Chapter 10
A week had passed since the Academy’s entrance ceremony.
As time went by, the excitement surrounding my title as the top scorer of the entrance exam and the controversies around the 20th team I led had all but subsided.
Now, with our first class only a day away, the 20th team, including myself, was at the Academy.
“How could they tell us that the assessment is today?! Where’s the courtesy? Shouldn’t they at least give us a day’s notice?! Right, Jun-woo?”
“I don’t know.”
“And is that it? Just because you don’t know, everything’s fine?! Do you think the world is that simple, Jun-woo?! Ki-hyuk, say something. You’re the team leader.”
“Why are you lashing out at us when we did nothing wrong? Calm down. Do you have something urgent to do?”
“Urgent? Yes! I have to organize my dormitory. Why is it mandatory for first-years to stay in dorms? It’s unfair. It’s annoying.”
“It’s not ‘mandatory’ but an ‘obligation.’”
“Jun-woo, can’t you read the room? Is that the point right now?”
“The facilities seemed nice. You just need to show up.”
“How can you be so clueless, Ki-hyuk? You don’t know anything about women.”
“What? What don’t I know? Pfft!”
“Don’t laugh. It’s making me angrier.”
Watching Merhem fume, I couldn’t help but laugh even harder.
Honestly, I was just as baffled when I received the sudden notice of the assessment last night.
‘There will be a private assessment tomorrow. Please attend.’
Who schedules an assessment and gives notice only a day in advance? The rush seemed absurd.
But according to my mother, the situation was more complicated than I thought.
“A team of only three members? This is no better than a child’s game.”
That was the sentiment of those who opposed us.
“Recruiting members is the team leader’s exclusive right. In the end, it’s the leader who takes responsibility, so what’s the problem?”
This was the view of those who supported us.
As these two factions fiercely clashed, the decision was delayed and delayed until the last minute, the day before classes were to start.
“But Ki-hyuk, do you know what the assessment involves?”
“Roughly?”
“……!! You actually know? That doesn’t seem like you.”
“I didn’t want to know, but my mother kept talking about it all evening.”
No joke, I must have heard the same explanation at least ten times. I had memorized it down to the details.
“There have been 12 ‘Team Performance Evaluation Assessments’ in the past. Six of those were conducted through gate hunting, five involved written tests and interviews, and the last one…”
“…was a duel against a professor. You know him well, Ki-hyuk.”
Yes.
The person who formed a small elite team like I did and became the most successful case in the Academy’s history.
Park Soo-hyuk.
He was my older brother.
“But don’t worry. Unlike Ki-hyuk’s brother, we’re not hated by the professors. It won’t come to a duel.”
“We’ll see.”
As I recall, my brother formed a team of five, which stirred up quite the controversy. As a result, he was despised by the professors, and the assessment escalated to the point where he had to cross swords with a professor.
But here’s the thing.
We’re a team of three. Two fewer than my brother’s team of five.
Don’t you think the professors, who are bound by the rules, would be even more displeased with us?
I have a feeling that’s the case.
And as expected,
My prediction was spot on.
When we arrived at the assessment venue,
we were greeted by the sharp gazes of the professors.
They were seated on the second floor, staring down at us with such intensity that it felt like they were scrutinizing every part of us.
“Phew, they’ve all gathered.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“They’ve gathered?”
“Impressive. But…”
Merhem lowered her voice.
“The atmosphere is tense. I think we might have made a mistake.”
“Didn’t you say we’d be fine?”
“No way. I meant we should be careful.”
“Heh…”
Changing your words, huh? You sure have a thick skin.
That aside, the atmosphere is heavy.
If someone who didn’t know better walked in, they’d think this was an interrogation room rather than an assessment room.
The more I thought about it, the more absurd it seemed, and I had to hold back a laugh when I saw one of the professors walking toward us with a serious expression.
“You find something funny? What’s so amusing when you’re late?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I choked on something. But how are we late? Isn’t it 5 o’clock? We’re actually ten minutes early.”
