The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1180

The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1180

Chapter 1180
The newly appointed dean of the Shakuntala Academy wore a wide, pleased smile after receiving news that his academy’s professors had finally contacted him following the conference.
They had thoroughly prepared for the event, so there was no way the results could be anything but stellar. That meant their progress s would ultimately come back as accomplishments on his own record.
“The invention presentation should be over by now, and the paper presentation was probably flawless.”
The academy’s rising prestige directly reflected his capability as a dean. It also meant an increase in the funding Shakuntala would receive.
He smiled warmly as he answered a call from Professor Toffsmann, who had been the first to reach out.
“
Oh,
Professor Toffsmann. So, how did it go?
Ah,
no need to say a word. How could I not recognize the professors’ hard work? It must’ve been a perfect success, yes?
Hahaha.
” Smiling ear to ear, he spoke whatever joyous words came to his head. That’s how good he felt.
However, what Professor Toffsmann said next practically wiped the smile right off his face.
- Dean. I apologize, but starting with this conference, I plan to take about two years off for personal research.
“What—such an extreme joke!
Haha,
I know I may be new to this position, but don’t tease me too much.”
- This isn’t a joke. I’ve given it a lot of thought, and this is the conclusion I came to.
His tone indicated that he wasn’t joking. Only then did the dean stop laughing awkwardly, like a mana-depleted artifact.
“Professor Toffsmann...”
- I apologize for delivering this with no notice, but if it’s truly unacceptable, I’m willing to resign my professorship altogether.
“What are you saying?! What’s the matter? If you step down, what about the upcoming semester’s lectures? Who’s supposed to fill your place?”
The flustered dean waved his hands and raised his voice, but the reply that came back was composed beyond belief.
- I sincerely apologize. I’ll hang up now.
The connection ended with those words.
It had gone far beyond a joke to the dean. It was chilling, no, downright freezing.
“
Ugh.
What in the world is going on?”
He frowned and clutched his head. He knew Professor Toffsmann to be somewhat eccentric, but he was still a well-regarded mage and professor. There was no way the dean could welcome the news that someone like him would be gone for two full years.
“
Haaah.
That old man... So that’s how it’s gonna be,
eh?
”
It was obvious the man was trying to gain some kind of leverage. With that thought, the new dean quickly began reassessing the situation.
Regrettably, if Toffsmann was being so resolute, he knew there was no stopping him. He’d have to accept using the situation to his own advantage later on. There were still plenty of capable professors and graduate students who could fill his spot, after all.
Whummm.
Just then, another urgent message came through.
“
Oh,
Professor Russel, isn’t it? So, how did it go?
Ah,
spare me the jokes. I just went through a nightmare a moment ago, and I’m still reeling.” He rapid-fired his words as he answered the call from the next professor.
‘Bring good news. Now. Immediately
.’
That was what he wanted.
Alas, you can't always get what you want.
- Apologies, Dean. I, Russel, intend to return to the Mage Tower effective immediately. I regret having to say this so suddenly, but...
“Wait!!! I told you, no more jokes! Professor Russel!”
- This isn’t a joke.
Hearing no trace of humor in the man’s voice, the dean felt as if he were trapped in a bad dream.
“Professor Russel... Why are you doing this? Even Professor Toffsmann just now...”
- Professor Toffsmann? Did he say the same thing? Then that makes this conversation much easier. I won’t resign just yet, but I do plan to leave the academy within the next three months.
“No!!” the dean screamed in despair, trying to stop him. Unfortunately, that ship had already sailed.
Professor Russel was only the beginning.
- I’m sorry.
“Please!!” he screamed again, as he received another message from one of the professors.
They had all attended the conference.
“What is happening?! What did I do wrong to deserve this mass resignation?!” He slammed his hand on his office table in a rage.
His good mood from earlier had all but disappeared. Instead, all he wanted was to understand the reason behind the ridiculous string of events.
The calls just kept coming. Seven of the eight professors who attended the conference ultimately either resigned or declared a leave of absence.
Faced with utter disaster, the dean was at a loss for words.
Whummm.
The final call came in.
“You sons of bitches... Don’t tell me you all plotted this together! How the hell does this make sense?!”
Bang!!
He hurled everything off the table and onto the floor. He had to scramble to fill all the positions left empty by their sudden departure! Such a turn of events was unacceptable for him, as the dean.
He had to find out who was behind it; who had pushed the professors into a mass exodus.
Letting out a long sigh, he poured mana into the communication artifact.
Then, wanting to get ahead of things, he spoke first, “Professor Poulton. I’m telling you now, don’t even think about taking personal research time or handing in a resignation.”
Following his words, silence returned from the other side.
‘Goddammit, you too?!’
Cursing inwardly, he again slammed the desk with all his might.
- Dean.
