chapter 151
“Ughhh…”
“……”
I had been tailing the Ironblood Guild when I lightly subdued the guy who had started tailing me.
From his perspective, it must have looked like I had suddenly disappeared and reappeared right behind him.
Of course, in reality, I had just moved fast enough to make it look that way.
But after being subdued, he suddenly groaned and began dying.
“…What the hell is with this guy?”
I watched him as he died.
He seemed to be East Asian, but I doubted he was Korean. Judging by his attempt at suicide the moment he was discovered, he was a properly trained spy.
A level of training close to brainwashing.
“Before I reincarnated, there were actually quite a few guys like this who targeted me.”
They were people who had monitored or, in the worst case, tried to kidnap me to exploit any weaknesses, since persuasion didn’t work on me—the only martial arts master in the world.
Their loyalty was so strong that they chose suicide over revealing their identities.
“…No, not all of them acted out of loyalty.”
Some were probably forced into spying because their families were held hostage, just like some of the Ironblood Guild’s executives, including the terrain experts.
With that thought, I didn’t bother to treat the guy who had attempted suicide.
“I could read his memories and figure out who’s behind him if I wanted…”
If the people behind him were from a public organization, they’d just deny it, and if they were from a shadowy one, tracking them would be nearly impossible.
More importantly…
“Spies will keep appearing from now on, each belonging to different groups.”
Those who want information about the Artist will continue to appear. They might not attempt to persuade or kidnap families as they did before, but there will always be observers.
Trying to uncover the people behind all of them would be pointless.
“If they’re just watching from afar, there’s no need to react so sensitively.”
Of course, I wasn’t planning to find their masterminds, but anyone attempting to monitor me would be semi-lethally dealt with.
That would teach them that sending agents to watch me would be a waste of trained personnel, so they wouldn’t send anyone.
Even if they did keep sending people endlessly… well, that’s just a problem with those in high positions who don’t care about wasting talent.
Unless an extremely foolish person happens to be in a high position, that wouldn’t happen.
“……”
Eh, no way.
Thinking that, I burned the nationality-unknown corpse using Sammae Jinhwa. Even if the body were discovered, it probably wouldn’t be identified, meaning it couldn’t be buried in its hometown.
In that case, it was better for me to give it a sort of funeral with Sammae Jinhwa.
“Whether or not there’s an afterlife in this world isn’t clear, but this is better than nothing.”
I wouldn’t hold a memorial ceremony. He had committed suicide after seeing me, so holding one might even seem strange. Hopefully, he wouldn’t become a vengeful spirit thinking I humiliated him.
So I lightly burned the corpse and let the ashes scatter in the wind.
“Phew…”
As the ashes dispersed, I turned and jumped off the building’s rooftop toward my home.
Thud!
Landing on the ground, I began walking along the sidewalk as if nothing had happened.
Time passed to the high school entrance ceremony.
Having scored perfect marks on the entrance exam and becoming the top student, I stood on stage and gave the freshman representative oath.
It wasn’t a special oath—just a pledge to be diligent in school life.
“The freshman representative, Han Geon-woo.”
As I said my name, all the students in the auditorium said their names in turn and then lowered their hands.
“That concludes the entrance ceremony. Freshmen, please check the class assignments posted on the wall and move to your classrooms accordingly.”
After the oath, a teacher in charge said this, and the students lined up to check their classes on the wall.
“…I’m in Class 1.”
I, however, didn’t go to the wall. I checked my class from the stage and then exited the crowded auditorium. I roughly confirmed who my classmates were.
“Ten people… Other classes usually have 20–30 students, so ours having just ten means…”
Our class must be treated specially.
It made sense. Just considering me alone—as an Aura Master—it would be difficult to mix me with regular students.
“Plus, there’s the great mage Lee Ha-eun, and Lee Doo-min, who volunteered to be my subordinate and disciple.”
Compared to me and Ha-eun, Doo-min was slightly inferior but still a formidable high schooler. Mixing such students with ordinary ones would certainly create a sense of deprivation.
Knowing this, the school likely decided to treat Class 1 as a special class.
“So they put the relatively strong but somewhat famous twins Ryu Ah-min and Ryu Ah-young in Class 1 too.”
The remaining five students weren’t ordinary either.
Knowing this, I began to worry a little about school life in high school, especially about the homeroom teacher who would handle this class.
“Geon-woo! We’re in the same class!”
