Chapter 31: What happens to those who cross the line to me

“Wow… This is the dorm?”

At Beatrice Academy, combat-oriented classes were primarily determined by entrance exam rankings.

Of the 300 freshmen, 30 were in Class A, 60 in Class B, 90 in Class C, and 120 in Class D.

Dormitories were assigned accordingly.

Class A: single rooms, Class B: double rooms, Class C: triple rooms, Class D: quadruple rooms. A meritocratic system, with privileges based on ability.

The top 10 students received luxurious single-room dormitories, rivaling 4-star hotels.

While being the top student guaranteed unwanted attention, I couldn’t help but enjoy these perks.

“Would anyone challenge me to a ranking match?”

Entrance exam rankings weren’t permanent. Rankings shifted after midterms, finals, and throughout the academic year.

Additionally, each student had one challenge right.

Every six months, students could challenge a higher-ranked student to a ranking match.

Victory meant swapping ranks. These were real fights, not virtual simulations.

Defeat meant signing a contract to treat the opponent with utmost respect for six months – bowing and using honorifics whenever they met.

A minor penalty compared to the ranking shift, but for the prideful students of Beatrice Academy, it was enough of a deterrent.

Also, students who participated in a ranking match within a month could refuse challenges for the following month, preventing higher-ranked students from being constantly harassed.

There was a one-week grace period for accepting challenges, in case multiple students applied.

But after my brutal victory against Jin Baek-ryong, I doubted anyone would challenge me.

Unless they believed they were stronger than Jin Baek-ryong or attributed my victory to a lucky sneak attack.

Ding-dong.

As I was relaxing, the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find a red-haired man wielding a spear. He looked familiar.

“Can I help you?”

My top-ranked dormitory was in a separate area, with a “1st Place: Kim Yu-won” sign on the door, so he couldn’t have mistaken the place.

“Kim Yu-won, the top rank. I challenge you to a ranking match. You seem to be enjoying your victory against Jin Baek-ryong, but I’ll show you the true power of a top 10 family and the might of China.”

Calling me “you,” not even bothering with honorifics, and challenging me right off the bat. His mention of a top 10 family and “the might of China” gave him away.

Wang Wei, the one Alice had helped Kojiro defeat.

The red hair and spear confirmed it.

But pretending not to know him would only anger him further, so I didn’t bother asking his name.

“Who are you?”

That alone was enough to offend someone as prideful as him.

“Are you… saying you don’t know me?”

“Yeah. You’re not even in the top 10. Why would I know you?”

Having not known Alice was second, I’d checked the rankings on the Beatrice Academy app and memorized the top 10.

1st: Kim Yu-won, 2nd: Alice, 3rd (tie): Estelle and Liera, 5th: Anna Frost, 6th: Yoo Seung-ah, 7th: Cheon Ha-yeon, 8th: Jin Baek-ryong, 9th: Sasaki Kojiro, 10th: Dang Hee-ran.

I’d expected Ha-yeon to rank high with 17 markers, but the others hadn’t told me their rankings.

They probably wanted to surprise me.

I’d planned to visit them later in their dorms and feign surprise. But this guy showed up instead.

I intended to maintain my top rank anyway, so I’d accept his challenge after hearing his response.

“A lowly Awakened from a small country, momentarily holding the top rank, acting all high and mighty… Do you think surrounding yourself with those airheaded women makes you something special? They’re probably just worn-out, clinging to someone like you.”

“What…?”

Ink lightning, amplified by the Divine-grade elixir, surged from me.

A dragon of ink-black energy, radiating killing intent, coiled around me, pressing down on him.

The dam of my anger, broken by Jin Baek-ryong.

While other emotions remained suppressed, anger, tied to past memories, flowed freely and intensely.

Intensely enough to manifest physically and intimidate this guy.

“D-Do you think I’m scared?”

Wang Wei summoned flames, trying to push back the ink lightning.

But his flames flickered like a candle before the ink-black dragon.

“Say that again. What did you call them?”

I gave him a chance to retract his statement, in case I’d misheard.

The intensifying ink lightning threatened to extinguish his flames. Facing the gaping maw of the dragon, Wang Wei spoke.

“A lowly Awakened from a small country…”

“And after that.”

“Surrounding yourself with airheaded women…”

“And after that.”

“Worn-out
…”

I’d heard correctly.

If he’d just insulted me and challenged me, I would have let him off with a beating.

But he’d insulted the people around me.

While my memories were tinged with anger and a faint sense of love, I wasn’t a good person. I’d directly killed over 2,000 people in my past lives.

Tens of thousands more had died indirectly because of me, and hundreds of thousands more by the armies under my command.

I’d let personal insults slide, but I never showed mercy to those who harmed those I cared about.

They all paid the price.

I’d minimized my connections to avoid that kind of life, but the people from my past lives had found me.

People who loved me enough to sacrifice everything.

I hadn’t reciprocated their love fully, but the returning emotions were revealing the depth of my feelings for them.

I must have loved them deeply.

And this guy had insulted them, the women I loved, the women I would love again.

Women who’d known no other man but me.

I unleashed the ink lightning.

“Challenge me to a ranking match. I’ll accept immediately.”

I didn’t need a week.

This guy needed to be taught a lesson.

He’d crossed a line, and I would cross it too.

The heir to a top 10 family? The potential repercussions for me? I should have considered those things, but I wasn’t that kind of person.

My peaceful life was over.

I’d show the world:

Who I was, why they shouldn’t mess with those I cared about, and what happened to those who crossed me.

The fact that he was an heir to a top 10 family made it even better. It would send a message that I didn’t care about such things.

“Do you think I’m bluffing, you arrogant? I’ll beat you until you beg for mercy.”

His arrogance only fueled my anger.

My phone pinged.

A ranking match request from him via the academy app. I accepted immediately.

A notification was sent to all students.

-Ranking match between 1st place Kim Yu-won and 57th place Wang Wei at 7 PM today.

Ranking match announcements were sent automatically upon acceptance, allowing all students to watch.

7 PM, a perfect time after dinner.

‘Wait… 57th place?’

Eliminated early due to Alice and Kojiro’s combined efforts, he hadn’t even made it into Class A.

“Get lost. Show up at 7.”

“You better not run away after dinner.”

He left, clinging to his pride. That would be the last time.

In four hours, he’d lose the ability to be proud.

His promising future would crumble.

I needed to make it look like an accident, though.

Crippling someone while overwhelmingly dominating them would be too suspicious.

A close fight, a feigned retreat, then an unfortunate accident.

As I planned his downfall, I sensed approaching presences.

Familiar presences.

Liera and Estelle, who must have been nearby, arrived first.