The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 11

As I made my way to the empty lot, I quickly noticed that bugs were crawling all over the roadside.

Charles, who had just lost the duel, was probably thinking nothing but wanting to charge at me and stab my back, but he held back because there were too many witnesses.

Without needing to investigate deeply, it was clear that Charles was up to something. He didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding it since he was blabbing about it everywhere.

“Seymour went down the other way. He won’t come this way.”

Flustered from the sparring, River Seymour headed down the opposite path.

It would take a bit longer, but at River’s speed, he would soon reach the dormitory. There would be no reason for him to return by this route again.

“Geez… What the hell, isn’t that a dwarf? There are dwarves living in the academy?”

“There are all sorts of living beings in the Deep Forest… Or maybe they’re working at the academy?”

Crack!

When those trashy guys pointed at me and mentioned my height, blood rushed to my head.

A dwarf?

Do they not even see me as human now?

‘Once.’

I felt extremely unpleasant, but this was tolerable for now.

A counter stacked up in my mind.

“Hey, you beasts! Just because you lost in a 1v1 duel doesn’t mean you can swarm me. Are you guys not ashamed?”

“Hah!! If we fought fairly, I’d never lose! That girl cheated! Thus, the duel is invalid, and I demand a proper rematch.”

“What cheat? Moving faster than you and attacking sharper is cheating? You should be embarrassed for losing and sharpen that sword of yours!”

“You dwarf, what do you know about the duel between knights when you can’t even properly wield a longsword!”

‘Twice.’

Alright, I can still hold back.

But if it happens one more time, I will kill them.

Still, since they came from a noble family, I could just give River a proper thrashing so he doesn’t get any strange ideas again.

This should not escalate into anything serious.

However, Charles was a man who didn’t realize how precious life was.

“Hey, dwarf, do you know who I am?”

‘Three.’

Bam!

Before I knew it, my fist had buried itself in Charles’ face.

“Gkkk!!!”

Charles, whose face was smashed like a cannonball hit, fell backward.

“What… what the hell are you doing!!!”

His once decently tolerable face was now a mess, with a broken nose and blood gushing everywhere.

“I can’t let you guys…”

I heard something snap in my head.

I thought I was holding myself back pretty well, but this was too much now.

“Just die.”

——————————————-

Atlas would take care of the aftermath, no doubt.

For now, let’s educate these ill-mannered punks.

That thought consumed my mind completely.

“How dare you ambush me…”

Ignoring the blood gushing from his nose, Charles jumped up and drew the longsword he had at his waist.

“You guys, grab that guy first!!”

“Ugh, I don’t really like men.”

“Now’s not the time for that!!”

The thug lazily standing next to Charles, also a new student recommended for admission, Eddie, drew his sword, and a soft glow sparkled along the blade.

A technique that enhances swords with mana… Aura Blade.

He also had skills that barely reached the beginner level of a Sword Expert, having received an A in practical tests.

Since he had close ties to Charles’ family, he was treating this request merely as a fun distraction.

“Not a technique I honed to use against dwarves, but…”

As if showing off his Aura Blade, he effortlessly sliced through the nearest tree, cutting a thick oak in one swift motion.

“I’ll finish you off with just one arm!”

The power of his Aura Blade, slicing like a butter log, swung toward Atlas.

Even if he tried to defend himself, he would simply be cut with the same Aura Blade; if he didn’t defend, he would be cleanly split in half, like the oak.

With such an attack headed his way, Atlas merely waited with his longsword pointed toward the ground, just like during the sparring.

His still posture, holding the longsword down, resembled a snake waiting for its prey.

As soon as the hand wielding the Aura Blade invaded his ‘territory’, Atlas swiftly raised the longsword.

Rustle!

Something floated briefly in the air.

No one watching could tell if it was Atlas’s mass or the thug’s mass.

The mass that had briefly floated in the air fell to the ground, revealing who its owner was.

“Ugh… Aaaaah!! My wrist!!!”

“Right, I’ll finish you off with just one arm.”

The identity of that floating mass was Eddie’s wrist, which he had been gripping tightly while wielding his sword.

Dropping his wrist to the leaf-strewn ground, Eddie’s Aura Blade, which had once glowed so brightly, was now lifeless.

Eddie could generate an Aura Blade but was as inexperienced as a novice in technique.

Atlas didn’t bother using Aura Blade.

What he just did was a very simple technique.

A psychological battle that any proper knight could pull off… He never thought someone who could use an Aura Blade would fall for such a simple technique.

Surely, his family had force-fed him all sorts of nutritious foods to make him able to barely use it.

“Why are you so cocky and rude with such pathetic skills? Is it because you’re taller?”

“Surround him!! Stab from all directions!!”

