Chapter 14
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Blade Tail
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The first week at the academy was utterly uneventful.
Or rather, the curriculum had been designed that way.
Even the so-called elite students were, at their core, boys and girls leaving home for the first time to enter the academy.
Giving them time to adjust was only natural.
But it wasn’t as if absolutely nothing had happened.
The special class unusually arranged by the principal had caused quite a stir.
In particular, Abel’s name frequently came up in conversations.
It was the same right now.
“Is he really that amazing?”
“Yeah. According to Darin, he mercilessly took down Senior Chloe. And he was riding a Miles-grade Gigant at that.”
“What? Does that even make sense?”
The boys having this conversation directed their gazes toward Abel and Daniel, who were sparring.
It was hard to believe they were the same year—their bout was that intense.
Their swords clashed and parted, each relentlessly probing for openings in the other’s guard.
“Nah, even so, Senior Chloe…”
One of the boys was just starting to voice his skepticism when—
Ta-at—!
Abel’s form blurred for an instant before he shot forward at tremendous speed, driving his elbow into Daniel’s jaw.
The watching cadets’ jaws dropped.
They quickly came to their senses, nodding in awe.
“…Yeah, I can see him taking her down. Makes sense.”
“They’re really the same year?”
At that moment, Abel slightly furrowed his brow.
‘I can hear everything.’
They probably thought they were whispering, but Abel’s sharpened senses caught every word.
It wasn’t the first day or two he’d overheard people talking about him.
The topics were always similar.
It was about how he’d toppled Chloe’s Gigant during the special class.
The rumor had spread and grown embellishments, to the point where now it was said he’d beaten down some senior.
Abel let out a short sigh and turned to Daniel.
“That’s it for today?”
Abel asked Daniel.
Daniel lay sprawled on the training ground floor, breathing raggedly. He looked a mess.
But in response to Abel’s question, Daniel panted out his reply.
“Hoo, haa. No. Hah. One more time.”
With that, he somehow dragged himself to his feet. Considering how he looked like he could pass out any second, it was impressive.
‘That’s talent, too.’
A normal person would have given up after the ninth loss.
‘It’s good for me since I get a proper warmup.’
It had been quite a while since they’d started meeting every dawn for spars like this, at Daniel’s request.
Daniel’s stamina was astonishing, but his swordsmanship had its shortcomings.
Their current head-to-head record stood at 88 wins and 11 losses for Abel.
Daniel lacked in neither talent nor effort, but he’d said he hadn’t been training the sword for all that long.
Meanwhile.
Having caught his breath, Daniel gripped his sword again and charged.
“Here I come!”
He closed the distance swiftly, swinging in a crude arc at Abel’s head.
Ttaak!
It was an utterly straightforward attack path.
Abel tilted his sword at an angle to deflect it upward, then dove into Daniel’s guard, aiming his elbow at the boy’s jaw.
“Urk!”
Daniel hastily retreated.
But he couldn’t keep his balance and staggered badly.
Abel didn’t miss the opening, pressing forward to hook Daniel’s leg and yank.
Daniel resisted for a moment, but soon lost his footing and toppled.
Kudung—!
As Daniel hit the ground, Abel pressed his training sword to the boy’s throat.
Daniel hadn’t even lasted a few exchanges, and frustration washed over his face.
Abel sheathed his sword.
“Done. That’s enough for today.”
“Just one more…!”
“Check the time. You trying to skip breakfast?”
At that, Daniel glanced at the clock on one side of the training ground.
He definitely needed to shower and eat quickly to make it.
“You’re right.”
“Let’s wash up and grab some food.”
While waiting for Daniel to catch his breath and stand, Abel looked into empty space.
It was because the reward for sparring with Daniel every single day without fail had popped up right in front of him.
[Challenge Quest ‘Conduct 100 One-on-One Spars’ has been completed.]
[As reward, ‘Lesser Mana Blessing’ will be granted.]
Mana Blessing.
It was a buff that increased mana growth rate for a set period.
