[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter 51
“So, you're telling to investigate Professor D?”
The Emission Departnt’s student lounge.
In the lounge, thick with cigarette smoke, Nam Kang-ik spoke with a sour expression.
“Why all of a sudden? Weren’t you the one who was all over Professor D and jumped ship to the Deconstructionist Departnt?”
“I was not all over—!”
Seo Su-kyung flared up but quickly caught herself. Clearing her throat, she spoke again.
“Ahem… I had my reasons for switching to the Deconstructionist Departnt. You don’t need to know the details.”
She had no intention of explaining herself to Nam Kang-ik. No—no one could know the truth.
‘This academy is crawling with wolves dying to find my weaknesses.’
A figure both admired and envied.
That was Seo Su-kyung’s position in the Masterclass. She knew all too well that the mont she showed any vulnerability, vultures would be waiting to tear her apart.
‘I’d do the digging myself if I could…’
But under the terms of her Binding Oath, the subordinate could not go against the superior.
Any action that hard or disobeyed the superior would result in penalties.
Since she couldn’t directly investigate Professor D herself, she needed a pawn to move in her stead.
Soone like Nam Kang-ik.
“Anyway, I need you to look into Professor D. Use your people or do it yourself—I don’t care. Just bring sothing I can use.”
“Hmmm~ Sothing to use against them, huh…”
In the past, he might have grumbled but still done what she asked. But now? Things were different.
Nam Kang-ik glanced around at the other students in the lounge.
The Emission Departnt students, pretending to be busy but eavesdropping on their conversation…
Their silent attention made him uneasy. He shoved his hands into his pockets and muttered, “Why should I?”
“...What?”
“I said, why the hell should I do your dirty work? Let’s be real—you’re not even part of the Emission Departnt anymore.”
“Do you even know what kind of relationship your family has with mine?”
“And? It’s not like you’re inheriting the International Group. What, there’s gotta be at least twenty heirs in the Seo family ahead of you, right?”
Seo Su-kyung was caught off guard by Nam Kang-ik’s sudden shift in attitude. He had always complained, sure, but in the end, he would act as if he’d pluck the stars from the sky for her.
“Wake up, Seo Su-kyung. You’re part of the Deconstructionist Departnt now. You’re at the very bottom of the Masterclass. And I? I’m the top dog of the Emission Departnt.”
Nam Kang-ik jabbed his thumb toward himself with a smug grin.
Now, she finally understood this bastard’s ga.
“...So, this is about your pride? The great leader of the Emission Departnt can’t be seen following orders from so lowly Deconstructionist Departnt student?”
“Looks like you’re finally getting it. So if you need a lackey, go find one in your own departnt. Not that you’ll find anyone useful in that bunch of losers.”
He sneered at her, confidence brimming.
Nam Kang-ik took another glance around the room.
Oh! The infamous Sword Saint just got completely humiliated!
That’s what their faces were saying.
He could feel their admiration washing over him.
‘Yeah! This is what it ans to be the leader of the Emission Departnt!’
The ace of the Emission Departnt, the shining jewel of the Masterclass.
This was his place now—not Seo Su-kyung’s.
“If we’re done here, you can leave. And quit loitering around our lounge—you’re bringing down the class.”
His arrogance reached new heights as he threw out the final jab.
Unfortunately, he had no idea what kind of disaster was about to hit him.
“…Hey, you thick-headed idiot.”
Swish-!
A sudden flash of light streaked across his vision!
At the sa ti, Nam Kang-ik felt an excruciating pain, as if his shoulder was being ripped apart.
Seo Su-kyung’s razor-sharp blade had already pierced more than half an inch into his shoulder.
“You’re really getting cocky just because I let things slide, huh? Everyone calls you ‘Iron Fist,’ and now your brain’s turned into a damn rock, too?”
Her voice was chilling as she twisted the blade slightly, making Nam Kang-ik feel like he was about to scream.
“Y-You’ve lost your mind! Do you really think you’ll get away with this?!”
“Get away?”
A smirk tugged at the corner of Seo Su-kyung’s lips.
“I could take your whole arm right now, and it wouldn’t affect my life one bit. The only one who’s screwed here is you. Want to prove it?”
Nam Kang-ik’s face turned deathly pale.
She ant every word.
And he knew better than anyone that she had both the power and the backing to follow through.
“Rember this—you’re beneath , no matter where I am. Even if I end up in so gutter instead of the Deconstructionist Departnt, that fact won’t change. Got it?”
“Ugh…”
As she yanked the blade from his shoulder, searing pain shot through his entire body.
Seo Su-kyung turned away coldly.
“I’m giving you three days. Find sothing—anything—on Professor D that I can use. If there’s nothing, make sothing.”
With that, she walked out.
Nam Kang-ik couldn’t say a word.
The only thing rising in his throat was a mix of humiliation and pain.
* * *
“See? The mont you go easy on soone, they think they’re your equal.”
Walking out of the Emission Departnt’s building, Seo Su-kyung grumbled as she wiped the blood off her blade.
She wiped for a while before wondering if maybe—just maybe—she had gone a bit too far.
“…No. That thick-headed idiot needed a reality check.”
Sure, it was extre, but soone like Nam Kang-ik—who didn’t know his place—had to be put in his.
Even at the top of the pyramid, there was still a pecking order.
“And it’s not just him. That arrogant professor needs to learn the sa lesson.”
Her eyes burned with vengeance.
Even now, as she made her way to the Deconstructionist Departnt’s lecture hall, the sheer humiliation of it all gnawed at her.
The mont she found an opening, she’d strip that bastard down to the bone—
“...Huh?”
That thought ca to a halt as soon as she stepped into the lecture hall.
