I Became the Academy’s Hidden Skill Master – Chapter 96

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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“You’re in fourth place.”

Lee Seok-hyun’s pronouncement, delivered like a death sentence, paralyzed the Ruamos students. They stood frozen, unable to react.

The sight of their second-ranked student, Pelkins, vanishing in a fiery explosion was enough to short-circuit their thoughts and instill a primal fear.

The confident leader who had promised reinforcements and assured them of victory was gone, leaving an irreplaceable void in their ranks.

“When your commander falls, the first thing you do is hunt down the one responsible and rally your troops. Boost morale. Basic tactics.”

You haven’t done anything. Fourth place suits you.

Lee Seok-hyun’s taunt finally snapped them out of their stupor.

“He’s alone! And remember what Pelkins said? Reinforcements are coming! We just need to take him down!”

“That’s right! Priests, stay behind the paladins! Two-person teams, one paladin, one priest! Engage!”

The Ruamos students, forming a disorganized mob, charged towards Lee Seok-hyun.

Ironically, they were playing right into his hands, reacting exactly as he’d predicted.

He was practically leading them, orchestrating their every move.

Lee Seok-hyun, smirking, retreated to the safety of the trees.

“Paladins with high defense but low mobility, and priests who excel at support but lack physical prowess. How could you possibly choose a forest, of all places?”

First-year students lacked the ability to cast wide-area buffs and debuffs.

This meant their spells usually required a direct line of sight to the target.

And in a dense forest, even a slight shift in position could obscure their view, rendering their support magic ineffective.

Lee Seok-hyun mocked their incompetence, their failure to consider even the most basic tactical implications of the terrain.

“You’re so focused on me that you haven’t even noticed what’s happening around you. Did you really think I came here alone?”

*–Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

As if waiting for his cue, the Mirinae and Tanteroi students emerged from the shadows, surrounding the Ruamos forces.

One moment they were fighting alongside their comrades, the next they were gone, eliminated. The swift and brutal attacks left them no time to react.

Total chaos.

Ruamos Academy, accustomed to slow, methodical battles, was ill-equipped for this kind of rapid, chaotic engagement. They’d trained in traditional formations, their paladins forming a shield wall, their priests chanting buffs and heals from behind. This rigid structure made them incredibly vulnerable in a chaotic free-for-all, where friend and foe were indistinguishable.

“The buffs are fading!”

“Why are they so strong?!”

Lee Seok-hyun’s combined training had focused primarily on physical conditioning. He’d drilled the importance of a strong foundation, pushing them relentlessly. They’d run, climbed, and trained until they could each run a marathon without breaking a sweat. Magic, Martial Arts, Other Studies—every student in Mirinae’s first-year class was now a physical powerhouse.

“They’re so weak.”

“Now I understand their level.”

“This is so boring I could die.”

The Mirinae students were yawning, the fight far less challenging than their training. They even commented that the heavily armored, statistically balanced Tanteroi knights had provided more of a challenge. Following Lee Seok-hyun’s commands, they targeted the priests hiding behind the paladin shield wall, picking them off one by one. Ruamos crumbled, their defenses collapsing like a house of cards.

‘Arak, you were wrong.’

Meitan, observing the carnage, realized the folly of Arak’s earlier confidence.

‘Mirinae Academy, with Lee Seok-hyun at the helm, is unstoppable.’

A single individual controlling hundreds of students, dictating the fate of an entire academy.

To think they’d believed they could defeat Mirinae and claim third place… It was a laughable delusion.

‘Rankings are meaningless.’

If you pleased Lee Seok-hyun, you were rewarded with second place. If you displeased him, you finished last.

The fate of entire academies, decided not by strength or skill, but by the whims of a single student.

Who would believe such a thing?

‘Next year, we take out Lee Seok-hyun first.’

The talent of a general, capable of inspiring his troops to perform at their absolute best.

Meitan, experiencing true warfare for the first time, had witnessed reality firsthand.

Heroes weren’t made; they were born. They simply found their rightful place, their natural domain.

“Meitan, time to move. Gather your troops and head for Velutos Academy.”

“What? But shouldn’t we regroup and recover?”

“Why bother?”

At Lee Seok-hyun’s question, Meitan surveyed the battlefield and immediately understood.

‘There are no casualties.’

While some had sustained minor injuries, they were insignificant.

