The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 12

River dashed out of the dormitory in a frenzy, taking a roundabout way but quickly returning back.

Whether it was from running around like a headless chicken for a while or some other reason, his face was as red as a beet.

“Disciple, what disciple…!”

Moving so vigorously, his clothes were drenched with sweat, which felt utterly unpleasant.

As he stripped off all his sweat-soaked clothes, River’s bare skin was exposed.

Looking at his damp skin reminded him of what had just occurred.

‘It did smell nice…’

Atlas’s eyes, when they met so closely, were a brilliant blue, clear like a summer sky, even against the backdrop of the sunset.

Despite the energetic movements they shared, Atlas didn’t break a single sweat, and his skin remained the same ivory color, but it had a sickly hue, almost like a statue.

“I’m losing my mind, I’m losing my mind! And why the hell are you smelling like sweat!!”

To wipe away the image of Atlas’s face flooding his mind, River threw his underwear aside and hopped into the shower booth in the room, turning the water on.

– Swoosh!

The water splashing violently from the shower washed River from head to toe.

As he was doused with water, he felt his previously stirred emotions calming down a bit.

River reminisced about the events of the day.

Seymour always taught that the strong hold the choice.

He insisted that to seize control of life, the first step was to become strong.

Atlas was strong.

It had been a while since he had felt like he was slammed against a wall purely by skill.

Fighting is simply about securing one’s safety while inflicting damage on the opponent.

And the simplest way to achieve that is through a long range.

Atlas had the penalty of being short, resulting in a smaller attack radius, but he showcased his high-level techniques by seizing the moment the opponent attacked for a counter.

If Atlas had launched a preemptive strike, would River have been able to withstand it?

Probably, they wouldn’t have even reached a proper sparring scenario.

It wasn’t just about having extraordinary skills.

The abnormal strength and agility that emerged from such a small body were more impressive than any knight River had ever seen.

‘Perhaps… even more than my father?’

Though it wasn’t a duel, assuming they stuck to the agreement, River was meant to become Atlas’s disciple.

He wasn’t dissatisfied with his skill.

He didn’t know why it hadn’t become common knowledge, but when their swords clashed, he was undoubtedly S-rank strong.

Sword Expert, top-tier… maybe that’s the level Atlas had reached.

If he became a disciple, there would certainly be things to learn.

If he could become a top-tier expert within the year as he said, it would mean remarkable growth…

But something tugged at him when thinking about becoming a disciple.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

His heart wouldn’t settle down… it was a strange sensation.

“…I’ll be able to see him again tomorrow morning, right?”

He didn’t know what the feelings he was experiencing meant for now, but he figured that he would understand if he met him a bit more.

———————————————

Seeing Atlas completely soaked in blood triggered Andy’s trauma switch.

It reminded him of his time as an apprentice.

Even Atlas didn’t start off by cutting off ankles right away.

He had only pounded all the seniors and classmates who looked down on him and humiliated him… but at some point, Atlas started to cut off the ankles of his opponents with a look that suggested he had come to a realization.

The sight of his classmates, who had banded together to show Atlas a lesson, rolling on the ground screaming, now missing their ankles, still haunted Andy.

“You… what the hell are you doing!!!”

“Calm down, senior. Listen well, I…”

“Did you kill someone??? Did you actually kill someone????”

“I said listen, I didn’t kill anyone, just cut off their ankles.”

“Oh thank goodness.. I thought you actually killed someone.”

“Do you think I’m a crazy murderer? I don’t just go around killing people.”

“Then why cut off their ankles!!!!”

But Andy couldn’t just keep shaking in fear anymore.

He was now an instructor affiliated with the Academy.

“…Where are they now?”

“Follow me.”

After changing into work clothes, Andy followed Atlas.

Feeling cautious, he tried to grab a shovel from the storage room, but Atlas stopped him.

“I’m not burying any bodies. No tools needed, just come.”

Covered in blood, Atlas and sturdy Andy silently began to ascend the hill near the dormitory.

It was a small hill that wasn’t too high and could easily be reached with just a short walk.

The sun had already set, and under the dim moonlight, visibility was almost nonexistent, but the two, belonging to the Royal Knight Order, a group of superhumans, seemed to ascend the hillside without a worry.

As they reached a certain point, Andy frowned.

“Ugh… oh no…”

“I’m… sorry… I’m sorry…”

“My… my leg… my leg…”

“I want to go home…”

“……”

“I want to… go home too…”

Students with ashen faces lay arranged in a straight line.

In front of them, their severed ankles were neatly placed as if they had taken off their shoes, and the lengths of the severed ankles varied according to their heights, making it easy to tell who was the tallest.

The sight of those with severed ankles lying sprawled out was shocking enough, but even more astonishing was that despite such injuries, they all seemed to be in no real danger to their lives.

There was no ongoing bleeding… and there were no signs of infection in the wounds.

Just what kind of technique was being used? Atlas had a remarkable skill for tormenting people without bringing them to death.

