Chapter 8

While Eli was chatting with Sivar, Luna entered a cave presumed to be the dwelling place of wild people.

The cave was surprisingly dark even though it was morning. Hence, she took out an object from her bosom.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary stone. But its true value was about to be revealed.

Shine!

The stone, which showed no color, emitted a bright light. It was enough to illuminate the entire dark cave.

This was a luminous stone provided by the Academy for emergencies. When infused with magic power, it automatically emits light.

Holding the glowing stone in one hand, she thoroughly scanned the cave’s interior. The first thing that caught her eye was the ground.

‘Is that leather?’

There were what looked like hides lying on the ground, presumably used for sleeping.

Most were old and worn out, but better than sleeping on a hard floor.

Moreover, each piece of leather was quite large. Even considering the wear, they were still huge.

‘That man really is something. Extremely strong.’

I had a hunch when he took down the Manky so swiftly, but his brute force was impressive.

If it hadn’t been for him, Eli wouldn’t have been here. A terrible nightmare could have been born.

The Manky was one of the most difficult monsters to hunt. Its agility belies its size, and you go down the moment you let your guard down.

Moreover, swift tactics like his were impossible. Crushing a Manky’s leg with a rough stone axe would be a daunting challenge.

‘Big monsters usually have strong lower bodies. Hm?’

As she looked around with the luminous stone, something suddenly caught her eye.

It was the stone axe and spear neatly arranged against the wall. It looked like they used spears too.

Intrigued, Luna carefully picked up one of the stone axes. A weighty sensation traveled through her hand.

On the surface, it appeared to be a perfectly ordinary stone axe. It seemed to be crafted with great dexterity, reinforced with sinew and leather.

‘Shall I check it?’

She wondered if there might be something special about the axe. As soon as she thought that, she focused her eyes.

As she concentrated, her irises shimmered in a brilliant blue. It looked just like the eyes of beasts glowing in the dark of night.

[Sturdy Stone Axe: F+]

[The stone axe is reinforced with sinew and leather for greater strength.]

[Though it’s sturdily made, it’s likely to break soon. Still, it’s effective as a weapon due to its solidity.]

[Special Effects: None]

Numerous characters arranged themselves before Luna’s eyes. Remarkably, they contained the information about the stone axe.

This was the ability she had since birth. When focusing on a specific object, relevant descriptions appeared before her.

Through this, she could distinguish whether food was poisoned or pinpoint valuable artifacts.

It had proven useful even back in her hometown, though she didn’t remember how she acquired it.

‘You’re telling me this shabby stone axe crushed Manky’s leg?’

Luna’s expression stiffened slightly as she read the axe’s description.

Items have ranks, and the higher the rank, the more varied abilities and effects they possess.

But look at this axe. It has no effects and is rated as the lowest. He took down a Manky in no time with this.

Even her sword isn’t an F but much higher, at B+, thanks to the skills of the blacksmith back home.

How strong could that man be? Luna placed the stone axe back in its original spot.

‘This must be some sort of tally of time spent, right?’

One of the walls was almost filled with marks indicating time. It looked like lines were drawn daily.

Roughly counting, it had gone over 1000 marks before suddenly stopping. It was assumed that the man had lived in this forest for at least a few years.

Did he stop marking after a thousand, or did another person live here before him?

Nothing was exactly clear. However, considering he couldn’t understand speech, they could make some assumptions.

‘He might have lived here since childhood.’

It seemed necessary to confirm his face. His hair and beard were so thick that she couldn’t tell what his facial features were.

Having lived in the wilderness, he probably didn’t feel the need for grooming. Luna ventured deeper along the wall.

As she went further in, skulls—presumably from the heads of hunted creatures—were lined up in display.

‘By the size of the heads, they all seem to belong to large creatures…’

That Manky, which had taken a blow to the head in an instant, and even a Giant Bear, were no ordinary beasts.

If that power threatened her and Eli… she didn’t want to imagine it.

Thankfully, he seemed to recognize them as kin, but she couldn’t let her guard down.

“…Huh?”

As she continued along the wall, she found herself at the deepest part of the cave. The walls illuminated by the glowing stone looked odd.

There were drawings on the wall. Though crude, they were definitely images.

Luna brought the glowing stone closer to the drawings, entranced.

‘What is this… exactly…?’

As the light illuminated the overall images, the first picture depicted a person living with family.

A few lines were drawn to represent people, but it was clear they were family.

It was comically poorly drawn, but that wasn’t the concern. The story they told was what mattered.

‘This is definitely the symbol of the United Academy…’

The symbol of the United Academy is a star—a shape formed by numerous stars creating a circle.

A person who became separated from their family enters a place presumed to be the United Academy, experiencing various events there.

There were drawings depicting battles with monsters and fighting a creature presumed to be a demon.

