30 Years Have Passed Since the Prologue

7 – 3. There must be a terror incident on the academy admission train. (5)

“Ugh… huff… cough….”

“It’s okay. You won’t die.”

“Just kill me….”

“Don’t say such things.”

Ivan whispered affectionately while pouring potions onto Hugo’s body.

Every time the viscous cold liquid touched his body, Hugo trembled, and small screams escaped.

Ivan could accurately discern the heart of this man. One of the things most despised by the soldiers rolling at the forefront was the healing potion. (It held a position just below rice, superiors, commanders, and enemies in terms of dislike, indicating its status.)

In fact, he had the experience of forcibly administering a healing potion when his forearm was about to be severed.

“Just cut off the arm!! aaargh!”

“Don’t say such things, Comrade Petrovich. The body of a comrade is the treasure of the motherland!”

“Who treats a treasure like this!!!”

It was an experience from his immature childhood. After that dreadful experience, Ivan made every effort to avoid major wounds.

The healing potion, known as Albochil, induced pain at the level of a severe drug, reminiscent of the memories of Kim Sunwoo’s time. Thanks to this cursed concoction, Ivan discovered a new value for the healing potion during his service in the eradication unit.

The healing potion inflicted pain akin to sprinkling salt on a burn.

But wounds were invariably healed.

So, even in the process of treating wounds that occurred during interrogation, one could continue the interrogation.

It was truly sustainable interrogation. At that time, Ivan’s fellow agents in the eradication unit were astonished by his idea. (However, in this world, sadly, there was no Geneva Convention for prisoners.)

“No, no more… I… I don’t know… anything…! Really… really… so please stop….”

“You’re more useless than I thought.”

“Let me live… no, let me die….”

“No, you must live.”

Because it’s a tutorial boss.

-Drip.

Ivan poured the potion again, closing the man’s mouth, and stood up.

The criminal organization that orchestrated the train terror wore thick coats, was an adult male, and had a face with a recognition-inhibiting spell.

It was now January. Naturally, adult males wore thick coats during this season.

His nationality couldn’t be discerned from his speech or accent. Ivan hadn’t expected that this guy, who couldn’t distinguish such things, was a country bumpkin.

He hit the mark. Ivan surveyed the surroundings, tongue clicking. The train was still quiet. That wasn’t a bad thing.

“Princess Essidis is still fighting.”

If Princess Essidis had lost, thieves would have rushed out of the train. Instead of finding gold, they would have obtained valuable nobles.

The fact that no one had come out of the train so far actually proved Essidis’s safety.

Thinking so, as Ivan rose to head towards the train.

In that moment, a proximity alert sent a fierce warning to his forehead.

Forehead?

No, towards the entire face.

-Whoosh—

Accompanied by the sound of tearing wind.

-Kwaaang—!!

Chunks of rubble flew through the air like a typhoon, sweeping past the spot where Iván had just been standing.

Iván quickly dodged, bouncing his body to evade the successive trajectories. Thud, thud, thud! The chunks of rubble followed him precisely, embedding themselves into the ground.

“Come out.”

Judging by the force displayed, the opponent was stronger than anticipated.

If that was the case, the opponent must be aware of trajectory sensing as well.

Since it was clear that they had to go through a pitched battle, both sides would have to reveal their bodies.

-He’s a true monster, this Captain!!

Did they dismiss too lightly the words of a novice who couldn’t use trajectory sensing? If this guy wasn’t the Captain, then they wasted a precious potion.

Iván glared coolly at the man approaching from a distance.

“He’s quite capable.”

A middle-aged man with a solid, muscle-packed physique approached with a snarl.

A terrifying aura engulfed him, making the air shiver.

“But daring to lay a hand on my nephew. Foolish compared to your skill.”

Nephew. Was this guy a relative? This was getting troublesome.

Iván licked his lips, holstered his pistol, and gripped an axe in each hand.

“I hope you know something.”

“Nonsense… Come. Let’s end this.”

The man sharpened his teeth, brandishing the axe.

In the next moment, the two men clashed.

*

-Whoosh—! Thud!!

Aesidhe bit her lip, hearing the sound of the violin’s soundboard twisting.

“Hold on a little longer, Kyangkyang!”

The violin wasn’t made for striking. Most instruments weren’t, like most instruments, except for an exception like the electric guitar, which thrived on stage performances.

Thus, this delicate and fragile wooden string instrument gradually broke as Aesidhe swung her arm and the front plate twisted and the soundboard deformed, slowly shattering.

However, Kyangkyang (the violin, 2nd generation) never wasted memories, friendship, or bonds with Aesidhe.

Whenever Kyangkyang was swung, more things broke. Mostly the skulls of adult males.

“Damn it, that crazy woman! What the hell is she doing!”

“Where’s the gold! Hey! What happened to the cargo hold!”

“There’s nothing! We’ve been tricked!”

The thieves wanted to escape. With no gold, having blown up the train, it was obvious the military would be hot on their trail. And right in front of them, the insane woman was destroying people with her violin, ensuring chaos.

Ecydis also wanted to escape. The fragility of Kkang Kkang’s life felt vivid every moment, fighting was frightening, and they didn’t even know where they were.

-Thud!

-Wooden thwack!

When Kkang Kkang finally lost his life, taking another thief’s teeth with him,

Ecydis clenched a piece of the violin’s fingerboard left in his hand, sinking into a dismal mood.

“Kkang Kkang… you were a splendid musician.”

“Damn it, damn it!”

“Isn’t it time to run? This is not the time to fight!”

“Damn it, are we going to bet our lives on going after her?”

“Ah, where the hell is our big brother doing anything!”

