Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 93

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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 93
‘There’s an Outer God Fragment embedded in Volkan’s skull.’
I looked down at Volkan and let out a low whistle.
The Outer God Fragment in Volkan’s head was achingly, unmistakably clear to my senses.
It was far more intense than the Abomination I’d glimpsed in the crevasse.
‘So this is how one becomes a Barbarian.’
The Outer God Fragment is a seed that leads its host toward ruin.
In the game, the principal, vice-principal, and board director’s rampage was also caused by Outer God Fragments.
The Abominations in the crevasse became what they were because they were consumed by Outer God Fragments too.
This Outer God Fragment is what will turn Volkan into a Barbarian.
I’d need to remove it immediately, but the problem was simple: the Outer God Fragment was lodged in Volkan’s skull.
To extract it, I’d have to crack his cranium open and sift through his brain.
No matter how skilled my Holy Power, penetrating a brain like that was impossible.
The odds were high that Volkan would die.
But I couldn’t just leave it alone either. If I did, Volkan would become a Barbarian stringing students’ intestines around his neck like jewelry.
‘Is there a way to remove the Outer God Fragment without opening the skull?’
Suddenly, I recalled the fused Abomination I’d seen in the Holy Empire.
The Abominations of the Holy Empire had a trait—they tangled together and merged.
The medium was probably an Outer God Fragment tied to Glory.
If I could apply that principle, I might be able to extract the Outer God Fragment from Volkan’s head without cutting it open.
The problem was the method—
‘Divine Priesthood will work.’
By consuming the Outer God Fragment tied to Glory, I gained the ability to use Divine Priesthood.
Using Divine Priesthood was as good as using the Outer God Fragment tied to Glory.
Having finished my calculations, I traced the sign of the cross. A pure white light rose from my back, and simultaneously I felt a connection to some vast presence.
It was Divine Priesthood—the bridge between god and flesh.
As I activated Divine Priesthood, unlike before, a resonant voice echoed in my mind.
Glory. Glory. Glory. Glory.
It seemed to be reacting to the Outer God Fragment in Volkan.
I grasped at my scattering consciousness and chanted.
“Glory.”
An uncanny voice emerged from my mouth—something between a creature’s scream and an angel’s song.
At the same time, Holy Power blazed down through my hand.
The pure white light flowed like water, and the moment it touched Volkan, something writhed inside his slick, bare skull.
The Outer God Fragment.
It squirmed like an insect burrowed beneath skin.
I brought my hand closer to that spot.
The moment the pure white light touched the Outer God Fragment—
Oh, Glory.
My vision inverted entirely.
* * *
When I opened my eyes, I was standing in the Grassland.
The grass tickled my thighs, and the wind brushed gently through my hair.
The warm sunlight bearing down on me felt as comforting as a mother’s caress.
It was truly a peaceful grassland.
No war, no conflict, no struggle—only peace filled this place.
If heaven existed, wouldn’t it be like this?
Then, far in the distance, I saw a red-skinned man.
The man’s appearance was hideous. His entire body was stained crimson with blood, and around his neck hung intestines like a necklace.
If there were a king of Barbarians, wouldn’t he look like this?
‘This is what Volkan looks like as a Barbarian.’
It was identical to Volkan’s form from the game.
It was truly a nightmare worth the name.
Ding!
At that moment, the quest content suddenly changed.
[Sudden Quest] Volkan’s Nightmare
Objective: Overcome Volkan’s nightmare
Failure penalty: Death
‘Death on failure?’
I frowned at the suddenly added penalty.
Such an extreme condition only applies to quests that absolutely must be completed.
In other words, I had to resolve Volkan’s nightmare to escape this place.
That’s when Volkan looked at me.
Volkan’s crimson eyes looked more beast than human.
They were utterly devoid of reason, filled entirely with murderous intent, fixing upon me.
This didn’t seem like a situation words could resolve.
‘First, I need to subdue him.’
I clicked my tongue and tried to summon my Aura.
But the Aura wouldn’t awaken.
My alarm was brief. I immediately switched to Magic. But Magic didn’t respond either.
Black Magic, Holy Power—the same.
No attribute would respond.
‘So I’m meant to engage him fairly with pure body.’
I had considerable confidence in my physical form too.
I’d been trained in Aura tempering since childhood, after all.
That damned witch didn’t abduct me for nothing.
The problem was the opponent.
Volkan is a Barbarian.
A Barbarian—the kind who tears apart knights who wield Aura with nothing but raw power.
And he was an elite Barbarian whose parents were the village chieftain.
I’d have to face the Continent’s greatest physical monstrosity head-on, nothing but flesh against flesh.
‘This is absurd.’
That’s when Volkan stomped the ground. The earth shook from the force.
It was like an enraged bull charging.
‘I can’t face him head-on.’
No matter what I was, meeting that Barbarian directly was impossible.
Like a matador facing a bull, I sidestepped from Volkan’s trajectory.
Volkan’s massive fist grazed my cheek. Without even touching, my skin split and blood flowed.
Achieving this without Aura—how was it possible?
‘Damn—’
Curses tumbled out unbidden. The strength was truly monstrous.
I muttered my expletives and instead stepped forward.
Volkan, unable to control his own momentum, sailed past me like a bull missing its target.
I was about to shout ‘Olé!’ when—
Crack!
A sickening sound burst from Volkan’s knee.
Simultaneously, the fist that had missed came at me again.
Volkan had forced his direction to turn.
