<566 – The Too Fast Child (1)>
Ishtar, having passed the second-year advancement exam, walked with an astonishing heaviness.
“Ishtar. Did you see? All the monsters cherished by the leaders of every organization on the continent have gathered at the academy.”
“Well, they’re probably just the second-year students from Class 982.”
“Not necessarily. The principal mentioned that starting this year, new students might take the [Transfer Exam] and those who pass could be accepted as second-years.”
Even Oknodie was weighed down with worries, but now new strong enemies were emerging in droves!
After taking the advancement exam, those who made it onto the passing list were gathered on the other side of the waiting room, glancing at Ishtar and other students with disdainful faces.
“Aren’t you Ishtar, last year’s top student?”
“So?”
“Don’t get cocky.”
“…?”
“You might have easily secured the top spot before when our ‘transfer students’ weren’t around, but it’s not going to be the same this year. From now on, lie low like a dead rat.”
When a person is too taken aback, laughter often comes before anger. Ishtar even found it refreshingly entertaining. How long had it been since anyone had looked down on her like this?
Not even Oknodie had disrespected her this way. Oknodie had always regarded her cautiously.
If there were anyone out to provoke, it had often been Ishtar herself. Those who blocked her path in any form had been systematically crushed, none exempted, including the upper-class students from Class 981.
Which meant Ishtar wasn’t exactly known for her good temperament.
“Go on then.”
“What?”
“If you can, try.”
Ishtar chuckled and patted the shoulder of the cocky transfer student with one hand. The pat actually concentrated mana and strength upon the student’s shoulder, causing the mana barrier to break in the shape of her hand.
Clang!
With the shattered barrier came the indented shoulder armor.
Gah!
Desperately twisting his body to free his shoulder was the sporty-haired transfer student, who glared at Ishtar while clutching his shoulder, but there was no more need for Ishtar to step in.
The Guard Leader and the vice-commander, the Vanilla siblings, were glaring at him fiercely, vibrant blue mana streaming from them as a show of force.
It was then that the transfer students stood up, their faces set with determination to be wary of Ishtar.
“A brawl isn’t the worst thing, but know this: from second year onwards, the penalties for ‘classmate killing’ aren’t as severe.”
If they put their minds to it, they had no reason not to act.
The declaration of the warrior who had fully adapted to the untamed Gift Academy’s environment deflated the transfer students’ spirits.
What kind of warrior’s aura was this, that felt so bone-chilling?
Clap, clap, clap.
“Impressive. The reputation of the warrior who slain the emperor isn’t all in vain. There’s no being you couldn’t cleave if you set your mind to it.”
“Are you the leader of these transfer students?”
“For now.”
At first glance, the man looked just like any ordinary person. Among the gathered transfer students, he was dressed in the most shabby casual attire, resembling an unremarkable villager, almost like just another mob from Class 981.
However, his eyes never lost focus; they scrutinized Ishtar as if seeing through her.
“Warrior. Do you know your Holy Sword has a serious magical weakness?”
“Spill it.”
“To begin with, it’s weak against corruption. The Holy Sword reacts and increases its output against all evil entities, but if you coat its surroundings with Dark Mana, it would enter an overdrive state, completely exhausting its strength temporarily.”
“What…?”
“The exhausted Holy Sword would easily be tainted by Dark Mana. In other words, its nature becomes susceptible to corruption. The time it takes to corrupt will probably shorten based on how you’ve tamed your sword. The weaker the warrior relying on the sword’s rampage, the shorter the time will be.”
“Don’t be so cocky. What do you know of a warrior?”
If he had acted smug, she might have easily suppressed him by force, but Astarot’s eyes carried a chilling intelligence.
“That means you can’t defeat Oknodie.”
“…You’re pretty brash for a first-time meeting.”
[Holy Mirror]
[Deathblow: Tempest Blade]
With the sword drawn, Astarot unleashed a no-delay, instant attack right in front of her neck.
[Auto Guard]
[Stone Hand]
The constantly deployed barrier easily blocked the deathblow-level surprise attack, and a hand made of stone reached out, grabbing the sword blade.
“I’ve taken an interest in that girl. The only one who showed potential to surpass the vision magic of the Multicolor Magic Tower is Oknodie, the heir of the Foundation.”
“So another scholarship student has decided to cling to the Foundation after abandoning the tower that nurtured her? Ha. Not even funny.”
“It would be absurd if it were. Ishtar, you’re also a scholarship student, aren’t you?”
The brilliance of Ishtar’s sword and the pressure from Astarot’s stone hand mounted at the same time.
“Stop. Ishtar, this isn’t the right place for this.”
Ishtar had become conscious that many of the second-year upper-class students who had just passed alongside her were from noble families.
