Chapter 63: Bat Effect (1)
E3p“Hua~! We are so wet now!”f3pl
n8gThe Academy wasn’t that close from the tornado so it was possible for us to make a detour somehow but we had to go through a bunch of rain in the process.pOVEU
1c5H“Welcome. It must have been rough because of the tornado.”W2ly
lqKJtv“Huh? Mr. Chairman? What about Professor Josephine?”tzJV
Pxo“She spent the holiday with Hua Ran at Chapel Zeon and is coming back at the moment.”8GXwAs
uIcgSsRWaiting at the entrance of the special dormitory was Chairman Eriu. She… my Master Erin handed over a large towel, which I placed on top of Marie’s head.jysQU
oNwcNPI“You should wipe yourself first.”Qna5Y
rCY“……Okay.”oOCONFn
FkB8yEBSeeing me hand over the towel to Marie, Master went somewhere with her dimensional spell before returning with another towel in hand.BiU1
wKMj“You should stay here tonight.”EbJx
8yAU“Am I allowed to?”8UND
71E“You are not an outsider anymore. Starting from the 2nd semester, we will have you stay at this dormitory.”Isp7e
HNyXThat was probably in order to observe me. Since they couldn’t fully believe me as of yet, Lady Josephine and my Master Erin would have decided to do that to monitor my actions.Dut40ei
vsMF5“So what exactly is that tornado?”TIZaJ
BGj“Right! It was huge! I’m worried it might cause more problems for the city. Is that going to be alright?”fhaaldo
HT5pE0aMaster heaved a sigh while looking outside at the source of the sharp noise of the swirling tornado and replied.JKP58Hd
m7qQ“First off, the city itself hasn’t suffered from that much damage. The tornado is not touching the center of the city so it’s probably only a small outskirt of the city that received some level of harm.”MeEWWNc
gbXRYQ“Huh? But won’t it be problematic if it moves towards the center?”24q
eMjwvdx“No. The tornado will not move.”LZVW8E
1aK0Cd“Sorry?”WnZCe
GlTbThe tornado won’t be moving? What did that mean? From what I knew, there was no such thing as a spell that could stop tornadoes from moving.KHD5U
0wf…Wait a minute. ‘A small outskirt of the city’? An ominous sensation filled my body after ruminating on those words but Master continued with her explanation regardless.3rR
7bt“That tornado is not a natural phenomenon; it’s the work of a demonic beast.”q82M
5nuUmm… Master? Where exactly is this ‘small outskirt of the city’? There’s no way right? It’s not where I think it is, right?WXtmM4L
LAHH****vHjY
NsB4One of the important seaways of the southern archipelago was the Egernia Strait which was often used by several nations including the El Rath Kingdom. Recently, people in this place were having a headache because of the Sea Serpent.9sVJaY
1U19FjiThe enormous sea snake reaching 60 meters in length was a Grade 1 demonic beast and was the lofty king of the ocean. One day, it just suddenly arrived and decided to stay at the Egernia Strait.XRtca
hvCnAs if the financial circumstances of humans were none of its business, this lofty king began to sink all the trade ships that infiltrated its territory. The ones that had to suffer the most from the sudden appearance of this long snake were the trade merchants including Count Casseus.jMzU
RM7P“My son… do you really have to do this yourself?”lYd
918DyMCount Casseus said while worriedly gazing at his son who pompously volunteered to defeat the Sea Serpent.LQ7N2r
0GBS“Yes, father. It’s a Grade 1 demonic beast. As long as I succeed at defeating this monster, that will make it easier for me to be promoted to Grade 1.”4rlECxs
COxJpWd“I understand your point but…”wFjTv
bZcjEver since he met the lady from the Dunareff family which reigned over the south like an overlord, his son had become very hasty. Him falling in love at first sight wasn’t a problem, but the problem was that he was feeling overly competitive to another person.xkPC
T8ZqThis knight, who was so talented to be able to become a semi-Grade 1 Knight at the young age of 23 with a bright future ahead of him, was feeling competitive for someone younger than him.w0RXMb
rRo4qSpIt was the young gold-digger who had a bunch of rumors about having a secret love affair with the oldest daughter of the Dunareff family – the spear-wielding boy who became a Grade 1 Knight at an age younger than himself.siT
