I Became a Troublemaker at the Academy Chapter 198

Episode 198: Desert of Sacrifice (7)

-Gangwon-do Cheorwon-gun, Baekhwa Guild camp

-Cheong!-Cheong!-Cheong!-

A battlefield where the Baekhwa Guild members and the Undead Army are fiercely confronting each other.

“Get in line! If you don’t panic, you can stop it!”

“”yes!!””

In such a chaotic battlefield.

-Sseueu-

A woman covered in smoky fog was moving through the undead camp, continually upsetting the tense balance of power.

-Bam!-

‘It’s true that <Fire> magic was their weakness… That’s incredible information… .’

The woman’s true identity is that she is the vice-leader of the Baekhwa Guild and is also…

A S-class upper-level player with a unique ability called [Fog Flower], Amhwa.

-Glance-

‘The blue and red sides look fine now… . The one that is struggling is the ink and flower side… .’ 

Amhwa, who had been observing the battlefield with his left eye, a hazy dark gray, soon moved his body again to the side where the battle situation was unfavorable.

-Crack!-Crack!-

Of course, even while moving towards the target, the dark magician continued to swing the daggers he held in both hands, rapidly reducing the number of skeletons.

And a little later.

-Crunch!-

“Ugh…!”

“Tch! Get the injured person out of the way quickly! The rest of the personnel fill the empty space!”

“”All right!!””

The dark horde unit was slowly being pushed back by the skeleton army’s momentum, and Amhwa was able to find them right away.

‘That skeleton….’

Unlike other gray-white skeletons that just blindly charge at the living.

A skeleton with black bones that was showing off unusual movements and gradually destroying the defense line of the Baekhwa Guild members.

After that, Enchantress quickly grasped the situation and immediately took action.

-Saaaa-

“Muk-hwa, I’ll take over as the author. You reorganize the battle lines.”

“Oh, yes. I understand. Guildmaster.”

[Fog] The dark flower quickly approached the ink painting and briefly conveyed its intention to him.

He then stealthily approached the skeleton in question and quickly swung his dagger.

however.

-visor!-

“I was thinking that the back of my head was itching for a long time, and then I saw a rat sneaking in.”

‘North Korean accent… Are you a player from North Korea?’

The dagger of the secret was blocked in vain by the pitch-black skeleton… .

-Cheong!-Cheong!-Cheong!-

A tight battle began to unfold immediately between the two powerful men, with no clear winner.

-Kwaaang!-

“…Eminai, you’re quite skilled. I didn’t know that Naerae, the best hunter in Joseon, would have such a hard time.”

“… … .”

“If it weren’t for the strengthening magic that the new leader gave me, my bones would have broken right away.”

It was exactly as the pitch-black skeleton said during the battle.

The difference in skill between the Dark Shadow and the Black Skeleton was so small that it was hard to tell the difference between them.

-Glance-

‘… This can’t go on.’

And the dark magician was feeling a little impatient about this situation where they were fighting over who would take the lead.

In order to balance the power against the skeleton army, which has an overwhelmingly large number of troops compared to the number of Baekhwa Guild members.

This was because Baek A-rin, the current guild leader of Baekhwa Guild, was away, and he decided that he should take over that role.

‘… …I have no choice but to try.’

So, the dark magician, determined to decide the outcome quickly, circulated her magical power throughout her body at full output.

-Taat!-

Immediately after that, he charged straight towards the pitch-black skeleton and attacked without regard for defense, swinging his dual daggers with a desperate determination to somehow land an effective hit on the guy.

-Chaejaejaejaejaeng!-

The fierce series of attacks by the encryption began like that.

-Tsk-

‘… If this continues, my bones will really break.’

Meanwhile, the pitch-black skeleton, judging that its bones would not be able to withstand the continued onslaught of such encryption, decided to make a quick move as well.

At that time.

-chin-

The skeleton kept stepping backwards, then suddenly stepped on a rolling bone and fell backwards.

-Wedge!-

Then, without missing the opportunity, the dark dagger mercilessly rushed towards the skeleton’s skull.

-Shh-

‘…Eminai, doesn’t the back of your head itch?’

But in fact, this was Skeleton’s trick and designed trap.

In the days when flesh existed, skeletons survived among hunters in this way, and eventually rose to the position of the best hunter in Joseon.

And the method is… .

