BXBX NOVEL Chapter 92 - The Tower of Illusions (2)
Chapter 92 - The Tower of Illusions (2)
"Kaiden!"
I smiled as I approached Kaiden and pulled him into a tight embrace.
"It’s been ten years, but you haven’t changed at all, Dian."
"Neither have you. But seriously, what’s going on here? The Tower of Illusions?"
"If you had to choose between what you’re good at and what you love, it’s obvious you’d choose what you love."
As always, Kaiden spoke in his usual cryptic manner, flashing an enigmatic smile.
"What brings you here after ten years?"
"I need a favor from you."
"Ah, I see. Helping you is always a pleasure, Dian. But…"
Kaiden squinted as he looked past me at the people standing behind me.
"Ah, they’re students and a professor from my academy."
"Academy, you say?"
"Yeah, at the beginning of this year, I became the Head Combat Professor at the Imperial Special Mission Academy."
"A professor… Dian, a professor…"
Despite his intelligence, even Kaiden seemed to struggle with the idea, nodding slowly as he tried to process the information.
"Well… considering you’re the Head Combat Professor, I suppose it’s not entirely unthinkable."
"Hey, I’m doing a decent job."
"Of course you are. Even though you didn’t master formal academic disciplines, you’ve always had a sharp mind that sees through to the essence of things."
As Kaiden nodded to himself, he suddenly remarked, as if a thought had just occurred to him.
"By the way, Dian, pure-blooded elves and dark elves, huh? You certainly have unique tastes."
"That’s our academy’s headmistress and vice-principal. Watch your mouth. If this were Earth, you’d be in jail for slander."
"Ah, I’m relieved then. After all, only you can see them."
Kaiden was the only one who knew that I was a transmigrant.
I hadn’t told him—he figured it out on his own.
Kaiden was so incredibly smart and observant that he pieced it together by himself, building theories and hypotheses after analyzing my suspicious behavior and strange speech patterns behind a wall of illusion.
His conclusion: I was from another world. Once he realized that, everything made sense to him.
What a terrifyingly brilliant guy.
The only silver lining is that he’s not the type to blab about what he knows. Kaiden, as a rare magical prodigy, doesn’t care about things that don’t interest him.
Once he understood that I was from another world, that was it. He accepted it and moved on.
When I asked if there was a way back to Earth, he said it was impossible.
He rambled on, spewing complex formulas, but to summarize: transferring a physical object from one world to another requires an enormous amount of magical energy. Gathering such energy would cause the formation of a black hole, a massively dangerous event.
Moreover, according to theoretical calculations, you’d need at least five archmages to pull it off. The problem? There are only three alive.
In short, the method exists, but it’s impossible to execute.
Since I didn’t have a desperate desire to return, I let the matter drop.
"Ahem, excuse me…"
Orendi stammered as he awkwardly approached us.
"Uh… so…"
Before Orendi could say anything, Knightley rushed forward, demanding answers.
"Was it all fake?!"
Knightley ran up, her voice full of indignation.
"That was all an illusion?! Are you telling me the confession from Professor Dian was fake?!"
"Ah, Knightley, shut up. This is embarrassing."
"No! This is a scam! A fraud!!"
As Knightley ranted, Merilda stood silently behind her, watching. She had probably seen something similar to Knightley.
For someone like Merilda, who had been waiting for me for ten years, Knightley’s outburst must have seriously aggravated her.
Normally, Merilda would have cut her down with a sharp remark, all while smiling sweetly. But today, she remained silent, simply buttoning up her shirt that she had started to unbutton earlier.
She was probably embarrassed about having run towards me, stripping her clothes in the illusion.
"You two, get your heads straight."
Hindrasta wrapped an arm around Merilda and Knightley’s necks, pulling them close as she spoke.
"You both saw Professor Dian, didn’t you? You both like him, huh?"
"What does it matter who I like? Are you trying to eliminate the competition or something…?"
"Ha!! What nonsense!!"
Hindrasta recoiled in disgust at Knightley’s insinuation.
"That man may look fine on the outside, but he’s rotten to the core on the inside."
Hindrasta spoke in a low, serious tone.
"Do you think I passed up all the money I could make with the Reblanc Mercenaries just to stay here at this academy? He’s blackmailing me, holding onto my weaknesses to keep me trapped here."
