Report
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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Chapter 11
Zeke was momentarily taken aback by the drunkard's words.
'He noticed my Healing Factor?'
His pupils constricted and his muscles stiffened in surprise.
But soon, the 'Unyielding Mental Defense' skill activated, allowing him to regain his composure.
"I don't understand what you're talking about."
He didn't know who the man in front of him was.
He thought it was better to pretend ignorance than to speak rashly.
The drunkard smacked his lips, checking if there was any alcohol left, then brushed his hands together.
"Hmm... So you're going to play dumb?"
That's when it happened.
The drunkard suddenly lunged at Zeke.
'An attack?'
Before Zeke could even register the attack, the man's sharp blade came flying towards his face.
Zeke rolled his body and fell under the bed, dodging the blade.
Simultaneously, he kicked up the mattress to block the man's vision.
As he landed on the floor, he reached under the bed and attacked the man's knee.
Thump!
The attack missed as the drunkard leaped into the air.
Zeke crawled further under the bed and kicked the bed frame with his foot.
Clang!
The metal bed frame was launched into the air.
Whoosh!
Zeke rolled his body and moved towards the door, the only exit.
As he got up, he grabbed the claymore he had placed beside him.
Clang!
Zeke was startled as he drew the claymore.
'What's that...?'
He saw the man balancing on the edge of the bed frame, doing a handstand in mid-air as if performing an acrobatic stunt.
The man jumped off in a stable posture, gently pushed the frame with his foot, and returned the bed to its original position.
These were not the movements of an ordinary knight.
Zeke pointed his claymore at the man and spoke.
"Who sent you, assassin?"
It was possible that other direct descendants of the purebloods had deployed this assassin to keep him in check.
The man tilted his head, picking at his ear, as he heard Zeke's words.
"The more I see you, the stranger you seem."
The man didn't answer Zeke's question and slowly approached him.
Zeke quickly closed the distance and struck with a deadly blow.
Whoosh!
It was a strike that combined the acceleration of his quick movement, the power of his deadly blow skill, and the strength of the 'Herculean Strength' skill.
But the man simply reached out and caught Zeke's sword with his fingers.
"Hmm..."
Zeke tried to pull his sword out from between the man's fingers, but it wouldn't budge.
'This is no ordinary assassin.'
Zeke immediately let go of his sword and stepped back.
The man looked at Zeke curiously, examining the claymore stuck between his fingers.
"A Draker retreats and abandons his sword?"
His voice was closer to curiosity than reproach.
Whoosh!
The man twirled his hand, and in an instant, the claymore was in his grasp.
Zeke changed his demeanor and asked the man,
"May I ask who this esteemed individual is?"
With such skill, he was at least a Blue Knight or higher.
Initially, Zeke had assumed he was an assassin disguised as a healer.
However, observing his actions, it seemed he had no intention of killing Zeke.
'If he had intended to kill me, I would already be dead.'
That's how significant the difference in skill was between Zeke and the man.
The man scratched his bushy beard and then threw the claymore he was holding towards Zeke.
Thud!
Zeke lightly caught the heavy claymore.
That's when it happened.
The man who was standing in front of him disappeared.
'Behind?'
In the blink of an eye, the man was behind Zeke.
'With this level of skill, he could be a Red Knight.'
Cold sweat trickled down Zeke's forehead.
The man placed a hand on Zeke's shoulder and said,
"My name is Dexter."
It was a name Zeke had never heard of, even in his previous life.
Dexter whispered to Zeke,
"Kid. If you want to talk to me, come find me at the greenhouse on the west side of the academy."
Leaving those words behind, the man's presence vanished.
Zeke turned around, but as expected, the man was nowhere to be seen.
'Just who is he?'
Beads of cold sweat formed on his back.
It was the first time he had felt such a sense of frustration since his return.
He had only felt this way once before in his previous life.
'This is the first time since my Master.'
Even considering that his current state was far below his abilities in his previous life, Dexter's skill was extraordinary.
As he sheathed his sword, Zeke tried to recall if there was any information from his previous life that matched this man.
'There's nothing that perfectly matches this Dexter fellow.'
Just then, a piece of information flashed through his mind.
'Wait, could it be that person...?'
If his hunch was correct, he could also understand why Andrei was currently at the academy.
Zeke's eyes gleamed.
***
A week had passed since Zeke's encounter with Dexter.
During that time, Zeke acted as if nothing had happened with Dexter.
He didn't even glance towards the western greenhouse, quietly focusing on attending his classes.
During the Basic Dragon Slayer training sessions, he practiced cultivating his ether hall in the Platinum Floor's private training room, only venturing out when he had other classes.
Currently, Zeke was on his way to a large lecture hall to attend a Mana Theory class, one of the few lecture-style classes at the academy.
In the tiered lecture hall, the instructor diligently lectured on the properties of mana and the principles of magic manifestation.
Other students weren't very interested in the theoretical lessons.
After all, what mattered was practical application.
However, Zeke, surprisingly, listened intently to the mana theory lecture, even taking notes.
Other group students who disliked Zeke watched him with curiosity.
'I didn't realize it when I heard it before, but listening again, there's a lot of useful information.'
In his previous life, he had been bullied so much and struggled to keep up with the practical training that he didn't have the time to focus on the theory classes.
After leaving the academy, he learned almost everything through direct, hands-on experience.
He didn't have the opportunity to take systematic theoretical classes.
As he reviewed the systematically organized theory with his ingrained practical experience, things he knew instinctively began to make sense.
