Crackle, crackle!
Damn it Ah!
With each spark, the masked man twisted in pain.
His entire body was tightly bound by wires carrying electric current.
With even the slightest movent causing an electric shock, his only option was to be ekly dragged along.
Really unfair Ah! Damn. Whats with the first-year students this year?
Song Cheon-hye did not respond to the masked mans question but silently infused mana into the wire.
The wire would continue to paralyze its target until its energy was depleted.
Having completely subdued her opponent, all she had to do now was drag this thief her senior, to the disciplinary room according to the manual.
But then,
Boom, boom, boom!
Hiic.
A trendous noise startled Song Cheon-hye.
She hiccupped involuntarily, but fortunately for her, the thief club senior was too busy wrestling with the wire to notice her reaction.
Song Cheon-hye cald her startled heart and estimated the distance between the source of the noise and her current location.
Even though it was quite a distance away, the fact that the sound was so clearly audible suggested it was no ordinary occurrence.
I need to go check it out.
Song Cheon-hye injected more mana into the wire.
She was sowhat concerned about leaving the guy behind, but checking out the source of the noise was more pressing at the mont.
She could always return soon to retrieve him.
Song Cheon-hye launched herself off the ground before casting a spell.
Electricity surged through her legs, transforming her into a streak of lightning as she sped off.
The mont she arrived at the source of the loud noise,
Ugh!
Song Cheon-hye felt her breath catch in her throat from the intense heat.
Surveying the area, she saw a thick triple-layered stone wall with a huge hole in it while the remaining debris lted away like butter.
And little distance away, she spotted Kwak Seung-jae lying unconscious.
Senior!
Song Cheon-hye rushed to Kwak Seung-jae and then quickly checked his condition.
Since he was stuck by a blow that left such trembling aftereffects, it wouldnt have been surprising if he had died instantly.
Even if he hadnt died, there was a high chance that parts of his body were severely burned or his internal organs turned to mush.
But,
?
Strangely, Kwak Seung-jae seed to be unhard.
He had only minor burns, so scrapes from rolling on the ground, and a slightly twisted mana circuit.
Just a few days of rest would be enough for his recovery.
Such minor injuries didnt match the level of destruction in this place at all.
Song Cheon-hye!
A second-year student from the disciplinary committee landed nearby.
His reaction was similar.
He grimaced at the wave of heat hitting his face upon arrival, hastily checked Kwak Seung-jaes condition, and was puzzled to find him relatively unhard.
He asked Song Cheon-hye,
What on earth happened here?
Im not sure. I just arrived myself.
Lets head back for now.
Though Kwak Seung-jae was unconscious, he wasnt seriously injured.
Considering the possibility of the assailant returning, it seed wiser to discuss further in a safer location.
The second-year student lifted Kwak Seung-jae and carried him on his back.
***
I rotated my wrists, each in turn.
The hand that had cast [Inferno Fist] was not only free from burns but it also lacked even the slightest burn mark.
This was clear evidence that I had completely nullified the elental penalty.
However, there remained a slight tingling sensation as if my fist was burning from the inside.
I continued to relax my fists and walked towards the dormitory.
That was quite the effort this ti.
It was all due to the need to control my strength.
If I had struck with maximum firepower, Kwak Seung-jae probably wouldnt have even left a corpse behind.
Even a moderate output would have blown off a limb.
It was indeed a struggle to adjust my strength precisely enough to render him just incapable of fighting, not more, not less.
I wonder if Kwak Seung-jae would appreciate the effort I put into controlling my power when he wakes up.
The advantage of such ticulous control was that it didnt escalate the situation.
Breaking into the temporary storage with the thieves club and stealing prohibited items.
Even if the punishnt were severe, it would only go as far as derit points and disciplinary action.
Of course, it wasnt a minor incident so I would receive quite a few derit points and face a high level of disciplinary action, perhaps being assigned so unpleasant tasks. But that would have been the extent of the punishnt.
However, had I inflicted serious injury on Kwak Seung-jae or worse, killed him, the situation would have escalated beyond a re student affair. It would have beco an adult matter.
Cases escalated to the faculty line were treated much more seriously, and the punishnt was also more severe.
When seeking to gain sothing by breaking the rules at Dragon Slayer Academy, one must always be careful not to cross this line and avoid any chance for the staff to intervene.
I doubt the disciplinary committee will just let this go.
The incident didnt escalate but it wasnt over either.
There were lots of prohibited items stored in the Cube of Life, and the Inferno Fist itself was a prohibited skill.
Moreover, by defeating Kwak Seung-jae, I had incurred the wrath of both the Erald Magic Tower and the disciplinary committee who would undoubtedly try to uncover my identity.
They would do this in the na of justice and also to save their own reputation.
But they wont find .
I had left a few clues, but they were far from sufficient to identify .
The only slight chance they had was if Dang Gyu-young spoke up but I doubted that would happen.
After all, Dang Gyu-young was the president of the thieves club.
***
In the disciplinary committee, the room of truth.
The president of the club Oh Se-hoon displayed a gentle smile as always.
Opposite to him sat Dang Gyu-young as she slouched casually.
Her face was sared with dirt and dust due to the aftermath of the fierce battle. And her normally neat, straight hair was now unkempt and disheveled.
This was a stark contrast with Song Cheon-gis immaculate appearance with not a single spot of dirt on his clothes. (TN: this Song Cheon-gi is the student council president.)
Her whole appearance scread I lost the fight, but the expression on her face conveyed a different ssage:
Yeah, I lost, so what?
