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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: True Education (2)
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-Paaaaang
A massive whooshing sound erupted, and in an instant, the black magic Yang Hangil had unleashed disintegrated in mid-air.
"Wha... what...?"
Yang Hangil swiped at the empty air with a dazed expression, mumbling to himself.
"My... my magic that I researched for years... black magic, no less... de... destroyed by... something as paltry as a Magic Missile...?"
-Thud
Yang Hangil collapsed and began convulsing.
"Tha... that's impossible! It's a trick! You used black magic too, didn't you? Fuck, how the hell...!"
"Keuheheuk..."
"Stop... lying...!"
Forgetting that his beloved Seol Euna was right beside him, Yang Hangil started bawling like a child.
'Tch, pathetic bastard.'
Objectively speaking, he wasn't a bad mage. The very fact that he could comprehend and wield black magic was proof he ranked among high-tier mages. But he'd simply chosen the wrong opponent. In a word, I was just far stronger than him.
Yang Hangil was the type who dabbled in black magic and focused on making his skills flashy and grandiose for show. I, on the other hand, pursued ultimate efficiency. No matter how small or unglamorous, if it got the job done, I'd use it. Of course, setting efficiency aside, the even bigger gap between us was my vastly superior "mana capacity" and wealth of "skills."
I'd roamed dungeons inside countless gates, cleared quest after quest, survived brutal life-or-death battles time and again, steadily building my mana. The rewards had netted me a ton of skills too.
'Useless fuck.'
But for all his talent, Yang Hangil dismissed dungeons as something only primitives crawled into and stubbornly refused to enter. In the end, the guy who'd only tinkered with his magic in theory got left in the dust by my battle-honed practical spells.
Looking down at Yang Hangil, I spoke.
"You worm. See the gap between us now? You felt it, right? You'll never even sniff the tip of my shoe in your lifetime. So quit strutting like you own the place just 'cause you stole my spot. You're nothing but a stand-in."
His face a wreck, Yang Hangil bellowed.
"You coward. Spouting off like your innate mana was some hard-earned achievement! Makes me sick!"
Yang Hangil kept ranting.
"Fuck... I poured every damn trick in the book into researching powerful magic. Connections, nepotism, guilds, friends, forbidden tomes—I exploited it all! So why the hell does a punk like you...!"
-Whoosh
Fed up, I lobbed a small fireball right next to Yang Hangil.
-Sizzle
Flames roared up, scorching the ground beside him pitch-black.
"Hey. Yang Hangil. You really think my power's just raw talent? I was tumbling through dungeons like a dog before I even hit adulthood, cheating death hundreds, thousands of times. It was only after growing up and starting as an academy instructor that I wove the optimal mana techniques I'd honed in those hellholes into my research—and that's how I reached this level."
"Blaming your situation or 'talent' sure is convenient, huh? Whenever someone's better than a loser like you, just chalk it up to gifts and dodge reality. That's why you lean on shit like black magic, you garbage. Live that way forever. Bet you suck at teaching too."
-Grind
Yang Hangil gnashed his teeth. In his fury, his eyes bulged bloodshot, blood dripping from his clamped jaws.
"...You might have more mana from birth, but as an instructor, I'm leagues above. Your students must've hated your arrogant ass, right? Admit it."
"What the fuck, moron. Forgot I hold an S-Rank Instructor title?"
"Ah... that S-Rank Instructor gig? The one you hyped your way into? You know how much the other academy instructors talk about you? How you cherry-pick kids who're already gifted and play it off like you made them shine."
"What kinda bullshit is that?"
"Not getting it? You scout students with sky-high mana and talent from the jump, drill 'em on basics, then puff it up like your genius turned them into stars."
"Ha, now you're pulling total crap outta your ass. I taught everyone—advanced classes to total newbies. They all exploded in growth, and I pulled straight A+ on monthly student satisfaction evals, you thick-skulled fuck."
Hearing that, Yang Hangil let out a hollow laugh, glaring daggers.
"You threatened the kids into good reviews, didn't you? Fuck, a bottom-feeder hunter like you landing S-Rank at prestigious Helmont Academy? Figures you'd stoop to blackmail, you filthy rat."
"No point talking to you. Believe what you want."
I'd already demonstrated the level gap. No need to stomach this loser's drivel anymore. As I turned to walk away, he spat something unforgivable.
"Choi Juwon. If you were such a great teacher to your students, would they have ditched you like that?"
In his hand was a slim phone—mine, the one I'd left at the bar. He'd swiped it on the sly.
-Click
He unlocked my phone and started reading the messages aloud.
"Die, trash."
"You always looked so shady. Guess face-reading's legit."
"Pathetic loser. All guys into sneaking peeks or what?"
"Never liked you from day one, strutting like hot shit, always lording over us—fucking gross. Karma's a bitch."
