The Academy's Savior
Crash!!
Space shattered like a mirror. From the crack in the broken space stepped Kang Jiyoung. Behind her, the flustered academy teachers and students could be glimpsed.
Kang Jiyoung’s face was twisted with rage. A thin line of blood welled from her tightly bitten lip.
“Seize Kim Je-o at once!!”
Her furious roar shook the very air.
The order was directed at the teachers outside the dungeon. Even knowing it wasn’t aimed at me, I still flinched.
Through the fracture in the artificial dungeon I checked the situation outside. The academy instructors were in complete disarray. Judging by their panic, Kim Je-o had already fled. Nothing else would explain that level of chaos.
“Kee-heet, kee-hee-hee-heet!”
The first-year who had become a ghost under the curse laughed with bone-chilling glee at the sudden appearance of Kang Jiyoung. He didn’t even recognize her. Perhaps that was only natural—the first-year who had failed to contain the curse was already dead.
The pool of blood heaved, then surged upward. It split into dozens of arms. Cursed hands of blood lunged at both me and Kang Jiyoung.
I couldn’t simply stand there and take it. I was drawing up my mana to respond when Kang Jiyoung spoke to me.
“I’ll handle this. Stay put.”
She stamped the ground with a true step. The blood arms shattered and slammed into the cave walls. The skull fetish that had been spewing the blood broke apart.
In the next instant she was already in front of the first-year, her face still contorted as she drove a fist into him.
“Kee-hee-eee-eee-eet!”
The first-year screamed.
“……I’m sorry.”
Kang Jiyoung whispered a quiet apology and swung again. The ghost endured once more. The immense curse was its driving force. But Kang Jiyoung’s assault had only just begun. Every time her fist landed, space itself trembled.
Crack! Snap! Crunch-crunch-crunch!
One by one the fetishes covering the ghost’s body shattered. They were the source of the curse. The ghost’s power weakened in turn.
“Kee-heh-eh-eh-eh-ehk!”
The ghost spewed curse energy in a desperate thrash. The curse pierced straight through Kang Jiyoung’s body, yet her fists never stopped.
At last every fetish was pulverized. The ghost writhed like a crushed insect. Kang Jiyoung’s final punch finished it. The ghost vanished, leaving only a ruined corpse in its place. She stared at the body for a moment, then turned to me.
“Seong Yujin. The match is a victory for the Spirit Class. Go outside and wait. Do not do anything reckless.”
“…Yes.”
The atmosphere was so grim she couldn’t even spare a word of comfort.
I used the artificial dungeon space Kang Jiyoung had shattered and stepped outside.
Outside was pure chaos.
“He can’t have left the academy yet! Check the academy barrier first!!”
A man in his fifties—Vice Principal Kwon Sang-hoon—shouted until the veins stood out on his neck. The teachers he pointed at sprinted away at once.
Non-combat instructors were herding the students while the combat instructors charged outside in search of Kim Je-o.
“If Kim Je-o resists, kill him! Just don’t let him escape!”
I watched a teacher approaching me and thought to myself,
The Kim Je-o from the original game wasn’t this kind of guy…
The change itself didn’t bother me. The moment an outsider like me entered this world, change was inevitable.
What I wanted to know was the reason. Not knowing left a nasty itch under my skin.
Kim Je-o had watched the match between the Spirit Class and the Fetish Class just like every other instructor.
He never once doubted the Fetish Class would win. The precious fetishes he had pulled from the old warehouse, plus the ones he had received—those alone would make Seong Yujin collapse in less than thirty minutes.
That was what he believed.
Events refused to follow his prediction.
Seong Yujin had brought an item that blocked curses. It casually stopped intermediate and even advanced curses. One look was enough to tell it was no ordinary object.
Seong Ha-ri! That woman Seong Ha-ri interfered for her son!
Kim Je-o bit down hard on his lip. He wanted to scream that this wasn’t fair, but he knew the other teachers and students would see it differently.
It’s fine. Unless it’s a sacred relic, there’s always a limit to how long something can hold back a curse.
Seong Yujin wouldn’t last much longer.
He had to fall.
Yet the situation continued to ignore Kim Je-o’s wishes.
…Gi Ha-wook has started the curse.
Gi Ha-wook.
A first-year who had entered the Fetish Class this year.
Only a first-year, yet his talent ranked second only to Shin Na-ri. Kim Je-o had handed him dozens of dangerous sacrificial items. His calculation that Gi Ha-wook could hold out for a full hour had already been completed.
Gi Ha-wook’s curse was perfect.
Using a lock of Seong Yujin’s hair prepared in advance, he specified the target, then borrowed the power of the fetishes to invoke the curse.
Even that curse Seong Yujin endured.
Just how incredible an item did he bring…!
Kim Je-o clenched his teeth to hide his growing anxiety.
Once begun, Gi Ha-wook’s curse would not stop. It could not stop.
Curses carried severe risk. Failure meant the curse rebounded as a matter of course. Fetishes were used to minimize that risk. Even so, there were limits.
…Hurry. Hurry up and fall, Seong Yujin!
There was a barrier garment that blocked fatal damage, but the risk of a curse was a different nature entirely; it didn’t function properly against it.
If too much risk accumulated, Gi Ha-wook would die.
Kim Je-o’s fingertips trembled.
Shin Na-ri! She’s finally stepping in!
At Shin Na-ri’s appearance Kim Je-o wiped the sweat from his chest in relief.
On the giant screen the battle between Shin Na-ri and Seong Yujin played out. Shin Na-ri was the one raining down attacks, yet the initiative of the fight remained with Seong Yujin from start to finish.
