A Familiar Scene, But Slightly Different (2)
A Familiar Scene, But Slightly Different (2)
[ Training Room, 2nd Floor ]
In a space large enough to accommodate dozens of people, a dozen or so new students stood divided into two distinct factions.
Among them, a sharp-featured male student standing at the very back of the slightly larger group flicked his finger.
"Hey, Mu-seok."
Kang Mu-seok.
The eldest son of the 'Black Lion' Guild, which had claimed the lowest spot in the Top 10 Guilds at the end of last year.
Kang Mu-seok glanced at the large-framed student, Baek Jung-gil, who had approached him, and asked,
"Are you sure you called them properly?"
"I checked again this morning. And they already took the advance payment—do you think they'd break the promise now?"
At Baek Jung-gil's reply, Kang Mu-seok nodded with a slightly displeased expression.
There was still a little time before the appointed hour, and as Baek Jung-gil said, they'd already accepted the money. There was no way they'd flake on the deal.
'If this got out, it wouldn't be good for either of us.'
Kang Mu-seok glared at the classmate standing opposite him, who was casually scrolling on her smartphone and snickering.
The second daughter of the 'Fantasia' Guild, which had also joined the Top 10 Guilds last year—Park Min-jeong.
The difference was that while the Black Lion had barely scraped into the lowest rank, Fantasia had boldly planted its name in the seventh spot.
Their actual power and forces were comparable, but the rankings diverged due to social contribution, public recognition, and reputation.
'That skillless bitch...'
They were both Enhancement-type Awakened, and both wielded swords.
Yet he had outperformed her in every single category of the entrance exam.
Of course, since entrance exam scores were confidential, the only people who knew that fact were the few proctors who had supervised the tests.
Because of this, Kang Mu-seok challenged Park Min-jeong to a duel as soon as they enrolled and secured a decisive victory.
But despite Park Min-jeong's loss, the children of countless small and medium-sized guilds flocked to her, fawning over her and scrambling to join her side before Kang Mu-seok's.
As time passed, Park Min-jeong's faction swelled rapidly, and she began to gradually push out the students who had aligned with Kang Mu-seok from using the training rooms and other facilities.
The annual Grade Evaluation was just two months away. To have his access to the training rooms restricted now?
Once a gap opened up, it was incredibly difficult to close. In fact, it would be fortunate if it didn't widen even further.
And these disadvantages would only worsen as they advanced through the grades, which meant being completely weeded out here at Arena Academy.
In other words, it was a death sentence.
With the fire at their feet, the students allied with Kang Mu-seok began drifting toward Park Min-jeong to save themselves, and she, as if waiting for it, welcomed the defecting members of his faction.
The students who had been hedging their bets, afraid of becoming outcasts if Park Min-jeong rejected them, cut ties with Kang Mu-seok and flocked to her the moment they heard the news.
Having bided his time, waiting for all the sycophants to leave, Kang Mu-seok challenged Park Min-jeong to another duel.
The terms: a five-on-five team match. The first side to win three bouts would gain priority over all facilities until the Grade Evaluation.
And now.
The candidates were chosen. They were just waiting for the Apprentice Cleric who would act as a witness, provide healing, and ensure this incident never reached the outside world.
"Hey, Mu-seok."
"What."
Kang Mu-seok answered without taking his eyes off Park Min-jeong.
"Those guys they put forward as candidates."
"You said they were nobodies."
Ordinary students, not affiliated with any guild and not the children of corporate executives.
"...That's right."
Baek Jung-gil nodded and continued.
"Doesn't something feel off to you?"
"It's off."
It's a well-established academic orthodoxy that unless you're a naturally gifted genius or possess a unique ability, an ordinary student can never surpass those with powerful backing.
"Don't overthink it. It's too late to turn back anyway."
Kang Mu-seok rested his hand on the sword at his hip.
"And as long as we win, that's all that matters."
"...Do you think I'm asking because I don't know that?"
Baek Jung-gil stared at Kang Mu-seok with a look of sheer disbelief for a moment before letting out a short laugh.
"Looks like they're here."
At the sound of approaching footsteps, Kang Mu-seok turned his head first. The students who had been locked in a tense standoff also shifted their eyes toward the stairwell leading to the first floor.
And finally, the owner of those footsteps.
No. The moment the owners revealed themselves.
"The Ice... Queen...?"
Kang Mu-seok instantly knew that something had gone badly wrong.
**
"...H-hey, Yeon-ju."
"......"
Just moments ago, she'd been giggling about how all the students were looking their way with envy.
Now, face pale as a sheet, she was tugging insistently at Yeon-ju's sleeve.
A part of her wanted to tell her to be quiet, but she wasn't the type to say everything on her mind, and more importantly, the atmosphere wouldn't allow it. So, grabbing Lee Ji-eun's hand and signaling her to stay quiet was the best help she could offer right now.
