Chapter 27
“Is the new line from the Northern Academy? Wasn’t it Iters and Baldinger?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Did the enemy find out?”
“We’re not sure yet. This is the first time the cult has infiltrated an academy. It’s a hard place for others to get involved, so we need more time.”
“Any signs the enemy knows about the Poison Chief?”
“Not clearly. All other lines are working normally.”
“Hm…”
The Deputy Leader stroked his white beard. Outside, people cheered loudly as a boy walked by.
“All hail the Poison King!”
“All hail the Poison King!”
“…What’s the last report?”
“It’s the same. Since the semester began, there’s been no change in the condition of our target, ‘D’.”
“I see. It’s still not time.”
“Deputy Leader, it’s true that the target seems very dangerous.”
Pawel spoke softly with concern.
“But if we look at the entire Sword King family, there are others who are far more dangerous.”
“Go on.”
“Even just in the Northern Academy, there are many senior students who are risky. So I don’t understand why you’re watching a freshman who’s not even skilled in combat. Wouldn’t it be better to focus on Granble, who’s a bigger problem for us?”
“Pawel.”
“Yes, Deputy Leader?”
“Do not doubt.”
The old man’s eyes turned icy cold. Pawel quickly bowed his head.
“Look at that beautiful sight,” the old man said, smiling at the crowd.
“The time is near. The revival of the First Poison King is only the beginning.”
“Forgive me, sir. I was short-sighted.”
“The surviving Granble? I see no value in him. He barely has any aura power, right?”
“Yes, but his swordsmanship is said to be quite good…”
“That’s useless without aura. This whole operation depends on aura—more exactly, the ability to sense energy flows. From now on, things get serious. Are the two guardians being adjusted properly?”
“Yes. The adjustment will be finished in about a month.”
“Make sure there are no mistakes. If they lose control, all our efforts will be wasted.”
“I understand. The real problem is the ‘Hundred-Year Poison’…”
Pawel looked toward the boy in the distance and hesitated.
“He’s very sensitive. If we move too fast, he might notice.”
“To complete the plan, we need a lot of Hundred-Year Poison. Even more than we used in the Granble massacre.”
“True. The location this time requires much more.”
“According to the legend—no, the records—only the First Poison King knew how to make it. When will you bring this up?”
“We’ll stick to the plan.”
The old man nodded slowly with a smile.
“Don’t worry. We’ll have the poison in a month. In the meantime, gather more information inside the Academy.”
“I will obey, Deputy Leader.”
Pawel bowed and disappeared. The Deputy Leader, listening to the fading cheers, muttered to himself:
“Everything is going according to plan. No need to rush. Soon… for the future I saw… the future I want…”
Meanwhile…
I finally found something.
It was worth crawling around for. At the end of the first-floor hallway, something was different.
The smell here is strange.
I put my nose close to the wooden floor and sniffed.
Faint scent of sawdust.
Dusty smell.
And a faint poison smell.
Something poisonous is hidden under here.
Is it poison liquid? Poison bugs? Poison herbs? Poison minerals?
I’m not sure. I’ve smelled something like it before, but it’s faint.
But the orb was right.
There is a basement under the dormitory. The problem is—I couldn’t find the entrance.
“That’s weird…”
If there’s a basement, there should be stairs. But no matter how hard I searched the floor and walls, I found nothing.
Should I just break the floor open?
It’s wooden, so probably not hard.
But breaking is easy. Fixing it is hard.
If someone visits and sees the broken floor, the secret will be revealed. The dorm might get shut down.
That would be bad. I actually like it here.
Then I had an idea.
This is the right end of the hallway on the first floor. Above this is the room of Spy No. 1.
Eric. Real name: Baldinger. The first resident and a spy of the Poison King Cult.
So… something smells suspicious here.
Not poison—just… suspicious.
I quickly went upstairs to search the spy’s room again.
I’d done this before. The day Spy No. 1 vanished, I came here too. I needed money back then. (Still do.)
I remember being sad that all I found were two coins. Just 2 Seals.
He was poor.
Still, richer than me. He had three school uniforms.
Brand-new and clean.
I wanted to sell them to the secondhand store… but I was scared someone would notice the missing clothes during a search.
