Chapter 24: Moon Cheol-woong’s True Education.

“What the hell are you doing right now?”

Jeong Eun-seo said, looking at him with a cold expression. Her eyes were so murky, like the lifeless eyes of a dead

fish, that it sent chills down his spine. At the sight of her alien gaze, Moon Cheol-woong flinched for a moment and

shrank back.

He thought to himself.

‘Shit… why am I so scared?’

The girl in front of him appeared to be much smaller than Moon Cheol-woong at a glance. She was even a student belonging to the same F-class.

Rumors about Jeong Eun-seo being the daughter of the high-ranking Theor Guild circulated openly at the academy,

but Moon Cheol-woong, who was trying to latch onto Artemis, had no intention of considering that. If he were

someone with a proper mindset, he wouldn’t have dared to provoke her in front of everyone else in the first place.

“So… who do you think you are, ordering me around? Are you special with that bastard? Just get lost, you irrelevant girl.”

To avoid revealing his fear, Moon Cheol-woong shouted as boldly as he could, like a hedgehog cornered in a crisis.

But that kind of bravado had no effect on Jeong Eun-seo.

She looked at him with icy eyes and spoke.

“You’d better stop while you can. I think I understand why you’re acting this way. But do you really think the Artemis Guild cares about you?”

She approached Moon Cheol-woong and whispered.

“Or did Yoo Hee-yeon order you to act like this? If that’s the case, that’s even more regrettable. How do you plan to

live if they throw you aside for behaving like this? It’s going to get tough for you, isn’t it? I’m the kind of person who

will bite back at an enemy relentlessly. Don’t you know the rumors about me? If you mess with me again, I swear on

everything I have that I’ll ruin not just your life but the lives of everyone around you too.”

Thud.

Moon Cheol-woong stepped back and said.

“W-what the hell is this about? This is going too far!”

Feeling a chill at Jeong Eun-seo’s menacing attitude, Moon Cheol-woong began to adopt a slightly subdued demeanor.

Not missing that opportunity, Jeong Eun-seo pointed at the wallet in his hand and said.

“This is your last chance. Put that down and get out.”

Moon Cheol-woong started to look around at the reactions of those nearby. People were murmuring, all looking at him as if he were a thief.

“Shit! Don’t look at me like that! I didn’t steal anything!”

Moon Cheol-woong opened his wallet to show everyone.

Inside the wallet was 130,000 won in cash, with no cards or traces of anything else.

Moon Cheol-woong wasn’t that foolish. Before coming here, he had removed any clues that could lead to the

conclusion that this was Lee Hyun-seung’s wallet, and he had even added a little more money from his own pocket

than what was originally there.

So, he was in a position to be confident right now. However, Jeong Eun-seo’s cold gaze contained a foreboding

feeling, as if she genuinely intended to kill someone, which made Moon Cheol-woong resolve not to push back any

further and to step back.

Thud!

He threw the wallet he was holding onto the ground and stomped on it.

• Squelch.
• Squelch.

Then, spitting as if it were dirty, he muttered.

“Shit. I’m throwing away this dirty wallet. Can you see inside? Where’s the evidence that this is Lee Hyun-seung’s

wallet? There’s only my cash of 130,000 won inside! I didn’t steal it! But if you guys are going to talk like that, then

I’ll just get rid of this cheap wallet. It’s disgusting.”

“Before I kill you there.”

Just as Jeong Eun-seo glared at him and was about to charge.

• Thump.

Lee Hyun-seung stepped in front of her and shook his head.

Then he whispered quietly, “There’s no good that can come from this.”

“But… it’s clear that bastard stole something! If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t be backing down like that. Look at his

attitude! Are we just going to let him get away with it?”

Lee Hyun-seung glanced at his wallet, which was covered in spit, and murmured quietly, “I was originally going to

leave it alone, but I changed my mind. Jeong Eun-seo, do you happen to have a high-grade healing potion?”

A high-grade healing potion is a recovery item that can heal even severed wounds in one spray.

“Of course I have something like that. But why do you ask?”

“I have a use for it. I’ll pay you back later, so lend it to me. And do you have an anti-wave artifact by any chance?”

“I don’t have that… But if you need it urgently, I can ask for it to be obtained within three hours.”

