A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 149

Playing around with the catapult was short-lived and quickly abandoned.

Grace had sternly scolded us, saying that we were only wearing down the durability of the already limited siege weapons.

On top of that, the fact that the catapult’s projectiles would just fly off and return without achieving anything was infuriating.

Boom! Bang! Bang!

“Wow… Is that even a person?”

“Is he firing a cannon with his bare hands? Is that even possible?”

“If he’s doing it, it must be possible.”

So, I acted as planned. That plan was to throw cannonballs with my bare hands.

It was a ridiculously straightforward and brute-force technique, but its effectiveness was remarkable. Especially when infused with Red Mana.

Each time the cannonball struck the city wall, it not only caused an impact but also exploded, naturally inflicting significant damage.

Moreover, the distance was quite considerable, making it difficult for the other side to respond properly. At best, they were doing their utmost to defend.

‘Throwing really does come in handy.’

Without the throwing technique, even if I hurled the cannonballs, they wouldn’t have had the desired effect.

Not only would the power have been reduced, but the accuracy would have also dropped. Right now, I’m focusing all my attacks on one spot to bring down the city wall.

Even the instructors probably didn’t anticipate the cannonballs exploding. Back then, I hadn’t infused them with Red Mana, so they must be baffled.

“The, the cannonballs are gone!”

“Huh?”

The problem was that the number of cannonballs was woefully insufficient. I hadn’t thrown many, yet they were all used up.

All the cannonballs, including the iron ones and the stone ones, were gone. Although some were replenished intermittently, even those ran out.

“Let’s first check the condition of the city wall. What’s its current state?”

“Hmm…”

At Grace’s command, a student checked through a telescope. We had thrown quite a few, so the damage must be substantial.

“A few more throws, and it looks like it might collapse… but it’s difficult right now, isn’t it? The sun will set soon.”

“That’s a bit disappointing. I’d like to supply more cannonballs if I could…”

Grace muttered while looking up at the sky. I also looked up at the sky.

We had wasted time playing with the catapult and then wasted more time replenishing cannonballs intermittently.

I had also been casually throwing them at first for the sake of the trial, which is why we ran out of cannonballs so quickly.

‘If I had been serious, I wouldn’t have thrown them at the city wall.’

Besides, my current state was more like exerting just a bit of effort. If I had used my full strength, that city wall would have crumbled in no time.

No, I wouldn’t even have needed to throw cannonballs. I could have just flown over with the catapult and wiped everything out. But that would’ve ended things too quickly.

“We need to capture the castle soon… At the very least, we need to capture it by tomorrow morning to even out the score.”

Grace bit her thumbnail anxiously. It seemed more time had been wasted than she had anticipated.

Since I had also wasted time playing around, I planned to resolve it within today. There were plenty of methods.

‘I also need to test my techniques.’

Leaving the pondering Grace behind, I briefly looked around. I wondered if there was a suitable polearm nearby.

Before long, I spotted a spear. That should do nicely.

“Hup!”

Whoosh!

Just like earlier with the cannonballs, I put strength into throwing the spear. The spear shot forward at high speed.

However, since I didn’t infuse it with mana and relied solely on raw strength, it simply lodged into the city wall and stopped.

I didn’t stop there and continued throwing other spears in succession. Perhaps due to the fractures forming on the wall, the spears embedded themselves more easily.

“Done.”

“…What do you mean, done?”

“The work.”

“…?”

At my remark that the work was done, Grace tilted her head in confusion, her expression full of doubt.

It seemed the impact of the Human Cannonball incident was still strong. She rarely trusted tasks I undertook personally unless they were direct orders.

“I’ll go alone at dawn.”

“What?”

“When dawn comes.”

Cutting off my words, I looked toward the castle.

“I’ll take care of the castle. Then I’ll open the gate.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yeah.”

A pitch-black night was something I was well accustomed to.

******

Even in a civilization, many things remain unchanged. One of the most representative examples is day and night.

Day is bright because the sun is up, while night is shrouded in pitch-black darkness, relying solely on moonlight.

However, there were places where even the moonlight barely reached—like a dense forest.

Having spent time in such places, my night vision had become exceptionally sharp, with my five senses heightened as a bonus.

‘Lucky me. There’s barely any moonlight.’

At 4 a.m., the time when people are most likely to let their guard down, I left the occupied territory, just as I had told Grace.

With very little moonlight, it was the perfect night for infiltration. Of course, whether I could do it well was another matter entirely.

‘I did learn dagger techniques and methods from Yeonju, but will it work out?’

Moving quietly through a forest and sneaking into a castle are similar yet different.

Suppressing my presence was the same, but dealing with people was a whole other matter. I felt a bit tense.

‘The castle is lit up.’

Before long, I arrived near the city wall. Looking up at the top of the wall, I saw it was illuminated.

It wasn’t some electronic device like a light; it was literal fire. It really felt like something out of Earth’s Medieval Era.

Worried about being spotted, I stuck close to the city wall. Then, I moved stealthily toward the area where I had embedded the spears earlier in the morning.

Using the spear shafts like monkey bars, I began climbing up slowly. It might cause some noise, but it was better than leaping up all at once.

‘But why can’t I sense any presence?’

Just before reaching the top of the wall, I cautiously peeked my head out to assess the situation. The Castle Wall Top was eerily quiet.

