Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 98

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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 98
‘Hmm.’
I gazed down at my hand in silence.
A black Aura rippled there—dense as if a thousand demons had been boiled down in a cauldron.
Could this even be called an Aura?
Though it was a nightmare, the sensation felt sharper than reality. A Foreign God’s power was clearly at work.
Because of it, the nightmare felt far more real than it should.
But there were advantages too.
‘Is this Black Aura?’
The sensation of Black Aura came through distinctly.
I focused entirely on the Black Aura.
Black Aura felt closer to demon than to Aura.
Even now it was surging up, trying to devour me.
If I didn’t feed it something, it would tear me apart as it was.
‘So that’s why the Headmaster went mad.’
To survive Black Aura, you had to cut through anything.
Then, familiar faces appeared before me.
Key figures from the game.
The strange part was that they pointed at me and shouted something.
Roughly ‘Die, you demon!’ and other tired clichés.
My body moved on its own. Black Aura dragged me forward. I charged toward them.
Among many, one stood out in his fury.
Milo.
Milo cursed and raised a rough Aura.
Milo’s Aura was harder than anyone’s.
But Black Aura cut through Milo’s Aura lightly and sent his neck flying with it.
Hatred and rage filled Milo’s eyes as he flew through the air.
‘So this is what Black Aura feels like.’
I deliberately focused on the Black Aura.
After that, I cut and cut again. Though familiar faces spat out hatred, I barely minded.
It was a nightmare anyway.
I simply focused on the sensation of Black Aura.
Eventually, when there was nothing left to cut, Black Aura devoured me.
‘Ah, so that’s how it works.’
I kept my focus on the sensation until the very end.
Black Aura rippled.
As if growing tired—
“Are you all right?”
When I opened my eyes, I saw Milo’s worried face.
My whole body was drenched in sweat. More than the sweat, a sticky unpleasantness crushed my mind.
I felt filthy—as if I’d ruined the entire continent.
“You were trembling and moaning, so—”
“Get that ugly face away.”
“…Huh? Oof!”
Milo tumbled backward from the kick to his gut. He rolled up with a grin.
“Seems you’re all right. Did you have a nightmare?”
I looked at Milo.
The sensation of cutting Milo down was still vivid in my hands.
“It was a nightmare.”
“…But why are you smiling?”
“I trained in that nightmare.”
“…What? Who trains in a nightmare?”
Milo made a fed-up face. Looking at that stupid expression, my uneasiness felt trivial.
I stood up with a chuckle.
It was time to report for duty.
The day always started the same way: morning Roll Call.
I headed to the Drill Ground as usual.
Upon recognizing me, the Security Corps soldiers quickly saluted.
There were quite a few of them. Over a third of the Security Corps had come under my command.
The unfortunate thing was that no Squad Captains challenged me anymore.
The formation of Roll Call had changed slightly.
The squads under my command formed the largest single group, while the rest huddled in clusters.
As our numbers grew, those threatened had banded together on their own.
Their numbers were now considerable.
“The Squad Captains felt the threat and united. Shouldn’t we be preparing for war?”
Milo opened his fists as he looked toward them.
“Crude.”
“…What? You’re the one who gathered your squad by throwing punches—”
“They started the challenge first.”
“Did they…?”
“What?”
“Nothing. So if they challenge us first—”
“Then there’s no choice.”
“Heh, true enough.”
Milo grinned wickedly toward them. A few of the Squad Captains watching us flinched and turned their heads away.
Hanswell’s squad was clustered around him—those forced to merge with my command after losing their bets.
Originally there’d been considerable resentment, but now the atmosphere was quite good.
At the center of it all was Hanswell.
“The checkpoint at the Back Gate and patrols near it overlap, so mutual support should work well.”
The Squad Captains accepted Hanswell’s orders without complaint.
“Everyone’s satisfied because Hanswell arranges assignments so well. Actually, duties have become easier than before—”
Milo said unenthusiastically.
I took a position in an appropriate spot.
Soon the Guard Captain climbed the platform.
As always, he looked haggard and exhausted.
“The Midterm Exam period is coming up. Everyone knows how important the Midterm is. Do well.”
The Guard Captain gave a perfunctory, brief speech and descended.
His gaze passed over me for a moment before moving on.
Once the speech ended, Hanswell assembled Squad 42.
“Grave, where will you be stationed today?”
Hanswell asked me first.
This was a benefit that came after the Guard Captain exempted me from Squad 42’s regular rotation.
“I’ll head to the Main Building support rotation.”
“Ah, Main Building support. Got it. Then the rest—”
“I’m coming too!”
Volcan suddenly raised his hand and spoke to me.
His eyes glowed intensely as he looked at me.
“Well, Volcan, you’re on night shift at the Back Gate—”
“Where the elder brother goes, the younger brother must follow!”
Volcan thumped his own chest.
‘Damn Affection Points.’
Volcan’s Affection Points from the Quest reward seemed to be at work.
I was not pleased.
“I’m coming too!! Me! Milo!!”
Milo shouted urgently, looking at Volcan.
“Milo, you as well?”
“Yes! I’m the real younger brother! I got trained first!”
“Order doesn’t matter in brotherhood. What matters is who’s more sincere!”
