Classroom, back row.
The place usually regarded as the seat for delinquent students or transfer students.
But in reality, it’s a product of hard work that only diligent people can occupy.
There are no assigned seats, so the early birds claim their spots in this meritocratic world.
And the definition of ‘early’ is relative.
If someone arrives an hour early and another person is two hours early?
Then they must attend the lesson with tears in their eyes, accepting defeat.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Of course, I’m far from that diligent type.
If I arrive just a bit early, I might end up sitting in some awkward middle spot.
In that case, I think it’s better to arrive just on time and sit in the front.
While I hurriedly climbed the stairs and turned towards the classroom, I collided with someone.
Before checking who it was, I quickly apologized.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you coming up.”
“It’s alright. This is actually my fault. Please don’t mind it.”
…Wait, what?
Is that some ancient elder’s speech?
Could it be a professor?
Thinking it could be a professor, a surge of intent to kill boiled up inside me.
Of course, it’s justified intent to kill.
Because I’ve been tormented since the first day.
Professor Pilyong has been bringing new versions of the ability reader at every opportunity since day one.
The latest version he brought was called ‘Ability Reader_Final_Revised_Patch_Complete Version (3).’
The result was still, and of course, ‘Powerless.’
Professor Pilyong was not satisfied with that and kept conducting additional tests, churning out papers.
Of course, without any benefit for me at all.
“Ah… there’s really no reason to spare you.”
I quickly scanned the person I bumped into.
Wearing a black martial arts uniform. A youthful appearance. And tall for a girl.
Her speech pattern was so outdated that I wondered if she was from a different era but thankfully, she seemed to know how to handle a smartphone.
“Glad to see you’re okay.”
“No need to worry. I am stronger than most.”
The girl waved her hand, expressing she was fine.
“Okay. But if you have any injuries, let me know.”
“Heh. You should be more worried about your own body. Are you hurt?”
“I’m completely fine. Just enjoy your class.”
“Understood.”
With that, the girl in the martial arts uniform walked away from me.
Still, it’s nice to see someone so polite.
On day 12 of my academy life, I finally met a normal person.
With that kind of politeness, I can’t help but speak nicely too.
I thought back on all the people I’ve met in the academy.
As I pondered, I realized no one was showing such normal reactions.
A crazy girl who hits heads three times. A nurse whose mind is full of funeral preparations.
A professor eager to break arms and legs from the first class. Tools.
“Seriously, is there not a single decent human being here?”
In that moment, my conscience stabbed me hard, saying, “It’s all your fault!!”
Now, it was a conscience shaped like a triangle whose tips were all dull, but somehow it gathered its last remaining sharpness for a final strike.
Hehe, no way.
It doesn’t hurt at all.
The only thing that hurts me are those limited edition ceiling cap treasures.
When I entered the classroom, it was already in chaos.
In the classroom, all the students were holding their ears, groaning.
Then one person spotted me and murmured, “It’s Kim Shinwoo…”
As soon as the words left their mouth, everyone in class started showering me with heated gazes.
“Kim Shinwoo, you jerk! Why are you so late?”
“My ears are freaking painful. But that girl earlier was pretty, right?”
“I’m deaf in my left ear… but she was indeed pretty.”
“Seriously?! No one knows Kim Shinwoo’s contact?!”
“I can’t see… But anyway, it’s all Kim Shinwoo’s fault.”
What’s going on?
Why are they blaming me for their temporary physical disabilities?
Do you need permanent disabilities?
At that moment, someone from the back row was stumbling my way.
It was Hyeji.
Of course, Hyeji’s expression was no different from the rest of the students.
She had her red hair tied in twin tails, the classic twin tail hairstyle.
“Ugh… Shinwoo, where have you been?”
“I just came from the dorm. I always arrive around this time.”
The pain caused this concept to fall apart, even for her.
“Seriously, listen for once.”
“What happened?”
“Before you arrived, some crazy girl was yelling like mad.”
“Crazy girl?”
Hyeji was still rubbing her ears as though she was in pain.
