Meanwhile, Gulba, seeing the students scattered all over the training grounds, was furious.
"Who are youuuu?! You've invaded Gulba's territoryyy! How dareeee youuu?!"
Completely unaware that the people in his "territory" were just students attending his class, the professor's abysmal intelligence was on full display!
With his axe now in hand, Gulba let out a fierce battle cry.
"Little wormssss! I'll crush youuuu!"
─ Ahhh! Professor!
─ Mother, Father, Hiloa, save me!
The violent gusts that followed were like a natural disaster for the students.
"Roan, save meeee!"
Demona, in particular, was sent flying like a kite, landing far outside the training grounds.
'As expected of the Miracle of the Islands…'
Though Roan was holding his ground fairly well, he couldn't help but wince at the harsh winds swirling around him.
The reason Gulba, a barbarian, had been converted to the Empire's cause wasn't simply due to his powers like "Primal Communication." The real reason was that during the Empire's conquest of the islands, there were very few active holy knights or monks within the Empire capable of defeating him by force.
Even now, that remained the case. Sending the Empire's greatest warriors to subdue Gulba would have been a massive loss.
Thus, the Empire had essentially dumped the responsibility of managing Gulba onto Harden, who appointed him as a professor at Akerandir.
'Just a little longer. I can hold out.'
If Gulba were constantly swinging his axe at students without recognizing them, Harden would have taken care of him long ago. But Gulba had one last "safety mechanism" in place.
Poof!
Just as Gulba was about to swing his monstrous axe, a small white fairy-like figure popped out of his body and blocked his path.
[...! ...!! ...!]
The tiny fairy flailed its arms angrily, yelling something incomprehensible. To Roan and the students, it seemed like the fairy was emitting vibrations or waves rather than speaking words.
This fairy was actually the materialized form of "Primal Communication," specially empowered by Harden to keep Gulba in check when he went out of control.
"Uh... uh..."
Gulba, who had been listening to the fairy with a blank expression, soon lost his fierce demeanor as if the storm had just passed.
Looking back and forth between the angry fairy and the devastated students, Gulba finally…
Clunk!
Gulba dropped his axe from his hand.
"Uhh… students, I'm sorry. I didn't know. Wahhh!"
He collapsed onto the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
─ …I want to drop out.
One student, covered in dirt and lying face down on the ground, couldn't hold back his feelings and muttered. It was the perfect summary of everyone's complex emotions.
─ Hey, hey, don't say that.
─ We can't just drop out.
The surrounding students reluctantly tried to console him.
But…
"Uwaaahhhh! I'm sorryyyyy!"
Even Gulba's loud sobs exerted immense pressure on the students, darkening the mood even further.
– I really want to drop out now...!
At that moment, Roan, radiating holy energy to withstand the pressure, approached Gulba.
"I won't tell Professor Kaina. Calm down."
'Professor Kaina?'
The students tilted their heads in confusion. What did Professor Kaina have to do with any of this?
Surprisingly, as soon as Gulba heard Roan's words, his sobbing began to subside.
"R-Really? You won't tell Professor Kaina?"
"Yes. So please, calm down."
"Uwaaah!"
Gulba threw himself into Roan's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Even with Gulba sitting down, Roan struggled to embrace his massive head.
─ He's subdued the giant…!
─ As expected from Darc, the owner of a divine beast egg!
The students slowly stood up, murmuring among themselves. Although Gulba continued to cry, Roan's dark magic was now neutralizing the energy waves, and peace returned to the area.
However, another student besides Roan was also receiving unexpected attention.
─ Trian is amazing for standing up to someone like that!
─ That's the Lesterol family for you!
It was none other than Trian, Roan's rival — or at least that was how people saw it.
Trian, blushing from the sudden praise from his friends, stammered, "I-It's nothing!"
He tried to play it off to protect his pride, but inside, he was burning with anxiety.
Trian was well aware of Gulba's reputation, having grown up in the Lesterol territory, which was near the Boudor Islands, Gulba's homeland.
In Lesterol, Gulba's nickname was a little different.
'How in the world did he subdue the "Miracle of the Islands"?!'
Gulba had once sunk 15 Imperial fleets into the sea with a single axe and fought the head of the Central Holy Knights for a week before finally being forced to kneel.
And now, just a few words from Roan had reduced such a legendary figure to this state!
***
Gulba wasn't from the continent, nor did he have any ties to its culture. To properly understand him required some additional explanation.
"So… he converted, right?"
Rafia, glancing suspiciously at Gulba, asked Roan. Her face was slightly flushed, likely because Gulba's only clothing consisted of a leather skirt and a few leather straps across his chest.
Roan nodded his head.
"Yes. He was baptized and even earned Professor Kaina's approval."
The process hadn't been easy, but Roan didn't bother explaining all the details. In any case, thanks to his baptism and powers, Gulba could now wield a unique form of holy energy, combining the primal strength of the islanders with divine power.
─ I see…
For some reason, the students nodded more vigorously at the mention of Professor Kaina's approval than they did at the baptism.
Of course, Gulba's 'conversion' wasn't exactly what the civilized people of the Empire imagined.
Gulba's beliefs were more akin to native spirituality, where he revered an ancient chieftain known as "Deep Root" as if he were a deity.
Deep Root had summoned a demon around 10,000 years ago to unite the islands as the Grand Chieftain. Gulba, along with all the barbarians of the islands, deeply respected Deep Root.