“Professor Poulton, let me make this clear! This is a breach of contract! How can this kind of mass resignation happen out of nowhere?! You people have no shame!!”
His furious outburst no longer held any professionalism. That was just how desperate he was.
“Why... Just why?! What is the reason?!”
Hearing his desperate cry, Professor Poulton stayed silent for a long moment, then finally spoke.
- It’s because I realized that everything I’ve built up until now was nothing more than a child’s game.
The dean couldn’t speak for a long time after hearing that.
* * *
No matter how intense the training was, breaking down something that someone spent a long time preparing wasn’t easy.
“Jeez, those lunatics,” Davey muttered.
Yulis let out a long sigh. “Professor Olman of Heins Academy, the Swordmaster. He’s quite famous.”
No response.
“Do you know his nickname, Davey?”
“What is it?”
“Professor Potato. Whether he’s teaching, proctoring exams, or sparring, he never lets go of a potato. That’s how he got the name.”
“
Hmmmm.
”
“But this time it’s sweet potatoes. I thought it was some kind of sweet potato order.”
-
A bunch of crazies who started and ended all conversations with sweet potatoes.
That was how Yulis referred to the magic professors of Heins Academy.
“Professor Vent, who recently transferred from Shakuntala, used to be criticized even within Shakuntala for having clear limits. Everyone thought reaching the 6th Circle was practically out of the question for him, yet now, he’s practically knocking on the door of the 6th Circle.”
“Instead of a lack of talent, he just had the wrong teacher.”
“Anyway, why sweet potatoes this time? Every time you gather professors for training, they seem to walk away with some weird obsession.”
The result was unexpected. Professor Olman, a Swordmaster, was a clearly gifted young man, so Davey had pushed him especially hard.
Davey had given him nothing but practical training, and since that was the only way he knew how to teach, there was never any sort of idyllic learning environment involved.
Maybe that was why Olman had started sneaking away to eat potatoes in secret, stalling until Davey found him. He had even seen him obsessively munching on potatoes once the training, no, the grinding was over.
So the next time, Davey had removed potatoes altogether to avoid turning the mages into potato addicts.
He had set up spaces where they could find food on their own, but they seemed to have then concentrated on sweet potatoes.
“
Hm.
I guess I’ll need to ban sweet potatoes next time too, then.”
“I don’t know who’s next in line for your training, but they have my deepest condolences.”
“What is this, some rookie soldier sneaking a choco pie?”[1]
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s nothing. Anyway, while the chaos was intentional, it doesn’t look like it panned out great. Perhaps I should gather them again...”
“If you can help it, don’t.” Yulis shook his head with a slightly weary expression. “But seriously, what did you even do to get them acting that desperate?”
Strictly speaking, the professors weren’t even under his strict command. If they didn’t like how they were being treated, they could just quit at any time.
Davey hadn’t even demanded them to sacrifice themselves for the sake of higher knowledge. Yulis was amazed by how they had all changed so drastically without any major fallout.
Apart from being ground down, they had all become desperate.
Davey shrugged. “I told them their lifespan was shortening, and that every second they spent in that space was costing them a second of their life.”
Yulis’s expression cracked. “What exactly did you do to their lifespans?”
“Nothing. I never did anything.”
“But you just said—”
“Humans lose lifespan no matter where they are. One second of life passes per second.”
Nealization dawned on Yulis.
Davey hadn’t lied, but he’d also never said exactly how much of their life they were losing either.
“People get desperate when their life’s on the line.”
“There was a time when I actually thought I’d like to learn magic from you...”
-
For the sweet potatoes!
Looking down at the maniacs holding up sweet potatoes and celebrating their victory, Yulis let out another sigh.
“But now... I’m just glad I didn’t.”
“I told you, I don’t do anything half-assed. That’s why Illyna did most of Evangeline’s swordsmanship training.”
“Speaking of Evangeline, how’s that child doing?” he asked casually.
Davey shrugged. “Who knows. Not sure where she got it from, but she sure knows how to hold a grudge...”
Davey vaguely remembered receiving an SOS from Rinne and Yuria not too long before. However, he’d intentionally ignored it, so he had no idea what had happened since.
“She must be doing fine, I guess.”
‘Can’t help that her parents are like that as well...’
Yulis gave Davey a strange look. “You say there’s no blood relation between you two, but honestly, I’d bet my life she really is your daughter.”
“She did take after some of my better traits...”
With a chuckle, Yulis drove a nail into his heart. “I’m not sure about all that, but the grudge streak? That’s exactly like you.”
Davey smiled and cast a hellfire flame in his hand, waving it right in front of Yulis. “
Oh,
so you do want to fight? I didn’t catch on.”
“Davey, if I don’t get back today, I’ll be breaking my promise to Winley.”
“That’s fine. Like I said earlier, people don’t die that easily, Yulis.”
