The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

It was a really strange day.

I found myself trapped in a bizarre room that looked straight out of a comic, and after escaping, I ended up in Hell facing off against a Great Demon.

Then I even ran into a wandering Master who’s hard to come by… it was a totally hectic day.

My second life always felt like a wild rollercoaster, but lately, it seems to have ramped up even more.

– Crash!

As soon as I got back to the dormitory, I collapsed on the floor.

My legs gave out, and I couldn’t stand.

“Ugh… I overdid it… If I had been in perfect shape, I could’ve taken him down…”

I pretended to be fine in front of everyone, but I was far from okay.

I couldn’t show weakness in Hell, so I forced myself to say I was alright, but now that I was in the dorm, it seemed like all my tension had melted away.

Being exposed to Asmodeus’s powers without any real countermeasures was a fatal blow.

Most of the burns on the outside had healed, but my insides were a mess.

If it had been a regular fire, there wouldn’t have been any lasting burns.

But after unleashing two major techniques while bathed in the flames of Hell, my insides were a complete wreck.

Trying to push my limits while feeling unwell almost swallowed me up… it was like reaching the brink of a martial arts mental blockage.

“If I had been in perfect shape… I think I remember saying something like that.”

The image of Belphegor, whom I had fought against and who had lost limbs, popped into my mind.

Still, the relief was that I almost managed to take him down instead of ending up like that.

“I’ll definitely need to carry a Squirette and a Holy Artifact from now on…”

Even though I left Asmodeus in shambles, I couldn’t finish him off.

He’s likely going to come back for revenge with a grudge against me.

I’d prefer if he was too scared to bother with me, but that’s unlikely.

From now on, it’ll be more convenient to carry both the sword and the Holy Artifact.

That’s the lesson learned while feeling the pain of my burning bones.

But right now, rest was what I needed most.

I mustered all my strength to climb onto the bed.

…..

Ultimately, I fell ill.

I spent the night trying to catch my breath, and while most of the external wounds were treated, that turned out to be the bigger problem.

Stimulating the various parts of my body to boost my natural healing with internal issues made my internal injuries worse while healing the superficial ones.

If burns aren’t treated quickly, they can throw the body’s systems into chaos, so this choice was unavoidable.

I felt like I had an extremely bad flu.

With a severe fever, sore throat, headache, and muscle pain, it was hard to find a part of my body that didn’t hurt.

“…I should destroy that mansion…”

I really couldn’t move a muscle.

It had been a long time since my body had been in such a bad state.

Lying there vacantly, I stared at the ceiling.

As I did so, the tasks I needed to do and the things I wanted to accomplish floated into my mind like a storm.

I needed to quickly demolish that wretched mansion before it victimized anyone else… and head to the capital to gather people and materials for the job.

As for the workers… I’d first head to the Dwarf Kingdom and recruit a few of them.

When I was part of the Snow Country Expedition Team, I got friendly with the guild members there, so they’d gladly accept my offer.

Then I just need to hire one building magician for heavy-duty work, and that’d be it.

Having a structure with two floors and a basement while also having an external storage room would be ideal.

Making three to four rooms would be sufficient… and it’d be nice to have a bath on the first floor.

Although the dorm has a shower, soaking in a tub is completely different from showering.

Looking around, I noticed it seemed like water was still flowing in the capital, so some sewer work should be enough.

The Academy has a large public bath that multiple people can use, but I’m not fond of it.

It’s a place where troubles frequently arise due to crowds swarming together.

As for the restroom… considering this place, a dry setup is the norm.

But I still can’t forget the memory of my previous life, so a wet setup feels more familiar to me.

I also have to put up a new fence… and tidy up the garden.

Even if it’s a temporary mansion, I don’t intend to make it half-heartedly.

It won’t be a huge mansion or anything, so it shouldn’t cost that much.

I have plenty of money, so there’s no need to worry.

I have three accounts at the Imperial Capital Bank.

One for my salary from the Royal Knight Order, a secret account for my activity expenses as a Shadow, and one where I kept treasures or commission payments from my Snow Country expedition.

None of them are anywhere near empty.

I’m not one to spend a lot of money except when buying artifacts.

What kind of style should the exterior have?

It shouldn’t be too eye-catching.

But it also shouldn’t be too shabby or tacky.

It’s probably best to check out existing mansions and just ask them to replicate something similar.

Being specific about what style I want will confuse them less.

