Chapter Index

    Academy – Jade

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    “Today’s lecture topic is Mutant Monsters.”

    -Woong.

    As the professor lightly waved his hand, illusions of various Mutant Monsters unfolded on the blackboard. From commonly seen goblin mutants to ferocious ogre mutants, the variety was diverse.

    “Mutant Monsters began to appear after the Demon King and Demons appeared on the continent. The power of the Demon King was pointed out as the cause.”

    The existence of Monsters was always a threat to humanity. But because Monsters were ostracized by humans, Elves, and even Beast-people, their power, which didn’t know cooperation, gradually weakened.

    The problem was after the appearance of the Demon King. The Demons who invaded from the Demon Realm integrated the Monsters and created even more powerful Mutant Monsters with their power. From then on, humanity was pushed back and forced to flee by the Monsters.

    Of course, this is the story before I killed the Demon King and drove out the Demons.

    ‘As expected, there’s no new information I don’t already know…’

    Listening to things I already know is a chore. I sometimes feel the urge to correct the wrong parts I hear.

    Of course, someone with that level of information wouldn’t be a professor at the academy.

    Giving up on expectations, I rested my chin on my hand and blankly stared at the pictures of various Monsters.

    Then, I suddenly became curious about the things of those I haven’t experienced.

    ‘Wow… that ogre must be huge.’

    Unlike humans, Monsters have really diverse forms. Very long, with protrusions on the surface, or able to move freely while embedded…

    Anyway, from experience, there’s all sorts of things. There are still many I haven’t been with yet.

    I can only meet them if I leave this place soon. I can’t wait for the day I get out of the academy.

    “It is known that Mutants have almost disappeared since the Demon King died. However, recently, reports of Mutants of unknown cause have been increasing. Especially if you are performing an ‘Extermination Request,’ be aware of this.”

    The professor was looking straight at me as he spoke. It was clear he was telling me to listen.

    It seems word has reached the professor’s ears that I perform a lot of requests.

    But if it’s going to be known anyway, there’s nothing bad about it. I welcome the rumors about me spreading widely.

    ‘Still, it’s annoying…’

    In the end, I overlay an illusion on my body while listening to the class.

    There doesn’t seem to be anything I need to pay special attention to, and this will make it look like I’m diligently attending the class.

    Looking out the window, it’s a sunny day with no clouds.

    Looking at the scenery, I think about today’s plans.

    First, I’ve established a proper relationship with Jade. Now, even those around us seem to think of us as being in that kind of relationship.

    Now, I just need to do something more for that Doran…

    “That’s all for today’s class. Prepare the assignment I mentioned earlier by next time.”

    While thinking and enjoying the scenery, the professor finishes the class and goes outside.

    “Hey, want to grab something to eat?”

    “Can you tell me just this one thing?”

    “Ha. I don’t want to study for the exam.”

    I looked around the classroom, which had become noisy as break time began. Then, I noticed Doran approaching Jade from one side.

    Doran approached Jade, whispered something in his ear for a moment, and then went outside. After a while, Jade, who had been hesitating, followed him.

    I glanced at where Annie was sitting, and she was lying down, fast asleep. She was bound to be tired since we had been talking late into the night yesterday.

    The situation was naturally set up.

    “Huu…”

    I stretched lightly.

    Shall I go harvest the fruit now?

    **

    “Jade, you know? Follow me to the back of the academy, inside the garden.”

    Doran whispered in Jade’s ear. His body flinched at the voice.

    Jade watched Doran’s back as he went outside.

    I don’t want to go. Jade’s body trembled with ingrained fear. But if he did, even more pain would come to him.

    In the end, Jade had no choice but to get up and head to the back of the school.

    Jade arrived at the garden located behind the academy.

    The academy’s garden was quite large, so many students used it for secret meetings.

    Deep inside the garden, a secluded place where no one came.

    Doran was standing there.

    “Why—”

    As soon as Doran saw Jade, he slapped him on the cheek.

    -Slap!

    As Jade fell to the ground, Doran began to roughly trample on his body as if he had been waiting for it.

    Thud! Pow! Thud—!

    “Keuk…”

    I have to endure. Jade gritted his teeth and held back the scream that was about to burst out.

    The only resistance he could show was to minimize his reactions and bore Doran.

    “I’m being ignored by Lena when I’m a noble next to her.”

    -Thwack!

    Doran’s foot slammed into Jade’s temple.

    “Ack!”

    Jade let out a scream of pain, unable to withstand even this one.

    “Did you feel good that Lena was being friendly to someone like you? I’m telling you to give up on Lena and get out of the academy. What are you holding on for when you’re just a commoner anyway?”

    Jade knew it well too. Lena was too good for him.

    But he couldn’t bring himself to give up the affection and kindness she showed him.

    ‘Lena is beautiful and strong. She was even kind to me.’

    Because of this, Jade couldn’t bring himself to say that he would give up on Lena, even while being beaten by Doran.

