Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 20

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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 20
‘The Wandering Knight, Von Derck.’
I stared at the rusted knight before me.
Von Derck’s form was truly hideous. Between gaps in the corroded armor, his skin writhed with countless maggots, and from his melted eye sockets, black blood streamed ceaselessly.
Even the bone visible beneath the rotting flesh was stained black.
Black magic became synonymous with terror because of curses. Yet even black magic had no curse this appalling.
It was as if he’d been cursed by a god himself.
‘Well, Outer Gods are gods too, so a god’s curse fits.’
Aberrations are those who’ve been completely devoured by fragments of an Outer God.
That’s when Von Derck’s hollow eyes fixed on me.
Four arms jutted out at grotesque angles—two gripped a round guitar, while the other two held a long rusted blade.
The sword was covered in such thick rust that one couldn’t even guess how many centuries had passed.
But the aura surrounding the blade showed no rust.
A blue aura blazed like oil poured onto fire, each strand as solid as steel tempered a thousand times over.
Even as it merely rippled, it pervaded the entire space.
Truly, a fierce presence.
“An advanced swordsman—”
Mailo muttered in a trembling voice. Fear saturated every word.
As Mailo said, Von Derck was an advanced-class swordsman. Advanced-class meant roughly professor-level strength.
If not for Evangelline getting us here in the shortest time possible, it would have grown far stronger with more time elapsed.
A professor-class aberration on entrance day.
Absurd, yet honestly this was still within acceptable parameters.
Aberrations are fundamentally strong because they’ve been consumed by fragments of an Outer God.
That’s why you need a strategy.
Each aberration has a different weakness to exploit. For instance, the black-magic-attribute aberration called a Lich requires destroying its hidden Life Vessel.
That’s what makes aberrations so wretched. It’s already overwhelming just to face them, and on top of that, you have to figure out each type’s weakness.
Evangelline was the exception, though.
‘Evangelline has a quest window.’
Since the quest window already contains information about the aberration, I could use it to learn the weakness. That’s why Evangelline’s role is crucial in a crack.
Of course, I can handle C-rank crack aberrations without a strategy. At my current level, I only need strategies starting from A-rank cracks.
Still, I needed to train Evangelline in advance for what’s to come.
“Evangelline.”
Evangelline was staring at the aberration with open contempt. Fragments of Outer Gods and Evangelline were fundamentally incompatible.
“Yes?”
“Find the aberration’s weakness.”
“What do you suddenly—”
I stepped forward without explaining.
Von Derck’s hollow darkness turned toward me. The already turbulent aura blazed as if oil had been poured onto it. A sharp killing intent grazed my throat.
Impressive.
But only to that extent.
“Gate Opening.”
My right chest tore open and chains erupted outward. The chains were darker and denser than before.
Von Derck thrust his blade in desperation.
Of course, he was already too late.
The chains had already unfurled. Like a net, they spread and covered Von Derck.
Von Derck reversed his grip and thrust upward, attempting to strike the chains away with his aura. An excellent response.
The problem was that these chains weren’t aura—they were black magic.
The chain struck by his aura burst apart. From the severed chain, black curses sprayed like blood. He yanked his blade back in panic. His aura, which had taken blade-form, spread into a shield, blocking the front.
The shield-shaped aura blocked the chains before him.
A decent response. If only there had been one or two chains.
One chain pierced through his back. Exactly in his blind spot—he had no time to react. The curse sprayed from the chain stained his body black.
His movements noticeably slowed.
Just as the chains were about to pierce him in rapid succession—
Ting-ting-ring: a bright, cheerful note sounded from his guitar. A sound too pleasant for such a hideous form. His sluggish movements suddenly accelerated.
It wasn’t only speed. His aura became sharper, more distinct. His keen presence pressed heavily against the air.
The aberration’s awakening—in common parlance, Second Phase.
‘Then so shall I.’
I pressed my index finger deeper into my right chest.
「───────.」
A terrible, viscous breath resonated through my mind, deeper still, and the chains grew thicker and denser, covering the entire space. The chains became so thick, empty space itself vanished.
Even if his aura grew sharper, against such densely packed chains it was nothing but a candle before the wind.
Through the dense chains, I could see his dark eyes wavering. He looked almost panicked. He hadn’t expected my Second Phase.
Did he think only he had Second Phase?
A foolish creature.
“Then, shall we begin round two?”
Even denser chains than before covered him.
「……………!!」
The aberration shrieked in protest.
* * *
“So it’s true that the Republic was behind the terror targeting the headmaster? Then the existing rumors that the headmaster was connected to the Republic—”
“Mm.”
At the vice-headmaster Sen Bandero’s brief hum, Karel stopped speaking. Sen Bandero was looking elsewhere.
“What is it, sir?”
After a moment’s thought, Sen Bandero answered with his characteristic gentle smile.
“A crack has opened.”
“A crack opened—! On campus?”
“Yes.”
“This is terrible! Is it the Republic’s doing?”
Since the Republic’s terror had just targeted the headmaster, Karel naturally suspected them.
Sen Bandero shook his head lightly.
