Ch. 74 - Absurdity (3)

Chapter 74: Absurdity (3)

Stella's Student Council President, Miroyun.

He was a second-year student, ranked 19th, and a student of Class S.

He was in the family of the prestigious Count Alekteran who was an elite among elites, climbing up to this position following a course of excellence.

However, it was not by his own will that everything had been arranged like this.

"Ah… What now?”

Miroyun looked at Ban Di-Yeon, who had come to find him, with an evident expression of annoyance.

"You're messy. Just like your surroundings."

Ban Di-Yeon sat on a large sofa and gazed curiously at the fireplace installed in a corner of the student council room.

It was quite unique to have a fireplace in a high-rise tower with no chimney.

"Saying it’s messy is rude to the other members of the student council."

“I said it in a euphemistic way because there are other students from the student council. You should appreciate it."

"Should I be grateful for an insult...?"

Yawning, Miroyun sat in front of Ban Di-Yeon.

"I have a lot of work to handle, so get to the point quickly."

"Special training for underclassmen."

“Hmm?"

Miroyun, who was sipping his coffee, opened his eyes slightly as if he had heard unfamiliar words.

Well, since his eyes were usually drowsy, there wasn't much difference.

"Grant permission for it. The target is Baek Yu-Seol from the first year of Class S."

"Hmm… Didn't you dislike stuff like this? No, rather, you seemed to absolutely detest them."

"That's right. There have been more than a few times when I wanted to kill all the seniors."

"Then why are you doing this?"

"Because I hate it."

Miroyun couldn't understand what she was saying, so Ban Di-Yeon simply stated the truth.

Among the many forms of absurdity, the special training for underclassmen was the worst.

Under the pretext of educating underclassmen, there were cases where self-esteem was thoroughly trampled in front of peers and everyone else, to the point where they couldn't recover.

No first-year student could defeat a second-year student under any circumstances.

The gap that emerged from experience was insurmountable with mere ability.

However…

'That kid might be different.'

Baek Yu-Seol had a surprisingly rich experience for his young age.

Even the underclassmen of Class S acknowledged his strategies and experiences, indicating that he had something special about him.

Moreover, his skills…

He seemed unaffected by class distinctions.

The magic sword he used was just a common weapon for ordinary people. Cheap magic swords couldn't even pierce through a Class 1 shield. At best, it could leave a scratch on a Class 2 or a Class 3 shield.

However, Baek Yu-Seol single-handedly stabbed and killed a Class 5 necromancer with a magic sword.

How did he do it?

That question had lingered on her mind for a long time.

From the beginning, he was extraordinary just by freely manipulating Flash, one of the uncontrollable magic skills, and walking the path of a knight without using any magic.

It was more about accepting rather than understanding.

That was why Ban Di-Yeon decided to use Baek Yu-Seol. It wouldn't be too bad for him either.

Baek Yu-Seol seemed to be laying the groundwork to eliminate the hazing, so it would be better to expand the scope and punish those despicable villains who truly enjoyed it.

"In the underclassmen training, a first-year student defeats a second-year student."

Although they couldn't completely eliminate chaos, it seemed like a pretty good scenario to start with.

"Alright. I'll allow it. I don't know what you're thinking, but do well."

"Thank you. Here. A token of my gratitude."

Miroyun received the coupon handed to him by Ban Di-Yeon.

[Killer Ultra-Hot Tonkatsu Restaurant]

[Squid Rice Bowl Coupon]

‘Where on earth is this Tonkatsu restaurant, and why—of all things—a squid rice bowl coupon?’

After handing it over, Ban Di-Yeon coolly disappeared, and Miroyun let out a long sigh.

There was still a mountain of work to be done, and time had been wasted. Just as he was about to get up and tackle the piled-up tasks, someone else entered.

It was Professor Gerald, who had become the supervisor for the first-year exams.

"Oh, Miroyun. Are you busy right now?"

"Yes."

"Perfect. Take this."

He completely disregarded the mention of being busy.

"Huh, what is it?"

"It's a student thesis submission report."

"Did you come up with a paper worthy of submission to the conference for this exam as well?"

