Chapter 42 — Gu Ja-In (2)
“…If that’s what you think, there’s nothing I can do. I’m not forcing you to sign the contract. I will leave the decision in your hands.”
Even as Gu Ja-In said so, his expression wasn’t too great.
It was obviously because he was rejected instantly even when he’d offered conditions that any other cadet would have died for.
In addition, JaeHyun was obviously going against him however he could.
“It’s a pity, but I also refuse.”
“…I also don’t think I will sign the contract.”
At the girls’ answers, Gu Ja-In’s expression worsened. Sparks were flying out of his fierce, covetous eyes.
JaeHyun merely smiled slightly as if he had been expecting all this.
But then—
Gu Ja-In’s expression changed and he smiled evilly. He crossed his arms as he spoke.
“…That’s a shame. Those were the best conditions Millaes Academy could offer. I will give you another chance to think about it just in case you change your mind.”
As he said so, the three cadets started to feel a strange sensation in their minds.
However, JaeHyun had already expected something like this to happen.
一 《???》 has infiltrated your mind.
一 Thanks to 《Hel’s Blessing》, you have completely resisted the debuff.
JaeHyun smirked.
‘I knew this was going to happen.’
From the start, JaeHyun provoked Gu Ja-In by acting as offensively as he did.
The reason for it was simple.
He wanted to provoke Gu Ja-In into using his skill 《 Indoctrination 》 so he could copy it.
‘ 《 Indoctrination 》 is a spell that will be of great help in any situation later on. It would be best if I could get it now.’
Not knowing JaeHyun’s insidious plan, Gu Ja-In continued to cast 《 Indoctrination 》 on Jaehyun. It was a maneuver to control JaeHyun into agreeing to become his subordinate.
However, the EX-rank skill 《 Hel’s Blessing 》 simply got rid of any and all debuffs.
No matter how great of a Unique Skill 《 Indoctrination 》 was, that fact didn’t change.
JaeHyun put his hand in his pocket and thought as he touched a card.
‘Use blank card.’
一 A blank card has been used.
The corners of JaeHyun’s lips slowly started to go up. The glowing card in his pocket actively started copying the other’s skill.
It de-constructed the spell’s formula and then rebuilt it.
And finally…
一 You have acquired the new Active Skill 《Indoctrination》.
[Active Skill]
Name: Indoctrination
Rank: Unique Skill
Enables you to manipulate someone weaker than you into doing your bidding.
Effects
Deprives the other party of their emotions and controls them into doing whatever the user wants.
Should both parties agree to a master-servant relationship, the skill changes into 《Subordination》, with which the servant can be restrained to follow the user’s command with their will intact.
As he heard the clear voice of the system, JaeHyun stood up from his seat having gotten what he had come here for.
“Then, we will be leaving now. We’re a bit tired since we spent 4 days in the demi-plane.”
When JaeHyun started to head toward the exit, the girls bowed in good-bye and followed after him.
Without being able to check why his skill didn’t work, Gu Ja-In stared at JaeHyun’s disappearing back with his mouth open.
‘He got first-place in the Freshmen Hunt as a freshman and even managed to resist my skill?’
However, he soon recovered his mild demeanor.
‘…Interesting. Min JaeHyun. I can’t let you go.’
Someone had once said,
Humans find that which they cannot possess the most attractive.
And currently, for Gu Ja-In, that was none other than Min JaeHyun—
a green cadet who wasn’t even a legal adult yet.
***
[On the way to their assigned dormitory after leaving the chairman’s office]
One could see mayflies gathering around the streetlights as they turned on one by one.
This place was one of the few resting areas within Millaes Academy.
Going through this and then up the street that forked was the cadet dormitory.
JaeHyun was leading the way when he suddenly stopped and turned to look at the two who were following behind him.
Kim YooJung and Seo Ina were both observing the surroundings of the cadet dormitory as they were led by JaeHyun.
JaeHyun thought for a moment, then asked.
