True Education
"...Therefore, differentiating f(x) gives... Hmm, but the key here is the definition of the limit..."
The instructor's monotonous voice brushed past my ears.
Third period, basic education course. The blackboard was crammed full of calculus formulas, but my mind was entirely on the duel coming up at lunchtime.
How do I beat Kwak Taesan...
My opponent was the beast of martial arts, Kwak Taesan.
Just looking at that hulking, brutish build and his hot-blooded personality, anyone would mistake him for a typical infighter who crushes foes with overwhelming physicality and endless stamina.
But they'd be wrong. Despite his ferocious appearance, Kwak Taesan was a cerebral character who fought with meticulous calculations.
When it comes to combat sense and mental agility, he surpasses even that genius top student, Seol Eunha.
A deviant battle mage style that covered his lacking magical talent with superior physical prowess and beastly instincts. That's probably why he took such intense interest in me, seeing a kindred spirit with my zero mana stat.
And that was the problem.
I'm not confident my parrying will work perfectly against that insane battle IQ.
No matter how much of a veteran I am in this game, parrying Kwak Taesan's cunning psychological warfare and erratic brain games 100% flawlessly with a real body, without a single mistake? Even the game's dev grandpa couldn't pull that off.
I need a safety net. Something to skyrocket my win rate—no, my survival rate.
As my thoughts reached that point, memories of a few sweet hidden items from the early original story flashed through my mind.
If it's a hidden piece I can grab right now... yeah, that one first.
Behind the old annex building a bit away from the main hall, in a rundown flower bed rarely visited by people.
An A-rank special item that bloomed miraculously, soaking up the mana from the academy's powerhouses, yet ignored as mere weeds by everyone who didn't know its value.
My first target for the upcoming break was set.
—Ding dong dang dong. Finally, the break bell rang like salvation itself.
"Haa."
I stretched and stood up immediately. Only about 15 minutes left until lunch.
No time to leisurely admire the academy's map layout from the original game now implemented in reality, or its flashy scenery.
"Let's go."
As I left the grand main building and headed toward the rundown old annex, the bustling presence of cadets noticeably thinned out.
Soon, I reached the secluded flower bed at my destination. I glanced around for prying eyes, then crouched down and started rummaging through the thick grass.
It should be mixed in around here somewhere.
I was laser-focused, eyes burning as I ignored the dirt smudging my hands, searching for that guy with its distinctly alien aura amid the ordinary weeds.
Then—
Thud, thud.
Ominous footsteps approached from behind, multiple people.
"Hey. Yoo Dohyun."
From the damp edge of the flower bed, a cool, arrogant voice cut in.
Still crouched, I turned my head slightly. A group of about five guys and girls glared down at me coldly.
They were from Class 1, the ones I'd seen in the classroom just moments ago.
As if they'd been waiting for me to be alone, they oozed blatant displeasure and thick hostility, slowly encircling me.
The girl at the center of the group lifted her chin and smirked sourly.
"You were spacing out like an idiot all class. And now during break, digging up weeds in a dump like this. Pretty chill for a parachute, huh?"
...Who the hell are these guys? And what's this parachute bullshit?
I rolled my eyes, scanning the group from my seated position.
No named characters from the original story with any real weight. Just typical extras drunk on the Class 1 title.
I figured if anyone was gonna pick a fight first, it'd be Jo Geon for sure.
Surprisingly, that arrogant prick's face wasn't among them.
Of course. A prideful guy like him wouldn't stoop to ganging up like this.
Since I just stared without responding, they mistook my silence for fear.
"What, where'd that smug attitude from class go? Cat got your tongue?"
"Seol Eunha hyped you up once at the entrance ceremony, and you think you're on our level? A half-assed punk who can't even use mana."
"Obvious as hell. You parachuted in on the top seat's coattails."
The lead girl stepped closer, sneering. The ones behind her got cocky too, cackling and piling on.
