Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 2

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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 2
“You’re really going to let him go just like that?”
Cassandra’s adjutant, Kelix, asked urgently. Cassandra squinted as she answered.
“Once he’s loose, do you think he stays caught?”
“But sir, you didn’t hear what the general said.”
“I heard—or rather, I made a show of hearing.”
Cassandra was one of only five Grand Generals in the entire Imperial Army. Even the Emperor himself could not treat her carelessly.
But not him. He showed no deference whatsoever in her presence.
He was the sort who could not be easily kept beneath anyone’s heel. Force him down, and he would shatter rather than bend.
“That man rolled through hell without rest. It’s time he took a leave.”
“If it were merely leave, that would be acceptable. But you said he was retiring, did you not? His very disappearance will break the unit’s morale.”
“No—he hasn’t retired.”
There is a saying.
War is a brand seared into the soul.
That man was covered head to toe in such brands.
For him, retirement does not exist.
Rather—
“He has merely changed his battlefield.”
Cassandra tapped ash from her cigar.
* * *
Tutorial Complete. You have achieved a remarkable feat!
Rewards commensurate with your accomplishment have been granted!
‘Finally, it’s over.’
I muttered as I gazed at the translucent window.
The Tutorial had ended. Normally, upon Tutorial completion, one could raise a single Stat by one Grade.
If you selected Aura at Grade B, for instance, it would rise to Grade A.
But now, I had maxed all my Stats to Grade S.
From S+ onward lay the realm of transcendence. To raise S to S+ required Stats equivalent to everything I’d accumulated so far.
No matter how long the Tutorial had been—twelve years—this wretched game would never hand over that much freely.
Warning! Growth has reached its limit. Stats cannot be granted!
As I’d expected, it seemed impossible.
‘What happens now?’
Then the translucent window changed.
Additional Stats are now available! Please select the Stats you desire!
Additional Stats?
Below the quest window, new Stats appeared.
Strength
Agility
Intelligence
Vitality
Lifespan
Charm
Appearance
Luck
These were common in other games, but rare in this one.
‘It must be something unlocked only for the protagonist.’
Strength, Agility, and Intelligence seemed tempting, but this had to be a trap.
I was blocked by the transcendent wall of S+. Merely improving physical abilities wouldn’t help much. Charm and Appearance were even less useful.
But Luck was different.
‘I can actually raise Luck?’
Without hesitation, I selected Luck.
The reason was simple.
‘Luck is one of the few factors that affects Rifts.’
Rifts were a trap that appeared in the late game. It was the reason the already-brutal game became progressively worse.
What made Rifts troublesome was that which Rift would spawn was completely random.
Ancient knight orders wielding Aura, Black Mages summoning demons, armies of sorcerers, forgotten priests making their appearance—Rifts of varied nature existed, yet their nature could not be detected from outside.
Only two factors affected Rifts. One of them was Luck.
The other was a character who was nothing but lucky. He was purely fortunate, played as comic relief, but his true power revealed itself in Rifts.
Whenever he entered a Rift, it would be structured in his favor. And this happened three times.
It might sound trivial, but it was anything but.
‘Luck affects Rifts.’
Rifts appeared in the late game, but they would emerge sooner or later regardless. Actually, they could appear sooner.
Since this was Hard Mode.
I doubted they’d pull late-game content forward like this, but there was no harm in preparing.
You have selected Luck. Rewards are being granted.
A cheerful chime sounded, but I felt nothing in particular.
At the same moment, the quest window changed.
Objective: Evangeline’s Graduation
Reward: Wish Ticket
Failure: Death
I focused on the objective.
‘Evangeline’s graduation.’
Evangeline was this game’s protagonist. Her graduation seemed simple enough, but the reality was the opposite.
The Academy suffered daily assaults and terrorist attacks. Demons, Republicans, heretics, barbarians—all manner of vermin rattled the gates ceaselessly.
The problem was that enemies didn’t lurk only outside. Corruption festered among the students themselves, and the faculty caused their own share of chaos. The principal, vice-principal, and board chairman were all boss-level antagonists.
Safely guiding the protagonist through graduation from what amounted to a den of vipers was no easy feat.
“Victory to the Empire!”
A loud salute jolted me from my thoughts.
I lifted my head. The interior of the station came into view. Like a military installation, it contained only what was strictly necessary—a Magic Stone Lamp glowing precariously, a clock that dutifully marked time, and little else.
The officer receiving the salute was a blond man. He looked like a textbook elite—the sort of handsome you’d expect in a romance novel.
‘Captain Leon.’
Leon came from a military family and possessed considerable talent in Swordsmanship. He was making a name for himself at the front recently.
But the Leon I remembered was not a soldier, but an Academy professor.
‘Leon, the one-armed.’
Leon was one of the Academy’s professors, though not a major character. His only distinguishing feature was his missing arm.
I checked Leon’s arm. It was still intact.
‘Leon loses an arm in an ambush on his way to the Academy to assume his professorship.’
