A Guy Who Won't Last Long
"I heard you requested a disciplinary committee assembly."
Sena spoke casually as she lounged in the rocking chair in Leden's lab. I turned to look at her; somehow, she was managing to read a book even as the chair swayed back and forth. Her attitude suggested total disinterest—no glance my way—yet here she was, thinking about me? I popped one of the soggy snacks Leden had left behind into my mouth.
"Yes. It's the payoff for risking my neck poking around everywhere all this time."
"But there's no solid evidence. All the guys we caught are Ios's inner circle, so it's just suspicion they were acting on her orders."
Sena lowered her book just enough to peek over it with her eyes.
"And now Ios has cut off her own tail, so it's useless anyway."
"That's fine. As long as the committee assembles smoothly."
"What are you scheming?"
"I'm gonna nitpick. Just a teensy little nitpick like this." I held my fingers a hair's breadth apart.
Sena furrowed her brows into a perfect figure-eight. That cute face twisting her eyebrows like that was adorable.
"And what good'll that do? Nitpick her into letting you smack her palm or something?"
"Yep. If I can just get permission for that 'palm smack' level, I'm golden."
"That'll do it?"
"Yeah. It'll do."
Despite my confident grin, Sena looked deeply skeptical. She finally closed her book and fixed me with a stare.
"Lee Hyun. You've been stuck by my side so long, you don't realize how dangerous other magicians are."
"……"
"Your skills are growing, sure, but you're still nowhere near able to overpower every magician out there."
"I know. That's why I'm studying so hard." I shoved a handful of snacks into my mouth, then approached her. "Sena."
"Eat what's in your mouth before you call me."
I swallowed. "Just one question."
"Ask."
"Between Ios and you—who wins in a fight?"
Sena gave me a look like What kind of question is that? Absolute confidence seeped into her expression.
"I'd win."
"Okay, then between Ios and me—who wins?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Ios wins."
"So I still can't beat Ios with my current skills?"
"…Lee Hyun. Ios Savin is one of the academy's top powerhouses who defies grade differences."
The academy had several renowned powerhouses. They led factions or acted as enforcers based on raw strength, and Ios was one of them. Sena counted among them too, but she was just filling a slot by comparison—utterly transcendent, beyond anyone else's league.
"If you really want to surpass Ios, you need way more stimulation."
Sena's hand shot out and landed on my pants, gently stroking around my cock without a flicker in her expression.
"So we need to share more connections and stimulation to get stronger."
"You're talking about wanting to fuck like it's some profound philosophy."
"It's the same thing."
"Sigh, fine, I get it. My skills aren't enough to beat Ios yet. Not planning to overpower her with brute force anyway."
But to satisfy this burning desire to grow stronger, I'd have to go through Ios eventually. I was starting to understand why magicians staked their lives on magical growth. That hunger to get stronger—how thrilling and maddening it was.
"Ah, time's almost up. Gotta go."
"…You've been hanging out with that big-tits girl a lot lately. What's the deal?"
Ah, damn. Knew she'd ask.
Sena's relentless questions and icy glares always choked the air from my lungs.
"Just teaching her magic. With some punishment thrown in."
"Then why are you teaching a witch?"
"Beats me. Why am I teaching witches?"
Thinking about it, it was weird. Why was I, of all people, in this position? Blame Clara and her special brand of incompetence.
"Anyway, I'm off."
"Lee Hyun."
Why did Sena always grab me right when I was leaving?
"Yeah? Want a goodbye kiss?"
She recoiled in disgust. Guess we weren't at the casual PDA stage yet.
"You can… do whatever with that girl. As long as it's for magical growth."
"…Sure."
"But don't forget our deal. You have to give me the exact same punishments you dish out to those witches."
Spank Clara's ass and reteach her basic magic—to Sena? Make the transcendent ice witch do beginner spells, and smack her ass if she fails? To someone who'd already mastered every realm of magic?
"Ah, got it."
I said that for now, but if she heard the details, she'd scoff for sure.
I slipped out of Leden's lab and headed down the stairs toward the Intensive Punishment Room.
Click. Clack. Click.
