Project Schemer: A Pure and Twisted Thought

Chapter 1: A strange sight

"Look at the time, none of you are qualified for the next lesson, so I guess we need to do this again."

Different from what Thomas thinks, the brats can't even pass the first lesson, so there is no need to teach the second one, making this one the easiest job for him. Of course, the brats aren't happy with the reason because they were praised by their parents and have their path laid out for them, and now, a professor comes out of nowhere and treats them like they are dirt. But, of course, that is what an entitled child says about him, even when Thomas only does what he was told to do, he teaches those children and it is not his fault if the children don't understand but they won't ask anything.

"I expected more than all of you. Please focus more on the lesson. This is the second time I have to repeat everything. If you can't master this first part, the second part may result in a fatal accident."

The class was almost expressionless after Thomas finished what he said, but that was not something he worried about. These children will corrupt this world like their parents did. What kind of hope is waiting in a world filled with nothing but disappointments? But the class was not just a bunch of disappointment, because in that class, he found some surprising and interesting individual. He would personally tutor them if they asked for his help, but they are all adults, they can have their own decision and it is not his right to speak for them.

The academy's normal system requires the lecturers to finish the program before a certain date, but that can't be applied to every subject and Thomas's subject is one of those subjects that the normal system can't be applied to. For his class, it is the first and the most important class - Safety Usage of thaumaturgy, one of the first classes in the academy introduced after the war to avoid any incidents that led to a war occurring once again. And this is the moment Thomas started to curse himself for being the one who made notes during the war for the solution and D'artenge got his hands on those notes and being the one who created this subject. And now, he has to be here and be a professor for these children, because they can't simply make a department to check children's abilities and mental state.

"D'artenge, I swear if that spybot still follows me, we will have something to talk about."

"Relax, I just want to check on my friend and see his second day in my academy. The children gave you a hard time and that is what I presume."

"Not really. If they are not willing to learn, you are still the one to pay me. After all, it is not my fault if they are stupid and stubborn."

"Those children remind me of that one soldier I left to die during the poisoning. Stubborn and foolish and that is everything I need to throw him in the smoke, I really want to get rid of that brat because he thinks he can be a commander because his parents are some kind of big name in the entertainment industry."

Their conversation is interrupted when a student approaches them. Strangely enough, the child looked humble and that was a strange sight for Thomas. The child is from one of the mythical tribes and he has a sigil of shifting on his hand, so, in Thomas's mind, the child must be from a tribe in the northern region of Dawnveil. And different from the upperclass, Thomas thinks highly of these people because their achievement alone is enough to change his theory on thaumaturgy. And for some reason, the child can't reveal his appearance, but that is not something Thomas wants to talk about because he almost has a sigil of shifting to hide the truth about himself.

"What can I do for you?"

"Sir, can you look through some papers I have right here? I know you want to teach us but those people take you for a joke and I can't be stuck with them."

"Of course, follow me, we can do this in the office. Standing after teaching is not something I want to do."

Thomas doesn't like his colleagues, so they don't stay in the office but in his living quarter. Thomas takes a chair from his suitcase and he asks the child to use that chair because there is no need for another to suffer through what he did in the lecture hall. When he goes through the paper, everything is correct and precise and, not to mention, it summarizes everything he taught to all fifty children, but paper alone is not enough and both of them know that. But the child's gaze let him know he was ready for any test, that he needed to be tutored by Thomas and not stuck in that class with the rest of his so-called classmates. And the first test is simple. The child only needs to detect any source of thaumaturgy in his current room and disable it, but Thomas knows it is not that simple for both of them. They both take risks of revealing each other's secrets.

"Sir, before this, I just want to let you know. My name is Gradnare, and I believe you can see my true form. After all, you are the famous Thomas Clovis, the Great War hero and savior of the north."

"My test is to disable the traces of thaumaturgy, not going around and spilling the secrets of others, so, perform your task and I will teach you everything you can know about thaumaturgy."

Thomas is ready for this, as the child uses a simple sigil to break the sigil of shifting and reveal to him is a different person. Thomas's true appearance is a white-haired man, as if everything is bleached with a square-shaped face and a scar that permanently damaged his left eye. The veteran in front of the boy is a completely different image than his normal lecturer and, in his mind, the man simply looks so cool, the rough appearance along with that scar and not to mention the white hair.

"Well, aren't you a wise one? Display my sigil of shifting and even apply it, wise and well-mannered. As you see, I can also dispel your sigil but you just simply reveal everything to me. I don't like a bond with blackmail but now, we know each other's secret."

