The Academy’s Barbarian
Chapter 43: What Does That Matter? (1)

Thursday, the first week of March.

It was an unusually chilly morning, possibly due to the rain that had fallen in the early hours; a crowd of around two hundred people gathered at the training ground of the Military Studies Department, both boys and girls with determined faces. They were the freshmen at the Arsene Academy.

"As announced earlier, today we will conduct preliminary rounds to select participants for the mock battle, with the chance to enter the actual competition at stake!"

A resounding shout echoed across the training ground. It was Ethan Arnoff, the professor of the Military Studies Department, with his unique stern face. He calmly explained the schedule for the day, "First, in the morning, we'll hold the preliminary rounds! The participants from each class will compete against each other, and the designated number of individuals will be chosen to proceed."

He paused for a moment, then he glanced at the schedule.

"Next, after lunch. In the afternoon, we'll have a final round to determine the top 10 students who will participate in the mock battle."

The top ten students.

They will earn the qualification to participate in the mock battle, and will be given the opportunity to be invested in by the nobles of their respective countries.

"Lastly, from among the top ten, we will select the strongest student and assign that student as leader. Are there any questions about the content so far?"

No questions were asked. Instead, the atmosphere within the area grew lively.

"The strongest of the top ten?"

"Then the leader is already chosen."

"Of course, it's going to be that barbarian, right?"

"Yeah, the supposed expert?"

Even though the preliminary rounds had not taken place yet, the atmosphere was already anticipating the outcome. It was understandable, considering the recent rumors that had spread.

『Ulan is at the realm of an Expert.』

The source of the rumor was unknown; however, it had spread throughout the academy in no time and was now being accepted as almost factual information.

No, to be precise, the source of the rumor was known.

At least Ethan knew; because he had personally spread the rumor.

‘Or, to me more precisely, he spread a false rumor.’

He did so in accordance with orders from higher-ups — Berge Erkazan, the Head of the Military Studies Department, and even orders directly from the Imperial Military High Command.

To hide Ulan's true strength, to spread rumors with just the right amount of disinformation. The reason for these orders from on high was obvious.

‘Because it would be chaos if the truth came out.’

It was not just nine out of ten times; it was almost certain. Once they found out the truth, chaos would ensue.

As far as statistics went, there were a lot of Experts within the Empire. Even if you considered only the officially tallied numbers, there were as many experts as the gathered number of these freshmen.

‘However, Masters are a different story.’

If an Expert is a tactical weapon capable of shifting the course of a battle, a Master is a strategic weapon that could change the tide of a war.

There was even a saying:

『The number of Masters is directly proportional to the strength of a nation.』

Moreover, in specific circumstances, a Master held greater value than even an Archmage. If such a situation arose and Ulan's status as a Master was revealed…?

‘A fierce competition will undoubtedly start.’

A neutral force, not affiliated with any nation. And if they succeeded in persuading Ulan, more than ten thousand barbarians and the surrounding regions would follow suit.

The Empire did not want this to happen.

So, they were ahead of the game — spreading false information to make sure competitors wouldn't easily learn the truth.

‘Of course, eventually, it will come to light…..’

You can't cover the sky with the palm of your hand.

Someday, the truth will be revealed.

However, even so, it didn't matter. The Empire had decided to do whatever it took to bring Ulan under its influence before that.

"Now, let's quiet down. I haven't finished speaking."

Shaken from his thoughts, Ethan spoke again, "By the way, this time, the selection process has been changed so that students from other departments can also apply. So, if you wish to participate, don't hesitate to apply."

"..............."

Yet, there were no applicants.

It was only natural. The preliminary rounds and mock battles weren't about displaying prowess in their respective specialization; the results were solely determined by combat power.

The training ground was shrouded in silence.

As if Ethan had foreseen the situation, he nonchalantly brought up the main topic, "Now, let's begin the preliminary rounds."

The current time was 10:00 AM.

Once the preliminary rounds for all eight classes were finished, lunchtime would begin. Ethan took out a box filled with magic orbs and spoke, "The battlefield is the entire training grounds. Fight until there are no more than three participants from each class. Those who experienced the Great Brawl know what I mean, right?"

Naturally, they understood; some students smiled slightly.

"By the way, the order has already been decided. Yesterday, the professors in-charge of each class drew lots. The first order will be from Class-2."

As soon as Ethan finished speaking, the students from Class-2 rushed forward — a total of 10 students. Among them, only three would advance to the finals. Meanwhile, Ibella looked at the number ticket and mumbled, "Hmm, we're the last."

