The Academy’s Delinquent-in-Charge: Episode 11
The previously quiet lecture hall buzzed in an instant. There were even students who had opened their mouths so wide in shock that their jaws dislocated, crying out in pain.
“Quiet, quiet!”
Dekant, like a seasoned professor, used a Light Magic spell that radiated brilliance to instantly draw everyone’s attention.
The students rustled once more upon witnessing Dekant’s skill—casting spells so fast that the magic circles couldn’t even be seen.
“Did you see that? The magic circle was invisible.”
“Of course. He’s teaching the Academy’s first class, after all……”
*Click—*
Dekant snapped his fingers.
In that instant, magic circles formed above the two whispering students and discharged a mild electric current.
“Urk.”
“Aack—”
The two students, recipients of a sudden electric massage, foamed at the mouth and—*thud*—slammed their heads onto their desks.
“Now it’s a bit quieter.”
Dekant smiled in satisfaction and looked at Baek Iljin. The guy who had shown up late to the very first class and didn’t even apologize with a shred of decency.
‘Where do these brats pop out from every year? And they dare call themselves special admits……?’
Now that the kid was on his bad side, Dekant didn’t even like the sight of him standing stiffly by the door.
‘I need to give him a good dressing-down.’
Having taught the Academy’s first class for fifteen years, Dekant was more than used to dealing with such delinquents—the so-called “rebels.”
“You. What is your name?”
“I am Baek Iljin.”
Dekant nodded half-heartedly, as if barely listening to his answer, then turned his gaze to the students.
“You haven’t just wronged me.”
“Pardon?”
“You’ve stolen the time of everyone here. That is something that should never happen in communal life.”
“Ah…… yes.”
Hearing that, Baek Iljin looked around and saw several students glaring at him with sharp eyes.
‘I see. My actions could cause harm to others.’
As he muttered internally about communal life, Dekant pointed to the podium and spoke.
“Come up here and apologize to the students as well.”
Based on Dekant’s experience from countless lectures, those rebels were packed solid with unfounded confidence to an incomprehensible degree.
‘Bowing their head in front of this many peers is exactly the kind of behavior these thugs despise most.’
If he asked him to apologize to his fellow students, he was bound to show resistance. Then Dekant could seize the justification and crush him.
“Yes, I understand.”
“What?! No…… I mean, yes. Come up here.”
Before he knew it, Baek Iljin had trudged up onto the podium. Standing on the podium, all the students were visible at a glance. In the distance, he could see Hwangbo Sujeong and Hwangbo Cheolsu holding their foreheads and shaking their heads.
‘So they were there.’
Having received the lecture microphone from Dekant, Baek Iljin stood facing the students.
‘Trendy and polite.’
“Sorry.”
It was a trendy and polite, short apology.
*Pffft—*
*Pfft—*
Laughter burst out here and there, but the lecture hall quickly regained its silence under Dekant’s glaring eyes.
‘Yeah…… I knew something was up when he agreed to apologize so obediently. So this is how he was going to play it, huh?’
Dekant took back the microphone without revealing the rage boiling inside him.
‘No need to lose my composure and explode now. In a few hours, I’ll make this brat cry his eyes out anyway.’
“Right……. Today, this Baek Il…… what was your name again?”
“It’s Baek Iljin.”
“Right. This friend, Baek Iljin, has volunteered to work hard as today’s teaching assistant to show his apologetic heart. Let’s give him a round of applause.”
*Clap, clap, clap—*
Baek Iljin nodded as well.
‘A teaching assistant is nothing much……. It’s true that I caused harm to the class by being late.’
The lecture soon resumed. Dekant used telekinesis magic to hold a board marker and wrote “Auxiliary Magic Studies” on the blackboard. Then below it, he wrote “Barrier Magic.”
Actually, the first class was supposed to cover the Mana Breathing Technique that would appear on the placement exam, but when it came to disciplining delinquent students, Barrier Magic lessons were the best.
‘I can teach Mana Breathing next period, so it doesn’t matter.’
“This period is about Barrier Magic, which I personally consider the most important among Auxiliary Magic Studies. Page 149.”
The students began taking out their “Auxiliary Magic Studies” books, which looked to be at least two thousand pages thick. However, Baek Iljin, standing on the podium, didn’t even take out a book and just stared blankly.
