Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Why Are You Running?
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Why are you running away?
“Halibal Belder? Why’d he sign up for the scout team?”
“The Ren family’s sword maidens are there too? Not the assault squad?”
“Even the Grace family’s lady on the scout team… Is there something special about the scouts?”
The students’ murmurs grew louder with the squad assignments, and the stares aimed my way started multiplying.
At first, hardly anyone recognized me, but holy power healing only erased scars, after all.
Look closely, and one by one, they’d realize, “Oh, it’s Halibal.”
The most annoying among them was Eugene’s gaze.
Eyes dripping with rivalry.
He seemed to be saying:
‘Why aren’t you on the assault squad?’
No, look at Aren next to him.
Focus on the protagonist, not me?
But what was really messing with my head wasn’t the others’ stares.
‘This leaves Aren without a single healer nearby…’
[Apocalypse Academy] is an action RPG.
Here, the protagonist Aren is the successor to the Extreme Divine Sword.
Stuck with a sword-only character setup, he can’t equip any other weapons.
Old games might’ve been like that, but modern ones usually give players weapon freedom.
Because some players want variety beyond swords.
So even Apocalypse Academy, with fixed weapons per character, had a system to satisfy that demand.
Namely, “playable characters.” A system letting you control different characters based on dungeons or gimmicks.
Switch to another character as main, and Aren tags along like a mercenary to clear dungeons together.
In other words, their weapon swap was a “character switching system.”
And the first playable character opportunity—the weapon choice—comes in the academy’s first class.
You pick one student from your class as your first companion and tackle the beast dungeon together.
Problem is, I already cleared the beast dungeon.
So the next target naturally shifted to the second Demon God’s dungeon: the Doll Dungeon.
But to easily break the special gimmicks of that dungeon’s boss monsters, a healer is basically essential.
Apocalypse Academy doesn’t have many pure healer characters to begin with.
Right now, excluding the unrecruitable Alicia and healer Mine, only hybrid types Cecilia and Luna.
And both ended up on the scout team.
Suddenly, Aren has zero healers left around him.
‘This means scrapping the plan from the start.’
I plan to keep getting stronger as Halibal Belder from here on.
But that’s about not relying on Aren—it doesn’t mean abandoning him.
Scenarios exist that you absolutely can’t clear without Aren.
My original plan was closer to strictly following the story while fully supporting Aren.
Sure, snatching protagonist-only opportunities is an option, but sadly, Apocalypse Academy’s are locked to the protagonist.
‘Does that mean I have to tackle the Doll Dungeon myself too?’
One of those opportunities lurks in the Doll Dungeon’s deepest part.
A treasure chest spits out the special core [Sun Shine], equippable only by Aren.
The moment he gets it, Aren’s stats skyrocket like he’s got wings.
Issue is, rewards from handing over someone else’s kill versus beating the boss yourself are worlds apart.
Finding a way to bridge that gap would be my new homework.
‘This is all because of those two.’
I shot a resentful glare at the Ren sisters.
“Didn’t I tell you during the exam? I know all of Halibal’s habits.”
“You always dodge straight answers when you’re hiding something, right?”
Confirmed.
Expect better next time.
Finally, with squad assignments done, a man who looked like an instructor stepped onto the platform. I’d seen his face at the entrance exam.
Originally, Adelin should’ve been up there.
And whether in the original story or real life, I knew exactly how much I could gain from her.
Her absence would be another gap for me to fill.
“The place you’ve just stepped into is no ordinary school.”
The instructor’s gaze swept the entire exam hall in an instant.
“Once you’re in Ruidel, you’ll soon face the Demon God’s dungeons. The academy won’t protect you from those threats. Only you can protect yourselves.”
His eyes lingered on Aren’s side for a while.
Passing Eugene to Ran, then the Ren sisters.
“But fighting with Ruidel’s name on your backs means bearing humanity’s pride. You’ll face countless deaths ahead. Whether you shine or fade is up to your choices.”
Finally reaching me.
“So Ruidel will do its utmost to help you shine even brighter. Prove yourselves in your positions, in your own ways. Finally—”
The instructor thrust his hand high and shouted.
“May the undying sun of humanity be with you! This concludes this year’s Ruidel Academy entrance ceremony and class assignments!”
At that moment, as if on cue, Ruidel’s faculty and staff emerged from spots around the exam hall.
They applauded and cheered us, and soon the hall filled with students’ roars.
The sun—that was Ruidel Academy’s and Apocalypse Academy’s catchphrase.