I looked up at their childish antics and clicked my tongue inwardly.
They saw the commotion at the entrance ceremony and still came at me?
Brave? Or just irredeemably stupid?
Having sized up the situation, I gripped a random twig from the flower bed and slowly stood.
"So, who the hell are you guys?"
Who the hell are you?
Lee Yeji. Who was she?
Though she'd lost the top spot to Seol Eunha by a crushing margin, she was still the undisputed vice-top of elite Class 1.
A genius of this era, forged from overwhelming talent and bone-grinding effort.
And this guy just hits her with who are you out of nowhere.
The boy's indifferent remark—standing there with a single dirt-smeared twig—shattered the arrogant girl's pride to the ground.
As humiliation made Yeji's pretty face tremble, the kids beside her bristled.
"This fucker's lost it. Blind or what? We're Class 1, and you don't know our vice-top?!"
"Fucking parachuted in on Seol Eunha's back and acts like he owns the place. Got a death wish with that mouth."
Sharp curses flew viciously, but Dohyun's expression remained utterly calm.
"Ah."
"...?"
"Sorry. I don't bother remembering weaklings below me. Didn't even know there was a name like that in Class 1."
"...What?"
Class 1 vice-top. That flimsy pride.
Thoroughly played by a mana-less parachuter—the male student's face twisted uglily.
"You little shit, running your mouth to the end...!"
Reason snapped. He swung a wild fist at the boy.
Elite Class 1—no joke. Thick, bluish mana swirled menacingly over his fist, ready to shatter rock.
But the boy didn't dodge.
He just lightly raised the pathetic twig. Taat—!
A crisp friction sound.
And then a miracle. The twig didn't break; its tip casually nudged the fist's joint. That tiny deflection sent the heavy punch veering harmlessly off course.
"Wha...?"
Fist slicing empty air.
As the guy's balance lurched forward, the boy's foot slammed the ground and launched.
Thud—!
"Gahk...!"
A dull impact echoed with a gruesome scream through the alley.
The male student's body floated into the air from the gut kick, flying meters before crashing at Yeji's feet.
One exchange. No—a one-sided massacre.
"...!?"
What the hell just happened?
A Class 1 cadet's full-force punch, mana condensed to the max.
He didn't dodge it—just smacked it away with a random roadside twig?
Stifling silence hung in the alley. Then a lazy voice broke it.
"Don't just stand there like idiots. Come at me all at once. I'm busy right now."
Twirling the dirt-smeared twig casually, the boy dropped a bombshell.
"All of you. I'll turn you into that in exactly one minute."
The blunt provocation snapped their frozen brains.
"Y-You crazy bastard...!"
Two guys—one male, one female—faces red with humiliation and rage, drew a dagger and sickle from their waists and charged.
Meanwhile, Yeji and the remaining male cadet frantically deployed magic circles from the rear.
"Sedimentation, gravity, chains of the earth. Bind them."
⟨ Gravity Bind ⟩
Yeji's chant ended, and a murky ochre gravity magic circle surged beneath Dohyun's feet.
A debuff spell slowing movements like lead weights.
Then, a red magic circle spun from the male cadet's fingertips, manifesting a flame spell.
"Scorching heat, condense, fire. Scatter into ashes."
⟨ Flame Arrow ⟩
"Die, you trash!"
A sharp flame arrow, laden with killing intent, sliced through the air.
In the heavy gravity field. Up close: dagger thrust and sickle slash. From behind: explosive flames. A perfect three-pronged assault.
No room to dodge.
But.
"Hoo."
A short breath from the boy.
Whoosh—
A speed too fast to track. Not a sword—a twig etched the air.
The slowed twig read the textbook trajectories perfectly, flashing at impossible speed. Kagak!— It deflected the dagger thrust, twisting its path. Kwak!—
It pinned the sickle's shaft mid-swing for the neck, slamming it into the dirt at perfect timing.
And the final strike.
