Academy Delinquent in Charge: Episode 7
In the workbook were countless circles drawn in red pen. Seeing them, Hwangbo Sujeong fell into thought, her open mouth not even closing.
‘Correct answers. They’re all correct answers…….’
She herself lacked the confidence that she could get every answer right while solving the advanced problems in the subjects she studied.
‘Surely he didn’t solve them by looking at the answer key?’
That couldn’t be. If he had looked at the answer key, even by any slim chance, he wouldn’t have gotten every single problem right like this.
‘At this level, could he actually have a chance of getting in?’
She was teaching him, but in truth, she was half resigned. Because the Academy was a place where only outstanding prodigies gathered—even for the written exam admissions.
Just as she finished grading, Baek Iljin opened his eyes with a rustling sound.
‘How can even his just-woken-up appearance suit him so well?’
In Hwangbo Sujeong’s eyes, even Baek Iljin’s eyelids still heavy with sleep and his hair puffed up messily looked good.
“I finished all the problems.”
“Yeah. Good job. You don’t need to worry about the comprehension part! Just keep doing it like this.”
After finishing her words, Hwangbo Sujeong looked at the vast amount of entrance exam books stacked beside the desk and let out a low sigh.
‘The problem is the progress…….’
Usually, the preparation period for the Academy’s written exam examinees averaged over five years, and there were quite a few cases where they prepared even longer than that.
‘Can we really cover all this progress in just one week?’
Whether he knew of her worries or not, this boy with an expressionless face only kept yawning incessantly.
* * *
One week later.
Unlike the usual days filled with the scent of sweat and shouts of martial artists training, today the Hwangbo Clan was enveloped in a strange tension.
In front of the main gate of the clan, three armed divisions—the Byeokryeokdae, the Paewangdae, and even the Cheonwangdae, the lord’s direct unit—stood in formation, aligning their ranks and files at regular intervals.
On the faces of the Shandong residents gathered to watch that grand sight, pride was etched uniformly.
“Wow, those are the Hwangbo Clan’s armed divisions!”
“Our Shandong doesn’t lose out to the capital at all!”
“As expected, the Hwangbo Clan is the best among the five great clans.”
Hwangbo Cheolsu held his forehead as he watched this commotion, grumbling softly. However, contrary to his words, his expression was grinning broadly.
“Ha, so embarrassing…… I told them not to do things like this.”
“I know right. This is way too burdensome.”
Hwangbo Myeong looked at his nieces and nephews packing their things, and the thought of his younger brother and sister-in-law who had passed away early came to mind, making the bridge of his nose sting.
‘Cheonga, and Bria. They’ve already grown so big.’
Having watched them affectionately for quite a while, Hwangbo Myeong climbed onto the prepared platform in front and grabbed the microphone made of manastone.
“Ah— ah, mic test.”
The microphone’s performance was so reliable that even people far away could hear his voice.
“Today is the day of the Academy entrance exam for the twins who will lead the clan’s future, and young Baek Iljin, the esteemed guest from the Elf Village.”
The people tilted their heads with expressions asking who Baek Iljin was, but Hwangbo Myeong paid no mind and continued his speech.
Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes. As the speech grew longer, the onlookers’ faces began to show signs of boredom.
“Everyone. Please send your fervent cheers to those leaving for ‘Jangan City (長安 City),’ far away where the Academy is. And you all, never forget that the Hwangbo Clan is always behind you.”
Whoaaa—
As if they had been waiting for the final words to finish, the residents sent forth fervent support the moment Hwangbo Myeong lowered the microphone.
Boom boom boom.
Hwangbo— Hwangbo— Hwangbo—
Matching that support, the three armed divisions stomped their feet until dust billowed up, shouting the rallying cry of “Hwangbo.”
Baek Iljin, who had quietly watched that touching speech, was suddenly struck by his grandfather’s words ringing in his ears.
‘Whenever things get hard, come back. This old man will watch over our Iljin from the same spot.’
Then, Hwangbo Cheolsu approached, patting his shoulder and shouting.
“Iljin. L-look over there! It’s warp magic!”
“Warp?”
In the direction he pointed, magicians invited by the clan were piling magic circles on top of each other, creating a warp gate.
“Let’s go quickly! Wow, warp magic!”
“Hey! What are you doing going alone!”
