Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: No Manners
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To me, school violence was something utterly foreign.
That made sense.
I'd never properly attended school in the first place.
'Nobles would just challenge each other to duels whenever there was friction.'
Whenever violence broke out, it usually meant picking up swords for a formal honor duel.
So this was the first time I'd ever witnessed 'school violence'.
Pow-! Thwack-!
They looked about middle school age. Two boys who had just turned fourteen were ganging up on one other student, beating him down.
I'd only just arrived and was watching, so I had no idea what the situation was.
But one thing was clear.
"Why is he just blocking like that?"
It was one-sided violence, plain and simple.
Two boys were pummeling a third who wasn't resisting at all.
Yet the boy taking the hits was properly defending his vital spots.
Which made it all the more strange.
If he had the skill to use mana to block every strike from causing more than just bruises, he could counterattack too.
Why wasn't he?
His reflexes looked sharp.
His mana control was impressive too.
And yet he was just taking the one-sided beating.
Hell, at this rate, the ones hitting him would end up hurting more.
The boy endured it silently.
What was his deal?
I strained my ears to listen.
"You bastard! We told you not to outscore us on the exam!"
"Yeah! It's because of you that we lost our scholarships!"
Seemed like they were pissed about not getting scholarships.
Judging by their sloppy punches and form, those two were definitely weaker than the kid getting beat.
So the scholarships must've gone to him.
This was just them venting their frustration.
"A beggar's kid like you taking scholarships—what for?!"
The merciless beaters and the boy meticulously blocking each hit.
Someone once said it.
Watching a fight is the most entertaining spectacle in the world.
'Man, I could go for some potato chips.'
It wasn't like anyone was getting seriously hurt.
Nor were they fighting for their lives.
Just kids scrapping.
Their punches were full of clumsy technique.
They didn't know how to hit properly, so even if they connected, it wouldn't hurt much or cause real injury.
Even if someone did get hurt, it'd be manageable.
But the show didn't last long.
Beating someone takes stamina too.
Putting power from your feet through your knees and into your fists consumes a surprising amount of energy.
And those boys didn't have the skill to keep pouring on attacks without stopping.
Their bodies weren't fully developed, and above all, their mana handling was amateurish.
Their breathing started to get ragged.
They were getting tired.
From just that pummeling?
Already worn out?
Before I knew it, my mouth opened.
"No. You can't just swing wildly like that."
"What...?"
One of the boys mid-beat turned around with a bewildered look.
He'd finally noticed me.
I had a word for the kid just taking it too.
"And you—your body's too stiff when blocking. If you're just gonna defend, at least twist a bit to take it without hurting. What the hell are you doing?"
"Hey. Come with us."
The boy with the buzzcut called out to Go Won-su.
It was a familiar summons.
'Here we go again today.'
He knew exactly why.
The exam scores from that morning had been posted.
And Go Won-su had ranked higher than the boys calling him.
The two dragged him to a secluded corner of the academy.
A spot the professors rarely patrolled—perfect for kids to pull petty pranks.
"Take it easy on us today too."
"Yeah."
Go Won-su stood in position like always.
In his hand was the money they'd just handed him. Money he'd have to work a whole month part-time to earn.
In exchange, he played punching bag for these kids for five minutes.
"Hey, Won-su. Won-su. You're a real lifesaver, huh?"
"An orphan like you has to bust your ass to make this, but we just give it to you for five minutes of work."
Slap slap.
The wad of bills smacked against Go Won-su's cheek. He took it without moving. The job had started the moment he took the cash.
The boys' faces lit up with glee. Paying him justified the violence. If a professor caught them, they could claim it was sparring. Go Won-su, having taken the money, would keep quiet.
Money prevented problems.
The pinnacle of capitalism.
"We've told you not to take the scholarships how many times?"
"Isn't our money enough? We give plenty."
It wasn't.
Go Won-su had no parents. Orphanage kid, but he could attend the academy because scholarships covered the hefty tuition.
No scholarship meant no more academy.
Expulsion or dropout.
Only two paths.
The money from them and his part-time gigs went entirely to personal items and academy supplies.
'You guys can afford tuition without scholarships.'
He swallowed the resentment.
He'd taken the money, so he had to earn it.
"Fucking study bug."
Thwack!
The hit to the back of his head didn't hurt much. His mana-reinforced skull was tougher than most rocks.
'Ah, damn. Don't hit the head.'
