The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 48

At some point, unexpected situations ceased to be unexpected for me.

Initially, they were indeed troublesome, but once you grasped the fixed routes and patterns, they were no longer unexpected.

They were simply problems that exploded at the scheduled time, like a time bomb.

In that sense, the current situation could be called a perfect unexpected situation.

“So, you remember my name now?”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Cheon Tae-seong dusted off his hands and looked at me steadily.

‘Something’s off.’

Think about it.

I’ve taken countless practical exams. Among them, there were numerous times when I ended up in the same group with Cheon Tae-seong, knowingly or unknowingly.

Ⅱ. Cheon Tae-seong: (1st/300)

Ⅱ. Cheon Tae-seong: (2nd/300)

Cheon Tae-seong was always either first or second. In the early stages when I was wandering to find the exit, he was always first, and after I discovered the shortcut, I was always first.

Yes, that was the issue.

‘How did he get ahead of me when I took the shortcut?’

Behind Cheon Tae-seong, a large iron door adorned with a golden star could be seen. Opening that door and taking the elevator back to the waiting room was all that remained.

“You’re awfully quiet.”

Cheon Tae-seong looked at me with an unguarded expression. His spirit, much like his impassive face, was calm yet sharp.

“How did you get here so quickly?”

That was the question that immediately came to mind.

Even considering Kim In-seong’s interference, it should have been enough time for me to arrive first.

“I was waiting for you.”

Instead of the expected answer, he gave a different response. But it was enough. Just that answer made chills run down my spine.

【-place】

The electronic display above the exit recorded the number of people who had passed through the exit. Since there were no numbers displayed, it meant Cheon Tae-seong had reached the exit first.

Despite dealing with the Splitting Rats blocking the exit, he hadn’t escaped and was waiting for me here.

“Are you trying to get revenge for what happened before?”

The most chilling part was that Cheon Tae-seong remembered my name. It wasn’t often that he remembered anyone’s name, and it wasn’t exactly an honor when he did.

In reality, after Cheon Tae-seong remembered Han Yu-seong’s name, their rivalry began in earnest.

But it’s more like a rivalry in name only; in society’s distorted view, Cheon Tae-seong nearly killed the protagonist Han Yu-seong multiple times.

“I still haven’t satisfied my curiosity.”

And now, it seemed that I had become his new target.

“I wonder how much force it takes to break a protector.”

“If you’re that curious, why not test it on your own?”

Cheon Tae-seong shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s a good idea. But there’s another question I want to resolve at the same time.”

“What?”

He extended a finger upward. Instinctively, I realized that Cheon Tae-seong was pointing at the CCTV hidden within the wall.

“I wonder if, when a protector breaks and someone is truly about to die, does this school have an appropriate manual for such a situation? If it does, can that manual actually save the student before they die?”

“…Crazy bastard.”

No other words came to mind.

“So, you’re going to kill me?”

“First, let’s start with the protector test.”

His tone was devoid of any personal emotion. He extended his arm forward. As his palm opened, an antique spear materialized in his hand.

The long handle was entwined with vines, and at the tip was an ornate spearhead. The dark, blood-stained spearhead was barely larger than a fist.

“Shit.”

S-rank Artifact: Longinus.

Cheon Tae-seong is the eldest son of the Tae-seong Group, which manufactures and distributes military supplies.

Ordinarily, when you think of military supplies, you might think of K2 rifles or canteens, but in the world of Rolling Hunters, the concept of military supplies is on a whole different level.

Think about it. In a highly developed world, what would a military company use as the basis for creating weapons and equipment?

The Tae-seong Group invested huge amounts of money to hire hunters and gather rare artifacts.

A prime example is Gram, which was showcased in the mock duel. The Tae-seong Group dedicated itself to developing weapons based on the S-rank artifacts they found.

‘And it just so happens that Cheon Tae-seong’s ability is…’

The ability to materialize objects he has seen and understood within his reach.

Having grown up surrounded by thousands of weapons and artifacts from the Tae-seong Group, Cheon Tae-seong was essentially a living arsenal.

With his overflowing mana, he had even succeeded in copying the unique abilities of S-rank artifacts.

‘If I fight him head-on, I will definitely lose.’

Unlike the burgeoning Han Yu-seong, Cheon Tae-seong is already a finished product from the start.

Engaging in combat in such a confined space would certainly result in my death, so I had to come up with a plan.

‘I have to escape, no matter what.’

The elevator beyond the exit would activate as soon as someone boarded it, and it would reach the waiting room immediately, leaving no time to turn back.

If I wanted to survive, I had to open that door and get out.

“We’ve introduced ourselves, so how about we stop this and discuss our hobbies or something—”

I blurted out anything to buy some time,

Shh—!

but Cheon Tae-seong extended his arm and thrust the spear. He stepped forward with his left foot to line up with his shoulder, a clean strike made possible by his mastery of all weapon-related martial arts.

‘Wait—’

I narrowly dodged the strike aimed at my shoulder, but something felt off.

Crack.

How to describe it? It felt as if time had stopped and space itself was being sliced away. For an instant, time paused, and the gap I had made by dodging the spear was suddenly filled…

Bang!