ppKKj3H‘Marie…! You’re being deceived!’kzO
MXVzAtrLevent could still remember him – that disrespectful man who touched an unmarried lady from a dukedom with bare hands without regard and hugged her as if she was his!Cpv
rP3He didn’t know what kind of underhanded trickery the man used but Marie was definitely being deceived by him!CwZg
SsT60qIn order to save her from the hands of the gold-digger, Levent first needed to build his fame. By using some tricks, that man had become a Grade 1 Knight, meaning that he too had to become a Grade 1 Knight to get to his level.7KaA
OZiLbt“Don’t worry father. I will defeat this Sea Serpent and bring peace to the ocean.”TIQ
9dIKYdTI shall become the hero of the Egernia Strait and stand before her once again!eCmEts9
udYmjVAlong with the battleships and crews provided by his father and guardians of the Alliance, Levent Vlandria headed off to defeat the Sea Serpent.M3NMmV
uzBQUZx………Huyg
oF4c……m7E72K
y5a8x…1lwy
J9dResult-wise, the subjugation was a success.aViBClq
KCoD8xThis huge campaign that mobilized five battleships with 16 knights, 5 mages and over 500 crew members was a success. But it was only a ‘half-success’.EwSRk
3EHEON– Miyooooooooonnng!!C9qlo
tx0Uo“The Sea Serpent is running away!”wdb2
SYlomV“Wahh…! It’s our victory!”QAsQ
TsVfjpy“Congratulations on the successful campaign, young master!”vqs
qgrNG“Lady Marie… This victory was made only thanks to you…!”xTlnod
ju6hTKIt was a shame that they couldn’t kill the Sea Serpent but they succeeded in driving the Sea Serpent away from the Egernia Strait, which would bring a peace of mind to the trade ships going past the seaway.AIJd50
Xyes– Miyooooooooonnng!!1Ti
0puh………DOH2GfC
E3Yx……WX2vyX
mIw…2fGcUC
pJhBut where did this Sea Serpent head off to in its escape?ch8BnP
0m4“Queeek?”WnQ8
KRPWbNow, there was a bat demonic beast called Alvan.BUKr
UWM7bwThese large bats that had a wingspan of up to 30 meters had two other well-known names. First of them was the ‘Tornado Bat’.khtb4
fZwJRpSome time around June, they would visit the archipelago for a breeding season – in order to avoid their predators, they would create a nest on a small island of the archipelago.OjNyr4J
XEDRThis was where the reason they were called Tornado Bats came to play.uOESD
qR7gDuring their mating season, the male Tornado Bats would use up all the lifetime energy they built up inside their body and sacrifice themselves to become the epicenter of a tornado. Using that tornado, they would block the approach of predators and have their final moment of reproduction.IfZIz6x
FoHBKThese tornadoes lasted forever until the death of the Alvan that created it, and was usually kept until September where the female would give birth to a baby.wpHrHIJ
5VRSP– Miyooooooooonnng!n7LnuQR
fRgZAn uninvited guest appeared while two bats were sharing an affectionate time like protagonists of a youth drama – it was the Sea Serpent that escaped from the campaign. What was terribly unfortunate for the bats, was that the large Grade 1 demonic beast, Sea Serpent, was one of the few demonic beasts of the ocean that could break through an Alvan’s tornado, and as a result…dn1VNY
MuNjZY6– Quieeeeee?!QFd
cZkxRight when the female bat was getting ready to have another intimate relationship on top of a rocky island, the Sea Serpent suddenly showed up and carried the male bat away.m00D6Y
F5hAJ– Quieee…!7YLhsX
LVy– Quie!!wT71L
gOwTpThe female Alvan screamed while watching the male bat be taken away by the Sea Serpent. After losing its spouse, the female Alvan had no choice but to leave the mating island with a wail.OIzzvPg
6egsThere were already babies growing in its womb, and the Alvan had to give birth to them.1Mv
bfUBmvgFlying further north, the female Alvan started a perilous flight.SdbmH7
vQ2bsIt had to alter its path after coming into contact with a wyvern squad that was looking for a boy, and even had to suffer from retaliation when it was trying to pick up a cow that was harvesting corn only to realize that it was an Audhumbla that weighed more than 70 tonnes…HUmq0GM
EVKFKIn tatters, the Alvan landed somewhere near Merkarva City. Rather than ‘land’, it was more correct to say that it no longer had the power to go any further.ejv
