Chapter 483 - 482 - Behind the Forgotten Door.
The morning atmosphere of Arcadia Academy carried its familiar sense of liveliness as the first rays of sunlight spread across the sprawling campus, bathing the ancient buildings in a warm golden glow. A gentle breeze wandered through the countless trees lining the academy pathways, carrying with it the fragrance of fresh grass and blooming flowers while the melodious songs of birds echoed softly through the open courtyards. Students from every year walked across the stone-paved grounds in small groups, some laughing over yesterday’s events, others hurriedly reviewing notes before the morning lectures, while a few ambitious individuals could already be seen practicing sword forms upon the training fields despite the early hour.
To anyone watching...
It was another perfectly ordinary day.
Only Luca knew that it felt anything but ordinary.
His footsteps remained steady as he walked through the academy grounds, his academy uniform immaculate beneath the morning sunlight, the black fabric with its golden trims swaying gently with every measured step. Unlike his usual relaxed demeanor, however, his expression carried an unmistakable seriousness, and his crimson eyes remained thoughtful as they quietly observed the familiar scenery around him without truly seeing it.
His thoughts remained occupied by only one person.
The Vice Dean.
The conversation with Seraphina from the previous evening continued replaying itself inside his mind.
Even among the academy instructors, almost nobody truly knew the mysterious man.
He rarely appeared.
Rarely involved himself in academy affairs.
Rarely allowed anyone to even meet him.
Yet somehow...
The moment the expedition encountered something completely outside ordinary understanding...
He had appeared.
Not as though responding to an emergency.
But almost...
As though he had been expecting it.
Luca slowly exhaled.
The answers he sought lay somewhere ahead.
Whether they would satisfy him...
He had no way of knowing.
Without slowing his pace, he entered the academy’s central building.
The lively sounds filling the courtyards gradually faded behind him, replaced by the quieter atmosphere of broad marble corridors stretching throughout the enormous structure. Sunlight poured through tall stained-glass windows, scattering colorful reflections across the polished floors while instructors and academy staff walked calmly through the hallways carrying books, documents, and lesson materials for the day ahead.
Several students respectfully greeted Luca as they passed.
He acknowledged each greeting with a polite nod.
Yet his pace never faltered.
He climbed one flight of stairs.
Then another.
The number of students gradually diminished.
The cheerful atmosphere of the lower floors gave way to a far quieter section of the academy reserved almost exclusively for instructors and administrative staff.
Even the architecture subtly changed.
The corridors became wider.
The decorations noticeably simpler.
The silence considerably deeper.
Eventually...
Luca reached the highest administrative floor.
Only a handful of doors occupied this level.
The Dean’s office stood at the very end of one corridor, its grand double doors instantly recognizable from anywhere nearby.
But today...
Luca wasn’t heading there.
Instead, his footsteps gradually slowed before another door positioned some distance away.
Compared to the Dean’s magnificent entrance, this one appeared surprisingly modest.
It was crafted from dark wood polished smooth by time, bearing no extravagant decorations beyond a single silver plaque upon which only two simple words had been engraved.
Vice Dean.
No family crest.
No elaborate carvings.
No magical formations announcing importance.
If someone unfamiliar with the academy happened to pass by...
They might mistake it for the office of an ordinary administrator.
Luca quietly stood before the door.
For several moments...
He simply looked at it.
Everything that had happened during the expedition.
The ancient sanctuary.
The silver-haired figure.
The Demon General.
The impossible familiarity in that mysterious man’s eyes.
Every unanswered question somehow seemed to gather before this single room.
Luca slowly inhaled.
Then released the breath just as steadily.
His expression gradually settled.
Whatever awaited him beyond this door...
Speculation would accomplish nothing.
Only answers mattered now.
Raising one hand, he knocked gently against the wooden surface.
Three measured knocks echoed quietly through the otherwise silent corridor.
A calm voice soon answered from within.
"Come in."
Luca reached toward the handle before slowly pushing the door open.
The room beyond immediately came into view.
Unlike the grandeur of the Dean’s office or the imposing study within the Drayden Manor, the Vice Dean’s office possessed a surprisingly understated elegance. Tall bookshelves lined every wall, each filled with carefully arranged volumes whose bindings ranged from newly bound texts to ancient tomes weathered by centuries of use. Large windows overlooked the academy grounds, allowing warm morning sunlight to illuminate the room naturally, while countless potted plants rested upon the windowsills, adding an unexpected sense of warmth to the otherwise scholarly atmosphere.
A broad wooden desk occupied the center of the office.
Stacks of neatly organized documents rested upon one side, while an open book lay upon the other beside a steaming cup of tea whose gentle aroma quietly filled the room.
Seated behind the desk...
Was the Vice Dean.
His silver hair reflected the morning sunlight almost like flowing moonlight, and his calm crimson eyes rested upon the pages before him until the sound of the opening door caused him to lift his gaze.
The moment his eyes met Luca’s...
A gentle smile slowly appeared upon his face.
It was neither formal nor distant.
It was simply the warm smile of someone who had quietly expected this meeting all along.
The office remained wrapped in a quiet stillness.