‘Do I need to buy books to listen to the lecture too?’
Seeing that, Dekant clicked his tongue lightly—*Tsk.* This was the Academy. Even among delinquent students, this was the first maniac who hadn’t even brought a book.
‘Tsk, just you wait.’
But too much time had already been wasted, so he decided to deal with the delinquent student later.
“First, those who know the difference between Formations and Barrier Magic, raise your hands. I’ll give points to any student who explains it properly.”
Quite a few students raised their hands. One student caught Dekant’s eye.
“Yes, you there. Stand up.”
“Hello. I am Jegal Muhyeok, number one on the written exam.”
Jegal Muhyeok was a short student wearing rimless glasses. But separate from his short stature, his eyes visible behind the rimless glasses were full of confidence.
“So you’re the famous top scorer of the written exam.”
“I was just lucky.”
It was a humble answer, but Jegal Muhyeok subtly raised the corners of his mouth in a smile.
‘Hmph, he’s exactly like that Jegal Mokyeon.’
A mouth pretending to be humble, arrogant eyes, and that annoyingly unpleasant expression he couldn’t hide.
“Right, explain the difference between Formations and Barrier Magic.”
“Yes, I understand.”
*Hoo—*
Jegal Muhyeok took a deep breath, then raised three fingers.
“I believe there are three differences.”
“Go on.”
“First, Formations and Barrier Magic differ in range. Formations can be installed over a wide area. For example, I understand that Formations have been installed around our Academy to prevent monster invasions.”
*Nod.*
“Second, permanence. Formations are maintained permanently without needing to infuse internal energy, as long as the structure isn’t destroyed. But Barrier Magic ends the moment the caster’s mana runs out.”
“The last one?”
“Finally, third, unlike Formations where allies can defend if they know the Gate of Life, Barrier Magic does not distinguish between friend and foe.”
*Clap…… clap-clap clap-clap!*
The students burst into applause before Jegal Muhyeok’s words had even finished. The corners of Jegal Muhyeok’s mouth, now receiving applause, rose even higher.
“You’re correct. I’ll grant you the points.”
“Thank you.”
“However, your approach is far too shallow.”
“……!?”
Jegal Muhyeok’s face stiffened slightly. Perhaps wanting to make some excuse, the area around his throat twitched visibly.
“Your opinion is far too biased toward Formations. It feels as if you’re trapped in Formation supremacy.”
“Excuse me?”
Without answering Jegal Muhyeok’s retort, Dekant turned his head toward Baek Iljin and gestured to the podium.
“Assistant, come here for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Dekant placed his hand on Baek Iljin’s shoulder and spoke to the students.
“As student Jegal Muhyeok, number one on the written exam, said, the wide range, permanence, and distinction between friend and foe are things Barrier Magic cannot do.”
Jegal Muhyeok waited for Dekant’s next words with a stiff expression.
“However……”
Along with a crisp *snap*, six magic circles formed and surrounded Baek Iljin.
“Barrier Magic does not take long to cast, unlike Formations. Also, even if it’s breached once, it doesn’t immediately become useless.”
Then he took out a bluish stone from his pocket and began inserting it into the magic circles.
“Second, permanence. If you just swap out this mana stone in time, Barrier Magic can also be used semi-permanently.”
Taking a brief sip of coffee to wet his throat, Dekant continued his explanation.
“You probably have door locks at home with alarm magic and password magic installed, right? Those are all types of Barrier Magic.”
Having said that, Dekant extinguished the magic circle that had formed around Baek Iljin’s right arm.
“Lastly. If an ally forgets the Gate of Life and gets trapped in a Formation, there’s no way out except destroying it. But Barrier Magic can be partially dispelled like this.”
Jegal Muhyeok, avoiding Dekant’s eyes after he finished speaking, swallowed his groan. His face had stiffened for a moment, but he quickly recovered the smile on his lips and bowed his head.
“You’re right; my approach was shallow. I will not accept the points.”
“Is that so? Understood. Sit down.”
He didn’t show it, but Dekant swallowed a laugh inwardly. He had struck a blow to the unpleasant grandson of Jegal Mokyeon, and now it was the rude latecomer’s turn.
“And now, let’s see how Barrier Magic is used in actual combat.”
