Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 105

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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 105
The game I possessed is fundamentally an academy story.
As academy stories go, the exam was the most important main event.
During the Midterm Exam period, all sorts of problems arose.
In the game, problems appeared out of nowhere, but now this is reality, not a game.
The villains wouldn’t suddenly appear through spatial displacement, so they were probably already inside the school.
Which meant—
‘I could clean them up first.’
During the Midterm Exam, all eyes would naturally be drawn there. If I took care of things beforehand, I wouldn’t draw attention.
That’s why I’d volunteered for Night Patrol.
Night Patrol was perfect for catching villains hiding throughout the academy.
That was the plan anyway—
“The Security Corps patrols gather in front of Headquarters and receive patrol assignments from Unit 8’s commander.”
At Milo’s explanation, I squinted.
“Receive assignments?”
“Yes, Unit 8’s commander Padurin decides where we patrol.”
“But I have a specific place I need to patrol.”
“Do you think patrolling is just a casual walk? Seriously.”
Ludrick smirked openly.
“If you get paid to take a stroll, that’s what I call patrol.”
“……Padurin’s famous for being strict. He won’t make exceptions for anyone.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Then there’s no choice.”
“No choice? What do you mean?”
Ludrick squinted and asked back.
“First, let’s go meet Ma-Padu—”
“Ma-Padu? It’s Padurin.”
“Never mind the details.”
When we stepped out in front of Security Headquarters, I could see the Security Corps lined up in a long formation.
Some were yawning, others stretching—it looked exactly like a military roll call.
I’d become famous in the Security Corps by now. After all, I’d knocked out about a third of them in a betting match.
When I moved, the officers parted and gave way.
Some of them even saluted me.
Ludrick watched me with a squint.
“I’m just a bit capable, you see.”
I laughed lightly and moved forward.
At the very end stood Padurin, the commander of Unit 8, which handled patrol duties.
Padurin was a man with a rigid jaw and a thick nose.
Just as Ludrick said, he looked like he wouldn’t compromise on anything.
I approached Padurin.
“You lot take the back gate area—. Hmm.”
Padurin, who’d been assigning patrol zones to other officers, trailed off when he saw me.
Blood rushed to his rigid jaw.
“Volunteer.”
“That’s right. I have a specific place I want to patrol.”
“……You have a specific patrol zone you want?”
Padurin asked as if he couldn’t believe his ears.
I nodded lightly.
“Yeah. Problem?”
Padurin stiffened slightly under my gaze. After a brief silence, he nodded.
“Tonight’s Night Patrol assignments are already perfectly distributed. We don’t need additional support. In fact, adding more would just tangle the routes. You lot conduct free patrol. Just don’t get in the way.”
Padurin touched his mustache as he spoke. His words sounded plausible enough, but ultimately he was just saying do whatever you want.
He seemed worried I might cause trouble and lose his unit.
“That works?”
I glanced at Ludrick.
Ludrick gave a soft cough and avoided my eyes.
Soon Milo brought a Lamp. It was so old and rusty—reeking of oil—that you couldn’t even guess how long it had been in use.
“Three to one group, one per person. Usually the youngest carries it—”
Milo glanced at Ludrick. Ludrick’s eyes crumpled.
“Ahem, I’ll carry it this time. So where do we go?”
At Milo’s question, I answered lightly.
“First, let’s catch a demon.”
“……Huh? What did you say we’d catch?”
“A demon.”
Milo’s face went pale.
Ludrick snorted.
“Elysium Academy’s security is top-tier. Not even a single Dark Mage can get in without permission, let alone a demon.”
“Want to bet? On whether there’s a demon or not?”
“……I’m done betting.”
“Getting scared?”
“I’m not scared—”
“Totally scared.”
I tried to provoke him, but Ludrick avoided my gaze while chewing something. He wasn’t falling for it twice.
Apparently, he’d learned his lesson.
“Senior! Let’s bet together!”
Milo quickly raised his hand. Since there was nothing to gain from him, I shook my head.
“Never mind.”
“Ah, yes—”
Milo’s eyebrows drooped.
I waved my hand lightly.
“Let’s make a loop around the Prayer Halls near the Main Gate. That’s where the demon will be.”
“What? In the Prayer Hall?”
This time even Milo couldn’t help but object.
“Isn’t the Prayer Hall the last place a demon would want to go?”
“People generally think so.”
“Exploiting the gap in expectations. Ah, I see!”
Milo clapped as if impressed.
Ludrick stepped back, as if this had nothing to do with him.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes—. I’ll guide us.”
The academy at night was extremely dark. The Headmaster had hidden the moon. Even with Magical Devices as street lamps placed throughout, there were limits.
The Lamp that Milo carried rattled precariously, casting trembling light into the darkness.
The lamp’s glow brushed across Ludrick. He looked even more sinister in the light.
‘Volcan had a Fragment of Outer God.’
I muttered to myself while looking at Ludrick.
Scarlet saw illusions of Charlotte, so Ludrick probably had a Fragment of Outer God embedded in him as well.
It was safe to assume that all members of Class 42 had Fragments of Outer Gods.
‘Milo didn’t have one.’
I’ve been training Milo every morning.
If Milo had a Fragment of Outer God, I would have felt it during training.
‘……Did someone take Milo’s Fragment of Outer God?’
That would explain why Milo had no memory of entering a Chasm.
In any case, there was a high probability that Ludrick had a Fragment of Outer God as well.
To confirm it, I’d need direct contact, but there was a risk of carelessly stimulating the Fragment during the process.
