Crash.
Arid, who had been knocked back by Eugene’s punch, was left with a dazed expression.
‘Did I just get punched and knocked down…??’
Drip.
“You crazy bastard!”
Seeing the blood dripping from his nose, Arid cursed and sprang to his feet.
“Should I have held back?”
Eugene clicked his tongue as he watched Arid quickly get up.
He had held back his strength to avoid breaking Arid’s nose, but it seemed that Arid hadn’t learned his lesson.
“I didn’t originally intend to step in like this… but it looks like I need to break your spirit.”
“What are you babbling about, you bastard?”
Whoosh!
Arid quickly moved and threw a punch at Eugene.
“I got caught off guard. That little mage…!”
Arid clenched his teeth as he threw his punch.
It was ridiculous to be hit by a mage’s fist rather than magic, but as long as he stayed alert, he could beat that mage to death with his bare hands.
“Are you sure about that?”
Thump.
“What… what?!”
Eugene easily blocked Arid’s punch, causing Arid’s eyes to widen in shock.
His punch was strong enough to leave marks on a log.
Even in his family, he was strong enough to beat adults in a fight, but now a mage had effortlessly stopped his punch?
“You damn…!”
Whoosh!
Frustrated that his punch had been blocked, Arid quickly threw another punch.
One.
Whirl.
Boom!
Eugene dodged Arid’s incoming punch, grabbed Arid’s wrist, and slammed him to the ground.
“Ugh!”
Arid’s head spun from the pain radiating from his back as he hit the ground.
What Eugene had just done seemed simple but was actually a part of the Ehwajungmok (Flower and Tree technique), a move that redirected the opponent’s strength back at them.
To an onlooker, it might have seemed like a simple throw, but the counterattack, infused with internal energy, caused Arid more pain than a regular throw would.
Wham!
“Ugh… move… move your foot!”
When Eugene placed his foot on Arid’s chest, Arid tried to push it off with both hands.
Press.
“Aaagh!”
Arid screamed in agony as he felt the pressure on his chest.
‘If I stomp on him with Jingeak (Trembling Foot), he’ll burst and die.’
But.
There was no need to kill someone on the first day of the academy.
Slide
“Cough, cough.”
As Eugene removed his foot from Arid’s chest, Arid coughed repeatedly.
“You…!”
Tears welling up, Arid glared at Eugene.
“Hmm… I guess just letting it end here is not enough, considering your reckless words.”
Slide.
“What… what are you going to do…?”
Eugene sat down and forcefully grabbed Arid’s cheek, prying his mouth open.
Thump.
“From now on, watch your mouth.”
Sizzle.
“AAAAAGH!!”
As Eugene held Arid’s tongue and applied Sorohwagong (Small Fire Technique) with his thumb and forefinger, Arid screamed in agony.
To be precise, the fire technique was only applied to his thumb and forefinger, burning Arid’s tongue.
Sizzle.
After burning Arid’s tongue moderately, Eugene stood up. Ken Pelven stared at Eugene with a blank expression.
What on earth had he just witnessed?
He was shocked when Eugene first punched Arid in the face.
Then, when Eugene slammed Arid to the ground, he was stunned.
And finally, when Eugene burned Arid’s tongue with his fingers, he thought he must be dreaming.
“Hey, Ken.”
“Y-yes?”
“Why are you using honorifics with a fellow student?”
“Oh… um… it’s just…”
“Keep quiet about everything you saw here, alright?”
“Yes sir…….”
“Didn’t I tell you to speak informally?”
“…….
“Alright.”
Eugene smiled with satisfaction at Ken’s response and returned to his place.
***
Bang!
“Lord Arid. We’ve brought good blankets and pillows……. What’s the matter?”
Rudy, Arid’s subordinate who had gone to the auditorium to collect supplies, tilted his head when he saw Arid in a daze on the bed.
Having diligently carried out the order to collect blankets, pillows, and other supplies, Rudy had expected to be praised. But upon returning to the dormitory, he found Arid in a stupor.
“Lord Arid.”
“Huh……. what?”
“The blankets and pillows…….”
“Take the best ones to Lord Eugene!”
“What? That trash discarded by the family…….?”
Slap!
Rudy was stunned as he was suddenly slapped by Arid.
“How dare you speak like that about anyone!!”
“But…… in the auditorium, didn’t you say…… Eugene Bedia was discarded by the family and that we could insult and mistreat him as much as we wanted…….”
Rudy’s expression turned sorrowful as he rubbed his cheek, hurt by the slap.
Swish.
Eugene, who had been quietly reading a book in the corner, looked up at Arid without a word upon hearing Rudy’s comment, causing Arid to tremble.
Clench!
“When……. when did I ever say such a thing……. ha ha…….”
Arid quickly covered Rudy’s mouth, forcing an awkward laugh.
That night.
After everyone had fallen asleep, Eugene sat cross-legged on his bed with his eyes closed.
Sssss.
‘The magic energy inside this academy is richer than anywhere else.’
While meditating, Eugene noticed that the academy’s magic energy was more abundant compared to other regions.
‘Why?’
Why was the magic energy in the academy area more abundant than elsewhere?
Swish.
“Phew.”
