Evidence of Innocence: Return to the Academy
“H-Hilleon… Our organization… people call us H-Hilleon.”
As soon as Lee Hyunseung heard the word Hilleon, he doubted his own ears.
Why the hell would Hilleon provoke the Artemis Guild?
Hilleon was the group that ruled the black market. They sold artifacts, people, slaves, and every kind of profitable good imaginable. Scum who would do anything if the money was right. Their main targets were the powerless and the penniless. Of course, if the price was high enough they were crazy enough to kill even powerful guilds, but they weren’t insane enough to openly challenge the Artemis Guild—the undisputed strongest force in the country.
No matter how firmly they had entrenched themselves in the black market, they could never crush Artemis. The power of the Artemis Guild far exceeded imagination. That was why none of this made sense. The moment it became known that Hilleon had targeted Yoo Heeyeon, it could spark an all-out war between Hilleon and Artemis. What possible reason could be worth taking such a risk?
Lee Hyunseung asked coldly, “As far as I remember, there was no open conflict between Hilleon and the Artemis Guild. So why take the risk of touching Yoo Heeyeon?”
“On the surface it might look like there are no problems, but recently the Artemis Guild has been flooding the black market with hallucination potions at dirt-cheap prices. The losses we’ve suffered because of it are… no small matter.”
Hallucination potions were the equivalent of drugs back on Earth. The moment you drank one, hallucinations would swarm before your eyes and overwhelming pleasure would flood your senses. Naturally, they were highly addictive and strictly banned by the state. As a result, they were one of the most overpriced black-market items, traded at values far beyond their production cost.
“Artemis is dealing in hallucination potions?”
It was hard to believe. The Artemis Guild had more than enough legitimate funding channels without needing to touch such filth. As much as he hated to admit it, they were involved in nearly every major industry in the country. There was simply no reason for them to reach into the black market.
“I-It’s not confirmed. We’re only speculating… We can only assume it’s the work of the Artemis Guild. Since we don’t have solid evidence either, we merely gave them a moderate warning by targeting Yoo Heeyeon, the daughter of Guild Leader Yoo Hanbeom, from the shadows. It was meant to tell them to behave themselves and stop doing strange things…”
In short, Hilleon suspected the Artemis Guild of interfering with their hallucination potion business and had harassed Yoo Heeyeon as a veiled warning. Lacking concrete proof, they chose to strike indirectly at the daughter rather than confront the guild head-on, hoping to plant a seed of caution.
What a filthy mess.
Both Hilleon and the Artemis Guild were colossal organizations far beyond what he could touch right now. Even though he possessed two Legendary-grade classes, his current level in both was only 1. Hilleon and Artemis were giants who had dominated the underworld and the surface world for over a decade. The gap between them and him was like the difference between heaven and earth. Retaliating against either of them immediately was impossible.
Of course, that would change with time.
The emergence of the Gunner class was disappointing, but the Blacksmith class was nothing short of a jackpot. If he was given enough time to grow, he would eventually be able to stand against both Hilleon and the Artemis Guild. The hidden pieces he knew about were still more than enough to fill an ocean.
After organizing his thoughts, Lee Hyunseung raised his gun and pressed the barrel against Yang Him-chan.
“H-Hik… Why… You clearly said you’d spare me…!”
BANG!
Yang Him-chan crumpled to the ground like a broken doll.
Lee Hyunseung turned to look at Jeong Eunseo beside him. Her expression was eerily calm.
“You just watched me kill a man in cold blood. Aren’t you surprised?” he asked.
She looked at him with genuine puzzlement. “From what I heard, they were the ones who committed the crime and tried to kill first. What’s there to be surprised about?”
Only then did a small, inward chuckle escape him. So this is the real Jeong Eunseo.
When they had first met, she had been flustered after losing her compass artifact, but her true nature was ice-cold. She judged situations objectively and acted with pure rationality. That was who Jeong Eunseo was.
He deserved to die, so killing him is fine. That was probably what she was thinking right now.
Jeong Eunseo continued, “I didn’t mean to listen in, but from the conversation it sounds like you’re a student at Broad Academy too. You must have felt terribly wronged. Having something you never did pinned on you like that…”
She gestured toward the fallen men. “Shouldn’t you keep at least one of them alive to prove your innocence?”
“Haha.” Lee Hyunseung let out a hollow laugh. “Let’s say I dragged them back to the academy alive and forced them to tell the truth. ‘The stalking wasn’t me—it was Hilleon!’ What do you think would happen to me then?”
“…”
“I’d be dead. Hilleon is in a position where this revelation could spark a war with the Artemis Guild. If I went around spreading that information freely, it would be no different from advertising for them to slit my throat. I don’t have the strength to face them yet. And if I let these bastards live, they’d run straight back and snitch. Killing them here is the only logical choice.”
Jeong Eunseo stared at him with open surprise. “I’ve felt it since earlier, but you’re incredibly rational. If it were me, I would have been so furious I’d drag them back without thinking twice just to clear my name.”
