I Regressed After Getting Tired of Their Obsession – Chapter 23

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Lee Seol was on my left, Choi Ah-hyun on my right. Just sitting there, listening to the lecture wouldn’t have been a problem. The problem was…

-Pinch.

“Are you going to fall asleep? I’ll take embarrassing pictures if you do.”

If I even dozed off, Choi Ah-hyun would pinch my thigh with a sinister grin. Fine, I could tolerate that.

The bigger problem was…

“Hyeon-ah… just a little longer. Break time is in five minutes.”

Lee Seol whispering to me in a sweet voice. That was what was truly driving me insane.

It was like a bucket of ice water to the face. It jolted me awake.

Her voice sent chills down my spine, like a grim reaper from hell. If Irena’s plan was to keep me from sleeping, it was a resounding success.

‘That sly fox.’

She was too proud to wake me up herself, so she’d sent the kids to wake me up

-Ding dong.

“That’s all for today. Class dismissed.”

“Class dismissed!”

Finally, the torturous lecture was over.

“Hyeon-ah, good job. Let’s do the same tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah…”

“I have a major class, so I’ll go ahead. See you tomorrow!”

“Me too! See you later tonight!”

Lee Seol and Ah-hyun waved goodbye.

The guys around me glared at me with murderous intent.

Kim Ji-hoon, seemingly enjoying the spectacle, approached me with a chuckle.

“Dude, you must have saved a country in your past life. Sitting between two beauties like that.”

“Shut up.”

“Just like with Yoon Se-ah in high school, taking care of you for three years, you’re swimming in women.”

Before I awakened my Equivalent Exchange skill, I’d practically lived in a hospital bed.

When my health improved, I’d go to school, but it was always short-lived. I’d be back in the hospital within days. I never had a normal school life.

‘Especially in middle and elementary school, I was constantly on the brink of death.’

Of course, after awakening my Hunter abilities, I recovered quickly, but back then, my friends were envious of Yoon Se-ah, who’d taken such good care of me.

‘They didn’t know it was a poisoned chalice.’

I shook off the memories and stood up.

“Anyway, I’m going.”

“Hey, wait a second.”

Kim Ji-hoon stopped me and muttered quietly,

“Be careful. The top-tier students are making some suspicious moves.”

Just that one sentence. Then he smiled and waved.

“Don’t be late tomorrow. If you don’t show up, I’m coming to your dorm.”

“Yeah.”

I left the classroom and checked my phone. There was a message from Kim Ji-hoon, advising me.

The message was long, but the gist was simple:

I, the last-place student, had become the first freshman to reach E-rank and had even obtained the Wishing Stone, a treasure of the Academy.

The top-tier students seemed to think I was using Han Yuri to climb the ranks, and they didn’t like it.

‘Well, they’re not entirely wrong.’

I hadn’t seduced her, but I was using her, and I planned to continue doing so.

‘This is going to blow up sooner than I thought.’

The clash between the top-tier and second-tier students, and the events that followed, would leave a significant mark on the Korean Hunter community. But that was their problem, not mine.

‘No matter how much you complain, this bus isn’t stopping.’

I was under too much stress to let go of this easy ride.

I pocketed my phone and headed to Irena’s office.

-Knock, knock.

“Come i…”

I opened the door before she finished speaking and saw Irena laughing in disbelief.

I closed the door and sat down in the guest chair, silently observing her. Her lips twitched.

“Are you sulking?”

“…”

“You are sulking.”

I stood up to leave.

“If you walk out now, I’ll demote you back to F-rank.”

I froze.

I sat back down with a sigh.

“What’s this about class assistants?”

“It’s a method I devised for our delinquent student. Remember the orientation?”

“The orientation?”

“Yes.”

“…”

What a spiteful woman.

I’d been too busy planning my future after regressing to pay attention to Irena’s explanation.

I couldn’t believe she remembered that.

“You really hold a grudge.”

“It’s not a grudge. It’s personalized education.”

Personalized, my ass.

“I thought you wouldn’t fall asleep if you had pretty girls your age sitting next to you… but I see you’re still a man, Lee Seong-hyun. You kept looking at Lee Seol.”

“Can’t you switch her with someone else? Lee Seol is a bit…”

“I’ll consider it if you work hard today.”

I focused intently on the lesson. But…

…I was headbanging before I knew it. Irena’s soothing voice was like a lullaby.

-Tap.

A sharp pain on my forehead. I quickly looked up.

Irena sighed softly.

“I wasn’t sleeping.”

“Of course not. You were just taking a nap.”

Irena put down her book and started bringing out tea and cake. It seemed like break time.

