Chapter 732 – 732. Savior Of The Academy
732. Savior of the Academy
『10』
Kim Chun-woo looked at the hologram numbers and recalled the information about Yoo Seung-joon that Sung Yu-jin had given him. Yoo Seung-joon was a Mind.
‘…It’s reckless to judge based solely on what Sung Yu-jin said.’
『8』
Yoo Seung-joon and Sung Yu-jin didn’t get along. Although it started with Yoo Seung-joon, Sung Yu-jin’s attitude in response was also very bad. Kim Chun-woo viewed Sung Yu-jin, who acted before speaking, more negatively.
‘But, is there any reason for Sung Yu-jin to lie to me? Especially about a lie related to a Mind.’
Sung Yu-jin’s last words came to mind.
I hate that demon bastard. I hate anything related to that demon bastard.
I agree.
『5』
“Yoo Seung-joon. Which clan are you going to join after graduating from the academy?”
“I don’t know why you’re suddenly asking such a random question, but I’m not going to join a clan. I’m going to work for the association.”
“……”
Yoo Seung-joon’s answer amplified Kim Chun-woo’s suspicion even more.
‘It’s something I can confirm.’
『2』
The two took a fighting stance. Kim Chun-woo pulled his greatsword diagonally back, while Yoo Seung-joon lowered his stance and gripped the spear shaft. It was a stance like a beast waiting for an opportunity.
‘Originally, I was planning to hide it as much as possible, but….’
『1』
‘Holy Sword Manifestation.’
Kim Chun-woo used one of the abilities of his trait, Holy War (S).
Whoo-oong.
The greatsword vibrated subtly. He used it as weakly as possible, to the point where no one could tell by looking at it.
Twitch.
Yoo Seung-joon’s body trembled. He frowned, not realizing why his body had trembled.
Kim Chun-woo saw it clearly.
‘……No. It might not be a reaction to the Holy Sword.’
『0』
Yoo Seung-joon, holding the spear, charged forward. His agility reminded him of a weasel. Kim Chun-woo maintained his composure as much as possible and swung his greatsword at Yoo Seung-joon. If he wasn’t calm, it felt like something inside him would escape out of his body.
The spear and the greatsword collided, creating a shockwave. The spear tried to find any opening in the greatsword, and the greatsword blocked the spear at every turn.
“To block all of my spear attacks with that heavy greatsword… As expected, you’re not the runner-up for nothing.”
“Yoo Seung-joon… I’m sorry, but I think I need to end this sparring as quickly as possible.”
Kim Chun-woo spoke with difficulty. Every time he blocked Yoo Seung-joon’s attacks, something kept surging up. His vision narrowed, and his body tensed up more than necessary. He wanted to end the sparring as quickly as possible because it felt like something bad was really going to happen.
“Do you think you can end it just because you want to? You’re a joke. Sung Yu-jin and you, I don’t like either of you.”
“……”
“It’s a shame this is inside a simulator. If it wasn’t a simulator, I would have crippled your arms and made you realize your place.”
Yoo Seung-joon held the spear in one hand and straightened his back.
He used his trait, Tengu’s Mask (A).
A mask appeared in the air and covered Yoo Seung-joon’s face. It was a Tengu mask with a long nose, a wrinkled and angry red face, and thick eyebrows.
Kim Chun-woo twisted his body to the side and held his greatsword forward.
Clang!
The spear collided with the greatsword. Kim Chun-woo’s body was pushed back three steps.
The stats of Yoo Seung-joon, wearing the Tengu mask, had increased overall. Kim Chun-woo was even briefly surprised. However, just because his physical abilities had increased didn’t mean that Yoo Seung-joon’s spear skills had changed.
In his opinion, Yoo Seung-joon’s spear skills were ordinary. They were fast and flashy, but straightforward. As long as they were easily visible, they were not something to be wary of.
“You damn bastard! How long are you going to just defend!”
Yoo Seung-joon shouted. In that instant, his breathing faltered, revealing an opening. Finally, Kim Chun-woo’s greatsword counterattacked.
Startled, Yoo Seung-joon created a gust of wind to push the greatsword away. The greatsword narrowly grazed his right shoulder.
“Kuh?! Kuaaaak!”
Yoo Seung-joon screamed and stepped back. To others, it just looked like he was exaggerating. He had been cut by the greatsword, but it didn’t hinder his combat, and only a few drops of blood had come out. Moreover, since the Aurora Simulator was running, there were no actual injuries on his arm.
