30 Years Have Passed Since the Prologue

Chapter 37

“May is luminous, and our growth continues~~” (Yuri)

“I wonder, do today’s children still recognize that tune?” (Yuri)

“Ivan was the youngest among us in our reincarnation. Feel free to inquire with him.” (Oswald)

“…?!” (Yuri)

In the eerie club room where the peculiar amalgamated entities still lacked designated names, a somber atmosphere of pain and sorrow lingered among them.

The three fusion beings lay scattered among piles of books, each with a vacant expression.

“I’m a knight major. Why do we have written exams?” (Yuri)

“I have a status window, but no memo function.” (Eugene)

“I hate magic.” (Oswald)

In this pre-modern fantasy world, May is not a month for family. However, if there’s one thing common between Earth and this otherworld, it’s the existence of exams in college.

“I envy Ivan. No assignments, no exams, and he’s a rich adult.” (Yuri)

“If you say that to Big Brother, you might be found as a corpse the next day, Yuri.” (Eugene)

“I hope to spend my time with my parents.” (Yuri)

“Since you’ve begun cracking self-deprecating jokes, I’m at a loss for a comeback.” (Eugene)

“It means going back to Earth, though.” (Yuri)

Sadly, Jan’s University is prestigious. The first midterm for freshmen in college is a ritual of drinking, breaking the common sense that should be expected.

Facing daunting exam content and piles of assignments, the fusion beings were on the verge of despair.

At this point, where all the university fusion beings tremble in the harsh pre-modern society, Ivan is now…

“Aaaah!”

“Hush, be quiet.” (Ivan)

He was pouring a healing potion on a student’s wounds.

“Sa-save me…! Ugh!”

“I don’t think that’s what you’re supposed to say.” (Ivan)

“I’m…. Sorry….!!”

“Hush. Choose your next words carefully.” (Ivan)

He sat calmly beside the student, who was foaming and crying.

“Speak.” (Ivan)

“I won’t… I won’t throw cigarette butts on the ground again…!”

“And?” (Ivan)

“I won’t damage the trees…!”

“Excellent.” (Ivan)

In front of the gardener, throwing cigarette butts under the trees is a horrendous crime comparable to a capital offense in international law.

Considering the student’s youth, Ivan was conducting a free smoking cessation clinic for the twelve students.

“Hey! Uncle!” (Isabelle)

This is after Ivan destroyed twelve environmental destroyers.

In the restored campus peace, Ivan closed the healing potion lid.

Turning his head in the direction of the sound, he saw Isabelle running towards him, waving her hand.

“Hmm.” (Ivan)

“Greetings are usually like ‘hello,’ ‘good morning,’ ‘have you eaten?’ How have you been lately? It’s made up of similar words!”

Isabelle approached energetically, smiling, and looked around. After inspecting a thicket where blood and healing potions were entangled, she made a grimace.

“Oh… did demons attack?” (Isabelle)

“Something like that.” (Ivan)

“Thank you for your hard work! Someone screamed during the exam period, so I thought Uncle might have killed someone again so I came to check!”

“Seems like you’re quite concerned about my image.” (Ivan)

“Ahaha,” Isabelle laughed and turned her head slightly. It was a sufficient response.

“Oh, by the way, can you help me a bit? I need Uncle’s help…” (Isabelle)

“Help?” (Ivan)

“Well, there’s a practical assessment, and it’s too difficult. No, I’m wondering if the practical exam for the first semester midterm can be like this.” (Isabelle)

“Hmm.” (Ivan)

Ivan pondered what he could do for the Knight major’s midterm.

He wouldn’t be teaching things like interrogation or information concealment, similar to Sabotage.

Ah, maybe tactics? Fortunately, with his experience in field command, he felt he could offer some advice in that area.

As Ivan was lost in thought, Isabelle spoke with a smile.

“It’s ambush response tactics!” (Isabelle)

“…Hmm.” (Ivan)

Teaching that to a university freshman… It’s a somewhat unique class.

Ivan reconsidered the usefulness of this university once again. Was it really necessary?

Anyway, it was within his capability to help. Both ambush and ambush response fell under his military specialty.

“Enrique’s class, right?” (Ivan)

“Yep. Goodness. I wonder about the practical use of such teaching in real-life situations.”

“I’ve wondered that myself.”

Ivan nodded and walked ahead.

***

Frechenkaya is a highly developed metropolis, even within the United Kingdom. And this underdeveloped pre-modern era metropolis encompasses the entire extensive metropolitan area.

In other words, some essential resources such as farmland, plains, forests, and rivers should be sufficiently available nearby. Frechenkaya was no exception.

A forest spread out to the east of Frechenkaya, beyond the outer wall. Ivan arrived at the entrance of the forest with Isabelle and stretched his body briefly.

“When I come here, I remember that time. Wow, I really thought I was going to die that day.” (Isabelle)

“Hmm.” (Ivan)

A triangle of conscience in Ivan’s mind scratched somewhere. In reality, Ivan had experimented using Isabelle.

It was the kind of experiment “to see if the protagonist would die during the tutorial…”

While it was a necessary task, Ivan, being an honest person, felt a twinge of conscience.

“Uncle, you’re making a really bad face right now.”

