I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 290 Astral Secret Techniques, Hidden Secrets First Appear

At the foot of the Volso Mountains in western Eleno, north of the Imperial First Military Academy, which resembles an iron fortress, lies the Eisencrown Castle, maintaining its medieval castle style. Deep within the principal's office is the 124th floor of the Stargazing Spire.

The study, which should have been an ordinary place, has now been replaced by a ring-shaped space that many people call the 'Starry Realm'.

A tall and imposing figure, draped in a dark gray scholar's robe and wearing an exceptionally large, deep blue magic hat that almost completely covered his head, stood in the center of this space.

Beneath his feet was a miniature astral instrument, slowly rotating under the flow of tangible magic, as light as a veil.

At this moment, as if sensing something, the figure paused slightly in its manipulation of magic to draw upon the power of the stars, and then raised its aged index finger to lightly tap the space in front of it.

"Buzz!"

With the ripples generated by the transformation of magic, the ring-shaped space constructed from countless magical runes instantly vanished. Instead, like a photograph fading rapidly, this space, which contained countless forbidden magical knowledge, was transferred to another location by someone with almost miraculous means.

Instead, the study was restored to its original state.

"%￥&！￥!"

Then the figure slowly raised his hand and removed the 'Crown of Omniscience' from his head, which was spewing various incomprehensible languages.

Before it could go berserk and break free from its restraints due to the infusion of star power, it raised its hand and summoned a phantom door, controlling countless chains formed by condensed magic to bind it tightly, and then sealed it back into the alternate dimension amidst the other party's curses.

At this moment, the sunlight outside the window was able to shine into the room again through the Grand Domain, which was filled with spatial and super-level magical factors, and reveal the other party's true appearance.

The other person was exceptionally tall and robust, nearly two meters tall, resembling a polar bear that was old but still powerful.

With broad shoulders and a large frame, he seemed to attract all the light and attention around him simply by standing there.

His facial features were sharp and defined, marked by the lines of time and hardship, making him look only sixty or seventy years old. It was hard to believe that he was over a hundred years old.

His long, unruly white hair was casually draped behind him, and his pupils were a pure blue color. But when you looked into his eyes, you would subconsciously feel as if you were staring into an abyss, and a chill would run down your spine.

He was wearing an old, dark gray scholar's robe stained with unidentified dirt and burn marks, over which he wore a black soft leather vest.

He was wearing a pair of badly worn leather gloves.

The only symbol of his status was a string of seven keys hanging from his waist, made of different colors and materials [from ordinary iron to dragon crystal fragments], which were rumored to be able to unlock all the knowledge treasures and forbidden seals of the academy and even the empire.

Overall, the other party exudes a mixture of extreme wisdom, profound weariness, and an imposing aura of authority.

Based on the other party's appearance, location, and displayed strength, it is not difficult to discern their identity.

That is, the Demon King who holds the pinnacle of the Grand Rank, dominates all, is the creator of the ultimate forbidden spell, the leader of the Demon King's army, the terminator of the Corrupting Dragon, the ruler of the Empire's 36 autonomous regions, the miraculous Limit Breaker, the Duke of the Empire's highest honor, the founder of the Empire's First Military Academy, and so many other titles that could fill dozens of pages, and is still recognized by countless people as the number one person in the magical world:

Ivan Daovich Tolovsky!
At the same time, almost immediately after Trolowski resealed the Crown of Omniscience and reclaimed his Grand Domain, a series of footsteps slowly sounded from outside the study and then stopped in front of the door.

"Dong dong!"

"Enter!"

"Squeak!"

The visitor was an old man wearing a white scholar's robe and black-rimmed glasses. He was thin and looked much older than Trotsky.

He looks quite ordinary, but anyone who has studied magic at the Empire's First Military Academy would probably know that this old man, who seems to be able to fall over with a gust of wind and has no fighting power whatsoever, is a formidable figure.

