Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 7

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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 7
The Ideology Verification ended, and we were given a break. A meal was served during that time, and its quality was remarkably high.
‘Bread this soft?’
I marveled as I ate the bread. It was so soft that it melted the moment I bit into it.
I was savoring the taste, wishing I hadn’t finished it so quickly, when complaints came from beside me.
“What the hell? Is this what they’re feeding us?”
“This could double as a hammer. Isn’t this too much?”
A hammer? If this was a hammer, then the bread on the front lines must be Mjolnir.
I could only furrow my brow at such ungracious grumbling.
“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Kellin.”
Just then, a large man approached with a good-natured smile and extended his hand.
As I took his hand, Kellin applied force. He had decent strength. Though it hardly mattered.
The moment I applied pressure in return, Kellin’s face crumpled instantly.
“Aaaagh! I yield! I yield!”
Kellin let out a loud cry. When I released him, he shook his hand and stared at me with wide, shocked eyes.
“What kind of strength—”
Kellin let out a long breath and suddenly composed himself.
“I was right about my hunch after all.”
“Your hunch?”
“Every time I take the Guard test, I’ve had an uncanny knack for guessing who gets first place. I’ve taken the test four times now, and I’ve never been wrong once. This time, you’ll definitely be first.”
Kellin talked loudly and freely.
“You’ve taken the Guard test four times?”
“Hmm, well, I’ve set my sights on the Elite Guard, so I passed the General Guard but gave it up.”
“The Elite Guard?”
“You really don’t know anything about the Guard, do you?”
Kellin smiled as if he’d expected as much.
I nodded readily enough.
“I don’t.”
The heart of this game lay with students and professors. The Guard’s role was minimal.
They served as a signal flare announcing an event, or sometimes appeared late to settle matters and handle cleanup.
They were nothing but extras, so it was natural that I had no information about the Guard.
“Ahem, well, Elysium Academy’s Guard has two branches: General Guard and Elite Guard. Though we call them both Guard, they’re completely different.”
“Different how?”
“Absolutely! The Elite Guard’s salary is ten times that of the General Guard, and the treatment is completely different. The General Guard is basically mercenaries guarding the Outer Wall, but the Elite Guard is the core of Elysium Academy’s security.”
“Then what about the General Guard?”
“The General Guard? They’re just hired hands running in circles endlessly. Mostly stationed at the Outer Wall. They don’t even get to see the Academy Main Building.”
‘Ah, so what I saw was the Elite Guard.’
The Guard I’d seen in the game appeared to be the Elite Guard.
I’d chosen the Guard because it had minimal story significance while still offering easy access to students and professors.
If I’d mistakenly joined the General Guard, my entire plan would have fallen apart.
“How does one get into the Elite Guard?”
“Heh, if you place in the top two on the Guard test, you’re conscripted into the Elite Guard. It’s insanely brutal.”
There were nearly a thousand applicants right away.
Making it into the top two of that—.
“Seems easier than I expected.”
“Easier?”
As I nodded, Kellin’s eyes widened as he looked at me.
Just then, the Test Examiner stepped forward.
“Now, let’s move to the fourth test arena.”
The next test site was a well-maintained Training Ground with sand flooring, and it was quite expansive.
“The 4th Test involves facing off one-on-one against an Elite Guard member. Your score is determined by how long you last. This is essentially where the Elite Guard and General Guard separate. The most important factor is the test supervisor.”
Kellin, who’d come to stand beside me, explained in a low voice.
“The test supervisor?”
“The test supervisor decides directly how many people get conscripted into the Elite Guard. Some supervisors have conscripted as many as five people, while others have conscripted just one.”
“So at least one gets conscripted, then.”
As I nodded lightly, Kellin chuckled softly.
“Your confidence is truly remarkable.”
Then Guard members in uniform came forward. At their center stood a man with a goatee. From the atmosphere, it seemed the goatee man was the test supervisor.
Kellin’s expression darkened when he saw the goatee man.
“This time it’s Bedrick supervising. Damn.”
“Why’s that?”
“Bedrick’s notoriously picky and rarely conscripts Elite Guards.”
Just then, the goatee man stepped forward.
“Hello. I’m Bedrick, Squad Leader of the Elite Guard, 4th Unit. The fourth test is simple. When your name is called, come out and face off one-on-one against an Elite Guard member. You’ll receive points based on how long you last.”
“I have a question! Bedrick!”
Kellin’s hand shot up. The goatee man—Bedrick—narrowed his eyes upon seeing Kellin.
“Who says you’re my junior?”
Bedrick openly rebuffed him, but Kellin didn’t shrink. Instead, he grinned and asked again.
“Ha, how many Elite Guards will you be conscripting this year?”
Upon hearing the question, Bedrick’s mouth twisted into a smile—a distinctly malicious one.
“None this year.”
“…Pardon?”
Kellin stammered in shock.
“Normally, the Elite Guard conscripts only those verified through Recommendation. We only conduct conscription here when that pool falls short. But this year we’ve had an excess of Recommendations, so there’s no need to draft from this rabble.”
Bedrick swept his contemptuous gaze across the applicants. His chilling stare made the temperature of the test arena drop instantly.
“Damn, we’re out of luck. Bedrick’s the one overseeing it. That bastard. You were going to be conscripted for sure, but now that Bedrick’s said that, there’s no way he’ll conscript anyone.”
Kellin warned me earnestly. But I didn’t particularly care.
I’d just make it impossible for them not to conscript me.
