Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 213: Invitation of Dreams (2)

I slowly opened my eyes.

The old-fashioned room vanished, and a starless night sky stretched above me. I was standing alone beneath it.

Splat.

As I took a step forward, I heard the sound of water.

Looking down, I realized the ground was entirely made of water.

It was too dark to tell how deep it went. A faint mist hovered just above the surface.

‘It reminds me of the Salt Desert.’

Beneath the mirror-like surface that reflected my form were scattered glimmers of multicolored starlight.

The sky above was devoid of stars.

‘This is the edge of the dream.’

I /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ had arrived at the outermost border of the Dreamland, a world woven from human dreams and subconscious thoughts.

And the starlights submerged beneath the surface—each one was someone’s dream.

I began to walk slowly.

With every step, the water rippled outward in concentric circles.

The dreams below—the starlights—shimmered and scattered in response to the waves.

‘The meeting place shouldn’t be far.’

The mist-covered path made it hard to tell directions, but the ring on my hand made it possible.

An emerald glow streamed out from the ring, pointing the way forward.

I followed the light.

It wasn’t that this space didn’t interest me—on the contrary—but there was something more important right now.

I wasn’t sure how long I walked, following the glow.

Eventually, the light from the ring stopped.

As the mist in front of me parted, a massive door came into view.

‘This must be the entrance.’

It was made of gray marble.

Carved into the door above was the figure of a horned demon. It looked unmistakably like the gateway to hell.

‘Engraving a demon? Whoever made this has terrible taste.’

I approached the door.

As I raised the hand wearing the ring, a red glow emanated from the demon’s eyes, and the door opened.

Inside was pitch-black darkness—nothing visible.

I didn’t completely rule out the possibility of a trap. But the likelihood was extremely low.

I stepped into the darkness.

Behind me, the door slammed shut with a heavy thud.

Then—complete darkness.

From somewhere, voices began to murmur.

Not far ahead was a large table.

The voices were coming from the people seated around it.

“If you let your guard down and got hit, that’s on you—”

“I’m telling you, my research was stolen this time because—uh?”

The ones who had been chatting among themselves fell silent as I approached, all eyes turning toward me.

I also stared back.

The figures seated in the chairs weren’t human—they were shaped like burning black flames.

‘Of course. Since only the mind is brought here, the forms are completely different.’

It made it impossible to distinguish appearances.

Then again, they couldn’t see my true self either, so perhaps that worked in both our favor.

“Ohoho. Who might this be? Just walks in without a word.”

A black flame addressed me.

Even without seeing his true form, the way he spoke made it obvious who he was.

Victor Dreadpool.

He was now pressing me to reveal my identity.

‘What should I do?’

Should I announce my name here?

According to the information I had, John Doe wasn’t exactly the sociable type.

Judging from the other Orders’ reactions, he only showed loyalty to Zero Order and showed little interest in the rest.

Having decided, I sat naturally in an empty seat.

“Oh dear. Judging by how you don’t even want to speak, you must be John Doe. Still as quiet as ever! Ohoho!”

...So this John Doe guy didn’t talk even with other First Orders.

Then why did he speak to me on the train?

Was he just immersed in the disguise back then?

“See that? Acting all smug again like he’s better than everyone. So annoying.”

At that moment, another black flame seated nearby burst out in irritation.

Clearly, he didn’t like my silent and haughty demeanor.

Who was that?

“Knight Verom, don’t get so upset. It’s not like this is the first time, right?”

“Shut up, you psycho freak.”

“Oh dear, that’s harsh. You're not even calling me Doctor like last time? I feel like I might cry!”

“Shut it. You think I wanted to call you that? Damn it. If it weren’t for that curse—” freewёbnoνel.com

That guy is Verom?

I recalled the Verom I had seen at the Baltanung factory—

A knight cloaked in full black plate armor, a dark cape fluttering behind him, unleashing crimson slashes.

A First Order who even spoke in a lofty, archaic tone.

Yet here he was now, swearing and snarling like a street thug.