Kim Chun-woo’s eyes turned cold. The Holy Sword was the ultimate counter to demons and Minds. Even a small cut would cause them to writhe in pain and go berserk like that. In other words, it was proven that Yoo Seung-joon was a Mind.
“Th, th, th, thiiiis…!”
Kim Chun-woo gritted his teeth. His body trembled. This was the first time he had directly encountered a Mind since he was five years old.
I want to kill him. I want to kill him. I want to tear Yoo Seung-joon’s body to pieces and kill him!
Old memories resurfaced. His parents being murdered by a demon. Himself trembling with fear and helplessness, closing his eyes.
“I’ll kill you!”
As if trying to shake off the memories, Kim Chun-woo exploded all of his mana and charged at Yoo Seung-joon. His large greatsword moved as lightly as a rapier, attacking Yoo Seung-joon.
Yoo Seung-joon tried to extend his spear to deflect the greatsword. However, the spear was sent flying far away and fell to the floor due to the greatsword’s bizarre movements. Yoo Seung-joon, defenseless, tried to retreat, but Kim Chun-woo didn’t let him. The greatsword mercilessly butchered Yoo Seung-joon.
“Cough, Kuaak! Kuaaaaaak!”
A desperate scream echoed.
•••
I leaned against the wall and stared at the monitor. It was showing the sparring match between Kim Chun-woo, the runner-up, and Yoo Seung-joon. The battle of the academy’s runner-up. Most of the academy students were watching the screen.
“Is that Kim Chun-woo, the runner-up?”
“He’s kind of handsome… But I don’t know about the rest.”
“I heard Kim Chun-woo nominated Yoo Seung-joon? For the 2nd rank to nominate the 185th rank… He seemed nice, but he’s actually dark inside.”
“I wanted to see the battle between the top and the runner-up.”
The public opinion was not in favor of Kim Chun-woo. The difference between the 2nd and 185th rank was too big, so most of the students were supporting Yoo Seung-joon. However, the atmosphere changed the moment Yoo Seung-joon activated his trait and wore the Tengu mask.
“…Is that really the 185th rank? Just by looking at him now, I’d believe it if you said he was in the top 50?”
“He was hiding his strength. Why is that bastard doing the ‘hiding my strength’ thing? Is he an idiot?”
“He’s not the only one hiding his strength.”
And then, the moment Yoo Seung-joon let out a desperate scream, the surroundings became as quiet as a graveyard. Kim Chun-woo swung his greatsword like a berserker driven mad by blood. He didn’t stop even as Yoo Seung-joon screamed horribly.
He cut his arms, cut his legs, cut his torso, and kept butchering him. Since the simulator was working properly, Yoo Seung-joon couldn’t die and just had to keep enduring the pain.
‘Kim Chun-woo has gone berserk.’
It wasn’t surprising. There were times when Kim Chun-woo went berserk in the original story as well. However, the first time he went berserk in the original story was at the earliest during the summer vacation.
‘It must be because of me. It’s actually a good thing.’
I saw a staff member rushing into simulator room number 5 in a hurry.
‘Hacking.’
I hacked the electronic door and microphone of simulator room number 5.
“Damn it! The door won’t open! You there! Don’t just stand there, go get the teachers and staff! Damn it! What is the main control room doing?!”
The staff member gave instructions anxiously and took out his smartphone to make a call somewhere.
‘They won’t be able to break down the electronic door and force their way in. Simulator rooms are expensive.’
The time I could control the electronic door and microphone through hacking was 3 minutes.
Kim Chun-woo would go berserk to his heart’s content for 3 minutes, and Yoo Seung-joon would taste hell.
‘I’d like to hack the Aurora Simulator if I could… But the Aurora Simulator isn’t a machine, it’s magic, so it’s impossible.’
About a minute passed, and a group of teachers came running. It seemed like they had already finished talking, as they broke down the electronic door by force and went inside to subdue Kim Chun-woo. Yoo Seung-joon was collapsed on the floor like a patient having a seizure, sporadically convulsing.
“…That crazy bastard. I should avoid sparring with Kim Chun-woo.”
Most of the students trembled slightly after seeing Kim Chun-woo’s rampage.
•••
“Sung Yu-jin, Choi Da-yeon. Are you ready?”
A middle-aged male teacher came out and asked Choi Da-yeon.
“Yes. I’m ready.”
“Yes.”
