Chapter 39
Major Shift
“The situation is becoming quite interesting,”
Principal Ludwig said to Idnia.
“If you return now, you should be able to get back unnoticed and on time.”
“Yes, then I shall return!”
“But there’s that thing on your way back…”
“That thing? You mean that?”
Ludwig nodded silently.
Idnia sighed and took up her black iron staff.
“By the way, may I kill this experimental creature?”
“Well… it’s not my research, so I don’t know.
But there’s no experimental creature more valuable than a student’s life.”
“That makes you sound like you really care about the students.”
“I always think about the students.”
“Sure you do.”
Ignoring Ludwig’s words, Idnia dashed outside.
In the thick fog among the bushes, something transparent was moving.
‘Invisible Stalker?’
A creature naturally invisible, also called the Transparent Killer.
It uses its invisibility to kill other lifeforms.
Created by an Outer Universe deity, it has no intelligence to speak a language but mimics other creatures’ voices.
‘A monster like a Jangsanbeom (mountain demon), but invisible…
Yet Gibles shamelessly calls it a big rat?’
While rats can be scary when large, Invisible Stalkers are far more dangerous.
Idnia gripped her wand and cast a spell.
– Shield!
A shield spell appeared on her black iron staff.
– Shape transformation!
The shield wrapped around the staff, becoming a sword of light.
To a normal person, it would be about the size of a longsword, but to Idnia, empowered by the Emperor’s Will, it was the size of a small dagger.
Holding the black iron staff as a handle, it looked even more compact.
“Guuh?!”
The Invisible Stalker spotted Idnia.
Then…
“Ah! Ah! Can you hear my voice?
Students! Stay put in your dorm rooms!
An experimental creature has escaped, but don’t worry. It’s just a bit larger than a rat.”
Surprisingly, the Invisible Stalker perfectly imitated Gibles’s words and tone.
Like a parrot repeating what it heard, it glided through the fog, splitting it as it moved.
‘Wow, this is creepy. A big rat, they say?’
Idnia chased the voice-imitating Invisible Stalker.
But then…
“Stay put…”
“Stay…”
“Stay…”
“Co-co-co-co…”
Voices began coming from all directions.
There wasn’t just one Invisible Stalker.
“Ugh?!”
The voices from all around gave even Idnia goosebumps.
“Hmm. Looks like a dangerous situation. Want me to help?”
“Ah, Principal!? Will you help me?”
“Of course. But if I do, it would look like I happened to be wandering at night and rescued you from the Invisible Stalkers outside…
I’ll get a lot of penalty points, right?”
“Then I don’t need your help.”
“You don’t?”
A smile crept onto Ludwig’s lips.
He hadn’t imagined Idnia would refuse his assistance.
At that moment, an Invisible Stalker approached Idnia.
“Nee-ded… nee-ded…”
Mimicking a human voice unpleasantly, it moved, but its exact form was invisible.
Only the fog’s movements gave away its presence.
Idnia raised her free hand, the one not holding the wand.
“Be quiet!”
Smack!
Idnia’s fist struck where the Invisible Stalker’s head likely was.
Though she felt resistance through her hand, she pressed harder.
Her fist shattered something transparent with a crunch, reaching the ground.
“…”
Even Ludwig watching was surprised.
She clearly struck something in midair, yet her fist touched the ground.
If the creature had been visible, the scene would have been horrific.
‘Crushing the skull down to the ground vertically, literally squashing it alive?’
Ludwig admired Idnia’s terrifying strength unleashed by the Emperor’s Will.
Idnia, however, was disgusted.
“Ah, something sticky splattered… Good heavens! Even its bodily fluids are transparent!”
Annoyed, she swung the sword made by transforming her shield magic like a fly swatter.
Swish!
The sound of wind slicing through accompanied something being cut around her and falling in droplets everywhere.
Though invisible to Idnia, Ludwig, with heat-sensing vision, saw her cutting down the Invisible Stalkers like mowing grass.
“Impressive.
To make a sword by transforming shield magic.
Normally, shield magic edges don’t sharpen like this…”
“Probably not sharp at all.”
Idnia’s sword, transformed from shield magic, naturally had a blunt edge.
Shield magic’s nature is to gather magical energy to maintain shape, but magic energy tends to disperse if concentrated, so edges tend to unravel like loose cloth or thread.
But even a blunt sword can cut if swung hard enough.
“No matter how much you’re the heir of Emperor Yurik, such skill is extraordinary for a freshman.
