A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

Dark History (1)

***

Maybe because of the upcoming exam next week, the weekend flew by quickly.

Luna and Kara were busy devising strategies with their teams, so I didn’t get to see them, and I was occupied with tasks in the forest.

Luckily, Ellie visited my dorm and kept me company when I was feeling bored. She was busy preparing for the final exam too.

“Aren’t you studying? Aren’t you supposed to?”

“Not really? The professor told us to focus on practicals rather than written exams. And those practicals are really tough.”

“Is that usual?”

“No. It’s just me. Everyone else is taking theory classes.”

Ellie’s overflowing talent was evident. How could someone with such talent have been stuck in a rural area?

Luna was also from ot in purely on her own merit.

‘Does Ellie have no friends?’

I had never seen Ellie hanging out with others. Given her looks and figure, she should be popular, but she often wandered around alone.

It was fortunate that no ruffians approached her. Maybe being alone was better in her case.

But not having any friends in her class was concerning… I carefully asked.

“Ellie.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t you have any friends in your major?”

“Nope.”

A straightforward question met with a straightforward answer. She didn’t even seem to think it was a problem.

While I was taken aback by her response, Ellie continued as if nothing was wrong.

“At first, some tried to get close to me. But they were all creepy. Some even tried to touch my chest while I was napping.”

“Who?”

I need to go and smack those punks. Nothing else mattered; this made my blood boil.

Ellie noticed my anger and waved her hand to ease my worries.

“Don’t worry. They disappeared eventually. Maybe they got roasted by lightning?”

“Lightning? Porori… no, Ratatoskr?”

“Noulak, so no one comes near me.”

Porori may seem lazy, but he was diligent. I was starting to trust him a bit more.

While I was genuinely relieved, Ellie gave a rather chilling comment with a smile.

“If not, I was going to tell The Principal. They’d all get expelled then.”

“…”

She was planning to launch a buster call. Given the recent incident with Grace, it was a sensitive time.

She might look frail, but her willpower was formidable. No wonder she had the guts to venture into the forest alone.

However, her daring nature often led her into dangerous situations. Last time, she got a rash from discovering a new herb.

“Did you worry about me? How touching. I’ll give you a hug as a reward.”

“Okay.”

When Ellie spread her arms wide, I immediately dove in.

A soft and warm sensation enveloped my entire body. I wanted to stay like this forever.

“Sivar, you really like hugging, don’t you?”

Until Rize spoke from behind. As mentioned earlier, Ellie had come to my dorm.

Naturally, Rize was also there, maintaining her Holy Warrior form instead of her Holy Priestess form.

Her divine power, which had once been depleted, was now restored.

“Yes, Holy Warrior, you know Sivar lived in the wild, right? That’s probably why he likes hugging.”

Ellie answered while gently stroking my hair. Her embrace was as comforting as a true Holy Warrior’s.

Even though the real Holy Warrior was right there, let’s overlook that. It’s a metaphorical expression.

“Interesting. He never asked for such favors when he was with me.”

“Really? That’s odd. You’re quite comforting too. Any reason?”

“…”

I avoided answering. For some reason, hugging Rize felt a bit off.

Maybe it reminded me of her imposing Holy Warrior form. Her massive divine power pouch didn’t seem soft but rather hard.

‘And it’s fake.’

If I said that, Rize would scold me harshly. So I pretended not to hear.

Unless Rize could read my mind, she wouldn’t know. She probably thought we weren’t close enough yet.

“Silent, huh? Seems like Sivar is still hesitant about you, Holy Warrior.”

“I see. Feel free to let me know anytime.”

“Okay.”

I spent some more time enjoying Ellie’s embrace. No one was around to disturb us, so it was quite relaxing.

But every moment must come to an end. After recharging myself, I reluctantly pulled away.

Ellie looked disappointed as I let go. But it had to be done.

“Ellie.”

“Yeah?”

“Will you come to the party after the exam?”

“Oh, the freshman party? Of course. You and the others are going, right?”

“What about your clothes?”

In the Soul World, Ellie had attended in her regular clothes instead of a dress.

She didn’t have money as a commoner, but she said she preferred it for comfort.

Besides, her personality didn’t care about others’ opinions, and she stood out just with her looks, so a dress wasn’t needed.

“I’ll wear what I usually do. What about you?”

“I’m getting fitted after the exam, over the weekend.”

