I Swear I'm Not a Demon Masquerading as a Human

Chapter 52: Lance's First Act

In this demonic classroom that had now transformed into a veritable slaughterhouse, time seemed to stretch, making every second feel excruciatingly long and agonizing. The oil lamp light from the wall sconces flickered unsteadily, waxing and waning as if counting down the moments until the exam ended. It was a deadline that drew ever closer alongside the encroaching specter of death.

Seated in the back row, Hyperion gave up on trying to figure things out. She was utterly unable to comprehend what Lance was planning to do. Yet, her past experience of working together with him told her that if she couldn't keep up with his train of thought, then it was probably for the best. At least it meant she was still the sane one.

All she had to do was keep a close eye on him. Her role was akin to that of a nanny, there to provide a safety net and handle whatever mess he might create.

Lance paused his snitching on the other examinees for a brief spell, lowering his head to scribble something on his parchment exam paper. It looked like he was waiting for the perfect moment.

After about a minute had passed, he set down his pen and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms with an air of casual ease. He had once again slipped into the persona of Proctor No. 3. Before long, he spotted a student who had successfully committed an act of cheating and immediately raised his hand to report them.

Hyperion sat silently nearby, her head down. Though she didn't know what Lance was waiting for, she had a hunch that something highly unusual was about to happen.

***

This time, the dragon demon was once again closer to the reported student. He eagerly and joyfully went forward to brutally execute the cheating candidate. Lance watched the overall situation in a deceptively casual manner, but he was actually focused intently on the two demon examiners.

The time is almost here. I will only have a miniscule amount of time to act. The dragon demon is overjoyed at the prospect of killing another student, so he is not focusing on anything else. And the owl demon's field of vision is limited so he will soon be in the perfect spot.

This was the longest blind spot that Lance could artificially create for the two examiners, and the time would be just enough for his plan to fall into place. He silently counted the seconds. At the same time, an enchanted card appeared in his hidden hand

At the exact moment, Lance activated Basic Etiquette, targeting a demon student who was diagonally in front of him. The hapless student turned around and kneeled helplessly. Lance raised his hand again and shouted, "Teacher, he turned around to copy the answer!"

Both teachers noticed the poor demon who suddenly moved and looked behind him. This unlucky student had green scales on his neck, and his tearful eyes were wide open. His lips were trembling and he couldn't seem to speak. He didn't know why he had suddenly been possessed, forced to turn around and look behind him. To make matters worse, he was also immediately reported.

Unfortunately, there was no way he could save himself.

While that student was frozen with fear, the two proctors quickly walked over to him. This was unlike before. Previously, only one of the two teachers would act. They were following an unspoken rule: whoever could get to the cheater faster would get the kill, while the other continued to patrol.

This time was different. It was like a perfect coincidence. Both of them believed that they were the one who had the right to execute the student, so they both bolted over.

In the back row, Lance lowered his head and tapped his elbow with his index finger. He was rapidly calculating all possible scenarios in his mind. So far, the situation was going exactly as he had predicted.

He had already figured out the proctors' movement patterns. Therefore, he could easily determine when to report a student such that both examiners would arrive to kill that student at the same time.

According to the two proctors' undisguised desire to kill, they would never give up this opportunity easily. Lance had just created a perfect opening!

***

Two rows diagonally ahead of Lance's seat, the dragon demon was about to raise his hand to execute the cheating student, but the owl demon suddenly grabbed his wrist.

He snarled, "I called dibs first."

The owl demon retorted, "Don't be too greedy."

The dragon demon snapped, "Let go."

The owl demon sneered. "You're the one who should pull your hand back."

His voice was icy. He clearly harbored a significant grudge against the other proctor. The murderous intent between these two high-ranking demons heated up, and they visibly shifted their focus to one another.

Although Hyperion didn't turn to look at the situation, her heart was pounding wildly! She thought she was beginning to understand what Lance was planning, and she truly believed he had now gone off his rocker!

She wasn't certain if using his trump card, the Poet of Boundless Love, would be enough to fully ignite the rage within the two proctors and drive them completely over the edge. No matter how angry they were, these were two high ranked demons. They likely had the experience to maintain enough of their rationality to adhere to the exam's proctoring rules and refrain from acting rashly.

However, Hyperion seemed to hear Lance chuckling very softly. None of the demons in the exam hall had noticed a tiny, almost imperceptible flying insect on the ground. It stealthily climbed from the dragon demon's shoe up onto his suit.

[Friendship Forever Bug]

Category: Summon Card

Grade: Blue (Uncommon)

Attribute: Link/Psychokinesis

Tier: 1

Capable of learning the target's voice and then using it per the summoner's desires.

You can't talk? I'll talk for you.

This was one of the few finished cards Lance had personally created, aside from Basic Etiquette and Friendly Exchange.

The two proctors continued to threaten each other with cold, intense glares, filling the exam hall with a tense, stifling atmosphere.

Just as the tension was about to reach a freezing point, the dragon demon's voice was projected from within him and ran out, directed at the owl demon. "You slow-witted bird-brain deserve to eat sh*t. If you don't get the f**k out of here right now, I'll rip the feathers right off your head and shove them up your ass. Just like that shitty clan of yours, you're only fit to scavenge the filth others leave behind."

The dragon demon then tried to speak, but as he parted his lips, a searing pain in his throat reduced his words to a hoarse, guttural roar. He had no idea where that voice had come from. All he could feel was the owl demon's grip on his wrist tightening painfully!

Yet, to the owl demon, the dragon demon's wide-eyed look of astonishment appeared exactly like a brazen, arrogant glare meant to provoke him.

***

Friendship Forever Bug was an enchanted card created by Lance to be used in tandem with Friendly Exchange. In direct combat, aside from making a buzzing noise and acting like a toxic trash-talker to rattle the opponent, the bug offered little in the way of tangible utility. In fact, it was easily wiped out by even a minor AoE spell.

During the third round of the entrance exam, he had faced a single examiner. Therefore, Lance had played it safe by packing his deck with Flawed Slow Heals that were highly efficient at generating rage from a single target.

This time he had prepared to enter a genuine Shadow Realm challenge where he would face a myriad of complex situations, so he had brought along several "Lance Specials," which were Tier 1 Uncommon cards.

Lance sat in the back row, resting his chin casually on his hand as he watched the proctors and offered this commentary, "When conflicts arise between colleagues, one shouldn't simply bottle it all up. Only by venting those pent-up grievances can a path to reconciliation be found."

He knew the time had come for the two of them to finally open up to one another.

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