Free Web NovelChapter 10: Professor Kreuger
"All of you know about the recent increase in the ranks of newly appearing rifts, but did you know that this is a normal occurrence? Since the appearance of rifts, there have been exactly 4 times that the average rank of rifts increased. Can anyone tell me what causes this increase?"
The female professor glanced around the lecture hall, looking for someone to raise their hand. After a few moments of silence, a boy with glasses nervously raised his hand.
"What do you think is the cause?"
Luke watched as the boy pushed his glasses further up his nose, before answering the question.
"Um, is the increase in rift rank proportional to the increase of the average explorer rank?"
"Yes, that is correct."
Her gaze instantly shifted from the boy to the entire class.
"As humans have grown stronger, so has our greatest threat. Scholars have debated the reason for decades, but the prevailing theory is that extracting mana from existing rifts destabilizes the boundary between worlds, allowing new rifts to appear."
Luke’s ears finally perked up, hearing the professor lecture about information even Lucius hadn’t known.
"If this is the case, the more humanity clears rifts the more rifts that appear. This phenomenon is even more apparent on the other six continents, where their total destruction led to a large jump in rift rank. If not for our continent having the strongest explorers, none of us would be sitting in this lecture hall."
Just as she finished her words, a ringing blurted through the classroom.
"It seems like our time is up. I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow. If anyone has questions feel free to see me up front."
Luke took his time packing up, moving significantly slower than his classmates. By the time he descended the steps the singular exit was crammed with students, pushing and shoving to fit through the doorway. Luke didn’t care about their rush and walked up onto the stage where the professor was collection her things.
"Professor, I had a question."
The female professor turned around, her hair swinging wildly.
"Oh Kreuger, what is it today?"
"Professor, do you think that if enough mana was accumulated on Earth, a rift above the rank of SSS-Rank would appear?"
She raised her eyebrows at the question, but didn’t seem to find it out of the ordinary.
"No I don’t think there will be a rank above SSS. If enough mana did accumulate, we would most likely see a larger increase in the volume of newly appearing SSS-Rank rifts, instead of the current pace of one rift per year."
Luke wasn’t sure if her answer was the one he wanted to hear. He found himself becoming more confused, as the Spouse Bond System clearly showed Valeria’s deafness to be an injury ranked above SSS-Rank.
"Okay, thank you Professor."
She nodded back before Luke walked out of the now empty lecture hall and headed to his next class: Monster Strategy.
The class was on the third floor, which Luke quickly made his way to. He entered the lecture hall and climbed the steps to his seat at the back of class.
As he entered, the professor was already tinkering with an item on his desk.
"Alright class, settle down. For today’s class I am going to use the illusion projector to show you all various different monsters. I want you guys to say their ranks out loud and then what type of monster it is."
The professor clicked a button on the stone circular metal disc and a projection appeared on top of it. The illusion depicted a mole wielding a pickaxe, it was motionless as it hovered above the desk.
"F-Rank." The entire class said.
"Good, now what type of monster is it."
"Beast."
"Correct."
This was how the entire class went. By the fifth monster, Luke had zoned out. He thought about everything that had happened up until this point, but mainly about his life before coming to this world.
Consumed by his thoughts, the class passed in a flash. Luke had zoned back in when he heard the students all get up to leave. He followed, leaving for his next class.
The murmurs that had settled for the past two classes, seemed to have a second wind as Luke listened to their comments. He knew why the whispers started once again, that was because his next class, Spell Comprehension, was taught by none other than Valeria.
He did his best to drown out the glances, focusing on walking back to the first floor. Even when he arrived at the lecture hall the whispers didn’t cease, if anything they became louder. Luke silently walked up the stairs before he heard a girl talking to her friends.
"Isn’t it just so depressing watching her wheel herself in every day? Like she already has enough money to live out the rest of her life in comfort, why does she have to come in here everyday and drag the mood down."
Luke tried to ignore the comment, but after everything he had heard throughout the day, he finally gave in to his pettiness. Noticing her backpack lying just slightly in the aisle, he used his foot to drag it slightly further into the aisle, before continuing to climb the stairs to her seat.
Just as the door to the lecture hall opened and Valeria entered, a loud smack could be heard as the gossiping girl came crashing face down into the ground.
Valeria stopped and looked at the girl, before wheeling herself up the ramp to the stage.
Not a single person laughed as the girl slowly picked herself off the floor, not even the girl made a noise
Why is that?
Because Valeria’s presence alone was enough to keep everyone from speaking. Even being in a wheelchair, her reputation as a SSS-Rank explorer was enough to keep everyone holding their tongue.
Luke thought it was so hypocritical that the students talked such a big game to their friends, but the moment she appeared in front of them, they seemed to bite their lips.
Valeria sat at the front of the class, writing on the chalkboard. Luke was curious what she was writing, as her interpreter usually handled all communication in class.
Professor Kreuger
Luke got a few glances from nearby students, but those didn’t matter as much as Valeria’s eyes gazing at him.
The eye contact lasted less than a second, but it felt warm. Class hadn’t started yet, so Valeria and her student interpreter were still getting things set up for the lecture.
It was then that a screen appeared in front of Luke:
[Hidden Achievement: Watch Your Step!]
[Some lessons are best learned face first on the floor.]
[Reward: Grease (F)]
