Chapter 713: Hidden piece (5)

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Sanryeong disappeared in the blink of an eye.

At first, I thought Sanryeong went in the wrong direction in a show of mischief.

Although he was a bit fast, Ssanryeong went right where I asked him to.

‘He’s faster than I thought. Well, if he weren’t fast, he would’ve been caught by Woo Kihwan faster. Baekho-gun wouldn’t have to put so much effort into catching him either.’

Baekho-gun looked in the direction where Sanryeong ran, but his eyes immediately turned in the opposite direction.

I looked back and saw the group of students from Class 3-0.

“It’s Class 1-0’s suspicious VP!”

“What are you doing here? Who’s that with you?”

Woo Kihwan and their vice president recognized me right away.

Looking at their ears, they seem to be unaffected by the attack earlier.

My first move was to subdue their hideout and secure their wireless communication.

Jeokho moved according to my order and infiltrated the hideout, poured energy waves, and used currents through their earphones.

That’s how the seniors were stunned for a while.

‘But as expected, the strong homeroom teacher wasn’t damaged either.’

Instead of being surprised, Im Yeonhwa observed Baekho-gun and I with an excited expression.

Does she think it’s beneficial to increase the number of students who will learn in this hunting lesson of hers?

Or perhaps she’s just making the hunt more enjoyable.

“You, the one next to Euishin. You’re that guy who did the sword dance during the sports exchange match, right? So you must be acquainted with Euishin.”

I was surprised by Im Yeonhwa’s words.

She figured out that Baekho did the sword dance at the opening ceremony, and she called her ‘that guy!’

‘Is it because he wore a school uniform that time? Still, he’s wearing casual clothes now but…’

Baekho-gun looks young, but isn’t it a bit too much to regard him as a high school student?

Though considering the bulked-up Class 3-0, they’re a bit difficult to regard as high schoolers as well…

“That guy? How would you know if he’s wearing a mask?”

“Right! Even the teachers didn’t know who the sword dance student was!”

“I remember all the muscle shapes I’ve seen once. Someone with muscles like that is unforgettable.”

Im Yeonhwa graciously responded to her students.

Does she distinguish people by their muscles?

It might be impossible to deceive Im Yeonhwa just by wearing a mask.

Well, my main playable character has strong muscles so it can’t be helped but be recognized.

While I admired Im Yeonhwa’s muscle recognition, Woo Kihwan’s group expressed dissatisfaction.

“…Strong muscles. You never used that to describe us!”

“He’s tall and has a good physique, but our shapes are close!”

The seniors didn’t like Im Yeonhwa’s use of adjectives.

If they’re so displeased, why don’t they just get stronger?

In the face of a flurry of complaints, IM Yeonhwa gently urged her weak and young students.

“Muscle and strength aren’t measured by size. More than half of you are bigger than me, but you are weak. Anyway, there’s no comparison between your weak and young muscles to that man’s strong ones. You’ll lose to him in a fight for sure.”

Im Yeonhwa’s words of praise had a sharp sense of vigilance.

She’s recognized the capabilities of Baekho-gun, the best martial artist of the Tiger Clan.

I felt somewhat proud.

“Geuhk!”

“F-fighting isn’t all about muscles!”

“Yeah, energy is part of it too!”

The seniors, who focused on building muscle until now since they couldn’t beat Im Yeonhwa with skills, changed their position.

Woo Kihwan spoke with bloodshot eyes.

“Anyway, this is a battlefield right now. Go down!”

“No.”

“What?!”

The air turned cold when I answered bluntly.

They must’ve not expected it from a polite junior.

Only Im Yeonhwa kept her composure as if she expected this development from the time she found me and Baekho-gun.

“D-don’t tell me you’re here for the energy of the universe too!”

“I’m not, but I want to stop you, sunbaenim.”

“You, I’ve been suspicious since we met at Mt. Cheonik a long time ago!”

Is he talking about that time I went to the mountain to investigate the ghost stories from Sung Gukeon?

He said he was suspicious, but as far as I remember, he guided me rather excitedly.

While Woo Kihwan said useless things, I saw the other students exchange glances.

I knew what they were doing so I pointed it out instead of answering Woo Kihwan’s nonsense.

“Are you trying to use a detection radar?”

“…!”

Some of the seniors flinched, confirming my guess.

They set up detection radars throughout the mountain in preparation for their showdown with their homeroom teacher.

They made it very well considering the elusive teacher who can hide her presence even from insight skills.

“You have such devices? I wonder if you can spot me using that.”

Im Yeonhwa spoke excitedly as if she was confident that she would win against it.

The detection radar won’t be usable for the time being anyway.

“All the detection radars you installed have been removed.”

