The Academy’s Time Stop Player

TL/Editor: looloo

Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun

Illustrations: Here

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"Hold on, Ha-joon!"

As the mist cleared, Lee Joo-ah saw Ha-joon. She rushed towards him, standing in his path to Fenrir.

Ha-joon frowned at Joo-ah’s actions. He gave a sly smile to Fenrir before replying.

"Don’t overthink it. This is the standard way, no need to worry."

"This is standard?"

Ha-joon smirked as he watched Fenrir.

Suddenly, Fenrir’s eyes started shaking as if there was an earthquake.

Joo-ah was puzzled at this sight.

"Really?"

"There’s an expert over there."

Joo-ah’s gaze shifted to Riella.

Riella nodded slowly.

"And he seems okay, doesn’t he?"

"Yes, that’s true..."

Come to think of it... Despite the noise, Fenrir seemed perfectly fine.

In fact, he was shivering all over without any signs of being hurt.

Ha-joon looked at Fenrir and continued speaking.

"Just watch and don’t worry. I’ll make a new creature out of him."

Ha-joon picked up the hammer again and walked towards Fenrir.

Immediately, Fenrir began to whimper! He scratched the curtain with his long claws, trying to escape.

Joo-ah looked at Fenrir sympathetically and once again stepped in Ha-joon’s way.

"Hold on...that...uh..."

"What’s wrong?"

"Well...he looks...kind of pitiful..."

"That thing?"

At that, Joo-ah nodded reluctantly.

Then something happened.

Fenrir, who had been scratching at the curtain, approached Joo-ah cautiously.

Seeing Ha-joon’s reaction, Fenrir fearfully licked Joo-ah’s arm.

Joo-ah, looking at Fenrir, cautiously began to pet its head.

Fenrir behaved well.

The beast that was so fierce a moment ago didn’t resist Joo-ah’s gentle touch.

This sight left Kim Ha-joon in shock.

"Unbelievable..."

It was clear that even this creature knew that its only chance of survival was Lee Joo-ah.

Honestly, he wanted to hit it again, but now, it was hard to even raise his hand.

"Ah..."

A sigh of frustration left him.

After all, hitting it again wouldn’t kill it...

"Alright, I get it."

Annoyed, Ha-joon shrunk his Maharazu and put it back in his pocket, then walked over to Fenrir.

Fenrir started whimpering in fear, and Ha-joon gently warned it, whispering in its ear.

"Listen well to your master. If you misbehave the next time we meet, you’ll be re-educated."

Even if it was a beast, a divine beast was still a divine beast.

It should understand at least that much.

After expressing the mysterious words that calmed his anger, Ha-joon turned sharply and walked towards Riella.

Looking directly at Riella, Ha-joon spoke up.

"Why did you do that?"

"What do you mean?"

Riella responded, her tone playful.

She met Ha-joon’s gaze, a teasing smile playing on her lips.

Ha-joon glared back at Riella and questioned her.

"You intentionally let that creature approach me, didn’t you?"

".........."

Riella answered with silence and a knowing smile.

Then, she slowly nodded, surprisingly open about her actions.

"Yes, you’re right. I apologize for testing you."

"What if I had been killed?"

"That wouldn’t have happened. There was a barrier around us."

Suddenly, the faces of the cube began to ripple and five passages formed.

Divine beasts radiating fierce energy and a brilliant glow emerged from the passages, observing Ha-joon in silence.

"Even if I was wrong, you wouldn’t have died."

True to her words, what seemed like a protective barrier was actually a series of passages connected to the divine beast realm.

However, Ha-joon felt revolted, knowing he had been tested.

The time he had spent defeating that beast wasn’t insignificant.

"Don’t be too upset. Honestly, even I didn’t anticipate him widening the passage. Besides, you were trying to trick me, weren’t you?"

Riella, unaware of Ha-joon’s frustrations, remained unperturbed.

Click-

With a flick of Riella’s fingers, the surrounding curtain began to dissolve.

Ha-joon glared at Riella for a while longer before he let out a deep sigh.

Although he felt used, what could he do about it?

The weak had to endure.

"Phew……… Please, don’t involve me in things like this again. I won’t hold back next time."

"Alright, alright. I was wrong. I apologize. You sure have a temper."

Ha-joon turned and walked away, heading towards the dormitory.

Joo-ah, who had been watching Ha-joon, cautiously approached Riella, giving her a sideways glance.

"I……… I’m sorry for causing trouble………"

"It’s not your fault. It was my mistake."

Riella watched as Ha-joon walked further away.

Mixed emotions stirred within her as she watched him.

’I never thought I’d feel this way at my age……… Life continues to surprise me………’

The unknown.

Fear and an exhilarating rush that came from the unknown.

These complex emotions were all directed at Ha-joon.

Then, suddenly.

"………!?"

Riella’s eyes widened in shock.

She gasped at something she saw, her eyes shaking as a cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

Looking closely.

The sight that met her eyes behind Ha-joon was overwhelmingly shocking.

"Heh……… No wonder I didn’t notice………"

"Huh?"

"It’s nothing."

While observing something behind Ha-joon, Riella found confirmation.

That boy... no, that individual had something that was beyond human capacity.

Something against which she couldn’t assure her victory, even if she gave it her all.

---

Raei Translations

---

Later that evening.

The principal’s office was still illuminated.

