Alice

That was right—becoming Greg Sass's exclusive tutor had never been Alice's own choice.

She was merely a young scholar who had recently secured a teaching position and possessed absolutely no background.

It was Adele Kent who, utilizing her authority as a Year-level Chief Professor, had forcibly assigned the then-freshman and already notoriously ill-reputed Greg Sass to Alice, who had no room to refuse. Adele had framed it as "helping a new professor gain instructional experience by dealing with different types of students."

Facing Adele's public inquiry, Alice's face turned even paler.

Her lips quivered several times before she answered in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum, "Y-yes, Professor Adele... Greg... he indeed has not yet returned to class..."

If one listened closely, beneath the terror in her voice, there seemed to be a hidden, minuscule trace of something she herself hadn't fully realized... a sense of relief.

Yes, relief.

Greg Sass's disappearance was, to some extent, a liberation for her.

She had no idea how to guide such a student—someone with a foul personality, who was utterly arrogant, possessed mediocre magical talent, yet acted like a tyrant solely because of his family lineage.

In the time they spent together, it wasn't so much instruction as it was her unilaterally enduring and passively bearing his unreasonable demands and subtle bullying.

To make matters worse, because of Greg's abysmal academic performance and repeated violations of school rules, the budgets for several research projects she had submitted were rejected time and again by the Academic Committee. Their reasoning was always that "as a tutor, your primary responsibility is to ensure the academic success and behavioral standards of your assigned student."

So, while she had performed the symbolic searches and filed reports when Greg went missing for several days, deep down, a part of her couldn't help but think, "Maybe this is for the best."

Adele seemed not to notice Alice's distress, nor did she pay any mind to the whispers around her.

The smile on her face deepened slightly as she continued in that same gentle tone:

"However, one cannot entirely blame you, Professor Alice. It is understandable that a child from Greg's background, suddenly facing family upheaval and public expulsion, would find the reality hard to accept. Abandoning himself to despair or even resorting to extreme behavior is to be expected."

She placed a slight emphasis on the word "expected," making it sound forgiving while effectively solidifying the labels of Greg being psychologically fragile and prone to extreme actions.

Upon hearing this, a faint glimmer of hope flashed in Alice's violet eyes. She subconsciously looked up at Adele.

Could it be... that Professor Adele was finally willing to let her go, allowing her to be rid of the burden that was Greg and guide a normal student instead?

However, Adele's next words instantly and completely extinguished that spark of hope.

"But as a formally appointed teacher of the academy, burdened with the sacred duty of education, one naturally cannot remain in a state of having no student to teach for long."

Adele elegantly picked up her teacup and took a gentle sip before speaking unhurriedly:

"It just so happens that I've heard of a commoner student among this year's freshmen with decent talent—Victoria Cecil, right? Her performance in the Placement Exam was acceptable. I think she should be transferred to your name for you to handle her guidance. Consider this... a chance to make up for your previous lack of instructional effectiveness, Professor Alice. What do you think?"

Alice's head, which had just lifted slightly, snapped back down even lower than before.

Her complexion shifted from pale to a despondent, ashen gray.

Victoria Cecil.

She had certainly heard that name.

The commoner prodigy who had performed brilliantly in the Placement Exam and had even fought a fierce battle against Her Highness Lilith.

Her talent was indeed countless times superior to Greg Sass's.

But the problem was—she was a commoner.

In this Glory Cael Magic Academy, where noble students held the mainstream and class concepts were deeply ingrained, being a standout of commoner background often meant a double-edged sword:

On one hand, one might gain attention due to talent; on the other, it would inevitably invite more exclusion, harassment, and even hostility from noble students and the factions behind them.

By extension, the tutor responsible for her would very likely be dragged into these invisible conflicts.

What did this mean?

It meant that what she would face in the future might not just be the task of guiding a talented but complex student, but the invisible pressure from those who hated commoner geniuses and might take it out on her, tripping her up and obstructing her research.

Compared to this, Greg had at least carried the title of a Duke's son. Those who wanted to curry favor with Professor Adele by making things difficult for her still had to be somewhat wary of Greg's noble background and find excuses.

But now, replaced by the rootless commoner student Victoria... that hostility would likely become more direct and more blatant.

She could already foresee that her future teaching career would be even more difficult than the dark days she spent as Greg's tutor, perhaps even...

Alice felt a cold sense of suffocation grip her heart. She bit her lower lip hard to prevent a desperate whimper from escaping her throat.

She could only stare fixedly at her hands resting on her lap, her knuckles turning white from the force of her grip, as if they were her only connection to this cold world.

Silence filled the conference table.

Most professors looked away, either pretending to flip through the documents before them or lowering their heads to sip tea.

No one spoke up for Alice, not even a superficial word of mediation.

No one was willing to offend a powerful Year-level Chief and the factions she might represent for the sake of an insignificant new professor.

Even Grace, a fellow Chief Professor, merely swept her light brown eyes calmly over the despair-radiating Alice, her face devoid of any extra sympathy or emotion.

In her worldview, the fundamental reason Alice had fallen into such a state was her own lack of strength and weak background, leaving her unable to protect herself or effectively fulfill her duties as a tutor.

The weak being dominated and exploited by the strong was a perfectly natural rule.

She would not actively bully the weak, but she would certainly not waste energy on sympathy or rescue.

The air in the conference room became even more stagnant and oppressive due to this interlude.

Just then—

Bang!

The heavy carved wooden doors of the conference room were slammed open from the outside, hitting the wall with a dull thud.

A male student wearing the Student Council uniform rushed in, panting heavily, his face flushed bright red from sprinting and excitement. He didn't even have time to salute before shouting toward the conference table in a cracking voice:

"P-professors! I-it's been cleared up! The cause of the dungeon tremors has been found!"

The sudden intrusion and shouting instantly shattered the deathly silence of the conference room.

The gazes of all the professors snapped toward the reckless student.

"Such panic! Where are your manners?" Professor Martin scolded with a frown, though his tone also carried urgency. "What exactly is going on? Speak clearly!"

The Student Council member took several deep breaths, forcing his breathing to steady, and announced loudly in a voice that was as clear as possible yet still failed to hide his shock:

"I-it's the first-floor boss! The Area Lord of the dungeon's first layer—Lady Eight-Legs—has been defeated!"

"What?!"

"That's impossible!"

"The first-floor boss was defeated?!"

"By whom?!"

The conference room exploded into chaos!

The professors, who had been sitting upright, stood up one after another in a lapse of composure, their faces filled with disbelief.

Even Grace, who had remained expressionless, suddenly had a sharp, blade-like light flash through her light brown eyes.

The perfect, gentle smile on Adele's face froze, and her fingers tightened slightly around her teacup.

Professor Martin pressed even more urgently:

"Are you certain?! The dungeon's restrictions have no record of any abnormal triggers, which means absolutely no one other than those with student status has entered! Then that first-floor boss... just who was she defeated by?!"

This was also the greatest question and source of shock in the hearts of all the professors.

The first-floor boss, Lady Eight-Legs, was as high as Level 35. She was a troublesome existence confirmed by multiple academy surveys to possess great strength and a special area blessing.

There were indeed a few top students in the academy, such as the several Fourth-year Representatives, who might possess the strength to fight her.

But for these noble-born, high-prospect children of fortune, their magic was a tool used to display power, win honor, and secure interests—not for risking their lives against a dangerous magical beast in a dungeon.

That didn't fit their values, and the risk-to-reward ratio was completely disproportionate.

So, who was it?

Who had the ability, and the motive, to defeat such a powerful magical beast?

And they had actually succeeded?

Every professor present found the same question echoing in their minds.