In her first year, all noble students had donned mana armor, having been unable to pay the exorbitant permit costs to wear it.
The mana armor, possessing strong magical defense and physical enhancement effects, significantly improved the abilities of noble students just by being worn.
‘At least five nobles are here. Ever since slaying the emperor and breaking ties with the empire, they are all like potential enemies.’
This extraordinary transfer student Astarot seemed to have a clear will to lend a hand.
Against such foes, facing a group attack from the nobility was definitely a burden for someone like Ishtar.
‘It’s different from the final blow during the Emperor Suppression War when I had all the support.’
She might take out a few, but her own life might hang in the balance.
Ishtar still needed to grow desperately.
Swish.
As she returned the sword to its sheath, Astarot also released the Stone Hand.
“Once the semester starts, you’ll have plenty of chances to test your skills. You’d better be prepared.”
“That’s what I was hoping for. Warrior Ishtar. I’ll be testing if you’re worthy of that name. It should be a nice amusement before you face Oknodie.”
“…”
Aren’t I the one who should be saying something?
Compared to Oknodie, you are nothing. That girl would have dodged all attacks like a little rat, nimbly countering each one.
Of course, that thought remained unspoken.
Noble students from the Empire and powerhouses of the Oknodie faction were beginning to appear one after another.
Eastern Swordsman Sing, Northern Grand Duchess Irene, Berserker Hestia.
Those who hadn’t participated in Oknodie’s special “outing” were the first to secure their place in the second-year upper class.
The C Group leader, Kasia, along with her entourage, also passed without a hitch.
In fact, among the existing upper-class students, no one had failed.
Rosgini from the Red Magic Tower, Jaidas, the holy knight renowned in the Western Three Kingdoms, Prince Hector of a Small Country.
Even some lower-class members who had often been heard of had made it to the upper class.
While it was surprising for Rosgini to rise alongside formidable newcomers, it wasn’t unthinkable given the fame she gained through the special outing with Oknodie.
Jezel, Son Ohchun, Isabel, Jiang.
By the time core members closely associated with Oknodie began to rise, nearly everyone who would make it had already done so.
Just like Class 981’s leads, they’d be appearing at the end.
Everyone focused on the entrance.
They were eager to see how much stronger Oknodie had become after skipping the entire semester.
“Next, the final successful candidate.”
At last, with the declaration from the instructor announcing the arrival of the last upper-class member, the door swung open.
“Huh?”
“Is that the rumored Oknodie? Quite pretty.”
“What incredible beauty! The shine is so bright, I can barely see her face.”
“Hey, you idiots, that’s just the light stand.”
“What? Where’s our little rat?”
All attention was drawn to the final member entering, sparkling gold hair radiating an even more blinding light from the light stand she dragged along.
“Tito? Why are you coming out from there?”
“Because I’ve become stronger! I dominated the dummy’s bombardments with my Titoso Beam!”
Feeling proud of her strengthened self, the girl struck a victory pose with both hands in a tight fist, stretching one arm out.
Her name was not Oknodie to those who knew her but Titosso.
Jezel couldn’t hold back and urged,
“Where’s Oknodie?”
“Umm~ Did she slack off too much? Maybe she got bumped down to the intermediate class?”
Titosso’s eyes sparkled.
“Let’s go tease her!”
“Shall we?”
Excited, Titosso and Jiang dashed out.
Many students were bewildered, but soon regained their senses and hurriedly spread the news through the campus contact network.
Did Oknodie really become an intermediate class student?
No, she wasn’t even found in the intermediate class.
Had she possibly dropped to the lower class?
The search went on throughout the day.
And the shocking conclusion was that Oknodie was not even in the lower class.
“There must have been some mistake.”
The students all denied reality.
After all, she was good at hiding, so it was plausible that she went missing right after promotion and nobody knew which class she belonged to.
In fact, it wasn’t that uncommon to find Oknodie among the instructor’s experiment materials, the professor’s cloak, or in the classroom’s ceiling lights every now and then.
However, Ishtar would encounter Oknodie in the most unexpected place.
“From the second year onwards, you’ll live in dorms specific to each department. The second-year adventure students will follow the guidance of their senior dorm mates to find their accommodations.”
The moment Ishtar arrived at the entrance of the adventure department’s dormitory, guided by the dorm supervisor, she felt a pull at the back of her neck.
A notably short student among the third-year seniors boldly waved at Ishtar.
“Wow! It’s Ishtar! Why did you come to the adventure department instead of the knight department? This Ishtar is really rare!”
“You… no way… right? Did you just get lost on the way here and arrived early?”
Ishtar’s tremulous voice had Oknodie smiling brightly, brutally imprinting reality on her.
“Not at all! I got promoted early; I’m a third-year now!”
Oknodie had become a senior.
