“Shut up and just die already.”
Even when I said I’d spare him, Park Inhwan stared at me like he was ready to kill.
“Why? Don’t you want to live?”
“You’re going to spare me? That’s a laugh.”
“If you tell me where the hostages are, I’ll make an exception and let you live.”
At that moment, Park Inhwan stopped moving.
“…What did you say?”
“I said if you tell me the hostages’ locations, I’ll let you live. Specially.”
Park Inhwan’s eyes widened.
He looked like he might blurt out his team’s info at any second.
“…You serious?”
“Yeah. If it ends for you like this, you’re gonna be dead last. That’s not what you want, right?”
“How do I trust you?”
“Whether you trust me or not is your call.”
I shrugged.
Park Inhwan hesitated for a moment, pretending to think, then opened his mouth.
“…Fourth floor of Base A, sixth floor of Base B.”
“And?”
“They’re in rooms on those floors. I can’t really explain the exact locations, but there aren’t many rooms, so you’ll find them easily enough.”
Tsk. What a piece of trash. He sold out his team without a second thought.
It was exactly what I expected, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Anyway, Base A fourth floor and Base B sixth floor—it matched the original.
Good. No issues with my plan.
“Where are Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-jun?”
“…Both of them are in Stronghold B—wait, no, Stronghold A. Uh, yeah. Stronghold A, fourth floor.”
“Hm.”
Since the hostage locations match the original, the odds are high this part is a lie.
Before regression, both Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-jun were in Base B.
And judging by how he’s stuttering, he’s a terrible liar.
“Anyway, I told you everything. So you’re gonna let me live, right?”
Park Inhwan said with an awkward smile.
“Nope. I was lying.”
“What? You son of a—”
BOOM—!
Park Inhwan’s figure vanished on the spot.
He’s probably cursing me out like crazy in the real world right now.
Well, I’m not too bothered about what Park Inhwan feels toward me.
He’s going to be a villain someday anyway.
[You have achieved the ‘False Hope’ achievement.]
[You have earned 2,000 points as a reward.]
[Character ‘Park Inhwan’ now extremely loathes you.]
[You have earned 1,000 points as a reward.]
3,000 points, huh.
Didn’t expect much, but that’s a nice haul.
Bzzzz.
Just then, the Smart Student Notebook in my pocket buzzed.
[You have earned 10 points for an elimination.]
[Personal score: 10]
Ah, right—there’s elimination points too.
Thanks to that, I’ve earned some extra personal points. Every little point matters to me.
He said sixth floor, right?
“Let’s go.”
Jung Hyun was watching the training through a monitor.
And just now, he witnessed something quite remarkable.
Second-year overall rank 5, Park Inhwan, had lost to rank 20, Kim Sunwoo.
“…What is this kid?”
He had still been unsure about Kim Sunwoo’s skills, but now he was certain.
Kim Sunwoo was someone to keep a close eye on.
As important as Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ara.
But no matter how he thought about it, something felt off.
How was someone this skilled ranked so low until now?
He just defeated Park Inhwan, a top-tier second-year student, like it was nothing.
So Kim Sunwoo’s actual strength must place him at least in the top two.
And the fight he just saw didn’t only showcase his talent in manifestation-type abilities—it showed he had exceptional ability in reinforcement-type magic too.
Jung Hyun had seen countless students in his career as a magic consultant, but he’d never seen anyone like this.
“…What is going on?”
It was hard to comprehend logically.
This kid was ranked 150 just six months ago.
There must’ve been some kind of error…
Just then, a new battle appeared on another screen.
Stronghold A.
A clash between rank 2 Yoo Ara and rank 4 Lee Hyun-joo.
Behind them were 10 terrorists and 15 special agents clashing.
A strong barrier, probably set up by the terrorist team, was surrounding the area.
“Did they fall into a trap?”
Looks like it. Judging by the surprised reaction of the special agents, they’d been ambushed.
They had the numbers advantage, but the terrorist team had superior firepower.
If they clashed like this, the special agents would likely be wiped out.
…Still, something felt sloppy.
There was no reason for all 15 agents to move together like this.
Maybe they were trying to quickly secure one of the two bases?
At that moment, the battle between Yoo Ara and Lee Hyun-joo began.
Jung Hyun focused intently on the screen, his eyes gleaming.
