Chapter 433: The Path to Overcome (1)

Words : 2220 Updated : Oct 17th, 2025

Rudger looked down at the ballroom from the second-floor railing. Although the contest had ended, the ball was not yet over. Paired students were dancing the waltz, holding hands with each other. Everywhere, one could see girls shyly lowering their heads and boys blushing. Among them, some rather unique combinations caught the eye. Aidan awkwardly taking steps while Tracy Priad leading him with joy despite her apparent resignation. Near them, Iona and Leo were also together. Despite their considerable height difference, Iona was naturally matching Leo's footsteps. Rudger silently laughed to himself watching this scene. It was a fresh and peaceful sight. This place didn't suit someone like him who was full of lies but just for this moment, perhaps he could be allowed to watch. After all, the festival night had not yet ended. * * * "Ugh." Gregorium raised his upper body while clutching his aching head. The blanket that had covered him fell to the floor. "This is..." An abandoned carriage with no one around. Gregorium couldn't understand why he was lying here. His mind was hazy and dull, as if he had just woken from a long dream. "Ah, right. First, I should go home and..." Gregorium muttered to himself as if remembering something and got out of the carriage. He picked up his luggage and slowly walked toward the train station. Zero Order, who was watching this scene from the building's rooftop, asked his subordinate. "How long did it take?" "Exactly 3 days, sir." "Hmm. 3 days, huh." "What do you think?" To his subordinate's question, who had been disguised as a coachman, Zero Order shrugged with a smirk. "To be honest, it's very ambiguous. If he had woken up even a little earlier, he would have dismissed his suspicions, and if even a little later, I would have been certain." Zero Order's eyes narrowed. "For it to be exactly right like this, the timing is too coincidental. If nothing else, I can tell that the seal has weakened. I knew it was about time, but it's not a good sign." "...Is that Apostle so dangerous?" To his subordinate's question, Zero Order shrugged. "All Apostles are dangerous. Their innate powers are nothing to take lightly. Especially him. We Apostles don't get along particularly well, but we're not exactly on bad terms either." "I see." "But he's different. He's hostile to all Apostles, and we're all hostile to him. From the start, what we pursue is the same yet different." Above all, the most terrifying thing was his power. "He's a cunning and cowardly bastard. If something isn't advantageous to him, he won't even engage in battle. That's why we sent this canary, and while I'm a bit worried, it turned out to be an anticlimactic ending." "Then would it be alright if I went to check?" "No." Zero Order spoke firmly. It was an unusual side of him, who normally said to do whatever one wanted. In other words, it meant that confronting the Apostle of Dreams was that dangerous. "Even you, a Dream Walker, can't handle him. The same goes for everyone in your school combined. If you go, you'll certainly die." "Then what will you do about Gregorium?" "Leave him be for now. Although he slept for quite a while, the fact that he came back means he didn't encounter him." Zero Order muttered while watching Gregorium's retreating figure. "Still, we should keep tabs on him just in case." * * * Time passed after the long-awaited ball ended and changes continued to occur in daily life. The biggest change among them would be related to [House of Verdi]. The overwhelming performance of Rene's magic dress at the ball had properly spread by word of mouth. Considering the number of people who attended and that most were nobles, this was natural. Talk of House of Verdi's dress circulated in all social circles, and love calls from people wanting to wear magic dresses never ceased. Thanks to this, Violetta began spending busy days, but her expression was brighter than ever. Recently, requests for collaboration came in from other brands, and her reputation soared day by day. Another notable change was Rene. As the winner of the Miss Contest, Rene became Theon's hot topic. In fact, even at the beginning of the semester, she was known through word of mouth for her mysterious and beautiful appearance that didn't match her commoner status. But with her appearance in the magic dress, her boldness in asking Rudger for a dance, and her close relationship with Erendir, she became the ultimate center of attention. As a result, Rene had to feel exhausted every day due to students trying to act familiar and friendly with her. Wasn't she happy to receive treatment she hadn't gotten before? Not at all. Rene also considered building relationships with others relatively important. 'But how can I become friends when their intentions are so obvious?' Of course, thinking rationally, she could have associated with them despite knowing this. After all, human relationships weren't always based purely on goodwill. She could have just gone along with it, smiled, and maintained appropriate boundaries but Rene couldn't do that. Due to the influence of her innate Judgment Eye, she had something like a physiological aversion. 'Ugh. So tired.' Although she had received attention before while participating in the clinical trials for magic suppression drugs, compared to then, now was much more difficult. The fortunate thing was that thanks to Erendir and Freuden, people didn't openly bother her or approach too blatantly. "Are you okay?" Erendir asked with a worried face beside her but somehow, there seemed to be a hint of envy in his eyes. ‘No way. That couldn't be right. Rene decided not to doubt her senior's pure goodwill. "I'm quite tired, but it's gotten a bit quieter recently, so I'm okay." "Well, that makes sense." Erendir nodded as if he had an idea why. After the ballroom contest, Rene's popularity among male students had skyrocketed. Especially since she wasn't a noble but a commoner, which made her seem more approachable, contributed even more to her popularity. Yet despite this, while female students approached Rene, male students did not. This was because of Freuden Ulburg and Henry Presto. Since both of them were openly protecting Rene, unless someone had considerable courage, they wouldn't even think of approaching. Freuden handled all of these actions quietly where Rene couldn't see, and Rene didn't know such things were happening. Erendir shook her head thinking of Freuden’s behavior. 