His identity is the Dean of the Magic Academy of the Imperial Military Academy and the Vice Chairman of the Magic Ethics Review Committee.

At the same time, he is also Kasper Herzog, who holds the title of 'Codewright' and is currently ranked 32nd in the Grand Rank!
However, this super-Grand-rank powerhouse, possessing the power to destroy a nation, showed no arrogance befitting a super-powerful being when facing Trovsky. Instead, he bowed respectfully, his voice filled with reverence, intending to report the events that had just occurred to this esteemed figure.

"headmaster……"

However, before Kasper could finish speaking, Trolowski raised his hand to interrupt him:
"Let him in."

"Yes, principal."

Kasper was not surprised by Trotsky's precognitive abilities.

Since arriving in Eisencrownburg, Kasper had realized, through the large-scale flow and changes of magic manifested by the academy, that this terrifying demon lord had once again used the power that he could only look up to in an attempt to further explore the astral plane.

Having broken through dimensional limitations and elevated magic to a level just a step away from the legendary ether, the Demon King Trolowski in that state not only possessed senses and power that humans could not attain.

You can even glimpse fragments of the future!

Although the inability of humans to control the ether means that this 'imperfect state' of peeping into the future cannot accurately pinpoint individual targets, resulting in highly random and unstable peeping, it cannot yield stable results and will also increase the consumption of mental energy.

Even so, this power is almost comparable to the authority of a god.

Kasper also believes that as Tolovsky continues to refine this astral art, which transcends magic, and organizes it into a system, it will become increasingly powerful.

Then the entire magical world will probably go crazy for it!
That's why he resolutely chose to turn down the White Tower's invitation and instead choose to live in the Empire as an ordinary headmaster of a magic academy.

The goal is to follow this Demon King who has already reached the pinnacle of magic, witness the miracles he has created, and try to obtain the possibility called 'Godhood' that every magician dreams of!

Thinking of this, Casper felt an overwhelming surge of excitement, but after gazing fervently at the Demon King before him, he respectfully retreated from the study that he had longed for, and slowly walked away.

"..."

After Kasper left, Trolowski sat down in his office chair, calming the turbulent magical power within him caused by absorbing the power of the stars. He then removed the dragon crystal key from his waist, crafted from the dragon crystal he had obtained after slaying the Corrupting Dragon. His abyssal eyes, which had been devoid of emotion since ascending to the Grand rank and acquiring the title of Demon Lord, now revealed an unprecedentedly complex mix of emotions.

It seemed like hesitation, it seemed like bewilderment, but more than anything, it was a strong sense of apprehension.

It was as if the existence sealed behind this key was something that even he, as the Demon King, who had reached the pinnacle of power in the world, had to avoid in front of!
All of this stemmed from a group of power fanatics who idolized the power of their worshippers, and the greed of a foreign politician with ulterior motives who sought to manipulate this power.

The disaster was ultimately created by the former's flawed judgment and the latter's covert plotting.

As a result, over the years, it has been allowed to deviate from its original source for a long time, and under the infinite expansion and devouring of its own characteristics.

Now it has evolved into a huge problem that even he, as the Demon King, finds extremely troublesome!
And, most importantly, what if this matter is not handled well, or if his judgment is flawed?

Then this trouble will likely escalate further.

It went from destroying the entire First Military Academy of the Empire to becoming a calamity capable of devouring the world.

"..."

As if recalling a terrible past he didn't want to talk about, Trotsky's gaze turned somewhat gloomy.

But after noticing that unprecedentedly weak figure enter his perception range, Trolowski realized that the terrifying bomb he had been entrusted to preserve was finally going to be dealt with today after many years!

Even he couldn't be sure whether this world-destroying bomb would eventually be silenced by the other side's restraint, or whether it would continue to expand in the future and destroy the entire world.

Thinking of this, Trotsky couldn't help but let out a long, melancholy sigh.

"Tap, tap!"