OZGiBAnd lastly… this was where the second well-known name of the semi-Grade 1 demonic beast, Alvans, came to play.8LOyebk
AfiqwHXThey were called Tornado Bats because of the tornado they created at the cost of their vitality and body, while the other name they had was… a Gold Bat.znYT
OFvZtFBlood, bone and flesh – every part of their body was as potent as an elixir. They were a fabulous demonic beast that also ended up luring nearby demonic beasts with their mellow scent.OfRym1
DBnINAll sorts of monsters came to eat the Alvan after it landed on the ground and because of the maternal instinct of the female Alvan that wanted to safely give birth to its babies, it voluntarily became the epicenter of a tornado, so that it could give birth to its babies even at the cost of its own life.Si08X
pBVMxEAs a result, it created an enormous tornado that also impacted the eastern side of Merkarva City.eSgpR
WJQwW“…”uY25QW
fFuQThe spear-wielding boy who had to receive some unfair retributions for his actions was befuddled at the sight of the tornado in front of his eyes.2f0TAf
PUcAjly****cmn
eTyI was fucked.KQfiSQ7
4RivZRight now, I could say with a very rational and objective perspective of the situation.TnDqjzg
g0uRationally speaking, I was fucked.SE0d
5FXq“Haa…”XATZ
mzAnFA Tornado Bat… A Tornado Bat…!oMH
90OOBGBWho could have expected such a thing to happen?!! A Tornado Bat!!??6ITlP6
Yw0Weren’t they rare beasts that stayed on small rocky islands of the archipelago to mate like crazy? Why were they here on the continent?0IB
aR0Yes. I know… I know! It’s probably because of the butterfly effect of something random that I did. It must be like how a butterfly flutters its wings and creates a tornado on the other side of the planet. But this time, it was an actual tornado!YXcHcl7
CDimI couldn’t even imagine how all this happened but the problem at hand right now was that stupid bat creating a fierce tornado. And the biggest problem of all was that my inns that were still in the middle of construction were at the ‘outskirt of the city’ that was within the boundary of the tornado, and that the tornado could reach it anytime!GZhH
liThKU9“W, we have to leave now. We just cannot continue working here!”gQIe
0aH“W, wait. The deadline is just around the corner. If you go now…!”jKGo
ASnrJUa“The tornado is getting bigger every day! We will all die in the middle of construction at this rate!”6Hp
k2zAtF“Boss! Hey boss. One second!”pMVqZk
zR1n“You should give up on this place as well! Sometimes shit happens in your life and you can’t do anything about it!”MPl0Jls
tjTSUnable to hold back the leaving builders, I remained glued to the ground.RIe5
htKNot only did the Tornado Bat’s tornado completely devour a portion of Merkarva City, but it was also getting bigger over time. It was probably because of the mother working even harder to protect its babies now that it was close to giving birth to them.D8nd
kZW1wtdThe problem was that my accommodation buildings that were being built to suck out money from the festival tourists were sitting right in front of the edge of that tornado.Mri
op47soRAnd if the tornado were to continue like this… there was the possibility of the festival being suspended or being reduced in size. It was already questionable whether they could rebuild all the roads that were crushed in time before the date of the festival which would be some time in October.hIWgwZE
JNg55ubIn other words, if this tornado persisted longer, the number of tourists visiting Merkarva City would have an exponential decrease in numbers, and in the worst case scenario, the festival itself might even be canceled.T5eAze
a0rZTMost important of all was that the tornado would definitely blow up my inns in around a week’s time!iLLOd1
JS8FfT5280 gold coins for buying land, and 330 gold coins for materials, hiring manpower and construction… And 220 more gold coins were supposed to be paid until the end of construction.ieyS
1i2nl8qAnd by the way, only 110 gold coins from these were mine. The rest? I borrowed them all!!WNulLUA
GX5eseI had to pay 720 gold coins if I failed with this business!ix8A
