Know Your Place
The next morning. Jeong Eunseo’s house.
Jeong Eunseo woke up and immediately stepped in front of the mirror, checking her condition.
Today’s the first time I’m actually going to the academy.
Until now, Jeong Eunseo had focused solely on searching for the legacy her grandfather had left behind. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure the legacy truly existed. She was simply following a vague comment her grandfather had made in passing when she was young. Still, today felt somewhat special to her.
Swish.
Jeong Eunseo glanced at her phone.
Are you awake?
Yes, I’m awake.
Lee Hyunseung’s characteristically stiff reply made her smile faintly. This guy really does seem like a robot from his responses alone.
She found his consistently cold, stone-like attitude toward her strangely puzzling.
Jeong Eunseo stared at her reflection and muttered,
“With a body like this and a face this pretty, how can he act so indifferent toward someone like me?”
It wasn’t that she had feelings for Lee Hyunseung right now. But she genuinely couldn’t understand it. As the daughter of a high-ranking guild leader and possessing undeniable beauty, she was used to men slipping her their numbers on the street. Even while exploring the Labyrinth in search of her grandfather’s legacy, she had constantly dealt with adventurers trying to hit on her.
Of course, she had never given any of them the time of day, but she was fully aware—perhaps overly so—that she had the kind of appearance men desired. Even without the status of being the daughter of the powerful Teore Guild, Jeong Eunseo knew she was attractive. Yet Lee Hyunseung had been different from the very first moment they met in the Labyrinth.
Are you okay? I saw you collapsed and came over. Do you need any help?
You don’t need to help me.
Any other man would have jumped at the chance to flirt, but Lee Hyunseung had forced himself up despite his condition and simply walked away. As if she were completely beneath his notice.
Maybe he doesn’t like women?
The strange thought crossed her mind as she finished preparing and stepped outside.
Click.
Jeong Eunseo climbed into the waiting car and spoke to the driver.
“Driver, please head to Lee Hyunseung’s house.”
“Understood, miss.”
Vroom.
As Jeong Eunseo stared blankly out the window, the driver’s voice eventually reached her.
“We’ve arrived, miss.”
Swish.
She got out of the car and knocked on Lee Hyunseung’s front door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Creak.
Shortly after, Lee Hyunseung appeared, rubbing his eyes.
“You’re already here. Let’s go.”
“You look tired.”
“Ah… I didn’t get much sleep. I was preparing plenty of magazines in advance.”
“Preparing magazines? Don’t you just buy those?”
“Ah… there’s a reason. It’s a bit difficult to explain in detail right now.”
“....”
A brief silence fell between them before they both got into the car.
Swish.
Jeong Eunseo glanced sideways at him. Lee Hyunseung simply stared out the window without saying a word.
“Do you have any questions for me? If there’s anything you want to know, I’ll tell you.”
At those words, Lee Hyunseung thought to himself,
I already know everything…
Having played Broad Academy Online for three months, he knew more about Jeong Eunseo—one of the main heroines—than she probably knew about herself. There was simply no need to ask questions.
“Nothing in particular.”
His indifferent response left Jeong Eunseo looking slightly flustered as she turned back toward the window.
“I-I see. Well, I suppose there might not be anything you’re curious about.”
“Oh, actually, there is one thing I wanted to ask.”
“W-what is it?”
Jeong Eunseo looked at him with curious eyes. Lee Hyunseung answered,
“Did you prepare the weapon I asked for yesterday?”
“Ah… right.”
Jeong Eunseo naturally handed him the pistol.
◈ A plain, shabby pistol with no distinguishing features.
◈ Loaded with 15 rounds.
◈ Increases Magic Power stat by 3.
Looking at the pistol, Lee Hyunseung thought,
Good. With this, I can finally use the Gun Mage exclusive skills. The Magic Power increase is only 3, but it’s still plenty useful.
Jeong Eunseo watched his expression with a puzzled look.
“Basic Epic-grade items are extremely inefficient and hard to find, but I managed to locate one that was for sale. Still, you could have asked for a much more expensive weapon. Why specifically request a shabby pistol like this? If you’d asked me, I could have gotten you something better.”
“Even if there are more expensive weapons, I can’t equip them yet. My class level is still 1.”
“Your class level is 1? Yet you displayed that kind of destructive power?”
“Yes. For now, it’s 1. I’ve used the gun quite a lot, but I don’t know why it isn’t growing either.”
Aside from basic weapons, class-exclusive equipment all had level restrictions. Most required class level 2 or higher, so Lee Hyunseung couldn’t use anything better at the moment.
How exactly does class level increase? The Legendary Gun Mage class didn’t even exist in the original game, so I have no reference point.
Lee Hyunseung shook his head, dismissing the thoughts.
This isn’t the time to be thinking about that.
He had stayed up all night crafting the magazines he would need, preparing for any unexpected situations. He would soon have to fight Seong Hyeon-wook, and his condition wasn’t great. He needed at least a little rest.
“Sorry, but would it be alright if I slept for a bit?”
“Go ahead.”
Lee Hyunseung closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep. Jeong Eunseo stared at him blankly.
I really can’t figure this guy out…
“We’ve arrived.”
After the driver announced their arrival at Broad Academy, Lee Hyunseung and Jeong Eunseo naturally stepped out of the car.
Step. Step. Step.
Lee Hyunseung casually walked up the central staircase and entered the academy building. Jeong Eunseo stuck close behind him.
Whispers. Whispers.
