Nanomancer Rising: Divine Alchemist Reborn as Academy's Worst Teacher
Chapter 64: Estimated Time Until Task’s Completion:

Chapter 64: Estimated Time Until Task’s Completion:

Theo’s walk over to the academy’s library forced him to acknowledge how things could change in as little as just a single day.

Where he wouldn’t attract anything but ill-wishing stares before, he had now become a high-key figure that attracted all sorts of looks.

Sure, there were still some glances etched with jealousy, anger, or outright hostility, but from the only kind of attention that Theo would receive while out in the open, they had now turned into a minority.

After the whole trial thing, a lot more people grew to be curious about him. And while the headmaster put on a gag order on all that happened during the trial... This was an academy celebrating merit and ability, not a noble court where one could get a spot just by the benefit of being born to the right family.

In here, even with all the news about the trial itself blocked, white espionage was still a thing. Or rather, what would grow to become white espionage in the modern future of this world was now nothing beyond simple common sense. After all, while no one would dare to speak about what happened during the trial, its results were for all to see.

The disgrace of the quite popular teacher Julius followed by the immediate sacking of his personal wealth? The sudden influx of the goods that he was known to harbor into the market? Or even the two students, one of whom used to be Julius’ own, now running all over the place offering to sell off formerly Julius’ wealth for something as meaningless as gold, often happily accepting prices not even amounting to half of the items’ original value?

Those things were all out in the open for everyone to see, even if the news had yet to fully circulate. And yet, even with so little, those who had an interest in staying informed now made sure to find themselves somewhere along Theo’s path, re-assessing his value and potential influence over their own plans and politics.

For Theo, however, all of those stares, whether born out of hostility, curiosity, or mere desire to preserve their self-interest, only served as a reminder of just how little he wanted to remain in this place.

’I know this place is supposed to be an ersatz of what the world outside will look like, but does this even apply to someone who has no interest in the court politics?’ he considered as he crossed through the busier roads before finally arriving in one of the academy’s lesser libraries.

While not as well-stocked with books and manuals as the main library, it also came with the benefit of attracting a much lesser crowd.

Sure, it only held the cheapest and most basic stuff that one could easily buy out on the market with their own means. In a way, it was there, just like any of its three copies dotted around the academy, not for all to use but for the absolute newbies to get easy access to the basic information without the need to mingle and deal with all of their seniors and teachers.

For Theo, however, it was still a treasure trove he could easily benefit from while limiting the number of eyes that his actions would bring upon himself.

"Now, it’s time to get to work."

Muttering to himself, Theo pushed the doors to the relatively modest building open, merely flashing his teaching token as he passed by the reception desk.

While a separate branch, this place was still affiliated with the academy’s main library, making it so that all of the procedures would be exactly the same between the branches, allowing Theo an easy and unrestrained access to the library’s open vault.

And what a vault it was!

After passing the reception desk and then crossing the length of a short, narrow corridor, Theo suddenly emerged out into a huge, open hall that rose as high as four stories into the sky. When it came to the levels in the building, however, there wasn’t anything of the sort in there.

Instead, all the bookshelves rose from the very floor of the bottom floor and then all the way to the domed ceiling, forcing everyone first onto the floor and then, if they desired to check out books kept somewhere higher, to use the simple, wooden scaffolding that filled every free inch of space between each of the floors.

Normally, for someone on Theo’s current level, there would be absolutely no point in staying down on the ground, with all that he could find even most remotely interesting locked as close to the ceiling as it could get.

And yet...

And yet, rather than rushing up the wooden pathways hanging off the scaffolding to reach the library’s top, Theo merely found a spot that was free from any students before reaching out and pulling out a seemingly random book that he then appeared to fully immerse himself into reading.

He didn’t bring the book over to a scribbling stand where he could take notes out of it. He didn’t even bring it away to read it in the greater comfort offered by any of the reading chambers located all around the perimeter of the ground floor.

No.

All he did was stand in place as he slowly yet steadily turned the pages of the manual on the basics of weaving mana into external structures.

That is, that’s all that Theo did according to any of those who found themselves bored and free enough to follow him into the library, with all of them missing the exact same force that Theo used to first exhibit his prowess back at the trial. And by the time Theo reached roughly the halfway point of the treaty he made himself appear to be studying, a notification he desired finally appeared before his eyes.

<Spreading of the nanite-cloud completed>

The hive announced.

<Please stand by while the nanites process the books>

<Estimated time until task’s completion: 3 hours, eleven minutes>

Theo involuntarily raised his eyebrows, taken aback by just one element of his system’s notification.

’Since when was the hive kind enough as to give me an estimated time needed for the job?’