## Chapter 1402 – 1402. Savior Of The Academy
“…Seong Yu-jin is strong.”
“I know. He’s my son, after all.”
Seong Ha-ri continued,
“And there are many people stronger than Yu-jin.”
Seong Ha-ri’s expression was serious. She didn’t seem to have any intention of backing down.
However, it didn’t make sense for Seong Ha-ri to participate in the academy’s Korea-Japan exchange event. If it were Japan, the media would be in an uproar the moment Seong Ha-ri entered the country. It was obvious what kind of articles they would write. They would belittle Seong Ha-ri while praising Japan.
Of course, what Kang Ji-young was worried about wasn’t Japan’s reaction, but Seong Ha-ri getting riled up by Japan’s behavior. She was anxious about Seong Ha-ri, who often caused trouble.
“Dean Kang Ji-young.”
Choi Jeong-hwa, who had been silent, opened her mouth. Wearing a blue velvet dress and arrogantly crossing her legs, she wasn’t intimidated at all, even in front of Kang Ji-young.
“We’ve already decided to go to Japan. If the dean refuses, I’ll go to Japan personally. There are plenty of ways to go to Japan.”
“I’ve told you, the government and the Hero Association won’t allow it.”
“Do you think she cares about that?”
Choi Jeong-hwa pointed her chin at Seong Ha-ri.
“……”
Kang Ji-young couldn’t refute it. Seong Ha-ri was a woman who did what she set her mind to. She racked her brain. If she rejected Seong Ha-ri and Choi Jeong-hwa’s proposal and sent them away… they would follow the academy to Japan at their own expense. She was almost 100% sure of it.
‘In that case, it might be better to…’
It might be better to send them with the exchange students.
“…Alright. I’ll consider your proposal positively. However, as much as I’ve backed down, you’ll have to listen to some of my requests.”
Seong Ha-ri’s mood lightened compared to before.
“As long as it’s not too unreasonable, I’ll listen.”
“First of all…”
KWAANG!
A thunderous sound and a flash of light filled the dean’s office. Their gazes turned towards the window. It was the direction of the arena. It was a place that was opened for special events, and the first-year students were currently taking their practical exams there.
KWA-A-A-A-A-ANG!
Another lightning bolt struck.
Kang Ji-young looked at the lightning from the sky and then turned her gaze to Seong Ha-ri.
“…Why are you looking at me? I didn’t do anything.”
“I know you didn’t do it. But someone related to you must have. And I’m not exactly blaming you.”
“Yu-jin? Isn’t it a mage who dropped the lightning?”
“There isn’t a mage among the first-years who can drop lightning of that magnitude.”
“Our Yu-jin is amazing, isn’t he?”
Seong Ha-ri grinned. She felt good whenever her son received even a little praise. She knew she was too weak for her son, but… she couldn’t help it. Just hearing praise about her son made her lips curl up reflexively.
KWANG KWANG KWANG KWANG KWA KWA KWANG!
Lightning struck in rapid succession.
The view outside the window flashed.
Kang Ji-young asked Seong Ha-ri with narrowed eyes,
“Even if he’s beyond the norm… how did you educate your son? As an educator, I really want to know.”
“Education…? I think he’s, he’s normal… Yu-jin is stronger than I thought. Did he grow that much…?”
Seong Ha-ri tilted her head as if she really didn’t know.
***
KWANG KWANG KWANG KWANG KWA KWA KWANG!
After being struck by lightning in rapid succession, Ma Jin-bae fell forward.
It had happened just 10 seconds after the start of the 1-on-1 match. At first, I had planned to end it with one lightning strike, but… since he was quite sturdy, he easily endured the lightning. When he endured the second lightning strike as well, I just struck him with seven consecutive lightning strikes.
“Stop!”
The supervisor intervened. He quickly gestured to the staff waiting nearby. They took the unconscious Ma Jin-bae to the medical room. Even though he was unconscious, he wouldn’t have any injuries. This arena had an Aurora simulator installed.
“Seong Yu-jin. Return to the waiting room.”
“Yes.”
My next match was in an hour. I returned to the waiting room and watched the next match through the monitor.
Lee Si-eun VS Bae Seo-na
Bae Seo-na was a mage from Class 4 of the first-year students. Her main magic was fire-based, and her entrance ranking was 54th.
Bae Seo-na was smiling confidently at Lee Si-eun. She must have investigated Lee Si-eun beforehand. Generally, energy control abilities were considered inferior to mages, so she must have been secretly confident of victory.
‘If it were a normal energy controller, that would be true.’
The supervisor blew the whistle. It was the whistle signaling the start of the match.
Bae Seo-na moved by the book. First, she created distance while casting a spell. Once the casting was complete, she attacked without hesitation. She didn’t just stand still after the attack. She continued casting the next spell.
Lee Si-eun gestured towards the incoming fireball. The direction of the fireball changed and flew towards Bae Seo-na. Bae Seo-na, flustered, couldn’t react quickly. That was her mistake. She was hit by the fireball she had cast, and then Lee Si-eun’s electric shock hit Bae Seo-na.
The battle ended simply and anticlimactically.
‘Bae Seo-na was also very careless. Well, even if she hadn’t been careless, Lee Si-eun would have won.’
Bae Seo-na, a mage, couldn’t defeat Lee Si-eun. It might have been a different story if she were an experienced mage.
‘Seeing this, I don’t have to worry about Lee Si-eun.’
***
My next opponent was Kim Cheon-woo.
I looked around. The arena was filled with first-year students. Everyone was watching this match. The battle between the 2nd and 5th ranked students. It was a big match that wasn’t easy to see.
Kim Cheon-woo held a greatsword in both hands and pointed it at me.
