Chapter: 107
“Are they treating Sister Charlotte like a regressor?”
[ Yeah, it seems they’ve made that judgment on their own. ]
As the first round of tests wrapped up and results were about to be announced, Kraush listened intently to the conversation between Mary and Sigrid through the voice relayed from Crimson Garden.
‘True, Charlotte’s recent actions are quite different from before.’
Kraush thought that if the situation were reversed, he would certainly have kept Charlotte in mind. After all, she was the very definition of a variable.
She was indeed the most likely candidate.
“Speaking of which, they said the Arthur there was a fake, right?”
Kraush’s eyes went wide with disbelief. A fake Arthur, huh?
Suddenly, an unfamiliar figure emerged. From Sigrid and Mary’s reactions, it seemed they were oblivious as well.
Was there really someone like that?
‘Is this some other scheme of Arthur’s?’
At that moment, Kraush was plagued with questions. What could Arthur possibly gain from this?
No matter how many variables there were, this seemed far too passive, especially for someone who was supposedly hiding their identity.
With his arms crossed, Kraush took a moment to organize his thoughts.
‘I still can’t figure out what iteration Arthur is in right now.’
Arthur’s previous regression had clearly failed. The version of Arthur Kraush knew could not return from the moment Kraush stole his skills.
The current Arthur was undoubtedly a different person. One who was incredibly cautious and much less aggressive.
‘But can Arthur really be this passive?’
The three women were entirely unaware that Kraush had taken Arthur’s regression away from him. Thus, in their eyes, this was just a careful new approach from Arthur.
But for Kraush, knowing the truth changed everything.
The idea that Arthur would be this passive without any information raised many suspicions in Kraush’s mind.
‘Wait a minute.’
At that moment, Kraush’s pupils began to dilate.
A thought flashed through his mind.
‘…I had assumed the current Arthur only lacked memories from the iterations with me.’
Kraush thought this was the case because he had taken away Arthur’s regression.
So, he concluded that Arthur was missing memories from the runs where they shared experiences.
But what if that wasn’t the case?
What if regression wasn’t about “inheriting” memories for the future self, but rather “possessing” them and returning to the past?
‘The hint lies in Arthur’s mention of memory transmission.’
Kraush pondered how Arthur had facilitated this memory transmission. And the moment he received today’s information, Kraush was convinced.
Arthur had pulled Sigrid, Mary, and Abella into his regression through some means.
Surely, Arthur had found a method to make this happen.
However, Arthur lost his regression to Kraush.
As a result, the Arthur who was supposed to return holding all his memories ended up dying in a world on the brink of destruction.
Then, who exactly was this Arthur in this world?
Is he iteration 8? 6? 5? 2?
Nope.
‘The current Arthur could be…’
Silly to think—he might be the 0th iteration.
The Arthur with memories had died.
An Arthur without continuity of memories would hardly be recognizable as any iteration at all.
Kraush’s face hardened.
He slowly swept his hand through his hair, revealing beads of sweat trickling down his forehead.
This was merely speculation.
After all, he hadn’t seen Arthur in person; it was just a hunch based on the weird circumstances around them.
But as things started lining up, cold sweat began to break out.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had completely erased the existence of Regressor Arthur.
‘Damn it.’
While Kraush didn’t expect much from Arthur, feeling this way was quite complicated.
If this were true, ironically, he himself could be the reason why the three women were able to retain their memories.
They were likely closer to parasites in this whole regression mess.
‘But it’s still just speculation.’
Above all, the important thing right now was figuring out how the current Arthur had enabled the three women to retain their memories.
And then Kraush realized who was likely responsible for the information he had just received.
‘It’s gotta be Abella.’
The one hiding from sight, Abella.
Kraush was convinced that the current Arthur’s actions were undoubtedly linked to Abella.
He figured Mary and Sigrid’s information was also gathered through Abella.
Perhaps this complicated situation had only escalated.
‘…If Arthur sent a fake Arthur to hide his lack of memories from Sigrid and Mary, that would be reasonable, but if Abella figured out that Arthur lacked memories and acted independently…’
Abella’s motivations were simple.
She had an unusual level of possessiveness when it came to Arthur.
Kraush loosened his tie.
If things went sideways, a three-way stand-off among regressors could erupt immediately.
‘Fake Arthur, huh?’
As if on cue, Kraush caught a glimpse of the fake Arthur emerging with Mary.
He was a figure that wasn’t even in his memories.
‘No clue what that guy is up to, but…’
Either way, that guy would likely serve as a key connecting him either to Arthur or Abella.
“Then I should let things remain as they are in their misunderstandings.”