My dress shoes echoed through the empty hallway. No one around, so the sound bounced hollowly off the walls. Tap. Tap. Tap. Then, a faint set of footsteps matched my rhythm from behind.
There was a corner ahead. I walked straight like nothing was up, then whipped around it.
Tap-tap-tap. The footsteps hurried closer.
Timing it perfectly as they reached the corner, I yanked the stalker's collar.
"Gah!"
Thud! The guy slammed into the wall, lacking the strength to resist my grip. Slim build, skinny frame. No time to adjust his round glasses—he just stared in terror. That dumbstruck look pissed me off.
I snarled at Gregory. "Hey. You've been tailing me for days now."
Gregory forced an awkward smile, eyes darting.
"Part of me wants to rip you apart right now, but I'll hold off. So talk. Why're you stalking me?"
"I… admire Sena for her overwhelming power."
He tugged at my hand, but I didn't budge. The more he pulled, the tighter I squeezed.
"I've investigated her multiple times, but I can't uncover the truth behind that power."
"You background-checked Sena?"
"Hear me out. Sure, there's her family's inherited strength, but Sena is on another level entirely. And get this."
Gregory's eyes suddenly gleamed differently. Madness flickered in his gaze.
"You're kinda weird too, right?"
"…Me? Weird how."
"Weren't you just a servant who couldn't even use magic until recently?"
Click. I released his collar.
This bastard. He hadn't just dug into Sena—he'd investigated me too.
"No talent, just doing menial chores. Then suddenly you're an instructor overnight."
His eyes flicked to my waist. Sword on the right, staff on the left. He zeroed in on the "staff."
"Now you're wielding magic and swordplay. Normal magicians hit a growth wall after rapid progress—you just keep going without limits."
"…So?"
"Keep this up, and… my guess? In six months, you'll be shoulder-to-shoulder with the academy's top dogs."
I flinched. Was my growth that steep? Matching the elites in half a year?
"In a year, you might even… rival Sena right now."
"No way."
"Exactly. No way. Growth like that isn't easy."
Gregory leaned in close.
"But you're doing it."
"Back off."
"Powerhouses Ios or Eri should've recruited by now, yet they can't beat the instructor."
Smack! I shoved his hand away roughly.
Was I getting sloppy? I'd hidden what I could. Perfect secrecy's impossible when you're active, sure. But Gregory wasn't just perceptive. This guy had obsessive tendencies, sociopathic traits, and a mental disorder that blinded him to his own flaws. He saw prying into others as a noble mission, a twisted conviction.
"Instructor. That's why I wanted to say—"
Part of me itched to beat him senseless. I could overpower him with strength or magic, no problem. But why? No matter how much I crushed him or showed dominance, I couldn't picture him backing down. He'd just obsess harder, plotting day and night like a maniac.
"You know it, don't you?"
His thin lips twisted into a creepy grin. A smile that repulsive shouldn't exist.
"The secret everyone's desperate for but no one knows."
"……."
"You know why Sena's so strong."
I didn't know some special reason. She was just overwhelmingly powerful. But did that matter to him? His guesses were gospel to Gregory.
"Why does the instructor know the hidden truth magicians don't? Sena knows it too—that's why she's strong?"
My hand instinctively gripped my sword hilt.
"And you suddenly becoming instructor? Suspicious. If true, the principal knows too and pushed you forward."
These psychos' hunches miss sometimes, but hit scarily often. His pupils sharpened. Dilated like a drugged man's. A madness-choked monster lurked in those black depths, ready to lunge.
Kill him.
This one was beyond saving. Leave him alive, and he'd become a wildcard threat to me—and Sena. Eliminate the future problem right here…
"Instructor?"
I startled, releasing the sword. Around the corner, Clara stared with wide eyes.
"You were late, so I came to check. What's going on?"
Gregory seized the opening and slipped free, positioning himself opposite us.
"Sorry if I was rude. I've always been clumsier than most."
"……."
"But no bad intentions, I swear. I'm just purely…"
He licked his lips, exuding a serpentine chill. No bad intentions? That made him more dangerous—pure to him.
"…trying to reach the Realm of Magic."
Ah, I got it. Gregory—that bastard was gonna stir up major trouble soon.
And he wouldn't last long.