Chapter 17

The history of the Academy is incredibly long.

So long, in fact, that no one really knows when it began.

Portraits of past headmasters line the hallways, but there’s definitely stuff that predates even the charcoal-drawn black-and-white portraits.

There are also plenty of books that mention the Academy.

Historians tried to figure out when it was built by analyzing the timelines of books that mention it and those that don’t.

But the Academy was already there in cave paintings and turtle fossils.

Even some gods claimed to have attended the Academy.

The scale was just too massive.

The plan failed.

The rough construction period of the Academy was only discovered much later.

It was all because of a playful comment made by a Nine-Tailed Fox who had come to the human world for a stroll.

[The Academy? You’re curious how old it is? Hmm… Well, there’s not much to compare it to.]

[Would you believe me if I said it’s older than Olympus?]

*

“Ewwww.”

[Ugh… Can you deal with that faster, please?!]

“It’s not easy for me either.”

Disgusting things are just hard to tolerate.

Frowning, I kicked the squirming lump of flesh.

The green, jiggly mass started vibrating.

What’s amazing is that even while doing that, it was trying to return to its original state.

When I first encountered it, it was a giant fluorescent worm.

When I cut it in half, it split into two, oozing sticky blood.

Realizing the severity of the situation, I tried burning it, freezing it, and electrocuting it, but it just kept coming back, unfazed.

Like a disgusting lump of chewed-up vomit.

Honestly, its regenerative ability is tempting, but it’s so repulsive I want to gouge my eyes out.

Especially when I see those sparse white hairs on that giant lump of flesh…

Ah, f*ck.

It’s coming. It’s coming this way.

[Kyaaaaah! Hurry, do something! Or just run away, please!]

“…I still have to deal with it!”

And so, the battle with the worm I accidentally stumbled upon lasted a full two hours.

I killed it over a hundred times,

and it completely covered my body in its blood.

“Bleh.”

[Ughhhhh…]

But at least my regenerative ability improved significantly.

In exchange, I got trauma.

Good trade, worm.

Let’s never meet again.

[Ughhhhh…]

*

The sound of water tells me this is the same place I first arrived at.

I stopped Miho from hugging me and listened carefully for a moment.

Do you really want to hug me in this state?

Hmm…

Unexpectedly, there was some good news.

I hadn’t noticed it before, but there was a river flowing not too far away.

Dinosaurs seemed to have gathered there, forming a group,

but they were all medium or small-sized, not the large ones.

Easy to take over.

As soon as I reached the riverbank, the dinosaurs went wild.

Running and scattering everywhere.

It didn’t feel great.

It was like realizing your favorite childhood restaurant was just an average Chinese place.

“Caw! Caw caw!”

[Spare us! We’ll never come near this river again!]

After I punched one brave Raptor into a bloody pulp, the others cleared out on their own.

This is so different from my memories.

To me, the jungle was a place where you could never let your guard down.

It was always a colosseum where lives were on the line.

Even the smallest rodents hid claws sharp enough to pierce a predator’s heart.

That’s what the jungle was in my memory.

Maybe I’ve just grown too big to share that kind of experience with them now.

It’s a good thing, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Still, I didn’t let my guard down.

After slaughtering all the fleeing Raptors, I thoroughly checked the surroundings.

Hmm. Thankfully, no ambush.

Only then did I dip one leg into the river.

Even before, washing properly was impossible, and when I did, I used rainwater or melted ice.

This was the first time I submerged myself in a river.

“…This is nice.”

The flowing water washed away the slime.

The sticky discomfort was instantly replaced by a refreshing feeling.

This reminds me of the valley I used to visit with my parents when I was young.

We’d play until our lips turned blue, then boil a small cup of Shin Ramyun.

Now, I have no family.

Yet, in this moment, I feel the same way I did back then.

The difference is,

back then, along with the happiness, I felt regret that the moment had to end.

And I held onto the hope that I’d return someday.

A mix of complex emotions swirled together,

and I remember crying when we left in the car.

Now, it’s different.

All I feel is an intense longing and regret.

I plunged my head into the water and slowly breathed.

Now, I can breathe underwater too.

I’m not human anymore.

But I still yearn for that day and feel the pain.

