Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Villains Who Pick Fights Get Crushed
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That evening.
After finishing her daily magic research following afternoon classes, Sophia returned to her dorm and lay on her bed, once again recalling what had happened at lunchtime.
"What a mysterious guy."
At first, she had been slightly intrigued by the existence of someone with talent on par with her own.
Then, she grew curious about why he had hidden such talent to enter the academy and wanted to get a bit closer to find out.
But Hyun-sol had been constantly on guard against her from the moment they met, even showing signs of slight fear.
It was like the feeling of prey standing before a predator.
"Hmm... Why is that? I didn't make any mistakes or commit any blunders."
She wasn't offended.
On the contrary, after going through all that at lunchtime, she became even more curious about Hyun-sol.
"Could he have figured it out? My real purpose for coming here."
For a moment, she wondered if he had learned through some information network why she had come to Korea and was thus trying to keep his distance.
But Sophia quickly shook her head and dismissed the possibility.
Her family and friends back home all believed she had come to Korea simply to attend the world's top academy.
She had never told anyone her true purpose: finding the perfect husband candidate.
Besides, unless the guy was utterly insane, even if he knew her real goal, he wouldn't run away thinking he was the target.
"Hmm... Kang Hyun-sol..."
If asked whether that man fit her purpose, she would answer no.
His talent seemed exceptional, but everything else about him was utterly ordinary.
He didn't suit the Litwell family at all—a noble house that had maintained its status for centuries in England, amassing vast wealth and fame.
In contrast, Kim Do-yoon, who had entered the academy at the top of his class? He was perfect beyond words.
Yet for some reason, even though she had a chance to approach Kim Do-yoon in the student cafeteria, Sophia hadn't felt drawn to him.
She thought spending time with Hyun-sol would be more enjoyable than building rapport with him.
"......"
Of course, looking back now, it was a highly illogical choice.
Kim Do-yoon was flawless in appearance, talent, personality—everything.
He was the epitome of a perfect novel protagonist, yet she hadn't taken even a single step toward him.
"No matter how I think about it, it's strange... Why did I do that?"
Sophia tossed and turned on the bed, pondering deeply.
She had come here to find a husband with perfect genes.
Yet she had let the ideal candidate slip right by.
And at the same time, a scene from lunchtime flashed in her mind.
The man who avoided her gaze at all costs and even asked why she wasn't interested in Kim Do-yoon.
"Kang Hyun-sol..."
It was utterly incomprehensible behavior.
Any normal guy would have been ecstatic just from her smile and sitting beside him, grabbing the opportunity.
But Hyun-sol kept his distance and unintentionally asked a question that piqued her interest greatly.
"What is it... Is he innocent? Or just a dumb fool who seems innocent?"
A smirk crept onto Sophia's lips.
But soon, an ominous thought crossed her mind.
"Or... What if he's genuinely not interested in me at all...?"
It was absolutely unlikely, but if all of Hyun-sol's actions were sincere?
There was a very, very slight chance he was simply keeping distance because he disliked Sophia as a person.
But strangely, considering that possibility didn't annoy her—instead, her curiosity about him grew even stronger.
"Well... There's plenty of time to meet from now on... I can take it slow and find out."
She slowly closed her eyes, mentally simulating how to approach him more closely when they met again tomorrow.
And with an enigmatic smile, she whispered.
"Thinking about it again, his face isn't that bad..."
The next day at 6 a.m.
In the academy training grounds, where the blue dawn light filtered in before the sun had fully risen.
I arrived earlier than anyone else and entered the mana training room as soon as the door opened.
Thud—!
As I carefully stepped inside, the characteristic clear air pierced my nostrils.
"...Alright, let's get started."
I sat on the training room floor, steadied my breathing, and closed my eyes.
Sophia had already taught me the basics of handling mana the day before.
"At first, don't try to forcibly suck in all the external mana. It's better to accept it naturally, like breathing."
"Then, gather the mana that seeps into your body toward your heart and connect it into a line. Repeat until a perfect circle forms."
"Of course, unless you're a genius, you won't form a circle from such abstract instructions alone, but you're a genius, so you should be able to."
She had said that while demonstrating by gathering mana in her palm to form a circle.
Watching the small, glowing mana circle form naturally before my eyes was inexplicably thrilling.
'To actually do something I only saw in the game... This is insane.'
I steadied my breathing and began sensing the mana particles scattered around the training room.
With each inhale, faint blue particles seeped into my body, flowing along my veins.
'Good, now move all the mana along the veins to the heart and connect it like drawing a circle...'
Focus.
Centering on my heart, I gathered the mana flow into one and drew a small circle.
At first, it was unstable like building a sandcastle, but after persistently repeating it several times, the line thickened and the shape became clearer.
However.
"...Urk!! Failed again?"
Just as the circle was nearly complete, the balance collapsed.
One part of the mana line was slightly thinner than the rest, tearing apart explosively, and the backlash surged through my body.
My head throbbed instantly, my heart pounded, and my breathing grew ragged.
"Haa... haa... So that's how it is."
Saying 'draw a circle' was easy, but actually doing it required straining every nerve—a grueling task.
Then, another thing Sophia had said came to mind.
"Failure is natural. The key is remembering the flow at the moment it collapses. Why it broke, where it twisted... Once you know that, you can make a stronger circle next time."
"...Remember the flow..."
I wiped the sweat dripping down my forehead and readjusted my posture.
This time, I retraced the point where the mana had bounced off and carefully redrew the circle.
"Fuu..."
