The Devil of the In-Seoul Class

Lee Seon-hee received a text message while working overtime.

Lee Seon-hee sent back a measured reply.

“Hehe. He’s finally accepting my goodwill.”

The maid hesitated, then spoke carefully. “...Are you sure that’s wise?”

“Hmm?”

When Lee Seon-hee tilted her head in confusion, the maid fidgeted before managing to continue. “It’s just… I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don’t understand why you would help the opponent during a competition. Introducing him to the academy might even lower your chances of winning, no?”

The stakes in this match were enormous. Even going all-out to secure victory might not be enough, yet here she was, offering aid to the enemy.

I don’t understand…

Watching the maid’s troubled expression, Lee Seon-hee let out a soft chuckle.

“Your thinking is rather shallow. Almost foolish.”

“Pardon?”

“That child is going to become my son-in-law someday. What could possibly be wrong with treating him well? On the contrary, it makes me very happy.”

“...Pardon?”

“He finally took my hand, after all.”

The maid couldn’t grasp the meaning. She simply stared at Lee Seon-hee, who continued to beam with delight, as if gazing at some incomprehensible being.

“Just think about it. When I told him I would do anything for him if he came to our house, he looked utterly disgusted. Yet now, with the excuse of needing to win our little bet, he immediately accepts my help. Isn’t that situation just adorable?”

“Ah… well, yes, but doesn’t that put you at a disadvantage as well, Taeguk Singun?”

“Oh, truly. That’s exactly what makes it so cute… If you dangle the right mix of benefits he can accept and disadvantages he dislikes, he snatches at it like a little child. It reminds me of watching toddlers. How can someone be so clumsy and endearing at the same time? Puhu…”

Lee Seon-hee hugged the cushion beside her and kicked her feet excitedly against the floor.

The maid nodded slowly, as if she had finally caught on. “...I see. So you’re using the opponent’s hostility to manipulate them into acting as you wish… It’s practically brainwashing.”

Lee Seon-hee’s expression turned stern. “This isn’t brainwashing, it’s affection. Choose your words carefully.”

“But then you’re spending money and earning his resentment. Isn’t that like those malicious viewers who send creepy super chats full of sexual harassment?”

“It’s perfectly fine. The important thing is to make him dependent on me. You feed them milk, put them to sleep, pat their backs—that’s how a mother forms an attachment with her child, isn’t it?”

Lee Seon-hee fell silent, lost in her own thoughts.

On the surface he keeps saying he hates it, hates it, but before he even realizes what’s happening, he’ll be hooked on everything I give him and slowly dyed in my colors. I can’t wait for the day he comes running into my arms and calls me Grandmother.

“Of course, I have no intention of actually losing. I’ll keep offering help, but I’ll carefully adjust the amount so I stop right before the finish line.”

An ecstatic look spread across Lee Seon-hee’s face. In her mind, she pictured a tearful Yoo Ji-tae. She saw him sobbing uncontrollably, furious and frustrated, kneeling before her as she pulled him into her embrace, comforting him, loving him.

She recalled the Yoo Ji-tae from earlier that day once more—the way he had trembled yet desperately tried to stand his ground against her. It was so unbearably cute that she had replayed the memory several times.

Now I understand why Ah-rang likes him so much.

“I want to be called Grandmother as soon as possible.”

Lee Seon-hee cupped her flushed cheeks with both hands, happily lost in her fantasies.

The level test at the retake academy’s Inseoul class sorted students according to their abilities. The reason was simple: resources were limited. The academy could only provide so much in terms of educational assets. Even the most talented instructors had a limit to how many students they could handle, and the stock of elixirs was finite.

When distributing such scarce resources, efficiency was everything. They identified those who could make the best use of what was provided and who could later serve as the academy’s shining advertisement, then poured their focus onto them.

That was why the quality of instruction, the intensity of training, and the level of educational materials varied drastically between classes. Rumor had it that secret magics available only in the Korea University special class existed.

In other words, getting into the Korea University special class is mandatory if I want to attend Korea University.

However, according to the receptionist’s guidance, my current specs meant the lowest tier—the Inseoul class—was the best I could hope for.

“So I’ll just have to earn my way up from inside.”

The academy ran a ranking test every week, and students could switch classes based on how their rank fluctuated. The testing cycle was one week. These rules were identical across every academy.

“...Competing for rank every single week, rising and falling. That sounds brutal.”

I set my laptop on the table and dug deeper into my research on the academies. That was when I noticed a few key facts.

“A lot of these academies are tied to corporations.”

Expensive magic tools, elixirs, and magic cuisine produced by magic corporations were supplied exclusively to specific academies. That probably explained why the tuition fees were so steep. The cheapest started at a hundred million won, while the most expensive reached two hundred million. And of course, that was only the registration cost. Once inside, you still had to pay for reinforcement elixirs, textbooks on secret arts, and additional lesson fees.

In some cases, the total can climb close to ten billion.

I remembered the text Lee Seon-hee had sent me around lunchtime earlier.

“...I’ll pay with my own money.”

Lee Se-rin, sitting beside me, folded her arms. “Won’t it be expensive?”

“I’ve saved up quite a bit. After refining those elixirs last time, I still have around eight billion left. That should be plenty.”

For now, the plan was to attend the academy while managing my budget, then use any surplus to craft more elixirs and magic dishes for myself. The general outline was set.

The next issue was—

“My gender.”

There were clear advantages to hiding my sex and entering the academy. If no one knew I was male, I wouldn’t be bombarded with marriage proposals every day. Enduring that kind of harassment among women day after day would destroy my sanity. Training would become impossible.

