Chapter 57: For a truly equal world! Part 1

The preparation is perfect.

The underground alliance army ready to face Riyan.

The dark mages, who were declared open war by that professor.

They gathered together, ready for battle.

The grand laws of the back alleys.

Everything in this world comes with a price.

The sin of challenging authority must be repaid with blood.

Now, no one could stop them.

“R, Riyan has conquered the Demon Realm!”

The urgent report from a low-ranking member.

However, no one in this harsh underworld could survive if they were weak-hearted enough to be shaken by such news.

It was known that Riyan was a formidable foe.

No one ever tried to fight him fairly.

Therefore, there was no way they would be discouraged by such a piece of news.

This could be considered good news, in a way.

Since the opponent was Paimon, no matter how strong Riyan was, he couldn’t have survived unscathed.

He must have been severely injured.

So, they could take advantage of this gap to execute an assassination operation.

“They say he defeated Paimon with just one summoned creature! Each of his summoned creatures is said to overpower a sword master….”

A silence descended after the words, “What should we do about this?”

However, in their world, there was always justice and punishment.

Achievements must be acknowledged, and criminals must be punished for the organization to stay intact.

The giants who ruled the dark world.

A lawless land where not even the eyes of justice could reach.

Those who held the underside of the world in their hands would never bend.

Do not live on your knees.

Stand up and die.

What mattered more than life was the belief you had upheld.

Thus, running away with your tail between your legs was not something they would tolerate.

They each solidified their resolve.

What followed was a loud cheer filled with determination.

“Damn, I knew this would happen!”

“Who was the first idiot to bring up revenge?”

They united as one, with a single mind and purpose.

They did not retreat.

They charged forward with full force.

Normal people might think they were running away in disgrace when seeing this scene, but a true swordsman would understand.

They were certainly charging forward.

It was just that the direction of their charge was 180 degrees off.

This was a tactic to ambush from behind.

It was a profound military strategy to go around the planet and strike from the enemy’s back.

Carve the name of the Five Molar Alliance into your mind.

The criminal, Riyan, will tremble in fear and dread.

Today was not the day, tomorrow might not be good either, and probably not for months to come, but…

One day, the inevitable destruction would find you!

The Black Mage Tower Master had told me.

He would make even demons serve me.

Turning a living being into a tool, subjugating others—this was the essence of summoning magic.

The Tower Master promised to pass down the ultimate art inherited through generations.

The Gold Mage Tower Master had told me.

He would make me a great fortune right away.

He said he wouldn’t spare any support for talented individuals.

The advancement of technology would soon turn this world upside down.

He urged me to raise humanity to a higher place with him.

Lastly, the Adventurers’ Guild President.

He looked at me with shining eyes and said, “What I can offer you is infinite glory and honor.”

“Every child of the Empire will admire your heroic deeds and make you their idol. You’ll have the chance to etch your name in history as one of the greatest adventurers.”

He asked me to accept his proposal and become the next Guild President.

My answer to all these proposals was very simple.

“Get the hell out of my sight, you crazy bastards!”

Throwing salt and cursing them out.

It was the perfectly logical response to my current situation.

But there was one fact I had overlooked.

I wasn’t in Korea anymore.

A world of reversed common sense.

Here, throwing salt and kicking someone out actually meant “It’s truly an honor! I will gladly accept your offer.”

In the blink of an eye, I inherited all the visions of the Black Mage Tower and was appointed as the next President of the Adventurers’ Guild.

It was clearly my quarters.

But due to the cruel terrorist acts of the Gold Mage Tower Master, I could no longer enter.

My home, which had been taken over by jewels and gold coins, was now so occupied that I couldn’t even step inside.

A terrible situation where I had lost even a place to sleep.

But who could I blame? This disaster was the result of my own mistakes.

‘I’ve been too complacent this time.’

I did nothing.

That was certainly not a bad approach, but its validity expired.

The early days when I had just begun to realize my past life.

If I had thrown everything away and slacked off back then, I would have probably been labeled as an incompetent teacher and fired by now.

But I didn’t, and eventually, I gained fame.

First, get famous.

Then, no matter how badly you screw up, people will applaud you.

I had already surpassed that stage.

