episode_0079

Chapter 79 – Turning Point

“Ruan! Long time no see!” “Friend, where are you rushing off to so quickly!” After the shocking opening ceremony concluded, as I was heading to the dining hall for lunch, Abel and Yas caught me. I turned around and frowned at Yas.

“What is that on you?” My finger pointed to the thick hair covering Yas’s chin and nose. It was incredibly messy, tangled up as if he hadn’t groomed it at all. Despite my negative reaction, Yas proudly stroked his beard.

“How is it? Manly, right?” “To you, is ‘manly’ synonymous with ‘dirty’? Go shave it off right now. I don’t want to look at it.” “Hmph! You don’t know anything. Women secretly like wild, masculine men!” “Yes. But you’re just ‘wild’ in a different way. You look like you’ve been rolling around on a deserted island for a year.”

He seemed exactly 66 percent uglier than before the break. To compare, it was like the difference between Abel and the original Yas. My cruel verbal attack seemed to have an effect, as Yas’s face fell slightly.

“Is it really that bad? Abel, Uni, and Alisa all said it was weird too.” “Well, anyone with eyes would say that.” “Hmm… should I cut it?”

As Yas fell into thought, I observed his stable aura. ‘He’s achieved enlightenment.’ He had vowed to be able to use sword aura before the break, and he truly achieved his goal. It was absurd that he was neglecting such a significant achievement to brag about his beard.

As I shook my head from side to side, Abel greeted me. “Ruan, long time no see. Have you been well?” “I’ve been well. What about you? Nothing happened?” “Me? Ahahaha! Actually, something happened on the way here. Shall we talk about it as we go?”

Abel quickened his pace and began to explain. He told the story of how he accidentally protected a child, which led to a conflict with tracking slave hunters, eventually being chased by the House of Skadia, the viscounts behind it all, and finally, how he freed the slaves with the help of passing Holy Knights and the Crown Prince, who was on inspection.

I felt sorry for Abel, who was explaining so earnestly, but I already knew the entire incident. ‘Because I saw it directly.’ Just a few days ago, I had personally gone to the House of Skadia to check on Abel and Uni. And unlike in the game, I witnessed them receiving help from Holy Knights. Of course, claiming they were just passing by was a lie; they must have been secretly escorting them from an unseen location, just as I had anticipated on the last day of the break. Well, since the incident was resolved without any problems, it didn’t really matter.

It was at that moment. “You there. Stop.” Professor Serlin Madres, who was passing by, suddenly halted us.

“Yes? What’s the matter?” Abel asked, puzzled. But Professor Serlin didn’t even glance at Abel, approaching Yas’s nose. She frowned as she looked at his beard.

At her clearly displeased expression, Yas hastily squeezed out an excuse. “Ah, I’m sorry. I forgot to shave by mistake. I’ll go shave it right away—” “Why?”

“Huh?” As Yas, cut off, dumbfoundedly repeated his question, Professor Serlin extended a delicate hand, fiddled with his messy beard, and then commanded, “Don’t cut it.”

“…What?” “I said don’t cut it. Absolutely. You look much more manly and handsome now than before. See you later, Yas.” Professor Serlin, with a radiant smile, vanished as she had appeared.

After a long silence, Yas uttered a single word. “Did you see that?” His smug expression was incredibly annoying.

*

“Alright, I’m off then.” “Friend! Come visit sometimes! Room 302. Got it?” “Yeah, yeah. See you later.” With the start of the second semester, dorm rooms were reassigned, and I had to part ways with Yas. After exchanging goodbyes with him, I left the room with only my spatial pocket bag.

‘It feels a bit strange.’ Leaving a place I’d been with for almost half a year felt a little awkward. I even felt like I might sometimes miss Yas’s nonsense. Of course, it was just a different room; it wasn’t like I’d never see him again.

‘I wonder who my roommate will be this time.’ I just hoped it wasn’t an annoying type. Soon, I arrived at my assigned room, lightly knocked, and entered.

The interior was empty. “Not here yet?” It seemed they were taking a while to organize their belongings. I could just haphazardly toss my things into my spatial pocket bag, but a commoner couldn’t easily obtain such a magical tool. In other words, my new roommate was likely a commoner.

“Not bad.” If they were a commoner, unless they were incredibly brazen, they wouldn’t dare bother a noble, let alone a troublemaker from a Marquis’s family. Feeling better, I headed to the right bed and began to unpack.

When I was about halfway done, the door opened and my roommate appeared. “…” “…” Only gazes were exchanged in silence. My roommate was a man with a buzz cut, blood-red hair, and matching eyes. His name tag read ‘Kenneth’.

Kenneth nodded in greeting, then went to the left bed and unpacked his belongings. His luggage was quite simple. I subtly glanced at his face, trying not to make it obvious.

‘This is troublesome.’ I knew that face and name entirely. That’s because Kenneth was none other than the possessed bald swordsman. Having found a clue during the training camp, I had commissioned the Information Guild during the break to dig up information on him. His name was Kenneth. 20 years old.

He was a war orphan who was taken in by a mercenary and raised, eventually enrolling in the academy. The mercenary who raised him, named Grant, was currently operating an inn in the capital. There was information that, unlike the berserker-like fighting style he showed at the training camp, he was quite a devoted son.

‘That was unexpected.’ Considering he was possessed, he must have been a significant criminal back on Earth, yet he treated someone who wasn’t even his biological parent so well. Because of this, I was still hesitating whether to kill Kenneth. Well, anyway, due to what happened this morning, I was fated to be cautious for a while.

