A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

Chapter 189

Luna realized one thing while watching the sparring between Rod and Sivar.

Smack!

"Ack!"

"This spot is open."

Even if physical abilities are similar, if there's a difference in technique, it will inevitably lead to an overwhelming loss.

Currently, Rod was sparring with Sivar as part of his strength control training, but it was essentially just going easy on him.

While Sivar was floundering around, unable to control his strength, Rod was doing only what was necessary.

The difference between clean and precise movements and overly excessive, almost savage actions.

While Sivar's situation had to be considered, there was no denying that Rod's skills were overwhelming.

'He really is strong.'

Rod hadn't even fully recovered yet. Yet, he was playing around with Sivar.

How strong would he be once he completely recovers? Even if Sivar and Kara teamed up, they likely wouldn't win.

As for herself... She's still growing steadily, so she'll let it slide. It's just that the monsters around her make it seem that way; she's by no means weak.

'This is reasonable... Right?'

She believed so. Once school starts, she plans to check from her classmates first.

Of course, if there's a difference in technique, physical abilities won't matter much. This was confusing in its own way.

Was physical ability important, or was technique more important? Luna's head became cluttered.

'I'll just have to work hard.'

She consistently practiced the training method she received from Rezero and learned techniques from Kara and Rod.

That was the only thing she could do for now. But Luna felt a bit uneasy.

Could she really fight demons like this? Would she be able to handle it well if demons attacked?

She didn't know how strong demons were. Still, the fact that they were enemies she couldn't let her guard down against remained unchanged.

'I should ask Sivar. And then...'

She also planned to tell him about the matter with her eyes. It was a significant decision on her part.

There were also a few reasons. The first was her connection with Sivar.

For some reason, her eyes became like this after Sivar fell ill. It must be related to him.

The second was that they were practically in the same boat. He knows the future, and she is scurrying around to prepare for it.

Eventually, as time passes, they would share their secrets, so it seemed better to confess now.

Lastly, it was Sivar's abnormal faith. It's to the point where it goes beyond favor and reaches the level of being loved by Chaos.

While Chaos shows a somewhat eccentric side, he's not an evil god. He just enjoys pranks and has a mischievous nature.

'He won't get involved in anything bad, right?'

Although Sivar caused all sorts of incidents, people like Rod didn't hate him at all.

It's similar to how a cat might knock a water bottle off a table.

Even if he causes trouble, his essence is good. Luna understood this well.

'But it wasn't like that in the dream...'

Still, she felt a bit uneasy. The dream where Sivar was going around massacring people.

What on earth turned him into a mass murderer? And what happened to the others?

That thought lingered, but she had already made her decision long ago. Since it had come to this, she might as well fully board the same boat.

"That's it for today. Good work. You'll soon be able to control your strength."

"Thank you."

"Haha. Sure."

It seemed the sparring had just ended. Luna turned her head in that direction.

She saw Sivar bowing his waist politely and Rod smiling kindly.

It felt like watching a grandfather and grandson sparring with each other and exchanging greetings. The atmosphere was heartwarming.

'If Sivar ends up like that... the Headmaster or the Saint will stop him, right?'

Strong power is subdued by an even stronger power. It's the most effective and efficient method.

If Sivar becomes a mass murderer, those two will desperately stop him. Luna believed so.

When Sivar was about to head inside, Luna also followed him.

"Where are you going?"

"Huh?"

"You should spar as well."

Then Rod called out to Luna. She hesitated for a moment.

Should she spar with Rod now, or follow Sivar to talk privately?

She thought briefly but made her decision quickly. There was still plenty of time.

So Luna nodded and readily accepted. She might as well make the most of it.

"Please take care of me."

"Alright."

Sparring with Rod was very fruitful. Considering that it was the teaching of the Sword Saint himself, it would be strange if it weren't.

Moreover, isn't Rod walking the same path as her?

While not to the extent of being in the same boat as Sivar, he was a reliable ally.

Smack!

"Here's an opening."

"Ack!"

"Your abdomen is often exposed. Take note of it."

"Y-Yes..."

Of course, apart from that, the sparring process was grueling. In his eyes, she must have been full of openings.

Still, she had a certain talent, so she could fix it immediately. Rod was impressed by this point as well.

"Every time I watch, I'm amazed. How can you absorb everything you're taught?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure?"

"I look forward to your future. Anyway, that's it for today's sparring. Good work."

"Thank you."

The long yet short sparring session ended. Luna bowed her waist politely, just as Sivar had done earlier.

