"Are we in the clear?" Evan asked with a frown while walking down the hallway. They had just left the conference hall and the applauses had just died down.

"Yes. There are no holes in my memories," Alec answered. It wouldn't be wise to talk more than that. "How about your end? Did you notice anything weird?"

"No. The audience was completely normal. I was honestly waiting for everyone to zone out at the same time and forget everything they know," Evan said. "But it didn't happen. Just like you said."

"You made sure to block your hearing properly, right?" Alec asked. "If you didn't, you might have been affected by the anti-meme too and forgot the fact."

"Yes, Alec. I made sure. Don't worry," Evan said, an annoyed frown adorning his face.

"What are you two mumbling about? I can't understand! It's like you are saying random words..." Iris said with her brows furrowed. "And what's that smell? I didn't realize it before in the conference hall but now... Is that... Is that an incense?"

"Huh... Didn't expect you to figure it out so fast," Alec commented before reaching into his left sleeve. Inside a small compartment protected with tiny ward arrays was an incense. Its ethereal smell was apparent but negligible. If one was in a crowded space with lots of sensory information assaulting them, they wouldn't be able to notice it. Just like how Iris couldn't do so. In fact, Alec thought her to be even more disadvantaged because of her mana eye.

'These things last really long, huh? It has been running since yesterday and seems to have about half left... It's a shame the effects are so weak, even for the average grade incense,' Alec mentally commented before turning his attention back toward Iris.

"What do you..." she was about to say before Alec brought the incense closer to her nose. She took in the incense smoke without any questions. Then, small sparks started appearing around her head. Her pupils became larger momentarily as if trying to take in more light. "What incense is this? I feel... Weird. Also, my mana eye started seeing red for some reason. Literally."

"Be patient and follow us, we are going to meet up with Professor Andrew first," Alec said without stopping. Their footsteps echoed down the halls. An eerie emptiness surrounded them, probably because a huge chunk of the student body and professors were still in the conference hall, discussing the absurd situation.

"What do you mean 'meet up with Professor Andrew'? Wasn't he right behind you on the stage?" Iris asked, ignoring Alec's words.

"Yes, he was. I just didn't want to gather the attention back to him," Alec said. 'I also really wanted to make a cool exit like that. But that's a whole another topic,' he thought before continuing.

"How long will it take him to finish his defense?" Iris asked. To which Alec laughed in answer.

"Finish the thesis defense? No... That's the point. He won't finish it," Alec said. Before Iris started asking again, they turned a corner and reached a door labeled "backstage". Alec pulled on the handle.

What greeted them was a relatively cramped space. However, the crampedness wasn't actually because of its size but because of the lighting. The place was probably two times bigger than the stage – which was big enough on its own –. The real reason was its lighting. The only source of light seemed to be coming from the other side of the wall separating it from the front stage.

Letting aside the hubbub they could hear coming from the conference hall, the backstage was energetic too. Student council members were working like ants, making sure everything worked perfectly. That said, most of their efforts were about making sure nothing was harmed by Professor Howard's unreasonable display of magic.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Amidst those student council members –some of which who had noticed Alec and greeted him–, Alec saw Professor Andrew sitting with a cool demeanor.

"Yo!" Alec said casually. His manner of speech not befitting that of an assistant.

"Tch... Monster," Professor Andrew muttered while eyeing Alec with scorn. Still, Alec could pick up the playful undertone in his voice. After all, both of them had benefited from the show Alec had put up.

"How could you say that about your own assistant?" Alec grumbled with his arms crossed. "How did it go?"

"Just like you said. They let me off the hook," Professor Andrew answered with a deep sigh. "I said," he started recounting, his tone suddenly changing to become serious. "'I didn't know he was capable of this much. My judgment as an academician was lacking it seems... At least give me the chance to revise my thesis under these new findings!' Honestly, they ate it up. I think one of them was about to cry from how emotional the atmosphere was."

"Bullshit," Alec said with a chuckle.

Evan and Iris were watching Alec's interaction with the Professor in awe. They seemed more like friends rather than a Professor and a student. Still, it didn't feel out of place. Evan knew what kind of person Alec was and he knew he had the aura of an adult. Iris, on the other hand, had seen Alec's accomplishments on the stage. It wasn't that weird for him to treat Professor Andrew like that.

"Anyway. Both of us achieved our goals, so I will leave for now," Alec said, reaching out a hand toward the Professor.

"Sure, Alec. Take care, will you? I can guarantee that the academy is a safe place, still, better safe than sorry," the man said with a smile. This was the first time Alec saw the man this sincere. Apparently, saving his ass from public shaming was a feat worthy of his appreciation.

"Oh, by the way," Alec said right before leaving. He slightly turned his head and looked at Iris, then grabbed her arm and pulled her to Professor Andrew's side. "Can you give her a library pass too?" he asked.

"Sure, show me yours first," Professor Andrew said. He had asked some questions for Evan but by now, there was no need to. They might as well give Alec the authority of a Professor around the academy after all.

Tapping his index and middle fingers on the back of Alec's head, Professor Andrew extracted a small mote of light from there and sent it toward Iris' wrist.

"I made it a year-long pass. Will it be enough?" the Professor asked. Alec nodded and thanked him before bidding their farewells. He and the gang shifted their course toward the library's second floor.

After walking for a while, Iris finally seemed to have enough of it. "Okay, you have to tell me what is going on," she said while scratching her wrist, the spot where the library pass had appeared.

"We have been working on a project with Evan in the library's second floor and we need help. You are the only person we can ask for help from," Alec briefly explained.

"What's the project?" Iris asked with a raised brow. Meanwhile, they had passed through the gates of the library, heading towards the hidden second-floor stairs.

"We don't know," Alec answered truthfully. The mental cleansing incense wasn't strong enough to make them remember everything. Instead, it could help them remember some vague goals and important facts, saving them from being completely oblivious. Alec had felt incredibly stupid for ignoring the option of using incense. Still, to justify his case, he had only become capable of creating an average grade mental cleansing incense recently with The Author's Pen.

"What do you mean 'we don't–' oh..." Iris' words were cut off, seemingly in realization. She was a mage specializing in anti-memes after all. "I see. You can trust me if that's the case."

Once they finally reached the fated door of the library's second level, Alec felt his heart jump. Whenever he saw this, he would have an awkward feeling of anxiety in his heart. As if he had some bad experience with the door in the past... For some reason, he could imagine himself being hurtled through the door and breaking a couple of bones.

Evan pushed open the door and went in, Alec and Iris following along closely. As soon as they stepped in, the blue sparks around their heads amplified in strength, and they only got stronger the further they walked in.

"This won't be enough. We will have to use a potion after all," Evan said. If even Evan –who had an absurdly high mind stat– was saying this, there was no reason for Alec to wait further. Taking out an emergency potion he had prepared for such a day, he took a small sip and handed it over to Evan.

Evan repeated Alec's motions and passed the vial to Iris, who smelled the potion contemptfully. Although she felt skeptical, she could also feel that something was very wrong. Her sight was getting blurry, her surroundings seemingly switching between normal and crimson.

Once she gathered her nerves and downed the rest, she fully realized the red lights and how awkward the situation was.

An anti-memetic mage's mind wasn't to be underestimated. After all, they were the ones who were the best at spotting holes in their memories.

"How bad is the situation..?"