Chapter 113
Chapter 113
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: The Second Semester's Greatest Villain
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There’s something to think about. I just ran into the most significant villain in the second year’s second semester.
Demon Jeonghyeon.
He was appointed as a second-semester teacher, just as in the original story.
Jeonghyeon is a famous figure in the magic education world.
He operates as a magic education consultant under the name Chris and has two years of teaching experience at the British Wizards’ Academy.
His credibility in magic education institutions is quite high.
Thanks to all that built-up trust, no one at the Korean Wizards’ Academy would ever suspect he’s a demon.
“Hmm.”
Jeonghyeon has several goals.
First, the demons’ top priority: identifying the Child of Prophecy.
And another is personal revenge.
Jeonghyeon and Jang Ye were like childhood friends. They’d been as close as siblings since they were young, and he even had some connection to her father, Jang Han.
When news of her death reached him, Jeonghyeon was the one who grieved the most.
In the original story, Jeonghyeon plotted to wipe out the entire second-year class at the Wizards’ Academy, including Lee Seojun, all for revenge for Jang Ye.
It was to carry out both her revenge and the extermination of the Child of Prophecy at the same time.
That plan unfolds on the day of the second midterm exam. There are still three months left.
Of course, there’s no telling if events will play out exactly as in the original.
I’ve intervened too much, creating far too many changes in the story.
So to avoid the worst-case scenario, I need to keep a close eye on how Jeonghyeon acts from now on.
Thursday.
The month-long summer break ended, and it was the first day back at school.
The students chattered excitedly, their faces a mix of anticipation and regret.
“Ah~ I miss vacation already.”
“Me too. I should’ve played harder.”
“I went to a training camp.”
“I worked part-time and got some money from my parents to buy a B-Grade sword.”
“No way, really? How much?”
“Nine thousand.”
“Nine thousand? Wow, swords are so expensive. Other B-Grade weapons only cost four thousand.”
Unless they were major characters, I didn’t really care what they did, so I just sat in the corner yawning by myself.
“Ah. It’s hot.”
This school has plenty of money but won’t even turn on the AC.
As I went to open the window, by chance I spotted a blond man outside.
It was Jeonghyeon.
He was staring at an empty plot of land inside the school grounds, scribbling something down.
He was probably designing the new dungeon training ground that would be built for the second semester.
Jeonghyeon is known as an education consultant, but he also works as a designer of artificial magic training grounds.
He was brought on at the Wizards’ Academy not just as an educator, but also to design the new training facility being established this time.
In about two months, a training dungeon designed by Jeonghyeon will rise on that empty plot. And on the day the second midterm begins, that’s where...
“Sunwoo!”
A voice called out to me then. It was Yun Hayoung. Even though we’d met just three days ago, she sounded thrilled, like it’d been a month.
“Seeing you here after meeting three days ago feels different somehow.”
Yun Hayoung smiled as she said that to me.
“Does it?”
“Oh, right, Sunwoo. Did you open that dungeon reward box from last time?”
“Nah, not yet. The seal was tougher than I expected.”
I’ll probably break it tonight or tomorrow. Wonder what’s inside that they sealed it so tightly.
If I go through all this trouble and it turns out to be nothing special, I’ll be pissed.
“Ugh. I’m curious. That sucks.”
“Huh? What’s this? You two cleared a dungeon too?”
Shin Youngjun butted into our conversation then.
Yun Hayoung blinked at his words before saying,
“Huh? Uh? Oh, nooo...?”
She was trying to keep her promise of secrecy about the Power of Demon Extermination, giving an obviously suspicious reaction as she trailed off.
“What? Why are you suddenly acting like it’s not?”
Shin Youngjun narrowed his eyes. Then he glanced back and forth between me and Yun Hayoung.
“What’s this? You two look suspicious. Did you do something sneaky without me?”
“Ha...”
Here he goes again.
“We cleared a dungeon. You know Yun Hayoung’s my sparring partner. We stumbled on one by chance and tackled it bit by bit whenever we had time to build real combat experience.”
Shin Youngjun’s jaw dropped at my answer, stunned.
