The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 18

Right after the mock duel ended, drenched, I plopped down in a corner of the arena to dry my clothes.

Since the Protector didn’t seem to have any waterproof function, the thoroughly soaked Kim In-seong was forcibly carried to the infirmary.

If Kim In-seong had any sense of shame, he wouldn’t be able to show his face in front of me anymore.

“Does it not have any waterproof function?”

[Waterproof? What’s that?]

“Never mind.”

Expecting waterproof functionality from Baek-Ah is like expecting a bidet in an old-fashioned toilet.

“Isn’t that guy ranked dead last?”

“I think he was ranked 299th.”

As I pitifully dried my clothes, I felt various gazes directed towards me. Most of them were reactions of surprise that I had beaten Kim In-seong.

It had been a long time since I received this much attention, but I didn’t mind it at all.

‘Though I have no room to talk.’

I turned my gaze towards the arena. Soon, a scene I’d never witnessed before was about to unfold.

“Cheon Tae-sung. And Hong Seok-woo.”

When Choi Tae-min called out, two students stepped into the arena.

‘Cheon Tae-sung.’

Han Yu-seong, the protagonist, is in the class next to Cheon Tae-sung’s. No matter what, it was impossible to systemically observe Cheon Tae-sung’s first mock duel.

However, there was a part where it roughly indicated what kind of performance Cheon Tae-sung showed in the mock duel.

“I heard there was an incident during the mock duel in the next class. Someone got taken to the emergency room?”

“What? How can someone get hurt with the Protector?”

“I heard that the Protector…”

This information is only known if you check the conversations of students in the same class. Needless to say, the culprit of the incident is Cheon Tae-sung, the first clue that leads the player to delve deeper into this character.

‘But his opponent doesn’t look like someone who would end up in the emergency room.’

Hong Seok-woo, an external student.

Although he’s a complete extra not even mentioned in the original storyline, spending a few days in the same class made it roughly clear what kind of character he was.

He seemed to be quite famous externally and harbored the delusion that he would enter as the top student.

‘Maybe he had an inferiority complex towards Cheon Tae-sung.’

It wasn’t a hopeless gamble.

With a massive build and solid physique, he looked almost comparable to Han Yu-seong in terms of muscle definition. His appearance was more righteous than threatening, far from someone who would end up being carried away after a beating.

A mock duel cannot commence without mutual agreement. It could be assumed that two tough guys met each other, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Hey, Cheon Tae-sung.”

Right after stepping into the arena, Hong Seok-woo called out to Cheon Tae-sung. Cheon Tae-sung, whose name was called, continued walking to the center without paying any heed.

“You better be prepared today.”

“……”

“Hey, are you ignoring me when I’m talking to you?”

Despite Hong Seok-woo’s outburst, Cheon Tae-sung remained silent.

The size difference between the two was almost double. Normally, one might have flinched, but Cheon Tae-sung still wore an expressionless face.

‘He’s not ignoring him.’

I knew. While other mock duels were taking place, he had been looking at his smartphone.

‘He doesn’t even consider us worth talking to.’

He doesn’t see us as equals in the first place, so he doesn’t feel the need to respond.

“Alright, let’s go over the rules… never mind, let’s just start. Here, take your Protector.”

Choi Tae-min, standing in the center, handed out the Protectors.

While Hong Seok-woo put on his Protector without a word, Cheon Tae-sung stared at him for a moment.

“Teacher.”

For the first time, Cheon Tae-sung spoke up. He handed the Protector back to Choi Tae-min.

“How much can this block?”

“What do you mean by how much can it block?”

“Attacks.”

“Hmmm.”

Choi Tae-min stroked his chin, puzzled by the unexpected question. With a frowned brow, he seemed quite taken aback.

“The Protector is a safety device used by professional hunters in the field. At your level, you don’t have to worry about getting hurt. Unless someone’s spraying water, of course.”

There’s no need to look at me while saying that. The lack of waterproof capability is a fault, to begin with.

