〈 Chapter 1135 〉 1135. The Academy’s Savior
KABOOM!!
The space shattered like a mirror. Emerging from the rift was Kang Ji-young. Behind her, flustered academy teachers and students could be faintly seen.
Her face was twisted with rage. CRUNCH. Blood trickled from her tightly bitten lips.
“Arrest Kim Jae-oh immediately!!”
Her roar of fury shook even the space around her.
This command was directed at the teachers outside the dungeon—not at me, yet I was still startled.
Through the fractured rift, I surveyed the situation. The academy teachers were panicking. It seemed Kim Jae-oh had already fled the scene. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be this agitated.
“KEHEHEHEH!!!”
A first-year student, now cursed and turned into a ghost, burst out laughing creepily upon seeing Kang Ji-young, who he didn’t recognize. Of course not—he was dead after all, unable to withstand the curse.
SWISH.
The pool of blood began to ripple, then surged upward, forming dozens of arms. These cursed appendages made of blood lunged toward both me and Kang Ji-young.
There was no way I’d just sit here and take it. As I gathered mana to counterattack, Kang Ji-young spoke to me.
“I’ll handle this. Stay put.”
Kang Ji-young stepped forward, activating her true form. The blood that had taken on an arm-like shape shattered and splattered against the cave wall. The skull vessel spewing blood shattered as well.
In an instant, she approached the first-year student, her face contorted as she swung her fist.
“KEEEEEEEEEEH!!!”
The first-year screamed in terror.
“…I’m sorry,” Kang Ji-young muttered softly before delivering another punch. The ghost managed to endure this time, powered by overwhelming curses. But Kang Ji-young’s assault was only beginning. Each swing of her fist caused tremors in the very fabric of space.
CRACK! POP! SHATTER!
The ghost’s cursed artifacts—its source of power—were breaking one by one. With each shatter, the ghost grew weaker.
“KEHEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!”
In desperation, the ghost unleashed more curses, which pierced through Kang Ji-young’s body. Yet her fists didn’t stop.
Eventually, all the artifacts crumbled, leaving the ghost writhing like a bug. Kang Ji-young finished it off with one final blow. The ghost disappeared, replaced by a grotesque corpse. After a brief moment of silence, Kang Ji-young addressed me.
“Sung Yoo-jin. Your battle is with the spirit. Go outside and wait. Don’t make rash moves.”
“…Yes.”
The atmosphere was so tense that offering any words of comfort felt impossible.
Using the artificial dungeon space shattered by Kang Ji-young, I exited outside.
Chaos reigned beyond.
“He hasn’t left the academy yet! Check the academy barrier first!!”
A middle-aged man, Vice Principal Kwon Sang-hoon, shouted with his veins bulging. Teachers he called out to scrambled away in haste.
Non-combatant teachers were shepherding students, while combatant ones rushed outside to hunt for Kim Jae-oh.
“If Kim Jae-oh resists, you have permission to kill him! Don’t let him escape!”
As a teacher approached me, I thought to myself:
‘The Kim Jae-oh from the game wasn’t like this…’
It didn’t matter how things had changed. Everything was bound to shift once I—an alien element—entered this world.
What intrigued me was *why* the changes occurred.
•••
Kim Je-oh, like the other teachers, watched the confrontation between the Spirit Studies Department and the Metalwork Department.
He didn’t doubt the victory of the Metalwork Department. The precious relics he had retrieved from the old warehouse and the ones he’d received from them—those alone would ensure that Sung Yoojin wouldn’t last 30 minutes before collapsing.
That’s what he thought.
But the situation did not go as Kim Je-oh had predicted.
Sung Yoojin had brought an item that blocked curses. It easily countered mid-level and high-level curses. Just by looking at it, one could tell it wasn’t an ordinary object.
“Seong-ha-ri! Seong-ha-ri! That woman has interfered for her son!”
Kim Je-oh clenched his lips tightly. He wanted to shout that this wasn’t fair, but he knew the other teachers and students wouldn’t agree with him.
“It’s fine. Even without a sacred artifact, there must be a limit to how long anyone can withstand curses.”
Sung Yoojin wouldn’t last long.
She couldn’t.
But the situation unfolded contrary to Kim Je-oh’s hopes.
“…Ki Ha-wook has started the curse.”
Ki Ha-wook.
The first-year student who had entered the Metalwork Department this year.
Even though he was a first-year, his talent was second only to Shin Na-ri. Kim Je-oh had handed over dozens of dangerous offerings to Ki Ha-wook, calculating that he could endure for at least an hour.
Ki Ha-wook’s curse was flawless.
Using Sung Yoojin’s prepared hair sample to lock onto the target, he invoked the power of metalwork to channel the curse.
Yet Sung Yoojin resisted even this curse.
“What kind of incredible item does she have?!?”
Kim Je-oh gritted his teeth, trying to hide his growing anxiety.
Once Ki Ha-wook began, the curse wouldn’t stop. It *couldn’t* stop.
Curses carry great risks. If they fail, the curse rebounds—that’s basic. To minimize the risk, metal artifacts are used. But even they have limits.
“Come on… Come on, fall already, Sung Yoojin!”
Though she had a protective barrier garment that guarded against fatal damage, it failed to counteract the nature of the curse.
If too much risk accumulated, Ki Ha-wook would die.
Kim Je-oh’s fingertips trembled.
“It’s Shin Na-ri! She’s finally stepping in!”
At Shin Na-ri’s appearance, Kim Je-oh sighed in relief.
The giant screen broadcast the battle between Shin Na-ri and Sung Yoojin. While Shin Na-ri delivered relentless attacks, Sung Yoojin maintained control of the fight from start to finish.
