《I Killed the Academy Player》 CH 1 ? Kill the Player (1) ? I killed the player. He was one hell of a fucker. *** 3 years ago, I woke up as a game character, As a side character at that. ¡ºHeroic Legends of Arhan¡» As expected of a game, it had an enormous setting filled with all sorts of crises and events, including even the destruction of the entire world, but it was fine! Because the protagonist would solve it all! There was nowhere to run, and it¡¯s not like I could avoid things from happening by leaving this continent, so let¡¯s watch the story unfold from the side~ was what I thought. At least let¡¯s have a look at the face of our dear protagonist, Park Sihu, who was now destined to have both wealth and fame but¡ª¡ª ¡°¡­ Slow development¡­ hate¡­ fast plot¡­ I¡¯ll live for myself¡­ efficiency¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wait, you too? **** Park Sihu was a ¡®possessor¡¯ like me. The difference between him and I was that Sihu was the protagonist, the player, and had access to the ¡®status screen¡¯, the privilege of the playable character. It was unfortunate that Sihu had never played this game before, but that was something I could handle. Because I had played this game quite a lot. As a previous player and a diehard fan of ?Heroic Legends of Arhan?, I knew the game story by heart and had gotten most of the hidden pieces. I had also seen most of the various endings and this informational advantage was an extremely significant merit. However, most of the items were unobtainable without the player¡¯s status screen and the system, so Sihu just had to use the information I gave him to beat this game. In this world¡¯s plot, countless people will die without the protagonist and the world will also fall to ruin. If I perish alongside the end of this world, will I be able to return to Earth? What if instead of a ¡®game over¡¯ screen, it straight away led to my life being over? With that doubt in mind, I helped Sihu with all my heart and strength. The kinship of being from the same hometown, and both of us having fallen into a game from Earth, made us the bestest of friends. We soon realized that I was older than him back on Earth, so it felt like I had a younger brother who would call me ¡®bro¡¯ every time, so that wasn¡¯t that bad either. And although my limit as a side character was obvious, a portion of the items we got using my knowledge was also given to me to supplement my lacking abilities. The two of us made a good duo. The only unfortunate part, I guess, would be that we couldn¡¯t get closer to any of the heroines of the game. There were all sorts of male and female characters in this game, but the romance simulation of the playable character interacting with characters of the opposite gender was also an attractive element of the game. Of course, the girls would show interest in Park Sihu, the player, so I only wanted to watch from the side as a fan but¡­ Park Sihu ¨C this guy did not interact with any of the heroines and only added them into the party only when they were necessary. By the time I realized it, the party was filled with male humans and our party ended up being a sweaty group of men, including Park Sihu and me. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± I should have noticed something was off. When one of the main heroines, the granddaughter of the Sword Emperor, Alicia Arden, did not show up at the entrance ceremony; When the final boss of the 1st arc, Marie, had gone missing; When the mysterious missing incidents caused the story to flow in a direction unbeknownst to me, instead of optimistically saying, ¡®You¡¯re doing great, Sihu!¡¯ I should have taken a deeper look into it. The mind and the personality of the human called Park Sihu, and the oddly unnatural flow of events¡­ I should have doubted them. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± It was a familiar staff. If I recall correctly¡­ it was the equipment used by the final boss girl of the 1st arc. ¡°Wait wait wait¡­¡± Why was this here? A gear of the character who should have been the boss of the 1st arc according to the original plot. Sihu and I had waited for a long time to stop the tragedy, but in the end could not stop it from happening. Back then, I reprimanded myself for lacking the power to change the original plot but¡­ why was this here? That wasn¡¯t the end. This secretive underground basement not only had the staff but also countless other items put on display like trophies. The mace of the typical bully character, Jaeger, who picked a fight with the player at the start of the semester. The spellbook of Lark, who got expelled after stealing the mid-sem test papers. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ I realised something common. These were all items of the ones who had gone ¡®missing¡¯. And they were items that belonged to those that¡­ were somehow related to Park Sihu. Jaeger went missing in a prac after picking a fight with Park Sihu at the start of the semester, whereas Lark was expelled after trying to put the blame on Park Sihu, who excelled in everything he did, out of jealousy. Besides, every other item also belonged to those that were related to Park Sihu in some shape or form and most importantly¡­ This building was Park Sihu¡¯s private property. It was one of the houses that the player could buy in the game, that could be used to store items as an extra storage¡­ I could not have imagined that tailing him who suddenly woke up at night would lead to such a result, but there was something else that shocked me the most. ¡°W, why is this here?¡± A unique single-edged sword was on display like a trophy. The demon-slaying sword that belonged¡­ to the granddaughter of the Sword Emperor, Alicia Arden, an important heroine, who died before the entrance ceremony. There was only one way to obtain this hidden piece in the game ¨C and that was to cause the death event of Alicia Arden in whatever method possible. ¡°¡­¡­ Ah.¡± It gave me goosebumps. The biggest premise thus far shattered ¨C the premise that Park Sihu had never played this game before. ¡°Ah, fuck.¡± ¡°¡­!¡± That voice belonged to someone else. ¡°S, Sihu¡­!¡± ¡°¡­ Why are you here bro?¡± The owner of this horrendous scene, Sihu, was oddly calm. He only appeared slightly annoyed by this whole thing. ¡°You¡­¡± I wanted to ask for an explanation questioning what all of this was about, but I could not bring myself to open my mouth in fear of what I would hear in response¡­ ¡°Bro, calm down.¡± ¡°Calm down my ass!!¡± How could I possibly calm down in a situation like this? How can I be calm in the face of something this horrible? I pointed at the water-coloured girl that was on ¡®display¡¯ in a horrifying state. Unlike the sword of Alicia Arden that was stored like a trophy, she¡­ Marie Dunareff was¡­ ¡°You¡­ You¡­ You lied to me when you said you couldn¡¯t catch her back then¡­!¡± Understanding my point, Sihu tried to persuade me and justify himself. ¡°It¡¯s a demon anyway. You know? It¡¯s an enemy. And I was just using that as efficiently as possible.¡± ¡°¡­ Using?¡± He smiled and blabbered as if bragging about his achievement. ¡°She even sucked her own friend. And yet she was hiding in the forest crying by herself. Do you know how hard it was? Who knew that stubborn bitch would dig a hole in the forest and stay there for a whole month?¡± ¨C Shouldn¡¯t she pay for her sins at least? ¡°But ¡®using¡¯? What do you mean by using!?¡± ¡°¡­ She¡¯s a high-vampire. A one-year old that just awakened is at the same level as an elder. Don¡¯t you know what happens when you refine a vampire elder¡¯s blood? You had it a lot too, bro.¡± His words suddenly made me remember the potions he gave me. Those potions, incomparable to common potions, that rivalled low-grade elixirs¡ª ¡°U, uweeekk!!¡± ¡°Ayish¡­ Bro, are you okay? Wait a sec. Let me clean this up.¡± Despite babbling about such awful and horrifying deeds, his attitude towards me remained the same and that was the most horrifying of all. ¡°But wh, why would you¡­¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s to progress the story as efficiently as possible.¡± ¡°The story?¡± ¡°If I do as you tell me, bro, it¡¯s too slow. We have to suffer losses trying to save people and can¡¯t even kill retards like Jaeger and Lark.¡± All Jaeger did was pick a fight. He was just a random bully that was blinded by his own power. As for Lark? He tried to blame Park Sihu, but all he did was steal test papers. Of course, Park Sihu might have been expelled if things went south but even then¡­ ¡°It¡¯s the same for the other bitches. They¡¯re useless unless you build rapport with them, you can¡¯t take their items and they just party up by themselves. This is the most efficient way to make use of them.¡± ¡°You¡­ How many have you¡­¡± His eyes went to the corner in response to my words. He opened the player¡¯s system window and replied nonchalantly with a smile. ¡°Who knows? I don¡¯t think the kill log was over 100k¡­ Ah, three more and I¡¯ll hit 100k.¡± ¡°You fucking animal!¡± I grabbed him by the collar. I could no longer listen to the words of an animal. ¡°You, you¡­! How could you do that to people¡­!¡± ¡°Bro, wake up. How are these guys people? They¡¯re NPCs. They¡¯re game characters.¡± ¡°You¡­!¡± ¡°And haven¡¯t you been killing people as well? There¡¯s nothing new here.¡± ¡°Those were guys that tried to destroy the world!¡± The people I killed were evil ones that were beyond saving. Main enemies of the story ¨C characters that were designated by the plot as villains. How was Park Sihu any different from them? This guy did not view people as people. It was true that ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? was a game, and the game had NPCs in them. However, are people in this world also NPCs? Can they be killed just because they are game characters? What makes you say that for sure? Who says this is a game or a reality? How can you be so certain? Fuck that. ¡°Trust me. I¡¯m telling you my way is the most efficient gameplay. I¡¯m a veteran player at this game.¡± Sorry for not telling you, bro, I couldn¡¯t trust you before. That was what he said. It was so dumbfounding that I couldn¡¯t say anything. Park Sihu was so sure of himself, and in a way, he wasn¡¯t wrong. He had the status screen and could make use of the system however he wanted. If he had an informational advantage on top of that, like me, of course he would have used that as efficiently as possible. He had monopolized all the hidden pieces that belonged to the heroines and profited as much as possible from the events. Even when the school building collapsed, Even when the terrorists came to attack, Even when a Unique Grade monster attacked the school, This guy profited in whatever method possible. He excessively monopolized everything. He probably had indeed been ¡®playing this game¡¯ as efficiently as possible. Over the 3 years I had spent following him, he had indeed solved many cases and problems with ease, including cases that I could not solve due to the limitations of a side character. Although it was a world within a game, Park Sihu stood firmly as a hero just like the intended story. However, the Park Sihu in front of my eyes was no hero. He was a devil. He had a psychotic gaze that I had never even seen from any of the past villains. Hundred thousand¡­ I reflected on the events that had been oddly ¡®efficient¡¯ among the countless incidents and the ¡®victims¡¯ that I had overlooked. There must also be countless massacres that happened outside of my sight. I realized that all the events which made me think the real world would naturally be different from a game plot were all affected by him. Ah I see¡­ so this guy had never considered this world a reality. All the people were only programmed organisms in his eyes. This world that I had accepted and adapted to for 3 years was nothing but a virtual world to him. ¡°You¡­ just chose the easy way out.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Efficiency? Plot? Bullshit. If you really loved efficiency, why would you take Alicia Arden¡¯s demon-slaying sword? Why would you take a hidden piece that¡¯s for knights with your mage build!¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Fuck! No wonder. It¡¯s because her sister Lunia Arden was so stubbornly chasing after the sword that you couldn¡¯t take it out! You fucking retard. Of course you can¡¯t handle it all because you try to monopolize things that you can¡¯t even swallow!¡± Stupid and sloppy idiot! Selfish and greedy little pig! Was I really hailing this guy as a hero? This fucking idiot? ¡°Elixir? You fucker. You could have substituted that with other ingredients using your crafting window anytime!¡± All he had to do was tap the screen a few times so what was the point of this horrendous farm? Why was he doing such an inefficient thing? ¡°Efficiency? Don¡¯t fuck with me. You just needed a sandbag to quench your psychotic thirst. What kind of bitch that loves efficiency exhibits such psychotic proof in a place like this!!?¡± ¡°Ah damn it. For fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Park Sihu struck my face with a seriously irritated look on his face, that was vastly different from his previous persuasive attitude. ¡°You¡¯re really driving me crazy bro. You¡¯re driving me insane!¡± ¡°What¡­ ugh!¡± He grabbed onto my hair and pulled it back. ¡°You can¡¯t do this to me bro. Even if everyone in the world talks shit to me, you can¡¯t do this to me!¡± ¡°Huh, huh¡­?¡± Oi, what¡¯s wrong with your sentence? Be careful with your choice of words! ¡°Do you not know why I¡¯m like this, bro? Do you really have no idea how you¡¯re driving me crazy!?¡± ¡°S, Sihu?¡± ¡°You put your nose into other¡¯s business as a weak-ass and get bashed up. And smirk in front of those sluts¡­¡± He glared at me with passion that I had never seen before. It was an extremely burdensome gaze. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not gonna hold back anymore.¡± ¡°Ehng?¡± It was then. He suddenly pushed his head forward as if doing a headbutt on my face. ¡°Hikk?!¡± I instinctively dodged that disgusting mouth. I managed to protect my chastity by turning my head, but I could not escape from his burning gaze. ¡°I see¡­ so you had no plans of accepting me huh?¡± ¡°Uhh, oi dude. What¡¯s wrong with you all of a sudden? Huh? You weren¡¯t like this before. You and I were going through the story till like Episode 199. What¡¯s with this sudden drift in Episode 200?!¡± ¡°You are mine bro. Both your body, and heart. Do you think I¡¯ll let those foxes steal you from me?¡± ¡°F, fuck! I haven¡¯t even dated anyone before, so what¡¯s this shit about!¡± It gave me goosebumps in a different sense than before. To the point that I needed the physical treatment of mother Russia. ¡°D, don¡¯t tell me the party is full of men because¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re just there for looks and they¡¯re not the real one. My only real one¡­ is you bro.¡± ¡°Uaakk¡­!¡± I desperately tried to escape, but something suddenly popped out of my shadow and grabbed onto my ankle and made me fall flat on the ground. It was his spell. ¡°Bro, you¡­ can¡¯t run away. I will lock you up. Forever.¡± ¨C Hiiiiik¡­ It was terrifying. It wasn¡¯t even this terrifying when I first discovered this place, nor was it this horrifying even when he confessed he was a psychotic lover of fast plot development. What¡¯s going to happen to me now? By seeing the victims like Marie, Lark and Jaeger, it was not difficult to predict my future. Being alive not in the true sense of the word, and a repetition of pain and curation. ¡°You! You¡­! What about my consent! You fucker, what about my consent?! I¡¯m a heterosexual! An unwavering heterosexual!¡± In response to my words, Park Sihu grinned and replied with a butter-like voice. ¡°Your consent is not important bro. You are mine. My only real one in this fake world.¡± ¡°You¡¯re fucking giving me goosebumps! You crazy fucker!¡± ¨C Chaaakk! The shadow spread its mouth wide open. Right as I was about to lose my consciousness from his spell, I saw him float a crooked smile. ¡°It¡¯s all almost over now. After this fight is over, I will have you for myself, bro.¡± ¡°Have me?! Have me for what you bastard!¡± That was the end of my consciousness. I only woke up later thanks to a certain voice that reached my ears. ¡ºThe Last Stage has been opened. The final fight with the Last Boss will now begin.¡» Ahh, so it has begun. It seemed that Park Sihu had started the decisive battle with the Last Boss while I was unconscious. Since he loved monopolizing everything for himself, he would probably win against the Last Boss as well¡­ If he really does defeat the final boss¡­ what would happen to me then? I could easily imagine the horrifying future waiting ahead of me. ¡ºThe Player has been killed. You have failed the attempt. ¡» ¡­¡­¡­This fucker lost? **** With that, I finished looking back on my past life. I returned to the past; to 3 years ago. And I must kill him. I must kill the player. CH 2 ? Kill the Player (2) ? ¡°Hah¡­¡± A shabby blanket, a cheap mattress so hard it could crush your back and a dirty floor¡­ Everything was the same as the first time I opened my eyes in this world. ¡°Huu¡­¡± Walking into the bathroom, I found a reflection of my face on the large mirror. Looking back at me was a fairly ferocious set of facial features and wild black hair. It was quite a decent countenance, even for a game where all the characters looked attractive in general except for the third-rate villains. If I remember correctly, the character designer was famous for not being able to draw ugly characters. Korin Lork. A side character who appears in an episode where the protagonist and his party venture off to save their classmates who are in danger soon after entering the guardian academy. He was a disposable NPC there to help the protagonist shine, and at the same time, that was my name. ¡°Was that a dream?¡± Hah, yeah. That must have been a dream. Otherwise, how could a human do such a¡­ Even a psychopath wouldn¡¯t kill people for annoying them. Right? A human should have standards. Unless they have cider1 instead of blood flowing in their veins, how could someone do such a thing? Haha. Although Park Sihu is a little dark and has an icy gaze, he¡¯s not that bad of a¡­ That was when multiple events flashed through my mind. One of them was the flood at Roteon River, when the dam broke accidentally during the eradication of river monsters which wiped a whole village. What did he murmur to himself again when looking at the horrendous scene with over a thousand dead monsters and thousands of human casualties? ¡ºHuhu. Jackpot!¡» ¡°¡­¡± Looking back, it was such a wicked smile that it gave me chills. It was disturbingly well-timed for it to be a coincidence, and there were no other plausible explanations for it. ¡®That demon. What did he gain by killing so many people?¡¯ In this game, you do earn exp points by killing lives, but killing normal civilians wouldn¡¯t give that much¡­ Ah. But if that reached thousands¡­ and considering all the monsters that were killed by his other colleagues¡­ ¡°H¡­ Hah.¡± Maybe he was a Satan back on Earth? No, even that would be an understatement. ¡°Huu¡­¡± For now, I had to confirm the current state. This room looked the same as the cheap inn I stayed in before entering Merkarva Academy. I walked over to the window and opened it with a creak. Outside lay the bustling scene of a city with a large train noisily rushing down the railway, and crowds of people walking across. It was the scene of another world that appeared to be a mix of things from the 16th to the 20th Century. How would I ever forget such a vivid and intriguing sight? ¡®The clock tower¡­ is still there.¡¯ The pride of the city, the clock tower, was destroyed during a fight against a unique grade enemy. I knew because I was the one who defeated it. There was no way they would have repaired it already. Looking at the calendar of the motel, I realized today¡¯s date was Year 999, February 27; which should have been 3 years ago. Did I¡­really come back? ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± That was what I initially thought, but the calendar was not lying and the puzzle pieces that fit together were telling me this was reality. How much had I suffered following Park Sihu? To think all that hard work was in vain¡­ Wait a second. What about Park Sihu? Did Park Sihu also return to the past like me? ¡°¡­¡± He would probably stay the same. While singing chants of efficiency, he would nonchalantly murder people. He would say something like, ¡®It¡¯s fine because this world is a game¡¯. And yes, I do understand that mindset to some extent, considering how we entered the game we were playing, which still had a status screen and an ongoing scenario. If there was some type of a reward like, ¡®You can go back to the real world upon clearing the game¡¯, I can understand him trying to clear it without paying any heed to the process or the method. But that¡¯s¡­ way too cruel is it not? There was a line in this world that shouldn¡¯t be crossed. Even in a game, you would be called a psychopath for decapitating an NPC and placing the head in your house like a trophy, and yet this guy did things that were far worse. He had casually killed a hundred thousand people. If he was someone with common sense and even a sliver of a rightful mindset¡­ he wouldn¡¯t have carried out so many unnecessary massacres. Besides, there was a limit to how much experience points you could gain due to the level cap, and there were only so many items you needed depending on your skill tree. After hitting Level 99, farming was no longer impactful, and you did not need ¡®hidden pieces¡¯ for a knight when you were going down the skill tree of a mage. However, he had unnecessarily killed a lot of people. Was that really for efficiency? No. That guy was just enjoying it. He was simply relishing the pain and suffering of people he had put on display. Park Sihu, that son of a bitch, had absolutely zero respect. Efficiency was just the excuse he came up with to mask his insanity. If he really did love efficiency, he would have shared all the countless hidden items which he couldn¡¯t even use to his other party members rather than keeping them for himself. Because that was how you were meant to play this game ¨C by strengthening your party members. The fact that he devoured all that for himself, meant he was just a greedy damn pig. ¡°If it¡¯s now¡­ I can stop him.¡± Park Sihu wasn¡¯t monstrously strong yet. ¡®Do I have to kill him? Park Sihu? The player?¡¯ Though I might not be someone with an especially strong sense of justice, I still prided myself for having enough of a moral standard. ¡ºWho knows? I don¡¯t think the kill log was over 100k¡­ Ah, three more and I¡¯ll hit 100k¡» I clenched my fist. The overflowing amount of money and treasures in that underground treasury. Although some of them were ownerless items located throughout the school, there were some which he had stolen from their original owners. The demon-slaying sword which belonged to the granddaughter of the Sword Emperor, as well as the elixir ingredient that was constantly sucked out of ¡®her¡¯ . Those were all things he had stolen and snatched from others. Even apart from that, his unbelievable growth in power must have been made possible only thanks to the sacrifice of many others. ¡°Park Sihu¡­¡± I used to think of him as a hero. Although he had a bit of chuunibyou, I thought he was a true hero who accepted his fate as the player of the game and tried to save the world. I thought his personality was just slightly flawed. But I was wrong. He was a psychopath and a ciderpath2 who did not love this world in the slightest. Even though he was a homosexual who filled the party with handsome male characters, he did not love them. Was that why he was ruthlessly killing people? He took everything for himself, stole and harmed people to exploit the weak ones that could not even fight back at him. But even so, was it correct to kill the player? It was true he was an evil person, but at the same time he was the one destined to save an innumerable number of people. He was the protagonist who despite killing a hundred thousand people would soon save the world¡­ Wait, this guy lost, didn¡¯t he? Looking back, he lost at the final boss fight. So he wasn¡¯t even the one destined to save the world? Why was this guy even singing chants of ¡®efficiency¡¯the whole time then? It was annoying the more I thought about it. This fucker was a mage, so why the heck did he gather so many damn swords in the first place? Look at the demon-slaying sword as an example. It¡¯s not even usable unless you reach the very end of a knight¡¯s skill tree, so why the heck did he even get it? He wasn¡¯t an efficiency-lover; he was just a greedy monopoliser! If he won at least, I would have accepted it but¡­ he lost! **** ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? had various hidden items and ways that allowed one to strengthen both the protagonist and the party members. The most symbolic of them all were the ¡®hidden pieces¡¯ located all across Merkarva Academy. Those included the demonic spirit sealed in the library; The seed gained through infinite rerolls; And the God of Lake, who duplicates items. Those were some of the things that came off the top of my head ¨C they were the ones I told Park Sihu about, which he probably knew about himself. Even apart from that, meditating in front of the wobbly rock of the emerald forest inside the campus can double the effect, And there were the grimoires hidden in the library which allowed one to gain an ability by simply reading them. All these had one thing in common. It was that they all had to be found after entering Merkarva Academy. In other words, it meant Park Sihu would get stronger in full swing after entering the academy. The entrance ceremony in ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? was the day after the anniversary of the ¡®Continental War of Liberation¡¯, March 2nd. Currently, it was the 27th of February, and Park Sihu would most definitely be at the level of ¡ºGrade 5¡» right now. Why was I so certain of it, you may ask? It¡¯s because, considering his smartass personality, he would have flaunted his skills in one way or another during the admission test. He would have become the best freshman of history, or would have broken the high score to leave a record. Why? Because that gloomy bloke had to show off his smart ass. But during the admission test, he barely made it through, which meant he was a complete newbie on my level at this current point in time. It was hard to imagine how much stronger he would become immediately after entering the school grounds. In fact, he might even get stronger on the day of the admission. But right now. it was a different story. Although I was just a random ¡ºGrade 5¡» knight for now, that was the same for Park Sihu as well. Our abilities would exponentially grow further apart, which means¡ª ¡°I have to do it now.¡± Now was the only chance to kill the player. Then going back to the main question at hand; where was Park Sihu? I had no idea. However, he had to be near this city right now, because he must be planning on killing the Sword Emperor¡¯s granddaughter, Alicia Arden, to steal her sword. It was one of the first big events that stirred up the academy alongside the vampire event. The granddaughter of the Sword Emperor, Garrand, famous for being an unfathomably powerful ¡ºUnique Grade¡» knight, did not show up in the entrance ceremony. Naturally, it created an uproar as city guards were all dispatched to search for her. It was only 3 days later that they discovered her corpse. Her death was due to a monster. It seemed that being left alone with a sharp stab to her rib had been the biggest cause of her death. According to the state of the corpse, she was estimated to have died around 5~7 days prior. She was discovered on March 5th. The estimated time of her death is from February 26th to 28th. Which means¡­ ¡®She might be killed today!!¡¯ In fact, she might have been killed already! Now was not the time for this. I quickly changed my clothes and left the inn. Alicia Arden¡¯s estimated time of death was from yesterday to tomorrow. The reason I clearly remembered the estimated time of her death and the forest she was discovered in was because I looked into it from how strange it was for the story to deviate from the main plot. Back then I couldn¡¯t find out anything else and had to get over it despite how unsettling it was, but now I knew exactly what happened. It was Park Sihu who killed Alicia Arden. And¡­ In turn, that meant saving Alicia Arden would also coincide with an opportunity to kill Park Sihu. How was Park Sihu able to come across Alicia Arden? Why would a strong character like Alicia Arden, who could easily reach ¡ºGrade 2¡» already be involved with a ¡ºGrade 5¡» like Park Sihu? ¡°¡­¡­Tutorial quest.¡± The first quest given to a player playing the game in order to let them grasp the initial combat system. That was the only time that Park Sihu could have been involved with Alicia before admission. I knew the location of the tutorial quest. It was a place I naturally started to remember since I have played it multiple times. ¡°I have to break into the tutorial.¡± It won¡¯t go the way you want this time. CH 3 ? Kill the Player (3) ? The tutorial of ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? was not made to be cleared. It was a linearly designed story meant to teach the basic combat method and the game system, while also including an encounter with one of the named characters. The tutorial quest consisted of an outbreak of monsters attacking a magic carriage heading to Merkarva City. There were 2 allies in the tutorial: a Grade 3 knight, Leon, and a Grade 4 knight, Laura, who were hired as guards of the carriage. Part 1 of the tutorial was to protect the people with these two while waiting for the carriage to finish repairing. It was literally a tutorial to teach the game¡¯s system instead of focusing on the difficulty of the fight. ¡°Huu~ That¡¯s all of them. That wasn¡¯t bad, kid.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ Thank you.¡± ¡°Mister Leon! Miss Laura! We¡¯re done repairing the carriage!¡± The people inside the carriage were heaving out sighs of relief while the driver reignited the crystal that allowed the cart to move in preparation to resume their journey. ¡°Good. Shall we go back inside?¡± ¡°Ah, I wanna hurry up and take a re¡ª?!¡± Now. It was Part 2. ¨C Guwaaaaaaahhh!! A deafening howl shook the forest, as suffocatingly heavy air descended upon the ground. ¡°Laura!¡± ¡°I know!¡± The two knights raised their weapons and stayed vigilant. There was something inside the woods. Each passing minute seemed like an hour when something suddenly popped out of the woods. It didn¡¯t take long for them to realize it was an uprooted tree. ¡®So far it has been the same.¡¯ ¡°Dodge!¡± The tree was pulled down by gravity towards the knights. ¨C Kuung! They stumbled on the ground while dodging the falling tree and that was when a monster immediately jumped out of the woods. An ivory-coloured face, long arms and an outstretched body ¨C it was the Grade 2 monster with sharp claws, Beowulf. ¡°Kuwaaahhh!!¡± ¡°Dodge!¡± The beowulf plunged at the guy who was on the ground but was blocked by Laura who jumped in with her body. ¨C Kaang! ¡°Kuhk?!¡± However, Laura was not strong enough to withstand the might of a beowulf. ¡°Hukk!?¡± While still pushing down on the spear that was blocking its claws, the beowulf used its other hand to strike Laura. A light swing of its arm created a not-so-light impact on her ribs. ¡°Kuhuk¡­!¡± Her body rolled across the ground. Seeing his comrade collapse in one hit, Leon would hurry the player and¡­ ¡°Get on the carriage! Run away to the city! I¡¯ll buy some time!¡± Here, the player would share a few words and suggest fighting alongside Leon, but that was a meaningless waste of text. Without any hesitation, ¡®he¡¯ rushed to the carriage and told the driver to depart for the city, because there had to be no witnesses. ¡®Now, let¡¯s go back.¡¯ Going back, he saw the horrid claws of the beowulf sticking deeper into Leon¡¯s aura with each strike. It looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie, to the point he would have run away immediately if he didn¡¯t know it was a game. ¡°Uhk¡­ Kid. R, run away¡­!¡± ¡®Shut up, ugly. I wouldn¡¯t have come here if not for the scenario.¡¯ Inwardly sneering at the devoted Leon, he pointed his sword. The monster would probably start facing him soon. ¡°I can¡¯t leave you behind and run away!¡± It was when he was decorating himself with a few words, that the sharp claws of the beowulf pierced deeply into Leon¡¯s neck. Then the monster¡¯s violent gaze turned around, looking for the next prey. Big. The monster that was taller than 2 meters gave off an insane amount of pressure by just walking closer. ¡®So damn big!¡¯ At the start, he was thinking of fighting stylishly with a sword but he scrapped that bullshit immediately. He was most definitely going to change to a mage and carry around a staff. ¡°Kuwaaahhh!¡± The beowulf charged at him with a loud roar. Random sword strikes won¡¯t be able to create any wounds on its body. But like mentioned before, this tutorial was not made to be cleared. It was a linearly designed story meant to teach the basic combat method and the game system, while also including an encounter with one of the named characters. ¡®All I need to do is buy time. And if after buying time that ¡®NPC¡¯ really does show up¡­ then I¡¯ll admit this is a game.¡¯ It was then. ¡°Please bend your back!¡± A streak of light flashing from the forest struck the beowulf but the beast reacted in time. ¡°Kururu¡­!¡± ¨C Kang! The sharp claws collided with the sword as sparks flickered from their strike. Seeing the superhuman reaction speed of the wild beast, the owner of the sword strike was flustered. ¡°It, it got blocked?!¡± ¡®Luina¡­. No, Alicia Arden.¡¯ Her brown hair gently touched the shoulders exposed by her revealing martial arts uniform. Her meek appearance left a gentle impression unlike her sister, and she was the solace saving the protagonist. This NPC designed as the player¡¯s classmate had a sword as classy as her beauty. ¡®One of the six royal swords. Demon-slaying sword.¡¯ It was the hidden piece that could be gained with the activation of her death event. And if Alicia Arden died¡­ It would become possible to add Sword Master Luina Arden, a stronger character all throughout except for the hidden skill, into the party. Sent as the saving grace, the named NPC was strong. Since this was to show off a reliable party member for the future, she would easily be able to deal with a same-graded monster. But there was something in this tutorial you could do to change the plot. It was a type of easter egg, or a bug depending on how you considered it. ¡°You can step back! I will deal with the¡ª?!¡± ¨C Stab! ¡°Huh?¡± Alicia Arden felt a dagger stabbing into her shoulder. She couldn¡¯t help but allow the attack because it was completely against her expectations. ¡°Kuhk¡­ Why!¡± Blocking the claws of the beowulf that tried to attack her regardless, Alicia staggered a step back. It wasn¡¯t a detrimental injury. She thought it would be fine to deal with the wound after defeating the beowulf. ¡°Ugh?!¡± But she suddenly turned dizzy as her vision wavered. ¡®Poison? How? Was he waiting for me to come?!¡¯ It was by pure coincidence that she saw people getting attacked by a monster. She was walking towards Merkarva Academy for the admission and coincidentally came across them. How did he know? Without knowing the future or something how¡­ ¡°There¡¯s the mutual death event. Nice.¡± One of the strategies used by the veterans of this game, which allowed friendly fire, was to kill the named NPC with a death event as soon as possible to take the hidden piece and their post-death scenario. However, players were weak in the tutorial stage. They would simply die after attacking a named NPC during the tutorial from their retaliation. ¡®Thank goodness there¡¯s the system window.¡¯ After using the inventory to craft an immediate debuff poison that slowly dropped HP, he had applied it to the dagger beforehand. It was easy to neutralize it with a first-aid skill, but that would be impossible during a fight against a Grade 2 monster. ¨C Clank! The clashing sound of claws and the blade echoed through the forest. Even though she was weakened from the poison, there was no way she would lose that easily because named NPCs all had a card up their sleeves. ¨C Kaang! Upon perhaps realizing that wasting time was the worst option, Alicia Arden threw her body behind and sheathed her sword again. ¡°Calm down. Focus. Focus. Focus.¡± It was coming ¨C Alicia Arden¡¯s unpolished secret move. As a character publicly acknowledged for being strong in the early game, her skill was definitely powerful enough to kill the monster in one slash. Even though it might be limited to trash mobs, it was still a very strong skill. ¡°Kuwaaahh¡­!¡± The beowulf ran in with a roar thundering across the forest. ¡®Stupid trash mob. Running into its own grave.¡¯ Alicia Arden was in the perfect posture for her battojutsu , to unsheathe her sword in one flash. At this rate, she would easily defeat the monster and try to deal with the guy who stabbed a poisoned dagger from behind. ¡®That won¡¯t do.¡¯ He threw a dagger at Alicia who was posturing herself for the slash, because one small interruption tended to ruin her skill even in the game. ¨C Kangg! ¡°Uht?!¡± She parried the flying dagger with her superhuman reaction speed but that was exactly what he had wanted, because the battojutsu that was supposed to be facing the beowulf ended up cutting something else. ¡°Kuraaaahhh!¡± Without even the time to fix her posture, Alicia hurriedly swung her sword at the plunging beowulf. ¨C Stabb¨C! The demon-slaying sword pierced through the beowulf¡¯s neck. It died on the spot. ¡°Uhhk¡­¡± Alicia wasn¡¯t unscathed either, evident from the blood gushing out from the side of her belly. ¨C Flop! She trembled from the poison and the excessive bleeding before soon falling on the ground. Although she was still conscious, her body refused to move. ¡®No¡­ I have to get up¡­¡¯ She was dizzy. Her body refused to move no matter how much she struggled. It wasn¡¯t a deadly poison and was more of a debuff and paralysis, but she would probably die from bleeding too much if left like this. ¡°She¡¯s not dying immediately. Is it slightly different from the game?¡± ¡°Why¡­¡± There was no value in answering the question of an NPC. Taking out the demon-slaying sword from the beowulf¡¯s neck, he was dazzled by the gleaming blade. ¡°Huhu. Jackpot!¡± It was an extremely strong hidden piece even inside the game. Although you would need a special pair of eyes and skills to make the most out of it, that was to worry about later. It might not even be bad to gather all the hidden pieces to aim for 100% achievement. ¡®Ah. You get exp for killing a named NPC, don¡¯t you?¡¯ He approached Alicia who was on the ground bleeding from her mouth. Killing this foolish little bitch would probably be even easier than killing a stupid village kid. But the amount of exp you gain would be in a whole different league. ¨C Thud! ¡°Uhk! What was that?¡± He touched his nape that was hit by something and found orange powders on his fingers. ¡°W, who¡¯s there¡­!¡± There was nothing like this in the game though?! Did someone get out of the carriage? Was there someone alive out of the ones attacked by the beowulf? It might be poison ¨C thinking that, he immediately took an antidote out of his inventory and drank it. The antidote detoxified anything as long as they weren¡¯t a lethal poison, so there should be nothing to worry about. He stepped back with a gulp. ¡®Hurry up and come out if you¡¯re there,¡¯ he shouted but instead of a reply¡­ ¨C Squeak! ¨C Squeak! Squeak! What came back was the noise of approaching monsters. *** I knew where the tutorial took place. It wasn¡¯t too far from the main gates of the city, and was a place I had been to multiple times after the event that happened there. Although I did come here, I had to admit I didn¡¯t prepare anything. I had yet to craft a weapon at the academy and the only thing in my possession was a utility knife. But if there was none, all I had to do was make one. There were two things I had to do. It was stopping Park Sihu from killing Alicia Arden, and killing him instead. ¡®Wait that¡¯s¡­¡¯ I was speeding through the messy woods when an orange mushroom entered my sight. It was a mushroom which was quite common in this forest. ¨C Swoosh! In the middle of the sprint, I plucked it out and continued running. Taking out a coin purse from my pocket, I emptied it and threw the mushroom inside. What I had to do after that was simple. I pressed on the mushroom inside the purse to mash it into a powder, and then picked up a pebble from the walkway to make it easier to throw. All I needed now was a weapon. Although I could use a utility knife, the range and power of this tool was far too insufficient. If I had time, I would have made a wooden spear or a bow, but time was not on my side. ¨C Clash! Clink! Hearing the sound that was clearly from a battle, I hid my presence and approached to find a group of adventurers fighting a beast. ¡°Guwaaa¡­!¡± Beowulf ¨C it was the tutorial boss, and at the same time a boss that was not meant to be defeated. It was the boss of Part 2 of the tutorial that was there for the named NPC to come in and help with. The boss patterns were quite limited and a veteran would be able to do a punching challenge but a game was different from reality. Even I was trembling when I was first killing a monster. ¡°Damn it¡­ so it¡¯s today.¡± If it was tomorrow or the day after that, I would have been able to have enough preparations but all I had as a weapon was a utility knife. And if it wasn¡¯t today, I would have been able to save those people as well but¡­ ¡°Uhk¡­ Kid. R, run away¡­!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t leave you behind and run away!¡± You are here. Park Sihu. The only playable character of this game and the protagonist. My comrade and friend who I fought alongside with, for 3 years¡­ Even though I had it wrong the whole time. After that, things proceeded according to the scenario. There was a person who came to save Park Sihu who was single-handedly facing the beowulf. The granddaughter of the Sword Emperor, Alicia Arden, was here to save Park Sihu from the beowulf. Now, this was the turning point. Are you the player Park Sihu I know of? Or are you just a righteous protagonist of this world? I might be wrong, and I might have to watch for the time being¡­ In fact, maybe what I went through was nothing but a dream. ¨C Stab! ¡°Huh?¡± That expectation was broken alongside Alicia¡¯s stunned voice. ¡°There¡¯s the mutual death event. Nice.¡± I see. So it is you. Sihu. ¨C Flop! In the end, Alicia collapsed seemingly in a mutual death event with the beowulf after a consistent interruption from Park Sihu. ¡®It¡¯s alright¡­ Alicia Arden isn¡¯t dead yet.¡¯ If I had a weapon, I would have ambushed Park Sihu and gotten rid of him already, but all I had was a utility knife which wouldn¡¯t be able to pierce through the beowulf¡¯s skin. ¡°She¡¯s not dying immediately. Is it slightly different from the game?¡± A nonchalant voice flowed out of his mouth. It was his unique manner of speech which showed zero respect to human beings. ¡ºWho knows? I don¡¯t think the kill log was over 100k¡­ Ah, three more and I¡¯ll hit 100k.¡» I still remembered vividly how he showed off his kill record. Was Alicia Arden your first victim? Or have you been a composed killer the whole time? There was no way I could tell that, but what was certain was that he would continue killing numerous people as if there was nothing wrong with it. He wouldn¡¯t stop tragedies despite knowing they would happen, and would instead instigate them for efficiency or his own benefits. In fact, he might even create tragedies himself. I couldn¡¯t let him do that. I will not let him do such a thing. Picking up the purse of mushroom powder, I threw it at him. He let out a flustered voice before taking out an antidote from the thin air and drinking it. He might think it was poison, but he was wrong because it wasn¡¯t. ¨C Squeak! ¨C Squeak! Squeak! Dashing in were beasts as big as humans with a horn on their forehead ¨C they were the Grade 5 monsters, horned rats. They were coming after sensing the smell of mushroom powders that were covering Park Sihu¡¯s body. ¡°F, fuck!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but click my tongue while hearing his rough gasp. There were a lot less monsters than I imagined ¨C three horned rats were a lot less than what I had hoped for. With just three Grade 5 monsters, it would be impossible to kill Park Sihu because he was still a player regardless of his rotten personality. ¡°These damn trash mobs!¡± ¨C Squeak! The horned rats were bisected from the sloppy swings of his sword. Because of the demon-slaying sword taken from Alicia, the fight was not difficult for him in the slightest. However, it did succeed at grabbing his attention. After carefully sneaking up, I checked Alicia¡¯s state before going up to the beowulf who was dead with its tongue out. Alicia was still breathing although with much difficulty, whereas the beowulf was completely dead. I took out one of its fangs using the utility knife when a rugged voice was heard from behind. ¡°Fuck¡­ Who are you?¡± ¡°Being overgeared is pretty overpowered indeed.¡± Even though they were Grade 5 monsters, a newbie killing three of them in 1 minute was definitely not an easy feat. Carrying the beowulf¡¯s fang in a reverse grip, I turned around and found Park Sihu glaring at me with a ferocious look on his face. Soon, his eyes widened into circles. ¡°Korin Lork? Why are you here?¡± Even among the countless attempts of veterans, there had never been any tutorial with Korin Lork, because he was a side character who couldn¡¯t even enter the party. To be frank, it was quite amazing that he even knew my name. ¡°Oi.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how you hold a sword.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± While he was dumbfoundedly standing in place, I kicked the dirt up. It was a feint to block his sight. Seeing how he instinctively swung the demon-slaying sword, it was evident that he was a complete newbie at fighting. ¡°You bastard!¡± However, the random movements of his sword were still able to block my approach. He was fast ¨C his physical stats were definitely better than mine. ¡°Die!¡± ¨C Swoosh! ¨C Swoosh! There was practically zero swordsmanship in his swings, but the sword being supported by his superior stats could still be detrimental to me. Deciding to sacrifice the flesh for a bone, I stepped closer in as Park Sihu excessively retreated back. ¡°¡­¡± He was being cautious. His gaze was on my right hand. Even though a beowulf¡¯s fang was indeed quite sharp, it was funny how someone carrying a longsword was so scared of it. However, that was what saved his life. ¡°Good.¡± Therefore, I deliberately flaunted the fang by pushing it forward as he gulped in response. He must be thinking of how he would die if this were to pierce his neck. Good. Stay on guard. Focus on this fang as much as you want. Right as his wariness was about to reach the peak¡ª ¡°Wahk!¡± ¡°¡­!¡± I shouted and he instinctively stepped back. The fang was as long as a dagger and wouldn¡¯t be able to reach him in time before he recovered his posture, but¡ª ¨C Sheeeek! That was a big enough gap for me to throw something. ¡°Uaak¡­!¡± The utility knife I threw aiming for his chest dug into his right arm in the middle of his staggering struggle. I threw my body towards him in the midst of his confusion. ¨C Bam! Park Sihu and I rolled across the ground as one cluster. In the end, it was I who took the mounted position and after recovering my balance I unhesitatingly struck the fang down. ¡°Uaaahk¡­!¡± Thanks to his insane reaction speed, he somehow managed to grab my arm in spite of the situation and we were placed in a stalemate. ¡°Kuuh, kuuuhh¡­!¡± His eyes quivered seeing the horrendous fang in front of his eyes. I was also desperate in my own way so I tried to push the fang down but he was stronger than me. ¡°Kuhk, kuuuuhhk¡­!¡± Slowly, his hands were starting to push my arms away. It was a matter of time for me to lose in this bout of strength, so I held my ground by adding my weight onto my arm. ¡°Hupp¡­!¡± Lifting my left arm, I struck my right arm down like a hammer. ¨C Bam! ¡°¡­!¡± It went slightly off center but it nonetheless dug into his body. The fang that went in and out of his traps was soaked in blood. ¨C Bam! ¡°Kuhk?!¡± ¨C Bam! Bam! Bam! ¨C Stabb! After being stabbed multiple times in his chest and his neck, blood seeped out of his mouth. ¡°¡­!¡± His hands could no longer even grip onto my arms, and Park Sihu began thrashing his arms around as if he was in a deep ocean. He swam in the ground in order to escape from the grasp of death but he started to give up soon after sensing his impending doom. Behind the tears in his eyes were emotions full of rage and the questions, ¡®why¡¯ and ¡®how¡¯. But there was no room for sympathy for the human called Park Sihu. ¡°Thanks. I was able to become stronger thanks to you.¡± I had no regrets. That day, I killed a young beast who would later grow to become a monster. *** ¡ºSystem Error. Player¡¯s Death.¡» ¡ºCalculating the likelihood of the completion of the Main Scenario.¡» ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡ºReviewing the remaining enemy forces.¡» ¨C All the main scenario bosses: alive ¨C Player dead at Level 1. ¡º1st attempt at finding the best option.¡» ¨C Use the remaining energy to load the backup world. ¡ºVariable, Korin Lork.¡» ¨C Examining possibility. ¨C Examining ideology. ¨C Examining suitability. ¨C Reviewing the play log. ¡ºRe-establishment of Korin Lork¡¯s identity.¡» ¨C Normal Side Character. -> Named Hero ¡ºNamed Character, ?Insignificant Successor? Korin Lork.¡» ¨C AAA Class Knight. ¨C Lifted the growth limit of Korin Lork (Normal) by 4.8 times. Final Level: 87. ¨C Re-calculating the likelihood of the completion of the Main Scenario. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¨C Possible. ¡º2nd attempt at finding the best option.¡» ¨C Succeeding the Player¡¯s exp system to Korin Lork (Hero). ¨C Minimum backup in the case of an incomplete scenario. A bare minimum will be applied to the succession. ¡ºSub-player, Korin Lork, will thus begin succeeding the role of the player.¡» Note from Genesis: Another teaser of our new project. We will start releasing the chapters from December. Thanks for your support and patience, without you guys it would have been impossible to pick all the novels on our list. CH 4 ? Precept (1) ? I killed Park Sihu. I killed the player. Next to the corpse of the one who shared the same homeland as me, who had been with me through the ups and downs of my life, I deeply pondered to myself. There will be a void created due to the player¡¯s death. The story of ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? of defeating the final boss and saving the world had ended before it could even begin. ¡ºHuhu, jackpot!¡» ¡°Well done. Nice job killing him.¡± But thinking of what he had done, I commended myself. It would have made me a little guilty if he had succeeded in defeating the last boss, and I might have even hesitated while killing him. Placing the lives of a hundred thousand people he will be killing later on and the world on each side of a scale, I might have contemplated my path. More importantly, what mattered the most now was the message that appeared when killing Park Sihu¡­ ¡ºSub-player, Korin Lork¡» It wasn¡¯t my first time seeing a status screen, because I did see it when I was swallowed by Park Sihu¡¯s shadow and was locked inside. ¨C Thump thump. My heartbeat increased. I knew better than anyone else how much Park Sihu had gained by using the system window. ¡°¡­Status Screen.¡± ? Korin Lork (Hero) ? Ohhh, ohhhh¡­! Finally, I have the godly status screen myself!! Class ¨C {Restricted} Personality ¨C {Restricted} Talents ¨C {Restricted} Aura ¨C {Restricted} Mana ¨C {Restricted} Specialties ¨C {Nothing} ? Character Skills ¨C 4? Details ¨C Restricted ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­.¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Crafting Window?¡± ¡ºAccess denied due to insufficient qualification¡» ¡°Inventory!¡± ¡ºAccess denied due to insufficient qualification¡» ¡°Skills Tab!¡± ¡ºAccess denied due to insufficient qualification¡» Aish, god damn it! Uninstall this damn game! Is this what ¡®bare minimum¡¯ meant? This is just too much¡­! Other people shout ¡®Status Screen!¡¯ to allocate skill points, craft legendary weapons and speed through quests, so why is this only happening to me! And did you have to say ¡®Nothing¡¯ for something I didn¡¯t have? Oh my, how nice of you! ¨C Cough¡­! ¡°Haa¡­¡± Leaving aside the discouraging turn of events, I had to save her. ¡°Alicia Arden? Are you alright?¡± ¡°Auuh¡­ Noo¡­¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Looks like it.¡± She seemed alright for the time being judging from how she could still speak. ¡°Uugh¡­ Eyes, my eyes. I can¡¯t seee.¡± ¡°Do you feel dizzy, and is it hard to smell? Are your ears also fuzzy?¡± ¡°H,how did ye know?¡± ¡°Your tongue¡¯s also twisted.¡± Blurry vision, dizziness and slurred words. There was only one possibility for that. ¡°It seems like the poison of a duke frog.¡± It was fairly common in the east. There was even a quest to find a duke frog from a well in the player¡¯s starting village, and he must have used that using the crafting system of the system window to separate the poison. His crafting level must have been low so it shouldn¡¯t be lethal, but it will continue sucking her HP dry if left unattended. I had to feed her a simple antidote at least. 5 seconds would have been enough if I had the crafting window but¡­ It was annoying the more I thought about it. Anyway, carrying her all the way to Merkarva City would take at least a few hours, so the best option would be to stop her bleeding and remove her poison here. Since it wasn¡¯t a lethal poison, she should be fine after a few days of suffering as long as she wasn¡¯t bleeding. ¡°Huhuk¡­ Am I going to diee?¡± Ignoring her, I tightened a belt around her wound. ¡°Kuaaakk?!¡± A pitiful scream reverberated across the forest, but a hemostasis was supposed to hurt. Although it might be deathly painful, it had to be done in order to avoid death. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª!!!!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m a master at stopping blood.¡± To be fair, I had never been the one to use a system window. I had to live in my own way without it. ¡ª¡ª¡ª!! Wow, look at her scream. Her voice was thunderous like the cry of a baby born to be a general. I had no idea if she even heard what I was saying. ¨C Gush! Blood spurted out through the gaping hole created by the beowulf. ¡°Huu¡­ B, benefactorr¡­¡± ¡°Nn?¡± ¡°Let me leave, my last words¡­¡± ¡°Last words my ass. Bite onto this.¡± ¡°¡­?¡± I placed Park Sihu¡¯s wrist inside Alicia¡¯s mouth. It would be very painful so I wanted her to hold on to herself by biting on it. ¡°It¡¯s okay to bite down as hard as you want.¡± ¡°¡­!¡± Alicia looked teary as if she was in a great amount of pain. I continued with the hemostasis and she bit down hard from the severe sense of pain as her teeth dug into Park Sihu¡¯s wrist. Well, it wasn¡¯t my hand so it was none of my business. I was somewhat done with sealing the wound below her rib. What I had to do next was detoxify the poison and¡­ I had been in this world for 3 years already, and knew how to make a basic antidote without the likes of a system window. Fortunately, the ingredients were nearby so all I needed was some water and a tin to store the medicine and¡­ ¡°Found it.¡± As expected, there was a bag discarded on the floor. It was probably Alicia¡¯s bag that she threw away before jumping in to save Park Sihu. ¡°Ohh, there¡¯s a tin pot as well.¡± Pouring water into the pot, I mixed in a few ingredients. Starting a fire wasn¡¯t that difficult thanks to my abundant camping experience. ¡°I¡¯m making the antidote now. Hold on a bit more.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­¡± She sniffed without saying anything, which was probably due to the poison still encroaching her body. From how she was talking about ¡®last words¡¯ and stuff, she might be thinking she¡¯s dying but¡­ ¡®People don¡¯t die that easily.¡¯ While boiling the antidote, I threw Park Sihu¡¯s corpse away. Alicia had been biting on the wrist so hard that I could see the bone inside the wound. I was in the middle of adding the key ingredients to make the antidote when Alicia sniffed and twitched her nose. The guts of a horned rat had a pretty nasty smell indeed. ¡°Uhhm¡­ Benefactoor¡­¡± Arduously opening her mouth, she called me her ¡®benefactor¡¯. ¡°Y, your name¡­ Please, tell me your namee¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to know. Don¡¯t bother asking.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry and take a good rest. I will wake you up when the antidote is done.¡± ¡°Okayy¡­¡± It might have been to make her shoulder a mental debt towards me, but what I was going to do now had to be kept a secret. The antidote would be finished in about 30 minutes so until then, I placed a piece of cloth wetted with medicine over her eyes. Now, let¡¯s analyze the situation. The current point in time was the tutorial quest and the time before the admission into the academy. I had regressed to 3 years before my death. Astonishing events would be occuring with the academy at the center, and many stories will be affected. ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? was quite literally the game of the legendary records of a hero. The player was the hero tasked with saving the world and defeating countless villains as well as the final boss. And yet that player had been killed by me, so who would be the one that had to act in his stead? ¡®I have to do it.¡¯ It was something I had prepared myself from the moment I decided to kill Park Sihu. He and I shared a few conversations about what would happen after clearing the main scenario of the game¡­ The reason he had been diligently clearing the game regardless of his evil trait was because the world would be destroyed without defeating the final boss. Ever since we entered this world, we had no other choice but to risk our lives in saving this world. That was why¡­ I could understand him a bit; on why he had been killing people for the sake of his efficiency. But he shouldn¡¯t have done that. He shouldn¡¯t have become a villain just because he wanted to beat this world. ¡°Huu¡­¡± At the very least, it was fortunate that I would be receiving some level of support thanks to that sub-player or whatever but¡­ ¡ºAccess denied due to insufficient qualification¡» I wish they had done it properly if they were going to do it. It seemed that I shouldn¡¯t expect anything from the system window and think of it as nonexistent. Whatever the case, I had to take the player¡¯s place, but the problem was that I had none of the convenient devices of a player. The skills tab which allowed the player to choose skills; The inventory that allowed one to take out things from anywhere; And the item crafting window which was essential for some of the quests were all gone. But most importantly¡­ ¡®Park Sihu lost with all of that in his possession.¡¯ He knew more about the game ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? than I did. Even after monopolizing all the hidden pieces and experience points using his overflowing amount of information, he still lost to the final boss. Relying on questionable support and information about the future was not enough. I needed power outside of the system. What was fortunate was that I wasn¡¯t a normal ¡®possessor¡¯ either. 3 years. While advancing the story, I was tempered throughout the vicious fights and struggles. I was desperate in my own way for survival, and I didn¡¯t skip any of the training events that were simply ways to gather skill points for Park Sihu. Judging from how I was graded as a ¡®Hero¡¯ which was the highest rank a named character could get, one could say it was a huge growth for a random side character. However, that was still far from enough, and there were also plenty of hidden pieces that I couldn¡¯t use as a non-player. That was why I had to use something outside of the system, for example¡­ ¨C Jiik I wrote a letter on the ground with my finger. The symbol engraved with the layer of dirt as the canvas and my finger as the pen was the ancient letter meaning ¡®Wind¡¯. ¨C Hwaruk! The fire boiling the medicine wavered faintly from the breeze. It worked. What I used just then was rune magic. These were the ancient letters where the letters themselves functioned like magic. It was the only magic that I learned in the previous iteration, and was the only thing I could use as a dumb non-magic user. It was a dead language that you would now only be able to find at the corner of Merkarva Academy¡¯s great library. What I was going to do now was arrange these rune letters which contained power on its own to engrave sentences into my body. A Precept. Duty, a vow that had to be kept. Restriction, a limit placed upon oneself. Pledge, the ambition that one had to be aspiring for. These three were tied together as a Precept, and was one of the strongest ¡®rules¡¯ of this world, that either acted as the source of superhuman power or the agent of ruin. This was different from the skills and stats of a player. It was just one of the hidden settings added to explain the power of the boss characters. Why did I not use such an amazing thing in the previous iteration, you may ask, and it¡¯s because the risk was too high. As one would be able to tell from the word ¡®Precept¡¯, these three acted as the source of tremendous power, but it was possible to work around them after reading the sentences engraved on the body. The enemy might be able to use my Precept like I did, to create a trap leading to ruination. There was no reason to bother risking it in the previous iteration where the player was growing without a problem, but things were now different. Biting off the skin on my fingertip to let it bleed, I then started carving rune letters into my body. Duty. It was the vow that always had to be kept, and was one that would grant me power when followed. The trick to engraving Duty was by writing down something that could be ¡®repeatedly activated¡¯. Let¡¯s say it was running 50 meters everyday. In that case, my stats would increase every time I accomplished running 50 meters everyday. A safer duty would be for example, ¡®I will not eat birds for the rest of my life¡¯ which is done ¡®cumulatively¡¯, but it was okay to increase the risk here because I knew a lot of things about the future. Besides, the amount of incremented power also increased depending on the weight of the vow itself. In this world, there was something called ¡®Karma¡¯ ¨C which was the same as experience points, except that was what it was called in this world ¨C and the Karma you gain by defeating a Grade 5 monster was nowhere near the one you gained by killing a Grade 1 monster. Similarly, this Duty had to be shouldering a heavy enough Karma in the perception of this world to give an equal amount in return. ? I will not disregard the misfortune of the good. ? ¨C Chiiiik! ¡°Kuuk¡­!¡± Rune letters were carved onto my body as complete sentences. This might be how it feels to have a scorching hot piece of metal engraving a letter on my body as I unconsciously uttered deep groans. ¡°Huu¡­ huu¡­¡± My body felt heavy ¨C that was how heavy the ¡®Duty¡¯ engraved in my body was. The regulations of Precept were only applied within the user¡¯s range of cognition. Even if it was about a future or an event which had yet to occur, it would come to me as my Karma as long as I was conscious of it. The keywords here were ¡®the good¡¯ and ¡®misfortune¡¯. In this game, the good and evil of a character¡¯s personality were specified in the character screen, and good-natured characters overcoming their misfortune would be helpful for me as well, because they were the ones that would be fighting against this world¡¯s crisis. Put in another way, this meant the ¡®Precept of Duty¡¯ would be repeatedly applied to me as I continued solving the quests of this game, and would result in a suitable return to my power. However, there was no need to save every good person in the world, because a Precept was activated in the range of my cognition. Even if the unfortunate person walking down the street was a good person, my Duty would not be activated as long as I wasn¡¯t aware of it. Next up was Restriction. ¡®Restriction¡¯ was a consistently activated rule that intentionally placed an unfavorable condition to oneself to permanently increase the stats. It was by nature high risk ¨C high return. Because it was the most vulnerable out of the three Precepts, it might be taken advantage of as a weakness, and perhaps was the most important one of the three. Making a weakness on their own. A normal ¡®Restriction¡¯ could be a detrimental one binding me like shackles, but¡ª ? I do not perceive spirits. ? ¨C Chiiiik! ¡°Kuugh¡­!¡± Spirits. It literally meant astral bodies, like ghosts and elemental spirits that did not have a physical body. Like demonic beasts, the enemy of humanity that hunters had to defeat were called demonic spirits in this world. Well, although they were called demonic spirits, it didn¡¯t mean anything. Every astral body that was hostile to humanity were all referred to as demonic spirits. Elemental spirits that did not like humans, and defensive astral bodies of ancient ruins were all called demonic spirits as long as they attacked humans. And in this world, there was one rule for spirits. Spirits interfered with one another upon mutual cognition. An example was how spirits were unable to enter the mind of an unconscious person. In this world, every human had even a tiny bit of spiritual perception no matter how ungifted they were. There might be 1 or 2, but there was never 0. What I did just then through Restriction was reducing that number to 0. In other words, I would not be able to perceive spirits. I will be exempt from the rule of mutual cognition and spirits will not be able to deal with me, just like how I can¡¯t deal with them. The only way for them to touch me, would probably be with the help of an elementalist materializing and giving bodies to those spirits. I knew how strong this Restriction was more than anyone else, because this was the very ¡®Restriction¡¯ of the world¡¯s strongest rune mage, and the boss character, Valtazar . Its effect was 0% accuracy to spirits, at the return of 50% increase in power against physical existences. Anything else apart from the one used to play around Valtazar¡¯s Restriction would not be able to destroy mine either. Finally, what remained was the ¡®Pledge.¡¯ This was the grand ambition that warriors had to be aspiring for, and the weight of that aspiration acted as a support. It was literally pledging to yourself that you would always aspire for that grand ambition. There was no need to even hesitate for this one. ? I will save the world. ? CH 5 ? Precept (2) ? ¡ºThe Precept has been completed. It will now be applied to the sub-player.¡» Duty ¨C ?I will not disregard the misfortune of the good.? : Quests will be given within the proximity of the sub-player¡¯s cognition. When cleared, the status will increase appropriately based on the Karma. ¡ù Failure to follow the Duty will result in a decrease in stats that is 10 times greater than the increase. Restriction ¨C ?I do not perceive spirits.? : The sub-player will be unable to perceive astral bodies, and astral bodies cannot touch the sub-player. The sub-player will gain 50% additional advantage against every physical opponent. ¡ù Violating the Restriction will result in taking 600% additional damage from every opponent. Pledge ¨C ?I will save the world.? : The sub-player must save the world at any cost. Additional support will be given to the sub-player when entering a fight that is in correlation to the world¡¯s doom. ¡ù You will definitely die upon failing to keep the Pledge. ¡ºAccess denied for the sub-player, Korin Lork, due to insufficient qualification.¡» There were a bunch of messages, but I couldn¡¯t read any of them. What¡¯s going on? Somebody please tell me! **** For Alicia, today was a day of misfortune with a strand of good luck. Who would have guessed that a person saved from the claws of a demonic beast would stab her with a poisoned dagger from behind? Her nanny used to scare her off by saying there was a thing in the city called ¡®thrill killing¡¯, and she was actually right! Alicia thought she would be helplessly murdered by that ungrateful lunatic, but she was helped by someone who defeated that murderer. And he even treated her wound! Although it was very painful when he was stopping the bleeding, there was no first-aid kit around so that was understandable. ¡°It seems like the poison of a duke frog.¡± Plus, he was also so well-informed that he knew what poison it was just by looking at the symptoms! ¡®He must be an amazing person with remarkable experiences!¡¯ She imagined the appearance of her benefactor on her own accord. His low voice sounded cold but an undisguisable hint of kindness lingered within. Is this the so-called ¡®cold city guy¡¯ who despite looking cold on the outside is actually very gentle to his girl? ¡°Ms. Alicia. Bite on this.¡± ¡°Kuhee? Dis?¡± Alicia, who was in tremendous pain from the process of stopping the blood, flinched upon feeling the flesh that was inside her mouth. It was true that people would often bite on a piece of cloth to withstand an unbearable amount of pain. A person¡¯s teeth was actually a very lethal weapon. To think he would unhesitatingly give his hand for that! How could he be so gentle and sweet? ¨C Gush! ¨C Kuhiiiiiiiitt! It hurts! It was unfathomably painful, but Alicia held it in. The wound had been created by the thick claws of a beowulf, and it was very fortunate that her organs were relatively safe from the attack. ¡®Oh no! I was biting too hard!¡¯ She had accidentally added an excessive amount of power to her jaws. There was even a deep wound on the flesh inside her mouth. Even though it should be painful¡­ and extremely agonizing¡­ ¡°¡­¡± Her benefactor did not let out a single groan. Alicia marveled at his self-restraint. She had been trained by her grandfather, the Sword Emperor, but what was painful was still painful. Because of her lack of resilience, she had often been smacked on her head with the wooden sword. ¡ºBut¡­ it hurts though. How am I supposed to hold it in?¡» ¡ºYou can. Look at your older sister.¡» ¡º¡­¡» But her sister Luina was a genius; why was he comparing her with someone like herself? She also couldn¡¯t understand why her grandfather suddenly named her a successor candidate and was making her compete against her sister. ¡®If I receive grandpa¡¯s sword because I¡¯m now a successor candidate, then¡­ how much will this sell for? Should I ask after going into the city?¡¯ Oops¡­ Her thoughts accidentally strayed off topic. ¡°Y, your name¡­ Please, tell me your namee¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to know. Don¡¯t bother asking.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Her benefactor did not tell her his name until the end. Why was that? Judging from how he knew her name, he must also be aware of who her grandfather was, as well as the influence of the Arden family. Alicia herself might be admonished for being ambushed like a fool, but there would be plenty of benefit for him, and yet her benefactor did not introduce himself. Why was that? [A true warrior does not worry about materialistic possessions.] That was what her grandfather used to tell her. ¡®Ahh, I see. He saved me not because I¡¯m an Arden, but because there was someone in front of him that needed help. That must be why he¡¯s saying he doesn¡¯t need any compensation¡­¡¯ She thought to herself. Her impression of him was soaring up endlessly when the sound of skin being seared reached her ears along with a groan. ¨C Chiiik! ¡°Kuuk¡­!¡± ¡®A groan?¡¯ That wasn¡¯t from her ¨C her blood had stopped flowing already, and she was now waiting for the antidote to finish boiling. ¡®Was he hurt? Was he injured while saving me?¡¯ Her lips twitched from the sense of guilt. She wanted to ask if he was okay, but could not dare open her mouth. She felt embarrassed. There was a person who was hurt because of her, who was forced to close his wounds using a method as extreme as searing his wounds and yet she, the granddaughter of the Sword Emperor, had been screaming ¡®Kyaaa¡¯ from something that paled a lot in comparison. In addition to that was his righteous mind that was not blinded by wealth, and that tremendously increased her impression of the man whose face she had yet to see. ¡°Huu¡­ huu¡­¡± He collected his breath only after searing himself a few more times, and that made her respect him even more. ¡°It¡¯s finished boiling. Ms. Alicia Arden. It¡¯s time for your medicine.¡± ¡°Yeshh¡­¡± He must be a very talented man, judging from how he could create an antidote in the middle of woods like this. ¨C Bubble bubble. Her sense of hearing was the only one that still functioned properly, so Alicia lent a close ear to the boiling sound of the medicine. Soon, after a jingle, she heard the sound of the antidote being poured into a cup. ¡°You might burn your tongue if you drink it like this.¡± Then, he started blowing, ¡®Huu, huu,¡¯ on the cup. She was touched by his consideration. ¨C Huu~! Huu~! After the liquid was cooled down for quite some time, a large hand touched her back and made her sit up straight. ¡°It¡¯ll be quite bitter. Can you open your mouth?¡± ¡°Yess¡­¡± ¨C Huu~! Huu~! He cooled it down one more time before carefully letting her lips touch the antidote inside the cup. A bitter flavor immediately filled her mouth. It was too bitter¡­ Alicia wanted to have something sweet. Apparently in the city, there was something called honey tea¡­And she wanted a honey bomb candy. Alicia was trying to ignore the bitter flavor by continuing her trail of thoughts in whatever direction possible when a low voice whispered into her ears. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You can slow down.¡± It was a gentle voice that treated her like a kid. He then continued while tapping her back. ¡°Do you have anything sweet? I¡¯m sure it¡¯s quite bitter. Do you want me to take something out of your bag for you?¡± ¡°It, it¡¯s okayy¡­¡± ¡°Really? Then let¡¯s get up when you¡¯re done.¡± He then helped her finish the leftover antidote. ¨C Gulp gulp! ¡°That¡¯s right~. That¡¯s how you do it~. Well done.¡± As if she was a very young sibling of his, he fed her the antidote along with his compliments. Even though she was a little embarrassed, her mind was more focused on the bitter taste of the antidote and the return of her senses from the detoxification. Her wariness dissipated and Alicia soon sluggishly fell asleep. ¡­¡­¡­. ¡°Uhuk¡­! Kuhahkk?!¡± After coming to her senses, Alicia immediately tried to raise her body in a hurry but ended up groaning from the stabbing pain of her wound. It was unclear whether she heard her shout or the groans, but a nurse came in from the echoey corridor outside. ¡°Aht! You woke up! We heard you were under the effect of a duke frog¡¯s poison. How do you feel? Can you see me?¡± The lady in a nurse uniform checked her state and asked her questions before recording them down. Alicia bewilderedly responded to a few questions but after waking up completely, she asked the nurse. ¡°Where is the person that carried me here? He must have been greatly hurt as well!¡± ¡°Sorry? Ah¡­ if you¡¯re talking about him, he left straight away¡­¡± Alicia noticed she was in the emergency hospital of Merkarva City, and that her benefactor had carried her all the way here from the forest outside the city. ¡°Right. The soldiers that were on patrol retrieved your items and the corpses of the guardians. This is yours, yes, Ms Alicia Arden?¡± ¡°Ah, yes¡­¡­ Huh?¡± The nurse was pointing at the large bag placed in a corner of the room, but there was one thing that didn¡¯t belong to her. There was a belt with a remaining hint of blood which was made of a coarse material that was too rugged to be used by women. ¡°This is¡­¡± It was the belt used to close her wound. It was a crude and mass-manufactured belt with no particular design on it. Alicia tightly gripped onto the belt while vowing to find its owner. ¡°Ms. Nurse.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± The nurse seemed quite overwhelmed by the serious gaze in her eyes, and took a step back. ¡°Do they sell honey bomb candies nearby?¡± ¡°¡­You must only have porridge for the time being.¡± ¡°Uwek¡­¡± **** The third day after the end of the tutorial quest was the day of Merkarva Academy¡¯s entrance ceremony. Living 27 years on Earth, I¡¯ve only been registering for courses that started at around noon in college but after living here for 3 years, I became used to waking up early. That was still the same even after the regression of my body, and my eyes automatically opened at 6 am, ready for the first day of school. Heading to the bathroom, I took a warm shower and wiped the steam off the mirror as it revealed the reflection of Korin Lork¡¯s bare face. The unattended black hair was long enough to reach below the shoulders but I tied it to a ponytail as always. Leaving behind the mirror that quickly turned back to being foggy, I changed into the same clothes I wore three days ago. Even though it used to be bloodstained, the washing skills of this world were remarkable. This jumbled-up world based on things from the 16th ~ 20th Century had things like magic artifacts and crystal technology to replicate modern products. There was no particular uniform in this academy, so I was wearing the same relatively-tough pants and a white shirt like I used to even before the regression. All I needed was the student ID card received beforehand to enter the campus. ¨C Flop! I opened the wallet to check the ID card inside and found a piece of paper fluttering down to the floor. To my proud son, Korin Lork, There are no words to express how proud your father is to have you to enter the guardian academy. Become a great man that can protect those around you, as well as the whole world like countless other guardians. It¡¯s your mum. Don¡¯t skip your meals and don¡¯t push yourself to become a hero. I¡¯ll be happy as long as you¡¯re healthy. Oppa! Send me 10 jars of honey bomb candies when you get there! ¡®Korin Lork¡¯ was an average ungifted student like one of those players in an amateur baseball team who always stayed in the waiting room. Although he was pretty much a non-existent side character in the story, even he had a family. He had a father who was proud of him; a mother who wished for her son¡¯s well-being, and a growling and annoying younger sister. In the previous iteration, I felt very awkward around these people. Because they were the family of Korin Lork, and not me. I even felt guilty for taking Korin Lork away from them, and it took a long time for me to accept Korin Lork¡¯s memories which I gained by coming into this world as my own. But now, it was different. Forging bonds with a lot of people over the past 3 years, I started to love them and I began to love this world. I acknowledged that this world was real. That was probably the difference between Park Sihu and me. The difference in our perspectives would not let us understand each other until the very end. ¡°First off, let¡¯s buy some honey bomb candies and send them home.¡± 10 jars my ass. Be glad that I am willing to send 1 jar. **** The place where the freshmen had to gather was the Liberty Hall located north-east of the Academy. Because of how enormous the campus was, it would have taken years to go there on foot, but fortunately, there were carriages doing rounds across the campus. The automated magic carriages were traveling on top of the rails of the campus like trams, while stopping at each of the stations. As expected of one of the 4 guardian academies of the entire continent, they were loaded with money. In fact, academies in this world were even more influential than countries so the amount of donations flooding in was on the level of the national budget of a kingdom. ¡°Wow¡­ There are so many carriages.¡± ¡°So this¡­ is Merkarva Academy.¡± In rural cities, there would only be 1 or 2 magic carriages going around and yet there was an abundance of them in this place, so the students that came from the countryside dropped their chins and watched in awe. It was quite rare and in fact, some of them might have gotten on a carriage for the first time in their lives after getting the admission offer. Therefore, they were bound to mindlessly wander off due to not knowing the stations and directions of the automated carriages going around the Academy. That was something the school was also aware of, and there were always people allocated at the entrance of the Academy each year. I also did it in the past before the regression. ¡°This way~. Everyone~! All the freshmen juniors, gather up!!¡± There was a girl at the southern entrance of the Academy, who was gathering freshmen in front of one of the stations. Her long turquoise-color hair was spread all the way down to her waist, and her hair that was braided across the side was decorated with white potato flowers. She was wearing white clothes with a hint of blue throughout. The beret which artists would wear, her skirt, boots and the protective coat which was worn by every mage were all coloured in white. Judging from how there were close to thirty students of the academy that were presumably freshmen lining up in front of her, that girl appeared to be in charge of the guidance this year. ¡°The carriage will be coming soon! It will depart after around 2 minutes? So let¡¯s move fast! But not too fast so that we don¡¯t get hurt, and let¡¯s go in one by one and go all the way to the back!¡± The girl with turquoise hair color gave instructions to the freshmen with a bright smile on her face. Her refreshing smile which was the same as the one before the regression flushed the faces of some of the freshmen. ¡°Are you also a freshman? Come here and sit down. Wow~ You¡¯re very tall! I¡¯m sure you need to eat a lot as well!¡± There was no-one who could ever hate this girl who was kind and bright to everyone. However, I couldn¡¯t return a carefree smile as one who knew about the future waiting ahead of her. ¡°Do you want some potatoes? It¡¯s from my family, and I baked a lot of them to give to our juniors today.¡± She took out a potato covered by a handkerchief from the basket and gave it to me. There appeared to be a preservation spell cast on it, and the potato was steaming hot. ¡°Oh right. I¡¯m Marie. Marie Dunareff.¡± Marie Dunareff. A genius at using magic, and a 2nd year student of Merkarva Academy. The unfortunate girl blessed by everyone who would have easily become a Grade 1 mage, that however crumbled in an instant. ¡°I¡¯m Korin Lork. Do you have sugar?¡± ¡°Ahtt! I don¡¯t have sugar! But I did bake them with salt!¡± Is that okay? She looked up at me with an amicable smile on her face. CH 6 ? Grading Test (1) ? It might be the same for Earth, but this world had misfortune and unfortunate tragedies decided by the scenario. People full of pride and honor might unexpectedly fall into the pit of helplessness, and a citizen leading a normal life could also be caught up in a natural catastrophe. For Marie Dunareff, her future was destined for despair. The unfortunate event was both unstoppable and unavoidable. The timed bomb instilled inside the final boss of the 1st arc, Marie Dunareff, would definitely go off, and what was important was the timing of the explosion as well as the aftermath. Depending on how the aftermath was dealt with, it could lead to the future attack of the fundamentalists, but could also reduce the triggers of the great collapse. ¡°Everyone. Shout out loud~! Ba~ baba! Baba! Ba~ baba! Baba!¡± ¡°Yeeeyy~!¡± ¡°Wooohh!¡± Like a tourist bus of teenagers, the large magic carriage was filled with people singing a song and playing music. It would take over 30 minutes to get to the Liberty Hall from this place on a carriage, and it was always up to the sunbae in charge of guiding the students to enliven up the mood. ¡°Thanks for clapping along, everyone! That was great! Here are some potatoes!¡± ¡°Thank you, Senior Marie!¡± Marie, who was in charge of guiding the freshmen, used her characteristic ability of creating friends to shorten the gap between herself and her juniors in just 3 minutes. She was a beauty with an easygoing personality¡­ and besides, she charmed others with her overwhelming amount of food so there was no way the freshmen wouldn¡¯t like her. People that gave away food were nice people most of the time. ¡°We are almost there. Right! You see that old lady next to the window? That lady with an afro hair makes potato croquettes and they¡¯re very delicious! You should try them when you have time! And juustt over there, there is the Creation Hall, where students learning magic gather for research. They make a lot of strange things. And over there is the stamina training room! We call it the training room! You can borrow a lot of interesting weapons so I recommend you go there at least once! But I was restricted from going there this holiday¡­ I was using nunchucks and I accidentally broke a window¡­¡± ¨C Hahahaha! Marie was as friendly as a capybara and immediately grasped the hearts of her juniors. Soon, the carriage arrived at the hall. ¡°You have to get off in the span of 2 minutes! But don¡¯t run, and get off slow! You have plenty of time!¡± She kindly guided the students after getting off the carriage first. ¡°The professors are inside, so you can go in one by one and line up! Then, good luck everyone!¡± Good luck? The other freshmen were curious about her sudden encouragement, but I knew what was waiting ahead. I was worried something might happen because of the Precept but fortunately, nothing happened. That was when Marie stopped everyone in their tracks. ¡°Oh, right. Everyone! Here are some steamed and sweet potatoes for you!¡± How many steamed potatoes and sweet potatoes were there inside that basket? I¡¯m sure there have at least been 50 potatoes so far. ¡°See you again later!¡± Leaving behind Marie who was energetically waving her arm until the end, we walked into the Liberty Hall as our sight immediately turned dark. It seemed that we were the last batch. ¡°W, what?¡± ¡°Can anyone see anything?¡± The crowd buzzed from the sudden darkness in front of them. It was natural for them to be anxious considering how their peers suddenly disappeared from their sight, while being unable to touch anything. Spatial Expansion. It was the unique spell of Senior Professor, Lady Josephine Clara. ¡°Do not be flustered, rookies!!¡± ¡°Uhk?!¡± The shout echoing one¡¯s eardrums¡­ was the voice of Old Man Haman the professor of martial art studies. I could still vividly remember how he used to shout that he was still in the prime of his life even though he was only 2 years short of his retirement age. ¡°How could the new cadets of our academy be flustered by something like this! I can only imagine how hard it would be to raise you incompetent fools into warriors!¡± This old man was always the same. Huu, he brought my mind back to the marine camp I went to back in my school days. Those were some crazy days back then. ¡°Stand up straight! You over there! You bony-looking one! I am looking at you!¡± ¡°Huek!¡± Students were the only ones that couldn¡¯t see what was ahead, and the professors standing on the platform were able to see everything. Academy; school; education. It was easy for people to misunderstand, but this Merkarva Academy was a superhuman training facility that was centered around training instead of education. The history of this world¡¯s humanity was that of a constant strife against the demons. The most effective weapon against those monsters were the superhumans who had control over aura and mana. And because a guardian academy was a place that nurtured those superhumans, it was unavoidable for it to resemble a training facility more than a school. ¡°It¡¯s my first time seeing people like you in my 20 years of life as an instructor! Quite shocking!¡± Every military was the same ¨C they all began by breaking the spirits of the new recruits before anything. Marine camps which tried to replicate that military also had a similar trend. ¨C Kung! At the end of Old Man Haman¡¯s noisy discouragement, a spotlight appeared in that space of darkness. ¡°Ah~ Hello. I am Professor Fermack Daman, in charge of this year¡¯s freshmen welcoming ceremony. Professor is too stiff so you can call me sir.¡± Standing in the middle of the stage welcoming the freshmen was a man who looked like a good-for-nothing compared to Old Man Haman. His outfit and attitude were unbelievably casual compared to other professors, but the muscles being shown underneath his short-sleeved shirt was bulky enough to overwhelm the freshmen. ¡®Been a while since I saw that bastard.¡¯ All the professors next to him as well as Fermack Daman were all staring into the darkness. On the left side was the obstinate Old Man Haman Welsch, and on the right hand side was Professor Lulara Mars from Alchemy. They were practically divided into 2 groups: professors from the Knight Department and those from the Magic Department. Even though it was called a freshmen welcoming ceremony, the professors were all gathered here because today¡¯s event was a very important one for students. They would soon be conducting the student grading test. It was a fairly important test, because the grades of the missions and the support funds would all be decided by this one until the next test. ¡°Well, you are all here to either become a knight or a mage, and you already got a qualification the moment you came here but¡­¡± His gaze that was so sharp it would pierce through his sunglasses penetrated through the students. ¡°I would hate to see random weaklings acting tough, so let¡¯s have a look at everyone¡¯s abilities.¡± ¨C Gulp! I could hear nervous gasps from here and there. Even though he was wearing a light costume, Fermack Daman was a Grade 1 knight who was even introduced in the monthly guardian magazine. That vigor was not something freshmen newbies could handle. ¨C Slap! Lady Josephine swung her horse whip once. The area turned dark again, as a short text appeared in the eyes of every student. ¡ºKorin Lork¡» Aura Rank: Low (680) Mana Rank: Very Low (120) Specialties: Nothing (0) Overall Grade: Grade 6 It was nothing new but my stats were really trash. Considering how named characters began at ¡®Medium Low¡¯ in general, with the numbers starting from 5,000, as well as how the player¡¯s initial stats began from 3,000, my stats were horrendously low. ¡®The ranks are the biggest problem. Do they go up with the Precept as well?¡¯ The capacity of aura itself could be increased by having potions or through increasing stats but the ranks were a different issue altogether. A higher rank meant an increase in the amount of aura you could release at once, and in turn meant an increase in power. Even if the total capacity of aura was to be either 10,000 or 100,000, as long as the rank stayed at ¡®Low¡¯, the maximum output at a given moment would always stay at 100. Whether you had a water tank or were living by a lake, you had to use water through a faucet. That was what it pretty much meant. ¡®For now, I can only believe in myself.¡¯ ¡°Ah. So in front of you, there should be your name and your overall grade. Let¡¯s all go to the number you received, from¡­ let¡¯s see, here to all the way there.¡± The spotlights appeared again. Even though the students were a bit fussy, they nonetheless moved to the prepared signboards. In front of the sign for Grade 6, there were only three timid-looking ones apart from me. There should be about 400 new students in total this year, and yet there was only 1% of them in front of this Grade 6 signboard. ¡°Those numbers are the grades given after calculating your mana capacity, so you could say it is your Mana Rank. From now on, you will be taking tests starting from a grade lower than the one you received.¡± The crowd buzzed again, but Fermack made them shut up by trampling on the ground once. ¡°Well, don¡¯t be disappointed by it. My aura rank is also at Medium High but I¡¯m still a Grade 1 knight. The key is that the way you fight is more important.¡± That was true. The amount of energy was nothing but a number, and making the most out of it in a real fight also required talent. Of course, at grades 5 and 6, it would be nigh impossible to overcome that gap. ¡°Let us begin now! I wish you all the best. Well, you won¡¯t die anyway, so if you really don¡¯t feel like doing this, you can just dash in and kill yourself.¡± Along with the ominous words of Fermack, light covered my sight. **** Half of the darkness enveloping the Liberty Hall was lifted as the professors gathered in one place. ¡°There are a lot of gems this year.¡± Professor Lulara of Alchemy said while looking at the students half-encroached by the darkness. The signboards of Grade 2 and¡­ Grade 1. The freshmen that had been standing in front of those signboards were next to them without being isolated in the ¡®testing ground¡¯ which had been infinitely expanded by Lady Josephine. ¡°One Grade 1 and four Grade 2s, huh.¡± The young-looking blonde-haired beauty, Lady Josephine, looked at the remaining students of this place while lifting her monocle. Granddaughter of the Sword Emperor, Alicia Arden. Druid of Avelorn, Yuel. Mercenary of Flying Swords, Dorron Warsky. Golem Mage, Kranel Luden. They were geniuses who had been famous even before the admission. Considering how most of the professors of the guardian academy were Grade 2 with only a few of them being at Grade 1, it was possible to say that these students were as strong as a professor in terms of their ability. Of course, their ability to fight in an actual battle was a completely different matter, but it was clear that their talents were at the level of a genius already. However, this was one of the only four academies worldwide. Here, geniuses were overshadowed by even greater geniuses. Josephine turned towards the Grade 1 signboard. ¡°¡­¡± There was a mysterious girl with a sharp gaze who was standing straight as if she had been straightened up by a right-angled ruler. Her nun clothes tightly tied by chains and her short hair were exactly the same as what Lady Josephine had seen in the past. She appeared like a temperamental cat from a distance, but Josephine was with the chairman of the academy, Eriu Casarr, when first inviting her, so she knew her true identity. ¡®What is the chairman thinking?¡¯ If not for the dozens of yellow talismans stuck on the entangled chains, even Lady Josephine would have been greatly against inviting this girl. Heavenly Yaksha, Hua Ran. ¡®Knight¡¯ was not a suitable description for that girl. A ghastly aura that couldn¡¯t be concealed by the indifferent look on her face was devouring the nearby air. ¡°¡­I suppose there would be no need to gauge your abilities. Please wait until everyone else is done with their test.¡± Leaving behind the cream of the crop, Josephine and the remaining professors gazed into the dimension where the students had gone into. ¡°By the way, is there even a need to bother about these kids?¡± One of the professors, Professor Ronan said while looking at the students through one of the crystals. Most of the students were in Grade 5, so he was evaluating them along with 3 other professors, but he was also in charge of the four Grade 6 students. ¡°Honestly, wouldn¡¯t it be better to expel these ungifted students¡­¡± Grade 5 was already quite useless, and Grade 6 pretty much meant they were completely ungifted. They could only barely perceive even the most basic of astral bodies so it was hard to make use of them. They were like pebbles who just happened to be awakened. Professor Ronan used his cold gaze to stare at the under-achieving students whom he would not even consider as his disciples. He had also been hailed as a genius when he was young, and thus could not understand the minds of ungifted and normal students. Considering how education was meant to cultivate the wide range of students instead of focusing on the small number of geniuses, Professor Ronan was by no means a good educator. Lady Josephine heaved a sigh at the professors that were too much of an elitist and changed the atmosphere by slapping the air with her whip. ¡°It is the chairman who wants every student to walk down the path of education. Are you dissatisfied with anything?¡± Any complaints? Professor Ronan closed his mouth. Just like other elitists, he became humble in front of someone who was more of an elite than him. ¡°¡­¡± But even Lady Josephine was unable to refute the words of Professor Ronan while looking at the boy with a pony-tail stuck in the dimension she made. Grade 6. These ungifted students which were as rare as the few geniuses were usually unable to withstand the burden of a guardian. It would be great if they could even defeat Grade 5 monsters. CH 7 ? Grading Test (2) ? ¡ºMonsters will come out in 30 seconds. Deal with them as you wish.¡» Professor Ronan¡¯s indifferent voice reached my ears. All of a sudden, we were thrown into a white dimension with nothing but a case full of weapons to abruptly conduct a test. Most Grade 5 and Grade 6 students would probably pick up a random weapon without even thinking twice, but it was highly likely for that weapon to be a sword. That was the same even for me in last iteration¡¯s grading test, and approximately 70% (?) of the students in the Knight Department tended to choose a sword. After all, swords were cool right? ¡°Let¡¯s see, let¡¯s see~¡± I, however, unhesitatingly picked up a spear this time, because that was the weapon I used the most in the previous iteration. Actually, the reason I chose the spear before was quite simple. They say 100 days to master a spear, 1,000 days to master a blade, and 10,000 days to master a sword right? I remembered reading from a wuxia novel how 100 days was enough to be proficient at using a spear whereas a sword required 10,000 days. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t try using a sword, but it was actually quite difficult to use. ¡º5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­¡» When I took a spear out of the weapon case, a new spear appeared inside. This was an element that wasn¡¯t included in the game, but it was Lady Josephine being considerate in case a weapon was to break. ¡º2¡­ 1¡­!¡» After a brief pause, monsters began appearing in the distance like a hologram. Showing up were three Grade 5 demonic beasts that appeared like small hunting dogs with large fangs. Even though I thought three Grade 5 monsters was a bit too much against a novice, a guardian was at least expected to defeat a monster that was right above their designated grade. For example, a Grade 5 knight should be able to defeat one Grade 4 demonic beast, and should also be able to deal with three monsters of the same grade even if they were to take some time. My evaluated rank was Grade 6 so according to common sense, it would be great if I could even defeat one of those Grade 5 Short Hounds let alone three but¡­ ¡°Krrrrh¡­!¡± I¡¯ve killed those guys way too many times already. ¡°Around 40 meters away? How nice.¡± After calculating the distance between me and the short hounds, I gently tossed a spear. ¨C Tuung! Drawing a parabola behind its path, the spear accurately pierced through the head of one of the monsters. Thanks to the thousands and tens of thousands of experiences, the javelin precisely pierced through its target. ¡°Krrng?¡± The short hound killed by the sudden spear was vanishing into a mist, and the startled monster next to that guy was the next one to die. ¡°Krrr¡­!¡± The remaining beast kicked off the ground and dashed forward. As a proficient master of spears, I immediately calculated our distance, its path and timing. ¡°15 meters.¡± It would be okay to deal with it with a javelin but I wanted to try out rune magic instead. Gathering mana to my fingertip, I wrote a letter in the air. ???- Kenaz The rune letter meaning ¡®fire¡¯ was engraved in the air, and was followed by a scorching blaze. ¨C Hwaruk! ¡°Krrng?!¡± The short hound threw its body to the side and avoided the approaching flames as the fire ended up burning nothing but the poor ground. ¡°Damn¡­¡± Was there not enough mana? Speed was also a problem. It was a long-time problem but rune magic was not a good magic to use by itself. Well, things might be different if my mana rank went up though. ¡°Woof¡­!¡± After running up, the short hound pounced to tear my throat but its movement was way too linear. Calculating the trajectory, I straightened up the spear at where it would land. ¡°Woof?¡± The low scream in the middle of its jump was way too late. ¨C Squash! Leaving behind the short hound who jumped to the tip of the spear for its own death, I calculated how long it took. It took me about 12 seconds to deal with the Grade 5 demonic beasts. Even though it was only possible thanks to the spears constantly popping up, it was still relatively fast. ¡®How far can I go this time?¡¯ Although I failed in the last iteration because I couldn¡¯t kill the short hounds, this time it was different. The grading test should have demonic beasts and demonic spirits showing up in the ascending order of their grades, and there should be up to Grade 3 prepared. I was waiting for the next wave to hurry up and appear but for some reason, it was taking a very long time, even though it used to be very quick in the game. ¡°¡­Is it broken?¡± Even after waiting for a few minutes, the Grade 4 monsters didn¡¯t show up. Instead¡ª ¡°Krrng!¡± ¡°Krrrrrnnng¡­.!¡± ¡°Woof woof!¡± Grade 5 monsters appeared again. Was this seriously broken? **** Professor Ronan didn¡¯t have high expectations of his allocated portion of students. He absent-mindedly followed Lady Josephine¡¯s settings to summon monsters and let them fight. While looking at the students struggling against the monsters, he clicked his tongue. ¡°Tch tch. What can they do if they can¡¯t even kill that?¡± Seeing those kids that couldn¡¯t even readily deal with three Grade 5 monsters made him heave a deep sigh. ¡®Back in my~~ days¡­¡¯ he reminisced in his memories of how he had dealt with those Grade 5 monsters in just 1 minute and 22 seconds. Even though he was a Grade 3 mage back then, this batch of students was still just horrendous. ¡ºKuaakk¡­!¡» ¡ºHelp me¡­!¡» Although some of the students should be easily able to deal with Grade 5 monsters, they were still failing to do so time after time. Even the ones that could fight them were taking their sweet time to defeat all three of them. ¡®Grade 5s are like that, so there¡¯s no need to even look at Grade 6.¡¯ While thinking that, Professor Ronan turned to the Grade 6 students that were at the very end of the crystal balls. Judging from how all the screens were off, it seemed that they had all been defeated already. ¡°Pathetic¡­ Nn?¡± That was when he saw a student sitting on a weapon case in a white room. ¡ºKorin Lork: Grade 6¡» An ungifted pebble which would not even be able to serve as a stepping stone for the gems of the academy was yawning while leaning on a spear. ¡°What? How¡¯s he not dead yet?¡± Let alone the other Grade 6 students, 30% of the Grade 5 students had already been defeated by the short hounds. Why did that one student look so normal? Did he get rid of all three short hounds already? ¡°There¡¯s no way.¡± Even the Grade 5 students weren¡¯t able to deal with it so how would a Grade 6 student have defeated those monsters already? More than anything, it was way too fast compared to the Grade 5 students. ¡°Must be an error.¡± Thinking that there must have been a problem with summoning the monsters, he assumed it was because of a bug. After summoning the Grade 5 demonic beasts in his room, Professor Ronan turned to the screens of other students. He mindlessly glanced across the crystals and finally came across one person who succeeded at defeating the monsters. ¡°7 minutes and 20 seconds huh¡­¡± It was a pathetic record. Even though all the students he was in charge of were Grade 5 and Grade 6, 7 minutes was still quite horrible. Looking at Professor Fermack who was in charge of Grade 3 students next to him, they all appeared to be defeating the monsters in 2~3 minutes. Slowly but surely¡­ a few of them were successfully dealing with the Grade 5 monsters but that was when Professor Ronan turned to the side and doubted his eyes again. ¡°Nnnn?¡± Inside the screen, Korin was still sitting on the weapon case. There were a few spears taken out of the case that were rolling on the floor but that was it. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Professor Haman Welsch walked closer with his typical obstinate voice. He was sometimes called Instructor rather than Professor and was respected by other professors so even Professor Ronan had to be careful in front of him. ¡°It, it¡¯s nothing much but¡­ This seems broken.¡± ¡°Broken? That can¡¯t be. Lady¡¯s Josephine¡¯s testing magic has never created an error in the last 20 years.¡± ¡°You see, the demonic beasts aren¡¯t being summoned into this one specific room.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be¡­¡± Old Man Haman observed the crystals. After immediately scanning across the screen with his refined vision, he found Korin in the corner of the screen who was nonchalantly sitting down by himself. ¡°Rank 6 in mana. Korin Lork. Surprised he¡¯s not out yet.¡± ¡°Right? This guy who should have dropped out already is still sitting here. I¡¯m sure the demonic beasts aren¡¯t being summoned.¡± ¡°Did you see it?¡± ¡°Hnn?¡± ¡°Did you see the monsters not being summoned, Professor?¡± ¡°No, but¡­ There¡¯s no need to, is there¡­¡± He was Grade 6. Grade 6 in mana would probably have a hard time to even be employed as a city guard. It didn¡¯t even make sense for a student like that to deal with Grade 5 demonic beasts, and besides, defeating them in around ten seconds while Professor Ronan was looking elsewhere was impossible. ¡°¡­¡± But that meant he didn¡¯t see it. Old Man Haman immediately glared at him with a sharp gaze so Professor Ronan quickly took a step back. ¡°A, alright. I¡¯ll have a clear look at it this time. It must be a bug so I¡¯ll summon it again¡­¡± Like that, Korin had to do a third test against a group of short hounds. ¡º¡­¡­What is this? Is this on purpose?¡» Korin muttered inside the screen before raising three spears and tossing them one by one to pierce through each of the short hounds. 7.3 seconds. Professor Ronan doubted his eyes. ¡°¡­¡± In a fluster, he walked up to Professor Fermack who was next to him checking his own batch of twenty Grade 3 students. ¡°H, hey. Professor Fermack.¡± ¡°Wassup? Anything wrong?¡± ¡°Your students¡­ are already at Grade 3 demonic beasts.¡± ¡°Well, pretty much.¡± Professor Ronan asked him after slight hesitation. ¡°Who was the fastest in your group of students?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I didn¡¯t count but this student here called Jaeger took around 3 and a half minutes.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I, I see.¡± ¡°Why did you ask that?¡± ¡°N, nothing much.¡± Professor Ronan blankly went back to observing his crystals. ¡®W, what am I doing. I need to summon the Grade 4 demonic beast.¡¯ Korin Lork appeared to be decent at javelin. He disregarded it by thinking that he must be from a family of hunters or something but he nonetheless concentrated on Korin Lork¡¯s screen. The next demonic beast was a Mat Boar. It was an annoying beast to deal with, that curled its body and rolled around at max speed. This time, only one monster was summoned unlike the Grade 5 monsters, and that in turn showed how exponentially dangerous this monster was. ¨C Quakk! 3.7 seconds. Ronan rubbed his eyes multiple times. He even used the spell, Return of Memories, to recall how Korin Lork killed the mat boar in an instant. He had avoided the mat boar, which was rolling at full speed, like a bullfighter and tripped it by pointing out the spear at a timely manner to fling the boar into the air. And as soon as the boar¡¯s body straightened up in mid-air, it received a spear to its stomach and crashed into the ground. It was a remarkable hunt done with only technique and a little bit of power. Although Professor Ronan tended to look down on those who fought with their own bodies, even he couldn¡¯t help but admire how exquisitely that was done. ¡ºUaaaahk!¡» ¡ºThis is unfair!¡» He also couldn¡¯t help but compare that to the other students who couldn¡¯t overcome the tough monster. So far, there were only 4 students who had passed the Grade 4 demonic beast test. Next up was the Grade 3 monster, Owlbear. It was a medium-ranked demonic beast who was widely considered a big threat because of its large body and a tough grip. It won¡¯t be easy this time. Owlbears had a thick skin that was hard to penetrate, and getting hit by its thick claws would fling off knights regardless of their barrier of aura. ¡ºKiyaa¡­!¡» ¡ºKuaak¡­!¡» In fact, one of the students had already been insta-killed by the owlbear. He tried to block the attack with his shield but the shield ended up breaking, and the impact that was carried over was so strong that he was deemed unable to continue. However, Korin was different. ¡ºKuwaah!¡» Without trying to parry the frontal paw swing of the bear, he lowered his head to dodge the attack and stabbed his spear into the armpit. And without getting greedy for more, Korin immediately started to retreat and swung the spear out wide to strike the head of the owlbear while immediately falling back. ???- Kenaz His fingers left a trace behind in the air. The letter created with mana rapidly turned into a ball of ether that pounced at the owlbear. ¡°R, rune magic?!¡± ¡°???¡± Professor Ronan¡¯s shout gathered the eyes of the surrounding professors and Professor Fermack showed an especially bigger reaction by sharply glistening his eyes. Rune magic was one that had a clear limit and weakness. It was such an ancient system of magic which only scholars would take a look at while becoming a professor so it was understandable for Professor Ronan to be surprised. Ignoring its own body that was caught in flames, the owlbear jumped at its prey. Due to the dreadfully low amount of mana, the magic that was cast in an instant was unable to show an astonishing outcome. However, the smoke created by its blazing fur was enough to cover its sight. In the end, the owlbear couldn¡¯t differentiate between the black smoke and the spearhead that was coming in like a small dot and¡­ ¨C Kwaakk! That was what decided the victor. Korin was the only survivor of the Grade 3 test among Professor Ronan¡¯s students. ¡°¡­¡± At this point, he couldn¡¯t help but admit that this student was definitely not someone who should stay at the likes of Grade 6. ¡®Unlucky there¡¯s only up to Grade 3 for the demonic beast test.¡¯ Would he be able to defeat a Grade 2 demonic beast as well? Even though Professor Ronan was skeptical, he couldn¡¯t disregard the possibility. ¡®As long as he doesn¡¯t make any big mistakes in the demonic spirit test, he would easily go up to Grade 4.¡¯ In the start of the semester grading test, the lowest record was used as the estimated rank. If he couldn¡¯t defeat a Grade 4 demonic spirit, then he would be estimated to be a Grade 4 even if he defeated a Grade 3 demonic beast, Wondering how proficient this student called Korin would be in a fight against a demonic spirit, Ronan summoned a Grade 5 demonic spirit. That rune magic alone should be enough to easily defeat a Grade 5 demonic spirit. He assumed it would be easy for him to reach Grade 4 at least and focused on Korin¡¯s screen but¡­ ¡°???¡± Korin Lork didn¡¯t do anything. And after a little while¡­ ¡ºI give up.¡» ¡°?????¡± ¡ºThe grading test has ended. The estimation of ranks and the organization of data has been completed. The records will now be put together.¡» [] ¡­¡­¡­. ¡º Student Number 7. Roco Roco ¡» ¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­¡­. ¡ºStudent Number 14. Verdic Rumlow¡» ¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­¡­. ¡ºStudent Number 19. Korin Lork¡» Aura Rank: Low (680) Mana Rank: Very Low (120) Specialties: Nothing (0) Overall Grade: Grade 6 ¡ºDemonic Spirit Test¡» Grade 5 Demonic Spirit, Ghost: Forfeit Grade 4 Demonic Spirit, Hex Wraith: Disqualified Grade 3 Demonic Spirit, Banshee: Disqualified ¡ºDemonic Beast Test¡» Grade 5 Demonic Beast, Short Hound: 7.3 seconds (New Record) Grade 4 Demonic Beast, Mat Boar: 3.7 seconds (New Record) Grade 3 Demonic Beast, Owlbear: 11 seconds (New Record) ¡º Final Overall Grade: Grade 5 Knight ¨C Submission Complete¡» ¡ºThe test records will now be scrapped for privacy and information protection.¡» CH 8 ? Grading Test (3) ? It might sound like I¡¯m bragging when I say this, but I¡¯ve been using a spear for quite some time in the previous iteration. Stabbing at the weak points of a monster was nothing difficult. What was important was that it was a lot easier to move my body compared to the previous iteration. My power, stamina and vision were all incomparably higher than what I had at the start of the previous iteration. It was thanks to the second aspect of the Precept ¨C ?I do not perceive spirits.?which amplified my strength against physical opponents. ¡®Next up are demonic spirits, huh.¡¯ It was the same as the Restriction that man had in the previous iteration. I had to check if it was working properly. ¡ºGrade 5 demonic spirit test will now begin.¡» Something must have been summoned immediately after the impassive voice of Professor Ronan, but I could neither see nor hear anything. ¡®It¡¯s going as expected so far.¡¯ I was miserable at seeing astral bodies in the first place. No matter how much I raised my stats while following Park Sihu around, my ability to see astral bodies just did not get any better. I could only faintly sense their presence. In that popular game everyone plays in Korea, the terrain gets blurry whenever there are invisible units walking by, right? That was exactly what it felt like to me. However, I couldn¡¯t even see that afterimage anymore. Anyone would generally feel a chill or feel spooked when nearby an astral body, but I couldn¡¯t feel anything. Next up was the battle. Sitting still, I defenselessly waited for the demonic spirit to approach me. 1 minute. Although I wasn¡¯t sure how fast the demonic spirit was, a minute would have been enough for it to approach me. And it probably would have done something to me. It might have used Life Drain that demonic spirits loved the most or something like Soul Crusher¡­ Well, a low grade demonic spirit might not have such skills, but the point was that something should have long happened by now. ¡®It¡¯s working.¡¯ Because of the rule of mutual cognition, the demonic spirit could not interfere with me because I couldn¡¯t perceive it in the first place. That made me certain. Demonic spirits would not be able to touch me no matter how strong they were¡­ even a Unique Grade spirit would be powerless. The ¡®Restriction¡¯ of the Precept was working like a charm. ¡°Good.¡± I checked everything that needed to be checked so it was time to hurry up and leave this test. There was no reason to let Professor Ronan know that I could not perceive demonic spirits, let alone how they could not even touch me. Of course, Professor Ronan would not even dare imagine that it could be impossible to perceive demonic spirits but others might be different. ¡°I give up.¡± After a while, I was able to see a crumpled look on Professor Ronan¡¯s face. **** Old Man Haman had been watching the crystals with Professor Ronan ever since he had a question. ¡®This guy¡¯s a gem!¡¯ That was his impression of Korin. His expert skills at hunting the short hounds; his posture and the precise accuracy of his javelins were all remarkable, with zero room for negative feedback. That wasn¡¯t the end ¨C his ability to insta-kill the mat boar and the owlbear was astonishing. Even from the higher graded knights, it was hard to find knights that were able to show such skill in an actual fight. ¡®Strange that he forfeited against the demonic spirits but¡­ Was there something he had in mind?¡¯ Even Haman could not imagine a guardian who could not perceive spirits, but his guess was somewhat correct. In the end, Korin was given the title of a Grade 5 knight, but that wasn¡¯t anything to be stressed about. A powerhouse at his level was bound to accomplish many things, and with those he would inevitably go towards the top. ¡®Hoho¡­ looks like my last few years are going to be exciting.¡¯ How high up would he go? Old Man Haman let out a hearty laughter at unexpectedly coming across a hidden rising star. **** ¡°Uuh¡­¡± Alicia felt as if she was suffocating to death as she waited for her peers to complete their tests. ¡ºAlicia Arden¡» Aura Rank: Upper Medium (6,800) Mana Rank: Lower Medium (1,300) Specialties: Eyes of the Boundary Overall Grade: Grade 2 Final Grade: Grade 2 Knight Her stats were definitely in the upper spectrum among knights, and she was a blessed and gifted child ever since her birth. However, the peers standing next to her were at a similar level if not higher than her. None of them were ordinary. ¡®Ughh¡­ Why is no-one saying anything? I can¡¯t even hear them breathe.¡¯ Everyone else was doing their test so they were the only people except for the professors and yet not a single one of them was interested in other people. This was at least triple the awkwardness that existed at the start of the year in the normal academies she had gone to. There was a druid girl maintaining a bizarre gymnastic posture in meditation; A gloomy boy wearing a black robe caressing a muddy doll; And a former mercenary hanging five gleaming blades in the air while breathing like a beast. ¡®Scary! Why is everyone so bizarre? Are they really the same age as me?!¡¯ Alicia used to go to a normal academy until middle school. If her grandfather didn¡¯t suddenly drop a senile comment like, ¡®Let¡¯s make Alicia a successor candidate as well,¡¯ she definitely wouldn¡¯t have come to such a sinister academy. ¡®Cherry, Nobu, Tofre¡­ I miss you guys.¡¯ The scariest of all was the girl who was literally doing nothing in this suffocatingly heavy atmosphere. Unlike her appearance that suggested she was from the East, she was wearing the clothes of a nun with chains restricting her on top of that. The chains weren¡¯t sealing her joints and it seemed that they weren¡¯t there to restrict her movements. There was more. Dozens of yellow talismans were coiled around those chains. She looked extremely ominous if anything. The hair color of the chained nun girl was also strange. The outside was jet black and yet the inside was tainted in deep red. ¡®Did she dye her hair?¡¯ It looked way too natural for it to be dyed hair and Alicia was curiously staring at it when the sharp red eyes suddenly turned towards her. ¡°Ehk¡­¡± Meeting those deep eyes that seemed like they would lead to the endless abyss, Alicia felt a chill running down her spine. This is dangerous! We have a carnivore in a cage of herbivores! There is a scary predator¡­! ¡®Benefactor! Are you there?! Please save me one more time!!¡¯ While touching the belt tied around her martial art uniform, Alicia prayed to someone who would be too far to hear her. **** In the end, I was given the title of a Grade 5 Knight by Professor Ronan. He gave a deep scowl when he saw me, who had forfeited at Grade 5 demonic spirit test after defeating a Grade 3 demonic beast, but there was nothing I could do about it. Professor Ronan constantly glared at me as if he was discontent by me forfeiting at the Grade 5 demonic spirit test, but nonetheless, the highest grade I could get after not defeating a Grade 5 demonic spirit, was Grade 5. I was leaving after getting my student ID cards updated to Grade 5 Knight and found students chatting to each other. ¨C Oi, what grade did you get? ¨C Grade 4. I fucked up. What about you? ¨C Huhu. Grade 3. ¨C Wow¡­ So you killed both an owlbear and a banshee? ¨C Look at them. They¡¯re Grade 5. ¨C Ehew, how do you even get Grade 5? After Lady Josephine¡¯s grading test, we received our grades from the professors in charge and lined back up according to our given grades. There were only 30 students standing in front of the Grade 5 signboard where I was. In front of the Grade 3 board were around 20 people, which meant there were approximately 350 students who got Grade 4. ¡°Huhut¡­!¡± Most of the Grade 3 students couldn¡¯t hide their arrogant gazes. The one who stood out the most was a delinquent-looking student with very short hair and an impressive tattoo on the back of his neck. Ohh~ it was someone I knew. Jaeger Hinzpeter. He was a Grade 3, and his specialty was something like accumulated destruction, where you build energy inside by landing attacks and explode it in one go. It was a specialty we didn¡¯t even get to see in the game because of him quickly becoming irrelevant but now that this was the real world, it should be possible to have a look at his abilities since we will be training in the same class. His role in ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? was picking a fight with the player at the start of the story, only to be smashed in an instant. He preferred a heavy armor and a mace, and had a tattoo on his neck. Also, his mother is a tattooist. How did I know that, you may ask? It was because 3 years ago, his parents and his younger sister had come to the Academy when he went missing in the 1st semester. They used their own money to try to find Jaeger and that scene had left quite a big impression on me back then. ¡®He was one of the people Park Sihu killed for annoying him.¡¯ That fucking cidery psychopath¡­ Although Jaeger had a bit of an attitude, he was definitely not a big enough sinner who deserved to die. He was a typical delinquent and a demi-human racist, but he was not a massive bully and he was just in the rough and unstoppable moments of his youth. He was just a young and immature kid compared to the actually terrible delinquents whose lives were a series of sexual assaults and robberies. He had some skill and was a Grade 3 Knight. Looking down on peers who had a lower Grade and feeling superior was quite common in his age. Those are the days, you know. ¨C Look. They are Grade 5. ¨C Wow, how do you get that? ¨C So some people do lose to short hounds and ghosts, huh. Jaeger wasn¡¯t the only one with such an attitude and most of the students were the same. There was always at the very bottom. Grade 4 students, which was the majority of students, sent condescending gazes at the Grade 5 students, whereas the Grade 5 students who were at the very bottom dropped their heads in embarrassment and frustration. They would at least hit Grade 4 before graduation and that was already considered quite good outside. Even though they might be treated like trash here, they were still superhumans outside. None of them would be starving to death no matter what they did anyway, but as expected of kids who had yet to suffer from the unemployment crisis, their perception of their future was very optimistic. But well¡­ that¡¯s what kids should be like. It would be great if their embarrassment and frustration would act as a positive catalyst for their growth but¡­ ¡®Lark¡¯s also here.¡¯ Typical nerd glasses and freckles¡­ up to there it was normal, but the skull spellbook in his hands was definitely a tell-tale sign that he was a severe chuunibyou patient. The reason he died was because he framed me and Sihu after giving in to his inferiority complex. I was wondering whether I should kindly let him participate in the enlightening method of ¡®Soviet Russia¡¯ when the mic started to go off at the stage. ¨C Kuhum! There was a man testing the mic and the voice amplification magic. ¡°Good morning, freshmen. I am the chairman, Eriu Casarr. Let me make this brief.¡± There was no sign of him showing off his authority in his composed voice and the expressionless look on his face. He was respectful and dignified. He looked young but there was an underlying layer of composure which made it difficult to discern his age. Chairman of Merkarva Academy, Eriu Casarr. The strongest helper and bystander of the main quest. It had truly been a very long time. ¡°In this academy, you will be learning the most intense and the most dangerous techniques of the world. Some of you might already be strong, and some of you might not be as strong. I cannot guarantee you that everyone will achieve their goals.¡± The students created a fuss in response to the chairman¡¯s words. ¡°However, I do wish that everyone here may discover the correct direction of their lives. Our job is to help you take that first step. Starting from the second step, it will be up to you. That¡¯s it from me. Hope you have a wonderful day.¡± With that, the chairman left the stage. There was a short break after the chairman¡¯s speech, which the freshmen used to get to know each other. ¡°I am a Grade 3 Knight, Jaeger Hinzpeter! You see¡ª¡± Among the freshmen was a guy who showed off his Grade and bragged about himself¡­ ¡°¡­¡± As well as a gloomy nerd flipping the pages of a spell book in the corner. In the previous iteration, I had close to zero friends because of that damned Park, because I was forced to stay next to him the whole day. Gosh¡­ Thinking of how there was a hidden desire concealed behind all that gave me goosebumps. I was glancing around to check whether the kids that died to Park were doing okay or not, and saw Jaeger striking up a conversation with Lark. ¡°Oi, what Grade are you?¡± ¡°Hu, huh?¡± Lark was flustered from the sudden chat and slowly closed the spell book. Thinking back, I remembered how Jaeger picked a fight with Grade 5 students on the first day. ¡°G, Grade 5.¡± ¡°Grade 5? So you¡¯re a weakling.¡± Jaeger condescendingly gave a remark while Lark was shivering in front of the tattooed delinquent. Ohh¡­ It felt like I was back to being a teenager. Such immaturity¡­ was refreshing. ¡°Did you fail at killing the ghost? I suppose you could have been scared because some of them do look like a Grade 3. I wasn¡¯t though.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Wait, did you die to the short hounds and not the ghost? For real? Uhahaha!¡± I was watching with an intrigued expression but Lark tightened his fist and looked fairly upset. He wasn¡¯t the only one. The small group of students that received Grade 5 in the test were embarrassed about their ranks which were easier counted from the bottom. ¡°You know what, I killed those weak-ass short hounds in like 3 minutes¡­¡± ¡°Hello, friends!¡± I suddenly wrapped my arms around them. Neither of them noticed me until I touched them. ¡°Uht?¡± ¡°W, what?¡± The two of them rolled their eyes in surprise from my sudden approach. What was I supposed to do with these young teenage boys? ¡°Y, you, who are you?¡± Lark took a step back after seeing my face. It wasn¡¯t clear whether he was surprised by my jump-scare or my appearance. ¡°That tattoo looks pretty sick.¡± ¡°Hu, huh?¡± ¡°Looks neat. The one who did it must be very good at it.¡± ¡°Huh? Yeah? R, right?¡± I praised the tattoo and gave a compliment to the one who did it, which was highly likely to be his mother. He wouldn¡¯t have expected me to know about the tattooist, so it must have sounded like a genuine compliment to him. Plus, his tattoo was not just there for show. ¡°That thing on the back of your neck is the symbol for your blood type right? To get a blood transfusion as quickly as possible when you get hurt, yeah? Damn, you¡¯re prepared.¡± ¡°Yeah, right!¡± The reason I knew this was because I had talked to Jaeger¡¯s parents before. Because Park and I were the last ones to see Jaeger, we were summoned a few times. Jaeger¡¯s tattoo was proof of his parent¡¯s concern for their son who was entering the guardian academy. Park Sihu that fucking psychopath¡­ Acting like nothing happened in front of Jaeger¡¯s parents¡­ ¡°Actually, this is what my mom did for me. She¡¯s more of a line work specialist, but she did it old school for me.¡± ¡°That looks excellent. Do you have more?¡± ¡°Yeah. I did one on my arm. It¡¯s the symbol of Merkarva Academy, and has a chariot flying through the sky.¡± Pulling his sleeves, Jaeger bragged about his tattoo. As he said, there was a chariot and a sky behind it, which was the symbol of Merkarva Academy, imprinted on his right arm. After that, I just listened to Jaeger excitedly talk about himself. Although I didn¡¯t really know the technical terms like ¡®line work¡¯ and ¡®old school¡¯, what I knew was that you only needed to give energetic nods to be a great listener. ¡°I¡¯m Korin Lork.¡± ¡°Jaeger Hinzpeter.¡± He found out what my Grade was during the conversation, but unlike what he did with Lark, he didn¡¯t even mention it. People generally did not bother bad-mouthing someone who they had a good impression of. Because of that, he didn¡¯t continue picking a fight against Lark, who was in the same Grade as me. That should have left a positive first impression. This guy ¨C Lark; if I remember correctly¡­ His specialty was Memorize. He would be of great help. He¡­ was the way for me to access the grimoire, the free skill book. **** Alicia had a low self-esteem and was bad at expressing her opinion. That was why despite her strength, she became timid in front of her impressive peers and couldn¡¯t speak up to them. She had been worn out and harassed by the people of her household that supported her older sister. ¡ª How can someone like you be at the same position as Lady Lunia? Due to being the illegitimate child of the current head of the family, Gerard Arden, and the child of a concubine, she had been faint-hearted from a young age. She was always compared to her smart sibling, harassed and mocked. She was the ¡®young lady¡¯ of the household, but there was no weight behind that title. ¡°Grade 5? So you¡¯re a weakling.¡± Ahh, he looks like a delinquent. He even has a tattoo¡­ Feeling like her PTSD was coming back up, Alicia forced herself to turn her head away from him. It was because there used to be a lot of people in the household who had tattoos. She thought there would be no-one saving that poor boy, like what happened to her. ¡°That tattoo looks pretty sick.¡± ¡°Hu, huh?¡± That was when another boy showed up. The peer called Korin Lork, who was assigned as a mere Grade 5 Knight, approached the delinquent-looking Jaeger without any hesitation. He complimented his tattoos, gave deep nods and skilfully led the conversation with Jaeger. Everyone watching knew that Korin had stepped in to help his peer from being harassed. ¡®¡­Incredible.¡¯ He didn¡¯t rely on strength nor did he try to talk down or criticize the opponent. The boy had gotten rid of the seed of harassment in a very adept manner. Even though he was also a Grade 5 himself, and even though he should¡¯ve known that he could have become the next target, he still stepped up for his peers. Today must have been the first day they met. He had never even talked to Lark before. Although he would be getting nothing in return, he took a step forward nonetheless. That boy called Korin even gave off a sense of dignity and experience. ¡®What a nice person.¡¯ Showing non-calculative kindness that gives a good impression¡­ Was it just a coincidence that he reminded her of the benefactor she met in the forest? CH 9 ? Korin Lork(1) ? Most of the facilities of Merkarva Academy were available for free. The student cafeteria was cheaper than the fast food restaurants outside, and although there were different tiers for the dormitory, they did not charge any money. Since the students were sometimes dispatched to dangerous missions under the name of work experience, the Academy gave utmost support for everything else. The ¡®training rooms¡¯ was one of them. In this academy where students were given a lot of free time, the training room which was open for all the students was the most recommended facility out of the entire campus. ¡°Is there a room?¡± ¡°Yes, there¡­ Freshman?¡± The staff at the reception tilted his head after seeing my student ID card. It was understandable for him to be confused because it would have been rare to see a freshman come to the training room on the first day of the admission. After all, it was strange for freshmen to even know about the training room. ¡°What size¡­ would you like?¡± ¡°Please make it XL.¡± ¡°Is there a weapon that you would like to borrow?¡± ¡°Do you have a spear? It¡¯d be great if it was around 2 meters.¡± ¡°So the normal one. There are all sorts of weapons in the weapon container, so please feel free to take them as you wish.¡± ¡°Do you have an elemental body as well?¡± ¡°An elemental body? Uhh¡­ we do but¡­¡± The staff tilted his head. He seemed curious about how I got to know about that, but there was another thought mixed into his gaze; It was the thought that it would be meaningless even if I were to take it. After changing into a more comfortable outfit, I picked up a spear and went inside, and was welcomed by a gym that was bigger than most stadiums. ¨C Kaang! Kang! ¨C Hwaruk! ¨C Kuwaang! Waiting for me inside were all sorts of savage noises which were made by the students training themselves. The training rooms looked like a tennis court where every student could train in their own rooms. It was wide open and was only divided by glass panes. Of course, there weren¡¯t enough rooms for all the students of the academy to use so you had to be quick on busy hours like the weekend. In other words, considering how rowdy the academy was due to the recent addition of freshmen, right now was the only chance to use such a luxurious room by myself. I tried swinging the training spear which was relatively sharp. In the previous iteration, I used to swing around a spear everyday. It seemed that I was unexpectedly quite talented at using spears. ¡ºYou started too late, and you must train harder to make up for it.¡» I only got to learn spearmanship after getting an official master introduced to me by Park, but that was already very late. ¡°Wake up. Time to get to work.¡± Placing the small egg I received from the front reception on the ground, I tapped it a few times. This was an object that was possessed by an elemental. In this world, elementals could manifest themselves in 2 ways. The first was by materializing their bodies by receiving mana from an elementalist after an official contract. In this case, they would add flesh to their astral bodies and allow me to see them as well. The second was by possessing objects like the one in front of me. In this guardian academy which encouraged students to pursue an intense training session, they provided various elemental bodies that were okay to be broken after a contract with the Spirit Realm. ¨C Hehe! Hehe! Along with the sound which resembled the chuckling voice of a child, wings began to appear behind it. ¨C Vuiiing! The elemental body floated up with an intimidating set of noises. The elemental possessing this egg was a common low-grade wind elemental. But due to the physical body, it was as fast as a mid-grade elemental despite having no way of fighting back. ¡°Oi, look at that.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a freshman training with an elemental body.¡± I could feel the gazes of the senior students of the academy that were using the training room. The emotion concealed behind their voices was not surprise but mockery at the bravado of a junior. ¡°Don¡¯t you start that at like the 2nd semester?¡± ¡°He probably heard it from somewhere.¡± As they said, freshmen generally started training with an elemental body starting from the 2nd semester, and the reason for that was quite simple. It was because it would be meaningless to make students try something impossible. ¡°Huhp¡­!¡± The elemental body easily dodged my thrusted spear. It wasn¡¯t just a dodge either ¨C after reading the trajectory of my spear, it shifted its body at the last second to dodge the spear with a gap of 0.1 centimeters to make fun of me. ¡°See that.¡± ¡°There are plenty of 2nd year students who find it hard against wind elementals. What does that freshman think he is?¡± That was why elemental bodies were only used starting from the second semester ¨C the superior cognitive ability and the overwhelming dodging ability complemented by the physical body itself were ridiculous. Telling a 1st year student to catch that was the same as commanding a newborn baby to race against a bicycle. It might be possible for famous geniuses but it was so difficult that most average students would not even be able to reach it after becoming a 2nd year student. ¨C Sheeek! I swung my spear again but both the timing and the speed fell short. The elemental body easily dodged it to a corner and instead drove its body into my forehead. It was clearly playing around with me. ¡°Kuht¡­!¡± It had no offensive ability and thus didn¡¯t hurt very much but the dejection left behind by the sense of defeat was not small. However, I wasn¡¯t discouraged because this was just a test for me to retrieve the senses I had in my previous iteration. ¡®If I was going to be discouraged by something like this, I wouldn¡¯t have pledged to save the world.¡¯ I at least wanted to improve my spearmanship back up to the basic level. Thinking that, I was preparing myself to thrust the spear one more time when a bright voice echoed from the entrance and reached my ears. ¡°Hi, everyone! You are working hard as always!¡± ¡°Huh? Marie?¡± ¡°You are quite early today. Are you here for training?¡± ¡°Nn nn! There was something I¡¯ve been doing during the holiday! Oh right, do you want some snacks?¡± Marie unhesitatingly opened her basket of snacks. Endlessly coming out of the basket were steamed potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes and seasonal vegetables. ¡°You must have been working hard. Here you go. A wet towel!¡± ¡°Uh, uhh¡­ Thank you.¡± A 2nd year student of the Knight Department blushed while receiving the wet towel from Marie, who soon also walked up to me. ¡°Junior. I remember you. We saw each other in the morning, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Senior Dunaref.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my first time seeing a freshman come to the training room on the first day!¡± ¡®Back in my days, we were busy playing!¡¯ She said with a bright smile and naturally created a positive atmosphere in the blink of an eye. ¡°Do you want some steamed potatoes? I have sugar as well.¡± ¡®I have it this time,¡¯ she added with a wide smile. Even though I was a year below her and today was our first day seeing each other, she blew away the awkwardness in a single second like it was nothing. ¡°Thanks for the food.¡± As soon as I took the steamed potato from her hands, her white fingers gently sprinkled sugar on top of the potato. White sprinkles of snow fell on top of the yellow flesh of the hot and steamy potato. A sugared potato was a delightful dish. I was munching through it when Marie handed over a cup with water in a timely manner. ¡°You need water right? Slow down.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± That was when Marie spotted the elemental body and tilted her head. ¡°Huh? That¡¯s¡­?¡± Seeing an elemental body which everyone was bound to know after going through the 1st year curriculum, Marie tilted her head. ¡°Are you practicing with that?¡± ¡°Yes. Is there a problem?¡± ¡°N, no? It seems you are trying very hard!¡± She shook her head in a fluster, seemingly worried about giving an impression that she was looking down on me. Turning away from the entrance of my room¡­ to be exact, after turning away from the crowd who was here to talk to Marie, I picked the spear back up when a new voice echoed from behind. ¡°Hooh.¡± It was too dignified for it to be a student¡¯s voice, and there was an undisguisable sign of stubbornness in his old voice. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Huh? Instructor Haman?¡± Professor Haman who had disheartened the freshmen at the entrance ceremony was glaring at me. ¡°Korin Lork. Freshman, aren¡¯t you.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Sir Instructor.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Old Man Haman twitched his lips after being unexpectedly called an instructor rather than a professor. Even though the academy was divided into the sectors: Knight Department and the Magic Department, everyone teaching the students were called professors. Professor Haman was also a professor himself but he did not like that title because of how ink-stained that seemed. ¡°Why are you practicing with an elemental body? Korin Lork.¡± ¡°I¡¯m practicing spearmanship. I need to hit that.¡± ¡°Pfft¡­!¡± The sunbaes behind Old Man Haman in the background bursted into sneers. They appeared to be thinking of it as the bravado of an ignorant newbie. ¡°Nnn¡­ Guys, stop¡­ It¡¯s normal for him to not know how hard it is¡­¡± Marie tried to stop the senior students in concern that it might hurt my feelings, but she was also under the impression that I was doing something meaningless. ¡°Have you learned spearmanship before? What sect are you from?¡± ¡°Just some Bagua back in my village¡­¡± Bagua, the 8 Trigrams, was one of the combined martial arts you could learn as a 2nd year student. Truth be told, that was what I learned as the foundation and the spearmanship I actually mastered was Six Integrated Spears and the Void, but that wasn¡¯t something I could mention in front of Old Man Haman. I could not reveal myself yet in front of Old Man Haman and the two old-timers of the academy. They might accidentally think of me as the underling of ¡®that guy¡¯. ¡°Are you confident that you can pull it off?¡± ¡°Whether I¡¯m confident or not is not of importance. I¡¯ll have to do it.¡± I came here because I needed to do it. Old Man Haman seemed satisfied by my response and grinned. ¡°Hahal, that¡¯s what I like to hear. I like that attitude! I¡¯ll give you 10 meal tickets!¡± He took out a bunch of meal tickets from his coarse leather purse. It seemed¡­ that I had left a good impression on him. ¡°Come look for me if you succeed! I shall give you a reward!¡± Old Man Haman showed his goodwill through food. It was evident from how he liked taking his favorite students to restaurants. Even though having a meal with a stubborn old man would normally be a toil, he was surprisingly the type of person who did not interrupt during meals. Besides, he was a gourmet who only ate expensive food. If I told him of my success, he would probably give me a voucher for a fabulous restaurant outside the campus. Even in the game, he used to give the voucher for a famous restaurant in Merkarva City as a reward for building rapport. Old Man Haman left to take care of the training room while I stayed behind and stared at the elemental body. The seniors were still scoffing at me while guaranteeing that I would fail and¡­ ¡°Good luck¡­! I hope you succeed!¡± Marie, the only one who wished me good luck, went into her own room after leaving those words behind. *** Elemental bodies had no eyes. Their world functioned under a different principle compared to the human world. They used mana to perceive the world unlike the five senses of a human. This was the same even after possessing an elemental body. An elemental body possessed by a wind elemental reacted to attacks by feeling the vibrations of the wind to discern the ripples of the air. Because of that, it was a lot more agile and sustainable than the likes of the sense of sight. It did not fall to feints and there was no need for it to move excessively, which was why it could last longer with the same amount of stamina. And thus, the elemental body of a wind elemental was the best practice target for knights and mages. No matter how strong an attack was, it would be meaningless if it didn¡¯t land on the target. Hitting the elemental body of a wind elemental which excelled in avoiding attacks was proof of the accuracy. But that in turn meant it was extremely difficult, because one would need techniques, hard work and a capable body for accuracy. ¨C Vuinng! The elemental body dodged the spear with an intimidating noise from its wings. Every time, it dodged a little bit to the side as if mocking the attacker and proved the nasty personalities of elementals. ¡®I have the technique, but I don¡¯t have the body to pull it off¡­¡± The body was the problem. The body of Korin Lork was way too weak. Both the Aura Rank and the Mana Rank were at the very bottom. Because of the lack of aura, I couldn¡¯t reinforce my body, and I also couldn¡¯t use any skills that required mana because of the lack of mana. With my stats which were below average, I had no choice but to embed everything into each of my strikes, and every failure added more frustration and fatigue to my body and made it heavier. ¡°Look at him. He¡¯s still doing it.¡± ¡°He hasn¡¯t even scraped it yet. Can he even touch one of the wings?¡± ¡°Why is he still doing that though?¡± ¡°Probably too embarrassed to quit now.¡± Ignoring the derisive remarks, I thrusted my spear but it pierced through the thin air. Facing the elemental body that didn¡¯t even seem sincere in its escape anymore, I used the rotational power of my shoulders and my waist for an accelerated side sweep. ¨C Swish! It sliced through the air. I averted my gaze looking for the vanished elemental body and turned back after feeling some weight on the tip of my spear. ¨C Tumble tumble. The elemental body rolled down from the tip of my spear and crashed into my face. ¡°Knng¡­!¡± Greater than the pain was the humiliation. It was completely looking down on me. If I was strong enough to be at the same level as how I was in my 2nd year before the regression, I wouldn¡¯t have been humiliated to this level. ¡®I miss the times when I used to consume all sorts of stuff.¡¯ I used to have all sorts of miraculous medicine and potions while following Park Sihu around. My hands looked for a towel to wipe the rainfall of tears when a wet towel was placed on top of my hand. It was Marie. ¡°Are you tired?¡± The girl with turquoise hair said after crouching next to me as I laid down with my limbs out wide on the ground. ¡°Is it very hard?¡± ¡°Huu¡­ Yes, it is.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright to take some rest. You¡¯ve been working hard enough already.¡± Marie floated a bitter smile while handing over a cup of water that was created through magic. ¡°Huu¡­ Huu¡­¡­ No.¡± ¡°¡­Why?¡± She appeared to be pitying me for receiving the flood of scoffs and sneers from the seniors. Marie was the only one here who wasn¡¯t sneering at me. ¡°Are you heading off for your meal? I hope you enjoy your meal. I¡¯ll leave after trying a bit more.¡± ¡°¡­Is it because you¡¯re embarrassed? It¡¯s fine. No-one¡¯s going to say anything. You¡¯ve been working hard. You will make it next time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± There was a look of increasing doubt and puzzlement on her face. ¡°You¡¯re quite tired, aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s just not working out for you right now, junior. You¡¯ll be able to do it next time. You can just give it another shot later.¡± She wasn¡¯t wrong. And it was also true that I was being stubborn. My body was heavy like it was a metal piece. My arms carrying the spear wobbled and there was blood flowing out of my ripped palms. I thought back on what I was like 3 years ago. 3 years ago, when I first possessed this body, I would have floundered my arms around while barely chasing after the elemental body. Compared to that, my current self was probably a lot better off because I could at least show some signs of spearmanship. But back then, it was alright. 3 years ago, there was Park Sihu. We had a player, and a system window. There were also potions from the crafting window as well as the skills tab. But not anymore. There was no Park Sihu ¨C I killed him. Now, I had to do everything by myself. I couldn¡¯t stop from something like this. ¡°It¡¯s not late to give up after you¡¯ve tried until the very end, right?¡± There was hope. I was fairly used to it now and¡­ there were 4 hours left until the curfew. Analyze. Analyze and attack. Both now and before, that was the only thing I was good at. CH 10 ? Korin Lork(2) ? When I first came into this world, I was very desperate. A body that was barely at the level of a knight and a weak mind ¨C without any compensations, I learned how to fight in order to protect myself. The reason I chose a spear was because it was the easiest to learn. I had nothing to believe in except for Park Sihu, the player, and the things I knew about the future¡­ But when I had to confront all the monsters and geniuses of the main scenario, I was frightened. So what if the protagonist was next to me? So what if I knew about the future? Those were completely meaningless. To survive through the main story where spells and swords came flying at my face at every waking moment, the things I had were nowhere near enough. My three years were seriously one hell of a hard time. Even though my master tried to teach me using wise words like ¡®Look at the forest, and not the trees,¡¯ but following that wasn¡¯t easy when my life was constantly on the line. The tricks I learned to survive became a habit, and that habit became permanent over time. Master¡¯s consistent philosophical advice sounded like nothing but empty words but I had a rough gist now. ¡º Strength and the nature of an ability is not what we need to reach the heart of dao. Your talents are not that simple. It is greatly different and¡ª ¡» I didn¡¯t have a strong body, nor did I have an enormous amount of mana or aura. I had no unprecedented specialty either. Incompetent and weak. An ungifted man who could not seek a simple increment in power through numbers. ¡°Huu¡­¡± The spear in my two hands was warm. After being swung a few times, it was heated up from the friction and dripping beads of sweat. I had seen countless geniuses, and was now the enemy of astounding powerhouses. In order to overcome it without the overpowered traits of a player, the only option left was for me to become stronger as the only one who knew about the future. ¨C Vuuinng! The elemental body was not something I could keep up with for now. My fastest stab was slower than its movement, and therefore, what was needed was an analysis instead of my strength. Analyze. Analyze myself and analyze the enemy. Do not overly rely on the body. Remember the distance and calculate the trajectory. Contemplate every method possible to make it reach the enemy. Rather than speed, the reason why elemental bodies were difficult to hit was because of its ability to identify the vibrations in the air and its flying skills that let it avoid attacks in the best way possible. Attack from the right and it will dodge to the left. Although it might sound obvious, an elemental body could make that happen 100% of the time and was therefore impossible to hit unless one is way faster than it. That was why being able to destroy an elemental body meant one had the strength to overpower an elemental body. However, was that really the only method to defeat an elemental body? A spear was a simple weapon. Stab, swing, retaliate, spin, throw. Ominous Snake Tiger¡¯s Gust Trap and Stab Spinning Heaven Crumbling Mountain Those were the five basic ways of the spear. Out of the dozens of derivative attacks, I looked for the most suitable one. One that could allow me to ignore the lack of my stats; Secrets of Ominous Snake ¨C Distorted March **** Leaving behind the boy who stayed stubborn until the end, Marie headed to the academy cafeteria with her colleagues. ¡°Did you see him? The guy that was floundering his arms trying to keep up to the elemental body?¡± ¡°Ahh~. You mean the freshman, right?¡± ¡°How long did it take for you? It took less than an hour for me.¡± ¡°Me? I did it in 2 hours!¡± ¡°Bullshit. Didn¡¯t it take more than 6 hours or something?¡± ¡°No?!¡± The freshman at the training room was eye-catching in both good and bad ways to the seniors. He became a bad-mouthing topic for them on their way to the cafeteria. ¡°Pretty sure Marie did it in an instant last year, right? ¡°Nn? N, nn.¡± ¡°Dude, you can¡¯t even compare that to Marie. She got hers in less than a minute.¡± ¡°I once saw Marie dropping 10 in an instant in the training room.¡± ¡°A genius is just in a whole different league, I guess.¡± Marie Dunareff. She was the strongest mage among the 2nd year students, and was one of the few Grade 1 students of the Academy. Her status was incomparable to that of other students. ¡°But that boy called Korin was trying really hard!¡± ¡°He was.¡± Marie gave a bright smile hearing the acknowledgement of his effort from her peer. She was about to explain Korin¡¯s incredible tenacity but¡­ ¡°It¡¯s just bravado though.¡± ¡°Yeah. He¡¯s just trying to be cool.¡± ¡°Probably because everyone was hailing him for being a knight from his youth.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°There is no way a Grade 5 can even hit that. He probably won¡¯t land a hit until his graduation.¡± ¡°He¡¯s Grade 5. At best, he would be at Grade 4 by his graduation.¡± They all said the same thing, that he was just stubbornly attempting the impossible. ¡°But¡­ isn¡¯t it amazing? He might really succeed with all his hard work.¡± ¡°Marie. You¡¯re saying that because you¡¯re a genius. It¡¯s normal for average people to be unable to do that. People need to know how to be modest and give up.¡± ¡°What if you break your own body by pushing yourself like that? It¡¯s best to not even try doing the impossible.¡± They sounded cold-hearted but Marie could tell where they were coming from. Unable to come up with words to refute their arguments, Marie pouted and pursed her lips. ¡°If he began at Grade 5, there¡¯s pretty much zero hope for him. Instead of having false hope, he should instead look for a workplace for post-graduation.¡± Was that really the case? She deeply pondered to herself while walking after her friends. Marie was a so-called genius. Her inborn sensitivity to mana was amplified after entering Merkarva Academy ¨C she passed a Grade Promotion Test in just one semester. In her bright and sunny world, there had been no despair and frustration. Hard work? The girl was already a hard worker. As a daughter of an agricultural family, and as the oldest child out of 3 sons and 4 daughters, Marie was definitely not a lazy girl. She was gifted and also had hard work. Without being content with Grade 1, she was urged by her desire for improvement and various experiences to seek perfection. That was why the girl, who was praised as a genius, thought to herself. ¡®If I failed as much as that boy¡­¡¯ Would I be able to stay diligent without falling to despair? Even if she were to sweat like a storm and be unable to deal with a mere elemental body, would she still be able to stand back up on her shivering legs? It was a future that was difficult to imagine for the girl who had always been distant from the word ¡®desperation¡¯. **** ¡°Good night, Marie!