Chapter 157 – Those Who Remain at the Academy (02)

As the sun began to set, the royalist soldiers went into their barracks and lit a fire.

As if he was afraid of something, he frantically brought wood and clothes from the remains of the academy to a place between the buildings without being noticed by the Duke soldiers and started a fire, looking like he was trying to avoid something.

There was a possibility that monsters or dangerous events might appear, and there was no possibility of acquiring new thieves, so I had William stay with me in a safe area in preparation for later, and I headed to the stage alone with Duke Renellian’s sword.

‘The soldiers… Um…’

As I approach the stage, I see the sharp eyes of the soldiers.

However, they could not come out of the bonfire they had made as if they were afraid of the dark, and instead they were pointing their weapons at me or frowning and trying to prevent me from approaching the stage.

Even if they became hostile, they would not run out right away and I thought it would be okay to just run away without killing them, but I had no choice but to retrieve the wooden sword just to see what they thought.

Chin.

“…Are you sure…It’s dangerous?”

As I walked up the stage, it felt like the block I stepped on was slightly lifted.

The terrain may have been damaged by the fire and rain around the area, but the blocks were not fixed straight and stuck out. Every time I stepped on one, the accumulated rainwater and mud would pop out and I was worried that if I pulled out the wooden sword incorrectly, the ground would collapse. It was enough.

‘A monster comes out at night?’

Originally, Celestial Academy was maintained as a complex barrier maintained by magic teachers, so monsters could not invade the inside.

Of course, there are no fatal accidents because people’s access is controlled to a large extent, but the operative family worked hard to raid and take over the Celestial Academy for several years and mobilized a large number of recruiters to neutralize the barrier and attack, so Such a situation did not occur. It happened.

However, if it were a normal situation and it was in ruins like it is now, it would not be strange for monsters to live in the ruined academy site compared to the rough terrain around here.

“Hey!”

The moment I approached the wooden sword and stretched out my hand, a soldier who appeared to be a captain stood up in front of the bonfire and spoke.

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

They were watching me with a look of fear rather than hostility, and I pulled out my wooden sword, ignoring his words.

‘Don’t collapse…!’

Pussyuk!

As several blocks around me crumbled, I was finally able to retrieve the wooden sword again.

“…Huh?”

Luckily, nothing happened.

When the wooden sword was pulled out, the block shook and distorted a little, but the terrain did not collapse, and no problems arose.

‘It’s a wooden sword, it’ll be fine’

Since it had ‘indestructible’ durability anyway, it was impossible for anyone to damage it. I was shaking off the dust on the handle and the body of the wooden sword.

‘Huh?’

There was something that looked like black paint on the tip of the wooden sword, without any three-dimensional effect.

‘Was there something like this?’

At first, I tried to wipe it off because there was ink or black marks on it, but even when I rubbed it with a cloth, the black marks could not be erased or covered. Instead, black lines were overlapping on my hands and they were trembling.

The string, which was tied about the length of a thin shoelace, was pulled and tried to pull the wooden sword taut, and the moment I saw it, I knew that the wooden sword was a decoy.

‘A black string with no thickness… No, is this a shadow?’

Pusssssuk!

Black pieces are shaking in the ground, or rather, in the darkness between the blocks.

And after a while.

Push!

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, a black thorn erupted from the floor and bounced from where I was.

‘This is… [Shadow Thorn]?’

The moment I step back and step, the block in that spot shakes and [Shadow Thorns] Erupt once again, attacking the spot I stepped on.

“Hey!”

“It’s dangerous!”

The soldiers were so frightened that they huddled together next to the bonfire and burned their wooden spears and other items to make the fire brighter.

Fushot!

I threw my body in the air, avoiding the [Shadow Thorns] As much as possible, but as the thorns gradually became aware of my direction, they spread their thorns at a location where I could fall, and I had no choice but to turn in the air and hit the block in the middle. I stepped on it and jumped high.

‘Make it impossible to find me for a moment… Ugh!’

Peeing!

Along with the feeling of the string hanging on the wooden sword being pulled, [Shadow thorns] Were spreading out sharply like a flower blooming in the area where I was.

The thin teeth begin to rotate as if they are going to grind me down as soon as I fall, but at this range, unless I can double jump in the air, they will just be ground down and die the moment I fall.

“Inori!”

I called out the name of Inori, who was nearby, using my ‘voice’, but she remained silent.

‘Isn’t it Inori? Saori’s mother’s abilities? Or another shadow family that grew during the two years I was asleep…’

However, if they heard that I called Inori, even members of other families would know that I have returned, so now this [Shadow Ninjutsu] Is being used from a distance, not when there is someone around…

‘If I could only use [Shadow Ninjutsu], I could just absorb the thorns and nullify them…!’

But now, for some reason, the companion trainee’s characteristic was cut off, so I had to close my eyes and fall into the black thorn field.

‘Do you think they will let you down so easily?’

Hold a wooden sword in your hand.

Although the [Swordmaster] Trait is not currently applied to me, I put my arm behind my shoulder, pulled the sword back, and struck it in the air.

Fuuuuu-!!

The surrounding air is shattered by a powerful attack, and the stage is destroyed.

