I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 774 - Side Story 47: Amazing Transformation (3)

Theor's body flew through the air. He bounced across the training ground floor several times like a skipping stone, and finally was flung outside the training ground, slamming into the wall connected to the spectator seats.

Kwooong!

A tremendous roar and an impact great enough to make the spectator seats shake violently. The spectators watching the scene couldn't close their gaping mouths in astonishment. More than that, the thought that Theor might have died from that last blow flashed through their minds.

Getting seriously injured during such battles was a daily occurrence, but dying was a different story. Even if beastmen of the same tribe died, it would cause problems, let alone the fact that Rudger was a human.

Even if it wasn't intentional, a human killing a Great Chieftain's blood relative would become a major political issue.

Naturally, Rudger was fully aware of that. When he sent Theor flying, he had controlled his strength sufficiently, taking into account his capabilities.

So the situation the surrounding spectators were worried about would not occur. At least, if Theor had been incapacitated by that one blow.

Grrrrrrr.

A chilling growl resonated lowly from within the dusty cloud that had risen hazily. The majority of beastmen sitting in the spectator seats perked up their ears and tails. The moment they heard the growl dripping with murderous intent like sticky mud, their bestial instincts rang out warnings.

"He's alive?" 

"No, more than that, this sound right now..."

It wasn't difficult to guess that it was the sound Theor was making.

"I tried to put him to sleep quietly with one blow, but it seems he was a bit tougher than I thought."

Rudger muttered this and moved his body one step to the side. At the same time, a red afterimage shot through in a straight line where he had been standing just moments before.

Kwaaang!

From the training ground wall to the opposite training ground wall. The thing that had been shot like a cannonball soon embedded itself in the wall and turned its head to glare at Rudger.

Grrrrrung.

It was Theor. However, his appearance was very different from usual.

"Hmm. So that's what the complete beast transformation used by beastmen is."

When beastmen manifested the beast genes they possessed to the maximum, they took on a form closer to beasts than humans.

If before they only had ears or tails attached to human bodies, In the case of complete beast transformation, that ratio became 50-50. Or they changed to an appearance with the beast side mixed in a bit more.

A giant leopard beastman with his entire body covered in red fur and boasting a long mane. That was Theor's current appearance.

"He'd make a good match for Hans."

Of course, once Hans was bitten, he changed to a form where beasts occupied 80 percent. If he put his mind to it, he could even use the power of spirit beasts or the Beast of Gevaudan, so it might be more accurate to say Hans was closer to being a beastman than beastmen.

Thinking about it that way, he realized anew just how absurd Hans's abilities were.

'But more than that, I should focus on the guy in front of me.'

Theor, who had completely transformed into his beast form, showed no trace of reason no matter how hard you looked. With his long claws embedded in the wall, he jerked his head up and glared at Rudger.

All that could be felt from him was thick hostility and murderous intent. Perhaps because of the even stronger aura from his beast transformation, it created the illusion that a red heat haze was wafting from his body.

Of course, to Rudger, this was nothing more than a cute cat's hissing. With the opponents he had faced so far, how could he be frightened by something like this?

"A guy who won't listen needs to be put to sleep quickly, that's the proper thing to do."

Rudger aimed his staff and shot a concentrated stream of mana toward Theor.

Detecting the mana shot with a whooshing sound, Theor moved.

Kwajik!

His claws dug into the wall, and he ran up the wall as if defying gravity. Rudger aimed at him again and fired mana blasts in succession, but Theor dodged all the mana blasts, leaving red afterimages.

'Not just his speed, but his reaction speed has increased considerably too.'

Perhaps with his bestial senses, he had realized that these mana blasts were dangerous.

Judging that this wouldn't work, Rudger changed his method of attack. If point and line attacks didn't work, he just needed to apply them over a wide area.

Chwaaak!

A net spread out in the air. Purple lightning was writhing on top of the net.

Just as the net made of electricity was about to engulf Theor's body, Theor raised both claws and instead leaped toward the net.