¡± ¡°Marie. We have an orientation tomorrow, right? See you then!¡± ¡°The lime juice you gave me last time was amazing!¡± After the meal, Marie fully enjoyed the relaxed air of the start of semester and energetically waved her hands to bid farewell. She had to separate from her friends because her dormitory was in the central streets. She was walking down the central streets which had all sorts of restaurants, stores and entertainment facilities when she suddenly thought of the training room boy. ¡°I wonder if he¡¯s still doing it.¡± The sky was already turning dark and it was about time for magic carriages to stop doing rounds around the city. Soon, it would be the curfew so he should have gone back already. Marie was unconsciously under the impression that there was no way Korin would have succeeded and packed up already, because hitting an elemental body was too challenging a task for a Grade 5 freshman. ¡®He didn¡¯t look like he would give up though¡­¡¯ It was on the way to the dormitory so¡­ she decided to drop by. ¡°Ms. Marie?¡± ¡°Ah, umm¡­ I lost something.¡± ¡°Really? Lost property is over there¡­¡± ¡°No no no! It was in a corner so you probably didn¡¯t see it!¡± While pretending to head to the training room she used, Marie stole a glance at the room Korin was in. ¨C Paang! The sound clearly reverberating across the corridor made Marie doubt her ears. ¡®Is he still doing it?¡¯ It had already been a few hours since she had left with her friends¡­ How was he still doing it? Marie walked towards his room and immediately saw the elemental body racing towards the boy. ¨C Shiiiik! He threw a sharp stab intending on piercing through the elemental body. Seeing how it was a lot faster than before, Marie doubted her eyes. Defeating an elemental body was possible for most people as long as they had enough tenacity and hard work. What was necessary was a moment of concentration, and a fundamental level of analysis for the movement and speed of the elemental body. ¨C Shsheeet! ¨C Shiiiieeek! However, that was something which was only applied to the ¡®average¡¯ people. There were actually quite a lot of people that were below average. Even some of the Grade 4s were below average let alone a Grade 5¡­ And Korin Lork who had initially received Grade 6 was a lot below average. ¨C Swish! The elemental body easily dodged the second stab. Even though he should be tired, Korin delivered the third stab. ¨C Shieeekk!!! Due to having no eyes, the elemental body relied on the air, vibrations and the ripples to avoid the incoming attacks with a little margin. Because of that, there was something the elemental body couldn¡¯t tell, which Marie could. ¡°Huh?¡± Marie doubted her eyes. Those three stabs ¨C because she had a dynamic vision which was even better than most knights, she noticed the intention behind them. ?Secrets of Ominous Snake ¨C Distorted March? She realized that the three stabs at the elemental body were in fact not trying to pierce through it in the first place. ¡®A prison of spears?¡¯ The ripples formed by those three stabs which the elemental body dodged with a tiny margin became a prison that blocked the escape paths of the elemental body. The aftermath and the rippling air remained even after the retrieval of the spear and stopped the elemental body from escaping to those places. It literally was a prison of spears. The three stabs which looked like a miss were in fact thoroughly planned attacks that tried to push the elemental body into a corner. A prison that the elemental body could not escape from due to being an existence that relied on the ripples of the air instead of its vision. ¡®A fourth stab? No, it¡¯s too late!¡¯ Three stabs appeared to be his limit. He was late at withdrawing the spear, and by the time he tried to stab again, the elemental body slightly shifted itself away from the trajectory of the spear. But this time, it wasn¡¯t a stab. The spear curved as he swung it horizontally. By using the rotational force of his shoulders and his waist, he accelerated the spear and added slight footwork into the mix to create an exceptionally rapid attack. Without letting it escape, he tried to slash the wings off but¡­ Thanks to her superhuman sight, Marie saw the elemental body folding its wings right before coming into contact with the spearhead. ¡®It folded its wings! That¡¯s unfair!¡¯ The spearhead slashed through the thin air as the elemental body reopened its wings, seemingly in contempt. It appeared to be condescendingly sending him the message, ¡®Good try, but not quite¡­¡¯ Unlike the derisive elemental body, Marie was in awe at the improvement of her junior as she tightened her fists. She wanted to cheer for him. Her perception was that diligent people deserved joy and applause. Like how she unknowingly cheered for the turtle in a race against a hare which she saw back when she was young¡­ Marie cheered for Korin. ¡°You can do it!¡± The elemental body fluttered its wings thousands of times in a split second and tried to escape, which meant it would soon be out of Korin¡¯s range. ¡°Ah¡­¡± A sigh left her mouth. She did not see a future where he could land a hit on the elemental body after it resumed its flight. It was too late. The spear that was swung for the umpteenth time was still too late. Korin was evidently using everything in his arsenal. He had used every bit of power left in his body to imprison the elemental body. He must have been confident that his horizontal swing would seal the deal. His feelings caused by that confidence backfiring on him due to a failure was not something she, as an unfailing genius, could imagine. Was she supposed to console him? Maybe she should have brought some potatoes? Let¡¯s go tell him it was great; tell him he was awesome. Let¡¯s praise him for his hard work, and encourage him that it will work out next time. It was right when she was thinking that. ¨C ??! In an instant, the spear bounced up at an unbelievable speed. The explosive jump of the spear was like a jumping grasshopper ¨C it was a trick caused by his foot kicking on the shaft of the spear. That traveled slightly faster than the elemental body which was just about to pick up speed. ¨C Slam! The body was shattered as its fragments came raining down, and Marie then saw a dumbfounded wind elemental vacantly staring at its shattered body. ¡°¡­¡± She was speechless and after a while, a wide smile appeared on her lips. ¡°That¡¯s great. He actually did it.¡± Like what she did on the day she saw the turtle beating the hare, Marie gazed at the diligent turtle with a bright smile. One of the common senses in her mind had been cracked. Words like strong and remarkable¡­ were too commonplace to suit him. An honest impression that could be expressed in one word left her mouth. ¡°Awesome.¡± The boy would not need any consolation or consideration. Without a word, Marie turned around and headed to her dormitory. **** ¡°Distorted March, Tiger¡¯s Gust, Spinning Heaven.¡± I picked up the shattered fragments of the elemental body. Following the contract, the elemental inside this egg would have already returned to the empty Spirit Realm. ¡®Wasn¡¯t expecting to pull off a skill that I couldn¡¯t even use in the previous iteration¡­¡¯ Even though it wasn¡¯t the true Void, I caught a glimpse into the ¡®Domain¡¯. ¡®Can I reach it this time? The heart of dao?¡¯ The spearmanship granted by my master in the previous iteration ¨C even though I wasn¡¯t able to fully master it back then, it might be possible this time. ¡®I could go immediately but¡­ that would be too suspicious.¡¯ In fact, the only reason I was able to meet her was because of Park Sihu¡¯s introduction. Right now, I had nothing with me that could pull the attention of my master. Looking back, I remembered that she used to give a fairly harsh evaluation for Park Sihu. ¡ºThat guy is no good. He has zero guts. My regret is that I was too late in taking you in.¡» Her eyes for people were accurate thanks to all the years she lived but¡­ that was something I didn¡¯t pay attention to back then. This must be why you should always listen to your elders. ¨C Crack¡­! I was heading to the front desk to return the spear, but the shaft suddenly crumbled and fell on the floor. This damn practice spear had terrible durability. I had used just a tiny bit of aura in fear that my body wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it and yet the spear ended up breaking. ¡®I guess what I need first and foremost to fight properly is a good physique.¡¯ There was only one thing I could rely on to increase my physical strength without relying on the elixirs of Park. Precept. The clause that I will not disregard the misfortune of the good. While heading to the dormitory, I gazed at the Merkarva Great Library which stayed bright through the darkness of the night. **** Next morning, freshmen were actually granted free time. The first day was designed to break the spirits of the new students and leave a strong impression of this place, whereas the second day was for students to be guided throughout the systems of the academy and the nearby facilities by the professors and senior students. ¡°Helloo~ Junior!¡± Marie was energetic today as well and welcomed the freshmen including me without showing any signs of exhaustion. For some reason, I felt like she wasn¡¯t here in the freshmen orientation last time, but that might be just due to my bad memories. It was already 3 years ago, and it was natural for her to have a lot of free time as a senior high-achieving student with plenty of free credits. It wasn¡¯t strange for one of the top high-achievers of the 2nd year students, Marie, to help out with the newcomers. After a short orientation in the morning, the afternoon was a full-on free time. The freshmen formed groups and were given the time to get to know each other. Some bravely looked for people to have lunch with, while some made friends from the same Grade under a sense of kinship. Jaeger, a Grade 3 Knight, grouped up with people similar to him as expected while the Grade 5 Mage Lark¡­ was left out as I thought. ¡°¡­¡± Unable to socialize with others, he headed to the cafeteria by himself. Actually, it was the same for most of the other Grade 5 students. Scorn and contempt for the under-achieving students who had been assigned Grade 5 in the first grading test was already prevalent across the freshmen. ¡°Lark¡­ Lark Buhgman.¡± I knew of his inferiority complex. Seeing Park Sihu who started off as Grade 5 just like himself growing at an exponential speed, he had been engulfed by his inferiority complex and had even done things he shouldn¡¯t have done. Chasing after him, I threw my arm around his drooping shoulders. ¡°Hello friend.¡± ¡°Uh?¡± Lark was startled by my sudden approach and rolled his eyes around. ¡°Do you have some time?¡± ¡°Uh? Huh? No¡­ I¡¯m going to the dormitory¡­¡± ¡°Your specialty is ¡®Memorize¡¯ right?¡± ¡°¡­?!¡± He became cautious of me in a fluster. There was nothing to gain for me by instigating his wariness. ¡°I heard Professor Ronan talking to himself. That spell book ¨C I heard you stored a lot of spells inside.¡± ¡°¡­Ah.¡± I felt his vigilance drop by a little, but he soon became dejected. ¡®Memorize¡¯ was a specialty that was quite commonly seen across the Magic Department. It was an auxiliary system that saved the diagrams of a spell to skip past the complicated procedures and allow a fast enchantment of spells. Easier put, it was a cheat sheet. It was a specialty you could buy in the game at a Grade 3 store. Lark had saved all sorts of spells into his spell book. That was something I knew because I saw the densely written list of spells in his spell book in Park Sihu¡¯s trophy storehouse. He was a hard worker ¨C an intellectual nerd. ¡°Looks like you couldn¡¯t properly use it in the grading test.¡± But saving all sorts of spells and using them was a whole different issue. As a substandard mage with a low Mana Rank, it was hard to make something amazing happen no matter how proficient you were in theory. ¡°¡­¡­What do you want?¡± It looked like Lark also knew that himself, and he furiously growled in response but he was just a puppy in front of a beast. I whispered into his ears in a soft voice so that no-one else could hear it. ¡°Buddy. Shall we have a meal together? And talk about a ¡®Grimoire¡¯ while we are at it.¡± ¡°¡­!!¡± The word ¡®Grimoire¡¯ made him widen his eyes in shock. ¡®This hyung will feed you something good. But in return¡­¡¯ Please let a spirit possess you for me. And let¡¯s help a Unique Grade demonic spirit go to heaven while we are at it. CH 11 ? Grimoire of the Great Library (1) ? There was a student-only cafeteria in Merkarva Academy. Normal student cafeterias were for student welfare so they usually had okay taste and the same menus with the only good side being their cheap prices, but the one in this Academy was on a whole new level. First off, the ingredients were great. I had no idea where they were coming from but every ingredient including the potatoes, corn, rice, flour and meat were all of exceptional standard. In the past iteration, the quality of the ingredients did have a sudden drop as if they changed to a different supplier in the middle but the academy used great ingredients in general. What I liked the most were the types of cuisine of this world. ¡°This is it¡­ Tonkatsu is the best.¡± Although I wasn¡¯t sure why there was tonkatsu 1 in a fantasy game world, there was even kimchi which was apparently from the eastern continent, so tonkatsu wasn¡¯t anything new. And, you know, the isekai novels of the country on the other side of the ocean had katana and kimono popping up every time, and this must be something similar to that. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating? Do you not like it?¡± I was munching through the crunchy crust and the thick piece of meat, but young man Lark had a confused look on his face and did not even bother lifting the fork. ¡°Can we first talk about the grimoire¡­¡± ¡°Shh! What if someone hears it? Keep your voice down.¡± ¡°S, sorry¡­¡± Lark timidly shrunk back. I waited for him to pick up the tonkatsu with his fork before opening my mouth. ¡°This is something I heard from my uncle who used to be a student here¡­¡± ¨C Crunch. He meekly bit on the outer crust. It was evident that he was very nervous. ¡°He used to come to this Merkarva Academy. And you know the library, right? Library 1?¡± ¨C Nod nod ¡°Apparently there¡¯s a hidden place there which has a grimoire inside.¡± ¡°G, grimoire¡­ Is that the same one as what I¡¯m thinking of?¡± Grimoire ¨C easier put, it was a skill book; a phenomenal and rare artifact that allowed one to learn spells or specialties just by reading a book. It was something like an excuse to allow the player to learn all sorts of skills and enchantments of different nature. Anyone could gain abilities by reading a grimoire but it would lose its effect in return, which was why it was exchanged at an expensive price. Even a house was nothing in comparison. ¡°C, can we get it? Where is it? I, if I can read that¡­!¡± It was natural for Lark to go crazy for it, because he was unable to use spells despite having saved the ¡®enchantments¡¯ until now. This was linked to the intuition of a mage ¨C even if they knew about the theory behind a spell, they still had to feel and understand it. Imagining a spell and weaving it into an actual form with mana was pretty much in the realm of instincts. However, a grimoire had the power to force that intuition and comprehension. Even a normal citizen without mana could instinctively remember the enchantment as well as its principles upon reading a grimoire, even though they won¡¯t be able to manifest it due to having no mana. ¡°Yes. I know the secret room of the library and where the grimoire is.¡± ¡°And w, why are you telling me this?¡± Oh, he was finally rational enough to throw a normal question. Right, it was obvious that I had to explain the reason behind such a story that was too good to be true. ¡°Do you know I¡¯m a knight?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ You look like one.¡± ¡°There are 2 grimoires according to what uncle told me. One is about an enchantment and the other has a specialty.¡± ¡°R, really?¡± ¡°Yeah. But my Mana Rank is low and it would be useless for me even if I learned an enchantment. In other words, one of them is worthless for me.¡± ¡°C, can¡¯t you still sell it though?¡± ¡°How? How can a normal student like me contact places like the black market? What if they ask me how I got it? They might just steal it from me if I can¡¯t answer them properly.¡± Walking in the backstreets with a piece of jewelry that is too much to handle would obviously lead to death and robbery. More importantly, I definitely needed the help of another one to send the Unique Grade demonic spirit stuck next to the grimoire all the way to heaven. ¡°One book for you, one book for me. I think this sounds like a fair deal.¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t understand. What do you want from me?¡± As expected of a hard worker who was good at theory, he was fairly quick-witted. ¡°I have 2 conditions. One is for you to be possessed by a demonic spirit for me. That¡¯s what we need to do in order to eliminate it.¡± ¡°B, but anyone can¡­¡± I cut him off and told him about the second condition. ¡°Secondly, I want a ¡®Contract of Pledge¡¯.¡± ¡°¡­Then you need a mage then.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Contract of Pledge was a vicious short-term contract which only mages could do, that immediately made them lose all their mana upon not keeping the contract. ¡°But¡­ There are other students and professors of the Magic Department. Why me?¡± ¡°Striking a deal with a professor is a stupid thing to do. Both their power and authority are in a whole different league. What if they knock me down and force me to tell them the location?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Then what about other students?¡± ¡°It¡¯s highly likely that they haven¡¯t learned the contract spell yet.¡± Even though the contracting spell was not hard, there was no reason for students to learn such a vicious spell so it was hard to find anyone who learned it. But¨C ¡°It¡¯s different for someone like you who has Memorize.¡± ¡°¡­Because we can learn the contracting spell with Memorize and use it immediately, right?¡± ¡°That is correct.¡± That was the advantage of Memorize. After saving a spell in the spell book through Memorize, it was possible to use it immediately. It might be difficult for high-tier spells but an easy one like the contracting spell would not take much time to understand. ¡°First off, we have to start with the contracting spell but¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve saved it already a long time ago. I used to work part-time as a contractor.¡± ¡°Hoh~. That will make this nice and easy then.¡± ¡°Tell me the conditions of the contract.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not make this hard for the two of us and go simple.¡± **** Lark and I headed to the library located at the center of the campus. The library of Merkarva Academy was as big as the scale of this massive academy. Rather than a library, it was constructed in a fancy way that reminded people of the ancient temples. In fact, it was also sometimes used as a temple. As for the size of the building, it was probably as big as 4 high schools of Korea combined into one. ¡°It, it¡¯s massive¡­¡± Lark was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the Great Library and gulped. ¡°How many books even are there?¡± ¡°I heard there¡¯s around 8 million including the ones in the basement.¡± ¡°E, eight million¡­¡± It was so much bigger than what he thought that Lark couldn¡¯t even continue his sentence. ¡°Why did they build such a large library in the middle of the campus? No-one can enter the academy apart from students and professors, right?¡± Lark asked. ¡°There¡¯s probably about 3 reasons.¡± ¡°3 reasons?¡± ¡°The first is the provided reason for building the Merkarva Great Library. It is to preserve knowledge and convey it to the future descendents.¡± ¡°¡­That one¡¯s a bit too obvious.¡± ¡°Secondly, it¡¯s because that is more beneficial for the academy. It¡¯s probably to keep the professors stuck in the academy right? Because this would be the best environment to gather data for research.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Teaching students was less than half of the entire job of a professor. Their real jobs were related to research and thesis, and because of that, Merkarva Academy was the most attractive environment for those professors. ¡°And what¡¯s the third reason?¡± ¡°Concealment.¡± ¡°Concealment?¡± ¡°It¡¯s to hide the grimoires, banned and sealed books using the overwhelming number of books.¡± Hide a tree in the forest. It was a simple and standard rule, which was also why it was difficult to fight against. How could anyone find the book you want out of eight million books? Normal people wouldn¡¯t be able to but that was a different story for me. I even knew the secrets that the Grade 1 librarians didn¡¯t know of thanks to my prior knowledge through the game and the previous iteration. I walked into Library 1 along with Lark. ¡°Welcome. Which book are you after?¡± One of the librarians at the front entrance welcomed us. ¡°We are looking for books related to the specialties of Merkarva Academy. Those¡­ what were they called again? Merchelin stars or something?¡± ¡°Ah~. If you¡¯re talking about that book, then let¡¯s see¡­¡± The librarian senior browsed through the list on the parchment which was created from a documenting spell and found what I talked about. ¡°If you head to 3rd Floor, L32, you will see it in the 2nd row. The ladders are located next to each of the stairs so feel free to use them.¡± Following the words of the librarian, we climbed up the stairs of the wide Merkarva Great Library. I recalled how I used to come to this place quite often to gather bits of information with Park Sihu, who was also from the Magic Department like Lark. This was also where I had read stuff about rune magic. As we soon entered a place that had no signs of other people, I whispered to Lark who was walking behind me. ¡°This way.¡± ¡°N, nn¡­¡± I will be giving a grimoire to Lark and Lark was unable to mention this deal to anyone. It was a simple contract. After arriving at the secret room, I told Lark to stay still and rummaged through the bookshelves. ¡®Time to fulfill my Duty.¡¯ I had plenty of information. Although this side quest had requirements that you couldn¡¯t meet without leveling up a lot, I should be able to beat the quest right now. Opening the secret room was something that was impossible without gaining clues from the previous quests of the quest line, and was something that required a relatively hardcore password. The ¡®code¡¯ itself used quite an old-fashioned method. It was to place the books in the designated areas while pulling some of them out. It worked with a few clicks in the game but it used to be quite difficult to clear this in the previous iteration. ¨C Rattle¡­! Even though I didn¡¯t even touch the bookshelves, they slid open and revealed the door to the secret room. ¡°Let¡¯s go in.¡± ¡°Huh? O, okay!¡± Lark and I quickly dashed into the room before anyone could see us. **** ¡°Uhh, it¡¯s cold in here¡­¡± The inside was empty and barren with not a single breeze, and unlike Lark, I did not feel cold in the slightest. That in turn meant that the chill Lark was feeling was because of the demonic spirit in this place. ¡°Lark.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± ¡°It¡¯s time for you to fulfill your promise.¡± ¡°Huh? Umm¡­ it¡¯s about defeating that demonic spirit right? How¡ª Kuhk?!¡± ¨C Slam! I threw a wonderful fist towards his jaws. His eyes rolled around in circles as he soon collapsed on the ground. After making him faint, I dragged him deeper into the secret room. As I had seen in the previous iteration, this secret room had a bookshelf with two books inside, and those books were the rewards of this side quest. In truth, you needed a well-trained party member and a sufficiently high level to complete this quest. Otherwise, it would be impossible to even hold off against the initial attacks of the Unique Grade demonic spirit sealed in this place. ¡­ Even though it had been over 2 minutes since we came into this secret room, Lark and I did not suffer from any attacks. Astral bodies could only interrupt upon mutual cognition. Lark was unconscious so his cognitive ability was naturally at 0, and I couldn¡¯t perceive astral bodies because of the Restriction of my Precept. In other words, all I had to do now was have a one-sided conversation. ¡°Violence is no good!¡± The demonic spirit must have paused its action. I think¡­ I mean, what else can he even do? CH 12 ? Grimoire of the Great Library (2) ? Like how I couldn¡¯t touch astral bodies, astral bodies likewise couldn¡¯t touch me. As someone who can¡¯t perceive the spirit itself due to my Precept, I was pretty much invincible against astral bodies. ¡®Energy Drain, Soul Crusher and Overflowing Honey of Nightmare¡­ was it?¡¯ Those were the skills which would be poured out by the Unique Grade demonic spirit sealed in the secret room in Phase 1. One party member would immediately be stunlocked unless their Magic Resistance was above a certain level all the way till the end of a fight. And in Phase 2, the demonic spirit possesses one of the party members. It would possess a party member that is not stunlocked and in turn remove two people from the fight in an instant. It was well-known for being ridiculously difficult. In the first place, it wasn¡¯t made to be cleared. The true quest begins after being neutralized once, and it is an episode that truly shows how absurdly powerful ¡®Unique Grades¡¯ are. However, I was not getting attacked by anything even though I was in the same place as a demonic spirit. The spirit was probably in a fluster, not knowing why its attacks weren¡¯t going through. ¡°Sebancia Duke.¡± ¡ª¡ª! I couldn¡¯t hear the response, but I could imagine it flinching after hearing my words, wondering how I knew his name. But this was only the beginning. ¡°800 years ago, you were the grand general lording over the southern continent ¨C the Hero of the old kingdom. Even though you are a historical and renowned figure¡­ there is a back story that most are not aware of.¡± I recited the personal history of the demonic spirit which I got to know from the quest. Would he be angry? I honestly wasn¡¯t sure. In the game, the dialogue wasn¡¯t that long and I was the one possessed in the previous iteration. Because of that, I didn¡¯t know about the details and all I knew was what I heard from Park Sihu and the other party members while advancing through the quest line. ¡°Your story is still quite famous in the south. There is even a book called the Truth of Castle Zapre.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°You were an ¡®awakened¡¯ vampire.¡± In this world, there were things called ¡®demonic molecules¡¯, which caused a normal person to morph into a demi-human. They would change the elements of the body. Turning into a beast on a full moon, growing horns, or being attracted to blood. Even though they could somewhat control themselves, their violent instincts, brutality and their inhuman appearances had made them longtime victims of ostracization as ¡®humans that weren¡¯t fully humans¡¯. ¡°You awakened as a vampire. Then, you felt the unstoppable urge to suck blood and your servant became your first victim. You knew it yourself that no-one would be able to stop you if you left your castle.¡± After the first victim, Sebancia sucked the blood of dogs and pigs to control his urge, sent everyone apart from his wife and his daughter out of the castle and locked himself in his room to avoid any temptation. ¡°You tried everything but couldn¡¯t find a way to control your urge to suck blood. In the end, your frightened wife and your daughter also became potential prey.¡± He was frightened of himself turning more and more impulsive. He was scared he might devour his own family. ¡°You made your family run away and closed Castle Zapre, and sealed yourself with your magic into that book over there.¡± That was the identity of the grimoires of this secret room. To be exact, it was just the one that I was aiming for. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ It was about time for him to take the bait. Even though I couldn¡¯t perceive his presence, I could still feel him carefully listening to my words. Even though the Unique Grade demonic spirit of this place always attacked first, his nature in the system was still that of ¡®Good¡¯, and he spared our lives even in the previous iteration when we lost in a fight against him. The original start of this quest was by getting neutralized and listening to his story. ¡°Ruina Duke, Cecilia Duke.¡± ¡­!! ¡®How do you know those names?¡¯ was probably the question he was dying to ask, and it was most likely as surprising as hearing his own name. ¡°How about we have a little chat now? I can¡¯t see astral bodies, you see.¡± After saying that, I walked up to the unconscious Lark and gave him a slap. Just enough to wake him up. ¡°Uuugghhh¡­?!!¡± His sleepy eyes suddenly widened into circles and he changed in just a few seconds. ¡°Brat¡­¡± ¡°Sebancia Duke.¡± The one inside Lark was Sebancia Duke ¨C the Unique Grade demonic spirit sealed inside the grimoire. ¡°How¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the important part. You¡¯re curious, aren¡¯t you? About what happened to the two of them.¡± His wife, Ruina Duke, and daughter, Cecilia Duke. The side quest that was supposed to be given by the Unique Grade demonic spirit of the library was to gather information about the two people. Thanks to that, I had to go to the south for a business trip which was quite the hard work. ¡°Can you tell me¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t tell him fabricated stories because this vampire of the ancient times had the power to detect lies. No matter how skilled a player was at conversational skills, it was impossible to deceive the demonic spirit, Sebancia Duke. ¡°Ruina Duke escaped with Cecilia Duke, but the world was too harsh for the sheltered noble lady.¡± This was something we discovered ourselves in the south from the diary left behind by his daughter, Cecilia Duke. ¡°Ruina Duke was scammed. She worked desperately to pay the debt for the sake of her daughter, but she couldn¡¯t live for long and died from overwork.¡± Sebancia¡¯s expression conveyed through Lark¡¯s face crumpled in grief. Although he had given a large sum of jewelry to his wife and his daughter, they didn¡¯t have enough power to protect their belongings. ¡°What happened¡­ to my daughter, Cecil.¡± ¡°Fortunately, it¡¯s a happy ending for her. Her childhood was arduous but later she managed to become a mage and the greatest adventurer of the time.¡± ¡°Can I¡­ take your word for it?¡± ¡°I read her diary. Besides, you can tell whether I¡¯m lying or not can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­Who in the world are you? How do you know me and my abilities?¡± ¡°I just¡­ have a bit more experience than others.¡± I couldn¡¯t tell him that it was from a game plot, so I glossed over it. ¡°What do you want? Do you want that book?¡± Sebancia asked while pointing at the red grimoire out of the two books, which was sealing his soul. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely be taking those¡­ but I want your residues.¡± ¡°My residues?¡± ¡°There are some dangerous fights ahead of me so I need your Soul Dust to create a spear for myself. So it¡¯d be great if you can go to heaven just like this.¡± Soul Dust was the powder left behind with the disappearance of a demonic spirit. This ¡®dust¡¯ was a good ingredient for making weapons and gears, and the drops from strong demonic spirits were naturally more valuable. The highest level of Soul Dust was a must when creating an item that was beyond the Legendary level. ¡°¡­So you also knew about my grievance, huh.¡± The final goal of this quest was to satisfy the powerful vampire, Sebancia Duke, and let him disappear in peace. However, there was one more condition that had to be fulfilled aside from relieving his grievance. ¡°But you are way too weak. Your body, aura and mana ¨C there is nothing good about you. Someone as weak as you won¡¯t be able to handle this power.¡± ¡°Ouhh damn¡­¡± Please stop hurling facts at me; it hurts. Was this happening because of the level requirements of the quest? This was something I didn¡¯t know about because Park Sihu was the one accepting the quest last time. ¡°I will become stronger.¡± ¡°Anyone can make claims with their tongues.¡± As people say, a picture paints a thousand words. I took off my shirt and revealed the Precept engraved on my body. ¡°You can read this, right? Pretty sure it used to be a common language 800 years ago.¡± Rune was a type of magic that fell behind in efficiency over time in the rapidly advancing world of magic. But things weren¡¯t as systematic 800 years ago, so it should have been quite common back in the days. Sebancia read the rune letters carved on my body before staring into my eyes with a serious look on his face. ¡°¡­¡­A Precept. The power that was widely used by the great warriors of the Shadow Paradise, huh. To think you would engrave such ridiculous sentences into your body¡­ You. Seriously, what in the world are you?¡± ¡°Can you trust me now?¡± ¡°What an unsuitably enormous ambition for an ordinary man. Is the world going to be in danger soon?¡± ¡°Definitely.¡± ¡°That means you will definitely become stronger then. This is that type of contract ¨C one that lets you receive support from the world itself as long as it is related to the destiny of this world¡­ Can you handle it?¡± ¡°Everyone will die if I can¡¯t. There is no other choice but to go all-in.¡± Sebancia appeared content with my response and smiled before pointing at the grimoire. ¡°Read it. That will be a small help to your ambition.¡± I unhesitatingly walked forward and read the grimoire sealing Sebancia. After touching the untitled cover made of luxurious leather, I turned the page. This wasn¡¯t my first time reading a grimoire, because Park Sihu used to give me a few books after completing quests. The elegant letters which were most likely written by Sebancia quickly pulled my mind into it. The abilities of this world commonly classified into the categories of specialty and magic are further divided into innate and postnatal. The readability of the book was quite good. Some grimoires were hard to read because of their terrible handwriting and legibility, but it seemed that Sebancia had been a good writer back in his days. I saw a warrior taking his last breath. He was barely standing in the midst of a bloody battlefield thanks to his intestines tied around a rock I asked him, ¡°O warrior, shall I end it for you.¡± He replied, ¡°It would be much appreciated if you give me water to satiate my throat.¡± Respecting the tenacious warrior, I went to the nearby lake and scooped up water with my two hands to relieve his thirst. That was when something miraculous began to happen. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Why the heck was this so gory? What? Standing with his intestines tied on a rock? He¡¯s even more upright than a right angle triangle. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­As such, I have written down an imitation of his secret move. A change occurred to my body after reading the entire book. I could feel my organs shifting and it felt very odd. ¡°Done.¡± The specialty earned by reading this grimoire was the ?Regeneration of the Tenacious Warrior?. ¡°Like how that warrior did not lose his fighting spirit, as long as you maintain your honorable spirit¡­ your body will regenerate in the end.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give an ambiguous explanation, and please make it clear. Do you mean I won¡¯t regenerate if I faint?¡± ¡°¡­As long as your vitality is there, the regeneration will be maintained. Your vitality will also be greater than others.¡± ¡°Ohh.¡± It was Park Sihu who acquired ?Regeneration of the Tenacious Warrior? in the last iteration but he had never suffered from a severe injury, so this was my first time learning about its effect first-hand. I got the permission of Sebancia so I should be able to make use of this ability quite well. ¡°Huu~. Thanks for that.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Are you not going to read that? I didn¡¯t write it myself but I¡¯m sure there won¡¯t be any downside to reading it.¡± Sebancia said while pointing at the other grimoire. That grimoire would have the enchantment of a spirit-type skill called something like ?Soul Warriors?. It was what Park Sihu used quite often to create tankers. ¡°I have no talent in magic.¡± Plus, it was a spirit-type skill so I wouldn¡¯t even be able to sense my own minions. I had already given up on the path of magic in this life. I was not good at magic formulae calculations, and also had no talent in understanding magic. It was a different story for things like rune magic where letters themselves acted like spells, but I couldn¡¯t use normal magic in the slightest. Back when I asked Park Sihu about it, he said you had to be good at Mathematics to use magic. The last time I studied for Maths was when I was a high school freshman, and people called me the CD case, because out of A, B, C and D, there were only Cs and Ds in my report. ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m sure grimoires are still expensive though. Selling it should be quite helpful.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for my friend who you are possessing right now. I promised to give it to him.¡± ¡°Is it because of the Contract of Pledge cast on this brat?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As expected of someone who used to be called a hero in the past, he noticed the contracting spell binding Lark and me. ¡°Right. Sir Sebancia. There is something to ask you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°A vampire¡¯s urge to suck blood ¨C is that thing controllable? For example, sticking to the blood of animals and stuff¡­¡± ¡°No. It is impossible. That impulse¡­ Although I do not even want to think back to it, I felt like I would become a different person. It truly was eccentric.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± ¡°A vampire sucking blood is not simply to satiate their hunger through blood. That in itself is related to magic, because the powers of blood and the familiar of blood are both awakened by sucking in the fresh blood of a human.¡± Sebancia paused and pondered to himself before raising a possibility. ¡°If there is someone who can pull it off, then that person must be one with extraordinary talents.¡± ¡°I see. And a few more things¡­¡± After asking a few more questions to Sebancia Duke, we finished our questioning session. I thought it was done but that was when Sebancia also threw me a question. ¡°¡­Is my castle still there in the south?¡± ¡°Hnn? It is.¡± ¡°If you happen to go there, have a look at my office. It might still be there.¡± ¡°Huh? Is there something there?¡± We didn¡¯t find anything in the previous iteration though? ¡°That is for you to see, Rune Mage. I wish you harbor the same caliber of courage as that warrior.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to support my body with intestines though¡­¡± ¡°There will be nothing you can¡¯t do with that level of courage. Well¡­ it looks like you already have it though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an overstatement.¡± ¡°It is a rightful evaluation. As an ordinary man who is neither the hero nor the sage, pledging to save the world is not easy.¡± ¡°¡­¡­There was no other choice.¡± The world was going to be destroyed without me, so what else could I do? ¡°No. There was always the option of running away but you did not choose to escape. You have my respect.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°And lastly, thank you for telling me news about my wife and my daughter.¡± With that, Lark¡¯s body began to collapse to the ground. He was falling face-first and looked like his nose would be crushed at this rate so I supported his body, as golden powders piled up neatly on the floor of the secret room. It was an Epic Rank Soul Dust, which one might even mistake for gold dust. After laying Lark down on the ground, I collected the dust and placed it into a cloth purse. It might seem difficult to gather because it was powder, but Soul Dust of the same attribute gravitated to each other so all I had to do was pick up a few and have the rest follow in one piece. An exceptional ingredient which could only be gained at around Level 50 was already in my hands. ¡°Uuhhh¡­¡± ¡°Did you wake up?¡± ¡°My head¡­ hurts¡± ¡°You were possessed by a demonic spirit until just then.¡± ¡°Why does my jaw hurt as well though?¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± I quickly handed the grimoire over to Lark, who was touching his swollen jaw. ¡°I, is this the grimoire?¡± ¡°Yeah. Hurry up and read it. We have to leave soon.¡± Lark received the grimoire with shivering hands. ¡°Can I¡­ really read it?¡± ¡°What do you mean? That was the contract.¡± ¡°T, that¡¯s true but¡­¡± Wasn¡¯t the contract too favorable for me in the first place¡­? That appeared to be the question in his mind. ¡°It¡¯s okay for things to be sometimes given to those who don¡¯t try.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After a while, we walked out of the secret room. Lark seemed touched by the fact that he had obtained a medium-ranked spell despite not doing much himself. ¡°T, thank you! I won¡¯t forget what happened today! Thank you so much! Seriously!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± It wasn¡¯t my fault that he had a miserable end in the previous iteration¡­Yet I still felt a strange sense of guilt dissolving away. I fed him the first spoon, and after that it was up to him. I could only hope that the boy wouldn¡¯t fall into despair and that he wouldn¡¯t hate himself in this life. ¨C Buzz! Buzzz! ¡°Mhmm¡­!¡± It was then. The sentences of Precept engraved on my body turned blazing hot. Ugh¡­ It felt as if I was being scorched with fire. ¡°That¡¯s a success.¡± It seemed that the Duty of the Precept, the one that I wouldn¡¯t disregard the misfortune of the good, had been successfully fulfilled. I looked at the system message which I hadn¡¯t seen for a while. ¡ºDuty Fulfilled ¨C Sebancia Duke¡» ¡ù Difficulty: B ¡ù Reward: Even distribution of 80 points Something did pop up, but what was ¡®Even distribution of 80 points¡¯ supposed to even mean? Can¡¯t you be a bit more nice? ¡°¡­Status Window.¡± ¡ºAccess denied due to insufficient qualification.¡» Geez, for fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°Huu¡­¡± Although I wasn¡¯t sure because of my practically useless system window, those points were probably talking about the status points of a character. A player¡¯s status in ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? were divided into Strength, Agility, Aura, Mana and Dexterity. The common rule of thumb was to go 3, 1, 1 depending on the skill tree you were after. ¡®Can I not even pick the stats I want¡­?¡¯ It was a shame because using all the 5 stat points given per level up into the necessary stats were the most efficient way to grow a character¡­ Hold up. 5 points? ¡°Wait, I got 80 points?¡± 80 stat points was something you could only get through 16 level ups in the game. I didn¡¯t get any level up announcement, so that meant the reward of the quest itself was 80 stats. Even though Sebancia Duke¡¯s quest had a difficulty rank of B, it wasn¡¯t a quest that gave an enormous amount of experience points that equaled 16 level ups. ¨C Gulp! Although there was the penalty of everything being an equal distribution¡­ Maybe there was no cap for my stats then? Was this a synergy created from the system and the effects of the Precept? As a reward for doing something good, I got an Epic Rank Soul Dust, a specialty, and¡­ a tremendous increase in stats. ¡°Huhu¡­ Jackpo¡­ Huuk?!¡± W, what was I trying to say just then? I almost copied the habit of that disgusting dude! ¡®How horrendous.¡¯ I¡¯m different from that psychopath. It felt terrible so I decided to avoid copying his habit at all cost. CH 13 ? Mission Board (1) ? It was another normal day. ¡°There are demonic races in our world that go under the names of demonic beasts, demonic spirits, and demi-humans. They suffer persecution¨C¡± The courses at Merkarva Academy had units of credit. Excluding the mandatory courses, it was fairly relaxed. ¡°Now, lastly, is there anyone who can tell me about the incident that served as the turning point of demi-human persecution¨C¡± ¡°Huaaaahm¡­ Ah. Is the lesson over?¡± During a boring history lesson, Jaeger opened his eyes and wiped off the drool on his face. ¡°You could¡¯ve saved your own life if you slept for 5 more minutes.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Oh dear. It seems that my lesson has been very boring for you, Mr. Jaeger.¡± Jaeger turned his head like an old, creaking robot. At the end of his gaze was the professor of historical studies, Ronalick, giving the brightest smile in the world. ¡°Ugek¡­ S, sorry.¡± ¡°Jaeger Hinzpeter. Come early for next week¡¯s lesson and clean the room for everyone.¡± ¡°Yes sir¡­¡± Saying that, Jager lowered his head while grumbling about having to do something so tedious. I opened my mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will¡­¡± ¡°Korin, you¡­? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± ¡°I will be your supervisor.¡± ¡°¡­Go to hell.¡± After the lesson, Jaeger said while closing his blank and empty book. ¡°Oi. Let¡¯s have lunch.¡± ¡°What are you having?¡± ¡°Hmm~. The kimchi udon I had yesterday was alright. Is there, like, something else that¡¯s nice and spicy?¡± Nice and spicy? ¡°I know the best place for that.¡± Challenge accepted. You have a painful death ahead of you. ¡°Oi, nerd. What are you up to now?¡± ¡°Nn? I¡¯m going to go to the library and study¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s have some lunch first.¡± ¡°Uhht¡­ W, wait¡­!¡± There was a scorching chicken feet restaurant in the central streets of the Academy that dropped your HP by 20% or something, wasn¡¯t there? ¡°GUUUEEEEK!¡± ¡°I¡¯m dying¡­ w, water¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s more spicy if you drink water. Drink milk.¡± ¡°Uhhkk¡­ I think there¡¯s a hole in my stomach.¡± ¡°I should have had a kimchi udon¡­¡± Do you see this, Sir Kim Gu? This is the power of ¡®Culture¡¯ that you wanted the most. **** As soon as the afternoon classes ended, I headed to the training room. It had been 4 days since my last visit. The past 3 to 4 days had been an introduction to the basic curriculum and an extension of the orientation. ¡®Ah~. It¡¯s already Friday.¡¯ Let¡¯s apply for a leave on the way to the dormitory today, and go outside tomorrow. ¡°Training clothes, training spear and an elemental body please.¡± In order to test the increase of my stats from the Precept, I went to the front desk, received a elemental body and woke it up. ¨C Vuiinng! ¡°Ohh~. He¡¯s doing it again.¡± ¡°Is he not tired of it yet?¡± ¡°He is tenacious, but that¡¯s just being stubborn.¡± The sound of the elemental body fluttering its wings gathered the eyes of the senior students once again. Those blokes were all quite diligent as well. People that used their free times to train were those with a promising future. I raised my spear against the elemental body without paying them any attention when a 2nd year student from the Knight Department called me. ¡°Oi, freshman.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I saw you swinging your spear around to catch that elemental body. How about you just do something else?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t say anything in response, as the 2nd year student from the Knight Department continued with a condescending look on his face. ¡°You¡¯re just a Grade 5.¡± ¡°Hohh¡­¡± I see. So this is that thing. People used to pick a fight with Park Sihu quite a lot, because he started off as a Grade 5. Was I pulling the aggro now that Park Sihu wasn¡¯t here? ¡°Yes, well. I¡¯m just trying to push myself.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s never gonna work alright? Don¡¯t waste your time and just quietly practice by yourself with your spear.¡± Like, what was wrong with this guy? He seemed to be the type of person to go to a funeral and complain about the menu. It was dumbfounding, but I wasn¡¯t having any murderous intent or anything which was natural as a human, because whimsically killing people like Park Sihu was something animals would do. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re something great because Marie is looking after you?¡± ¡°What?¡± Why was he talking about her all of a sudden? ¡°You must be excited because of her small bit of attention but¡­¡± ¡°Hohhh~~¡± ¡°W, what?¡± ¡°Ayyee~~¡± ¡°What are you doing all of a sudden!¡± He gave an irritated shout as I whispered in a soft voice which only he could hear. ¡°Do you like Senior Marie?¡± ¡°H, huh?!¡± His face flushed in the blink of an eye, and it was super clear at this point. Kyah~! Those are the good times. That¡¯s youth for ya. Let¡¯s see, how was mine? Boys Middle School, Boys High School, Physical Education College, Military¡­ What? Where did my youth go? And in the previous iteration, I had no time to meet anyone due to following Park Sihu around the whole time. Park Sihu was also deliberately stopping me as well¡­ I see! So the reason there were no cherry blossoms in my life is all because of Park!! Right? It¡¯s because of that stupid Park, right? That had to be the case. ¡°N, no?¡± ¡°It¡¯s clearly not a no.¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°So do you like Senior Marie?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t!¡± ¡°Do you hate Senior Marie?¡± ¡°Yes! I hate¡­?!¡± ¡°Kane you idiot¡­¡± Another female student in her 2nd year said while poking him with her elbow. Kane turned around from that and found someone staring at him ¨C it was Marie. Damn, where is my popcorn? ¡°U, uh¡­ Marie?¡± ¡°Hmm~. I see. Kane hates me, huh.¡± ¡°N, no. That¡¯s not¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s normal for people to hate some people, right? Guys, do you want some potatoes?¡± ¡°I want some.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Ehew, Kane you retard.¡± Marie had steamed potatoes again as always, and she generously gave them away to everyone around her except for Kane. ¡°Junior. Do you want some steamed potatoes? I have sugar.¡± ¡°Of course. I will gratefully accept those potatoes as someone who likes Senior Marie.¡± ¡°Right, right? And it will be bad manners to give it to someone who hates me, right?¡± Judging from her manner of speech, it seemed that she was somewhat aware of his feelings as well. Kane the innocent boy was the only one with a teary look on his face. ¡°Are you going to train with an elemental body again?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you will be able to pull it off!¡± She had a very amiable smile on her face unlike the time when she was consoling me to aim for the next chance. ¡°Marie. I know you¡¯re bad at saying harsh things, but this isn¡¯t right.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a freshman. And he¡¯s a Grade 5.¡± I had no idea why there was such a big crowd in front of a freshman student that was just trying to do his best, as well as why they were each saying something bad. Seemingly encouraged by the crowd behind him, the boy, Kane, also chimed in. ¡°Yes! It took me a week as well! It¡¯s not something a Grade 5 freshman can do!¡± ¡°Reallyy?¡± Marie walked up to me and whispered into my ears with a ticklish voice. ¡°Junior. Do you want to earn some money together?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Why was she trusting me this much? Did she see me succeed or something? ¡°7:3?¡± ¡°You mean 3:7 and 7 for me.¡± ¡°I have the money though?¡± ¡°Then 4:6.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do 5:5.¡± Deal. Nod nod. After getting my consent, she asked Kane with a confident look on her face. ¡°Shall we have a bet then?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bet 2 gold coins on Junior¡¯s success!¡± Two gold coins¡­ was a large sum of money which was enough to buy 400 noodles in the city, and was roughly about 2,000 dollars. Was she loaded because she was a Grade 1 Mage? ¡°Marie¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to go that far just to encourage a junior¡­¡± All the senior students gave similar responses in general, believing that Marie was doing this due to being considerate of me. However, she didn¡¯t cower in the slightest and instead¡­ ¡°Why? Are you scared?¡± She used an AOE taunt skill. ¡°I¡¯m betting 70 silver coins that the freshman will fail!¡± ¡°One gold coin from me!¡± ¡°30 silver coins.¡± ¡°Do you take items?¡± It turned into a gambling den in an instant. ¡°Good luck, Junior! My two gold coins are on you!¡± We had 7.4 odds for my success. Excluding the small group of students who stood on my side and went with the high odds to aim for a huge turnaround, most students betted that I wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat the elemental body. ¡°7 gold coins if I win, huh.¡± My entire fortune right now was 40 silver coins, and the amount of support fund a Grade 5 Knight gets is 1 gold coin a month. Even though there was a lot of leeway thanks to little fees for accommodation and meals, it was always better to have more money. ¡°Time to get to work.¡± I tapped the elemental body and made it open its wings. Like last time it began to float into the air. Even though defeating it shouldn¡¯t be a problem, what was important was the time taken, because this bet only lasted 30 minutes. Considering the status points I gained by sending Sebania Duke away in peace, I should be able to pull off the basic moves of my spearmanship. ¡°Huu¡­!¡± Settling my breath, I grabbed onto my spear. I pulled the aura through the dantian and made it explode in one breath. ?Six Ways of the Spear? ?First Style, Ominous Snake.? The spearhead slithered like a snake as it deceived the elemental body and pierced through in the blink of an eye. It was one of the basic moves that dazzled the enemy with a flashy set of moves before continuing into a fierce stab. All I had to do was apply a little bit of feint and connect this to Tiger¡¯s Gust or a Spinning Heaven¡ª ¨C Kwajik! ¡°Uhh¡­¡± The bisected elemental body rolled on the ground. This was definitely outside my expectations¡­ ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Everyone was speechless in front of the unexpected turn of events, and even Marie seemed stunned. ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± ¡°What happened just then?¡± And naturally, others were even more flabbergasted. ¡°Hell yeeaaah the high odds!!¡± ¡°That¡¯s how you do ittt!!¡± ¡°Wait! Wait!¡± ¡°Hold on! There has to be something wrong!¡± ¡°Of course. Of course.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why we gamble! Why would you gamble if you¡¯re going to go safe the whole time?¡± ¡°Kuaaakk!¡± The small group of students that betted on the high odds mocked the students who went for the safe bet, and the training room turned into a pandemonium. Tch tch. That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t gamble. As they were slowly coming back to themselves, Marie walked up and handed me 8 gold coins. ¡°This is for you, Junior.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this more than 5:5? ¡°I rounded it up.¡± Rounding up 60 silver coins¡­ As expected, it seemed that money was not a problem for a Grade 1 Mage like herself. ¡°You did it in one go! Honestly, I was quite surprised.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that hard once you get used to it.¡± ¡°Hnn~. But last time you stabbed three times to create ripples around it, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± So she did see it. She must have come back to pick up something but there was something even more stunning. ¡°How did you even see that?¡± ¡°Hnn?¡± She saw through the Secrets of Ominous Snake? Wasn¡¯t she a mage? What kind of ridiculous dynamic vision did she have? **** After the ruckus, I tested a few more skills at the training room. In the previous iteration, I used to train while pushing myself to the brink of death. It was unavoidable because as an ungifted student like Korin Lork, I had no choice but to master tricks to survive through a story filled with Unique Grades. The reason I was able to beat those numerous Grade 1s and Unique Grade enemies was all thanks to the technique that I polished with my life on the line. By learning the Eight Trigram1 of fists, swords, spears and staffs, I learned the eight trigram martial arts and spearmanship by myself. That foundation alone, however, was not enough to solve all the problems and the spearmanship that I thus learned from my master was the Six Ways of the Spear and the Final Move of the Sixth Style, Void. ¨C Kwaduk! The dummy half-crumbled as I ended up dropping my spear. My palms ached as sweat drenched my body. ¡°Huu¡­ I can barely pull off the Fifth Style for now, huh.¡± The foundations were there but the Sixth Style¡­ was still too much. From the First Style of the Ominous Snake to the Fifth Style of the Crumbling Mountain were the basic ways of a spear, but the Sixth Style was one that would kill me if I didn¡¯t have a strong enough body to support the attack. In the previous iteration, I was only barely able to pull it off by consuming a capsule of energy ¨C which I got after boiling the white silver seed of the lake ¨C immediately before attacking. But even so, the risk was still quite high. ¡®My body needs to be at the level of a Grade 1 Knight to do this without any risk.¡¯ Sixth Style of the spear was still impossible, but this was well within my expectations and the disappointment was thus very small. The real problem was with Rune magic. ???- Hagalaz ¡ºMore mana required¡» My mana depleted rapidly like that of a premature ejaculator and I couldn¡¯t even use Rune magic for long. Thanks to the fulfillment of the Precept and the increase of my stat points, it did go up from 3 a day to about 10 a day but Rune magic didn¡¯t have a good efficiency in the first place and I couldn¡¯t do much with my current mana. ¡®It is definitely a merit that I can use it immediately without any enchantments but¡­¡¯ There was a reason why it was now a dead language which was only used as support skills by a small number of people. ¡®Most of those bastards also used it as support. An exception would be¡­¡¯ The Primal Rune ¨C the very first rune letter and the most primal one that was used in the era of Gods. It would only appear towards the end of the Final Boss of the 2nd arc, when the King of Iron Mountain breaks out of its seal at the Academy. The enemy would appear during the absence of the chairman, Eriu, who gets busy after the incident with Marie, and during then, we would have to defeat the King of Iron Mountain, get the Primal Rune and deal with the traitor as well. Primal Rune was not a very efficient way to use magic either, and in the end, my chronically horrible amount of mana will be the problem once again. ¡°I have to focus on increasing my stats for the time being.¡± Regardless of all the techniques and skills under my belt, I still had to have a strong enough body. The ordeals I had to go through because of that in the previous iteration were countless. Of course, there was a method. There were the hidden pieces I would be obtaining from now on as well as the quests that were related to the Precept. I should be able to clear 4~5 of them this weekend alone. On the way out of the training room to dinner, I came across an unexpected person. ¡°Uhh¡­¡± There was a girl with bob-hair wearing nun clothes who would attract the gazes of everyone within the distance of 100 meters. The girl reading a thick hardcover book appeared like an image that came straight out of a painting. There was no way I wouldn¡¯t know about her. Despite being a freshman, she was different from other characters who could enter the party from the start. She was the truly overpowered character who was only available near the end of ?Heroic Legends of Arhan?. Park Sihu did not seek her help in the previous iteration, but wasn¡¯t able to kill her either. She was the living Jiangshi2 with an Unbreakable Vajra Body. ¡°¡­¡± Heavenly Yaksha, Hua Ran. The strongest tanker of ?Heroic Legends of Arhan?. At the same time, she was the worst time bomb of Merkarva Academy. CH 14 ? Mission Board (2) ? There were the so-called demi-humans in this world. The ones affected by the molecules of demons were referred to as demonic beasts, demonic spirits and demi-humans depending on who they originally were. An example was the demonic spirit, Sebancia Duke. He was someone who awakened as a ¡®demi-human¡¯ after becoming a vampire. After that, he lost his physical body, then sealed himself and became a demonic spirit. Did that mean he was an enemy of humanity? Was he a vengeful spirit that endlessly scattered killing intent? That was the same for demi-humans. Although people might awaken as demi-humans, some still maintained their nature as a human while some lost their rationality. And the Heavenly Yaksha, Hua Ran¡­ was a time bomb that could go either way. ¡°¡­¡± Her cynical expression and gaze appeared brutal with not a hint of tenderness. The inside of her hair had turned crimson red like the symbolic color of demons, and the nun clothes covering her body were more like restraints than religious clothing. ¡°Hi I¡¯m Korin Lork. We saw each other during the entrance ceremony, didn¡¯t we?¡± ¡°¡­¡± She didn¡¯t say anything in response and instead silently gazed at me with the eyes of a beast. In fact, her showing some type of reaction was a positive sign, because that meant the ¡®seal¡¯ was still working properly. ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Nn?¡± ¡°You merged into one.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Did she see through me? A living corpse with two souls: the soul of a human and the soul of a demon. That paradoxical existence was what Hua Ran was as a living Jiangshi. Those in the perilous middle grounds of the boundaries of life and death had the power to see the color of souls. It wasn¡¯t strange for her to perceive the abnormality of ¡®Korin Lork¡¯ and the combination of my two souls. ¡°How does it feel to crush and swallow the original soul?¡± Well, I wasn¡¯t expecting to get condemned like this but to be fair, this was something only Hua Ran would ask. ¡°No idea!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You probably know better than I do, but this is not something we can solve with ease. It just naturally happens over time.¡± ¡°¡­Naturally?¡± ¡°What can we even do? We just have to focus on the present.¡± I used to contemplate this topic quite a lot in the previous iteration. Were ¡®Korin Lork¡¯ and ¡®I¡¯ different people? What if the memories of Korin Lork were my actual memories? But if so, then who was the person that went through a Boys Middle School, a Boys High School, a Physical Education College and the Military on Earth? But in the end, it was all meaningless. The previous souls of both myself and Park Sihu did not appear till the very end, even until my death. However, it was a different issue for Hua Ran, because the ¡®true original soul¡¯ was actually still inside her body. She opened her mouth with a scowl. ¡°You are not the owner of your body. You¡¯re just a thief and a robber. You have no right to claim that body.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Who was she saying those words to? Even though it sounded like a vicious criticism, I knew the agony and trouble this 3-year-old child was going through. Her answer to that agony would be what decides the turning point. ¡°Back in my hometown, we had someone who turned into a green giant when he got angry.¡± ¡°¡­¡­What are you talking about?¡± ¡°He¡¯s called Mr. Bruce. Normally he is a smart person but when he turns into an angry green giant, he breaks everything around him. They hated each other.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that bad?¡± ¡°No, that was good instead. The two of them excelled at different things. So I was disappointed when he became a smart green man later on. He was neither this nor that.¡± Why did you have to do that, Russo Brothers! ¡°Anyway, what I noticed from that person¡¯s story is that it¡¯s not important who the original one is. The two souls are different after being formed, and they each have their individual personality.¡± This was the example I wanted her to follow. ¡°Like Mr. Bruce and the green boss, I think it¡¯s possible for two souls to coexist in one body. Because being born is never a sin.¡± ¡°¡­There are things in this world that shouldn¡¯t have been born.¡± Leaving those words behind, Hua Ran flicked her head and turned away from me which was unfortunate, because that wasn¡¯t the reaction I wanted to get from her. In the previous iteration, I didn¡¯t have many interactions with Hua Ran. It was mostly Park Sihu who talked to her. Although Hua Ran was supposed to show interest in the player, Hua Ran was mysteriously unconcerned about him. It might have been because of that but Park Sihu desperately wanted to kill her but¡­ he failed. It was because he had already killed Alicia Arden ¨C Hua Ran¡¯s greatest counter. Things would get extremely easy after pulling her into the party. Her ¡®Unbreakable Vajra Body¡¯ and her ability to use demonic aura easily placed her among the top strongest characters of ?Heroic Legends of Arhan?. One thing to be concerned about was her chains and the talismans being removed and her seal being broken. At this current point in time, it was impossible to physically stop her if she were to go into that state. It was a bad call to get greedy for an uncontrollable bomb. ¡°See you later.¡± I walked away after giving her a normal farewell, not knowing that her eyes were still fixed on my back. **** The next day, I left the dormitory before the birds even marked the start of a weekend with their songs. I walked towards the Mission Board located at the southern regions of the Academy. In the early stages of ?Heroic Legends of Arhan?, there were two things which the player had to do to progress the main story line. The first was lessons, and the second was the Mission Board. A variety of missions existed on the board in the form of papers, which students of the guardian academy were able to undertake at any time. It ranged from small missions like those requested by citizens of the city to large ones like the official missions given by the Guardian Alliance. The player had to receive missions from here to gain EXP points and reputation to meet the level requirements of the main quest. But of course, there was no need to do these in the previous iteration because it was no longer a game. ¡°Hmm?¡± Even though it was still very early, I saw another student looking at the Mission Board. She was wearing a specially designed martial uniform and the blade hanging on her waist was a hidden piece that was incomparably more valuable than my mass-manufactured spear. ¡°Alicia Arden?¡± ¡°Uht? H, hello. Nice to meet you.¡± She greeted me with a deep bow. ¡°We¡¯re in the same year so you can be more casual.¡± ¡°No no. No thanks. I prefer this.¡± Was she always such a polite character? I didn¡¯t get to see her in the previous iteration because that damned Park killed her in the blink of an eye, and my memories about the game were vague considering how it was already 3 years ago. ¡°Are you taking a mission already? It¡¯s the first weekend though. You¡¯re in Grade 2 so you don¡¯t need money or merits, do you?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ I, I need money.¡± ¡°Ehng?¡± What was this about? ¡°There is actually a non-interference principle in our household. We have to earn living expenses for ourselves at least¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you get support funds from the Academy?¡± Alicia Arden was someone who hit Grade 2 straight away without even having to go through the grading test. Considering how the living support funds increased exponentially depending on the Grades, the amount she received per month should be around the same as the amount I received per year. ¡°I don¡¯t get any funds¡­¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ Why?¡± ¡°My parents are in the top 10 percentile of wealth¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­Ah.¡± The support funds were formed by the donations of nearby kingdoms and the Kingdom of El Rath, which provided Merkarva Academy with the land. They were giving out living funds without even taking in any tuition fees, so they did not give any financial support to the wealthy households. It was similar to how rich people didn¡¯t get any national scholarships in Korea. ¡°If you¡¯re looking for some immediate cash¡­ I recommend this patrol mission. All you have to do is go around the outskirts of the city. You don¡¯t have to do much but the pay is good because of the risk, and if you come across a monster, you get an extra bonus.¡± ¡°Wow~ 20 silver coins a day! My month¡¯s worth of allowance!¡± Alicia took off the mission paper from the board with a bright look on her face. A daughter of a rich family getting 20 silver coins a month¡­ ¡°It seems they take up to 3 people! Would you like to join?¡± ¡°No. I have something else to do.¡± It was a precious weekend. I had to complete as many of the necessary missions as possible to increase my stats. I scanned across the Mission Board and found the one I wanted. ¡°Uhh¡­ ¡®Please find Navi¡¯?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about finding a missing cat.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ the reward is 40 silver coins, but isn¡¯t it too unpredictable?¡± It was a mission with a difficult rank of Grade 5 that was about finding a missing cat. There were 40 silver coins on the line which was higher than Alicia¡¯s, but there was no way finding a cat who had been missing for 3 days would be an easy task. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m very good at finding missing animals.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ You gave me an amazing piece of information so I would love to help, but I¡¯m really short of money so¡­¡± ¡°Ah~ You don¡¯t need to worry about it.¡± Leaving Alicia behind, I walked past the main entrance of the Academy as the security guard, Mr. Will spoke to me. ¡°A mission already? What a diligent young man.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mr. Will.¡± ¡°Nn? How did you know my¡­¡± ¡°You have a name badge right there.¡± ¡°Aha I see~. Good luck on your mission, Student Korin.¡± Walking past Mr. Will, I headed to the client¡¯s house. ¡°Knight Uncle. Please find Navi! Please!¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s oppa ¨C oppa. Ms. Anna? You can call me Knight-oppa.¡± ¡°Knight Uncle! Good luck!!¡± ¡°Hey Anna! I¡¯m sorry Mr. Knight, and thank you. Please have this as a snack.¡± ¡°A sandwich~! Thank you very much.¡± Although I heard a few things about Navi from the client, Anna, including Navi¡¯s favorite streets, that was just an act of formality. I already knew where Navi was. The reason I picked this mission was because of my Precept. The result of this quest leads Anna to misfortune. It was a seemingly trivial misfortune compared to the ones of the main scenario, but it would be a shocking event for a child that was depressing enough to make her cry for 3 days and 3 nights straight. This was the chance to find out how exactly my Precept worked. ¡°Navi~¡± The sewers which were barely ever visited by the maintainers of the city were filled with a disgusting odor and a dirty stream of water. ¡°Navi~ Here¡¯s some sausage for you~¡± The side quest, ?Please find Navi? was a simple mission given to rookie knights and mages. It appeared in the game as well, and was one with a fair bit of story. ¡®It is possible to find the cat, but the problem is that it will already be dead by then.¡¯ According to the original story, 2 days after asking around the favorite streets of Navi, the player would finally discover that Navi had entered the sewers. ¡°Navi~ Hurry up and come outside!¡± The only things you could find in the game were cat bones with everything else digested and a name badge¡­ It was quite a horrible story. Why the hell was the quest so brutal even though the client was such a cute child? It was like a savage fairy tale. In any case, in the game, it was a quest that only left the player feeling uncomfortable due to the phrase that the dung including the bones were still warm, which meant that the cat was eaten recently but¡­ ¡°Meeooow~!¡± ¡°Good.¡± It seemed that the cat really did adore the smell of vienna sausages. It was remarkable how it managed to smell this in this damn sewer. ¡°Navi. Come here~¡± Even though it was too dark to see properly, I could see the dirty furs of the cat as well as a necklace and a name badge¡­ It was perfect. ¡°Navi. I won¡¯t hurt you. Come on~. Here is your favorite sausage~¡± I didn¡¯t know how to deal with cats, because I used to have a cat allergy back on Earth. ¡°Nya!¡± ¡°Uht!?¡± Did it sense my killing intent? Navi turned away from the sausage and dashed into the sewers. ¡°Where are you running! You damn little cat!!¡± I knew it! I quickly dashed after it. However, it was too dark to see what was a meter ahead in the sewers and the only things I could feel were the disgusting odor of the water and a cold gust of wind. It was hard for human eyes to get used to the darkness like that of beasts, but there was a way around it . ???- Dagaz In an instant, I etched the rune letter onto my skin. It led to a momentary improvement of vision ¨C to be exact, it was something that slightly helped with night vision. ¡°Come here!¡± ¡°Nyah!¡± But that was more than enough to let me catch a running cat in the sewers. ¡°You are nothing but a damn beast.¡± I was still a superhuman even though I was at the bottom. Catching Navi was nothing difficult. ¡°Nyahh?!¡± ¡°Got ya!¡± I snatched Navi into my arms. It gave a somewhat menacing growl but soon turned calm after having sausage. ¡°There will be no misfortune for Little Anna now.¡± It was an easy success ¨C that was what I was thinking but the cat was in a strange state. Navi was shivering, but coldness didn¡¯t seem to be the reason. ¨C Shhrkk¡­! The water rippled. It was rather strange for it to be considered a current, and my hands quickly reacted. ¨C Kwajik! ¨C Bam! I pierced the spear into the water all the way to the ground with one arm, and felt something twitch before turning loose. Raising the spear, I found a mysterious humanoid figure with a hole in the head. There was an immensely ill-tempered look on the face of the humanoid monster, and it was thin yet had a big bulge in its stomach. ¡°Water demon.¡± It wasn¡¯t too big of a surprise because water demons tended to be found quite often in sewers. Armed guards cleaned up the sewers regularly and they were not that big of a threat. ¡®The issue is that they travel together to make up for their weakness.¡¯ They were probably the ones that had eaten Navi the cat. Looking back at how things transpired when it was a game, there were also water demons in the fields near the city, so it wasn¡¯t strange for them to be here. ¡°Gweeekkk!¡± ¡°Gyaa! Gyaaa!¡± Two more water demons crawled out of the water. They were actually quite clever in the real world. ¡°Making sound on purpose to let another one attack, huh.¡± After getting rid of the water demon that was stuck on the spear, I thrusted the spear behind my back towards the ceiling. ¨C Pukangg! ¡°G, gugeek¡­¡± There was no need to even turn around because the water demon that was crawling up the walls of the sewers for an ambush from behind had died immediately after a stab to the heart. ¡°I mastered how to fight you guys at the Roteon River already.¡± Even though that damned Park broke the dam and wiped out most of the monsters alongside the villagers, it was still true that I had fought them a lot. ¡°G, gyaaa!¡± I could see the water demon was trying to use its brain, but it was just a low graded monster and it was obvious what its best plan could be. ¨C Slam! Kicking the water demon that was trying to crawl up, I stabbed at the head of the other one that tried to grab onto my ankle. The fallen water demon tried to stand back up but I thrusted the spear into its mouth and stabbed it deeper into the water. ¨C Uhpupu! Uhpp! ¡°Funny how water demons can¡¯t even breathe underwater.¡± Their skins turned dry unless they were in humid and wet areas, and that was the only reason they lived near sources of water. The remaining water demon struggled but soon turned silent. ¡°N, nyaa¡­¡± Navi seemed frightened after seeing how powerless the water demons were even though they were the predators in its eyes. ¡°I saved you from becoming dung, you know that.¡± After safely sending Navi back to Miss Anna, a message soon appeared on the system window. ¡ºDuty Fulfilled ¨C Anna McMilan¡» ¡ù Difficulty: E ¡ù Reward: Even distribution of 5 points ¡°¡­That¡¯s tiny.¡± ¡°Knight Uncle! Thank you for finding Navi!¡± ¡°Girl, it¡¯s oppa. Korin-oppa. Can you call me Korin-oppa?¡± My mind was soon to be 30 but my body was that of a teenager, so I wasn¡¯t asking for much was I? ¡°Korin Uncle, would you like to have a meal with us? Mom¡¯s an amazing cook!¡± ¡°¡­¡± It seemed that the smile of a wretched girl who would most certainly grow up to be a beauty was about 5 points. **** ¡°This is not it!¡± Mr. Yoon, who was running a small fried chicken store in Merkarva City, was spending another day enthusiastically coming up with a new menu. The store was smaller than 10 square meters. Even though most of his sales were at night, the reason why Mr. Yoon was here so early in the morning was because he had been searching for the right sauce to go with fried chicken for over 6 months. ¡°This is not it either!¡± The sauce with over ten ingredients including garlic, carrot and chili peppers that he brought from his hometown were astonishingly good by itself, but when he actually fried it together with deep-fried chicken, it made the crust soggy in an instant. ¡°Ugh¡­ what¡¯s the problem?¡± His goal was to make chicken that was delicious even when it turned cold. That became his stubborn ambition which he had been delving into for the past 6 months. Mr. Yoon changed the ratio one more time, and was just about ready to cook it again with chili powder and crushed garlic. ¨C Creak! ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± A boy appeared after pushing the door wide open. ¡°Corn syrup. Put corn syrup in.¡± He was like a passing scholar. CH 15 ? Mission Board (3) ? ¡°Corn syrup. Put corn syrup in.¡± Here comes the Hero. ¡°Well then.¡± And there he goes. ¡°????¡± Seeing the young man leave after telling him to put corn syrup in, it was natural for Mr. Yoon to be flabbergasted. ¡°¡­¡­Is he sick in the head?¡± He wanted to ignore the words of a mental patient, but his words telling him to put corn syrup in were echoing around his ears. ¡°Should I try it?¡± Listening to the words of the young man, he made a new sauce by adding corn syrup. The seasoning that was now thick due to the addition of corn syrup looked nice and sweet, and when he plastered it over the fried chicken¡­ ¡°What! T, this flavor?!¡± The crust of the fried chicken went beautifully with the thick sauce and had a soft yet glutinous and chewy texture. The sweetness of corn syrup mixed into the spiciness of chili powder and garlic¡­! ¡°Spicy, sweet and salty¡­ SSS!¡± Was this the perfect form of chicken? ¡°W, who in the world is that young man?¡± Was he like an apostle sent by the Chicken God or something? Reflecting on the words left behind by the young passerby, Mr. Yoon quickly started adjusting the recipe. **** ¡ºDuty Fulfilled ¨C Yoon Gyejo¡» ¡ù Difficulty: E ¡ù Reward: Even distribution of 5 points ¡°Ohh~. This actually worked.¡± Mr. Yoon was the owner of the fried chicken store who was the protagonist of the Side Quest: Finding the Origin. He would succeed in finding the correct recipe for spicy and sweet chicken by himself, but starts a lawsuit against Mr. Yang who was in the same industry as him, due to the betrayal of his staff and Mr. Yang¡¯s claim that he was the original owner of the recipe. It was a realistic yet messy story. The spicy and sweet fried chicken had been introduced 1 year earlier than the original plot, and the staff traitor wasn¡¯t even hired yet. ¡°Of course there¡¯s going to be fried chicken in a Korean game.¡± In any case with this, the holy and lofty marinated chicken will be introduced to this world. Both Park and I were people who couldn¡¯t give up on fried chicken so this side quest was one of the ones we prioritized over everything. ¡®About 25 points from yesterday and today, huh.¡¯ After completing the quest to find Navi the cat, I ran around the city and resolved a few more incidents. Those quests ranged from finding the lost ring of a widow to guiding a son who fell to the wrong path back to the correct one ¨C they were all from citizens who the system labeled as ¡®Good¡¯. ¡®That chicken quest confirms it. ¡®Neutral¡¯ is also okay.¡¯ The last quest I cleared about Finding the Origin, was a form of test. In the game, Mr. Yoon¡¯s character was sitting at Neutral. However, I personally considered him a nice person because he forgave the traitor and often distributed chicken for free. Was the game status an absolute indication? Or was my perception more important? My Duty was activated even with the completion of the quest of Mr. Yoon, who was at a Neutral status in the game. ¡®So that means my perception is more important than the system.¡¯ That was actually a very good sign because around the 3rd Arc, there would be systemically ¡®Good¡¯ characters who were a bit hard to consider as nice people. The fundamentalists of the Old Faith ¨C they had a clear standpoint which was in complete contrast to the priests of the New Faith who had put on the talismans and the seals on Hua Ran. ¡®Those damn fundamentalists. You can¡¯t speak logic to them but they¡¯re technically not bad people.¡¯ Fortunately, completing this mission proved that I did not have to prioritize them, and that would give me a fair amount of freedom. Is this what they call selective justice? It was great that the system was somewhat flexible. More importantly, the biggest return from this mission was that I could pretty much infinitely earn stats! Hahaha! There is a dope bug on my stats!! ¡°Huhihihi¡­!!¡± **** There was a girl standing on top of the clock tower, a place where people weren¡¯t supposed to reach. Standing on the roof of the best place to gaze down at the whole city, the girl with red eyes looked down on the ground. ¡°Strange person.¡± For the past two days, she had been observing the man called Korin Lork. He was a unique type of person just like herself, who had two souls existing in one body. But unlike her, those souls ended up merging into one¡­ He was like her senior, and she thus couldn¡¯t help but feel intrigued. It was the first weekend of the semester. She was wondering where he was running off to so early in the morning, and most of them were about helping people. Finding a missing cat, taking the boy who was with a group of delinquents back home and finding a lost ring. Although he was getting a few silver coins as reward, Hua Ran now had some idea of the currency system in this continent, as well as how meaningless that small amount of money was to superhumans. ¡ºHuhihihi¡­!!¡» Seeing him give a bright smile at the end despite getting such worthless things in return made her frown. Why was he working so hard? Was he just born as a nice person? ¡®There¡¯s no way a person like that would exist.¡¯ On top of the clock tower with her sleeves fluttering in the wind, the girl closed her eyes. The image floating in her mind which was in a striking contrast to the quiet and peaceful scenery of this city was that of an apocalypse; a world swallowed by flames and the hideous side of humans. It was an old memory of her original body. ¡ºOh, my. Ran? Did you come out with your dad?¡» The housewife who was greeting with a baby in her arms; ¡ºAre you shopping for your parents? Take this with you¡» The tofu seller who greeted her with a smile; ¡ºAre you shopping for your parents? Take this with you¡» And even the officials who were there asking master for help¨C Every one of them changed their attitudes in the blink of an eye. They cursed the girl and nonchalantly encouraged her demise. ¡ºDie! You monster¡» ¡ºPlease die. We¡¯re begging you¡» ¡ºWe have shredded the limbs of your father to death. We will now subjugate you in the name of the Royal Palace.¡» Goodwill was something that was as easy to flip as a piece of paper. Depending on the necessity and comfort of oneself, people easily changed their minds and killed others. That was what humans were. From the start to the end, all of them were in the gray zone. Some were jet black but none of them were pure white. That was why she couldn¡¯t hide her confusion upon seeing Korin Lork with her astral eyes. Grade 5. The very bottom of the Academy. He was probably the weakest out of everyone in this academy which she was dragged into. He was so weak that he might snap from her single grip. So¡­ why was he so diligent at helping other people? What was it that was making that boy smile? The faint smile he showed to the child after finding the missing cat, and the bright smile on his face after helping others¡­ The boy was dazzling. It was a naively happy smile. He wasn¡¯t forcing himself to smile nor was he trying to deceive other people. And most importantly¡­ ¡ºLike Mr. Bruce and the green boss, I think it¡¯s possible for two souls to coexist in one body.¡» She flinched after hearing that. His words appeared to be about her. That violent green giant sounded like a representation of herself. ¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡°Shut up. Stop mumbling.¡± Was the guy called Bruce the same as the weak life inside me? No. That¡¯s not it. I¡¯m different from them. This guy was begging for life and wanted to live forever. This is that price ¨C I have the right to accept it. That must have been the same for Korin Lork. A stronger soul must have swallowed the weaker soul that was inside his body. Were his current actions for atonement? Was he helping other people to be self-righteous? Can¡¯t I do the same thing then? I can just get rid of this weak little girl inside me and become a knight or a guardian in her stead. Guardians are heroes that save and protect people. If I listen to lectures and become a hero, would everyone look at me in a different light? ¨C Jiing! ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± The sound of a dimensional contortion woke her up as a blonde-haired woman walked out from a fissure in the air. Josephine Clara. She was the witch who brought her here with Chairman Eriu from the east. ¡°I¡¯ve been leaving you alone because you weren¡¯t leaving the city, but please ask for permission to leave if you want to leave the campus.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Seeing the silent and unresponsive Hua Ran, Josephine heaved a sigh before opening a new dimension. Hua Ran stood up without retaliating or replying to her. ¡ºBecause being born is never a sin.¡» ¡ºSomeone like you shouldn¡¯t have been born!!¡» Who is right? Her sharp eyes looked akin to the vigilant gaze of a wounded beast. **** The next day, Around 400 freshmen were standing at the entrance of the hunting grounds located at the north of the Academy. As its name would suggest, it was a broad and extensive forest that was also sometimes referred to as the Emerald Forest. This place was often opened for the realistic fighting experiences of the students and was a place I had visited quite often myself. With the expansive woods in the background, Chairman Eriu and Senior Professor Josephine were glancing across the students. ¡°Good morning everyone. I will make it quick.¡± Chairman Eriu¡¯s voice managed to reach the entire group of 400 students without fail. ¡°Today¡¯s lesson is very simple. It will be a real life practice and experience for everyone.¡± It was still early in the morning so there were a few students that were dozing off. Normally, the words of the Chairman were meant to be heard in a sleepy state but this was the Merkarva Academy. Chairman Eriu suddenly stopped his words as Lady Josephine struck the whip in the air. ¨C Slapp! I had no idea why it made such a loud slapping noise even though she was swinging it in the air, but in any case, one of the students suddenly rose to the air. ¡°U, uaahh¡­!¡± ¡°Student Jaeger Hinzpeter. Sleeping during the lesson. Minus 1 point.¡± She soon retrieved her gaze that seemed like a ray of laser beaming through her monocle, and Jaeger fell back on the ground as Chairman Eriu continued his words. ¡°Today, your survival skills will each be evaluated at the hunting grounds. Your job is to head to the northern end of the forest.¡± ¡°Do we just have to head to the end of the forest?¡± ¡°Yes. If you arrive at the shed located at the north, you will ¡®pass¡¯ the test. But it won¡¯t be easy. Senior Professor?¡± In response to Chairman Eriu¡¯s summon, Lady Josephine struck the air with her whip as a large basket dropped in front of the students. The basket was divided into four, with different-colored armbands inside them. ¡°Please wear the armband that corresponds to your Grade.¡± The students walked up and wore their respective armbands. ¡°Blue for Grade 2, huh.¡± ¡°That looks fancy as well.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s also eye-catching.¡± It was definitely eye-catching considering how there were only four Grade 2 students. Alicia seemed clueless about how dangerous that would be for her and was grinning to herself after seeing the pretty piece of cloth. ¡®Hua Ran¡­ is probably not going to participate.¡¯ There was one girl who stood out the most among the students, who was quietly holding her breath like a beast. As the one and only Grade 1 Knight among the freshmen, there wasn¡¯t even any armband for her, and even in the previous iteration, Hua Ran had shown an uncooperative attitude to most of the lessons including practical lessons. She was too overpowered. Although she was weakened because of the seal, most of the other Grade 1s would still be unable to create a single wound on her body. Even the strongest 2nd year student, Marie, would not be Hua Ran¡¯s match unless she was in her final boss form. ¡°How does that look? It looks great right?¡± ¡°This doesn¡¯t come off that easily. It¡¯s probably not going to come off unless we pull it as hard as we can.¡± ¡°What is this even for though?¡± After wearing the armbands, the students bragged about it and showed off. Most of those boasting students were in Grade 3, and the Grade 5 students wearing black armbands were still crest-fallen. Even Lark¡­ ¡°Hoh~¡± There was actually a competitive spirit in Lark¡¯s eyes. It was a completely different expression compared to how he looked on his first day at the Academy. It seemed that learning a medium-ranked spell with the grimoire had definitely been a big help for him. ¡®He might even pull off a big one here.¡± Well, that was up to him though. Let¡¯s wish him good luck considering how close we were now. ¡°Now, attention. Those armbands are the same as your lives. When that armband comes off, you will be disqualified on the spot.¡± Hearing that, the students double-checked their armbands to make sure it was nice and tight. ¡°You will now move to the hunting grounds. Defeat everything you see on the way, because otherwise, you might be the one that ends up dying.¡± ¨C Gulp! The students tensed up upon hearing those scary words, but unlike what his words suggested, there were actually professors in the forest that ensured students would not die an unfortunate death. Besides, the biggest enemies of this practical lesson weren¡¯t the demonic beasts but students: the senior students who would be waiting in the woods. ¡°How do we use the armband?¡± It was a sharp question and was perhaps the most important of all. ¡°You can return the armbands that you¡¯ve acquired to the shed at the end of the forest. You will receive points depending on your armbands and the time of your arrival, and those points can be substituted for items.¡± This event was an important one that hardcore players would retry time after time because obtaining 100 points, which was an extremely difficult feat, would directly lead to the acquirement of a hidden piece. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The students created a buzz. Quite a lot of them appeared to have noticed that the armbands would each have different points. Seeing those freshmen students glare at other students like predators while licking their lips, I was once again in awe of how bright the future was for this Academy. In any case, the reason why the practical lesson at the hunting grounds was so famous for being a tough challenge was because gaining 100 points was absurdly difficult. You had to at least defeat one or two Grade 2 named characters and obtain their armbands. Considering my current level, that was obviously imposs¡­ hold on. ¡°Wow! What¡¯s going to be the first prize? Is it food?¡± Alicia muttered in excitement with her eyes sparkling like stars. She was the prime example of all brawn and no brain, and currently, she was incapable of properly using both the Eyes of the Boundary and the Domain Severance. Unlike other named characters whose special abilities were monstrous, she was a purely physical character¡­ It might actually be possible! Even though my current physique wasn¡¯t even in the realms of a Grade 3 Knight¡­ it should be possible to defeat all the Grade 2 students except for Yuel and Dorron as long as I played around their weaknesses. Ay, whatever! Either go big or go home! ¡°Alicia. Did you complete your mission?¡± ¡°Mr. Korin! Thank you for your help on the weekend! Thanks to that, I have enough money for the time being.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s awesome. Oh, right, do you want some candies? It¡¯s way too sweet for me.¡± ¡°Hukk¡­! This is¡­!¡± The packaging which had the drawing of a child-like bee was that of the renowned honey bomb candies which all the girls loved these days including my younger sister. I was carrying a few of them around in case I needed some sugar and wasn¡¯t expecting them to come in handy like this. ¡°Thanks for the food.¡± Alicia didn¡¯t turn them down which was as expected considering how there was a text on the profile back when it was a game that Arden sisters liked honey bomb candies. ¨C Munch munch. ¡°Wow, it actually explodes like a bomb inside the mouth and has honey coming out from inside.¡± ¡°I bought them for my younger sister, but they¡¯re too sweet. Do you want some more?¡± ¡°¡­I will not turn your kind offer down.¡± What she didn¡¯t know was that there was a tiny tracking rune letter engraved on the candy she ate just then. ¡°Let¡¯s get moving now.¡± When it was time, Lady Josephine struck the air with the whip. ¨C Slap! It gave off the same sound as usual but the result was completely different. The afterimage left behind by the whip turned into a cluster of mana that sucked in everything nearby like a black hole. ¡°Uh, uhhh¡­?¡± ¡°I, I¡¯m getting pulled in!¡± ¡°Kyaaaahh¡­!¡± After being pulled into the black hole, I opened my eyes and found myself in the middle of an expansive forest. CH 16 ? Hunting Grounds (1) ? ¡°As expected of the Great Witch.¡± I was long aware of how strong she was, but I still couldn¡¯t help but marvel at how absurd it was. Lady Josephine was probably the only mage that could use such a large-scale dimensional movement spell. It was one of the highest-ranked spells, ?Unique Grade: Crowd Teleportation?. This time around, it was a random teleportation but when the Academy was in danger, I saw her teleport hundreds of students to one place. Except for the Chairman who was sick all the time, she would probably be the strongest person out of the entire Academy. That was also why she was in charge of someone as unique as Hua Ran. Now, the quest at the hunting grounds was finally underway. My goal was to defeat one Grade 2 named character at least. In this practical lesson, the surrounding students would gang up on the named characters, which was obvious because their armbands would equal more points. In turn, it was actually a disadvantage to have a higher Grade in this activity ¨C it was like a balance patch put in place to make the high-achievers eat shit. ¡®I guess the Academy wants weaker students to build experience at forming parties and the stronger students to experience fighting multiple enemies at the same time but¡­¡¯ That might have been fine if that was all there was, but there were in fact 2nd year students as well in this forest. Their job was to become an obstacle and thoroughly stop the freshmen in the stead of Grade 1 and Grade 2 demonic beasts, which obviously did not exist in the forest for safety purposes. ¨C Clank! Chank! ¨C Y, you bastard! ¨C Hahahat! Become a sacrifice for my marks! ¨C Die! Die! A group of students that were quick to understand the rules were swinging their swords around already. Well, none of them would be too hurt though, because all the weapons that came into this forest had a spell cast on them that made them non-lethal. ¡®About time I started looking for Alicia.¡¯ I raised my senses to pick up the location of the rune in Alicia¡¯s belly. Although it didn¡¯t let me clearly see her location, it gave off a peculiar aura that guided me forward. ¡°That way.¡± The mana inside the rune was closer than expected. Chasing after its trace, I traveled through the forest as a bunch of boisterous shouts reached my ears. ¨C Clank! Chang! ¨C Kuhak?! ¨C Go in! The students of this damn Academy were all brawns as well. Even though their brains were good, their minds were very simple and straightforward. It might be because of the mental relief they got from how the blades of the weapons were sealed, but they attacked each other without turning back. Most of the students in the forest were like aggressive mobs that attacked first in an RPG. I ran for a long time while avoiding unnecessary fights and soon arrived at an open plot of land which already had signs of a battle. ¡°Ughh¡­ A, are you aiming for my armband as well!¡± Wearing the same unique martial uniform that revealed her shoulders, Alicia with her lustrous brown hair was gazing at me in the middle of seven fainted students. ¡°Give me your armband.¡± ¡°I trusted you, Mr. Korin! You gave me candy so I thought you were a good person!¡± She said while pointing her sword at me. ¡°N, now that it has come to this! We cannot get along anymore! Die if you wish to survive! Survive if you wish to die!¡± ¡°I understand what you¡¯re trying to say, but that¡¯s not how you use that expression¡­¡± Alicia was a purely physical-type fighter and a Grade 2 Knight and her specialty, Eyes of the Boundary, was still something she couldn¡¯t use to its full potential. Judging based on her ability to fight as an individual, she was probably average among Grade 2 students¡­ ¡®It¡¯s doable.¡¯ The blue armband on her left arm was very appealing.. **** At the entrance of the forest after the disappearance of the students were Chairman Eriu, Senior Professor Josephine and Hua Ran, who was crouching down with a bored gaze. ¡°Let me now head off to the forest as well, Chairman.¡± Although there were several professors located across the forest, it would be even safer for her to enter the fray just in case. ¡°Sure. Then I will be watching over from here. If by any chance¡­¡± ¡°I will make sure you don¡¯t have to take action.¡± The professors in the forest were all proven veterans. There were also senior students inside, but their strengths had been restricted so there should be no-one suffering from big injuries. After opening the dimensions, Josephine was about to walk into the forest when a soft whisper stopped her in her tracks. ¡°Me too¡­¡± It was Hua Ran. ¡°¡­Sorry?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I want to do it too.¡± Chairman Eriu appeared slightly surprised by her sudden remark but Lady Josephine raised an objection before the Chairman could even say something. ¡°You cannot. You can¡¯t restrain your abilities and this activity is meaningless for you at first¡­¡± Her words were put to a stop by the carefully risen hand of the Chairman. The Chairman slowly walked up to Hua Ran, kneeled on one of his knees and met his eyes with hers. ¡°You seem to have had a change of mind.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hua Ran looked straight back into his eyes. ¡°I see. If you don¡¯t want to talk about it, that¡¯s fine as well. You can do as you wish.¡± ¡°Chairman!¡± ¡°I know, Clara. I know this lesson is not suitable for Student Hua Ran and I also know that this child has access to quite the dangerous amount of power.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Hua Ran. Can you promise me one thing?¡± Hua Ran didn¡¯t reply, but she didn¡¯t turn her head away and that was a sign of approval, which was already better than before. ¡°Try your hardest to not cross the bottom line. It is always going to be you who decides the color of your soul.¡± ¡°¡­I will try.¡± This was something Korin wouldn¡¯t have expected. He wouldn¡¯t have expected the big tempest caused by the butterfly effect; and the result of him flapping his wings. But unfortunately, half of that was what he brought upon himself. **** Alicia Arden was in a panic when she got viciously attacked by her peers immediately after the teleportation. ¡®Why is everyone attacking each other? How mean! Why can¡¯t everyone be as kind-hearted as Mr. Benefactor?!¡¯ She had already been mercilessly betrayed right before entering Merkarva Academy, so her response wasn¡¯t that late. Seven of her peers attacked her but Alicia managed to defeat all of them with ease. She was conscious of it herself, that she was in the realm of ¡®geniuses¡¯ thanks to her astounding talents. Of course, it might be nothing compared to her older sister who was the true genius, but she did not deny the fact that she was a powerhouse in the top 1 percentile. In the end, she was a genius who didn¡¯t feel the drive to work hard and had no passion. ¡°Huu¡­¡± That was why she wasn¡¯t that cautious even after seeing Korin, a Grade 5 Knight. He was a nice person and was a kind person who invited goodwill, but that had nothing to do with his strength. He was just a Grade 5 student. She had easily defeated the union of Grade 3 and Grade 4 students, so she thought it would only take her 10 seconds to neutralize a Grade 5 Knight. ¡®What is this person?¡¯ That was what she had been thinking 30 seconds ago. ¨C Chakk! Changg! ¡®He¡¯s extremely strong!!¡¯ The Grade 5 Knight snuggled in with the spear in hand. While misleading the eyes with his slithering spear, he would suddenly stab forward at a terrifying speed. She tried a variety of attacks ¨C sword dance at a close distance, and attacking from outside of his range. But the opponent saw through her sloppy attempts every time and constantly pressured her by attacking back. There was no room for retaliation. Logic told her that she should be able to see a gap after closing the distance, but the retrieval and stab of his spear were so quick that she could not exploit it. He was just using a little bit of snap in his wrist and footwork to make this possible, and he was as seasoned as a veteran soldier. ¡®But it¡¯s not like he doesn¡¯t have any gaps! His breath before his stabs and his swings are a bit different! If I make use of that data¡­!¡¯ ¡°Huu¡­!¡± Alicia¡¯s sharp eyes perceived Korin¡¯s brief exhale which was the prelude of a ferocious stab. Although she had no passion for martial arts despite being one of the successor candidates of a renowned martial household, her innate gifts were incomparable to average people. She did not miss that gap and instinctively knew this was the opportunity to slash at him. ?Six Ways of the Spear.? ?Second Style. Horizontal Gust of a Tiger.? The shaft of the spear was swung at Alicia, who dared to shorten the gap between them. Right ¨C although she had been pressured by his relentless stabs, the wide-range swing of a spear was the scariest attack of its kind. It was impossible to dodge it with ease and attacking wasn¡¯t a viable option either because the spear would be the one landing first. In the face of the mighty power that forced others to give up on attack and focus on defense, Alicia had to stop her offense and block the spear. ¨C Pang! ¡°Uh¡­?!¡± His attack carried the fierce impact through the blade of the sword, and it felt as if the air had exploded next to her. Alicia was too light to hold her ground against the attack and ended up bouncing off to the side. ¡®Condensed aura?!¡¯ It was an attack made by supplementing the aura with an outburst which could only be done through the amalgamation of the body, mind and technique. It was very efficient as long as it was used properly, but it wasn¡¯t something that was easy to learn¡­ ¡®How is this a Grade 5 Knight?¡¯ Korin continued swinging the spear in a dazzling manner that tried to trick her eyes. His movement and his highly experienced skills that always let him find the right attack regardless of his posture had definitely exceeded the limits of a Grade 5 Knight. ¡®It¡¯s not like he¡¯s physically strong but¡­! All of his skills are no joke!¡¯ First off, she decided to flick the spear away. By pressing down on the spear, she would restrict its movement and dash in for the final slash! ¨C Chank! However, Alicia¡¯s ambitious goal was stopped by his first response. Her attempt to fling the spear away instead resulted in a fancy return of the spear that deflected her sword off instead. Outer Trap ¨C swinging the spear outward to deviate the attack. After pushing the sword off to the side using the outer trap, he pressed on the blade again with the shaft of his spear. In the blink of an eye, Alicia¡¯s sword was all the way down next to Korin¡¯s thigh. This was the Inner Trap ¨C swinging the spear inward to restrain the enemy¡¯s weapon. ¡°Huh?¡± Alicia became startled after realizing that her sword was suddenly facing the bottom, and what she saw next was the spearhead stabbing towards her. Stab ¨C a forward thrust. The combination of those three fundamental skills was what made up the most basic yet most profound counter skill of the spear ¨C the pinnacle of spearmanship. ?Six Ways of the Spear.? ?Third Style. Trap and Stab.? ¡°Kuhuk?!¡± The tip of the spear landed on her solar plexus. She blocked the attack with her aura but the power behind the stab pierced through and made her gasp for breath. ¡°Uht¡­!¡± Without even giving her the time to restabilize herself, the spear struck her sword once again. Their weapons were flung off and those weapons were each about to return to their original places when the spearman kicked her ribs with his leg. ¡°Kkuuk¡­!¡± ¡°Lack of practice from over-reliance on talent.¡± ¡°Eekk!¡± She retrieved her sword. It was faster than that of the spear due to being a shorter weapon, but what came instead was a palm that was even faster than her sword. ¡°Looks like you only relied on the sword and didn¡¯t learn anything else.¡± The aura-embedded palm strike landed a clear attack on her chest. ¨C Pang! ¡°Hhuuk¡­?!¡± Along with the same burst of air that echoed across when she was hit by the Horizontal Gust of a Tiger, Alicia flew in the air for 10 meters before landing on the ground. Consecutive attacks to the solar plexus was enough to drive normal people unconscious but Alicia immediately stood back up after rolling on the ground. ¡°Kuhu¡­¡± It was painful. That palm strike just then made the half-digested food inside her belly climb back up her throat, but it was in perilous situations like this that Alicia became the most rational. ¡®I knew it. She¡¯s the type of person that shows her true colors when provoked.¡¯ While Korin was once again realizing how much of a genius she was, Alicia was also serious now that she had become ever so rational. ¡®He¡¯s strong. I have to use my strongest attack!¡¯ He wasn¡¯t an opponent she could look down on just because he was in Grade 5. His skills and combat senses had been trained to the extreme and was definitely above her own. Without closing the gap, Alicia sheathed the demon-slaying sword back into its scabbard and postured herself. It was the posture for battojutsu1 which was unique to Alicia¡¯s fighting style. ?Arden First Sword Style. Domain Severance? It was still an unpolished move, but it was one that allowed her to definitely slice anything that was next to her. ¡°¡­¡± Korin Lork observed her while holding the spear while Alicia was eager to end this fight with this one strike. ¡®I will hit you with my strongest counter-skill if you come near me!¡¯ ¡°¡­¡± The spearman deeply stared at her. For some reason, he stayed still without moving an inch for several seconds. Instead of running up, he relaxed his arms and lowered his guard. ¡°Eh?¡± This is not good¡­ The fact that she let that fluster show on the outside was a clear proof of her inexperience. While looking at the blank-minded Alicia, Korin picked up a few pebbles and grinned. ¨C Fling! The pebble came flying at her. ¡®Did he notice just by seeing that it was a counter-skill against his approach?¡¯ It was clear what these pebbles were for. He must be planning on dashing towards her as soon as she unsheathed her sword to parry the pebbles. ¡®It won¡¯t go the way you want!¡¯ Empowering her entire body with aura, she blocked the incoming pebbles. Fortunately, she was in a vastly superior advantage when it came to the total amount of aura. It should be a piece of cake to hold off against his pebbles! ¨C Bam! Slam! ¡®Hmph! This is nothing! As if I would¡­¡¯ Her superhuman eyes saw a letter engraved on the pebble. Immediately, it flared up in red. ???- Kenaz. ¡°H, huh? Magic?!¡± ¨C Hwaruk! Seeing the scorching piece of rock, she unconsciously unsheathed her sword and parried it away. Little sparks landed on her clothes but she judged that her aura would be enough to defend them. ¡°Having and not having long-ranged attacks is a big factor.¡± Several more pebbles came flying at her with the words, Hagalaz, Sowilo and Berkana engraved on them. The runes of the harsh tempest, scorching sun and birch twigs were like oil to the flames of Kenaz. ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s hott¡­!¡± She could no longer hold off against that vigorous rush of flames. Although rune magic was only as strong as an elementary-grade spell, the power created by the combination of several rune letters was on the level of a medium-grade spell. At this rate, she would be burned to death. Alicia was in a panic but still managed to react in time to the sound of something cutting through the air. ¨C Crush! Korin got in front of her while her vision was being blocked by the flames and the downward swing of his spear was as brutal as always. ¡°Kuuk¡­?!¡± Because of her fluster due to his sudden use of magic, she was late in responding to the attack and had to kneel on one of her knees. ¡®W, what should I do? M, my clothes are being scorched! What if my hair gets burned as well? Ah, I forgot my sunscreen!!¡¯ ¨C Chaak! ¡°Huh?¡± It was the sound of something being ripped off in a very clear and refreshing manner. ¡°Uhh?¡± Sitting in Korin¡¯s hand was Alicia¡¯s blue armband. ¡°Are you an idiot? How can you think about something else during a fight?¡± ¡°Ehk? Ehk? P, please have mercy¡­¡± ¡°No. Go back.¡± Tears welled up in her eyes. Footnotes: 1 the craft of drawing out the sword Batt¨­jutsu (’iµ¶Ðg, batt¨­-jutsu) (¡°the craft of drawing out the sword¡±) is an old term for iaijutsu (¾ÓºÏÐg). Batt¨­jutsu is often used interchangeably with the terms iaijutsu and batt¨­ (’iµ¶). CH 17 ? Hunting Grounds (2) ? After taking down Alicia Arden, I put the blue armband into my pocket. ¡®About this much against Grade 2, huh.¡¯ Honestly, I was only able to win because it was Alicia. The others were a bit hard for me to face because of their unique abilities. ¡®Both the Druid and the Golem User are annoying but¡­¡¯ The most difficult one to fight against among the named characters of the 1st year students was the Mercenary of Flying Swords, Dorron Warsky. Even with the 50% backup of the second line of my Precept, I would probably only have around 30% chance of winning. ¡°Hah¡­¡± But more than anything, Alicia Arden was in more of a terrible state than I expected. The greatest strengths of Alicia Arden lay in her specialty, Eyes of the Boundary, and her base stats. Eyes of the Boundary was something that would let her see through the gap in the dimension, which immediately made the user enter the ¡®Domain¡¯. Back when it was a game, the thing expressed as a ¡®Domain¡¯ was just a killing move that was described as the person attacking in a suspended world, but it was something that actually existed now that this was the real world. The Arden First Sword Style, ¡®Domain Severance¡¯, and the ¡®Void¡¯ of Six Ways of the Spear were all aiming for that same thing. In the previous iteration, I wasn¡¯t even able to reach the very depth of the Void. This was unrelated to a person¡¯s physique and their strength. It was something that could only be activated in an unimaginably transcendent realm of concentration. Aside from that, Alicia¡¯s basic skills were also very insufficient. Even though I had 3 years of extreme experiences under my belt, that still shouldn¡¯t have been enough to overwhelm her in terms of technique. That made me concerned about the boss fight against Marie, which was now less than a month away. ¡°Well¡­ Her stats are still there so she should be helpful.¡± According to the original plot, the ?Murderer of the City of Fog, John Doe?, who was also related to the first missions of the 2nd Arc, would soon be showing himself. At the end of the 1st Arc, Marie would fight against him, who infiltrated into the city, and show signs of awakening. ¡®Should I get close to Alicia and make her train for the time being?¡¯ I still hadn¡¯t fully recovered my skills from the last iteration, but I still knew what Alicia lacked. Luina Arden would soon visit the Merkarva City in search of the ?Murderer of the City of Fog?, and after meeting her and having a catalyst, that should be enough for Alicia for the time being. ¡®She¡¯s probably going to have to stay at the hospital for some time, but I guess I should help her out when she¡¯s better.¡¯ Considering how she took a eight trigram palm strike with a considerable amount of aura inside, she would probably have to stay in bed for a week. I really wasn¡¯t expecting to be that weak though. Honestly, I might have even beat her with a sword. ¡°There¡¯s a Grade 3!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let him go!¡± ¡°Y, you bastards¡­!¡± The hunting grounds were very noisy. Students were starting to understand the rules and the clever ones began to hunt in groups. Whether it be against demonic beasts or other students, a numbers game was always an effective strategy and the students were starting to understand that as intended by the Academy. It was natural that low-Graded students would unite and cooperate against their higher-Graded peers, and the group that I came across was of a similar kind. ¡°Huh? Wait. He¡¯s just Grade 5.¡± ¡°Should we get rid of him?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother. What are you gonna do with his armband? Oi, Grade 5. Do you want to go around with us?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°He can at least be a bait for us right? Oi, if you join us, I¡¯ll give you 10% of what we gain.¡± ¡°In your dreams.¡± I quickly moved the spear before they could react and hooked off their armbands. ¡°U, uht?¡± ¡°What?¡± They were flustered upon seeing their armbands hanging on the tip of my spear, but I ignored them and continued running across the forest. Two white bands from those two Grade 4 students¡­ Adding that to Alicia Arden¡¯s blue armband should equal quite a high number of points. My goal was to hit 100 points in this lesson; obtain the ¡®seed¡¯ and aim for the hidden piece. I would definitely be able to reach 100 points if I took the armband of another Grade 2 student but that was nothing easy and it was questionable if I could even come across them in the first place. In the game, you could save and load to get 100 points but that wasn¡¯t an option in the real world. My job now was to steal all the armbands of my peers! ¨C Clink! Clank! I was heading North with a bunch of thoughts filling my head when a bursting thud echoed across the forest. ¨C Claaaaank! ¨C Clang! ¨C This is unfair! The sound of clinking metal and screams filled the forest as the heat of the battle came closer and closer. ¡®Wait, why are they coming towards me?¡¯ ¨C Screeeeach! That was when something came flying in. ¡°Huhp¡­?!¡± Something was falling above my head while giving off a heavy load of pressure. This pressure¡­ I instinctively thrusted my spear! ¨C Clang! Swathing the spear with my aura, I let it collide against the falling sword as the two blades fell in a stalemate. ¡°Kuhk¡­!¡± It was heavy, as expected of the magic sword created with heavy iron which was 4 times denser than steel. Although there weren¡¯t any special traits in this sword, it definitely had a simple merit which was weight. Normally it was a magic sword used against large-type boss monsters but the fact that this sword came flying at me¡­ could only mean one thing! ¨C Clang! ¡°Hoh, you flicked the heavy iron sword away? You¡¯re quite skilled aren¡¯t you?¡± The Mercenary of Flying Swords walked closer while retrieving the magic sword. After seeing me, the man couldn¡¯t hide the slight speck of doubt that appeared in his eyes. ¡°Grade 5?¡± ¡°Damn it¡­¡± The atrocities of a battle were in full display behind the man¡¯s back. Dozens of peers were lying unconscious on the floor. Not only were there students but there were also the corpses of demonic beasts and bits of Soul Dust that were left behind by demonic spirits. All of this was something done by that one man ¨C that former mercenary who looked a lot older than his actual age. ¡°Dorron Warsky¡­¡± ¡°Being famous is sometimes quite tedious. There are too many people attacking me all the time.¡± ¨C I want to avoid unpaid fights though. Even though he had shown an overwhelming victory against dozens of students, the Mercenary of Flying Swords did not have a single wound on his body. ¡°How about you just pretend like you didn¡¯t see me?¡± ¡°Why bother?¡± His five magic swords threatened me. He was saying there was no reason why a predator should bother letting a rabbit run away. ¡°¡­This is not going according to plan.¡± Let¡¯s run away. ¨C Screeeaach! The magic swords rushed towards me through the woods. *** Alicia powerlessly walked out of the hunting grounds. ¡°Uhh¡­ To think Mr. Korin was that strong¡­¡± Was he even a Grade 5? She wondered, but what was filling her head more than that doubt was the harsh comment he gave about her that seeped through her bones. ¡ºLack of practice from over-reliance on talent.¡» Lack of practice¡­ That was the same criticism as the one she received very often back home. ¡°I don¡¯t even plan on going down the path of swords though.¡± Even though she was gifted, Alicia had no serious plans on becoming her grandpa¡¯s successor. She had been doing it because it was cool and was a good exercise. And more than anything, it¡¯s because she wanted to be praised by her older sister from a different mother¡­ ¡ºWe can¡¯t stop the blood!¡» ¡ºThe weapons were made non-lethal. How is that even possible!!¡» That day was when everything changed for her. The day of her first spar had changed everything in her life. And that was also when she grabbed the attention of her grandfather and became a successor candidate. ¡ºLooks like you only relied on the sword and didn¡¯t learn anything else.¡» However, she still felt pain after receiving such criticism. ¡°¡­I must have looked pathetic.¡± Would her benefactor have criticized her the same way? Thinking about it like that made her lethargic. ¡°He was strong,¡± Alicia murmured to herself while thinking about Korin Lork. She had never seen such a sharp spear before. How much sweat and blood must have gone into it to perfect his skills to that level? From the fundamental skills of a spear to his experience that let him overcome the weakness of a spear and his perfect skills¡­ He reminded her of her older sister. She found herself laughable for being self-conceited for being called a genius and not working hard. ¡°Should I¡­ try a little harder?¡± Alicia decided to practice her sword more after going back instead of being satisfied by others calling her a genius. ¡°He gave me pieces of information, candies¡­ and also gave advice¡­¡± His face was quite wild and his muscles¡­ She recalled Korin¡¯s appearance one by one, and that was when something caught her attention. ¡°Uhh, that belt¡­¡± Wasn¡¯t it the same one as the one her benefactor was wearing? ¡°Student Alicia Arden!¡± The voice of an old professor helped her leave her world of imaginations. ¡°Ah, yes¡­!¡± ¡°Ms. Arden. You¡¯re going the wrong way.¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the habitat of Grade 3 demonic beasts.¡± ¡°What? Really?¡± ¡°The entrance is on the other side. Go that way. And don¡¯t lose the way this time.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Yes¡­¡± Hiding the blush in her cheeks, Alicia dashed through the forest. She was buried in embarrassment and soon completely dismissed the thoughts about belts. **** Mercenary of Flying Swords, Dorron Warsky was a veteran mercenary. He had been a part of a group of mercenaries ever since a young age, and was a veteran who defeated countless demonic beasts and spirits. The official acquisition of a Grade 2 guardian certificate which he got even before the admission was the proof of his incredible experiences. ¡°How fascinating.¡± Dorron muttered while observing the crushed trees and the new vacant plot of land that replaced the previous lush forest. Old and tough trees that had been growing for centuries were torn apart like pieces of paper, and the magic swords of flame and lightning had left behind traces of a catastrophe. But this was far from what Dorron was capable of. ¡®He dealt with the swords before I could even use them properly.¡¯ The core of the flame sword had been penetrated before its output could be raised to the maximum, and the lightning spiritual sword was buried so deep underground that Dorron couldn¡¯t take it out even with his specialty, telekinesis. Plus, the magnetic iron sword which worked well with magic circles of acceleration had their weak point exploited, and the formula had been broken. ¡°Who is he? It was as if he knew about the abilities of all my swords and my specialty.¡± More than anything, he was very experienced. Putting outside how he knew about his abilities, he was proficient at efficiently dealing with the problem. Dorron was startled by him targeting the swords but from what he felt during their collision, his physical strength itself wasn¡¯t that great. He was barely on the level of a Grade 3 Knight, and would probably have to be considered a Grade 4 Knight. But that alone proved that the grading test had given a terribly wrong result of a Grade 5 Knight to Korin. Dorron also couldn¡¯t guess how such a powerhouse had stayed under the radar for so long. ¡®That¡¯s a lot of money gone. I have to give up on this practical lesson.¡¯ Three of his five magic swords were broken. He would be able to repair them quickly as long as he had the materials but it would also take a whole load of his precious time for those materials to arrive. **** ¡°That almost killed me!¡± I was quite fortunate to avoid being disqualified in the fight against Dorron. The helping factor was that I remembered all the traits of his magic swords and those magic formulae in the previous iteration and the game. ¡®If I didn¡¯t successfully neutralize the tedious flame sword and the lightning spiritual sword at the start of the battle, it would have been over.¡¯ Dorron Warsky was one of the core party members alongside Alicia Arden for the player at the start of the game. He was very versatile unlike the Druid who depended on terrain and the Golem User who had a clear limit when it came to interpersonal fights before being trained at it. Besides, his various elemental-attributed magic swords were excellent at dishing out a lot of elemental damage so he was the strongest ally character that could be used until the end. The only downside was that he cost a lot of money because of his character¡¯s personality traits, ?Miser? and ?Employee?, but he was even better than Alicia in terms of strength. ¡°Kuhg¡­¡± Magnetic iron sword¡­ The wound created by his super acceleration sword which was accelerated by his proud magic formula was still screaming in pain. Even though it definitely had become a non-lethal weapon thanks to magic, my shoulder was ripped out just by coming into contact with it. But it was okay because the wound was already starting to close. ¡®?Regeneration of the Tenacious Warrior?. It¡¯s working nicely.¡¯ It was the specialty that greatly increased the regeneration ability when the HP went below a certain threshold during a fight. Instead of something as simple as regeneration, it was similar to a regression and a perfect restoration of the body. ¡°Huhu. That¡¯s what you get for taking my shoulder!¡± Three of his magic swords were broken. We were still at the start of the main story line, so those swords were made using Grade 3 demonic stones and were relatively cheap. Because they weren¡¯t specially-crafted swords by a proper Grade 1 blacksmith, the joints and the fusion of the formula and the sword were still quite weak. It will cost quite a lot of money to repair that. ¨C Ruuuumble!! That was when the forest quaked. Water droplets dispersed in all directions and even managed to reach me, which was ridiculous considering how far I was. There was only one person in this Merkarva Academy who would use such a high level water-attributed spell in the forest. ¡°Marie?¡± It was northeast of where I was, and was probably near the final destination of this practical lesson, the shed. The only person capable of pushing Marie to this level could only be one of the named freshmen characters; either Yuel the Druid or the Golem User, Kranel Luden. Kranel would probably last about a minute and Yuel the Druid¡­ might actually be able to fight back a fair bit considering the overwhelming advantage of being in a forest. ¡°Maybe she would last about 3 minutes?¡± But even with the environment in consideration, the fight wasn¡¯t a favorable one for her. Her opponent was none other than the strongest student of the 2nd year students; a genius that rivaled Lady Josephine, the strongest mage out of the named characters of Merkarva Academy. ¨C Rumble! Ruuumble! Ruuuumble!! The exploding noises of amplification spells and alchemic formula made the forest let out a shrieking yell. Knights who had been quarreling with blades until now would be dumbfounded at the sight of something so supernatural, and the ones that were going down the same path of magic might despair at the face of an overwhelming talent. ¡®Scrap that. It would be great if she could last 2 minutes.¡¯ That was Marie Dunareff ¨C the child beloved by magic who fell from grace due to an unwanted awakening. She was the final boss of the 1st Arc who I had to beat after a month¡¯s time. ¡°Ugh¡­ Let¡¯s not even go near that place.¡± I decided to go the long way around. Being disqualified due to being caught up in that fight would be the most disheartening thing to experience. CH 18 ? Hunting Grounds (3) ? Marie hopped across the dense forest as if she was out on a walk. Her feet that were as energetic as a freshman of the Academy led her forward to a place that had actual freshmen students lying down on the ground. ¡°Ughh¡­¡± ¡°M, my back¡­¡± ¡°Are you alright? Are your wounds serious?¡± She was just asking as a matter of formality and received a response that was in the scope of her imagination. ¡°I¡¯m alright¡­¡± The student sounded discouraged more than anything. It seemed that she hadn¡¯t been expecting the gap between themselves to be so big. The genius mage, Marie Dunareff ¨C the official rank of Grade 1 that she received wasn¡¯t for show. ¡°I¡¯ll let you off this time so good luck!¡± ¡°Uhk¡­ Alright.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good! I also had to push myself like you guys last year! You¡¯ll be able to do better next time!¡± Without taking the armband of the disheartened freshman, she caressed her head and turned around. ¡°How is this possible with only low-grade spells¡­¡± Lying down next to the astonished freshman were 10 of her peers. ¡°Hmm~. I like how all the freshmen are brave! But¡­¡± There¡¯s no-one like him yet. Marie cheeks flushed while thinking about the impressive freshman boy. If it was him, he probably would have continued fighting without giving up. ¡°That would be troublesome~. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be easy to stop him.¡± Would she be able to come across that boy in this practical lesson? The odds weren¡¯t that high but if she did manage to see him¡­ The imagination alone made her heart palpitate. ¨C Rustle! That was when tree branches shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Marie¡¯s wrists and ankles. ¡°You let your guard down!¡± The owner of the voice was a girl with refreshing green hair. She pointed an antique staff, that appeared like the entanglement of tree branches, at Marie. ¡°O spirits of the forest. Lend me your aid!¡± Small fragments of light emerged following her request. They were the natural-born spirits that existed in the vast woods of the hunting grounds. Seeing them appear voluntarily without any contract, Marie gave a smile. ¡°So you are that druid freshman, right?¡± She was able to stealthily move tree branches outside of Marie¡¯s perception and a single request from her immediately called the lofty spirits of the forest. A druid had the blessings of the forest. It was definitely not an overstatement to say that this was a part of her territory. ¡°You should surrender. You can¡¯t beat me in the forest.¡± Marie understood where her confidence was coming from seeing the dozens of spirits that were surrounding her. Druids were born with natural affinity to spirits. It was because their hearts weren¡¯t tainted by worldly matters and were instead tinged by nature. She was a strong spiritual elementalist who could easily receive the help of the elementals and spirits in the forest without even forging a contract. Besides, the overwhelming vitality of the forest was also a source of power for druids. ¡°I¡¯m Marie. Marie Dunareff. What is your name, hoobae-nim?¡± ¡°¡­ Yuel. I am Yuel of the Avelorn Forest.¡± ¡°Nn. Unfortunately, Yuel, I have my pride as a senior and can¡¯t surrender.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t sound persuasive with your limbs restricted.¡± ¡°You mean this?¡± Seeing the branches tightened around her wrists and ankles, Marie floated a relaxed smile before flexing her limbs. ¨C Crack! Crackk! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, tree.¡± As soon as Marie used her power, the branches were ripped apart like paper. Yuel blinked her eyes on repeat in a fluster, seeing how easy it was for her to break out of the restraint. ¡°H, how could that be!¡± ¡°Nn~. You see, I¡¯m the oldest daughter of a family of farmers! I¡¯m confident in my strength!¡± ¨C I even received a bull after winning in an arm wrestle tournament! ¡°That¡¯s clearly not at the level of a normal farmer!¡± Although Yuel had been mobilizing only a small number of branches to hide from her sight, a mage breaking out of it with her sheer power¡­ was dumbfounding, but Yuel still believed that she was in the advantage. ¡°You know about the attributes of forest spirits, right? They are on a definite advantage against you, sunbae-nim, who uses water-attributed spells.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see~ if that really is the case.¡± ¨C Pababang! Balls of water immediately came flying at Yuel. They were low-grade spells and weren¡¯t lethal but they were enough to physically neutralize other people. ¡°O spirits.¡± Yuel communicated with the spirits by using nothing but her voice and asked for their help. The forest spirits immediately moved the ancient trees, which were like their bodies, and formed a wall of tree branches that blocked the balls of water. ¡°Hmm~.¡± The drenched branches soon returned to earth. In retaliation against Marie¡¯s sudden attack, Yuel processed her evergreen mana. ¡°Bloom, o life.¡± A large flower bud appeared from the ground, but when it blossomed, what appeared weren¡¯t beautiful petals but the hideous forms of carnivorous plants. ¡°Uehk¡­¡± Marie marveled at how unsightly it was but did not turn her eyes away from it. ¡®It¡¯s not a plant of this forest. That means it¡¯s not an actual plant that she grew with mana.¡¯ They were pure magic forms of life that were created from magic. It was when she came to that conclusion ¨C those carnivorous plants that were born to devour something shot their heads towards her. ¨C Hiss hiss! ¨C Hiss hiss! The carnivorous plants opened and closed their horrifying teeth while threatening to swallow the air alongside her. Marie raised her spear in response and used Water Bullets to shoot them down. ¨C Hiss hiss! It resulted in a frontal collision between the Water Bullets and the carnivorous plants. The physical power of Water Bullets should be more than enough to easily deal with those plants ¨C that was what Marie thought, but things went in the opposite direction. ¨C Splash! ¡°Nn?¡± Even after being hit by the bullets, the carnivorous plants did not sway a single step and instead turned bigger. ¡®Ahah~. So they eat mana huh?¡¯ ¨C Click! Marie clicked her fingers in the air as a water bubble appeared out of the air before rapidly turning bigger. It was roughly about as big as a Water Bullet but the amount of mana inside it was on a whole different league. ¡°Water Bomb.¡± ¨C Boom! The Water Bomb exploded in the air. It swallowed the approaching carnivorous plants with its aftershock and flung them away. ¡°Tch¡­!¡± She was clever and had quick judgment. It was as expected of a Grade 1 mage. It was a required skill of a battle mage to analyze the opponents¡¯ actions and decipher the enemy¡¯s magic formula to retaliate in time. And Marie was someone who received Grade 1 as a battle mage. ¡®But I¡¯m still at an advantage in the forest. There is no way I can lose in this place!¡¯ Yuel tapped the ground with her staff and linked herself with the earth below. Now, the trees of the forest that were on her side as well as the ground beneath would move according to her will. ¡°It¡¯s completely drenched, isn¡¯t it? All the way underground?¡± ¡°Sorry¡­?¡± It was then. ?Combination Spell: Frost? ¨C Chaaaakk! In an instant, flowers of snow bloomed all across with Marie at the center. The carnivorous plants which had been pushed away with the Water Bomb were completely frozen. Everything which had been splattered with water was covered in ice. In other words¡­ ¨C Ruuumble! Suddenly, the earth soared up as specks of dirt bounced off and juddered as if everything expanded out of nowhere. ¡°Huh?¡± The tree branches underground did not heed to Yuel¡¯s link. It was the first time this had happened and she was thus greatly flustered. ¡°The branches underneath were wet, right? I froze them.¡± ¡°H, how is this¡­¡± ¡°You can¡¯t limit a mage¡¯s ability to their main attribute. Remember there are combination spells in elemental magic.¡± Marie Dunareff¡¯s specialty in magic was everything including the water attribute. Freezing the molecules of water that appeared from her spell was one of the combination spells she had. The tree branches that had been wetted with the Water Bomb had gone back down, and that was why they froze underground. ¡°Not yet¡­! I still have spirits with me!¡± As Yuel said, the spirits of the forest were still in a normal state. They seemed infuriated by the disrespectful one who suddenly froze the ground. ¡°Sorry. But I think I¡¯ll have to say sorry one more time. You see, I¡¯m going to explode a Water Bomb.¡± ¡°A Water Bomb? Something at that level won¡¯t¡­¡± In the middle of her words, Yuel unconsciously turned to Marie¡¯s staff. She realized that the amount of mana embedded inside was extraordinary, upon noticing that it was heading to the air and turned her gaze to the sky. ¡°Ah¡­¡± A great blob of water was being boiled on top. Water Bomb. It was a low-grade spell that exploded a blob of water with the heat of magic to scatter into the surroundings. It was as strong as a shock wave at best, and breaking a small tree would be considered a remarkable feat. Even though it shouldn¡¯t be anything great as a low-grade spell¡­ ¡°Water Bomb.¡± ¨C Kwaaaaannngg!! What fell from the sky was a large bomb of water. It was ridiculously enormous and it became a large bomb that covered the entire region. ¡°S, spirits!¡± Heeding the desperate call of the druid, the spirits began to move. They also turned deathly pale as they moved the ancient trees of the forest to protect Yuel, but¡­ ¡°Booom~¡± ¨C Ruuuuumble!! It was nothing but a futile resistance to an overwhelming natural disaster. **** The forest looked as if had been bombarded by bombers. The large Water Bomb that destroyed a part of the hunting grounds was the sign that marked Marie¡¯s one-sided victory. Even though the seniors of this prac lesson weren¡¯t allowed to use medium-grade spells excluding barriers for self-defense, her spell was still overwhelming and that was thanks to her specialty. ?Mana Amplification? This overpowered specialty that allowed its user to increase the output of a spell, which was supposed to have a clear limit depending on the formula, was an ability that was definitely fitting of a boss character. She was a Unique Grade boss who was meant to be defeated as a whole party. There was probably only one person among the freshmen students who could have a frontal fight against Marie Dunareff. ¡°A, ahht¡­! A, are you alright? Sorry! Yuel, you were too strong so I unknowingly put too much power into my attack¡­! Are you alright?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Yuel gave a dejected sigh while looking at her restless Senior. This girl with water-color hair was amiable to everyone with an easy-going and a warm smile. She was a docile girl who loved peace with no animosity against other people. However, hidden behind her face was the horrifying ability of a Grade 1 battle mage. This girl was probably an innately adorable and gentle person, and a kind-hearted girl who was always nice and generous to everyone. Even in the small society of a druid¡¯s tribe, there were those that were able to form thicker bonds with other people. These people were nice and formed great relationships with others, but were ruthless when it came to doing the necessary actions. ¡°Uhhk¡­¡± ¡°A, are your bones alright? Do you want me to put some saliva on?¡± ¡°How would that¡­ even help?¡± ¡°K, kuhum¡­ But you know, guardians are meant to get injured as they grow! I also fell down when I was watering the plants on a wyvern and broke my legs¡ª-¡± Was this mysterious toughness an environmental buff that was applied to the children of farmers? Yuel had no clue. This world was full of suffering and both the city and the farm were too difficult for her. Until she was taken outside by the rescue team that was here to escort the injured students, Yuel had to receive the extreme words of concern and encouragement from Marie. ¡°Hmm¡­ Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have amplified? But she wasn¡¯t an opponent I could beat with only low-grade spells and no amplification¡­¡± Marie turned her gaze in concern towards another student who had been staring at her for a long time. ¡°Hello? I¡¯m Marie. What is your name?¡± Her golden eyes clashed with a crimson gaze. **** Right in front of the shed which was the final destination, standing there to stop any intruders was a large golem. ¡°¡­Sorry but the 1st place goes to me.¡± Named character of freshmen, Golem User Kranel Luden. He was one of the starting party members that were available aside from Hua Ran. He was standing in front of the shed, stopping every incoming student. ¡°Haa¡­ Is today like a special day or something? Why am I seeing all the Grade 2s?¡± ¡®Judging from how fast he came here, did he make like a golem horse to rush all the way here? To steal from other students in front of the shed?¡¯ Although defeating Alicia was part of my plan, it definitely wasn¡¯t my goal to meet Kranel after Dorron. I was facing 3 out of the 4 named characters in just one day. This scenario which would be hard to see in the game even with an infinite number of saves and loads was happening in front of my eyes. ¡°You have a lot of armbands don¡¯t you? I¡¯ll be first if I take all that¡­¡± ¡°In your dreams, buddy. You¡¯re the easiest after Alicia from Grade 2, alright? Watch me break your favorite golem.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ Golem. It was a formula for siege warfare that had been inherited down from the ancient times. Using the formula of the user with the golem core at the center, one could create the large siege weapon. As long as there was enough material and mana, it would always be strong enough to break through castle walls so humans had been using golems for a very long time. The fact that they were classified as siege weapons proved their strength, but that also implied a critical downside. Due to being huge, they were really, really slow. ¨C Bang! ¡°Kuahk¡­!¡± Unable to retain its form, the golem crumbled down as Kranel fell with it. Walking past the remains of the destroyed golem, I pointed the spear at his neck. ¡°Golems are nothing but big targets for small and strong weapons like people. If I were you, I would have looked for a friend to protect me.¡± ¡°¡­I have none.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I have¡­ no friends.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s¡­ sorry.¡± ¡°Kuhk¡­¡± Kranel let out an agonized groan as if his shoulder was dislocated when falling down from the crumbled golem. ¡°Stay still.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¨C Creak! ¡°Kuhik¡­?!¡± I relocated his shoulder as a scream left his mouth. The intelligent mages weren¡¯t used to pain as much, so it was something that couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°With this, I will be the overwhelming victor.¡± ¡°You¡­!¡± While relocating his shoulder, I also took his armband as well as a bunch of green and white armbands. ¡°Huhu. By the way, the armbands that you¡¯ve earned until now will still be your points, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to buy a few potions and stuff.¡± ¡°Uhhg¡­¡± Including Kranel¡¯s armband, I had 117 points in total! It was an absurdly large amount of points! It was the first time I had acquired such a large number of points even when I was repeating this lesson in the game. Was the goddess of fortune smiling on me today or something? Leaving behind Kranel, I headed to the shed. It was time to receive my due rewards. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡ºResults of the Hunting Grounds¡» Grade 2 Knight, Alicia Arden, injured. Grade 2 Knight, Dorron Warsky, weakened. Grade 2 Mage, Yuel the Druid, injured. Grade 2 Mage, Kranel Luden, golem core lost. 2 out of the 4 named freshmen characters were unable to fight due to their injuries, and the remaining two were heavily weakened. Aside from that was the crash between boss characters which shouldn¡¯t have happened in the original scenario. No-one knew what outcome this would lead to. But¡ª ¡°Lucky me!¡± There was no doubt that the things henceforth were due to Korin¡¯s own faults. CH 19 ? Hunting Grounds (4) ? A virtuous-looking old man welcomed me inside the shed. ¡°Ohh~. I was wondering why it was so boisterous outside but it seems like we have a guest already.¡± The keeper of the forest maintaining this place, Mr. Harris walked up while stroking his lumpy beard. ¡°I¡¯m Korin Lork, sir.¡± ¡°Student Korin Lork. Hmm. Two blue armbands! That is¡­ quite impressive.¡± ¡°I was just lucky.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see. Your score is¡­ 117 points! Astounding! It¡¯s my first time seeing such a number.¡± That was a natural result considering how I defeated two of the Grade 2 students who gave the most points in the forest, and thoroughly ran away from the 2nd year seniors. ¡°Can I choose my rewards now?¡± ¡°Of course. You can choose anything as long as you have enough points.¡± ¡°Huhaha¡­¡± Mr. Harris guided me to the items that were hanging on the wall of the shed. There were items like the fang knife of a Mat Boar and a Grade 3 leather protective coat, but the real deal here was the Shark Bear¡¯s bile1. ?Ursa!? Even though you had to use 50 points for it, it increased strength by 20 points and gave you a skill called the Leather of a Shark Bear which made your skin more tenacious. But that wasn¡¯t what I was after. ¡°Hohh?¡± Mr. Harris was impressed by my choice ¨C the small inconspicuous seed that was at the very corner of the displayed items. ¡°You have great eyes, don¡¯t you? Definitely wasn¡¯t thinking you would go straight for the Seed of a Mandrake.¡± This seed was the reason why old-timers of the game aimed for 100 points no matter what. ?Seed of a Mandrake? Mandrake was a powerful elixir that could significantly empower the low-leveled player in the beginning. But that wasn¡¯t the end. Without cultivating this immediately, I could go to the ¡®lake¡¯ at the outskirts of the hunting grounds and obtain a unique hidden piece. ¡®There are a lot of people today so let¡¯s sneak into this forest tomorrow.¡¯ ¡°17 points left¡­ Hmm. Please give me this and this one here.¡± I said while pointing at a plant nutrient that was worth 6 points and an earplug which cost 10 points. The nutrient was for the growth of the Mandrake and if I were to dump this on the flowerpot along with the seed, it could notably reduce the time it takes to fully grow from 1 year. The earplug was made with the fur of the Northern Silver Fox and could pacify the intensity of the scream of the Mandrake, which was strong enough to kill a person. With this, I had pretty much achieved my overall goal of this prac lesson. In the previous iteration, we had relied on all sorts of magic barriers and tools, but it was something I had to do alone, now that Park Sihu wasn¡¯t here. ¡®That is one heck of a shopping trip.¡¯ I left the shed and found Kranel Luden looking for the broken core amidst the remains of the golem. ¡°Do you want me to help you?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°You should just say, ¡®Thank you,¡¯ in times like this, buddy.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The wood golem that was created by absorbing the dirt and trees of the forest was insanely big so finding the core was quite a daunting task. But the core had to be found to repair it or something, so we couldn¡¯t leave it behind either. We were searching through the remains for a long time and barely discovered it when more students arrived from a distance. ¡°Uah¡­! We¡¯re finally here!¡± ¡°Huuk¡­ Huuk¡­!¡± Unexpected people came in 2nd and 3rd place. There was Jaeger carrying a large mace, and Lark, who was panting while carrying a heavy hardcover spell book. ¡°Wait¡­ Korin. How come you¡¯re here already?¡± ¡°Are we, late¡­? Huuk¡­ The seniors are just too cruel¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m 1st place. You guys are 2nd and 3rd.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two of them turned to each other, before hurriedly dashing towards the shed without sharing another word. Naturally, Jaeger was a lot faster than Lark as a knight. ¡°Wahaha! 19 points!¡± Jaeger left the shed with a stretch. He seemed to have defeated quite a lot of Grade 3s and Grade 4s. ¡°What about Lark?¡± ¡°15 points.¡± ¡°Were you two working together?¡± ¡°Yeah. He summoned a ghost knight or something, and was good at controlling it. By the way, how did you reach here so quickly?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? Anyway, you wanna go to the training rooms today?¡± ¡°Sure. What about you, Kranel?¡± I shifted the conversation to Kranel. ¡°¡­¡­Huh? Me?¡± ¡°This must be fate in its own way. It would be nice for us to have some food together and go sweating afterwards.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ Sure.¡± In the previous iteration, I used to cooperate with Kranel Luden quite often. Even though I called him weak, that was only when it came to interpersonal fights. Against big demonic beasts, his golem was the best tanker / damage dealer with no room for doubt. ¡°Let¡¯s have kimchi udon today and not¡­¡± ¨C Ruuumble! That was when the forest jolted. ¡°Damn¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s fancy¡­ Is it the other Grade 2s?¡± ¡°¡­¡­That can¡¯t be.¡± Unlike Jaeger and the other freshmen, I denied that possibility. Three out of the named freshmen characters were unable to fight because of me. Alicia Arden, Dorron Warsky and Kranel Luden were all incapable of fighting anymore so the only one left behind should be Yuel, but she should have lost to Marie a long time ago. There was no way that the current Yuel could last more than 3 minutes against Marie. ¡®Marie isn¡¯t the type to waste her power against students lower than Grade 3 though¡­¡¯ Were there dozens running in at once or something? But if it was that, she could have just amplified the strength of her low-grade spells a little bit¡­ It was then. An enormous wall of ice soared into the air while destroying a part of the forest. It was Marie¡¯s Combination Spell, Frost¡­ that was at the level of a high-grade. ¡°The demonic beasts are running away¡­¡± ¡®What?¡¯ Demonic beasts had no fear. Strength wasn¡¯t the thing that was important when inducing anything similar to fear ¨C one had to have a similar demonic nature to them. No matter how strong a human was, they would recklessly run in. ¡°¡­¡± Marie was forced to use the high-grade spell ?Frost Combination ¨C Multi-Shield? and the demonic beasts were running away. For something like this to occur¡­ ¡°D, don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± A tremendous amount of force was roaring in the skies. The outburst of evil aura and signs of destruction were displaying their significance. **** Marie Dunareff was a genius. Born as the first child of a family of farmers, she walked the path of magic and was praised as a genius by everyone around her. This innocent and lively girl of the countryside had been walking up an easy slope that was far from the likes of frustration, failure and despair. This did not change even after she entered the guardian academy. She was innately gifted at interpreting formulae, and was blessed with mana. After learning 1 thing, her mind could comprehend 10 things of a similar kind and she was referred to as the successor of the history¡¯s greatest mage, Senior Professor Josephine. That was why the thing in front of her eyes was ¡®fear¡¯ that denied everything about her from the core. ¡°Huuk¡­ huuk¡­!¡± The tear next to her neck was scorching in pain and an unreal amount of pain was stopping her brain from functioning properly. ¡®I¡­ I have to analyze¡­¡¯ But¡­ What could she even do after an analysis? She saw it with her eyes and felt it with her skin, but her brain refused to admit it. Thin and slender fingers of the opponent were like the poisonous claws of a god-slayer that ripped through her dimension. The red lips and white teeth of the opponent were cracked open like that of a rabid dog, and her blood-stained gaze was scarlet like it was drenched in the blood of her heart. And the white skin that appeared as soft as finely-ground flour was ridiculously thick enough to ignore an explosion of mana. She wasn¡¯t using aura to protect her body nor were her claws sharpened thanks to a specialty. It was just an overwhelmingly strong physique that was in a whole different league. It was a disaster created by the combination of an Unbreakable Vajra Body and an abundance of demonic aura that was so dense that it could rip through adamantium. ¡°No. L, low-grade spells won¡¯t work¡­!¡± To the point that she had to ignore the warning words of the Senior Professor that she couldn¡¯t use offensive spells above medium-grade¡­ Marie was pushed into a corner. She had already broken the rules by using multiple high-grade defensive spells¡­ but that still didn¡¯t allow her to stop the devil. ¨C Kwang! ¡°Kyaa¡­!¡± The fragments of the shattered barrier struck her small body along with a shockwave. ¨C Kung! Her body crashed into a large tree. It was unknown whether it was a nosebleed or from the wound on her neck, but warm blood was dripping from her head. She was scared. Her eyes were dizzy and everything felt vacant as if the world had come to a stop. The noise that had been ringing her cochlea was no longer there, and the chaotic scene of the forest around her failed to even enter her sight. ¨C Grrr¡­! The beast approached her. ¡°D, don¡¯t come¡­¡± It was neither a knight nor a mage, but a personification of ¡®violence¡¯. It was a natural disaster suppressed into the shape of a human and Marie soon came to the judgment that defensive spells won¡¯t be enough to save her. ¡°Don¡¯t come here¡­!¡± ?Frost Combination ¨C Snow¡ª? ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± In that pressing moment, what stopped the two of them was the sharp voice of the Senior Professor. ¡°Stop there. Hua Ran.¡± Ah, I¡¯m alive. I didn¡¯t die. Immediately after realizing that, Marie felt relieved as her consciousness quickly faded away. **** The practical lesson at the hunting grounds produced a very unexpected result. First of all was that a Grade 5 student like me had come 1st place with the most number of points, and the other notable event was the fight between the strongest freshman Hua Ran, and the strongest 2nd year student, Marie Dunareff. A battle between two Grade 1s. Everyone inside the hunting grounds had seen the aftermath of their battle, but would anyone even guess that they hadn¡¯t been using their full strength? Would they even possibly dare imagine that those two people, who were currently considered Grade 1, would eventually become lofty existences of the Unique Grade? ¡®For now, it¡¯s Hua Ran¡¯s victory I guess.¡¯ Hua Ran, with her abilities sealed due to the restrictions, was an oppressed beast. Even though her original form was currently sleeping, her innate nature was that of a demonic beast, and stimulating her too much would end up awakening a Unique Grade monster. That was why the fight between Marie and Hua Ran was not a good sign. It was something that ignited the fuse of the time bomb called Heavenly Yaksha. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°A freshman?¡± In the corridor in front of the sick bay, I was stopped by a few of the senior students that were restlessly walking around. ¡°I¡¯m a freshman, Korin Lork. I came to visit Senior Marie.