After several adjustments and rounds of trial and error, the three Teleportation Waypoints were finally functional. With these now operational, all that remained was to deploy them in strategic locations, ensuring they were ready for use when the next update rolled out.

  The three locations Victor had in mind were obvious: The first would be at the academy, serving as the central hub. The second would be placed in the village, providing an essential connection for travel and resource gathering. As for the last one, he decided to position it right beside the chasm where the citadel was located. That area functioned as a dungeon, and the chasm itself was a prime candidate for future exploration.

  Perhaps, in the near future, he would set up another waypoint near Brightmoon City, but for now, it was too soon for the players to reveal their existence to the outside world. Once the academy developed further and Victor promoted to Nexus Temporal Magus, he would have far more confidence in expanding its reach.

  Naturally, he assigned a mission to select players, instructing them to place the Waypoints at the designated locations. To ensure proper deployment, he provided coordinates for guidance, though slight adjustments could be made as needed. However, the final placement would still require Lizbeth’s approval, everything was seamless and secure before being fully activated.

  With that done, Victor went back to his office to relax and meditate.

  Victor reviewed the files of the five candidates who had passed Lizbeth’s selection process for the assistant professor role. Out of the many applicants, these five were the only ones who met the academy’s strict requirements. Now, it was time for the final step: interviewing them personally.

  Flicking his fingers, Victor activated his Master Shadowlink Mark on his left wrist. “Send in the first candidate.”

  A moment later, the door opened, and the first player stepped inside, bowing his head politely. “Good morning, Sir Astralium.”

  Victor studied him briefly. He appeared to be quite confident, yet there was a stiffness to his posture — his movements were slightly awkward, as if he was forcing himself to remain composed before his presence.

  “Take a seat,” Victor said, motioning to the chair in front of him.

  The player nodded and sat down.

  Victor laced his fingers together, stating, “State your name and the field you specialize in.” Obviously, he already knew the player’s username from the file, but this was just a formality.

  “QuantumMind, Headmaster,” the player responded quickly. “I hold a master’s degree in computer science. Back in the real world… I mean, I worked in data modeling and AI development. I’ve done some tweaks to the Spell Generator program and even made a few improvements to it…”

  Clearly, QuantumMind — or Quantum for short — had some difficulty explaining modern terms eloquently to Victor, who was “supposedly” an intelligent NPC. Victor, of course, played his role perfectly, ignoring any terminology that should have been foreign to him. As someone who had also majored in programming, his knowledge was by no means inferior, even if his skills were rusty.

  “I understand.” Victor nodded. “So, why do you want to work as an assistant professor at the academy?”

  Quantum straightened his posture. “First, because the integration of scientific principles into magic fascinates me. Second, because the merit points exchange system presents a practical way to sustain myself financially while play— ahem. Sorry. I’m also interested in teaching people; becoming a lecturer in an academy has always been my dream.”

  Victor smirked slightly in response. He’s honest about this. Certainly, someone like him could become an important asset.

  Quantum was actually somewhat popular in the community due to his frequent posts about anything related to programming, particularly the Spell Generator program and Spell Assist. If this were truly a game that allowed mods, he would likely be one of the most prominent figures in the field.

  “Good. Now, let’s test your knowledge.” Victor proceeded to ask several questions about the Spell Generator program, and Quantum answered each one with ease, proving his familiarity with its inner workings.

  To begin with, Victor had designed the program to be open-source, allowing anyone to tweak it as they saw fit. If Quantum had really worked on it, he should have had no trouble answering these questions — and he didn’t.

  “All right. I think I’ve heard enough from you. The result of your acceptance will be announced in a couple of days; you’ll be informed through your Shadowlink Mark,” said Victor, much to Quantum’s disappointment.

  Victor intended to wait until the update rolled out before officially revealing the selected assistant professors. After all, there were still several considerations to finalize, including the regulations for players who would take on staff roles. He needed to ensure that none of them would misuse their new status.

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  “If you’re selected, you’ll be paid based on how many classes you teach and how many acolytes attend them. Furthermore, you will receive an incentive that is much better than other acolytes.” An excited smile appeared on Quantum’s face as he heard the benefits of becoming an assistant professor, but it immediately turned 180 degrees as Victor continued with his sentence.

  “However, you’ll also receive a set of regulations that must be followed. Any violations will result in punishment. In the worst case, you’ll be stripped of your status as an assistant professor and expelled from the academy permanently. Keep this in mind.”

  “Yes, yes! Understood, Headmaster!” Quantum nodded vigorously.

  “Good. You may go.” Victor gestured toward the door.

  Quantum stood up briskly, gave one final bow, and exited the room.

  As the door closed, Lizbeth emerged from the bedroom, crossing her arms. “Hmph. Saying that he could improve the program I made. What a boast!” she huffed. “Are you going to accept him, Master?”

