episode_0022

“Phew, is it that day again?”

The day has come again.

The day of physical training.

In the first week, it was the time I hated the most, but now I didn’t feel anything.

Ever since I got Hermes’ Boots, I didn’t have to lag behind my friends who used Ora or magic.

“Phew, I have to come in first this time too.”

I stretched my body.

Of course, I switched Hermes’ Boots on.

I will show off the skills that earned me first place in the Ora allocation test.

After getting ready, I stood on the starting line.

“Emil, are you going to run without using Ora this time?”

Daphne’s words made me wonder.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“During the past week, you deliberately ran without using Ora or magic for training, right?”

I realized my mistake.

Back then, I fell behind because I didn’t have Hermes’ Boots, not because I deliberately wanted to lag behind.

“Why is everyone acting like this?”

It was strange. The gazes of my friends looking at me were intense.

It was as if they had discovered the source of my strength.

Some students still had mocking faces towards me, but the faces of my friends who acknowledged me were all serious.

“The atmosphere has become weird.”

A mood was set where we had to run together without using artifacts.

“I never thought about that, did I?”

I never even considered training without using Ora or magic.

Using Ora or magic makes you stronger the more you use it, like muscles.

Running without using Ora or magic was simply because I lacked strength.

But the truth didn’t come out.

The physical training ended.

“I’ve gained a lot of stamina, haven’t I?”

It was the time when I realized that I had gained a lot of stamina.

In the first week, I could barely make it to the match on time, but this time, I was not late.

Other than that, I didn’t gain anything.

Physical training had turned into hell from now on.

“It’s already the weekend. What should I do this weekend?”

Classes ended quickly.

I organized my books. I finally had time to rest on the weekend.

I was pondering on what to do on the weekend.

“Maybe there’s nothing else but training?”

I focused on training. The only thing that came to mind was training.

I thought that increasing my strength might slightly lower the difficulty of the hellish physical training.

“I want to have fun, but…”

Or should I just let loose and have fun?

“Let’s leave having fun for after graduation. Right now, I should faithfully fulfill my duties as a student.”

I shook off the urge to be lazy.

“Emil, do you have plans for today?”

Marzita approached me.

She was the one with whom my first meeting didn’t go well.

The person who suddenly suspected me of doing something bad to Freya.

The impression of a person is greatly influenced by the first impression, so my feelings towards her were not good.

“Why are you suddenly acting friendly?”

I didn’t like her trying to be friendly.

But I didn’t express my dissatisfaction outwardly.

She is a direct descendant of the Grand Duke. I have to take her life later.

Even if I felt sorry, I tried to treat her nicely.

“Yes, I’m going out for training.”

“Oh, then how about training with me? I know a very good training ground.”

“Oh, I just want to train alone…”

I bit my tongue. It was better to train alone than to train with someone I didn’t like.

I have a strong antisocial tendency, so I couldn’t stand being with someone I didn’t get along with.

“I want to go too!”

I was about to refuse.

But before I could say anything, Daphne raised her hand.

The situation was pushing me to go train with Marzita.

“I guess I have no choice.”

If I backed out here, there might be consequences.

In Apocalypsis, consequences meant being expelled from the survivor group.

“Let’s do that.”

Forced a smile. That’s how I decided to train with Marsita.

“Wow, it’s my first time training with someone from a different dojo.”

We held hands, unable to hide our joy.

It felt as refreshing as birds chirping.

Seeing her happy made me feel better.

“Is this the right direction?”

But when I looked at the direction Marsita was heading, I frowned.

I was doubtful if we were going in the right direction.

“This way is correct.”

Marsita nodded.

I looked straight ahead.

When you think of a training ground, you usually think of buildings or forests.

But what I saw in front of me was a pier.

“The training ground I mentioned is located on an island.”

She explained further.

“Could it be… the island that only direct descendants of the nobility can enter? Is it okay to train there?”

Daphne seemed to know where we were going.

‘Where is that again?’

It was a place I had never heard of before, so I tilted my head in confusion.

‘It feels like I’ve heard of it briefly before?’

I heard that there is a huge island near the Papal Palace.

An island that is only open to nobles and nobility.

It was used as a temporary shelter when demons appeared in the world.

‘Wasn’t it captured just 3 days after the destruction began?’

It was a place that was difficult to conquer because it was located on an island.

When demons descended on the Papal Palace, a meeting was in progress.

