Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: An Approaching Threat
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Just as the two were sharing that peculiar moment.
At that very same time. In a wasteland near the Empire's front lines, an innumerable horde of monsters was on the march.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Ruuuumble…! Ruuuumble…!
Shaking the very earth, the countless monsters had but one destination.
They were advancing toward the Empire's front lines.
And among those monsters were special beings who exuded a powerful presence. These were individuals who possessed the overwhelming strength to be called 'Apostles'.
—!
As the malevolent thoughts of the monsters tainted the very air with a sinister darkness, at the rear of the horde, a figure walked with a lofty gait.
To any onlooker, their appearance would have been utterly incongruous.
For they had the appearance of 'humans'.
Amid the unbelievable sight of humans among a horde of countless monsters.
Of the two figures, the red-haired man furrowed his brow slightly. Looking to be in his early twenties, he clenched his fist once and shook his head.
“Azazel. I know these are just clones, but do we really have to be this weak? I don't doubt you, but we're on our way to kill the one who will become the cornerstone. Do you really think this much power is enough?”
At his emotional tone, the black-haired woman walking beside him glanced over and burst into laughter.
“Pfft… Considering the grand magic circle that covers the entire Empire, even a clone of this level is cutting it close. Sekhmet, don't be so discontent. Given that the future cornerstone of the Empire is still just a 'cadet', the power our clones possess is more than sufficient.”
The two conversing were none other than two of the ‘Nine Apostles’.
Sekhmet and Azazel.
To advance their long-prepared grand design, they were heading to the Empire in the form of human clones.
And the monster army accompanying them was nothing more than a ‘decoy’ to conceal the clones themselves.
“If you say so, then it must be true. But this human clone is certainly restrictive. I’m amazed humans can live in bodies like this.”
As Sekhmet, who had reluctantly agreed, fiddled with his own body in displeasure, Azazel, in the form of an alluring black-haired woman, let out a smirk.
“You’ll get used to it in a few days. Sometimes, the human form can be surprisingly convenient.”
“...For you, the one who hates humans more than any of us, to say such a thing.”
When Sekhmet retorted in disbelief, Azazel did not reply.
She hated humans more than any other apostle, but she did not deny the ‘existence’ of humans themselves.
“……”
Then, catching sight of the faintly visible imperial walls, Azazel narrowed her eyes.
‘Leteia’s presence is gradually fading.’
Now that even the traces connecting her to Leteia had been severed, Leteia was being relentlessly pursued by the human forces.
Just when it seemed she was building a decent network and accumulating power, it appeared she no longer had the capacity for it. In that case, Azazel couldn't even leave her own traces for Leteia to find.
It was a waste of the time invested to use her as a disposable card, but she wouldn't dwell on it.
“Azazel. We're only supposed to kill the target who will become the cornerstone, but we can't let the humans become overly wary.”
“Yes, I know. We'll just kill the one who'll be the cornerstone and be done with it.”
As Sekhmet spoke a word of caution, Azazel calmly composed herself.
The foundation of their grand design had to be laid properly after this task was completed.
—The death of the human who will become the cornerstone.
Azazel was keenly aware that even this was merely a preparatory stage for initiating their grand design.
…
Amid the great army of monsters, the two apostles, utterly incongruous yet lofty, steadily advanced.
Toward the Empire.
***
Click.
After parting ways with Kalli, I finished dinner and returned straight to my dorm.
…Rustle.
As I slowly undressed, my mind felt refreshed.
I was confident that I had done well on the mid-term evaluation, and my growth was proceeding without a hitch.
Amid the satisfaction of having accomplished what I needed to, I paused for a moment.
“Instructor Kalli and I…”
There had been a strange atmosphere, but I felt things had ended on a rather good note.
Although I couldn't guess why she had suddenly acted so capriciously, I was certain she didn't feel negatively or badly toward me.
In fact, she had approached me so openly that I could even see it as a positive sign.
‘If only Kalli weren't an instructor.’
Could she like me? The thought struck me with great force, but I shook my head.
“No way, that can't be.”
Kalli, who detested romance between cadets, couldn't possibly harbor feelings for me, a cadet, while she was an instructor.
No matter how I thought about it, it was just ridiculous.
In the original story, she was the female character who hadn't fallen for Leonhardt, even though he flirted with every woman he met.
That was ‘Kalli’.
Considering she never became a heroine in the story, despite countless readers commenting and asking why she wasn't, it was safe to say Kalli was an unattainable existence.
‘There's no way someone like her would like me.’
The thought was almost laughable.
I wanted to keep myself from getting too ahead of myself, but after experiencing so many strange things recently, my mind would waver like this.