Lee Hyunseung gave a small smirk. “It’s not rationality. I’m simply weaker than them right now, so I’m keeping quiet. Once I’ve built up enough power, I’ll rip their throats out. If you understand that, I’d appreciate it if you kept silent about today’s events. If you start talking, you won’t escape trouble either.”
Jeong Eunseo nodded quietly, then asked, “There’s something I’m curious about. Your bullets—how do they pierce mana shields? A Gunner shouldn’t have their magic stat unlocked, and ordinary firearms wouldn’t carry magic properties either…”
Lee Hyunseung paused for a moment. Jeong Eunseo is the type who wants to recruit valuable, useful people as allies. It’s better to be honest here.
“I was lucky enough to awaken with a Legendary-grade class,” he said plainly. “I am a Legendary Gunner.”
Extreme damage amplification with firearms.
Capable of piercing mana shields even with ordinary bullets.
“W-What did you just say?”
Jeong Eunseo nearly fell over backward in shock. She quickly steadied herself and stared at him. “Legendary grade? Is that really true?”
Her reaction was understandable. Even if you searched the entire world, only a handful of people possessed Legendary-grade classes. Unique-grade users were already rare; Legendary was practically mythical.
“Yes, it’s Legendary. The fact that it’s Gunner is a little disappointing, though.”
“If it’s truly Legendary… then it makes sense that ordinary bullets could pierce mana. I’ve heard that Legendary classes grant additional damage properties to their related weapons…”
Lee Hyunseung watched Jeong Eunseo as she fell into serious thought, then spoke again.
“For now, let’s toss the bodies to the monsters and get out of here. It’s already very late.”
After that, Jeong Eunseo followed closely behind Lee Hyunseung as they made their way out of the labyrinth. Once they reached the outside, she spoke in an admiring tone.
“How did you do that? You didn’t use a compass or any artifacts at all. How were you able to navigate so accurately? We walked for over an hour and passed hundreds of forks, yet you never chose wrong even once…”
The labyrinth’s maze-like structure was far too vast and complex for normal people to memorize. That was precisely why everyone carried compasses. The feat Lee Hyunseung had displayed could only be described as superhuman.
“It’s thanks to a special effect of the Legendary-grade class,” he replied. “I simply get a natural sense of which path to take.”
“There’s even an ability like that? As expected from a Legendary class…”
In truth, no such ability existed. He simply remembered every route because he had played the game for over ten years as an obsessive veteran. No matter how complicated the paths were, after seeing them thousands upon thousands of times, even an idiot would remember them. But he couldn’t say that, so he offered a convenient excuse instead.
Since Jeong Eunseo had never met a Legendary-grade user before, she had no way of knowing whether he was lying.
“Then I’ll be on my way,” he said.
As he turned to leave, Jeong Eunseo grabbed his arm.
“What is it?”
She looked at him with desperate eyes. “With your Legendary-class ability… can you also find paths on the second floor of the labyrinth?”
“Yes.”
It would have been strange to say he could navigate the first floor but not the second.
“Then… could you help me? There’s a place I absolutely must find…”
The legacy of Jeong Eunseo’s grandfather was not simply somewhere on the second floor. It was hidden inside a secret location on that floor. That was why she had failed to find it despite months of searching with a compass.
Of course Lee Hyunseung knew exactly where that hidden place was, but he refused without hesitation.
“No.”
“Pardon?”
His firm rejection left her staring at him in stunned silence. He drove the point home.
“I said no. I already helped you once. And you clearly promised compensation at the time. I haven’t even received payment for what I’ve already done. Why should I trust you and help you again?”
Help given should be met with proper compensation. The current situation was far too dangerous for him to act out of mere goodwill.
As expected, the desperate Jeong Eunseo quickly offered, “I’ll give you anything you want. As you may know, my parents run the Teore Guild. It’s a well-known high-ranking guild.”
Lee Hyunseung smiled as though he had been waiting for exactly those words. “Then have the Teore Guild hire the highest-level appraiser mage you can employ.”
“That’s certainly possible. May I ask what you plan to use them for?”
“To clear my name. If I drag Hilleon into the spotlight, I might end up dead, so I’ll keep my mouth shut about them. But the phone itself isn’t evidence. I’ll have it appraised. With top-grade appraisal magic, they should at least be able to confirm that there are no traces of my fingerprints. Even if we can’t reveal the true culprit, I’ll be able to shake off the false accusation.”
Lee Hyunseung thought of the phone that had come from his locker. I deliberately never touched it once.
If a high-level appraiser mage examined it, the truth would become obvious. There had never been any of his fingerprints on that phone, proving he had never used it.
Jeong Eunseo nodded. “By when should I prepare the mage?”
“Have them ready by tomorrow morning,” he answered. “I’ll head straight to the academy tomorrow, bring the highest-level mage you hire, and file an official objection regarding my innocence.”
“Tomorrow morning? It’s already so late…”
“Is that impossible?”
When he showed a disappointed expression, Jeong Eunseo met his gaze and replied, “It’s possible. The time will be tight, but I’ll move as fast as I can.”
They exchanged numbers, discussed a few more details, and finally parted ways.
And then the next morning arrived.