Dekant recreated the extinguished magic circles around Baek Iljin.
“Assistant.”
“Yes.”
“Let me see, there are 15 minutes left in class. If you escape this barrier within the remaining time, your tardiness will be treated as if it never happened.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“You all watch closely too. Each of these experiences will help you in real combat.”
‘Of course, there’s no way this guy can escape.’
As soon as he finished speaking, two of the magic circles surrounding Baek Iljin began spinning fiercely, creating a semi-transparent membrane that trapped him.
“Sensing the waves of the magic circles and guessing what magic has been deployed in the barrier will be good practice too.”
At his words, the students widened their eyes to sense the waves and stared at the barrier, but their expressions showed they couldn’t grasp what magic had been deployed at all.
“Illusion, a type of hallucination magic. It consumes little mana but requires immense mental strength. However, when deployed as a barrier, the mental drain is extremely minimal. It’s a 3-star spell, but when deployed as Barrier Magic, it can be used with just two magic circles.”
Another two magic circles began spinning with a *whirring* sound.
“Gravity. Now the gravity inside the barrier is five times normal. It’s a spell with extreme mana consumption, but this too is solved when deployed as Barrier Magic. This is also a 3-star spell.”
The remaining two magic circles enveloped the spinning ones.
“Lastly, Fear. This is also the same type of hallucination magic as the first. It’s a 1-star spell, but when combined with Illusion, it makes one experience an unknown terror.”
*Whir—*
The sound of the fiercely spinning magic circles filled the quiet lecture hall. The rapidly rotating circles obscured Baek Iljin’s figure.
Inside the barrier, it was very quiet. His body grew heavy and eerie energies surged over Baek Iljin. But he did not resist. No, there was no need to resist.
Because they could not harm him in the slightest.
‘I should get out now.’
Just as Baek Iljin, who had been observing the magic with interest for a moment, tried to break through the barrier—
*Grooooo—*
Before he knew it, his surroundings sank into darkness deeper than pitch black. And a massive eye pierced through the darkness, staring at him.
‘An eye?’
Its pupil was vertically elongated like that of a reptile or a predator. It was also enormous, terrifying, and sharp. But Baek Iljin’s impression upon seeing that eye was completely different.
‘It’s warm……’
Feeling a coziness along with an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, Baek Iljin drew even closer to that gaze. Before he knew it, the energy condensed in his dantian began to devour that eye.
* * *
One minute.
Five minutes.
Even after nearly ten minutes, Baek Iljin showed no change in expression. But unlike him, Dekant’s complexion grew paler as time went on.
He hadn’t told the students, but he had mixed in a mental magic called “Mental Shock” instead of the Fear magic.
‘He should be screaming by now. What the hell is that guy doing?’
And there was another problem: his mana was depleting rapidly. The longer the magic circles were maintained, the more Dekant’s dantian began to ache.
‘Even though I used 6-star magic, Barrier Magic doesn’t consume mana this quickly……’
A bead of sweat trickled down the back of his neck.
‘Why won’t he faint?’
His lips went dry.
‘At least scream!’
His mind grew hazy, and the mana circuit in his heart began to flow backward. Along with a surging sensation, the backflowing mana struck his throat.
‘At this rate, I’ll be the first one to faint.’
But he couldn’t dispel the barrier. A professor who cancelled his barrier because he was losing to a student in mental strength?
‘That must never happen.’
He had to endure. His pride as a professor was overcoming even his pain.
‘Ah, no……. The magic circles are fading!’
Just before all the mana in his dantian disappeared, the bell signaling the end of class rang.
[Ding-dong-dang-dong— It’s time to breathe some fresh air.]
The moment the bell rang, he dispelled the barrier and steadied his breathing for a moment. Seeing the students still maintaining their silence, it seemed they fortunately hadn’t noticed anything.
Just as he was inwardly thinking it was a relief, Baek Iljin came into Dekant’s sight.
‘Why is this bastard so fine……’
The look in Baek Iljin’s eyes, now out of the barrier, was still clear. No, he even looked like he was licking his lips in regret.
“That concludes the Barrier Magic lesson. Next period, we will learn the Mana Breathing Technique. Class dismissed……”
Having finished his farewell, Dekant dashed out of the large lecture hall as if fleeing, his back soaked completely through.