A clash between the second-year’s rank 2 and rank 4.
He might gain vital insight for his future plans.
Things like their combat styles, or the strength of their magic power.
This was not a chance he could afford to miss.
Jung Hyun began scribbling notes as he watched the screen.
A fierce battle was ongoing at Stronghold A.
Yoo Ara and Lee Hyun-joo were exchanging spells, locked in combat.
A summoned spirit creature—a wolf of water—rushed toward Yoo Ara. Then, a massive sphere of flame swallowed the water wolf whole.
Their clash appeared evenly matched on the surface, but the tide was clearly turning in Yoo Ara’s favor.
That was because Lee Hyun-joo couldn’t keep up with Yoo Ara’s innate mana reserves.
“Tch.”
Lee Hyun-joo frowned.
As expected of Yoo Ara. With her throwing those massive fireballs, summoning attacks were meaningless.
Yoo Ara, who excelled in area-of-effect attacks, was practically Lee Hyun-joo’s natural counter.
“…This isn’t looking good.”
Lee Hyun-joo slowly looked around.
The ten-member terrorist team and the fifteen-member special agents team were engaged in a large-scale skirmish.
While they held a numerical advantage, the power gap between the terrorists and the special agents was stark.
The longer the fight dragged on, the worse it would get.
As proof, three of her fifteen comrades had already been taken down.
‘I need to act fast.’
Of course, this situation had been partially anticipated in the plan.
But there were more enemies than expected hiding in ambush.
If it weren’t for the barrier, they could’ve considered a strategic retreat—but at this rate, they might be annihilated.
But Lee Hyun-joo wasn’t the only one feeling uneasy.
Yoo Ara also felt a growing sense of unease.
The reason was simple: Kim Sunwoo hadn’t shown himself once.
To Yoo Ara, the biggest threat on the opposing team was, without question, Kim Sunwoo.
The entire ambush had been orchestrated primarily to eliminate him quickly.
Yoo Ara clenched her teeth.
She needed to finish off these guys and find Kim Sunwoo immediately.
Meanwhile, an odd tension hung over the terrorists side at Stronghold B.
“Why isn’t Park Inhwan here yet?”
Baek Du-eon muttered to himself in front of the room where the hostages were hidden.
“Right? He said he’d take a quick look around, but it’s been over 20 minutes.”
“You think something happened to him?”
“Come on, no way.”
Park Inhwan was ranked 5th in the school’s overall rankings.
The only person on the enemy team who could even possibly beat him was Lee Hyun-joo.
“You think he got ambushed by a bunch of people and died?”
“Nah. If it looked like he’d get ambushed, he’d have bolted right away.”
Even a skilled mage wouldn’t try to fight if outnumbered.
It gets risky if the opposing side has even one support-type mage.
Though Park Inhwan was arrogant, he wasn’t reckless.
“Then could it be Lee Hyun-joo got in here?”
“You idiot. Lee Hyun-joo’s out there fighting Yoo Ara right now.”
“Oh, right.”
Then what gives?
If it wasn’t Lee Hyun-joo, no one else over there could’ve taken down Park Inhwan.
In that moment, one name suddenly flashed through Baek Du-eon’s mind.
The key threat Yoo Ara had mentioned.
Kim Sunwoo.
“…No way.”
Even if Kim Sunwoo was as talented as Yoo Ara claimed, Park Inhwan was still ranked 5th.
And it made no sense that Kim Sunwoo was hiding some secret power.
Sure, his skills had grown insanely since last semester, but come on—it’s not a novel or a comic. Why would he hide power on par with someone like Lee Seo-jun?
Just then, Baek Du-eon felt a wave of mana from nearby.
“Mana?”
But before anyone could react, a brightly glowing magical sphere struck one of the team members in the head.
KWAANG—!
“Wh-what the hell?!”
One person was instantly eliminated.
They turned toward where the spell had come from—and saw a familiar face standing there.
“Ki-Kim Sun-woo?”
“When did he get here?!”
They hadn’t heard a single footstep or sensed a presence.
But more importantly—the magic.
He had fired it the moment mana was formed. That meant he had cast and launched the spell almost instantly.
And yet, it had hit square on the head?
A thousand questions swirled in Baek Du-eon’s mind, but now wasn’t the time to think.
“A-attack him!”
At Baek Du-eon’s shout, the remaining four snapped to and charged Kim Sunwoo.
