I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 113 : Senior's Lesson (3)

Min Hae-na was watching the instructional sparring between Yang Dongju and Su-hyeon from a distance.

'Wow. He's amazing, just as I heard!'

Having observed Su-hyeon's fighting this closely for the first time, she felt inwardly surprised.

Who was Yang Dongju?

Though not a match for herself, he was a Muay Thai master who could be said to be among the top three in close combat among the second-year cadets.

He was also famous for diligently training every day to maximize his characteristic, 'Strong Bone,' and his foremost advantage was his toughness, using an orthodox fighting style that prioritized power and never backing down against any opponent.

But how about now?

"5, 4, 3, 2!"

"Kuugh! I'm up!"

After being pushed back even in the kick game, which was his domain, he was virtually toyed with when entering the punch game and plum clinch domain, and ended up taking a clean knockdown.

'I'd heard he had amazing technical fighting, skill, and evasion abilities, but to think he could overpower Yang Dongju in a strength-vs-strength fight?'

This was another side not in the data.

'During the midterms, he fought on equal terms with Instructor Lim Jeong-tae, and they say he subdued Chu Jinhong, who was known for his transcendent speed during the field practice.'

And now a first-year pushing Yang Dongju back with strength?

Even Min Hae-na herself hadn't achieved that much at that point.

"Su-hyeon is a complete monster."

"Hae-na!"

The second-year cadets, who were watching the fight in astonishment, welcomed Min Hae-na.

"Hello. You're all here?"

Min Hae-na waved with a bright smile.

"From the looks of it, Dongju picked a fight to put him in his place, right?"

The second-years nodded at Min Hae-na's words, which had guessed the situation just from the atmosphere.

"Yes, it seems so."

"If he loses after doing that, it'll be quite embarrassing."

Min Hae-na threw a pointed remark while smiling.

"...!"

"Well, we should watch a bit more, I guess."

Contrary to her words, Min Hae-na had no expectation that Yang Dongju would win.

'Just look now.'

Jjaak!

Su-hyeon, who induced Yang Dongju to lift his legs by planting whip-like low kicks left and right three times.

When Yang Dongju mechanically lifted his leg in response to the fourth kick attempt, Su-hyeon saw through his movement, kicked his pivot foot, and once again knocked him to the floor.

Kwadang!

"Damn it!"

Yang Dongju, who immediately got up, took rough breaths.

Despite having been perfectly caught by Su-hyeon's hit-and-run tactics, continuously kicking his lower body while rarely giving up distance, he wasn't getting excited or flaring up like he did at first.

"Hoooh."

'He must be feeling quite a crisis.'

Well, how hurt would his pride be if he constantly got overwhelmed and lost like this in front of everyone?

'You should have properly assessed your opponent's capabilities before jumping in. Did you let your guard down too much because you're a senior?'

Min Hae-na sneered under her friendly smile.

Bbaak!

Yang Dongju, who got hit in the jaw by Su-hyeon's elbow as he dove in while avoiding Yang Dongju's straight, fell backward once again.

"Down!"

'That's why you're being humiliated like this when you can't even do that.'

What Min Hae-na found displeasing wasn't Su-hyeon, but rather Yang Dongju, who was making a pathetic spectacle of himself in front of his juniors.

"Wow, that's the second knockdown already."

"So that's Jeong Su-hyeon. He really fights like he's possessed."

"I heard he wasn't pushed much in technical fighting against Instructor Lim Jeong-tae either. He's truly amazing."

"I think he would have been even more dominant if he used mana to fight."

"And Jeong Su-hyeon is also good with a sword, right?"

"What is this? Isn't this unbalanced?"

'It's unexpected.'

Min Hae-na's gaze turned to Hwang Ji-su, Lee Yu-jin, and Seo Jun-seong, who were watching the sparring together.

'They must be really concerned.'

Min Hae-na, who examined the face of Seo Jun-seong, a younger sibling she had known for quite a long time, smiled.

'It's been a while since I've seen anxiety and vigilance on our Jun-seong's face.'

The boy Seo Jun-seong, who had burned with a sense of rivalry toward her during childhood.