“Really? Then let’s go together. I’m curious about what you’ll wear.”

Good. That was natural. Now I could buy a dress for Ellie.

I had more than enough money. Surely, I could afford to buy Ellie a dress.

Might as well get one for Luna too. Even if Luna made money from stocks, clothes were expensive.

‘Everyday clothes are fine, but formal wear is ridiculously pricey.’

Even on Earth, affordable clothing only became common after the Industrial Revolution.

Factory production allowed for various clothing, but before that, it was all hand-made.

Though Santiago’s influence had lowered clothing prices for commoners, noble formal wear still commanded high prices.

“Freshman party… I’d love to attend, but I should refrain. It would complicate things if I showed up.”

“What will you be doing, Holy Warrior?”

“I’ll be praying for something Kaos would like.”

“…”

Please, don’t say such ominous things.

It sounded all too plausible, making it scarier.

***

The weekend passed, and the final exam time arrived. The final exam would take place at the same location as the midterm.

Though the structure was the same, the venue itself was different. The largest academy in the world had many exam sites.

“Aiven paper to draw maps.”

Unlike the midterm, this time we had to draw our own maps. An interesting twist.

Afterward, Luna and Kara, the team leaders, received the paper, and Marlboro continued his explanation.

There were siege weapons and possibly supplies as you moved further from the central castle.

But the most important thing was my location. No one knew where I was, and they had to find me themselves.

“Sivar, follow me. A place has been prepared for you to stay until the teams find you.”

After the teams headed to their positions, Marlboro took me somewhere.

The overall atmosphere of the exam site resembled medieval times. There were plains, forests, and hills.

Most importantly, there was the castle. Climbing the hill, I could see the castle, a pivotal point.

‘It’s quite high.’

It wasn’t called a castle for nothing. Though not as large as a real castle, it resembled a scaled-down version.

It seemed perfect for ten people to defend. The height required a ladder to climb.

However, there was no moat around the castle. It seemed we would have to dig one after occupying it.

“See that castle? That’s the building you might need to capture. Don’t destroy it entirely, just enough. Got it?”

“Understood.”

“Haha. Godin worked hard to set that up, so it would be sad to see it all destroyed.”

Given that we tested it, they probably reinforced it further. Throwing cannonballs with bare hands might be difficult.

But I had my secret weapons, so I wasn’t worried. I only worried about the team defending the castle.

We walked for qui space.

“Here’s your new home. You’ll get meals three times a day and various entertainment, so you won’t get bored.”

“Oh.”

But I was mistaken. There was a cozy house in the forest, perfect for solitary living.

It looked like a hermit’s abode, piquing my interest further.

“There are books to read and magic orbs to listen to music. Do you know how to use them?”

“No.”

“It’s simple. Just channel a bit of mana like this…”

Fwoosh!

When Marlboro touched the green orb with his finger, it lit up. I was more curious now, seeing it for the first time.

A crackling sound emanated from the green orb, soon followed by a melodious song.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t just instrumental music; there was a singer too.

In this era, classical music or opera would be common, so having a singer was surprising.

“There are over 50 songs in there. Press the orb once to stop and play, twice to skip to the next song, and hold it to replay the previous one. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“And if you want to focus more on the music, use these. They were invented in Santiago.”

Marlboro handed me headphones. They covered the entire ear instead of being placed inside.

Wearing the headphones, the music became clearer. The sound quality was excellent.

They weren’t connected by any wires. How did they work? Truly a fantasy world.

“Those are expensive, so don’t break them. Though I feel you might anyway…”

“Hmm. Hmmm.”

“Already liking them, huh. Is this your first time listening to music?”

Yes, it was my first time. I had never been interested in music before, so I had forgotten.

While I focused on the music, Marlboro explained a few more things and left.

He emphasized that if I left the forest, I couldn’t return.

As long as I heeded that, I nodded. The headphones were still on my ears.

“Uh~ Uh-uh~”

I spent the entire day with the headphones on. Listening to music after a long time felt great.

Little did I know this would later backfire.

“Dun. Dun-dun. Dun-dun-dun.”

But the music was really good.

***

Meanwhile, the professors…

“Look at him dance. It’s quite cute.”

“He’s an adult, but his actions are childish.”

“Hahaha.”

They were watching Sivar’s dancing in real-time.

End of Chapter

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