If that happened, I might end up facing an Apostle of the Outer God again.
Confronting an Apostle of the Outer God right now carried too much risk.
Volcan, the most urgent among Class 42, had already succeeded in removing his Fragment of Outer God.
And I could lower my own Corruption Level through Evangeline’s quest.
There was no reason to rush.
For now, gathering Fragments of Outer Gods to raise my own rank came first.
Of course, that didn’t mean I had to just watch and wait.
I opened my mouth, thinking I’d probe Ludrick a bit.
“You feeling okay, Ludrick? Any discomfort?”
“You’re asking like a senior.”
“I’m asking as a senior to a junior. If there’s anything bothering you, speak up. By the way, I hear Volcan has nightmares every night.”
“I don’t dream.”
I’d dangled the bait with Volcan, but Ludrick cut me off decisively.
Hmm, maybe I need to throw something bigger.
“And Scarlet apparently sees illusions of Charlotte.”
When Scarlet’s name came up, Ludrick’s eyes went cold.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
From his reaction, it seemed he already knew.
“Just saying, if you have that kind of problem too, I can help.”
“I don’t.”
Ludrick spoke curtly. He even turned his head away, as if unwilling to say more.
‘Stubborn bastard.’
It didn’t matter. The night was long.
Especially tonight would be even longer.
“We’ve arrived.”
Milo pointed to the building ahead.
There stood a pure white building with a pointed roof.
It was a Prayer Hall.
The Church was the largest patron of Elysium Academy.
Thanks to that, there were Prayer Halls like this scattered throughout Elysium Academy.
Since they weren’t very large, they were more commonly called prayer rooms.
“Is there really a demon in there?”
Milo asked while rolling up his sleeves. Despite the question, he was already preparing for combat.
I stared silently at the Prayer Hall.
It was an ordinary Prayer Hall like any other in the academy.
As I approached the Prayer Hall, there was no particular reaction from my right chest.
“Not this one. Let’s move on.”
“Yes, I’ll guide us to the next Prayer Hall.”
Milo quickly nodded.
We moved to the next Prayer Hall.
This one also produced no particular reaction.
After checking two more Prayer Halls—
Thump.
My right chest began beating roughly. Like a starving wolf that caught the scent of blood—
“This one.”
I spoke while forcibly suppressing the urge.
“Yes, understood.”
Milo immediately loosened up. An Aura shimmered across his fists.
He looked genuinely excited.
“You two stay here.”
“Huh?! I’m coming too.”
“The enemy is a Dark Mage who summons demons. You’d just be dead weight.”
“Understood—”
I spoke firmly. Milo’s shoulders sagged.
He looked just like a wet puppy.
“He might try to flee, so catch anyone who runs.”
“Leave it to me! I’ll fight for real!”
Milo quickly recovered his spirits. He really was simple-minded.
Ludrick chewed with an indifferent expression. He seemed not to believe my words.
I didn’t particularly care.
I loosened up and headed toward the Prayer Hall.
The closer I got to the Prayer Hall, the fiercer the beating in my right chest became.
I carefully checked the outer walls of the Prayer Hall.
There were windows, but they were covered from inside. Being such a small Prayer Hall, there was only one door.
As I drew near the Prayer Hall, I heard a holy chant.
I slowly pushed open the Prayer Hall’s front door. The rusty door creaked open with a sharp sound.
Inside, a service was taking place.
A middle-aged man in a priest’s robe and six others were seated.
“May I help you?”
The middle-aged man in the priest’s robe looked at me and asked.
The rest of the group turned to look at me as well.
The expressions of those who saw my uniform twisted.
I was just treated as a common security officer.
Thump, thump.
The beating in my right chest confirmed that there was a Dark Mage among them.
In the game, there was typically one Dark Mage per Prayer Hall.
But the beating alone didn’t tell me who the Dark Mage was among them. I needed to flush them out.
The problem was that Dark Mages are as cunning as assassins.
They wouldn’t reveal themselves with any ordinary method.
“We received a report that someone here was summoning demons without permission, engaging in dark and suspicious practices.”
I deliberately brought up demons.
If I mentioned demons, the Dark Mage would show some reaction.
A reaction did come, as expected.
But—
“Tsk, a security guard. Die.”
I didn’t expect him to reveal himself so readily.
The middle-aged man pointed his finger at me and hurled a black Curse my way.
All that from a single word—wasn’t that too quick to strike?
‘Must be because I’m wearing the security uniform.’
Wasn’t it a classic trope in this game—the security guard who finds something strange dies first, raising the sense of danger?
I gazed at my blue security uniform with satisfaction and traced a Holy Sign.
Pure white light rose from my hand, easily burning through the Curse.
“A priest.”
Usually, when a Dark Mage sees a priest, they panic, but this man had composure.
I could tell why immediately.
“Gate Opening.”
A dark crimson magic circle formed beneath the middle-aged man.
Normally, the Dark Mages that appear during the Midterm Exam are high-ranked.
The Curse this man had just fired was indeed high-ranked level.
So how was a high-ranked Dark Mage using Gate Opening, a High-rank Dark Magic technique?
‘Round Table of Truth.’
The Dark Mage I’d met when saving Leon on the train back then was low-ranked but could use Gate Opening.
This one seemed to be from the same organization.
The Round Table of Truth, which normally appeared in the middle stages, was already showing up—
And not just one.
Dark crimson magic circles spread throughout the Prayer Hall.
‘An experience point event.’
I smiled and adjusted my Security Staff.
Tonight looked like it would be quite long.

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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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