“Anyway, as long as you wear the Protector properly, you don’t have to worry about getting hurt. As you’ve heard in the safety instructions…”

“In the event that the Protector’s alarm goes off, the match will be immediately terminated, so keep that in mind.”

“……”

Cheon Tae-sung did not respond with any words. Since Choi Tae-min wasn’t the type to be bothered by such things, the match proceeded smoothly to the next phase.

“Now, position yourselves at opposite ends of the arena and wait for the start signal.”

With Choi Tae-min stepping down from the arena, the two participants turned their backs to each other and walked towards the opposite ends.

Final preparation time before the start signal. Hong Seok-woo, snorting heavily, threw off his shirt.

His bulging muscles, comparable even to Han Yu-seong’s, were fully exposed.

“If you surrender now, you won’t get unnecessarily beaten.”

Wearing his large gauntlets, Hong Seok-woo growled. Even just the glove part of the gauntlet seemed big enough to fit Cheon Tae-sung’s head a couple of times over.

“……”

Cheon Tae-sung remained silent. It seemed he had no interest in Hong Seok-woo, as he was tapping the Protector on his wrist with his index finger.

“Okay.”

Not expecting much in the first place, Hong Seok-woo slowly started warming up.

“Are you both ready? Then—”

Seemingly too lazy to give a proper start signal, Choi Tae-min’s attention was fixed on his smartphone.

“Start~.”

With the drawn-out start call, the final match of Class 1-B commenced.

* * *

[Hong Seok-woo: Entrance Rank 32]

As the match began, Hong Seok-woo spread his legs shoulder-width apart and let out a short shout.

“Hup!”

Immediately, a glistening sheen appeared on Hong Seok-woo’s skin, and a translucent mineral began to cover his upper body.

“Let’s see if you can dodge this.”

With his elbows forward and back rounded, Hong Seok-woo’s posture resembled that of a cannonball ready to launch.

Despite wearing gauntlets, for a Hardened Awakener like Hong Seok-woo, his entire body seemed like a deadly weapon.

“……”

In contrast, Cheon Tae-sung was extremely relaxed until Hong Seok-woo took his attack stance. No, rather than being relaxed, saying he did absolutely nothing was more accurate.

He simply continued to stare intently at his Protector, just like before the duel had even begun.

“Hoo!”

Soon, Hong Seok-woo’s cannonball-like body shot forward, causing an explosive sound similar to compressed air being released.

‘He’s fast.’

Even though I had anticipated his movements with Spirit Sight, Hong Seok-woo’s speed made Kim In-seong’s seem like nothing, and my dynamic vision couldn’t keep up.

Swish-!

The force of his full-body charge seemed like it would render the Protector unable to shield Cheon Tae-sung, but…

“Huh?”

Voices of confusion began to emerge among the students. Some of the female students, who had tightly closed their eyes, cautiously started to peek open their eyelids.

“What…?”

The most surprised person was Hong Seok-woo himself. He had expected to forcefully push Cheon Tae-sung away, but instead, his body halted as if hitting a brake.

“You, you bastard Cheon Tae-sung…!”

Cheon Tae-sung’s outstretched left arm had stopped Hong Seok-woo’s massive frame. Even though he blocked a body as powerful as a cannonball, Cheon Tae-sung didn’t budge an inch.

His still expressionless face is devoid of any human warmth.

“Grr, is this your ability?”

It was natural to deduce that Cheon Tae-sung was a Strength Enhancement Awakener. No matter how hard Hong Seok-woo pushed, Cheon Tae-sung didn’t move a single step.

‘No.’

But that’s not it.

Even if one isn’t a Strength Enhancement Awakener, most Awakeners have physical capabilities superior to ordinary people. This is because the mana within their bodies strengthens them.

The reason Cheon Tae-sung could block Hong Seok-woo’s attack with his bare hand was simply—

‘He has an insane amount of mana.’

A person in the Rolling Hunters world with such a massive mana reserve that he can stop one of the top three Hardened Awakeners’ charges with his bare hands. This means Cheon Tae-sung’s true ability must be something else.

