Strongest First-Year

“Mana… inability?”

Baek Hwayeon opened her eyes wide. Lee Dojin nodded.

“Yeah, so I gave up on becoming a hunter. I dropped out of Athena and went back to my hometown home after a long time.”

Baek Hwayeon stopped walking and blinked her eyes at that explanation, which was so different from the current Lee Dojin.

Lee Dojin gestured with his chin towards a chair.

“We should sit down and talk more.”

“Okay.”

Baek Hwayeon and Lee Dojin eventually sat on a bench.

“Anyway, so I went to my hometown and entered my father’s workshop after a long time. And there was some kind of unusual branch.”

That was his first encounter with Mistilteinn.

He couldn’t explain in detail about Mistilteinn. It would be too long to explain that.

“Thanks to that branch, I became able to use energy when holding a wooden sword. That’s why I only use a wooden sword.”

“The, the branch went into your body? Are there no side effects or anything?”

“Yeah, thanks to it, I became able to use sword energy, at least with a wooden sword.”

“I see… Phew, I thought. You might have had some fetish for enjoying that smooth yet rugged feeling unique to wooden swords, so I was going to try to understand even that.”

“??”

Lee Dojin was genuinely flustered for the first time in a while.

Baek Hwayeon smiled broadly. Baek Hwayeon’s smile in the darkness, and in the streetlight illuminating that darkness.

“Thank you.”

Baek Hwayeon’s two eyes stared directly at Lee Dojin.

“This is the first secret you’ve told me, right?”

“Yeah.”

It was true that he was telling Baek Hwayeon first, although he planned to tell everyone else one by one soon.

“I’m grateful for that branch. Although I have no idea what it is.”

“Yeah, it’s a grateful existence. Shall we end the story here?”

Baek Hwayeon nodded at Lee Dojin’s words. The two got up from the bench again and started walking.

Lee Dojin, who had entered the dormitory, recalled the conversation he had just had with Baek Hwayeon.

The fact that Baek Hwayeon’s feeling of liking him was not a feeling as a friend. Lee Dojin knew that much too.

But facing that kind of confession was harder for Lee Dojin than martial arts.

‘I’d rather swing a wooden sword ten thousand times.’

So he let her confession slide nonchalantly. He thought he still didn’t know enough about her to think seriously about that confession.

He also considered the possibility that she might be confusing admiration for strength with the emotion of love.

That’s a common mistake people make, after all.

Of course, this was just Lee Dojin’s very personal speculation.

---

In the first-year training ground of the magic department, a heated discussion on one topic was continuing.

The topic was very simple and clear. How will the strongest first-year in the magic department defeat the strongest first-year in the combat department?

That was the topic of discussion.

“Hey, you saw his movements, right? When he was facing that Fist King’s son. The way he flew his body, swoosh swoosh-. It was like he had his own blink ability. How do you deal with that?”

“Just control his movements with wall magic and finish him off.”

“Are you crazy? You’re going to limit your own range of activity when fighting against that level of melee dealer? What are you, some force mage? Can you counter sword energy with a mana sword? Huh? You’ll just die like that.”

Kim Sehan, who had become the strongest first-year in the magic department, frowned deeply at the meaningless discussion.

But a moment later, silence suddenly fell around him.

Jeobuk jeobuk

More precisely, the sound of someone walking lightly echoed through the training ground.

“It’s, it’s the senior.”

The gazes of the first-year magic department students focused on one place. It was attention towards Rachel Walker, the blonde woman slowly walking from the entrance of the training ground.

Rachel Walker looked down at Kim Sehan, who was sitting with his back against the wall.

At her appearance, Kim Sehan hurriedly stood up. There were few first-year students who didn’t idolize Rachel Walker. Rachel’s reputation, who was evaluated as a more powerful magician than third and fourth-year students despite being a second-year, couldn’t help but be thick.

“You need a way to deal with Student Lee Dojin, right?”

“Is, is that possible?”

Kim Sehan asked back, stuttering at Rachel’s words.

‘Sigh, there’s no hope.’

Rachel felt like she was going to die of frustration. There’s no spirit. A magician is a cold being. A being that needs to use their brain rationally.

But before such a battle, there’s something more important than reason. It’s a firm belief in oneself, regardless of whether there’s a proper basis for it or not.

But the strongest first-year in the magic department in front of her showed not even a speck of such belief. All she could see was a frightened novice magician.

Rachel decided to give this foolish junior some practical teaching.

“There’s only one thing that allows a magician to have an overwhelming advantage when facing non-magician beings. What do you think it is?”

“He, heterogeneity… you mean?”

Rachel nodded. Fortunately, this junior wasn’t a complete idiot. Well, that’s probably why he took first place in the magic department.

“That’s right. It’s heterogeneity. When you turn that heterogeneity into fear, that’s when you can achieve a noble victory.”

