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

Chapter 69: Lance's Art Classroom

Guided by Bakar, the group stepped back into the academic zone and traversed spiraling staircases that were surrounded by an inky, hollow darkness. Gradually, a dim, amber light illuminated the path ahead. The spiraling stairs fell away behind them, replaced by an ancient stone corridor.

This corridor looked to be where the entire academic zone branched off. The lime mortar on the stone walls bore the marks of time, and the candlelight reflecting off the masonry cast a soft halo. The smell of the air held a blend of ancient rock and faint dampness.

Each corridor had its own unique signature, like a specific carving, a worn patch, or even a distinctive section of metal flooring. To Bakar, these subtle nuances were the key markers that allowed him to identify each one.

Lance and Hyperion followed him, passing through corridor after corridor as they ventured deeper into the heart of the area. Finally, Bakar halted before a small, exquisitely crafted wooden door. Emblazoned on the door were three distinct demonic sigils.

Bakar explained, "Rumor has it this is a painting and drawing classroom and one of the few art-related rooms rated at Difficulty 3."

Upon hearing this, Hyperion instinctively took half a step back. Clearly, she was reminded of a traumatic experience. To her, the art of the Demon Kingdom now seemed like a rather terrifying thing.

She still couldn't forget what had happened in the music classroom. That being said, musical magic happened to play to Lance's greatest strength, as his signature enchanted card, the Poet of Boundless Love, was a sonic type summon. This time, however, they were facing a drawing and painting classroom with a higher difficulty rating.

Hyperion looked at him and asked, "Lance... how are you at painting or drawing?"

Lance smiled calmly. "I know a thing or two."

"Mm." That put Hyperion at ease. She didn't know exactly how confident he was, but she knew she could trust him.

Lance walked ahead and pushed open the door, with Hyperion following him into the small, refreshingly bright classroom. The room was circular in layout, with walls composed of grayish-white stone slabs and murals. There was no traditional front or back, as all the seats were arranged around a central round table, creating a full, 360-degree field of view.

This layout made it easier for the teacher to interact with each student and facilitated convenient discussions among the students themselves. It was also the most conventional-looking classroom Lance had seen thus far.

Seminar: Demon Kingdom Art Appreciation

Location: F17 Corridor – Art Repository & Seminar Room

Clear text was inscribed on the grayish-white stone panels lining the walls. Apparently, any section of the wall could serve as a whiteboard for the lesson. The basic rules of the classroom were also clearly inscribed.

Do not attack other students.

Seminar Topic: Determining whether a painting was created by an academy professor or not.

Senior Instructor Mogut will randomly select works from the repository. These could be works made by the academy's art professors or works by former students. There will be variations in artistic skill. Students must distinguish between them.

Lance and Hyperion entered and took their seats, becoming the fourth and fifth students in the class respectively. An elderly demon instructor stood at one end of the room, checking his pocket watch. Class was about to begin.

The teacher silently opened the door behind him, wheeled out a cart containing several works of art from the repository, selected four of them, and hung them on the wall where all five students could see them clearly.

"I am a Senior Instructor of Art at this academy. I will first show you a few examples. The two paintings here are works by the academy's art teachers, while the other two are works by students." Instructor Mogut spoke in a calm, unhurried manner while gesturing toward the paintings on the wall.

The students in the room immediately turned their attention toward the art, observing them with intense concentration. The styles varied; there was an oil painting, a watercolor, and a charcoal sketch among the four pieces of art. To Hyperion, the comparison didn't seem straightforward, as she couldn't even tell which ones were superior in quality.

Beside her, Lance rested his chin on his hand, glanced briefly at them, and then gave a slight nod.

The teacher continued, "A correct answer earns you one point, while an incorrect one costs you a point. If you fail to answer after five minutes, a point will be automatically deducted. Should your score drop into the negatives, I will execute you.

"In the first round, if no one volunteers to answer first, I will select someone at random, and we will proceed clockwise for that round. From the second round onwards, you may switch to a free-for-all buzzer format.

"You pass the class simply by avoiding a negative score by the end of the session, though the higher your score, the better the rewards. For reference, the current record stands at twenty-one points."

Instructor Mogut looked at the five students in the class. None of them looked particularly remarkable; the chances of anyone breaking the record seemed slim.

***

Inside the College of Magical Engineering's laboratory, bright yellow light bathed the cluttered workbenches and the array of tools scattered about. Though it was late into the night, several students remained, seated before a large screen that displayed a live broadcast from the Demon Kingdom Shadow Realm dungeon. It was a spectacle so vivid it felt startlingly real.

The students looked exhausted, yet thoroughly entertained. Their eyes were glued to the screen, as if they were watching a high-stakes match. The entertainment value of this broadcast was absolutely sky-high.

Earlier, in the music auditorium, Lance had put them all through the throes of agony. It was a truly miserable experience, yet they had gradually realized that this guy was a total troll. They had never seen a Shadow Realm challenge quite like this before.

One magical artisan couldn't help but voice the same concern Hyperion had. "Do you think a Difficulty 3 classroom will be even worse than the Difficulty 2 musical performance assessment?"

Another replied, "Definitely. But even if it means being tortured, I still want to see the Poet of Boundless Love. She's so beautiful that I can't help it..."

One student interjected sharply, "Ahem! People cannot, and should not, fall in love with an enchanted card! You need to re-read Professor Boralo's Ethical Guidelines for Card Makers!"

Another person in front of the screen began to discuss the latest exam. "By the way, if you don't know anything about art appreciation, how are you supposed to tell the difference?"

Over at a nearby workbench, a young man seated on a sofa pointed out, "Aside from the difference in artistic skill, the medium and strokes on the art should leave behind faint traces of mana. If you possess extremely precise mana-sensing abilities, you can detect the artist's unique mana signature. After answering a few questions, you can use the previous answers to memorize the mana signatures of the academy's professors, so distinguishing between them will become easier as you go.

"The true difficulty of this classroom lies in the first few questions of the opening round. That's undoubtedly the riskiest part, as there's no prior information to go on. You have to rely entirely on analyzing artistic technique or simply leave it to luck."

The young man's perspective gave the second year students in the front row a new understanding of this trial. One student turned around and gave the young man a thumbs-up. "As expected of His Highness!"

The young man on the sofa was none other than Ainor, the Second Prince of the Kingdom of Hutton, and he grinned in response. He looked nothing like an aristocrat, resembling any other ordinary upperclassman.

A young woman standing by Ainor’s side, who was a Silver Certified Card Maker, asked, "Didn't Her Highness Vivian say that this guy has a real knack for appraising art? Wouldn't that mean he'd be right in his element in this classroom?"

Ainor frowned slightly as he thoughtfully muttered, "No, no, the difficulty is immense. The artistic style of the Demon Kingdom's Lost Era is completely alien to us humans. As for those four pieces of artwork serving as examples... Even I couldn't appraise them with absolute certainty."

"Then, if you were to appraise the next piece of work, what are your odds of getting it right?" asked the young woman as she gazed at Ainor's handsome face, which held the air of an aloof, otherworldly expert.

He confidently answered, "A solid 50%."

The young woman was momentarily taken aback. Don't true-or-false questions always offer a 50% chance of getting the answer right by guessing?

Then, gritting her teeth to suppress her anger, she clenched her fists tightly.

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