I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 448: The Boundary Intruder (2)

Sedina tensed up momentarily.

It wasn't just because she was overwhelmed by the presence of the elf who called her Plante.

'What's with that look? They're not looking at me favorably at all.'

It was a look that saw her as an easy-to-handle tool and that look was exactly the same as what Sedina often faced before meeting Rudger.

Sedina clenched her fist tightly while remaining tense.

Regardless, the other party carefully examined Sedina's appearance and narrowed their eyes.

"Hmm. How interesting. I had some expectations since you're the last remaining blood relative, but you don't particularly resemble her at all, do you?"

Her?

Sedina inadvertently flinched at the other party's words.

If that's the case, maintaining silence here would probably be counterproductive.

"Who are you?"

"Oh my."

The elf woman opened her eyes wide as if she hadn't expected Sedina to speak.

"This is strange. Most elves don't even dare raise their heads in my presence, yet you boldly ask questions. Is it because half your blood is tainted? Or is it because the other half is still Plante blood, despite being rotten?"

"...Are you an elf noble?"

Sedina asked without minding the insults.

The strange presence flowing from the other party continued to fuel anxiety and pressure her mind but Sedina didn't yield to it.

Certainly, this elf's presence was remarkable. It was enough to make one instinctively shrink back.

'But it's not as much as Teacher.'

Being kidnapped was a painful experience.

It hurt her pride that she caused trouble for Rudger and couldn't put up any resistance.

However, focusing on what to do going forward was more important than dwelling on past events.

At least the other party didn't seem to intend to treat her like a hostage.

'Just arranging this setting shows that much. Though her gaze isn't friendly, she’s at least trying to give forced courtesies. Of course, I don't know how long that will last.'

If they had intended to treat her with genuine goodwill from the start, they wouldn't have used such extreme measures as stalking and kidnapping.

They must have some purpose regarding her, and they probably wanted to observe for a while to get what they wanted from her, so she planned to gather as much information about the other party as possible during this opportunity when they would find it difficult to harm her carelessly.

The other party's expression changed upon seeing Sedina's determined look.

First as if finding it interesting, then as if seeing something bold, and next as if feeling slightly displeased.

"You don't seem to understand your situation very well."

"Then are you going to kill me right now?"

"Why? You think I can't?"

"Yes."

Sedina spoke confidently.

Of course, that was just on the surface.

Inside, she was anxious that the elf before her might suddenly change and try to kill her at any moment.

Rationally speaking, she should definitely be safe, but what if the other party was truly an unreasonable person driven by mood?

They might react emotionally to such provocation.

'But that probability is low. Coming alone to a place like this, and given her unique atmosphere, she’s probably the one who orchestrated my kidnapping. Being in a high position, she should at least have the intelligence to judge situations.'

Sedina's judgment was correct.

"How interesting. To have such an attitude while knowing."

The blonde elf said this while reaching out toward Sedina.

Sedina's body stiffened completely as the slender white hand gently stroked her cheek.

However, the touch of the hand on her skin was startlingly cold, like something that gave psychological intimidation and fear beyond physical warmth.

The touch on her skin felt like a blade rather than a hand and Sedina could instinctively feel that the person before her wanted to kill her, yet she didn't kill her because of a tiny bit of reason that remained.

"Truly surprising. To think that what I've been searching for so long was this close, under the same First Order John Doe. I guess the saying that the shadow is darkest under the nest was true."

"...The same First?"

"Ah. You don't know."

The elf woman introduced herself with a smile.

"I am First Order Ventmin. I am the head of the Lifrey family and the highest-ranking noble elf in this region."

Sedina swallowed hard.

It was surprising enough that the person who kidnapped her was First Order Ventmin, but her true identity was beyond imagination.

"Now do you have a sense of what situation you're in? Second Order, Sedina Roschen."

* * *

Alex walked toward the darkness of the forest with his sword drawn while Rudger just quietly watched.

"Teacher Rudger. Is it alright not to help?"

"He'd rather dislike it if we helped."

At these confident words, Vierano wondered if he should go help right now.

Rudger, who saw through these inner thoughts first, spoke up.

"Despite how he appears, Alex has quite strong pride. Though he's trying to act like it's nothing, he's probably frustrated about failing to protect Sedina and losing track of the pursuers."

"That was...unavoidable. I was there too, and I can't say I'm not at fault either."

"Even so, Alex won't accept that. The moment you find relief by partially shifting blame to others saying it couldn't be helped, you end up standing still in place."

"Standing still isn't necessarily bad, is it?"

"That's true. But in the end, it differs from person to person. At least for Alex, doing nothing and settling for the status quo is shameful."

A light flashed beyond the darkness Alex had walked into.

Simultaneously, screams and shouts echoed throughout the forest.

"We can't force that on him."

"...I see. So that's his way of life."

"We just need to block the surroundings so none can escape."

And Rudger had already finished those preparations.

"They won't try to run away."

"Are you certain?"

"The Shadewarden warriors are those who faithfully carry out given orders. Having received harsh training, they don't even think of refusing orders. Seeing how they surrounded the boundary line before we arrived, they absolutely won't retreat."

Meanwhile, the battle beyond the darkness continued.

Vierano was secretly impressed.

This fight was clearly disadvantageous for Alex no matter how you looked at it.

First, the location itself was a forest dense with trees. For elves, it was no different than playing in their backyard.

The darkness was the same.

While darkness obscures the vision of all living beings, at least for elves, the darkness of the forest wasn't much of a problem.

Elves see what other races cannot see with their eyes.

The subtle energy flowing from forests, trees, and grass, even in darkness where others can see nothing, elves can see faint fluorescent outlines.

