Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 118

Chapter 118

Doubt (9)

***

I briefly considered the reason behind the hostility overflowing in those green eyes. It was both annoying and puzzling at the same time.

If it stemmed from a sense of rivalry, it seemed excessive. As for holding a grudge over her previous defeat in the ranking battle, Jin Yeseo had been disapproving of me long before that.

It wasn’t personal, nor was it an issue between our families—there was no real point of conflict between us.

Baekgwang might be closely allied with Paechun, but that doesn’t mean they were openly hostile toward Heukryeon.
T h i s was c o p ie d f r o m ki n g m t l. o r g

Perhaps it had to do with the rumors of my clash with that girl earlier in the semester.
T h i s w a s c o pi ed f r o m k i ng mt l .o r g

Everyone in the school knew about that incident by now, and Jin Yeseo was known to follow that girl almost obsessively.

But even with these reasons, something was still missing.

It felt like there was something invisible, lurking just beneath the surface—something I wasn’t aware of.

It wasn’t just a desire for victory. It felt like a deep, visceral hatred of losing.

What could it be?

“…”

I shook off the doubts clouding my mind.

Even if I figured out the reason, it wouldn’t automatically solve the problem at hand.

The task before me was clear, and the solution was simple.

I needed to utterly defeat this girl, to the point of breaking her spirit, so she wouldn’t dare to bother me again.

On top of that, I could give Yeon Minha more leverage as well.

“Even after all that, you still haven’t learned your lesson?”

No sooner had I spoken than the blonde girl grit her teeth in frustration.

“Today, I’m serious.”

“You said something similar last time.”

“No. Today is different.”

“Different, huh?”

Jin Yeseo’s eyes blazed as she muttered under her breath.

“I’m going to fight like I intend to kill you.”

“…”

It was a declaration cold enough to send a chill down my spine.

“Both participants, to your positions.”

At the judge’s word, Jin Yeseo spun around and strode confidently to her starting point.

I also returned to my starting position.

The countdown marking the beginning of the duel echoed loudly across the arena.

Jin Yeseo stood on the opposite side of the arena, her hand resting on her particle array device.

As expected of an Expulsion System mage facing a Circulation System mage, she seemed ready to fire off her magic the moment the duel began.

“…Two! One…!”

Regardless of her unclear motivations, one thing was certain—she was taking this duel far more seriously than before.

Fighting with the intent to kill… That didn’t sound like a mere figure of speech.

“…”

However, there was no need for me to match her intensity.

In fact, what I needed was precisely the opposite.

If I fought her half-heartedly like last time, it would only fuel her desire for revenge. She’d use the humiliation as motivation and come at me again like a moth drawn to a flame. That much was obvious without even needing to see it play out.

So, what I needed to do was imprint a sense of despair so deep that she would never dare challenge me again.

“…Begin!”

-Whoa!

At the judge’s signal, a thunderous roar erupted from the crowd.

Within seconds, Jin Yeseo had already completed her magic formula. Behind her, a black serpent of fire, so hot it made the surrounding air sting, slithered into being.

“…?”

But her eyes soon filled with confusion.

The excited shouts from the audience gradually turned into murmurs.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes were now fixed on me.

Despite the signal to begin, I hadn’t moved a muscle.

***

The duels between Expulsion System and Circulation System mages are typically simple, following a clear pattern.

The Circulation mage’s main goal is to close the distance as quickly as possible. By doing so, they can incapacitate their opponent or, if not, at least force them into close combat.

At close range, Expulsion System mages face the risk of their spells backfiring, and they have a hard time dealing with Circulation mages, who possess overwhelming physical enhancements.

Naturally, Expulsion System mages aim to deal as much damage as possible, or even finish the fight, before the Circulation mage can close the gap.

Given these conditions, I should already have been charging at her. Just like in our last match, which ended in a crushing defeat for her, the general flow should have been the same.

But this time, things were different.

The masked boy didn’t charge. He merely stood idly, his arms limp at his sides, completely relaxed.

“…What are you doing?”

Jin Yeseo’s voice was filled with disbelief as she stared across the arena.

Slowly, anger began creeping into her voice.

“…”

I gave no response.

T h i s wa s c o p ie d f ro m ki n gmt l . o r g
Instead, I carried out my next move.

I flipped my blade in reverse and drove it into the ground with a solid thud. The stone floor cracked as easily as if it were made of dirt.

It was only after this that Jin Yeseo finally heard my voice.

“I don’t think I’ll need to use my blade.”

“What…?”

My calm tone seemed to provoke her even more.

A Circulation System mage entering a duel without a Stellite weapon was practically unheard of.

T hi s wa s c o p ie d f ro m kin g m t l .o r g
Even with physical enhancements from Circulation magic, there were limits.

The only things that could protect me while closing the distance were my anti-particle suit and my Stellite weapon, which conducted particle energy.

And relying solely on the anti-particle suit wasn’t enough—it lacked flexibility for proper defense. Without a blade to deflect incoming spells, I’d be exposed to danger almost immediately.

In our last match, I had to deflect her spells continuously until I could close the distance and beat her in hand-to-hand combat. My blade had taken so much strain that it eventually snapped.

So, the only time it made sense to duel without a weapon was when the skill gap between the opponents was overwhelmingly large.

Realizing the implication behind my actions, Jin Yeseo’s face turned red with humiliation and rage.