XC4FFo“I’m fucked. I am actually fucked…”RCqtN0g
nFdRBPxIt felt like I was discarded on Mars with nothing on me.DZe2o8v
8PD****yqoEq
iJh7DAn emergency conference was held at Merkarva Academy.ri1
WumQH9fChairman Eriu Casarr gathered several professors that were staying at the Academy along with a few students.VIGERZ
9nMw“I believe that is everyone.”H2SuZ
PyVFTThe old veteran of the Knight Department, Professor Haman Welsch;om4
e1UMBProfessor Deina Arianne, who recently received a salary cut due to the horribly failed experiment;rHm
42mRNew professor of the 2nd year students of the Knight Department, Orgen Rentree;H6SoSD
FMvb3Professor Edgar Linton, the career advisor of 4th year Magic Department students;nIdY
XXOxFB2And Professor Lulara Mars who teaches Alchemy to both 1st year and 2nd year students.23NVX35
sEtWhat these people had in common was that they had all been well-known for being strong in their prime back when they were working as active guardians.HM0Ypa
oR7AGsProfessors weren’t the only ones that were gathered – there were also a few students who had either returned early like Marie, or stayed behind at the Academy over the holiday.jcw5CUo
Kyq8swm“Huu…”ew525n
7KFiSXAnd among them was also the freshman student who was quite a hot topic in the Academy, Korin Lork.vTUTWES
tlwBoth professors and students inside the Academy were summoned as long as they were higher-ranked guardians.mR9r2
FCqaLn“I am sure you all know what this conference is for. It is because of the Tornado Bat, Alvan.”BvxJ
GsVhYAC“Umm… Are we going to be killing it?”cJW3yo
ZfJcCProfessor Deina asked the chairman after carefully raising her hand. Before she could even finish off her sentence, Professor Haman yelled out.IM5t
1c7F9“Of course we are!”oyK
g4Nth“I am against it,” said Professor Edgar.lVq
Qu2“What?”dOYC6
bfNjMProfessor Haman gave a sharp glare at Professor Edgar. Edgar, who used to work as a Justice of the Peace before becoming a professor, was an active and belligerent man who used to personally chase after criminals. It was therefore quite unexpected for him to raise an objection.BoV9
Gi3J“The tornado will be stopping in a month. There is no reason for us to bother shouldering the risk.”5bPO2W
eSX8E4l“Professor Edgar. On what grounds are you saying that~~?”XHx
OhAProfessor Lulara asked with a sluggish voice.F5GzP
BZZDB“Alvans start breeding in early June. If they succeed at finding a partner, they will give birth sometime around early to mid September.”48uQt6
UCFuHTR“That quick?”AUb
B1Q“They are famous for their quick fertility and delivery among mammals. But that also correlates to just how difficult it is for their babies to survive.”AWpZJ
pum“In other words~, you mean this tornado will end in less than a month for sure, right?”54q
JNIWr“That is correct.”klBrA7
ZtsVSP“Hmm~. I guess there is no reason to bear the risk then. 1 vote for status quo from me~”jjVLpqQ
hiAY“But I believe we should try to kill it at the very least.”57I17
P0Zb0Professor Orgen, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, shared his opinion.5vP
oJorpN5“It will take more time for students to come back and it might cause problems for our festival. Most importantly, people from outside might consider our Academy as weaklings who are too afraid to make a move.”dL8hv8k
xAtx“That doesn’t sound right, Professor Orgen. Our Academy is, all in all, an education facility. Killing demonic beasts is the job of the Alliance. It seems that you are still in the mindset of an active guardian.”yVpwRym
qXqjH“Hmm…”m28Xa
ACdvEThe professors were divided into 2 sides. An old veteran professor and a new professor were under the belief that the bat should be killed, whereas two professors with fairly long careers were against it. It created an exceptional balance so they naturally then turned to Professor Deina.1FB
rXQ“Uht… U, umm, shouldn’t we… try to defeat it at the very least? It is a Gold Bat after all so…”20lVyRh
XuYyhXm‘Everything about them is expensive, right?’ Professor Deina couldn’t finish her entire sentence and swallowed the last few words.ONt8O2
