Academy Bully Episode 29
Hailin, who had returned riding Silos, and Elia, who was on her way back to the dormitory, ran into each other. The two shouted simultaneously.
“Hey, Hailin! Why are you only getting here now!”
“Hey, Elia! Why are you only getting here now!”
Elia, who had been about to fire off another word, hurriedly stopped upon seeing the tears welling in Hailin’s eyes.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Huaaaang.”
Perhaps because she felt relieved the moment she saw Elia, the flood of tears Hailin had been holding back finally burst.
“I asked what’s wrong! What happened!”
“H-hic, it’s just….”
Hailin’s explanation lasted ten minutes. After listening carefully, Elia immediately rose to her feet.
She had always bickered with Hailin and had often thought it would be nice if she got scolded a bit. But hearing that Hailin had actually been bullied, a thousand fires lit up inside her.
Elia, fury surging within her, bounced up and down on the spot.
“Those bastards! I’ll teach them a lesson. You said Blue Rose, right?”
“No. It’s fine, I already took care of it.”
“The hell it is! Guys like that need to be taught a lesson.”
Hailin grabbed the arms of Elia, who looked ready to dash out at any moment.
“Ah, sit down!”
“How dare they lay a hand on an elf of our Blue Leaf?!”
“It’s late, so even if we went now we might not find them. And I already taught them a lesson.”
“How? You said there were five of them.”
“What do you mean how? I took care of them together with Silos.”
“Does that even make sense? No matter how strong Silos is….”
It was absurd.
No matter how outstanding Hailin’s abilities were, to hear that she had suppressed five second-year academy students without taking a single scratch was unbelievable.
‘A trap?’
Whatever the reason, it was clear the other side was targeting Hailin. Having finished thinking, Elia looked straight into Hailin’s eyes and spoke.
“Fine, I won’t go looking for them right now. But from tomorrow on, wherever you go, you go with me.”
“O-okay.”
* * *
The next day, the results of the placement exam were posted on the academy bulletin board. The students who checked the results were a mix of joy and sorrow.
Bright flowers bloomed on the faces of those who received good grades, while gloomy shadows hung over the faces of those who received low ones.
Buzz, buzz—
“Are the results out?”
“Yeah, move aside.”
The area in front of the bulletin board was packed with students trying to see their scores. Since morning, male students had flocked behind Namgung Jongsu, who had come out earliest and was sitting in front of the board.
“Wow—our Yongtrim Jones, as expected!”
“Jones, I believed in you!”
“As expected of our Namgung Jones! Amazing.”
“Ah, please, just play among yourselves!”
Namgung Jongsu shouted at the male students following him. This wasn’t the campus life he had wanted.
‘I should be walking through colorful flower gardens with beautiful female students!’
But instead, the male students hoisted him up in celebration. Moyong Seok clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Tsk—Namgung Jongsu, what a dirty image he’s got himself.”
The Hwangbo twins and Baek Iljin also made their way to the bulletin board to check their scores. Hwangbo Cheolsu approached Baek Iljin with a beaming smile, apparently having done better than expected.
“Iljin! What average grade did you get?”
“Superior.”
“What? Really?”
“Iljin! I got Superior too!”
“What, you too, Crystal?”
When even Hwangbo Sujeong received an average grade of Superior, Hwangbo Cheolsu wiped his smile and dropped his head sullenly.
“Why, what grade did you get?”
Hwangbo Cheolsu pointed to a corner of the bulletin board.
[Martial Arts Major, No. 67 Hwangbo Cheolsu, Average: Upper (Average Score 4.75)]
Basic Martial Arts – Superior
Auxiliary Martial Arts – Superior
Basic Magic – Middle
Auxiliary Magic – Superior
Formation Studies – Superior
History – Superior
Magic Engineering – Superior
Humanities – Superior
Hwangbo Sujeong tilted her head. This was a good enough score to compete for the upper ranks. So why was he reacting like that?
“Why are you reacting like that? It’s better than I thought.”
“No, your grades are both too high… Could it be that I don’t make it into the Special Class?”
“Don’t worry. There are only fourteen students with all Superiors. I’m sure someone like you will definitely get in.”