[ Are you sure about that? Haven’t you said they’re regressors too? ]
Kraush had informed her that there were more regressors aside from him before coming to the academy.
Crimson Garden was the most suitable to ask for information since she would least be surprised.
Crimson Garden seemed quite unfazed.
She looked very accustomed to the presence of regressors.
“It’s fine; it’s Sister Charlotte, after all.”
Kraush said nonchalantly.
“And besides, you’ve already got a gist of their intentions, right?”
A shiver ran across Kraush’s lips.
Their plan was to sway him over to take down Charlotte.
How could he not find that amusing?
His memories of their little antics were all too vivid.
“Since they’re already misunderstanding everything, I can make full use of that.”
In the end, they’d be the ones spilling all their secrets.
“Now, I’ll announce the list of successful candidates for the first exam.”
At that moment, the exam supervisor, Kairan, finally announced the list of accepted students.
With a magical display above her head, the names lit up in the air.
Kraush instantly spotted his own name right at the top.
Which was to be expected since his name was emblazoned prominently for all to see.
This proved that they were listed in order of performance.
‘And those names beneath mine…’
He recognized every single one of them.
“My, my name isn’t on here.”
“This is a mistake!”
Voices of disillusionment echoed through the arena as children protested.
All they had done to get this far was touch an Aurora Stone.
They had effectively shown nothing in terms of merit.
Kraush briefly empathized with their frustrations.
He himself had barely scraped by the acceptance line in the past.
‘I enrolled a whole year after this.’
After Alioud attempted assassination with poison, he ended up drinking the poison himself and dying.
Kraush had poured every ounce of effort into training and downing elixirs.
Yet, even then, managing to barely meet the cut line highlighted his terrible aptitude.
‘The Rahlern Academy isn’t exactly a low-level establishment ready to accept everyone.’
This academy focused solely on nurturing people who could effectively combat world encroachment.
Hiring low-quality candidates would only lead to them falling behind in classes.
‘Most of the rejects likely came from families who sent them here to establish connections anyhow.’
Regardless, a considerable number still failed.
Roughly half dropped out, to be exact.
While the children couldn’t understand the reason for their rejection…
Reality was what it was.
They trudged away from the arena training grounds, dejected.
“Now, we will begin the second exam.”
As soon as those words were spoken, the second exam kicked off right away.
As previously stated, the exam required three battles against someone stronger, someone of equal strength, and someone weaker.
However, there was a major catch.
Precisely one person couldn’t match up with either a stronger or an equal opponent.
And that person was none other than Kraush himself.
When it came to aura output, he could confidently say he was the strongest.
Thus, Kraush only had to take the exam once.
And that was the privilege of being number one in the first exam.
From the moment he passed the first exam, his acceptance was essentially guaranteed.
“The second exam will commence against an equal opponent. From now on, instructors will announce names, and you are to proceed to that designated location.”
Perhaps this is why, even as the kids were summoned by instructors, Kraush relaxed and waited.
“I’m heading out!”
With Balak vanishing, an eerie silence surrounded Kraush.
It was no wonder; the only one he was scheduled to face was none other than Mary Diana, who was right beneath him in ranking.
“This is boring.”
At that moment, Kraush recognized a familiar voice.
Turning his head, he saw a woman with black hair and a beauty mark near her eye.
She was Kairan, the infamous Pirate Empress.
“Good to see you, instructor in charge of the entrance exam.”
“Call me Assistant Professor Kairan. I don’t think there’s any way you’ll fail, Kraush.”
“Isn’t that a bit prejudicial to share?”
“Well, you already know it too, right? Although, being a Valheim gives you an edge, I suppose.”
Kraush chuckled softly.
“Even as Valheim, nothing is guaranteed.”
Upon hearing Kraush’s assured statement, Kairan paused for a beat.
She too had heard the rumors that he was the questioning half-hearted Valheim.
“…I apologize.”
It could have touched on a sore spot for him.
So, when Kairan offered her apology, Kraush merely shrugged it off.
“No need to feel sorry.”
He carried a sense of nonchalance.
Kairan studied him.
This level of composure wasn’t typical for a 15-year-old who had just reached adulthood.
Something about him felt seasoned, almost wise beyond his years.
It felt as though he had wisdom independent of his strength.
Caught in her thoughts, Kairan burst forth, “It’s unfortunate that Kraush will only have to face the second exam once. That’s a missed opportunity.”
A glint of mischief danced in her eyes.
She held a dagger shaped like an octopus leg, swirling it playfully.
Despite her seemingly relaxed demeanor, Kraush felt.