As soon as the word ‘girl’ came up, the question that everyone naturally asks escaped my mouth.
“Was she pretty?”
“I don’t know, damn it. But her chest was big.”
Pass.
“But why me?”
“That crazy girl was looking for you.”
“Why????”
“No clue?”
“Don’t know is it?”
????
Why was she looking for me?
Could it be that jerk who messed with my hair?
Ah, it’s judgment day.
Seeing my expression, Hyeji squinted her eyes and asked.
“Do you have an idea? Spill it.”
“Was she wearing glasses with hair in braids? Black hair?”
“No? Why?”
“Was it that…?”
That wasn’t who I guessed.
However, Hyeji kept probing as if she wanted to know the reason.
“So why did you ask about that?”
“Don’t you know?”
Hyeji seemed to get more annoyed and raised her voice.
“I’ve only known you for a few days, how would I know!!”
“Right, that thing happened.”
Hyeji’s face slowly turned red with anger.
“Why the hell did you ask that then?!”
“I’m not telling you the answer you want.”
“Idiot Shinwoo, you jerk!!!”
“Now’s not the time.”
As soon as I said that, Hyeji started choking me.
The professor came in soon enough, so her hands quickly loosened, but I needed more time to recover my breath.
What’s with this supporter having such strength?
Live up to your name. Please.
Of course, I barely held back from saying that out loud.
My life is precious after all.
After all the twists and turns, as soon as the first class ended and the professor left, Hyeji came back to me.
Predicting what would happen next, Hyeji was already ready to choke me again.
But just as her mouth was about to open, the classroom door burst open with a loud bang.
The student I ran into earlier, the one with twin tails, stormed in.
As soon as she entered, she unleashed a lion’s roar.
“Kim Shinwoo, you bastard!!! Get out here right now!!!”
This time, all the students, seeming to predict the chaos, covered their ears without exception.
Of course, I had no time to think and got hit with a direct hit.
‘Wide-area CC damn it.’
To cancel the second activation, I rushed out.
“I’m Kim Shinwoo! So shut it!”
“Oh? You’re the one from this morning… Were you so scared you came late on purpose?”
The old lady suddenly looked down on me with a laugh.
This little brat?
“I’m always here at that time, damn it.”
“Whatever. I’m here to challenge you to a spar.”
“A spar right off the bat? Is this a Yu-Gi-Oh world?”
“Don’t get it twisted. I definitely have a reason to challenge you.”
It makes sense to restrict someone with a duel, but not everything can be resolved with a spar.
But what’s with this crazy girl not fitting in this era?
Who even is she?
“I’m a pacifist, so I’m not really into fighting with anyone.”
“Do you remember what happened in the library last Monday?”
Suddenly she brought up the last week’s library incident.
I definitely got hit because of that crazy girl.
“I almost got my head smashed because of that damn girl.”
“Because of you, my sister got sullied.”
“……What?”
I was the one who got hit, but somehow I became the attacker.
While I was taken aback by this sudden Me Too drift, the old lady continued talking.
“Ever since that day, my sister has lost her smile.”
“No, damn it. Wait a minute.”
“Whenever she recalls that nightmare, she trembles and sweats, she used to be so cheerful.”
The old lady spoke calmly with a nostalgic gaze.
Seeing this, Hyeji’s eyes were starting to glaze over in real-time.
Hyeji, no. It’s not what you’re thinking.
At the same time, I could hear people around me slandering me.
“Wow. I thought he was just some jerk, but he’s a great jerk.”
“From day one sowing seeds of discontent? While someone is anxious because their grades are C.”
“What’s being powerless? Doing outdoor play from day one is a talent.”
“Let the inferior power user’s child be born!!”
“Oh my god!!! The powerless seed is invading my womb! I don’t want to have a powerless child!!!”
“Shut the hell up, you last two bastards!!!”
My head is spinning.
I protested to the old lady in front of me.
“I got hit by your sister, and I’ve been sleeping for five nights!”
“Although she faintly resisted, a sullied heart can’t be reversed.”
“No, damn it! I had my head smashed! Why is it your sister crying?!”