Choi Da-yeon and I answered. Looking around, there were countless gazes watching us. Not only students, but also teachers and even students from other grades had gathered. It felt like the spotlight was shining on Choi Da-yeon and me.
“You two are the last sparring match. Go into simulator room number 1.”
Choi Da-yeon walked first. She walked confidently, not intimidated by the numerous gazes.
I gathered my weapons and followed her leisurely. Choi Da-yeon and I were wearing academy tracksuits, and even under the tracksuit, Choi Da-yeon’s figure was good. It would have been better if it was a skirt, though.
Just before entering, I made eye contact with Ryu Hana, who was watching from the second floor. Ryu Hana, the top student, had sparred with Ahn Gi-san 30 minutes ago and won. I turned my gaze away and entered the simulator room.
-Aurora Simulator activated.
A mechanical voice sounded.
A virtual world covered me and the entire room. The space expanded greatly. The hard floor had become a meadow, and the gray ceiling had become a bright blue sky. Surprisingly, even the wind was blowing. This was possible because it was the best simulator room, number 1, in the academy.
『10』
Hologram numbers appeared and began the countdown.
Choi Da-yeon maintained her confident demeanor and held her bow. I looked at her quiver. There were about 20 arrows in it. It was a small number.
‘Either she’s confident she can beat me with 20 arrows, or she doesn’t need many arrows. It’s one of the two.’
I smiled. Considering Choi Da-yeon’s personality, it was probably both.
‘Choi Da-yeon is arrogant and has a sense of superiority. Let’s take a look at her status window.’
『Name: Choi Da-yeon
Strength: D+ Stamina: D- Agility: C- Durability: E Mana: C+
Trait: Apollo’s Sun Sight (SS)
Skills: Archery (A), Aerial Maneuvering (C), Shockwave (C)
Favorability: 15』
Her trait was top-notch. She wasn’t the 4th-ranked student for nothing.
『5』
“Since we’re in this together, should we introduce ourselves? I’m Sung Yu-jin. I’m in the same class as you, number 17.”
“I have nothing to say to you. Just focus on the battle.”
『3』
I placed 12 spears on the ground and put a rocket launcher on my shoulder. My main weapon, the sword, was equipped at my waist.
Guns are weak. The firepower of a rocket launcher can only deal with D-rank lower monsters at best. But in other words, it means that D-rank lower monsters can be suppressed with modern weapons.
And the academy freshmen are just rookies who can’t even properly handle mana. Even Ryu Hana, the top student, can’t use sword aura at this point. Choi Da-yeon wouldn’t be any different.
『1』
『0』
As soon as 1 turned into 0, I pulled the trigger. The rocket launcher fired a rocket, creating a smoky backblast. The rocket flew in a straight line and exploded.
“How’s the taste of a rocket? Pretty hot, right?”
I was chuckling when a gust of wind blew away the smoke.
“How boring. How long are you going to keep playing around?”
Choi Da-yeon was unharmed. There wasn’t even a scorch mark on her clothes. I activated my Spirit Eye and stared at her with golden eyes.
“What? I was tricked.”
The Choi Da-yeon in front of me wasn’t real, but a fake. It was a mirage using her trait, ‘Apollo’s Sun Sight (SS)’.
I rolled my Spirit Eye around. I found her. I discovered Choi Da-yeon standing transparently on the right, a little further away.
Originally, she could only use mirages or invisibility when the sun was in the sky. It was an impossible skill indoors where she couldn’t see the sun directly.
‘Even though it’s virtual, the sun is in the sky.’
I didn’t expect it to be affected by the virtual sun.
“Those eyes. They’re not ordinary eyes.”
Choi Da-yeon revealed herself and drew her bow. An arrow flew towards me. I kicked a spear that was on the ground. The spear accurately shattered the incoming arrow and aimed for Choi Da-yeon’s torso.
My ‘Shooting’ app, a part of my leisure life, was affected by anything ranged, whether it was shooting or throwing. Even if it was kicking.
Choi Da-yeon jumped upwards. After jumping, she kept jumping again. It was the effect of her skill, Aerial Maneuvering (C). She flew through the sky and shot arrows at me.
I grabbed a spear and swung it widely to deflect the arrows.
‘Arrows coming straight at me are easy. In a 1-on-1 sparring match in a limited space, I’m bound to have the advantage.’
It was the moment I took a javelin throwing stance. Arrows were flying at me simultaneously from three directions: the front, left, and right.
