[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter 16
On the first day of the new sester, in the student council room.
Shin A-sol stared blankly at the computer screen, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. The words "[How to Destroy a Barrier's dium from the Outside]" stared back at her in bold, mocking her empty docunt.
"I don't know what to write!" she groaned, running a hand through her hair.
How did she end up in this ss? All she'd wanted to do was catch a thief, but sohow she'd ended up smashing the academy’s prized statue. And now, instead of detention, she had to write a paper explaining the science behind it.
“They told to find the thief? I broke the statue trying to catch the thief, so why do I have to write this?”
Destroying the statue in the swimming pool was a necessary step in solving the case, in her opinion. Shin A-sol felt deeply wronged that she was being punished for trying so hard to catch the thief.
However, the vice principal didn’t see it that way. When he saw the shattered statue, he clutched at his neck and was rushed to the hospital.
"Apparently, that statue cost over a billion won. It was much more expensive than it looked," Okamoto had muttered, shaking his head. "I can see why he fainted. He would have demanded full compensation from you if it weren’t for the professors shielding you. You should be grateful they let you off with just writing a paper."
Okamoto clicked his tongue in disbelief as he recalled the professors gathered around the shattered statue.
"This is the first ti this statue has been destroyed since the academy was founded. How did you do it?"
"...What? You smashed it with your shield? That's impossible! How could that be?"
"It's more believable if you told you cracked a rock with an egg!"
"Explain in detail how you were able to directly damage the statue within the barrier. Describe the principle, structure, and the circumstances. Don't miss a single detail!"
Unlike the vice principal, the professors were more interested in studying Shin A-sol's incredible strength that allowed her to shatter the statue. They convinced the vice principal that Shin A-sol's ability to break through the barrier was more valuable than the statue itself, and as a result, she was able to avoid paying compensation and instead was assigned to write this paper.
"You're always causing trouble without thinking, but sohow you always manage to get out of it. What's your secret? How do you keep from getting expelled after causing so much chaos? Teach your ways..."
Okamoto's playful grin faltered as he abruptly clamped his mouth shut. He'd seen Shin A-sol's hand move towards the shield leaning against the wall.
Shin A-sol fiddled with the shield, her eyes narrowed in thought. Finally, she sighed and said, "Cut the crap and help . You saw everything that happened. You must have so idea about the theory behind it."
It was true.
While Shin A-sol was more of a doer than a thinker, Okamoto was the opposite. In fact, he had quickly grasped the principle behind Shin A-sol's barrier-breaking technique after witnessing it at the pool.
"Well, I don't know everything..."
"I knew you'd say that. Just give a hint!"
Okamoto hesitated, looking at Shin A-sol, who was practically begging him for help.
Shin A-sol was ranked third overall in the previous sester. Okamoto was ranked one spot below her, in fourth place. He didn't think he was foolish enough to help a competitor just because they were friends.
'Normally, I would have scoffed and refused,' he thought.
But he couldn't easily dismiss her this ti.
After all, it was Shin A-sol.
"Well, I suppose I could help you a little..."
"Really? Thank you! So, how should I start the first paragraph?"
"But I can't just help you for nothing."
"Aw, don't be stingy..."
Shin A-sol pouted, and Okamoto pretended to be busy.
"Do you think I have nothing better to do? The whole Alchemy Departnt is in an uproar because the 'Garden' is suddenly malfunctioning."
"The Garden? Why is it broken all of a sudden?"
Shin A-sol was startled. Even after being at this academy for so long, she had never heard of the Garden malfunctioning.
"How should I know? Anyway, the departnts that rely on the Garden for materials are in a panic. I’m helping you out of the kindness of my heart, despite being so busy.”
"Fine, fine. What do you want? I'll do anything!"
Okamoto's heart raced at her promise. He desperately wanted to ask her what she would do.
‘Okay, I’ve got her hooked!’
In truth, the story about the Garden was just an excuse. Unlike the other students, Okamoto's family was a major corporation, so he could easily obtain alchemy materials outside of the academy.
‘Stay calm. I need to play this right…’
He knew that going too far would ruin everything, so he tried to hide his excitent.
"Well, then, how about we go see a movie this weekend..."
"What? A movie? Out of the blue?"
“Yeah, there’s a movie I’ve been wanting to see. It’s not like I’m trying to hang out with you or anything! I just really wanted to see this movie…”
Shin A-sol chuckled and pulled out her phone.
"Oh, co on. If that's all it takes, I'll show you ten more tis. Just book your own ticket. I don't really like watching movies."
"What, what? Wait a minute!"
Okamoto hastily tried to stop Shin A-sol from booking the movie tickets on her phone.
"It's not polite to make a guy watch a movie alone, is it?"
"What does that have to do with being polite..."
"It does! I'm helping you with your paper! You should co with to the movie and keep company! And buy popcorn and a cola! That's only fair!"
Shin A-sol looked dumbfounded at Okamoto's outburst.
Realizing he'd gotten carried away, Okamoto tried to salvage the situation.
"Ahem... What I an is, movies are more fun when you watch them with soone else."
