Chapter 75
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Del Modor's Flaw
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Del Modor Academy was the continent's greatest academy, surpassing even the empire itself.
The location where the academy stood could be called the heart of the empire, and its defenses were beyond imagination.
‘But nothing in this world is perfect.’
Abel thought as he ran, squeezing out every last ounce of strength he had.
In the game, the academy—despite its prestige—faced countless dangers unworthy of its reputation.
And it wasn’t just the academy.
Even the empire, which had maintained its position as the continent’s strongest power for decades since the Great War, was the same.
The Glory Wall, which had never been breached before, had been pierced just a few months ago.
And that was only the beginning.
This world was about to enter an era of true chaos.
He couldn’t complain about why it had to happen now, of all times.
‘That’s just how the game is.’
Abel already knew.
If he hadn’t known, he would have been content with the position of Gigant mechanic.
But because he knew the future of this world, he had desperately enrolled in the academy.
He wanted to navigate the coming chaos himself rather than be swept away by it.
Kwaaaang—!
A massive explosion erupted right behind Abel as he ran.
He felt Hena, whose hand he was gripping, flinch, but Abel didn’t stop.
“Just a little further!”
Instead, he encouraged her with a confident voice.
This incident would bring great upheaval to the academy as well.
The fact that such a ferocious monster had been lurking in the academy meant someone had smuggled it in secretly.
‘And the academy’s response was pathetic.’
If their defense systems had been solid, they wouldn’t be running like madmen right now.
It was shameful, considering the academy was teeming with powerhouses who could be called ‘monsters’ themselves.
Of course, that overconfidence stemmed from the belief that an internal attack was impossible.
‘In that sense, this incident could serve as a decent wake-up call.’
There had been some damage, but overall, it was minor.
Hena’s rampage had been suppressed early, and Abel was personally luring the monsters away.
If Abel hadn’t immediately fled with Hena, the outcome would have been obvious.
Even if the monsters were targeting only Hena, casualties would have occurred in the process.
But calculating gains and losses could wait.
If they didn’t overcome this crisis right now, nothing else mattered.
“This way!”
Abel pulled Hena along, running and running. And finally.
Kung—!
A noise rang out from afar, distinctly different from all the previous explosions.
Hena didn’t seem to notice, but Abel’s face brightened as he dashed toward it.
After turning the corner and entering a long corridor.
Kwaaaaang—!
He saw a monster embedded in the wall. And slightly shifting his gaze, there was a Gigant battling the monster.
A small-sized Gigant. A Tito.
He hadn’t given it a second glance since piloting a Miles, but a Gigant was still a Gigant.
The monsters that had threatened Abel and Hena’s lives were scattering like fallen leaves under the Gigant’s fists.
-Fall back!
“Yes!”
Abel squeezed out his last reserves of strength and ran to the Gigant’s rear.
Kung—!
Right after, the Gigant shifted its stance and began swinging its fists indiscriminately at the charging monsters.
“Hoo, ha.”
Only after falling back could Abel finally stop and catch his breath.
His lungs felt like they would burst, and his legs trembled like aspen leaves.
Yet even then, Abel didn’t stop assessing the situation.
‘Incredible.’
He hadn’t realized while fleeing, but there were nearly twenty monsters.
The thought of tripping even once and being surrounded by them sent chills down his spine.
Abel wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and glanced beside him.
“Hena, you okay?”
“Y-yeah.”
Hena nodded with a pale face. Of course, she didn’t look okay at all.
Abel was reasonably confident in his stamina, but Hena was only average.
She was probably in worse shape than him.
‘She must have run for her life.’
The silver lining was that there were no more signs of her rampaging.
Thud, thud, thud—!
Soon after, more Gigants arrived.
Some joined the previous one to deal with the monsters, while the rest charged forward.
Only then could Abel fully relax.
‘It somehow worked out.’
The origin point of the incident wouldn’t need worrying about.
The faculty and staff would have woken up right after Abel fled.
Since most monsters had chased him, any stragglers would be quickly subdued.
With the tension released, Abel slumped against the wall.
Hena silently sat beside him, panting heavily.
“Abel, Hena—!”
A short while later.
A voice calling their names rang out.
It was the signal that the incident was over.
* * *
The academy was turned upside down.
Even after the Glory Wall incident and the unfortunate training mishap, the atmosphere had been tense, but nothing compared to this.
All schedules and events were canceled, and even lectures were fully suspended.
This applied not just to first-years, but to all grades.
