Chapter 25

025 – They may be Troublemakers, but They are the Strongest #3

—

“Hey! Nam Jin! Are you okay? Eating a Demon Beast, are you crazy!”

Geum Tae-sung ran over to me, checking the size of my pupils and flicking my fingers to test my consciousness. I was fine, though.

While I did feel some discomfort, like heartburn after eating too much, it was manageable.

Um-chul, Um-chul—

The problem was that Yining inside me wouldn’t stay still and kept squirming around.

I felt like I was going to vomit but had to suppress it.

“I’m… ugh… fine!”

“Friend! Well done! The 2 million shop points are ours now! Succeeding in hunting Demon Beasts twice during the practice was incredible. This is a first for our Class D!”

As Chang-sik celebrated, Yu Yeo-reum and her teammates looked reluctant to leave, clearly upset that they’d had the credit for the Demon Beast hunting stolen from them.

Ding-ding!

At that moment, the alarm on the smart watches on our wrists signaled the end of the practice. All we had to do now was find the marked “Exit” on the map and we’d be done.

“Next time, we’re not going to let you take the k*ll.”

Yu Yeo-reum mumbled something gruffly before disappearing into the distance with her group.

I also felt that I needed to escape the area quickly to calm the unrest in my stomach.

“The nearest exit seems to be the building where we started. Let’s head there.”

It wasn’t hard to find the exit since we just had to retrace our steps. However, we ran into a bit of a problem. Just our luck to meet some annoying people right in front of the exit.

“You little b*stard! Hanamjin!”

He was thin and wiry, with a somewhat weaselly appearance.

What was his name again?

“Was it Sama-gwi?”

“SAMAJUN!”

Ah, yes, that was it.

The delinquent we met at Seugal’s party.

One of Prince Juhyun’s lackeys? His flunky? That’s what we could call him.

Where is Juhyun, anyway? No, that’s irrelevant now.

Why did I have to run into these guys right when Yining inside me was acting up? Was Bangdaengi’s “Bad Luck” at play?

I looked at the door next to them. If I could just get through that, I’d be back at school.

But Samajun seemed to think this was his moment and started making trouble.

“This door is ours, okay? If you want to leave, find another way. Of course, it’ll take at least 10 minutes to get there! Or why don’t you just try fighting us?”

You want us to waste 10 minutes going around when the exit is right in front of us? This guy clearly still had a grudge from last time.

He’s not very manly. If I had known this was going to happen, I should have crushed his marbles and turned him into a girl last time.

No, now that I think about it, this might be a good opportunity to properly deal with his masculinity.

Before I could act, Baek Yeo-ul shouted.

“…If you want to fight us, we won’t stand by! I’ll place a curse on you! A… Curse of Misfortune! I don’t know exactly what will happen, but I’ve warned you!”

Curse of Misfortune?

Can Bangdaengi really do that? Bangdaengi glanced at Deoksun and whispered quietly.

“Deoksun, remember the plan we discussed yesterday at Chang-sik’s house? It’s time to use it. When I shout, mute the surroundings for me!”

“…Really going through with it? By the way, my name is Deokhee, not Deoksun…”

So there was some kind of plan Bangdaengi and Deoksun had prepared beforehand. I didn’t know exactly what it was, but I tensed up just as Bangdaengi suddenly sprinted toward the Class F students.

The Class F students burst into laughter.

“Baek Yeo-ul? What are you going to do when you can’t even control your abilities properly? I’m Samajun! Samajun of ‘Torch Lighter’! If I will it, fire will—”

“Deoksun, Now!”

Bang!

At that, Baek Yeo-ul shouted. Deoksun then started dancing wildly, as if she didn’t care about anything. This effectively silenced the sounds around us.

Absolute silence.

All we could see were Baek Yeo-ul’s exaggerated gestures and the bewildered expressions of Samajun and his classmates.

