Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Towards the Academy
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Half a year since returning to the past.
The plains were blanketed in snow, turning stark white. It meant winter had come. No one stirred amid the fierce blizzard whipping through.
Except for one person, Ullan.
He strode forward gripping a razor-sharp axe, heading toward the deep forest beyond the plains.
‘Today’s the day for some work.’
One of the lingering regrets from his past life.
It was the tail end of winter, the predawn hours of the third day before sunrise. A certain “beast” dwelling deep in the forest had raided the village.
Ullan had been out hunting at the time.
The warriors left behind in the village banded together to confront the beast. They barely managed to hold it at bay, but the village was left in ruins.
And in the midst of it all...
Ullan’s brother, Alk, had lost his life.
‘I can’t let big brother die again.’
Alk was his one and only blood kin.
He had to survive, no matter what.
Because he needed to take on the role of tribal chieftain in Ullan’s stead. That way, Ullan could be free of those duties and pursue his goals with peace of mind.
Right after reaching the forest depths...
He deliberately made no effort to hide his presence as he walked.
To provoke it, he smashed trees and rampaged with his axe.
That was when he sensed eyes on him from afar.
A potent malice seeping from that gaze.
He whipped his head around.
Boom! Thud! Boom!
The ground rumbled deafeningly.
A metallic tang of blood drifted on the shuddering wind. Ullan stared dead ahead with unyielding eyes.
It was a colossal beast.
Its bulk rivaled a boulder, crowned with two pairs of horns, six legs propelling it forward.
‘Forest Guardian Spirit, Gthuh.’
An ancient entity that had lived through the ages.
But its current form was a far cry from any guardian spirit.
Eyes brimming with hostility.
Muzzle caked in blood and flesh chunks, as if it had gorged itself greedily. An evil aura wafting from its entire body.
There was a specific name for beasts like this.
‘Magic Beast.’
A Magic Beast was one whose innate mana had gone berserk for some reason—or been devoured by malevolent power.
And there was no restoring a Magic Beast to its original state. The only mercy was to slay it swiftly and end its torment.
The moment he tightened his grip on the axe in silence...
“Grrr! Kraaack!”
With a guttural roar, the beast lunged first.
A thunderous charge. It pulverized every obstacle in its path with its horns, closing the distance to Ullan in a blink.
But Ullan wouldn’t yield so easily.
Like a flying squirrel, he kicked off a tree trunk and vaulted upward. Seizing a horn, he swung his axe without hesitation.
Claaang! Crunch!
Tough. It bit in slightly, but not deep enough. The beast thrashed like a demon, no doubt trying to fling him off.
Yet Ullan held fast.
Clinging to the horn, he yanked the axe free. Then, with a vise-like grip, his eyes blazed crimson.
In that instant...
Wrrrrng!
The axe shuddered violently.
It flushed crimson red in a heartbeat.
‘Spirit.’
A technique reserved for proven warriors. Channel killing intent and fighting spirit to infuse the weapon with inner mental force, bolstering durability and cutting power.
At first glance, it sounded like some extraordinary power, but Spirit was little different from the “mana” known beyond the plains.
In short, the ruddy glow on Ullan’s axe was mana reinforcement—like the mana blades wielded by knights from afar.
‘This’ll do it...’
Enough to rend its hide.
Ullan slammed the scarlet axe down.
Kraaack! Rrrrip!
The leathery skin parted like butter.
The blade tore through flesh and shattered the neck bone in one stroke. Gthuh’s head lolled free from its body.
Utterly severed.
Yet Gthuh refused to die.
“Krahahahaha!”
A grotesque sight: the detached head bellowing. The headless torso bucked wildly to dislodge Ullan once more.
‘Magic Beasts only die when their core is ripped out.’
The engine of their power, the source of their mana.
Locate the core hidden somewhere in the body, excise or pulverize it—and only then does the Magic Beast meet its end.
That was why witches, shamans, or mages were vital against Magic Beasts. Pinpointing the core required sensing mana flows.
Ullan’s approach, however, was different.
No mages needed. No witches or shamans. Just a weapon to slice flesh and splinter bone.
‘Carve until the core pops out.’
With that brutal resolution...
Ullan swung the axe like a maniac.
Splat! Kraunch! Krunch!
A slaughterhouse tableau.
The once-vaunted spirit was reduced to mere meat chunks. Its shrieks and spasms changed nothing.
Not long after...
The Magic Beast lay in hundreds of fragments. Ullan, drenched head to toe in gore, rose to his feet.
“Found it.”
A gruff declaration.
The core lurked in the beast’s fifth leg.
More precisely, buried in the meaty thigh. He wrenched it free, and the Magic Beast went still at once.
‘Now...’
Alk wouldn’t die.
