Chapter 11: Seong Si-woo (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 11: Seong Si-woo (4)
Do Han-seong was an instructor at Gaon Academy, but he was also employed by the Lotus Guild.
His job was to identify promising and talented students, then report back to the guild.
The clipboard in his hand was the very tool for that purpose.
Definitely…
The first Class B roster he’d received had been ordinary. A decent class with a few high-ranking students.
But the new list he was given on the day of the entrance ceremony completely upended his expectations.
Yohan, Yu Hana, Cheon Yeo-wool, Kang A-rin.
It was packed with big names who would instantly become the talk of the academy.
Of course, most of them were already affiliated with a guild or had their futures all but decided.
He naturally excluded them and turned his attention to those whose potential was still untapped.
And now, his gaze was fixed on the center of the auditorium.
Two students were sparring. One in particular.
At first, the duel between Yu Hana and Cheon Yeo-wool had drawn the most attention. The spectacle was more dazzling than anyone had expected, a feast for the eyes. Their skills were so polished it was hard to believe they were still students.
But it was another pair that had captured his interest.
Jung Hae-in and Seong Si-woo.
The beginning of the fight had been simple. A one-sided affair where Seong Si-woo relentlessly attacked and Jung Hae-in absorbed every blow with his defense.
On the surface, it looked like Seong Si-woo was overwhelming him, but the actual gap between them wasn’t that large. After all, Seong Si-woo hadn’t managed to land a single effective hit on Jung Hae-in.
Thus, Do Han-seong’s initial evaluation of them was simple.
Ordinary high-rankers…
That was his first assessment of the two.
Seong Si-woo seemed to have been born with impressive physical specs, but he was technically a blank slate. Jung Hae-in was stable, but he lacked a decisive, powerful move.
However, that judgment soon had to be revised.
Even under Seong Si-woo’s barrage of attacks, Jung Hae-in’s composure never wavered.
On the contrary, he was gradually reading Seong Si-woo’s patterns, gaining complete control over the flow of the battle.
Clang!
It was the decisive moment.
The Sword Force generated by Jung Hae-in shattered Seong Si-woo’s Sword Qi in a single blow.
Sword Force at his age?
“Is he the first since the Former Hero…?”
He sighed in admiration, highlighting the student’s name on his clipboard with a fluorescent marker.
This would definitely be reported to Lotus.
*
Seong Si-woo stood frozen in place for a long time, looking utterly shocked.
I didn’t say anything more to him.
I simply turned my back and walked quietly toward the waiting area.
It didn’t leave a good taste in my mouth.
I felt a little sorry, since I was trying to shatter the reality he knew and reshape it to my liking.
But he was a character I created, after all.
His arrogant personality was likely the result of the environment he’d spent the last decade or so living in.
He’s from the absolute middle of nowhere…
He must have been a frog in a well.
Still, I couldn’t give up on him.
I believe he’ll change.
Even if it doesn’t happen all at once, even if it takes time, I hope he’ll return to the person I know he can be.
Because no matter what anyone says, he’s the protagonist of this world.
From the other side of the hall, I saw Seong Si-woo stagger back toward the waiting area.
Just then, a voice from somewhere shattered my thoughts.
“He’s never going to change, you know?”
What the—
Did I say that out loud?
Startled, I looked toward the source of the voice.
“Don’t you think?”
It was Kang A-rin.
She had appeared next to me at some point and was now looking up, asking me a question.
“Uh…?”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
How was I supposed to answer that?
While I was trying to come up with some kind of excuse, Kang A-rin crossed her arms and tilted her head.
“I mean, what you’re thinking. Do you think the rankings will change?”
“The rankings will definitely change. Yu Hana is stronger than Cheon Yeo-wool.”
“You think the Saintess is a joke? No way they’re changing.”
Ah… now I understood. The fight between Yu Hana and Cheon Yeo-wool was still going on.
The people around us were hotly debating the outcome of their rankings.
I stared at her blankly for a moment before quietly shaking my head.
“Shouldn’t we wait and see?”
“Hmm…”
Kang A-rin’s lips curved into an interested smile as she gave me a probing look.
CRACK-BOOM!
A deafening roar echoed through the auditorium as a massive shockwave spread out.
The wave crashed against the erected Mana Wall and dissipated, but the sound was immense.
I turned my head to look.
Do they even know this is a spar? It looked like they were trying to half-kill each other.
“So, how was your opponent?” she asked as soon as my attention shifted to Cheon Yeo-wool and Yu Hana.
I was about to say everything I was thinking, but I stopped myself.
…I should at least defend him a little.
“He’s good.”
I answered simply, without any embellishment.
The one who asked, however, didn’t react.
I turned my gaze to Kang A-rin.
She was staring at me, her teeth clenched.
Her expression looked like she was about to burst into tears, and I was taken aback.
Not this again.
She had spoken to me so casually that I’d assumed she had gotten over the incident with Kang Yu-sung.
Seeing her reaction, I guess she hadn’t.
“Are you alri—”
But just as quickly, her expression turned sharp, as if her previous look had never existed.
“He has no skill, just a whole lot of stubborn pride.”
She began her assessment of Seong Si-woo.
“His habits are all wrong; he’s a lost cause.”