‘Lesser tier should last at least a week.’
A smile tugged at Abel’s lips.
The more mana, the better.
‘If I play it right, I might raise my mana rank within the week.’
After checking the reward, Abel shook his head slightly to dismiss the window.
As he and Daniel went to return their training weapons—
Someone approached them.
Red hair and eyes with a faint reddish glow. Clear signs of the Del Kior bloodline.
“I wondered who was overflowing with energy like an idiot this early in the morning. Of course it’s you.”
Her name was Hena Del Kior. And she was addressing Daniel.
“Hey. You training too?”
“Idiot. I do it every day? Does your memory reset every morning?”
True to her word, Hena was drenched in sweat.
She whipped her head toward Abel.
“Abel. If this idiot keeps bothering you, just ignore him completely. Got it?”
“What…?”
Abel just smiled it off.
Abel, Daniel, and Hena had grown fairly close over the past week.
Close enough to call each other by name.
How had he gotten friendly with someone from a different class? Simple reason.
Hena stamped her attendance at the training ground every day too.
Seeing each other around the same time led to occasional spars, then casual chats.
‘I thought she’d be too prickly to even talk to.’
Surprisingly, once they actually conversed, she wasn’t.
‘She seemed pricklier in the game.’
Something to ponder later.
Then Daniel cut back in.
“Hey, hey. I don’t have the energy for banter. Let’s wash up and eat. Time’s running out.”
“Oh? You’re right.”
Hena, lost in her training, hadn’t noticed the time and startled at the clock.
“Guess I’ll head out first. See you at the cafeteria.”
“Yeah.”
Abel and Daniel parted from Hena and headed straight to the showers.
On the way, Daniel suddenly asked Abel something that had occurred to him.
“You don’t know what today’s special class is about either, right?”
“Special class?”
It clicked a beat late after the question.
There was a separate ‘special class’ after regular lessons today.
Abel shook his head.
“They didn’t say what it’d be.”
“Yeah. Just checking.”
They’d announced the next class topic after the first one, but last time they’d only said it’d be something special without details.
So of course he wouldn’t know…
In truth, Abel did.
It was a class that appeared as an event in the game.
Of course, he couldn’t tell Daniel that, so Abel changed the subject.
“Let’s hurry and shower. Or we’ll skip breakfast and head to class.”
“Y-yeah.”
The two rushed into the showers.
* * *
Regular classes ended, and cadets headed to dorms or elsewhere in small groups.
But these eight cadets were the exception.
“I wanna rest…”
Hena muttered as she trudged along beside him.
Even the usually chatty Daniel nodded silently.
The other five were much the same. Even from different classes, regular classes always ended with physical training.
‘It’s tough.’
Abel, walking a bit behind, felt the fatigue too.
If he didn’t already know what the upcoming special class entailed, he’d have joined the zombie horde up front, shuffling along.
Abel looked ahead at the group.
‘The special class.’
Today’s lesson was for the ‘special class’ only.
Simply put, the special class gathered cadets with outstanding entrance exam scores or exceptional performance in lessons.
Special class cadets took separate special lessons or practicals outside the regular curriculum.
‘In other words, pushing the top cadets even harder.’
Abel summed it up that way and scanned his surroundings.
Closest were Daniel and Hena, with whom he had enough familiarity for casual talk.
On the other hand, Rian and Jun up front—they were mere acquaintances.
They’d nod in passing at most.
Both guys had their own cliques in their classes, so they didn’t mingle much normally.
Next, in the middle: Iolin, May, and Charlotte.
Charlotte was like the female version of Daniel.
Incredibly upbeat and sociable, friends with everyone.
She usually hung with her classmates but chatted often during special class.
She fought hand-to-hand and had impressive talent.
‘If anything, May making special class is the real surprise.’
May hadn’t shone particularly, talent aside.
She’d joined midway, thanks to a recent class performance.
Last Wednesday. During a short test, the instructor said top scorers could rest early.
