Ch. 73 - Absurdity (2)

Chapter 73: Absurdity (2)

The total number of students in first-year Class S was 41.

The total number of students in second-year Class S was 23.

Originally, the second-year Class S had 26 students, but due to the deaths of two students during the previous year's practical training and the demotion of one student to Class A, the number became 23.

Although it was still more than half the number in first-year Class S, it was impressive that Class S had more than 20 students in one grade.

There was no fixed number for the total enrollment, and only the students who met certain special conditions within Stella were assigned to Class S.

Being special in Stella, where exceptional geniuses gathered, was not easy, so typically, Class S would have around 10 students in one grade at most.

Many students who couldn't become part of Class S, especially the students in Class A, held strong envy toward Class S, but in reality, most of the students in Class S didn't attribute any special meaning to the class.

Among those students who maintained top-level grades and rankings in the second year was Ban Di-Yeon.

"Phew..."

Ban Di-Yeon sat on the corner of the training ground and wiped off sweat while gulping down a bottle of water.

It had become a daily routine to train her physical strength after evening classes, but her condition was not good due to poor exam scores. Although she hadn’t run much, her breath was ragged.

"Phew! Hey, you brat! Are you tired already?"

"Ugh... This monstrous guy..."

In contrast to her, who seemed to lack energy, Deok Cheol-Gwang in Class 2-S was full of vigor. He had already sprinted around the training ground for dozens of laps at full speed.

Increasing stamina or strength through mana was something that only existed in legends. As such, she had no idea how he trained to become so powerful with pure physical strength.

Of course, for a mage, as long as they had a sufficient amount of stamina, physical strength would not be lacking.

Therefore, the act of pushing the body to its limits like Deok Cheol-Gwang was quite inefficient and foolish.

‘Hmm, come to think of it, there was one peculiar underclassman who fought with strength.’

Ban Di-Yeon still remembered what happened at the Marthevis Cemetery.

Among the dark mages, the individuals with the fewest numbers and most terrible reputations were necromancers who were capable of bringing about the greatest disasters.

From the second year onwards, one could officially receive missions related to hunting demons, including the eradication of dark mages.

However, the necromancer was by no means a dark mage that could be dealt with at a student's level. It was a catastrophe that was thought to never be encountered.

The memories of facing it were still vivid.

The reason why Ban Di-Yeon and Deok Cheol-Gwang were able to survive was not because they were exceptional but thanks to the help of a peculiar underclassman.

The boy with an unusually sharp mind—Baek Yu-Seol.

The reason why thoughts of him suddenly came to mind was because of the rumors he had been hearing recently.

‘Baek Yu-seol from the first year defied Edmon Atalek from the third year.’

The story related to alchemy engineering was omitted as it was top secret, and only that part spread as a rumor.

From a conventional perspective, Baek Yu-Seol was indeed at fault. Challenging someone of higher rank in the magical society went against the hierarchy.

However, Edmon Atalek had a notorious reputation, and while Baek Yu-Seol exhibited extraordinary and unique behavior, some people who knew that he was not the type to disrespect seniors found it surprisingly intriguing.

‘Did Baek Yu-Seol really do that?’

The Baek Yu-Seol she knew was a student who fearlessly led everyone with his unique courage and determination on the front lines to save struggling classmates.

He also seemed thoughtful and one step ahead of others. Did he really confront seniors like a fool, knowing well the disadvantages it would bring upon himself?

Doubts kept creeping in.

"Hey, who's that guy?"

“You know that arrogant first-year? It's him. We’re here to teach him a lesson.”

"Oh yeah? These days, the first-year students are getting out of control."

"Huh?"

Ban Di-Yeon, who was resting quietly, turned her head towards the voices coming from the corner. She realized that her fellow second-year students had brought a freshman to the corner and were harassing him.

‘Is it starting again? Pathetic.’

If a senior bullied a junior, the junior bullied someone even lower.

It existed within Stella, although not to a great extent.

Due to the clear hierarchy, it was intended to correct the attitude of juniors who dared to confront seniors.

For this reason, it was quite common for second-year seniors to bring first-year juniors to the second-year facilities to harass them.

Why specifically bring them to the second-year facilities?

It was to deliberately make them more intimidated by attracting the attention of other second-year seniors.

This absurdity of pushing the victim to the psychological extreme was mainly experienced by commoners or lower-ranking nobles, so the freshman student was probably a commoner as well.

It didn't happen often, but it occurred occasionally, so she tried not to pay attention to it.

But upon closer inspection, she recognized the face.

"Baek Yu-Seol...?"

As expected.

He caught the attention of the seniors and eventually ended up here. Their previous connection was what it was, but unfortunately, there was no justification to intervene in this bullying.

Educating juniors was an accepted matter even within Stella.

“Ha, look at this guy staring straight at us.”

“First-years must be having it easy these days, huh? Look at those eyes, full of life.”

Baek Yu-Seol was looking at the seniors with clear but intelligent eyes.

‘What is he thinking...?’

Ban Di-Yeon was going to ignore the situation.

"Hey, this won't do. Get down right now."

In the end, as Ban Di-Yeon watched the scene where Baek Yu-Seol lowered his stance to kneel down...

‘Hmm…’

Suddenly, numerous thoughts raced through her mind like lightning.

‘Hazing.’

The hierarchy within the world of magic was important, and there were certain implicit allowances even within Stella. However, there were limits that should not be crossed.

For example, it was absolutely forbidden for students to physically punish each other. Not just punching or kicking, but even making others do push-ups is prohibited.

Nevertheless, such acts of intentional harm were prevalent because the students who were targeted had very weak voices to speak out against it.

But what about Baek Yu-Seol?