After building up his internal energy for a while, Eugene slowly opened his eyes.
“Why? Something not working out?”
Taeje, grooming his paw, spoke to Eugene as he noticed him opening his eyes.
Usually, Eugene would meditate straight through until morning, so it was curious that he had opened his eyes so suddenly.
“It’s just that this place has more magic energy than others.”
“Well…… there were places like that in Murim too. It’s nothing new.”
“That’s true.”
“By the way, how badly did you burn that guy’s tongue?”
Taeje nodded toward Arid, who was curled up and sleeping.
From the way he spoke earlier, it didn’t seem like the burn was too severe.
“I burned it just enough to hurt every time he eats.”
That way, the pain would resurface whenever he ate or spoke.
“Looks like I ended up getting involved in a hierarchy fight right away.”
Eugene let out a dry laugh.
Whether it was the martial arts schools in Murim or this academy, any place where children came to learn would always have hierarchy battles and power struggles.
Eugene had anticipated that he would have to engage in hierarchy fights at the academy.
However, he hadn’t intended to get involved in such power struggles or hierarchy battles from the first day of enrollment.
“Then why did you react to that guy?”
“If I let him act so arrogantly, things will only get more tiresome later.”
As mentioned earlier, the first test is a party test.
If someone like him were in the same group, it would surely disrupt the atmosphere and potentially cause them to fail the test.
Thus, the first night at the academy passed.
The next morning, Eugene, along with the students of Dormitory 5, headed back to the auditorium.
“Hey~ Sabe family.”
As Arid entered the auditorium, staring at the ground, someone greeted him warmly from a distance.
“Did you properly take care of that guy in the dormitory?”
It was Antonio Bedia.
As expected, it was Antonio who had spread the nonsense about Arid being abandoned.
“You bastard…….”
Grind.
Arid ground his teeth in anger as he looked at Antonio.
What on earth was he thinking, telling him to deal with such a monstrous guy?
“After making me suffer, you think I’ll just let it……”
Arid ground his teeth and started to say something to Antonio, but then he stopped.
‘If this guy and Eugene teamed up to bury me…?’
Chill.
He shouldn’t oppose Antonio either.
“Hmph.”
As Arid snorted at Antonio and turned away, Antonio tilted his head in confusion.
‘What’s this? Why is he acting like this?’
Antonio frowned at Arid’s incomprehensible behavior.
Arid was a top-tier knight and shared a dormitory with Eugene, who was unbearable to even look at. Antonio had gone to great lengths to request this, but why was Arid reacting this way?
“Everyone, quiet down.”
The auditorium fell silent as the Education Director, Deiker Kodellou, spoke in a low voice from the podium.
“Did you all have a good first night at the academy?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Let’s get straight to the point.”
Swish.
Deiker nodded at the students’ responses and then explained the reason for gathering them in the auditorium.
“In a month, you will face your first test.”
It was a group test.
The test involved a joint monster subjugation.
In other words, knights and mages would team up to hunt monsters.
“Of course, the monsters’ tiers will be adjusted to match your levels.”
In Seifran, monsters were classified into tiers based on their strength.
Monsters like mimics and slimes, which could be easily subdued by a somewhat trained body, were 1st tier.
Goblins and skeletons, which required systematic training to defeat, were 2nd tier.
Orcs and ghouls, which could be subdued only by an attack strong enough to cut down or destroy a tree in one blow, were 3rd tier.
“Through this test, we will evaluate your ability to work well with others and quickly coordinate when taking on missions after you graduate from the academy.”
Deiker’s voice echoed through the auditorium.
“Starting today, you will receive training according to your respective professions. And the group with the best test results will be…”
Swish.
Thud!
Deiker took a small bottle from his robe and placed it on the podium.
“…rewarded with this potion. For your information, this potion is made from a unicorn horn.”
Murmur.
At Deiker’s words, the students widened their eyes and began talking amongst themselves, forgetting to keep quiet.
No wonder. The potion made from a unicorn horn that Deiker had presented could instantly raise one’s level by half a step.
In other words, a 1-star, 1st-grade knight who drank this potion could jump to 1-star, 3rd or 4th grade in an instant.
The same applied to mages.
Moreover, if one could fully absorb the potion’s energy, it could even raise their level by a whole step instead of just half.
‘Oh…’
Like the other students, Eugene showed interest in the potion that Deiker had presented.
Eugene had been looking for an elixir, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity.
“In the morning, you will receive training according to your profession, and in the afternoon, you will have joint training.”
Swish.
As Deiker finished speaking, a student in the middle raised his hand.
“What is it?”
“For the group test, who will lead the groups?”
“Good question. I was just about to address that.”
Deiker smiled and looked quietly at the students.
It seemed as if he was about to say something, but why was he just looking at the students’ faces in silence?
“There will be no expulsion today, even if there is chaos in the dormitory. That’s all. Instructors, please lead the students to their designated locations.”
Hearing Deiker’s final words, the students started glancing around nervously.
No expulsion even if there is chaos in the dormitory today?
In other words.
‘He’s implying that whoever wins in a fight will be the group leader.’
As Eugene let out a dry laugh, an awkward atmosphere began to spread among the students.
Cliche Novel 