Aren Bright’s moniker “The One Who Will Bring the Sun to the Empire” extended from it.
I’d seen the entrance speech before, so I figured it wouldn’t move me much in person.
But facing it now, my chest swelled a bit. Made me reflect on myself, maybe.
Yeah, spilled milk.
Can’t just complain.
‘Gotta keep thinking.’
I need to move faster, think cooler.
That’s how I’ll survive. How I’ll see a happy ending in this no-longer-a-game reality.
So I decided to pull forward something that’d normally wait until after classes started.
Amid the thunderous applause, I turned and spotted a tall black-haired guy sitting with his ears covered.
‘Ellier Work.’
If you named Apocalypse Academy’s most out-of-place character, Ellier took the cake.
Others have clear roles or power, but Ellier was just… meh.
Joining in Chapter 2 as a playable really highlights the ambiguity.
Genius mechanic fitting the medieval-modern world, so he wields guns.
But sadly, it’s a sword > gun world. Combat-wise, he falls short of Ran, let alone Eugene—disappointing players.
So what’s Ellier for?
Tech side chores.
Buying, repairing, crafting, enhancing weapons and abyss cores—all via Work Workshop, so his place gets the most visits.
But above all, Ellier matters because he enables “shard crafting.”
Despite looks, he’s sentimental, can’t ignore deaths around him.
So even now, he’s developing a machine to combine low shards into high ones.
But at entrance ceremony timing, it can’t be finished. No surplus low shards for a mystery machine.
Thus, shard synthesis unlocks post-Chapter 4, when low shards pile up enough for real crafting.
‘I’ll yank that forward now.’
And thanks to endless dungeon grinding, I’ve got low shards overflowing.
Meaning I can supply what he needs for shard crafting right away.
If I can grind useless shards into high ones, exchange rates don’t matter.
Once the ceremony ended, I pushed through the crowd to his seat, arranging a workshop meetup.
He wouldn’t turn down free low shards.
I blocked Ellier’s path and called his name.
“Ellier…”
“M-Moron! Valhillar?!”
“……?”
No, why are you running away?
⁎⁎⁎
That night.
Back from the ceremony, Ellier sat in his workspace at one corner of the Work Workshop.
Hammer in hand like always, but he couldn’t focus.
‘That guy… what’s his deal?’
None other than Halibal Belder, who’d suddenly approached him at the ceremony.
Ellier still couldn’t forget the entrance exam scene.
Stepping into the boss room, a knight in worn, rusted armor stood before him.
The design was at least a decade old, but Ellier recognized the specs instantly.
Cyrus imperial guard armor, no doubt—his armor expertise confirmed it.
The armored knight eliminated him on the spot, whispering:
‘Do you understand? Ruidel’s Blade, Valhillar.’
“Haa…”
Ellier chewed on those words forever.
And interpreted them as:
‘Ruidel’s Blade, Valhillar knows.’
Knows what?
Skeptical at first, but seeing him wield the famous dirge sword in the exam and declare ties to Princess Alicia sealed it.
Ruidel’s Blade meant Ruidel student council president Alicia’s blade—the imperial blade.
Alicia’s nickname: Crimson Scales. Her intel rivaled the emperor’s in the capital.
So if she wanted, nothing stayed hidden.
Her saying “knows” pointed straight at the unfinished machine before him.
“Can’t scrap it now, though…”
One step from completion: [Shard Converter].
A device compressing low shards from monsters into high shards.
Theory was perfect.
Problem: low shards needed for completion and operation.
Even one Tier 1 low shard was pricey for Ellier.
To run it properly? Dozens, hundreds.
Donations? No one gives valuables for a shady machine.
Couldn’t seek investors either—his work was straight-up illegal.
But Ellier was certain.
The Shard Converter would one day cut sacrifices massively.
Finish it, and anyone could rise strong on low dungeon shards alone.
‘Somehow… gotta persuade the imperial family.’
Then.
A knock at the workshop door. Ellier hesitated, then cautiously opened it.
Seeing who stood there, he instinctively gulped.
“Halibal… Belder…”
Late night, unannounced—cementing Ellier’s conviction.
That the Crimson Scales was finally judging him.
“Did… Princess Alicia decide to handle it herself?”
Watching mumbling Ellier, Halibal silently rubbed his chin with sunken eyes.
‘Mistake!’
Ellier’s spine chilled.
That gesture clearly confirmed he’d caught “princess” from Ellier’s mouth, now debating instant execution.
Then Halibal’s low voice flowed out.
“Mind if I come in first?”