Swoosh.
As I touched the cheek her hand had brushed, my mood inexplicably lifted.
“Still… you never know.”
I didn't think the possibility was a complete 0%. You never know how things will turn out between a man and a woman. Even if it was Instructor Kalli, before being an instructor, she was undeniably a 'woman'.
So, even if she was an instructor, maybe…
I found myself unconsciously entertaining the idea.
“Dating Kalli…”
It sounded like a dream, but if it could happen, I honestly wouldn't mind.
People as strong as her were incredibly rare in this world, and I already held her in quite high regard.
Wouldn't it put my mind at ease as I navigate this world?
‘It feels like if Kalli were by my side, I'd feel very secure, no matter what crisis arose…’
Picking up a change of clothes and a towel, I shook my head.
Slap. I lightly tapped my cheek and shook my head.
“Snap out of it.”
Click.
Entering the shower, I activated the magic stone first.
Beep.
Swoooosh—
As I stood blankly under the warm stream of water, I felt my mind relax a bit.
“Status Window.”
So I spoke.
*
――――
Name: Han Cheon-seong
Gender: Male (20)
Title: The One Who Advances.
Height · Weight: 178cm · 68kg
Current Continental Influence: 1301
[Your influence has surpassed one thousand, allowing you to take a step closer to the world's truth! The path you must take will be revealed.]
*[All information in the status window will now display additional details!]
*Path to Take [Currently progressing: ‘Escape from Death’]
-[Escape from Death!]
Two of the nine apostles, who possess absolute power, have begun to move. You must first survive this great danger.
―View detailed conditions.
*Stats.
[Strength 16]
[Agility 24]
[Stamina 25]
[Mana 16]
[Luck 5]
*Traits [1]
[Spearmanship Lv.4 Growth Rate - 95%]
(Keyword to reach Trait Level 5: Sacrifice has been fulfilled.)
*Skills [0]
- Spiral Spear [Unacquired] - (Acquisition Rate: 98%)
(Acquisition rate is severely limited due to stats being too low.)
――――
*
Looking over the status window, I saw that the changes were my Continental Influence, and that my Agility and Stamina stats had each increased by 1.
But what I felt most keenly was the trait's growth rate.
‘It's gone up by 8% in the last few days.’
There were six days left until the apostle's clone arrived at the academy. In a few hours, it would be only five.
Despite that, my heart felt relatively light.
“It's fine. At this rate, there's no problem.”
As I swept my hair back, I felt that things were definitely not bad.
In fact, you could say they were going smoothly.
I had been worried that my growth might have slowed because I hadn't increased my training time, but that wasn't the case at all.
The trait was growing steadily.
I was only 5% away from Trait Level 5.
Thinking of 'Sacrifice', the keyword for the next level, it felt like my focus on training with someone rather than alone had paid off.
“First, I need to reach Spearmanship Level 5.”
Although the 98% skill acquisition rate kept bothering me, I reminded myself several times a day of the advice Anastasia had given me.
That to accept the immense power of a skill, one must first prepare a body worthy of it.
“I can do it.”
Steeling my resolve, I checked the 'Path to Take' once more.
*[Escape from Death!]
Two of the nine apostles, who possess absolute power, have begun to move. You must first survive this great danger.
Unlocked Information 1: In 6 days, an apostle's clone will arrive at the academy.
…
Was there something I had missed? As I meticulously reviewed the text one more time, my eyes narrowed.
“The apostle's clone…”
This phrase suddenly bothered me.
The form of an apostle's clone wasn't clearly specified. I remembered a major incident that had occurred in the original story because of this.
The incident where an apostle disguised as a human had surprise-attacked the academy. The power the apostle possessed back then was 'Assimilation'. It was a chilling episode where an apostle transformed into a human they had killed and posed as them, even erasing their unique apostle aura.
That was a story from the distant future, but the thought still unsettled me.
“If they are apostles with absolute power, then maybe…”
Could they also transform into humans? Although the information I had was limited, there was room for such a thought.
The phrase 'arrives at the academy' suggested it.
“If an apostle appeared, they should naturally be subjugated before they could get close. It's strange that one would 'arrive' at the academy.”
It was a complete contradiction.
The academy was a place that nurtured the Empire's core military strength.
The instructors alone included individuals whose power surpassed that of an entire front line.
And yet, an apostle was to casually enter the academy.
I hypothesized the worst-case scenario I could imagine, but strangely, it felt like an established fact.
“Leteia also appeared under the worst-case assumption, after all.”
Beep.
As I turned off the magic stone, my heart sank.
‘Could it be… this time too?’
Will the apostle appear in the worst possible situation I can imagine?