-Tiring-

[Player ‘Rimuhyeok’s’ unique ability <Shadow Movement> is activated.]

After making the opponent let his guard down.

Skeleton… no, it was an assassination attempt using Limoohyuk’s unique ability.

Just before the dagger of the secret was about to shatter Rimuhyuk’s skull.

-Shoot-

Limoo Hyuk’s entire skeleton was instantly sucked into his shadow… .

-Swoosh-

He appeared from the shadow of the dark flower that was touching Limoohyuk’s shadow and stabbed the dagger into her back without any hesitation.

“Haha! It’s my victory!”

-Wedge!-

But with the sound of flesh breaking apart. 

Contrary to Li Mu-hyeok’s prediction that red blood would spurt out immediately.

-Saaaa-

Suddenly, the dark body turned into a smoky fog and scattered in all directions, and soon, Li Mu-hyeok’s dagger was thrown into the air in vain.

“how….”

Immediately after that, while Li Mu-hyeok was expressing confusion and doubt in his voice at the incomprehensible situation.

-Slurp-

The scattered fog gathered again, and Amhwa, who had secretly appeared behind Rimuhyuk, opened his mouth in his characteristically dry voice filled with coldness.

“…Captain Lee Mu-hyeok. The only S-class player in North Korea, his specialty is ambush attacks using shadows.”

And at the same time. 

Amhwa swung down the dagger he was holding in one motion and embedded it into Rimuhyuk’s neck.

-Phew!-

“You shouldn’t have been talking so carelessly. The Baekhwa Guild’s information power is the best in the world.”

In fact, the encryption was made before the war with the undead broke out.

I had already familiarized myself with the information about North Korea’s key figures that the Baekhwa Guild had collected.

So, when he heard Ri Moo-hyeok mention ‘Joseon’s best hunter’, he was able to figure out his true identity, and he intentionally attacked recklessly to show him an opening and induce him to use his specialty. 

Anyway, after successfully taking advantage of Rimuhyuk’s specialty.

-Break!-

After achieving victory as planned, Amhwa trampled Li Mu-hyeok’s bones with both feet to completely turn him into dust in order to prevent any chance of resurrection.

-Glance-

And then, when I had some free time, 

I turned my gaze and glanced at the watch-shaped artifact worn on her left wrist.

‘I guess you’re still here… .’

The artifact worn by the dark spirit had only one function.

It detected the location trackers planted on Baek A-rin and Kim Baram and informed them of their current locations.

But now the artifact has not shown any signal.

This meant that the two had not yet escaped the isolated dungeon that appeared at the academy.

‘If you are the guild leader, you will definitely get out safely… .’

However, after Baek A-rin, Am-hwa, who had been thinking of Kim Baram in her head, couldn’t help but have her expression darken a little.

‘Disciple… .’

According to what I heard from a guild member named Kim Seon-ah, the estimated grade of the dungeon that appeared was A-grade or higher.

That meant that it could be a bit dangerous for Kim Baram, who was a C-class player when he last saw him.

But my anxious and worried mind was only for a moment.

-Thump thump-

‘If you are the guild master, you would never let your disciple get hurt. Besides, your disciple is someone with many extraordinary abilities… .’

The two decided to trust and wait, and until then, Amhwa would do her best in the duties she had been given. 

-Saaaa-

He activated [Fog] again and threw himself towards the undead army that still had a lot of numbers left.

‘I hope you are safe as you wish… .’

Without even realizing it, she was unconsciously touching her own pink lips while thinking of Kim Baram’s face.

 ***

-Gangwon-do Yanggu-gun, Geumseong Guild Camp

Just like other guilds, including the Baekhwa Guild.

The Venus Guild camp is engaged in a fierce battle with the undead army.

but.

-Crack!-

“Kwaaak!!”

“Damn it! Those bitten, get back quickly and get treated for the infection!”

“Archers! What are you doing? Quickly provide support fire!”

“Don’t back down! The more you back down, the harder it will be for the rest of you!”

Unlike the other 6 major guilds that have a slight advantage or an edge.

The guild members of Venus were having a hard time against the undead army.

There were several reasons for this.

The biggest reason for this was that the Venus Guild had been in a constant decline since the retirement of its first guild leader, Sword King Shin Seong-woo.

The current Venus Guild was lagging behind the Jukrim Guild, which was relatively new and had settled in the provinces, and was even branded as the weakest of the eight guilds.

