Academy Delinquent in Charge – Chapter 24
While declaring war on Baek Iljin, Namgung Jongsun let out a dragon belch, and the moment he realized the situation, he reflexively unfolded his movement technique to its extreme and fled the spot.
‘I think I just ran faster than I ever have in my life.’
Opening the dormitory door and entering, Namgung Jongsun sat on the edge of his bed and pressed an ice-filled pouch to his red, swollen cheek.
After checking his face in the mirror, Namgung Jongsun grumbled.
“Ugh—It hurts like hell. That bastard Moyongseok definitely didn’t hold back on purpose.”
If that weren’t the case, there’d be no reason for his cheek to swell as if he were putting on a show.
“My handsome face is ruined.”
Namgung Jongsun took out some golden wound salve from his bosom and slathered it thickly onto his cheek, where the warmth of Moyongseok’s palm still lingered.
“If I look closely, I think I’m giving off a wild, wounded-beast kind of charm……”
Perhaps because he was tired, sleep crept up on him before he knew it, and Namgung Jongsun laid his body down on the bed.
‘I should wash off my sunscreen before sleeping…….’
Once he lay down and pulled the covers over himself, the day’s events naturally came to mind.
He hadn’t felt it earlier because he was flustered, but the incidents that occurred today seemed like they would remain as the most shameful memories of his life.
“Why on earth did I do that……?”
Thud— Thud— Thud—
His scalp flushing red in an instant, Namgung Jongsun kicked wildly beneath the blankets. It was fortunate he had a single room; if he had shared a room with other students, he wouldn’t have been able to step back inside for the shame.
Shuddering from the cringe, Namgung Jongsun let out a shriek of utter despair.
“Ah, no!!!”
Perhaps his shout was too loud, because the person living in the next room knocked on the wall with a thud, thud and said,
“Seriously, keep it down! Do you think you have the dorm to yourself?”
“S-sorry.”
Even after that, Namgung Jongsun kicked his blankets for quite some time before he could fall asleep.
* * *
From the next day onward, Namgung Jongsun obtained the nickname Yongae (Dragon Belch).
Namgung Jongsun went around explaining that what he had done wasn’t a belch but the sound of swallowing his saliva wrong, but no one believed him.
Afterwards, time passed quickly. Lecture-based classes such as History and Magical Engineering went by, and finally, the day arrived for the last class before the placement exam: Basic Martial Arts.
“I heard today’s lecture is in the auditorium? We need to change into gym clothes.”
“Ah, I’m tired. Can’t we just do it in a lecture room……?”
“Tell me about it……”
The freshmen, who had been losing sleep preparing for the exam, all had sunken eyes and pale faces. So intense was the freshmen’s academic zeal that there were even some who had pulled all-nighters in the study hall.
“Y-you, why is your complexion like that? Shouldn’t you go to the infirmary?”
“I couldn’t sleep a wink yesterday studying for History……”
“You too? Me too.”
Hwangbo Cheolsu also entered the auditorium with a haggard appearance. His hair was matted with grime and his face was puffy and swollen.
Hwangbo Cheolsu approached Moyongseok, who had arrived earlier.
Moyongseok, who usually dressed neatly befitting the young master of a renowned clan, had dark stubble growing today, perhaps because he hadn’t shaved.
“Yongseok, I see you’ve been studying hard?”
“My name isn’t Yongseok, just Seok. And you, Hwangbo Cheolsu—your appearance is exactly that of someone preparing to become a judge.”
“Haha, I have to do this to get into the Special Task Class.”
“Aren’t you going to join the Magic Research Class? You should only need to study magic subjects, right?”
Naturally, Hwangbo Cheolsu wanted to join the Magic Research Class.
But he couldn’t say that with Hwangbo Sujung glaring at him. So he set his sights on the Special Task Class as a fallback, where he could learn both magic and martial arts.
Special Task Class.
Unlike the other classes that only considered grades in relevant subjects, it was a so-called top-tier class that only allowed students within the top 10% of every subject to apply.
“Haha, how could I do that when Crystal is here.”
“Indeed. I hope to see you in the Special Task Class.”
“Thanks, Yongseok.”
This time, Hwangbo Cheolsu approached Baek Iljin. Unlike the other students, Baek Iljin was in pristine condition.
‘Well, I really can’t imagine Iljin looking disheveled.’
“Iljin, did you study a lot?”
“I didn’t.”
“I-is that so? Then have you decided which class you’ll join?”
“I plan to join the Special Task Class. I’ve heard the number of class days is low, so you can sleep in.”
“Oh, I hope we can get in together!”
Normally, if a guy who didn’t study said he planned to join the Special Task Class, he’d be laughed at or ignored. But when the one saying it was Baek Iljin, the story was different.
‘I was really surprised during yesterday’s History class.’
When he flawlessly recited every single achievement of the Rochette Kingdom’s kings from the founder to the current one as recorded in the chronology, without a single mistake, it really felt as though he were reading from a recording spell.
‘He’s my friend, but he’s truly amazing…….’
Creak-
Just then, the auditorium door opened and someone entered.
Click—
Click—
It was a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties, wearing a restrained semi-formal suit.
She was Dang Jain, the newly hired Basic Martial Arts professor.
The cherished daughter of the Sacheon Dang Clan and one of the former Five Dragons and Four Peaks, now called Dokhui, the Poison Lady—her beauty was enough to startle even Hwangbo Cheolsu, who normally had little interest in women.
‘Wow, what professor looks like this…….’
But among those who had met Dang Jain, no one underestimated her just because she was a woman or because she looked frail.
