I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 369

At Arpa’s words, Rudger felt something strange and examined where the little child had been.

‘Gone.’

The little child who had been in front just moments ago had disappeared without a trace.

It was so perfect that one might wonder if they had dreamed it.

Rudger straightened his crouched body with a serious face.

‘A ghost? Or a spirit? Is this some kind of anomaly triggered by the excessively concentrated mana in this Kasar Basin?’

One couldn’t say that souls and ghosts didn’t exist.

After all, there was even [Necromancy] magic that could converse with residual thoughts of souls and borrow their power.

However, most souls summoned in such ways take on a translucent human form.

‘In contrast, that child I saw would have appeared to anyone as a living person.’

There’s no way he could have been mistaken.

When he sensed someone’s presence, he had heightened his vigilance and senses to the extreme.

In that state, to not be able to distinguish a ghost’s thoughts?

That doesn’t make sense.

“Leader?”

“…It seems I saw an illusion.”

Whether that child was real or a ghost wasn’t important right now.

Although the child’s words about searching for something bothered him, he decided to dismiss it as a spiritual phenomenon that commonly occurs in the Kasar Basin.

“So, have you looked around this area completely?”

“Yes. What are you planning to do now, Leader?”

“Since we’ve come all this way, we can’t just stay cooped up in the tent. Let’s go out and have a look around.”

“Yes! That’s great!”

It seems Arpa had secretly wanted to look around too.

As soon as Rudger finished speaking, Arpa smiled brightly and stuck close to his side.

His determination to diligently follow wherever Rudger went was apparent.

“Arpa.”

“Yes, Leader.”

“Did you happen to see anything strange on the way here?”

“Huh? What do you mean by strange things?”

“Anything will do. Whatever seems different from common sense.”

“Hmm. Even if you ask me that, I haven’t particularly felt anything strange. For me, this place is full of amazing things.”

Come to think of it, that was true.

To someone who knows, chocolate and candy are separate things but to someone who knows nothing, those two are just sweets, nothing more.

“I see.”

“Leader, are you alright? You’ve seemed a bit off since earlier.”

“I just saw an illusion.”

Rudger debated whether to tell him or not but soon he thought it wouldn’t hurt to tell Arpa.

“While you were briefly away, a little child came into our quarters.”

“A little child?”

“Yes. Around 6 or 7 years old. At first, I thought it was a child who had lost their parents and secretly hid here. But that wasn’t the case.”

“Children around 6 or 7 years old…”

Arpa muttered that and then stared blankly into space for a moment.

That behavior was different from simple spacing out.

Arpa was currently recalling ‘all’ the scenery he had seen since entering this Kasar Basin.

“I’ve confirmed it. From when we arrived in the city yesterday until we reached the entrance of the Kasar Basin today, there wasn’t a single child under 10 years old among the non-magicians.”

“Hmm. If you say so, it must be true.”

“However, as I’m rechecking the scenery I’ve seen since coming to the Kasar Basin as you mentioned, something caught my attention.”

“What is it?”

Arpa explained exactly what he saw.

“In the forest beyond the tall tents, I saw something in the gaps between the trees. As you said, it looks like a child around 7 years old.”

“Is it the same child I saw?”

“No, it’s different. What you saw was a girl, but this is a boy. However, he’s secretly watching our tent.”

While ordinary magicians wouldn’t be able to see it from this distance, Arpa could [Magnify] the scenery in his mind.

“As you said, Leader, there really is a child. She didn’t sneak in. It seems she was here from the beginning.”

Could that boy in the forest be the person that girl from earlier said she was looking for?

Perhaps they’re under some kind of restriction preventing them from meeting.

“What could this mean?”

“It’s probably a spiritual phenomenon occurring within the Kasar Basin. Anyway, I understand now. What I saw wasn’t a hallucination.”

“What do you plan to do now?”

“Ignore it. I have no intention of doing anything with the ghosts that exist here. That’s not what’s important right now.”

“Ah, that’s right. Leader, you said you were looking for the First Order of the Black Dawn Society.”

“Yes. His name is Leslie. Age-wise, he’s estimated to be a middle-aged man in his 40s or older. In terms of ability, he’s quite a skilled magician. Can you identify who it might be?”

Arpa shook his head.

“I’ve compared all the magicians gathered in this Kasar Basin, and there are over 200 people who match your description. You said he’s a skilled magician, but I don’t have the ability to distinguish magicians’ hierarchy by appearance.”

“That’s true.”

Moreover, magicians were still entering through the open entrance.

They couldn’t know if Leslie had already entered or if he was waiting for an opportunity to enter later from outside.

‘This is a complete mess.’

Rudger decided to sort things out one by one.

“Let’s go out and look around for now. We can’t do nothing after coming all this way.”

“Yes!”

Rudger took Arpa and came out of the tent.

The streets were bustling with magicians, from people selling mysterious magical tools to those showing off their magic, and those itching to leave the outpost to research the mysteries of this land.

“It’s quite dark despite being morning.”

Though it’s early morning, sunlight never reaches this place.

This is because the fog made of intense mana blocks the sunlight.

It was a natural phenomenon where night continues even during the day is called polar night.

The Kasar Basin was a place that perfectly matched the term polar night.

If there’s any difference, perhaps it’s that the mana within the basin creates its own luminescence, so it’s not too dark.

As they entered the center of the outpost, they could see many magicians gathered.

While the magicians until now were individuals who came on their own, those gathered here all had their own [affiliations].

They were busy moving about, packing bags, and gathering various tools.

The porters who accompanied them shouldered large bags.

Then someone shouted in a loud voice.