The spear pierced my right shoulder. The pain of the spear tearing through my protector and my shoulder was excruciating.

“Ugh!”

This was no ordinary spear.

‘Longinus…’

The S-rank artifact spear, Longinus.

The cursed spear said to have pierced the side of Jesus. Like Gram, it possesses unique artifact skills, including:

『Longinus: Guaranteed Hit』

『Longinus: Shield Penetration』

If an opponent was within the spear’s attack range, even if they tried to dodge, the skill would manipulate reality to ensure the attack landed.

Furthermore, it ignored any type of barrier to inflict damage, making it one of the most overpowered weapons in existence.

‘There’s only one way to counter it.’

As Cheon Tae-seong prepared to swing the spear again, I swung the Sain-gum.

“Baek-ah!”

The moment the Sain-gum and the Longinus made contact, white mist unfurled from the Sain-gum’s tip and wrapped around Longinus.

‘If I can prevent him from swinging it any further, it’s game over.’

The drawback of Longinus was that its guaranteed hit only applied if the attack was dodged, so blocking it was effective.

Additionally, the short spearhead made it prone to being overpowered. If I could bind his hands and burn him with foxfire…

Click.

My eyes reflexively darted downward.

Cheon Tae-seong’s free hand, which wasn’t holding the spear, was positioned near his abdomen. A new shape appeared above his hand.

‘Wait a second.’

A heavily used revolver. There was no need to load bullets.

‘Manas’ Gun?’

Another S-rank artifact.

In the Kyrgyz epic ‘Manas,’ the hero Manas wielded this gun. It is said that the bullets imbued with a vow can pierce through anything, no matter what the target is.

“I swear to kill Seol Ha-baek.”

The moment Cheon Tae-seong made his vow, the empty cylinder of the revolver spun, indicating a bullet was loaded. He pulled the trigger,

Boom!

A gunshot that no ordinary revolver could produce. The mana-laden bullet struck my abdomen.

“Ugh…!”

The sheer force lifted me off the ground, sending me flying back to the entrance from which I had come.

Thud!

I slammed into the door, my legs giving out entirely.

‘He’s on another level.’

As a ‘finished product’ character, he was in a different league. The fact that he thought to counter with his other hand once the spear was restrained showed his battle acumen.

The combat techniques, vaguely depicted in the game, were rendered flawlessly.

Beep-beep-beep!

The final warning from the protector indicated that my mana reserve was nearly depleted.

Manas’ Gun had an effect that varied drastically based on the weight of the vow made. Cheon Tae-seong hadn’t sworn lightly to kill me, which meant the shot’s power was significant enough to nearly deplete a fully charged protector.

Despite this, my protector hadn’t completely failed, for one reason and one reason only.

“Impressive.”

Cheon Tae-seong spoke.

I never imagined I would hear such a compliment from his mouth so soon.

“To think you could defend yourself in that short moment.”

In the split second when he recited his vow and pulled the trigger, I released the binding on Longinus and angled the Sain-gum toward my abdomen.

The mana bullet couldn’t be completely deflected, but the Sain-gum, shrouded in peak spiritual energy, significantly absorbed the impact.

‘However…’

I glanced down at the Sain-gum in my hand. Despite being old and never having a scratch, it now had a visibly large crack.

‘Blocking just one shot did this much damage.’

All I did was defend—and yet my weapon was nearly shattered. Meanwhile, Cheon Tae-seong’s Longinus and Manas’ Gun remained intact.

Moreover, he could summon another S-rank artifact if he desired.

‘There’s no other way.’

The outcome was decided.

The Sain-gum couldn’t withstand another clash. After summoning the Crystal Giant to capture Seo Yun-seop, my spiritual energy was nearly depleted.

Winning or losing, only one move remained in my mind.

Drip, drip.

At the sound of trickling water, Cheon Tae-seong looked down. Water kept flowing out from beneath my legs. As it approached Cheon Tae-seong’s shoes, he instinctively stepped back.

“Wow, when Tae-seong gets serious about killing me, I ended up shitting myself without even realizing it.”

I scratched my head awkwardly.

Of course, I didn’t actually shit myself—it was just a bluff.

Click.

Naturally, such bluffing wouldn’t work on Cheon Tae-seong. But that was fine. The moment he flinched was enough.

“You go first.”

And then—

Whoosh!

A torrent of water burst from the Sain-gum. Cheontae-seong was swept away by the surge, and the room quickly filled with water.

Bubble bubble

Baek-ah’s water bomb, which had soaked the floor of the mock duel arena, easily flooded a room of this size.

“…”

There were no devices here capable of absorbing the water. As the water level rose, Cheon Tae-seong’s Longinus and Manas’ Gun disappeared.

He took a firing stance and a new weapon appeared in his hand.

‘A harpoon gun?’

When the water filled the room completely, submerging our heads, he aimed the harpoon gun directly at my heart.

‘Just one shot.’

Despite my body flailing due to buoyancy, I raised the Sain-gum and aimed at Cheontae-seong. As our gazes crossed while floating in the water,

Splash—!

The harpoon and the Sain-gum simultaneously sliced through the water.