Chapter 30

Chapter 30

I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy.

Episode 30: The Noble Lady (2)

“What is this brat! Aren’t you afraid of our Black Bear Faction?”

“Bro, brother! That guy with the mask is strange! Magic and curses don’t work on him!”

“His movements are a bit fast, but we can’t catch him!”

A space no more than 10 pyeong was my battleground.

I fought criminals there.

My eyes quickly scanned the area.

Mines were enemies of this world.

They aimed to annihilate humanity and destroy stars, offering them to external enemies to gain power.

That’s why there was no law against killing Mines immediately upon discovery.

Rather, one might even receive a reward for doing so.

However, there were those who were treated as ‘villains’.

Killing Mines was not a crime, but becoming a villain was considered criminal.

They were either not yet prepared to betray this world to external enemies and become enemies of humanity…

Or they refused to become puppets of Mines.

Yet, their goals aligned somewhat with those of the Mines.

They existed to change the laws of this world and lived for their own pleasure.

That’s exactly what villains are.

‘Well, these guys don’t seem to be that level.’

These guys were weak.

An average student from Korea Hero School could fight them one-on-one.

“Haah!”

I knocked down the arm of the guy attacking from the left and stabbed him with a sword I had bought from the forge.

Thud.

An unpleasant feeling enveloped my hand as the guy’s eyes widened.

However, he did not bleed.

Instead, ash scattered from the area I stabbed.

Something fell off, but I didn’t pay attention.

All things given by such beings are the same.

‘The really important thing is something else.’

[You killed a Mine! Your conceptual stat Heaven Defying increases by 1!]

They helped increase my stats.

‘Approximately three Mines like these are needed to increase by 1.’

When I was with Seo Ga-yeon, the Mine we caught gave me one Heaven Defying stat.

The strength of the Mines seemed to determine how much Heaven Defying stats they gave.

-Just killing these kinds of Mines increases the Energy of Defying Heaven?

The Black Heavenly Demon Sword spoke as if it found the idea absurd.

I also found it ridiculous.

The Heaven Defying stat was among the top tier, even among conceptual stats, yet it increased just by killing Mines.

‘Was there no such case with the previous owner?’

-None. The previous owner increased it through enlightenment or consistent training. Even killing Mines did not increase the Energy of Defying Heaven.

Then this must be the power of the status window.

Or a power gained from evolving into a conceptual stat.

I was not sure.

I’d have to think about this later.

For now, I must focus on hunting Mines.

I collected my thoughts once more.

“You, you bastard! Do you think you can stay unharmed like this? Behind us is a middle-rank Mine who has conquered this region!”

“You talk too much. Are you scared?”

Honestly, if a middle-rank Mine came, I’d welcome it.

‘I remember the traits of most Mines, so it should be easy to deal with them. And if the Mine protecting these wretches is just like this… then I should get at least one whole Heaven Defying stat.’

‘As long as it’s not a high-rank.’

High-rank corresponded to a certain level of achievement here.

Even if ten middle-ranks attacked a high-ranker together, even if one of their limbs was restricted, they could laugh it off and slice them apart.

From that point on, it becomes possible to truly traverse seas alone and split the skies.

‘Well, to reach that level, even among high-ranks, one would have to be at the very top.’

With my current abilities, even fighting a curse caster who matched well with me one-on-one, my chances of winning were 20%… no, maybe 10%.

That was the realm of high-rank.

Monsters who could shake the laws of the world.

Alone, they were treated like an army, threatening the existence of the world.

‘But, it’s unlikely that such beings are here, or would come.’

“Cough.”

Swoosh.

I killed the remaining Mine with my sword.

The Mines scattered ash and dropped items.

‘It really feels like I’m playing a game.’

For some reason, killing Mines made them drop items.

I picked up the items obtained from killing the Mines with Nyeom and put them into the subspace.

Going further inside, there was no sign of life.

I had already contacted the person who was looking for the Black Bear Faction.

As I went inside, I saw a safe.

I put the safe as it was into my subspace bag.

I checked the contents inside using my skill. Mostly, there were documents used for illegal activities, alchemical substances, and materials needed for blacksmithing skills.

‘Then, should I prepare to slip away?’

Even though a middle-rank Mine was supposedly watching their backs, it didn’t seem like they had any intention to come.

