The School of Magic and Art, Trivia, has had many outstanding professors and students. People all over the world attempt to manipulate dark matter in order to harness its power.
Numerous organizations and schools worldwide research the same subject, each in their own way. Trivia focuses on magic—improving existing skills and creating new ones.
Among all the brilliant minds at Trivia, there is one profoundly underrated professor: Lisa Yates. Though famous within the campus, she dislikes public attention and is known as the coldest and strictest professor. Despite this, she is the most powerful and knowledgeable person the school has to offer.
"You want to apply to be an assistant for Professor Lisa Yates?"
"Yes."
Todd looked at me with pity. He was shocked—while Lisa Yates is undeniably an outstanding professor, her strict personality made her unpopular.
Her standards are exceptionally high. In my dreams, she had never accepted anyone as her assistant. She wouldn't even consider it if not for the school's rule that anyone could apply—though the professor had to approve them first.
Lisa had never shown interest in having an assistant. Whenever someone applied, she posed impossibly difficult questions no one could answer.
"Are you sure?"
Todd didn't try to dissuade me; he simply asked if I was certain. Maybe he didn't care. That was fine—I don't want the attention of an assassin anyway.
"Yes. I'm sure. Now please give me the form."
I calmly requested it, hoping to secure an interview today. Todd pulled a form from a drawer—there weren't many for this position.
"I'll fill it out now. Can I request an interview today?"
"Sure."
Todd seemed completely indifferent, almost lazy. Had it been someone else, he might have advised me to prepare, but he didn't. I ignored him and focused on the form.
[ Name:
Age:
Prior Experience:
Any Particular Skill the Applicant Wants to Mention:
Origin:
Reason to Apply: ]
The form only requested essential details, there is not even a section mentioning the class for students. I filled in my name and age, wrote "I am most suitable." as my reason, and left the rest blank.
Todd returned and told me to follow him. He led me to the last office in the hallway, not far from the reception area.
"You can go inside. Hand the form to Professor Yates."
I nodded, thanking him for escorting me. He merely glanced at me before returning to the reception desk. I faced the door, which bore a single name: Lisa Yates.
I knocked.
A sweet yet cold voice responded from inside.
"Come in."
I opened the door calmly, stepped inside, and closed it behind me.
But the moment the door shut, I received a message.
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[ Some Nubeculas want the barrier to be removed. ]
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It seemed she had an item here that could block drones' vision. I glanced around—the office was styled in medieval fashion, with furnishings of wood and leather.
Magical items lined the shelves: a noise canceller to contain conversations, a weapon detector, and other artifacts.
But what caught my attention most was the white cat sleeping on the couch—a Persian, by the looks of it.
Then, my gaze shifted to the woman seated behind the desk.
Lisa Yates.
Fair skin, neatly tied black hair, a stunning beauty with an hourglass figure. Her black cloak and glasses only accentuated her elegance.
"Good evening, Professor."
Had it been anyone else, they might have been stunned by her beauty. But I was different. I'd seen her countless times in my dreams.
Excitement outweighed nervousness. I was finally meeting someone who had only existed in my visions. Lisa glanced up and motioned for me to sit. I obeyed, taking the seat across from her.
+
[ The Active Skill 'Prescient Description' is activated. ]
+
[ Name: Lisa Hart
Age: 62
Blessing: Goddess of Witchcraft
Active Attribute: Oath of God (Rare)
Active Skills: Illusion Lvl.5, Energy Casting Lvl.5, Manifestation Chaos Lvl.4, Guard Lvl.5, Mist Control Lvl.4.
Passive Skills: Knife Handling Lvl.4, Chariot Driving Lvl.4, Rationality Lvl.3, Common Sense Lvl.4, Calm Observation Lvl.4.
Overall Stats: Strength Lvl 81, Stamina Lvl 80, Agility Lvl 83, Magic Power Lvl 92
Description: Highly independent and intelligent. She has a powerful and caring Blesser. Currently hiding her identity. ]
+
I read the details, and a smile formed on my lips. Lisa Hart—not the name Trivia knew her by.
She is from the royal Hart family. The Cloud Continent had always been ruled by empresses, and Lisa is the younger sister of the current one. Though titled Archduke, her passion for magic—and her Blesser, Hekate, the goddess of witchcraft—had led her to conceal her identity and research at a school named after her Blesser.
This was one reason I'd chosen her as my Blesser. My own Blessing Attribute is unique, and becoming part of her family would make my life easier.
"You applied to be my assistant?"
"Yes."
She asked the obvious; I answered the same. She seemed disinterested, but I struggled to contain my excitement.
"I've never accepted an assistant before."
"I'm well aware."
"You look like a scammer with that smile."
Me? I just ignored Persephone's remark. My appearance wouldn't change the outcome I intended. Something interesting would happen soon.
Lisa extended her hand, and I gave her the form.
There were two other reasons I wanted her as my Blesser:
First, her husband had died shortly after their marriage forty years ago. Now, her duties as Archduke are managed by her daughter.
For now, everything was stable—but in six months, a power struggle would erupt, and she'd need a male heir. Originally, she'd adopted a capable young man.
Now, I would take his place.
Not that I cared about ruling—I'd handle that when the time came.
Second, she is also the sworn sister of the Prime Minister of the Modern Continent, a woman as cold and strict as Lisa herself. Their bond would grant me easy access to that continent in the future.
She is the perfect Blesser. Becoming her family would simplify my plans immensely.
