I pulled out the Professor's ID card, something I had taken from Alastor's body—and held it up to the digital lock system on the office door.
Ding!
[Verification successful!]
[Professor Alastor Van Helsing, welcome to your new office.]
Luxury is one thing, but United Academy's security system is honestly pathetic. With just the mana flow optimizer and realm illusioner Clark gave me, their so-called "high-end security" didn't even flinch.
And to think I was so anxious about getting past it.
Not wasting any more time, I opened the door.
What I saw surprised me again.
The office wasn't just large—it was extravagant.
This had to be the Mana Space Remodel S4, the latest in mana space extenders. I'd read about it, but seeing it in person was something else. It made the room feel like an entire studio apartment rather than just an office
At the far end of the room was a large wooden desk with several drawers and a comfortable chair.
The desk was adorned with various mana-infused decorative items, like orbs and crystals. In the center of the room, there was a mana broadcasting system surrounded by luxurious yet comfy sofas—perfect for taking naps during breaks.
Adjacent to that was a fully equipped research lab, complete with all the materials needed for mana engineering experiments.
It had everything I would need to dive into research.
Bookshelves lined the walls, stocked with research papers and reference books.
But the real highlight of the room was the temperature optimizer. This system automatically adjusted the room's temperature to fit the user's comfort level. I can't quite describe it, but the way it perfectly tuned the room to my preferences was almost therapeutic.
Okay, enough admiration.
Back to the real issues at hand.
First, I needed to investigate the Helsing family's situation actively. If I failed to fulfill the oath, I'd end up crippled.
Second, Blood Dawn's reason for sending me here was simple enough—the organization is still comparatively new, and they needed talented individuals to fill in their ranks.
And if you are talking about talents, Is there any better place for recruitment than United Academy?
So my job is to recruit students.
Sounds easy, right?
But it's an impossible task by normal means. Why would someone with a bright future in the light want to join the ranks of the dark for no reason? They wouldn't. Simple as that.
That's why Blood Dawn has a different approach—target those who've got some kind of inferiority complex.
Because they' will be weak to psychological attacks and easily swayable.
And just like any third-rate villain, my role will be to Pursue these desperate fools, promise them power, and make them addicted to the drug Clark gave me, Compound-S.
Seriously, they can't have a better name for this?
Well, this drug boosts their mana and physical strength exponentially but tears apart their mind, driving them insane.
But the real reason for using this drug is to bind them with it's special ability: blood hierarchy.
Every active member of Blood Dawn is already injected with this drug and by their rank purity of the Compound-S they are given will depend.
The higher the purity, the more control they have over those who took the lower-purity doses. It's a cruel method, but it's effective—especially for keeping the lower levels loyal when their motivations are unstable.
And above all, the highest purity comes from Stevenheart's real blood—something only Arc and I possess.
That's why I hold the position of young master in the organization.
So, can I control Clark with my Stevenheart's blood? Nope. Those trained by Arc himself, back when they were slaves, don't need Compound-S. And they only take orders from Arc and no one else.
Anyways this are things for later, I've already got a few potential candidates in mind to try out Compound-S.
For now, I need to prepare for my lecture.
What should I teach them for the first class?
It'd be less hectic and I could avoid unwanted attention if fewer students bother showing up to my class. Getting popular would only raise suspicion, and that's the last thing I need right now.
So, what keeps students uninterested in their professors these days?
The people in this world are biased against non-human races. As a vampire, they'll likely reject me, which works in my favour. But there's a catch—the original Alastor Van Helsing was quite popular among the students because of his kind and soft-spoken nature.
I won't make the same mistake.
Strictness is the key. I'll show these brats what a real professor from my time was like. Let's see who dares to come back to my class after that.
A proud chuckle escaped my lips as I amused myself.
Alright, today I'll just give a brief introduction about the subject and, most importantly, establish my strict rules.
With the lecture time almost here, I grabbed my coat, which I had taken off earlier, and double-checked the directions to Class S—the class I'd be teaching.
But, as I walked, my gaze landed on a group of students.
There were four of them, including one girl, all dressed in a way that suggested they came from well-off families. They were ganging up on another student, mocking him.
He looked like he came from a poorer background—jet-black hair, pale green eyes, and on the verge of tears.
What caught my attention, though, was the earring he wore—a shiny emerald set in the mouth of a snake.
One of the treasures belonging to the original protagonist of this world.
So, this was Benedict Blue.
At the start of the story, he was supposed to be a crybaby, mocked and bullied by almost everyone. Then, during the end of the first arc, his earring's power awakens, and he gets a complete rework—from crybaby to overpowered edgelord, creating a harem and showing these third-rate bullies their place. Or, at least, that's how things were supposed to go… until that damned Vigra scammed him out of everything later on.
Sigh…
So, what should I do here? Just ignoring it doesn't sit right, does it?
Wait… what if I took him as my disciple?