‘Judging from how he hates his speech pattern, this must be his real personality. The one I saw was likely something he adopted for a reason.’

Which meant the armor was probably special.

Cursed, perhaps. Or an ancient artifact.

It likely granted him power but also imposed restrictions.

‘Are all the First Orders I know of here?’

There were eight seats at the table in total.

Excluding the highest seat—Zero Order’s—seven remained for the First Orders.

Currently, four of those were occupied, including me.

‘Then who’s that one?’

One flame burned in total silence, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Even when I arrived, they hadn’t so much as looked my way. They seemed entirely disinterested in the others.

‘With that silence, it’s impossible to guess who they are.’

At that moment, another First Order arrived.

“Oh, more showed up than I expected?”

The newcomer spoke in a friendly tone as he took a seat.

“Did you hear? Esmeralda’s down.”

He casually brought up the topic with Verom and Victor.

“The Witch of Fire? If it were anyone else, I’d think nothing of it—but if she’s missing, that explains why she’s not here.”

“Yeah. It’s confirmed. I’m sure Zero Order will mention it soon.”

“That’s unexpected. I never imagined Miss Esmeralda would be taken down anywhere.”

“Same. I didn’t think she would either.”

The flame trailed off, then turned toward me.

It had no eyes, but I could feel it—definitely looking at me.

“John Doe. You infiltrated Seorn with her, didn’t you? Don’t you know something?”

Naturally, Verom and Victor Dreadpool also turned their attention toward me.

I had already anticipated this line of questioning and prepared an answer.

“Zero Order will explain it. Ask him.”

I smoothly redirected the responsibility to Zero Order.

As expected, they didn’t press further.

‘Using Zero Order’s name in situations like this is quite convenient.’

But the other flame’s gaze remained locked on me.

‘What is this? Do they have some kind of connection to John Doe?’

It wasn’t that I hadn’t considered drawing out more information through casual conversation.

But if I started probing, they might do the same and extract something from me.

Considering the risk of a slip-up that might expose my identity, staying silent was the safer option.

Getting caught as a fake was the one thing I had to avoid at all costs.

‘Judging by Zero Order’s reaction, he already knows I’m not the real one.’

But he hadn’t told the other First Orders yet?

‘Still, it’s strange. For a leader, not even giving them a heads-up feels off. I can’t figure out his intent.’

For now, I decided to set aside my thoughts about Zero Order.

It was impossible to decipher his true intentions. For now, identifying the rest of the unknown First Orders took priority.

While I remained silent, the talkative First Order resumed his chatter with Victor.

“By the way, have you heard the news lately? The Bretus Theocracy is on the move. Paladins have started showing themselves again.”

“Ah, yes, I heard that too. For a place that’s been quiet for twenty years to suddenly stir... it must be a sign of something ominous.”

“Well, cryptid activity has spiked lately. Even in one of the Exilion Empire’s major cities, Rederbelk, the Beast King made an appearance.”

“You mean the Beast of Jévaudan? I heard about that as well. What a shame. I wanted to witness its majestic form with my own eyes. It’s tragic that it was exterminated. I had hoped to dissect that magnificent cryptid and carry it around in a jar of formalin.”

“They say it was exterminated, but with no corpse left behind, it might’ve escaped. What’s strange is that no matter how large a city Rederbelk is, there aren’t many places for a creature that size to hide. Maybe it fled into the underground aqueducts.”

Most of the talking was done by the unknown First Order.

He seemed to know everything—global affairs, who did what where, even trivial discoveries like new ore veins in remote regions.

‘He’s well-versed in world affairs and seems to have extensive information. Could he be affiliated with a national agency? Maybe he’s embedded within an intelligence bureau?’

Still, he likely didn’t rise to the rank of First Order by brains alone.

He had to possess power equal to or surpassing his peers.

“So, Nicolai. Got any particularly juicy news lately?”

Nicolai.

Victor said the name offhandedly—but I didn’t miss it.

So that one’s name is Nicolai.

If he’s being called that so casually by other First Orders, it must be closely tied to his real identity.