Sothing felt… off.
A long line of Deconstructionist Departnt students stood in front of the podium, their faces grim as they waited their turn.
She turned to the male student at the very back of the line.
“Hey, what’s going on? Why is everyone just standing around like this?”
“I don’t know… The professor is doing DNA analyses on each of us, one by one…”
“DNA analysis?”
Seo Su-kyung frowned.
In all her years at this insane academy, she had seen so things—but this was a first.
“What the hell does that have to do with class?”
“Sothing about analyzing each student’s traits and body composition to maximize their potential or whatever…”
“…Seriously, what kind of bullshit is this?”
Clicking her tongue, Seo Su-kyung turned her gaze toward the podium.
Professor D had set up a small tent and was conducting one-on-one etings inside.
She already knew the guy was weird, but this was next-level.
‘…But why do they all look like that?’
As she reluctantly took her place at the end of the line, she noticed sothing strange.
Every student who finished their session ca out gasping for breath, hurrying back to their seats with shaken expressions…
Inside the tent, whatever kind of interview was happening had left the students completely flustered—faces flushed red with excitent.
‘What the hell is going on in there?’
What exactly was happening in that cramped tent?
Seo Su-kyung, filled with curiosity, finally stepped inside when her turn arrived, tension coiling in her gut.
Inside, Professor D sat casually in a chair, scribbling sothing on a stack of docunts.
“You’re the last one. Sit down.”
His tone was as arrogant as ever.
Still wary, Seo Su-kyung crossed her legs and folded her arms.
“What is this, exactly? Is this even allowed during class?”
“I posted a notice on the departnt board. Didn’t you check?”
Seo Su-kyung was montarily at a loss for words.
The departnt board? As if she’d ever bother looking at that. She hated even setting foot in this place.
“Well then, start by filling this out.”
Professor D handed her a stack of papers, and she glanced over them with clear skepticism.
Deconstructionist Departnt Personality Test (MBTI-D) – 34 Items. Answer as honestly and thoroughly as possible.
…She was dumbfounded.
“MBTI...? You’re seriously using this internet nonsense as class material?”
“Your eyesight must be failing. You didn’t see the ‘D’ next to it?”
Seo Su-kyung looked at the paper again. Sure enough, it wasn’t just MBTI—it was MBTI-D.
“MBTI-Deconstruction. A personality assessnt reconstructed from a deconstructing perspective. I personally reviewed it, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t question its credibility.”
…She had no real counterargunt.
If the top authority of the Deconstructionist Departnt said so, there wasn’t much room for debate.
“…Wait a second. Soone in line earlier said you were doing DNA analysis. This isn’t that.”
She had just started checking off answers when she suddenly rembered what she’d overheard while waiting.
Professor D, completely unfazed, reassured her.
“The DNA analysis equipnt is right here, so there’s no need to worry.”
He pulled back a cloth, revealing a blood-drawing syringe and a refrigerated storage unit.
Seo Su-kyung grimaced when she saw the fridge, packed full of blood samples.
“You’re seriously drawing blood for this?”
“If you don’t want to give blood, you can offer hair instead—about 120 grams should do.”
Seo Su-kyung hesitated.
But after a quick ntal calculation, she realized 120 grams of hair was a lot. A handful wouldn’t even co close.
In the end, she reluctantly rolled up her sleeve and extended her arm.
“You really hate getting your blood drawn, huh?”
Professor D remarked as he brought the syringe to her arm.
Seo Su-kyung, eyes squeezed shut, snapped back, “Oh, and there are people who actually enjoy this?”
“No matter how much soone hates it, most don’t tense up their arm this much. I can’t even get the needle in.”
Crap.
She inwardly panicked.
The truth was, she had been terrified of needles since childhood. She had never once donated blood and even skipped blood tests during health checkups whenever she could.
Not wanting to expose this weakness, Seo Su-kyung took a deep breath and forced herself to relax.
“This’ll sting a little.”
As her rock-hard arm finally loosened up, the cold needle pierced her vein—
“Agh…!”
An electrifying sensation shot through her body.
It was unlike anything she had expected.
Not the quick prick of pain she was bracing for, but sothing completely unfamiliar—sothing impossible to describe.
‘What… what the hell? Is this what a needle is supposed to feel like?’
Seo Su-kyung had never once gotten an injection in her life—or at least, not that she could rember.
Her mind was in chaos.
Thump, thump...!
Her heart pounded rapidly, her head felt hazy, and her breathing grew strangely uneven. It was like a rush of endorphins and adrenaline, as if she had taken so kind of illicit drug.
‘Wait… that syringe… What was that light?’
Half-opening the eyes she had tightly shut, she thought she saw a strange glow flickering around the syringe.
A shimr, almost like a spellbinding glint—
Just as she tried to focus on it—
“That’s enough.”
Professor D swiftly withdrew the needle from her vein and remarked, “Your blood is healthier than I expected. I assu you don’t smoke?”
The mont the syringe left her arm, the strange sensations gripping her body instantly vanished. Almost instinctively, Su-kyung hurriedly rolled down her sleeve and responded,
“O-Of course not. Do you know how much drinking and smoking lower spell success rates? Why would I do sothing that stupid?”
She spat the words out and then, realizing how rattled she sounded, quickly stumbled out of the tent.
For so reason, she was out of breath.
Catching a glimpse of her reflection, she noticed her flushed, reddened face.
‘What the hell was that? It was just a blood draw, so why do I feel…?’
Gripped by an unfamiliar and unsettling sensation, Seo Su-kyung pressed her lips tightly together and hurried to her seat.
Even as the lecture began, the pounding of her heart echoed loudly in her ears.
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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