Being very sensitive in this aspect was also why elves could contract well with spirits.

'Moreover, the Shadewarden are those who can achieve perfect stealth even from such elven eyes. No matter how excellent a knight is, how could they fight Shadewarden in a place like this?'

But what kind of fight was this?

From a while ago, screams faintly heard from beyond the forest hadn't ceased.

No matter how many arrows were shot, none reached Alex's body.

When he took a step and soared above the trees, the elves waiting there had their throats cut and rolled to the ground.

Though this forest should clearly be elven territory, Alex was carrying out a one-sided massacre with footsteps even lighter than those elves.

"What, what are you?"

Asked Reinar, a senior warrior in charge of guarding one sector.

His orders were to kill enemies without room for dialogue upon discovery.

Speaking to the opponent was nonsensical but still, he couldn't help but ask.

"How can a human move like that...That's our elven footwork..."

The movements Alex showed while freely moving through the forest was power innately possessed by the elven race.

Just as beast-folk use power called Spirit, elves also use power based on the forest's life energy.

The level varies with training, but for Shadewarden warriors, it was possible to move several times faster by using life energy to ride the forest's paths.

That's why elves called their unique movement Forest Walk.

Yet now the brown-skinned human before them was using their Forest Walk exactly the same way.

It was the appearance of an existence that directly denied the common sense they had built up throughout their lives and that was enough to make them forget even the order not to show mercy to enemies for this moment.

"What? Was this movement that amazing?"

Alex responded as if it wasn't particularly remarkable.

"Because you already showed it 'once' in Leathervelk."

"What?"

"It was quite a unique footwork. I wondered why you moved like that, but it certainly seems good in a dense forest like this. Should I say it's a bouncy movement? It's clearly different from knights who have to plant both feet firmly on the ground. You can step anywhere."

"What are you saying right now..."

"In other words, I just watched and copied what you showed."

Reinar's lips trembled.

He didn't learn Forest Walk, but just copied it after seeing another elf use it? And not even another elf, but a lowly human?

"Don't be ridiculous! How dare a mere human mock us?!"

Reinar shouted.

As if responding to that voice, the elves who had secretly surrounded Alex while aiming their bows released their bowstrings as arrows rushed in from all directions.

While it might be different when constantly moving, in a situation of carelessness like now, he shouldn't be able to dodge.

Reinar was certain of victory, if only wind hadn't blown around Alex.

All the flying arrows were deflected as they couldn't penetrate the vortex of air rotating around Alex.

These were arrows imbued with the power of spirits and nature that could even pierce through the steel plates that human heavy cavalry boasted about.

How could they be deflected so easily?

Reinar muttered blankly.

"Magic? Spirits? No, that's..."

That was Aura that the knights use, the power that those who have trained their bodies can handle upon reaching a certain level.

The sight of such Aura unwinding and rotating like a thin thread from a spool was unbelievable even seeing it with his own eyes.

Could Aura change form so freely like that?

What Alex did was no different from changing the shape of metal by kneading it without melting it.

"Is that all for the ambush? I was about to yawn from waiting on purpose."

"Wait..."

"By the way, you're the last ones."

Alex moved his feet without waiting for the other's words.

Stepping on tree branches and jumping up, moving here and there as if unaffected by gravity, even elves couldn't easily catch such movements of Alex.

Though it was the same Forest Walk, Alex was far superior to them in terms of utilization and speed.

Though he couldn't use the forest energy and spirit power that elves use, Aura was sufficient to replace that fuel.

The imitation surpasses the original and finally devours it.

It wasn't just about analyzing and copying the opponent's abilities.

This was where Alex's true talent lay.

Alex's merciless sword coldheartedly took the lives of the Shadewarden elves.

"Still not enough."

But Alex wore a displeased expression.

The opponents were too weak, almost disappointingly so.

After finishing the cleanup, Alex rejoined with Rudger's group.

"It's all done."

"Good heavens. Really by yourself..."

"Ah. Was that too much? Maybe I should have left some alive?"

At Alex's question, Vierano shook his head.

"No. You did well actually. If even one had survived, the news would have been delivered immediately. Seeing how the Shadewarden surrounded our family territory's boundary, we can practically consider that things have already started. It's laughable to talk about morality or conscience in a wartime situation."

Vierano speaking like this seemed quite far from his usual kindness as a teacher.

It wasn't particularly strange considering the years he had lived through.

After all, Vierano was an elf who had directly experienced the war 100 years ago.

"Let's move quickly. The kingdom's situation doesn't look good."

It was right then that Vierano stopped as he was about to move beyond the boundary.

This time even Vierano could clearly sense it.

New ones were approaching this direction but they weren’t Shadewarden.

This time they were coming from inside the boundary, from Dentis family territory.

Eventually, as a soft phosphorescent light illuminating the forest darkness spread, a group of elves revealed themselves.

"Who are you people!"

The group's numbers were quite large.

Perhaps moving in preparation for possible combat, their numbers exceeded 50.

At the front of them was a bold and beautiful female elf who had the same hair color as Vierano.

"This is Dentis family territory! Further approach..."

"Viela. It's me."

"Un-Uncle?"

The elf called Viela recognized Vierano and opened her eyes wide.

Rudger's group, who had been internally wary, lowered their guard.

Fortunately, it seemed there would be no need to fight.

'But something about their reaction is strange.'

Rudger narrowed his eyes at the elves who didn't seem particularly pleased even after recognizing Vierano.

"What..."

Complex emotions filled Viela's eyes as she looked at Vierano.

"Why did you come?"

"Viela? What do you mean..."

"Enough. Arrest them."

No sooner had Viela's order fallen than the Dentis family elves moved.