The Genius Prodigy's First Clash
The afternoon sun bathed the circular coliseum in golden light, the very arena that reminded every cadet of the legendary gladiatorial battles of ancient times.
Today marked the academy’s very first real combat training—live sparring.
The Class 1-A cadets stood in perfect formation before Instructor Kim Juhee, each gripping their own weapon as if the world itself depended on this moment.
“Before we begin, allow me to explain the rules of this spar,” Kim Juhee announced, her voice steady and commanding.
The rules were mercifully straightforward.
“Each match lasts five minutes. The instructor may, at her discretion, extend the time if the fight drags on too long. After the five minutes—or earlier if someone yields or faints—judge instructors will score each cadet. Victory points are awarded for knocking an opponent unconscious or forcing a surrender.”
“We’ll begin with the draw now,” she continued.
“The pairing system is simple: we draw numbers, then match them randomly. However, to ensure fair evaluation, cadets with vastly different stats are divided into three groups—upper, middle, and lower—for balanced matchups.”
“And now, the first draw!”
Kim Juhee reached into the draw box and pulled out two slips of paper.
“Hong Kang Seojun! Cha Hyunho!”
The first match was an absolute shocker.
Kang Seojun—the boy who had entered Class 1-A as Cadet #1—against Cha Hyunho, the C+ grade magic-user who had just barely scraped into the academy.
Cha Hyunho rose from his bench with an arrogant smirk, already imagining his inevitable win.
“I’ll make you pack your bags and head home today, you freak!”
Enthusiastic shouts erupted from the surrounding cadets.
“Yeah! Show us what a real wall looks like!”
“That troll! Kick him out!”
“Half purification! Undead extermination! Go get ’em, Kang Seojun!”
[The constellation 《The Sympathetic Hermit》 has sponsored Dimensional Currency in sympathy.]
Jin Serin’s brow furrowed as she watched the crowd cheer for her best friend.
On the other side of the arena, Kang Seojun’s expression was utterly calm.
Good luck.
Of course, in his current state, a mage was the easiest opponent he could face.
Fighters or tanks would be far more troublesome—he would have to rely entirely on Time for Counterattack without using any other means, or risk revealing his complete lack of offensive skills beyond that single skill.
Even archers posed the same headache: their distance meant the counterattack skill wouldn’t activate, yet their raw physical stats were far superior to mages.
But a C+ grade mage? With his current stats, he could still manage it easily.
He had spent weeks preparing specifically for long-range physical attacks, and he had several hidden cards ready.
Kang Seojun pushed himself up from the ground with his staff.
“Will you win?” Jin Serin whispered softly.
He gave a tiny nod.
Serin’s shoulders relaxed instantly.
Just like that… I’m so relieved.
-Clank! Clank!
Kang Seojun stepped down from the spectator stands.
Immediately, Lim Chaewon strode over to Jin Serin.
“Who do you think will win?”
“E-Eh?”
“The two of them.”
Of course Lim Chaewon assumed Seojun would win.
She simply wanted to know how Serin would react to the question.
If Serin boldly declared that Seojun would win, it meant she didn’t believe he was hiding his true strength.
But if she grew flustered even slightly, then… something secret was definitely shared between them.
Lim Chaewon watched Jin Serin with narrowed eyes, her gaze sharp.
“W-Well…” Serin trailed off, coughing awkwardly.
“The result will speak for itself~ Hehe~”
So the answer was that she thought Seojun would win after all.
“Hmm~ Usually I’d think Cha Hyunho would win, but this is different.”
Serin answered quickly, trying to sound casual.
“I-I only know by trying everything, you see…!”
It was a blatant lie.
In truth, Serin believed Seojun would win with 100% certainty.
“Oh? And the two of you seem really close. What’s the relationship?”
“Eh? Of course friends… I mean, a little closer than friends…”
“Closer than friends…?”
“They look out for each other…”
The word “boyfriend” flashed through Lim Chaewon’s mind like lightning.
“You’re dating!?”
“N-No!”
Serin waved her hands frantically, her face turning bright red.
“I-I mean! Best friends!”
“U-Um…”
Best friends and… that other thing? Lim Chaewon’s head spun.
-Trip! Trip!
-Clomp clomp.
Soon the contestants stepped onto the arena floor and took their positions.
“I’ll show you what real talent looks like—one that no amount of effort can ever catch up to.”
Cha Hyunho stretched his body confidently, certain of victory.
Kang Seojun said nothing. He simply waited for the signal.
“Then Hong. Cha. On three. Ready?”
-Bzzzt!
Kim Juhee blew the starting signal with full force.
“I’ll end this in three seconds!”
Cha Hyunho poured every drop of mana into his staff.
At the exact same moment, Kang Seojun’s eyes snapped open.
[The Eye of Providence is analyzing the opponent’s casting spell.]
The dense array of magical formulas and rune symbols swirled around Cha Hyunho’s staff.
The flow of mana was crystal clear in Seojun’s vision.
He raised his staff slightly and whispered.
“Dispel.”
-Fwoooom!
“Eek!”
The moment the words left his lips, the mana exploded outward.
It wasn’t even a particularly powerful blast—but it was enough to make Cha Hyunho’s eyes snap shut tight.
