Blatant Cheating

Oh Sobang was confident in his plan and his silver tongue. It was a perfect scheme. Even if Bukjin realized the inherent danger in the proposal, he would have no choice but to comply. Bukjin simply had no other options.

Bukjin pretended to agonize over the decision for a moment, eventually putting on the face of a desperate gambler who had finally made his choice.

"Oh Sobang, you cunning bastard. Damn it, how is this supposed to be helping me? This is clearly a trap! Do you think I'm that stupid? Did you think I wouldn't see through such a simple ploy? Hah! You underestimated me. Did you really think I'd borrow money under those conditions?" Bukjin shouted, his voice thick with agitation.

Hearing this, Wang Chung finally let out a sigh of relief and smiled. Thank goodness the Young Master hasn't completely lost his mind!

But then, Bukjin’s expression shifted instantly. He bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Fine! You win! I'll take the money!"

Oh Sobang’s face went blank. This lunatic... his ability to flip-flop is legendary. He reminded himself that the thoughts of a madman were truly impossible to predict. A startled Wang Chung tried to stop him, but Bukjin shoved him aside with a single motion. Continuing his act as a spoiled brat, he screamed in a rage.

"You idiot! Get out of my way, you're annoying me! Stop interfering!"

"If you've made up your mind, shall we sign the contract?" Oh Sobang pulled a document from his robes. The moment both parties applied their thumbprints, the contract would take effect, guaranteed by Imperial Law. The two of them pressed their thumbs onto the paper.

As soon as the contract was finalized, Oh Sobang pulled out twenty gold coins and tossed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them to Bukjin. Without a hint of hesitation, Bukjin snatched the money out of the air.

"Haha! Im Bukjin, make sure you enjoy your last few days of freedom!" Now that the deal was done, Oh Sobang saw no reason to maintain his polite facade. He looked at Bukjin with eyes full of pity. "Walking straight into a trap even when you know it's there... I can't tell if you're brave or just incredibly dim-witted."

Bukjin stared at the gold in his hand, laughing even more joyfully. "You fool. Do you really think this little trick is enough to finish me?"

Oh Sobang replied with an arrogant smirk. "The moment you put your thumb on that paper, it was over, wasn't it?"

"If I recall, you're one of the three geniuses of our grade, right? I think you took first place overall in the last year-end competition, didn't you?"

"Haha! I was just playing around during that competition. I didn't even expect to take first," Oh Sobang said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hahaha! Good. You've certainly got the bravado down. I've always enjoyed crushing guys like you who love to show off," Bukjin said, laughing loudly with a look of supreme arrogance.

"Hahaha! It just so happens the mid-year competition is the day after tomorrow. When that time comes, you'll realize exactly how stupid you've been. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hope you can still act this cocky and laugh like that then."

"Crush me? Fine. I'll look forward to it." With those words, Oh Sobang turned and walked away.

Just then, Mok Simwol approached slowly from a distance. She looked at Bukjin with a pitying expression in front of the other students.

"Sigh... Im Bukjin, you shouldn't have signed that. Setting Oh Sobang aside, you don't stand a chance against ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the likes of Mu Sae, Sa Sin-rim, or Ak Hong-hyang."

The watching students marveled at her, whispering about how the Goddess of the 3rd Academy was as kind-hearted as she was beautiful.

This girl again? Bukjin watched Oh Sobang’s retreating back and then looked at Mok Simwol, already knowing what was coming.

"You're annoying, so mind your own business and keep walking," Bukjin snapped, as if Mok Simwol wasn't even worth his time.

Without waiting for her response, he grabbed Wang Chung and sprinted toward the cafeteria, where he began to eat like a man possessed. Mok Simwol stood frozen, her face turning cold at Bukjin's dismissive attitude.

An hour later, Bukjin and Wang Chung waddled out of the cafeteria.

"Young Master... selling yourself like that was the wrong choice... *Burp!* I... I just couldn't bring myself to eat, knowing that food was bought with the price of your freedom... *Hic!*"

"What? You useless brat. You just ate enough mutton to account for an entire sheep! And you're telling me you couldn't eat?" Bukjin asked, dumbfounded.

"I was merely drowning my sorrow and indignation in appetite!"

"Ha! Don't give me that crap. When I was signing that contract, you were probably itching to grab my hand and press the thumbprint yourself."

"Young Master! What do you take me for? I, Wang Chung, live for nothing but loyalty, just as my name suggests!"

