I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 815 - Side Story 88: Lexer (1)

The man's words were astonishing. 

A man materialized from gathered blue particles introduced himself as Lexer.

'Lexer.'

Lexer was a very influential figure. Even if hundreds of years passed from here, his name would be remembered because he left a mark in the history of magic.

'The mage who established the 6th rank.'

All 6th rank mages receive the [Lexer] grade. For a mage, it was tremendous fame that was difficult to grasp even with a lifetime of effort.

'And Lexer is also famous in another sense. From his origins to his upbringing, and the path he walked even after becoming a mage.'

As could be seen from his lack of a surname, Lexer was a commoner. He didn't receive proper education even from childhood.

He started magic from the very bottom, and established the rules of the 6th rank, which had been ambiguous at the time.

He wasn't the first to blaze the trail, but he neatly refined and regulated things that hadn't been organized before, implementing them in a clear form.

'That's difficult work in a different sense from simply pioneering a path.'

Systematizing a single path. In that process, there must have been countless attempts, failures, and data from predecessors in history. But even with such clues, there are things that cannot be done.

Lexer succeeded in that and left his name in history and his activities didn't stop there.

As an authority on magic, he had originally also served as an explorer, but he became even more passionate about it.

Wandering the world, going around places others hadn't been, exploring the unknown world.

'Lexer, who purely enjoyed this, was a man with a passionate heart unsuited to mages who should be cold and detached.'

However, his end came when he went to find a new continent in the distant north. He didn't return, and people said Lexer had died.

'But now here, a historical figure has appeared.'

Though it was in hologram form, judging by the fact he could introduce himself, he had at least that level of intelligence. It wasn't simply storing and recording the situation at the time and leaving it behind.

[Hmm. Everyone seems surprised.]

The way he was observing this side and reacting too. The Lexer before their eyes now was clearly an intelligent being capable of communication.

"A-are you really Lexer?"

Casey asked in a disbelieving tone. She was also a mage, so she knew how great a person Lexer was. Veronica was equally shocked. Even to her as a knight, Lexer's name was too famous.

[Hm? Hahaha! Of course. Well, this is surprising. It seems quite a long time has passed, yet there's someone who recognizes me. And to be remembered by such a beautiful lady at that—isn't this rather an honor for me?]

Lexer let out a hearty laugh as if pleased by Casey's reaction. Even so, he looked at Casey with an expression that had become even more intense.

'What's this?'

Casey was quite flustered by Lexer's heated gaze directed at her.

[More than that, miss, what is your name?] 

"......Casey Selmore." 

[Ah. What a truly beautiful name! That someone who followed my traces would be such a beauty—how could this not be fate!]

Both the way he spread his arms wide exaggeratedly and his manner of speaking. This person. He's very much something.

'Ah.'

Casey was belatedly able to recall another fact about Lexer.

'Complicated relationships with women, a lecher.'

There were many mages in history who left footprints like Lexer. Nevertheless, the name that came up most among gossipmongers was always Lexer.

Because he established the 6th rank? That's also correct. Because he was an excellent explorer who found various ruins and excavated relics? That's also correct.

But the most decisive thing was his history with women.

Lexer lived as freely as the wind throughout his life. And wherever he passed, there were always endless scandals about beauties related to Lexer.

Would there be smoke without fire? In fact, Lexer was a well-known lecher even among historians.

He didn't do crude things like openly chasing women, but had a personality that never refused women who approached him and had the free-spiritedness to leave such women behind and depart without regret.

Some would say he lacked responsibility and his emotions were light, but originally, such stories were bound to be interesting when viewed from a third party's perspective.

'I can't believe that was actually true.'

She could tell just from looking at the gaze directed at them. Though it's not something to brag about, Casey's appearance was never inferior wherever she went. She was objectively beautiful, and had been in the newspapers many times for such external aspects.

Of course, Casey didn't particularly like that. The tone that made it seem like she rose to fame through appearance rather than skill touched her pride.

That said, she had no intention of putting herself down either, so Casey recognized that her appearance was objectively pretty. That's why she received heated gazes from many men, and was both accustomed to such gazes and able to react sensitively to them.

Lexer was the same. Though a hologram, judging by what he was saying, he seemed to have memories from his lifetime.

That meant it was closer to the necromancy lineage, to the side of leaving behind one's own thoughts.

To meet a historical figure like this directly, and in an ancient ruin she never expected at that.

[How about it, miss? Shall we go somewhere quiet and have a nice cup of tea......]

Lexer was about to say that when he looked at his own body and soon let out a bitter smile.

[......I'd like to, but sadly I'm in this state. Ah, what a sad thing. When I should be making the countless beauties of the world happy.] 

"You're really unlucky."

Casey jabbed directly. It wasn't particularly an instinctive remark, but a deliberately sharp comment.

[I may be unlucky. But what can I do when I'm so great?]

Lexer was not easy. He was rather confident, saying did she think this was the first or second time he'd heard such words. At the shameless appearance, Casey let out a sigh of "Hah."

"Are you really Lexer?"

It was then that Rudger threw out a question.

[Hm?]

Lexer looked at Rudger. His eyes had gone to Casey so his recognition was delayed. In the first place, he didn't have much interest in men. Normally, he would have responded roughly and moved on to his own topic.

[......What are you?]

But the moment he faced Rudger, Lexer felt some kind of inexplicable chill. From that man who looked much younger than himself, an indescribable energy was emanating.

