All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 200

200. For the Sake of Discord – 2

Danju, Ian, and Karin headed straight to the village.

Blood Devil clan members were waiting there, their expressions grim.

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

Two faces stood out—familiar ones.

It was Blanche and Wildy.

“Why are you guys here?”

“I should be asking you that.”

“When did you arrive? Did you use the gate in Kerik Territory?”

There are no gates within the Forest of Warriors itself.

The closest gate is in the Barony of Kerik.

Blanche and Wildy had apparently chosen that route.

“We came another way. But what brings you here?”

“It’s one of the designated routes to the Imperial Academy.”

“Ah. Ian doesn’t know? Aranse [likely a governing body or individual] only allowed the use of certain gates for travel this time.”

Since they were traveling individually to the Imperial Academy for training, allowing them to take any gate and travel comfortably would be problematic.

Thus, Aranse had limited the accessible gates.

The Barony of Kerik, not far from here, was one of them.

“Was that so?”

“I didn’t tell you, so you wouldn’t know. Anyway, we took that gate and headed south. We stopped by this village along the way.”

Blanche shrugged.

“Man, I was really surprised.”

“These monsters… you guys take care of them?”

“Not all of them. We were fighting them when those people arrived.”

Blanche recounted the events.

Their plan was to descend Cowell Gorge, stop at the Forest of Warriors for horses, and then continue south.

“But as we approached the village, we saw black smoke rising.”

So, just in case, they investigated and found the village under attack.

“I was a bit surprised. Yaga goblins mixed with trolls. I thought it was a monster wave.”

But it wasn’t.

It was just a small group of monsters acting together.

“Even though I’m a Master, right? So, I took care of them quickly.”

Blanche boasted, brandishing her spear, while Wildy offered a wry smile.

“Actually, it’s a shame. If we’d arrived a little sooner, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“If you dwell on ‘what ifs,’ the world becomes nothing but regret,” Karin said, noticing Wildy’s gloom.

Wildy looked at her, puzzled, and Karin introduced herself casually.

“Ah, from Blood Devil… Nice to meet you. I’m Wildy Fredician from Advanced Class B of Fredon Academy.”

“Fredician, huh? Is your mother doing well?”

“You know my mother?”

“I used to hang out with Eridin a long time ago.”

Karin said with a smile, and Wildy bowed in surprise.

“Then do you know my father too?”

“Who is it?”

“It’s Count Kilrod Auden.”

“I’ve only heard stories about Kilrod. I never thought I’d meet the children of people I know here.”

“Is this really the time to be leisurely talking about old times?” Danju interjected, and Karin shrugged.

Wildy nodded and continued his explanation.

“Anyway, we were fighting the monsters when a demon appeared.”

“Oh, really? And then?”

“We caught it.”

“It wasn’t a strong demon, so it wasn’t difficult. It would have been troublesome if it had a special attack.”

They caught it, so it was fine.

Ian nodded, and Blanche raised a finger.

“And one more thing. That guy… he was driven by greed, you know?”

“…Ah. Really? How did you know that?”

“When he disappeared, he said, ‘Gehern-nim [likely a deity or powerful figure], I’m sorry,’ and vanished.”

The evidence was simple and irrefutable.

Ian nodded and surveyed the village.

In the center stood an altar.

It was the same bone altar he’d seen in Silvermoon’s abandoned training ground.

Ian, examining the altar with its lingering traces of human sacrifice, nodded and asked, “Any survivors?”

“Over there.”

Blanche pointed to a group of Blood Devil clan members and villagers who appeared to have been captured and released.

Most of the villagers were traumatized.

Ian approached a woman who seemed the most lucid and asked calmly, “What happened here?”

“Ah… that…”

She recounted the nightmarish events.

It had begun two nights ago.

Suddenly, monsters attacked.

“But shouldn’t there be warriors stationed in this village?”

“That’s…”

While the warriors fought the initial wave, monsters attacked from another direction.

“A pincer attack? By monsters?”

“Yes. That… it was ogres. While the warriors were blocking the ogres, goblins, yagas, and trolls attacked from the other side.”

In the end, the village’s wooden fence was breached.

The village was devastated, and the warriors, exhausted from fighting the ogres, couldn’t withstand the additional attacks from the monsters that had infiltrated the village.

Eventually, all the warriors were killed, some villagers were eaten, and the rest were imprisoned for sacrifice.

“Monsters using tactics? That’s… unsettling,” Blanche said, her common sense challenged.

Meanwhile, Wildy hesitated and then spoke.

“Actually, the Magic Tower used to conduct experiments in the past.”

“About what?”

“Developing the intelligence of monsters.”

What if monsters’ intelligence increased, and their hatred and violence towards humans and other races subsided?

If successful, could they be used as a labor force?

The academy initiated research on this.

“Well, the ending was predictable: failure. We had hoped the southern orcs, who valued warrior honor unlike their northern counterparts, might be different. But we couldn’t curb their violence. The research was ultimately deemed unhelpful and erased.”

But things were different for demons.

Their goal was the annihilation of life.

Perhaps they were gathering monsters through faith and granting them intelligence.

