I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 521

"Declaration of war? Hahaha!"

Nirva burst into laughter as if amused by Zero Order's declaration.

"Your sense of humor has improved a lot while I haven't seen you. Well, it's not strange. You've had different intentions from me since ancient times. Especially among the apostles."

"Nonsense. You alone had different intentions from all of us."

Just because they're apostles doesn't mean they're all close but that doesn't mean they have seriously hostile relationships with other apostles either.

If there was a single exception it would be Nirva, who is currently causing the sleeping sickness crisis.

"That's a bit of a misleading statement. I, like you all, share the same thought of wanting to fix this wrong world back to normal."

"Normal? Am I misunderstanding the meaning of the word normal? Which part of this world right now is normal?"

"Rather, it's beyond that. This place is the cradle for saving everyone. Even those lowly ones who don't know the truth can receive the goddess's grace."

"Is that grace making them sleep forever without waking up?"

Nirva nodded with his hands behind his back.

"The dream world is where everyone's hopes are realized. Isn't it grace to live here forever?"

"That's just escaping reality."

"This can become reality. If the goddess rises again, that is."

"The goddess, huh."

Zero Order turned his head to stare at the huge obelisk and the amorphous mass buried and sleeping beneath it.

Though it looks like that now, she was once one of the goddesses who bestowed dreams upon all things.

Until her sovereignty was usurped by the chief god Lumensis, that is.

"Not a very favorable reaction."

"Didn't I tell you? Making everyone live in dreams is just escaping reality."

"Could it be that you're just jealous that I have a goddess?"

Nirva sneered at Zero Order.

"Who are the apostles that remain intact now? Just you and the Dragon Princess? How sad. Being an apostle without a god to serve. At this rate, you're no different from what people call demons."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that your reason for trying to interfere with me isn't about any grand cause or anything. I think it might be for a very personal reason."

"You're talking nonsense. Did sleeping too long do something to your head?"

"My mind is clearer and purer than ever. Since sleep is my solace, you could say I'm more normal the longer I've slept."

"The fact that you're saying such things proves you're strange."

Zero Order turned his back as if he didn't want to listen anymore.

His purpose was to declare war on Nirva anyway, while checking the state of the depths.

"Are you leaving?"

"Why? Are you going to stop me?"

"Haha. Of course not. Why would I do that?"

Nirva's voice was full of composure as he said this.

The confidence that could only come from someone who has all situations under control in the palm of their hand.

In fact, Nirva had enough qualifications to show such arrogance.

"When the goddess awakens, her power will make all living beings on the continent fall asleep. Aren't you looking forward to it already? I wonder how Lumensis will react when he sees his beautiful caged birds sleeping like they're dead."

"Well. If nothing else, I can clearly see that what you're doing is no different from what Lumensis did."

"That's quite an insult I find hard to take."

From the moment the name Lumensis was mentioned, subtle anger had been flowing from Nirva.

To Nirva, Lumensis was a usurper who stole his position without knowing his place.

The arrogant Lumensis turned this world into his cage, or aquarium, just because it was convenient for observation.

To compare someone with such noble will as himself to such a person, Nirva couldn't help but be deeply displeased.

"You can belittle my will as you please. But mocking my goddess is something I find difficult to overlook."

-Whoosh.

Golden sand began to swirl like a storm around Nirva.

Even faced with this ominous sight, Zero Order showed no sign of fear or intimidation.

Seeing Zero Order's reaction, Nirva clicked his tongue and withdrew his aura.

After all, this Zero Order here isn't real.

He merely sent down something close to his avatar.

It would be easy to eliminate it here, but that wouldn't affect the main body at all.

"Right. I'll take note of your declaration of war. Is that all you have to say? I'm quite disappointed. I thought you would come down yourself."

"There are many others who want to kill you besides me. I also plan to support those people in my own way."

"Hahaha. You're still the same as before, handling things sneakily while avoiding getting your own hands dirty."

"Think what you want."

As Zero Order was about to leave with those words, Nirva's words flew at his back.

