Among the students enrolled at Geumgang Academy, those belonging to the combat track numbered over ten thousand across all years.
Under the ideal of cultivating superior Hunters,
Geumgang Academy had established a system to rank them and assess their abilities.
That system was the ranking.
A standard that calculated a complex array of factors—students’ exam scores, official sparring matches, volunteer work, and external activity points—to judge not their future value, but their present value.
In a sense, it was a system that plainly reflected the meritocracy rampant in Hunter society.
Thus, when students graduated from the academy, it was no exaggeration to say that their career paths were largely determined by their ranking.
For their part, they had to do everything they could to raise their ranking as much as possible while enrolled.
“What? A ranking match? Student Kang Hanbyeol and Student Oh Junsu?”
“Yes. They apparently made it clear that they would be holding a ranking match, not an official sparring match, and went to see an administrator.”
At this academy, the factors given priority in calculating rankings were promotion matches and ranking matches.
A promotion match was a test regularly conducted by Geumgang Academy to measure students’ combat ability under various themes.
And a ranking match was a duel in which students who had been assigned rankings staked those rankings against one another to determine superiority.
For someone with a low ranking, a ranking match was a shortcut to raising their rank in a short period of time.
Of course, it was not without risk.
If one lost in a ranking match, one had to accept a drop in rank.
In addition, the person challenged to a ranking match had the right, depending on the circumstances, to refuse the opponent’s challenge.
Unless the conditions for a ranking match were met, or unless both parties were willing, it was not something that happened easily.
“Student Kang Hanbyeol doesn’t have a ranking yet, so he wouldn’t have been the one to propose it. Student Oh Junsu must have.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Student Oh Junsu, who picked a fight with Student Kang Hanbyeol, unilaterally proposed the ranking match, and Student Kang Hanbyeol accepted.”
However, the news of Kang Hanbyeol and Oh Junsu’s ranking match that So Hyeyul heard from Oh Seunga was not ordinary.
To put it simply, it was because Oh Junsu, the one with the higher ranking, had proposed the ranking match first.
Kang Hanbyeol, who would only be assigned a ranking based on his first-year first-semester grades and would be able to take promotion matches starting in the second semester, was not yet on the rankings.
“What justification did Student Oh Junsu give for proposing a ranking match to Student Kang Hanbyeol?”
“Publicly, his justification is that he will teach him a lesson as a second-year senior. His true intention is apparently to recover the pride that was damaged because of Student Kang Hanbyeol.”
“Damaged pride? Did something happen between them...? Come to think of it, I heard not long ago that Student Kang Hanbyeol took a treasure of the Black Magic Oh Family. Is he trying to get revenge for that?”
“Yes, according to our investigation, that seems to be the case. Student Oh Junsu apparently sent members of his faction to request sparring matches with Student Kang Hanbyeol after the class competition. But every time he sent them...”
“You don’t have to say any more. I can more or less imagine the picture. No doubt Student Kang Hanbyeol won and took those students’ armaments as the price. How is he exactly like Jeongjin when he was a student...? Back then, too, he fought Jinhyeok, the current head of the Black Magic Oh Family, in much the same way.”
“Did he?”
“Yes, if I were to talk about those days... Oh dear, I almost let the conversation wander. In any case, the fact that Student Oh Junsu proposed a ranking match to Student Kang Hanbyeol first means he intends to draw the students’ attention and publicly humiliate him. It’s also probably to show that the Black Magic Oh Family is superior to the Fighting Ghost. Do you know what Student Oh Junsu’s current ranking is?”
“He is ranked 999th.”
“999th... So he’s at the tail end of the Triple Numbers. That’s quite high for a second-year. There are plenty of rumors that he’s a good-for-nothing, but even so, I suppose he is still a member of the Black Magic Oh Family.”
The ranking was meant for students who easily numbered over ten thousand.
Since even placing within the top 1,000 by percentile meant being in the top 10%, the ranking Oh Junsu held was by no means low.