May took second in class, right behind Abel.
That’s how she’d entered special class.
‘If these eight all grow strong, no worries.’
In fact, all eight here were core game members, without exception.
As Abel mulled this over—
They arrived at a building. Tucked in one corner of the academy, so first time for most.
Other cadets might not even know what it was, but Abel did.
Given today’s lesson content, its purpose was obvious.
“This against it?”
“Yeah.”
Rian up front waved his cadet ID, and Charlotte behind nodded.
Holding the ID to the door sparked a faint glow that faded as it slid open smoothly.
“Whoa.”
They murmured admiration and entered.
The interior was stark white. Clean, no decorations.
A straight path with no branches, so they pressed on without getting lost.
Feeling they’d gone deep inside, a familiar face appeared ahead.
“You’re all here.”
It was Jacqueline, the special class instructor.
Main role in the game: tank. Her signature Protection Formation was one of the best abilities around.
But the special class itself wasn’t tied to her skills.
It was for lessons of a slightly different nature from standard ones.
“Today will be special, as I mentioned before. Follow me.”
Jacqueline confirmed headcount, then turned and led.
They soon reached a door of unmistakably sturdy make.
She held her nameplate to it, and like the entrance, it glowed faintly and parted left and right.
“Wow.”
Abel and the cadets passed through, some gaping in awe.
‘Everything’s oversized wherever you go.’
The interior was vast. Not as big as the entrance ceremony hall, but huge.
Walls, floor, ceiling—all the same material. Abel, who’d once worked in a workshop, recognized it instantly.
‘Coated everything in Tartarium.’
Tartarium. A metal commonly used in Gigant crafting, like Telesium.
Another empire-managed metal, with a simple effect.
‘Insanely tough.’
Far harder than ordinary metals.
No anti-magic properties, so mixed with others, but same for most metals.
Even noble mansions probably didn’t burn through this much Tartarium for a room.
Only possible because the academy had full imperial backing.
His gaze shifted to the center.
Where Jacqueline had stopped.
There stood a massive something covered in black cloth, flanked by several men in uniforms and robes.
“You all entered the academy to become Gigant riders. Correct?”
“Yes!”
“That’s right.”
She turned to face them.
“Becoming a Gigant rider carries many meanings. But the most important is… Gigant riders must fight Gigadeus.”
Gigadeus.
Some cadets’ faces stiffened at the word.
The quick ones probably guessed what lay under that cloth.
Instead of elaborating, Jacqueline nodded to the men at the cloth’s sides.
They seized it and pulled.
Charruk—.
Not ordinary fabric—it made an eerie sound as it was yanked away.
What it had concealed slowly revealed itself.
Glowing red eyes.
Silver metal encasing its entire body.
More machine than organism.
A massive machine modeled after a wolf.
Yet the rising and falling chest with each breath, the fierce gaze—proof it was no mere machine.
Freed from the obscuring cloth, it slowly rose.
Charuk—.
Cold metal sounds grated the ears.
But even stronger was the intense hostility and pressure radiating from it.
“Its name is Blade Tail.”
Beyond its 4-meter frame, three razor-sharp tails swayed.
If those thrashed, they could shred dozens of ordinary humans. It possessed that much power.
“This is the Gigadeus Fragment you’ll face from now on.”
The moment those words hit—
[Challenge Quest ‘Encounter Gigadeus Fragment’ has been completed.]
[As reward, ‘Random Skill Pack’ will be granted.]
A message appeared before Abel.
But instead of checking it, he stared intently at the Blade Tail caged behind bars.
To an ordinary person, even viewing it from afar would make their legs shake—a terrifying monster.
But Abel was no ordinary person.
‘Cool…!’
His eyes sparkled.
The icy metallic shell. Fluid curves belying its rigid image.
Elements that set Abel’s heart ablaze.
“In two weeks, you must unite your strength and defeat it.”
So at Jacqueline’s words, the first emotion to surge in him wasn’t fear, but excitement.