“When professors are waiting, the proper courtesy is to arrive at least 30 minutes early to greet them.”
…Then what kind of courtesy is it to not even greet someone when meeting for the first time?
I didn’t avoid the professor’s glare and stared back at him directly.
He looked like he was in his 30s, and yet he was already acting like an old fossil.
“That’s Professor Hwang Jun-yeop, who teaches Introduction to Combat Theory. He’s known for being the youngest professor ever appointed.”
“You know quite a lot for someone who’s supposed to be lazy.”
“Just because I’m lazy doesn’t mean I’m ignorant. You should be careful. He’s well-known as the youngest professor.”
“The youngest professor, huh…”
I can already piece the situation together.
The professors aren’t happy with us for going against the Academy’s educational principles, and they’re using this young professor to try to intimidate us.
He seems pretty skilled, too. It looks like he’s determined, considering the pressure I’m feeling from his aura.
He’s trying to make me feel threatened. But what can I say?
Instead, I feel more at ease. If they’re coming at me so directly, it means I can respond just as openly.
With a smirk, I stepped forward. Professor Hwang Jun-yeop’s face twisted in displeasure.
“This is an assessment for students. Take it seriously.”
“I tend to laugh when I’m being serious.”
“Seems like you don’t understand the situation. Tch, you’re just like your brother.”
“Oh, do you know my brother?”
“Of course I do. He was an incredibly arrogant junior… As a senior, I’d advise you to learn to read the room. If you don’t want to end up on the Academy’s bad side like your brother.”
“Hahaha!”
Oh, this is new.
So this is what it feels like.
To hear someone insult your family right to your face.
I never understood why my friends would go ballistic when someone insulted their family, but now that I have a family, I get it.
‘It’s incredibly infuriating.’
Even though I haven’t even met my brother in person, he’s still my brother.
Who are you to insult my family?
My smirk widened even further.
Out of respect for my mother and a desire for a quieter life at the Academy, I had planned to take it easy, but that plan just went out the window.
Fine, I’ll live as I always have. Why start calculating things now?
As I reined in my boiling rage, another professor stepped forward to explain the assessment.
“…This assessment is to evaluate whether 20th Team Leader Park Ki-hyuk is capable of carrying out the Academy’s education. The assessment will be conducted through a vote… Please adhere to safety regulations… and it will proceed under the observation of the professors…”
I kept staring at the professor as he droned on, mechanically repeating, “I understand,” like a parrot.
None of that mattered. All I wanted was for the assessment to start as soon as possible.
“I’ll be the referee. Both sides, step forward.”
Step, step…
As I stepped forward, I heard murmurs around me.
It’s because I was the only one who stepped forward—Merhem and Han Jun-woo quietly stayed back.
Seeing this, Hwang Jun-yeop’s face twisted in anger.
“…Are you mocking a professor?”
“Not at all, sir.”
“Insolent!”
Ah, this takes me back. I remember the few who called me insolent when we first met.
They told me to know my place. That a commoner like me should be kneeling.
Guess what happened to them?
I broke their knees. Made it easier for them to kneel.
“Baphomet.”
Emerging from the fractured space, Baphomet appeared.
Finally, the Demon King began to rise.
Hwang Jun-yeop barely managed to dodge the relentless barrage of axes, only to be struck by a kick that seemed to come out of nowhere, bending him over.
“Urgh!”
When did everything go wrong?
When did it start to go awry?
A man with mana emptiness using magic?
What’s this darkness that’s engulfing everything?
And those skeletons that don’t act like skeletons—what in the world are they?
As he rolled on the ground, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
He remembered Park Soo-hyuk, a junior who seemed so far out of his reach. Back then, as the student council president, Hwang Jun-yeop had felt a deep inferiority complex toward Park Soo-hyuk’s dazzling talent.
‘We’re on a different level…’ It was infuriating.
