Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 71

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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 71
‘Hmm.’
Loki squinted, trying to recall the face he’d just seen.
An unfamiliar face in unfamiliar clothing.
And yet, somehow, it felt oddly familiar.
‘The Dog Handler?’
Loki shook his head hurriedly.
No, it couldn’t be the Dog Handler.
The Dog Handler belonged to Unit 444. No matter how reckless he was, he couldn’t have left the front lines and come here.
And besides—
‘The Dog Handler would never wear such a pathetic shirt.’
The Dog Handler had despised even the uniforms made from an archdevil’s hide.
There was no way he’d put on something as shabby as that.
And if it had truly been the Dog Handler, he wouldn’t have simply retreated after being attacked.
The Dog Handler always educated any dog that showed him its teeth.
‘Right, it wasn’t him.’
Loki breathed a sigh of relief. He’d been startled, thinking he’d attacked the Dog Handler.
What mattered now wasn’t the Dog Handler—it was that he’d lost the Breach.
‘Who were they? The Republic?’
Given how shabby their clothes were, there was a good chance they were from the Republic.
Then, heat shimmer appeared in the distance. Command wouldn’t have moved another unit from above.
They were enemies.
Loki brushed his hand lightly. A thin needle gleamed at his fingertips.
The shimmer cleared, and figures in black hoods burst forth.
They were from the Table of Truth, one of the Empire’s Ten Enemies.
Loki’s lips twisted.
‘Perfect.’
The hooded figures turned to look at Loki.
The Table of Truth were Black Mages who pursued only truth.
Fear was joy to them, and pain was ecstasy.
Yet terror bloomed across their faces.
“Damn it, they’re Hunting Dogs! Run—”
The man never finished. A needle had pierced his throat.
In the same instant, needles rained down like a storm. They didn’t even manage to cast their vaunted Black Magic—they couldn’t even speak the incantations.
That was what it meant to be a Hunting Dog.
Ten figures reduced to blood took only an instant.
Then, from behind came the sharp ring of steel striking steel—the footsteps of a woman whose hands and feet were blades.
The woman looked at Loki.
“Returning to base.”
Loki turned lightly.
There was no response.
* * *
‘What… what were those things?’
Milo trembled as he recalled the figures he’d just witnessed.
Those in Black Uniforms that reflected no light—the moment he’d faced them, his instincts screamed violently in warning.
Don’t engage them. Don’t even meet their eyes—
It wasn’t simply that they were stronger opponents.
Though not a drop of blood stained them, they reeked of blood.
The problem was that the scent wasn’t merely human blood. It was a tangle of countless bloods.
Predators—they were predators.
And Milo was prey.
As he recalled that savage killing intent, Milo froze solid. And yet the sensation felt familiar somehow.
Milo belatedly realized where he’d encountered that brutal presence before.
‘Grave.’
It was the aura Grave carried during combat.
Milo’s gaze shifted toward Grave.
Grave’s eyes were darker than usual.
“What were those people just now?”
Milo asked without much hope.
He was certain the answer would be classified information.
But surprisingly, Grave answered readily.
“Former colleagues.”
Those savage figures were former colleagues—
“What kind of work were you doing before?”
Grave fixed Milo with his gaze. Milo flinched and waved his hands.
“Right, it’s probably classified—”
“I was on the Southern Front.”
The Southern Front?
Across the continent, when someone said “the Front” with no further explanation, it usually meant one thing.
The Southern Front, which had existed since the Empire’s founding.
Rumors about the Southern Front were rife.
Talk of archdevils’ castles, the Republic’s main base—dark stories.
It was even famous among Imperial soldiers that those posted to the Southern Front would desert.
A veteran of the Southern Front—
‘So that’s why Grave is so strong.’
Milo found himself saluting without thinking.
“Milo, do you know who the Empire established the Front against?”
Grave, acknowledging the salute casually, posed an odd question.
“The Republic, isn’t it? I’ve heard the Republic’s capital is located at the Southern Front.”
“The Republic’s capital is at the Front, but we didn’t establish it merely for that reason.”
“Then… who did the Empire establish the Front against?”
“The End.”
“…Pardon?”
At such a preposterous answer, Milo responded numbly.
Grave continued his explanation in a flat voice.
“If a Breach isn’t sealed in time, it brings Erosion to the continent. At the southern edge, there are Breaches that couldn’t be sealed. The Front was established to contain the Erosion spreading from those Breaches.”
“I see.”
“Where unsealed Breaches spill forth monsters, the Republic, Black Mages, and heretics all mingle—that is the Front. Those figures just now were what they call Hunting Dogs, born of that Front.”
Now Milo understood why those figures had been so savage.
Then Grave cautioned him.
“If you enter a Breach again, you may have to fight them.”
At Grave’s words, Milo swallowed hard.
Fighting those savage beings—
Fear was certainly present.
But—
“Isn’t it a given that you’ll win?”
Grave’s eyes narrowed.
Looking more closely, it was a smile.
* * *
I touched my neck and muttered to myself.
‘Unit 111 has entered the Breach.’
It wasn’t unusual for Imperial forces to enter a Breach—it had happened in the game too.
