Chapter 93: A true genius professor, an educator Part 5

It had been a life filled only with failure.

A continuous streak of terrible misfortune.

Abandoned by my parents, scorned for being an orphan, betrayed by those I dared to trust, and all my goals and dreams shattered.

No matter how much I tried, my efforts were never rewarded.

“You will never achieve anything.”

This cruel reality was repeatedly thrust before my eyes.

Despite being ridiculed and reprimanded by my boss, despite my parents—who had returned to me only when I was grown—stealing the little wealth I had, I kept picking myself up and tried to move forward.

But when the exam results I had prepared for, sacrificing even sleep, came with a letter diagnosing me with pancreatic cancer, I could not even muster despair.

When I was told I had little time left to live, I accepted it stoically, likely because I had become far too accustomed to such cruel blows.

I began to understand why the previous version of myself chose to manipulate my memory and perception.

Had they not, my personality would have been entirely warped the moment I became aware of my past life.

In the first cycle of memories that seeped into my mind, I would have undoubtedly become a hollow shell—someone perpetually lacking confidence and always convinced of their failure.

But now, the distortion of my perception was over.

Those fantastical tales of winning second place in the lottery with casual ease or my tyrannical bosses conveniently developing kidney stones—such nonsense no longer held any meaning.

I fully understood that I was an extraordinarily unlucky person.

No matter how much I tried, I was never rewarded in the end.

[You are foolish. Resistance is meaningless. No amount of scheming will allow you to alter your predetermined fate.]

A disembodied voice.

Facing me, eye to eye at the same level rather than looking down, Gettya delivered those words to me.

Those words were something I knew better than anyone else.

No matter how desperately you struggle, some things simply cannot be changed.

That sense of powerlessness—I had experienced it countless times in my past life and this one.

Thus, I thought the entity’s words must be true.

The dream was over, and I had awakened to reality.

I could predict it as always—misfortune would repeat itself.

But.

“So what?”

That didn’t matter in the slightest.

‘No rewards for effort?’

‘Does that mean I should stop trying?’

I had never lived like that, not even once.

‘If the heavens have forsaken me, then I must persistently do good deeds and accumulate virtue until I shame the heavens themselves.’

I help those I can help.

I save those I can save.

No matter how hard things get or how dark my thoughts become, I have always tried to fulfill my duties as a human being.

I have stumbled, fallen, and lost my way countless times, but I have never stopped moving forward.

There were many moments when I wanted to run away from the pain, but in the end, I always chose to confront it.

Thus, what I had to do remained the same as always.

“No matter what you say, it doesn’t matter to me.”

The forbidden art of reversing heaven and earth? I couldn’t care less.

Such techniques were useless from the very beginning.

No matter how unfair the world is to me, I will never give up.

I will fight until the end and claim victory.

Because this is my sanctuary.

A place where those I cherish and those who cherish me exist—a place I obtained for the first time across both of my lives.

“In the end, I will win.”

Therefore, I have no choice but to win.

Even if the predetermined outcome is only defeat, I will win.

I will make it so, no matter what.

Not with some reversal of heaven and earth, but with my own two hands.

I will rewrite this so-called predetermined fate myself.

Having resolved this, there was no reason to hesitate any longer.

I drew forth the magic within me.

I spun it repeatedly, accelerating its momentum.

Something that my original body could never have imagined achieving.

“Feeling the immense power within me,” I murmured softly.

<Unique Spell No. 1: Meteor Shower.>

In an instant, a massive magic circle was etched into the air.

But this was different from the version I used before.

This was the original—a design from my reckless youth, when I didn’t care about feasibility or realism, when I refused to compromise.

It wasn’t about unleashing a barrage of meteors.

It was about commanding the actual stars in the sky to bow to my will and descend to the earth.

The lofty stars, meant only to be gazed upon from below.

Countless asteroids now began their descent toward this place.

***

[…How troublesome.]

Gettya frowned as it looked at me.

