Ch.7777. Barbarian Warrior

“Look, Gilbert is passing by.”

“Is he really a new cadet like us?”

“At least we can’t call him a delinquent anymore.”

The cadets whispered to each other as they watched Gilbert walking through the academy corridor. Previously, most would have dismissed him as a delinquent, but not anymore. Unlike before when they mocked him as a troublemaker, now favorable conversations about him were circulating.

But this wasn’t unnatural—it was an entirely reasonable and natural phenomenon.

During the recent academy attack, his solo effort leading a giant mech to fend off the invaders had left a deep impression on the cadets.

The unprecedented academy assault involving around 100 giant mechs could have resulted in a catastrophic loss of life if things had gone wrong.

The initial response was slow due to the poisonous belief that the academy’s robust defense system couldn’t possibly fail, and the situation became uncontrollable with panicked spectators.

Although professors with extensive battlefield experience took the lead in evacuating people as much as possible, safely escaping the destructive giant mechs was no easy task.

Some professors managed to lead their own giant mechs out, but they were at a severe numerical disadvantage. Without the valiant efforts of Professor Briana, the Empire’s First Sword, maintaining any balance would have been impossible.

But even Professor Briana couldn’t protect all the cadets while fighting, and ultimately found herself in mortal danger while shielding them.

At that critical moment, Gilbert appeared.

He began single-handedly engaging dozens of giant mechs, rescued Professor Briana from danger, and then proceeded to tear through enemy lines.

Facing numerous enemies without fear, steadfastly advancing, he resembled a legendary knight from a fairy tale. After repeated desperate battles bringing down the attackers, he ultimately destroyed over twenty giant mechs all by himself.

Without Gilbert’s life-risking stand against the giant mechs, an unimaginably terrible tragedy might have occurred. The cadets who witnessed the carnage firsthand couldn’t help but see Gilbert in a completely different light.

However, Gilbert himself, the hero of the attack, simply ignored the murmuring cadets and headed to the training room. He had grown accustomed to this attention over the past few days, but he was also naturally the type who didn’t care much about such things.

He was merely satisfied that the “delinquent” reputation that had followed him like a tail was gone. That label could have become a significant obstacle when proceeding with the main scenario in the future.

Thinking of the cadets’ reactions only to that extent, Gilbert completed his usual extreme physical training and finished his mana cultivation before finally leaving the training room.

Training without missing a single day had brought meaningful changes to his stats. The physical attributes that had barely increased before had gone up by one point—something worth celebrating.

“Sir Gilbert.”

“Hmm?”

As he was checking his stats on his status window, he closed it upon hearing a call from a brown-haired maid. Until recently, he had been the number one person to avoid among the servants due to his delinquent reputation, but that seemed to have changed.

“This is for you.”

The maid who had called Gilbert handed him a note from her pocket, bowed politely, and left. She walked away so quickly that Gilbert couldn’t stop her before she disappeared down the corridor and out of sight.

So even the academy’s servants are extraordinary, huh?

Gilbert, who had reflexively accepted the suddenly offered note, smiled slightly and unfolded it.

There was nothing particularly special written on the unfolded note. Just a black-colored flower petal drawn in the center.

But Gilbert’s expression immediately hardened upon seeing it. He knew this was no ordinary note.

The jet-black colored petal symbolized the Wild Rose, the organization that had a tight grip on the back alleys.

When the Wild Rose sent such a symbol, it usually meant they had obtained the information requested by a client.

Gilbert crumpled the note and put it in his pocket. He quickly thought about his schedule for the day, but since regular classes hadn’t started yet, there wasn’t anything specific he needed to do.

However, he needed to visit the Wild Rose directly, and there was no branch near the Demeia Academy jurisdiction area, even for an organization that dominated the back alleys. The closest location was Obitus, where he had met the manager, but it wasn’t a casual walking distance.

He would need to get permission for an overnight stay, but since he was already being used as a propaganda hero of the academy, there was a good chance such a minor request would be granted.

Gilbert hurried to find Professor Briana, his supervising professor, to get permission for the overnight stay. Since the Wild Rose had sent information, it might mean the main scenario in the border region was about to begin.

If this was indeed the start of the main scenario, the upcoming academic break would be an extremely busy time.

***

As he expected, permission for the overnight stay was easily granted. Briana, whose trust in Gilbert had significantly increased, only asked about his business in Obitus without trying to stop him.

