The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

Knock knock

As soon as the duel started, someone knocked on the door.

I wondered who could be showing up now, and when I opened it, I found an unexpected visitor.

It was Shaara Prigia, a student smaller than Atlas, which was a rare sight.

“Russell, do you…”

Prigia started to talk to Lucia but suddenly stopped.

“…Never mind.”

“…What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing. I’m sorry for barging in all of a sudden.”

Prigia quickly closed the door and left.

‘What was that about…?’

I couldn’t understand why she came. It’s clear she went out of her way to come here to say something, but I had no clue what it was.

After the uninvited guest left, Amy, who had been watching the hologram, hurriedly stood up.

“Um… I’ll go out for a bit…!!”

“Amy?? Where are you going!”

“Um… T-to the… bathroom!!”

Looking like she was flustered even after saying it, Amy’s face turned red.

“I’ll be back quickly!”

————————————

Amy chased after Prigia.

Though they hadn’t drawn weapons for demon hunting at the academy, she had two handguns from the hunt hidden in her coat now.

– It seems Prigia has been up to something in the Control Room. She looks like she knows something, so let’s find out.

“What have you done…!”

Atlas was acting strange.

River worried that Atlas had been in poor condition from an all-nighter, but Amy knew that couldn’t be right since he was a Master.

Could the superhuman Master really be in bad shape after just one sleepless night? He had been perfectly fine up until morning.

As Amy hurriedly ran, her long blonde hair dragged behind her, threatening to trip her up.

Unlike usual, she was rushing somewhere in a hurry.

“Miss Prigia!”

“Hah… Hah… Transfer student…? What do you want from me when I’m busy?”

As soon as Prigia saw Amy, her face scrunched slightly.

With her angelic face and breathless gasps, several strands of her blonde hair were stuck to her sweaty cheeks, making it quite revealing.

But the expression on her face was the complete opposite.

She was showing Amy her annoyance and disgust without any filter.

That didn’t make Amy shrink back, though.

This was a common occurrence for her as a transfer student living at the academy.

“Did you just come in… Is there something going on in the arena?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ignoring Amy’s comment, Prigia attempted to turn around and dash away again.

Her smaller frame than Atlas’s made it look like she was already out of breath after just a short sprint.

Claiming it was nothing while dragging her scant stamina, Prigia was running—her duality noted by those watching her.

– After running all that way, are you really planning to stay quiet… It’s also suspicious that she backed off after coming all the way to ‘Russell.’

– So, there’s likely a problem tied to family or interests. Since Prigia was submissive to Atlas, she might speak if it connects to him.

“Is it related to Atlas?”

“…!”

Her small shoulders flinched.

“If it involves helping Atlas, I’ll help too. You don’t have to tell me everything, just explain the situation.”

———————————————-

Amy calmed her breath.

The transfer student with tomato-red hair dashed down the hall at a pace unparalleled to Shaara.

When she heard that mention from Prigia, things felt too urgent to consider asking anyone for help.

The classmates she usually bossed around had insufficient trust for such matters, and it would take time to engage the reliable ones.

Unless you’re a student with a title like Malcolm Count, getting direct subordinates from families was forbidden here, which made this moment uncomfortable.

Originally, she planned to ask Lucia Russell about Albion’s whereabouts and request assistance.

She was a definitely loyal ally of Atlas, so Amy was sure she would cooperate if she explained the situation.

But the moment she looked up at her, that thought faded.

Since this was about Atlas, her emotionally charged thoughts clear-headed in an instant.

‘If I tell Russell… a war could break out…’

Albion, who assisted Lemnos, often fought with Russell, even though Lemnos and Russell themselves got along well, Albion frequently picked fights with Russell.

Recently, there had been numerous harsh exchanges between the families known only by the five pillars.

Though they were holding up against internal agreements forbidding disputes among the pillars, what if this ignited a fuse…?

‘If Russell attacks Albion claiming to protect Atlas… this could lead to a war…’

First, I need to confirm the facts.

Yes, I can’t be sure Albion is guilty yet.

I should verify that first before contacting anyone.