¡± Seeing the candies and the bouquet of flowers in my hands, Marie¡¯s peers took a step back. Soon, a girl with brown bob-hair, who if I recall correctly was Marie¡¯s friend and the first victim¡­ Isabelle received the bouquet of flowers. ¡°Sigh¡­ She needs to rest for now. Apparently it¡¯s only the doctor and the Senior Professor that can go inside. I will hold onto it for you so don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Thank you. Please say hello to Senior Marie for me.¡± Leaving behind Isabelle and the 2nd year students, I walked out of the building. The catalyst for Marie to awaken into being a Unique Grade was the encounter with the Murderer of the City of Fog, John Doe, which would be happening in a month. I wasn¡¯t sure how the demonic molecules were working inside Marie¡¯s body, but there was still a lot of time. As long as I increased my stats through the weekend missions and received the help of the freshmen lads, it should definitely be possible. There was no need to hit the last Phase 4, and as long as we could go up to the 3rd phase, my current arrangements should be enough. ¡®It will be manageable as long as we go according to the main scenario. I can solve it even without the player.¡¯ The reason I bothered showing off my power to the Grade 2 named characters was also partially because of this, because there was no way they would help if a Grade 5 weakling suddenly came up to them and proposed a cooperation. Their first show of interest in the player is when the player displays their innate talents and strength. Thus, this practical lesson was like my self-introduction telling the Grade 2 students that I wasn¡¯t someone to be ignored. ¡®One more week and the named characters should be back to themselves. That¡¯s when I¡¯ll make an offer about forming a party.¡¯ The final boss of the 1st Arc of ?Heroic Legends of Arhan?, ¡®Unique Grade Vampire, Marie Dunareff¡¯. While hoping that her story would not end in misfortune this time, I walked across the paved roads of the Academy. **** Owls were crying at dusk when Marie opened her eyes. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Beneath the familiar ceiling, Marie raised her body in the dark sick bay. ¡°Nnn¡­ Marie?¡± Isabelle, who was leaning on the bed in sleep, woke up with a rustle. When she realized that her friend had woken up, she immediately raised her voice. ¡°Marie! Are you okay? Is your neck alright?¡± Without paying any attention to her disheveled hair, Isabelle observed Marie¡¯s condition. Although most of the blood had been wiped off of her hair, there were still powders of dried blood slowly falling down, and the bandage around her shoulders still had signs of seeping blood. ¡°That freshman¡­ This is clearly too much! Even though you could only use low-grade spells¡­!¡± The infuriated girl badmouthed the freshman student who had been isolated by Senior Professor Josephine. While saying that they weren¡¯t under a fair condition, Isabelle told Marie that there was no reason for her to feel discouraged. However, without listening to any of her words, Marie slowly turned her vacant gaze to the side. Moonlight was shining through the window. The neck of her friend that was gleaming under that dreamy shed of light¨C ¡°¡­Thirsty.¡± Seemed as appealing as a ripe fruit. ¡ºFinal Boss of the 1st Arc ¨C Marie Dunareff¡» Aura Rank: Upper Medium (9,400) Mana Rank: Upper Unique (66,700) Specialty: Mana Amplification, Blood Law, Summon Familiar, Blood Realm Overall Grade: Unique Grade ¡ºMain Quest: Marie Dunareff¡» ¡ù Difficulty: S ¡ù Time Limit: Failure upon Marie Dunareff¡¯s Death ¡ù Reward: ????? We are Recruiting! ¡ºWe are looking for Korean Translators. For more details please join Genesis discord server¡ª¡» Footnotes: 1 Bile is a fluid that is made and released by the liver and stored in the gallbladde CH 20 ? Marie Dunareff (1) ? The boss characters of each of the arcs in ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? were tough foes that brought the player deeper into the immersive world. The boss of the 1st Arc, ¡®Marie Dunareff the Vampire¡¯ was a tragic character that suddenly threw one of the key aspects of this world at the player. Her sudden appearance as a boss of the final tier, Unique Grade, allowed the player to feel just how immensely strong they were, while showing off the heroic nature of the player that allowed them to overcome the problem in the end. At the same time, it displayed the fall of Marie Dunareff, who had resiliently held onto her human nature even at the face of such a tragic incident. The life at the Academy, which felt like it would be all fun and games at the start of the story suddenly turned bleak and grim in an instant, and it was through this episode that the developers showed their ¡®true colors¡¯ That was the tragedy I had to challenge myself to, now that the player wasn¡¯t here. My job was to save the girl who had faced a great misfortune and a terrible end. It was fate which even the protagonist of this world was unable to change, and that was why Park Sihu had tried to make use of this tragedy as efficiently as possible. But was this seriously an unstoppable tragedy? To be frank, that wasn¡¯t really the case. With enough preparations. And with enough faith. As long as we topped all that with good enough members, the unfortunate story of that one girl was actually one that could lead to salvation with relative ease. That was why I did not want this story to follow the original plot. I did not want her story to end in misfortune like the sequences of fate which went by the name of ¡®scenario¡¯, Like how I resisted against the player who had insisted on efficiency, monopolization and jackpot, I want a happy ending for her story. So what if I am being a little inefficient? And so what if I can¡¯t swallow everything for myself? And also, how is it a problem even if I can¡¯t hit a jackpot and have fewer benefits? Everything is fine as long as we have fewer deaths. Do we even need a reason to save people? This evening¡¯s lesson was supposed to be carried out by Lady Josephine in preparation for an external mission. It was a mandatory course of the 1st semester, where we would hear theory on practical things like camping outside and managing food, and carry out an actual external mission as a test. ¡°Dude. Did you hear that?¡± I was opening my book and preparing myself for the lesson when Jaeger came up and whispered at me. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°You know Hua Ran. That demonic bitch.¡± ¡°¡­¡± It was very concerning to see Jaeger say that even though Hua Ran could fold him to death using two of her fingers. However, that was the impression which was shared by everyone inside the class. Although she was wearing nun clothes of the church, anyone could tell that the chains wrapped around in talismans were there to restrict her. Why would a student be wearing restrictive clothing? That naturally made them see her as a demon. ¡°I heard she was locked in isolation.¡± ¡°Isolation, huh.¡± ¡°Yeah. Apparently there¡¯s actually a special facility in this Academy that locks dangerous demons inside¡­¡± Jaeger then continued narrating several conspiracy theories, but he wasn¡¯t completely off the mark. There really was a special facility in this Academy that was dedicated to demons. To be fair, it was more of a rectifying facility that tried to help demi-humans control their overflowing mana and violence. Aside from the fact that there was a barrier that somewhat suppressed their powers, it was just a fancy personal accommodation. Hua Ran had used more power than necessary to hurt Marie so it was natural for her to receive some level of repercussion. What I didn¡¯t understand was why Hua Ran had started moving already. ¡®She should have been quietly listening to lectures¡­¡¯ That was the same in the previous iteration and the game. She incited fear from the surroundings due to being a demon, but she didn¡¯t do anything in particular and quickly went under the radar. ¡°That¡¯s why that monster¡­¡± ¡°Calling her a monster is a bit¡­¡± ¡°Oi, aren¡¯t demi-humans practically just demons? Do you have any demons around you, Lark? Just think about how many humans they killed¡­¡± Lark chimed in and the conversation was about to turn long when a female professor wearing a loose robe walked in after opening the door. ¡°Hello everyone. I am Professor Lulara Mars from Alchemy~. Deputy Principal Josephine has other things to attend today, so I will be carrying out the lecture instead~.¡± Lady Josephine was known for not changing the schedule unless it was a serious problem. Why would someone like her skip a lesson? ¡®Is it because of Hua Ran?¡¯ Considering how Hua Ran created a big ruckus during the practical lesson, it was understandable for a special measure to be taken place. Without thinking too much of it, I glossed over the small event. **** ?Six Ways of the Spear? Fifth Style¡ª ¨C Claaaank! The deafening thud resonating across the training rooms probably gathered the eyes of other students. They would have crowded in if not for the privacy curtain. It had already been 3 days since the end of the practical lesson at the hunting grounds. For the past three days, I came straight to the training rooms after the lessons and spent all my time here. My combat strength that I tested at the hunting grounds was quite satisfactory. Even though they were still very inexperienced, I still managed to defeat Alicia Arden, a strong character, and the Golem User Kranel Luden. However, this was still far from enough. I probably had better fighting senses than Park but my stats were weaker in comparison to how he was at this point in time. ¡°Huu¡­¡± Leaving aside the level I had achieved with my spearmanship, the problem was that my body couldn¡¯t handle condensed aura. My ripped palms and the vividly protruding veins was proof. What was fortunate, at the very least, was that the wounds left behind by the recoil from the skill was already being recovered thanks to the ?Regeneration of the Tenacious Warrior?. ¡®I might actually be able to recover even if my intestines were to fall out.¡¯ Judging by the speed of the regeneration, it was probably at the level of a Grade 2 skill. But I didn¡¯t get to test it as much ¨C maybe I had to get injured on purpose just to test this out. Condensed aura that worked in alignment with Six Ways of the Spear was a skill with way too big of a risk, but the regenerative ability came in for the clutch and offsetted the risk by a lot. But still, the best choice was to obtain a body that could withstand the skill so here I was today, diligently training myself again. ¨C She still hasn¡¯t left the hospital? ¨C Yeah. Looks like she¡¯s still very sick. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The 2nd year students were looking quite strange these days. The main topic of their discussion was Marie who hasn¡¯t shown herself for 3 days ever since the incident at the hunting grounds. It was understandable on the first day, but ever since the second day, her roommate Isabelle was also unable to be spotted and no-one was allowed to visit Marie either. Naturally, it would have been hard to leave unscathed after a clash with Hua Ran but¡­ Marie was the final boss of the 1st Arc. Not being able to see the first Unique Grade boss of ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? made me quite anxious. ¡®Should I try visiting the hospital?¡¯ I was walking down the Academy campus with that thought in mind when I came across an unexpected person. ¡°Hugek¡­!¡± ¡°Nn?¡± Alicia Arden was wrapped in bandages while eating a potato croquette, and was greatly startled upon seeing my face. ¡°Why are you so surprised?¡± ¡°Mhmm¡­! Gulp! N, no? I am not surprised!¡± ¡°Have your injuries gotten better?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ Yes.¡± I didn¡¯t feel sorry or anything about causing injuries. The common courtesy in the Academy was to refrain from blaming others about wounds that were caused during lessons and practices. ¡°Are your bones fractured?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s just a few cracks. I just need to rest for a few more days.¡± ¡°Rather than blocking condensed aura with aura, the best option is to offset it using the same resonance. There is no reason to bother blocking a dense amount of power from the front.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Her eyes had a strange glint to them as she gazed at me. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Mr. Korin. Are you¡­ really a Grade 5 Knight?¡± ¡°Oh, that?¡± I showed her my student ID card and the sign that said Grade 5 Knight. ¡°See. I am a Grade 5 Knight.¡± ¡°W, what kind of Grade 5 Knight beats a Grade 2 Knight!? Are you perhaps disguising yourself?¡± ¡°No, I am definitely weaker than you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious. Here¡­!¡± I threw a sudden fist at the unbelieving Alicia. It was the fastest jab I could throw, but Alicia quickly stopped my fist with the potato croquette still in her hands. ¡°Nnn¡­?¡± ¡°See that? It was meant to be an ambush but it was easy for you to stop, right?¡± No matter how much power I put into my fist, I couldn¡¯t take it out and all I could do was sway it back and forth a few times. It was an overwhelming difference in power and even Alicia seemed surprised by it. Her eyes appeared to be saying that she hadn¡¯t expected me to be this weak. ¡°The difference between a Grade 2 Knight and a Grade 5 Knight is like that of heaven and the earth. You are stronger than me but¡­¡± I added a slight trick to my fist. As soon as an outburst of dense aura grazed past her palm, Alicia hurriedly retrieved her hand in a fluster. It was too late when she belatedly raised her arms back up for a guard, and my finger was already poking into her cheek. ¡°I will always be the one coming out on top.¡± ¡°Ughh¡­ Please remove your hand.¡± There was a rare sign of blazing frustration in her expression, which was something you wouldn¡¯t see often from someone as docile as her. That was to be expected, because she was a successor candidate of a renowned household of swordsmanship. No matter how low of a self-esteem she had, she would still be discontent with the gibberish from a random Grade 5 nobody. ¡°I once saw Lunia Arden fighting.¡± Lunia Arden. She was Alicia Arden¡¯s older sister from another mother, and a competitor who was aiming for the position of a successor. Alicia turned visibly gloomy the moment I mentioned her name. Yes, I know about the inferiority complex you have for Lunia Arden, and your fear. The target of your admiration and terror. The relationship of these sisters was a lot more complicated than expected. ¡°Are you¡­ my elder sister¡¯s acquaintance?¡± ¡°No. I told you I just saw her fighting from a distance.¡± We actually fought together in the same party quite often but, well¡­ that wasn¡¯t the case in this iteration so I wasn¡¯t lying. ¡°She was strong. Probably the strongest out of all the swordsmen I know.¡± It might be funny how a Grade 5 random person was giving out evaluations about a possible Unique Grade swordsman, but Alicia was quite serious when listening to me. There were many things Alicia had been hearing the whole time ¨C ¡®You are worse off than your sister¡¯, ¡®Your sister would have done it differently¡¯, ¡®Your sister used to do this when she was your age¡¯. The reason Alicia Arden gave up on having any hopes for her swordsmanship also stemmed from the difference in their ability and the constant comparison. But more than anything, there was probably also the vigilance and contempt she received as an illegitimate child. ¡°But talent-wise, you¡¯re better.¡± ¡°¡­¡­U, uun?¡± Alicia asked back while endearingly tilting her head. She then repeatedly blinked her eyes as if those words were completely outside of her expectations. ¡°I can guarantee it. Your talent in sword is superior than your sister.¡± ¡°T, that¡¯s impossible! There¡¯s¡­ there is no way I am better than elder sister!¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to you to believe it or not, but since you are at the Academy anyway, you might as well try it seriously.¡± ¡°A, are you really a Grade 5 Knight?¡± ¡°I just have a tad bit of more experience than others.¡± For 3 years, I fought against countless monsters while clearing the scenario. None of them were weaker than me and I had never been the strong one in a fight, but¡­ None of those mountain loads of powerhouses managed to beat me. **** I was about to sneak into the hunting grounds after a quick dinner, but noticed how rowdy the campus was. ¨C Have you found¡­ ¨C Nope, I¡¯ll head to the outskirts. ¡®Seriously¡­¡¯ I was very unsettled. The two people that walked by just then were Professor Deina from the Magic Department and Professor Fermack Daman from the Knight Department. They were the symbolic guardians of Merkarva Academy. Aside from them, there were also a few security guards running around and the campus was overall in a very disordered state. ¡°Did one of the experiment subjects escape or something?¡± Considering how Professor Deina, who carried out live experiments on dangerous beasts, was also here, it might be because of an escape of a demonic beast or a demonic spirit of the laboratory. It was quite rare yet frequent in Merkarva Academy. Even in the game, Marie¡¯s boss fight had taken place at the laboratory. She would move the demonic beasts of that place around as her familiars and defeating them was the 1st phase of the fight. Well, there was still a month to go though. Away from the eyes of other students and professors, I arrived at a certain lake located at the corner of the hunting grounds. Because of how far it was from the center, it wasn¡¯t managed properly and there were plenty of tall weeds nearby. I was here to meet the being that was living in this place. But first off, I had to force some water out of my eyes. ¡°U, uhhh?¡± While giving a noisy shout, I wobbled my body. My staggering hands were carrying the Seed of a Mandrake and¡­ ¡°Oh noo! I¡¯m falling!!¡± I fell down in an exaggerated manner and dropped the seed into the lake. ¡°This can¡¯t be! What should I do? Noooo! What am I supposed to do!! NOOOO!!¡± I continued screaming while sneaking a glimpse. Hitting the ground, I acted as if I was aiming for the Academy Award of Best Actor. It was definitely an amazing act but it seemed that it wasn¡¯t spicy enough yet. ¡°Nooo! The one and only seed left behind by my mother¡­! NUUOOOOOOOO¡­!¡± ¨C Bubble bubble! It¡¯s here! I forced out a few more tears when the center of the lake started to bubble as an old man appeared from inside. ¡°Hohoh. Why is it that you are weeping so much?¡± The old man appeared after being moved by my awesome act, gazed down at me with a benevolent smile. A hidden piece that could only be used once in ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? which had the narrative written by the scenario team of a Korean company¡­ It was the God of Lake. **** The Honest Woodcutter. It was a famous fairy tale in Korea and the original was from Aesop¡¯s Fables or something. It was a very famous story where the God asks, ¡®Was this what you had lost?¡¯ to the woodcutter who dropped an iron ax into the lake while showing him golden and silver axes. This God of Lake also existed in ?Heroic Legends of Arhan?, and while walking by this lake, there would be a prompt asking, ¡®Will you drop any items inside?¡¯ so it was quite common for players to chuck several items inside the lake. Because the original was about golden and silver axes, most of the players threw weapons that were below the Unique Grade but¡­ it didn¡¯t lead to any result no matter how many weapons people threw inside. But old-timers of a game weren¡¯t someone to be looked down on. They were people that did all sorts of wacky stuff that others would not even try! ¡ºI tried dropping 500 trash items into the Lake today LOL¡» There was the so-called ¡®Trashing Challenge¡¯ that began by one of the players, and among the players were brave heroes who even dropped precious items inside. And I was one of those brave heroes. ¡°Is this golden seed yours?¡± ¡°No. That golden seed isn¡¯t mine.¡± Those nerd developers must have been giggling to themselves while wondering if anyone would ever find this hidden piece. ¡°Is this silver seed yours?¡± ¡°No. That silver seed isn¡¯t mine.¡± What kind of mental retard would drop the Seed of a Mandrake which you had to exchange for strenuously hard-earned 100 points? Well, that was me! ¡°Hohoh. Then this seed must be yours.¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s correct! That definitely is my seed.¡± ¡°I see that you are an honest man who does not get greedy from seeing gold and silver. In honor of your honesty, I shall give you all 3 seeds.¡± ¡°Oh my! Thank you very much!¡± The God of Lake disappeared after giving me the three seeds. Even if you dropped more items inside, this God of Lake would not show up anymore. It was a hidden piece which could only be used once. After double-checking that the God of Lake wasn¡¯t here, I turned to the beautiful seeds on my hands. ?Yellow Golden Seed of a Mandrake? ?White Silver Seed of a Mandrake? ?Seed of a Mandrake? ¡°Huhuhu! Now this is a dupe bug!¡± Honesty is overpowered. Mandrakes forever! CH 21 ? Marie Dunareff (2) ? The Mandrake seeds that I got from the God of the Lake were sparkling like gems. The normal Seed of a Mandrake already had the effect of greatly increasing a person¡¯s mana capacity, but these yellow gold and white silver seeds had very special uses for them. That was natural considering how they were precious easter eggs which could only be obtained through this method in ?Heroic Legends of Arhan?. In the previous iteration, Park Sihu had the yellow gold one so I only took the white silver one for myself but that alone had already given me great benefits. This time, the yellow gold, white silver and the normal Mandrakes were all mine. The normal Mandrake could be shared with two or three other people after being boiled with water, but the yellow gold and the white silver were best eaten raw, and that would thus make a big difference. The only problem was that they would immediately let out a tremendously ridiculous scream when reaped but that wasn¡¯t a big deal. I headed to the dormitory with a bright smile on my face. There was roughly 3 weeks left until the D-Day of Marie awakening into a vampire. Until then, my job was to train Alicia, hire Dorron the Mercenary of Flying Swords, coax the Druid of the Avelorn Forest and befriend the Golem User, Kranel. ¡°Mhmm. Perfect!¡± It was such a perfect plan that there was no reason to add anything else! **** Four days after the practical lesson at the hunting grounds, I was walking down the corridor after a morning lesson and saw 2nd year students who had just finished their lesson. ¨C Have you seen Isabelle these days? ¨C No. Wasn¡¯t she with Marie? ¨C Apparently she¡¯s sick. Professor Josephine said there was an accident during the prac lesson. ¨C I couldn¡¯t even visit them last time I checked. ¨C Both Marie and Isabelle? Did something happen to the two of them? Their topic this time wasn¡¯t Marie, but a 2nd year student called Isabelle. I normally would have ignored their chatter but the unexpected name that reached my ears was ¡®Isabelle¡¯ out of every name possible. Isabelle Kirmin. Marie¡¯s roommate at the dormitory and the first victim of the vampire incident. She was a side character whose name wasn¡¯t even shared in the game but I knew her name thanks to my experience from the previous iteration. The girl who was discovered unconscious after having her blood sucked ¨C that same girl just happened to be at the sick bay and no visitors were allowed¡­ Was this just a coincidence? That¡¯s what my brain was telling me, but my uneasy instincts said otherwise. There wasn¡¯t enough proof. Breaking through the sick bay was the last method to rely on, and there was a place I had to go before everything. **** In a mansion located at the north of the Academy was an accommodation reserved for special students. It was officially recorded as the personal residences of the highest-achieving students of each year but currently, it was in fact dedicated for only one person. Heavenly Yaksha, Hua Ran. A Unique Grade demi-human that completely devastated the Moonlight Castle of the eastern continent. After inviting her in as a student, the Chairman had prepared this place for Hua Ran to live in by herself. It might have been an attempt to respect her style of life, but the western format of the building had also been modified to that of the east as much as possible. ¡ºPlease do not leave for the time being. As for your study, I will make the arrangements for you myself later on. ¡» It had already been 4 days since the strict witch said that to Hua Ran. The witch, who told her that there would be special personalized lessons everyday, was still not showing herself. Maybe she was extremely busy doing something. With not a single visitor coming to the house, the exaggerated noise of the turning pages of the book was the only source of sound resonating across the house inhabited by one girl. ¡°¡­Boring.¡± The story inside the book had a happy ending, but the face of the girl reading it was filled with dissatisfaction as she closed the book. Reading several books in just one day, she once again realized that she was put in a situation where she wasn¡¯t allowed to do anything. Her semi-imprisonment was because of her participation in the practical lesson. It was something that she whimsically asked for due to a simple desire of watching and observing the weak boy who had to survive in the midst of fighting students. Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t even do that either. Gazing outside the window of the second floor, she blankly stared at the tree in the garden as a rebellious spirit rose inside her. Should I climb over the fence? Even though that noisy woman asserted that she shouldn¡¯t do so, there was no reason for Hua Ran to obey her command. But at the same time, there was no reason to disobey that, so she was gazing at the fence hidden by the budding tree while hesitantly pondering by herself when¡­ ¡°Geez, there we go. Ohh, I knew it. You are here.¡± A boy that would have been mistaken as a caveman if not for his clothes landed on top of the branch. ¡°Hua Ran? We met already, didn¡¯t we? I¡¯m Korin Lork. It might be a bit sudden but I brought something because I didn¡¯t want to come empty-handed.¡± Korin Lork grinned while taking out a box of cake which was sold at the dessert store inside the Academy. Hua Ran did not have the common sense to tell whether that was a respectful action or something that warranted him being scolded as an illegal trespasser. ¡°Can you open the window for me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± She was vacantly staring at him when the boy scratched his cheeks and muttered, ¡®Maybe she can¡¯t hear me,¡¯ before glancing at the window. He then laid his foot on the windowsill and opened the window. ¡°Ah¡­¡± The boy looked like he would immediately jump into the room but suddenly changed his mind and slowly dropped the cake before returning to his branch. ¡°Entering facilities without permission is going against the rules, you see.¡± ¡°¡­I think you¡¯re already breaking them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just standing on the branch of a random tree right now.¡± While telling her that the way the action is described is more important than the action itself, Korin broadened her horizons on the ways of a delinquent. ¡°I have a question.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Hua Ran deemed that it was fine to answer his question. Due to being bored for the past four days, she had become a bit more benevolent. ¡°Has Lady Josephine ever come back in the last 4 days?¡± ¡°¡­¡± In order to ask a question like that and analyze the answer that would come back in response¡­ How many things did Korin Lork have to know about? Although young and instinctive, the clever brain of the girl formed an evaluation of Korin Lork from that one question. Asking about his objective, however, would be quite meaningless. Information was something that could have all sorts of values depending on the perspective and the context so there was no reason for Hua Ran to bother thinking about what he would infer after an enquiry about Lady Josephine¡¯s location. ¡°No. Not a single time.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± It seemed that he had collected all the necessary pieces of information. The boy turned around but soon, he turned back to her as if he remembered something and looked into her eyes. The red eyes of a ghost that people of the East had labeled as scary and ominous¡­ In front of him was a beast that was in an absolutely incomparable realm to him, but Korin¡¯s eyes stayed firm nonetheless. ¡°I¡¯ll buy you a meal next time.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Korin Lork left behind a ¡®vow¡¯ for the price of that piece of information before disappearing again into the world beyond the fence. **** Lady Josephine was nowhere to be seen and had left Hua Ran, someone who had to be monitored the most in Merkarva Academy, to her own devices. It was understandable for Chairman Eriu to be unable to supervise her all the time because of his unique circumstances, but one of the biggest powerhouses of the Academy, Lady Josephine, leaving Hua Ran alone was an unimaginable thing to do. I wasn¡¯t sure what it was, but things were going differently from the original plot. ¡®That is enough to form a doubt. But I need proof.¡¯ It was already half-certain at this point¡­ but I continued looking for proof and got one at the sick bay. ¡°Sorry. You can¡¯t visit Ms. Marie right now. And it¡¯s the same for Ms. Isabelle. Senior Professor Josephine has made it very clear that both of them need a great deal of rest.¡± At the front desk of the sick bay, I inquired if I could visit Marie and was met with a clear-cut rejection. ¡°Hmm¡­ Am I not even allowed to see her face? There is something urgent that I need to tell her.¡± ¡°My apologies. There¡¯s nothing we can do until they somewhat recover their strength. But if there is something you would like to tell them or something to give them, you can give it to us and we will make sure they get it.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I see. Please give her my regards. I will just see her later when she¡¯s back to being healthy.¡± The visit request was denied, which usually never happened unless they were critically injured. Besides, the two of them were in the same room, and that was very suspicious for it to be a coincidence. ¡°Young man. This place is out of bounds.¡± Mr. Crone from Security Team 3 was guarding the door of the room. It was possible to force my way inside, but that would antagonize the entire Academy in an instant. ¡°Ah. You¡¯re Mr. Crone from Security Team 3 right? Senior Professor Josephine sent me here.¡± ¡°Huh? Lady Josephine did? What for?¡± He wasn¡¯t particularly puzzled by me telling him that I was here under Lady Josephine¡¯s command. As expected, it seemed that Lady Josephine was the one who allocated a security guard to this place. ¡°She told me to bring you some food and a drink that you can have in the middle of your post.¡± ¡°Hoho, did she? Lady Josephine is such a great superior to have, isn¡¯t she?¡± I gave him a meat sandwich and a strawberry milk which I prepared after being turned down at the front desk. By the way, engraved on the sandwich was the rune ???- Inguz. It was a rune that wished for good fertility for a pregnant lady but a normal person eating food with this rune would have diarrhea. ¡°Kuhaak¡­!¡± I¡¯m sorry Mr. Crone. But don¡¯t you have constipation anyway? This is your chance to let everything out and be free. I waited around the corner and checked Mr. Crone dash to the bathroom before entering Marie¡¯s room. On top of the only bed of the room was someone quietly breathing in her sleep with the blanket cast over her face. While hoping that I was just over-reacting to things, I quietly walked up to lower the blanket and saw¡­ ¡°¡­¡± Isabelle Kirmin. Marie was nowhere to be seen and there was only Isabelle lying down on the bed. No. This can¡¯t be. There still should have been a month left. Isn¡¯t this way too early? I slowly lowered the gown to see her neck. There were two dotted marks on her neck that were gradually closing. That wound which appeared to have been made by sharp fangs had blood clots on top of them. **** I quickly left the room and thought to myself for a very long time. Why? How? The wound on Isabelle¡¯s neck was most definitely something left behind after having her blood sucked out. That was the place that vampires instinctively bit on when sucking blood out of humans. In turn, that meant Marie Dunareff had awakened as a vampire. I had no idea why the demonic molecules in Marie¡¯s body were aroused, because there were all sorts of potential reasons behind that in this world. Looking straight at the full moon could be a reason, and they could also be awakened from either being possessed by a demonic spirit or being artificially woken up. In this world, there was a large portion of people that had dormant demonic molecules in their bodies, and the detonation was very random. There was nothing to gain by lingering on what caused the problem. The scenario had already shifted away from the original plot, which was probably due to a butterfly effect caused by my own actions. Even though I had not a single clue on what that was! In any case, it had already happened. Nothing had been prepared so far but I still had to do something. Lady Josephine was missing. Professors and the securities were searching everywhere. Judging from those two facts that were still ongoing, it was safe to assume that Marie hadn¡¯t been discovered yet. She appeared to have run away somewhere like the previous iteration. ¡®Unlike the original plot, it¡¯s probably not the lab.¡¯ If that was the case, she would have been discovered already. ?She even sucked the blood of her own friend. And yet she was hiding in the forest crying by herself. Do you know how hard it was? Who knew that stubborn bitch would dig a hole in the forest and stay there for a whole month?? I remembered the memories of the past that were still very spooky. In the previous iteration, Park Sihu captured Marie because the blood of a high-vampire was one of the ingredients of elixir¡­ that bastard. He said Marie persisted in the forest for a whole month. Forest. In Merkarva Academy, there was only one forest. ¡°The Hunting Grounds.¡± The depths that were out of bounds for normal students ¨C that must be where Marie was. If she was hiding there, it would take some time for the other professors to find her. I had to reach her before them, do the raid and subjugate her. ¡®It¡¯s fine. As long as¡­ there is enough manpower, we can progress to the 3rd phase and it¡¯ll be fine even if we don¡¯t defeat her.¡¯ The final boss of the 1st Arc, Marie, had 4 phases in total. To achieve my goal¡­ and if my hypothesis was correct, then we wouldn¡¯t even have to get to the end of Phase 4 in order to complete the raid. What was necessary was to finish Phase 2 where Marie would join the fight and start Phase 3. Everything would be okay as long as we reached that point. Although she was a powerful boss who was perceived as a Unique Grade after her awakening as a vampire, a 5-man party with enough strength was enough to suppress her. In the first place, the method to beat the boss fight of the 1st Arc was to aim for the gap that was created whenever Marie was desperately retaliating against the instincts of a vampire. Without something like that, it would be simply impossible for the early-game player party to beat a Unique Grade demi-human who was pretty much unrivaled in terms of strength. In other words, the key question was whether the party could hold on until reaching the last phase of the boss fight. And according to my plan, there was no need to even reach the end of the fight. Phase 1 ¨C Get rid of the horde of monsters, Phase 2 ¨C Withstand the bombardment of magic and inflict some damage for advantage, And in Phase 3, we had to fight against the blood familiar that would run berserk inside the Blood Realm. After beating the familiar in Phase 3, that would go over to the final mechanic which leads to the Final Phase, and that final mechanic was the key of this fight. Even without the player, reaching the 3rd phase was nothing difficult as long as we had¡­ the 1st year named characters, but¡­???? Hold on. Alicia Arden, injured. By me. Dorron Warsky, weapons destroyed. That was also me! Kranel Luden, golem core destroyed. By me again? ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­ The named freshmen characters were all disarmed. What the heck? ¡°¡­¡­Fuck.¡± I was doomed. CH 22 ? Marie Dunareff (3) ? According to the original plot, after meeting John Doe, the ?Murderer of the City of Fog? ¨C an important character who appeared at the latter stages of the 1st Arc, Marie would attack her roommate and go berserk. In the previous iteration, we had been waiting underneath Marie and Isabelle¡¯s dormitory immediately after the event so we were able to respond in time, but Park Sihu had intentionally let go of her. The members of the previous iteration were Park Sihu, Yuel the Druid, Dorron the Mercenary, the Golem User Kranel and me. It was a 5-man party. Thanks to having hidden pieces and the game knowledge, Park Sihu and I were fully prepared and could defeat Marie even without the help of Alicia, who was a strong early-game character. But what about now? All the freshmen members were pretty much unable to fight. And the saddest part was that I was the one who caused everything. But honestly, who could have guessed that an event that was supposed to start 3 weeks later would be happening this early? There wasn¡¯t much time. I had to gather people as soon as possible. Alicia wasn¡¯t an option. Her bones were crushed because of my eight trigram palm strike, so she would have trouble even running. The Golem User Kranel was also practically non-existent because the most important golem core had been broken. The only ones that could somewhat move were Yuel the Druid and the mercenary, Dorron Warsky. I did think about Hua Ran for a second, but leaving aside whether it was even possible to persuade her or not, I wasn¡¯t confident in predicting how things would turn out if she was to join the party. If Hua Ran¡¯s restrictions were to be broken during the fight against the awakened Marie, then that would immediately lead to ¡®Game Over¡¯. Power too big to control would only be a hindrance. ¡°Hello.¡± Dorron, who was training by himself at the very corner of the training rooms, threw me a glance before minding his own business again. ¨C Shhiiik¡­! Booboom! With one glance, he manipulated the swords as they fiercely shredded the target apart. I turned to the flying swords and noticed that the three magic swords that I had destroyed were nowhere to be seen. ¡°What is it? Korin Lork.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t remember telling you my name though.¡± ¡°It is normal to remember the names of every capable person of the Academy.¡± The fight at the hunting grounds appeared to have left quite an impression. It seemed that Dorron had looked up my name in his own time. ¡°I want to hire you as a mercenary.¡± ¡°50% down payment. I can take an item as a mortgage if you don¡¯t have money.¡± That was what I was waiting for. I immediately took out the Soul Dust that I got by letting Sebancia Duke ascend in peace at the library. ¡°This¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s for the mortgage. Unique Grade Soul Dust. Not a single speck of the soul lost due to a fight. A 100% pure and perfect item.¡± ¡°May I ask what you are after, Boss?¡± Dorron changed his attitude in an instant, which was a plus considering how easy it was to talk to him. ¡°We will be looking for one person. Me, you and the other party members will have to subjugate that person without killing her.¡± ¡°And how difficult would it be?¡± ¡°Unique Grade.¡± ¡°Crazy.¡± He clicked his tongue as if that was absurd, but he didn¡¯t turn the offer down straight away. ¡°The rule for mercenaries is to not bother with hopeless battles.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re scared, you can use only the flying swords at a safe distance.¡± ¡°You see, I only have two swords left. You should know that better than anyone else.¡± Yes. I did, because I was the one who broke them. The only remaining magic swords were a normal magic sword that had no special abilities and the heavy iron sword which could only strike down from above. ¡°All you have to do is occasionally draw the eyes of the enemy and act as a sub-dps. I¡¯m not expecting anything more than that from a mercenary.¡± It was easy to form a party with Dorron Warsky. All we had to do was give him money. However, he was a mercenary. Trying to use him more than the ¡®money¡¯s worth¡¯ would always lead to a backlash. A firm line had to be drawn to make use of him. ¡°Good. The price would be 20 gold coins. If you can¡¯t pay the money¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll sell the mortgage if I have to so don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°What a nice employer to have.¡± Dorron didn¡¯t ask anything else. He didn¡¯t ask who the Unique Grade was, nor raise any doubt on where I obtained that information. He was someone who considered following the given commands without bothering about anything else. The code of mercenaries. After deciding to meet at the entrance of the hunting grounds in 2 hours time, I looked for the next target. **** Most of the locations of the NPCs in the game were fixed. It was to make sure players didn¡¯t have to go around everywhere when looking for specific NPCs, but there was a particular reason behind them in this real world. An example was the Druid of the Avelorn Forest, Yuel. She spent most of her time at the library. ¡®Papers are disgusting! Nature is the best!¡¯ Even though that was what the druids screamed out all the time, there was a reason why Yuel was always at the library filled with papers. ¡°You mean you want me to cooperate?¡± ¡°Please.¡± ¡°¡­Why should I?¡± The girl with a light green shade of hair asked an obvious question with a discontent look on her face. As someone who could read the aura of nature, she must have realized how pathetic my aura and my mana was. She must have found it laughable for someone as weak as me to suddenly ask for cooperation on defeating a Unique Grade demi-human. ¡°Ogham Alphabet.¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡°That¡¯s your traditional alphabet, right? The letters that were lost when Avelorn was burned down by demonic beasts.¡± ¡°You¡­ How did you¡­?!¡± ¡°I heard of the great fire at the Avelorn Forest a year ago, and why else would a druid from that forest suddenly come to Merkarva Academy?¡± I told her the rest was easy to deduce, and Yuel was convinced despite the uncomfortable look in her eyes. She was from the ancient tribe that detested papers for being made by cutting wood, with only one person from the generation allowed to know about the traditional alphabets. During the attack of the demonic beasts, the previous druid in charge had been killed and the alphabets that were carved on the walls were also all lost due to the fire. The reason Yuel, the Druid of the Avelorn Forest, had come to Merkarva Academy was in hopes that its Great Library with so many pieces of information would have some clues about the Ogham letters. ¡°I¡¯ve read something related to that. I can¡¯t really remember the title of that book but¡­¡± I grinned while tapping on my head. ¡°It¡¯s all in my head.¡± ¡°What a shrewd person¡­¡± Yuel frowned after understanding my words. ¡°? (Onn). I think that¡¯s enough for the proof. Right?¡± I said while writing down an Ogham letter as Yuel quickly wrote that down on her notepad with a pale face. Just by looking at how she was using a paper notepad as a druid who befriended nature, it was extremely clear how desperate she was. By the way, the book I read was called ?Exploring the Wild by the Adventurer, Vorahlmer?which was written 80 years ago. Due to introducing the culture of pagans, the Old Faith banned it as a taboo and this Great Library was thus the only place that possessed a copy of that book. In the game, it was something that was found by progressing the rapport event with Yuel, so it would take a long time for her to find it by herself. ¡°More¡­¡± Her face that was eager for more letters gave off her desperation. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be in a hurry. I¡¯ll tell you everything once this is over.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a promise.¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m not asking for much either. I¡¯ll do all the dangerous stuff myself so just support me from the back.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I left the library after making a promise with Yuel. The sub-dps and the support were all in place. The only things that now had to be done was fill up the numbers ¨C so we could stand our ground during the 1st phase. ¡°Can you say that one more time?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ I think I¡¯m hearing things.¡± The two people who loved going to the training rooms these days ¨C those owls who were slowly enticing Kranel Luden into their grasp were shocked after hearing my words. Grade 3 Knight, Jaeger Hinzpeter. Grade 5 Mage, Lark Buhgman. These guys that I knew from way back were just side characters and single-time villains whose roles were preassigned by the main scenario back when it was a game, but now they were different. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a party. It¡¯s difficult, low reward, extremely dangerous and we might even die against a strong Unique Grade demon, but we can gain tremendous honor and recognition if we succeed.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The boy wearing glasses with unkempt hair and the typical delinquent-looking guy with short hair turned to each other. People that loved efficiency were like this ¨C they would use a calculator to calculate their chance of victory and the efficiency, to see what would be the most beneficial for them. However, the true alpha men were different. ¡°That sounds super retarded but¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± Because alphas never care. That was why humanity was able to conquer the South Pole. **** When we arrived at the forest in time, the sun had already set over the horizon, and the woods with not a single presence of students was as dark and unfathomable as the abyss. ¡°Is she really in this forest?¡± ¡°Senior Marie, right?¡± Jaeger, Lark, Dorron and Yuel had each prepared themselves for the upcoming fight. ¡°Boss. I know what the goal is, but how are we going to find her?¡± It would take years for us to search through this whole forest with just the five of us. That obviously wasn¡¯t my plan. ¡°We don¡¯t need to look for her ourselves. We can just ask. Right?¡± ¡°¡­Seriously. How do you know so much?¡± This was our second conversation. With a puzzled look on her face that showed her befuddlement, the druid lowered the antique staff onto the ground and closed her eyes. ¡°O spirits.¡± Even though the druids were known to use the power of the forest for themselves, this was nothing like magic where they had to spend their own mana. They were the protectors of the forest that grew up together with nature. A single sincere request from them was able to move the forest. In the dead of the night, the forest greatly fluctuated. Judging based on the cheerful reactions of Lark and Jaeger, it seemed that many spirits of the forest were responding to Yuel¡¯s call. ¡°Yes. I beg you. Please find her. Please lead us to her.¡± Although this wasn¡¯t a part of the game, we had greatly relied on her in the previous iteration. Most of the spirits of the forest were low-grade elementals. They were useless in battles but when it came to searches, their overwhelming numbers were incredibly overpowered. As long as we were in the forest, druids were pretty much almighty. This was why I had taken in Yuel as the support. No-one was able to run away from the eyes of a druid in the forest. ¡°I found her. At the depths of the forest¡­ where the demonic beasts are. That¡¯s where she is.¡± Where the demonic beasts are, huh¡­ I had a rough idea of why she would be there, but Marie¡¯s instincts should be telling her that their blood wasn¡¯t enough. I trusted myself. There was enough evidence to support my hypothesis, and that was why I was shoving my head into such a dangerous matter. ¨C Kiieeeekk¡ª! A chilly howl echoed across the woods. The demonic beasts of the hunting grounds were creating a ruckus even though it was rather late at night. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Dude. This¡­¡± Jaeger seemed to have noticed it as well and glanced at everyone while inquiring with his gaze whether his prediction was correct or not. ¡°¡­¡­The spirits are frightened.¡± ¡°It is not any different for the demonic beasts.¡± ¡°Have you seen anything like this, Dorron?¡± ¡°A few times. There is only one reason why predators would be terrified.¡± ¨C The appearance of an even bigger predator. The demonic beasts at the top of the food chain in the forest were so horrified by the appearance of the powerful being that they were wailing in fear. It was natural for them to be scared and terrified. That wasn¡¯t something as simple as powerlessness and fear towards a stronger being. The demonic aura exuding out of Unique Grade demons ¨C those unfathomable monsters ¨C had something like the fear-inducing aura of the dragon race. ¨C Clomp clomp! ¨C Clomp clomp! Those shrieks of the beasts subsided more as we approached the center of the forest. From fear to powerlessness, and from powerlessness to obedience. Such was the way of the ecosystem. At one point, the only source of sound became the rustling leaves beneath our feet, and that was when our eyes spotted something different. ¨C Krrghk! Kurrgk! In an open plot of land with dozens of demonic beasts stood a girl that appeared extremely out of place. Her water-coloured hair that used to be both neat and tidy was tainted with blood and her everlasting smile was replaced by stiff clots of blood. ¨C Kuruk, kurrugk¡­! An owlbear had its neck bitten by the girl who was less than a quarter of its size, but was staying still without even dreaming of fighting back. The fangs that were digging in through the thick leather around the neck formed a pathway for a one-sided blood transfusion. Despite being aware that it will be sucked dry till death, the owlbear and the demonic beasts surrounding them were unable to dare fight back. Those beasts had their brutality repressed by the demonic aura of a Unique Grade, and retaliation wasn¡¯t even an option for them. A scene that was completely outside of his expectation made Lark take a few steps back in horror. ¡°Hiik¡­¡± ¡°Kurrh¡­!¡± His unconscious gasp made the vampire turn its head in a flick. The golden eyes that used to be as bright as the sun were now vertically slit like the pupils of a reptile. Vampire. The King of demons. One of the most powerful demi-humans. ¡°Get ready. Yuel and Lark ¨C go to the rear. Dorron and Jaeger ¨C take a step back and focus on support. I¡¯ll take the lead.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I felt mana fluctuating behind me. It was probably the spirits and Lark¡¯s ghost knight being summoned. It was none of my business considering my inability to perceive spirits due to the Restriction ¨C the 2nd line of my Precept. However, what was important was¡ª ¡º3rd Precept¡» Marie Dunareff: Relation ¨C C Backup: 50% Increase in Stats Aura: { Low (1,480 + 740) } Mana: { Very Low (920 + 460) } Strength: 26 + 13 Agility: 26 + 13 Vitality: 26 + 13 Aura: 26 + 13 Mana: 26 + 13 ?Regeneration of the Tenacious Warrior? When your HP falls below a certain level during a fight, your HP Regeneration speed will increase tremendously. + 50% Regeneration ?I will save the world? ¨C Either kill or save Marie Dunareff and take the first step in saving the world. ?There is a conflict with the 1st Precept, ?I will not disregard the misfortune of the good.?? ?Save Marie Dunareff. Wish you all the best, Hero Korin Lork.? Marie¡¯s fate and the effect she will have on this world. The backup I received was after a calculation of the ¡®effect this would have on the world later on¡¯, instead of considering this as a one-time event of the 1st Arc. Besides, considering my 50% additional damage to physical existences, my current physique at this moment was pretty much at the level of a Grade 2 Knight. ¡°Kuwoooo¡ª!!¡± ¡°Kweeekkkkk¡ª!!¡± The demonic beasts sprinted forward while roaring out loud. Starting from owlbears to mat boars and horned rabbits, those monsters began flooding us with their brutal natures which had been suppressed by Marie¡¯s demonic aura. ¡°Right. A beast is a beast. Easy for them to know who the weaker one is, I guess.¡± A Unique Grade demon behind them and Grade 2 randoms in front. There was no need to even think at that point on who they should attack. The 1st phase of the boss fight with Vampire Marie Dunareff was the battle against demonic beasts and spirits that were under her control. We had to come out victorious in this little skirmish and pass through the 2nd phase. ¡ºMain Quest: Marie Dunareff¡» ¡ù Difficulty: S Our current party was about half of what we were in the previous iteration. But even so¡ª ¡°Everyone. Get ready.¡± We will win. We will overcome every adversity and hardship to achieve victory. CH 23 ? Marie Dunareff (4) ? The Warsky Mercenaries earned money by hunting demonic beasts and ghosts, and Dorron was one of the top powerhouses of the group. Even though there were guardians assigned to the task of dealing with demons, they were few and far between. In the distant barbaric lands that were too far for guardians to reach, Dorron had spent his life decapitating demons. He was one of the so-called geniuses. Using his innate telekinetic ability, he floated his swords and supported them with acceleration spells that were simple yet powerful. He was only 13 years old when he became the right-hand man of the captain of the mercenary group. No-one in the Warsky group was stronger than Dorron as an individual, but there was a reason why he didn¡¯t bother aiming for the position of a captain. Fights weren¡¯t simply decided by one¡¯s strength. He understood through his experiences that there were more factors apart from strength. ¡°An owlbear approaching from the side. Use a fireball. Yuel, hold it back with tree roots. 1 second is enough.¡± Using the low-grade spells of the support, he kept the beast in check. In just a matter of second with the owlbear stuck in place in a fluster, a spear accurately pierced through its neck. ¡°Kieeek!¡± Without getting greedy to end the life of the demonic beast, the man unhesitatingly retreated to his original position to protect his teammates. There was an overwhelming number of demonic beasts. Even though none of them was over Grade 2, the sheer number of those monsters was enough to make Dorron nervous despite his experience. Besides, he could only use two magic swords right now. His experience as a mercenary told him that this party would definitely crumble in less than 30 seconds but¡­ ¡®It¡¯s not crumbling.¡¯ ¡°Jaeger, don¡¯t go too far! You¡¯ll be surrounded!¡± ¡°Y, yeah!¡± It was him. The Grade 5 nobody who gave him trouble at the forest ¨C a strange guy whose intention was hard to see through. In this chaotic battlefield, he was the only one that remained calm. Without being repressed by the demonic aura of a Unique Grade demi-human and as if the roars of the bellowing demonic beasts were nothing, he stayed firm like a boulder. ¡®He¡¯s just like the Captain.¡¯ That Grade 5 Knight was the one keeping this party alive. Like the veteran captain of the mercenary group, he was controlling both this party and the battlefield. Fighting, tactics and support¡­ there was not a single thing he couldn¡¯t do. Not only was he strong as an individual, but he was also like a veteran leader and a strategist. How was that even a Grade 5 Knight? There must be something terribly wrong with this Academy¡¯s grading test. ¡°Huuk¡­! Huuk¡­!¡± ¡°Jaeger. Take 3 steps to the back.¡± ¡°Huh? I, I¡¯m still fine!¡± ¡°There is no need to hurry. We can slowly reduce their numbers.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Jaeger turned his gaze over to the other side of the wave of monsters. He gasped for breath as his eyes displayed the fear he had for that fallen demon. Everyone in this place knew, that the fight would be in the favor of the enemy as soon as that unmoving demon moved itself. That was why they were in a hurry. Their trepidation was forcing them to move their bodies, with their brains telling them that they had to get rid of as many demonic beasts before that as possible. But the leader of the party, Korin Lork, was not swept away by it. Don¡¯t hurry. Calm down. Step back. Although an attitude like that was something that every party leader needed to have, there were a bunch of them who couldn¡¯t do anything similar to that. Despite the disadvantageous shift in the battle, he did not pant a single time nor was he devoured by the surrounding atmosphere. ¡°Yuel. Don¡¯t do anything for the next 15 seconds. Otherwise, you¡¯ll pull the aggro. The spirits can just cloud the vision of the demonic beasts.¡± ¡°Lark. Fire three magic missiles to the front. Target the small ones that are trying to sneak in.¡± ¡°Jaeger. Hold that big guy for as long as possible. Dorron. Strike that same guy on its head with the heavy iron sword while Jaeger is holding it back.¡± He was the only one that wasn¡¯t showing any regard for the Unique Grade monster. It was as if he was certain that she wouldn¡¯t ever attack them. His composure and that unknown confidence was what allowed him to lead the party forward. Both Dorron and Yuel were strong yet unique people, and yet he was skilfully controlling them as if he had fought with them multiple times already. ¡®Even though I only have 2 swords now.¡¯ The three swords that served as his main weapons were already broken. Even though Dorron was a user of flying swords, right now, he only had a normal Grade 4 magic sword and the heavy iron sword which could only be used for something simple like striking down from above. Despite that handicap, Korin was giving him appropriate orders at the right timing. Besides, he himself wasn¡¯t weak either. ¨C Kuwaaa! ?Six Ways of the Spear? ?Third Style, Trap and Stab? By flexibly blocking the incoming attacks of the demonic beasts, he pierced through their weak points in an instant. All the monsters attacking Korin Lork were done in by that same pattern. That simple technique had been mastered under his hands and the beasts couldn¡¯t do anything against him. The intricate techniques of a martial art were there to make others powerless if they didn¡¯t know how to deal with them, and Korin was doing a wonderful job. On top of that, his spear was incredibly fast and heavy for a Grade 5 Knight and all the demonic beasts were oppressed under his spearmanship. There was an enormous horde of demonic beasts under Grade 3, but it was nothing in front of a well-balanced party that was led by an experienced leader. ¡°That¡¯s the last one!!¡± ¡°As I¡¯ve said, don¡¯t kill it!¡± ¡°I know!¡± ¡°Kuwoooo¡­!¡± Jaeger dashed into the roaring owlbear and struck down with his heavy mace. He aimed it at the knee. After having its knee crushed in the blink of an eye, the owlbear collapsed, only to have its other leg also broken very soon. ¡°Huhu. Is this enough, Korin?¡± ¡°You idiot. Come back.¡± Dorron rebuked him, who appeared to be under the impression that everything was over already. Everyone apart from Jaeger knew that this was only the beginning. ¡°Agh, ahh¡­ Ughhh¡­¡­¡± A beastly groan echoed across the woods. They were all familiar with the senior who used to give them baked potatoes with a bright smile. ¡°¡­¡­She¡¯s crying.¡± Yuel said while gazing at Marie who appeared to be weeping in the midst of all the blood. However, Dorron was unmoved. ¡°That doesn¡¯t change anything. We will subjugate the demon.¡± Dorron¡¯s telekinesis and the acceleration spell were activated in the blink of an eye. The heavy iron sword that had been floating in the air fell towards Marie¡¯s head with the help of the acceleration and the gravitational force. ¡°Uah¡­?¡± The unfocused mage instinctively turned towards the sky, but it was too late. ¨C Kwaang! Backed up with enough gravity and acceleration, the heavy iron sword was both simple yet powerful at the same time. Although it was made with cheap ingredients, the magic sword had a tremendous weight that made up for it. A clear strike with the sword was enough to drive Grade 1 demonic beasts unconscious but it was blocked by something. ¡°What?¡± It was blocked by something that scattered blood into the surroundings as if protecting Marie. ¡°A f, familiar?¡± The well-informed Lark was the first one to recognize it. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°A familiar formed from the blood of a vampire! How could a newly awakened vampire already have a familiar¡­?!¡± Familiar. They were the strongest level of summonings that were formed through the blood and mana of vampires. Even the weakest of them were at the level of a medium-grade elemental. The familiars of old vampire elders were like the materialized forms of disaster. Considering how the creator was a Unique Grade vampire like Marie Dunareff, it was unthinkable what kind of ability that familiar would have. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be scared. It¡¯s a baby that was just born with not enough blood and mana. Without the blood supply from its mother, the best it can do is probably block.¡± ¡°That would offset the biggest weakness of a mage though? That is definitely quite scary.¡± Dorron gave a realistic comment but Korin replied with a nonchalant command. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Anyway, there will be a large AOE spell coming soon. Yuel, take out the thing we prepared.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¨C Ughhh¡­ A groan reverberated across as everyone turned towards Marie. The girl drenched in blood screamed in agony while wrapping her arms around her body, before suddenly emitting an explosive burst of mana. ¡°¡­away.¡± The mana was so heavy that it was suppressing the entire area. An unprecedented amount that should have been too enormous for an individual entity to have made the dimension wobble with its might. ¡°Go awayy¡­!!¡± ?Blood Bomb? Dozens of blood drops budded in the air. It was nothing but a low-grade spell, but the sheer amount of it was enough to terrify its recipient. ¡°Yuel.¡± ¡°I, I, I know.¡± As someone who had already experienced being bombarded by Marie, Yuel gulped while requesting aid from the trees of the forest. Her mana grew the trees in the blink of an eye that formed a defensive fortress in an instant. Added with the blessings of the forest spirits, it became tougher than the thick walls of a castle. It was only possible because it was Yuel in the forest. ¨C Kwaaang! Bombs of blood were poured out on the roots that were covering the party members. Those bombs that tainted its surroundings in blood struck the old trees, with each of them resulting in thunderous thuds that echoed through the entire world. ¡°U, uahhk¡­! A, are you sure this is not going to break?¡± ¡°D, don¡¯t jinx it, Jaeger!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jaeger and Lark, as well as Yuel the Druid herself were all very uneasy, but Dorron silently stared at Korin. ¡°Huu¡­¡± He was calming his breath. Like a beast ready to pounce at its prey. ¡°Yuel.¡± ¡°Huuk¡­ huuk¡­ What is it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re about to reach your limit, right?¡± Even though she had only been using a small amount of mana until now while focusing on support, that defensive move just then had cost more than half of her entire mana pool. Her chest, where the mana heart was located, was aching in pain. The injuries that she had gotten at the practical lesson were starting to ache again due to the excessive movement of her mana. As a mage that needed to focus on theory and intuition, pain was a detrimental element that interfered with their casting process. ¡°¡­¡­And?¡± However, she still held her ground. Yuel also knew that she had to stand her ground here as much as possible. More than anything, this boy¡­ ¡°Everything¡¯s going according to plan. The flow of the battle will be in our hands in less than 5 moves. So just hang in there for me.¡± This boy had made a ridiculous promise. ¡°Is that really possible?¡± ¡°It is. Against the current Marie, that is. Dorron, Lark, Jaeger.¡± The party members gathered together. In front of their eyes was someone who seemed unbelievably peaceful despite being in the middle of cracking roots. **** The boss fight against Marie Dunareff the Vampire was divided into four phases. Phase 1 consisted of the surrounding demonic beasts attacking the player party. After defeating all the demonic beasts, Marie would step up which marked the start of Phase 2. We had to reach Phase 4 all the way from Phase 2 in order to reach the final mechanic of the boss. Marie would never be on the full offense until the final phase, and would not even attack a single time in Phase 1. This was the same in both the game and the previous iteration. ¡°She¡¯s coming. Lark. Fall back.¡± ¡°I, I can still fight!¡± ¡°You can only use one or two more low-grade spells, right?¡± ¡°How did you know that?¡± Because I¡¯ve been calculating it. ¡°You¡¯ve been great. Yuel will join you in a while. Distance yourself as much as possible until then.¡± ¡°¡­Alright.¡± Lark separated himself from the fortress of trees and fell back as the Blood Bombs constantly raged at the defensive tree wall. ¨C Rumble! ¨C Crash! The Blood Bombs were noisy but they weren¡¯t anything serious. The real threats were the combination spells. ¡°It¡¯s coming.¡± ?Combination Spell ¨C Frost? ¨C Crack! All the moisture within the layer of blood expanded and became fangs of a venomous snake that pierced through the wall. Like how waterdrops broke through a boulder after decades and centuries of repetition, the blood that seeped into the nook and cranny of those intertwined tree roots expanded all at the same time and destroyed the wall. Needles of ice came raining at us like a rain of blood as soon as the wall was destroyed. The sheer number of them was absurd. It was an overwhelming difference in power that made resistance seem futile and the downfall of ice rain would drown us before we could even retaliate in any way. However, we didn¡¯t let that happen. ¡°Earth, the mother of crops and trees. A heap of ashes feeding the gods, bugs and the world.¡± The green-haired girl prayed. She prayed for the law of nature that stemmed from the circulation of life and death. ? (Sail) ? (Ifin) ? (Ur) ? (Uath) ? (Straif) The Ogham alphabets responded to the Druid¡¯s prayer. Although I was the one that engraved them, only the pure-blooded druids were able to make them function as a miracle. That ancient alphabet, which was similar yet different from rune letters, morphed under Yuel¡¯s prayer. It was the strongest move of Yuel, the Druid of Avelorn, who would later become the next Sage of the forest, and was only obtainable towards the end of her storyline. I was making use of that knowledge to make her use it ahead of time. ¨C Ruuumble!! The ground quaked. Lands shifted themselves up and down as thick veins appeared on top. The willows that had been growing for centuries gathered into a coarse cluster before turning into a large giant. ¡°What the¡­¡± Even the teammates were both flustered and confused. This enormous willow giant was none other than the Wicker Man ¨C a thousand-year long secret move of the Sages of the forest, the spokesmen of nature and the race beloved by the forest. ¡°It, it actually appeared¡­¡± Even the summoner herself was perturbed by the unbelievable miracle. After swallowing the surrounding cluster of dirt and trees, the monster raised its 14-meter tall body. ¡°Jaeger¡­!¡± ¡°Y, yeah!¡± As we had planned beforehand, Jaeger grabbed on the captured owlbear with handicapped legs. Using the superior physique of a Knight, Jaeger held on the unmoving legs of the beast and rotated himself in circles before throwing it at the Wicker Man. ¨C Kuwooooo¡­!!! The owlbear landed inside the Wicker Man alongside a scream. It soon became the living sacrifice supporting the Wicker Man and was scorched by the flames surging inside the giant. Wicker Man ¨C a large tree golem weaved from branches. It was a magic golem that could move forever until the sacrifice inside its wooden prison was completely combusted into ashes. ¡°Go. Wicker Man!¡± Along with the agonizing screams of the demonic beast, the Wicker Man turned ablaze as it advanced onward. A falling squall of blood rain was pouncing at the Wicker Man but breaking a real boulder was not an easy feat for mere drops of blood. ¨C Hwaruk! Besides, the flame burning inside the golem was setting both the Wicker Man and the rainfall ablaze. ?Blood Bomb? ?Combination Spell¡ª? ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­ All the attacks that attempted to stop the giant were in vain. The large giant ignored those insignificant attacks so this time, gigantic walls popped up while trying to stop the giant in its tracks. In response, the Wicker Man raised one of its arms and struck down with its burning fist. ¨C Craaack! The ice walls were shattered into fragments. Those walls could do nothing but buy a little bit of time against the colossal giant. ¡°Gaasp¡­ Haah¡­!¡± But at the same time, Yuel, who was controlling the burning willow giant, had to gasp and groan in pain. There was nothing that could be done though. The Wicker Man was supposed to be the final secret move of Yuel after she became the ¡®Sage of the Forest¡¯ near the end of her personal storyline. The difference between a normal druid and the Sage of the forest was like that of heaven and the earth. Considering her current abilities, it was doubtful if she could maintain the Wicker Man for over a minute. ¡°Yuel! Don¡¯t stop! We¡¯ll all die if you stop now!¡± ¡°I, I know that!¡± The Wicker Man advanced forward. After perhaps feeling threatened by that intimidating approach, Marie started focusing her mana. Answering her call, the air quivered around her. No-one was able to keep their mouths closed after seeing the water droplets rising all across the forest. ¡°That¡¯s impossible¡­¡± It was an extremely beautiful and marvelous show of power. It was as if she was the ruler of the entire forest. ¡°How¡­¡± They couldn¡¯t comprehend the scene in front of their eyes in time, and I was the only one who did, thanks to having more knowledge than others. All the moisture in the air was heeding to her call. ?Combination Spell ¨C Blood Ice? Bloodstained shards of ice formed with her amplified mana flared across the air and covered the ground, before speeding at the Wicker Man through the dense trees. ¨C Crackkk! The fragments changed into one crimson spear of ice and pierced through the Wicker Man. However, the Wicker Man was a structure and not an organism, and thus did not falter despite the hole in its body. ¨C Guuuwoooooo¡ª!! Even larger flames soared out of the Wicker Man along with the piercing scream of the sacrificed beast, as it attempted to melt the ice that was restricting its movement. It was a battle between the blood-coloured ice and a scorching blaze. Even though the victor should be obvious, the ridiculous amount of mana forced a turn of events that deviated from common sense. ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Bucket-loads of water poured out from the spear of ice that was melting due to the parching flame. Normally, the destruction of the spear of ice should have decided the victor, but Marie¡¯s spear was still being supplied with both mana and moisture. ¨C Chiiiiikk! At last, the bucket-loads of water that was gushing out of the melting spear extinguished the flames of the Wicker Man. Common sense was of no use. This was the power of a Unique Grade demon. This was Marie Dunareff. ¡°Kuuk¡­!¡± After consuming a colossal amount of mana, Yuel collapsed in pain while gripping onto her chest. ¡°Yuel. Fall back.¡± ¡°Uhk¡­ but¡­!¡± ¡°It¡¯s an order as the party leader. Don¡¯t get injured and just go back.¡± ¡°¡­Can you win?¡± ¡°Your presence won¡¯t affect the result.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± Without even the power to utter another word, Yuel limped her way back. There was no need to overstrain a party member who was about to faint. After Lark, it was Yuel, and the only remaining members were Jaeger, Dorron¡­ and me. ¡°Uhh, dude¡­ can we really do it by ourselves?¡± Jaeger¡¯s shivering voice was a lot softer than usual, but that was nothing strange considering how even the enormous Wicker Man crumbled under one spell. ¡°She used all of her AOE skills just then. Do you know what that means?¡± ¡°???¡± ¡°It¡¯s DPS time.¡± ¨C Charge. Ever since the previous iteration, I had always been the one at the lead. Following me from behind were Jaeger and Dorron. ?Blood Spear? Dozens of spells spread out, as sharp spears of ice rushed towards us. ¨C Kang! ¨C Kagang! Dorron and I were able to parry all of the dangerous spears but Jaeger wasn¡¯t as experienced as us. ¡°Uuht?!¡± Although he managed to parry one spear that had been flying towards him, his swing was too wide ¨C he wasn¡¯t in the right posture to parry the next spear of blood ice. Without any hesitation, I smashed the spear that was flying at Jaeger. ¨C Kagang! ¨C Bam! Because of that, however, the spears that had been flying at me dug through my thigh and my stomach. ¡°K, Korin?!¡± Jaeger called my name in a fluster but I rebuked him. ¡°Look at the front! Focus on what¡¯s ahead when we¡¯re fighting!!¡± ¡°Eeek¡­!¡± Leaving behind myself, who was slowed down by the attack, Jaeger gritted his teeth and pushed forth. In response, a spell was created in the air while trying to stop our approach. It was a Blood Bomb. ¡°No you don¡¯t.¡± In the middle of his sprint, Dorron controlled his magic swords and sliced through the Blood Bomb that was just about to expand, and dispelled it in an instant. ¡°I¡¯m going first, slowpoke!¡± Dorron jumped at the unguarded Marie but what fell before he did was the heavy iron sword. ¨C Clang! Marie¡¯s familiar blocked the descent of the heavy iron sword. Its protection remained firm but Dorron picked up the heavy iron sword immediately after landing on the ground. ¡°Direct Acceleration.¡± The heavy iron sword in his hand was rapidly accelerated as it drove an enormous amount of impact at the barrier formed by the familiar. ¨C Crack! At last, the heavy iron sword managed to slice through the barrier and traveled deeper in, but stopped right in front of Marie¡¯s nose. ¡°So damn tough!¡± Dorron was placed in a rough spot where he couldn¡¯t even protect himself due to his sword being stuck in the middle of the barrier, but it was then. ¡°Urryaaaaaahh¡­!¡± Jaeger shouted out loud while swinging his mace. The barrier, however, was still standing firm. ¡°Eat this!!¡± His specialty was ?Accumulated Destruction?, and was a burst skill that let him immediately explode all the power that had been accumulated through his repetitive attacks. ¨C Kuung! Dorron¡¯s direct acceleration of his heavy iron sword and Jaeger¡¯s Accumulated Destruction ¨C the Familiar of Blood couldn¡¯t hold off against the combination of those two attacks and couldn¡¯t maintain its barrier. ¡°Haha. We broke through¡­!¡± ¡°Idiot, don¡¯t let your guard down!¡± ¨C Grip! ¡°Uht?¡± Marie grabbed onto his wrist while Jaeger was just about to scream in joy. He wasn¡¯t expecting a mage to grab him like this. ¡°H, how is she so strong?!¡± Despite his attempt to break free from her grip, Jaeger¡¯s armguard was almost crushed and he was soon flung off like a pebble. ¡°Uaaahkkk?!¡± ¨C Kwang! Kwang! Kwagwang! Jaeger crashed into several trees in the middle of his flight, but without even sparing him a glance, Dorron directly held onto his two magic swords. After crossing them into an ¡®X¡¯ shape, he slashed his swords down with all his might. ?Dual Acceleration? He tried to cut her by using his fastest move but¡­ ¡°Hmm¡­?!¡± He saw something grabbing onto his two swords before he could slash them down. A bead of sweat traveled down his cheek. ¡°Grrr¡­¡± The Familiar of Blood growled like a beast. Immediately after that, an explosive amount of mana and blood was sent from Marie and¡ª ?Blood Realm? ¨C Kwaaaah!! We were now in the 3rd phase. ¨C Kwang! The two magic swords shattered and left behind nothing but pieces of iron, and Dorron was flung off from the aftershock. The large-scale barrier that had been activated alongside the realm had broken his swords with just the physical impact of its activation. ¡°Huu¡­¡± With Jaeger and Dorron gone, I took a step forward with my now-recovered leg. I was stuck in the Blood Realm. I was now locked inside the barrier that was activated as soon as the defensive spell of the Familiar of Blood had crumbled into pieces. It was filled with a ridiculous amount of pressure inside. The Familiar had forcibly sucked her blood and mana to materialize itself to fight in the stead of Marie who was only focusing on protecting herself. This was the 3rd phase of the final boss fight of the 1st Arc. ¡°Are you upset because your mother was about to get hurt? What a good boy.¡± A blood-coloured dog was growling within the large barrier of blood. Its body that was 2 meters tall was standing on its two legs, and it looked more like a werewolf instead of a dog. ¡°Am I the only one left now?¡± Yuel and Lark had to retreat due to lack of mana, while Jaeger and Dorron were incapable of fighting anymore. The usual goal would have been to keep at least 3 members until the 3rd phase, but right now, I was all alone by myself. ¡°Not bad.¡± However, this was not a game and it was the real world. As long as this was the real world, anything was possible regardless of the degree of possibility. CH 24 ? Marie Dunareff (5) ? It was cold and chilly. Her skin was shivering from the cold but there was a scorching thirst in her throat. She had done something wrong. She almost killed her own friend. Without any guilt, as if she was eating a domestic animal for food. Marie¡¯s moral standards ¨C in fact, the moral standards of everyone born as a human were supposed to differentiate ¡®domestic animals¡¯ from ¡®humans¡¯. It was a different matter from cracking eggs all day, decapitating chicken and slaughtering pigs. She was someone who closed her eyes even when slaughtering an animal that was squirming to stay alive, and yet she had almost killed someone. ¡®I was starving though,¡¯ she thought to herself. ¡®I was thirsty.¡¯ ¡®I almost killed my friend; a person but¡­¡¯ ¡®What was their name again?¡¯ Like how people did not bother remembering the names of domestic animals, she could not remember the name of her friend. What she felt after waking up was a current of air that was different from before. The chill running all the way from the tip of her feet to the spine was in complete contrast to the scorching thirst in her throat. The neck in front of her eyes of someone whose name she did not know of was way too appealing. That was why she bit it. The long fangs that appeared to have been with her from birth pierced through the skin and reached the veins. ¨C Gulp gulp! The livestock in front of her shivered. Whether it was from the fear of being slaughtered or due to frustration was not very important. Marie did not even feel the need to close her eyes. ¨C Uhk. Uguk¡­! The groan full of pain was as pleasant as the melodious notes of the piano. When the hot stream of blood satiated her throat and spread across her body to warm up her cold skin¡­ ¡°Ah.¡± Her veins expanded as her blood began to move again. Isabelle¡¯s gasp and the creaking noise of the bed were unable to reach her ears. The only thing Marie could feel was the thumping pulse of her heart and the sweet scent of blood that felt suffocatingly disgusting. Her body that had been supplied with energy suddenly felt like crumbling to nothing. She finally remembered that humans were different from livestock. After noticing that what she had done was the same as treating a human as a domestic animal¡­ the girl ran away. Until a certain boy came looking for her, she ran away and hid herself. All the while resisting starvation. **** Inside the crimson realm, the blood-coloured dog gazed down at the small and feeble human. Instead of his mother who was refusing to fight properly, he planned on using her mana and blood to wipe them off. Those evil humans were harassing his mother, and among them, that guy was the most annoying of them all. Even though he was weak and powerless, he was the calmest of them all. Even the beasts are afraid of my presence, so how could a mere livestock dare show such an attitude? How dare you try to hurt my mother in front of my eyes? However, what the blood hound hated above everything else was¡­ ¨C Please. Stop. It was how that human had an unignorable amount of significance inside his mother¡¯s heart. His mother wasn¡¯t even looking after him nor taking care of him, and yet was concerned that a mere human might get hurt. That must be why she still couldn¡¯t kill them. That must be why she was still floundering in pain and thirst. Just wait for me mom. I¡¯ll bring some fresh blood for you. As a familiar that had just been recently born, the dog was unconditionally faithful to his mother. The loyal dog who moved only for the sake of Marie let out a thunderous roar. ¨C Roooaaar!! The realm quaked as the forest echoed after him. Everything with a sign of life shivered from fear and yet the man in front was still calm, which was an extremely irritating sight for the dog. ¡°A doggy is not supposed to bite people.¡± Despite being ignorant of the world, the blood hound could still tell that it was an insult. The realm echoed with a loud roar as the blood hound displayed his killing intent. Despite having the same goal of trying to save the same person, the two of them knew that their paths would not coincide. A magic was formed in the air, but instead of a well-calculated equation of spell, it was just a sharp form made by a dense cluster of pure mana. Unlike the clean and elegant magic equations of his mother, it was a violent and oppressive use of mana. The missiles of mana were met with a spear. ?Six Ways of the Spear? ?Fourth Style, Spinning Heaven? The spear turned. The centrifugal force and the footwork added power to the spear as it elegantly flailed across. The Fourth Style was one that scattered kinetic energy with the shift of balance and an endless acceleration to the spin. The spear advanced as it rotated and parried only the clusters of mana that were heading towards his body. ¨C Kwack! ¨C Kagack! ¨C Kajik! ¡°¡­!¡± Seeing that inexplicable phenomenon, the blood hound widened his eyes. The organism born from blood which naturally had a different way of taking in the world noticed the mysterious mass of power hanging on the spearhead. Using the bare minimum amount of aura, the man parried the attacks. Korin was able to serenely advance through the bombardment that was loud enough to quake the entire world. Something like this couldn¡¯t stop him. ¨C Grrrh¡­! The blood hound used his sharp claws to dig out a piece of his body. It scattered the flesh to the ground as two four-legged dogs appeared from within. ¨C Kuraa! Kill him. Crunch through that human¡¯s neck and devour his guts. ¨C Pabak! The four-legged beasts dashed forward at a speed that was too fast for people to see. The two-legged beast that was made to face the rapid advance of those four-legged animals pulled his right hand to the back and bent his upper body like a bow. ?Six Ways of the Spear? ?Fifth Style, Crumbling Mountain? To crumble a mountain. Staying faithful to that seemingly exaggerated name, the spear created an aftershock as it pierced through a sprinting clone. ¨C Pagack! After throwing his weapon, the spearman charged in with empty hands. When the remaining animal pounced at the man to bite through his neck, the dog had to confront a letter that was newly engraved in front of its eyes. Kenaz. The rune letter meaning ¡®fire¡¯ created slow rising flames but the four-legged demonic dog did not stop its charge and followed through with its attack. The demonic dog was enveloped in magic flames, but little damage was done to it. The flames were so weak that they were at the level of a spark. Something meager like the unprocessed cluster of ether was not enough to scorch a demonic dog. Hagalaz, Sowilo, Berkana. But soon, new rune letters were added to the mix. The consecutive use of magic made the small spark turn into large flames, and the combined power of runes was definitely more than enough to sear the demonic dog of blood to ashes. After quickly dealing with the two small four-legged dogs, Korin picked up the spear that was stuck in the ground. The blood hound stared at him with a growl. For the dog, that man appeared very insolent ¨C how rude of him to act like he won after dealing with two weak clones? It decided to trample on him with an even more oppressive show of violence. As soon as the blood hound growled, the realm responded to his call as countless bullets of mana budded in the air. The blood hound was invincible inside this realm. He was one with the world. How could a lowly human contend against the entire world? Bullets of mana rained on the ground like bombs. Those small balls of mana were like the foot of a giant when together as they trampled on the ground. Korin Lork took a step forward. Beneath the rain of bombs, he strolled on. Even though bullets grazed past his shoulders, dug through his thighs and scraped past his ears, he was still unconcerned and patient. As if he knew the pattern of their fall, he slithered through the interval of the bombardment like an acrobat, while being so relaxed as if anything other than a fatal wound did not matter even if his body was to end up in tatters. ¡°Roooaaarrr¡­!!!!¡± That leisurely attitude infuriated the blood hound. Rumble! The ground quaked ¨C the four legs of the beast simultaneously kicked off the ground as the blood hound vanished into the thin air. The concentration of blood and a colossal amount of mana tremendously accelerated his body. Like a storm, he destroyed everything while leaving behind an afterimage. The body of the blood hound was like the strongest spear; while at the same time being an invincible armor. Crashing into it would destroy one¡¯s body. On top of that, the blood hound went over the top as his ferocious claws started cleaving through the dimension. It was clearly an overkill, as the light in Korin¡¯s eyes immediately shifted upon seeing that dash. Korin moved to meet the storm. What was needed was just one step. Compared to the blood hound that marched through hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye, Korin¡¯s one step appeared very insignificant. However, that one step was enough to turn the situation on its toe. ¡°¡­?!¡± The blood hound was flustered by the sudden step forward. He belatedly swung his claws but the spearhead was already striking on his wrist. ?Trap and Stab: Demonic Arts¨C? Clank! The blood hound was dumbfounded from the unexpectedly weak response from the attack. However, the condensed aura emanating out of the spearhead and the small impact was enough to deviate the course of his claws. At the same time, the feeble body of the man dashed across his side. ¨C Clang! The vicious claws of the dog landed on the ground. Unable to stop the forward momentum, the blood hound¡¯s body was leaning forward when the man repostured himself behind his back. ?¡ª Scavenging the Grass for the Snake? ¨C Kwaduk! Unlike the front side of his body that was being protected by the condensation of blood, his back was helplessly weaker and ended up allowing the spear to stab through. However, that wasn¡¯t enough. The magic organism with no sense of pain immediately reacted by swinging his right arm behind after demolishing the ground in front. Without even looking at the right arm that was flying towards him, Korin took two steps forward and the right arm ended up barely missing him as it cut through the air. The spear in his hands rotated. After failing two big attacks, the blood hound was in a defenseless state if anything. ?Spinning Heaven: Second Move ¨C Rotating Demon Spear.? The shaft of the spear rotated as it slashed through the blood hound¡¯s thighs. Due to the right arm cutting through nothing and the slashed thighs, it couldn¡¯t control his body and ended up leaning to the side. However, it only needed 2 seconds for a full regeneration. 2 seconds was enough. Using the abundant mana of his mother, 2 seconds should be more than enough to recover his wounds. However, that same amount of 2 seconds was also more than enough time for the spearman. ¡°¡­?!!¡± Their gazes collided in the air as the blood hound realized something. Korin¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t even on him ¨C in the midst of his superhuman level of concentration, Korin was gazing ¡®beyond¡¯ into the domain which only a handful of fortunate individuals were able to catch a glimpse of. ¡ª¡ª A world of silence and suspended dimension. The only ones that could move inside the ¡®Domain¡¯, where time flew extremely slowly, were very few in numbers. It was literally a suspended world. No-one was able to take a step forward inside such a place because of the law of time reigning supreme like always. However, Korin took a step forward regardless. He stepped into the Domain of Heroes. ?Ominous Snake: Extreme Arts? ?Soaring Snake, Rearing Head of the Venomous Dragon? The tip of the spear pierced through the center of the blood hound. ¨C ??? Unable to even utter a single sound, the body of the blood hound crumpled down in an instant. In that split second, the blood hound gazed at the spearman with his blood-stained eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve seen that same move before. Of course it¡¯s not going to work.¡± The man proclaimed. Even though the blood hound couldn¡¯t really understand the logic behind that sentence, there was something he still understood. I can¡¯t beat this man . One who had reached the level of a ¡®Semi-Unique Grade¡¯ with the sole power of a human after starting as a normal side character. Named Hero. AAA-class Knight. A ¡®legendary¡¯ existence which the world had chosen as the successor of the main player. In front of the Hero who had reenacted the legendary spearmanship, a mere animal, who was lacking experience was far inferior. Despite having no knowledge of his history; that mythological story and the legends, the newborn demonic animal was still able to understand something. He was in an inexplicable domain. This man was someone who far exceeded his cognitive capability. ¡°Cough¡­ cough!¡± The blood hound was sucking in both blood and mana to regenerate his body but instinctively turned around after hearing the cough from behind. ¡°Auhk¡­ Haahk¡­!¡± Marie was struggling after vomiting out an enormous amount of blood. Mom! The blood hound immediately canceled the mana and blood that had been channeling towards him and dispelled the realm on top. While scattering his body that had been formed with blood, the last thing the blood hound heard was the despicable voice of Korin. ¡°Just watch me save your mother for you.¡± **** The Blood Realm was the power of the Familiar of Blood that was formed through Marie¡¯s mana and blood. For Marie to activate the realm without having sufficiently taken in enough blood, she had to consume her own blood. Marie didn¡¯t even suck all the blood of a single person when she awakened into a vampire, so it was natural for her to have insufficient blood after keeping the realm up for so long. ¡°T, thirsty¡­¡± The girl who turned into a beast gasped. This was the signal. This was the last mechanic of the 3rd phase ¨C the bloodsucking mechanic which rendered one of the party members unconscious. I walked towards Marie, who was gasping for breath in pain without even putting up a guard. ¡°Kuuh, kyaahk¡­!¡± In order to replenish all the blood she used, Marie instinctively looked for something to prey on. It was inevitable for her to land her hands on my defenseless body. ¨C Biiite! Without any retaliation, I let her bite into my neck and held her on the spot. Phase 3 ¨C Blood-sucking mechanic. It was a move that allowed the boss to regain both HP and mana before heading to the final phase. Originally, the other party members were supposed to jump in and push Marie away to save the one that had been chosen as the prey but¡­ there was no-one here to save me. In a completely defenseless state, I wrapped my arms around the pitiful girl. ¨C Gulp! Gulp! I could feel blood leaving my body through the fangs protruding into my neck. So this was how it felt to have your life taken away. The rapid disappearance of blood made the body colder as my heart pulsed faster in desperation. However, it was fine. It was bearable. This was what the regenerative ability was for. It was enough for me to last until she sucked enough blood to regain her rationality. I was an adult. Something like this was bearable, and it was through this that we would gain a happy ending. ?You¡¯re thirsty right? Slow down.? That was what the kind girl used to say to everyone while sharing potatoes with her tiny hands. Letting her rest in my arms, I returned the goodwill she had shown already. ¡°It¡¯s fine. You can slow down.¡± I felt the girl pause for a moment after hearing that. Soon, the impulse that was beyond controllable made her carefully push her fangs back in as she gently licked the wound on my neck with her soft tongue. ¡°¡­Nn.¡± When Sebancia Duke awakened as a vampire, he sucked the blood of his own servant to death. While saying that he couldn¡¯t control the impulse that surged during his awakening, he killed his innocent servant. This was where a doubt came to mind. In both the game and the previous iteration, Marie did not kill anyone. ¡®That alone was a hint.¡¯ Another possibility hidden by the scenario. By defeating the thirst and impulse that rose up during the moment of her awakening, Marie was able to separate her fangs from the dying Isabelle. Sebancia Duke¡¯s case was more than enough proof of how insanely proficient she was at controlling herself. After that, she ran away to the forest as Park Sihu said. She endured for a whole month by living off of the blood of demonic beasts. The act of sucking the blood of a human was both a survival instinct and a magic process for a vampire. Would drinking sea water satiate your thirst no matter how thirsty you were? It would only lead to a greater thirst. Despite that, she was able to endure the impulse for a month all the way until she was subjugated and captured by Park Sihu¡­ It was thanks to her superhuman mentality that she was able to overcome the impulse and the starvation. All of that was proof that there was another possibility aside from the bad end of Marie Dunareff¡¯s boss fight. That possibility was what I had trusted and betted on. ¡°Ju¡­nior.¡± A teary voice reached my ears. After satiating the intense starvation, she was finally starting to regain her rationality. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s fine.¡± While patting her on the back, I drove her head deeper into my neck. I pacified her by saying I was fine. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Marie mumbled with a voice that was hard to understand as she buried her body deeper into my chest. ¡°I can handle it. Even though I look like this, I have a regeneration ability, you see.¡± By etching that fact into her mind, I helped her calm down. She was finally starting to regain her rationality, and I couldn¡¯t stop here and risk making her impulsive again. A vampire was only able to become rational after completely devouring a person¡¯s worth of blood. Marie had to satiate her thirst with my blood. This was what the regenerative ability was for. This was why I had learned ?Regeneration of the Tenacious Warrior?. As long as I did not give up, and as long as I had the fighting spirit left inside me¡­ I would stay alive and regenerate even if my intestines were to fall down, and even if my entire body was to be seared or frozen. My vitality would be recovered endlessly. A tenacious vitality that came to play when driven to a corner ¨C the conviction of a warrior that let them continue the battle without giving up. It was a specialty which I had gained all for this moment. ¡°Haa¡­¡± With a deep and heated breath, Marie distanced her lips. After finally being able to control her own actions, she started crying while looking at me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry.¡± I looked at the young 18-year-old girl who had burst into tears as if there was a broken dam in her eyes. It didn¡¯t matter even if she was a Grade 1 Mage who had crossed through many vicissitudes of life. Her being a vampire was also a trivial matter. Adults had the obligation to protect children. That fact which I wouldn¡¯t have known if I stayed on Earth, was something I learned after meeting my benefactor in this world. ¡ºChild, I am an adult. As long as I am an adult, I have the duty to prioritize your safety as a child.¡» I met my Master. A real adult. She was someone I had been looking down on as an NPC of a game. I used to secretly look down on this world for being a game, and yet I was protected by that NPC for being a child. There was an adult who showed me her back to face the great evil. As the successor who watched her last moments, and as the disciple who received her guidance; ¡°Not bad.¡± It should be fine for me to act a little bit like an adult. ¡ºMain Quest: Marie Dunareff¡» ¡ù Difficulty: S ¡ù Reward: Even distribution of 100 points ¨C Aura Rank Increase {Low} -> {Upper Low} ¨C Mana Rank Increase {Very Low} -> {Low} ¨C You have obtained Pain Tolerance Watch me, Park Sihu. My path will be different from yours. CH 25 ? Marie Dunareff (6) ? According to the original storyline, Marie Dunareff would be subjugated by the player party. Unable to regain her rationality until the very end, the renowned mage prodigy would fall from grace and be confined at the bottom of the Academy. That was how demi-humans that craved blood and sucked life away were treated, even more so if they didn¡¯t understand words. Like that, Marie would be eliminated from the scenario. Seeing that girl who fell down the abyss in the blink of an eye, the player would mumble to themselves that they would save her next time but in both the game and the previous iteration, Marie was never able to have a happy ending for herself. Marie was a good person. She was a nice girl with an uncannily large number of potatoes, who always baked more potatoes than necessary in the morning and carried them over in baskets to share with her friends. It was fine for a good kid like her to have a better ending for herself. Efficiency? Monopolization? I honestly couldn¡¯t understand Park Sihu¡¯s values. Life was not a math equation. Even if there was no reason to, Even if there was nothing in it for you, And even though another person¡¯s death might make it better for you¡­ Although you might need plenty of reasons to kill another person¡­ you didn¡¯t need a reason to save them. **** ¡°Wow~ Where am I?¡± I uttered the most appropriate line in a semi-conscious state as a cough echoed from the side. ¡°Ugek¡­ I can¡¯t breathe¡­¡± Next to me were a short-haired boy and a boy wearing glasses with an unkempt hair. They were clumsily dropping biscuit crumbs on the bed. Jaeger opened his mouth after seeing me. ¡°Ohh, you¡¯re awake. You¡­¡± ¡°Wait.¡± ¡°Hnn?¡± A memory of the past came back. It was back when I did something similar to this. ¡ºDon¡¯t do something like this ever again! Those bitches are nothing! Don¡¯t risk your life for them!! Unless you want to see me go crazy!!¡» My collars that were grabbed back then felt like they were about to be grabbed again. ¡°Please don¡¯t grab on my collars and say, ¡®Don¡¯t do this ever again! Unless you want to see me go crazy!!¡¯ to me.¡± ¡°¡­What is wrong with you? That¡¯s a bit creepy.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ Are you into that type of stuff?¡± Right? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m super prejudiced or anything right? He was the one with a terrible choice of words right? ¡°Dude¡­¡± Jaeger said while looking straight into my eyes with a serious gaze. I met his solemn gaze and gulped. Don¡¯t tell me he¡­ ¡°We were freaking cool as heck, weren¡¯t we? Kekeke¡­!¡± ¡°Uhhm¡­ yeah. Huhu¡­ we defeated a Unique Grade. Huhuhu¡­¡± ¡°Damn right we did.¡± The laughter of the boys filled the hospital room. ¡°Ah¡­ this feels great.¡± This was awesome. Now this was true friendship. ¡°Oh right. The doctor told us to let him know if you wake up.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave the biscuits behind for you. You can¡­ wait, can you even eat them? Shouldn¡¯t you have porridge and stuff?¡± ¡°Just eat it and pretend like you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Uh, wait.¡± Jaeger and Lark quickly left the room before I could even stop them. ¡°Those heartless bastards¡­¡± Guys, please. At least tell me how long it has been¡­ Fluids were connected to my right arm, and the needle might come out if I raised my body so I obediently stayed down on the bed. The injuries that had been rather fatal were already nowhere to be seen thanks to my awesome specialty. I scratched my neck as dried clots of blood fell down like powder. Apart from those remaining clots of blood, there was no other sign of Marie having bitten on my neck. It seemed that my gamble had been a success. I was blankly lying down on the bed when someone entered the room. ¡°Student Korin.¡± Thinking that it was either the nurse or the doctor, I turned to the side and found two unexpected guests. ¡°Mr. Chairman and Senior Professor?¡± I bowed as Chairman Eriu and Lady Josephine walked up to my side. ¨C Tap! Tap! Tap! Chairman Eriu sat next to me after walking over with the help of a cane. ¡°I believe this is my first time talking to you, Student Korin Lork.¡± The chairman might not remember me, but this wasn¡¯t my first time seeing him. I had learned many things from the chairman. Of course, there was no way Chairman Eriu would have memories of the previous iteration so this was indeed officially our first time meeting each other. ¡°How do you feel? From what I heard, it seemed that you had a specialty related to regeneration or recovery.¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright. I feel a lot better.¡± ¡°Is that so? It¡¯s unclear why that wasn¡¯t shown during the grading test¡­ and there are many questions I have for you but, firstly¡­¡± He stood up by supporting himself with the cane, before giving me a deep bow. ¡°Thank you. It is thanks to your courage that another student¡¯s future has been saved. I am sincerely grateful for your dedication.¡± Following Chairman Eriu, Senior Professor Josephine also lowered her head and showed me her gratitude. ¡°The students were in danger because of our inexperience and ignorance. We ended up making you guys shoulder the things that were supposed to be done by adults. Let me apologize regarding this matter.¡± His self-deprecating tone of voice and his lowered back showed no signs of going back up. Eriu Casarr ¨C the one in charge of one of the world¡¯s 4 biggest academies ¨C lowered his head. ¡°Words alone won¡¯t be enough for an apology. You are our benefactor, and if there is anything you wish for, then we will try our best to give you the rightful compensation.¡± The room turned silent after his words. In fact, there were a lot of things Eriu Casarr could say as an excuse. This was not something he had been intending on doing, and was outside everyone¡¯s expectations. So let¡¯s just move on. He didn¡¯t say anything like that. This person was someone who always acknowledged his own flaws and tried to shoulder more responsibilities than necessary. ¡º I have made many mistakes, but you are definitely not one of them. ¡» I remembered the words that the Chairman had said to me in the previous iteration, and I believed in his goodwill. There were many things I could gain from Eriu Casarr. He should know it better than anyone else on how impactful each and every one of his words were. He must be aware that he had given a blank cheque to a single student who could make all sorts of requests. The biggest and the most valuable thing I could gain from the chairman were his ¡®lessons¡¯ but¡­ now wasn¡¯t the time. Not yet. ¡°Please give me a magic stone.¡± ¡°¡­Mhmm?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to make a spear, but it¡¯s hard to look for the right materials. It would be even better if you could help with the payment on top of that.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Actually, I could probably ask for a complete spear and immediately get one. However, I wasn¡¯t looking for an expensive spear that was just a little bit better than other spears. It was because I was hoping for a spear that was best suited for myself that I had requested for materials instead of a legendary equipment. ¡°Alright. You can choose the best materials out there. And we will also provide anything else that you need.¡± This was a jackpo¡­ I mean, a really good reward. What should I make? And which blacksmith should I go to~? ¡°Ah. And please don¡¯t bow like that. I feel a bit uncomfortable.¡± I couldn¡¯t make him bow the whole time so I told him to sit down before asking him a question. ¡°What happened to Senior Marie?¡± ¡°That student will be isolated and put in quarantine for a while. She has awakened into a demi-human, so we need to inspect her danger level for the time being.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°We did hear most of it from the other students but¡­ I think it will be better to hear the details from you, Student Korin. It¡¯s okay to skip through some parts, so can you please explain it to us?¡± Chairman Eriu appeared to have guessed that there was something I was hiding from them, but was implying to me that he wasn¡¯t intending on delving deeper into the topic. How did I know Marie had awakened as a vampire? How did I gather a party of freshmen so quickly as if I knew it was coming? The chairman was practically saying that he won¡¯t delve into those important details. ¡°So you see.¡± I told them only the things that were alright to share. Although I wasn¡¯t sure how much of my words they would believe in, I did send them the general message that Marie was fine, and that she wasn¡¯t a monster. After listening to my story, Chairman Eriu opened his mouth. ¡°Lastly, there is a request I¡¯d like to make of you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°We have no choice but to officially announce about Student Marie¡¯s Awakening. It is possible for us to reveal everything that happened but that won¡¯t be any good to Student Marie.¡± In this world, demons were humanity¡¯s greatest enemy. Most of the demi-humans were just normal humans that suddenly turned into one because of their dormant demonic molecules being awakened against their will, but that did not change how they immediately turned into humanity¡¯s enemy and a target of ostracization. Vampires, werewolves, Jiangshi¡­ the broad title of demi-human that all of them were labeled as had been bringing them to the scaffold and the stake for a long period of time. In this world, it had only been a century since people had been burned at the stake in a witch hunt. These days, the Old Faith declined and the appearance of another religion reduced the segregation by a bit, but a demi-human that attacked her roommate and other students immediately after awakening into one¡­ was a concerning matter that could gather too much attention from the fundamentalists of the Old Faith, who were keen on removing demi-humans, or those that believed in the supremacy of demi-humans, let alone the increased anxiety of the students. Whatever it was, it was nothing good for Marie. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say this to you, Student Korin, but we are planning on modifying the story to be in Student Marie¡¯s favor without mentioning what happened at the forest. Will that be alright for you?¡± I unhesitatingly nodded to Chairman Eriu¡¯s request. It was a topic which I would have brought up, if the Chairman didn¡¯t bring it up himself. It seemed that they had talked about it with Isabelle ¨C Marie¡¯s roommate ¨C already so there should be no problems there. ¡°As for your recovery¡­ Even though you do look fine, you can talk about that with Professor Josephine. I believe things will be quite busy for me from now on.¡± After saying that, Chairman Eriu got up from the chair. According to what I heard at the previous iteration, it seemed that bringing Hua Ran into the school had also been quite the task. Now that Marie had also awakened as a vampire, he probably needed to talk about it with the El Rath Kingdom, which the Academy was affiliated to, and other related facilities. The Chairman would inevitably end up staying outside the Academy for a long time. He had been roaming around for a similar reason in the previous iteration, so this was probably about time. ¡°Student¡­ rin.¡± ¡®That guy will start moving once Chairman Eriu leaves the Academy. I need to get prepared for that then.¡¯ Even though that guy wasn¡¯t the final boss of the 2nd Arc, he would reappear later as an annoying mid-boss, which was why I had to stop him from running away at all cost. ¡°Stu¡­ Ko¡­¡± ¡®He might have run away last time, but not in this iteration.¡¯ ¨C Slap! ¡°Uahk¡­¡± I immediately came to myself from the sound of a whip slapping at the air. It was seriously a mystery how she could make such a sound with a whip. Considering how strict Lady Josephine was, I thought she would be glaring at me but what I saw instead was completely different. ¡°Are you still feeling unwell? If you are, then we can provide you with the best medical service.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ no. I¡¯m fine. I could probably even leave the hospital right now.¡± ¡°I see. Well then¡­ we can leave right now.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Taking out the needle that was poking into my arm, I tidied up the room with the help of Lady Josephine. ¡°Student Korin.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Would you mind going somewhere together?¡± ¡°¡­Sure.¡± I had a rough idea of where she wanted me to go. Soon, she used her interdimensional spell and began walking off into the dark abyss without any hesitation. The cliche in novels was to feel sick after a teleportation, but there was no such thing. It felt like we were just walking to a different room but the background changed in an instant and I saw Marie eating steamed potatoes with her bare hands behind rigid iron bars. ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°U, uhh. Hello¡­ Junior¡­ Cough! Kehk! Kehek!¡± Marie coughed as if something got stuck in her throat. ¡°Can you please open this door?¡± ¡°¡­Are you sure you going to be alright?¡± ¡°I believe it will be fine.¡± These iron bars were the safety device set against the demi-human Marie Dunareff who had awakened as a vampire. Lady Josephine harboring such a doubt was nothing out of the ordinary but I had zero hesitation. I walked into the door that Lady Josephine opened for me, and handed Marie a bottle of water. ¡°Hurry up and drink this. You might die at this rate.¡± ¡°Kuhuk¡­ kehk! T, thank you¡­!¡± ¡°Like, who is it that gave you steamed potatoes without any water?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Kuhum!¡± Lady Josephine let out an empty cough from the other side of the iron bars. Ah¡­ it seemed the culprit was that old lady who didn¡¯t know anything about a proper life. ¡°Cough! Cough! Kuhaa¡­!¡± After finally relieving the physical lump in her throat, Marie tapped her chest to swallow the food down. Soon, she felt my gaze and gave an awkward smile by going, ¡®Ehehe.¡¯ ¡°I thought your eating habits would change though. It¡¯s surprising that you¡¯re still eating potatoes. Are they even tasty?¡± ¡°P, potatoes are always delicious! No matter how you consume them, they are always a tasty and magnificent famine-relieving crop!¡± ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± I thought she couldn¡¯t have anything else apart from blood after becoming a vampire. That was something I didn¡¯t get to ask Sebancia Duke about. ¡°What about the bloodsucking impulse? Is that a bit different from hunger? I wonder how frequent it is.¡± ¡°N, nn¡­ I¡¯ll be receiving blood packs so it¡¯s fine¡­¡± From what I could see, Marie wasn¡¯t in a good state. She was wearing new and clean clothes but there were dried clots of blood all over her body. Even though she was provided with food and clothing, it seemed that she wasn¡¯t free enough to take a shower. ¡°You look like you¡¯re in a horrible state. Why don¡¯t you ask Lady¡­ I mean, Senior Professor for some favor?¡± ¡°N, no it¡¯s fine! I¡¯ve been causing too much trouble already! I¡¯ll stay here until Mr. Chairman and Senior Professor tell me it¡¯s fi¡­ Ahhht!!¡± After seemingly remembering something, Marie flapped her two arms and covered my eyes. ¡°G, go over there! I stink!¡± ¡°¡­ Look, it¡¯s a bit late for that. You know when you were biting my neck, I didn¡¯t even wash myself back then.¡± ¡°Ahhk! Please don¡¯t¡­!¡± In order to run away from Marie who was hitting me with her flapping arms, I moved to a corner and the girl finally calmed herself back down. ¡°¡­I was scared.¡± Wrapping her arms around her knees, the girl started confessing about her feelings. ¡°That girl called Hua Ran¡­ she was very scary. I thought I was going to die. It was very scary but¡­ I couldn¡¯t be like you, Junior.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I could slightly understand what she was trying to say. When faced with power that was too enormous to fight against, and when facing the dark shadows of death for the first time¡­ anyone was bound to be frightened. Scary, cold and mind-numbing. The brain doesn¡¯t work properly, and reality strikes at you without any consideration for your feelings. Like how a soldier at the battlefield feels ever so tiny at the face of a tempest that terrifies the heaven and the earth, Marie would have felt the same way. Even I was the same. Everyone would have to experience it at least once. Marie was a genius. She was a prodigy loved by mana. Because of that, the desperation for life and the fear of death must have been an extremely distant relative of hers until now. It¡¯s not that she wasn¡¯t a hard worker, and it¡¯s not like she lacked experience. It was just that most of the things in existence were just unable to stimulate the genius called Marie Dunareff. It was only recently that the girl faced reality and a true sense of fear. The thing that everyone had to experience had recently come to her. Marie was stimulated by the danger and fear, which must have been the cause of her awakening into a vampire. ¡°Haa¡­¡± The wings of a butterfly causing a storm, huh¡­ Because I had been overly focused on the incident with the Murderer of the City of Fog, there was something I had missed. In the end, the cause of Marie awakening into a demi-human was danger and fear that was great enough to stimulate this genius. After meeting Hua Ran, I aroused something inside her and it was because of that change that Hua Ran participated in the practical lesson at the hunting grounds. During her participation in the practical lesson, Hua Ran must have coincidentally come across Marie, and had probably used her true powers to contend against the Grade 1 genius. And that was what stimulated the vampiric molecules laying dormant inside Marie¡¯s body. I could only sigh upon realizing the malicious quirk of fate and the combined result of multiple coincidences. Actually, things like this used to happen quite often in the previous iteration. The backlash of the death of Alicia Arden, and Park Sihu¡¯s failed attempt at killing Hua Ran resulting in awakening the Yaksha inside her were such examples. No matter how insignificant something was at a glance, they had the power to change the current. Because we were living in a real world instead of a game, and because the people that we had been disregarding as NPCs were in fact breathing organisms, they naturally reacted in different ways to the different circumstances. ¡°Junior¡­ how are you able to stand back up? How come you don¡¯t give up? Even back when you were fighting against the elemental body, I thought you would never be able to succeed. Everyone was mocking you but in the end, you pulled it off.¡± ¡ª It was so cool. The girl¡¯s confession and question about how I was able to stand back up flushed my cheeks a little. ¡°Umm¡­¡­ It¡¯s nothing that amazing or anything but¡­¡± It was a bit embarrassing. Despite the grandiose oaths I made, talking about them was still quite embarrassing. ¡°You see, I like happy endings.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± ¡°Good people being rewarded, and bad people being punished. You know, I like that kind of didactic story.¡± Hard-workers should be rewarded, but as for the selfish ones¡­ Well, I didn¡¯t feel like cheering for them. ¡°Senior Marie. You¡¯re a nice person. You¡¯re kind, and you¡¯re pretty¡­ Anyway, what I¡¯m trying to say is that I want a happy ending for you if anything. So¡­ I want Marie Dunareff to be happy.¡± My cheeks twitched by themselves. Damn it. It was super embarrassing to voice this out loud. You know, men were supposed to stay quiet and do what was needed to be done in silence! That was the coolest thing to do! ¡°¡­Oh my.¡± Lady Josephine murmured from outside. Rolling my eyes, I threw a glance to the side and found Lady Josephine wearing a look of awe while covering her mouth with her palm. Huh? What¡¯s wrong with her? ¡°Uhh.¡± Meanwhile, Marie continued opening and closing her mouth. ¡°Uh, uhh¡­ Umm¡­¡­¡± I looked into her eyes and realized that her pupils were shivering profusely. Her white skin turned crimson red and she even started trembling. What was going on? Was she having a withdrawal symptom already? ¡°Would you like¡­ some blood?¡± ¡°U, uuhkk? Auh, auh¡­ Aahht?!¡± Please speak in a human language at least. ¡°Auhk¡­ auhh! No¡­ I swear I didn¡¯t think of anything weird¡­!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± What was with this reaction that seemed like it would come out in a fully-optimized game on a 4k monitor? Her entire body was flushed in red like a graphic card expressing that it will soon reach all the way to heaven, and Marie hurriedly escaped to a corner before gasping for breath to settle herself back down. ¡°A, anyway¡­ did it hurt a lot?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about my neck, well, it was just a little sting.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to be sorry.¡± ¡°No no no! I¡¯m really¡­ sorry! I just couldn¡¯t hold myself back. That impulse was¡­ Wait, no. That would just be an excuse¡­¡± Without caring about her disheveled hair and her neck that had dry clots of blood, Marie deeply lowered her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I am sincerely quite sorry.¡± Walking up, the girl held onto my hands and sincerely asked for an apology. There were tears budding beneath her golden eyes. ¡°Thank you for saving me and for not giving up on me. Thank you for your help. I¡¯ll be forever in your debt.¡± ¡ª Sniff! Without even letting go of my hands, the girl wiped her tears that were about to drop down her cheeks. ¡°Nn¡­ Thank you so much.¡± Marie released my hands and took a step back before turning her back to me. ¡°Junior! Umm¡­ I want to wash myself now! And I need to finish my potatoes!¡± ¡°Sure. Senior Marie.¡± It was probably best to leave her alone for now. ¡°Senior Professor?¡± In response to my call, Lady Josephine opened a dimensional spell in front of me. I took a step into the abyss that would lead me back to the hospital room when Marie¡¯s voice echoed from behind. ¡°Bye, Korin! See you later!¡± ¡°See you later.¡± The girl that was sobbing bid me farewell with a smile. I was back at the silent hospital room but soon, I could hear the clicking noise of Lady Josephine¡¯s heels. ¡°Oh dear¡­ Student Korin. That wasn¡¯t so bad.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°Ah~¡± Looking like a senior in life who had gone through countless vicissitudes of life, Lady Josephine shook her head. ¡°I shall discuss everything related to her with you from now on, Student Korin.¡± ¡°Umm¡­ sure.¡± After showing a faint smile at the end, Lady Josephine walked out of the room. While scratching my cheeks, I opened the window of the room as the dazzling afternoon sun glimmered through the window. With this, the 1st Arc had come to an end. It was a happy ending for everyone which used to be impossible to achieve in the previous iteration and the game. There were a few things that were unexpected, and not a single thing had gone according to the original plot of the game but¡­ that was what made it even better. Even without the player, the world was still working in one piece. Even without following the original storyline, we could still achieve a better ending. I was seeing the new beginning of a world composed of things which we hadn¡¯t been able to achieve even back when it was a game, and even back when we had a player. It was a nice feeling. CH 26 ? Everyday Life (1) ? She was all alone in the shivering cold forest. Actually, she wasn¡¯t literally by herself. There were animals. The predators of the forest were trembling in fear next to her and thus, it might be possible to say that she was not alone since she was with the beasts. The demonic beasts that used to be the target of fear were now frightened because of her. For some unknown reason or because of some shift in values, that inexplicable fear made her feel rather content. Her scorching thirst and the shivering cold encouraged her to drink their blood but the thirst never went away and her heart was still cold. I see¡­ My heart, and my veins do not pulse anymore¡­ That was when the boy came looking for her. With a whole crew, he was probably here to subjugate her. Right¡­ It was a natural turn of events. The tiny sliver of rationality left in her mind allowed her to predict the outcome of her life as an animal. ¡°It¡¯s fine. You can slow down.¡± The hand tapping on her back was soft; and the touching skins conveyed warmth to her body. Her rationality which had been floating adrift settled back down to her body from the torrent of emotions. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s fine.¡± At last when she managed to remove the bestial instincts and regained her humanity¡ª ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m¡­ sorry.¡± The only words that she could force out of her mouth was that of an apology. Ah. Ahh¡­ Do I even have the right to ask for forgiveness? Was Isabelle okay? What about junior? As a girl who loved people more than anything else, her conscience and the sense of guilt gnawed at her mind with each passing day. Without retaliating against the restrictive spell of Lady Josephine, Marie locked herself on the other side of iron bars. When the boy visited her at the prison, she was in fact psychologically impoverished even though she didn¡¯t show it on the outside. What if I went crazy again? There¡¯ll be no turning back if I end up killing people¡­ Marie could still remember her own self when she had been driven by her instincts into constantly craving blood. The memories of her rationality being chased out and the separation of her mind and the body still gave her goosebumps. She was a beast ¨C a monster; and a demon. She was the enemy of humanity who might suddenly start coveting blood. Was someone like her allowed to act like a normal person? ¡ºSenior Marie. You¡¯re a nice person. You¡¯re kind, and you¡¯re pretty¡­ Anyway, what I¡¯m trying to say is that I want a happy ending for you if anything. So¡­ I want Marie Dunareff to be happy.¡» She regained her usual state of mind in the blink of an eye. His words immediately sent all of her concerns flying out the window. The words that he said while shyly scratching his twitching cheeks felt more sincere and earnest than anything else she had heard in her entire life. And because she remembered the boy¡¯s devotion of putting his body on the line to save her who had turned into a monster¡­ Marie knew that those memories would forever be etched in her mind until the end of her life. How would she ever forget it? How would she possibly forget that intense and heated moment, and the sincere goodwill and dedication of the boy? He was the one who warmed up her cold veins and allowed her tranquil heart to start beating again. ¡º Marie-Senpai. You¡¯re a nice person. You¡¯re kind, and you¡¯re pretty¡­ ¡» ¡°Ahht¡­¡± ¡º It¡¯s okay. You can slow down. ¡» ¡°Aahhht¡­¡± In a fit, she kicked the blanket off of her body. The cold dews of the night weren¡¯t enough to cool down the heat pervading her body in the dead of the night. **** Overall, there weren¡¯t that many lessons at Merkarva Academy. However, there were comparatively a lot more freshmen classes, which was probably because there were a lot of fundamental and essential skills like bookkeeping, camping and map-reading lectures, which were given out during the first year. ¡°Hey. Look at this.¡± We were in the middle of a domestic lesson ¨C after learning how to sew ripped clothes in the previous lesson, we were now working on creating rations to have during a mission. ¡°What do you¡­ Puhup!¡± ¡°Jaeger. You¡­ kukuk!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Hoh, damn. That¡¯s crazy.¡± ¡°Uwek¡­ that¡¯s disgusting. Boys are seriously just¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t come here. It¡¯s not funny.¡± At the center of the mixed reactions from male and female audiences, Jaeger seemed proud of his creation. In the middle of two balls of minced meat that you could swallow at once was a large mushroom which was easy to find in the mountains ¨C that was Jaeger¡¯s take on ration. ¡°How does it look, Korin! Don¡¯t you feel like eating it?¡± ¡°Looks like something that freaking Park would love.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Just some stupid guy out there. Anyway, you should do that when you can~. When you¡¯re old, you can¡¯t even make jokes like that even if you want to.¡± Because you could get ostracized in an instant. Well, leaving aside whether Jaeger was going to be ostracized or not, it seemed that his love life at the Academy had just been rendered impossible. ¡°Seriously. Just boy¡¯s stuff¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not talk to him.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± Even Jaeger seemed flustered after sensing the reactions of the female students who accounted to roughly half of both the Knight and the Magic Department, but it was already far too late. ¡°K, Korin¡­¡± ¡°Umm¡­ Please don¡¯t come here. We are not that close, are we? Uhh, Mielle! Is that a pound cake? It does have a lot of calories, so I think it¡¯s a great choice.¡± ¡°Korrriiiinn¡­! You traitor¡­!¡± What was he even talking about? Of course you had to go with the girls in domestic lectures for good marks. ¡°Looks great. Can I have a bite?¡± ¡°Ehew~. Must be rough having a friend like that. Here you go.¡± ¡°Ohh, that¡¯s refreshing. It will be even more amazing with tea.¡± ¡°Tea? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯ll be tedious to boil tea all the time when we¡¯re outside?¡± ¡°Not necessarily. Tea bags are small and light, and it¡¯s hard to have access to fresh water outside so boiling the water into a tea is a good way to filter the water.¡± ¡°Wow~. Thanks for telling me that. Do you want another bite?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be glad to. Ohh, this is seriously amazing. Mielle, I think you could even run a bakery.¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s definitely an overstatement.¡± ¨C Haha ¨C Hoho I returned to my seat after chattering with some of the girls and trying out their stuff when Lark came over to me. Lark was making smoked salmon and was thus taking a fair bit of time. ¡°Korin. What are you even making? Why are you making the potatoes so thin?¡± ¡°Huhu. This is what I call the cutting-edge technology of rations. A revolution!¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I pressed down on boiled potato chunks with a hot rolling pin and made them as thin as paper. There were already 20 sheets of them. With a little bit of water and a bit of stirring, these sheets of thin potato could turn into mashed potatoes, and could also become like hash browns after frying them with some oil. You could pretty much carry an infinite amount of potatoes if you continued pressing down on them, which was why it was a popular ration during World War II. It would become a proper dish with a luxurious ingredient like cream or milk, but the prime goal of this thing was to fill up your stomach which was why it needed a compromise. I used to carry a lot of these when we were going outside on a long mission. ¡°Hmm. I definitely wasn¡¯t expecting you to use potatoes like this. Was that why you heated up the rolling pin?¡± Professor Lulara of Alchemic studies, who was in charge of this lesson, looked into my product with an intrigued look on her face. ¡°To think you would make a preservative food like this without even using magic¡­ I¡¯m sure the Knight Department would love this idea. Student Korin. I¡¯ll give you merit points for that, well done.¡± ¡°Wow. Thank you.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re alright with it, I would even want to check with the department and see if there is a possibility of this being used in the practical world.¡± ¡°Ohh. Then please call it Korin Potato later on.¡± By the way, it was called Park Sihu Potato in the previous iteration. That son of a bitch ¨C it was my idea and yet by the time I realized it, there was something called ¡®Park Sihu Potato¡¯ added in the midst of the standard rations of the military and the guardians. ¡°And Student Jaeger? You get demerit points for misconduct.¡± ¡°Huek¡­! Sorry¡­¡± With that, Jaeger now had 3 demerit points. Starting from minus 5, he would have to start cleaning the campus and stuff, and he was quite close to it now. ¨C Dude. Did you hear that? ¨C What is it? ¨C You know Senior Marie, the highest achiever from 2nd year¡¯s Magic Department, right? ¨C Ohh~. You mean that Senior Potato? ¨C I heard this from a senior in the 2nd year, but apparently they¡¯re done with her inspection! ¨C Really? Is she actually safe? ¨C Who knows? According to the chairman, she is. It had already been a week since Marie¡¯s incident. The news of Marie awakening into a demi-human had been publicized shortly after that, and everything was literally in utter chaos. Actually, awakening into a demi-human wasn¡¯t rare in this world, because the demonic molecules could be aroused by anything in existence. There were quite a lot of them, and there were even residential areas dedicated for demi-humans. The problem, however, was that it concerned the prodigy of the 2nd year¡¯s Magic Department, Marie, and another noteworthy fact was that the genius had awakened into one of the more dangerous demi-humans, vampires. On the first day, there were mixed responses from the students. Shouldn¡¯t we chase her out? It¡¯s scary. How can we even go to the same Academy as a demi-human? However, their arguments were rejected in an instant because of the existence of Hua Ran, a demi-human freshman. Leaving aside the potential risk of Hua Ran, she was currently commuting to the Academy without creating any problems so the threat of demi-humans wasn¡¯t something that felt as realistic. A week after the announcement that Marie had awakened into a vampire ¨C after all sorts of complaints and queries from the Kingdom, the Tower of Mages, the Old Faith, the New Faith, the Guardian Alliance and other places, and after innumerable professors from the Magic Department checked up with her while basing off of countless books that told of the traits of a vampire, Marie was finally deemed to be safe. As of yesterday, Marie was announced to be completely safe, and it was also announced that she would enter a special dormitory under the personal supervision of Senior Professor Josephine. Because of that, Marie had naturally been at the center of every conversation in the campus for the past few days, and that was no different for one of the related personnel, Jaeger. ¡°Oi. That demon senior¡­ I mean, Senior Marie is coming out today right?¡± ¡°I think so? And don¡¯t even think about calling her a ¡®demon¡¯ and whatever in front of the 2nd year seniors. You¡¯ll be actually bashed to death.¡± ¡°H, hmm¡­¡± Jaeger didn¡¯t seem confident in containing his chattery mouth. ¡°All done.¡± ¡°Ohh~ Korin. You¡¯re pretty good at cooking aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°That mashed potato looks nice. Looks like you have a lot, so do you mind me trying a little?¡± ¡°Just wait. Let me pack some of it up first.¡± The mashed potato that was made with the remainder from the potato sheets was quite decent. After packing some of it up, I ate the rest with the other guys which marked a successful end to the domestic lesson. **** ¡°Sorry, Isabelle. I¡­ I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± ¡°No! I, I¡¯m telling you it¡¯s okay.¡± At the back door of the central lecture building, Isabelle was starting to feel tired from the constant over-the-top apology of her friend. On the first day of Marie awakening into a vampire, Isabelle had been attacked and had been unconscious for a long time. Having her blood sucked out was by no means a good experience, but Isabelle had her own share of combat experience as a 2nd year student of the Magic Department. She was rather used to being exposed to fights and blood losses. Marie was more important than that. When Isabelle ran to her after hearing the news and called her name while gasping for breath, what she had gotten in response was Marie taking a step back in fear. ¡®Marie was crying back then, wasn¡¯t she?¡¯ How scary would it have been for her? How confusing would everything have been? Isabelle was as empathetic as a person could be when it came to things related to Marie, who had been her roommate ever since their 1st year at the Academy. She heard how vampires would usually be swept away by their intense impulse to suck blood when first awakening into one. Isabelle was very proud of how Marie had been able to stop herself in the middle and come to her senses. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I thought about how I should apologize but there¡¯s nothing I can do¡­ this is the only thing I can do to ask for your apology¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay! It¡¯s normal for things like this to sometimes happen in life!¡± As expected of Marie¡¯s friend, she had a bright and optimistic perspective. That was why she had readily accepted the offer of Chairman Eriu and Lady Josephine who requested her to refrain from mentioning the fact that her blood had been sucked by Marie for Marie¡¯s sake. Even though they promised to give her a significant present as compensation, Isabelle adamantly turned them down. Her belief was that compensation was unnecessary when protecting a friend. Now that Marie had regained her sense of self and had more than enough verifications from the professors of the Magic Department, there should be no need to mention this topic again. ¡°You¡¯ll be going into the special dormitory soon, right?¡± ¡°N, nn¡­ Just in case.¡± ¡°Marie. Everyone will still be your friends, and that¡¯s the same with me. Do you still consider me your friend?¡± ¡°Of course. But¡­¡± Isabelle patted Marie who was immersed in her sense of guilt. ¡°Thank you, Isabelle.¡± Marie leaned her small and adorable body on Isabelle¡¯s chest. In Isabelle¡¯s eyes, Marie still looked adorable and cute even when she was gloomy from guilt. Feeling like the characters of a youth drama, Isabelle was very content with the satisfying turn of events. She was open-minded enough to disregard the experience of her blood being sucked out. ¡°Oh, there you are.¡± It was when she was savoring Marie¡¯s hug that a seemingly insolent and arrogant¡­ yet cheerful voice echoed across. ¡°Korin?¡± Marie¡¯s voice was directed beyond her shoulders. When Isabelle stiffly turned her gaze to the back, she saw a boy who gave off a wild impression. She had seen him before. He was the freshman student who that stupid Kane picked a fight with for no reason ¨C he was a subject of caution who Marie had been greatly interested in these days. ¡°W, why are you here?!¡± Marie asked as her golden pupils glistened and blinked cheerfully, in contrast with the gloomy look from before. During her question, she jumped out of Isabelle¡¯s hug and hopped her way towards him. Uhh¡­ The only thing Isabelle could do was watch the girl run forward in a hurry. ¡°You¡¯re looking healthy.¡± ¡°Nn! It¡¯s been a while!¡± ¡°Has it? We saw each other two days ago, didn¡¯t we?¡± What? What was going on? Why was Marie talking cheerfully with that freshman who she met two days ago, instead of me, her friend whom she hadn¡¯t met for a week? More importantly, were normal students even allowed to visit her two days ago? They seemed quite close as well, didn¡¯t they? Why was that freshman talking casually to Marie, whom every 2nd year student was dying to talk to? ¡°Here. Congrats on your discharge.¡± ¡°Wow! Mashed potatoes! It¡¯s my favorite!¡± ¡°Have that when you¡¯re hungry, and this one here is also for you.¡± ¡°Tofu?¡± ¡°It¡¯s given to people that come out of prison in hopes they live a pure life from now on1. Well, it¡¯s just an Eastern culture.¡± ¡°Wow~. Korin you¡¯re so smart!¡± Marie unhesitatingly dug into the white and unseasoned tofu. Then, she gave a bright smile with bulging cheeks without even swallowing the tofu inside her mouth. Gazing down at her with a facial expression that wasn¡¯t too different from Isabelle¡¯s was the freshman boy. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take your time? Slow down.¡± ¡°Uht, uuhht! Mhmm! Ahht?!¡± As if those words overlapped with something from the past, Marie reacted like a broken doll. Her cheeks were deeply flushed in red as she took several steps back and immediately hid herself behind Isabelle¡¯s back. ¡°Nn?¡± ¡°I, it¡¯s¡­ nothin¡­ I mean, thanks for the tofu! It¡¯s great! Ah, actually, I need to go somewhere with Isabelle!¡± Marie blabbered gibberish while making up things that they hadn¡¯t even decided on. It was good that Marie had returned to her, but Isabelle couldn¡¯t help but notice the meaning behind Marie¡¯s gaze. ¡®See you later, thank you. I¡¯m a bit busy!¡¯ saying that, Marie looked keen on sending Korin away and yet was constantly sneaking a glance at his face. ¡°Are you busy? Well, that¡¯s unfortunate. Take care of yourself and see you next time.¡± ¡°Aht. Nn? Umm¡­ okay¡­¡± Isabelle did not miss the look of regret that flashed past her eyes. This can¡¯t be! Isabelle¡¯s instincts warned her that this was that thing. She had no idea how that freshman was able to deceive this lovely and adorable highest-achieving student of the 2nd year Magic Department, but the animosity that rose inside her from the sense of betrayal that she received from Marie was instead pointed at the man. He looked like a wolf and a bad guy who would have made countless girls sad. In her eyes, his wild appearance suddenly appeared to be that of a delinquent; his muscular body looked like that of a savage bully of the Knight Department; and his easy-going and considerate actions as that of a fully-experienced playboy. Isabelle pitifully gazed at her friend but without understanding the message implied by her gaze, Marie simply lamented in regret. ¡°S, see you later¡­¡± There were so many things Isabelle wanted to say after seeing Marie shyly force out her words of farewell after the boy was pretty much gone, but swallowed most of them back. ¡°Marie.¡± ¡°N, nn? Why?¡± ¡°Men¡­ are all wolves. Be careful.¡± ¡°Umm? Is Korin also a wolf then?¡± Geez. Is that who you immediately thought of? Are you not even going to try to hide it? ¡°Wolf¡­ wolf¡­ Nn. That¡¯s a cool animal.¡± The advice that Isabelle gave in fear that this innocent and unaware girl might make a mistake ended up bringing about a reaction that was completely different from her intention. **** I heard that the special dormitory where Marie would be going into would be a building that had a mixed appearance of the western and the eastern continents. It was probably going to be the same dormitory as the one Hua Ran was in. I could only hope that Marie would be fine at the special dormitory away from her friends, and be on good terms with the one and only other person that would be living there with her. ¡°Hmm~¡± My stats had an explosive increase after resolving Marie¡¯s incident. 100 points¡­ that was the same as leveling up 20 times. I also earned 15 points through several missions on the weekend, and that summed up to 115 points. Besides, both the Aura Rank and the Mana Rank went up by one level. Even though the equal distribution of stats meant that my stats wouldn¡¯t be distributed efficiently, the sheer amount of stat gain was enough to make my body incomparably different from before. Now with this, my physique was at an okay level. As long as I raised my Aura Rank and consumed the Mandrakes that were growing up nicely¡­ I should be able to use the Sixth Style before the final boss fight of the 2nd Arc. Considering how I could only use the Sixth Style near the end of the previous iteration, it was a ridiculous growth speed. In the upcoming 2nd Arc, my individual strength would also become extremely important, so I had to reach the sufficient level as soon as possible. ¡®Huhu. I have Mandrakes.¡¯ Just thinking of the three Mandrake brothers that should be growing nicely at the dormitory made my heart race! ¡®That much should be enough. The concerns are the Murderer of the City of Fog and the King of Iron Mountain¡­ as well as dealing with that traitor.¡¯ The Murderer, John Doe, was a key that would link me to Lunia Arden. It will be through this event that Alicia will grow into the True Alicia mode. Alicia Arden was the key character of the 2nd Arc¡¯s storyline. She needed to learn Domain Severance and defeat the final boss of the 2nd Arc, ¡®King of Iron Mountain¡¯ with the help of Sword Master Lunia Arden. And because I had to deal with that bothersome guy by myself, I had to save my strength as much as possible during the fight against the King of Iron Mountain. Well, there was still some time until this would happen. The ¡®Murderer of the City of Fog¡¯ incident which had acted as the catalyst that awakened Marie in the original storyline hadn¡¯t even occurred yet. However, there was the chance that the events would happen earlier than scheduled like what happened recently, so I had to prepare as much as possible ahead of time. ¡°What is Alicia even doing these days?¡± She used to come to the training rooms a few times on the first few days but I couldn¡¯t even see her shadow these days. That talented yet weak-minded and untraining genius ¨C when exactly would she start wielding her sword properly? Because I knew of her talents and her circumstances, I simply waited for the time being. Footnotes: 1 TLN: When people get discharged from prison, their friends or family would bring tofu. It¡¯s white and it symbolizes purity. The common rule is to eat it raw without any condiments or sauces, because adding spices or other ingredients ruins the symbolic meaning of having a white tofu. CH 27 ? Everyday Life (2) ? It was April ¨C about a month had gone by after the admission into Merkarva Academy. Alicia Arden was having the time of her life. Although the freshmen lessons were a bit complex in Merkarva Academy, that was nothing in comparison to the training schedules of Arden, the renowned swordsmanship household. Here, she didn¡¯t have to swing her sword ten thousand times a day, get her swordplay constantly checked by others, or have to duel with fierce and sweaty brothers and sisters of the dojo. Most importantly, she didn¡¯t have to meet her older sister who occasionally returned home! All she had to do was listen to a few of the mandatory subjects, eat and have a light exercise to keep her weight in check, and have fun with her new friends! As a direct descendent of the renowned Arden household, she was at the top of the campus hierarchy and was a target of admiration. It was extremely easy for her to make friends. Right. Alicia Arden was by nature lazy, lacked the desire for improvement and did not have any deep concerns about swordsmanship. Her talents as a swordsman were unprecedented, but her mindset was that of an infinitely under-achieving student. That was who Alicia Arden was. ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s a weekend so let¡¯s do a few missions and go on a walk around the city~¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Hugeek¡­!¡± Alicia was startled by the voice that suddenly echoed from behind. ¡°Mr¡­.K, Korin¡± ¡°You¡¯re not coming to the training rooms these days, are you?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s¡­ because I have too many things to do these days. There are assignments and¡­ I also have to take missions.¡± ¡°Hmm~¡± Seeing the unimpressed look on his face, Alicia felt rather guilty for no reason. After unconsciously looking down on him for being a Grade 5 Knight and realizing that he wasn¡¯t someone to mess around with, Korin became a difficult person to deal with for Alicia. When she was in front of him, she felt like her laziness, lack of practice and over-dependence on her talents were being exposed. The granddaughter of the Sword Emperor, Alicia Arden ¨C the true face of the genius who acquired a Grade 2 Knight Guardian Licence at a young age was on full display whenever she was with him. She did consider his ability to overwhelm her talents to be amazing and she also did go with him a few times when he asked if she wanted to train together at the training rooms but¡­ ¡®He¡¯s a maniac! His training methods are way too inhumane!¡¯ Korin Lork put great emphasis on training the fundamentals. Stab, slash and block. Unlike the other knights of his age who were immersed in killing moves, he was someone who placed a great amount of importance on the stability of the fundamental skills. His point was that you had to train the basics before anything else. Hearing that from someone who was physically a lot weaker than herself was slightly odd, but seeing him increasingly becoming stronger in the span of just a few days made her realize all the more how lazy she was. But even so, it was way too bothersome. There was no way it would be fun to be stuck in the training rooms immediately after the lessons were over. Even his friends like Jaeger and Lark didn¡¯t look like they were able to keep up with his insanely maniac routine. Sometimes, even the other peers like the scary former-mercenary, the druid with a mysterious atmosphere and the golem user, who looked a bit too gloomy to strike a conversation with, joined in Korin¡¯s training routine. What was it about this person that was attracting so many other people? ¡°Well, I have no plans on dragging an unwilling person into it. You¡¯re going to take a mission on the weekend right?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ yes. There is a patrol mission and a bodyguard mission so¡­¡± They were both simple missions with little danger. It was to be expected of Alicia who wanted to avoid tedious and exhausting missions. ¡°Are you still short on money?¡± ¡°Sorry? Umm¡­ Actually, I recently bought some clothes¡­¡± Now that she was able to adorn herself with worldly clothes that she couldn¡¯t have even dreamed of back when she was at her home, she had gone slightly over the top and her purse was running low on money. These days, she only had the option of having food at the academy cafeteria. ¡°I know a mission that pays quite well. Do you want to form a party?¡± ¡°Hutt¡­! How much?¡± ¡°2 gold coins per head. The difficulty is around Grade 2.¡± ¡°I will go!¡± The reason she couldn¡¯t just run away from this boy, who was a bit difficult to deal with, was because he tended to give great pieces of information like this. If not for his maniac training routine, Alicia would have been glad to see this boy every time. ¡°We¡¯ll depart some time next week, so save some money this weekend. Buying food and borrowing things like tents are all going to cost money.¡± ¡°Yes. Mr. Korin!¡± While feeling slightly glad that the boy wasn¡¯t even asking her to go to the training rooms together anymore, Alicia bid him farewell. **** My daily routine was rather simple and desolate. It was lesson, lunch, lesson, training rooms, dinner and training rooms. Even though we were in a guardian academy, I do admit the fact that my schedule was more challenging than average. However, I had to get stronger. Although I did manage to save Marie, that was only the tip of the iceberg. The scenario would continue throwing challenging trials at me. Gathering peers to stand up against those trials was very important but, one of the key members of the group ¨C Alicia Arden ¨C was lazier and more of a¡­ normal girl than I expected. It was understandable though because she had just been a normal student until recently let alone a successor candidate. Alicia wasn¡¯t the type of person to follow through just because I stimulated or pushed it onto her. There was only one person in the world who could prompt her ¨C her older sister, who Alicia both feared and admired. Only with the prompt of her sister would Alicia admit her true nature and her talents. ¡®It¡¯s about time for her to arrive in this city.¡¯ The fastest way to see Lunia Arden without triggering the death event of Alicia Arden was in an emergency quest that popped up in the middle of a patrol mission. There was still some time left until that point, so I had to do what I could do until then. A normal player would use the system window to make several things and be introduced to how crafting worked in this time frame. Park would have gone around the whole city looking for hidden pieces. But as for me, I couldn¡¯t craft because I didn¡¯t have the system window and obtaining the hidden pieces was also quite iffy. Most of them were quite useless for the time being and I had no use for them. ¡°Huu¡­!¡± The Six Ways of the Spear was accompanied by the befitting levels of enlightenment as one proceeded down the derivative skills. Compared to the simple styles, they were more complicated and difficult. They were hard to learn so I wasn¡¯t even able to master half of them in the previous iteration. Back in the game, those abilities, attacks and spells were usable by just pressing Q, W, E and R¡­ and the player could just read the names of the abilities to use them, but that didn¡¯t apply to me. In order to master the techniques of this world that I hadn¡¯t even bothered to remember back when I was busy playing the game, I had to focus and imagine tremendously. They weren¡¯t simple skills that I could learn by hitting the level requirements and allocating skill points. Because I wasn¡¯t the player, I couldn¡¯t use a wide range of martial arts and magic, and there was only one thing I could do. Imagine, focus and enact. Ominous Snake. A dazzling stab ¨C a foreboding snake that slithered and deceived the eyes of the enemy. Ominous Snake: Secret Arts ¨C Distorted March. A stab that blocked the paths of the enemy with the help of aura ¨C the remains of aura left behind the traces of the stab would disturb the vision of the enemy and take control of the area. ¡ª¡ª In complete darkness, the only thing I could perceive was what was on the other side of the veil of darkness ¨C the halted space that could even be considered the gap between dimensions. I fixed my posture and stabbed forward with the spear. It was the fastest stab and the strongest hidden move of the Ominous Snake. ?Ominous Snake: Extreme Arts? ?Soaring Snake, Rearing Head of the Venomous Dragon? ¡ª Kwang! A short yet heavy thud filled the training room. Was that a success? ¡°Wahh¡­!¡± ¡ª Clap clap clap! There was a chair inside the training room, on which was a bright girl clapping in admiration. She was the mage with water-coloured hair who often came for a visit. ¡°That¡¯s amazing, Korin!¡± ¡°¡­Did you see that?¡± ¡°Nn! It was super fast!¡± ¡°So it was a failure.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± Marie tilted her head with a puzzled look on her face. The fact that she was able to see the fastest stab meant that it was a fail. Because the true Rearing Head of the Venomous Dragon wasn¡¯t simply in the realms of being ¡®fast¡¯. ¡°You accelerated twice in the middle, right?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ You saw that as well?¡± Although I failed at using the skill inside the Domain, it did still reach the boundaries of the Domain. It should have caused an illusion of the dimension of time being contorted, so how the heck did she see that? She did awaken as a vampire but that was still very impressive. ¡°Senior Marie. Do you really have no plans on learning swords or spears?¡± My eyes told me that Marie would also have great success as a knight. It was to be expected of a girl with the physical abilities of a boss character. ¡°Nnn¡­ I can use hoes and sickles, but not swords. You see, I actually tried going to a dojo when I was young.¡± Was she the type who had no talent at understanding ¡®martial arts¡¯ despite having impressive physical abilities? ¡°But that¡¯s when you were young, right? If you try consistently then¡­ no. Forget it. It¡¯s probably best to focus on one thing instead.¡± That stupid Park was the prime example. He learned all sorts of spells and secret arts but had too many skills to make proper use of them. No matter how gluttonous one was, there was a limit to how much they could digest. Instead of doing a sloppy job at learning everything, it was generally better to focus on one thing instead. ¡°How¡¯s your magic practice going these days?¡± ¡°Nn¡­ I¡¯m learning from Professor Josephine.¡± A one-on-one lesson from the Dimensional Witch, Lady Josephine¡­ Marie had gotten herself a great teacher so she should be able to learn how to control her abilities very soon. Once again, I realized that something that we couldn¡¯t even try in the previous iteration due to her being unable to retrieve her rationality until the end had been changed due to my decisions. ¡°Do you want potatoes?¡± Marie took out sandwiches and meat pies as well as steamed potatoes which must have taken her a long time to prepare. ¡°It¡¯s not a lot, but there you go!