All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 4

4. The Fruits of Resistance – 2

Celestial Demon Art, Solar Manifestation.

The embodiment of an absolute being’s strike, one who dominated the heavens, the sun, the moon, and all things in creation.

“Kkeuwaek…….”

Isaac collapsed to his knees.

‘I will.’

It was an unsatisfactory level of power for Ian and Kirke, but it was enough to silence the students.

Some even rubbed their eyes, wondering if they had seen it wrong.

Ian crouched down and checked on the unconscious Isaac.

At this rate, he would have to quietly recuperate for at least a few years.

‘Of course, he won’t quietly recuperate.’

Ian glanced at the lower-grade students.

“What are you doing? Go and call the medical unit.”

“Ah… Ahh!”

Some of the flustered students ran off.

As they ran, Ian slowly turned his head.

There stood two large boys with pale faces.

Lud and Ainkel.

They, too, were having trouble accepting reality.

“Hey, Lud.”

Ian walked towards them, stepping down from the dueling arena.

Lud feigned bravado as Ian approached, the same Ian who had just knocked out Isaac, who used Aura [a technique to enhance physical abilities], with a single blow.

“W-what is it?”

But his voice trembled.

No matter how big and strong Lud was, he was insignificant compared to the instructor, Isaac.

And Ian had knocked out that Isaac with a single blow.

So, the closer he got, the more his body trembled.

“What did you say earlier? Good luck?”

“N-no, that’s…”

“I wish you had even better luck. Come on, shall we have a match?”

Lud hesitated.

“……Not now.”

“I want to now.”

“L-let go!!”

Afraid, Lud tried to shake off his hand.

Ian smiled as he saw his pale face.

“Ah, really? Then, you know.”

Ian easily grabbed Lud by the collar and said in a small voice in his ear.

“Come to the rooftop if you don’t want your mouth torn. Got it?”

It was a threat Lud often used when calling Ian out.

Each time, Ian would nod with a subdued expression.

He never imagined he would be on the receiving end of it.

He was scared.

He didn’t know what to do.

Ian, who mocked the terrified Lud, also spoke to Ainkel.

At that moment, the medical staff, summoned by the students, arrived.

“Huh? Priest?”

“Why is the priest here?”

The students were puzzled to see a priest in white robes among the medical staff.

As the medical staff moved Isaac, he approached Ian and politely greeted him.

“I am Willis, a priest of the Solar Church. Are you Ian Brandon?”

“Yes.”

After confirming, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket.

“There has been a report that you have made a contract with a demon.”

“Ha. A demon?”

A demon.

Was he, who repeated life while traversing countless dimensions, a demon?

Or were those who trampled on those who begged for salvation in the mud and enjoyed it the demons?

‘How absurd.’

‘That’s right. It’s not a special world after all.’

Ian gave a bitter smile to Willis, who was looking at him.

“So, you’re going to conduct an examination?”

“Yes. Please come with me to the temple.”

Paladins, who had come in preparation for resistance, stood beside him.

Ian nodded to them and glanced at Lud and Ainkel.

“I’ll see you later.”

“Huk…….”

“Let’s go!”

Despite being accused of being a demon contractor, Ian spoke very confidently.

“Let’s go. To the temple.”

At the center of Fredon Academy was the Solar Temple.

It was usually a place where only followers of the Solar Church gathered, but today was different.

From the front of the temple, armed paladins and several instructors were waiting.

Willis, with Ian beside him, gave several orders to the paladins.

As they moved busily, he said to Ian.

“By the way, have you ever been to the Solar Temple before?”

“No. My family was poor and did not receive the Solar Church’s blessing.”

“I see. We have some time left, so let me introduce you to it. That is the central cathedral, and that is…….”

North of the central cathedral was the minor chapel, and south was the administrative office.

“The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Therefore, the Radiant Star Hall in the east is considered the most important place in the Solar Temple.”

“Ah. I see.”

Ian reacted indifferently, as if he had no interest.

Willis smiled at his attitude.

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“Why should I be afraid when I am innocent?”

“Excellent. Yes. It would be a good thing if this is also a misunderstanding.”

‘Of course, I have no intention of letting that guy who made the ridiculous accusation get away with it.’

He wasn’t very surprised since he had orchestrated the situation to be this way.

Those who had been rolling around like Isaac usually made a way for themselves to escape.

So, he thought that they would question Ian’s change and report it.

‘Tell me about it.’

“By the way, Ian…….”

Just as Willis was about to open his mouth to break the silence.

Paladins ran from behind.

“We are ready!”

“Then let’s go.”

The place they headed to was the east, the Radiant Star Hall.

Near the Solar Statue in the Radiant Star Hall, many instructors had gathered to prevent any possible accidents.

