The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 100

The Black Forest is a place that the Academy can’t control.

Since a school was built nearby, it’s not completely uncontrollable, but the Black Forest, which occupies half of a large island, is home to monsters that humans cannot tame.

If the beasts in the depths took to lurking outside the Black Forest so readily, the Academy would never have been established on this island.

The Black Forest is a dangerous space, but it also has its benefits.

Rare flora and fauna, which are hard to find elsewhere, thrive there, making it a good place to gather materials needed for research.

As one ventures deeper into the Black Forest, the danger increases significantly, but if one plays it right, it’s like a land of gold.

The more one extracts the rare resources in small amounts, the stronger the desire among people to conquer the area around the Black Forest grew, leading to several attempts to explore it.

There were about ten attempts in history, all of which failed: One before the Academy was established, one after it was established, and one where a student, not knowing better, entered deep into the Black Forest and was found with only one arm, among others.

Dozens of hunters, knights, sorcerers, and rangers confident in their monster-hunting skills went in, but either returned dead or came back as shells of their former selves.

The first four failures were purely due to monsters.

Monsters like Basilisks and Ogres seemed as prevalent as Goblins just outside the village, and normal troops couldn’t handle them at all.

Thus, from the fifth attempt on, two ‘Expert-level’ knights capable of defeating Ogres alone were brought along.

Yet, that too ended in failure.

For Expert-level knights, monsters were relatively minor issues.

As they fought off Basilisks and Ogres and ventured deeper, the environment changed drastically, with countless types of bugs and toxins dwelling there.

These bugs bore germs that could cause fevers or diarrhea, or possessed various poisons that could inflict excruciating pain, paralysis, or blood coagulation, leading to thrombosis.

While it might have been paradise for assassins crafting poisons, it certainly wasn’t for the brave hunters charging into the depths of the forest.

They weren’t fools either.

Hunters accustomed to facing such poisonous creatures elsewhere devised solid strategies and entered the forest.

They hired sorcerers capable of using bug-repelling magic.

Bugs are still bugs, no matter how venomous or germ-riddled they are.

The hunters, feeling secure, didn’t realize that within the depths of the Black Forest, plants and monsters existed that emitted magical vibrations, making it hard to sustain spells.

After five more failures, the final expedition, which included an ‘Expert Peak’ swordsman who could repel bugs with concentrated aura, set out, but… that too ended badly.

This time, they didn’t suffer complete annihilation.

About two-thirds of the expedition were killed, with roughly one-third barely managing to return.

The swordsman with the most survivors—Reiner Kruger, then the leader of the ‘Tiger Knights’—came back looking haggard and issued a warning.

“The cost-benefit doesn’t add up. We shouldn’t touch that forest anymore.”

Whispers from the surviving Tiger Knights claimed that in the heart of the Black Forest, there reside unimaginable monsters.

A monster with nine snake heads that endlessly regenerates, the undead beast ‘Hydra’, a fire-breathing two-headed dog known as ‘Orthos’, and the immensely stronger Cyclops compared to an Ogre… legendary monsters were all reportedly protecting their territories within that cramped forest.

It was incomprehensible how those kinds of monsters could exist together on such a small island, within such a mere forest.

Reiner Kruger observed that there was a ‘balance’ maintained within the Black Forest; as long as one didn’t enter, there’d be no issue, so there was really no need to poke around.

Trying to recklessly hunt would culminate in the forest being devastated, ruining the essential resources it provided, making it a poor decision overall.

After that, no one dared to suggest conquering the Black Forest again.

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I slowly reminisced about that time.

My venture into the forest was shortly after joining the Academy.

I had some idea about the Black Forest from the original story.

Indeed, the original description of the Black Forest was as follows.

The forest was black.

The gigantic trees stretching high into the sky blocked the sunlight, making it dark, and the presence of numerous decaying things gave the black earth good soil.

The trees surrounding me soaked up so much moisture, they were also black.

A forest that lured people in with rare resources, only to silently devour them like a monster.

Absorbing light, just like the color black.

