The Academy’s Barbarian
Chapter 54.2 - Why Did You Come Out There (3)

Deep within the heart of the eastern forest, within the confines of a crypt, an unusual confrontation was unfolding. Freshly released from his seal, Bai Lang, the White Wolf, stood face to face with an unexpected visitor, Ulan.

[Grrrr-!]

The white wolf bared its formidable teeth, growling with an air of intimidation, yet Ulan remained seemingly unperturbed, his focus fixed intently on one specific point—the nape of Bai Lang's neck.

To be more precise, his gaze was locked onto a black axe embedded there: Gula. However, Ulan quickly shook off his reverie.

"I guess I'll just have to get that axe out first."

Gula, the axe of gluttony.

He couldn't fathom why it had been driven into Bai Lang's neck, but it was a weapon he intended to claim as his own. With determination in his stride, Ulan took a step forward.

To retrieve Gula.

However, at that very moment...

Thud! Rumble!

The crypt shook violently.

Bai Lang had sensed his approach and, in response, writhed in a way that created these unsettling vibrations. Soil and debris rained down from the ceiling, further constricting the passage.

Caught off guard, Ulan came to an abrupt halt. It seemed that the tunnel might collapse before he could even get close to Bai Lang. This sight made his eyes glow with a chilling light.

"......."

It was a clear killing intent, directed, of course, at Bai Lang. Ulan resolved that before he could retrieve his axe, he needed to eliminate the wolf.

'However...'

There was one minor problem.

Given the narrow confines of the crypt, he couldn't wield the axe effectively.

After a moment's consideration, Ulan made a decision.

'If I can't use an axe...'

Then he could use another weapon — the most primitive weapon given to man.

That is, a fist.

Tuuk!

After throwing the axe onto the dirt…,

…Ulan stretched his body lightly, then activated the spirit in his body, pushing his physical abilities to the limit.

[Grrrr…!]

Meanwhile, around that time.

Did he feel something was wrong? The white wolf growled lowly. His crimson eyes glared at Ulan, as he rolled his blood-red orbs in scrutiny.

But he could read nothing. It was only natural; Ulan had maintained an expressionless visage while priming himself.

Finally, after all the preparations were complete…

…Ulan took a step, a stride.

And then, suddenly, Ulan's figure disappeared from Bai Lang's sight.

[......!]

Confusion welled up within the wolf. It wasn't just Ulan's form that had vanished; his presence and aura had disappeared as well.

He never took his eyes off Ulan, but where did he disappear to? The white wolf panicked.

Thump!

Along with familiar footsteps…

…Ulan appeared.

The problem was that Ulan had reappeared right in front of Bai Lang's snout, and his fist was hurtling towards the wolf's face.

Wham!

A big fist smashed into his face; accompanied by the unsettling sound of bones crunching, his face crumpled inward. The impact was so severe that even his teeth rattled, and some of them tumbled out.

[......!]

A ghastly scream erupted from the wolf.

But Ulan showed no mercy; relentlessly, he pounded Bai Lang, grabbing his tail and delivering merciless blows.

Kaboom! Bang! Quaang!

In the process, parts of the crypt crumbled, but it mattered little.After some time, the one-sided violence came to an end, and Bai Lang was left buried beneath a mound of earth.

Had he lost his strength? Or perhaps consciousness?

Bai Lang lay motionless, his limbs limp. Observing the wolf's feeble state, Ulan approached, though over half of Bai Lang's body remained buried beneath the earth. Only the portion around his neck was exposed, conveniently facing Ulan.

Ulan reached out without hesitation…

…to pull out the Gula that was stuck in the nape.

Kwaaaak!

He just grabbed the handle.

But his hand already gripped it tightly. As if it had been a weapon he had been using all along.

Feeling a strange sensation, Ulan pulled out the axe. Or rather, he tried to. But strangely, the axe wouldn't come out.

"It must be stuck pretty deep."

The possibility was significant, much like the stakes had been when he had pulled the stake out earlier.

"In that case..."

He would do as he had done before. Ulan gripped the handle with both hands and placed his foot on the wolf's neck. Then, he exerted his strength, first in his arms, then his back, and finally his waist.

The strength of a giant.

The axe could not withstand it.

Crack! Snap!

Amidst the cacophony, the axe began to slowly come loose. After a while, Ulan had successfully pulled the axe out.

It was an axe covered in Bai Lang's flesh and blood, clinging stubbornly to the blade; however, as Ulan inspected it with curiosity, a sudden change occurred.

Woooom! Wooom!

The first thing he felt was an intense vibration; the axe itself trembled violently, followed by a fierce wind swirling around it.

"What is this...?"

A series of bizarre phenomena.

Ulan narrowed his eyes, "Could it be... a magic weapon?"

In his past life, he had encountered a few of these. Weapons imbued with mystical powers were collectively referred to as magic weapons. While they were incomparably potent compared to ordinary weapons, they had one significant drawback—they chose their owner.

To wield a magic weapon effectively, you had to be acknowledged by it as its owner, or you had to thoroughly tame it.

Ulan's approach was the latter.

He recalled the method of taming magic weapons and gripped the axe tightly. Then he struck it down towards the ground roughly.

Kaaang!