'Aha, so that's why if a warrior simply strikes a magic formula being cast by a mage with their shield, they can suffer damage from the backlash.'
Zeke guessed that the instructor wasn't an ordinary mage.
As he expected, the Mana Theory instructor, Paynun, was a former scholarship student from Delfoa's National Magic University, a country known as the birthplace of magic.
However, Paynun himself was exhausted from the atmosphere of the academy, a space for knights, by knights, and of knights.
The reason he, renowned as a genius even at Delfoa Magic University, came to the academy as an instructor was the stable research environment.
That's why Paynun had taken the job as an instructor at the academy, despite the dissuasion of many seniors.
'Sigh... there was a reason why my seniors tried to stop me.'
Since the Mana Theory class was mostly conducted formally, it was absurd to expect enthusiasm from the aspiring knight students.
And following that atmosphere, he too had begun to approach the class mechanically.
But then,
"Professor, I have a question."
Paynun thought he had misheard something.
'Haha, now I'm hearing things.'
But then the voice came again.
"I don't quite understand the mana conversion operation formula you just explained."
Paynun was startled and turned around.
There actually was a student asking a question during class.
Paynun adjusted his glasses and stammered,
"M-Mana conversion operation formula? Which one?"
Zeke clearly and precisely asked about the part he was curious about.
"Aha, this one, you see. You have to adjust the mana constant."
Zeke nodded, understanding Paynun's kind explanation.
Seeing Zeke understand his explanation after just one try, Paynun was impressed.
"D-Do you have any other questions you don't understand?"
At his words, Zeke asked a few more questions.
Paynun was slightly surprised as he listened to Zeke's questions.
'Considering he doesn't know the basic formulas, those are quite in-depth questions?'
Before he knew it, the class was almost entirely filled with questions and answers between Paynun and Zeke.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
The bell rang, signaling the end of the theory class, and the students got up from their seats for the next practical training session.
Zeke only stood up after asking Paynun a few more things he needed.
"W-Wait a moment, student Zeke."
Paynun called out to him, and Zeke turned around.
"If you have any more questions, feel free to come to my office anytime. It's the room at the very end of the second basement floor in the research building."
"Understood, Professor."
Receiving Paynun's affectionate gaze, Zeke left the lecture hall.
"He's full of passion, maybe because he's a young professor."
Zeke wasn't sure if he would have more questions, but he believed that it wouldn't hurt to befriend a mage.
'There's no one as useful as a mage as a colleague.'
Mages were quick with calculations and excellent at adapting to situations, making them flexible and adaptable anywhere.
On the other hand, knights often lacked flexibility because they only trained with swords, and in crisis situations, they often became a burden.
Recalling what he had learned from Paynun, Zeke exited the building.
But there was someone lying on a bench outside in the courtyard.
'That person is...'
As Zeke stepped out of the building, Dexter slowly got up from his spot.
Scratching his bushy beard, he looked at Zeke and said,
"The more I see you, the more interesting you seem, kid."
Zeke addressed Dexter,
"What brings you here, sir?"
Dexter, getting up, said,
"Kid. Didn't you hear what I said back then?"
Zeke looked at him directly and replied,
"Yes, I did."
Dexter looked at Zeke in disbelief.
"Huh... then why didn't you come to the greenhouse?"
Zeke said in a calm voice,
"I was busy with personal training."
At his words, Dexter's jaw dropped.
Then, after a moment, he closed his mouth and seemed lost in thought, before lifting his head and looking at Zeke.
"Is that so."
Suddenly, Dexter's body disappeared.
Even with his combat senses heightened, Zeke missed Dexter's movement.
Then, Dexter, appearing from behind, lightly tapped Zeke's neck.
"Th..."
Damn it.
Zeke couldn't finish his sentence and collapsed.
Dexter took the unconscious Zeke and disappeared somewhere.
***
"Ugh..."
Zeke finally regained consciousness.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw an intense green scent and lush leaves.
Zeke abruptly sat up.
'Was I kidnapped?'
He looked around.
"Where am I?"
He was inside a building made of glass, where countless plants and trees were growing.
"Kid, are you feeling better?"
Turning his head, he saw Dexter watering the plants.
Finishing up, Dexter gulped down a potion mixed with alcohol.
"Ugh!"
A strong smell of alcohol wafted through the air.
Zeke spoke to Dexter,
"Did you kidnap me?"
Dexter put down the watering can and replied,
"Yeah, that's right. Kidnapping."
At his words, Zeke calmly scanned his surroundings.
'There's one escape route at the back, one to the east, and one across from me.'
Instinctively identifying the escape routes first, Zeke slowly started to move his body.
Seeing this, Dexter grinned.
"Why are you trying to escape?"
His figure disappeared again.
Zeke instinctively rolled his body to the side.
"Oh my, but I'm right here."
Dexter appeared on the side Zeke had rolled towards.
Zeke regained his stance, wary of Dexter.
"Just who are you?"
Dexter grinned.
"I'll tell you if you can catch me even once."
Dexter gestured towards Zeke, as if inviting him to try and catch him.
Looking at Dexter, Zeke was actually thinking something else.
'Good. He took the bait.'
Outwardly, he was a thirteen-year-old boy, but inside, he was a seasoned warrior who had gone through all sorts of hardships.
'Dexter is an alias.'
Zeke already knew his true identity.
That's why he deliberately didn't go to the greenhouse and instead led him to come find him.
'His real name is the Gale Knight, Duke Draker.'
Zeke gulped as he looked at him.
'In the past... he was a Black Knight of the Draker clan.'
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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