A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 99

The extraordinary Midterm Exam, in many ways, had finally come to an end. The ultimate victor was Kara, and her team received high marks.

On the other hand, Grace’s team—particularly Sivar—faced evaluations that were inevitably ambiguous.

While consuming the Artifact could be written off as an accident, the other actions were undeniably hazardous.

The aftermath of these events lingered even after the exam concluded, naturally reaching Rod’s ears.

“Let’s see here… Starting with water torture by hanging a student upside down, followed by forced falls, bomb vests, arson, indiscriminate bombing using oil? What is all of this?”

“That is…”

At Rod’s indifferent question, Marlboro hesitated, unsure of what to say, and began gauging the atmosphere.

In the Principal’s Office—specifically, the office in the Main Building—not only Marlboro but also other professors were seated in a row.

Serah, Yi Yeonhwa, Godin, and others—all professors responsible for the class Sivar belonged to—were present.

Marlboro, after glancing around nervously, sighed inwardly and began answering Rod’s question.

The more Marlboro explained, the more Rod’s brow furrowed, and his expression hardened.

“Hah, truly… I’m not sure whether to call this impressive or cunning. And this happened even after granting attack rights?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Creaaak—

Rod leaned back in his chair after hearing Marlboro’s response. The chair tilted smoothly, producing a faint noise.

In that position, Rod stared at the ceiling for a while, lost in thought. His expression was visibly complicated to anyone watching.

The more Rod seemed deep in thought, the more the professors felt their insides burning. Their palms grew damp with nervous sweat.

“…Most incidents can be handled at my level. I can just brush them off with a few words.”

“…”

“But this… This is beyond me. Are there any students who had to visit the hospital due to psychological issues?”

“Well… Yes. Many students reported feeling as though water was entering their noses whenever they drank.”

“A very common aftereffect.”

It was indeed a common aftereffect. But the severity of this particular one was the problem.

Thus, Rod responded with a somewhat sarcastic tone. Not only himself but also numerous professors had experienced such aftereffects.

For instance, the reflexive reaction of flinching when someone placed a hand on their shoulder. This behavior was one such aftereffect.

“If it had been the students who first made a mistake instead of Sivar, I would’ve defended him. After all, while Sivar has caused trouble, he’s rarely harmed anyone directly.”

“…”

“But what is this? This entire mess stemmed from a nonsensical restriction on attack rights. If I had known, I would’ve insisted on final approval during the contract.”

Although Rod was the Academy’s Chancellor, his authority was almost nonexistent. Especially regarding exams, he was practically powerless.

Politically, he was free alongside Rize, but ironically, this freedom prevented him from easily stepping into political matters.

Considering the current volatile state of global affairs, if Rod were to take a side, the situation would spiral out of control.

“Especially this bomb vest incident. If there had been a student from Santia, they wouldn’t just have been intimidated—they would’ve fiercely protested. You all know the state of Santia, don’t you?”

“…Yes. I understand that terrorist activities by the Revolutionary Army are frequent.”

“Good. At least you’re aware. Hmm…”

Rod let out a low groan as he reviewed the report once more. Sivar had caused trouble within just three days of formally enrolling.

Of course, since the exam was beyond Rod’s direct oversight, there was little he could do. But from his perspective, things seemed to have gone awry from the very beginning.

“An Academy founded on the principles of equity and fairness, yet a restriction on attack rights? Ridiculous.”

The root cause, the origin of all this chaos, was undoubtedly the restriction on attack rights. It was meant to promote equity and fairness but ended up shattering both.

Moreover, it didn’t even achieve significant results. Instead of being effective, it only highlighted Sivar’s cunning and genius.

The eccentric acts he committed weren’t something anyone had taught him. It meant he had devised these methods entirely on his own.

And he did so on the spot. Although he had some time, it was practically equivalent to improvisation.

“So that Spirit Beast’s words were true.”

The squirrel, Ratatoskr, had once said that Sivar’s body was so exceptional that he didn’t bother using his brain.

At the time, Rod had dismissed it as a passing comment, but it turned out to be entirely accurate.

“He must’ve set up all sorts of traps while living in the wilderness. To face beasts stronger than himself, he would’ve had to use his wits.”

The reason frail humans could survive in the wild was clear: superior intelligence and endurance.

Even without magic, those two traits alone allowed humans to survive in the wilderness and build civilizations.

The same likely applied to Sivar. While he couldn’t establish a civilization alone, surviving in the wilderness required intelligence.

“At least he didn’t use lightning, did he?”

Judging from the report, it seemed no one had realized Sivar used red mana. He must have minimized its output.

Had he used lightning, they would’ve noticed something unusual about his mana. It was a small relief amidst the chaos.

Of course, that didn’t mean his troubles were resolved. Furthermore, the victims were students closely associated with nobles.

“Even if there’s no formal protest, they’ll at least take note of this.”

In a situation where many were already paying attention to Sivar, his reputation was bound to spread further—albeit in a different sense—after today.

At this point, there was virtually nothing Rod could do. All he could do was focus on damage control.

“…You all will write a written apology. The responsibility will be directed at Delphoi for abusing his authority. The professors who supported him will be held accountable as well.”