“The expedition to the Secret Mansion will depart soon! Those who want to move, join now!”

Perhaps because they used a magical tool to amplify their voice, the shout echoed throughout the outpost.

Magicians began gathering with gleaming eyes at those words.

“Leader, what’s this?”

“It seems they don’t want to waste even a moment of time.”

“By Secret Mansion, they mean that mysterious mansion that exists in the Kasar Basin, right?”

“Yes. An unknown place – no one knows who built it or when. The only clue that’s been revealed is that the owner was a magician, and inside lies magical knowledge unknown to us.”

“But I can’t see the mansion from here.”

“It’s probably quite far from the outpost.”

Arpa nodded in understanding at those words.

“Since the Kasar Basin is a mysterious land where anything could happen, it would be much better to move together in large numbers rather than in small groups.”

“In the past, there were cases where teams split up to try to obtain knowledge first. And they never returned to the outpost. I don’t know exactly what happened, but…”

“Ah, I’ve heard rumors about that too. All the magicians who scattered in small groups at that time went missing.”

Rudger looked back.

Beyond the main street of the sprawling outpost, he could see the still-open entrance to the Kasar Basin.

Magical lamps illuminated the path between the entrance and the outpost at regular intervals.

As if saying ‘you must follow only this path.’

That must have taken quite some time to set up.

“Still, being an expedition, there are quite a few notable figures visible.”

Rudger examined the faces of the magicians gathered in the central square of the outpost through his monocle artifact.

They all had highly refined magical power and clear intentions.

They were qualitatively different from the riffraff gathered like ants at the entrance to the Kasar Basin.

“The Old Tower and New Tower have sent quite formidable people.”

“The list includes several senior members of the Magic Society as well. And there are people from various academic societies too.”

“Those are already proven experts. But there are also those who exude strong presence despite having no proper affiliation.”

Rudger’s gaze turned to one side.

Other magicians might not notice, but his artifact was accurately measuring magical power.

The first thing that caught his eye was a single pillar of energy rising straight toward the sky.

While other magicians displayed their magical power like burning flames or scattered heat haze,

That person alone was suppressing their magical power to the extreme by refining it to the limit.

It was proof of their extraordinary ability to suppress magical power.

Arpa, who noticed who Rudger’s gaze was directed at, immediately recalled the person’s profile.

“That’s Derek Olson. He’s a free magician without affiliation, and he’s at the highest level of 5th rank. They say with a bit more time, he might achieve Lexer grade.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“From Mr. Hans. When I told him I would be following you to the Night of Mystery, he told me to memorize a list of famous magicians.”

“Hans did something unnecessary.”

But it was true that it helped in small ways like this.

Hans probably assigned such a task because he had great faith in Arpa’s perfect memory ability.

“Then who are the other magicians worth noting?”

“I’ll check.”

Arpa said that while quickly scanning the surroundings, he immediately pointed to a tall magician standing to one side.

He was a head taller than other magicians, with a dark, slim body and unusually long arms.

“That’s Amar Chubaka. He’s from a minority ethnic group in the southern jungle region, and he’s a magician who uses unique sorcery alongside magic. Though his rank isn’t high, they say he has many unusual spells and strange knowledge that defy common sense.”

“I see.”

As Arpa said, Amar Chubaka possessed quite unusual magical power beyond his striking appearance.

If other magicians’ magical power was like flame, Amar’s was like viscous mud.

“Also, that old man over there with the staff covered in gold ornaments. He’s Sage Limrei, leader of a one-man school and a Lexer magician.”

“That middle-aged man with the sturdy build. He’s Belkart Benmark, a military magician from the Kingdom of Delica. They say he’s an incredible lightning magician.”

“See that person who looks like a homeless person? That’s Sempas, and despite his appearance, he’s actually a terrifying battle maniac. Though his rank isn’t high, they say he’s won several real battles against higher-ranked magicians with his excellent magical power control.”

“That magician crouching timidly over there is Roina Pavlini. Despite looking like that, she’s Lexer grade and has the greatest talent for analyzing and researching magic.”

Rudger, who had been listening to Arpa’s explanations, showed a surprised expression when a familiar name came up.

“Roina Pavlini?”

“Yes, over there.”

Following Arpa’s gaze, Roina Pavlini was indeed there.

She was with magicians who appeared to have come together, but Roina herself seemed uncomfortable with it, her expression not looking particularly good.

Her consistent hunched shoulders and head weren’t befitting of a 6th rank magician at all.

It wasn’t for nothing that people said she gave up social skills and self-esteem in exchange for outstanding magical talent.

‘Did she come for research? Nothing unusual about that.’

Roina didn’t seem to have noticed them.

They weren’t close anyway, so there was no need to greet her first.

While listening to Arpa about various magicians, the stares from around them were prickly.

‘Hey, isn’t that Rudger Chelici? Why is he here?’

‘Why are you so surprised? He’s just an academy teacher, after all.’

‘You idiot. Haven’t you heard the news? That guy is a Theon teacher, and he’s already beyond teacher level. There are rumors he received a medal from the imperial family for his achievements during the recent terrorist incident.’

‘Really?’

‘Besides that, he can perfectly interpret ancient languages. That alone makes him a valuable talent for this expedition.’

The magicians were chattering among themselves in quiet voices.

Of course, this was picked up by Arpa’s excellent hearing and relayed to Rudger in exactly the same sound, as if she had recorded it.

“That’s what they’re saying.”

“Enough. Ignore it.”

It seems his reputation was higher than expected.

“What? These days, can even a mere teacher come to the Night of Mystery?”

To the point where someone would pick a fight so blatantly.