¡± How was this not a lot? In any case, I started having the extravagant meal as Marie started stealing a glance at the bandage around my right hand. My palm had been ripped while I was practicing the move. Even though it should recover very soon, I had to wrap it with a bandage in order to have the meal. ¡°Are your¡­ wounds not being healed?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not good to have blood everywhere while having the meal right? I have to absorb the blood back anyway.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s a pity.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± After unknowingly letting out a comment, her circular eyes started to tremble as if there was an earthquake in her eyes. ¡°N, no!¡± ¡°What is¡­¡± ¡°No! Just no! That is not what I was trying to say!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ever since that incident, her atmosphere often tended to change in the blink of an eye. I wasn¡¯t sure about the reason but it seemed that I was somehow affecting this girl. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re still having blood, right?¡± ¡°Nn¡­ This thing.¡± She started carrying around packs of blood ever since she awakened into a vampire. The packs were designed to be able to suck after opening the lid. ¡°Is there a lot of difference between fresh blood and blood packs?¡± ¡°There is¡­ a bit. The freshness? Or maybe the flavor. Your blood was especially more delici¡­ Wait, that¡¯s making me sound like a strange person!¡± ¡°It¡¯s normal for eating habits to change over time. Let¡¯s just say that.¡± ¡°Uhk¡­¡± ¡°Is it like the difference between normal vegetables with pesticides and organic vegetables?¡± Marie showed her whole-hearted agreement to my words. ¡°Nn nn! That¡¯s it! And it¡¯s similar to frozen meat and fresh meat that was butchered just recently!¡± That was very easy to understand. The difference between fresh meat and frozen meat was indeed quite big. The cafeteria in Merkarva Academy received meat at once using magic freezers so it was rare to have raw meat. We did sometimes get raw meat, but that was only because we were getting actual livestock. It was seriously questionable which supplier it was that was supplying the Academy with live animals¡­ regularly at that. The transportation and infrastructure of this world weren¡¯t even at the level of the one in modern Earth. Supplying live animals would be extremely difficult unless they were an extremely big company¡­ Wait, did that mean Marie had to eat frozen meat her entire life? ¡­ Thinking about it like that made her seem even more pitiful. How could someone live the rest of their life while only having frozen meat? ¡°Senior Marie.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine to have mine sometimes.¡± ¡°W, what are you talking about?¡± ¡°I can recover anyways so feel free to come to me when you¡¯re fed up with the blood packs. I can let you have my blood at least.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Her chin dropped in an instant and didn¡¯t show any signs of closing back up. Her white skin turned deep red as she clenched onto her sleeves. ¡°D, don¡¯t say things like that even as a joke.¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to turn your offer down! Because I don¡¯t want to cause any trouble!¡± She sounded resolute but her face was burning with passion. I could hear the coarse pants leaving from the gap between her clenched teeth. ¡°More importantly, Korin!¡± Marie immediately changed the topic and took out a pretty jar of glass from her basket. It was a glass bottle with a pinkish liquid inside. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ Korin, are you bad with any food? Like beef tartare, sashimi or pig intestines¡­¡± ¡°I can have everything. Talking about pig intestines reminds me of blood sausage soup. A warm meal with the soup just heals your soul, does it not?¡± Back when I was in Korea, I loved having blood sausages. In fact, I would have had even more if only there were more places that sold them. Being a Korean game, Korean cuisine was quite commonplace in so there were quite a lot of traditional Korean restaurants in the city. ¡°Reeally? Umm. T, this¡­¡± ¡°Is this perhaps blood?¡± ¡°Nnn? Y, yeah¡­ it¡¯s not 100% blood though and¡­ I added the powders of white lizard tail and a few other ingredients¡­ into my blood¡­¡± Her voice shrunk over time. She must be aware of it herself that the ingredients sounded fairly iffy despite her goodwill. ¡°It might be a bit¡­ disgusting but it¡¯s good for your body. The blood of a vampire is one of the best ingredients out there¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this, like, priceless? Is this really for me?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, Korin¡­¡± ¡°Ehew. Of course not. Thank you very much.¡± What Marie made was a potion created with her own blood and a bunch of other ingredients. In this world, potions were usually for the recovery of vitality, mana and aura but there were more. ¡°Thanks for the treat.¡± ¨C Gulp gulp! ¡ºYou have consumed a Grade 2 Potion of Vitality¡» ¡ù It has been made with special ingredients. ¨C Your Aura Rank has increased by 1 rank. ¨C Your Aura Capacity increases by 500. ¨C 10 points will be equally distributed. Holy¡­ I was finally seeing the unfriendly system window again, and most importantly, my Aura Rank had gone up. In Heroic Legends of Arhan, increasing the total capacity of aura and mana was relatively easy but raising the ¡®Quality¡¯ was extremely difficult. Considering how the final Aura Rank I had in the previous iteration was Lower Medium, it was evident that what just happened was exceptionally remarkable. My Aura Rank and Mana Rank had barely gone up by 1 after Marie¡¯s incident where I completed a Precept with the difficulty rank of S and yet¡­ it went up yet again from just a potion. ¡°That¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°Was it tasty?¡± ¡°Tasty? It¡¯s not for the taste is it?¡± ¡°R, right! I¡¯ll try to make it better next time!¡± ¡°Next time?¡± Was she going to make another potion for me in the future? Well, a repeated use of the same elixir did drop the effect by a lot but there was nothing bad for me if she was going to make another one. Besides, even if the core ingredient was the same, the effect would change depending on how she brewed it, and what sorts of other ingredients she added inside. ¡°Oh right, Senior Marie. Do you know any blacksmiths?¡± ¡°A blacksmith? Are you trying to make a weapon?¡± ¡°Yes. The chairman said he will provide the funds no matter how expensive it is.¡± ¡°I heard that too! I¡¯ll introduce you to the one that made my staff!¡± Marie said while showing me her staff with a blue gem inside. Looking back, Marie¡¯s staff was an extremely amazing weapon which was even stored personally by that crazy Park. It must have been tremendously expensive so the blacksmith that made the weapon couldn¡¯t have been a nobody. ¡°What is the blacksmith¡¯s name?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Ferghus! Ferghus the Weapon Breaker!¡± ¡°No thanks.¡± ¡°Uuun?¡± Her eyes blinked like that of a baby. ¡ºKorin Lork¡¯s current status¡» Aura Rank: Lower Medium (4,530) ¨C 500 Mana Rank: Low (2,470) ¨C 200 ¡ºKorin Lork¡¯s current status¡» Very Low -> Low -> Upper Low 100 -> 200 -> 300 Lower Medium -> Medium -> Upper Medium 500 -> 1,000 -> 1,500 Lower High -> High -> Very High 2,000 -> 3,000 -> 4,000 Lower Unique -> Unique -> Upper Unique 5,000 -> 7,500 -> Above 10,000 ¡º3rd Precept¡» Strength: 59 Agility: 58 Vitality: 60 Aura: 56 Mana: 56 ¡ºRegeneration of the Tenacious Warrior¡» ¨C When your HP falls below a certain level during a fight, your HP Regeneration speed will increase tremendously. + 50% Regeneration ¡ºPain Tolerance¡» ¨C Gain tolerance against attacks deemed lower than [Grade 4]. Significantly lowers the chance of having a stat debuff from poison or contamination. ¨C Gain increased tolerance against the same attacks. CH 28 ¨C Shiiiieee~ ¨C Booom! That was when a flare gun was shot from the woods. It wasn¡¯t loud nor visible to the naked eye but its special design that allowed only the unique goggles of the security guards to spot it meant that everyone present was able to see it. ¡°Aht! That¡¯s a signal from the other group! A nest of a demonic beast above Grade 2!¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± If there was nothing going on, the patrol mission could end without the guardians defeating a single demonic beast but in emergency situations like this, they were obligated to participate in the fight. ¡°We have the granddaughter of the Sword Emperor on our side!¡± ¡°A nest of a Grade 2 demonic beast is nothing!¡± ¡°Wait¡­¡± ¡°Hoh. This is perfect.¡± Korin¡¯s quiet mutter at the end was too soft to reach the ears of the dejected Alicia. **** The Grade 2 demonic beast¡¯s nest that the other patrol group discovered was a den of wolves with a beowulf in the lead. ¡®I can easily deal with a beowulf by myself!¡¯ That was what Alicia thought, but her inexperienced judgment resulted in a critical outcome. ¨C Grrrh¡­ A beastly howl echoed from the top of the head of the large horse. The four thick and long legs of the horse left behind heavy thuds but its stomach was rotten like a drowned animal so much so that it looked like it would tear open at any given moment. Sitting on the horse was a headless human carrying a spear. The humanoid monster without a head was so thin that its flesh was almost touching its bones. The strange-looking horseman urged the horse and marched towards Alicia while slashing at the air with its long thick nails. ¨C Tap! Tap! As if it had become one with the wind, the demonic beast raced across the ground with soft steps unlike before. ¡®It¡¯s coming!¡¯ It flailed during its march that made it look more like a mollusk than a vertebrate. It couldn¡¯t even fight against the gust created by its own march as it wobbled its way towards her. ?First Sword Style of Arden. Domain Severance? The unpolished battojutsu, which was still the strongest move Alicia could pull off, was swung at the approaching demonic beast. ¨C Huiik! However, the beast¡¯s movements were far beyond her level of imagination. Like a giant squid, it suddenly blasted its body forward and dodged her attack before trying to wrap itself around her body like a snake. ¡°Kuhuk¡­!?¡± It was both fast and experienced. It was at least a Grade 1 demonic beast! She got caught off guard because it was immediately after she dealt with the beowulf, and it wasn¡¯t her fault in her opinion, because no-one would have expected such a monster to be in the forest! ¡°M, Mr. Korin! Please help! Require assistance!¡± Alicia asked for help as soon as she started being pushed back by a little. She was a normal girl who was very distant from the pride of a knight¡­ in a lot of ways. ¡°K, Knight Korin is currently in the middle of fighting other demonic beasts!¡± But what she heard in response was not Korin¡¯s voice but the voice of the security guards who were fighting against other demonic beasts. ¡°Kiiiiiik¡­!¡± In that desperate situation, as the monster¡¯s nails approached her neck and Alicia closed her eyes shut¡­ ¨C Kajik! Something splattered with a thud. A hot stream of blood flowed down her cheeks. ¡°U, uhh?¡± ¨C Kieeeeeh¡­! A resentful voice tickled her ears. Alicia reopened her eyes and saw a gleaming blade that was right next to her face. ¡°This sword¡­¡± Her gaze traveled up the blade and looked at the beholder. The swordsman with long and jet-black hair had the same cold and intellectual look on her face as always. ¡°As weak, lazy and cocky as ever.¡± Lunia Arden. She was the oldest daughter of the renowned Arden family, and was the most likely candidate to become the next successor. The contemporary Sword Master who was believed to be the second coming of the Sword Emperor. ¡°S, sister.¡± She was Lunia Arden; Alicia¡¯s older sister. Translator¡¯s Note: Ferghus from Mabinogi Lady Kiri from Dungeon and Fighter Hollgrehenn from Ragnarok Those three are the infamous gear upgraders of the three famous RPG games of Korea, which are of course famous for RNG upgrade systems. CH 29 ? Lunia Arden (1) ? She stood tall and proud with her tough and imposing physique. Her back was so straight that it looked like she was being supported with a thick stick and her long black hair reached all the way down to her waist. The buttons of her jet-black suit were all undone except for the few around her chest, which thus revealed her voluptuous lines, but she gave off a dignified aura that overshadowed it. A heroine. It was as if that word had been made solely for her sake. ¨C Flop! The monster slowly crumbled to the ground after the sword pierced through the head of the horse all the way to its rider. The Grade 1 demonic beast, ¡®Dullahan¡¯, that had been pushing Alicia to her limits died in the blink of an eye. Even though it was a surprise attack, only someone like Lunia who was at the level of a semi-Unique Grade Knight would be able to defeat such a sensitive monster in one strike. ¡°U, unni¡­¡± She was the contemporary heroine, Lunia Arden. Her bluish brown eyes, elegant set of facial features as well as her physical characteristics all the way up from her legs ¨C even from a glance, it was easy to spot the similarities between these two sisters. However, they gave off a totally different atmosphere. It was as different as a tiger and a rodent. Unlike the innocent and warm look on Alicia¡¯s face, Lunia looked so sharp and cold that the chilliness seemed to affect the surrounding air. Lunia opened her mouth without even hiding her animosity against her younger sister, Alicia. ¡°That was pathetic. Why did you not fall back after seeing the Dullahan? Why didn¡¯t you scout the enemy beforehand? And most importantly, what was with that miserable attack?¡± She coerced Alicia with her voice. The coldness of her expression and the contempt in her gaze were so intense that no-one would be able to forget it after receiving it even once. ¡°S, sorry¡­¡± ¡°Stop. The result of your actions are all a part of your responsibility. A few words of apology are not going to be enough. Be aware that your carelessness was what endangered the soldiers who had followed you out of trust.¡± ¡°Yess¡­¡± Alicia shrunk and instinctively lowered her shoulders when the back of Lunia¡¯s sword struck her arm like a whip. ¡°Ugh¡­!¡± ¡°A swordsman of Arden must stand tall at all times.¡± ¡°Y, yes¡­!¡± They seemed more like a higher-up and a subordinate of the military instead of sisters. In truth, that indeed was the base culture of the Arden household. Well, they were actually more like a group of gangsters than the military. ¡°But still¡­ to think there¡¯s someone unwilling to help their comrade in distress.¡± Lunia turned her sharp glare towards me. She might have noticed that I was watching Alicia while pretending to have my hands full. However, she soon turned away from me as if she didn¡¯t want to bother quibbling about it. After a while, several female swordsmen wearing suits neatly lined up in front of her. ¡°Captain. We have finished dealing with the nearby demonic beasts.¡± ¡°Shall we chase the ones that are running away?¡± Those swordsmen that followed Lunia Arden around looked like armed gangsters wielding weapons but they were the elites of the Arden dojo. Jennie the Rapid Sword, Sirin the Duel Wielder, Lena of the Rippling Sword, Mei the Sword of True Darkness, and Milia of the Illusionary Sword. They were the Five Swords of the Arden family who were each at the level of a Grade 2 Knight. Each and every one of them were either stronger or as strong as Alicia. ¡°There is no need to chase after them. We¡¯re going back.¡± ¡°Your will, Captain.¡± The five swordsmen lowered their heads without raising any questions about Lunia¡¯s command. Then, they gave a comparatively warmer greeting to the intimidated Alicia. ¡°It has been a while, young miss.¡± ¡°H, hello. Sisters¡­¡± ¨C Tap! That was when Lunia tapped on the ground with her scabbard as if she wasn¡¯t content with something, as they immediately re-addressed her using a different title. ¡°Do you have any injuries, Junior Sister?¡± ¡°I, I¡¯m fine. Senior Sister Jennie.¡± After making sure they were calling each other using the right title, Lunia turned around. While the security guards were almost done inspecting the nest of the demonic beasts, Alicia fidgeted with her hands before carefully walking up to her. ¡°W, what brought you here?¡± ¡°That is classified information.¡± ¡°T, then how long do you plan on staying¡­¡± ¡°That is classified information.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Their conversation was followed with a heavy silence. This was how their conversation always went. ¡°Of course, I didn¡¯t come to see such a pathetic side of my kindred. It¡¯s a shame I do not have any other choice.¡± ¡°Ughh¡­¡± This time, Alicia didn¡¯t shrink her shoulders because she knew she would receive a fierce strike with the back of the sword. After turning her back to Alicia, Lunia clomped her way towards me along with a ferocious vigor. ¡°I am the head disciple of the Divine Arden Swordsmanship, the First Captain, Lunia Arden.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hmm. Because of her formal explanation of herself, I had to do a matching introduction of myself. ¡°I am the worldly disciple of Eight Trigrams Spearmanship, Korin Lork.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lunia stared directly into my eyes. Yes, I know. I knew what she wanted to say but I couldn¡¯t tell her the real identity of my spearmanship. In the current era, there were only two people apart from me that were using this specific spearmanship. There were only a few people that could notice its true identity just by seeing it, but there might be problems in the future if I talked about the name myself. ¡°Don¡¯t worry if you don¡¯t want to talk about it. What is your relationship with our fool?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ I¡¯m her friend.¡± ¡°A friend? ¡­¡­ Take this.¡± After slight hesitation, Lunia took something out of her pocket and handed it over to me. The outer packaging had the unique decoration of a bee. I knew what it was since I had been sending a few of them back home because of the letters of my sister. Honey bomb candies. Its characteristic was the explosive bomb of sugar that showed the extreme limits of sweetness and numbed your tongue. ¡°¡­¡± As expected of sisters, their tastes were exactly the same. ¡°Let us return.¡± Lunia Arden commanded the security guards as if it was the most natural thing in the world. **** ¡°It seems that young miss¡­ I mean Junior Sister has been healthy.¡± ¡°It looked like she even gained some weight.¡± The Five Swords casually talked about Alicia while following behind Lunia. The reason they were so carefree despite the conversation concerning the one and only competitor of the successor candidate they were loyal to was partially because they knew how upright Lunia Arden was, but there was another reason. Someone like Alicia Arden would never be able to contend against Lunia Arden. Even though the Sword Emperor personally chose Alicia as a successor candidate and gave her the demon-slaying sword on top of that, Alicia had been unable to display herself as a suitable future successor of the Arden household. Ever since ¡®that incident¡¯, Alicia Arden grabbed the attention of many people, but at the same time, that caused her to break. The weak-minded girl was not suited for the path of a killing sword. ¡°Hmph.¡± Lunia Arden scoffed at her junior sisters that were following from behind. She didn¡¯t feel the need to correct their thoughts because of how pathetic her foolish sister had been. ¡°In any case, do any of you know about that boy?¡± ¡°Do you mean that boy called Korin, Captain?¡± Jennie and the other swordsmen of the Five Swords showed doubtful looks on their faces after hearing her question. ¡°That boy was just a Grade 5 Knight though, was he not?¡± ¡°Grade 5?¡± Jennie replied as the only one who bothered to ask questions about Korin¡¯s identity, but Lunia frowned in response. ¡°That can¡¯t be. Were the grading tests of Merkarva Academy that unreliable?¡± ¡°???¡± Lunia knew how that boy had been relaxed despite fighting against a horde of monsters. It looked like he was barely holding on with the rest of the monsters while leaving the Grade 1 demonic beast, Dullahan, to Alicia, but Lunia Arden knew how that couldn¡¯t be any further from the truth. Korin¡¯s gaze had been on Alicia from the start to the end, and the group of monsters around him weren¡¯t even able to attract 20% of his attention. He wasn¡¯t just a little bit more experienced than others, and that wasn¡¯t something that was achievable through training. Korin had the sensitiveness and a compulsive behavior that could only be polished through actual battles. The habits that were formed from extreme situations where it was either ¡®kill or be killed¡¯ weren¡¯t easy to remove. Even if someone was to throw a rock at him in the middle of his sleep, he would probably use the same move. ¡®And that spearmanship.¡¯ It looked simple at a glance but Lunia had practically mastered the Arden swordsmanship and could thus see the destination of that spear. Those spear moves were like the preheating process that was there to let him reach and accomplish something in a higher plane. In that sense, it was similar to the Arden Style¡¯s Domain Severance. ¡®Is he looking into the domain?¡¯ If he was, then that would mark the appearance of the first Spear Saint in 80 years. There was the request she had gotten from the Academy, so Lunia decided to observe him whenever she had time. It was a short encounter. Her younger sister was still disappointing, but her friend was quite decent. If that boy continued staying next to her sister¡­ A rare smile faintly appeared on Lunia¡¯s lips. It was out of expectation that she might be able to see it again this time. **** My friend circle has increased massively to the previous iteration. I usually listened to lectures with Jaeger and Lark but the lunch was random. Sometimes I ate at the cafeteria, and sometimes I ate at the kitchen which was open to the students. That was usually only when Marie brought some fresh ingredients for lunch but quite surprisingly, Yuel also sometimes brought precious mushrooms from the forest. On days where I had lunch with Yuel, we would go to the library immediately after the meal to start the lecture on the Ogham alphabet. She remembered all the letters but still wasn¡¯t sure with the meaning, interpretations and applications, which was because the woods had been burnt down before she could hear anything proper about them. ¡°I have a mission. With good pay.¡± Another surprising fact was that Dorron would also come from time to time. Was it from friendship and a sense of camaraderie that was created during the time we fought together? It would be great if that was the case, but it obviously wasn¡¯t for this money worshiper. In his eyes, it seemed that I was a decent teammate of the same industry. He would sometimes offer doing a mission together whenever there was a difficult mission that paid well. After recovering all of his swords, Dorron was back to being one of the top damage dealers among freshmen. He was experienced and saw many things in the world, so working with him was always very comfortable. To be honest, he was very helpful in the last iteration as well. In any case, I realized once again that my relationships had broadened by a lot compared to how tiny it was due to Park Sihu¡¯s disruption. ¡°Korin. You know, for your mandatory course, they were looking for a helper from the 2nd year students. I attended as the assistant thanks to Professor Josephine¡¯s help, and you know what? That druid girl¡ª¡± Especially because of how people like Marie, who had been impossible to see in the previous iteration, often came to me. I constantly felt pride for saving a girl from the temperamental acts of that stupid Park. ¡°Oh right. This is a potato pie. I put minced lamb inside and baked it together. Have some when you¡¯re feeling hungry.¡± As expected of someone who was known as the potato-sunbae by the freshmen, Marie always brought a bunch of stuff whenever she came for a visit. Like how grandmas living in the countryside prepared tons of stuff for their grandchildren, Marie always prepared a large amount of food which was enough to feed 3~4 people. ¡°It¡¯s too much though¡­¡± ¡°Reaally? Umm, should we eat it together then?¡± I would always say it was too much to eat by myself and Marie would stay back to help me finish the food. These days, I would pretty much always eat dinner with her and thanks to that, I didn¡¯t have to go to the cafeteria at night. ¡°Wait. This lamb. Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± ¡°Can you tell? It¡¯s a fresh lamb that was butchered just today!¡± ¡°Ohh¡­¡± I heard there were less than 20 livestock except for chicken that were being sent to the Academy. Even though Merkarva Academy always gave away food for little to no return, they were still quite eager to reduce the cost by reducing the menus and stuff. Considering that, having fresh meat instead of a frozen one was remarkable, but for some reason, it was actually common for Marie to bring fresh meat. ¡°Actually, Professor Josephine told me to help with butchering the livestock. I¡¯m helping out so that I can practice controlling their blood and drawing them out clean.¡± ¡°Ohhh¡­¡± A terrifying scene of Marie snapping the neck of a lamb and extracting its blood appeared in my mind. But in any case, it was true that the best way to learn something was through consistent practices. ¡°I¡¯ll bring beef next time! They said they¡¯ll be sending three later! Do you like braised ox-tails?¡± Grip! I immediately held onto her hands. Senior Marie looked a bit surprised but she didn¡¯t shake my hands off. ¡°Senior.¡± ¡°N¡­ nn?¡± ¡°Please call me anytime. I¡¯ll go wherever you tell me to.¡± Braised ox-tails! ¡°Y, your hands¡­¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°I, I will bring them so can you please¡­ let go for now?¡± Marie lowered her head and used her other hand to lower the visor of her cap. Her tiny hand twitched inside my hands but I could feel the faint and stern grip. Didn¡¯t she just ask me to let go of her hand? ¡°H, hmm¡­ Your hands are big, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°I am a guy after all.¡± ¡°Mhmm¡­! They¡¯re very rough, and there are a lot of scratches¡­ I can feel your hard work.¡± Despite telling me to let go of her hand, she was observing mine while touching every part of it. Since she was a clever mage herself, she seemed quite intrigued with the hands of a knight. ¡°They¡¯re just like my dad¡¯s hands!¡± ¡°Your dad¡¯s?¡± ¡°Nn. They¡¯re like the hands of an adult.¡± I was indeed an adult. Marie was sometimes very sharp and on point. ¡°Very cool¡­ and mature¡­¡± That was when the voice of a 2nd year student reached our ears. ¡°Marie?¡± As soon as Marie heard Isabelle¡¯s voice, she let go of my hands in fright and hopped her way to Isabelle before she could say anything. ¡°H, hello Isabelle! Have you had dinner?¡± ¡°Uhh, yeah¡­ by the way¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± ¡°I mean¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. do. anything!¡± ¡°¡­Umm, okay.¡± ¡°Bye Korin! See you later!¡± Hmm. I didn¡¯t know much about kids these days. Like, it had been a long time since I last played with girls. Because of the disruptive actions of Park in the last iteration, I didn¡¯t have any girlfriend in the past 3 years. There were some suggestive atmospheres and relationships but¡­ it¡¯s all because of that stupid Park that I didn¡¯t get to make any girlfriends. I¡¯m serious. That had to be the case¡­ Anyway, Marie would probably reappear out of nowhere tomorrow like always. The next day, I was heading to the cafeteria to have lunch with my friends when an unexpected person stopped me in my tracks. ¡°Huuik!¡± ¡°U, uaah¡­¡± Jaeger and Lark shivered like herbivores in front of a carnivore. Their instinct as an organism was telling them to lower themselves before the predator in front of their eyes. ¡°Hua Ran?¡± Hua Ran with the same chained nun clothes came to me. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Your promise.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± ¡°Meal.¡± ¡°¡­Ah.¡± It was about a month ago that we made that promise. Back when I was suspicious about Marie¡¯s awakening, I had gone looking for Hua Ran at the special dormitory to ask about Lady Josephine¡¯s whereabouts. I told her I would buy her a meal as a show of gratitude but I had completely forgotten about it. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I actually didn¡¯t mean it when I said that though¡­ ¡°Guess I can¡¯t have lunch with you guys today.¡± ¡°Y, yeah.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Actually, I think I forgot to do my homework.¡± ¡°I can help you!¡± The two of them ran away in the blink of an eye. They didn¡¯t do anything wrong to Hua Ran but their fear was justified because her aura alone was already in an overwhelmingly different league. ¡°Rice.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ what do you want?¡± ¡°Rice.¡± ¡°Do you want some spicy chicken feet¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hmm, judging from her reaction, it seemed that I would probably become one with the spicy chicken feet if I tried to feed her that. Let¡¯s see. Hua Ran looked like a sharp cat¡­ and cats like fish so¡­ ¡°Do you want some mackerels?¡± ¨C Nod. Good. It seemed that Hua Ran was fine with fish. In the central streets of the Academy, there were plenty of other restaurants apart from the academy cafeteria. Although most of them were high-class restaurants that were incomparably more expensive than the cafeteria, there were still some normal ones. ¡°Aunty! A mackerel set and a roe soup for us please!¡± Soon came roe soup in a black stone pot and a set meal with grilled mackerel. In addition, there were also 2-people¡¯s-worth of side dishes. ¡°It¡¯s Eastern style, but it¡¯s a bit different from your place, right? Even apart from the peninsula-style cuisine, there are some oversea-style cuisines here.¡± ¡°Oversea-style?¡± ¡°You know, places that sell raw fish on rice.¡± ¡°¡­Are they tasty?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not cost-efficient but they are tasty.¡± ¡°¡­I want to go.¡± Did I have to take her there next time? I guess I had to talk about it with Lady Josephine. Hua Ran put aside the steaming bowl of white rice and was about to pick up the mackerel with her bare hands. ¡°Wait.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Are you going to eat that with your bare hands?¡± ¡°???¡± She appeared to be asking why not. ¡°The bones are going to be stuck in your throat.¡± ¡°I can eat the bones as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡± She probably could, considering how she had the Unbreakable Vajra Body but still, that was not how this dish was supposed to be consumed. ¡°Let me take the bones out. Wait a bit.¡± I used to come to this restaurant quite a lot in the last iteration because both Park and I kept ourselves from feeling homesick with the help of Korean cuisine. By separating the flesh of the fish into two, I separated them into chunks and skilfully removed the back bone. When I was done removing the small and fine bones of the fish and separated the flesh into nice and edible pieces, I saw Hua Ran gulping in front of me. ¡°Let¡¯s dive in.¡± Hua Ran began eating the mackerel set meal. The grilled mackerel was moist on the inside while the skin had a golden crust and was more than sufficient for a nice meal. Besides, it was grilled quite nicely and didn¡¯t smell too much like fish. But that didn¡¯t mean you didn¡¯t have to brush your teeth after eating it! In any case, watching her eating all the pieces of deboned mackerel was a very pleasing sight. She was only three years old now so I was worried that she might be picky with some food but that must have been my prejudice¡­ ¡°Hua Ran.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°Why do I have double the pickles from before?¡± ¡°¡­¡± She directly stared at me as if she did nothing wrong. After that, she raised her bowl of shredded radish salad and nonchalantly poured it into my bowl. What? Why? She replied to my gaze. ¡°I don¡¯t like this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I can eat this.¡± Lastly, she picked up my bowl of stir-fried fish cakes. She seemed rather proud with that ¡®We¡¯re even now right?¡¯ look on her face. Anyway, that was how I spent my life everyday. On the weekdays, I would listen to lectures and go to the training rooms, and I completed missions to clear the 1st Precept on the weekends. The weapon that I had requested from Ferghus was about to be done as well, and it was about time to deal with the Murderer of the City of Fog. It was a bit early, but it was the start of the 2nd Arc. CH 30 ? Lunia Arden (2) ? The so-called swordsmen loved moving around in groups. Groups of gangsters holding swords would follow their captain while calling themselves the pursuers of the path of sword before suddenly naming themselves as a sect. 60 years ago, Garrand the Sword Emperor opened the new era of swords and thanks to the current family head whole-heartedly spreading their family¡¯s swordsmen across the continents, the Arden family became the most-renowned swordsmanship sect of the world. But at the core of the Arden family, there were still remains of the hierarchy system of gangsters which had been in place ever since they started off as a group of mercenaries. ¡°Light this up.¡± ¡°Yes! Captain!¡± One sentence from Lunia was enough for the instructor of Merkarva¡¯s Arden dojo to dash up in a fluster and light her cigar on fire. The position of a head disciple of the main family was not something that could be compared to the likes of a mere instructor. Besides, the instructor was just here to teach the swordsmanship of Arden to normal citizens unlike the main family which focused on fostering guardians. It was natural for them to be leagues apart. ¡®W, what is going on?¡¯ The trainees of the dojo were flabbergasted and flustered from the sudden appearance of celebrities. The head disciple of the main family and the captain of the 1st Sword Squad, ¡®Sword Master Lunia Arden¡¯ and the Five Swords had visited the Arden dojo in Merkarva City. It was a sudden visit but it was the best opportunity for people that were aspiring to become swordsmen. They shed tears of joy after having personal spars and receiving guidance but the problem was the day after that. That day, Lunia was sitting on a shabby wooden chair of the dojo but her presence made people think of that as a dignified throne. Prostrating in front of her was someone who should not be on her knees like that despite the floor being cleaned everyday. ¡°G, Grade 2 sword disciple of the Arden main family, Alicia Arden, greets the 1st Squad Captain.¡± Alicia Arden. She was a disciple of the main family herself, and was also the granddaughter of the Sword Emperor, Garrand. She was a direct disciple just like Lunia Arden, so seeing her kneeling on the wooden floor without daring to move a single inch made the onlookers feel uneasy. ¡®Ughh¡­ I need to do missions though¡­¡¯ On the other hand, Alicia was finding this time to be wasteful because it was a precious weekend where she had to run missions and earn money, but she was too scared of her older sister to voice any complaints. Plus, Lunia even told her to bring the records of all the missions she had completed thus far¡­ ¡°Patrol mission, merchant escort, Grade 4 demonic beast subjugation¡­ How pathetic. What¡¯s with this cafe helper mission?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ it¡¯s about wearing a uniform and giving out¡­ promotional fliers.¡± ¡°¡­Were you helping your acquaintance?¡± ¡°T, the uniform was pretty so¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lunia showed a rare reaction of closing her eyes and letting out a groan. Of course, there was nothing wrong with these simple missions that were primarily given out to the students of the Academy. They were an extension of their prac lessons for the students to polish their skills before undertaking their jobs as a real guardian. The problem was that Alicia was already an official Grade 2 guardian. ¡°That is utterly disappointing. Alicia Arden. The guardian license that you received thanks to the help of the main family is not there to be used for things like this. Are you trying to disgrace the Arden household?¡± ¡°S, sorry¡­¡± ¡°Every one of these missions are against low-grade demonic beasts are they not? Were you intending on pretending to be a hero just from killing these pathetic beasts?¡± Lunia Arden gazed down at Alicia with a cold look in her eyes. Her gaze that seemed to be reminding her to not forget the true essence of a sword was so heavy that Alicia ended up lowering her head. ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ Alicia powerlessly got on a magic carriage to go back to Merkarva Academy. Going down the rail, the girl took in the entire view of the city. This city, which was praised to be the safest and the most beautiful city in the entire world, was the place she had been dreaming of. For a long time, Alicia had been eagerly looking forward to escaping from her family. A little bit of degradation and disappointment. Even though she didn¡¯t receive the due treatment of a successor candidate, she was still treated as the young miss of the family and had been living without any concern for food. It was possible for her to live in contentment with what she was given without working hard for anything else. But how about now? Without receiving a single cent as a support fund, she had to earn a living for herself. Because she was by no means good at saving money or planning a budget, she pretty much used up all the money she earned in food, drinks and clothes. However, she was still relatively satisfied with her life. Here, she wasn¡¯t a Junior Sister nor a young miss, and she was ¡®Alicia¡¯. Although it wasn¡¯t the normal life that she had been dreaming of, she could still spend her life like a relatively normal female student. Demons were the only ones that needed to be cut. There was no need for her to practice killing people in the pretext of a ¡®spar¡¯. Her life at the household might have been luxurious, but she had constantly been forced into bloody and vicious fights, so Alicia was very satisfied with enjoying the relaxed campus life at this Academy. That was why seeing people that were endlessly serious at learning martial arts was both awe-inspiring yet repulsive. Her older sister was an example. Alicia was uncomfortable with those who unhesitatingly stepped forward into ¡®that place¡¯. She was afraid of that black ocean which looked like it would drag her into the depths of the abyss and drown her to death. She didn¡¯t like practicing with swords. She didn¡¯t like those calluses that would be formed in her hands. Safe missions against weaker demons were more than enough. That was enough to earn her a living. She did not like the bloody world of sweaty warriors. She wanted to spend her youth in the luxurious resorts next to the beach. Alicia Arden was an extremely normal girl in her teens. ¡º Do not forget it, Alicia. You will never be able to escape from your true nature. ¡» ¡°¡­That senile old man.¡± While uttering a mutter that was savage unlike her normal word choice, Alicia rested her chin on her hand and waited for the carriage to arrive at the Academy. Her face was heavily gloomy and dark like that of a sinner heading to the scaffold. **** It was the interim test period. People might expect guardian academies to have fights and massive duels for the evaluation of the students, but surprisingly enough, this academy was quite serious about the academic assessment of its students. ¡°Ahh¡­ I didn¡¯t study at all for the tests though¡­¡± 10 minutes before going into the test, Jaeger wiped his face in remorse. ¡°That¡¯s why I said we should study at the library¡­¡± ¡°No! You¡¯re not supposed to procrastinate for a test! Tests are there to assess your abilities, not your procrastination skill!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lark shook his head a few times while looking at Jaeger before turning his gaze over to me. ¡°Did you study for the tests?¡± ¡°Huhu¡­¡± ¡°Hnn?¡± I¡¯m sorry, Lark, but you have no idea about my true capabilities. ¡°Huhuhu¡­ Huhahahaha!¡± ¡°What the heck is wrong with you¡­¡± ¡°O you pitiful humans. You lambs of this generation ¨C overly immersed in pathetic things like studying for tests!¡± ¡°What is this guy even talking about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably the same retardism kicking in.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a nice guy but¡­¡± ¡°Huhahahahaha¡­!¡± They could say anything they wanted to say, but there was a fact that these guys weren¡¯t aware of. This wasn¡¯t my first time taking this test. I had already sat through this test in the last iteration. As long as I went back through my sea of memories, getting high marks was a piece of cake! ¡°I am Professor Lulara. We will now begin with the elementary Alchemy interim exam. Write your names and your ID numbers on the papers in front of you and¡ª¡± Huhu. It would be eye-catching to get super high marks, so maybe I should be content with getting 90% correct! ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ I have no idea. I seriously had no clue. Why? I had seen these questions already, so why were they so unfamiliar like it was my first time seeing them? Didn¡¯t I solve these in the last iteration¡­ ¡°Ah.¡± I didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t know the answers in the first place because I didn¡¯t check the wrong answers after getting the test papers back. Why? Well, they were wrong anyway so why would I bother looking at the answers? Whether I solved them in the previous iteration or not, I had no idea what these were. It¡¯s like how someone who had been sleeping through differentiation and integration lessons would not be able to solve them even after regressing to their high school days. ¡°Crap.¡± Yes, I do know what potion the bile of an owlbear is used for, but who the hell remembers the number of drops that goes into it? Just buy it for 5 silver coins. Why bother making it yourself? Knights only needed to know about practical information like first-aid potions¡­ We don¡¯t need academic knowledge¡­ ¡°I¡¯m Professor Fermack from Aura management. You can copy if you dare but let¡¯s not get caught, okay.¡± ¡º If Z is 85 and the inertia of Motion X is Y, what value should Y be? ¡» Umm¡­ enough to put half the soles of your shoes into a dry ground of dirt? As for the exact number¡­ umm¡­ I had no idea. It should be done automatically though ¨C why and how would you calculate that every single time? ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ ¡°Haaaahm~. Is that it for the tests?¡± ¡°¡­I knew you¡¯d sleep through it, Jaeger. What about you Korin?¡± ¡°I¡¯m dead.¡± ¡°???¡± ¡°I am¡­ dead inside.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I said we should go to the library together¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s my buddy!¡± ¡°Idiot. At least Korin was training in the training rooms instead of studying unlike you.¡± ¡°Listen! The only thing a knight needs to know is how to write their name!¡± ¡°You stupid knights¡­¡± Hmm. My tests were doomed. Oh well, knights only needed to know how to write their names. Things like this were useless after graduation. You think high school math is going to be relevant in society? Do you think the major you studied at university will be your career?! There are plenty of comedians that graduated from political studies! It¡¯s all meaningless! **** I was 90% sure that my marks for the written exams were below average but I could still make up for them in the practical exams. Even though Merkarva Academy was unexpectedly quite serious in the academic side of things, they still did not forget their origin as a guardian academy so most of the marks still came from prac exams. At the center of the campus was the so-called festival hall. This enormous building that resembled a large baseball stadium was used for various events like the athletics carnival, musical performances and festivals, but it was also used as an arena for the practical assessments of the interim exams. It was what would mark the true climax of the interim exams. This practical assessment was also a playable event back in the game, and was the perfect opportunity for me to make up for the marks that I lost in the written exams. The interim exams would be handled by the professors of the Knight Department or temporary instructors that were invited from outside. By showing the instructors what they were capable of, the students would receive marks from their respective professors. ¡®Since I¡¯m officially a Grade 5 Knight, the instructor shouldn¡¯t be that strong. Plus their expectations will also be low. Getting high marks will be a piece of cake!¡¯ If I remember correctly, there were extra marks for defeating the instructor, right? It was the best chance to raise my average marks which had gone down the drain already. Tightly gripping on the test ID slip that I received which had the words ¡®Team B¡¯ written on it, I was walking to the center of the stadium when roaring cheers echoed from the audience seat. ¡°Good luck, freshmen!¡± ¡°My monthly expenses are on you! Good luck!¡± In the audience seats were 2nd year and 3rd year students¡­ in addition to several 4th year students who had already completed their exams. I could understand up to 3rd year students but¡­ wasn¡¯t it time for the 4th year students to start looking for jobs? Anyway, it was true that watching people fight was the most exciting thing in the world. Ah, in the crowd, there was also a named character from the 3rd year students ¨C Nene of the Black Market. That was someone who often appeared in events like this and encouraged gambling to earn money. ¡°Korriiiiinnnnn~!¡± I turned towards that faint source of sound and found Marie enthusiastically waving her hand. Naturally, she was waving her hand at me. ¡°Good luck! I¡¯ll be cheering for youu¡­!¡± Next to her were the 2nd year students who often roamed around with Marie. I unknowingly grinned after seeing how she was doing fine with everyone in her surroundings even after the vampire incident. ¡°W, what the hell. You¡­¡± ¡°Are you friends with Senior Marie?¡± ¡°Hnn?¡± Jaeger and Lark sent me gazes of astonishment. ¡°Iiiikkk¡­!¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible¡­ I thought you were the same as us!¡± Leaving behind the young brats that were letting out tears of blood, I waited for the practical assessment of Team A which would be held before ours. Since it was just an interim exam, the fancy functions of the stadium weren¡¯t used but the large stage was already enough to overwhelm the students. ¡°Team A. Dorron Warsky! Alicia Arden! And¡ª¡± 15 students from Team A walked up to the stage. The students took their tests in groups like this because it would take too much time otherwise. ¨C WAAAAHHHH!! The crowd gave a thunderous roar. That was to be expected because even aside from their strength, both Dorron and Alicia were famous celebrities among the freshmen students. Dorron Warsky. As the vice captain of the Warsky Mercenaries, he was a specialist who was proficient at hunting demons in the outskirts. Most of the senior students would have heard of his name at the very least. He was a powerhouse who was believed to soon become the next captain of the Warsky Mercenaries. On the other hand, Alicia was more known for her background rather than her individual strength. The strongest Unique-Grade Knight who overpowered the entire era with no equal ¨C Sword Emperor Garrand. Even aside from how she was his granddaughter, the name value of the Arden family itself was already ridiculously massive. They were aggressively expanding their forces and every big city had a dojo built by the Ardens. Besides, they also regularly dispatched instructors to the military to teach anti-demon swordsmanship and strategies. It was said that the El Rath Kingdom paid the Arden family tens of thousands of gold coins every year for the training fees alone, and that was proof of how enormous their name value was. There was even the Sword Master Lunia Arden following the tracks of the Sword Emperor and thus the Ardens were currently at the height of their fame. Even within the Knight Department of Merkarva Academy, there were probably quite a few knights that were learning the Arden swordsmanship. And because Alicia Arden was the direct granddaughter in line of that renowned household, she was bound to be at the center of attention whether she wanted it or not. ¡°We have special guests for the instructors of this exam. They are the elites of the family renowned for their swordplay ¨C the Ardens! Please welcome the Five Swords of the 1st Sword Squad!¡± Five swordsmen walked up the stage to stand off against the 15 students of Team A. Jennie, Sirin, Lena, Milia and Mei. They were the swordsmen that were directly under Lunia Arden that followed Lunia around everywhere. The reason Lunia Arden visited Merkarva City was because she would soon take office as one of the official instructors of the academy. In this event, Alicia would be totally demolished by Lunia and she would focus whole-heartedly on swordsmanship out of frustration¡­ huh? ¡°Where is Lunia?¡± ¡°Mate, call her Lady Lunia. She¡¯s not your friend, is she?¡± I couldn¡¯t see her. The only instructors that were on the stage were the Five Swords. What was going on? ¨C Ding! The prac exam began while I was looking for Lunia Arden. ¡°Attack!¡± Although the Five Swords were all at the level of a Grade 2 Knight, the students also had two Grade 2 Knights among them and they also tripled their enemy in numbers. It wasn¡¯t a wrong approach and the students of Team A simultaneously rushed towards the Five Swords. ¡°Do we need to hold back?¡± ¡°They¡¯re students so yes.¡± ¡°Be careful of the one with flying swords. He is strong.¡± The five female swordsmen formed a formation while pulling out their aura. It was the group formation that could only be used by the swordsmen of the Arden family. ?Arden Sword Formation. Condensed Aura of Five Swords? The five swordsmen scattered the aura within their swords towards the ground at the same time. The aura strike of five swordsmen that shared the same swordsmanship gathered together to form an enormous sword aura. It was like a jab on their end, but it came like a natural disaster to the students. ¨C Kwaang! Fortunately, their sword strike wasn¡¯t targeted at the students. After landing on the ground, the aura quaked the ground and created a massive layer of dust. ¡°Uahk!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see anything!¡± When outnumbered, block the sight of the enemy. Their well-seasoned response was something that was possible not because of their individual strength but because of their accumulated experience. ¡°Kuahkk!¡± ¡°W, what?!¡± The students couldn¡¯t respond in time, not because they were weak but because they were inexperienced. If I were them, I would have made everyone retreat to the back of the stage and reorganize the formation or look for ways to remove the dust. ¡°Tch.¡± Unable to watch them any longer, Dorron manipulated his magic swords. Backed up with his telekinesis, the swords rotated at a fearsome speed. Like the propellers of a helicopter, they created a gale that raised the dust. That was when¡­ someone jumped towards him through the layer of dust. ¡°Hmm?!¡± It was one of the Five Swords ¨C Milia of the Illusionary Sword. She had jumped in immediately after seeing that Dorron had moved his magic swords away from his body. ¨C Kaang! Milia¡¯s two scimitars collided against Dorron¡¯s spare sword. Dorron was a veteran himself and wouldn¡¯t be defeated that easily but he would be at a disadvantage until his magic swords returned to him. ¡°Mr. Dorron!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be your opponent, young miss.¡± ¡°Uhht?!¡± Another one broke through the layer of dust. She was the Rapid Sword, Jennie, who used her lengthy blade to press down on Alicia¡¯s demon-slaying sword. ¡°Ugh, a, are you marking me?¡± ¡°Well¡­ 3 of us will be enough to deal with 10 students.¡± ¨C Besides, we also need to properly evaluate you, young miss. Alicia tried pushing Jennie away after seemingly being put in a bad mood from her words but it was in vain. She was instead deceived by Jennie¡¯s feint and soon ended up on the ground after being tripped. ¡°Your posture is too easy to crumble, young miss.¡± ¡°Uhk!¡± ¨C Kajik! Alicia dodged the downward attack of the scabbard by rolling on the ground as Jennie then waited for her to re-posture herself. ¨C Ohh~ ¨C As expected of the Five Swords. They live up to their name. ¨C Look. They¡¯re all falling like reeds except for Alicia Arden and Dorron Warsky. ¨C Tch tch. One of them really should step up and do a counter-attack even if they end up allowing a strike! The eyes of the audience naturally shifted to Alicia and Dorron. They were the pride of freshmen students. Their swordplay against knights of the same Grade was so fancy that anything similar to it would be difficult to see in fights between students. ¡°¡­¡± ¨C Uahkk! ¨C She¡¯s too fast! ¨C Do something about it! On the other hand, the 13 students were being completely devastated by the 3 female swordsmen. Even though the Arden elites were holding back for the watching professors to have time to give marks, the students were still very feeble and looked like they¡¯d be crushed in a matter of minutes. ¡®Dorron¡­ looks like he¡¯ll win.¡¯ ¡°Come. Fire spirit sword. Heavy iron sword.¡± ¡°Uht¡­!¡± He recalled the magic swords after removing the cloud of dust around him. Milia had been suppressing Dorron with her two scimitars but was now being suppressed instead after Dorron regained his five magic swords. At this rate, she would inevitably end up losing, because Dorron also had as much experience as the Five Swords. ¨C Kang! ¡°Kuhk¡­!¡± Meanwhile, Alicia was on her knees with cold beads of sweat traveling down her cheeks. She and Jennie were right in front of each other¡¯s noses with Jennie¡¯s sword being right underneath her jaws. ¡®I told you you need to practice, you idiot.¡¯ As I expected, Jennie was able to neutralize Alicia with ease through close combat. The question was now whether Alicia could fling off the opponent¡¯s sword that was right next to her with only a 10-centimeter gap between them but¡­ Alicia lacked both understanding and theoretical knowledge on how to come out on top from such a close-quarter fight. ¡°You need to practice more, young miss. At this rate, you won¡¯t even be able to reach the feet of Sir Garrand or Lady Lunia.¡± ¡°Uuhhk¡­!¡± ¨C Kaang! Kagang! Even though anti-lethal spells had been cast on the blades of their swords, their swords still let out a vicious noise with every clash. That was a telltale sign of how their strikes were becoming increasingly more fierce. ¡°Are you calling yourself a successor of the Sword Emperor with skills like this?¡± ¡°I, I¡­!¡± Jennie the Rapid Sword was pretty much harassing her at this point. Even though Jennie should be able to neutralize Alicia with ease, she was using up more time than necessary. ¡®Was she told to do that?¡¯ That was something Lunia should be doing according to the original storyline but Jennie was the one doing it now. Did Lunia tell her to do that or something? ¡°You probably don¡¯t even need to graduate at this point. You might as well quit the academy and return home and train yourself!¡± ¡°N, no¡­!¡± It happened in an instant but I did not miss Alicia¡¯s pupils turning into a diamond-shape. Was she going to see it? The Domain? Her Eyes of the Boundaries cracked open and right as she was about to see through the gap between the dimensions ¨C as she was about to gaze into that world of suspended time¡­ her body turned frozen stiff as if she was frightened. ¨C Slam! After being struck by Jennie¡¯s sword, Alicia rolled across the ground a few times. Despite the anti-lethal spell, the sword had been swung by a Grade 2 Knight and that caused Alicia to stay on the ground for a long time with no signs of standing back up. ¡°¡­Not yet, huh.¡± Even with her eyes open, Alicia did not gaze into the Domain. In conclusion, the instructor team had an overwhelming victory in Team A¡¯s practical lesson. Even though Dorron had a splendid achievement of defeating Milia, he forfeited immediately after seeing the four remaining swordsmen. After that, it was time for Team B where I had been allocated to. The only ones I knew of in this team were Jaeger and Lark. The instructor that 15 members of Team B had to fight against was¡­ ¡°Hold up¡­¡± ¡°Have you been well, Korin Lork?¡± Lunia Arden. She walked up the stage by herself. Hello? But like¡­ why? CH 31 ? Lunia Arden (3) ? The ¡®Arden¡¯ name held considerable value in this world. They nurtured countless guardians, and their group sword formations and strategies were so articulate and systematic that even the militaries of several nations would invite them to become their instructor. The one reigning over that household with his absolute charisma was Garrand Arden, but his successor had yet to be decided. It was because he hadn¡¯t acknowledged anyone in his son¡¯s generation. Even though he had left all the matters of the household to the current family head, his true ¡®successor¡¯ hadn¡¯t been decided for over 30 years. And in this current generation, the Sword Emperor had finally acknowledged someone as his true successor ¨C two of them at that. Lunia Arden. Alicia Arden. That stubborn Sword Emperor had finally chosen his successors but the Arden household was nonetheless in an uproar. Even a group of beasts needed a clear hierarchy and a boss so it was obvious that a family of humans ¨C especially one that pursued martial arts ¨C would need a clear leader. There could not be two successors of the enormous family of Ardens. Whether it be the main family or the branch families, it was great to have many arms and legs but there had to be no more than one head. The Sword Emperor who had an absolute position in the household had chosen two people as his successor candidates so a strife was inevitable. At that point, it wouldn¡¯t just be a competition of which side was stronger ¨C it was bound to lead to internal divisions in the family due to personal profits and wants. However, There was no such strife in the Arden household. Who the next family head will be wasn¡¯t even a topic for discussion. It was simple. Even if the head of a group of beasts was to choose two candidates to be the next leader, it was impossible for there to be a conflict if one of them was overwhelmingly stronger than the other. Anyone could tell just by seeing how one of the most representative elites of the Arden family ¨C the Five Swords of the 1st Sword Squad ¨C were following Lunia without a sliver of doubt. No-one in the family and those with authority were skeptical about Lunia being the next in line. Even the competitor Alicia Arden wasn¡¯t an exception. That was how powerful Lunia Arden was. ¡°Think of this as a fight against a Unique-Grade.¡± It took about 3 seconds for the students of Team B to process Lunia Arden¡¯s words. Why was she talking about a Unique-Grade all of a sudden? What exactly were Unique-Grades? Simply put, they were those whose strength was immeasurable. Unlike Grade 1, there was no clear standard that could be used to measure those beings so all of them were just referred to as Unique-Grade. Marie Dunareff after awakening into a vampire and the unsealed Heavenly Yaksha Hua Ran were such examples. They were like natural disasters that could stand toe to toe against an entire legion and dozens of guardians might not even be able to defeat them together. Unique Grades were true monsters that most guardians would not come across in their entire life. And Lunia Arden was a monster among monsters that could compete against those monsters. ¨C Kwaang! ¨C Kwaaaakk! Explosions constantly echoed from all sides. The flat grounds of the stadium were destroyed and were turned upside down as the screams of my peers occasionally reached all the way from the other side of the debris that had been created from Lunia¡¯s attacks. Ahh¡­ I swear the original stadium was a neat square carved from stone but not a trace of its previous appearance remained on the shattered grounds. ¡°I, I wasn¡¯t expecting to have two Unique-Grade fights in my life. This is hard to get used to¡­¡± I whole-heartedly agreed with Jaeger¡¯s words. Even though I had experienced it several times, everyone that had ¡®Unique¡¯ in their name were all monsters that I just couldn¡¯t get used to. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡¯ ¡°Huh? Of course it¡¯s Lark¡­ who the heck is this?¡± Hearing my question, Jaeger turned to his right hand at the one he was carrying. He was the peer Jaeger had grabbed by the collar to bring all the way here before the incoming disaster, thinking that it was Lark. ¡°Where¡¯s Lark¡­ Oh.¡± Lark had foams in his mouth and was lying unconscious at the center of the broken stadium. Ahh¡­ What an unlucky guy. ¡°Isn¡¯t Senior Lunia being too mean? Why is she so serious against students¡­¡± ¡°She is holding back. If she was serious, half of us would have evaporated in less than 10 seconds.¡± Turning my head from the stone ground that was poking up like a strange statue, I looked at the center of the thunderous roars. At the epicenter was the personification of violence that was indiscriminately sending students of Team B off into the air. ¡°You¡¯re too tense. If you¡¯re not certain, always be prepared to change your path.¡± ¡°Do not shout the name of your skill. Are you trying to explain your skill to your enemy?¡± ¡°Practice working together before trying a pincer attack. That is why you are running into each other on repeat.¡± As expected of a swordsmanship instructor, she was a proficient teacher. She was instructing the students on what they should improve on during those short bouts. Unlike Alicia who couldn¡¯t even take care of herself, Lunia was a complete veteran swordsman. She was a finished genius who did not need to be trained unlike the other named characters that could enter the party. ¡®How close am I to her now?¡¯ In the last iteration, I had the chance to fight together with Lunia who had joined the party after Alicia¡¯s death. She even taught me and helped me train. My master was the one who taught me the spear, but it wasn¡¯t an overstatement to say that Lunia was the one who taught me how to fight. Until the very end of the last iteration, I had been unable to reach her toes. If not for that damn Mr. Park¡¯s preference for males, she probably would have taken my position in the party. ¨C Kwaang! At this rate, it would take around 30 seconds for Team B to be annihilated. Honestly, I had been waiting for her to show a gap in her defense but then¡­ ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Our eyes met. Her eyes that were as deep as the abyss had been staring at only me ever since the start of the test. I was completely being marked. She wasn¡¯t even giving me the chance to use other guys as bait. ¡°Jaeger.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a sword aura flying our way. Bend your back.¡± ¡°What do you¡­ Kuheeek!¡± ¨C Kwaangg! Despite my warning, Jaeger was too late to react. He was hit by the small ball of sword aura that came through the obstacle and flew all the way out of the arena. ¡°I would have loved to give a bit of guidance but that is way below the mark.¡± At last, my greatest fear had come to reality. It was a 1 on 1 fight against Lunia Arden. 14 knights and mages were unable to hold off against the generous lectures of Lunia and were all one-shotted. Against monsters like Lunia, it was pointless to have a crowd of guys that had a little bit of skill. Evey powerhouse that had the word ¡®unique¡¯ next to their name were beings that could control the flow of a battle by themselves. ¡°Can I surrender?¡± ¡°You may if you want to get the lowest mark.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But you won¡¯t, will you? I doubt you are willing to let go of such an opportunity either.¡± Right. It was as she said. As someone without any special eyes or abilities, the goal I had to aspire for was ¡®Lunia Arden¡¯. Fighting her 1 on 1 was a lesson in itself which was why I didn¡¯t even bother creating a party on the spot. If I was going to replace the player, I would eventually have to overcome her with my own strength at one point. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± We silently gazed at each other. Now, there was only Lunia and me on the stage. **** The appearance of big-shots like Lunia Arden and the Five Swords made the crowd go fanatic. Lunia Arden was pretty much the next head of the renowned Arden family. She was the Sword Master; a heroine that was built different ¨C she was the representative icon of this era that was admired by everyone who aspired to become a guardian. The might she displayed against the students of Team B was one-sided and impressive. It made the students realize that it was possible for a human to be that strong. ¡°There¡¯s only one guy left. Who is that guy?¡± ¡°I saw him at the training rooms. He¡¯s a Grade 5.¡± ¡°It¡¯s gonna be over in an instant. I bet he¡¯ll last 3 seconds.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and move on to the next team!¡± ¡°Is it going to be Ms. Lunia again?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m seeing her fight with my own eyes¡­¡± ¡°It would¡¯ve been better if the last one was either Dorron or Alicia though.¡± The muffled mutters of the crowd reached the partially destroyed arena but the two knights on the stage did not move a single inch. It was as if the torrent of words that were being sent by the hundreds of audience were unable to create any ripples on their tranquil hearts. ¨C Kajik! Lunia¡¯s sword slashed through the ground. The stone floors were destroyed and a layer of dust rose up that concealed her feet and her posture. Was she going to dash in? Or was she going to slash down? They were about 15 meters apart. How would that be any meaningful¨C ¨C Kangg! Lunia kicked with her foot. The broken fragments of stone were shot out like bullets and at the same time, her body vanished in the air. Soon, her body reappeared in front of Korin Lork who had calmly received the stone bullets. It was an ambush without any signals. It was normal for there to be no starting signals in a real battle, but it was evidently clear that Lunia was showing a completely different attitude to the one she showed against other students. ¨C Kang! Kakang! Their weapons intertwined and clinked. Without stopping with a block, Korin retaliated with his spear. Their weapons clashed 3 times in that short instant. Taking half a step back, Lunia took a high-level posture and slashed her sword down. Furious Tiger, Golden Pheasant, Horizontal Slash, Pure Light. It was beautiful. Her sword flowed elegantly and naturally like that of flowing water. Each of her stances continued in a perfect sequence that made her elegantly pressure the opponent. ¡ª-! The spear rose up in a counterattack. Allowing the attack that was aiming at her neck to graze past it, she fought back against her enemy who was trying to sneak into her territory. It was a picturesque example of how not to over-dodge the opponent¡¯s attack and retaliate at the same time. She was in full control of their distance with a precise awareness of space without allowing even a single millimeter of miscalculation. By reading the opponent¡¯s movement, she avoided in the best and shortest manner possible and slashed at the speed of sound. She was incomparably more skilled than most first-rate knights. It was to be expected of the Sword Master. They could understand it by considering her form as the pinnacle of knights, but that was why it was all the more difficult for them to believe what they were seeing with their own eyes. ¡°¡­ How is that a freshman?¡± Instant Slash, Advancing Fang, Reverse Kill, Soaring Heavens, Lightning. Trap and Stab, Ominous Snake: Secret Arts, Breaking Heavens, Reversed Heaven, Tiger¡¯s Gust. Lunia¡¯s consecutive attacks that had been constantly raging from the start were being offset by similar attacks. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­ The crowd was deathly silent. They could understand Lunia because she was a semi-Unique Grade Knight. She was the pride of the Arden family and was the captain of the 1st Sword Squad. But Korin Lork wasn¡¯t. He was a freshman, and he was a Grade 5 Knight. How could such a person fight on equal grounds with Lunia Arden? How was that even possible? ¨C Kagak! After a surprising clash of consecutive attacks, they came to a little stalemate as the swordsman and the spear-bearer stopped on top of the stage. ¡°Huu¡­¡± ¡°Out of stamina, huh. What a shame.¡± Korin Lork was the first to get tired from the fierce battle that made its onlookers turn breathless. ¨C Clink! Lunia sheathed her sword. It wasn¡¯t a show of praise that he had done well for a freshman student. The Arden¡¯s sword draw art wasn¡¯t just used for ambush. It was a killing move that was perfected with the aura within the scabbard accelerating the blade to show the might of sword draw art. ?Domain Severance? Sheathing the sword was a warning sign of the Sword Emperor Garrand, that he will be using the strongest killing move of the Arden family. ¡°Try defending this. Show me a response that befits your spearmanship.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Her voice reached only him and not the audience as Korin immediately lowered his body like a leopard. ¡°What? What is she trying to do?¡± A flustered gasp left from the crowd. ¨C Whiiish! A flood of aura was being emanated into the air with Lunia at the center. Some of the students and professors that were more sensitive to auras felt like they were being surrounded by sharp swords all around. It was coming. The unstoppable wave of death was coming. ¡°Wait! Are you trying to kill the student!?¡± ¡°Stop the test right now!¡± The professors shot out of their seats with the first being Old Man Haman. As soon as he was about to rush into the arena¡­ The world came to a stop. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª It was a suspended world that the audience could not perceive. Fatigue was no longer relevant and the physical abilities of both parties were also meaningless. She took half a step forward. Lunia Arden placed a step onto the suspended world. ?Arden First Sword Style: False Domain Severance.? **** The world stopped. A short-term battle without any plans on prolonging the fight. After forcing out everything I could, my body was now perfectly warmed up. False Domain Severance. Inside the suspended world, the blade moved slowly like a video in slow motion. I thrusted my fastest spear at her sword. ?Ominous Snake: Extreme Arts? ?Soaring Snake, Rearing Head of the Venomous Dragon? ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ Damn it. My spear did not move. I could clearly tell this time because I could compare it with a move that was in the same Domain. I could not move in the suspended world. I could only perceive it. Was it a coincidence when I thought I did it against Marie? Was I still unable to make use of the Domain? It was just one step that I needed but I couldn¡¯t take that step forward. According to the setting, that should be the same for Lunia. And¡­ that meant that even her current attack¡­ was just a ¡®fake¡¯ version of the real Domain Severance. The time it took for the blade to slowly approach me wasn¡¯t even as long as the time it would take for me to blink my eyes. My hypersensitive senses were perceiving every millimeter of the approaching blade. I could see it but my body ¡ª¡ª ¨C Kiiingg¡­! In the suspended world, I heard an echo that shouldn¡¯t even be audible¡­ it was the screeching sound of metal. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Lunia widened her eyes. Surprise and fluster¡­ I could see her expression going through a massive change in the blink of an eye. I¡­ managed to move the spear by a tiny bit. It wasn¡¯t a mastered technique nor the original Rearing Head of the Venomous Dragon but a normal stab. Right when the spearhead collided with Lunia¡¯s sword, ¨C Jiiiiik! Her sword slashed through my spear like a bamboo stick and barely stopped right in front of my nose. ¡°Looks like there is a long way to go for both you and myself.¡± ¡°Haak¡­ haak¡­!¡± I felt stifled like I was hyperventilating. It was only for a split second but my arm was sore as if I had been stabbing the spear tens of thousands of times. There was a time when I had a similar feeling to this ¨C it was during the fight against Marie¡­ I was also suddenly fatigued like this when I was landing the last strike on her. At the same time, a sense of omnipotence filled my body. It felt like the surrounding aura was connected to my skin; as if they were a part of my body like my arms and my legs¡­ ¡°Congratulations. You have reached the level of being able to intervene into the Domain. Can you feel it?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°This is the Domain. It¡¯s something you understand with your instincts not your brain. A sense of omnipotence as if you are the center of the world.¡± ¡°What is next?¡± Even this was nothing but a ¡®False¡¯ Domain Severance to Lunia¡­ What was she aiming for that she was looking down on herself so much? In the game, the martial arts of this world had only been expressed with killing moves and powerful abilities with cool names, but how far can they go in this real world? I was feeling this omnipotent from just barely interfering with the Domain. ¡°I do not know.¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°There definitely is something beyond this. That senile old man proved it with his life, but I could not reach it myself.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The realm beyond. In the previous generation, only the Sword Emperor and my master were able to reach that realm. If so, then what about Alicia who the company had officially announced as someone that could do so? ¡°More importantly, you need a better spear. Your weapon is too weak compared to your abilities.¡± ¡°¡­¡± That wasn¡¯t something Lunia should say. Even though my spear was completely broken, Lunia¡¯s sword also had a crack from that collision despite being an expensive sword. Just a slight intervention into the Domain had caused our weapons to become like this, and that was enough to explain why special swords like the demon-slaying sword were a must. I sneaked a glance at Alicia. Her eyes were wide-open and were contracted into a diamond-shape and her dropped chin showed no signs of closing back up. I guess I had achieved the intended goal. ¡°Seems that you knew about Alicia¡¯s talents as well.¡± The reason Lunia pretty much pin-pointed me was because she wanted to show this to Alicia. And likewise for me, this was about¡­ half of my intended objective. Both Lunia and I knew about Alicia¡¯s trauma¡­ or rather, her uniqueness. ¡°I will be staying in this city for a while. There is a business to take care of but in the meantime¡­¡± ¨C I will crush Alicia Arden. She declared to me with a cold smile. ¡°Aren¡¯t you her sister?¡± ¡°Yes. Because I am her older sister, I have the right to trample on Alicia. It is a rightful power given to me, her sister.¡± What a gruesome fight between siblings. It wasn¡¯t a good turn of events for me. Even if Alicia¡¯s heart was to be crushed because of Lunia, Lunia wouldn¡¯t join as a party member. She would only join if Alicia died. If Lunia came out on top of the fight between siblings, both Alicia and Lunia would be eliminated from the main scenario with zero benefits. In other words, what I had to do was¡­ ¡®I have to complete Alicia¡¯s Domain Severance.¡¯ I had to trigger the trauma and her true nature that Alicia was in denial of, and awaken the True Alicia mode. Naturally, there was no need to be in a hurry. In fact, it was a bad call to be in a hurry. As soon as Alicia Arden completely acquired Domain Severance, that would lead to the concluding scenario between Alicia and Lunia. Lunia would immediately issue a fight between herself and Alicia using her power as the squad captain. A fight with the Five Swords and a boss fight against Lunia Arden. There was no way the current untrained Alicia without enough practice time would ever be able to defeat such illogically tough opponents. It used to be a forced event back in the game, but there probably had to be a trigger now that this was the real world. I could come up with two conditions. Alicia learning Domain Severance. Lunia hearing the news about Alicia successfully using Domain Severance. Acquiring the killing move of Arden¡¯s symbol of absolute power, Sword Emperor Garrand, would signify that Alicia had become a full-fledged successor candidate that could threaten Lunia¡¯s position. ¡°Korin Lork. Full marks. You will also get some extra marks.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I walked out of the arena. On the way, I found Alicia who was still drooling with her mouth still open. Her concentration was at an absurdly unimaginable level. She looked as if she was possessed by a ghost. **** ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The professors of the Knight Department as well as the instructors that were invited from the outside were all dumbfounded from the scene before their eyes. Even though Lunia Arden had gone up the stage as the instructor, they weren¡¯t thinking of this as a chance to look at her real skills, because the students were far below where she was. However, what they saw went completely against their expectations. The entire arena was in tatters. There was not a single place to stand on and there were craters everywhere. They were awed by the half-demolished arena before their eyes. As expected of the contemporary Sword Master that was said to be the next Sword Emperor in line; as expected of the ¡®heroine¡¯, her skills were far above the norm. But what was more surprising was that her true skills had been forced out by a random Grade 5 student. Their last attack was a horrifying scene for everyone that was walking down the path of martial arts. It was something they could barely perceive, and upon seeing it, everyone realized that it was in a realm that they would never be able to reach even if they were to spend their entire life training. They despaired at the face of overwhelming talent. Although they were dumbstruck after seeing that outrageous battle, one of the knights soon came to himself and raised a doubt. ¡°Professor Fermack. Is that student really a Grade 5 Knight?¡± ¡°How is that possible! He fought on equal grounds with Lunia Arden!¡± They were in a panic. Usually, the strength of a knight was determined by their Aura Rank and their aura capacity. A Grade 5 Knight should be below average on both aspects but if so, then what in the world was the thing that just happened in front of their very own eyes? ¡°¡­¡± Unlike the professors and the invited instructors that were still in a panic, Old Man Haman quietly gazed at Korin who was walking down the stage. ¡®He¡¯s that student that was trying to touch the elemental body¡­¡¯ Old Man Haman could still remember the reckless student who challenged what he couldn¡¯t achieve. He was fond of that relentless spirit and had even given him meal tickets. He never looked for him so Old Man Haman was under the impression that he had failed and definitely wasn¡¯t expecting him to demonstrate something like this today. That was already beyond the level of students. How many students in Merkarva Academy would be able to be compared to the Grade 5 Knight, Korin Lork? The names Beazeker and Marie Dunareff appeared in his mind but Old Man Haman shook his head. Unlike them, Korin Lork and his talents were rather¡­ different. He felt like he had caught a glimpse into an extraordinary talent that couldn¡¯t be explained with the likes of strength or aura. His talents were in the fathomable realm of the unknown. ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ ¡°¡­That¡¯s impossible.¡± Professor Fermack glared daggers at Korin Lork behind his sunglasses. The afro-haired professor who was always carefree was flustered unlike his usual self. If not for his sunglasses, someone would have already noticed that something was wrong with him. ¡°How¡­ is he using that person¡¯s skills?¡± His words failed to reach anyone¡¯s ears and were buried under the deafening cheers of the crowd. CH 32 ? Alicia Arden (1) ? The death of a human was different from that of a beast. It was something obvious that she knew with her head from all the ethics lessons, but that realization only dawned on her when she cut someone for the first time. ¡°We can¡¯t stop the blood!¡± ¡°But the non-lethal spell was there! How is this possible!¡± She remembered the first time she went to an actual fight. She remembered how she frowned after seeing the intestines and blood that were flowing out of the body of a Grade 5 demonic beast. It felt unpleasant but that was it. She had ended its life while detesting the sight of the beast that had bloody foams on its mouth during its death. However, the smell of human blood was unpleasant in a different sense. ¡°G, grkk¡­¡± The air felt different. The smell was clinging on. It was her first time but she immediately noticed that this heavy stench was something that accompanied the disappearance of a life. ¡°N, no¡­ I¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t directly look at her opponent who probably had blood foams on their mouth. No matter how she tried, she couldn¡¯t look at them. Forcing herself to turn away from the horrifying and terrible scenery, she looked away and what entered her eyes then was a blade gleaming in darkness. The silver blade of the sword was giving off a black luster. The beauty of that sword ended up stealing her attention. ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡°Ah¡­¡± Her parched throat let out a dry groan. The sunlight shining through the window slowly awakened Alicia¡¯s senses. ¡°Ugh¡­ so sweaty¡­¡± The desire to sleep 5 more minutes and the desire to wash her drenched body ¨C the one that came out on top in the internal contest was the latter. Putting her feet into the slippers on the floor, she slowly opened her hazy eyes and saw the bunk bed on the other side. It seemed that her roommates were outside somewhere. ¡°Oh right. I need to¡­ work.¡± It had already been 3 days since the end of the interim exams, and she had to clear missions to earn a living. After slowly getting ready, Alicia went to the mission board and looked for a decent job. ?Patrol Mission? ¨C 6 hours ¨C 20 silver coins ?Subjugation of a horned-rat nest? ¨C Approximately 4 hours ¨C 15 silver coins ?Patrol in the Sewers? ¨C Approximately 5 hours ¨C 25 silver coins ?Looking for short-term bodyguard? ¨C 2 days ¨C A Knight above Grade 3 ¨C 50 silver coins. Accommodation and food will be provided. ?Academic Research: Capturing a Beowulf? ¨C 70 silver coins. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The missions Alicia was looking for were all easy and convenient ones with less risk. Although it was normal for knights to look for risky missions that were half a level higher than their abilities, Alicia did not pay any attention to them. ?Urgent: Looking for the Murderer of the City of Fog? ¨C Permission from the Department and a consultation from a professor required. ¡°Ugh¡­ That looks super dangerous.¡± John Doe ¨C the murderer from the City of Fog, Haze. It was said that he had infiltrated Merkarva City recently and everyone was in an uproar. There had even been an official announcement from the El Rath Kingdom and it seemed that elite students and the professors were employed to the search mission. There were talks about elite parties being formed around the representatives of each year, Vampire Marie Dunareff and Beazeker the Berserker. Whatever the case, it had nothing to do with her. Living quietly without being swept into large events ¨C that was the only thing Alicia wanted. ¡°Beowulf¡­¡± She had been in danger on the way to the city because of the interference of someone that had been trying to kill her, but it was a demonic beast that she could easily defeat with her skills. Seeing the name, ¡®Beowulf¡¯, reminded her of the past. ¡°I wonder where the benefactor is now.¡± Thinking of the person who saved her, Alicia touched the belt on her waist. **** ¡°¡­ This is the finished spear.¡± ¡°Ohh~¡± On the weekend, I visited Ferghus¡¯s smithy after hearing that the spear was finished and unveiled the cloth that was wrapped around the spear. ¡°Is this exactly as I ordered?¡± ¡°Yes. How did you even know about the secret techniques of our family¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to know.¡± One of the quests of the Truth behind the Blacksmiths ¨C the Truth behind the Weapon Breaker had two choices. One of them was to enact justice by telling the world about his wrongdoings while the other was threatening Ferghus to take the hidden blueprint of his family. The justice route would lead to a forever farewell with this blueprint so I chose the latter. According to the original storyline, Ferghus would be arrested after a while. I taught him a lesson this time around so if he didn¡¯t rectify his own actions, then what happened in the future would be totally up to him. ¡°Anyway. Who exactly are you¡­ sir?¡± ¡°Nn? Where¡¯s this from?¡± ¡°None of the magic stones that went into the spear are normal materials and yet the Academy gave them without any hesitation.¡± ¡°You mean that~¡± All the materials that went into the production of the spear were all precious. Including the Unique-Grade Soul Dust that I got, there were also Grade 2 Rune Stones and Grade 1 Refined Silver. Silver Spear. Its full name was Spear of the Silver Knights of the Kingdom of Shadows. It was a Legendary ranked weapon which was one level below Epic. Refined Silver was one of the magic stones alongside the Unbreakable Stone (that was used for Alicia¡¯s demon-slaying sword) that could withstand the risk of the ¡®Domain¡¯. Besides, it was a good conductor of aura and was thus one of the best materials for a weapon. Unlike the immensely expensive Unbreakable Stone which could barely be obtained towards the end of the story, Refined Silver was a lot more applicable for mass production. It would cost hundreds of gold coins to make weapons like this using such expensive materials. But of course, none of the players would break through with money for all the materials, and the standard path was to use the materials that were accumulated throughout the quests to craft weapons. However, I had the full support of the chairman behind me. Even though there were no Unique-Grade materials, the Academy did have more than enough Grade 1 and Grade 2 materials so they should have been more than willing to give them. ¡°You don¡¯t need to know about it. Where¡¯s the money?¡± ¡°¡­Here.¡± As he had promised, Ferghus gave me all the cash that he received from the Academy. The purse of 30 gold coins was very heavy. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about pulling tricks like that, and live an honest life. Otherwise, you¡¯ll see me again, alright?¡± ¡°Huiik¡­!¡± Leaving behind the frightened Ferghus, I went to the client for the scheduled mission. **** ¡°Grade 5 Knight? You can just be the porter then.¡± When I arrived at the meet-up location, the Grade 3 mage, Mr. Charlie said with a sigh after seeing my grade. Even though there were no grade limitations, he probably wasn¡¯t expecting a Grade-5-nobody to come. It was a 3-man party composed of the party leader, Charlie, a Grade 3 and a Grade 4. The party was complete with the addition of 2 students. The three of them were official guardians that had been dispatched from the Guardian Alliance, and the reason they had been looking for students as their party members was simple. ¡°Damn it. Am I not too old to look after kids?¡± ¡°What can we do? It¡¯s just the Alliance policy.¡± Guardian academies had matching interests with the Guardian Alliance. The Guardian Alliance¡¯s job was to assist in the fostering of young guardian aspirants, which included adding students to delegations like this. Although we did get paid less than the official guardians of the party, it was true that they had to shoulder more burden. ¡°I wish those damn higher-ups would think about our circumstances as well.¡± Therefore, it was natural for them to have such attitudes. ¡°Umm¡­¡± ¡°Ah, of course we weren¡¯t saying that to you. You are the granddaughter of the Sword Emperor after all.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­¡± Was it a coincidence? ¡­Or was this another butterfly effect? It wasn¡¯t just me that took this mission and Alicia was also here. ¡°What a coincidence.¡± ¡°Ah, Mr. Korin¡­ Hello.¡± I definitely wasn¡¯t expecting our first re-encounter after the interim exam to be during this mission. ?Academic Research: Capturing a Beowulf? ¨C 70 silver coins. Seeing this mission on the mission board which gave about 700 US dollars as reward, I finally realized that it was time. It was about mid-April. Time-wise, it was right before the last event of the 1st Arc in the original storyline, but the early conclusion to Marie¡¯s incident and the encounter event with Lunia Arden meant that the 2nd Arc had already begun. The first main event of the early portions of the 2nd Arc was the ¡®subjugation of the Murderer of the City of Fog¡¯. The original scenario was about the player party chasing after the crazy serial killer that Marie couldn¡¯t catch at the end of the 1st Arc. The infamous knight-killer, John Doe, of Haze the City of Fog was brought back to the surface through the beowulf capturing mission. On the week of that said mission, if the player did not choose the beowulf capturing mission and went with a different one, they would hear news of how the other party that had been trying to capture the beowulf had been annihilated. On the other hand, if they went with the beowulf mission, they would come across the murderer, John Doe in the process, and enter a fight before successfully chasing him out. Whatever the case, the player would receive the official document from the El Rath Kingdom and enter the investigation party. At a glance, the guardians of the beowulf mission were just there to be killed for the advancement of the main scenario, but there was also a chain quest and a backstory. The Grade 3 party leader Mr. Charlie had a daughter. Her name was Ms. Sheryl the florist, and she would give a quest about finding Charlie¡¯s necklace for a keepsake. Ms. Sheryl the florist was a nice person. She was someone who volunteered at medical stations for orphans in the streets and I also had a connection with her in the last iteration. ¡º You look very sad. Would you like a flower? It¡¯s a leftover so don¡¯t worry about the price. ¡» Fighting against dangerous enemies with my life constantly on the line, there were times when I sometimes felt very depressed. A single flower given by a nameless stranger was sometimes enough to ring your heart. ¡®I¡¯ll just think of this as repayment for that flower.¡¯ Besides, this incident was also related to the future scenario as well as the ¡®Precept.¡¯ Ms. Sheryl was a nice person in both the game and the last iteration. I had to prevent the misfortune of her losing her father and also do some prep work on John Doe. Due to the special traits of John Doe, it was impossible for me to catch him alone. It wasn¡¯t a matter of strength, and it was because his specialty was being exceptional at ¡®Stealth¡¯. I could kill him in a matter of 10 seconds if he was in front of my eyes, but he won¡¯t ever show himself. The key was someone who could see through his specialty, ¡®Thin Mist¡¯, and penetrate through his stealth. ¡°Alicia.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°How¡¯s your eyes?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Why was he asking that question?¡¯ That was the question in her gaze. There was a reason why Alicia still couldn¡¯t ¨C or rather ¡®didn¡¯t ¨C use her eyes. It was predictable considering Alicia¡¯s character but it was something that wasn¡¯t clear at this stage in time back when it was a game. I could voice it out loud and talk to her about it but¡­ she would probably just deny it. ¡°Uhh¡­ What do you mean? My eyes are perfectly normal.¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I¡¯m asking.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Did you hear from my sister?¡± ¡°By chance.¡± Of course, Lunia didn¡¯t say anything to me but that wasn¡¯t important. ¡°You have to hurry. Your sister is serious. She will seriously try to crush you so that you can¡¯t hold your sword ever again.¡± The fight for hierarchy between beasts was very brutal. It wouldn¡¯t end until one side was down and that was the same for the Ardens because the Arden household was a family of such beasts. ¡°¡­I can just stop using the sword then.¡± ¡°As if.¡± In response to my mutter, Alicia stared at me with a frown. She appeared to be asking what was so funny, but I still remembered the unkempt and clumsy look on her face. As well as the bewitched look in her eyes. ¡°You can¡¯t abandon your sword. Ever.¡± That was just the way of the scenario of this world and her nature as a human. Oftentimes, humans had a characteristic that they couldn¡¯t ever run away from. Alicia was someone with talents that befitted her surname, Arden, more than anyone else in the world. **** Inside the beowulf nest were two beowulfs and around 20 short hounds. The party skilfully dealt with the short hounds and one of the beowulfs but things started going strange. ¡°What the hell! Why are there so many of them!¡± ¡°Where are they even coming from!¡± A sudden fog started enshrouding them and a horde of demonic beasts began endlessly swarming out of the fog. ¡°Hanson! Where¡¯s that Grade 5 kid!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know! Now is not the time for that! The lady from Arden is holding on quite well but¡­!¡± Alicia was doing an excellent job against the demonic beasts. Using her innate physical talents and her phenomenal swordsmanship, she was killing at least one monster with each of her strikes. Although her sword was ridiculously sharp, her skills themselves were also incomparably greater than that of other guardians. ¡®Where are they all coming from? It¡¯s not just demonic beasts; there are also spirits! This place shouldn¡¯t have so many demonic spirits though!¡¯ Demonic spirits were mostly the souls of dead people that remained behind in the mortal world that eventually became demonified. Although it was possible for the souls of dead animals to become one, most of them were humans because they needed to have a strong resentment to stay behind and become a demonic spirit. Thus, it was rare to see a lot of demonic spirits in an inhabited area. This felt intentional. Alicia was thinking that when she sensed someone approaching from the other side of the fog. ¡°Mr. Korin?¡± Thinking that it was her comrade that she lost track of during the chaos of the fight, Alicia welcomed the incoming person. She wasn¡¯t that concerned in the first place because he was stronger than herself, but checking his safety still made her relieved. ¡°Guwoooo¡­!¡± ¡°Uht?¡± However, what she saw after turning around was a person in full plate armor. Korin preferred light armor so it was probably not him, and the shivering aura it was giving off was as if it was¡­ ¡°A demonic spirit?¡± ¨C Kaang! In the blink of an eye, the full-plated man swung the ax down as Alicia blocked it with her demon-slaying sword. ¡®This weight! It¡¯s not a demonic spirit! It¡¯s a knight!¡¯ ¡°Why are you attacking us!¡± A person ¨C a guardian ¨C was attacking them. Why? Doubt appeared in her mind but Alicia didn¡¯t linger on the topic. ¡°Move!¡± She kicked the armor as the knight fell back. The knight¡¯s body was wobbling more than she expected and did not even have a clear sense of balance. ¡°Step aside! I will cut you next time!¡± Despite her warning, the armored knight did not fall back. While threatening her with the ax, the knight attempted to kill her. ¡°Uhk¡­!¡± The knight was stronger than she expected and was as tough as a monster. Seeing how both the aura and the equipment weren¡¯t that good, the man should be a Grade 4 Knight at best so how was he so strong? However, that didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t overpower him. She was about to hold herself back a little and attack but that was when a large mace came flying in from the side. ¡°Kiieeeeeeeh!¡± ¡°Uhht?!¡± ¨C Slam! ¡°??!¡± She used her aura to block the attack but she couldn¡¯t completely absorb the impact. By the time she hurriedly stood back up after rolling across the floor, the knight carrying an ax was already swinging it towards her. ¡°N, no¡­!¡± It was too late to dodge and she was too late to respond. Drawing near was an unavoidable sense of dea¡ª ¨C Slash! A head popped up into the air. After a while, it followed the law of gravity and fell on the ground. Thick drops of blood splattered onto her face as Alicia widened her eyes into circles. In that instant, the sword that she instinctively swung had easily slashed through the neck of the armored knight. ¨C Chiiiik! Like iron dropped in magma, the scorching blade was tainted and gleamed in black instead of silver. ¡°Haak¡­ haak¡­!¡± N, no. I, I killed a person¡­ ¡°Kuwaaaa!¡± The knight who had swung the mace at Alicia thumped its way towards her. As soon as the mace soared into the air and was about to strike down at the defenseless girl¡­ ¨C Kwaduk! A white spearhead pierced through the visor of the knight¡¯s helmet and came out the other side. Blood was dripping from the tip of the spear. Soon, the spear retreated out of the hole after killing the knight in one blow. ¡°M, Mr. K, Korin¡­¡± ¡°Why are you staying still?¡± ¡°I, I¡­ killed a¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t hold back. These things are not people.¡± ¡°They¡¯re¡­ not people?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an undead raised up with black magic.¡± It was true. Taking off the helmet of the deceased knight, she found a rotten and decomposed face. ¡°Ah¡­¡± A sigh of relief left her mouth. Her heart was starting to beat again. ¡°You stupid brat! I told you to stay with us! There are undeads as well! Where the hell were you¡­¡± That was when the mage, Charlie, came running out of the fog and shouted before shutting his mouth mid-way. ¡°M, Mr. Charlie. I, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°U, uhh¡­¡± After seeing Alicia, Charlie gulped and took a step back. ¡ª Alicia was smiling. Her crooked lips were forming a terrifying smile. Dripping from the corners of her lips was a spooky sense of remorse as if it was a pity that the opponent wasn¡¯t a human. ¡°I told you¡­ You can¡¯t abandon your sword.¡± It was neither the Eyes of the Boundary nor her swordsmanship. The talent of a human-killing ghost: That was the true talent of the girl called Alicia Arden. CH 33 ? Alicia Arden (2) ? John Doe the Murderer of the City of Fog was a black mage. He was a wicked necromancer who made use of corpses. The reason he was called the Killer of Knights was because he murdered knights and controlled their bodies just for the sake of getting stronger slaves. The way to defeat summoners like a golem mage, a necromancer and a spiritualist was simple. All that had to be done was defeat the mage who was the fundamental core of the spell. By either killing or making them faint, you could stop their consciousness from giving commands to their subordinates. However, the problem was that this method was close to impossible against John Doe. ¡°Stick together. We need to put our backs together and watch out for all the angles.¡± ¡°Who do you¡­¡± Mr. Hanson, who was about to say, ¡®Who do you think you are?¡¯ immediately shut his mouth after seeing the heads of undead knights that were skewered on my spear. ¡°What if they fire a spell at us after we stick together? It¡¯ll be a wipe out then.¡± On the other hand, Mr. Charlie, the leader of the party, raised a rational question. ¡°No. The enemy can only control the corpses of knights. He¡¯s not that difficult to fight against as long we get into formation and retaliate together.¡± ¡°Do you know something about the enemy?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a hot topic these days, isn¡¯t he? The Murderer of the City of Fog.¡± ¡°¡­!¡± ¡°You mean that Grade 1 wanted criminal!?¡± John Doe¡¯s specialty, ¡®Thin Mist¡¯ allowed him to hide himself behind a fog. Rather than simply concealing himself behind it, he would practically become one with the fog. By melting his body into the boundaries of dimensions, he could hide himself perfectly. That was why it was difficult to defeat him. If need be, he could move the fog and escape with ease. How would anyone even dream of chasing after gas? The downside was that he couldn¡¯t use any other spell apart from controlling corpses while keeping this fog up. There was no way corpses would be able to use spells in his stead when they required such a high level calculation every time. Thus, even though there were undead mages within the fog, they couldn¡¯t use any spells and were there for misdirection. One more thing to note was that they contained the spell ¡®Crimson Haze¡¯ in their bodies that would detonate upon death. ¨C Click! Clank! By the time everyone came to themselves, armored knights and demonic beasts were surrounding us as Mr. Charlie soon raised his staff. ¡°Here it goes!¡± With a shout, he faced the group of undeads and rapidly casted a fireball with the assistance of Memorize. ¨C Kwaang! Several undead knights were flown away without even bothering to dodge the fireball but there were more corpses running in from behind. ¡°Come at me, you dogs!¡± Armors and weapons collided as flesh were cut off. Because the undeads couldn¡¯t use either aura or mana, we had a better combat potential than the enemy despite being outnumbered. ¡°Alicia. Can you use your ¡®eyes¡¯?¡± ¡°¡­S, sorry.¡± Her crookedly lifted lips were already back down again, and she had returned to the usual sullen Alicia. ¡°Let¡¯s protect everyone from those guys. There¡¯s no need to hesitate. They¡¯re not human.¡± ¡°Y, yes¡­!¡± As long as Alicia could properly use her ¡®Eyes of the Boundary¡¯, someone like John Doe would not even last a second, but that would be difficult for the time being. Activating Eyes of the Boundary would mean she was looking at the Domain and that was where her trauma laid. It was thus impossible to use without progressing her character scenario and reducing her traumatic burden. Well, even without that, Alicia was already strong enough. ¡°Guwooooo¡­!¡± An armored knight ran in with a spooky scream but his swordsmanship was too sloppy for a swordsman. ¨C Chaak! A mere undead was no match for Alicia. Even without her Eyes of the Boundary, she already had a good pair of eyes. ?Arden First Sword Style, Advancing Fang? The undead crumbled before it could even finish swinging its weapon. The weakest part of its neck had been precisely cut off. ¡°Guwooo!¡± Another undead knight dashed towards Alicia but he had way too many flaws in his stance due to the inability to think. Alicia pulled her sword back after finishing her slash and supported the back of the blade with her left hand in a stabbing position. ?Arden First Sword Style, Crushing Steel? ¨C Paang! The fierce stab of the sword made the knight¡¯s flesh explode like shells of a grenade. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Mr. Charlie and his party were in awe after seeing her attack. Although she had been hidden in the shadows of Lunia Arden, Alicia was also a genius herself. Mere undeads with no brain and swordsmanship stood no chance against her physique and swordsmanship. More than anything else¡ª ¡°Haak¡­ haak¡­!¡± Her lips contorted with every pant. In the end, killing was also something that relied on talent. The veils masking her innate nature were starting to be unraveled, thus revealing her true nature. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Even our allies became speechless after sensing the change on her face. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on dealing with them one by one without breaking our ranks. The guy will run away if it becomes slightly disadvantageous for him.¡± Our group dealt with the undeads one by one. As expected, it was a slow process. Now, how long would it take for the enemy to respond and come all the way here? The heads of the undead warriors were skewered on the Silver Spear like a delicious shish kebab. It was partially to show off, but was mainly to stop the guy from retrieving these corpses. A surprising fact was that it was hard for undeads to move without their heads. ?Hooh. So you are the ones that were messing around with my laboratory? A gloomy voice of an old man echoed from the mist. He was here. ¡°What? Where was that from?¡± ¡°Find him! The mage is somewhere nearby!¡± That would be in vain, because the voice was echoing all across the mist rather than coming from one direction. ?That is useless, you ignorant peasants. I am the seeker of the truth. Your¡ª? ¡°Skip skip.¡± The rune letter engraved on the Silver Spear ¨C Sowilo ¨C was activated. In an instant, the spear emanated a violent surge of heat. I widely swung the spear as a similar gush of heat and light occurred from all around. ¡°What!?¡± ¡°What is happening? Is John Doe using some kind of magic?¡± The reaction of our party members was natural because John Doe was the only mage in this fog but even John Doe himself was probably also confused. That just then was the resonant activation through the ¡®Rune Stone¡¯. The spear was crafted using the old crafting methods that took rune activation into account and was one of the skills that was used by a boss character in the game. By writing several rune letters everywhere with the spear, I could resonate them into one ¡®frequency¡¯ and activate them all at once. It took a lot of time to set up and used a lot of mana but only took 1 second to activate, which was even faster than accelerated spells that were cast through Memorize. As long as there were enough preparations set up with enough time, it was even possible to create something that was as strong as a Grand Spell. ?[Bastaardd¡­? A voice filled with fury was heard from the fog, but this time, his voice was hazier than before. ¡°Sunlight is one of the critical weaknesses of the undead, right? That¡¯s why you were using fog to stop the light.¡± Like this, if we created a field of heat that had the attributes of the sun, it was possible to drastically lower the combat power of undeads. All the undeads would have been killed already if not for the few undead knights face-tanking the light. ?What a petty trick, you little kid. Do you think your terrible mana pool is enough to swallow my fog?? Of course not. Chasing out some of the fog and making the undeads slower was what I had been planning for. As planned, ¡®that device¡¯ appeared from the thinner layer of mist. ¡°Mr. Korin! Look over there!¡± Alicia pointed at the human figure in the distance that had the generic look of a mage. ¡°So that¡¯s John Doe!¡± ¡°Charlie! Blow him away!¡± Mr. Charlie shot a fireball in an instant but one of the knights stood in the way. Because of that straight-forward physical defense of the armored knight, the fireball ended up burning the knight without even touching the mage. ¡°I can¡­!¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I cut Alicia off. That human figure was a fake. A ¡®Crimson Haze¡¯ would come out as soon as we defeated that. But even so, we had to defeat that thing at the very least to end this event and escape from this place. ?Six Ways of the Spear? ?Fifth Style, Crumbling Mountain? ¨C Kwang! The Silver Spear flew forward like a comet. The undead knights moved their slow bodies in an attempt to block the spear but they couldn¡¯t stop the Silver Spear which contained the scorching heat of the sun. ¨C Kajik! The spear stabbed through the body of the mage in the blink of an eye all the way through into the ground. I could see the mage¡¯s body burning up even from a distance. ¡°Did we do it?!¡± Mr. Charlie said the sentence that could resurrect all evil. ?Not bad. You broke my puppet.? ¡°¡­!?¡± It obviously couldn¡¯t be that easy to defeat him considering how he was the boss of the early portion of the 2nd Arc. The puppet that I broke just then with Crumbling Mountain was a device he created that could give off a fog ¨C it was an undead created with the body of a mage. The reason John Doe was difficult to catch was because he used puppets like that to run away from chasers. On top of those scapegoats, his real body was synchronized into the fog so it was natural for the guardians to have trouble catching him. ?I shall stop here for today. Look forward to the day we meet again.? It was here. It was that same sentence he said whenever he was running away, which meant it was about time to face his escape mechanic. ¨C Chiiiiikk! As soon as he finished his words, the corpse of the mage that the spear was piercing through started giving off a red fog. ?Crimson Haze? It was a lethal fog that came out automatically whenever the triggers of the fog ¨C the undead mages ¨C hit 0 HP. They snatched the control over the opponent¡¯s blood with contact ¨C in other words, they rapidly sucked out your HP. In the previous iteration, several soldiers died in less than 10 seconds, and it was a commendable feat for knights to even last a few minutes after coming into contact with that fog. ¡°Let¡¯s run! That fog looks insanely dangerous no matter how you see it, right?¡± ¡°Uhh, y, yeah¡­ Looks that way!¡± ¡°Run!¡± Everyone immediately ran after processing my words. Alicia hesitated for a second but soon followed from behind. ¡°M,Mr. K, Korin. Shouldn¡¯t we¡­ retrieve your spear?¡± It looked expensive¡­ She asked while whispering the last few words. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I activated the Rune of Return that was on the spear. Then, the spear that was stabbing through the undead mage heeded to my call and immediately flew through the air all the way to my hand. ¡°W, wow¡­ That¡¯s amazing.¡± Alicia said in admiration but it wasn¡¯t over yet. The Crimson Haze was speeding from behind while trying to swallow us all. It was then. ¡°Kuhakk!¡± Perhaps because of lack of exercise, Mr. Charlie the mage ended up tripping on a root of a tree of the unpaved pathways of the forest. ¡°Mr. Charlie!¡± Both Alicia and I stopped ourselves straight away and started running to him, but Alicia was the first one to reach him because of our difference in physical capabilities. ¡°Hold onto my hand!¡± ¡°Y, yeah! Than¡­ dodge!¡± ¡°Sorry¡­? Kyaak!¡± A red hand suddenly emerged out of the crimson fog. That horrible-looking hand gripped onto Alicia who had come back to save Charlie. ?Mist Restriction? ¡°Uht?¡± She was pulled back into the red fog just like that. ¡°Mr. Charlie! Get up and run!¡± ¡°U, uhh! What about you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us and run outside until you¡¯re out of the forest! And give me your robe!¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± After helping him stand back up, I quickly cut off the buttons at the front of his robe and snatched it away. Then, I quickly jumped into the Crimson Haze. ¡°W, wait!¡± Without worrying about him, I jumped into the fog but as soon as I landed inside, I could feel my entire body being shredded apart with blood being sucked out in bulks. ¡°I really didn¡¯t want to do this a second time but¡­!¡± I was also locked in this fog once in the previous iteration because of a misstep. Even though it was for less than a minute, I was still almost dead but I had the regeneration ability this time around so I would be able to last a lot longer. The problem was Alicia. Unlike me who was about at the level of a Grade 2 regenerator, Alicia had nothing and it was questionable if she could even last more than 2 minutes with her bare body. I turned my eyes looking for her and discovered that she was a lot deeper inside than I thought. ¡°Alicia!¡± ¡°Uhkk, g, go away! Go away!¡± Alicia couldn¡¯t get rid of the red hand that was holding onto her and was locked in place. She was in a panic because of the tough restriction on her body and the constant depletion of her vitality. Blood was already being sucked out from all over her body. She would probably be unable to last very long. ¨C Guwoooo ¨C Kuwaaaa To make everything worse, there were even undead knights approaching from a distance. Someone had to stop them. ¡°M,Mr. K, Korin¡­ T, this is not coming off. Please¡­ please save me. I, I might die at this rate.¡± Alicia said with a teary voice as teardrops fell from her eyes. A potential death was always hard to get used to, and it was normal for girls of her age to show such a reaction at the face of it. I covered her body with the robe I took from Mr. Charlie. It would lower her exposure to the fog and would thus buy her a bit more time. ¡°Mr. K, Korin¡­?¡± ¡°Calm down, Alicia Arden. Nothing will happen if you continue doing that mindlessly. You need to focus and commit your strongest move. It¡¯s easy. As long as you calm down, it¡¯ll be a piece of cake.¡± ¡°B, but¡­¡± ¡°I will now protect you from those undeads. You know what you have to do, right?¡± ¡°I, I can¡¯t move my hands and, th, the fog is making me dizzy. It hurts.¡± ¡°Alicia. Alicia¡­!¡± ¡°Hikk¡­!¡± Lowering my head, I looked into her eyes under the robe. After wiping the falling tears off of her shivering black eyes, I opened my mouth. ¡°You can do it. You can do a lot better than what you¡¯re doing right now.¡± ¡°Mr. Korin? What do you¡­¡± ¡°Just continue cutting and keep it up. Just focus yourself on getting rid of this spell that¡¯s holding you back. Don¡¯t worry about anything else. I will protect you, so you focus on one thing.¡± ¡°B, but¡­ m, my hands are burning! I can¡¯t clench my hands either¡­¡± ¡°You are the greatest genius I¡¯ve ever seen out of all the swordsmen I¡¯ve met. You can do anything as long as you want to. It¡¯s just one step. Alicia Arden. One step is enough.¡± After that, I held onto my spear. I trusted her. I trusted her ability to cut something that trivial. **** ?Alicia POV? It was painful and it was scorching hot. Plus, the feeling of blood being sucked out from every hole around my body gave me goosebumps. I could smell a heavy scent of rusted iron, like the one back when I first cut a person. The blood-colored hand inside the red fog was clinging onto me like a magnet without ever letting go of me. A thin arm like this was supposed to be easy to cut. Swinging my sword once was supposed to be enough. ¨C Tang! Uhh¡­ Unlike what was in my mind, the sword was flung off. The demon-slaying sword that was said to cut anything in existence couldn¡¯t even cut a simple spell like this and was bounced off. W, was that not strong enough? One more time! ¨C Taang! N, no. It¡¯s aura. I need more aura¡­ ¨C Taang! Is it my posture? So that¡¯s the problem! Let me straighten my body and¡­ I knew something was wrong, but I just didn¡¯t know how it was supposed to be fixed, nor what the exact issue was. Why wasn¡¯t it being cut? Why was the sword getting parried off? This is not right. This is weird! Meanwhile, the spell was continuing to squeeze my body. The veins around my eyeballs popped and blood fell like tears, as despair soared from the bottom of my heart. Ahh¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have tried to save him. I shouldn¡¯t have come back to help. I was regretting when I suddenly thought of my benefactor. I remembered the person who saved me, created an antidote for someone like me who was whining from a simple paralysis and blew on the medicine before bringing it to my mouth. Wasn¡¯t he so injured that he had to sear his wound with fire¡­? Didn¡¯t he willingly give me his hand when I was crying from the bandaging process? After meeting him, I didn¡¯t want to be a disgraceful person. I wanted to become someone who could willingly sacrifice myself for the sake of others. But look at me now. A quick regret and bursting into tears¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. Someone like me¡­ shouldn¡¯t have been saved by a person like you¡­ ¡°Alicia!¡± That was when the boy came to save me. He jumped into the fog of death without any hesitation just to save me. No. Don¡¯t do that. Run. I can¡¯t even last here for that long. Why did you come in when your Aura Rank is a lot lower than mine? How are you even going to survive? ¡°Mr. K, Korin¡­ T, this is not coming off. Please¡­ please save me. I, I might die at this rate.¡± Unlike the thoughts that were going through my mind, my mouth blabbered about something completely different. However, I knew this was my honest self. You idiot. Selfish Alicia. A stupid coward. Why didn¡¯t you tell him to run away? You should¡¯ve told him to leave you behind. Why are you asking him to cut the spell for you when you couldn¡¯t even do it yourself? ¨C Rustle! It was then. I was crying in an unsightly manner when Mr. Korin threw a robe over my body. ¡°Mr. K, Korin¡­?¡± ¡°Calm down, Alicia Arden. Nothing will happen if you continue doing that mindlessly. You need to focus and commit your strongest move. It¡¯s easy. As long as you calm down, it¡¯ll be a piece of cake.¡± ¡°B, but¡­¡± His voice was very low and was reminiscent of a similar voice that I heard before. Why was I suddenly thinking about that now? ¡°I will now protect you from those undeads. You know what you have to do, right?¡± Only then did I see the undeads that were slowly walking through the fog. I was crying so much that I hadn¡¯t been able to see them through my foggy eyes. Was he going to protect me here? By himself? Even though he was stronger than me¡­ was he going to protect me inside this red fog? Why? ¡°I, I can¡¯t move my hands and, th, the fog is making me dizzy. It hurts.¡± He was risking his life for me, and yet the only thing I could say in return was something like this. Whinging and complaining that it was painful and scary. Someone like me was incomparably worse than the benefactor let alone the boy in front. It¡¯s because I was a fool like this that I could not say anything in front of Sister Lunia¡­ ¡°Alicia. Alicia¡­!¡± ¡°Hikk¡­!¡± In this pressing situation, the boy grabbed on my shoulders and wiped the tears from my eyes before opening his mouth. ¡°You can do it. You can do a lot better than what you¡¯re doing right now.¡± ¡°Mr. Korin? What do you¡­¡± ¡°Just continue slashing and keep it up. Just focus yourself on getting rid of this spell that¡¯s holding you back. Don¡¯t worry about anything else. I will protect you, so you focus on one thing.¡± ¡°B, but¡­ m, my hands are burning! I can¡¯t clench my hands either¡­¡± ¡°You are the greatest genius I¡¯ve ever seen out of all the swordsmen I¡¯ve met. You can do anything as long as you want to. It¡¯s just one step. Alicia Arden. One step is enough.¡± Leaving those words behind, the boy lifted up his dazzling silver spear. Showing me his back, he faced the undeads. He was not throwing me away. ¡°¡­¡± If you stand up like that, I really have to force myself to do it then, don¡¯t I¡­? But I don¡¯t feel confident. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll fail. The fallen ego and the endless sense of self-doubt was burying me alive. ?Lack of practice from over-reliance on talent.? Yes. I was lazy until now. I never even tried working hard. Ever since that day when I first cut someone¡­ my sword had been stagnant. I¡¯m just a fool, so why¡­ ?But talent-wise, you¡¯re better? Why did he have so much trust in my talent even when he was comparing me to unni? ?You can do it.? ¡°Kuhup¡­!¡± Swallowing the scorching beads of tears, I held onto my sword. The words, ¡®give up¡¯ were gone from my head. I didn¡¯t even have the time to think about anything negative. There was someone believing in me. There was someone who saved someone like me, as well as someone who was trying to save me. My Benefactor and Mr Korin had planted it in my heart ¨C trust for myself. Grabbing the scabbard with one hand, I sheathed the cold blade back in. Grandpa¡¯s killing move ¨C the strongest sword strike in the world. This move was something that could slash through anything in existence. And thus¡­ I knew there was something I had to use beforehand when using this. Eyes of the Boundary. A cursed talent that forced me to look into the Domain. Inside the darkness of the Domain, I was all alone. It made me feel like I was left alone by myself in the world. An endless sea of darkness that made it look as if I would drown with a single misstep. The darkness that I would see through these eyes was so scary, and because I knew no-one could help me from falling into that dark ocean with no bottom in sight¡­ I had been frightened of opening these eyes until now. ¡ª¨C¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C The world stopped. In a world of utmost concentration¡­ even the sound of blood drops was no longer reaching my ears. I was all alone in this shivering world. The coldness brought by the ebb threatening to swallow my ankles made me tremble. Am I alone? Am I¡­ by myself in this place again? As soon as I was about to be swept away by the wave, my eyes met with someone¡¯s. Korin Lork. He was looking at me from the front with his spear in hand. Ah¡­ I wasn¡¯t alone. You were with me in the same world as me. A coward. You stupid retard. You idiot who needs someone to be by your side just to take a single step forward. I finally opened my eyes in full. For the first time, I gazed into it. Looking at the foreign substances of this world, I accepted the darkness and stared into the boundary. The falling tears, the dripping drops of blood and the torrent of emotions¡­ they all became fuel for that one step forward within the suspended world. ¨C Guhahaha. I saw a hazy figure through the fog. An old evil that looked horrendous was showing a nasty smile while looking at his two sacrifices. ?It¡¯s just one step. Alicia Arden. One step is enough.? Finally, I took a step forward in the black ocean for the first time ¨C it was a full and complete step forward. ?Arden First Sword Style: Domain Severance? The sword that was swung inside the Domain while ignoring the limitations of physics ¡ª ¡ª- It slashed through the restriction, Through the crimson fog, And cleaved every evil hidden inside the mist. CH 34 ? Alicia Arden (3) ? In front of me was the powerless corpse of the bisected black mage. Behind that corpse was the remains of a huge sword slash that made the entire forest look as if it had been cut into two with a sword. Ah, we couldn¡¯t even hide it at this point. It was clearly a Domain Severance. It was evidently something that could only be pulled off inside the Domain by someone walking down the path of sword. ¡­Umm. Dude, how come¡­ you¡¯re using that already? Like, I wasn¡¯t expecting her to use Domain Severance at all. I just thought¡­ she would use Crushing Steel or Three Paths of One Sword¡­ If you use Domain Severance here¡­ ¡°What in the world just happened?¡± No! ¡°Oh my gosh! The forest got cut into two?! How is that even possible?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard of this before! So that¡¯s the legendary ¡®Domain Severance¡¯ of the Sword Emperor!¡± Please don¡¯t! ¡°Ohhh! Does that mean that young lady would become the next head of the Arden family?¡± ¡°Of course! Domain Severance is the strongest move that no-one could use until now except for the Sword Emperor!¡± No. Don¡¯t do that. We can¡¯t let everyone know that already! ¡°Mr. Korin! I did it! I did itt!¡± Why does nothing go according to plan? **** ?Breaking News! The Nightmare of Haze! The infamous Knight Killer John Doe! Defeated by the successor candidate of the renowned swordsmanship household, the Arden family!? ?Who exactly is Alicia Arden, the beautiful knight who defeated the Grade 1 black mage?? ?¡°We can finally talk about it now!¡± Agents of the Arden family state how Alicia Arden had always been the true genius of¡ª? ¨C Grip! I clenched on the morning newspaper that was placed at the door of the hospital room to the point it got ripped. Ahh, it had been a while! But it wasn¡¯t long enough for me to forget how it felt for everything to be fucked up so badly! The reason there hadn¡¯t been any proper competition between the successor candidates of the Arden family until now was because one side had been overwhelmingly greater than the other. Alicia Arden could never defeat Lunia Arden even if she was to be born again. Popularity, followers, capability¡­ Lunia Arden had always been at an absolute advantage over her, but that single recent action started shaking the firm position and hierarchical status of Lunia Arden. Domain Severance. It was the killing move of the Sword Emperor. Alicia would now gather the eyes of a lot of people after re-enacting that legendary attack of the master of swords. Let me say this again. The fight for hierarchy in a group of beasts was brutal. The candidates had to repeat struggle upon struggle and wash blood with blood until they found themselves a leader. That was no different for Alicia and Lunia. What would happen if Lunia, who had practically been the only successor of the family, suddenly had her position threatened by another candidate? ¡®The Five Swords would move immediately at the very least.¡¯ It was the same back in the game. They were the loyal followers of Lunia Arden while at the same time having their families¡¯ interests aligned with their loyalty. Their mindset was similar to that of a delinquent, and as long as Alicia had her eyes on the successor position, they would ruthlessly try to stop her. With Alicia¡¯s current skills, it was hard for her to win against the Five Swords. She would be broken from their cooperation. It was the climax of the character scenario plot of Alicia Arden ¨C ?Sword Challenge?. The traditional pretext was that five swordsmen at the level of an instructor would test the skills of the future captain of a sword squad but¡­ the Sword Challenge of the Arden family had long turned into a legal elimination method of potential competitors. Originally, it was an event that was supposed to arrive after enough level ups and Alicia increasing the proficiency of her swordsmanship skills but¡­. It would probably start immediately in the real world as soon as the conditions were met. ¡°Mr. Korin. Would you like some honey bomb candies?¡± Oblivious to the alarm bell ringing in my mind, Alicia recommended me a candy with a bunch of candies in her mouth and bulging cheeks. ¡°That was actually not that bad! Just a bit painful!¡± Last night, we went straight to the first aid rooms of the Academy after coming back from our mission. There weren¡¯t that many problems for me because of my regeneration ability, but the problem was Alicia ¨C her right arm was still bandaged. The side effect of Domain Severance¡­ Any movement inside the Domain was tremendously burdensome on the body. An average knight would have their body ripped to pieces from taking half a step forward within the Domain. Even though it was a very powerful skill, it came at a cost. ¡°When do you think you¡¯ll be back to being fit?¡± ¡°Nnn. They said one or two more days should be okay with some potion.¡± We didn¡¯t have time. It actually would have been better for her to buy some time by staying at the hospital if the injury was bigger but¡­ Leaving the worries aside, I also had a different question for her. ¡°Anyway, what¡¯s the secret?¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°You know, Domain Severance. Looking at the Domain with Eyes of the Boundary shouldn¡¯t mean you can immediately use it though.¡± ¡°¡­usted me.¡± ¡°Hnn?¡± When I asked back, Alicia replied with a ticklish voice while scratching her cheeks out of embarrassment. ¡°It¡¯s because you trusted me, Mr. Korin, that I could do it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Umm¡­ So was she saying a super optimistic mindset like, ¡®I can do this!¡¯ was all she needed to use Domain Severance? ¡°Hehe. So I tried and it worked.¡± T, this¡­! This is why I hate geniuses¡­! ¡°Haa¡­¡± ¡°Mr.Korin?¡± I could faintly understand why Lunia would be so upset. Anyone would find it unfair when looking at someone with such exceptional talents. ¨C Knock knock! A visitor. That was when someone came in after opening the door. ¡°Korin!¡± It was Marie. She was wearing an adorable white dress while carrying a straw basket. How many potatoes would be inside that basket, I wonder? ¡°Senior Marie.¡± ¡°I heard you defeated the murderer, John Doe! Are you alright?¡± ¡°We were unlucky.¡± Although the encounter had been somewhat intentional, I glossed over it as Marie suddenly raised her voice. ¡°Are you really alright?!¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ Yeah. I am.¡± ¡°I can smell¡­ blood though.¡± ¡°Blood? Ah¡­¡± I was inside the Crimson Haze so I probably did bleed quite heavily, and it was natural for me to stink like blood considering how it had been sucked out of my entire body. It had all been recovered thanks to my regeneration ability but it seemed that she could still smell the leftover scent. ¡°You know how I have the regeneration ability, right? This much is nothing.¡± ¡°But still¡­¡± Marie muttered with a teary voice. She was such a nice girl that she was concerned about a lot of things. After a while, she discovered Alicia who was lying down next to me and spoke to her. ¡°Oh right. I am Marie Dunareff, a 2nd year student of the Magic Department.¡± ¡°Ah yes, nice to meet you, senpai. My name is Alicia Arden. I am a 1st year student at the Knight Department.¡± ¡°Ohh~ So you¡¯re that Ms. Arden! I saw you in the newspaper! It was amazing! Didn¡¯t you get a lot of injuries and stuff though?¡± ¡°Sorry? Umm, not really?¡± ¡°You should still get them checked! You never know!¡± ¡°Ah, yes¡­ Thank you.¡± Accepting the advice of the cheery senior, Alicia gave a nod. ¡°Well then, Korin. Have you had lunch yet? Should we eat together?¡± ¡°Ah, actually. I have something to talk about with Alicia.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I had to discuss the future events with Alicia, because she was completely oblivious to the things that would happen from now on. She had already acquired Domain Severance, which she was supposed to learn at the final stages of her growth as a swordsman. There was no way Lunia Arden and the Five Swords would leave her alone considering how symbolic that ability was. ¡°Hnnnn¡­¡± Marie squinted her eyes and turned to Alicia. ¡°What is it about? Maybe we can do it together?¡± ¡°No. It has nothing to do with you, Senior Marie.¡± It¡¯s not something Marie could help with. Wait, actually¡­ Maybe she could? ¡°It has nothing to do with me, huh. I see¡­¡± For some reason, it felt like I was being pricked by her sharp voice. The smile on the face of the ever-smiling merchant Marie was slowly starting to vanish. ¡°Are the two of you very close?¡± ¡­Why was I suddenly feeling a chill down my spine? Was it because my blood had been sucked out inside the Crimson Haze? It seemed that I wasn¡¯t the only one who felt that chilliness. ¡°He¡¯s my benefactor!¡± ¡°Nnn?¡± ¡°I would have died if not for Mr. Korin! He is my second benefactor!¡± Actually, the first was also me but, anyway. ¡°I see¡­!¡± As if she could empathize with that statement, Marie started showing a bright smile on her face again. ¡°So, are the two of you close?¡± However, the air was still rather cold. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Was this how it felt to be a rat in front of a tiger? I had an instinctive feeling that I had to choose my words carefully. ¨C Tung tung! That was when a sudden thud echoed from the window. We nonchalantly turned to the side and flinched with a gasp. ¡°¡­Open.¡± Hanging outside the window was Hua Ran in her chained nun clothes with a bunch of talismans, glaring at me over the window. ¡­Isn¡¯t this the 6th floor? ¡°Alicia!¡± ¡°Y, yes!?¡± ¡°Open it for her! Hurry up!¡± ¡°Y, yes sir!¡± Alicia, who was next to the window, hurried over to the window and pushed it wide open. Hua Ran hopped into the room and softly landed on the floor like a cat. ¡°Uhh¡­¡± Alicia gulped after seeing her like an intimidated mouse. ¡°Hello junior?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Unexpectedly, Marie greeted her with a bright smile. Both Alicia and I were rather freaked out by Hua Ran jumping up to the 6th floor from outside, but it seemed that Marie didn¡¯t find it strange as a Unique-Grade herself. The room became silent so I opened my mouth with a question. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Meal.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Meal.¡± ¡°No, wait. Didn¡¯t I buy you one last time?¡± ¡°Raw fish.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± So you mean sushi!! It seemed that she still remembered the thing we talked about when I was buying her fish last time. But it¡¯s not like I promised her I would buy it or something, right? ¡°Umm¡­ Now is not a great time. How about you ask Professor Josephine to go with you?¡± ¡°¡­She said no because of parasites.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Even though there were all sorts of dishes in this world ranging from stews to kimchi, it seemed that there was still some repulsion against raw food. It was especially more true for Lady Josephine considering her age¡­ ¡°Korin,¡± said Marie. ¡°Umm¡­ yes?¡± ¡°Did you buy Junior-Hua-Ran a meal?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ I did buy her once.¡± ¡°Oh~ I see. You have a lot of friends, don¡¯t you?¡± Well, it was true that I had a lot more friends in this iteration. The standard group was with Jaeger and Lark. Sometimes, I would teach Yuel Ogham letters at the library and receive expensive mushrooms from the forest in return. Dorron was a weekend member. We would do a mission together if there was something that paid a good price. On the other hand, Kranel was a bit of a shy bloke and we played together once or twice a week. Kyaah~! What a success at making friends this time compared to the last iteration? I¡¯m finally getting rewarded for my constantly terrible school life after reaching my 3rd one. ¡°Umm¡­ Senior Marie?¡± ¡°What is it? Junior?¡± ¡°I have a ticket for a restaurant in the city called ¡®Holy Panda¡¯. Would you like to go together?¡± ¡°Hnn?¡± ¡°I heard it¡¯s famous for Eastern cuisine.¡± Actually, Old Man Haman had come looking for me after the interim exam. He asked me if I defeated the elemental body on that day and suddenly gave me a ticket for a fine dining restaurant! It was such a luxurious place that I wasn¡¯t keen on going by myself, so it would be good for both of us if I went together with Marie. Alicia reacted first instead of Marie. ¡°Mr. K, Korin. W, when you say Holy Panda, do you mean one of the three big restaurants alongside Creamcycle and Everglide Jade Black?? Where do you have to pay a gold coin for each meal?¡± ¡°Do you know that place, Alicia?¡± ¡°Of course! It was in the monthly Merchelin guide magazine. And it¡¯s also famous for being one of the best restaurants for a date!¡± ¡°Date¡­!¡± Marie gasped as if she had trouble breathing. It seemed to be a really famous restaurant. Actually, I used to go to these places quite often in the last iteration as well. With Mr. Park, that is. ¡­How did I not notice it until the last moment? The room stayed silent for a while. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Senior?¡± It was strange how silent Marie was. Her cold gaze was long gone and was replaced with trembling eyeballs and a gulp that was so loud that I could hear it from a distance. ¡°S, shall we? Okay! I¡¯ll get prepared right away!!¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be right now¡­¡± ¡°GreatToSeeYouAreWell,Korin! Let¡¯sMeetAgainAtNightForDinner!¡± Swish! After saying a bunch of stuff in one go, Marie dashed out of the room. You weren¡¯t supposed to run in the corridor though. ¡°Well then¡­¡± I was about to explain how we should approach this upcoming bomb, but that was when a loud thud reached us from the corridor. ¨C Tap tap tap tap tap! ¨C Kwaang! ¡°Korin!¡± With a flushed face that signified the distance she had run, Marie gasped while handing me a glass bottle. ¡°This! Elixir! I made it myself! It¡¯ll be very good on wounds!¡± ¡°Umm¡­¡± Like, I was fully healed and I didn¡¯t need it though ¨C I was about to say that but Marie immediately began rushing down the corridor again. ¨C Please don¡¯t run in the corridor! ¨C Hukk! Sorry! Marie was gone while a pinkish elixir was resting on my hand. ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t this super expensive?¡± An elixir was something that boasted of having 10 times the effectiveness of normal potions. This specific one¡­ was probably made by Marie extracting her own blood. ¡°Alicia. Pour this on your right arm.¡± ¡°Sorry? I, is that okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving very soon so it¡¯s okay. We have to fix your right arm first.¡± ¡°I, I¡¯m not sure if I can take this though¡­¡± Alicia murmured while glancing at the corridor. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Senior Marie is a nice person.¡± ¡°Then¡­ Thank you very much.¡± ¡°¡­What about my meal?¡± Hua Ran¡­ do I owe you fish or something? ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll bring you to a sushi place next week and buy you as much as you want so let¡¯s do something together before that.¡± ¡°¡­What is it?¡¯ Then, I started explaining about the current situation. I explained how Alicia¡¯s sister was a very scary person and how her loyal subordinates would soon come and try to crush Alicia. The culture of the sword clan, Arden ¨C ¡®Sword Challenge¡¯. I told Alicia about ¡®Sword Challenge¡¯, which was the tradition of the Arden family. Her face started turning pale throughout the story and she finally understood her current status ¨C how she personally stepped into the fight for hierarchy between beasts due to using Domain Severance while defeating John Doe last night. ¡°W, what should I do?! I¡¯ll die if I fight Sister! Actually, I won¡¯t even be able to win against the Five Sword sisters!¡± Alicia said while shivering from fear. Since she was now in the realm of the Domain, it should be possible for her to defeat one of the Five Swords, but it would be a different story if it turned into a group fight. ¡°We do have a way out, but there is a condition.¡± ¡°C, condition? Anything is fine. Please let me live!¡± ¡°From now on, whenever I say we should defeat a demonic beast or go train together at the training rooms, you need to come without any complaints. You¡¯ll be a so-called fixed member of my party.¡± ¡°Is, is that all?¡± It was actually very important. You see, your job now will be to go around with me defeating Unique Grades. King of Iron Mountain was an especially harder boss to defeat without her help. And of course¡­ there was no need to talk about that yet. ¡°So, what¡¯s your choice?¡± ¡°I, I will swear loyalty so please help me!¡± ¡°Good. I have received thy pledge of loyalty.¡± Now, it was time to talk about our plan. Leaving aside Lunia Arden, it was a fact that the Five Swords would be coming at us. If there was no way around something¡­ ¡°There is something I learned when I was in the military¡­ I mean a camp.¡± It was a 2-year-long camp. And rather than learning, it was something we had to scream out every time we were doing a squat. ¡°If there is no way around it, enjoy it.¡± ¡°W, what do you mean by that?¡± I gave the ignorant Alicia a grin and opened my mouth to enlighten her. ¡°We shall strike first.¡± CH 35 ? Alicia Arden (4) ? ?Arden Family in Turmoil. Sword Emperor Garrand continues his Silence!? ?Alicia Arden¡¯s Remarkable Performance. What will happen to the succession of the Main Family?? ?Arden Family in Turmoil. Sword Emperor Garrand continues his Silence!? ¡°These insolent¡­¡± It had been three days since news had spread about Alicia defeating John Doe the murderer. One of the powerful groups of Arden Family¡¯s Lunia Faction, the Five Swords ripped the newspapers into halves after seeing their insolent and irresponsible nonsense. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jennie the Rapid Sword, Sirin the Dual Wielder, Lena of the Rippling Sword, Mei the Sword of True Darkness, and Milia of the Illusionary Sword. They were the elite swordsmen of the renowned Arden family¡¯s 1st Sword Squad. While gritting their teeth, they carefully waited for one person¡¯s response. ¡°¡­¡± Sword Master, Lunia Arden. She was the successor candidate who most of the trainees like them followed at the Arden family. Lunia was deep in thought while emptying her cup of tea. The Arden was a sword sect that had groups of swordsmen as its followers, who believed in the law of power. They had all been waiting for the next swordsman who could lead them forward with an absolute charisma like Garrand Arden. Although Lunia and Alicia¡¯s parent generation had succeeded the position of the family head, they hadn¡¯t been fully acknowledged by Garrand Arden, but it wasn¡¯t because they were weak. Domain Severance. A realm that most martial artists weren¡¯t even aware of, that only existed in the imaginations of others¡­ Garrand Arden had been waiting for an existence that could succeed his sword. He wanted a successor that could continue the line of the great Domain attack which he had created himself. ?That is unfortunate. How truly unfortunate. So there is no-one to continue my legacy even in this generation, huh.? Even though Lunia had revealed her talents ever since a young age and had been receiving the expectant eyes of everyone in the household to be the next successor in line, Garrand clicked his tongue after seeing her. In the end, even someone like her who was called the greatest genius of the contemporary times wasn¡¯t able to satisfy Garrand. She shed both sweat and blood. The thick calluses on her palms were proof of everything she had gone through in her life. Even so, she still wasn¡¯t able to be acknowledged by him. She still couldn¡¯t follow the traces of the greatest swordsman that she had been aspiring to become. Like that, she was solely focused on becoming the fitting successor of the Arden family but¡­ ?Haak¡­ Haak¡­!? Her younger sister had belatedly picked up a sword to have a friendly battle against one of the trainees of the main family. Although Alicia was also a direct child of the Arden family, no-one even considered her a possible competitor for Lunia. Lunia could see Alicia¡¯s admiration and her attempt to follow her traces, but a genius like herself was hard to find. Alicia was just a newbie at the sword who was getting some decent special treatment just because she was a direct child of the family head. There was no way a child like her could defeat a trainee that was seriously contemplating the path of the sword. The trainees, Lunia, their parents and even Alicia herself were aware of that. In the family, Alicia was nothing but an illegitimate child that was brought from outside by the family head, and she should have been content with that as well. But it was on that day. ?We can¡¯t stop the blood!? ?But the non-lethal spell was there! How is this possible!? What in the world¡­ just happened? She missed it. In fact, Lunia couldn¡¯t even see it. After being pushed to a corner, Alicia instinctively put up a guard that was too sloppy to even be considered a proper guard. It was the classic mistake of a newbie but¡­ by the time Lunia came to her senses, the opponent had already been cut. It wasn¡¯t simply in the realm of being fast. That¡­ was just different. Domain. That great realm of martial arts. Alicia had taken a step forward inside that place. How was that even possible? How could a kid ¨C that lazy brat¡­ ??[¡­!] ?? [N, no¡­ I¡­] Lunia turned and noticed that Alicia was smiling. It was evident that she was confused, but her lips were crooked and her eyes seemed possessed. Only at this point did Lunia understand what her grandfather meant. Talent ¨C the twisted nature that normal people could never understand. Sword Ghost. It was truly the gift of a ghost. ?Alicia will now be another successor candidate of the Arden family.? Just like that, Alicia Arden became a candidate for the future family head despite the opposition of everyone else. ?Sister! I got to use an actual sword today!? The memories of her caressing the hair of her step-sister who had been the target of the negligence of her father and the family was then kept away in a corner of her head. ¡°Captain.¡± ¡°¡­¡± She returned to reality with Jennie¡¯s call. Lunia gazed at her subordinates that were looking only at herself. They, who hadn¡¯t been acknowledging anyone other than her to be the next family head, were being shaken. It was a natural response. They were probably confused, because the naughty miss of the family had suddenly shown off her talents. That loser who had been running away from her talents ever since that incident was now threatening her position, but that was what Lunia had wanted more than anything. Now that Alicia was finally at a position where she could threaten and challenge her position; If she could see that sword one more time¡­ would that allow her to also reach beyond the Domain? That was what Lunia was the most interested in. **** ¡°Wow. Look at this. A silver coin and a half for kimbap. I wonder what¡¯s inside?¡± ¡°Sea urchin roe sauce on kimbap¡­ This is crazy. Is this capitalism? Is this what this world has come to?¡± Marie was with Korin at the fine-dining restaurant, ?Holy Panda?. The legendary meal tickets of high-class restaurants that Instructor Haman the gourmet gave out to the students he liked ¨C they were for 2 people in general, and that was why Korin had invited her out for a dinner at this place. ¡°It¡¯s thanks to you, Korin, that I get to come to a place like this!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. It was a bit awkward for me to come to this place by myself anyway so it¡¯s good for both of us. Isn¡¯t that the first time you¡¯re wearing that dress? It looks good on you.¡± ¡°D, does it? Hehe. Actually, it¡¯s a dress I got from my younger siblings to wear on a special day.¡± ¡°Oh~ okay. You said you were the oldest daughter out of 3 boys and 4 girls, right?¡± ¡°Nn! They¡¯re all very cute.¡± Marie could spend the whole day talking about her proud brothers and sisters, but carefully asked a different question instead of blabbering about herself. ¡°By the way, Korin, you have a lot of friends right? Why did you invite me out?¡± As if it was nothing important, Marie asked with a nonchalant look on her face but her ears were keen on hearing his response. ¡°Huu¡­ Actually in the past, there was someone who brought me to places like this very often.¡± ¡°N, nnn? Really?¡± ¡®Who is it?¡¯ That question which she almost blurted out was at the tip of her tongue but she swallowed it back in. ¡°I decided that I would never, ever, leave any room for misunderstanding. I shouldn¡¯t have invited that person out just because I wanted to buy something nice¡­¡± ¡°Nn?¡± Did he come here with another girl before? ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s something I¡¯d rather not talk about.¡± Marie wasn¡¯t exactly sure what happened, but it seemed that things didn¡¯t go that well with that woman! It seemed that he wasn¡¯t even that interested in her in the first place! ¡°I, I see~. But what about mee?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an honor for me to come with Senior Marie of course. Or, would it have been better for me to just give you the tickets for you to come with your friend?¡± ¡°N, no! It¡¯s a bit iffy to come to fancy places like this with a same-gender friend, right!¡± ¡°Right? That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. It will just dampen the mood to come to a place like this with all boys or all girls.¡± ¡°Nn nn! Yes, of course.¡± ¡°Have you ever gone to a place like this with a boy before?¡± ¡°N, nnooo?! It¡¯s my first time! Korin, you¡¯re definitely my first time!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a surprise. You look like you¡¯ll be very popular with guys though.¡± ¡°D, do I? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s¡­ really the case.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty, nice and talented. Seriously, everyone is so young that they don¡¯t have any eyes for beauty. Maybe guys of this age still tease the girls they like and stuff?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Unable to respond to those words, Marie deeply lowered her head and clenched on the ends of her thin dress. Although Korin was simply talking from the perspective of an adult who had gone through countless vicissitudes of life while finding it a shame that the young boys were wasting their youth, it sounded differently to Marie. ¡°By the way, senior.¡± ¡°Nn? Nnn?¡± ¡°I know you are drinking your blood packs quite regularly, but are you seriously okay?¡± Korin looked directly at her face with a worried look on his face. Knowing the sincere concern of the boy, Marie couldn¡¯t hide her happiness and her heart pulsed with joy. ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± she replied. ¡°The impulse can be controlled by regularly taking in the blood of a human. You don¡¯t need to worry about it, Korin.¡± ¡°But the impulse is not the only problem. Sucking blood is not simply to consume food for vampires, right?¡± ¡°¡­I know.¡± Marie had learned about the characteristics and powerful abilities of vampires from the professors of the Magic Department including Deputy Principal Josephine. The act of sucking blood was not a simple consumption of food for vampires. Sucking the fresh blood of a human was in itself a very important and mythical process, and fresh human blood contained a mysterious element that was by far different from the stored blood in blood packs. ¡°How about your familiar?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t healed ever since that day, right? Because blood is the main source of energy for it, and there has been none of that until now.¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t need it.¡± ¡°Senior.¡± ¡°Korin, I really don¡¯t need it. I¡¯m okay.¡± He sounded like he was pressing her, so Marie replied with a shiver in her voice. Marie did not like the new power she had earned. It¡¯s not like she wanted to become one, and it was by pure accident that she ended up becoming a vampire. She was ¡®Marie¡¯. The oldest child of the Dunareff ¨C family of farmers. She was the oldest sibling of 7 children and was not ¡®Marie the Vampire¡¯. That was why drinking fresh human blood was the same as breaking the pillars of the entirety of her life. It was like admitting that she was a vampire. ¡°You know what, Senior? You¡¯ve never changed until now.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Whether we¡¯re talking about you as a genius mage, or a dim-witted 2nd year Senior.¡± ¡°D, dim-witted? Was that your impression of me the whole time?!¡± ¡°Well, just listen for now. Whether you are the oldest child of 7 siblings of the Dunareff family, or a vampire. All of that combined is ¡®you¡¯, Senior. There is no need to deny a part of you.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± There was no way she could misunderstand the warmth hidden behind those words. Everything he said was sincere. Korin had not a sliver of fear against her. He remained nonchalant as if her cursed trait of sucking the blood of humans and the ability to murder countless people were nothing important. ¡®I¡¯m always getting helped every time.¡¯ His words never failed to cause a ripple in the lake inside her heart. She was already in an enormous debt. The debt that she owed him was so big that he could even take custody of the entire future life of herself, Marie Dunareff. Of course, he probably wouldn¡¯t even consider it a big deal. While hoping for her happiness, he had never wished for anything in return. He was cool. On both the day when he stood up on repeat without giving up, as well as when he didn¡¯t give up on her. Regardless of the importance of the matter, the boy called Korin Lork never hesitated in his actions. Looking at all the reasons behind his actions, she could even see a firm layer of conviction. That was why the boy did not ask her for anything. Despite the tremendous value of the blood of vampires and the amount of things she owed him, none of that mattered to Korin Lork. He was someone who only received goodwill if others gave it to him. It was a pity. I have so many things I want to do for you; do you really have nothing to request of me? Like how you helped me, I want to help you too. I want to lessen your burden even by a little, and make sure you don¡¯t shoulder everything like how you always try to do. No currency in existence was able to measure the amount of things that can be done by this girl who had just fallen in love. It was when their meal was coming to an end. ¡°Senior. I know it¡¯s a bit odd to make a request like this when we¡¯re here to have some nice food but¡­¡± ¡°U, huh?¡± A request? Really? Marie felt like she was soaring through the skies as she looked back at him with an immensely expectant gaze. Now, the bank called Marie Bank had no limits to the loan it could give to the customer called Korin. There was 0% interest rate to the loan, and in fact, he didn¡¯t even need to pay the bank back. The owner of the bank would probably gladly open the safe with a bright smile on her face. ¡°Actually¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± She gulped. Even a lady blinded by a male host at a host club wouldn¡¯t be as unconditional as her. ¡°Can you please lend me some money?¡± ¨C About 100 gold coins? The next day, a new Arden-style dojo called ¡®Alicia Dojo¡¯ was founded with 100% of their finances coming from Marie Bank. **** It was extremely natural that Lunia Arden and the Five Swords decided to go through with the Sword Challenge. Mei, who was called the Heavy Sword of True Darkness out of the Five Swords, was carrying her characteristic 2-meter-long greatsword behind her back as she walked into the streets. She was looking to borrow a venue that was appropriate for the Sword Challenge. Although she wasn¡¯t keen on grouping up against one person to crush them, this was a necessary procedure of the household. Mei Rudia¡¯s family, the Rudia household, had been loyal to the Arden family ever since the current family head, Jade Arden took his position. With his favor, her family became one that had control over the Greatsword-style dojos of the Arden swordsmanship. There were a lot of families that were jealous of the Rudia household but their status was firm due to being in charge of one of the most important businesses of the Arden sect. It used to be firm¡­ but now it was just about to wobble because of Alicia Arden¡¯s sudden rise. What would happen if the illegitimate child of Jade Arden, Alicia Arden, was to suddenly become the head of the Arden family? The enormous cluster of households called Arden will be in great turmoil. The statuses of the swordsmen and families supporting Lunia would fluctuate tremendously and chaos would befall the sect. In other words, this was no longer just about Alicia¡¯s qualification as a swordsman, and was in correlation with a lot of business-related matters. ¡®You should have just stayed low, Young Miss.