Thanks to Tanteroi’s sacrifice, Mirinae’s forces were practically unscathed, their core members untouched.

They even looked relaxed, Meiri’s carefree demeanor as she swung her legs from Lee Seok-hyun’s shoulders serving as proof.

“Are you sure we should move now?”

“What’s with the sudden formality?”

“Ah… it just feels more appropriate…”

Meitan instinctively shifted to a more respectful tone, recognizing Lee Seok-hyun’s authority.

‘But is that really the right move?’

Warfare wasn’t just about combat; logistics played a crucial role as well. Traveling from the plains to the forest was one thing, but moving from the forest to the mountainous terrain of Velutos Academy presented a significant logistical challenge.

Lee Seok-hyun, seemingly anticipating his thoughts, smiled.

“I know what you’re worried about, but don’t worry.”

We won’t have to climb. They’ll be coming down.

With that cryptic remark, Lee Seok-hyun located the hidden Ruamos flag with uncanny precision and promptly destroyed it.

“It’s always the same. They place their strongest protective magic on their flag, thinking it’s a clever hiding spot. They practically advertise its location. They just don’t get it.”

The system message that appeared confirmed the severity of the situation.

Or rather, the severity of the situation for Ruamos.

‘What if I had refused to hand over our flag?’

When Lee Seok-hyun demanded their flag, Meitan had complied without hesitation. Then, Lee Seok-hyun, declaring the test over, had returned it. The Tanteroi flag now rested safely in Meitan’s possession. He had sensed Lee Seok-hyun’s absolute confidence, the chilling implication that he could be eliminated at any moment.

“What did you mean about making them come down?”

“I’m going to trigger a landslide. Bring the mountain down on them.”

“…?”

“Our mages pinpointed the Velutos base camp. See that smoke? It’s still early evening.”

He gestured towards the Velutos territory, where plumes of smoke rose into the sky.

The smoke, thick with mana, was unmistakable. Four distinct plumes marked the location of the Velutos base camp. Lee Seok-hyun had used them as beacons, pinpointing their exact coordinates.

“We just need to detonate the base of the mountain. Imagine their faces when the ground collapses beneath them while they’re eating dinner. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“…Y-yes… that sounds… entertaining… But what if our magic is blocked? That’s a common tactic, and many have tried and failed to trigger landslides in the mountain terrain…”

Landslides were a well-known strategy in the Territory Capture event, but they rarely succeeded. The defenses against such tactics were well-established.

However…

“That’s because they were attacking from the outside.”

“Huh?”

That was before Lee Seok-hyun entered the game.

“Our best mage is currently inside Velutos Academy.”

“What?!”

“Why do you keep asking questions? Just watch. It’ll be spectacular.”

At Lee Seok-hyun’s confident words, Meitan simply nodded.

Tanteroi was now under Mirinae’s command, and Ruamos Academy, their elite forces useless, had been eliminated.

And Lee Seok-hyun was already planning his next attack, the strategy for conquering Velutos?

‘Just how much further does he intend to go?’

Meitan, unable to voice his thoughts, simply lowered his head and followed.

What was the point of meticulously crafted plans and strategies?

‘The easiest way to get second place is to obey Lee Seok-hyun.’

He swallowed his bitter laughter, clutching the Tanteroi flag tightly.

While others might mock him for his subservience, Meitan felt no shame.

He knew, with absolute certainty, that those who hadn’t faced Lee Seok-hyun firsthand had no right to judge him.

‘He’s a tyrant.’

A ruthless, destructive force who crushed anything that wasn’t his.

That was Meitan’s assessment of Lee Seok-hyun.

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“…What… what am I even looking at?”

An hour after Lee Seok-hyun eliminated Ruamos Academy, the spectators in the coliseum sat in stunned silence, speechless at the unfolding events.

“Where’s that bastard who spread the rumor about Velutos being a sure win? Find the source! I’m going to kill him!”

Amidst the stunned silence and murderous threats, a single voice rose above the din, filled with unrestrained joy.

“Incredible! Incredible! I might have gotten the other rankings wrong, but I predicted first place! I predicted it!”

The source of the ecstatic cries: Eporommo Totobitch.

The self-proclaimed talent scout who had staked everything on Mirinae Academy.

“A hundred and twenty to one odds! I’m rich! I’ve finally made it!”

His triumphant cries echoed through the silent coliseum.

Life truly was unpredictable.

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