"It seems so."

"Professor Miel must have drawn the order well."

Ulan nodded without a word; in fact, the order didn't matter much to him.

As they watched the Class-2 battle unfold, Ibella suddenly spoke up, "Hey, Ulan."

"Hmmm?"

"Who do you think will make it through the preliminaries? I mean, from our class, not Class-2."

"You, me, and Noah."

It was a prompt and firm reply; a response filled with strong conviction.

"What? Noah?"

Ibella, on the other hand, tilted her head with a puzzled look on her face, "But doesn't she have weak stamina?"

"Combat is not about stamina."

"When you say that, you sound incredibly unconvincing somehow…..," Ibella laughed awkwardly.

Ulan, on the other hand, remained serious, "Noah is gifted as a shaman."

It was an indisputable fact. Considering all the shamans he had encountered in his past life, there were few as skilled as Noah.

But what Ulan appreciates most was the speed with which her spells were activated.

‘Shamans are disadvantaged in combat compared to mages.’

There was only one reason for that — the time it took to activate a spell was significantly longer compared to mages. Of course, the reason for this difference remained unclear.

‘But Noah …….’

She completed her spells at a speed faster than casting magic. During the journey from the grasslands to the academy, Ulan had witnessed this spectacle numerous times.

So he stated with certainty, "And with her fair amount of combat experience, she'll definitely pass the preliminary rounds."

"Really? I'm surprised. She doesn't seem that way."

Her turquoise eyes turned to Noah; with a curious gaze.

Meanwhile, around the same time, Noah, who was standing alone in a corner, wrinkled her forehead and made a pudgy face.

'Tsk. I can hear it, you know!?'

The reason she was alone was simple; there were separate seating areas for each department. Sᴇaʀᴄh the N0vᴇlFire(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

As a result, Noah, left by herself, shook her shoulders in exasperation.

'I've even heard that...'

She couldn't let it slide; she would somehow pass with sheer determination!

As she steeled her resolve, she heard Ibella's voice once again in the distance.

"By the way, I'm really surprised."

"About what?"

"Ulan's skill."

"I always thought you were an Advanced-rank knight until now," Ibella said as she turned her face towards Ulan. Clenching her fists tightly, she continued, “I never imagined you could be an Expert.”

It's no surprise she passed out. That's how good an Expert is.

Her eyes twinkled with admiration, and Noah nodded, as if in agreement.

‘Originally, Ulan should be on the brink of reaching the realm of an Expert.’

According to the original story, he becomes an Expert at the age of eighteen. In the present day, however, Ulan became an Expert a year ahead. Of course, it wasn't all that surprising. To some extent, she had anticipated it.

‘Maybe it's because he got Kazan.’

Mark of a Hero, Kazan — the blessing referred to as the greatest scam item; having obtained that, he could understand why Ulan had managed to surpass one year's worth of time.

Just as she was finalizing her speculation, a sudden cry shattered their train of thoughts.

"The next order is for Class-1!"

"All students of Class-1 who wish to participate in the preliminary rounds, gather at the training ground immediately!"

The shouts of Ethan and other professors echoed. Before those words even finished, the surrounding area erupted into chaos.

"Huh? If it's Class 1, then surely..."

"That's the class with Dilia Arpen, right?"

"That's right! Let's go see!"

"Oh, I can't wait to see this."

Dilia Arpen, the Star Witch.

It was a chance to watch the highly anticipated genius mage in action. It was only natural for the students to get excited.

‘Well, I should go watch too.’

It would be her first time seeing it with her own eyes; with a look of anticipation on her face, Noah leapt to her feet.

━━━◇◆◇━━━ Meanwhile, at that moment, the atmosphere at the training ground had become quite tense; the battle hadn't even begun yet, for the formation was already complete.

A tight encirclement formation had been formed with Dilia Arpen at its center, surrounded by nine students.

Upon seeing this scene, students from other departments began to jeer.

"Woah, isn't that a bit much?"

"Do they really want to fight like that?"

"Ugh, it's nauseating, it's nauseating!"

"Does Class-1 only have cowards?"

Taunts and jeers continued to echo.

On the other hand, the students surrounding Dilia didn't bat an eye. They all knew why. They were well aware of how powerful a monster Dilia Arpen was.

And at that moment, suddenly, Ibella burst into laughter, "This kind of reminds me of the specialty test."

It was clear what she was talking about.

She must have been thinking of when Ulan had participated in the Great Brawl; a scene similar to the one unfolding now had occurred back then as well.

"Oh, right. Ulan."

