Academy's Delinquent-in-Charge, Episode 34
Before Baek Iljin could even answer, it was Namgung Jongs who stepped forward first. Namgung Jongs, who had rushed up from his seat, stood before Ji Taegyeong.
'Why pick a fight with Baek Iljin when he's just minding his own business!'
If Baek Iljin entered the class president election, it would throw a wrench into his own plans to become class president. An opportunity to finally stand out had arrived; he couldn't let it slip away like this.
"Young Hero Ji—no, should I call you Senior Ji?"
"Oh—Young Master Namgung, long time no see."
"Long time my ass. Why are you picking a fight with a junior?"
"Young Master Namgung, no, I'll call you Junior Namgung. Why is our junior so steamed?"
At the Academy, Namgung Jongs was the underclassman, but when considering status in the martial world, Namgung Jongs—the young master of the Namgung Clan—outranked Ji Taegyeong.
But these days, age mattered more than status. One couldn't cling to a hollow, nominal standing.
Still, it was impossible not to feel somewhat displeased. Veins bulged red and blue on Namgung Jongs's forehead as anger surged within him.
'Hah, look at this guy?'
Uncrossing his arms and widening his eyes, Namgung Jongs raised his voice.
"Stop playing around and go back to your seat."
"Wow—Junior Namgung, you've grown up? Have you already forgotten getting beaten black and blue at the youth sparring tournament hosted by the Alliance?"
"Seeing you still boast about something over ten years ago, I suppose our senior doesn't have many accomplishments to speak of."
"What did you say?"
"Exactly as you heard……."
Just then, Baek Iljin stood up from his seat. Without so much as a glance at them, he tapped Hwangbo Cheolsu on the shoulder.
"Charles, let's go to the commissary."
"Huh? Uh……. Okay."
The two left awkwardly behind continued their staring contest until their respective friends came to pull them away, and only then did they return to their seats.
* * *
"Iljin, how many are you going to eat?"
"It's before lunch, so five."
"Ah, right."
As always, the commissary was packed. Every single person was talking about the same thing.
"Did you hear?"
"What, Blue Rose?"
"I heard they all took a leave of absence as a group……."
"Leave? I heard they dropped out……. Is something going on?"
"No way……. If that were true, would things be this quiet?"
"I wonder how the club landscape is going to change from now on."
Blue Rose wasn't a club that controlled the Academy, but it was still an influential club that served as the representative of one faction.
Now that they had all disappeared, other clubs would surely try to seize their territory.
"By the way, Iljin."
"……?"
"Have you decided which club to join?"
"What's a club?"
"What? You don't know what a club is?"
Letting out a heavy sigh, Hwangbo Cheolsu began explaining to Baek Iljin.
"It's basically just a group of like-minded people. Remember the Bloodshed Society from before?"
"I remember. But what kind of people gather in that Bloodshed Society?"
"Well, just……. They get together, wear armbands, stuff like that……."
In truth, the Bloodshed Society was an interpersonal-combat research club that honed one-on-one fighting techniques, but not even Hwangbo Cheolsu knew that much.
After listening intently, Baek Iljin stuffed the rest of his fire burger into his mouth and spoke.
"Then I'm not joining."
"Yeah, sure……."
Having already devoured five fire burgers at some point, Baek Iljin gazed at the checkout counter with regretful eyes.
"Charles."
"Huh?"
"Let's have just one more."
"Iljin, you already ate five."
Lightly evading Hwangbo Cheolsu's hand as he tried to stop him, Baek Iljin went to the counter and bought two more fire burgers.
"One's for you."
"Yeah……."
After drinking banana milk as well, they finally made their way to the training grounds.
* * *
The special-class students gathered in the training grounds were doing warm-ups and loosening their bodies.
"The returning students' gym clothes are a different color?"
"Looks like it."
"Wow, look at the sparring stage. That's the real deal."
At the center of the training grounds, Dang Gye-hong was using magic stones to set up an octagonal sparring ring.