“And so, I’m challenging you to a spar to restore her honor.”
Now the old lady was ignoring everything I said.
“Are you from a freaking martial arts genius group? Just be honest. Were you a retro or what?”
“Shut up, jerk!!!”
The old lady reacted strongly to the word ‘retro.’
Even her concept slightly broke.
She cleared her throat a few times and regained her concept.
“As a martial artist, I hereby challenge you to a fair spar.”
“Seriously, this is not making sense.”
Is this a wall?
The only wall here is Hyeji’s chest.
At that moment, Hyeji’s gaze sharply turned towards me; I subtly avoided it.
Regardless, the old lady, seeming to only want to say her piece, quickly blurted out.
“Come to the sparring ground after all classes today. I will reclaim my sister’s broken purity.”
“You just went off when you got angry, and when you searched for me, you broke your concept?”
“…What are you talking about? I’ve always spoken like this.”
As the old lady suddenly turned her gaze away from meeting my eyes.
My eyes won’t lie, damn brat.
“If you’re going to keep making a concept, do it properly. It’s too late now.”
“…Shut your mouth. Please.”
The old lady’s voice started to get gradually lower.
At the same time, I caught a glimpse of Hyeji’s pupils shaking.
It’s okay, Hyeji.
You’re already halfway through breaking your character.
The old lady, back in her senses, suddenly handed me the application form.
“Anyways, I’ve already filled out the application to use the sparring ground.”
“I didn’t say I would do it!”
“You should just fill in your information and submit it.”
At this point, there was no escaping.
I had no choice but to accept reality.
“Ha… Fine. I’ll see you at the sparring ground later.”
“If I win, you will kneel in front of my sister and apologize by saying, ‘I’m sorry for sullying her.’”
“……If I win, do what I say, jerk.”
The old lady laughed derisively and said something trivial.
“Hmph. You’re trying to mess with my body now?”
“Damned dog! Stop talking about dirty stuff like that!”
“That’s fine. Anyway, I won’t lose.”
With that, the old lady turned away, ready to leave.
“Just hurry up and submit it to get approval to use the sparring ground.”
“Just please get lost!”
Big chest, dirty words only come out of your mouth.
It’s some kind of hate pocket?
At that moment, someone tapped me on the shoulder.
“Trash, hurry up and explain what’s going on.”
“…I’m really innocent, damn it.”
It was Hyeji.
The look in Hyeji’s eyes was so sharp, it hurt my feelings.
Ultimately, I expressed the whole incident as simply and quickly as I could.
To anyone who saw it, it would seem like I was explaining myself to a girlfriend who caught me with another girl.
Damn.
If you think about it, I’m the victim here.
After hearing the whole story, Hyeji said, sounding annoyed,
“Can’t you just lose? You look like you’re in trouble.”
“Are you crazy? No way.”
How dare you tell the top to lose?
Step over my corpse first.
“Besides, if I kneel, it would make me feel guilty.”
“It’s your fault.”
“……Shut up.”
Hyeji’s gaze started to narrow.
“For the sake of my academy reputation, I can’t lose.”
“Your reputation is already on the floor? There’s no place to go down from there.”
“My coins go below the floor just fine, you jerk.”
“……”
Hyeji looked at me as if she couldn’t believe I was still around.
Hyeji poked the application form with her finger and said,
“So, what now? Are you going to submit it right away?”
“I figured she’d write down the skill she’ll use if she’s an Ability User, so I’ll check that first.”
“Oh~. Your brain is working a bit~.”
“Don’t start with the concept now. It’s too late.”
“…….Damn.”
The form left for submission had everything filled out except for the parts I needed to write.
And on the participation list, the information of that girl I just met was also written down.
‘Didn’t they forget to write her measurements? Hyeji wouldn’t need that though.’
– Bang.
Hyeji suddenly smack my neck.
“……Why?”
“I thought you had some impure thoughts.”
When I organized the information I reviewed, the old lady’s name turned out to be Jeong Ahyeon.
To my surprise, her rank was silver.
