Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Finals in England
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“Ugh. Finals are the biggest chunk of our grade.”
Jang An-cheol tapped the lectern lightly, signaling for quiet.
“Alright, everyone, settle down. The finals are in two weeks, so make sure you prepare thoroughly ahead of time. And there's one more major event left this semester: the school trip.”
“Huh? School trip?”
“Awesome!”
The mention of a school trip sparked cheers among the students, a far cry from the groans from earlier.
Jang An-cheol scanned the class and chuckled softly.
“The destination for this school trip has been set: England.”
“Whoa! Overseas!”
“England? What’s even there to see?”
“There’s the Myth Museum in England.”
As the chatter erupted again, Jang An-cheol continued.
“Quiet, quiet. I get that you’re all excited, but focus on what I’m saying. The trip is scheduled for four days, three nights.”
“Oh.”
Though the noise wasn’t as loud as before, the students’ faces brightened overall at Jang An-cheol’s words.
That was when one student shot up a hand.
“When’s the school trip?”
“Perfect timing—I was just about to get to that. It’s in two weeks.”
“......Pardon?”
A look of confusion crossed the student’s face.
“Didn’t you just say the finals are in two weeks?”
“Correct. The finals are also in two weeks.”
The student tilted their head at Jang An-cheol’s response.
“But then the schedules overlap.”
“Of course they do. You’ll be taking this semester’s finals in England.”
“Pardon? We’re doing finals in England?”
Forgetting Jang An-cheol’s earlier call for quiet, the class buzzed with surprise once more.
Jang An-cheol watched them for a moment before speaking.
“And these finals will be held jointly with the British Wizard Academy.”
“Pardon?”
Once all classes ended, I headed to the physical training room.
It was to maximize my stats in preparation for the finals two weeks away.
Unlike midterms, finals carried enough weight to drastically shift grades, so I was determined to aim for the top ranks this time.
My goal: at least 10th place.
“Whew.”
I was in the training room, lifting weights.
Thanks to recently consuming gold thread, my stats had surged, letting me handle much heavier weights than before.
“Grrraaah!”
[You have achieved the ‘Mana Weight 3-Set 1100’ accomplishment.]
[You have obtained 3,000 points as a reward.]
“......Whew.”
I’d hit the accomplishment. A satisfied smirk tugged at my lips as I racked the bar. Just as I sat on the bench to rest, a voice came from nearby.
“Kim Sunwoo’s insane. His lifts shot up in just a few days.”
“Yeah. Must have the perfect build for packing on muscle.”
“Why’s a guy with that kind of strength in manifestation studies?”
I pretended not to hear, but since it was praise, it lifted my mood anyway.
Come to think of it, the way students looked at me had changed a lot. A few months ago, most glances were dismissive.
I stood and checked the clock.
It was 8:40 PM.
Twenty minutes until the broadcast.
My debut on air—I couldn’t miss the live showing. Time to head back.
After a quick rinse to wash off the sweat from training, I returned to the dorm.
I set beer and snacks on the table and plopped onto the sofa.
I turned on the TV just as the broadcast started.
—Kim Sunwoo, a student at the Wizard Academy, heads to class early in the morning.
The narration played as my face appeared. Seeing myself on screen felt awkwardly embarrassing.
“Hmm. But I don’t photograph well at all.”
I look way better in person. A real shame they couldn’t capture it.
Jaun’s hideout.
Jin lay sprawled on the sofa, cackling at a variety show.
He was binge-watching weekend episodes he’d missed due to work, via paid on-demand.
That was when Bert approached Jin.
“Hey, Jin. Gimme the remote. I’ve got something to watch.”
“Huh? No way. I’m watching this.”
“Tch!”
Bert snatched the remote from Jin’s show. Jin stared at him in disbelief.
How rude—snatching the remote mid-show. What kind of manners were those from his hometown...?
Jin pondered to himself.
Ignoring him, Bert changed the channel.
-Kim Sunwoo heads to the library again today. His steps are light.
“Huh? Kim Sunwoo? What, he’s got a documentary too?”
“Looks like it.”
“But why are we watching this?”
“Something fishy about him. He’s got way too many suspicious vibes.”
“Come on, you think Special Forces or Dawn’s Blade would let him do a doc like this?”
“They might. Makes for better cover.”
“......That’s a stretch.”
Jin watched for a minute before losing interest and standing up.
“Sigh. Watch it yourself.”
He paced the hideout and pulled out his smartphone.
Then he called Baek Eun-seong.
“......This bastard’s dodged calls for five days straight. Did he really run off with the Cup of Life?”
That was when it rang.
Ring ring ring—
A bell tone sounded from somewhere. Definitely Baek Eun-seong’s.
“......What the.”
The ringing cut off quickly. And so did the call to Baek Eun-seong.
Jin turned and headed to the hideout door.
He flung it open to find a handsome man—Baek Eun-seong—standing there.
“......Hey.”
“You punk. What’s your deal? Ignoring me for five days?”
Baek Eun-seong stood there awkwardly. Jin narrowed his eyes and pulled him inside.
“Huh? Baek Eun-seong?”
Bert, who’d been seriously analyzing the Kim Sunwoo doc with a notebook, stood up.
“What’s up with you? Why no contact? I was worried sick, thinking Special Forces had you.”
The “worried” bit stung Baek Eun-seong even more inwardly.
How mad would they get if he said he lost it to his fear of water?
In the end, all he could say was one thing.
“......Sorry.”
“Whatever. Where’ve you been till now?”
