Chapter 204 : Second Semester (1)
Chapter 204: Second Semester (1)
♠ ◆ ♥ ♣
"You’ve become quite the popular guy, huh?"
Bavarian Academy’s lecture hall.
Yuria glanced at Carl sitting beside her, letting out a soft chuckle.
What happened during the Walpurgis Night Festival team gathering had spread like wildfire across the entire Bavarian Academy.
The truth was, Carl was incredibly powerful.
He had hidden enough strength to overwhelm even the combined attacks of Nerian and Lewis.
Rumors were flying around that he had awakened the bloodline of a hero from Leipzig.
Even though he had become the center of attention, Carl was preparing for class as usual.
"How does it feel? Being in the spotlight all of a sudden."
"It doesn't really bother me."
Seeing Carl switch back to formal speech in front of others, Yuria chuckled again.
The contrast between the heavy atmosphere he had in NOX and Carl as a cadet at the academy was quite striking.
"Those people must be really something. If they saw you like this, they’d probably laugh without meaning to."
"No one but you would laugh while looking at me."
"That’s exactly why people like me are needed. If everyone just worships and admires you, it gets lonely. You know, that whole ‘strong yet lonely’ thing?"
As Yuria quoted something she vaguely recalled from somewhere, Carl shook his head with a helpless smile.
"And in terms of popularity, you’re not far behind me, Yuria. Actually, considering you’re famous across the entire capital, you’re probably several times more well-known."
"That’s……"
Yuria furrowed her brows.
The memory of her recent kidnapping came to mind.
Although Carl had come to her rescue right away and she hadn’t been hurt, it wasn’t a pleasant experience.
"It’s fame you gave me. The founder of Mana Beads, Cloaren? And just who is Cloaren, anyway?"
"She’s my ex-lover."
"……Seriously?!"
When Yuria asked with wide eyes, Carl chuckled.
"Just kidding. I’ve never dated a woman before."
"That’s not something to joke about!"
Yuria glared at Carl with wide eyes.
But Carl simply turned his gaze away as he continued preparing for the lecture.
"Phew, the professor’s not here yet, right?"
With only a little time left before the lecture, Lacis joined them.
She had barely made it on time after a meeting with another professor.
"Did your meeting go well?"
"Yes. For now. Unfortunately, it looks like defecting as a cadet won’t be easy."
Lacis shrugged her shoulders.
She was currently preparing to defect to the Bavarian Academy.
At this point, there were several possible routes she could take, but the most stable one was acquiring imperial citizenship through academic achievements at the academy.
She had ranked first in the first semester and discovered several Ancient Heroes’ ruins tied to the Empire’s history, thus meeting the conditions for asylum.
So she applied for defection via that route from Alforam, but there weren’t any open slots this year, so it didn’t work out.
"Apparently, there’s a fixed number each year. And due to higher-up circumstances, there weren’t any available spots this year."
"So that means there’s no chance?"
"There are still three years left, so at least one spot should open up. The problem is whether I can stay top of the class until then."
Lacis glanced subtly toward the back, where Nerian was sitting.
"……It won’t be easy."
"If it’s you, Lacis, I’m sure you’ll do well."
Carl nodded.
To be honest, things had become much easier now.
Even without relying on Crown Prince Yulian’s power, it was entirely possible to extract her from Alforam through the Madeira Trading House.
The fever surrounding Mana Beads had spread beyond Polfoardel and throughout the entire Empire.
It wouldn’t be hard to expedite her application and receive favorable treatment in the asylum process.
‘But that would be too easy.’
Proper hardship could be a catalyst for growth and a source of motivation.
If he cleared every obstacle in her path, it would only lead to one-sided dependence—and that wasn’t a healthy relationship.
"Alright, everyone, take your seats. The lecture is about to begin."
From that point on, the lectures continued just like they had in the first semester.
No cadet complained about having to attend a lecture on the very first day of the second semester.
They were all full of enthusiasm, having recharged during the break.
……All except for one person.
'Ugh, I’m so bored I could die.'
Yuria maintained a blank expression, but couldn’t hide her boredom.
Just a short while ago, she had been exploring ancient ruins, confronting all sorts of conspiracies in the Empire’s underworld.
And now, just sitting in a lecture hall peacefully listening to class felt unbearably tedious.
She already knew the key material thanks to her Status Window, and could discreetly copy her notes into it for reference.
In other words, even with those advantages, she still couldn’t beat Carl.
‘When I think about it that way, he really is a monster.’
Yuria spun her pen in her hand while stealing a glance at Carl.
Carl from NOX and Carl from the Bavarian Academy.
The gap between the two was massive.
Even now, although that gap had narrowed a bit since he had started showing some of his real strength, she was likely the only one aware of that fact.
Or maybe Lacis knew too?
‘Still, I’ve learned something interesting.’
Before the semester started,
Carl had told her about Crown Prince Yulian.
And with it came the exciting news that there were others like them who came from another world.
She couldn’t help but wonder if they might be able to find more Players like them.
‘What kind of person was Carl back on Earth?’
In the end, all her tangled thoughts led to that one question.
She herself had just been an ordinary student who liked games.
It was thanks to her knowledge of games that she had come this far, but Carl’s story was clearly different.
