TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 114
The Twin Sprout, led by Aniks.
The members of Twin Sprout mostly consisted of people from Starlon.
Since Aniks was one of Starlon’s key figures, this was only natural.
That guy Aniks must have already recruited them all before coming to the academy.
Among them was Elfin Emilia, one of the Three Prodigies.
Towering as always, her height rivaled Kraush’s, who was already quite tall.
When her eyes met Kraush’s, she greeted him with a brief nod.
‘Then who’s gathered around Charlotte?’
Though curious, he decided not to bother looking.
For some reason, he felt like it would be a group of people far from normal.
“This is Kraush Balheim. I assume everyone knows him. And this is Miss Haring Lagrain, the daughter of the Poison King, one of the Ten Strongest Under the Heavens.”
When Aniks gave a brief introduction on their behalf, the others didn’t seem particularly pleased.
Most of their gazes were fixed on Haring.
The Poison King was aligned with the Empire.
Naturally, Haring was also expected to belong to the Imperial Faction.
Even if it was just for this one field training session, she was now moving with them.
They probably didn’t like the idea of their information being exposed.
Yet, despite those stares, Haring’s expression remained as cold as ever.
“I have no intention of extracting information about the Erosion Index.”
She openly voiced what the Twin Sprout members were likely thinking.
It was an honest statement, but it only made others frown further.
[You’re isolating yourself willingly.]
According to Crimson Garden’s evaluation, Haring was exactly that kind of person.
Perhaps it was because of her past connection with Bianca before the regression, but she piqued his curiosity a bit.
The Poison King’s destruction of the Hardenhartz family had not yet occurred.
Kraush decided not to dwell on it too much.
“Let’s leave the introductions here and move out. Our destination this time is the Magic City of Devrham.”
If Halgram’s Magic City had the Red Magic Tower,
then Devrham’s Magic City was home to the Yellow Magic Tower.
Devrham’s Lawless Zone was known for its sun-scorched desert area.
Due to the desert’s challenging terrain, it was one of the most avoided locations within the Lawless Zone.
‘This is going to be quite the ordeal.’
While Kraush was thinking that, Aniks took the lead and began moving the group.
Rahelrn Academy had collaborated with various regions to connect numerous cities through teleportation magic circles.
Thus, reaching the city was not particularly difficult, provided one submitted a teleportation magic request form.
Thanks to this, the journey itself was rather relaxed.
“Kraush Balheim, it’s been a while. Do you remember me from the Holy Land of Stars?”
“I’m Siendal Zorma! It’s my first time meeting you, but I was very impressed by your performance during the academy’s test. As expected of Balheim!”
Perhaps because of the free time during the journey, the members of Starlon kept trying to strike up conversations with him.
Since they were all people Aniks brought along, these were individuals poised to take significant positions in Starlon’s future.
“Yeah, thanks.”
So Kraush responded in a suitably indifferent manner.
Regardless of his nonchalant tone, they seemed thrilled just to receive a response from him.
It was another moment that made Kraush realize just how significant the name Balheim was within Starlon.
[I thought you’d dismiss them like a total jerk, but you actually respond to them.]
There was no point in picking unnecessary fights right now.
Kraush had no intention of clashing with these people.
After all, the one who might truly provoke him to the point of confrontation was the person leading the group at the very front.
Unlike Kraush, Haring had no one standing near her.
Even though they were all part of the same group for this field training, no one showed her the slightest interest.
“Activating the magic circle.”
Meanwhile, a Twin Sprout member specializing in magic studies began activating the teleportation magic.
As the spell activated, the central area of Devrham came into view.
Aniks stepped into the teleportation magic circle first.
Soon after, the rest of the group followed, and Devrham’s city appeared before their eyes.
The city of Devrham was a thriving place dotted with palm trees.
A massive, transparent magical dome loomed overhead, blocking the winds from the desert outside, making life inside remarkably comfortable.
At the city’s center stood the grand Yellow Magic Tower, an awe-inspiring sight to behold.