“I know I can’t beat you. But I’ll do my best. I’ll give my all in this match. So, you should do your best too.”
“Sure, why not.”
BEEEEEEEEEP!
The whistle sounded.
I aimed the RPG-7 I was holding at Kim Cheon-woo and pulled the trigger. The rocket flew towards Kim Cheon-woo, spewing fire. Kim Cheon-woo set his greatsword to the side and charged forward.
KWA-A-A-A-ANG!
An explosion occurred. Kim Cheon-woo, who emerged through the smoke of the explosion, swung his greatsword at me. The greatsword, imbued with sword energy, sliced through the air with a whoosh. A gap was created by the large movement. I dove into that gap.
[Using Moment (刹那). Remaining stacks: 6]
‘The faster I finish the match, the more I’ll stand out and the higher my score will be.’
So, I had no intention of dragging it out. The spear in my hand extended straight towards Kim Cheon-woo’s solar plexus. Then, suddenly, Kim Cheon-woo’s body rotated. The rotation was too fast. If I stayed like this, I would be sliced by the greatsword. I quickly backed away.
‘He didn’t suddenly rotate. He anticipated that I would come inside… he had been rotating his body from the beginning.’
I clicked my tongue. Kim Cheon-woo had prepared a countermeasure against ‘Moment’.
‘He knew I used Moment often. Well, it’s not surprising. I used Moment often during practice.’
At close range, Moment was hard to avoid. It was even more impossible if there was a difference in skill. But if you knew Moment was coming and prepared for it, the story changed. Kim Cheon-woo’s response to Moment was very good. He deserved praise.
‘But what about the second and third times?’
[Using Moment (刹那). Remaining stacks: 5]
I closed the distance again with Moment. In the slowed-down world, Kim Cheon-woo’s eyes shook. He had reacted to Moment. His greatsword trembled slightly and turned towards me.
[Using Moment (刹那). Remaining stacks: 4]
I dodged the greatsword by a hair’s breadth and thrust the spear into Kim Cheon-woo’s neck. Kim Cheon-woo staggered from the impact and fell to the ground.
“…You didn’t even give me time to go all out.”
“So, you can’t accept defeat?”
“It’s the opposite. I lost. I admit that I can’t easily beat you with my current strength. But next time will be different.”
Kim Cheon-woo’s eyes blazed. To be honest, it was really annoying. It was even more irritating when a guy got clingy. If Kim Cheon-woo didn’t have value as a weapon against the Great Demon, I would have thoroughly crushed him.
“…Work hard.”
***
My last third opponent was Ryu Hana, the top-ranked student.
It was expected, so I wasn’t surprised.
‘Since Kim Cheon-woo, the 2nd ranked student, was easily defeated, it’s natural that Ryu Hana, the 1st ranked student, would come out.’
Ryu Hana took a combat stance with swords in both hands even before the match started. It meant that she was going all out from the start of this battle.
‘I won’t dive in with Moment.’
Just like Kim Cheon-woo, Ryu Hana would have prepared a countermeasure against Moment. There was no reason to move in the way the opponent wanted.
The tense air in the arena flowed like the wind. Ryu Hana’s light purple hair fluttered, and sand dust rose from the dirt floor of the arena.
“Draw your sword. I know your real weapon isn’t a rocket launcher or a spear, but a sword.”
“Well, I think I can beat you without drawing a sword.”
“You… you’ll regret saying that.”
BEEEEEEEEEP!
The whistle sounded. Ryu Hana and I acted in opposite ways. I ran backward, and Ryu Hana didn’t move from her spot.
‘As expected, she was preparing for Moment.’
Ryu Hana was flustered and belatedly moved to chase me.
I threw a spear at Ryu Hana as I ran away.
CLANG!
Ryu Hana frowned even after deflecting the spear with her twin swords. Her legs faltered. The lightning energy contained in the spear was flowing through her body.
‘Her muscles must have been shocked by the lightning energy.’
She gritted her teeth and closely followed behind me.
I kept throwing spears as I ran away. Ryu Hana dodged to the side without deflecting the spears.
‘Her judgment is quick.’
It was enough to throw two or three spears in a row to prevent her from dodging.
The more she was hit by the lightning energy, the slower Ryu Hana’s movements became. And all the spears in my hand had disappeared.
“Draw your sword.”
Ryu Hana said.
“I told you, I can win without drawing a sword.”
“…You’ll pay the price for ignoring me.”
“It’s not that I’m ignoring you, it’s that you’re ignoring me.”
*Click!*
I snapped my fingers. A flash of lightning briefly appeared and disappeared. Immediately after, the spears scattered around the arena floated up due to magnetic force and flew towards Ryu Hana all at once.
“What?!”
Ryu Hana danced in a fluster. She barely dodged or deflected the incoming spears.
I kept snapping my fingers as if giving her a beat to dance to.
*Click! Click! Click! Click!*
With the sound and flash of lightning, 12 spears moved as if they were alive and attacked Ryu Hana.
‘This works.’
I was surprised even though I was the one who did it. It was quite difficult to control magnetic force before.
‘Is it because I have more mana? Or is it simply because I’ve grown?’
Ryu Hana, judging that she couldn’t continue like this, gave up on defense and charged towards me.
“The source of power is you! If I just defeat you…!”
“Do you think you can quickly defeat me with legs slowed down by lightning energy? You absolutely can’t.”
*CLACK!*
Five spears flew and struck Ryu Hana’s back.
That was the end of it.
Ryu Hana couldn’t withstand the impact and fell over.
The supervisor, judging that the match was over, intervened.
Ryu Hana, who had fallen to the ground, bit her lip and looked up at me.
“How could I lose like this… it doesn’t make sense…!”
“Heh heh. Try harder next time.”
