Chapter 104

Chapter 104

Kraush turned his body, leaving the fallen muscle pig behind, and heard murmurs from behind him.

“Just now, that person.”

“That hair color, Balheim?”

“Is there someone else entering from Balheim?”

“Yeah, it’s the one they called the halfwit, the youngest.”

“They say he’s not a halfwit anymore.”

“Isn’t that just a rumor?”

“But from what we just saw...”

Voices filled with various opinions reflected the current perception of Kraush.

Thanks to the first prince’s efforts over the past half year, the extent of rumors about Kraush had significantly decreased.

The fact that people still mentioned him as a halfwit was proof of that.

‘Important people have already realized that all the rumors about me are true.’

Misinformation leads people to be wary of accepting the truth.

Without seeing the source of the rumors with their own eyes, they continue to doubt.

As a result, even when they knew the rumors were true, they hesitated to act.

They didn’t want to provoke Balheim unnecessarily and end up paying a heavy price.

In the meantime, Kraush entered the Martial Arts Hall.

True to its name, a giant statue holding crossed swords and axes greeted Kraush.

He stopped at the training ground of the Martial Arts Hall.

The training ground, resembling a massive dome like an arena, showcased the scale of Rahelrn Academy.

The problem was the people seated in that arena.

Current students could attend the Martial Arts entrance exam if they wished.

Since the exam was about showcasing one’s martial prowess, there was nothing the students could do to help.

So, to motivate the new students and let them see their future juniors, the academy allowed spectators.

Among the attendees, Kraush recognized several familiar faces.

‘Sigrid.’

The most notable was Sigrid Ephania, with her sea-blue hair.

The third princess of the Ephania Empire, known for her White Dragon lineage, and like Kraush, she possessed memories from a previous life through memory inheritance.

She was also the woman Kraush despised the most.

She was surrounded by several notable figures.

They were all extraordinary people.

Their strong individuality made them stand out.

All of them were destined to become famous in the Empire in the future.

Among the noticeable figures was a young man with black hair and a simple impression.

‘Felray.’

An idol hailed as a hero by commoners and a future member of the Skyborne Generation.

He had faced Kraush in the finals of the martial arts tournament.

But now, Felray was anxiously looking around, as if searching for someone.

Kraush had a rough idea of whom he was searching for but chose not to react.

‘It looks like Sigrid recruited him.’

Felray had reached the semifinals in the Empire’s martial arts tournament, allowing him entry to the academy.

Naturally, it would have been easy for Sigrid to recruit him.

For someone without a backing, Sigrid offered tremendous connections.

Although Felray wasn’t one to care about connections.

‘He’s naive.’

If persuaded that he could help other commoners in Martial Arts, Felray would have willingly joined Sigrid’s faction.

‘She really went all out.’

In the previous academy, Sigrid’s entourage was filled with sycophants who worshipped her.

But now, the people around her were all related to the Skyborne Generation.

Despite their difficult personalities, Sigrid had formed a group.

This indicated that she was actively utilizing her memory inheritance.

Kraush quickly scanned his surroundings.

‘If Sigrid is here, Arthur must be here too.’

Arthur was the most uncertain entity for Kraush at the moment.

Having had his skills stolen by Kraush, Arthur would have lost his original memories.

So Kraush was curious.

Which iteration of Arthur was he now?

And how did Arthur, meeting the memory-inherited Sigrid, handle things?

‘...He’s not here?’

But Arthur was nowhere to be seen.

Kraush furrowed his brow.

In his memory, Arthur had enrolled in the academy with Sigrid last year.

But now, Arthur was nowhere to be seen.

‘Maybe he decided not to attend the entrance exam, leaving it to Sigrid.’

But at least he was from the same Starlon family.

Having someone around was better than being alone and ostracized.

‘Just like my unpredictable sister.’

Kraush sighed, recalling Charlotte’s sudden action.

***

After Charlotte’s stormy presence had disappeared,

conversations started among Sigrid’s group.

“Is that Charlotte’s brother?”

“We should be cautious then. If he’s Charlotte’s brother, he must be skilled.”

“There were recent rumors about Starlon deliberately distorting information.”

As they whispered, Sigrid remained silent, staring at Kraush.

Her reason for being here today was simple.

To find Arthur.

Arthur hadn’t enrolled in Rahelrn Academy last year.

Realizing that, she was shocked but thought Arthur must have had his reasons.

So she focused on her tasks.

This year, an associate professor informed her about Arthur Gramalte’s entrance.

Finally, Arthur had appeared, she thought.

So she held back, waited, and decided to attend the entrance exam today.

But unexpectedly, someone else was grabbing attention.

‘Is it true that the cursed one has gotten stronger?’

Her blue eyebrows furrowed slightly.

To Sigrid, Kraush was nothing more than a cursed one.

She didn’t care about his rude remarks.

He was just a tool necessary for their path.

Nothing more, nothing less.

But today’s Kraush was clearly different.

Sigrid had been through many battlefields.

She knew how to gauge people.

The Kraush she saw now had entered the realm of mastery.

‘How? His talent was so poor it was laughable.’

He had no notable traits other than handling curses.

Yet here he was, suddenly appearing as a master.

Sigrid found this fact very displeasing.

He was someone who had irritated Arthur with his comments.

‘He should have just stayed cursed. Why become a variable now?’

Sigrid exhaled shortly and rubbed her wrinkled forehead with her thumb.

When Arthur had inherited memories, he had warned about variables from butterfly effects each iteration brought.

Instead of focusing on why the variables appeared, think of how to resolve them.

Sigrid suspected Kraush was this iteration’s variable.

From what she gathered about Ebelasque, she had headed towards Starlon.

‘Mary’s foolish mistake must have caused this.’

It must have been a variable resulting from that.

Kraush must have gained some opportunity because of it.

‘Fine. This isn’t urgent right now.’

Even so, Kraush’s role wouldn’t change.

His ability to steal curses was essential for Arthur’s path.

Arthur had kept him around until the end for that reason.

‘If he gets stronger, I’ll just use him more. I’ll make him an ally.’

He didn’t know about her.

While she couldn’t remember what Kraush liked, she knew what he disliked.

Avoiding those things would make befriending him easy.

‘Sigh, befriending a cursed one is absurd.’

But what could she do?

She aimed to save the world.

Sigrid thought she was too considerate of the world and clicked her tongue, leaning back in her chair.

If necessary, she’d use extreme measures to bring him in.

Kraush was a useful tool.

‘But now, it’s Arthur’s turn.’

Putting thoughts of Kraush aside, Sigrid scanned the area for Arthur.

Unaware of how significant the future mistakes would be.

“Welcome, everyone. I’m Kairan, the chief examiner for the entrance exam and in charge of the Martial Arts test. We’ll begin the Martial Arts entrance exam now.”

And so, the entrance exam began.

End of Chapte