Discipline
I looked at the two of them coldly.
They exchanged glances, then quickly shook their heads at me.
I glanced down at Seong Hyeon-uk, who was sprawled on the ground. His entire body was riddled with bullet wounds, blood pooling everywhere. The additional effects from the fire-attribute and magic-attribute bullets had left him in even worse shape—torn and ragged.
"Take him and get out of here."
At my words, the two of them hurriedly hoisted Seong Hyeon-uk onto their shoulders and fled.
Step. Step.
Han Bo-eun, who had been watching from behind, approached me.
From Han Bo-eun's attitude, it was clear she didn't particularly care for Seong Hyeon-uk. So whether he got hurt or not didn't matter to her. He had been pestering her every day against her will and putting on a pathetic show of bravado in front of others. Her reaction was only natural.
Her question, then, came purely from shock. How could a gunner possibly overwhelm a swordsman so completely in combat?
Explaining would take too long, so I kept it short.
When Han Bo-eun stared at me with a serious expression, I shrugged one shoulder and replied.
She hurriedly checked her phone, then cried out in alarm.
She rushed back toward the classroom, and I followed right behind her.
People still thought I was an A-class student. They had no idea I'd transferred to F-class. That was why she asked in confusion, but I answered casually.
When Han Bo-eun looked at me with an expression that said she couldn't understand, I answered.
She must not have heard me clearly and asked again, but I waved it off.
By then, the F-class lecture hall of Broad Academy had come into view.
Creak.
Click!
When I opened the front door and stepped inside, countless students were staring at us. Jeong Eunseo looked at me with a bright, welcoming expression at first, but when she noticed Han Bo-eun beside me, her face shifted into one of confusion.
At that moment, Son Sae-beom—one of the F-class instructors—looked our way and spoke.
She spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, then continued.
Han Bo-eun answered with a deflated expression.
Once Han Bo-eun took her seat, I was left standing alone at the front. When I looked around, I saw that many students were staring at me. It was only natural. Transfers in the middle of the semester weren't common, and a voluntary move from an upper class to a lower one was practically unheard of.
Most people desperately wanted to climb to higher classes. Almost no one wanted to drop down. Unless it was a forced demotion like Jeong Eunseo's—due to complete absence from attendance or similar issues—voluntarily choosing to descend to a lower rank was something I could safely say I was the first to do.
Instructor Son Sae-beom used magic to write large letters on the blackboard. The words read Self-Introduction.
Excluding the portion of the semester that had already passed, there were roughly nine months left as a first-year at Broad Academy. The total enrollment period was three years. During that time, I needed to grow stronger by participating in extermination wars and taking on various requests. I had to build up enough power to stand against Hilleon—those damn bastards—and the Artemis Guild run by Yoo Heeyeon's parents.
At least while I was still enrolled at the academy, they wouldn't be able to attack me openly.
I took a quick look around the room before introducing myself. The most noticeable person was, of course, Jeong Eunseo. She was staring at me intently. There were also quite a few other male and female students. With F-class having a capacity of around fifty to sixty people, the size wasn't bad.
Definitely quite a few people looking at me with hostility.
Lee Hyunseung had gotten into major conflicts with not only Yoo Heeyeon but also Seong Hyeon-uk back in A-class, and the entire academy had witnessed that scene in the central plaza yesterday. Especially since Yoo Heeyeon was the daughter of the Artemis Guild leader, she had a support base within the academy. Naturally, some of that support extended even into F-class.
To those who supported her, I must have looked incredibly unpleasant. The emotions visible in most of the students' eyes were indifference, wariness, and outright hostility.
I understood. After all, I had only transferred here less than a day ago.
With that thought, Lee Hyunseung opened his mouth.
When giving a self-introduction, it was standard to state your name and awakened class. Whether or not to include the rank of your class was up to personal preference. I chose not to mention it. They were already wary of me simply because I had come from A-class. Revealing that I was a Legendary class would only heighten their vigilance even more.
At that moment, murmurs rose from the seated students.
The reactions from my new classmates weren't exactly welcoming. I'd expected as much.
But what's with that guy?
One male student in particular was staring at me with a very strange look in his eyes. It wasn't a sticky or leering gaze. It was the kind of look you'd give your mortal enemy.
Who was he again?
Even though I had been a veteran player of Broad Academy Online, I didn't bother remembering every single insignificant character in F-class. The man had small, weasel-like slit eyes. His face felt vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite place him.
Ah, I remember now.
Moon Cheol-ung. He was one of Yoo Heeyeon's followers. His parents were already aligned with the Artemis Guild, and he was a third-rate villain who did all sorts of dirty work just to secure even a minor position in the guild.
As I was thinking about Moon Cheol-ung, Instructor Son Sae-beom patted me on the back and spoke.
Following her words, I began walking toward the empty desk.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
After a few steps, I heard a faint snickering. It was an unpleasant, blatantly mocking laugh.
Step. Step. Step.
When I approached the source of the sound, a large foot appeared right in front of me.
Someone had stretched their leg directly into my path. It was clearly meant to trip me.
When I checked whose face it belonged to, it was Moon Cheol-ung.
Is he seriously trying to trip me with this?
The situation was so absurdly childish that I stared at the fully extended leg for a moment. It was the kind of cheap provocation you'd expect from elementary or middle school kids. I was about to ignore it and step around when the sheer pettiness of it irritated me, and an idea came to mind.
I deliberately lunged forward as if I were about to trip right where his leg was blocking the way.
Pretending to lose my balance like an idiot, I stumbled forward and—
Thud!
I fell right over Moon Cheol-ung's leg.
Whoosh—!
The moment I was airborne, I quickly moved my hand to the pistol at my waist. At the same time, I slammed the hand holding the gun downward as I fell toward the ground.
Kwaaaaaaaaang—!
I looked down at Moon Cheol-ung, who was screaming in agony as the pistol crushed the top of his foot, and spoke with a genuinely concerned expression.