‘I can’t believe they revealed everything about the possessed.’ After her initial statement, the Saintess explained the identity of the possessed and the reasons for needing to expose them. The church wasn’t aware of everything about the possessed, but that was even more problematic. Because she claimed the possessed knew the future and could potentially cooperate with the Dark Church. It was information heavily skewed and biased, hardly the complete truth.

Recalling the morning’s events for a moment, I finished unpacking and stood up. Looking behind me, Kenneth had already finished organizing his things and was changing into his sportswear.

‘Looks like he’s going to train.’ He was quite diligent. Was he doing this to get revenge on the flame mage who made him bald? Seeing that, I couldn’t just stand by. After Kenneth left the room, I also changed into my sportswear and immediately rushed to the general store.

“Cain, I’m here!” Announcing my arrival, I entered and saw an empty counter. “He’s not here. Is he there again today?”

Guessing Cain’s location, I crossed the space and headed toward the open field. Cain stood in the middle of a vast open field. A single sword was plunged into the ground before him. It was the weapon Yuliana used. Cain had only barely recovered the sword and set up Yuliana’s grave here.

“Cain, you were here.” “…” I intentionally made my presence known as I approached, but Cain’s gaze didn’t shift at all. He simply stared silently at Yuliana’s grave.

Still, without hurrying, I waited patiently, and only after five minutes did Cain open his mouth. “Ruan. You said you were also possessed, right?” “Yes, that’s right. Is there anything you’re curious about?”

His gaze finally turned to me. “Then you also know the future?” “Roughly.” “…What happened to me in the future?”

Everyone, at least once, tends to imagine their own future. So, no matter how much Cain tried, it was hard for him to look away from that. I calmly revealed the truth.

“I don’t know.” “What? Didn’t you say you knew the future?” “I know everything except for what specifically concerns Cain.”

“…That means I would have died in the last attack.” “Yes, that’s correct.” “…”

Cain remained silent for a while. After pondering for a long time, he changed the subject of the conversation. “Then do you know the location of Hersculer’s vessel, or the identity of that masked guy we saw there?”

“Yes, I know.” “Where is it?” As if this was his true objective, Cain’s eyes were bloodshot as he thrust his face closer. I took a step back and continued speaking.

“But it will be meaningless.” “Why?” “Because the masked man is possessed, just like me. He must have already moved Hersculer’s vessel to another location.”

“Is that so? Then we just need to catch that masked man.” I knew he would say that. He seemed ready to rush off and catch him immediately if I revealed his identity, so I quickly stopped Cain.

“Calm down. It’s better to leave him be for now.” “Why do you think that?” “He would have prepared for everything. If we just rush in now, we’ll be the only ones to suffer losses. You asked about the masked man’s identity, right? That guy is Ethan Gloucester.”

“…Gloucester?” “Yes. From the Ducal House of Gloucester. Can we accuse such a man of being a Dark Church apostle without clear evidence?”

The Ducal House of Gloucester was a founding contributor to the nation. Moreover, it was a family that had made significant contributions in sealing the immortal demonic beast Levios thousands of years ago. Even if they had now fallen to become puppets of the Dark Church, their standing was very solid. Even Cain, who was consumed by revenge, seemed to accept my explanation and let out a small sigh.

“Haa… then we’ll observe for now.” “That’s a good thought. By the way, I came here to train, could you help me out a bit? I need to adapt to Avatarization as quickly as possible.”

“…Alright. Follow me.” Cain, after stroking the sword’s hilt once, turned his back and led the way underground. He stood facing me in the center.

“Show me the technique you learned yesterday.” “Understood!” I slowly drew forth my concentration.

The name of the technique I was about to unleash was Penetration Gaze. It was a technique that allowed my magic to infiltrate the enemy’s interior and tear apart the very pathways through which mana flowed. If hit by Penetration Gaze, it would become difficult to control magic, and in severe cases, mana itself could reverse flow, leading to death. It was a difficult technique to perform, but if mastered, it would become a great power.

‘I need to get used to magic.’ To escape the threat of these flames coiled in my dantian, I needed to develop my magic control as quickly as possible. In other words, it was a huge advantage for me.

Of course, as great as the advantage was, the risk was also significant; recklessly using Penetration Gaze could result in internal injuries. But that was just a matter of going to the temple for healing or using Avatarization to recover with hyper-regeneration. There were no particular difficulties.

‘Focus. Focus.’ I pushed away distracting thoughts, channeling the essence of Penetration Gaze into my fist, and unleashed it. *Thwack!* My fist and Cain’s palm collided.

I infiltrated Cain’s interior with magic through the point of contact. However, the infiltrating magic was surrounded by Cain’s welcoming magic and dissipated with frustrating ease. Furthermore, it didn’t stop there; Cain’s magic reversed its path and even infiltrated my body.

“Ugh!” Unlike when I was learning the Grand Unity Avatar Arts, Cain’s magic surged in roughly, without any consideration. As I let out a low groan, he advised,

“Don’t just try to endure it. Find the weak points and exploit them.” Normally, speaking when interfering with each other’s bodies with magic is forbidden, because the mana in the air absorbed through breathing disrupts the flow. The fact that Cain could still speak meant his magic control was exceptional, and the difference in our skill levels was vast.

I focused all my senses, striving to analyze and neutralize Cain’s magic. It took a full thirty minutes before I could finally push out the infiltrated magic.

“Hah… gasp!” Just as I was about to collapse, breathing heavily. “What are you doing?” Cain forcibly held my fist and straightened my bent knees. As I stared at him, puzzled, magic infiltrated me again through my fist.

‘This crazy bastard!’ Cain had no intention of letting me rest. He truly intended to push me to my absolute limits, extracting all my potential. Fearing internal injuries, I couldn’t even protest; I could only desperately focus on expelling the magic.

It was three hours later that I regained my freedom.