Chapter 192: I’m Not Your Father ’Damn it!’ The demon worshiper who copied Lucius Thornwell’s appearance cursed internally. His true name was Calem Voxmere, and he prided on his skill to perfectly copy the appearance and body structure of his targets. Every time he was sent on a mission, he would research his targets in detail, learning even the fine details of their mannerisms, relationships, hobbies, likes and dislikes, and even their gait. He sought perfection, so every time he used his abilities to gather confidential information, steal treasures, or commit any other criminal acts, he made sure that others would take the fall in his stead. Of course, he also had the demon worshipers’ intelligence network to help him out. They had deemed Lucius Thornwell the ideal candidate to impersonate for the important task of infiltrating the academy as a student. This was because of two reasons. The first one was because he was the adopted son of Professor Gareth, who held a high position in the academy. The second reason was that Lucius himself was a member of the student council, acting as its secretary. As he was in a position of power and well-connected, the organization believed Calem could accomplish the most by impersonating him. However, Calem was starting to doubt whether the information that he and the organization had gathered was accurate. According to the head of the information network, Gareth truly loved and cared for Lucius, even though he was adopted. Their relationship was very good, so Calem couldn’t understand why his supposed "father" was hurting him so much! ’Damn it!’ Calem cursed internally. ’Is this how their relationship is always like behind closed doors?! Does this bastard always beat his son in private?!’ No matter how much he begged, no matter how much he asked for his "father" to stop hurting him, Professor Gareth’s blows did not slow down. In fact, they only got harder. It was not to the point that Calem would die from them, but the blows truly hurt! His transformation almost came apart a few times during the beating, and he was only able to keep it up due to his sheer willpower! As the minutes passed by, the gaze of the Overlord of the Mistral Weave Forest, who was also one of the Guardians of Frieden Academy, turned cold and ruthless. The beating was only meant to make his "son" feel pain, but with the lack of progress, it intensified until it reached the breaking point. Or rather, it reached the young man’s breaking point. "Argh!" Lucius slammed against the wall for the umpteenth time and collapsed on the floor, his clothes dyed in the color of his own blood. With shaky hands, the teenage boy took out a high-grade potion from his storage ring and drank it. The pain all over his body subsided, but just a little. "I see, I understand now," Professor Gareth said icily as he raised his foot. "It seems that I was right." A resounding crack echoed inside the room, followed by Lucius’ scream. Under the Professor’s boot was Lucius’ crushed right knee. "What kind of father are you?!" Lucius shouted in pain and anger as tears streamed down his eyes. "I’m not your father," Professor Gareth replied flatly. "And you are not my son." He stomped again, and Calem shrieked, almost fainting from the shock and pain. His left knee cap was now also mangled. It was no longer possible to stand or run away. "I’ll ask you just once," Professor Gareth said as he grabbed the teenage boy’s hair, raising him up like a doll. "Who are you?" "F-Father, it’s really me, Lucius." "I see, so you chose death." Without another word, the Professor punched Lucius’ stomach, making the latter spit out a mouthful of blood. Before the teenage boy could say anything, another punch landed on the same spot, then three more. His eyes rolled backwards. But how could Professor Gareth allow him to faint? A slap on the cheek, and the copycat regained consciousness, only to find himself staring straight into the Professor’s cold and merciless eyes. Calem couldn’t help but shudder after seeing the deathly gaze. Then and there, he understood that if he didn’t do anything to save himself, he would die a very painful and gruesome death. The Professor’s eyes were glowing red, as if he had activated a berserk state. For some reason, Calem felt that something was invading his mind. "S-Stop!" Calem forced himself to speak. "I..." However, before he could even say anything else, his body stiffened as if he had fallen into some kind of trance. His transformation became undone. Instead of a teenage boy, the Professor was now staring at a man who appeared to be in his early thirties. Professor Gareth had beaten "Lucius" over and over to goad him into using his healing magic on himself. As a Light Mage, Lucius was very capable of that. Even if his lips were sealed and his hands bound tightly by a rope, Lucius would still be able to use his healing magic with a thought since he specialized in chantless casting. This made him one of the most powerful Light Mages of his generation. And yet, Lucius had done none of that. The imposter merely used a high-grade potion to heal himself. That had been enough to confirm the Professor’s suspicions. He no longer held back and crushed the impostor’s knees so that they couldn’t escape from him. The sight of the copycat’s real face incensed Professor Gareth, and his anger threatened to consume him. However he understood that there was a time for rampaging, and there was a time for questioning. "Who are you?" Professor Gareth asked with barely restrained rage. "Calem Voxmere," Calem replied. "Where is my son?" Professor Gareth demanded, making sure to maintain eye contact with his captive. "I sealed him away in the Chrono Maze," Calem answered. After hearing his reply, the Professor almost ripped the demon worshiper’s head off of his body. However, he knew that Calem was an important captive and that the Headmaster would certainly wish to personally interrogate him himself. Without another word, Professor Gareth summoned a golden cube. At first, the cube was small enough to fit on his palm, but it suddenly enlarged itself and grew taller than the dorm door. Professor Gareth unceremoniously tossed Calem inside the cube before making it return to its original size. He then returned the mini prison to his storage ring. Once the captive had been secured, he took a deep breath in order to calm himself. The first thing that crossed his mind was to contact the Headmaster as soon as possible. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to do so, he had no way to reach him. Rowan Vademont was one of the handful of people who knew how to open the Chrono Maze. Without his help, no one could enter and exit from it freely. ’Lucius...’ Gareth clenched his fists so hard that they made cracking sounds. Suddenly, it occurred to him that perhaps not all hope was lost yet. ’Wait, maybe Alex will be able to open it!’ Professor Gareth thought. Since the young man had the Memory Dial, he would be able to rewind time and find out the passwords that the demon worshiper had used. Professor Gareth knew that the passwords of the Chrono Maze changed everyday. However, he didn’t know the detailed intricacies behind it. He immediately headed to the Ironheart Dormitory to look for the young man who had already helped him twice in one day. ’Even if I have to give him all of my remaining academy points, I need his help to find Lucius no matter what,’ Professor Gareth thought anxiously as he left the dormitory meant for the Elite and Noble students. His heart sank when he arrived at his destination but Alex was nowhere to be found. Apparently, he had still not returned to his room after leaving to talk to Professor Gareth in his office. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚 Professor Gareth was at a loss until Latifa materialized beside him and informed him of the situation inside the Chrono Maze.