Kill Each Other
They say even becoming class president gets you showered with burgers, but most schools kick off the new semester with entrance ceremonies in early March.
The academies teaching sorcery are no exception.
The Korean Sorcery Academy flung open its main gates at the same time, welcoming the fresh batch of new sorcerers.
"That guy…."
"The one who got disowned…?"
"Hwaseong Group was gunning for him… How the hell is he still alive?"
The vibrant start of the new semester. Crowds of freshmen gathering in the courtyard, buzzing with anticipation.
Unlike those splitting off into their factions, I stood calmly at the center, biding my time.
My presence, like a foreign object amid the positive vibes, was enough to ripple shock through the crowd.
The world of sorcerers is small.
On a national scale, the bloodlines inheriting sorcery are few. Natural mutants like me, born with sorcery aptitude, are even rarer.
Just over a hundred freshmen scraped together from across Korea makes it obvious.
So rumors spread fast.
Even the fact that I was a powerless nobody with my sorcery sealed until the moment of disownment.
And that Choi Taeseong from Hwaseong Group was supposed to eliminate me and take his place as Gongmyeongdang's son-in-law.
"His outfit's too clean, isn't it? Everything he's wearing is designer."
"Heard he switched to the Association…?"
"Hwaseong Group making that mistake? Or maybe the rumors about him being fine again are true…."
Me showing up boldly at the academy like this was all calculated.
The academy is a state-run institution. Its purpose is the survival of sorcerers.
In the present world, the demand for superpowered groups isn't fixed.
Like monsters from the Otherworld, this side has its anomalies. Plus sorcerers lurking in the underworld as villains.
That's why every sorcerer is mandated to graduate from the academy—no exceptions.
I can't avoid it either if I'm living as a sorcerer.
Really, they just want to manage human weapons deadlier than missiles.
But that's exactly why even prestigious chaebol sorcery clans can't defy the state's power.
"This bastard… How dare he show his face here so shamelessly…!"
"Then kill him yourself. I can't understand you. Does your ex-fiancée bother you that much?"
Choi Taeseong grinding his teeth right in front of me was proof enough.
It was worth enduring the annoying whispers to make my presence known.
This punk the same age as me had to be here today too.
Strutting in late to the ceremony like he was the star, he marched straight to me, twisting his face in fury.
But that was it. He didn't have the guts to lay a hand on me openly.
The Sorcery Association above all had to keep up the clean image.
They couldn't meddle in every underworld tragedy, but they wouldn't tolerate infighting in a public place like the academy.
The delicate balance of power under the state and the Association.
If this fragile order shattered, civil war-level catastrophe was inevitable—hence their hair-trigger response.
"Two months to kill me and you blew it? Think you can now? Act like the spoiled thug you are."
"…Hah. You think I'd fall for that provocation? …Wait patiently. I'll kill you on Hwaseong's honor."
"Honor from a guy coveting someone else's spot. You better watch your back. Think I can't assassinate?"
His eyes wavered, shaken like he'd met the first person daring to defy Hwaseong Group.
To drive the point home, joryeok gathered at my fingertips, slowly tracing a ritual formula.
He must've tracked me while I was in the Otherworld.
He knew Gongmyeongdang's 1st Grade sorcerers were killed.
My confident stance. Spotless appearance, no sign of hiding. The thick lingering joryeok aura making him step back instinctively.
Every cue planted the slim possibility in his mind.
'Maybe even I….'
The one who should be scared was Choi Taeseong, spouting that nonsense.
"Enough. Pay attention."
The tense standoff ended with the academy president's firm command.
The elderly woman who introduced herself as the academy president personally led the ceremony from the podium.
A standard welcome address, no different from any university.
Pointless, drawn-out formalities.
The entrance ceremony dragged on mechanically, destined to leave no trace in memory.
"Get ready."
"Ugh… It's time, huh."
But the freshmen didn't slack off—they sharpened their focus.
Any sorcerer knowing the academy's traditions would sense it coming.
"The Korean Sorcery Academy welcomes you all."
Under the creed that survival comes only through struggle, entrants must prove their resolve.
"…I hear this is trendy with kids these days?"
At the speech's end, the president raised her index finger.
"From now on, kill each other."
Even classmates you'd spend four years with—cut them down for survival, she concluded coldly.
"The last survivor will be selected as freshman representative."
The academy's tradition: freshman representative selection battle.
Tang-! Boom! Bang!
Joryeok fired from her fingertips burst like celebratory fireworks.
Daytime fireworks painting the sky.
At the same instant, Choi Taeseong and his cronies charged me at the center.