Even she hadn't anticipated seeing him, who had been so outstanding that there was no competitor to match his talent except herself, burning with competitive spirit toward this dark horse named Jeong Su-hyeon.

'He must be fuming inside.'

For Min Hae-na, who knew his pride well, Su-hyeon became even more interesting for making Jun-seong burn with such determination.

'Plus, Hwang Ji-su and Lee Yu-jin are talents on par with Jun-seong.'

Min Hae-na, who read strange emotions in the gazes those two had toward Su-hyeon, felt as if vitality was returning to her boring academy life.

'I'm looking forward to it.'

Indeed, who would be the junior to challenge her at the final exams?

'No matter who it is, they won't be a match for me though.'

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'Is this all you amount to, Yang Dongju.'

Two knockdowns, bruises all over his face, gasping breaths.

I felt disappointed looking at Yang Dongju, who was completely exhausted even before the second round had ended.

'Or have I become too strong?'

The 100p skill points I received as a reward when I fell into the game.

The snowball that started from there had already become a strength far surpassing my most successful run.

I realized this fact anew as I saw Yang Dongju, a strong second-year, trembling and floundering in front of me.

'By the way, he's really weak compared to Chu Jinhong.'

Tachypsychia Mode and Liberation.

Chu Jinhong, the Ma-in who could only be fought at my pace after utilizing these two buff skills, was clearly a strong opponent.

But compared to him.

The only commendable thing about Yang Dongju was his strong physique built through training.

'Being cool-headed doesn't change anything either. Poor guy.'

Even that only matters if you have the skill for it.

"Senior, shall we stop here?"

"Shut up and focus."

"If that's what you want."

I maintained the stance of a junior being careful with my conduct and took my position again.

"Hook!"

I looked precisely at the teep coming to break my guard and extended my elbow into its trajectory.

Bbeok!

Yang Dongju's expression contorted as the center of his sole met the sharp elbow.

"Hup!"

'That must hurt quite a bit.'

It probably felt like an electric shock, didn't it?

"Kugh."

But his momentum, still closing the distance with a crude one-two combination while enduring the pain, was commendable.

Suk-bak!

I easily deflected the attacks with parrying and ducking, then reliably delivered a counter with a loaded rear-hand hook.

"Eeek!"

Despite grimacing, Yang Dongju came for a plum clinch again.

'Is it a lack of learning ability, or is this all he can do?'

But Yang Dongju's legs and torso, which had accumulated damage from knee kicks, middle kicks, and low kicks, were clearly not in good condition anymore.

I stuck to Yang Dongju in the clinch state and repeatedly stamped his thighs and ribs with my knees.

"Eugh!"

As Yang Dongju, who had been enduring the damage by clenching his molars, couldn't bear the pain and pulled his waist back, I succeeded in delivering a knee kick to his face while pushing down on his neck.

Bbaak!

But Yang Dongju, who barely twisted his head to avoid a clean hit, attempted to escape.

I stepped forward once and pretended to aim for his chin with a lightning-quick front-hand hook, inducing a high guard, then

"Keheok!"

Changed the trajectory and succeeded with a heavy liver blow.

But Yang Dongju, though grimacing, didn't fall down and instead tightly locked a covering typical of Muay Thai.

'I have to respect his toughness.'

It was determination reminiscent of Hong In-hyeon during the boxing sparring.

"Yaaah!"

Yang Dongju, cornered to the limit, threw his specialty middle kick with all his might, but

I safely received the middle kick by raising a cover with my tree trunk-like forearm, then

Caught the kick and landed a left hook on Yang Dongju's temple.

Bbaak!

Though his brain must have been quite shaken, Yang Dongju's response of spasmodically wielding a straight was truly feral.

However,

'Let's end this.'

I bent my upper body to the right, passing through the straight with a slipping motion, and deeply extended my right foot to stomp the ground.

Bbeeok!

A lightning-like right hook, created by adding the rebound of my waist to the energy rising from my lower body and hips, made Yang Dongju spread-eagle on the floor.

Kwadang!

"Stop!"

The assistant blocked me and declared at the perfect knockout.

"Match over! The instructional sparring between Jeong Su-hyeon and Yang Dongju is determined as Jeong Su-hyeon's victory!"

"Waaah!"

The first-year cadets burst into cheers in unison.