She skimmed the form, and I saw her interest in me vanish instantly.
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[ The Lower existence 'Lisa Hart' is disappointed. ]
+
Well, if I wasn't sure before I am sure now.
The form lay between us like a failed peace offering. Lisa Yates—no, Lisa Hart—had placed it back in front of me with deliberate precision, her polished nails barely grazing the paper. The dismissal in her voice was colder than the antique brass inkwell on her desk.
"You have nothing that interests me."
The words should have stung. Instead, I felt the ghost of a smile tug at my lips.
"That is not true."
My calm reply hung in the air thick. She isn't wrong—on paper, I am a blank page. But I am not going to give up this easily. I wouldn't have come otherwise.
"You don't have anything on that paper that could interest me." Her finger tapped the empty 'Origin' field, the leather chair creaking as she leaned back. The white Persian cat on the sofa twitched an ear in sync with her movement.
I let the silence stretch. Twenty years old. No recorded history. To her, I must seem like a shadow given flesh—exactly what I needed to be.
"You're twenty years old. You have no experience. You also left your origin blank." Her gaze sharpened, catching the way my fingers had tensed around my knees. "If I had to guess, it looks like you're trying to hide."
The cat's tail flicked. Somewhere beyond the noise-cancelling wards, a clock tower chimed.
"Maybe I am?"
A beat passed, as Persephone remarked.
"Now that's the first honest thing you've said,"
Shame it's wrapped in twenty layers of deception.
My next words came slower, measured. "Miss Lisa. I know my form seems suspicious, but I wrote everything I could write." The lie tasted like burnt sugar. "I have no origin to give. I haven't lived enough to gain experience." True enough. "But I'm passionate about this." The most dangerous half-truth of all.
I leaned forward just enough to make the ancient floorboards groan. "If it looks like I'm hiding… aren't we all just curating what others see?"
Her pen stilled.
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[ The Lower existence 'Lisa Hart' is showing interest in you. ]
+
I may not like to admit it, but I have a glib tongue, it used to be my specialty. I just know what to say at the moment, it comes to me naturally. Across the desk, Lisa's posture remained rigid, but her pupils had dilated—the same tell I'd seen in my dreams when she encountered a rare spell formula.
"...You say interesting things."
"Only truths, Miss Lisa."
"Professor Yates." The correction came razor-sharp.
"Ah.. Right."
The distance in her title was a wall I'd dismantle brick by brick. Every great mage kept their secrets; hers just happened to be an empire and a dead husband.
One way or another I need to raise her affection for me.
Since I am also someone who does not like to associate with others that deeply, I know how to handle people like her. First I needed to be her assistant so that I could be near her.
"Ask me anything. I may be a blank page to you, but I know I can pass this interview."
Then first question came like a scalpel: "What year did the old world fracture?"
"2056. Year Zero of the Revelation Calendar." My reply overlapped with her next words.
"How do magic stats affect skill potency?"
"They're conduits, not just batteries. Higher stats don't just increase power and duration—they unlock deeper iterations of the same skill." I gestured to the glowing Guard rune above her door. "Your level five could sustain twelve wards simultaneously. A novice's would shatter at three."
Her next exhale stirred the papers between us.
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[ The Lower existence 'Lisa Hart' favorability has increased. ]
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[ Favorability +5% ]
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The interrogation became a dance—her questions probing like a surgeon's blade, my answers weaving through history and arcane theory. When she demanded the etymology of 'Nubecula', I described the celestial clouds of the Godrealm's borderlands. As she pressed on pre-Revelation geopolitics, I quoted from treaties even the archives had forgotten.
"Careful"Persephone warned as I fudged a 14th-century emperor's birthdate. I was always bad at remembering dates and names.
Lisa's fingers drummed against her desk. And I could feel her cat's uncanny blue eyes tracking my every microexpression.
"Last question." She removed her glasses, and for the first time, I saw the faint luminescence in her irises—the mark of Hecate's blessing. "Why do the Five Thrones forbid research into the 18,000 lesser deities?"
A trap. The official answer was 'divine edict'. The truth?
"Because the Thrones fear what they can't catalog." I held her gaze. "And nothing terrifies gods more than unanswered prayers."
The antique clock's ticking filled the silence. Then—
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[ The Lower existence 'Lisa Hart' favorability has increased. ]
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[ Favorability +5% ]
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"Please, I heard he is here."
Ducas's voice was a cheese grater to the ears.
Lisa's transformation was instantaneous—shoulders squaring into professor-mode. But not before I caught the frustrated twitch of her eyebrow.
" Guard from outside also said he saw him coming inside. "
" Wow, he followed you all the way here. "
Persephone was also surprised. I ignored everything and looked at Lisa so that she could continue asking questions again.
Knock. Knock.
But then a knock came from outside.
" Come in. " Lisa answered.
The door opened and Todd came into view, standing outside just at the edge of the door. He looked annoyed and exhausted.
" I apologize Professor Yates. There is a person outside. He seems to be looking for the person you are interviewing. "
Lisa and Todd both looked at me, I looked at them with an equally confused expression. I knew what was going on but I acted like I do not know a thing. Then a voice was heard.
" Oh, Sir Arthur! I was looking all over for you! "
I looked back at the door, and a person was standing behind Todd looking inside the office while waving his hand. It was the scam character I saved, Ducas.
As soon I saw him smiling and waving his hand, I felt like I suddenly had a headache.