I Killed the Player of the Academy-Chapter 250 ༺ Life of a Man (1)༻

→ Life of a Man (1)←

Group teleportation in the game was a quality of life magic spell that allowed the player to travel anywhere they wanted outside of battles.

When you were allied up with Josephine Clara, who was renowned for the said spell, you were able to not only teleport but also get other supportive spells like meteor strikes.

However, this spell was not something that was unique to Lady Josephine.

Dimensional magic was a sector of magic.

In fact, it used to be one of the major cults of the Tower of Mages, back when they suffered severe damage from Josephine’s dimensional spells during the Witch Revolution.

There was, however, one clear downside to dimensional magic.

It wasn’t cost-efficient.

The amount of mana required to teleport one single person rivaled that of grand spells, and that increased even further depending on the distance they had to teleport.

With the rise of a monstrous figure in dimensional magic called Josephine, normal mages started to give up on even learning it unless they considered themselves to be a future material for a great mage.

What was fortunate, at the very least, was that there were a lot of mages in this expedition.

The slave mages from the Tower had all joined the war, and because we were in charge of all the Guardian Associations, we were able to command most of the mages and knights under the Associations to participate in the war.

As a result, there was a high ratio of mages in spite of the sheer number of soldiers we had.

Right now, there were 98 mages in Miruam’s army.

Considering the distance between here and where Lady Josephine was, each and every mage acting as a mana battery for the group teleportation would only allow the teleportation of about 20~30 people.

In other words, the maximum we could take was approximately 3,000.

Then what would happen to the remaining 3,000? They had to stay behind, and there was nothing bright about what would happen to them.

“I’m assuming you will prioritize the important figures like knights and mages, followed by elites without considering the injured and the conscripted.”

“Yes. Because they are the core of this expedition.”

I could understand where they were coming from.

The moment they were injured, the injured soldiers couldn’t contribute much in the war. The same applied to the conscripted soldiers who had mediocre equipment – they didn’t have the gears necessary to fight against demonic spirits.

Strategically, that might be the right choice to make.

I couldn’t deny that.

I couldn’t but…

“The rest would all die though.”

“I know. But that’s the reality of it.”

Without looking away, Miru stared directly into my eyes. It seemed that she was willing to take the blame for herself.

“You know what I’m going to say, right?”

“I know. So…”

Miruam suddenly held onto my hands. Her tiny hands desperately clung onto mine, which were at least double her size.

“Please. Just listen to me this one time.”

As if she knew she wouldn’t be able to gain my approval, she appealed and begged.

“Hmm…”

I felt a bit hesitant, because this reminded me of the time Miru was begging me in the last iteration.

[Help me with my revenge. Just turn a blind eye to it, and I can give you everything I have.]

A wife and a child, as opposed to demi-humans whose faces I didn’t even know of. It was obvious who anyone should logically go for, but back then, I had made the same decision I was about to make.

“Sorry. I can’t do that.”

“…You really are one hell of a bastard.”

“Aigo. Seems that I made our little princess upset.”

It was at least a little bit different this time, because she was trying to persuade me out of concern for my well being.

As a man, it was something to be happy for.

“I will stick to my life convictions.”

‘I will save the world.’

The moment I decided to shoulder that task was when I had vowed to put my life on the line as often as I needed to.

‘Maybe I’m too much of a romanticist for a modern person.’

Even I had no idea why I couldn’t value efficiency and rationality a little more like others.

“Seriously, why are you like this…” she muttered.

“Who knows. Hmm… Well, if I had to think of a reason…”

I will stick to my life convictions.

Even if I were to die doing so.

“I just don’t want to.”

****

The army of 10,000 soldiers was practically no longer effective.

The normal standard of a battalion being considered impossible to continue fighting was 20%, and it had far exceeded that threshold already. Plus, it was at a point where they had to even consider giving up on the injured.

Essentially, the only reason the soldiers weren’t running away was because they instinctively knew they had a higher chance of survival when sticking together in this pitch-black darkness.

That was when rumors started to spread.

– I have a friend who’s in charge of communication. He said the executives are preparing to teleport away!

– What? Are they just gonna run away with the knights and mages?

– Fuck! They’re just telling us to die then!

During the fight against the undeads, the higher-ups had to plan for the worst. They gathered the mages to a tent and had been talking extensively on the possibilities and risks of group teleportation.

Naturally, they couldn’t stop everyone from spreading that information.

“Captain! Is this true!? Is it true that the higher-ups are trying to run away and leave us here to die!?”

“Go back! Don’t get swayed by false rumors! And stay where you’re supposed to be!”

The uneasiness that the higher-ups might discard them turned into fear that they might be enveloped by that unending wave of undeads.