Just as Hwangbo Sujeong said, the students who had received Superior in every subject totaled fourteen.
Including Baek Iljin, Hwangbo Sujeong herself, Namgung Jongsu, Jegal Muhyeok, Louise, Seol Hayun, Wongak, Moyong Seok, Laika, Elia, Timos Mavro, Laika, and Hailin.
If you excluded them, Hwangbo Cheolsu’s score was enough to place within the top thirty overall.
“But I could still fail.”
Looking at Hwangbo Cheolsu’s pale, sullen face, Baek Iljin spoke.
“It’s fine. If you don’t make it, I’ll go to the same class as you.”
“R-really? Thank you.”
“Then I’ll go too, so don’t worry.”
Hwangbo Cheolsu looked at the two with a moved expression. Hwangbo Sujeong pushed his back.
“Ugh, your expression is creepy. Move aside, let’s go apply for our class.”
“Okay!”
Nod.
Applying for a class was simple. No, it wasn’t even really an application; you just had to go to the homeroom professor assigned to each class, submit a form, and that was it.
“The homeroom professor for the Special Class is Professor Dan Gye-hong.”
“Ah, I’m scared to go into Professor Dan’s lab….”
They had come right to the front of Professor Dan Gye-hong’s lab but couldn’t readily open the door and enter. In front of the lab door was another student who couldn’t enter for the same reason.
It was none other than Namgung Jongsu, the academy’s acknowledged celebrity. If only among the male students.
“Oh! Jones!”
“Don’t call me like that. Because of you, the other kids all call me Jones too.”
“So what? You’re the one who made the nickname.”
“Hmph.”
Ignoring Hwangbo Cheolsu’s words, Namgung Jongsu approached Hwangbo Sujeong and tightly grasped her hand. Then he gently met her eyes.
“Sujeong, are you applying for the Special Class too?”
“Y-yeah….”
Hwangbo Sujeong gently pulled her hand away, gave an awkward answer, and turned her head. Namgung Jongsu tilted his head.
‘She should definitely like this…?’
The technique of holding both hands and meeting eyes—it was a move from the autobiography of a famous figure named Song Ok, said to have charmed even the Twin Beauties of the World.
Even Namgung Jongsu, who was clueless, understood what that reaction meant.
Discomfort, awkwardness, unease.
Hwangbo Sujeong’s light gestures contained all three.
‘They said this works unconditionally as long as the other person doesn’t have a lover…?’
Namgung Jongsu opened his eyes wide and slowly turned his head toward Baek Iljin.
‘Could it be…?’
Come to think of it, this guy called Baek Iljin was always stuck right next to Hwangbo Sujeong.
“Hey, Baek Iljin.”
“…?”
“You don’t happen to have some kind of relationship with Sujeong, do you?”
Baek Iljin, who had been absentmindedly biting into a chocolate crepe, asked back with chocolate smeared around his mouth.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m asking if you two are in a romantic relationship.”
“J-Jongsu! What kind of nonsense is that!”
“No.”
Namgung Jongsu kept staring into Baek Iljin’s eyes. Looking at his pupils, he didn’t seem to be lying.
‘Hmm, I guess I misunderstood.’
But Hwangbo Sujeong’s reaction was strange. A shadow fell across the face that had been maintaining a smile.
‘But why does Sujeong suddenly look like she’s in a bad mood?’
Namgung Jongsu soon found the reason. Hwangbo Sujeong, whom he had watched since childhood, loved sweet food.
‘This Baek Iljin bastard ate the parfait by himself without sharing, so her mood soured.’
Namgung Jongsu glanced at Baek Iljin, crossed his arms, and shook his head.
‘Clueless bastard.’
* * *
Namgung Jongsu and the Hwangbo twins came out through the lab door. Having finished submitting their forms, they were so nervous their clothes were soaked with sweat.
“Sigh, no matter how much I think about it, Professor Dan is just too scary.”
“Right, he really doesn’t suit me.”
It was a rare moment when Namgung Jongsu and Hwangbo Cheolsu agreed.