I feel like I’ve heard this somewhere before.
“A guy with no fundamentals.”
She continued her tirade without taking a breath.
“And he’s the type who will never change.”
She added one last remark, then suddenly broke into a brilliant smile.
“That’s my assessment.”
She’s got a good eye…
“Uh, right…”
I mumbled an agreement, nodding my head vaguely.
I didn’t feel like arguing with her when she was putting it so bluntly.
“Haaaah~”
Kang A-rin let out a light sigh as she stretched languidly.
Her slender waist was revealed, and her soft exhale sounded relaxed.
My eyes were momentarily captivated by the sight before another thought occurred to me.
Who was Kang A-rin’s opponent, anyway?
“Who was your opponent?”
“Hm?”
She tilted her head and stretched out an arm, pointing lazily toward one side of the auditorium.
“Over there~”
My gaze followed her finger to a shocking scene.
“Get in here, quickly!”
The auditorium doors burst open as emergency medics rushed inside.
A student, bleeding, was being carried out on a stretcher. It didn’t take me long to recognize him.
Yohan…?
He was unconscious.
More shockingly, the sword he was holding was completely mangled, as if it had been torn apart by a pair of hands.
Was the gap between them really that wide?
I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping.
“He kept trying to overstep his bounds~”
Kang A-rin’s voice flowed out slowly.
I turned to look at her.
“…Doesn’t even know his place, trying that with me.”
She turned her head as well, meeting my eyes directly.
Then, her lips slowly curled upward.
She was smiling brightly.
An all-too-radiant expression.
*
“That’ll be 8,000 won~”
The best way to forget a shocking scene is to eat something delicious.
I took my food and started looking for a seat.
Sion had said this place was a must-try, and as expected, it was packed.
I found a spot deep in a corner and laid out my meal.
“Did you hear…? Kang A-rin did that to Yohan…”
That story was the main topic everywhere you went.
It didn’t take long for news of what happened during today’s spars to spread.
Kang A-rin was ranked first. Yohan was ranked second.
Was the gap between them really that big?
It was true that in the original story, Yohan never once surpassed Kang A-rin before graduation. The gap between them only grew exponentially over time.
In other words, the difference in their skills was at its narrowest right now.
The two were rivals in every sense of the word, from their affiliations to their ideologies. It wasn't strange for them to fight, but…
She had been far too heavy-handed.
I heard he was suffering from Mana Depletion, which meant he’d need at least two weeks of rest.
I had been thinking I’d have to deal with him myself someday because of how he was keeping me in check.
Thanks to her, I had one less thing to worry about…
I guess I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
Nom.
Delicious.
Sion’s recommendations were always reliable.
My perspective had shifted a bit since last night. No, I was just trying to empty my mind a little.
Trying to keep everything under my control was reckless to begin with.
“Let’s just keep going like this~”
As I muttered to myself and moved my chopsticks, I felt a strange presence.
“Excuse me, are you Jung Hae-in?”
Instead of answering, I just looked at him with the chopsticks still in my mouth.
Unfazed by my reaction, he sat down and took something out of his bag.
“Please take this.”
He held out a business card.
At the top of the card, a single word was elegantly engraved.
‘Lotus.’
The world’s second-ranked guild.
It was a name everyone had heard of.
“I don’t think this is the right place to talk. Do you happen to have some time?”
He placed the business card on the table, as if he had already predicted I would respond positively.
“No.”
“…Excuse me?”
His expression momentarily twisted.
He clearly hadn’t expected such an answer.
Most students would jump at the chance, overjoyed at being scouted by Lotus.
It was the second-best in the world, after all. The name alone was tempting.
They did so without knowing it was illegal.
At Gaon Academy, any scouting contact outside of the official offer period was against the rules.
And once you made a verbal agreement, it became difficult to back out later, as they would use the illegality of the meeting to blackmail you.
The contracts would subtly include clauses like being unable to change affiliations and being bound by non-disclosure agreements.
Students would sign without realizing how dangerous the contract was. Later, if they tried to break it, Lotus would threaten them with massive lawsuits for damages, citing harm to the guild’s reputation or breach of contract.
With a little thought, one could find ways to fight back, but a young, unaffiliated student wouldn’t know how to handle that. In the end, they’d be forced to swallow their resentment and get dragged along.
What made it even more malicious was that they treated truly promising and exceptionally skilled students with the utmost respect, following all the proper procedures.
But for students in a more ambiguous position—the ones who were a bit too good to let another guild have—they used this approach.
“Haha, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
He forced a smile and continued.
“Actually, after seeing your performance in the spar today, Lotus has a very positive evaluation of you, Student Jung Hae-in. We’d like to formally…”
“No, stop right there.”
I cut him off and put down my chopsticks with an irritated clatter.
Then I slowly met his gaze head-on.
“Make your offer during the official period, with a formal contract.”
I held up the smartwatch on my wrist.
—a very positive evaluation of you…
The screen lit up, replaying the recording of our entire conversation.
His face instantly hardened.
I stood up from my seat.
I’d been enjoying my meal, but my appetite was gone.
“And I’ll be reporting this to the academy through official channels.”
No matter where you go, preying on newbies who don’t know any better is the most fucked-up thing in the world.