"Thank you for the guidance."

As if I had never provoked him, I lifted the fallen Yang Dongju and hugged him, appealing to everyone with a respectful attitude toward a senior.

"I trust you'll be more careful in the future."

"...!"

At the warning quietly conveyed to his ear, Yang Dongju trembled and silently kept his mouth shut.

It was the moment when the senior's (toward a junior) lesson was complete.

[Sub-quest, Establishing the Hierarchy has been cleared!]

[2P Skill Points have been awarded!]

[You have crushed Yang Dongju in front of everyone, breaking the spirits of the seniors instead! No cadet will dare look down on you!]

[Student Council President Min Hae-na has noticed you!]

[Overwhelming combat! Achievement points 300 awarded!]

"Thank you for your hard work."

I bowed my head and came down from the ring.

"Hey, as expected."

Nam Tae-hoon gave me a thumbs up.

"You've got some style, right?"

"Did they hear?"

"Don't worry, others wouldn't have heard it."

"Hmm."

Then that's fortunate.

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The instructional sparring that began with Yang Dongju's provocation.

But far from guiding a junior as a senior, the rumor that he was beaten up and knocked down without being able to do anything in front of everyone spread throughout the academy.

"Yang Dongju got what he deserved. After acting so cocky, he gets beaten by a junior."

"Ugh, so embarrassing. He probably can't even show his face for a while."

Most responses were contemptuous of Yang Dongju.

"It's certainly rare for a first-year to subdue a high-ranking second-year cadet to that extent."

"They say that guy Jeong Su-hyeon is doing even better than Seo Jun-seong? No wonder."

Curiosity about Su-hyeon, who was always at the center of attention, had also risen greatly due to this incident.

"But it seems like that first-year is getting too cocky."

"Well, he didn't come across as disrespectful though."

"He might seem that way on the surface, but those types are often subtly dominant. After all, he beat up a senior in front of all the other seniors."

"Yang Dongju dug his own grave. After showing off about instructional sparring and then getting beaten up, what can he say to anyone?"

"Anyway, I don't like it."

"Let's just keep an eye on him. If he crosses the line, we can restrain him then."

Of course, some were displeased simply because he had beaten a senior, but,

"...But honestly, it might be difficult to handle him easily unless you're at Hae-na's level."

"I'm confident enough to call him 'bro'."

"You're crazy."

Even they didn't dare to do anything rashly, given that Yang Dongju, who ranked in the top five in strength, had been defeated.

"In any case, I'm looking forward to the final exams."

"Not many days left until either Seo Jun-seong or Jeong Su-hyeon gets taught a lesson by Hae-na."

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There's an old man Jang, and a young whippersnapper who has established a distribution network for business within the academy.

This rumor has recently been circulating in the underworld, arousing curiosity about its protagonist.

Who is this old man Jang?

Isn't he a big shot in the underworld who will definitely procure any information or item as long as one has money and credit?

As such, the mere fact that someone caught his eye and opened a trade with him meant they were no ordinary person.

'And they even deal with the academy?'

Whether the trading partner is an Instructor, an assistant, or a student is unknown.

Creating a point of contact with that place, undeniably the top elite institution in current Korea, was undeniably an intriguing story.

Whether for good or bad, that was the case.

Therefore, the largest gang in the area where Park Min-cheol operated, known as the Big Bear Gang, had been keeping tabs on Park Min-cheol's movements by consistently following him.

"Are you sure? That bastard has no one backing him?"

"From what I can see, that's the case. I even bugged his car, but he always only calls old man Jang, and his clients and Director Kim. Nothing else."

"You said the place he worked before was nothing special too, right?"

"Yes."

"If you guys couldn't find anything, it means there's someone equally cautious behind him. Do you think it makes sense that someone with absolutely no background would do this kind of thing?"

"I find that very strange too."

"Well, can't be helped. We'll take the lead before other flies start gathering."

Jeong Gi-cheol, the boss of the Big Bear Gang.

For several months, he had been planning to find out who was backing that proxy manager who was boldly expanding his business in their territory without any fear, and to devour them in one gulp.

"Bring that bastard nicely packaged in front of me."

"Understood!"

Finally, his patience had reached its limit.