“I normally have a smiling face.” (Ivan)

“I really want to hit you.” (Isabelle)

Isabelle grumbled with narrowed eyes.

“Hmm. But the exam venue itself hasn’t been revealed yet. Why do you think you need to do something here… What’s the reason for coming here?” (Isabelle)

“Because Enrique lacks imagination.” (Ivan)

“…What?” (Isabelle)

“If Enrique is conducting ambush training, it’s either in the Frechenkaya underground waterway or this forest. If she had to choose a more difficult place, it would be here.” (Ivan)

Enrique is a very naive and authoritarian lunatic. Ivan nodded, recalling Enrique from the old days.

Like many elderly people who have lived a long time, Enrique is someone who cannot be free from his own prejudices.

Therefore, Ivan was sure. If she specifically sets an ‘ambush response’ exam, considering her personality, the likelihood of it happening throughout the entire forest is high.

“Isn’t understanding the examiner’s intention a basic skill for test-takers?” (Ivan)

“Wow, did you study well, Uncle?” (Isabelle)

“I didn’t do too badly.”

In this fantasy world, students can’t even imagine such things, but students in South Korea receive compulsory education for 12 years from the age of 7.

“I’m good at written exams too. I’m confident I’ll get almost all A’s in the practicals, but strangely, Professor Enrique’s class is so difficult. Even in regular practical assessments, you can see how merciless she is.” (Isabelle)

“Enrique has always been like that.” (Ivan)

“Wow, Mister, were you also from Jan’s University? A senior?” (Isabelle)

“No, I didn’t go to university.” (Ivan)

Kim Sunwoo also didn’t obtain a university diploma. After discharge, he entered this otherworld in his third year and continued military service for over 20 years.

At that moment, the inner Kim Sunwoo screamed in frustration. Ivan silently continued walking.

“Anyway! Yes, um… Well, if you learned something from Professor Enrique, you’re a senior, right? Right? Um, yeah.” (Isabelle)

“You don’t have to console me.” (Ivan)

How dare this pre-modern indigenous person.

“Yes… A non-academic man who is good at studying. So, how did you prepare for Professor Enrique’s exam?” (Ivan)

“Prepare?”

Ivan chuckled and put his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a small iron bead.

He pulled it out and rolled it on the ground.

“I’ve already started.”

“Huh? What the—”

-Boom!

The iron bead exploded, releasing a smoky fog.

Isabelle quickly stepped back, coughing. Smoke bomb…? No, this…!

“You crazy man! You set off a chemical bomb on a student!” (Isabelle)

Ivan moved his body within the smoke without a response. Thud, thud. Rolling his feet a couple of times, he soared up onto a tree and disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

From behind the shadow, he whispered softly.

“Adjust your level.” (Ivan)

“If you really get caught, you’re dead. I’ll shave you off.” (Ivan)

“…I’ll train you like it’s real.” (Ivan)

Field practice for the Cleansup Unit officer, commence!

Ivan was running through the forest, shooting at Isabelle occasionally to keep a distance.

There was no need to go all out. Due to Isabelle’s almost fully developed threat detection, a single threatening shot was enough to discourage her.

So, he used live ammunition. Directly threatening her life was the most effective way to fully develop threat detection.

“Crazy! Are you really insane!? Shoo, you’re shooting the gun!” (Isabelle)

-Bang!

Each time she yelled, he aimed at her forehead, fired, and retreated.

She would have learned a lesson from this. When you become the target of an ambush, you need to move more discreetly than your opponent.

Ambushing is fundamentally like hunting. Both the hunter and the prey need to blend into their surroundings to avoid each other’s gaze. 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝘰𝓋𝘦𝘭.𝑐𝘰𝓂

Therefore, Isabelle, who unnecessarily dressed so extravagantly, had already deservedly received a failing grade from the start of the exam.

Ivan smeared mud under his eyes to block reflections and nodded his head.

Clank, bang.

He fired a gunshot behind a countermeasure to distract Isabelle’s gaze and shifted his position.

“By the way, external field practice.”

Ivan looked around sharply. As he had reflected before, this forest is close to the military camp of the Frechenkaya capital defense force.

In other words, it meant it was a highly secure area with a high security rating. So, Enrique could probably use it as an exam venue without much worry.

However, Ivan knew.

“In external field practice, encountering hostiles is “common sense”….”

Being a very sensible person, Ivan decided to concurrently observe Isabelle’s training and signs of an ambush.

***

Isabelle clutched the torn edge of her skirt, trembling.

“Really, what the fuck is this…!!” (Isabelle) fr(e)ewebn(o)vel

Come on, seriously! Common sense suggests that when a ten-year-old girl is asked to undergo a bit of training in the woods, her initial expectation is probably a picnic, right?

A date… perhaps not. Not driven by affection or a crush, but simply to express gratitude for saving her life. Just to convey my appreciation.

As the picnic basket was carried away by the chemical bomb and dust, Isabelle, who had been staring blankly, noticed the disheveled sandwich through the open lid and trembled.

“Uncle.” (Isabelle)

She tied up her messy hair and smirked.

“I really want to kill you.” (Isabelle)

To inform the lunatic secret agent lacking common sense about ‘common sense.’

Hero, awaken.

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