The Time for Revenge Has Come
Having been away from campus for far too long, Han Seong-il had completely forgotten the lecture schedule. He checked the class times and thought, Huh? There’s a duel class today?
Because he tended to sleep in, Seong-il had deliberately left his mornings free and packed all his courses into the afternoon. Confirming that the first class after lunch was combat dueling, a sly smile crept across his face. Kuhuhu… Finally…! The time for revenge has arrived!!
He had endured a long stretch of suffering. After half a year in the game world—enduring every kind of hardship, effort, and fortuitous encounter—he now sensed it was time to put everything he had prepared into action. As he readied his vengeance, he thought, The moment I arrive… I’ll immediately designate Go Yeong-tae and request a duel. Even if I lose, it doesn’t matter! If I lose, I can just return to the game world and prepare for revenge again!
Once his thoughts were settled, Seong-il changed clothes with a triumphant expression, prepared for class, wolfed down one of the three-minute meals he had drawn previously, and headed off to school with a full stomach.
After exchanging light greetings with a few classmates he hadn’t seen in a while, he put on his dobok and waited quietly for class inside the duel arena. Then the person he had been waiting for finally appeared before his eyes.
“Hey~ Our Seong-il~ Good to see you~”
“Oh~ Yeong-tae, you’re here?”
“...?”
Go Yeong-tae was visibly flustered by Seong-il’s unexpectedly casual greeting and confident demeanor. He frowned and shot back, “Did you eat something weird? Where the hell do you get off talking to me like that?”
Seong-il gave him a crooked smile and answered without missing a beat. “What’s it to you? I greet you nicely and you still throw a fit. Pathetic bastard.”
“What? This little shit—”
Enraged by Seong-il’s mocking tone, Go Yeong-tae clenched his fist as if ready to charge. The people around him quickly held him back.
“Hey! Are you insane? If you use violence on a non-combatant you’ll be arrested on the spot…!”
“Yeah. Don’t dirty your hands right now. Do it legally later. Legally.”
Of all things, the ones stopping him are even more fucking annoying than the one throwing punches. I’ll have to deal with those bastards soon too.
Seong-il was thoroughly sick of Go Yeong-tae’s gang and their nonsense. He looked straight at Yeong-tae and said, “Hey. You’ve got plenty of bones to pick with me too, right? Let’s skip the bullshit and fight right now.”
“...Have you lost your mind?”
“Maybe? I’ll make it real fun for you, asshole. Look forward to it. Got it?”
Seong-il provoked Go Yeong-tae with a smug, self-satisfied grin. Seeing that expression, Yeong-tae and his friends sensed something was off and began whispering among themselves.
“What’s with him…? That guy was at best an Induction ability user, right? What’s he relying on to act like this…?”
“Who knows. Probably got beaten so many times he finally snapped.”
After speaking, Go Yeong-tae hardened his expression and returned to his spot. Ignoring them completely, Seong-il scanned the arena from his corner. Oh… For once both Lee Ah-hyun and Choi Hyunwoo actually showed up for class…?
Lee Ah-hyun and Choi Hyunwoo—the top prospects of the freshman year. They were famous for possessing two distinct specialties each, and even more famous for operating on an entirely different level from every other student. Because of that extreme gap, it was well-known that they had been granted free passes from the mandatory duel class in order to protect the rest of the student body.
Both of them used physical enhancement as their foundation; Choi Hyunwoo could also wield telekinesis, while Lee Ah-hyun utilized space distortion. They were super-prospects who would undoubtedly spark bidding wars among every guild and government agency the moment they graduated.
If this were the old me, I would have lowered my head and envied them from a distance. But not anymore.
Seong-il stared at the pair with complete confidence. Perhaps sensing his gaze, Lee Ah-hyun turned to look at him.
Oops!
Seong-il quickly averted his eyes. Lee Ah-hyun frowned slightly at his reaction, but soon smoothed her expression and stopped paying him any attention.
Lee Ah-hyun’s abilities are already incredible, but why does she have to be that beautiful on top of it…
Her appearance was on par with a top-tier celebrity. On top of that, her perfectly trained physique only amplified her beauty, drawing countless men into her orbit.