Not just the Empire. The Republic, Black Mages, and all manner of other things get tangled up in Breaches.
Breaches are dangerous, but they’re also opportunities.
The only issue was that this was supposed to happen much later.
No matter how early the Breach opened, the timing was still too soon.
‘Someone pulled strings.’
But it wasn’t really a big problem.
I had Evangeline.
Even if the opponent were the Emperor himself, he couldn’t be faster than Evangeline.
Evangeline opens Breaches directly.
The real problem was if the Breach’s grade increased or too much time passed. We might not be able to seal the Breach before others entered.
If that happened, the Republic, Black Mages, heretics, and Imperial forces would all be mixing inside the Breach.
But that didn’t really concern me.
I had Evangeline—the Breach’s guide and living compass.
‘This is getting even more interesting.’
I muttered this to myself while brushing off my hands.
Blood trickled from my hand. A grazing blow from that figure.
‘Snake Eyes.’
I marked his name down in memory.
Ding!
The cheerful sound interrupted my thoughts.
A translucent window appeared before me.
Sudden Quest “C+ Grade Breach” cleared! Record time! You’ve achieved something remarkable! Rewards granted!
Warning! Growth has reached its limit. Stats cannot be allocated!
Additional stats unlocked. Please select your desired stat.
Strength
Agility
Intelligence
Vitality
Longevity
Charm
Appearance
Luck
Competitors mixing into a Breach was an established routine.
Hardly a major problem—
I focused on the translucent window.
‘So it was C+, after all.’
Breaches connected to worlds with specific properties—like the Holy Empire or Ragnarok—bore a ‘+’ in their grade.
Because of that, the rewards were stronger than the same grade.
I’d reaped the benefits of Luck this time too.
So I chose “Luck” without hesitation.
Luck selected. Reward granted.
Congratulations! Luck has reached a certain threshold!
You have been awarded: Box of Fortune!
A golden box burst forth from the air with a pleasant sound.
The golden box—the same one that had given me Quoka last time.
The moment I saw the luminous golden box, my mood, which had been sullied by Snake Eyes, cleared instantly.
I washed my hands reverently, then slowly opened the golden box.
Paa-ba-bam! A loud trumpet fanfare blared.
Boom-boom-boom! A rather cheap—no, luxurious sound effect built the suspense.
‘What will it be?’
Shabby as it looked, this box had yielded a spatial Quoka last time.
With Luck even higher now, something better should appear.
With such hopes, I waited.
Then, luminous smoke began to billow from the golden box.
By any standard, this was a jackpot.
Soon the light faded slowly, and the box’s interior became visible.
What lay inside was—
‘A Sunflower Seed?’
A Sunflower Seed the size of my fist.
It shone with some luminous quality, but no matter how generously I judged it, it was a Sunflower Seed.
Ding!
Sunflower Seed
A Sunflower Seed that Quoka loves.
The description was so straightforward my eyes crinkled.
A Sunflower Seed was all I got?
I wanted to throw it away immediately, but the mention that Quoka loved it made me hold back.
‘Does it have some effect if I feed it to Quoka?’
Then Quoka burst from my pouch.
Quoka seized the Sunflower Seed and looked up at me.
Its eyes sparkled brilliantly. Drool dripped from its mouth.
It seemed to be asking if it could eat it.
‘Oh right, it’s an eater.’
I recalled Quoka’s description and nodded.
“Go ahead.”
“Quoka!!”
Quoka bowed gratefully, its manner very polite.
How could a Quoka be so courteous?
Normally, Quoka’s way of consuming things felt more like shoving them in its mouth than eating.
But this time was different.
First, Quoka savored the scent of the Sunflower Seed.
After sniffing three times, Quoka nodded. It had passed inspection, apparently.
Next, Quoka slowly began scraping the surface of the Sunflower Seed with its teeth. The care was so meticulous it inspired reverence.
Then Quoka took a large bite of the Sunflower Seed.
“Quoka—”
Quoka let out a small, blissful sound.
After that single taste, it began eating the Sunflower Seed in earnest.
It ate so deliciously that I became curious about the seed’s flavor myself.
Soon Quoka had finished the Sunflower Seed.
Then—
“Quoka!!”
Quoka began to shimmer. It was as flamboyant as a transformation, even spinning in place.
Actually, looking closer, it was spinning on its own feet. A Quoka with surprisingly good showmanship.
Soon the light faded, and Quoka struck a proud pose.
Everything looked exactly the same. Well, almost—there was one difference.
Jiggle~
‘Its belly got bigger.’
Quoka’s stomach had grown fuller. Now it jiggled when it moved.
A chubby Quoka.
“Quoka!”
Quoka patted its own belly, then spread four short fingers.
“The capacity increased fourfold?”
“Quoka! Quoka!”
Quoka had originally held an entire carriage. Now its capacity had quadrupled.
Four carriages fit inside that tiny creature.
“So it wasn’t belly fat—it was a Storage Pouch.”
I petted Quoka contentedly, over and over.
“Quoka! Quoka!”
Quoka danced with delight.
Jiggle, jiggle.
The Storage Pouch swayed back and forth.
Quite auspicious, indeed.

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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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