I thought she’d be a regular bronze.
But her name was Jeong Ahyeon?
How does a person’s name sound like an energy drink?
In the ‘Weapon and Combat Tools’ section, nothing was written.
Finally, when I saw her ability, it turned out to be surprisingly tricky.
Jeong Ahyeon’s ability was to create summoned beasts.
Making summons and making them fight sounds way too much like sorcery.
Let’s settle this with fists like a martial artist.
Regardless of my sentiments, the ability was definitely complicated.
After all, she did not write the number of entities but only the range.
“I guess she’s stating she can summon right in a specific area.”
While I was pondering the countermeasures, I slowly began to write down the necessary information.
Hyeji, watching me fill it out, curiously asked,
“Shinwoo, aren’t you going to write in the weapon section?”
“I’ll think about that on the way to submit it.”
“Got it. If you need anything, just say it.”
“Yeah?”
Surely you said to just say it if I needed something?
You’d better not regret it.
“I’ll thank you in advance.”
“Really? You can say it later.”
“Anyways, thank you.”
Hyeji waved it off, not treating it as a big deal, and left the class first.
I went to submit the usage application to the sparring ground management.
Now that I’ve been approved, just like when I went with Hyeji, I would receive a notification at the contact number registered on the application.
Unlike before, I filled out the weapons or combat tools section just before submitting.
Hyeji.
Thank you.
After all classes finished, I grabbed Hyeji and spoke.
“Hyeji, about the ‘Weapon and Combat Tools’ part, can you help me out?”
“Sure~. I’d gladly help out~. Where are we going~?”
“Just head to Sparring Ground 3.”
“Got it~. I’ll go ahead~.”
After Hyeji left, just before heading to the sparring ground, I stopped by another place.
There, I picked up an item I deemed necessary.
Since I couldn’t ask Hyeji for help and it was something significant to me, I thought it was right to grab it myself.
Preparation complete.
Time to execute the retro girl.
*
When I arrived at the sparring ground, Jeong Ahyeon, the retro girl I saw earlier, was already there.
On the opposite side were Hyeji and a strict-looking female professor watching the spar.
Her hair was still tied back in a green ponytail, and she wore glasses.
However, today she wasn’t in a formal outfit but rather in a training suit.
I’m pretty sure her name was Park Mi-ran, but she didn’t seem thrilled.
But why were there so many people here?
Did someone do some promotion here and there?
Actually, the contents of my sparring have already reached the school newspaper.
However, I was unaware of this fact, only questioning the number of people present.
‘From what I can see, it looks like almost all the 1st-year students are here wearing their identifiers.’
Plus there were some 2nd-year students as well.
They looked like 2nd years and were all in martial arts uniforms.
I had a feeling.
Those brats seem to be retro types too.
After surveying the crowd, I moved towards Hyeji.
As soon as she noticed my presence, Hyeji waved at me.
Simultaneously, the professor let out a deep sigh and asked me, while Hyeji chimed in.
“Is that you, Shinwoo? Did you write this properly?”
“Did Shinwoo write something wrong~?”
“No, there’s a student’s name in the ‘Weapons and Combat Tools’ section?”
“Shinwoo’s name? You should write it correctly, Shinwoo~. Why is this happening again~?”
Hyeji still smiled, scolding me.
“No, it’s Kim Hyeji.”
“…….Hey, Idiot Shinwoo, you jerk.”
Hyeji’s smile disappeared.
Her eyes were filled with intent to kill and poison long ago.
The number above her head went up by one as Hyeji grabbed my collar.
“Just wait a second. I can explain everything.”
“Shut up, jerk. I already know what you’re going to say.”
Although Hyeji probably knows what I’m about to say through regression, I can’t show any signs of weakness here.
The protagonist can’t succumb.
“Wait, you’re going to use all the weapons you made for me.”
“Then you should’ve written them down! Why is my name here?”
“I only wrote your name because there wasn’t enough space to write down the types of weapons.”
From Hyeji’s small frame, murderous intent started to ooze out bit by bit.
“…What’s the truth?”