"You know what? I can sense the changes and flows of the outside world even while sleeping for a long time. Just by staying still in this dream world, people's information and knowledge flows in."

"What are you suddenly talking about?"

"What I want to say is this. From the moment I fell asleep until now, throughout that very long time, I've been able to observe the outside world."

Zero Order turned his head to stare at Nirva.

Nirva grinned at Zero Order's reaction.

"I can roughly guess what your purpose is."

"......"

"But like a gentleman, I won't deliberately spread it around. After all, when my goddess awakens, all of that will become meaningless. However, I can make one suggestion."

"What suggestion?"

"If you decide to join my cause, you too could get what you want in this world. How about it? Doesn't that interest you?"

Zero Order snorted at those words.

"Not at all."

Leaving only those words, Zero Order disappeared from his spot, enveloped in the green light from the ring on his hand.

Nirva stared at the empty space where Zero Order had left for a moment, then sat down heavily.

The golden sand formed a chair to support his skeletal body.

"People who want to kill me, huh."

For Zero Order to say something like that means he must have found quite capable people.

Though uncertain how many there are, Nirva felt he knew at least one of them for sure.

"Rudger Chelici was it?"

Through the information accessed in dreams, he could know the basic profile of that man.

An excellent magician and teacher. Also a skilled individual hiding his true identity.

But more than his roughly revealed appearance, it was his momentary resistance to the authority that irritated Nirva.

"He bothers me in a peculiar way."

If one had to pick the person with the highest risk level, it would have to be Rudger Chelici.

And Nirva didn't carelessly overlook such aspects.

"Originally I planned to observe the situation with patience, but a little pushing shouldn't hurt."

Nirva snapped his fingers.

The sound was so insignificant and feeble.

But what about up above?

"A butterfly's small wingbeat here will become a storm raging up there."

The golden current flowing from Nirva's fingertips split into 5 and rose like smoke.

O living beings.

Come down. And sink deeper.

Only then can you face your true selves.

Thus escaping from the mundane world.

You shall belong to the eternal world.

* * *

The Dream Walkers selected for the emergency disaster response team quickly prepared their magic.

"Don't approach this area."

"That golden powder will soon expand its range. Please step back as getting closer will only make things harder."

The Dream Walkers who entered their mission cast aside lightness and moved sharply.

The current situation was an unprecedented incident that even they couldn't ignore.

They had to stop it before things got bigger, even if it meant using all the power of the Dream School.

"Preparations complete."

The Dream School magicians each sat in their positions on the magic circle drawn on the ground.

They sat and went into meditation with their eyes closed.

"Everyone stay sharp."

There was no answer to Clara's question, but that was enough.

Clara Cowen stood in the center of the magic circle and lightly tapped her staff on the ground.

The magical wave that burst from the staff tip mixed with the magic circle, emitting a brilliant green light and formed a complete magic circle.

The consciousness of the Dream Walkers with closed eyes within it sank down and entered the Dream Land.

The feeling of diving under the endless sea of consciousness lasted only briefly.

Soon the Dream Walkers were able to reach the upper layer of Dream Land.

The upper layer of Dreamland where endless night exists was quite familiar to them.

But this time even the Dream Walkers couldn't maintain relaxed expressions.

"This is......"

"The situation is more serious than we thought."

Holes were punched all over the upper layer of Dreamland as if mice had eaten through it.

-Rumble.

The corner of that towering huge mountain collapsed.

Along with hazy smoke, the debris fell into the massive hole that had formed in the ground.

The sinkhole was originally huge, but now it had grown large enough to swallow an entire mountain whole.

"How did Dreamland......"

"The upper layer of Dreamland itself couldn't withstand the excessive load."

Clara answered Zantman's muttering.

"Too many people's minds fell into the upper layer. As a result, the load became higher than originally intended and it started breaking."

"Isn't the surface layer in danger too then?"

"Probably. When the pillars in the middle disappear, the ceiling collapses in an instant. However......"

Clara felt something strange about the half-ruined landscape of the upper layer.