“But why did he ask Iljin to stay behind?”
“I know, right? I guess he had something to say.”
Just then, a rustling sound was heard from outside.
Looking out the window, a group wearing black robes with a rose emblem and second-year seniors with blue tassels on their uniforms were murmuring about something.
“What is that, who’s over there?”
“The ones in uniforms are second-years, but who are the ones in robes…?”
“They look suspicious at a glance, don’t they?”
Perhaps hearing their muttering, one of the robed figures looked up. Fortunately, Namgung Jongsu grabbed the two and crouched down, so they weren’t spotted.
After a moment, when they looked out again, the robed figures were gone, and only the second-years remained, talking about something.
“What on earth are they doing?”
“Wow, but those seniors look really scary.”
“Yeah….”
Even from afar, their impressions were not pleasant.
There was a person with tattoos covering half their face, a person whose face was full of piercings, and even a person with drooping eyes as if drugged.
Namgung Jongsu clenched his fist, glared with wide eyes, and spoke to Hwangbo Cheolsu.
“Let’s go.”
“Huh? Where?”
“We have to follow them.”
“Who?”
Namgung Jongsu pointed his chin at the gathered second-years. Hwangbo Cheolsu, startled, grabbed his arm.
“Jones, are you crazy?”
“They’re obviously suspicious. If we catch them doing something, we could get merit points right away, and if we’re lucky, maybe even an elixir.”
“E-elixir?”
In these times when the methods for making elixirs had been lost among the various sects and clans, elixirs were extremely precious.
Even Hwangbo Cheolsu, who came from the Hwangbo family, had never seen a proper elixir, only bitter medicine that vaguely resembled one.
“Right, let’s go!”
Namgung Jongsu put on an extremely serious expression, strained his eyes to make double eyelids, then tapped Hwangbo Sujeong’s shoulder.
“Sujeong, it’s dangerous so stay here. Hwangbo Cheolsu and I will go alone.”
“Let’s go together.”
“It’s danger—”
“Let’s go together.”
They couldn’t leave Hwangbo Sujeong behind when she insisted this much. Namgung Jongsu nodded reluctantly and pointed to his back.
“If it gets dangerous, hide behind me immediately.”
“Okay.”
“Jones, what about me?”
Namgung Jongsu looked at Hwangbo Cheolsu with a sullen expression, then turned his head away without answering.
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s go and come back quickly, Iljin is waiting.”
“Okay!”
By the time they got downstairs, the second-years were already gone, but fortunately they hadn’t gone far, so they found them quickly.
“Keep your distance and stick to the rear.”
Nod.
They soon entered a building behind the dormitory. It was the clubroom building where the central faction clubs gathered.
‘Why are they going in there?’
Shortly after, they came back out carrying bags. There were two of them, large enough for a person to fit inside.
“What are those?”
“They’re bags.”
“N-no. I mean near the zipper. Is that a f-finger?”
When they had closed the bags, perhaps because they were closed improperly, a finger was poking out between the zipper.
Hwangbo Cheolsu’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit at the sight of the finger, and he grabbed Namgung Jongsu’s sleeve.
“Let’s tell the professor.”
“It’s too late. If we go to the professor, who knows what state those people will be in by then.”
“…Jongsu is right about this.”
Hwangbo Cheolsu also sighed at their stubbornness and nodded.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
“But where are they going?”
“It seems like they’re heading toward Jangan City.”
Namgung Jongsu’s party quieted their footsteps and continued following them.
Where the second-years stopped was an alley in the backstreets of Jangan City. They put the bags down next to a suspicious door in the middle of the alley, then opened the door and went inside.
Namgung Jongsu, who had kept his eyes on the bags, smacked Hwangbo Cheolsu’s back with a thud! and spoke.
“Now.”
“We’ll grab the bags, so Crystal, you cast Haste magic here.”
“Got it.”
“Let’s go!”
Hwangbo Cheolsu ran out first, lifting one bag and running. Namgung Jongsu followed suit, grabbing the other bag.
At the commotion, a second-year student who came back out shouted.
“Shit, someone took the bags. Catch them!”