After making up a suitable excuse for going to Obitus, he departed immediately and was able to reach the back alleys late at night. Perhaps because his status had changed since his visit a few months ago, he was able to meet the manager promptly, unlike before.

“It’s been a while. I’ve been following your exploits closely.”

“It’s nothing. More importantly, has information about the border region come in?”

The manager gave a faint smile at Gilbert’s omission of unnecessary pleasantries. Seeing that he hadn’t changed much from before, the manager had a reasonable suspicion that the “delinquent” reputation might have been some kind of cover for his current self.

“Yes. Information from the western border region. Specifically, from Bismarck.”

“…”

So that’s it.

Gilbert realized, without changing his expression, that the starting point of the next main scenario was approaching. This was the main event that would begin during the academic break following the academy attack incident.

In terms of difficulty, it varied depending on the clearing method, but it wasn’t fundamentally difficult.

In fact, despite being called a main scenario, it was one that could be cleared even without taking any action.

There would be inevitable story changes, but it was also the only main scenario that wouldn’t result in a game over if not cleared.

In reality, many speedrunners often skipped this scenario entirely. Since it didn’t affect game progression, they simply bypassed this time-consuming scenario.

Gilbert himself, after clearing all the achievements available in this scenario, had also moved on without completing it. It was much more fun to focus on achievement hunting than clearing a scenario he had played countless times.

“The fee for the information?”

“Ten gold.”

The one gold he had initially given was merely a down payment; to actually obtain information, he had to pay an information fee based on the value of the information.

One might consider it unfair that the seller determined the value of the information, but if one didn’t like it, they could simply choose not to use the service.

Moreover, the quality of information sold by the Wild Rose was on a different level from other information guilds in terms of accuracy. Since there were no other options, one had no choice but to use their services.

Gilbert was well aware of this and paid the information fee without comment.

“Thank you for your business.”

“Tell me everything you’ve investigated about the border region.”

“According to our findings, the barbarian tribes have been suffering from a severe drought.”

A severe drought had hit the Skandina region, known to be primarily inhabited by barbarian tribes.

The Skandina region had a steppe climate, also called a prairie climate, characterized by subtropical high pressure where rain typically fell very temporarily.

As a result, large trees were rare, and short grass grew abundantly, creating vast prairies. Now, a drought of historic proportions had struck this region.

When the rainy season arrived but no rain fell, all tribes living in Skandina initially thought the dry season was just lasting a bit longer. Since the dry season was normally longer than the rainy season, they comfortably assumed this was just another such occurrence.

But contrary to their expectations, the drought continued with no sign of ending. The once-green grass withered, and herbivores that fed on it collapsed from thirst.

As time passed, after half a year since the drought began, they had to acknowledge the reality: the dry season had no intention of ending, and the rainy season might never come.

And unfortunately, their assessment proved correct. The drought had continued unabated until now. As drinking water and food supplies dwindled, they were forced to make a choice.

“It’s called a choice, but the options were predetermined. If they didn’t make that choice, only death awaited. I hear they recently held a tribal confederation council. Probably to discuss selecting someone for the vacant position of Grand Chief.”

“The Grand Chief, huh.”

Gilbert sighed after hearing all the information. For the barbarian tribes—or rather, the Sigurdians—the position of Grand Chief was equivalent to a war lord.

For their tribal society, which formed a tribal confederation, selecting a Grand Chief—essentially a king of all tribes—was tantamount to declaring war.

So it seemed the main scenario was beginning just as he had thought.

“Was the information helpful?”

“You look like you have many questions.”

“I apologize for my rudeness. It seems I can’t contain my curiosity when it concerns a client like you.”

Gilbert glanced at the manager who was slightly bowing, having finished his business here. There was no more information to extract, and knowing that the main scenario was about to begin was sufficient for now.

Leaving behind the manager’s request to visit again, Gilbert exited the “back alley.” Since he had entered late at night, dawn was already breaking.

Despite staying up all night, his rigorously trained body didn’t complain of fatigue. He was only concerned that the upcoming main scenario would center around war.

He never considered ignoring it as he had done while playing the game. He was currently the eldest son of the Hart County family and a nobleman with a duty to protect them.

No, he didn’t even need such a reason. Before entering Gilbert’s body, he had been a soldier who risked his life out of duty to protect his country and its people alongside his comrades.

Driven solely by a sense of mission, he was the only survivor among his many comrades.

Could such a person ignore a war and run away?

The choice was already made.

With a resolute expression, Gilbert rode his horse toward Demeia Academy.

The rising morning sun began to follow behind him.