Academy Iljin in Charge, Episode 9
[Written Exam Track – Baek Iljin (Special Admission)]
No sect was written next to Baek Iljin's name. He had left the column for his sect of origin blank.
'I should have at least written Grandfather's name.'
Hwangbo Cheolsu jumped up and down in place with a bright expression. And he chattered on about how incredible a special admission was.
"Iljin! A special admission is seriously amazing!"
Special admission was an extremely honorable method of entry given only to those who demonstrated overwhelming ability during the entrance exam.
It was to the extent that there was a joke saying if you couldn't show ability at the level of sword qi or higher, or couldn't manipulate five or more magic circles, you shouldn't even dream of a special admission.
And in the 150 years since the written exam track had been created, not a single written exam track student had ever received a special admission. In other words, Baek Iljin had become the first-ever special admission from the written track.
Hwangbo Cheolsu shouted as if he himself had passed, congratulating Baek Iljin.
"Iljin! Congratulations!"
"Thanks."
The twins of the Hwangbo Clan both had their names on the pass list. Hwangbo Cheolsu was ranked 67th, and Hwangbo Sujeong was 35th.
After quickly scanning the martial arts track ranking list, he was looking at the magic track ranking list when familiar names caught his eye.
'3rd place Elia, 4th place Hailin.'
Elia being in 3rd place meant she had grown even more than before. The image of her running away shedding emerald tears naturally came to mind.
'But Elia being in 3rd place... that's unexpected......'
While he was lost in thought, the area in front of the bulletin board had already divided into gloomy students and students shouting in triumph.
Amidst this, the martial arts and magic track students who had failed the entrance exam were glaring at the written exam track passers with fierce eyes.
To him, who was calmly looking at the bulletin board as if nothing was wrong despite the ominous atmosphere they were creating, Hwangbo Cheolsu approached and spoke in a low voice.
"Iljin, the atmosphere here is turning hostile. Let's get out of here."
"Alright."
At that moment.
Crash!
A student flew in and crashed down next to Baek Iljin. The student who had flown in was covered in blood, perhaps having been severely beaten.
"These weakling written punks pass, so why did I fail! Does this even make sense?"
The culprit who had thrown the student was as massive as Hwangbo Cheolsu. His face was covered in scars, and his forearms visible between his rolled-up sleeves were thick as pine trees.
But unlike Hwangbo Cheolsu's youthful face, his own face looked especially weathered, making it hard to believe he was of the age to enter the Academy.
"Hey, you okay?"
"Ugh."
Hwangbo Cheolsu supported the fallen student and checked his condition, but the student, vomiting blood, could only tremble and groan, unable to answer.
"You there, what do you think you're doing!"
"Are you talking to me?"
"Yeah, I'm talking to you."
Hwangbo Cheolsu glared at the large martial arts track examinee, Bang Geochung. Bang Geochung also rolled up his sleeves and faced him.
"Ha, really."
Bang Geochung cracked his neck left and right with an incredulous expression and asked again.
"Let me ask again. Were those words meant for me?"
"They were meant for you. I'm asking what you think you're doing?"
Bang Geochung pretended to loosen up and put on an overbearing attitude, but he had no confidence he could beat the Hwangbo Cheolsu standing before him.
'Ah, Hwangbo Cheolsu is a pain......'
Bang Geochung knew Hwangbo Cheolsu. Since it was the first time he had seen someone as large as himself, he had kept an eye on him since the exam hall, and after seeing him shatter Blue Steel Stone with his bare fist, he had felt the wall between himself and Hwangbo Cheolsu.
'Ah, what should I do? I didn't expect that guy to interfere......'
As he racked his sluggish brain to escape the situation, Baek Iljin caught his eye. Though he seemed to have a fairly solid build, there were no traces of him having learned martial arts.
'Perfect.'
And Bang Geochung was confident that Baek Iljin was someone who hadn't learned martial arts. If such an unusual guy had been in the martial arts track, he would have stood out in the exam hall.
"I just hate seeing written track kids get into the Academy, so you move aside."
"What?"
Ignoring Hwangbo Cheolsu, Bang Geochung approached Baek Iljin and shoved his own face right up to his.
"You're a written track student too, right?"
A foul stench coming from Bang Geochung's yellowed teeth suddenly pierced his nose. Baek Iljin's face scrunched up severely.
"Get your face away."