I began seriously thinking about searching through the Black Forest because of Shaara Prigia.

I entered the depths of the Black Forest, luring assassins hired by Shaara, and encountered tangled monsters while cleaning them out.

Later, when I kidnapped Shaara and took her deep into the Black Forest, things got worse.

The monsters, drawn to her fragrance that was fresh and sweet after a bath, swarmed at her. I gritted my teeth and hunted them all down.

Shaara’s sweet scent was remarkably tantalizing to the monsters.

Monsters even resembling a two-headed Cerberus surfaced, eager to devour her.

I was overwhelmed with irritation as I slaughtered the seemingly endless onslaught of monsters, until they finally backed off in fear.

I believe that pent-up frustration made me work even harder on Shaara’s training.

Many monsters died that day, to the point where even after Shaara Prigia expelled all kinds of bodily fluids during one night, not a single monster dared to approach her due to the sheer number I had slain.

Later on, when I discovered that the two-headed dog-like creature was the legendary ‘Orthos’, I would only think, “Oh, I see, it was just a fast monster.”

“Was that really the best they could come up with to kill me using such a monster?”

Orthos was annoying, but ultimately just another monster.

It could run fast, breathe fire, and even talk and use magic, but in the end, it was still a monster.

I didn’t even need to use Aura Blade; I vertically split all its heads and drove a stake through its heart.

“Actually, I guess that was a good idea.”

Objectively, it was quite a clever method.

Now, expelling me would be quite a burden.

As it stands, it’s quite difficult to expel me unless I drop out voluntarily.

I heard before that the Commander hinted to the Principal about me, and… at least two of the five heirs support me.

Some might be ambiguous, but two is more than enough.

Being overtly hostile toward me would mean they’d have to isolate themselves—such a thing wouldn’t happen unless they were insane.

Plus, my power is strong enough that physical bullying is out of the question.

That leaves assassination.

Hiring an assassin with Expert-level skills or higher to kill a single student would be an enormous burden for Buckingham, who is merely a professor.

Assassins generally dislike entering the Academy.

So was the plan really to host an event where an incident could conveniently occur, to deal with me quietly?

A remarkably rational thought process.

Although it became less of an issue in the end… if Buckingham’s plan had actually gone through, it would have caused significant harm to other students aside from me.

It was impossible to fend off simultaneous assaults by the monsters inhabiting the depths of the Black Forest without a scratch.

Thinking that way, anger boiled inside me.

“You’re not innocent. You know that, right?”

“Yes…”

The scheme aimed at ruining a hunting festival that should have been safely conducted for selfish reasons is illegal.

Now, while I don’t suspect Buckingham of being linked to demons, even without that, he is still guilty.

However, it made no sense to arrest Buckingham right away.

If I just drag him away, the real culprits will likely sneak off and wait for the next opportunity to strike.

Instead, I’d prefer to use Buckingham as bait to catch them all at once.

“I’ll give you a chance.”

“Y-You mean you’ll give me a chance…?”

Haggard-looking Buckingham’s eyes lit up at the offer.

“Help capture those who whispered to you like a serpent’s tongue, those who sought to plunge the Empire into chaos. Prove your worth.”

“Yes… Yes!!! I’ll definitely live up to the expectations!!”

Buckingham resolved to secretly deal with this situation in exchange for preserving his social standing by selling out those behind it.

To Buckingham, who values his social status above all, the mere hint of scandal was a fatal wound.

“Well then, let’s keep in touch through this. Report in detail.”

I handed him a piece of high-quality contact parchment I had purchased personally.

Buckingham accepted it eagerly, as if it were his lifeline.

“Remember, the Empire does not forget betrayers.”

“I won’t have any foolish thoughts…!!”

I was giving him a chance.

Instead of going to prison, he would have the opportunity to be endlessly exploited for the sake of the Empire’s peace.

Buckingham might think that once this incident is over, everything would be fine, but his crime runs deeper than he realizes.

Unless those who sought to disrupt the Empire cease to exist, his work will never end.

I needed a slave… No, a subordinate capable of wielding magic.