School Life is Fucking Spectacular # 2
School Life is Fucking Spectacular # 2
No, what kind of insane, impossible bastard—!
"Hey, you son of a bitch! Who the hell pulls a sword in a fight between kids no matter what?! Did your back-alley whore of a mother teach you that shit?! Huh?!"
"I'll kill you!"
Is this for real?! Whatever the circumstances, I never imagined he'd draw a sword! This is way beyond my calculations!
A teenage student committing attempted murder—what kind of world is this?!
"Somebody save meeeeeeeee! Help meeeeeee!!!"
—Thud-thud-thud!
I tore through chairs, shoved desks aside, and sprinted across the wide classroom. The students, hero cadets, just stood there in shock and were absolutely no help at all.
"You noisy little bastard, how dare you...!"
Ryu Cheon-hwi came after me, radiating how insanely pissed off he was. A sword aura began to wreathe that fancy blade of his, yes!
The shit's already hit the fan anyway! I just have to respond calmly! I can't wail like a dipshit like I did yesterday!
"Cut the crap and put the sword down, you attempted-murder bastard! If you do it now, I won't press charges!"
"Shut up!"
I collected myself.
Did you think I just started talking shit without a plan?
I didn't start this whole shitshow without thinking. At the very least, if I make a racket, someone will notice. An instructor or someone. Morning assembly's about to start, so they'll come running when they see a commotion. If it's an instructor, that's basically a successful repulsion.
And as a backup, I had one more play up my sleeve.
If we're going by the cliché of these games...
—Rumble!
"What's going on?!"
The protagonist is the type who can't fucking stand injustice, right?
Am I wrong?
* * *
Fairly good-looking.
And the moment a student with the same black hair as me opened the door and shouted, I bolted out through that door into the hallway. And I looked back into the classroom through the door I'd just come out of.
"Stop for a moment. Fighting at school—what on earth is going on?"
"Get lost."
"I can't do that. I can't back down when there's someone drawing a sword and trying to fight."
Look at that righteous character!
I know him! That guy was none other than Lee Si-hoo, the main character-level figure of the game Academy's War Hero! From what I saw when I glanced briefly at his profile, it said he had a kind and just personality. And also said he's a bit of a pushover.
Kind of a typical protagonist type.
He was one of my planned plays. Whether it was an instructor. Or Lee Si-hoo. Or Leona, who I'd talked to a bit yesterday.
If any one of the three showed up, the fight was over right there.
Successful repulsion.
And if this caused more problems, I could just go find the Chairwoman. The bastard started it in the first place, so I'm in the right. The Chairwoman pummeled me like she wanted to fuck me up, so if I ask for a favor, she'd probably hear me out.
"Start by sheathing your sword. And can you tell me what you were fighting about? Fighting between friends at school..."
Really reliable.
From what I saw on the wiki, the protagonist had insane growth potential. I don't know the details, but judging by the game's title, Academy's War Hero, the protagonist probably resolves the crisis at the end and becomes the war hero.
Means he's strong.
"You shouldn't— wha?! What are you doing!"
—Swish!
"If you side with that brat, I'll kill you too."
In that instant, Ryu Cheon-hwi swung his sword at Lee Si-hoo!
"That crazy psycho bastard!"
And with sword aura flying everywhere!
This guy's a complete murderer!
He swung a sword at a classmate who had nothing to do with it, just for trying to stop a fight! This is way beyond common sense!
He has to be expelled from school immediately...!
And I'm doubling up the charges!
However!
—Clang!
Lee Si-hoo, who had somehow already drawn a sword glowing with golden light, blocked that attack brilliantly!
"What are you doing!"
"...You blocked it? My strike?"
"Huh? Was that not an attack you meant me to block? Ah. So you weren't seriously trying to attack? That's a relief."
"You bastard!!!"
Even his provocation skills are outstanding...!
And so.
—Boom!
—Clang!
The duel between top-ranked entrant Ryu Cheon-hwi and protagonist Lee Si-hoo began. Their fierce sword strikes collided relentlessly, scattering sparks. For a moment, I stared at the dazzling spectacle, entranced.
Literally, a knock-down, drag-out action scene.
"Oh, ohhh..."
"So that's the top seed's skill..."
"But who's he? How's he blocking all of the top seed's attacks..."
The same was true for the other students. They were all just watching the fight, dumbstruck just like me.
"I'll kill you!!!"
"Wait! Hold on! Let's settle this with words, come on! Ah, damn! If you're going to be like this, I have no choice but to use my strength too!"
"Shut up!!!"
Just as the battle was intensifying.
"You're all fighting very well."
A voice came from behind me.
Is this addressed to me?
"They sure are. Shit, how the hell are kids fighting that well... They're human weapons, human weapons."
"Well, Ryu Cheon-hwi is the child of the Ryuseong Group. He must have trained since childhood. But Kim Geun-cheol. Do you think it's okay to call the friend who helped you a 'kid'?"
"Huh? Ah, sorry. No. I didn't mean it like that. It's just, I'm the kind of person who curses out of habit... Ah, I need to fix that, but I got so shocked it just came out again. I'm sorry. I'll go apologize. But who are you?"
I slowly turned around.
"Instructor Lee So-ra."
"Ah."
I felt like my heart was about to shatter.
"STOP RIGHT NOW, YOU DUMB BASTARDS!!!!!!"
The moment the instructor unleashed her Lion's Roar.
"Uwaaaaah!"
Unable to withstand the wind pressure, I was blown away and slammed into the wall.
"Kuhuk!"
Can I get a pass on the morning assembly, please?
* * *
After the morning assembly was over.
