I Became a Troublemaker at the Academy

Aegis.

That was the true name and identity of that bracelet.  

The villain named Cha Eun-ho was always the one who became the owner of the Aegis in every cycle, and if Kim Baram recalled correctly, based on his description, Cha Eun-ho wasn’t particularly considered an attractive character.  

Yet, Cha Eun-ho was always the one who became the owner of the Aegis.  

For reference, even Han Suyeon, who had a fairly high charm stat, had come here and attempted to become the owner of the Aegis. However, she also failed ultimately.  

‘Why is it that in the original story, Cha Eun-ho is always the one to become the owner of the Aegis…?’

One thing that stood out was Cha Eun-ho’s unique ability, [Charm].

His unique ability, [Charm], was a mental ability that made others of the opposite sex feel a strong ‘attraction’ toward him.  

The penalty, if you could call it that, was that it only worked on the opposite sex, but Kim Baram couldn’t recall that being much of a significant drawback.  

Moreover, during the era when non-combat playthroughs were popular, Cha Eun-ho’s [Charm] was always in the top 3 of abilities desired by the male readers.  

Ding!

[The skill [E] has activated.]  

[Based on the clues so far, it seems likely that Cha Eun-ho used on the Aegis, and I’m willing to bet Kim Baram’s left… on it.]  

‘What the heck.’

‘Who is this guy, and why is he casually betting my left side on it?’  

‘And he didn’t even tell me what part of my left side he’s betting on.’

Kim Baram suddenly looked down at his lower half.

‘No way, right…?’

***  

“The condition to become the owner of this bracelet is to be attractive. As you all know, when it comes to attractiveness, I can hold my own anywhere.”  

While Kim Baram was thinking about the bracelet, Yeo Ji-hye was showing off her charm to the camera, flipping her pale yellow hair back.  

“But! If I just become the owner of the bracelet right away, the content we’ve prepared will end too quickly and become boring. So, I’m going to ask one of the people here to help out and challenge the bracelet’s ownership first.”  

After finishing her line, Yeo Ji-hye started looking around, placing her right hand on her forehead as if searching for someone suitable to help her.  

It wasn’t long before Yeo Ji-hye’s gaze stopped at Kim Baram and Jeong So-won, and she started walking towards them.  

“Hello! Could you help us with the filming? It’s nothing big; you just need to put your arm through that bracelet and pull it out.”  

“Me?”  

When Yeo Ji-hye spoke, Kim Baram pointed at himself and asked.  

Yeo Ji-hye then briefly scanned him up and down with a cold gaze before forcing a fake smile and pointing to Jeong So-won with her palm.  

“No. Since it’s a YouTube shoot, I think it would be better if someone a bit more attractive did the test for better viewership. Could you help us?”  

Damn it.  

She was definitely smiling, but Kim Baram felt incredibly insulted.  

Moreover, today, when he had boosted his charm stat by a whopping 9 points, his confidence was at cloud nine. However, Yeo Ji-hye ruthlessly crushed it.  

“What can I say? I’m not a player, so the bracelet probably won’t react to me. How about letting this friend here try instead?”  

Jeong So-won, who had been asked for help by Yeo Ji-hye, politely declined with his characteristic friendly smile while pointing at Kim Baram, who was having a hard time digesting the humiliation.  

After Jeong So-won’s refusal, Yeo Ji-hye let out a small sigh as if she was displeased and showed a dissatisfied expression. Then, as if realizing her mistake, she quickly raised the corners of her mouth back into a professional smile and reluctantly nodded in agreement.  

“Alright then. Let’s do it that way.”  

‘I’ll get my revenge, Yeo Ji-hye.’

‘You’ve insulted me.’

As Kim Baram burned with vengeful thoughts, he suddenly came up with a plausible plan in his head to get back at her. 

He immediately put the plan into action. While scratching the back of his head with a troubled expression, he asked for her understanding.

“Excuse me, could I possibly go to the restroom before we start the challenge? I’m suddenly nervous and have a stomachache.”