“You found a dungeon?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow. That’s wild. Oh yeah, didn’t you clear the Nightmare Mist dungeon with Choi Seoyoon last time?”
At Shin Youngjun’s words, Yun Hayoung looked at me with puzzled eyes.
“Nightmare Mist?”
“Oh, that was during the special class retreat.”
Yun Hayoung’s face lit up with curiosity at my words. Too annoying to explain in detail, I just brushed it off.
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Mmm. Okay.”
The door burst open then, and Lee Seojun and Lee Hyunju entered the classroom.
“Jeez. Look at them taking their sweet time. What time is it?”
Shin Youngjun grumbled at the two of them, and Lee Seojun gave an awkward smile.
“Alright! Everyone take your seats!”
Jang Ancheol entered the classroom. His already massive body looked even bigger after just one month.
I wonder how you have to work out to get like that.
“Looks like you all had a good break. Your faces are bright.”
Jang Ancheol scanned the students and gave a faint smile.
“Anyway, enough chit-chat. Let’s talk about the second semester. Starting this semester, you’ll learn new things. You might even find the fun in mastering something fresh.”
The students nodded.
“From the second semester on, it’s time to change your mindset. Don’t think of it as just ‘second semester.’ Approach it as the last semester before becoming third-years. What you gain from school in first and second year is completely different from third year.”
Third year.
Now that I think about it, next year will be packed with way more complicated and tough schedules.
Gotta prep for graduation exams, plus major events every three years and some other stuff.
“Everyone get that?”
“Yes!”
Jang Ancheol smiled at the students’ energetic reply.
“Finally, we can’t escape the school tradition this semester either. You all know what that means, right?”
The all-year ranking evaluation test.
The same one we did on the first day of the first semester—we’re doing it today too.
“Alright! Test starts at 10! Everyone head to the auditorium!”
At the appointed time of 10, 450 students gathered in the massive auditorium. The teachers were there too, seated with excited expressions.
Among them, I spotted Jeonghyeon mingling with the other teachers.
He’s playing the new teacher role perfectly.
“Sunwoo! Over here!”
Even today, Yun Hayoung was waving me over from afar, patting the empty seat beside her. I smiled and headed there.
As I sat, Yoo Ara took the empty seat next to me.
Yoo Ara looked at me and said,
“Did you have a good break?”
What’s with her asking about me?
She didn’t seem to care during the special class.
“So-so.”
“What’d you do?”
“Worked part-time and trained.”
“I see.”
Yoo Ara nodded.
“What about you?”
“Me? Trained a bit. Did some personal investigating too.”
“Investigating?”
“...Yeah, something like that.”
Yoo Ara trailed off at my question.
If she’s talking about investigating, it’s probably about Jaun.
With Jaun causing a big incident in Korea during break, there’s no way she’d just sit still with her personality.
[We will now begin the first-year evaluation ranking test.]
A voice echoed from the microphone on stage.
On the first floor, I could see Choi Seoyoon looking tense.
Next to her, Jeon Mingi was swinging his sword through the air to warm up.
[Choi Seoyoon, Jeon Mingi...]
At the call from the stage, Choi Seoyoon strode confidently to the test platform.
Like in the first semester, cheers erupted from the boys as she stepped up.
The second semester’s evaluation ranking test format isn’t much different from the first.
You just knock down the dolls that appear in front of you.
Then they measure destructive power and such to adjust the overall rankings.
Choi Seoyoon gathered her magic with a far more serious expression.
The air froze. Razor-sharp ice spears formed above her hands.
Cheers exploded from the stands at the same time.
“Whoa.”
“Insane.”
We’d been impressed by her magic in the first semester too, but after consuming that elixir in the Nightmare Mist recently, her spells had become even more refined and powerful.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
“What? She’s way better than first semester.”
“She was no joke back then, but real talents grow like... what?”
“How is that a first-year?”
Despite the murmurs around her, Choi Seoyoon didn’t lose focus.
Once the spears were ready, she thrust her hand forward and unleashed them.
Shuuuuwook!
A powerful whoosh tearing through the air.
The massive spears utterly demolished the target.
“Wooow—!”
Another huge cheer went up.