"Let me emphasize again. If you call yourselves sorcerers, approach with intent to kill your classmates."
"Die! Gong Siwoo!!"
The kindly-looking president's words were harsher than expected.
Roar—!
As if fueled by her urging, black flames erupted from their hands, dripping with murderous intent.
The same sorcery that once scorched my defenses.
Black flame tendrils from all directions engulfed my body simultaneously.
"Ha…! All you're good for is running? What a letdown…."
Already drunk on victory, spewing nonsense—but unfortunately, their flames never touched me.
Sharp eyes would spot the fire halting a handspan from my skin, blocked in midair.
"If you knew Void Resonance Art, you wouldn't drop your guard so easily."
"Wha…! This bastard still has his sorcery…!"
Space layer isolation.
Void Resonance Art is the culmination of space manipulation abilities.
Isolating surrounding space to block intruders is basic application.
Gongmyeongdang seemed utterly incompetent, hoarding such a secret art yet stagnating as a mid-tier clan.
"More importantly, why obsess over my life? Jealous of your ex-fiancée?"
"Ha, haha…! An orphan like you couldn't grasp a great clan's schemes."
Overwhelmed by my unscathed state, he forced a loud laugh to mask his unease.
Ignoring his persistent flamethrowers, I stepped closer—he pathetically backed away.
Hard to believe this punk shattered the foundation I'd prepared.
"Not your solo act, but the clan pulling strings."
"Kuh…! If you figured that much, kneel quietly! Gongmyeongdang's already ours! Your fiancée carries my child! No place for trash like you!!"
"…Return? That's not it."
What did Hwaseong Group want? Void Resonance Art, or Gongmyeongdang's bloodline?
I recalled my first meeting with Gong Jin-cheol.
Bandaged head to toe from severe wounds like he'd fought a war, yet he personally visited the orphanage to see his adopted son.
"Who cares about that clan."
Something shady there, but irrelevant to me.
No loyalty left after disownment.
"More like you're in trouble if I don't die?"
"Guh…!"
Considering their future plans, it could be fatal for Hwaseong Group.
Snap.
I flicked my fingers lightly.
Void Resonance Art was the sorcery I'd honed longest since starting.
Skipping the ritual prep was effortless.
But the result was a spectacle beyond that simple gesture.
—Rumble…!
Void Resonance Art, space severance.
Black lines raced across the entire courtyard, spiderwebbing out.
Since the binding lifted that day, I'd incinerated three 1st Grade sorcerers.
Freshmen far below that level couldn't resist.
As the lines thickened, classmates crumpled lifelessly.
"Aaaagh…!"
"Kaaaagh…!"
Amid horrific screams, I stood alone unscathed.
Watching this, it was hard to think all fantasy brimmed with romance.
Even the professors and upperclassmen watching from afar looked pale.
Before the last breaths faded, in the spare moment, I picked up Choi Taeseong's rolling head at my feet.
Bodyless, dangling by the hair.
Staring into his desperately averted eyes, I shared my thoughts.
"Go beg your daddy. Ask him to kill me right now."
"…."
"Best chance you'll get."
With that, I hurled the speechless head far away.
The president, who had watched silently, took the mic again.
"This representative is impressively capable. First time the selection ended so quickly."
Her voice casually serene despite the blood-soaked courtyard.
She tapped the floor lightly with her cane.
"To those who sadly died, we look forward to your growth next time."
Sorcery beyond my eyes' detail—classmates' bodies began regenerating, like time rewinding.
The president's ability? Or some courtyard effect?
The rule: hardly anyone dies in the courtyard.
That explained forcing a slaughter on day one, tradition or not.
The ceremony's finale: freshman representative's oath.
"Next, greetings from the freshman representative. Sorcerer Gong Siwoo, step forward."
The moment I'd awaited arrived.
I followed the professors' lead to the auditorium podium.
From freshmen to seniors—every student focused on me.
Not here to satisfy some petty ego.
I wanted this moment: all academy eyes on me, everyone gathered.
Don't they shower burgers for class president? As rep, I'd distribute something too.
Snap.
Before speaking, I flicked my fingers.
A rift tore open in the empty space without chairs.
Whoosh—!
Like a waterfall, stacks of books poured endlessly from the rift.
The crowd tensed at my sudden move.
"Those in the know already know, but I'm Gong Siwoo, disowned from Gongmyeongdang."
I plunged into the main point regardless.
"Curious what these books I'm handing out are?"
Void Resonance Art.
Skeptical glares turned greedy the moment I named it.