‘No openings here.’
There was a stubbornness about her not to have been the one who was initially selected as professor.
Kairan’s aura was firmly established in her territory.
‘So this is how I’m going to give you the first strike.’
Kraush bit back a laugh.
He knew very well how this would unfold.
“Let’s go.”
It seemed he would first have to face the third exam before the second.
*
In the midst of the second exam, while a few had managed to barely defeat their equals and were now catching their breath,
At one corner of the arena, two familiar figures stood facing each other.
“Uh, hey, wait, is that person?”
“The entrance examiner and K-Kraush Valheim?”
The kids spotted the two with expressions of shock.
It was simply hard to fathom that Kraush was facing off against an entrance examiner.
The observers in the arena felt the same, straining to hear over the commotion of the ongoing battles.
“What’s going on with Professor Kairan?”
But the students pieced things together rapidly based on their past encounters with Kairan.
“Who do you think will win?”
“Definitely Professor Kairan. She was originally tailored to be a teacher. She practically begged the principal to allow her to take the assistant position.”
“But we all saw Kraush Valheim break the Aurora Stone, right? No guarantees on the win.”
“Yahaha, I think no matter who wins, it’ll be an entertaining show.”
While whispers circulated among the students, there was one woman who was overwhelmed with discontent.
‘Why is Kairan, that lady, causing a fuss?’
It was none other than Sigrid, who was hoping to see Mary crush Kraush.
At this rate, she feared the possibility of losing her test against Mary.
That guy was infuriating, just like before and now.
How dare he never help her when she needed it!
Sigrid had long grown accustomed to Kraush being the source of her curses.
“Your Highness Sigrid, is there something bothering you?”
“…Nothing at all.”
She immediately masked her expression at the gentle voice that reached her from the side, aiming to maintain her carefully constructed image.
As Sigrid focused on maintaining her image,
Kraush found himself locked in a serious gaze with Kairan.
“You’re welcome to attack whenever. The third test is just about gauging the candidates’ abilities.”
Kairan responded calmly, a knowing smile lifting her lips.
She gripped her dagger tightly, carved like an octopus’ leg, swirling it around like a playful breeze.
In that moment, despite her calm demeanor, Kraush felt a foreboding.
‘There are no openings here.’
It was clear she wasn’t going to be the one to let her guard down.
“You’re now giving me the first move, huh?”
Kraush suppressed a laugh.
He wielded the sword Thunder Blade, drawing it out with determination.
With the empty blade before her, Kairan’s eyes questioned his next action.
Clang!
With a resounding noise, Kraush’s sheath dropped to the ground.
Kairan merely watched him in curiosity.
While that went on, Kraush slowly reeled back.
Simultaneously, he unsheathed Thunder Blade and fitted it perfectly into his empty hands.
A silence fell.
At that moment, all eyes turned toward Kairan.
Flash!
A brief spark danced through the air.
Kairan’s ears perked up at the thunderous sound.
In that moment, she froze.
Kraush had taken on a stance reminiscent of a sword master.
Before the empty blade, a strange energy swept through the vicinity.
All the light around them converged onto Kraush.
It looked as though space itself contorted around him.
Flash!
Another spark crackled.
As it flickered, Kairan’s eyes widened in realization.
The dagger clutched behind Kraush’s back was the Thunder Blade, now gleaming ominously.
The issue was what lay within the confines of that blade.
Wild, dark flames hammered against the inside of the sheath like a tempest.
And that power surged stronger with each passing moment.
Chill!
Goosebumps formed on Kairan’s skin.
Her instincts screamed at her.
That incoming strike was blatantly dangerous.
“Whew.”
With a deep breath, Kraush exhaled, smoke spiraling from his mouth.
With each ounce of strength infused within, Kraush felt his aura intensifying.
Kairan’s hair stood on end.
At that moment, with her grip tightening around her dagger, her instincts compelled her to act.
She needed to deflect that attack—now.
As she thought about it, her body had already lunged forward.
Bam!
As if she were a launching pad, Kairan propelled herself into the air.
In that split second, Kraush’s smile met Kairan’s glimmering eyes.
“Looks like the first attack was made by the assistant professor.”
In reaction to that grin, Kairan bit her lip in annoyance.
She couldn’t believe it.
That cunning new student had outmaneuvered her.
But in defiance of that smile, her dagger shattered Kraush’s kalashnikov blade.
Having gone all out from the very first strike.
Destructive Flame Erosion
Three Styles
Destructive Flame Thunderstrike
‘Isn’t that more like me?’
Boom!
That moment, the arena reverberated, becoming a chaotic mess.
