The Top Student and the Secret of the Past
“You don't know the Cheongryong Martial Hall? T-then what about Sangdeok Village?”
“I don’t know where that is, either.”
Seo Ye-ryeong’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hand. Ignoring Kim Ilshin’s confused reaction, she continued to spiral in her thoughts. His answer just now confirmed it: Kim Ilshin was suffering from amnesia. He couldn’t even remember the name of the village where he had lived.
‘If there’s a reason he developed amnesia… it has to be that.’
She could guess the cause. Kim Ilshin had a past where everyone around him was murdered overnight. His brain, unable to endure that horrific moment, had erased all his past memories. Yet, even in that state, his desire for revenge against the Red Heaven Cult remained, which was why he was acting the way he was. It was highly likely that the reason he came to the Academy was also for revenge. After all, the Red Heaven Cult was the enemy of all heroes.
‘The amnesia must have set in after the entrance exam. He couldn’t hold on any longer.’
She also felt she understood why he had suddenly become so strong. The Red Heaven Cult, which had been in hiding for years without any notable activity, had recently begun to stir, causing various incidents. Kim Ilshin, who had been living without his memories or his strength, must have heard the news and instinctively reclaimed his original power. But his memories had not returned.
‘How much shock must he have received to end up like this?’
Seo Ye-ryeong recalled Kim Ilshin’s past before he regained his strength. He had been bullied for being weak and powerless, and she hadn’t helped him. Part of it was her pride, and part of it was the thought that he might have been intentionally hiding his strength. But that wasn’t it. Kim Ilshin was a truly weak person who had lost both his memories and his power.
‘All because of that stupid pride…’
A massive wave of guilt pierced Seo Ye-ryeong’s heart. When she thought about how confused and painful it must have been to be bullied like that, she realized she, as a bystander, was clearly a sinner as well.
Seo Ye-ryeong looked at Kim Ilshin, who was still looking bewildered, and pondered. Should she awaken the source of his inexplicable desire for revenge against the Red Heaven Cult, along with his forgotten past?
‘…No.’
Seo Ye-ryeong decided that wasn’t a choice for her to make. She said with a pitying gaze, “Later, if you want to know about your past, come find me. It’s going to be shocking, so prepare yourself.”
With that, Seo Ye-ryeong turned away. She intended to gather more information about Kim Ilshin’s past for the future. It was an atonement for her past indifference. She was a hero-in-training, and she had been taught that debts must be repaid. Therefore, she had to repay the debt of heart she owed to Kim Ilshin.
Watching the back of Seo Ye-ryeong as she walked away with that resolve, Kim Ilshin thought to himself:
‘…Is she crazy?’
That shouldn’t be happening.
“Sparring over! The winner is Kim Ilshin!”
The sparring match between Namgung Min and Kim Ilshin ended in Kim Ilshin’s victory, just as many had expected.
“Damn it…!”
Namgung Min, defeated, vented his frustration on the ground with a bitter expression. His fist, buried deep into the earth, showed the magnitude of his emotions. At a glance, he looked like he was devastated by a regrettable loss. In fact, some in the audience were cheering for Namgung Min, saying he fought well. But for Kim Ilshin, who knew why Namgung Min was so frustrated, it was just awkward.
‘Is he really that curious about it…?’
Before the sparring started, Namgung Min had proposed a strange condition. If he won the match, he wanted to know what kind of favor Kim Ilshin had asked of Joo Chae-rin. It was the same condition Namgung Hyeok had set in their previous spar, and he, too, had been defeated by Kim Ilshin.
“Sorry, brother… I failed too…”
Judging by his reaction, he looked like the tragic protagonist who had failed his revenge. In reality, he was just a weirdo. Since he looked like he might start digging into the earth if left alone, Kim Ilshin decided to grant Namgung Min’s condition regardless of the outcome. It wasn’t something worth hiding, and he had no intention of hiding it anyway.
“Should I just tell you?”
“W-what…?”
Namgung Min snapped his head up, looking at him with an expression of disbelief.
“Are you really allowed to…?”
“Never mind if you don’t want to know.”
“No! Please, tell me!”
Namgung Min practically begged, clinging to his pant leg. Kim Ilshin, wanting to shake him off as quickly as possible, told him the story he had been so curious about. When the story began, Namgung Min’s expression, which had been filled with joy, soon crumbled into misery.