What burst out along with the shout was Kaiman, the president of Blue Rose. Kaiman and his subordinates chased after them.
Namgung Jongsu was about to yell at Hwangbo Cheolsu, who had stopped up ahead, but closed his mouth after seeing the situation around them.
‘The front is blocked… and the sides too.’
As they hesitated, Kaiman, who had caught up close, shoved a hand into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.
“Hey, you little brats, who are you?”
Namgung Jongsu glared back with venom-filled eyes and retorted.
“We’re the vacuum cleaners that catch trash like you, bastard.”
“Crazy bastard, do you really want to die?”
Kaiman flicked his cigarette at Namgung Jongsu’s face, then pulled out the dual swords at his waist and rushed at him.
Namgung Jongsu pulled out his sword without panicking and responded in kind.
“You brat! Do you think your senior is a pushover?”
“What are you saying, bastard.”
Amid their clash, the bag Hwangbo Cheolsu was holding squirmed. Sensing something, Hwangbo Cheolsu ripped the bag open with brute force.
Inside were familiar faces.
“Elia?”
Seeing Elia inside, Hwangbo Cheolsu tore open the other bag as well.
At the commotion around her, Elia came to her senses, frowning as she raised her head.
“Are you conscious?”
“Where is this?”
Hwangbo Cheolsu shook his head.
“No time to explain. We’ll handle this here, so grab Hailin and run. Take the main road if you can.”
Elia looked back and forth between Hwangbo Cheolsu and Hailin with a worried expression, then nodded.
“…Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Elia gave her thanks, hoisted Hailin on her back, and left.
Around that time, Kaiman’s dual swords and Namgung Jongsu’s Sovereign Sword clashed with such force in midair that sparks flew.
“Pretty shabby for a senior, don’t you think?”
Namgung Jongsu said this while breathing heavily. Then, Hwangbo Cheolsu joined in.
“Jones!”
Hwangbo Cheolsu, donning gauntlets, shot forward like lightning and threw a fist wrapped in lightning qi at Kaiman’s lower abdomen.
Kaiman crossed his dual swords to block the fist and staggered back several steps.
After they exchanged about fifty moves, the scales of victory began to tip toward Namgung Jongsu and Hwangbo Cheolsu.
“Kk-keuk.”
Finally, Namgung Jongsu’s sword cut from Kaiman’s shoulder to his chest. Kaiman, the tendon in his right arm severed, dropped one of his swords.
“Let’s end this now.”
Just as Namgung Jongsu was about to finish him off, someone grabbed his sword. The three raised their heads simultaneously to identify the newcomer.
Kaiman’s body trembled like an aspen tree at the sight of him.
“St-Stellon sunbae-nim.”
“Wow—this is a mess.”
“Se-senior, this is….”
“You can talk later.”
Then, Hwangbo Cheolsu screamed upon seeing Hwangbo Sujeong being held in Stellon’s other hand.
“Crystal!”
Hwangbo Cheolsu’s cheeks trembled as he glared with wide eyes. But he couldn’t approach rashly.
Click.
The man called Stellon pointed his finger at Hwangbo Cheolsu.
It was a gesture one might use on a pet dog, but with Hwangbo Sujeong captured, Hwangbo Cheolsu couldn’t resist at all.
Stellon threw away Namgung Jongsu’s sword, grabbed Hwangbo Cheolsu by the neck, and lifted him up.
“Kk-keuk.”
Hwangbo Cheolsu’s eyes rolled back, foam gathered at his mouth, and he lost consciousness. Stellon threw Hwangbo Cheolsu to the subordinates behind him and approached Namgung Jongsu again.
“You’re next? Oh—you’d be perfect to send as a test subject.”
“Do whatever you want with me, but leave my friends alone.”
“You speak so prettily, our dear junior.”
Stellon, standing before Namgung Jongsu, pulled out a spear from inside his robe.
“But….”
Stellon struck Namgung Jongsu’s stomach with the lower end of the spear shaft.
“Kkeo-eok—”
Then, as Namgung Jongsu rose into the air, he placed the spear against his neck and slammed him straight down into the ground.
“You should speak respectfully to your seniors.”