It was further amplified by the built-up fatigue and difficulty to think straight, due to them relying on torches for three whole days while fighting to stay alive.

“Fuck it! I don’t care anymore! Either way, I’m gonna die anyway!”

The soldiers that threw away all hope pounced at their executives.

It was happening all around the encampment since they didn’t have to worry about external enemies thanks to the Sun above them.

“Let us out! We want to live too! Don’t you dare think about leaving here alone!”

One of them even unsheathed his sword. Without even thinking through the potential punishment he could receive, the panicking soldier was about to swing his sword at his superior.

“Aht?”

That was when someone grabbed onto his wrist. He glared at the one who was stopping him, but widened his eyes in surprise after seeing who it was.

“S, Sir Korin…”

Realizing that the one holding his wrist was none other than Korin Lork, the soldier lowered his eyes in awe.

Despite the prevalence of doubt, Korin Lork was a special figure.

He was a knight who had visited them along with the Sun to save them from the endless waves of undeads.

Korin Lork was the sole person they could trust.

After all he, who had saved countless people across various battlefields, was the hero they had been waiting for.

“Calm down for a second, and put your sword down.”

“U, uhh… S, sorry sir…”

“Could you please?”

“Y, yes sir…”

Without rebuking the soldier, he soothingly held onto the hands of the soldier that was about to slice his superior and calmed him down.

“Excuse me.”

When he took a step forward, the group of soldiers immediately opened a path in front of him. It was baffling to see the chaotic and frightened soldiers separating into two groups in an orderly fashion.

Korin walked down the pathway, and following behind him was the princess.

Even the loftiest lady of this continent was walking behind Korin.

With each and every one of his steps, the knight grabbed the eyes of everyone nearby.

It was fascinating.

He was just one single man taking a few steps forward, and yet he was able to gain everyone’s attention and respect.

Not a single one tried to stop him or blamed him. It wasn’t just because of his individual strength or scale of influence… Korin Lork had a charisma in him that could charm people.

Whether it be the Saintess who led the fusion of two religions, the wealthiest noble lady of the continent, a demi-human who used to be called a monster, or a venomous princess who used to be an enemy…

Korin Lork certainly had a talent.

It was the talent to charm people.

The charisma to have people follow him and give him trust.

Anyone who knew him, regardless of their gender, felt urged to want to follow his path at least once, and that was his talent.

The man stopped his feet in the middle of the crowd while unconsciously making use of his greatest gift.

“Ah~. Sir Kalatin and his beautiful daughters, if you could please amplify my voice.”

His friendly and cheeky demeanor earned an empty laugh from the mage Kalatin, who soon amplified his voice, and his daughters blushed while showing a bigger image of his appearance so that everyone could see.

“Currently,” he spoke. “The command center is preparing a group teleportation. We will teleport to a different battalion, and unfortunately, not everyone can go.”

– …!

– Fuck! The rumors were true!

– They’re gonna take the knights and mages and run for their lives!

– We’re gonna be left here to die!

It was a natural reaction for them.

The soldiers themselves were aware of their own value more than anyone else. The core figures of this battle were the knights and the mages, and mere soldiers and the injured could never be prioritized over them.

However, a rational understanding of that was different from an emotional acceptance.

As humans, they easily gave into the fear of losing their own lives. They could become as selfish as humanly possible.

Because if everyone else was selfish, why couldn’t they?

“I am going to stay behind,” the knight declared.

““???””

Naturally, everyone was baffled by his declaration.

Korin Lork was by far the most important figure here, and arguably the most important person in the entire expedition.

He could control the Sun, stop an army of tens of thousands of people by himself, and saved thousands of demi-humans through never-ending duels.

After leaving for the northern border city, he persuaded a hundred thousand barbarians to join armies, and repelled a horde of giants and demons.

Unique Grade Knight.

The iconic figure of this generation.

The strongest person of this era after Sword Emperor Garrand.

No matter whether they knew him well or not, everyone in the army was aware of the value and symbol he had.

Besides, even aside from that, he was a noble and the future prince consort of the two princesses. He was one whom the current king, the duke and the Sword Emperor desperately wanted to have as their son-in-law.

After this war, this man would most certainly sit on the noblest of thrones, and it was obvious for him to take priority over anyone else.

His one life was more valuable than that of hundreds and thousands of soldiers. He was so strong and influential that anyone would inadvertently agree to that.

And yet he was going to stay behind?

That single sentence was enough to miraculously quieten down the crowd.

“There is a limit to how many people we can take with group teleportation. Around 2~3,000 is apparently all we can manage.”

Korin was honest in sharing information. His words could be seen as quite cold, but he was trying to leave behind no regrets… and to give everyone a choice.

“Apparently all of us combined is about 6,300. The most we can take is half, so we will first prioritize the injured.”

There were approximately 1,120 injured soldiers. Which left around 2,000 spots available.

“I will give everyone a choice. All of you who want to live or run away; please line up in front of the mages. It doesn’t matter what your rank is – just do what you want.”

Both the soldiers and the knights were lost, and couldn’t understand what he was thinking.

If he was going to stay, shouldn’t he have the knights stay behind at the very least? Shouldn’t he try to preserve as many soldiers as possible?

“Is that really okay?” asked one of the knights.

Looking at him, Korin replied with a nod.

“Yes. Not everyone might be able to go. If we have more than the number we can take, we can draw lots. If you don’t make it through that, I guess that means you’re not lucky enough so just accept that.”

“…If all the key figures leave, the ones remaining here will all die.”

“I’m going to stay behind so we’ll find a way around it.”

Again, despite letting everyone else run away, he was saying that he would stay behind. This young man, who had just turned into an adult, was strangely open to the idea of sacrificing himself.

His openness stirred the adults.

“Damn it. What is he thinking?”

“Does he really think he can somehow do this by himself?”

Their pride was being hurt.

They were trying to wreak havoc and trying to survive as much as they could, and yet that young bloke was staying behind and risking his life.

“But sir, why are you doing this?”

One of the soldiers who felt a prick to his pride asked. Korin looked at him and blinked, tilted his head as if he didn’t understand the point of the question before replying as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Because it must be done.”

It must be done.

He spoke of a very simple logic.

Even though he was putting his life on the line, he was nonchalantly scratching his cheek.

“Hmm…” He continued embarrassedly. “Well, someone has to do it. We have to either break the damn pond or drink it up, or we won’t be able to stop this massive tree from getting bigger.”

He shared the goal that everyone was already aware of—

“The world is at risk. Some bastard stole light from the world and is trying to destroy it. So someone has to try to stop that.”

Calmly, he explained himself without forcing it upon anyone else.

“When a big event tries to sweep us away, I think we have a duty to act whether we want to or not. Because someone else is going to get hurt if I don’t do it. If that’s the case, I would rather just do it and feel better. So—”

There was only one thing he was stirring up inside them.

“If you don’t have the balls to fight, pull your tail down and run away. I’m here to fight and cowards are going to be nothing but a nuisance.”

A young man – a boy who had just turned into an adult, was stirring them up. Just because he was strong, he was denouncing the adults into cowards.

Are you really going to run away? I’m here to fight though?

He was asking them and urging them to think.

“When a man puts his life on the line, it’s going to work out one way or another.”

Honor, face and pride.

Attacking at those primal feelings, the young man scoffed at the cowards. He sent off the men who were going to become cowards.

In an atmosphere like this, men tended to divide into two groups.

“Ah, dang it. A young man like him is trying to fight. I can’t run away as an adult…”

“Tch, showing off just because he’s a bit strong. I have 30 years of experience under my belt right here.”

“Fuck it! I’m sure this will work out somehow!”

Ahh, this was a man.

Talk some beating, set an example and target their emotions, and they’ll easily become like this.

There was a reason why commanders always loved to have a long speech right before a war.

A dangerous journey; low income.

Endless danger, and small hope for a safe return home.

However, what they would get from a successful venture was endless honor and glory.

“People that care about efficiency would treasure their life like a coward.”

From time immemorial, men had an incurable disease.

“Real men don’t care.”

And it was sure to stay that way forever.

****

The Sun dimmed down.

Night arrived, and night was the time for the dead.

The undeads were afraid. They were afraid of the one behind them – the evil dragon that was eating and shredding them down to pieces.

This was their land, upon which they had arrived after losing their last breath. Unable to find their rest, however, they were trampled upon by an evil dragon, burned and devoured, and that endless cycle was making them crazy.

– GRRRRRRRR—

Behind them was the dragon breathing out. Its eyes were gleaming with madness as the dead ran away in fright.

Run.

Run away.

The living are here.

Let’s eat them. Kill them and take over their bodies.

That way, we can finally leave this well.

That was the reason these undeads were so desperate to attack the invaders.

Now that the Sun was off, they immediately pounced at the living.

A wave of undeads, so innumerable that it rendered every strategy and military tactic meaningless, was coming towards them like a flood.

Confronting that—

“Knights.”

A knight holding a spear led the way. His eyes weren’t even on the horde of undeads. He simply relied on his senses to feel the approaching wave.

What he was looking into was what was beyond the pouring flood of undeads – the eyes of the evil dragon that were camouflaging in the darkness.

But before going against the dragon, with the 4,353 warriors behind him—

“Take your swords and spears and stay in your formations.”

The knight raised the Silver Spear in his hand as it burst out with the heat of the Sun and announced.

“Advance.”