The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 82

In any case, I ended up becoming Jeong Ji-hwan’s buddy for the week.

“Next is the Monster Ecology class.”

“Piece of cake.”

For some reason, the guy was brimming with confidence. While it wasn’t necessarily a good thing, at least his initial brusque attitude had softened.

“Are you good at Monster Ecology?”

“Not just that.”

Ji-hwan smirked boastfully, practically oozing arrogance.

“You might not know, but I’ve already mastered most of the high school curriculum.”

“Well, it’s only natural I wouldn’t know since we just met today.”

The problem was that while he would listen to me, he still held a dismissive attitude.

‘What a hassle.’

Honestly, there’s no need to correct him. We’ll only be seeing each other for a week, and since the quest rewards are determined by Ji-hwan’s ‘emotions,’ all I have to do is keep him appeased.

“Is there anyone who can answer a representative example of a monster classified as a spore-type monster’ and how to deal with it?”

The Monster Ecology teacher scanned the classroom. As expected, no one volunteered to answer.

The question was difficult, and points were at stake. Ise-ah probably knew the answer, but she didn’t feel the need to bother.

“Idiots. Does no one know the answer to such a simple question?”

As we quietly waited for the class to end, Ji-hwan made another cryptic remark.

“Teacher, I’ll answer it.”

He confidently raised his hand. The teacher, seemingly pleased with his attitude, nodded.

“You’re the exchange student, right? What’s your name?”

“Jeong Ji-hwan.”

“Excellent. Everyone, learn from Ji-hwan’s enthusiasm.”

At the teacher’s praise, Ji-hwan’s lips twitched. He might as well just express his joy openly.

“Then, go ahead and answer.”

“Yes, one example is the Cannibal Mitochondria and the method of extermination is burning.”

“Hmmm…”

Although his answer was confident, the teacher seemed dissatisfied, rubbing his chin.

“It’s a bit lacking.”

“What? What’s lacking?”

“You were close, but it wasn’t specific enough. Let’s have the student next to you answer.”

Why is it always me? Sitting next to him is my only crime.

I recalled the information I knew and let it spill from my mouth.

“A representative example would be the Fog Jellyfish, which can be killed by burning it at a minimum of 273 degrees Celsius. However, in the case of larger Fog Jellyfish, only the outer shell often burns, so it’s important to perform chemical post-treatment on the remains. Chemical methods include—”

“Yes, that’s enough. A perfect answer.”

The teacher nodded.

Though I answered somehow, I could feel Ji-hwan’s stare burning into my face.

“I can’t accept this…”

How embarrassing.

He acted like he knew everything and got humiliated, so it’s only natural he’s trembling with anger. I whispered softly to Ji-hwan.

“I’m pretty good at Monster Ecology too.”

* * *

The next class was Physical Education, specifically free swimming. Inside the school grounds, there was an indoor pool that could accommodate up to 100 people.

Although it’s said to be limited to 100 people, it’s more accurately described as a high-end spa.

You might wonder why swimming is part of the curriculum, but for hunters, water combat was frequent, making swimming an essential skill.

“This is such a pain.”

Regardless of that, it was still annoying. Intense physical activity was more than enough with Han Yu-seong’s training.

Luckily, it wasn’t the usual swimming class but free swim time. Free swim time is designed for students to enjoy swimming freely without a teacher supervising them.

‘In other words, it’s a sweet deal.’

So, if you don’t feel like swimming, there’s no need to go into the pool.

I sat on the edge of the pool, still wearing my hoodie. The pool was already filled with students in swimsuits. My plan was to spend this period just watching from the sidelines.

“What are you doing here?”

A bothersome voice came from the direction of the locker room. Without even looking back, I waved my hand dismissively.

“Mind your own business and swim.”

“I planned to. As expected, Babel students are overconfident in their abilities; they’re all just weaklings.”

Jeong Ji-hwan, now in a swimsuit, confidently stepped into the pool area. As he stripped off his top, his well-toned muscles were fully exposed.

‘No wonder he’s cocky.’

Judging by his well-developed lean muscles, he must have engaged in consistent and systematic training.

“Why are you just sitting there?”

“I told you, mind your own business.”

“By the looks of it, you can’t swim, can you?”

Jeong Ji-hwan abruptly leaned his face in, close enough to make me uncomfortable.

“It’s just because I feel lazy.”

“For someone who’s just lazy, why are you all bundled up? Are you scared of being compared to me?”

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly.

“Fine, let’s go with that.”

“Glad you can admit it.”

Ji-hwan burst into laughter.

Just as he was finally about to leave me alone and dive into the pool…

“Huh?”

Suddenly, my body lifted unnaturally into the air. By the time I realized what was happening and tried to respond—

Splash!

—it was too late.

Thrust into the pool, I hurriedly surfaced.

“Puh.”

From the direction of the girls’ locker room, I heard cheerful laughter. There stood Ise-ah, dressed in a black spandex swimsuit.

“Did you slip? Falling into the pool by yourself?”

“Quit talking nonsense.”

It was Ise-ah’s invisible hand that had dunked me into the pool. Climbing out, I threw off my now-soaking hoodie.

“Uh? Huh?”

