The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

Not long after entering the Black Forest, Atlas encountered a participant of the Hunting Festival.

“Big sister?”

“What are you doing here?”

Of all people, it was Hera, the Club President of the Swordsmanship Research Club.

She had clearly hunted several monsters already, as traces of them were evident on her body.

Hera and the other club members looked puzzled as to why I, not a participant, was here in a tuxedo.

“I don’t think you got lost…”

I pondered for a moment.

Given the time crunch, should I just break all four rings and send them back, or would it be better to briefly explain the situation and ask for their cooperation?

The latter seemed to be the right call for now.

“Let me confirm one thing.”

“Confirm? Wait, what??”

In an instant, I moved and tapped the special meridians on the napes of their necks one by one.

They all just looked surprised, which relieved me.

If it were someone with a fake face, it would have peeled off by now.

“Wha… what are you doing??”

“We found a corpse outside the forest.”

“What…?”

Upon hearing that a corpse had been found, everyone was startled.

Some might think I was just joking.

“Someone killed an Academy student and stole their face. It seems the professors want to handle this quietly, so they’re trying to manage it discreetly during the Hunting Festival.”

“If what you’re saying is true, we can’t continue the festival! I’ll inform the Principal and have it stopped.”

“… Is there any way to contact the professors from here?”

“No, I was just going to take off the rings and go back to report.”

“Then… wouldn’t that automatically disqualify you?”

“But we’re trying to stop it anyway, so what does it matter?”

The other club members behind me sighed at the thought of giving up on the festival, but Hera’s resolve was strong.

“Do you think I’m lying just to make you fall behind?”

“Why, is this a lie?”

“Not at all.”

“Then that’s settled.”

“You seem to be giving up too easily…”

“Sure, winning the Hunting Festival is important, but I’ve won once before… People’s lives are more important.

If you came to check on your friends, I’ll go look for them as soon as I finish this. So let’s meet again shortly.”

Hera smiled and fiddled with the ring on her finger.

“Hey, what are you doing? You all take off the rings quickly!”

“Ugh, seriously… Is this really okay, Club President??”

“We’re not short on budget anyway, so what does it matter? If she’s deceiving us, we can just scold her later.”

“Alright… understood.. everyone, take them off.”

At Hera’s shout, the Swordsmanship Research Club members took off their rings in unison.

Immediately after, they were all summoned, leaving only the rings to fall to the ground.

“You trust me so easily even though I didn’t explain much.”

What a genuinely good person.

I suddenly thought.

If I had had a family like that while growing up in the Titan territory… I might be a bit different from now.

“… Thinking strange delusions again.”

What a useless sentiment.

In reality, there’s no such thing as ‘if.’

“Now then… where should I go first?”

In the once calm Black Forest, loud noises were echoing from all directions.

———————————-

Ryo, suffering from such intense pain that he felt as if his body might crumble, barely regained his senses.

“Ahh… ugh…”

His mouth was filled with the soft soil of the Black Forest, leaving him dry.

Ryo was buried in the dirt.

“Ow ow… why… am I…?”

He desperately wanted to get up, but it was a difficult situation.

Looking around, he noticed a small crater formation, with magical remnants that seemed to be his own scattered here and there.

“I definitely encountered that monster Orthos… and ran away…”

As he recalled his memories one by one, Ryo realized why he was in such a state.

“Right… I was using magic from a tree to block Orthos’s attack, and I got thrown away…”

He had been targeted while discussing strategies; he barely managed to escape a direct hit due to his defensive magic, but it seemed he had been carried away unlike when used on the ground, forming a half-sphere-like wall.

That was the only explanation he could accept.

His memories stopped there.

“Right… what about the team members…”

Looking up, he spotted bright lights in the dim Black Forest.

It was the scene of a fire created by Orthos’s flames.

The defensive magic had protected all three team members, but only he had been thrown away.

Could it be that they were still facing that terrifying beast?

“Water… potion…”

He had prepared a recovery potion for times like this.

Well, more accurately, it was one he received from River.

Fortunately, it seemed he had only sustained full-body bruises, so a single potion should allow him to move again.