At Geumgang Academy, students in the top 10% were praised as rankers, and three-digit rankers were called Triple Numbers, two-digit rankers Double Numbers, and single-digit rankers Single Numbers.
Naturally, students with high rankings were granted various benefits accordingly.
“What will you do, Chairwoman? Student Kang Hanbyeol has no ranking yet, so under normal circumstances, a ranking match cannot be arranged.... The administration office also said they submitted the matter to receive the principal’s approval.”
“Hmm....”
Chief Secretary Oh Seunga sought her opinion.
Sinking into the chair in her office, So Hyeyul tapped the desk with her fingers and fell into thought.
A moment later, she lifted herself from the chair and spoke with a bright expression.
“Contact the principal. Tell him to approve the ranking match between the two of them. Doesn’t it sound fun? If Student Kang Hanbyeol wins the ranking match, he’ll be assigned a Triple Number next semester. Wouldn’t that be the first time since our academy opened? It would be good for publicity, too. Quite sensational.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
* * *
The date for Kang Hanbyeol and Oh Junsu’s ranking match was swiftly decided for that very day.
The time was 9 p.m., after all afternoon classes had ended.
Students who heard the news of the two’s ranking match headed to the largest sparring arena in the training hall.
“Oh Junsu and Kang Hanbyeol are fighting? Wait, why? What are both of them thinking?”
“He probably thinks he’ll personally trample him because he doesn’t like what he’s doing. Serves him right. I didn’t like Kang Hanbyeol either. I mean, is he a villain or what? Who does he think he is, going around taking other people’s precious devices and artifacts? Do you know how much those cost? How hard they are to get?”
“If Kang Hanbyeol didn’t do that, his reputation would be pretty good.... That guy’s face is seriously decent. He’s popular with the girls, and I hear scouts are already eyeing him.”
“That’s why I hate him even more.”
“What about Oh Junsu? Honestly, isn’t what he does even more malicious? He beats people up just because they talk back, goes around seducing girls, abuses his family’s sponsorship to threaten people, shows up to class reeking of alcohol at every opportunity, drunk driving is basically a given.... If you ask who’s worse, isn’t it obviously Oh Junsu?”
“He goes around acting like a good-for-nothing because the Black Magic Oh Family has his back. The way he acts like he’s a king and treats the rest of us like commoners is seriously disgusting. I hope the disciple of the Fighting Ghost fixes him good this time.”
Final exams were approaching.
For students who had begun devoting themselves to studying, they needed something entertaining to enjoy, and just then, the news of Kang Hanbyeol and Oh Junsu’s ranking match could not help but whet their appetites.
As a result, even though it was late, the spectator seats quickly filled.
They waited with all sorts of expectations for the ranking match to begin.
Before long, Kang Hanbyeol and Oh Junsu appeared in the sparring arena.
“I was going to let this pass generously if you quietly returned the treasure of the Black Magic Oh Family along with the armaments you plundered from the others, but in the end, it’s come to this. It’ll be too late for regrets.”
“Why should I return armaments that were fairly staked by mutual agreement? And you never know the result until you try, do you?”
“Don’t keep talking back so insolently. This may not end with just a ranking match.”
“Then fix that way of speaking first.”
The two, facing each other, glared.
Even though the ranking match had yet to begin, they looked ready to duel at any moment.
Su Hoguk, who had been put in charge of this ranking match, stepped between the two and mediated.
“That’s enough from both of you. If you argue any more than this, I’ll give you penalty points.”
“...Yes. Understood, Instructor.”
“Hurry up and explain the rules.”
Even if Oh Junsu was known as a good-for-nothing, he could not carelessly encroach upon an instructor’s authority.
In particular, Su Hoguk, who bore the epithet of Punishment Sword, was on a different level even among instructors.
Knowing there would be nothing good in making an enemy of him, Oh Junsu preserved his pride and backed down.
Meanwhile, Kang Hanbyeol, who belonged to his class, obediently heeded the warning.
