Even After Reincarnation, I'm Going to the Academy

Chapter 3

『 Translator – Divinity 』

Leaving the temple was surprisingly simple.

There was no need to pass through the field.

The moment I stepped forward with the thought of "leaving," I found myself dropped in the middle of the forest.

"Wow... so you're saying you made it so I don't even know the way back?"

I let out a hollow laugh and looked around.

There was no sign of the temple. I couldn't even see a glimpse of the field I had diligently plowed.

'I was going to sneak back if I felt like running away from school life...'

How petty of her to make it so I don't even know the way back.

I clicked my tongue.

Just then, a pure white light burst before my eyes, and something dropped out.

"...A signpost?"

Something was written on the old signpost.

[Until Graduation]

[No Entry]

[Door Opens Only During Vacation]

How petty!

But at least I can come back during vacation.

'Should I consider myself lucky?'

I already want to go back.

I fiddled with the rosary around my neck and looked around.

I felt lost already.

'Where should I go...?'

Arcana said that fate would guide me once I went outside.

But how am I supposed to know what that means?

I need to at least know how it works to do anything, don't I?

"I guess I'll just start moving. It's better to wander around than to stay still."

Walking around wouldn't drain my stamina much anyway.

I needlessly tightened the straps of the bundle on my back once more.

Just then,

Kiiiieeeek!

A chilling shriek echoed through the forest.

Goosebumps erupted all over my body at the first feeling of murderous intent and hostility.

I stared with a hardened expression in the direction of the shriek.

'A monster?'

A product of the 'calamity' that periodically appears on the continent.

They are humanity's eternal enemy, a cockroach-like existence that multiplies even with periodic subjugation and management of their habitat.

I had only heard of them; this was my first actual encounter.

Although I had lived as a priest of the God of War, I had spent 17 years in a peaceful temple.

Of course, as a priest of the God of War, I was by no means weak. It's just that the chills I felt now were closer to the fear of the unknown.

'Let's go take a look.'

It would hurt my pride as a man to cower in fear.

Brushing off the goosebumps on my arms, I headed towards the source of the shriek.

Clang, clang, clang!

Amidst the shrieks erupting from the clashing of swords and spears, snippets of conversation and shouts could be heard.

'An open space.'

Hidden in the bushes, I observed those fighting in the clearing.

'Are they soldiers?'

Despite the urgent situation, they maintained their formation well, wielding spears and wearing armor properly.

They didn't look like a band of mercenaries.

Slash!

The one who appeared to be the leader of the soldiers shouted as he cut down a goblin.

"Don't break formation! Reinforcements will arrive soon!"

"Captain! Hanson's wounds are too severe!"

"Just hold on a little longer! The commander will send reinforcements soon! Surely, you don't intend to fall to these mere goblins? If you do, take it off right now!"

"Khahaha! I've already taken it off!!"

"Then put it back on!! I'll personally attach it when I get home!"

The conversation was a bit... strange, but it was definitely a dangerous situation.

"I should help them, right?"

The creatures the soldiers were fighting were a group of goblins.

Unlike the goblins I had heard about, they were wearing armor and wielding proper weapons.

Two things stood out in particular.

One was the madness in their eyes. They charged without regard for their lives.

And the other was the presence of a commander.

Kiiiieeeek!

The goblin at the very back, guarded by several other goblins, shrieked and waved the staff in its hand.

'Judging from the robe it's wearing... is it a shaman?'

Or it could be a boss.

Whatever it was, it seemed certain that it was controlling the other goblins.

'Can I kill it here?'

Fortunately, there were no goblins near my location.

However, the shaman was positioned at the edge of the clearing, half-hidden in the bushes and protected by goblin knights.

'Something I can attack from a distance...'

There was no suitable weapon in the bundle.

I looked around.

A very large stone caught my eye.

'Can I do it with this?'

I took a deep breath and gripped the stone tightly.

I focused my eyes and clenched the hand holding the stone.

'If I miss, I'm screwed.'

I wasn't stupid enough to rush in recklessly without a weapon.

Arcana would have called me a coward if she heard that, but it was only natural considering I didn't know the extent of my current abilities.

But if I left them alone, those soldiers would die.

"Hoooo..."

I put the bundle down beside me and slowly assumed a stance.

I took a throwing stance I had seen somewhere before.

At that moment, information flowed into my head.

How much force I should use.

Which direction I should throw it.

What posture I should maintain.

Based on the information in my head, I practiced the image training in my mind.

My body perfectly replicated the image I had formed in my mind.

"Hah!"

The stone left my hand with a whooshing sound.

'It hit.'

The moment it left my hand, I knew.

Thud!

The goblin shaman's head, struck by the stone, was smashed to pieces.

The brains and blood that splattered out drenched the bodies of the nearby goblins.

"Kiiiiiik!"

"Wh-What?!"

The goblins, having lost their commander, faltered for a moment.

The goblins, who had been swept up in frenzy, began to flinch in fear, and the knights who had lost their shaman started to rampage.

Kieek!

But this was a clear opportunity for the soldiers.