Jeong Ji-hwan, standing beside me, was trembling and pointing at me with a shaking hand.

“What’s this? You were still here?”

“What, what’s with that body…?”

“What about my body?”

“…”

Ji-hwan clammed up. I could roughly guess the reason.

Not to brag, but my physique is quite well-defined now, especially around the abs. If I had to compare, it’s about half as impressive as Han Yu-seong’s

Seeing the person he thought of as flabby having a better body than him would understandably leave him speechless.

“And you apparently know how to swim too.”

“It’s just that swimming felt like a chore to me.”

I sat back down at the pool’s edge, quietly watching the pool.

‘It’s because I’ll be pushed to the limit by Han Yu-seong in the evening.’

I have to save my energy as much as possible before he drills me again.

“Damn it!”

Ji-hwan, visibly frustrated, didn’t go near the pool for the rest of the period, despite his initial eagerness to swim.

* * *

Lunchtime.

I intended to take Ji-hwan along, but he dashed out as soon as the bell rang.

‘I do prefer eating alone myself.’

Still, getting scolded by Choi Tae-min wouldn’t be fun.

After picking out some food, I scanned the cafeteria. There was no sign of Ji-hwan. Instead…

“Your pectoral muscles are amazing. How do you develop muscles like that?”

“Curious? If you are, come to the training room later! You’ll pick up the know-how quickly, Ha-rin.”

“Are you insane? Do you want to kill her?”

One table particularly stood out.

Jung Ha-rin, with her sparkling eyes, was diligently jotting something down in her notebook, while Han Yu-seong passionately explained something. Lastly, Shin Seo-ha was trying to prevent a potential disaster.

The key figures of Class 1-A were gathered together for a meal.

“Have you all become friends already?”

I approached the trio and struck up a conversation. It was rare for me to initiate, but honestly, I wanted to meet Jung Ha-rin in person.

“Oh, hey, buddy!”

Han Yu-seong greeted me warmly, while

“…You’re here.”

Shin Seo-ha responded a beat late. She quickly turned her head away from me and took a large gulp of water.

“And who is this?”

Jung Ha-rin blinked at me. Just as described in the game, she was quite the beauty.

“Let me introduce you. This is my friend, comrade, running mate, and the rising superstar, Seol Ha-baek.”

“Who’s a superstar?”

“Wow, that’s amazing!”

Jung Ha-rin clapped enthusiastically. It was a bit overwhelming, but since she wasn’t being sarcastic, I couldn’t really complain.

“Hi, I’m Jung Ha-rin. Nice to meet you. I’d love for you to teach me a lot of things if you don’t mind.”

“Nice to meet you too. But I doubt the top student from Seohun would have anything to learn from me.”

“No, I’ve already learned a lot from Yu-seong and Seo-ha.”

During our conversation, Han Yu-seong and Shin Seo-ha shuddered slightly. It seemed they hadn’t known that Jung Ha-rin was the top student at Seohun.

“Is Yu-seong your assigned guide?”

“No, our homeroom teacher assigned me, but this musclehead has just been tagging along.”

Shin Seo-ha waved her hand dismissively. Han Yu-seong, thinking it was a compliment, nodded bashfully.

“By the way, how did you know I’m the top student at Seohun?”

“Hmm…”

I racked my brain. Since I knew something that even Han Yu-seong and Shin Seo-ha, who are in the same class, didn’t know about, I needed a plausible reason.

“The exchange student in my class mentioned it.”

“Who?”

“Jeong Ji-hwan…”

Before I could finish speaking, a plausible hypothesis struck me reflexively.

Same surname, sky-blue hair. Although their eyes were different, their facial features bore a subtle resemblance. It was never mentioned in the storyline, but it was a highly likely hypothesis.

“Are you two siblings by any chance?”

“Ji-hwan is in your class?”

Both of us stared at each other blankly. We both spoke simultaneously but gleaned enough information from each other’s questions.

“Did Ji-hwan cause any trouble or anything? Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen Ji-hwan, no matter how much I wait.”

“Does he skip lunch often or something?”

“No, he’s the type who makes sure to eat his meals no matter what. Maybe…”

Jung Ha-rin put down her spoon and notebook and stood up abruptly.

“Is there any place in the school where he might be… I don’t know, breaking things?”

“There’s a special training room, but the individual rooms are closed until school ends. The shared training room should be open, though.”

“Thanks!”

“Wait—”

“Sorry, but I’ve got to go!”

No sooner had I finished speaking than Jung Ha-rin dashed out of the cafeteria. The three of us, including myself, stared blankly in the direction she had disappeared.

“Are you going to chase after her? I haven’t even finished my meal,” Shin Seo-ha grumbled.

“Seo-ha, friends are more important than food!”

“And not losing your muscle gains is more important to you.”

At Han Yu-seong’s reprimand, Shin Seo-ha took a large, irritated bite of her toast. Despite her words, I knew better than anyone that she would follow Jung Ha-rin.

“We have to chase after her.”

I stood up slowly.

I hadn’t even lifted my spoon, but I felt there was something off.

“I never told her where the special training room is.”

The sooner we follow her, the better. If she ended up wandering around this vast campus, she might spend the entire lunch period searching in vain.