[How on earth can someone reach that level at that age?] 

"Hmm. Interesting. I thought it was just thoughts imbued with memories, but you can perceive such things."

Rudger found Lexer's state interesting in his own way. It was common for great mages to leave their memories and knowledge in various forms of records. He thought Lexer was one of them, but after conversing, it wasn't that simple.

"Related to necromancy, did you deliberately bind your soul here?"

Rudger glanced at the artifact he had activated. Though it was just a brief moment, he could roughly guess from the artifact's operating principle to how Lexer had modified it.

"Impressive. Even if you established the 6th rank, touching necromancy wouldn't have been easy. Moreover, the method of handling not someone else's soul but your own......"

Rudger briefly recalled the silver-haired man he had seen in the Bretus Holy Kingdom. Compared to that ability to maintain the soul while changing bodies, Lexer's was clearly an inferior version. But what was important was that he had achieved it through the power of magic without anyone's help.

[You figured that out just from looking briefly?]

Lexer's expression finally became serious. He intuited that this group who had come to find him were extraordinary people, and lowered his voice accordingly.

[Indeed. Seeing that you've come this far, you're not simple explorers. A human who has reached a realm that even the great mages I've seen couldn't reach. Has the world advanced that much.]

Lexer snapped his fingers. Then the blue mana filling the room seeped into the walls, ceiling, and floor.

Soon after, blue lines reminiscent of circuits rose up from various places, softly illuminating the room.

[Don't be surprised. This is my own space made for the purpose of a record room. I've just activated it.] 

"It's still operating fine even though much time must have passed."

[I didn't do it alone. It's the result of borrowing the power of ancient relics.]

Lexer raised his index finger like a conductor and lightly rotated it once. Zzzzzing. Objects inside the space operated. The space ordinarily made by carving stone was actually a magical device with advanced technology.

[Even I, who was confident I could handle most things alone, found it impossible to fully control this. I felt competitive. So what I did was this.] 

"You imprinted your soul on the artifact, then permeated the ruins for a long time."

That was why Lexer could operate part of the ruins with just gestures. He was now assimilated with the ruins' magical system. It was essentially no different from being one body with the ruins.

"No matter how competitive you felt, was there a reason to commit such an act?"

Casey asked accusingly. She couldn't understand why a mage as talented as Lexer would so easily decide on such an end.

[Hmm. Before answering that, I should first briefly explain how I ended up here. It was when I was exploring the cold northern seas to find a new continent. The process of facing sea monsters, breaking through fierce cold waves and storms with manly spirit, and taking the first step of a great journey that would remain in history was truly......] 

"......You said briefly."

Casey muttered as if dumbfounded. This man, he was overflowing with narcissistic tendencies too. Considering the achievements he'd made, he had the right to be, but Casey was somehow displeased.

Because she had seen a mage more impressive than Lexer not flaunting his skills. Whether that showed unconsciously or not, Casey glanced at Rudger.

And Lexer recognized the emotion in Casey's gaze faster than anyone.

[Aha. So that's how it was.]

Lexer shrugged as if amused.

[Well, it's a bit exaggerated, but getting here was certainly hard work. It was good that I found an unknown continent, and it was good that I discovered this tropical rainforest at its center.]

Lexer went beyond simply discovering the forest and tried to explore its interior.

The forest was dangerous. It was full of insects and poisonous plants, and the extremely humid environment hindered breathing. The beasts and plants were all threatening, containing powerful mana. Among them, the most fearsome were, of course, the spirit beasts that dominated the forest regions.

[I don't know how many times I faced near-death crises. I actually suffered many serious injuries. I was confident I'd experienced every kind of danger while working as an explorer, but this was a problem of a different dimension.]

Moreover, Lexer was moving alone at the time. Breaking through the forest of spirit beasts alone without anyone's help proved that he was that impressive an explorer.

[That's how I was able to discover these ruins. This is a truly amazing place. In the distant past, ancient humans created such a place that even current magic struggles to classify.]

This was the discovery of the century. Lexer explored the ruins more diligently and tried to gain knowledge from them.

[But there was a problem. I had consumed too much stamina getting here.]

Lexer walked out of the room where he had awakened.

Though he didn't say it, he meant for them to follow. After exchanging glances briefly, Rudger, Casey, and Veronica followed Lexer.

Lexer didn't stop talking while walking down the corridor.

[My body was already worn down, but the fight with the spirit beast was the final blow. I intuited that my life was in danger before I could fully examine the ruins.]

He stopped in front of a certain room. Lexer reached out his hand. The solid stone door slid to the side with a grinding sound. Dust fell rustling, and the interior covered with countless vines became visible.

At its center was a skeleton lying as if asleep.

[So the measure I took was this.] 

"Soul transference."

At Rudger's words, Lexer nodded. He looked at the corpse that had once been his body with an indescribable expression.

[Anyway, while staying here, I devoted myself to examining these ruins. It wasn't bad. Still, being a mage by nature, I enjoyed the process itself. The problem was that I became so absorbed in research without realizing it that I didn't notice the artifact's power had run out. So I ended up in a deep sleep I didn't want.] 

"But you didn't forget to prepare arrangements for people who might come in later generations." 

[That's why we're having this conversation. So, what purpose did you all come here for?]

Lexer shook his head briefly and corrected his words.

[Let me ask something else. Those guys who just entered above, are they your companions?]