Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 34

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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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Chapter 34
In the game, the Guard Corps didn’t play a significant role.
They were typical extras—sounding the Signal Flare to announce a Fissure, or appearing late with expressions of surprise.
In reality, it was much the same. As Milo had said before, the Guard Corps at the academy was a kind of custodial service.
A professor handled the Demon Knight that slipped through the checkpoint, and discovering it belatedly could be summed up as “the Guard Corps doing its job.”
No one thought a rookie guard had actually caught the Demon Knight.
Naturally, all the spotlight fell on Leon, and I faded from view.
It was then that Volkan stared at me quietly.
Volkan’s appearance was quite menacing. Even I, who had rolled through the Frontline, felt a chill.
A man like that staring down at me in silence was genuinely threatening.
‘Is he going to come at me?’
From Volkan’s perspective, I was a rookie who’d just asked if his parents were savages, then taken his post, and on top of that had failed to notice a Demon Knight and let it pass through the checkpoint. By any standard, even a saint would have been furious.
I looked up at Volkan with anticipation.
But Volkan didn’t throw a punch.
Instead, he lowered his head toward me.
“It’s my fault for double-checking and still missing it. I nearly put you in danger. I’m truly sorry.”
……He’s apologizing here?
I squinted at the dark, bald crown of his head.
“As your senior, I failed to properly show you your duties and instead only got in your way. I’m genuinely sorry. I’ll take full responsibility.”
“No, sir. That was my mistake.”
“Even if one has made a pact with a demon, a Demon Knight is still a knight. It’s naturally difficult to filter them with magic. It wasn’t your fault. You did more than well enough. Honestly, I felt a bit jealous. Ha ha.”
Volkan laughed heartily and patted my shoulder.
I couldn’t manage to laugh along with him.
“Oh, and that thing you asked about before—yes. My parents were savages. Well, not just savages, but a tribal chief.”
“Is that so?”
“……You’re not very surprised?”
“Well, no. You certainly look the part.”
I looked Volkan up and down.
Dark skin, a bald head—anyone could see his parents had been savages.
Milo’s expression turned awkward at my words. But Volkan himself simply laughed readily.
“Usually people are shocked when they hear ‘savage,’ but you’re all right with it?”
“What’s so notable about savages? There are plenty of imperial citizens worse than savages.”
Volkan’s eyes widened. Soon he laughed brightly and extended his hand.
“Welcome to Squad 42.”
“Isn’t it rather late for a welcome?”
I clicked my tongue and clasped his hand.
“There’s a saying—when you think it’s too late, that’s when it’s earliest.”
“Late is just late.”
“Ha ha! Your humor is quite excellent!”
Volkan laughed heartily.
“I’ll finish the rest, so go on and clock out early.”
He’s a good man.
Which is precisely the problem.
‘This is going to take some time.’
I muttered sullenly to myself.
* * *
The game I’d transmigrated into was cruelly unfriendly. It didn’t even have an inventory—something essential to most games.
Of course, there was something inventory-like: Subspace Storage.
The problem was that Subspace Storage could only be used by a Grand Mage. In other words, you had to become a Grand Mage before you got anything remotely like an inventory.
But even then, Subspace Storage wasn’t quite like an inventory. Maintaining a Subspace Storage consumed mana and mental energy continuously. Some Grand Mages didn’t use it at all. The Director, of course, was the opposite.
In any case, Subspace Storage was considered such advanced magic that it was a mark of Grand Mage status.
And yet—
‘Subspace Storage for Kugga?’
I exhaled silently, watching Kugga grin with his front paws pressed together respectfully.
The space inside Kugga was large enough to fit a carriage, and didn’t consume mana at all.
If other mages saw Kugga, their eyes would absolutely roll out of their heads. Slightly exaggerating, we might even have to wage open war with the Mage Tower Coalition.
“Milo, the fact that Kugga has Subspace Storage is classified.”
“Understood, sir.”
Milo nodded seriously. A moment later, he opened his mouth cautiously.
“……But what is Subspace Storage?”
Only then did I remember I was talking to Milo.
“The fact that Kugga can eat a lot is also classified.”
“Yes, understood.”
Milo nodded lightly.
“Now, let’s verify a few things.”
I fed Kugga new items and had him spit them back out repeatedly.
From this, I was able to confirm several of Kugga’s functions.
1. Kugga’s Subspace Storage is about the size of one carriage.
2. Kugga can adjust his size.
3. Kugga consumes Mana Stones.
The most important was point one. I even tested putting a bed several times larger than Kugga’s mouth inside—his cheeks bulged oddly before he swallowed it whole.
And Kugga could adjust his size too. Originally about twenty centimeters, he could shrink down small enough to fit snugly in a Guard Uniform shirt pocket.
Truly a creature combining convenience and practicality—but the maintenance cost was substantial.
‘Mana Stones consume resources.’
Mana Stones were expensive. Mages didn’t become obsessed with gold coin for nothing.
Still, Mana Stones weren’t a problem for me.
