A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

The quite exceptional midterm has come to an end in various respects. Ultimately, Kara emerged victorious, and her team received good scores.

On the other hand, the situation for Grace's team, especially for Sivar, was bound to be rather ambiguous.

Even considering the artifact ingestion as an accident, the other occurrences were dangerously reckless.

This incident carried on its implications even after the exam and, of course, reached the ears of Rod.

"Let's see… starting from hanging a student upside down for water torture, to forced defenestration, bomb vests, arson, indiscriminate bombing using oil? What's this about?"

"Um, well…"

Marlboro was at a loss for words with Rod's flat-toned inquiries.

In the Principal's office, or rather the main administration's office, not only Marlboro but other professors were also seated in a row.

Serah, Yeonhwa, Godin, and so on. All were professors in charge of Sivar's class.

Marlboro, after casting about helplessly, let out a mental sigh before addressing Rod's question.

As his explanation continued, Rod's eyebrows began to twitch, his expression turning increasingly stern.

"Huh, quite… I’m not sure whether to call it impressive or crafty. Even after you gave him the right to attack, he still went ahead?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Creak—

Rod leaned back in his chair upon hearing Marlboro's reply. The chair reclined slightly, emitting a quiet noise.

Rod gazed up at the ceiling in that state, lost in thought for a while. His face clearly looked complicated.

The longer this silence dragged on, the more the professors felt a fire burning inside them. Their palms were sweating with tension.

"In most accidents, I can intervene. Just a casual word from me would suffice."

"But this… I cannot handle this. Are there any students receiving psychological treatment in a hospital?"

"Um, yes. There have been a number of students who say they feel like they’re drinking water through their nose whenever they drink."

"That’s quite a common symptom."

Common, indeed, but troublingly significant was the issue.

Thus, Rod answered with a touch of sarcasm. Not only he but many other professors shared such an aftereffect.

An example might be someone who would flinch and react violently at a mere hand on their shoulder—a reaction indicative of one such aftereffect.

"Had it been the students at fault before Sivar, I would have defended him. Though Sivar had his misdemeanors, there’s barely a record of him harming others."

"But what is this mess? A nonsensical limitation of the right to attack has led to this disaster. Had I known, I would have insisted on final approval during the negotiation."

Rod may be the Academy's Principal, but his authority is virtually absent, especially in exam-related matters as he's hands-off.

He enjoys political freedom alongside Rize, but ironically, he’s unable to easily engage in politics.

In the current tumultuous international climate, one more side-taking move by Rod, and the situation could spiral out of control.

"This bomb vest issue in particular. If there were a student from Santia, they might have complained vehemently, not just balked. You’re all aware of the situation in Santia, right?"

"Yes, we are aware of the frequent terror attacks by the revolutionaries."

"Good to know that. Hmm…"

Rod glanced over the report again and murmured with a furrowed brow. Sivar had caused a ruckus within just three days of formal enrollment.

There was nothing Rod could do since the exams were out of his hands. However, from his perspective, the problems seemed entwined from the start.

‘An Academy that values fairness and impartiality, and yet they imposed a limitation on the right to attack? Absurd.’

The foremost perpetrator, and the root of all evils, was the restriction on the right to attack. The constraint, allegedly for fairness, only served to make a mess.

Moreover, it didn’t achieve any significant result. Quite the opposite: it only highlighted Sivar’s cunning and ingenious mind.

All the actions he took were self-taught. His methods were solely his own discovery.

Moreover, they were impromptu. He had time, yet these notions were as if conceived on the spot.

‘The words of that mythic creature were true.’

The squirrel, Ratatoskr, mentioned Sivar didn't use his head much because his body was too fit.

When I first heard it, I took it lightly, but it all turned out to be true.

‘Living in the forest, he must’ve set all sorts of traps. Thinking up ways to deal with beasts stronger than himself.’

How humans, inherently frail, could survive in the wild is clear: superior intellect and resilience.

Even without magic, these two qualities alone enabled humans to thrive in the wild and build civilizations.

Sivar was no different. Though alone and unable to build a civilization, he couldn’t have survived without being clever.

‘At least he didn’t use lightning, right?’

From the reports, it seemed they hadn’t realized that Sivar utilized red mana. He must’ve subdued the output considerably.

Had he used lightning too, they would have caught on that something was off about Sivar’s mana. That’s a small relief amidst misfortune.

Of course, this doesn’t fix his blunders. Moreover, the victims involved in his accidents have significant ties to nobles.

‘They may not protest, but they sure will take note.’

Several people have been keeping an eye on Sivar. Today, a different kind of renown would likely spread concerning him.

There’s virtually nothing Rod can do now except to be busy with aftercare.

"You all should start writing your apologies. The responsibility itself will be placed on Delphoi, who overstepped his bounds. Same goes for any professors who sided with him."