Did he really have such a weak voice?

He was a first-year Class S student with a record of defeating a necromancer. Moreover, he showed remarkable decisiveness and courage, leading others in dangerous situations.

Also, he never backed down against nobles and treated everyone equally, even standing up to professors with his convictions.

Why would Baek Yu-Seol fear the seniors at all?

But why, upon hearing the command to kneel down, did he purely attempt to kneel down without resistance?

The answer was simple.

Perhaps, as a result of this momentary humiliation, he was aiming for greater revenge. It would likely become an act that shook the academy to its core.

‘Ah…’

Ban Di-Yeon hurriedly surveyed the group of second-year students surrounding Baek Yu-Seol.

Some were wicked, but some were commoner students who had no choice but to take charge of educating first-year students under the command of third-year students.

They were what was known as ‘forced Edmon followers.’

They were born into the Adolevit Kingdom but had no notable status, so they had no choice but to listen to Edmon's words.

The other second-year students could ignore Edmon Atalek's words, but they wouldn’t.

Among them, those who were not Edmon's followers but harassed the Baek Yu-Seol would face disciplinary action.

‘It must be stopped.’

Baek Yu-Seol's idea of shaking Stella's absurd system itself was certainly correct, but the target of the sacrifice had to be changed.

"Wait!"

Therefore, Ban Di-Yeon intentionally blocked them.

——

‘I just thought of getting down on one knee.’

Honestly, since he wasn't a noble nor did he have any backing, it would be a hassle to fight alone.

‘If it were modern times, it might be different, but in today's world where there is no news channel, changing injustice with a heartfelt letter isn’t worth a try.’

‘Anyway, if things go according to my plan, this injustice coming to me will end soon, so I thought to quietly endure it until then.’

“What are you doing?"

Baek Yu-Seol thought he was dreaming.

Ban Di-Yeon appeared.

Baek Yu-Seol didn't know much about her, but thanks to her partner, Deok Cheol-Gwang, he at least recognized her name.

Deok Cheol-Gwang was one of his favorite characters in the game after all.

"What's going on?"

Since the seniors who were trying to provoke him were from around Class C to Class D, they hesitated slightly when Ban Di-Yeon from Class S stood up against them.

"What are you doing?"

“Can't you see? We're educating a junior. Even if you're from Class S, you can't interfere.”

“So you're giving him corporal punishment?”

“Yeah. We'll educate him until he understands. Don't interfere.”

“No. I can't allow this.”

"What did you say?"

Their faces reddened as they approached her.

“Hey, get lost and stop interfering. Do you think being in Class S makes you something special? This guy stood up to a 3rd-year senior. Do you think that's acceptable for a mage? As seniors in Stella, we have a duty to properly educate our juniors!”

However, some other seniors silently watched her without getting angry. Their expressions even seemed thankful for the intervention. 

'Hmm. I guess they're also pitiable in a way.'

The seniors who stopped provoking Baek Yu-Seol when the interference occurred remained silent and didn't provoke him further.

‘They must have been forced.’

If they didn’t comply, their fates would be even worse.

However, those who confidently confronted Ban Di-Yeon were nothing more than unusable trash. He had seen them in the original game as well. They specifically targeted commoner students from Class S in the first year, harassing them.

Since they couldn’t touch the equivalent students who made it to Class S, they chose to torment the average commoner underclassmen.

Ban Di-Yeon was well aware of this fact, so she didn't hide her disgust.

'But why is she suddenly intervening?'

They had fought together once before, but they weren't particularly close.

She stared at Baek Yu-Seol intently, and her gaze became increasingly sharp as if she was deep in thought.

Then she spoke. "Well, how about this then?"

"What?"

"If, as you said, he dared to stand up against third-year seniors, it's not a typical matter. If we were in a magical warrior unit, it could lead directly to a serious matter that requires immediate disciplinary action."

‘What's this? Wasn't she supposed to be on my side? Why is she suddenly talking about my wrongdoing as if it's worse?’

"Yes, that's right."

"So, this is not a problem that can be overlooked as a simple provocation. That's why..."

Ban Di-Yeon alternated her gaze between Baek Yu-Seol and the wicked second-year seniors and slowly parted her lips. "... How about conducting a special training for underclassmen?"

Upon hearing that, the expressions of the seniors stiffened.

They grinned, showing their teeth.

Baek Yu-Seol also knew what that meant.

No matter how much a junior was at fault, officially, verbal abuse and violence were not permitted.

However, very occasionally, there was an event where seniors could officially administer sharp punishment to juniors who had committed serious wrongdoings, and that was the special training for underclassmen.

The rules were simple.

The senior who wanted to educate and the junior would engage in a duel.

Generally, duels between seniors and juniors were strictly prohibited, so this policy was implemented to make it legally acceptable.

However, although it seemed simple, in reality, it amounted to seniors unilaterally using magic to beat up the juniors.

The first-year students had just started learning practical magic while the second-year students had already completed the practical training and combat exercises and were usually deployed for actual missions.

Therefore, there was no way the juniors would stand a chance, even if they were in Class S.

However, in order to prevent misuse, the approval of the student council president was necessary for the special training.

This student council president, in particular, had a very strict personality and did not easily grant permission for such things.

However, regardless of grade level, students from Class S could strongly appeal their opinions to the student council.

This was another powerful privilege held by Class S.

Moreover, it was known that Ban Di-Yeon was close to the student council president, so if she spoke up, it would be easier to obtain permission.

"I’ll obtain permission for the duel, so if you're going to do it, do it properly."

Ban Di-Yeon allowed for the indirect provocation that could be carried out at Stella, and the lips of the second-year seniors rose as if trying to touch the sky.

"Great. It'll be fun.”

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