Chapter 99

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 26, 2025

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The midterm exam, which was spectacular in every sense, has finally come to an end. In the end, Kara emerged victorious, and her team scored well.

On the flip side, Grace’s team, especially Sivar, found their evaluations rather murky.

Eating an artifact can be written off as an accident, but other parts were outright dangerous.

This incident carried on even after the exam ended, and of course, it reached Rod’s ears.

“Let’s see… starting from hanging a student upside down and waterboarding them, to forced falls, bomb vests, arson, and indiscriminate bombing with oil? What the heck is this?”

“Well…”

Malboro, caught off guard by Rod’s deadpan question, started to look around nervously.

In the Chancellor’s office, which is in the Main Hall, not just Malboro but other professors were sitting side by side.

Sara, Yeonhwa, Godin, and others. All were professors responsible for Sivar’s class.

As Malboro fidgeted, he inwardly sighed and began to muster a response to Rod’s question.

The more he explained, the more Rod’s brows furrowed, and his complexion turned stone-cold.

“Good grief… should I call this impressive or cunning? They even had the Attack Rights and still managed this?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Creeeak—

After hearing Malboro’s answer, Rod leaned back in his chair. The chair creaked softly, making a slight noise.

In that position, Rod gazed at the ceiling, lost in thought. His expression was clearly complicated.

The more he pondered, the more the professors’ insides burned away in real time. Sweat gathered in their palms from all the tension.

“I can stop most accidents at my level. I can just say something loosely.”

“….”

“But this… there’s nothing I can do about it. By any chance, has any student gone to the hospital for mental reasons?”

“Um… Yes. Many students mentioned that they felt like they were drinking water through their noses.”

“Ah, a very common aftereffect.”

It’s a very common aftereffect indeed. However, that aftereffect is quite a serious issue.

It’s precisely for this reason that Rod replied somewhat sarcastically. He himself, along with many professors, had dealt with this aftereffect.

If you had to give an example, it’s the reflex action of jumping when someone puts a hand on your shoulder. That reaction is one of those aftereffects.

“If it had been the students who made the first mistake instead of Sivar, I would have defended them. After all, even if Sivar causes trouble, he’s hardly ever harmed anyone.”

“….”

“But what the heck is this? This mess came about from a ridiculous Attack Rights Restriction. If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have gotten final approval when I made the contract.”

Rod may be the Academy Chancellor, but his authority is nearly non-existent. Especially when it comes to exams, he’s virtually hands-off.

He’s politically free along with Rize, but ironically, he’s in a position where he can’t easily step into politics.

Given the current unstable global situation, if Rod were to pick a side, it would complicate matters greatly.

“Especially regarding this bomb vest situation. If someone from Santia had been involved, they would have protested vehemently. You all know what the situation in Santia is, right?”

“…. Yes. I know that terrorism from the revolutionary army is frequent.”

“Glad to hear you do. Hmm…”

Rod reaffirmed the report and sighed. Sivar had caused trouble less than three days into his official enrollment.

Of course, he couldn’t do anything about an exam that was outside of his control. But his perspective made it seem like things were tangled up from the very start.

‘This is supposed to be an academy with principles of fairness and justice, but there’s an Attack Rights Restriction? Ridiculous.’

The fundamental culprit and the root of all evil can be traced back to the Attack Rights Restriction. In the name of fairness and justice, it ended up wrecking everything.

Moreover, it failed to yield any effective results. Instead of benefits, only Sivar’s cunningness and his genius ideas stood out.

The antics he pulled were not taught to him by anyone. They meant he figured everything out on his own.

Even on the spot. Though there was time, his ideas were crafted in what was nearly real-time.

‘That spirit’s words were indeed true.’

The squirrel, Ratatosk, had mentioned that Sivar was so capable physically that he didn’t use his head.

When I heard that, I brushed it off, but it turned out to be completely true.

‘He must have set up all sorts of traps while living in the forest. He would have had to use his wits to deal with beasts stronger than himself.’

The precise reason humanity survives in the wilderness lies in a simple fact: extraordinary intelligence and stamina.

Even without magic power, with those two things alone, humans could survive in the wild and build civilization.

Sivar must have been the same. Though he couldn’t establish civilization on his own, he surely wouldn’t survive in the wild if he were not intelligent.

‘At least it’s a relief that he didn’t use lightning?’

From the report, it seems Rod didn’t realize Sivar utilized Red Magic. It looked like he kept the output to a minimum.

Had he used lightning, Rod would have caught on to the weirdness of Sivar’s magic power. That was a piece of good luck in the midst of bad.

Of course, that didn’t mean his nonsense would be resolved. Furthermore, the victims were students with close ties to nobility.

‘They might not complain, but they’ll definitely acknowledge it.’

There are already many people paying attention to Sivar in this situation. Starting from today, it looks like a different kind of notoriety will spread.

