Chapter 184: Aftermath (1)
It was only later that Professor Sady, who had the magic wall B key, was discovered.
She had been found in a drunken state in a back alley bar outside the academy, only because the barkeep had reported her for vandalism and disturbing the peace.
Professor Morg Banshee looked down in disgust at Professor Sady who was being carried in drunkenly.
"Retrieve the keys at once. And open the magic wall."
And with that, the situation was finally under control.
The rescue took 42 minutes and 13 seconds.
By the time the magic wall was dissolved and the professors rushed inside, it was all over.
The professors didn't want the outside world to know that they were late because of jurisdictional and liability issues, so they exaggerated Vikir's heroism even more.
The story of what could have been a catastrophe was dropped and all the focus was on the fact that the academy had the most heroic first-year student in its history.
Meanwhile, Vikir responded briefly to the flood of interview requests.
"It was a team effort, a group of friends."
Due to the toxic fog that filled the stadium, people were unable to see the details of what was happening inside.
But we do know that Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, Bianca, and others who were later rescued spoke out about Vikir's heroism.
Meanwhile.
Vikir's ability to reach Sword Expert rank caused a stir around the school.
Attention was also drawn to how he had managed to ace the defense game with this power, which was strong enough for an 18-year-old, but still insufficient to kill a large number of worker ants and soldier ants.
Vikir readily shared the secret.
"I think you can find it in my midterm exam written answer sheet."
The midterms are divided into a practical and a written portion, with the practical consisting of defense and attack, and the written portion consisting of free research and an essay.
For his free-research paper, Vikir chose the topic of killer ant strategies, and he had written about the weaknesses of worker ants and soldier ants in his report.
The worker ant's bio-compass, which detects magic fields, and a vital point in the skull of a soldier ant.
This information would have been incredibly helpful to Imperial armies out in the wilderness slaying monsters.
It's a treasure chest of tactics that can dramatically reduce the casualty rate of common soldiers and mercenaries, especially those without mana.
A new strategy for the low- to mid-tier monsters that caused the most damage to humanity.
After this was announced, not only the Academy, but the entire Capital, and even the entire Empire, began to tremble.
The result.
"Who is Vikir? The Commander wants to see you."
"His Highness the Crown Prince has sent a letter of commendation."
"The head of the Magical Research Institute wants to meet him...."
At least within the Academy, there were almost no people who didn't know Vikir.
* * *
night sky. The rooftop of a dormitory on a quiet night.
[Exclusive] Hot Star of the Year – Vikir, who is he!? / Views: 129,872
-A boy's performance at the Cold Warrior Class's practical evaluation at around 11 a.m. yesterday became the talk of the town... The person who received the award was a freshman Vikir (18), who just entered the school this year... He dug a tunnel and jumped into the poisonous fog to help his four friends in crisis... He set an example for the others by being a man of action... and by discovering a strategy for the 'Killer Ant' that was previously unknown... Meanwhile, Vikir's performance was recognized with a whopping 9,889 points in the practical evaluation, a new record in the academy's history, given that it was set by a single person...
?(Cold Class 1st year): Wow;; I thought Vikir was just good at studying, but he's an excellent student. ???
??(Hot Class 2nd year): I was there too. But I barely saw it because of the poisonous fog. ??
??(Hot Class 1st year): Wow, that's too much exaggeration~~^^ Typical star making~~
???(Cold Class 1st year): If I didn't see it myself, I would have said ??
???(Hot Class 1st year): Even His Highness the crown prince would look for it, but this...?
??? (Cold Class 1st year): He's just a commoner, what kind of star is he?
???(Cold Class 1st year): Rumor has it that there's a royal among the 20th class...?
???(Hot Class 1st year): No way 22222222...
???(Cold Class 2nd year): No way33333333...
??(Cold Class 1st year): Isn't 9889 points a true story??? That's a record he set alone????
???(Cold Class 1st year): I thought you knew the strategy.
??? (Hot Class 3rd year): But no matter what, that's just too good;;;;
???(Cold Class 3rd year): I wonder if that score is possible even with a 4-person graduating class....
??? (Hot Class 4th year): Yes, it is possible. Now I know that strategy haha.
???(Hot Class 3rd year): You don't know Columbus's egg? It's hard at first, but after that it's easy~
??(Cold Class 1st year): He's going to be a superstar from tomorrow ??? I should get his autograph already.
.
.
.
Vikir crumpled the newspaper.
"...Yikes."
In a matter of minutes, he had become a school celebrity.
Somehow, it was getting farther and farther away from Vikir's intentions.
"This is all because of you."