“…Nothing.”
The room still had nothing.
Just a swordsmanship bag and two wooden swords. A few clean casual clothes and three school uniforms in a closet.
No bed. No desk. No hidden compartments.
No secret passage to a basement.
“Sigh…”
It’s already been two weeks since the semester started. No one came to find the missing spy. Did they just give up on him?
Maybe it’s okay to sell his uniforms now. Then I could buy pumpkin pie or fruit…
“…Huh?”
Tibur?
Is that you?
There it was.
Outside the window floated the red orb. Tibur wanted me to eat something tasty.
I felt hungry.
This was a quest for my friend. I opened the closet and took all three uniforms.
“They’re my size. I could wear one, and—huh?”
Then I saw something.
Behind the uniforms, on the closet wall… there was a bump. Like a handle.
I grabbed it and started moving it.
Left? Nothing.
Right? Nothing.
Push? Won’t move.
Pull?
Creak!
It opened.
A hidden door in the closet wall.
From the dark tunnel came the faint poison smell from earlier.
“Hm…”
So this was it.
I finally found the entrance, but it made me feel weird.
Why is something like this in a school dorm?
Isn’t this dorm part of the academy?
Sure, “Grave Mountain” is strange, but still… a secret door? That’s serious.
That means there are other spies in the academy.
Spies powerful enough to be part of building this dorm.
Maybe even a professor?
None of the professors I’ve met seem like spies. But I haven’t met them all.
Or… maybe the construction company had a spy?
That would be better. Easier to deal with than a professor. I could visit the company and ask.
But first, I had a mission.
I went back to my room and grabbed a candle. It would be dark down there.
I lit the candle and returned.
Inside the tunnel, I saw a metal bar leading down.
Was I supposed to climb this down?
Getting back up would be hard…
Whoosh!
It took about 10 seconds to reach the bottom.
It was deep.
The walls had strange carvings I’d look at later.
The room was damp and about the size of four dorm rooms combined.
There was a tall drawer and a small jar.
The jar was the source of the poison smell.
It was sealed with thick cloth, but the poison was still leaking out.
I didn’t want to know what it was—but I had to open it.
Rip!
As soon as I did, the memory came back.
I knew this.
It was the same deadly poison that destroyed the Granble mansion and village months ago—
The Hundred-Year Poison.
“Ugh…”
My head spun.
My body felt like tearing apart. I was powerless, scared, and miserable.
I was back in my room in the Granble house.
But this wasn’t real—it was just a memory. The poison triggered it.
Scary. Memory is powerful.
I held my breath and resealed the jar.
The cult is insane.
Why hide such deadly poison under a school dorm?
What were they planning? Destroy another noble house?
No… that wouldn’t work. Bryce is a big city, but not one of the main eight houses. The closest was Granble.
So what’s their real goal?
I don’t know. Guessing won’t help.
But this can’t stay here. I’ll ask my family to purify it. I’ll take it with me later.
Next was the drawer.
A tall one, my height.
I opened the top drawer and set it on the floor.
Inside… were roots.
“…Sigh.”
What are these? Herbs?
They’re not poisonous. I can tell by the smell and from the memories of the Poison King.
“Smells earthy…”
Even sniffing closely, I don’t recognize them.
Nothing in the Poison King’s memory matches.
“…Sigh.”
Why did a spy keep something like this? Not money, not weapons—just roots?
And now I’m hungry.
Can I eat them?
They’re thick and solid. They might fill me up.
…No. Tibur, stop.
Only a crazy person would eat secret roots hidden by a poison cult.
This is your hunger talking.
“No. These are probably medicinal herbs. If I take them to an herb shop, they might sell for a lot. Then I can buy real food.”
So I’ll wait.
I put the drawer back.
Three drawers left. The second one had papers.
“….”
So disappointing.
Where’s the shiny treasure?
The papers had strange symbols, but I could read them.
“Special Line Orders… Watch target ‘D’…”
They were orders from the cult.
Even though I could read them, I wasn’t happy.
“Observe D’s daily life… Measure D’s aura levels… Report any sudden changes…”
It was all about investigating the target.
But seriously…
Who the heck is ‘D’?
