Academy Bully in Charge — Episode 28
When Baek Iljin stepped out of the lecture hall, Hwangbo Cheolsu and Hwangbo Sujeong, who had finished their exams earlier and left first, were waiting for him.
“Iljin! Over here!”
“Iljin, did you do well on the exam?”
He thought he had obviously done well, but thinking about the last question on the personality exam, he was slightly worried.
“Well, I think I did so-so.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“Where do we take the next exam?”
“After lunch break, in the training ground, apparently.”
“The remaining subjects are Basic Magic, Basic Martial Arts, and Auxiliary Martial Arts. Three of them.”
The cafeteria had fewer people than usual. Baek Iljin spoke as he scooped his third helping of rice.
“There aren’t many people today.”
“It’s probably because of the exam this afternoon? It’s uncomfortable to move around after eating.”
“I see.”
“The placement exam is an important test that determines your four years at the academy.”
Hwangbo Cheolsu, who was ladling soup beside him, spoke with his head hung low.
“Ugh—I wish the exams would end already. This isn’t the academy life I wanted.”
“Oh right, I heard seniors are coming to watch the exam at the training ground today?”
“Seniors?”
“Yeah, usually a lot of second-years come. If you stand out there, they’ll try to scout you for their clubs.”
“I see.”
They quickly finished their meal and moved to the training ground.
Inside the training ground, the majority of students had already arrived and were warming up.
Students who saw Baek Iljin enter whispered among themselves.
“Should we ask him to teach us the Manchoibo?”
“No, it’d be faster to ask Seol Hayun instead. He’s a complete jerk.”
“Agreed, I wish that piece of trash would just get expelled.”
They spoke loudly on purpose, as if for Baek Iljin to hear, and their intention succeeded. The smile vanished from Hwangbo Cheolsu’s face.
Hwangbo Cheolsu approached them to say something.
“Hey, you guys….”
But Hwangbo Sujeong moved even faster than Hwangbo Cheolsu.
“Water Bomb.”
A water bomb exploded above their heads. The students, instantly soaked all over, shouted in anger.
“Hwangbo Sujeong! What are you doing!”
“You think everyone is a Hwangbo Sega person?”
“Oh my, was someone there? I was practicing magic… sorry!”
She showed no sign of remorse whatsoever, but there was nothing more they could say to Hwangbo Sujeong, the cherished daughter of the Hwangbo Sega clan.
“Forget it, just dry our clothes with magic.”
“Check if there are people around before you practice next time.”
“Okay, I’ll dry them. Freeze!”
The students hit by Hwangbo Sujeong’s magic began to freeze over. Their shoes even stuck to the ground, rendering them unable to move.
And Hwangbo Sujeong flashed them a grin before turning around.
“Wh-what are you doing!”
“What do you mean? You said being wet was uncomfortable, so I froze you.”
“Hey! Are you crazy? I’m reporting this to the school violence committee!”
“Hey, melt it! Hwangbo Sujeong!”
Hwangbo Cheolsu gulped and watched the scene. Then he shuddered.
‘Wow, they’re probably going to stay frozen like that for about three hours…’
Shortly after, a bell rang, signaling the start of the exam.
On the first floor of the training ground were the freshmen taking the exam, and on the second floor, upperclassmen who were there to observe had just entered.
“What’s with the training ground ceiling?”
“Dunno, I heard a freshman punched a hole in it?”
“No way. At that level, it’s like someone slammed an area-of-effect magic into it or something.”
“Shh, shh. It’s starting!”
The exam began swiftly. The first exam was the Auxiliary Martial Arts exam.
Dang Gyehong, standing before the students, came out holding a rather large rock. And pointed to a square line drawn on the ground.
“Avoid the rocks I throw inside that line. However, you may not use any other footwork technique except the Manchoibo. Come forward thirty at a time.”
The students came out and entered the line, and Dang Gyehong blew the whistle he had in his mouth. Peep—
“Begin.”
Fwip— fwip— fwip—
The students used the Manchoibo fairly well. When all the students dodged the pebbles, Dang Gyehong grinned, revealing yellow teeth.
“Kehkeh—this is where it starts, you bastards!”
Dang Gyehong’s body suddenly vanished.
Thwack—
At the same time, students struck by the rocks Dang Gyehong threw screamed.
“Uwaa—”
“Agh—”
“Uggh—”
A minute later, the only one left standing in that spot was Namgung Jongsu. Dang Gyehong took out a paper from his pocket and wrote down the score.
“Next—”
After that, the students continued to take the exam, and before long, it was Baek Iljin’s turn.
‘Oh—it’s that guy from back then.’
This time, Dang Gyehong used telekinesis to lift all the rocks into the air. And began shooting them in every direction.
‘Right.’
Fwip— As Baek Iljin slightly turned his head, a rock passed by right beside him.
This time, from above.
When rocks flew in from angled directions on both sides, he cleverly burrowed into the crowds of students to minimize exposed areas.