They say her personality is surprisingly decent too…
Rumors claimed she had even warned the arrogant physical enhancers to stop throwing their weight around, which was why she received such high praise for her character.
Compared to her, though, that Choi Hyunwoo guy is really…
Unlike the seemingly perfect Lee Ah-hyun in every respect, Choi Hyunwoo was the subject of endless gossip. He had fairly good looks and a passable personality, yet his reputation was surprisingly poor.
It’s obvious without even asking. He must have heard through the grapevine that Ah-hyun was attending class today and came to try to worm his way in somehow.
The single reason Choi Hyunwoo’s reputation was so bad despite his decent character was simple: he was a notorious womanizer with a filthy track record of conquests. With his good looks, overwhelming ability, and not-bad personality, women constantly flocked to him. The problem was that he exploited their interest, messing around with any woman he found attractive in a greedy, octopus-like fashion.
From what I hear, he’s dating more than ten girls at once. And now even that isn’t enough—he’s setting his sights on Ah-hyun too? Figures. The ones who already have everything always want more…
In truth, if one looked at Seong-il’s own recent behavior, he wasn’t exactly in a position to judge… but he shamelessly applied double standards and continued cursing Choi Hyunwoo inside his head.
“Oh…! Everyone’s already gathered early today? What’s the occasion?”
A refined-looking middle-aged man entered the arena, addressing the large crowd of students.
The devil bastard has arrived.
Professor Jo Woo-young, nicknamed the Devil. Despite his gentle, refined speech and perpetually smiling face, he was notorious for mercilessly hounding students the moment class began.
Back at the start of the semester I smiled at the wrong moment during his class and nearly died from the tongue-lashing he gave me… Seeing him after so long, the bastard almost looks welcome.
With that thought, Seong-il quietly began listening to the lecture.
“All right…! There’s nothing complicated today. We’ll simply do one duel round. Properly.”
How many idiots got themselves half-killed because they took the words ‘one duel round’ at face value? Plenty, I bet…
On the surface it sounded like they would simply spar lightly and leave, but reality was different. If the duel didn’t reach the intensity Professor Jo expected, he would mercilessly shout “Again,” push their turn to the very end of class, and force them to repeat it endlessly. That was what he was infamous for.
In a way, it’s because of that son of a bitch that I suffered that humiliation from Go Yeong-tae in the first place.
While Seong-il ground his teeth and swallowed his rage, Go Yeong-tae suddenly approached and whispered in his ear.
“Hey. I’m picking you. You ready, you little shit?”
“Huh?”
Go Yeong-tae was smiling triumphantly as he looked at him. In response, Seong-il simply gave him a bright, wordless smile.
“…You’re smiling?”
“Why the fuck not? I feel like smiling, so I smile. What’s your problem, bastard?”
“…This motherfucker.”
“Stop running your mouth and just put in the duel request already, dumbass.”
Seong-il’s continued provocation made Go Yeong-tae’s body tremble with fury as he ground his teeth. “…You brought this on yourself, you know that?”
“Yeah.”
Unable to endure any more of Seong-il’s taunting, Go Yeong-tae finally raised his hand and called out to Professor Jo Woo-young.
“Professor!”
“Oh… Yeong-tae. You wish to begin the duels today?”
“Yes. I would like to duel Han Seong-il…”
Professor Jo Woo-young frowned, his voice laced with irritation. “Hm? It’s only the second semester and you want to duel a non-combat operative? Shouldn’t you be thinking about challenging combat-capable students stronger than yourself by now? Since Lee Ah-hyun and Choi Hyunwoo are both here today, why don’t you take this chance to challenge one of them…?”
Go Yeong-tae was at a loss for words. Seong-il stepped in between them.
“Professor. This was my request.”
“?”
Professor Jo Woo-young looked bewildered by the sudden interjection. Seong-il shrugged and continued, “I might get dispatched to a dangerous site someday, right? So I wanted to experience a duel against a physical enhancement type. Yeong-tae happened to overhear my concerns and offered to help, so he submitted the request on my behalf.”
“…Is that true?”
“Yes, of course.”
The arena buzzed with murmurs at his bombshell statement.
“…Is that guy actually insane?”