Rod also smiled warmly and placed the wooden sword on the ground. He seemed to be taking a break.

Then Luna raised her head and was about to wipe her sweat.

[You have had an excellent sparring! Agility and stamina have increased!]

"Huh?"

Luna was greatly surprised by the sudden appearance of a message.

At first, she wondered what it was. That her agility increased through sparring?

She was flabbergasted but soon activated her status window. By now, she was used to it.

[Luna Estelle]

•Strength: 72

•Agility: 92

•Stamina: 94

•Mana: 85

•Luck: 54

•Faith: ??

As the message indicated, her agility and stamina had increased. Luna blinked.

It was surprising that her physical abilities had increased just from sparring, but a likely cause came to mind.

It was Rod, revered as the Sword Saint. Even a light sparring session was bound to be incredibly enriching.

'...But I can't really feel it.'

Since the stats had increased slightly, she couldn't feel it distinctly. She figured she'd sense it gradually.

Still, just seeing that she had grown made her feel good. Luna hummed a tune as she went inside.

Inside, Sivar was sitting on the sofa. Eating the food on the table was a bonus.

"Sivar."

"Mm?"

When she called his name, Sivar turned around.

His cheeks were puffed up like a hamster, and there were bread crumbs around his mouth.

His appetite was impressive. Luna chuckled at the sight and spoke quietly.

"I have something to talk about. Can you follow me? It's something we need to discuss privately."

"Munch munch. Sure?"

"It's not urgent, but there aren't many opportunities. So, will you come?"

"Yeah."

Sivar stuffed the remaining bread into his mouth and stood up. Luna began to walk as soon as he stood.

She didn't forget to bring her notebook and pen for a more detailed explanation.

"I'll step out for a moment."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to go find some herbs."

At the perfect timing, Rod had also left. For Luna, it was an excellent opportunity.

Still, you never know. Someone might come looking in the middle of it.

With this in mind, she headed to the backyard. A yard so vast it was almost like a clearing.

Luna looked around and glanced at Sivar. He still hadn't finished eating his bread and was chewing slowly.

"The reason I called you here is simple. We're now in the same boat, aren't we?"

"In the same boat?"

"Well... It means we're working on the same thing. You know the future, that future is connected to the demon, and I'm going to stop it. Do you get what I mean?"

"Yeah."

Sivar nodded. Fortunately, he seemed to understand, given his sharp mind.

However, when it was time to speak, her words didn't come easily. She even felt like showing him the message window to make her point clearer.

That would help him understand better. She hesitated for a moment before finally speaking with difficulty.

"Actually... there's something I need to tell you. Do you remember the problem with my eye last time?"

"The blood tears?"

"That's part of it, but since then, something strange has been happening with my eye. Hold on."

Luna began writing something in the notebook she had brought.

What she wrote was the message window she had seen earlier. She didn't know what else to call it, so she just named it that for now.

"This."

"......?"

When Luna showed him the notebook, Sivar blinked a couple of times. He even tilted his head slightly.

His reaction was clearly one of confusion. Judging by his slightly widened eyes, he seemed a bit surprised too.

"It's not just this. When I evaluate certain items, their information also appears. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure?"

"After you got sick, something happened to my eye, and this started happening. Evaluating items was something I could already do, but this is new."

"... ..."

While Luna explained, Sivar stared at the notes in the notebook. He seemed to be in deep thought.

"You're listening to me, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good. This might be a bit far-fetched, but I had this thought that it might be connected to you. If not, it could be because of the artificial eye."

"Hmm..."

"The reason I'm telling you this is simple. Since we're in the same boat, there's no harm in sharing secrets, right? Especially since I know your secret too."

For once, Luna explained logically, which was unlike her. It was probably because this was such a serious matter.

From Luna's perspective, she also wanted Sivar to fight against the demon. Although he was already helping enough, keeping him close was crucial.

Otherwise, the situation from her dream felt like it might come true. That lingering anxiety stirred in her chest.

"Now that I've shared my secret, I hope you'll trust me. It's fine if you don't. Do you have any questions?"

"This. Can it work on others too?"

"You mean can I see others' things? Yes, I can."

"Even mine?"

"I can see it, but..."

Luna trailed off. There was no problem looking at other people's, even Rod's.

But Sivar was different. The moment she tried, her eye felt overwhelmed.

The last time, it even caused her to shed blood tears. Luna hesitated for a moment and decided to tell the truth.

