Chapter 4 : from war to academy

I kept in touch with Ed every once in a while. He had become more than just a fellow hunter — he was someone I could rely on.

By the time I turned sixteen, I could feel things shifting.

The Bishop…

He knew about me.

He knew about the artifacts.

And now, he wanted to use my powers.

But something bigger was coming.

A new war? Maybe.

But it wasn't soldiers or kingdoms fighting.

It was the animals.

They had started migrating — leaving their cold homes, flooding toward the Kingdom's forest in waves.

Bears. Wolves. Beasts I'd never seen before.

Too many.

Too sudden.

Too unnatural.

Something dark was pulling the strings behind this.

---

I left home to meet Ed.

We met at the edge of the Eastern hills, where the ground was scarred from a recent monster attack.

His face was tense.

> "There's something wrong," he said, kneeling to examine the tracks.

"I've never seen this many beasts move like this. It's like... they're being herded."

I swallowed hard. I had a feeling.

A familiar darkness creeping in.

> "Some of them are... what?" I asked.

Ed looked up at me, dead serious.

> "Some of them aren't beasts anymore."

"They've been possessed."

We walked out of the place.

The more he told me about it, the more I got worried.

He said that I shouldn't involve myself in petty things like this, and that I'm actually a very good one.

Not to mention that I'm only 15.

So I said, "It's okay. But thanks for worrying about me."

We got to the guild, and then the lady said the request I submitted to join the war had been set up now.

He was so shocked and said, "Why?"

I said, "If you weren't around, I would have just been a kid dreaming of money."

"But thanks to you, I'm about to enter an academy."

"So how should I just stand by while you're going to a dangerous war?"

We both agreed not to waste time, and that I already signed — I'm not gonna back out.

---

Then the war happened.

It was pretty good to watch.

Then the Bishop stopped the war — both sides froze.

The king was being controlled, so no one knew, but me and the old man Zane did.

I waited for the right moment.

He used his demon powers.

And exploded the war ground.

The place as well — and he even used a resurrection spell and resurrected the dead monsters.

And when he was about to kill the king…

The king's father, Zane, got in and fought him using his light magic sword.

And I used my artifact.

Number 4: Explosive Arrows — and shot them down from here.

In that moment,

The Bishop knew where I was and ordered them all to kill me.

I used up all my artifacts…

And killed every last one of them, one by one.

The king got back to himself and he said "Father" to the old man.

Eventually, the old man fought righteously, but barely made it.

The Bishop ran away.

I was a coward not to follow him.

Besides, I got my own injuries here.

Everyone was so shocked that the late king was actually alive — they all forgot about me, and I was dead.

Ironic, right?

I died for a reason.

Those light-asses just passed me.

Then the old man woke up holding the necklace the princess gave me last year.

She was astonished by how her necklace ended up in his hand.

He told her everything.

And Ed knew.

So he took my body — he didn't want me to be buried like any soldier.

So he took me to his house, a very fancy one.

Then I woke up and said, "Yoo it's kinda late."

He was crying with his fiancée for my death.

He was so surprised he almost lost consciousness.

But I explained everything.

I have 12 artifacts inside of me — and if I die, one of the artifacts will die first and I will live… but with only 11 artifacts.

That's how.

I found my other place to stay, and he eventually enrolled me in the academy.

That's right.

I'm officially a magic user.

It's been really long.

It's actually been 2 whole years and no one else except Ed and his fiancée knows I'm alive.

Well, that's just how it should be — the Bishop is not dead.

But this time, he changed his appearance and…

Joined an academy as a teacher.

Not just any academy.

He joined an elite magic academy.

Where the princess is.

But he forgot one thing.

I'm there.

And I'm not gonna let him touch anyone.

I swear with my name, I'm gonna defeat him this time.

---

So I finally got ready to join the academy.

I walked in — the school seems pretty cool.

Then there's always this so-called nobles.

There are three nobles.

Who are really strong — well at least people call them strong.

They are in my class and they act and overreact.

Beating the shit out of a nerd student is something I highly disagree with.

After a walk in the school, I got into my class.

No one was actually there.

I sat in the corner of the class.

One of the three woke me up — and the moment he saw my face, his ass was trembling as hell.

He then said, "Sorry, I thought I know…"

He left and talked about me with his friends.

He was so scared that his hand shivered.

My very own gaze is a gaze that has seen many dead bodies.

It was a death stare.

So he didn't want to say I looked scary.

He faked it saying, "This guy is a bully I swear. Let's not mess with him. If you guys want, go mess with him, but I think we should stay in peace — at least until we dominate."

They all said, "You're a smart one, him."

And they walked out of the class.

I didn't sleep last night.

Yeah,

I was tired as fuck — that I slept, and someone woke me up again.

This time, it was a very elegant and beautiful lady — she was almost a goddess.

But then I snapped — bro, she is the princess herself.