A hand reaching toward the sky.

It was an attack of an incomprehensible scale, but the one I faced was equally incomprehensible.

The plan was simple.

The enemy intended to swallow everything through shadows.

That was its strategy, but I had no intention of letting that happen.

I crafted a spell using runes.

The spell I prepared was called “Concept Erasure.”

Erasing concepts—an utterly unrealistic notion.

Even with the increase in my magical energy, such a feat would ordinarily be impossible.

‘But isn’t that what mages do?’ Deceiving the world is their craft.

I added restrictions.

The target of the concept erasure was not the enemy.

Instead, it was the spell I had just unleashed.

Erasing the concept of the painstakingly constructed offensive spell—a move so nonsensical it defied all logic.

Thus, the restriction was weighty enough to be valid.

Soon, the concept erasure was applied to the stars.

My attack faced complete erasure before it could even reach the enemy.

But the spell failed.

To be precise, I intentionally caused it to fail midway.

The asteroids, which had their concepts partially erased, retained only the force of their impact.

An attack that does not exist cannot be blocked.

Thus, what struck the enemy was an unavoidable assault.

Even though the stars didn’t fall, the force of their descent—the very concept of their impact—remained, delivering its blow.

[Such crude tricks…]

Gettya’s visage twisted in pain.

However, there were no visible wounds on its body.

This monstrosity—an entity that even the progenitor dragon could only seal through cunning rather than confrontation—was indeed akin to a Deus Ex Machina.

But there was no time for hesitation.

I immediately raised my hand toward the sky once more.

A massive halo formed above me again.

The celestial being had reserved its strength for this very moment.

Through the newly connected pathway, all remaining divine energy from that being flowed into me.

On top of that, I mimicked the structure of the celestial being.

The method of drawing power from the faith of believers.

I applied that method to myself.

Beasts who revered me as a tribal god, along with other followers, directed their immense divine energy toward me.

Surrounded by this overwhelming power, I grabbed hold of lightning and roared loudly.

“Divine Punishment!”

Thunder struck down.

Heaven and earth trembled as a massive light descended.

This attack, composed solely of forces opposing demonic energy, was unleashed.

The groan that followed was louder than before.

Blood trickled from the demon’s mouth.

Its scorched, partially melted form revealed significant damage.

If I wanted to press the attack, now was the time.

Determined, I gathered my strength once more.

Pooling every ounce of power left in me, I constructed my final blow.

It was an attack modeled directly after what the progenitor dragon had once displayed.

Behind me, a colossal dragon’s figure emerged.

Its breath unleashed immense magical energy.

The resulting saturation of energy burst forth in brilliant flames, completely engulfing Gettya.

Soon, the smoke cleared, revealing the creature.

It stood on two legs.

Of course, it was far from unscathed.

Its body had melted even more severely than before.

Its exposed heart—a vital weakness—was fully revealed.

My all-out attack had certainly been effective.

[…What a disgraceful display.]

Though its face twisted with humiliation, there was no fear in its expression.

I had expended most of my cards with that attack.

Yet, I failed to completely destroy the creature.

***

Within five minutes, its body would return to its original state.

Even with its exposed heart, I no longer possessed the power to deal a decisive blow.

[To think I nearly lost to a mere insect. This humiliation will haunt me forever, but… in the end, only the result matters.]

Gettya gazed at me, its tone filled with contempt but also with certainty.

Certainty of its victory.

[Your defeat is absolute, arrogant professor.]

With no hesitation, it made its declaration.

But even fools have their limits.

The creature failed to grasp the meaning of its own words.

I am a professor.

A professor at the Imperial Academy.

My role is not to solve everything alone.

To guide lost and wandering children.

To lead them onto the right path.

‘That is the duty of an educator, is it not?’

I didn’t turn to look behind me.

I didn’t need to. I knew they were there.

Thus, I left only a single statement.

“Go, my students. The path has been opened for you.”