He had created an entire organization on his own, and obtained strength that deviated from the game’s original routes—something truly astonishing.
‘And he did it all while having lost his memories.’
Was he a doctor? A judge?
No—maybe a business executive or something along those lines?
Then again, if he turned out to be just a regular person, that might be fun in its own way.
If they ever returned to Earth and met again, the things that happened here would become fond memories.
‘In order for that to happen…….’
He had to complete "Four Seasons" as soon as possible.
Only then would he be able to lead Ragnarok to victory.
While Bavarian Academy enjoyed its peaceful daily life—
The underworld of Polfoardel was burning hot with the stench of blood.
“Gah…!”
A heavy yet swift swing of a blade cleaved through over a dozen people.
As short screams rang out and all of them died, Gallon For let out a low exclamation.
“That’s incredible.”
“Hmph, it’s nothing.”
The one who responded to his praise was the Blade Demon Han Yulim, gripping a blood-dripping sword.
Splat!
Swinging the sword to fling off the blood, the Blade Demon raised his head and scanned the area.
“Looks like it’s done here.”
“Thanks to you, we got here easily.”
“I just did my job.”
The Blade Demon had been moved by Carl’s words about rebuilding the Heavenly Demon Cult in this land and decided to serve under him.
He willingly accepted the restraints of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, received the Brand of Subjugation, and was now fighting alongside NOX as someone incapable of betrayal.
His assigned partner was Gallon For.
Since the Blade Demon had a blunt personality, it was deemed best to pair him with someone more laid-back like Gallon from Black Label.
Crash!
Kicking down the door of the enemy group, the Blade Demon entered with a bold step, glanced around, and examined the traces on the floor.
“They escaped. It hasn’t even been three minutes. If we give chase, we’ll catch them quickly.”
“You can tell?”
Gallon found every single move the Blade Demon made to be fascinating.
Though the Master had suddenly brought him in and made him an ally, his appearance and speech didn’t resemble anyone from the Empire, and both his strength and skill were out of the ordinary.
Even Queen and Second stayed slightly tense and cautious when dealing with him.
But the Blade Demon didn’t care in the slightest and followed orders without question.
“It’s easy. Even the Master could do it.”
“Hm.”
Gallon suddenly realized something.
The Blade Demon’s presence reminded him of someone—he shared a similar aura with the Master.
Maybe that was why he felt more familiar with him?
“You go ahead.”
Whoosh!
The Blade Demon launched off the ground first.
Leaping past the broken door into the air, he spread his sensory energy to detect nearby presences.
‘Excluding NOX personnel…’
Their orderly movements resembled that of assassins.
The Blade Demon figured Carl must have intentionally raised NOX to be like an assassin organization.
Nothing was easier to wield than emotionless tools.
‘A Heavenly Demon Cult built atop NOX, huh.’
To the Blade Demon, this world was utterly barbaric.
While there were aspects better than the Central Plains—like culture, lifestyle, or magic—when it came to pure martial pursuit, this place was woefully inferior.
People called themselves swordsmen without even knowing how to properly swing a sword.
That was why the Blade Demon had chosen to live in seclusion after recovering a portion of his strength.
He affiliated himself with a suitable organization, worked as a problem-solver, and enjoyed a laid-back life.
‘Thanks to that, I met the Young Master.’
Establishing and serving the Heavenly Demon Cult was the mission of a cultist like him.
Soon, he sensed the fleeing enemy at the edge of his perception and rushed toward them with tremendous speed.
Flash!
He surged forward like a jet streaking across the sky, furiously tearing through the air to chase the enemy.
“…?”
A man trying to escape through Flick’s exit glanced back at the strange sound coming from behind.
But before he could even comprehend what it was, his body was sliced to pieces and he died.
“Boss!!!”
“Shut it.”
Slash—!
The remaining members of the organization were also torn to shreds without even moving a finger.
Tap.
Arriving a little later, Gallon clicked his tongue and spoke.
“I’ve never seen someone wield a blade like you do.”
“If Master wielded a blade, your opinion might change. Though I doubt he would.”
The Blade Demon shrugged.
To him, Carl’s martial level was already touching the heavens.
To achieve such prowess in such a short time since arriving here—
If they had fought to the death, he himself would not still be standing here.
That’s how miraculous and indescribably great Carl’s martial arts were.
Tap.
Slipping the blade back onto his back, the Blade Demon looked at the corpses and spoke to Gallon.
“NOX, you all should be grateful that your boss is Master.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means he’s far nobler and greater than you think. Well, that much is enough to know.”
The Blade Demon chuckled faintly.
To someone from another world, talking about the Heavenly Demon Cult or Heavenly Demon Divine Art for a hundred days would mean nothing.
For now, this alone was enough.
After all, the sun shined by its own nature.
“…By the way.”
“Hm?”
“We were supposed to bring this boss back alive. What do we do?”
At Gallon’s words, the Blade Demon flinched.
He had gotten caught up in the momentum and swung his blade, resulting in a complete kill.
Scratching his cheek with an awkward expression, the Blade Demon looked sheepish.
Gallon grinned and lightly kicked a piece of flesh rolling at his feet.
“Let’s say I killed him. Just tell me some fun stories from time to time, alright?”