Stella's exams were extremely difficult, and in order to solve them, students would often write explanations and solutions at the level of a thesis.

Occasionally, there were students who completely skipped writing a paper by discovering entirely new principles or developing new formulas.

It seemed like there might be one of those students this semester as well.

"Yes, Baek Yu-Seol. Do you know him?"

"..."

Of course, he knew.

They were just talking about him.

"Baek Yu-Seol again? What is it this time?"

"Take a look at this."

Miroyun received the thesis documents compiled by Gerald.

[Design of Superimposed Circuits by Prokitex]

Magic circuits, which were frequently included in the exams for first-year students, were interpreted by students in their own ways each year, but it was rare for something outstanding enough to be considered a thesis to come out.

"Hmm..."

He slowly scanned through the solution written by Baek Yu-Seol, and soon, his tired eyes widened.

"This is... amazing? He managed to reduce the equation for the inverse design chain by half. And with a very simple formula!"

In Miroyun's mind, there was only one word floating around: genius.

Nothing else could explain what he was seeing.

The superimposed circuit had been refined and secured by numerous scholars. 

While there was no such thing as 'perfection' in magic, it had still reached its most efficient formula.

But to push that formula even further...

Could a student achieve that on their own?

"With this level, he might even be able to participate in the Aslan Seminar!"

"Wow..."

Miroyun was at a loss for words at the professor's remark.

'He's even more extraordinary than I thought.'

The name Baek Yu-Seol was certainly familiar. Even as a first-year student, he had been involved in many incidents and stood out with his exceptional actions, so it was natural to know him.

But to reach this level...

"Hmm... the special training for underclassmen. I'm usually not interested in such troublesome events, but if Baek Yu-Seol is involved, it might be fun to go and see."

The second round of exams had ended.

Just like other students, Baek Yu-Seol also struggled.

He worked hard on physical training, but it didn't actually contribute to his grades, so his motivation took a hit.

After the second round of exams, the rankings would change. Of course, if one believed the rankings were simply arranged in order of combat power, they would be in for a big shock.

Along with the practical results and grades, numerous factors such as assignments, attendance, attitude, and so on were applied and combined to determine the ultimate combat power.

Even the formidable fighter, Ma Yu-Seong, who boasted the strongest combat power, could see their ranking drop at any time.

They would probably face strong competition from Flame or Eisel for the top spot.

[419th place - Class S, Baek Yu-Seol]

It was quite impressive in many ways.

Despite getting a perfect score on the written exam and ranking highest in the practical exam, he was 419th.

He often skipped class, didn't do a single assignment, and missed attendance so frequently that he accumulated a lot of penalty points.

He barely managed to submit a few assignments and fulfill the minimum number of class days right before receiving an academic warning.

He was on the verge of being expelled.

But honestly, it was a bit ridiculous.

How could he not doze off when someone kept babbling in an incomprehensible alien language in a soothing voice that made him sleepy?

He even saved his sleeping time during regular hours because he considered class time as his sleep time.

No matter how hard he tried, it was unlikely that his ranking would go up any further.

Maybe if he worked a little harder on assignments, but raising his ranking only meant receiving a slightly higher scholarship, so it was not that meaningful.

In fact, considering that his goal was 600th, this was already more than enough, if not excessive.

"Hey, what's your rank?"

"I barely managed to stay in the top 800 this time."

"Well, I envy you. I got pushed back. Damn, I should have worked harder."

"Ugh, I really want to die!"

The class bulletin board.

Students who checked their ranks were shouting out their numbers.

It was a familiar scene.

The class bulletin boards for the second and third years wouldn't be much different.

Baek Yu-Seol looked at the topmost section.

[1st place - Class S, Ma Yu-Seong]

[2nd place - Class S, Flame]

[3rd place - Class S, Eisel]

[4th place - Class S, Hae Won-Ryang]

[5th place - Class S, Hong Bi-Yeon]

The top ranks were flooded with Class S students. There was nothing particularly surprising about that ranking, but he found something that bothered him.

Hae Won-Ryang, who was in 2nd place in the previous semester, had dropped to 4th place.