Boom!

Then, I heard a heavy something fall.

-You damn bastard! How dare you, dare to touch the Black Bear Faction that I am protecting!

A loud voice, not caring that it was in the city.

A clear sign of being a Mine.

I checked my physical condition.

Not bad.

Since realizing Nyeom, my body has maintained good condition all the time.

Once or twice a year, there were days when I could do plays I normally couldn’t.

Those were what we call scratch days.

I got those scratch days out of the way normally.

Unless I was in a fierce battle, seriously injured, or confined to a hospital room.

I took out and drank a Strength Elixir, an Agility Elixir, and a Stamina Elixir.

[Your strength increases by 10 with the Strength Elixir!]

[Your agility increases by 10 with the Agility Elixir!]

[Your stamina increases by 10 with the Stamina Elixir!]

Thump.

I pushed the guitar case containing the Black Heavenly Demon Sword to one side.

-Master! I must say again, isn’t this treatment too much?

I gave a slight nod to the Black Heavenly Demon Sword, as if to apologize, and drew the sword.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sounds were getting closer.

Crash!

The door burst open, revealing a large figure.

A muscular man towered over two meters tall. His blackened veins were visible, as if he had indulged in doping.

What was unique was that his skin was completely black.

‘Possessed by a strong spirit.’

His talent lay in the category of spirit possession.

A type where he made contracts with evil spirits to reside in his body.

The black veins were likely a result of his poor handling of the spirits.

His skill seemed to be in controlling his monstrous physique.

Let’s test him a bit.

I threw a kitchen knife, imbued with Heaven Defying energy.

He glared at me and then smirked.

“Ha, you think a mere kitchen knife can hurt me?”

The knife pierced through his eye.

“Aaaagh!”

“…”

What a guy.

He didn’t seem like he was even middle-rank.

The Mine, forcibly pulling out the knife, glared at me with his remaining eye.

He was more cautious than before.

I twirled another kitchen knife in my hand.

His eye tracked the knife.

This time, the Mine dodged the knife. But with Nyeom, I changed the direction of the knife I was holding.

The Mine, startled, moved to the side.

I moved at the same time.

I raised my sword overhead to slash down. The Mine caught the blade.

“You, I will not leave you be.”

“Go ahead.”

I infused the sword with Heaven Defying energy. Black energy swirled around the blade.

Sizzle!

The Heaven Defying energy negated the Mine’s hand. The power made of evil energy began to collapse.

‘The effect is better than I thought?’

The Mine, in a rush, released the sword, and I applied strength to my swing.

Black Flash Sword Technique.

The sword, swirling with dark energy, cleaved through the Mine’s neck.

Swoosh.

[You have slain a Mine! Your conceptual stat Heaven Defying has increased by 1!]

…With this, my Heaven Defying stat has reached 10.

Thump.

From the ashes, a black wooden branch fell.

I appraised it.

[Ebony Wood (C)]

A piece of black wood.

Its strength surpasses that of iron.

A common junk item. What a shame; I had hoped for something better.

I stowed it in the subspace and prepared to depart.

Just as I was about to move, I felt a presence.

It was a presence unlike the Mines I had encountered thus far.

It radiated clear magical power, distinct from evil energy.

‘…’

The temperature around me seemed to drop slightly.

No, it wasn’t an illusion. The temperature was indeed falling.

A light frost began to form on various surfaces and the walls.

Trudge, trudge.

The sound of cheerful footsteps approached, as if someone was there.

At the same time, it seemed something was being dragged along.

“Miney~ Miney~ hide well~.”

‘…Crazy.’

The one certainty was that eerie song.

Off-key and with bizarre lyrics.

That person should not have been on the move yet.

I started to look for a way out.

I could win if I fought that woman now.

The elixir’s effects lingered; my physical abilities were only slightly inferior to the current Noble Lady’s.

The issue was that I would have to reveal my full capabilities.

That would certainly blow my cover.

“Oh my, is there a thief here~?”

I turned to see white hair.

Eyes like blue lakes.

Dressed in a school uniform that betrayed her identity as a Korea Hero School student.

In her hands, a longsword and a shortsword, both coated in frost.

The Silver Noble Lady.

The dual-sword obsessive who collected the arms and necks of Mines, Seolhwa Ryeon.