“We’ve already secured support from the Yellow Magic Tower. They were happy to help, providing everything from meals to inns for our stay in the city.”
Aniks turned to look at them as he spoke.
The others already knew, but this was new information to Haring and Kraush.
A faint glimmer flickered in Kraush’s eyes.
“Aniks, what task has the Yellow Magic Tower assigned us?”
Rahelrn Academy managed its field training through a mission recruitment system directly overseen by the academy.
Among those missions, there were three primary categories.
First, World Erosion.
Performance in this category depended on the stars attached to the World Erosion.
However, if no high-difficulty World Erosion occurred, it could yield limited results.
Second, hunting Erosion Species that emerged outside World Erosion territories.
These Erosion Species rarely appeared outside their designated World Erosion zones unless for exceptional reasons.
Yet, not all Erosion Species stayed confined to those zones, and some occasionally ventured out.
The mission involved hunting down those creatures to achieve results.
Third, capturing criminals.
This entailed apprehending wanted criminals from various parts of the world.
Some cases were relatively simple, while others posed significant danger.
Naturally, the most perilous tasks involved the World Erosion defectors.
These were individuals who betrayed humanity to side with the World Erosion Beings.
Nations designated all such defectors as high-priority wanted criminals.
Of course, some of these wanted criminals were World Erosion Beings themselves.
‘Those guys are far beyond what students could handle, so they’re excluded.’
Depending on the situation, groups would select one of these missions for their field training.
Naturally, since the missions were left to the students’ discretion, they occasionally faced dangerous circumstances.
But danger was an inevitable part of the experience.
Everyone here was an adult.
Each person was responsible for their own choices.
That was also why they underwent six months of rigorous training.
The six-month training at Rahelrn Academy was essentially a trial.
If a student failed to meet the standards during training, they could not join a group.
They would have to repeat another six months of training and exceed the required scores to qualify for group membership.
Every first-year student here had passed that training.
Considering Kraush had failed this test five times before,
it was a testament to the elite status of everyone present.
‘So none of them are the type to die an unremarkable death.’
The field training period at Rahelrn Academy spanned three years.
By the end of those three years,
graduates of Rahelrn Academy would emerge as individuals with unparalleled experience and skills.
This was why Rahelrn Academy proudly claimed to foster heroes.
‘And there’s no way the Yellow Magic Tower is offering support without expecting something in return.’
The Yellow Magic Tower.
While Aniks claimed they willingly offered their support, the tower was infamous for its stinginess.
Could it be because securing resources in a desert environment isn’t easy?
The Yellow Magic Tower has always been reluctant to part with anything they own easily.
And now, they’re offering to cover the costs for an inn, meals, and everything else?
Naturally, this means the mission’s difficulty level isn’t going to be low.
Aniks smiled.
“Wouldn’t it be better to see for yourself?”
With that, he looked at Elphin, who was standing beside him, and she handed a piece of paper containing the mission details to Kraush.
As Kraush received the paper, Haring quietly approached him from behind.
She must have been curious about the mission details as well.
However, being on the shorter side, she seemed to struggle to see even while standing on her tiptoes behind him.
“Just come around to the side and look.”
So Kraush turned the paper sideways so she could see, and Haring moved closer without a word.
The two of them began reading the mission details together.
The mission was as follows.
Capture a criminal hiding in the ruins located in the desert of the Lawless Zone beyond the city wall.
The criminal’s name was Juio Irma.
A former mage of the Yellow Magic Tower, he was now an Erosionist who handled World Erosion Species.
And it seemed that he, too, was one of the World Erosion Species.
The problem was that this particular World Erosion Species had yet to be identified.
‘I don’t recall anyone named Juio Irma.’
Kraush briefly searched his memory but gave up.
After all, there was no way to remember every single one of the World Erosion Species.
The number of World Erosion Species alone was overwhelming, making it difficult to recall them all.
Unless it was someone involved in a particularly notable case, like the Butcher Dog, it was nearly impossible to remember.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve gone into a mission without prior intel on the opponent.’
