Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 18

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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 18
‘A Rift.’
I muttered, staring straight ahead.
Not magic, not dark magic—a warped, impossible monochrome, an undeniable Rift.
The game I’d possessed was already absurdly difficult by default. Since it was hard mode of that already broken game, I’d figured Rifts might open faster than before.
But I hadn’t expected one to open this soon.
‘A Rift opens right after the opening ceremony?’
A Rift is a passage connecting to an Outer Deity. If one had opened, it meant the Outer Deity was drawing closer than ever.
“A Rift—!! Damn it! Students have been caught in the Rift!!”
My thoughts shattered at Mailo’s cry.
Mailo was practically convulsing. His reaction was more frantic than when the Headmaster had flown away.
I stared calmly at the Rift. It was still small.
“So, it’s not opening?”
Mailo twitched his face as he asked. I nodded lightly.
“Not ripe yet.”
“……What?”
“Not ripe, I said.”
Mailo blinked stupidly. Then his brow furrowed sharply.
“Not ripe? What is this, a mango? Damn it! Time is everything with a Rift! I’m going in right now!”
“Understood.”
“……Usually someone tries to stop me at this point?”
“Why bother?”
“What? You son of a—.”
Mailo scratched his head irritably and bolted toward the Rift. His face was full of dread.
For elite Guard Corps members, a Rift is a hell with near-zero survival rates. Yet there was not a shred of hesitation in Mailo’s stride as he ran toward it.
“Ningiri! Golden-haired beauty!!”
With a strange battle cry, Mailo vanished into the Rift.
The Rift that swallowed Mailo grew deeper still.
Rifts are cursed for two reasons.
First, their difficulty is brutally, absurdly punishing. Second, you can’t know the internal properties until you enter.
Even a Sword Master can die if they’re not careful. That’s why I’d distributed my Stats rather than dump them into one attribute.
In exchange, the clear reward was certain.
‘Fragments of an Outer Deity.’
When you clear a Rift, you obtain a Fragment of an Outer Deity.
Right now, I was stuck in a state so solid I couldn’t break through even with twelve years of tutorials. But with a Fragment of an Outer Deity, I could shatter that ceiling.
Of course, the Fragment is dangerous, but sadly I’m not in a position to be choosy. Besides, there are ways to prevent side effects later.
The monochrome shimmer swelled and shrank like a pulsing heartbeat.
‘This looks delicious.’
I flexed my fingers.
* * *
“Let go!”
“You let go first!”
“No! You let go first!”
“We count to three and release at the same time! One! Two! Three—!”
“Why aren’t you letting go!”
“You didn’t let go either!”
“This time I really will! One, two—.”
“Three!”
Andy released Evangeline’s hair and pulled away. Evangeline let go of Andy’s hair a moment too late.
Ugh, seriously! Andy irritably brushed off her hands. Pink strands of hair floated down.
“Pfft! Don’t mess around.”
Evangeline laughed as she dusted off her hands.
Hair-pulling with Evangeline—how pathetic. Andy, feeling a wave of self-loathing, hurriedly changed the subject.
“So, this is the Maze?”
“Yeah, it’s the Maze. Can’t you see?”
“See what?”
“This! Can’t you see?”
Evangeline confidently pointed above her head.
It was empty air. There was nothing.
“What are you talking about.”
“There’s a semi-transparent barrier here, right? The property is Aura-based, and we have to catch Von Derck to escape?”
Even now, joking around, Evangeline made Andy feel deeply exasperated. But she swallowed her anger.
The other party was Evangeline. Getting mad would only hurt her own position.
“Step back. I’m going to deploy Detection Magic.”
“That won’t work.”
“Won’t work?”
“It says the property is Aura-based. Magic gets hit with a debuff instead.”
Ignoring Evangeline’s strange claim, Andy irritably waved her hand and began moving her Mana. The Mana scattered along her fingers. Detection Magic.
Andy’s Detection Magic was normally wide-range enough to scan an entire castle at once. That’s why she deployed it with confidence.