“What have we been living for all this time…”
Namgung Min began to despair like an astronomer who had just realized the futility of life. Kim Ilshin clicked his tongue at the pathetic sight and turned away.
“Ahhh, what have I been doing all this time—!!”
With the wailing coming from behind him, the sparring exam concluded.
Creak.
A few days later, Kim Ilshin arrived at the lecture hall and opened the door. Every student in the room turned their gaze toward him as if they had been waiting. The looks directed at him were filled with various emotions: surprise, envy, and awe. For those who used to bully him, there was even a hint of fear.
Because of what happened on the day of the sparring exam, Kim Ilshin had unintentionally become the most famous student at the Academy. Not only had his skills been recognized by the Great Hero Baek Ho-san, but he had even received an offer to become his disciple. Everyone now knew that the power and potential Kim Ilshin possessed were immense.
It wasn’t something he cared much about. If he continued to build his skills with his overwhelming talent, becoming famous was inevitable. It was just that the timing had been pushed forward significantly.
“…Hello. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
As he sat down, Seo Ye-ryeong greeted him. She had been trying to talk to him ever since they ran into each other at the exam site. She kept looking at him with pitying eyes, and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why.
“Alright, the grades are out.”
Just then, the teacher walked into the lecture hall and handed out the report cards to the students one by one. The students received them with a mix of anticipation and anxiety. Kim Ilshin also went forward, received his report card, and sat back down.
‘How will it turn out?’
He wasn’t worried about being expelled. There was absolutely no way he would get grades that low. Still, the reason he was nervous was that he might be aiming for the top spot. His grades in theoretical subjects were mostly in the upper-middle range, and his practical exam scores were excellent. In particular, he had gained a huge score by winning three consecutive victories against students who had higher rankings than him in the sparring exam.
Furthermore, Baek Ha-yeon, who had been the favorite for the top spot, had suffered a major blow to her grades after forfeiting her remaining two matches following her defeat by Kim Ilshin. He heard she hadn’t eaten in days and had locked herself in her private training room. She wasn’t in the lecture hall today, either.
‘If that’s the case, it’s worth hoping for.’
As long as he wasn’t expelled, it didn’t really matter what his grades were, but it was different if he could aim for the top. The school awarded a scholarship to the top student of every exam, and this time, the scholarship was a spiritual medicine. Since it was a medicine brewed by the Academy’s principal himself, it was something he definitely wanted to get if he could.
“…Phew.”
Kim Ilshin slowly unfolded his report card and checked his grades.
Rank: 1
His fist clenched tightly at the result that met his expectations. The scholarship would be awarded soon, so he would be able to consume a high-quality spiritual medicine before long. Just as he was basking in his joy, a text message arrived on his phone. The sender was Joo Chae-rin.
He didn’t know what she had for him, but he decided to head to Joo Chae-rin’s office first.
Inside the office, which was so cluttered and dark that it was hard to take a single step, a video was playing on a monitor that illuminated the room. Lee Yeon-woo, the teacher in charge of Martial Theory at the Academy, was focused on the video with her neck stretched forward.
“Falling from above to amplify the power, then pulling it back up to explode it at a single point…”
The content of the video was the sparring match between Kim Ilshin and Baek Ha-yeon. In particular, the moment Kim Ilshin delivered his first strike was being repeated over and over.
“Yes… this is it…”
Her eyes, fixed on the monitor, were deconstructing and analyzing Kim Ilshin’s movements and the flow of mana one by one. By the time the video had been repeated hundreds of times, Lee Yeon-woo rummaged through the junk scattered on the floor and pulled out a book. The title of the book was [The Record of the Mad Demon]. Opening it, Lee Yeon-woo devoured the book while periodically checking the video. And finally, she reached a conclusion.
‘…I need that student.’
The ruin she had been researching for a long time. To open its entrance, Kim Ilshin’s power was absolutely necessary.
‘If I go and ask him directly, will he… help me?’
He would be very busy, but she didn’t think he would refuse once he heard the explanation. After all, the ruin Lee Yeon-woo was researching was the tomb of the Mad Demon (Gwang-ma), the creator of the ‘Ilshin Heaven Shattering Art’ that Kim Ilshin was practicing.
‘…I really hope he helps me.’