Meanwhile, inside the Stargazing Spire, John was taking the magic elevator to the 124th floor, where the principal's office was located.

Looking at the metal elevator in front of him, which was engraved with countless ornate patterns and emitted strong magical fluctuations, he felt an unprecedented sense of doubt.

After seeing Wendy off on the train, he went straight back to the Imperial Grand Hotel to rest. Upon waking up, he immediately had Bruno drive him to the Imperial First Military Academy.

Try to find your memories and see if you can meet the Demon King Troovsky, who is considered to be at the peak of power in the mid-game.

However, to his surprise, the first problem he encountered after arriving at the Imperial First Military Academy was not that his memories had not been awakened.

Instead, he was stopped outside his alma mater by the security guards.

After John explained his purpose, he thought that his status as the top graduate and newly promoted lieutenant general would impress the other party, but to his surprise, the other party said that he needed to ask his superiors for permission.

John waited a full half hour for this request.

Countless students passed by him, scrutinizing him with curious eyes. When one student recognized him, the students who had initially avoided him as a "weirdo" rushed forward and eagerly began to talk to John.

However, these reserve officers did not recognize him as Lieutenant General John, the new commander of the Imperial Air Force, but rather as John Maslow, the top graduate of the 59th class with a perfect score, on the list of outstanding graduates of the academy.

Given his impression of the closed-off education at the Imperial First Military Academy and the strict prohibition against discussing imperial politics, John was not surprised by this.

Just as John was being treated like a gorilla in a zoo, forcing a smile and taking photos with each of his younger schoolmates, his cheeks aching and trembling from laughing so hard he was almost questioning his existence.

At this moment, the gatekeeper who had previously refused him entry finally arrived, forcibly dispersed the crowd, and then offered to lead the way for John, allowing Bruno to drive into the school.

To John's surprise, after the car entered the college, the guards did not take him to visit the place where he had lived. Instead, they directed Bruno to drive the car away from the teaching area to a huge castle that John had no recollection of.

Just as John was wondering what the other party meant, the other party then directly stated that Principal Trolowski was waiting for him inside the observatory in Eisencrownburg.

John was not only surprised, but also incredulous.

In his memory, the Demon King Trolowski in the game spent most of his time exploring the astral plane in a space called 'Star Realm'.

The purpose of doing this is twofold: firstly, the opponent needs to use the power of the stars to suppress the magic source, which is constantly expanding rapidly over time, in order to prevent themselves from exploding and dying.

Secondly, it allows one to absorb secondary etheric products by entering the astral plane, thereby reducing the constant stinging sensation.

The third point is that the other party is trying to gain a deeper understanding of the power of the stars and analyze its structure, attempting to create a systematic secret technique, and trying to replace the existing magic system with the power of the stars. By transforming their own body into a star form, they aim to increase their lifespan limit and no longer have to suffer the excruciating pain caused by lifespan restrictions.

Although this goal was ultimately not achieved until Trotsky was killed off in the alternate dimension during the storyline.

However, based on the above information, John believed that Trolowski, who was always busy completing his 'godhood', should have had no time or interest in receiving a mere high-ranking mage like himself.

Even if he was the top graduate with a perfect score in the class of '59, he certainly did not have that honor.

"So, in the end, it's still related to the forbidden seal that Krauser mentioned?"

What secrets are hidden in these memories that I failed to inherit, that would make even a demon king who has reached the pinnacle of power postpone his ascension to godhood in order to meet with a mortal like myself?
John had no idea about this, but as he watched the elevator slowly come to a stop, the clouds that seemed almost within reach outside the glass of the narrow corridor, and the study door that filled his field of vision, which was pure black but flowed with countless magical patterns, he was struck by its intricate design.

John understood that everything would be answered once he knocked on that door.

So he immediately took a deep breath, suppressing the tension and excitement in his heart, and stepped forward to slowly knock on the door:
"Boom, boom!"

……

(End of this chapter)