Thud—Zzziiing—
As the final magic stone was driven into place, red mana emitted from the stones at each corner, tangling together to form the shape of iron bars.
The exterior of the sparring ring was magnificent.
It reached a height of 5 meters and had a diameter exceeding 15 meters. It seemed purposely made large because if installed too narrowly, students of the magic specialization might be at a disadvantage.
Even Baek Iljin couldn't help but admire the magnificent sight internally.
'An artifact that creates a sparring ring—how fascinating. I never saw an artifact like this even among Rare-grade ones.'
Seeing the students' astonished reactions, Dang Gye-hong smiled in satisfaction, climbed onto the training grounds, and shouted to the students.
"I will now explain the rules!"
Straightening his voice, Dang Gye-hong pulled something from his breast.
"What's that?"
"It looks like a chalkboard?"
Dang Gye-hong threw the chalkboard toward the students. Though he had clearly thrown it hard, the chalkboard slowed to a stop as it neared the ground.
"Wow……. Look at the professor's internal energy control."
"That's insane."
The students stood up and applauded Dang Gye-hong's elaborate display of internal energy control.
"Those who wish to run in the class president election, write your names there. You may also write the name of someone you wish to nominate."
The moment Dang Gye-hong finished speaking, Moyong Seok, who had stepped out first, wrote his name. A step late, Namgung Jongs and Ji Taegyeong followed.
Watching with a relaxed expression, Baek Iljin asked Hwangbo Cheolsu beside him.
"Charles, aren't you entering?"
"I can't because I don't train in martial arts. I have to learn magic properly this semester so I can go for it next term!"
"I see."
"What about you, Iljin? Aren't you entering?"
"Not interested."
Even though the number of new students was ten greater than that of returning students, more returning students wrote their names on the candidate list.
Dang Gye-hong glanced sideways at Baek Iljin, but Baek Iljin simply sat there blankly with an expression of utter disinterest, making no move to write his name.
'A shame. I wanted to see his abilities…….'
If he was the one who caught the Stelon in Jangan City, his skills shouldn't be lacking, yet he seemed to have no desire for the position of class president.
'The Stelon was a creature that would rank in the upper-middle tiers among third-years, after all…….'
There were eight contestants in total.
"From now on, those whose names I call will step forward. New students: Namgung Jongs, Moyong Seok, Raika."
The trio of new student contestants walked forward. All three had eyes that betrayed not the slightest flicker of doubt, as if brimming with confidence.
"Huh? Louise, the summoning magic prodigy, isn't entering."
"Right, well, Louise is quiet by nature."
"Still, Professor Dang Jae-in's class that time was something else."
They had expected Louise not to enter, but when even Wongak didn't step forward, the new students from the Six Great Sects looked toward Wongak.
"Wongak, why aren't you entering?"
"Hehe, what use would it be for a monk to covet an official's cap? Besides……."
"Besides?"
"My senior brother is here, so it is a bit awkward."
"Monk Wonjin?"
"Amitabha."
After confirming that all new students had come out, Dang Gye-hong lifted the chalkboard and called the remaining applicants.
"Ji Taegyeong, Wonjin, Thomas, Chris, and lastly, Ye Jawon."
The trio of new students who looked over all the returning students shared the same thought.
'This is worth a shot.'
The returning students were seniors who had attended the Academy for one more year, but true to their nature as held-back students, the only ones who had ranked within the top ten of their respective specializations were Ji Taegyeong and Wonjin.
Aside from them, the only one who was somewhat concerning was Chris, who had ranked twelfth in the magic specialization.
"Everyone, line up in a row in front of here."
"Yes."
"When an opponent becomes combat-incapacitated, the duel ends. Crippling your opponent's body or targeting their life is forbidden. Beyond that, there are no rules."
"Then to what extent are injuries permitted?"
"Up to six months of recuperation is allowed."
Hearing the words "six months of recuperation," the students' eyes widened, and they murmured amongst themselves.
"Six months of recuperation is basically on the level of crippling someone, isn't it?"
"Wow, that's insane. Good thing I didn't run."