About twenty seconds later, as Deoksun finished her dance and panted heavily, the Class F members yelled.

“A letter from 20th century England? Sending it to seven people avoids misfortune? What nonsense are you spouting!”

“What a letdown!”

What just happened? Deoksun, catching her breath, explained quietly.

“Yeo-ul recited a ‘Letter of Good Luck.’ If they don’t send the same content to seven more people, they’ll have a very unlucky day… only they could hear it.”

So while Deoksun created a soundproof barrier around us, Baek Yeo-ul was secretly reciting a ‘Letter of Good Luck’ that only they could hear.

Does that even work? Even Deoksun admitted, “Honestly, I’m not sure about its effects either…” while shaking her head.

But Bangdaengi was brimming with confidence.

“You’re all going to have bad luck for the next few days! The only way to fix it is to send the letter I mentioned to other people! I warned you!”

Looking at Baek Yeo-ul now, her eyes were half-insane. Like someone on drugs. Was it the pink hair dye causing problems after all?

“sh*t… I’m not playing with you anymore.”

Samajun seemed to have given up on going along with this absurdity.

Hwa-lek!

A flame erupted on the palm of his hand.

So Samajun was a Pyrokinetic? That explains why he had that weaselly aura.

“…Uh, what should we do?”

“Friend! It’s a crisis!”

Of course, Deoksun and Chang-sik were useless in a fight.

“You guys! I warned you! You should hurry up and write that letter!”

—Clearly, Bangdaengi isn’t thinking clearly right now.

—Should I step in?

That’s when Geum Tae-sung spoke.

“Nam Jin, you rest. You’re still recovering from the fight with Yu Yeo-reum.”

Thud… thud. Geum Tae-sung stepped forward, and the smug expression Samajun had just moments ago faded, replaced by a hint of unease.

“Didn’t I hear that Geum Tae-sung decided to stop fighting?”

“I don’t recall hearing that.”

Geum Tae-sung casually tripped Samajun’s ankle.

“Ugh!”

Geum Tae-sung’s sweep kick hit its mark and Samajun fell to the ground. Unfortunately, his head struck a protruding rock.

“Kuaaak!”

Samajun’s eyes rolled back, and he frothed at the mouth.

“Ma-jun!”

“You b*stard!”

His group rushed forward to attack Geum Tae-sung in retaliation, but the flame held in Samajun’s hand caused chaos.

Hwa-lek! Pwoooosh!

“Kyeek!”

“Yahhh!”

Samajun and his group were ultimately caught in their own flames and thrown far away.

Lucky bastards.

“See! Didn’t I tell you? I said it would bring bad luck! Tayaaaaa!”

Did Bangdaengi’s ‘Letter of Good Luck’ really work?

Honestly, I started doubting its effectiveness too.

—

# # #

“The top team for this practice session is ‘No Leftovers Day.’ Successive Demon Beast hunts from students in my Class D? Hanamjin, what kind of magic are you working?”

“It’s not magic, it’s strategy. Honestly, my leadership skills are exceptionally good, but since that might seem a bit immodest, I’ll credit it to the entire team.”

Swish-swish-swish-swish-. I awkwardly rubbed my nose with my fingers.

Everyone applauded us for our first place finish, and it felt great. So this is popularity? I understand why everyone dreams of becoming a celebrity.

Hmph. At that moment, Teacher Nokkai, who had been standing next to me with a less-than-friendly gaze, chuckled.

“You were just lucky. You must’ve had good teammates.”

Teacher Nokkai then sidled up to Geum Tae-sung and touched his biceps suggestively.

“Tae-sung, how about transferring to Class F? With my recommendation and your grades, you’ll surely adapt well there.”

Even though I was the leader of our team, for some reason, Teacher Nokkai was clearly more interested in Geum Tae-sung. But Geum Tae-sung simply shrugged, not seeming overly interested.

“I like Class D though.”