“…Protector.”

Cheon Tae-sung raised his other arm.

He didn’t need to rely on any weapon as if it were his lifeline and could fully utilize his immense mana—Cheon Tae-sung’s unique ability.

Bzzt!

A hammer appeared above Cheon Tae-sung’s hand. It was one of the hammers from the armory.

A Materialization Awakener.

The ability to materialize objects he has seen and understood within his reach.

Clang!

Cheon Tae-sung swung the hammer down. Just before it hit Hong Seok-woo’s body, it clashed with the thin mana barrier coated by the Protector and bounced off.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

However, Cheon Tae-sung didn’t stop swinging his hammer. In fact, the more his attacks were deflected, the more forceful and intense his swings became.

“W-wait a minute!”

The consecutive attacks began to crack the barrier of the Protector.

Feeling uneasy, Hong Seok-woo struggled with his body, but it was futile. No matter how much he flailed, he couldn’t surpass the grip strength of Cheon Tae-sung’s single hand.

Shlick!

In an instant, Cheon Tae-sung’s weapon transformed into a black, blunt longsword.

‘Gram?’

The S-rank artifact, Magic Sword Gram.

An S-rank artifact that appears in the later stages, it has a high difficulty level for acquisition. Simply owning it significantly increases one’s stats and grants unique skills—it’s truly a cheat weapon.

Cheon Tae-sung reproduced Gram just by having seen it once. Even that demonstrates that his ability is already close to being a cheat; his copying ability doesn’t end there.

Cheon Tae-sung raised Gram, and the entire sword became enveloped in a red aura.

‘Unique Skill.’

『Gram: Aura of Berserk』

That’s the unique skill of the S-rank artifact Gram. It’s a buff skill that doubles the strength of the wielder.

Just before he brought Gram down, Cheon Tae-sung muttered something. I could deduce what he said from his lip movements,

“Will this break it…?”

Gradually, his once expressionless face showed color, and a smile spread across his lips.

[That’s exhilaration.]

Yomi squinted at Cheon Tae-sung’s appearance. The sight of him driving someone to the brink of death, with spirits hanging all around him, resembled a demon straight out of the depths of hell.

“No.”

Cheon Tae-sung’s spirit blazed as if it would devour everything.

Although Yomi’s ability to see through spirits was superior, this much was certain.

“That’s madness.”

Eyes brimming with curiosity. A grin that stretched ominously wide. He paid no heed to the person beneath the Protector.

‘The Protector will surely break with just that one strike.’

In the original storyline, Choi Tae-min couldn’t prevent the disaster that was about to happen. It wasn’t because Choi Tae-min was lazy or neglected his duties as an instructor.

That one strike from Cheon Tae-sung.

No one present, not even the supervisor Choi Tae-min, thought the Protector would fail to withstand that blow.

So, it wasn’t that they didn’t prevent it; they couldn’t. The event occurred so swiftly that as a result, Hong Seok-woo ended up half-mangled and had to be sent to the emergency room.

Fwoosh!

The red aura spread from Gram to cover Cheon Tae-sung’s hand.

“…!”

Realizing the anomaly, Choi Tae-min hurriedly got up,

“Save me!!”

but it was already too late.

Hong Seok-woo screamed, and the instant Cheon Tae-sung’s forged Gram came crashing down,

Clang!

A shattering sound echoed as Cheon Tae-sung’s hand stopped abruptly. It clearly wasn’t by his own will, and it wasn’t due to Choi Tae-min’s belated intervention either.

“Enough is enough.”

Standing in Cheon Tae-sung’s way, I gasped for breath.

The blue fox fire surrounding the Sain-gum and the red aura of Gram clashed, causing the space to waver like a mirage. Just blocking his sword once made my knees buckle and filled my entire body with bone-crushing pain.

“…Who are you?”

For the first time, I made an impression on Cheon Tae-sung.

“Come on, we’re in the same class.”

Cheon Tae-sung’s expression twisted at my response.