'He might try to deny it, but he really does take after the Ulburg family head.' Freuden would probably hate hearing that and react with disgust. After all, he didn't have a good relationship with his father. "Ah, right." Just then, Rene raised her lowered head as if remembering something. "I have somewhere I need to go, so I'll leave first." "Where are you going?" "To Professor Rudger's office!" "What?" When Rudger's name came up, Erendir's eyes immediately filled with bewilderment. "You, surely not already....Come to think of it, things seemed unusual from that day at the ballroom." "What?" Rene was puzzled by Erendir's words, wondering what she meant, but when she finally realized what she was implying, her face turned bright red. "Th-that's not it! Senior, you're misunderstanding!" "If it's not that, then why are you going to his office?" "I'm going to receive source code magic instruction. There are several others going to receive it too." "Ah." Erendir nodded as if understanding. "After receiving this framework, it will be the end." "So you've consistently maintained your ranking. Just how hard have you been studying?" "Huh? Well, it's a student's duty, isn't it?" "...Duty. That's right." Erendir's expression sank gloomily. After all, she hadn't properly fulfilled her duties as a student. "I'll go ahead!" It was an opportunity to learn new magic. Rene headed to the office where Rudger was waiting, carrying an excited heart. Students passing by on the way recognized Rene, but she deliberately ignored them. In the office she arrived at, quite a few people were already waiting and at the center, sitting at the office desk, Rudger's figure was the most noticeable. "So you've come." Despite this being the occasion to give out his original source code magic, his voice was utterly indifferent. Rene recalled that warm voice Rudger had used with her at the ballroom. Like scattered grains of sand fading away, that scene from then, which had surely been a vivid reality, felt distant like a dream. "Everyone's here. As you know, this is where I'll give you the fourth framework of my source code magic." Rudger briefly looked over the students. From the left in order: Flora Lumos, Julia Plumhart, Tracy Priad, Leo and lastly, Rene who had just entered. "As promised, I'll give you the final framework containing the formula for source code magic. Come forward in the order I call." At those words, each student approached Rudger filled with tension and anticipation. Rudger, keeping his word, presented the framework to everyone. With this, the students who had consistently maintained their rankings throughout the semester could now use Rudger's source code. "Does anyone have any questions?" "Can we teach this to other people?" The one who asked was Julia Plumhart. Everyone else turned to look at her, as if they hadn't expected such a question here but Julia maintained her usual smile that concealed her true thoughts while staring at Rudger. As if expecting to see his reaction if someone were to spread the magic he valued so much to just anyone. "I don't mind." However, Rudger's answer was enough to cause even greater surprise. "Do you really mean that?" Even Julia, who had asked the question, carefully inquired as if she hadn't expected this. "Do I have any reason to lie here? You can go out right now and spread it far and wide for all I care. Rather, I'd like to encourage that." "Why?" This time it was Flora who asked. She sent a fiery gaze as if she truly couldn't understand. "That's magic that Professor Rudger created." "Yes. I created it and I gave it to you." "Isn't a magician's original magic an extremely important secret?" "If I truly didn't want to tell anyone about this, why would I have given it to you in the first place?" "But..." "You can tell others about it, and you can even completely take apart the source code and reconstruct it in your own way. Whatever you do with it is your freedom. Just one thing - I'd prefer it if you didn't sell it for money." The students still looked unconvinced even after hearing this. "What do you think would happen if there were ways to use the source code that I don't know about?" "Is that possible? Someone else knowing something that you, the creator, don't know?" "Just because I created it, why are you so certain it's perfect?" "Well, because you made it, Professor Rudger." "Do you think I'm perfect?" At that point, Flora closed her mouth but her slightly disgruntled expression seemed full of the sentiment 'Aren't you?' "While I appreciate you thinking highly of me, I too am someone who makes mistakes and fails. Not everything I know can be said to be true or right. If you believe that, I recommend changing your thinking." "Because it inhibits the expansion of thought, right?" The one who spoke was Rene. Rudger nodded with satisfaction at that answer. "That's exactly it. The moment you believe my magic is perfect, that's where source code ends. There will be no further development. But if you continue to think it's flawed and look for ways to improve it, that's when the real beginning starts." Sharing different opinions, clashing, finding points of agreement, and seeking the best solutions, that's how the world has developed and the same was true for magic. "Let me give you an example. There was a rumor that man-eating beast-folk lived in the remote southern lands. This was claimed by an adventurer who had explored the remote region. Do you think people would believe those words?" "They wouldn't, right?" "Even with testimony but no evidence?" "Well...no, they wouldn't." "But what if the same claim about man-eating beast-folk was made not by an adventurer, but by a renowned archaeologist or historian? Someone with an excellent reputation in academia." After thinking for a moment, all the students gave the same answer. "Well, everyone would believe it then." "Why do you think that?" "Well, because of the reputation that person has built in academia. If someone like that makes a claim, it carries enormous credibility even without evidence." Rudger nodded. "But what if that person intentionally spread such distorted information? What would you do then?"

Chapter 433: The Path to Overcome (1)

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