The Academy’s Barbarian - Chapter 76: Cramming (4)

Just moments before the commencement of the Magic Warfare, Ulan gazed at Parco, who stood twenty paces away. Recalling Stella’s stern advice that echoed in his ears, Ulan remembered, ‘She said to be as gentle as possible, right?’

Stella had emphasized the need for restraint, urging him to use minimal force and technique to avoid causing harm. The reason? Ulan’s notorious track record: the incident during the entrance ceremony where his shout resulted in injuries to over a hundred people and the encounter with Himmel in the selection match, turning it into a bloody affair.

Therefore, if another victim was caused by Ulan, he may be subject to a harsher punishment than last time.

Immediately after hearing this, Ulan also understood his situation; so he accepted her request.

‘Where shall we look?’

After he finished thinking, he looked around; as if looking for something and after a moment, Ulan picked up a small pebble from the ground.

“This should do.”

It was just the right size to not be lethal, even if it hit directly. Of course, Ulan’s target was Parco’s bead. There was little chance of it causing significant harm to the body.

However, no one knows what the future holds. So, in preparation for the worst-case scenario, he chose the smallest pebble he could find.

‘And when I throw it…….’

…I have to throw it with as little force as possible; no more, no less, but just enough to break the bead. Just as he was figuring out how much force to use, the voice called out, “The exam is about to begin!”

Stella shouted in the distance and Ulan straightened his stance; with the intention of throwing the pebble as soon as the exam started.

And at that moment—

Piiing!

—the whistle blew and he threw the pebble right away.

“Ah.”

At the same time, he realized his mistake. It was that a little more force was applied than he originally intended. And when he realized this, the pebble had already left his hand.

Quack! Clang!

The objective itself was accomplished; the pebble had accurately penetrated the bead.

But the problem happened next.

Puururk! Kwadack!

The pebble, which seemed to have momentum left even after piercing the bead, flew fiercely while rotating and eventually, the pebble reached Parco’s stomach.

“Oh no.”

This wasn’t his intention. It wasn’t really intentional, and for a moment Ulan looked puzzled.

However, it is still too early to be troubled.

Although a little more force was applied than he thought, it was not that much.

‘So…….’

Maybe it wasn’t that much of a blow, he thought. But Ulan was the only one who thought so.

Parco, who was hit by the pebble, staggered and fell to the floor.

Thump!

As Parco writhed, collapsing like a deflated doll, an eerie silence enveloped the examination room. However, this silence was short-lived, shattered by Stella’s shriek as she realized the situation.

“Pr, Professor!” Stella rushed into the examination room, supporting the fallen Parco, “Professor! Wake up, Professor!”

However, there was no answer even when she called; she quickly checked his breathing and pulse. Fortunately, there was no abnormality. He seemed to have passed out, perhaps temporarily.

After exhaling a sigh of relief at this fact, she immediately glanced at Ulan, “Ulan, I told you to be gentle!”

“I threw it as gently as I could.”

“Then why did the professor faint?”

“I think it’s because a little more force was applied than I originally intended.”

“Then it was not gentle, was it!?” Stella exclaimed, sounding incredulous. Then, with a doubtful look on her face, she asked again, “You-you don’t think it was imbued with mana, do you?”

“Absolutely not,” Ulan denied emphatically, “If I had imbued the pebble with mana, he’d have a hole in his chest by now.”

“…….”

She closed her mouth at the eerie answer; to anyone else, it would have sounded like a joke when Ulan said it.

At a time when awkward silence was lingering for a moment—

“Cough!”

—suddenly, there was a violent cough.

It came from Parco’s mouth. Wincing, he let out a series of violent coughs.

“Cough! Cough!”

“Professor! What, are you okay?!”

“……Ah, yeah. I’m fine,” He nodded weakly and looked around dazedly, “More than that, why are you in the examination room, and why am I on the floor…….”

Was it because he suddenly fainted? Parco didn’t seem to remember what had happened just before he passed out. Stella explained, and his eyes went wide.

“I fainted?”

“Yes. I’m sorry,” At that moment, Ulan lowered his head, as if he was ashamed, “I only intended to break the bead, but I must have unintentionally used a little more force.”

“…….”

Parco looked dumbfounded. He had every right to be; to think that throwing a simple pebble from twenty paces away could not only shatter the bead but also render him unconscious.

‘If that’s really possible…….’

Then there would be no need to attend lectures in Magic Warfare. One could simply throw a pebble to target a mage, and that would be the end of it. The skepticism lingered in Parco’s eyes.

After a moment, he spoke up, “Let’s check the video recorder.”

Fortunately, the examination room was equipped with a functioning video recording device. By reviewing it, he could determine whether Ulan’s statement was true or false…

…and some time later, Ulan’s statement was confirmed as true.

“……!?”