“I’ll explain the sparring rules from now on. Before that, I intend to receive verbal consent from both of you. Do you both agree that the winner will take from the loser the armament agreed upon in advance? In the event of defeat in the ranking match, does Student Kang Hanbyeol agree to transfer the Demon Sword Lucid to Student Oh Junsu, and does Student Oh Junsu agree to transfer the Luminous Derby Shoes to Student Kang Hanbyeol?”
“Yes, I agree.”
Before a sparring match, coordinating what each side wanted was important to prevent disputes later.
Having received verbal consent from the two, Su Hoguk then cautioned them regarding the rules of the ranking match.
After that, he gave the signal announcing the ranking match.
“Do not forget that killing is to be avoided and that you must fight fairly and honorably! The moment you stray from a Hunter’s code, I will intervene immediately! Never harbor killing intent toward your opponent. Then, from this moment on, the ranking match shall begin!”
With that, the sparring began.
Kang Hanbyeol immediately kicked off the ground and charged at Oh Junsu.
In a fight between a swordsman and a mage, the mage fundamentally held the advantage in distance.
Judging that a black mage would be no different, he planned to close the distance at once and seize the advantage.
Then, just as only a few steps remained before his sword would reach Oh Junsu,
Oh Junsu tapped the floor with one foot.
At that, the golden buckle that accentuated his black shoes emitted light.
Sensing something unpleasant, Kang Hanbyeol hurriedly tried to change direction.
But his body did not follow as he wished.
‘When on earth did he...?’
By the time he noticed, chains that had emerged from the ground were binding his foot.
It was the foot in the same direction as the one Oh Junsu had flicked just before.
Judging from the visible formula, it was a binding spell that could not be easily broken.
However, breaking the spell was not the only answer.
All he had to do was cut it with the Demon Sword Lucid, which possessed the property of cutting magic.
Collecting his momentary bewilderment, Kang Hanbyeol immediately brought forth Lucid’s power and severed the chain.
Then he prepared to respond to the black magic Oh Junsu had fired almost simultaneously with the binding spell.
‘I don’t know what kind of magic it is... but it’s fine. I can cut it.’
There was less known information about black magic and white magic, which borrowed the power of beings from other worlds, than there was about other kinds of magic.
This was because contracts to borrow magic had to remain secrets between the parties involved, and because research into the celestial realm and the demon realm was still insufficient by modern standards.
In addition, each famous family specializing in those respective magics treated them as secret arts.
Therefore, the black magic and white magic Kang Hanbyeol had learned from Seo Jeongjin were limited to a general level.
There was no way he would know about the black magic Oh Junsu had unleashed.
Whirlwind
But he could judge with the instincts he had built through real combat, and, in the extreme, he simply had to avoid being hit.
Moreover, his Gift, synchronized with the Demon Sword Lucid, was telling him.
That he did not need to worry because he could cut it with Lucid.
Trusting his Gift, Resonance Hands, Kang Hanbyeol advanced without hesitation.
In the meantime, his mana-filled sword shone and stirred wind around him.
Gauging the remaining distance to the approaching black sphere, he used one foot as an axis and leapt from the ground.
Rotating in midair, he destroyed the sphere with his wind-laden sword.
Then, landing on the ground, he leapt again and split another sphere.
As he repeated this, the wind dwelling in his sword grew rougher and rougher.
────!!
He unleashed the wind he had gathered to its limit.
Kang Hanbyeol struck down toward Oh Junsu with Lucid held in an overhead stance.
The silver wind covering the blade flew in a straight line and struck him directly.
However, the attack came to nothing.
The cloud of dust concealing Oh Junsu was scattered by a violent wind rising from within.
Oh Junsu, revealed within it, was protecting his body with a single black wing.
It was then that his face, hidden behind the enormous wing, became visible.
He was smiling.
At that very moment,
Papapak!
At the same time Oh Junsu stretched out his hand, the enormous wing flapped.