But the Detection Magic didn’t work. Or rather, it deployed, but couldn’t penetrate the corridor.
Andy frantically checked her incantation.
The incantation was flawless. The Detection Magic had definitely deployed. But it scattered the moment it touched the corridor.
Like when it touched a Knight’s Aura.
“I told you it wouldn’t work.”
Andy had nothing to say to Evangeline’s reproach. The magic really had failed.
“This way!”
Then Evangeline stepped forward with overflowing confidence. Andy frantically grabbed her.
“How do you know anything?”
“Didn’t I tell you! Just! I’ve got a feeling!”
“A feeling? Come on. If it’s really a Maze, moving around carelessly is dangerous. A rescue team could come from the Academy. If we move for no reason, things could get complicated. We should just wait here and—”
“No, we can’t stay here.”
For the first time, Evangeline spoke with a serious expression.
Seeing the usually carefree Evangeline go expressionless somehow gave Andy chills. Just as Andy was about to say something—.
Clink, clack.
A small sound echoed from somewhere distant. It sounded like something dragging across the ground, but it felt instinctively ominous.
If that got closer, things would go very, very wrong.
“Run.”
Evangeline whispered softly. Andy nodded quickly.
Both of them bolted at once. Then—.
Clink, clack. Clink, clack.
The sound accelerated.
Andy ran desperately, choking back a scream.
After how much running, a problem emerged.
“A fork in the path!”
And it split into five ways. Each one was dark and shadowed like a gate to hell.
Clink, clack. Clink, clack.
The sound drew steadily closer.
Andy looked urgently at Evangeline. Unfortunately, Evangeline was all she had to rely on.
“Wait! Uhhhhh—. Okay! I got it! This way!”
Evangeline pointed to the left path.
Was this right? Andy had doubts, but there was no choice. They ran again.
After running like that for a while—the sharp sound was no longer heard.
‘Her feeling was actually right?’
Even garbage has a use—. Andy looked at Evangeline with fresh eyes.
But Evangeline’s expression wasn’t good.
“Hmm, I’m sure this was the right way.”
“Why the face?”
“This is definitely the right way. But—.”
“But? What?”
Evangeline pointed straight ahead with a tense expression.
There stood a Knight caked in dried blood. He looked as grotesque as something crawling straight from hell.
Clink. The Knight slowly moved his arm holding the blade. The blood-dripping sword pointed toward them.
A clear Aura blazed from that sword.
An Intermediate Knight.
“Hey! You said this way!”
“Something’s off? This is definitely right! I got a strong feeling!”
“This is insane! That’s an Intermediate Knight!”
“Is an Intermediate Knight—strong?”
“I’m a mage! And Mana is thin here! We absolutely can’t win!”
“Um, what if we both jump him at once?”
“Are you good at fighting?”
“Do I look like I would be?”
“No.”
“Exactly!”
Then.
Clink. Clack.
The same ominous sound came from behind.
They were trapped front and back.
“Andy.”
Evangeline called out to Andy with a serious face. Andy looked at her with a glimmer of hope.
“Ha ha, at least I won’t be alone on the road to hell!”
Evangeline laughed cheerfully and gave a thumbs up.
“You—you piece of trash!!”
Andy spat out a word she’d been holding back for so long.
Then—.
“Ningiri, which punk’s messing with students?”
A crooked voice came from right behind.
Turning to look, she saw a rough-looking man cloaked in a blue Aura.
When Andy saw the man’s clothes, her eyes widened.
“It’s the Guard Corps!!”
“Stand back, you troublemakers.”
The man growled and grinned.
* * *
Mailo had never received formal blade training.
He’d learned to strike through getting punched, and learned to cut through getting slashed.
Still, he had considerable talent—he’d even awakened his Aura. Of course, the Knights called it cheap goods, but Mailo didn’t care.
He was rather proud of it.
That he was strong in actual combat.
Mailo quickly sized up the opponent ahead.
‘An Intermediate Knight.’
