The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 83

There was a somewhat reasonable reason for Amon’s resignation announcement.

‘If Ami finds out that the practical training will be in a dungeon, it’s going to cause a huge commotion. She’ll probably make a fuss about wanting to take the dungeon apart and grab all the wealth and fame. Moreover, she’ll probably throw a tantrum about going to a high-difficulty dungeon.’

Why does Amon think so?

Because if Amon were a student, he would do the same!

‘Yeah, no need to get involved in such bothersome things. Stability, peace! Those are words I like more than wealth and fame.’

In the first place, most teachers of non-combat subjects don’t actually enter dungeons, and it’s true that Amon is a history teacher.

So, it wouldn’t be strange for him to pass it off to the enthusiastic Kai or the actual combat-related teachers like Sloth and Marion.

“Amon, are you really not going to go as the guide teacher?”

“That’s right, Headmaster.”

“Hmmm…”

Anar’el, who was tilting her head as if she hadn’t expected this, said:

“Do you know that the loot found in dungeons is split between the teachers and the students?”

“I didn’t know, Headmaster. I’ll go as the guide teacher.”

A lightning-fast recognition and change of stance!

Sloth nodded.

“I knew it.”

“Ugh… Amon, do you even know what the word conviction means?”

At Marion’s rebuke, Amon shook his head.

“A person should know how to admit their mistakes.”

At those words, Kai let out an exclamation.

“As expected of senior Amon! To admit and accept your own shortcomings!”

Though his admiration was sincere, Amon, whose inner closeness with Kai had plummeted, took it differently.

‘Is this brat mocking me?’

However, since Amon adhered to stability and peace as his guiding principles, he had no intention of rebuking Kai over this.

He just thought to himself that he shouldn’t be close to Kai for a while!

Anyway, Anar’el waved her hand to calm down the teachers’ murmuring and spoke.

“Then, Amon, you’ll be in charge of Ami and Rustianel.”

“…Understood.”

Amon’s face darkened quickly as he imagined the upcoming difficulties and challenges.

But slowly, his expression brightened as he thought.

‘Right, the dungeon loot. Ami’s share will be mine. How much did I spend on her tuition? And Rustianel, being a dragon, probably has all sorts of valuable treasures piled up in her cave, so she won’t care about any small loot…’

In the end, the blood of Ami and Rustianel would be his share!

Amon smiled brightly.

‘Ami and Rustianel could probably clear five or six dungeons a day!’

As Amon was grinning, he suddenly looked at Anar’el.

“Wait a second, Headmaster.”

“Yes?”

“By the way, do we even have a proper dungeon these days?”

As expected, the Empire had long since swept away dangerous areas and dungeons that might harm civilians using its powerful military forces.

The recent bounty on the King Wyvern by the Silver Sword Mercenaries had been quite an unusual occurrence.

‘She’s not trying to go to a mage guild’s dungeon or anything, is she?’

Mage guilds have fake dungeons created by mages for novice adventurers.

There were a few of these dungeons in Amur as well, and I had heard that mercenaries used them to test and train newcomers.

‘The problem is, they don’t bring in money. Those are places with fake monsters created by illusion magic.’

But ‘Adult Amon’ bowed his head and ‘Teacher Amon’ raised it.

‘…Well, sure. It’s dungeon training for the students, right? It’s better to practice in one of those places than to risk going into a dangerous dungeon.’

I’m sure Anar’el’s earlier mention of loot was meant to motivate him to step up as the guide teacher.

‘In that sense, our pesky elf is sometimes quite clever.’

As Amon was grinning, Anar’el flapped her ears and chuckled.

“Don’t worry, Amon.”

“You have a good idea, I see.”

“Yes, exactly! It’s…”

“Mage guild dungeon, right?”

Even though he knew the answer, Amon asked the question anyway, and Anar’el waved her finger and ears, saying:

“No! It’s a top-tier, high-difficulty dungeon!”

“…What?”

Anar’el slammed her hand on the documents spread on the desk.

“Recently, with the failure of the Velslime Wasteland project, the Empire’s military power has diminished!”

“Wait, no way.”

“Because of that, numerous dungeons have appeared in the vacant areas! As a result, countless requests have been pouring in to the guilds! Our academy has been able to secure several!”

“…”

Amon, seemingly entranced, picked up one of the papers on the desk.

[The Bog Mountain Ogre Horde]

[Difficulty: High]

Amon rubbed his forehead with his hand.

[The Undead Cave behind Zorga’s Domain]

[Difficulty: Highest]

Amon clenched his teeth tightly.

[The Lich’s Army that ravaged Barbaran Village]

[Difficulty: Unknown]

Amon, his eyes squeezed shut, spoke quietly.

“…Teachers.”

Sloth and Marion, who had been peeking at the papers behind him, coughed awkwardly and spoke.

“Cough…Alright, Amon. Let’s head out now.”

Sloth, Marion, and Kai left the headmaster’s office, and as the teachers suddenly left, Anar’el tilted her head as if asking where they were going.

Amon raised his tightly clenched fist and slammed it down on Anar’el’s head, shouting:

“Are you trying to get all our students killed?!”

“AAAH!”

“Sniff…”

As Anar’el sniffled, Amon glared at her and sighed while flipping through the rest of the papers.

“Headmaster, are you out of your mind? How did you manage to bring back nothing but these ridiculous requests? Even seasoned mercenaries would have to work through the night to handle most of these.”

The easiest request, the “Ogre Horde Subjugation,” wasn’t exactly harmless.

Ogres, in the first place, don’t live in groups; they are solitary, like tigers of the mountains!

So, if ogres were living in groups, it meant that they had probably thought, ‘Ah, we’re going to die all at once, so let’s huddle up together.’