Why didn’t he have such talent? If only he had inherited the blood of a swordmaster’s family!
Hwang Jun-yeop’s decision to take the lead in Park Ki-hyuk’s assessment was likely driven by this sense of inferiority.
He wanted to crush the younger brother of someone he could never catch up to with his own hands.
But it was a mistake.
He desperately dodged a descending axe, cold sweat running down the back of his neck.
This guy was serious. He genuinely intended to kill him.
Hwang Jun-yeop realized once again.
The overwhelming difference in level he had felt during his battle with Park Soo-hyuk.
Swoosh-
“…!!”
Suddenly, he sensed something.
Hwang Jun-yeop swung his sword downward in panic. But before he could recover, another attack came from the opposite direction. He swung his sword again, fending off the assault.
His pride as a skilled dual swordsman was on the line as he unleashed a flurry of strikes, slicing through the darkness.
However, his dual swords, which should have overwhelmed his opponent with a relentless barrage of strikes, were now barely enough to fend off the attacks.
Even so, Hwang Jun-yeop’s reputation as the youngest professor wasn’t just for show. He fiercely swung his dual swords, decapitating skeleton after skeleton. One by one, heads rolled as his swords cut through the shadows.
He was steadily reducing their numbers.
But it was meaningless.
Outnumbered.
The number of skeletons being destroyed was far fewer than the ones being regenerated. What good was his attack in such a situation?
Moreover, these skeletons were absurdly fast and sharp.
Normally, Hwang Jun-yeop would have scoffed at their attacks and ignored them, but now he couldn’t afford to underestimate them.
But above all, what terrified Hwang Jun-yeop the most was…
the real monster lurking within the darkness.
“You should watch your back.”
“…!!”
In the brief moment he let his guard down, a voice came from behind.
In an instant, a fist struck him before he could even draw his sword.
Thud!
“Guh!!”
Watching Hwang Jun-yeop collapse, I let out a cold laugh.
In terms of mana, Hwang Jun-yeop was far stronger than I was. His mana reserves were incomparable to mine.
Yet, it was Hwang Jun-yeop who was now rolling on the ground, not me.
The darkness that restricted his vision, combined with the mental strain from a few curses, and the pressure from the skeletons—these basic techniques formed a simple, yet effective suppression strategy.
This was enough to pin down Hwang Jun-yeop. His mind was already crumbling.
If he had used his feet, if he had been able to pierce through the darkness and choose the battlefield, it would have been a real headache for me.
One of the things that surprised me when I arrived in this world was how weak the people here were despite their strength.
Mentally, physically, in every way.
The mana distribution here is far higher than in the Empire.
Even the will of the mana is faint.
In simple terms, it’s easy to mold to your will.
When I first realized this, I was shocked.
Do you have any idea how absurd this is from my perspective?
If we measure understanding of power from 1 to 10, in the Empire, you need at least an 8, or at least a 7, to be considered powerful. But here, even with just 5, or even less—around 4—it’s enough to wield great power.
Isn’t this basically cheating?
This is the optimal environment for accumulating mana.
As a result, they gain power too easily.
Aura, magic, curses, martial arts—all of these forms of power can be wielded with little understanding, as long as you know your aptitude.
But perhaps because they gained their power so easily…
There’s no depth. They’re missing the core.
There’s no determination to grow stronger, no desperate desire to achieve something.
Their mental fortitude doesn’t match the level of power they’ve attained, and their bodies don’t either.
It’s like giving a child a master’s sword.
This imbalance has led to the current result.
And this doesn’t just apply to Hwang Jun-yeop. The professors up on the platform watching us with dull eyes, and even Merhem and Han Jun-woo, who are watching with curiosity, are all the same.
They’re all incomplete.
That’s my honest assessment.
So I’m going to change things.
Just like how the old man took me in.
This time, I want to earn respect rather than infamy.
A respected Demon King.
Doesn’t that sound cool?
“Th-The winner is… Park Ki-hyuk!!”
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