The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 150

Pure evil.

The head of House Rothstaylor, Krepin Rothstaylor. When asked to describe him with one word, everyone would choose that word.

If you purchased , you could see an image of him shown at the very top of the back of the package.

Sitting on the majestic throne of the head of the house, he sat with his hands together and his eyes sharply raised in the darkness.

There were many villains in Silvenia’s Failed Swordmaster, but if I had to pick the person who had the biggest impact, it would have to be him.

All of the final bosses had their own stories. They were inevitably swayed by external pressures or were fundamentally good people.

Act 1 boss, ‘Elementalist Yennekar Palerover’, couldn’t overcome the power of the dark spirit Velosper and destroyed the school.

Act 2 boss, ‘Inquirer Glast’, had justification as a scholar to protect the treasure of the school, the Sage’s Seal.

Act 3 boss, ‘The Awakened One, Lucy’, was because of a misunderstanding that came from the moment you entered the boss battle.

Of course, now I knew the story at a deeper level than that, and the Act 3 boss fight didn’t take place. So now, my feelings towards it have changed a lot.

Anyway, when you played Silvenia’s Failed Swordmaster, the Act 4 boss, ‘Head of House, Krepin Rothstaylor’, was the first final boss that tried to block the player out of pure evil.

He only had one reason behind his actions.

It was to raise the prestige of his house and maintain his power for as long as possible.

And to use whatever means necessary to do so.

He was a person who wore the mask of a benevolent duke, but in reality, he treated people’s lives like pieces of paper if necessary.

He attacked Silvenia Academy to try and sacrifice a large number of students in order to summon the Evil God Mebula.

Evil Gods were strong and pure. They preferred influential and powerful souls.

Silvenia Academy, which was full of distinguished aristocrats, was the perfect place for summoning of an Evil God.

In the end, he was defeated by Taylee and the others. But even when he died, he never justified his actions.

The resurrected Evil God Mebula was eventually sealed again by Taylee and his party, who had grown quite a bit. Krepin himself was defeated in a battle against Taylee, but while retreating, he ran into the Guardian Obel Forsyth and was killed.

Even when he died, he was nothing more than an evil man.

The benevolent image of him as the head of House Rothstaylor completely disappeared… He laughed bitterly until the very end as he lamented. He was regretful that he failed at the very end.

He didn’t compromise. He didn’t seek sympathy. And he didn’t try to be understood.

He never had any doubts. To climb to a higher position, he was willing to trample on anyone. If necessary, he would deceive, steal, and even kill.

He didn’t try to be understood. He wasn’t someone who had the good nature of a human being.

So, what made Krepin do it?

That question didn’t matter.

He was a complete villain in his own right. And in that role, he did an amazing job.

A player might think much deeper than that, but… It was actually much simpler than they thought.

The other bosses might have had their own reasons and causes for their actions, but Krepin didn’t have any of that… He completely disappeared from the storyline after becoming ‘A target of subjugation.’

There wasn’t a leftover story and it ended cleanly. One would only feel like, ‘The very long fight has finally come to an end…’

Thus, the Act 4 storyline ended cleanly, and the story moved on to the final act, which dealt with the story of the Great Sage Silvenia and The Holy Blue Dragon Velbrok.

His memorable end… The scene of leaning against the railing on the roof of Trix Hall, covered in blood, looking up at the Evil God Mebula as they disappeared.

* * *

The door to the imperial library opened.

The hall was so high that it was difficult to guess its height. There were massive bookcases that were easily over two stories high.

That place, where scholars and policy makers of the imperial family often came to visit and collect data, naturally became a place for bureaucrats to exchange opinions and engage in social activities.

However, in recent years it had become difficult to do such things.

That was because the second princess of the Kroel Empire, Persica, had been in the library constantly.

She spent most of her days at a glamorous desk located in the corner of the library, stacked with all sorts of books.

As she sat in the library the entire day, aside from eating and sleeping, the librarians and bureaucrats had a headache.

That was because the librarians had to work with the princess all day long. And the bureaucrats had to be cautious of her whenever they came by to gather materials or find a book.

Of course, aside from the main wall, where large bookcases were lined up, the imperial library was a massive facility with four floors… There was no need to always be cautious of her.

