A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 165

I had no idea what knocking me unconscious had to do with my identity at first.

But seeing the scene before me now, I could roughly piece it together.

‘Is this a dream?’

Just moments ago, I was at the Papal Palace, specifically in the Training Arena. But now, that was no longer the case.

A vast plain. A plain where grass, tall enough to brush my ankles, swayed in the cool breeze.

At first glance, it seemed like a rather peaceful place. But upon closer inspection, something felt off.

‘The sky······’

The sky was dark, as if it were night. Stars were scattered across it, with the Milky Way flowing among them.

But the ground was different. Though the sky was undoubtedly night, the grass glowed with a bright light green hue.

It was as if they were imbued with light. The contrast between the brightness of the ground and the darkness of the sky was striking.

‘······So what am I supposed to do?’

Knocking me unconscious to force me into a dream was one thing.

But now that I was dreaming, I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Was this supposed to reveal my identity or something?

Shaaa-

Just as I was grumbling to myself, a strange phenomenon occurred in the dark sky, so unlike the bright ground.

One of the already radiant stars began to shine even brighter.

To elaborate, among all the stars, one in particular stood out, glowing intensely.

A star characterized by its pure white brilliance. Before long, that star began to move slowly.

Swoosh-

As the star moved across the sky, the grass on the ground also began to change.

The grass directly beneath me suddenly grew taller, wrapping tightly around my body.

Startled, I struggled to move, but it was no use. The grass was so tough that I couldn’t budge an inch.

Meanwhile, the star gradually descended toward the ground. Its size remained constant, as if it were being plucked like a fruit.

Shaaa-

Eventually, the descending star reached directly above my head.

I only had a moment to confirm how far it had come before it slowly descended further, stopping at my chest.

Swoosh-

The star, trailing a radiant aura, soon entered my chest.

As soon as the star entered my chest, the grass that had tightly bound me began to retreat.

Once I regained my freedom, I instinctively touched my chest. There was no doubt—the star from the sky had entered me.

What could this possibly mean? How was it connected to the reason I was brought here?

As these questions swirled in my mind, unfamiliar voices began to echo in my ears.

-Madness······ at will······

-I am alive······ aren’t I?

-We are intruding······

The voices were fragmented, making it impossible to understand what they were saying.

What I could discern was that a man and a woman were having a conversation.

-Chaos is······ terrifying.

-Do it······ we are······

-We? No······

Though I couldn’t make sense of their conversation, one thing was clear: the man and woman were arguing for some reason.

While I didn’t know the reason for their fight, their tone made it obvious that the situation was quite tense.

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the voices echoing in my mind. I was starting to feel dizzy.

“Ugh······”

Clutching my head, I grimaced.

At some point, the voices that had been ringing in my head disappeared entirely.

At the same time, a strange sensation washed over me. Not through my five senses, but directly into my chest.

‘But why······’

The sensation was none other than—

‘······Does it feel so sad?’

An inexplicable sense of guilt.

*****

“··· ···”

I woke up. Though it was sleep induced by unconsciousness, sleep was still sleep.

As I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a strange ceiling. Not a metaphorical one—a literal strange ceiling.

Though it took me a moment to process the situation, I soon realized why the ceiling was unfamiliar.

‘Ah. That’s right.’

Rize had struck the back of my neck, knocking me out. And then I had that strange dream.

Blinking, I stared at the ceiling for a while before sitting up. I realized I had been lying on a simple bed.

“You’re awake.”

“?”

As I sat up, a familiar voice reached my ears. Turning my head, I saw Rize sitting demurely nearby.

Not in her rugged Authority Form, but in her Saint Form, flaunting her overwhelming presence. She looked just as she had before, standing out even more in her attire.

Moreover, her short shorts revealed her strong thighs in full view. The combination of short shorts and a sleeveless top was striking.

“Everyone, Mr. Sivar has regained consciousness.”