"Stop talking nonsense. Now that we have money, go get some necessities like blankets and toothbrushes. We'll be camping out at the academy for the next few days."

"Understood, Young Master." Wang Chung waddled away.

Now that he was alone, Bukjin didn't hesitate. He pulled out all the gold and immediately used it to charge his smartphone to 100%. Looking at the full battery icon on the screen, he felt a sense of peace he hadn't known in a long time.

He quickly launched two apps: Basic Swordsmanship: Close-body Triple Link and Intermediate Mystic Qi Condensation. He had to be well-prepared to survive.

After lunch, there were two classes remaining for the afternoon. one was Pill Refinement using medicinal herbs, and the other was Mystic Theory. Both were lecture-based. Naturally, Bukjin didn't pay much attention. He simply used his smartphone to record the lectures throughout both sessions.

It was preparation for the written exam during the mid-year competition. He had to be perfect even in the written portion to be selected as the most outstanding junior student in Unmong City.

The day of the competition arrived.

The 3rd Junior Swordsman Academy held a grand ceremony early in the morning. Even the Principal, Neung Tae-heo, who rarely showed his face, was in attendance. Neung Tae-heo’s title was the Wine and Women Immortal, a man famous for his hedonistic lifestyle in his younger days. Throughout the ceremony, he sat with his eyes closed as if practicing mental cultivation. However, with every gust of wind, a heavy scent of alcohol wafted from where he sat, drifting across the training grounds.

The grade deans were also present, looking visibly excited. The mid-year competition was conducted separately for each grade.

On the first day, the exams were entirely written. The first test of the morning was Modern Imperial History. There were 410 students in the second grade, and they all took the exam simultaneously in a single hall. Seats were assigned by drawing lots, meaning students from all ten classes were mixed together.

Bukjin’s assigned seat was number 109. He found his spot and sat down, only then realizing that the student to his left was Mok Simwol. To make matters worse, Oh Sobang was sitting to his right.

"Heh, Im Bukjin. What a coincidence," Oh Sobang said with a mocking grin.

"Huh? Who are you? Do we know each other?" Bukjin asked.

Oh Sobang’s face stiffened. This good-for-nothing piece of trash... he borrows that much money from me and then pretends not to know who I am?

"I'll make sure you learn exactly how cruel I can be once you become my slave," Oh Sobang hissed darkly.

Without missing a beat, Bukjin simply raised his middle finger at him. You're the one who should be looking forward to it.

The exam began. Bukjin injected his Mystic Energy into the white stone desk in front of him. A faint blue ripple emanated from the desk as the Mystic Array carved inside was activated. A small barrier expanded, enveloping Bukjin. His surroundings were obscured, and all sound was cut off. This was an array designed by the academy to prevent cheating. In this world, Mystic Arrays were integrated into almost every aspect of daily life.

Soon, an exam paper manifested on the desk. Watching this, Bukjin felt it was remarkably similar to the tablet PCs he had seen on Earth.

The Modern Imperial History exam was divided into multiple-choice questions, true/false statements, a map where names had to be filled in, short-answer questions, and an essay on historical events. Bukjin took a quick look through the questions and reached a single conclusion.

He didn't know the answer to a single one of them.

But he wasn't worried. He pulled out his smartphone and launched the North Sea Empire Modern History app on his home screen. Before the exam, he had used his phone to photograph all the textbooks from the first to the third grade. This had generated the app in his App Store.

A simple rote-memorization subject like history didn't take up much data. Bukjin used the scan function within the app to scan the exam paper. In less than three minutes, the app generated the answers to every single question. All Bukjin had to do was look at the screen and copy the answers down.

In just ten minutes, Bukjin had completed the entire exam. Without hesitation, he pressed the "Submit" array glowing on his desk.

Beep-beep-beep!

With the sound of the array activating, his completed exam was sucked into the formation. At that moment, Cho Heun, the grade dean who was proctoring the exam, looked up in shock.

"Who is submitting their paper this early?"

Cho Heun quickly checked the records and saw that it was Bukjin at seat 109. The look of surprise vanished from his face instantly. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Oh, it's just that delinquent.

It seemed obvious that the boy couldn't solve any of the problems and had just scribbled down random answers. That brat has never paid attention in class a day in his life. Cho Heun turned his attention away, his expression returning to a mask of indifference. The other proctors followed suit, ignoring Bukjin as he stood up and strolled out of the examination hall.