A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 7

As far as I remember, Soul World is never a hopeful game.

Its unsettling story is as unpleasant as its clunky controls, and unless you meet certain conditions, the endings are either bad or sad.

First of all, if you let your guard down, the characters die in an instant. I’m not exaggerating—if you look away for even a moment, they die.

One particularly vivid memory is when I entered the forest with a companion to gather herbs. I remember it more because the character was quite pretty.

Among the choices, there’s an option to stay together or to split up. Most newbies, not knowing any better, choose the latter.

They pick it with the mindset of “Even if it’s dangerous, I can save them,” but that turns out to be the worst choice.

If I had been even a little late, they would have been killed by Manki. Watching someone turn into mush right before your eyes is truly shocking.

Anyway, if you choose to stay together, you can save them, and they end up being quite helpful. It’s a game where even the stats of characters other than yourself increase.

These elements make people realize that Soul World is by no means a “kind” game.

If it stopped there, it would be fine, but the combat is the real problem. Control matters far more than stats.

“What should we do? Does that mean they can’t even understand us?”

“Who knows? I’m not sure about that.”

Ellie, who was destined to die to Manki, and the woman who introduced herself as Luna, were talking to each other.

Both of them were dressed differently but carried small bags. It seemed they were here to collect herbs.

I quietly stared at the woman named Luna. Her appearance was very familiar.

‘Light yellow hair and sky-blue eyes. That’s right.’

Soul World doesn’t have customization. You have to choose between male and female.

The modeling is well-done, thankfully. Without it, even enthusiasts wouldn’t have rated it highly.

So, the woman who introduced herself as Luna must be the protagonist of this world. Memories I thought I’d forgotten started to resurface.

‘Her profession is… a knight?’

Judging by her appearance, she seemed to be the most basic of basic professions—a knight. Seeing her wield a standard-length sword made it almost certain.

Knights are efficient no matter which skill tree you follow. That’s why most beginners tend to choose knights.

According to the lore, they learned swordsmanship from a wanderer. This is official lore, so it’s the same even if you choose a different profession.

No matter what profession you choose, the basic weapon is a sword. Incidentally, you can meet that wanderer later.

He’s a rather eccentric character who surprises players. His story is also quite decent.

‘She’s going to have a hard time.’

Knowing a bit about the future, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

A single moment’s choice can lead to losing a precious companion or being betrayed by them.

But her future and all that aside, meeting people was more important to me. I wanted to get out of here.

I’d grown accustomed to the forest, but I never forgot my longing for civilization. I also needed to figure out how to return to my original world.

First, I had to find the person who sent me here. I already had a prime suspect in mind.

“How about we start by finding out where that person lives? There might be more survivors.”

At the starting point of this unfriendly game, Ellie spoke in a calm voice.

Her composure made it hard to believe she had almost died just moments ago.

‘Come to think of it, she’s pretty good too, isn’t she?’

I struggled to recall fading memories. There were so many unique characters that it was hard to remember the details, but I remembered Ellie.

Medium-length brown hair with neatly cut bangs. Round eyes and golden eyes.

She was smaller in stature than Luna, but her chest stood out noticeably. Standing side by side, the difference was clear.

Most of the characters in Soul World have good modeling, but Ellie stands out even among them.

If I remember correctly, her potion pouch was highly praised. If that’s what it refers to, I can understand why.

‘She’s incredibly useful. That’s a relief.’

If you save Ellie, you won’t have to worry about potions from mid-game onward. If I recall, she’s related to alchemy.

Because of this, saving her early makes the story much easier. But until then, you have to raise your stats through countless quests.

You could say she’s a character who earns her keep. The problem is that she’s as fragile as a glass cannon, so she’ll face numerous crises later on.

Saving Ellie eliminates potion worries, so it’s essentially a balance patch.

Of course, players still treat her like a glass cannon.

“Be reasonable. You just realized how dangerous this place is. We need to leave immediately.”

“Are you planning to leave that person behind?”

“That’s…”

At Ellie’s sharp remark, Luna glanced at me. I just stood there blankly, watching them.

Honestly, I wanted to reveal that I could understand their words. But all I could manage were curses.

More importantly, I had missed the right timing. By now, they probably thought of me as a primitive savage, beyond even a barbarian.

To be honest, the situation was beneficial to me, so I kept my mouth shut.

“So, let’s start by finding out where that person lives. Sound good?”