"The shaman is down! Push forward!"

Waaaaaaaah!

It wasn't difficult to deal with the goblins who were no longer in a frenzy, but instead, were thinking about their own lives and feeling fear.

The spear pierced right through the goblin's head.

The goblin, terrified by the sight of its comrade dying in an instant, cowered and started to flee.

"R-Run...!"

"Everyone, regroup and tend to the wounded! Those who are still unharmed, stay on guard, and one of you, contact the commander again! Don't chase the goblins! It's a waste!"

The soldiers quickly reorganized.

I felt a sense of accomplishment.

'This is why I believe in God.'

What I just did was a blessing from the God of War.

It enhances everything that can be done physically.

Also, my current body was inherited from my senior.

Of course, it wasn't as if I received all of his physical abilities, so it was limited to the level of a high-ranking knight.

"For now, I should join them..."

Kiiiieeeek!

Several goblins, breaking away from the group and trying to escape into the forest, ran towards me.

'Oh, shit.'

Of all places, they had to run towards me.

I clicked my tongue and tried to back away, but the goblins were faster.

Their eyes turned bloodshot, and they showed signs of madness again, just like before.

'Is there a shaman nearby?'

It seems the one from before wasn't the boss.

In this situation, I couldn't escape. I had no choice but to fight.

The goblin leaped towards me with its saliva-dripping mouth wide open, raising its axe.

Kieek!

I ducked. The axe passed over my head. I thrust my fist into the goblin's exposed abdomen.

"Gah!"

My movements flowed naturally, like water. My body moved on its own, without me having to think.

I grabbed the goblin's leg as it was thrown back and slammed it into a nearby tree.

The tree snapped. The goblin's body, used as a makeshift axe, shattered. Only the dangling leg remained in my hand.

The blood was hot. I took a deep breath and threw away the torn-off arm.

I grabbed the axe that had fallen to the ground. And I glared at the two goblins leaping towards me.

Even though it was my first time holding a weapon, I knew how to wield it.

Shing.

I swung the hatchet horizontally. It caught the charging goblin's neck with a thud. I pushed down with force, half-severing its neck and slamming it to the ground.

The goblin's neck was severed like a tree splitting apart.

The goblin's hatchet swung down towards the back of my head. I slightly turned my head. The goblin's axe missed, and I grabbed the back of its head and slammed it to the ground.

Crack!

The blood on my hands was hot.

"Hoooo..."

I caught my breath and stood up.

It felt like the blood coursing through my body was burning hot.

'Is this...'

The power of the God of War?

It was my first time fighting.

Since my senior died when I was young, I couldn't even dream of sparring, and at most, I learned how to handle divine power and plow fields.

'I'm stronger than I thought?'

After actually fighting, I became much more aware of my current state.

I was confident I could win even if I fought a stronger opponent.

But I didn't have a proper weapon, and there was no reason to jump into the goblin horde and massacre them, so I slowly calmed myself down.

'I don't even know if there's a shaman nearby...'

I wiped my hands with a towel from the bundle and put it back on my back.

I'd have to wash the blood off my clothes later.

'Ah, damn it. It's not going to come off easily.'

Annoyed by the belated realization, I kicked a stone.

Just then, a soldier, who was scanning the surroundings with a hawk's eye, spotted me and shouted.

"Who's there!"

"..."

"Come out with your hands up! Or I'll consider you an enemy!"

With my hands raised, I slowly walked out of the bushes.

The soldiers who were sitting on the ground wrapping bandages around their wounds, the soldiers guarding the perimeter, and the captain commanding the soldiers all glared at me.

"Who are you?"

At the soldier's sharp question, I readily answered.

"Just a passerby."

Ah, should I have said I'm a priest?

The soldier, with an even more suspicious expression, slowly approached me with his spear raised and said in a sharp voice.

"Tell me properly. What is your status, why did you come to this forest, how did you end up here, what is your purpose, what is the blood all over you, and what is in the bundle on your back?"

I understood their wariness.

It would be strange if they weren't on edge after nearly dying due to the frenzied goblins and their shamans.

"My profession is a priest. The reason I came to the forest is that the place I live is nearby... I was wandering through the forest when I heard a commotion and came to investigate. The blood on me is from the goblins that attacked, and the bundle is my luggage."

"Show us proof that you are a priest."

"Could you throw me one of the goblins?"

A soldier threw me a goblin that was still alive.

I infused the goblin with divine power. The goblin, touched by the opposing energy, screamed and burned.

"W-Without a chant..."

"D-Divine power!"

The soldiers' eyes were filled with shock.

Seeing them so stunned that a soldier with a severely injured leg tried to stand up despite his injury, I shrugged.

"Is that enough proof?"

"Y-You were a priest!"

The soldier hurriedly dropped his spear and knelt.

He clasped his hands in a prayerful posture and trembled.

"F-Forgive me. I dared to speak rudely to God's apostle...!"

"It's alright. You were just doing your duty."

I patted the nervous soldier's shoulder and looked around.

'Are they... afraid of priests?'

The look in their eyes wasn't respect, but fear.