Morning sunlight streamed gently through the tall windows, illuminating countless floating dust particles that drifted lazily through the air like tiny fragments of light. The faint fragrance of freshly brewed tea blended harmoniously with the scent of aged parchment and weathered books, creating an atmosphere more akin to an old library than the office of one of Arcadia Academy’s highest authorities.
Luca stood just beyond the doorway.
His crimson eyes quietly rested upon the man seated behind the broad wooden desk.
The Vice Dean looked exactly as he remembered.
Silver hair that shimmered beneath the morning light.
Calm crimson eyes that seemed impossibly tranquil.
A gentle smile that carried neither superiority nor pressure.
Yet...
Something about him felt profoundly different.
The Vice Dean slowly closed the book before him before carefully placing a bookmark between its pages. His movements were neither hurried nor unnecessarily elegant. They possessed the natural rhythm of someone who never needed to rush.
At last, he looked directly at Luca.
His smile deepened ever so slightly.
"So..."
His calm voice carried naturally through the room.
"You came."
Luca remained silent for a brief moment before inclining his head politely.
"As expected."
The Vice Dean chuckled softly.
"I had a feeling you would."
He gestured toward the chair positioned opposite his desk.
"Please."
"Have a seat."
Luca thanked him quietly before walking forward.
Every step he took seemed strangely heavy.
It wasn’t because the Vice Dean was releasing any pressure.
Quite the opposite.
Luca couldn’t sense even the slightest trace of mana from him.
No overwhelming aura.
No oppressive killing intent.
No concealed hostility.
Nothing.
It was...
Complete absence.
As though the man before him wasn’t suppressing his presence...
But simply didn’t possess one.
That feeling...
Was impossible.
Every living creature carried mana.
Even ordinary civilians.
Even children.
Yet every instinct Luca possessed struggled to acknowledge the existence of the man sitting before him.
It wasn’t an illusion.
Nor was it concealment.
It was something far stranger.
Every time Luca focused upon him...
His perception seemed to instinctively drift elsewhere before quietly returning.
Almost...
As though the world itself wished to overlook him.
Luca had encountered countless masters throughout his many playthroughs.
Sword Saints.
Archmages.
Ancient Dragons.
Even beings worshipped as living legends.
None of them had ever made him feel like this.
For the first time in a very long while...
He found himself unable to understand the person sitting directly before him.
The Vice Dean quietly observed him.
His smile never faded.
"I imagine..."
He said gently.
"...you have many questions."
Luca met his gaze.
"I do."
The Vice Dean nodded as though that answer had been expected.
"That is only natural."
Silence settled comfortably between them.
Then...
Without warning...
The Vice Dean spoke once again.
"After all..."
His crimson eyes remained fixed upon Luca.
"...it isn’t every day that Arcadia Academy welcomes someone whose journey has become so... remarkable."
Luca remained composed.
The Vice Dean folded his hands neatly upon the desk.
"A young man who saved Beastridge Mountain from complete annihilation."
The image surfaced within Luca’s mind almost immediately.
The corrupted beasts.
The desperate battle.
Students fighting for survival.
The blood-soaked mountain paths.
The final confrontation that had changed everything.
Before Luca could dwell upon the memory...
The Vice Dean continued.
"The one responsible for the massacre beneath the Cult’s hidden church."
Luca’s expression remained unchanged.
Yet behind his calm eyes...
Another memory unfolded.
The underground cathedral.
The suffocating scent of blood.
Cultists chanting forbidden prayers.
The countless lifeless bodies scattered throughout the ruined sanctuary.
The battle that had left the stone floors stained crimson.
The Vice Dean spoke again.
"The destruction within the ancient Elven Forest."
Once more...
Another scene flashed before Luca’s eyes.
Towering trees collapsing.
Ancient barriers shattering.
Corrupted mana consuming everything in its path.
The desperate struggle to prevent complete catastrophe.
Then...
"The Trial of the Dwarven Lands."
The sacred underground halls.
Molten rivers.
Ancient forges.
The impossible trial.
The overwhelming guardian.
The weight of countless expectations resting upon his shoulders.
"And..."
The Vice Dean’s voice remained perfectly calm.
"...the upheaval within the Holy Kingdom."
Luca’s pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
The Holy Kingdom.
The political turmoil.
The hidden conspiracies.
The battles fought beyond public view.
The countless lives forever changed.
One memory after another...
Passed silently before his eyes.
Each one representing another place.
Another conflict.
Another impossible choice.
The room once again fell into silence.
The Vice Dean simply watched him.
Not accusing.
Not praising.
Merely observing.
A gentle smile slowly returned to his face.
Then...
He softly asked,
"So tell me, Luca."
His crimson eyes curved slightly with quiet amusement.
"When all of these events are placed together..."
He leaned back ever so slightly in his chair.
"...is this the journey of a hero from a beautiful fairy tale..."
The smile upon his face remained warm.
Yet the question that followed caused the atmosphere inside the room to become immeasurably heavier.
"...or is it the path of one who brings destruction wherever he walks?"
Silence descended upon the office.
Even the breeze flowing through the open windows seemed to lose its voice.