True to Hwangbo Cheolsu, who couldn’t resist magic, he disappeared into the warp gate first. Hwangbo Sujeong, trying to catch him, followed behind. Lastly, Baek Iljin also stepped into the curtain of light.
* * *
For a moment, Baek Iljin felt his vision distort and his head spin in a strange way.
Stepping outside the gate, he saw the twins who had arrived before him holding onto the wall and gagging.
“Blergh, blegh, ugh, I hate warp magic now.”
“Urk.”
It wasn’t just them; nearby, numerous children of similar age were appearing one by one through warp magic.
They were a diverse bunch. Students studying while holding books, students practicing martial arts, students memorizing magic spells, and so on.
Before long, the empty corridor was packed full of people.
Among all those people, the one with the most worried expression by far was Hwangbo Sujeong.
‘What do I do, I haven’t finished all the class material yet…….’
She had practically just read the books aloud and turned the pages, yet she couldn’t match the progress. It was far too vast an amount to catch up on in one week.
‘Should I just give up on the written exam myself? I want to raise his chances even just a little.’
She glanced at Baek Iljin; he didn’t look nervous. No, rather, he was chewing something with a carefree expression.
‘Well, it’s a relief that he doesn’t seem nervous.’
Then, Hwangbo Cheolsu waved his hand at a student who appeared through the warp, acting like he knew him.
“Jones!”
The person called Jones had fierce eyes. He was shorter than Baek Iljin and looked slightly taller than or about the same height as Hwangbo Sujeong at a glance.
For a student taking an entrance exam, he stood out for being excessively dressed up, with pomade-slicked hair, a neat suit, and even a luxury watch—quite an impressive sight.
“Why are you calling me Jones, Hwangbo Cheolsu. I am Namgung Jongsu.”
“What’s wrong, Jones. It’s the alias we made together when we were kids. The one we said we’d use when we became magicians…….”
“Are you still going on about that magic nonsense? And yet you’re taking the entrance exam for martial arts again, aren’t you? Tch.”
Namgung Jongsu tossed a remark with an expression mixed with slight displeasure. Then he clicked his tongue as if pitying him.
“I’m going to learn magic at the Academy!”
“What a waste of that physique.”
Namgung Jongsu shifted his gaze toward Hwangbo Sujeong as he spoke. He spoke in a honey-dripping voice completely different from when he addressed Hwangbo Cheolsu.
“By the way, Sujeong, it’s been a while. You’ve grown a richer, more mature fragrance—”
Hwangbo Sujeong, meeting eyes with Namgung Jongsu, also smiled awkwardly and returned the greeting.
“Jongsu, long time no see. You’ve changed a lot.”
“Five years is plenty of time for a boy to become a man.”
“Ah, that’s right. Haha.”
Having smiled back at Hwangbo Sujeong, Namgung Jongsu pointed at Baek Iljin, who was with them, and asked.
“But who is this long-haired guy?”
“Ah, this is Baek Iljin, a guest of our clan.”
“The martial arts exam?”
“The written exam.”
Baek Iljin also looked at Namgung Jongsu. Their gazes met at the same time.
“The written exam, huh…….”
Namgung Jongsu felt somewhat bothered by this Baek Iljin guy, but decided to lose interest at the word “written exam.”
‘For a written exam guy, he’s pretty handsome…….’
Namgung Jongsu swiftly turned his head and left. In his place, the scent of jasmine perfume lingered where he had disappeared.
“Iljin, are you okay? He’s not usually like that…… I guess his puberty came a bit late.”
“I’m fine.”
Then, a crackling sound flowed from the speaker installed beside the corridor.
[All students who have come to take the Academy entrance exam. Welcome.]
Baek Iljin looked up toward the ceiling.
‘So that’s where it’s talking from.’
[Please move to the door at the end of the corridor and enter.]
At the end of the corridor, there were magic doors labeled respectively with Martial Arts, Magic, and Written Exam. It seemed you had to scan your recommendation letter to enter.
Entering the door labeled “Written Exam,” he found a spacious room with desks and chairs prepared.
[No. 116 Baek Iljin - Recommender: Hwangbo Myeong]
‘The scenery is splendid.’
Beyond the window, across the wide open green field, beautifully grown flowers swayed gently here and there.
