Chapter 56

  A sweep of my Beatrice opened a good way across the thick treeline before a Quick Step launched me off into the distance, the Grade 3 Strengthening Rune powering my legs. I was a star shooting straight toward the sorry-looking duo, and like a star I crashed in the middle of them with a burst.

  Beatrice cleaved sideways across with no particular focus. When in a melee, take a wide swing to create some space. That was the lesson, anyway. I barely felt any resistance as the Runes on Beatrice flashed with internal heat. A pained grunt came from either side, and as I looked up, I saw two young men stumbling, with jerky hands trying to close the wide gashes across their ribs.

  “Y-You—“

  “Who—“

  Another Quick Step brought me in front of Larmack, who was the bigger fish here. Although the fight with Jooak and the earlier leaf shower did a number on him, he was a late-stage Silver Knight who was stronger than me if you didn’t count the Runes. His eyes widened when they registered my face, but it was my sword that rose to meet his chin in a sickening squelch.

  I turned my back swiftly after, around the still bodies of the other guys, straight toward Jooak, whose lion head didn’t look that lively anymore. He had sharp leaves sticking out from his sides, from his arms, from everywhere except his face. Never thought beastkin would favor their looks over their lives. The guy didn’t even try to block the leaf shower, it seemed.

  Instead of meeting me like a true Knight, Jooak turned and took a jump off into the forest. That was a good move. Courage was something every Knight dearly cherished, but it was ultimately a far worse option to choose over your life. In a situation like this, it made sense for the guy to tail out. Pity that I was both faster and more well-rounded than he actually was.

  Wind whipped at the tails of my shirt as I raised Beatrice, her tip facing the slowly drawing-away figure of Jooak. A gale rose and gathered around my sword before blasting off like a bullet. It caught Jooak squarely on the back, sending him toppling to the ground, where he bounced back screaming. I was there with another Quick Step before he hit the ground. I stabbed him through with Beatrice and pulled the sword back with a squelch and a grunt.

  On the ground, blood pooling about him, Jooak turned heavily toward me and gave me a glance as though he was hurt more mentally than in body.

  “Hey, this is not murder,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re not going to die. The teacher gave his word.”

  Then he was off, eyes rolled all white and senseless above that hairy nose.

  “Y-Y-You dare!” came a pained bellow from the back, and when I turned, I found a bloody Larmack trying to flounder to his feet. “Attack me from the back like a weasel—“

  “You’re really something else,” I said. “For a racist guy, at least. There’s nothing wrong with crossing your dots and making an adjustment based on the situation. I’m a single guy. I can’t have you people group up like this.”

  “You…” Larmack croaked, his eyes bloodshot, sharp leaves sticking from his hair. “You’re that Runemaster—“

  “That I am,” I said. “And now, you’re dead.”

  A Wind Spear whipped him out of balance and sent him reeling into the trunk of a particularly large tree. He crumbled like a miniature statue too weak in the foundation, arms and legs crossing into a human mess. The blow knocked him out of his mind, surely, and pushed him a touch deeper toward death.

  Then lights flashed out of nowhere, covering all the supposedly dead bodies in golden cocoons. They were gone in a blink, leaving the forest ground clean, without any blood. The only thing that remained from them were six gleaming badges looking exactly like mine.

  I paused.

  I was all prickly and sensitive around my feet, my back itching uncomfortably. I dragged myself, shaking, as I gathered the badges, put them into a small sack, and hung it from my belt for good measure.

  That was good, right?

  This was fine, yeah?

  Then why did I feel like a clumsily fabricated villain of sorts who had this cringe, haughty attitude about him? Did I really have to act that way? I mean, to show the cruel Master I wasn’t someone easily trifled with had been the motive here, but this person wasn’t me. Or, hold on a second, maybe it was me. Maybe I’d been a touch jaded in mind and body both, which pushed me toward being a jerk more than anything.

  Anyway, I got six badges. That was a good haul, whether you’re being an asshole about it or not. I barely used a quarter of my soul energy in the process, which was good. I had enough fuel in me to go on.

  Except I heard loud crunches nearby. Too many of them, all at once. With soul vision active, I looked up toward the giant trees and saw silver auras flashing between them like a circus show. At least five of them were making their way through the forest, and by the looks of it, they were coming here.

  Not good.

  Could these be the other beastkin that Scarface beside Larmack had been scared of? If so, there was a good chance they’d be mad once they couldn’t see Jooak here in person. Rather than facing them, the better option would be to go on into another individual journey.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  I did that by managing a General Muffle and creeping back into the thick treeline behind me. I was a ghost, and beastkin or not, you couldn’t find a ghost as long as it wanted to stay away from curious eyes.

  ……

  The palm-sized badges in the sack banged softly into each other as I trudged silently onward, keeping soul vision active. This place wasn’t as big as I thought. I could hear the sound of clashes deep in my ears coming from all around. I even witnessed quite a few fights.

  Not all of them were ripe with opportunities, though. If anything, things were slowly devolving into group conflicts, which definitely made life harder for solo individuals like me. That, and the fact that not everyone hated each other with passion like that Jooak and Larmack duo.

  Instead, you’d see Knightly confrontations most of the time. As in, people retreated once they found themselves at a disadvantage instead of going all in. They burned the trees and cracked the ground while drawing away to take a breather and gather themselves for a second round.

  As of now, I had about six groups like this around me. Two of them were to my east, and the other two stayed about a mile away to the west. The last two were right before me, and they were deep in a battle that’d decide who’d get the badges.