Three magical spheres manifested around Kim Sunwoo.
They were small orbs made with minimal mana.
Those three spheres shot out again at blinding speed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each one hit a different enemy square in the head.
“Gahhh!”
Three people vanished in an instant.
Even though they contained minimal mana, the precise headshots made them deadly.
But two enemies still remained. Each swung their weapon at Kim Sunwoo.
“Die!”
First came Baek Du-eon’s massive axe.
Kim Sunwoo ducked with a fluid motion, dodging the blow.
Next was Park Ho-soo, ranked 32nd and a reinforcement-type mage, who seized the opening and lunged with a blade.
But again, Kim Sunwoo twisted away and avoided the strike. Then he conjured another spell and shot it straight at Park Ho-soo’s head.
KWAANG!
The blast pierced Park Ho-soo’s skull and erased him from existence.
Now alone, Baek Du-eon stumbled back, eyes locked on Kim Sunwoo in disbelief.
“What the hell…”
Cold sweat ran down Baek Du-eon’s back.
He had taken out four people in mere moments. Alone.
“Kim Sunwoo…”
He was ranked 17th, yet here he was—nervous before someone ranked 20th.
Suddenly, he remembered what Yoo Ara had said.
“I bet it’s true.”
“It is true.”
“What? You gonna call me a noob too??”
The rumors about Kim Sunwoo being the real deal… they were true.
And after seeing Kim Sunwoo fight, Baek Du-eon had no choice but to accept it.
There was no way this was the strength of someone ranked 20th.
At the very least, top 5. Maybe… maybe even Park Inhwan had lost to him.
Which meant Kim Sunwoo now had the power near the top 4.
Gulp.
He was nervous, but it wasn’t over yet. No matter how strong, Kim Sunwoo was still a manifestation-type mage.
And reinforcement types had the advantage against manifestation types.
If he could just force a close-quarters fight, he still had a chance.
At that moment, Kim Sunwoo conjured and launched another spell.
Baek Du-eon dodged it, having somewhat expected the attack.
At the same time, he charged forward.
Usually, manifestation-type mages would shift their spell forms or keep firing suppression attacks to hold off an approach.
That’s what Baek Du-eon expected.
But Kim Sunwoo defied expectations and lunged forward as well.
Whooosh!
Baek Du-eon was briefly surprised but calmly swung his axe.
Kim Sunwoo sidestepped again, deflecting the strike with a graceful motion.
Even earlier, his movement had been surprisingly agile.
It made Baek Du-eon wonder if he was actually fighting a reinforcement-type mage.
“Kh!”
Then Kim Sunwoo conjured another spell in his hand. A blinding light flared in Baek Doo-eon’s eyes.
Inside a room, six hostages—including Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon—sat with their hands cuffed in magic-resistant metal restraints.
It was a dull, frustrating wait.
They had to just sit there, waiting to be rescued. For both Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon, it was maddening.
They had briefly sensed mana from downstairs earlier, but everything had gone quiet again. So it seemed like nothing major had happened.
Ruuuumble…
Suddenly, a deep tremor shook the building from outside.
Sensing something unusual, Lee Seo-jun spoke up.
“Sounds like a serious fight broke out outside.”
“Right? Are things really under control? Ugh, this is killing me. Wait, that spell just now—wasn’t that Yoo Ara’s?”
“Yeah, that was Yoo Ara’s.”
He recalled the massive fireballs he’d seen when sparring with her before.
“Hm… If they’re brawling in a big group like that, the terrorists definitely have the advantage. Are we sure they’ve got this?”
It was just speculation, but it didn’t meant well for the special agents.
Given the power disparity, the best tactic was to avoid direct combat and win through psychological warfare and intel usage.
But based on the mana surging outside, there was no doubt a large-scale battle was underway.
Shin Young-joon shook his head.
“…Ugh, I think we lost. No way they win by rushing in like that.”
“Let’s just wait and see.”
“Wait? At this rate, we’re never getting rescued.”
Tsk tsk. Shin Young-jun clicked his tongue.
And then—
Creeeak—the door began to open.
Everyone turned toward it, eyes wide with shock.
A man with a familiar face walked into the room.
Everyone stared at him in disbelief.
It was Kim Sunwoo.
“Yo. Let’s go.”
Leave a Reply