The feathers that made up the wing flew toward Kang Hanbyeol, laden with keen edges.
Kang Hanbyeol quickly activated the magic built into the brooch on his blazer jacket.
Wind rippling like a veil gently wrapped around his entire body.
The wall of wind deflected the feathers.
Having blocked the damage like that, Kang Hanbyeol raised the corners of his mouth.
‘He’s pretty good.’
He had roughly grasped Oh Junsu’s skill.
He was not an opponent to be underestimated.
Among the people he had fought since entering the Academy, he was the strongest after Do Gyeonu.
That was why his fighting spirit burned all the hotter.
He wanted to win.
Before the Blessing of Wind and Waves ended, Gang Hanbyeol charged at O Junsu once more.
* * *
Normally, it would have taken time to receive permission for a ranking match.
And yet, the fact that it had been approved the very same day meant that someone with the authority to skip the troublesome procedures had intervened.
As far as I knew, there was only one person like that.
The chairwoman of Geumgang Academy, the Star Witch, So Hyeyul.
‘There’s probably no special reason. She just found it interesting.’
So Hyeyul was treated almost like a hidden penultimate boss, with plenty concealed up her sleeve, but in this respect, she was easy to predict.
She was probably watching Gang Hanbyeol and O Junsu’s duel from somewhere around here right now, enjoying herself.
That was when Lisa spoke.
“If I’d known this would happen, I should have stopped Hanbyeol properly earlier. I didn’t stop him because I was upset by the insulting things that person said to him, but I think I made the wrong call. He’s a year above us, and he’s a ranker. Even if he’s at the very bottom, he’s still a Triple Number. But Hanbyeol… can he really win?”
“I want Hanbyeol to win too, but I’m worried he might lose. If he does… he’ll lose his sword, and more than anything, he’ll be humiliated in front of everyone gathered here. Didn’t that guy plan all of this?”
“…”
Lisa and Go Eunbi anxiously watched Gang Hanbyeol’s battle, voicing their worries.
The faces of several others who remained silent showed similar feelings.
Since Gang Hanbyeol could not get close to O Junsu and was being tossed around by his magic, it was only natural for them to think that way.
I soothed their concerns.
“Hanbyeol is going to win, so don’t worry too much. You all know how skilled he is. Right now, it only looks like he isn’t making progress because he hasn’t found the way to攻略 him yet.”
“I agree. Even if it takes time, Gang Hanbyeol has chosen to steadily figure out the cards his opponent is hiding. In fact, the senior from the dark magic O family hasn’t managed to land an effective hit.”
Yong Haerang agreed with me.
I nodded.
It was true that Gang Hanbyeol was at a disadvantage, but the tide had not completely shifted to O Junsu.
It was a flow he could seize back at any moment.
So I decided not to worry about that.
‘The real problem is what comes after.’
Gang Hanbyeol and O Junsu’s ranking match was merely the trigger for the final exam episode to unfold.
The final exam episode, which could be called O Junsu’s Demon King Advent.
It was an episode in which O Junsu, after being defeated by Gang Hanbyeol in the ranking match, brought the Demon King down into his own body out of vengeance.
That was what I was worried about.
Then Yeon Haneul spoke to me.
“I feel this from time to time, but whenever you talk about Hanbyeol, Gyeonu, you always sound like you know him so well. If someone heard you, they’d think Hanbyeol was your childhood friend instead of me.”
Yeon Haneul sounded somewhat displeased.
Unable to understand why she was glancing at me with sulky eyes, I answered in confusion.
“You can tell how skilled Hanbyeol is just by watching him too. He fought and beat Do Seungwoo and O Junsik of the dark magic O family. He’s definitely not the kind of guy who loses.”
“I know Hanbyeol is strong too. But that person is a second-year. I heard his mastery of black magic is on the verge of the fifth star…”
“It’s fine. He can do it.”
