I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 520

"What do you mean by that?"

When Rudger asked, Seridan spoke in a slightly dejected tone, unlike usual.

"I, honestly, won't be of any help."

"I suppose you have a reason for thinking that."

"My specialty won't work here. There are no explosives, and no materials to make anything. Even if we look around, there might be something, but there's not enough time to combine them to make something new."

Seridan's specialty is assembling and making things.

In particular, her true value shows the greatest effect in making explosives.

Outside, there would be no problem with Seridan making things because sufficient support was possible but this place was different.

There was nothing from start to finish needed to make anything.

Since the most basic things were lacking, Seridan couldn't do anything even if she wanted to.

Her excellent courage and push-forward aggressive nature only worked when backed by ability.

Seridan wasn't stupid enough to force things even in this situation.

"Hmm."

Rudger wasn't unaware of Seridan's feelings.

"I, actually, had similar thoughts."

Sedina also confessed her honest feelings.

"My magic doesn't work properly here. It takes a long time to cast magic, and above all, I can't hear the voices of plants that I've been hearing recently."

How happy she had been recently stepping up as a green mage.

She had fully expected that she wouldn't hold anyone back anymore and could be of help to Rudger but this was the result right now.

The voices of plants couldn't be heard in this dream world.

The plants that existed in this world were just illusions created by unconsciousness and memories.

Since they weren't real, Sedina couldn't handle the plants.

In the end, she had to use only paper magic, but even that wasn't easy due to the characteristics of Dreamland.

Like Seridan, Sedina thought she couldn't be of any help here.

"I fully understand both of your positions. Rather than holding back your companions, it might be better not to go at all. But I completely disagree with that. Isn't that just giving up in the end?"

"But my lord. This is reality. If we stubbornly insist on something that doesn't work, it'll only make things worse."

Seridan didn't want to say such things either.

As can be seen from her usual conduct, Seridan was a dwarf girl with very high pride.

Not just stopping at making things.

Now that her companions had to step out and fight in dangerous situations, she felt considerable frustration at being unable to do anything.

It was the same for Sedina.

Rudger looked at Seridan and Sedina alternately before nodding.

"Yes. Clearly, you two won't be of help as things stand now."

Both their expressions became gloomy at that stark observation.

"But you seem to have forgotten, isn't that only limited to reality?"

"...You have a way?"

"This isn't the real world but Dreamland."

"You mean there's a separate method specific to this place?"

"One of the characteristics of this Dreamland is that what you imagine becomes reality."

For example, like this.

Rudger created his usual staff in his hand.

A staff with black base mixed with subtle gold color, with a crow figure embossed at the end of the handle.

It was different from how Rudger usually took out his staff.

Taking it out from within shadows and suddenly creating it from empty space like this were separate things.

Sedina and Seridan's eyes opened wide.

With both small-statured people showing the same reaction, they looked like children seeing magic for the first time.

"In Dreamland, magic, spirit arts, and necromancy don't work properly. This place is completely different from the reality we knew, so we must think of it as a world governed by separate laws."

So in Dreamland, they had to follow Dreamland's ways.

"From now on, throw away conventional common sense. You must have confidence that you can do anything."

"My lord, how did you do that?"

"I just did it and it worked."

What's that supposed to mean?

Seridan stared at Rudger's confident expression with a look that said she couldn't believe it.

For Rudger, it was possible because he was familiar with the methods used in Dreamland.

The 'real magic' that Rudger used was in the realm of emotion rather than reason.

The law of Dreamland where beliefs and imagination residing in one's inner self become reality was, in this aspect, in line with 'real magic'.

"I know it will be difficult. To implement something you imagined into reality, it's hard to immediately implement such an impossible request."

"Do, do you have any advice or something?"

To Sedina's question, Rudger thought for a moment before giving an answer.

"The most basic thing is to first recall what you do best and like the most."

"What I like?"

At those words, Seridan perked up her twin ponytails and responded.

She might have gotten some sense of it, as Seridan spread her right hand wide and stared intently at her palm.