“Ugh…!”
Peeking through swollen eyelids, he tried to understand what had just happened.
-Trip! Trip! Trip! Trip!
Kang Seojun was closing the distance faster than he could possibly see.
“H-Huh…?!”
The blob of pus-glistening flesh filled his entire vision.
“W-What the—?! That movement!”
“S-S-Serious goosebumps!!”
The shockwave wasn’t limited to Cha Hyunho—it spread through the entire spectator stands.
-Whoosh!
Using the momentum of his charge, Kang Seojun swung his staff in a wide arc.
“Ugh…!”
Cha Hyunho twisted sideways and barely dodged, then retreated at blinding speed.
“Ah, ahha…!”
-Thud!
Seojun’s momentum carried him straight past his target. He stumbled and fell face-first.
Cha Hyunho seized the opening and began casting again at lightning speed.
“Tricks won’t—!”
Mana once again began gathering on his staff.
But.
[The Eye of Providence is analyzing the opponent’s casting spell.]
“Dispel.”
-Fwoooom!
The spell shattered before it even finished forming.
In less than ten seconds, the impossible had happened.
The stunned spectators could only stare in disbelief.
“Why isn’t Cha Hyunho doing anything!?”
“That… that’s Anti-Magic trait, right…?”
“No. There was mana interference…!”
“So… Dispel…?”
“He said his mana was F grade, right?”
“B-But that speed just now…!”
Each cadet was frantically trying to explain the impossible performance they had just witnessed.
“Too fast for Dispel…!”
“Intelligence F… Wait, no—E grade, right…?”
“Yeah. That’s the Mana Nullification trait. Even with E-grade intelligence, that calculation speed is impossible.”
“Impossible for an E-grade intelligence user.”
One cadet, arms crossed, shook his head.
“No.”
His eyes shone with pure admiration as he looked at Seojun.
“Maybe he’s just that determined.”
“Eh?”
“What?”
The surrounding cadets turned their attention to the boy who had just mentioned “effort.”
“His willpower is A+ grade. And in this morning’s lecture, the professor praised him highly for his mana calculation formula.”
“S-So…!”
“He memorized every single magic pattern through sheer effort…!”
“I-Impossible!”
“How much effort do you need to put in!?”
“I can’t even imagine…!”
One student still looked unconvinced.
“Then… what about his mana?! For Dispel to work at that speed, he needs mana, right?!”
“Dispel doesn’t require that much mana. You just need to understand the formula and disrupt the circuit.”
“It’s the same reason you can ruin a beautiful painting with just one stroke of paint.”
“The real key is how fast you can calculate the opponent’s spell. The faster the calculation, the less mana you need to disrupt it.”
“H-Huh…!”
“R-Really!?”
“Then… that movement! That had to be lightweight magic!”
“I don’t know! I’m just as confused as you are!”
“Anyway… he’s incredible!”
-Cough! Cough!
Park Sinhu glared at Kang Seojun through gritted teeth, watching from behind the noisy crowd.
He was hiding all that power…!
And even his acting looks completely fake. If I only used half the physical ability I showed before, I could have beaten that mage with my bare hands.
But that weird movement just now… what was it?
He hasted.
That was clearly the haste skill.
Lightweight magic accelerating his movement.
That arrogant bastard who always hides his strength…! Someday I’ll drag every secret out of you…!
All of them! Right now, while no one believes me!
Park Sinhu had to work even harder to acquire spirit affinity.
Spirit magic was no different from a spell that didn’t require a formula—using the spirit’s authority.
Even with the Eye of Providence, Seojun probably couldn’t nullify spirit affinity.
Seojun would get it sooner than he thought.
-Whoosh. Whoosh.
Kang Seojun pushed himself up with the staff, breathing heavily.
-Puff. Puff.
His expanded chest made breathing difficult.
I rushed too much in the first move…
The two cards he had prepared for today’s victory—Dispel and Haste—were exactly what the spectators had praised.
Originally, Dispel was an extremely difficult high-grade magic: copying someone else’s math problem and solving it perfectly.
But with the Eye of Providence, the entire process became trivial.
Once the mana formula was analyzed, he simply interfered with the mana flow to break the circuit.
It was as easy as kicking over a sandcastle you had spent hours building.
Which meant, as long as he had the Eye of Providence, every spell the opponent tried to cast would simply fail.
Still, since he needed mana to analyze the spell itself, facing a C+ mage was currently the safest choice.
But now that he had sealed the mage’s greatest long-range weapon—his spells—the next step was simple.
Most academy mages relied on powerful single-target spells.
Outside of that, their physical abilities and movement were no different from ordinary civilians.
Meanwhile, thanks to two weeks of intense training, Kang Seojun now possessed a body slightly stronger than an ordinary person.
Of course, the debuff traits still limited his full potential.
◆Saved Spell
[Haste Lv. Normal]
He had purchased the Haste spell scroll from the Dimensional Shop last night and memorized it on his staff.
-Whoosh. Whoosh.
This will be the finishing move.
Kang Seojun gripped his staff tightly and stared at his opponent.
“Heh… Heeik…”
Today’s dreams for Cha Hyunho would be pure nightmares.