VnADJ“Professor Deina. You’re not telling me that you will bear the risk just because of the recent financial budget situation of your faculty, are you? Will you involve all your colleagues and students just for such a greedy reason?”YRGfIHp
8G2MLet“O, o, o, of course that’s not what I was thinking!!”n3ExDJ
WB62ZShe stuttered her words as if that was right on the mark, and in the end, she reluctantly agreed to keep it at status quo.RLNzr
4aIlzcg‘T, this is not good!’Wz2ub
4isXThe one who was getting the most frightened by the conversation between the professors was Korin Lork. He was someone who had to kill the Alvan as soon as possible to bring back peace.03pRri
Z6wMore than 700 gold coins were involved in this matter and naturally, Korin Lork did not have the power to pay back all that money.kcHQu
K943wL3In other words, he was close to being bankrupt.8T9YFTq
jHeHe had a ‘financial reason’ that was incomparably more personal than Professor Deina whose salary got cut off because of the King of Iron Mountain incident.VY6l3G
Li4A7‘Looking at how Professor Deina immediately got reproached, talking about money won’t be good… I have to shift the atmosphere somehow!’JeisfIM
xVDbaKorin immediately got to work.l5i791
pnuZT“Professors!”nYowke
EFtcpVP“Student Korin?”z02v
NNksOBashing on the table, Korin immediately stood up. His sudden unpredictable action gathered the eyes of the professors.5CW6rjR
dEyWl“I, Korin Lork…! Would like to share my humble opinion with you, ‘Seniors’!”K5pMYbF
OTeSenior… well, it wasn’t a technically wrong expression, because all the professors were from the Merkarva Academy and were guardians like himself.SBR3k0
KV9Jz“We vowed to ourselves! That we will enact justice, and goodness with courage! That we will not yield before death! That we will protect the weak and defeat our foes!”63O
fhDBs“Uhh… that’s the short vow we have to do when getting guardian licenses, right…?”JQbrusL
99a3H3p“Senior Deina! I believe you must have made the same vow as myself!!!!”RwMM
39ukKorin decided to target Professor Deina first before anyone else, since she was involuntarily made to enter the objectors. He was giving her a valid excuse.O6gcc
V8H“Who are we? We are guardians! Every one of us here vowed to become protectors of humanity and officially became a guardian from either the Alliance or the Royal Family, did we not!!?”Mtu
A3FKAp“Y, yes, but…”hpery
82VggD“Student Korin. I understand your passion but this time around, it is better for us to refrain from fighting the…”4pYx
jCU“Senior Edgar! How can you possibly say such a thing!?”dVxgj
ZBpuD7“Mhmm?”6lrvB2
iOKqzm“Do you not see the suffering victims lying in the streets after losing their houses to that tornado? Can you not see them losing their jobs and lying down on the barren streets by themselves? Do you not see those starving children that will be forced out of their houses?”FK8
fq0km1“I know what you’re trying to say, but the damage done to the city is quite small and there aren’t that many casualties either…”xHe3Zq
aRK“The children are starvinnggggg…!!! How can you possibly say that!!!!??”stNR
2u1u“Like, there are only a couple of people that lost their houses…”XWmxNdI
BtZm“Lives cannot be calculated with money! Each and every one of them is a precious citizen of our city! How can you possibly discard them!!”Mao3vC
v6VPIrH“M, me? I, I am discarding them?”U77k8nD
CpWehM“Can you tell them that we have discarded them for our benefit…! Could you accept that if you were one of those poor children, Professor?”qGNk
zliaXYSniff, sniff! Korin was even tearing up now. Even though the prime reason for his tears were his inns that would soon be blown away by the tornado, the professors weren’t aware of that.wtABepi
PXqGn“Just by thinking of those poor children crying out for their parents… I can’t even make myself go to sleep!!”ydg463q
atKU“Oohh…”KPAAZ
BrOF“What a respectable young man!”j7Bf
m5s“He is the model knight with a chivalrous heart.”Sll8
bWa9yDNProfessor Haman and Professor Orgen said in awe. Unlike mages who were always rational and calculative, knights were actually quite weak to sentimental lines like that.mNqR
CI0uHPk“I have an uncle called Ben. His last name is Parker and he’s not from my father’s side, but you know – he’s one of those uncles with a big beer belly that gives a hearty laughter that goes like, ‘Huhaha’.”hujwP4N