"We are grateful for your mercy."

Marlboro and the other professors bowed deeply, expressing their gratitude.

That could have escalated into a complex issue, but with Rod's mercy, they managed to catch a break.

Still, that didn't mean everything was resolved. The myriad of problems remained piled up.

"What about the final exams? Hopefully, this debacle will spur some reform."

"The finals were originally intended to be a conquest. The teams would be split into two and compete to capture various territories."

"Conquest…"

As Marlboro explained, the conquest would be conducted by splitting into two teams.

Victory would be determined by whoever captures all territories or controls more territories by the end of the set time limit.

By design, it promises to be an all-out battle, swaying with strategies.

"Will Sivar’s rights to attack be limited this time too?"

"Absolutely not. After this incident, it will be impossible for other class professors to overstep their authority."

Initially, other professors aligned with Delphoi to restrict Sivar’s attacking rights.

However, once the issues exploded, they seemed to realize their impending doom and turned their back on Delphoi.

For Delphoi, it was an unlucky predicament, but what can be done? He must pay the price for political blunders.

For Marlboro and other professors, this was a blessing in disguise. This event meant little to no interference with Sivar in the future.

If anything, should Sivar cause trouble, they could simply shift the blame to the interfering party.

"Well, that’s good to hear. Just be sure to manage the finals well."

"We will take note."

"Oh, and Godin."

"Yes?"

Godin was slightly startled as Rod called him, apparently not expecting to be singled out.

"Have a talk with Sivar. Since he’s officially a student, I think having me counsel him might stir up too much talk."

"Oh… yes, I understand."

"Good. Anything else?"

"No, there's nothing else."

"Then, attend to your respective duties."

Following Rod's instruction, the professors rose from their seats and politely took their leave.

The professors then filed out of the room, while Rod shifted his gaze back to the reports.

The report detailed Sivar's actions extensively, with just one student's records spanning over three pages.

‘How on earth did he consume the artifact?'

Though waterboarding and bomb vests caught his eye, the digestion of the artifact seemed ludicrous.

How could one's digestive system be so robust as to process an artifact? Although artifacts are easily breakable by design, the rate was astonishingly rapid.

‘At least it was a cheap artifact.'

The ruined artifact didn’t matter. It was created as a one-time use item, designed to break.

The concern was for Sivar’s health. Even though it was for one-time use, the artifact contained numerous magical circuits.

It was startling enough that he had ingested it, but the fact it was digested cleanly was all the more worrisome.

‘Having Rize by his side is reassuring… fortunate there was no explosion.'

Artifacts are delicately crafted items that can potentially explode.

Of course, the artifacts made for the exam, being one-time use, had a very low explosion risk.

But this did not account for ‘melting by stomach acid'—they were designed to break at impact.

‘Setting quite a precedent, isn’t he?'

What kind of antics will he perform next? Rod smirked to himself as he turned the page.

This report was not about the exam but the Academy’s current affairs.

"Hm?"

Something caught Rod’s eye—a mention of the Forest of Chaos.

The Forest of Chaos was where Sivar and Ratatosk made their residence, so naturally, his gaze was drawn there.

[Significant changes are currently happening in the Forest of Chaos. Various beasts and monsters are emerging on the forest's outskirts and require investigation.]

[The expelled beasts and monsters are mostly those that lost in ‘competition.' It's speculated that a beast or monster that was atop the food chain has been eliminated…]

"…"

Rod furrowed his brow as he studied the report, pressing down hard. He could more or less guess what had happened.

Sivar and Ratatosk had ruled as apex predators deep within the Forest of Chaos.

Their sudden disappearance would have thrown the food chain into turmoil. Now there must be chaos from territorial disputes.

Such strife had caused the defeated monsters and beasts to be driven to the outskirts. It seems a survey team would soon need to be dispatched.

‘The students mentioned researching the outskirts of the Forest of Chaos, didn’t they…’

A strong premonition tells him more trouble is brewing. Especially since it involves Sivar.

Knock, knock, knock—

[Principal, it’s Delphoi. May I come in?]

As Rod perused the report, Delphoi knocked. Even his voice betrayed his anxiety.

"Come in."

Creak—

At Rod's permission, Delphoi cautiously opened the door and entered.

His unbecoming bob haircut was still the same, but his expression had taken quite the dive in confidence.

Soon, Rod motioned for him to sit, and a tensed Delphoi took a seat, the air of nervousness palpable.

"Alright."

One task remained.

"What is your take on this situation?"

Time to assign responsibility.

*****

Meanwhile, at that very moment, Sivar was…

"Is it tasty?"

"Yeah."

"Let me know if you want more. Should I buy you ice cream?"

"Chocolate!"

"Chocolate ice cream? Alright, then."

Regardless of who was fuming, Sivar was reaping the sweet rewards from Kara.