'Hmm…'

Was it because Eisel, who was originally expected to drop in rank, ended up walking a steady path in a stable environment, unlike the original work?

He couldn't figure out the reason. But it wouldn't be a big problem.

Since he took the Jecky dark mage route, both Hae Won-Ryang and Arshaung's dark mage routes would have completely disappeared.

While he was thinking about that, someone approached from the side.

It was Hong Bi-Yeon.

Shuffle!

The students quickly moved aside, creating a path on both sides.

‘Is this what the miracle of Moses looked like?’

No one had the guts to block the way of the notoriously ill-tempered princess of Adolevit.

She searched through the ranking list for a while, even though her own rank would surely be among the top five anyway.

Then, after rolling her eyes for a while, she glanced at Baek Yu-Seol as if she had discovered something.

"Are you trying to adjust your ranking? I think it's already quite noticeable," she said.

‘What nonsense.’

"Indeed... Seeing that you deliberately placed yourself within the top 600, I assume you plan to participate in the interschool competition."

The interschool competition. An event where a few students were selected to compete against other prestigious magic schools.

Baek Yu-Seol didn't deny her statement.

After that, she stood by his side in silence for a while. It was quite cute how she seemed hesitant and fidgety as if she wanted to say something, but since it was getting a bit frustrating, he spoke first. "What is it? Do you have something to say?"

Startled, Hong Bi-Yeon raised her eyebrows when he brought up the topic.

Then she tightly closed her eyes, let out a deep sigh, and began to speak. "I heard you've been going through a lot lately."

"Well, I've had a bit of a hard time."

Baek Yu-Seol sprained his shoulder muscles the day before and it still was properly sore. 

‘I wonder if I should get a massage…’

"Why did you... ask Edmon about that?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you confront Senior Edmon Atalek?"

‘Ah, what was that conversation about? No wonder Hong Bi-Yeon's expression is dark.’

That was not like her.

"Senior Edmon has a strong influence even among the third-year students. He can shake up the second-year students to the point where... You’ll probably continue to be bothered by seniors until you graduate. Do you have the confidence to handle that?"

There was no need to think about it.

"Well, I don't think I can handle it."

‘Rather than being harassed by those blue-eyed brats who are ten years younger than me, I'd rather crush them all and get expelled.’

She looked at him with eyes resembling rubies and asked, "Then, why...?"

‘What should I say?’ 

Being honest was a bit tricky, so he tried to evade the answer subtly, "You know why."

In response to his answer, she widened her eyes and bit her lip.

That was right.

"You have nothing to gain from me. You're a commoner who doesn't pursue money or power."

That was not true.

In this world, money and power were the best things...

“Well... I don't necessarily have anything to gain from you except money and power. You’re Hong Bi-Yeon before the princess of Adolevit.”

"What...?"

"You're right. I'm not helping you for free. I have something I want from you, so that's why I'm doing this. After this is over, you just have to sign a contract with me for the item."

Silence fell.

She seemed to be deep in thought and confused.

She only had money and power, and yet he wanted something else.

It would be difficult to figure out what that was.

"What's the price?"

"The terms will be specified in the contract—"

"Not that! You said there's something you want from me. What is it?"

He stared intently at her face.

The truth was, there were so many reasons.

It would be advantageous for the Alterisha Department for political reasons, and if even one death flag for Hong Bi-Yeon was erased through this, that would also be a gain.

Additionally, it could serve as an opportunity to make his influence known to esteemed individuals, including influential figures.

However, it felt awkward to lay out all those numerous reasons. He couldn't say that he was trying to save her and achieve a happy ending.

"Well, I'll tell you later."

Hong Bi-Yeon nodded as if understanding.

"Well... what about underclassmen training?"

‘Come to think of it, that was another problem. How did I end up receiving underclassmen special training? It was really unplanned, so I'm quite taken aback as well.’

"I guess you don't have to hold back."

"What?"

‘What does she mean by not holding back? Is she telling me to scream if I get slapped?’

"Just fight the seniors with your original skills to an extent."

"Oh, okay..." 

‘I appreciate the consideration, but... why’s she speaking as if my victory is a given?’

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