In addition, the fact that Shin Yong-hwa, the current guild leader of the Venus Guild, was slightly behind the other seven guild leaders in terms of skill also played a large part in Venus’s decline.

In addition, it was revealed that the undead army’s weakness was <Fire> magic.

Even though his skills had declined after his retirement, thanks to the presence of the Sword King Shin Seong-woo who had participated in the battlefield, the Venus Guild was somehow able to establish a defensive line against the undead army.

But unfortunately.

-wickedness-

“Ugh… .”

Venus’ defensive line, like a light in the wind, is not far off.

It was clear as day that the city would collapse and be unable to withstand the endless onslaught of the undead army that had been going on for hours.

-Crack-crack-

And at the center of that offensive were the giant skeletons, unlike the other skeletons who were not wearing any clothes at all.

There were hundreds of elite skeleton troops wearing relatively sturdy armor.

Unlike other skeletons, they did not just charge indiscriminately, but showed systematic movements, and based on this, they were slowly eating away at the current Venus guild members.

Of course, Shin Sung-woo and Shin Yong-hwa, who could be said to be Venus’ core forces, were doing their best to stop this.

The power of those two alone was not enough to stop the legions of millions of undead, including the elite army.

-Crunch-

“Ugh, ugh… What should I do, Father?”

“… If you have the time to move your mouth, swing your sword one more time.”

“But if things continue like this, all of us… .”

“Stop! Are you saying you’re going to run away like this? If you do that, it’s clear that innocent civilians will be the ones who get hurt…!”

Moreover, perhaps it is because the gloomy ending is right before my eyes.

Even the key players, Shin Sung-woo and Shin Yong-hwa, began to waver, conflicting with each other over whether to continue fighting or retreat.

“… This is not about running away, but rather stepping back for a moment to reorganize. If we continue like this, we will all be annihilated… … ,”

“How many times have I not told you! If you are the leader of a group, you should have a sense of responsibility that matches that! How can you always be worse than your brother who ran away from home… .”

“Why are you suddenly bringing up that person! That person is no longer related to our family!”

Then, the conflict between the two rich men deepened and developed into an emotional fight, and as a result, the situation quickly took a turn for the worst.

“Kwaaak!”

“No! Hold on! Don’t be pushed!”

“This can’t be done anymore! We’ll all die if we keep doing this!”

And finally, as if swept away by a violent wave. 

The Venus Guild’s defense line was swept away by the gray-white waves and collapsed.

““… … !””

Shin Sung-woo and Shin Yong-hwa belatedly stopped arguing and tried to help the guild members in crisis.

Since they were already quite exhausted, it was not easy to quickly break through the skeleton elite unit blocking their path.

“”…this.””

At that moment, both of them could only watch their guild members collapse with dejected expressions.

“All charge. We will rescue the Venus guild members according to the captain’s orders.”

“”yes.””

-Pavabat!-

Among the suddenly fallen Venus guild members.

Those wearing black suits and black masks rushed in and began slaughtering the skeleton army at a merciless pace.

-Kwakwakwakwa!-

In an instant, the situation turned upside down as if it were a lie.

““… … .””

-Thump thump-

Meanwhile, the man in the dog mask who had given the order to charge to the masked men took a step forward and approached Shin Sung-woo and Shin Yong-hwa, asking about their condition.

“Are you both okay?”

At that moment, Shin Sung-woo was able to immediately recognize the identity of the approaching men as soon as he saw their behavior.

“… As you can see, it’s fine. And thanks to you guys coming, I think I can finally relax.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Your Majesty. As you said, please leave it to us from now on.”

Their true identity is. 

Secret Service Agents of the Korean Players Association.

And there was a special reason why the secret special forces agents came to the Venus Guild first, leaving aside other guilds.

“… More importantly, is that what Yongho sent?”

“Yes, that’s right. Although the captain didn’t express it, I can tell he was very worried, seeing as he sent most of us here, leaving our original mission behind.”

“… I see. Thank you for coming. Please tell Yongho that I’m grateful to you too.”

“Yes, I will make sure to pass it on to you.”

This was because Shin Yong-ho, who founded the Secret Special Forces and is still leading the Secret Special Forces to this day, was in fact the eldest son of the Sword King Shin Sung-woo who ran away from home.

 ***

-Inside the desert dungeon, in front of the pyramid

‘2000VP…? No, more than that….’

