A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 91

Sivar, whose attack rights were restricted, was conducting the trial in an unprecedented manner, but the other students were sticking to conventional methods.

They either dug traps and waited in houses with no collected items, secretly followed others to ambush them, or launched direct attacks, and so on.

Most acted within the professors’ expectations, and there were no small number of eliminated participants. Some even entered the mana field only to be eliminated due to poor judgment.

“Phew. Is anyone hurt?”

“I did get a burn on my arm, but I’m fine.”

“Alright. And you?”

“I’m okay too.”

Kara nodded as she checked on her teammates’ conditions. The battle had just ended.

They had entered a house they thought was empty, only to almost fall into a trap, narrowly avoiding danger.

It was fortunate they noticed the scent beforehand; if they had realized it later, not only the team but Kara herself could have been in danger.

“Let’s take a short break here. We’re inside the mana field, so it should be fine.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll keep watch outside to see if anyone’s coming.”

With a brief break granted, the team members each attended to their tasks. Kara watched her teammates.

Even though it was a temporary team, there was something about it—perhaps the formal speech or the sense of distance—that felt off. It was something she’d noticed for a while.

Prejudice stemming from origin and reputation. And lastly, the attitude of elders and those with practical combat experience.

When these factors overlapped, it created an atmosphere that seemed difficult to approach.

‘Well, it doesn’t really matter.’

It’s better than having annoying people cling to her. She preferred having a few close friends over a large group.

Tatar culture also played a role here. Since the barren land claimed so many lives, they avoided forming deep emotional bonds.

Although fewer people died now thanks to monster subjugation and tribal unification, the culture remained deeply ingrained.

Thus, once someone became a friend, they upheld loyalty to the end, and traitors were treated with relentless hostility.

‘Looking at how the academy operates, it feels like loyalty is being shattered.’

The competitive system inevitably fostered such traits, creating an environment ripe for conflict.

Kara preferred to quickly finish trials and move on, but she couldn’t speak for others. Rumor had it that even lovers had split apart.

In truth, it was an inevitable fate of advanced civilization. As civilization grew more complex, so did human relationships.

It’s no wonder she preferred simplicity. The simpler things were, the easier it was to form deep friendships.

Companions who could fight back-to-back with her—or perhaps relationships that went far beyond that.

‘I wonder if I’ll ever fight back-to-back with Sivar. Probably not, right?’

Kara chuckled. Fighting back-to-back implied being at least equal in skill to the other person.

Sivar, though lacking in technique, was physically overwhelming. If he went berserk, he could even overpower Hector.

Of course, one had to consider Hector’s psychological issues, but even so, Sivar was undeniably impressive.

‘Should I ask the Saintess for help too?’

Thinking of physical prowess, Rize came to mind. In terms of physical ability alone, she was comparable to or even superior to Sivar.

If the gap in physical ability was overwhelming, Kara thought, why not enhance her own abilities?

Since Luna was already receiving training from Rize, it wouldn’t hurt to ask for help at least once.

“Ka-Kara!”

“Hmm?”

While lost in thought, one of her teammates called out urgently, snapping Kara back to reality.

“What’s wrong? Is someone coming?”

“Y-Yes!”

“Who?”

“S-Sivar?”

“Sivar?”

Kara’s eyes widened. Why on earth would Sivar be coming here?

But such questions were fleeting as she quickly armed herself. Since Sivar lacked attack rights, other teammates were likely with him.

“B-But he’s alone?”

“What? Alone?”

“Yes. And on his shoulder, is that… a person?”

One teammate, peering out the window, muttered in disbelief, as if doubting what they were seeing.

Kara, having hastily armed herself, stood beside the teammate. The teammate quietly stepped aside.

Looking out the window, Kara immediately understood why her teammate was so flustered.

“…What is that?”

“I-I don’t know?”

Just as the teammate described, Sivar was walking confidently toward them, carrying two people on his shoulder like luggage.

As Kara stood there, bewildered by the absurdity of the situation, Sivar continued walking directly toward them.

Kara wondered if this meant another fight, but she quickly dismissed the thought. After all, Sivar couldn’t attack.

“You all stay here. He probably already knows we’re here.”

“He knows we’re here? How?”

“It’s just a feeling.”

Given how directly he was heading toward them, the likelihood was very high. Kara thought this as she cautiously approached the door.

If necessary, she could launch a preemptive strike, but against someone like Sivar, she’d need to face him head-on first.

Creak—

As Kara carefully opened the door, she came face-to-face with Sivar, who still had two people slung over his shoulder like luggage.

“L-Let me go! Let me go!”

“…”

Upon closer inspection, it was clear the two were different. One was struggling, while the other hung limply as if resigned.

They weren’t Grace or Lee Yeonju, so it seemed he had brought members of another team.

Why? The question lingered in Kara’s mind as Sivar finally spoke.

“Hello.”

“Uh… hello?”

Unlike during survival training, Sivar was now clearly an enemy. But his casual greeting caught Kara off guard, and she instinctively responded.

While Kara was slightly flustered, Sivar unceremoniously dropped the two people he’d been carrying in front of her.

She had been wondering why they were so still, only to notice their hands were tied behind their backs.

“Gift.”

“…Gift? This?”

“Yes.”

With that, Sivar turned and began to leave. Kara alternated between looking at Sivar and the two people on the ground, utterly baffled.

She had no idea what was going on—why he had brought these two to her or what he had been doing.

