it made me feel like she understood my limits better than I did.
The thought of the professor made my energy suddenly drain.
I had made the lesson plan around the treasures, but the problem was the professor.
Those treasures were things she had collected over her lifetime.
Just giving them away… no matter how I thought about it, it felt like trouble.
If I said the wrong thing, I might get killed.
Even while designing this class, I needed to do it in a way that wouldn’t go against the professor.
I had to solve this problem.
And so, another day passed.
***
I cautiously passed by the treasures that emitted murderous magical energy and headed for the 10th floor.
The stairs leading to the 10th floor were blocked by a barrier, and a small bell was hanging nearby.
I guess it’s meant to ring.
Carefully channeling my magic, I rang the bell.
Instantly, a powerful surge of energy emerged, and a wandering soul appeared, screaming.
I stepped back in surprise.
The soul was sucked back into the barrier.
I stared at the bell.
I realized now that I had seen it before.
It was something the professor had proudly shown me.
It was filled with an immense number of wandering souls, exuding a terrifying magical energy.
But now, it was being used as a doorbell.
A bitter laugh escaped me.
Soon, the barrier opened, revealing the stairs.
I slowly climbed up to the 10th floor.
The room was beautiful once again.
The view from the walls made the room feel like part of the natural landscape.
In the center of the room, the professor was lying on a bed, receiving a massage from a servant.
The 10th floor was the professor’s bedroom, workshop, and office.
The massive magical energy rising from the mountain flowed through the workshop and into her body.
Just watching the powerful flow made my brain feel like it was heating up.
I quietly approached her while holding a thick bundle of papers that could almost be considered a book.
First, I watched her closely.
She seemed to be in a very good mood, with a smile covering her face.
I decided to ask for her permission.
“Professor, I’m really sorry to disturb you while you’re resting.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. What’s going on?”
“I’ve written up a lesson plan and came to present it to you in person, hoping you could read it.”
She slowly opened her eyes and waved a finger.
I carefully unfolded the paper and presented it in front of her.
She used her magic to grasp it and began reading it slowly.
“Treasure Hunt?”
“Yes. The students will search for treasures, and the one who finds it gets to keep it.
That’s the lesson plan I’ve come up with.
I thought it would fit our tower structure best, so I prepared it.”
“Are you saying that the treasure refers to the things I’ve collected?”
Her magical energy rippled.
I could feel the explosive flow of magic.
Quickly, I lowered my head, and the magic rushed past me.
Surprised by my reflexive movement, I raised both my hands.
“Please, just hear me out!”
The magic stopped just before my face.
Cold sweat dripped down my back.
I couldn’t imagine what would’ve happened if it had hit me.
“Go on. If I don’t like it, I’ll just throw it out the window.”
I glanced at the window.
The terrifying height greeted me.
If I fell from here, the magic would prevent me from even flying, and I’d likely end up a bloodied mess.
I took a deep breath and continued speaking.
“I realized I was too lacking to design a proper class. I’m sure you assigned this task to me to help me learn that. So, I thought about what would be most helpful in the tower, and the answer was your treasures.”
The professor stared at me intently.
There was still a trace of irritation in her eyes.
I needed to catch her interest quickly.
I spoke rapidly.
“The treasure hunt is the result. We’ll open up the treasure vaults from floors 6 to 9. The students will surely rush in to find the treasures!”
“But what if they just take it?” she said, frowning.
This was the situation I had predicted.
Over the past day, I had thought of every possible way to overcome it.
Considering the professor’s personality, I quickly came up with a solution that would work.
I spread my arms out dramatically and continued.
“We’ll stop them from taking anything. We’ll set up traps to block them.”
Just as I had hoped, the professor’s eyes began to sparkle.
There was a hint of interest in them.
This was a solution I had come up with, keeping her perspective as an explorer in mind.
She knew very well what it was like to go through all the traps protecting a treasure.
She had experienced that difficulty first-hand.
Knowing that the professor loved tormenting others, I figured she wouldn’t let this situation pass by easily.
And my guess turned out to be correct.
She half-rose from her seat and started reading the lesson plan.
“Oh, this sounds fun.”
“And we’ll make sure the students just barely miss the treasure.
“In the next class, they’ll come back even more determined.”
“They’ll be filled with despair when they’re so close to the treasure but have to walk away.”
I used all my imagination to describe their despair.
As a result, the professor’s face sparkled even more.
She clapped her hands, clearly pleased.
“I’ll set up the traps!”
“Good.”
I silently let out a sigh of relief.
The most difficult part of this treasure hunt was setting up the traps.
No matter how much I decorated the place, it wouldn’t be enough.
But if the professor was involved, I didn’t need to worry about the traps.
On the contrary, I’d have to worry about the students.
This way, the burden on me would be much lighter.
My only task was to guide those who came.
If she didn’t like it, I’d have to come up with a new lesson plan.
Based on her reaction, though, it seemed to be going well, but I couldn’t relax just yet.
The fact that I had nothing to do meant that the class was mostly going to be in her hands.
This was very different from the situation she had previously declared to me.
She would likely notice that I had silently handed the authority back to her.
If she found that uncomfortable, I was sure I’d be punished again.
With that in mind, I kept a close watch on her, but she simply looked at the lesson plan, enjoying herself with a smile.
It was a relief.
That meant this lesson plan had found favor with her.
I deeply bowed my head, silently mourning for the students.
Knowing the professor, I could already imagine how wicked the traps she would create would be.
I would definitely not take this class.
But something felt off.
An ominous feeling enveloped my body.
‘What could it be?’
I slowly raised my head to check the professor’s reaction.
She was staring at me with a mischievous grin.
“With this, you’ll have nothing to do. You’ll have to take the class as well. It’s your punishment for passing the lesson off to me.”
Damn it.
This was something I didn’t expect.
My vision darkened.