“A crack cannot be opened by mere humans. It is a trial sent directly by Him.”
“Right.”
At Sen Bandero’s gaze, Karel hastily nodded.
Traditionally, the Church State defined cracks as heresy. But recently, there were those whose attitude toward cracks had changed, and Sen Bandero was the prime example.
“Faith is like steel—it grows harder when struck by fire and hammer. The crack is that fire and hammer from Him.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Karel nodded without the slightest doubt.
“Where is it? I’ll go at once.”
Karel rose without hesitation. Sen Bandero gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
“There’s no need to rush.”
“But what if someone else reaches it first?”
“Only the headmaster and I can sense a crack. It’s a smokescreen, but the headmaster is undergoing treatment from the terror’s aftermath. The board chairman isn’t someone who would move unnecessarily, so there’s no need to rush.”
“But what if someone caught in the crack manages to break it?”
At Karel’s genuine concern, Sen Bandero let out a short laugh.
“The crack is a trial sent directly by Him. You’ve received special training, so you’re fine, but others could never break it. Absolutely not.”
“Never, you say?”
“Yes.”
At his confident answer, Karel suppressed his excitement. Sen Bandero opened his mouth with his customary gentle smile.
“To break a crack, one must find and capture the aberration. Finding the aberration requires an exceptional adventurer, and even then, only with luck. The odds of someone who stumbled in by accident finding the aberration are extremely low.”
The wrinkles around Sen Bandero’s eyes deepened further.
“Even if a miracle occurred and they found the aberration, they’d need power suited to that aberration’s nature—and of considerable caliber at that. Why do you think we chose you?”
“Because I wield both aura and Holy Power, I can handle all attributes.”
“Precisely. It would almost be better to die without ever finding the aberration.”
Sen Bandero gazed beyond the window.
“The aberration will be a terrible trial indeed.”
Karel offered a moment of mourning for whoever was caught in the crack.
* * *
Evangelline stared downward with a blank expression.
Below was an aberration of terrible form.
The killing intent was so savage it made her skin prickle. Even to Evangelline’s eye, the aberration was extraordinarily strong.
Yet the aberration sat docilely before her. Hundreds of chains wrapped around its body held it completely bound.
It looked exactly like a wrapped gift.
The problem was—
“Read it.”
The recipient of this gift was Evangelline.
“…Yes?”
“I said read it.”
Grave, who’d wrapped up the gift, pointed at the aberration and gave the order. Evangelline lowered her head to follow his finger, her eyes met the aberration’s, and without thinking she dropped her gaze in panic.
“W-what do you want me to read!”
“This. Read it.”
Grave spoke in an exasperated, irritated tone. Evangelline felt wronged.
“How am I supposed to read something so hideous!”
“You’ll figure it out.”
“I don’t know! I really don’t! I’m betting everything!”
“What are you going to bet?”
“Everything!”
Grave let out a deep sigh. Evangelline flinched without meaning to.
Grave’s eyes turned toward her. His gaze was openly full of pity. It was the look Evangelline hated most.
Then Grave spoke in an irritated tone.
“Can’t even do this? Useless.”
There it was—the words Evangelline despised most.
Evangelline’s eyes narrowed automatically. Without thinking, she shouted.
“I’ll do it.”
“Good.”
She regretted it immediately, but it was already out.
‘Right, I can do this. Let me try.’
She looked at the aberration, pretending to attempt it.
‘Ugh! How terrifying it looks!’
Evangelline quickly dropped her gaze.
* * *
‘Looking away from the aberration like that—’
I stifled a sigh inside.
Binding an aberration takes far more energy than simply capturing it. Even now, I could feel my life force draining away through my skin.
If another black mage saw this, they’d absolutely complain about such waste.
But it couldn’t be helped.
“Ugh—ack! I’m sorry! It’s just so hideously formed—!”
“Evangelline, isn’t that too harsh?”
“But it really is hideously formed!”
It’s only a C-rank crack aberration. And it’s completely subdued, yet Evangelline was making a fuss.
Judging by her current state, she’d faint just seeing a B-rank aberration. Training her early was definitely the right call.
“Wouldn’t just cutting its neck work?”
Just then, Mailo asked in a tone unusually polite. Of course, his manner was still insufferable, so it sounded prickly.
When I glanced at him, Mailo pointed at the aberration.
“Didn’t you say capturing the aberration would close the crack? If we cut its neck now, we’d capture it, wouldn’t we?”
“Not yet.”
I shook my head firmly. Mailo’s expression turned serious.
“What else is there?”
In response to Mailo’s question, I redirected my gaze.
Evangelline was crouching before the aberration, saying something. It was such a pitiful sight it brought on a headache just watching, but it couldn’t be helped.
“The reward is bigger if you capture it according to the weakness strategy.”
“Huh? What do you mean, weakness strategy?”
“There is such a thing.”
“No, if you’re not going to explain it, then don’t—”
I dismissed Mailo’s grumbling lightly.
Just then—
“I—I see it!!! I can see it!”
Evangelline threw her hands up in the air.

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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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