It was a time when the emperor and other key figures of the continent gathered at the Papal Palace.

Despite the efforts of teachers like Eric, they could not stop the demons.

‘In the end, it collapsed. Couldn’t withstand the power of the demon.’

The sacrifice of the Pope. The struggle of the academy teachers.

The flesh shields of the hero candidates.

Despite many efforts, the demon could not be stopped.

Before the evacuation ship arrived, the demon crossed the strait.

All the nobles who were hiding on the island died.

The emperor barely escaped, but reportedly suffered serious injuries in the process.

He abdicated the throne to his son and died shortly after.

That’s what happened when the demon appeared.

“What are you thinking about?”

She noticed my dark expression.

Daphne asked.

“Huh? Oh… I was just thinking about past events.”

From my perspective, it was the past. Events that had not yet happened in the future.

“Haah, Daphne, what should I do if God wants to destroy this world?”

Coincidentally, God was absent.

A perfect opportunity to confide a part of my inner thoughts to Daphne in secret.

“God is not like that.”

Daphne said firmly.

“Hahaha, you’re right.”

I let out a bitter laugh. At first, I acted like Daphne’s thoughts.

But the God I actually encountered seemed half-crazy.

‘He seems like he’s going to lose it. Someone wants to say this fact.’

I felt like a huge boulder had been placed on my heart.

Confiding in others might alleviate some of the burden, but it was a burden I couldn’t share with anyone else.

‘I must grow stronger. I must become stronger and send more saints to heaven.’

My determination became even stronger. Sending saints to heaven to prepare for the aftermath.

The mad God was very disappointed with the current world.

He would wipe everything clean and start a new era.

I eagerly awaited the day when that would happen.

“Marsita, what are you thinking about?”

This time, Daphne asked Marsita.

Busy. Marsita also seemed to be frowning as if the world was about to end.

“It’s strange.”

“Huh?”

“This ship is only for the nobles and aristocrats.

To call the ship, you have to put in a separate signal.”

“So I know all the faces of the crew running the ship.”

“Is that so?”

“But why do I see unfamiliar faces now?”

She frowned.

She looked around. She gazed at the faces of the crew members on board.

“Hey, who are you? What happened to the original crew members?”

“Oh, that person is sick today and taking a rest.”

“What about the others? I used this ship last week, but I don’t recognize any faces now.”

The crew member chuckled and walked away.

Marzita didn’t respond to the crew member’s departure.

“This is definitely strange.”

She narrowed her eyes.

This doesn’t feel good.

It feels like the situation is out of my control.

Whenever this happens, something bad usually occurs.

“Are we heading in the right direction?”

She looked out the window. The ship was sailing on the sea.

The port was getting farther away.

But there was no island in sight ahead.

The island should be visible from the port.

“Not good. Not good.”

She changed Hermes’ boots to on.

She relaxed her muscles. She moved her eyes left and right.

She faintly detected the smell of blood.

She found dried bloodstains on the table.

She wiped the bloodstains. It hadn’t been long since they were stained.

The original crew members of this ship died without anyone knowing.

“I don’t know where they got the grudge, but it seems like they were targeting Marzita from the beginning.”

I think. Why did these people kill the crew members of this ship?

In all likelihood, Marzita took the ferry to the training ground every weekend.

The attackers who had figured out her pattern attacked the ship in advance and eliminated the crew members.

Daphne and I were unfortunately caught up in the attack.

I turned my gaze outside the door.

Two crew members were guarding the door.

“Guys.”

I gestured. We exchanged glances.

That alone was enough for us to understand each other’s meaning.

Ding dong.

I rang the bell. The crew member opened the door with a smile on his face.

“Please give us some food. We’re hungry.”

“Alright. Please wait a moment.”

The crew member walked away.

One of the guards was reduced.

“Why are you coming out? The food isn’t ready yet.”

“There are only a few of us on board, and the food is taking too long.

I’m going to the restaurant myself.”

“Hmm, wait a minute…”

The crew member who sighed frowned.

“Is there a restaurant here?”

He belatedly remembered that there was no restaurant.

“Of course not. This ship only moves to the island right in front of us.”

He clenched his fist.

He crumpled the crew member’s face.

His breath was cut off.

“It’s a short distance of less than 30 minutes, so why would there be a restaurant?”

He shook his fist. His hand was cold.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

The footsteps running towards us increased.