The Steep Price of Sky Academy
The explosion I'd unintentionally unleashed swept the goblins and undead away in one fell swoop.
A few stragglers remained, but that was cleanup work the knights could handle easily enough. With that, the crisis was resolved—for now.
"Hoo..."
I chugged holy water straight from the bottle and slumped onto a nearby rock.
This was the first time in my life I'd fought that hard, and the exhaustion hit like a truck.
Hell, I could've just flopped onto the dirt and passed out right there.
Bzzz. Bzzz.
But my sword buzzed wildly, like it was yelling at me to get up.
Fucking annoying.
I laid the blade across my knees and tapped the embedded gems with my finger.
"So why'd these things multiply, anyway?"
Bzzz!
With the extra gems, even the light coating I'd managed before was a struggle now.
People have a vessel—a limit to their control. The more power you pack in, the higher the quality, the harder it gets to handle. The moment I coated the sword, my Divine Power had surged like a runaway train... and boom. Same as before.
'Is it my lack of skill?'
Not wrong. I'm the one and only priest of the War God, but I've got plenty of shortcomings.
'Experience and technique...'
Famous martial clans pass down skills through generations of masters.
But my predecessor died too early, so all I inherited were raw physical stats.
'It was enough until now...'
With weapons getting trickier to wield, learning proper techniques is inevitable.
I need the know-how.
Otherwise, I'm just a troll swinging a club.
'Wonder if I can learn at the academy...'
One more reason to head to Sky Academy.
"Tch. Why'd you have to get stronger all of a sudden?"
I shook the sword in dissatisfaction. Bzzz! It whined like it was offended I was complaining about more power, but I ignored it.
Handling the damn thing had gotten way trickier, facts were facts.
'But why'd they stick these extras in?'
I rubbed my chin.
No matter how I looked at it, this sword rivaled a divine artifact.
Instinct told me those two gems weren't the end of it.
'Roughly this size...'
Probably room for four more. Meaning it was running at a quarter power? A four-stage nerf?
'Eh, whatever.'
Probably a secret gift because she cares about me.
All I had to do was master it. Questions like why it existed or why I hadn't known until now could wait.
Back home on break, I'd ask then.
I called out to Professor Nipella Aoman, who was wrapping up the scene.
"Professor."
"Yes?"
He approached, having just frozen the goblin shaman's corpse for preservation.
I shot my question.
"What's at Sky Academy? Departments, classes, that stuff. Or is it all the same?"
"Similar enough. But you're thinking of enrolling? At your level as a priest, you'd qualify as a professor..."
That high?
'My physical stats... objectively High Knight level.'
I could take any knight here, and even if Professor Nipella specialized in combat... I'd win.
'Professor material, yeah.'
Made sense.
But that was just raw physicals. A weapon you couldn't control was a hazard, nothing more.
"Still got a lot to learn. Plus, I'm curious about academy life."
"In that case..."
Nipella cleared his throat delicately.
"And I wasn't eavesdropping, but... you're a priest of the War God, right...?"
"Yeah."
"Ahem. Priest. I haven't offended you in any way, have I?"
"??"
"If I have, tell me anytime. I'll apologize right away."
"???"
Even the continent's cops were like this?
What the hell had she done?
I swallowed the question rising in my throat and flashed a friendly smile, nodding.
"Of course. I'm grateful to you, Professor."
"Swordsmanship department, magic department... plenty like that. Martial arts departments too. Oh, there's a divine department as well. But..."
"But?"
"It's mostly Light God followers... and they're kinda rigid."
Light God followers?
"The biggest church on the continent is the Light Temple, so it's unavoidable..."
"I get it. The War God only has me as a priest anyway. But divine studies is out—doctrines clash."
"Probably best to apply for the knight track. At your level, topping the class would be easy."
"They do an entrance exam?"
"Yes. Knight applicants get judged mostly on physicals. Written test isn't a big deal."
Oh. Free ride?
"You still need to study. Bomb the written and it's expulsion..."
Impossible.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
"Oh, and separate enrollment fee."
"How much?"
"60 gold."
Six million won?!
"With tuition, around 180 gold a year total. Minimum, too—cafeteria and such pushes it to 200?"
What the hell, so expensive?
"Commoners couldn't afford it."
"Scholarships and aid lighten the load... but yeah, it's a burden. Still, being a Sky Academy cadet opens part-time gigs easy, and parents get subsidies... so factor that in."
"How much for me?"
"As a priest... treated like nobility, so you'd pay more."
Fuck this beggar world.
'My cash now...'
502 gold total, from "treatment fees."
Enough and then some. But losing half stung.
No more easy money like this.
'Ugh, my precious gold...'
Any smart way around it?
"Ah!"
"Something wrong?"
"No, nothing."
I played it cool for Nipella, but my mind was racing.
Perfect idea.
Sucker spotted—time to drain 'em dry!
"Professor. Where's Baron Linehit?"
"Over there, getting treated by Priest Marin first."
"Perfect."
I strode toward Marin and Linehit.
"P-Priest."
"Yeah?"
"Never mind..."
Looked like he wanted to stop me, but gave up quick.
What?
Scared I'd fleece him hard?
'Not wrong.'
Time to squeeze big. Nobles had cash—wouldn't hurt 'em much.
I smirked inwardly and approached Linehit, escorted by knights and mid-treatment.
Linehit squirmed like a kid at the dentist.
"Hold still! Moving disrupts the Divine Power!"
"It tickles! Why won't this damn itch go away...!"
