After leaving Jane's office, Knox spotted Simon and Rick standing in front of the mission boards.
The two were staring at the requests with complicated expressions, looking as if they were contemplating life itself.
"Yo, Simon, Rick. Why the long faces? Your sighs can probably be heard all the way to the Holy Federation~" Knox said.
"Pfft!"
Several nearby students immediately laughed.
"I didn't sigh!" Rick protested.
"Sigh… anyway, Knox. Any mission recommendations?" Simon asked.
Simon had to be careful. He needed missions that could provide a steady source of income, especially since there was no telling when the next opportunity would arrive.
Meanwhile, Rick had already picked out a white-ranked mission.
"Rick, a white mission again? If you keep taking only the easy ones, won't it become harder for you later?" Knox asked.
"Tomorrow's sun will rise tomorrow!"
Rick held the request slip between his teeth and casually slung his uniform jacket over one shoulder.
"At Kizen, one wrong move can get you expelled at any time, right? Gotta make the most of each day!"
"Making the most of it means taking missions inside Roke Mountain…?" Simon asked with a deadpan expression.
"Hehehe, I have my reasons."
Then Knox turned back toward Simon.
"Anyway, if you're really unsure, just remember your position as Special Entry No.1. Same as me."
"So?"
"So if you wait a little, decent requests will eventually come looking for you."
"A request mission, huh…"
Simon thought about it for a moment.
"Now that you mention it, waiting might not be a bad idea."
Knox nodded. "Exactly."
Then, after a brief pause, he added,
"Remember when you defeated Haren using only summons during the first duel evaluation?"
Simon blinked.
"Yeah?"
"It's about time your name starts spreading throughout the Dark Alliance."
Knox grinned.
"The students who witnessed that duel won't stay quiet forever."
"Just wait. The gossip network will do the rest."
Simon let out a small laugh.
"Yeah. Thanks, Knox."
***
The next day.
Cindy, full of energy as usual, decided to try a blue-ranked mission this time. Merida, on the other hand, claimed she still hadn't recovered from the exhaustion of Kera Island and planned to clear a white mission as quickly as possible before returning to the dormitory to rest.
Meanwhile, after giving it considerable thought, Claudia also decided to take a blue-ranked mission.
Even with the mission boards now open, classes at Kizen continued as usual without the slightest change.
A truly fitting academy for a place often described as a black company.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
And today's first class was Toxicology.
"Cough! Sorry, everyone. I'll leave it to you again today!"
"Yes, Professor. Please get some rest."
Professor Lang Strauss, the Toxicology professor, seemed to be growing weaker with each passing day.
It was no longer unusual for him to cough up blood during lectures, forcing his head assistant, Francesca, to take over the class in his place.
Recently, the situation had worsened to the point where even theoretical lessons were being handled almost entirely by Francesca.
Sometimes, Lang did not appear at all.
Knox quietly watched the scene from his seat.
Outwardly, his expression remained unchanged.
But inside, his heart grew colder.
His complexion is already this bad...
Looks like I'll have to make my move sooner than planned...
His gaze lingered briefly on Lang before he silently looked away.
The students genuinely worried about Professor Lang's health.
However, deep down, quite a few of them secretly hoped that Francesca would continue taking over the lectures instead.
Professor Lang's classes had long been known as a battle against sleep itself, while Francesca's lectures were energetic, professional, and engaging enough to rival those of any full professor.
Lately, it wasn't uncommon to hear students saying that Professor Lang should retire and allow Francesca to take over his position.
"I know this sounds harsh, but in a place like Kizen that revolves around survival of the fittest, Professor Lang just isn't competitive anymore."
Like many students, Meilyn was firmly on Francesca's side.
"You can't demand brutal competition from students while letting professors sit comfortably on their past achievements. That's not exactly fair, is it?"
"I mean, it's not that simple."
Rick took a more pragmatic stance.
"If a professor's position changes at Kizen, then all of their assistant instructors have to leave as well. The new professor brings their own assistants. It's basically an entire administration being replaced."
Simon nodded as if he finally understood.
Rick continued.
"Who doesn't know Francesca is capable? I want to keep attending her classes too. But if Professor Lang steps down, his assistants go with him."
"Ugh, that's complicated."
