Ch. 74.1 - Chaos (3)
Stella's Student Council President, Miro Yoon.

He was a second-year student, ranked 19th, and a student of Class S.

He was also a member of the prestigious Alekteran Viscount family, truly an elite among elites, who had climbed up to this position following a course of excellence.

However, it was not by his own will that everything had been arranged like this.

‘Ah... What is it again…’

Miro Yoon looked at Ben, who had come to find him, with an evident expression of annoyance.

"You're messy. Just like your surroundings."

Ben sat on a large sofa and gazed curiously at the fireplace installed in a corner of the student council room.

It was quite unique to have a fireplace in a high-rise tower with no chimney.

"Messy... It's rude to the other members of the student council."

“I said it in a euphemistic way because there are other students from the student council. You should appreciate it."

“Should I be grateful for the curse…?”

Yawning, Miro Yoon sat in front of Ben.

"I have a lot of work to handle, so get to the point quickly."

"Special Training for underclassmen."

"....Hmm?"

Miro Yoon, who was sipping his coffee, slightly opened his eyes as if he had heard unfamiliar words.

Well, since his eyes were usually drowsy, there wasn't much difference.

"Grant permission. The target is Baek Yu-Seol from the first year of Class S."

"Hmm... Didn't you dislike chaos-like things? No, you actually seemed to have a strong aversion to them."

"That's right. There were more than a few times when I wanted to kill all the seniors and everyone else."

"Then why are you doing this?"

"Because I hate chaos."

Miro Yoon couldn't understand what he was saying, but Ben was simply stating the truth.

Among the many reasons for chaos, the Special Training for underclassmen was the worst, like a trashy form of chaos.

Under the pretext of educating underclassmen, there were cases where self-esteem was thoroughly trampled in front of peers and everyone else, to the point where they couldn't recover.

No first-year student could defeat a second-year student under any circumstances.

Even if the second-year student belonged to Class 2 and the first-year student belonged to Class 3, it was the same.

The gap that emerged from experience was insurmountable with mere ability.

However…

'But maybe he’s different.’

Baek Yu-Seol had a surprisingly rich experience for his young age.

Even the underclassmen of Class S acknowledged his strategies and experiences, indicating that he had something special about him.

Moreover, his skills…

He seemed unaffected by class distinctions.

The Magic Sword he used was just a common weapon for ordinary people. Cheap Magic Swords couldn't even pierce through a Class 1 shield, and at best, it could leave a scratch on a Class 2 shield or a Class 3 shield.

However, Baek Yu-Seol single-handedly stabbed and killed a Class 5 Necromancer with a magic sword.

How did he do it?

That question had been lingering for a long time.

From the beginning, he was extraordinary just by freely manipulating Flash, one of the uncontrollable magic skills, and walking the path of a knight without using any magic.

It was more about accepting rather than understanding.

That was why Ben decided to use Baek Yu-Seol. It wouldn't be too bad for him either.

Baek Yu-Seol seemed to be laying the foundation for eliminating chaos, so it would be better to expand the scope and punish those despicable villains who truly enjoyed chaos.

"In the Underclassmen Training, a first-year student defeats a second-year student."

Although they couldn't completely eliminate chaos... It seemed like a pretty good scenario to start with.

"Alright. I'll allow it. I don't know what you're thinking, but do well."

"Thank you. This is my gratitude."

Miro Yoon received a coupon handed to him by Ben.

[Ultra-Hot Tonkatsu Restaurant]

[Squid Rice Bowl Coupon]

Where on earth was this Tonkatsu restaurant, and why of all things, a squid rice bowl coupon?

After handing it over, Ben coolly disappeared, and Miro Yoon let out a long sigh.

There was still a mountain of work to be done, and time had been wasted. Just as he was about to get up with the intention of tackling the piled-up tasks, someone else entered.

It was Professor Gerald, who had become the supervisor for the first-year exams.

"Oh, Miro Yoon. Are you busy right now?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's good. Please accept this."

It seemed like he disregarded the mention of being busy.

"Huh, what is it?"

"It's a student thesis submission report."

"Did you come up with a paper worthy of submission to the conference for this exam as well?"

Stella's exams were extremely difficult, and in order to solve them, students would often write explanations and solutions at the level of a thesis.