  In total, there were forty people in these groups, which spoke to the fact that factions were a thing in The Creator’s Academy. That wasn’t a surprise, but it made things a lot trickier.

  Yes, I had Runes, and I’d undergone a strict training regimen, but I could at best take three people at once. That was the problem with Grade 3 Runes. They gave about a 50% boost to my Strength, Regeneration, and Endurance, which was a lot, but against crowded enemies I still had to be careful.

  But then, I had to win this. I was sure this Master of mine had quite the knowledge in the Rune field, and I had to make him see me as a worthy candidate to earn his long-lasting legacy.

  Which meant that I couldn’t stay still for long. I had to take initiative, something I’d rarely done back in Sangdon.

  Okay, think.

  The two groups before me had seven people each. Fourteen in total. About half of them were close to kicking it, and the other two looked painfully wounded. There was that one guy who got picked by a particularly strong Celestial Knight, namely Master Hemman, who could supposedly haul three mountains without breaking a sweat. His chosen disciple, I remembered his name was Badul, was now busy making a mess of the other group’s frontline.

  He hefted a giant hammer in his hands, his arms bulging with muscles as he swung it with ease as though it weighed nothing. He had his boys and girls scattered about him, most of them keeping their distance, probably because they didn’t want anything to do with that hammer. That was very smart of them.

  But the girl who stood against Badul was giving him a run for his money. I didn’t know her name, but we all saw who picked her during the ceremony. She’d been chosen by Shadow, an old-looking woman who was actually one of the most feared Celestial Knights across the whole academy. Like her Master, this young woman used a pair of daggers and favored a slippery, sneaky style of combat like an assassin.

  That was why she was going to lose. She shouldn’t have confronted a big hammer guy in frontal combat.

  I could do a couple of things here. I could distract Badul with a hole underneath his feet, which could give the young woman a chance to get rid of him. Likewise, I could be the final nail in the coffin by stretching a few roots from the nearby tree to bind the girl’s legs. Either one would work, except for one very important factor.

  Attention.

  Heated conflicts came with heated emotions. They looked pretty pissed, those people. If I were to interfere right at this instant, it could make everyone in those two groups hate me. They could even let go of their animosity toward each other and join in a revenge party against me.

  I didn’t want that.

  Who would want that?

  So then, same tactic here. Wait for the groups to tire each other out, then try and pick out the survivors.

  I was confident and relaxed as I crouched low and kept watching the exchange between the two groups, only to scowl when an extra silver aura flashed by the side. Blinking, I tried to make out to whom that aura belonged, but it was coming in fast, and coming in hot like a comet meant for trouble.

  Whoever it was, they blasted a way across the sparse treeline to the side, came screaming down right into the center of the two groups, sending gravel and branches scattering about them in a dusty haze. Then he was up with an axe clutched tight in his hands, severed the head of that assassin young woman, and sent her bloodied, headless body sprawling to the ground.

  Before I could catch my breath, the axe turned in a whirlwind and made for Badul’s head, only to bounce back clanking when the guy managed to pull his hammer up at the last second, looking mightily confused, with his eyes wide and mouth twitching.

  “Who the hell are you—“

  Badul’s sentence was cut short when the outsider roared straight into his face. Then he stepped sideways and moved past him in a blur, swung his axe around, and caught one of the girls behind Badul unaware like a senseless chicken. Her head flew off into the sky in a shower of blood, some of it spilling directly onto the outsider’s face. When he turned, he had a bloody face and a bloody grin, both of which were deeply familiar to me.

  It was Valar, my unlikely friend whom I happened to share a room with.

  What in the Creator’s name was he doing here? And why did he throw himself into the middle of fourteen people? Fourteen people!

  Yes, half of them were useless, but still, there were a good deal of them capable of holding their ground. Especially Badul. That guy was dangerous. He was nearly as bulky as Valar, but apparently, he had more sense in his brain. He immediately gestured at his people to surround this maniac, even glaring back at the other group in a silent message that basically said, “We have to deal with this guy first.”

  Having lost their leader, the other group cleverly stepped back instead of joining Badul. That was good. At least Valar wouldn’t have to deal with them.

  That didn’t change the fact that Valar had four people before him, though. I didn’t know how strong he actually was, but at Silver Grade, nobody could be strong enough to deal with four similarly jacked people without extra measures like Runes.

  And as expected, things took a bad turn for Valar when Badul and his group displayed a surprisingly coordinated effort against him. Badul handled Valar’s grand, powerful blows while his companions picked the holes and stabbed at Valar from all around. He got a sword through his side, and a spear tip caught him in the leg, forcing him to lurch back, grunting.

  He never lost his smile, though. That was the thing. For some inconceivable reason, he enjoyed being bloodied and wounded, which sparked a strange sensation within me.

  I wanted to enjoy being in the heat of it like him. I didn’t want baggage to weigh me down. I didn’t want to think too much about anything. All I wished for in this second life was to simply enjoy this alien world, even with its senseless and brutal culture. There’d be no regrets, I’d promised myself, and I’d be better off sticking to those promises to make them my reality.

  So, I jumped.

  That was the least I could do.

  A Quick Step pushed me toward Badul’s group, and in mid-jump, I basically screamed like a true warrior diving into the middle of chaos, but I did not lose my cool. I raised Beatrice and brought her tip up with all the strength I had in my body.

  …..