279 Trouble
Asher got out of his car as he saw the Portal Dome in sight.
Due to the recent situation, the security around the Portal Dome had been increased tenfold.
The Portal Dome was the only way to enter the Flying Island of the World Academy, and if someone wanted to force their way in, they needed to be at least Peak SS Rank Hunters to withstand the spatial pressure all around these Flying Islands.
The security guards moved to allow Asher to enter. Going in, Asher took out his ID Bracelet, which confirmed his identity.
“You can go in,” the security guard said as he opened the gate for Asher.
Inside the gate was the Teleporting Gate. Asher could easily see the amount of Runes that were present around it. If anyone tried to force their way to use this Gate, the people at the World Academy could easily activate this runic formation which would shift the coordinates of the teleportation device.
And if they were fast enough to enter it, their mana would leave an imprint on the detection runes, alerting the people at the World Academy.
Asher went in and arrived at the Flying Island shortly after. Someone handed Asher a hoverboard to go to the Inner Sector where the World Academy was situated.
The outer sector was almost empty as even the students at the World Academy saw the Broadcast of the Kalvas Gala. Almost all of them were stuck inside their room, watching all the events being posted on the internet.
Many people were even contacting their families, as they were quite confused by all this.
Asher took out his ID Bracelet and contacted Professor Argas to inform him that he had arrived at the World Academy.
“Time to get things done,” Asher said as he traveled the outer sector with the hoverboard.
He entered the Inner Sector, which was just as empty as the Outer Sector. Only a few staff members could be seen.
Asher first went inside the Rankers Dorm to change his uniform.
He was waiting for Argas’s confirmation, as entering the place where the Data System was stored was not easy.
They needed to be precise with their timings and ensure nobody could catch them. Argas was waiting for that opportunity as well.
In the Faculty Building,
“Yeah, I think I will change my course a bit starting next year,” Argas said to his assistant.
Argas’s eyes looked around, making sure that he created as many alibis as possible.
Despite needing to follow Asher’s absurd request, he wanted to create as many backup plans for himself as possible.
The only reason he was cooperating with Asher was to save himself.
“Did you inform Sir Zemil about my visit?” he asked.
“Yes, we have received confirmation from them,” the assistant replied immediately.
“Here is the card we received from them,” the assistant pulled out a card that allowed Argas to enter the place where the professors registered their artifacts.
Mostly all these artifacts were shown to the Security Team of the World Academy first, so that their use could be monitored.
Argas had already obtained permission from Farnus, and all he needed to do was wait to register the mana frequency of these artifacts, whose entry was already approved by Farnus himself.
All the 3 Star Professors had the authority to bring their own artifacts if they gave a valid reason for their use.
Even while teaching at the World Academy, all the 3 Star Professors were allowed to have artifacts that helped them increase their ranks or with their personal training.
A separate training facility had been made for them so that teaching at the World Academy wouldn’t hamper their growth.
‘That bastard got lucky with this timing,’ Argas thought in his head as he remembered Asher telling him to submit his request to Farnus to bring him some mana gathering artifacts.
Argas was hoping that Farnus would reject his application, but it got accepted. This made Argas anxious, thinking that someday he would need to allow Asher to infiltrate the Data Center.
But he was relieved that luck was on their side, and all the ruckus in the Outside World made their plan easier since Farnus was no longer present at the World Academy.
“Can you call Mark for me,” Argas told his assistant. He nodded and left the room.
Argas took out his ID Bracelet and contacted Asher, informing him it was time and they could begin their plan now.
Asher, who was in the Ranker’s Dorm, saw this message and took out the card-type artifact.
He stood up to leave the Ranker’s Dorm and head to the Faculty Building where Argas was waiting for him.
At the Security Room of the World Academy,
“Did any news come from the Principal?” Zemil asked.
“None of the SSS Rank Hunters have responded yet,” a man replied.
“So it will take more than a week before we hear any news,” Zemil muttered.
Zemil was hoping that the news was false and Farnus could return earlier. But knowing that whatever the masked man said was real, Zemil could deduce the time it would take for Farnus to come back.
Even the Dungeon Raids of SSS Rank Dungeons took a couple of months at least for the team of a few SSS Rank Hunters and other SS Rank Monsters to clear them.
“Keep capturing the footage near the Portal Dome,” Zemil instructed.
“And are all the Portals turned off?” Zemil asked. The man nodded.
The portals that were temporarily made for the midterms and for the professors to inspect the examination sites were all closed.
All of the Security team were too worried about the Outside threat that they didn’t even think that someone from inside could create a problem for them.
In half an hour, Asher was sitting inside Argas’s office with another assistant named Mark, who was confused why Argas called him.
“You can take his ID,” Argas said, but Mark was confused.
“Don’t think too much about it,” Argas said, and Mark became quiet instantly.
Mark was aware of Argas’s misuse of his power and had helped him many times, but he was confused as to why Asher Greville was sitting there with them.
However, Mark wasn’t stupid enough to question Argas. He knew that Argas could have him expelled from the World Academy with his authority. Mark didn’t want to make trouble for himself.
Mark walked towards Asher and gave him his ID Bracelet, but he was confused.
“Give him the spare clothes that I made you bring as well,” Argas said.
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“You can change there,” Argas said, careful with his tone. After all, the person sitting in front of him held his career in his hands.
Asher took the clothes and went to change into the formal attire.
“Mark,” Argas said.
“Yes, Professor,” Mark replied.
“Make sure you stay here and don’t open the door for others. You will be Asher Greville for a few hours,” Argas said.
Mark was confused, but Argas continued anyway.
“I will tell them he came for some extra lessons and stayed to practice a few things,” Argas said.
“What if someone comes in?” Mark asked, becoming nervous.
He didn’t know why, but something was telling him he was in trouble.
“Nobody will come in, and ensure that no one sees you here,” Argas said as he exerted his mana pressure on Mark.
“Ah, yes, Professor,” Mark replied instantly, afraid of upsetting Argas.
He knew how problematic it could be if Argas got in a bad mood.
Argas briefed Mark on a few things that he needed to bear in mind.
Argas stood up as soon as he saw Asher emerge from the room, dressed in clothes similar to Mark’s. Despite the matching attire, the two of them bore no resemblance to each other.
“Let’s go,” said Asher as he took Mark’s cap and glasses as well.
Argas opened the door to find his office practically deserted; he had sent most of his staff to spend some time learning about the unfolding situation outside.
The chaos outside had fortuitously made Argas’s task of hiding Asher significantly easier as they prepared to make their way to the Data System Room.
Argas was certain that nobody would see Asher as the entrance to the Data System room was through the elevator on his floor. All he needed was the Access Card he got from Zemil, and he would be able to access the Data System Room.
This room was a place where all professors had their approved artifacts scanned, and their mana frequencies entered so that these artifacts didn’t set off the alarms of the World Academy.
“Please stay behind me, just in case,” Argas advised as he glanced at Asher.
Asher positioned himself behind Argas in the elevator. His indifferent gaze was fixed on Argas, whose nervousness was all too apparent.
Argas often played with fire by using students to his advantage, but he always ensured he was careful with his plans and the targets he chose.
“Listen, both of us will get into trouble if we do this,” Argas stated, coming to a stop.
He had pulled out the access card but lacked the courage to use it.
For the last time, just as he had over the past couple of months, Argas attempted to reason with Asher.