Ryo rummaged through his bag to find the recovery potion.

However, when he reached inside, all he felt was a burnt piece of leather.

Had it caught fire or something? The bottom of the bag was burned, leaving a large hole.

Most of the items in the bag were lost.

An encounter with a high-tier monster, the loss of nearly all his prepared items, and his body suffering from painful bruises…

‘Is this how it ends?’

Taking off the ring and going back might be the right choice.

However, he couldn’t shake the lingering regret.

The moment he took off the ring, he would have to leave the Academy.

At that moment, he sensed a presence nearby.

“That place looks quite flashy… isn’t someone going to get killed?”

“Right?”

He heard familiar voices getting closer.

The voices he heard every day during class, and the last ones he wanted to hear in a situation like this.

“What’s this, a beggar? What’s he doing here?”

“Did he get abandoned or something?”

“If you’re gonna throw him out, at least do a proper disposal. What are you doing with him still wearing the ring?”

“Isn’t it just to get eaten by monsters?”

It was the same group of noble students who always made Ryo’s life a living hell.

Seeing Ryo, who could barely move, they approached with smirks on their faces.

“You didn’t know your place and acted above yourself, huh? Turns out it led to this.”

“Taking the ring off means immediate disqualification, right? Should I do it now?”

“I’m going to take it off, but just a moment…”

One of them approached and pointed at Amy’s clenched fist.

“Where did you steal this from?”

He was pointing at the wand given to her by Atlas.

“I didn’t steal it…”

“You wouldn’t have the means to buy it, would you? Even my brother couldn’t buy it because it was too expensive.”

Generally, it’s quite unusual for children of nobles, who possess territories, to buy expensive items that are burdensome even for them but become something Ryo could easily get should be suspicious.

The touch of the thin, soft leather wrapping the handle seemed to say it was beyond Ryo’s reach.

“This is an item that a commoner like you has no business possessing; I’m taking it.”

“You can’t…!”

The student grabbed Ryo’s arm and tried to forcefully pry his hand open to take the wand.

Whether he was genuinely conscientious and trying to return a suspected stolen item to its owner or simply coveting it was anyone’s guess.

Despite desperately resisting against four sturdy male students, it was just a matter of time before his grip would open.

This wasn’t just any wand.

It was a gift from the people who treated him well in this wretched Academy where he had only been trampled on.

He absolutely couldn’t allow it to be taken away.

“It can’t be…!!!”

With a slight swing of the wand, massive rocks rose up from the ground.

It failed.

Originally, he wanted to create a massive rock barrier, but he wasn’t steady on his feet, and the magic didn’t come out properly.

Even though only a half-baked spell had manifested, it was still effective.

The students suddenly took damage from the abruptly rising rocks.

But that wasn’t the problem; it wasn’t enough to take them down.

“How dare you… you cast magic, huh?”

-Whack!

“Aaagh!”

One student managed to slip through the rocks and kicked Ryo.

His entire body had already been aching from the bruises, and now it throbbed even more.

“Ugh!!”

Enduring the pain, Ryo swung the wand once more.

This time, the magic created a swamp-like terrain from solid ground.

Due to the aching body, delicate manipulation was impossible, but this spell didn’t require adjustment; all he had to do was use it, turning the ground around him into a quagmire.

“Stop messing around!”

But no sooner did the swamp start forming than the students grabbed onto Ryo.

Realizing their surroundings were changing to sludge, they tried to drag him into it as well.

“Let go!!”

“We may sink to our ankles, but you’re in for a headfirst dive!”

As he tried to resist, he found he couldn’t escape from the grips of the much stronger boys.

In the moments before he was about to drown in the swamp he created, something bizarre caught his eye over the boys’ shoulders.

With a strange sense of time slowing down, a figure of a man in a black robe appeared in his line of sight.

Wearing a terrifying mask that resembled a skull adorned with goat horns, he spoke while gazing at Ryo from a distance.

Although the figure completely concealed his face with a mask, Ryo heard the voice directly in his ear.

-Why are you enduring this?

Who exactly was enduring? He had resisted so many times but ended up like this.

-You… are suppressing your strength.