In other words, a dangerous existence that could potentially turn ogres into a quick snack was lurking somewhere.

‘In that case, the Undead Cave with the highest difficulty would be easier to deal with.’

Undead themselves aren’t that difficult to handle.

There had been an incident in the past where an old, sick, lost necromancer mistakenly entered the Drake territory, got beaten up by the locals, and was handed over to the nearby city’s knight order.

‘If it’s a high-level undead like a Death Knight, it would be tough, but skeletons or Dullahans wouldn’t be that difficult to handle. Of course, that’s only because they’re our territory’s people.’

In other words, Amon felt that although Raymond, as a Sword Master, wouldn’t have a problem in the Undead Cave, he had serious concerns about putting Chloe or Boris into such a dungeon.

‘The dungeon they’ll experience should be something suited for our academy. But a Lich? That’s the kind of legendary monster even an Elder Drake would bow down to. This is crazy, it’s insane.’

It seemed that Anar’el had brought these troublesome requests with no solutions, gleefully, as if they were something she could handle.

Amon could easily imagine the faces of the guild members looking at Anar’el’s back with disdain as she carried requests that couldn’t even be solved.

“Sniff. But…”

“What? What’s the matter?”

Anar’el, who was nervously fidgeting, twisted her ears and spoke.

“Our academy’s teaching staff is outstanding, right? If we solve these requests, the academy’s situation will improve dramatically…”

“…”

“If we report this as an achievement, new students and new teachers will flock to our academy like a cloud.”

It wasn’t a completely wrong statement.

Marion is a war hero, Sloth is a Sword Master from the Pid family, Kai is skilled in both swordsmanship and magic!

The security chief (with no subordinates) and the gatekeeper is a famous Grand Sword Master!

Headmaster Anar’el herself has considerable magic skills, and Brestle is a master of dark magic!

‘I’m confident in physical strength as well.’

As she said, if such talents step in, the monsters would quickly give up their lives, sticking their necks out to be slain.

So, while agreeing with Anar’el’s opinion, Amon, as the head of the faculty department, felt the need to give the headmaster proper advice.

“Headmaster.”

“…Sniff! Yes.”

“Think carefully. What we’re doing here is practical training. The safety of the students is the most important thing. There’s no need to seek out dangerous tasks.”

“But…”

“There’s no ‘but’. I understand your desire to revive the academy, but there’s a saying, ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’”

Amon put down the paper.

“We don’t need to rush by putting the students in danger.”

“…Amon.”

Anar’el’s ears trembled as she felt the weight of Amon’s words, his correct mindset as an educator.

“I see now. I must have been blind.”

She sighed deeply.

“Then, let’s prepare the dungeon as we discussed.”

Amon, nodding gently, took out a different piece of paper.

‘Here it is.’

The one on the list that was closest to the difficulty level Amon would have expected: [The Hidden Dungeon of the Black Forest].

“However.”

“……Yes?”

Amon, with his eyes closed, spoke in a firm voice.

“As I said, there’s no need to take risks. That means, if it’s not dangerous, we can proceed without hesitation, right?”

“……Ah, teacher Amon. You can’t be serious!”

Amon smiled warmly and pointed at himself.

“My younger sister Ami, and Rustianel, the dragon. And as the guide teacher, Amon!”

“Ah, aaah……!”

“If it’s the three of us, ogres? Undead? Liches? What could possibly scare us?”

“Ahhhh! Teacher Amon!”

“Headmaster, you just need to be ready to greet the new students and new teachers that will flock to us like a cloud!”

Anar’el, teary-eyed with emotion, and Amon, trembling with excitement as he envisioned the wealth and glory ahead.

‘Done. Perfect.’

With a dungeon at this level, Ami would probably be rolling around and whining, saying, ‘What? This is a dungeon? Lame. Let’s go somewhere more dangerous!’ but he wouldn’t have to witness that.

‘Moreover, the gold-eating dragon might be able to compensate for the damage it caused me!’

Also, the academy’s reputation would rise as it accomplished feats like the ogre horde subjugation, clearing the undead cave, and defeating the lich!

As a result, Amon would be able to show off to Caselag, who had brought his bloodline into the great academy, and his younger sister’s diploma would shine brightly, and the glorious “Director of the Faculty Department, Amon Drake” would live a comfortable life!

It was the perfect trifecta that could fulfill every desire.

‘Moreover, if things go well, maybe even the emperor will view our family differently.’

Amon, smiling happily at such a perfect plan, spoke.

“Now, Headmaster, I will go prepare for departure.”

“Huh? Today, right away?”

“Strike while the iron is hot. You must act when there’s enthusiasm. Besides, I want to see Amonis Academy rise as soon as possible.”

“Ah! Teacher Amon!”

With Anar’el starting to act affectionate again, Amon left the headmaster’s office.

He was heading to get the adamantium sword he had received from Caselag.

In a hurry, as if there were a fire under their feet, Amon and his group set off from the academy!

Amon, Ami, Rustianel.

With these three, it wouldn’t be difficult to destroy a small town.

With such reliable forces, Anar’el was smiling, thinking that soon they would hear victory news.

‘Hehe, I hope teacher Amon gets his teaching certificate soon. There’s no one else I could trust with the position of Director of the Faculty Department except for him.’

While she was smiling, she suddenly froze in shock.

The communication magic crystal on the desk gleamed brightly.

“Th-the communication has been received. Who is this?”

“Ah! Headmaster, this is the Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“Ah, yes! You don’t need to worry about the request. Our party just set off!”

“I-is that so……!”

“Uh? I-is something the matter?”

The guildmaster hurriedly explained the current situation.

As Anar’el listened to the explanation, her face became more and more serious.