Chapter 18 – The Professor You Chose (8)

Chapter 18 – The Professor You Chose (8)

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 18 – The Professor You Chose (8)

When Nightley first received the map, she entered the dark forest alone with a light heart.

A mountain forest at midnight. No supervising instructor or accompanying teammates, but it wasn’t a big deal.

Although Headmaster Kirrin had restricted field exercises due to accident risks, she had put a lot of effort into theory classes.

Therefore, the students were very proficient in basic navigation skills, and Nightley, having studied further on her own, could roughly determine directions by just looking at the stars and the shapes of trees.

Although there was a difference between studying at a desk and actual ground experience, it was a minor issue that she would adapt to after a few attempts.

So, finding her way through the nearby mountains of the academy wasn’t a big problem.

Moreover, this was supposed to be a personal training session with Professor Dian.

Directly holding personal training sessions could lead to unfavorable gossip, so he probably chose a separate location to teach her.

She expected to find Professor Dian waiting for her after a short walk.

An hour later, Nightley realized something was amiss.

The route, which had been gently following the ridge, started to veer off course, and the terrain became increasingly treacherous.

At first, it was just a slight incline that required some balance, but it soon became so steep that she needed to grab onto trees to avoid falling off.

As she started to pant and sweat trickled down her chin and neck, Nightley stopped to check the map again. Had she taken the wrong path?

But even after checking the map and compass from different angles, the direction was correct. She had to navigate this treacherous terrain to reach the academy.

She decided to press on. There was a small flat area ahead where Professor Dian was likely waiting.

Another hour passed. Climbing a slope that was nearly a cliff, Nightley finally cursed out loud.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it! That wretched professor! Where the hell are you?! Why haven’t you shown up yet?!”

But the only answer was her own echo reverberating back at her.

“Come out now! I know you’re watching!”

Still, there was no response.

Wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, Nightley took out the map again.

She still had about a third of the way to go to reach the academy boundary, and there were hardly any gentle sections or detours.

The route was perfectly laid out to torment her, as if someone had intended to give her a hard time.

At this point, Nightley considered turning back. But that would be difficult.

She didn’t want to give up. After boasting that having her as a dedicated student would benefit his career, what would Professor Dian think if she returned empty-handed?

He would probably think of her as an arrogant noble girl who couldn’t back up her big talk.

Furthermore, returning would mean accompanying the infiltration professor or other assistants, and she couldn’t ignore the eyes of other students who would already be at the academy.

It wasn’t about being embarrassed or ashamed; she simply detested the idea of those lower-status people talking behind her back.

Besides, Nightley wanted to test her own abilities and limits.

While she excelled in all subjects at the academy, that was only in theory classes and written exams.

She didn’t yet know her level in challenging terrain.

If she couldn’t even cross the mountains near the academy, she wouldn’t be able to become the special agent she dreamed of.

She wouldn’t be able to live like the Imperial Special Forces her brothers had told her stories about, stories that had captivated her heart.

If she were deemed unqualified and relegated to a desk job, she might be caught by her father and forced back home.

That would render her past efforts to escape an arranged marriage and the resulting intense conflict with her father to enroll in the academy all meaningless.

No, she was going to make it. Even if it killed her. If Professor Dian had any sense, he would have set up some minimum safety measures.

Stuffing the map into her chest pocket, Nightley stood up, supporting herself on the ground.

After several near-misses and almost falling, she finally regained her balance and precariously began climbing the slope.

# # # # # for new novels

“Damn it, damn it, damn it! That wretched professor! Where the hell are you?! Why haven’t you shown up yet?!”

Hearing Nightley’s scream of frustration from further up the slope, Survival Professor Waver looked at me and smiled.

“You did well, Nightley.”

Looking up with difficulty, she saw Professor Dian smiling down at her.

“Professor... Why are you doing this to me...?”

“Why? This is the first session of your weekly personal training.”

“This...”

Nightley forced her dry lips to move, baring her teeth.

“This... is personal training...?”

“You came alone, separate from the other students. And I’ve been monitoring you all along.”

“You followed me...? I didn’t sense a thing...”

“You wouldn’t know yet. You’ll be able to sense it with more practice. But...”

Professor Dian pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.

“The final destination is inside the academy. It’s an infiltration exercise, remember?”

“Damn it...”

Grinding her teeth, Nightley used her knees to push herself up, her trembling legs stepping forward. Then she stumbled and fell.

Dian caught her just in time.

“Are you alright?”

Seeing that she didn’t respond, he realized she had passed out, completely unconscious.

It seemed pushing any further was impossible. It would have to end here.

When Dian signaled, Waver, who had been in the watchtower, acknowledged and withdrew from the tower.

The original plan included having her evade Waver’s ‘near-miss’ arrows while scaling the academy wall, but this was sufficient.

The purpose of sending Nightley into such a dangerous situation alone was to test her determination and resilience.

If she had given up on something as simple as overcoming rough terrain, there would be no point in continuing to teach her.

He would have just called her in once a week, killed time, and sent her back.

That’s why he tested her.

Until now, she had been cocky, thinking she could handle anything with her high theoretical grades, but reality is different.

I’ve seen plenty of platoon leaders graduate top of their class from military academies only to lose their nerve in their first battle. Theory and practice are entirely different.

Fortunately, Nightley didn’t give up and made it this far.

I was actually interested in teaching her, so this was a relief.

Nightley is an excellent student in many ways, and I was curious to see how far she could go under my tutelage.

And if we produce exceptional operatives among our graduates, the Second Princess would have no reason to doubt the current system, with Kirlin as headmaster and me as a professor.

Alright, Nightley. Let’s keep going.

# # # # #

“Good evening, Priestess.”

Maya, the Priestess, looked up from her patient records as she worked late into the night due to the night infiltration class.

Professor Dian, with a disheveled appearance, walked into the infirmary carrying an unconscious blonde female student on his back.

“This student participated in the infiltration class. She’s completely exhausted and needs divine healing.”

“Lay her down over there.”

While Dian placed the student on an empty bed, Maya quickly recorded the new patient’s details.

After confirming her patient record was thoroughly factual, Maya stood up and approached the patient.

[Late at night, Professor Dian arrived with a distressed smile, drenched in sweat and carrying an unconscious, attractive female student with disheveled clothing.]

[Given that no other students from the class came by, it’s suspected that their planned lesson included intense physical activity deviating from the standard curriculum.]

[TL/N: Why is this loli priestess so sus o-o]

[Translator – Peptobismol]