Vikir frowned at the young madam, who was hanging from the roof railing, knitting.
[hack-hack-hack-]
But the cub, who had just finished eating to the point of bursting at the seams, laid down on its belly in front of Vikir's face as if it was happy.
Vikir sighed and scratched the cub's belly.
Then.
pudeudeog-
The thing he'd been waiting for had arrived.
A white owl flew across the night sky and perched on the railing in front of Vikir.
It was a letter from Sindiwendi, arriving just in time for the appointment.
fluttering-
Vikir plucked the letter from the owl's leg and read it.
The letter is encrypted and cannot be decrypted except by Vikir.
1. 10th Commandment. Information obtained. Time needed to analyze. A month.
2. The Night Hound. Two impersonators appear. One for praise. The other, purpose unknown.
3. Osiris of the House of Baskerville. Family crest emptied. Supposedly headed to the ecliptic Imperial Capital.
After interpreting the keywords, we see that there are three pieces of information listed in order of importance.
The first was about the ten demons (now eight) that Vikir was chasing.
Sindiwendi thought she had a clue about the third demon that Vikir would be hunting.
'However, since I am a very cautious person, it seems like it will take a month to determine whether it is true or not.'
But the information was reliable enough.
Vikir decided to wait patiently.
After all, the last Dantalian hunt had taught him that taking on a demon of Demon King class one-on-one would be too much for him.
'Until then, I must diligently develop my skills.'
Vikir realized that he needed to extend his time as a Night Hound.
There is nothing better than actual practice to develop your skills.
... but.
'A copycat?'
The second piece of information took a moment.
Apparently, there are two copycats of the Night Hound.
This was something that Vikir had more or less guessed.
It was a newspaper article from a while back.
[Exclusive] The Night Hound Strikes Again!? / Views: 74,609
-At around 1 a.m. yesterday morning, the Night Hound began to terrorize again.
The place that was destroyed was the 'Central Clock Tower', a landmark of the ecliptic. This building, which boasts a long history, is a symbol of imperial power and at the same time contains the legacy of the previous emperor, Peha, who wanted to present the standards of imperial order... ... Meanwhile, the number of deaths due to this terrorist attack is... ... The imperial family declared that they would put this rare and heinous criminal to death by any means necessary... ...
[HBO] The worst villain, the Night Hound, how far does his evil go? / Views: 89,269
-The Hound of the Night has struck again.
After destroying the Central Clock Tower at around 1:00am, the Night Hound ravaged the Royal Cemetery at around 4:00am.
The Royal Cemetery is a sanctuary where the brave and fierce generals of the previous era who unified the empire rest, so the fact that they attacked this place was a heinous act that was tantamount to a declaration of war against the entire empire, and indeed the entire human race... ... Meanwhile, the number of remains damaged or lost due to this terrorist attack is enormous, and the exact damage has not yet been calculated... ...
Note that the times mentioned in the article were all around the time Vikir was writing his report for his midterm.
What Vikir didn't do was blamed on the Night Hound.
" ... It's a copycat."
A copycat is a criminal who copies a criminal's behavior when they become famous.
The reasons for copying vary from praise, sympathy, support, rivalry, and cover-ups, but even Sindiwendi hadn't quite figured out the needs of copycats yet.
"One is praising the Night Hound,... and the other is aimless. Hmmm."
Vikir stroked his chin with his hand.
It was to be expected that the Night Hound would become so infamous that there would be copycats.
Most of the copycats were quickly arrested, so he hadn't given it much thought.
However, the two copycats mentioned in the newspaper article and Sindiwendi's letter are different.
The force they had seemed to be considerable, and so was their deliberate action.
It was clear that the two copycats mentioned by Sindiwendi were probably the same as the real criminals pointed out in this newspaper article.
It was not very pleasing to Vikir that two strong and cunning villains appeared at the same time
Not only would it raise the imperial alarm, but it could also lead to overlapping activity.
" ... I'll have to take a look at the site, see what they're like."
Vikir finished reading the letter.
The rest of the letter was of little interest to Vikir, such as the fact that Osiris Les Baskervilles, the head of the Baskerville family and Hugo's eldest son, was away from home.
Vikir burned the letter with an aura on the tip of his fingernail and sent the ashes into the wind.
Just then.
A voice caught Vikir's attention as he leaned against the rooftop railing, reading the newspaper.
"...?"
Vikir slowly turned his head.
A familiar short cut hair, silver hair blowing in the night breeze, shining brightly under the Milky Way.
Sinclair, head of the Hot Class.
Considering the place and time, it was a somewhat unexpected meeting.
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