  Victor chuckled. “Ahaha. Well, he’s pretty much got this in the bag.”

  For some reason, he was reminded of the fake job listings that were common nowadays on Earth — positions that existed only to make companies look like they were hiring, allowing them to reap government benefits without actually employing anyone while making themselves look good to the public eye. But no matter how qualified an applicant was, they would never get the job.

  Not that it had anything to do with this.

  “Anyway, send in the next one, Liz.”

  “M’kay,” she replied, disappearing in a blur.

  The next four candidates were excellent as well. Each had their own area of expertise, and while their motivations varied, they all demonstrated a solid understanding of their respective fields.

  For example, the second candidate, NeuroMage, was a biology teacher who had majored in neurology. He was particularly interested in becoming an assistant professor because, in this world, he could conduct research on the effects of mana on brain activity — something that had been impossible on Earth. He claimed that his unconventional ideas had made it difficult for him to find work back home, but here, no one could dismiss them outright.

  The remaining three were Dr. Plasma, DyingStar, and Skylark777.

  Out of the three, Dr. Plasma was the most interesting. He actually held a doctorate in physics and had an obsession with energy manipulation. The ability to experiment with mana directly fascinated him, and he openly admitted that the main reason he applied was to explore possibilities that had been out of reach on Earth.

  DyingStar, on the other hand, had a background in mechanical and electrical engineering. Though he wasn’t particularly invested in artificing, he was eager to experiment with integrating Earth’s engineering principles into magic tool development. One of his more ambitious ideas was the creation of a power plant powered by Magi. Someone like Eleanor would probably get along well with him — or turn him into an unpaid helper. Either way, it worked for him.

  Lastly, Skylark777 was a linguist and historian who had already compiled research comparing Earth’s languages to Seraphian. She was particularly interested in deciphering lost languages, with the goal of translating ancient spell inscriptions. Given how the citadel’s archives still contained plenty of untranslated records, she could prove to be a valuable asset.

  Victor noted that merit points weren’t the only reason these players wanted to join.

  “Still, if they believe this is just a game, why are they so obsessed with researching things that are supposedly made up?” Victor mused to no one in particular.

  Other than these five, Victor had interviewed one other player: MsMelody. She mentioned that she had previously worked in a school infirmary, which made Victor pause and consider something. As one of the best Bio-elemental players in the game, her healing capabilities were among the strongest.

  So far, the academy had no dedicated division for handling injuries. Healers would usually be employed by the academy through missions, and the pool under the Nexus Tower could virtually treat all injuries. However, if the academy were to expand, it would be inefficient to rely solely on that system. It would be more efficient to establish a dedicated healing ward or something.

  In this case, MsMelody could take charge, leading capable players or even natives with medical backgrounds to establish a place where treatment was readily available. Right now, there was no structured approach to injury management. Additionally, a healing ward could serve as a training ground where healers refine their techniques — whether magical or otherwise.

  MsMelody smiled at this offer, “Well, if it comes with a huge salary — er, merit points — then I’m definitely in, Headmaster.”

  “Mm. The decision is not finalized yet, so I will inform you when that time comes.”

  With that, the interview session ended. Lizbeth, who had been silently observing from who knows where, stretched her arms and floated closer.

  “Whew. That was a lot of nerd talk,” Lizbeth said, yawning. “So, what’s the verdict, Master?”

  “Well, they’re all competent, that’s all I can say. I’ll approve them after the update rolls out, but I’ll have to draft proper regulations first.”

  “Yeah, and by I, you actually mean me, don’t you?” Lizbeth placed her hands on her hips, staring at him accusingly.

  “Hah, you were the one who said that, not me.”

  “Wha…” Lizbeth gasped in mock shock, as if she had never seen that coming.

  Regardless, Victor was still expecting one more person, and moments later, a knock echoed at the door.

  After granting permission, the door opened, revealing a late-teenage youth with striking red hair. It was none other than Thunder, the first person to have his consciousness transferred into this world. Most incubated bodies of players started around the age of fifteen to sixteen, but practicing magic to a certain level, in some cases, could quickly boost their bodies’ development to their prime.

  “So, you are here.” Victor leaned back slightly on his chair. This was the person he had been expecting.

  Three months had passed since Thunder had uploaded his consciousness into his avatar, fully immersing himself in this world and enjoying his regained youth. In that time, he had undoubtedly been piecing together things that other players couldn’t — things that only someone permanently stuck in the so-called “game” could truly understand. In fact, this was exactly what Victor had wanted to happen.

  Thunder didn’t answer right away. Instead, he strode closer to Victor with a sharp gaze. After a long pause, he finally spoke.

  “Tell me the truth. Sir Astralium, are you… a player?”

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