Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 25

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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 25
A knight is like steel.
As steel hardens when tempered, so too does a knight grow stronger when struck.
It was our family’s creed.
The reason my father beat me every day.
A crude and primitive method, perhaps, but it worked.
When the body perceives a mortal threat from physical force, the unconscious mind stirs the Aura, and through that process, the Aura naturally fuses with the body.
But it required sufficient force. The unconscious only moves the Aura when life itself feels threatened.
A dangerous, primitive way—one slip and death could come.
It suited the crude and simple-minded Milo perfectly.
“If the pain becomes too much, feel free to bark.”
“Woof! Woof! Woof!!”
Milo barked urgently before I’d even finished speaking.
“Hmm, it’s working well.”
“You said bark if it hurts! You said bark! I barked!!”
Milo cried out as if deeply wronged.
“Ah, there was a misunderstanding. The barking was just to confirm it’s working. And it is—very well indeed.”
“No, I’m serious, it really hurts like hell!”
“Growth always comes with pain.”
“This isn’t that kind of pain, it really hurts! Damn it!”
“So—will you quit?”
Milo’s eyes narrowed at the word ‘quit.’
“If you quit, I’m fine with that. It’s tedious work anyway—I wouldn’t do it even for a hundred Gold Coins, normally.”
“There’s someone who offered a hundred Gold Coins just to get beaten like this?”
“Two hundred, actually. Though I turned them down out of laziness.”
Damn it.
I wasn’t lying. There really was someone who’d offered two hundred Gold Coins.
Of course, he’d only asked because he enjoyed getting beaten. But there was no need to mention that.
Milo spat out a string of curses and wiped his face with his hands. Then, with eyes hardened by resolve, he asked me.
“This will make me stronger?”
“Yes, I guarantee it. It’s our family’s secret art.”
“……You were nobility?”
Milo looked surprised at an unexpected detail.
“Can’t you tell?”
“No, I thought you were an orphan like me—Ahhh! Why are you hitting me!”
“Either way, the results are guaranteed. I stake my honor on it.”
Milo pressed his lips together hard—so hard they split, blood trickling down.
“Let’s do it, then.”
Milo spoke with determination. He certainly had a solid constitution. But—.
“Do it?”
“……Yes?”
“Your tone of asking was off.”
“I—.”
Milo made a face like he’d swallowed something bitter, hesitating. Then he bowed his head deeply.
“Please, beat me soundly! I beg you!”
“Beat? Others might misunderstand.”
“Then what should I say?”
“Tempering. In technical terms, Aura Tempering.”
“That sounds even worse—.”
“Anyway, you agree?”
My question made Milo’s face go pale. His eyes rolled around, then he let out a deep sigh like a condemned man heading to execution.
“Yes, I agree.”
I resumed the work.
Milo clamped his mouth shut and endured.
His expression was grim—he would not cry out.
“Kyeeeeeeek!”
Of course, that resolve didn’t last long.
* * *
“Kheeeek…….”
I looked down at Milo sprawled on the floor and silently let out a sound of admiration.
‘His endurance is outstanding.’
Aura Tempering is excruciatingly painful. You have to be struck while fearing for your life. In all my years on the harsh front lines, only three soldiers had endured Aura Tempering.
One was a masochist who enjoyed the pain. Another couldn’t feel pain at all. Only one had endured it purely through willpower—like Milo.
His screams had been embarrassingly theatrical, but he never gave up. His constitution is truly remarkable.
One might think mere endurance is useless, but if you can withstand Aura Tempering, you grow steadily stronger. It’s a genuine talent.
Moreover, Milo had accumulated a substantial amount of Aura.
It was likely because he’d never received formal knight training.
The Aura he’d received as reward from the last Rift hadn’t been properly dissipated, so it had accumulated like this.
But—.
‘This is too much.’
The accumulated Aura far exceeded my estimates.
This amount couldn’t have accumulated from just a C-rank Rift reward.
Logan’s claim that the 42nd Division had fallen into a Rift and returned seemed true after all.
‘At minimum, that would have been an A-rank Rift.’
I handle all four attributes—Aura, Dark Magic, Magic, and Holy Power. When it comes to Rifts, I’m a specialist.
Even I wouldn’t stake my life on an A-rank Rift—.
Yet mere Guard Division soldiers survived an A-rank Rift and returned? Impossible.
Given the complete absence of Anomaly traces, it seemed the missing operative Charlotte had made a direct deal with the Anomaly—.
‘She must be quite capable.’
Of course, she can’t compare to Evangeline.
Either way, Milo’s accumulated Aura was substantial.
Good constitution and abundant accumulated Aura—.
“Congratulations. You’re optimized for Tempering.”
Milo looked up at me, trembling violently. His expression was anything but pleased.
“O-optimized for Tempering? What do you mean?”
“You have a large reserve of accumulated Aura, and with your superior constitution, you’re naturally suited for Tempering. Try manifesting your Aura.”
Milo raised a trembling fist and manifested his Aura. It blazed up like fuel poured on fire. His Aura was crude, truly crude.
“Wait—it really got stronger?”
Milo’s joy was genuine. But it didn’t last long.
“So you’re saying I have to do this again?”
Milo muttered like a death row inmate who’d just been told the execution was tomorrow, not today.
“Again?”
“……What else? Don’t I have to keep doing it?”
Milo asked, hope flickering in his eyes. I corrected him plainly.
“Every day.”
“Every—every day?”