“…Impressive. Her swordsmanship is already at the master level. Do you know what style it is?”
“Don’t assume I, as a teacher of the Sword Arts Department, know every single sword technique out there. This style is new to me too. Truly, she should’ve joined the Sword Arts Department instead of Spirit Studies…”
“Nonsense. Sung Yoojin is Seong-ha-ri’s son. The Spear Arts Department suits her perfectly. Did you see her spear throws? They’re beautiful to behold.”
“Spirit… Is that really a spirit?”
As the teachers murmured among themselves, their attention naturally returned to the intense battle between Sung Yoojin and Shin Na-ri.
A thick bolt of lightning struck.
It was a bolt not even the academy teachers could ignore—one that accurately pierced Shin Na-ri. While the teachers anticipated Shin Na-ri’s defeat, Kim Je-oh predicted her victory.
“That force should be enough to undo Jema’s bindings—and more.”
Shin Na-ri’s seals were broken.
The reason Shin Na-ri, a second-year, never participated in field exercises was simple: she couldn’t fully control her power.
Massive curses spread in all directions. Shin Na-ri’s body itself was a metal artifact. The curses were her power.
“……!!”
The academy teachers and students silently gasped in shock. Kim Je-oh found satisfaction in their reactions.
“With Shin Na-ri’s seals broken… this match is as good as over.”
In the artificial dungeon, if Sung Yoojin disappeared, Ki Ha-wook’s curse would end. After all, the curse would recognize her as dead.
But the situation refused to follow Kim Je-oh’s wishes.
“Damn it! How could Shin Na-ri’s curses vanish in an instant?! What kind of item is that?!”
Despite his rage, his mind remained coldly logical.
Ki Ha-wook.
If things continued like this, Ki Ha-wook would die. Finding and retiring Ki Ha-wook was the only way for him to survive. But…
Kim Je-oh suddenly shot up from his seat. A professor sitting nearby looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Mr. Kim! What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
“…I’ll just be back after using the restroom.”
“Oh, I see. My apologies for not noticing.”
The professor nodded with an odd look on his face, fully confident that the winner of this duel was undoubtedly a Spirit. Kim Je-oh felt as if the professor were mocking him, which made his blood boil, but he gritted his teeth and walked out casually before breaking into a sprint down the hallway the moment he was out of sight. Of course, it wasn’t toward the restroom.
‘Ge Ha-wook is going to die! And my life will be over!’
Should he ask the dean for help? That might save Ge Ha-wook. But would Dean Kang Ji-young and Vice Dean Kwon Sang-hoon let him off the hook? They’d definitely hold him accountable, labeling him a criminal and handing him over to the Hero Association for driving a student to death.
His proud title as an academy teacher would only worsen the punishment.
‘No way am I spending the rest of my life rotting in jail! Somehow, somehow, I need to escape the academy!’
Cold sweat dripped down Kim Je-oh’s face as he ran. One figure popped into his mind.
‘That guy with the artifacts! I’ll pin my crimes on him….’
But then he stopped abruptly.
‘Who was that guy again? What was his name? Was he even male? His tone sounded childish… Was he a student? Or a teacher?’
He couldn’t remember.
Height, gender, tone, voice, gaze—none of it came back to him.
Something was wrong.
“Bil… l… eat…!”
Clutching his teeth, Kim Je-oh dashed toward the Metal Studies Department. Once there, he frantically rummaged through the artifacts. He pulled out a straw doll, sliced his wrist with a small knife, and sprinkled his blood onto it. The blood-soaked doll became his double.
“You, get out of the academy now! Right this instant!”
The straw doll nodded and bolted out of the building.
‘That guy will create confusion within the academy.’
Kim Je-oh grabbed a bag and stuffed the artifacts inside.
‘With these artifacts… I can join a crime syndicate in Europe or America and secure a decent position.’
After gathering everything, he left the department. Drenched in cold sweat, he scanned his surroundings nervously.
‘It’s always darkest under the lamp… I’ll hide within the academy until things settle down, then make my escape when the time is right.’
The academy was vast.
And Kim Je-oh had his artifacts. He was certain he wouldn’t get caught.
He forced a calm smile onto his face. Luckily, there were no mirrors around; if Kim Je-oh had seen his own reflection, his resolve might’ve shattered. His expression was truly grotesque.
•••
Kang Ji-young glared at Vice Dean Kwon Sang-hoon seated in front of her.
“Vice Dean, I know it was you who incited Kim Je-oh for this duel.”
“I apologize, Dean. This is utterly disgraceful. I had no idea Kim Je-oh was such a person.”
Kwon Sang-hoon bowed his head without hesitation, even to someone younger like Kang Ji-young—a testament to his greatness.
“…We captured Kim Je-oh yesterday after he fled the academy. It turned out to be a decoy. His current whereabouts remain unknown.”
“I’m not particularly close with Kim Je-oh. I have no idea where he is. If possible… I’d rip him apart with my bare hands.”
This incident had shaken Kwon Sang-hoon’s standing, given that Kim Je-oh had been under his wing.
“The list of artifacts from the Metal Studies Department has been reviewed. More than half of the artifacts used in the duel weren’t on the official inventory.”
Kwon Sang-hoon widened his eyes.
“…Did Kim Je-oh acquire them personally?”
“We traced all of Kim Je-oh’s finances and artifact usage. His funds remained untouched. However, the artifacts came from various sources—auctions, black markets, thefts, etc.”
Kang Ji-young stared intently at Kwon Sang-hoon.
“I swear, it wasn’t me.”
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