"It's strange, but you're difficult. Remember the blood tears I shed? That was because of you."

"So, did you see it?"

"Yeah. Roughly, your strength was this much... Faith was over 300, I think?"

Luna wrote down what she remembered in her notebook. She recalled everything being exceptionally high.

Eventually, she showed Sivar what she had jotted down. He stared blankly at his stats.

For reference, Luna's stats were also written in the notebook, naturally leading to a comparison.

"Luna."

"Yeah."

"You're still weak."

"... ..."

Luna's eye twitched. It felt like he had pressed a button.

It was true that she was weaker than Sivar, but hearing it so bluntly hurt her feelings.

If Luna had been calmer, she would have questioned Sivar's use of the word 'still.'

However, she couldn't think that far. She suppressed her surging emotions and spoke as calmly as she could.

"... I know. Kara Unnie has mostly reached the 120 range. But that means you and Kara Unnie are strong, not that I'm weak."

"Hang in there."

"... ..."

She wanted to smack him. Especially with that expression.

A gaze both wistful and pitiful, as if saying she'd face countless hardships.

It was amazing that Sivar could even make such a face. Still, it was infuriating.

Luna took a deep breath to calm her anger. Then, she quietly opened her mouth.

"Anyway! That's all I wanted to say. Do you have any other questions?"

"Not yet?"

"Alright. Thanks for listening."

Swish-

Luna extended her hand. It was a handshake offer.

Sivar looked at her outstretched hand, then shifted his gaze to her face.

Seeing this, Luna chuckled. Each of his little actions felt somehow endearing.

"It's a handshake. Like you did last time."

"Yeah."

"I look forward to working with you."

Sivar grasped Luna's hand and shook it up and down.

Unlike back then, when he failed to control his strength, this time, he was perfectly calm.

This made it really feel like they were in the same boat. Luna felt a peculiar emotion.

'At this point, I have no choice but to grow stronger.'

With the handshake done, Luna headed back inside with Sivar.

They planned to rest for a bit before returning to their respective dormitories. They had nothing else to do anyway.

Knock knock knock-

[Excuse me. Is anyone inside?]

Someone came knocking at that moment. Following the knock was a voice.

It was Grace's voice. Luna rose from her seat, puzzled by Grace's sudden visit.

Creak-

"Ah. Ms. Luna."

"Hello. The headmaster isn't here right now."

"I didn't come looking for the headmaster. I'm here to see you, Ms. Luna."

"Me?"

"Yes."

Grace's expression was serious, to the point her sharp eyes made her seem a bit intimidating.

Whatever the reason, it seemed best to let her in. Grace glanced at Luna briefly before stepping inside.

Once inside, she happened to encounter Sivar, who was zoning out on the sofa.

Grace greeted Sivar briefly before turning to Luna with a serious expression.

She seemed to have something weighing on her mind. Luna couldn't understand her reaction at all.

"Just in time, Mr. Sivar is here too. I had something I wanted to ask both of you."

"What is it?"

"You probably already know. There's a chance Mr. Sivar will have to share the same dormitory as me as my bodyguard."

That was already well known. Things were chaotic back then.

Grace, who was about to pull off a fraudulent contract, and Sivar, who exposed it.

Luna had completely forgotten about it since it wasn't a matter of much interest to her.

"Today, I went to the administrative office to get approval. But for some reason, I found out that Mr. Sivar had penalty points assigned to him."

"Penalty points?"

"Yes."

"Sivar has caused quite a lot of trouble."

It wasn't unusual for Sivar to have many penalty points. He just managed to clear them all through exams.

However, that didn't seem to be the issue. Grace shook her head in denial.

"That's not it. There was a penalty point record that absolutely shouldn't exist."

"A record that shouldn't exist?"

"Yes. Because of this, cohabitation may essentially become impossible."

"What exactly is it?"

She became a bit curious. What on earth could make cohabitation impossible?

Moreover, Grace is from the Duke's Family. With her background, accommodations should have been made, but it was flatly rejected.

Grace alternated her gaze between Luna and Sivar with a complex expression before letting out a deep sigh.

Then, in a subdued and low voice, she asked.

"It might be an intrusive question... Ms. Luna."

"Yes. Please go ahead."

"Have you, by any chance, ever slept with Mr. Sivar? In the same dormitory?"

Luna's answer to that was very concise.

"Yes. At the Freshman Banquet."

"Ah..."

And then Grace.

"We're screwed."

She cursed refreshingly.