At Bert’s question, Baek Eun-seong gave an embarrassed smile.
“Just holed up in a nearby hotel.”
“You hiding something? Hand over the Cup of Life first. News said you secured it fine.”
Baek Eun-seong clamped his mouth shut and stood still.
Bert stared blankly at him, his jaw slowly dropping.
“What? No way.”
At Bert’s shout, Baek Eun-seong hung his head like a criminal once more.
“Sorry. Got taken by someone else.”
“For real? Are you insane? How do you lose something like that?!”
Bert exploded.
The Cup of Life was essential for Jaun’s goals. Losing it was a massive setback for their plans.
“Did you see the thief’s face?”
Baek Eun-seong shook his head.
“No. He had a hat pulled low. Couldn’t see. Oh, but I know this—he had a mustache.”
“A mustache?”
Bert racked his brain for mustached wizards but shook his head.
Plenty of bearded wizards in the world.
“But strong enough to take it from you? Who was he?”
“......Not sure he was that strong. Looked maybe B-Grade? A-Grade?”
“Then why’d you lose it?”
Bert asked out of pure curiosity.
“The guy fled into the sea.”
“......You madman. For real?”
Jin, who’d been listening quietly, spat out a curse once he grasped the situation.
“You know I’m terrified of water. Can’t swim. I had no choice.”
Bert stared in disbelief, then burst into incredulous laughter.
“Ha. This is ridiculous.”
—Kim Sunwoo, your physical abilities seem quite impressive?
—Yes, I train my stamina consistently. Theory’s important, but you need the endurance to back it up, so I never slack on training.
Baek Eun-seong turned at the voice from the TV.
It was Kim Sunwoo’s face, glimpsed occasionally while surveilling Lee Seo-jun weeks ago.
But it felt oddly familiar. ‘......That build looks familiar.’
—Continued in Episode 2.
The doc ended, teasing the next installment.
The preview rolled with music, edited slickly enough to hook you already.
For reference, it’s a five-parter, one episode weekly.
That was when it happened.
[You have achieved the ‘Broadcast Appearance’ accomplishment.]
[You have obtained 5,000 points as a reward.]
[5,124 people take interest in you.]
[You have obtained 10,000 points as a reward.]
[6 major characters enjoy your broadcast appearance.]
[You have obtained 5,000 points as a reward.]
“Whoa. Jackpot.”
My mouth gaped at the flood of messages.
20,000 points in one go.
It’d been ages since I’d scored this big at once.
This from the premiere—if all five episodes air, who knows how much I’ll rake in.
“Good call doing the doc shoot. Heh.”
Grinning ear to ear, I checked my smart student planner. Messages had been pouring in.
Most from randos I didn’t know.
I skipped them and read from major characters I was at least acquainted with.
［Kim Sunwooooo real concept or what?］
［Dude ur speech so cringy af; scripted?］
［Sunbae-nim... turned it off midway. Felt sick. Pls not like this for all 5 eps? (🤮)］
［Sunwoo-ya! U looked great! Camera loves u?! Lol］
I skimmed through.
“Concept,” “scripted,” “cringy”—the hate didn’t faze me much. I’d half-expected it.
But Yoon Ha-young’s last message irked me a bit.
［Sunwoo-ya! U looked great! Camera loves u?! Lol］
“......What’s that supposed to mean. I look way better IRL.”
The doc’s premiere had a big ripple.
Not huge ratings, but it gained traction in niche circles.
And most school students watched it.
With only 450 enrolled, faces were easy to recognize—plus, I’d been in enough incidents that everyone knew me.
“Hello! Sunwoo sunbae!”
“Sunwoo! Hi!”
Far more students greeted me warmly now.
The fame piled on another 5,000 points or so.
Not a bad spotlight.
Sure, catching a villain like a Mine or Jaun’s eye would suck, but “top theory student” fame wouldn’t ping their radar.
“Alright! Today’s training: extreme environment adaptation!”
And so Tuesday afternoon brought the training students dreaded most: extreme environment adaptation.
As the name implied, endure hellish spots like lava fields or icy glaciers, racing to escape a cave fastest.
Some called it obstacle course relay.
“Gonna puke. Heard it’s brutal.”
“I can’t handle cold at all...”
Whines rippled through the students. Understandable.
I’d endured it pre-regression too.
Freezing when cold, scorching when hot. Weird traps mid-way for agonizing pain.
Brutal enough that years later, the memory lingered vivid.
“You’ll all manage. It’s tougher than most drills, but this’ll pay off big in the distant future.”
Jang An-cheol offered comfort and encouragement as the complaints dragged on.
“Finally, the rules. Simple: points based on who exits the cave first! But speed alone won’t cut it. The key here is mental fortitude.”
Just as Jang An-cheol said, mental fortitude was crucial.
No matter how tough your body, weak will means dying in extremes.
We followed Jang An-cheol to the outdoor training field’s portal gate.
“Step through, and you’ll enter the custom cave instantly. Exam starts the moment you arrive.”
Students nodded tensely.
“Go! Everyone into the portal!”
At Jang An-cheol’s shout, all of us, me included, rushed in.
Flash!
Blinding light, and the scene shifted.
I slowly surveyed my surroundings.
Pitch-black cave.
So dark no normal eyes could see—not a sliver of light penetrated.
“What? Can’t see a thing!”
“How do we do this?”
“Ah! Don’t push!”
The 50 students jostled in the dark, griping.
Thanks to my adaptation trait, though, I could see fine even here.