The drawings didn’t only feature battles.

There was an image of someone stabbing a knife from behind, and another depicting a person collapsed on the ground, looking up at the sky while crying.

Among them, the most striking image was one towards the end. Luna stared at the mural as if in a trance.

It showed a person ascending to the sky, raising both arms triumphantly.

Not only did they raise their arms, but they also had ‘wings’ sprouting from behind.

‘An angel?’

It could only be interpreted as an angel that once stood against demons.

What this all signifies is completely beyond comprehension. Still, she could make some deductions.

‘Is this man’s life? No, if that were true, there would at least be writing.’

The wall was filled with drawings. No letters or writings could be seen anywhere.

What could this mean? Considering the knowledge of the United Academy’s symbol, the possibility is high that this man drew it. But why would he create such images?

‘…Could it be?’

Just as she was musing over these nonsensical possibilities…

“Luna? What are you doing there?”

“Ah!”

A familiar voice echoed from behind. The cave’s peculiar echo startled her.

In a hurry, she turned around to see Eli and the wild man standing side by side.

“Um… so, that…”

Luna sneaked a glance at the wall before stepping forward, not wanting to shine a light on the mural.

For reasons she didn’t understand, she had a strong feeling that revealing the mural would be a mistake.

After catching her breath, she spoke in a slightly trembling voice, “I was just looking around. What are you doing here all of a sudden?”

“Since Sivar entered, I followed him in.”

“Sivar?”

The moment she heard ‘Sivar,’ Luna tilted her head. It was a name she hadn’t heard before.

“Shibal.”

At that moment, the man responded as if he understood. He looked quite displeased.

Hearing that, Luna turned to Eli, asking with a bit of disbelief, “Is that Sivar’s name?”

“Yep. I named him. Don’t you hear me calling him Sivar?”

“Shibal.”

“See?”

Sivar responded reflexively, and Luna was left in disbelief.

What kind of name was that—calling him something that sounded like a dog or cat name just because he kept saying it.

It was certainly a catchy and memorable name, but still, it was bizarre given Sivar’s might.

“Um… So, do I just call you Sivar?”

“Shibal.”

Sivar answered on reflex again. While it was perplexing, his responses made it tolerable.

Luna glanced back at the wall once more before turning to them.

“Did you find anything?”

“No, nothing. Just monster skulls and some stone axes and spears.”

When Eli asked, Luna told a small lie. She felt a pang of guilt, but she thought it was better not to reveal what she discovered.

Moreover, revealing it might just lead to unnecessary chaos, so it was better they remained uninformed. Once she reached their side, she looked at Sivar.

Standing face to face, she realized he was quite large. His muscular build, honed in the wilderness, was impressive.

“Sivar.”

“Shibal.”

“You… no, never mind.”

She almost expressed herself, but she held back. After all, he wouldn’t understand anyway.

Yet, it was important to grasp who Sivar was. For that, communication would need to be established.

The risk level was ambiguous, full of uncertainties. There were so many things she wanted to ask about that mural.

“What will we do now? Are we just going to take him along like this?”

After staring at Sivar for a while, Eli spoke up.

Luna fell into thought over that question. Ideally, she wanted to take him along.

However, just starting with the issue of bringing Sivar out of the forest and the complications that would follow…

He was a wild man who barely spoke a word. It would be tough to casually label him as an Academy missing person since there was no way to verify his status.

A human whose birthright was uncertain. More savage than a barbarian. Yet, his strength was off the charts.

To Luna, he was no different from a walking time bomb. She had plenty to inquire, but the risks were too high.

“No, I think that’d be hard.”

“Why?”

“What do you intend to do with him once you take him out? It’s likely he wouldn’t even make it inside the Academy.”

“Couldn’t there be a special enrollment process?”

The United Academy has a special enrollment process. It’s not a formal entry but reserved for certain exceptional circumstances.

Given the variety of special cases, they couldn’t pinpoint just one. Nonetheless, the process itself is quite straightforward.

To that, Luna furrowed her brow, speaking in an incredulous tone. “Are you suggesting we need a professor’s recommendation?”

“Yeah. If it’s Sivar’s ability, it should be totally doable.”

That’s when the professor would personally recommend him. Afterward, an exam could be taken depending on the subject.

The United Academy adopts a strict meritocracy. Therefore, parachute admissions like donations are nearly nonexistent.

Even if someone were to attempt it, if their skills are remarkable, there’s generally a watchful silence about it. That’s what Eli was implying.

“It could be possible, if we’re solely judging skills.”

“Right?”

“But only in terms of skill. Everything else is totally disqualified—no, it’s just plain awful. Does Sivar show any trace of civilization?”

Despite her blunt words, Eli was left speechless. Everything she said was spot on.

