Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 100

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 100
The Crown Prince was a man convinced he was the world’s protagonist.
It was a rather arrogant notion, but the Crown Prince had his reasons.
His supreme status as Crown Prince, his handsome face renowned as the most beautiful on the continent, and his Swordsmanship talent that surpassed even the Emperor—the Empire’s greatest swordsman.
Everything was perfect except for his character.
It was only natural that the Crown Prince thought of himself as the protagonist.
But precisely because of this, the Crown Prince was insufferably arrogant.
If someone wasn’t worth his notice, he wouldn’t even remember their name.
Whether students or professors, few managed to lodge themselves in his memory.
And yet, this Crown Prince—
“Grave, was it?”
For him to recall my name—a mere Security Corps member—was decidedly extraordinary.
The reason was obvious enough.
‘It’s because I beat him in Drakoff’s lecture.’
The Crown Prince was the very embodiment of competitive fervor.
A man so consumed by the desire to win that he would cut even his lover’s throat with his own hands.
He clearly harbored a grudge over losing the presentation to me in Drakoff’s class.
I could tell just by looking at the book in his hand.
The thick tome’s cover bore the title “High-rank Dark Magic.”
High-rank Dark Magic was something only Black Magic majors learned in their final semester.
Studying High-rank Dark Magic just because he lost once to me—
‘Truly the Male Lead.’
The game I’d transmigrated into was a Romance Fantasy Academy Story.
As a result, all the Male Lead candidates possessed top-tier talent.
Even though I’d warned Evangeline they were dangerous, I couldn’t eliminate the Male Lead candidates.
We needed them to face the Foreign Gods.
Yet even among those Male Leads, the Crown Prince stood apart.
Killian, the Magic Tower’s successor, had S+ Magic, but his other stats maxed out at A+.
The Crown Prince, however, had S+ Aura with all his other stats at S-rank.
It wasn’t for nothing that the Crown Prince ranked highest among Male Lead candidates.
At that moment, the Crown Prince looked me up and down.
“Seems you have a permit for the Central Library.”
He evidently believed I’d beaten him by studying Black Magic there.
I glanced carefully behind me.
Milo was guarding Evangeline and Andy.
Fortunately, Evangeline had already put on her Glasses.
For now, the crisis had passed. As I turned to retreat—
“Why is Gate Opening called Gate Opening?”
The Crown Prince suddenly lobbed a question about Black Magic at me.
It seemed he wouldn’t wait for the next presentation; he wanted to settle this here and now.
I’d beaten the Crown Prince in class to prevent the Republic’s magical-stone terrorist attack.
Stimulating his competitive nature could accelerate his growth, but—
‘There’s no need to do that right now.’
I gave a slight shake of my head.
“I’m not sure.”
“A demon manifests through the contractor’s body as a conduit.”
The corner of the Crown Prince’s mouth lifted slightly.
“Your turn. Ask away.”
The Crown Prince gestured at me. I posed an easy question, and he answered it effortlessly.
The Crown Prince posed another question.
“The principle behind Weakness?”
“I don’t know.”
“It weakens the link between an opponent’s body and soul.”
“Impressive.”
At my praise, the Crown Prince nodded.
His demeanor was quite insufferable, but that preposterous beauty made him seem noble.
Compared to training Evangeline, indulging the Crown Prince was nothing.
The Crown Prince seemed to be losing interest.
“Now, the next stage after Gate Opening—Inverse Heaven. Why is it called Inverse Heaven?”
Just then—
Ding.
[Sudden Quest] Beat the irritating Crown Prince!
Objective: Beat the Crown Prince.
A translucent window materialized.
It was Evangeline’s quest.
When I glanced at it, I caught sight of Evangeline glaring at me.
She had her eyes wide open—a look that said not to lose to this guy.
‘Now the circumstances change.’
The quest I’d barely managed to secure through a struggle with Evangeline had just arrived this easily.
That this quest came so readily was surprising.
‘Using this opportunity to redirect the Crown Prince’s attention to me is worthwhile too.’
The Crown Prince was the worst among Male Lead candidates.
A third of Evangeline’s Sad Endings stemmed from him alone.
I needed to separate the Crown Prince from Evangeline by any means.
The method was simple enough.
‘Stimulate the Crown Prince’s competitive nature.’
If I stirred his desire to win, he’d have no mental energy left for Evangeline.
“Inverse Heaven is called that because it defies natural order to summon a demon directly into manifestation.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
The Crown Prince’s eye twitched slightly—apparently he hadn’t expected me to know.
“Your turn.”
“The side effects of Gate Opening?”
The Crown Prince couldn’t answer.
Of course he couldn’t.
Black Magic texts never discussed the side effects of Black Magic.
“It wasn’t written anywhere.”
“So you only ask based on what’s in the books? How trivial.”
At my provocation, the Crown Prince let out a short scoff.
“Fair point. Understood.”
The Crown Prince nodded reluctantly.
I watched him and asked another question.
“Then, next question. What are the side effects of Inverse Heaven?”
Naturally, the Crown Prince couldn’t answer this time either.
“Let me go easier, then. What disadvantage does a Dark Mage incur from a contract with a demon?”
It was an elementary question, yet the Crown Prince still couldn’t respond.
Because he wasn’t a Dark Mage.
“I concede.”
Ding!
Sudden Quest “Beat the irritating Crown Prince!” cleared! Rewards have been distributed.
Corruption Level has decreased slightly.
The Crown Prince didn’t say something like “That’s invalid.”
Such behavior wouldn’t befit his dignity.
Instead—
“We’re changing subjects.”
The Crown Prince drew his sword.
I stepped back hastily. His blade whistled past my throat.