This could explain how different species, even those unrelated, could unite and execute pincer attacks.

“They lost the power of the Tyrant, so they’re trying other methods.”

“But that won’t be easy…”

Ian nodded at Kirke’s confident assessment.

This demonic activity was likely just the beginning.

Kirke was right.

Gathering followers through religion, and those followers gaining intelligence…

If they built and developed a civilization, things would become complicated.

If the numerous monsters on the continent united, a wave unlike any seen before would occur.

Even if they only used strategies like these ambushes, their power would be immense.

It was questionable whether the countries of the continent could stop them.

‘If that happens, I’ll have to intervene.’

While Ian spoke with Kirke, Karin and Danju cleaned up the area.

They moved the survivors to the Forest of Warriors and began to organize the bodies and destroy the altar.

“Hey, Ian. How did you get here, anyway?”

“Me? I used a warp device.”

“This?”

“Yeah.”

Wildy tilted his head, looking at the bracelet on Ian’s wrist.

“But isn’t that only for going to the academy?”

“Mine’s a bit different.”

“Wow. How do you do it?”

“You just need to be able to calculate the coordinates.”

“Can you teach me that too?”

“It’s difficult. And you die if you fail, you know?”

“…I guess it’s better to just walk.”

Blanche gave up immediately at Ian’s blunt reply.

Wildy, a magician, pondered it, but Ian, who often dismissed things as trivial, said it was difficult.

Even as a magician, she doubted her ability.

“Then there’s no choice. Ah, so, Ian, is that why you said this training was meaningless?”

“That’s right. But you guys… is it okay for you to be doing this?”

“What? Because of the first-place prize? What do you think of me?”

Blanche scoffed and shook her head.

“No matter how much I want the Titan [likely a valuable artifact or reward], I can’t just ignore this.”

“That’s right. We may be weaker than you, but we know how to use our strength.”

“Excellent!”

Perhaps overhearing their conversation, Karin approached, her expression firm.

“These days, some people don’t know how to use their strength. They only think getting stronger is the only thing that matters… Haha. Yes, building strength is important, but how you use it is also important.”

Karin, quite proud, grabbed their shoulders tightly.

“I heard Fredon Academy was rotten, but it seems the students aren’t all bad.”

“That changed a long time ago.”

“Haha. Anyway, everyone’s worked hard, so I can’t just stand by…”

She glanced at the sky.

The sun was already setting.

“Let’s go. I’ll take care of dinner tonight.”

“By the way, what are we going to do with them?” Wildy asked, looking at the survivors, and Karin smiled slyly.

“Don’t worry. The Forest of Warriors isn’t so heartless that it only values strength.”

* * *

The cleanup was left to the Blood Devil clan members, and the group returned to the Forest of Warriors.

They headed to the Blood Devil’s building for the night.

Danju asked as they entered the fairly large dining hall, “By the way, you’re in training, right? Shouldn’t you be heading out?”

“It’s already too late, isn’t it?”

“The others are probably going crazy trying to get ahead right now.”

Having intervened, they were already behind.

Danju chuckled as the two spoke as if they had given up.

“I don’t know how good that Titan is, but it’s commendable that you haven’t abandoned your humanity.”

“It’s nothing much.”

“Hmm. Good. Since it’s come to this, I’ll teach you a thing or two. Come to the Sword Flower Unit after you eat.”

The leader of the Sword Flower Unit was as strong as Kilrod.

Learning from such a strong person would be a great opportunity.

As Blanche rejoiced, the door to the dining hall opened, and Karin entered.

Soon after, the dishes arrived.

Delicious-looking sausages, grilled chicken, beef steak, and more filled the table.

Just as they were about to dig in…

-KWAH-AH-AH-AH-NG!!

A loud explosion echoed from outside.

Blanche and Wildy were startled, but Karin and Danju remained unfazed.

“It’s okay.”

“They’re probably just fighting somewhere. Seriously, so many idiots don’t know how to use their strength.”

“Hmm. It’s quite an interesting place. So many people are picking fights.” Ian smiled at their words and stood up.

“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”

– KWAH-AH-AH-AH-NG!!

An explosion erupted from the wall.

Ian, blocking the blast with ease, looked indifferently at the people who caused it and the warriors behind them.

“That’s Ian!”

“Catch him! Catch that guy and the Blood Devil too! And defeat the Sword Flower Unit!”

The gathered warriors shouted fiercely, and an old man stepped forward confidently.

“Hehehe!! Explosion is art!! Hehehe! You’re Ian Brandon?!”

“So?”

“I am Karl, the King of Explosions! I’ll catch you and prove that I’m the strongest…”

With a massive explosion, Karl, the King of Explosions, was sent flying.

Ian, looking down at the twitching figure, grabbed the hilt of his sword.

“Anyone else want to try? I’m always welcome.”

The warriors, unnerved, unconsciously took a step back, and Danju sighed.

“It’s a good thing the Sword Flower Unit didn’t accept you. If they had, more than half the warriors in the Forest of Warriors would be dead.”

Ian chuckled and nodded.

“They didn’t accept me? Or they couldn’t.”