"I never had a plan to blackmail you, sir. All I want is simple. Please teach me everything you know and don't stop at Safety Usage of thaumaturgy, I want to learn from a glorious hero like you."

"Then I should make you my aide... very interesting... I am not sure about the payment, but it won't be high and don't be a fanboy over my image in the past. War is a bad thing even when you're a hero."

But that is the subject Thomas doesn't want to dwell on, because looking at himself right now, a veteran has to use a sigil to change his appearance so he can have a decent job and, looking at D'artenge, that can only bring him sadness. D'artenge was not like this in the past. He hates the upperclass but he doesn't go for their blood like he does now. He will kill them when he has a chance because of the hatred for them in his mind, replaces everything and the poisoning is an event that changes his methods. D'artenge used to be fair, but now, he will use every method to get what he wants and that is the worst example of the result of the war in Thomas's opinion.

Life with Gradnare is not too bad in Thomas's opinion, there is nothing much for the aide to do. Thomas's research can bring a lot of controversy, so the aide couldn't join and help him. The aide title only served as a way for Gradnare to receive tutoring from Thomas. But Thomas gained something else when he spent time with Gradnare. Thomas no longer needed to smoke to relieve his mind from the trauma of his father's death and what the war had done to him and that one time he almost got sacrificed by that cult. Maybe that doctor was right but Thomas only cares for Gradnare because that is the strange sight among the students in this academy, someone who actually respect and seek to learn something.

"This is... Professor, this is..."

"I believe your habit of tinkering with everything around you changed something and even made a breakthrough. You may not be able to bring someone back from death, but you found a way to communicate with them."

"I did... but I don't think I will need this, most members of my family can live very long."

"Then I believe D'artenge will need this for his research. I did have the one I love, but I won't cling to an illusion. I will bring those I love back myself."

Gradnare admires the determination of his teacher, but right now, he needs to give this device to headmaster D'artenge. He doesn't know their plan and even when Thomas said he shouldn't admire the hero of the Great War, he can't help but say the old man looks cooler than how his parents described him. And even headmaster D'artenge is someone who earned his respect because there is something Thomas doesn't know about him.

"Good evening, headmaster."

"You can drop the disguise, there is no need to use that form when you are talking to me. So, how is your life with your idol?"

"Better than I can imagine. I understood why you admired him from his appearance to his personality, a little bit arrogant, but that just adds to the charm."

"Now, why are you here? Certainly, a student with a scholarship doesn't need any further guidance from a war criminal like me."

"No, sir, but Professor Thomas wants you to have this object. It may not be able to revive the dead, but it can allow you to talk to them."

"Well then, you can have one more honor. Do you want to talk to my mentor?"

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"It's strange that I need a piece of glass to talk to you, right, father? A little boost to his confidence. With curiosity, I believe he can create something marvelous. Don't worry, I will give you a body, but not now."

Thomas's notebook, his research and experiment are recorded over the course of nearly thirty years with only one determination to bring back his father, the one who he loved dearly. But there is one thing Gradnare was wrong about Thomas. It is not the determination that gives him the strength to continue his research, it is the obsession that motivates him to move forward, the motivation to bring back the one he loves. But Thomas could sense something wrong, something dangerous with Gradnare, take it as an instinct of a veteran because something dangerous was going to happen to his student.

With just the blink, the clock hand appeared in his hand, and within a few seconds, he appeared behind his lovely student who was being surrounded by a lot of his classmates. Watching in the dark is enough for him to know they are trying to kill his students out of envy, as predicted from the behavior of spoiled brats. But this time, he is not going to let this event happen. The clock hand is a secret and it is the weapon for a deathless death, a simple dust to make his student faint and the moment his student closes his eyes, that is the moment for the rampage.

"Messy, messy. D'artenge, can you take care of the clean up?"

"Well, I have to say, the clock hand is still pretty sharp. Of course, getting rid of these students is easy. They are at the bottom of the upperclass so there is nothing to worry about. But you do this for a student. What a strange sight."

"And remember, every trace must disappear, fake clues and traces for those underpaid detectives."

"Of course, I can simply make everything disappear, so what about your student?"

"Fabricate his memory, delete the part that he was here, and replace it with the part where he is staying in your room. Also, make a fake security footage."

"So, how do you feel when you kill them?"

"Why do I have to care for any dust under my feet when I walk through them?"