Using the short time remaining before first period, I dragged Lee Si-hoo to the vending machine by the stairs and expressed my thanks. Ryu Cheon-hwi had already been dragged off, so I could relax.
"Whoa! Seriously, thank you! It's Si-hoo, right? Let's get along!"
"Ah, sure. Right back at you. It was Geun-cheol, right?"
The guy gave a bright smile in return.
"Yeah. Call me whatever."
—Thunk.
Anyway, I handed a canned Coke I'd gotten from the vending machine to Lee Si-hoo.
"Drink up. I'm not trying to make up for it all with this, but you saved me, so I have to repay you right away. You're my lifesaver, my savior."
"Hahaha, no need to think anything of it. It's only natural to stop friends who are fighting, right? I just did what was natural; I don't need any reward."
"Yeah? Then buying a Coke for a friend is natural too. Take it, man."
"...Ah."
Lee Si-hoo hesitated for a moment.
"Thanks."
Thanking me, he took the Coke.
—Pssshht.
The little bastard was gonna drink it anyway, but he still tried to refuse. Anyway, I got a Zero Coke and drank it. The one with sugar is definitely better, so this is the highest hospitality I can offer.
—Glug, glug.
Whoa, but this feeling of carbonation going down your throat... It's really the best! Even if the world is different, Coke is still Coke!
"Gah! Whoa, but seriously, thanks! No kidding, I almost fucking died just now. I mean, accepting the fight was fine, but then he suddenly pulls out a sword? Really, I got goosebumps all over and almost collapsed. I was seriously agonizing over whether I was gonna die, but then you came at just the right moment, so I survived."
—Pat, pat.
Expressing my gratitude like that, I clapped Lee Si-hoo on the shoulder. The guy smiled like he was in a bit of a bind and scratched his cheek as he answered.
"Cheon-hwi probably wasn't really going to kill you either. If he meant to kill, he would've swung the sword with real intent."
"Looked exactly the same to me."
This Lee Si-hoo guy is a kind-hearted protagonist.
Just guessing from the game title, he's probably the guy who gets insanely stronger later and saves the world, something along those narrative lines.
Becoming friends with this guy was going to be a very good thing. Since the game will unfold centered on the protagonist, after all. If we get close, there'll definitely be more escape routes for me.
And besides, he's the guy who saved me.
There's no reason not to get close.
I'm seriously so grateful.
"But what on earth were you fighting about?"
"Ah. It was nothing much. I was about to sit down, and the guy had his foot on my chair. So I told him to move it, and he moved it? So I sat down, right? Then this fucker suddenly kicks me in the back, the son of a bitch... Ah, jeez! So I got up, thinking I'd beat the crap out of him a bit, and he draws a sword. The guy's off his rocker."
It's enough to give you chills.
I'm definitely going to press charges. How dare that bastard pull something like that? I can't stand to see a guy like that become a hero. I'll file a formal complaint with the school. Is this place a jungle or something, for someone to suddenly draw a sword?
"Ah, but the reason the guy drew his sword was that I got pissed after getting hit and spewed a whole bucketful of insults at him. Anyway, the aura that bastard gave off in that moment... Whoa. It was no joke. I just knew it right then. Ah. I can't beat this bastard. So that's why I fucking ran like hell. Hehehe."
After I explained it roughly like that.
"Pfft... Ha, haha! Hahahaha!"
The guy laughed like he was totally enjoying it.
"What? This guy's laughing?"
"Ah, no! I wasn't laughing at you! It's just that your explanation was so funny! Hahaha, you're a funny speaker, aren't you? You?"
"Shit, how funny did I even make it sound. Ah. Finished my drink. Let's head back in then. Seriously, thanks for saving me."
"Sure."
Is it really time for first period now?
I don't know what kind of class it's gonna be, but whatever it is, I'm seriously so scared I might pass out. But what can you do? I've got my friend Lee Si-hoo. If there's something I don't know, I'll just ask him everything. Then I should be able to keep up with the lesson progress, right?
As we were heading back to the classroom like that.
—Ding.
―――――――――――――――――
「Quest Complete」
「Repulse the Hostile Cadet」
「Reward: 2,000 Coin」
―――――――――――――――――
The reward came in.
"Hehehe."
Whoa, is repulsion really anything special? If you cause a ruckus at school, the teachers are bound to find out. Even if you try to keep it quiet, if you barge into the faculty office and say there's a fight, everyone will try to stop it.
And even more so, this isn't a regular school, it's an academy. A place where the students run wild with weapons. My confidence that the response would be equally swift and precise in a place like that is why I pulled that stunt.
Well, making an enemy of some bastard for 2,000 Coin isn't such a lucrative deal, but the bastard started it in the first place to get to this point. Which means it was just a matter of time. It was bound to happen someday anyway, so I might as well chalk it up to a preemptive exorcism.
This isn't a job; it's school—you think I'm gonna compromise? You pull some fucked-up shit, you naturally get the shit beaten out of you.
A massive monster would be different, but a human from the civilized world isn't all that scary.
Whatever the case, it was a relief Lee Si-hoo showed up. But even if he hadn't, all I had to do was get handled by Instructor Lee So-ra. Or my plan was to just run through the hallways screaming my head off to all and sundry.
"2,000 Coin, sweet as hell, sweet."
I love it.
But what do I even use this on?
Tell me something, you bastard.
"Hooo."
Anyway.
So, should I collect myself a bit before the first class?
Just as I sat down and was about to pull out my phone.
—Bam!
The door swung open forcefully and a pretty woman walked in.
"Hello-hello! Nice to meet you all! Good morning, cadets! I'm your Magic Combat instructor, Kawar! Everyone, take your seats!"
She's got a kind of sunny, bubbly vibe.