“You fight well. There are only four people who managed to last a minute sparring with our Yu Yeo-reum. You’re one of them. Even if you’re a troublemaker, I admire your skills and am willing to take you in specially.”

Sliding forward slightly,

Teacher Nokkai looked at Geum Tae-sung with narrowed eyes. Her demeanor reminded me of a predator, a cougar hunting for a young man to marry.

But Geum Tae-sung was no pushover either.

“I don’t fight anymore. Speaking of which, Teacher, shouldn’t you have some words for Nam Jin?”

That’s right. Teacher Nokkai should actually be addressing me.

I stepped closer to her and pouted exaggeratedly.

“What… what are you doing?”

“Aren’t we supposed to kiss? Kiss.”

“…You smell! After crawling around in the sewer! And you want to kiss me with that Demon Beast-eating mouth? Never! Go brush your teeth at least!”

“Teacher! Are you going back on your word? As a teacher responsible for educating Awakened Ones! If you say one thing and do another, what example are you setting for the students?”

“Grghh!”

Teacher Nokkai’s face turned bright red as she snorted indignantly. She seemed embarrassed but also excited by the kiss.

Women are so dishonest, aren’t they?

In situations like these, even though I’m younger, I should take the lead as a man.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and placed a quick kiss on her lips.

“Huh?”

Teacher Nokkai seemed genuinely caught off guard. She rubbed her lips with the palm of her hand and looked indignant.

“That was my first kiss!”

Regardless, I raised my hands triumphantly like a winner holding a trophy.

“I’m number one! Victory for Class D! Long live the independence of Class D!”

“Waaa!”

“Waa! What independence?”

“Glory to Class D!”

The Class D students began clapping. Of course, there were some sad faces too.

Mostly from the boys in Class F.

“Our Teacher Moonsun gave her first kiss to that guy…”

“Ma-jun, cheer up. It was just a peck, not a kiss.”

“Shut up!”

Hehe. Today’s star was still me, clearly.

Gurgling.

At that moment, my stomach suddenly churned violently.

“Excuse me, I need the bathroom for a moment.”

I quickly hopped down from the makeshift podium in the playground and headed toward the back of the nearby cafeteria, where I prepared to vomit everything out.

“Ughh!”

—Gueeee.

All that came out was Yining, the blue slime Yining.

Seeing him made my previously upset chest instantly feel much better.

“Yining! Nice to see you! I guess I’m just lucky, huh?”

Why lucky? With Yining, I could now use the previously acquired “Nose” Concept Stone and “Eye” Concept Stone that I collected from defeating Demon Beasts!

Since the thought was there, might as well try it now!

Tinkling. I pulled out the Concept Stones I had kept in my pocket and offered them to Yining.

Though wary of me after being swallowed earlier, Yining slowly approached my palm when it sensed something from the Concept Stones.

—Gueeee.

Then Yining absorbed the stones!

Glump-glump.

For how long did Yining wriggle excitedly on my palm? Finally, the little guy spat out a small, round bead as if it didn’t agree with his physiology.

“The ‘Eye’ and ‘Nose’ don’t suit you, Yining? Makes sense. Slimes probably don’t need eyes or noses.”

—Gueeee.

When a Demon Beast consumes a Concept Stone, it absorbs what is useful to itself and spits out the rest, taking only the nutrients it needs.

In this case, nutrients beneficial to Demon Beasts but harmful to humans, i.e., toxins. Thus, the bead Yining spit out was a Concept Stone cleansed of toxins.

In fact, it was a Fusion Concept Stone, blending the “Eye” and “Nose.”

I could sell this in the ‘Black Market’ for at least 1,000 currency units.

With that money, I could probably live in a safe shelter for a few weeks, eating fresh water and uncontaminated food. It was an impressive price!

But right now, there was no market to sell this.

What should I do then?

Shall I eat it?

Or give it to Seugal to enhance her abilities?

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