Fortunately, Lee Ji-eun seemed to understand the signal and stopped making noise. Instead, she gripped the hand tighter.
'Well, at least she's not completely clueless...'
The problem was, it was far too late for that.
Na Yeon-ju felt a flicker of fear in this situation, where even a single breath couldn't be heard, despite more than a dozen students being gathered.
More precisely, her fear was directed at Baek Ha-na, who had created this atmosphere.
"Lee Ji-eun."
Naturally, the one who broke the silence was Baek Ha-na.
"Y-ye-yes?!"
Lee Ji-eun, who had been holding Na Yeon-ju's hand tightly, flinched at the sound of her name.
"Point out who hired you."
"Uh, w-well... that..."
Lee Ji-eun's brown eyes began to tremble violently as if an earthquake were happening inside them.
"I, I just... was told t-to just come here, so..."
"So you don't know who it is?"
"I-I really don't..."
Lee Ji-eun looked up at Baek Ha-na with glistening, tear-filled eyes, her small lips trembling as she forced the words out.
"B-but I do know the friend who told me about it..."
Under Baek Ha-na's chilling stare, Lee Ji-eun quickly rummaged through her pocket and pulled out her smartphone. She fumbled with trembling fingers to pull up the conversation from this morning to show Baek Ha-na.
"I made the request."
At the sound of a male voice from ahead, Baek Ha-na's head turned.
She fixed her gaze on the male student walking out from the gap between the two divided groups.
Kang Mu-seok had been desperately trying to act casual as he walked forward. The moment his eyes met hers, he instinctively dropped his gaze to the floor.
He felt like his legs would give out and he'd collapse on the spot if he didn't.
"Name."
"It's Kang Mu-seok."
Baek Ha-na pulled out her smartphone and typed the name in.
"I'll be reporting this to the professor. Do I need to explain why?"
"...No, ma'am."
Kang Mu-seok shook his head quickly.
It wasn't publicly known, but the master of the Iron Knight Guild, Kang Min-ho, and his father had sworn an oath of brotherhood long ago.
Thanks to that, he had received some high-level information from Kang Seok-ho, one of Kang Min-ho's sons who had enrolled a year ahead of him. One piece of that information was about the backing of the very person now standing before him.
"Fine. Then call out your names one by one."
"...Yes."
Without a moment's hesitation, Kang Mu-seok turned around and nodded toward Baek Jung-gil, who was watching him.
"Baek Jung-gil."
"Kim Ji-seok."
"First-year..."
Starting with Baek Jung-gil, every single member of Kang Mu-seok's group stated their name to Baek Ha-na.
After confirming the exact numbers, Baek Ha-na gave a cold nod, then shifted her gaze to the group opposite them.
"You too. Call them out."
"......"
But unlike Kang Mu-seok's group, they just glanced at each other.
"Name."
Na Yeon-ju unconsciously stepped back at the even icier tone in Baek Ha-na's voice.
At the same moment, the silent group parted left and right, and four male students and one female student walked forward.
"...My name is Park Min-jeong."
Baek Ha-na quietly recorded the name in her phone.
"Next."
"...Excuse me."
The female student who introduced herself as Park Min-jeong took a step forward.
"Could you please let this end with just my name? I dragged the kids behind me out here. They didn't have a choice."
"That's for the professor to decide."
At Baek Ha-na's firm answer, Park Min-jeong bit her lip softly.
"Isn't there any way? I'll make sure to repay you for this—"
"Let's have a go at it."
One of the four people lined up behind Park Min-jeong stepped forward, cutting her off.
"Wai—."
"We'll handle this ourselves, so keep quiet."
Park Min-jeong tried to grab the male student who had stepped forward, but she was restrained by another male student who approached from behind.
It was disrespectful behavior that didn't look at all like that of a subordinate.
However, given the situation, no one noticed the unnatural dynamic between them.
"An underclassman can challenge an upperclassman to a duel at any time... Isn't that the academy rule?"
The male student who cut off Park Min-jeong tilted his head at an insolent angle.
"Why aren't you answering? Could it be—"
Crack!!
A gruesome sound, crystal-clear to everyone's ears.
Crack, craaack—!!
That sound followed, one after another.
"Aaaaarrrggghhh!!"
"M-my, legs, my legs?!"
The four male students collapsed to the floor, their legs twisted at grotesque angles, and began screaming in agony.
"Wha, wha...?"
Moments ago, they had been standing perfectly fine. In an instant, they were on the ground, shrieking in pain.
Park Min-jeong, and everyone else in the room, couldn't understand what had happened.
No one, except for one person.
'...A ghost?'
Except for Baek Ha-na.