Chapter 117

Chapter 2: The brave Frey Dr. Siegfried couldn’t make heads or tails of the current situation.

In her previous life, she had won the combat trials for class assignments at Eden Academy, with none other than herself emerging victorious in the student duels.

Frey was weak. She was feeble compared to the warriors of old who had stood against the Demon King, those who seemed like monsters one by one. But that didn’t mean she should be outclassed by mere freshmen.

A Hero—chosen by the Supreme God to wield the blade that could slay the Demon King. A hero’s growth and potential were unmatched by any warrior, making “hero” the term most fitting for an unparalleled being.

So, it baffled her. How could she, Frey, in her second chance at this life, fail to fully track the movements of a mere freshman?

Victory might be tough. In fact, judging by the clean strike she’d just witnessed, defeat was almost certain.

Frey quietly approached Real Eye Teacher from behind. The teacher was using a damp towel to staunch the bleeding of a student whose tendons bore deep cuts.

“Evans student… Is this what they meant when they said Aru student hits hard? Who on earth cuts tendons in a practice duel…?”

He muttered incomprehensible words, drenched in sweat. Frey looked at the half-severed tendons of the injured student, lost in thought.

“The rule for these assignment duels is to subdue without killing or causing permanent damage… Cutting a tendon completely would count as permanent damage, but cutting only halfway means it was done intentionally.”

She shifted her gaze to the girl standing ghostlike in the center of the arena, dagger in hand. On top of the girl’s head were animal ears.

“A dog beastkin? Or maybe a wolf beastkin? I don’t know what a Dog King or Wolf King looks like… Still, regular duels don’t cause this much harm. This beastkin must have poor social skills.”

“Wha? Is it over? Did I win?”

“…Beastkin, what species are you?”

“My species? It’s… Grrr… Dog! I’m a dog beastkin!”

“Your name?”

“Aru! Woof woof!”

“…?”

“The Wolf King’s name was Lua, and the Dog King’s name was Banho. So why has some unheard-of dog named Aru shown up? The only beings capable of altering history are me, Maria, Joker, and the Demon King. But Maria and I were born not too long ago, so either Joker or the Demon King arranged this, or it’s a butterfly effect…”

“Alright, Aru student! Frey student! Please move to the sidelines! We need to continue the duel. And Aru, please don’t go overboard!”

“Overboard? But I held back!”

“This isn’t a fight, it’s a duel!”

“Bark… Too complicated.”

Real Eye Teacher interrupted Frey and Aru’s conversation, sending them to the side. The injured student was taken to the infirmary, and after a brief pause due to the bloodshed, the duels resumed.

But the tournament’s trend didn’t change.

“Kyaah! My leg!”

“Aru student! One more time and you’ll get a warning!”

“Bark! But I cut less this time!”

“We’re talking about flesh, not tendons! Why do you keep targeting tendons!”

“Flesh? Bark bark, is cutting flesh allowed?”

“Again, I couldn’t see her attack… Even though she’s still relatively weak, can freshmen really be this strong…?”

It was like a tiger leaping into a playground full of puppies. No matter how skilled the martial artists, mages, or alchemists were, they all fell to Aru before even landing a single blow, suffering various injuries.

The children of noble houses, daughters of renowned swordsmen, and promising successors of magic towers—all were defeated in mere moments. Aru was an insurmountable wall.

Had Aru not strictly followed Real Eye Teacher’s instructions, the bloody mess would have been unimaginably worse.

This outcome was inevitable. Aru, destined to become the Wolf King, had already surpassed the level of absolute strength through Oscar’s training.

Her sword strikes could cleave mountains, her steps could part seas. Not even the royal knights or army could handle her. And even now, she was holding back as much as possible.

To the unaware freshmen, Aru was a disaster-level beastkin dropped from the sky.

“So… Was it right to say that the recommendation letter from Iron-Blood Teacher wasn’t written lightly…?”

“You mean this beastkin received a recommendation from Iron-Blood Teacher?”

“To think someone trained under that razor-sharp teacher entered here… Heroes and saintesses and princesses aren’t the only remarkable ones…”

Upon overhearing Real Eye Teacher’s mixed sighs of admiration and worry, the students began to stir.