Unaware that the big brother was now oblivious to the fact that a fight was erupting between a muscle freak and a special forces officer, the thieves retreated with a rumbling hesitation.

That was a mistake.

‘Aylnar’s Daughter,’ in many ways, resembled her mother, but at least ‘anger,’ ‘fighting spirit,’ and ‘combat skills’ were unmistakably inherited from her father.

She couldn’t let the death of her long-time comrade, Kkang Kkang (2 years, an instrument), be in vain.

With a gentle gesture, she stroked Kkang Kkang’s remains and slowly straightened her back.

“Kkang Kkang, I won’t forget your sacrifice. I’ve always been grateful and sorry.”

“I’ll stop that crazy woman. You guys run away.”

“Big brother!”

“Hurry! You have to survive too!”

The remnants of the thieves left in the wake of the robbery turned their backs and began to flee. With tears in their eyes, they headed towards the headquarters where the big brother was.

As everyone left, the thieves turned to Ecydis with determined faces.

“Please understand, miss.”

“…Huh?”

“We had no idea you were on this train. But if you spare us, we’re willing to go to court and testify. Isn’t Krasilof a country of justice? Spare us!”

The thief threw away his weapon, kneeled, and shouted. It was a wise move.

The escaped thieves, at this very moment, were sweating profusely between the enraged Huscule and the furious extermination unit officer.

“Bringing in a few more thugs won’t change anything!!”

“…There are quite a few survivors. But nothing will change.”

The two men, engaged in a struggle, shouted simultaneously as they saw thieves leaping out of the train, axes clashing against each other’s bodies.

“Eshidis, what happened to the woman on that train? The young blonde. Is she unharmed?”

“My niece!! Is my niece unharmed?!”

Ivan hesitated for a moment at the man’s outcry.

Wasn’t that his niece?

Ivan glanced at the man who had been knocked unconscious by shrapnel during the battle and groaned.

It seemed too challenging.

The man in front of him was like a meticulously designed boss in the early tutorial, playing the role of a barrier preventing progress. It felt as if he was serving as a threshold to prevent easy advancement, much like in a Souls-like game, but the patterns were too diverse. It was an opponent that beginners couldn’t possibly defeat.

In that case…

‘The Academy Train Heist can never kill the protagonist. Allies appear to provide assistance.’

Was this man an ally?

And perhaps the tutorial boss battle was designed to familiarize newcomers with one-on-one combat by defeating some scattered thugs and a clumsy boss after escaping from the train.

Ivan sighed as he sharpened his axe. It was too damaged with teeth all over, probably beyond salvage. Since most weapons were consumables, it didn’t matter much, but it was still regrettable.

“Wait a moment. Weren’t you guys on the same side…?”

“Why would you have such a misunderstanding?”

The man, putting away his weapon along with Ivan, squinted his eyes.

“You were giving healing potions to that bastard.”

“Well.”

Describing it as the interrogation method of the extermination squad was an exaggeration. There was no way to persuade them.

Ivan shrugged his shoulders.

“I had something to find out.”

“Ah, you should have said that first.”

He didn’t give him time to explain.

As Ivan looked at the man with a troubled face, the man laughed heartily, watching a lively woman jumping out of the train.

“Niece!! Eshi!! You’re safe!!”

“Uncle?!”

Ivan ignored the sprinting figure, sneering at the terrified thieves in the aftermath, as if a bomb had just exploded, and chuckled at the destruction around him.

The target was unharmed, and the accomplice had enough skill to keep the target safe until they reached Yansk University.

And he himself should remain inconspicuous to the target. Being exposed would put him in a difficult position, and Esidiss was well aware of that.

It had been seven years since that distant past, and at that time, Esidiss was just a kid who had recently turned twenty. Regardless, she might still remember Ivan.

All the information that could be obtained here was secured. Ivan turned around and withdrew.

*

Eynar’s daughter, Esidiss.

Arrival in Krasilof.

Droan dispatched agent Huscail (estimated) on a solo mission.

Target’s safety secured.

Sending an encrypted short message urgently to the Eastern Palace, Ivan boarded the capital-bound train.

It had been a tiring day for the income it brought.

*

“Esy, do you happen to remember a guy named Ivan?”

“Mr. Ivan?! Yes! Of course!”

Esidiss, who had brightened up at the familiar name, soon lowered her head gloomily.

“He was a really good person… kind, impressive…”

“I don’t know about that, but anyway.”

The man furrowed his brow and moved on.

Under the hastily constructed makeshift cover made from tearing off the train door, six or so thieves carried the palanquin, terror evident on their faces.

The man murmured quietly to Esidiss atop the palanquin, careful not to be heard.

“I heard he died two years ago.”

The combat style seemed strangely familiar, having clashed with the special forces of Krasilof and come out victorious.

Using an axe felt oddly natural, similar to Eynar’s brotherly strikes. If the rumors were true that he learned axe skills from Eynar, there was only one guy who fit the bill.

– Reserve Ivan Petrovich.

More precisely, ‘Hero Reserve’ Ivan Petrovich. One of the guys considered for deployment when there was a vacancy in the hero party.

He was undoubtedly reported to have slain a dragon during the extermination battle after the demon king’s demise.

Due to his thick beard, the shadowy forest, and the eyes consumed by rage, there was no chance to accurately observe the opponent’s appearance.

Well, he seemed like a guy from the royal information organization, so if he continued activities in the capital, they would surely meet at some point.

At that time, it was even an occasion to order a shave. The man shrugged his shoulders and took a step.

A week’s journey on foot to the capital.

The crossing of the train and the furnace by the two ‘freshmen’ of Jansk University begins!

*