They weren’t just applauding; they were now praising me.

With appropriate trolling, you couldn’t even be criticized.

So, what I needed now was an extreme solution.

A major accident that had no room for positive interpretation.

I had to show such a terrible display that no one could defend me if I wanted to survive.

‘I should have just stuck to the original plan!’

I’d give a test with a simple problem like 1+1.

Had I just stuck to the guidelines I had set earlier, things wouldn’t have gone so wrong.

My hands and feet trembled with regret.

But it was too early to give up.

Quick action was one of my few strengths.

Now that I realized the problem, I would fix it quickly.

I went straight to the Old Dragon.

Was it his superhuman strength in the fire scene? As soon as I found myself in an emergency, a pretty convincing excuse came out on its own.

“I couldn’t properly administer the exams for the other two courses because I had to follow the students heading toward the Demon Realm to protect them.”

The duties I had neglected this time were not just one.

I had originally been responsible for setting exams for three groups:

Class A students, magic class students, and swordsmanship class students.

The first group had already gone to the Demon Realm, and I had secretly followed them out of concern for their safety, which made me absent.

Because of that, the students from the magic and swordsmanship classes couldn’t take their exams properly.

If I used this as an excuse, there would be no problem.

‘A bit late, but may I proceed with the exams?’

The Old Dragon nodded with a satisfied look on his face.

It was clear that he thought, “You truly have a sense of duty,” but just wait.

That look would soon turn to one of disappointment.

I smiled wickedly while watching the Old Dragon.

***

“The professor’s point was very simple.

1 is a natural number, and if n is a natural number, then the successor of n, denoted as n’, is also a natural number, and n’ can never be 1.

Also, if n is equal to m, then n’ must be equal to m.

If a certain condition P(1) holds and if P(k) holds for all natural numbers k, then if P(k) holds, P must hold for all natural numbers.

Therefore, the set of natural numbers that satisfies all these conditions is unique.

This is how we define natural numbers.

We attempt to understand what we’ve always taken for granted through logic.

There are things that can only be discovered through such attempts.

The professor opened a new frontier in mathematical logic!”

“What kind of insane nonsense is this? What Professor Riyan was trying to convey through this problem wasn’t that!”

“Is it really just about adding one to one and getting two? Can’t we make three or four? Maybe we could create something entirely new!”

Alchemy.

Creation that comes from mocking the laws of the world.

Riyan was emphasizing the importance of alchemy!

Just look at how Karen, after solving the problem, came up with the technology for creating artificial organs for patients.

It’s crystal clear!”

***

In the middle of a bustling street in broad daylight, a heated debate was unfolding among the passersby.

And then, a man stepped into the scene.

The man spoke in a wise voice.

“Riyan is just lacking in intelligence. I’m sure he came up with that ridiculous problem without thinking at all.”

As soon as those words were spoken, the debate abruptly stopped.

Figures who appeared to be wizards from the Gold Tower and White Tower, and not just them, but even random people passing by—they all burst into furious anger.

Everyone threw rocks at the wise man.

The wise man.

Well, I tried to prove my identity by showing my ID, but instead, I was treated like an imposter.

A stone? That’s easy enough to block, but…

The real problem was my mindset.

My mind was at its breaking point.

It was chaos, even when I stood still.

It was chaos even when I didn’t.

‘What am I supposed to do in a situation like this?’

‘What if there’s no right answer? What if, like this time, no matter what I do, I can’t be fired?’

My legs were wobbling uncontrollably.

Even though there were no injuries, my feet were stumbling.

After wandering aimlessly, I found myself back at that shop.

We look forward to your next visit.

I’ve included a brochure with a souvenir, so please read it and decide to come back after making your decision.

I had heard such words before.

Maybe I could heal my mind by getting a massage.

I decided that’s what I would do, and I opened the door to the fluffy club… but my face quickly turned to one of confusion.

The space was completely different from the one a few days ago.

A dark, ominous, and secretive atmosphere.

The only light source was the glow of a campfire.

Countless eyes were staring at me.

Hundreds of beastmen, all wearing black hoods.

They all bowed in unison and murmured.

““We’ve been waiting for you. Our savior.””

…A deeply ominous feeling began to rise within me.