The moment he asked, Yeo Ji-hye, whose face had momentarily stiffened, quickly regained her composure. With a bright smile, she said to him, “Make sure you wash your hands.”

‘You’re really going to regret this, Yeo Ji-hye.’

—

Swoosh!

After turning on the faucet full blast and vigorously washing his hands, Kim Baram recalled the contents of the skill that had been bothering him for a while.

“My left side… No, that’s not it. The part where it says [Cha Eun-ho has charmed Aegis]. If my guess is correct, then maybe…”

‘Maybe I could become the master of Aegis.’

The condition to become the master might be someone charming, specifically someone Aegis finds attractive. 

Kim Baram wasn’t sure if Aegis actually had a gender, but given the context, it was likely female.

Cha Eun-ho’s unique ability, [Charm], only caused strong attraction in the opposite sex.

Of course, Kim Baram didn’t have the ability to [Charm] the opposite sex like Cha Eun-ho did.

“But I do have something similar.”

That was.

“Inventory.”

Ding!

[Casa’s Perfume x1: A perfume favored by Casanova, the greatest libertine of the 17th century. Increases charm slightly when worn. May have special effects on the opposite sex. Duration: 3 hours.]

[Eternal Ice Elixir x1: Made from eternally frozen ice turned into liquid through special magic. Highly useful as a material in alchemy or weapon crafting. Do not drink or it will instantly freeze your body.]

Kim Baram reached out for Casa’s perfume in the inventory window floating before his eyes.

—

Sniff! Sniff!

Yeo Ji-hye tilted her head, sensing something different about the man’s aura.

‘It smells nice… Did he put on perfume to impress me? Not that it’ll make a difference. I won’t give him any attention. It’s just amusing.’

She found the man’s attempt to impress her amusing and maintained a bright smile outwardly, but inwardly she was mocking him.

“So, do I just need to put my arm in that bracelet?”

“Yes, that’s right. Just put your arm in. I’m really nervous. What if you become the bracelet’s master before I do?”

“Like you would really become it? Even though your face looks a bit better than before, you’re only mildly handsome. You need to be at least on my level to become the bracelet’s master.”

Yeo Ji-hye smiled contentedly as she admired her own bright appearance in the camera.

She didn’t consider for a moment that the man in front of her, who was reaching out his left arm toward the bracelet, would become its master.

Finally, the man in front of her fully inserted his left arm into the bracelet, and just as expected, nothing happened.

Yeo Ji-hye laughed inwardly at the man’s failure. While on the outside, she made a disappointed expression and addressed the camera.

“Oh my… I was worried you might become the bracelet’s master before me, but unfortunately, nothing happened…”

But then.

Flash!

Before Yeo Ji-hye could even finish her sentence, a powerful light suddenly erupted from the bracelet worn by the man, shining fiercely in all directions.

At the same time, Yeo Ji-hye’s sky-blue eyes, which were staring at the dazzling light radiating from the bracelet, began to tremble.

“Huh…?”

—

Ding!

[Player ‘Kim Baram’s’ unique ability has activated.]

[The legendary shield ‘Aegis’ has recognized player ‘Kim Baram’ as its master. You have gained 1800VP.]

[You have influenced the fate of the character ‘Cha Joo-hyuk.’ You have gained 300VP.]

[You have influenced the fate of the character ‘Yeo Ji-hye.’ You have gained 500VP.]

Kim Baram looked at the series of notifications and shouted internally.

‘Jackpot!’

The VP that flooded in from this event alone amounted to a whopping 2600VP. On top of that, he also acquired Aegis, a high-ranking weapon rated as 3rd tier in terms of power.

‘I’m glad my guess was right. And as for my left side… Well, I managed to protect it too.’

Kim Baram felt a strange sense of relief knowing that he had protected something on his left side.

‘Hmm… Anyway, I didn’t expect Casa’s perfume to work on Aegis.’

Honestly, even though he had guessed that he could charm Aegis, he wasn’t confident that he would become its master. It was a rash action fueled solely by his desire for revenge against Yeo Ji-hye, but everything turned out as he hoped, which was a huge relief.