“…Remarkable. His swordsmanship has already reached the level of a master. But do you know what style that is?”
“Just because I’m a Sword Dance Class instructor doesn’t mean I know every sword art. I’ve never seen that one either. Honestly that kid should have entered the Sword Dance Class instead of Spirit…”
“What nonsense. Seong Yujin is Seong Ha-ri’s son. Spear Dance Class is the perfect fit. Did you see his javelin work? The way the spear flew and struck was beautiful enough to make you weep.”
“Spirit… is that really a spirit?”
The murmuring teachers fell silent as they focused on the fight between Seong Yujin and Shin Na-ri.
A thick bolt of lightning crashed down.
Lightning so powerful even the academy instructors could not ignore it struck Shin Na-ri dead-on. The teachers predicted her defeat; Kim Je-o predicted the opposite—her victory.
With that much force, even Jema’s Bandage will come undone and then some.
Shin Na-ri’s seal broke.
There was only one reason a second-year like Shin Na-ri never went on field practice: she could not fully control that power.
Vast curse energy exploded in every direction. Shin Na-ri’s body itself was a fetish. The curse was her strength.
“……!!”
Academy teachers and students alike gaped in silent horror. Kim Je-o savored their reactions with quiet satisfaction.
Now that Shin Na-ri’s seal is broken… this match is as good as over.
The moment Seong Yujin vanished from the artificial dungeon, Gi Ha-wook’s curse would end as well. The curse would register Seong Yujin as dead.
Events still refused to flow the way Kim Je-o wanted.
D-damn it! Shin Na-ri’s curse vanished in an instant?! What the hell is that item!
Rage or no rage, his mind stayed cold and clear.
Gi Ha-wook.
At this rate Gi Ha-wook would die. The only way for him to survive was if Seong Yujin found him and forced him to retire. But with the power of the fetishes hiding him, Seong Yujin would never locate Gi Ha-wook easily. If he could have found him, he already would have.
Kim Je-o shot to his feet. The professor beside him looked over with a puzzled expression.
“Mr. Kim. What’s the sudden rush?”
“…Just need the restroom for a moment.”
“Ah, of course. I should have noticed.”
The man nodded with a faintly knowing look. He was already certain the Spirit Class had won. Kim Je-o felt as though the man were sneering at him and nearly snapped, but he swallowed it down and walked out. He kept his pace deliberately casual until he was free of every gaze, then sprinted down the corridor. Naturally he was not heading for the restroom.
Gi Ha-wook is going to die! And my life is finished!
Beg the principal for help? That might save Gi Ha-wook. But would Principal Kang Jiyoung and Vice Principal Kwon Sang-hoon leave him alive? They would demand accountability and, for driving a student to his death, brand him a criminal and hand him over to the Hero Association.
The proud title of academy instructor would only bring heavier punishment.
Spending the rest of my life rotting in prison is not an option! I have to get out of the academy somehow—any way I can!
Cold sweat beaded on Kim Je-o’s face as he ran. One figure rose in his mind.
The bastard who gave me the fetishes! I’ll pin all my crimes on him…
His legs locked mid-stride.
…Who was that bastard? What was his name? Wait—was it even a man? The way he talked was childish… A student? A teacher?
He couldn’t remember.
Height, gender, speech, voice, the look in the eyes—
Every single distinguishing feature was gone from his memory.
Something was wrong.
“D-damn… it…!”
Kim Je-o ground his teeth and raced toward the Fetish Class building. Once inside he frantically rummaged through the fetishes. A straw doll came out. He slashed his wrist with a small knife and sprinkled blood over the doll. The straw doll drank the blood and became Kim Je-o’s double.
“You—run outside the academy! Right now!”
The straw doll nodded and dashed out of the Fetish Class building.
That thing will sow confusion through the academy.
Kim Je-o pulled out a bag and stuffed fetishes into it.
With these fetishes… I can join a criminal organization in Europe or America and secure a decent position.
Once every fetish was packed he left the Fetish Class at once. Sweat-soaked eyes darted around.
The darkest place is under the lamp… I’ll hide inside the academy until things quiet down, then pick my moment to escape.
The academy was vast.
And Kim Je-o had his fetishes. He was confident he would not be found.
He forced a leisurely smile onto his face. It was fortunate there was no mirror nearby. If Kim Je-o had seen his own expression, his spirit might have broken. The face was that ugly.
Kang Jiyoung glared at Vice Principal Kwon Sang-hoon seated across from her.
“Vice Principal. I know you were the one who goaded Kim Je-o into this match.”
“I am deeply sorry, Principal. I have no face left to show. I never imagined Kim Je-o was that sort of man.”
Kwon Sang-hoon bowed his head. The fact that he could lower it without hesitation even to Kang Jiyoung, who was younger than himself, was one of his strengths.
“…Yesterday we caught the Kim Je-o who fled the academy. That one was a double. His real whereabouts remain unknown.”
“Kim Je-o and I were never particularly close. I have no idea where he is. If it were possible… I would tear him apart with my own hands.”
This incident had shaken Kwon Sang-hoon’s standing. He had been the one standing behind Kim Je-o.
“I checked the Fetish Class inventory list. More than half the fetishes used in the match were not on that list.”
Kwon Sang-hoon’s eyes snapped open.
“…Kim Je-o acquired them privately?”
“We traced every asset Kim Je-o owned and every fetish he used. His personal fortune was untouched. The fetishes, however, came from auctions, black markets, theft—every possible source.”
Kang Jiyoung fixed him with a steady stare.
“I swear it. It was not me.”