Occasionally, there were students who completely skipped writing a paper by discovering entirely new principles or developing new formulas.

It seemed like there might be one of those students this semester as well.

"Yes, Baek Yu-Seol, you know?"

"..."

Of course he knew.

They were just talking about him until now.

"Baek Yu-Seol again? What is it this time?"

"Take a look at this."

Miro Yoon received the thesis documents compiled by Gerald.

[Design of Prokitex’s Stacked Circuit Design]

Magic circuits, which were frequently included in the exams for first-year students, were interpreted by students in their own ways each year, but it was rare for something outstanding enough to be considered a thesis to come out.

"Hmm..."

He slowly scanned through the solution written by Baek Yu-Seol, and soon, his tired eyes widened.

"This is... amazing? He managed to reduce the equation for the inverse design chain by half. And with a very simple formula!"

Gerald's words, as he retched, went unheard.

In Miro Yoon's mind, there was only one word floating around: genius.

Apart from that, nothing else was explained.

Stacked circuits were already a complex concept that numerous scholars had worked on and refined through iterations.

While there was no such thing as 'perfection' in magic, it had still reached its most efficient formula.

But to push that formula even further...

Could a student achieve that on their own?

"With this level, he might even be able to participate in the 'Aslan Seminar'!"

"Oh... Aslan Seminar..."

Miro Yoon was at a loss for words at the professor's remark.

"Well, he turned out to be more remarkable than I thought."

The name Baek Yu-Seol was certainly familiar. Even as a first-year student, he had been involved in many incidents and stood out with his exceptional actions, so it was natural to know him.

But to reach this level...

"Hmm... the Special Training for Underclassmen. I'm usually not interested in such troublesome events, but if Baek Yu-Seol is involved, it might be fun to go and see."

Ch. 74.2
The second round of exams had ended.

Just like other students, Baek Yu-Seol also struggled.

He worked hard on physical training, but it didn't actually contribute to his grades, so his motivation took a hit.

After the second round of exams, the rankings would change. Of course, if one thinks the rankings were simply arranged in order of combat power, that was a big mistake.

Along with the practical results and grades, numerous factors such as assignments, attendance, attitude, and so on were applied and combined to determine the ultimate combat power.

Even the formidable fighter, Mayuseong, who boasted the strongest combat power, could see their ranking drop at any time.

They would probably face strong competition from Edna or Esiel for the top spot.

[419th place - Class S, Baek Yu-Seol]

It was quite impressive in many ways.

Despite getting a perfect score on the written exam and ranking highest in the practical exam, he was at 419th place.

He often skipped class, didn't do a single assignment, and missed attendance so frequently that he accumulated a lot of penalty points.

He barely managed to submit a few assignments and fulfill the minimum number of class days right before receiving an academic warning.

He was on the verge of being expelled.

But honestly, it was a bit ridiculous.

How could he not doze off when someone kept babbling in an incomprehensible alien language and with a soothing voice that made him sleepy?

He even saved his sleeping time during regular hours because he considered class time as his sleep time...

Well, anyway...

No matter how hard he tried, it was unlikely that his ranking would go up any further.

Maybe if he worked a little harder on assignments, who knew, but honestly, raising his ranking only meant receiving a slightly higher scholarship, so it was not that meaningful.

In fact, considering that his goal ranking was 600th, this was already more than enough, if not excessive.

"Hey, what's your rank?"

"I barely managed to stay in the top 800 this time."

"Well, I envy you. I got pushed back. Damn, I should have worked harder."

"Ugh, I really want to die!"

The class bulletin board.

Students who checked their ranks were shouting out their numbers.

It was a familiar scene.

The class bulletin boards for the second and third years wouldn't be much different.

Baek Yu-Seol looked at the topmost section.

[1st place - Class S, Mayuseong]

[2nd place - Class S, Edna]

[3rd place - Class S, Eisel]

[4th place - Class S, Haewonryang]

[5th place - Class S, Hong Bi-Yeon]

The top ranks flooded with Class S students. There was nothing particularly surprising about that ranking, but he found something that bothered him.

Haewonryang, who was in 2nd place in the previous semester, had dropped to 4th place.