However, even though the second princess always sat in the same space, they were afraid they might run into her when she got up from her seat to walk around and look for another book… It was a godly amount of pressure.

“If you’re just reading a book, you can read it in your room, Sister Persica.”

“I read through a book quite fast, so it is a pain to have to move them back and forth between my room one by one.”

Persica sat in quite a large corner of the library.

There was a luxurious and massive desk, but it was so covered in books that you could barely see it.

Princess Penia, who came to greet her, let out a sigh.

“Besides, it’s fun to look through the bookshelves to pick my next book. It’s no fun to only read the books recommended by the imperial teachers.”

“If you say that, I have nothing to say…”

Today, not only the second princess Persica, but also the third princess Penia came to the library.

The librarians were much more cautious than usual. When they were assigned the position of librarian, which is a relatively small job, they had no idea they would ever have to suffer so much.

“It has already been a year and a half since you abruptly decided to attend Silvenia. Now, it’s no longer an usual sight, as I see you return every break to give your greetings.”

“Do you still think my admission to Silvenia was out of the blue?”

“Yes. As I said, I never thought you were a person that lacked ambition.”

If Selah was considered ice cold and Penia was considered humane, Persica would be somewhere in between.

However, there was no feeling of compassion. To put it bluntly, it felt as if she were rather carefree. Because she was a princess, she wore an appropriate and well-made dress that was suited for royalty. But seeing her casually indulge in all of those old books as she lay around, surrounded by piles of other books, there seemed to be no dignity in her at all.

The hair of the royal family was normally a nice platinum. Penia was similar to a pure platinum color, while Selah was slightly bluer. On the contrary, Persica had a bit of red in hers.

Of course, her eyes were a nice, soft blue, just like everyone else in the Kroel Royal Family.

“I’m not sure about that……”

“Certainly, it feels as if you’re now lacking in spirit compared to before you left for Silvenia.”

Persica was buried in a book that was larger than her face, flicking through the pages.

“As for you, sister Persica, even during such a time you are still holed away in the library… Do you have no desire to become the emperor?”

“There’s no way that would be true. I am just waiting for the right time.”

“The right time… When is that…?”

Persica didn’t answer. She merely smiled. It was a battle, so why should she have to tell her?

With her eyes fixed on the book, Persica spoke softly.

“Others may be unaware, but I know. Before you entered school, whenever you saw Krepin Rothstaylor, your eyes lit up as you looked at him.”

“……”

“Right now, he is back at his mansion to hold the social gathering, but he often came to the library to refer to policy making. Well, at least in my eyes, I only saw him as a faithful servant who served the people and was loyal to the imperial family…”

Persica suddenly closed the book. She quickly threw it onto the mountain of books piled next to her. She picked up the next book as she began to flip through it.

“Since before, Penia, you have always had a strangely good insight into people. Yet you were always so wary of him, so I became quite curious.”

“Now, I have decided to stop trying to keep an eye on him. I no longer have any reason to meddle with him.”

“I’m not sure about that. Listen. Do you know what books he read in the imperial library?”

Persica tossed some books to Penia.

Penia frowned as she looked at the book one by one.

“The mythology of Evil Gods and the forbidden magics of the Mythic Age. He even looked at forbidden books under the pretext of inspecting the management of archives within the imperial library.”

“…What did you say?”

“Well, when I say forbidden books, I mean the ones that discuss the methodology of using cruel magics in its original form. I wonder if he was trying to plot something.”

Penia flipped through the books one by one, looking at the titles. All of them were stories about the coming of Evil Gods and the damage they caused.

“What do you think after seeing that? Does he seem like someone evil?”

“……”

It was hard to see it as a definitive piece of evidence. Even if he really did look at those books in the library, it wouldn’t diminish his reputation. Perhaps it was only academic curiosity.

However, Penia couldn’t help but have an uneasy feeling rise from the corner of her heart.

The memory that came to mind was of Ed Rothstaylor, who had received a letter from her before the break.

He said that he was going to be reinstated into House Rothstaylor and he needed to borrow some of the princess’s authority.

Now that Penia had no desires or goals, she had lent her name without much thought. In the first place, Ed Rothstaylor was a trustworthy person. He wasn’t the kind of person who would easily tarnish Princess Penia’s name.

