Chapter 230
Chapter 230
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter:230 Academy (1)
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Damien looked around the empty classroom with a dumbfounded expression.
“I heard it was a problematic class, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad…”
The Academy was recognized as the best educational institution not only in the Empire but also on the continent.
It was unbelievable that students who attended such a place were so beyond saving.
What was even more absurd was that the students belonging to Class 13 were all from high-ranking noble families.
The higher the status of a family, the stricter the discipline was supposed to be.
However, the appearance of the students in Class 13 was far from that.
“Did I read it wrong?”
Damien flipped through the student roster he had received from the staff yesterday again.
The student roster included photos of the students as well as their detailed profiles.
“Countess Portina, Count Sand… all of them are from high-ranking families…”
As Damien was looking at the student roster, someone opened the classroom door and entered.
He looked towards the door, thinking it was a student. However, Damien’s expectations were betrayed beautifully.
The person who entered the classroom was a female knight dressed in full uniform. The red pike she was carrying on her back stood out particularly prominently.
‘She must be quite skilled.’
Damien couldn’t help but admire her as soon as he saw the female knight.
The female knight was perfectly controlling her aura from leaking out.
‘She must be stronger than Salik, whom I fought against that day.’
The fact that such skilled individuals were popping up as if it were natural was what made the Empire so fearsome.
“Still, no one came out?”
The female knight looked around the classroom and muttered in disappointment.
“Who are you?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have introduced myself first.”
The female knight apologized to Damien. Judging by her old-fashioned way of speaking, she seemed to be from a high-ranking noble family.
“My name is Blanca Roche. I am the commander of the White Blood Knights, who are in charge of protecting the Academy, despite my humble abilities.”
Damien’s eyes changed at the name of the White Blood Knights.
Before leaving for this place, he had heard an explanation from Rachel.
She said that the Academy had its own knight order that the Empire had painstakingly raised in preparation for any unforeseen incidents.
The name of that knight order was the White Blood Knights.
He had thought that their skills must be quite extraordinary. It made sense now that she was the commander of the knight order.
“My name is Damien Haksen.”
Damien extended his hand for a handshake to Blanca. She gladly took his hand.
“I already know who you are. I came here to see you.”
Blanca scanned Damien and let out a short exclamation.
“Indeed, you are a remarkable young man, just as I’ve heard. It’s truly amazing that you have such incredible energy at such a young age.”
Blanca released his hand and said.
“I also came to see you and to offer my assistance, if possible. I couldn’t stay still when I heard that you were in charge of Class 13.”
“Do you know about Class 13?”
“Of course, I do. Anyone in the Academy knows about it. It’s the class where all the troublemakers of the Academy are gathered.”
A bitter smile appeared on Blanca’s face.
“Students who have no interest in academics. Students who have gotten into violent incidents with other students. In short, this is the class where they put all the students that even the Academy has a hard time controlling.”
Damien couldn’t help but smile wryly at Blanca’s words.
In short, it meant that Class 13 was a place where all the troublemakers of the Academy were gathered.
“Why is the Academy leaving such students alone?”
“It’s because of their families. All the students in Class 13 come from prestigious families.”
Damien felt a sense of doubt at that.
No matter how powerful a family was, this was the Academy.
Considering the prestige of the Academy, no matter how much protection the families received, there was no way they couldn’t control the students.
“And there’s one more reason… but I don’t think I should be the one to say it. Let me just say that the families want it that way.”
It was a statement that made no sense.
He wanted to ask more, but Damien had something more urgent to do.
“Do you know where the students are?”
“I don’t know that either. But I’ve seen them a few times while patrolling the Academy. They all seemed very busy.”
“How many times do the students in Class 13 attend class in a month?”
“Well, if they attend, it becomes a topic of conversation at the Academy that day. I haven’t heard anything lately. The other students bet on it.”
Damien sighed at that. In other words, it meant they almost never showed up.
‘This is going to be a headache.’
If Class 13 doesn’t perform well in the swordsmanship subject of the evaluation exam that will be held in a week, Damien will be kicked out of the Academy.
Being kicked out doesn’t matter. Damien just needs to find Sla.
The problem was that it was difficult to find Sla within a week.
Sla was a dark mage of the Berserk Sect. There was no one in Pandemonium who handled the human body better than her.
Sla could use the dark magic of the Berserk Sect to disguise herself as anyone.
It didn’t matter if the target was a knight or a mage. If Sla turned into a knight, she could use the aura, and if she turned into a mage, she could use all kinds of magic.
It was a possible trick because she could perfectly mimic the target’s body with the dark magic of the Berserk Sect.
That’s why it wasn’t easy for Damien to find Sla, who was hiding in the Academy.
In addition, the Academy was very large. It would be impossible to search the entire place in a week.
Damien was deep in thought when Blanca spoke to him.
“Well, I’m going to go now. I still have places to patrol.”