It was a transfer of VP, though.

I couldn’t help but pay more attention to the content of the message floating before my eyes.

[Helped character ‘Baek A-rin’ gain enlightenment about magic. Earned 2000 VP.]

It was precisely because of the concept of ‘enlightenment of magic’, and I had a rough idea of ​​what that meant.

Because, that concept was constantly appearing in the dialogue that Cheon Yu-ha always said throughout the work.

‘I kept saying that in order to advance your skills to the next level, you had to realize the true nature of that magic… . And I also said that it was because of that that you were able to see the nameless thread… .’

For reference, according to Cheon Yu-ha’s words.

In the original work, there were only two people who properly understood the concept of magic.

That’s right, Ma Dong-cheol and Cheon Yu-ha themselves.

And that meant that Baek A-rin had originally not attained enlightenment regarding magical powers.

‘But now… … .’

-Glance-

I moved my gaze and looked at Baek A-rin, who was staring blankly into space while wearing the glasses of the famous detective Watson.

It’s just my guess, but I think Baek A-rin, with her keen senses, keen observation, and the help of Detective Watson’s glasses, recognized something related to magic and came to an epiphany.

‘If it says in the message window that I helped, I guess it’s almost certainly true… .’

Anyway, the process was purely coincidental.

As a result, it could be said to be incredibly good news.

Because I don’t know exactly what that realization about magic is.

As Cheon Yu-ha mentioned and as I expected, it was clear that Baek A-rin had grown even further.

‘Maybe Master, just like Cheon Yu-ha, has also reached SSS level… .’

Oh, by the way, the SSS-class is something I just arbitrarily categorized. 

This was a concept that did not exist in the world of <Muhweol>.

Of course, Han Su-yeon’s unique ability [Regression] is SSS-grade, but that’s something only Han Su-yeon and I know, so let’s leave that out of the discussion.

The reason why the concept of SSS-class does not exist is actually very simple.

First of all, except for Han Soo-yeon, there are no SSS-grade skills or unique abilities.

This was because it was virtually impossible to differentiate between the strength of SS-class and SSS-class.

To give an easy example. 

It was comfortable to think of it as looking at the stars from Earth.

When you look at two stars twinkling in the night sky with only your two eyes.

I knew they were very far away, but it seemed impossible to tell which of the two was further away.

That is, whether it is SS-class or SSS-class, both are so strong that they surpass human limits.

What I meant was that there was no way to set a baseline to divide the criteria.

So, as a reader, I arbitrarily classified it as SSS-class after reading the content of the work. 

According to my standards, the only person at SSS level was Cheon Yu-ha, the strongest player.

Of course, this is only a human standard. 

In the future, all final bosses that appear from the devil’s side can be considered SSS grade.

‘The gate that appeared in Yeouido was probably not actually SS grade, but SSS grade…’

Anyway, leaving that aside.

If it is true that Baek A-rin really grew to a higher level because of today’s events and reached SSS level or something like that like Cheon Yu-ha.

From our perspective of having to prevent the coming destruction, this could be said to be a very hopeful story.

‘By the way, can I talk to you now…?’

By the way, the reason I didn’t speak to Baek A-rin until now and just watched her quietly from behind was simple.

‘If you look at things like martial arts novels, the rule is to wait until you have achieved enlightenment.’

Because there were often carcinogenic scenes where you could easily say something wrong and end up losing your enlightenment.

I was just waiting quietly so as not to do something so carcinogenic.

And just in time.

Has Baek A-rin finished thinking?

-Sreung-

She put the sword she had been holding back into its scabbard and turned towards me.

– Doctor, Doctor –

So I went straight to her and asked her how she made that pyramid appear.

“Master, what on earth did you do? When you put down your sword, I immediately saw that pyramid…”

Then, Baek A-rin gave an unexpected answer with a very mysterious expression on her face to my question.

“… I don’t know. I just felt like if I cut that spot something would happen, so I cut it…”

‘… Have you not fully realized it yet?’

Something about the answer and Baek A-rin’s attitude that seemed unsure.

She, too, seemed unsure of what had just happened.

Moreover, as if to support my conjecture.

“Wind Cadet, more than that.”

“… Yes? Why?”

“Could you lend me these glasses? I think if I had another similar experience, I would be able to figure out what it feels like….”

Like Baek A-rin, who finally found an oasis in the dry desert after years.

