Chapter 6 of the Academy's Bully

Baek Iljin sat quietly with his usual expressionless face, watching her. Not only did he give off a strangely similar vibe to Charles, but even his gait was similar.

'Are they siblings?'

When she finally noticed Baek Iljin, she flinched and whispered into Charles's ear.

"Who is this person?"

"Oh, this is Baek Iljin, a new friend I just met. And this is my twin sister, Crystal…"

She glared at Charles, who introduced himself with another strange nickname, and then blushed as she greeted Baek Iljin.

"Ah, hello. My name is Hwangbo Sojeong…"

"Yes. I'm Baek Iljin."

Unlike the brusque attitude she showed towards Charles, her greeting to Baek Iljin was filled with shyness.

"By the way, Charles. Hwangbo Chulsoo, what kind of name is that…"

Upon hearing Baek Iljin's words, Hwangbo Sojeong sighed deeply. Then she punched Charles on the head.

"Did you go around calling yourself Charles again?"

"Why, don't you know that wizards usually use stage names?"

"What kind of wizard are you? You can't even do magic."

"Crystal, you didn't teach me…"

"You don't have the talent, and martial arts are better than magic."

Unlike Hwangbo Chulsoo, she valued martial arts more than magic. Perhaps that was the beginning. The two of them continued to argue about the greatness of martial arts and magic for a few minutes.

"Ah, I don't know. When I go to the academy, I will definitely learn magic."

"Then why did you run away during study time if you love learning so much?"

As she seemed to be losing the argument, Hwangbo Chulsoo gestured towards Baek Iljin, asking for help.

"…I also have to go to the Hwangbo family estate."

"Right! Why are you here at our house?"

"Oh! You're coming to our family estate?"

Hwangbo Chulsoo successfully changed the topic and winked at Baek Iljin.

"I need to get an academy recommendation letter."

"You don't mean the 'Magic Martial Academy,' do you?"

"Of course, the royal academy."

"That's true, but…"

Baek Iljin took out a leaf emblem from the pocket dimension in his ring.

"They said showing this will get me the academy recommendation letter."

"What? The guest coming today is you?"

She remembered what her uncle had said during breakfast that morning. A guest would come from the elf village, so she should stay home and practice.

'Of course, I sneaked out secretly.'

The guest turned out to be Baek Iljin, and she marveled at the strange twists of fate.

"What are you doing? If you've finished your coffee, let's go back to the family estate!"

* * *

The Hwangbo family estate was a grand mansion that exuded a robust and dignified atmosphere.

In the training ground next to the mansion, the family's martial artists, all tall and strong, were practicing. Their eyes were filled with the pride of being disciples of a prestigious family.

"Isn't it more impressive than magic? These are our Hwangbo family's Overlord Team and Thunder Team."

The Overlord and Thunder teams lived up to their names, with each move exuding a tyrannical and powerful aura that could shatter rocks.

"Sure, but they just reek of sweat."

Hwangbo Chulsoo, who was listening to her explanation, started to nitpick.

Seeing his mischievous expression, Hwangbo Sojeong punched him hard on the back.

"Hwangbo Chulsoo! You don't even practice, and you talk like that?"

"Ouch! Are you right to swing such a brute punch, infused with inner energy?"

Despite the stinging pain, he held back his tears and argued, but she ignored him and added another remark.

"If you're going to act like that, don't acknowledge me at the academy!"

"What? The academy…? You said you wouldn't go to the academy even if it killed you…"

Upon hearing this, Hwangbo Sojeong's face turned red, and she glanced at Baek Iljin, speaking in a hurried voice.

"I, I never… I also wanted to go to the academy."

"What? You were still saying this morning…"

"Ah, I'm going! I always wanted to go!"

Seeing her blushing face and shy voice, Hwangbo Chulsoo shuddered as if he had seen a ghost.

'Ugh, why are you making that face? I'd rather get hit than see this.'

As they bickered, a middle-aged man with a massive build approached and laughed heartily, interrupting them.

"Hehe, you kids are still fighting even as you grow up."

"Uncle! This one went out to play instead of studying again!"

"Our Chulsoo… I mean, Charles, must have gone to welcome a guest. Right, Charles?"

"Yes! Of course. Uncle!"

Seeing her uncle always defending Hwangbo Chulsoo, she felt her heart burning.

"Are you the friend Baek Iljin?"

"Yes."

He gestured for Baek Iljin to follow and led him into the family head's hall.

Despite its grand exterior, the Hwangbo family's head hall was surprisingly modest. The room was quite spacious, but the only decorations were a desk for work and a sofa for meetings.

"Here, this."

Baek Iljin took out the emblem he received from the elf village and handed it over.

Hwangbo Myeong, who received the emblem, examined the 'leaf emblem' on his hand with keen eyes.

"Indeed, it's the emblem of the Green Leaf Village."

"Yes."

"Pleased to meet you. I am Hwangbo Myeong, the head of the family. I also hold the title of viscount, but it's not very meaningful."

"I'm Baek Iljin."

After exchanging greetings, Hwangbo Myeong scrutinized Baek Iljin and stroked his chin. The calloused hands on his knuckles testified to his rigorous training.

'This boy shows no signs of martial arts training.'

Hwangbo Myeong shook his head slightly and asked Baek Iljin.

"You said you need an academy recommendation letter."

"Yes."

"Granting it isn't difficult. There's no limit to the number of recommendation letters."

"Thank you."

"But…"

He paused, took a sip of tea, and continued.

"Do you think getting the recommendation letter means you can enter the academy?"

