Chapter 19

I had a reason for calling Professor Ilya.

Because Teresa's advisor was Ilya.

"I want to request a consultation about my future."

Professor Ilya nodded.

"Come to my lab."

Mimosha awkwardly smiled and frantically untangled her arms from mine.

"Ah, hello, Professor. I have a consultation with my advisor... I'll be going now!"

Mimosa almost ran away.

Ilya, showing no interest in Mimosa, gestured to me with his chin.

"Come in."

"Yes, Professor."

He briefly cast an indifferent gaze at me before turning his head.

He seemed to find it strange that Teresa, who had been desperately avoiding him, approached first and showed such proactive behavior.

While moving to the lab with Ilya, I also checked his character information.

▼

[Ilya Bernstein]

Age: 30

Height: 194 cm

Birthday: January 31

Likes: Silence, books, research

Dislikes: Noise, ignorance, celestial beings

Affection: ♡♡♡♡♡

▲

Professor Ilya's heart gauge was completely empty.

Perhaps due to the shock of seeing a black heart just now, Ilya seemed like an angel to me.

Click.

Ilya opened the door and said,

"Come in."

"Yes, thank you."

I maintained a pleasant smile as I followed his lead and sat on the soft sofa.

"So, what do you want to say?"

His emerald eyes, filled with a cold aura, looked at me indifferently.

It was a strangely familiar gaze.

The kind of gaze one gives to a tiny ant that would die if pressed with a finger.

'Oswald...'

That bastard had looked at me with such eyes.

Ding!

[The seat 'Black Flame Prince' has donated 1,000 coins.]

[You cheap clown BJ, I have a question. Why does this professor hate celestial beings?]

'What, this concept character?'

I slightly frowned at the strange seat's appearance but then paused.

<God's Play> is a world where gods, angels, devils, and demons exist.

And the setting is that each realm, where they exist, is kept at a vast distance to prevent interference.

However, due to a certain event, the distance between dimensions has rapidly narrowed.

And the twin of the 'Archangel Ilya,' who was involved in this event, was killed by the angels' scheme, and Ilya himself was exiled to the demon world.

The Archangel Ilya fell and inscribed a new name on his soul.

Thus, the Great Demon [Ablor] was born.

"..."

I suddenly lost my smile.

I realized that the man in front of me was not a human professor but a former Archangel and current Great Demon.

'It's... fine. His real goal is to destroy the celestial beings and the celestial realm, so he won't have any regrets about me.'

Although to achieve this, he first needs to overthrow the human realm, the only intermediate passage to the celestial realm.

Ilya's revenge has been slowly taking shape over 100 years.

The establishment of the magic school, Valhalla, which trains powerful mages to protect the human realm by killing demons, is evidence of this.

But the one who can save the world is not a powerful mage but a proper heroine.

Ilya's bad ending is the destruction of the human realm.

I was a fool for thinking I was safe, not realizing I was following a tornado.

'If it weren't for the black heart, Professor Ilya wouldn't kill just anyone.'

So I must never provoke him!

I tried to maintain a smooth attitude to avoid getting a black heart.

However, no one can remain calm when alone in a confined space with a murderer.

'<God's Play> isn't an unfriendly game that kills you from the start... but I can't predict what will happen with Teresa.'

Even if Ilya can easily turn a human into a pile of ashes, my heart gauge is empty, so I don't have a reason to become ashes yet.

"Teresa Squire. I don't like wasting time."

"Sorry!"

I desperately recalled my business before I turned to ashes for wasting the Great Demon's time.

'Ah!'

Effort never betrays.

I frantically thought and remembered something.

I quickly took out a magic book from my bag.

I always carry it because I've been reading magic books lately, and I didn't expect it to be so helpful.

Moreover, the book I was reading was a specialized textbook, *Understanding the Properties of Magic I*.

"I don't understand some parts while reading."

Ilya looked at the book and then raised his gaze to me.

"It's a second-year textbook."

He must be thinking, 'How can a fourth-year student bring this book and say they don't understand?'

'Well, Teresa didn't choose this major because she was interested in or talented at elemental magic...'

Ilya was an unparalleled genius mage, and the specialized magic he taught, 'elemental magic,' was extremely difficult and intricate.

Thanks to this, Ilya's direct disciples were only the student council president, Clyde, and Teresa, who followed him.

Teresa was a physical-type mage, not an intellectual one, so she was terrible at elemental magic.

Therefore, her grades were a mess.

It was questionable whether she could graduate.

Ilya, knowing about Teresa's abysmal grades, didn't express any further doubts, finding the situation plausible.

"How much do you understand?"

I opened the book to the end and pointed to a paragraph.

"This part. Elemental magic deals with the properties of elements like water, fire, earth, and air, but I'm curious why black and white magic can't be used. Theoretically, shouldn't ancient white magic and black magic, which are said to have disappeared after the era of the ancient magic kingdom, also be usable?"

Ding!

[The seat 'I'm Sorry' has donated 1,000 coins.]

[Uh... Can you summarize in three lines?]

Ding!

[The seat 'Korean Hip-Hop Top' has donated 1,000 coins.]

[Oh... Can you rap a bit?]

Ding!

[The seat 'Pro Trainer' has donated 1,000 coins.]

[Not a villainous heroine BJ but a villainous heroine MC]

Ilya explained.

"The content you're asking about is covered in *Understanding the Properties of Magic II*. The ancient magic kingdom can't be covered in just one chapter."

*Understanding the Properties of Magic II* means...

"It's in the third-year curriculum."

I knew it.

I found myself in a terrible situation, having confessed my ignorance and lack of diligence to my advisor.

Ilya flipped through the magic book I brought and asked,

"Did you understand the previous content?"

"Yes."

He looked at me, thinking, 'There's no way.'

"Let me ask you a few questions."

"…!"

'Are you suddenly giving me a test?'

I was on edge, nervously waiting for his questions.

But the questions were easier than expected.

'He must be considering my level.'

After I answered a few questions without hesitation, Professor Ilya nodded, seeming to gauge my level.

"What books did you read during the break?"

There were too many to list, so I excluded basic magic books and mentioned about five.

"Did you understand them all?"

"I think so."

Magic is strangely similar to making a game.

The runic language used in magic feels like a programming language in a game.

The process of connecting runic languages into magic circuits to form spells is like coding.

When you infuse magic power into the completed spell, it activates like a game.

'So, is that why magic is interesting?'

It follows familiar formulas but materializes, which is the key difference.

Magic is a discipline that combines flawless mathematics and ecstatic art.

Talking about my favorite topic eased my tension a bit.

But it doesn't mean I wanted to stay in the lab.

'I want to leave now.'

As I was timing when to stand up, Professor Ilya casually asked,

"So, what's your real business?"

Uh. I almost bit my tongue.

'You noticed that the book was just an excuse.'

Then why not show it?

If you were going to pretend not to know, you shouldn't have said anything.

'I'm not teasing anyone.'

I rolled my eyes and had no choice but to confess.

"Actually, I was in a bit of a difficult situation earlier, and I thought I could run away when I saw you... I'm sorry."

Ilya's eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"So, you came to me to run away?"

"Yes..."

Running to the Great Demon's lab. It was the worst of the worst plans.

Ilya suddenly stood up, took three magic books from the bookshelf, and placed them in front of me.

"Read these. If you have any questions, come to me."

'What...?'

This is a typical action of Professor Ilya lending books, which appears when he has one heart.

I checked his affection level in confusion.

[Affection: ♥♡♡♡♡]