Chapter 341

Time passed steadily. As time went on, the Academy got busier and busier.

There were stories about the newcomers who showed up during the Freshman Duel, but there was also the challenge of adapting to new classes.

Once the orientation is over, the real classes would start next week.

And for second-years, it was time for students to get into practical work. Naturally, the classes were bound to be intense.

Theory was tough in its own way, and practicals were tough in theirs. Nothing was easy.

Because of this, some students struggled to keep up, and there were those who felt frustrated.

But that was to be expected. This was United Academy, the world’s top educational institution.

A place where the brightest talents from all over the world came together. This is where talent is sorted out.

Or, you put in effort so intense it exceeds talent. Either way, you had to meet one of those conditions perfectly to rise up.

“Hoo… Hoo…”

It was practical time, not theory. One male student was breathing heavily.

Whether from intense activity or simple tension, he was sweating profusely.

Even though it was spring, it wasn’t as hot as summer, yet his clothes were soaked in sweat.

But the student had no time to worry about his drenched clothes. Breaking through this situation was the priority.

‘Damn it. I did say we should get this sorted…!’

Second-years had a mix of theory and practical sessions at about a 50-50 ratio. It included on-site experiential learning too.

And this practical’s theme was Change of Attack and Defense. The teams were split into two, each responsible for offense and defense.

The catch was that the attacking and defending roles switched at certain intervals and situations. The defense team could gain various advantages while occupying the target area.

So, the attack team had to inflict as much damage as possible during their attack time, and the defense team had to defend like their lives depended on it.

Looking at it like this, it might seem like a straightforward strategy. However, it’s one of the most crucial strategies in war.

There’s a term called “End Point of Offensive,” which refers to the moment when the ability to sustain an offensive ends.

No matter how powerful an army is, if they don’t replenish their strength, they’ll eventually run out of energy.

In a moment of miscalibration, a mighty army can be swept away like a tidal wave.

‘Great. And there’s that monster on the other side…’

The student couldn’t help but think of Sivar, the embodiment of power itself. In situations like this, he was bound to come to mind.

When he first heard the details of the practical, he found it utterly unreasonable. After all, Sivar was the kind of overwhelming force that defined the term.

During the first-year exams, he didn’t participate directly; he just acted like a game-breaking weapon.

But this practical was different; he was just participating as one of the students. Balance was bound to collapse.

‘Thankfully, though, there are special conditions that can cover up the absurdity…’

However, the professors were already adept at balancing things out. They had introduced specific conditions to temper the complaints.

This practical had clearly defined weak and strong teams, and scores varied based on those conditions.

The weaker team earned points based on how much they could chip away at the strong team’s strength.

On the other hand, while it’s important for the strong team to take down the weak team decisively, they also had to manage the situation to avoid any eliminations from their own side.

In simpler terms, the weak team was low risk, high return, while the strong team was high risk, high return.

Above all, a strong team would objectively have an advantage, but warfare has historically favored strategy over raw strength.

Since smart folks like Karas and Danyerin were all crammed into the weak team, it was a practical that could actually be manageable.

History is filled with tales of weak nations’ armies swallowing up military powers.

-Crack!

“[Team B, respond. Is everyone alright?]”

When the student’s breathing had settled somewhat, a lovely voice spilled out from the communication stone.

It was Danyerin, the commander of the weak team and the one holding the final call. Karas had taken up the role of the field commander.

Normally, Danyerin should be the field commander and Karas the commander, but it was the opposite this time.

That was because of Karas. This crazy guy wanted to destroy Sivar with ‘tactical’ prowess.

‘We’re the ones who’ll be destroyed here.’

The student let out a wry smile and tapped the communication stone.

“B team, everyone but me is scattered. We’re coming back now.”

“[Scattered, huh… Got it. What about the Tiger?]”

The Tiger referred to Sivar. It was a fitting nickname.

Like a tiger in the mountains, he reigned as the apex predator even when he was alone.