"Nnngh."

Her eyelids trembled, and just when it seemed like her face might be having a spasm.

An object appeared like magic on Seridan's palm.

"I did it!"

Seridan's face brightened.

What she created was dynamite.

No matter what anyone said, Seridan's greatest specialty was making explosives.

After making the most basic explosive she knew, she threw it toward a small nearby puddle.

"Explode!"

The dynamite that fell into the water with a splash caused an explosion after a slight time delay.

The water surface shook greatly as a small water column shot up.

While Hans and Sedina opened their eyes wide in amazement at that sight, Seridan's expression wasn't good.

"The power is too weak!"

Just looking at the size of the rising water column, what Seridan created had significantly less firepower compared to normal dynamite.

"What went wrong?"

"Since it's your first time, it's because your unconscious thought was that it wouldn't work well. This is a place where unconsciousness also has an influence. If you don't properly control such aspects, it will be difficult."

"It was more difficult than I thought."

Rudger shook his head.

"Rather, I want to say it's amazing. Usually, even if someone is taught the method, no one can do it right away. Although it didn't meet expectations, didn't the dynamite you made properly cause an explosion?"

"Still, I can't help feeling disappointed. I'll get better if I keep trying, right?"

"Yes."

The dynamite Seridan made was only lacking in firepower, but in other aspects, it actually had some superior points.

First, when Seridan threw the dynamite, she didn't separately attach a detonator or light it.

The fact that it still exploded meant that various minor processes needed in reality could all be ignored.

'Probably because she only focused on the explosion itself, she instinctively omitted other troublesome processes.'

If she could properly refine and handle that imagination, it could become a weapon more excellent than any other.

'Even if we fall into such an absurd world, there's another way if we just adapt.'

Rather, someone who couldn't show their abilities and talents in reality had a high possibility of standing out in Dreamland.

'Whether that will flow in a good direction, or conversely bring about a bigger crisis, we'll have to wait and see.'

Rudger's gaze turned toward Hans and Sedina who still had blank faces.

"Get ready. Before we depart, you'll need to grasp the basic ways of handling power here."

"Br-brother?"

"By the way, there will be no mercy in my teaching."

"Ah, why suddenly......"

Before Hans could say anything, Sedina, who had become very disciplined next to him, shouted faster.

"Yes! Understood! Teacher!"

Hans gulped.

Now that he was facing him directly, he understood why Rudger was notorious among the Theon students.

Rudger was a completely different person from usual when he taught.

* * *

"So, you're saying when you imagined it in your head, it worked?"

"Yes."

Leo clutched his head with his hands at Aidan's innocent answer.

"...You're calling that an explanation?"

"But it's true."

The unbelievable power that Aidan had shown was one of everyone's interests gathered here currently.

How could he show such power?

The answer that came back to that question was quite whimsical.

"Imagination, you say."

Even when trying to argue if that made sense, they couldn't completely deny it when thinking about what Aidan had shown.

"So you're saying, when you imagined cutting that rock crab with your staff, you could slice through everything?"

"Yes."

"Does that make sense? No, more than that, how do you even imagine that in your head? Wouldn't you normally think it won't work?"

Aidan scratched his cheek with his index finger.

"Umm. When things got urgent, it felt like I had to do it. But if I actually went out and got hurt, you all would worry, right?"

"A person who knows better rushes out recklessly?"

"Ahaha. Sorry. But I had confidence deep inside that something would work. Maybe it's the wild instinct I learned from the beast people? When I went beyond 'I must do it' to having confidence that 'I can do it', this is what happened."

The other students' expressions became more ambiguous as they listened to Aidan's explanation.

For magicians faithful to theory, the imagination that Aidan talked about didn't resonate.

"That kid is right."

The one who surprisingly stood up to defend Aidan then was Flora, who could be called the representative of this place.

"When I clearly thought of something in my head, magic was implemented much better than using formulas."

"Flora, is that really true?"

