The Academy’s Time Stop Player

The next morning.

About fifty cadets were gathered inside the training hall of Rokia Academy.

All were lower and middle class students who had come to the hall for the reevaluation of their class status.

A faculty member, watching the students from the back of the stage with crossed arms and a furrowed brow, commented on the unusual situation, “Quite a lot of them have applied.”

“That’s true,” replied Hajoon, standing beside him.

As the homeroom teacher of the special class, he usually oversaw evaluations for that class. He mentioned that it was the first time so many students from the academy had requested a reevaluation to enter the special class. Indeed, even from his perspective, it was a strange sight.

“Anyway, did the principal really ask you to do this?”

“Yes, that’s the plan for now.”

“Most of these kids might rebel against it.”

“Well, it’s not like they've grown in strength through normal means.”

“Hmm… Alright, let's prepare for it. The reevaluation will start soon.”

“Okay.”

With that, Hajoon cracked his neck, loosening up his shoulders.

Then, stepping out from behind the stage to the lectern, the faculty member grabbed the microphone and addressed the students, “Attention! We will now begin the class reevaluation.”

As he spoke, all eyes turned towards him.

However, none of the students seemed nervous. Most of them wore confident smiles, probably sure of themselves and expecting to do well in the evaluation.

Watching them, the faculty member continued, “I’ll explain the evaluation method.”

As he said that, Hajoon came out from behind the stage and approached the faculty member.

At that moment, the confident expressions of the students turned rigid.

All of them seemed to wonder, why is he coming out here?

Even the students from different lower and middle classes knew who this boy was. He was the famous Irregular of Rokia Academy.

“Why is he coming out?”

“Yeah, what’s going on?”

“No, it can’t be…”

The students began to murmur among themselves, surprised by the unexpected development.

Validating their concerns, the faculty member continued his explanation, “The evaluation method is simple. If you can defeat Kim Hajoon, a member of the special class, in a one-on-one duel, you will be immediately promoted to the special class.”

Upon hearing this, all the students looked at the stage in shock, their mouths agape at the absurd and unexpected evaluation method.

Naturally, several students started to protest.

“That’s ridiculous!”

“It’s easy to say!”

“We should stick to the original evaluation method! You can’t just change it overnight!”

As expected, the students' backlash was intense.

Indeed, even Hajoon wouldn't take a chance against himself, so how would they feel?

Of course, including that point, the evaluation method itself was too simplistic and problematic.

Understanding this, the faculty member seemed to have anticipated such a situation and started to look a bit troubled.

Hajoon quietly whispered to him, “What was the original evaluation method?”

“It involved withstanding my magical pressure and a simple physical assessment.”

“Hmm… then let’s change it like this.”

“How do you mean?”

“Instead of one-on-one, let’s have them form groups of five to face me. If even one of them touches my body, they pass.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

The faculty member recalled the virtual villain countermeasure training conducted in the special class. Even then, despite having a merit on defeating Hajoon, the promising talents of the special class struggled. Honestly, he didn’t think changing the condition would make it any easier for them.

Seeing the faculty member's doubtful face, Hajoon explained further, “As long as they are convinced, that’s all that matters.”

“Well, that’s true, but… hmm…”

With that, the faculty member crossed his arms and pondered for a moment before eventually nodding in agreement.

As long as the students were convinced, the evaluation could proceed.

‘Well, this kid must have his reasons.’

Eventually, the faculty member explained the new rules to the students, who started to accept them with mixed expressions. They seemed to have judged that touching Hajoon’s collar in a 5 versus 1 scenario was somewhat achievable.

“Alright, form groups of five. We will start the evaluation immediately.”

At the faculty member’s instruction, the students hurriedly began forming groups.

With the groups set, the reevaluation of class status finally began.

In a circular dueling arena outlined by a yellow line, Hajoon loosened up his neck and shoulders, while the group of five students looked at him with an air of arrogance.

Was it overconfidence?

Soon, the reason became clear.

“Got it, right? Let’s stick to the plan.”

“Is this really okay?”

“Don’t worry, we’ve tested it against the upper class students. If we put our minds to it, touching him won’t be that hard.”

At that, a smirk appeared on Hajoon’s face.

‘So it was these guys?’

Apparently, these were the students who had picked fights with the upper class.

Kids might fight among themselves occasionally, but hadn’t it been said they went a bit too far?

Listening to their conversation, it seemed they had deliberately instigated the fights to test their newfound strength. He had thought the upper class students were retaliating against lower class students for bullying.