There’s hardly anything Rod can do here. He’s left with no choice but to diligently handle the aftermath.

“….You all should write statements of explanation. The responsibility will be attributed to Delphoi, who abused his authority. Professors who supported him will share the blame.”

“Thank you for your leniency.”

Malboro and the other professors deeply bowed their heads in gratitude.

It could have been a complicated situation, but with Rod showing mercy, they could breathe a sigh of relief.

Of course, this didn’t mean that everything was entirely resolved. Plenty of issues still remained scattered about.

“So what do you plan to do about the final exam? I hope it gets corrected starting from this incident.”

“The final exam was originally an occupation battle. We divide into two teams to capture various areas.”

“An occupation battle, huh…”

As Malboro explained, the occupation battle proceeds with two teams.

You win by either occupying all areas or by occupying more areas before the time is up.

By its nature, it’s bound to become chaotic and the outcome will flip based on strategy.

“Are we going to restrict Sivar’s Attack Rights this time, too?”

“Absolutely not. After this incident, the other professors won’t have the authority to impose restrictions.”

Initially, other professors had agreed with Delphoi to restrict Sivar’s Attack Rights.

However, once incidents began to unfold, they must have sensed that they were in deep trouble and shifted the blame back to Delphoi.

Delphoi might be left feeling a little unfair, but well, that’s the price of failing in politics.

For professors like Malboro, this was a turn of fortune. Thanks to this incident, there will be very little interference with Sivar going forward.

Even if there is interference, Sivar will just cause trouble again. The moment he does, the blame can be shifted onto whoever interfered.

“That’s a relief. Please make sure the final exam is well handled.”

“I will take care.”

“Ah, and Godin.”

“Yes?”

Godin’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at Rod’s call. He didn’t expect to be singled out.

“You shall consult with Sivar. Since Sivar is officially enrolled now, if I consult with him, I think it’ll turn into a big fuss.”

“Um… Understood.”

“Good. Is there anything else?”

“None. That’s it.”

“Then let’s all get back to our tasks.”

At Rod’s command, the professors rose from their seats and politely bowed.

They then hurriedly exited the office. Rod watched them leave before shifting his attention back to the report.

The report detailed the antics Sivar had been up to. Just the record for one student alone exceeded three pages.

‘How did he even eat the artifact?’

While torture and the bomb vest caught his attention, the digestion of the artifact was also astonishing.

How remarkable is his digestion that he managed to digest an artifact? Though artifacts are easily breakable, that was still quite quick.

‘At least it was a cheap artifact, thank goodness.’

The destruction of the artifact wasn’t a concern. It was originally a one-time use artifact designed to break.

What worried him was Sivar’s physical condition. Even if it was a one-time use, artifacts contain numerous magical circuits.

Eating one is itself surprising, but digesting it cleanly is a matter of concern.

‘At least Rize is by his side, so that’s a relief… and it’s fortunate it didn’t explode.’

Artifacts are meticulously crafted items that can explode if mishandled.

However, artifacts created for exams are one-time use and have an extremely low risk of explosion.

But that’s only if they’re ‘shocked’ into breaking; they weren’t meant to be dissolved by stomach acid.

‘In many ways, he’s setting an interesting precedent.’

What other antics will he pull in the future? Rod chuckled lightly and turned the page.

It wasn’t about the exam but rather a report on the Academy’s current situation.

“Hmm?”

As Rod scanned the report, one section caught his eye. It was about the Chaos Forest.

The Chaos Forest was where Sivar and Ratatosk lived. Hence, it captured his attention.

[Currently, significant changes are occurring in the Chaos Forest. Numerous beasts and monsters are emerging from the outskirts of the Chaos Forest, which requires investigation.]

[Those beasts and monsters forced out are mostly presumed to have been ‘outcompeted’. This indicates that a top-tier predator in the food chain may have been eliminated…]

“….”

Rod frowned deeply as he read the report. He could roughly deduce what had happened.

Sivar and Ratatosk had ruled as top predators in the Chaos Forest, particularly in its deepest parts.

But suddenly, having disappeared, a significant disruption must have occurred in the food chain. By now, they must be in turmoil over territorial disputes.

As a result, the monsters and beasts that lost in competition are spilling out to the outskirts. He would need to arrange for an investigation team soon.

‘The outskirts of the Chaos Forest are where the students will also investigate, right…’

A strong premonition emerged that another incident was likely to occur. Especially with Sivar involved.

Knock knock—

[Chancellor. It’s Delphoi. May I come in?]

While Rod was scanning the report, Delphoi knocked on the door. His voice hinted at tension.

“Come in.”

Creeeak—

As soon as Rod permitted, Delphoi cautiously opened the door and stepped inside.

His usual mismatched bob cut was still there, but his expression was completely void of confidence.

When Rod told him to sit, Delphoi took a seat carefully. Tension lingered on his face.

“Okay.”

Now, there’s only one thing left.