I wondered if I had been discovered, but I quickly realized what was going on.

“Snore…”

“… …”

Right. There’s always at least one deadbeat in any group.

Still, I couldn’t really blame them. Given the time of day, it was understandable.

Moreover, these were students who weren’t used to night watch duties. Resisting sleep would have been extremely difficult.

‘But it’s not just one person; they’re all asleep?’

Looking around the Castle Wall Top, I even saw someone leaning against the wall, fast asleep. I couldn’t help but wonder how Kara would react if she saw this.

No, wait. She might have scolded them thoroughly, but they probably ignored her or grumbled about who would attack at such an hour.

They’d soon realize how foolish that judgment was. I gripped the wall and climbed up.

Then, I pulled out a dagger from my pocket and covered the mouth of a student who was sound asleep.

“…Mmph?”

Thud!

The student, sensing something too late, reacted, but it was already over. The dagger had already pierced their neck.

Of course, it wasn’t a real dagger but a special one designed for the trial. When it stabbed something, the blade would retract inward.

You could call it an Assassin’s Dagger. It looked like a toy dagger, but as a test weapon, it was effective enough.

Vrrr—

A protective barrier quickly enveloped the student who had been stabbed in the neck. Much faster than usual.

The speed of activation was quicker when using the Assassin’s Dagger. It seemed to be designed to prevent them from screaming.

‘Interesting.’

After taking care of all the sentries on the Castle Wall Top, I examined the dagger. Pressing the tip of the blade with my palm, it retracted inward.

I considered playing around with it but decided to save that for later. I didn’t want to die in some ridiculous way.

“Huh? Wh-what? What’s going on…?”

While I was fiddling with the dagger, someone seemed to have climbed up onto the Castle Wall Top.

Instantly, I threw the dagger in the direction of the sound. My reaction was seamless, like flowing water.

Thwack!

“Gah…!”

“Oh.”

The problem was that my throw was too accurate. The dagger hit the student squarely on the head.

The student fainted, their eyes rolling back. It wasn’t because they were killed by the dagger—it was just a knockout.

Judging by how the protective barrier surrounded them more slowly than usual, it was clear. They must have tensed up in shock.

‘This is why maintaining vigilance is so important.’

Except for the student who got caught off guard while heading to the restroom, all the guards were slacking off.

The professors were probably watching this entire scene. They must have clicked their tongues and deducted points. Likely quite a significant amount.

On the other hand, since I infiltrated in a way that could be considered “common sense,” I probably earned a lot of points. Honestly, I did it because it seemed fun.

‘Sometimes, you have to do things the sensible way.’

Playing around with the catapult was all part of the plan. It was a strategy to make them drop their guard.

…Actually, that’s a lie. The catapult was purely for my own amusement. I moved my steps quietly and descended further.

The inner area of the city wall was overall quite ordinary. From the weapon racks to various camp facilities, everything was standard.

The building that had been used to gather supplies was hastily repaired after I smashed it to pieces.

‘Now, let’s see. Where is Kara sleeping…?’

I checked each tent that was set up like a campsite. Anyone who wasn’t Kara had a dagger lodged in their throat.

When they wake up the next day, they’ll probably curse out the guards thoroughly. Of course, even if the guards had acted properly, I would’ve broken through anyway.

Eventually, after searching through each tent one by one, there was only one left. Since even Antonio had been dealt with, Kara must be resting in there.

Swoosh—

“Snore…”

As expected. When I peeked into the entrance of the tent, Kara was sound asleep.

Unlike the others, she was sleeping alone—not because she was in charge of command, though.

It was highly likely that no one shared a tent with her simply because Kara was difficult to deal with. Kara herself probably preferred it this way, saying it was more comfortable.

“Hmm…”

Before finishing her off, I stared down at Kara’s face intently.

Since I had erased all traces of my presence, she was deeply asleep, completely unaware of the world around her. As expected, even in sleep, a beauty remains beautiful.

Her attire wasn’t quite a dancer’s outfit, but it was still rather light. Particularly, her toned thighs peeked out from beneath the blanket, drawing my gaze.

“Pfft.”

Then, a funny idea popped into my head. I racked my brain, drawing on all my knowledge of the Soul World to recall the customs of the Tatars.

Specifically, the way Kara was addressed back during the tribal alliance. She had been part of the military, after all.

Back then, she was both the chieftain’s daughter and a warrior. Even as someone of noble status, I heard she stood guard duty like everyone else.

Therefore, it was obvious she would have no small amount of trauma related to the military.

Swoosh—

With that, I carefully brought my lips close to Kara’s ear. Then, I whispered softly.

“Kara. Kara.”

“Mmm…”

As I quietly called her name, she furrowed her brows. Her forehead twitched as if she were about to wake up.

All that remained was the final blow. I chuckled before delivering it.

“It’s time for night watch.”

“Huh-uhhh!!”

With the final blow, she let out a bizarre sound and bolted upright. Her reaction was priceless.

“…Huh?”

Sitting up, Kara blinked blankly for a moment.

She turned her head to look behind her, trying to figure out what was going on. Her eyes met mine.

“…Huh?”

“Hello.”

I waved my hand gently in greeting.

“Did you sleep well?”

“…”

Kara’s expression was truly a sight to behold.