Iron-Blood Teacher Beatrix. Ever since she beat up the bodyguard captain of the First Prince five years ago for being rude, her reputation was known throughout the empire by anyone who ever picked up a sword—not necessarily in a good way.

Boom!

“Bark! I won again! And I didn’t cut this time!”

“Taking down a monk from the distant land with just one punch…!”

“Phew, good job. No bloodshed this time, Aru student… Wait, Base student, breathe! Breathe!”

With one student receiving CPR, Aru reached the finals. However, on the opposite side, there was another contender who, while not as overwhelmingly dominant, easily dispatched opponents and made it to the finals.

The Hero, Frey Dr. Siegfried.

The young girl whose mind was working furiously amidst the crowd.

“Damn… This Iron-Blood Teacher Beatrix didn’t exist before… What’s with all these variables… No, that’s not important right now.”

Though Frey’s skills and levels from her past life were reset upon regression, her experience and intuition remained, which was why she could easily overcome other students.

“I can’t let Joker find out I’ve regressed… What to do? If Joker knows I topped the ranking test last time, he’ll definitely suspect something…”

But Frey had a restriction upon regressing. She couldn’t let Joker, the demon, uncover her secrets, especially since her ultimate goal depended on it.

“If this beastkin was sent by Joker, or if Joker’s involved somehow, then I should lose. There’s no way I could beat this beastkin with my current strength from my past life. But if Joker doesn’t know about this beastkin and I lose, he’ll start questioning me and put me under scrutiny. Then he’ll figure out I’ve regressed!”

A constraint that no one else could possibly understand. Frey’s mind raced.

“Frey student, please step forward. We’ll begin the final match between you and Aru student.”

Cruelly, the situation paid no heed to Frey’s turmoil. Cold sweat trickled down her spine as she hesitated.

“What to do? Should I win or lose? Who is this linked to?”

“There have been some accidents, but Aru student has only received one warning and thus has a legitimate spot in the finals.”

Real Eye Teacher gave Frey no time to think. Eyes clenched shut, Frey paced slowly, buying time.

“Damn… What should I do? Winning or losing both seem dangerous. Actually, if I wanted to win, could I even do so? I couldn’t even follow her movements with my eyes…”

Frey and Aru faced each other. Frey’s thoughts were clouded like a stormy sky. Without quick decision-making, she’d end up stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“Damn… Think, think. Why did this dog beastkin and Iron-Blood Teacher show up? Who are they connected to?”

Sweat poured down like rain, distracting thoughts tangled together. Her heart pounded. Facing an unexpected obstacle without knowing its origin exposed the cracks in Frey’s meticulously planned world.

“Should I take the first move? But if I accidentally win because of that first move, Joker will definitely find me suspicious. According to what Maria said, he should definitely be here by now…”

“Alright then… Begin the duel!”

“Woof, hold on. I have a question.”

“Huh? Aru student?”

At that moment, unlike the tense Frey, Aru spoke calmly.

“What place am I in now? Did I get fourth place?”

“Ranking? Since you’ve reached the finals… You’ll get second if you lose, and first if you win.”

“WHAT?! BARK BARK BARK! You should’ve told me earlier! I fought unnecessarily! Evans too!”

Confused by Aru’s sudden anger, both Real Eye Teacher and Frey were flustered.

Regardless, Aru continued.

“I’m not doing it! I forfeit! Bark!”

After shouting loudly, Aru stormed out of the gymnasium. Everyone was dumbfounded, but no one dared to stop her due to the wild aura emanating from her angry strides.

The reason for Aru’s actions was simple. She had only intended to fulfill Evans’ order—”Get fourth place.”

While most students aimed for higher-class placements in the assignment exams, Aru had no such ambition. She had only followed Evans wherever he led, joining the academy because he told her to.

Bang!

“…”

As the door closed and the students gradually understood the bizarre statement from the mysterious wolf beastkin, Real Eye Teacher declared Frey the winner by lifting her hand. Yet, despite achieving this unexpected victory, Frey couldn’t bring herself to smile.

Because her mind was filled with lingering questions.

“Evans? Who is this Evans? Is he connected to Joker?”

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