Ullan grinned in satisfaction.
His eyes fell to the core pulsing in his hand.
A vivid red lump of meat, throbbing like a live heart. Without ceremony, Ullan shoved it into his mouth.
And chewed.
Crunch! Chomp chomp!
The ravenous feast began.
Were a mage from beyond the plains to witness this, they’d be dumbfounded nine times out of ten.
A Magic Beast core was a volatile mana clump. Swallowing it raw might yield immense power, but the berserk risk skyrocketed.
‘Fail to tame the rampage, and...’
One of two fates: hemorrhage to death, or succumb to the core and spawn a new Magic Beast.
Insanity, plain and simple.
Ullan, of course, devoured it whole regardless.
Gulp!
As the feast concluded...
Heat surged through his body.
Hiss! Fizzle!
His flesh radiated such fierce warmth that snow melted on sight. The volatile mana inside erupted in frenzy.
Ullan’s face remained a mask.
With seasoned finesse, he crushed the mana.
No fancy tricks—just raw strength slamming it down.
Skin-splitting agony ripped through him, but he endured with stoic calm.
How much time passed?
The frenzied mana, like a bucking colt, finally ebbed. Only after claiming every scrap did Ullan exhale.
“...Hoo.”
His gaze sharpened deeper.
In the past half year, Ullan had hunted nearby Magic Beasts this way, absorbing their cores. His Spirit had grown formidable.
On the cusp of great warrior realm. Beyond the plains, they called it...
‘Master realm.’
A monster beyond mortal limits.
Past-life Ullan touched Master’s threshold at twenty-six. Now, teetering on sixteen’s end, he matched it.
A full decade ahead.
Thanks to relentless training and savvy experience steadily forging his Spirit.
Brief reminiscence over...
Ullan opened his eyes.
“Now, what to do with this mess.”
His stare swept the gore-strewn remains.
Teeth, horns, claws.
Durable stuff, but ill-suited for forging weapons. Useless to warriors.
Shamans were another story.
Mana wielders drooled over Magic Beast scraps.
“Gotta bring it to Ajuh.”
Decision made...
Ullan turned on his heel.
2.
After scrubbing the blood and chunks from his skin, Ullan headed to Ajuh’s hut. As always, seeking her teachings.
‘Learned plenty these past six months.’
Delving into knowledge was uncharted territory for Ullan.
Maybe that’s why—he’d grown hooked on study. Late-blooming zeal fired his eyes.
‘Wonder what today brings.’
He craved lore for Arsen Academy admission. Enter by twenty at latest—that was his private milestone.
Lost in such thoughts...
He reached the hut.
Knock knock!
He rapped, then entered as usual.
But today felt off.
“You’re here, Ullan.”
A grave expression, tone heavy.
Her garb was different too. Draped in massive snake hide. She donned that only for weighty affairs or rites.
He opened his mouth to ask...
“Hm? What’s that?”
Ajuh beat him to it.
Her gaze locked on the teeth and horn he’d brought. He’d planned to gift them anyway, so he offered casually.
“Picked ’em up on the way.”
“No—what’d you find that...?”
Such thick mana aftertaste? Ajuh snatched a tooth. Her eyes flew wide.
“Th-this!”
Small wonder the shock.
First tooth she’d seen with mana residue this potent. The horn screamed no ordinary beast.
All Magic Beasts had grades.
Outsiders’ arbitrary scale, but eerily spot-on—Aju kept them in mind.
One-star to nine.
Higher meant deadlier. Nine-stars were stuff of legends.
‘By that measure, this horn...’
Five-star at minimum.
Beyond the plains, it’d demand knight orders and mage battalions for a slim shot.
“Wh-where’d you get this...?”
“Deep in the forest. Looked primed to hit the tribe, so I handled it early.”
“Solo?”
“Didn’t need backup.”
Ullan shrugged it off.
Ajuh went mute.
Even a mighty shaman like her couldn’t promise victory over a five-star.
Yet he’d soloed it?
Without a mark?
‘Monster of a boy!’
Ajuh trembled.
She’d suspected since his Hero’s Trial passage: no normal lad was he.
‘...This path is best.’
Her eyes glinted.
Silent resolve.
Moments later, she beckoned.
Sit. Ullan obeyed wordlessly. She slid him a crisp envelope.
“Letter?”
“Aye. Request for a recommendation.”
She continued right after.
“Deliver it to Dermore Count.”
“What? A count?”
He twitched at the word.
Noble rank from beyond the plains.
“You mean send me outside...?”
“The time’s right.”
She cut him short, voice firm.
“Head to Arsen Academy, Ullan. I’ve naught left to teach. Seek the knowledge you crave elsewhere.”
Her words barely faded...
Ullan’s eyes flashed.