Tenebrous Wolf
Chapter 48: Steady Progress

Chapter 48: Steady Progress

When everything was set in motion, Klaus shifted his focus to training. In truth, there was nothing more he needed to do.

He had already uploaded the carefully edited video under an anonymous account, ensuring it couldn’t be traced back to him. Of course, he also took the precaution of blurring Yuki’s face so no one could identify her. If everything proceeded as planned, then by now, the entire Aspirant division would have seen the video and recognized the two boys.

From there, the isolation and insults would begin. It was only a matter of time before the Aspirants turned hostile, roughing them up at every opportunity. Eventually, someone would report the matter to an instructor, and the two horny perverts would be punished, most likely for the illegal possession of substances.

Well, that was that. There was no need for him to concern himself any further. Soon enough, the boys would be showered with so much "love" that they’d wish they were dead.

This was only the right thing to do, right? On the bright side, they would become the most popular Aspirants in the academy.

In the morning, Klaus would learn how to survive in a ruined world without civilisation from Instructor Rex. Their lessons ranged from comparatively simple, like various ways to produce fire, to much more obscure and esoteric, like celestial navigation and then simple combat training.

What was the point about celestial navigation?

To summarise everything, the Shadow Realm doesn’t have consistent geography due to its nature. For example, if one fractured world had one sun, then other would have two or three, as well as a different number of moons. In a nutshell, the Shadow Realm was utterly unpredictable with its structure.

Still, it was possible to navigate a fractured world with sufficient knowledge about the stars.

Of course, this was already part of various school curriculums and widely known among Aspirants. However, there was a vast difference between learning something from a textbook and learning it firsthand from an actual Awakened.

Klaus, who had always been an A-Class student, was impressed by Teacher Rex’s explanation. He seemed to possess a talent for teaching or rather, he was impressed by his Teacher Rex himself. The instructor had a way of making even the most abstract concepts digestible. His explanations weren’t just about memorizing information but about truly understanding the mechanics of survival within the Shadow Realm. Soon, Klaus found himself taking mental notes, not just for the sake of learning but because he understood how crucial this knowledge would be in the future.

After learning the theoretical aspect, he then went through the practical aspect which was virtual reality simulation. It conjured several scenarios where a direct confrontation would lead to death and he even had to run away sometimes.

Obviously, he didn’t pass every scenario and even died a few time within the visual reality. However, there was no lasting damage. At best, the sensation he felt was just phantom pain.

This was technology of the academy. A deep braindrive into a fragmented reality that connected to one’s senses but not enough to damage them.

"... Hah... Hah..."

When Klaus came out of the visual reality pad, Teacher Rex was already waiting for him with a smile.

"How was it?" Teacher Rex asked, his arms crossed as he observed Klaus’ disoriented state.

Klaus took a deep breath to calm his chaotic heartbeat. His body was drenched in sweat and his mind was still reeling from the brutal simulations he had just experienced. After all, anyone would enter such a state when they are eaten alive and experienced everything.

Finally, he answered:

"It was... brutal. The unpredictability is worse than I expected. Even when I thought I had a grasp on navigation, something always threw me off."

Teacher Rex chuckled.

"Good. That means you’re learning. Survival isn’t about mastering a set of rules, but adapting when those rules no longer apply. The Shadow Realm doesn’t care how much you’ve memorized; it is unreasonably unforgiving and if you don’t think on your feet, then you’ll simply perish and end up in the belly of an abomination."

Klaus nodded while still catching his breath. He had experienced that firsthand. Some scenarios had gone smoothly, but in others, he had barely lasted minutes before being overwhelmed.

Needless to say, the real Shadow Realm would be much more dangerous than a conjured virtual reality.

Just how dangerous was the Shadow Realm?

Klaus flexed his fingers as the lingering phantom pain faded.

"This is really something. It felt real and at the same time, not."

Teacher Rex explained eagerly:

"The academy’s tech is top-tier, even within the Sanctuary. The brain-drive system is designed to push you to your limits without actually harming you. Pain sharpens memory, but we wouldn’t want you breaking down before your First Departure, would we? That’s why the settings have been locked at the lowest level."

"The lowest?"

"Naturally. You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?" Teacher Rex smirked. "There are a total of three stages, and what you just experienced was only the first."

Klaus’ eyes widened in horror.

That entire thing was just level one?! Then how messed up are the other two levels?!

Disregarding the turmoil in Klaus’ heart, Teacher Rex casually checked the time on his wristwatch.

"We’ll stop here for today. When we meet again, we’ll proceed with stage two of the virtual simulation, so be mentally prepared. Also, don’t slack on your rune studies. That will be just as important."

He paused before adding,

"You only died in most simulations because you couldn’t understand or interpret a specific chaos rune. I can’t stress enough how crucial this is. Understood?"

"Uh... Yes, sir."

"Good. Then, you’re dismissed."

With that, Klaus gave a brief nod and exited the Tactical Survival classroom, leaving the instructor alone with his thoughts.

† †

After making a quick stop at the cafeteria to grab some food for Briar and leaving it in his room, Klaus headed to the academy’s library. He walked toward a secluded corner, where the seated Yuki was already waiting for him.

Despite everything that had happened yesterday, Yuki didn’t seem any different from before.

She remained quiet, monotone, and exuded the same lonely aura. Yes, she was still the same Yuki he knew.

As he approached, he offered a simple, polite greeting.

"Hey, how are you today? I hope you didn’t wait long."