"You didn't have to yell about it... Anyway, then just book two tickets. But what movie are we going to see?"
Okamoto hesitated for a mont.
For the past few years, Okamoto Daichi, 21 years old, had been guarding Shin A-sol from countless suitors at this academy.
He had been putting on a convincing act as her friend all this ti, and finally, the opportunity had arrived to take their relationship to the next level.
‘What should I suggest? Maybe an action movie?’
Considering Shin A-sol's usual preference for fighting over anything else, an action movie seed like the logical choice.
However, no matter how much he thought about it, he didn't think watching an action movie together would significantly change their concrete relationship.
‘Alright, this is it! I have to go for it!’
Okamoto made up his mind. It was now or never. A romantic movie was the only answer.
Okamoto Daichi was finally going to beco a man!
Just as he was about to muster up the courage to speak, the door suddenly opened, and a familiar face appeared.
It was the worst possible timing. That girl. His mortal enemy.
It was Seo Su-kyung.
‘Damn it! Why does she always show up at the worst tis!’
Okamoto scowled as if he had seen a villainous army.
On the other hand, Seo Su-kyung, who was carrying a heavy load on her back, looked at the two of them in turn before walking towards them with a stern expression.
Sothing seed ominous.
In a gloomy voice, she said, "...Why are you always hanging around A-sol? Do you like her or sothing?"
"Hup!"
Taken aback by her direct question, Okamoto coughed repeatedly.
Shin A-sol looked at Seo Su-kyung strangely and said, "What are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with friends hanging out together."
"Tch, friends...?"
Okamoto was once again plunged into despair at Shin A-sol's clear rejection.
However, the unfortunate young man's troubles were far from over.
As if a good idea had co to her, Shin A-sol clapped her hands and said to Seo Su-kyung,
"Oh, right! Su-kyung, do you want to co with us to the movies?"
"Movies?"
"Yeah. Okamoto wants to see a movie. We're going to see it this weekend."
“What? This guy asked you to go to a movie with him...?"
Okamoto couldn't bear to look at Seo Su-kyung. Even without looking, he could feel her scornful gaze burning into the side of his head.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Okamoto quickly changed the subject.
“What are you doing here all of a sudden? Oh, right, I heard you signed up for the Deconstructionist Departnt. What are you up to now?”
“Deconstructionist Departnt? Su-kyung, is that true?,” Shin A-sol asked in surprise.
“Why are you taking Professor D’s class? You know that guy has a bad reputation, right?”
“...I’m just doing it for fun. Don’t worry about it. But…”
Instead of answering, Seo Su-kyung emptied her backpack onto the desk. Weapons like swords, axes, and hamrs tumbled out.
“Enchant these with a divine spell. The highest level you can manage. You can do that, right?”
“What...? Are you ordering around?” Okamoto was dumbfounded. It was absurd that she would suddenly show up and demand such a thing, but what was even more absurd was that it was Seo Su-kyung.
“Why should I do that for you? Especially soone who ranks lower than ?”
“Don’t get so cocky. Your score is only ten points higher than mine.”
“Oh yeah? That’s why there was a rumor that you smashed all the TVs and refrigerators in the girls’ dormitory after the last ranking announcent because you couldn’t catch up to those ten points.”
Okamoto continued to provoke her with a smug grin.
She had to show up at the worst possible ti and ruin his plans! He wanted to do everything he could to ruin her mood.
But that was a mistake. Seo Su-kyung wasn’t in the mood to be ssed with today.
Seo Su-kyung pierced him with a cold gaze and replied, “...Speaking of rumors, sothing ca to mind.”
“What is it?”
“I heard a rumor that you created Orichalcum using a tungsten alloy during the alchemy exam last sester. And that’s how you got the top score, right?”
Shin A-sol looked at Okamoto in surprise.
“Really? That’s amazing! I heard that even professors find it difficult to create Orichalcum through alchemy.”
“Well, well... it wasn’t easy, that’s for sure.”
Okamoto was imdiately filled with pride as Shin A-sol looked at him with admiration.
But Seo Su-kyung wasn’t finished.
“But I also heard that you used the ‘blood of a dragon-cursed fetus’ as a material to create that Orichalcum. I wonder how you got sothing like that.”
“Fetus... blood? Ugh... you used sothing like that as a material?”
Shin A-sol looked at Okamoto with disgust.
Okamoto’s face turned pale. When he saw Seo Su-kyung smirking, his heart sank.
‘How did she find out about that?!’
It was true that he had secretly used the fetus’s blood during the exam last sester. It was necessary to use such a rare and powerful material to transmute a common tal like tungsten into Orichalcum.
Of course, it was a cri, but this was Masterclass.
In this academy, there was nothing you wouldn’t do to get a higher score.
‘But even my professor doesn’t know that I secretly used the fetus’s blood... I was so careful about it…’
How could soone like Seo Su-kyung, who had nothing to do with alchemy, know about such a secret?
Okamoto was suddenly terrified of the information that his arch-nesis possessed.