Instead, Kraush focused on the ruins described in the mission document.
Then, all of a sudden, Kraush’s eyes widened.
There was one notable characteristic mentioned about the ruins.
-The ruins only appear at night.
This trait sparked a memory for Kraush.
“This ruin is under Anti-Magic. That’s why the Yellow Magic Tower is in trouble with Juio Irma’s siege there.”
The following explanation confirmed Kraush’s suspicion.
After all, in this ruin, magic simply didn’t work.
These ruins were the grave of a certain god.
Magic was a power that defied providence.
The god’s power, which maintained providence, nullified magic.
And Kraush knew exactly who this god was.
The Night God.
A fallen god, once a human demigod, who dared to covet the seat of the gods and was stripped even of their name.
This altar was the resting grave for that god.
‘The problem is the one connected to it.’
During the war against the World Erosion Beings.
One World Erosion Being had cunningly entrenched themselves in this place.
The name of that World Erosion Being was Moon Rabbit.
A World Erosion Being whose power grew stronger the closer the moon was to the center of the sky.
This made its entrenchment particularly troublesome.
The fact that magic didn’t work there.
The fact that it didn’t appear during the day but only at night.
Moon Rabbit exploited these two factors, persistently attacking the Yellow Magic Tower only at night.
Ironically, it was one of the Celestial Four Strongest who took down Moon Rabbit.
The Emperor of Magic, Mahwang.
Mahwang, a demigod like the Martial Emperor, Balrok Balheim.
He reversed the power dwelling in the Night God’s grave, turning the entire ruin into a magic circle.
As a result, the entire ruin was blown away, and the wrath of the slumbering Night God was unleashed.
That wrath consumed the night, resulting in Eternal Daylight that lasted until the Night God’s power was exhausted.
Kraush’s face twisted sharply.
‘Damn it, Arthur must have deliberately left the Moon Rabbit alone.’
Arthur’s secret technique was related to the sun.
Eternal Daylight was the perfect scenario for Arthur.
Thanks to it, Arthur gained the upper hand in the war against the World Erosion Beings.
And that became the very foundation of Arthur’s rise to the center of the world.
At that time, Kraush was battling other World Erosion Beings alongside the Skyborne Generation.
Thus, his realization had come a step too late.
Back then, there had been so many significant events, and it was also something Mahwang had resolved.
‘In hindsight, it was all part of Arthur’s plan.’
Kraush couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
After experiencing regression, he finally understood the seemingly meaningless actions of Arthur.
At the same time, he could now be certain of one thing.
Arthur would use anything and anyone without a shred of guilt if it served his path.
‘I had intended to approach Arthur cautiously.’
There’s no telling what he might do if he deemed the situation unfavorable.
‘Fake Arthur.’
Therefore, a method to approach him without revealing himself was essential.
Then, a good idea flashed through Kraush’s mind.
‘I’ll deal with this later.’
For now, he decided to handle the Night God’s grave first.
Thanks to the memory that resurfaced, Kraush could deduce that Erosionist Juio Irma was likely a subordinate of the Moon Rabbit.
The Moon Rabbit must have had its eyes on this ruin for a long time.
And Kraush, in his current state, also stood to gain something significant from the Night God’s grave.
Kraush possessed the Lunar Body.
Coupled with the influence of the Heavenly Slaughter Star, the traits of the Lunar Body had grown even stronger.
As a result, the time it took for fatigue to accumulate during the day had lengthened.
However, the capacity for Annihilation Erosion had definitively increased compared to before.
Thanks to these traits, Kraush found it much easier to operate at night.
What does this mean?
‘It’s a chance to steal the night.’
If Arthur had desired Eternal Daylight, Kraush sought an unending night.
After all, the time when the Lunar Body shone brightest was during the night.
Kraush’s eyes slowly gleamed.
It was the face of a hunter who had found his prey.
This was his chance to become a grave robber, stealing the power of the gods.