How to Survive at the Academy
chapter-118

Joint Combat Practice 2 (4)

Regret in the life of a warrior is a disgrace.

Live without regrets, even if for just a single day, and confront any foe with all your might, fair and square.

A man with a strong body and a well-sharpened axe, who can charge at any beast, roaring in the face of danger.

He was Kordack, the combat department’s second-ranked in the fourth year.

A clean-shaven head and a chiseled face, his huge frame and burly impression were imposing.

It was hard to tell if he was a student or a seasoned veteran back from the battlefields.

Kordack stepped onto the dueling platform and threw off his top.

“Kahaha, you… are you the somewhat reputable mage from the third year, the one with the ragtag bunch? Ed… that’s right, it was Ed.”

His bulging muscles testified to years of rigorous training.

Though his axe wasn’t sharp, it was sufficiently formidable as a bludgeoning weapon.

Not one to take safety rules seriously during practice, Kordack was known for his disregard for restraint, which is why there were no duel requests for him. He was akin to an unreasoned thug.

Opposite him stood a quiet blonde mage, Ed Rostellar, flexing his wrists and loosening up his body.

Kordack surveyed the onlookers around the platform. There were quite a few spectators who had come to witness his ferocious combat.

Kordack enjoyed dueling; it gave him immense satisfaction.

“Well, bad luck for you. Being matched against Kordack! Would have been better off challenging a moderately strong foe.”

“…….”

“I’ve heard the rumors about you too. A strong contender they say, but you’re just another one from the third-year magic department. Brace yourself.”

Kordack was not one to underestimate his opponents readily. It was just talk.

But the thrill of duel stirred up an excitement he couldn’t contain, much like when hunting wild animals – he couldn’t maul or tear them apart, but there was nothing lacking in facing them with all his might.

“Khkh, KHKHKHKHKHKHKH…”

As the battle approached, Kordack felt his body heat up. An axe in each hand, he felt a tremor of excitement coursing through his grip. It was the thrill of cutting through the air with an axe, anticipating the ferocity of the upcoming duel.

The joint combat practice for third and fourth years was distinctly different from the lower years.

When they first entered Sylvainia, weapons and magic were limited to reduce the gap between the students’ abilities.

Sharp weapons were prohibited, many long weapons restricted, and magic above mid-tier disallowed.

However, senior year duels were different. If a student hadn’t developed a strength by senior year, it was a result of their own laziness.

The combat practice was an unrestricted showcase of power. Protection under the rules only extended to the lower years.

“K, KKKKKK…! My body is… burning up…! KAHAAHAHAHA!”

The eager anticipation of students eager to observe Kordack’s combat skills filled the air.

“Ready on both sides? Begin!”

Announced by the overseeing professor, Kordack bellowed his challenge.

“KAHAHAHA―! Before we start, make sure you understand… You know my name, Kordack Velderk! I never hold back, even in a mock duel…! If you feel terror creeping into your bones, know it’s not too late to withdraw…!”

―Bang!

Words wasted.

That’s what Ed thought as he clenched his fist, infused with magic power. Unable to be dodged unless met with concentration, the spell ‘Point Explosion’ was hammered into Kordack’s solar plexus.

Choking on smoke that enveloped him, a lioness, as large as himself, charged with a roar.

“KAAAAH!”

While Kordack had faced many beasts, none had appeared so suddenly before him.

He screamed and rolled on the ground, grappling with the lioness as she tried to bite his shoulder.

―Bang!

Elemental Magic: Explosive Sound.

A fire bat took flight from within his embrace. While wrestling with Laysia, it had stealthily found an opening.

As the smoke cleared, a subdued Kordack lay on the ground, intermittently coughing.

The fire bat and the lioness slid back to Ed’s side and sat down.

“Well done.”

It had been roughly five seconds. It felt longer to ensure the opponent was unharmed than to secure a victory.

A stunned silence pervaded the onlookers who had come to witness Kordack’s combat.