What if brain cells die and I can't study?
If you're jealous, study harder than me.
Instead of goofing off in the back row every day.
Playing hooky all day with expensive tutors, and still matching my scores? With rich parents, isn't it your own fault for sucking at studying?
He swallowed the urge to shout, enduring silently.
"Hey! What, not loosening up? If you don't drop the mana, you'll get hurt."
They weren't hurting because of the mana, but telling him to drop it? Ridiculous, but sometimes it was right.
Occasionally they'd use magic, and blocking pure mana with mana just rattled your insides. That was the case now.
Thwack!
Drop the mana to take the hit, then pump it back in to numb the pain and quickly heal damaged muscles.
Their sloppy form didn't hurt bad.
They didn't know proper technique, so while they sometimes hit spots that hurt like hell, today was mild.
"No one praises you for it, so study less!"
"Without parents!"
"Yeah!"
The parent jab stung for a second, but he let it slide.
As he blocked with mana for a while, he could feel the boys tiring.
'...Almost over.'
After so many beatings, he had a sense for when it ended.
"Hoo... Hey, Won-su. See you tomorrow."
Just as the typical thug line wrapped it up.
"No. You can't just swing wildly like that."
Some boy suddenly butted in.
How long had he been there?
When you're focused, your field of vision narrows. Conversely, if you're not immersed, it's wide.
The boy entered Go Won-su's sight.
"When hitting, if he's blocking, don't just pound one spot. You're two against one, so one goes low, one high—make it hard for him to defend. Why are you both just hitting the same way? Didn't you learn combo attacks?"
About eight years old?
Not an academy student, but the kid spoke fluently.
"And you defending—if you're gonna block, dodge or at least twist slightly into the attack so it doesn't hurt. You have the physical ability and dynamic vision, so why take them straight on?"
He looked utterly baffled.
Finishing, the boy exhaled in relief.
"Got it?"
The boy grinned like it was so refreshing.
Absurd. Go Won-su just stared.
One bully, the buzzcut one, asked.
"Who the hell are you? How long you been there?"
"For a while."
"Academy student?"
The boy pondered briefly before answering.
"No."
He wasn't. He'd interviewed, but no acceptance yet. Strictly speaking, he belonged to elementary school, not the academy.
"This punk's been talking down to us...?"
Pumped from the exertion, the buzzcut raised a hand, then hesitated.
His friend stopped him.
"Hey, chill. Trouble if we hit a normie now. Let's go."
Hitting a civilian as academy students was big trouble. Even their backers couldn't easily fix it. Buzzcut, fist half-raised, clicked his tongue.
"Tch! Damn."
"See he's pissed? Just scram, kid."
Business done anyway.
Whether scared of shit or disgusted by it, they didn't want involvement.
Showing clear distaste for the weird kid, the two grabbed their bags from the ground.
"See ya tomorrow, Won-su."
"Don't skip 'cause it hurts. We paid up, remember."
Go Won-su nodded silently.
The muttering weirdo was still standing there.
"I give people advice, and they just bail."
He shot dissatisfied looks at the departing boys.
Spotting Go Won-su, he started yapping again.
"Oh, you. To dodge that overhead punch earlier, step back half a pace instead of forward. Defense, not attack."
It felt like déjà vu.
Something he'd heard before.
But interest faded instantly.
Go Won-su looked down at his filthy self.
The fact that this little kid had watched him get beat for so long embarrassed him.
So his response came out prickly.
"......Shut up. What do you know."
Go Won-su brushed past, ignoring him.
The boy said something more.
Words from an eight-year-old brat.
No fourteen-year-old would listen properly.
Heck, even considering it dented his pride more.
"I was nice enough to tell him, but... that... rude..."
He ignored the words from behind.
Instead, Go Won-su bought a triangle kimbap with today's earnings and headed to the PC bang.
"Oh, Won-su's here?"
Greeted warmly by the familiar part-timer, he went to his usual back seat.
And.
Go Won-su logged into League of Worlds.
Games were the best for shaking off the blues.
While logging in, Go Won-su opened the community tab next to it.
What was hot on the community today?
'That toxic armchair advisor thread was blowing up earlier.'
He'd been dragged off for bag duty and missed it.
Go Won-su navigated to the community familiarly.
Click.
[Today's Yura Stream: Absolutely Insane Zip Summary]
The community was buzzing with talk of the prelims and streams.