The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 55

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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I wasn’t happy with working so late again.

The doctor who came for my checkup wasn’t the one I had met before. It was Professor Nico Praha.

“Professor, you refused before… why are you here now?”

“…I have to take care of my sponsors. My skills are top-notch, don’t worry.”

Just like when she removed the demonic energy from Amy, she was also capable of treating gas poisoning. She had initially refused, but now she was willing to help due to my influence, it seemed that money was indeed a strong motivator. But since I was leaving anyway, there was no need to get treatment.

“I’m leaving tomorrow. You can see I’m perfectly fine.”

“You inhaled a poison that can paralyze anyone… of course you’re not fine.”

Her response was quick, I would have been killed by the gas if not for my status as a Master, but I still needed to get rid of it.

I was still affected by the gas, which made it hard for me to move.

“Then… If I pass the checkup… you’ll let me go?”

“You should be careful. The times you look healthy are the most dangerous. Ah, good, you’re finally getting a checkup, let’s see what’s going on.”

Her glasses flashed. A checkup, just like she had mentioned, I’d had been delaying it. I’ll be done with this quickly.

“I’ll do the checkup… but I will refuse this particular test.”

“That is… alright. It won’t affect anything.”

I was refusing the test that could identify a Master.

The appearance of a Master couldn’t be determined by simple checkups or scans. Their bodies looked no different to that of an Expert.

That’s why Experts couldn’t grasp the power of a Master.

That meant there was only one method left for me: checking the astral body, or the soul.

A Master’s soul has a darker shade than other souls. If they saw that, my identity as one of the Empire’s Shadows would be revealed. I could not let that happen.

After getting my answer, I went to the exam room, which was full of complicated-looking machines.

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The examination had several stages.

First, they scanned the parts of my body that had been affected by the gas. Next, they scanned my entire body.

Then, I took the growth potion again, to see if it worked. It didn’t.

“You’re perfectly normal.”

“I told you.”

Professor Praha was annoyed by the results. She had expected to see some abnormalities, if she had a valid cause she could change it but everything was normal.

“Hmm… This is strange. You were exposed to a potent stimulant… let’s do another test.”

She placed some gel and pads on my stomach and chest. It was a test to measure the flow of mana in my body.

“Sponsor…? Your body is… weird?!”

“What’s the problem?”

Praha looked shocked.

“Why do you have so many… things… inside your body?!”

“Ugh, what is it?”

The results showed ten orbs of light, of different colors.

She pointed at the largest one.

“That’s a Dragon’s essence. And there are other things too…!”

The Dragon’s essence… I knew what it meant. I remembered that strange potion I had consumed, the one that I had mistaken for a growth potion, was a potion to learn a dragon power… a polymorph.

It was likely made from Dragon essence.

“I’ve been eating a lot of tonics since I was a child. Is that a problem?”

It was probably all of those tonics that the Titan family had gathered and given to me.

They were apparently still present in my body, but not mixed properly.

“I don’t know what exactly is the problem, but, it could be the cause.”

Professor Praha had a grim expression.

“The dormant essences in your body may be interfering with the potion.”

“Is there… is there anything I can do?”

‘I thought all of those tonics were good for me…!’

I had even used a special breathing technique to absorb them. But now, they were… a problem?

Was it because of them that I wasn’t growing? I felt like I had been denied.

“…Umm… I’m still researching it, but… there’s one method that comes to mind.”

Praha was hesitant.

“We need a potion that won’t be affected by the essences.”

“Is there something more potent than a dragon’s essence?”

“…Perhaps… another dragon.”

Kill a dragon?

I thought about it. Dragons… were practically extinct.

They were powerful, long-lived, and rarely reproduced.

They could transform themselves and blend with other species or pretend to be gods.

I had never fought a dragon, but I knew how strong they were. Masters were powerful, but only by human standards.

They couldn’t compare to creatures like Dragons.

There was one dragon that came to mind.

Saint MacIntosh.

If any dragon knew of others, it would be him.

But… would he help me? I would be asking him to kill another dragon.

“Why are you so serious?”

“I was trying to come up with a method to kill a dragon.”

“I was joking…! It’s hard to find a dragon these days! I’ll find another solution, don’t worry about it!”

She wanted me to wait and let her find a better solution.

She hadn’t confirmed that my dormant essences were the problem.

“What is important is if we can find the way, if these essences are truly the problem, and if there’s a way to bypass it”

If the essences were the problem, I would have been happy with it.

If I was not growing because I was a Master… it was going to be a problem.

A Master’s body… maintains homeostasis, which meant that they tried to maintain an ideal state.

That’s why people like the Captain still looked like young adults, despite being in their fifties, while I had been the same height for the last decade.

‘Please don’t let it be that.’

If it was due to my Master status, things would become complicated.

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I had been discharged.

I was happy to be out, but I was feeling… odd.

“Atlas, why are you so pensive?”

“I was thinking about hunting a dragon…”

“Have you finally lost it?!”

I was muttering strange things. Why a dragon?

My companion took it seriously.

-A dragon…? Could it be… MacIntosh? Why would a Shadow target a Saint? Did the Captain’s visit mean that something has happened to the Emperor?

‘He is jumping ahead again, I thought you were only giving advice.’
I had told him that he was only giving advice, I would be the one making the decisions. But he kept doing this.

-….Right. Ignore me.

I had told him that, but Atlas’ faraway gaze was… unsettling.

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