“Are you guys really okay, though?”
“Huh? With what?”
YooJung asked back as she looked up at him. JaeHyun continued placidly.
“Gu Ja-In’s offer. You both rejected it. Is that really okay?”
“Well, that’s… At first, I was a bit tempted. But when I heard what you said, I thought you were more on the mark. Chairman Gu Ja-In… It seemed like he was going to sweet talk us into agreeing, but… how does it make sense to take 30% of our wages for 5 years?”
YooJung stated in an offended tone.
JaeHyun smirked. Behind them, Ina also nodded in agreement.
“…There seemed to be a lot of problems with that contract’s conditions. I’m also of the opinion that it was better not to have signed it. Moreover… if we receive that much special treatment, it means someone is suffering that much loss. And that’s not very honorable.”
JaeHyun was slightly surprised at the sudden righteousness.
It was hard to find such virtue in this world that had become very petty to the weak.
Of course, JaeHyun had no plans to righteously tear down the wrongs in front of him like she did. Everyone had their own methods, and JaeHyun had to do whatever he could to reach his goals.
He looked back and forth between YooJung and Ina, then smiled slightly.
“That’s a relief. I’d honestly hoped you guys would reject that offer.”
“That’s that, but… isn’t there something really strange about Chairman Gu Ja-In? He looked rather devious, and… when you rejected his offer, his expression was totally sickening.”
“…It really seemed a bit strange. If you think about it, there was a problem with the demi-plane from the first day and the instructors didn’t say a single thing about it.”
‘…These guys have pretty good instincts.’
Their intuition was sharper than he’d thought. He was organizing his thoughts when Ina asked him a question.
“By any chance… do you know something, JaeHyun? About Chairman Gu Ja-In?”
“Uh… What? Why do you think that?”
“…You were pretty calm, much unlike a freshman. So I thought you knew something we don’t…”
“That’s true. Hey! Min JaeHyun. If you know something, tell us!”
At the girls’ words, JaeHyun thought for a moment.
Would it be alright to tell Kim YooJung and Seo Ina what he knew about Gu Ja-In from the future?
He thought about it for several minutes but then decided it was still too early.
The two were still unfamiliar with how things worked at Millaes Academy.
If he told them that the school was a dangerous place and that people would die in the future, would they believe him?
JaeHyun looked at them and replied calmly.
“Yeah. Some things. But I’m not too certain if it’s true, so it’s hard to say anything at this point.”
“Is that so…”
Ina seemed a bit disappointed, but JaeHyun had no other choice.
It would have been different if it were just Kim YooJung who he’d known for such a long time. However, he’d only known Seo Ina for 3 days.
From what he’d seen from her so far, she didn’t seem like someone who could be a traitor, but before returning to the past, Jeong WooMin hadn’t seemed like such an evil bastard either.
It was always the most lethal when those that looked kind betrayed others.
‘It’s best if I hide the information I have from the future as much as possible.’
However, JaeHyun decided to tell the two about one thing alone.
He took a deep breath, then he spoke as he eyed the two.
“I’ll say this, though. You should both keep one thing in mind.
Don’t trust anyone here. Whether it’s the chairman or the instructors.”
“…then, you as well, JaeHyun?”
It was a question he hadn’t expected.
Seo Ina looked up at him with mysterious amber-colored eyes.
With full intent, JaeHyun maintained eye contact with her. As he was about to reply with a smile, YooJung interrupted him.
“That’s right. Don’t trust him, either. First, he’s a guy and he looks fierce. He once left me stranded without taking me home.”
“Hey. Why are you suddenly bringing that up? It was a long time ago.”
“Shut up! I had a panic attack back then, and I really thought I was going to die!”
Kim YooJung had really suffered a lot that day when JaeHyun went to meet Yoo Sung-Eun.
She was swept away by the pouring crowd, and the way home seemed distant.
In the end, she was unable to move a single step until her mom came to fetch her.