The problem was that I couldn’t use the Kynee Replica. My appearance while using it was permanently fixed as Hermes. If a Nobel Prize winner suddenly showed up at an academy full of students, it would cause absolute chaos.

After thinking it over, I reached one conclusion: wear a wig, a mask, and baggy clothes to pass myself off as a woman.

That thought reminded me of the first time I met Lee Se-rin. She and everyone else had imposed an overwhelming amount of territorial aggression without hesitation. Would the retake academy be any different?

“.......”

My head already ached just thinking about it.

“Are you Lee Se-rin?”

“...Yes.”

My voice came out modulated through a cheap voice-changer choker I had bought on the market (regular price: two hundred thousand won).

The place I had come to was Hye-seong Academy, currently considered the best in Korea. After entering the massive twenty-two-story building with twelve basement levels and lingering near the entrance, a staff member soon came down to meet me.

She had a short bob haircut, wore jeans and a white blouse, and was quite tall. The employee ID hanging from her neck swung back and forth because she had been running.

“Ah, I’m Cheon Hui-ah, one of the staff members here. You’re here for the level test, correct?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Did you prepare anything in advance?”

“No.”

Cheon Hui-ah nodded and guided me deeper into the building. Women were bustling about everywhere, and from somewhere inside the building came the rhythmic thud, thud of heavy impacts.

“It’s unusual for someone to join as a new student at this time of year, and we normally don’t accept them. Is there some special circumstance?”

“It’s a personal matter.”

I changed the subject. “By the way, how does the level test work?”

“Normally we use diagnostic equipment, but we’ve decided to substitute it with a ranking test this time.”

“Substitute? That’s different from what I was told.”

Cheon Hui-ah scratched her head apologetically. “Yes. Usually we measure stamina, strength, and magic power levels ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to assign classes. But that method is only used at the beginning of the year. The level test now only checks basic capabilities, and since the entrance exams are right around the corner, the consensus was that judging practical combat ability through the ranking test would be more efficient.”

“...I see.”

“...Is that all right with you?”

“I don’t have much choice.”

“You’re very understanding. All right then. We’ll start with running in the diagnostic room. Are you comfortable taking the test with a group?”

The moment I heard the words “group test,” my stomach already began to churn.

I stepped into the testing area. Inside was an enormous indoor track. Near the starting line, roughly two hundred women in gym clothes were warming up.

Cheon Hui-ah pointed at them. “All of them are from the Inseoul class. They all have terrible personalities, so don’t try to get friendly with any of them.”

…Don’t people usually say the opposite?

There was one empty spot at the very end. Cheon Hui-ah walked over to the track and clapped her hands loudly.

“Attention everyone. A new student will be taking the test today, so please keep that in mind.”

Every single woman’s gaze snapped toward me. Their eyes were fierce, the kind reserved for rivals. I instinctively shrank back, and giggles erupted from every corner of the room.

When thirty-one of us lined up at the starting line, the woman beside me grinned. She had a cute face and wore her hair in a ponytail.

“The academy isn’t accepting new students right now. How did you get in?”

“...It just sort of happened.”

“I see. Good luck, then.”

Cheon Hui-ah wrote something down, then raised her voice. “First event of the ranking test: three-thousand-meter run. Ready…!”

The whistle blew. I kicked off the ground with all my strength and sprinted forward. I ran until my lungs burned, but the other female students were already far ahead.

The woman who had been running beside me smirked. “Take your time. I’ll be waiting up front.”

She had clearly been holding back to gauge my ability. In an instant she overtook me and merged with the leading group.

I kept running, but I remained dead last. While I was still circling the track, the women who had finished began stepping off to rest. Gradually fewer and fewer people remained on the track until only I was left, running alone.

Still, I gave it everything I had and completed the run. By the time I crossed the finish line, sweat poured off me like rain. I checked the records.

The top ten had finished in around four minutes. In other words, the upper ranks of the Inseoul class had maintained an average speed of forty-five kilometers per hour.

After that came five-minute times, then the mid-to-late six-minute range. My time as the thirty-first and final finisher stood out dramatically.

31st place — Lee Se-rin — 3,000 m run — 7 minutes 1 second.

I recalled that the world record for ordinary people in the 3,000 m was around seven minutes and twenty seconds. I had beaten the ordinary person’s record, but among ability users I was at the very bottom.

This was where I would have to start clawing my way up.

After combining everyone’s rankings, I ended up in 211th place. Dead last. My vision went dark.

Of course, I only needed to beat Ah-rang, but there was no way Lee Seon-hee would have raised ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her half-heartedly.

While I sat on the track trying to catch my breath, the woman who had run beside me earlier approached. She smiled brightly and pulled a water bottle from her bag.

“Are you okay? You look exhausted. Want some of this?”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

I recoiled in shock.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m not thirsty.”

“Really? That’s odd. If you get thirsty, you have to say something, okay? I’m worried you might collapse during the test.”

When I looked away, the woman grabbed my hand and forcibly pulled me to my feet.

“We need to go to the next testing area. I’ll help you.”

“...Ah. Yes.”

The more I avoided her gaze, the brighter her smile became.

Cheon Hui-ah gathered all the women. “All right. Next is the magic power test. Everyone, please move to the next testing room.”

I was practically dragged along as we headed to the next area. While walking down the corridor, I heard mocking snickers.

“Hey! If you have something to say, say it properly!”

The woman supporting me shouted in that direction, then looked at me with concern. “If anyone bothers you, tell me right away, okay? Oh, I have some medicine. Want some?”

I forced a smile. “Ah, no thank you.”

“Really? You have to speak up if you’re in pain, okay? Oh! I’m Itoha. Ask me anything if you’re curious. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Itoha smiled sweetly.

“...Yes.”