* * *
Rumors quickly began to spread about the magic professors from Heins Academy causing a massive stir at the recent academic conference.
People whispered that Heins Academy was a den of monsters—that professors who transferred there turned into fearsome beings, roaring in every direction, and that they were completely obsessed with sweet potatoes.
It didn’t take long for all sorts of bizarre rumors to spread around town.
Davey heard s that the professors, having returned from the conference like victorious generals, found themselves in a shouting match with Archbishop Alice.
“Let go! I’m throwing out these damned sweet potatoes right now!!”
The sight of her yelling in fury while a bunch of mages clung to her skirt and pleaded desperately was certainly surreal.
“No! You may as well take my life instead!”
“Anything but the sweet potatoes! That’s the one thing we can’t give up!!”
“You lunatics! You wanna end up like Professor Olman?! Let go! I told you I’m getting rid of them!” Their behavior had clearly driven her up a wall.
Professor Olman had already earned the ridiculous nickname Potato Professor since he was never seen without one in hand. Seeing the group of magic professors obsessing over sweet potatoes, she was about ready to snap.
Seeing her huff and storm away from the wailing professors, Davey approached her. “Professor Alice.”
“
Ah!
” Recognizing Davey, she stiffened, dropped the bag she was carrying straight onto the ground, and strode up to him.
Grabbing him by the collar, she glared up and growled, “Look here, Dean.”
“Yes, Professor?”
“I just have one question. Why the hell did you do this?”
Davey shrugged. “I don’t know what you mean.”
His shameless answer made her scoff and exhale sharply. She then shoved a piece of paper toward him with a cold glare. “Know what this is, Dean?”
It was an official proposal document.
“A formal offer from Shakuntala, right? So what?”
“You bastard! You abused those lunatics until they turned Shakuntala upside down, and now their professors have engaged in a mass exodus!!” she shouted as she clutched her head in frustration.
“And?” Davey asked.
“What?”
“I mean, it’s normal for people to challenge each other’s papers at conferences. And resignations? That’s an internal matter for Shakuntala, so why should that be your problem?”
His response twisted her expression.
“You really think that?”
“Well, I suppose they might have some personal grudges now. Still, doesn't it seem like nothing that you should get this mad for?”
“
Haaaah.
Shakuntala sent us a formal proposal after that happened. It looks like they want an official match between professors to take place under the next full moon.”
The professors’ eyes lit up.
“Revenge... revenge!”
“The second wave of vengeance has come!”
“We shall fight under the blessing of the sweet potato!”
They looked completely satisfied with the chance to settle a new score with Shakuntala.
“
Heh.
Freakin’ lunatics.” Professor Olman, munching on a potato nearby, chuckled to himself.
Alice shot him a deadly glare. “Put that damned potato away!”
“
Whoops.
”
When she saw him exaggerate and run off, Alice pressed a hand to her forehead.
“Dean, the Heins Academy festival is right around the corner, and I’m already stressed about the wild professors causing an incident. Now you want me to worry about them getting into fights with random trash mobs too? For the love of—stop giving me more work, dammit!! I swear, I’ll just resign and leave!”
Her bluntness came as no surprise to Davey. Even back in the Holy Empire, she had once called Saint Candidate Lena an idiot with a flower field for a brain, so it was hardly new behavior.
Wanting to calm her down, Davey made her an offer. “It’s all for the good of the academy.
Oh,
by the way, want me to arrange a meeting with the Goddess Freyja?”
It’d be just an avatar, not the goddess herself. Even so, an avatar was a manifestation of the Goddess, and that alone was enough to make Archbishop Alice desperate.
Goddess Freyja hadn’t appeared even in Alice’s most desperate hour. She had only shown herself when Alice had turned from the light and was on the brink of death. It was the Goddess herself who had descended and saved her with a direct revelation.
To Alice, Goddess Freyja was a figure of both deep longing and bitter resentment.
When Davey mentioned the one being she loved most in the world, her expression twisted just slightly. “Seriously?”
“A brief meeting is definitely possible.”
As Davey smiled, she fell silent, clearly contemplating.
“Hey, professors. Listen up! Forget Shakuntala or whatever; take care of those trash mobs on your own time. We’re already swamped getting ready for the festival.”
“Sweet potatoes! We need more sweet potatoes!”
“May the blessing of the sweet potato be with us!”
Seeing mages—those who rejected the gods and doubted everything—so blindly and wholeheartedly devoted to sweet potatoes made Davey think that perhaps sweet potatoes had become their deity in their own way.
To Alice, a battle with the prestigious Shakuntala Magic Academy was nothing more and nothing less than just another nuisance getting in the way of festival preparations.
1. Choco pie is like the Korean Moon Pie, most commonly known as a sweet that military folks eat and crave. ☜

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Chapter 1180