Whether it had just climbed up from hell, its appearance was grotesque, but it was at the same Intermediate level as Mailo.
‘This is doable.’
No, it had to be done. There were two students behind him.
Mailo rushed toward the Knight without hesitation.
The Knight’s blade slashed toward Mailo. Its speed was almost unbelievably fast for an Intermediate.
Mailo hurriedly raised his fist. The Aura-wrapped fist and blade clashed like a wedge.
When Knights of equal rank collide, the purity of their Aura typically decides the match.
Mailo was confident in his Aura’s purity. Because he’d never learned formal technique, he’d always built his Aura through sheer tenacity.
So Mailo confidently pressed his Aura against the opponent’s blade, planning to push back the opposing Aura, create an opening, and continue his assault.
The problem was that it was Mailo who got pushed back instead.
‘I’m being pushed back?’
The opponent’s Aura had purer quality. The Knight’s blade aimed at Mailo’s exposed abdomen. Mailo frantically rolled across the ground.
Whoosh—the blade whistled past Mailo’s side. The ground split open cleanly.
Barely dodging the blade, Mailo swept his leg at the Knight’s lower body, channeling his Aura into it.
If it landed, the opponent would be obliterated, but instead of dodging, the Knight just thrust his blade forward.
‘This thing isn’t alive.’
No living being could react that way. A Knight wouldn’t abandon lower-body defense.
Mailo abandoned his attack and closed distance. He drew near enough to see inside the helmet. Naturally, the opponent’s blade could only swing through empty air.
Mailo threw a punch from directly in front. His fist plunged into the Knight’s chest. As the Aura-wrapped fist punctured the grotesque armor, the interior was revealed to be empty.
‘It’s hollow? What kind of monster is this—.’
The unexpected sight made Mailo’s eyes falter. The Knight’s blade immediately sought him out.
Then—.
“Ice Spike!!”
A large Ice Spike shot from behind, targeting the Knight’s head.
The Ice Spike struck the head directly, but the impact was minimal. The Knight’s head just tilted slightly.
Still, for Mailo, it was rain in a drought.
“Aim for the head!!”
A student’s voice rang from behind. Mailo kicked off the ground and threw his punch.
The fist pierced the Knight’s helmet. This time too it was hollow, but unlike before, the thing didn’t move again.
The masterless armor tumbled to the ground.
‘What kind of monster was that…….’
Mailo muttered, wiping blood from his cheek.
Then—.
Clink, clack.
Footsteps sounded from somewhere. Turning, Mailo saw blood-red Knights approaching.
The same kind as before. The problem was that there were four of them.
‘This is insane.’
He’d barely won with help against one. There was no way he could defeat four.
“Hey, you two.”
“We’re—we’re sorry!”
Evangeline and Andy rushed to apologize. Mailo forced himself to laugh cheerfully.
“I’ll buy you time. Get out of here.”
“Huh?”
“Run. And next time, don’t go into dangerous zones.”
Mailo spat and stepped forward with a delinquent’s swagger.
Four monster-like creatures stared down at Mailo.
‘In the end, I don’t meet the golden-haired beauty and just die here.’
It wasn’t that he had some special obsession with the blonde. It was just that a golden-haired person was his only clue to finding his mother, whom he’d never even seen.
Of course, even that was uncertain.
Mailo reached for his Guard Baton to fire a signal flare. Or he tried to.
‘Huh? Where did it go?’
Mailo patted his belt where the Guard Baton should have been. It was nowhere.
But he was sure he’d brought it—.
‘Could that bastard have taken it?’
Then—.
“Gate Opening.”
Along with a chilling voice.
A metallic ring like a cry echoed.
At the same time, black chains shot toward the Knights.
The Knights twisted their blades to block.
But that was a foolish thought.
The Black Chains pierced straight through the Knights’ blades and bodies both.
Clink. The four Knights simply crumbled to dust.
“Mm, nicely ripened.”
The figure twisted the corner of its mouth.
Like someone savoring a delicious meal.

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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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