“Yes, every day. Then you’ll grow stronger every day.”
Milo squeezed his eyes shut. Tears trickled from the corners.
They seemed to be tears of joy.
“Now go write your last will and testament, then get some rest.”
Milo’s tears multiplied.
* * *
The next day, Guard Division roll call proceeded as usual.
There was no mention of the Republic’s terror attack—as if they were trying to bury it entirely.
It made sense. If it spread that the continent’s greatest Academy couldn’t stop a terror attack at the opening ceremony, it would be catastrophic to their reputation.
Evangeline was absent again at this roll call. No one looked for her. They didn’t even seem to expect her anymore.
The Guard Commander came out and droned on about how the semester was starting and everyone should stay sharp.
When his speech ended, Hanswell distributed assignments with practiced efficiency.
I glanced sideways at Milo. Upon catching my gaze, he shot his hand up with the expression of a suicide volunteer.
“I will go with Grave to support the Male Dormitory!”
“Grave—’sir’?”
At Hanswell’s correction, Milo frantically shook his head.
“What? Not sir, I said ‘sirmy,’ not sir.”
“……’Sirmy’? Milo, watch your language. And you don’t get to choose assignments.”
“But the Male Dormitory is always short-staffed! We’ll go!”
“However—.”
“Please! Let us go! Kyeeeeek!”
Milo threw himself on the ground and thrashed. The nearby Guard Division soldiers laughed out loud at the sight.
Hanswell’s face flushed red.
But unlike last time, Hanswell didn’t yield easily.
“Get up! Milo!”
“Please! Let me!”
“Absolutely not.”
Hanswell spoke firmly, as if intent on breaking Milo of his habits. His resolve seemed to have strengthened.
The problem was that the other party was Milo. Without hesitation, he yanked off his shirt.
“Milo!! Put it on right now!”
“No way, no way! Let me go! If you don’t, I’m dropping my pants too!”
“……Fine! Fine!”
Hanswell couldn’t hold out and relented.
“This is the last time. There won’t be a next time.”
Hanswell spoke to Milo with a thoroughly contorted face. Milo nodded at him, then looked at me.
“This is the last time. Really, next time won’t work.”
I didn’t nod back.
That way, we managed to join the Male Dormitory assignment without incident.
The Male Dormitory was a familiar place to me. I’d seen it often during gameplay.
The interior was as lavish as a fantasy film. Red carpet lined the corridors, and chandeliers hung from the ceiling.
Very ornate, but there was a problem with the smell.
A vaguely familiar, musty odor drifted through the air.
‘Ah, it’s like an army barracks.’
Shirtless young men ran around laughing and roughhousing. No matter how ornate the interior, a dormitory full of men always smelled the same.
“This is why I hate Male Dormitory duty—damn it.”
Milo covered his nose in disgust.
Seban, the squad leader of the 9th Division who oversaw the Male Dormitory, beckoned us over.
Seban was a middle-aged man with a weary expression and a sharp face. Just looking at him, you could tell he’d be strict.
“You two are cleaning the 3rd Floor Bathroom.”
“Who cleans bathrooms?! I don’t even clean up my own crap!”
“If you dislike it, you’re free to leave.”
Seban spoke firmly in response to Milo’s complaint.
“I dislike it! If you were me, you wouldn’t like cleaning someone else’s crap either—.”
“Yes, we’ll clean it thoroughly.”
I cut off Milo mid-sentence and replied.
Seban regarded me with sharp eyes and warned me.
“Clean that bathroom properly. If you slack off, you won’t be leaving today.”
“Yes, I’ll take full responsibility.”
Seban nodded slightly.
I pulled Milo toward the central staircase.
“Hey, wait. How are we supposed to clean a bathroom!”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you do it.”
“You want me to? I can’t do it! How am I supposed to wipe up men’s waste!”
Milo shouted loudly. He genuinely hated the bathroom cleaning.
“Don’t be concerned. I’m not going to ask you.”
“What? Then who?”
“There’s a specialist.”
“……A specialist? There’s a specialist for bathroom cleaning?”
“There is.”
In front of the central staircase, a Guard Division soldier was dozing, nodding off repeatedly.
“What’s Raven’s room number?”
“Ah, well…… Raven?”
The Guard Division soldier who heard Raven’s name made a grimace.
Strange. Raven was someone who’d specifically learned how to win people’s favor.
In the original game, Raven was popular with students, professors, and guards alike. Yet here was that reaction—.
“Room 221. Be careful. Raven is…….”
The soldier glanced around cautiously before adding in a low voice.
“A guy with a sexually transmitted disease.”
“……You mean sexually transmitted?”
“Yeah, there’s a rumor that just talking to him can make your ears fall off. Damn, how did a guy like that even get into the Academy.”
At the soldier’s words, I understood what had happened.
When Raven tried to approach Evangeline, I’d spread negative rumors about him to her to keep him away.
It seemed those rumors had spread quite widely.
The source was obvious.
‘It would have been Evangeline.’
On the second floor, there were also Guard Division soldiers, but upon seeing my shabby blue shirt, they didn’t even bother questioning me—just bowed their heads.
I marveled anew at the utility of a Guard uniform as I found Raven’s room.
Raven’s room was at the far end of the corridor. Perhaps because of the bad rumors, there were no guards near it. A convenient arrangement.
“Milo, go keep watch.”
“What? What are you—.”
“I need to hire the specialist.”
I brushed off my hands lightly.

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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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