Kang—!
Twig tip smacked the flame arrow's mana core dead-on. Like a bat crushing a baseball—brutal, perfect contact.
"...Huh?"
The deflected flame reversed course, flying back at its caster.
"Wind barrier, you idiot!"
Kwang—!
"Gaaahk!"
Scream rang out. The male cadet who fired it got engulfed, charred black, and toppled.
Horrified at their ally burning from their own spell. The dagger guy and sickle girl froze in shock.
Dohyun's wrist snapped like a whip.
Thud, thuk—!
"Guhk...!"
"Kuhk...."
No mercy. The twig speared their jaws and temples viciously.
Clean vital hits—no need to drag it out.
Thud, flop. Hands went limp, bodies crumpled like cut strings. Including the flame guy—three down.
Less than a second to stack them on the ground.
"...."
Four allies down in an instant.
Yeji's legs buckled, magic fizzling.
Impossible. No way...
Zero mana. Zero on the written test. Definitely a parachuter.
He has to be...
Her unfocused eyes scanned the fallen comrades.
Bodies smoking from self-inflicted burns. Classmates convulsing, foaming at the mouth with twisted jaws.
With just a roadside twig.
Four Class 1 aces turned to bloody pulp in one second.
"Hiiik, hugh...."
The elite vice-top's worldview shattered. Yeji's mind went blank white.
Step. Step. Casual footsteps over the fallen. Each one squeezed her heart.
Run. Get up and run.
But her legs shook like leaves; sensation fled, fingers frozen.
The boy's dark shadow crept over her slumped form. Vision spun in terror. Breath choked; tears welled.
I'm dead.
Or worse.
She started it.
Primal survival instinct screamed in her paralyzed mind.
The boy looked down lazily, twirling the twig.
"P-Please... spare me...."
"Spare you?"
"Sp-Please... spare me... please...."
"Spare. You?"
Dohyun tapped the ground with the twig, voice dropping ominously.
Chilling killing intent shot up her spine. Yeji's head snapped down.
"...Please spare me."
Only then did he toss the twig aside carelessly. He crouched to eye level with a deeply satisfied smile.
"Good. Should've said it pretty like that from the start."
"...."
"Alright then. Do me one favor?"
A gentle smile bloomed on the boy's face.
Whew, shit. Thought I was done for.
I wiped the cold sweat trickling down my back and sighed inwardly in relief.
Even for academy cadets—supposed top-tier talents—swinging real knives and sickles at someone on campus?
These elite Class 1 hotshots going this rogue on day one? Never saw it coming.
Lucky I parried them all perfectly.
One graze, one off-beat hit, and my glass-cannon ass would've been express to the afterlife.
Cheeky bastards.
You're slaves starting today. Time to squeeze you dry.
"Ah, so did you find all the four-leaf clovers?"
"...I'm still looking? Just wait a bit...!"
"Oh? Casual speech again?"
"...Please... wait just a moment...."
Trembling with humiliation, Yeji madly rummaged the flower bed with dirt-caked hands.
Even the guys who'd been foaming and collapsed dragged their shaking bodies over, crawling to yank weeds.
Great workout. Tons of stress.
But that stress is good. They'll think of me before bed.
"H-Here... f-found them all...."
About five minutes later.
Yeji, face pale as a ghost, timidly held out her hands.
The others, uniforms trashed, shakily piled their clovers atop hers.
Five people—not me—flipping the bed like maniacs in five minutes.
Over fifteen four-leaf clovers piled on her palms.
Impressive.
Harboring rational doubts it might all be duds, I poked through the heap with the twig tip.
Just ordinary deep-green weeds.
Nothing here, huh...
As I started to look away, tongue clicking inwardly—
"...Blue glow?"
At the bottom of the pile.
Amid normal green leaves, one clover shimmered faintly blue. Qualitatively different.
A mutant grown sucking up the academy soil's mana.
Found it.
My first hidden piece.