Yuki shook her head.

"No. I just arrived a few minutes ago, so the wait wasn’t long. Do you still need my help with rune language?"

"Ah... Yes. I hope it’s not a bother."

"It’s not."

With that brief reply, the blue-haired girl gestured for him to sit. Klaus nodded and took a seat without hesitation.

For the next few minutes, Yuki methodically guided Klaus through the intricacies of rune language without a change in her poker face. Klaus had no complaints, listening attentively and only speaking when he had a question or needed clarification. Whenever he struggled with a concept, Yuki would calmly backtrack and explain it again until he understood.

Regarding the concept of runes, there were different types among the chaos languages.

More specifically, there were several rune languages such as the Hermes Language, Ettin Language, Star Language, Language of the Order, and so on. There were also numerous other languages, like the Death Language, Fairy Language, Fate Language, and Elvis Language.

Either way, all of these languages had their own structure, wording, and symbols designed for them.

Let’s use his Divine Name as an example, ’Soulless’. There were different translations of this name among the various rune languages. In the Hermes Language, it would be ’Broken Fate’. In the Star Language, it would be the ’Hollowed Fate’ and in another, it would be ’The One Without A Predetermined Path’. All of these were different translations, but each of them had their own meaning.

Just like how there were different interpretations of something, it didn’t mean each of them was correct or conveyed the same message.

Certainly, it was a vast amount of theoretical knowledge, each with its own uniqueness.

Slowly but surely, Klaus increased his understanding and progress in learning different kinds of rune languages. Under normal circumstances, he doubted he would have been able to learn everything on his own, but since he had a great teacher, he was able to grasp even the more complex nuances.

Speaking of great teachers, Yuki seemed otherwise bothered by something on her mind.

Her poker face remained utterly unreadable. Or rather, there was no expression on her face at all. Well, that was how it seemed on the surface. Normally, emotional changes caused certain facial muscles to tense, producing an "expression." But in her case, it appeared as though she either couldn’t show emotions or was unable to express them.

However, there were still ways to discern what someone was thinking, even through such an impassive mask. For instance, the slight furrow of her brows suggested she was deep in thought.

... At least, that was Klaus’s observation. He already had an idea on what she was thinking about.

In such a situation, Klaus opened his mouth and asked with a worried voice:

"Hey, is something wrong?"

Yuki blinked.

"Why do you ask?"

"You seem preoccupied. If something’s on your mind, you can talk to me. I’m a good listener."

"...Can I ask anything?"

"Of course. If you’re comfortable, that is."

Yuki paused, then asked,

"Did you upload that video on the academy chat server?"

Klaus froze.

"What?"

How did she know? No... she was trying to confirm her suspicions. But why him, of all people?

Instead of outright denying it, he asked:

"Why do you think it was me?"

Yuki responded simply:

"I saw you."

"... Huh?"

"I saw you watching through the window."

"..."

Klaus blinked.

I thought I hid myself properly, but to think she would discover me despite that. Well, I was peeping the window.

How was he supposed to react in this situation?

Yuki’s poker face remained unreadable, but he couldn’t sense any anger from her. Who knew what the girl sitting across from him was actually thinking?

For a brief moment, Klaus wished he had the ability to read minds. But that was just a pointless thought.

He sighed.

"In any case, why are you asking me that question?"

With a blink, Yuki explained:

"I simply wanted to confirm if you were the one who posted that explicit video. Uploading such content to the school server could result in punishment. I suggest you delete it before you get caught and penalized unnecessarily."

Klaus shrugged.

"You don’t have to worry about that. I’ve already deleted the video."

Yuki nodded slightly.

"I see. Then, everything has been resolved."

After saying that, the blue-haired girl just straightened her back.

What’s with that reaction? I expected her to come at me for recording, but instead, she’s just concerned about me getting caught. How strange.

Has she even considered her position in this whole mess? Klaus narrowed his eyes.

Whatever the case, he couldn’t understand her reasoning. A normal person would be more worried about themselves in this situation, wouldn’t they?

She was certainly a strange girl. More importantly,

"By the way, are you sure it was alright for them to cum inside you like that?"

Klaus frowned.

Those two boys had finished inside her with reckless abandon. There was a high chance they made a mistake somewhere, and she could have ended up pregnant. In such a scenario, it would greatly affect her path as a rider, and even potentially force her to drop out.

However, his concerns were dismissed as Yuki shook her head.

"I take medication from EVA every day, and they include a contraceptive in case of accidents."

"EVA? Are you talking about that water bottle brand?"

"What? Why would you think that?"

Perhaps his words were truly that absurd, as Yuki appeared momentarily stunned before shaking her head and regaining her poker face.

"I’m not talking about any marketing brand. EVA is an organization responsible for the creation, management and maintenance of Angelions. One of their duties also includes assisting Ascendants during Shadow World raids."

"Are they some kind of secret organization? Why haven’t I heard of them?"

"They’re not a secret organization. In fact, their existence is generally known to the public since they’re an international organization. You can consider them a unit under the government. Their main headquarters is located in the Mainland—Tokyo, Japan. They also have multiple branches within the Sanctuary. Additionally, EVA carries out operations in several countries, including the United States, Germany, China, and many others, but I won’t go into any further detail concerning that."

Finishing her uncharacteristically long explanation, Yuki pulled out a book from the towering pile on the table. Every single one of them, without exception, was about runes.

Then, she added with a somewhat faint smile.

"So why don’t we continue with the lesson, shall we?"

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