If Albion really has pulled something, I won’t hesitate to retaliate.

As a matter of honor, he dared to toy with Atlas.

The VIP Room and Control Room are only five floors apart, so in terms of physical ability, she should reach there quickly.

Rather than stirring up trouble with uncertain stories, I needed to gather accurate information first.

At that moment, someone approached Shaara—it was Amy.

Seeing her, Shaara’s expression soured.

Amy was one of those Atlas often kept close.

Shaara hated that student, who was not only in the same class but could spend nearly the entire day with Atlas.

‘How can a nobody without even a letter of recommendation act so cocky…’

While such thoughts crossed her mind, she couldn’t voice them.

She knew Atlas would absolutely hate that.

But Shaara genuinely despised Amy.

There was no need to put up with something she disliked right in front of her eyes… she tried to ignore her, but Amy said she wanted to help Atlas.

That reminder hinted she might need to explain the situation.

‘Her skills… I don’t know for sure, but as a transfer student, she must do better than average.If it’s for Atlas, she could be more trustworthy than others. Since she has no background, there’s no risk of complications…If anything happens, we can just kick her out.’

If she just did as told, there seemed to be no downside amidst the current situation.

Upon suspecting manipulation, she dashed away at a quick pace.

As Shaara watched her retreating figure, she thought:

“Calling him just ‘Atlas’ without any honorific… how brazen for a transfer student…”

It seemed like someone’s character couldn’t change in just one night.

———————————————

While it was hard to grasp precisely through just the hologram, something invisible was definitely hindering Atlas within this Other Space.

It had formed out of a randomly generated environment, and if there was absolutely no manipulation, I would’ve had to accept that… but I was sure it wasn’t the companion.

– The Other Space of the Special Arena, no matter how random, definitely has ‘patterns.’ If everything were truly random, an Other Space wouldn’t even be viable.

As soon as Amy separated from Prigia, she sprinted towards a specific location.

She had a remarkable understanding of the Special Arena, so it was clear she knew what she was doing.

The Special Arena contained five Control Rooms.

Each of them contributed to the elements of the Other Space, comprising a central unit along with four dimensions: terrain, beings, penalties, and buffs.

The first place Amy headed to was the room for setting creatures.

– A simple elimination method. First, if there’s any manipulation happening in the central control area, the Principal will be the first to notice.

It wasn’t a forest or an open volcanic area; two creatures were all that could be spotted.

It wasn’t buffs or debuffs either. If a Master were affected by a debuff severe enough to make him stagger… the Master’s innate magical resistance should have sparked robustly throughout his body.

Thus, the chances that someone was messing with the creatures were the highest.

“…The door is open.”

– Seems I got it right.

The door to the creature-setting control room stood wide open.

It should normally be locked, but it was wide open without any mechanisms.

As she slowly entered, she saw someone inside.

A handsome guy with blue long hair… it was Zeek Albion.

————————————

“What the… how are you not passing out after inhaling that gas… didn’t it work properly…?”

Zeek Albion was also watching the duel through the hologram in the control room.

Edgar Lemnos was attacking wildly, and Atlas looked like he was struggling but somehow managing to dodge.

With every missed attack from Edgar, Zeek’s fists trembled in frustration.

In one corner of the hologram, a giant plant-type monster was lurking underground—clearly, that monster was the one attacking Atlas.

‘That amulet… right?’– Yeah, it seems to be the talisman for directing the generated creatures…

Casting a glance, Amy noticed a blue talisman stuck to the container emitting the hologram.

Zeek was so focused that even with her entering, he didn’t bother to glance back as he remained fixated on the duel.

– After the creatures are generated, it seems everyone’s settings are being adjusted… If so, removing the talisman may allow things to revert back to their original state.

With Zeek being as unguarded as he was now… a single hit could end it all.

She drew her automatic pistol from its holster with both hands.

– Click!

As the slide pulled back, the cold sound of metal clashing echoed, but Zeek was oblivious as he stared at the hologram.

This was her chance.

“!!!”

– Bang!!!

Amy’s gun flared, aiming at Zeek.