Thinking about mansions brings to mind the one I lived in the longest, the Titan’s Mansion.

‘No, that’s not a home.’

I felt extremely uncomfortable.

I decided to try recalling from scratch.

But it wasn’t going well.

Once the Titan’s Mansion came to mind, a flood of long-buried ancient memories burst forth as if a dam had broken.

It was making my already dizzy head ache even more from the flu symptoms.

– Knock knock.

Then a knock brought some clarity to my confused mind.

I didn’t even know what time it was.

With curtains drawn over the windows, I couldn’t tell if it was day or morning.

“Atlas, are you in there? If you are, respond.”

The person knocking was Edgar Lemnos.

It seemed like this was the first time he was knocking on my door—what could it be about?

“What’s up…”

“Are you really okay? Why does your voice sound so weak??”

“It’s just a cold…”

As I struggled to speak while lying down, Edgar somehow managed to catch that and replied.

He spoke very softly, even though he was outside the door.

“I came on behalf of Russell. He said you don’t seem to be doing well. Considering your state, it seems to be true…”

Russell… it was likely Lucia’s doing.

She must have thought it was odd that someone who never misses their morning exercises suddenly didn’t show up.

“… now the girls can’t enter the boys’ dorm anymore… what a pointless inconvenience…”

She probably wanted to come over directly, but with the rules changed, she wouldn’t be able to now.

“…”

But I came to my senses.

While resting in the dorm might help, shouldn’t I move more efficiently?

“I think I’ll need to be hospitalized for a day.”

I should call Professor Praha at the hospital.

Elf healing arts work wonders for internal issues.

If I go to the hospital… I might at least get to see everyone’s faces…

Struggling through the terrible muscle pain and headache, I tried to get up from bed….

– Crash!!

“What?! Are you okay?!”

I fell again.

It seems I really wasn’t okay.

———————————-

In the end, I ended up hospitalized.

When I tried to get out of bed, I fell over, and Edgar came in to help me up, saying it was just as he had done.

I insisted it wasn’t serious, but Edgar and everyone passing by had shocked expressions.

Apparently, seeing me helpless and collapsed was quite a spectacle.

Suddenly, a funny joke came to mind.

“You broke the door, so you fix it.”

“I was just trying to help…!”

“I know, just joking. The golems will take care of it.”

After I said it was just a simple joke, Edgar’s expression grew serious.

It seems he thought my head had gone wacky.

…….“What a mess you’re in. How did it end up like this?”

Professor Praha, who had been designated as my attending physician, adjusted his glasses while looking at the test results.

I was in a private room with an ice pack on my head, speaking to Professor Praha.

“It happens to me often… I overused my aura and got a little twisted up.”

“The symptoms are similar. You need to be extra careful since you have something monstrous residing inside you. If you’re not careful, it could be fatal.”

The real reason was that I had taken a direct hit from Asmodeus’s powers, but I couldn’t reveal that, so Atlas just nodded along.

The symptoms and treatment would be similar anyway.

“First, we’ve doused the immediate flames, so just rest for about a week, and you’ll be good as new.”

“A week?!”

“That’s on the short side. Do you know other people would need to be hospitalized for two months?”

I wanted to do so many things quickly, but being stuck in here for a week was disappointing…

But calling Professor Praha was the right choice.

Though covered by my clothes, Elven spells were inscribed on my upper body, and after the chaotic flow was treated, my situation visibly improved.

Of course, I still wasn’t in good shape.

“What’s written will need to be erased in about two days, so bear with it until then. It’s been corrected from a mess, so don’t push yourself too hard until you’re stable again.”

“Okay…”

—————————-

Separately, the Principal’s head was pounding as well.

Rumor had it that a Master had suddenly entered the Academy overnight.

“… So this means you somehow ended up here, right?”

“Yeah. I’m a bit directionally challenged, so when I’m just walking, I can end up in places I don’t even know.”

Master Hulan seemed to be avoiding talking about Atlas and was instead talking about ‘Hell.’

In the end, Atlas was not connected to it, but because he left out the fact that he came back from Hell, the Principal began to suspect that there was a huge hole in the barrier protecting the Academy island.

Hulan might not be hostile, but it was a relief… What if some other thug crawled in at night without anyone knowing?

What if something big happened because of that?

‘I’ll need to reassess security from the beginning.’

It’s possible someone could have already come in.

Gordon steeled himself.