Along with Cheryl's question, all the surrounding gazes focused on Flora.

Flora spoke while twirling her now darkness-tinged hair with her finger.

"Considering this is a dream world, we should see it as the specificity of the environment being applied. Everyone says that, right? That anything is possible in dreams. People can fly in the sky, and children can become adults. It's the same here."

"Th-then we too......"

Flora sharply cut off Tracy's expectations.

"It won't work like that."

"Why not?"

"Completely implementing what you think in your head is attractive, but there's no way it could be that easy."

"We won't know unless we try!"

To Tracy's rebuttal, Flora lightly snorted.

"Really? Then you try not to think about a cat in your head."

"What?"

"A cat. It's easy, right? Just try not to think about a cat."

After Tracy was bewildered at that point for a moment a small cat appeared around her.

It was a red-furred cat that resembled Tracy's hair color.

"Eh, eeh? What's this?"

"A cat? Suddenly?"

A cat jumping out from nowhere.

Tracy looked down with unbelieving eyes at the cat rubbing its head against her leg.

"Why, why is this......?"

"See? It's evidence that you're not properly controlling your thoughts."

"But this is just a cat."

"Is it really just a cat?"

Flora lowered her voice.

Tracy flinched at that chilling atmosphere.

"Can you really think that's a cat? What if it's actually a horrible monster mimicking that appearance? What if even the action of rubbing its head against you now isn't goodwill but a trick to make you let your guard down?"

Flora's words seeped into Tracy's ears like a curse.

Tracy's brain forcefully squeezed out imagination she didn't want.

No. Don't recall it. Don't try to think about it.

Contrary to Tracy's wishes, her head had already fully accepted what Flora said.

-Kyaak!

The face of the cat at Tracy's feet became horribly distorted.

Its mouth split wide open and just as sharp teeth tried to bite Tracy's ankle.

-Bang!

The flash of magic power that Flora shot blew away the monster's head.

The monster in the form of a cat turned into smoke and scattered.

Tracy clenched her fists while sweating cold sweat.

"See? When people are told not to do something, they rather become more fixated on that part. How do you plan to handle power that doesn't work according to your will?"

Flora's gaze swept over the other students.

The expressions of students who had been excited by the monster cat's appearance just before had sunk heavily.

"The same goes for you all. The power manifested here is certainly amazing, but if you use it wrongly, then it will act as a great poison. What the result will be, well, I'll leave that to your imagination."

In reality, Dream Walkers exploring the middle layer considered mental training essential to avoid being consumed by their unconscious.

People cannot be perfect.

Even someone bright and positive could occasionally fall into depression due to poor condition.

And in Dreamland, such negative and depressing thoughts act as reality that confronts you.

"You need to thoroughly dominate your unconscious and emotions, but is that possible without training?"

"Bu-but Aidan......"

"Aidan? He's different from you all. You know that too, right?"

Aidan has a character that's naive and straight to the point of seeming foolish.

He doesn't easily doubt people and always approaches things with goodwill and that mindset even leads to action without hesitation.

He was a righteous person unsuited to this era.

That which didn't suit thoroughly rational and calculating magicians, after going round and round, gave wings to Aidan here.

A result created by innate disposition and instinct rather than calculation.

It was like a passage from a story saying effort will certainly be rewarded.

"Well. If you understand, stop arguing and move. We don't have time to do this now."

Flora didn't want to stay in one place even for a moment because while they were dawdling like this, the threat existing above would be coming down lower and lower.

* * *

In the depths of Dreamland, where all time and concepts were distorted, the sound of humming quietly echoed.

Nirva continued humming as if enjoying himself before soon narrowing his eyes.

His golden-flowing eyes turned in one direction.

"What a nostalgic face. It seems like it's been a while since we met, have you been well?"

Nirva showed a benevolent smile toward the man who appeared before him, Zero Order.

"So what business do you have here? If you're thinking of joining my great cause, I'll gladly accept you."

"Join?"

Zero Order snickered at those words.

"I came to declare war."