However, because it was a [Shadow thorn] That was not affected by physical shock, the thorn itself did not change, but the shape of the shadow changed due to the broken blocks, distorting its appearance, and I kicked the block that bounced into the air and left the stage.

Wow!

Then I took refuge in a place where there was a bonfire.

‘It’s not the end!’

Due to the [Shadow String] Being pulled tautly, thorns could be felt approaching this place, and the moment they saw it, the soldiers’ complexions turned pale and the brown-bearded captain shouted.

“Fire! Add more fire!”

At the shout of a soldier who looks like a captain, the soldiers throw in all the miscellaneous items around them and pour in the secretly hidden alcohol, making the fire grow bigger, and the shadow thorns that were flying in to attack me melt as the direction of the shadow changes due to the light source of the bonfire created here. It was disappearing.

Good luck!

I removed the string by inserting the wooden sword into the bonfire and taking it out, making the shadow disappear for a moment in the flames without leaving any shadows on the wooden sword.

“Hwiyu…”

If I only had [Shadow Ninjutsu], Even if it was only 10%, I could just cut the string and block the thorns.

It’s so difficult because I don’t have any characteristics… While I was thinking, the soldiers staring at me with hostile eyes raised their fists.

“This son of a bitch tried to kill us!”

“Quiet.”

A soldier who looked like a leader with a brown beard approached me while calming down the other soldiers.

“I’m sorry for causing a commotion. But I don’t want to fight with royalist soldiers.”

“Well, how can you believe that?”

Unlike before, the soldier who looked like a leader did not stop the soldiers, but rather put all his weapons into the flames, leaving the frightened soldiers alone, and pointed his toothless sword at me.

“Isn’t that right? Aren, the traitor of the Academy.”

“…!”

“You don’t recognize me?”

A soldier who looked like a captain hid his chin with his hand to hide his beard and the eyes I had encountered several times at the academy were glaring at me.

When Marian was attacked by a parasitic flower, he came to our rescue and was the academy’s escort who took care of us several times when we went out for training.

‘Ah! So…’

I was familiar with the terrain of this academy, and I knew that this stage was temporarily built, so I was curious, but I couldn’t believe it was someone involved!

From his perspective, it seemed like he was a member of the royal faction and was defeated while fighting, so he ran away to the Celestial Academy, a place he was familiar with.

“The face he looked quite similar, but he didn’t look like that cute little kid. So I thought he was related or someone who looked like him.”

“…”

“But with the exception of Aren, I was sure the moment she casually touched her wooden sword, which shattered her hand the moment she touched the blade.”

“Captain! That traitor must be killed right now!”

The soldiers next to me gave me bloody looks as if they were going to kill me with their bare hands, and I had to put my hand on the wooden sword.

“…I am not a traitor.”

“Hmm…”

He was deep in thought as he pulled at his own beard.

If the situation worsens, we have no choice but to attack them. But now, in front of me, the former academy guard captain was looking at me and thinking.

“Which faction are you?”

“First of all, I am a royalist.”

“For now?”

He frowns as if he doesn’t like my answer.

“Make a clear decision. Whose side are you on? Ophelia, the witch of red flames, or Marian, the merciless sword?”

He was forcing me to make a choice.

If he is the one who wants to kill me, he would have to lie here, but if you see him ordering his subordinates to keep me alive even during the [Shadow Thorn] Attack.

Even after I proved that I was the real Aren with a wooden sword, I could guess that he didn’t want to kill me.

“Ultimately, it’s both.”

“Both?”

“We will join forces with other friends to save Ophelia.”

When I heard that, I burst out laughing as if I was shocked.

“Ha, you crazy guy. Would you say something like that in a situation like this? Even if you know what we belong to?”

Even though he said that, the escort was actually smiling.

“Last time, you did that same damn thing and went on an ogre hunt and made a big fuss. Are you going for the fifth time now?”

“If I were to be honest, Ophelia is the first.”

“Yeah, well, that’s my childhood friend.”

He eventually retrieved his tattered sword.

“That you were not turned into a demon. And at that time… It’s a story everyone is talking about, but considering that Ophelia fought not only royalist soldiers but also ducal factions at that time… You were not the enemy.”

“…”

“But if you’re trying to save Ophelia, you’re not even an ally.”

“What are you going to do?”

He said, scratching his beard.

“What can we do? We are the fallen soldiers of the royal faction anyway. We have no intention of killing anyone in front of us. Much less, I have no intention of killing the student I was in charge of following around to clean up after him over something I am not sure about. And above all.”

He grinned and tapped my shoulder.

“He is a close friend of the King who will return someday, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to show him well in advance.”

Should I say that he has a quick mind, or should I say that he has a lot of affection and is good at making excuses?

Thanks to this, the soldiers also turned their heads and appeared to join me along with their leader, the Academy Guard.

“I will protect you just like I did at the Academy. Although we will have to retreat first.”

“There’s a place I’d like to stop by before that.”

“Where is it?”

She now saw the [Shadow] Guarding her wooden sword and knew that she was waiting for me.

So I have to find her too.

Above all, it was located closest to the academy.

“…Shadow family.”