Sivar did have extraordinary strength to take down a Manky in the blink of an eye. But he was ultimately still a wild man.

If they were different species, he would simply be one of the beasts living in the wild. That was an unchanging fact.

Eli recognized this and looked at Sivar. Sivar stood silently, not uttering a single word.

Then finally, she turned back to Luna, speaking timidly. “What if we teach him? Plus, it’s not like communication isn’t possible. He gave me bear meat earlier.”

“B-bear… what? What kind of meat?”

“Bear meat. He pointed at me with his finger, and he nodded. I think we could convey some basic concepts.”

Impressive stomach indeed. Hearing that, Luna pondered.

The notion that at least some communication was feasible was a secondary concern, but eating bear meat… she couldn’t vouch for the hygiene after it must have been prepared in the wild.

Anyway, it needed to be verified. Luna gazed at Sivar, who showed she had a slight chance of communication.

Though it seemed daunting to truly try and communicate, there was a fine idea that came to her mind. She approached the wall and knocked on it.

Tap—Tap—

“Please focus here.”

“… …”

Luna said that and took out her sword to write. First, her name.

“Do you know what this means?”

“…Shibal?”

“That’s your name. Do you know what this one means?”

Sivar stood there blankly. She expected him not to know how to read.

Impassive despite the fact that they’d seen a total disaster. He surely understood spoken words but incapable of reading anything.

It was neither English nor Korean, but some bizarre characters. She could only think, ‘This is a total disaster.’

‘An absolute mess in life.’

Anticipating nothing but to get out, but even if she did go out, problems awaited. If she couldn’t read, how would she live properly?

In this way, both were bewildered yet thinking similarly when Luna addressed Eli, almost as if to prove her point.

“See? Even if he got through the special enrollment, life here would be impossible. He’d be on the same level as children playing.”

“…Still, it wouldn’t be good for him to stay here. Sivar is a person, Luna. He’s even someone who saved us.”

Eli didn’t give up until the end. It seemed she desperately wanted to bring Sivar to the Academy.

To be honest, Luna felt somewhat the same. If she hadn’t seen that mural earlier, she would have probably just left him here.

But once she became curious about who Sivar was, there was no way she could turn back. Had reality’s walls not existed, she would have gladly accepted.

Luna sighed deeply at Eli’s unwavering gaze, her expression filled with complexity. The situation was, in many ways, intricate.

“I’m doubtful if we could even take him. What’s he gonna do here if Sivar stays? Is there even a guarantee he’ll follow us?”

“That’s true.”

“Let’s think about this later. For now…”

Just when Luna leaned towards putting off the idea of taking Sivar with them.

Boom!

Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed throughout the cave. It sounded like a clap of thunder.

What’s more, it didn’t just stop at the thunder; the ground shook as if an earthquake struck.

“What—ah!”

“What’s going on?”

The sudden rumble and quake startled Luna and Eli. Not only was it strange for thunder to resound, but the earth trembling too was alarming.

Only moments ago, the weather was clear with not a cloud in sight.

Something unusual was definitely happening. It was just as Luna noted that.

Thud!

“S-Sivar?”

Sensing something, Sivar grabbed his stone axe tightly and dashed outside the cave.

Though Eli hurried to call him back, he had already bolted out.

Boom!!

Once again, the thunder roared. The entire cave shook, causing small debris to fall from above.

If this continued, the cave might collapse. Luna hastily yelled to Eli.

“We need to get out! It’s going to fall apart!”

“Okay, got it!”

Watching the ground tremble with each thunderclap was more than a little worrying. This forest was known for its strange occurrences.

They hurriedly rushed out of the cave. Regardless of the thunder, the outside was brilliantly sunny.

After the light momentarily blinded their vision, they quickly spotted Sivar.

“Sivar?”

“Grrrr… “

Despite Luna calling him, Sivar remained silent, emitting only animalistic sounds.

He crouched low, tightly gripping the stone axe with his left hand. Anyone could see he was on high alert.

But what was Sivar on alert for? Both Luna and Eli’s gazes shifted naturally to the front where Sivar was facing.

And there stood a creature they had never seen before.

“A-squirrel? That’s definitely a squirrel, right?”

“Looks like it…”

It was indeed a squirrel. Though it was as big as a large dog, it was unmistakably a squirrel.

At first glance, it appeared to be the cutest squirrel ever. Its very appearance was adorable; even in a defensive stance, it still looked cute.

However, the next action the squirrel took was far from cute. This was the Chaos Forest, a place where only the strong survived.

The squirrel fixed a fierce glare at Sivar before fully spreading its arms.

“Kyahh!!”

It let out a sound so adorable it could melt hearts. Yet, that action was very detrimental to their hearts.

Crash!!

Because right before their eyes, a blue bolt of lightning came crashing down.

It was literally harmful in every sense of the word.

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