Seeing Bang Geochung picking a fight with Baek Iljin, Hwangbo Cheolsu gently set down the student he had been supporting. Then he clenched his fist and approached them.
Before anyone knew it, an ominous energy gathered in his clenched fist.
"Wait!"
"...?"
"If you come any closer, this long-haired bastard dies."
"What?!"
No matter how blurred the line between the righteous faction and the demonic faction had become, this was the first time he had seen someone act so openly and recklessly in the territory of the righteous faction.
'What the hell. What kind of trash is this?'
Unable to hide his bewilderment, Hwangbo Cheolsu unclenched his fist and tried to stop Bang Geochung.
"Ah, I got it, so first get away from Iljin."
"You disappear first, then I'll just leave."
It was checkmate. He didn't know what harm Bang Geochung would do if he left, but if he kept confronting him here, he worried for Baek Iljin.
"You can just go first."
"No, I'd prefer if you went first."
During their subtle standoff, Baek Iljin's mouth opened once more.
"Get your face away. I told you it stinks."
"What? Has this bastard gone crazy wanting to die? You want to get beaten like that too?"
Before anyone knew it, students had crowded around. The written exam track students couldn't muster the courage to intervene, and the magic or martial arts track students merely considered it good entertainment, not helping them.
"Looks like they're fighting over there?"
"Is that Bang Geochung? He did that last year too...... Embarrassing all the repeat students."
"But it's fun, isn't it?"
Bang Geochung's insides were burning too. But what could he do? With students gathering, he had no choice but to keep acting strong for his pride.
'Ha, I'm going crazy. I can't stop here embarrassingly in front of so many people......'
Now that people had already gathered, there was no turning back. Bang Geochung pointed his finger at Baek Iljin and said.
"If you kneel and apologize right now, I'll forgive you."
"What? You messed up, and what kind of nonsense is that!"
At the absurd words, Hwangbo Cheolsu snapped back, but Bang Geochung merely raised his fist filled with inner energy.
Huuuuumm-
As if his martial arts training hadn't been in vain, the bluish energy unique to inner energy coiled around Bang Geochung's fist like a haze.
Bang Geochung made a triumphant expression and looked at Baek Iljin with eyes that dared him to run his mouth again.
"Kneel."
"I'm saying it for the third time. Your face stinks, so get it away."
The watching students burst into a clamor at the comment about his face stinking. Some students even openly mocked Bang Geochung.
"Well, with a face like that, it's no wonder it stinks."
"Kekekek, he does look like he doesn't wash."
Having instantly become the spectators' laughingstock, Bang Geochung's face turned bright red as he swung his fist filled with inner energy.
"You, you're dead today."
"No!"
Seeing Bang Geochung throw his punch, Hwangbo Cheolsu channeled inner energy into his Yongquan point and leaped up to block the fist, but he was a step too late.
Thwack!
Unable to bear the horrific sight of his friend taking a direct hit to the head from a fist laden with inner energy, Hwangbo Cheolsu squeezed his eyes shut.
Waaaaah-!
At the students' loud shouts, Hwangbo Cheolsu opened his shut eyes, and this time his eyes went wide at the situation unfolding before him.
Baek Iljin's body was completely unharmed; rather, it was Bang Geochung, who had thrown the punch, who was clutching his wrist.
'What just happened?'
While Hwangbo Cheolsu was processing the situation, one of the watching students shouted.
"It's an artifact!"
Artifact.
The name given to objects containing magic spells.
Household magic items like air conditioners and refrigerators were also a type of artifact, but the artifacts that mages and martial artists referred to were generally weapons containing powerful magic.
'An artifact?'
But since artifacts manifested magic through the user's mana as a medium, one had to possess a certain level of mana to use a high-rank artifact.
'But Iljin said he only learned a light inner energy cultivation method.......'
The glowing necklace Baek Iljin was wearing was clearly a highest-grade artifact to anyone who saw it. In fact, artifacts that manifested automatically like that were items that couldn't be obtained even with money.
The owner of that artifact, Baek Iljin, looked up at Bang Geochung with his usual expressionless face.
"I told you three times."
In this situation, one would expect him to express anger, but the voice coming from Baek Iljin's mouth was still emotionless.
'Should I kill him?'
As Baek Iljin pondered whether to kill Bang Geochung like he had done with the bandit he met before, he remembered a conversation he had with his grandfather when he wasn't even ten yet.
'Iljin, you must remember. All life is precious.'