Meilyn rested her chin on her hand.
This time, Camibarez raised a question.
"Can't Assistant Instructor Francesca become a professor herself?"
"Jumping directly to professor would be difficult."
Rick waved his hand lightly.
"Assistant instructors occupy a weird position at Kizen. They're somewhere between educators and subordinates. Honestly, most people see them as glorified class assistants rather than actual professors."
Meilyn immediately frowned.
"Class assistants? Watch your mouth."
"I'm just talking about the general perception."
Rick shrugged.
"Of course, with enough achievements and a professor's recommendation, an assistant instructor can move up. But becoming a professor right away..."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"It would take something on the level of Lady Nefthis personally intervening."
Meanwhile, not far from Group Seven, Group Eight was also listening to the discussion.
"Coughing blood every day..." Cindy muttered.
Then she suddenly leaned forward and lowered her voice dramatically.
"Hey... do you guys think Professor Lang was poisoned?"
"..."
"..."
Claudia and Merida slowly turned toward her.
Looking at their expressions, Cindy immediately pointed at herself.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?!"
"Cindy."
"Yeah?"
"You've been reading too many novels."
Claudia answered without mercy.
Meanwhile, Merida nodded.
"Brain damage."
"HEY!"
Cindy immediately protested.
"I mean it! Think about it! This is Kizen!"
She pointed toward Professor Lang dramatically.
"A professor suddenly coughing blood every day?"
Then she lowered her voice even further.
"What if someone poisoned him? Or cursed him? Or maybe an ancient ghost is secretly draining his life force every night!"
"..."
"..."
This time, even Claudia looked speechless.
Meanwhile, Knox nearly choked.
Good grief.
Are you a prophet?!
Or are you the reincarnation of March 7th?
How did you accidentally guess it correctly?
Fortunately, Knox managed to maintain a calm expression.
Outwardly, he merely nodded.
"Hm. Interesting theory."
"See?!" Cindy immediately pointed at Knox. "Even Knox agrees with me!"
"No."
Knox immediately denied it.
"I only said it's interesting."
"Traitor!"
Meanwhile, Merida rested her chin on her hand and looked toward Professor Lang.
Unlike Cindy's wild theories, her gaze remained unusually serious.
"...His vitality is collapsing."
The playful atmosphere faded slightly.
Claudia followed Merida's gaze toward the front of the classroom.
"...I agree."
At this point, even she could tell something was wrong.
Meanwhile, Knox remained silent.
"We'll continue with the next page."
Rolling up her sleeves, Francesca tied her long hair into a neat ponytail. The serious look on her face made her resemble a gladiator preparing for battle.
"There is a famous saying about poison."
She took a deep breath before speaking.
"Alle Ding' sind Gift, und nichts ohn' Gift; allein die Dosis macht, daß ein Ding kein Gift ist."
"...??"
"Everything is poison, and nothing is without poison; only the dose makes something not a poison."
"...…"
"What is poison? Is it simply a toxic substance? No. Anything that can harm a human body can be considered poison."
Her gaze swept across the classroom.
"So here's a question. If someone consumes the same amount of spice and toxic herbs, yet the spice turns out to be more harmful to their health, why would that happen?"
Class President Jamie immediately raised her hand.
"Because the poison didn't reach its lethal dose!"
"Correct, Jamie. Five academic points."
Jamie's face brightened instantly.
"For any poison to be effective, the dosage must reach a lethal threshold. Below that threshold, some substances can even be used as medicine."
She tapped the blackboard lightly.
"Then why aren't non-toxic substances classified as poison? Jamie?"
Caught off guard by being called on again, Jamie froze briefly before answering.
"B-Because they're not harmful to the body?"
"Simple."
Francesca smiled faintly.
"Because the amount required to reach a lethal dose would probably make your stomach burst first."
A ripple of laughter spread throughout the lecture hall.
"So, the fundamentals of toxicology are precise dosage calculation and proper analysis of the target. If you intend to poison a monster, you'll need to calculate an entirely different lethal dose."
She turned toward the board.
"Now then, let's move on to the three principles used when calculating lethal dosage."
Time passed.
Eventually, the Toxicology lecture came to an end.
The students packed their belongings and gradually left the lecture hall.