“You… You bastard!!!”

She unleashed her black serpents of flame, sending them hurtling toward me.

***

Lee Hyun focused his mind.

In the surrounding air, waves seemed to ripple outward, and soon, a sensation began to pour into his body through the ends of his limbs.

It was an act no other mage in the world could accomplish, yet he could do it as easily as breathing.

Invisible particles tickled his veins, and with a few adjustments to his particle array device, he completed the magical formula using the gathered particles.

T h is wa s c op ied f rom k in g m t l . o r g
By positioning the points and connecting the lines, a multi-dimensional, five-layer magic formula penetrated his body.

In the last ranking battle with Jin Yeseo, he hadn’t even been able to unfold half of his predictive path. The aftermath of the Southern Collapse event had left him unable to fully recover before the duel.

But this time, he had sufficient recovery time following the Jeokhwa incident.

Unfolding a five-path predictive formula posed no significant challenge now.

Unlike last time, he didn’t need to end the duel quickly. In fact, he intended to drag this fight out for as long as possible within the time limit.

Jin Yeseo seemed to take his discarded blade as a sign of mockery, but soon enough, she would come to accept the true gap between their abilities.

-Boom!

As soon as he completed the predictive path, Lee Hyun leaped into the air.

A massive wall of black flames engulfed the spot he had just been standing on.

Before he even landed, several serpents of flame, their fangs bared, lunged toward his vital points.

At the same time, a flaming arrow, clearly aimed at his throat, shot toward him from above.

But Lee Hyun instinctively dodged them all, immediately closing the distance between him and Jin Yeseo.

“Faster? How… how can this be…!”

Jin Yeseo gritted her teeth in disbelief.

She had spent the past few weeks training relentlessly, without wasting a single minute.

Moreover, in a duel between Circulation and Expulsion System mages, the first strike should always belong to the Expulsion mage.

But instead of closing the gap, he hadn’t allowed her even a single effective hit.

T his was co p ie d f r o m k i n g m tl . or g
Jin Yeseo fought to suppress the despair creeping into her heart.

“Die!!”

She scattered her flames in every direction.

The blazing black fire filled every inch of the arena floor, leaving no room to stand.
T h is w a s c o p ie d f r o m k ing m t l . o r g

-Sizzle…

As soon as Lee Hyun’s feet touched the ground, a sizzling noise rose from beneath him.

But he didn’t care. He continued to approach Jin Yeseo at high speed.

The soles of his shoes left melted imprints on the floor, resembling footprints in freshly fallen snow.

By now, Jin Yeseo could see her reflection in the shadow of his mask.

‘…No. I can’t lose again…!’

Clenching her teeth, Jin Yeseo conjured a massive ball of black fire in her palm.

She was willing to risk being caught in the blast just to bring him down.

But before she could finish her spell, a rough hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.

There was no way she could have reacted in time.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the masked boy twisted her wrist in the opposite direction of her casting motion with a sickening crack.

-Crunch!

“Argh…!”

The incomplete spell disintegrated into particles and scattered into the air. Jin Yeseo let out a groan as she fell to the ground, rolling across the arena floor.

-Boom!

She barely managed to roll out of the way before Lee Hyun’s foot smashed into the spot where her head had been.

T hi s w a s copi e d f r om k i ng m t l .o rg
Panting, Jin Yeseo forced herself to her feet and conjured a long, black, flaming spear in her uninjured hand.

Her eyes were bloodshot as she swung it toward Lee Hyun’s head.

-Bang!

Lee Hyun raised both forearms and deflected the strike, using his arms as a makeshift shield.

The gauntlets attached to his anti-particle suit shattered and clattered to the ground.

Amid the clash, Lee Hyun felt a sense of peculiarity.

There was something strange about the way Jin Yeseo fought when she was cornered.

It was the same in their last duel.

Whenever he closed the distance, she didn’t back off like most Expulsion System mages would. Instead, she chose to fight head-on.

It wasn’t as if she had no space to retreat or no way to avoid his attacks.

Whenever the fight crossed the threshold from calculated combat to raw instinct, Jin Yeseo always fought this way.

It wasn’t just a matter of different tactics. It felt like something innate to her nature.
T h i s w a s copi e d fr o m k in g m t l. or g

Her physique was unusually well-trained for an Expulsion mage, and her attacks instinctively aimed for vital spots.

T h i s w as co pi ed f ro m k ing m t l . o r g
In fact, she seemed more dangerous now than when she had been recklessly flinging magic around.

“…”

But Lee Hyun soon dismissed these thoughts from his mind.

Whatever her nature was, it didn’t change what he needed to do.

-Whoosh!

He dodged her wide swing, slipping inside her reach as if to embrace her.

He then grabbed both of her temples with his hands.

Before Jin Yeseo even had time to register what was happening, Lee Hyun brought his knee up and slammed it into her.

-Bang!!

A deafening crash echoed through the arena as Jin Yeseo’s body collided with the concrete wall.

Her hair tie had come undone, and her golden hair fell messily around her.

She lay buried in a pile of rubble, her limbs trembling uncontrollably.

“Guh… Gah…”

“Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to surrender this time.”

The masked boy spoke as he grabbed Jin Yeseo by the neck and lifted her off the ground.

“Just stay still like that until the duel is over.”

Beneath the mask, his eyes gleamed with a terrifying intensity.

End of Chapter