‘Luck Stat rewards.’
I murmured to myself while stroking Kugga.
I’d obtained Kugga from a box received when my Luck Stat exceeded a certain threshold. If I invested further in Luck, there was a high probability of similar rewards.
The method for raising Luck was simple.
‘I need to clear more Quests.’
The developer wasn’t generous with Quests. They were only given during crises severe enough to cause game over—when Demon Knights invaded or Fissures opened.
That wasn’t really a problem.
This accursed game had countless crises.
Quests would keep rolling in without end.
But what mattered right now was something else.
‘Now Orientation will begin.’
It was time to open a lecture.
* * *
Thanks to the night shift, I could skip morning duty.
I rested briefly and rose from bed. Milo called out urgently with sleepy eyes.
“Where are you going, sir?”
“The Main Building.”
“The Main Building? What for?”
I flicked my fingers at Milo’s question.
“Opening a lecture.”
“……You realize you’re a guard, right?”
“Can’t a guard open a lecture?”
“Usually… they can’t, can they?”
Milo muttered dumbly.
“Go back to sleep. I’m going alone.”
“I’ll come with you. Who knows what trouble you’ll cause—”
Milo scrambled out of bed. There was an odd glint of excitement in his eyes.
This one’s not normal either.
Elysium Academy had countless buildings, but the heart was the Main Building.
All the important facilities—lecture halls, professor offices, research labs, the student affairs office—were located there.
In the game too, the Main Building was the main stage.
Important areas like professor offices and research labs were on the upper floors of the Main Building. Access required professor authorization.
Reaching the upper floors required preliminary work like building Affinity with professors, and that took considerable time—making the upper floors inaccessible in the early game.
Of course, that wasn’t necessary now.
‘Because I’m a guard.’
The guards protecting the Main Building were elite members. They had no reason to stop a fellow guard.
I was able to enter the Main Building without incident.
‘Legendary gear.’
I admired the Guard Uniform anew.
The appearance was a lousy blue shirt I wouldn’t wear even if given for free, but its performance rivaled most legendary equipment.
The Main Building I entered was, as expected, lavish. It had the atmosphere of a grand ballroom.
Soft instrumental music could actually be heard. It was the same background music that played when entering the Main Building in the game.
‘Experiencing it in reality feels different.’
Not in a good way, though.
Students passing by chattered without paying attention to me. They seemed to regard guards as mere NPCs.
Fair enough—when I played the game, I never paid attention to guards either.
Most conversations were trivial, but some caught my interest.
“Did you hear? Professor Leon caught eight Demon Knights.”
“I heard it was ten!”
“Really? Anyway, it seems Professor Leon really is an unofficial Three Swords of the Empire.”
“I heard he’s the Mage Tower Coalition’s ultimate weapon?”
“No, they said he’s the Holy Blade of the Empire!”
Talk of Leon came from every direction. All of it was sensational.
It seemed Andy’s rumors combined with the Demon Knight story had made Leon the talk of the academy. Everyone chattered about him. It was almost unbearable.
‘Good.’
At this rate, they would have signed up for Leon’s lectures.
I passed the central staircase and headed toward the rectangular door inside. The Magical Elevator.
The Main Building had the lower and upper floors strictly divided by the Magical Elevator. A menacing-looking guard stood watch in front of it.
In the game, a guard would block this point with “You can’t pass.” But now, wearing the Guard Uniform, the guard even called the elevator for me.
I marveled once more at the lousy Guard Uniform.
“Milo, stay here. If a blond man tries to escape, capture him.”
“A blond man? Who?”
“Professor Leon.”
“Leon? That—wait, why would a professor be escaping?”
“Something must have come up.”
“……What exactly are you planning to do? I’m sure it’s classified, but—you can’t cause trouble in the Main Building. We really can’t handle it.”
Milo spoke urgently.
I pressed the close button instead of answering.
“You really can’t cause trouble!”
Milo’s desperate cry came through the closing doors.
The doors shut and the Magical Elevator hummed with its characteristic magical sound.
A cheerful chime sounded and the doors opened shortly after.
The gray corridor of the Main Building’s upper floors greeted me.
The upper and lower floors of the Main Building had opposite atmospheres. The lower floor was loud and warm; the upper floor was quiet and cool, with a subtle pressure that suggested one shouldn’t move carelessly.
Professor offices lined both sides of the corridor. Each door bore the professor’s name—several looked familiar.
‘I’ll need to kill this one, and this one too. Ah, this one as well.’
I moved down the corridor, reading the professor names.
* * *
‘Jeez… will it be all right?’
Milo chewed his lip nervously, watching the Magical Elevator.
Grave’s order weighed on his mind.
‘Catch a professor who’s trying to escape?’
But why would a professor be escaping? Especially in the academy’s very heart, the Main Building.
The problem was that Grave had gone up to the upper floors himself.
Surely even Grave wouldn’t actually beat up a professor.
‘……He’d definitely beat him up with relish.’
Milo felt the ground spin beneath him.

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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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