‘Today must be my lucky day. Even the dice roll turned out well, and I ended up getting two weapons for free.’

Aegis, with its ornate design, enveloped his left arm.

Yeo Ji-hye appeared in shock. She stared blankly at Kim Baram with lost eyes.

As Kim Baram alternated his gaze between the two, a wave of satisfaction washed over him, and the corners of his mouth began to twitch with pleasure.

As expected, since Aegis was a high-ranking weapon that chooses its master, information about its abilities started to flow into his mind.

Aegis had three special abilities, identical to those described in the novel.

[Transformation], [Summon], and [Protection].

[Transformation] allowed Aegis to shift from its bracelet form into a shield, increasing both strength and stamina by 3 points. 

[Summon] allowed the shield to be summoned back to him no matter the distance.

‘The main ability is definitely [Protection]. ‘Protection’… What a heartwarming name.’

In the story, Aegis’s [Protection] ability was hailed as overpowered. It automatically blocked any attack including mental attacks that could deal fatal damage to him. It worked up to three times a day.

In a dangerous world where even the protagonist, Han Suyeon, could die as easily as a glass cannon, Aegis’s [Protection] was the ultimate insurance.

Ding!

[Aegis’s special ability has been activated. Strength and stamina have each increased by 3.]

As he activated [Transformation], Aegis changed from its bracelet form into a large, round shield that covered his entire upper body.

Afterwards, Kim Baram threw the shield high into the air and then summoned it back to his hand, deliberately showing off in front of Yeo Ji-hye, who was still standing there, stunned.

‘Heh. Serves you right.’

The resentment he had felt from all the humiliations Yeo Ji-hye had put him through disappeared completely, and he felt a refreshing sense of relief.

Although Yeo Ji-hye seemed to have regained her composure, perhaps due to the presence of others, she couldn’t openly say anything. 

Instead, she clenched her fists tightly, gritted her teeth, and trembled with anger.

Kim Baram approached Yeo Ji-hye, displaying Aegis in front of her, and with a broad smile, he said.

“Oh dear… What should I do? I didn’t mean for this to happen, but I guess I’m just that charming. Haha!”

“You, you bastard! How could someone like you…! They said the condition was that the person had to be charming!”

Kim Baram’s final blow was akin to pouring fuel on a fire. It made Yeo Ji-hye lose her head completely. 

She threw away her pretentious mask and screamed at him with a furious expression.

‘She still looks pretty even when her face is all twisted like that.’

As Kim Baram marveled at Yeo Ji-hye’s face, he responded with a gentle, sage-like smile.

“Perhaps it’s because I’m not only attractive on the outside but also charming on the inside. Hmph.”

Of course, that was nonsense.

It was all thanks to Casa’s perfume.

Meanwhile, Jeong So-won, who had been quietly watching the situation from the side, appeared genuinely surprised, but then congratulated Kim Baram with an excited tone and a happy expression.

“I’m even more pleased that student Baram, who saved my daughter, has become the master of Jeong So-cheon’s weapon. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Mr. Ye-rin’s father. I feel a bit bad about getting both Black Fang and the bracelet for free.”

“Hahaha, don’t worry about it. It’s a bit bittersweet that my brother’s weapon is no longer with a great general, but I’m sure my late brother would be happy that his weapon finally found its master, even if it was a bit late.”

“That’s, that’s a lie! This is invalid!”

‘No, it’s not.’

Still unable to accept reality, Yeo Ji-hye screamed in denial.

‘Even if Yeo Ji-hye had tried first, the result wouldn’t have changed…’

As Kim Baram saw Yeo Ji-hye’s pale face turn red with anger, it seemed she was moving past denial and into the rage phase.

‘I should stop teasing her and get out of here quickly.’

After making a promise with Jeong So-won to have a meal together with Ye-rin next time, Kim Baram swiftly escaped the Sky Forge building to avoid Yeo Ji-hye’s wrath.

With Aegis in his left hand and Black Fang in his right, Kim Baram felt content, and he couldn’t help but smile broadly.