“I know.”
Ha-eun ran up and said that, and I responded. Behind her were Ryu Ah-min, Ryu Ah-young, and Lee Doo-min, always moving with us.
Doo-min, in particular, was stretching as if ready to fight someone at any moment.
“There was a familiar name in our class.”
“…You’re not planning to spar on the first day of school, are you?”
I said that, watching Doo-min showing competitiveness toward a particular classmate.
“Of course I am!”
“…Ah, right.”
I had anticipated this reaction from Doo-min as soon as I saw the name on the class roster. And the other party would likely respond the same way.
With that in mind, we entered the classroom.
“The other students haven’t arrived yet.”
I had exited the auditorium first, and the others had followed me, so the remaining five must be checking their classes and heading to the classroom.
“I wonder who the others are? They weren’t with us in middle school.”
“You know two of them, right?”
“I know those two, but not the other three.”
Ha-eun and Ryu Ah-young conversed like that as they entered the classroom with me. Three of the five had attended regular middle school because they awakened later, so it wasn’t strange that the others didn’t know them.
“The reason I know the three is because I went to school with them before reincarnation.”
Even then, I only knew two of them well. The last one, I only knew by face and name, never having had a proper conversation.
With that in mind, I sat in an appropriate spot, and the others began taking their seats.
Then…
Bang!
Someone burst in like breaking down the door.
“Lee Doo-min! Let’s fight!”
The blonde boy who entered immediately used physical enhancement magic to strengthen himself and charged at the seated Doo-min.
“Bring it on!”
Doo-min twisted his body from his seated position to counter the charge.
“Huhhh…!”
“Uhhhhh…!”
They suddenly started a strength battle.
“…Elliot, Doo-min. If you’re both going to fight, take it outside.”
I sighed watching them, but it seemed they couldn’t hear anyone else anymore.
Yes, it was Elliot.
A British royal who had originally planned to study at Seoul Awakening Academy three years later. For some reason, he had enrolled in this high school.
Considering his strength and status, he naturally went to the special class.
And Elliot coming here meant…
“Everyone, long time no see.”
“Hi, Elena!”
“The dessert shop we went to moved in front of the high school. Want to go after school?”
“Really? I’d love to!”
Elena had also come along. I asked her:
“What made you decide to study in Korea?”
“Why….”
Elena murmured tiredly.
“Elliot insisted because he has a rival in Korea. If it was just Elliot, it wouldn’t matter, but our attendants at the time said that having Elliot and Doo-min together would stimulate each other and aid growth…”
Since they couldn’t leave Elliot alone, Elena came along.
“…Thank you for the trouble.”
“Thanks…”
Behind Elliot and Elena, other students arrived: one boy and two girls.
‘Jin Cheon-ha…’
The only male among the three was wearing a hanbok instead of a uniform. He had done the same before reincarnation. I never learned why, but it must have been for a reason.
‘Kim Eun-yeon.’
One of the two girls, an alchemist who makes potions—a rare production-class ability in Korea, with only about ten people possessing it. Not a combatant, and considered valuable, so she was assigned to the special class.
Finally…
‘Kang Ga-ram.’
The only student with no prior connection to me. I only knew she had never lost first place in school before reincarnation and came from a wealthy family.
“……”
On the surface, these three seemed unproblematic. Jin Cheon-ha just wore hanbok, Kim Eun-yeon was protected as an alchemist, and Kang Ga-ram appeared to be a normal top student.
But I knew differently, having interacted with Jin Cheon-ha and Kim Eun-yeon before reincarnation.
“Hello…! I am Jin Cheon-ha!”
Jin Cheon-ha was obsessed with historical dramas.
“Hehe… So many healthy test subjects…”
Kim Eun-yeon was obsessed with research and experiments. Kang Ga-ram… I didn’t know much about her.
‘I wonder who the unlucky teacher will be to handle such a chaotic class…’
I looked at the classroom door.
Slide.
Our homeroom teacher entered.
“Hello everyone! I’m your homeroom teacher, Son Ji-hye~.”
“!”
“!”
Ryu Ah-min and Lee Doo-min stiffened at the sight of Son Ji-hye. They quickly sat down as if to appear model students. I chuckled internally.
“…Hahaha… A chaotic class with a teacher whose gender identity is confusing too…”
To clarify… Son Ji-hye had come to our classroom as a cross-dressing male teacher during the entrance exam.