"...........?"

"You're not planning on swallowing any beads this time, are you?"

"I'm not swallowing them this time," a firm and unequivocal denial came as a response.

After swallowing them last time and then having to expel it, he had suffered enough. So this time, he planned to keep the beads safely hidden in a secure location.

"Let the battle begin!"

And at that moment, with the signal, Class-1's Great Brawl began.

The students forming the encirclement formation immediately lunged at the ground without waiting for any orders.

"Don't stop! Keep charging!"

"We can't give her any time to cast spells!"

Faces filled with determination; in an instant, the students were in front of Dilia. And without hesitation, they swung the weapons they held in their hands.

"Kyaaak!"

"What do we do? I can't see anything!"

Perhaps the outcome was quite clear? Short screams could be heard here and there. However, these worries were unfounded.

Crack! Clang! Rumble!

Amidst the cacophony of sound, every weapon that had been hurled towards Dilia shattered, all at once.

"What, what’s happening?!"

"You can't be serious, she's already…..!"

As the students holding broken weapons looked bewildered, voices from their comrades came from behind.

"Everyone, fall back!"

"We're about to cast magic!"

The allied mages had finished their chant; the students who had been encircling Dilia immediately retreated. This was the signal for all sorts of attack magic to rain down on Dilia.

Crash! Boom! Crack!

The ground shook and rumbled noisily.

After a short while, the dust cleared, revealing Dilia, unharmed.

"What the...?"

"What the hell did she do?!"

At this point, even the students who had been watching began to feel a bit unsettled. Even Ibella, who had no experience with magic, widened her eyes in surprise.

Ulan, on the other hand, remained calm; the spell Dilia had cast was one he had seen often in his past life.

〘A Veil of Stars〙

A magic that covers the body with layers of stellar magic power to provide maximum protection.

In other words, it was a type of defensive magic.

However, unlike ordinary defensive magic, its effects were extremely potent. It could block magic of Rank-5 or below and even Intermediate-rank knight's mana sword attacks.

And now, there was no one on the field who could penetrate the veil.

‘It’s Dilia’s victory.’

If she just stood there and endured, she would be pushed out of the ring. When Ulan was thinking like that, Noah also focused her gaze on Dilia with a slightly amazed expression.

‘Ugh, I knew star-constellation magic was a scam after all.’

Magic in this world was categorized into two main types — Elemental magic and Constellation magic.

Elemental magic was further categorized into six elements : Water. Fire. Wind. Earth. Light. Darkness. Constellation magic, on the other hand, was divided into - Sun, Stars, and Moon.

‘6 Elements and 3 Constellations.’

Firstly, Elemental magic refers to the type of magic where mana in the atmosphere is converted into the corresponding attribute, maximizing the potency of the magic.

It's magic that anyone can learn as long as they have basic aptitude, even if they don't have extraordinary talent.

Was that why? More than 99% of mages in this world specialized in Elemental magic.

‘Constellation magic, on the other hand, is different.’

It involved directly absorbing mana from the sun, moon, and stars to utilize magic.

The mana there is much denser and purer than the ambient mana. To put it simply, it's like the difference between a concentrated solution and a diluted one.

So, even if they're of the same rank, Constellation magic has far more power.'

Just looking at 〘A Veil of Stars〙 was evidence of that fact.

Its magic power was comparable to that of a rank-2 'Mana Shield', but its performance was comparable to that of a rank-6 defense magic.

This might lead one to wonder why, if constellation magic is so powerful, everyone doesn't just learn it instead of elemental magic?

The answer was simple — Constellation magic is an innate talent.

It was determined whether you could learn it or not from the moment you were born - whether you are someone who can learn constellation magic or not.

And even among them, Dilia Arpen was—

—she was undoubtedly at the pinnacle of them all.

In other words, the match was set in stone the moment it began.

And at that moment—

—Dilia, who was unresponsive until now, tightly pursed her lips and then something extraordinary happened.

Flash!

A lightning bolt of light engulfed the training ground; as the light faded, all of the students' beads shattered into dust.

"...........!"

In the blink of an eye, the beads turned to dust; not a single exception.

The training ground became deafeningly quiet. Nobody said anything.

Nobody could understand what had just happened, let alone comprehend the situation itself.

"Match, it's over."

At that moment, Dilia opened her mouth; with a dry voice. Hearing this, the professors finally snapped out of their daze.

"W-winner, Dilia Arpen!"

The original plan was to declare the end of the battle when there were only three contestants left.

But this time, it was impossible; because almost simultaneously, all the beads shattered, leaving an overwhelmingly clear result.