“Then please get that too.”

Crack

Lee Hyun-seung gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

After several hours of classes, he received the healing potion and anti-wave artifact from Jeong Eun-seo and

attended the classes until the end.

Ding dong ding dong

When the bell signaling the end of class rang, Lee Hyun-seung began to follow Moon Cheol-woong, who was walking toward the main gate.

Thud

Thud

Thud

Moon Cheol-woong was heading home after attending all the academy classes. However, he sensed a distinctly

unpleasant and sticky feeling that was different from usual.

Swish

Feeling anxious, Moon Cheol-woong looked back, but there was nothing in sight. All he could see were the leaves rustling in the chilly wind.

‘What is it? I felt like something was definitely there?’

Just a moment ago, he could sense a strange aura of mana following him from behind. An overtly hostile mana

presence. It felt both chilling and nauseating.

Thud thud thud

Thud thud thud

Moon Cheol-woong walked quickly.

Swish

He looked back again, but still saw nothing.

‘Shit… shit….’

Tap tap tap tap

Moon Cheol-woong started to run like crazy.

It wasn’t just his imagination. Someone was definitely following him. But whenever he looked back, they vanished in an instant.

‘This is beyond my level.’

He clearly recognized that someone was following him. But at the same time, he could feel with every fiber of his being that this was not someone he could handle.

Run. He had to run.

He was simply following his instincts.

After running for a while, Moon Cheol-woong, unable to bear it any longer, shouted madly behind him.

“W-who the hell is following me! Show yourself! I know someone’s there, so come out right now!”

Huff… huff… huff….

Moon Cheol-woong gasped for breath as he shouted, but no one came out. However, soon after, he started to hear a

wheezing laugh, and a familiar figure popped out.

“L-Lee Hyun-seung? Huh?”

The mana presence he had sensed until a moment ago was Lee Hyun-seung, and Moon Cheol-woong felt a wave of

fatigue wash over him.

Thinking he had been too sensitive, Moon Cheol-woong concluded that he had mistakenly perceived Lee Hyun-

seung’s mana presence as excessively powerful. No, he had no choice but to think that way. There was no way a mere

gunmage could emit more extensive mana than he could.

Although he was F-class, Moon Cheol-woong was a swordsman. It was common knowledge that swordsmen were superior to gunmages.

Now, the person who had been trembling in fear just moments ago had vanished, and he shouted arrogantly.

“If you’re doing this because of what happened this morning, you’re definitely going to regret it. Do you think you

can get away with messing with me? From now on, I’m going to crush you step by step.”

Moon Cheol-woong looked around, bursting into laughter.

“Perfect, there are no CCTVs or anything around here. Well, it did capture the moment we came in, but after I beat

you to a pulp, if I deny it, the academy won’t be able to punish me strongly since there’s no clear evidence of what

happened.”

As he spoke, Lee Hyun-seung nodded while tightly gripping the anti-wave artifact in his hand.

“I know, and I’ve already taken other measures. So don’t worry about the CCTV.”

Moon Cheol-woong looked at Lee Hyun-seung, tilting his head in confusion, and spoke with a chilling gaze.

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Are you out of your mind? Do you really want me to kill you?”

Swish

Ignoring Moon Cheol-woong’s words, Lee Hyun-seung aimed his gun at him.

“Pfft! A gun? You think you can hurt me with a gun? Do you really think that a regular handgun could do anything to me?”

“Yeah, I think it can.”

Bang bang bang!

Three gunshots rang out in quick succession.

Moon Cheol-woong used his mana to enhance his body’s reaction speed to block the bullets. Just as he tried to dodge to the side, however…

Whoosh

Whoosh

Whoosh

Stagger

“Huh?…”

Before he could even move his body, the rapidly fired bullets struck him, inflicting excruciating pain.

“Gaaahhh—!”

Three bullets had lodged themselves precisely in his right foot.

Swish

Lee Hyun-seung looked at Moon Cheol-woong with a grin, replacing the magazine as he spoke.

• A mental disruption magazine has been equipped. When dealing damage to an opponent with lower mana than yourself, there is a low probability of inducing a mental disruption effect.

“Don’t go down easily; I have no intention of letting you go lightly.”