.
Song Cheon-gi frowned and turned away as if he was displeased by this sight.
Having subdued Dang Gyu-young and handed her over, his role here was done.
Whatever happened next was up to Oh Se-hoon.
Im leaving.
Why dont you sit and rest for a bit? Youve worked hard.
I have a mountain of paperwork to deal with. And thanks to these guys, its only gotten bigger.
Song Cheon-gi grumbled as he resigned himself to a night without sleep.
The mbers of the disciplinary committee watched Song Cheon-gis departing figure with curious eyes.
The student council had always maintained a neutral stance, never interfering in the disputes of other groups.
But tonight, the student council president himself unexpectedly helped them, so they couldnt help but be curious for the reason.
Does the president know? They all looked inquisitively at Oh Se-hoon, but he simply smiled and shook his head.
If I tell you, Ill be in big trouble.
He feared that the mont he spoke the truth, Song Cheon-gi might burst through the door.
It was better for everyone if certain things remained unspoken.
Anyway, Song Cheon-gi had left, and the cleanup was now Oh Se-hoons responsibility.
It ant dealing with the situation at hand.
Uuuaam
Dang Gyu-young yawned lazily.
As she sank deeper into the chair, her head settled where her shoulders should have been.
In that position, Dang Gyu-young asked,
How long are you going to hold here? Just give the derit points and let go.
She spoke as if she already knew how the conversation would unfold.
And this wasnt surprising, considering she had been coming and going from this room of truth for over two years now.
Having faced Oh Se-hoon countless tis, their exchanges had beco predictably routine.
Oh Se-hoon recited his usual lines.
If you cooperate well, this will be over quickly. Shall we start with this?
Dang Gyu-young received the docunts and began flipping through them.
Items were listed over several pages.
They were a comparison of the inventory records before and after the breach of the temporary storage.
What was listed in the docunts were the discrepancies in the ledger.
More precisely, the items that were now stored in the Cube of Life.
A few unfamiliar items caught her eye.
Probably those the bold junior had claid as his share.
She started wondering why he took both [Inferno Fist] and the [Heart of Thunder], but it wasnt important right now.
Dang Gyu-young feigned ignorance and retorted.
Whats this about?
Gyu-young, lets not waste ti. You know what this is.
No? This is the first ti Im seeing it.
Pretending ignorance will just make things more tiring for both of us.
Yeah, like I care~
Her brazen attitude wasnt new.
The thieves club. Once they had taken sothing, they rarely ever gave it back.
Especially today, since they had taken a particularly big bite, they were determined not to let go.
Whenever Gyu-young brazenly confronted him in such shaless way, Oh Se-hoon had a set response.
Gyu-young, I cant let this slide this ti. I dont know how you did it, but many items have gone missing. You all have to take full responsibility for the shortfall.
What happens if we take full responsibility?
He started to tally up all the school rules they had broken today
And added to that the missing items
3% derit points, a cut in the clubs budget, two weeks of cleaning the underground sewers and clearing out the monsters inside, one week of building maintenance work and the seniors will have to take on two external requests.
Thats a hell of a lot. So, youre about to make an offer, right?
She knew that showing the carrot after the stick was the next step for this guy.
Oh Se-hoon continued speaking with a bitter smile.
If you co clean and return all the items, Ill reduce it to 1% derit points and only three days of sewer cleaning. And nothing else.
It was an unconventional offer.
Such a significant reduction was a bit beyond the authority of the disciplinary committee president, but Oh Se-hoon had the capability to make it happen.
However, he already anticipated the kind of response he would receive.
Though he always made offers, he could count on one hand the amount of tis they were accepted.
As expected, Dang Gyu-young chose the first option without much hesitation.
Ill just take the punishnt for three weeks, whatever.
I knew you would say that.
Sure enough, Dang Gyu-young had no real hesitation in choosing to face the consequences.
The prohibited items entrusted to Kim Ho were all of high value.
Considering the imnse profit they could make by selling them, this level of punishnt was bearable.
Dang Gyu-young got up from her seat and asked.
Is that it?
Yes, the punishnt starts tomorrow. Let the others know in advance.
Alright. Im off.
Go and rest.
As Dang Gyu-young left the room of truth, five mbers of the thieves club who had been crouching in a corner crowded around her.
Noonim, is it over?
How many weeks of punishnt?
What about the derit points?
Theres no external request, right?
Wait, its only the five of them?
There were supposed to be seven participants in this operation including Dang Gyu-young.
One mber was missing.
When she checked the mbers of the club she discovered that the absent one was Kim Ho.
She had assud at first that everyone was caught, but it seed that junior had managed to escape the pursuit and flee.
But how?
It was possible to shake off other disciplinary mbers with so luck, but evading Kwak Seung-jaes attention was extrely difficult.
And then she noticed that Kwak Seung-jae himself was nowhere to be seen.
Dang Gyu-young stopped a passing disciplinary mber to ask him.
Hey, where did Seung-jae go?
To the infirmary.
The infirmary?
The expression of the disciplinary mber changed subtly.
It was almost as if they were asking why Dang Gyu-young didnt know.
He got taken down by soone from your side, didnt you know?
!
But who is that?
He actually didnt resort to so clever trickery; he confronted Kwak Seung-jae and defeated him head-on before he calmly made his escape.
This was impressive in its own right.
A freshman, not even a week into school, had taken down a second-year disciplinary committee mber?
Dang Gyu-young chuckled.
Haha
Boy, youre quite capable.
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