The man just drew a sword on me for losing a mere quiz.
‘Truly obsessed with victory, this one.’
Then the Crown Prince’s lips curved upward—not carelessly, but not with authority either. A perfectly composed smile.
“I’m tired of Black Magic. We’ll move to Swordsmanship now.”
The Crown Prince spoke nonchalantly while adjusting his grip. His eyes had already glazed over with fervor.
There was no stopping him at this point.
‘I ought to see what the Crown Prince is truly capable of.’
I adjusted my grip on the Security Staff.
“Care to make a wager?”
“I don’t engage in wagers.”
The Crown Prince pointed his sword at me and added,
“There’s nothing you could possess that I lack.”
It was absurdly arrogant rhetoric, but he meant every word.
I clucked my tongue in disappointment and struck first with the Security Staff.
The Crown Prince withdrew, as though he’d anticipated it.
It was textbook perfect technique.
This is what a Knight’s manual would look like—
But unfortunately, this wasn’t a duel between Knights.
My foot drove precisely into the Crown Prince’s solar plexus.
It must have hurt considerably, yet he neither gasped nor grimaced.
The Crown Prince merely adjusted his stance. It differed subtly from before.
His original posture had been pure orthodoxy, but now his center sat lower.
‘He’s learned from watching me.’
Since I’d shown it openly, he could copy it.
Stance is intuitive to observe, after all.
But the Crown Prince hadn’t simply mimicked my stance.
He’d extracted precisely the parts he needed and adapted them to himself.
I’d learned what I knew through experience earned in the trenches, yet from a single glance he was applying it to suit his own needs—
‘Truly a genius among geniuses.’
He lived up to the title of the greatest talent since the Empire’s founding.
However—
‘He’s lacking.’
I narrowed my eyes and moved the Security Staff.
The Crown Prince’s blade and my staff crossed.
The Crown Prince didn’t resort to fists or kicks as I did.
Instead, he drove the sword deeper.
Should I use fists or feet, he’d simply press his weight down.
In a single exchange, he’d already grasped how to counter cheap tricks.
But there was one thing the Crown Prince hadn’t accounted for.
My strength rivaled that of a Barbarian.
I poured power into my grip on the staff.
The Crown Prince’s blade, braced against my kicks, slid downward—
The Crown Prince desperately added force to his sword, but it was already too late.
Crack. The Security Staff raked across the Crown Prince’s shoulder.
The Crown Prince lurched forward heavily, yet even so, he kept his spine straight.
The Crown Prince looked at me and readjusted his grip. His stance had transformed yet again.
He’d grown again in that instant.
His learning ability and talent were truly astounding.
However—
“Is that all there is?”
He fell conspicuously short of my expectations.
The Crown Prince was the most central character among Male Lead candidates.
He was the most exceptional among them.
Yet this was all he could muster.
No, the Crown Prince wasn’t weak.
‘My standards have simply become too high.’
Experience earned in the trenches had elevated my expectations.
But I couldn’t afford complacency.
The enemies I’d face going forward would be stronger than those in the trenches, if not weaker.
The Crown Prince was the only one with potential to become a Sword Saint.
That someone with such potential had developed only to this extent was catastrophic.
I needed to accelerate the Crown Prince’s growth.
The method wouldn’t differ much.
‘Stimulate the Crown Prince’s competitive nature.’
The Crown Prince was obsessed with victory.
He’d taken up High-rank Dark Magic just because he fell behind me in Black Magic.
Stoking his competitive fire would hasten his development.
The problem was the risk involved—
‘No choice.’
This game can’t be cleared without taking risks.
Besides, stimulating the Crown Prince’s desire to win would incidentally redirect his attention from Evangeline as well.
The key was that I couldn’t win halfheartedly.
If I did, the Crown Prince would persist in pestering me.
If I was going to win, I had to win decisively.
To a degree where he wouldn’t dare challenge me unless his strength improved significantly—
‘Overwhelming him.’
I had something perfect for that.
I adjusted my grip on the Security Staff.
* * *
Milo was beginning to understand Grave’s temperament.
Grave rarely initiated conflict. Of course, there were exceptions, but his targets were almost always people who deserved the beating.
In any case, Grave didn’t start fights.
But if someone initiated one with him, he’d throw a punch regardless of their station.
Security Corps member, squad leader, teaching assistant, even professors—Grave didn’t hold back.
But even so—
‘……The Crown Prince too?’
Milo released a low whistle watching Grave wield the Security Staff against the Crown Prince.
Yet the dynamic was different from when Grave fought others.
Grave exchanged blows with the Crown Prince precisely one move at a time. It resembled instruction.
The more surprising thing was the Crown Prince himself.
‘His strength is growing that fast?’
The Crown Prince never fell victim to the same technique twice.
Instead, he learned from it, applied it to himself, and even refined it further.
His growth was visible to the naked eye.
‘A monster.’
Such talent inspired no jealousy—only awe.
The title “greatest talent since the Empire’s founding” seemed no exaggeration.
Then Grave’s posture underwent a sudden change. His spine straightened, his blade pointing forward honestly.
Just like the Crown Prince’s.
“What are you doing?”
Instead of answering, Grave thrust the Security Staff forward.
A straight, direct thrust.
Honest in its simplicity, but terrifyingly fast because of it.
The Crown Prince couldn’t block it and took the blow.
The Crown Prince scrambled to regain his stance, but Grave’s staff moved first.
Tap, tap. The staff drummed across the Crown Prince’s body.
It was the Crown Prince’s own Swordsmanship.
Grave seemed to be speaking to the Crown Prince through his technique.
‘Am I the only genius here?’
Milo offered a silent prayer for the Crown Prince’s wellbeing.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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