So, she didn’t think much of it.

She didn’t want to intervene hastily and mess things up.

The higher the position, the greater the responsibility for failure. She, who had become weaker after several failures, no longer had the will to solve any problems by acting on her own.

“Your expression doesn’t look all that great, Penia.”

Persica suddenly hit the mark.

“…It’s just that his son came to see me before break.”

“Ed Rothstaylor. Wasn’t he excommunicated?”

“You know about him?”

“I only know his name. I know the families of those with influential power to some extent. But I heard rumors that you were the one who caused his excommunication.”

Persica had the ability to memorize anything that she had seen once, and never forget it. Since she had such a smart brain, she could easily put lots of knowledge into her head.

“It’s just… I heard that he was going to be reinstated this time. So, I lent him my name so that he wouldn’t be looked down upon.”

“Oh my, you seem to trust him quite a bit. You’re not the type to let someone borrow your name recklessly.”

“Rather than trust him… He’s just… well, he’s not someone who particularly matters. But…”

Penia flipped through the covers of the books deep in thought.

“…I thought something was strange. His reputation in House Rothstaylor should still be low, so how could he be easily reinstated like this? Krepin Rothstaylor is considered to be merciful, but he doesn’t have mercy against those who threaten the prestige of his house…”

Ed Rothstaylor had a uniquely trustworthy feeling about him, one that suggested that he could accomplish anything on his own.

However, now she was feeling slightly anxious about it. Persica, who saw this brief moment of anxiety in Penia, cleverly took the chance.

“Well, he is a person where there is absolutely no reason to reinstate him. Rather, if his personality hasn’t been completely fixed, then the name of the house would only be tarnished once more. It seems that Krepin is only taking an unnecessary risk.”

Persica spoke as she tapped the bookshelf.

“Nevertheless, he has still reinstated Ed Rothstaylor. If I were Krepin, I wouldn’t do that unless I had decided to do something else.”

Princess Penia’s eyes trembled. She decided that she would no longer be involved with what he did.

She was going to focus on graduating from Silvenia without paying any attention to what was going on in House Rothstaylor.

“For example… To use this as bait to force him to return to Rothstaylor Mansion after being isolated on Acken Island.”

Memories of the student council president election suddenly crept up in her heart.

What was the reason behind her strange feelings of loss when she heard the news of his death?

Something between guilt and helplessness. And the relief she had felt upon hearing that he was still alive. What Penia realized from those emotions was that she paid more attention to Ed Rothstaylor than she had thought.

She still remembered his wide back as he sat at the camp, poking the fire.

He had never blamed Penia.

Even when she accused him, causing his excommunication, even when she hesitated and failed the make a quick and correct judgment during a crisis that befell the school, even if she had gotten so caught up in her ideals that she failed to consider the damage of reality, and even when she was openly wary of him.

He only thought of it as a mere passing in life. He had never hated Penia as a person.

He wasn’t someone who didn’t know how to get angry. He simply just lived his life on his own.

He clearly knew the truth behind it all and would fight a high-ranking individual if necessary. He could use countless means necessary to do his part.

And above all else, there was still no reason for him to continue respecting Penia.

He simply understood her.

The third princess of the Kroel Family, Penia Elias Kroel.

Ed did not blame her for her misjudgment. He understood her life of struggling to do her best in the darkness as a child on the receiving end of various plots and attacks, as well as the battle for imperial power, better than anyone else. He even understood and accepted Penia’s imperfections.

It was human nature to grow through misjudgments and mistakes. However, bearing the name of a monarch, mistakes could never be forgiven.

It was a cruel contradiction. However, all monarchs must think of it as the norm as they live their lives. Such was the weight of the throne.

That was why, inevitably, the path a monarch took was seen as one of solitude.

It was greedy and arrogant to expect others to understand that loneliness. Only when you gave up the desire to be understood could you become a monarch.

Naturally, that was how it was.

“I had no idea you would help me so easily. I… was ready to negotiate with you more if needed.”

That was what Ed had told Penia at the royal residence before leaving the school.

He was ready to negotiate some more.

That day, Ed was ready to exchange opinions with Penia.

Nevertheless, Penia lent her name to Ed without interacting with him.