“Do you have any Zico?”

“…I don’t serve mop water.”

“Seriously?”

She didn’t know what she was missing. This was why she was called an old lady.

I shook my head internally and sipped the tea. My eyes widened.

‘This is Aether tea.’

Bitter. So bitter it felt like my taste buds were being scorched. Anyone else would have spat it out, but it was perfect for me.

My sister had always brought it to me in the hospital, so I was used to the taste.

Irena watched me intently as I sipped the tea.

“Does it suit your taste? It’s quite bitter…”

“It’s fine. But this is Aether tea, right? The one that clears your mind…?”

She swallowed nervously at my question.

“…Yes, it is. My former disciple used to love this tea. I didn’t like it at first, but… now I can’t function without it.”

‘What’s with her?’

Her slightly delayed response was unsettling, but I decided to ignore it. As I continued sipping the tea, Irena asked cautiously,

“Are my lectures… boring?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Straight to the point.

Any other student would have kissed up to her for good grades, but I had nothing to lose.

Grades? What were those?

Irena’s lips pouted at my blunt honesty.

“Your voice is too soft. And the content is too theoretical. It’s like you’ve combined all the elements that make a lecture boring.”

“…I see.”

“It would be more interesting if you shared some of your experiences as a Hunter, like stories or anecdotes. Or even talk about your love life, if you’re desperate.”

“…”

Silence. I cautiously asked,

“Professor… by any chance, are you… single…?”

“I have a meeting. That’s all for today’s tutoring. See you tomorrow.”

-Slam!

She stormed out, slamming the door.

“Tsk.”

I’d stepped on a landmine. Well, at least class ended early. Skipping out was always a good thing.

As I walked out of the faculty building, my phone rang.

It was Ji-hoon.

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A cafeteria in the Academy.

Unlike the noisy terrace, this private room was quiet. I sipped my Zico, observing the two people in front of me.

Kim Ji-hoon was grinning from ear to ear, while the woman across from him sipped her tea elegantly.

‘Here it comes.’

Kim Ji-hoon’s first love.

Yeon Hyo-joo, a third-year second-tier student.

Tanned skin, shoulder-length red hair, and a curvy, child-bearing figure. She had the kind of body men went crazy for.

‘Still a slut, though.’

She called herself a selective premarital chaste woman, but she was really just a master manipulator.

She had a vast network of second-tier students, both male and female, wrapped around her finger.

“Senior, this is Lee Seong-hyun.”

“Oh? Nice to meet you, Seong-hyun. I’m Yeon Hyo-joo. You can call me Hyo-joo noona.”

She smiled and gently took my hand.

[Charm]

A common mental manipulation skill. It charmed the target, turning them into a slave.

If I didn’t have mental resistance, I would have fallen for it instantly, but thankfully, the Witches had inadvertently given me some immunity.

But I couldn’t let her know that. I played along.

“Yes, noona.”

“Good. Seong-hyun-ah, I’m here today because I’m starting a study group.”

Study group, my ass.

It was called a study group, but it was really an anti-discrimination group for second-tier students.

Her Charm skill had made her the leader of the second-tier students in the previous timeline. She was approaching me and Ji-hoon to recruit members.

Yeon Hyo-joo squeezed my hand, increasing the intensity of her Charm skill.

‘She’s stronger than I thought.’

My head felt slightly dizzy, and a wave of arousal washed over me. If I was feeling this, the others must have already lost control.

“I’d really like you to join, Seong-hyun. You were last in the entrance exam, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve had my eye on you since then.”

Bullshit.

In the previous timeline, she hadn’t even looked at me.

Now that I had the Wishing Stone and was the first to reach E-rank, she was all over me.

Yeon Hyo-joo sat next to me and placed her hand on my thigh.

“I want to help you blossom in our study group, Seong-hyun. Unlock your potential.”

“Me?”

“Yes. With a little polishing, you’ll shine brighter than anyone.”

I glanced at Kim Ji-hoon.

‘This idiot is gone.’

He was staring blankly into space, his mouth agape. Yeon Hyo-joo must have used her skill on him.

Her hand moved from my thigh towards my groin.

“If you join the study group, noona will teach you all sorts of things.”

She nibbled on my ear as she whispered her seductive words. My mind raced. I needed to clean up the Academy before ‘she’ arrived.

The clash between the top-tier and second-tier students was inevitable.

I could use that to my advantage.

‘Control Yeon Hyo-joo and take over the second-tier students.’

I made up my mind and activated Equivalent Exchange.

Skill Creation.

I checked the message and kissed her neck.

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