“Thank you for your leniency.”

Marlboro and the other professors deeply bowed their heads in gratitude.

It was a situation that could have become far more complicated, but Rod’s mercy allowed them a moment of reprieve.

Of course, that didn’t mean everything was resolved. Numerous unresolved issues still loomed.

“So, how do you plan to handle the Final Exam? I hope this incident serves as a turning point for improvement.”

“The original plan for the Final Exam was an Occupation Battle. Teams would be divided into two, competing to occupy various zones.”

“An Occupation Battle, huh…”

As Marlboro explained, the Occupation Battle involved dividing the teams into two.

Victory was determined by either occupying all zones or holding more zones when the time limit expired.

By design, it was bound to be chaotic, with fortunes shifting based on strategy.

“Will you restrict Sivar’s attack rights again during this exam?”

“Absolutely not. After this incident, other professors won’t dare abuse their authority.”

Initially, the other professors had sided with Delphoi in restricting Sivar’s attack rights.

But when the chaos unfolded, they realized they were in trouble and shifted the blame onto Delphoi.

Delphoi might feel somewhat wronged, but there was nothing he could do. The price of failing at political intrigue had to be paid.

For Marlboro and the other professors, it was a blessing in disguise. This incident would likely result in minimal interference with Sivar moving forward.

Even if interference occurred, it wouldn’t matter—Sivar would just cause trouble again. The moment he did, the blame could be shifted to the interfering party.

“That’s a relief. I hope the Final Exam is well-adjusted.”

“We’ll keep that in mind.”

“Ah, and Godin.”

“Yes?”

Godin widened his eyes slightly in surprise at being called. He hadn’t expected to be singled out.

“You’ll counsel Sivar. Now that he’s officially enrolled, it would raise too many questions if I were to do it myself.”

“Uh… Understood.”

“Good. Is there anything else?”

“No, nothing else.”

“Then return to your respective duties.”

At Rod’s command, the professors stood up one by one and bowed politely.

They then filed out of the room, and Rod watched them leave before turning his attention back to the report.

The report detailed Sivar’s eccentric acts in great detail. The records for just one student spanned over three pages.

“How did he consume the Artifact?”

Though the water torture and bomb vest incidents stood out, the fact that he had digested an Artifact was equally absurd.

How strong was his digestion to process even an Artifact? While Artifacts were fragile by design, it was still shockingly fast.

“At least it was a cheap Artifact.”

The destruction of the Artifact wasn’t a concern. It was a single-use Artifact designed to break anyway.

The real worry was Sivar’s physical condition. Even as a single-use item, an Artifact contained numerous magic circuits.

The fact that he had consumed it was astonishing, but the clean digestion was even more alarming.

“Though Rize is by his side, so he should be fine… At least it didn’t explode.”

Artifacts, being intricately crafted items, carried the risk of exploding under certain conditions.

Of course, Artifacts made for exams were single-use and had an extremely low risk of explosion.

But that was only under conditions of “impact.” They weren’t designed to be dissolved by stomach acid.

“He’s certainly setting an interesting precedent.”

What other eccentric acts would he commit in the future? Rod smirked as he turned to the next page.

This page wasn’t about the exam but rather a report on the Academy’s current state.

“Huh?”

Then, something caught Rod’s eye. It was none other than a section about the Forest of Chaos.

The Forest of Chaos was where Sivar and Ratatoskr used to live. Naturally, it drew his attention.

[Currently, significant changes are occurring in the Forest of Chaos. Numerous beasts and monsters are moving toward the outskirts of the forest, necessitating an investigation.]

[It is presumed that the beasts and monsters being driven out are mostly those who lost in “competition.” This suggests that a top predator within the food chain has likely disappeared…]

“… …”

Rod pressed his fingers firmly against his temples as he stared at the report. He could roughly guess what was going on.

Sivar and Ratatoskr had ruled as the top predators in the Forest of Chaos, especially in its deepest regions.

But with their sudden disappearance, the food chain must have been thrown into chaos. By now, there was probably an uproar over territory disputes.

As a result, the monsters and beasts that lost in competition were being pushed to the outskirts. It seemed inevitable that an investigation team would need to be organized soon.

‘Didn’t they mention that students would also be investigating the outskirts of the Forest of Chaos…?’

A strong premonition struck him that another incident would occur there. Especially because it involved Sivar.

Knock, knock, knock-

[Headmaster. It’s Delphoi. May I come in?]

As Rod skimmed through the report, Delphoi knocked. Even from his voice, it was clear he was nervous.

“Come in.”

Creak-

As soon as Rod gave permission, Delphoi carefully opened the door and stepped inside.

His mismatched bob haircut was still the same, but his expression had lost all confidence.

When Rod told him to take a seat, Delphoi cautiously sat down. His face was tense with anxiety.

“Alright.”

Now, only one thing remained.

“What do you think about this situation?”

It was time to assign responsibility.

*****

Meanwhile, at that moment, Sivar…

“Is it tasty?”

“Yeah.”

“If you want anything else, just say so. Should I get you some ice cream?”

“Chocolate!”

“Chocolate ice cream? Got it.”

Sivar, indifferent to whoever might be losing their mind, was enjoying sweet food from Kara.