“I’m more sincere!”
“No. I am!”
Milo and Volcan competed with their voices.
‘What a mess.’
I squinted at the two of them.
“Since Grave is support personnel, even if we reassign him, the Main Building support can only take one additional person. Only one can go.”
“I must go!! I, Volcan! I’ve sworn my life to you!!”
“Forget the oath to your life! I’m your real younger brother!”
Milo and Volcan refused to yield and kept shouting.
“Let Grave decide.”
Hanswell nonchalantly handed the decision to me.
“Right. That’s fair.”
“Elder brother! I’m Milo! Younger brother number one!!”
Milo and Volcan looked at me.
Their gazes were intensely uncomfortable.
“I’ll go with Milo.”
“Hahaha! See! I’m the real younger brother! You fake!”
Milo waved his fist at Volcan and gloated.
Heat rushed to Volcan’s face—usually the kindest of men.
Volcan clenched his teeth and spoke.
“I will do better.”
His voice overflowed with sincerity.
‘This is insane.’
I muttered a curse and turned away.
Milo hurried after me. His face was happier than a dog with a bone.
“So, this is the weekend—why the Main Building?”
Milo asked, tilting his head.
Elysium Academy was basically like a university. There were no lectures on weekends.
Naturally, the Main Building would be empty.
Evangeline had diverse abilities related to Cracks.
She had the ability to absorb a Crack’s power without absorbing Foreign God fragments when she returned from exploring one, and the ability to read information about creatures through Quests inside Cracks.
But the most important one was—
‘Evangeline can create Quests.’
Evangeline could influence the interior of Cracks from outside using Quests.
It seemed trivial at first glance, but it was far from it.
One reason Cracks were so difficult was the lack of supply lines.
Using Evangeline’s Quests, we could solve the supply problem.
Cracks appeared sporadically now, but later the entire continent would be covered in Cracks.
In other words, Evangeline would eventually be able to influence the entire continent through Quests.
Quest creation was the most important part of Evangeline’s abilities.
‘Evangeline has awakened her Quest ability.’
While I was in Volcan’s nightmare, Evangeline awakened her Quest ability.
In the game, Evangeline awakened her Quest ability only in the late stages at the earliest.
To have already awakened it—
‘Well, she did explore the Crack twice.’
Quest awakening wasn’t entirely impossible.
Evangeline’s awakening of her Quest ability was clearly good news.
Objective: Evangeline’s Graduation
Reward: Wish Token
Failure: Death
I turned my gaze from the translucent window.
The plan was to train Evangeline’s Quest ability.
“Let’s head to the Cafe first.”
“Coffee in the morning?”
“I need bait.”
“Ah, I see.”
Milo nodded, clearly not understanding at all.
We went to the Cafe. Since it was early, it wasn’t open yet.
Then a staff member came out and greeted us.
“Welcome. What can I help you with?”
“I’d like to buy some bread.”
“Ah, normally we have some time before opening, but—I can help.”
The staff member, seeing our Security Corps uniforms, led us inside.
“Do you have Chocolate Bread?”
“We do. Though the price is a bit—”
“It’s all right. I have enough money.”
I produced a Gold Coin and showed it. The staff member emerged from the back with Chocolate Bread.
“I’ll take all of them.”
“What? All of it?”
“Yes, everything.”
The staff member, initially taken aback, began calculating.
They even applied an employee discount.
An unexpected perk of the Security Corps.
Thanks to it, I managed to carry off a bundle of Chocolate Bread.
“What are you using it for?”
“Training.”
“Training? Are you training a dog or something?”
“A dog would be better. Next is the Central Library.”
“Yes, understood.”
Milo took the lead without asking why.
The Academy was lively on weekends.
Students confined to the Main Building on weekdays came out.
But the area around the Central Library was desolate.
The Central Library didn’t operate on weekends.
During off hours, you couldn’t enter the Central Library. It was a Taboo of the Central Library.
Of course, if you had permission from the Central Library, it was fine, but few students had that permission.
Because of this, students needing books from the Central Library requested them from the Main Building Library staff.
Then a staff member with Central Library permission would fetch the book and bring it to the Main Building Library.
Because of this system, the Central Library was quiet.
‘So that’s why Evangeline goes to the Central Library every weekend.’
Evangeline, who avoided crowded places, headed to the Central Library every weekend.
She also had librarian duties there.
That’s why I came to the Central Library.
‘I’ll train Evangeline’s Quest ability.’
I headed straight to the main entrance of the Central Library.
The main door was shut tight. I knocked lightly with my knuckles, and it slowly opened.
‘She’s gotten quite skilled.’
Evangeline seemed to have used the Central Library quite a lot lately.
“Is it really okay?”
Milo asked hesitantly, seeing the intense darkness between the doors.
“It’s fine.”
“Understood.”
The moment my words ended, Milo entered through the door.
Very spirited.
As I followed, an eerie darkness swept across my body.
A strange yet familiar sensation emerged.
The Central Library was half a Crack itself.
Soon the darkness around us lifted. Then an extraordinarily beautiful world made of books unfolded.
A castle made of books stood densely packed, and books moved between them as if alive.
“A world made of books… urgh, that’s horrifying.”
Milo complained of a headache.
He was consistent as always.

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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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