As Eddie rolled around on the ground without a wrist, Charles shouted desperately.

In a situation with more attackers than defenders, what’s most important is not to let a 1v1 situation arise by attacking from all angles.

They seemed to have experienced group bullying before, as their encirclement speed was remarkable.

But it didn’t work.

Their attempts to close in and attack were outpaced by Atlas’ speed.

Charging straight in, he swung his longsword once, and one thug fell, cleaved through the thigh.

Another thug, who had planned to bring down an axe from behind Atlas, lost several fingers in the air after one swing of the longsword.

Then, a small fireball flew alongside a short sword as another thug came rushing in.

The fireball moved slowly like a child’s thrown rock, so Atlas merely tilted his head to dodge it, crossed his guard to block the thug’s sword, and swung back, severing his shoulder.

The thug who had just cast a spell fired another fireball, but did you think that would work from such a close distance? Swinging his longsword vigorously, Atlas cut off the right hand of the one who had been casting the spell.

When I regained my senses, only Atlas remained standing.

“What… what the hell… You mean to say you’re okay after all this!!!”

Charles, taking an awkward stance, crawled back as he shouted at Atlas.

Six of them, all with some level of Sword Expert skills including a beginner.

In numbers, they could easily bury a student who had received an A at the academy.

So why had this happened?

“What? Is it already over?”

“Ugh… ugh…”

“My… my hand… my hand…”

“The blood… won’t stop…”

After having beaten each one just once,

They were all now like caterpillars crawling on the ground.

Although everyone was clutching their wounds desperately, none had died.

When it came to intentionally not letting them die, Atlas had reached the realm of mastery.

If he were to write a thesis on those techniques, he could potentially receive a doctoral degree.

“Well then, I guess it’s time to do what I usually do.”

As if announcing the upcoming task to the squirming thugs, Atlas began his work with a longsword.

By this time, the six caterpillars crawling on the ground could see the strange glare in Atlas’s eyes.

The difference in atmosphere between the Atlas I first met and the one now was striking.

“Don’t you think now you’ll understand how I feel when I want to be my height? I made this longsword the same length as me…”

The sword tip brushed against his ankle.

Atlas measured Charles’s ‘length’ with his longsword as if gauging construction materials.

With the hilt at his crown and the swordpoint aimed at his ankle, Atlas made a small scratch where the swordtip pointed, just like marking a piece of wood for cutting.

And then he raised the longsword.

“Here it is. Remember, this is where your feet will start from now on.”

“What??”

– Swish.

“Grrrrraaaaaaahhh!!!!”

Charles’s scream echoed down the mountainside.

Before the remaining five caterpillars lay something that had fallen.

– Thud.

What they saw was a shoe.

But on top of the shoe was an ankle.

It was Charles’s severed ankle.

“Eeeeeek?!!”

“Why are you all making noise like this over something so trivial?”

“Please… just stop!! As of today… nothing happened, so please… spare me!!”

Their screams seemed irksome to Atlas, who spoke in a dull tone.

Blood from Charles’s severed ankle was smeared across his face.

“People don’t die from this sort of thing,

Don’t worry, I’m nice enough to bring you back to life even if you die.

Typically, those who are defeated have no human rights anyway.”

The color drained from the faces of the thugs.

They felt fear.

Surely, when I first saw them, they could still talk; but now, that dwarf could not be reasoned with.

Seeing the blood-soaked longsword approaching them, they found themselves unable to escape.

As the sun set behind the mountains, five more screams echoed through the night.

——————————————-

Since the academy is on an island, all faculty members and students have accommodations within the school grounds.

While students live in dormitories, faculty members also reside in various individual accommodations scattered throughout the academy grounds, but Andy was lucky enough to have a private accommodation.

He moved into the vacant space left by the previous professor, which allowed him to use the professor’s former lodgings.

The previous professor must have been a highly skilled knight, as traces of his having handled various weapons were left throughout the residence.

“Phew… I managed to get through today somehow…”

Clad in comfortable clothes and wrapping up his day, Andy’s complexion turned pale.

Although he had shouted loudly in the morning, he couldn’t shake the thought that training with the Royal Knight Order was beyond what a student could handle.

With the lessons set to begin next week, he was left wondering what he would do… He was deep in thought when suddenly—

– Knock knock knock

Someone was knocking on the door.

Who could it be in the middle of the night? I just hope it’s not another annoying task.

Thinking as much, he opened the door to find no one there.

“Senior, if you don’t want to die, lower your head a bit… and don’t panic, just listen.”

As he leaned down a little more, he saw Atlas waving with his body covered in blood.

“AAAAAAHHH!!!! What… what the hell! Why are you covered in blood?!”