* * *

The lobby on the first floor of Glockt building was already teeming due to the high turnout of duel participants. Navigating through the bustling crowd, I finally managed to exit the building. Among the three buildings in the Student Forum, Glockt was the smallest, yet it felt crowded as all third and fourth-year duelists converged.

Turning my gaze, I considered the largest building of the student forum, the Neil building. Likely, the second years, the protagonists, were dueling the freshmen.

I planned to head to Neil building and observe Taili’s duel. Spectating other students’ duels was permitted, and given Taili’s popularity, many would be watching, unlikely to notice me.

My resolve was firm. Events were becoming entangled.

Not that I could remain pacing, wondering what to do next. When the flow of circumstance begins shifting off course, the only option is to adapt to its altered direction.

I must ascertain precisely what is getting twisted and decide how to endure for survival.

Thankfully, there appeared to be no significant deviations catching the eye.

The joint combat practice proceeded as I knew, arousing suspicion due to its smoothness.

As I walked toward Neil building, I sorted through my thoughts repeatedly.

Despite contemplation, one thing remained unclear: Adel’s reaction.

― ‘I know.’

The impulsive warning message, ‘you will die’, wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. Yet, Adel left with a response I hadn’t anticipated.

Immediately upon arrival in Sylvainia, the Saint and Archbishop sought out Adel. She likely knew this as well.

She was heading toward seemingly certain death by meeting them. But for what reason? There seems to be no obvious answer.

The narrative of Adel and Claris in Act 3 of <sylvainia's flunking="" sword="" saint=""> had been criticized for feeling random. The abrupt news of Adel’s death at the end of the joint combat practice was shocking, but the subsequent story felt like missing puzzle pieces.</sylvainia's>

The tale of Adel and Claris was mainly seen as a narrative device for setting up the forthcoming Luci subjugation mission.

Considering the series’ other storylines, it would’ve been unusual to leave such prominent characters’ arc so open-ended. Among the players, it was broadly speculated that hidden elements must be lurking.

Players never learned the full story behind Adel’s death, and following Act 3, Saint Claris’s psyche and behavior noticeably shifted.

Certainly, during the joint combat practice, something happened between the Saint and Claris.

Yet, no clues turned up throughout Aken Island, leading players to conjecture about a future spinoff: ‘The story experienced by Adel and Claris is destined to be explored in a future spinoff…’ The narrative gap seemed purposeful for additional scenario development.

As with most players, I was confused by this theory. After all, how could a mere few hours’ worth of events justify a new spinoff? The common opinion leaned more toward a hidden element within the scenario that could unlock further narrative content.

Despite thorough searches, if a hidden feature was somewhere to be found, it remained elusive.

Eventually, even as I reached this dire point, no revelations surfaced. Perhaps the spinoff theory was correct after all.

As I raised my head, Neil building was close at hand.

“…….”

Only a few hours.

Not months, not days, mere hours.

People’s values, behaviors, and thought patterns don’t change so quickly.

And yet, in those few hours, had not Saint Claris’s kind mindset and actions utterly inverted?

Had she not been transformed into a Saint of distrust, inflamed with vengeance towards the clergy? To the players at the time, the drastic change seemed too abrupt.

Even a slow narrative revealing the church’s darkness would have been preferable. The mystery of why Claris’s transformation was staged so suddenly persisted.

“What’s that…?!”

“What…? Am I hallucinating…?”

Suddenly, there was commotion around me.

Lost in thought as I walked, I reacted slowly, only to find students around me looking up at the western sky in shock.

What on earth…

Wondering at the commotion, I too looked towards where the students were pointing.

―Koogung, koogung…

An untimely earthquake was… shaking the earth’s axis.

* * *

Saint Clare was seated in the Trix Hall’s VIP meeting room.

With Emperor Saint and the Grand Archbishops due to arrive, the plan was to first sit down here and have a discussion, followed by lunch with Principal Obel.