The whistle blew, signaling the start of the exam…

…and at the same time, Ulan threw a pebble, and Parco, upon being hit, collapsed in place. No other actions or interferences were recorded — a straightforward result.

Parco’s gaze wavered, and his expression turned awkward, “This, this is, this is….”

He actually knocked me out with a pebble? It was ridiculous. He wanted to deny it, but he couldn’t. There was no way the video recorder could have been tampered with.

And then…

…Stella spoke up, “This is definitely S-grade, I guess.”

“Huh, what?”

“Because he knocked out the opposing mage at the start of the exam, and since no magic was activated, there are no demerit points either.”

“But this is……!”

It was not a technique he taught. Ulan just threw a pebble, that’s all. That’s why he didn’t want to admit it.

‘More importantly, to that barbarian…’

He didn’t want to give S-garde, which could only be given to one person per class. So, when he was about to deny Ulan’s results…

“Didn’t the professor say that before we started?”

…Stella spoke up; with a wry smile, “The less time it takes to subdue the opponent, mage, the higher the grade. Oh, by the way, I recorded all the conversations we had from the moment we arrived here.”

“…….”

A voice recording device in Stella’s hand.

Seeing it, Parco’s mouth dropped open.

‘Did she offer to be the invigilator for that reason…?’

Was she planning on doing this all along?

He bit his lip tightly. At the same time, a question arose. He couldn’t understand why Stella would go to such lengths for a mere barbarian.

“Will you give an S-grade?”

“……I will consider it for the grade.”

“Please tell me for sure that you will give it,” Stella persisted.

After a while, she smiled with satisfaction, only after receiving Parco’s assurance.

“Hoo-hoo, thank you.”

“…….”

“Then we will take our leave now. Please take care of your body.”

“I will go back. Take care of your health.”

With a short farewell…

…Ulan and Stella soon disappeared.

Meanwhile, Parco, with a dazed expression, stared blankly at the backs of the two, who were getting farther and farther away.

At that moment…

“I know how you feel, and I understand.”

…a deep voice came out of nowhere.

The voice was familiar and Parco reflexively turned his head.

Soon, a middle-aged man with a bushy beard stood in front of him. He let out a hollow laugh and muttered, “I felt the same way too.”

“Professor ……Harban?”

Harban Capitus.

An assassin once renowned in the Alteration Kingdom; along with all sorts of stealth skills, he was especially skilled at tracking. He was now teaching Tracking as his specialty.

At the same time, he was an old drinking buddy of Parco.

“You know what my exam is, don’t you?”

Parko nodded wordlessly.

The practical exam for Tracking was a game of hide-and-seek.

The examinee had to track down Harban, who had disappeared from the examination room, and find him within the time limit; the average time for this exam was about 30 minutes. If the examinee goes over an hour, he is disqualified.

However, Ulan’s speed surpassed all expectations.

“I got caught in 10 seconds.”

“……what?”

“I thought I had erased my breath, but he found me right away. So, I had him take the exam again, with the added condition of ‘subduing after tracking.’ The result was the same.”

Adding insult to injury, in the second exam, he foolishly added the condition of ‘subduing after tracking,’ resulting in getting hit by a thrown pebble and losing consciousness, just like Parco.

Harban burst into a disappointed laughter.

Upon witnessing this, Parco’s thoughts turned to Ulan.

‘Who the hell is he?’

He managed to locate Harban, the master of stealth, in just ten seconds and knocked out himself, an advanced-level mage, with just a pebble. Perhaps he truly was an expert?

But then there was no point in joining the Academy. If he was an Expert, he will have enough skills to be the leader of the Knights Order.

“Maybe the rumors are true.”

“Huh? Rumors?”

“It’s a rumor that’s circulating in the kingdom alliance. The barbarian we saw just now is actually the empire’s secret weapon.”

A rather outlandish story; but it had a basis.

“Just look at this incident, right?”

“This incident?”

“Yes, it’s not common for Dean Erkazan to personally come forward to request a reexamination. And that’s just for one student.”

It was true.

It was a bit much for the Dean of Military Studies department to personally take care of a student.

‘Come to think of it…….’

There was something else that bothered him.

It was strange that Professor Stella was the one to induct him, and equally strange that she tried to get him an S-grade after the exam.

‘It’s definitely suspicious.’

Parco’s eyes narrowed; he sniffed the air, for somehow it smelled foul. After a moment, he flashed a fierce glare.

‘Should I investigate it behind the scenes?’

If Ulan was indeed the empire’s secret weapon as rumored, it would be a matter worth reporting to the Arval Kingdom, Parco’s homeland.

Especially since the Ruben Empire has long been known to covet the lands of the Arval Kingdom.

After a while, Parco turned around; his gaze unwavering — they were the eyes of a man who had decided something.