KKfKorin didn’t have an uncle like that. It was pure fiction.VzIavd
AsCJ“When I told him I was entering this Academy to become a knight, this was what he told me.”TrpAIR
un5wYqAfter readying himself to copy a famous line from his previous life, Korin opened his mouth with a serene look on his face.inJG
HxPKa6v“With great power! Comes great responsibility…!!”kWo
EDpCavP“Hmm?”ZUA
r47GJHL“Hohh…”NEdcap
GtHorhV“What a great sentence…”Xccbm
AjDKjCarefully glancing across the audience whose eyes were all on him, Korin passionately continued with his sentence.DFUq
VUG2“I Korin Lork! Will follow my uncle’s advice, and heed to the vow of guardians! And voluntarily enter this fight for the suffering citizens of this city! I trust that you will all be standing with me for this cause…!!”ovUg
ZesJNg“That’s right! That’s the spirit, young man!”rFF2t
OF4g“As expected of a knight. Now that’s some courage!”HAWs
sXS1jProfessor Haman and Professor Orgen took this opportunity to add weight to Korin’s words. It wasn’t just because he was on their side though, and they were whole-heartedly moved by Korin’s passionate speech.jB0
NmZwFdr‘My eyes were correct!’CF1XN
YjtC‘To think we still have such a young yet passionate and respectable knight…!’fVCsWx
SpO3HJA similar opinion was soon carefully raised from the other side.wUKw
USV“S, Student Korin is 100% correct. Each and every life of citizens are equally important. Ahh~ I can also remember the vow I made when I was appointed a guardian…”pIXf
M4WSgqProfessor Deina, who wanted the byproducts of an Alvan which was also known as a Gold Bat, changed sides after getting a valid excuse.3mYxFi
vxjThe one who was at the lead of the objection side, Professor Edgar, repositioned his glasses and tried to come up with a rational and logical rebuttal, but emotion was something that couldn’t be rational in the first place and it was therefore very difficult.IvtCd
GVF“And even if… we take away chivalry and the vow of guardians… even without all those grand reasons…”iT8A
AsHBW2Tears welled up under Korin’s eyes. His acting skills were so remarkable that he might even receive the Academy Award for Best Actor.gPcpLeN
FbveW“I want to save people – those people that are within our reach. So… let’s save them. Okay? Senior Marie?”TYjt
8VMt6I“Nnn?”TArf
uvrwyDKorin asked for the agreement of Marie, who had the most power and the biggest voice among the students.trhJ
tB50“Umm… I, I think it’s okay to just wait though? I can prepare their accommodation and food with my…”HWzpmY
OAJ“Senior Marie…! The children are losing their housesssss…!”Q9lZt
aA0vJ5“H, huh? R, right. Houses are important…!”GrlL
WyYIBMarie was slightly hesitant but in the end, she was like a sunflower who listened to everything Korin Lork said and thus couldn’t go against him.dKfeiGU
yWY“Now that I think about it, I think you are definitely correct Korin!”rZQ
i6N“Hmm…”on4I
t8pGELProfessor Edgar wasn’t expecting the top student of the Magic Department, who should be the personification of rationality and logic, to agree to such a sentimental assertion. He tried to say something in objection but after seeing Professor Lulara, who was sitting next to him, wipe her eyes with a handkerchief, Professor Edgar couldn’t help but swallow his words back in.9iS8w
r0uzdIf he said anything else here, he would become a horrible person. In truth, Korin had indeed prepared everything and was ready to frame him as a cold-blooded and cruel person if Professor Edgar was to say anything more.MoZj
Yuq– Just agree. Come on…!PqA
3OtJa1V“That’s right! Student Korin! No, I should say Junior Korin! You have truly opened my eyes!”trKX
YgzXOZ“Hahaha. There will be a bright future ahead of you! Now this is a knight!”MdMCy
ie3“I believe we have come to a conclusion then.”J8xv
dObzF6Chairman Eriu, who had been watching that skit from the side, organized the opinions of the professors and students and announced our goal.ZB7M2
6iaG‘My inn! I have to save them!’tAV
gCQjYi6The boy at the brink of bankruptcy was extremely desperate.0j5
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Joel575
VIP MortalKoris is hilarious 😂😂