Not just tantrum—he had hives on his forehead, red welts on his scratched wrist.
Probably all over, invisible or not.
'Mana rejection reaction?'
Mana's alien to humans.
It's the energy of Calamity, out to wipe all life—even gods.
Can't be friendly.
'Not weird it'd react... but suddenly?'
Something else.
I eyed his soaked scalp and guessed.
'...Shouldn't have splashed holy water.'
Holy water repels mana. Opposites clash, but doesn't fully protect.
Linehit bore the fallout—and that was the result.
'Gotta keep that secret.'
Tell the truth? No trust, no cash—insta-loss.
Instead...
'Pin the blame.'
I approached with a benevolent smile.
"What's going on?"
"Eek!"
"Hic!"
They freaked at the sight of me.
What the hell? My treatment this bad?
I was legit wronged.
"Why the panic? You hurting somewhere?"
"H-Ha! N-No, nothing! Right, Priest Marin?"
"O-Of course! No issue!"
"Doubt it. Those hives on your forehead look nasty."
Dunno why they dodged me.
But I had a job: collect fees... er, treatment costs!
"Th-This is..."
"Hm, looks serious. Could end up like those skeletons if untreated."
"What?! That bad...?!"
"Yeah. Divine Power rejection, looks like."
Only Marin had been pouring it on.
Linehit glared; Marin waved frantically.
Whatever. I'd hooked 'em.
"Lucky for you, my Divine Power specializes in burning mana—should treat it no problem."
"Then however much—!"
"Costs a pretty penny, though."
I traced a coin shape with my fingers. Linehit nodded vigorously.
'Sweet. Loaded, huh?'
Very satisfying.
I grinned inside and continued.
"I'll treat you. Some erosion, but not tough."
"But..."
"And,"
Key part now. Knew how to reel 'em in.
"No charge. Saving lives is noble work."
"Really?!"
"Instead, I'm enrolling at the academy. Sponsor me for a year."
Linehit's face twisted in dismay.
What? Not biting?
Looked like a loss... but compared to normal fees, still a steal.
"S-Sorry!"
'Turning it down?'
No treatment then? Huh?
"I'm a noble, but just a baron. Sky Academy is... a bit—no, a lot—out of reach."
"? My treatment's hundreds of gold. Better than that."
"Still, uniforms, gear upgrades, tuition, dorms, cafeteria—yearly. And sponsoring under my name means I cover any... incidents you cause..."
Ah, got it.
"Scared I'll cause trouble?"
"N-Not exactly..."
Really?
Was I the troublemaker type?
'Yeah, probably.'
Plenty to beat up there.
I conceded.
'Tch. Need another mark.'
"Shame. Full settlement then."
Other nobles around, but low-rank, low-profile.
Didn't know 'em—bad to push.
"Treatment, exam fee... total 400 gold."
"What?! But..."
"Die here, or get dragged off for painful treatment later. That cool? Costs more too."
Linehit bit his trembling lip and bowed his head.
'Still, way cheaper though?'
Trouble risk too much? Politics?
As I pondered seriously, Marin sidled up and whispered.
'Priest... actually, the Karma family covers some costs here. And getting in a count's good books? Not bad deal.'
Ah, why he'd taken it easy.
'But if I just don't cause trouble...'
Still felt like a waste.
I pocketed Linehit's signed check like treasure and scanned around.
Undead-riddled forest, goblin corpses everywhere. No biggie.
'Leave it; it'll purify itself.'
War God's Great Temple was here. War's end and restoration were part of it.
Would bounce back soon. Overflowing purity would help.
"Time to head out."
Finally leaving this forest for civilized society.
Wonder what it'd be like? Flush toilets, right?
My heart pounded with excitement. Sorry, Arcana, but the capital called.
-......
"Oh yeah, forgot you. C'mere."
The shadow—forgot when I'd chucked it—was struggling up a tree.
I yanked it over; it shriveled, eyes wide in terror.
-P-Priest...
"What?"
-Y-You're a priest of the War God..?
"Yeah. So?"
-Heh, heh. You know I always listen well, right, Priest?
"Why the sudden ass-kissing?"
What to do with it?
Blessing residue revealed its true nature.
Not a black mage. A mana beast deluded into thinking it was one.
Never human, and kinda cute—killing felt iffy...
'Can't order purification or something?'
One stab and done?
I mulled it seriously. Honestly, it was cute-ish.
'Summons vanish when summoner dies, right?'
I stared hard.
-W-Why?
"Hey. Black mage or summoned beast? Spill. Decides if you live."
-I-I'm actually that bad guy's summon! Head implanted with 'black mage' idea!! So don't kill me!!
Tricky to deal with.
I tugged the shadow every which way when Professor Nipella approached.
"Oh. Priest."
"Yeah?"
He held something.
"About the black mage bounty."
"Bounty?"
"Yes. 500 gold coins. Tough customer."
Fifty million won?!
Just hunting these? Rich quick.
Even mid-tier black mages weren't hard.
"Ahem. Eyes, Priest."
"Oops, sorry. Love money."
I blinked away the coin shapes.
Nipella checked around, nodded, and asked.
"Bank account?"
"...No."
"...ID?"
"...No."
"Then... let's head to the capital together. You're enrolling anyway—best to prep there."
...Good it was Nipella who clocked my bankless ass.
Wrapped up, we left. Back to camp, pack, done—forest arc over.
I glanced back.
Whoooosh.
Cool wind whistled past crumbled ruins.