The upper layer wouldn't become this devastated simply because many people fell in.

There must be some other reason besides that.

'That huge vibration I saw in my dream that day. Was it because of that?'

Before Clara's contemplation could finish, one of the Dream Walkers shouted.

"Master! I see survivors over there!"

Looking in that direction, they could see people gathered in the distance.

The Dream Walkers slowly approached the group of survivors.

"There are fewer people than expected?"

Zantman wondered at the surprisingly small number of survivors.

If all the people of Leathervelk had fallen here, that would mean nearly hundreds of thousands of people but the visible number didn't even look like 100,000.

Of course that was still a large number, but there's a big difference between at least 500,000 and less than 100,000.

"W-who are you?"

At that moment, a chubby middle-aged man approached through the crowd.

Zantman stepped forward.

"We are Dream Walkers belonging to the Dream School. We've come out to resolve this situation."

At the words Dream Walker, relief showed on the middle-aged man's face.

"Ah, ah! Thank heavens! Then does that mean we can escape from here?"

"We'll have to see about that, but who are you? Are you something like the person in charge here?"

"A-ahem. I am Hugo Burtag, a teacher at Theon. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

Though asked with some confidence, the response was quite unsatisfying.

"Don't know you?"

"Y-you don't know of the Burtag marquis family?"

"Does anyone know him?"

Zantman asked the school magicians.

"Don't know."

"Where's that from?"

"Is it famous?"

Then one Dream School magician shouted.

"Ah! It's Theon!"

" Theon? Isn't that where our youngest goes?"

"Ah. So he's a workplace colleague of that Rudger Chelici fellow?"

"That's right!"

Hugo's expression crumpled miserably as he overheard.

They don't know the Burtag marquis family but think of Rudger first at the mention of Theon?

'Just how far will that man...!'

It felt like both his noble honor and pride were being stained but Hugo wasn't stupid enough to express irritation in this situation.

For now, if these magicians before him were really Dream Walkers as they introduced themselves.

They would help them escape from this terrible world as soon as possible.

"So when can we get out?"

"Where are the other people?"

At Zantman's question, Hugo opened his eyes wide as if wondering why he would ask that.

Still, knowing the other party was quite high-ranking magicians, he answered politely.

"The people fell through holes that formed in the ground and dropped below."

"Holes......"

"Quite many people disappeared into the first hole that formed, and after that, bigger holes kept appearing. Along with earthquakes. If we don't escape quickly now, we'll all be swept away too!"

Though there was some exaggeration in Hugo's words, he only conveyed the truth.

The Dream Walkers exchanged serious glances with each other.

They came straight down to the upper layer beyond the surface layer, but more than half the city's population had fallen below?

"Seems they were swept into the middle layer."

At Clara's words, the Dream Walkers' expressions hardened even more.

The middle layer of Dreamland was an environment regular people would find hard to handle.

They couldn't guarantee how many of those who fell would survive.

"Everyone heard that?"

Zantman summarized the situation.

"We need to divide people here first. If people have fallen to the middle layer, we don't have time to dawdle in a place like this. Quickly divide the personnel and prepare to go down."

At those words, the Dream Walkers put down their belongings on the ground with a thud.

It was a large case bag big enough for a whole person to fit in.

"W-what's that?"

Hugo stared intently at the case with expectant eyes.

Given that the Dream Walkers brought it in this situation, it must be something important.

It was inevitable that it looked like a rope of salvation.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but it's not what you're expecting, so lose interest."

Zantman cut Hugo off before he could say anything unnecessary.

"Then what exactly is it?"

"Would you understand if I called it a diving suit?"

"Diving suit?"

Zantman seemed to judge that showing was faster than explaining, as he opened one of the cases.

Hugo's eyes bulged at seeing what was inside.

"It's the finest magical tool used by Dream Walkers."

Hugo couldn't say anything.

His trembling eyes were fixed like nails on the text written on the item in the case.

[Rudger Chelici]

Because he realized who this magical tool called a diving suit was made for.