The anecdote was famous: once, a junior from the unorthodox sects had hit on her without knowing who she was, only to fall victim to her poison arts and be rendered unable to use his vital part for the rest of his life.
Standing before the students, Dang Jain bowed her head in greeting. Her posture was polite, but the aura she exuded was fierce.
Unable to withstand that momentum, some of the written track students began to hiccup.
Hicc—
Hicc—
“Nice to meet you all. Let me introduce myself. I am Dang Jain, an alumna of this school and the newly hired professor in charge of Basic Martial Arts. The martial artists call me by the excessive nickname Dokhui, the Poison Lady.”
“Woooow—”
The students looked forward to Dang Jain’s class.
Unlike the other professors about whom information was available, there was hardly anything known about the newly hired Dang Jain.
The only things known were bizarre, unverifiable rumors: “I heard Dokhui punished someone this time,” “She crippled someone,” “She dissolved someone in poison.”
‘What on earth is this person going to teach?’
Every lecture they had attended up until now had demanded high difficulty.
Memorizing a mana breathing technique of over 5,000 characters, using three or more 1-star magic spells, mastering the ascending footwork called Manchwibo, memorizing the chronology of the Rochette Kingdom, memorizing Magical Engineering formulas, and so on.
‘Since it’s a martial arts lecture, of course she’ll teach us an ascending martial art, right?’
But the words that came from Dang Jain’s mouth were completely different from their expectations.
“The martial art you will learn in this class is Taijiquan.”
“Yes? Taijiquan?”
Taijiquan was the most basic of basics—a fist art so low in difficulty that it was common to learn it before the age of ten.
“I doubt there is a single person here who doesn’t know Taijiquan.”
Dang Jain stuck daggers into the corners of the auditorium floor as she continued her explanation.
“Even if I were to teach you an ascending martial art right here, it would be completely useless for the magic track or written track students who aren’t aiming for the Special Task Class. Why? Because they can’t use it, and they won’t use it.”
Having stuck all the daggers to create a square space, Dang Jain stepped inside.
“When I first enrolled in the academy, I memorized mana breathing techniques, magic keywords, and how to use magical implements that I didn’t need. Why? Simply to score well on the placement exam.”
“…….’
“But as I forced myself to memorize them, a question arose: ‘Why do I have to learn things I won’t even use?’ Of course, now I realize that all of it served as nourishment, but still.”
Bam—
Dang Jain pulled a flag from subspace and planted it in the ground.
“But you all are different, aren’t you? Your thoughts are probably the same as mine back then. Because of that, I decided to test you all on a simple martial art that every student—whether from the written, magic, or martial arts track—can easily use.”
Dang Jain assumed the basic stance of Taijiquan and spoke.
“That is Taijiquan.”
As Dang Jain said, Taijiquan was so famous that there wasn’t a layperson who didn’t know it.
But precisely because it was so famous, the students’ disappointment grew.
‘I came all the way to the academy to learn Taijiquan?’
‘She was just hired and has nothing to teach, so she’s teaching Taijiquan?’
‘Tsk, the placement exam’s discriminatory power is going to drop completely because of this.’
Seeing the students’ lukewarm reactions, Dang Jain burst into laughter.
“Kyahaha, don’t tell me you’re disappointed to be learning Taijiquan?”
“Professor, isn’t Taijiquan something only children or the elderly learn? It has no practicality……”
Hearing that, she stopped laughing and surveyed the audience with sharp eyes.
“Practicality this, practicality that. Very well, then let me show you the practicality of Taijiquan.”
“Yes?”
“Martial arts track students, enter this sparring ring in numerical order and try to pull out this flag. To any student who succeeds, I shall grant a wish ticket.”
Moyongseok, who had to enter the sparring ring first, raised his hand.
“Please speak.”
“Will you be using poison?”
“Of course not. I will use only Taijiquan. You students may use any martial art or magic you wish.”
If Dang Jain, called the Poison Lady, used poison, the chances of victory would be near zero. But if she didn’t use poison? If she used only Taijiquan?
‘I have a chance.’
Moyongseok circulated internal energy throughout his entire body, instantly shaking off his accumulated fatigue, and a blue gleam flickered in his eyes.
“Any wish at all?”
“Absolutely anything.”
“Then excuse me, Professor.”
Swish—
Moyongseok erupted with internal energy from his Yongcheon acupoint and dashed toward the flag.
In an instant, the distance to the flag narrowed to within arm’s reach.
‘Got it!’
But Moyongseok’s hand stopped in midair without grabbing the flag.
‘Wh-when……’
Feeling Dang Jain’s fingertips already touching his wrist, Moyongseok twisted his upper body and widened the distance.
“The essence of Taijiquan is softness. There is no need to chase quickly. You simply use your opponent’s speed against them.”
After that, Moyongseok approached the flag three more times, but each time, Dang Jain reached out and blocked him.
‘How……!’
There was no way like this.
Driven to desperation, Moyongseok raised his internal energy to the limit, put all his strength into his entire body, and charged in.
‘I’ll take it in one blow.’
Unleashing the Moyong Clan’s ancestral martial art, Meteor Fist, Moyongseok’s fist gathered flickering azure energy.
Without dodging, Dang Jain closed the distance with click—click—sounds of her heels.
“And Taijiquan does not require great force to subdue an opponent. It uses the opponent’s power against them.”
“Wha……!”
Dang Jain wrapped around Moyongseok’s fist as it came.
And using Moyongseok’s power against him, she drew a large circle to gain momentum, then launched that force directly into Moyongseok’s chest.
BAM—