The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 84

“What do you and Ha-rin want to be when you grow up?”

“Hunters!”

When we were younger if someone asked, Ha-rin and I would invariably answer in unison.

“I’ll definitely join Babel one day!”

There wasn’t any special reason.

As kids, aiming for the top was just something you said because it sounded cool.

“Today’s the day for results, right? You seem really nervous, Ji-hwan.”

“Nervous? No way! I’m definitely passing.”

What seemed like a flimsy childhood goal became more vivid as we grew older.

“…Sorry, I’m so sorry, Ji-hwan.”

“Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault, I failed while you passed. It’s my fault for bombing the test.”

But I wasn’t chosen.

Standing before Ha-rin, who cried for me, I couldn’t bring myself to complain.

‘I’ll find out just how impressive those who passed instead of me really are.’

That’s when it began.

The disappointment transformed into a competitive spirit.

So, when I found out about the exchange student program between Seohun and Babel, I was overjoyed.

I can’t even begin to count how much effort I poured in to make it onto the exchange student list. It was truly a painstaking endeavor.

Tae-seong Group’s heir, Cheon Tae-seong.

The eldest daughter of a prominent hunter family, Shin Seo-ha.

Han Yu-seong, whose muscles seemed to extend to his brain.

Rumors flew around—about breaking a protector during a mock duel or defeating a Crystal Giant with a single punch—but there was one thing they all had in common.

‘They’re better than me.’

Listening to such stories made me feel infinitely insignificant. It felt as though my relentless efforts were endlessly futile.

“Are you just sulking because you failed the entrance exam?”

On the first day of the exchange program, Ha-rin had said that to me on the bus. She believed that I was simply jealous of Babel.

“Honestly, I’ve wanted to do this ever since you started acting all high and mighty. How do you expect to beat Seol Ha-baek when you can’t even beat me?”

I can’t accept it.

At least not until I’ve faced them. If not, then I want them to show me a fair and undeniable difference in skill through a proper match.

“I…”

I couldn’t accept it.

The idea that the emotions I harbored were merely inferiority complexes.

“I…!”

I couldn’t accept it.

* * *

“A Gate has opened!”

“Run away, quickly!”

People pouring out from the streets rushed past Ji-hwan in a frenzy. As the crowd streamed out of the shopping district, Ji-hwan sat there, dazed, watching the direction of the shops.

‘Monsters?’

His body felt sluggish.

Still reeling from the earlier shock, his brain struggled to process this new development.

‘A Gate in the city?’

The sky had turned a dark purple, a definitive sign that a Gate had opened.

Once most of the crowd had fled, Ji-hwan stood up. His body was unsteady because of the strangulation he suffered earlier.

‘If monsters have really appeared, I should leave immediately…’

In extreme situations, if you encounter monsters, don’t hesitate—just run.

This is the first rule taught in hunter courses. Even someone as competitive as Ji-hwan knew how to discern the basics.

Despite being a student at a hunter academy, he was nothing more than an unaffiliated novice.

In such a situation, acting recklessly would only increase the likelihood of danger. Therefore, the best course of action was to leave the scene at once—

“Mommy…”

A voice came from an alley not far from the fountain. It was the sound of a child sniffling.

“Is someone there?”

Ji-hwan cautiously approached the alley from where the voice was coming.

He remembered learning in Monster Ecology that some beasts could mimic human voices, so he remained vigilant.

‘A little girl?’

In the narrow alley, behind a trash can, Ji-hwan found a little girl. She looked to be about three or four years old, clutching her scraped knee and crying her heart out.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Mommy, it hurts…!”

Separated from her parents in the chaos, the girl was tearfully calling out for her mother.

“No other choice.”

Ji-hwan crouched down and offered his back to the sobbing child.

“Come on, hop on.”

“Ugh…”

The girl finally stopped crying and clambered onto his back, almost falling over in the process.

“Hold on tight.”

Once he confirmed the girl was securely on his back, Ji-hwan stood up.

‘The sound of her crying might have drawn the monsters nearby. I need to get out of here quickly—’

Just as Ji-hwan began to leave the alley,

“T-Two packs of strawberries, ten th-thousand won…”

A massive presence loomed beyond the alley. Soon, a mechanical, distorted voice echoed, and a grotesque figure emerged from between the alley’s gaps.

“Ch-cheap, it’s cheap…”

Its body comprised intertwined tree branches forming thin limbs and a torso, while its oval head featured pitch-black holes filled with sharp teeth.

A C-rank monster, Yggdrasil’s Branch.

As an individual monster, it wasn’t particularly threatening, but the real problem was that this monster lived in swarms.

“Um, Mom, for dinner, can we have… pork cutlets?”

“Um, please pay with a card.”

The gathered branches began to push their way into the alley. Green liquid, resembling saliva, dripped from the pitch-black holes.

“Waaah, Mommy!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

Ji-hwan tried to soothe the child, but the situation was anything but manageable.

‘Damn it.’

In reality, it was Ji-hwan himself who was terrified.

This was his first time directly facing a monster.

Unlike Babel, which emphasized practical experience, other hunter academies typically conducted mock subjugation exams only in the graduating class.