“I wrote it down since supporters are tools.”
Finally, her murderous intent exploded.
“You bastard! Did I say I’ll kill you if I go off on tools!!!”
“S-sorry! Anyways, since we got approval, please fight with me. As a tool.”
“Damn jerk!!!”
Hyeji, creating a monkey wrench, started pummeling my left arm.
Bang–Bang– whilst Hyeji was beating me, Professor Park Mi-ran said,
“Shinwoo, come here after it’s over. This is a discriminatory remark based on profession.”
“I get it, please stop her, professor! Ow!!”
“Hyeji, you can finish hitting him after the spar ends. Then I’ll hit him too.”
“Yes, understood. Let’s beat him together later, professor.”
Then Hyeji continued to unleash her wrath on me.
“Let’s just stop this out of conscience.”
“You deserve worse. Die please.”
Professor Park Mi-ran rubbed her eyes with her forehead tightly closed.
“How can I be the final approver for this… sigh.”
“Cancel it! We are going down together.”
“……I’m really going to deal with Shinwoo myself.”
Hyeji stopped her relentless violence and spoke to Professor Mi-ran.
“Since the decision has been made, let’s continue. You have no choice, professor.”
“Thank you so much, Hyeji. Want to chat over coffee about your career later?”
“I have no intention of becoming a research student.”
“…You’re a quick-witted girl.”
This time, Professor Mi-ran turned her attention to Jeong Ahyeon.
“Are you alright, Ahyeon? You’ll have to fight 2 against 1 suddenly.”
“I’m fine. Adding another bug won’t be an issue.”
“Then I’ll proceed.”
Hyeji’s mood was soured further with that statement.
Isn’t she worried about her future?
The number above Hyeji’s head went up one more time.
“Worry about your own future, you damn girl!!!”
“It’s already dark without an answer.”
With a big sigh, Hyeji placed the wrench on her shoulder, glaring at Jeong Ahyeon.
“But what pissed me off more is that jerk treating both of us as bugs.”
“Are you furious because you’re on the same level? Hey! So you’re also a discriminatory power user!”
As expected, Hyeji, you’re also a descendant of KKK.
“That’s not the issue. How dare that jerk treat me like that? If I had earned a rank, I’d clearly deserve silver.”
“Yep, those words sound typical after the 1st-year admissions are done.”
Hyeji whacked my head with the wrench.
With a clang sound, the wrench bent.
“……Hey, why is this bent?”
“I don’t know.”
Hyeji had that tired look and tossed the used wrench away.
Then, brushing off her hands, she spoke to me again.
“Anyway, she’s going to win for sure.”
“Right, I have no intention of losing. Let’s go, tool!”
“If you call me a tool one more time, I’ll really kill you!!! You jerk!!!”
This time, my shin was struck.
That actually hurt a bit.
Getting ready, Hyeji and I faced Jeong Ahyeon.
Timing was perfect as Professor Mi-ran was initiating the sparring ground system.
“Is the childish playtime over?”
“Child’s play? I’m being hit with a wrench, how is this a child’s play?”
“You two bugs wasted my time like this. How pathetic!”
Seeing her only saying what she wanted to, I began to feel something beyond anger—pity.
“Are you mentally ill? Should I recommend a hospital? I just came from one.”
“Shut up!!!”
Not wanting to receive the same treatment, Jeong Ahyeon finally replied to me.
Hyeji, observing this, said with pity in her eyes.
“It’s obvious she has no friends. Am I right, Shinwoo?”
“I also have no friends.”
“……Sorry.”
Hyeji was showing her first sincere apology.
In response, Jeong Ahyeon laughed heartily and said to Hyeji.
“Seeing a man in a skirt, don’t you think it’s pathetic?”
“You got this! I’m going to kill you.”
Because of Jeong Ahyeon’s cheap provocation, Hyeji’s determination soared.
Right on cue, the sparring ground system setting and operation completed.
Before we fought, Hyeji and I faced each other.
“Ready? Go?”
“Of course. Bye.”
It’s time for the idiot and the tool’s showdown.
