The Most Entertaining Spectacle

There’s a saying that the most entertaining spectacle in the world is watching a fight. But the truth is, watching a fight isn’t always fun. The atmosphere can shift completely depending on the situation, the environment, or the people involved.

Still, when students start throwing punches at school, spectators always swarm in. After all, no one can resist wondering who the sudden combatants in this brand-new arena might be.

The murmurs rippled through the crowd.

At some point the crowd had thickened around us, and the stares kept multiplying. Class must have just ended.

“You bastard! Getting lucky and dodging once doesn’t mean shit!”

A hot-blooded young man could never tuck his tail and run once the stage was set. Especially not when his opponent had evaded his attack.

“Haaap!”

His outstretched hand shot toward my face. It was the technique known in martial arts novels as Geum Na Su. I had never seen it in real life, so I couldn’t accurately judge the martial art behind it, but it clearly carried a different flavor from ordinary punches. That didn’t mean I couldn’t dodge it, of course.

I slipped aside.

“You rat bastard…!”

His follow-up hand barely grazed my collar. The strike was slow, yet it came from a tricky angle that made me think it might actually be worth learning.

Is this… what growth feels like?

The theme of the second floor was growth. And since the clear condition was to earn a master’s recognition, there was no rule against learning something from them. But that would have to wait until the current mess was cleaned up. One of the mission conditions specifically said I must not get expelled from Jeongmu Academy, so it was wiser to avoid any unsavory incidents.

I lightly snatched the hand that kept flying at me.

From the start, the gap in agility was so wide that every movement was visible. Reading him wasn’t difficult at all.

The gathered students offered their own colorful reactions as they watched our little clash. Yet their interest in the fight cooled faster than I expected. Just as the earlier comments suggested, a mere scuffle between first-years was nothing more than light entertainment to them—not exactly a thrilling spectacle.

“Ugh…! Let go!”

The guy whose wrist I had seized squirmed and flailed. But the difference in raw strength was too great; there was no chance he would break free from my grip.

“Haa…”

As I stood there, old, unpleasant memories began to surface like smoke. The school days I never wanted to recall… The growing irritation made my hand tighten without me realizing it.

Crack.

“Aargh!”

I yanked the captured wrist and pulled his face right up to mine. His pupils dilated in panic, trembling as he lost all sense of direction.

“You don’t get more, you don’t get less. Just take one hit.”

I raised my empty left hand high. By my estimation, if I drove my fist into this guy’s face right now, he might actually die. So I decided this punishment would stop at a slap.

Let’s be honest—it was just venting. But he had touched my trauma, so he needed to pay the price.

“Clench your teeth, kid.”

The moment I spoke, his face drained of all color. The two guys who had been standing with him finally seemed to realize their friend wasn’t joking around and was genuinely getting beaten. But they were too late to save him.

Swooosh!

A sharp burst of air rang out from my open palm. The threatening sound, the bloodless left hand still trapped in my grip, and my descending palm stopped dead an inch from his cheek.

Whoooosh!

The wind pressure from my halted palm whipped his hair wildly. The guy who had squeezed his eyes shut and offered his cheek turned beet red. The two beside him froze in awkward stances, hands halfway to their weapons.

“Count yourself lucky.”

I withdrew my hand and offered a polite fist salute toward them. To be exact, it was aimed at the martial artist in green robes who had been staring at me intently from behind the three of them.

“What exactly were you doing?”

“Whoa!”

The two punks who had started the fight with me flinched violently at the calm voice of the green-robed warrior and hurriedly returned the salute. Judging by both his appearance and their reaction, he clearly held some status inside the academy.

“We greet Master Flowing Sword!”

At his arrival, the students who had gathered quickly offered their own salutes and slipped away, reading the mood. I would have liked to disappear with them, but unfortunately I was one of the main parties involved. I wasn’t going anywhere.

“Did you do that?”

The man known as Flowing Sword asked with a short sidelong glance. Following his gaze, I saw the lackey grimacing, his wrist already blooming with a vivid bruise.

“Yes.”

“Hmm… You injured a classmate yet your face shows not the slightest hint of guilt.”

His voice carried an indescribable weight. As someone who taught the academy’s students, it felt less like empty authority and more like pure confidence in his own power.

Would someone of his level count as a master recognized by the system?

With that question in mind, I simply nodded.

“It was self-defense.”

“Self-defense?”

“Yes, sir.”

I swept my gaze ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠across the crowd before continuing.

“Everyone present saw it. He was the one who started the quarrel. I kept dodging because I had no desire to get involved.”

“That can’t be right. I clearly saw you launch an attack at the end.”

“I planned to stop midway from the beginning.”

Flowing Sword tilted his head at my answer.

“Why?”

“Because he would have kept charging if I didn’t. It’s annoying.”

“What? Hahaha!”

My words had naturally emphasized how pathetic they were.

One, they started the fight.

Two, I hadn’t wanted to dirty my hands with inferiors, so I tried to avoid them.

Three, those losers kept rushing in without reading the room, so I merely scared them as a form of education.

Of course, if Flowing Sword hadn’t shown up, one of them would probably be on his way to the infirmary with a bright red handprint on his cheek right now.

The three of them flinched and glared at me. Their pride must have taken quite the hit. But true to the law of the jungle—where the strong are respected—Flowing Sword didn’t scold me. Instead he let out a hearty laugh and casually rested a hand on my shoulder.

“You. What is your name?”

“Kim Siin.”

“Kim Siin… A first-year, I see. I’ll remember it. Somehow it feels familiar. Are you perhaps attending my lectures?”

His question put me on edge. The only reason I was here was because I had suddenly entered the second floor of the Tower. I wasn’t actually a student enrolled at Jeongmu Academy, so answering carelessly felt dangerous.

But it seemed the Tower had prepared a small courtesy this time.

When I glanced at the hand resting on my shoulder, a system window appeared and fed me information.

So this was it.

I lifted my head and met his eyes.

Attend the professors’ classes at Jeongmu Academy and develop my own techniques. I couldn’t tell what the Tower’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠true intention was, but it felt like every mission on the second floor existed for the single purpose of making me stronger in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the most serious way possible.

If that was the case…

“No, I am not currently attending Master Flowing Sword’s lectures.”

“Hmm… I see. If you ever become interested in my class, come find me. I teach every day at noon—between eleven and one. It won’t be too heavy a burden.”

“Yes. Thank you for your consideration.”

He gave me one final sweeping look, then led the three troublemakers away.

“Tsk…”

I clicked my tongue softly as I watched the spot where Flowing Sword had disappeared.

He was strong. Stronger than the tutorial dummies, stronger than Von Gregory on the first floor or that fake constellation. I had no idea what format his classes took, but it was obvious that learning from him would have made me significantly stronger.

Yet one detail bothered me, so I couldn’t bring myself to ask for his guidance right away.

It was C, wasn’t it?

The mission difficulty had been listed as C. When I first entered the second floor, I had received the mission Blue Surpasses Indigo. Its difficulty range was “Individual C~A,” which meant Flowing Sword’s teaching represented only the lowest tier of instruction.

I can’t waste a golden opportunity like this on an average teacher.

This was a chance to become stronger. A chance to grow so powerful that my current self would look laughable by comparison.

“Looks like I’ll need to invest some time.”

Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States, supposedly once said:

Before doing anything, you must first establish a clear sense of purpose—why the task must be done. Only by knowing exactly which direction to take, what method to use, and where your final destination lies can you move forward without regret.

So I decided to spend an entire day exploring every corner of Jeongmu Academy. The place was enormous. Somewhere inside this vast campus, an A-rank master was waiting to be found.