It wasn’t that he was suppressing it; he simply couldn’t control it properly.

If he unleashed more magical power and wildly cast spells… they would likely die.

And then, only destruction awaited.

-Why are you doing this? You said it was precious. Was that just talk? Why are you considering the circumstances of your hated enemy?

No matter what, he couldn’t kill a person.

It was something unacceptable as a member of society that should live so long as he surpassed morality.

Even the annoying students harassing Ryo could easily kill him if they meant to, yet they just bullied him instead.

If he were to think like this just a few days ago… when he felt abandoned by society, he might have thought that way.

If he had been abandoned by society to the point where he could no longer consider himself a member…

But that wasn’t the case now.

He met great team members and, for no particular reason, received tremendous kindness from them.

Sure, there were still those who harassed him just for being arrogant, but there were also many people who offered warmth.

Ryo still wanted to live as a member of this society.

-Now then, I’ll help you protect your precious item…

“You…!! What are you doing to my teammate…!!!”

The masked man’s voice was interrupted by Amy’s shout.

As one student trying to drag Ryo down into the swamp jumped into the air, they flew.

The attacker was Amy, who had scorch marks all over her body.

Seeing the student fly through the air, Ryo snapped back to his senses.

“Amy…?”

“Ryo, can you get up?”

Even though the surroundings were entirely quagmire, Amy quickly rushed over and helped Ryo to his feet.

Ryo stood up and looked back at the spot where the masked figure had been just moments ago.

‘Gone…?’

Only trees and grass remained in that place.

He felt as if he had seen a figment of his imagination.

“Y-You dare to attack us, you new student?!”

“And you all better take off your rings and leave here quickly. You might die!!”

“Don’t you try to twist my words!!”

Ignoring the male students, Amy appeared to have no time to waste on them.

For reasons unknown, she seemed to be completely focused on what was presently at hand.

They would soon learn why that was.

[Roar!!]

The two-headed fiery beast Orthos had emerged, chasing after Amy.

“Uwaaaaaah, what is that?!!!”

“Eeep???”

“I want to go back!!!”

“I don’t want to die!!”

As Orthos appeared, the students hurriedly threw down their rings and disappeared in an instant.

—————————

In the sorted situation, Lucia and Casey found themselves in a peculiar standoff.

Casey had been wandering around, trying to help the students get out of danger as Atlas had suggested, but she was caught by Lucia.

Having sent out Sword Qi, Lucia was glaring fiercely at Casey.

It was as if she was challenging her for a duel.

Not wanting to engage, Casey was cautiously backing away.

In this standoff, it was Lucia who spoke first.

“… Atlas said you were nothing… but still, I can’t forgive you.”

Lucia unleashed more Sword Qi towards Casey.

Although Casey managed to avoid the attack, the moment it hit the tree, it burst apart like a cannon shot.

Despite standing right next to that explosion, Casey didn’t even blink, instead standing firmly on another branch.

“No matter what the circumstances were, you ruined the precious time I had with Atlas…!”

“I’m truly sorry about that. I mean it.”

Although it was surprising that Casey was apologizing so sincerely, the way she said it, maintaining her usual demeanor, was annoying.

Standing high in the trees made it difficult to act swiftly, leaving Lucia wanting nothing more than to clash with Casey.

Though she thought that way, her heart was conflicted.

While Russe’s teachings told her to maintain her unwavering feelings, ever since coming to the Academy, Lucia had only grown more emotional.

“Do you think words alone are enough?”

She lifted her sword.

No matter how high she was, Russe’s swordsmanship had techniques that could bring it down to the ground.

As Lucia summoned her magic from her legs, connected to the earth through the meridians and attempted to swing her sword, at that moment,

-THUMP..!!

-BOOM..!!

A great noise erupted from afar.

This time, it wasn’t just one or two sounds.

A resounding noise echoed from multiple directions that couldn’t be comprehended as something a mere Academy student could make.

“… It seems something serious is happening… I understand your feelings, but can we talk about this after the Hunting Festival? Right now, I have something I need to do for Uncle.”

“… Is it something Atlas asked of you?”

At the mention of a request from Atlas, Lucia lowered her sword immediately.