¡¯ Mei didn¡¯t have any real thoughts on Alicia. She was just a naughty child of the household, who liked eating desserts outside more than contemplating the path of the sword. If she continued staying holed up in a corner while admitting that as a fact, she would have received some level of respect as a Young Miss. But now that she had stepped into a problem that concerned the profit of their household, the Five Swords were resolute. None of them wanted Alicia Arden to become the next family head. There was a need to crush Alicia Arden. Lunia didn¡¯t even need to do anything. The Five Swords would be enough to crush Alicia Arden beyond recovery. There might be some tedious retaliation from Merkarva Academy, but Arden was firm and strong. They probably wouldn¡¯t dare antagonize the Arden family just because of one student. In reality, Arden was a sword sect but they were closer to a group of gangsters that had way too much power for a single organization. ¡°¡­ Come out.¡± Mei said while looking at the darkness where she could sense the presence of another person. That was while preparing herself to unsheathe the sword behind her back whenever necessary. ¨C Clomp clomp. A human figure walked out of the darkness. It seemed that the person had zero intentions of hiding their presence in the first place. ¡°You are¡­¡± Mei immediately recognized who the person was. The girl was wearing chained nun clothes. She was the special student from the New Faith who got full marks at the prac exam despite being the only one who didn¡¯t sit the test. ¡°Student Hua Ran, huh. It is very late¡­ Why have you left the campus?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Without saying anything, Hua Ran scavenged through the pocket of her nun clothes and suddenly took out a dagger. ¨C Swish! After quickly unsheathing her greatsword, Mei pointed it at her opponent. But Hua Ran took out a memo from her pocket and hopped her way towards her without giving any heed to her sword. ¡°Stop! I will cut you if you come any closer!¡± Hua Ran approached while ignoring those words so in return, Mei swung the greatsword and used the flat part of the blade to strike her head. ¨C Kwang! Although it was a blunt attack, the impact created by the attack was definitely not small, and most average knights would have gone unconscious in an instant. ¡°Huh?¡± But Hua Ran did not move a single inch. Despite receiving such a heavy attack from the front, she showed less reaction than a person stung by a mosquito. ¡°¡­Move.¡± Hua Ran curled her fingers with an apathetic expression and flicked on the side of the greatsword with a ¡®Thud!¡¯. ¨C Kajik! The unimaginably strong impact caused the greatsword to tilt all the way to the ground. Seeing her sword that was stuck in the ground, Mei was appalled. ¡®I¡­ got pushed back?¡¯ How could she, the Heavy Sword of the Rudia family, be pushed back by a mere student? Hua Ran did not even give her the time to accept what was going on. ¡°Here.¡± ¡°What is¡­ this?¡± ¡°A letter of challenge.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Apparently I am the Instructor of Alicia Dojo¡¯s Fruit Knife-style? Or something.¡± Hearing that, Mei looked at the dagger in Hua Ran¡¯s hands and finally had a good look at it. It was a fruit knife ¨C the blunt knife that people would use to cut apples. Was she using something like that as a sword to issue a challenge? ¡°Bastard. Are you looking down on us!!¡± Picking up the sword that was stabbing into the ground, Mei swung it at her. Seeing the sword that was 1 centimeter away from her neck, Hua Ran said with a bored look on her face. ¡°He said he¡¯ll buy me sushi if I beat you.¡± ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ Meanwhile, ¨C Channg! ¡°Kuhk¡­!¡± Sirin the Dual Wielder looked at her swords that were flung away before glaring at the assaulter. There was a swordsman who suddenly issued a challenge as a dojo, but from what Sirin knew, the opponent was a student who did not belong to any dojos. In the first place, she was a mage. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing, Marie Dunareff!¡± ¡°Umm¡­ Challenging the Sword Squad? Asking for a lesson as a junior? Something like that, apparently.¡± ¡°As if! You are a mage, not a swordsman!¡± In response to Sirin¡¯s bitter complaint, the young mage finally unsheathed the sword imitation that was hanging on her waist in a hurry. She then said while taking a posture that was clearly that of a newbie. ¡°I am Alicia Dojo¡¯s Gandalf-style Instructor¡­ and an elder.¡± ¡°A, are you stupid?!¡± ¡°¡­¡± She didn¡¯t reply. The girl lowered the visor of her hat as if she was embarrassed while pointing the staff at her. In fact, even though she was claiming to be the instructor of a sword style, she did not even know what a Gandalf-style was. ? Blood Spear ? ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡°Alicia Dojo¡¯s Glaive-style Instructor, Korin Lork! I request the esteemed Instructor Lena of the Rippling Sword for a lesson!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not even using a glaive!¡± ¡°Ah, actually, the glaive is currently broken and is in the middle of repair. Well, you just put a blade at the end of a spear and that¡¯s a glaive and a falchion, right?¡± ¡°What are you even talking about! And why are you doing this?¡± Korin grinned with the Silver Spear resting on his shoulders and replied to her shout. ¡°You see, new dojos like us need to raise our fame to expand our business right? We are looking for a very aggressive business model by challenging other groups.¡± Newly Founded Alicia Dojo. Fruit Knife-style Instructor Hua Ran, Glaive-style Instructor Korin Lork, Gandalf-style Instructor Marie Dunareff, Flying Sword-style One-day Instructor Dorron Warsky¡ª And the Head Instructor of the Newborn Alicia Dojo, Alicia Arden. Five Swords of Arden Style¡¯s 1st Sword Squad; Defeated. ?Breaking News! The appearance of a new Arden-style dojo! Crushing the 1st Sword Squad of the Arden!!? ?The images that have been sent from an anonymous sender seem very reliable and¡­ etc¡­? CH 36 ? Alicia Arden (5) ? My older sister was my aspiration. Back when I still had passion for the sword, Sister used to be my idol. ¡°Lady Lunia has defeated the Grade 1 demonic beast, Minotaur!¡± ¡°She is still only 15. That is remarkable!¡± ¡°Lord Garrand is also keeping a close eye on Lady Lunia!¡± Sister was like a hero from a fairy tale; like a legendary knight who defeated evil monsters. She was a hero like grandpa Garrand, whose tales I had been hearing from a young age. ¡°Sister¡­!¡± I knew what my position was inside the household. A daughter of a concubine ¨C mother passed away during my birth and father considered me a disgrace that was made from his mistake. The only value I had in his family was that I had the blood of the great Sword Emperor, Garrand Arden, flowing in my veins. ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Y, you¡¯re back! Congratulations Sister!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve grown quite a lot.¡± My sister from another mother who was 9 years older than me patted my head a lot more than my biological father. That made me so happy, so rather than my mother whom I had never met and the step-mother who considered me non-existent, Sister was¡­ ¡°Ah¡­¡± Everything changed on the day I first cut a person. **** There was a thing called ¡®Sword Challenge¡¯ among the rules of the household. It was a sort of test to elect captains of the 5 sword squads, who would be taking care of the important matters of the household. However, I now knew that this was just a way to trample on potential competitors as a group. That was why Mr. Korin said he would change this. That was to issue a ¡®Dojo Challenge¡¯. By opening an official dojo and challenging the 1st Sword Squad as a newly founded group, we defeated the Five Sword one at a time and led to a 1 on 1 battle against my sister. Mr. Korin told me defeating them here and announcing that to the public would make it difficult for Sister and her forces to touch me for the time being. The money that went to the registry of the dojo, the purchase of an abandoned dojo and the employment of Mr. Dorron the mercenary all came from Senior Marie¡¯s wallet. I should be able to repay her as soon as I received the bounty money from defeating John Doe. Two days after the official registry as a dojo, we simultaneously attacked the five senior sisters of the 1st Sword Squad. And as Mr. Korin expected¡ª ¡°That¡¯s quite an interesting thing you¡¯ve thought of.¡± My older sister came to the dojo I opened. ¡°Si,sister¡­¡± Lunia Arden ¨C the step-sister, who I admire, glared at me with an icy gaze. I remembered how I used to feel timid all the time from how scary that gaze was. ¡®Can I really¡­ defeat Sister?¡¯ Mr. Korin said that defeating the Five Swords was just a skirmish before the real battle, and that the real deal was defeating the contemporary Sword Master, Lunia Arden. But could someone like me really defeat Sister, who was already a semi-Unique Grade knight when she was my age? Should I apologize here and run away? My hands carrying the demon-slaying sword trembled and I felt like it would drop any time soon so I tried my best to hold onto it. ¡°You fool. Half-assed judgements are the worst ones to make. If you were going to run, you should have run immediately after seeing me and if not, then stand tall and be firm like a boulder.¡± Her sharp gaze pierced through me. It was like this every time ¨C Sister knew everything about me all the time. ¡°There is no way a cheeky idea like Dojo Challenge would have come out of your head. As I suspected, was it you, Korin Lork?¡± I carefully turned my gaze over to the side and found Mr. Korin shrugging his shoulders. Even though he was pretty much picking a fight against the Ardens, he was still calm. In fact, he even told me off. ¡°Alicia. Isn¡¯t there something you need to tell her?¡± ¡°Uhk¡­¡± Do I really have to say it? I sent him a desperate gaze but he nonchalantly glossed over it. So mean! ¡°A, as an instructor of a newly founded Arden-style dojo¡­ I request the Captain of the 1st Sword Squad, Lunia Arden, for a practice duel.¡± ¡°Hmph. Did you register as an official dojo and buy a building just for this stuff?¡± ¡°I, it¡¯s an official request.¡± ¡°Yes. A direct child of the Arden does have the free right to establish a dojo. To think you would make use of that rule like this, even though it was supposed to limit the branch families from gaining too much power.¡± Plus, the instructors of newly founded dojos had the right to request swordsmen of the household for friendly duels. Although it was possible for the swordsmen to turn them down, Mr. Korin assured me that that won¡¯t happen. It was because a sect of swordsmen was composed of people whose pride had to stand firmer and taller than anything else in the world. ¡°Good. A friendly duel it is,¡± said Lunia, ¡°But you should know yourself, that we won¡¯t be casting non-lethal spells or using practice swords.¡± ¡°I am¡­ prepared.¡± Mr. Korin told me to use the ¡®demon-slaying sword¡¯ at all cost, while saying that relying on the sword was the only way for me to win. ¡°Arden-style, Head Disciple of Singular Sword, Lunia Arden.¡± ¡°Arden-style, Grade 2 Swordsman of Singular Sword, Alicia Arden.¡± It was time to end this war between siblings. **** ¡°Is this really okay?¡± Looking at the serious battle between Alicia and Lunia, Marie asked in concern. ¡°I believe in her. Alicia will do a good job.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Marie was puzzled by Korin¡¯s ungrounded confidence. Objectively speaking, Alicia stood no chance against Lunia. She had just become a Grade 2 knight, whereas the opponent was the strongest swordsman of this generation and was at a Semi-Unique Grade. They weren¡¯t even on the same page. Even Marie herself wasn¡¯t confident in defeating Lunia even if she were to use her full potential as a vampire. ¡®But¡­ Korin won even when he was in a similar position.¡¯ She saw him defeating the familiar that had been born from her blood. Even though he was outclassed in physical abilities, mana and everything, he still came out on top. ¡°Nn. It should be okay since you¡¯re the one saying it, Korin.¡± Right now, the credit Marie Bank had for Korin had reached beyond the maximum limit and was breaking through the roof. ¡°Take this.¡± That was when Lunia threw a purse at Korin. Judging from the clink of clashing metal, it seemed to be money. ¡°Is this for repairing the dojo?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s for building a new one.¡± After saying that, Lunia vanished from where she was in the blink of an eye. ¨C Kaang! ¡°Kuhk¡­!¡± Following a Flash Step was a sword slash. Alicia somehow managed to block the attack but the building was destroyed behind her back. ¨C Kajik! Kajijik! A sharp sword cut was carved on the wall of the dojo but Lunia didn¡¯t stop there. ¨C Grit¡­! A sword wrestle immediately began with their blades touching each other. It was a fearsome battle between two swords where one mistake could end up with a cut on either the face or the shoulder. ¡ºFor the first attack, take a step back and push her sword to the side.¡» ¡°¡­?!¡± Lunia¡¯s sword fell to the side like it was flowing down a current of water. Lunia was slightly confused by her attack being casually nullified as if it had been predicted, but immediately swung the sword sideways but it was blocked again by the scabbard of the demon-slaying sword. ¡®¡­Blocking with the scabbard?¡¯ ¡º Lunia likes sticking to the textbook. Even though she is proficient at everything that goes by the book, she won¡¯t be expecting a trick like blocking with the scabbard. ¡» ¡°Haat¡­!¡± A silver flash burst forth. Alicia attacked for the first time ever since the start of their battle. That marked the beginning of a fiercer battle between the two swordsmen. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Parrying the attack with the sword and retaliating with an immediate slash ¨C Lunia was a master at it. Alicia threw her body back in an exaggerated manner to dodge the attack. ¡°Your footwork is still terrible.¡± Alicia retreated easily because she was scared of being cut, and was frightened about being hit. It was the way of cowards and because she knew that, Lunia¡¯s attacks in retaliation were always a step forward. ¨C Chiik! ¡°Kuhk¡­?!¡± A sharp silver flash traveled past the side of her head. The skin got ripped as blood dripped from the lacerated wound. Alicia retreated greatly to the back. Lunia was either relaxed or was trying to maintain her posture, but she did not chase after her. ¡º Make use of your speed. Block her vision and stab as fast as you can. ¡» The ground of the dojo was being covered with footsteps like the cartridges of a minigun ¨C Alicia was circling around the unmoving Lunia as fast as she could. Her feet would soon come to a stop, and that would be the prelude to her charge. ¨C Tap! ? Forward March, 3rd Move: Lightning ? Alicia jumped in while trampling on the tiles of the arena of the dojo. In response to that destructive linear attack, Lunia curled the corners of her lips up and lowered her sword and readied herself for an upward slash. ? Upward Slash: Falling Books ? ¨C Kaang! Lunia¡¯s sword parried Alicia¡¯s trump card. If she followed this through with a stab, it would certainly pierce through Alicia¡¯s chest. ¡°Iyaaaaaa¡­!¡± ¡°¡­?!¡± Even though her sword had been parried away, Alicia wasn¡¯t flustered in the slightest and in fact, she even dashed faster to pounce at Lunia. The two swordsmen rolled on the ground of the dojo. Lunia was the first to stand up. ¡°This stupid fool¡­!¡± Lunia kicked Alicia¡¯s head up with her boot. Due to being both weaker and slower, Alicia was kicked away while spurting blood with her mouth. ¡°Ahuk¡­!¡± Alicia couldn¡¯t disguise the pain and frowned. It was an unsightly thing to do for a swordsman. ¡°Did you think you could win with such petty tricks!?¡± As if she was discontent with the fact that Alicia pounced at her body without using the sword, Lunia heavily swung her sword down. ¨C Kaang! ¡°Htt¡­!¡± Alicia managed to block the attack but was being pressed down due to the sheer difference in strength. At last, the sword dug into her shoulder and allowed blood to ooze out but Alicia¡¯s mind was clearer than ever before. ? Falling Books ? ¡°¡­?!¡± Suddenly, Lunia¡¯s sword slid down the side. Alicia had gently altered the path of the sword to the side like what Lunia had done with Alicia¡¯s attack. ¡®Block the sword, let it fall to the side with Falling Books and after that¡­¡¯ The fearsome stab straight after the block grazed past Lunia¡¯s body. ¡°Hoh¡­¡± That set of consecutive attacks was relatively fluent. It was remarkable that Alicia had been able to pull off such moves even though she was almost pushed onto her knees with a stab in her shoulder. ¡®But it¡¯s still not perfect¡­¡¯ Lunia drove in an unexpected strike with her elbow at Alicia¡¯s chin right when she was about to carry the momentum through. Her following kick powered through Alicia¡¯s calf and brought her down onto the ground as Lunia continued like a lightning strike. Heavenly Strike,Reverse Kill ¨C Kaang! Lunia¡¯s sword came striking down from the heavens and Alicia parried it horizontally, but Lunia immediately kicked her chest with her foot and made Alicia roll across the ground. ¡°Huu¡­!¡± Instead of fighting against the momentum, Alicia let her body constantly roll and used that momentum and inertia to quickly raise her body back up while putting a gap between them. ¡º Sister! I learned how to draw today! ¡» The child who had been treated coldly ever since a young age only had one person to talk to, and that was her older step-sister. Instant Slash, Advancing Fang, Reverse Kill, Soaring Heavens, Lightning. Falling Books, Three Paths of One Sword, Reverse Heavens, Crushing Steel. The sun cast a spotlight on the two as the constant dazzling flash of silver threatened to blind everyone. ¡º Sister! I learned how to use a sword for the first time today! One day I will become an awesome knight like you! ¡» The dojo continued crumbling down throughout the bout of the two swordsmen. The walls and the floor became more rugged than ever as Alicia likewise accumulated similar injuries on her body. Currently, it looked like Lunia was forcing Alicia into a corner all the time and in fact, that wasn¡¯t too far from the truth. Lunia gazed deeply at her step-sister. ¡º Uahh¡­ I, it hurts! Please be more gentle! ¡» Her face that usually would have been in tears while grumbling about the pain was turning stiff in real time as if it was sitting under a wintery blizzard. No ¨C actually, the corners of her lips were sneaking up. Even though Alicia was the only one who shed blood during the brief exchange, she smiled like a fiend as if she was bewitched by her own blood. This was the heavenly gift of Alicia: The talent of a ghost bewitched by the sword. The most fiendish talent in the contemporary times that Alicia had been concealing due to fear was about to wake up. ¡°Good. That¡¯s what you¡¯re supposed to be like.¡± That was the true Alicia that Lunia had been wanting to see. Lunia had been eager to see her real nature and that shocking talent which Alicia had been turning away from! This was a matter of pride as a swordsman. This was not the hierarchical fight between beasts but one that concerned honor and pride as fighters. Lunia had been dying to fight her rival when she was in her best condition. ¡°Are you seeing the Domain already?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Alicia didn¡¯t reply and instead, she drooled from her lips and widened her eyes into circles. The reason she had been wholeheartedly focused on blocking and dodging was to see that one tiny dot ¨C it was to take a step forward in the most extreme level of concentration. ¡º You can¡¯t beat her in a frontal fight. Block and dodge. You just need one moment to decide the battle anyway. ¡» Alicia had been receiving a constant set of advice from the boy over the past few days. As if he had experienced fighting Lunia Arden dozens of times already, he talked about her habits, forms and postures and told her to focus on ¡®dodging at the last second¡¯. The key here was to not die; To find the one deciding moment during the battle. ¡º A transcendent level of concentration allows knights to enter the Domain and collide once when put in an extreme situation. But your eyes will always allow you to see it. That is one of the two advantages you have over Lunia Arden. The other is ¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡» It was pretty much like a gamble but Alicia agreed that that was the only way for her to win. She also noticed countless times during the fight that she was nowhere near Lunia¡¯s league. In a normal fight, her body would have been cut into two in a matter of a few strikes but here, she was extending that to 30 strikes at the cost of gaining injuries on her body. That was all to take that one step forward. ¨C Kaaangg!! A screeching sound of metal reached her ears. Alicia was feeling the numbing sense in her hands but that was when Lunia flashed her eyes. ¡°Sister¡­!!¡± It was coming. Alicia¡¯s tremendously sensitive senses warned her of the upcoming death. She was about to sheathe her sword in a hurry but realized something before she could. Lunia was half a step ¨C half a second earlier than her. At this rate, she would be too late. ? Arden First Sword Style: False Domain Severance ? Her Eyes of the Boundary flickered open. The black ocean that she had been seeing for a while appeared vividly. She ignored the burning pain in her eyes and glared daggers at the dimension. But Alicia wasn¡¯t prepared enough. One of the conditions of Alicia¡¯s Domain Severance was the Eyes of the Boundary that allowed its user to perceive the Domain, and the other was the sheathed demon-slaying sword. The attack was fast because of the circulation of aura inside the scabbard pushing the sword for an instant acceleration, but it was too late for Alicia to sheathe the sword now. It was also too late to swing now ¨C no matter what she did, Alicia realized that she would be cut first before she could cut her sister. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª If so, then all she had to do was have better control over the Domain. It didn¡¯t matter if she was late, or if she wasn¡¯t in the right posture. There was no need to defeat her. Alicia¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to beat her as a swordsman in the first place ¨C what she needed was a win. She had to win even if it may be pathetic and disgraceful. Thus, she didn¡¯t need to be faster than Lunia. As long as she could land a strike on her sword¨C ¡º Demon-slaying sword. It¡¯s a masterpiece that can withstand all risk inside the Domain. Don¡¯t forget the ridiculous sword you¡¯re holding onto. ¡» Domain Severance,Alicia Style, Sword Challenge Against the opponent who was half a step and half a second earlier than her, she took a full step forward and came out even. Their two swords collided inside the Domain. ¨C Kaang¡­! The swords screamed as Lunia widened her eyes. It was natural for her to be shocked because the opponent who was trying to sheathe the sword suddenly raised the sword into the sky and swung it down in time. Even though Lunia was aware of her talents, seeing it unravel before her eyes was still annoying. ¨C Kkang¡­! Her screaming sword got shredded like paper along with a clear ding. The bisected sword flew through the air and pierced through the walls of the dojo. Remaining behind through the Domain was the lofty demon-slaying blade giving off a dark steam and a brilliant luster. Lunia Arden, Was hereby defeated. CH 37 ? Alicia Arden (6) ? Compared to Lunia Arden, the Sword Master, Alicia¡¯s only advantage was the Domain Severance. Her talent allowed her to walk in the Domain which even the knights who had reached the semi-Unique Grade could only perceive and barely set their foot inside. Thus, we had to decide the victor of this battle inside the Domain for Alicia to win, and that was why I told her to buy time by solely focusing on dodging and blocking. By sharing Lunia¡¯s habits that I learned by fighting her dozens of times in the last iteration, I made Alicia last through the attacks while waiting for one opportunity inside the Domain. And as expected, Lunia¡¯s sword broke during the collision inside the Domain. ¡°¡­¡± The dojo was covered in silence as Lunia blankly gazed at her bisected sword. She moved before Alicia did. She swung the sword first. She was better than Alicia in both ability and judgment, But even so, she was slower. How would Lunia feel after seeing her step-sister suddenly reach the ¡®Domain¡¯ fully, which had been her lifelong aspiration? ¡°Haa¡­ Not enough training, huh.¡± Nothing much. Lunia was the type of person to hold her sword again after a brief period of lamentation. ¡°From this point onwards, my subordinates and I will not interfere with your business.¡± Leaving those words behind, Lunia turned around. ¡°Si,sister¡­¡± Alicia awkwardly called her and carefully walked up to hold onto Lunia¡¯s sleeves as Lunia halted her feet. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She turned back and saw Alicia drenched in blood. Lunia hesitated a little before placing her hand on Alicia¡¯s head. ¡°You¡¯ve grown quite a lot.¡± After that, Lunia left the dojo. It was the end of the fight between siblings. ¡ºAlicia Arden, Lunia Arden¡» ¡ù Difficulty: B+ ¡ù Reward: ¨C Even Distribution of 40 points ¨C Aura Rank Increase { Lower Medium } -> { Medium } ¨C 600 Increase in Aura Capacity ¨C You have acquired ?Domain Comprehension? **** ¡º I¡¯m Lunia Arden. ¡» [] The first time I met her was even before Marie¡¯s incident. I remember being quite flustered because it was a lot earlier than the original scenario. In the game, Lunia would join the party if Alicia died so both Park Sihu and I weren¡¯t that confused by Lunia joining the party. However, there was something we didn¡¯t know and it was something Park Sihu, who had killed Alicia, definitely wouldn¡¯t have expected ¨C ¡º I couldn¡¯t find the guy who killed my sister. ¡» ¨C The reason why she joined the party. Lunia looked for Alicia¡¯s murderer the whole time but until the very end, she couldn¡¯t find the killer because Park Sihu was the real killer all along. We fought together for a long time but Lunia never gave up. In the third year after Alicia¡¯s death, I had the chance to talk to her who was still looking for the killer. ¡º I thought you didn¡¯t like your sister. ¡» ¡º I didn¡¯t. She was lazy, never serious, and only knew how to cling on and be a bother. But¡­ ¡» ¡º ¡­ ¡» ¡º Who else will avenge that child if not me? The father who neglected her after giving his seed away? The mother who blames the child for the sense of betrayal she feels for her husband? Or the swordsmen of the family who have no respect for her? ¡» She lamented. By looking for the disappeared demon-slaying sword, she waited for Alicia¡¯s killer to reveal their traces. ¡º I¡¯m the only one. There is no-one else who can relieve that child¡¯s grief. ¡» The illegitimate daughter of the family learned the way of the sword because of her immature admiration towards her sister. By first learning the sword and cutting a person, she realized the dreadfulness of swords. After being named as a successor candidate that she didn¡¯t even want to become and ending up antagonizing the older sister of her admiration, what would Alicia have thought? That must be why she decided to give up. Deciding to be lazy, she started straying away from the path of swords in order to relieve her older sister and her subordinates. Telling them that she wasn¡¯t her enemy. And Lunia was also aware of that. ¡º I¡­ thought you didn¡¯t like your sister. There were plenty of reasons for you to dislike her as well. ¡» ¡º If there is a reason for me to hate that child¡­ then that won¡¯t be because of something useless like succession. ¡» ¡º What is it then? ¡» ¡º I had been pursuing grandfather¡¯s sword the whole time. At one point, I gave up on the Domain and yet the realm of my aspiration appeared right before my eyes. ¡» Seeing that ideal talent choosing to become lazy was an unbearable sight¡­ was what Lunia confessed. These sisters probably had a very complicated relationship that we weren¡¯t aware of, because the game did not reveal the trivial past of NPCs and their irrelevant relationships. ¡°Did I¡­ do well?¡± Inside the hospital room, Alicia let out a soft mutter while sitting on the bed. ¡°You did.¡± I assured her that she did a good job but in response, she gave a small pout with sulky eyes. ¡°How can you be so sure? Now, I will probably become an official successor candidate of the Arden family and Sister Lunia and her followers will start pressuring me. The Arden family is full of scary people, you know?¡± She was probably right. The second coming of the legend was not important to the members of the family because they were more concerned about their own interests and profit. Alicia, the illegitimate child of the family head, who had no-one¡¯s support, becoming the next leader of the family was something they wouldn¡¯t be very happy with. ¡°It¡¯s up to you whether you fight or not.¡± ¡°¡­How would I not fight?¡± ¡°Well, you can just leave the family.¡± ¡°¡­!!¡± Alicia widened her eyes into circles as if she hadn¡¯t thought of that, but returned to being sulky after a while. ¡°I don¡¯t want to. If I do that¡­ My connection with Sister will be completely gone.¡± ¡°No. It won¡¯t. Your connection with Lunia Arden will stay even if you die.¡± ¡°How can you be so sure of that?¡± Because I saw it ¨C I saw the sorrow of that one person which was triggered from your death lasting all the way until my final breath, And I saw the only person who felt remorse for your death, persistently chasing after the traces of your killer. ¡°The thing called siblings is very strange. Sometimes, you fight as if you want to kill each other and at other times you¡¯re even closer than your parents.¡± ¡º It¡¯s my time to use the computer!! ¡» ¡º Fuck off. Or I¡¯ll bash you up. ¡» ¡º Mom! He¡¯s not letting me use the computer! ¡» ¡º You fucking dog! ¡» The memories of that time were becoming faint over time, but I still remembered how my older brother reacted when I returned home after being bashed up by the bullies of the town. ¡º Who the fuck hit my brother! ¡» Isn¡¯t that how siblings are usually like? ¡°You might feel a sense of distance and you might feel awkward, but a blood tie is not something that disappears that easily.¡± Even though it may become a memory of the past, I still remembered my brother, and he probably remembered me as well. In fact, he could even still be looking for me. ¡°Do you also have a sibling?¡± ¡°¡­¡­I have an annoying younger sister.¡± I had become way too used to this world. The younger brother who used to have the computer taken away, who used to be bashed up yet protected at times, was now the older brother of an annoying kid who constantly whined for expensive candies. ¡°We¡¯ll be siblings no matter what happens.¡± I already acknowledged the memories and emotions left behind by Korin Lork. And from that point on, I stopped worrying about my sense of identity. ¡°You are a really strange person, Mr. Korin.¡± ¡°Hnn?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you the same age as me? Why do you act like an adult all the time?¡± It was because I lived at least 14 years more than you did. I was at least 30, and if I added Korin¡¯s memories on top of that, you could say I was almost in my 50s. ¡°Do I sound old?¡± ¡°Yes! Like a veteran soldier who went through all sorts of hardships? I can kind of feel that from you!¡± How sharp. While fixing the bandage around her head that was starting to fall loose, Alicia said with a bashful smile. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°About what happened this time and back in the forest.¡± Mhmm? ¡°It was you who saved me in the forest, right, Mr. Korin?¡± How did she notice that? I wasn¡¯t planning on telling her though¡­ ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°Umm, first is that your voice is similar, and second is your belt. Boys don¡¯t really¡­ change their belts too much right?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She was right. I never worried about it before but I couldn¡¯t really remember changing my belt that much. In fact, I used to use this cheap belt back in the previous iteration as well. ¡°And I became certain just then thanks to your honest reply,¡± Alicia added. ¡°¡­¡­Who are you?¡± ¡°Ehh?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way Alicia could be this smart¡­¡± ¡°¡­Hmph.¡± She pursed her lips before asking a question. ¡°Is there anything you want from me, Mr. Korin?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°That was quick¡­¡± What; were you expecting me to say, ¡®No¡¯? ¡°Yes, of course! I know I am in great debt to you Mr. Korin! Y, you can tell me anything you want!¡± ¡°Anything is okay?¡± ¡°¡­Except for the demon-slaying sword.¡± ¡°Why; do you think it¡¯s too expensive?¡± ¡°No. Grandpa is the legal owner of the item so the tax¡­¡± Apparently there was a 20% tax when reassigning the owner of the item. The official price of the demon-slaying sword was¡­ over 20 white gold coins if I remember correctly. That meant the tax alone was at least 400,000 dollars. ¡°Seriously, the things you talk about and stuff¡­ You are a very realistically poor person, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­Unlike Sister, I didn¡¯t receive any property from the family either.¡± ¡°Anyway, of course I¡¯m not gonna ask for your help when it comes to money or connections.¡± ¡°I might be able to help you a little bit though?¡± ¡°I doubt it.¡± She pouted her lips again, perhaps from thinking that she was being looked down on. I really wanted to slap those lips with a straw or something. ¡°Let¡¯s become friends.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Is that all?¡± Becoming friends with True Alicia, the greatest counter to bosses, who can use Domain Severance with ease? It was a huge bargain for me no matter how I saw it. ¡°Why? Do you not want to become friends with me?¡± ¡°Ahht! O, of course not! Friend! Friend, huh! It¡¯s my first time having a boy friend but I think that sounds good! I, I mean, a male friend!¡± ¡°Yes yes.¡± Alicia reached her hand out with her cheeks tinged in a shade of red due to excitement. Thinking that she was asking for a handshake, I grabbed onto her hand and gave her a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s get along well, buddy.¡± ¡°Mhmm¡­! I¡¯m also glad to have a reliable friend like Mr. Korin!¡± It was an innocent smile that was far from bad intentions and ulterior motives. This girl would probably now have a better future ahead of her unlike the last iteration just like Marie. Let there be punishment to the evil and a brighter future for the good. And let children have a better set of choices for them. ¡°I¡­ am scared of fighting,¡± said Alicia. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°But I smile for some reason during a fight.¡± ¡°I saw that too.¡± ¡°So¡­ I avoided fighting all the time. Because it didn¡¯t feel like me¡­ and I was also scared of fighting against Sister. I wasn¡¯t as serious as other people, and I was always looking for an easy way out.¡± ¡°Everyone does that.¡± Alicia, who had constantly been pressed down by the environment and her own talents, shared her honest agony and concerns that were normal for girls of her age to have. Both Marie and Alicia¡­ and even Hua Ran were just young girls. As we age and as we go through a set of small misfortunes and incidents, we start to build experience. I didn¡¯t have to think of an amazing reply. The advice that could help these young kids who had just hit their puberty didn¡¯t have to be that grandiose. As someone who was born a bit earlier than them, it should be fine for me to cheer them up a bit. ¡°Don¡¯t think of this as something too difficult. I just helped you with the catalyst.¡± ¡°Catalyst?¡± ¡°You see, when I was young, I got beat up by the bullies of the town one day.¡± ¡°You did?¡± Her eyes widened into circles as if she couldn¡¯t believe my words. It was more than 10 years ago. I was pulled by some smoking high schoolers into the back alleyway. It was very commonplace and was something that could happen to anyone. ¡ºDude, you got some cash?¡» They stole my money after that. It was back when I was in middle school, and it was an embarrassing event in the past which still embarrassed me whenever I reflected on it. ¡°I tried to stop them from taking my money as they ganged up on me, so I had to take a few days off from school.¡± ¡°¡­Was it very painful?¡± ¡°Just a bunch of kids so of course it didn¡¯t hurt that much. It was painful not because I got bashed up, but because I didn¡¯t even raise a fist to fight back.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I took a few days off of school not because it was painful, but because it was embarrassing. I did nothing wrong and it wasn¡¯t me who was in the wrong, but I was still very embarrassed for being unable to be proud during that moment. ¡°Alicia. You¡¯re a lot stronger than someone like me who used to be a powerless kid back then. I want you to become someone who can be proud of themselves all the time.¡± Alicia Arden¡¯s greatest weakness was her confidence which had plummeted into the ground. As long as she had the catalyst to reveal her talents without holding them back¡­ Then there would be nothing in this world that Alicia Arden could not cut. **** A beast frantic for the sword was living inside Alicia¡¯s heart. She knew that this too was a part of her. However, she spent her entire life denying that part of her which was possessed by the sword like a fiend. Until now, she had never made the swordsman living inside her heart content. She wanted to satisfy its desires. Her honest senses wanted her to wreak havoc by swinging the sword to her heart¡¯s content. But she was scared. Could I really make use of this talent? What about Sister? What about the people from the household? Will they let me be? Will they bless me, and cheer for my success? Alicia knew how that couldn¡¯t be any further from the truth. That was why she made herself content with small things for self-satisfaction. By fighting against nothing but low-graded demonic beasts, she enjoyed the campus life and wanted the Academy to revere her while being unaware of how much of a coward she was. Playing around like a hero, she wanted self-satisfaction without going through pain. Like what cowards tended to do. By looking for prey weaker than themselves, they pretend to be tough and cool in safe places and dump whatever is dangerous onto others. At one point, Alicia began to think to herself that this was her limit, and that what she had was already more than enough. Even she herself started to believe that and yet¡­ ¡º You can do it. You can do a lot better than what you¡¯re doing right now. ¡» A boy cheered for her. A peer whom she hadn¡¯t even known for that long showered her with blind trust. We hadn¡¯t even known each other for that long, so why did he believe I was more gifted than my sister even after seeing her? The girl, Alicia, was still unsure about the answer to that question. Born as an illegitimate child that was constantly compared and disregarded, who always thought to herself ¡®this is enough¡¯ and stopped herself from growing from the past, Alicia wasn¡¯t used to unconditional trust and support. Her blood-related father, step-mother, and countless senior brothers and senior sisters ¨C because Alicia Arden had never heard of anything remotely close to ¡®You can do it¡¯ from any of them, she¡­ ¡°¡­He¡¯s like an uncle.¡± The reason she didn¡¯t say ¡®dad¡¯, was because her perception of her blood-related father couldn¡¯t be considered positive by any means. The most positive image of an adult that she could think of was an uncle whom she had never even seen in her entire life. If I had an uncle; an adult who always cheered for me like that, how would it feel? ¡º Alicia. You¡¯re a lot stronger than someone like me who used to be a powerless kid back then. I want you to become someone who can be proud of themselves all the time ¡» ¡°Hehe¡­¡± She grinned with a wide smile that seemed slightly foolish at a glance. The only person that was close to her ¨C her older sister ¨C wasn¡¯t the type of person to say such warm words to her, so she couldn¡¯t help but flush her cheeks and feel restless after hearing such heart-warming words from an adult for the first time in her life. Without her noticing the nature of the emotion that was making her heart thump and jolt, her teenage life began to unravel. ?Korin Lork (Hero)? Class: {Knight} Personality: { Justice }, { Kind } Talent: { Spear Specialization } Aura Rank: { Medium (5,530) } Mana Rank: { Low (2,870) } Specialities: { Regeneration of the Tenacious Warrior, Pain Tolerance, Domain Comprehension } ?Stats? Strength: 59 -> 67 Agility: 58 -> 66 Vitality: 60 -> 68 Aura: 56 -> 64 Mana: 56 -> 64 ¡¾Regeneration of the Tenacious Warrior¡¿ ¨C When your HP falls below a certain level during a fight, your HP Regeneration speed will increase tremendously. ¡¾Pain Tolerance¡¿ ¨C Gain tolerance against attacks deemed lower than [Grade 4]. Significantly lowers the chance of having a stat debuff from poison or contamination. ¨C Gain increased tolerance against the same attacks. ¡¾Domain Comprehension¡¿ ¨C Increases the chance of entering the Domain. ¨C Increases the user¡¯s comprehension of the Domain with every entry. CH 38 ? Dupe Bug (1) ? Isabelle Kirmin, a 2nd year student of the Magic Department, had a very deep concern these days. It had been about two months since the vampire awakening incident of her best friend, Marie. Despite all the chaos it created, it actually didn¡¯t take that long for Marie to fuse back into her peer group. ¡°Marie. Are you having lunch?¡± ¡°Uuunn?¡± During lunch time, Marie was sucking on a large pack of blood like it was juice. ¡°Is it another blood pack today?¡± ¡°Un.¡± ¡°Should I lend you my neck if you want some fresh blood?¡± ¡°Mhmm~. You¡¯re too skinny Ruine, so no! I would prefer it if the person was a bit more buff!¡± ¡°Oh my, that¡¯s so nice of you! Hohoho!¡± Marie was now okay enough to joke around with her classmates about blood. ¡°M, Marie!¡± ¡°Nnn? Kane?¡± Kane, a 2nd year student from the Knight Department, suddenly walked up to Marie and fidgeted his fingers. The innocent love of this boy with disheveled hair was so obvious and famous that everyone knew about it except for Marie. ¡°Umm¡­ actually! I did a blood donation yesterday and took a pack of blood while I was at it!¡± He resolutely tried to hand over his blood pack as if it was a love letter. ¡®Ehew, that retard.¡¯ Did he think it was a romantic gift or something? ¡°Umm¡­¡± Even though she had become a vampire, Marie seemed to be finding it nonsensical to receive the blood of a peer, and shook her head with a troubled look on her face. ¡°I, it¡¯s fine. I am receiving more than enough blood packs from Professor Josephine regularly.¡± ¡°R, really? Then should I give you my neck¡­!¡± ¡®Th, that retard! Freaking blockhead!¡¯ Kane had been reading a bunch of novels and books about vampires ever since Marie turned into one, and it seemed that a strange piece of knowledge had settled in his head. Did he think Marie would gladly accept it if he offered his neck? ¡°I¡¯m alright!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Sucking directly from a person is dangerous! And blood packs are enough to fill my stomach!¡± Saying that, Marie left the classroom while Kane became the target of a bunch of criticism for creating an awkward atmosphere. ¡°Hah¡­ you idiot.¡± ¡°Do you not think about how Marie would feel?¡± ¡°N, no. I¡­!¡± ¡°You need to be more thoughtful. Okay?¡± Leaving behind the retarded Kane, Isabelle chased after Marie. As someone who had the experience of having her blood sucked out by Marie, Isabelle remembered how sad she was after sucking blood and the tears she shed. She was chasing after her friend to give her words of consolation while hoping that she wasn¡¯t feeling depressed but¡­ ¡°Korin?¡± ¡°Senior Marie? Are you done with your lesson?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± In the corridor of the same floor, Isabelle noticed Marie encountering someone. ¡®That guy¡­!¡¯ Korin Lork. He was the freshman who had been roaming around Marie these days that required the most caution. Training room was the place she first met Korin. By showing a reckless attempt at defeating an elemental body as a weak Grade 5 freshman, he gathered the eyes of a lot of people. Ever since that, he started showing off his presence wherever he went and Isabelle noticed from the side that Marie had started being conscious of him. The opponent was a Grade 5 random knight, but after the interim assessment where he came out even against Sword Master Lunia Arden, he became a hot topic among her peers. He was currently believed to be Grade 1 at the very least, and there were rumors that the professors of the Knight Department were preparing another grading test for Korin, who had shown an unprecedented level of skill. At this point, it was clear that he was a lot stronger than what others initially made him out to be, but there was something about Korin that Isabelle just didn¡¯t like. ¡°Senior Marie. Would you like some blood?¡± ¡°U, umm¡­!¡± Wow, so there¡¯s another retard like Kane here! Did you think Marie would go ¡®Of course!¡¯ and bite your neck or something? Teenage boys are all idiots! ¡°O, okay¡­¡± IT WORKED?! The two of them headed to a remote classroom and locked the door. ¡­ THEY LOCKED THE DOOR?! Isabelle hurriedly dashed to the door and brought her ear to the door as much as possible. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Hearing the sensual voice of her best friend and the gulps behind the door was¡­ a nerve-wracking experience. ¡°Oh right. Senior. Did you think about the thing I talked about last time?¡± ¡°N, nnn?¡± The somewhat dreamy voice of her best friend made it evident that she wasn¡¯t in the right state of mind to make a rational judgment. ¡°You know the land we bought when we were registering the dojo last time? The dojo has collapsed anyway, so I was thinking about building an inn there.¡± ¡°An inn?¡± ¡°Yes. How about you invest a bit? It¡¯s always better to have more money, you see.¡± ¡°Maybe¡­?¡± ¡°You should. I bet you the profit will be at least 3 times the investment. I am sure of it.¡± That was obviously a scam! The profit being at least 3 times the investment? There was no way Marie would fall for such a ridiculous scam¡ª- ¡°Okay¡­ How much do you need?¡± SHE FELL FOR ITl?! Stop Marie, stop! You are being scammed! You are like the typical image of a sugar mama who falls for a man and ruins the finances of the family! Isabelle couldn¡¯t help but be astonished by the innocence of her friend. However, after sensing that the two of them were about to leave the classroom, she quickly dashed off to the end of the corridor and hid herself behind a wall. ¡°Haa¡­¡± The two people soon left the class in a disordered state. Marie¡¯s cheeks were conspicuously flushed and she had trouble collecting her breath. ¡°You can write¡­ as much as you need on the check and withdraw it¡­¡± ¡°Very good. Huhaha.¡± My friend! She¡¯s being deceived! A freshman in his 1st year was playing around with Marie! However, that wasn¡¯t the end of the astonishing events. It was right when Isabelle left the training rooms after practicing magic. ¡°Mr. Korin!¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you you can drop the formalities.¡± ¡°Ah, umm, it¡¯s a bit¡­ embarrassing.¡± ¡°Seriously.¡± ¡°Are you here to practice again?¡± ¡°Yep. Just some basic stamina.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very diligent of you.¡± ¡°Whatever it is, the basics are the most important.¡± ¡°Shall we do it together?¡± What, what? Who is it this time? Isabelle realized who that girl was immediately after seeing her face. Alicia Arden ¨C she was the famous granddaughter of Garrand Arden the Sword Emperor. She was the younger sister of Sword Master Lunia Arden, who had recently come as an invited instructor for the interim exam! And plus, there was news that she had recently killed the infamous criminal John Doe. ¡°Why would such a bigshot¡­¡± Isabelle was just like other people in that she didn¡¯t know about the presence of Korin Lork and the other party members during the John Doe incident. ¡°Huh, Isabelle? Are you here for practice?¡± That was when a peer from the Knight Department called her while leaving the training room. She was sweating a bunch and it seemed that she was out for a quick rest. ¡°Yeri. Do you know that freshman over there?¡± ¡°Freshman? Oh, you mean the lady from Arden?¡± ¡°No. I mean the guy.¡± ¡°Korin Lork? Of course I do.¡± ¡°You do?¡± Was he very famous? Well, it wasn¡¯t strange because he did quite well against Sword Master Lunia but¡­ ¡°He¡¯s famous for being crazy. There¡¯s a rumor that he uses 16 hours out of 24 hours everyday on training.¡± ¡°T, that much?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be hard to find anyone that doesn¡¯t know about Korin Lork in the Knight Department. You know Old Man Haman, right? He gives him meal tickets on a regular basis.¡± ¡°That stubborn old man?¡± Any student of the Academy knew about the infamous obstinacy of Old Man Haman. He was very strict when it came to rewards and punishment ¨C he gave out rewards to diligent students and punishment to the lazy ones. Meal ticket was the best form of goodwill that he showed to his students, and there were only two students among the 2nd year students who received one from him. ¡°You know what? He even received a ticket for Holy Panda last time!¡± Was she talking about that place where fries were sold for a silver coin and a half? Wasn¡¯t that like that best dating place that every couple in the Academy dreamed of? Wait¡­ wait! ¡º Isabelle! Do you think this is better or this? It¡¯s the dress I ordered during the winter banquet, but I think it¡¯s a bit small now. I feel stuffy around my chest, but isn¡¯t it still very pretty?¡» ¡ºDidn¡¯t you say you were going to give that to your sister? Why are you taking that out all of a sudden?¡» ¡ºMhmm¡­! Actually, I have to go to a slightly formal restaurant!¡» ¡ºWow~. Is it something related to your family?¡» ¡ºI, I guess? In a way?¡» ¡ºWhat restaurant is it? It depends on the restaurant if it¡¯s fine-dining, right?¡» ¡ºDo you know Holy Panda?¡» Isabelle couldn¡¯t contain her hands from trembling. There¡¯s no way¡­ seriously? In shock, Isabelle was thinking back on Marie¡¯s weekend date which she glossed over by saying it was related to her household, but that was when an unignorable voice reached her ears. ¡°Oh right. Alicia. Do you have time this weekend?¡± ¡°Time?¡± ¡°Yeah. I got a meal ticket from Old Man Haman. It¡¯s for a place called Tangerine Steak House or something.¡± ¡°Wow¡­! D, do you mean that legendary high-class steak franchise store?¡± ¡°What do you mean legendary? It¡¯s just a franchise, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°T, there weren¡¯t any branches in my hometown so I¡¯ve never been there before.¡± ¡°Yeah. Well, you need more meat. Knights like us need meat to fight.¡± ¡°I agree 100%!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you the tickets so go eat with your friend.¡± If their conversation stopped there, Isabelle would have considered it a pure goodwill. ¡°Will that¡­ be okay? What about you, Mr. Korin?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been there a lot so I¡¯m okay.¡± ¡°W, would you like to go together?!¡± Whatt? Isabelle immediately turned her head towards Alicia and focused her eyes on her. Evident from how she was fidgeting her fingers in embarrassment after saying that, it seemed that she was aware that she had proposed a date of some sort. Damn it! Korin Lork! How could he deceive two girls in just 2 months!?! ¡°That¡¯s okay too.¡± ¡°Really?¡± He had Marie so what was he doing?! ¡°Oh yeah. How much money do you have?¡± ¡°Money? Umm¡­ not much.¡± ¡°You know the bounty we got? I¡¯m telling you because we¡¯re friends¡­ Remember the investment I talked about last time¡ª-¡± My gosh . Isabelle realized that this must be how it felt to have her heart stop for a moment. That freaking scammer was reaching out his fiendish arms at the second daughter of the Arden family even though he already had Marie! Although Korin had given the offer because he was worried about his peer who was leading a poor life, there was no way that Isabelle would be aware of Alicia¡¯s impoverished life and the lack of support funds due to her family being in the top 10 percentile of the country. That wasn¡¯t the end of Isabelle¡¯s astonishment. She was heading to the academy cafeteria for a meal and that was when she found Korin Lork chatting with another girl. ¡°Meal.¡± ¡°¡­Do I owe you money or something?¡± It was a freshman girl wearing nun clothes with chains. She was Hua Ran, who was also famous among the senior students because of her outfit. Isabelle also remembered her well for being the freshman who injured Marie during the prac lesson at the hunting grounds. ¡°¡­Sushi.¡± ¡°The one we had last weekend was good right?¡± ¨C Nod nod. How fearsome, Korin Lork! How many innocent ladies did he lure out with food!? There were talks about how food was the number one thing that lowered people¡¯s vigilance the most ¨C was he intentionally using that as bait to slowly approach them? ¡°If you¡¯re okay with fried ones, then you can come with me to the restaurant I¡¯m going to in the central streets.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He nonchalantly carried on with Hua Ran as if he was used to taking her around. Doesn¡¯t he have Marie? Doesn¡¯t he have Alicia? At this point, it was more frightening than anything. Korin Lork! How many girls did he catch with those fiendish arms of his? ¡°Oh yeah. Do you have some cash?¡± ¡°??¡± ¡°I know this amazing thing to invest in.¡± ¡°¡­Do whatever you want.¡± How fearrrsommee! Korin Loorrrrkkk!! After that, when Korin Lork was studying with a druid girl at the library, and also when he was furtively suggesting his peers and the boy that used to be famous as a mercenary for an investment¡­ Due to a strange set of coincidences, Isabelle was near them during every one of those moments and became certain. Korin Lork must be planning out a massively enormous scam! **** Two weeks went by after Alicia and Lunia¡¯s incident. Early May ¨C a refreshing spring breeze was gently blowing across while I was out of the Academy and was at the outskirts of the city. I was in the abandoned dojo which I bought after borrowing money from Marie to create a justification for issuing a challenge against Lunia and the Five Swords. 5 gold coins went into business registration. Adding that to the money that went into reconstructing the original gym into a dojo, hiring a mercenary to be a one-day instructor and taxes, we used up a total of 97 gold coins. It was close to 100,000 US dollars, and all of this had come from Marie¡¯s pocket. I was still grateful for what she did. But seriously, I wasn¡¯t expecting her to take out 100 gold coins in one go¡­ It was to the point that I wondered, ¡®Was it that easy for mages to earn money?¡¯ Anyway, due to the duel between Alicia and Lunia, the building was pretty much broken down so now, I was planning on using the 50 gold coins Lunia gave me for the reconstruction to invest in this plot of land. First off, the gold coins that were given to me and Alicia as compensation for defeating John Doe, the Murderer of the City of Fog, was 110 gold coins in total. I changed the money I owed Marie straight into investment and also gained some cash from my peers. What surprised me was that Hua Ran and Yuel had more cash than I expected. Hua Ran had a fairly large amount of property that was being managed by the New Faith, and as for Yuel, there were a lot of things she brought from the forest and thus had a lot of assets under her name. Both Lark and Jaeger trusted my words and invested a large sum for a student, but the biggest shock was obviously Dorron. To think he was that loaded¡­ In total, I gained 550 gold coins and bought this entire piece of land. This land had originally been bought by a construction company to build houses and became useless once the company went bankrupt in the middle of the construction. It was in a slightly questionable location on top of that and was thus abandoned with no visitors, but I was planning on building something to use as an inn on this piece of land that I bought. The reason I was doing this was simple. It was obviously because I knew stuff from the future. There would soon be a friendly exchange festival with the Purple Hawk Academy of the eastern continent in the 2nd semester. A bunch of tourists will gather from the entire continent to watch that massive event. Because of all the demand, even the normal houses would open up their empty rooms to accept guests ¨C it was the peak season of the accommodation industry! The accommodation fees were obviously going to skyrocket as well. Hundreds of gold coins? They would be gathered back in less than 2 weeks. Easy! That wasn¡¯t the end ¨C if we placed several stalls in the nearby streets, we would be sweeping in bucket loads of money. Just buy a bunch of cheap beef and pork to make as skewers and that would lead to a fortune! Investment fees? The festival will pay it back for me! Demand? The festival will also take care of that. This is broken! Long live the festival! ¡°Huhahahaha¡­! Now this is a money dupe bug!!¡± In just a few days, it was time to harvest the mandrakes as well. Everything was going according to plan. CH 39 ? Dupe Bug (2) ? The Iron Lady, the old veteran who had been serving the Merkarva Academy for 80 years, Lady Josephine, was racking her brain due to the constant complaints. ¡º Our Order cannot permit the admission of demons into the Academy! This is a serious criminal conduct against humanity! ¡» ¡º There have been many concerns in the royal family about the Chairman¡¯s continuous acceptance of demons. ¡» ¡º The Tower of Mages requests your cooperation for research into a living vampire. ¡» ¡º Accepting demons as students? You guys are playing with fire right now. ¡» Those were the stances of the Old Faith, the royal family, the Tower of Mages and the Alliance, but it wasn¡¯t as if they were too much to handle. Except for the Old Faith which was a group of fundamentalists, Chairman Eriu had a good hold of the royal family and the Alliance and as for the greedy mages of the Tower, it was possible to negotiate with them. The Old Faith was the only one with a strong resistance, but their forces were nothing compared to what they were like in the past. ¡º Our Order supports the Chairman¡¯s recent actions. I believe everyone should be given the same opportunity. ¡» There were many believers who escaped the stiff and corrupt state of the Old Faith through the religious revolution and founded the New Faith. They, who now became the mainstream religion of the world, announced that they would walk a different path to that of the Old Faith. One of their representative ideologies was their friendly attitude towards demi-humans. Thanks to that, the Academy was able to borrow the power of religion to settle the crowd for now but¡­ ¡°Clara.¡± ¡°Chairman.¡± The youth wearing a clean suit while carrying a walking stick ¨C the Chairman ¨C came to bid farewell while placing a top hat over his head. ¡°I will have to leave for a while,¡± he said. ¡°Would you like me to go instead?¡± The Chairman was now going to visit various organizations with documents about Marie that had been prepared by the professors of the Magic Department. Several professors like Professor Ronan were going to follow Chairman Eriu and use the supporting documents to prove that Marie could control her bloodsucking impulse. ¡°For other places it might be okay, but you wouldn¡¯t want to go to the Old Faith, would you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Closing her eyes, Josephine reflected on the rampant witch hunt that happened a hundred years ago. That brutal scenery during her youth was still vivid in her memories. ¡°Please take care of this place while I¡¯m away.¡± Josephine went to the entrance of the city to send the Chairman off. It took less than 10 seconds with her dimensional spell. ¡°Use the emergency contact if something happens.¡± ¡°I will. I wish you a safe journey.¡± After sending him off, Josephine took his role and continued working. One of the agendas was a new demonic beast experiment of Professor Deina and a collaboration with Professor Fermack. Because it was an experiment of a sealed Unique Grade demonic beast, it was hard to permit professors with less than 10 years of service. ¡®This will be the 10th year of Professor Fermack. It should be fine to allow it.¡¯ Next up on the agenda was from Old Man Haman, who had been working at the Academy for 30 years, where he included his plans for a joint training session during the summer holiday. It was an annual event so Josephine permitted it without much hesitation. ¡°An experiment of a vampire¡¯s regeneration? Professor Jack? Does he think he¡¯s still at the Tower of Mages?¡± Rejected. ¡°Construction of the 3rd dormitory? Hmm¡­¡± Debatable. ¡°Permission for a new restaurant? This¡­¡± From the look of things, it was an eastern fish restaurant. It seemed to be a restaurant that served raw fish on rice which was a trend these days among the young ones. Josephine could give off a whole speech about how barbaric it was to eat raw fish, but thinking that this was probably a culture of the young ones that she couldn¡¯t understand, she postponed the judgment for the time being. ¡®Wasn¡¯t Hua Ran very interested in this barbaric food?¡¯ She even went to the city recently after applying for an official exit permit. Considering how she used to be reluctant about getting an official permit because of how she had to hang a tracking artifact all the time, it was a surprise how obedient she was. ¡®Korin Lork¡­¡¯ It was evident that the child¡¯s recent change was because of that one knight boy. An early stop to Marie¡¯s incident at the start of the semester and an even fight against Sword Master Lunia Arden, as well as assisting with the subjugation of the infamous killer, John Doe ¨C there were so many things he had done and recently, it seemed that there had been several heated debates among the professors of the Knight Department about Korin Lork. It was on whether they could leave a student at that level at ¡®Grade 5¡¯ or not. Josephine was also interested in this proficient student for a slightly different reason. A Grade 5 Knight who stopped Marie as if he had predicted it, who then had a surprisingly even fight against Lunia Arden. After that, he even helped with defeating the infamous John Doe. ¡°¡­A request for a location to harvest a Mandrake?¡± Spotting the name of a person whom she had been just thinking of, Josephine carefully observed the application. Mandrake. The seed that could be exchanged for 100 points during the prac lesson at the hunting grounds was the Seed of a Mandrake. Although Professor Lulara of Alchemy should have taught the students about how to raise Mandrakes already, harvesting was a different issue. It was because Mandrakes tended to let out a ridiculous scream as soon as they were plucked out of the ground. This scream even had a magic damage to it so no matter how tough a knight was, their eardrums could still erupt and might even die in the worst case scenario. That was why applications had to be submitted when it was time to harvest them. ¡°¡­There¡¯s nothing wrong but¡­¡± Considering the potential risk of harvesting a Mandrake, it was nothing strange for an application to be submitted. Besides, Korin had also attached a plan of how he would boil it into a stew after the harvest. There was nothing wrong with the application but there was something that weighed on her mind and that was the location. ¡°¡­That can¡¯t be.¡± Did he know where this was? Josephine immediately shook her head while telling herself that it was impossible. Because the only ones that knew of that secret were herself, the Chairman, and¡­ the traitor from 80 years ago. **** On the western side of the Academy past the Merkarva Great Library was a large laboratory that was loved by the Magic Department. The labs were close to the dormitory of the Magic Department students and after going deeper into the premises towards the labs of the professors, one could smell a very deep fragrance of herbs. ¡°Are we going to harvest the Mandrakes at a place like this?¡± Alicia asked in doubt while being wary of the surrounding empty plot of land which had nothing but dry leaves. This place did give off a very ominous aura. ¡°How much do you know about Mandrakes?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ I know they scream a lot when they are uprooted.¡± ¡°Right. So when you¡¯re harvesting Mandrakes, you need to make sure your eardrums don¡¯t explode. A high-quality earplug is a must and it¡¯s better if you¡¯re in an empty plot of land.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to do it indoors if you want to reduce the risk of having other people get caught up?¡± Her question was very reasonable but there was a scientific reason behind why we couldn¡¯t do it indoors. ¡°You see¡­ sound gets reflected.¡± ¡°¡­Reflected?¡± There was a time when I was super into speakers. After buying the best 8-inch speakers and 12-inch subwoofers, I fine-tuned the room by attaching sound absorbing panels all around. What I learned during that process was that ¡®sound¡¯ was reflected after hitting a wall. Now, what would happen if the scream of a Mandrake, which was as loud as the full volume of a concert speaker, was to echo inside a sealed room? And what if that high note had additional magic damage on it? ¡°It¡¯ll be infinite splash damage¡­¡± ¡°Splash damage?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a thing. Anyway, harvesting a Mandrake indoors is the same as killing yourself.¡± It only required a few clicks of a button during the game so I wasn¡¯t aware of it until Professor Lulara, who experimented with Mandrakes, told me about it in the last iteration. She talked about a fearsome experiment that killed a demonic beast in 10 seconds. That was when I first realized that monsters could be killed due to exploded eardrums. ¡°Did you check if there was anyone nearby?¡± ¡°Yes. I put down the warning signs as well. By the way, why did you choose the back of the laboratory?¡± ¡°Because no-one comes here.¡± The place I chose for the Mandrake harvest was behind the western laboratory of the Academy. The land here used to be maintained to grow various magic organisms but a mistake with a prototype ended up polluting the entire plot of land which thus resulted in its abandonment. ¡­Or at least that was the public excuse behind why this place was sealed off. ¡®There¡¯s actually a secret passage connecting to the underground laboratory here.¡¯ The special underground laboratory which only a few of the professors of the Academy were allowed into had all sorts of demonic beasts and spirits sealed inside, and this place had a passage connecting to the laboratory. There were only about 4 people aside from me in this world who knew about this secret passage. Now, some explanation was required to justify why such a vicious place was here inside the Academy campus. There were quite a few Unique Grade demonic beasts and spirits that couldn¡¯t be physically killed. An example was the King of Iron Mountain which was unkillable without a special skill. These monsters had to be sealed somewhere, and because they would be immediately stolen when sealed in a random place, they had to be placed under the direct supervision of strong people and stuff but¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t these get busted every time anyway? Is this even meaningful?¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Both back when I was playing the game and in the last iteration, I became way too used to seeing strong and sealed monsters being unsealed. In fact, the final boss of the 2nd Arc, ¡®King of Iron Mountain¡¯ was a prime example of an incident breaking out during an experiment, right? ¡°We¡¯re going to begin.¡± ¡°Gulp!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t say something like that from the side.¡± ¡°It¡¯s to¡­ make sure we stay vigilant.¡± I placed down the flowerpots where the Mandrakes were planted. Each of the pots had gold, silver and normal Mandrakes planted inside. Well, a Mandrake was already far from being normal though. In any case, I took out an earplug ¨C a special one that was crafted with the skin of a Northern Silver Fox. Both Alicia and I wore it in our ears and prepared ourselves. ¡°Ranger Alicia! Are you ready?¡± ¡°I am ready, Captain!¡± Mandrakes couldn¡¯t be harvested alone. You needed one person to grab the flower and pull it out, as well as a helper to immediately cut the roots from the stem. As long as the roots stayed intact with the stem, the Mandrake would continue its ridiculous scream. ¡°Huu¡­ Am I shivering?¡± ¡°I, I¡¯m also getting very nervous.¡± This was my fourth time harvesting a Mandrake. In the last iteration, it required the collaboration of me and Mr. Park. I pulled it out while he sliced it apart with magic. ¡°Huu¡­! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± I grabbed onto the stem of the planted Mandrake and¡­ ¡°Here we go!¡± ¨C Swish! I pulled it out in one go. ¡°Kiee?¡± The bare face of the Mandrake was revealed on the roots as soon as I uprooted it. It was a horrid face that appeared like a newborn baby that was 200 years older. ¡°Hello, friend?¡± ¡°Kieee¡­¡± The guy seemed slightly startled by the sudden sunlight but nonetheless, it immediately opened its mouth. ¡°KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE¡ª¡ª!!¡± ¡°Kuahht?!¡± Its scream echoed like crazy all across. If this was my child screaming, I would have been very glad from how loud it was, and would have thought he was the second coming of Alexander the Great or something. ¡°Do it now. Alicia! Aliciaa?!¡± Now¡¯s your time to shine, True Alicia! Show us your swordsmanship that can even reach the Domai¡­! ¨C Ueekk. ¡°Alicia?¡± I had no idea when it happened but Alicia was lying down with her face on the ground and was foaming from her mouth. Looking at how one of her ear plugs was loose, I realized that her ears hadn¡¯t been under protection the whole time. This idiot wasn¡¯t wearing the earplugs properly! ¡°KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE¡ª¡ª-!!¡± I was the only person here with earplugs and at this point, there was no other choice but for me to cut off the stems of the Mandrake myself! Taking out a knife from my pocket, I ran it back and forth on the stem like a saw as it then started raising its voice. ¡°KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE¡ª¡ª-!!¡± ¡°Kuhuk¡­!¡± Could I last until I was done cutting it off? The Mandrake¡¯s voice was getting increasingly louder. ¡°Dude, you think you¡¯re good at high notes or something?¡± Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth! I will offset your sound with my sound ¨C I am from Korea, a country that possesses IU! I will show you what the 3 high notes are like1!! ¡°KIEEEEEEEEEEE! I¡¯M LOSING BRAIN CEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLS!!¡± ¡°KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE¡ª¡ª?!¡± ¨C Slit slit! ¡°KIEEEEEEEEEEEEE¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!!¡± ¡°KIEEEEEEEEEEEEE¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!!¡± ¨C Slit slit! Chop! While canceling the Mandrake¡¯s scream with my own, I finally managed to cut off its stem. ¡°Kieeeee¡­¡± The scream slowly subsided and I then threw its ugly face down and similarly collapsed onto the ground. ¡°Haak¡­ Haak¡­!¡± It felt like my ears were filled with blood. Did my eardrums pop a little? Uhh, if I remember correctly, I think the Yellow Gold and the White Silver Mandrakes were a lot noisier than the normal ones though¡­ ¡°Oi. Get up.¡± Tap! I tapped on the fallen Alicia who then immediately stood up from the ground. ¡°Hauhk¡­! I, I wasn¡¯t sleeping!¡± ¡°As if you weren¡¯t¡­ Wipe your drool before saying that.¡± ¡°Hugek¡­¡± Alicia lowered her head in embarrassment while wiping the foamy drools from her mouth. ¡°S, sorry¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I was going to harvest up to Silver today but¡­¡± Could I trust Alicia? Seeing how she wobbled immediately after standing up and crumbled back down, I just couldn¡¯t help but doubt her. ¨C Flop! That was when I heard the sound of something dropping from a high place and turned my eyes to the side. There should have been signs about restricted entry so why was someone walking towards us? ¡°Hello, Korin. What are you two doing here?¡± The trespasser was in fact a completely unexpected person. Rather than a trespasser, it would be more correct to say that she was an uninvited guest. ¡°Senior Marie? Didn¡¯t you say you had an experiment at the laboratory today?¡± ¡°Nn. It was noisy so I jumped down.¡± Jumped down? From where? I unconsciously lifted my gaze and found out that one of the windows of the tall laboratory building was open at a strange angle. It¡¯s around the 12th floor. Did she jump from there? ¡°¡­Senior. You seriously should try becoming a knight.¡± ¡°Mhmm¡­ Maybe if you teach me, Korin. I saw you going around with Junior Alicia the whole time at the training rooms.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s because we¡¯re both knights.¡± ¡°So, what were you two doing here?¡± She sounded quite obstinate with that question though. Was I thinking too much? In any case, I showed her the dead Mandrake by pulling it up from the ground. ¡°I told you last time, right? That it was about time to harvest Mandrakes.¡± ¡°Ahah~ I see!¡± Only then did Marie relax her expression and hop towards us. ¡°Are you going to pull the rest out as well?¡± ¡°We took some damage today so I was thinking of doing it later.¡± ¡°With Junior Alicia?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ We need two people for this so it is easier for me to pair up with Alicia.¡± ¡°Let me just do it for you!¡± ¡°Uhh, wait. It¡¯ll be hard to cut that if you¡¯re not a knigh¡­¡± ¨C Pluck! ¡°Kiee?¡± ¡°Hmm~? Silver? That¡¯s interesting.¡± It was over! She pulled it out too early! The White Silver Mandrake was getting ready to let out a sonorous shriek! ¡°KIEEEEE¡ª¨C¡± ¡°Quiet.¡± ¡°Hicc!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°???¡± W, wut the heck? Did the Mandrake just hiccup? ¡°We have a Mandrake farm at home, you see~. Even though we produce less than 30 a year, I¡¯ve been harvesting them a lot back when I was young!¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ How is that related to them not screaming¡­?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Marie brought a finger to her lips and tilted her head, before blurting out as if she wasn¡¯t sure about it herself. ¡°After harvesting them for about 5 years, they simply stopped screaming whenever I pulled them out!¡± ¡°Hicc!¡± ¡°Hugikk!¡± Umm, was this similar to how dogs became docile when seeing a vet? The Mandrake couldn¡¯t even dare scream anymore and was hiccuping with a gloomy look on its face. ¡°Look, Korin. For Mandrakes, you grab onto the stem like this.¡± Marie used her tiny hands that were half the size of my arms to skilfully hold onto the stem and the roots, and twisted it in one go to separate the stem in an instant. ¡°Kii¡­!¡± The Mandrake died with a single suppressed scream. Its corpse hung loose after a gruesome death. ¡°Korin. Are you going to boil it into a stew? Or are you going to eat it raw?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ the sparkling ones will be eaten raw and the normal one will be used for a stew.¡± ¡°Really? That will take some time then. Junior Alicia?¡± ¡°Ah y, yes! Yes! Senior!¡± ¡°I will prepare the stew so while we¡¯re waiting for that, can you bring something else to eat? Hmm¡­ Some rabbit meat and potatoes will do.¡± ¡°Sorry? Uhh¡­ D, do we have to?¡± ¡°Yes. I will make a rabbit stew for you!¡± ¡°A rabbit stew! Roger that, Captain!¡± Alicia quickly ran off after a salute. Why did I suddenly lose my captain position? ¡°Umm¡­ Senior Marie? What should I do?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything Korin.¡± ¡°¡­Sorry?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything. I will do everything for you.¡± Her words¡­ had a strange charm that made it difficult for me to turn them down. Mama. CH 40 ? Dupe Bug (3) ? There were two ways to consume Mandrakes. One was to chew on the roots but Mandrakes were similar to ginsengs in a lot of ways ¨C there were rumors that eating them raw was the best way to consume them, but the officially better method to consume it was by boiling it into a stew like a Chinese medicine. By combining it with 28 other ingredients including reed roots, silvervine, matrimony vine roots and antlers, you boil it for over 10 hours¡­ Yes. It was just like traditional Chinese medicine. As expected of a Korean game. ¡°That¡¯s done! Now we just have to wait. What are you doing Korin?¡± ¡°Making the wait a bit more interesting.¡± ¡°Nnn?¡± Marie tilted her head in doubt after seeing the letters I wrote on the ground by removing the dry leaves. ¡°These are rune letters, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Can you read them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand what they mean, but I¡¯ve seen them in one of my courses.¡± ¡°This one here is ? [Uruz]. It means untamed / pure strength.¡± ¡°Then, what about these ones here?¡± ¡°This one is ? [Wunjo], which means joy and glory. The one next to that is ? [Ansuz], which represents a great deity of the pantheon and this ? [Gebo] here is the symbol of a female warrior that was favored by one of the gods.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like a simple combination of letters. Does it mean anything?¡± ¡°Apparently you get this when you combine these four letters. O warrior, you are being watched over by the pantheon and the great warrior, so obtain glory through your power.¡± ¡°Wow~. That¡¯s an interesting interpretation!¡± ¡°Yes. So from ancient times, this set of runes have been sent down as an unignorable declaration of a fight to Rune Mages.¡± ¡°Where did you learn this from? Isn¡¯t rune language pretty much unused these days?¡± ¡°I learned it from my Master.¡± Less than a year ago, I had been learning runes and spearmanship under her. The Void and the Primal Rune she left behind¡­ Even though I learned how to reach the Void, the Primal Rune was a bit of a different issue. Knowing the letters did not mean I could use them, after all. By ¡®retrieving¡¯ and carving into one¡¯s body, a Primal Rune was something that could only be used by one person. One of the goals of the final boss of this scenario was to retrieve one of these Primal Runes for himself. My master wanted me to inherit the Primal Rune but ended up being killed before that by ¡®that guy¡¯. ¡°What kind of person is your master? Is your master from the Tower of Mages or something? Or else, it would be hard to know about runes, right?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ My master¡­ is just a normal person. A normal person that you would find anywhere.¡± A normal and kind person, who did everything she could. ¡°¡­You look very fond of your master.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ do I?¡± ¡°Nn. And you look very sad as well.¡± Marie directly stared at me for a while before pulling me by my hand all the way to the boiling pot of medicine. ¡°Would you like some potatoes?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ I did skip my meal but¡­¡± ¡°I have it so don¡¯t worry! Doggo!¡± ¨C Clap clap! Something began sprinting towards us after her clap. I was a bit nervous from the rough and violent set of steps but what appeared afterwards was a blood-red dog which was as big as a large werewolf. ¡°Looks like you have full control over your familiar.¡± ¡°It¡¯s thanks to you, Korin. Because you¡¯ve been giving me your blood all the time¡­ I was able to form a proper contract.¡± A familiar of a vampire ¨C inside the Blood Realm formed by a vampire above the elder-rank, they were as omnipotent as the vampire themselves. Their strength was at the pinnacle of every familiar possible, and it wasn¡¯t an overstatement to say that the status of a vampire was decided by the strength of their familiar. ¡°Is his name Doggo?¡± ¡°Not bad, right?¡± ¡°Well, he is a dog I guess¡­¡± Upon a closer inspection of Doggo, I realized that he had started to form a ¡®physical¡¯ shape that was a lot clearer than before. He was similar to a clay doll formed with drops of blood before back when I was fighting him, but he now looked like an actual organism. As expected, Marie¡¯s talent as a vampire was unprecedented. ¡°By the way, isn¡¯t this guy also my child in a way?¡± ¡°H, huh? What do you¡­ mean?¡± ¡°Like, think about it. If he¡¯s made of blood, then half of this guy¡¯s blood was probably mine, so doesn¡¯t that make me his father? Hahaha!¡± ¡°¡­!! I, I see. That makes sense.¡± Perhaps because she had been outsmarted by a knight as a mage who seeked wisdom, Marie lowered her hat all the way down and silently hid her face. After a while, she lifted her head with a bright smile and gave a suggestion. ¡°So since you are Doggo¡¯s daddy¡­!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°How about you play with Doggo?¡± ¡°Play with him? Like, he¡¯s not a real dog though so why¡­¡± ¡°He likes to move around a lot, so you really need to play around with him! It surprises me sometimes because he brings dead demonic beasts from the hunting grounds if he doesn¡¯t have enough exercise!¡± ¡°Is he a real dog or what¡­¡± Wasn¡¯t he more like a tiger or a lion considering his size? Why was he acting like a dog? ¡°Doggo! Papa is saying he will play with you!¡± ¡°Woof!¡± Doggo walked up to me and lowered his tongue while panting out loud. Hmm¡­ I guess he¡¯s a little bit cute? ¡°You might spill the stew so go play over there!¡± ¡°Okay mama.¡± ¡°Thank you~¡± ¡°Haha, Doggo! Let¡¯s go play with daddy!¡± I took Doggo over to the corner of the empty plot of land but I wasn¡¯t really sure what to do, because I had never played with super large dogs that were 1 meter taller than a person. ¡°Should we play catch with a rock or something?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Doggo?¡± The big guy, who had been clinging on while panting just then, suddenly turned different. ¡°Grrhhh¡­!¡± ¡°U, uht?!¡± Suddenly, Doggo started rapidly dashing towards me! ¨C Kwang! ¡°¡­?!¡± Even though his speed wasn¡¯t as fast as the one he had inside the Blood Realm, that was definitely not the speed of a playing dog. It was so fast that I could have died immediately upon contact. If I got hit by that instead of that tree¡­ ¨C Gulp! ¡°Kukekekeke¡­!¡± That was when I saw something ¨C the wicked smile on Doggo¡¯s lips which he had been concealing by ¡®pretending¡¯ to be nice! ¨C Kwang! Kwagagang! ¨C Kwagagagagang!! ¡°Let¡¯s have potatoes when you¡¯re done!¡± Marie¡¯s voice was barely audible through the thunderous roars resonating across the area. Following that, another voice echoed from behind. ¡°Haa¡­ haa! Senior Marie! I brought some food over! It¡¯s enough for the three of us to¡­ Nnn?¡± ¨C Pugak! Kwagagak! Rolling across the ground, I somehow managed to re-posture myself. Doggo you bastard! Are you trying to kill me!? ¡°Mr. Korin!¡± ¡°Alicia?¡± ¡°W, what is happening? Is there an enemy attacking us?¡± ¡°Give me your hand!¡± ¡°Huh? H, here you go.¡± ¨C Slap! I gave her palm a slap. ¡°Hnn?¡± ¡°Your turn now. Doggo! Alicia-noona here will be playing with you from now on!¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m too old to play with dogs¡­¡± ¡°Grrhh!¡± ¡°Huh? Huhh? Kyaaaaat?!¡± The newborn vampire-breed dog was way too proactive. **** Soon, the Mandrake stew was done. This decoction made of all sorts of medicinal herbs and a Mandrake was bubbling in a color that was as dark as outer space. ¡°Looks good.¡± Marie poured the medicine into a bowl as if she was used to it. ¡°It¡¯s best to drink a Mandrake stew in one go. Let me put ice inside.¡± After creating a large cluster of ice with her magic, Marie placed it inside the bowl of medicine. I could already feel with my hands how lukewarm it was, and it looked like there wouldn¡¯t be any problems with drinking it in one go. I poured the content down my throat while being grateful of her consideration. ¡®Bitter.¡¯ The Mandrake stew was very bitter but it wasn¡¯t unbearable because things that were good for the body were all bitter in general. ¡°Mr. Korin. Here¡¯s a candy.¡± ¡°Hoh¡­¡± There was a very intense and bitter aftertaste so I was craving for something sweet and Alicia handed me a honey bomb candy in a timely manner. It was sweet enough to numb your tongue so I usually had this only when I was trying to focus on something, but it was okay after being mixed with the bitter taste of the Mandrake decoction. ¡°Korin! Would you like some potatoes?!¡± ¡°No. Why would I have potatoes while having medicine? I¡¯ll eat it later.¡± ¡°Mhmm¡­!¡± Her cheeks bulged out like balloons. More importantly, a system window appeared in front of my eyes. ¡ºYou have consumed a Mandrake Decoction.¡» ¨C Your mana regeneration speed greatly increases.- Your maximum mana capacity increases by 1,300. It wasn¡¯t an overstatement to say that this was a miraculous improvement for mages. The mana pool I had after Alicia¡¯s incident was [Low (2,870)]. Considering how I was recovering less than 1,500 mana a day, it was a massive improvement. Right now, my mana pool was at 4,170, and if this was the same as the game, the regen speed should have gone up by over a thousand so I should be recovering about 2~3,000 a day. ¡®With this, my stats have finally reached the level of a full-fledged named character.¡¯ Although it really was a random set of stats, I was starting to have similar stats to named characters. Taking into account the support I had through the Precept, it was safe to say that I wouldn¡¯t lose to peers of my level. ¡°Senior Marie and Alicia, you should have some too. Having it on repeat isn¡¯t going to do anything anyway.¡± Because a Mandrake was a very potent herb, they only showed their effect once. You could have it again once the medicine was fully absorbed into your body but that would halve the effect and this decoction would also go bad before that so it was better to give it to other people. ¡°Can I?¡± ¡°Just leave a little bit please, so that I can give it to others as well.¡± A pure knight like Jaeger had no use for it, but Lark and Yuel would probably love it. As for Dorron, I would sell it to him. Considering the effect of a Mandrake stew, he would gladly pay up to 10 gold coins for it. ¡°Oh right. After boiling it once, you should put the leftover Mandrake in a fridge,¡± said Senior Marie. ¡°Isn¡¯t it over once you boil it once?¡± ¡°You can continue boiling it into a tea, and it will help harden your bones!¡± To think there was such an effect to used-up Mandrakes¡­! As expected of the daughter of a family of farmers, she knew a lot more than I did. Next up was the White Silver Mandrake. ¡°It¡¯s my first time seeing a Mandrake of this color! What is this?¡± Senior Marie asked. ¡°I just got a bit lucky. Ah, I have to eat this one by myself.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that because it¡¯s yours, Korin. We¡¯re grateful already for you sharing the stew with us!¡± ¡°But I am curious about what it does.¡± Alicia added after Marie. Both of them seemed very intrigued by the White Silver Mandrake which they were seeing for the first time. ¡°Huu¡­¡± White Silver Mandrake. Although there was the downside that you had to eat this horrendous-looking thing raw, it did have a ridiculously positive effect to it. ¨C Gulp! I slowly munched through it starting from the roots. Thanks to Marie dusting off the dirt with her magic, the texture wasn¡¯t so terrible. There was a time when I chewed on a raw fresh ginseng, and it had the exact same texture as that. The flavor wasn¡¯t actually that bad. ¡ºYou have consumed the White Silver Mandrake.¡» ¨C An Aura Core has been formed.- Your Aura Rank is { Medium }. You may accumulate up to 3,500 aura. At last! At last, I have gained it. My main energy source in the last iteration, the Aura Core! ¡°Huhuhu¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Korin?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have had to go through all that stuff if I had this.¡± The original plan was to consume this before the boss fight against Marie. It was a type of expedient that would let me, who was still at the level of a Grade 2 named character, use the ¡®Sixth Style¡¯. ¡°I have an Aura Core now.¡± ¡°Hukk¡­ An Aura Core?!¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± Aura Core. It was a storage of aura that knights had once their control over aura reached the pinnacle. Although it was formed naturally inside your body once you reached { High } in your Aura Rank, I was able to obtain one a lot earlier than others thanks to the White Silver Mandrake. Besides, if I reached { High } in my Aura Rank, I would be forming another core so that meant I would be having double the cores! With an Aura Core, it was possible to store excess aura inside it, and that was why the difference between knights at the Medium Rank and those at the High Rank in terms of Aura was like that of heaven and the earth. Even if they had a similar amount of aura, a Medium Aura Rank knight would be fighting with about 4,000 aura whereas a High Aura Rank knight would be fighting with at least 10,000. That was one of the reasons why the power balance surged through the roof into the Milky Way when it came to the highest level of knights. A simple calculation would already tell you that one side had more than double the other side¡¯s ammunition. For someone like me who had a terrible Aura Rank as well as Aura Capacity from birth to be able to use the ¡®Sixth Style¡¯ which consumed a tremendous amount of aura, measures like this were essential. ¡°That is some¡­ amazing effect. Then the gold one¡­¡± ¡°Not yet. That is for later.¡± In response to my words, Alicia halted her hands that were heading to the Golden Mandrake. ¡°Ah~. I guess it¡¯s bad to have different types of medicine at once right?¡± She wasn¡¯t necessarily wrong so I didn¡¯t bother correcting her. **** There was a very rational reason behind why countless professors of the Magic Department gave up on joining the Tower of Mages and remained behind to be professors at the Academy. The overwhelming number of books inside Merkarva Great Library was one of the reasons, but that came second. If so, then what was the first and foremost reason? It was because on the western side of the Academy was the enormous laboratory which had the best experiment subjects that mages could ever dream of. An example¡­ was a ¡®Unique Grade¡¯ demonic beast that was sealed due to being unkillable. ¡°Now now. Please prepare the restriction spell, and the Magic team? Please double-check the sealing chains and the pressure.¡± Professor Deina couldn¡¯t help but twitch the corners of her lips while seeing the test subject that was prepared for this experiment. Since the Academy was an education facility, inhumane and immoral experiments were forbidden but being able to use a massive and renowned monster like this as a subject was one of the privileges that the professors of the Merkarva Academy had. ¡°King of Iron Mountain. To think I would see such a famous great monster with my own eyes.¡± Laying in front of the eyes of Professor Deina was a large boar. Reaching 6 meters in length, it weighed 50 tonnes at the very least. The fearsome fangs going up looked more like smooth steel than a bone, and the skin of the boar that was large enough to cover a small house appeared like a metal plate instead of the stiff fur of an animal. This ¡®Rune Boar¡¯ which was currently sleeping in its sealed state was the legendary demonic beast from 85 years ago, which had been barely sealed after it crushed the northern Dingle Peninsula into fragments. King of Iron Mountain. Killer of Heroes. The Demonic Pig of the Dingle Peninsula. A great demonic beast that was sealed by the previous previous chairman, Biren, Josephine the Dimensional Witch and¡­ the one renowned for being the strongest knight of the time, Tates Valtazar. Even though two semi-Unique Grades and a Unique Grade Knight like Tates Valtazar had joined the expedition, they weren¡¯t able to kill the King of Iron Mountain. The reason for that was the ¡®Primal Rune¡¯ that this Rune Boar had inside it. The ancient power that functioned as a concept rather than a simple addition of power was inside the beast. ¨C Clap clap clap. ¡°Wow~ What an amazing boar.¡± At the corner of the laboratory, an afro-haired knight wearing vambraces walked up to the sealed boar which was being sealed by the best restrictive items and the world¡¯s strongest spells. ¡°Professor Fermack. Don¡¯t go too close to it.¡± ¡°I am aware, Professor Deina. Is this it? The one that I have to carve a ¡®rune¡¯ on in this experiment?¡± ¡°Yes. You¡¯ve seen it in the textbook right, Professor Fermack? This is the boar that swallowed an entire iron mine as well as the Primal Rune that was carved deep inside the mine.¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯m from the Dingle Peninsula, you see. This thing comes out in our fairy tales.¡± Professor Deina commented on how ironic it was that even the great demonic beast that used to be unstoppable in its times was now just a villain of a fairy tale, as Professor Fermack showed his agreement. ¡°Haa~. It¡¯s great that we have you, Professor Fermack. It¡¯s pretty much impossible to find Rune Mages these days.¡± The one that sealed the rationality of this demonic pig was the Rune Magic of Tates Valtazar. In other words, the first step to undoing the countless seals that were cast on this monster was by unsealing the rune spell, and that meant you needed a Rune Mage. There was a time when Professor Deina contemplated whether she should learn Rune Magic herself just for this experiment. However, learning a new language was proving to be very difficult and due to all the ambiguous descriptions in the modern times, it was extremely hard to learn them. That was when Professor Fermack showed up. He was a knight but was a user of Rune Magic. ¡°That¡¯s how everything is with dead languages. Only knights like me with a bit of room to spare for mana uses it, but it¡¯s still hard to use in a real fight.¡± ¡°Are there still some people in the North that use rune letters?¡± ¡°There are some. In Berkut Academy, it¡¯s a part of the mandatory course.¡± ¡°Ah~ right. I do remember inviting a professor from Berkut Academy for an experiment that required an expert at Rune Magic.¡± Although the origin of rune letters wasn¡¯t very clear, the northern continent was believed to be where it originated. Looking back, strangely enough, most of the great demonic beasts that were unstoppably powerful tended to come from the North. ¡°By the way, what was this experiment about again?¡± Professor Fermack asked. ¡°It¡¯s about the alpha specialty of Unique Grade entities. I am planning on writing an article regarding the alpha energy of Unique Grade demons and how they affect the lower Grade entities.¡± ¡°Unique Grade, huh¡­¡± Professor Fermack immediately thought of a few names, because there were two Unique Grade demi-humans in this Academy already. Leaving aside the Heavenly Yaksha due to the complex circumstances because of her relationship with the New Faith and the empire in the East, Marie¡­ ¡°Now now. Shall we start with interpreting the sealing runes that are cast on this pig?¡± The two of them ended their short conversation and focused on the demonic boar in front of their eyes. It had been 80 years since it was captured, but the vicious energy emanating out of this sealed monster was still the same even after 80 years of captivation. CH 41 ? Group Assignment (1) ? The professors of the Knight Department gathered every month for a conference to share their evaluations of students and things to note. Even aside from that, this conference was a fairly important social event for all the knight professors for them to keep in touch with others. It was back in late April when the interim exam had just taken place. There were plenty of agendas for the monthly conference, such as the unfair treatment of the Magic Department receiving more budget and the equity issues of the payment for knights on the Mission Board but the hot potato this month was a Grade 5 Knight. Korin Lork. The topic was on how wrong it was to keep him as a Grade 5 Knight. ¡°There¡¯s a need to increase Korin Lork¡¯s grade.¡± The proposer of the agenda was the old-timer of the Knight Department, Old Man Haman who had 30 years of service at the Academy under his belt. It was rare for this stubborn old man to proactively support a student so his words gathered the attention of a lot of other veteran professors. ¡°Korin Lork. He¡¯s a freshman if I recall correctly, yes?¡± ¡°Grade 5? The data seems horrendous. Why would you consider raising a student like him?¡± The professors of senior students asked in confusion. They hadn¡¯t attended the freshmen interim exam which had taken place 2 weeks ago. ¡°If he¡¯s just a Grade 5 Knight, then there¡¯s no need to¡­¡± ¡°That Grade 5 Knight fought on equal grounds with Sword Master Lunia Arden. Only for 3 minutes though.¡± ¡°¡­!!¡± ¡°What kind of joke¡­¡± The explanation of Professor Fermack, who was in charge of the freshmen students, caused voices of doubt to spread between the senior year professors of the Knight Department. Lunia Arden? Wasn¡¯t she the prime successor candidate of the renowned Arden family? Her unprecedented evaluation of being a semi-Unique Grade knight despite her young age and her performance were all proof that she was one of the representative heroes of this era. One flick of her hand should be enough to demolish dozens of Grade 5 Knights let alone a single one, so how could one possibly last 3 minutes? ¡°She must have been holding back.¡± Professor Royd, in charge of 3rd year students, raised a skeptical opinion but was immediately rebutted by Old Man Haman. ¡°Are there any professors among the ones that were present back then including myself who think Lunia Arden was holding back against Korin Lork?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The ensuing silence made the senior student professors even more flustered. ¡°But even so, raising the grade just because of an interim exam is a bit¡­¡± Old Man Haman did not mention Marie Dunareff¡¯s incident here. Unlike himself, a Grade 1 Knight and a central figure of the Knight Department, most of the professors here only knew about the publicly announced pieces of information. In order to make sure, Professor Royd asked Professor Fermack. ¡°Professor Fermack. Is there no room for doubt on the abilities of this student called Korin?¡± ¡°There¡¯s none. His skill with the spear is as exceptional as that of a demon. Frankly speaking, there¡¯s probably no-one among the Grade 2 students who can fight against him.¡± ¡°Is he that strong?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t we have another successor candidate of the Arden family in the 1st year?¡± ¡°She was beaten up by him during the hunting grounds practical lesson. She stood no chance.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­!¡± Indeed, that meant there was no doubt on his ability. That meant it was certain that he was as strong as a Grade 1, but¡­ ¡°Even if that¡¯s true, we cannot increase his grade without any achievement. Since that is our rule.¡± All the participants here agreed with the fact that his Grade couldn¡¯t go up immediately. Interim exams did not count as an achievement and were therefore not enough. Old Man Haman, who had been at the Academy longer than anyone else among these professors here, shared a different perspective as if he had been waiting for that statement. ¡°Let¡¯s entrust that to the Alliance¡¯s official grading test. There is a limit to how much we could increase his grade by, but it should be okay if we let him take a reassessment for an ¡®official¡¯ guardian license.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¡°But if we do that, the student would need to be accompanied by a professor¡­¡± ¡°Professor Haman¡­ or should I say Instructor Haman. Since you were the one who proposed this, how about you take charge?¡± ¡°I would be glad to.¡± Instructor Haman volunteered for the reassessment as the Knight Department came to a conclusion. Firstly, they would have to prepare a test to reassess Korin Lork¡¯s grade. If he passed it, then his grade would officially be raised up. ¡°Huu¡­ Korin Lork, huh.¡± Professor Fermack, who was also in agreement with the reassessment, thought about the person in question. Korin Lork. Grade 5 Knight. Both his Aura Rank and Mana Rank were at Low, and he didn¡¯t have much aura either. However, his fight against Lunia Arden implied that there was something wrong with that evaluation. His weapon proficiency was one thing, but his stats were incomparably different to the one he had before the grading test. Fermack quickly came to a conclusion¡­ that he was hiding something. The reason he could quickly come up with a hypothesis was because he had an idea about the power Korin Lork was using ¨C the secret technique of the ancient warriors of the Shadow Paradise: the high-risk and high-reward ability ¨C Precept. ¡®Besides, that spear¡­ it¡¯s that person¡¯s spearmanship no matter how I see it.¡¯ Fermack¡¯s master and benefactor who taught him how to use runes ¨C that person was a great spear wielder. Although Fermack didn¡¯t have any profound knowledge on spearmanship, he could still say with certainty that Korin¡¯s spear was the same as the one he had seen several times from his master. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Is he also his disciple just like me?¡¯ It was still just an assumption but there were a lot of clues. If Korin was that person¡¯s disciple just like him¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll have to test him out a little.¡± While hiding his sharp gaze behind the sunglasses, Fermack returned to the usual frivolous young professor. **** It had been a rather noisy start to the semester but it was already May. After spending an eventful early semester, Alicia hopped up the stairs with more expectation than usual. Alicia was like every other student. She found lessons boring and wanted to skip them whenever possible but today¡¯s lesson was different, because it was one she shared with a specific student. Pushing open the door of Lecture Room 4012 on the 4th floor of the Knight Department¡¯s Liberty Hall, Alicia greeted everyone. ¡°Hello~!¡± ¡°Hi Alicia.¡± Since she was one of the few Grade 2 Knights among the freshmen students, everyone knew who she was. Besides, she was the successor candidate of the Arden family which was known for their incredible swordsmanship. It was impossible for the students to not know her considering the newspapers and the rumors around the campus. Alicia was a fairly sociable person so she showed a friendly smile to all her peers that were greeting her as she hopped across the room. ¡°Mr. Korin~¡± The place she settled in was the seat next to Korin. ¡°¡­¡± Jaeger, who just returned from the bathroom and realized that his seat had been taken, squinted his eyes. With a sharp gaze that couldn¡¯t be hidden despite his narrowed eyes, he glared at Korin. These days, there was always someone amazing by his side. Whenever there was a joint lesson with the seniors, the Number 1 celebrity of the Academy, potato senior, would be sitting next to him and when it was a freshmen Knight Department lesson, it would either be the frightening demon girl or that granddaughter of the Sword Emperor. There was only one thing Jaeger could say as Korin¡¯s friend (?). ¡®I¡¯m so jealous!!¡¯ Since when did my friend have such an impressive set of female friends? What about my youth? Why is there no-one by my side! He groaned like that until the start of the lesson. ¡°Yo~. Hello freshmen buddies, are y¡¯all ready?¡± Walking into the room with a loud greeting was a funkish man whose afro-hair and sunglasses were very impressive. He was Professor Fermack Daman of the Knight Department. ¡°As I mentioned last lesson, we will be starting a group assignment from today.¡± ¡°Ahh¡­¡± There were laments from everywhere but Professor Fermack Daman ignored their complaints with ease. ¡°Now now. I know you might be thinking this is annoying, but this is very important and it¡¯s going to help out in the future.¡± Professor Fermack planted expectation into the minds of the students like a veteran professor. People might think of a group assignment as something tedious at a glance but as an education facility of guardians, the Merkarva Academy was very practical even when it came to group assignments. ¡°Let me first describe what you¡¯ll be doing before we start the lesson. We are the Knight Department so unlike the geeks of the Magic Department, we are not going to tell you to solve some difficult Math equations or tell you to plant mysterious plants.¡± ¨C Hahaha! Knight Department and the Magic Department. Although the conflict between the two wasn¡¯t serious by any means, it was natural for some level of competitiveness to exist, which Professor Fermack made good use of. ¨C Click! He clicked his fingers and created a pop of air which opened the documents that were installed on the board. ¡°Wow~. He added Condensed Aura into his fingers right? Did you see that, Mr. Korin?¡± ¡°I did.¡± Professor Fermack was popular among the students for showing such attention-grabbing tricks. ¡°Now. Have a look at this paper.¡± The papers he prepared had large drawings of human figures and appeared like they were explaining certain moves one by one. They were diagrams that you would find from martial art books related to knights and weaponry. ¡°Mhmm?¡± ¡°Mr. Korin?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± The movements on the papers were showing a set of spear moves. Several elementary spearmanship postures ranging from middle guard to high guard, advancing, walking, strafes and lunges were expressed in detail. Considering how I had immersed myself into basic spearmanship like crazy before learning Six Ways of the Spear, they were a set of moves that I knew off by heart. ¡®But why? Wasn¡¯t it boxing in the last iteration?¡¯ Fermack Daman was someone who fought with bare fists. He was a boxer known for controlling the gap, his dashes as well as his unique use of shadows. He was a famous Grade 1 Knight from the Berkut Academy of the North with Rune Magic installed in his gauntlets. He was also known for changing the bare-handed fight curriculum of the army, which was why he picked boxing in the last iteration but¡­ ¡®Is it because of me?¡¯ Did he notice something from the spearmanship I showed against Lunia Arden during the interim exam? In a way, I guess you could say Fermack Daman and I were the nephew and an uncle of a martial family. It was normal for him to be in doubt after seeing my spearmanship ¨C not that it mattered though. ¡°Why is it spear out of everything? No offense but don¡¯t we have more students that are learning the sword?¡± Fermack replied to the question raised by one of the students. ¡°There are a bunch of other people that learn swords.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Weapons each have their own profound secrets. If you don¡¯t know the secrets of these other weapons, you¡¯re bound to lose in an interpersonal battle.¡± ¡®Sword wrestling¡¯ was a prime example. This was something that was easily misunderstood, but the victor of a close combat fight with swords pushing against one another was not decided by pure strength. In fact, it was commonplace for those that overly trusted in their strength to allow a strike to their vitals instead. As one of the prime examples, in a sword wrestle, the victor could be decided in less than 0.5 seconds with one of them losing their heads. The only way to combat these techniques was to practice without an end. ¡°You¡¯ll have plenty of chances to see swords in the future but as for the weapons that are less mainstream like spears and fists, you will have less chances of seeing their skills. For example¡­ Student Korin?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± In this lecture room of about 40 students, there were only six spear-users including myself. And out of those 6 people, it was natural for me to be chosen as someone who was rising in fame despite being a Grade 5 Knight. After all, my stock price was breaking through the ceiling after the even fight against Sword Master Lunia Arden. ¡°What do you think are the advantages of a spear?¡± ¡°I would say it¡¯s the ability to pressure the opponent from a distance, as well as the destructiveness of a long weapon.¡± ¡°That is correct. Why is that the case?¡± ¡°Because it is usually held with two hands, and it is easy to add weight and leverage into the spear.¡± ¡°Correct. It¡¯s something you can also see by comparing weapons like greatswords and one-handed swords, but weapons always become more powerful the longer and heavier they are.¡± After saying that, Fermack pointed at one of the students who had their hand up. ¡°Student Ranan. Do you have a question?¡± Ranan replied, ¡°Sir! Isn¡¯t the sword still the strongest!? There are a lot of people learning it as well!¡± His comment brought about a fierce retaliation. ¡°You¡¯re saying that again! Long weapons are the best, okay?¡± ¡°Nope! Have you never heard of swords being the king of weapons? The sword¡¯s definitely going to win in a close distance!¡± ¡°How about you try closing in the distance then~?¡± Ahh. There was never a conclusion to this long debate. Which weapon was the real king of them all? It was an important issue to young students. Actually, it was very important to adults as well. ¡°Haha. Then as someone who showed a wonderful fight against Sword Master Lunia Arden, how about you tell us, Student Korin?¡± Why was he calling me again? The sharp gaze behind Professor Fermack¡¯s sunglasses headed towards me. ¡°What do you think is the strongest weapon?¡± I could probably give the reply of a model student but I didn¡¯t feel the need to do so. Fermack was probably trying to see through me but¡­ there was no need to bother hiding it from this bastard. ¡°Of course, the spear is the best and I am the strongest.¡± ¡°Boooo!!¡± ¡°He¡¯s picking a fight with us!¡± Haha. The jeers and irritated gazes of young and energetic students were all on me. What are you going to do huh? Fight me? ¡°¡­¡± I could also sense Hua Ran¡¯s gaze in the mix. Umm¡­ she¡¯s not going to say something about this later is she? Uhh¡­ not you, of course. *** Professor Fermack announced at the end of the lesson that the group assignment will be about explaining a basic spearmanship posture. ¡°In this assignment, you will form groups to freely choose a spearmanship style, research into it and demonstrate one skill.¡± ¡°Sir. Wouldn¡¯t that make it way too good for the ones that already use a spear?¡± ¡°I will take that into account for the evaluation, by either extra marks or increasing their evaluation threshold. Each group will have 4 people and we will decide the groups by drawing lots.¡± Fermack placed on the desk a box with numbered papers inside, and made the students take them out one by one. There were 40 freshmen students of the Knight Department inside the lecture room. It was four in one group so that would make about 10 groups, and Korin and the other spear-users had already been divided into separate groups. ¡°I¡¯m in Group 3. What¡¯s yours, Korin?¡± ¡°Group 3.¡± ¡°Ohh, nice~.¡± ¡°¡­Mr. Korin is Group 3.¡± After listening to the conversation between Jaeger and Korin, Alicia walked towards the box of lots. There was a 10% chance, and she hoped that the goddess of fate would be standing on her side. Going up to the front desk, she lined up behind Hua Ran in her chained nun clothes who had just finished picking a number. ¡°Student Hua Ran. What group are you in?¡± asked Professor Fermack. ¡°Group 3.¡± ¡°Okay. Korin Lork, Hua Ran and Jaeger Hinzpeter in Group 3.¡± ¡®T, there¡¯s only one left now!¡¯ Wouldn¡¯t that lower the chance significantly? Alicia nervously threw her hand into the box of lots. ¡®Group 3! Group 3! Group 3¡­!¡¯ She immediately took a paper out which read¡­ ¡°Alicia Arden. Group 8.¡± ¡°¡­Ah.¡± The goddess of fate wasn¡¯t standing on her side. And immediately after that¡­ ¡°Dorron Warsky, Group 3.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Her lament reached the ears of Dorron who had just pulled his lot. He looked back and forth between his paper and Alicia before giving her a seemingly gentle suggestion. ¡°Do you want to swap?¡± ¡°C, can we please?!¡± ¡°Well, it will be a slight loss for me, but it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Mr. Dorron¡­ You were a nice person!¡± Alicia walked up to Dorron¡¯s paper with sparkling eyes but Dorron retrieved it in the blink of an eye. ¡°???¡± ¡°20 silver coins.¡± ¡°A, are you charging money for that?!¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing free in this world, Lady Arden.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too expensive!¡± ¡°Well¡­ if you think about the opportunity cost, I¡¯d say I¡¯m making a loss.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°What I mean, is that you don¡¯t have to buy it if you don¡¯t want to.¡± He cold-heartedly turned around so Alicia rapidly grabbed on the end of his clothes. She was so fast that even the veteran mercenary Dorron could not react in time. ¡°I, I will give you the money.¡± The purse of the poor girl opened with a shiver. ?Group Assignment, Group 3? Hua Ran Korin Lork Alicia Arden Jaeger Hinzpeter There was a bit of corruption and a secret negotiation but the members of the Group Assignment were thus decided. ¡°The assignment will be due 2 weeks later during this lesson. On the weekdays, you can study by borrowing some books from the library and you can practice at the training rooms or the festival hall.¡± With that, the lesson ended ahead of time for the groups to each discuss their plans. ¡°First off. Who should we choose for our group leader?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Korin¡¯s words were like an own goal because the three of them all turned to him at the same time as if they had promised on it beforehand. It was going just like every other group assignment of modern Earth. Translator¡¯s Note: Group assignments in Korea are infamous for having uncooperative members (it¡¯s used like a meme at this point), and the group leader usually shoulders the blame if something goes wrong. CH 42 ? Group Assignment (2) ? What exactly was a group assignment? A way to increase the cooperation skills of students and evaluate them¡­ Would be the model response. However, following the Pareto Principle which states that 20% at the top does 80% of the work, a group assignment was like a game of chicken that made the diligent ones suffer the most. Because everyone was evaluated as a ¡®group¡¯, there were sometimes people that did not even know what the topic was, as well as those who did not follow through with their words. There were times when humans became weaker by forging a group and this was a great example. In other words, a group assignment depended greatly on the people involved and the outcomes were heavily influenced by the team atmosphere. ¡°Huhu¡­¡± In that sense, you could say that our Group 3 was a blessed one. I looked at the reliable team members who had gathered at the 2nd floor cafe inside the Academy. Jaeger Hinzpeter ¨C Grade 3 Knight. His physical abilities were relatively high up there. His decision-making skills weren¡¯t bad and was also good at listening to what he was told to do. There was nothing to complain about Alicia either. She was a prodigy at using swords and since she was proficient at moving her body, she should be able to follow with ease. And our last member was Hua Ran. As for Hua Ran, even though she was a bit grumpy at times, she was still a very diligent person inside. Seeing her concentrating on the lessons these days was another source of delight. In any case, our members were very good. For 4 years at the physical education college and 3 years at the Academy, the only people I have had in my group assignments were guys who no idea what the topic was, guys who wanted to join in without doing anything as well as those whose grandparents were passing away everyday. My luck with groups was not very good in the last iteration either so I had to carry them the whole time because of how frustrating it was. But now that I was with these guys, I could do anything! I must be a blessed child to have such diligent and highly capable buddies as my group members! ¡°Now everyone. How much do you know about spearmanship?¡± ¡°You¡¯re very good at it, Mr. Korin!¡± ¡°I heard that guys with a spear are highly likely to be homosexual.¡± ¡°Jaeger you crazy bastard! What kind of ludicrous nonsense is that!¡± Please don¡¯t cross the line. ¡°¡­I want bread with honey and cream.¡± Unlike Alicia and Jaeger who at least replied to my question, Hua Ran gave a completely different demand while slurping her frappuccino and pointing at another student¡¯s dessert; It seemed that I would have become the leader of this group no matter what. ¡°That¡¯s okay. It¡¯s natural for you to not know about it. Now, here is a book for the basic postures of spearmanship including Eight Trigram, Divine Spear and Pointing Spearmanship. It might be hard just with these diagrams, but first let¡¯s go through the theory and I will show it to you at the training rooms.¡± I became well and truly used to spearmanship. Although I started using a spear because I thought it would be easier to use than a sword, I started scavenging through all sorts of books for a better chance at survival because unlike the game, I had to use my actual body to move the spear. Mr. Park went the easy way out as a mage though¡­ Maybe I should have listened to my Math lessons back in high school. ¡°First is knowledge. Know the enemy and know yourself and you will never be in peril in a hundred battles. If you know about yourself and your enemy, you¡¯re already increasing your chance to win.¡± ¡°Korin my buddy. You know it so shouldn¡¯t it be okay for us to not know about it?¡± ¡°Shut your trap Mr. Jaeger Hinzpeter! As a group assignment leader for 7 years, I will not allow you to get marks without doing anything!!¡± ¡°Umm¡­ Okay boss.¡± ¡°And Hua Ran¡­¡± She was already reading the book. As expected of someone who always read a book whenever I saw her, it seemed that she was used to reading letters in a book. ¡°I already reserved a training room. We have 3 hours to go so¡­ we will go full-on with theory first.¡± ¡°Ohh¡­!¡± ¡°So it¡¯s not that different from our usual schedule even though it¡¯s a group assignment!¡± Alicia shouted. Here, we had a veteran spear-wielding group leader, A sword-using lady from a family renowned for swordsmanship, A nun lady with the world¡¯s best physical capabilities and a knight buddy who could do at least 1-person¡¯s worth for everything. These members¡­ No matter how I saw it, I could not see ourselves failing this group assignment. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ That¡¯s what I used to think, at least. ¡°Hey buddy.¡± ¡°What is wrong, friend.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been coming to the training rooms for 2 months now, yes?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°The walls and the floor here, they were all supposed to be super dense shock absorbing materials, right?¡± ¡°They were.¡± Super expensive on top of that. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you could break them.¡± ¡°You learn new things everyday, I guess.¡± ¨C Drop! The ground was crushed and shattered along with a sonic boom but even that was better off in comparison. ¡°Uh, ugh¡­ uhh¡­¡± Alicia muttered in fear while touching her cheeks that were slightly swollen up. She wasn¡¯t even hit by anything ¨C the wind caused by a fist strike had scraped past her cheek and yet this was that outcome. Behind the back of the fallen Alicia was a clean hole on the outer walls of the training room. The scenery outside the building was on full display. Rather than being broken, the wall had pretty much been disintegrated into atomic molecules. ¡°So this is magic.¡± ¡°No, this is not magic. She just¡­ did a punch with a fist.¡± The sudden commotion gathered a large crowd. At the end of their gazes was a girl wearing a funkish costume of a chained nun who was frozen stiff with the fist out in front of her. ¡°¡­¡± Even though she still had a cold look on her face, I could tell that she was thinking, ¡®oops¡¯. ¡®I think they got demolished into atoms or something.¡¯ That would cost a fortune to repair. Alicia and Hua Ran were swinging around a practice spear when Hua Ran accidentally dropped her spear and unknowingly hurled a fist with demonic aura embedded inside. That overwhelming punch and the gust created by it was what caused this disaster. ¡°¡­Hey, Korin.¡± ¡°What is it¡­ Jaeger.¡± ¡°If I say any gibberish about demons one more time in the future, please stop me even if you have to smack my head.¡± ¡°I will not let my friend commit suicide.¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s a real friend.¡± Obviously, we were then chased out of the destroyed training room. **** On the noon of the next day, which was a Sunday, we all gathered at a church. ¡°Ehem. We will now have a moment of self-reflection. Please do not hesitate to share your personal opinions.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The group members stayed silent for a long time. Jaeger was pursing his lips in dissatisfaction so Alicia was the first to carefully raise her hand up. ¡°Sorry¡­ about what happened yesterday. I couldn¡¯t really adjust my strength.¡± ¡°No. You did great, Alicia. Both your posture and your swings were good. Watching me train everyday must have been helpful.¡± ¡°Kuhum¡­ That¡¯s only because your moves with the spear are close to perfect. I was just copying what you did!¡± ¡°It¡¯s thanks to you having good eyes. What about you, Jaeger?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m not too sure yet. Not used to swinging a long weapon and¡­ Spinning Heaven, was it? I still have no clue how you¡¯re supposed to spin like that. I just can¡¯t see the path.¡± Spinning Heaven was the fanciest move with a lot of changes to the trajectory of the spear. If he could use that after seeing it a few times, I would have picked him up as the successor of the Six Ways of the Spear. ¡°You¡¯re doing well. As long as you acquire the basics of Eight Trigrams, you¡¯ll be able to move your mace in a more diverse manner.¡± Alicia had good eyes to begin with so she was good at imitating skills but I actually wasn¡¯t expecting Jaeger to do so well. This guy was quite good at everything that required a physical movement. ¡°Hua Ran. What about you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hua Ran was next to us by the time I realized it with her usual nun clothes. What was different from usual was that she was carrying a large silver plate. ¡°Eat it.¡± On top of her silver plate were several cups of red wine that were smaller than shot glasses and portions of white rice cake. ¡°Is this a communion?¡± ¡°The blood and flesh of the Saintess, apparently.¡± Because the developers added a mix of religions from Earth, they had similar religious events like this. The problem, however, was that they merged several into one and created a horrifying hybrid. ¡°Are you volunteering?¡± ¡°Sunday services are mandatory.¡± Inside the Merkarva Academy campus, there was a church for the faithful students to go to. It was closer to a large hall instead of a church but they could hold over a thousand students per service. In truth, it was a bit awkward to call it a place for faithful students, because there was a mandatory worship service every Wednesday for 1 hour in this Academy. Although it wasn¡¯t actually mandatory, it was pretty much the same because it gave out 1 unit of credit. It was good though because they didn¡¯t necessarily point out any students for dozing off or fidgeting around. Anyway, apart from the Wednesday services, the Sunday one was optional. ¡°Hua Ran, you¡¯re a probationary nun of the New Faith, right?¡± ¡°¡­Not that I wanted to become one.¡± Right. The only reason she could move freely to some point was because of the seals casted by the New Faith as well as her status as a nun. ¡°I know you were forced into one, but you should still read the Scripture. The stories about the Saint and the Saintess have a lot of things that are worth learning from.¡± I used to be an atheist on Earth but there were still many things to learn from the virtuous people at the root of all the religions. Love thy neighbor. Greed is the root of all evil. Don¡¯t do unto others what you don¡¯t want done unto you. Admit what you do not know and learn. Then you¡¯ll know them. They were all lines worth following even if you didn¡¯t necessarily believe in a religion. But it was also rare to find believers that followed these principles. Unlike my perception of religion, it seemed that my team members in the height of their youth were feeling a sense of distance from it. ¡°I don¡¯t believe in religions.¡± ¡°Mhmm~ The things that the fathers and the sisters say are a bit difficult for me to understand.¡± ¡°The Old Faith is strict and has a lot of fundamentalistic gibberish but the New Faith pretty much talks about one thing.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Although it was a bit embarrassing, I replied to Alicia¡¯s question. ¡°Love.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ Sorry?¡± Her cheeks turned red as she blinked her eyes. ¡°Love yourself, love the person in front of you and love your neighbors. Love and love and love.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Y, you mean that?¡± I really liked that sentence. In fact, it was something good which everyone would agree with. ¡°Some might say it¡¯s embarrassing but everyone wants to love and wants to be loved. The Saintess of the New Faith really knows how to touch people¡¯s hearts.¡± ¡°Mhmm¡­! I think it¡¯s a great sentence! Love! Hmm¡­! Love! It¡¯s very important!¡± ¡°¡­Hmph.¡± Hua Ran seemed to think otherwise, and turned her back to us with a pout on her face. ¡°Anyway¡­ Sister Hua Ran? Do you have any conjectures about the reason we couldn¡¯t do all the spear moves perfectly yesterday?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I knew the reason myself but didn¡¯t bother voicing it out loud. Instead of other people pinpointing her mistakes, it would be better for her personal growth for her to realize her own wrong-doings. Even though she was a Unique Grade demi-human and a living Jiangshi, she was only 3 years old. She denied both herself and her original self, but if she could one day have an objective view of herself¡­ ¡°You guys are too weak.¡± ¡°???¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re all too weak. Everything breaks when I add a little bit of strength.¡± What an amazing conclusion that she came to! **** Since we couldn¡¯t create more construction work for the training rooms, we asked if we could use the empty plot of land behind the laboratory which we had borrowed last time. If not for the immediate acceptance and permission of Lady Josephine, it would have been impossible for us to even practice. ¡°Pushing the opponent¡¯s weapon outward is the Outer Trap [Lan], pulling the spear inward to press down on the opponent¡¯s weapon is the Inner Trap [Na] and stabbing from that position is the Stab [Zha]. This is the basic counterattack of the spear, Lan Na Zha.¡± ¡°The movement itself looks easy.¡± ¡°Actually, it¡¯s quite hard,¡± Alicia replied to Jaeger¡¯s remark. ¡°Because you need a delicate power control and your waist movement is also important.¡± ¡°Alicia¡¯s right. When you¡¯re doing a Lan Zha or Na Zha, you need to make sure the shaft of your spear is always connected to your body.¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple but hard to complete this set of movements together, is it? Quite profound.¡± ¡°A spear is the most common weapon after the sword. You need to learn how to presume the opponent¡¯s goal by seeing their movement and if you don¡¯t know about their skills, you¡¯re bound to get the short end of the stick.¡± Interpersonal fights were about reading each other¡¯s intention and could only be improved through countless practices. Reading their movement, their reach and aiming for a counter-attack was more important than a blind attack. ¡°Let¡¯s just do the basic movements a thousand times today. What about you Hua Ran?¡± Hua Ran didn¡¯t say much but ever since she destroyed the training room building, she started watching our practices from the side in an insincere and lethargic manner. Alicia and Jaeger being scared of her might be something that contributed to her lethargy, but that was unavoidable because she would hurl a fist immediately after dropping her spear. ¡°Is this important?¡± asked Hua Ran. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°No matter how much you practice like this, the weak will stay weak and the strong will stay strong.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Those were some disrespectful words but I understood where she was coming from. Hua Ran was saying that because she had been born as a powerhouse without even having to practice. In the end, martial art was a set of techniques that were invented for the weak to fight against the strong. It might have appeared worthless to Hua Ran, who was born strong with an Unbreakable Vajra Body. I suddenly remembered the question I asked a long time ago. ¡ºMaster. When are you going to teach me some killing moves and secret arts? How long would it take for me to kill those monsters if I continue learning basic stuff like this?¡» That was something I used to think in the past. That was when I was still very immature. ¡°Mhmm¡­¡± ¡°K, kuhum!¡± Both Alicia and Jaeger seemed frightened by Hua Ran and could not come up with an objection. Naturally, the two of them turned to me, who was the leader of the group. Huu¡­ If I admitted Hua Ran¡¯s words here, then this group assignment would be completely doomed and I could not let that happen. ¡°In a way, you¡¯re not wrong, Hua Ran.¡± ¡°Mr. Korin?¡± Alicia interjected but ignoring her, I continued. ¡°But that¡¯s something only the truly strong ones can say.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡®Someone like you has no qualification to say that¡¯ ¨C Hua Ran immediately reacted to that subtle condescending phrase. Right ¨C there was no way she would ignore a provocation like this since she was very confident in her power. ¡°Rather than someone like you who looks down on things like this as being insignificant, don¡¯t you think I¡¯m better suited to be called a strong person?¡± ¡°¡­Are you serious?¡± She must be thinking that there was something wrong with my head, but this was what I had to do as the leader of the group. If I got pushed back here, then I would have no justification to stop Hua Ran from doing nothing in this assignment. Rebellions had to be oppressed quickly. That was what I thoroughly experienced after being a group leader for 7 years. ¡°M, Mr. Korin!¡± ¡°Korin¡­ I will not let you commit suicide!¡± ¡°You¡¯re noisy. Shuddap!¡± Picking up a practice spear, I pointed it at Hua Ran. ¡°Do you want to bet?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°1 minute. I will try to force you down onto your knees in 1 minute. If I win, dinner will be on you tonight.¡± ¡°¡­¡± There was no need to even bother thinking about who the stronger one was. In terms of physical abilities, she was probably about 8 times stronger than me with her restrictions intact. Although I had gotten a bit stronger, the difference between Hua Ran and I was still enormous, and despite the restrictions her Vajra Body was still literally ¡®unbreakable¡¯. ¡°Okay. If I win¡­ I don¡¯t need anything. You will have a fracture.¡± ¨C You¡¯ll need money for your hospital fee. After she said that vicious sentence, Hua Ran and I stood at the center of the plot of land with Alicia and Jaeger watching us. I contemplated through everything I knew. Hua Ran had the Unbreakable Vajra Body. It was the best defensive specialty of ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? that increased the defense in relation to the Aura Rank and the Aura Capacity. You might think she would be useless once all her aura was depleted, but even with the restriction in place, Hua Ran¡¯s Aura Rank was at Very High and her capacity was above 20,000. In other words, it was nigh impossible for me to create a wound on Hua Ran¡¯s body no matter what I did. ¡°Get set¡­¡± Her defense had never been broken until now so it was obvious what Hua Ran would now choose to do. ¡°Start!¡± ¨C Clomp clomp. She started walking. After walking, she would grab on the opponent and fling them onto the ground. It was an arrogant way of fighting that was only possible thanks to her overwhelmingly powerful defense. I unhesitatingly aimed the spear at Hua Ran who was walking without forming any guard. ? Ominous Snake: Secret Arts ¨C Distorted March ? ¡°M, Mr. Korin?!¡± I used one of my strongest skills from the get go. Alicia and Jaeger seemed surprised by that sudden attack but Hua Ran didn¡¯t even attempt to dodge it. ¨C Kagakak! While continuing to walk, she allowed the three consecutive stabs to land on her body. Although they did land on her body, her march was not hindered in the slightest and the tip of the practice spear was the one that was crushed instead. The durability of the spear was a lot weaker than Hua Ran¡¯s bare skin. ¡®Stabs are not going to work.¡¯ ¡°Hupp¡­!¡± Retrieving the broken spear, I swung it with the force of my waist. The result was a terrifying swing of the spear which was a simple yet immensely powerful strike of the spear. ? Second Style, Horizontal Sweep of a Tiger ? ¨C Kwang! A thunderous thud echoed as my spear struck Hua Ran¡¯s head at a ridiculous speed. Even though it was a practice spear, it was nonetheless a very powerful attack straight to her head. It was strong enough to kill people but the one that drew its last breath was in fact my spear. ¨C Kajik! After coming into contact with the Unbreakable Vajra Body, the spear ended up shattering to pieces. Now, all I had was my bare hands; Empty hands and naked fists. Hua Ran reached her hand forward with an expression assuming her victory. ? Eight Trigrams Footwork: Fleeting Body ? ¡°¡­?!¡± Dodging her attack, my body twisted with a mysterious footwork and reappeared behind her body. It was a short moment but I must have disappeared for a split second in her eyes. ¡°You¡­!¡± After realizing that I was behind her back, she threw a powerful fist. It was emanating a ridiculous amount of pressure and was absurdly fast but blind attacks were hard to hit and missed attacks were meaningless. By slightly altering my steps, I dodged her attack again. ¨C Chiik! The clothing around my chest got ripped just from the pressure of her fist but I was still alright. ¡°¡­¡± Hua Ran and I were in a super close distance with less than 30 centimeters between us. We were so close that she should be able to reach me just by extending her arms but she couldn¡¯t. Her punches and nails all barely grazed past my body. The mystifying set of steps did not allow Hua Ran to land a hit. It wasn¡¯t an amazing skill or anything ¨C it was just one of the basic evasive skills of the Eight Trigrams that aimed at taking the opponent¡¯s back. I was using that super basic movement to constantly dodge her attacks. ¡°Annoying.¡± She seemed annoyed as if she had a fly flying around her ears. Soon, Hua Ran started adding aura into her fists. It was coming. If the Unbreakable Vajra Body was the strongest defense skill¡­ Then Hua Ran¡¯s demonic aura was the strongest attack. Her abundant supply of aura turned into pure violence. The Unique Grade living jiangshi¡¯s instinctive use of aura was the most destructive form of power ever seen. ¡°Dodge. If you don¡¯t want to die.¡± I would be crushed into smithereens even if it was to graze past me but¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll try to block it.¡± Without any hesitation, I extended my hand forward. My legs were already rooted into the ground. ? Straight Fist ? A fist that was as dark as charcoal flew towards me. I would have to sit in bed for at least a month if I received a direct hit from that. The best option was to dodge as Hua Ran said but¡­ ? Eight Trigrams: Fleeting Body Palm Strike ? I blocked her attack. Blocking the straight and undisguised fist that was flying towards me was not an issue after I focused all my aura into my right arm. But¡­ ¨C Crack! Even though it was a perfect defense, the overwhelming destructiveness was still conveyed through the palm. The muscles around my arms ripped apart as blood splattered out from my skin. ¡°¡­!?¡± As if she wasn¡¯t expecting me to block her attack from the front like a fool, Hua Ran widened her eyes in surprise, but this wasn¡¯t the end of my block. Using the palm I used for the defense, I pulled Hua Ran¡¯s fist towards me. For a moment, Hua Ran¡¯s body leaned towards me as I then immediately replaced myself behind her back using the Eight Trigrams Footwork. After reaching her defenseless back, I stepped on the joint behind her knee with my foot. ? Eight Trigrams: Prevailing Chains ? No matter how strong and tough she was, as a living organism, the structure of her joints were no different from a human¡¯s. ¨C Flop! One of her knees landed on the ground. ¡°Look. You¡¯re on your knees now.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± It seemed that Hua Ran wasn¡¯t content with the result of the battle. She was on her knees due to the structure of her joints which had nothing to do with strength ¨C this must have been different from what she was thinking of. But in the end, Hua Ran was on her knees whereas I was still standing. Besides, the deal was whether I could make Hua Ran kneel in one minute or not. ¡°Do it again¡­¡± Discontent with the outcome, Hua Ran asked for a rematch as if she was confident that she wouldn¡¯t lose this time. ¡°Nope. Not gonna.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°I won already so why should I bother fighting you again?¡± I suppressed the rebellion of the team member while showing her an annoying face. ¡°¡­One more time.¡± She seemed very upset. It was rare for her to show her emotions like this and in fact, this was my first time seeing it so that made me want to tease her even more. When would I get another chance to tease Hua Ran? ¡°After this is paid content.¡± ¡°Paid?¡± ¡°Please insert coins for another match.¡± Hua Ran scavenged through her pocket and realized that she didn¡¯t have a single coin on her before gritting her teeth. ¡°¡­Wait.¡± Turning her head with a flick, she kicked off the ground. The ground crumbled from a single kick and a small crater appeared underneath where she was standing. ¡°W, where are you going?!¡± Was she going to bring real money or something? I was blankly staring into where she disappeared and after a while, Hua Ran reappeared by landing with a thud. In her hands was a heavy bag. ¡°One more time.¡± ¨C Clink clink clink! The large number of silver and gold coins fell like a waterfall. D, did she actually bring all this money just for one more attempt? Wasn¡¯t this more than 100 gold coins at the very least? ¡°Wow¡­ it¡¯s my first time seeing so many gold coins.¡± Jaeger and Alicia had their chins dropped while blankly gazing at the fallen coins. Was Hua Ran always so competitive? ¡°Freshmen? What are you guys doing here?¡± That was when a female student walked into the empty plot of land. She was someone I was acquainted with. ¡°Senior Isabelle?¡± Marie¡¯s best friend ¨C Senior Isabelle walked towards us after spotting us on her way somewhere. ¡°What is all this¡­¡± ¡°I will give you all of this, so do it one more time with me.¡± ¡°¡­!¡± Senior Isabelle was astonished after hearing Hua Ran¡¯s words for some reason. What was wrong with her? ¡°Nope. I¡¯m not doing it.¡± ¡°Why¡­¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be popular if you¡¯re too clingy.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Seeing the gold coins tempted me to have another go, but there was a need to protect my authority as a group leader here. Besides, now that she knew the trick, she probably wouldn¡¯t allow it a second time. Even if it wasn¡¯t manly, I would rather be a winner than a loser! ¡°Just one more time¡­¡± ¡°Nope. I am not doing it again~¡± ¨C Grit! Hua Ran glared at me in fury. Her face was super scary but if I accepted this challenge here, I would get shit on, my authority as a group leader would plummet and the group assignment would be over. Accepting her challenge was out of the question. ¡°Money¡­ One more time¡­ Clingy?¡± ¡°Senior Isabelle?¡± For some reason, Senior Isabelle was shivering while looking at me with eyes filled with trepidation. Seriously, what in the world was wrong with her? ¡°¡­¡± Hua Ran did not hide her dissatisfaction but had no choice but to give up. What was she going to do when I was saying no? That marked a successful stop to a group member¡¯s short rebellion. Now, all I had to do was leisurely teach some spearmanship and prepare for the presentation. However, something completely outside my expectation happened a few days later at the regular group assignment meeting. To think Hua Ran would do such a thing¡­ ¨C I¡¯m sick. Do it without me. She sent me an excuse for her absence in the meeting and her ridiculous excuse made everyone flabbergasted. Y, you? Sick? Even though you can munch on steel like it¡¯s nothing? We had an unexpected troll in our group assignment. CH 43 ? Group Assignment (3) ? Hua Ran stopped coming to the group meetings ever since that day. Like¡­ well, I could understand why she wouldn¡¯t want to come, but how could she be so small-minded? Was she a kid or something? ¡°Ah¡­¡± Actually, she was a kid. Something I forgot quite often because she looked like a high schooler was that Hua Ran was just a kid who had been born three years ago. Just like myself, she did have the memories of the original owner of the body, but she hadn¡¯t been there for long. ¡°W, what should we do? Mr. Korin?¡± ¡°Well¡­ what else can we do? We just have to do it by ourselves.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t everyone have to participate in the group assignment?¡± Right, that was the problem. It was the same back when I was going to college on Earth but what exactly was a group assignment? Because they put emphasis on cooperation, the non-involvement of anyone reduced marks. This Academy¡­ took all the frustrating elements there were in a Korean university. As someone who had been a group leader for 7 years, there were times when I mercilessly took the name out of the finished product whenever there was a troll. What did the professor do back then? Welp, that¡¯s a lack of cooperation right there. Boom, there goes your mark! Those damn professors¡­ They tended to be very stubborn just because they weren¡¯t the ones doing it. ¡°We have no other option now.¡± ¡°Mr. Korin?¡± ¡°We must bring Hua Ran back for our marks and our eternal glory!¡± ¡°But how?¡± Alicia asked and in response, I grabbed onto her shoulders and looked into her eyes. ¡°Adjutant Alicia.¡± ¡°Umm. Yes? Captain?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I have no idea on how to improve the moods of sulky girls.¡± ¡°¡­I think you can just do as usual though?¡± ¡°I will entrust this matter to you, Adjutant Alicia! Girls should be better at this than myself! There are things like special empathy abilities and stuff between girls, right? Anyway, you know what I¡¯m trying to say!¡± She gazed back at me with a displeased look on her face. ¡°If you think about it, this all started because you teased Ms. Hua Ran, Mr. Korin¡­¡± ¡°I trust you Alicia! I will be working on your part in the meantime.¡± ¡°Mhmm¡­ I, if you insist¡­¡± Alicia stood up in a hurry with a resolute look on her face. It seemed that she was very tired from compiling a report for the group assignment. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon, Captain!¡± ¡°I believe!¡± After a salute, Alicia started sprinting to the special dormitory where Hua Ran should be at. ¡°Do you think she¡¯ll be able to do it?¡± Jaeger asked a natural question. Thanks to moving together with Alicia as a group these days, he too had an idea of how clumsy Alicia was. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for you to worry about. Alicia is the best counter-attacker later on but she¡¯s a good enough tank in the beginning.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± After a while¡­ ¡°Hing¡­ she didn¡¯t even open the door for me.¡± ¡°Did she hit you?¡± ¡°N, no? A fork did come flying through the door though.¡± ¡°Hmm, good. So it¡¯s not like she wants to kill us or anything as of yet.¡± Alicia returned with not a single wound on her body ! ¡°Mr. Korin?¡± As if she read my impure motive, she called me while squinting her eyes. ¡°Looks like her fury level is sitting at around Level 2 or 3. Good, let¡¯s get this done in a breeze.¡± ¡°Mr. Korin? You didn¡¯t send me to see how angry Miss Hua Ran was or anything, right?¡± I gently ignored the sharp question thrown by Alicia. **** Hua Ran spent her last few days in laziness. She was annoyed by Korin Lork teasing her after her humiliating defeat at the group meeting. ¡°Hmph¡­ he just got lucky.¡± Was it really just luck though? Although that question did rise up in her mind at times, Hua Ran tried her best to ignore it because admitting that would be the same as acknowledging her defeat. She was born strong. As a beast that was born from a living corpse that was close to death, she didn¡¯t need to train at all because her fists were stronger than magic, spearmanship and everything. Countless martial artists, soldiers and generals all fell before her, so how could a mere knight¡­ ¡º Rather than someone like you who looks down on things like this as being insignificant, don¡¯t you think I¡¯m better suited to be called a strong person? ¡» ¡°¡­¡± If she wasn¡¯t a strong person¡­ if she wasn¡¯t a beast of destruction that could overturn any irrationality¡­ then what worth did she have as a being that was born through another person¡¯s death? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ¡°?¡± A sound reached her ears from outside the building, so she unconsciously opened the window to gaze at the source of the sound. ¡°¡­¡± It was Korin. He was standing on a tree branch that was going over the dormitory fences while playing an acoustic guitar. ¡°For now the day bleeds, into nightfall and you¡¯re not here to get me through it all~. I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hua Ran glared at Korin with a cold gaze. As if he was satisfied with the fact that he managed to catch her attention, Korin walked across the branch while playing the guitar. ¡°I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved! ¨C I¡¯m sorry! Please let me pay for my mistakes!!¡± She seemed puzzled by the strange scene of Korin apologizing while playing an acoustic guitar, and didn¡¯t know how to react. ¡°But now the day bleeds~! Into nightfall!! And you¡¯re not here~ to get me through it all!!!¡± ¡°Noisy.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to tease you!¡± Even though he actually was, Korin concealed his intention. ¡°I was bad at conveying my true thoughts! Please give me another chance!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°And¡­! To be frank, you also did something wrong, Hua Ran! We were both insincere to each other. Please get together with me again!¡± Hua Ran started closing the window with a cold gaze. That was when Korin stopped her in a hurry. ¡°Are you serious?! Are you seriously going to do this to me! Huh?! I will give you one more chance! If you settle your feelings and come down for everyone, I will forgive you with my benevolent heart and give you a warm hug!¡± The window continued to close. ¡°Wait, Hua Ran!¡± She halted her hands that were about to shut the window. ¡°You know what? Society is even harsher than this! I know you¡¯re feeling embarrassed for getting shit on by a random Grade 5 knight that you were looking down on, but you never know what¡¯s gonna happen in this world! It¡¯s fine to have embarrassing and uncomfortable truths thrown at your face! You have to build such humiliating experiences to become an adult!¡± ¡°Go away.¡± ¨C Slam! The gust formed by the sweep of her fingers broke the thick branch like a sugar cane. Caught off guard, Korin landed on the ground right on his bum. ¡°Kuhak!¡± ¡°Idiot.¡± With that, Hua Ran closed the curtains and returned to the other side of her room. ¡°¡­Mr. Korin. Are you okay?¡± Hanging off the top of the fence, Alicia asked in concern while peeking into the dormitory. ¡°Hah¡­ do kids enter puberty as well?¡± ¡°I thought you said you were confident.¡± ¡°I tried to persuade her with enough rationality and logic! I even added the seasoning with my intense emotions!¡± ¡°Those emotions were the biggest problem I think¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s crazy that you managed to come out without being punched.¡± Jaeger¡¯s criticism was very reasonable. ¡°What are you gonna do? Doesn¡¯t look like that¡¯s going to be resolved in a day or two.¡± ¡°Well, that wasn¡¯t too bad,¡± I replied. ¡°How was that not bad?¡± ¡°Because I didn¡¯t get smacked by her. She¡¯s a nice girl.¡± ¡°A nice girl wouldn¡¯t run away from a group assignment, buddy.¡± ¡°And they wouldn¡¯t punch people just because they¡¯re in a bad mood either.¡± Alicia added from the side. Despite the criticisms from the two other people, Korin stood back up in determination while dusting his butt. ¡°Now, there is no other choice but to rely on our last resort.¡± **** The sun settled before long as several lights were lit up to illuminate the darkened house. As someone who had been living at this dormitory for roughly half a year ever since she came from the east, Hua Ran knew that it was about time. ¨C Knock knock! She judged based on the slight leftover scent of blood that the one who knocked on the door was the housemate who recently joined the dormitory. ¡°Junior Hua Ran~. It¡¯s time for dinner~¡± ¡°¡­¡± As if she was used to it, Hua Ran closed the notebook that was on the desk and stood up from her chair. Opening the door, she found an amicable 2nd year senior with water-colored hair wearing a bright smile on her face. ¡°We have a special menu today!¡± ¡°¡­Potato?¡± ¡°Potatoes are always special but it¡¯s a little different tonight!¡± ¡®There is a chef today~!¡¯ said Marie, which instilled a bit of expectation into Hua Ran¡¯s mind, because usually, the meals at this dormitory were limited to the ones made by Josephine or Marie, or the ones brought from the Academy cafeteria. While heading down to the dining room, she smelled a unique scent and realized the identity of the dish that was currently being made. ¡°¡­Mackerel.¡± It was the familiar smell of mackerel. Looking back, it was because of Korin that she first had that fish. Even though she was put in a terrible mood just by thinking of Korin, she nonetheless considered it a positive thing that he taught her about the fried-mackerel set meal. The reason she wasn¡¯t grateful was probably because of her pride. Despite not showing it on the outside, Hua Ran went to the dining room with a rare hint of expectation inside her. After all, having fish was very rare in this dormitory. Josephine preferred vegetables whereas Marie liked eating heavy meals with chunks of meat that she always brought from somewhere. Because Hua Ran prided herself for not being ¡®a kid¡¯ that winged about food, she hadn¡¯t said anything about it. At last after arriving at the dining room, she pushed open the door as a deeper surge of a fishy smell seeped into her nose. ¨C Clap clap! ¡°Irasshaimase!!¡± The sonorous welcome was something she had also heard from a sushi place that she had visited with Korin. However, unlike the past, this time the owner of the voice was¡­ ¡°Hello~¡± It was none other than Korin Lork. ¡°I¡¯m not eating.¡± Saying that, Hua Ran turned her back with a flick so Korin hurriedly shouted at her back. ¡°Y, you might regret it if you don¡¯t eat this!¡± ¨C Flinch. Hua Ran turned her head back as Korin returned a good-natured smile while pointing at a fish that had just finished cooking. ¡°¡­¡± Actually, she was a bit hesitant to go back just like this because it was true that she was starting to feel hungry. Although Korin Lork was so annoying that she wanted to punch him once, there was no logical reason why she should turn him down from preparing a food that could satiate her hunger. ¡°Hmph.¡± She sat down on the table, while being under the impression that her attitude towards Korin was still very firm. In fact, sitting down and waiting for the other person to finish cooking was not something an irritated person would do, but that wasn¡¯t something she could know as a 3-year-old jiangshi that had zero social experience. ¡°Wait one second! It will be done in an instant!¡± In the end, Hua Ran decided to overlook his actions without stopping him. ¡°¡­I¡¯m not eating if it¡¯s not good,¡± she whispered in a soft voice that wouldn¡¯t even reach the person sitting next to her. Hua Ran had been upset ever since Korin beat her in the bet. Although her discontentment wasn¡¯t as intense as fury, it was inevitable for the loser to be very annoyed by the winner who would not accept a rematch. The reason she didn¡¯t attend the group meetings was to pay him back and was a way to express her irritation. He tried to persuade in a funny way but her mind was very firm. She was wholeheartedly displaying her irritation and her unwillingness to forgive him. Well, sitting down to have the meal cooked by the person who made her upset meant it was already over but Hua Ran did not know that. She was even contemplating whether she should forgive him if the food tasted decent or not. Regardless of her internal turmoil, Korin continued cooking in the kitchen. ¨C Chiiik! For a short moment, Hua Ran savored the scent of the frying fish. Soon, Korin placed down on the dining table the entire ¡®wok¡¯ that had the dish inside. ¡®The whole thing?¡¯ Inside the large steel wok was something colored in deep reddish-brown. ¡°¡­What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Braised Mackerel.¡± It was a quick dish that was made by adding chunks of mackerel, potatoes and radish and braising them in a marinade. ¡°It¡¯s delicious. Even in the army¡­ I mean, even in some camps, you eat this very often. Debone the fish and mix the rice into the sauce here and¡­ Kyaah~. It¡¯ll just be amazing.