“I heard he’s a lower-grade student who defeated Isaac?”

“He’s a guy who hasn’t shown any talent until now…….”

“Could he really have made a contract with a demon? Is that why he became so strong?”

Among those who suddenly became strong, there were those who became strong through contracts with demons.

They lost their reason and caused problems after being intoxicated with power after the contract.

So, if Ian had really made a contract with a demon, they were all properly armed, seemingly trying to catch him before he caused problems.

Under the watchful eyes of the instructors, Ian sat in front of the statue with Willis.

“From now on, we will begin the demon verification for Ian Brandon.”

Willis declared with a serious expression.

At his gesture, priests and nuns approached.

“The verification will proceed in three stages. The first is the Choice of the Sun.”

It’s not an absurd verification like throwing them into the water and saying they are demons if they float, like in other worlds.

Ian, who heard Kirke’s explanation, began to prepare to accept the energy of the sun as planned.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

As he nodded, the priests began to pray.

“May the glorious sun take its place in the sky…….”

“May the will of the sun be with us here…….”

“Burn away the evil and the grace of the sun…….”

Strong light and divine power were emitted from the priests’ bodies.

The paladins and instructors who watched it subtly grabbed their weapons.

If the demon couldn’t withstand the divine power and popped out, they had to fight immediately.

Ian neatly betrayed their tension.

For Ian, who was having a hard time finding elixirs right now, this divine power was the only elixir he could currently obtain.

That’s why he deliberately caused trouble and provoked Isaac to report him to the Solar Temple.

During the demon verification, the priests of the Solar Church always do their best.

As he obtained a high-quality solar energy, Ian accepted the energy of the sun without hesitation and converted it into internal energy.

“Hoo…….”

“Haaa…….”

Everyone was panting, probably quite exhausted.

Willis wiped the sweat flowing from his forehead and smiled weakly.

“Are you alright, Saint?”

At his question, Ian raised a finger.

“Could you do it one more time?”

“Hahaha. Since you react this way to divine power, it seems you are definitely not related to demons.”

But there were still stages of demon verification left.

As the priests stepped back, the nuns approached.

“Demons are weak against hymns. From now on, we will sing the hymns of the Solar Church.”

“Please do.”

Ian waited with a happy heart, and the nuns, who had finished preparing, cleared their throats and sang the hymn.

“The sun~ will be with you~ you will shine here~.”

An old woman who appeared to be the head nun started the song.

After that, the other nuns began to sing the hymn.

The hymn also contained divine power, and of course, it was full of the energy of the sun.

Ian accepted that as well.

Much more energy than he had collected over the past month gathered in his dantian [energy center].

The more it did, the bigger his dantian became, and the impurities and toxins gathered in one place as Ian guided them.

He gathered it and made it into phlegm, and he pretended to cough and spat out the impurities and toxins.

“Cough! Cough! Oh, I’m sorry. I suddenly choked…….”

Could this also be called a demon’s reaction?

As the instructors watched, the priests shook their heads.

What kind of demon would come out as phlegm?

“Then next is the sacred object.”

Willis brought out a large box.

“It is the Solar Radiant Stone. It is our church’s sacred object.”

‘I want it.’

Inside the box was a small stone emitting a bright light.

The energy of the sun contained in that light was also of great help to Ian, and he gratefully accepted it.

‘At this rate, it’ll be at least second-rate.’

‘Thanks for telling me what I know.’

While Ian was talking with Kirke, the people who were waiting were exhausted.

Somehow, the verification no longer seemed meaningful.

“No, if he’s like that after going through three stages of demon verification…….”

“Does that mean he didn’t make a contract with a demon?”

The instructors whispered as they looked at Ian and their eyes lit up.

“Then that means he’s worth raising.”

Just as the instructors, who were intrigued, were about to approach Ian, a rough voice was heard from behind.

“No, that’s not true!! That guy is a demon!!”

The owner of the shout was Isaac.

He refused treatment and watched the verification, enduring the pain as if his intestines were being cut off, because Ian’s demon verification was starting.

But he was gradually becoming like he had nothing to do with demons.

If he left it like this, only he would be the fool.

That’s why Isaac stepped forward, knowing it was rude.

“Priest Willis! That guy is a demon!”

“The verification has revealed that Ian is not a demon.”

Divine power, hymns, sacred objects.

Ian passed all three tests safely.

Yet, insisting that he was a demon could only be seen as disrespecting the Solar Church.

As Willis spoke with a firm expression, Isaac hurriedly took off his armor.

There was a distorted burn mark on his abdomen.

“This is the burn mark that appeared after being hit by that guy during the duel earlier!”

Ian had only punched him, and he had been hit by it.