“…What if that man poses a threat to us? You saw earlier—he’s strong enough to easily fend off Manki’s attack. Even I can’t handle that.”

“Oh, come on. If that were the case, he would’ve killed us already. Maybe he instinctively recognizes us as the same kind.”

Ellie tapped Luna’s shoulder as she spoke. Her characteristic optimism came to mind.

Luna, perhaps convinced by Ellie’s words, looked at me with a subtle expression. I kept my mouth tightly shut.

“…Then how are we supposed to get to where he lives? We can’t even communicate.”

I’ll guide you from here. As soon as I heard Luna’s words, I turned my back to them.

When I turned, I could sense the two of them were startled.

“…Should we follow him?”

“…For now. Is the special compass working?”

“It’s functioning properly.”

So they even have a special compass. That means we can get out of this wretched forest.

Ah, but before that, I need to bring Manki’s corpse back. I dragged the corpse of Manki, whose head and brain had been completely smashed.

The sight of me easily dragging the massive gorilla, over 5 meters tall, made the two of them freeze.

Well, I guess it’s shocking to see someone dragging it like luggage. The protagonist wouldn’t even be able to attempt this with their current strength.

“He must be a survivor, right?”

“He could be someone born here. They said no one has gone missing in this forest recently. The last disappearance was 20 years ago.”

“So, are you saying he’s been living here for 20 years?”

“We’d have to see his face to know… But just from his appearance, he looks at least over 40.”

That’s not true. Even if I’ve lived here for years, I’m definitely not in my 40s.

Thinking I couldn’t understand them, they kept talking however they pleased.

It seems like this damn hair and beard are the problem. A beard alone makes someone look older, and mine reaches my chest.

Plus, my bangs are so long they cover my face. While I can see just fine, others can’t see my face.

‘Still, it’d be a shame to shave it.’

The hair I could do without, but I’d grown this beard for a while. I could trim it with mana, but I just left it as it was.

I probably gave up on leaving the forest around that time. With no one to see me, I thought, “What’s the point?”

Anyway, even as the two of them stabbed verbal daggers into my heart, I didn’t stop walking.

It was amusing to see them flinch every time I glanced back at them.

“…Why does he keep looking at us?”

“Maybe it’s because he hasn’t seen anyone besides us?”

Think whatever you want. I understand every single thing you’re saying.

Ignoring their whispers, I dragged Manki’s corpse toward the hideout.

That doesn’t mean nothing happened on the way there.

Squish—

“Huh? Ah, damn it…”

“What’s wrong, Luna?”

As we were walking, Luna suddenly stopped in her tracks, cursing loudly. When they stopped, I stopped too.

Luna looked at the brown lump stuck to the bottom of her shoe, her face scrunching up in disgust.

“I stepped in poop.”

“What?”

“I said I stepped in poop. We should’ve been more careful, considering how many beasts are around here.”

Luna had stepped in poop. She grimaced and spewed all kinds of curses. Her mouth was rougher than I expected.

Come to think of it, that might be mine. Since it’s near the hideout, I’d marked the territory.

Beasts generally have a keen sense of smell, so leaving traces like that is necessary. Honestly, I’d have built a proper restroom if I could.

But with only beasts around, I had no choice but to use their methods.

‘This is something I’ll have to take to my grave.’

It’s not like I can speak properly, so there’s no way they’ll find out.

Luna roughly scraped off the filth stuck to the soles of her shoes using nearby branches. Even so, her expression didn’t soften.

Her pretty face is going to get ruined at this rate. Well, stepping in poop is definitely something anyone would consider extremely unlucky.

‘Is her luck stat low?’

Such a pointless thought crossed my mind. In reality, when your luck stat is low, all sorts of things can happen.

Situations where things just don’t align, like missing a critical hit that would’ve ended it all with one strike, occur frequently.

People wondered if the monster’s patterns were influenced by luck, but since it’s literally luck, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly.

Additionally, it has varying degrees of impact on item drop rates. If you’re unlucky, you’re just unlucky, no matter what.

“Wow… It looks like someone lives here? Oh. Isn’t that a bear?”

“…Yeah. Judging by the size of the hide, it seems to be a Giant Bear.”

As we walked, we arrived at the hideout.

As soon as Luna and Ellie reached the hideout, they whispered to each other while looking at the dismantled bear hide.

The hide hadn’t been fully processed yet and was lying on the ground. That’s probably why it still felt quite intimidating.