The mood was predictably grim, with rumors swirling that the entire semester might be scrapped.
Abel, who knew how things would unfold, wasn’t swept up in the atmosphere, but others were.
“Honestly, I don’t get it.”
Daniel said, arms crossed.
Abel looked up from his book.
“What?”
“The academy getting attacked, and honestly, their response was seriously lacking, right? How does that even make sense?”
They were currently in Abel’s room.
Abel regarded Daniel, who had barged in and started rambling.
“Why doesn’t it?”
“Because… it’s Del Modor?”
It was a woefully inadequate answer to the question, yet at the same time, perfectly understandable.
The name Del Modor carried that much weight.
The academy being attacked was tantamount to one of the empire’s most critical facilities being assaulted.
But instead of agreeing, Abel shook his head.
“I think it was an accident waiting to happen.”
“Why?”
“Because the academy has never been attacked before.”
Abel explained further to Daniel, who still looked puzzled.
“That means their preparations were lax. In short, they got complacent.”
There were plenty of reasons for that complacency.
Abel summarized them briefly.
“First, the academy isn’t an attractive target for attack.”
Most faculty were semi-retired from the front lines, and the cadets weren’t worth the risk.
‘There are no royals, heirs from prestigious families, or key organization successors here.’
Even those from ‘imperial’ noble families were distant from succession and selected purely on merit.
“Even if attacked, there’s little to gain.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because this is a Gigant rider training academy.”
“Ah!”
Daniel nodded as if he finally got it.
As Abel said, Del Modor was an academy for training Gigant riders.
In other words, Gigants were everywhere. The risk was enormous.
‘In fact, this incident must have been a disaster for whoever planned it.’
The monsters chasing Abel and Hena had awakened purely by coincidence.
They were meant for a different purpose, dormant otherwise.
“And finally…”
Abel paused briefly before concluding succinctly.
“An internal attack was utterly unthinkable.”
The biggest reason for the academy’s poor response.
The culprit behind everything was none other than cadet Hena.
Hena, heir to the Del Kior Duchy.
A normal cadet who had no reason or power to attack the academy.
From the academy’s perspective, it was a bolt from the blue.
If Abel hadn’t intervened to prevent escalation, Hena would have faced severe punishment.
Conversely, because Abel had stepped in, she wouldn’t.
“Well, yeah. But who the hell were those attackers?”
“Beats me.”
Abel chimed in casually.
As Daniel’s words indicated, the true cause of the incident had been thoroughly hushed up.
There were several reasons for that.
First, the Del Kior Duke would have personally promised the academy an enormous donation.
Perhaps a separate deal with the imperial family too.
Not just paternal doting—Hena was the duchy’s rightful heir.
‘The monsters’ appearance was fortunate for Hena too.’
Annoying foes at the time, but their presence diverted all attention.
Naturally, the academy was focusing investigations there.
And finally, the academy had reason to let Hena off.
Her power could be a tremendous weapon if used right.
Better to hold the debt over her than punish her and strain ties with the duchy.
Abel racked his brain, then noticed Daniel still leaning against the wall and spoke.
“But seriously, why haven’t you left?”
“Bored. The training grounds are closed anyway.”
“You know the exam isn’t over yet, right?”
“Pfft. No telling when it’ll resume. They’ll let us know a few days ahead.”
Abel shook his head at Daniel’s nonchalant reply.
His whining about the exam’s difficulty was still fresh, yet here he was, utterly carefree.
From Daniel’s view, Abel buried in books during this mess probably seemed weirder.
Abel gave up chasing him out and returned to his book.
What’s done is done.
Focus on what he could do now.
Behind him, Daniel muttered.
“Things are… complicated.”
A heavy tone unlike his usual self.
Soon, Daniel said he was leaving and exited Abel’s room.
Days passed.
Hena had gone for questioning right after the incident and hadn’t returned.
Exams and lectures showed no sign of resuming, and the atmosphere grew even more unsettled.
Rumors spread that the semester might truly end midway.
Then.
Knock knock—.
Someone knocked on Abel’s door.
Abel stood to open it but bent down when he saw a paper envelope slide underneath.
The Klein family crest was stamped on it.
Abel immediately tore it open and read the contents.
The letter was short, so he finished in one go and nodded.
It contained the information he’d requested about the ‘mercenary.’
Abel folded the letter, tucked it into his pocket, and changed into外出 clothes.
‘I need to find a way to slip out somehow.’
He had work to do. Important work.