    “I can’t give up on Lena…”

    Doran was dumbfounded by Jade’s appearance.

    “Ha, are you crazy? Do you think you’re a match for Lena? Lena is the perfect woman to be my concubine. It’s true that you have pretty good talent for a commoner… but don’t you know that you’re just a collectible to the nobles in the end?”

    Doran grinned, imagining Lena as his own.

    “Hehe, she’s running wild now, not knowing how high the sky is, but soon Lena will realize her place in the face of reality and cry under me.”

    “Don’t insult Lena!”

    Jade rushed at Doran for treating her like a decoration, but with his level, he only suffered more violent assaults.

    “What a joke.”

    -Thwack, Pow, Crack!

    Jade was resentful of himself for not being able to do anything to the guy who was insulting her.

    **

    Jade entered Veil Academy with the support of his parents, who wanted their child to succeed.

    His parents were farmers in a small village near another city, so they didn’t live luxuriously, but they saved money with their hearts for their child and supported him.

    But because he had no talent, Jade had been living a life of barely avoiding expulsion until now.

    ‘What if I get expelled and have to go back to my parents?’

    Jade was always worried about the future, which was too scary.

    One day, when he saw Lena, who had enrolled in the middle of the semester, Jade doubted his eyes.

    It was the first time in his life he had seen someone so beautiful.

    Her golden hair that reached her waist, her blue eyes that seemed to contain the sea, and her delicate face made him fall in love at first sight.

    He wondered if the Saintess, whom people compared to the incarnation of a goddess, would look like that.

    But Lena was from a world too far away for him.

    As soon as she entered, she took the top spot in the first exam, and there were even rumors that her level was about to reach 5-Star.

    Lena was the complete opposite of Jade, who was only at the beginning of 3-Star and had lower scores on written exams.

    Then one day, did the goddess give him a small gift?

    Jade happened to be in a group project with her.

    Others laughed at him for being lucky despite being at the bottom… but he couldn’t hide his excitement at the fact that he could be with Lena. Just walking and talking with her for the sake of the project made his heart beat fast.

    The given group project was in the form of performing requests at the Adventurer Guild as volunteer work for a certain period, and grading was based on how much they did.

    “Lena, wait! Isn’t this mission too difficult…?”

    At the guild, Jade tried to stop Lena from choosing a high-difficulty Monster Extermination Request—

    “These are requests I’m doing on a regular basis. Just follow me quietly.”

    He had no choice but to shut his mouth and follow her confident appearance.

    But whether his worries were unfounded, the few days of carrying out the request went smoothly.

    No, it was easy.

    Lena’s words that she had caught a lot of Monsters were true, and she literally swept away the request targets.

    Rather, he, who didn’t have much practical experience, was of little help. At best, he played the role of dealing with the few Monsters that she couldn’t handle and missed.

    Jade watched Lena sweep away the Monsters.

    She flutters her golden hair and avoids all the Monsters’ attacks. And she moves gracefully, as if she has no doubt in her movements, and cuts them down.

    The tip of her sword, wielding the sword, is as precise and delicate as a painter’s brush. The blade of her sword emits a beauty that seems to flow along with the rising light.

    Her figure cutting down Monsters under the moonlight in the middle of the dark forest was like a sword goddess descending.

    But could things always go so well?

    On the last day, while carrying out the request, something happened. An unexpected Mutant Monster appeared.

    A Black Orc, a more ferocious Mutant individual, appeared in the Orc Extermination Request.

    The guy with black skin instead of green couldn’t even cut through a sword containing mana easily.

    She had been easily dealing with the Orcs, but she was struggling against the Black Orc.

    —Ssaeeeeek!

    At that time, Jade discovered the Black Orc’s club flying towards her side.

    A situation that seemed like a desperate crisis.

    Jade unconsciously threw himself and pushed her away.

    -Kwaang!

    “Jade!”

    Jade momentarily lost consciousness from the tremendous impact he felt on his body.

    A little later, when he opened his eyes, Jade felt pain in his chest and couldn’t breathe properly. Several of his ribs were clearly broken.

    “Heueok…”

    When he looked ahead with his blurry vision, Lena was dealing with the Black Orc and running towards him.

    “Ha, why bother doing such a stupid thing… huh?”

    Lena put her hand on Jade’s face to see if he was okay, then stopped.

    When Jade looked at Lena with a puzzled expression, her blue eyes were wide open.

    “Could it be that you’re….”

    Lena, who seemed surprised, put her hand on his face and fell into thought.

    “Didn’t expect… Jade… this… Hero… talent… pitiful….”

    She began to mutter a few words quietly.

    Then, as if she had come to her senses at some point, she hurriedly rummaged through her bag.

    “First of all, this is not the time for this, we need to treat you quickly….”

    Lena took out several potions and began to pour them into Jade’s mouth.

    “It was a foolish decision… but thank you for throwing yourself to protect me anyway.”