"You little punk, you wouldn't have made it even if you ran."
"True that."
Then, Baek Iljin, who had been staring blankly in thought, raised his hand.
"Professor, what exactly is the effect of the recommendation slip?"
The students also looked at Dang Gye-hong, seemingly curious.
Everyone knew that a recommendation slip was an item that let you advance to the next year without a promotion exam, but no student knew its detailed effects.
"A recommendation slip……. A recommendation slip is worth thirty merit points. Even if you accumulate thirty demerit points, having a recommendation slip clears them all."
'An item that can erase thirty demerit points?'
One tardiness equals one demerit point. In other words, a recommendation slip was an item that let you be late thirty times.
'If I have that, I can sleep in thirty times.'
Having finished his thought, Baek Iljin went out and wrote his name.
"I will run as well."
Hearing those words, Namgung Jongs quickly spoke to Dang Gye-hong.
"He cannot!"
"Why not?"
"Has the deadline not already passed?"
"Hmm……."
Dang Gye-hong actually wanted to let Baek Iljin enter. However, Namgung Jongs's words held some reason, so he couldn't readily agree.
Ji Taegyeong smiled faintly and looked at Namgung Jongs.
"Junior Namgung, are you perhaps scared?"
"Ugh…… what do you—!"
"Then wouldn't it be better to ask the other entrants as well?"
Namgung Jongs gauged the atmosphere among the other entrants.
They all seemed to welcome Baek Iljin's entry. If they drew him as an opponent, it was no different from a bye, since he was saddled with a 200-line writing punishment.
"Tch, do whatever you want."
"Then I shall record that Baek Iljin is also running in this class president election."
The matches were determined by drawing lots.
The first pairing drawn was Shaolin's Wonjin and Moyong Seok.
Unlike Moyong Seok, who climbed onto the sparring ring with a confident expression, Wonjin's face betrayed no change whatsoever.
Seeing such a Wonjin, Hwangbo Cheolsu spoke as if puzzled.
"Why did Monk Wonjin repeat a year? He doesn't look like someone who would cause trouble……."
"Right?"
To the Hwangbo twins tilting their heads in confusion, Wongak answered.
"My senior brother did not take the promotion exam."
"Huh? Why?"
"Last year's promotion exam was to catch a demonic beast, but my senior brother, who could not take a life just to advance, gave up on promotion."
Ji Taegyeong, who had been listening nearby with his hands in his pockets, clicked his tongue.
"Some people caught ten demonic beasts and still couldn't advance, tch."
Beep—
Dang Gye-hong blew the horn.
After staring intently at Wonjin for a moment, Moyong Seok was the first to perform a cupped-fist salute.
No matter how status worked in the martial world, a senior was a senior. It was courtesy to greet before a duel.
"Senior Wonjin, I will make the first move."
"Amitabha. Junior, do as you please."
Wearing hand wraps and clenching his fists, Moyong Seok's figure shot forth like a comet. In an instant, the distance between the two closed.
"Haap—"
Within Moyong Seok's fist, around which azure internal energy surged, lay hidden a latent power that seemed ready to burst. Not only the new students but even the returning students expressed admiration internally.
'Moyong Seok, so this is what it means to be number one?'
'That is the Moyong Clan's Meteor Fist…….'
However, Wonjin, despite Moyong Seok's fist approaching right before his nose, did not move his body.
"Did he give up?"
"No, look at his feet."
Wonjin's feet were subtly shifting in accordance with Moyong Seok's attack path.
Just before Moyong Seok's fist touched Wonjin's body.
Wonjin did not avoid the attack but instead dug into the inside of Moyong Seok's arm. Then he struck Moyong Seok's forearm while simultaneously driving his opposite hand into Moyong Seok's ribcage.
Crunch—
With the sound of something breaking, Moyong Seok collapsed to his knees. Clutching his ribs, his eyes rolled back.
Wonjin, who had left Moyong Seok to crash to the ground with a thud, muttered a Buddhist invocation in a low voice.
"Amitabha."