It seemed like the seniors realized what I had done.

Their excitement from catching the energy of the universe subsided.

‘I guess they’re calming down now. It’s easy to get lost when they’re out of their right mind, but it’s meaningful to knock them down when ready.’

Woo Kihwan spoke in a much calmer tone.

“…The thing with the earphones was you too?”

“Yes, that was me.”

“How did you… It wasn’t just one, we hid them all thoroughly!”

Woo Kihwan isn’t completely in his senses yet.

I explained it kindly so that he and his group could understand.

“You showed me the map of your hideout, sunbaenim. It hasn’t been long, have you forgotten already?”

“Y-you still have that memorized?!”

The more specific and detailed an operation is, the easier it will be to get caught off guard once leaked.

It was very easy to remember because they showed me the detailed map themselves.

“I’m not after the energy of the universe.”

“Don’t lie to us!”

“I understand that you don’t believe me, seniors.”

Just revealing Sanryeong’s identity wouldn’t put these seniors to their senses.

That’s why I decided to do something appropriate to their level.

“To prove it, I’ll beat you and Professor Im Yeonhwa even without the energy of the universe.”

Ddak!

I pointed my finger toward the sky and the seal engraved on my wrist embraced heat.

Then, Hwang Jiho’s permission for me to use earth power responded and golden particles began to rise from the ground.

Fwaaa….

They noticed the unusual force and the seniors braced themselves and raised their energy waves.

“Guys, back off!”

Gwagaagwa!

Almost at the same time as Im Yeonhwa shouted, the wall rose from the ground.

It shook several times and threw soil up in the air, creating a crack.

When the movement of the ground stabilized, the seniors and Im Yeonhwa were completely divided.

“Class 3-0 went back to the logic of strength, correct?”

I spoke to the appalled seniors.

“So let’s compete with strength.”

***

After the landslide and earthquake settled down.

Im Yeonhwa tried to stop the ground so her students could run away.

She hit the ground with her fist but she couldn’t remain with her students in the end.

‘The earth reacted when Euishin used energy waves. The power buried in the ground moved, not Euishin’s power.’

Jo Euishin used earth power to activate the magic ground planted in the ground beforehand.

Im Yeonhwa didn’t yet understand the mechanism, but she guessed it to some extent.

What she was most curious about now was the identity of the person who engraved the magic circle in the ground.

‘Was it Euishin? Or was it the sword dance student behind him? No, the power seems to be from somewhere else…’

Im Yeonhwa knew a person who used a power similar to this one.

She worked at Eungwang High for a long time enough to understand the skills of faculty and staff to some extent.

Including the chairman.

The magic circle pulverized by Im Yeonhwa felt similar to the boundary skill used by Eungwang High’s chairman Hwang Myeongho.

“Amazing. I thought you would take more time dealing with it.”

“…Chairman?”

Hwangho and Im Yeonhwa’s eyes met.

Im Yeonhwa was grateful to the chairman for hiring her, but she wasn’t necessarily positive about him.

The chairman left Eungwang High in the dark for a long time.

He is shrewd enough for faculty to mess up the school and negligent enough to allow their corruption.

‘Why is the chairman here?’

Im Yeonhwa hid her faintly rising dissatisfaction.

She was vaguely aware of the darkness that went after Eungwang High, but she couldn’t step forward because things were impossible to resolve with just her strength.

That’s why she has been thoroughly protecting her students and the things she’s in charge of that are within the scope of her ability.

It wasn’t until this year that the chairman moved little by little and she was able to breathe, but it was hard to be optimistic.

As if he read Im Yeonhwa’s thoughts, Hwangho spoke.

“I’m going to fight against you. Isn’t that what you wanted too?”

There was a time when Im Yeonhwa wanted to slap the chairman to his senses.

She thought the chairman wouldn’t die from a slap anyway since he was strong.

“It would be an honor to fight against the chairman. Though it’s a problem because my teaching profession would be at stake.”

Im Yeonhwa didn’t rush.

The strong homeroom teacher’s weakness was the position of being a teacher.

For many reasons, there was no school that could afford her except Eungwang High.

If she loses her job in Eungwang High, she will have to be taken back to player teams and live as a human weapon, something that she didn’t want.

“Your teaching position will not be in jeopardy.”

“Really?”

Im Yeonhwa judged that Hwangho was not lying and prepared to fight.

Seeing that, Hwangho smiled.

A one-on-one fight against a strongman at Mt. Cheonil.

Thinking that it was a situation set up by his benefactor, Jo Euishin, reminded him of Uma.

Remembering the process and ending of that battle, Hwangho spoke up.

“I’m saving face this time. Come at me.”

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