Dilia turned to face everyone, her expression impassive and arrogant. Then, suddenly, her expression cracked slightly.

It was because she made eye contact with Ulan.

Visibly embarrassed, Dilia locked eyes with him again and curled her small lips. It said something like this.

‘Work hard.’

Thus, a wordless encouragement was shared as the baton was passed to Class-3. In response, Ulan retorted with a grin, eliciting an even brighter hue upon Dilia's countenance.

"Phew, it's our turn now," Ibella stood up from her seat and stretched.

After the training grounds were cleared, the professors' voices were heard again, "The last turn goes to Class-3!"

"Everyone, gather at the training ground!"

The time had finally come.

Ulan immediately started walking towards the training grounds.

Ibella followed by his side, and Noah, who had been sitting alone in the distance, followed them, albeit begrudgingly.

Eventually, the trio arrived at the heart of the arena.

Was the pouring attention overwhelming? Noah subtly hid behind Ulan as they arrived.

Ibella, on the other hand, strolled around nonchalantly and murmured to herself, "Actually, I kind of expected it, but……."

It turned out just like this.

The training ground was currently divided into two.

Ulan, Ibella, Noah - the three-, and the remaining seven students. Of course, it was a slightly better situation compared to Dilia.

"Ulan, how are you planning to fight?"

"Each to his own," his response, delivered with cool assurance, resonated.

His cool response came.

A battle like this didn't need a plan. Ibella burst into laughter.

"Got it. Then we'll fight freely."

"I, I'll do my best too."

Noah, who had been hiding, revealed her amulet. It was undoubtedly a Curse Tool.

But instead of beads, was it okay to curse the opponent directly? As she thought this randomly—

"The battle begins!"

—a loud shout announced the start of the battle.

Clang! Swish! Clang!

Ibella's blade gleamed as it swiftly found its place in her hand, while Noah also tossed all of the amulets she was holding into the air.

However, in that very moment, an unexpected sight unfolded.

"We surrender," came the words, a concession of defeat echoing forth.

The seven students, heads bowed and countenances etched with surrender, knelt upon the hallowed ground. In the face of this unprecedented situation, the training grounds descended into a hushed stillness.

"What?"

"I can't believe this, it's absurd."

"You're giving up without a fight?"

"These kids nowadays, they don't have any perseverance..."

As the professors' criticisms poured down, the students who surrendered looked at them, "Well, it's obvious we're going to lose."

"What, what?"

"To be honest, how could we possibly defeat a monster who has reached the realm of an Expert in a body as young as mine?"

".........."

The professors were left speechless; common sense dictated that this was a battle with no chance of winning. If they were going to lose anyway, it was much more beneficial to surrender without getting hit.

"The same goes for Ibella Elearde."

"There are rumors that she withstood several bouts against Ulan and that she recently reached the level of a Low-rank knight."

"But still, trying to fight at least once..."

"Ah, I don't know,"

"Anyway, we surrender."

After brushing off the dirt from their bodies, the students left the training ground. In this absurd situation, the professors let out a sigh.

"......Class-3, match over."

"Winner, Ulan. Ibella. Noah."

The preliminary round had ended in the shortest time possible.

With this, Ulan and his coterie advanced onto the final stage.

━━━◇◆◇━━━ After the preliminary rounds came to an end, the professors began to draw up the brackets for the finals. Since the finals were scheduled for the afternoon, it was wise to take advantage of any available time to organize the matchups.

And at that moment, Noah knelt down and sat on the ground. Holding both hands tightly together, she bowed her head in prayer with a sincere expression.

‘Oh God, Buddha, and the Deity of Clichés.’

Recalling all the deities she could think of, she prayed earnestly and fervently.

‘Please, I beg you, just don't let me face one of those Named characters. Please!’

Among the twenty contestants who advanced to the finals, there were four Named characters in total, including Noah. Ulan, Ibella, and Dilia were the others. Each one of them was formidable in their own right. That's why Noah prayed, desperately hoping not to face any of those three!

After a while, the time for the announcement of the results arrived.

"The brackets are complete!"

"Students who have advanced to the finals, please come over here to confirm your opponents!"

After offering her final prayers, Noah slowly opened her tightly shut eyes. Shortly after seeing the brackets for the finals—

"........!"

—her eyes widened in disbelief.

There it was, written like this:

【Noah Darshen】-【Dilia Arpen】

GOD IS DEAD !!!!!!

(End of Chapter. . . . . . . .Thanks for Reading. . . . . . . . . )

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