Seogek! Seogek!

The claws that had been cut off by Rudger had grown twice as long as before, and they cut through the electric net all too easily.

Theor, who landed on the training ground floor in a sliding motion, rushed at Rudger like a shot.

Rough wind pressure swirled, and Theor's body reached right up close to Rudger along with a red afterimage.

The moment he raised his arms, determined to tear through the barrier this time.

Kung!

A giant black hand that protruded from Rudger's shoulder heavily pressed down on Theor's head.

Kreung...!!

Theor instinctively raised both arms and blocked the black hand.

"Who thought a mage would be weak in close combat?"

Black shadows rippled around Rudger's body. Aether Nocturnus rose up with its massive body behind him.

"My goodness." 

"What on earth is that?"

The spectators had no choice but to watch the scene in astonishment. It was a natural reaction since a giant shadow monster had suddenly appeared behind Rudger.

"Oh my."

Tracy was equally surprised. She had heard about Rudger's magic beast and knew of it, but she didn't know it possessed such tremendous power.

Because as Rudger's level rose, Aether Nocturnus, who was a magic beast, had also grown stronger accordingly.

Considering Rudger's current abilities, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Aether Nocturnus the most powerful magic beast on this continent.

Aether Nocturnus, who was pressing down on Theor's body with one hand, moved its other arm and grasped Theor's body.

Theor tried to struggle somehow, but he couldn't escape the grip of Aether Nocturnus, who was holding his body with one hand.

Aether Nocturnus stared intently at Theor held in its hand.

Kwaaang!

Then it slammed him down on the floor.

Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!

It wasn't just once. Aether Nocturnus slammed Theor down on the training ground floor over and over until he was pulverized. The sturdy training ground floor didn't just crack but was completely shattered. Everyone maintained silence while watching the scene.

Eventually, when Aether Nocturnus opened its hand, Theor's body dropped. Having lost his beast transformation midway, he was covered in wounds and sprawled out spread-eagle on the broken training ground.

Waaaaaah!!!

Then the beastmen raised both arms and burst into cheers.

"They're quite interesting people."

Rudger, who had finished the sparring match and was following Aidan, muttered quietly.

Even though he had slammed down a high-ranking warrior of their own tribe in front of everyone, Instead of getting angry at seeing that, they were actually happy that a strong person had come.

While he couldn't get used to that reaction, he thought that this was indeed what beastmen should be like. As they left the training ground, the surrounding beastmen either cheered at seeing Rudger or greeted him.

"Hey, human. What's your name?" 

"You're really strong."

Moreover, female beastmen also approached Rudger and subtly smiled at him with their eyes. Their gazes contained a kind of passionate emotion toward Rudger.

"Ah. I knew this would happen."

Tracy had anticipated this would happen from the moment Rudger overwhelmingly defeated Theor.

"Do you know something about this?" 

"Beastmen are like this. How should I put it, they primitively like strong men." 

"A concept that's a bit hard to understand." 

"They're a warrior race by nature. To bear strong children, they need strong seed. So when they meet a strong person, they usually get their eyes turned like that."

Tracy said this while sneaking a sidelong glance at Aidan beside her. Rudger could immediately understand why Aidan had become friends with female beastmen here. Because he was now in the same position as Aidan.

'Strong seed. That's a fitting thought for beastmen.'

Some might call that barbaric, but if you looked a bit deeper, humans weren't much different.

Just look at the nobles who established magical families. They only considered the magical talent of their spouses. They tried to pass on better magical talent to their children through arranged marriages with mages who possessed outstanding magical skills.

Female beastmen who wanted strong seed and nobles who wanted to produce better mages.

They were the same except that one side was honest and the other side pretended to save face.

So now that there were no more obstructions, it was time to head to the Great Chieftain's residence, their original purpose, when...

"I wondered what the commotion outside was about... This is really surprising."

A familiar boy wearing traditional beastmen attire stood before them. He looked at Aidan and Tracy, then saw Rudger who was with them and his eyes widened.