Blanca said goodbye and left the classroom. Damien stared at the classroom door for a moment.
‘Could it be Sla?’
Sla could also disguise herself as a Master Class.
Of course, even with Sla’s abilities, she couldn’t perfectly mimic a masterclass. If they actually fought, it was clear that she was a fake.
However, when they were just standing still, it was hard to tell the difference from a real Master Class.
‘I’ll have to watch a little more.’
Sla could turn into anyone. That’s why Damien was going to suspect everyone he met at the Academy.
Damien was leaning on the desk, lost in thought when suddenly the door to the classroom opened and someone came in.
At first, Damien thought it was Blanca coming back. But that was Damien’s mistake.
The person who came into the classroom was a male student wearing the Academy uniform.
The boy, with his front teeth sticking out like a mouse, looked at Damien and cheered.
“Wow, it’s true what I heard? Is it really Damien Haksen who is the new teacher in charge of our Class 13?”
Damien made a dumbfounded expression.
Anyone would have reacted the same way as Damien if they were suddenly called informal by a very young child.
But the boy didn’t care how Damien felt at all.
“This is crazy! I have to go tell the guys right away.”
The boy was about to leave the classroom again. Damien immediately called out to the boy.
“Hey.”
“Hmm.”
The boy stopped as he was about to leave the classroom. He turned to Damien.
“Are you a student in Class 13?”
“Yes.”
Damien chuckled at the boy’s disrespectful attitude.
“You’re quite short with your words.”
“So what?”
Damien almost thought he had made a mistake himself at the boy’s arrogant attitude.
“Don’t tell me you’re in a bad mood because I just talked to you? That’s funny.”
The boy laughed as if Damien was amusing.
“Do you know who I am? I’m Oliver Fortina, the fourth son of Marquis Fortina! You, a mere commoner from the Apple Kingdom, are not someone you can mess with!”
Damien couldn’t help but let out a sarcastic laugh.
Now he understood why this guy was acting so arrogant.
A marquis of the Empire had a different level of prestige than a marquis of another kingdom.
There were knights, a standing army of elite troops, and even a number of Master Classes at their disposal.
With the prestige of a marquis behind him, Oliver seemed to think that Damien wouldn’t dare to touch him.
And that was probably even more true considering that the other teachers would have been careful with this student.
“Well, that’s good then.”
Damien strode towards Oliver. He reacted with a flustered expression as Damien suddenly closed the distance.
“What, why are you coming closer?”
“You just said you were going to tell the other kids about me, right? Do you know where the other students are? If so, take me to them right now.”
Oliver’s expression turned slightly stern at Damien’s words.
“Why should I? Why should I tell you that?”
“If you don’t want to, then I can’t help it.”
Damien opened his subspace and pulled out something. As soon as Oliver saw what Damien had pulled out, he was shocked.
“What, what is that?”
What Damien had pulled out of his subspace was a wooden club and polished to a high shine due to being well-oiled.
“I’ll ask again. Where are the other students?”
“What nonsense…”
Damien immediately struck Oliver Fortina’s head with the club.
Bonk!
With a loud, resounding sound, Oliver Fortina’s head hit the ground.
“Ahh! Ohh! Uggghhh!”
Oliver rolled around on the ground, clutching his head.
“You, you crazy bastard! How dare you hit me? You’re dead! I’ll tell my father about this!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What did I do wrong?”
“This is ridiculous! You just… you just hit my head…”
Oliver touched the back of his head.
“Huh…? Wait a minute…?”
There was no injury, not even a bump. This bizarre phenomenon left Oliver greatly perplexed.
“You, how did you…?”
“I’ll ask again. Where are the other students?”
“Get lost! Do you think I’d sell out my friends?”
Damien was impressed by Oliver’s attitude. Normally, one hit would be enough to knock someone out, but this guy didn’t back down easily.
“You got a rebellious spirit, indeed.”
Damien showed his respect for that fact and struck Oliver’s head once more.
Bonk!
With an even clearer sound, Oliver rolled around on the ground again.
“Ugh! Ahhh! You, you’re dead! My father will never let this go……”
Damien raised his bat. Oliver covered his head with both arms and screamed.
“Okay, okay! I’ll talk! I’ll talk! But, but they’re all scattered around, so I don’t know exactly where they are! B-but by now……”
“No, you don’t need to tell me now.”
Oliver looked up at Damien with a dumbfounded expression at the sudden change in his tone.
“What, what?”
“I can tell you’re not just some ordinary delinquent judging by the fact that you can’t even get the word respect out of your mouth under these circumstances. Before I find the other students, I need to first ‘rehabilitate’ your disrespectful attitude.”
Damien tapped his palm with the club. Oliver looked at the club with a terrified face.
“So, let’s start with some sparring.”
A quiet, empty classroom.
The only sound that echoed was the dull thud of something being hit.
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]