Rize’s tone was gentle yet firm. At the same time, the people sparring in the distance turned their attention toward us.

The sparring individuals were Luna and Kara, with Rod observing from the side, arms crossed.

I wasn’t sure when Luna had woken up, but at the very least, it was clear I had been asleep for quite some time.

“You’re awake? You slept for so long we were starting to worry.”

Kara wiped the sweat from her sleeve with a cheerful voice. Her face always radiated an infectious energy.

Beside her, Luna stared at me intently, her wide eyes making her gaze slightly intimidating.

“So, what kind of dream did you have? Did Lord Chaos speak to you?”

“Hmm······”

Hearing Kara’s question, I furrowed my brow. Was it because it was a dream, or was my memory just fuzzy?

I couldn’t clearly recall everything. I only vaguely remembered the star entering my chest and the strange voices I had heard.

‘Including that final sense of guilt······’

I still had no idea what it all meant. For now, it seemed best to just explain things as they were.

With my limited language skills, I did my best to describe what had happened. I skipped over the fragmented conversation since I couldn’t make sense of it myself.

After hearing my story, the others wore puzzled expressions, tilting their heads when I mentioned the guilt I had felt at the end.

“So, to summarize······ a star in the sky entered Brother Sivar’s chest. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“There’s so much room for interpretation······ And you said the sky was night while the ground was day······”

“Is it typical for Lord Chaos to communicate in such a manner?”

As Luna voiced her question, it was clear everyone else shared the same curiosity. The possibilities for interpretation were endless.

Even I couldn’t make sense of it, so how could anyone else? Rize nodded in response to the question.

“Yes. Lord Chaos has never communicated directly. I, too, was able to visit the Academy through a dream.”

“What kind of dream did you have, Saint?”

“I dreamed that Brother Sivar would become an exemplary follower of Chaos.”

“··· ···”

Even a lie should have some limits. But coming from Rize, it carried a strange sense of credibility.

Still, the idea that Chaos couldn’t communicate directly felt a bit odd. After all, even the messages that appeared were clear enough.

Whenever I acted like a clown or influenced those around me, my faith in Chaos would increase. It was difficult to grasp how this system worked.

‘Even in the Soul World, Chaos remained silent like a mute.’

Gaia and Gulak, at least, would speak upon reaching their temples.

Of course, they wouldn’t communicate directly but would send their minions to speak on their behalf.

Not humans, but minions marked by indigo. Each god, except for Chaos, had two minions under their command.

Only individuals like Rize or Rod would likely be able to converse directly with the gods. Perhaps Kara could speak with Gulak.

“So we’re still lacking clues. Could the star entering your chest be interpreted as some kind of blessing?”

“I’m not sure, but one thing is certain: the gods are paying attention to Sivar. Though their reasons remain unclear.”

“Couldn’t we just ask the Orders?”

“It’s a decent approach, but it won’t be of much help. Even if we can hear their voices, without sufficient faith, it would just be simple prayer.”

“I’ll ask Lord Gulak about it later.”

While everyone was sharing their opinions, only Luna kept her mouth shut and stared at me.

She continued to watch me with wide-open eyes, as if observing me. I wondered if something was on my face.

“Luna.”

“··· ···”

“Luna?”

“Uh, yes?”

“Why do you keep staring?”

I asked her directly. Luna blinked her large eyes a couple of times in response to my question.

Then, scratching her head awkwardly, she answered in a quiet voice.

“It’s nothing. It’s just… something’s been bothering me.”

“What is it?”

“Um… your eyes?”

“My eyes?”

At the mention of eyes, I instinctively touched around my eyes. What could possibly be wrong?

As everyone knows, Luna has a special ability related to ‘eyes.’ I wondered if something was wrong with me.

If there was an issue, that would be troublesome. Especially since it happened right after having that kind of dream.

“Is there a problem? The color hasn’t changed or anything.”

“No. I was just wondering if anything had changed.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Thankfully, it seems there’s nothing wrong. At least, that’s what Kara’s words suggest.