The fourth test began. The Elite Guard members lined up in formation. Their bearing alone set them apart from the rabble here.
There was good reason for Bedrick’s contemptuous description of the applicants.
Of course, to me they were all the same.
After hearing Bedrick’s harsh assessment, the applicants went up huffing and puffing, but they stood no chance.
The applicants couldn’t land a single blow on their examiners, and were beaten down one-sidedly. This wasn’t a test—it was assault.
“P-please stop! I give up! I surrender!”
“There is no surrender.”
One applicant who couldn’t hold out any longer shouted in the middle of the match, but the Elite Guard members didn’t stop their kicks.
They only stopped after the applicant lost consciousness.
“Next.”
Afterward, applicants began dropping out en masse.
“Damn Bedrick. He’s deliberately trying to break their spirits. Beating them up so ruthlessly like that.”
Kellin gnashed his teeth watching the goatee man. His remark made me curious.
“Ruthless? Isn’t that level fairly gentlemanly?”
“Gentlemanly? Are your eyes broken or something? Normally they’re supposed to eliminate people moderately. They don’t beat them like they’re trying to kill them.”
Kellin shot back, his face astonished.
‘My standards are too calibrated to the battlefield.’
Having come from the front lines, there seemed to be a gap between societal norms and my own judgment.
But I believed my standards were correct. Someday, the entire continent would become a battlefield.
Soon Kellin’s name was called. His examiner was a short-statured man.
The examiner recognized Kellin and twisted his mouth into a smile.
“Back again, you vermin? Still haven’t given up? The General Guard is your calling.”
Upon seeing the man, Kellin’s face crumpled.
“He’s someone I tested against last year. Incredibly annoying. Damn, of all people to get matched with. Ugh.”
Kellin let out a low sigh before charging up with a loud shout.
His momentum was good. Or rather, his momentum alone was good.
‘Pathetic.’
Kellin’s skills were pathetic. His strength was decent, but his movements were far too sluggish and predictable.
In contrast, his opponent’s skills were considerable. They could have ended the match instantly, yet they didn’t, instead tapping Kellin all over. It was cruel mockery.
Kellin cried out “Guard Spirit!” multiple times as he struggled to his feet.
His shout was decent enough, but the result didn’t change.
With a sickening crack, the Guard Baton drove into Kellin’s solar plexus, and he collapsed with a heavy thud.
“Kellin, General Guard approved.”
The examiner spat on the back of Kellin’s head. Kellin’s fists trembled as he clenched them.
“Grave.”
Just then, my name was called. By chance, I was right after Kellin.
Kellin looked up at me with a bruised face. The light that had shone in his eyes moments before had faded.
I clicked my tongue softly and picked up the wooden sword for the test.
“Hang in there—”
“Yeah, points are based on how long you last, right?”
In response to my question, Kellin nodded numbly. Looking at him like that, I added:
“What if I beat the examiner senseless? How many points?”
Kellin’s eyes widened at my question, then curved into crescents.
“Even as a joke, that’s refreshing to hear.”
It wasn’t a joke, but I didn’t bother explaining.
“Now go out there and give him one good shot!!”
Kellin shouted from behind. It seemed he’d already recovered his spirit—his voice was incredibly loud. So loud that every eye in the test arena turned to me.
That worked in my favor.
Now they wouldn’t be able to bury this or claim it never happened.
“Come on. I need to grab lunch.”
The examiner waved his hand dismissively, trying to look dignified, but the Guard Uniform he wore looked so shabby that the effect was lost.
I kicked off the ground exactly as he wanted.
The distance closed in an instant, and my wooden sword aimed for his solar plexus.
The examiner flinched in surprise and hastily raised his wooden sword.
‘Slow.’
The wooden swords met with a clean sound. His wooden sword was driven back roughly.
“What kind of—”
He tried to reestablish his grip, but his stance was already broken. His exposed thigh became the target of my wooden sword.
With a sharp crack, his leg buckled, and his center of balance shifted violently. When I poured more force into the wooden sword, he couldn’t hold out and dropped to one knee.
This would normally be enough to concede defeat, but he gritted his teeth.
It seemed he had no intention of giving up.
Of course, I had no intention of accepting a surrender either.
As I raised the wooden sword, he instinctively blocked from above.
It was clumsy. Pathetically clumsy.
My heel struck his jaw with perfect precision.
His eyes went slack, and he started to collapse. But I didn’t allow him to fall yet.
There was one lesson I’d learned while crawling through the battlefield.
‘When you put someone down, make it count.’
Half measures only made things worse.
The wooden sword pulled him back up. I pinned him in place and threw my fists. Sharp, clean sounds rang out in rapid succession.
He opened his mouth. He seemed ready to concede.
I grabbed his jaw and swung the wooden sword—hitting him a number of times equal to the number of applicants he’d stomped on.
Finally—
With a dull thud, he collapsed pathetically.
“Pathetic.”
I clicked my tongue and looked around. Everyone stared at me with shock written across their faces.
The Training Ground, packed with hundreds, had gone silent. A silence that was almost pleasant to the ear.
Then my eyes met Bedrick’s.
Bedrick’s face had turned red, and he was trembling. He looked absolutely furious.
Looking at Bedrick like that, I asked:
“Have I passed?”
Bedrick’s lips twisted, grinding together.
Just as I was about to ask again, a different answer came from elsewhere.
“Of course you passed!!!!”
Kellin’s resounding voice shook the test arena.

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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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