¡± Korin gently placed pieces of mackerel, cooked radish and potatoes into a smaller bowl. ¡°¡­¡± Meanwhile, Hua Ran silently gazed down at the dish. Seeing the red sauce that seemed like the magma of an active volcano, she couldn¡¯t even guess how to approach it. While she was hesitantly looking at the fish with the chopsticks in her fingers, Korin walked up to her back and came closer. ¡°Here.¡± Taking her two chopsticks and carrying one each in his hands, Korin started separating the bone from the flesh. He removed the large spine and the small bones which revealed the white flesh inside. After using a spoon to scoop up the marinade inside the wok, he poured a generous amount onto the white flesh of the fish. ¡°Have a taste.¡± Hua Ran carefully cut the fish into bite-sized pieces. She carried one of them into her mouth. As for the taste¡­ ¡®Not terrible.¡¯ If she had to give it an evaluation, she would say it was crude and miserable compared to the fine-dining restaurants in the city but it was still edible. While thinking to herself that it wasn¡¯t so bad that she would return the food to the kitchen, Hua Ran continued moving her chopsticks. **** I came to Hua Ran¡¯s room after the meal. The room only had a bed, a desk and a densely packed bookshelf and gave off a very desolate feeling. ¡°That wasn¡¯t very nice.¡± ¡°You were enjoying it weren¡¯t you?¡± After living a few years by myself, I inevitably ended up acquiring some cooking skills. Although the menu was very limited, I was quite good at making fried rice and braised mackerel. ¡°I¡¯ll make you fried rice or something else next time.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®I¡¯m not eating if it¡¯s bad,¡¯ Hua Ran added at the end but there was a slight sense of expectation embedded into her gaze. The fact that she accepted the dinner I made meant our reconciliation had already been decided. There was still some remaining sharpness to her voice and word choice but it was understandable since she was still a child that wasn¡¯t used to getting angry. ¡°Buy meals instead. That¡¯s more delicious.¡± ¡°Of course my cooking is not going to be as good as the ones made by chefs.¡± What would you do with your living expenses if you buy every meal outside? I would have asked that question to anyone else but not her. From what I could tell based on the pouch of gold coins that she prepared in the blink of an eye as well as her unhesitant investment for the inn plan¡­ it seemed that she was more loaded than I expected. But since she wasn¡¯t the type to work to save money, her possession was probably the inheritance of her ¡®father¡¯. Right. The two keywords of Hua Ran¡¯s scenario were ¡®father¡¯ and ¡®original self¡¯. I knew why she was acting strong the whole time, as well as how important power was to her. ¡°Do you know how long it takes for chefs to cook one dish?¡± ¡°They take less than 30 minutes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s 10 years.¡± ¡°???¡± ¡°From finding good ingredients to preparing and cooking them. It seems that normal chefs require up to 10 years until they can show their own dishes to their customers. Well, that¡¯s probably not the only case but still.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Apparently the old owner of your favorite fish restaurant drank only water his entire life to protect his sense of taste and wears gloves all year long to protect his hands from the heat of the summer and the coldness of the winter.¡± ¡°¡­What are you implying?¡± ¡°It took me 3 years, to learn enough martial arts to put you down on your knees once.¡± I reflected on my desperate days. I first started with Eight Trigrams. It wasn¡¯t because of anything special and it was simply because that was the first martial arts related book that I found in the library. Through the Eight Trigrams, I learned how to use the fist and the spear and immersed myself into them until I met my master. Compared to my party members who all used fancy styles like the Singular Sword of Arden, Flying Swords and elemental magic, my skills were very pathetic. ¡º Master. When are you going to teach me some killing moves and secret arts? How long would it take for me to kill those monsters if I continue learning basic stuff like this¡­? ¡» That was why I complained to my master about teaching me secret moves from the get go so that I could stand on a similar page as them. ¡°You said weaklings will stay weak even if they practice spearmanship and stuff.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I reached both of my hands forward to the silent Hua Ran. ¡°Try grabbing my hands.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Here. Make sure our palms are touching each other.¡± After slight hesitation, she carefully aligned both of her palms against mine. I closed my fingers and held onto her tiny hands. ¡°I will now try my hardest to escape from your grip so make sure to hold onto me so that I can¡¯t escape.¡± ¨C Gripp! She started clenching her hands as soon as I said that. It felt like my bones would be cracked with one mistake but while withstanding the pain, I pulled my body back in an attempt to escape from her. ¡°Knnngg¡­!¡± I pulled as hard as I possibly could but I just could not escape from her grip. ¨C Flop! I even tried to use my legs but it didn¡¯t work and all that happened was me losing my balance, so the two of us ended up falling onto the bed. Hua Ran was pretty much lying on top of me but she was still holding onto my hands to make sure she would not lose the contest. ¡°I lost. I lost!¡± Her lips curved up after hearing my declaration of defeat as if she was satisfied by her victory. But at the same time, there must be a rising doubt in her mind. If I was as weak as this, and a lot weaker than herself¡­ How was I able to defeat her back then? ¡°It¡¯s interesting right? I¡¯m a weakling compared to you. You can beat me as easily as this so why did you lose back then?¡± ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t lose.¡± ¡°Yes yes. But you did get on your knees.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Did the skill I used to block your punch appear like an amazing move?¡± Hua Ran didn¡¯t reply but she silently showed her agreement. Actually, the skills I used to put her down onto her knees were block, pull and push. Such simple actions were just used in a timely manner when she was least expecting them. ¡°The spearmanship I learned is similar to your favorite fish. It starts from choosing the ingredients. And it starts with a simple punch.¡± ¨C You start from the small basics. ¡º Child, you must always give your very best no matter how trivial they seem. ¡» ¡°If you give your very best to everything, you¡¯ll learn how to be caring.Learn how to be caring, and it will leave a mark on your personality. If it leaves a mark on your personality, it will show on the outside. And if it shows on the outside, you will become brighter, If you become brighter, you will move other people, Move other people and you will change. And if you change¡­ you¡¯ll become mature.¡± ¡º That is why only the people that give their very best sincerely to everything are the only ones that can change the world. ¡» Hua Ran, who was quietly listening to my words, suddenly asked a question. ¡°Would something change by learning things like that?¡± ¡°As in by diligently preparing ingredients and practicing one spear move on repeat? Nothing might change from just one of them, but¡­¡± This was not a proverb that guaranteed success. It was about one¡¯s attitude to life. Even though it was a very idealistic proverb that might be very difficult to fulfill¡­ ¡°At least you won¡¯t lose to me again right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Rather than complaining without doing anything, it¡¯s better to be proud after doing something. I want you to try it at the very least.¡± ¡°¡­You only know how to talk big.¡± ¡°Huhaha¡­! That¡¯s true too! Anyone can give encouragement and tell you to try your best.¡± Hua Ran started carefully inspecting my palms. While flipping my hands back and forth, she looked at the deep calluses around my hands and curiously fidgeted with them with her tiny hands. Only after a long time did she let go of my hands. ¡°We¡¯re good now, right?¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± ¡°Good. Give me a high five!¡± I opened my palm and raised it into the air but her expression was still very cold. Thinking that it was a bit too much, I was awkwardly retrieving my hand when Hua Ran headed to the desk and picked up a notebook before tossing it to me. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Opening the book, I discovered that it was a report on the spearmanship posture that we prepared for this assignment and its principles. It was the research that she was supposed to be in charge of. ¡°You did this already?¡± Turning her head away, she pretended like she didn¡¯t hear me. It seemed that she had been working on this even though she wasn¡¯t attending the group meetings! ¡°You adorable little cutie!¡± I rustled my fingers through her well-organized hair. Her disheveled hair was quite the sight. ¡°Go away.¡± ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± Taking the research report that Hua Ran prepared, I walked out of her room. ¡°Oh right, the next meeting is at 4:30 pm tomorrow. Let¡¯s meet at our usual spot.¡± Although she didn¡¯t reply, I knew what type of person she was. She would definitely come out despite a few complaints. As I expected, Hua Ran came to the group meeting with the same cold and indifferent expression on her face as usual. Translator¡¯s Note: Reference to Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi CH 44 ? Group Assignment (4) ? A week went by. There was Hua Ran¡¯s truancy in the middle but like how the ground hardens after the rain, our team worked together in perfect cooperation to finish the report after the incident and decided on ¡®Lan Na Zha¡¯ for our class demonstration. ¡°Hey, can you have a look at my posture for me? I don¡¯t think the movement from the bottom to the middle is smooth enough.¡± ¡°There needs to be some delay between the movement of your body and your hands. Otherwise the spearhead is not going to move with a bounce.¡± ¡°Ohh~¡± Their skills with spearmanship advanced rapidly over the last week. Naturally, a short practice didn¡¯t mean they could use it in a real battle but at least they would have a better comprehension of Lan Na Zha and know how to respond to it. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Hua Ran. Lower your grip a little. And make sure a part of the spear is right next to your ribs.¡± After that day, Hua Ran also became fairly obedient. Just like that, we finished today¡¯s practice and I was writing the daily records to submit later on as a part of the assignment when Alicia walked up to me instead of returning home. ¡°Mr. Korin. Are you going to boil the Mandrake again today?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m going to suck all the essence dry so you should have some for yourself later.¡± Even though the Mandrake was now so dry that I would barely suck anything out of it, there were still things for me to do in this empty plot of land. While boiling the Mandrake and making sure I was making the most out of this precious herb, I started carving more ¡®rune letters¡¯ onto the land. Meanwhile, Alicia brought some pieces of meat from somewhere and made it into a skewer to cook next to the pot. After perhaps about an hour, we deemed that it was about time and stood up around the center. ¡°Let¡¯s start off slow.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± I tossed the practice spear that I had been using until now. Alicia picked up her Demon-Slaying Sword whereas I picked up my Silver Spear. They had already gotten the non-lethalizing spell at the training rooms. ?Crushing Steel, Three Paths.? ?Two-faced Ominous Snake: Dragon Blood? ¨C Kagang! The two blades collided. In the following bout, Alicia almost allowed a graze to her wrist so she quickly parried the spear up. ¡°I thought we were starting off slow!¡± ¡°This is slow.¡± The opening stab of the Ominous Snake. Making use of the spear¡¯s ability to carry out a quick stab in succession, it was a skill that aimed to halt the opponent¡¯s weapon with the first and stab the opponent with the second. Compared to Distorted March which was more about controlling the pace of the battle, it was a rather simpler skill that was better suited for a consecutive use. ¡°Focus. The spear will always be faster than a sword in a stab.¡± ¡°Wow, spears are amaaazing. I know. You have been saying that the whole time.¡± ¡°You can be as sarcastic as you want after you finally beat me.¡± Alicia prepared herself in a middle stance. In a usual duel, she would follow through with a safer attack like Advancing Fang or Flying Dragon but Alicia was slightly irritated. ? Singular Sword of Arden ? ? Fastest Slash, Instant Flash. ? The sword carrying an abundant cluster of aura flew in at a ridiculous speed. Rearing Head of Venomous Dragon was the only skill in my kit that could match off against that speed but my body wasn¡¯t warmed up enough to use an extreme art already. Thus, my only option was to respond with a simple counter-attack. ? Six Ways of the Spear ? ? Third Style, Lan Na Zha ? Deviate the path of the opponent¡¯s weapon with Outer Trap [Lan], press [Na] and stab [Zha]. She lost from this move back in the hunting grounds but¡­ ? Singular Sword of Arden ? ? Falling Fist, Corruption ? By blocking the stab with Falling Fist, she stabbed in line with the shaft of the spear as the tip of the sword barely missed my nose by a hair¡¯s breath. That fluent use of skills reminded me of Lunia Arden. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°How was that? You were caught off guard right?¡± Alicia seemed excited from catching me off guard. Even though it was a bit problematic that she was going ¡®Hooray~!¡¯ with a fist in the air in the middle of a fight, I let that slip. ¡°That was as smooth as Ms. Lunia¡¯s attacks.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°It was great. Now, shall we raise the tempo by a little?¡± ¡°Ehk? N, no? I think this is fine.¡± ? Six Ways of the Spear ? ? Fourth Style, Spinning Heaven ? Accelerating the spear, I swung it in circles as it left behind a flashy set of after-images. ¨C Swish! Swish! It accelerated even more the more it spun. The potential changes to the path of this movement were more complex than any other styles of Six Ways of the Spear. ¡°Mhmm¡­!¡± Alicia¡¯s pupils followed the trajectory of the spear. Left? Right? Or was it up, or down? Whatever it is, it wasn¡¯t something that could be seen with naked eyes no matter how good of a dynamic vision you had¡­ ? Eyes of the Boundary ? ¡­Or maybe not? ? Horizontal Slash ? ¨C Crack! The sword strike collided with Spinning Heaven and stopped the spear. That just then¡­ Wasn¡¯t the Domain. It was just an extreme increase to her dynamic vision which was just one of the additional functions of Eyes of the Boundary. ¡°Those eyes can even see through the trajectory of Spinning Heaven, huh.¡± ¡°Somehow.¡± It was a fearsome ability that was as expected of one that allowed you to see through the gap between dimensions. It seemed that she was easily able to catch up to the speed of someone like me. ¡°Hehe, as long as I can stop it, you won¡¯t be able to use that dizzy skill right?¡± ¡°What a massive improvement. This oppa here is in tears.¡± ¡°We¡¯re the same age though?¡± I had to test something, to see how good of a dynamic vision she had. ? Six Ways of the Spear ? ? Sixth Style¡ª ? ¡°Ahht?¡± Her pupils contracted and trembled. In an instant, the surrounding air turned dry as an explosive surge of heat pounced at her. ?Spinning Heaven: Second Move ¨C Rotating Demon Spear? ¨C Kang! ¡°Uht?!¡± She was still following my speed but Spinning Heaven turned increasingly faster with more spins. How long would she last? ?Void Spinning Heaven, Turbulent Spear.? ¨C Kagagagagak! The acceleration knew no end. People watching from the side might think of my current form as that of a rampaging train with a malfunctioning brake. Spinning Heaven was one that was supposed to be difficult to deal with because of its unpredictable path and fanciness but at this point, it was like a chariot that forced its way through everything with sheer violence. ¨C Kang! Alicia was bounced off after a clear ding. It wasn¡¯t strong enough to fling her all the way back there, so she must have thrown herself back by using the momentum of the spear. ¨C Click! As soon as she landed on the ground, she sheathed the Demon-Slaying Sword back into the scabbard. It was the signal flare marking her intrusion into the Domain. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The world paused leaving only the two of us behind in the dark dimension. ? Singular Sword of Arden, Domain Severance ? Her sword dashed out of the scabbard. Fighting in response to that was the soaring snake. Looking back on my fight with Lunia Arden during the interim exam, that Domain was something which both Lunia and I could only ¡®perceive¡¯. Even inside that half-assed Domain, Lunia was half a step faster than me. However, Alicia Arden was a real user of Domain Severance. She was the gifted prodigy who was permitted to take a full step forward inside the Domain. She was too fast. My spear was definitely slower than Alicia¡¯s sword but the difference¡­ ?Soaring Snake: Rearing Head of the Venomous Dragon? ¨C Gwaaaaaaaaaaa!! The two steel weapons collided as a roar that appeared to be made by the screaming dimension echoed across. In truth, that was just the clashing noise of a sword and a spear. ¡°Huh?¡± ¨C Khang! One of the weapons was pushed back with an explosive thud. The one that was pushed back was my spear but Alicia was the one with a dumbfounded look on her face instead. ¡°Mr. Korin, that just then¡­¡± ¡°Was that about¡­ Half a step?¡± ¡°It was more than that! It¡¯s a lot better than before!¡± Alicia said in excitement and gave a clap in joy as if this was a matter that concerned herself. This wasn¡¯t my first time dueling against Alicia as a practice. Starting off slow, we would get ourselves warmed up before entering the Domain. Of course, against Alicia who had a full-fledged Eyes of the Boundary and Domain Severance, I could not come out on top with my half-assed interaction with the Domain. There was in fact an even bigger difference inside the Domain between me and her, compared to the one I had with Lunia. ¡°The more we practice, I can feel your Domain being more exquisite, Mr. Korin. It¡¯s surprising that you can get so much stronger in such a short period of time¡­¡± Alicia seemed surprised despite being a complete user of the Domain herself. That implied that my use with the Domain had come closer to a ¡®full step¡¯. The only reason I could grow so much even though I couldn¡¯t even take half a step forward inside the Domain until recently was because of a specialty. ?Domain Comprehension? It was a specialty that increased the likelihood of entering the Domain while at the same time amplifying my comprehension of the Domain with every entry. My rapid improvement was only thanks to this ability that I earned as a reward of the Precept after clearing Alicia Arden¡¯s scenario quest. ¡°Thanks for all your help. Can you do a bit more?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I think that¡¯ll be a bit difficult.¡± Alicia replied with a troubled look on her face while showing me her shivering right arm. Her body wasn¡¯t able to withstand the weight of the Domain. Unlike me who still wasn¡¯t perfect, Alicia was taking a complete step inside the Domain every time so she must be experiencing a much more serious backlash. ¡°Is it still hard to withstand the backlash?¡± ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t think I can use it twice.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s normal because any movement inside the Domain does burden your body.¡± Even weapons made out of steel tended to be crushed after moving inside the Domain and human bodies weren¡¯t any different. Although Alicia had a body that was on the level of a Grade 2 Knight, Domain Severance required an absurdly tough body. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to train everyday. Have milk and anchovies, and I¡¯ll give you some Mandrake teas as well so drink them everyday. They¡¯ll make your bones tough.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I feel like you treat us like kids sometimes, Mr. Korin.¡± ¡°Of course, because you¡¯re a kid. You are not an adult are you?¡± ¡°You say that, but you are not an adult either right, Mr. Korin?¡± ¡°I¡¯m allowed to say that though.¡± ¡°What is that even supposed to mean?¡± My mental age is already over 30, buddy. ¡°Well¡­ You are very different from other boys though.¡± ¡°Right?¡± ¡°How should I say this¡­ you¡¯re like an old man? Like an uncle ?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Why? Why do all the young girls consider me an uncle? ¡°Alicia.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Can you try calling me oppa?¡± ¡°W, where is this suddenly coming from?¡± ¡°This oppa here doesn¡¯t look that old, okay? I¡¯m a teenager in my youth!¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s things that you say that make you look like an uncle?¡± ¡°¡­I am older though so it¡¯s oppa. Just try calling me oppa.¡± Looking back, even when I was going to church, I was a church uncle and not a church oppa, wasn¡¯t I? What the heck? Even though I first went to church after leaving the military¡­ And even though I was an assistant teacher of the teenage kids¡­ I was still only 25 back then, and was in the peak of my youth! ¡°Mr. Korin. You¡­ Are more like, umm¡­ A father or a mother I would say.¡± ¡°¡­¡± A father. Isn¡¯t that even older than an uncle? Do I really look that old? ¡°Why are you suddenly talking about a father?¡± ¡°This might not be the most pleasant thing to hear but¡­ I used to grow without needing anything, but I don¡¯t think anyone really liked me or anything.¡± The current family head, Jade Arden and his wife weren¡¯t cruel individuals so her environment itself shouldn¡¯t have been that impoverished. But whether they had love for her or not was a different issue. ¡°Father always clicked his tongue after seeing me and, umm¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever talked to my step-mother.¡± There was no way that the members of the Arden family would be happy with an illegitimate child that suddenly came from outside. Although they raised her up as a part of their duty, none of them would have acted as a proper adult for her. The only reason Alicia could grow like this (despite her low self-esteem) was because her older sister used to take good care of her. ¡°You see, I really liked my sister. She was the only one who talked to me; the only one who noticed the change in my height¡­ And she was the only one who patted my head.¡± Allicia gave out a soft smile in reminiscence. ¡°Sister¡­ Hmm, she was like a father. I went to the dentist with her¡­ And my first birthday present ever was also from her.¡± She slowly flipped the meat skewers. ¡°When I think about it, all my memories that others would have had with their fathers were all with my sister. I went off topic but what I was trying to say, is that you are similar to my older sister.¡± ¡°Looking at our gender, isn¡¯t Lunia the mother and I the father?¡± ¡°No. That¡¯s not it, Mr. Korin. Of course you¡¯re closer to a mother!¡± But that¡¯s not what our gender suggests, Ms. Alicia. ¡°So Mr. Korin is a mom! You are more like a mom! Actually, maybe I should introduce you to my sis¡­ No. That doesn¡¯t sound good. Nn. I¡¯m not doing that, ever.¡± Well, that was very serious¡­ Was I that bad? ¡°¡­Why can¡¯t I just be an oppa?¡± ¡°We¡¯re the same age though?¡± ¡°Umm hello? This is not making any sense. So you mean mom¡¯s okay but oppa isn¡¯t? Just call me oppa, and I will seriously buy you a meal.¡± ¡°Maybe later!¡± Alicia said with a wink which made me want to drive a fist onto her head. You said I was a mom right? A few pats of love are okay, aren¡¯t they? ¡°Ehew¡­¡± Kids these days¡­ ¡°Alright, sure. Call me mom.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ Mom!¡± ¡°Yes, my dear daughter.¡± ¡°Please give me some money.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Seeing Alicia showing me her open palms with sparkling eyes made me fume from my nostrils. ¨C Uahhht! Please don¡¯t drill your fist into my head! I, it hurts! Kuaahkk?! ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡°Oh right! Mr. Korin. What was the thing you did during that fight?¡± ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°Spinning Heaven! When you were using that, you suddenly became super¡ª¡± ¨C Shh! Bringing a finger to her lips, I made her close her mouth. ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± Everyone should have a hidden trump card or two right? **** Time flew by and it was mid-May already ¨C the first week of our group assignment presentations. The first group began their presentation and would continue in ascending order. Now, what will the spearmanship newbies talk about? It was quite an interesting wait. ¡°Hello. I am Feleis, the group leader of Group 1.¡± Three of his teammates were right behind Feleis, the group leader. Looking at their spears¡­ Hoh, they were carrying the long spears of the east. Were they going to demonstrate Pointing Spearmanship? Or something stemming from Eight Trigrams like mine? ¡°The one we will be showcasing today is the Five Starry Spears.¡± ¡°What kind of spearmanship is the Five Starry Spears?¡± ¡°Right! So it¡¯s a group spearmanship of the east that is excellent for hunting demonic beasts in correlation with the group members.¡± Ahh¡­ As expected of a newbie. ¡°Hmm. Okay. Please show us a demonstration.¡± The four members of Group 1 including Feleis stood in a formation and showed the class a demonstration. ¨C Hahp! Haht! ¨C Hahp! The four of them displayed their harmonious teamwork by stabbing, which was the most fundamental basic of group spearmanship. ¡°Hmm, not bad. Student Feleis?¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± Feleis had a bright look on his face after receiving Fermack¡¯s compliment. It was a natural response because they had been working on it for 2 weeks. ¡°I will now try to break through your formation. Please try to block me.¡± After wearing his practice gauntlets, Fermack walked up to the stage. Even though they were nervous, the four members of Group 1 held onto their spears and pointed their spearheads at Fermack. ¡°If you last 10 seconds, I will give you full marks for this assessment.¡± ¡°¡­!¡± ¨C Kang kang! The gauntlets gave a noisy alarm by clicking against each other. After that, Fermack postured himself again as Group 1 became all the more tense. ? Ducking Dash ? Fermack Daman dashed into the formation as Feleis in the lead responded in time. But when Fermack¡¯s fist parried his spear into the ceiling, the spear was powerlessly flung up and took a long time to come back down. ¡°Huhp¡­!¡± ¡°F, fifth Formation!¡± ¡°Hahp!¡± The remaining three reacted by swinging down their long and straight spears which was a similar type to my own. The spears that were about to land on Fermack¡¯s shoulders ended up hitting strange places after being misdirected by his fancy footwork. ¡°Block this.¡± ? Down-ducking Boost Jab ? ¨C Pang! One of the members of Group 1 fell back without being able to block the light jab. One of the other ones tried to trip Fermack with the spear by following the formation principles but Fermack retreated like a slithering snake before bouncing back like an elastic band. ? Southpaw Boost Combination ? His straight punch struck one of the students as he followed through with several jabs and hooks. ¡°Kuahk¡­!¡± The group members all fell down in less than 10 seconds. Although Fermack had been holding back, they should have trouble standing back up for now. ¡°I do not know much about Five Starry Spears. But group spearmanship is something that requires every one of you to be in harmony with each other. And in order to be in harmony, you must learn the basic formation first.¡± He was right on the mark. As you could tell from the name, Five Starry Spears, this was a group spear formation designed to have 5 people in 1 group. ¡°Of course, there are probably other formations for 4 and 3 people in case there are casualties, and I can see that that¡¯s where your focus has been. However, you must have acknowledged the fact that you weren¡¯t skilled enough to demonstrate it.¡± Alternative plans were alternative plans for a reason. Besides, the users had to be proficient users of the spear to maintain the formation. ¡°It was great that you chose a group formation. As for the practice¡­ There were some unfortunate elements but it is still a pass. B- sounds okay. Do you have any objections?¡± ¡°¡­ We do not.¡± B- wasn¡¯t a bad grade but Professor Fermack was known for giving good marks. Since the Academy had a relative evaluation system, it wasn¡¯t a high enough mark for them to be satisfied with. After Group 1, it was Group 2¡¯s turn to present their spearmanship. ¡°We have chosen the killing move of the North, Nine Dragons Destruction! The name is because it looks as if there are 9 dragons rampaging around¡ª¡± ¨C Kuehk! ¨C Kuaakk! ¨C I thought this was supposed to be a killing move!! ¡°The skill is needlessly fancy and you haven¡¯t even properly mastered it. Let¡¯s refrain ourselves from copying the strongest moves from the start just because they look cool. C-.¡± Group 2 that was way too mesmerized by fancy moves was quickly disqualified. Ehew¡­ Kids were kids I guess. ¡°Next up is Group 3. Leader of Group 3, Student Korin Lork. Please come up to the stage.¡± My group members. Jaeger, Alicia and Hua Ran each walked to the stage after me. Our spears were all shorter spears that could also be used as javelin. ¡°It says your group will be demonstrating a move from Eight Trigrams, Student Korin. What exactly will you be demonstrating?¡± ¡°It is Lan Na Zha of Eight Trigrams.¡± ¡°Is it a skill that exists in Eight Trigrams?¡± ¡°Yes. Well to be exact, it¡¯s one of the common skills shared across many spear disciplines.¡± Blocking the opponent¡¯s weapon and pressing on it before stabbing ¨C whether it be swords or spears, skills were in fact quite similar to each other. A bit vague right Mr. Fermack? You¡¯re feeling uncertain, aren¡¯t you? I know. ¡°Hmm¡­ Okay. Then please show us your demonstration.¡± We straightened our spears as we had practiced. Lan. Alter the path of the incoming attack. Na. Press on the opponent¡¯s weapon. Za. Stab the unguarded opponent. This was one of the fundamental moves of the spear that proactively made use of the strengths of a long weapon and its reach. This was Lan Na Zha. Jaeger, pass. Alicia, pass. Hua Ran¡­ pass. She must have practiced a lot. ¨C Clap clap clap! ¡°Magnificent. There were no problems from what I could see. It¡¯s simple but has a very profound use to it.¡± Professor Fermack walked up to us while clapping at our demonstration. Now that the demonstration was over, it was time for an actual practice. ¡°Let me get my group members to¡­¡± ¡°Nope. Student Korin. You can be the only one. That¡¯ll be enough.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was working my ass off trying to teach these kids for the past 2 weeks though? What was all that hard work for? Well, it¡¯s not that I couldn¡¯t see his motive though. Fermack Daman. A high-achieving graduate of the northern Berkut guardian academy that came from the Dingle Peninsula of the northern continent. As a former Grade 1 Knight of the El Rath Kingdom, he was one of the renowned powerhouses of the modern times that killed countless demons. He was known for being a master at high-speed close combat. He was a powerhouse that even Lunia Arden might have trouble defeating in a close combat fight. Spear was a weapon that was stronger with a relative distance between each other. Even a skilled swordsman had trouble diving into the range of a spear let alone someone who used gauntlets. However, he had Rune Magic which could flip the situation on its toe. ¡°Here we go.¡± [?] ¨C Raidho He shortened the distance in a flash by using the short-distance acceleration rune spell. Even though he hadn¡¯t been using it against other students, he was now using it against me. ? Ducking Boost In-dash ? He was fast. Fermack fiercely kicked off the ground as if trying to crumble the stage and rapidly shortened the gap before posturing himself for a punch. ¨C Creak! Fermack looked like he was readying himself for a right hook but there was something I knew that others didn¡¯t. He was left-handed. His left foot was the one in charge of maneuvering his body. If so¡ª- ? Southpaw Jet Boost ? ? Six Ways of the Spear ? ? Third Style, Lan Na Zha ? ¡°¡­?!¡± Fermack, who threw a left jab instead of a right hook which seemed to be the obvious choice, was surprised by my unhesitant response to his left punch. The gauntlet was pressed down by the spear with a clank through Lan and Na as I continued through with Zha, the stab. ¡°Huhp¡­!¡± He hurriedly leaned back but even that wasn¡¯t enough for him to escape from the long reach of the spear so he had to parry it away with his right hand. ¡°How was it?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Fermack silently gazed at me for a while. He must be very skeptical. Until now, he had only been using his right hand and had been disguising himself as right-handed. But in truth, he was left-handed, so him choosing to go with the Southpaw Style just then instead of the orthodox one was to catch me off guard. My quick reaction was a sign that I was aware of him being a southpaw. What do you think this means, huh? My dear Martial Nephew? ¡°¡­That was magnificent, Group 3. I could tell that everyone had been working their hardest and your understanding of the basic spear skills were exceptionally high.¡± Even though he was talking about one thing, his doubtful eyes were still on me. How did I know he was left-handed? Why was I using ¡®Six Ways of the Spear¡¯? He must be very curious, but I wasn¡¯t going to tell him just yet. ¡°You might think we¡¯re talking about fancy skills when we say profound secrets but you can say these fundamental skills are the real profound secrets.¡± A+. After receiving the best set of praises, we finished our group assignment demonstration. At the end of that lesson¡­ ¡°Student Korin. May I please talk to you for a bit?¡± ¡°About which?¡± ¡°It is just a 1 on 1 consultation. It¡¯s nothing serious.¡± Fermack Daman called me to his office with a very serious look on his face. CH 45 ? King of Iron Mountain (1) ? Fermack¡¯s office was on the 7th floor of the Liberty Hall where we just had our lesson. In this world without any elevators, any office that was higher up the building was known as a bad one but as a knight, Fermack seemed fond of it because of how much of an exercise it was. Despite being a very half-assed institution that had the traits of both a university and a high school, they seemed to have taken all the bad things from both sides. ¡°Student Korin Lork?¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Fermack directly stared at me for a while. Was he going to ask a straight-forward question about it? ¡°Are you really a Grade 5 Knight?¡± Hoh, is he not going to ask? He must be feeling very curious though. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you know it yourself, that it¡¯s not correct for us to call you a Grade 5 Knight judging from your abilities.¡± ¡°Well yes. I am a bit strong.¡± The only reason I became Grade 5 was solely because I couldn¡¯t defeat a demonic spirit during the grading test. Since I couldn¡¯t perceive astral bodies, it was impossible for me to defeat any demonic spirit without meeting certain conditions, and that was why I couldn¡¯t even beat a ghost. ¡°Recently, the professors of the Knight Department gathered and had a discussion about you.¡± Hmm? Ah, I guess that was coming. It was probably because of the fight against Lunia Arden during the interim exam. Because of her splendid set-up just to see how strong I was, my plan to hide myself like an eminence in the shadows ended up failing big time. ¡°The conclusion we came to was that we needed to reassess your ability, Student Korin.¡± ¡°I would assume so.¡± Despite lasting only a few minutes, I was able to fight on equal grounds with a semi-Unique Grade Knight like Lunia Arden. Just from that alone, it was exceptionally obvious that I wasn¡¯t supposed to be in Grade 5. It would be at least Grade 2, but my guess was that I wouldn¡¯t be placed into Grade 1. Grade 1 required achievements and a referee. Starting from Grade 1, guardians would have the right to participate in the secret agendas of the worldwide Guardian Alliance and receive official support from them. The representative Grade 1 named characters among the 1st and 2nd year students were Marie and Hua Ran. Marie was an official guardian who made her way up the ladder by accumulating achievements upon achievements, whereas Hua Ran had a ¡®temporary student grade¡¯ which had no actual rights. For someone like me who hadn¡¯t achieved anything, I would probably be semi-Grade 1 at the very best. ¡°You¡¯ll be given several missions, Student Korin. And we¡¯ll be reassessing your grade through those missions.¡± ¡°Ohh. What¡¯s the highest grade I can get?¡± ¡°Semi-Grade 1.¡± ¡°That sounds great to me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only possible because of all the things you¡¯ve shown us.¡± There was nothing bad about getting a higher grade. First off I would be getting more money and there would be a wider selection of missions, allowing me to choose more difficult missions at will. It was the privilege that was given to the player one year into the plot, which meant I was quite ahead of time. ¡°Okay. I will take the reassessment. What do I have to do?¡± ¡°There will be 2 missions. One for a semi-Grade 1 demonic beast and the other for a demonic spirit. Of course, it¡¯ll have to be by yourself.¡± That was tough. The variable here was that I had to defeat a demonic spirit as well. ¡°What kind of monsters do I have to defeat?¡± The assessment standards became more strict the higher the grade. Normally, a semi-Grade 1 knight was supposed to be able to hunt a Grade 1 monster after forming a party. Grade 1 monsters were usually bosses of a field event or a dungeon. Therefore, the fact that the mission was about hunting 2 semi-Grade 1 monsters meant that I had to do it all by myself without receiving any help. ¡°Currently, there are four semi-Grade 1 level subjugation missions that you can get from the Guardian Alliance. Luckily we have both beasts and spirits.¡± In other words, it meant I had to clear one each. ¡°Can I have a look?¡± ¡°Here you go.¡± Fermack handed me several papers in response. Hmm, they were all monsters I was familiar with. As for the semi-Grade 1 demonic beast missions, there was the horseman with no head ¨C dullahan ¨C and a twin-headed ogre which was known for having two heads¡­ A twin-headed ogre was supposed to be at least Grade 1, so judging from how it was a semi-Grade 1 mission, it might not even be a full grown-up. The biggest problem is the demonic spirit missions though¡­ Hoh? Was this one out already? ¡°I chose my missions.¡± ¡°¡­That was quick. I believe you should be a bit more careful.¡± ¡°Well, they¡¯re all dangerous anyway. Who¡¯ll be my supervisor?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be accompanied by Old Man Haman and members from the Alliance. They won¡¯t help you unless you are in an extremely dire situation so be ready for that.¡± That old man was definitely trustworthy. Actually, it was probably him that strongly persuaded others about my reassessment because he was a very impartial person. ¡°Do I have to do this immediately?¡± ¡°Of course. Because semi-Grade 1 subjugation missions have to be promptly dealt with.¡± In other words, he was saying I might not even have another chance to receive a reassessment if I missed this opportunity. ¡®¡­This is a bit risky.¡¯ I realized his intention as well as the reason why he picked this specific moment. That was a very clever move from him. ¡°Alright. Then please do so. When should I leave?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be leaving tomorrow morning. Of course, you don¡¯t have to worry about your other lessons and assessments.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s Old Man Haman, I guess we might even have to leave first thing in the morning. I¡¯ll get myself prepared then.¡± Turning my back to Fermack, I walked out of the office. Until the very end, he did not ask me about my identity. By showing neither goodwill nor hostility, he pretended to be uninterested. **** ¡°S, semi Grade-1 test?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°T, this is big! You are taking a semi-Grade 1 test!!¡± Marie made a fuss after hearing about how I had to take another grading test as soon as possible. ¡®Maybe I should go with you as a judge!¡¯ she said while forging a plan so I calmed her down and dissuaded her. ¡°Senior. You can¡¯t come with me anyway. You¡¯re still in your surveillance period.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Ever since she awakened into a vampire, Marie still hadn¡¯t received the permission to leave this city. Just like Hua Ran, she was only allowed to go downtown and was not allowed to leave the city by any means. Of course, this restriction would soon be lifted. Chairman Eriu Casarr was going around the Tower of Mages, New Faith and the kingdom for a negotiation so we should be hearing some good news very soon. The Old Faith might be a bit fussy but their forceful demands of outdated principles were causing them to fall in popularity slowly but surely. At the very least, they did not have the power to suppress Merkarva Academy, which was receiving the support from the New Faith as well as the kingdom. The problem was the Tower of Mages. They would be in full throttle after the end of the 4th Arc but now that we had a variable called Marie Dunareff, we had to be on guard against them. ¡°Nnn¡­ I see. Sorry¡­ It¡¯s an important test but I don¡¯t think I can help you.¡± Marie apologized with a sullen look on her face. Holding onto her shoulders, I raised a sincere request. ¡°Senior. There is something I want you to do for me while I¡¯m away.¡± The key elements were already in place. The only question now was whether I could make good use of them or not. This would be the first turning point that decides the state of the main scenario henceforth. ¡°How much do you trust me, Senior?¡± ¡°¡­!¡± Evident from the slight flush in her cheeks, Marie was also quite tense. After sensing the seriousness in my gaze, she must have noticed the importance of this conversation. ¡°W, what do you mean?¡± ¡°Senior Marie. How much do you trust me¡­ Korin Lork?¡± ¡°I trust you!¡± Marie held onto my shoulders with a fairly serious look on her face. We were now holding onto each other¡¯s shoulders in a very peculiar posture but that wasn¡¯t the important part. ¡°I can trust you! Even if you tell me you can make kimchi with potatoes!¡± ¡°¡­You can make kimchi with potatoes though.¡± ¡°I trust you!¡± ¡°Like, I¡¯m serious. There are some types of kimchi where you can add potatoes.¡± ¡°Nn! If you say so!¡± I was super serious though. I guess she never had one before. ¡°Anyway¡­ If you trust me, how far can you go with me?¡± ¡°H, how far!!?¡± It was a question that had to be asked, because Marie Dunareff might be caught in another vortex and walk a different path in the future than what she had planned because of my choice. Could she come with me for the sake of a peaceful future? ¡°Until the end! Yes! Until the very end! Hukk! Am I taking that too far?!¡± As if she understood my intention, Marie replied without any hesitation that she would walk the same path as mine. ¨C Sniff! This uncle here¡­ I mean, this oppa wasn¡¯t the type to be moved this easily, but that was quite a touching sentence. ¡°To think you trust me so much¡­ I knew it. You¡¯re the best, Senior Marie.¡± ¡°R, right? I¡¯m the best, right?¡± As expected of a kind girl, it appeared that she was very loyal to her friends. Now that I successfully persuaded Marie, there were about two more important members left including Alicia. ¡°I have a plan. But your help is a definite must for that plan, Senior Marie.¡± ¡°I, I see!! I¡¯m a must for your plan, huh!¡± That was natural, because Marie was the only acquaintance I had that could openly enter the laboratory. ¡°Let me explain the plan now. Starting from tomorrow Senior, you and Alicia¡­¡± ¡°Korin.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Her voice suddenly turned cold in an instant. With a chilly look on her face, Marie asked with an interrogating voice. ¡°It¡¯s our plan. Why are you talking about another girl?¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± **** That morning, there was a rare layer of mist. Carrying my bag, I arrived at the eastern gate of the Academy. ¡°You are right on time, Korin Lork.¡± Waiting for me at the eastern gate wearing a stiff business shirt that revealed his muscular build was Old Man Haman. His clothes were very similar to my own. ¡°Instructor Haman. Good morning¡­ It¡¯s a bit foggy though.¡± ¡°This is nothing. Back in my days, we used to march to the nest of a bunch of demonic beasts through a thick fog.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be a fun journey if I get to hear your heroic tales on the way.¡± ¡°Hmph! I guess I could start off with what happened back when I was in the west.¡± Old Man Haman was just like every other old man in his age, and he loved talking about his own heroic exploits. He was actually quite an interesting speaker to listen to, so it wasn¡¯t that bad either. Both in this iteration and the last iteration, I¡¯ve always been a fairly good listener. ¡°So¡­ Where¡¯s our first prey?¡± ¡°I like your eyes, young man. Those are the eyes of a hunter.¡± It seemed that I was the type of person that Old Man Haman liked because he did say something similar in the last iteration as well. Looking back, he didn¡¯t really like Park Sihu for some reason. This veteran knight might have some instincts that couldn¡¯t be explained through logic or something. ¡°Your first prey is the semi-Grade 1 demonic beast found on the mountain range in the west, twin-headed ogre. It¡¯s slow but very menacing.¡± ¡°I did pick it, but aren¡¯t twin-headed ogres usually Grade 1? Why is this one a semi-Grade 1?¡± ¡°This one¡¯s not an adult. So it¡¯s natural for the grade to be lower.¡± It sounded plausible because both demonic beasts and spirits also tended to grow in power over time. ¡°Considering your skills, this shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. From what I heard, the monster also seems to be raising several long hounds.¡± ¡°I believe you¡¯re telling me to avoid going straight in?¡± ¡°Of course! Strength isn¡¯t the only important aspect of a guardian. I shall evaluate everything I see from you.¡± He appeared to be over-evaluating me due to the fight against Lunia. But¡­ ¡°Sounds doable.¡± ¡°As expected of the knight I recommended!¡± Old Man Haman hurried me forward as if there was no reason to waste any more time. I was quickly leaving the Academy when he suddenly turned his eyes to my neck. ¡°Looks like there¡¯s a wound on your neck. And you look quite exhausted as well.¡± ¡°Ah~. It¡¯s nothing much. It should be fully healed by the time we get there.¡± It was the bite created by Marie when I let her suck as much blood as she wanted yesterday. I had a feeling that yesterday was a bit more painful but¡­ I was probably just overthinking it. ¡°Huhu. Being too ethical is also a problem, but try not to be too immoral.¡± ¡°¡­Sorry?¡± He appeared to be misunderstanding something, but Old Man Haman glossed over it while grumbling ¡®That is youth¡¯. Seriously¡­ ¡°Would you like some beetroot juice? It¡¯s good for your blood circulation.¡± **** Marie had trouble falling asleep that night but still woke up on time. Leaving behind the crumpled blanket which was caused by her kicking it several times, Marie started her morning shower. Korin should have departed by now, right? ¡°Ugh¡­ Making me misunderstand all the time¡­¡± Even though she was leading an extremely eventful life as a veteran guardian who suddenly turned into a Unique Grade vampire, she was still a girl in her teens. Korin¡¯s word choice that made it very easy to misunderstand was more than enough to shake the heart of a young girl. ¡®But¡­ That was more serious than I thought.¡¯ It was always the same for that boy. He was always at the scene before things even occurred and by creating a plan, he would respond to everything in time. Even when he was saving herself and helping Alicia Arden¡­ It¡¯s not like she didn¡¯t feel grateful for his dedication, but there were still some questions appearing in her mind. What exactly did this boy know, and how much was he aware of? He knew way too many things for a newbie knight that entered the Academy as a Grade 5 Knight and was way too strong. ¡®It would be tactless of me to ask about it, right?¡¯ If Korin didn¡¯t talk about it himself, Marie had no plans of delving deeper into it. If need be, he would probably tell her one day. However, she still couldn¡¯t help but wish to become his ¡®special person¡¯ whom he would entrust everything with. ¡®Mhmm! But the reason Korin left this task with me is because he trusts me! Let¡¯s be positive!¡¯ That was a good sign. It probably meant that she was the only one he could make such requests with that wouldn¡¯t ask for things in return. Marie decided to put the focus on that. As a girl that just recently became aware of what love was, she had the very mindset of an easy pushover, but she couldn¡¯t help it. Her mind would melt like butter on a stove every time she was in front of Korin, so what could she even do? It was inevitable for the one who first developed the crush to be the one on the losing end. ¨C Knock knock! ¨C Come in. Marie knocked on the door of Room 606 of the Magic Department¡¯s laboratory as the owner of the room invited her in. ¡°Hello, Professor Deina.¡± ¡°Oh my, isn¡¯t this Marie? What brought you here?¡± ¡°I wanted to volunteer for your research, Professor!¡± As a girl who recently fell in love, Marie was heavily blinded by it. It was to the point that she readily accepted the request, even when her crush pretty much wanted her to jump into a pit of flames while carrying hay on her back. CH 46 ? King of Iron Mountain (2) ? ¨C Kwaang! Kwagang! The trees of the forest were being swept away by the birchwood club of the infuriated ogre. Nature was being destroyed. The green remains scattering everywhere made its onlookers realize that humans weren¡¯t the only cause of the destruction of nature. ¡°What a tough bloke.¡± Twin-headed ogre. It was a conjoined twin ogre that had two heads. Normal conjoined twins were said to have under-performing immune systems and a high metabolism rate which shortened their life span, but for some reason, conjoined twin demonic beasts had more than double the power of their originals as if they drank the blood of godzilla. How is this even possible though? Does it make sense for them to get stronger just by gaining a head? ¡°A birchwood club huh¡­¡± ¡°What about it?¡± In a corner of the forest, Old Man Haman was hiding at the same place as me but unlike myself, he wasn¡¯t even carrying a weapon. Despite coming all the way here, he seemed to have no plans on helping me. ¡°Back when I was in middle school, the teacher used to smack me on my bum a few times with a similar stick.¡± Of course, the stick from then was far from being taller than my height, though. ¡°Oh. I guess you weren¡¯t a good student then.¡± ¡°Personally, I do think I used to be one of the model students though.¡± Did I bash kids up or smoke cigarettes or what? Aside from having bad grades, I was a great student. ¡°Well. Anyway¡­ When are you going to kill that?¡± ¡°Let me just wait until that guy uses up more power. Ehew. Seriously, he¡¯s very strong isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Old Man Haman silently agreed to my decision with a grin. A few days ago, we discovered the cave that was being inhabited by the twin-headed ogre, but I had no plans of running in like a fool. Old Man Haman and the people from the Alliance were only here as support in case things turned south. Even though they would help me if there was a serious risk to my safety, that would mark an immediate end to my grading test. Firstly, I started off by investigating the area around the twin-headed ogre¡¯s cave, and on the presence of other demonic beasts nearby and what the ecosystem was in this forest. ¡°Report what you have discovered from your investigations. Korin Lork.¡± ¡°From the surrounding footsteps, I have found traces of the ogre moving together with long hounds. That pretty much confirms their cohabitation.¡± ¡°How many long hounds are there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s three.¡± ¡°Hooh? There are only two sets of footsteps of four-legged animals following around the ogre though?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because one is a female that is pregnant.¡± In response, Old Man Haman floated a smile while the evaluating guardians of the Alliance started writing things down on their notes. ¡°You look like you know the answer already, but give us an explanation.¡± ¡°Aside from the footsteps, there is also a trace of a dragged beast. That means instead of eating the hunted animal there, they dragged it all the way back to the cave.¡± Although the twin-headed ogre and the long hounds were in a symbiotic relationship, hunting was mainly up to the hounds. The ogre was just a deterrent to stop other enemies and its job was to protect the long hounds from other demonic beasts. ¡°Both the ogre and the long hounds aren¡¯t the types to store food. That means they have a kindred that cannot move, whom they are bringing the food for.¡± ¡°Magnificent.¡± ¨C Scribble! I could hear my evaluation of the Alliance members rising. ¡°Now, Korin Lork. How are you going to hunt the young semi-Grade 1 twin-headed ogre and Grade 3 long hounds?¡± ¡°Firstly, I will separate the ogre from the hounds.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re humans, we have to use our brains.¡± Unfortunately for them, I was a professional at things like this. **** Humans broadened their borders, founded cities and created highways to increase the number of man-made structures in the continent, but most of the world was still being occupied by naturally-made ones. No matter how many trees were cut down by humans; no matter how many forests were to be broken down to turn into farms and no matter how many animals were to become extinct, the demonic existences were still imposingly standing in place, threatening humanity. The ruler of this forest was one of them. This forest with little passersby was like a kingdom to the twin-headed ogre who was reigning as a dictator. ¨C Woof! Woof woof! The prey hunted by the hunting dogs today was another source of delight. A deer as large as this was enough for both the tyrant and the hunting dogs to have their fill. The hunting dogs grabbed on the remaining leg of the deer and started dragging it behind them, as the tyrant leisurely followed them through the foggy forest for a stroll. Even though it wasn¡¯t even an adult yet, the ogre still reached 4 meters in height and had to break the branches while walking through the woods. Even though it considered itself the ruler of this forest, its scope of activity wasn¡¯t very big. Despite the mist, there was no way it would get lost while returning to its habitat. ¨C Woof! Woof! The hunting dogs were the first to notice a change. They were very sensitive to the foreign scent that had infiltrated into their base because a pregnant female was by itself inside the cave. They had been careless because no-one had dared to trespass their territory ever since they became the ruler of the forest. ¡°Grrrh¡­!¡± The ogre commanded the dogs as the hunting dogs then hurriedly searched through the cave. It wasn¡¯t there. The female with a baby that should have trouble moving was nowhere to be seen. ¨C Woof! Woof woof! Hearing the call of its friend, the other hound raced towards where the sound was coming from. There, they came across the sign of something that had been dragged outside. Even though it might be the trace that was created when they were dragging some meat inside, the smell was different. The infiltrator had dragged the female out of the cave. ¨C Guwoooooo¡­! ¨C Awooooooo¡­! The hunting dogs roared in fury. After realizing that their kindred, the female of the group and their baby had been kidnapped, they expressed their pure bestial fury. The infuriated scream of the ruler of the forest and its subjects made the entire forest tremble. ¨C Woof! Woof woof! ¨C Woof woof woof! Blinded by fury, the two male dogs pressed their king in dissonance. They had to go after the trace. They had to save their female kindred. The ogre responded to that suggestion without any hesitation. In a symbiotic relationship that was there to supplement each other¡¯s weaknesses through the hardships of nature, both sides had rights and duties. Action was mandatory. The owners of the forest moved with a clear purpose in mind. The hounds dashed after the smell of their female kindred as the ogre chased from behind. The two hunting dogs raced across the foggy forest to where the smell led them. ¨C Woof! They looked at each other in the middle of their sprint. The smell of their female kindred was becoming denser over time and along with that was the deepening scent of the infiltrator who had snatched the female from them. As expected, There was nothing in this forest that could shake them off. This forest was where they were born, and they knew this place like the back of their paws. Using their tough four legs, the demonic beasts kicked off the dirt and jumped over the thick tree roots. Now, the foolish trespasser will receive its due punishment for messing with the ruler of the forest. ¨C Woof¡­ ¡°¡­!!¡± ¡°¡­!!¡± At the end of their sprint, they came across their kindred that was wailing on the ground. ¡°Woof!¡± ¡°Kii¡­ Iiii¡­¡± The female dog groaned while staying on the ground. Unable to hold itself back anymore, one of the two male dogs dashed forward. It was the father of the baby inside the female¡¯s belly. ¡°Woof! Woof woof!¡± While rubbing its nose on the body of its spouse, the dog confirmed its safety. Right as it was about to support the female to stand up on its legs¡­ ¨C Click! Right when the female moved its body, a click echoed across the forest as a rope made with vines tightened itself. At the same time¡­ A log that appeared to have been discarded in the forest suddenly started to soar up. ¡°Woof?¡± The log flew towards the sky as the other logs that were connected to it began to fall. The male was in the middle of supporting the female dog and couldn¡¯t react in time and¡ª ¨C Slam! Its face was blown away by one of the flying logs. ¡°Woof! Woof woof!¡± The remaining male hound somehow managed to dodge the flying logs. It was looking around in extreme wariness when its ears sensed something ominous. ¨C Shiiiiiik! Something was falling down the air. The hound immediately rolled to the front as sharp stakes of wood fell on where it was standing. ¡°Woof! Woof woof!¡± Thinking of how one of those stakes could have pierced through its head and the spine made its hairs stand on its end. However, there were more. A bunch of stakes that had been installed on the branches started falling all at once. ¨C Pabak! Pababak! Leaving behind its kindred that were still under the downpour of stakes, the remaining hound started another sprint but this time, it was for survival instead of a pursuit. ¡°Grrrhh¡­!¡± Despite starting off from a non-ideal posture, the hound still reached the speed of 70 kilometers per hour. After racing at a speed faster than the falling stakes, the dog turned around to confirm its safety. ¡­The stakes were no longer falling down. The dog relaxed itself a little. And because it was relaxed¡­ It was too late by the time it noticed that something was sparkling beneath it. [?] ¨C Kenaz ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? But even if it did notice them, it was questionable whether that would have changed anything or not. The letters of flame covering the ground were too enormous and dense for it to escape at the speed of 70 km per hour. ¨C Hwaruk! The hound¡¯s fate was decided the moment it was swallowed by the flames blazing from the ground. ¨C Kung! Kung! Kung! By the time the ruler of the forest and the owner of the hounds arrived at the scene, the dogs had already been killed. The couple had been pierced by wooden stakes while the other one was scorched by the blazing flames that were still burning the trees nearby. ¡°KUWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH¡­!!¡± The two heads shared the same emotions as they roared together. The roar of the tyrant reverberated sonorously. It was truly what one would expect from the so-called ruler of the forest but the ogre did not even have the time to dwell in its sorrow. One of the devices it accidentally stepped on ended up triggering another trap. Logs started flying towards it, but the two-headed ogre was able to notice them ahead of time due to its wide vision. ¨C Vuung! Without even moving its feet, the two-headed giant swung the club in its right hand. ¨C Kwaang! The logs were shattered by the birchwood club. There were still a few more traps that hadn¡¯t been activated, but none of them would be able to serve as a threat against the wide vision of the twin-headed ogre and its monstrous strength. However, what the tyrant did not know was that this was just the beginning of the hunt. **** As the ruler of the forest, the twin-headed ogre was also an innate hunter. The 1st head was very perceptive with its eyes while the 2nd head had a good sense of smell. Through cooperation, the two heads tried to avenge the hounds and in fact, chasing after its prey was quite simple. In fact, there were so many traces that it was ridiculous. The enemy couldn¡¯t even hide their scent or their footsteps, and it was a shame how the hounds had been defeated by someone of this caliber. Of course, the journey wasn¡¯t that easy because there were all sorts of traps that were trying to deter the ogre from advancing forward. But although the twin-headed ogre was not a full-grown adult, it was still a semi-Grade 1 demonic beast. The traps that could barely defeat some dogs were easily swept away by the massive birchwood club in its hand. A few sharp stakes did land straight at its body, but they could only create some tiny wounds after coming into contact with its thick skin. However, unlike what it expected, the ogre could not find the prey on the first day. There were definitely a lot of traces and it was stubbornly chasing after them but for some reason, the ogre just couldn¡¯t find its prey. It felt like they were so close yet so far. Despite feeling discontent by it, the ogre decided to rest for the night, but it was that very night that something attacked it. [?] ¨C Hagalaz It wouldn¡¯t have been able to respond in time if not for one of the two heads being awake the whole time. A hail fell from the sky as the sleeping head of the twin-headed ogre also woke up. The hail itself wasn¡¯t much. A few pieces of stones had fallen on the body of the ogre from the sky and the damage was very miniscule. However, it was still true that its sleep had been disturbed. The ogre crushed all the trees nearby to express its fury. Similar things continued happening after that. A hail fell from the sky whenever it was about to go to sleep. If the ogre decided to ignore it after thinking that it would be the same thing again, the falling stones would then have flames surrounding it as they scorched the surrounding land. The ogre destroyed the surrounding forest in a midnight pursuit but the prey continued leaving vague traces without revealing itself. After that repeated for three days, The ogre realized that itself was the one that was being hunted. With countless wounds around its body that were caused by Rune Magic and natural traps, the ogre couldn¡¯t even fall asleep for the past few days and was thus exhausted both physically and psychologically. All it could do in retaliation while limping with innumerable burns and scratches on its body was to crush everything in its sight. The role of the hunter and the prey had been reversed. At last after realizing that it had fallen to becoming the prey, the ogre felt grief and fury. ¡°Hi there.¡± On the afternoon of the third day, the hunter finally revealed himself. ¡°Huaahm~. Why do we all have to go through so much trouble just to kill you? Let¡¯s hurry up and end this.¡± After harassing it on repeat, the hunter confronted the ogre while provoking it. ¡°Kuwaaaaaaaaaah¡­!¡± The ogre let out a scream as Korin likewise lowered his body. Like sprinters waiting for the sound of the flare gun, the two of them gazed at each other in silence. 1 second, The ogre ran. And so did Korin. Dashing towards the large ogre like a gust, the spear-bearer used the forward momentum to kick off the ground. His body soared into the air. Noticing the huge mistake made by the hunter at the very last second, the ogre¡¯s lips curled into a crescent. As soon as it landed, the ogre would use the 2-meter long birchwood club to strike his tiny body. Even though that was its plan, the ogre couldn¡¯t see it through. ?Crumbling Mountain: Secret Arts? ?One Strike One Shot, Thunderous Strike? Jumping into the air, the spearman readied himself to throw the spear. This was the innate purpose and use of the spear. It was the single most powerful strike that humans could pull off with a spear. ¨C Gwaaaaaannngg!! The spear pounced at the ogre through the air. When the ogre subconsciously raised its club, the two weapons collided and¡­ A crack appeared on the club that used to break everything without fail during the past 3 days. ¨C Kwang! The top half of the birchwood club was now nowhere to be seen. In addition, the ogre¡¯s right shoulder was also gone along with an incomprehensible tempest. ¡°Kuwaaahh?!¡± Landing back on the ground after the abominable javelin toss, the spearman dashed forward without killing his momentum. Even though the ogre was shrieking from the pain, its two heads were still able to perceive the world. It reached its arms forward at the dashing Korin but it was too late ¨C he was already right in front of its chest. ?Eight Trigrams, Mixed Origin? ¨C Kajik! The palm strike landed directly on the ogre¡¯s chest. A compression of inner energy was sent from Korin¡¯s dantian to the ogre¡¯s body. As expected of one of the three most powerful strikes of Eight Trigrams, the energy sent from Korin¡¯s palm rooted up the innards of the ogre. ¨C Kung! The twin-headed ogre soon fell on its knees. Due to the explosion that occurred inside its body, the demonic beast was bleeding profusely through its two mouths. ¡°What the heck¡­ Why did I bother filling up my Aura Core¡­? I didn¡¯t even get a chance to use it.¡± This appeared to be the limit of a semi-Grade 1 demonic beast that couldn¡¯t even reach Grade 1. Due to spending the past few days putting all of his aura into the Aura Core in preparation for a decisive battle, Korin had a dispirited look on his face after the underwhelming outcome of the fight. **** At the underground laboratory of Merkarva Academy, there were countless test subjects. This was the biggest reason why the professors of the Magic Department rejected the offers of the Tower and stayed at the Academy. Golden Miss, Professor Deina, who had been working at the Academy for 15 years, put on a thicker layer of makeup and a stronger perfume than usual. That meant that she had gained problems on her skin and a bad odor due to the repetitive late night research. ¡°Professor Deina.¡± ¡°Ohh. Student Marie. You¡¯re here!¡± Marie, who had been helping her with the experiments as a volunteer for the past few days, assisted her with the same face as usual. ¡®Wow¡­ Look at how soft her skin is. Is this youth¡­?¡¯ Professor Deina¡¯s skin wasn¡¯t bad by any means. In fact, she looked younger than others of her age due to being a mage, but she obviously did not want to stand side-by-side next to someone with real baby-skin. Look at how white and moist her skin was, as well as its softness that could probably swallow a finger like a mochi! Marie had the youthful appearance of a girl her age but the reason Professor Deina couldn¡¯t help but question the fairness of this world was because Marie had also been working late overnight just like herself. ¡°Student Marie¡­ You¡¯ve been helping me a lot these past few days right?¡± ¡°Nnn~. I guess?¡± Professor Deina knew herself that even though Marie was the one who volunteered for the task, making a student work three days overnight had been questionable as an educator. But surprisingly, Marie was showing off her incredible stamina by doing more work than Professor Deina herself. It should be normal for her to gain some dark circles under her eyes and yet she was still lively like always. ¡®Is it because she¡¯s a vampire?¡¯ After recently awakening into a vampire, Marie became the hot potato of the Magic Department. How many professors had joined the fray just to prove that she was safe and rational enough? Normal vampires had pale skin and were weakened under sunlight, but Marie was proven to be at the level of an elder-rank vampire that was at least 100 years old. As for vampires, the elder was right beneath the lord rank, and yet Vampire Elders were already in the Unique Grade¡­ in other words, Vampire Elders were already unmeasurably strong so how strong would the legendary Vampire Lords be? That question aroused her inquisitive mind as a scholar but that wasn¡¯t the important matter at hand. ¡°Student Marie. What is the state with the demonic beasts that will be used for the experiment with ¡®King of Iron Mountain¡¯?¡± ¡°Ah yes. They¡¯ve all been isolated.¡± ¡°We will be able to carry out a more detailed experiment thanks to your help, Student Marie. The demonic boar of Dingle Peninsula and a Unique Grade vampire¡­ It will lead to a huge progression of the magic industry!¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Marie gave an awkward smile which was a very rare sight. Seeing that smile, Deina immediately noticed that she had made a mistake. ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s not what I meant. Of course it¡¯s a huge misfortune that you ended up awakening into a vampire. My apologies. I shouldn¡¯t have said that.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°It probably doesn¡¯t matter to him whether I¡¯m a vampire or not.¡± ¡°Nnn?¡± ¡°Oh right! I forgot to give food to the demonic beasts! Sorry. I¡¯m a bit all over the place!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ There¡¯s no need for you to do that much though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine! And it¡¯s safer for me to go as well!¡± ¡°Mhmm¡­¡± Professor Deina couldn¡¯t refute those words. It was just the day before yesterday when one of the staff members had been greatly hurt while feeding the demonic beasts. She had to pay hospital fees and compensation for both physical and emotional distress. They were running low on budget due to buying Grade 1 demonic beasts like the King Tyrant and the Melting Dragon. What would happen if there were to be another casualty? Let alone the screams of the budget team, their research might also be forced to a stop due to safety reasons. ¡°C, could you please take care of that then?¡± ¡°Sure~¡± By making use of their budget problem as an excuse, Marie organized the visit to the demonic beasts while carrying food. ¨C Oink! Oink! ¨C Oink oink!! Echoing all the way to the corridor from one of the rooms at a corner of the 2nd basement floor of the laboratory building were the disharmonious grunts of pigs. They were the Grade 4 demonic beasts, Fang Boars, that were screaming due to the distressful experience of having to live in a small fenced-up area. There had been a huge increase in their numbers due to their recent breeding season and Professor Deina ended up buying a whole bunch of them out of greed. Although their individual prices had gone down, buying hundreds of Grade 4 demonic beasts in one go might make others question the financial senses of mages, but Marie found nothing wrong with that. ¨C Oink oink!? ¨C Oinkkk? ¨C Oin¡­ ¨C O¡­ ¨C Kiii. The sudden howling voices of the beasts from the echoing sound of footsteps rapidly started to dwindle back down. Clomp clomp. When Marie¡¯s beautiful white boots stepped across the stone floor, their changes became all the more apparent. ¨C Kung! Her tiny hand landed on the door of the iron fences that had at least hundreds of fang boars inside but what came back was a deathly silence. ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ Even though the Fang Boars were extremely savage beasts, they became nervous after sensing Marie¡¯s approach. Some of them were even squeaking while driving their heads into the bums of their friends to hide themselves. ¨C Kung! Normal staff members would have thrown the food inside from outside the fence but Marie opened the gates and walked into the cage like a madman. Those Fang Boars that used to threaten every staff that threw the food from outside the doors by pouncing at them were silent and still as if the world stopped. ¡°Time to have some food.¡± Overwhelmed by the demonic aura that was being emanated out of her voice, gaze, and scent. The Fang Boars shivered heavily but still queued up in front of her in a line. Marie gave the trembling monsters a piece of chicken alongside some small pebbles. Those pebbles that were mixed with the meat weren¡¯t a part of the meal that she had received from the staff. ¨C Munch munch! It was when the Fang Boar that was hurriedly trying to finish its food accidentally crunched on the pebble. ¨C Crack! ¨C Kki?! Like a fiend, Marie moved in an instant to grip on the beast¡¯s fang. While holding onto the fang that was several times bigger than her hands, Marie raised the animal up with her monstrous strength. The Fang Boar floundered in the air but it was unable to escape from her grip with its body that weighed only 400 kilograms. ¨C Crack! Crackkk! Her otherworldly grip started causing cracks on the sharp fangs of the demonic beast. ¡°That¡¯s weird.¡± The golden eyes of the amicable girl with water-colored hair started being tainted in red. With their instincts, the beasts sensed the demonic aura of the monster that was wearing the skin of a harmless girl. ¨C Quak¡­ ¨C Kiii¡­ Only one of them was caught and yet all the Fang Boars froze stiff. The one that was being held by Marie was in a worse state, and was even peeing itself. ¡°Did I not tell you?¡± Yellow liquid was dripping down its shivering rear legs. Despite the puddle of smelly liquid, the girl from a family of farmers, who was used to the smell of feces, did not even spare a glance. ¡°Do not bite on the rock. Swallow it.¡± Her eyes that were now tainted in a deep crimson color oppressed the beasts. Soon, the hundreds of Fang Boars started hurriedly swallowing all the rocks and pebbles they saw as if it was a competition. CH 47 ? King of Iron Mountain (3) ? King of Iron Mountain, Killer of Heroes, The Demonic Boar of the Dingle Peninsula. This boar that was perhaps one of the most well-known Unique Grade demonic beasts of the continent first appeared 88 years ago at the tip of the Northern Continent, Dingle Peninsula. Those lands were incredibly cold but had a remarkable abundance of natural resources, and the mountain range had so many mines that it was called the Iron Mountain. The miners that one day visited the mine to look for iron, silver and gold ended up witnessing a shocking scenery. ¨C Kaduk! Kaduk! A large boar was greedily devouring everything inside the iron mines. That was the first eyewitness account of the one who devours everything, the King of Iron Mountain. **** ¡°What do you think is the difference between Unique Grade demons and demonic beasts below that, Student Marie?¡± ¡°¡­Maybe their strength?¡± Marie replied after tilting her head and thinking about Professor Deina¡¯s question. The topic about ¡®Unique Grades¡¯ was something that was also very relevant to herself. ¡°Strength is like a natural passive skill that goes with Unique Grades. One of their most powerful abilities is the power to ¡®rule¡¯.¡± ¡°Power to rule?¡± ¡°It is said that Unique Grade demons give off a different energy compared to other demons. We call that the alpha energy.¡± ¡°Alpha energy¡­¡± ¡°You know how we have alpha entities of groups sometimes even among Grade 2 and Grade 1 monsters right? The ones that are stronger than their kindred that give out commands?¡± As Professor Deina said, there were oftentimes leaders ¨C the alpha entities ¨C among demonic beasts that traveled around in groups. These entities were more powerful than their kindred and could even break through the restrictions of their grade to become incomparably stronger. ¡°But even those alpha entities cannot give out commands to demons that are of different species to them. Their ruling ability does not go through. But¡­¡± ¡°¡­Unique Grades can give out commands to every lower-graded demon.¡± ¡°Exactly. You have experienced it yourself, right?¡± Marie used to control the demonic beasts of the forest when she had run away to the hunting grounds. It was the same even when she was feeding the Fang Boars who did not dare fight against her. ¡°Nnn? But, Miss. I¡­ think it was a bit different from ruling them.¡± She said while reflecting on what happened at the hunting grounds. It was true that the beasts of the forest couldn¡¯t fight back and offered her their blood, but that wasn¡¯t because of a conscious command from her. Those frightened demonic beasts had simply been unwilling to fight back. It was the same even with the Fang Boars. Although Marie did command them to have a better time feeding them, that was slightly different from ruling over them. The Fang Boars had simply been overwhelmed by her and were fearful. ¡°Right. But that is mainly because of your race, Student Marie.¡± ¡°Race?¡± ¡°We have three types of demons right? Demonic beasts, demonic spirits and demi-humans. It¡¯s a very simple classification but the effect of alpha entities do depend on this as well. Can you make a guess?¡± As expected of a professor, Professor Deina naturally suggested Marie to think about the answer herself, and as a clever high-achieving student, Marie was quickly able to come up with an answer. ¡°Does the degree of the ruling ability of alpha entities change depending on races?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± In other words, Unique Grade demonic beasts would have trouble giving commands to lower graded demonic spirits, while Unique Grade demonic spirits would have trouble commanding lower grade demonic beasts. This was apparently due to the ¡®language systems¡¯ of each race. ¡°Hmm¡­ Does that mean I would be able to command other demi-humans?¡± ¡°That still requires some research but the general consensus is a no.¡± ¡°Do you mean it¡¯s impossible?¡± ¡°Yes. Demi-humans are former humans that awaken into demons right? Because their intellect is above a human level at least, they are apparently immune to the ruling power of demonic aura.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± It seemed that she wouldn¡¯t be able to command them even if she were to come across other demi-humans. ¡®That¡¯s a bit of a shame. Demi-humans are tough, so they should be good at farmin¡­!!¡¯ ¡°Student Marie?¡± ¡°I, I wasn¡¯t thinking about anytthingg!!¡± ¡°O, okay?¡± What was that just then? Marie shook her head to get rid of the scary thoughts that appeared in her mind. She wasn¡¯t someone who would have such violent thoughts in her mind after all! ¡°M, Miss Deina!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Y, you see, I have been recently experimenting with making potions and elixirs at the laboratory!¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve heard about it. I heard there are a bunch of people from the Magic Department that are lining up to buy your elixirs. Is that true?¡± ¡°Ugh, yes, but¡­ It¡¯s a bit¡­ Weird for me.¡± ¡°Why? The potions made with the blood of a high-class vampire should be priceless though?¡± Professor Deina jested that she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about money all life even if she did nothing but sell her blood. ¡°¡­It¡¯s embarrassing.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Deina reminded herself that Marie was still a teenage girl. It was normal for her to feel repulsed by the idea of feeding her blood to someone else ¨C unless it was someone special for example. ¡°But what about it?¡± ¡°Actually¡­ I want to make the potion more delicious.¡± Wasn¡¯t she repulsed until just then? Why would she bother making it delicious? Professor Deina tilted her head in doubt. ¡°Why? People would line up to buy a bit of your unprocessed blood for gold coins, won¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Actually the thing is, such and such¡ª¨C¡± ¡°Hooh, hooh¡­ N, now this is a very interesting idea¡­ The effect does change depending on the materials and such but this¡­¡± ¡°Do you think it will be possible?¡± ¡°Theory-wise¡­ It looks like there are no problems. But we would need a lot of materials and precise experiments. We would need some clinical experiments¡­ We might even need a knight to¡­¡± ¡°May I please ask for your help?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ It might be a bit strange of me to say this, but I¡¯m quite an expensive and busy person as well, you see. Maybe if you share a little bit of your blood, Student Marie?¡± ¡°Would this much be enough?¡± ¨C Whisper whisper! ¨C Nod nod! Professor Deina and the 2nd year student Marie shared a firm handshake as a symbol for their successful negotiation. ¡°Kuhum¡­! We kind of strayed off the topic. This experiment with the King of Iron Mountain is on the magnitude of a Unique Grade demonic beast¡¯s alpha ability.¡± ¡°Is that why you¡¯ve purchased a bunch of demonic beasts?¡± ¡°Yes. If we could analyze this ability and be able to control it at free will¡­ Theoretically, that means humans would be able to control most of the demonic beasts and spirits around the world at will.¡± It was a more incredible experiment than Marie had initially thought, and was one that was compellingly attractive to mages. If this experiment succeeded, humanity would be able to practically nullify the risk of demons. ¡°I¡¯ve also purchased Grade 1 demonic beasts like the King Tyrant and Melting Dragon just for this experiment. My article will definitely be included in next year¡¯s Tower¡¯s academic journal!¡± Grade 1 demonic beasts. They were extremely powerful monsters which most Grade 1 knights and mages would team up to fight against for safety measures. There were semi-Unique Grade demonic beasts as well, but there were essentially zero organizations in the world that could capture these alive so it was impossible to buy them with the experiment budget. ¡®But aren¡¯t hundreds of Fang Boars more expensive than those two monsters?¡¯ Professor Deina did purchase them at a low price since they were easy to catch during the breeding season, but the problem was with their maintenance cost. Grade 1 demonic beasts were monsters in a different plane that could survive without eating anything by changing the mana in the air into energy but on the other hand, Fang Boars needed to have as much food as their own weights everyday. A few days of the experiment and the maintenance fees of the Fang Boars would quickly drain their budget. Marie was in the middle of calculating how long it would take for the budget to run dry when a different work partner visited Professor Deina¡¯s lab. He was the professor who had been working at the Academy for 10 years with eye-catching afro hair and black sunglasses, Fermack Daman. ¡°Wassup! Professor Deina, I¡¯m here~¡± ¡°Oh. You¡¯re right on time.¡± ¡°Should I have come earlier?¡± ¡°No no no. You came at the perfect timing. We just finished organizing the rune that will be carved on the King of Iron Mountain.¡± ¡°Rune?¡± Marie tilted her head after hearing Professor Deina¡¯s words. They were supposed to be experimenting with the alpha ability, so what was this rune for? ¡°Ah. I guess I haven¡¯t explained that part yet. The King of Iron Mountain is currently being sealed.¡± ¡°I¡­ Am aware of that.¡± ¡°That seal was done by using runes 80 years ago, by the previous chairman, Sir Biren, Senior Professor Johsephine and¡­ The knight who used to be praised for being the strongest of the times, Tates Valtazar.¡± ¡°Do you need Rune Magic to lift the seal?¡± ¡°Yes. And we need a highly proficient Rune Mage for that.¡± ¡°I see. Professor Fermack¡­ Is a famous Rune Mage after all.¡± His tales were well-known and it was even included in the magazines published by the Guardian Alliance, the ¡®Guardians¡¯. A stylish high-class knight who merged boxing with Rune Magic ¨C Fermack Daman was a hero who even defeated Basilisk, a semi-Unique Grade demonic beast along with a party. ¡°But¡­ Isn¡¯t it dangerous to lift the seal? It is a Unique Grade demonic beast¡­¡± ¡°Haha. Here in the laboratory, we have strict legion-ranked restriction systems and layers of gravitational pressure devices. Even if it¡¯s a Unique Grade demonic beast, it won¡¯t be able to escape from this place in a weakened state after 80 years of confinement.¡± The confident voice of Professor Deina made Marie feel all the more anxious. ¡®Nnn¡­ This always leads to a problem in all the novels I read though¡­¡¯ But what else could she do? As a mere experiment assistant, she could only trust Professor Deina and move on. Besides, there was something she heard from Korin. ¡º I have a plan. ¡» Although Marie wasn¡¯t sure how he would carry out the plan now that he was outside the city, she still trusted the boy without any suspicion. **** Alicia¡¯s idle life went on day by day. The refreshing spring breeze was on its leave as soothing heat was slowly starting to seep into the ground in this early summer. Inside the hot deep fryer, the potato croquette was resting on the frying basket after being scooped up from the scorching oil. ¡°Here you go.¡± After buying a potato croquette at one of the street vendors of the Academy, Alicia took a big bite into it. The melting sensation of potatoes and the deep fragrance of oil filled her enclosed mouth but there was something lacking. ¡®I used to eat this a lot with Mr. Korin.¡¯ This was the store they used to visit after training at the training rooms to replenish energy while having some unhealthy food. It might be because she wasn¡¯t with her usual company, but Alicia wasn¡¯t 100% content with the food today. Training together, having snacks and discussing each other¡¯s skills took a lot of time and it was thus very common for the two of them to also have a meal afterwards. It had only been a month since the matter with her older sister had been handled, but in that short period of a month, Korin had become a very important person inside Alicia¡¯s mind. ¡®Maybe I should just go back and read a romance novel.¡¯ Reading romance novels was a new hobby of hers. While going to the library for the group assignment, she happened to come across the romance novel section and those served to be a decent pastime activity. She especially liked it when she could link the male protagonist to someone else¡­ ¨C Tap tap! It was then. Someone tapped her on her shoulder. ¡°Who is¡­ Huaahk?!¡± A red werewolf¡­ That looked a bit closer to a dog instead of a wolf had been touching her shoulder. ¡°A, are you Doggo?¡± ¨C Nod. One of the abilities Marie gained after awakening into a vampire was the ¡®Familiar of Blood¡¯. Doggo was the familiar born from her blood that could also be considered as her child. Its name was very adorable but as someone who knew about the monstrous power of this familiar, Alicia couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly frightened. ¨C Flick flick! ¡°Uhh. Do you want me to follow you? Is Senior Marie calling me?¡± ¨C Nod nod. She wanted to ask why but it¡¯s not like Doggo could speak in human language so Alicia decided to obediently follow it from behind. There were times when Doggo would come and take Korin with him so Alicia was quite used to this turn of events as well. ¡®Actually, how was Doggo able to find out where Mr. Korin was every single time?¡¯ Was it because it was a dog? But rather than a dog, Doggo was similar to a magic formula that didn¡¯t even looked like an organism. Let alone a sense of smell, it was very questionable whether it even had internal organs like other animals. ¨C Woof! ¡°A, alright! I¡¯m coming!¡± Alicia hurriedly chased after Doggo after he shouted at her to hurry up. Before long, she arrived at the laboratory in the western region of the Academy. ¡°I wonder why she called me?¡± She didn¡¯t have much connection with Marie, the 2nd year senior. Since she met her quite often while traveling around with Korin, she did greet her every time but that was it. ¡®What¡¯s her relationship with Mr. Korin? They looked very close¡­¡¯ Alicia wasn¡¯t aware of the things Korin had done to save Marie. Because she only knew about the false announcement of Chairman Eriu Casarr and Senior Professor Josephine, it was natural for her to be oblivious to the nature of their relationship. However, one thing she did know was that Marie and Korin¡¯s relationship was far from being a normal senior-junior relationship. The fact that Marie had a connection with Korin which she wasn¡¯t aware of was something that subconsciously caused Alicia to feel a slight sense of distance. She herself wasn¡¯t really sure about the nature of her feelings though. ¡°Woof!¡± B1 ¨C 1st basement floor of the laboratory ¨C even though this floor was only for the professors and staff and did not allow student entry, Alicia was easily able to pass the check thanks to Doggo being in the lead. After seeing Doggo, the securities immediately let her go through. When she arrived at the basement, she realized that the underground lab was completely different from the dark and somber image in her mind. ¡°Wow¡­¡± The basement was incredibly enormous. At the center was a hollow space that connected B1 all the way down to B3, and going along the sides was a platform which appeared to have been made by carving out a rock, that led to the rooms where mages were conducting all sorts of experiments. Alchemy, demonic beasts, astral experiments, cultivation of magic plants, dissection, magic engineering¡­ There were all sorts of experiments taking place, and Alicia could also see through the windows of the rooms, several students that were here as either assistants or observers. As expected of one of the dream jobs of mages, it was on an entirely different scale. ¡°Woof!¡± ¡°O, okay! Can you please not bark? It¡¯s scary¡­¡± She was led to one of the labs on B1 and felt puzzled after smelling something. ¡°Is this food? Ah.¡± There seemed to be demonic beasts that could be eaten by demonic beasts, and Alicia did hear how researching about that was also one of the jobs of mages. Those things would become poison when consumed by a normal person, but knights or mages with enough immunity might receive some positive enhancement from it. ¡°Excuse me¡­ Senior Marie?¡± Boiling inside the laboratory was an experiment beaker holding something murky inside as it gave off a savory scent, and next to that was Marie gazing at the beaker with an extremely serious gaze. ¡°Hmm¡­ What if I add a bit more of ¡®this¡¯ here? No, it¡¯s too much. That¡¯s going to take away from the main ingredient¡­¡± Alicia carefully walked up to the girl with water-colored hair that was immersed in the experiment, and spoke to her. ¡°Senior Marie-nim?¡± ¡°Haht¡­!¡± Marie jumped in the air while letting out a cute gasp. After seeing Alicia, she settled her startled heart. ¡°It was you, Junior Arden¡­! You surprised me there!¡± ¡°Sorry¡­ For bothering you while you were in the middle of an experiment. Was it a very important one?¡± ¡°I, it¡¯s nothing! I was just doing this and that during the short break!¡± Alicia heaved a sigh of relief after hearing her say that it was nothing, because she had often heard rumors of how mages utterly detested being interrupted during their experiment. ¡°By the way, why did you call me? I did come because Doggo told me to come but¡­¡± ¡°Nn nn. Actually, Korin wanted me to explain something to you during this time in his stead!¡± ¡°He did?¡± There seemed to be a message left behind by Korin who had left for the grading test a few days ago¡­ So Alicia readied herself. ¡°Oh right. Before that, would you like to have a sip of this?¡± Marie said while pointing at the liquid inside the beaker. All sorts of medicinal herbs had been added to the murky liquid inside the beaker that was constantly bubbling up. ¡°Uhh¡­ Is this a potion?¡± ¡°I, I guess? You can say that¡­¡± ¡°I would be glad to have it, if it¡¯s good for the body.¡± ¡°It will definitely be good for your body! I¡¯ve only added nice ingredients to it!¡± ¡°Wow~. Really? I haven¡¯t had things like this in a long time. I used to have them quite often back in my hometown but I was busy earning a living after coming to the Academy, you see. I didn¡¯t have time nor money.¡± ¡°I see. W, would you like to try? It should be tasty as well!¡± Tasty? Since when were potions and elixirs supposed to be tasty? Especially for potions like this that were similar to an elixir, they only showed their effect once per person so taste wasn¡¯t even a consideration for most¡­ But the savory scent spreading out of the elixir inside the beaker was a sign that Marie wasn¡¯t lying about the taste. ¡°I, it¡¯s hot so take your time. We also have to check its safety, so¡­¡± ¡°Yes, I will. What was that at the end, sorry?¡± ¡°Nothing! I¡¯m very happy to have such a tough junior!¡± Even though the last sentence sounded a bit strange, Alicia carefully started to drink the boiling medicinal decoction, thinking that Marie wouldn¡¯t give her something dangerous. ¡°Uhpp?!¡± ¡°W, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s delicious! Like, the taste of my hometown? I can even feel that from it!¡± ¡°R, really?!¡± Marie started writing down something on her notepad. Taste, check. Safety, check. Poison, check. More experiments required just in case. **** ¡°It¡¯s over there.¡± The place we came to under the guidance of one of the staff members from the Alliance was a large mansion built in the middle of a mountain. According to the mission, it seemed that the owner of this mansion became pessimistic after a failed business idea and committed suicide with his entire family. It would have become a well-known venue for a ¡®test of courage¡¯ in modern Earth and that would have been all, but this was a fantasy world. In this place, demonic spirits were born from the grudges of the dead. In other words, a tragic end like a family suicide was highly likely to end up creating a demonic spirit. ¡°The grudge itself shouldn¡¯t have been enormous but the land wasn¡¯t good for us. This place is near the center of the ley lines and has been a long-time favorite of demonic beasts, so it seems that the spirit ended up swallowing a bunch of demonic aura.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t believe he decided to build a mansion in such a place.¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably because of that bad instinct of his that he failed his business.¡± Because of the tragedy and all sorts of unfortunate events, this haunted house became extremely dangerous. Since it was a stationary spirit, it couldn¡¯t move anywhere else to wreak havoc, but should nonetheless be immensely powerful in its home grounds. The demonic spirit that had to be defeated this time was the ¡®Haunted House¡¯ itself. ¡°What do you say? Will you investigate this as well? Just letting you know, lighting it on fire is not going to let you remove that house.¡± Old Man Haman waited for my response with an expectant gaze, asking what kind of detailed plan I¡¯ll use this time to play with the demon. Unfortunately, investigating a demonic spirit was meaningless for me. Because of one of the 3 rules engraved onto my body, the Restriction ?I do not perceive spirits? , I couldn¡¯t even sense them. So¡­ ¡°I will deal with it in 30 seconds.¡± CH 48 ? King of Iron Mountain (4) ? ?I do not perceive spirits.? I was unable to perceive spirits because of that Restriction but the rare occasion that allowed me to either converse or deal with a spirit was through their ¡®possession¡¯. There were some demonic spirits that were able to possess things or organisms. For example, Sebancia Duke possessed an organism and that was why I was able to talk to him. In this case, it was similar to a poltergeist caused by possessing objects ¨C this demonic spirit had possessed this house instead of a living being. A large mansion built in the middle of a mountain that turned into a Haunted House after the mass suicide of the family. What would be the thing that had to be done to send the ghosts away? It was simple. All you had to do was destroy the whole building. A physical demolition was usually the best solution for a lot of things. ¡°Just to double-check, the mages failed at burning the house right?¡± ¡°Two Grade 2 mages used fire magic but couldn¡¯t destroy it. The defense of the demonic spirit was tougher than expected.¡± ¡°And you can¡¯t make it too strong since it could turn into a bushfire, right?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Lighting the house on fire to destroy the Haunted House was impossible due to the interference of the ghost possessing the house, but increasing the intensity of the flame was also impossible because it would result in a bushfire. In the end, the most low-risk and low-cost method to resolve this problem was by entering the building to defeat the true body of the demonic spirit. ¡°It will be difficult by using a normal method, because that house has completely turned into a demon lair.¡± ¡°Well, it should be over in no time. Are you really going to follow me though?¡± After hearing my pompous declaration that I would defeat the Haunted House in 30 seconds, Old Man Haman stated that he would follow me and see with his own eyes. He was done preparing by just covering his hands with gauntlets. ¡°Just letting you know, I won¡¯t be able to protect you.¡± ¡°Hmph! Who do you think you¡¯re talking to, young brat.¡± I had never seen Old Man Haman fight before, because he was closer to a Skills NPC back in the game. He was a veteran knight who even reached Grade 1 in his youth so he should be fine by himself. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s get ready, get set¡­¡± I bent my back like an athlete preparing for a sprint. In my eyes, the Haunted House appeared like a normal discarded and shabby mansion but it would appear like an ominous lair of demons to the eyes of Old Man Haman and the members of the Alliance. Well, that had nothing to do with me though. ¡°Go!¡± ¨C Pabak! Kicking off the ground, I marched into the Haunted House. Old Man Haman was following from behind but unlike me who was going straightforward, he was constantly vigilant of something. ¨C Kugung! A branch soared up from the ground before slapping down like a whip. ¡°Now, you dodge the attack with a jump and use your spear to cut off the top core of the root! One jump!¡± ¡°??!¡± My sudden commentary made Old Man Haman tilt his head, but this was only the beginning. ¡°StraightenYourSpearAsYouGoForward, AndTheTerraceWindowWillBreakAsGlassFragmentsFlyAtYou. SlideNextToItAndEnterThroughTheDoor!¡± 5 seconds. ¡°WhenYou¡¯reInside,CutTheClockOnTheTopRightHandCornerFollowedByThreeJumpingStabs! CrushTheNailsPoppingUpFromTheStairsWithoutWorryingAboutTheCeiling. GoDown, StepOnTheMiddleCarpetAndIt¡¯llGoCrack!¡± ¨C Crack! 12 seconds. ¡°ATableWillBeNextToTheMagicCircleInTheMiddleOfTheBasement, WhichYouCutAndScratchTheMagicCircleToWeakenTheSpirit¡¯sTelekineticAbility. There¡¯llBeACandlestickToYourRight, SoKickItAndGo Kenaz Plus Hagalaz FIREEEEWithTheSpear!¡± 16 seconds. ¡°ClimbUpTheStairsNow. TheDoorWillBreakWithA ¡®Thud!¡¯ AndAPortraitWillFlyAtYou. StabThoseUglyEyesAndMakeThemPretty, AndDashToTheStairs!¡± While carving rune letters here and there. ¡°Now! WhenYouGoBackUpThereWillBeABunchOfTablesAndChairsFlyingAtYou, WhichYouBetterDodgeByYourself. GoToTheUnmovingWallAndCarveSomeRuneLetters! NextUpWillBeCutleries,AndYouWillGetADebuffWhenYouGetHitSoBlockThem!¡± 21 seconds. ¡°There¡¯sADressingTableToTheRight. PickItUpAndBlockBlockBlock! TheChandelierWillFallSoJumpAndStabStabStab!!¡± 25 seconds. ¡°That¡¯sItWithTheFlyingFurniture. WhileThisGhostIsGoing ¡®WhoTheHellIsThisGuy,¡¯ WithAnUglyLookOnItsFaceYouActivateAllTheRuneMagicAllAtOnce! FIREEEEEEE!!!!! ¡± Rune Magic Kenaz, Resonant Activation. ¡°NowItWillBurnByItSelfSoJustLeaveTheHouse. Real men do not turn around to see explosions. That is all you have to do.¡± ¨C Booom! 30 seconds. Easy. ¡°That¡¯s super~ easy, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± That was similar to what I had seen in the last video left behind by the legendary streamer Starry Guy who used to dominate the Korean streaming websites. It was a video that I could only view in my memories now. **** Haunted House Mission. This was actually one of the missions that could be chosen after entering the second semester. Just like the Unique Grade demonic spirit quest of Sebancia Duke in the Great Library, it was a choosable side quest. That¡¯s probably when this demonic spirit reached Grade 1. The mission itself was very simple. In order to defeat the Grade 1 demonic spirit possessing the Haunted House, you had to dodge all sorts of furniture that was being thrown at you to destroy the magic circle hidden inside the basement and so on. However, because of all the disgust-evoking patterns and mechanics of this mission, it received countless comments of people that wondered whether this was an RPG or a ¡®Soulslike¡¯ game. Because of that, the Haunted House mission became one that could be used to prove your skills with the game. ¡°Congratulations. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be becoming a semi-Grade 1 Knight without a doubt at this point.¡± Old Man Haman congratulated me with a bright smile on his face as if this was something that concerned himself as he tapped me on my shoulder. Now that I was a semi-Grade 1 Knight, my monthly support fund as well as my mission-accepting qualification should have both gone up. A higher Grade also signified an increase to my authority, and meant that I would be able to proactively intervene in the upcoming scenario. ¡°There is a port city called Zarr nearby. I know an amazing restaurant there. Let us drop by and have some food before we go back.¡± ¡°Zarr¡­ is it a place that sells sashimi soups?¡± At the same time, it was the city that had ¡®that thing¡¯ inside which was one of the reasons why I selected the demonic spirit subjugation mission of this area in the first place. ¡°Hoh? You know that place? Are you okay with raw fish?¡± ¡°I love sashimi.¡± ¡°Good! Let me introduce you to the best sashimi soup restaurant I know!¡± While listening to Old Man Haman, I stole a glance at the mountain behind us. A red dog was silently gazing at me. Good. It was still following me without a problem. **** At B4, the fourth basement floor of the laboratory building, were cages of all sorts of sealed demonic beasts and spirits that could only be visited by very few members of the Academy. A bunch of dangerous demons including the Grade 1 demonic beasts, the Melting Dragon and the King Tyrant were sealed inside for an experiment but the strongest one out of them by far would be this boar here. King of Iron Mountain. Looking at this large boar that weighed at least dozens of tonnes messed around with Marie¡¯s mind. If the size was the only thing that was impressive about this monster, then Marie would have simply considered it a slightly bigger pig because she had seen several monsters that were even bigger than this back at her farm. However, the most overwhelming aspect of this boar was the absurd amount of demonic aura that was emanating out of it. The bristles of the boar were a mixture of crimson red and blue, and its skin was as tough as an armor that no weapons could possibly create a mark on it. Unlike the colorful hairs on its skin, the fangs of the boar were polished sharp like a masterpiece created by the god of blacksmiths. ¡°Unique Grade demonic beast¡­ King of Iron Mountain.¡± This was a Unique Grade ¨C this was the beast of an immeasurable power that was on an equal rank with herself¡­ if not above. The legendary demonic beast that reduced the northern Dingle Peninsula into rubble 80 years ago was currently sealed by all sorts of magic circles and tough chains forged with hundreds of tonnes of magic stones. ¡®It¡¯s almost like Hua Ran¡­¡¯ Perhaps this was the expanded version of the chained nun clothes that were restricting Hua Ran. ¡°Now. Please bring the Fang Boars here!¡± Following the command of Professor Deina, the staff members brought the Fang Boars from their cage. They were furiously screaming inside the small cage but they started to feel timid the moment they saw Marie. ¡°For safety purposes, everyone except for Student Marie and Professor Fermack; please leave the lab for the time being.¡± The staff members of the lab immediately began leaving the room after her words. Now, the only ones left behind in this vast underground room were the demonic beasts and a small number of people. ¡°Student Marie. Can you try controlling the Fang Boars for now?¡± ¡°Ah, yes¡­!¡± Marie approached the monsters as requested by Professor Deina. ¡°Come out.¡± She commanded the several Fang Boars that had been replaced to another cage nearby after opening the door. The monsters started crawling out with pitifully trembling legs. ¡°Student Marie. Can you please give out some simple commands?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± As previously discussed, Marie started giving simple commands to the Fang Boars by telling them to sit, stand, run and lay down. Most of them tried their hardest to follow her commands but a few of them wandered around, not knowing what they were supposed to do. ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re listening to me.¡± ¡°It is probably because of an issue with the communication between demi-humans and demonic beasts. Low-grade demonic beasts do not have the intellect to understand your commands.¡± It would be a different story for similar beasts because their language systems were also similar. ¡°Professor Fermak. Please unseal the ¡®King¡¯.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± In response to Professor Deina¡¯s request, Professor Fermack approached the sleeping demonic pig. ¡°I will now use the unsealing rune to remove the 1st Seal.¡± The 1st Seal was the one responsible for sealing the consciousness of the demon boar. Casting a rune to remove that was a fairly tough job. Rune Magic was a language system where each of the letters contained a magic definition. Only by engraving dozens of rune letters onto the demonic pig without a single mistake would one be able to complete a meaningful unsealing sentence. Now that Rune Letters had become a dead language in modern times, there were only a tiny number of people that could use Rune Magic to this level and Professor Fermack was one of them. ¡®It said they removed the seal a few times over the past 80 years¡­ I wonder who did those?¡¯ The small doubt in Marie¡¯s mind disappeared when she saw the demonic boar twitch with the activation of Professor Fermack¡¯s rune. ¨C Krrrhh¡­! It howled with a voice that resembled a ferocious carnivore than a boar. After opening its eyes, the boar glanced around with a pair of eyes that gleamed ominously in blue. ¨C KURARAAAAAAAAA!! The roar of the demonic boar reverberated across. At the same time, it shrunk its body and twisted and turned in order to snap the chains that were binding itself. ¡°Groups 1, 3 and 7. Activate hypergravity! Group 6, fortify the chains!¡± Professor Deina shouted through the in-ear microphone as mages outside began to activate large magic circles one after another. The grand demon-suppressing magic circles of the 4th underground floor of the laboratory had mana supplied to them as the chains began to tighten around the monster. ¨C Kugung! On top of that, the gravity-increasing spell installed on the ceiling was turned on as it helped suppress the demonic boar. Each one of the activated spells were grand magic circles that had been maintained and improved over the past 80 years to restrain this monster. ¡°Krrhhh¡­!¡± After perhaps coming to the judgment that it couldn¡¯t escape by itself, the demonic boar roared out loud as the Fang Boars began to respond to its call. ¨C Kuruk¡­! ¨C Kueeek! ¡°Student Marie!¡± Professor Deina shouted and Marie glared at the Fang Boars while commanding them, ¡®Stop!¡¯. It worked in the past but this time, they were giving off a strange response. ¨C Kueeeeek¡­! They weren¡¯t immediately running in at Marie, but they appeared to be resisting against her command. It didn¡¯t take long for them to eventually make the decision of pouncing at her. ¡°Hmph¡­!¡± When Marie smacked the ground with her staff, water budded like fruits around her before striking the monsters down. In the blink of an eye, she knocked the three Fang Boars unconscious and turned her gaze to Professor Deina to ask what to do with them. ¡°Haa~. Maybe it¡¯s because they¡¯re both boars? It snatched the control away from us way too easily.¡± ¡°What should I do with these guys?¡± Marie asked. ¡°Just keep them unconscious. We can have some boar cutlets later or something.¡± ¡°Can I take a few pieces home?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Marie was glad that there was something she could cook for the boy but her joy did not last long. One of the cages of the plaza outside the room cracked open with a thud. [Emergency! Emergency! Demonic beasts of Cage A-107 have escaped!] ¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me!¡± The demonic beast that escaped from the cage entered their room in an instant. ¨C Guwoooooooo¡ª¨C With a strange scream that sounded like the mix of a flute and a trumpet, the monster glared at Marie. ¡°A manticore?¡± A chimera, which had the body of a lion and the tail of a snake that was as big as the demonic boar, glared at her before jumping at her. ¡°Mhmm¡­¡± ? Blood Spear ? She created a large number of ice lances and fired them at the monster. However, the clever and agile manticore displayed an acrobatic jump while escaping from the attack range of the Blood Spears. ¡°Doggo¡­!¡± Marie was just about to summon her familiar but Professor Fermack held her by the shoulder and stopped her. ¡°Save your power for now.¡± After standing in front of her, Professor Fermack took off his sunglasses and postured himself in a boxing stance. Using boxing, which appeared like it would only be effective against humans, to fight the large monster weighing dozens of tonnes seemed like a questionable choice but¡­ ? Shadow Servant ? A human figure suddenly soared out of Fermack¡¯s shadow. It was a shadow clone created by Professor Fermack¡¯s specialty. The Shadow Servant was a spitting image of Professor Fermack and even its boxing stance was the same as his. ¡°? ¨C Othala. ? ¨C Raidho.¡± Professor Fermack disappeared in the blink of an eye. The only one that could perceive his super rapid acceleration was Marie thanks to her monstrous dynamic vision, but even she had trouble following his movement with her eyes. ¡°Guwooo?¡± The manticore showed a puzzled look on its face after seeing Professor Fermack reappear in front of itself. Meanwhile, both Professor Fermack and his shadow were taking in a deep breath in preparation for a massive attack. ? Ducking Boost In-dash ? Crushing the ground he raced beneath the monster. Right as the manticore was about to sense a foreign being underneath its belly, Professor Fermack¡¯s left arm penetrated inside from underneath as if he was reaching for the sky. ? Southpaw Screw Demolition ? ¨C Kwang! ¨C Kwagang! Two thuds echoed out shaking the innards of the manticore and was soon followed by a large amount of blood gushing out of the monster¡¯s throat. ¨C Kung! After killing the enormous manticore with just one move, Professor Fermack opened his mouth while cleaning his gauntlets that had been drenched with the blood of the monster¡¯s innards. ¡°Professor Deina. Something¡¯s not right.¡± It was then. ¨C KURAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA¡­!!!! The demon boar let out an inexplicable roar, as all the demonic beasts nearby responded to its cry. ¨C Kiaaakkkk! ¨C Siiiiii! Siieeeee! ¨C Quack! Quaaaaaakkkk! Whether it be low-grade or medium-grade demonic beasts, they all roared out loud in alignment with the cry of the King of Iron Mountain. ¡°W, what¡¯s going on? I didn¡¯t see anything like this in the records!¡± That wasn¡¯t the end. [Professor! This is not good! The demonic beasts are driving their heads into the iron bars like crazy and are trying to escape from their cages! You must escape!] The reactions of the demonic beasts were definitely abnormal but Professor Deina cool-headedly responded to the problem. ¡°Follow the manual; Z-17! Activate the anti-demon pressure spell and the blockade at once! We shall reseal the King of Iron Mountain as well for the time being! Activate all the magic circles right now!¡± Her response was superb. Remembering the manual in this dire situation, she commanded the members of the lab to activate all the spells installed on the 4th underground floor and promptly decided to reseal the demon boar, which was most certainly the cause of this problem. At this point, it was hard to expect another experiment of a similar kind, but she prioritized the safety of people over her academic desires. However, there was one thing that even Professor Deina hadn¡¯t been able to expect and that was¡ª [ This is Group 2! We cannot activate the magic circle!] [ Same with the sealing spell! Damn it! Someone has messed around with the magic circles!] ¡°W, what?!¡± Professor Deina gasped in utter shock, but that wasn¡¯t the end of their source of grief. ¨C Crunch! Crunch! ¡°P, Professor Fermack!¡± After seeing something, Marie hurriedly looked for Professor Fermack and pointed at the demon boar with a visibly flustered look on her face. ¡°Well shit¡­¡± Professor Fermack widened his eyes as he looked at the demon boar. The King of Iron Mountain ¨C the demonic boar of the Dingle Peninsula ¨C was chewing and devouring the magic stone chains that were restraining itself. ¡°Damn it. We have to stop it! Student Marie!¡± ¡°Yes¡­!¡± ? Crystal Lance ? Marie quickly created a large transparent spear in the air. Formed with combination magic, it was a large and frozen lance that was even tougher than it appeared. It was a high-grade combination spell which she never used against humans. Her lance pierced down at the defenseless blue hairs of the boar. ¨C Kwang! The crystal lance shattered from the collision but the boar was still surprisingly normal. ¡®That¡¯s weird¡­ How did that do no damage?¡¯ Even though she couldn¡¯t break through its defense, she did succeed at catching its attention. Professor Fermack managed to approach the monster while its eyes were on Marie. Professor Fermack swung his strongest fist at the unprepared body of the demon boar. His fist that even killed a manticore with a single strike drove deeply into the ¡®red hairs¡¯ of the demon boar. ¨C Kung. It was like throwing a pebble at a giant rock ¨C Professor Fermack¡¯s strongest strike was nothing but a pebble in front of the monster. ¡°That can¡¯t be¡­¡± The demon boar turned its eyes to Professor Fermack as their gazes collided in the air. As soon as those blue eyes landed on him, strange letters began to form on its fangs. ¡°¡­Runes?¡± ? ?? ¨C Thurisaz Fehu ? ¨C Kwang! A great amount of heat emanated from its fangs and struck Professor Fermack as a colossal amount of light and heat swallowed the underground plaza. At the end of that fluctuation of pure mana¡­ ¨C Sheeek. Boom! ¨C Crack, crack! ¡°N, no.¡± Professor Deina¡¯s powerless denial of the truth echoed in vain. The chains and the magic circles that were restraining and suppressing the monster were all crushed into shatters. After undoing all the seals that were restraining it, the demon boar arrogantly gazed at the surroundings before letting out a thunderous roar. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!! ¨C Clang! Clank!! ¨C Crack! Kung! The sounds of breaking iron bars could be heard from everywhere. As a result of the demonic beasts throwing themselves at the bars to obey the call of the Unique Grade monster, the cages ended up breaking at last. [E, Emergency! Emergency!] All the demonic beasts that were sealed on the 4th underground floor were released. CH 49 ? King of Iron Mountain (5) ? [Emergency! Emergency! Code Veronica. Code Veronica. All the staff are to evacuate. The securities are to use every magic circle available and activate the golems!] ¨C Sieeeeeek! A long and large body reaching 40 meters in length slithered its way. It resembled an amplified version of a white snake that was made by increasing its size by a hundred-fold. The name of the monster was Melting Dragon¡­ and was better known as a fake dragon, a pitiful being who had to boorishly slither across the ground after failing to become a dragon. ¨C Grrrhhh¡­! Following the Melting Dragon from behind were two large feet smashing through the ground. With ankles that were as thick as the feet of an elephant supporting its weight of a hundred tonnes, its legs destroyed the ground with each step and its slapping tail crushed everything behind its path. It was a large monster that appeared to be a combination of a brown bear and a monitor lizard. This being that was referred to as the tyrant in its homeland had become a target of fear and earned the name, King Tyrant. Melting Dragon and King Tyrant. Both of them were one of the top strongest entities out of all the Grade 1 demonic beasts. [Activating golems! Ready to intercept! Code Veronica! W, we cannot let them step out of this building!] There were about a hundred elemental golems that were made by making an elemental contract on a tough body made by mixing in magic stones. They were one by one killing the monsters including Fang Boars that reached roughly a thousand in numbers, but¡­ ¨C Kuwaaaaaaaah!! King Tyrant walked to the elemental golems, and a sweep of its tail swept the golems away. The sheer power from its weight was overwhelming. Golems were supposed to be the ones suppressing their foes with weight and size, and yet now that they were in front of an enormous monster, they became like powerless ants. They weren¡¯t the only ones ¨C there was also the Melting Dragon that was recklessly marching forward while ignoring the attacks of the golems. ¨C Hissss! Letting out a shrill voice, the large snake destroyed the elemental golems. After straightening its long back, the Melting Dragon spurted out a huge amount of acid at the ceiling. ¨C Chiiiik! The ceiling melted from the acid and fell like rubble. It created a hole in the blink of an eye as the floor of the 3rd underground floor crumbled at once. ¡°Uaahkk¡­!¡± Several people that hadn¡¯t been able to evacuate in time fell along with the rubble into the open mouth of the Melting Dragon. ¨C Kajik! [Assistance! Assistance required! We cannot stop the higher grade demonic beasts without the magic circles!] Most of the magic circles that had been installed to halt the demonic beasts were damaged. Now that the magic circles weren¡¯t working, the laboratory didn¡¯t have enough combat potential to fight against two giant Grade 1 monsters. ¡°Kieeeekkk¡­!¡± Besides, the Grade 1 demonic beasts weren¡¯t the only problems. The monsters that Professor Deina gathered for the experiment with the Unique Grade demon boar reached several hundred at least. ¡°N, no¡­! If these monsters leave the Academy grounds¡­!¡± There were way too many monsters inside the laboratory including the Fang Boars. Assuming what would happen if these were to enter the Academy and go to the city wasn¡¯t very difficult. ¡°Kieeeee!¡± It was then. A Beowulf pounced at Professor Deina who was trying her best to halt the flood of monsters. ¡°Kuhk¡­!¡± ?Consecutive Lightning? Using the lightning skill that allowed her to defeat multiple Fang Boars already, Professor Deina incapacitated the Beowulf. Her proficient control with lightning immediately turned the pouncing Beowulf into a steak but that Beowulf wasn¡¯t the only one sprinting towards her. ¡°I, I shouldn¡¯t have bought this much!!¡± She was too excited from this rare opportunity to conduct a large project but regrets were called regrets because they were late. Right when one of the Beowulfs that survived from her lightning attacks was about to swing its vicious claws at her¡­ ¨C Kang! ¡°Kiee?¡± Several blades suddenly flew in from somewhere before penetrating through the puzzled Beowulf. ¨C Pababak! ¡°H, hnn?¡± ¡°¡­Boss¡¯s insight is becoming more and more frightening.¡± The one who suddenly saved Professor Deina was Dorron Warsky of Flying Swords who could manipulate five magic swords at once. His sudden appearance made Professor Deina blink her eyes in doubt. ¡°S, Student Dorron? Why are you¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ for an observation.¡± He definitely hadn¡¯t been expecting something like this to happen on the day of his observation of the laboratory, which he applied after receiving money. ¡°Come.¡± The flying swords danced in the air. Those magic swords that were crafted with high-class magic stones erupted with fire and lightning as they scorched the incoming demonic beasts. ¡°Krrhh?¡± As if his fancy use of magic swords was eye-catching, the King Tyrant turned its gaze towards Dorron before thumping its way towards him. ¡°Debris Fuse. Create Golem.¡± ¨C Hududuk! The remains of the crumbled elemental golems merged into one. Although their bodies were broken, their crucial cores were still intact and those cores heeded to the call of the Golem Mage. ? Great Siege Golem ¨C Junk Golem ? After dozens of crushed golems were added into one, it created an enormous siege golem that was roughly the same size as the King Tyrant. It had the shape of a two-legged weapon that truly tugged the heartstrings of a man. ¡°Krrhh?¡± Feeling an enormous pressure emanating behind it, the King Tyrant turned around and immediately caught sight of the siege golem that was swinging a fist that was about the same size as its head. ¨C Boom! ¡°Good! I can control it just fine!¡± Kranel Luden the Golem Mage was marveled by the power of the great siege golem created by himself. ¡®It really worked. The formula he taught me actually worked.¡¯ It was the golem magic formula that Korin Lork talked about a few days ago on the fly while forcing him to train at the training rooms while talking about how ¡®Stamina was power¡­¡¯ Saying that he discovered a book about it at the library, he casually told him about the formula and what he requested in return was today¡¯s observation at the laboratory. Kranel gulped while thinking about how Korin¡¯s request was a perfect fit as if he had predicted this event. ¨C Kwaang! The sharp claws of the King Tyrant created a slash down the Junk Golem. Although it was a golem forged with the fusion of dozens of smaller golems, it still couldn¡¯t escape from the limitations of its materials. ¡°Uhk¡­!¡± Slowly but surely, it was being pushed back. As expected of a Grade 1 demonic beast, it was able to push the Junk Golem back but that might be natural because Kranel wasn¡¯t very experienced at using a massive golem. ? Root Reinforcement ? The golem was about to collapse but that was when something supported it from falling down. At first, Kranel thought it was another attack but upon a closer inspection he realized how abnormal the tree roots growing out of the walls were. It was definitely a supernatural and sudden growth of trees. The only one that was capable of doing this was¡­ ¡°Seriously¡­ How did that man even know this¡­¡± ¡°Druid¡­¡± Druid of the Avelorn Forest ¨C the freshman student, Yuel, appeared in a timely manner to support Kranel¡¯s Junk Golem. ¡°And how did he think of this?¡± Supporting the Junk Golem which had a weak inner structure with tree roots and reinforcing it. It was something that was hard to think of without having a profound knowledge of both nature magic and the formula of a Junk Golem. ¡°Anyway, we will take care of the King Tyrant!¡± ¡°T, thank you, guys! Oh right! How could I forget that! The Melting Dragon! The Melting Dragon was about to go to the 3rd floor!¡± Professor Deina quickly turned her gaze towards the ceiling. The Melting Dragon was trying to swerve its way through the hole on the ceiling by twisting its long body, but was being stopped by a swordsman. ¨C Kung! ¨C Shiiiik! The body of the Melting Dragon melted after a single groan. The long snake fell back on the ground with a thud as the swordsman then landed on its body. ¡°Huu¡­ Did we do it?¡± ¡°Hisss¡­!¡± ¡°I, I knew it. It¡¯s still alive!¡± The one who stopped the Melting Dragon from leaving the laboratory was the successor candidate of the Arden family, Alicia. ¡°Student Alicia?¡± Professor Deina widened her eyes in shock upon seeing the freshmen students appear one after another. It was true that they were welcome reinforcements. After all, even though they were students, they were all Grade 2! The Academy did have enough power to subjugate these monsters that were wreaking havoc inside the laboratory but the problem was the chaos that was bound to occur if all these monsters were to leave at once. So these students stopping them and buying time was something to be extremely grateful for. But¡­ ¡°W, why are you all in the laboratory?¡± Professor Deina¡¯s response was very reasonable. Despite the urgency of the situation at hand, everyone replied at the same time to her unconscious question. ¡°¡°For observation.¡±¡± The plan that was forged by the boy who currently wasn¡¯t even present inside the Academy was sailing without an issue. And as for the most important cause of this incident¡­ The demon boar was locked inside the blood-colored barrier casted by Marie and was forced to defeat her before others. It was a clash between two Unique Grades. Although Professor Deina was feeling very flustered from the sudden turn of events, she still couldn¡¯t help but feel curious about the outcome of their fight as a scholar. **** After completing the ¡®Haunted House¡¯ quest, we arrived at the port city of Zarr. It was because Old Man Haman brought me to a famous sashimi soup restaurant to congratulate me on my promotion to semi-Grade 1. Thin slices of flat head sashimi mixed with cucumbers and a spicy cold soup with a bulky ice inside¡­ ¡°Kiaaa~ That feels good. Add a few shots of soju to this and it¡¯s going to be absolutely perfect!¡± ¡°Haha. Looks like you know how to eat, young man!¡± He seemed content after seeing me gladly dive into the sashimi soup. It would be rare to find someone like me who enjoyed sashimi soup, because modern eastern food might have appeared repulsive to the people of this era. ¡°How about you buy us a bottle of soju?¡± ¡°Young man! You¡¯re a student! And I¡¯m an instructor!¡± Although he scolded me, which was a natural response as an educator, he didn¡¯t seem offended by it or anything. This¡­ was a chance. These past 3 years as Korin Lork¡­ Legally I was still underage so I never had the chance to drink alcohol so far. I did hear other people call me ¡®ahjussi¡¯ at times after seeing my face, but these damn bottle shops were so strict with checking ID. This mixed world of the Middle Ages and modern times did not allow me to drink alcohol¡­ Do you know? The sorrow of not being able to drink beer with chicken at Mr. Yoon¡¯s chicken restaurant? How does it feel to not be able to drink soju with Korean BBQ? Me, a former resident of the number 1 country in terms of alcohol consumption, was being held back from drinking!!! But this was a rare opportunity. ¡°We have a saying like this in the east, Sir.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Drinking¡­ is something you must learn from adults.¡± ¡°¡­!¡± ¡°I wish you could be my lifelong teacher who teaches me how to drink, Sir Instructor.¡± How was that? Did that sound okay? Old man, you know me right? Yeah? I respect you this much so a bit of alcohol should be okay, no? ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Sir¡­¡± ¡°I never knew you were such a well-mannered and respectable young man! To think we still had such a nice and promising youth in our world!¡± ¡°Haha.¡± ¡°Good. Excuse me! Can we get a bottle of soju each¡­!¡± ¡°Sir.¡± ¡°Mhmm?¡± ¡°Do you have plans on driving a magic carriage today?¡± Is one bottle going to be enough? Do you need to drive? Should I call a taxi for you? ¡°Hoh? Hahaha¡­! Good!¡± Before long, four bottles of soju were placed on top of our table. ¡°Huhu¡­¡± How long has it been since I last drank alcohol? Licking my lips, I was just about to open the bottles but¡­ ¨C Woof! ¡°¡­¡± No. This can¡¯t be. W, why now of all times? ¨C Woof woof! ¡°What? Where is this sound coming from?¡± ¡°Did someone bring a dog here?¡± The noisy customers of the sashimi soup restaurant confirmed the ominous feeling I had. I carefully turned my gaze to the entrance¡­ and found a red dog that looked like it was made from clay staring at me. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± That was my first alcohol in a year though¡­ **** Gritting my teeth and bidding farewell to Old Man Haman, I walked outside and headed somewhere with the ¡®blood dog¡¯. This dog was a clone created by one of the self-replicating abilities of Doggo. It was similar to one of the abilities it used during Marie¡¯s boss fight. The important thing was that this clone was connected to Doggo. This clone and Doggo shared the same senses. Before leaving the Academy, I requested Marie to have Doggo create a clone to chase after me, and come looking for me if something was to happen. In other words, the fact that Doggo¡¯s clone came to me meant¡­ ¡°Looks like the seal of the King of Iron Mountain has been lifted.¡± The thing I had been wary of finally happened and Marie alerted me of this event through Doggo¡¯s clone. Even though Marie was at the Academy, she was at an absolute disadvantage because the King of Iron Mountain was her biggest counter. I also sent the named freshmen characters to the laboratory under the pretext of ¡®Observation¡¯ but they alone wouldn¡¯t be enough to defeat the monsters of that building. There were still strong professors staying behind at Merkarva Academy so they should somehow be able to come out on top, but a victory full of scars was not the ending I was looking for. In other words, I had to return myself in order to perfectly deal with this incident. However, it would take 3 days on a magic carriage to return to Merkarva from Zarr. Even if I were to depart immediately, I would arrive after the Academy was half-destroyed. Of course, this was why I chose the Haunted House mission, and this was why I had come to Zarr. ¡°Huu~ This place is still the same as always.¡± The place I came to was a cathedral in Zarr City. ¨C Knock knock! ¡°Anyone inside?¡± ¡°Oh. Hello there.¡± An old and virtuous-looking sister of the cathedral welcomed me with a benevolent smile on her face. ¡°I am a student of the Academy that was dispatched on a mission. I couldn¡¯t attend the weekend service because of my mission. Can I please use a prayer room?¡± ¡°Oh? You are a guardian! Sure, of course.¡± I showed her my Merkarva Academy ID card and she invited me inside without any suspicion. The ID card of the Academy was a proof of identity that worked anywhere. After working down the corridor, I looked for the 3rd prayer room and went inside. Fundamentally, the religion of this world took after the one that everyone knew of back on Earth. Because of that, even the prayer rooms were similar to the ones I saw back when I was following mom to a prayer house on a mountainside. But the thing was that the religion of this world was a shocking hybrid of Catholic and Protestant¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ was it this?¡± I carefully observed the wooden cross that was stuck at the center of the prayer room. When I carved a rune there¡­ ¨C Jiiiiing! The dimensions widened, revealing a mature blonde-haired beauty inside. ¡°Chairman? I thought you were at the Tower¡­ Korin Lork?¡± Josephine Clara. The Dimensional Witch gave a dumbfounded look after seeing me. CH 50 ? King of Iron Mountain (6) ? Lady Josephine was a master of dimensional spells. She could use it during a battle but the main purpose was to teleport a long distance. You might ask, were there no limitations to her long-distance dimensional spells? The answer was no. Lady Josephine could go anywhere she wanted as long as she stayed inside Merkarva City but things would become different if she wanted to travel outside the city. Her dimensional spells required traces of her mana to be present at the destination. Merkarva City was a place she had been living in for over 80 years so that place had more than enough, but her traces had already vanished from other places. This was where ¡®markers¡¯ came in. A marker was where you carved a specific rune letter inside that causes the suppressed mana inside to burst out and leave a trace. It would automatically send a signal to Lady Josephine so she could move anywhere to where her ¡®marker¡¯ was at least once. But it became her habit to teleport whenever there was a signal, which became the cause of the ¡®Josephine Clara Sealing Incident¡¯. ¡°Korin Lork.¡± She glared at me with a sharp gaze. That was natural because the Chairman should be the only one who knew of this ¡®marker¡¯. ¡°Answer me. How do you know about this marker?¡± She threatened while pointing the wand at me. Inside the prayer room that could barely fit two, the dimensions around me were locked and were keeping me hostage. I would lose all my limbs if I were to move here. ¡°It would be great if you could undo this spell first.¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± Her voice was sharp but I could sense her fluster from within. It was about time for me to show myself to them, but¡­ there was a more pressing matter at hand. ¡°Apparently the King of Iron Mountain is wreaking havoc right now. Aren¡¯t we short on time?¡± ¡°!! How much do you¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s deal with that first. Right now, Senior Marie is holding it back but everything would be over if it leaves the laboratory and comes outside.¡± ¡°¡­¡± There must be a lot of questions in her mind but now was not the right time. At least not just yet. ¡°Let¡¯s kill the boar first.¡± **** One of the 3 best facilities of Merkarva Academy ¨C the large laboratory which went all the way down to the 5th underground floor regained its light. The reason why the laboratory, which was intentionally kept dark to cut down on energy wastage, was suddenly dazzling bright was because of the huge ruckus that happened at one of the floors. Hundreds of Fang Boars were noisily creating a fuss while the enormous snake was destroying everything in its sight. Fighting against the two-legged beast King Tyrant was the Junk Golem, a combined cluster of dozens of golems. All the demonic beasts of the laboratory were attempting to escape from this prison in harmony. Such a thing was originally something that was impossible to happen. Even though they were all classified as a ¡®demonic beast¡¯, a slight difference in their species meant they were unable to act together in a strategic manner. Even aside from the Fang Boars, there were the Grade 3 demonic beast Owlbear, Grade 2 demonic beast Beowulf, semi-Grade 1 demonic beast Giant, Grade 1 demonic beasts Melting Dragon and the King Tyrant¡­ all of them were from different types of species and yet they were doing the same thing on repeat with one objective in mind. ¡°This is unreal¡­ I did see several alpha entities lead a pack but this¡­¡± This was on a whole different scale. Without even bothering to compare this to all the experiences that he went through over his long years as a mercenary, Dorron concluded that this was a very strange turn of events. The only reason he wasn¡¯t shocked was because he had already seen something similar beforehand. The similarity between that recent event and this incident was that they both had a foe that was classified as a ¡®Unique Grade¡¯. ¡°So that¡¯s the nightmare of the Dingle Peninsula, King of Iron Mountain, huh.¡± The demon boar of the Dingle Peninsula that was commonly introduced in legends and fairy tales. The monster that murdered countless heroes was now controlling the demonic beasts of the laboratory. But what most of the people here did not know was that this was half the chaos that was originally supposed to happen. The demonic spirits that were supposed to be affected by the demonic aura of a Unique Grade monster to rampage about, and the Unique Grade monster itself that was supposed to destroy the most number of things were both being kept in check ever since the beginning of this incident. Blood Realm. If not for the large blood-colored barrier that was locking the experiment room like a prison cell, the demon boar would have demolished this building and taken a step under the sun already. ¡°Krrhh¡­¡± Dragging the chains that weren¡¯t fully removed from its legs, the large monster stood on its four legs. The overwhelming pressure emanating out of its entire body was enough to make everyone shiver. ¡°I thought it was seriously hard to believe even after Korin said it but¡­¡± An historical monster of the past that was considered as nothing but an experimental subject after being heavily sealed¡­ Marie, who had heard the prediction that it would escape from its seals beforehand, vacantly murmured to herself. The entire body of the ¡®demon boar¡¯ was covered by deep dark blue hairs. Even the skin seemed tough as if it had turned into iron and the fangs of the monster were gleaming in a sharp light. Its thick legs caused the ground below to crack on repeat. ¡°Doggo.¡± The blood familiar unhesitantly showed itself in response to the call of its owner. Even though its name was a very amicable one like ¡®Doggo¡¯, this familiar was as threatening as its owner. He should be a good addition to fighting against that monster but that wasn¡¯t Marie¡¯s intention. ¡°Go out of the Realm and help other people.¡± ¡°Grrrhh!¡± Doggo immediately refuted against his mother¡¯s command but Marie had already resolved her mind. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Trust me and go.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Doggo turned around with a grumble, but he couldn¡¯t help but create a few clones to stay behind. ¡°Good boy Doggo.¡± ¡°Grrh¡­¡± The blood dog that was growling back immediately turned quiet after a single compliment from his mother. ¡°Hope we can finish this before your daddy comes.¡± ¡°Knngg!¡± Doggo scoffed in dissatisfaction again. Even though he loved his creator and mother, he didn¡¯t seem to be very fond of his biological father who provided him with most of his blood. ¡°Kuraaaaaaaaaaa!¡± After commanding the small dogs that came out of his body, Doggo left the barrier onto the outer world. ¡°Go!¡± Marie turned cold-headed immediately after the commencement of the battle. The small demon dogs dashed forward following her command. ¡°Woof!¡± They pounced at the boar¡¯s ankles with screeching howls. Their teeth should be able to shred most medium-grade monsters to powder but the boar continued walking without even sparing them a glance. It elegantly took steps forward as if showing off the dignity of a king. While dragging the little dogs that were biting onto its ankles, the boar stood right in front of Marie. ¡°Krrrrhh¡­¡± The blood boar gazed down at Marie. The large boar weighing 60 tonnes approached the vampire girl and pondered how to devour her. ¡°Don¡¯t be too careless. I¡¯m a Unique Grade just like you.¡± That was when water drops exploded right before the eyes of the demonic boar. ? Blood Bomb ? They were water bombs that were amplified several times through Marie¡¯s specialty, . The bombs exploded right in front of the boar¡¯s nose with a magnitude far superior to normal water bombs. ¨C Kugung! Even the building itself quaked from the thunderous explosion but the boar only wobbled a little from that attack. ¡°How about this then? ¡° ? Combination Spell ¨C Multi-Shield ? ¨C Kwang! An enormous cluster of ice soared up from beneath the belly of the demon boar. The shield of ice that was large and strong enough to pierce through castle walls carried the boar all the way up and crashed it into the ceiling of the Blood Realm. Marie did not stop even after pushing that large monster away. ¡°Mana Amplification.¡± The air heeded to her call. As a genius mage, her manipulation over mana was now so delicate and profound that she could even control nature itself. ? Combination Spell ¨C Blood Ice ? It resulted in a crimson roar. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- The large ice was created at the cost of all the molecules in the nearby space. It was such a grandiose spell that others had trouble believing that it was cast by one single person. Piercing through the shield that pushed the demon boar up into the sky, the spear at last landed on the monster. The pillar of ice blood soared into the air and drove the boar deeper into the roof of the Realm. If the laboratory hadn¡¯t been built with all sorts of incredible materials with plenty of defensive spells cast on top of that, the building would have crumbled from the aftermath of her attack. ¡°Huaaaah¡­¡± ¡°W, what the hell is that¡­¡± The soaring frozen fountain of blood gathered the eyes of the noisy crowd. Let alone people, even the demonic beasts shivered at the face of an overwhelming display of power. ¨C Kuwaangg! After crashing into the roof, the enormous body of the demonic boar fell straight back down on the floor with the thunderous echo of a missile. The crater and cracks caused beneath its body was proof of how destructive her Blood Ice was. In fact, one would commend anyone if their body could be intact after that attack but¡­ ¨C Crack! Crack! The pebbles and the dust scattered down, revealing the ¡®blue¡¯ hairs of the demon boar. Seeing its body that was unbelievably unscathed, Marie widened her eyes in shock. ¡°I, it really is¡­ like what Korin said¡­¡± ¡º Senior, you won¡¯t be able to defeat it. ¡» While explaining the plan, he gave a firm declaration. The reason for that was the Primal Rune the boar swallowed that was thus engraved onto its heart. ¡º Primal Rune ¨C ¨® ¡» The reason it turned into a demon boar after crunching on the oldest steel. ¡®Paradise exists¡¯ 100% resistance to Physical/Magic attacks. That was the reason why this monster could only be sealed without being killed even with the sacrifices of countless heroes. **** King Tyrant. Rather than a demonic beast, this specific Grade 1 monster resembled a monster enemy that would appear in large mecha games and novels. It was a massive monster that should be killed immediately upon sight instead of being captured, but was captured thanks to a mage that was crazy for experiments paying a huge amount of money for it. Ironically, you could say that the scale of this laboratory building being large enough to house even a monster like this was the reason why things turned this bad. ¡°Damn it. Everything¡¯s breaking down just from its movement! Do something!¡± The irritation at the predicament made the tongue of the veteran mercenary coarser than usual. ¡°Yuel! I need more support!¡± ¡°Can that really move?¡± Fighting against the King Tyrant was a trash giant. Formed with the formula provided by Korin Lork plus Yuel¡¯s reinforcement, the Junk Golem reached 13 meters in height and was definitely not small even when compared to the King Tyrant. Supporting the Junk Golem was a fusion of multiple cores of elemental golems that had been destroyed by the rampant demonic beasts added with the tree roots created by the Druid of the Avelorn Forest. ¡°Kuwoooooooo¡­!¡± King Tyrant, the monster at the peak of the food chain dashed forward at the potential competitor of the ecosystem that threatened its position. Its large claws that could tear down a whole mountain were swung at the Junk Golem. ¨C Kuang! As one would expect from the sheer size of those claws, its attacks were incredibly heavy. The Junk Golem wobbled from a single attack from it. ¡°Can you please control it properly? My Wickerman is probably better than that!¡± ¡°You said you can only use that in the forest! Just focus on enhancing the snapped joints!¡± Yuel the Druid of the Avelorn Forest, Golem Mage Kranel Luden. These two were the so-called ¡®Mecha members¡¯ of . Several mecha fans among the players loved the idea of summoning the Wickerman and the Junk Golem at the same time by using those two named characters. Originally, those two powerful abilities were supposed to be acquired towards the end of their character scenarios but Korin had told them about it ahead of time. It was thus natural for both Yuel and Kranel to be inexperienced at handling their summons. ¡°Uhh. According to the formula¡­ Yuel! Can you enhance the fists please!?¡± ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°I will explode five of the elemental golem cores at once to scatter a large amount of mana! Go, Luden Warrior!¡± ¡°You even gave it a name?¡± The Junk Golem, Luden Warrior, drove an uppercut at the King Tyrant with its right arm. While the monster was befuddled by the sudden strike to its jaws, the Junk Golem pulled its left arm back like a bowstring. In that instant, the joints cracked open around its left elbow. Inside was a portion of elemental golem cores that had been providing energy to the Junk Golem, overflowing with energy like it was about to explode very soon. ?Posture/Balance Control Formula ¡ª Check??Magic Booster Formula ¡ª Check? ?Target Tracking Radar ¡ª On? ?Nature¡¯s Weapon Wooden Fist Equipped? ?Forced Explosion of Elemental Core x 5? ?System All Green¡ª You have Control? ¡°GOOOOOOOOO!!¡± ? Master Form Junk Wooden Golem ¨C Elbow Rocket ? A heavy punch flew forward with the explosion of mana acting like a boost. Backed by that immense force and weight, the punch drove deeply into the King Tyrant¡¯s face. Go, Master Form Junk Wooden Golem! You can do it! Master Form Junk Wooden Golem! ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­ ¡°W, wut is going on?¡± Seeing the genre change in front of her eyes, Alicia couldn¡¯t help but drop her chin. But there was something Alicia wasn¡¯t aware of. Yuel the Druid with knowledge on how to create the Wickerman and Kranel Luden who knows how to create the Junk Golem ¨C with the two in the party plus a certain hidden piece, it was possible to create Over Master Form Super Fusion Nature Golem Wicker Warrior!! ¡°N, now is not the time for this!¡± Even aside from the King Tyrant, there were a lot of demonic beasts that were running in at her. While slashing through one of the roaring Fang Boars, Alicia witnessed the overwhelming fountain of mana that asserted Marie¡¯s dominance even through the barrier of blood. Marie¡¯s magic was so powerful that it shook the building from its core. It was incredible that she could use such a mighty attack but what was even more incredible was the demon boar that was completely unscathed after receiving that attack from the front. ¡°Can I¡­ really kill that monster?¡± Korin had told her that she was the crucial key in defeating that demon boar. But let alone that boar, she had to worry about the large snake in front of her first. ¨C Hisss¡­! The Melting Dragon charged in with a low hiss. This large yet fake dragon stubbornly chased after Alicia for interfering with its escape. ¡°Uahht¡­!¡± Throwing her body, she barely escaped from the marching Melting Dragon. Even though she was a Grade 2 Knight, she would still have all of her bones crushed if she was to get hit by that tackle. ? Singular Sword of Arden, Crushing Steel ? A fierce stab with aura pierced at the exposed temples of the Melting Dragon. ¨C Kang! ¡°Uahh¡­¡± But the resulting sound was that of clashing steel unlike the sound of a blade cutting through flesh. It seemed that Grade 1 demonic beasts, which were like raid bosses for guardians, had ridiculously tough skin. ¡®Can I¡­ really kill this without using Domain Severance?¡¯ Korin chose Alicia as the key member of the subjugation of the King of Iron Mountain. The reason for that was naturally because of her ¡®Domain Severance¡¯, and that was why he had given an earnest request. ¡º ¡®Never! Never ever use Domain Severance,¡¯ he said! ¡» Even though it was through the vampire-senior, Alicia could still tell how serious he must have been when saying that. With her current stats, Alicia could only use Domain Severance once. Without using that powerful ability, she had to stop the demonic beasts from leaving the laboratory building. ¡®Miss Yuel and Mr. Kranel are taking care of the King Tyrant. Professor Deina and Mr. Dorron are trying their best but¡­¡¯ There were too many demonic beasts on this battlefield. There were so many of them that they couldn¡¯t even spare the time to care about the remaining Grade 1 demonic beast, which was the biggest threat of them all. Alicia was the only one that could fight against the Melting Dragon. Although she did become much stronger after being enlightened into the Domain, she still doubted if she could defeat the Grade 1 demonic beast, Melting Dragon, by herself without relying on Domain Severance. ¨C Kuraaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! It was then. A powerful roar bounced across the walls of the building and resonated sonorously, which momentarily gathered the eyes of everyone present. ¡°D, Doggo?¡± A huge dog of blood that reached 2 meters in height jumped onto the Melting Dragon. ¡°Kukakakakakkk!!¡± Doggo repeatedly smacked the Melting Dragon with a loud roar but its scales were inexplicably tough. As if trying to chase out an annoying bug, the snake tossed and turned in order to drop Doggo. ¡°Sieeee!¡± The snake hissed while opening its mouth. The acid of a Melting Dragon was about to soar out of its throat. Even a magic organism like Doggo would melt immediately if he was to be hit by that acid head-first. ¡°Run away!¡± ? Singular Sword of Arden, Soaring Heavens ? Jumping into the air, Alicia attacked the head of the Melting Dragon as fast as a lightning bolt. The fake dragon¡¯s head plummeted into the ground as the acid powerlessly flowed out of its mouth. ¡°Doggo! Now!¡± Doggo kicked off the ground. Like a magic bullet, he started a destructive march that he once used when trying to crush Korin to pieces. His form resembled a rampaging train with broken brakes. The moment he kicked off the stone floors of the laboratory and sped through the air, the Melting Dragon opened its mouth in an attempt to swallow Doggo as a whole. ¡°Haht! That¡¯s dangero¡­?!¡± ¨C Kaduk! They collided. In the blink of an eye, the venomous fangs of the Melting Dragon were crushed¡ª ¨C Kaduk! Kadududuk?! And it was followed by the sound of the inner flesh being torn to pieces. ¨C Rip! Chieeeek! Soon, Doggo raced out of the snake¡¯s tail along with the explosion of the snake¡¯s inner organs. ¡°Awooooooooooooooo¡­!!¡± Drenched in blood and organs of the Melting Dragon, Doggo raised a scream of victory. ¡°No-one¡­ is normal.¡± Honestly, Alicia even pondered if it was alright for her to be here or not. ¨C Jiiing! That was when the dimensions opened in the middle of the laboratory ¨C Alicia knew what this spell was. ¡°P, Professor Josephine?¡± It seemed that the master of dimensional spells, Professor Josephine, had finally arrived at the laboratory. Lady Josephine soon showed herself from the portal, and the good news was she wasn¡¯t the only reinforcement. ¡°Woah~. Looks like everyone¡¯s doing fine.¡± Korin Lork. He, who should be out of the city for the grade reassessment, arrived along with Josephine. ¡°M, Mr. K, Korin-?!¡± Alicia knew he would be back before everything was over, but she definitely wasn¡¯t expecting him to arrive like this so she widened her eyes in surprise. ¡°How did you meet Professor Josephine?¡± ¡°Tell me the situation before that. Where¡¯s the boar?¡± ¡°Ah! Senior Marie is holding it back for now! We have to help but¡­!¡± Alicia turned to Marie who was keeping the demon boar busy with Blood Realm in the middle of one of the rooms of the building. What she saw next were hundreds of demonic beasts camping outside the barrier. They were waiting as if they would pounce at Marie immediately once the Realm was gone. It seemed nigh impossible to approach her through that horde of monsters. ¡°King Tyrant should be alright now. And Melting Dragon¡­ what did you even do to that guy?¡± ¨C Woof! Doggo gave a fierce bark and showed off his achievement. ¡°What¡¯s your plan, Korin Lork? Should I throw you into the barrier with my magic?¡± asked Josephine. Her idea was very reasonable. Even though she was a semi-Unique Grade mage and was immeasurably strong, even she couldn¡¯t defeat hundreds of rampant demonic beasts in an instant in an underground setting. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Miss, you can just help us defeat the demon boar.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Instead of replying to her question, Korin responded with his actions. Raising the Silver Spear, he tapped the ground once. ¨C Hwaaaaa, hwaaaaaaaaakk¡ª¡ª!!!! In that instant, astonishing flames started to rise from everywhere. The hundreds of demonic beasts that were pushing the guardians back suddenly started being scorched with black smoke leaving their bodies. ¡°Are they being¡­ scorched from the inside?¡± ¨C Hwaaak! Hwaaaaaaaa! ¨C Squeakkk! Quackkk! Kuwooooo! Flames started rising from the ¡®undigested stones¡¯ that were inside the bodies of the demonic beasts. Like white phosphorus, they simultaneously began to burn. The synchronized screams of countless monsters including Fang Boars were so noisy that even Professor Josephine turned dizzy from it. ¡°Resonant activation of the Silver Spear. With enough time and tenacity, you can even do things like this.¡± Korin¡¯s lips curled up as he gazed down at the burning demonic beasts. CH 51 ? King of Iron Mountain (7) ? ¡°Gulp¡­¡± Professor Deina of the Magic Department gasped while watching the scene unravel before her eyes. Let alone historians and guardians, everyone regardless of gender and age would have imagined something like this if they had read about the great legends and the myths of the old times. Unique Grades. What would happen if the historical legends ¨C those immeasurable monsters ¨C were to fight against each other? ? Combination Spell ¨C Snow Flower ? ? ?? ¨C Thurisaz Fehu ? The absolute zero coldness that threatened to freeze everything in existence was swallowed by the exploding heat of mana. Their mana output was in a whole different league. Their fight was beyond the realms of human comprehension. Even though the two Unique Grade demons were casually using these spells as if it was nothing, those spells were like a tempest of destruction. If not for the that separated everything with a barrier that only allowed herself and her familiar to cross it, the aftermath of their fight would have reached the entire building. Professor Deina was shocked by how each of their spells were powerful enough to easily destroy an entire floor of this building, and was relieved by the fact that it wasn¡¯t leaving the Realm. That was Unique Grade. The legendary great demon, King of Iron Mountain. Elder-rank vampire, Marie Dunareff. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!! The monster charged forward. The four-legged beast weighing 60 tonnes left an afterimage behind its path as it marched towards its enemy with gleaming fangs. Even though it had simply kicked off the ground, the resulting gust was destructive in itself. ? Multi-Shield: Blood Snow Barrier Fortress ? The original combination spell, Multi-Shield, which was formed by freezing moisture, was supplemented with the blood of a vampire. It was truly as tough as a fortress but it wasn¡¯t enough to stop the demonic boar. ¨C Kwaaaaaaaaang!! One strike made the Blood Snow Barrier Fortress crumble to pieces. Even after destroying those tough fortress walls, the demon boar did not stop advancing forward. ¡°Uhk¡­!¡± It seemed that even the girl with water-colored hair wasn¡¯t expecting the monster to break through one of her strongest defense skills this easily, and gave a frown. ¡°¡­!!¡± Right as the boar was about to collide with her, Marie¡¯s body vanished from sight. ¡°¡­¡± Using its insane dynamic vision, the demon boar¡¯s gaze chased after her body and realized that it was a crimson dog that moved its foe away from its path. ¡°Doggo?¡± ¡®What about the outside?¡¯ Before asking that question, Marie instinctively looked outside and noticed that the laboratory was being splendidly burned down. ¡°Korin¡¯s finally here.¡± There was something Korin had requested of her while explaining his plan. It was to feed a thousand pebbles and stones to the demonic beasts of the laboratory. Of course, those weren¡¯t normal pebbles and they were stones that had the rune letter, ¡®Kenaz¡¯ engraved on them. The plan was to feed those stones to the demonic beasts under the pretext that it was safer for her to feed them, and use Resonant Rune Activation to kill them all at once. This disastrous scene of the burning laboratory was the result of that plan. Higher-level demonic beasts like Grade 2 and semi-Grade 1 were able to withstand the attack somehow, but lower-grade demonic beasts were immediately scorched to death by the flames rising up from their innards. That meant that most of the monsters outside that were keeping everyone busy had been dealt with. ¡°Krrhh¡­!¡± At a corner of the Blood Realm, Doggo dropped Marie back down on the ground. Watching from outside the barrier next to them was Korin. ¡°Korin!¡± ¡°Thank you for your hard work, Senior.¡± ¡°I did my best!¡± ¡°Everything became a lot easier thanks to your help. Can you open this for us?¡± Only Marie and her familiar were able to enter and exit out of the Blood Realm. That was common sense but there was an exception. ¡°You can just come in, Korin.¡± ¡°Hnn?¡± In response, Korin reached forward with his hand as it easily passed through the barrier made of blood. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°You are always welcome, Korin!¡± ¡°Ohh~¡± Korin walked back and forth out of the Blood Realm as if it was an interesting experience, but he soon stopped and opened his mouth. ¡°Can you still remove this for us though? Because we need to kill that guy.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Marie removed the Blood Realm in an instant without any hesitation. That was when the heavy thud of something falling down quaked the entire laboratory. ¨C Kuwwoooooo¡­! The large body of the King Tyrant fell on the ground with a remorseful roar. Standing on that body and declaring its victory was an enormous golem. ¡°N, nice! We did it!¡± ¡°Defeating a Grade 1 demonic beast as two people¡­ We got lucky!¡± One by one, the named characters gathered together. Golem Mage, Kranel Luden. Druid of the Avelorn Forest, Yuel. Mercenary of Flying Swords, Dorron Warsky. Domain Wielder, Alicia Arden. Unique Grade Vampire, Marie Dunareff. The party was far beyond being simply good and was even extravagant, but they were still unsure of victory because the enemy was a great monster that befit its notorious fame. And besides¡­ ¨C Grrhh¡­ ¨C Kiyaaa¡ª¨C The stronger demonic beasts that survived through Korin¡¯s Resonant Rune Activation slowly gathered to form an army. Those monsters that should have been fighting recklessly without any order or cooperation had gathered under the single flag of a Unique Grade. They were about 30 in numbers. Fighting against 30 Grade 2 monsters at once was already a tough task and yet behind them, there was even the Unique Grade demonic boar. ¡°Krrrh¡­!¡± A short howl echoed from the boar followed by Marie¡¯s immediate shout. ¡°Everyone, scatter!¡± Everyone reacted fast. Both knights and mages instinctively sensed danger and retreated. The only ones that did not listen to her advice ¨C the demonic beasts ¨C were caught up by the relentless march of the boar. ¨C Kaduduk! ¨C Pabak! A tyrant. The charge of the sole king that destroyed everything it touched like the blades of a blender had no regard for allies. Its march that ripped everything into shreds without caring about the demonic beasts under its path reminded one of the poem from 80 years ago that was sung by a bard describing the tyrant. King of Iron Mountain requires no minion. Before him there can be no safe bastion, For the king has no mercy for you all. Run, o foolish mortals. We cannot stall. Here comes the tyrant to devour them all. ¡°Luden Warrior!¡± In order to fight against the enormous boar that was charging in a straight line, the Junk Golem started dashing forward. ¡°You idiot. You can¡¯t go head-to-head against that!¡± Korin¡¯s shout was buried under the crushing footsteps of the golem. The siege golem had proven its strength by defeating the King Tyrant. Its destructiveness was marvelous, even more so after receiving the enhancement of a druid. Even a Unique Grade shouldn¡¯t be unscathed after being kicked by this giant from the front. ?Forced Explosion of Elemental Core x 7: Flying Knee Kick? ¡°GOOOOOO!!¡± The powerful kick was made by sacrificing most of the elemental cores that were left behind in its body. Even a Unique Grade demon boar would get injured if it received such an attack to its skull! ¨C Kajik! The marching demon boar collided against the leg of the golem. The result was very obvious. ¨C Pang! The leg of the Junk Golem, which was made by combining the remains of golems that weighed tens of tonnes, crumbled in an instant. Like a balloon, it popped and vanished when it reached the boar. ¡°This can¡¯t be¡­!¡± Kranel and Yuel were greatly astonished. They probably weren¡¯t expecting the strongest knee kick under Yuel¡¯s greatest support to be crushed this easily. ¡°Kranel, hold onto it as much as you can! You need to last 30 seconds at least! Go!!¡± ¡°Eeeek¡­!¡± He hurriedly started moving the Junk Golem. Holding onto the demon boar that did not even slow down after destroying one of the golem¡¯s legs, he tried his hardest to slow down the monster. ¡°Yuel! Grow your plants! You must hold it back somehow!¡± ¡°You make it sound easy!¡± Despite shouting back, Yuel followed the order given by the party leader. She wrote an Ogham letter through her staff. Using the profound abilities of a druid, she grew plants from the literal bottom pits of nature. ¡°Dorron! Attack the sides! Don¡¯t use the magnetic and the heavy iron sword! Focus all your mana on the lightning and fire spirit swords and go as fancy as you can to grab its attention!¡± ¡°Those two swords require a lot of mana. I won¡¯t even last 3 minutes if I use them in full scale. Is that still okay?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. That¡¯s all you need to do. Explode your swords at the end if you need to. The important thing is to deal as much damage as possible using your magic swords.¡± ¡°What a cold thing to say, Boss.¡± He grumbled but still followed Korin¡¯s command, because Korin had never given a wrong order as a party leader. A strategist that raises the best and safest options in a timely manner ¨C there was no reason for him to disobey as a mercenary. ¨C Kwaaaang! Large plants shot out of the ground. The huge bean sprouts that were amplified by the secret skills of a druid reached out at the demon boar in order to stop the giant monster. After losing both of its legs, the Junk Golem clinged onto the boar using its arms and its weight. Thanks to that, the demonic boar had been slowed down a fair bit. ¨C Duruk! Creak! ¨C Rip! Kajik! However, the boar was still moving forward. The golem weighing tens of tonnes was being dragged along the ground, while the huge vines were being ripped without being able to stop the monster in its tracks. ¡°¡­Are you serious?¡± ¡°How is this even possible¡­¡± This was a Unique Grade. A monster that couldn¡¯t be measured by human standards. Something incredibly different from people. ¡°It¡¯s going to use it soon,¡± muttered Korin. ¡º Primal Rune ¨C ¨® ¡» That was when the hairs of the boar turned red. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°W, wait? What?¡± The demon boar simply walked out ignoring the plants and the golem that were holding onto its legs. As if they weren¡¯t fully wrapped around in the first place, it naturally walked out. ¡°Dorron!¡± ¡°I know!¡± The mercenary¡¯s swords started to dance. The sword of fire and the sword of lightning. Those weapons had been upgraded into having the best Grade 1 magic stones that he received as reward from the Academy after Marie Dunareff¡¯s incident. His swords were truly remarkable. Bolts of lightning danced around with tall flames to sear both sides of the boar. ¡º Primal Rune ¨C ¨® ¡» This time, the hairs of the monster started turning into blue. The swords of flame and lightning reached the demonic boar after its hairs finished turning blue. ¡°What?¡± Dorron felt nothing. Although he was flying the swords around with telekinesis, he was the one controlling them. He should be feeling some type of collision if they were to come into contact with something. However, he didn¡¯t feel anything just then as if he had slashed through thin air. ¡°Korin!¡± ¡°Yes, I know. Send Doggo forward.¡± Only Marie, who had been fighting against the King of Iron Mountain until now, was able to understand what was going on. ¡°Doggo!¡± The familiar of blood heeded to the call of its owner and marched forward. Its destructive vigor was by no means less than that of the large monster. ¨C Kung! Relying on pure speed, the blood dog pounced forward. After being hit by the dog that was even faster than the speed of sound, the demon boar¡¯s body wobbled for the first time. ¡°Krrh¡­!¡± ¡°It worked?!¡± The party members cheered out loud, thinking that they had finally managed to land a meaningful strike. The Primal Rune that was swallowed by the demon boar ¨C the statement that ¡®Paradise exists¡¯ and the power that stemmed from it was like a play on words. ¡°In order to kill the King of Iron Mountain, there needs to be both physical and magic attacks. It¡¯s quite a common pattern.¡± Prime. The 8 letters required to head into Paradise. As something that existed but not anymore, the Paradise gave out incomplete notions of power. In the case of the demon boar, the notion was that Paradise existed. This concept was realized in but in an imperfect way that had two conditions. Red hair gave complete resistance to physical attacks. Blue hair gave complete resistance to magic attacks. And the gold hair, its final resort was¡­ ¡°Kranel and Yuel. Try your best to hold it back as much as you can. If it slips out of your grip, do it again. Dorron, attack from medium-range. Alicia and I will be waiting for our turn at the back.¡± ¡°Korin, what about me?¡± Marie asked. ¡°Leave all the attacks to Doggo. Wait until I give you other orders.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Everyone. Do not worry about what comes next. This is a fight for our lives and the result will be decided shortly. Pour out everything you have and we will win.¡± All the guardians present were lost for words. They were shocked to see someone who was sure of victory even in the face of a legendary opponent with such absurd abilities. A roar that seemed to be knocking on the world sonorously echoed across the building as the large body of the King of Iron Mountain started to move again. ¡ª¡ª¨C!! Following its shout was another simple charge, but there was no-one here who did not know of how destructive and powerful its attack was. ¡°Yuel! Kranel!¡± The Junk Golem with no legs and the half-crushed large plants pounced at the monster. Rather than an attack, it was closer to a grappling move. ¡°!!!¡± Those annoying things started to slow it down again, so the demon boar immediately changed its hairs to red. ¡°Uhht?!¡± ¡°It ran away!¡± As soon as the hairs changed its color, the arms of the golem and the plants ended up slipping out as if they couldn¡¯t even come into contact with the demon boar. ¡°Dorron.¡± The lightning spirit sword and the fire spirit sword started to dance and struck down at its sides as if it had been waiting. Due to the magic stones inside and Dorron¡¯s skills, the flames and lightning bolts of these swords were on a similar level to the high-grade spells of mages. However, the boar started turning its hairs to blue and escaped from his attacks again. That was when¡­ ¡°Gyaaooo!!¡± It was the same pattern as before ¨C Doggo threw its body at a rapid speed and marched in at the side of the demon boar as soon as it started changing its hairs to blue. ¨C Kung! The power behind the attack was enough to send its onlookers shivering but Doggo realized that something was different after marching at it. ¡°¡­?!¡± The color of the hairs hadn¡¯t changed ¨C the monster had stopped changing the color of its hair in the middle, and they were still red. A feint. Showing its change to the magic-resistant blue hairs was a trick to attract Doggo, who was proving to be the most threatening foe. ¨C Smirk. The old and great monster of the past gazed down at the young beast. At the same time, its fangs gleamed in gold. ? ?? ¨C Thurisaz Fehu ? ¨C Kwang! Those runes destroyed everything nearby and that destructive light sent Doggo flying. ¡°Doggo!¡± ¡°Senior. Retrieve your familiar. Use Blood Spear.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Marie regained her temper after hearing Korin call her from the side. She retrieved Doggo who was starting to lose his shape after being crushed. It was possible to resummon him after sufficiently replenishing blood and mana but she didn¡¯t have enough blood to do that right now. ? Blood Spear ? She created dozens of Blood Spears in the air. After being amplified by her specialty, those spears were several times stronger than normal medium-grade spells. ¡°Blow it away!¡± Without even bothering to dodge the attack, the demon boar dashed into the tempest of spears. Its hairs turned blue. Despite ignoring Dorron¡¯s swords like it was nothing, the boar used its Primal Rune to fight against Marie¡¯s attacks. Its first priority now was Marie Dunareff. ¨C Kagagang! The spears began to break immediately upon contact with the boar without leaving a single wound on its body. The boar and Marie were now less than 10 meters apart. Marie still had more than enough mana. She could continue pouring out newly-created Blood Spears for hours without an end. The only issue was that the enemy wasn¡¯t keen on giving her the time to use all her mana. ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡± ¨C Thud! The spearman kicked off the ground, making everyone doubt their eyes. No-one was expecting there to be a fool who would charge back at the march of the demon boar. He jumped into the air, but was still in the path of the boar. In the middle of the air, in a situation where he might lose his body without even having the time to land back down on the ground, he bent his back like a bowstring and¡­ ? Crumbling Mountain: Secret Arts ? ? One Strike One Shot: Thunderous Strike ? He used the strongest ability of a spearman. ¡°¡­¡­?!!¡± The demon boar that was holding off against Marie¡¯s magic bombardment with its blue Primal Rune was flustered by the unexpected yet destructive attack. That single strike was even stronger than the bombardment used by a Unique Grade mage. Seeing that incoming spear, the demon boar immediately realized that the attack had the power to leave a massive wound on its body. Did it have to change to red hair? As the boar quickly accelerated its thoughts, it spotted the vampire pointing the staff at its body in its slow perception of the world. Mana was gathering at the tip of the staff. Even though she was already creating tens and hundreds of Blood Spears, she was casting another spell on top which was in a different league to what she had used thus far. The boar immediately noticed what their plan was. As soon as it changed its hairs to red in order to avoid the tossed spear, it would be swallowed by that massive spell. It was bound to receive a large amount of damage no matter what happened. ¡º Primal Rune ¨C ¨® ¡» What would the monster choose? What did it choose to allow, and what did it choose to resist? ¡°Huh¡­?¡± The first one to let out a stupified gasp was Kranel, who had been controlling the golem. He was appalled after seeing the change that started from the butt of the demon boar. After him were Dorron and Yuel, who were likewise flustered upon seeing the new color of the boar. ¡°¡­¡­Gold?¡± Right. Gold. Covering the lofty King of Iron Mountain was neither blue nor red, but was the lustrous sheen of gold. ¨C Kang! The spear bounced off. Unable to do any damage, the silver spear powerlessly bounced off the body of the boar, and the same was with the countless Blood Spears that were being poured on the monster. Golden hair. Its ability was purely absurd ¨C complete resistance to both Physical and Magic damage. The king grinned. Satisfied, it contorted its lips. As always, the battle was decided by the last resort that it had been hiding from everyone¡¯s sight ¨C the ability that made it invincible for 5 minutes. No-one was able to fight against the king in front of this power. ¡°Alicia.¡± But the king¡¯s vanity lasted only a second. Next to where the spearman landed ¨C 10 steps in front of the boar ¨C was a swordsman with bent knees and a lowered head. Amidst the confusion of the laboratory caused by everything being crushed, destroyed and crumbled was a swordsman keeping her calm like the tranquil ocean. The king looked at her. They were only 10 meters away. It would take 0.5 seconds for its current unstoppable march to reach her; another 0.5 seconds for its fangs to penetrate through her stomach, and 0.5 more seconds for it to be trampled on the ground after being shredded into pieces in the air. Overall, it should take less than 1.5 seconds. The opponent was just a feeble and tiny human that should be gone in less than 1.5 seconds. That should be it but if so¡­ why was the swordsman making the king feel this uneasy and vigilant? The king¡¯s instincts and its speed were incomparably fast, But its judgment and its change of plans were slow. ? Singular Sword of Arden¡ª Facing off against the boar that was hundreds of times heavier than herself, the girl unsheathed the Demon-Slaying Sword. ¡ªDomain Severance.? Sheek. The sword cleaved the dimension. As the colossal body of the boar came crashing down. **** The boar fell while splattering its blood everywhere. I was probably the only one who saw what happened in that short decisive moment. Everyone who hadn¡¯t been able to see her entry to the Domain and her slash inside the Domain doubted the scene before their eyes. Alicia herself was barely holding onto her sword with her shivering right arm. That was probably the strongest strike she had ever pulled off in her entire life. ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± I supported Alicia who was about to powerlessly fall to the side. It was very commendable that she was still holding onto the sword despite her condition. ¡°I, is it dead?¡± Alicia asked me to confirm whether she had been able to deal the final blow to the monster or not. ¡°Not yet.¡± She sent an astonished gaze at the fallen beast. Even after being hit by her strongest attack, the demon boar was still alive. Golden hair. The last phase of King of Iron Mountain, the demonic boar of the Dingle Peninsula, was where the final boss became invincible for 5 minutes. It was truly a disgusting mechanic but there existed a secret way around this phase. And that was none other than Domain Severance. Domain Severance was like a killing move in a suspended world, but it had another effect in the game. 100% Physical and Magic Penetration. The reason why Alicia Arden was the strongest counter to all the boss characters who loved having a bunch of physical or magic resistances was simple. There was nothing in the world that could block her sword strike when she was staring into the gap between dimensions through her Eyes of the Boundary. The normal way to go through that last phase was by running around for 5 minutes from that demon boar but Alicia could defeat it in one strike. Her strongest attack as a result of the combination of the Domain and the Eyes of the Boundary were exceptionally overpowered. There was a reason why she was called the True Alicia after her scenario quest. ¡°As expected, one well-nurtured Alicia¡­ is way better than 10 people~¡± ¡°W, what are you talking about?! More importantly, is it okay to leave that monster like that? Isn¡¯t it going to run around again?¡± Even after being slashed by Alicia¡¯s secret move, the boar was still alive. That was natural considering the sheer amount of HP it had. ¡°No. It¡¯s about time for Lady Josephine to get to work.¡± ¨C Swish! It was then. As soon as I finished saying that, a grandiose magic circle appeared at the ceiling. ¡°W, what is that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the repaired version of the broken grand magic circle¡­¡± I had asked Lady Josephine to repair the grand magic circle of the laboratory while we were stopping the boar. That was the normal approach to the boss fight back in the game as well. ¡°She finished repairing it that fast?¡± Everyone seemed surprised by the works of the great witch, but this wasn¡¯t the end just yet. ¡°The golden hair pattern is a strong ability, but it can¡¯t use the Primal Rune again for some time after that¡¯s over.¡± In other words, now was the only chance to kill the demonic boar. It was very rare to even get a chance to kill someone or something that contained a Primal Rune. We would gang up against the monster together in the original game to barely beat it but¡­ we had a Unique Grade mage in our hands. ¡°Senior Marie.¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± Marie started using her grand spells against the demon boar that was powerlessly being pushed down by the magic circle of suppression. The spell of pure destruction of a Unique Grade vampire was exceptional. Several members of our party that recognized the intensity of her attack immediately retreated to the stairs in a hurry. ¡°Professor Josephine! I leave this building in your hands! It¡¯s all you!¡± [¡­Damn it.] A rare profanity left the mouth of Lady Josephine. After gathering all the energy inside the laboratory that came from the leylines, the great mage started using her spell and¡ª ¡°Goodbye.¡± ? Grand Magic of Blood ¨C Pure Crimson Spear ? The spear of the strongest output that she had been building over time struck down to kill the King of Iron Mountain. The nightmare from 80 years ago. The Killer of Heroes. During the last moments of the demonic boar of the Dingle Peninsula¡­ The spearman did not miss the Primal light that shot out of the crumbling body of the monster. **** ¨C Kugugung! The empty plot of land behind the laboratory ¨C that barren land with no passersby ¨C echoed with the sound of a mechanism as a path appeared out of nowhere. A man was walking out of that secret passage which should only be known by two people of the Academy. In his hand was a well-polished magic stone. The letter engraved on that was the Primal Rune [ ¨®] , the rune swallowed by the demon boar which was the root cause of this incident. Primal Rune. The eight letters leading to the Paradise. They were the remnants of the divine ages of gods in the past that could not be broken by anything in the world, but it was possible for the ¡®rune stones¡¯ that served as the shell to break at times. 88 years ago, that rune stone had been swallowed by one of the boars of the Dingle Peninsula. Because it just happened to give semi-immortality to its owner, no-one had been able to take it out of the monster until now. But today, the unsealed demon boar was subjugated and the rune stone in its body ended up breaking. Where would the Primal Rune go after losing its shell? The answer was simple. After roaming the air and finding the closest rune stone, it would land inside it, and the closest rune stone this time was the one being held by the man who was hiding nearby. He had finally achieved his goal. It was a joyous event after 10 years of hard work, which he had been aiming for ever since he first infiltrated into this Academy following the command of his master. ¨C Has everyone evacuated from the building? ¨C There are still some monsters coming out of the entrance! Kill them! ¨C Don¡¯t let any of them come out! Everyone was focused on the entrance of the building, which was on the complete opposite side of the empty plot of land. The man simply had to leave this secret passage and leave both the Academy and the city. ¡°That wasn¡¯t very difficult.¡± The monster had been defeated with more ease than he expected considering its fame as the King of Iron Mountain, but that made sense because it had been sealed for over 80 years. The man with afro-hair walked out of the opened doors of the secret passage out of the laboratory, and walked onto the empty plot of land behind the building. For some unknown reason, at the center of the land were traces of a campfire and¡­ a log chair which was being occupied by a man. The man sitting on the chair was a famous freshman who was known by everyone in the Academy ¨C the Grade 5 Knight whom he had intentionally sent outside the city during this time. Surrounded by a cold and sharp breeze, the man gazed back with a wild sneer on his face. Korin Lork. Grade 5 Knight. An irregular who defeated the Unique Grade vampire Marie Dunareff, as well as the great demon, King of Iron Mountain. ¡°How is my Senior Brother Valtazar doing? My dear nephew Fermack?¡± He greeted the long-awaited ¡®King¡¯s Subject¡¯, Fermack Daman. CH 52 ? Finishing Touch (1) ? ¡°How is my Senior Brother Valtazar doing? My dear nephew Fermack?¡± ¡°Nephew¡­?¡± Fermack was probably suspecting that I was a ¡®martial brother¡¯ of his that he wasn¡¯t aware of but¡­ ¡°You¡¯re the disciple of the renounced disciple of my master, so that makes me your uncle. Come show your respects to your elder.¡± ¡°Uncle¡­? Don¡¯t tell me!¡± He seemed to have finally noticed who I was. ¡°That can¡¯t be! That woman shouldn¡¯t be able to leave the ¡®Palace¡¯ right now! How could she possibly take in another disciple?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you need to believe me.¡± His decision after seeing me use the same spearmanship as his master was very wise. From Fermack¡¯s knowledge, his master should be the only spearman out there who used ¡®Six Ways of the Spear¡¯ to reach the ¡®Void¡¯. Therefore, judging from what I showed him, it should have been highly likely for me to be that man¡¯s disciple. But why would his master not tell Fermack about another direct disciple even though he was here for a mission that was given by him? As a traitor¡­ or rather as a subject of the ¡®King of Paradise¡¯, what would have been the right call for Fermack Daman? Ignore. Ask for help. Ignoring was the safer option. Even after ignoring me here, he could still reveal his identity at a later date. Asking for help was a foolish choice, because one Rune Mage was more than enough for this plan. He didn¡¯t even need to receive my help for this plan, and what if I didn¡¯t have the same master as him? What if I was antagonistic, and what if I had nothing to do with them? Instead of bearing the risk, he decided to ignore me. On top of that, Fermack added a clever move. He sent me outside the city using the ¡®reassessment of a Grade 5 Knight who performed well against Lunia Arden¡¯ as the excuse. The subjugation of a semi-Grade 1 demonic beast and spirit would normally take a week or two at the very least. Considering the time it takes to travel back and forth, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to come back before it was over. Meanwhile, he could create a ruckus with the ¡®King of Iron Mountain¡¯ incident and escape after the whole thing was over. My identity was something he could ask his master and king at a later date. He probably wasn¡¯t expecting me to return using a long-distance dimensional travel through Lady Josephine¡¯s marker. ¡°Professor Deina¡¯s experiment and Senior Marie¡¯s incident were great events for you, right? Because you have been waiting for the right opportunity.¡± The boss of the 1st Arc, Marie Dunareff¡¯s incident was a coincidental accident whereas the outbreak of the 2nd Arc¡¯s boss, King of Iron Mountain, was a thoroughly devised plan. One of the key requirements of the 2nd Arc¡¯s boss fight were the questions about Eriu Casarr¡¯s right as the chairman, which was triggered by Marie¡¯s incident. In this iteration, it was substituted by questions about Marie¡¯s safety and security issues but the important part here was ¡®Chairman Eriu Casarr¡¯s absence at the Academy¡¯. The absence of the ¡®Primal Guardian¡¯ that was created with the strongest ¡®rune stone¡¯ must have been the best opportunity for Fermack, who had been waiting for it for over 10 years. ¡°You are not going back with that ¡®Primal Rune¡¯.¡± ¡°!!!¡± Fermack¡¯s eyes widened behind his sunglasses. That wasn¡¯t something a mere student should be aware of, and the only ones that knew about it were his master and¡­ ¡°Did Josephine¡­ No, that can¡¯t be right.¡± If the ¡®guardians¡¯ were aware of his existence, they wouldn¡¯t have watched this happen in the first place. I could sense his confusion from the torrent of undecipherable information. A normal villain would have gone, ¡®Who are you!¡¯ and lingered on the topic but¡­ ¡°I see. So you¡¯re my enemy, huh.¡± He concluded it with that one sentence. ¡°Yes. I am your enemy.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Fermack Daman. The real mastermind behind this incident, who lifted the seals cast on the final boss of the 2nd Arc, ¡®King of Iron Mountain¡¯, that would later appear with the ¡®King of Paradise¡¯ as one of his 4 attendants. He was known as a famous Grade 1 Knight in the world, but no. At the very least, he was a semi-Unique Grade just like Lunia Arden and had the potential to reach the power of a Unique Grade after meeting certain conditions. ¡°¡­¡± It was such a distant past¡­ Actually, it wasn¡¯t even that far back, because it was 1 year ago before the end of the last iteration. This guy did the same thing last time, and reappeared later to kill a large number of my comrades and innocent people. Everything was for the Advent of Paradise ¨C for that stupid ambition of theirs. When I first met him at the grading test in this iteration, I had vowed to myself that I would kill him without fail. ¡°Looks like you have gotten overly arrogant from all the compliments of your peers. Do you think you¡¯ll have a chance against me?¡± Fermack Daman was the first one to move. ¡°Arise, my shadow.¡± ? Shadow Servant ? A clone stood up from within his shadow and created another version of him. That was his specialty. It doubled the user¡¯s attacks as long as there was shadow nearby so it was a wondrously powerful ability when paired up with boxing. ¡°It will be over in no time.¡± Fermack gave an arrogant declaration but¡­ there was a reason why I had chosen this place as the battlefield. ¨C Crack! Rip! Kajijik! The created clone suddenly fluctuated before dissipating due to the radiant light of the sun. ¡°Sowilo¡­!¡± ¡°The natural counter to shadow-type moves. You already know the biggest weakness of your skill right?¡± It might be obvious but shadow-type skills required shadow in the first place. Like how water-attributed spells required moisture and fire-attributed spells required oxygen, everything had a necessary cost and a procedure whether it be a specialty or an elemental spell. ¡°¡­¡± Fermack avoided the rune of the sun that was eliminating his shadow and took a step to the side. ¨C Pajik! However, there was another rune of the sun in that place. He realized something after noticing that his shadow had been removed once again by the same rune. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ you covered this entire area with Sowilo?¡± ¡°It was quite tough actually. I spent 20 days engraving solar runes all across this place. It was a lot of work but I had a lot of spare mana these days you see.¡± While boiling the Mandrake decoction as well as when we were practicing spearmanship for the group assignment, all the way until I had to leave for the grading test, I was practically living in this plot of land. I had been preparing for this battle in this inhabited land, that had no passersby and a secret passage leading to the basement of the laboratory, before anyone else. This was a brutal stage set just to counter Fermack Daman. ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Damn it¡¯ ¨C that¡¯s what his gaze told me. He must be quite annoyed by the fact that his Shadow Servant had been deactivated, after requiring so much mana to activate, by such a simple and elementary rune. ¡°You damn coward¡­¡± ¡°You mean organized.¡± ¡°I do admit you have perseverance but¡­¡± ? ¡ª Raidho He closed the distance in an instant. 10 meters ¨C it wasn¡¯t a super long distance by any means, but it was a distance that still required some time to travel. However, Fermack¡¯s supersonic movement happened like a flash, where the distance between him and his foe became smaller like it was folded, and did not seem like a simple sprint. I moved my spear to meet the lightning-fast fist. ¨C Pabak! ¡°??!¡± But the spear ended up cutting nothing. His body vanished like it blinked out of sight. He had already accelerated next to my body and was swinging his fist at my side. ? Southpaw Jet Boost ? ? Eight Trigrams ¨C Fleeting Body ? ¨C Vuung! My feet moved following the profound wisdoms of Eight Trigrams and slid across as Fermack¡¯s punch failed to reach anything. ¡°Hoh?¡± A consecutive use of Raidho to attack the weakness ¨C it was a decent yet straight-forward combo. Did he think I wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge that or something? ? Fourth Style, Spinning Heaven ? Using my fingers, I started spinning the spear. The spear rotated far and wide and threatened the boxer. ? Full Back ? With his lower body in the same place, Fermack lowered his back to dodge the spear. Relying on his superhuman dynamic vision and perfect calculation of distance, he dodged my sudden chain of attacks with the minimal number of movements. ¡°¡­A nice balance of techniques polished through experience and practice. Very good.¡± ¡°Pretending to be a professor now?¡± ¡°I have been at it for 10 years. It¡¯s something I cannot help.¡± ¡°How about you talk like a frivolous teacher again, huh? Continue doing what you¡¯ve been doing.¡± ¡°You cocky brat.¡± ¡°Whatever you try to do, this will be your graveyard.¡± I proclaimed while pointing at him with the ambiently glimmering Silver Spear. After hearing my resolve, he also turned serious. He must have decided that I wouldn¡¯t be an easy foe. However, his first goal was to leave this city, because he had to avoid the eyes of people who were assuming he was dead. ¡°It is a shame that we cannot see this through. I will make sure I kill you the next time we meet.¡± That was an obvious decision on his part. If he was seriously keen on running away, no-one would be able to stop him including Lady Josephine the dimensional mage. But I was definitely not going to let that happen. ¨C Thud! Before he could escape using the rune of Raidho, I declared to him. ¡°It is a duel. Fermack Daman.¡± ¡°¡­I have no reason to respond to the duel of someone like you.¡± ¡°Of course you do. Fermack Daman. Because that is the Precept restricting you.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Fermack Daman seemed befuddled after realizing that I even knew about the Precept that was engraved on his body. He had the same Precept as me on his body, and the reason he could reach the power level of a Unique Grade was thanks to the support of his Precept. Precepts were the ways of the great warriors of the Paradise of Shadows ¨C a high-risk high-reward system that allowed you to become a lot stronger. ?I do not refuse duels.? Since he had engraved that as his Restriction, refusing the duel was not an option for Fermack Daman. ¡°Is that¡­ why you came here by yourself?¡± ¡°Because duels must be one-on-one.¡± Right ¨C the reason I came here alone without bringing Lady Josephine or other members of the party was simple. It was because Fermack didn¡¯t need to accept duels when outnumbered. Duels had to be impartial, sacred and¡­ at the same time, it had to be one versus one. Therefore, the only duels that were forced by the Restriction were one-on-one fights. If another person joined the duel, the Precept would grant the Rune Mage a ridiculous amount of power to overcome the situation. Most importantly, Fermack Daman would have immediately run away if he had two or more people as his opponent, because his mission was to retrieve the Primal Rune. But because I was here by myself, and because he had already seen the Rune of Duel Declaration¡­ he had no choice but to accept my duel. He would certainly not be willing to bear the risk of going against the Restriction, which he had been keeping for decades. Fermack Daman postured himself and glared at me with the eyes of a warrior. In response, I held the Silver Spear in my hands. We both readied ourselves for the duel and following the sacred rules of a duel, we introduced ourselves. ¡°The 1st warrior of Tates Valtazar, the ¡®King of Paradise¡¯, Fermack Daman.¡± ¡°The 1st spear of Erin Danua, the ¡®Queen of Paradise¡¯, Korin Lork.¡± There were only 10 meters in between us. Victory and defeat. That would be the only difference between us two. ¡ºSystem Back-up in Operation. Reviewing the Precept.¡» 1st Precept: Duty ?I will not disregard the misfortune of the good.? ? Relativity: A+? 2nd Precept: Restriction ?I do not perceive spirits.? ? Support: 50% Additional Damage? 3rd Precept: Pledge ?I will save the world.? ? Fermack Daman ¨C Relativity: A? ? Support: A+? Aura ¨C { Medium (5,530 + 5,530) } Mana ¨C { Low (4,170 + 4,170) } Strength: > 67 + 67 Agility: > 66 + 66 Vitality: > 68 + 68 Aura: > 64 + 64 Mana: > 64 + 64 ¡ºRegeneration of the Tenacious Warrior¡» ¡ºPain Tolerance¡» ¡ºDomain Comprehension¡» x100% ¡ºAura Core (Medium) ¨C Storing 3,500¡» ¡ºDefeat Fermack Daman, and take a step forward to saving the world. Good luck, Hero Korin Lork.¡» **** Fermack rationally analyzed his opponent. The enemy was someone who had been fighting against Lunia Arden on equal grounds, although momentarily. Besides, his Precepts were also unclear. He was Grade 1 at the very least, and could even be considered a semi-Unique Grade. On the other hand, Korin knew what Fermack¡¯s Precepts were about. At least he knew exactly what his Restriction was. After some time, the uproar will subside and others might surround them. Fermack had to go with a short decisive battle. ¡°It is rather annoying but I will admit it.¡± ¨C I shall use my everything to crush you. Fermack gave an arrogant statement before gathering mana at his fingers to write down runes. [?] ¡ª Tiwaz [?] ¡ª Othala His fingers beneath the gauntlets wrote various letters at a supersonic speed. War and death. The two letters of the Runic alphabet that represented great power were engraved in the air. When he added the rune, [?] ¡ª Inguz and several other letters on top¡­ ? Segment of Paradise, Shadow Fortress ? Pitch darkness swallowed the ground, the empty plot of land as well as the sky. Something dark began to infiltrate the real world. The fortress covered the sun like a screen and did not allow any light to pervade inside. This fortress that turned the barren plot of land more desolate than ever, and swallowed it with the deep darkness of the abyss was a portion of the otherworldly Paradise that existed somewhere beyond the dimensional gap. [?] ¡ª Sowilo ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Runes of the sun erupted out in retaliation. However, after the heavy shadows of the huge fortress came to contact with the ground, they weighed down from above with its immense weight, destroyed the runes carved on the ground and spread across endless darkness. A world without a sun. A glimpse into the abandoned Paradise. The fortress of shadows devoured all the nearby light as if it loathed the sun that refused to shed light unto their world. ¡°With your petty skills, you won¡¯t be able to remove this shadow. Your defeat has been decided the moment this fortress arrived here.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Removing the shadow with solar runes. It was a great idea but he probably had no idea about this point of entry into the Paradise, which had only been permitted to the great warriors of the Paradise. ¨C Grrrhhh¡­! ¨C Kyaoooh¡­! Demonic beasts of the Shadow Realm crawled into the enclosed fortress. They faced the two infiltrators of the Paradise with endless hostility and hatred. This was a double-edged sword to Fermack ¨C these demonic beasts would attack him as well. However, Fermack was confident because his 3rd Precept, the Pledge ?I will serve the Shadow.? gave him a ridiculous amount of power when inside the Paradise. Now, the only future ahead of Korin Lork was either being ripped to pieces by the demonic beasts of the Paradise of Shadows or being killed by his fists, and yet¡­ ¡°¡­¡± Within the world covered and walled off by the shadows, Fermack, who had become used to darkness due to wearing sunglasses all the time, spotted a grin on Korin¡¯s lips. ¡°Right. I knew you would use this when you¡¯re in a rush.¡± Korin scavenged through the bag which had been on him from the start, and took out something from inside that was covered with ¡®dirt¡¯. ¨C Flop! ¡°¡­Kieee?¡± The plant that looked like a human gave out an adorable gasp. It was radiating in bright gold despite being inside the Paradise of Shadows. Korin¡¯s lips curled up with a haughty light. He was smiling. Countless runes carved on the ground; an empty plot of land; and Fermack¡¯s hidden trump card which could nullify any locational disadvantage. There was no way Korin Lork hadn¡¯t been expecting this move from him, and that was why he took out this very item right here and then. Yellow Gold Mandrake. It was the medicinal herb which he did not pluck out despite its astonishing effect ¨C the hidden item that had 7 times the noise and magic damage of a normal Mandrake. KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!!!!!!! The Golden Mandrake howled inside the fortress of shadows which had landed on the empty plot of land. That enclosed structure, which would echo from the softest of whispers, was filled with the scream of a Mandrake. CH 53 ? Finishing Touch (2) ? KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!!!!!!! The roar of a Mandrake echoed across the Shadow Fortress. The voice of a Mandrake had sufficient magic damage to kill most demonic beasts in one go. Even normal Mandrakes were like that, let alone the golden one which had 7 times the damage. Hearing the wail of the Golden Mandrake, the demonic beasts of shadow screamed in pain with ruptured eardrums. Even though they were demonic beasts, they still could not hold off against the one and only Epic-ranked Mandrake of this world. Amidst that horrifying noise, the two warriors gazed at each other in silence. ¨C Drip. Blood flowed out of their ears. The Golden Mandrake had heavily impacted the two warriors as well. Although they should have both received a similar amount of damage, Korin Lork said after floating a smile. ¡°Just letting you know, I have a regeneration ability and one that¡¯s called Pain Tolerance.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get used to it over time, but I wonder how long you¡¯ll last?¡± ¡®It¡¯s a provocation,¡¯ thought Fermack. Whether Korin was saying the truth or not, it was clear that he was trying to make him feel rushed. What was worse was that he was probably telling the truth. Fermack was one of the few professors who knew about the ins and outs of Marie Dunareff¡¯s incident. The fact that Korin could resist the first blood suction of a vampire made it highly likely that he indeed possessed some type of regeneration ability. He had to escape the city as soon as possible and yet the scream of the Mandrake was harassing him in real time. Plus, the opponent even had a regeneration ability, and if Korin wasn¡¯t lying, that meant he would be getting used to the scream of the Mandrake through Pain Tolerance. It was a very crafty set of actions that forced Fermack Daman to go for a very short, and decisive battle. ¡°I admit it. You have the talent of a schemer.¡± ¡°I told you already. This will be your graveyard.¡± Fermack wondered why Korin had so much hatred and killing intent against him. Even he, who knew about the hidden side of this world, probably wouldn¡¯t even imagine that it was because of his evil deeds of the ¡®previous iteration¡¯. ¡°The subject of the evil king will fall here.¡± ¡°You insolent fool.¡± Fermack charged forward with the compressed acceleration of his runes. Korin reacted as soon as his body vanished from sight. Kagang! The outreached fist was blocked by the shaft of the spear. After that, the spear displayed the potential dizziness it could cause through Spinning Heaven. Following his retreat with Full Back, Fermack even had to use the Ducking moves to fall back by two more steps, and ready himself against the incoming spear. ? Shadow Mist ? Darkness started to form shapes around him. This fortress enveloped in shadows was his spear and shield. ? Ominous Snake: Secret Arts ¨C Distorted March ? x [?] ¡ª Sowilo Resonant Activation Three sharp stabs of the Silver Spear, which was still radiantly gleaming within the world of shadows, pierced through the darkness as Fermack widened his eyes into circles. All the darkness of the Shadow Realm protecting Fermack was penetrated. The three stabs of the spear that suppressed the dimension itself easily sped through his defense and grazed past his cheek. ? Down Ducking ? Right as Korin started retrieving the spear, Fermack lowered his head and approached him in the blink of an eye but in response, Korin jumped to the side. That was a foolish move. Did he not know that jumping at a close range was a stupid thing to do that opened him up to a lot of attacks? Fermack waited for him to land back down but it was then. ? Void Spinning Heaven, Turbulent Spear ? ¡°¡­?!¡± The fancy trajectory of the spear that turbulently rotated while he was still in mid-air was so dizzying that even Fermack had trouble keeping his vision straight. ¡°Kuhk¡­!¡± 7 times while he was still in the air ¨C that outrageous consecutive strikes landed on his gauntlets 7 times and made his hands tremble. Korin Lork landed back down in that time frame, but the rebalance after the landing required a lot of time. Despite having just recovered the stability of his hands, Fermack charged in to land a few major hits at the cost of potentially receiving some himself. ? ¡ª Raidho x Jet Screw Combination At a supersonic speed he approached Korin. As soon as his first punch was about to reach his unprotected back¡­ ¨C Tung! ? Spinning Heaven: Second Move ¡ª The spear that had been resting next to his foot started an unexpected rotation. Without even looking back, Korin spun the spear behind him using the force of his kick. ¡ª Rotating Demon Spear? He used that trick to fend off against the sudden ambush from behind. ¨C Slash! A slash appeared on Fermack¡¯s outstretched arm. The reason he only had a small wound despite being countered at an unexpected timing was all thanks to his superhuman reaction speed. ¡®That almost took my right arm away,¡¯ thought Fermack while throwing a glance at his bleeding arm. It wasn¡¯t a serious wound as of yet, but the injury was bound to get worse the longer this battle lasted. ¨C Thud! ¨C Pajik! It almost happened at the same time. While the two warriors were collecting their breath after sharing that violent bout, Korin¡¯s left ear and Fermack Daman¡¯s right ear started to bleed profusely as if a dam had been broken. ¨C KIEEEEEEEEEEEE¡ª-!!! The scream of the Mandrake that they had been trying to ignore in the heat of battle had finally ended up rupturing one of their eardrums. ¨C Drip ¨C Drip Due to their damaged semicircular canals, the two of them wobbled a little and required some time to regain their coordination, but that was when the surrounding demonic beasts overcame the scream of the Mandrake to run at the two of them. Ominous Snake. Boost Upper . One strike of theirs was enough to explode their heads and chests. Without paying any attention to the lowly beasts, the two warriors stood face-to-face. ¡°Huu¡­!¡± Taking in a deep breath, Fermack collected mana. ? Shadow Servant x 12 ? Using every bit of mana he had inside him, Fermack summoned a large number of clones. That was only possible because they were in a world covered by thick shadows, but Korin Lork did not let him make use of them. ¨C Flap! ¡°¡­¡­??¡± Korin suddenly took off his shirt and threw it away, which greatly confused Fermack. His Precepts should be engraved on his bare body ¨C recklessly revealing that was close to asking for death, so why was he suddenly doing that? ¡°¡­?!¡± After turning to his body to have a look at the Precepts that were engraved on top, Fermack couldn¡¯t help but feel appalled at the sight of the engraved runes. [?] ¨C Resonant Activation. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? The solar runes were engraved all across his body. They were giving off a radiant light that chased out the surrounding darkness and at this rate, the Shadow Servants wouldn¡¯t be able to reach him. It seemed that he had prepared everything in his kit just to fight against one warrior who went by the name of Fermack Daman. That persistence was quite terrifying even. ¡°It¡¯s sad to have your skills revealed. Because others can come up with plenty of ways to counter them, right?¡± Even though Korin said that, this particular move was also quite suicidal for the user himself. The rune of the sun wasn¡¯t something that simply emitted light ¨C there was a reason why it was called the rune of the ¡®sun¡¯ and not the ¡®light¡¯. The blinding light and dazzling heat of the divine sun. Carving that all across his body was the same as opening his body up to all that heat. In other words, it meant that his body would be burning throughout the fight until he dispelled the runes. To think he would do something so suicidal just to seal one of the opponent¡¯s abilities¡­! ¡°Crazy. You are truly not sane.¡± ¡°Not as much as you guys, who try to destroy the world for the Advent of Paradise.¡± Korin Lork arrogantly declared. ¡°Let¡¯s stop here with these petty tricks and let our martial skills be the deciding factor of this fight. Don¡¯t try to save up on a bit of power for no reason and come at me with your life on the line.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Receiving his red penetrating gaze, Fermack loosened his arms, but his face was still tense and frozen stiff with no signs of easing up like his body. He had no choice now but to admit that the warrior before his eyes was a great foe that could only be defeated after him putting everything on the line. Fermack maintained his calm after coming to that conclusion. Calmly and rationally, he settled his impatience and anger. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wind blew across the fortress. There shouldn¡¯t be any natural breezes inside the structure, so it would most certainly be related to Fermack¡¯s change of attitude. Semi-Unique Grade. The knight who could call himself the subject of the King of Paradise was able to create a wound on the fortress with his overflowing abundance of aura alone. Six Ways ¡ª Shura That was when the air shifted around Fermack. A haze was created by his aura going outside of his body as an intangible aura was covered by a tangible energy. Shura. The explosive emanation of aura that every great warrior of Paradise could use. Its effect was very simple and straight-forward ¨C all of their aura would be substituted to ¡®power¡¯ and ¡®speed¡¯, all the way until they ran out of aura. It was the profound secret of Six Ways that allowed a warrior to focus all of their aura on destruction; to make them a match for thousands with no equal on the planet, that could deter tens of thousands of people. That was the last resort ability that should only be used as a finisher due to its ridiculous cost of aura, and was one that was impossible to use without a huge amount of aura saved up inside the Aura Core. ?Light Straight? ¨C Kwang! The extended fist resulted in an explosive thud as it crumbled a portion of the fortress. Just from coming into contact with the gust of the attack, the Golden Mandrake ended up drawing its last breath. The Mandrake that had been filling the background noise with its scream died, and the scream was replaced by the crumbling roar of the fortress. His attack was on a completely different scale from before. That brutal show of violence was enough to frighten most people but¡­ ¡°Phew~¡± Korin only seemed slightly impressed as he gave out a whistle. Unlike Fermack who had been concealing his ability that was on the level of a semi-Unique Grade knight, Korin Lork¡¯s Aura Rank had yet to reach a High rank. The reason there was a big difference between High Rank and below was the existence of the Aura Core. That decisive difference should lead to the difference in combat potential between Korin Lork and Fermack Daman but¡­ Six Ways of the Spear, Sixth Style, Shura. Condensed aura of a similar kind started leaving from Korin Lork¡¯s body as well. ¡®He has an Aura Core!¡¯ Fermack couldn¡¯t understand what was going on. Even if Korin had the Precept to somehow rapidly increase his growth speed, how would anyone be able to increase their Aura Rank from Low to High in just 2 months? Since he wasn¡¯t aware of the effect of the White Silver Mandrake that created an Aura Core for its consumer, Fermack just couldn¡¯t comprehend what was going on. First Style, Ominous Snake ¨C Kajik! The air was divided into two. Despite being a simple warming up skill, the force behind his strike wasn¡¯t too different from Fermack¡¯s. ¡°It¡¯s Round 2.¡± Korin said with a smile. **** Demonic beasts of the Shadow Realm were the true bodies of evil from the other side of the real world. Born with innate violence, brutality and hostility against humans, they would sometimes cross over the gaps between dimensions and earn a new body. That was what humans referred to as ¡®demons¡¯. In other words, you could say that they were the true beasts of evil. For these monsters, violence and struggle were a part of their lives, like how humans consumed food for survival. However, they were all staying still while holding their breath. A human and a human. Small, feeble¡­ and pitiful existences who sometimes wandered into the Shadow Realm and got ripped to pieces. When they first spotted the one-on-one battle of those humans, they didn¡¯t think much about it. ¡®Let¡¯s eat both of them together!¡¯ was their initial thought, but the scene before their eyes was proving how arrogant they had been. The heat of the battle unfolding before their eyes and the scale of their violence¡­ were so huge that even the beasts of evil were frightened by it. The amount of aura and weight behind their attacks both far exceeded the realms of common sense. A single punch crushed through the ground and spread across an aftershock. A raise of the spear sent the poor monsters flying into the air. Each of their steps resulted in an earthquake and their kicks smushed the monsters in the blink of an eye. The monsters weren¡¯t even allowed to survive from the aftershock of their collision. Ominous Snake: Secret Arts, Distorted March Boost Double Jet Kwagagang! The world quivered. The two warriors swung their weapons as the aftermath swallowed the evil beasts. The collision caused by two people that transcended the limitations of a physical body crushed the nearby monsters. Swallowing the mouthful of blood that almost spurted out of his mouth, Korin stood his ground despite his wobbling knees. The one who suffered more damage from the consecutive aftershocks was by far Korin Lork, who lacked defense in comparison. ¨C Grkk! Gurukk! However, his flesh wriggled and gathered back to one piece. The tenacious will of the warrior immediately regenerated his wounds. It was now 200% more effective than its original ability thanks to his Precept. But before he could fully recover from his wounds, the afro-haired boxer marched in. Rush! Rush! Rush!!! Fermack poured out his attacks. At the cost of pain and potential injuries, he continued his fierce outburst. Horizontal Sweep of a Tiger Spear was still a fearsome weapon even at close range. The long shaft of the spear bolted sideways with the force that could swallow thousands in its path. It was an attack that threw a question at the opponent. Will you get cut, have your ribs broken¡­ or will you give up on attack and defend? Fermack had no choice. He put his guard up in preparation for the attack. ¨C Kung! The fortress jolted from the attack. As if he had been hit by a flying meteor, Fermack¡¯s body flew across the air after receiving the swing of a tiger and the condensed aura inside it. ¨C Kwang! Kajik! Kaduduk! Fermack crashed into the wall as the watchtower of the fortress crumbled down. From amidst the dust created by the falling remains of the watchtower, the man jumped out. In his hands was a big piece of the watchtower. Using the monstrous power of his arms, the man threw it at the spearman. ¡°Huu¡­!¡± Eight Trigrams Spearmanship, Taiji Korin slashed with the spear as the overflowing aura inside the weapon bisected the flying fragment of the fortress. Appearing from behind the bisected watchtower was Fermack, who was wearing the darkness of the Shadow Fortress around him. By even making use of the crumbling fragments of the watchtower as his footholds, he accelerated himself again through [?] ¡ª Raidho . In response, Korin Lork dug his two feet into the ground like tree roots, retrieved the spear and prepared for a lightning-fast stab. His body scorching from the heat and light of [?] ¡ª Sowilo made it look like he was wearing golden plated armor. Wearing the pure darkness of shadows and the blazing heat of the sun, the two of them appeared like complete contradictions of one another that seemingly tried to deny each other¡¯s existence. [?] Raidho ¡ª Soaring Snake¡ª At last, they used it. The explosive punch of compressed acceleration and the fastest spear of the Void. ¡ªMeteor Strike¡­!! ¡ªRearing Head of the Venomous Dragon¡­!! Kicking off the remains of the fortress, the fist fell straight down like a comet as a venomous dragon reared its head in retaliation. The two powers crashed into each other. As soon as they tried to overpower one another, the aftermath became like a rampaging excavator that crushed and destroyed everything around them. ¡°Kuhk¡­!¡± Korin Lork was the first to let out a groan. That blindly fast stab wasn¡¯t the perfect one he had been after. He failed at entering the Domain even after all that warming up. That might be how it seemed at a glance, but to be exact, it was slightly different. The runes of the sun were constantly burning his body. On top of that, his physical stats that had rapidly increased by tenfold, if not more, due to the Precept and Shura-mode were instead stopping him from concentrating on one thing. The unfamiliar power and pain were interfering with the process of him entering the Domain, since his stats were originally just at the level of a Grade 2 Knight. ¡°A gap¡­!¡± ¨C Scribble! Korin wasn¡¯t able to make full use of the crash and deal the finishing blow, and ended up allowing his enemy to approach him. Fermack used his fingers to carve a rune onto the shaft that he was holding onto. [?] ¡ª Raidho ¡°Damn it¡­!¡± A rune of acceleration was engraved on his spear. Due to that acceleration, the Silver Spear escaped from Korin¡¯s grip and soared into the air. ¨C Kung! It immediately pierced through the ceiling of the world of shadows and the spearman ended up losing his spear. ¡°Come¡­!¡± The spear did not respond. It was deep inside the ceiling and did not heed to his call. ? Southpaw Flicker Jab> ? ¨C Slam! A fist struck Korin by the face. His teeth fell out as blood splattered from the wound. ¡°A spearman without a spear is nothing.¡± Fermack pushed his advantage. Korin had reached a remarkable level with the spear but he was still just a kid. There was no way a spearman could beat him in a close-combat battle. ¡°I¡¯ll end it before the spear comes back.¡± As soon as he finished his words, a rune that had been carved on the gauntlet, ? ¡ª Raidho , emitted a radiant light. It was the compressed acceleration combo skill that he had been hiding until the very last second. This accelerated fist could even destroy a castle. ? Southpaw Jet Straight ? Fermack shot out his strongest punch that could immediately destroy a person¡¯s heart. Even someone with a regeneration ability should die after having their heart crushed. ? Eight Trigrams Footwork, Fleeting Body ? ¡°¡­?!¡± Like flowing water, Korin flowed by using a mysterious footwork. By dodging the opponent¡¯s secret move with a mystifying set of steps, he replaced himself behind Fermack. ? Southpaw Liver Shot ? Although he managed to dodge Fermack¡¯s strongest attack, Fermack responded in time. He swung his fist sideways to the back as it accurately landed on the right side of Korin¡¯s body¡­ at his liver. ¡°Cough¡­!¡± Korin was somehow still standing up but his organs must be in a mess. Even though he was still in Shura-mode, that attack should have been lethal. ¡®I won,¡¯ thought Fermack. ¡°Looks like your bare-handed skills are not as good as your spearmanship. Your defense is very sloppy.¡± The warrior savored his victory but there was something he was unaware of. He did not know that even the system had acknowledged Korin Lork¡¯s Eight Trigrams as having reached MAX level. ¨C Slip In a manner that was so natural, By matching himself to the flow of thoughts and breath of the enemy, Korin landed his hand on Fermack¡¯s chest before he could even realize it. ¡°It was on purpose.¡± ? Eight Trigrams, Chest Palm¡ª A palm strike to the chest; ¡ªEye Palm, Nose Palm.? And a palm strike each to the eye and the nose. That was the Three Palm Strikes of Eight Trigrams. ¡°Kuhk¡­!¡± Fermack staggered from the unexpected attack. Blood flowed from above his eyes and interrupted with his sight, but he instinctively threw a fist and made it land on Korin¡¯s chest. ¨C Kajik! That punch made Korin scatter a blizzard of blood from his mouth. The fundamental difference between a palm strike and a punch laid in their destructiveness. After receiving a straight punch to his liver and his chest, even Korin shouldn¡¯t be able to last¡­ ¨C Kung! It was then. A spear of silver light that was gleaming in white arrived in front of Fermack¡¯s eyes. ¡®I can¡¯t let him grab it!¡¯ The opponent had more profound wisdom on bare-handed fights than he expected. That was a painful mistake but Korin Lork was all in all a spearman. His best chance at victory was when Korin wasn¡¯t holding onto the spear. Fortunately, he was closer to the spear than Korin. Fermack decided that he would end it here before he could lay his lands on his spear again. ? Southpaw Jet Straight ? Fermack threw a fist. As soon as Korin Lork reaches his hand out for the spear, his fist would definitely pierce through his chest. Right. That was only ¡®if Korin reached his hand out for the spear¡¯. ¡°¡­?!¡± Fermack doubted his eyes. Korin twisted his waist, as one of his legs rotated for a powerful kick. ¡®A kick?¡¯ Was he in a rush after realizing that he couldn¡¯t grab the spear again? It was a high kick that was aiming at his head. It was a powerful attack but at the same time, it was one with a very high risk that Fermack could easily dodge by lowering his head to dive deeper inside. ? Down Ducking ? Bending his back down, Fermack easily dodged the incoming kick. All he now had to do was use a skill to deal the finishing blow to Korin who couldn¡¯t move after that wide kick but¡­ ¨C Tung! A strange sound echoed into his remaining eardrum. At the same time, the spear that had been stuck on the ground was pulled back out. ¡°What?¡± It seemed that Korin had kicked the tip of the spear. The reaction from that kick made the spear leave the ground at a rapid speed and made it bounce up with a powerful spin. ? Unorthodox Spinning Heaven ? An unorthodox skill used by the feet and not the hand ¨C that adapted skill which was very questionable to be called spearmanship made the spear slash past Fermack¡¯s left arm. ¨C Swoosh! His left arm began to fly in the air. Fermack¡¯s little pause and hesitation was more than enough time for the spearman to grab onto his spear again. ? Void Spinning Heaven¡ª The spinning spear slashed past both of his knees. Fermack¡¯s right arm that instinctively tried to protect his body had its veins cut off on top. ¡ªTurbulent Spear. ? By the time it spun three times, the spear even cut off his remaining right arm. Watching his enemy retrieve the spear for another sharp stab forward, ¡°Splendid¡­!¡± Fermack sent an honest and undisguised praise to his enemy. ¨C Pakk! The scattering drops of blood marked the end of their fight to death. CH 54 ? Finishing Touch (3) ? I won. The mastermind behind the 2nd Arc, Fermack Daman, who had been living as a professor for 10 years while deceiving the Merkarva Academy. If I remember correctly, the users used to call Fermack the Traitor as one of the Elite Four. [H, help me!] [I don¡¯t want to die! I don¡¯t want to die!] [Korin¡­! Help me!] Closing my eyes, I could still hear the screams and cries of that time. When we met Fermack Daman again, whom we couldn¡¯t catch at the end of the 2nd Arc, we were imprisoned in a world of nightmares. A hell called Paradise that was inhabited by beasts of the shadow. We lost a lot of my teammates. A lot of innocent people had been killed. Fermack Daman. One of the four executives of the Evil King ¨C the Strongest Rune Mage, Tates Valtazar ¨C who tries to bring Paradise to this world. Killing him early was incredibly meaningful, because with the support of the Precept and the Shadow Paradise, his power could even reach the level of a Unique Grade. And¡­ ¡°I knew it¡­ He doesn¡¯t have it yet, huh.¡± I rummaged through the body of the heartless Fermack but couldn¡¯t find what I wanted. It was to be expected though, because he would have used it already if he had it. One of the 4 great treasures protected by the druids, the Destiny Stone of Falias, Lia Fail. If he was in possession of that item, which he would have later received as a prize for retrieving the Primal Rune, my chance of victory would have fallen below 40%. ¡°¡­Found it.¡± But nonetheless, I managed to retrieve the Primal Rune that he stole so that was still okay. ¡º Primal Rune ¨C ¨® ¡» This stone with the rune was one of the eight Primal Runes that could lead one to the Paradise of Erin. The Advent of Paradise was the goal of the final boss of ?Heroic Legends of Arhan?, Tates Valtazar, and he needed to have all the 8 pieces of the Prime for it. ¡°Just for something like this¡­¡± Just for something like this, they had massacred countless people. Well, I could understand their hatred and anger at the world¡­ but their method was terribly wrong. ¡°Huu¡­¡± I threw my body over the parched land. Fighting while taking in all the damage of the Golden Mandrake¡¯s scream and the solar runes with my bare body was quite a crazy thing to do for sure. The Mandrake, the runes and the Shura-mode were all great ways to ruin your body. Honestly, I was only doing it because I had my regeneration ability and I would have long died without it. But it was thanks to that that I was able to come out on top. Fermack Daman had to be in a rush the whole fight after being pulled into my tricks. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± My eyes were very heavy. My entire upper body was scorched by the runes of the sun and my left eardrum was also ruptured because of the Golden Mandrake. Plus, my right one wasn¡¯t normal either. What was worse than these injuries, which I could just disregard, were the wounds I gained during the fight against Fermack. There was a piercing pain in my liver and my right shoulder bones were also crushed. The strike to my chest crushed my sternum and shook my organs. The only things I could barely move were my left arm and my two legs¡­ and even those were hard to move because of the backlash of Shura. ¡®I thought I was used to pain but¡­¡¯ Despite everything, it was still hard to withstand the pain of having twisted organs. Huu¡­ Huup¡­ Huu¡­ While straightening my mind and my breath that could fade away at any given moment, I took a hold of my consciousness. If I lost my consciousness here, the rune stone and my goldie would be¡­ ¡ºYou have successfully defeated Fermack Daman. You will now receive the reward of your Precept.¡» A faint message appeared in front of my dim vision. No, that¡¯s not the important thing here¡­ My vision turned dark. My eyes slowly closed by themselves. It didn¡¯t take long for my consciousness to escape from my grip. **** ¡°¡­¡± By the time Korin woke up, he found himself going down a familiar path. Of course, he wasn¡¯t the one voluntarily moving his body ¨C his body was still in a mess and was bleeding down the track. ¡°Is this Alicia¡­?¡± Korin vacantly perceived the identity of the girl carrying him by seeing her hair. ¡°You woke up¡­¡± Alicia was walking down a pathway with Korin behind her back. She was probably heading to the infirmary. Her martial uniform, which conservative adults would consider as having too much exposure, was revealing her skin that was covered in blood. Even though it should be very uncomfortable for her, Alicia was still walking forward while carrying Korin on her back. ¡°Working hard aren¡¯t you¡­¡± ¡°Not as much¡­ as you, Mr. Korin.¡± His body was still very numb. Since she was a knight, Alicia should be fine carrying a male adult on her back, but Korin was feeling a mental burden from the fact that he was being carried by a girl. ¡°How did everything go?¡± However, it¡¯s not like he could turn her offer down so he gratefully accepted her help. ¡°Professor Deina has started cleaning everything up. She did seem very sad though. Mr. Dorron went back while everyone else, like Ms. Yuel, were looking for you.¡± ¡°Dorron that freaking¡­ unloyal friend¡­¡± ¡°He said don¡¯t expect anything more than that from a business relationship. Also, he said you need to pay him the remaining payment for this incident by next week.¡± ¡°Hah. Seriously¡­¡± Korin gave an empty smile while thinking about how that was exactly what he would expect Dorron to say. However, he didn¡¯t hate it ¨C being honest about one¡¯s greed was an adorable thing in comparison to everything he had seen. ¡°Alicia¡­ Did you¡­¡± ¡°Do you mean the Rune Stone and the Golden Mandrake? I took both of them.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re surprisingly quite sharp today aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Eeeek¡­! You know you¡¯re on my back right, Mr. Korin? Do you want me to shake you!?¡± ¡°Wait wait. Don¡¯t¡­ My organs are going to shake as well¡­¡± Realizing once again that Alicia was such a nice girl who wouldn¡¯t even talk about throwing him away even in the heat of the moment, Korin gave a grin. ¡°I¡¯m alive¡­ thanks to you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing much.¡± Alicia smiled widely as she continued walking down the road. Riding on her back, Korin forced open his eyes that were still threatening to close and tried his best to keep himself conscious. ¡°Say something. I might fall asleep again.¡± ¡°¡­You can just take a nap and rest. It won¡¯t take long.¡± ¡°No. If I sleep¡­ my regeneration speed will also slow down.¡± His regeneration was based on the ¡®tenacious spirit¡¯. In other words, it was better for him to tenaciously stay conscious for a better regeneration. ¡°Okay. Then¡­ Why did you fight by yourself?¡± Her voice was a lot lower than usual, as if she was trying to rebuke him. ¡°Because it was necessary.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hearing his ambiguous response, Alicia slowed down her steps. Because of that sudden reduction in speed, her fluttering strands of hair tickled his cheeks. ¡°Honestly, I have no idea how much you know and what you are trying to accomplish, Mr. Korin.¡± She started off with the question that had constantly been on her mind, but Alicia wasn¡¯t going to delve deeper into that now. ¡°Isn¡¯t it alright¡­ to fight together until the end?¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Korin looked back on the past with a bitter smile on his face as he reminisced in the memories of the last iteration. People with a good personality that risked themselves for the right things ¨C the so-called heroes always looked like they were in a precarious spot for the ones watching them from the side. Korin¡¯s old friends used to ask something similar in the past. Even when he gladly offered his neck to the girl that just awakened as a vampire, and even when challenging the great evil of the world that he would stand no chance against without the support of his Precepts¡­ He simply did not look after his body, and that was very evident for everyone watching him from the side. ¡°I am aware of it myself. I will ask for help next time.¡± ¡°Of course you should. Because we are¡­ umm¡­, ehem¡­!¡± While Alicia was hesitantly thinking about her next words, Korin regained a bit of strength so he lowered his legs back on the ground. ¡°Mr. Korin?¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. Let¡¯s¡­ take a rest at that bench over there.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we go to the infirmary for a¡­¡± ¡°Resting at a bench is more than enough.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± His voice was still energyless but Alicia noticed the firm resolve in his tone, so she headed to the nearby bench and laid him on top. Seeing him lying down on the bench, Alicia was fidgeting her hands when Korin opened his mouth. ¡°Aliciaaa¡­¡± ¡°Aht, yes?¡± ¡°My head hurts¡­¡± ¡°Haht¡­!¡± She quickly lifted his head and sat on the bench where his head used to be. Only after resting his head on her soft thigh did Korin heave a small sigh of comfort. He slowly reopened his mouth. ¡°If you weren¡¯t there¡­ we wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill the King of Iron Mountain.¡± ¡°All I did was swing my sword once.¡± ¡°The action itself is important, but what you achieved with that action is just as important.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯ve been preparing for this fight, right? Mr. Korin?¡± Alicia had felt her breath coming to a stop after seeing the aftermath of the fight at the empty plot of land. Back when they borrowed the land to boil Mandrake into a stew as well as when they were practicing spearmanship for the group assignment¡­ Alicia could still remember him carving runes across the land whenever he had time. Hundreds of rune letters on the ground¡­ and the pebbles of rune that he gave to Marie ¨C it was extremely evident that he had been arranging a lot of things for the fight for a very long time. ¡°Yes. I did prepare for it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± She didn¡¯t ask him how he knew about this beforehand. Instead, Alicia quietly gazed at Korin resting beneath her chest before carefully raising a question. ¡°¡­Why?¡± Plenty of time had already gone by. There was a scorching red sunset on the horizon and the light from the setting sun was shining brightly on Korin¡¯s figure on this inhabited bench. Revealed by that spotlight were traces of burns all over his body ¨C despite his seared skin, his eyes were still burning as brightly and clearly as the sunset. ¡®So pretty.¡¯ ¡®This person¡¯s eyes are always clear,¡¯ thought Alicia. They were endlessly clean and tough. Even though he was stepping on a puddle of his own blood, his eyes were chasing after something remarkably beautiful. She wondered where his strength was coming from. Were adults all like this? ¡°My eyes¡­¡± ¡°Ah. L, let me cover your eyes!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ Let¡¯s just, stay like this for a while.¡± As if he sensed her silent gaze resting on him, Korin mischievously opened his mouth. ¡°Geez¡­ How blessed of a mom am I to have a daughter like Alicia?¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re treating me like a kid again.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say I was like a mother?¡± ¡°It was just a figure of speech.¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± The silly smile on his face and his heartwarming gaze that were looking at her like an adorable baby were a sign that he was considering her as a young child. ¡°Mhmm¡­!¡± Pinch! She gently pinched on the nose of the annoying boy. ¡°Aiya¡­ my bad, my bad. Ahh, I¡¯m starving.¡± The boy easily glossed over her response and changed the topic. Due to losing a lot of blood, his mind was going back and forth. His next remark that reached Alicia¡¯s ears was probably an unconscious one. ¡°It¡¯s better¡­ for less people to die.¡± ¡°That was very sudden.¡± ¡°Why is everyone so¡­ insensitive¡­?¡± Was he talking about the mastermind of this incident? Or was it someone else that Alicia wasn¡¯t aware of? In any case, Alicia soothed his mind. ¡°You have done more than enough.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ This¡­ should be good enough. Yeah¡­¡± Fatigued, Korin completely relaxed his body with his eyes closed. He and Alicia stayed at the bench for quite a while. **** ¡ºYou have successfully defeated Fermack Daman. You will now receive the reward of your Precept.¡» ¡ºMany Unspecified¡» ¡ù Difficulty: A ¡ù Reward: Even distribution of 60 points Inside the single room of the infirmary, I checked the reward I received for this incident. ¡°¡­¡± It was a bit¡­ less than I thought. Until now, the rewards I had received from the Precept were all from dealing with specific targets. In the case of Marie and Alicia, I had even gotten a specialty along with the stat points. But as for Fermack, it wasn¡¯t as if it was decided that he would be killing a specific good-natured person, so that was probably why it said [Many Unspecified] as the name of the reward. It¡¯s not like I couldn¡¯t understand what was going on, but wasn¡¯t this still a bit too small considering I killed one of the executives¡­? ¡ºYou have defeated one of the great evils of this world. You will receive bonus rewards.¡» Huh? ¡ºFindias¡¯s Sun¡» ¡°¡­What the heck?¡± Why is this coming out here? Findias. That was the name of the mysterious land that contained Claiomh Solais, which was another one of the 4 great treasures just like Lia Fail. The top epic-graded items, the 4 treasures. From what I knew, they were all supposed to be in the hands of Tates Valtazar. In fact, Claoimh Solais was the solar sword of one of the Elite Fours, the King of Beauty, Ohad. What I received just then as a reward was the ¡®map¡¯ of the place where that sword was buried. They just drove the location into my mind. ¡®Seriously. That stupid Mr. Park received stuff like this as an item in his inventory and here I am, having these driven into my head.¡¯ Isn¡¯t this player discrimination? Anyway¡­ it seemed that those ruins would open up during the solar eclipse. I will have to look into that later¡­ ¡°Korin! I cut all the apples. Here!¡± A bright voice woke me up from my rumination. Marie, who was here for a visit, handed me a piece of apple on a fork with a bright smile on her face. Just like what one would expect from her personality, she had sliced them into bunny shapes. Unfortunately, I had to wear casts because of the broken bones in my arms and I thus couldn¡¯t move them. The bones were already fine again, and yet for some reason, it seemed that I still needed to refrain from using them. ¡°Open your mouth. Say ¡®Ahh~¡¯¡± ¡°A, ahh~¡± ¨C Crunch! ¡°Ehew, good boy~¡± Marie patted my head after I bit on the apple in her hands. Mhmm¡­ this isn¡¯t too bad. Ah, by that, I mean the apple of course. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jaeger and Lark, who had similarly come over for a visit with packets of snacks in their hands, had unfriendly gazes in their eyes. ¡°What? What¡¯s wrong, huh?¡± ¡°¡­You freaking bastard.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to be worried.¡± Are you jealous? Huh? You jelly? Why don¡¯t you have all your bones fractured like me then, huh! ¡°Korin! Would you like some peaches as well? I can slice them up for you!¡± ¡°Of course~. Anything will be delicious.¡± It has been 3 days since the King of Iron Mountain incident. Marie was staying in the infirmary looking after me without even returning to her dormitory. ¡°Mr. Korini~! I¡¯m here!¡± ¨C Thud! Alicia pushed the door open with a slam. In her hands was a dessert set which high school girls would love to eat. ¡°Hey. Be careful with the door. You might break it.¡± ¡°Haht! I¡¯ll be careful.¡± ¡°But seriously~. Single rooms are great, aren¡¯t they~.¡± This room was big enough to hold a lot of visitors, which was definitely a plus. Alicia was opening the box of desserts that she brought when someone started knocking on the window. ¨C Knock knock. Looking outside, I saw Hua Ran in her nun clothes knocking on the glass. This was the 13th floor though¡­ ¡°¡­Please open it for her.¡± Alicia immediately went to the window and opened it as Hua Ran nonchalantly walked into the room. ¡°That¡¯s not the entrance. We have a functioning door so why do you keep coming in from the window?¡± While disregarding my words of disapproval, Hua Ran placed a flat fish on top of the table. ¡°¡­Is this a gift for me?¡± ¡°Please cut it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± You want me to cut an 8-inch giant flathead? Where the hell did you even get this from? ¡°I¡¯ll do it later.¡± ¡°And you can have the rest.¡± Let¡¯s think of this as something positive. She must be trying to show her goodwill on her part¡­ right? Since we were all together in one place, we spent time chatting and playing some simple games. There was a bizarre combination of food ¨C a flathead, a cake and fruits but¡­ well, kids their age should be able to digest steel so it should be fine. ¨C Knock knock! Thinking that we had more visitors, Jaeger walked up to the door and opened it as people I had been waiting for finally showed themselves. ¡°Korin Lork. How is your body?¡± Coming in from the door were Senior Professor Josephine Clara of the Academy, and a man with an appearance that seemed a bit¡­ too young to be the Chairman of the Academy. ¡°Student Korin.¡± Chairman Eriu Casarr. It was him. ¡°It seems that a lot of things have happened during my absence. My heart skipped a beat when I heard what happened from Professor Clara.¡± As if. That¡¯s not even your real body. ¡°Hello, Mr. Chairman.¡± Despite what I was thinking on the inside, I welcomed ¡®her¡¯, who was officially the Chairman of Merkarva Academy. I think it¡¯s about time for us to reveal our hands, Master. CH 55 ? Finishing Touch (4) ? Josephine Clara was an old professor of the Academy who had been here for over 80 years. She was one of the old bigshots who had constantly been the Senior Professor of Merkarva Academy, and yet she had never been the Chairman in those 80 years. Why? Previous previous Chairman, Biren. Previous Chairman, Bihu. Current Chairman, Casarr. All three of them were rookies who had all suddenly appeared out of nowhere and had less ability and fame than Lady Josephine. Lady Josephine had never been in charge of the Academy, even though it wasn¡¯t strange for her to have been the Chairman the whole time during those 80 years as the genius witch of history and a master at dimensional spells. The reason for that was simple. The position of the Chairman had always been reserved for one person. ¡°Sorry for sending your friends outside. It is something that has to be done in secret, after all.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Eriu Casarr, Lady Josephine Clara, and I were the only ones left behind in the hospital room. It seemed that most of our encounters in this iteration were happening at the infirmary. ¡°Firstly, there are a few questions that we have to ask you. Please understand that we cannot gloss over this with ease, unlike what happened with Student Marie.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She was still testing things out. In order to quickly progress our conversation, I tossed the Primal Rune that I collected from Fermack. ¨C Vuung! Lady Josephine immediately responded with a dimensional spell as if she perceived that as an attack. The rune of the Prime vanished in the air before soon reappearing on her palm. ¡°¡­¡± After that, she glared daggers at me, but I could sense that she wasn¡¯t sure whether she was supposed to show goodwill or hostility against me. ¡°Professor Fermack was a spy.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two of them lamented after hearing my words. A professor of the Academy who had been working for 10 years was actually a spy and the mastermind of this incident. Even though there was no proof to back up my claim, the two should have noticed something after seeing his corpse. Precept. A vow to the world that was engraved on the bodies of the great warriors of Shadow Paradise. There weren¡¯t many people who knew of this ancient ability that offered a great amount of power to its user at the cost of high risk. But there was still something that the two of them were unaware of. ¡°Do you know who sent him in as a spy?¡± ¡°Well¡­ That¡¯s something for us to investigate¡­¡± And how long will that take? Probably after the 4th Arc or something. Instead of waiting until that point, I decided to tell them beforehand. ¡°Tates Valtazar. Fermack Daman is that man¡¯s disciple.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be! 80 years ago, we¡­!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lady Josephine reacted with an agitated voice before quickly shutting her mouth. Eriu Casarr¡¯s eyes were also trembling in disbelief. ¡°Six Ways of the Spear. Void. Precept. Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know them, because you¡¯re the one who taught him everything. For your reference, that¡¯s the same for me.¡± ¡°¡­Don¡¯t tell me you¡­¡± The three above-mentioned abilities were all secrets of the race of Paradise. More importantly, Void, which came off of Six Ways of the Spear, was a technique that only had two users in the contemporary times. And yet here I was telling them that I had also learned them. In other words, the conclusion they would come up with about me was¡­ ¡°You¡¯re Valtazar¡¯s disciple¡­!¡± A dimensional fissure appeared in an instant. Beyond the fissure that was activated with more speed than before were all sorts of corpses drooling while waiting to pounce at me. ¡®Partholon¡¯, the most threatening of all the shredded Shadow Paradise, huh. She was more serious than I thought. One flick of her fingers and I would be swallowed by the plagued corpses of Partholon, but¡­ ¡°Please stop with the bluff. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re going to kill people without being sure of their identity.¡± I cursorily carved a rune in the air that meant ¡®to close¡¯ as the door to the dimension was forcibly shut down. ¡°¡­!?¡± Lady Josephine was shocked by the fact that her dimensional spell had been shut down by a single rune. There were still tens of activated spells that were ready to be fired at me, but she must be shocked that I dispelled that particular one. ¡°Clara. Please cancel your spells.¡± ¡°But, Chairman!¡± ¡°Do as she says. The Chairman here is just a spare body anyway, right? I¡¯m sure the true body is not even in the state to leave the Castle just yet.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Even Chairman Eriu was surprised after hearing those words. Undoing the cast restricting my arm, I stood up from the bed and slowly walked to the young man¡­ or rather, my Master, who should be controlling that humanoid doll. ¡°King of Iron Mountain? That¡¯s just the beginning.¡± ¡°You¡­ What exactly¡­¡± ¡°Your disciple, Valtazar is still alive and has built up power. He has become a lot stronger than before, and he¡¯s no longer alone either.¡± You guys won¡¯t be enough to stop him. ¡°Because of your hesitation 80 years ago.¡± Hearing that, Chairman Eriu slowly started to take several steps away from me. Her one and only mistake laid in her past indecisive action, which had been the result of her affection for her disciple. ¡°He survived and is now threatening this world.¡± I reminded her of her mistake and pushed her into a corner. I made her traumatic memories to resurface. ¡°Now, because of the betrayal of your trusted disciple, the Prime has scattered all across the world. And you have only managed to recover two of them.¡± One of them was the Primal Rune swallowed by the King of Iron Mountain. I reminded them how that one would have also been stolen without my help. ¡°¡­¡± She admitted it. She had no choice but to admit the truth ¨C the existence of Fermack Daman, who had been waiting for the right opportunity after infiltrating the Academy 10 years ago, was the proof. Without giving them time to organize their thoughts, I pushed them further into a corner. ¡°The great stone of destiny, Lia Fail, is in the hands of Tates Valtazar. And he probably has most of the 4 treasures of Danu already.¡± Paradise. The original world of the race of Danu. When the path to Paradise comes down, Tates Valtazar would enter it while carrying the 4 treasures in his hands. There was no way that Erin Danua wouldn¡¯t know what that meant as the ¡®Queen¡¯. ¡°After a proper coronation, Tates Valtazar won¡¯t be an usurper anymore. What comes next is very predictable, right? Erin Danua?¡± I uncovered her secret. Biren 80 years ago. Bihu 50 years ago. And now Casarr. She, who used to observe the world using the body made of rune stone and all those fake names, was being shaken by my flood of extraordinary information. The guilt that she couldn¡¯t deal with Tates Valtazar; and the regret that she had raised someone like him up as her future successor. That was her biggest mistake as a teacher who had taught innumerable disciples, and here I was throwing those facts at her face. ¡°What exactly¡­ is your goal?¡± I took off my clothes in front of ¡®her¡¯, who was in the shape of a man. Above the scars and wounds was the indestructible Precept on my body. Josephine and Erin, my Master, gasped after seeing it. They were under the impression that I was an evil disciple of the Evil King, the usurper Tates Valtazar, and yet there was a very contradictory Precept engraved on my body. I had revealed all my hands and gave them my most crucial information, and yet the two of them were the ones that stepped back in shock. Pushing her further into the corner, I placed my hand on the wall next to her and gazed down into her eyes. I saw the stupefied look on my Master¡¯s face. Even the fake body was unable to conceal her clear blue eyes. ¡°We have the same goal in mind.¡± ¡°¡­Are you trying to stop him?¡± ¡°To protect this world, I will gladly become your first spear. You can even treat me like a hound.¡± I was showing a very oppressive and insolent attitude but¡­ there was no other way around it. There were too many suspicious parts about me for us to form a regular relationship of trust. Even so, I wanted this person to live. ¡º Child, I am an adult. As long as I am an adult, I have the duty to prioritize your safety as a child. ¡» Her back which she showed me at the end, was still a vivid and painful memory. This time, it was my turn to protect her. **** It was a dark palace with no signs of sunlight. There was a red carpet on the floor, and the only source of light was from the ambient lighting of the lamp stone. At the end of that chamber was a dark throne of stone, sleeping on which was a single lady. Her hair which seemed to have been made from melting silver was reflecting the light from the lamp stone to brighten up the dark throne. Visiting her in that lonesome place was her one and only friend. ¡°Erin.¡± A blonde-haired lady entered the palace through a dimensional gate. Josephine walked towards the lady sitting on the throne, who slowly opened her blue eyes in response. ¡°I¡­ am against it.¡± Josephine¡¯s emerald eyes weren¡¯t as resolute as usual. Even she was confused, and that served to show just how shocking everything they heard today was. For about 100 years, Josephine had been living with Erin Danua¡­ who was currently indulging in her past memories. ¡°Tates¡­ is still alive.¡± Just like she did to Josephine, Erin had showered Tates with love, if not more. She, who had been alive since the ancient times, had been looking for a successor and had been considering Tates as the inheritor to the throne. However, she was betrayed by that trusted disciple and hesitated at the last second when she was supposed to deal the final blow. This was the result of her past inaction, and she had to take responsibility for it. ¡°Can we¡­ trust him?¡± He was a strong-willed boy with burning red eyes. What exactly was he, she wondered. ¡°Erin¡­¡± ¡°I know. I¡­ shouldn¡¯t easily trust people.¡± What she received in return for her trust was the betrayal 80 years ago. She couldn¡¯t easily trust the boy called Korin Lork, who had suddenly appeared like a comet, nor should she. However¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s keep an eye. For now¡­ we can¡¯t be sure of anything.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As someone who was bearing a large burden, it was an obvious choice. She couldn¡¯t bear more risk. Even though he stopped Fermack from retrieving the Primal Rune¡­ and even though he had vowed to save the world¡­ there was still the possibility of everything being a trap to deceive her. But one thing she just couldn¡¯t understand was¡­ ¡°Why¡­ was he looking at me so pitifully?¡± Was she imagining things? The silver queen re-entered her slumber with unresolved doubt lingering in her mind. **** On the last day of the semester at Merkarva Academy was the grade adjustment ceremony, where they reassigned grades to students depending on their achievement. This grade adjustment was very important. The ones given during the admission were temporary student ranks, whereas these ones were official grades assigned by the Guardian Alliance. In other words, it was possible for students to have the qualification of a real guardian despite staying a student, depending on the results of this adjustment. ¡°Uun¡­ Korin, do you want potatoes?¡± I took the baked potato that was in her hands. The peeled potato had sugar seasoned on top, which was my favorite way of consuming potatoes. ¡°It¡¯s amazing as always.¡± ¡°Hehe. Right?¡± All the students were at the Festival Hall for the last-day-of-semester ceremony, and Marie was giving out potatoes to everyone. She had already given it to about 100 people, and she was still going at it. ¡°Senior. Why did you cook so many potatoes today?¡± I inquired while helping her give out potatoes. Actually, around 20 of Marie¡¯s friends were already volunteering to give out potatoes. Looking at how they all seemed used to the task, this seemed to be a regular event. ¡°Today¡¯s the last day of the semester! Everyone will be leaving, so we have to bake and give out all the potatoes in the warehouse. Otherwise they¡¯ll go bad!¡± ¡°¡­You have a warehouse?¡± Why exactly do you have a warehouse of potatoes inside the Academy? Interesting¡­ ¡°Thank you everyone for your amazing work. Your astounding growth over this semester has been the model growth of our Academy and¡­¡± We were handing out the potatoes while Chairman Eriu Casarr¡­ or rather, Erin Danua my Master, finished with her speech. The grade adjustment was about to start very soon. ¡°Shall we head over?¡± ¡°Nn!¡± ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ ¡°We will now be introducing the students who will be receiving an adjustment to their grades.¡± The students walked up to the stage one by one as the Chairman called out their names. Most of them were seniors of the Academy. That was natural because freshmen students only took mandatory courses and simple missions from the Mission Board, so it was hard to have enough achievements for a grade adjustment. Besides, it was rare to call freshmen students for something dangerous. ¡°Highest-achieving student of the 2nd year Magic Department, Marie Dunareff.¡± The crowd buzzed, but it was still positive as if it was within their scope of imagination. Marie had been a Grade 1 mage at the start of the semester. Most of the students of the Academy graduated with Grade 1 at best. In fact, it was very rare for the 4th year students to even reach Grade 1, and yet Marie was a prodigy among prodigies for reaching Grade 1 at the 2nd semester of her 1st year at the Academy. Despite that, she was going through another adjustment, which was even faster than Lunia Arden. ¡°Student Marie has experienced an unfortunate event, but has proven herself with her indomitable spirit and has greatly assisted with preventing the accident at the laboratory from going out of hand.¡± Marie¡¯s achievement in terms of missions this semester was close to being zero, because she wasn¡¯t even allowed to leave the city after becoming a vampire. However, there were things she did as the helper of Professor Deina¡¯s experiment, and the biggest reason was her mana capacity breaking through the roof after turning into a vampire. It was impossible not to raise her grade considering her overwhelming strength. Besides, it was only thanks to her holding back the King of Iron Mountain for a long time, that the Academy had a lot less victims than what the situation called for. ¡°Guardian Marie Dunareff. With the recommendations of Merkarva Academy¡¯s Chairman, Eriu Casarr and Dina Grandeia, the president of the Southern Guardian Alliance, we assign you to the rank of Semi-Unique Grade.¡± ¡°Wahh¡­!¡± ¡°That¡¯s insane!¡± Even though it wasn¡¯t anything unexpected, everyone cheered out loud after seeing her grade actually go up, because this was the legendary moment of the history¡¯s youngest semi-Unique Grade guardian. To be honest, Marie was already as strong as a Unique Grade, but the requirements to be considered a Unique Grade were slightly different for demons and guardians. Besides, it was also extremely rare for demons to become guardians so the standards weren¡¯t very clear. At the end of the adjustment announcement for the 2nd year students alongside Marie, the crowd was bustling up after perhaps thinking that the ceremony was almost over, but unfortunately for them, it wasn¡¯t over just yet. ¡°We will now be calling out the names of freshmen students who had actively participated in reducing the magnitude of the incident that occurred at the laboratory along with Student Marie.¡± The crowd buzzed in response. The King of Iron Mountain incident was known to have been an extremely dangerous one, but the beast never ended up leaving the laboratory so there were only few things known about the incident. There were a lot of hidden secrets about the matter including both the King of Iron Mountain and the betrayal of Fermack Daman. ¡°From the Magic Department, Yuel and Kranel Luden. From the Knights Department, Alicia Arden, Dorron Warsky¡­¡± One by one, the named freshmen characters walked up to the stage. They weren¡¯t surprised or anything because they had already received a letter beforehand. There were already four freshmen students that were getting a promotion in their grade at the adjustment ceremony of the 1st semester. It was definitely unprecedented and was thus received by a heated discussion. ¡°And lastly, Korin Lork.¡± Hearing my name, I confidently headed to the stage. The fake body of my Master, Eriu Casarr, was on the stage presenting news about our promotion. ¡°Taking into account their achievements thus far and their dedication at the laboratory, Students Yuel, Kranel, Alicia and Dorron will be officially promoted from Grade 2 to semi-Grade 1.¡± It was an unprecedented promotion. With this, our grade also gained the extraordinary record of having four semi-Grade 1 students with none being in Grade 2. ¡°And lastly, Student Korin Lork¡­ was a Grade 5 guardian but¡­¡± My name was finally called. There was a deal I had made with my Master. ¡°Looking at his remarkable fights and his exceptional achievement, and with the recommendations of the 3 people: Chairman Eriu Casarr, Senior Professor Josephine Clara and Professor Haman Welsch, we proclaim his promotion into Grade 1.¡± ¨C What? Grade 1? ¨C He came in as a Grade 5 and became a Grade 1 in just one semester?! ¨C How does that even make sense? Korin Lork. Grade 5 Knight -> Grade 1 Knight. It was a grade given after some negotiations under the table with the Guardian Alliance. Finally, I now had more social power and the right to create a guild of guardians. ¡°At last.¡± CH 56 ? Suspiciously¡­ (1) ? My conferment into Grade 1 Knight was met with an extremely negative response. An ultrahigh-speed promotion from temporary Grade 5 to Grade 1 in just one semester was both ridiculous and unprecedented. A guardian¡¯s strength relied heavily on innate talent. The common belief was that students entering the Academy as Grade 5 were all ungifted, and only those above Grade 3 were considered talented with a decent future waiting ahead of them. It was rare for even those Grade 3 students to reach Grade 1 in their lives, and yet I had suddenly gone up from Grade 5, the ungifted students, to Grade 1, so it was natural for people to strongly disagree. ¨C How is this even possible? ¨C This doesn¡¯t make sense. ¨C Korin Lork is the guy that fought against Ms. Lunia during the interim exam right? ¨C But even so, it should be impossible for him to become Grade 1 in an instant just from that. We never had anything like this happen before! Honestly, complaints like this were bound to be raised even if I had been promoted to semi-Grade 1. Whatever the case, I was a knight who had perfectly cleared the grade assessment for a semi-Grade 1, assisted with dealing with the King of Iron Mountain, and had dealt with the traitor, Fermack Daman, one-on-one. All the professors that were aware of these restricted pieces of information seemed convinced by my promotion, and that puzzled the students and other professors even more. ¡°Wow~. Mr. Korin. That¡¯s great.¡± Alicia said in surprise while watching me walk down the stage. She wouldn¡¯t have expected me to go straight to Grade 1 in one go either. ¡°I thought you would be semi-Grade 1. Is it because of ¡®that¡¯?¡± She asked while secretly implying about Fermack¡¯s incident. ¡°That one is a secret. Officially, this promotion to Grade 1 is because of the King of Iron Mountain incident.¡± My Master Erin and Lady Josephine appeared to be hoping to hide Fermack¡¯s betrayal for the time being. It was partially to slow down the speed of the news of his death reaching Valtazar, but it was also to prevent chaos from breaking out. Because of that, the only higher-ups that knew about Fermack Daman¡¯s betrayal were Erin Danua, Lady Josephine, and lastly, Dina Grandeia, the president of the Southern Guardian Alliance. With the agreement of those three people, I was able to go straight to Grade 1 even though I was supposed to stop at semi-Grade 1. The thing of most importance was the right of a Grade 1 guardian ¨C this was the most important one. The right of a Grade 1 guardian was something that was only available in the 3rd year in the game, and even in the last iteration, it was something we barely laid our hands on in the 2nd year. It was something that would have a great impact on the future. After all, the members of my guardians guild will make me have more influence inside the Alliance. ¡®It will be perfect if Marie can join as well.¡¯ If the semi-Unique Grade mage, Marie, or the successor candidate of the Arden family, Alicia, were to join my guild, even the Alliance headquarters wouldn¡¯t be able to ignore my words. That would translate to authority, and more authority meant that there would be more things I could do in the future. That will allow me to lay my hands on power that was unthinkable for mere students to have. Even when taking in the ?Heroic Legends of Arhan? and the last iteration into consideration, this was the first time that the player¡¯s social power had gone up this early. ¡®For now, I guess I need to contact those three first.¡¯ Renya, the waitress of a bar, And the wolf siblings; Ren and Ron. Leaving aside Renya the waitress, the wolf siblings were related to the hostile group acting in secret inside Merkarva City, so I had to deal with them before the festival. ¡°It¡¯s a holiday now. What are you guys going to do?¡± After the ceremony, most of the students were leaving the stadium while the freshmen acquaintances gathered in one place. ¡°Earn money.¡± First to reply was Dorron. That was exactly what one would expect from him. ¡°I¡­ am going to go to the lands of other druids. We have kept in touch with few of our kindreds after all.¡± Yuel, who had lost her homeland from the demonic beasts, appeared to be planning on looking for other druids. ¡°I¡¯m going home.¡± ¡°I applied for an internship at the Tower of Mages this holiday.¡± Jaeger was heading home while Lark was doing an internship at the Tower. I heard that was tough though¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll be going to the west¡­ Apparently they¡¯re planning on demolishing an old castle. It will be the best place to make a new core¡­¡± It seemed that Kranel would be leaving for some golem materials. Judging from how gloomy he looked, one might think he was the type to stay holed up in his room at home, but he was more diligent than what one would expect. ¡°I think I have to return home. Grandpa¡­ was looking for me.¡± Next up was Alicia. So she was going back to the Arden family, huh¡­ Well, now that Lunia Arden proclaimed that she wouldn¡¯t touch Alicia, she shouldn¡¯t go through anything dangerous at home. ¡°Well, good luck.¡± ¡°Where are you going to go, Mr. Korin? Will you be going back home?¡± ¡°No.¡± In the last iteration, I returned home this holiday by relying on Korin Lork¡¯s memories, and found out that no one was home. ¡°Apparently, they¡¯re going on a family trip. Without me.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Due to postal errors, the letter arrived 3 days after the beginning of the holiday in the last iteration, which was why I had to suffer for no reason. ¡°¡­I see.¡± When I told her that I wouldn¡¯t be going back to my hometown, Alicia started fidgeting her fingers and lowered her head before raising an offer. ¡°I, in that case. Would you¡­ like to come with me?¡± ¡°Me? To your house?¡± ¡°I, it¡¯s scary to go by myself¡­¡± ¡°Ah~¡± It was reasonable for her to be scared. Nothing happened back in the game, so there shouldn¡¯t be any problems, but I could understand why Alicia would be so frightened. ¡°Unfortunately, I have things to do in the South, so I don¡¯t think I can.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ the South?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go there together next time. I do want to visit the East when I have time.¡± Alicia¡¯s household was in the east. It wasn¡¯t in another continent, but it was still quite far from the south. ¡°Why do you have to go to the South?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a place I have to go to, because someone told me to check that place out.¡± Sebancia Duke, whom I met at the Great Library at the start of semester, told me to have a look at the office in his castle. This holiday should be the best time to have a visit. ¡°Korriiiinn~!¡± Marie shouted while running to me from a distance. It seemed that she was finally done bidding farewell to her friends. ¡°Senior Marie. Congratulations on your promotion to semi-Unique Grade.¡± ¡°Congratulations on your Grade 1 promotion too, Korin! If it¡¯s you, you¡¯ll easily be able to go up even more!¡± Wearing a bright smile on her face, Marie handed me some potato chips as a celebration. She still had more potatoes, it seemed¡­ ¡°By the way, Korin. Are you going to the South?¡± ¡°Did you hear that?¡± ¡°B, by chance of course!¡± Weren¡¯t we a bit far for it to be by chance? Was it because of her physical traits as a vampire? ¡°Let¡¯s go together then!¡± ¡°Together?¡± ¡°My house is also in the South! So why not!¡± Well, if we were going the same way¡­ ¡°Well, I guess there¡¯s no reason not to.¡± Like that, it was decided that my trip to the South this time around will be with Marie as a company. ¡°Oh right, Yuel. Can you do me a favor?¡± ¡°You have something to ask of me? What a surprise. What is it?¡± ¡°Yeah. If you happen to meet other druids, can you ask around for a place called ¡®Findias¡¯? It¡¯ll be great if you can also look for a druid called ¡®Uzkias¡¯.¡± ¡°¡­I will try.¡± Findias. The place that concealed the sun, Claiomh Solais, under the protection of the druid, Uzkias. As long as I could lay my hands on that item which was one of the 4 great treasures, I would be able to ruin Tates Valtazar¡¯s plans by a lot. ¡®Golden Mandrake. It might go easier than expected if I use this.¡¯ It was crushed during the fight against Fermack but it was alright, because I could still use the Golden Mandrake in another way. **** After the ceremony, I bid farewell to my friends and headed off with Marie. Soon, we arrived at the station for magic carriages heading to the southern cities from Merkarva Academy and were met with countless carriages. The carriages of this world were completely different from the horse carriages that were used in Europe during the medieval times. These large transportation devices that moved with the power of a mana crystal had 12 specially crafted wheels that were each 1 meter thick, and were as tall as 7 meters. It was about as big as two triple-decker buses put together. It was a widely-used transportation method in the game that allowed fast travel between cities while keeping a fantasy-feel to it. ¡°Korin! I got the food!¡± Marie said while bringing the giveaway meals from the 1st floor of the carriage. The meal itself wasn¡¯t too bad even though the carriage was quite bumpy at times. After 4 hours, we arrived at a ¡®carriage platform¡¯ which was similar to a service center. ¡°We are departing again in one hour, right? I heard they were selling udons at the platform. Do you want to try that out?¡± ¡°Shall we?¡± We were returning to the magic carriage after a light meal when I found new passengers boarding the carriage. ¡°New passengers, please head up to the back seats of the 2nd floor.¡± They were customers who were changing carriages in the middle. ¡°Excuse me~¡± ¡°Carriage coming through.¡± The new passengers made their way through the carriage to their designated seats. They looked like nimble men. ¡°Oh no¡­¡± I heaved a sigh after seeing them, and Marie asked a question with a tilted head after seeing that. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± ¡°No it¡¯s nothing. It would take 9 hours for us to reach the next platform, right? How about you get some sleep first, Senior?¡± ¡°Maybe I should.¡± Because the carriage doesn¡¯t stop even at night, we had to sleep in the moving carriage. Something was going to happen on the way, so sleeping now was better than sleeping later. After sleeping for about 4 hours, I woke up and felt something leaning on my shoulder. ¨C Hnn~ It was Marie. Marie was resting her head on my shoulder, while letting out a soft breath in her sleep. ¡°Doggo.¡± In response to my call, a large blood dog revealed itself from Marie¡¯s shadow. Other passengers would have been frightened if they saw him, but it was in the middle of the night with most of them asleep, and the lights were also off, and it thus didn¡¯t cause any chaos. ¡°Let¡¯s get rid of some flies before your mom wakes up.¡± ¡°Woof?¡± **** ¨C Rattle rattle Hearing the wheels of the carriage that had been running across the road for hours, Jackie opened his eyes. Oops! He was supposed to pretend to be asleep but ended up actually falling asleep. But a question appeared in his mind ¨C his partner Rock should have woken him up when it was time¡­ Was he also sleeping? ¡°Rock¡­ Rock?¡± He wasn¡¯t here ¨C the partner that was supposed to be sitting next to him was gone. Maybe he was in the bathroom? Standing up from his seat, Jackie went around the carriage looking for his disappeared partner but couldn¡¯t find him. What? Where did this idiot go? Jackie turned to his pocket watch, and noticed it was already about time. Even though Rock was nowhere to be seen, he still had to send the signal by himself. He immediately headed to the corner-most seat, opened the window, and turned on his magic flashlight. He repeatedly turned it on and off. Like that, he sent the signal a few times, but nothing happened. ¡°What? Isn¡¯t this the right place?¡± The carriage was already speeding through an empty plain with nothing but nature surrounding them. If they quickly stole everything inside and crushed the wheels, it would take 2 days for news to reach the nearby public security officers. Right. Jackie was a member of carriage thieves. His job was to board the carriage and pretend to be a passenger before sending a signal to his buddies outside. ¡°Like, fuck¡­ What is going on?¡± There were problems with the plan. One was that his partner, Rock, was nowhere to be seen, and the other was that his buddies, that were supposed to be following carefully from behind, weren¡¯t responding to his signs. ¡°These retards. They didn¡¯t fall asleep or anything right?¡± It was actually quite convincing because he was also sleeping until just then. But¡­ ¡°Nope. They were drinking coffee and were all wide awake.¡± ¡°Huahk¡­!¡± By the time he perceived the sudden voice, his neck was already being grabbed by someone. ¨C Swish! Without even having the time to scream, Jackie was pulled outside the carriage through the window. After getting off the carriage in the blink of an eye, he stared at the one holding onto his neck. ¡°Hello?¡± In the barren land of darkness, the voice of the man under the moonlight resembled the howling voice of a wolf. ¡°W, who are you?¡± ¡°What do you mean who? Of course I¡¯m a Sir Knight, who¡¯s here to catch bad thieves.¡± ¡°K, knight! Hukk! W, wait! Sir! I, it¡¯s a misunderstanding!¡± ¡°Misunderstanding my ass. I¡¯ve seen your faces in the last iteration as well.¡± ¡°W, what do you¡­¡± It was then. A humanoid figure was dragging something with a growl. Upon a closer inspection, Jackie realized that more than twenty men were all tied up and being dragged by a red demonic beast. They were most certainly his buddies. Rock, who had disappeared from the carriage, was also in the mix. ¡°D, demonic beast?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a familiar. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± The man with a wild atmosphere kicked Jackie by his chin and made him faint, and tied him together with the carriage thieves before telling the red beast. ¡°Tie these guys up and put this signboard next to them. Security officers will pick them up on the way when they find them.¡± ¨C Woof! ¡°Ah, I¡¯m so sleepy. Why do I have to do this in the middle of the night?¡± After a yawn, the boy dashed forward and immediately caught up with the distant carriage. ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ When the morning sunlight began shining through the curtains of the window, Marie gave a big stretch and raised herself up. ¡°Kyaaahuu~~!¡± It had been a while since she last stayed on a seat for this long, so her body was very sluggish even after a sleep, and her shoulder was in more pain than usual. ¡°Uunn?¡± Shoulder pain was nothing new, so she was about to ignore it, but for some reason, her right shoulder was heavier than usual, as if something was resting on it. ¡°Aht¡­!¡± Turning to the side, Marie realized that it was Korin. The boy was leaning his head on her shoulder in his sleep, without even knowing that it was already morning. ¡®S, should I wake him up?!¡¯ Wait a second. Is there¡­ a reason to bother waking him up? The boy¡¯s everyday life was as arduous as a farmer leaving for the farm everyday. Building stamina, practicing spearmanship, and researching at the Great Library ¨C it was very rare for him to have any day off. The reason she invited him to her house after hearing that he was heading south this time around was because she wanted to give him a nice holiday at her house. So was it correct to wake someone like that up when they were in such a deep sleep? ¡®No! Mhmm! Of course not! So what if my shoulders hurt a little!?¡¯ With her wondrously ethical standards, Marie decided to sacrifice her shoulder for the benefit of another person. There was not a single ulterior motive behind it. Yes. It was a generous consideration on her part with not even 1 millimeter of ulterior motives! ¨C Thump thump! Even though her heart was beating out loud, she decided to ignore it. Moving her trembling eyes, she looked at Korin¡¯s hairs that were touching her cheek. It was very disheveled because it was morning but¡­ wait, disheveled? ¡®Hutt! I didn¡¯t get to wash today!¡¯ That was the inevitable downside of long-distance travels with a magic carriage. Unless you were to get off in the middle on one of the platforms, there was no way you could have the luxury to wash your hair or take a shower. Of course, that was something that applied to all the passengers inside the carriage including Korin Lork. However, it was a huge problem for the girl who was deeply in love, and was a problem that she couldn¡¯t compromise with. ¡°D, Doggo¡­¡± In response to the hurried voice of the girl, a large blood dog showed itself from her shadow. ¨C Woof! ¡°S, shhh! B, be quiet! What if he wakes up¡­!¡± ¨C ¡­Woof. ¡°C, can you go to my bag over there¡­ and get a brightening cream, and some perfume? And for the perfume¡­ g, give me one that¡¯s a bit thicker than usual!¡± Marie tried to reach for her bag, but quickly pulled her hand back after hearing Korin go, ¡®Mhmm¡¯ as if he was about to wake up. ¨C Doggo. Hurry up! Instead, she sent a desperate gaze at Doggo. ¨C Woof! Seeing his mother, Doggo couldn¡¯t help but shake his head. ¨C Doggo. You! How can you say something so mean?! The girl¡¯s voice was so soft that her complaint was buried by the background noise. **** By the time we were at the second platform, I opened my eyes and saw several other people that were also waking up from their sleep. ¡°Ah, Korin. You woke up.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Was I leaning on your shoulder? I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°N, no! It¡¯s okay! That¡¯s nothing, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it!¡± ¡°Well¡­ thank you.¡± It seemed that she was such a nice girl, that she didn¡¯t even know how to say ¡®No¡¯. I had to be more careful from now on. ¨C Sniff ¡°¡­Huh? Senior, are you wearing perfume?¡± ¡°Hmmmm? W, wat do you mean??¡± ¡°I think you smell a bit different today¡­¡± ¡°O, oh, y, you don¡¯t know it, huh! T, this is the smell of potatoes! If you have enough potatoes, your body will start to have this scent!¡± ¡­¡­Isn¡¯t that way too fake no matter how you see it? ¡°Sure. If you say so.¡± ¡°¡®If you say so?¡¯ Korin? D, do you think I¡¯m lying?¡± ¡°No no~. Of course not~.¡± ¡°Ughh¡­!¡± I smiled before changing the topic. ¡°Huu~. Finally time to get some fresh air.¡± The first platform that we got off at was like a service center that you would often see on highways, whereas this platform had a small village surrounding it. People who gathered to sell food and items to passengers and technicians that were here to look after the carriages gathered one by one and eventually formed a small village. ¡°Feeling a bit hungry now. Should we go have some food?¡± ¡°I know some good places!¡± ¡°Have you been here often?¡± ¡°This place is our transfer station, after all!¡± ¡°A transfer station?¡± This place was sitting at the entrance of the southern plains. ¡®Transfer¡¯ was, therefore, quite a strange word because all the carriages going through this place had to stop by the biggest city of the South, Reff City, which took another 8 hours on the carriage. ¡°If you see over~ there, there¡¯s the transfer station that we are going to use!¡± Marie was pointing at an empty plot of land that was managed by tens of workers busily walking around. Something different, I guess, would be¡­ that there were wyverns tied in place. ¡°Is that a wyvern landing zone?¡± ¡°Nn! We¡¯ll be heading straight home on a wyvern.¡± ¡°Ahh~ I see.¡± Wyverns were a transportation method that I¡¯ve used quite often, even back in the last iteration. It was tremendously faster than carriages and was just a strictly better method for moving across plains in the undeveloped countryside. However, the cost of hiring a wyvern rider was incredibly expensive, so we couldn¡¯t use it very often. If we were moving around as a party, we had to hire 2~3 wyvern riders at once, and that was way too costly. There was a time when we had to solve an extremely urgent situation and had to hire a squad of 12 wyverns to take all our party members across and¡­ damn, even that Mr. Park was appalled by the price of it. ¡°How much is it here? A one-way trip is like 30 silver coins, right?¡± ¡°Nn? Nope! My family will be sending us a wyvern! Because I always catch one here!¡± ¡°Wow¡­¡± Her family possessed a wyvern? Looking back, Marie was from a family of farmers. I¡¯ve heard how some rich farmers that had an enormous plot of land used wyverns to water the crops. That was how to water crops like a badass ¨C using wyverns. ¡°Senior Marie. You said you were from a family of farmers, right?¡± ¡°Nn. What about it?¡± ¡°Since you also have a wyvern, I assume you own a large piece of land. Is that correct?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ It is quite big.¡± She scratched her cheek in embarrassment. Since she wasn¡¯t the type to usually boast about being rich, she seemed shy about bragging about her wealth. ¡°Please excuse me if this is disrespectful, but how big is your land? I heard how people watered the crops using wyverns, but it sounded like a story from another world to me.¡± ¡°Umm¡­ I don¡¯t know exactly though. Maybe about 2 million?¡± 2 million? Wow~. That¡¯s crazy. I was living in a house that was less than 50 square meters back when I was on Earth though. ¡°2 million square meters? ¡­That¡¯s ridiculous.¡± 2 million square meters¡­ it was such an unfathomably enormous plot of land that I couldn¡¯t even imagine how big it was. It seemed that Marie was incredibly rich. ¡°2 million square meters? Uhh¡­ the unit is a bit different.¡± ¡°Hnn?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not square meters¡­ It¡¯s hectares.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Hnnn?¡± ¡°2 million hectares.¡± So¡­ Roughly 20,000,000,000 square meters. While my mind was going in circles from that absurd set of numbers, a squad of wyverns were approaching the landing zone from a distance. CH 57 ? Suspiciously¡­ (2) ? It wasn¡¯t an overstatement to say that the Duff Village, which was sitting at the entrance of the southern plains that slowly grew to the size of a village from a carriage platform, was living off of that industry. Mac, who was in charge of the wyvern landing zone, was one of those people. His job was to manage the safe landings of wyverns and the ¡®monster carriers¡¯ on the landing zone of the village. [This is Reff One. This is Reff One. Approaching Duff for the VIP.] ¡°Mr. Mac! Reff One is here!¡± ¡°I heard that too!¡± Reff One. That was the broad title of the wyvern squads and the monster carriers of the Dunareff Family, which was in charge of the hyper-mega plantation all across the vast plains of the south. ¡°Was something happening at the Dunareff this month?¡± ¡°Umm~. It¡¯s probably because of the Academy holiday.¡± ¡°So the Princess is coming back, huh.¡± In the southern regions of the continent, the Dunareff family was overwhelmingly more famous than even the royal family. There was no way the people wouldn¡¯t know about the genius mage who regularly returned to the household every holiday. While the guardians representing the east were the Sword Emperor Garrand and Sword Master Lunia, the people of the south were supporting Marie as the future representative of the south in a war of regional pride. ¡°Ah ah. This is Duff. We will now organize the landing zone. Cat 1. Cat 1. A visual reference confirmation is required when 200 feet in the air.¡± [Roger that. We will arrive in 10 minutes. We are slowly lowering the altitude.] ¨C Copy that. Mac used a magic communication device to announce to the workers of the wyvern landing zone. ¡°Reff One. Reff One is about to land soon. Bring the wyverns of the zone indoors. And make sure you clean up the area.¡± Some organization work was mandatory when there was a VIP. Stopping the other wyverns from setting off and landing on the area, they readied themselves to accept Reff One. [This is Reff One. Landing soon.] ¡°Roger that. Reff One.¡± Mac replied while looking at the squad of flying beasts that were slowly coming down from the air. ¡°Now now. Reff One is about to land. That means Ms. Marie is also going to come very soon! Get ready for some hot, burning welcome!¡± While the squad of wyverns were coming to pick up Marie, the workers of the landing zone dropped everything they were doing and prepared themselves to welcome the VIP. **** Wyverns were expensive. Like, I wasn¡¯t just throwing that out there because I didn¡¯t know about their exact price; they were extremely, extremely expensive. Sometimes on the news, they show how fighter planes and helicopters cost this and that, right? Wyverns were exactly the same. 550 gold coins. 5.5 white gold coins. That was about 550,000 in dollars, but that was the bare minimum, and wyverns with a good heritage easily went over 10 white gold coins. But that wasn¡¯t even the end. The cost to maintain wyverns was also abnormally ridiculous. Maintenance fees, hiring riders, training fees, and food. I heard how each wyvern costs about 60 gold coins each year. In the game, you only had to buy it once, and that was it, but here, you had to consider the maintenance fees on top of that so buying wyverns in real life was definitely not an easy feat. ¡°Wow¡­ there¡¯s a whole squad of them.¡± So in other words, that meant that those 12 wyverns that were swarming in from the distant sky cost at least 6,600 gold coins and ate up 720 gold coins each year. It was scary how that was still the bare minimum cost. ¡°Huh? Poppy¡¯s not here? Ah, he swapped places with Jun from the 8th Squad, huh! Maybe he¡¯s sick?¡± O~kay then!! Right now, the minimum number of wyverns in Senior Marie¡¯s family just soared all the way up to 96. 96 wyverns meant it was at least 52,000¡­ ¡°Oh, shit¡­ This is making me dizzy.¡± I didn¡¯t even know what to say after thinking about the sheer cost of that thing. But there was more. ¡°Y, you also have¡­ a monster carrier?¡± Wyverns weren¡¯t the only ones that were slowly descending from the sky. There was also a monster carrier that was carrying a whole ¡®house¡¯. Monster Carriers. It was a common way to refer to enormous flying monsters that were domesticated through long years of genetic modification and training. Although they were demonic beasts by nature, these docile monster carriers that were a result of several genetic modifications were able to carry more than 50 tonnes and still carry out a stable flight. The one coming down right now was an eagle that was mainly white. One thing to note was that it was even bigger than 6 wyverns combined. ¡°¡­Hresvelgr.¡± ¡°You know what it is!?¡± Of course I did, because that was the end-game mount of ?Heroic Legends of Arhan?. That was the final mount of the game that could only be earned after collecting materials like a madman and doing everything, including a special egg quest, training quest, private nest construction, and more. You had to have a Hresvelgr to call yourself a veteran on the web because otherwise you¡¯d be flamed. As for the price¡­ I¡¯d just say that it¡¯s more expensive than the most expensive price of that wyvern squad. It wasn¡¯t an end-game mount for nothing. ¨C Guung The fact that the Hresvelgr gently placed down the large cubical ¡®building¡¯ hanging on its neck on the ground without even making any noise, was proof of how perfectly trained it was. Soon, the wyverns also landed one by one, and an experienced middle-aged veteran came down from the biggest wyvern. ¡°Lady Marie!¡± ¡°Uncle Verg!¡± Marie was about to approach the man called Verg, but he politely stopped her before gesturing at his men with his eyes. ¨C Toot toot! Along with a noisy fanfare, an old gentleman and an old lady wearing butler clothes came out of the cubical ¡®building¡¯ and walked up after rolling a red carpet in front. ¡°Great job studying as always, Ms. Marie.¡± ¡°Grandpa Paul~. Seriously. I¡¯m telling you, you don¡¯t have to do this every time.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do. After all, you are the first daughter of the Dunareff of the South, Miss.¡± Butler Paul, with a benevolent look on his face, greeted Marie before turning towards me. ¡°This gentleman over here is¡­?¡± ¡°Ah, he¡¯s Korin! Korin Lork! He¡¯s a freshman this year!¡± ¡°Ah~. So he is the one¡­¡± Paul walked up to me and suddenly grabbed onto my hands. ¡°Thank you sir. Thank you so much¡­ for saving our miss. It is an honor to see you.¡± ¡°Umm¡­ okay.¡± It seemed that they were already aware of what had happened to Marie. Paul wasn¡¯t the only one ¨C all the wyvern riders and workers simultaneously lowered their heads at me. ¡°T, thank you?¡± Honestly¡­ I was quite overwhelmed by the wyverns and the Hresvelgr in front, so I didn¡¯t even know what I was supposed to say. ¡°Now! Please come into the guest room!¡± ¡°Thank you for everything!¡± After shouting that, Marie greeted all the wyvern riders and nonchalantly walked on top of the red carpet all the way into the so-called guest room. ¡°What are you doing, Korin? Hurry up and come inside!¡± ¡°¡­¡± On top of the ¡®guest room¡¯, the Hresvelgr was looking down at me with a majestic gaze. Damn it¡­ I seriously want one of these. By the way, I only gained access to the Hresvelgr at the end of the game scenario. I barely got to ride this handsome eagle towards the end and yet¡­ **** Dunareff Family. They were apparently the practical rulers of the southern regions of the continent, who possessed 2 million hectares of land and operated a super-megalo farm. Using the vast piece of land that they have possessed from a long time ago, they supported the kingdom¡¯s finances, and it seemed that they were in charge of ? of the crops of the entire El Rath kingdom. Starting from crops and produce like potatoes and cotton to pastoral farms that have hundreds of thousands of domestic animals freely roaming around the green pasture ¨C they even had plantation factories that produced magic plants like Mandrakes. Instead of thinking, you only needed to listen to Marie¡¯s explanation to tell just how enormous everything was. ¡°From all~~ the way there to there, we have flour farms, and from there to there ¨C hmm, we can¡¯t see because of the horizon ¨C anyway, for about 30 minutes on a wyvern, we have potatoes! That mountain over there is this year¡¯s grazing land! We will be moving back to that mountain over there next year! Oh right. Was that where our gold farm was?¡± ¡°Miss. The gold farm is further north. That place is the diamond farm.¡± ¡°Right right!¡± Hmm, I see. When it¡¯s millions of hectares big, everything¡¯s just on a whole different scale. ¡°¡­Is that a corn farm?¡± ¡°Nn! Ah~, you saw the Audhumbla!¡± It was so far down, and yet I could still see their shapes through the window of the guest room. Just how big were they exactly? ¡°That¡¯s called an Audhumbla, and it¡¯s su~per big! Hmm~ Probably about twice the size of the carriage that we were on!¡± So¡­ it¡¯s bigger than the King of Iron Mountain, huh. Those unimaginably enormous animals were collecting corn with a harvesting tool on their necks. Twenty or so of those massive monsters moving around in a group was¡­ truly a mind-numbing sight. S, so this is normal for rich people huh¡­ But wasn¡¯t this still too much? While I was dumbfounded by the ridiculous scale of the farm, Butler Paul brought a large roast turkey from the kitchen of the guest room. ¡°This is a special meal we have prepared for our two esteemed guests.¡± He said while serving a gold roasted turkey, beneath which was a garnish made with a potato puree. The cocktails had several tiger prawns sticking inside ¨C this was something I only saw in movies! After having the best food that I haven¡¯t even had on the ground, we arrived at the wyvern landing zone that was just outside the big city of Reff in about an hour and realized that there were still many things to be surprised about. ¡°Lady Marie! Congratulations on your holidaayyyyy!!!¡± ¡°Congratulations on your promotion to semi-Unique Gradeeeee!!!¡± Around the landing zone were thousands of people welcoming Marie, who just got down on the red carpet. ¡°U, uhh¡­¡± It was fearsome at this point. I had never seen such a warm welcome, even when the stupid Mr. Park was saving the world and being called a Hero, and even when he returned after defeating the Unique Grade demonic beast that attacked the city. ¡°Umm. Grandpa Paul? Why are there so many people?¡± ¡°They have all heard about the things that happened to you, Miss.¡± ¡°I see¡­ they must have been worried.¡± It seemed that even Marie wasn¡¯t used to such a big welcome when returning from the Academy, so she had a slightly embarrassed look on her face. ¡°Uncle Verg. How many people are there¡­? And it was just yesterday that I had my grade adjustment. How do they know about it already?¡± ¡°Well, we have already heard news from our wyvern riders. And there were so many people that we had to return some of them back home.¡± What? This is after you sent some back? ¡°I¡¯m sure you guys are busy with other things though. I feel a bit sorry.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t say that, Miss. Ms. Marie, you are the pride of everyone in the south after all.¡± It¡¯s not like I couldn¡¯t understand her popularity. In this day and age, the most popular and well-received occupation was a guardian. They were few in numbers, and had the public image of heroes that protected humanity from tonnes of demonic beasts. If the most well-known guardian across every generation was Garrand the Sword Emperor, the current representative of guardians was Sword Master Lunia Arden from the Arden family of the east. There were several famous guardians in the west and north, but there was no one that was particularly famous in the south. Marie, who was well-known for being a genius mage, was definitely more than enough of a talent to become the iconic figure of a generation. Regional pride was probably one of the other reasons as well. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s head straight to the mansion.¡± Waiting for us at the landing zone was a carriage ¨C not the magic carriage that moved with a crystal but a horse carriage that was dragged by horses. It was surprising that this was the first ¡®normal¡¯ domestic animal that I was seeing for the first time today. Getting on the carriage, we entered Reff City. Wait¡­ the name of the city was ¡®Reff¡¯. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ ¡°Senior Marie. Is the name of this city¡­¡± ¡°It comes from our surname! There¡¯s also Duna City if we go slightly to the east!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Looking back, the name of the platform was also ¡®Duff¡¯ Village!! It was in fact surprising that I was unaware of this until now. Although I hadn¡¯t been to the south very often, it was still shocking that I had no idea about this. Even when we were inside the city, I could still spot the influence of the Dunareff family. [Dunareff Barber] [Dunareff Groceries] [Dunareff Post Office] [Dunareff Farming Cooperation Association] [Dunareff Professional Wrestling Club] Seriously¡­ the entire city was full of Dunareff. And why the heck was there a pro wrestling club? ¡°We have arrived at the entrance.¡± We soon arrived at the mansion that was standing tall inside the city and¡­ I was trying not to get surprised by size at this point, but I couldn¡¯t help it. There was a time when I went to the royal courtroom of the El Rath Kingdom. Back then, I was shocked by the size and fanciness of the royal palace of the fantasy world but¡­ ¡°It¡¯s really¡­ not any worse than the palace.¡± ¡°Wow~ Korin. Have you been to the palace? I haven¡¯t even been there that many times myself!¡± At the entrance of the mansion were ornaments and an emblem of a potato flower, and those flower petals appeared like they were sculpted with pure gold. Starting from the entrance all the way down was a vast garden and a fountain. There were several sculptures and artworks that were most certainly made by famous artists that were decorating the roadside. The most mesmerizing of them all were the flowers blooming all across the garden. It reminded me of the overwhelming tulip fields of the Netherlands that I saw on TV. The only difference was that it was FHD resolution back then, whereas this was about 16k. Plus, there was a queue of countless guests lining in front of the entrance. What exactly were those people? It seemed that Marie wasn¡¯t sure either, and she, therefore, asked Mr. Paul. ¡°Do we have a party today?¡± ¡°Ah~. Guests are coming from all across the southern regions including the mayor of Reff City, after hearing news about your grade adjustment, Young Miss.¡± Again, let me reiterate this. The grade adjustment was yesterday, and the news of Marie¡¯s promotion was something she shared at the Duff platform about 2 hours ago. Considering the time it would take for wyverns to fly in and send the news, that meant that those people had come here in less than 30 minutes immediately after hearing the news. ¡°Currently, we only have guests that either live nearby or have private wyverns, but we will have more guests coming very soon.¡± ¡°Aiya¡­ I¡¯m sure they¡¯re all busy though.¡± Judging from her words, I could tell that even Marie wasn¡¯t seeing anything strange about the current turn of events, as if it was natural for people to come congratulate her. What kind of life have you been living, Marie-noona¡­? ¡°Senior Marie. Why did you never tell me you were rich?¡± ¡°Hmm. My parents are rich, but I¡¯m not, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what rich people always say!¡± You sell this mansion and that alone would be enough to feed 100 generations! ¡°Haha. Miss. You will be inheriting all this eventually anyway because you are the oldest child of the Dunareff family.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t need to say that, Grandpa Paul!¡± Marie wasn¡¯t denying his words though. Ah¡­ what¡¯s this sense of betrayal that I¡¯m feeling? ¡°The Dunareff Family often takes in in-laws when the head of the family is a lady. Of course, we also provide a portion of the businesses that we own to the in-law¡¯s family along with incredible support.¡± O¡­ kay? But why are you looking at me when saying that? ¡°Ms. Marie has been renowned for being both beautiful and clever ever since her childhood, and has been called the Flower of the South. There were so many people that wanted to marry our young miss, that the marriage proposal letters didn¡¯t even fit into one of our potato warehouses.¡± ¡°Umm¡­ I see.¡± ¡°In the last generation with Sir Lergen, Miss Leticia, who used to be the family head back then, even gifted him with a mansion built with jewels. Hahaha. Even that was only worth less than 8 hectares of a potato farm, though.¡± It seemed that this old gentleman was a person of the Dunareff family, after all, considering how he was comparing things to potatoes¡­ ¡°G, Grandpa Paul! Why are you talking about that all of a sudden!?¡± ¡°Hahahaha. I¡¯m just saying things. Hahaha¡­¡± His expression facing me was a bit burdensome, so I changed the topic. ¡°Sunbae. You know the castle that I was talking about?¡± ¡°Ah~ You mean Castle Duke, right?¡± I asked her if she could look into the castle of Sebancia Duke, who used to be hailed as the hero of the south hundreds of years ago. ¡°It seems that someone has bought the castle recently!¡± Right¡­ Castle Duke was one that was under someone¡¯s possession even in the last iteration. The owner was like¡­ a trader from the archipelago at the southern tip of the continent or something. ¡°Castle Duke has indeed been recently purchased by Count Casseus, who does trading at the archipelago.¡± ¡°Oh~. He¡¯s a noble?¡± By the way, nobles were an honorary title in this world, like how famous actors were knighted and old nobles appeared on TVs in the modern Earth. ¡°Miss. Our Dunareff Family also has peerage.¡± ¡°Oh, right. What were they again?¡± ¡°The family head is the duke of Reff, marquis of Rangol, count of Cardriol, viscount of Crancia ¡ªskip¡ª. He has the above 25 peerage titles.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re the only one who remembers all of that, Mr. Paul.¡± ¡°It is a must as the Head Butler of the Dunareff.¡± Right¡­ the thing called peerage existed per region, and it was indeed possible to have multiples of them, like how King William I of England was both the king of England and a duke of Normandy of France. But still, isn¡¯t 25 too much? ¡°I think Korin wants to visit the count¡¯s castle!¡± ¡°We are very lucky then. Count Casseus has visited Reff City for his business. If we invite him to our mansion, he will gladly join us for the party.¡± ¡°I see! That¡¯s great, Korin! We can talk to him about it today!¡± Count Casseus. That was indeed the name of the one who possessed Castle Duke in the last iteration. But¡­ was this quest meant to progress this easily? In any case, after 30 minutes on the carriage, we finally arrived at the actual mansion. ¡°Grandpa Paul. Where¡¯s mom and dad?¡± ¡°The family head and madam will be coming tonight. They told me to apologize for not being able to make it in time. The other young masters and young misses will have their holiday starting in 3 days.¡± ¡°Then we can rest until then! Korin, follow me! I¡¯ll show you your room!¡± After getting off the carriage, I followed Marie, who was hopping up the stairs. ¡°The 1st floor is where all our workers stay! We have rooms starting from the 2nd floor, but our family stays on the 3rd floor!¡± ¡°Then should I stay on the 2nd floor?¡± ¡°No! You can come here, Korin!¡± She led me to one of the rooms on the 3rd floor, with Mr. Paul following from behind. ¡°This is my room! And yours is here!¡± ¡°The Evergreen Room, I see,¡± commented Mr. Paul. ¡°Evergreen Room?¡± ¡°Yes. For generations, it has been reserved for the future family head¡¯s fiance¡ª¡± ¡°M, Mr. Paul! You don¡¯t have to say that! I¡¯m just giving this to him because it¡¯s the best room we have!¡± After saying that, Marie explained several things about the Evergreen Room, before going into her room which was connected to the Evergreen Room. The bed was a queen-sized bed that was a bit too big for me to use by myself. It was my first time seeing such a fancy and large bed. ¨C Knock knock! I came out after a shower in the bathroom connected to the room when someone knocked on the door. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°My name is Wilson, sir, and I am a massager working in the mansion.¡± ¡°Umm¡­ Please come in?¡± The man who then walked into the room looked like a professional massager that you would see at expensive spas. He asked whether I wanted to have the massage in another room or not but I told him that I wanted to do it here. ¨C Creak! Crackkk! ¡°Aah. That feels good¡­¡± ¡°Haha. You have a lot of cramps. Let me start from your shoulders.¡± ¡°Thank youuu¡­¡± This was so relaxing¡­ Was this paradise? I wanted to spend my whole life here if I could. **** Meanwhile, Marie was being served by maids for the first time in a long time. ¡°Oh my. Miss. Your skin is as soft as a baby¡¯s!¡± ¡°Your skin¡¯s very beautiful. Even prettier than last winter!¡± While looking after Marie¡¯s skin, which was as soft as a mochi, the maids were bustling with noise. It was normal for maids to say things that would put their masters in a good mood, but all their compliments for Marie were genuine. Actually, there was something the employees at the mansion had decided on before Marie¡¯s arrival. ¡®You remember right? Don¡¯t ever talk about vampires in front of Lady Marie!¡¯ Everyone was greatly shocked when they heard how Marie had awakened as a vampire. Even though it wasn¡¯t that rare for people to sometimes awaken into a demi-human, the reception and public consensus against them was by no means positive. But even so, Marie was still Marie. Those who knew about Marie knew how adorable and gentle she was. The maids who had been serving her for a long time felt like they were sending off their daughter when she headed to the Academy, and yet she had come back as a demon! In order to make sure she didn¡¯t feel down, they decided to be careful with their words. Actually, the newspaper companies that the Dunareff had shares in made sure to portray her as a victim, and the public perception was therefore not as bad as it could have been. As long as there was enough money and power, it was possible to make a serial killer into a saint in this world. And besides, who would dare openly pick a fight with the royal Princess of the Potato Empire? ¡°Ms. Marie. How is life at the Academy?¡± ¡°Nnn¡­ I think I need another uniform. It feels stuffy around my chest.¡± ¡°Oh my~. That proves you are still growing even more. We will prepare the best designers and master dressmakers.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ And, can we get one for a male as well?¡± ¡°For a male?¡± ¡°Ah~. Is that for your peer that you came here with?¡± This is it! The maids looked at each other, before immediately deciding on the next topic. ¡°He was a very handsome-looking gentleman, right? Very amicable and had a great personality as well.¡± ¡°Nn. He¡¯s a great person.¡± Marie replied while slightly burying her head into her clothes with flushed ears. The maids paused after seeing that conspicuous change. ¡®That¡¯s youth.¡¯ ¡®Youth it is.¡¯ ¡®Does anyone know anything about that gentleman?¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s a Grade 5 Knight, apparently. It¡¯s a bit low for him to become Miss¡¯s spouse, don¡¯t you think?¡¯ ¡®No no no. Mr. Verg told me he¡¯s a Grade 1 Knight. Apparently, he is on a similar level with Sword Master Lunia Arden of the East!¡¯ ¡®Hoh¡­¡¯ After silently sharing information in less than 3.7 seconds in front of their master with nothing but eye contact, the maids decided on the next direction of the conversation. ¡°Oh really~? He looked like a very reliable person. What kind of person is he?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ First off, he¡¯s handsome¡­¡± ¡®Is he?¡¯ ¡®Objectively speaking, I guess?¡¯ ¡®But not as much as our Miss.¡¯ ¡°Very responsible, nice¡­!¡± ¡®His personality seems good at least.¡¯ ¡®How about his family?¡¯ ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter when Miss is from the Dunareff.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re right.¡¯ ¡°He said he wanted me to be happy. He called me a good person, nice and pretty¡­! Hehe¡­¡± ¡°¡°¡­¡­¡±¡± Hearing those last words, an ominous feeling struck the three maids. ¡®His tongue¡­ is quite smooth.¡¯ ¡®Is he a player?¡¯ ¡®No way¡­ right?¡¯ The maids all got an ominous feeling, because this lady from the Dunareff family had been protected from the surroundings due to her absolute position in the south that she had been living a life that was very distant from men. Even though there were enough marriage proposal letters to fill up a warehouse, that meant nothing because someone burned them all down while screaming, ¡®These guys are all after my daughter¡¯s wealth!¡¯ In other words, it meant that Marie Dunareff knew nothing about men! ¡°Umm¡­ By the way, Miss. This might be a very sensitive topic, but¡­¡± ¡°Nn? What is it?¡± ¡°Did you perhaps, provide the young gentleman with any financial support¡­ or were there talks about borrowing money by any chance?¡± ¡®Y, you idiot! That¡¯s way too straight-forward!¡¯ ¡®But! She won¡¯t tell us if we don¡¯t ask like this!¡¯ For some reason, she was right on the mark. ¡°Hmm~. I did invest some into his business!¡± ¡°Ohh¡­¡± None of the maids had the room to scold the one who accidentally let out an audible gasp. After a while, they carefully asked a question with a shivering voice. Their hands weren¡¯t even moving at this point. ¡°Umm, by business, you mean¡­?¡± ¡°He said he wanted to create an inn! And he said he would definitely multiply the money by three times! Korin is very smart and capable!¡± ¡®¡­Shit.¡¯ The maids all shared the same sentiment. **** Considering how all the influential people of the area were invited, including the mayor, the party itself was a comparatively normal one held at the garden. Of course, even a normal one was extremely big when held at the Dunareff mansion. ¡°Korin¡­! Everything here is delicious! Do you want some hash browns?¡± ¡°Yes please.¡± Marie was in a casual dress, leading me forward by the hand. Since she was the protagonist of this party, we naturally ended up gathering a lot of eyes from the crowd. ¡°It was called a party, so I was thinking of a banquet of nobles, but this is quite different from what I expected.¡± ¡°Hnn? Well, it¡¯s because everyone¡¯s just here to say hi~¡± She said as if it was natural for the influential people of the area to greet her. Seeing how there was a whole crowd that was eager to strike up a conversation with her¡­ it might be correct to say that it was a part of everyday life for her. ¡°Oh right! We need to deal with your thing first, Korin!¡± ¡°With Count Casseus?¡± ¡°Nn nn! He¡¯s right there!¡± It seemed that she was going to prioritize my business first. ¡°It¡¯s your party so how about you enjoy it first?¡± ¡°Hmm~. Why bother?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Damn, she was just built different or something! Was she implying this was just an everyday stuff for her that she didn¡¯t need to bother enjoying it? Was this the dignity of the rich farmers that had control over the continent? Together with Marie, I headed to a corner of the garden, where a man with a slightly darker skin that was normal for people from the archipelago was sharing a conversation with the guests. Count Casseus. He was a named character that you inevitably had to meet when clearing the quest of the Unique Grade demonic spirit sealed inside the Great Library, Sebancia Duke. While looking for news about Sebancia¡¯s wife and his daughter, Ruina Duke and Cecilia Duke, there was a need to visit his castle and the player had two choices. One was to infiltrate Castle Duke in secret and look for clues. Of course, patrol guards would come for you if you got discovered and killing them would increase your infamy points so it was way too risky if you weren¡¯t maining stealth. The standard procedure was to finish Count Casseus¡¯s questline and get the official permit from him. The problem, however, was that he would ask you to defeat the Sea Serpent that was wreaking havoc at the archipelago. In any case, Count Casseus was a strict and seasoned NPC that matched his appearance of an old merchant. Even when he was talking to us, the heroes of the country, he was strict in the sense that we had to finish his quest beforehand if we wanted to ask him for any favor. ¡°Hello, Lord Casseus!¡± ¡°Lady Marie?¡± What was going on? Why does he have such a bright smile on his face? When we were looking for him, he was like, ¡®You¡¯re a guardian? Maybe I can get a permit for you if you deal with this troublesome problem of mine,¡¯ with a discontent look on his face, was he not?! ¡°I¡¯m Marie Dunareff!¡± ¡°Casseus Vlandria. Nice to meet you, Madam.¡± Marie pushed her hand forward for a handshake, as Casseus received the offer with a wide smile on his face. ¡°I am the director of Dunareff Construction.¡± ¡°Of course, Miss. And I am the head director of the Vlandria transportation business.¡± ¡°Wow. I love the buttons on your coat. Did you make them by carving obsidian?¡± ¡°Yes. We have stores in each port city that take care of jewelry.¡± ¡°No wonder! Oh, by the way, I have a monster carrier ¨C one that¡¯s called Hresvelgr.¡± ¡°Right. Actually, I saw it on the way ¨C it looked incredible!¡± ¡°You see, the bed inside the guest room of the carrier is a bit shaky, and it¡¯s quite uncomfortable.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s not good! You see, my wife runs a furniture business. She also has very firm beds and maybe she can do something about it.¡± ¡°Sounds great. I would love to see her if I can.¡± ¡°If you may, please come to our castle. It would be an honor to introduce my wife to you, Miss.¡± ¡°Wow~. Castle Duke, right? The castle of the hero, Sebancia Duke! Can I please have a look at the office as well, then?¡± ¡°Of course you may. Would you be okay with this week?¡± ¡°I think Friday would be great! If you¡¯re busy¡­¡± ¡°No, we definitely have time, and we would make one even if we didn¡¯t for your visit, Miss. We would love! To see you on Friday!¡± ¡°Then, see you on Friday!¡± After making an appointment with Count Casseus in the blink of an eye, Marie came to me with a wide smile on her face. ¡°I got the appointment! It¡¯s this Friday!¡± ¡°¡­¡± I had to board a ship, dive 60 meters underwater and fight against a damn snake inside the ocean just to go into that castle and yet¡­ ¡°Korin. Do you want to go shopping tomorrow? He said he will be hosting a party, so I think we need to get some formal clothes! And it¡¯s also boring to stay home doing nothing, right?¡± ¡°Sure, of course. Let¡¯s do that.