As she was glaring at him with rage, JaeHyun instantly stopped walking and uttered.
“Okay. Go in. We’re here.”
“Huh? We’ve already arrived?”
YooJung blinked and looked around.
They soon took in brightly-lit lights and several bulletin boards stretched out in front of them. They could see a huge park fountain that separated the dormitory and a few tiles.
A light blinked on and off repeatedly.
“Yeah. You guys should go and rest as well.”
JaeHyun said in a calm voice.
Just then, an unexpected question came from behind him.
“…Then, I guess we have to go our separate ways here?”
Ina asked with a sad, disappointed look.
YooJung suddenly interrupted, elbowing JaeHyun in the side as she joked.
“Hey, hey. Why is it like a teen romance novel in here? Let me join in too.”
“The girls’ dormitory is on the left. Boys’ dormitory on the right.”
JaeHyun forced a smile as he pushed the two forward.
“So go in quickly and rest.”
“Tsk, okay. We’ll go.”
YooJung grumbled.
Ina turned back around and said good-bye to JaeHyun.
“…We’ll leave first. You should rest as well, JaeHyun. Tomorrow’s the first day of class.”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow, then.”
***
Reaper Scans
Translator – Rainypup
Proofreader – Lyze
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***
After waving off to the two, JaeHyun started to go up the slightly inclined path on the right.
After about 5 minutes, he began to see the actual building.
With the exterior wrapped in a light blue tarp, the grayish-white buildings with an apartment-type dormitory and basic facilities were exactly as JaeHyun remembered.
‘It’s been a while since I was last here.’
Since it was the basic dormitory provided by the academy, everything was ordinary.
The only special thing here was the anti-mana system. Other than that, the apartments and hotels that one could rent with points were much better.
The accomplished cadets getting better housing was a matter of course. That was what Chairman Gu Ja-In and the instructors thought.
‘Still, I did pretty well in the first event. I should stay focused at all times from now on. I can’t be careless.’
He thought resolutely as he placed his ID against the reader, making the door open.
Taking a step inside, he noticed a musty and moldy scent, as well as rags hanging everywhere.
This place usually did give off this kind of depressing atmosphere.
Those who remained in this dormitory after a few years were leftovers who couldn’t get a high rank, and Gu Ja-In and the rest of the academy openly discriminated against them.
It was also true that there was a tendency for the cadets to look down on those with a low-level.
Walking down the corridor, JaeHyun found Rm. 302 which had been assigned to him.
Putting his hand on the doorknob and touching the card reader with his ID, the door opened with a familiar sound.
“It’s really been a damn long time…”
Taking in the interior, JaeHyun mumbled in an awed tone mixed with remorse.
He put down his things and sat on the hard floor.
Remembering how hell-like this place had been to him in the past, his whole body shivered in anxiety.
The dormitory he’d returned to was not a place he had missed at all.
However, the horrifying memories merely strengthened his resolve.
“I should start looking for a new place tomorrow. I can’t keep living here. Plus, I don’t have to worry since I have a lot of points.”
Nothing good would come of it if he just saved his astonishing amount of 2.53 million points without spending at all.
In addition, the room would be the place he returned to every day. Spending points on other things would mean nothing if he skipped out on this.
Fortunately, JaeHyun knew a few hotels that were close to the classrooms.
“What was the class tomorrow again?”
Suddenly becoming curious about class, JaeHyun crossed his arms and thought.
Tomorrow was finally the first day he would receive lessons as a Magic cadet. Checking his schedule, the name of the class was 《Basic Mana Acclimation I》
He thought about studying in advance but then shook his head. He was tired, and it was better to go to sleep a bit earlier.
After all, he’d fought quite fiercely for the past 3 days.
Taking a shower and lying in bed, he felt sleepy right away. He set the alarm and fell asleep.
However, the next day, JaeHyun couldn’t help but be surprised by the contents of the first class he was attending.
‘…What the hell is this?’
____