Principal Choi Jung-won sat on his couch, regarding Riella with a pleasing smile on his face.

Riella, bearing a disgruntled expression, looked at Choi Jung-won, clicking her tongue in annoyance before speaking.

"Tsk- Quit grinning. It’s unsettling when an old man like you smiles."

"Hehehe, you gave him a warning, didn’t you, Riella?"

"Yes, he may be somewhat impertinent, but he’s undeniably a monster."

monster.

Riella was not one to overstate.

Hence, a curious Choi Jung-won questioned Riella.

"What did you discern in the boy, Ha-joon?"

"..............."

Riella’s expression grew rigid.

She calmly sipped her tea before fixing her gaze on Choi Jung-won and speaking.

"At first, I sensed nothing. Virtually nothing. That’s likely why you placed the bet."

"That’s correct...............I also struggled to figure out the boy’s power."

"However, it wasn’t invisible."

"...............What do you mean?"

"There was undeniably something. Something behind him."

Riella revisited the sight she’d witnessed in the afternoon.

Merely thinking about it induced an unfamiliar fear.

A phenomenon befitting the term ’unknown’.

"The first thing I observed was the cosmos."

"...............The cosmos?"

"Yes, I observed countless stars. And a dark, boundless cosmos that had no conclusion. That was my initial observation."

"And what followed that initial observation?"

Riella paused, recollecting the subsequent spectacle she’d witnessed.

Even she didn’t fully understand it, but it was decidedly...............

"The second thing I observed was...............an hour hand."

"Hour hand? Of a clock...............?"

"Yes. Frankly, I’m uncertain if my interpretation is accurate. The hour hand was so colossal that I could only observe a fragment of it."

At the heart of the vast cosmos.

Surely, at its core, something resembling a massive hour hand was shifting.

He could only glimpse the edge of the hour hand, but it was unmistakably an hour hand of a clock.

"That boy is indisputably a monster. I’m unsure of what the hour hand represents, but the boundless cosmos signifies infinite potential. Be certain of this. At the least, he has the potential to achieve power on par with the legendary hero, or he’s already at a similar level. That boy... is still developing."

"Still developing?"

"The number of stars populating the cosmos was increasing. That confirmed it. The boy is still developing."

"Heu..."

An amazed exclamation slipped from Choi Jung-won’s mouth.

Then, Riella, who had been observing Choi Jung-won with a stern expression, issued a quiet warning.

"That individual is a monster. And he is one you cannot handle, Choi Jung-won."

Regardless of his youth, he demonstrated formidable power against the divine beast, Fenrir.

Moreover, when he wielded his hammer against the divine beast, he didn’t even perceive that he was the one swinging it.

It wasn’t mere speed, but an enigmatic, powerful force.

Not even a trace of energy was detected when he unleashed that power.

It indicated that he possessed the skill to conceal all of his immense power.

Even when displaying the spectacle of the cosmos, he radiated no energy.

In essence, a ’monster.’

He was no regular student.

"That person does not belong here. Do you plan to nurture a being you can’t even manage?"

Choi Jung-won remained silent for a moment.

Then, he gradually opened his mouth, bearing a faint smile.

"Certainly... But, he is still a young boy."

"Does that matter?"

"I am an educator, after all. From a teaching perspective, I can identify the weaknesses of student Ha-joon. And I am obligated to educate him on those."

"Weaknesses? What might they be?"

Choi Jung-won did not answer her question.

He simply closed his eyes quietly and lost himself in thought.

Then, the corners of Choi Jung-won’s mouth curled upward.

"It’s a strange thing... Despite the diminishing and weakening of infinite magical power, I feel like I’m getting closer to the ’truth.’"

"What do you mean?"

"I saw the future. My last moment..."

"The future? You don’t mean?!"

At Choi Jung-won’s words, Riella’s eyes widened.

But Choi Jung-won just continued to speak with a gentle smile gracing his face.

"I think the moment I pass on my teachings to the boy will be my last."

---

Raei Translations

---

Having retired to his quarters and drifted to sleep, Ha-joon woke up, rubbing his eyes.

By the time he awoke, it was already late in the evening.

"Yawn~ Ah... huh?"

There was a notification in Ha-joon’s field of vision.

[Dungeon Emergence Time : (15 hours 1 minute 22 seconds)]

"Oh, I forgot..."

It was a notification of the emergence time of the dimensional dungeon.

Given that the current time was 9 pm, it would likely be around noon tomorrow?

The moment he saw the notification, unease swept over Ha-joon.

’Tomorrow at noon...’

It pertained to none other than the dimensional dungeon.

A large-scale episodic dimensional dungeon that would signify the culmination of the first year.

Its unprecedented scale was expected to inflict numerous casualties.

That was why Ha-joon was apprehensive.

’Hmm...’

He felt uneasy about abandoning lives he could save with the knowledge he possessed.

The shockwave produced by the emergence of the dimensional dungeon would harm many people.

There would be a multitude of casualties.

He shouldn’t intervene as that’s the original sequence of events.

’I’ve already twisted it significantly... Ah, I don’t care anymore.’

An episode that had already strayed from the main storyline.

He felt more relief saving people through his intervention, rather than avoiding it due to fear of repercussions.

He merely had to save people and leave the remainder of the dimensional dungeon to that jerk, Han Si-young.

The future has been accelerated due to his actions. It would feel unsettling if people died who were never meant to.

---