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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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On Saturday morning, after many days of training, I was finally able to achieve noticeable results.
I had gotten used to my spars with my sister, and I finally managed to win a match.
It was a significant improvement, to be able to win against a B-rank hero with pure swordsmanship and martial arts alone without any memorization or auxiliary weapons.
My sister, who lost to me, couldn’t believe it and asked for another match, but the one who wins last is the winner.
The saying “Yeah, you suck” wasn’t just for nothing.
I was currently focusing on my training so as not to lose the feeling I had this morning, and perhaps because I was in a good mood, the results were quite good.
Ah, I was training alone today.
The others asked me to hang out again, so I sent my clone with them.
Well, it wasn’t like I was completely alone…
“I think it’s time for some vitamins, Master. How about some lemon preserved in honey?”
“That’s not how you do that move~”
…If I told you I wasn’t part of this group, then I wasn’t part of this group. What could I do? I didn’t know these people.
I could at least concede that the maid, who had been offering me something made with honey of unknown origin every day lately, was an acquaintance, but the white-haired woman who appeared out of nowhere and started giving me advice on my training was a stranger.
“Hmm, you shouldn’t ignore me like that today. I’ve been holding back, but I came here because I have some information that might be helpful to my cute junior~”
“If you don’t like lemon preserved in honey, then perhaps you’d prefer honey water?”
Since these two were also treating each other as if they were half-nonexistent, I should probably consider this as three separate individuals and not a group.
The maid was making honey water, I was swinging my sword, and Baek Seol was trying to get my attention. In this chaotic space, Baek Seol was the first to surrender.
“Hmm, this isn’t easy. Why is it so hard to get my junior to like me? I was going to make a big deal out of it, but since I came here to tell you about it myself, I’ll just give it to you as a gift. If you don’t want to hear it, just pretend you didn’t.”
I swung my sword.
“The delinquent circle in the school is making some suspicious moves. They’re planning to bully a few students as an example in the upcoming ranking competition, and our cute junior is on that list.”
My sword path faltered.
I tried not to listen, but it was a rather interesting topic, so I found it hard to ignore.
Baek Seol, noticing this, smiled.
“Interesting, right, junior?”
“…Sigh.”
“Seriously, you’re probably the only one in our academy who reacts like that when I talk to them~”
“This is why people who know they’re popular are so annoying.”
“Do you know you just said that out loud, junior~?”
“I said it so you would hear it.”
“Aww, you’re so cute. I want to bite you.”
As we started talking, Rose moved the honey-preserved lemon to a teacup and skillfully started preparing black tea.
Baek Seol.
My assessment of her became really complicated after I regained my memories.
Originally, I saw her as a crazy rationalist who eventually became a villain-like existence due to that rationalism, but now, I was wary of her for a different reason.
We didn’t have a good relationship before I regressed, so I fought her several times.
Even back then, she was the one who unilaterally showed me goodwill.
One day, when we were fighting as enemies as usual, she suddenly burst out laughing.
-Aha, so you’re like me. I was wondering why I liked you so much from the beginning, but now I know for sure. I was happy to see you because you had the same eyes as me. You don’t see people as people, do you? I know, I’m the same. Do you know how happy I am right now?
Baek Seol, who was laughing cheerfully, extended her hand to me.
-I’m so happy to finally meet another person in this vast world. There are only two of us, so do we really have to fight? Let’s be friends instead.
Of course, I told her to get lost, and I tried to cut off her wrist, but unfortunately, I wasn’t at the level that could defeat Baek Seol back then.
“What are you thinking about, junior~?”
Crazy psychopath.
Huh? Summarizing it in one phrase didn’t seem to change my opinion of her much.
“I just told you something very helpful, but why do you look like you like me even less than before? Strange.”
She was acting cute, but since I knew it was all an act, I didn’t think much of it.
“I’ve prepared some tea for you to enjoy while you chat.”
A cup of black tea with honey-preserved lemon and another cup with something black were placed in front of us.
Ah, of course, the black tea was mine, and the filth was Baek Seol’s.
“Hmm, you’re quite direct with your displeasure, aren’t you?”
“Of course not. I have no personal ill will. I’m just trying to exclude you because my master doesn’t seem to like you.”
“Your loyalty is impressive, like a smart puppy. Yoo-sung Group seems to train their maids well. But personally, I’m not a big fan of obedient puppies.”
A brief silence fell between them.
But the situation was resolved when Baek Seol stood up and said farewell to me.
“Anyway, it’s just a ‘rumor’ for now, but there are talks of the delinquents distributing dangerous items, so I came to warn you. Let’s build a closer relationship based on this information next time we meet~”
What rumor? She was already sure of it. She was probably secretly gathering evidence too.
Rose also silently cleared the spot where Baek Seol had been sitting and bowed to me before leaving.
…But come to think of it, was there always a tea table in this park? It seemed like she just pulled it out with the tea set. Did she have a storage artifact?
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I knew about the Ability Awakening Drug incident, but I didn’t expect them to target me, so I was honestly a bit grateful to Baek Seol.
Well, of course, it wasn’t pure goodwill. She was probably planning to use me as bait to take down the entire circle.
I knew that they had a hazing ritual in the original story where they picked on weaker or disliked students and crushed them in the ranking competition, but I didn’t expect them to mess with me.