"Could it be, you've returned?" 

"It's been a while. Leo."

Seeing his former student, who was also Aidan's precious friend, Rudger greeted him with a smile.

If Aidan had become a sturdy young man through the years, Leo was the opposite. He still retained his former appearance exactly.

Of course, he had grown a little. The proof was that he didn't look entirely like a child anymore. But compared to Aidan, it would be fair to say there was almost no change. He knew Leo took after his mother, but to think he hadn't grown much in three years.

Well, in fact, Tracy was similar in not having grown physically, so Rudger didn't particularly point that out.

More than anything, it was taboo to judge a person entirely by changes in outward appearance. In fact, this aura felt from Leo clearly showed how much magical achievement he had accomplished during those three years.

"You've grown so much I hardly recognize you." 

"Not in outward appearance, though."

Leo answered with a slight laugh. Even though he was meeting Rudger again, he wasn't surprised or making excessive fuss. At that sight, Rudger's eyes held a glint of interest.

He realized at once that what had grown most of all was Leo's heart.

'Perhaps because he became the son-in-law of the next Great Chieftain, he had no choice but to mature in that direction.'

Leo opened his mouth.

"We've received an honored guest, but I haven't given you a proper reception. Please come. I'll guide you." 

"Ah, Leo. But more than that, the news outside..."

It was when Aidan was about to tell the story related to Theor.

"It's fine. Anyway, Theor must have picked a fight again over something nonsensical."

As if he was already used to such things, Leo had seen through the entire truth of the incident.

"You knew?" 

"It's not like it's been a day or two. Besides, the cheering was echoing loudly all the way to my quarters. Even now, seeing the glances stealing looks this way, you won, right?" 

"Yeah. Not me though, but the teacher."

At those words, Leo nodded with an "as expected" expression on his face.

"Not just won, but you must have won overwhelmingly."

When Leo learned that Rudger was the one who fought Theor, he wore a smile as if he could imagine what had happened to Theor.

"Theor, he probably won't be able to hold his head up for a while, right?"

Tracy giggled as if he deserved it. She briefly explained to Leo how the fight between Rudger and Theor had unfolded.

Of course, she described the scene of Theor being slammed down on the training ground floor at the end more vividly than anything else.

"Ahaha. This is regrettable. I wanted to watch too."

It was Theor who usually called him a little brat and looked down on him. Leo had to just ignore it or endure it, but that guy ended up meeting his match today.

"And anyway, he won't be able to stay here long." 

"What do you mean by that?"

To Aidan's question, Leo answered.

"The raider group that's been causing trouble recently. We found out who's behind them." 

"You mean, as expected, Theor is..." 

"Yeah. It really took a long time. But this time we've really set a proper trap, so you can look forward to it."

At Leo's wickedly smiling face, Rudger realized that the kid had also crossed his own battlefields.

"That was a long digression. You came to see Iona, right? I'll guide you." 

"Actually, I came to see you too." 

"I know that, so you don't need to add such words, Aidan."

Rudger thus received Leo's guidance and entered the large tent where the Great Chieftain resided.

Inside, there were quite a few beastmen warriors standing guard, and they had apparently heard the news from outside, because when they saw Rudger, they immediately gave light bows. Respect toward the strong. That was the beastmen's culture.

As they went deeper inside the tent, the view soon opened up widely, revealing a spacious area.

And in that wide space, a woman stood wearing traditional beastmen attire.

"It's been a while, Iona." 

"...Teacher?"

Iona looked at Rudger and widened her eyes slightly. Considering her face was always expressionless, it was a very big change in expression.

"An interesting human has come."

However, Iona was not the only one in this space. Beside Iona stood a beastman who appeared to be in his fifties, possessing an overwhelming presence.

"Indeed. What brings you here, unfamiliar stranger."

Iona's father and the pinnacle of all beastmen who commanded the beastmen tribal alliance. Great Chieftain Telaron O’Valley.

He, who brought to mind a massive lion, gazed at Rudger with an intense stare.