"Hmm..."

Was it because Eisel, who was originally expected to drop in rank, ended up walking a steady path in a stable environment unlike the original work?

He couldn't figure out the reason. But it wouldn't be a big problem.

Since he took the Jecky dark Mage route, both Haewonryang and Arshaung's dark Mage routes would have completely disappeared.

While he was thinking about that, someone approached from the side.

It was Hong Bi-Yeon.

Shuffle!

The students quickly moved aside, creating a path on both sides.

‘Is this what they mean by the miracle of Moses?’

There wasn't a student with enough audacity to block the path in front of Adolveit Princess, known for her dirty personality.

She searched through the ranking list for a while, even though her own rank would surely be among the top five anyway.

Then, after rolling her eyes for a while, she glanced at Baek Yu-Seol as if she had discovered something.

"... Are you trying to adjust the rankings? I think it's already quite noticeable," she said.

‘What is she talking about?’

"Indeed... But considering that some of them are within the top 600, it seems like they have intentions to participate in the 'Academy Tournament.'"

The Academy Tournament, an event where selected students competed against students from other prestigious magic academies.

Baek Yu-Seol didn't particularly deny her statement.

After that, she stood by his side in silence for a while. It was quite cute how she seemed hesitant and fidgety as if she wanted to say something, but since it was getting a bit frustrating, he spoke first.

"What is it? Do you have something to say?"

Startled, Hong Bi-Yeon raised her eyebrows when he brought up the topic.

Then she tightly closed her eyes, let out a deep sigh, and began to speak.

"... I heard you've been going through a lot lately."

"Well, I've had a bit of a hard time."

Baek Yu-Seol strained his shoulder muscles yesterday, and now it was properly sore. He wondered if he should get a massage.

"Why did you... ask Edmon Senpai about that?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you ask Edmon Senpai... like that?"

Ah, what was that conversation about? No wonder Hong Bi-Yeon's expression was dark.

That was not like her.

Was it during a time when she was feeling particularly complicated?

"Edmon Senpai has a strong influence even among the third-year students. He can shake up the second-year students to the point where... you will probably continue to be bothered by seniors until you graduate. Do you have the confidence to handle that?"

Hmm, there was no need to think about it.

"Well, I don't think I can handle it."

‘Rather than being harassed by those blue-eyed brats who are ten years younger than me, I'd rather crush them all and get expelled.’

"Then, why...?"

She looked at him with eyes resembling rubies and asked.

‘What should I say? Being honest is a bit tricky, so I evaded the answer subtly.’

"You know it too."

In response to his answer, she widened her eyes and bit her lip.

That was right.

"... There's nothing you can gain from me. Peasant, you don't pursue money or power."

That was not true.

In this world, money and power were the best things...

“Well... I don't necessarily have anything to gain from you except money and power. Before you are the princess of Adolveit, you are Hong Bi-Yeon.”

"What...?"

"You're right. I'm not helping you for free. I have something I want from you, so that's why I'm doing this. After this is over, you just have to sign a contract with me for the item."

Silence fell.

She seemed to be frantically rolling her head, appearing confused, but she couldn't come to a conclusion.

She only had money and power, and yet he wanted something else.

It would be difficult to figure out what that was.

"... What's the price?"

"The conditions are stated separately in the contract."

"Not that! You said there's something you want from me. What is it?"

He stared intently at her face.

The truth was, there were so many reasons.

It would be advantageous for the Alterisha faction for political reasons, and if even one death flag for Hong Bi-Yeon was erased through this, that would also be a gain.

Additionally, it could serve as an opportunity to make his influence known to esteemed individuals, including influential figures.

However, it felt awkward to lay out all those numerous reasons. He couldn't say that he was trying to save her and achieve a happy ending.

"Well, I'll tell you later."

Being vague about it, Hong Bi-Yeon nodded as if understanding.

"Well... what about underclassmen training?"

‘Come to think of it, that was another problem. How did I end up receiving underclassmen special training? It was really unplanned, so I'm slightly taken aback as well.’

"... I guess you don't have to hold back."

"What?"

‘What does she mean by not holding back? Is she telling me to scream if I get slapped?’

"Just fight the seniors with your original skills to an extent."