The Ability Awakening Drug incident.
Or more precisely, the Superhuman Rampage Drug incident. It was a common trope in academy stories where a drug that greatly enhanced the abilities of weaker individuals spread throughout the academy and society.
It was a cliché item that caused dependency and eroded one’s sanity with repeated use, but surprisingly, this incident dragged on for a long time in the original story.
Because the drug everyone was taking like candy was just a simple vitamin supplement.
I think it took Lilac about 30 chapters to solve this trick.
“It won’t take that long this time, so it doesn’t matter.”
Tricks were often simple once you knew the principle behind it.
“Well, how should I play with them?”
I wanted them to put up a good fight and serve as experience points for the others without burning them out too quickly, but I was also tempted to just cut them down and get it over with.
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Sunday dawn.
Ha-ni and my sister were watching us from a distance.
Today was the last day of the week, so if I lost the spar today, I would have to grant Professor Cathy’s wish.
The professor, as if to lighten the mood before the spar, smiled as she did some light steps.
“Don’t worry, So-hyun. I’m not going to ask for anything too grand.”
…I see. But you’re using informal language and calling me So-hyun even though Ha-ni is watching. And you’re already sure I’m going to lose?
She had been in a strange mood ever since we first met today.
Did she have trouble sleeping last night?
Well, that was good for me, since I had to spar with her today.
I assumed a stance and focused on my sword.
I was almost used to the basics, so it was time to test out some variations.
Honestly, I didn’t think I could win, but I could at least surprise her.
“Then, get ready.”
My sister announced the start of the spar as usual.
“Start!”
Professor Cathy attacked first.
I had learned over the past week that in a head-on fight, her first attack was almost always a straight kick.
A simple but powerful strike that reflected her personality.
Normally, you would either lose because you couldn’t react in time, or you would be flustered by its immense power even if you blocked it.
But what if you knew it was coming?
If so, it wasn’t difficult to dodge.
It was in the realm of my prediction, not perception. She looked surprised by my perfect dodge, which was different from usual, but she quickly chased after me with a pleased expression.
Her next punch was with her right fist.
Then, a left hook feint followed by a low kick. Sometimes, to change the pattern, she would throw a spinning kick or a Brazilian kick, but it was just a matter of creating distance and dodging, considering the martial artist’s weakness of short range.
Then, her bad habit would come out.
Professor Cathy, becoming impatient, would close the distance and assume a stance to throw her most confident move, her ultimate technique, the straight punch.
This was my chance.
The brief moment when Professor Cathy paused to form the image of a perfect straight punch was my chance to strike.
I used Enhancement to close the distance with my enhanced physical abilities and blocked the path of her fist with my sword before she could throw it.
The professor, unable to hide her displeasure at not being able to fight as she pleased, tried to adjust.
There’s no way I’d let you!
The biggest feature of my swordsmanship was that most of its techniques were instantaneous, needing almost no preparation.
The sword technique, designed to defeat those stronger than me, swung half a beat faster than my original rhythm and grazed her clothes.
I had a chance to win.
She changed her target from me to my sword, probably intending to get rid of the annoying weapon first, but I released my Enhancement and dodged her hand with a movement a beat slower than she expected.
I didn’t have the ability to use unpredictable and free-form variations.
But as long as I could freely adjust my own abilities, I could at least imitate something similar.
I’m going to win today…!
“Good.”
And at this point, the professor seemed to be fully warmed up and was looking at me with sparkling eyes.
Ah, I was screwed.
I should have finished it when she was still agitated.
“But I can’t give you a high score, So-hyun. Unpredictable attacks are good, but you have to be faithful to the basics first.”
Attacks should be concise yet powerful.
If I tried to drag her into an unpleasant fight by messing with her timing, she would show me even more concise movements, as if to not even give me time to play tricks.
Her fists, which had become even faster as if by magic, reached my eyes.
…It meant that I lost today’s spar and had to grant her wish.
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And someone was watching them from afar.
He tried to deny that Kang So-hyun’s performance was better than he thought and nodded in understanding after seeing Kang Ha-ni nearby.
He was jealous.
He was close to the person he admired and had such a good environment just because he had good friends.
Professor Cathy.
She was kind and gentle to everyone, but she always kept a certain distance.
What was so special about that brat that she allowed him to be so close to her?
Even as he thought that, a small part of his remaining reason questioned why he was having such thoughts.
He seemed to be having more negative thoughts since the seniors gave him that drug.
But that suspicion was fleeting.
The moment he saw the professor wiping his sweat with a towel, the question no longer mattered.
Yes, the seniors were right.
That brat needed to be publicly humiliated.
…But did he really have to wait until the ranking competition?
It would be better to do it sooner.
He, who was beginning to lose his rationality, moved the moment he was certain it was the right thing to do.
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T/N – Lol, nameless mook no. X is on the move. I would say that these bullies should have learned their lesson by now not to mess with the MC, but they seem to be under the influence of a drug right now, so I’ll let it slide.
I’m more curious about the true nature of the drug. If it really is just some vitamin pills, then there must be something else that’s messing with the students’ minds and giving them power ups. It can’t be just placebo, right?
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
Evil pills