If it’s Ed, I’m sure he will do well. This is a matter of House Rothstaylor, so nothing good will come of me meddling and complicating the matter.

She comforted herself in such a way.

She only realized afterwards just how big of a mistake that was.

“Tonight is the second night of the social gathering, so there are still two more days left.”

Persica calmly whispered to Penia, whose eyes were trembling.

“If you go by a horse-drawn carriage, it will take a full day and a half. But if you only go with a horse’s saddle and run straight there without rest, you could get there in half a day.”

Princess Penia, who had been educated by the imperial family since she was young, had minimal knowledge of riding a horse.

However, right now it would be too late to meet with the emperor to get his permission, form an escort team, and travel by carriage.

If she wanted to go, she had no choice but to run straight to the horse’s shed right away and ride the best and strongest horse they had.

As she was taking a sudden absence without permission, unless they were loyal followers, they wouldn’t go with her. Rather, it was more likely they would try to stop her.

Including the head of the escort knights Claire, there were about five or so followers under her. There was no time to convince anyone else.

It could be a simple misunderstanding.

Normally, she wouldn’t have ever acted so urgently.

However, Penia already experienced Ed’s death once. Only later did she realize that it wasn’t true. But after experiencing that feeling once, she realized it.

If Ed Rothstaylor were killed like or suffered enough damage that he could possibly die… It seemed like it would become a massive wound on Penia that could never be healed.

“Are you going?”

Persica smiled insidiously as she called on Penia softly.

Penia lowered her head as she then shook her head, smiling.

“There’s no way I would. My status has too much weight, so how could I possibly go so suddenly?”

“That’s true. I’m reassured with the knowledge that you are still aware of the weight of the royal family.”

Persica looked through the bookshelf for a bit, humming.

“Well, I’m sure he won’t die. Death is an inevitable thing, but… I’m sure he’s not an idiot, either. He should have some ideas.”

“Yes… It’s obvious that Krepin has some sort of plan, and he isn’t so dull that he wouldn’t have noticed it.”

After she said that, Penia felt nothing but remorse.

However, Persica caught the trembling in her voice in that brief moment.

“Anyway, I see that you are in good health, Persica, so I will take my leave first. It’s late at night, so I should go and sleep.”

“Alright. Good night.”

Persica pretended to read a book as she glanced over at Penia.

After adjusting her outfit, Penia headed towards the library exit as if nothing was wrong.

However, her fists were clenched tightly. Persica let out a cruel laugh. She was looking at the back of someone who had come to a hard decision.

“He is someone who made the third princess Penia act in just one night. Rothstaylor Mansion will become a mess. I am curious what he’s like, but now isn’t the time.”

Putting the closed book down, Persica stretched.

“And with this, I am now the only princess left in the imperial household.”

She closed the book as the moonlight softly shone down from the glass ceiling of the library.

Persica got up from the pile of books.

It was time to act carefully.

* * *

“No one knows my son Ed Rothstaylor better than me.”

Krepin slowly stood up from his desk as he spoke in a low voice.

“Others may say that you matured after being excommunicated and that you have become wiser, but… I know.”

“……”

“My son’s heart wouldn’t change so easily after a few months in the wild. He sincerely despises me.”

Krepin wore a fabulous tailcoat and a black glove on one hand. On the gloved left hand, there was an imprint of an Evil God.

It was possible to hide the engraving, but it would consume too much magic power to do so on the daily. That was why he wore that glove on his hand.

“But it feels as if you don’t hold such hatred towards me. Rather, it seems as if you are taking everything in stride. As if you are someone who has no connection to me. When I see you, I can definitely feel that.”

“……”

“You are not Ed Rothstaylor.”

Whoosh!

“Kyaaaghk!”

The source of the sudden gust of wind came from Krepin Rothstaylor, who stood in the center of the study.

As waves emanated from his left hand, where the engraving was, Yennekar screamed as she closed her eyes tightly.

Whoosh!

Mugg came out as he spread his wings widely, blocking the wind.

Krepin stood with his shoulders stretched out under the moonlight. He slowly took off the glove of his left hand. The imprint of an Evil God on his hand had a dark red energy.

Although it wasn’t yet possible to fully handle the power of an Evil God, he could still use part of its power.

“If that’s not it, did you forgive me for stabbing Arwen?”