The student tried to recall what happened previously and reported quietly.

“The last place I saw him was… the lake. He was lying in ambush there all alone.”

“[Ambushing by the lake… That’s strange. There’s nowhere to hide there.]”

Danyerin pointed out in a puzzled voice. The area surrounding the lake was open terrain, with no place for ambush.

However, Sivar’s behavior was always unpredictable. The student chuckled softly and reported what he had seen.

“He was lying in wait…inside the lake.”

“[…Inside the lake?]”

“He suddenly popped up. For a moment, I thought he was a monster.”

The memory was still vivid. The lake was a spot for resting and a source of drinking water.

It was an unsuitable location for a fight, and it was far from the strong team’s base, which made everyone relax their guard.

‘Well, isn’t that tricky to say?’

What kind of crazy person would think to hide inside a lake for nearly an hour?

He wasn’t even using water-breathing equipment or anything. Even the professors probably didn’t see this coming.

The only bit of luck was that Karas managed to pull through with his abilities. Thanks to his quick thinking, they could overcome the crisis.

“[Got it. Then make sure to return swiftly.]”

“Uhm…”

-Squelch.

Just as the student was about to reply, he heard footsteps nearby.

The faint sound barely registered but it was clear as day due to the tension.

“[What’s up?]”

“….”

“[….]”

Even through the communication stone, Danyerin seemed to sense something was off.

When there was no reply despite the connection, she quietly shut her mouth.

-Squelch. Squelch. Squelch.

The sound of footsteps was unmistakable in the tense atmosphere. The male student recalled where he was.

Hiding in a well-constructed hut near the lake. It was nice enough to be called a proper shelter.

Someone had just entered that shelter. The student held his breath and waited.

“Is anyone there?”

“!!!”

A man’s voice sounded low and clear. Upon hearing that voice, the student felt all the hairs on his body stand on end.

It was the Tiger (Sivar). It felt like facing a giant tiger alone in the mountains after being trapped.

But maybe the student had decent skills of his own; he gently tapped the connected communication stone with his finger.

Morse code—a signal he could use to communicate instead of speaking. By tapping the communication stone, a signal would go on the other side.

“Hmm…”

“….”

The student was currently hiding in the room. He covered his mouth and held his breath.

His heart raced like crazy, and cold sweat poured down his face. He was overwhelmed with fear.

No student could beat Sivar in a one-on-one fight. In other words, being caught meant game over.

‘Please. Please. Please.’

He hoped that Sivar would just turn around and leave. The student prayed over and over.

Even though Sivar wasn’t someone who just goes around killing people, this anxiety was unavoidable.

Most of all, the situation created a sense of dread. To the student, even his own breathing felt loud.

-Clunk!

“Huh? Why’s it locked?”

“!!!”

Sivar paused just as he was about to open the door to where the student was. The student’s eyes widened.

Just in case, he had locked the door. A natural human reaction.

And a normal person would have simply turned around and left. Well, assuming they were a normal person.

But Sivar was far from a normal person. He had already caught on a while ago.

“There are footprints on the floor.”

“Huff…!”

The footprints were clearly visible. At Sivar’s muttering, the student took a deep breath.

He was already caught. Scanning the room, the student searched for an escape route.

-Bang!

Before he could find one, a huge axe blade burst through the center of the door.

“Kyahh!!!”

As the axe blade smashed through the door, the student let out a scream. It was a scream as girly as a frightened girl.

The fear was such that even a robust man could end up sounding like a delicate girl. The student crawled into the corner of the room.

-Bang! Crash!

In the meantime, the axe shattered the door almost entirely. It seemed Sivar was being precise with his strength, as he had only knocked out the central part.

Perhaps realizing this was enough, Sivar pulled back the axe and leaned his face through the gaping hole in the door.

Then he spotted the student curled up in the corner, looking terrified, and said in his usual expressionless tone.

“Hello?”

