I Became the Academy’s Time-Limited Genius – Chapter 23

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Translated By Arcane Translations

Translator: Silverriver

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During the spar, Akdin noticed that the Class B student had coated his sword with poison. He couldn’t miss the black discoloration spreading across Agnes’s thigh.

If he hadn’t noticed, he should have resigned as a professor of Iliad Academy.

Professor Akdin was genuinely furious. Using poison in a sacred spar? It should have been stopped immediately.

The poison wasn’t lethal, but it was enough to hinder Agnes from continuing the spar. Her condition made that clear.

But Akdin couldn’t bring himself to stop the match. He had seen the burning desire in Agnes’s eyes.

As a swordsman, before he was a professor…

…he didn’t want to extinguish the young swordsman’s passion. He wanted to see that small flame ignite into a raging fire.

And finally…

Agnes’s talent blossomed.

Those who had been overlooked since the era of the Magic Swordsman, Lenox. A knight made of ice appeared beside Agnes and shattered Iffin’s head. A thrill ran through him.

If it weren’t for the Sinister presence he’d felt, he might have continued watching without intervening.

“…!”

He snapped back to his senses and looked at Agnes. She had already collapsed. Someone was supporting her.

“Deron?”

It was Deron. He glared at something, his aura flaring.

Agnes leaned against his shoulder, struggling to breathe. The poison had spread throughout her body.

Deron’s aura silenced the room, and he looked around the audience, his gaze arrogant and sweeping. Then, as if he had found what he was looking for, he carried Agnes in that direction.

“Gasp!”

He went straight to Adele, the one who wielded divine power, and gently laid Agnes down.

Then, his voice dripping with barely concealed menace, he said,

“Heal her. You can do that much with your divine power, can’t you?”

Adele nodded, her eyes wide with fear. Deron’s black eyes glinted as he returned to the arena.

Professor Akdin finally acknowledged his mistake. He had sensed the poison spreading yet hadn’t stopped the match. He had almost extinguished a flame before it could truly ignite.

He was about to bow his head, to apologize to Deron.

But Deron stopped him.

Then he asked,

“Isn’t it my turn?”

“Y-Yes, it is.”

“Then call my next opponent.”

Overwhelmed by the student’s aura, Professor Akdin complied. Under normal circumstances, he would have been ashamed, but strangely, he felt no such emotion before Deron.

“Ruberic! Ruberic Caius!”

“Coming!”

Ruberic emerged as if he’d been waiting. Deron glared at him, his eyes glinting.

A look of pure loathing.

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Rage consumed me, yet my body remained strangely cold. My mind was clear, my lifespan unaffected.

Was it true that one became calm in the face of true anger?

“You look like you’re about to kill someone.”

“If I could.”

I replied coldly to Ruberic’s taunts. He looked completely different from when I’d last seen him.

His previously sturdy physique was now gaunt, his bones barely holding his skin together. His face looked twenty years older.

Judging by his condition, I could guess what he had done.

“You fool. Did you really make a pact?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Of course, he would deny it. He couldn’t openly admit to being a demon contractor within the academy. But I was certain he had made a pact.

I had read descriptions of bodies withering like this after a pact in the novel.

“This is the result of my training, honed for revenge against you.”

“The infirmary is for the sick. I’ll personally escort you there.”

We both drew our swords. At Professor Akdin’s signal, we charged.

Clang!

The sound echoed through the arena. A black aura seeped from Ruberic’s body after the first clash.

His aura was menacing, but beneath it, a deeper sense of revulsion emanated from him.

It was the taint of demonic energy. It was natural for humans to react negatively to demonic energy. But that reaction was also due to Ruberic being a Amateur demon contractor.

Judging by the fact that Professor Akdin and the others didn’t seem to notice, I must have been the only one who could sense it.

I angled my sword. Honed by countless elixirs and enhanced by the Genius trait. My intermediate level magic power surged through my body.

Normally, I would test my opponent before delivering a decisive blow, but I couldn’t afford such luxuries against a demon contractor. I coated my sword in violet Aura. Violet lightning crackled around my body.

Ruberic watched impassively, confident that he could defeat me, no matter what I did.

His arrogance stemmed from the demon’s influence.

A black aura enveloped his sword. And in the next instant, he shot forward like a lightning bolt.

Boom!

Our swords clashed with a deafening roar. Even without using lifespan, I could withstand his attack.

Without giving an inch, I twisted my sword, following the trajectory of his blade. Ruberic stumbled backward.

He lunged again, his sword aimed for my abdomen, but I saw it coming. I dodged easily and swung at his legs.

But Ruberic blocked my attack with a sneer.

The true battle had begun. Our swords clashed relentlessly, the sound of steel on steel filling the arena.

Violet and black lines intertwined and clashed, each strike sending out powerful shockwaves. Demonic energy collided with Aura, scattering razor-sharp fragments.

Professor Akdin stepped back from the scattered energy and debris, and the spectators shielded themselves as best they could.

We were evenly matched. Or rather, I had a slight advantage.

His body was weaker than mine. I had used 10 days’ worth of lifespan, but he barely had the strength to hold his sword.

His hand trembled as he raised his blade.

“You made a pact with a demon for this much power?”

I tightened my grip on my sword.

“You pathetic worm.”

I swung my sword, intending to disarm him. Just as our blades were about to meet…

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

A boisterous laugh echoed through the arena. Ruberic was laughing uncontrollably.

“A worm? You call me a worm?”

His eyes were bloodshot, and his skin began to crack and peel. Professor Akdin rushed forward at the disturbing sight, but…

Boom!

An invisible force erupted, blocking his approach. Professor Akdin couldn’t get any closer.

“Deron Philasia. Disgrace of the nobility, trash. Do you think you have the right to call me a worm?!”

“I do.”

Ruberic’s gaze fixed on me. His eyes were now completely red, and blood seeped from the cracks in his skin.

A horn protruded from his forehead.

“At least I didn’t make a deal with a demon.”

“You would have done the same if you were in my position! You would have made a pact…”

“I wouldn’t have. Never.”

I could say that with absolute certainty. Even if I weren’t Deron, even if I were the original owner of this body, I would have given the same answer.

“Are you so sure your situation is worse than mine? A damned terminal illness that requires thousands of gold just to buy a few more months of life.”

I didn’t know the details of Ruberic’s situation. He must have faced hardships, must have considered himself a victim.

It wasn’t mentioned in the original story. He was simply portrayed as a villain who made a pact with a demon.

“I’m terminally ill, but I didn’t make a pact with a demon. I at least tried to live as a human.”

That didn’t excuse Ruberic’s actions. Every villain had a story. But I wasn’t interested in hearing his.

I didn’t need unnecessary emotional baggage.

“Heh, heh heh. Terminally ill, you say.”

“Yes. Are you so sure you’re worse off than me?”

“I don’t know. I… huh?”

The last sentence was spoken in a disturbingly different voice. A mechanical rasp, unlike Ruberic’s usual tone.

At the same time, a message appeared.

What?

The system message appeared before my eyes, and the world froze. Professor Akdin, trying to intervene, Agnes, drawing her sword…

Even Ruberic, questioning his own existence…

A quest at this timing? How convenient.

Well, well. This was so blatant it was almost comical.

“Accept.”

I accepted, despite the unsettling feeling. I had no other choice. Failure meant annihilation. How could I refuse?

First…

“So it’s demon hunting time.”

Let the hunt begin.

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I thought the ruberic issue would be handled wayyyyyyy later.