“Go Yeong-tae is still a 3rd-grade physical enhancement user, right? In a simple duel that’s basically monster level…”
“What a joke…”
All sorts of sarcastic remarks drifted from behind him. Listening to their mockery, Seong-il walked to the center of the arena and began raising his internal energy.
Today. Win or lose, we settle this once and for all.
With a resolute heart, Seong-il stood in the arena and stared at Go Yeong-tae. Looking at his opponent caused memories of the past six months to flash through his mind like a revolving lantern.
The time he had nearly been beaten to death by the young lady of the sect after blindly entering the wuxia world. The time he had been stabbed in the Pocket Girls world, barely survived, and then gritted his teeth in resentment while devoting himself entirely to training.
Recalling those days, Seong-il found himself smiling faintly. Fuck, I’ve already died once from getting stabbed by a knife. This is nothing. If I get badly hurt, I can just chug a potion.
Go Yeong-tae apparently interpreted Seong-il’s smile as further provocation. He scowled fiercely, glared at him, and finally assumed a combat stance.
“Both of you appear ready, so we will begin the match. As usual, I will count to five. The duel starts immediately after. Any objections?”
“None!”
Both answered loudly. The professor nodded and began the countdown.
“5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Duel begin!”
The instant the words left his mouth, Go Yeong-tae launched himself forward with terrifying speed, charging straight at Seong-il. Rather than panic, Seong-il calmly activated his Induction, pushed his senses to the limit, and began analyzing his opponent’s attack paths.
Yeong-tae’s fist flew in like a savage strike. Seong-il kept his eyes wide open and dodged the incoming punch with a minimal tilt of his head.
Bam!!
The sound of air being violently torn echoed through the arena from Go Yeong-tae’s punch.
This bastard is seriously trying to kill me?
Smiling bitterly at the murderous intent behind those fists, Seong-il concentrated even more deeply and continued evading.
Bam!Bam!!Bam!!
The punches were so ferocious they generated shockwave-like sounds even though they never touched anything solid. After a long barrage of merciless fists slicing through empty air, Seong-il had retreated nearly three to four meters.
Go Yeong-tae’s expression twisted in surprise. “This bastard… I wondered why he was acting so cocky today. So he learned how to scurry around like a rat using his ability?”
Seong-il said nothing. He simply clenched his fist in silence.
“Oh…! Planning to use that new punch you learned? Fine, I’ll take one hit. Go ahead and try.”
Having taken Seong-il’s attacks several times before, Go Yeong-tae knew they couldn’t do much to his enhanced body. He boldly lowered his guard, thrust his face forward, and shouted, “Hit me, you bastard! Come on! I’ll let you land one!”
“Oh~ Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll give you one free shot. Hit me, you bastard.”
“Thanks!”
With a cold smile, Seong-il gathered every last bit of the internal energy he had painstakingly accumulated and focused it into his fist.
Fuck, taste the 3-star internal energy I gathered like a dog, you son of a bitch.
Once ready, Seong-il unleashed his full-powered punch.
CRACK!!!!
The merciless strike landed dead center on Go Yeong-tae’s face. Seong-il’s fist sank in slightly, crushing the man’s nose and mouth in one devastating blow.
“Kehek…!”
The impact was like being struck in the head with a warhammer. Go Yeong-tae flew backward and collapsed, teeth scattering through the air.
“Stupid bastard. Dropping your guard like that.”
Seeing Go Yeong-tae sprawled out and unable to regain his senses from the brutal shock, Seong-il pounced like a wild animal. He pinned the man’s upper body beneath his own and began hammering both fists into his face without mercy.
Crunch!!Crunch!!Crunch!!
Having finally lost all reason from the mountain of accumulated resentment, Seong-il continued beating him savagely.
“Stop!!”
Professor Jo Woo-young, unable to watch any longer, moved to intervene. But even his command couldn’t reach the frenzied Seong-il, who kept pounding away with full strength. In the end, the professor charged forward and struck the back of Seong-il’s neck with a sharp hand blade.
“Sleep for a while.”
Thud!
The professor’s precise strike connected cleanly. Seong-il went limp like a puppet with its strings cut and collapsed unconscious.