‘I wonder how much she knows, and what else she's turning a blind eye to.’
Seo Su-kyung slowly opened her mouth and leaned in close to his ear. Her voice was a low whisper, penetrating his eardrums. "If you don't want to get screwed, do as I say. I'm in a bad mood, so don't ss with , you piece of shit."
A shiver ran down his spine as her icy voice pierced his eardrums and seed to echo in his brain. Without realizing it, Okamoto nodded.
* * *
“Hey, I heard you took Professor D’s class. How was it?”
After the first day of class, a group of students gathered outside the main building, chatting about their classes. The main topic of conversation was, of course, the infamous Professor D’s Deconstructionist class. They were eager to hear from anyone who had taken it.
“I heard he teaches really tough. They say soone even dropped out on the first day in another academy.”
“I bet you couldn't understand a thing. Professor D's classes are so difficult they're known all over Europe."
The students clicked their tongues, looking pityingly at the student who had taken the class.
However, the student who had taken the Deconstructionist class shook their head firmly.
“It was definitely difficult, but it was definitely worth learning.”
“What?”
“You guys will never know. You have no idea how amazing Professor D’s class is. I had a huge realization today.”
The student's eyes sparkled as if they had discovered the aning of life, causing the other students to whisper that they must have been so shocked they'd lost their minds.
"...That's a pretty good reaction."
Listening to the conversation from below the professor's office window, I closed the window and sat down. I reread the ssage in front of .
[The students who attended your lecture were deeply impressed.]
[The Deconstructionist Departnt scores of the students who attended the lecture have increased.]
[The overall favorability of students towards Do Jin-hak has increased.]
[Do Jin-hak's reputation score has increased by -40!]
My first lecture impersonating Professor D had been a success. None of the students in the class had doubted my identity or thought the lecture was subpar. In fact, they were so impressed they spent the entire class in awe.
"Do Jin-hak's lectures are pretty solid."
The only problem with Do Jin-hak's lectures was that he was too much of a genius to effectively teach ordinary students. If soone couldn't understand him, he thought they must have a brain made of poop.
"He's never lived with an ordinary brain."
That was why Professor D's classes were notoriously difficult. He couldn't understand why others couldn't understand him.
But I was different. I wasn't a genius like him.
I managed to understand the basics of the Deconstructionist class, which was only a small fraction of his knowledge, and was able to simplify it enough for the students. It seed to work perfectly.
"Well, not perfectly for everyone."
I glanced back at the bottom of the ssage.
[Seo Su-kyung's favorability towards Do Jin-hak has decreased significantly.]
[The relationship between Do Jin-hak and Seo Su-kyung has changed from 'acquaintances' to 'uncomfortable'.]
While the overall favorability of the students had increased, one person stood out. Seo Su-kyung, who had stord out of the class, had beco hostile. Once a relationship becos hostile in the military strategy relationship system, it becos very difficult to restore it.
That was exactly what I wanted.
‘That family could easily get their hands on Deconstructionist Departnt’s lecture materials.’
Seo Tae-hee, Seo Su-kyung’s mother, was known for her excessive love for her daughter. She would go to hell and back for her only child.
Knowing this, I had prepared my lecture with the intention of humiliating Seo Su-kyung. If I didn’t, she would find a way to exploit Do Jin-hak.
“There’s no need to keep Seo Su-kyung around now that Gianluca is in the Deconstructionist Departnt.”
The vice principal’s quest to elevate the status of the Deconstructionist class could be easily achieved with Arche alone.
Seo Su-kyung was too dangerous to keep close. I had managed to get through today’s lecture, but if I continued, she would eventually suspect my true identity.
It would be best if she left on her own accord, but...
“With her stubborn personality, she won’t give up easily.”
After humiliating her in front of the students, she would definitely try to get revenge.
However, I wasn't too worried. I could predict her next move.
“I’ve collected plenty of data on Seo Su-kyung over the 137 tis I’ve died.”
It was the evolved, powerful Seo Su-kyung that was truly terrifying, not the re student she was now.
The current Seo Su-kyung was nothing more than a pawn in my hands...
Grrr...
[ntal state is deteriorating due to blood thirst.]
[ENP status is unstable.]
[ENP is rapidly increasing.]
[Find blood before your ENP reaches its maximum!]
[Current ENP: 120/180]
“...It’s already this low?”
I must have exerted too much energy during the lecture.
Due to my hunger, my ENP status was becoming unstable, causing my stats to increase more rapidly with each action.
I rummaged through the bag where I had hidden my blood packs.
Rustle-
......
......
......
They were empty. All the blood packs I had brought from the lab were completely drained.
“I used them up faster than I expected.”
I had used an unexpected amount of energy right after arriving at academy.
But that wasn’t a problem. There was plenty of blood in this academy.
“Well, then, let’s go get sothing to eat.”
Click-
I opened the door to my office with a lighter step. My mood was good, but not just because the lecture had gone well.
As a vampire, no matter how many delicacies I ate, I could never feel satisfied.
For , the ti to feed was both disgusting and one of the few pleasures in life.
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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