Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: The Alleyway Ambush
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“What’s this about?”
Kang Jae-hyeok wasn’t the type to show such an unsteady side to others.
He quickly shook off the negative memories and emotions, flashing a mild smile.
The dorm supervisor, Lee Gi-buk, glanced around at the onlookers.
“Hmm… We should move somewhere else.”
It was time for morning classes.
The hallways were bustling with students.
“Alright.”
Jae-hyeok checked the time, nodded, and headed to the dorm office.
The room was filled with famous anime merchandise on display.
Cute dolls and posters everywhere.
It didn’t match at all with Lee Gi-buk, a man in his thirties.
“Otaku, huh.”
“You’re just saying it outright?”
“You’re flaunting it so openly, how could I not? If you were the type to hide being an otaku, do you think I’d say it like this?”
“Haha, spot on. I’m proud of my hobbies.”
“You’ve got a thing for really fluffy ones. Is that why you grow that beard? Feels good every time you look in the mirror?”
“…You think looking at a burly uncle’s mug makes me happy? It just grows fast. I shaved at dawn today, and it’s already like this.”
“Jealous.”
Even with his steadfast convictions, Jae-hyeok was still just a sixteen-year-old boy.
He had that side that envied adult symbols like that.
“You’re surprisingly still a kid.”
Lee Gi-buk relaxed and chuckled.
Back at the start of the semester.
He’d had a small run-in with Kang Jae-hyeok, who’d been wandering around looking for Baek Do-jin’s room.
Yet Jae-hyeok didn’t hold him at arm’s length.
He’d willingly followed him even to the dorm office, where who knew what traps might lurk.
‘Baek Do-jin must’ve badmouthed me plenty to this kid.’
Not that Baek Do-jin had few enemies.
But he especially despised Lee Gi-buk.
Why?
Lee Gi-buk had only recently pieced together the reason.
An A-rank aptitude diagnostic late bloomer who’d enrolled in school late.
He was in a position where he should set an example among the young students.
But he hadn’t.
Instead, he’d exploited their immaturity to form factions.
He’d tried to swing the kids around however he wanted, all to recruit Lion’s Castle alumni into the guild he planned to create after graduation.
The worst kind of person.
‘I didn’t even realize it was shameful.’
He’d believed that students blessed with his A-rank potential should be grateful to him.
‘As if A-rank is such a big deal.’
A glance.
Lee Gi-buk peered into Jae-hyeok’s eyes.
Still black as the abyss.
Even now, he couldn’t fathom their depth.
It hit him anew how pathetic he was.
He took a deep breath and got to the point.
“You know how Class A holds even more special meaning among the upperclassmen, right?”
The elite class of top students per grade.
Among first-years, it didn’t get much respect.
Because a good chunk were kids who’d cheated the system by leveling up before enrollment.
In other words, seen as a class of spoiled brats.
But among second-years, Class A was viewed entirely differently.
It was the class of students who’d achieved the most after a full year at Lion’s Castle.
Kids who’d bought their way into Class A with family help?
By second year, most couldn’t even make the cut.
“And in that elite second-year Class A, there’s a guy named Gu Sukjeong. Backed by one of the five great guilds, Guardian Guild.”
Lee Gi-buk started to light a cigarette but remembered Jae-hyeok’s age and scratched the back of his head instead.
“That punk came by this morning asking for your room number and Baek Do-jin’s. Felt off, so I looked into it, and turns out a bandaged-up underclassman visited his room at the crack of dawn.”
He hadn’t gotten the dorm supervisor gig for nothing.
Lee Gi-buk had a handle on what went down in the dorms.
“And that underclassman? Son of Guardian Guild’s submaster. You get what this means?”
“Yeah.”
Jae-hyeok nodded.
‘Jeong Ru-han won’t back down quietly.’
Trash who’d tried to control one person’s life.
No shame, no conscience.
He could easily predict the guy wouldn’t reflect but would rampage to reclaim Park Hae-rin and get revenge.
‘I hit him just enough in hopes he would.’
Seeing Jeong Ru-han with full-body fractures, some might sense vicious killing intent.
Big misunderstanding.
If Jae-hyeok had meant to kill, Jeong Ru-han would’ve been crippled at minimum.
He had no intention of instilling overwhelming fear in Jeong Ru-han from the start.
Despair was all the more vicious when it crept in slowly.
‘Besides, this is Park Hae-rin’s part to play.’
Nobles weren’t nannies.
They could support a waist trying to stand on its own or push a back trying to move forward, but they couldn’t take full responsibility for someone’s life.
***
“Kang Jae-hyeok, Baek Do-jin, Chae Da-hee, and Park Hae-rin…”
Gu Sukjeong whistled as he scanned the files on Jae-hyeok’s team members.
“Promising bunch ahead. Baek Do-jin and Park Hae-rin are flawed wrecks, but Kang Jae-hyeok and Chae Da-hee’s scores hold up even against all-time first-year records.”
“Chae Da-hee’s especially flashy. Kang Jae-hyeok’s rep feels inflated from the Leech King raid, but this girl consistently shines even in Class A.”
“Runner-up freshman isn’t a title just anyone gets. Practically top of the class, really.”
Chae Da-hee’s entrance exam scores outdid past top freshmen.
If not for coinciding with Silla House’s heir, she’d have taken first undisputed.
“Bad luck case. Probably weakened her mentally too? Targeting her should create nice openings.”
“Exactly.”
Gu Sukjeong nodded to his summoned friends and made a promise.
