I Became A Side Character Fated To Suffer-Chapter 31:Welcome Ceremony

For a brief moment after the weapons were drawn, the entire training field became filled with a strange mixture of tension, disbelief, and barely restrained hostility.

Dozens of cadets stood with their blades unsheathed, spears lowered, and mana swirling around their bodies, yet none of them moved immediately because the situation felt so absurd that even attacking required a second of mental confirmation.

They stared at the man standing casually in the center of the field.

Instructor Austin.

The man with the cracked skull.

The lunatic who had just called them chickens and invited the entire group to jump him at once.

Several cadets exchanged glances filled with disbelief.

One of them whispered under his breath, loud enough for the nearby group to hear.

"Is this guy serious...?"

Another cadet tightened his grip on his sword and muttered.

"No... I think he’s just a crazy shit-head."

A third one frowned.

"What kind of instructor invites a hundred cadets to attack him on the very first day?"

"That’s not training," someone else whispered.

"That’s suicide."

"No," another cadet said while looking at Austin’s relaxed posture.

"That’s arrogance."

However, these were just kids who didn’t know who the fuck they were talking about, which was quite normal.

After all, not everyone has access to high-level information.

The moment they heard that they could use Austin in times of need, most of the cadet’s face lit up with excitement, completely losing any semblance of composure.

The opportunity to receive guidance from the pinnacle of the pinnacle.

With his support, they were sure they could walk unbridled in the Empire without fearing any noble house.

That was the level of Austin’s reputation.

As for why it was like this, it was because during a mission, while taking a portal, it malfunctioned and put him in one of the most dangerous zones contaminated by Chaos.

The Storm Griffend, filled with deadly Chaos beasts.

A forbidden zone that couldn’t be cleared.

And yet the man whom everyone thought would die, and for whom they had already begun mourning—on the day of the funeral crawled out and asked whose funeral it was, shocking the shit out of everyone.

He crawled out, killing anyone standing in between his path to escape. Instead of being weakened and injured, he got stronger.

And on top of that, he had a strange temper.

He hated nobles.

Any noble who dared to treat him with contempt was done for.

In his beginning days, a few noble brats picked on him.

And the result—

They were beaten to shit, and if this wasn’t enough, he directly went to the noble house and pummeled the knight legion and even the lord to dust.

Since his days as an instructor, eleven noble houses had been pummeled.

So such an opportunity to have this guy as a backer—

Only a maniac would lose this opportunity.

"...You’re not lying, are you?"

One of the cadets asked, though it was an impertinent question.

Considering the honor of the knight order that the instructor represented, it was unimaginable that he would make a false claim like that.

"Of course not."

And the instructor, without a moment’s hesitation, nodded firmly.

He wasn’t lying.

With that confirmation, half the swordsmanship cadets swallowed their saliva, suddenly overcome with ambition.

’Can I really beat an active knight?’

’It would be impossible to win in a straight fight. But if I could just tire him out a little first, then maybe...!’

’I need to approach this strategically, very strategically.’

Meanwhile, Austin stood in the middle of the battlefield with both hands resting on his hips like a man enjoying a sunny afternoon walk rather than someone about to be attacked by half the academy.

He slowly turned his head left and right, examining the students with exaggerated curiosity as if he were inspecting livestock at a marketplace.

"Hm."

"Hmmmmmm."

He leaned forward slightly.

"Look at that."

"So many angry chickens."

The veins on several cadets’ foreheads twitched violently.

One of them stepped forward with his sword raised.

"You think this is funny?"

Austin instantly pointed at him.

"Oh, look!"

"This chicken speaks!"

The surrounding cadets almost choked.

The boy’s face turned red with rage.

"You bastard—!"

Before he could finish his sentence—

Austin suddenly vanished.

A blur passed through the air.

Then he reappeared directly in front of the cadet, close enough that their noses were almost touching.

The boy froze.

He hadn’t even seen him move.

Austin tilted his head slightly and stared at the trembling sword pointed at his chest.

"Hmm."

Then he gently pushed the blade aside with a finger.

"Too slow."

The cadet swallowed.

His back suddenly felt drenched in cold sweat.

Austin patted his shoulder casually like a friendly uncle.

"Don’t worry, chicken number seventeen."

"You’ll improve."

Then he stepped back into the center of the field again as if nothing had happened.

The surrounding cadets stared at him with wide eyes.

"Did you see that...?"

"He moved without releasing mana."

"No... that’s impossible."

"That speed..."

"What the hell is this guy?"

Not far away, Noel stood quietly with his arms folded while watching the scene unfold.

His expression was calm, but his eyes were sharp with interest.

"Interesting."

Beside him, the half-conscious Theasre groaned weakly from the dirt while Sunta continued coughing blood near the shattered training dummies.

Neither of them had the strength to even sit up.

Meanwhile, Austin stretched his arms lazily as if warming up for a morning jog.

"Alright, chickens."

He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck loudly.

"Let’s begin, but.." his eyes paused on Noel.

"You are forbidden to fight."

"Why?" the cadets complained.

"Because he already got points.. More is unfair so.."

Then he looked around at the dozens of hostile cadets surrounding him and grinned widely like a man who had finally found the entertainment he had been craving.

"Try not to disappoint me."

The next instant—

Mana exploded across the field.

More than fifty cadets rushed forward at the same time, weapons glowing with power and battle cries erupting from every direction.

Yet in the middle of that storm of steel and energy Austin simply laughed.

A loud, reckless, completely unhinged laugh that echoed across the academy grounds.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Now this looks like a proper welcome ceremony!"