Unless Luna is hiding something. I should ask her later when we’re alone.

“In the end, we’ve only added more mysteries. Is this something that can only be solved with time?”

“For now, it seems so. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”

“No. There’s no need for you to apologize. It was already a bundle of mysteries to begin with, so adding more doesn’t really change anything.”

“Still, we’ve learned that Sivar is connected to the gods. Isn’t that enough?”

More than enough. It’s now almost certain that the gods were the ones who dropped me into this place.

Honestly, I feel like storming into a temple and causing a scene. But I hold back, as it might get me permanently banished.

For now, the priority is to visit each temple. I wonder if a minion will appear and talk to me directly.

‘Let’s see. My faith…’

I briefly shifted my gaze into the void to check the faith I’ve accumulated so far.

[Sivar]

•Strength: 145

•Agility: 143

•Stamina: 148

•Mana: 145

•Luck: 110

•Faith: 287

[Traits]

•Wild Instinct (???)

•Rampage (Ex)

•Tenacity (SS+)

•Iron King (SS)

•Resistance to Weak Poisons (SS)

•Digestion (S+)

•Dexterity (A)

[Techniques]

•Ambush (Ex)

•Throwing (Ex)

•Martial Arts (A)

[Abilities]

•Red Mana (Ex)

•Regeneration (SSS)

•Thunder (S)

The two major changes are the increase in faith and the evolution of Berserk.

Faith has steadily risen to its current level, and Berserk evolved through training with Rize.

Although I haven’t fully utilized it yet, I have a rough idea of its function—a mindless charge using invulnerability.

Additionally, my agility and martial arts skills have improved, marking decent growth overall. The hardware is so strong that the improvement isn’t as noticeable.

‘The minimum requirement to converse with a minion is 300… so close.’

Despite diligently playing the clown, I didn’t meet the conditions. It’s a bit disappointing.

…Though I feel a slight pang of guilt, I didn’t do those things intentionally. Absolutely not on purpose.

“For now, it seems best to visit the Temple of Life to check on Sivar’s wrist condition.”

“Ah. I forgot to mention earlier. Brother Sivar’s wrist is fully healed. There’s no need for additional treatment.”

Rize suddenly interjected as Rod was speaking. It seems she examined my wrist while I was unconscious.

When it comes to ‘the body,’ no one surpasses Rize. Hence, she can make such diagnoses.

“Is that so? That’s a relief to hear from you.”

“Yes. So there’s no need to rush your visit to the temple.”

There’s plenty of free time anyway. As Rize suggested, taking my time visiting isn’t a bad idea.

Still, it’s better to get things done quickly. I decided to rest a bit first and then visit the Temple of Life.

If possible, I’d like to converse with a minion, but my faith stat is insufficient. So, I decided to just visit for now.

‘At least there’s some progress.’

As I mentioned earlier, I feel like hurling profanities directly at their faces. But lacking faith, there’s nothing I can do.

Initially, I thought simply visiting would suffice. Remembering that faith was required came to me belatedly.

Thus, I stepped out of the Papal Palace to grab some lunch. Saint Form Rize tagged along as well.

Crash!!

Suddenly, the sound of glass shattering rang out. It wasn’t from the first floor but somewhere higher.

Turning my head, I saw someone jumping out with their arms crossed in an X-shape. It looked like a scene straight out of a movie.

“I am escaping from this insane place!”

“··· ···”

Someone breaking out through the Papal Palace window. What on earth am I witnessing?

“Hahaha! Where do you think you’re going, Your Holiness?!”

And then, someone else leaped after them, seemingly trying to catch the escapee.

What followed was a chase as they both landed below. The sight of such bulky individuals doing this was incredibly surreal.

“That’s the Pope and Brother Gaspard.”

“··· ···”

“It’s a regular occurrence, so there’s no need to worry.”

This place is undoubtedly insane.