A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

The professor mentioned it. I can't directly attack but must use indirect means or exploit the opponent's attack.

In other words, ‘subduing' is possible. So it means I shouldn't harbor any intention to attack.

It might be seen as using loopholes or being sneaky, but the other side began with ridiculous conditions first.

So, I guess it's fine if I give them a taste of their own medicine.

‘The one who concocted this lousy idea will get what's coming if the injuries are severe.'

Trying to balance fairness and justice has only backfired and burned down the whole house.

If I had the right to attack, I could’ve knocked out each one, fair and square – a hit for you, and one for everyone!

But like the human shield incident earlier, they only faint after being hit relentlessly. It means more people might end up in the hospital.

"What do we do now? Our vanguard is gone…"

"Shouldn't we just run? He can't do anything to us!"

The rear supporters were in chaos after their vanguard fell (teamkill). I watched them struggle on the second floor.

A quick assessment revealed two mages and one from a rogue class. It's a bit much for a rogue to take the front line.

I pondered how to make them all drop out effortlessly. After the earlier scene, using a human shield again would be difficult.

‘But what happens if I directly attack?'

This piqued my curiosity. I took advantage of their confusion with a high jump.

With a single leap, I easily reached the second floor, which caused their eyes to widen like lanterns.

"What, what…!"

Firstly, the rogue. They reflexively thrust their dagger forward, but I simply tilted my head to dodge.

Then I placed my hand on their forehead and flicked it slightly with just a bit of force.

Flick!

"Argh!"

It was just a flick, but it echoed satisfyingly. The rogue flailed backward after being hit.

Just when I thought it felt painful to me, too, a sound came from the bracelet on my wrist.

[Direct attack is not permitted. A penalty will apply.]

As I was about to wonder what the penalty was, I felt a meaningful change in my body.

I felt slightly heavier, and mana began to leak from the bracelet, affecting my body.

It seems if I carry out a direct attack, my body becomes heavier, and my mana gets disturbed as punishment.

Thankfully, it's not instant disqualification. If it were, I'd be up in arms about how unfair it is.

‘This is not so bad for now. I should reserve it for the final stages.'

It's not that I become heavier after each person I take down, but with each attack.

This rule now gives a reason to conserve my physical state until the final stages. Otherwise, it would be hard to prepare for contingencies.

"Ugh…"

"…"

The rogue rolling on the floor and the mages frozen in place. Now that I know the penalties for attack, what remains is adjudication.

Just how far will they forgive the definitions of an attack? I definitely cannot strike directly.

So, would toppling them over with the explosives I found be okay? That thought made me look around.

If they've been waiting here, they must have collected some items. They're probably nearby.

"That one."

"What, what?"

"Give me that."

The bag was behind the male and female mages. When I pointed toward the bag at the back, the mages hesitated, looking at each other.

Then the male mage slowly moved his hand towards the bag, and in that brief moment, he shouted.

"Fire, blaze up!"

"Water, pour out!"

Following the male mage, the female mage chanted her spell. Then, fire and water poured down on me from above.

I would have taken the brunt of it head-on. The rogue, who had been groaning beside me, seemed to have regained consciousness and hurriedly moved away.

Boom!

These spells aren’t primarily for attack. When water meets fire, steam is created – these spells were smoke bombs to obstruct my vision.

It seems they took the opportunity to escape. Too kind of me, really.

But apart from the assassin, no one there had the physical abilities to match mages.

I immediately sensed their whereabouts and followed. They hadn't gotten far.

"Hurry, let's run… Ack!"

First, the rogue who took my knuckle. I grabbed the back of the neck of the rogue trying to escape through the window.

The mages had already gone out, their voices ringing in my ears.

To them, the situation must have felt like a horror movie. The feeling of watching a monster snatch a colleague just before their escape.

It would have been more intense if it were nighttime, but unfortunately, it was morning.

Thud!

Yanking hard on the rogue's collar, they tumbled across the floor. Then, I looked out the window.

Catching sight of the two mages right outside, their expressions of terror were unmistakable upon making eye contact with me.

I pointed to my eyes with my index and middle fingers, then pointed at them. A gesture meaning ‘see you later.'

The mages hastily ran off to another location. Without a vanguard or assassin, dropping out was just a matter of time.

‘They didn't even take the bag.'

I glanced at the rogue trying to get up and rummaged through the bag. As I expected, there were pretty good items.

Of course, what I needed was an explosive. A proper hit could cause not just fainting but severe damage.

Will this also be considered an attack? I'm curious about that.

Thump!

"Ugh?"

You really have had a rough time. I dragged the failing assassin along with me by the collar.

For a second, I thought about stuffing a grenade into their mouth and letting it explode, but that seemed too cruel.

Even if it wouldn't be lethal during an examination, a concussion grenade could still cause severe injuries even from a close impact.

"Umm… Ah!"

A great idea struck me. But to verify it, I need to check out a grenade first.

I tied the rogue with a rope so they couldn't run. I didn’t know the proper way to tie, but I just used brute force.

Click!

Then I casually tossed a grenade and leaped out the window. Of course, I didn't forget to take the bag.

About precisely 5 seconds had passed, I'd reckon.

Boom!

As the window shattered along with the sound of the exploding grenade, I surmised the rogue would certainly be disqualified.

What was important now was the verdict on the attack. I silently awaited the bracelet’s response.

"…"

Thankfully, the bracelet stayed silent. It seems as long as I don’t strike directly, it's acceptable.

Does that mean a fall from above will also be allowed? That's something worth testing.