Looking around, he could hear the academy students murmuring. Seeing their reactions, Lee Hyunseung thought,
Well, after what happened yesterday, it’d be stranger if they didn’t react.
After displaying such a strong stance against Yoo Heeyeon yesterday, he had expected many students to either openly antagonize him or ignore him. Although Jeong Eunseo, the daughter of the Teore Guild leader, and the wizard Nam Jin-seok were by his side, the Artemis Guild held far more influence.
Step. Step.
After walking for a while, they arrived in front of the president’s office. Jeong Eunseo was sent to the F-class first.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
When he knocked, the sound of the lock disengaging could be heard.
Click!
Slide.
As soon as they entered the president’s office, Choi Yi-seul naturally used magic to unfold several chairs.
“So it’s Lee Hyunseung. Please come sit here.”
Swish.
The president was about to serve tea, but Lee Hyunseung declined.
“No need for tea. There’s something I need to discuss with you today.”
“What… would you like to talk about?”
Choi Yi-seul spoke with a tense expression.
Lee Hyunseung answered directly.
“President, I believe someone like you wouldn’t doubt my innocence. From the beginning, this incident lacked any proper evidence and was essentially caused by the influence of a single person—Yoo Heeyeon. I was unfairly suspended. Therefore, I’d like to demand appropriate compensation.”
“...I’ll admit that the suspension was hasty. I sincerely apologize. As a leader, it’s difficult to say this, but please understand that we had our own circumstances. What kind of compensation do you want? I’ll accommodate you if possible.”
“Please transfer me to F-class.”
“F-class? Wouldn’t that be a disadvantage rather than a benefit?”
When the president looked at him with a puzzled expression, Lee Hyunseung gave a simple reply.
“The Class Annihilation Match is coming up soon. I plan to completely crush everyone else there. In that case, being in F-class—which has the right to choose its opponent—would be advantageous.”
The Class Annihilation Match was a large-scale mock battle that carried significant weight in the practical exam scores. All classes from A to F gathered in one place to fight.
The battle format was simple. Classes collided in pairings like A versus C or C versus D. The matchups were random. However, the weakest F-class received a special privilege: the right to choose which class they would fight.
Due to the nature of class-based battles, F-class was at the greatest disadvantage. That was precisely why they were given this benefit. They could choose to face the strongest A-class or the slightly stronger D-class. Naturally, once Lee Hyunseung entered F-class, he would become their representative and select A-class as their opponent on the day of the match.
That way, A-class and F-class would clash immediately. On that day, he would thoroughly trample every single one of those A-class bastards. Under the pretext of the practical exam, he would crush them one by one.
Besides, Jeong Eunseo—who had been demoted from A-class to F-class due to insufficient attendance—was also in F-class. Being in the same class as such a reliable ally was another positive factor.
The president answered,
“Understood. If that’s what you want… I’ll make it happen. You may start attending F-class classes from today.”
“Thank you.”
With those words, Lee Hyunseung left the office.
Step. Step. Step.
It should be around here somewhere.
Lee Hyunseung headed to a secluded area behind the academy building where few people passed by.
“There you are, you criminal bastard.”
From a distance, Seong Hyeon-wook’s voice rang out.
There he is.
Seong Hyeon-wook had brought several people with him.
“I thought I told you to come alone?”
“Ah… these guys? They’re just here to watch, so don’t worry. There need to be people who can see you get your ass kicked, right?”
When Lee Hyunseung looked beside him, he saw a girl with purple hair standing there as well.
Han Bo-eun.
She was one of the members of F-class. She didn’t have a huge role in the original game, but because of her pretty face and rare class, she was one of the characters he remembered clearly.
Seong Hyeon-wook spoke to Han Bo-eun.
“Bo-eun, watch closely. I’ll show you how strong your oppa is. A piece of trash like this is nothing but one hit.”
While he had only approached Yoo Heeyeon to build connections, it seemed he genuinely liked Han Bo-eun. The reason he brought her along was probably to show off his strength by crushing the Gun Mage and appeal to her.
What an idiot. He has no idea what’s about to happen.
From afar, Han Bo-eun watched with a lukewarm expression.
“I don’t really like fights.”
Seong Hyeon-wook answered boastfully.
“Just watch for a bit. I’ll show you how strong I am. Aren’t you curious how an Epic-grade swordsman fights?”
Han Bo-eun let out a short sigh, then approached Lee Hyunseung and whispered quietly.
“You should run away while you still can. You look like a Gun Mage, and Gun Mages can’t beat swordsmen. You’ll get badly hurt. I’ll talk to Seong Hyeon-wook oppa, so when I give the signal, run in the opposite direction.”
Snort.
Lee Hyunseung chuckled at the girl’s words and replied,
“The one who needs to run isn’t me. It’s Seong Hyeon-wook.”
He pushed aside Han Bo-eun, who had been standing in front of him.
Click!
After loading his gun, he aimed it at Seong Hyeon-wook, who was brandishing a sword in anger, and shouted,
“Know your place. You pathetic worm. If you beg like a dog right now, I’ll forgive you. What’s it going to be?”
Seong Hyeon-wook drew his sword and took a stance as if he would cut him down at any moment, yelling,
“You… you fucking bastard! Are you crazy?!”
From a distance, Han Bo-eun looked at him with worried eyes.
“Y-you! You shouldn’t provoke him like that!”
Lee Hyunseung ignored her and raised his middle finger toward Seong Hyeon-wook.
“No need to drag this out. Come at me. Just like you said to me, I’ll turn you into a half-cripple.”