I lost my breath at those words.

“As if that could be. You were the one who trusted and followed Arwen more than anyone else.”

Whoosh!

He held his one-handed sword with his right hand, which didn’t have the engraving. He was clearly ready to fight.

As soon as he pulled out his weapon, Yennekar reacted first.

Fwoosh!

There was a massive banquet being held downstairs. If she were to summon a high-ranking spirit in such a place, the building would collapse and there would be casualties. Thus, a certain amount of control in her strength was required.

In an instant, Yennekar concentrated as she manifested three large mid-rank spirits.

A fire bat with massive wings. An eagle in the form of water. And a giant made of dirt… Although it was a large study, there wasn’t enough space for them all.

“D-Don’t move…”

“Elementalist Yennekar Palerover. You are strong, but you worry too much about the situation.”

As Krepin clenched his left hand, a crackling wave started to come from his hand.

C-Crackle!

In an instant, all three mid-rank spirits were wrapped up in chains made of magic power.

“Keuk…!”

Yennekar tried to break the chains by casting a spiritual skill, but the speed of the new chains wrapping around her were much faster.

Chains emerged from the air as they wrapped around her arm, binding her waist and legs.

“Eughk!”

Yennekar struggled to pull away from the chains. If she stayed like that any longer, she might get hurt.

While thinking about whether or not she should draw on the power of high-rank spirits and take the risk, the chains were cut from a wind blade.

Booom!

My wind blade was far stronger than normal beginner magic.

That was only possible because I had been training in beginner magic for so long, without a day of break.

“You have good skills with magic.”

“Even if I’m not your son, it doesn’t change the fact that I am Ed Rothstaylor.”

“You speak of the absurd.”

“Though it may sound absurd, what if it is true?”

Boom!

As I pulled out my dagger and rushed at him, Krepin made a swiping down motion with his engraved left hand.

I felt a great shock striking my hand as the dagger fell from my hand.

Clang!

My shoulders swung, raising my hands upwards as my body defied gravity, flying up and crashing into the ceiling.

“Keuheuk!”

I coughed as I clenched my teeth, gathering my magic power once more.

Boom!

Instantly, Krepin’s leg was cut from my dagger.

I activated the spiritual skill of the dagger I had dropped as it was brought back to my hand. It was lucky that it happened to cut Krepin’s leg, which was in its path.

“Keuk!”

It wasn’t deep, but it was enough to distract him. The unknown pressure that held me to the ceiling disappeared.

I held the dagger again and with the force of gravity, I pointed it straight towards Krepin.

Clang!

He managed to block my dagger with the sword he was holding. The moment he was about to use the power of the Evil God once more, I pulled out a Shock-Enhanced Wave Ball from my pocket.

Booooom.

Then, a strong shock traveled through us for a moment. I succeeded in creating distance from Krepin.

Anyway, my goal at that point wasn’t to defeat Krepin. As I said, if I didn’t bring down the name of the house and his prestige first, even if I defeated him, I wouldn’t be able to clean up the mess.

Whoosh.

Dust rose inside the library. Krepin quickly blew it all away as he raised his left hand again.

It was a power that I exactly understood the mechanics of. However, as I had played through Act 4 before, I had a rough idea.

He couldn’t fully utilize the power of the Evil God, as it was in an incomplete state. However, he was still able to control the ‘Physical Power’ around him at will.

Gravity, inertia, friction… At least with his magic power, he was able to control the flow of physical energy.

It might feel as if he was undefeatable while the flow of energy in the world was in the palm of his hand.

However, to manage such power, he had to concentrate for a long time and accumulate magic power over a long period as well. It was enough to say that it was a power that was used in a quick battle.

At that moment, the full powers of the Evil God hadn’t been fully released. So, now was the best time to defeat him. But the order of things was already set.

I gathered magic power in my hand.

Boom!

As the magic power gathered, I was ready to send it straight to a single point.

Intermediate Fire Magic, Point Explosion.

Krepin Rothstaylor quickly reacted to the speed of my magic power, taking a defensive stance. But unfortunately for him, the direction of my attack wasn’t Krepin.

Booom!!!

The floor collapsed as a roar engulfed the entire mansion.

The peaceful and enjoyable social gathering unfortunately had to end there.