I casually tossed the Manki’s corpse aside and looked at them. They were busy inspecting the hideout.

‘Let’s just eat some meat.’

Conveniently, there was some adequately smoked bear meat. I put the golden-brown, smoked meat into my mouth.

It was perfectly cooked and tasted amazing. There wasn’t even a hint of the usual gamey smell, and the juices were just right.

This was the result of using a special plant as firewood during the smoking process. At this rate, I’d probably finish it all soon.

‘Maybe I should offer them some food?’

Since I can’t speak anyway, the only way to show goodwill is through my actions.

I shifted my gaze to them, who were still busy looking around the hideout.

At some point, Luna had disappeared, leaving only Ellie. Judging by the faint traces, it seemed Luna had gone into the cave.

Swoosh-

“Huh?”

While Ellie was curiously staring at the bear hide, I quietly held out some meat.

When I silently offered the bear meat, Ellie’s golden eyes widened in surprise. Seeing her up close, she really was quite pretty.

In the meantime, she alternated her gaze between the bear meat I offered and me, then opened her mouth in a puzzled tone.

“For me to eat?”

“… …”

She pointed to herself with her index finger and asked again. I nodded.

When Ellie saw my response, she blinked and muttered softly.

“Hmm… So you’re not completely incapable of understanding. Maybe I can communicate with you through gestures?”

“… …”

“Anyway, thanks for the food. It looks delicious.”

She made her own assumptions and took the bear meat I offered. Instead of using her bare hands, she skewered it with a branch, like a kebab.

Honestly, my hands were too dirty to hand it over directly.

Even though I’ve been washing regularly at a nearby stream, they got dirty again from the recent dismantling.

‘She’s also from the countryside, like the protagonist, right?’

While the protagonist came from a somewhat proper village, Ellie was said to be from a remote village.

Additionally, her backstory involved gathering herbs herself since childhood, so she seemed unbothered by things like this.

Normally, people would feel disgusted, but thankfully, she didn’t.

“Wow. This is delicious. Was bear meat always this good?”

Ellie exclaimed in admiration after taking a bite of the bear meat. Her wide golden eyes looked quite adorable.

Wild animals typically have a distinct gamey smell. I almost lost my appetite the first time I ate without thinking.

To get rid of that smell, I came up with the idea of using herbs. I used the abundant herbs around to eliminate the odor.

Thanks to that, the meat now carried the unique aroma of herbs, guaranteeing its flavor.

Why eat the innards raw, you ask? That’s because cooking them doesn’t improve the taste, so it’s pointless.

Innards are purely for quelling hunger and providing energy, while the meat is for emergency rations and flavor.

“By the way, it seems like you definitely see me as one of your kind? Sharing food and all.”

“Damn.”

Does she think I’m some wildling without intelligence? I was so baffled that the response came out immediately.

Of course, there’s no way Ellie could understand me. I don’t know when I’ll be able to fix this language barrier.

“But where did Luna go?”

She went into the cave earlier. There’s nothing much in there anyway.

Crude murals I drew to remember the game’s story and the time I’ve spent living here.

There are also the heads of prey I hunted, placed as decorations, and the weapons I made as spares.

‘I should check what she’s doing.’

I headed toward the hideout where Luna had entered. What’s taking her so long to come out?

Seeing me move, Ellie, who was still chewing on the bear meat, hurriedly followed.

“Wait for me, Sivar!”

Halt-

At her words, I stopped in my tracks. What did she just call me?

As soon as I heard Ellie’s call, I turned my gaze to her. She flinched under my stare.

Surely, she didn’t mean to call me ‘Sivar,’ right? I pointed at myself with my index finger and opened my mouth.

“Damn (me)?”

At my gesture, Ellie blinked her large eyes before breaking into a bright smile.

I was momentarily captivated by her warm, sunlit smile, but her next words left me utterly dumbfounded.

“Yup! Since you keep saying ‘Sivar, Sivar,’ I thought I’d make it your name. What do you think? Isn’t it nice?”

“… …”

Call me whatever you want. I don’t even remember my real name anymore.

With a hollow feeling, I resumed walking.

“Do you understand me, or do you not?”

“… …”

“You don’t, huh. Is there a special meaning behind it? Sivar!”

“Damn.”

“I knew it!”

What do you mean, you knew it?

‘It’s a curse, you idiot.’