Choi Seoyoon gave a faint smile, satisfied with her result. Then, as usual, she scanned the stands with a calculated smile.
That part hadn’t changed from the first semester.
Then her eyes met mine. She stared straight at me before flashing an even brighter smile.
In the teachers’ lounge in one corner of the first floor.
Today too, snacks and tea covered the tables as the twenty teachers watched the test.
“Mr. Chris, this is your first open test like this, right?”
“Yes, first time. It’s a tradition at the Korean Wizards’ Academy, isn’t it?”
Jeonghyeon smiled in response to the teacher who called him.
“Exactly. They say it’s brutal, but sorry to the students—teachers find it pretty entertaining.”
“I get it.”
“So, any students catching your eye?”
At the teacher’s question, Chris pondered.
“Probably the top ranks. First-year: Choi Seoyoon, Jeon Mingi. Second-year: Lee Seojun, Yoo Ara. Especially Lee Seojun—I could hardly believe it even seeing it with my own eyes.”
Plus, the light-attribute sword aura Lee Seojun showed today.
The magic infused in the aura itself was impressive, but he’d never seen a human handle synergy at 18 in his life.
Definitely a person of interest.
He could be a huge variable when they move to eliminate the hidden Child of Prophecy in the second years a few months from now.
“Seojun is impressive.”
“The rumors don’t do him justice. No wonder he’s the greatest genius in history.”
[Second-Year Class A, Kim Sunwoo.]
Then Kim Sunwoo’s name was called. Suddenly, all eyes in the teachers’ lounge turned to him.
“Huh? Sunwoo’s up.”
“Oh, can’t wait.”
“Honestly, I was looking forward to Sunwoo’s turn as much as Seojun’s.”
“Heh. Me too.”
Jeonghyeon felt puzzled by the abrupt shift in the lounge’s atmosphere.
Kim Sunwoo? Not a student he knew well.
He knew the second-year persons of interest at the Korean Wizards’ Academy to some extent—Lee Seojun, Yoo Ara, Shin Youngjun—but he hadn’t looked into Kim Sunwoo much.
Of course, he did know the student maintained perfect theory scores.
But he figured practical skills mattered more to wizards than theory, so no big interest.
He’d only investigated the top ten overall anyway due to time constraints.
‘What’s this?’
Curiosity piqued by the teachers’ reactions, he watched Kim Sunwoo with intrigued eyes.
Kim Sunwoo was ascending the stage with confident steps.
‘A face I’ve seen somewhere.’
Jeonghyeon thought to himself, then realized why.
It was the male student next to Choi Seoyoon yesterday when he’d asked for directions.
He’d assumed he was just an ordinary student.
“Oh, I hope Sunwoo does well.”
“He got so much crap after first semester. Broke my heart.”
“But he’s always so plucky, that kid.”
The teachers kept sharing positive stories about Kim Sunwoo.
What kind of student gets this much attention?
Jeonghyeon checked the student records on the table.
Second-year rankings: 150th. Dead last?
Next... 72nd, ...60th, ...28th.
“...Huh?”
Jeonghyeon felt puzzled as he reviewed Kim Sunwoo’s info.
From 150th to 28th in just one semester?
Is that even possible?
He started to understand why the teachers were reacting this way.
As a magic education consultant, he’d seen countless human wizards grow, but this steep rise was a first.
“Weird.”
As Jeonghyeon muttered to himself, Lee Hiyeong, seated next to him, spoke up.
“Weird, right? Yeah. He’s a really strange kid.”
At Lee Hiyeong’s words, the other teachers nodded.
“Heh. Weird, yeah. He’s weird in ways that break records and make no sense.”
“What’s funny about Sunwoo is his specialty is manifestation magic, but he’s insanely good at everything except that.”
Lee Hiyeong bristled then.
“Huh? Teacher, that’s prejudice. Sunwoo has so much talent in manifestation too.”
At Lee Hiyeong’s words, a quiet teacher nearby backed her up.
“Right. I saw Sunwoo training manifestation last time—his basics are rock-solid.”
As more teachers chimed in, a few others looked puzzled.
“Then why did his magic power discharge happen in the first semester?”