It was like throwing a punch while sprinting at full tilt. Changing direction mid-charge wasn’t merely a matter of strength—it required incredible bodily control.
‘He has agility on top of that bulk?’
Had he been doing yoga in his spare time?
I muttered the joke inwardly while moving my hands.
I caught Volkan’s massive fist and pulled it past me, flowing the impact away as much as possible.
I managed to dissipate what I could, but the underlying force was simply too enormous.
Crash!
The violent impact momentarily dazed me.
As I stumbled backward, Volkan followed.
Hostility and murderous intent rippled across his crimson eyes.
Volkan’s hand seized my collar.
I desperately tried to twist his wrist, but the thick sinews didn’t budge.
‘A genuine monster.’
Volkan’s fist aimed at my face.
There was no time to dodge.
‘Should I kill him?’
I looked at Volkan one last time and spoke.
“Volkan.”
I hadn’t truly expected it to work.
Volkan showed every sign of being utterly devoid of reason.
I was merely giving him one final chance.
And yet—
‘He stopped.’
He didn’t stop entirely, just faltered slightly. But it was a sufficient opening.
I kicked off the ground, clung to Volkan’s arm, and wrenched it in the opposite direction.
His arm was thick as an ancient tree, but applied leverage was leverage—even Volkan couldn’t resist it.
Crack! His left arm snapped backward with a clean, satisfying sound.
“Kuaaahhh!”
His left arm broke beautifully and hung limp.
An enraged Volkan howled and swung his right fist wildly.
Still fast and deadly, but having lost one arm, his trajectory became predictable.
I moved along Volkan’s left side and brought my own fist down in an arc.
My punch landed perfectly on Volkan’s ribs.
He’d taken a hit to the liver—the kind of place that, regardless of muscle mass, would normally drop someone gasping to their knees at this force.
But Volkan merely flinched. If anything, he rolled his eyes harder trying to grab me.
Of course, it didn’t matter.
Volkan had already lost one arm. His attacks were limited.
I continued striking as I tracked his movements.
Rather than finish him in one blow, I stacked impact after impact methodically, like dismantling a building.
The problem was Volkan wasn’t going down easily.
Meanwhile, even a glancing blow from Volkan was potentially lethal to me.
I had to push my concentration to its absolute limit. Maintaining this assault drained me rapidly.
Noticing this, Volkan lowered his stance and shifted to a defensive posture.
‘At this rate, I’ll tire first.’
I needed a decisive move.
I planted my right foot hard and lunged forward, swinging my fist.
Thud! The punch drove deep into Volkan’s left abdomen.
The same spot as before.
Again, Volkan didn’t fall—he extended his fist toward me instead.
A true monster.
I barely evaded Volkan’s attack and pressed forward.
At just the right moment, I extended my right foot and threw another punch.
The same area again.
This time, Volkan wavered.
The cumulative impact was taking hold.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?”
“Kuahhh!!”
Apparently it did. I forced the corners of my mouth upward and moved desperately.
Volkan’s fist grazed me. Without even connecting, my skin split and blood spilled.
As we exchanged frantic blows—
I stepped down hard on my right foot again.
At that same moment, something cold flickered in Volkan’s crimson eyes.
Volkan reached toward my right fist.
He was waiting for my attack.
Sensing opportunity, Volkan’s stance expanded.
‘He took the bait.’
But instead of throwing my right fist, I kicked off with my left foot.
Volkan sailed forward just past me. His hand reached for me but only grazed the air.
Then his massive back came into view.
I grabbed Volkan’s shoulder and climbed onto his back. He reacted urgently, but too late.
I locked my arms around his neck. It was absurdly thick—like grasping a tree stump.
I clung to it like a cicada, using my full weight.
“Ughh—”
For the first time, a sound of distress escaped Volkan’s mouth.
He tried to shake me off, but no matter how agile, you can’t dislodge what’s latched to your back.
So Volkan kicked off the ground and threw himself backward onto me.
Bang! The tremendous impact slammed into my back.
My vision flashed, but I gritted my teeth and didn’t release his neck.
Volkan thrashed desperately.
It felt like riding a bear.
Still, even Volkan had limits.
His movements gradually slowed—
Bang! Then he collapsed face-first.
Volkan’s arm hung limply at his side.
Through his neck, I felt his pulse weakening.
If I held firm now, it was over.
I was already at my limit too.
If I released him and he came at me again, things would get difficult.
Simply crushing Volkan’s windpipe would be the easiest, simplest path.
I knew that, but—
I let go of his neck.
It wasn’t pity. It wasn’t affection.
How could I feel attachment to this dark bastard after just meeting him?
The reason I released Volkan was simple.
He had hesitated for just a moment, a while back.
‘Faint as it was, there was still reason in him.’
Where there’s even a sliver of reason, there’s possibility.
Of course, simply crushing Volkan would be far easier and faster, but easy paths yielded thin rewards.
To earn the highest reward, I needed to take the harder road.
‘Hard mode, after all.’
I muttered the bleak joke inwardly while looking down at the gasping Volkan.
If Volkan came at me again, I’d simply fight again.
I was confident I could win.
“Kuahh—”
Volkan mumbled something and raised his head.
Already intimidating, his face was now streaked with tears of blood, making him look positively ghastly.
‘Maybe I should have just taken the easy way out.’
That’s when focus returned to Volkan’s eyes.
“…Brother?”
Volkan looked up at me with those innocent, bovine eyes and spoke.
I heaved a sigh and sat down heavily.
“Yeah, this damned little brother of mine.”
Being an older brother was really exhausting.

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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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