Afterward, she was to tour the student dormitories, engage in a dialogue with select students about faith, and then proceed to the student plaza where Emperor Saint planned to personally administer baptism to a representative student. Student president Tanya Rostailer was scheduled to receive the baptism.

Then came a speech about the history and values of the Telos faith before riding the carriage back to the holy city.

Even though it was a seemingly exhausting schedule, to Clare, who had lived her life as a saint, it was rather a familiar and comfortable plan.

However, Emperor Saint and the Grand Archbishops were running a bit late. The grand carriage had been spotted crossing the Maxess Bridge quite some time ago, but it seems it didn’t proceed straight to Trix Hall.

“Do we have any updates on Emperor Saint’s arrival?”

“Yes, Lady Saint. On their way to Trix Hall, there’s a place they must visit first.”

It was odd. A visitor to Achen Island not heading straight for Trix Hall, the hub of academic administration, but another place first.

When she asked where they were visiting, the cathedral knight could only reply with ignorance.

Was there an appointment more pressing than meeting with the saint and having lunch with the principal? Clare didn’t press the matter, assuming there must be a reason for Emperor Saint’s actions, and simply sat waiting.

As long as danger wasn’t imminent, which was unlikely given that Emperor Saint’s escort would not easily fall into peril.

The protective force was beyond elite, monstrous in their ability. Specifically, five of the seven members of Emperor Saint’s secret force, ‘Apostles of Telos,’ accompanied this expedition.

The Apostles of Telos were each an enormous force on the continent, moving only under Emperor Saint’s command. They wielded various high magics and unfolded wings of divine power to dominate even the domain of the skies.

No genius fillings the halls of Silvenia Academy could stand against them, with a few exceptional powerhouses excluded.

“Umm… Ahem, kuhem!”

Clare cleared her throat, preparing for the eventual meeting with Emperor Saint. She took the time to find the right tone, practiced demure greetings, and prepared to listen to his words with a brilliant smile, all without aristocratic pretensions, allowing her holy demeanor to shine.

After sitting alone in the meeting room for some time, she sighed deeply.

Memories of her time in Emperor Saint’s domain came to mind as she sat there by herself.

Even though it wasn’t far in the past, the tumultuous months she had spent at Silvenia made it seem like a distant memory.

Praying, baptizing, preaching, receiving confessions, and living a modest life amidst the respect of the people.

Adel’s music was the only splash of color in the austere monochrome life of Clare.

‘I haven’t met them yet…’

The thought that Adel would try to meet if they knew of Saint Clare enrolling seemed obvious, yet there was no reaction. Clare felt increasingly melancholy, thinking perhaps only she cherished that relationship.

Still, the memory was clear whenever she closed her eyes.

The holy flame keeper, sitting by the window playing the lute.

The girl who always watched over the world from the top of the tower, even higher than the saint’s room, seemed like a distant memory.

A girl always enshrouded in mystery.

Her origins unknown, and how she came to join the clergy was a mystery. She had seen a document stating that the girl was from an orphanage in the commercial city of Olldec. Occasionally speaking with Grand Archbishop Verdio, she might not have been just an ordinary believer, but Adel never shared any personal matters.

However, Clare knew that the position of ‘Holy Flame Keeper’ was not entrusted to just anyone.

The sacred flame that always burned bright at the top of the central spire of Emperor Saint’s domain, a flame representing the longing for Telos and pure faith, must never go out.

At the very top of the tower, perhaps the closest place to God Telos in Emperor Saint’s domain.

Separated from all other duties, observing her alone at the top of Emperor Saint’s domain, she was anything but ordinary.

If they met, Clare wished to have a heartfelt conversation.

―Koogung, koowung…

As Clare was lost in these superfluous thoughts, the sounds as if the meeting room she was left alone in was shaking reverberated.

Rising from her seat, she wondered if it was an earthquake – the earth’s axis was indeed trembling.

Clare was taken aback as she looked out the window at the unbelievable spectacle unfolding before her eyes.