    It was the first time Jade had heard Lena’s kind tone. And from that day on, she changed a lot.

    She looked the same as before to other people. But to Jade—

    “You said you were sick yesterday, is your body okay?”

    Lena began to worry about him whenever something happened to him.

    “You have a wound on your face. I’ll put some medicine on it for you.”

    “Th, thank you…”

    There was even an incident where Jade gave Lena a snack as a reward for helping him complete the group project with excellent grades.

    Lena had rejected all the numerous gifts from other people until now. Because of this, Jade didn’t have high expectations either when he gave the gift.

    ‘Even if I get rejected… it’s still expressing my feelings.’

    “I prepared this because I was grateful for your help with the group project last time. You don’t have to accept it if you don’t like the contents.”

    “What are you talking about. Thank you so much for the gift. I’ll enjoy it.”

    But she accepted Jade’s gift.

    Jade even had the illusion that her ears were slightly red when she received the gift.

    ‘Could it be that Lena also…?’

    Even such absurd thoughts dominated his mind.

    Jade suddenly had no idea why she was being so nice to him.

    Did being hit by the Black Orc instead of her shake her heart?

    Or is it my face? That can’t be it….

    Whatever the reason, Jade was simply happy that the girl he liked was coming to him.

    But is it the law of the world that if you gain something, you lose something?

    The happy times were short-lived, and soon hell came to Jade.

    One day, Doran came to Jade, who was returning after finishing class.

    “Hey, Jade!”

    “Doran? What brings you to me….”

    “It seems like there’s something going on between you and Lena recently…. You give up on Lena. She’s the girl I’ve set my sights on.”

    “What…. Lena is my precious friend!”

    “Ah, this has become troublesome.”

    From that day on, Doran’s bullying began.

    -Thud! Pow, Thud!

    “Augh, ugh! Stop….”

    “How long are you going to stick around in this academy? I’m telling you to drop out quickly?”

    The bullying ranged from simple assaults—

    “Today’s going to hurt a lot.”

    “Wait… Kkeuaaaaak!”

    Even torture using electric magic took various forms.

    The bullying usually took place behind the men’s dormitory, where Lena and Annie couldn’t see. Later, it continued even in secluded places in the academy where people didn’t come.

    He tried to resist or report it, but he warned that he would extend his reach to Annie and Lena with his status.

    In the end, all he could do was endure.

    Naturally, Annie and Lena, who found the wounds on Jade’s body, asked him about the wounds.

    “You have bruises on your arm? Did you fall or something?”

    “Ah, this…? I think I got hurt while wielding a sword.”

    Jade had no choice but to make up an excuse that he was injured while training.

    If he told Lena, she might stop Doran.

    But she can’t stop the bullying in the men’s dormitory or in places where she can’t see.

    Besides, asking the girl he likes to stop it… Jade couldn’t stand such a sight of himself.

    Just as Doran was continuing to trample on Jade,

    “Who’s there?”

    Suddenly, a woman’s voice was heard.

    ‘Could that voice be?’

    Jade hurriedly turned his head towards the voice. There stood Lena with a surprised expression.

    ‘Damn it, why now…!’

    Jade wanted to hide his body in shame and self-loathing, but it was already too late.

    Lena witnessed Doran trampling on him and widened her blue eyes.

    “What are you doing in a place like this— Jade!”

    “What, it’s Lena… Ugh!”

    Lena rushed over without hesitation, pushed Doran away, and checked Jade’s condition.

    “Jade! Jade! Are you okay?”

    “Uung.”

    Jade barely nodded to indicate that he was okay.

    In the end, Lena caught me in this state. Haha, I’m afraid of what Lena will think of me.

    Jade was overwhelmed with self-loathing at his powerlessness.

    “Could it be that all the wounds you’ve had until now are all….”

    Lena turned around with an angry expression and grabbed Doran’s collar.

    “Keuk! Lena, do you know what you’re doing?”

    “That’s what I should be saying. Have you been bullying Jade all this time?”

    Doran nodded with a brazen smile.

    “Yeah, that’s right. I, a noble, gave some education to a commoner who’s clinging to the academy without any skills.”

    “You trash!”

    Lena unhesitatingly threw Doran to the ground.

    -Thud!

    “Keuek, ouch….”

    Doran had a scowl on his face, as if he hadn’t expected this kind of behavior.

    “Even if it’s you, I can’t let this kind of behavior go.”

    “Th, that’s right. Lena, if you do that to Doran!”

    If you mess with a noble, the aftermath will be enormous. Jade was anxious that the situation would worsen and Lena would be harmed.

    But Jade doubted his eyes at Lena’s next action.

    “No, I can’t stand your actions anymore either.”

    Sreung—

    Lena drew her sword from the scabbard hanging on her waist.

    Jade looked at Lena with an uneasy heart.

    ‘…No.’

    Please let it not be what he imagined.

    But his ominous premonition soon became reality.

    “Doran, I challenge you to a duel.”

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