'What if I'm in danger? What would you do, Grandfather?'
'Our Iljin is in danger? Then I must save our pretty grandchild even if it means destroying the world.'
'Come on, what's that. Isn't that contradictory?'
'Hehe, is it? But in front of you, this old man can't help but become a hypocrite. Still, you must always keep the thought that all life is precious engraved in your heart.'
'Then what about when I'm deciding whether to kill or not?'
'Hmm, then don't kill them—just hit them lightly so they don't die. Hehe.'
The conversation had been long, but in summary it went like this.
Because all life is precious.
'So he won't die. Lightly.'
Seeing Baek Iljin looking at him while lost in thought, Bang Geochung seized the opportunity and attacked again.
'That measly punk, no matter what artifact he uses, how many times can he use it?'
This time it was a kick. His specialty had originally been leg techniques, not fist techniques.
Cheolgeungak
The Bang Clan's secret leg technique unfolded through Bang Geochung's leg.
Once again caught off guard by Bang Geochung's leg technique, Hwangbo Cheolsu missed the timing to stop him.
'Ah, no. I got distracted by the artifact and stupidly failed to subdue him.'
Hwangbo Cheolsu, running over too late, called out to Baek Iljin at the top of his lungs.
"Iljin!"
Baek Iljin raised his hand to Hwangbo Cheolsu as if to say don't worry, and gazed indifferently at Bang Geochung's kick.
'What is he trying to do?'
At the same time, the necklace was once again engulfed in a halo of light. The light was so bright that Baek Iljin's figure became hazy.
[Reflection Shield]
The eight magic circles drawn by the light emanating from the necklace linked together in an instant to become one, soon creating a defensive barrier that repelled all striking attacks.
Bang Geochung, discovering the dark blue barrier enveloping Baek Iljin's body, tried to pull his leg back, but it was too late to withdraw a leg already extended.
Thud- Thud- Thud-
Hit by the reflected impact, Bang Geochung bounced against the ground like a stone skipped across water, then used a breakfall to stop and thought.
'I think something's wrong here.......'
Having had two attacks containing his full strength blocked in succession, Bang Geochung lost his will to fight. Not only that, he seemed to have suffered an internal injury as his qi and blood flow twisted, and he tasted a fishy, metallic blood flavor inside.
However, before Bang Geochung could think any further, Baek Iljin's approaching hand ruthlessly slapped his cheek.
"W-wait!"
Smack- Smack-
"Kueg."
Feeling the scent of blood filling his mouth, Bang Geochung rolled across the ground.
"It's not enough to kill you yet. Get up."
"W-wait, I was wrong......."
Smack-
Tears welled up and spun. The inside of his mouth burst mercilessly, and he felt his front teeth shaking.
"St-stop."
"I won't kill you, don't worry."
Smack-
There was no inner energy in the hand. It was just a palm being swung blindly, yet he couldn't dodge it. And strangely, it hurt so much; it felt like being hit with a club.
Smack-
Now even his brain was shaking; dizziness made it hard to think properly. Only the instinct of 'It hurts, I don't want to be hit, I want to live' remained.
"Uuugh....... I-I was wrong."
The students who had been chattering while watching the spectacle, Hwangbo Cheolsu who had tried to stop the fight, and the student who had been knocked down by Bang Geochung—all shared the same emotion.
Terror.
It was the terror one felt when witnessing a situation so primitive and violently merciless.
Of course, it was simply fear of the scene itself, not fear of Baek Iljin as a person. But for some reason, they all kept their mouths shut.
"Get up. It's not enough to kill you yet."
Baek Iljin grabbed Bang Geochung, whose eyes were half-unfocused, and swung his hand. His hand had already turned red with blood, but he didn't even care.
'About five more hits should be enough.'
Then, someone grabbed Baek Iljin's wrist. Ice flowers bloomed from the grabbed wrist, tightly binding Baek Iljin's wrist.
The owner of the grabbing hand was a female student with shining silver hair and skin whiter than snow. Her deep chestnut eyes told him that her hair was not originally white.
"...?"
"Stop."
Any other male student would have had their heart shaken by her beauty the moment they saw her, but the deep-set black eyes with which Baek Iljin looked at her didn't stir in the slightest.
"What."
The grabbed wrist was chillingly cold.
But the owner of that hand spoke to him in a voice even colder than his wrist.
"He'll die at this rate."