“You really have a lot of faith in Hanbyeol, huh? Enough to make me jealous for no reason…”
I had raised Gang Hanbyeol using every bit of knowledge I had from the game.
If one looked purely at physical ability, he was by no means inferior even against O Junsu, a second-year.
That was the basis of my confidence.
More importantly…
‘What’s with her today?’
I glanced sideways at Yeon Haneul, whose lips were jutting out in a pout.
It seemed half-joking, but somehow, she also seemed to feel hurt by me.
‘Is it because of that?’
My instincts as her childhood friend were telling me.
Following that feeling, I replied.
“Could it be more than how much I trust you?”
“Huh?”
“Of course it isn’t. The time I’ve spent with you is far longer than the time I’ve spent with Hanbyeol. Even if Hanbyeol and I get along well, it’s not as much as I do with you.”
“…Yeah, I see.”
“So don’t sulk.”
“I’m not sulking, okay?”
“You are sulking.”
“I said I’m not.”
Fortunately, Yeon Haneul seemed to have cheered up.
Catching the nasal lilt in her voice, I let out a faint laugh.
Then I took her hand.
She did not refuse my hand.
“Let’s just hope Hanbyeol wins.”
“Yeah.”
Just like that, we decided to focus on Gang Hanbyeol’s battle.
Some time passed after that…
‘Looks like he found it.’
There was a change in Gang Hanbyeol’s movements.
He had only been circling around O Junsu until then, but now he began to actively dig in.
“Ghk!”
O Junsu’s resistance no longer had any meaning.
Having completely grasped his tactics, Gang Hanbyeol did not hesitate in the slightest.
With that, the tide turned all at once, and at last, victory and defeat were decided.
There was no upset.
“Gang Hanbyeol, victory!”
As the Guardian Bureau announced the end of the ranking match and declared Gang Hanbyeol’s victory,
Gang Hanbyeol passed by them and approached O Junsu, who had fallen backward and was suffering a concussion.
“I’ll be taking this.”
“Ugh… W-wait…”
Gang Hanbyeol knelt on one knee beside O Junsu and said something.
He was too far away for me to hear, but that was probably what he said.
Soon, he removed the shoes O Junsu was wearing.
O Junsu, whose concussion had not yet cleared, struggled to keep his shoes from being taken, but it was useless.
“Whoa. Did O Junsu just lose? He lost to a first-year?”
“Look at him getting his shoes taken. How’s he supposed to go home like that? That’s seriously embarrassing.”
“Now that I look at it, O Junsu wasn’t anything special either. I mean, he’s only ranked 999th.”
“And you’re in the Triple Numbers?”
“Tsk. I knew this would happen someday. He should’ve kept his arrogance in check. This is what happens when he drags out the authority of the dark magic O family at every little thing.”
“Did you take pictures? You’re uploading them to AcaTime too, right? If you post them there, even the people who didn’t see it today will all see it.”
“…”
If I listened closely, I could hear students whispering here and there, mocking O Junsu.
Letting those voices pass me by, I looked down at O Junsu, who was half-sprawled on the floor and unable to lift his head.
I could easily imagine what he was feeling right now.
‘He must be feeling humiliated. By my standards, I’d say he brought it on himself.’
But regardless of the circumstances, humans instinctively sought the cause not within themselves, but outside, in order to avoid hurting themselves.
That was especially true for someone like O Junsu, who could be said to have a strong sense of self-love.
It would not be strange for him to feel humiliated by this incident and shift the blame onto Gang Hanbyeol.
All the more so when considering that, from now on, students would gossip about him behind his back and look down on him implicitly.
In the end, just as in the flow of the game, he would vow revenge against Gang Hanbyeol.
‘The Demon Society… Fallen Heaven will definitely take advantage of that opening.’
Soon, the final exam episode would occur.
I returned the gesture to Gang Hanbyeol, who had spotted us in the arena and was waving, and shifted my thoughts.
What mattered was from here on.
‘How should I set the board?’
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss