The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns
Chapter 238

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 238

The Spirit Blade Utopia creates an illusionary space akin to a formation within a set area.

Unfortunately, since only the first stage of Utopia has been unlocked, it can't yet generate highly detailed illusions.

Still, it's exceptionally efficient for training purposes.

Information about the monsters?

Their physical abilities?

Special powers?

Combat styles?

All of that had already been experienced in Labyrinthos, so there was nothing to worry about.

“Uh… how long do we have to keep doing this?”

“Huff… huff…”

Looking at them, worn out from fighting monsters, I boldly revealed the truth.

“Three nights and four days. And just so you know, monsters might pop out even while you’re sleeping. But don’t worry. We’ll provide water, food, clothing, and other necessary supplies for your stay.”

“What?!”

“However, all of that will be provided within the scope allowed for placement tests by the academy. So you'll have to use them sparingly.”

In prolonged battles, managing supplies becomes even more important than raw capability.

Especially since their placement test would take place in the forest over several days, supply management was critical.

In the real Labyrinthos, there was never any time to sleep—every moment was a battle—but since Utopia hadn’t reached that level yet, there was no helping it.

Even though there’s no real pain, the intense tingling sensation still made them wary of carelessly throwing their bodies into the fight.

As screams rang out from all around and chaos erupted, I watched the scene unfold before exiting the space without hesitation.

Once activated, the space would continue to exist until I stopped supplying spirit energy.

Just then, I heard footsteps approaching.

Turning my head, my eyes widened at the unexpected figure.

“It’s been a while, Young Lord.”

Nadia Ten Lilibel.

The Saintess of the Holy Kingdom had come to find me.

“What brings you here, Saintess?”

“I came to see you.”

Come to think of it, there had been rumors that the Saintess would be enrolling at the academy.

Of course, that was highly unlikely—but it was possible that a simple visit had been misinterpreted.

“I did hear the rumors about your enrollment.”

“Fufu. Unfortunately, that’s not possible. The Holy Kingdom is in disarray right now. We're still working on unity with the Hael Tribe, and with many in the upper ranks gone, we’re scrambling to fill the gaps.”

Yes, that sounds more realistic.

“Then what brings you all the way here to find me?”

“Could we speak privately?”

I nodded at her request.

Luna, who had been watching the mist, silently followed along.

Luna clearly didn’t think highly of Nadia.

Neither did Diablo, the High Priest of the Holy Kingdom.

But judging by Luna’s expression, her dislike had eased a little since before.

While guiding Nadia to the research lab provided to me by the academy during my time as a temporary instructor, I noticed that Luna's hostility had softened.

“Here’s coffee with ice cream. Please enjoy.”

“Fufu. I never thought I’d get to taste this again… I’m truly grateful.”

She smiled brightly, clearly in a good mood.

Her expression was much lighter than before, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

“You seem well.”

“Yes. I’ve changed my perspective a bit since that day.”

If she’s okay, that’s all that matters.

Luna's relaxed expression likely stemmed from that as well.

Luna, unlike most, sees beyond the surface—closer to the essence of things.

“How are you now?”

“Well… I can’t say anything for certain, but I do feel that my thoughts have changed somewhat compared to before.”

“Then that’s enough. It’s not for us to dictate beyond that.”

Luna spoke calmly as she rested her head on my thigh.

“You two seem close. If you ever get married, please make sure to invite me.”

“If the Saintess would bless us, we’d be honored. But we’re not planning on it just yet.”

Even the simple comfort of being with Luna was part of what I had long desired.

Is this what they mean when they say: enjoying every moment in life is the greatest joy?

She took a sip of her coffee and slightly toned down her smile.

“Originally, High Priest Diablo was supposed to come, but regarding this matter, I felt I had to come myself.”

“Is something wrong?”

“A revelation has come. A revelation about you.”

That damn revelation.

Lately, it felt like everything was somehow tied to me.

“These revelations… aren't they supposed to come from the power of the archangels?”

“We don’t know for sure. But revelations tend to come true most of the time.”

After taking a deep breath, she spoke slowly.

“A massive rift will appear on the day of the academy's placement test, one month from now.”

“A rift?”

“Yes. But it won’t be an ordinary one. It will be a mutated rift. To clear it, it said that both you and I, one who can wield holy power, are necessary. Within the rift, a crawling nightmare is said to be targeting a young seed at the academy.”

There were two things I couldn’t quite understand.

“Why specifically call upon a busy Saintess?”

“Yes. Even if Lady Luna can’t use her full strength, she would handle it better than I could. But the fact that the revelation named me must mean…”

“It means the power of the Stigma is needed. Or that I won’t be able to use my power at that time.”

Luna, still resting on my leg, spoke nonchalantly.

“Let’s move on for now. What exactly is this ‘young seed’?”

“I’m not sure. According to the Holy Kingdom’s analysis, it might refer to a magic student at the academy. Revelations often carry layered meanings.”

Nadia’s guess was reasonable enough.

The location was the academy, and a “young seed” could easily be a metaphor for a student.

She also mentioned that she would be staying at the academy for a while after further discussions with the dean.

She stood up, asking me to visit her if I ever needed anything.

Of course, she didn’t forget to take a generous amount of ice cream with her before leaving.

“A crawling nightmare… what a dramatic name.”

“Leon. That thing is connected to the red one.”

“How much do you know?”

“The Crawling Nightmare. A foreign entity interested in the midworld. It’s dangerous—and it serves that thing.”

She gripped my arm tightly.

“In terms of combat ability, I think you can handle it. Maybe not its main body, but it can’t fully cross into this realm anyway.”

She spoke with grave seriousness.

“It’s cunning. Be careful.”