“Yes, senior.”

“The answer is to lay down flooring.”

“Flooring?”

Kim Sehan’s eyes widened at the strange advice suddenly thrown at him.

“The technique that combat department students are least likely to experience. That’s terrain transformation. You need to confuse the opponent with techniques that can temporarily change the terrain itself, like grease or earthquake, and then finish quickly.”

“Yes, that’s certainly true.”

Kim Sehan nodded at Rachel’s explanation.

“The key is that you have to create everything within 3 minutes. Confuse the opponent with terrain magic. And then temporarily control the opponent’s body completely with binding-type spells. Then, bang. Hit them with lightning magic.”

“Two minutes… why two minutes?”

Rachel answered Kim Sehan’s question firmly.

“Because Student Lee Dojin will figure out all your magic and calculations in 3 minutes.”

“Why are you giving me this advice?”

“It would be sad if the magic department becomes embarrassed, wouldn’t it? I just hope you show a scene of gaining the upper hand at least in the beginning.”

Rachel slowly poked at Kim Sehan’s pride with gentle words.

“I understand, senior.”

While Kim Sehan answered obediently, he thought Rachel’s words were either exaggeration or underestimation of himself.

At that time.

---

Academy Director Jin Un sat in the audience seats. It was to watch the martial arts match that was about to begin.

The moment when the strongest person among the first-year magic department and combat department combined would be born.

Nearly 2000 people were all sitting in the audience seats, looking at the martial arts arena.

Waiting for the two opponents to come up.

Jin Un had been at the edge of the audience seats during Baek Hwayeon and Lee Dojin’s match as well. He had just watched very quietly.

This time too, he was sitting in the audience seats with only one attendant beside him. The difference was that this time he was sitting in the front of the audience seats.

Finally, two men came up onto the martial arts arena.

Lee Dojin wearing a black suit and Kim Sehan wearing a red magic coat went up onto the martial arts arena.

“Prepare for the martial arts match.”

The judge’s voice echoed in the circular martial arts arena.

Lee Dojin stared at Kim Sehan. Kim Sehan utilized mana.

‘In one go.’

End it in a short time. As Rachel advised.

Kim Sehan immediately cast Frost Work on the ground.

Jjeojeojeojeojeong!

The freezing spread brilliantly on the floor of the martial arts arena with a noisy sound.

“Ooooh!”

“Hey, it’s freezing. It’s freezing.”

While the magic department students looked on indifferently as they always saw elemental magic, the combat department students who had only seen martial arts all their lives let out exclamations like children as if seeing some new technology.

Lee Dojin walked. As if nothing was wrong. When Lee Dojin walked on the frozen ground as if it was flat ground, Kim Sehan just stared blankly at the scene for a moment.

Kim Sehan, regaining his senses, moved his hand again. Needle-like spikes began to rise from the ground of the ice spread on the floor.

There’s really nothing special.

Lee Dojin thought so as he struck down the wooden sword with concentrated sword energy on the ground.

Jjeo───eong!

As the sword energy spread across the ground, it made all the ice surge up from the ground.

Kim Sehan immediately deployed bind magic. Golden chains rushed like bullets. Lee Dojin twisted his foot. Lee Dojin, who avoided the binding magic with shape-shifting evasion, slowly approached Kim Sehan again.

It was a situation where he could just go near Kim Sehan with shape-shifting evasion and point the sword at his neck. But Lee Dojin didn’t do that.

Show me all the moves you can show.

That was the silent message Lee Dojin was sending to Kim Sehan.

Kim Sehan was literally getting pissed off.

That bastard was properly looking down on him.

Kim Sehan’s both hands simultaneously drew magic formulas. Red flames wrapped around both hands. And he gathered all those flames and shot them forward.

A pillar of fire advanced along the ground of the martial arts arena. Lee Dojin’s entire body was enveloped in the fire pillar.

A streak of light burst out from within that fire pillar. It was white light.

The yaksha that tore through the fire demon kicked the ground towards where Kim Sehan was standing.

The beast reached its prey in an instant.

Ku-ung

Kim Sehan looked at Lee Dojin, who was glaring at him while scattering black smoke and flames like steam, with a terrified face. That fear crossed a critical point and he collapsed on the floor of the martial arts arena.

“It was boring.”

Lee Dojin said honestly.

Bang!

And he struck down the wooden sword on the floor right next to Kim Sehan’s head.

“Uwaaaaah!”

It was like a newborn’s cry.

“Student Lee Dojin, victory.”

Lee Dojin’s victory was declared. The gazes of all 2000 or so spectators turned towards Lee Dojin, who had become the strongest first-year.

On the other hand, only one person was in Lee Dojin’s field of vision. It was Academy Director Jin Un.

The director smiled faintly.