By the time the rocks were all exhausted, only Baek Iljin and Hwangbo Cheolsu remained.
“Iljin! Thank goodness!”
“Above.”
“Huh? What do you—”
Baek Iljin pulled Hwangbo Cheolsu by his sleeve.
Kwaang—
A rock was embedded in the spot where Hwangbo Cheolsu had been standing. One rock had remained, though they’d thought they were all used up.
Dang Gyehong cackled and raised his thumb, pointing to the right.
“The next exam is that way.”
On the right side of the training ground, students who had already taken the Auxiliary Martial Arts exam were now taking the Magic exam.
The exam was very simple. Display three 1st-tier magics. Karis, the proctor, watched the students’ magic with his arms crossed, evaluating them.
Hwangbo Cheolsu, Hwangbo Sujeong, and Baek Iljin also stood side by side and displayed their 1st-tier magic.
“Magic Missile!”
“Magic Missile—”
“Magic Missile.”
Hwangbo Cheolsu’s magic missile felt different from the other two solid-looking ones; it had a squishy, clay-like texture.
“You there, Martial Arts Track student number 67. Turn that magic off and cast it again.”
“Yes….”
Hwangbo Cheolsu, called out by Karis, gulped and cast his magic again. Once again, he cast Magic Missile exactly the same as before.
This time, instead of the squishy shape from before, it had properly defined angles. The problem was, if anything….
“Is that a toothpick?”
“Huh?”
“What are you going to do with a Magic Missile smaller than a pinky finger?”
Karis broke into a cold sweat trying to suppress a boiling urge to laugh.
‘I wonder if he really is my sister’s son. But how am I supposed to score this? He technically succeeded…’
The upperclassmen observing from the second floor also snickered at Hwangbo Cheolsu’s magic.
“Is that really a Magic Missile?”
“It’s just like Michael’s, isn’t it?”
“You wanna die? Mine’s the Barbarian’s Club.”
And so the second exam ended, leaving only a wound for Michael.
The last, third exam was to display all 42 forms of Taijiquan before Dang Jain.
‘Ah, right. Taijiquan.’
Baek Iljin had completely forgotten he needed to learn Taijiquan. He had no choice but to hurriedly memorize the other students’ movements exactly.
“Alright, next thirty, please line up.”
Having reviewed all the movements in his head, Baek Iljin stepped forward.
“Yes.”
“From now on, please match my commands and perform the Taijiquan forms.”
Dang Jain took a deep breath and shouted the commands in a loud voice.
“Form 1, Qishi (Commencement)!”
Students spread their legs shoulder-width apart and raised both hands, swaying like floating kites.
“Form 2, You Lan Que Wei (Grasp the Bird’s Tail—Right)!”
The students relaxed their bodies, stepped forward with their right foot, and brought their hands together, extending them as if pushing something away.
The sight of the group performing Taijiquan together was a spectacle. Their synchronized movements were as one, yet within that unity, each individual’s personality shone through.
“Final Form 42, Shou Shi (Closing)!”
Shou Shi is the opposite direction of Qishi. The students gently lowered their raised hands, drawing the internal energy they had released back into their dantian.
When the freshmen completed the final form, Shou Shi, the upperclassmen gave them a standing ovation.
With that, all the exams were over.
Some students were so exhausted from the exam period that they lay down right there to sleep.
Hwangbo Cheolsu also lay down next to them, but Hwangbo Sujeong grabbed him by the sideburns and pulled him up.
“Finally… it’s finally over.”
“Midterms are in two months.”
“I don’t care, I’ll think about that then.”
* * *
In the back alley of the academy dormitory, three male students were smoking and talking about something.
“Did you find any useful ones?”
“Yeah, there’s some pointy-eared bitches who use spirit magic, and they’re pretty skilled.”
The figure who appeared to be the leader, crouching and listening, made a clicking sound as he blew a smoke ring and opened his mouth.
“They’re not from the Five Great Families or the Magic Tower side, right? Those kids are hard to secretly siphon off. Watch out, since these days elves become disciples of the Five Great Families or the Six Great Martial Sects without knowing their place.”
“Yeah, from what I checked, they don’t seem to have any backing. Seems they’re from some elf village.”
The student who had finished his cigarette first looked at the leader in the center and spoke.
“But Kaiman, if students keep disappearing like this, I feel like we’ll get caught….”
“Don’t worry, we’ll never get caught. Is it one or two students who take a leave of absence from the academy? They disappear at the drop of a hat saying they’re doing secluded training, or vanish saying it’s practical training. We’ll never get caught.”
“But Kaiman, how much did we get this time?”
Kaiman silently spread and shook three fingers.
“Th-three million gold?”
“Do we look like beggars? Thirty million gold, of course.”
Thirty million gold. For those who worried about next semester’s tuition, it was an astronomical sum.
“Wow….”
“If it’s confirmed they can even control intermediate spirits, we can get two more.”
“H-huge score.”
Kaiman stubbed out his cigarette on the ground and said.