For now, she needed to deal with the struggling individuals on the ground.

“Kara.”

“Hmm?”

“Gift.”

Whoosh—

At that moment, without even turning around, Sivar threw something toward Kara.

It wasn’t round like a grenade but elongated like a cylinder.

As soon as Kara saw it, she instinctively tried to close her eyes in alarm.

Bang!

But the flash grenade went off before she could react. Sivar had pre-heated it in advance, anticipating this.

“Ah!”

Kara screamed as the flash grenade went off. Her cries prompted her teammates to rush outside.

Kara blinked rapidly, trying to recover. Fortunately, she had slightly closed her eyes, so her recovery didn’t take long.

“A-Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine. But where’s Sivar?”

“O-Over there…”

As Kara barely managed to open her eyes, she looked in the direction her teammate pointed.

Sivar was already running away as if he’d finished his business.

If he was going to run away, why had he thrown a flash grenade at her?

‘…Was he just messing with me?’

That had to be it. Otherwise, he would have thrown a bomb, not a flash grenade, before fleeing.

Moreover, didn’t he call it a ‘gift’ right before throwing it? It doesn’t make sense unless it was a joke.

“What should we do? Should we chase him?”

“Forget it. Just leave him be.”

There’s no benefit in chasing after him. Right now, rest is essential.

As Kara’s vision returned, she looked at the two struggling on the ground. These two were all that remained.

“Let’s check on these two first. We need to understand the situation.”

“Understood.”

The luggage—no, the other students Sivar had brought along. It would be best to start by figuring out what these students had.

Kara brought the two into the house and began searching them thoroughly. Judging by their attire, they seemed to be mages.

“So, Sivar eliminated only the warriors and brought you two along?”

“That’s what I’m saying! We’re not defenseless!”

“Hmm.”

She had obtained better information than expected. While direct attacks were impossible, using terrain features or forcing someone to fall to their death was allowed.

The most malicious method involved using tools for attacks. For instance, there were cases where a grenade was forcibly shoved into someone’s mouth before fleeing.

Whoever taught him such viciousness and ingenuity was unknown. This seemed to be the reason he had survived in the wilderness.

‘Did he eventually get tired of thinking and just rely on brute force?’

That seemed highly likely. With methods like these, there was no reason not to grant him attack rights.

“We’ve told you everything. Are you going to let us live······?”

“Huh? No?”

Rivals must all be eliminated. Saying so, Kara eliminated the two.

In cases of subduing someone, removing their bracelet would suffice. However, unlike survival training, consent from the opponent was required to remove it.

“P-Please! Can’t you spare us just this once?”

“Do you want me to hit you and take it off, or will you take it off yourself?”

“I’m sorry.”

And just like that, the two were eliminated without resistance.

“By the way, I didn’t know such methods existed.”

“Right? Oh, by the way.”

As the lull in conflict settled, Kara looked around at her team members. Currently, there were three team members in total.

Originally, there had been four, but one had temporarily left to scout.

“Where’s the one who went out for reconnaissance?”

“Judging by the fact they haven’t returned yet······”

“I see.”

Well, it couldn’t be helped. The purpose of a reconnaissance team was to risk their lives for scouting.

‘That aside, how did Sivar know our location? Is it because his five senses are unusually sharp?’

The situation was becoming increasingly suspicious in many ways.

*****

Reconnaissance was usually handled by those in the thief class, as their agility allowed for quick escapes.

Given the frequent life-threatening situations, having swift legs was a given.

“L-Let me go! What are you trying to do?!”

However, to Sivar, a master of tracking and someone specialized in hunting itself, such agility was meaningless.

No matter how much they tried to flee, they would inevitably be caught, and they would even fall victim to surprise attacks.

The student currently captured was no exception. They had barely stepped out for reconnaissance when they were caught.

By none other than the wildling standing right in front of them, with eyes as red as blood—Sivar.

“Who’s your team leader?”

“What?”

“Your team leader’s name.”

Sivar asked the subdued thief. Currently, Sivar and the thief were inside a house, with the thief hanging upside down.

Subduing them had been remarkably easy. He had simply followed them from behind, ambushed them, and tightly bound them with a rope.

He had long since grasped the extent to which attack rights could be applied. That’s why he could subdue them in this manner.

“Who’s the team leader? Why should I tell you that? Why not ask for our position while you’re at it?”

“Hmm.”

At the thief’s uncooperative attitude, Sivar glanced around. Conveniently, there was a suitable ‘answer sheet’ nearby.

He then picked up the answer sheet and approached the thief hanging upside down.

The thief could now see what Sivar was holding.

“W-Why water? What are you planning······!”

It was a water container. One of the collected items, vital for quenching thirst and boosting energy.

As Sivar brought the water closer, the thief felt a sense of foreboding. Their instincts screamed that this was extremely dangerous.

“Don’t know?”

Click-

Sivar opened the bottle with a crisp sound as he spoke. The thief swallowed nervously, overwhelmed by the ominous feeling.

They contemplated lying and attempting to escape. But doing so would undoubtedly endanger their team.

“F-Fine! I don’t know! I got separated from my team!”

“You don’t know. Got it.”

Swish-

Sivar then tilted the water bottle toward the hanging thief.

The direction he tilted it was aimed precisely at the thief’s face, specifically their nostrils.

“······W-Wait! What are you doing······!”

As the thief panicked, Sivar spoke.

“Water knows.”

Where he learned this, no one knew.

“The answer.”

It was truly a cunning method.