‘That brings the count to five First Orders including myself. With Esmeralda absent, that leaves one more.’

I was just wondering when the last one would arrive—

And just like that, she did.

Speak of the devil, and she appears.

The final First Order arrived.

“You lot haven’t changed a bit. The loud ones keep yapping, the quiet ones stay silent.”

A thin, high-pitched voice. A woman.

The venom in her tone suggested she was irritated about something—whether it was personal or just her default personality was hard to say.

My gut told me that getting her attention would be a pain, so I didn’t react.

The newcomer asked brusquely:

“So? Where’s Zero Order? Still not here?”

“Zero Order will be here shortly. And Miss Bentmin, you’re the last one to arrive.”

“Shut it, you insane scientist. Don’t call me by name. Just hearing it makes my skin crawl.”

The First Order called Bentmin snapped at Victor.

“Ohoho. So prickly! Isn’t it time we got along already?”

“I’d rather cuddle with maggots than get along with the likes of you.”

Judging by her words, she seemed to loathe Victor.

Well, to be fair, Victor Dreadpool performed human experimentation like it was nothing and had the looks to match.

It wasn’t exactly shocking that someone would detest him.

Even Verom seemed to despise talking to him.

‘And yet, Victor himself acts like none of it bothers him. He really doesn’t care how others view him.’

That’s probably how he can do such things without flinching—like human experimentation.

Lacking morality and empathy. A born psychopath.

That’s who Victor Dreadpool was.

‘So the last member’s name is Bentmin, huh.’

Despite her irritated tone, there was an undeniable air of refinement in her speech.

Unlike the other informal First Orders, her mannerisms had a certain noble polish.

A woman from a good family.

Which raised a question. The Black Dawn Society wasn’t exactly the kind of place a noble would join.

Even Sedina—who came from a wealthy merchant family—had been discriminated against within the organization, simply because her family had money.

And yet a noblewoman became a First Order?

That was something worth remembering.

“More importantly—what about Esmeralda? She’s not usually this late.”

“Ohoho. Miss Bentmin. You haven’t heard? Miss Esmeralda won’t be joining us anymore.”

“What? You mean she got taken down? Esmeralda?”

“So they say. I thought it was fairly well known, but I guess you hadn’t heard. Quite unexpected!”

“Shut up. How many times do I have to tell you I’m not up to date on outside affairs?”

They were in the middle of their squabbling when—

BOOM.

A deep tremor shook the entire dark space.

The chattering First Orders fell silent.

At the same time, the looseness of their behavior tightened like a pulled thread.

Someone was approaching through the darkness.

He’s here.

Zero Order.

The master of the Black Dawn Society—and, in truth, the central figure of this entire gathering.

His arrival immediately put every First Order on edge.

“Glad to see you’ve all arrived on time.”

Unlike the other First Orders who existed here as black flames, Zero Order appeared in full human form.

He wore black priest-like robes and a stark white mask over his face.

The mask resembled the demon’s face carved into the stone gate from earlier.

Beside Zero Order stood another figure, their face completely hidden by a deep hood. Neither age nor gender could be discerned.

‘Who is that? Not seated at the table—so definitely not a First Order. Likely a subordinate Zero Order brought along.’

Perhaps sensing my gaze, the hooded figure slightly raised their head.

From within the darkness of the hood, I felt their eyes lock on me.

“You’ve arrived, Zero Order.”

It was then that a voice spoke for the first time.

The black flame that had remained silent until now—Lesley—finally opened his mouth.

His tone was deeply respectful, filled with reverence.

The contrast with his earlier silence was startling; now his voice brimmed with fervor.

“Yes. It’s been a while, Lesley.”

Zero Order sat down calmly, sweeping his gaze over the room.

His eyes paused briefly on the empty seat where Esmeralda once sat.

“Looks like everyone’s doing well. Despite this being an irregular meeting, you all made it without fail. Then—let’s begin.”

Finally, his gaze settled on me.

“The first agenda item... is how we will fill the now vacant First Order seat.”