This time, a small circle formed near my heart faster than before.
At the same time, a tension like walking a tightrope in the middle of a cliff gripped my entire body.
'Don't waver... Focus.'
After prolonged concentration, point, line, and then circle.
The moment the final link connected perfectly.
Wooong—!
Along with a dull resonance deep in my heart, a small but distinct circle was completed.
"...Finally."
I cautiously opened my palm.
A faint strand of mana light at my fingertips was proof that the newly formed 1st circle was revolving around my heart.
Though small and unstable, just taking the first step filled my chest with emotion.
"...Thanks, Sophia."
Muttering thanks as Sophia's face came to mind, I continued training to stabilize the 1st circle until morning classes began.
About 30 minutes before morning classes started.
After leaving the training room and changing out of my sweat-soaked clothes in the dorm, I headed to the lecture hall for Mana and Magic Comprehension.
'Phew... It's still a bit unstable, but I made it. At this rate, I might stabilize it pretty quickly.'
As I walked the hallway in high spirits from forming a 1st circle in just one day, that's when it happened.
"Hey, isn't that the guy?"
"...??"
I turned at the mocking voice from behind.
At the hallway corner, three male students leaned against the wall, sneering at me.
Head to toe, luxury brand uniforms screaming wealth.
They were obviously the same spoiled rich kid type who had chattered nonsense in yesterday's Monster Studies classroom.
The biggest one stepped forward, arms crossed, and asked.
"Heard you ate lunch with Sophia Litwell yesterday? That true?"
"Yeah, so what?"
'What are these extra villain side characters who look like they'll pick a fight with the protagonist, get one-shot, and exit?'
Feeling they'd be a hassle if I got involved, I gave a curt reply and tried to pass.
But the big guy snorted at my answer and blocked my path.
"Pfft! Hear that? He says it's true! What kind of clueless bastard is this?"
"Whoa... And he answers so brazenly? Unbelievable."
"But hilarious—does a beggar like him really not know how insane it is to hang around Lady Sophia?"
"..."
The insults pissed me off, but I just ignored them and tried to walk past.
'Getting tangled up is annoying... Am I avoiding shit because I'm scared? No, because it's filthy.'
But they completely blocked the hallway, preventing me from passing.
"Hold up."
The big one approached sneering.
"Even a beggar might have skills that caught Sophia's eye, right? So we wanna check your skills too. How about it?"
"Haa..."
I sighed and glared at them.
"Move aside nicely while I'm asking. I'm gonna be late for class."
"Huh? Even if I don't know your face, you look like bottom-tier who barely got in... And you don't know your place?"
The big one took my words as provocation and reached for my collar.
Seeing that, I immediately gathered mana in my palm, pressed it to his chest, and detonated it.
Bang—!
"Gahhh!"
It was just a simple compression and burst, but the impact sent the male student flying backward onto the floor.
A few students pretending not to see stopped in their tracks and began murmuring.
"What's going on?"
"Aren't those Blue Pine Guild sponsored kids? Acting up again."
"Blue Pine is pretty influential among mid-tier guilds, right? He picked the wrong fight."
"Fuck this!!"
Confirming their buddy was down, the remaining two grimaced and charged at once.
"Kill him!"
"Haa..."
I ducked slightly to dodge the first guy's kick, then swept his leg behind the knee, toppling him.
Thud!
"Urk!"
Then, I easily blocked the second guy's punch and shoved him lightly.
Bang!
He crashed into the wall and slumped down.
Having dealt with two villains, I turned to finish the one on the floor.
"Die, you bastard!"
But humiliated at collapsing in front of everyone, he had gone berserk, activating a skill.
A scorching red flame spear flickered at his fingertips, poised to fly at my back.
It was unmistakably a murder attempt.
"This cra..."
Before I could dodge, the overwhelming heat froze my body.
'That crazy bastard—!'
"Die!!"
"Kyaaah!! That psycho used a skill!!"
"Everyone, dodge!!"
Just as I thought I was done for.
Boom—!
The flame spear, big enough to take out several people, split in two mid-air and scattered.
"Gaaah! My hand!!!"
The right hand of the student trying to kill me was cleanly severed and lying on the floor.
A female student holding twin crescent swords stood before the guy, who clutched his severed wrist and fell back.
'...Wol Ha-yeon? Why is she here...?'
"......"
The surroundings fell silent in an instant.
Wol Ha-yeon pressed her sword tip to the student's neck and spoke flatly.
"Using a skill meant only for monsters and demons for a sneaky ambush just because someone talked back."
As the blade touched his neck, he trembled, clutching his bleeding wrist.
"Consider yourself lucky it was just your wrist... By Hunter law, I could cut your throat without issue."
"S-sob... S-sorry... I lost my judgment and made a mistake..."
His face pale, he could barely speak, repeating apologies.
Wol Ha-yeon narrowed her eyes and slowly withdrew her sword.
"Go get treated quickly. It was a clean cut, so reattachment should be fine."
Sheathing her sword, she turned to me.
"You could have handled it more calmly, but you got too emotional, didn't you? Be more flexible next time—unnecessary pests will just swarm."
"Well... If you'd fought seriously from the start, I wouldn't have needed to intervene..."
"..."
A cold, resolute voice.
But for some reason, it seemed faintly laced with another intent.
After wrapping up the situation, she quietly walked past down the hallway as if nothing happened.
"......"
'First impression might've been bad... But whatever. Better not get involved anyway.'
I glanced in the direction Wol Ha-yeon had disappeared, then resumed walking to the lecture hall.