"Pathetic and nasty."
I tried my damnedest to tune it out. Those gut-wrenching texts from the students I'd trusted, poured my soul into—they were poison I didn't want to swallow. But the more I ignored, the louder Yang Hangil's voice rose.
"Why even exist? Just a oxygen-wasting worm."
"Figures, being an orphan and all—your vibe's a joke."
"Just off yourself."
"Puhaha. These texts I just read? Flooded in after you got booted from the academy today, huh? Anonymous, but gotta be your precious students. You creepy perv."
I snapped. In a flash, I condensed lightning in my palm, forged it into a spear, and hurled it straight at the smartphone in Yang Hangil's grip.
-Krackle
-Zzzzzap
"Gaaaaaaah! F... fuck, my... my hand!!"
My phone exploded into scrap, and a neat hole punched through his hand.
"Y... y... you maniac... if... if it'd veered even a bit, I'd... I'd be dead...!"
"Lose the casual talk. Before I actually kill you."
Oddly, hearing those messages voiced out drained the heat from me. Or rather, my emotions had peaked and short-circuited entirely.
I strode over to Yang Hangil and said,
"Hey, Yang Hangil. You blabbered earlier how I've got no real skill—just bully students for fake eval bumps and handpick winners to parade as my trophies, right?"
"Y... yeah! Di... did I lie...? Sir...?"
Wary of my kill threat, he clutched his mangled hand and switched to clumsy formal speech.
"How about a wager then? You just slid into my old spot. Boost the kids' stats even a smidge, snag a B or better on satisfaction evals."
"Ha, think I can't handle that... sir...?"
"Fuck, the formal crap's worse. Just talk normal."
"O... okay... If I teach as instructor, level up those brats, and bag B-plus evals, wh... what then?"
-Hummmm
[SSS] Oath Magic Circle: Can record the oath between the caster and the opponent, divided into [Condition] and [Result]. Requires mutual consent; no magic can undo it. If [Condition] is met, [Result] is enforced.
This skill was basically a "contract" with ironclad binding force. Folks used it for wagers or to enforce promises.
I fixed Yang Hangil with a stare and bellowed at the magic circle.
"Input condition! After assuming the practical magic instructor role, raise the students' overall ability values by 3% or more. Also secure B-grade or higher on their submitted academic achievement satisfaction evaluations. Duration: 6 months. Satisfy it once, and condition's met."
The magic circle pulsed wildly before settling. I shouted again.
"Input result! If condition met, take my life."
Yang Hangil's eyes bugged out as he gaped at me.
"Kuhahaha... mad bastard. 3% overall stat boost in 6 months, plus one B-plus eval? Easy as pie! Why not just say you wanna die?"
I blew past his yapping and tacked on another result.
"If condition fails, obliterate every drop of Yang Hangil's semen, remove one testicle, and make him go bald."
-Hummmmm
The magic circle whirred to life, belching out tremendous mana as it spun.
I poured in my mana and grinned at Yang Hangil. His face went rigid.
"This... you nuts for real...?"
"Hey, I put my life on the line. A nut and some hair ain't too much for you, right?"
"Fuck... fine. You might edge me out in mana 'cause of luck, but my grasp of magic's way sharper. The kids'll love me more than your sorry ass. Stats? They'll skyrocket."
-Humm
Yang Hangil infused his mana too. With both sides consenting, the circle judged the oath sealed and vanished.
I chuckled.
"Hey... can't wait. Gonna be a one-baller who can't knock anyone up—what a tragedy. No passing on those 'superior' genes now, huh?"
Yang Hangil screamed a torrent of curses.
"Shut your fucking mouth! Won't even take 6 months! I'll nail it first month and watch you croak up close."
I smirked back at him. A window invisible to him popped up before my eyes.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙-Ding! -Until [King's Path] skill-released 'successors' receive [Harsh Fate]: 12 hours 30 minutes remaining. To avoid penalty, re-link as successors.⚠️ [SSS] HARSH FATE ⚠️◎ Growth rate greatly reduced. ◎ Luck stat greatly decreased. ◎ Mana utilization greatly falls. ◎ Total mana slowly decreases. ◎ Occasional great misfortunes strike. ◎ All effects persist until re-linked as successor.
'Yang Hangil, you fucking scum. Think you can grow students saddled with an SSS-grade penalty skill? The harder you flail, the stupider they'll get. Go on, spin your wheels. You and my ex-student bitches are royally fucked now.'
'Could rip you apart right here, but that's too merciful. Way more fun watching you and those sluts crumble together from a distance. Pathetic worm. Thrash and crawl 'til you drop.'
His debut class was coming up. With that bastard's temperament, oblivious to the curse, he'd terrorize the kids over stats that wouldn't budge no matter what—driving his new "students" straight off the cliff. His downfall kicked off lesson one, guaranteed.