¡± CH 58 ? Suspiciously¡­ (3) ? To prepare for Count Casseus¡¯s party, Marie and I headed to one of the shopping districts in the city. There, I noticed an interesting street name. ¡°Marie Street?¡± ¡°Uht¡­! I, it¡¯s nothing important!¡± The name of the shopping district was Marie Street. What in the world was this? ¡°Can you explain what this means?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ Like, when I was born, dad built this place to celebrate my birth.¡± ¡°¡­¡± It seemed that the Duke really cherished Marie. ¡°All the stores here look very expensive though.¡± Marie Street was like a fashion street that was filled with all sorts of branded clothing stores and jewelry shops. ¡°Montijo? Ghesquiere? Oh damn¡­¡± Even though it was a fantasy world, there were branded stores that were on the same level as famous places on Earth. After living in this world for 3 years, I reached a point where I could somewhat recognize a few of those names. ¡°Senior. Are we going to shop here?¡± ¡°Nn. Why, is there a problem?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­¡± Unlike Marie who was born as the daughter of the super potato farm, I was a salaryman who just became a Grade 1 Knight. I had yet to even receive my first support fund so there was no way I could afford these expensive items. ¡°Sorry but¡­ I don¡¯t have enough money¡­¡± ¡°Ahht¡­!¡± Marie blocked her mouth as if she wasn¡¯t expecting to hear such a thing. What she then said was very unexpected as well. ¡°Why would you consider using your money Korin?¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to be buying it for you!¡± ¡°Like, that¡¯s a bit¡­¡± I had my pride as a man and couldn¡¯t afford to receive something so expensive. ¨C Grip! That was when Marie tightly grabbed onto my hand and said with a bright smile. ¡°I really wanted to buy you clothes! Can you please let me buy you presents just for today?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Her eyes were very clear. ¡°Okay sure. Well, then can I please ask you to buy me a couple of clothes?¡± ¡°Really?¡± She seemed extremely glad to hear my words. Everything was fine as long as she was happy with it herself. ¡°Then I will give you everything we buy today as a present!¡± Wait, did I hear something wrong? Did she say everything instead of one? ¡°Let¡¯s go there first! I really wanted to be the one to get you your first tuxedo!¡± Pulling my hand, Marie hurried me forward. Her following words that today was too short to go looking around all the places was a bit puzzling though. Well¡­ it¡¯s not like we would be buying that many clothes right? What I should have known, was that ¡®looking around¡¯ was definitely not the only thing we were doing. **** ¡°One for daytime and one for nighttime please.¡± ¡°What kind of style would you like?¡± ¡°Three buttons ¨C obsidian would be good. Ones that are carved in the southern style.¡± Isabelle Eastwood Dress Shop. I almost lost myself after seeing how dozens of gold coins for a single suit was the bare minimum. ¡°Please make sure you show his neck line! Because Korin has a beautiful neck and collarbones!¡± ¡°Oh my, as expected of Lady Marie. You have amazing eyes for this.¡± ¡°Right! Also, Korin has muscles and wide shoulders so a roped shoulder fit would be nice.¡± ¡°We will also make sure his trousers are so perfect that he can even squat with them on.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t the design be a bit plain though? I think adding a birdseye jacquard or a herringbone pattern would add flavor to the suit.¡± ¡°In that case, we will add a faint pattern arrangement that makes it seem seamless at a distance, but with a hint of herringbone pattern when nearby. If you add this handkerchief and this tie on top of that¡­¡± Holy moly. What in the world were they talking about? Was this the same Marie as the one who was boiling potatoes every morning to give to her peers? ¡°As expected of Isabelle Eastwood! I can trust you with this.¡± ¡°It is an honor, Lady Marie. We will send them to the mansion in time before the party.¡± Under the devoted care of the workers, I left the store while carefully holding onto the container of handkerchief that they gave as a souvenir. Even though it was just a souvenir, I was shocked upon hearing that this cost 3 gold coins and that was why I was being exceptionally careful with this. ¡°Aren¡¯t we¡­ using too much money?¡± ¡°Nn? Did we use that much?¡± ¡°Wait. Looking back, I don¡¯t think we even paid for them though¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯ll send the bill home so don¡¯t worry!¡± ¡°Is that okay?¡± ¡°Korin.¡± Marie suddenly called my name with a serious look on her face. ¡°Yes, Senior?¡± ¡°My name is all the credit they need.¡± ¡°Haa¡­!¡± She was dazzling. I would love to become someone like her who can say things like that! ¡°Hah~.¡± I said after a sigh though. ¡°Aren¡¯t you teasing me too much?¡± ¡°Ah, you figured it out!¡± ¡°Of course I would when you are smirking all the time while waiting for my reaction.¡± ¡°Hehe. Because Korin was always the one teasing me! When would I get to tease you if not now?¡± ¡°Well. If this is how you tease¡­ then I¡¯d welcome it any time.¡± We used a white gold coin for a single suit. I was somewhat expecting that to happen after seeing her spend dozens of gold coins for a necklace and boots but¡­ it was still shocking nonetheless. By the way, we also bought a ridiculous number of casual branded clothes before going for the tailored suit. Those only cost 3~4 gold coins each so they didn¡¯t make me as uncomfortable as this suit, which was a plus. ¡­¡­The fact that I unknowingly thought to myself that they ¡®only¡¯ cost 3~4 gold coins after buying a bunch of shirts that were worth thousands of dollars was the frightening result of today¡¯s shopping. ¡°Anyway, this is everything right?¡± ¡°What do you mean, Korin?¡± ¡°¡­Is there more?¡± ¡°You have to buy a watch as well! Men need to be wearing good watches before doing anything big!¡± ¡°It will break in the middle of a fight¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay! We can get a few spares!¡± After going to a watch store, Marie said the following. ¡°Please give us one each from here to over there!¡± Wow~. I thought I earned a fair bit of money myself in the last iteration after working hard for 3 years, but I finally noticed something after seeing Marie use a blank cheque. Whether it be a hero of a war or whatever, it was impossible for an individual to reach the financial level of a truly wealthy family. ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ The last place we went to was a workshop. ¡°What is this place, Senior?¡± ¡°Nn you see! There is something I prepared for you, Korin!¡± ¡°Oh my~. If it isn¡¯t Lady Marie! You are finally here.¡± ¡°Hello, Miss Sariere.¡± A master craftswoman who had brown skin, which was unique to those from the southern archipelagoes, welcomed Marie as if she had been waiting for her. ¡°Are you here to collect your requested item?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± In response, the person called Sariere headed somewhere before carrying back a large box and opening it. Inside was a piece of iron that looked like normal steel. But I knew how this ore changed when going into the Domain. ¡°¡­Unbreakable Stone?¡± ¡°Nn! This is the same ore as the one that went into Junior Alicia¡¯s Demon-Slaying Sword!¡± ¡°How did you¡­¡± It was something that even the Academy did not have. I received Refined Silver instead but it wasn¡¯t something that could be used perfectly like the Unbreakable Stone and was something that would one day crumble after entering the Domain too much. However, the Unbreakable Stone was different. This one never broke. It was a Unique-Grade magic stone that instead became more powerful after entering the Domain. ¡°How did you even get this? They¡¯re hard to find on the market, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Nn? I don¡¯t think it was that hard to find it though.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡± ¡°If we cover your spear with this, it will be possible to use your spear inside the place that you called ¡®Domain¡¯, without a problem, right?¡± ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± This single stone was incomparably more valuable than everything I received today. The Unbreakable Stone wasn¡¯t classified as Unique-Grade for nothing ¨C it was the one that was used for the sword of Garrand Arden the Sword Emperor before he gave it to Alicia. It was hard to obtain because it was pretty much impossible to see them on sale. ¡°Korin. This is my last gift for you!¡± And yet Marie handed it over to me with a bright smile on her face. **** That night, I was invited to a family meal of the Dunareff family. ¡°This way please, Sir Korin.¡± ¡°K, kuhum¡­¡± Following the directions of the butler that was assigned for me, I arrived at the dining room. The explanations he gave about the history of the Dunareff Mansion and the artworks decorating the corridor were mind-blowing. The butlers were excessively kind to me, whereas the maids were rather antagonistic for some reason. As for the butlers, it was probably because the Head Butler, Mr. Paul, had a good impression of me but I had no idea why the maids hated me so much. When I arrived at the dining room, I found 3 people sitting on the seats including Marie. Needless to say, they were her parents. ¡°Ah, hello. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Oh my~. What a handsome-looking gentleman.¡± A middle-aged woman who looked exactly like Marie was the first to open their mouth. The charming middle-aged lady who looked like a future version of Marie welcomed me with a deep smile on her face. ¡°Hmph! You call that handsome?¡± On the other hand, sitting on the highest seat of the table was a middle-aged man with water-colored hair. It seemed Marie had received her hair color from her father. From what I heard, he was a very skilled mage. I could see him sitting in the unique posture of a mage in a tidy robe. ¡°It is an honor to see you, Duke Dunareff.¡± Although I may look like this, I had to meet quite a lot of nobles and people from the royal court in the last iteration. Duke Dunareff had a slightly surprised look on his face after seeing my decent etiquette. ¡°Take a seat.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Korin! Come here! Here!¡± Marie invited me over to the seat next to her by tapping on the chair. I sat down on the seat which was in between Marie and the duke. Veins immediately popped up on Duke¡¯s face. ¡°Kuhum, kuhum¡­!¡± ¡°Dear? Anything wrong?¡± ¡°Kuhuhum¡­! Mari? How about you sit next to daddy like you¡¯ve been doing all the time?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s alright! Because today, I want to introduce Korin to you daddy!¡± ¡°I, introduce¡­!?¡± ¡°Oh my oh my~¡± Her words were very open for misunderstandings, which thus resulted in two contradicting reactions. Duke glared daggers at me like a thief who stole his seat from him. ¡®Is this my fault?¡¯ I asked with my gaze, and he returned, ¡®It is¡¯. Even though this was quite unfair, I could understand why he was vigilant as a father. If I had a daughter like Marie myself, then I would have done everything for her as well. ¡°Again, it is an honor to meet you. My name is Korin Lork.¡± ¡°I am Marde Dunareff.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m Elencia Dunareff. So you are my son-in¡­ I mean, Student Korin, right? Nice to meet you.¡± I thought I heard something strange just then. I was hearing things¡­ right? ¡°So,¡± said the Duke. ¡°I heard you are one year younger than Marie.¡± ¡°Yes sir. That is the case.¡± ¡°And I heard you are a knight of excellent skills. To the point that you became a Grade 1 Knight in just one semester.¡± ¡°It is still far from enough.¡± Something I¡¯ve noticed from conversing with a lot of people was that it was better to hide your pride and ego. They generally considered it rude for you to proudly talk about yourself. When I gave a humble reply, it was instead Marie, who was sitting next to me, that praised me with a fuss. ¡°Korin is super amazing! He fought on equal grounds with Sword Master Lunia as well!¡± ¡°Against Lunia Arden?¡± ¡°Nn! It was during the interim exam. He was amazing!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Even Duke Marde seemed surprised after hearing that I had a close fight against Sword Master Lunia Arden. Her name was incredibly powerful even in a place this far from the center of the continent. ¡°Just letting you know, I was promoted to Grade 1 Mage 20 years ago.¡± ¡°¡­Is that so, sir?¡± ¡°I was 20 years faster than you.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Congratulations.¡± ¡°Ehem.¡± Congratulations on doing that before I was even born. ¡°So, what kind of work do your parents do?¡± It was strange that he was suddenly asking about my family, but I answered his question by going through the memories of Korin Lork. ¡°My parents run a restaurant.¡± ¡°Hmm~. Do you have siblings?¡± ¡°I have a younger sister.¡± ¡°I see. A normal household.¡± ¡°Quite normal, yes.¡± It was a normal family that you could see anywhere on both Earth and here. ¡°Now, listen carefully. Mr. Korin Lork. This question is the most important one of all.¡± Duke Marde gazed at me with a serene and serious look on his face when saying that.. He was the ruler of the South ¨C the emperor of the Potato Empire that was running the omega enormous agricultural business of the Dunareff. I got to see a portion of their wealth today. What question was this man ¨C who could move the entire southern region with one word ¨C going to ask me!? If this was still a game, this would be the turning point of an important scenario quest. ¡°Are you a virgin?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­Sorry?¡± ¡°Come on dear! Why would you ask something like that?¡± Duchess Elencia slapped him by the shoulder and the Duke explained himself while throwing glances at her face. ¡°Of course the son-in-law of the Dunareff family must be a pure virgin¡­!¡± ¡°Dad?!¡± Oh¡­ So he is misunderstanding our relationship, huh? ¡°Anyway, Mr. Korin Lork! Marie took everything after me; she¡¯s very clever and is very kind at heart.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I don¡¯t think she took after your personality though? ¡°I am not trying to brag or anything, but Marie was able to use magic ever since she was 7. She¡¯s a prodigy among prodigies.¡± Aren¡¯t you bragging at this point? ¡°She is the apple of my eye, and my precious daughter that I raised with everything I had¡­!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I see. Well¡­¡± Duke Marde glared at me with a bloody gaze. I could sense his wariness in his eyes. ¡°So I will never give you my daughter!¡± ¡°Dad?!¡± ¡°Dear?!¡± As expected, he suddenly started rambling on. He was as unstoppable as a bulldozer. ¡°Mari said, ¡®I¡¯ll marry daddy when I grow up!¡¯ I will never give her to you¡­!¡± ¡°Daddddd!!!¡± Marie shouted while looking at Duke Marde with an appalled look on her face. ¡°What are you saying! To someone you¡¯re seeing for the first time!!!¡± With a deeply flushed face, Marie pushed him and hit him by the shoulder. Even though he was double her size, Marie was the one overpowering him. ¡°Ahkk..! Ugh! Ahkkk¡­! W, wait! Mari, it hurts! W, why are you so¡­! You take all these bad things from your mom¡­!¡± ¡°Please just stop talking, dad!¡± It was pitiful seeing him be dragged out like that by Marie. Now that I thought about it, there was probably no-one in this family that could resist Marie¡¯s power. Now that Marie dragged Duke Marde out of the dining room, Duchess Elencia and I were the only ones left behind inside the room. ¡°Sorry for the mess, Mr. Korin.¡± ¡°Haha, I am jealous of the open atmosphere here.¡± ¡°A bit too open, I might say.¡± The duchess wearing an amicable smile on her face looked at me with an elegant gaze before suddenly standing up from her seat. ¡°Duchess?¡± Then, she deeply lowered her head. ¡°Thank you very much for helping Marie.¡± ¡°¡­Please don¡¯t lower your head like that. It makes me feel uncomfortable.¡± ¡°Does it?¡± ¡°And I was just doing it because I could.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Plus, more than anything¡­ Senior Marie is someone who has the right to be more happy.¡± It was better for good people to have better end to their story. In fact, that was the natural thing. ¡°Huhu¡­¡± In response, the Duchess returned a refreshing smile that was similar to Marie¡¯s before covering her mouth. ¡°I was worried that she was way too blinded when I saw her letter but¡­ Ah, and I do welcome you, Mr. Korin. Unlike my husband, I am not the type to bind my daughter too much.¡± ¡°¡­I see?¡± About what? And what¡¯s with this letter from Marie? ¨C Ahhhk! No you cannot, Mari! Your daddy will not allow this! ¨C Please stop! ¨C Y, you can hold hands! But you can¡¯t do anything more than that! ¨C S, s, stop saying weird things like that! I hate you, dad! You idiot! ¨C Ha, aahkkkkk¡­! Marieeee¡­! Ehew. It was an illness at this point. Were all fathers like that after having a daughter? Soon, Duke Marde came back and gave both an apology and a word of gratitude, but he still couldn¡¯t give up until the very end. ¡°You may hold your hands but that is it¡­! That virginity of yours! You better keep that until the end of your life¡­!!¡± ¨C Slap! The best cure for the rampaging husband was a slap to the back from his wife. CH 59 ? Suspiciously¡­ (4) ? On the day of the party, after wearing the delivered suit, dress shoes, and the watch, I stood in front of the mirror. ¡°¡­This feels unbelievably comfortable.¡± It¡¯s not like I never had to wear suits in the last iteration and my previous life. Both in interviews and when I was meeting people from the royal court or high officials, I had to dress myself up. But because I was still a knight, I didn¡¯t have enough money to spend on a suit as someone who constantly had to fight. ¡®I remember buying a cheap one from one of the stalls for 70 silvers.¡¯ Ah¡­ Was that why the 2nd Princess gave me cash? So that I didn¡¯t have to wear clothes like a beggar? ¡°It was quite expensive for me back then though.¡± Right now, the suit I was wearing was already worth one white gold coin, and the watch and shoes added up with the tie cost about one white gold coin and a half in total. The scary thing was that Marie bought me even more than this. There were so many clothes that I probably didn¡¯t have to buy anything else in my entire life, but the problem was that I had to take them back. How am I supposed to carry all of them back? ¡°Korin! Are you ready?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± There was a door connecting the Evergreen Room to Marie¡¯s room. Opening the door, Marie came into the room. ¡°Ohh¡­¡± It was breathtaking. Along with transparent glass shoes, she was wearing ivory-colored stockings and a dress with a hint of water-colored drops. The daring exposure of her chest and her shoulders was probably an expression of her unreserved pride. Marie was even wearing some makeup unlike her usual self. Her skin that was already as white as white jade became as bright as the star of a night sky with the help of makeup. ¡°How does this look? It just arrived today!¡± Lifting the sides of her dress with her pure white opera gloves, Marie rotated on the spot. She was as bright and mystifying as a dancing fairy. Honestly, seeing her made me feel worthwhile. If I hadn¡¯t saved this girl, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to see her in this dress today, and the people of the south would have forever lost their beloved princess. ¡°It was definitely worth the trouble.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± Marie tilted her head but without paying attention to that, I unhesitatingly walked up to her. [When in front of an attractive lady, it is the courtesy of a gentleman to give her a kiss and ask for a dance, Knight Korin.] I remembered being scolded in the last iteration by someone, so I decided to be a courteous gentleman this time around. By gently holding onto her hand through the opera glove, I gazed up at her after going down on one of my knees. ¡°Could you please give me the honor of having your first dance tonight, my lady?¡± ¡°U, uht¡­! Umm! Ahh?!¡± Her cheeks were visibly flushed. Even her ears were reddened and it seemed that she wasn¡¯t used to things like this. How cute. ¡°I will be asking you like that tonight, so it would be nice if you could accept my offer for me.¡± ¡°Huh? Nn! Of course! Of course I will! Okay! I will definitely do that!¡± For some reason, the maids were whispering to each other behind Marie. ¡°¡­I knew it, he¡¯s a player.¡± ¡°Our Lady fell for a gold digger.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this dangerous? It looks like she would give everything to him.¡± Even with the incredible ears of a knight, it was hard for me to pick up all the words in their conversation. They were exceptionally skilled at practically talking in silence. In their conversation, there were a few words about real estate and inns¡­ are they interested? To be fair, real estate is the best way to multiply your money. They are overpowered after all! Maybe I should talk to them later about investment! ¡°Now, shall we get going?¡± ¡°U, uhh yes! Can you be my escort?¡± ¡°Of course, my Lady.¡± ¡°P, please stop¡­!¡± ¡°Then should I call you the Princess of the Potato Empire?¡± ¡°¡­??¡± She was tempted there for a second. ¡°Anyway, stop calling me by strange names! I am your senior so you need to listen to me!¡± ¡°Of course, my princess.¡± ¡°Korin. You¡­!¡± Marie punched my arm in protest¡­ and honestly, it was quite painful. Her strength was nothing to scoff at¡­ In any case, we got into the guest room of Senior Marie¡¯s enormous beast, the Hresvelgr, and headed to the count¡¯s castle located further south. It would have taken a few days by carriage, but it only took a few hours on this guy. ¡°Ehew. I wonder when I can get myself one of these.¡± ¡°Nn? Do you want me to give it to you?¡± ¡°¡­Don¡¯t even say that as a joke please. You are pampering me too much.¡± It was scary because she really might give it to me if I asked her for one. Even if she did give it to me, there was no way for me to use it. Large beasts like wyverns let alone Hresvelgrs needed a place to dock and I didn¡¯t have any. Merkarva City prohibited the entry of flying animals for security purposes as well, so it was all the more useless for me. ¡°We will get off in the middle and change into a carriage.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just jump off from here?¡± Jumping straight down from flying beasts like the secret ops was something I had often done in the last iteration. ¡°No! My dress and my hair will become a mess then.¡± ¡°A mage at your level should be able to stop that without a problem though. Right?¡± ¡°Other people will also be surprised! It¡¯s not good etiquette.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true too.¡± In any case, we landed on a nearby plain and moved into a carriage of the Dunareff family that was waiting for us beforehand to head to the castle. ¡°Ahh. Lady Marie! Welcome!¡± As if he had been waiting for her the whole time, Count Casseus hurried his way over immediately after spotting the golden potato flower emblem of the Dunareff family. ¡®I swear this guy wasn¡¯t like this before¡­¡¯ Was he really the same guy as the one who stubbornly refused to open the castle gates before we killed the Sea Serpent? ¡°Hello, Lord Casseus!¡± ¡°It is an honor to see you again. Our Vlandria family will wholeheartedly welcome you for your visit, Miss!¡± After saying that, Count Casseus led us to the side of the queue of people that was waiting for inspection in front of the castle¡¯s entrance and simply let us through. ¡°Oh my. It really is Lady Marie.¡± ¡°The news about having a guest from Dunareff was true then.¡± ¡°Lord Vlandria must be doing very well these days.¡± What I realized the past few days was that it wasn¡¯t an overstatement to say that the influential power of the Dunareff family was at an absolute level in the south. Let alone the ridiculous size of their farm that reached 2 million hectares in size, they were a bigshot that pretty much had full control over 25 cities and the continent¡¯s trade market. The archipelago, where the headquarter of Count Casseus was at, wasn¡¯t a subject of the El Rath Kingdom, but they desperately needed the cooperation of the Dunareff family to open a trade with the continent. Therefore, the fact that the oldest daughter of the Dunareff family had accepted the invitation to the count¡¯s party was a green light signal that the Vlandria family could dream of a smooth sail. ¡®In that sense, I guess Marie showing up to the party is a lot better for them than killing a Sea Serpent.¡¯ A Sea Serpent was something that could be dealt with by striking a deal with the Guardian Alliance with money or something, but moving the princess of the Potato Empire wasn¡¯t something that could be done with money. ¡°Ehew¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Korin?¡± ¡°I was just thinking of how amazing a person you are, Senior Marie.¡± ¡°R, really? Ehem! That¡¯s right. Your senior is an amazing person, okay!¡± In response, I gently pressed her nose down. ¡°W, what are you doing?¡± ¡°I had to because you were being a bit too snobby. Your nose was about to reach the sky at that point.¡± ¡°I, isn¡¯t it okay for me to say that much though?¡± ¡°Well, I guess. Because you are the princess of the Potato Empire after all.¡± ¡°¡­It is a good name, but it sounds like you¡¯re teasing me so I don¡¯t know if I should be happy or not.¡± Ahh, seriously. Just how much did this girl love potatoes? After entering the castle, we were unloading the carriage when Marie tilted her head. ¡°Korin. Did you take your weapon? Where is it?¡± ¡°Yeah I did. Here. What about you senior?¡± My spear was wrapped with a piece of cloth but I couldn¡¯t see any weapon on Marie. ¡°I left it in the carriage just in case.¡± ¡°But is it okay for us to carry around weapons?¡± ¡°People actually think it¡¯s cool for guardians to carry around weapons all the time. Besides, you never know when you¡¯ll have to fight against monsters so it¡¯s okay to bring them.¡± ¡°I see~¡± It was probably not a good idea to carry a weapon into the banquet hall though. ¡°Entering now are Lady Marie of Dunareff Dukedom! And Sir Knight Korin Lork!¡± The door opened along with the sonorous roar of one of the servants, allowing us into the well-decorated banquet hall. The chandeliers were made with crystals and had fluorescent stones. All the windows were made of stained glass and on the walls were tapestries of the Vlandria household and representative ornaments from the southern archipelago. ¡°Uhh¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Korin?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Everything looked exceptionally different from the last iteration. All the items were new and were fancier than the ones in my memories. Did they remodel the entire building because of Marie¡¯s visit? ¡°Oh my. Is that Lady Marie?¡± ¡°She has recently been promoted to semi-Unique Grade mage, right?¡± ¡°Semi-Unique Grade? Isn¡¯t that practically the same as Sword Master Lunia Arden?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The Dunareff Family must be feeling joyous then.¡± ¡°My son is entering the Merkarva Academy next year¡­ Maybe I should try to put them together?¡± ¡°Won¡¯t that be difficult? I heard there¡¯s a whole warehouse full of marriage proposals.¡± ¡°More importantly, who is that young gentleman by her side?¡± With just her appearance alone, Marie created a ripple in the banquet hall. Back in Merkarva Academy, everyone was a student so her influence was a lot smaller, but it seemed that Marie¡¯s position in her homeground was unmatched. All the important guests gathered before long so the host, Count Casseus, started his speech on the stage. ¡°I am Count Casseus Vlandria. Thank you everyone for attending our family¡¯s party today, and especially, a warm welcome to Lady Marie Dunareff for honoring us with her presence.¡± As expected, Count Casseus started by mentioning Marie. He was pretty much flaunting that this was how close he was with the Dunareff family. Now that she was at the center of everyone¡¯s attention, Marie returned a wave and a faint smile until the host gathered their eyes back to the stage. Soon, the party officially began as the performance of the orchestra resonated across the hall. ¡°Lady Marie. I am the countess of the Rotenan region¡ª-¡± ¡°Your dress looks amazing today. I run a small business in Sebastian¡ª-¡± Whether it be a noble or an influential member of the region, they all looked for Marie for a conversation. Marie started a fluent conversation with all of them with a bright smile on her face and satisfied everyone that came to her. As expected of a human capybara, she was very friendly and great with people. [The banquet hall is where tongues dance like swords, Knight Korin. You have to be careful with your words at all times.] According to the words of the 2nd Princess in the last iteration, the banquet hall was the battlefield of tongue-swordsmen that could turn 180 degrees at any given moment, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case for Marie. To be fair, that was natural because the royal palace had factions and political positions whereas the Dunareff family had an absolute position and wealth in the south. ¡®I guess Senior Marie will be untouchable in the south at least.¡¯ After all, there was no-one in the south unlike the capital that could fight against her on equal grounds. I carefully approached Marie, who was in the middle of a conversation, and whispered into her ears. ¡°Senior. We should go to the office in a bit.¡± ¡°Nn¡­!¡± Marie and I had already prepared our weapons. Once the party was well and truly underway, we would talk to the count and retrieve our weapons that we assigned to the servants before heading to the office. Around when the orchestra started changing the theme of their music, a young neat-looking man came to Marie with Count Casseus. ¡°Lady Marie.¡± He was a young man wearing the ornamented pure-white formal clothing of a knight. If I remember correctly, that was his son. ¡°Lord Casseus.¡± ¡°I hope you are enjoying the party. This here is my son.¡± ¡°Hello. Young Lord Vlandria.¡± ¡°My name is Levent Vlandria. Nice to meet you, Miss.¡± After the bow, Levent raised his head up with his back still bent and stared at Marie with sparkling eyes. ¡°Haha. I¡¯m not saying this because he¡¯s my son, but he has exceptional skills as a knight. He was recently promoted to semi-Grade 1.¡± Hoh~. Semi-Grade 1, huh¡­ He looked like he was still in his twenties, which meant he was probably hailed as a genius by his peers. ¡°I see¡­! Congratulations!¡± ¡°Still lacking compared to you, Lady Marie.¡± Levent said in modesty. After that, Count Casseus opened his mouth with a cough. ¡°Haha. Well then, let me go greet other guests of the party. Young people should talk with young people, so an old man like me will leave you to your own devices.¡± Following Count Casseus¡¯s suggestive invitation, Marie started having a conversation with Young Lord Levent. ¡°You are a student in Merkarva Academy, right? I am also from Merkarva Academy. Is Instructor Haman still doing well?¡± ¡°You were a senior huh! Yes, he still goes, ¡®You guys!¡¯ and is very strict with his lessons.¡± ¡°Haha. He¡¯s the same as always it seems. If I may, can I talk to you more casually, Junior?¡± ¡°Of course you may. Senior.¡± ¡°Then I will be more casual from now on.¡± Levent naturally closed the distance. He then shifted the topic to make faint moves at her. ¡°The holiday just started right? If you¡¯re okay, how about you come to the salt mine that we have? The scenery inside the mine with all the rock salt is as beautiful and pretty as you, Junior Marie.¡± ¡°Ah, we have some salt mines too. Around 20 of them.¡± ¡°Hnn? Ahh¡­ I, I see. Then how about you come over to the beach that we bought recently? It¡¯s famous for having an emerald color¡­¡± ¡°Wow~! My mom said she sold a small corner of our land. So your family was the one that bought it. I see!¡± ¡°R, right¡­ You mean the one with a resort in construction¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the one! She mentioned giving me some things to do because there wasn¡¯t much construction work these days. I am the director of the construction company, you see!¡± ¡°¡­I see. Ah, do you like seeing taxidermied bodies of demonic beasts? In our house, we have some that I killed¡ª-¡± ¡°I love it! My father even made museums for me. Do you know the Dunareff Taxidermy Museums in all the cities? All the demonic beasts there are the ones that I defeated! Ah, sorry Senior. I missed your last words.¡± ¡°N, no. It¡¯s nothing¡­¡± Stop, Marie! Levent¡¯s HP is already at 0!! What was this? Was she trying to embarrass him on purpose? But there was not a sliver of bad intention on Marie¡¯s face for that to be the case. At this rate, it was like he was trying to teach a fish how to swim. He couldn¡¯t boast about money in front of Marie because of the overwhelming difference in finance, and she was a semi-Unique Grade mage for him to boast about his strength. Unfortunately, there might be no-one in this continent that could brag about anything in front of Marie. But Levent didn¡¯t give up and continued striking a conversation with her. There were a lot of hyenas nearby that were aiming for Marie. They were openly facing her with greedy eyes but couldn¡¯t dare approach her, and Levent knew that he was in an overwhelmingly advantageous situation compared to the rest of them. ¡ª¡ª Slowly, the pace of the music changed. The ones who attended the party started looking for their partners as we neared the dancing time. ¡°Lady Marie. Although I might not be perfect¡­¡± Levent said while slowly reaching his hand out. The point he was trying to get across was very straight-forward. Even Marie who was tactlessly shaming him knew what this meant and turned her gaze towards me. Right when we looked at each other, a young man stood in the middle to block my sight. ¡°Lady Marie! I am Garlie of Rondenium! I am one of your devoted admirers! Could you please grace me with your first dance!¡± ¡°Hoh~.¡± He was sipping on his drink while throwing glances at her so I wasn¡¯t expecting him to have the guts to speak up like that. Looking at his face¡­ he probably just hit 20 or something. ¡°Lady Marie! Me too!¡± ¡°Please grace me with your first dance!¡± ¡°No! Lady Marie¡­!¡± As soon as the guy called Garlie spoke to her, the guys immediately pounced forward like hyenas. Marie didn¡¯t know how to deal with the sudden flood of guys and was flustered for a second. ¡°Ah, umm¡­ So¡­¡± It was great that they had guts, but they didn¡¯t have enough manners it seemed. The slightly better choice for Marie would be to have the first dance with Levent, who was the son of the host of the party but¡­ the basic etiquette of a banquet was to have the first dance with the partner. ¨C Clomp clomp. ¡°Marie.¡± ¡°Korin?¡± Her face turned visibly bright after seeing me walk to her. She then sent fierce gazes at me, asking me to save her from this trouble. ¡°You are¡­¡± ¡°I am Korin Lork.¡± ¡°Young Lord Lork, is it? You are Lady Marie¡¯s partner¡­¡± After noticing that I was her partner, the guys including Levent immediately showed their vigilance. ¡°You can call me Sir or Knight Lork. I¡¯m not a noble, you see.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re not a noble?¡± Again, peerages in this world were close to honorary titles. This world already had a centralized state and centralized military rules in place, and the noble peerage of this world was but a name. They didn¡¯t have the right to collect taxes or run private militaries. Without power to support it, titles weren¡¯t as powerful as before. But even so, they still had value in that they were proof of someone¡¯s social position. For instance in Marie¡¯s case, she wasn¡¯t even interested in the peerages she will be inheriting, but there were still a lot of them under the name of their family to prove their position. In other words, having a peerage meant that you either had a relatively high social status or were rich. ¡°Hah¡­¡± The guys immediately started looking down on me. Everyone here were from noble families so they probably didn¡¯t care much about a single knight. ¡°I am Levent Vlandria, a semi-Grade 1 Knight. Sir Lork. You seem to be one of the peers of Lady Marie, am I correct?¡± Look at him put emphasis on the ¡®semi-Grade 1¡¯ part. How cute. ¡°I am her junior.¡± ¡°Hah~ I see. Lady Marie must have brought you here to guide you to places and show you around I believe.¡± ¡°That is somewhat true.¡± After all, the pretext was that I was here to have a look at Castle Duke. ¡°If you¡¯re Lady Marie¡¯s junior, that means you¡¯re my junior as well. Junior Korin. If you are okay with it, I would like to dance first with Lady Marie. Can you please concede for me?¡± If I were to translate his words, I would get this ¨C ¡®I am a semi-Grade 1 Knight and I¡¯m your senior as well. Fuck off if you understand your position.¡¯ Translating the words of the high-class people was daunting as always. It was surprising how princesses had to deal with these every time. But of course, there was only one thing for me to say in return. ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to.¡± CH 60 ? Suspiciously¡­ (5) ? ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± Hey buddy. That wasn¡¯t very elegant was it? You need to put your etiquette mask back on! ¡°Listen. Junior¡­¡± ¡°We are not in the Academy, Senior.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°And if we are talking about hierarchy, it is you who should be showing your respects, Sir Vlandria.¡± ¡°???¡± Levent frowned as if he couldn¡¯t understand what I was saying. ¡°What do you¡­¡± ¡°It means that I have a higher rank than semi-Grade 1, Sir Vlandria.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nonsense¡­!¡± The young noble masters buzzed and whispered to themselves after hearing me imply that I was a Grade 1 Knight. ¡°How could a freshman be a Grade 1 Knight? It is not wise to tell lies that¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s not lying.¡± Marie was the one who refuted Levent¡¯s words. ¡°Korin was promoted at the same time as me. I can guarantee it.¡± That was the guarantee of Marie, the lady from Dunareff Dukedom, who became a semi-Unique Grade mage before the age of 20. She was at the pinnacle of the southern regions of the continent and there was thus no-one that could talk back to her. ¡°B, but even then¡­!¡± Levent Vlandria stubbornly held on as if he couldn¡¯t back down yet. ¡°Marie¡¯s first dance is mine, you see.¡± I gently grabbed Marie by the shoulder and pulled her towards me as she then landed in my chest. Now, what did it mean for me to do something like this, you might ask? ¡®I am so close to Marie that I can even hug her like this and I am free to do so. You are the one that needs to go away.¡¯ ¨C That was what I was suggesting with my action. ¡°K, Ko, Ko, Ko, Ko, Korin¡­!¡± Marie mumbled something from my chest but I didn¡¯t really hear what she said. It was probably embarrassing but she had to hold on a bit because this was the fastest way to get rid of these people. While openly hugging Marie, I gave a victorious smile to the infuriated young noble masters. Seeing them made me recall how the 1st Princess said that the envious face of a man was the most humorous sight out there. I used to think she was a very bad-tempered princess, but now I could somewhat agree with her words. ¡°Marie. Can you please dance with me first?¡± ¡°¡­Yesh.¡± She replied with her head stooping low. For starters, we walked away from the crowd of young masters. ¡°You are very popular, aren¡¯t you senior?¡± ¡°N, nn¡­¡± ¡°Was that a bit too violent? Sorry if that put you in a bad mood.¡± ¡°N, no! It was feisty and I actually liked¡­ N, nothing!¡± Things became a little awkward. It might have been a bit embarrassing for her¡­ I felt slightly sorry, so this time, I decided to be more polite, like a gentleman. ¨C Kiss! After kissing her on the back of her hand, I offered with a soft voice. ¡°Will you please dance to a song with me, my Lady?¡± Resting on one of my knees, I raised one of my hands and lowered my head. After being frozen stiff for a while, she grabbed my hand with a full smile blooming on her face. ¡°With pleasure!¡± We walked to the dance hall hand-in-hand. The sound of footsteps loudly echoed from Marie¡¯s clear glass shoes as we walked forward with a minimal distance between us. Stopping our feet, we looked at each other. Behind Marie, I could see that everyone¡¯s eyes were on us. ¡®This is not good¡­¡¯ Even I was feeling quite embarrassed now, and I became worried that she might notice the speed of my heartbeat. Whatever the case, the music began and we were at the center of the hall. Matching ourselves with the pace of everyone around us and the music, we started to dance. Gently holding onto both of Marie¡¯s hands, I guided her on. Honestly, I wasn¡¯t that confident in banquet dances since I only tried it a few times and only had some superficial knowledge about it, but it wasn¡¯t that distressing since it was something that required a physical movement. However¡­ ¨C Clomp! ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¡°S, sorry!¡± Unexpectedly, the flower of this banquet, Marie, was fairly clumsy with dancing. It was her second time stepping on my feet and it was quite painful because she was wearing hard heels. ¡°Ugh¡­ Sorry. I¡¯m not good at dancing.¡± It seemed that she just wasn¡¯t good at everything that required her to move her body because otherwise, it would be hard to explain how someone at her social position couldn¡¯t dance. Marie sweated profusely while trying not to step on my feet. Since she was now intentionally trying to avoid my feet, her steps turned more stiff which ended up interrupting the pace of our dance. Seeing the reddened face of my partner, I quietly whispered into her ears in a voice that only she could hear. ¡°Place your foot on top of my left foot. Let¡¯s dance like that.¡± ¡°H, huh? But then¡­¡± ¡°My shoes might get a bit dirty and our dance might not be the most aesthetically pleasing one to see, but that¡¯s all there is to it.¡± ¡°I, isn¡¯t that¡­¡± Marie mumbled while glancing at the crowd that was focusing their eyes on her. Even though she didn¡¯t need to be conscious of anyone else, she couldn¡¯t help but notice everyone else¡¯s gaze when they were blatantly looking at her like this. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about anyone else right now. Just focus your eyes on me, your partner. All you need to do in a dance is enjoy it.¡± Even when I was at the college welcome party; even when I was at a club, and even when I came to a banquet for the first time in this world, what I always thought to myself was that dance was a fun entertainment activity that was fine as long as you enjoyed it yourself. Honestly, I even wanted to do some breakdancing right now, but it created a commotion when I did that in the last iteration, so I had to hold back on that one. Acrobatic rock and roll and breakdancing was a bit too much for the people of this era. I returned the advice I received before to Marie. ¡°Now. Place your foot on my foot and follow after me. Your eyes are good, right? Look at my eyes, look at my feet and read whether I¡¯m trying to pull or push you.¡± Saying that, I looked into her bright golden eyes. Her quivering eyes became stable again after we stared at each other for a while and before long, we started to smile at the same time. In alignment with the beautiful melodies of the orchestra, Marie did a spin on her foot with the support of my arm embracing her waist. Under the bright lights of the banquet hall ¡ª she and I danced together and shared a dreamy moment together. **** After the song was over, we walked away from the center of the dancing hall. A refreshing breeze swept across as soon as we let go of each other¡¯s hands, and that reminded us how the warmth from before was due to us clinging onto each other. Even though both of us had superhuman stamina, we still had to collect our breath and settle our fever. ¡°Lady! If you may please¡­!¡± ¡°No! Please let me have the honor of¡­!¡± Guys ran in at her without even giving her the time to have a break. In response, Marie raised her arms with an apologetic and troubled look on her face. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m a bit tired and would love to take a short break.¡± It was the right of a gentleman to ask for a dance, but it was the right of a lady to accept or refuse the offer. When Marie talked about having a break, the guys had no other option but to retreat back while hiding their dejection. ¡°Shall I guide you to the resting lounge, Lady?¡± ¡°I would appreciate that, Sir Korin.¡± Walking up to Count Casseus, we talked to him about how we would like to visit the office as we had mentioned beforehand and received his permission. The Count seemed slightly disappointed by the fact that his son didn¡¯t get to create good ties with Marie, but wasn¡¯t in the position to complain about it. We unhesitatingly left the banquet hall as laments echoed from behind. ¡°Ahh¡­¡± ¡°Lady Marie is being taken away by that scrub¡­¡± Well, they were probably swearing at me for taking Marie away from them. ¡°Wow~ did you see that?¡± ¡°Yes I did.¡± ¡°Dancing with their feet piled together¡­ How romantic.¡± ¡°The gentleman was very considerate. It was a clumsy but amazing dance.¡± ¡°Did you see that bright smile on Lady Marie¡¯s face? That is 100%, right?¡± ¡°I would say it is definitely above 99%.¡± Ignoring the words of those behind us, we headed straight away to Sebancia Duke¡¯s office. **** Using the key we received from Count Casseus, we opened the office and entered the antique-looking room. The bookshelves were full of old books made of orc skin. From what I heard, it seemed that Count Casseus kept this office as it was without touching anything. ¡°So this is the office of Sebancia Duke, huh¡­¡± Sebancia Duke. He was the grand general who had the entire continent under his command 800 years ago. He was a legendary figure and a Hero of the kingdom. You could say he was like the combination of Yi Sun-sin1 and Cheok Jun-gyeong2 Since this was the actual castle and office used by someone like that, Count Casseus must have kept things as is since moving things around would be a waste. Who knows, this castle might become a famous tourist attraction after a century. ¡°Korin. What are we looking for here?¡± ¡°Hmm~. Anything is fine. Let¡¯s try to look for Sebancia Duke¡¯s traces.¡± ¡°Nn!¡± Marie and I started searching through the office. I first went to the bookshelves and found a familiar journal. ¡ºStory of the Duke Duchy¡» ¡°This¡­¡± This was the article written by Cecilia Duke and was an item describing the histories of Ruina, the wife, and Cecilia, the daughter, that the player had to search for in the game for Sebancia Duke¡¯s questline. Taking this item to Sebancia Duke was the way to complete Sebancia Duke¡¯s quest. But even in the game and in the last iteration, he never talked about ¡®searching the office¡¯ so what exactly was it that we needed to look for? For a long time we searched through the office in vain. Drenched in sweat, we threw our body on the couch. ¡°Uahh, I can¡¯t find anything!¡± ¡°It¡¯s certainly not easy.¡± ¡°Are there any clues? I was expecting to find some kind of secret passage but there¡¯s nothing!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± We mindlessly searched through the office but couldn¡¯t really find anything. Adding this up with my experience from the last iteration, I had a feeling that we wouldn¡¯t be able to find anything at this rate. ¡°Uhh¡­ I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°Did you not eat anything at the banquet hall?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to¡­ Umm, Korin?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°¡­¡± That gaze on her eyes was a signal that was naturally formed as we started this relationship. Undoing my tie, I placed it on top of the coat that I took off a long time ago as Marie started deeply staring at my neck. ¡°Not sure if I mentioned this already but¡­ your neckline and your collarbone are really pretty, Korin.¡± ¡°¡­I would prefer hearing handsome over pretty though.¡± ¡°O, of course, you¡¯re very nice and handsome too!¡± ¡°I might smell like sweat a little, but please bear with me.¡± ¡°Even bette¡­ I mean, don¡¯t worry!¡± In a fluster, she sat on my lap with me still sitting on the couch. ¡°Uhh¡­ can I start?¡± She carefully buried her face into my neck after seeing me nod. ¨C Stab I could feel her sharp fangs digging into my skin, as her soft lips rested on my neck. ¨C Gulp! Gulp! Haaaa¡­ ¡ªThe sound of a gulp and heated breaths echoed at a regular pace. After who knows how long¡­ I opened my eyes and took a deep breath and Marie flinched in response, but she refused to move away. It seemed that she still hadn¡¯t had her fill yet. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡± My blood was being sucked out in an irregular direction. At the start, it felt a bit spooky because it felt like my life was being drained away but these days¡­ ¡®It feels like I¡¯m sharing my life with her.¡¯ Perhaps thanks to Pain Tolerance, it wasn¡¯t painful in the slightest now that we repeated this process a few times. ¨C Squash! Indulged in sucking my blood, Marie pressed her body on mine and squeezed my body. As if trying to make up for the decrease in my body temperature as a result of having less blood, she increased our touching surface area and squeezed me towards her in an attempt to bring our hearts together or something. ¡°Huu¡­¡± Now that I had more room to take in the surroundings after my heart started fiercely pumping out more blood, I gazed down at Marie mindlessly sucking my blood. ¡°Gulp. Haaaah¡­¡± What I could tell from her rushed and heated breath was that Marie was frantically craving my blood without even taking a break. And the heat being conveyed from her cheeks was a sign of her satisfaction. ¡°Haaaah¡­¡± ¡°Are you done drinking?¡± ¡°Nn¡­¡± After mindlessly drinking my blood, she powerlessly leaned on my body while gasping for breath. Her chin rested on my shoulders as we both took some time to take a breather. We had a moment of silence without saying anything. ¨C Thump thump¡­! I could hear her heartbeat across the aligned chest. Unlike my heart that was furiously thumping out blood, Marie¡¯s heart was beating at a softer yet more frequent pace. After a while, she raised her head back up from my neck and retreated, but she still had a dreamy look on her face as if she had yet to wake up from the pleasure of sucking blood. I waited a bit for her to calm down and regain her sense of self. ¡°S, sorry¡­ I drank too much right?¡± ¡°I regenerate just as much so don¡¯t worry. It doesn¡¯t hurt either.¡± ¡°Nnn¡­ Sorry. When I drink fresh blood¡­ my body doesn¡¯t feel like my own.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s okay. Life is about helping each other, isn¡¯t it?¡± I wiped the leftover blood around my neck and soon, my skin wriggled and refilled the wound with flesh. The Regeneration of the Tenacious Warrior was at work like always. ¡°Hmm?¡± Wait a second. ¡ºRegeneration of the Tenacious Warrior¡» ¡ºSoul Warrior¡» A grimoire that we gained from Sebancia Duke at the secret area in the Great Library¡­ Suddenly, a trail of thought sparked across my head so I immediately said to Marie. ¡°Senior. Can you summon Doggo?¡± ¡°Hnn? Okay. Doggo.¡± Doggo immediately gained a form from within her shadow. Since his usual body existed in real life, he was closer to a demonic beast than a demonic spirit. ¡°Senior. Can you make the summon dimmer?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Make him closer to an astral body¡­ like how he would look before obtaining a body.¡± A vampire¡¯s familiar was by nature a spiritual existence that could gain access to a body using the blood and mana of their master as a catalyst. In other words, just like how gaining a body was possible, going the other way around was also equally doable. ¡°Okay. Doggo. Can you hold on for a little?¡± ¨C Woof! Doggo seemed discontent from the fact that his body would now go through a semi-destruction and wailed, but Marie started demolishing his body and made him closer to an astral body. After a while, he was no longer visible to my eyes that could not perceive spirits, and¡­ It was then. ¨C Sheeeeeeek!! A faint chilliness started to fill the office. Since I could also perceive this sudden drop in temperature, it was definitely not because of a spirit. ¡°Senior Marie. Be caref¡­!?¡± My vision turned upside down before I could even say anything. Thud¡ª!! A thick layer of pressure oppressed my body along with a sticky reverberation of mana. This was something I was used to. ¡°A Blood Realm?¡± Everything flipped upside down and by the time I reopened my eyes, I was at a pitch-black location that was full of darkness. ¡°Ah~. I wish he explained this to us beforehand at the very least.¡± The one that was sealed inside the grimoire of the Great Library was the soul of Sebancia. Sebancia couldn¡¯t even kill himself and had to constantly suffer from bloodsucking impulses and thus, what he chose to do was separate his body from his spirit. After separating his spirit, he sealed it inside a book forever. And that raises a question ¨C Duke Sebancia Duke. The great and legendary Hero of all time. He, who used to be revered as the strongest man of all time, turned even stronger after becoming a vampire. At that point, he gained a body that was essentially unkillable. ¨C The question raised was this. His soul was sealed, but what happened to the ¡®body¡¯ of the strong vampire called Sebancia Duke? The answer to that question was right in front of my eyes. ¡°This was supposed to be something my soul left behind for my daughter. I wonder why a random bloke came here with the scent of my soul.¡± A man wearing crimson plated armor with long hair and a dignified beard opened his mouth while gazing at me. ¡°Let me ask you, visitor. Why have you come to my castle?¡± CH 61 ? Sebancia Duke (1) ? The Sebancia Duke I met at the Great Library was in an intangible astral form and had to possess Lark to gain a body. Even back in the game, he only appeared as a black fog like a ghost so this was my first time seeing Sebancia Duke in his actual body. ¡°Are you Duke Sebancia Duke?¡± ¡°Indeed. What is your name?¡± ¡°Korin Lork. A very distant junior, you could say.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Your body is not bad, but it is still within the spectrum of mediocrity.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a better evaluation than the one I heard at the library at least.¡± He told me I was too weak back then, but it seemed that I was somewhat able to become mediocre during that time. ¡°Have you met my soul?¡± ¡°Yes. I have questions about that. You separated your soul from your body, so how is your body still able to speak?¡± ¡°I am the one asking questions.¡± Sebancia Duke said while slowly walking up to me. Even though the spear was in my hands¡­ I honestly wanted to avoid fighting against this man as an enemy. The legendary historical figure. Hero Sebancia Duke. Although I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how strong he was, he was the strongest in the contemporary times back in his days, so he would be a semi-Unique Grade at the very least. Besides, he was also a good-natured hero so I would only be receiving the aid of one Precept out of three. ¡°The fact that you¡¯re here must mean that my soul has gone away in satisfaction. I am also very content.¡± ¡°Uhh, wait. Are you going to go away in peace as well? You can¡¯t!¡± ¡°¡­What do you mean?¡± ¡°Like, didn¡¯t you send me here to give me something?¡± ¡°Did you not get a grimoire already?¡± ¡°Well, I did but¡­¡± Wait a second. This was not right. Was he not going to give me something else? ¡°Hold up Mr. Duke. You made me come all the way here and you have nothing to give me? This is not fair for me is it?¡± ¡°And what about it?¡± Sebancia said with an annoyed look on his face. ¡°What do you even want? You came here as a messenger so I might as well give you some rewards.¡± ¡°Damn it! That old man used me as a messenger!¡± Did I come all the way here just to let his body sealed inside the castle know that his soul was able to leave in peace? ¡°First off, let me ask a question.¡± ¡°I allow it.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you separate your soul from your body? Why do you look so normal?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple. I left 1% of my soul behind on this accursed body.¡± ¡°Is that even possible?¡± ¡°What you¡¯re seeing right now is the proof.¡± ¡°¡­Seeing this Blood Realm, I guess you are the real Sebancia Duke but¡­¡± After all, Blood Realm was a powerful ability that could only be used by high-class vampires. ¡°Hooh? Do you know about this ability?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Everyone who sees this ability usually dies on the spot but¡­ I see, that little girl¡­¡± ¡°Are you talking about Marie?¡± ¡°Hmm. Interesting. A girl as young as this being this talented huh¡­ And she¡¯s not even going berserk¡­¡± ¡°Is Senior Marie in a totally different dimension or something?¡± ¡°Have you noticed what this place is?¡± Realms were similar to barriers in a sense. It would stop both entries and exits out of the Blood Realm while at the same time activating a unique ability inside. It was an ability that was usually possessed by boss characters. ¡°Feels like an imaginary dimension.¡± It felt slightly different from the dimensional spell of Lady Josephine. Lady Josephine¡¯s spell was like connecting the coordinates to that of another location, rather than creating a new dimension like this. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong. I guess¡­ you could say this is inside my organs.¡± ¡°¡­Uwek.¡± ¡°That is not a nice response.¡± Sebancia clicked his tongue after seeing my reaction. And¡­ It was then. ¨C Kwang! He suddenly swung his cross-shaped sword. I blocked it with the shaft of my spear on reflex but the huge force behind his attack made my body fly backward. ¡°Hoh. Looks like you do have the necessary skills to ask for guidance.¡± ¡®Strong¡­!¡¯ It was a simple swing without any signs. There was no technique behind the attack and was a straight-forward swing, but considering how that resulted in a constant ringing of the spear and my stiffened arm muscles proved just how insanely powerful he was. ¡°The fact that we are inside my organs is not a lie, because this entire castle itself became one with myself 800 years ago. In a way¡­ you could say my body is that of a Unique-Grade demonic beast.¡± ¡°¡­What are you trying to say?¡± ¡°You are inside the organs of a vampire. With a body as weak as yours, I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t even last 5 minutes before being digested.¡± In other words¡ª ¡°Try your best to defeat me. Otherwise, 5 more minutes and your life will be over.¡± ¡°Hah¡­ You are a shy old guy aren¡¯t you?¡± I raised my spear in response. The opponent was the greatest hero from 800 years ago and there wasn¡¯t enough time either. Six Ways of the Spear Sixth Style, Shura. The only option was to go full-power from the start. **** While gasping for breath, Marie barely kept her knees straight and stopped them from bending themselves. Her body was arduously trying to remain standing as merciless blades of words dug into her ears. ¡°You are a mere beast. By what right do you desire to live like a human?¡± Vampire. A beast that ends up killing people after being unable to hold back their impulse. ¡°Do you consider yourself a human instead of a beast? Are you confident in being strong-minded enough to withstand it by yourself? How truly arrogant.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not it!¡± ?Blood Spear? Tens of spears fell on Sebancia Duke. A tidal wave of spears was coming at him but Sebancia uttered in response. ¡°Same move again.¡± ¨C Kagack! ¡°¡­?!¡± Marie¡¯s face crumpled from disbelief. Tens of Blood Spears were eradicated at once after Sebancia said that one sentence. ¡°Vocal magic?¡± That was the pinnacle of magic where the sound traveling through the vocal cords turned into a spell. What that implied was that Marie¡¯s spell as a result of her calculation was not even as sophisticated as Sebancia¡¯s words. ¡°But this time¡­!¡± ?Crystal Lance? Reusing the scattered moisture in the air, Marie immediately combined them back into a high-grade spell. The mana density of Crystal Lance far exceeded the likes of Blood Spears and Vocal Magic shouldn¡¯t be strong enough to dispel it this time. ¡°A petty trick!¡± ¨C Kung! Sebancia trampled on the ground. His foot quaked the earth and destroyed the balance of the straight ground. ¡°What¡­?!¡± The ground popped up like a seesaw. A tremendously heavy cluster of the ground rose up like the lid of a cauldron and acted against the law of gravity to block the Crystal Lance. ¡°Doggo¡­!¡± ¨C Woof! Doggo rose up from her shadow. Marie continued firing spells from behind as Doggo jumped in and dashed at Sebancia. Traveling as fast as a red cannonball, the blood dog was just about to bisect Sebancia into half but¡ª ?Art of Restriction ¨C Coffer? ¡°¡­?!¡± Dozens of chains appeared all around Sebancia. Thanks to his insane reaction speed, Doggo managed to stop himself before being entangled by the chains but the chains pounced back at Doggo in an attempt to seize him. ?Combination Magic ¨C Multi-Spell? A shield of mana rose from the ground. Using that as a wall, Doggo escaped from the dozens of incoming blood chains. ¡°Now!¡± As soon as the pursuing chains came to a halt, the blood dog kicked off the ground once again. Doggo was able to ignore the self-protective instincts of an animal that every organism possessed. Even though his own body was being ripped because of his speed and even though his body might get shredded in the following clash¡­ Doggo pounced forward regardless. Without any safety limits, he could even commit suicide by bombarding himself together with his opponent. It was because his body being broken meant nothing. A physical body was something he could gain any time. His destructive and aggressive fighting method was only possible because Doggo was a monster who had an immortal body and infinite life. ¨C Kwang! The air erupted with a sonic boom. The materialized form of mana transcended the physical limitations of an organism and charged forward at a supersonic speed. In less than 0.7 seconds, he arrived before his enemy. Doggo began swinging his nails and noticed after seeing the opponent stay still on the spot that his enemy wasn¡¯t as fast or strong as him. That body with not a sliver of blood was so weak that it wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge his attack. Thinking that, Doggo swung his nails and the ominous-looking claws of the blood dog were about to land on Sebancia but¡ª ¨C Bam! ¡°??!¡± ¨C Grit, grit¡­! Doggo¡¯s front paw was grabbed from the front. Right when he was about to strike down with his claws¡­ in less than 0.01 seconds, Sebancia reached his hand forward and locked his fingers with Doggo¡¯s to hold those claws in place. Was this even possible? At this point, it wasn¡¯t even in the realms of speed or power and¡­ this was in the realm of foresight. Seeing that brought back a memory of the past. Doggo was feeling the same thing as what he felt back inside the forest, in front of the man who was challenging them with a single spear in hand¡­ ¡°Quite fast. As expected of a beast. Both the speed and power are well above mine. Even faster than me back in my days.¡± The blood dog¡¯s hand was tightly grabbed by Sebancia as chains approached from behind and tied themselves around his hands and legs. ¡°However, that is all you have. A foolish beast with nothing but strength.¡± Doggo¡¯s body was made to turn 180 degrees. A little bit of strength and a slight gesture of Sebancia¡¯s hand toppled the giant werewolf reaching 2 meters in height. ?Sealing Sword of Romania? ¨C Kaduk! A large cross-shaped sword pierced through the blood dog all the way into the ground. The blood dog wriggled and twisted its body but couldn¡¯t move a single step as if he was sealed in a different dimension. ¡°Doggo. Come back!¡± Marie quickly tried to call him back to her shadows but Doggo couldn¡¯t come back. ¡°¡­?!¡± Discarding the body, Marie tried to retrieve the astral body of Doggo but he was still stuck in place with the cross-shaped sword digging into his chest. ¡°This sealing sword is one that was made to seal the dimension for immortal beings. Your immortality means nothing before this sword.¡± Two cross-shaped swords also flew towards Marie. She quickly created a barrier in response but the swords easily pierced through the barrier and landed on the ground next to her on each of her sides. ¡°Ugh¡­?!¡± Just like that, the two large swords locked Marie in place. Unable to endure the pressure coming out of the two swords, Marie couldn¡¯t keep her trembling knees straight and kneeled on the ground. ¡®A, am I going to lose just like this¡­?¡¯ Sebancia¡­ probably wasn¡¯t that strong right now. But these swords and his skills were specialized for combat against vampires. Looking at his body, Marie could tell that Sebancia¡¯s body was far inferior compared to her own in terms of both mana and physical strength. Despite being a vampire, the opponent had been asleep for hundreds of years without taking a single sip of blood so that was natural. Sebancia Duke¡¯s body had been in a slumber until they visited him today. That meant he was far weaker than how he was at the peak of his power and yet¡­ He was undefeatable. Both the blood dog and the owner shared the same sentiment. An overwhelming intuition for battle put him in an advantage despite being weaker and outnumbered. His plans were on the level of foresight and had abnormal powers and talents that were hard to tell by normal standards. Right, for example¡ª- A hero. Those with lofty minds who powered through every adversity, regardless of a difference in strength and a numbers disadvantage. They were different from normal people, and Marie knew one person who was very similar to Sebancia Duke. ¡°¡­Korin.¡± Combat prowess as a knight, as a mage, and as a vampire. The vampire in front of her eyes was unprecedented in all three spectrums ¨C that was what a hero from 800 years ago looked like. ¡°O beast. You beast of damnation. Are you confident in controlling your impulse forever? Do you think that man will stay and support you until the end of your life?¡± Because he was also a vampire and a hero of a lofty mindset, he reproached Marie. ¡°¡­¡± And Marie couldn¡¯t refute his words. It was because she had been holding a similar doubt in mind. She was a demi-human, and was somehow maintaining her consciousness¡­ but did that really make her a human? How could there be a human who couldn¡¯t survive without drinking the blood of other humans? ¡°Just die. End that pitiful life of yours. Once a beast, you will forever remain a beast.¡± ¡®Don¡¯t cause harm to humanity and die a quiet death by yourself,¡¯ he added. It was painful. It was all the more painful because Marie couldn¡¯t find any words to refute him with. That was something that had been harassing her the whole time ever since she became a vampire. A beast that could rampage and crave human blood at any given moment. Korin managed to stop her in time but what about next time? Who would stop her for her if that same thing was to happen again? Her blood turned cold. Her heart slowly stopped beating. ¡º You know what, Marie-sunbae? You¡¯ve never changed until now ¡» ¡°Ah¡­¡± That was when she suddenly remembered those nonchalant words of the boy. His words that there was no need to deny a part of herself started making her heart beat once again. ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± She forced her knees back up. Even though the cross-shaped swords added more weight to her body, Marie stood up by supporting herself with pure strength. ¡°Hoh¡­¡± Despite being condemned as a blood-craving beast, and despite accepting that as a fact herself and going down on her knees, she managed to stand back up just by reminding herself of the words of that boy. Ahh, I see. Korin Lork already had such a big place inside her heart. ¡°I¡­ I will not die. Ever.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Korin said it¡¯s okay. So it¡¯s all fine.¡± ¡°What are you¡­¡± Her golden eyes slowly started to turn red. Her refreshing water-colored hair turned deeper in color as an intense pulse of mana started resonating with intensity. ¡°If these¡­ cross swords are there to seal vampires¡­!¡± She tightened her fists and gathered a pure cluster of mana. After gathering an explosive amount of mana, she swung her fist. ¨C Kwang! And her fist crushed through the cross-shaped swords. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re probably not durable enough to stop physical attacks.¡± ¡°Interesting. A mage that swings fists around, huh.¡± ¡°I¡­! Am the daughter of a family of farmers, after all!¡± Anyone that knew about the Dunareff family would have strongly disagreed with her words but the unique toughness of a countryside girl was one of the hidden attributes of Marie. ¡°So? Did you think you had a chance of winning after merely dealing with those two swords?¡± Countless cross-shaped swords appeared behind Sebancia¡¯s back. It was an incredible number of swords. ¡°There¡¯s no reason to dwell on chances. I need to win.¡± ?Grand Magic of Blood ¨C Pure Crimson Spear? Gathering all the mana and blood in her arsenal, Marie created an ultimate spell. It was the grand spell that she used to kill the King of Iron Mountain in the past. ¡°So move aside. I need to go pick up Korin.¡± Dozens of cross-shaped swords raced at her as Marie responded to the flood of swords with a single large spear. The anti-vampire swords collided with the ultimate spell and tainted the world in red. ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ ¡°Hmm¡­¡± It was rare for Sebancia Duke to lament in awe as such. ¡°Indeed, her talent as a vampire is outstanding.¡± An unstoppable flood of cross-shaped swords ¨C that dimension-sealing attack which should have been unstoppable had its current shift to a different direction from the crimson spear. The fact that she could create an outrageous spear that could scatter through dimensional spells was proof of her incredible talents. A child whose wishes were realized by mana itself was a child blessed with mana. A girl like that was now even able to focus an abnormal power of blood into a single cluster of energy, and that proved that she was born to be the greatest vampire. ¡°I admit it, Marie Dunareff. You have talents. And that makes you all the more dangerous.¡± What kind of disaster would it lead to if a vampire of her level was to wreak havoc and go berserk? That was why his initial goal was to seal her in this castle just like himself. It meant nothing even if his body were to die in the process. In fact, it would be a bargain if he could nullify a seed of catastrophe just by sacrificing his accursed body. ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± Sebancia Duke walked up to Marie who was in tatters after being defeated in the battle. Despite her show of power, Sebancia Duke was still the victor and that proved just how powerful he was as the greatest hero of the past. He gazed down at the young vampire before his eyes. She was a baby vampire that was less than a year old, and yet she could control a familiar and could even use a Blood Realm. She was already at the level of a Vampire Elder and¡­ if she built up enough experience and strength, it might even be possible for her to aim to become a Vampire Lord. She would become an absolute existence that could gather the greatest evil beings of all time, the vampires. ¡°I should be sealing you right now but¡­¡± The burning red eyes of the girl displayed her unwillingness to accept defeat. She was still planning to fight. What was intriguing was that the reason for her unwillingness to lose was not based on herself. Besides, according to the bits and pieces of memory that he had a look at during the fight as a vampire of a higher-status¡­ ¡®She stopped the initial blood sucking impulse and stopped herself. Was that even possible?¡¯ That was the reason why Sebancia was hesitant to seal her. And in the end¡­ he decided to trust that young spearman and let her go for the time being. ¡°You are very powerful and your talents are definitely at an exceptional level. However, you are wasting your energy too much. Your familiar is also sloppy, and is the typical outcome of having all brawn and no brain.¡± ¡°¡­Are you going to teach me things?¡± ¡°No. You¡¯re different from that spear-wielding brat, and you¡¯re already heading to perfection. All you need is time and you will perfect yourself after a while.¡± It seemed that Sebancia Duke suddenly gave up on the idea of sealing her. Even though Marie wasn¡¯t able to understand the sudden shift in his ideas, she nonetheless stood up and requested once again. ¡°Then please send me to where Korin is¡­¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about that man, his heart is already no longer beating.¡± His next words sent her heart crashing down. CH 62 ? Sebancia Duke (2) ? The spear stormed forth in a straight line. The sharp stab of the spear was that of Shura which had allowed its user to defeat several enemies until now. ¨C Kang! ¡°Kuhk¡­!¡± But this time, it was Korin Lork who had to retreat after the attack. Despite clashing their weapons dozens of times, there was no change on who had the advantage. Carrying his enormous cross-shaped sword, Sebancia Duke remained firm like a fortress and Korin Lork¡¯s arduous attempt at breaking through his defense was all in vain. ¡°¡­¡± This was already his 10th attempt to close the distance but Sebancia Duke held off against it with ease. Originally, a spear was supposed to have the upper hand over a sword in terms of reach. Even though it would usually be the sword that tries to close the distance, this time it was the other way around because of the 2-meter-long greatsword in Sebancia¡¯s hands. ¡®A sword that big should be slow but¡­¡¯ They should either be slow or there should be gaps between the swings ¨C even though that was the common belief for those enormous swords, Sebancia Duke had none of it. Whenever Korin stabbed with the long spear, Sebancia Duke swung his greatsword in a heavy curve. It was obvious that the stab should be faster and in fact, it indeed was faster but¡­ ¡®This is strange. Why is he always making it in time?¡¯ His sword always found the spear and flung it away with sheer power. ¡°Are you puzzled, brat?¡± When Korin stopped his feet and stayed on the spot, Sebancia opened his mouth. ¡°You are over-confident on the strategic element of your weapon. Do you think you will win even if you do close the distance? It won¡¯t work no matter how many times you try.¡± ¡°Are you saying it¡¯s because of a difference of experience?¡± ¡°Hmph. That¡¯s not the main reason but that is also true.¡± ¡°¡­Then what is the main reason?¡± ¡°You have no principle.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°The momentary physical enhancement by relying on the Aura Core is definitely interesting. It¡¯s the way of the shadow warriors. However, is your ¡®spearmanship¡¯ supposed to be used for subduing enemies through force?¡± ¡°¡­!!¡± After hearing that, Korin halted his feet in enlightenment and canceled the Shura mode. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go again.¡± His body was warmed up already. It was possible to enter the Domain as long as he wasn¡¯t in the Shura mode. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª In a suspended world; inside the Domain, Korin Lork¡¯s spear was the only one moving. A step in this suspended world could exceed the physical limitations and differences to lead to a devastating attack. Ominous Snake: Extreme Arts Soaring Snake, Rearing Head of the Venomous Dragon The silver spear was in the middle of racing towards the heart of Sebancia Duke but¡ª ¡°???¡± It suddenly stopped moving. As if it was being sealed by something¡­ it got locked up in the dimension and refused to move. ¡®What is going on? Did I fail to enter the Domain?¡¯ In a fluster, Korin unconsciously turned to Sebancia Duke¡¯s face and noticed that he was staring into his eyes. ¡°¡­!!¡± That gave him goosebumps. Seeing him carefully raise the cross-shaped sword, Korin belatedly realized that his enemy was also inside the Domain just like him. The sword came crashing down, carrying within a dark aura. When that was pouncing at him¡­ Korin saw his impending death. ¡°Uht¡­!¡± As soon as the Domain cracked, Korin instinctively retreated back. His spear was no longer in his hands and was still stuck in place in the middle of the air as if it was sealed on the spot. ¡°¡­Did you place a trap beforehand?¡± Korin asked. ¡°Similar, but do you know why I could do that?¡± ¡°You have an intuition¡­ that¡¯s at the level of foresight.¡± ¡°There¡¯s more.¡± A jet-black aura emerged out of Sebancia Duke¡¯s body. That huge torrent of power was an appalling sight for its contenders ¨C even a cracked dam would be a better thing to turn to in comparison. ¡°Aura¡­ no, wait. It¡¯s something more¡­¡± It was something of a higher caliber¡­ Right; it was at the level of Erin Danua and Tates Valtazar, which Korin could not reach until the very end of the last iteration¡­ ¡°Look. This is the heaven-defying power ¨C the one I used in my youth to kill a dragon.¡± ? Final Demonic Sword Strike ¨C Dragon Killer? A dark flash was formed by dragging out all the aura accumulated inside the core. When he carried through with that overwhelming slash¡ª the world immediately got divided into two. **** ¡°¡­¡± I turned around. The imaginary world created by Sebancia had been clearly divided into two by that attack. ¡®What a monster.¡¯ It seemed that one had to be at this level to reach the peak of a generation. This was the might of the strongest man from 800 years ago. ¡®The only ones that can do this are probably the Sword Emperor, Master during the peak of her power and¡­ Tates Valtazar.¡¯ ¡°No matter how you struggle through building technique and reflex skills, you cannot retaliate in front of overwhelming power, brat. You need more fundamental strength to be able to fight against that. You don¡¯t even reach the bare minimum right now.¡± ¡°¡­And that¡¯s why I¡¯m trying hard like I am.¡± The only things I could rely on were my body and the spear techniques that I learned, but my body wasn¡¯t the best one out there. If it was possible for me to get physically strong enough to stand off against the great evil, I would have done it long ago. In the first place, I was learning spearmanship and carving all sorts of Precepts into my body to make up for that deficit. ¡°I do like your idea of momentarily enhancing your body to reach that minimum threshold. However, how does it make sense for you to give up on your strongest move just to match yourself with the enemy¡¯s power level?¡± The strongest move Sebancia was talking about was the Domain. It indeed was a miraculous move that could flip the outcome of the battle on its toe regardless of the strength of the opponent. Over time, my understanding of the Domain and chances of entering it were increasingly going up but there was a downside. Like what I experienced during the fight against Fermack, I couldn¡¯t enter the Domain during physically enhanced states like when I had the back-up support of Shura and the Precepts. The abnormal strength filling my body in fact caused me to lose focus and made it impossible for me to enter the Domain, which required utmost concentration. ¡°It¡¯s like an equivalent exchange. If you get one, you have to give up on¡­ huh?¡± In the middle of my own speech, I noticed a paradox. Didn¡¯t Sebancia Duke¡­ Sebancia Duke was able to use a restricting spell that was great enough to block a spear inside the Domain, while also moving his own sword inside it. He was able to do two things that both required a great amount of concentration at the same time. ¡°Have a broader perspective of the world, kid. Don¡¯t whinge and think others won¡¯t be able to do something just because you can¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± In the end, he was saying that I needed both strength and technique, but I wouldn¡¯t be suffering like this if that was so easy. ¡°I¡¯ll give you mine.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying I will give you the Aura Core of mine, Sebancia Duke. That is the only thing I can give from my accursed body.¡± ¡°Uhh. Why are you so helpful all of a sudden?¡± ¡°I thought you were an incredibly mediocre one but seeing your fight¡­ Well, it seems that you have some prospects. And besides¡­ I can see why my soul has made you come to this place.¡± He said while looking at my Precepts that were now visible due to the aftermath of the fight. ¡°You have the qualification to be a hero and I can see that. Korin Lork. You have not the usual greed of those who seek power, but conviction and pride.¡± ¡°Hoh~. Do you feel like respecting me now?¡± ¡°You? As if.¡± ¡°But you¡­ said you respected me back in the library though?¡± ¡°My soul must have become emotional after being buried in books the whole time.¡± Sebancia Duke said while disagreeing with the words of his own soul. That¡¯s not a very respectful thing to do, old man! ¡°However, I will bless you and hope you have a better path waiting for you.¡± ¡°Is that so.¡± Saying that, I immediately laid down on the ground because using both Shura and the Domain took a toll on my body. Seeing me nonchalantly lie on the ground, Sebancia looked at me with a dumbfounded look on his face. ¡°How carefree.¡± ¡°I know you are not the type of person to kill people for no reason. So hurry up and just give me the thing. I¡¯m busy trying to save the world.¡± ¡°Seriously, what an annoying little brat.¡± He came up to me and raised his cross-shaped sword. ¡­Wait, what? But why? ¡°Hold up! Wait¡­!¡± ¡°Be quiet.¡± ¨C Stab! **** The cross-shaped sword pierced through Korin¡¯s heart and his blood immediately started flowing the other way. ¡°Y, you actually stabbed¡­!¡± ¡°Why would I not?¡± Korin¡¯s heart that had been pulsing rapidly after the arduous battle started slowing down before eventually coming to a stop. What next entered his eyes was Sebancia taking out a small core from his own chest. ¡°Kuhk¡­ Can¡¯t you, just¡­ give it to me normally¡­!?¡± ¡°This will mark the end of my long life. Inherit me, o hero of this generation.¡± Sebancia¡¯s words echoed in his ears but Korin couldn¡¯t help but close his eyes. ¡°You have the right to inherit everything I once had.¡± His heart was no longer beating. **** ¡°Korin?¡± Inside the Blood Realm opened by Sebancia Duke; when the barrier separating Korin and Marie disappeared and merged their dimensions back into one, the girl with water-colored hair called the boy with a trembling voice. She saw Sebancia Duke wearing the heroic crimson armor stabbing his sword through Korin¡¯s chest. ¡°N, no¡­ This can¡¯t be¡­¡± Her bright and energetic voice started being soaked in melancholy. Her clear and dazzling golden eyes wavered while turning crimson red. Slowly, while shivering from disbelief, the girl headed to the boy who was bleeding tremendously with his eyes closed. ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± said Sebancia from the side but Marie¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t on him. The blood flowing out of the wound that Sebancia opened by himself on his chest couldn¡¯t even garner a bit of her attention. The mere sight of him was simply irritating. ¨C Crunch! ¡°?!!¡± Marie grabbed Sebancia¡¯s arm that was being protected by the crimson armor. The gauntlet was crushed by her superhuman strength which was a surprising sight even for Sebancia. ¨C Kung! With her tiny hand, she picked Sebancia up and threw him away like trash. Inside his own Blood Realm, Sebancia was thrown away along with an aftershock that trembled the entire dimension. ¨C Kwagagang! His body crashed into the barriers of the Blood Realm. Who would ever believe that that had resulted from a simple show of sheer force? ¡°Hoh. A mage being this physically strong huh.¡± Sebancia Duke was fine with not a single extra wound on his body, but even that failed to enter her sight. ¡°Korin¡­¡± With her eyes fixed on Korin¡¯s chest that was still bleeding heavily, Marie tried to move her shivering hands to push the blood back into his body. She knew how meaningless of an act it was and couldn¡¯t help but tear up. She knew very well how animals tended to look upon death. With a pale countenance, their body would go cold with life leaving their eyes. She had seen it time after time. Because she knew how animals looked when dying, she despaired at the sight of the boy going through that exact same process. ¡°Korin¡­ Korin, Korin¡­!¡± However, she bellowed without accepting the reality. ¡°I, I can heal you. I will bring you back to life¡­¡± Marie remembered one of the mighty abilities of a vampire that she read in one of the old books ¨C it was the curse of blood that could forever seal someone. It was the contract of a familiar that could let them survive forever until the death of their master. ¡°Stop. That is a curse. That is definitely not a way to save him.¡± ¡°Shut up¡­!¡± Her body fumed with mana in her distress as she glared daggers at Sebancia, who was most certainly the one who caused this. ¡°Mhmm¡­!¡± That abundance of mana was easily able to suppress Sebancia Duke who no longer had his heart. It was way too much to retaliate against for a heartless vampire who had been sleeping the whole time without drinking any blood. ¡°I will bring him back to life. I can¡­ Korin can¡¯t die here. He won¡¯t die.¡± Marie bit on her tongue to help the dying body of Korin regain a little bit of warmth. The blood from her ripped tongue filled her mouth which she transferred over by aligning her lips with his. From mouth to mouth ¨C the blood of a Vampire Elder which was at the level of an elixir traveled down Korin¡¯s throat without reserve. Worried that he might choke on it, Marie lifted his head and straightened his throat while constantly supplying him with her blood. ¡°¡­¡± Sebancia watched that happen with an awkward look on his face. At the same time, he couldn¡¯t hide his surprise. ¡®She¡¯s not feeling the urge to drink blood even when in front of such a large pool of blood, huh.¡¯ A vampire¡¯s urge to drink blood was stimulated the most at the sight of fresh blood. The blood being pumped out of Korin¡¯s chest was enough to create a puddle beneath him, and yet Marie did not spare that puddle a single glance and was immersed in instead sharing her own blood with him. Was that how important of an existence he was to her? Was he that important for this vampire girl? ¡°These young romanticists.¡± Sebancia murmured to himself but he didn¡¯t necessarily hate it. Even he was a soul who remained for 800 years just to hear news about his wife and his daughter. Heroes were actually romanticists and were very sentimental. ¡°M, mhmm¡­¡± ¡°K, Korin?!¡± With the forced injection of the blood of a Vampire Elder, his vitality took a massive leap and his pierced chest regenerated in an instant. Even though the earnest wish of a vampire to regenerate the boy made her blood act like an elixir of life, even Marie wasn¡¯t expecting him to be healed so quickly. On the other hand, Sebancia Duke made the guess that her blood must have acted in conjunction with the regeneration ability that his soul gave him. ¡°W, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Ahh, thank you god. Thank you. Thank you¡­!¡± Marie prayed to god with a pale look on her face. She had never thanked god this much ever in her entire life. ¡°Haa¡­ Both of you, calm down.¡± Sebancia said as Korin Lork grumbled in response. ¡°Ugh¡­ Sebancia Duke. Couldn¡¯t you have given it to me in a more normal method?¡± ¡°That was the fastest method by far. I don¡¯t have much time on me.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s true but¡­¡± ¡°Nnn??¡± Noticing that something was off while listening to their conversation, Marie tilted her head. Sebancia answered her doubt. ¡°I opened his heart to transplant my core. A short stoppage of the heart is a cheap price to pay in return.¡± ¡°A, ahht¡­¡± Only then did Marie realize what Sebancia Duke had done to Korin. A giveaway of life and an inheritance of power. All of that started from the heart, which was the source of all life. It was an advanced magic ritual which was only possible because both of them had incredible vitality and tenacity. ¡°T, thank goodness¡­ Really. Thank goodness.¡± After heaving out a deep sigh of relief, Marie hugged Korin who was still lying down on the ground and wailed. ¡°Umm¡­ Senior?¡± Not knowing what was going on, Korin bewilderedly returned her a hug. ¡°I was worried¡­! Sniff. Korin, don¡¯t ever die on me¡­! You need my permission to die¡­!¡± ¡°How is that even possible?¡± ¡°Promise me! That you won¡¯t die without my permission!¡± ¨C Grit!! The power behind her embrace made Korin realize just how serious this girl was. However, the only thing he could do in return was tap her on her shivering back. **** Opening my eyes, I found Marie in a deep sleep. We were back in Sebancia Duke¡¯s office and Marie was sleeping with her arms wrapped around me. ¡°That¡­ probably wasn¡¯t a dream.¡± A new system message cleared the doubt for me. ¡ºYou have acquired the Aura Core of Sebancia Duke.¡» ¡ºYour Aura Rank will increase due to acquiring a Dual Core¡» ¡ºYou have now gained the Core Attribute: Demon Nature of Duke¡» Aura ¨C { Upper Medium (6,730) } Mana ¨C { Low (5,370) } [Specialty ] ¨C { Regeneration of the Tenacious Warrior, Pain Tolerance, Domain Comprehension, Dual Core } Strength: > 83 Agility: > 79 Vitality: > 86 Aura: > 76 Mana: > 76 ¡°¡­A second core.¡± Not only did my Aura Rank go up but I also acquired another Aura Core. It even had a special attribute to it¡­ Maybe¡­ I would be able to do something similar to what Sebancia Duke did with his sword? ¡°That¡¯d be crazy¡­¡± The grimoire paled greatly in comparison to everything I gained here. But that raised a different question. Both in the game and the last iteration, why did Sebancia Duke refrain from giving this power over to the player? What was the difference between me and the player? ¡º You have my respect ¡» Those were the last words left behind by Sebancia Duke. Did I have something with me that the player did not have, that made Sebancia change his mind? ¡°How much better would it have been if he just nicely gave this to me though? That¡­ was a really close call there.¡± He could have just handed it over without me going through all that stuff. Making people work for nothing¡­ Well, it was probably to test me though. ¨C Creak! It was then. Someone came into the office after opening the door. ¡°Who¡­¡± ¡°Hikk?!¡± As if she wasn¡¯t expecting anyone to be inside, the visitor was greatly surprised after seeing me. Looking at her maid clothes, it seemed that she was here to clean up the dust. ¡°M, my apologies! I was not expecting a guest to be¡­?!!!¡± ¡°Ah, sorry. We will be going out very¡­ soon.¡± What was going on? The maid had a very unusual look in her eyes. With a shiver, she looked back and forth between me and Marie¡­ wait, Marie? ¨C Hnn hnn. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Right. This was definitely open for misunderstanding. Yes. ¡°Wait. This is not what you think it is. Seriously. I know what you¡¯re thinking, and whatever you are thinking is wrong.¡± ¡°K, kiss mark¡­¡± ¡°A kiss mark? Where¡­¡± I unconsciously touched my neck; at the place where Marie inserted her fangs to drink blood. Now that the flesh had grown back up, it was no longer like a wound but it still had red blood clots which probably made it look like flushed skin at a distance. ¡°Ahhh. That¡¯s wrong. You are seriously misunderstanding something. For real. I get what you are thinking but¡­¡± ¡°Apologies for my intrusion! Please have a great time!!¡± ¡°W, where are you going?! Hello? Just wait one second!¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­That would definitely create rumors right? Again, the upper-class society and banquets were places where tongues danced like swords. In other words, rumors tended to spread across at an extremely rapid pace. ¡°YOUUUU BASSTARDDDD! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY DAUGHTTERRRRR!! I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOUUUUUU!!¡± It took about 20 days for the misunderstanding to be resolved. **** Even though there was a small incident¡­ the holiday in the south was overall quite decent. ¡°Korin¡­ Are you okay?¡± ¡°Haha. Well, I do understand. It¡¯s normal for fathers with daughters to act like that.¡± ¡°Hing¡­ Sorry. It¡¯s my fault.¡± After the visit to Sebancia Duke¡¯s castle, I had to hide inside the mountain for 20 straight days. I hid in one of Marie¡¯s villas and spent time training there. Avoiding the eyes of wyvern squads patrolling through the skies was definitely not easy, but who am I? I¡¯m a former soldier of the Korean military forces, am I not? This was probably what all that mountainside training and operations were for. ¡°But it¡¯s great that we resolved the issue towards the end. You came and gave me potatoes here and there as well, so it was quite good.¡± ¡°Hing¡­ I wanted to give you a better time though.¡± ¡°I think it was already great.¡± The last week of holiday was quite literally amazing. Even though I didn¡¯t get to visit the famous places of the southern region, I still got to receive all sorts of services in Marie¡¯s house. Especially that massager¡­ he indeed had some superhuman skills. I swear, meridian massages were the best. ¡°Anyway, the 2nd semester is about to begin. And we¡¯ll have to prepare for the festival as well.¡± ¡°Nn! The Purple Hawk Academy from the eastern continent is going to be coming very soon, after all!¡± The festival was where the 4 great academies of the 4 continents each visited one another¡¯s academy for a friendly exchange. However, because guardians had an incredible status in this world, it was as popular as the Olympic games, except it was smaller and occurred every year. It attracted a lot of tourists and was one of the reasons for active tourism. ¡°Oh right. By the way, the inn is going well with our investment right?¡± ¡°Of course it is. Trust me ¨C I will bring it back to you threefold.¡± ¡°I trust you! You¡¯ll be able to do a great job, Korin!¡± On the way back to the Academy on a carriage, I thought about Hua Ran¡¯s episode which would begin with the 3rd Arc. This was the one that would decide whether we could take her in as an ally or not. ¡®Whatever the case, I want to make it a happy ending at least.¡¯ It would be great so long as it didn¡¯t lead to the worst ending, where she transcends into a Yaksha. Things should go just fine as long as I stop the petty tricks of the spiritualist. Aside from that, I also had to make some big money from the accommodation investment to get rid of any potential financial problems in the future. There was a mention in the game that there was an abnormally large number of tourists this year so the accommodation industry should return a lot of money. The lodging fees would skyrocket when tourists are attracted to the festival and after going big, I¡¯ll sell the land and save all that money. You might ask, ¡®Why don¡¯t you borrow from Marie?¡¯ but come on! I had my pride as a man as well! ¡°I am unstoppable! Long live the festival!¡± ¡°K, Korin?¡± Huhahahaha¡­! A money dupe bug incoming!! Unless the planet suddenly did some random shit, and unless a hole was to suddenly appear in the sky, there was nothing that could possibly stop my plan! ¨C Kwaaaaaaaaa¡­!!!!! A storm. All the paved roads were destroyed; trees of the forest were pulled out and were crushed apart by the unstoppable torrent. An EF5 tornado ¨C the natural disaster we came across right in front of Merkarva City was like a testament of god¡¯s wrath. ¡°W, wut in the world?¡± T, this didn¡¯t happen in the last iteration though? ¡°Wow¡­ what a tornado¡­ This might have a huge impact on the festival as well.¡± Marie tapped me on my shoulder with a pitying look on her face. ¡°It¡¯s okay Korin. It¡¯s normal for men to fail once or twice in their lives!¡± ¨C Should we write an IOU1 document though? I will prepare everything and give you a document so all you need to do is sign it! You don¡¯t even have to bother checking it! She added with her eyes glistening as if this was her chance and honestly, it was quite scary. CH 63 ? Bat Effect (1) ? ¡°Hua~! We are so wet now!¡± The Academy wasn¡¯t that close from the tornado so it was possible for us to make a detour somehow but we had to go through a bunch of rain in the process. ¡°Welcome. It must have been rough because of the tornado.¡± ¡°Huh? Mr. Chairman? What about Professor Josephine?¡± ¡°She spent the holiday with Hua Ran at Chapel Zeon and is coming back at the moment.¡± Waiting at the entrance of the special dormitory was Chairman Eriu. She¡­ my Master Erin handed over a large towel, which I placed on top of Marie¡¯s head. ¡°You should wipe yourself first.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Okay.¡± Seeing me hand over the towel to Marie, Master went somewhere with her dimensional spell before returning with another towel in hand. ¡°You should stay here tonight.¡± ¡°Am I allowed to?¡± ¡°You are not an outsider anymore. Starting from the 2nd semester, we will have you stay at this dormitory.¡± That was probably in order to observe me. Since they couldn¡¯t fully believe me as of yet, Lady Josephine and my Master Erin would have decided to do that to monitor my actions. ¡°So what exactly is that tornado?¡± ¡°Right! It was huge! I¡¯m worried it might cause more problems for the city. Is that going to be alright?¡± Master heaved a sigh while looking outside at the source of the sharp noise of the swirling tornado and replied. ¡°First off, the city itself hasn¡¯t suffered from that much damage. The tornado is not touching the center of the city so it¡¯s probably only a small outskirt of the city that received some level of harm.¡± ¡°Huh? But won¡¯t it be problematic if it moves towards the center?¡± ¡°No. The tornado will not move.¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± The tornado won¡¯t be moving? What did that mean? From what I knew, there was no such thing as a spell that could stop tornadoes from moving. ¡­Wait a minute. ¡®A small outskirt of the city¡¯? An ominous sensation filled my body after ruminating on those words but Master continued with her explanation regardless. ¡°That tornado is not a natural phenomenon; it¡¯s the work of a demonic beast.¡± Umm¡­ Master? Where exactly is this ¡®small outskirt of the city¡¯? There¡¯s no way right? It¡¯s not where I think it is, right? **** One of the important seaways of the southern archipelago was the Egernia Strait which was often used by several nations including the El Rath Kingdom. Recently, people in this place were having a headache because of the Sea Serpent. The enormous sea snake reaching 60 meters in length was a Grade 1 demonic beast and was the lofty king of the ocean. One day, it just suddenly arrived and decided to stay at the Egernia Strait. As if the financial circumstances of humans were none of its business, this lofty king began to sink all the trade ships that infiltrated its territory. The ones that had to suffer the most from the sudden appearance of this long snake were the trade merchants including Count Casseus. ¡°My son¡­ do you really have to do this yourself?¡± Count Casseus said while worriedly gazing at his son who pompously volunteered to defeat the Sea Serpent. ¡°Yes, father. It¡¯s a Grade 1 demonic beast. As long as I succeed at defeating this monster, that will make it easier for me to be promoted to Grade 1.¡± ¡°I understand your point but¡­¡± Ever since he met the lady from the Dunareff family which reigned over the south like an overlord, his son had become very hasty. Him falling in love at first sight wasn¡¯t a problem, but the problem was that he was feeling overly competitive to another person. This knight, who was so talented to be able to become a semi-Grade 1 Knight at the young age of 23 with a bright future ahead of him, was feeling competitive for someone younger than him. It was the young gold-digger who had a bunch of rumors about having a secret love affair with the oldest daughter of the Dunareff family ¨C the spear-wielding boy who became a Grade 1 Knight at an age younger than himself. ¡®Marie¡­! You¡¯re being deceived!¡¯ Levent could still remember him ¨C that disrespectful man who touched an unmarried lady from a dukedom with bare hands without regard and hugged her as if she was his! He didn¡¯t know what kind of underhanded trickery the man used but Marie was definitely being deceived by him! In order to save her from the hands of the gold-digger, Levent first needed to build his fame. By using some tricks, that man had become a Grade 1 Knight, meaning that he too had to become a Grade 1 Knight to get to his level. ¡°Don¡¯t worry father. I will defeat this Sea Serpent and bring peace to the ocean.¡± I shall become the hero of the Egernia Strait and stand before her once again! Along with the battleships and crews provided by his father and guardians of the Alliance, Levent Vlandria headed off to defeat the Sea Serpent. ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ Result-wise, the subjugation was a success. This huge campaign that mobilized five battleships with 16 knights, 5 mages and over 500 crew members was a success. But it was only a ¡®half-success¡¯. ¨C Miyooooooooonnng!! ¡°The Sea Serpent is running away!¡± ¡°Wahh¡­! It¡¯s our victory!¡± ¡°Congratulations on the successful campaign, young master!¡± ¡°Lady Marie¡­ This victory was made only thanks to you¡­!¡± It was a shame that they couldn¡¯t kill the Sea Serpent but they succeeded in driving the Sea Serpent away from the Egernia Strait, which would bring a peace of mind to the trade ships going past the seaway. ¨C Miyooooooooonnng!! ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ But where did this Sea Serpent head off to in its escape? ¡°Queeek?¡± Now, there was a bat demonic beast called Alvan. These large bats that had a wingspan of up to 30 meters had two other well-known names. First of them was the ¡®Tornado Bat¡¯. Some time around June, they would visit the archipelago for a breeding season ¨C in order to avoid their predators, they would create a nest on a small island of the archipelago. This was where the reason they were called Tornado Bats came to play. During their mating season, the male Tornado Bats would use up all the lifetime energy they built up inside their body and sacrifice themselves to become the epicenter of a tornado. Using that tornado, they would block the approach of predators and have their final moment of reproduction. These tornadoes lasted forever until the death of the Alvan that created it, and was usually kept until September where the female would give birth to a baby. ¨C Miyooooooooonnng! An uninvited guest appeared while two bats were sharing an affectionate time like protagonists of a youth drama ¨C it was the Sea Serpent that escaped from the campaign. What was terribly unfortunate for the bats, was that the large Grade 1 demonic beast, Sea Serpent, was one of the few demonic beasts of the ocean that could break through an Alvan¡¯s tornado, and as a result¡­ ¨C Quieeeeee?! Right when the female bat was getting ready to have another intimate relationship on top of a rocky island, the Sea Serpent suddenly showed up and carried the male bat away. ¨C Quieee¡­! ¨C Quie!! The female Alvan screamed while watching the male bat be taken away by the Sea Serpent. After losing its spouse, the female Alvan had no choice but to leave the mating island with a wail. There were already babies growing in its womb, and the Alvan had to give birth to them. Flying further north, the female Alvan started a perilous flight. It had to alter its path after coming into contact with a wyvern squad that was looking for a boy, and even had to suffer from retaliation when it was trying to pick up a cow that was harvesting corn only to realize that it was an Audhumbla that weighed more than 70 tonnes¡­ In tatters, the Alvan landed somewhere near Merkarva City. Rather than ¡®land¡¯, it was more correct to say that it no longer had the power to go any further. And lastly¡­ this was where the second well-known name of the semi-Grade 1 demonic beast, Alvans, came to play. They were called Tornado Bats because of the tornado they created at the cost of their vitality and body, while the other name they had was¡­ a Gold Bat. Blood, bone and flesh ¨C every part of their body was as potent as an elixir. They were a fabulous demonic beast that also ended up luring nearby demonic beasts with their mellow scent. All sorts of monsters came to eat the Alvan after it landed on the ground and because of the maternal instinct of the female Alvan that wanted to safely give birth to its babies, it voluntarily became the epicenter of a tornado, so that it could give birth to its babies even at the cost of its own life. As a result, it created an enormous tornado that also impacted the eastern side of Merkarva City. ¡°¡­¡± The spear-wielding boy who had to receive some unfair retributions for his actions was befuddled at the sight of the tornado in front of his eyes. **** I was fucked. Right now, I could say with a very rational and objective perspective of the situation. Rationally speaking, I was fucked. ¡°Haa¡­¡± A Tornado Bat¡­ A Tornado Bat¡­! Who could have expected such a thing to happen?!! A Tornado Bat!!?? Weren¡¯t they rare beasts that stayed on small rocky islands of the archipelago to mate like crazy? Why were they here on the continent? Yes. I know¡­ I know! It¡¯s probably because of the butterfly effect of something random that I did. It must be like how a butterfly flutters its wings and creates a tornado on the other side of the planet. But this time, it was an actual tornado! I couldn¡¯t even imagine how all this happened but the problem at hand right now was that stupid bat creating a fierce tornado. And the biggest problem of all was that my inns that were still in the middle of construction were at the ¡®outskirt of the city¡¯ that was within the boundary of the tornado, and that the tornado could reach it anytime! ¡°W, we have to leave now. We just cannot continue working here!¡± ¡°W, wait. The deadline is just around the corner. If you go now¡­!¡± ¡°The tornado is getting bigger every day! We will all die in the middle of construction at this rate!¡± ¡°Boss! Hey boss. One second!¡± ¡°You should give up on this place as well! Sometimes shit happens in your life and you can¡¯t do anything about it!¡± Unable to hold back the leaving builders, I remained glued to the ground. Not only did the Tornado Bat¡¯s tornado completely devour a portion of Merkarva City, but it was also getting bigger over time. It was probably because of the mother working even harder to protect its babies now that it was close to giving birth to them. The problem was that my accommodation buildings that were being built to suck out money from the festival tourists were sitting right in front of the edge of that tornado. And if the tornado were to continue like this¡­ there was the possibility of the festival being suspended or being reduced in size. It was already questionable whether they could rebuild all the roads that were crushed in time before the date of the festival which would be some time in October. In other words, if this tornado persisted longer, the number of tourists visiting Merkarva City would have an exponential decrease in numbers, and in the worst case scenario, the festival itself might even be canceled. Most important of all was that the tornado would definitely blow up my inns in around a week¡¯s time! 280 gold coins for buying land, and 330 gold coins for materials, hiring manpower and construction¡­ And 220 more gold coins were supposed to be paid until the end of construction. And by the way, only 110 gold coins from these were mine. The rest? I borrowed them all!! I had to pay 720 gold coins if I failed with this business! ¡°I¡¯m fucked. I am actually fucked¡­¡± It felt like I was discarded on Mars with nothing on me. **** An emergency conference was held at Merkarva Academy. Chairman Eriu Casarr gathered several professors that were staying at the Academy along with a few students. ¡°I believe that is everyone.¡± The old veteran of the Knight Department, Professor Haman Welsch; Professor Deina Arianne, who recently received a salary cut due to the horribly failed experiment; New professor of the 2nd year students of the Knight Department, Orgen Rentree; Professor Edgar Linton, the career advisor of 4th year Magic Department students; And Professor Lulara Mars who teaches Alchemy to both 1st year and 2nd year students. What these people had in common was that they had all been well-known for being strong in their prime back when they were working as active guardians. Professors weren¡¯t the only ones that were gathered ¨C there were also a few students who had either returned early like Marie, or stayed behind at the Academy over the holiday. ¡°Huu¡­¡± And among them was also the freshman student who was quite a hot topic in the Academy, Korin Lork. Both professors and students inside the Academy were summoned as long as they were higher-ranked guardians. ¡°I am sure you all know what this conference is for. It is because of the Tornado Bat, Alvan.¡± ¡°Umm¡­ Are we going to be killing it?¡± Professor Deina asked the chairman after carefully raising her hand. Before she could even finish off her sentence, Professor Haman yelled out. ¡°Of course we are!¡± ¡°I am against it,¡± said Professor Edgar. ¡°What?¡± Professor Haman gave a sharp glare at Professor Edgar. Edgar, who used to work as a Justice of the Peace before becoming a professor, was an active and belligerent man who used to personally chase after criminals. It was therefore quite unexpected for him to raise an objection. ¡°The tornado will be stopping in a month. There is no reason for us to bother shouldering the risk.¡± ¡°Professor Edgar. On what grounds are you saying that~~?¡± Professor Lulara asked with a sluggish voice. ¡°Alvans start breeding in early June. If they succeed at finding a partner, they will give birth sometime around early to mid September.¡± ¡°That quick?¡± ¡°They are famous for their quick fertility and delivery among mammals. But that also correlates to just how difficult it is for their babies to survive.¡± ¡°In other words~, you mean this tornado will end in less than a month for sure, right?¡± ¡°That is correct.¡± ¡°Hmm~. I guess there is no reason to bear the risk then. 1 vote for status quo from me~¡± ¡°But I believe we should try to kill it at the very least.¡± Professor Orgen, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, shared his opinion. ¡°It will take more time for students to come back and it might cause problems for our festival. Most importantly, people from outside might consider our Academy as weaklings who are too afraid to make a move.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound right, Professor Orgen. Our Academy is, all in all, an education facility. Killing demonic beasts is the job of the Alliance. It seems that you are still in the mindset of an active guardian.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The professors were divided into 2 sides. An old veteran professor and a new professor were under the belief that the bat should be killed, whereas two professors with fairly long careers were against it. It created an exceptional balance so they naturally then turned to Professor Deina. ¡°Uht¡­ U, umm, shouldn¡¯t we¡­ try to defeat it at the very least? It is a Gold Bat after all so¡­¡± ¡®Everything about them is expensive, right?¡¯ Professor Deina couldn¡¯t finish her entire sentence and swallowed the last few words. ¡°Professor Deina. You¡¯re not telling me that you will bear the risk just because of the recent financial budget situation of your faculty, are you? Will you involve all your colleagues and students just for such a greedy reason?¡± ¡°O, o, o, of course that¡¯s not what I was thinking!!¡± She stuttered her words as if that was right on the mark, and in the end, she reluctantly agreed to keep it at status quo. ¡®T, this is not good!¡¯ The one who was getting the most frightened by the conversation between the professors was Korin Lork. He was someone who had to kill the Alvan as soon as possible to bring back peace. More than 700 gold coins were involved in this matter and naturally, Korin Lork did not have the power to pay back all that money. In other words, he was close to being bankrupt. He had a ¡®financial reason¡¯ that was incomparably more personal than Professor Deina whose salary got cut off because of the King of Iron Mountain incident. ¡®Looking at how Professor Deina immediately got reproached, talking about money won¡¯t be good¡­ I have to shift the atmosphere somehow!¡¯ Korin immediately got to work. ¡°Professors!¡± ¡°Student Korin?¡± Bashing on the table, Korin immediately stood up. His sudden unpredictable action gathered the eyes of the professors. ¡°I, Korin Lork¡­! Would like to share my humble opinion with you, ¡®Seniors¡¯!¡± Senior¡­ well, it wasn¡¯t a technically wrong expression, because all the professors were from the Merkarva Academy and were guardians like himself. ¡°We vowed to ourselves! That we will enact justice, and goodness with courage! That we will not yield before death! That we will protect the weak and defeat our foes!¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ that¡¯s the short vow we have to do when getting guardian licenses, right¡­?¡± ¡°Senior Deina! I believe you must have made the same vow as myself!!!!¡± Korin decided to target Professor Deina first before anyone else, since she was involuntarily made to enter the objectors. He was giving her a valid excuse. ¡°Who are we? We are guardians! Every one of us here vowed to become protectors of humanity and officially became a guardian from either the Alliance or the Royal Family, did we not!!?¡± ¡°Y, yes, but¡­¡± ¡°Student Korin. I understand your passion but this time around, it is better for us to refrain from fighting the¡­¡± ¡°Senior Edgar! How can you possibly say such a thing!?¡± ¡°Mhmm?¡± ¡°Do you not see the suffering victims lying in the streets after losing their houses to that tornado? Can you not see them losing their jobs and lying down on the barren streets by themselves? Do you not see those starving children that will be forced out of their houses?¡± ¡°I know what you¡¯re trying to say, but the damage done to the city is quite small and there aren¡¯t that many casualties either¡­¡± ¡°The children are starvinnggggg¡­!!! How can you possibly say that!!!!??¡± ¡°Like, there are only a couple of people that lost their houses¡­¡± ¡°Lives cannot be calculated with money! Each and every one of them is a precious citizen of our city! How can you possibly discard them!!¡± ¡°M, me? I, I am discarding them?¡± ¡°Can you tell them that we have discarded them for our benefit¡­! Could you accept that if you were one of those poor children, Professor?¡± Sniff, sniff! Korin was even tearing up now. Even though the prime reason for his tears were his inns that would soon be blown away by the tornado, the professors weren¡¯t aware of that. ¡°Just by thinking of those poor children crying out for their parents¡­ I can¡¯t even make myself go to sleep!!¡± ¡°Oohh¡­¡± ¡°What a respectable young man!¡± ¡°He is the model knight with a chivalrous heart.¡± Professor Haman and Professor Orgen said in awe. Unlike mages who were always rational and calculative, knights were actually quite weak to sentimental lines like that. ¡°I have an uncle called Ben. His last name is Parker and he¡¯s not from my father¡¯s side, but you know ¨C he¡¯s one of those uncles with a big beer belly that gives a hearty laughter that goes like, ¡®Huhaha¡¯.¡± Korin didn¡¯t have an uncle like that. It was pure fiction. ¡°When I told him I was entering this Academy to become a knight, this was what he told me.¡± After readying himself to copy a famous line from his previous life, Korin opened his mouth with a serene look on his face. ¡°With great power! Comes great responsibility¡­!!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Hohh¡­¡± ¡°What a great sentence¡­¡± Carefully glancing across the audience whose eyes were all on him, Korin passionately continued with his sentence. ¡°I Korin Lork! Will follow my uncle¡¯s advice, and heed to the vow of guardians! And voluntarily enter this fight for the suffering citizens of this city! I trust that you will all be standing with me for this cause¡­!!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! That¡¯s the spirit, young man!¡± ¡°As expected of a knight. Now that¡¯s some courage!¡± Professor Haman and Professor Orgen took this opportunity to add weight to Korin¡¯s words. It wasn¡¯t just because he was on their side though, and they were whole-heartedly moved by Korin¡¯s passionate speech. ¡®My eyes were correct!¡¯ ¡®To think we still have such a young yet passionate and respectable knight¡­!¡¯ A similar opinion was soon carefully raised from the other side. ¡°S, Student Korin is 100% correct. Each and every life of citizens are equally important. Ahh~ I can also remember the vow I made when I was appointed a guardian¡­¡± Professor Deina, who wanted the byproducts of an Alvan which was also known as a Gold Bat, changed sides after getting a valid excuse. The one who was at the lead of the objection side, Professor Edgar, repositioned his glasses and tried to come up with a rational and logical rebuttal, but emotion was something that couldn¡¯t be rational in the first place and it was therefore very difficult. ¡°And even if¡­ we take away chivalry and the vow of guardians¡­ even without all those grand reasons¡­¡± Tears welled up under Korin¡¯s eyes. His acting skills were so remarkable that he might even receive the Academy Award for Best Actor. ¡°I want to save people ¨C those people that are within our reach. So¡­ let¡¯s save them. Okay? Senior Marie?¡± ¡°Nnn?¡± Korin asked for the agreement of Marie, who had the most power and the biggest voice among the students. ¡°Umm¡­ I, I think it¡¯s okay to just wait though? I can prepare their accommodation and food with my¡­¡± ¡°Senior Marie¡­! The children are losing their housesssss¡­!¡± ¡°H, huh? R, right. Houses are important¡­!¡± Marie was slightly hesitant but in the end, she was like a sunflower who listened to everything Korin Lork said and thus couldn¡¯t go against him. ¡°Now that I think about it, I think you are definitely correct Korin!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Professor Edgar wasn¡¯t expecting the top student of the Magic Department, who should be the personification of rationality and logic, to agree to such a sentimental assertion. He tried to say something in objection but after seeing Professor Lulara, who was sitting next to him, wipe her eyes with a handkerchief, Professor Edgar couldn¡¯t help but swallow his words back in. If he said anything else here, he would become a horrible person. In truth, Korin had indeed prepared everything and was ready to frame him as a cold-blooded and cruel person if Professor Edgar was to say anything more. ¨C Just agree. Come on¡­! ¡°That¡¯s right! Student Korin! No, I should say Junior Korin! You have truly opened my eyes!¡± ¡°Hahaha. There will be a bright future ahead of you! Now this is a knight!¡± ¡°I believe we have come to a conclusion then.¡± Chairman Eriu, who had been watching that skit from the side, organized the opinions of the professors and students and announced our goal. ¡®My inn! I have to save them!¡¯ The boy at the brink of bankruptcy was extremely desperate. CH 64 ? Bat Effect (2) ? The large tornado was spinning at a supersonic speed. Standing in front of that disastrous tornado, we appeared as tiny as powerless humans. The only difference between this and an actual tornado was that this was an artificial one created by the Tornado Bat, Alvan, and that it stayed still unlike a real tornado. In any case, going into that enormous tornado without any plans was not a very wise thing to do. Large monsters might be okay but humans would definitely be swept away by it. ¡°The Support Team is getting ready. All we have to do is decide on the timing.¡± The leader of this subjugation party was Professor Edgar, and his plan was to separate us into two groups. The Support Team would momentarily nullify the tornado to open up a path for the Combat Team to enter and defeat the Alvan, the core of the tornado. It was a simple yet effective method. Support Team: Marie Dunareff, Lulara Mars, Eriu Casarr, Deina Arianne. Combat Team: Haman Welsch, Orgen Rentree, Edgar Linton, Beazeker, Korin Lork. The Combat Team consisted of 4 knights and 1 mage. ¡°It¡¯s an improvised team so we probably can¡¯t expect the best teamwork but everything will be fine as long as everyone does their job.¡± The party leader was Professor Edgar Linton. As a former Grade 1 mage, he was a Justice of the Peace who traveled across the continent to punish criminals and was an experienced party leader. It was thus quite natural for him to become the party leader of this operation. ¡°Instructor Haman and Professor Orgen ¨C please take the vanguard, and as for Student Korin and Student Beazeker, please stand at the rear.¡± It was a very luxurious party composition. Edgar Linton, an experienced Grade 1 mage and two semi-Grade 1 knights, Old Man Haman and Professor Orgen. And even though Beazeker and I were students, we were both talented enough to be a Grade 1 knight at a young age. While waiting for the Support Team to prepare a spell to deal with the tornado, we had a short moment of silence. ¡°Junior Korin.¡± That was when Beazeker, a 2nd year student, spoke to me. ¡°Hello, Senior Beazeker.¡± He was a bulky giant. The animal leather that he had cast over himself was not big enough to cover his white muscular body. He was , a named character from one of the Ireland barbarian tribes of the north. ¡°Stand behind me. You¡¯ll get in the way.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ sure.¡± I was on the taller side as well but Beazeker was at least double my size. ¡°You are really tall. You are a half-giant, right?¡± ¡°¡­None of your business.¡± Unlike his notorious fame of having a violent temperament and the unique trait of ¡®Berserk¡¯ that his tribe had, Beazeker gave a curt reply. ¡°But Senior Beazeker. Our job in this operation is to be the rearguard.¡± ¡°¡­ I am stronger.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C Glare! He glared at me with stormy blue eyes. He must have thought I was looking down on him or something. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, Senior. The core part of this operation is Professor Edgar. Our job is to protect the rear of these veteran professors.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°And of course, the professors probably won¡¯t allow us to stand at the front, since we are students and they are adults.¡± ¡°That is useless bravado.¡± In a way, he was right. Excluding Professor Edgar, Old Man Haman was already well past his prime and Professor Orgen was a powerful tanker-type like Beazeker but was overall weaker than him. Currently, Beazeker was the strongest one in this party. Even I wouldn¡¯t be able to beat this man without the back-up of my Precepts. ¡°Well, let¡¯s watch on for now. They¡¯re adults and have more experience than us, after all.¡± ¡°¡­Are you treating me like a kid?¡± He definitely did not appear like one, but in my eyes, Beazeker was a high-schooler just like Marie. ¡°But you are, because we have yet to take our coming-of-age ceremony. Ah, of course, I¡¯m talking about how we do it in the kingdom and not your tribe.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Beazeker gazed down at me with a strange light in his eyes. ¡°Looks like they¡¯re about ready. That right there is the large-scale spell of Student Marie.¡± The good-looking blonde middle-aged man, Professor Edgar, lit up his cigar while notifying us of the start of the operation. Before long, a massive magic circle appeared in the distant sky. It was way too enormous to be considered as something created by a single human. That magic circle was so big that it could garner the title of a ¡®grand spell¡¯ just from its sheer size. ¡°Haa¡­ She definitely is unprecedentedly talented.¡± Any spell under the assistance of Marie¡¯s specialty, ¡®Mana Amplification¡¯, had the potential to be as powerful as a grand spell no matter how limited its original output was. That one was one of Marie¡¯s favorite skills, ? Combination Spell ¨C Frost ?, which was amplified endlessly with her mana. Mana started pervading into the enormous tornado of wind and rain. And in less than 1 second¡­ ¨C Crack! Crack crack! The large tornado that appeared out of nowhere ¨C this enormous disaster created at the cost of a Tornado Bat¡¯s vitality, which meteorologists could blabber about how nonsensical it was for a whole day, turned stiff in an instant. Or rather, it was more correct to say that it was frozen stiff. ¡°That is quite literally ¡®magic¡¯.¡± The massive ¡®natural disaster¡¯ that appeared like the materialized form of a god¡¯s wrath turned into ice and became like an avant-garde artwork. ¡°It¡¯s Professor Lulara¡¯s turn.¡± As soon as Professor Edgar finished his sentence, a cluster of mist that flickered like the stars of a night sky flowed into the frozen tornado. ¡°Everyone. Get down.¡± Following his advice, we lowered our bodies and Professor Edgar then created a hemispherical barrier to cover us. As soon as the sparkling things touched the tornado¨C ¨C Kwang! Kwagagang!! A deafening thud roared as the frozen tornado started to explode. That enormous explosion shattered the ice like glass. ¨C Kwang! Kwarururu!! The tornado was so big that the sound of ice shattering down was as noisy as the bombardment of bombers. Seeing the aftermath of that huge explosion, Professor Orgen flinched before asking Old Man Haman a question. ¡°What was Professor Lulara¡¯s alias back when she was an active guardian?¡± ¡°Serial bomber. She used to be notorious for being crazy for bombs.¡± ¡°I asked her out last week and got turned down but¡­ thank goodness.¡± ¡°We are going in.¡± A large hole appeared on the frozen tornado thanks to Professor Lulara¡¯s explosion magic. Following the original plan, the Combat Team entered the tornado by going through the hole. **** ¨C Kajik! ¨C Kaduduk! ¨C Bam! Immediately after entering the tornado, the Combat Team had to face a horde of monsters. They were demonic beasts that ended up being locked inside the tornado after coming here to eat Alvan the Tornado Bat. The semi-large demonic beasts that had been holding their ground with their weight despite the sacrificial tornado of the Alvan immediately pounced at the Combat Team after seeing them. ¡°Guwooooo¡­!¡± A single-eyed giant ran forward while swinging its club. Blocking the attack of that large weapon was an old knight. ¨C Kung! Their clash resulted in a loud thud. The cyclops smirked while imagining the shape of the human that should have now turned into a sludge. ¨C Crack! Crack! Unlike its expectations, however, the club started cracking from the tip and the cyclops could not retrieve its club. Someone stronger than itself was grabbing onto the club from the bottom. ¡°Been a while since I last saw this one-eyed idiot.¡± The one who blocked and clenched on the enormous club after its devastating downward strike was Old Man Haman Welsch. He, who used to be called strong-armed Haman during his youth, was fairly old but his strength still far exceeded that of the one-eyed giant. ¨C Kwang! Haman threw a fist into the air, and the aftershock of his punch struck the cyclops on its left knee. A horrible noise and the deathly scream of the cyclops echoed as the cyclops got down on its knees. Haman kicked on the natural-made club that the cyclops was using to support itself and jested. ¡°You can use this as a walking stick now.¡± ¡°Uwwoooo¡­!¡± A huge man followed from behind. Professor Orgen swung his enormous ax that was longer than 2 meters and struck down on the cyclops¡¯s head. ¨C Kajijik! The head of the one-eyed giant got divided into two like firewood. ¡°Siiiii¡­¡± As soon as the cyclops went down, a gargoyle that had been waiting for an opportunity pounced at the group for an ambush. ¨C Saaaa¡­! ¡°Slice.¡± ¨C Kaduk! The smoke from Professor Edgar¡¯s cigar turned into a sharp blade that immediately slashed past the gargoyle¡¯s neck. ¡°That was clean.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Korin and Beazeker, who were standing behind Professor Edgar to protect his rear, didn¡¯t even get a chance to do anything. Semi-Grade 1 knights, Old Man Haman and Professor Orgen, and Grade 1 mage Professor Edgar were already demolishing all the rampaging demonic beasts while displaying their overwhelming might. ¡°Weaker than expected,¡± commented Beazeker. ¡°Well, these guys were probably locked inside the tornado for days without having any food, and seeing how some of them had scars on their bodies, I guess they were also fighting each other.¡± ¡°¡­You saw all that?¡± Beazeker said while turning to Korin. Considering how Korin used to be a terribly underperforming student until recently, it was commendable that he was taking everything in like a veteran. ¡°Analysis and coming up with a counter-plan is my forte.¡± ¡°That is a good skill.¡± Beazeker openly acknowledged the skills of this freshman student. Because of his appearance, he was often mistaken as a barbaric warrior who only sought power and violence, but he was a more rational person than common misbelief. ¡°But you should always be prepared to move up. The real ones are going to be coming soon.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Korin was right. The demonic beasts that had been sealed inside the tornado frozen by their peer, Marie, had now broken through the ice to flood them from their surroundings. Since they had been able to survive in both this tornado and the Frost spell, they were probably fairly strong. ¡°Sieeee¡­!¡± ¡°A Queen Taratect¡­!¡± Semi-Grade 1 demonic beast, Queen Taratect, was quite obviously a large-type monster. Its size was already a big problem but the scariest part about this monster was that it could spontaneously give birth to babies on the spot. ¨C Papabak! Eggs that the Queen Taratect shot out like cannonballs landed on the ground. Immediately after landing on the ground, the eggs started to crack open as dozens of smaller spider demonic beasts started pouring out from within. An army of spiders was a massive threat to anyone. The spiders competitively raced against each other as if they wanted to defeat more enemies to receive praise from their mother, but that was when the smoke from Professor Edgar¡¯s cigar approached them. As soon as the tiny spiders broke through the layer of smoke to approach the group¡­ ¨C Kieee? ¨C Kiiikk!!? They suddenly fell on the ground with a spasmodic seizure. ¡°There is a small amount of poison in the smoke. Be careful not to touch them,¡± warned Professor Edgar. The alchemic poison inside the smoke was not something that these low-grade demonic beasts could handle. ¨C Siiiiii¡­! ¨C Kiyaaaa¡­! But that was when an orchestra of demonic beasts reverberated from a distance. That was the prelude to the incoming wave of monsters. ¡°About time for the real one!¡± ¡°Korin, Beazeker! Protect Professor Edgar!¡± ¡°Finally, it¡¯s our turn.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± 15 minutes after entering the tornado, Korin laid his hands on his Silver Spear for the first time and so did Beazeker, who clenched on his 2-meter-long greatsword. ¨C Kukaaaak! Monsters suddenly emerged from the ground ¨C the ones that had been hiding underground to avoid the tornado revealed themselves. ¡°Sand Dragoons?¡± Demonic beasts that resembled centipedes with tens of legs simultaneously dashed in at the group. As if they were glad to see fresh meat in front of their eyes after a long period of starvation, they were reckless in their charge. ¨C Kagagak! The fangs of a serpent crushed through the centipedes. Avoiding the tough upper shells of the Sand Dragoons, the spear of the venomous snake slithered through the eyes, mouths and the soft belly of the centipedes. The scavengers that climbed through the walls of hell were stopped by the venom-fanged dragon of the middle world. Using as little aura as possible, Korin stabbed four times in just one breath. His attacks were rapid yet destructive; fast and precise. ¨C Sieeee! ¨C Kyaaak! However, piercing attacks were not enough. The flood of scavengers from all around was difficult for an individual to stand off against. ¡°Huup¡­!¡± But here, the group had a beast, taking in a deep breath before a wide sweep. ¨C Kwaaaaaaa¡­! ¨C Kwaang! Kajijik¡­! ¨C Kaduduk! The gust raged on. Without even bothering to target one specific opponent, the beast slashed every approaching monster and scattered them away in pieces. ¡°Phew~¡± Even though Korin Lork had gone through various battles himself, the violent might of this beast-like warrior was still an impressive sight. It was something that was only possible thanks to his ridiculous strength and his greatsword that reached more than 2 meters in length. Beazeker the Berserker. This half-giant was also sometimes referred to as the Berserk Warrior, but here in this battlefield of slaughter, he was not a berserk warrior and was a rampaging beast himself just like other monsters. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Even the professors including Professor Edgar were marveled at his display of strength. The great prowess of the students that they had left at the rear motivated the professors even more. ¡°We cannot lose to students can we?¡± ¡°I will check how many you killed later on, Professor Orgen. If you got less than the students, then you will have to attend my lessons as well.¡± ¡°I am more worried about you old man.¡± ¡°Haa¡­ Seriously, knights are just¡­¡± In the heat of battle, the five guardians proceeded on through the tornado of demonic beasts. They were aiming for the epicenter of the tornado, and it didn¡¯t take that long for them to reach the center. ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ ¡°I knew it¡­¡± All the party members including Professor Edgar were appalled at the sight before their eyes. Inside the large tornado created by the Alvan that was frozen by Marie¡¯s Frost; at the center of the tornado was another smaller tornado. ¡°Did Alvans have the power to create two tornadoes like this?¡± ¡°It must be because of what we call a maternal instinct. It¡¯s a beast but is still very commendable.¡± ¡°You can come up with that irrational logic later.¡± Across the small tornado, the group spotted the silhouette of a large bat vigilantly staring back at them. After noticing the approach of an enemy, the bat had used up all of its remaining energy to create another tornado in front of it. ¡°Do you think we can push through this?¡± ¡°No. Maybe if we don¡¯t mind having our flesh shredded on the way but¡­¡± ¡°The drawback is too big. There is no need for us to overdo it.¡± After quickly coming to a conclusion, the three professors turned to the sky and fired a flare gun. ¨C Shiiiiiiii~ Boom! Seeing the flare gun pop at the sky, Professor Edgar gave out another order. ¡°We will retreat out of the danger zone.¡± A thunderous thud echoed from the sky as soon as they retreated from the smaller tornado. The sky started to quiver and began to roar while sucking in all the nearby dark clouds. ¨C Kwagang! Kwagagang! Thunderbolts traveled across the dark clouds of the sky. The lightning bolts of the sky started undergoing a strange change as they began to gain a ¡®color¡¯. ¡°¡­Umm, Professor Edgar? Isn¡¯t that a bit¡­¡± ¡°Dangerous, you¡¯re right. Damn it, Professor Deina. She doesn¡¯t know how to control her strength or something¡­! This stupid power-addict!¡± The one creating this strange phenomenon was the lightning mage, Professor Deina. This young witch ¨C in her 40s ¨C who was more well-known for her academic contribution rather than her works as a guardian, was still one of the strongest lightning mages out there. All those beautiful supercells and thunderstorms were on the level of a grand spell. She was a nuker who could bombard powerful spells at once. And the one that she was currently getting ready to fire was ?Red Sprite? ¨C a crimson lightning bolt of destruction that was said to strike down at 1/30th of the speed of light, at roughly 10,000 km/s. ¡°Tch. Let me put up a barrier!¡± Professor Edgar used up all of his remaining mana to create a barrier that protected all the party members. Soon, a red lightning struck the ground. **** The huge bombardment of Professor Deina demolished even the tornado frozen by Marie, leaving the area with a cluster of remains. ¡°This is why I hate mages. Those guys love killing knights or something.¡± ¡°I agree wholeheartedly.¡± Old Man Haman and Professor Orgen stood up on the black, scorched ground with a grumble but that was followed by Professor Edgar¡¯s word of disapproval. ¡°Please do not group us with people like Professor Deina.¡± As a former Justice of the Peace who preferred the smart way around things, Professor Edgar seemed offended by that statement. ¡°Anyway, that settles things. A lightning that big should have destroyed everything in¡ª¡± ¡°Look there.¡± Following the finger of Beazeker who was pointing somewhere, the party members all turned their gazes around as their faces soon crumpled from disbelief. The tornado¡­ was still there. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t it get struck directly by that lightning? How is it still alive?¡± ¡°Wait. Don¡¯t you think the silhouette inside the tornado became even bigger than before?¡± ¡°¡­An evolution.¡± The last words from Korin made everyone close their mouths. Evolution. It was a strange phenomenon that sometimes occurred during the growth and experience process of demons. Rather than simply becoming the alpha entity of a group that would then act as the leader, it was closer to a complete evolution of their species. ¡°Kiyaaaaaaa¡­!¡± The Tornado Bat, Alvan, which had been sacrificing its life for the tornado withstood the lightning strike from Professor Deina and even ended up evolving to a higher species. At this point, it was pretty much the king of lightning and storm. ¡°If that really is because of its maternal instincts¡­ then I really have to say, it¡¯s a really remarkable thing.¡± ¡°Now is not the time for that. We must immediately deal with that!¡± But¡­ how? The small tornado that was created to buy time until its delivery now contained a layer of lightning. Who would ever be able to go through that tornado in one piece? ¡°A frontal breakthrough is not an option.¡± Professor Haman came to a reasonable conclusion. The Alvan had succeeded in withstanding the lightning attack of Professor Deina, and the desperate tornado created at the cost of its life was too risky to break through from the front. Even though everyone still had a secret move up their sleeves, going in right now without any preparation was still very risky. ¡°Let¡¯s back off. Whether it be Professor Deina or Student Marie, I believe we need to borrow someone from the Support Team.¡± No one there was a rookie who was foolish enough to argue against Professor Edgar¡¯s logical opinion. As soon as they were about to give up and retreat for the time being¡­ ¡°You can go.¡± The sharp voice of a blonde-haired professor echoed from somewhere, as someone jumped through the dimension and dug into the center of the tornado. ¨C Kyaahuk¡­! Kururuk¡­ Kurugeeeekk¡­!! From within the pandemonium of storm and lightning, a vengeful and horrendous scream echoed on repeat. The sound of flesh and skin being ripped was evidence that someone was rampaging inside the tornado. ¨C Kaaaaaahh¡­! The sharp tornado of blades threatened to slice through the fragile-looking body of the girl, but even the slicing tornado and the lightning sparks within weren¡¯t able to pierce through the Unbreakable Body. ¨C Drip! Drip! Drops of blood were dripping from the girl, but they were not hers. While dragging the head of the large evolved Alvan that was even bigger than her entire body, the girl wearing nun clothes nonchalantly walked out of the tornado. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Heavenly Yaksha Hua Ran. She asked while gazing at Korin and the party members with the same indifferent look on her face. CH 65 ? Bat Effect (3) ? The Tornado Bat that settled outside the city only gave a small amount of damage to the city itself. Thanks to the early resolution of the matter, only a small portion on the outskirts of the city was damaged. There were a few people who lost their houses because of the storm but¡­ it was within a recoverable level. ¡°Please take your meals! Today, we have potatoes and onion soup!¡± Guardians were commonly viewed as heroes who fought against evil, even more so than the army. Since each and every one of them was superhuman with an overwhelming degree of power, this sense of heroism was unavoidable. Volunteering to give out meals to the victims of this incident was a part of an image-making strategy. ¡°Thank you, Sir Knight!¡± ¡°No worries.¡± The citizens who suddenly ended up becoming homeless lined up and received their giveaway meals. ¡°Can you please give me one more potato, Sister?¡± That person must have been quite hopeful on the inside when asking that question. The clerics of the New Faith were known to be generous not only to their believers, but also to the non-believers. Even though she was wearing chains, which seemed absurd at a glance, Hua Ran still looked like a sister. ¡°Be content with what you have.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± Hearing the cold voice of Hua Ran, the man dejectedly walked away. The meal quantity was set and it was indeed difficult to give out more to a specific individual, but the important thing was not what you say, but how you say it. ¡°Sister Hua Ran? How about you be a bit nicer?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°Since you are doing a volunteer job, why don¡¯t you try to be nicer?¡± ¡°Not like I wanted to.¡± Hua Ran was a guardian but at the same time, she was a probationary nun of the New Faith. Because of that identity of hers, she seemed to be the first to be chosen whenever they lacked volunteers. ¡°¡­Why do you help people?¡± ¡°What is this about all of a sudden?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you would help people without anything in return.¡± It seemed that this girl wasn¡¯t used to the concept of volunteering in a human society. That wasn¡¯t the best thing for a sister to say, though. ¡°A nice society needs to have people helping each other. Helping each other when in need is how you get the society rolling in a healthy manner.¡± ¡°???¡± She had a totally clueless look on her face. Her social skills were the same as the ones she had 3 years ago, it seemed. ¡°You can have a glass of juice on the way back. If you go over~ there, a lady with water-colored hair will give you assistance.¡± ¡°Thank you Sir Knight.¡± ¡°And all these potatoes are supplies from that lady¡¯s family so don¡¯t forget to thank her!¡± ¡°Oh, thank you very much. Miss!¡± ¡°Uun? It¡¯s nothing!¡± While giving out the meals, I decided to teach Hua Ran about society. ¡°When do you think was the beginning of humanity¡¯s civilization?¡± ¡°¡­You are talking like a professor.¡± Anything is fine so please give me an answer¡­ Looking at her sharp and uncooperative attitude, it seemed that even though she was okay with listening, she was not going to actively participate in the conversation. ¡°This is something I heard from somewhere but apparently, the first discovered trace of civilization was when they discovered a broken leg bone that had signs of recovering back to one piece.¡± ¡°¡­¡± As if she wasn¡¯t interested in the topic, she continued placing boiled potatoes on giveaway plates but her ears were pointing in this direction. ¡°In a barbaric society of the survival of the fittest, a broken leg is the same as death. That means you cannot run away from danger, nor can you drink water or hunt for food.¡± That was the same even for a society of animals. A wounded beast was nothing but easy prey for other predators. ¡°But the sign of a recovered leg bone means that someone was helping them until they healed back up. Helping people out when they¡¯re in distress¡­ Apparently, that was the beginning of civilization.¡± ¡°So in the end, it¡¯s because humans are weak.¡± ¡°So you were listening from the start huh!¡± ¡°¡­Be quiet.¡± Her ears were slightly flushed. When you look at her like this, you wouldn¡¯t imagine her as anything other than a cute little girl. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong but in any case, helping each other out was one of the survival tactics of humans. In a way, what we¡¯re doing now is similar to that right?¡± I think that was quite a logical explanation as to why we should help people who lost their houses from the tornado. ¡°That means nothing to me. No one is going to be helping me anyway.¡± ¡°I can help you,¡± I replied. ¡°¡­¡± Hua Ran turned and looked at me with her crimson eyes for the first time in a while. ¡°Don¡¯t say random things in your mind. You¡¯re weak.¡± She said with a cold gaze as if she did not need my help. However, I did not miss the faint quiver in her eyes. Now that the food distribution was over, I gave soup to the last person standing in the line and gave one of the leftover potatoes to Hua Ran. ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± Her piercing gaze was very cold. You know, even though I look like this, this oppa is quite worried about you so please don¡¯t look at me like that. In the empty plot of land next to the food-distributing tables were kids of the families that lost their houses energetically playing around with themselves. It seemed that kids had the positive power to safely pass through this depressing turn of events. ¡°Guys! This sister here is saying she¡¯ll be playing with you guys!¡± ¡°What are you¡­!¡± ¡°Hua Ran, go play some soccer with those kids. Make sure to hold back¡­!¡± ¡°Sister! Are you playing with us?¡± ¡°Wow. Look at those chains. They¡¯re so cool!¡± ¡°You¡­!¡± ¡°Well then, see you later.¡± Bidding farewell, I left behind Hua Ran who soon got surrounded by the kids. Her nun clothes were definitely effective at closing the distance with kids. ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ I was drinking instant coffee on a bench when Master Erin came up to me. ¡°Are you doing fine?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, of course.¡± Master Erin sat on the bench. I offered coffee to her, who was wearing the mask of the young man called Chairman Eriu. ¡°Seems that you are a very considerate young man.¡± ¡°I hear that often.¡± ¡°Huhu¡­¡± Even though the fake body created with a rune stone did not need to eat anything, there was the necessity to disguise it as a real person. ¡°Hua Ran¡­¡± She turned to the empty plot of land in the middle of her speech. On the field was a girl wearing nun clothes kicking a ball around with kids from families that lost their houses to the tornado. It was evident that she was involuntarily forced into playing with the kids, but she seemed quite intrigued by the sport itself. On top of that, she was also holding herself back just fine. ¡°How much do you know about that child?¡± ¡°I heard she was a living Jiangshi.¡± Just like Marie, Hua Ran¡¯s exact identity had also been announced to the public even though it was actually possible to hide their traits. My master Erin was the one who disclosed their identities without hiding them. Although it was partially because she wanted a transparent academy, it was also probably because she wanted those who were viewed with prejudice as demons to commute to the Academy with pride. Beazeker, who received half of his genes from a giant, a demonic beast, Vampire Marie Dunareff, Living Jiangshi from the eastern continent, Hua Ran. The three of them coming to the Academy without hiding their identities was because of my Master¡¯s conviction that demi-humans should also be able to study as students. ¡°When I was bringing that child from the eastern continent, there were many objections. In fact, there are still a lot of people that are not happy with her.¡± Even when Marie became a vampire, Master had to visit the Tower of Mages, the Old Faith and the royal court to prove that Marie was a safe existence. Considering how the Heavenly Yaksha had destroyed one of the castles of the eastern continent, it was hard to imagine all the objections she would have had to face during the admission. ¡°She hurt many people and made big mistakes. Both Clara and other professors called her dangerous.¡± Master said while composedly gazing at me. It appeared that she was asking me for my opinion. ¡°Ohh~. Look, she scored a goal.¡± We turned to Hua Ran who kicked the ball into the goal post. She had an annoyed look on her face, but her lips were in a faint curve. ¡°Is it important that they¡¯re pure humans, halves, or demons? As long as they can help people, worry about them and laugh together¡­¡± Looking at how she was carefully controlling her power so that the kids wouldn¡¯t be hurt by the ball she kicked¡­ it was safe to say that her innate personality was definitely quite good. ¡°Then that¡¯s more than enough.¡± ¡°¡­¡± That was all there was to it. ¡°You are quite a sentimental child for Valtazar¡¯s disciple, aren¡¯t you.¡± ¡°Huhahaha.¡± I am your disciple after all. **** ¡°Huu~!¡± After a long stretch to relax my muscles which became stiff from standing up the whole time, I turned my gaze to Hua Ran. ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± During lunch, we gave away meals and in the afternoon, we had to remove the remains of the buildings that were destroyed by the tornado. It was a purely physical job so Marie wasn¡¯t with us and we had to do manual labor for hours on end. ¡°Should we go get dinner?¡± ¡°¡­Sushi.¡± We were now close enough to discuss the dinner menu together without reserve. It was quite the progress compared to the last iteration. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Is it okay?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about Chairman and Senior Professor, it¡¯s okay. I told them we might have dinner outside today.¡± They were probably confident anyway that they could immediately locate Hua Ran as long as she stayed inside the city. ¡°So, let¡¯s go get some sushi.¡± ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Like that, we decided on the menu but Hua Ran let out a short lament. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°My wallet¡­ I didn¡¯t bring it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it buddy. I will buy it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± We usually split our bill when I was eating with Hua Ran. It was great that she wanted to pay for herself but I got to save all my property thanks to her. Huu¡­ thinking about all those gold coins that I could have lost because of that Tornado Bat still gave me goosebumps. And by the way, the half-destroyed corpse of the Tornado Bat was to be split equally to everyone that was there including Hua Ran. Professor Deina, who was short on money, was in tears after seeing the smushed corpse of the bat. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go! I will buy you the most expensive otoro1 out there!¡± ¡°¡­Otoro.¡± Been a while since I¡¯ve last been to a sushi restaurant. Let¡¯s go hear that ¡®Irasshaimase¡¯2! ¡ºWe are closed for today.¡» ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ Hua Ran and Korin returned to the special dormitory and walked into the dark building. ¡°No one¡¯s here.¡± Josephine was probably still working and Marie said she would be meeting her friends after the volunteer work so she would be home late. Hua Ran was greatly disappointed by the sushi restaurant that was closed for today and felt like immediately going to sleep in her room but was stopped by the boy. ¡°Let me cook something for you.¡± She was stopped from having otoro, so would his dishes be able to make up for that disappointment? Hua Ran wanted to turn him down but¡­ ¡°I should probably make a bit more for Senior Marie and Lady Josephine while I¡¯m at it.¡± Without even waiting for her reply, Korin headed to the kitchen and it was too late for Hua Ran to say anything. ¡°Haa¡­¡± Hua Ran didn¡¯t bother following him into the kitchen just to turn him down. In fact, it was also true that she was hungry and so it would be a fairly logical choice to wait for him to bring something that could satiate her hunger. If he was going to cook something, then there was no reason not to wait. ¡°Meat.¡± She whispered to herself in an inaudible voice. Last time it was terribly disappointing when he cooked nothing but a bunch of fried oden, stir-fried anchovies, and spinach. It was because he had the habit of cooking side dishes in large bulks due to living alone for a long time but Hua Ran had no way of knowing that. Since she couldn¡¯t have otoro, he had to cook something that was at least about 40% as delicious as otoro otherwise¡­ ¡®Maybe 30% is okay.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t a professional chef, so she decided to be more lenient. Unconsciously, Hua Ran was more magnanimous with Korin today and frankly, it was because the words of the boy had shaken her heart a little. ¡ºI can help you.¡» It sounded like a promise that he would help her whenever she needed help, but she was most likely assigning too much meaning to a random sentence he threw out. She was a living Jiangshi ¨C a being closer to a demonic beast that was created from a living human. The wish of her ¡®father¡¯, The greed of her neighbors, The officials, And the emperor¡­ Would the boy be able to say the same thing even after laying his hands on the Jiangshi called Heavenly Yaksha? The monster that everyone wished to control to satisfy their greed? ¡°Nonsense.¡± Hua Ran knew ¨C because she knew of her innate evil nature, she all the more denied the words of the boy. Oblivious to her internal turmoil, Korin continued cooking inside the kitchen. ¡º Hua, you are a monster. ¡» If he knew about her past and her true nature, would he be able to show his back like what he was doing right now? ¡°Stupid.¡± Letting out a ruthless remark, Hua Ran stayed alone in the darkness. Her eyes were fixed on the dazzling back of the boy inside the bright kitchen. ¡®Give it back! Hua¡­! Give me back my body!¡¯ ¡°Uhk¡­!¡± Her head throbbed in pain. It was here again. ¡®It¡¯ was still flailing around without giving up. ¡°Be quiet¡­ This is mine. This is my body.¡± She knew better than anyone else how this was not her body. ¡°I will not give it back to you.¡± ¡­If you knew about this, would you still help ¡®me¡¯?