"Huh?"

As he said, the Magic Martial Academy wasn't something you could enter just with a recommendation letter.

"I mean, can you meet the academy's admission standards? The recommendation letter only grants you the right to take the exam."

"Admission standards?"

He didn't understand what admission standards meant. His grandfather and the elf village chief had said he just needed the recommendation letter.

"Oh, you really didn't know anything."

"I didn't know there were separate admission standards."

Hwangbo Myeong pondered how to explain to this expressionless boy.

'This is frustrating. I can't speak directly to the Green Leaf Village's honored guest…'

"You don't seem to have any signs of martial arts training."

"Yes, that's correct."

He had learned the mental techniques to control inner energy but had never formally studied martial arts.

"Then, have you studied magic?"

"No."

Hwangbo Myeong clicked his tongue upon hearing the answer.

"Then, you won't be able to enter."

"Is it because of the 'admission standards'?"

"Yes. Do you know why the academy was established?"

"Not really."

The Martial Arts Alliance and the Tower of Wizards.

150 years ago, they formed an alliance to counter the common enemy, the Black Magic Tower and the Evil Alliance. The 'young talent training center' was created as a symbol of this unity.

"That training center is the predecessor of the current Magic Martial Academy."

"I see."

"Does this make sense to you?"

"So, I need to prove my level in either martial arts or magic through the exam to meet the admission standards."

After thinking for a moment, Baek Iljin said nonchalantly.

"Whether it's magic or martial arts, I can learn, can't I?"

"That's true, but there isn't much time left until the entrance exam."

"Still…"

"Moreover, there's no one here to teach you martial arts, and a week is too short even if you start learning."

Hwangbo Myeong, who cut off his words firmly, didn't feel good about it. But he couldn't give false hope.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

Baek Iljin wasn't so naive as to not understand the situation. He was confident he could meet the admission standards if someone taught him martial arts, but that was the problem.

'Even if I insist, the Hwangbo family won't teach me martial arts.'

At that moment, something flashed through Hwangbo Myeong's mind. The entrance exam included not only practical tests but also written tests.

"Oh, right! Do you know how to study?"

"What kind of study?"

"The academy's entrance exam also includes a written test."

"Really?"

"Since the disciples of martial arts families and wizards don't take the written test, it might be your best chance."

The Hwangbo family had an expert in written tests.

* * *

In a small room filled with dozens of thick books, thick enough to be swung as blunt weapons.

'Oh, what do I do? Suddenly being alone with him…'

Although they were just adults, the situation could have been tense, but the man's expression remained unchanged, unlike the woman's blushing face.

Thump, thump, thump.

Hwangbo Sojeong, worried that her heartbeat might be heard by Baek Iljin, quickly started a conversation.

"Um, shall we speak informally?"

"Yes, let's."

"You, you start first."

"Okay."

"U, um, okay."

After a long silence, she took a deep breath and began explaining the subjects.

"The subjects you need to study are history, combat magic, auxiliary magic, formation magic, martial arts, and movement and defense techniques. There are six in total."

Although she had heard that the written test was easier to pass than the practical test, the stack of thick books made her doubt that.

"There are quite a few."

"Right? You need to memorize all of this in a week."

"A week?"

"Didn't you know? The exam is next week."

The exam date was closer than she thought.

"Since there's not enough time to understand everything, you need to focus on memorizing."

"Understood."

Hwangbo Sojeong found teaching for the first time to be enjoyable. It was a different feeling from forcing Hwangbo Chulsoo to sit and study.

However, there was a problem. Baek Iljin didn't say anything during the study session, not even a question.

'Why isn't he asking questions? Am I not teaching well…?'

But there was another reason Baek Iljin wasn't asking questions. The energy inside his body was starting to surge as the sun set.

'Hmm…'

He tried to suppress the surging energy, but controlling it without practicing energy circulation was not easy.

"Um… Do you understand?"

"Ah, I understand."

Thanks to this, the study progressed quickly, but she started to worry.

'If he fails the academy entrance exam, it would be a problem…'

At that moment, a loud noise came from outside. It seemed something urgent had happened, and Hwangbo Chulsoo was urgently calling her.

"Iljin, solve the problems up to where we've covered. I'll be back soon."

"Understood."

Left alone, Baek Iljin let out a low groan and sat in a cross-legged position. He quickly started practicing energy circulation.

'I'll survive.'

After a while, he managed to calm the energy and picked up the problem book. The basic problems were not as difficult as he thought.

'I solved them all.'

Yawn—

After solving all the problems, drowsiness overwhelmed him. It was partly due to the busy days and partly because he couldn't control the surging energy in time.

'I need to take a nap.'

* * *

'Hwangbo Chulsoo, you idiot. Calling me for something trivial. Charles or Chulsoo, it's his choice to use a stage name.'

Listening to Hwangbo Chulsoo's unnecessary worries took more time than expected. When she hurriedly returned to the study room, she saw Baek Iljin sleeping on his back.

'He must have been tired…'

In front of his closed eyes, the problem book was visible. It seemed he had already solved all the problems, as the pages were stained with ink.

'What do I do! This is an advanced problem book!'

In her haste, she mistakenly gave him the advanced problem book she had bought to solve herself. The advanced problem book was known for its high difficulty, even compared to specialized textbooks.

'Oh, I'm so sorry.'

Thinking about how hard Baek Iljin must have worked to solve the difficult problems, she felt guilty.

'But since he solved them, I should grade them…'

As she graded the problem book, her expression turned to shock.

'This, this is unbelievable!…'