Giant wings spread, causing a gale that assailed the academy.

As the wings opened, a massive shadow was cast and the pair of eyes atop were higher than the summit of Mount Oren.

Heading towards the western coastal area.

The spray as it lifted itself from the depths of the ocean was visible. Some streams of water were still falling from the sky. The sheer size was unfathomable.

Placing its front limbs atop Achen Island.

One left in the northern forest, the other at the coastal area next to Maxess Bridge, causing the earth’s axis to tremble again.

Through the clouds, its gigantic head was visible. With its oblong snout and huge scales. The Drachen, thought to be extinct even in legends, had awakened.

The form of the awakened dragon was now overlooking Achen Island.

It was a calamity itself, a disaster that human power stood no chance against.

* * *

Cause and effect.

If there’s a result, there must be a cause.

If the scenario had twisted, its cause must also exist.

The scenario had already begun to warp.

Some deviation was anticipated, prepared to be tolerated if only its cause could be found.

The premature rampage of Yenica was because Lucy and Merilda had contracted too soon.

The reason why Golden King Elte arrived at Achen Island sooner was due to Lortel’s betrayal being exposed to Elis.

As such, at every branching point of the story, there was always a cause.

Therefore, even in the midst of this twisted narrative, a new phase is sure to arise, and I thought I was ready to cope with it.

But an anomaly is so called because it always arises beyond expectations.

The owner of the wings cleaving the sky is… the primordial sacred dragon, Belvbrock.

The mythical beast said to be sealed deep in the abyss, its wings severed by the ancient swordsman, Luden.

“<silvenia’s failed="" swordsman="">“, 5th act, climax, and final boss to crown all scenarios.</silvenia’s>

Peacefully concluding with graduation at the end of act 4, I thought I had no need to concern myself with this gargantuan dragon. Its bellowing roar… cleaved through the atmosphere.

Human strength could not contend with it. Even with the likes of Lucy or Obel, they could only fend off and stand in deadlock.

To subdue the beast, one has to grow in power up to the end-game specs, master the final swordsman ritual capable of cutting through a dragon’s heart, bringing Taelri to the forefront; as far as I know.

Of course, that’s impossible at this moment.

That’s right. As I said, if there’s a result, there must be a cause.

The scenario could be reordered. But why did the final tribulation of this act arise now… it baffles the imagination.

Though it may twist and turn, there’s no reason for such a rapid change to happen.

But if the story wasn’t proceeding as it should, the cause must be me. I’m the irregularity in this world.

Yet, facing such an overwhelming distortion, I can’t fathom the cause.

Even if I review all past flows, I can’t pinpoint the origin of this huge twist.

“Aaahh!”

“What is that…!! Aaahh! Run!! Just run for now!”

“Where to run…! To get off this island… to get off… we all need to run to the Maxess Bridge…!”

―Crash, bang!!

With the magical roar continuing, all nearby building windows started shattering.

* * *

―Clang, clatter!

―Koogung, koowung.

―Crisp, crisp.

Glass of buildings shatters, the shards scatter on the floor. A girl hums a tune while walking down the corridor with her leather shoes stepping over the glass debris.

Her shoulder carries a lute, and in one hand, the team combat practice pairing list. Adel, having not challenged anyone, was automatically assigned a pairing. Who it was became clear only on the day.

― ‘Nail Hall Dueling Room 3, 1 PM. Adel Seris vs Clare’

Beneath, a hastily scribbled addendum noted a change.

― ‘The 1 PM duel in Room 3 is canceled due to the saint’s sudden schedule change. Please wait for the next pairing assignment.’

“It’s a pity, we might have met. Well… not that we would have.”

The roar of the dragon splits the sky, the ground and buildings tremble, yet the girl adorned with pretty live flowers in her hair continues to walk unaffected through the apocalyptic scene.

“The wind will blow again. It always has.”

Looking up at the form of the dragon filling the sky, she muttered in a low voice, simply repeating the phrase.