My heart pulls me down.

It stops me from doing what I need to do.

It reminds me of the meaninglessness of living.

Whenever that happens, I think of small, square compartments.

In each compartment, a death lies dormant.

A place where the bones that once supported someone’s life finally crumble.

According to Mother’s will, she was buried in the columbarium.

In that place where only silence flows, if I suddenly lift my head at the sound of someone else’s sobbing, I realize that a lot of time has passed.

I hurriedly move to Father’s tombstone and drop a single flower.

The pure white chrysanthemum, placed so gently, is blown away by the wind and disappears when I come to my senses.

I learned that this is what death is.

Back then, that day, I returned expressionless.

But the truth is, I felt a terror so intense it felt like my brain had shut down in front of Father’s grave.

That’s why I couldn’t say anything and barely managed to turn away and leave.

[······.]

Whether life has meaning or not, it doesn’t matter.

I won’t die.

Absolutely not.

*

“Fruit.”

Now, in order to build the Academy, I was cutting down trees while also training the little demon kids in swordsmanship.

Seeing the red fruit hanging from a thick branch, Miho reached out her finger.

And she spoke.

Fruit.

So, she spoke.

It was the first time I heard Miho’s voice.

“Uh. Miho. Did you just speak?”

“······.”

“Are you playing hard to get?”

When I asked, Miho nodded her head silently again.

What’s this? Her voice was clear and precise.

Wondering if there was some problem, I asked Belva, and she said it was probably because her own voice still felt unfamiliar to her.

Isn’t it fascinating that she can’t speak because her own voice feels unfamiliar?

“So, when will you be able to speak again?”

At my words, Miho thought for a moment, then raised one finger.

1 minute?

That can’t be.

Maybe 1 hour.

“One day.”

What?

“What did you say?”

“Once a day. I’ll speak.”

Ah, really cute.

I wonder if she can keep her word to speak once a day.

Even though she’s a fox, maybe because she’s still young, there’s a certain charm.

It seems like she doesn’t even realize she’s speaking right now.

I said I understood and patted her head.

As if embarrassed, Miho shrunk her body.

It’s healing. Healing.

I lifted Miho up and sat her on my shoulder, then moved towards the little demons chopping wood over there.

“How much have you done?”

“Well, we’ve done this much. But the younger one’s hand is bleeding······.”

“It’s okay. You can endure it.”

“Understood.”

The most important thing is to get used to the weapon you’re going to use.

Only by continuing to make mistakes can you learn the weight of the sword, the direction of force, and how to improvise according to the situation.

The fastest way to get used to it is, of course, real combat.

But I can’t send out kids who would be wiped out just by meeting a Raptor.

After instructing the kids to continue, I looked at the blueprint I had prepared earlier.

Though my skills are shoddy, it was the result of diligently following a basic architecture book I bought from a store.

Of course, my contribution is about 5 percent.

Belva has a subtle depth in architecture.

It felt more like she was continuously running a 3D simulator rather than having an artistic sense.

That level of precise calculation was possible for Belva.

After all, she’s a current system.

Understanding and grasping the structure should be easy.

[Impressive, right?]

“Impressive. Very impressive.”

[Hehe.]

Even if we set up the framework like this, we need the core.

By core, I mean a security system to drive away or exterminate surrounding enemies.

Since it’s a fantasy world, I thought about using barriers, but they said it would be much harder than I thought.

Barriers that block living creatures aren’t something you can easily learn.

Then what? We’ll have to use other methods.

I drew magic power into my body and dug into the ground with both hands.

In an instant, a pit about two meters deep was made.

Let’s build a moat near the Academy.

We’ll spread poison collected from Plentera inside it.

Then, those who charge in thoughtlessly will either die from the poison or drown in the water.

Good. A very good plan.

According to the design, when going out, the entrance will fall and become a bridge.

I’ve also prepared several escape routes.

Safety is assured.

Now, let’s look for other extermination methods besides the poisonous moat.

Those who try to defile the sacred place of education have no way to atone except with their lives.

This is the first rule of the primitive Academy.

1. External life forms that disrupt classes are to be immediately killed.

[Ugh. What kind of…]

2. Do not argue with the headmaster.