The impact was strong enough to bend the blade.

The wind that had been swirling around stopped for a moment. Taking this as his cue, Ulan swung the axe at the ground and walls like crazy.

'How to tame a magical weapon?'

The method was simple.

Just swing the weapon until it is about to break. It was similar to the way you ride a wild horse and endure until the horse has exhausted all its strength.

Puck! Pow! Swoosh!

So he swung the axe down hard enough to break the rocks that had sprung up from the ground. The blade was damaged and scratched, but he didn't care.

'Even if it breaks, it will be restored if there is enough mana.'

Ulan had companions around him who could infuse mana, two of them in fact: Noah and Dilia. So, he continued with his unrelenting taming.

And the result.

The vibrations finally ceased.

The winds that had been swirling were nowhere to be found. The wild energy emanating from Gula transformed into something docile, almost sheepish.

Only then did Ulan smile contentedly, "That's better."

Though the once pitch-black axe had turned gray, he didn't mind the change in color. It was the weapon itself that mattered.

After casually sheathing Gula at his waist, Ulan retrieved the enigmatic bloodstone axe. Then, his eyes gleamed with a sinister light.

"Now then......."

It was time to cut off Bai Lang's breathing.

There was no way to spare a monster like him. But just as Ulan was about to execute the final blow...

…the moment he turned his head…

….Ulan's eyes widened. The white wolf that had been there just a moment ago had disappeared without a trace.

'No, it's not gone.'

Its presence was still there.

From the pile of piled-up earth. Ulan immediately began digging through the dirt and, before long, discovered the fallen bai Lang.

But there was a problem.

"Why did it shrink?"

It wasn't as huge as it used to be.

It was now smaller than Ulan's forearm. Its appearance was much more docile, too. It looked like a cross between a wolf and a fox.

And one more thing.

He realized something was different.

"Why is mana......."

The power that a demonic beast should have; there was no mana at all.

In other words, the large white wolf was clearly a demonic beast, but the small white wolf was not a demonic beast.

Rather, a mysterious power was felt.

Immensely pure mana. And beasts with this kind of power were called 'spirit beasts' in the grasslands.

'Spirit beast.'

Not a demonic beast that runs amok with its raging mana, but a spirit being that has lived for many years by accumulating only pure mana.

Ulan had encountered them even in the grasslands where he lived.

The Guardian Deity of the Forest, Gethuch

He, too, was a spirit beast, though for some reason his mana had run amok and he had become a demonic beast.

At that moment,

Jolt!

The white wolf twitched its body.

A moment later, it blinked its misty eyes and, upon seeing Ulan, recoiled in surprise.

[Purr! Purr!]

The creature lowered its stance and tried to growl fiercely, but it didn't feel threatening because it was too small.

While looking at this,

Ulan soon put down his axe.

"If it's not a demonic beast, there's no need to kill it."

The only thing felt from the small white wolf was fear and caution of Ulan.

No mana, no malice, were felt.

Moreover, in the grasslands, there was a saying that those who killed spirit beasts without reason would suffer the curse of time.

As Ulan was about to turn away...

Kworrk!

…a sudden sound reached his ears. It came from Bai Lang; the creature, which seemed to have lost its strength, was slumped.

Ulan picked up the bundle he had left near the axe and put it in front of Bai Lang.

"If you want to eat, eat this."

The berries he'd picked earlier.

There was no particular reason for his generosity. Perhaps it was a reward for leading him to Gula, the Axe of Gluttony..

Meanwhile, Bai Lang sniffed the berries for a moment before taking a bite.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

The berries were ripe and sweet, and it seemed Bai Lang enjoyed it. It devoured the remaining berries in no time.

After finishing his meal in the blink of an eye...

…Bai Lang gazed at Ulan with crimson eyes; it was as if he was asking for more.

"I'm sorry, but that's all."

Did the white wolf understand Ulan's answer? Bai Lang snorted and then curled up in its place. Looking at the creature, Ulan spoke in a blunt tone, "And this is no place for you to live. There are no prey in this forest. So it would be better to find another hunting ground."

That was all he had to say.

So he turned away without a second thought.

"I'll take good care of the axe. You live well too."

Tapping on Gula, he strode toward the entrance of the crypt.

Left alone, Bai Lang watched Ulan's retreating figure. He didn't watch Ulan himself, but rather, his attention was focused on the mark etched into Ulan's back.

At that moment...

Thud! Quaaarrr!

Ulan cleared away the mound of earth that had blocked the entrance. Soon, he was out of the cave, taking his first steps into the outside world when—

"Ooh, Ulan?!"

—a familiar voice suddenly called out; a face with wide-open eyes in surprise - it was Noah. But there wasn't just her in front of the crypt. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴøvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"Why are you here......."

Ibella, Dilia, and Sylphie were there.

And more than a hundred guards. As he looked at them, who had surrounded the cave like a siege—,

"I thought you were supposed to be suspended and confined to your dorm."

—an unfamiliar figure walked out; a swordsman who looked to be in his late thirties.

"......Why are you in a place like this?"

Roen Philaud, the captain of the guard.

His gaze towards Ulan was sharp and fierce.

(End of Chapter. . . . . . . .Thanks for Reading. . . . . . . . . )

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