“That’s why we need to check first, just how strong those elf bitches are.”
“Yeah, that’s why I put some guys on it already.”
“Good. The merchandise can’t get hurt, so check their abilities and pull out appropriately.”
Nods—
Just then, a young man with tattoos covering half his face shouted, showing his tablet.
“They found them. A contact spell came in.”
“Go handle it.”
* * *
Before long, the sun was setting beyond the horizon, and the moon poked its face out to take its place.
Hailin, seeing the scene, sighed softly and shook her head.
“Where in the world did Elia go? Ah, right…!”
She remembered the scene where Elia had followed after Baek Iljin earlier.
For some reason, it seemed Elia couldn’t control her emotions whenever she saw Baek Iljin.
‘No matter how I look at it, she seems to have feelings for him.’
Of all the many people, that scary person….
Still, it wasn’t as if she could tell Elia Baek Iljin’s true identity. Even if she did, Elia probably wouldn’t believe it.
‘Ah, whatever. I should head back first.’
She would have normally waited, but she was too tired from preparing for the exams today. If she waited any longer in this sensitive state, she felt she’d get irritated.
‘Hmm, it’s already gotten dark.’
Riding the chilly evening breeze, a wind full of the scent of grass lingered beside her.
‘The smell of grass after so long… it’s so nice.’
Drenched in the scent of nature she hadn’t felt in a long time, Hailin moved her steps toward the forest behind the academy.
‘I should walk a bit and then head back in.’
The sound of rustling leaves echoing gloomily throughout the forest shrouded in darkness was like peaceful classical music to her, an elf.
‘Ah, elves really belong in the forest.’
Sniff sniff—
‘But what’s this smell?’
A smell that should never be in the forest stimulated her sense of smell.
‘Cigarette smoke?’
No! Why would someone smoke in the forest when there’s a designated smoking area? Hailin narrowed her eyes and moved toward where the smell was coming from.
‘I don’t know who it is, but I need to give them a piece of my mind.’
The place she reached following the cigarette smoke was a small clearing. There, about five or six second-year students were gathered, wearing blue tassels.
The courage she had moments ago vanished, and faced with them in front of her, fear arose.
‘Ugh… they’re scary?’
But she couldn’t just stand by and watch people smoking in the forest as an elf. After taking deep, repeated breaths, Hailin approached them.
“Excuse me….”
“Huh?”
The one who answered was a man with a shaved head and half his face covered in tattoos.
“I’m sorry, but could you please put out your cigarettes?”
“Ah, sorry. Sorry.”
The tattooed man grinned— and apologized more easily than expected, extinguishing his cigarette.
The problem was.
‘Why is he stubbing it out on a tree?’
But the tattooed man seemed to know Hailin.
“Are you Hailin, by any chance?”
“Huh? How do you know my name….”
“I’m Tapu, the vice president of a place called Blue Rose. I’ll be blunt. Want to go somewhere with us?”
“Ah….”
They had obviously come looking for her on purpose.
‘Ugh, disgusting.’
She had no intention of humoring such unpleasant people, especially not a gathering of human scum who smoked in the forest.
Hailin spoke firmly.
“I do not. I’m sorry.”
Tapu’s face crumpled grimly the moment he heard her answer. The atmosphere turned hostile in an instant.
“Seems you didn’t understand, so I’ll ask one more time.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Haah—”
Tapu let out a low sigh and gestured to his comrades. And he mouthed words where Hailin couldn’t see.
“We’re just checking her abilities and leaving. Don’t attack her.”
Nods—
The Blue Rose members who received the signal surrounded Hailin.
“Grab her. She’ll listen after a beating.”
“Rush her at the same time.”
Seeing them charge, Hailin summoned the intermediate wind spirit, Silos, with a stern expression.
“Silos.”
“Wow, it’s really an intermediate spirit?”
“So freaking cool. Is it a wind spirit? It looks like a horse.”
Hailin hid her body behind Silos and quietly stepped backward, putting strength into her feet so as not to make a sound.
‘Silos, when I signal, use Wind Storm in front of us.’
As Hailin counted one, two, three in her mind, a storm surged toward the Blue Rose members.
“Uwaah!”
“Grab onto something! If you don’t, you’ll get blown away!”
The Blue Rose members caught in the strong wind couldn’t maintain their balance and collapsed one by one.
‘What, they’re weaker than I thought?’
Having gained confidence, Hailin immediately used her next magic.
‘Silos, Tempest.’
It was the strongest magic Hailin could use. Most of the energy in her dantian flowed through her mana circuits and transferred to Silos.
Moments later, residual winds derived from Wind Storm and the winds of the forest all gathered and surged fiercely.
“Aaaack—”
“Kuhluk—”
“Uwaah.”
After all the winds died down, the only ones still standing properly were Tapu and Hailin.
“Is there more?”
“No, let’s stop here.”
Hailin let out a sigh of relief inwardly and turned around. Tapu watched the back of her head and smirked.
“Okay, intermediate spirit, confirmed.”