A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

Chapter 165:

Byzantium (4)

***

At first, I had no idea what knocking me out had to do with discovering my identity.

But now that I’m seeing this scene, I think I might understand.

‘Is this a dream?’

Just a moment ago, I was at the Papal Palace, specifically in the training grounds. But now, I’m not.

It’s an expansive plain. The grass, which reached up to my ankles, swayed gently in the cool breeze.

On felt off.

‘The sky...’

The sky was dark, as if it were night. Stars dotted the sky, and the Milky Way flowed above.

But the ground was different. While the sky was certainly night, the grass on the ground was bright green.

It was as if they were glowing. The contrast between the dark sky and the bright ground was stark.

‘...But what am I supposed to do?’

I get that they made me pass out to force me to dream, but now that I’m dreaming, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Is this supposed to reveal my identity or something?

As I was grumbling to myself, something strange happened in the dark sky, in contrast to the bright ground.

One of the already-bright stars suddenly began to shine even brighter.

To be more specific, out of all the stars, one particular star was shining more intensely.

It was a star with a pure white hue. Before long, that star slowly started to move.

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

The grass beneath my feet suddenly started to grow, wrapping around my body until I was tightly bound.

Panicked, I struggled to move, but it was no use. The grass was so strong that I couldn’t budge.

Meanwhile, the star gradually descended toward the ground. Its size remained unchanged, as if someone were plucking a fruit from a tree.

Eventually, the descending star reached directly above my head.

I barely had time to register this before it continued descending, finally reaching my chest.

The brilliant, glowing star then began to sink into my chest.

As soon as the star entered my chest, the grass that had been binding me receded.

With my body freed, I instinctively touched my chest. The star in the sky had definitely entered my chest.

What could this possibly mean? How is this connected to the reason I’m here?

As these questions swirled in my mind, I heard faint, indistinct voices.

-Madness... freely...

-I am alive... existence.

-We are intruders...

.

The only thing I could infer was that a man and a woman were having a conversation.

-Chaos is... fear.

-Do it... we are...

-We? No...

I couldn’t figure out the content of the conversation, but one thing was certain. The man and woman were fighting over something.

Although I didn’t know the reason for their fight, their tone suggested that it was pretty intense.

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

“Ugh...”

While I was clutching my head in pain, the voices suddenly disappeared.

At the same time, an unfamiliar sensation washed over me. It wasn’t something I felt with my five senses; it was a feeling that resonated directly in my chest. ????

‘But why do I feel...’

That feeling was none other than...

‘...Sad?’

An inexplicable sense of guilt.

*****

I woke up. It might have been a forced sleep through unconsciousness, but sleep is sleep.

When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling. Not metaphorically, but literally.

It took me a moment to piece things together, but I soon remembered why the ceiling was unfamiliar.

‘Ah, that’s right.’

Rize knocked me out by striking the back of my neck. And then I had that strange dream.

I blinked and stared at the ceiling for a while before sitting up. I realized I had been lying on a makeshift bed.

“You’re awake.”

“?”

As I sat up, I heard a familiar voice. I turned my head to see Rize sitting calmly nearby.

She wasn’t in her bulky Holy Sword form but her Holy Warrior form, which emphasized her overwhelming chest. She wore the same outfit as before, which made her stand out even more.

Her short shorts revealed her muscular thighs, and the combination of the shorts and the sleeveless top was impressive.

“Everyone, Sivar is awake.”

I’m tempted to storm into a temple and start cursing them out. But I’d probably get banished permanently, so I should hold back.

The immediate task is to visit the various temples. I’m not sure if their subordinates will show up and talk to me.

‘Let’s see... my faith...’

I briefly focused my gaze into the air. I wanted to check the faith I had accumulated so far.

[Sivar]

• Strength: 145

• Agility: 143

• Stamina: 148

• Magic: 145

• Luck: 110

• Faith: 287

[Traits]

• Wild Instincts (???)

• Rampage (Ex)

• Tenacity (SS+)

• Iron King (SS)

• Poison Resistance (SS)

• Digestion (S+)

• Dexterity (A)

[Skills]

• Stealth (Ex)

• Throwing (Ex)

• Martial Arts (A)

[Abilities]

• Red Magic (Ex)

• Regeneration (SSS)

• Thunder (S)

There were two notable changes. The increase in faith and the evolution of Rampage.

Faith had steadily increased to its current level, and Rampage had evolved during my training with Rize.

I hadn’t used it properly yet, but I had a rough idea of what it could do. It’s a mindless charge using pain suppression.

Meanwhile, my agilies.

‘The minimum faith required to talk to a subordinate is 300... So close.’

I’ve been diligently playing the clown, but I still haven’t met the conditions. It’s a bit disappointing.

...I feel a little guilty, but it’s not like I did any of this on purpose. I definitely didn’t intentionally cause any of those incidents.

“It’s best to visit the Temple of Life first to check on Sivar’s wrist.”

“Oh, I forgot to mention. Sivar’s wrist is fully healed. There’s no need for any additional treatment.”

Rize suddenly interjected as Rod spoke. It seemed she had examined my wrist while I was unconscious.

When it comes to the ‘body,’ there’s no one better than Rize. So her diagnosis is probably accurate.

“Is that so? That’s a relief.”

“Yes. So feel free to visit the temples at your leisure.”

We have plenty of time. Just as Rize said, there’s no harm in taking it slow.

But it’s still better to get things done quickly. After a bit of rest, we decided to visit the Temple of Life first.

I’d love to have a conversation with a subordinate if possible, but I don’t have enough faith for that. So I’ll just settle for visiting the temple.

‘At least I didn’t come away empty-handed.’

As I mentioned earlier, I’m dying to curse them out to their faces. But with my lack of faith, what can I do?

Initially, I thought I could just visit the temples and that would be enough. Only later did I remember the need for faith.

So, we were heading out of the Papal Palace to grab some lunch. Rize, in her Holy Warrior form, was with us.

Crash!!

Suddenly, her level.

I turned my head to see someone jumping out of a window with their arms crossed in an X shape. I swear, it was like a scene from a movie.

“I’m escaping! From this crazy place!!”

Someone was breaking out of the Papal Palace. What on earth am I witnessing?

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

And then someone else jumped out after him, as if trying to catch the escapee.

What followed was a chase scene as they plummeted to the ground. Watching those burly men run around like that was surreal.

“That’s the Pope and Brother Gaspard.”

“It happens all the time, so don’t worry about it.”

This place is definitely insane.

End of Chapte