Even with one arm, Leon ranked in the upper-middle tier among the professors. If Leon retained both arms, he would certainly be useful later.
Of course, saving Leon wasn’t my only reason for finding him.
I planned to take up a position in the Academy’s security detail, but I had no intention of limiting myself to those duties alone. I needed a means to access the students.
‘Save Leon, then bring him over to my side.’
That was why I’d moved out so early.
Just then, the train arrived at the station with a loud noise. It slowly came to a stop, and a soldier checking tickets descended.
I confirmed my uniform. Second Lieutenant James—a name and rank perfectly designed to be forgotten.
“Victory to the Empire!”
“Much obliged.”
Leon boarded the officer’s car first. I followed a moment later.
Leon sat in the center of the car, maintaining perfect posture as he read. To my eye, he looked like a greenhorn trying too hard to seem dignified.
‘Well, that’s the age for it.’
I took a seat in a corner, away from Leon.
Objective: Evangeline’s Graduation
Reward: Wish Ticket
Failure: Death
As I reviewed my plan against the quest window, someone sat across from me. It was Leon.
“Ahem.”
Leon’s eyes fell on my rank insignia and he coughed pointedly. It was a hint to salute. Since my cover was Second Lieutenant, I raised a salute.
“Victory to the Empire.”
“Victory to the Empire. Second Lieutenant James?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Your unit?”
“4th Legion, sir.”
At the mention of the 4th Legion, Leon visibly stiffened. It was because of Cassandra’s fearsome reputation.
I let out a small sigh.
“Ah, I see. I’m from the 3rd Legion. Heading to the Capital, it seems.”
“Yes, sir.”
“On what business?”
“I have a friend there, sir.”
“…I see. I’m heading to Elysium Academy.”
Leon lifted his chin slightly—an obvious invitation to ask further.
This is why greenhorns are—
“Why are you going to Elysium, sir?”
“Ha, I’ve been recommended as a professor. Couldn’t refuse, really. War is the great canvas of history, after all. Training the next generation matters just as much as the front line.”
Leon spoke eagerly, as if he’d been waiting for the question. His face shone with pride.
Elysium Academy was the continent’s finest institution. Becoming a professor there at his age was certainly worth boasting about.
“That’s impressive, sir.”
“Impressive? It’s only natural. Unlike those peacetime scholars in the Capital, we soldiers actually roll in the dirt at the front.”
Leon spoke with a grave expression, a classic greenhorn who’d dipped his toes in the front lines and grown full of himself.
Whoooosh. The train began moving with a loud sound, but Leon showed no sign of returning to his seat.
“I intend to make the Academy aware of the dangers of war. I’ll expose the realities of the front that everyone ignores, awakening their sense of urgency.”
Leon continued lecturing gravely. I gave token nods, but his mouth never stopped.
“Have you heard? This year’s students will be quite extraordinary. There’s the Crown Prince, and the Magic Tower Consortium’s heir as well, or so I’m told. The reason is the Oracle handed down last year—that this year’s class will produce a hero to save the continent.”
The Oracle about a hero arising from this year’s cohort was a key premise of the novel. It explained why the freshman class—including the protagonist—was unusually talented.
The problem was that a clear prophecy could be broken just as easily.
If a hero will arise from this year’s class, then killing the entire class means no hero appears to save the continent.
That was why various factions desperately attacked Elysium Academy.
Leon kept talking without pause. My ears were ringing.
‘When will they finally come?’
I was starting to grow impatient with the attackers themselves.
Then my blood surged backward, and my head spun—
‘At last.’
I rose from my seat, brushing my hands off.
“What?”
Leon stared up at me blankly. Instead of answering, I calmly assessed the threat.
‘Black Magic.’
Soon a cloud of black fog engulfed the train. The stench of sulfur, thick and choking, assailed my nostrils. Sticky curses clung to my skin like thousands of insects.
“A Black Mage! Report to command immediately—”
Leon leapt to his feet late, shouting. Aura blazed from his sword, enveloping him. His reaction was fairly quick.
The problem was his opponent.
As iron armor cannot stop fire, Aura cannot block curses. It was a matter of matchups.
Leon staggered, falling to one knee.
Even if Black Mages were the bane of knights, it was pathetic for a future professor to be undone by a curse alone.
“Pathetic.”
I clicked my tongue openly as I watched Leon. His eyes snapped toward me, widening in shock.
“…How?”
“Coat yourself entirely in Aura.”
“How barbaric—report to command at once! A Black Mage has attacked! Request reinforcements—”
Leon clenched his teeth and shouted.
“That won’t be possible.”
“What do you mean, it won’t be possible?”
“I don’t share the credit.”
“…What?”
Then the curses swarmed like wolves that had caught the scent of blood, so dense they filled the entire car.
‘Not bad.’
But that was all.
“Blessed be the Divine.”
I traced a ward casually.
From my hands, pure white light bloomed.
Fire that consumes all that is profane.
Holy Power.

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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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