"What kind of weakness?"
"Well, it’s like…"
Hindrasta clammed up and glanced my way.
"Ah, anyway, it’s something!"
Since I had drilled it into Hindrasta never to reveal that she was a dragon, she hastily brushed the topic aside. Knightley just clicked her tongue in response.
"I can already tell what your real motives are, Sophie."
"It’s not like that! I’m genuinely concerned for you. That’s why I’m giving you advice!"
"Yeah, sure. I’ll take it into account."
Knightley brushed off Hindrasta’s warning, while Merilda straightened her clothes and approached Kaiden.
"Hello, Master Kaiden. My name is Merilda, a student under Professor Dian’s tutelage."
"Greetings, Miss Merilda."
Kaiden returned the greeting with a slight smile.
"I was wondering, that illusion we just experienced… is it possible for me to learn that magic?"
"If you have a talent for magic, then yes. However, I don’t sense any magical energy in you."
"I see…"
Merilda looked disappointed as she realized she had no potential to become a mage.
"Please, come inside. It’s late, but you’re still guests."
"I’m sorry for showing up unannounced, Kaiden."
"It’s no trouble, Dian. After all, you left without a word when you disappeared."
"Yeah, I apologize for that."
"It doesn’t matter anymore. You’ve returned safe and sound, and thanks to the motivation you gave me back then, I’ve found a new path."
As Kaiden spread his arms, the students all screamed in unison.
From behind him, a pure white dragon unfolded its wings and spread its massive body. It was a white dragon.
"Oh my god! It’s so beautiful!"
"That’s illusion magic…"
While everyone else was captivated by the sight, Hindrasta collapsed flat on the ground, trembling as she muttered under her breath.
"Please forgive me, Elders… I swear I won’t cause trouble again…"
Fearing the worst, I glanced at her rear but was relieved to see she hadn’t wet herself. That would have been a real hassle.
The last time, when she wet herself at Linus’s house, she refused to accept replacement clothes, saying she didn’t want to take anything from a man who had humiliated her so badly. Whatever that meant.
"Please, come inside."
Kaiden led us into the crumbling, decrepit cabin.
"Wait… is Kaiden a woman?"
"No… I thought Kaiden was a man…?"
"I’m pretty sure he is a man…"
As they followed behind, the students whispered among themselves, lowering their voices.
Orendi tried to strike up a conversation by staying close to Kaiden, but in the end, he didn’t say anything and returned to walk beside me.
"Head Professor, how do you know Kaiden?"
"We worked together a long time ago."
"And by a long time ago, you mean… about ten years ago, right? Kaiden was a member of the Demon King Slayer Task Force back then."
Rattle, rattle!
Suddenly, there was a loud noise. We turned around to see Kaiden grabbing the doorknob of the crooked door, shaking it violently.
"This place is quite old, as you can see."
"Wait, that’s not an illusion?"
"No, it’s real. Just a moment."
Rattle, rattle, rattle!
Despite being a powerful mage, Kaiden seemed too weak to open the door, so I finally stepped in and opened it for him.
"Thank you, Dian. Please, come inside."
"KYAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
The moment we stepped inside, the students screamed and clung to me.
"Wha-?! Professor!"
Even Orendi panicked, tugging desperately at my cloak.
And no wonder—suddenly, we found ourselves in the middle of a four-lane highway, with cars zooming past us, missing us by mere inches.
"The carriages are moving on their own!"
But that wasn’t all.
On either side of the road were towering skyscrapers, and crowds of people dressed in modern attire hurried by.
"Could that be… Yggdrasil?"
Hindrasta muttered dumbfoundedly as she craned her neck to stare up at the towering buildings.
"Welcome to the Tower of Illusions."
Kaiden, standing in the middle of the street, smiled with his eyes almost shut and bowed.
"This is a place where all fantasies become reality. If you’re not careful, you’ll lose your sense of reality in an instant."
"Incredible. Everything feels so real."
Kaiden grinned as he looked around the bustling city.
"This is a virtual world I created based on the fascinating stories you told me long ago, Dian. This entire space is like one giant VR."
"This is… illusion magic at its peak… absolutely astonishing…"
Orendi, overwhelmed, dropped to his knees and touched the ground, tears of awe welling in his eyes.