Truly excellent.”
“Then, may I have the reward points?”
“Of course you deserve them.
But in this case, I must report that I saw you wandering at night. Whether you get more penalty points or reward points…”
“Oh, forget it.”
Idnia kicked away another pesky Invisible Stalker.
The transparent creature pierced through clouds, flew into the bushes ahead, snapping branches as it fell.
Idnia had already dealt with all the Invisible Stalkers nearby.
“Well then, I shall take my leave, Principal.”
She saluted sharply and quickly disappeared from sight.
Ludwig watched her with a smile.
“Haha. Truly a student who reminds me of Yurik,”
But the smile soon vanished.
“Why is she of demi-human blood?”
Mari was pacing in her dorm room.
“Where’s Idnia? Why hasn’t she done the attendance check?”
Outside, Sendia knocked and asked.
Mari grabbed the doorknob, shouting to keep Sendia out.
“Ah, bath! Bath!”
“Bath? Then may I do the attendance check instead? I want to finish quickly and go back to sleep…”
As Sendia spoke, Idnia entered the room through the window.
“Ah, Lady Idnia!?”
“Mari, what are you doing? Is someone trying to break in?”
“Sendia was—”
Sendia outside overheard their conversation.
“Oh? What’s this? Idnia? You said you went to the bath?”
“Some business came up.
By the way, attendance check, right?
I’ll do it. But Sendia, since you’re up anyway, help me out.
We need to finish quickly so we can sleep sooner.”
“Alright.”
Idnia, as if nothing happened, did the dorm attendance check with Sendia and reported it to Gibles.
Thanks to that, she avoided penalty points and got through safely.
The next day, a major shakeup happened on the school bulletin board.
During morning maintenance, most students spent time washing, doing laundry, or catching up on sleep.
Idnia changed and washed herself.
The Invisible Stalkers’ blood was initially transparent, but after death and time passed, it turned into a white liquid like how transparent squid become milky white.
She changed clothes because she hated it, but it wasn’t enough.
“I don’t have enough sleep, yet I’m wasting maintenance time washing.”
Idnia grumbled, putting laundry in the basket.
She figured she’d have to ask Blackwolf to help with the laundry.
Though she felt a little odd entrusting her clothes to a male servant, it was the practical choice.
Academy life was hard for all students, but especially tough for female students.
‘But I can’t afford to hire a different servant besides Blackwolf…’
At that moment, the moving armor bearing Baroness Vülem’s voice announced.
[Good morning, academy students!
Regarding last night’s commotion, we’ll extend maintenance time by one hour today.
Also, Boreas dormitory head Karl Gustav Ansbach receives 5 reward points, and Eirik, Rivald, Olson Guard, and Devin each receive 3 points.]
Surprisingly, the five students from Boreas who had been in the punishment room received a massive reward, raising their points by 17 in just one day.
As a result, Boreas dormitory jumped to a total of 19 points, far surpassing the second-place Zephyrus dormitory’s 10 points.
“What on earth is going on?”
Shocked by the sudden mass rewards, Crown Prince Rudolf protested.
[The students in the punishment room defeated the escaped magical creature.
They showed outstanding combat mage aptitude, so we are compensating for the academy’s administrative error by awarding these points.]
Apparently, the escaped magical creature had encountered the Boreas five while they were confined in punishment.
Despite their suffering, they fought off the creature and captured or eliminated all others with their comrades, earning reward points.
‘Ah, they defeated the Invisible Stalker?
Hmm. If I had revealed that I defeated the Invisible Stalker while taking penalty points, I’d have earned more rewards than penalties.
But getting sent to the punishment room would still be inevitable…’
Idnia suspected she was caught in a scheme by the principal to force her to give up reward points.
When the sudden ranking change with huge points shocked everyone, Lorenzo, the Notos dorm head, stepped forward.
“Excuse me, but this doesn’t concern combat mages.
Karl probably used ‘Intangible Sword,’ an aura technique passed down from Northern Prelate Oxbach.
It’s a skill that handles aura and fighting spirit, not magic.”
Just as the Emperor’s Will passed down in Idnia’s Betelgeuse royal family, the Northern Prelate Oxbach family had the ‘Intangible Sword’ technique.
The current imperial family, Kalliestra, and Lorenzo’s family, Mazdari, also possessed their own unique family techniques and magic.
Lorenzo pointed out that Karl must have used that to defeat the monster.
Shocked by the sudden 17-point jump and prepared to receive resentment, Lorenzo challenged the award.