Since encounters with monsters weren’t common, inexperienced individuals often froze upon facing them, just like Ji-hwan now.

‘My legs…’

Overwhelming fear.

His brain was working frantically, searching for any viable escape route. Finally, he reached a conclusion.

‘If I leave the child, I can survive.’

If he left the child and climbed onto the roof, he could escape. It was the only way Ji-hwan could be certain of surviving.

“Get down.”

“Oppa…?”

Ji-hwan set the child down on the ground.

The little girl looked up at him, her eyes filled with unease. In contrast, his gaze down at her was cold and detached.

“I’ll buy you some time. Run as far as you can.”

That was the conclusion Ji-hwan had reached.

His legs were trembling, and the fear of possibly dying was pushing him to the brink of panic. Yet Ji-hwan forced himself to smile confidently.

“B-but Oppa—”

“I’ll take down all these monsters, so you run first!”

Clap!

He clapped his hands together.

Yggdrasil’s branches have no eyes and only detect prey through sound and mana.

“Hey, monsters! Over here, here!”

This should buy the little girl enough time to escape.

“Enjoy your meal!”

“P-pork cutlets!”

Drawn by the sound, the monsters lunged at Ji-hwan.

‘So this is how I die.’

Just as Ji-hwan braced himself for death,

Whoosh

Blue sparks like snowflakes flared up.

“Kyaaaaah!”

The branches that had come close ignited fiercely. Engulfed in blue flames, the Monsters screamed in their myriad voices, turning pitch black as they burned.

“Not bad.”

A voice called out, followed by someone leaping from the rooftop. Landing gracefully, the male student nodded toward Ji-hwan.

“You just did something most hunters can’t.”

“Seol Ha-baek?”

The very person who had pushed Ji-hwan into feeling so inferior all week.

“Leave this to me.”

Seol Ha-baek brought his hands together as if in prayer.

“Yomi, burn them all.”

Not long after muttering an unfamiliar name,

“Gyaaaah!”

The branches filling the alley were all set ablaze. The twisted screams of the Monsters echoed through the narrow alleyway.

‘A satisfying explanation.’

Watching this, a new spark ignited in Ji-hwan’s heart—a powerful emotion that overshadowed the inferiority he had persistently denied.

‘He was this close all along.’

It was admiration.

* * *

Thanks to the swift response of the follow-up hunter team, the monsters were quickly subdued. Some homeroom teachers, who had been informed late, assisted in the rescue of victims and the suppression of the monsters, ensuring there were no casualties.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Choi Tae-min was among them.

After checking the student count, Choi Tae-min knelt beside the sniffling child near the fountain.

“No.”

The child nodded and pointed in the direction where Ji-hwan and I stood.

“Those Oppas saved me.”

“Really?”

Choi Tae-min glanced over at us.

Before speaking, I stole a quick side glance at Ji-hwan.

“…”

Ji-hwan remained unusually silent, his head hung low.

“It seems there’s a misunderstanding. It wasn’t me who saved the child from the monsters; it was Ji-hwan.”

“…?”

Ji-hwan frowned at my words. Regardless, I added one last thing.

“So it might be presumptuous of me, but if you’re considering any rewards or recognition, please give them to him, not me.”

“That certainly is presumptuous.”

Choi Tae-min laughed lightly, then turned his attention back to the little girl. Until her parents were found, she needed to be looked after.

“What are you doing? You’re the one who saved the child.”

Ji-hwan finally spoke up, his voice sounding somewhat drained.

“No, if you hadn’t shielded the child, it would have been too late by the time I arrived.”

A moment of silence followed after our brief exchange.

It wasn’t that I was deliberately holding back. I was simply waiting for Ji-hwan to speak up.

“I apologize for everything.”

Ji-hwan spoke with difficulty.

“For what?”

“For everything. I think I treated you pretty poorly.”

Ji-hwan took a deep breath.

“You said on the first day, right? That the differences were ones I created myself.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Maybe it’s because I admired this whole scene. Since I didn’t belong in that picture, I tried to erase my inferiority by whining.”

With a sense of resolution, Ji-hwan stood up abruptly.

“I’m really sorry!”

Then he bowed his head to me.

I was more taken aback by his straightforward attitude than I expected.

“It’s okay. I’m used to being overlooked in various ways. So, there’s no need to apologize like that.”

Kim In-seong, Cheon Tae-sung, Shin Seo-ha, Ise-ah… How many esteemed individuals had trampled on my pride? That’s why I could confidently say my mental strength was like steel when it came to this sort of thing.

“Anyway, I also need to keep my promise now.”

“Promise?”

Ji-hwan raised an eyebrow.

“You remember, right? I promised that if you listened to me until the last day, I’d give you a chance to compete with the top-ranked students. You kept your end of the bargain, so now I need to keep mine.”

“But…”

I chuckled at Ji-hwan’s hesitation.

“No, I’ll make sure to keep it. You did a brave thing today, after all.”

I then playfully poked my chest twice with my finger.

“I’ll be your opponent tomorrow.”

An opportunity to legally beat up Jeong Ji-hwan.

‘You’re really finished.’

I wasn’t one to hold grudges, but I couldn’t let this golden opportunity slip away.