Chapter 438 – Investigating The Anomaly.

“How could this be? Did the mana from the dungeon corrupt the spell? Something like this should not have happened! The other mages will think that I was responsible for it…”

The leader Professor Ernas seemed to be shocked by the magical explosion that had just occurred. Never before had something like this transpired during an advancement class. He sounded more concerned about his reputation for allowing such a thing to happen than by the potential injuries that students could have sustained. Luckily, someone had managed to safeguard every student by shielding them with bubbles of magic.

“Are the students fine? Is someone injured?”

Professor Ulfine on the other hand along with her tamed creature rushed to the epicenter of the explosion. The ground was scorched, and the smell of burnt vegetation hung in the air. Lucienne, who had the part of conduit stood shakily, but she seemed unharmed and it was thanks to Roland’s quick intervention. The other students were startled but also appeared physically unscathed.

“I don’t know what happened but it wasn’t the dungeon’s mana. Someone interfered with the spell..”

Roland said as his eyes scanned the surroundings.

“Interfered? How is that even possible? Stop making up things”

Professor Ernas didn’t agree with Roland’s assessment for some reason and this was concerning. He clearly saw a strange mana phantom shooting from the distance and afterwards, the spell structure started going berserk. It was possible that the mages here didn’t have the skills required to perceive this fact but there could also have been a different reason, they were in on it.

‘Should I prod for some answers or keep my mouth shut?’

Roland didn’t know who his allies here were so these people could faint ignorance. They would certainly not admit to having any involvement in this incident and he had no authoritative power to make them do anything. He was in a sense a lone boat and rocking the waters too much could make him tip.

There was no telling what these people would do if he started accusing them, it was probably better to keep things civil so that the children wouldn’t be affected. If a fight broke out now, he wasn’t sure if his enemies would care much about the offspring of commoners. Plus, he would also need to explain how his skill worked, something that was better kept hidden.

“I didn’t sense anything either, could it just have been a Dungeon anomaly? Those happen from time to time.”

“That was probably it.”

Ernas concurred with Ulfine who suggested that this might have been a dungeon anomaly. At times, these locations experienced fluctuations in chaotic mana which were capable of causing even a skilled mage to falter in their spellcasting. Considering that it was also done by tier 1 students with lesser mana-handling skills, it was a realistic possibility.

“Perhaps I was mistaken and just felt the strange fluctuations of the mana inside the dungeon.”

“Glad that you did, all of the students seem to be fine thanks to your quick thinking, Wayland.”

Roland nodded as he decided to play along with the explanation to avoid unnecessary complications. The students were still in a state of shock and were now being comforted and assured by the professors that it was just a rare dungeon anomaly. The adventurers who had been knocked down by the shockwave were slowly getting back on their feet. He did not bother to save them as the magical explosion would have not reached them anyway.

“Are okay?”

“Yes, t-thank you Assistant Professor, I’m just feeling a bit dizzy.”

His sister was shaking but fine. Even though he created multiple shields it was easy to protect people from a spell of this magnitude. It was perhaps better if she didn’t know that she had just been through an assassination attempt. Nevertheless, the danger persisted and it would probably be unwise to have her and the other student continue today’s lessons.

‘I wonder…’

Roland had an idea that could potentially fix all of his problems quite quickly. It wasn’t very smart but would allow him to perhaps tackle this enemy without the involvement of the students. If the other two professors were his enemies was still debatable but they would probably go along with this proposition as it would put him in danger.

“May I propose something, Professor Ernas?”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Perhaps it is unwise to continue today’s advancement classes.”

“You wish to end it before we even begun? We still have the lesser artifacts, those won’t be affected by any dungeon anomalies.”

Ernas didn’t seem to agree with him. One possibility was that he wanted to get these classes over with, even if it put the students in a bit of danger. However, he could have ulterior motives that could not only harm Roland but also the students here. It would be better to perhaps play into his enemy’s hand for now as it would get Lucienne and the others out of here first.
“Yes, we should have enough time to complete the classes within a week but what if any of the students is harmed? What if the anomaly produced a unique monster that could appear on this floor? What if it’s a precursor to a dungeon break?”

“A dungeon break? That’s preposterous!”

There were many ways he could spin it and excuse his idea. His voice was also loud enough for everyone to hear. The students along with the adventurers started to whisper around as they knew what the mages were talking about.

“This is a B-rank dungeon, what if a tier 3 boss monster appears? We can’t handle that…”

“Hey, I didn’t sign up for killing tier 3 monsters…”

Ernas looked a bit conflicted as he noticed other people whispering. It was his responsibility to ensure that all of them were safe and he would take all the blame as the leader. Roland’s proposal was reasonable but he needed to give him something to latch on.

“It might be or might not be preposterous but we must guarantee the safety of the students, so state the rules.”

Just like previously, Roland decided to play up his rule-following persona. There was one particular rule that was to be followed in a situation like this and he was hoping that Ernas would allow him to proceed with it.

“Thus, I propose that we remove the students from the dungeon temporarily while I investigate the matter of the anomaly.”

“You wish to investigate the anomaly?’

“That’s right. The Institute directive states that any abnormality or anomaly that could potentially endanger the lives of students should be thoroughly investigated by a faculty member. We must… no It is our duty to ensure the safety of the students.”

Ernas was taken aback by his words while Ulfine nodded from the side, it seemed that she at least agreed with his assessment but he couldn’t erase her from his suspect list just yet.

“I suppose… it does make sense but… who will…”

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“Let me.”

“You?”

This was the crux of his plan and what he wanted, to be left alone in the dungeon while the others retreated. After proposing himself for the investigative role he attempted to read Ernas’ expression. The man seemed to ponder for a while before coming to some kind of decision.

“Safety first… Fine, Assistant Professor Wayland, you may proceed with your investigation. I will take the students back to the city until the situation is resolved, but you must finish within a day, not an hour more, do I make myself clear?”

“Thank you, Professor Ernas. I assure you, I will do my best to get to the bottom of this anomaly as quickly as possible.”

“Aren’t we relying on the newbie a bit too much?”

Ulfine chimed in as she was standing close by during the whole conversation.

“He brought this up himself, so it will be up to him… Let us depart then and Professor Ulfine.”

Ernas, who looked slightly mad when talking to Roland, started smiling instantly when facing the attractive woman who felt that something was wrong.

“Yes?”

“We will have some time on our hands, so how about you join me for a meal in the city? We can discuss our recent advancements in magical research and maybe it will help take our minds off this unusual incident…”

Ulfine raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical of Ernas’ true intentions.