* * * * *

And that evening…

…as the sky gradually turned reddish, Noah, on her way back after completing the practical exam, stretched with a tired face.

“Ugh, it’s finally over.”

She had a relieved expression.

She deserved it. She’d been working so hard since this morning, and the practical exam was finally over.

It was also the most physically demanding test for Noah; so much so that she almost failed the exam, but she gritted his teeth and performed well enough to avoid disqualification.

‘Only one test left.’

The long-awaited ‘Magic Detection’ exam.

One of the two major incidents that occurred during the midterms at the Arsene Academy. Noah recalled the deadline with a serious face.

‘…April 30, Friday.’

The last day of the midterm exam period.

She carefully organized the things that would happen at the Fountain of Magic. From Professor Dirac leaving to the transformation into a monster.

‘More than that, I should tell him soon, but…’

She has to reveal the whole story of this incident to Ulan and seek cooperation. She had already finished planning how to explain it.

First, she was planning to throw a bait and say that she saw the future in a dream on the day before the exam.

“He should be in the cafeteria by now, right?

It was dinner time, and unless something extraordinary happened, Ulan would never skip a meal. Also, by now, he and Stella would likely have finished their business.

So, Noah headed straight to the cafeteria; to drop some hints for Ulan.

But as she neared her destination, Noah ran into someone she didn’t expect.

“Finally, you’re here.”

“……!”

A girl with silver hair stood in front of her and Noah’s eyes widened at the sight.

“Di, Dilia?!”

Dilia Arpen, the Witch of the Stars.

At her sudden appearance, Noah recalled what she had said earlier.

“Were you waiting for me?”

“I had something to tell you,” Dilia nodded in affirmation; then she suddenly closed the distance.

At the sudden approach, Noah flinched her shoulders, when Dilia bowed her head, “……Thank you.”

“Uh, huh?”

“Your prophecy, your help.”

The Abyss Worshippers attack.

The fact that she made it out of this incident alive was due solely to Ulan.

But she also had Noah to thank.

She’d heard the prophecy beforehand, and wasn’t as freaked out when the attack happened.

“So, I came to say thank you.”

And one more thing.

She had something she wanted to say.

“Let’s forget, last time, each other.”

“That last time, if you mean……?”

“The time in the preliminary round.”

At the time when they fought one-on-one in the preliminary round; the two of them fought each other with their hair in hand while their mana was depleted.

When Noah recalled this belatedly…,

“Then, I’ll introduce myself again.”

…Dilia took a step back. She crossed her hands over her chest and introduced herself in a calm tone, “I am, Dilia Arpen. I’m a mage who specializes in star constellation magic, and I have a very special relationship with Ulan.”

A special relationship.

There was a lot of emphasis on that word.

But Noah didn’t realize it.

Or rather, Dilia’s self-introduction didn’t even come in her ears. Rather, the situation itself was even more surprising.

‘I never thought it would be so easy to solve.’

It was an unexpected situation.

Still, it felt good.

Reconciling with Dilia was what Noah had hoped for, and so she introduced herself, just like Dilia.

With the awkward introduction over, the two of them finally made up.

“So, now, can I ask you something, please?”

“Huh? You’re asking, what did you do suddenly…….”

“Your prophecy.”

With a short answer as a signal, Dilia stuck her face forward; with eyes shining with curiosity, “I want to know what, how, it will be fulfilled.”

A moment of confrontation and something dawned on Noah; that is, Dilia Arpen’s attributes and one of the penalties given to her.

‘Obsession.’

People, food, objects, knowledge. It doesn’t matter what it was, if she was hooked on something, she’d cling to it until she was satisfied.

‘In the original, she was obsessed with new magic, the mission to close the Gates of the Abyss, and Ibella.’

In particular, her obsession with Ibella was amazing. Just look at the time when she was separated from her on a separate mission. She couldn’t sleep at night and made a fuss about joining Ibella.

‘On the other hand, this time…….’

Apparently she was obsessed with this thing called ‘foresight’.

Noah smiled awkwardly at this realization.

She wanted to answer, but it was the kind of thing she couldn’t.

‘Because there was no such thing as foresight.’

The foresight that Noah talked about was nothing more than information obtained from the development of the original storyline.

In other words, she couldn’t answer Dilia’s question because she was talking about something that had already happened in the original game.

So, while she was wondering what to say to avoid the question,

“Oh? Noah?”

A familiar voice was heard from behind; the something that Dilia in the original had a particular obsession with — it was Ibella Elearde.

“Why are you here if you’re not going in…….”

As she was scratching her head, Ibella suddenly stammered.

There was only one reason. She had spotted Dilia, the silver-haired girl by Noah’s side.

And that moment…

…her turquoise eyes turned cold.

(End of Chapter. . . . . . . .Thanks for Reading. . . . . . . . . )

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