“Kyahh!!! Kyaaah!!!”

His nonchalant greeting made it all the more terrifying.

******

Meanwhile, at the same time, in the command headquarters of the weak team.

“[Kyaah!!! Kyaaah!!! Go away! Go away! Aahhh!!!]”

“….”

-Cut!

The connection with the communication stone was suddenly cut off, leaving only the horrifying scream behind.

Danyerin stared at the communication stone, which had just lost connection, with a puzzled expression. She couldn’t understand what was happening at all.

‘…Is he really that scared? This is strange.’

For the most part, it would have been cliché horror movie material.

‘What a cute display of fear, though.’

Danyerin was immune to such antics.

*****

“Wow, is that even a person?”

“What is he, a fish or something…?”

“A fish couldn’t even pull that off.”

In a gathering of professors, Malboro couldn’t hide his admiration for Sivar’s latest antics.

The other professors, except for Malboro, were similarly stunned—most were expressing their astonishment at something they never expected.

This was no surprise, considering Sivar had just held his breath in the lake for over 30 minutes.

No matter how strong a person was, holding their breath for over 30 minutes is no easy feat—not even for animals.

The only ones that could manage that would be fish, whose physiological structure is entirely different.

“What on earth did he do? I want to learn that trick too.”

“Sivar seems optimized for special operations units, if nothing else.”

“Not just a special operations unit, but simply pure force itself.”

But Sivar was not a fish. He was a mammal, a human being.

While it was a baffling situation, the professors just accepted it. After all, it was Sivar.

“…That student is a human, right?”

“If you’re asking about species, yes, he’s a human. We checked at the hospital.”

“No, I mean… what on earth…”

Of course, for Dis, who was witnessing Sivar’s antics for the first time, it was a whole new world. Dis stared at the situation board with a flabbergasted expression.

He had participated to observe Sivar’s behavior as he was to become an assistant. Of course, he politely requested permission.

And right from the start, the first thing that erupted was an outrageous incident: Sivar lying in ambush and launching an attack from inside the lake.

Forget about balance issues; the options for unpredictability were simply off the charts. It was impossible to predict.

“We did our best too. If there is power we can’t contain, we made sure to minimize its usage cleverly.”

“….”

“But now we have no idea what to do. Are we really going to use him as an assistant?”

Malboro asked seriously. Were they really going to use someone so unpredictable as an assistant?

In response, Dis let out a thoughtful hum. He had surpassed expectations by a mile.

Could he even be controlled? Even if they tied him up and drove him to a stake, he might just uproot the whole stake itself.

“Maybe we could use Sivar as a target?”

While Dis was contemplating, Godin put forth an idea. The professors turned their attention toward him.

“Use him as a target?”

“Yeah. He was treated like a game-breaking weapon before, right? If we have him take the role of a first-year assistant, we could use him similarly.”

“Can assistants even do that?”

“They could, but the skill difference needs to be pronounced.”

“Sounds like a bad idea.”

Malboro was skeptical. There’s bound to be injuries involved.

Ah, just to clarify, he wasn’t talking about Sivar. Among first-years, no one could seriously injure Sivar—that much was guaranteed.

While professors tossed ideas back and forth, Dis was lost in thought, staring at the situation board.

The screens that were live streaming the ongoing scene. Even though there was a scene of Sivar’s antics, the situations on both teams were somewhat similar.

“….Hey, Malboro.”

“What?”

“I have a question…”

“A question?”

Malboro raised a brow suspiciously. For some reason, he felt a shiver run down his spine.

Then Dis adopted a look of uncertainty and finally spoke quietly.

“Does he have any fears?”

“Fears?”

“I’m thinking we might need a solid means of control. So, does he have any?”

“Um….”

Malboro pondered for a moment before smirking as he replied.

“Just let him cause some trouble, and report to the dean. That’d be the best approach.”

In a way, he had inadvertently revealed a sure-fire means of control.

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