First, what I need is one test subject and Yeonhwa's help. Since she can handle it, I just need to learn from her.

‘They went that way, right?'

I immediately ran off in the direction the mages had escaped to. The physically inferior mages couldn't have gotten far.

And indeed, chasing down the mages wasn’t difficult. Subduing them was also very easy.

Like a mother cat biting the nape of her kittens. First, the test of a fall from a height.

"AAAAAH!"

Whoosh!

Returning to the windmill and its highest point, I let the male mage plunge. Even with a broken limb, he'll survive well enough.

Moreover, if the fall is judged, the automatic protective shield will soften the blow. The shield just saved him from greater harm.

‘Forced falls are not considered attacks.'

There's only one thing left to do. I took the trembling, scared female mage back to my team.

Of course, I did not forget to pick up the items they left behind. There were quite a few nice ones.

"Hm? Oh, Sivar, you're… back… Who is this person?"

"Test subject."

"Test subject…?"

As I confidently declared the female mage as a test subject, Grace looked utterly bewildered. She then glanced at the female mage draped over my shoulder like luggage.

The female mage, who was lacking the strength to struggle and drooped listlessly, was trembling a bit, likely having witnessed the male mage's fall.

"Ca-can we just disqualify her…? He's… he's just too cruel!"

"What exactly did you do?"

"Defense."

I had only used defense, just exploiting a loophole.

It’s unavoidable to cause disqualification while only defending. It's an act of necessity.

"So, I take it that disqualifying this person will settle it?"

"No. Experiment."

"Experiment?"

"Yes. Yeonhwa."

"Huh?"

Yeonhwa blinked at my call, a look of surprise on her face.

I then quietly seated the female mage, intended as a test subject, on a chair.

Judging that she had sauntered too deep into the tiger's den, she didn’t resist and just sat there quietly.

"Doable?"

"…If you chop both ends off, it's hard to understand."

"This and this."

I pulled out the bomb and traps from the bag. It looked like quite a lot upon searching.

Among them, the key items were the bomb and rope, along with an easy-to-press device.

"Bind like this. Gag the mouth. When released, press the button. And boom goes the bomb!"

"… …"

"How about that? Pretty good, right?"

The explanation was rather crude, but Yeonhwa seemed to get the gist of it.

That must be why her mouth fell open in shock. By the way, she's adept at creating such traps.

This meant she could also create what I termed ‘human bombs'. I have a knack for it too, but with her help, it would be easier, which is why I asked.

"So you mean… Sivar, you’re talking about… like something criminals would do… a human bomb?"

"Seems about right?"

Serah asked with a trembling voice, and Yeonhwa nodded. That was exactly what I wanted.

It was a bit ruthless, but lacking the right to attack, what choice do I have? Must endure it for the sake of efficiency.

"Absolutely not! Do not teach him! We are academy students, not terrorists!"

"Y-Yes, I know! But Sivar asked me to teach…!"

"No way! I don't know who taught you that, but it's way off the mark of the academy's values! Rather fail the exam than that!"

And with that, my idea was swiftly vetoed. It seemed like a good plan, but a pity nonetheless.

The female mage was disqualified afterward, and we moved on to a different plan. A less nefarious one.

"Sivar. Just kidnap them one by one and leave them with other teams. That's much more gentlemanly."

"Okay."

That seemed like a not-so-bad approach.

******

Meanwhile, the professors watched the entire situation unfold.

Just like during the survival training, the exam area was equipped with cameras, making it easy to monitor everything.

Even more cameras than before allowed them to watch every move, augmented with listening devices.

"…Perhaps we should exclude Sivar from the final exam? Or maybe changing it to a special event-type situation wouldn't be a bad idea either."

Godin, who had been watching everything, suggested it. Though it might seem like preferential treatment, the professors could not raise any objections.

After all, everything Sivar had done so far was beyond expectations. Starting with the ways he disqualified others.

"Leaving aside the use of bombs, I didn't expect him to intentionally make it a fall to their demise…"

"He’s not just physically fit, but sharp-minded, isn’t he?"

Those were the opinions of Marlboro and Yeonhwa, respectively. The prospect of writing up a report on all this darkened their spirits even further.

The restriction on Sivar's right to attack was made for the sake of fairness, but it ultimately created more problems than it solved.

If it had been fair from the start, it might have reduced student injuries.

"If we had done as I said, just pairing him with one would have been better. Whatever happens, people just end up complaining about unfairness."

Serah pointed it out sharply. Instead, this exam highlighted Sivar's ruthlessness even more.

If the attack is restricted, one must resort to more cunning methods. It's almost universally accepted knowledge, transcending cultures and eras.

The human bomb Sivar mentioned was also along those lines. Although it's nefarious, it’s a method that’s efficient.

Grace vehemently objected, but if he had been given the right to attack from the outset, none of this would have happened.

"Who suggested this in the first place?"

"Professor Delphoi."

"That guy has been looking hostile toward Sivar anyway…"

The plan to trip up Sivar backfired on the professors instead.

This method meant evaluations couldn't be done correctly. Instead, they only confirmed that Sivar was crafty.

"Getting the artifact might change the story. Depending on who gets it, Sivar might also be disqualified."

"Because you have to fight, right?"

"Yes."

Only one thing remained. The artifact said to exist at the center.

Marlboro began to sigh deeply as he looked at Sivar engaging in his ‘gift' operation.

"Let's just leave the guy to use his body. That's the best we can do."

The consensus among the professors was unanimous.