“…Got it.”

She wouldn’t have said something like that for no reason. I should at least be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

* * *

The ten failing students assigned to Leon’s class stumbled out of the mist zone and collapsed with dazed expressions, not uttering a single word.

"Just looking at hard bread makes me nauseous now."

"How many days has it been already? Do you realize we’ve been doing this crap for nearly half a month?"

One girl with a haggard face spoke up, and the others nodded in agreement.

An undying space?

Yeah, it’s true you can’t die in there, but that just means the punishment is brutally intense.

How Leon managed to create such a place was almost beyond comprehension.

Turning her head, she spotted Melissa sitting alone on the ground, quietly gathering her aura.

"Um... Melissa."

One trainee cautiously called out to her.

The trainee had been Melissa’s classmate before she took a leave of absence.

"What is it?"

"The professor... have you seen him?"

"My brother went to the test site for a moment. Said he had to set something up or whatever. Anyway, is training over?"

"For now... it’s supposed to be break time... but just eating hard bread makes me feel like I’m going to puke."

Melissa gave a wry smile at the trainee’s complaint.

"I get it. That guy... once he starts training you, there’s no going easy."

"Did you... go through the same thing?"

At that question, Melissa closed her eyes, seemingly recalling something, and then quietly replied.

"It was worse. And when I tried to run away, that crazy brother of mine tracked me down and threw flash artifacts and tear gas artifacts to capture me."

"......"

The trainees’ faces turned pale.

"All in the name of ‘field training,’ he beat me to a pulp in every way possible. You guys are lucky. If it weren’t for that mist zone, you’d have been beaten every day until you looked like dried squid. I spent months feeling like I was going to die."

"And yet you’re still alive."

"To be exact, he didn’t let me die. Anyway... hang in there. It’s tough, I know... but my brother, he’s seriously talented and—surprisingly—he has a knack for teaching. He won’t admit it himself, though. A month from now, you guys will probably have grown so much you won’t even recognize yourselves."

Melissa’s confident words left the trainees speechless.

"Let’s go... Right now, I’d even welcome the academy’s usual bland meals."

"I just don’t want to eat hard bread anymore."

The trainees staggered toward the academy cafeteria like zombies.

Truthfully, the cafeteria, often crowded with other students, wasn’t a particularly pleasant place for the failing students.

Discrimination based on being a commoner had largely faded compared to the past, but being seen as lacking skill was still enough to make you a target of mockery at this academy.

Still, none of that mattered at the moment.

They were sick to death of the rock-hard bread and the water that somehow even smelled bad.

Leon’s justification for issuing such rations was that, in real combat, you couldn’t count on always having good supplies.

It wasn’t entirely unreasonable, but combined with the insane training, it felt like too much.

The failing students dove into their food like they were possessed, chewing and swallowing with near-aggression.

"This is the taste of life."

"Never thought I’d find academy food this delicious…"

The food hadn’t been bad to begin with.

But compared to the hellish experience inside that white mist, the cafeteria’s facilities and meals felt like paradise.

Naturally, this stirred a rising fury toward Leon.

"That evil professor."

"Yeah. Probably wouldn’t bleed a drop even if you stabbed him with a needle."

"Quit whining and just eat. Who knows what kind of hell he’ll unleash if we’re late getting back."

The trainees shivered at the reminder.

They already knew firsthand: if Leon went off the rails, the intensity of the training spiked mercilessly.

As if on cue, they all focused entirely on their meals.

Then—voices echoed in their ears.

"Look over there. It’s the failing students."

"Ah, the ones who flunked and have to compete with us now?"

"Heh."

When you gather a lot of people, it’s inevitable that some will be jerks.

Those freshmen were exactly that type.

Their faces made their bad attitudes obvious, and they smirked as they openly mocked the failing students.

It had happened before.

The difference was that, back then, the failing students were too weak to fight back, even if they were angry.

So they swallowed their frustration and trudged back to training.

But now, even though they had the strength, they were too mentally exhausted to bother with a fight.

They had never undergone such grueling training in their lives.

It wasn’t for nothing that trainees half-asleep in the mist zone mumbled in their sleep, calling Leon a devil bastard.

"My head’s pounding from the noise. I’m heading out first."

At that moment, one of the failing students, Radian Ginebuck, stood up from his seat.

And just then, someone bumped into him.

It had happened before.

But this time, things played out differently.

"Ugh, watch where you're going."

One of the mocking freshmen glared at Radian with irritation.

"Hey, senior. Do you own this place? Maybe try looking where you’re walking?"

The blatant provocation drew the attention of all the failing students.

And in the silence, Radian Ginebuck spoke.

"Guys, remember when something like this happened before?"

"Yeah."

"What did we do back then?"

"What do you think? We shut up and lowered our heads."

"Ludia. You were the one it happened to. How was it?"

"It sucked."

Even Ludia, usually careful with her words, swore under her breath—clearly pushed to her limits.

The others nodded grimly.

"But why did we endure that? Wasn’t it so we wouldn’t have to keep seeing those smug faces? I swear, I’m too pissed off to just let it go like last time."

And with that—

Radian Ginebuck’s fist slammed squarely into the freshman’s face.

KA-BOOM!!

The freshman was sent flying like a baseball hit by a bat, caught completely off guard by the heavy punch.

"...Huh? What was that?"

The failing students stared, stunned.

Their strength was far greater than they’d expected.

They’d struggled even to take down goblin mobs in the mist zone, and their punches had never felt this powerful.

They didn’t realize just how much they had changed.

Not that it mattered.

Pointing at the wide-eyed, stunned freshmen, Radian said:

"Who cares. Let’s wipe the floor with ’em."

And with that, the brawl exploded.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]