He came to me with an extremely earnest look on his face and asked me for a favor.

“Oh, yes. Of course you can do that.”

And I readily nodded to Baek A-rin’s request, and soon tried to make a suggestion to give her some more time to think alone.

“Master.”

“yes…?”

“Do you need some time to think about what happened at work? It says so on your face.”

“… … Honestly, I want to do that, but right now, clearing dungeons is more important… .” 

“Oh, then, should I just have the teacher stay here and call the others?”

“… Are you okay?”

“Yes, if I fly at top speed, you won’t be able to catch up with the Bold Eagle’s speed, so I don’t think it’ll be particularly dangerous. Plus, I have spirit attribute magic power, so you don’t have to worry about me at all.”

Immediately after that, Baek A-rin heard my proposal and felt a mixture of relief and regret.

“… … .”

She couldn’t answer right away with her mouth shut, so I confirmed Baek A-rin’s decision.

“Should I tell other people that this pyramid just looks like it was created by a magician?”

“…Thank you, Cadet Wind.”

“Hey, what is it? It’s not that hard. Anyway, I’ll leave right away.”

So, I turned my body in the opposite direction, leaving Baek A-rin behind, and tried to activate the ill-fated [Flight].

“Rain… .”

But at that moment.

“I, the wind cadet.”

“…yes?”

Suddenly Baek A-rin called me….

-Swoosh-

As I turned my head to look at her, she stared intently into my eyes and began to talk.

“Do you remember?”

“Huh? What…?”

“I promised to give you a special gift if you made it to the finals of the Strongest Bicycle Tournament.”

“… Oh, yes. That’s right. Now that I think about it, that gift went down the drain because of those Black Wing guys, haha.”

-Dori dori-

Then Baek A-rin shook her head sharply as if denying what I said.

“No, I haven’t crossed the river yet. I’ll give you the gift once this is all over.”

“Yes? Is that true?”

“Yes, really. In fact, I was going to give it to you even if you didn’t make it to the finals. And that gift was… … .”

Baek A-rin paused for a moment before opening her mouth again.

“I told you clearly earlier, didn’t I? I want to learn my swordsmanship quickly.”

“Oh, yes. It was so cool and gorgeous that I wanted to learn it right away.”

“Hehehe, that’s really fortunate. When this is all over, I’ll teach you my swordsmanship and magical breathing techniques. That was a special gift.”

“… … .”

At that moment, when I heard Baek A-rin’s story, I felt my heart pounding faster without me knowing it.

‘Master’s swordsmanship… .’

Baek A-rin’s swordsmanship, Baekhwa’s swordsmanship.

The swordsmanship that Han Su-yeon in the original work was fascinated by and tried to learn before Cheon Yu-ha’s swordsmanship.

The Baekhwa swordsmanship is like a beautiful flower with deadly thorns.

It was a sword technique that was both flashy and powerful enough to catch the eye.

“… Thank you, Master. I will really study hard.”

“Haha, you’d better brace yourself.”

-shudder-

I felt a little scared by Baek A-rin’s last words, but anyway.

“Yes, I will prepare myself for it.”

I nodded and gave him a look that said I was really going to go now… .

“[flight].”

-Tiring-

[Uses the unfortunate special ability <Flight>. The direction can be controlled by the owner’s will.]

He then activated the ill-fated [Flight] and quickly began to move in the direction indicated by the <Compass> magic.

-Shooooooong!-

one side.

“… … .”

Baek A-rin, who was staring blankly at Kim Baram, who was moving away in real time, started to gradually turn her pure white face red… .

“… I also think that accepting Cadet Wind as my disciple was the best decision of my life.”

Even though I confirmed that Kim Baram had completely disappeared from sight.

I spoke in a very small voice, hoping that he might hear, and poured out my innermost thoughts that had been lingering in my heart.

“Of course, it would have been nice if we had met in a different relationship, not a priest-student relationship… ”

-Tiring-

[Player ‘Kim Baram’s’ unique ability <Irregular> is activated.]

[You have gained the favor of the character ‘Baek A-rin’. You will receive 100 VP. Baek A-rin’s current favorability toward Kim Baram is ‘Friendly’.]

[The character ‘Baek A-rin’s’ favorability has reached its maximum. You will receive 500 VP. Unless there is a special ‘trigger’, Baek A-rin’s favorability will no longer increase.]