“Handle this right, and you’re all dispatched to Guardian next year. Credits earned, spots in a top-five guild post-graduation—set in stone.”
A thick smile spread across Gu Sukjeong’s lips.
“Alright, let’s go squeeze that idiot Jeong Ru-han’s weak spot.”
***
Wasn’t this beyond just bad luck?
Her usual daily menu sold out right in front of her.
Oyster mackerel sandwich—always leftovers before…
Her regular nightly training ground was packed, no room to stand, so she headed to the range instead, only for every path to be under construction.
“Something feels dangerous.”
Hae-rin, walking with Da-hee, finally voiced her suspicions.
“We might’ve walked into a trap.”
Ridiculous.
“Haha, no way. Dozens, hundreds wasting effort just to mess with us two?”
Da-hee tried to laugh it off, but her expression turned serious.
Hae-rin’s usually naive eyes flashed cold—less cat, more leopard.
‘Da-hee might get dragged into danger because of me.’
Park Hae-rin knew Jeong Ru-han’s obsessive nature.
She figured Shadow Warriors could target her anytime.
A foul stench pierced her nose just then.
A dim alley she never used.
Nearby restricted zone made the monster reek vivid.
“Let’s head back.”
Streetlights broken too, heightening tension in the gloom—right as Hae-rin urged Da-hee.
“Where to?”
A lone girl appeared from the way they’d come.
Twin-tails, eyepatch over one eye.
Shortened uniform decked with silver studs and skull accessories—fierce vibe.
“Iljin…!?”
“Park Hae-rin too? Perfect.”
The twin-tail girl licked her lips with a grin and flung a skull ring.
Boom!
Thick green mist spread, blinding Da-hee and Hae-rin.
Poison fog.
But they were top students.
They whipped out standard gas masks, donned them, and scattered.
Kwaaaaang!!
Explosion where they’d stood moments ago.
The twin-tail girl frowned.
‘Quick judgment, fast moves.’
Still freshmen.
She smirked coldly, mana-burst from her soles to the rooftop.
Overlooked the fog-choked alley, pinpointing Da-hee and Hae-rin instantly.
‘Meant for Chae Da-hee originally.’
Hae-rin—who’d just trailed Kang Jae-hyeok lately—caught too.
Thrilled at hogging the reward, she unhooked a skull earring.
Bigger boom than the ring.
“Don’t die.”
The twin-tail girl grinned and tossed it.
“Don’t underestimate me.”
Da-hee, eyes locked, darted forward.
Her triple swords speared the earring midair, launching it skyward lightning-fast.
“Wha…!”
Stunned by the counter, the twin-tail girl reacted late.
Puuuung!!
Skull earring detonated right by her.
“Cheeky brat!”
Charred uniform spots—her eyes blazed fury as she donned claw gauntlets on ten fingers and leaped from the roof.
Cha-chang! Chang!!
Ten razor claws tangled wildly with Da-hee’s triple swords.
The twin-tail girl’s face twisted uglier by the second.
‘Even as runner-up, how’s a freshman…?’
How’s she blocking my onslaught?
Levels, stats, skills, experience—all mine superior.
“Raw talent, huh?”
Fuming, she unleashed a real-combat trick.
Every block of her claws by Da-hee’s swords—she’d disengage and explode them.
“Ugh…!”
Each clash swept Da-hee in blasts; her body shredded fast.
Charred like from a fire pit, Hae-rin aided desperately.
Guardian Guild heir shield arts slowed the twin-tail assaults, absorbing blasts instead.
“Hmph! How long you gonna tank like idiots?”
The twin-tail girl scoffed.
Blocking bombs with a shield? Dumb.
Shock through it accumulates on the body.
Hae-rin’s moves dulled quick.
“I’ll hold. You run.”
Yet she stood firm.
Planted ahead of Da-hee to protect her somehow.
Couldn’t abandon someone endangered by her.
“I’m not running. We fight together.”
Da-hee no different.
With dreams of Yaksha nobility, no leaving comrades behind.
The twin-tail girl stared dumbfounded at them side by side.
“Don’t know senior’s scary? Saves me hide-and-seek hassle, though.”
Snap!
She flicked her fingers; new girls appeared at alley ends.
Team Skull.
Four second-years boxed in Da-hee and Hae-rin.
“Ah…”
Da-hee gulped, startled.
Realized they were cornered proper.
‘Can’t win like this. Back to Jeong Ru-han’s clutches.’
Hae-rin judged same.
‘Dad, sorry.’
Thud!
Eyes squeezed shut, she dropped her shield.
“What? Giving up like wimps?”
The twin-tail girl smacked her lips disappointed.
Assumed Hae-rin quit seeing the shield ditched.
Reality differed.
Her first skill—sealed since disappointing Father.
Hae-rin meant to unseal that power.
Believed it’d free Da-hee from peril.
But…
“Ugh…!”
Trying to activate, Hae-rin dry-heaved, trembling.
Feared what’d happen if Father heard she relied on first skill over Guardian shield symbol.
Dreaded worsening his bedside grief.
Jeong Ru-han’s constant whispers.
Shaking like chained, Da-hee hugged her shoulders.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to do anything painful.”
Da-hee didn’t know Hae-rin’s story.
“I’ll bear the pain.”
But comforted her.
Noble aspirant’s way.
“What a pair of bitches.”
Spotting Da-hee’s shaken eyes harden, the twin-tail girl raged.
Activating her skill, blue mana orbs formed over both hands.
Tukwakwakwakwakwang!!
Deafening gunfire erupted everywhere.
“…Huh?”