Should he be called the Master of Near-Death… it was an artful skill.

“You!! You said you would remain quiet!! Why are you doing this from day one!!!”

“Ha… Senior, do you think this is my fault? These pests asked to be killed!”

There was no trace of guilt on Atlas’s face as he brazenly spoke.

He actually seemed more like he was still holding onto his anger.

A headache began throbbing in Andy’s head.

After leaving the Royal Knight Order, where high wages and the greatest honors came with the risk of life, and coming to the Academy, his goal was to live quietly far away from death.

But since facing Atlas, everything felt like it had shattered into pieces.

“Is it reasonable for a knight to create near-death situations just because some rookies provoked him?”

“When a beast gathers six people to ambush just to take down one girl, it’s not treated as a human being.”

So that’s what led to this chaos… it made sense now, given the reason why this was bound to happen.

“That’s… deserved to happen… Still, how are we going to clean this up…”

“Don’t worry about that. I already agreed on words before you came, senior.”

As Atlas said this, the students lying there mechanically spoke.

“We… won’t say a… word… we want to go home…”

“W-We also… we deserved this…”

The voices from the students, who had fallen over, trembled as they came out dry and cracked.


Fear was etched in their eyes, which were unfocused and trembling.

Their spirits were utterly crushed.

At this rate, as long as their bodies remained intact, it seemed they wouldn’t have any further issues.

“Then why did you call me??”

“You need to know. If any noise comes from the back, you should help me out.”

“I… just recently joined as a new student…!”

What could new student Andy do if any noise came from the back?

He wanted to argue, but Atlas moved on, grabbing one student’s ankle.

“I really don’t want to do this… but it’d be easier to reattach this ankle, wouldn’t it?”

“How can you say that!!”

“I think it’d be better to attach them differently on either side…”

“Please, just reattach their ankles…!!”

For now, the students had to look like they had both legs properly attached, so they could do something to clean this mess up.

Grumbling, Atlas took out some herbs and potions of uncertain origin and began to reattach each severed ankle back to its original owner one by one.

– Sizzle

“Uhh… ahhh…!!”

It clearly sounded like skin was searing, yet he used nothing but chemicals and herbs to attach the ankles and legs together.

Hearing the screams, it seemed the pain was significant, matching the sizzling sound.

The students screamed in anguish, but the effect was remarkable.

The severed ankles that had been lying around were reattached cleanly, leaving just a slight scar.

“This actually works… are you a doctor or what? Why are you doing this here…”

“I didn’t come here because I wanted to.”

In the dead of night, under the moonlight, reattaching severed legs made him feel like a murderer disposing of a body.

The night only deepened.

…

…

…

…

…

Moments later, six new students submitted their resignation letters simultaneously, causing a commotion at the Academy.

———————————

After the six new students abruptly submitted resignation letters, a stubborn middle-aged man barged into the principal’s office.

It was quite an impolite action, but he was one of the oldest faculty members at this Academy, a professor comparable to Principal Morgan in terms of experience.

He was also the supervisor for this year’s new students.

The supervisor for the class of students who just submitted their resignation letters.

“Principal..! Six students submitted their resignation letters simultaneously.. six new students!!”

“You don’t have to be so loud, I already know.”

Ignoring Buckingham’s voice, which was filled with anger, Morgan sipped his tea leisurely.

Seeing Morgan’s calm demeanor only fueled Buckingham’s anger further.

“Principal, do you really intend to just stand by and let this situation unfold?!”

“Hmm… well, the Academy holds no responsibility over the duels between students. That’s a fundamental principle that hasn’t changed this time either.”

The reason the six students resigned was simple.

They lost in a one-on-one duel and got thoroughly defeated in a six-on-one skirmish. They couldn’t bear the humiliation of attending the Academy any longer.

Despite their trembling hands as they submitted their resignation letters, if you listened to the reason, it seemed somewhat plausible.

Whether the new students resigned after fighting amongst themselves or someone died, the Academy had no responsibility.

Dueling was just that.

“No matter how you look at it, this wasn’t a legitimate duel! I’m not even sure if it was a proper duel to begin with! A thorough investigation is necessary!!”

But Buckingham shouted once again, refusing to accept such results.

“Hey, you sneaky bastard, I know you’re close with Count Fraser, but don’t push your luck. Didn’t you also just deal with students two years ago who resigned after losing in a duel?”

“That was… a fair duel!”

“This is a legitimate duel too, who says otherwise… it wasn’t just any duel, it was six-on-one. If they say it was, then what do we do about it?!”

“But..!”

“There’s nothing more disgraceful than a third party getting involved in the results of a duel. If you don’t like it, let those involved resolve it themselves!!”

Morgan shouted this and used magic to toss Buckingham out of the principal’s office.

As if he had been thrown out more than once before, Buckingham quickly got back up and began thinking diligently.

“Let them resolve it themselves?”

Something seemed to click in Buckingham’s mind.