So how did the Empire manage to subdue Gulba and the islanders?
It was simple.
'Harden descended upon the islands, summoned that same demon, and beat it into submission like a dog.'
It was brutal, to say the least.
After that, the islands fully submitted to the Empire, and Gulba, the great warrior, became a professor at Akerandir. Initially, however, Gulba only wanted to follow Harden, who had defeated the demon, which caused some trouble.
And how did they manage to convert Gulba to worship Hiloa?
'… They say they took him to Professor Kaina's secret chamber.'
… That was an even more terrifying story.
Many of the scars covering Gulba's body were likely from that secret "conversation" with Professor Kaina. After that private discussion, Gulba emerged as a completely different person.
"Class! Time for class!"
He became a decent instructor who taught students and even prayed on occasion, becoming a somewhat respectable citizen. He also formed a close relationship with Professor Kaina. In fact, it was Professor Kaina who had shortened his original name, "Rolling Boulder," to "Gulba."
Additionally, when Gulba sometimes failed to show up for class, Kaina would personally hammer him into the school grounds with a literal hammer to get him there — much like what would most likely happen if Kaina was there.
'It's hard to say whether it's amazing that Kaina sends Gulba flying, or that Gulba can endure Kaina's full-force strikes like they're nothing more than a massage?'
When it came to sheer physical power, there was no one at Akerandir who could rival Gulba. Roan imagined the scene and shook his head in disbelief. Perhaps Kaina had been intent on killing Gulba, the former heretic, with those swings.
Meanwhile, Gulba gleefully swung his massive axe with one hand, shouting, "Defense! We learn defense!"
The students once again had to grit their teeth and brace themselves against the gusts caused by his utterances.
'Was this supposed to be defense?' To anyone watching, it looked more like he was wildly swinging an offensive holy technique!
However, Gulba was genuinely trying to teach defense.
"Attack! It's coming! Block it!"
Whoosh — Thud! Boom!
─ ???
The demonstration was over in a flash like lightning striking and disappearing. The students were left speechless. The movements were too fast, and the wind pressure made it impossible to see what had even happened. They thought they saw a bright flash, but…
"Did you get it?"
With no idea of the students' confusion, Gulba smiled brightly and asked. Only Roan nodded.
'I think I get it.'
Aside from his low intelligence, Gulba was an extraordinary, hero-level character. Now that he was using holy power, there were few on the continent who could match him in combat. As such, his techniques were worth learning... if you could figure them out.
Roan could see the holy energy surging through Gulba's powerful muscles, watching how it worked. Gulba's use of holy power was destructive, and Roan's own transcendent talent and shared power resonated, helping him understand.
'He pours energy into the point of attack at the last moment, converts it into reactive force, and blocks the strike.'
It was a simple principle with complex requirements. It wasn't a basic holy technique but rather a raw manipulation of holy power. Not just anyone could do it. You needed overwhelming magic power to block any attack, precise timing, and excellent reflexes to detect the incoming strike. It was a technique that suited Gulba to a tee.
Roan quietly tried to replicate Gulba's defense using his own power. The technique was similar enough to the Abyss's compression-based defense methods. He drew power from his core, compressed it in his arms, then released it.
'Transform the energy and release it all at once!'
As Roan unleashed the Abyss's power through his arms, a dull golden shield suddenly spread across his upper body.
Flash—!
It was a sight so dazzling, it resembled an advanced holy defense spell! The students, who had been discussing what Gulba had just demonstrated, were shocked.
─ Look at Darc!
─ They said he has a secret training ground…
─ Wasn't it a secret workshop?
─ He probably has both!
There were a few rumors that made Roan's face scrunch up into a frown, but his defensive technique was almost on par with Gulba's. Even Gulba beamed with approval.
"Excellent! What is your name, student?"
"Roan Darc."
Roan responded politely, suppressing his dark magic.
"Darc! Darc!"
But Gulba's reaction to hearing Roan's family name was a bit odd.
"Darc, friend of our tribe!"
'???'
'Friend? Of the Darc family?'
'But the Darc estate is on the opposite side of the Empire from the Boudor Islands…'
The more Roan learned, the more he wondered how the Darc family seemed to be involved everywhere. It was strange that there had been so little information about them during his playthrough.
"What do you mean —"
Roan tried to probe further, but Gulba didn't give him the chance and exclaimed, "Demonstration! Excellent student will demonstrate! Darc is excellent!"
"… A demonstration?"
Roan wondered if he had misheard something.
A demonstration with Gulba, the Miracle of the Islands?
'Will that axe land on my head before Kaina's hammer does?'
It was only natural for such a thought to cross his mind.
"R-Roan, it's been a short time, but I've enjoyed our time together..."
Meanwhile, Demona approached him with a despairing expression, offering what seemed like a final goodbye.
Roan coldly responded, "Don't say such unlucky things."
Hector chimed in, "Yeah, Professor Gulba is still a professor after all. Roan, go ahead and show us a demonstration. It'll be really helpful."
To Roan, Hector's intentions were crystal clear. It was obvious he was practically pushing him toward death.
And to think, these guys were his roommates...!
"Tsk."
Roan clicked his tongue and stepped forward.
"We'll remember you, Roan!"
Demona and Hector waved tearfully as they bid Roan farewell.