Baek Iljin, who had been admiring the scenery for a moment, looked for Hwangbo Sujeong but couldn’t see her. She had definitely said she was taking the written exam too.
‘Where did she go?’
Then, someone opened the front door and entered. It was a man in his thirties with a stern impression, wearing a suit.
“Greetings. I am called Sama Jin. I am in charge of supervising the written exam.”
Then he looked at the tablet he was holding and began writing something on the blackboard. For how fast he wrote, his handwriting was quite excellent.
[Total 664, Present 664, Absent 0, Total Exam Time 250 minutes]
“The total exam time is 250 minutes, and there are six subjects. The order doesn’t matter. And there is no break during the exam. Any questions?”
“…….”
In the ensuing silence, the students only waited; no one asked any questions.
“Good. It seems there are no questions. Then I wish you all the best of results. That is all.”
The moment Sama Jin finished speaking, a yellow light flickered and the desks began to open. Inside the opened desks, there was a screen displaying the exam paper and a dedicated touch pen.
‘So we take the exam with this.’
Perhaps because a noise-canceling magic was cast on the pens, no sound came out at all. In this wide examination hall, the only sounds were the breathing of nervous students.
When he pressed the button labeled History first, the exam paper appeared on the screen. All the questions were short-answer.
[No. 1. What is the reason martial artists and magicians do not establish territories in the Kaputis Mountains?]
The moment the question appeared, he began moving the pen quickly to solve it.
A. Because of the pact between the Murim Alliance and the Tower of Mages to not create territories in their place of seclusion, in order to honor the achievements of the Martial God (武神) and Archmage Pietro.
Having written the answer to the first question like that, some time passed.
Baek Iljin, thinking he had written down all the problems he could solve, pressed the button labeled “Submit” and rose from his seat.
The students taking the exam focused their attention on him as he abruptly shot to his feet.
“You there, what is it.”
“I’m finished.”
Sama Jin watched Baek Iljin and gave a scornful smirk. There were always one or two guys like that every year.
‘These insect-like bastards who give up on the exam without even trying the problems properly.’
It was a waste of time to even exchange words with these kinds of guys.
“Fine. If you’re finished, see yourself out.”
The moment he opened the door and left, other students who had been watching cautiously also stood up awkwardly, bowed, and went outside.
‘There are a lot of trash this year. No wonder there are calls to abolish the written exam.’
* * *
Having finished exam supervision, Sama Jin returned to his personal research lab and loosened his tie. The dark circles under his eyes had grown even deeper.
“I can’t even get my junior’s work done. How many years have I been a supervisor now.”
Supervising the entrance exam of trash who had neither will nor effort consumed far more of his mental strength than he thought.
“Just let one replacement come in, please.”
“Is it really that unbearable?”
Sama Jin was startled by the voice suddenly coming from the corner of the research lab. But he immediately furrowed his expression deeply.
“Professor Jegal. Please at least announce yourself before coming in.”
“Hehe, it’s for the advancement of your formation.”
He glanced at Jegal Mokyeon, who managed to break through and enter despite the reinforced formation he spread in front of the door every time, and thought:
‘A ghost-like old man.’
Jegal Mokyeon, seeing Sama Jin’s expression, asked gently with a benevolent smile.
“What is that look for. You weren’t thinking ‘ghost-like old man,’ were you?”
“Come on, of course not.”
“By the way, how were the prospective students who took today’s exam?”
Sama Jin pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and answered. Gray smoke billowing from his tobacco filled the room.
“Hoo, well, same as every year. Trash, and mediocre fools who think they’re geniuses.”
It was a seemingly rude act, but Jegal Mokyeon laughed amiably with a kind-looking smile and said.
“Hehe, is that so.”
“It’s because you’re so soft that our written exam side doesn’t produce any promising figures!”
“Don’t we have Professor Sama Jin, the greatest output of written exam admissions?”
“Professor!”
Jegal Mokyeon laughed heartily at Sama Jin’s sulking face and said.
“Still, there was quite an interesting fellow this time around.”
“An interesting fellow?”
“Take a look at this exam paper.”
Sama Jin raised his head and looked at the object in Jegal Mokyeon’s hand.
‘A tablet?’
It was a tablet for grading submitted exam papers. And the owner of the exam paper visible on that tablet was someone he remembered.
‘Hoo, look at this guy?’