‘Then I can fight them without holding back.’

While Hajoon was loosening up, the faculty member approached him, pulling a trailer with several wooden swords.

The faculty member handed one of the wooden swords from the trailer to Hajoon and asked, “Will this be enough?”

“Yes, that’s sufficient,” Hajoon replied.

The students looked puzzled. Were they really going to use wooden swords instead of artifacts?

As they grasped the situation, a sly smile spread across the faces of the group of five. They had been permitted to use artifacts, after all.

Using wooden swords against artifacts seemed like an underestimation of their capabilities, didn’t it? The upper class students who had thought the same had been beaten, so these students expected Hajoon to meet the same fate.

A few minutes later, following the faculty member's announcement, the evaluation duel finally began.

“Now, let's start the evaluation duel.”

With that, Hajoon and the first group of five students entered the arena with confidence. Surely they wouldn’t lose against someone wielding a wooden sword, they thought.

Their thoughts were apparent.

“Ready!”

Upon the faculty member's command, all the students took their combat stances.

Hajoon casually rested the wooden sword on his shoulder, looking at the students indifferently.

As everyone prepared, the faculty member signaled the start of the duel.

“Begin!”

Instantly.

Tap! Whoosh!

The five students moved rapidly, their movements too skilled for lower-class students.

They swiftly dashed around, encircling Hajoon.

Watching them, Hajoon remained still, not reacting.

This prompted a smirk on the faces of the five students, thinking that even Hajoon couldn’t react to their speed.

“I’ll go first!”

With that, the leading student, wielding a dagger, swiftly moved towards Hajoon.

Just as he lowered his posture to aim at Hajoon’s ankle for a horizontal slash.

Crack! Whoosh!

“““…?”””

Question marks appeared over the heads of the four remaining students.

What just happened?

What they saw was their teammate, who had initially rushed in, suddenly getting struck and flung upwards without any control.

The sight of him being launched so satisfyingly made the other four stop in their tracks and stare blankly.

Whoosh! Thud-

The student who had been sent flying high into the air then crashed back to the ground.

Fortunate to have an enhanced body that mitigated the pain, the fallen student lay on the ground, dazed and confused, only lifting his head to look at Hajoon.

The other four students’ gazes also turned towards Hajoon.

Upon seeing the wooden sword in Hajoon's hand, they realized what had sent their teammate flying. It also explained why multiple wooden swords had been prepared.

The wooden sword in Hajoon's hand was broken.

Hajoon casually took another wooden sword from the trailer.

Whoosh! Smack!

Immediately after drawing a new wooden sword, Hajoon’s figure vanished.

In an instant, Hajoon appeared in front of the cadet lying on the ground, holding the wooden sword up with an annoyed expression and began to beat him relentlessly.

Whoosh! Thump!

“The instructor said!”

“Aaah!!”

Whoosh! Thump!

“Do I look like an idiot to you!”

“Ugh! Wa-wait!”

Whoosh! Thump!

“All that training to fight villains, and you use it to brawl!”

“Ah! Stop, please, stop!”

Whoosh! Thump! Crack!!

“Busy fighting while others are working hard!”

“Aaah! My arm! My arm!!”

Hajoon was thoroughly enjoying himself, beating the cadet with a clear intention to teach a lesson.

The faces of the remaining four cadets started to turn pale as they watched the scene unfold.

Despite being struck with just a wooden sword, their peer’s face was twisted in agony, indicating the severity of the pain.

Finally, as the wooden sword broke and a bone-chilling sound of something snapping came from the beaten cadet’s arm, Hajoon stopped his assault. The cadet, frothing at the mouth from pain, had passed out.

Hajoon then turned his gaze to the other four cadets.

As his gaze landed on them, they instinctively took a step back.

Hajoon, after stopping time, approached the trailer to pick another wooden sword, then suddenly appeared behind the four cadets and spoke.

“You guys are next.”

He intended to earnestly correct them, as Riella, the current principal of the academy, had requested.

“Huh…”

The faculty member watched Hajoon beating the students with an incredulous expression.

His mouth agape, he let out an awkward chuckle, at a loss for words.

He had just asked Hajoon to evaluate the students, not beat them to a pulp.

The faces of the other students watching the duel began to turn pale at the sight of Hajoon’s actions.

“How are we supposed to fight that?”

“I give up.”

Hajoon’s actions led to an unexpected outcome. Some students, having seen their peers being severely beaten, started to give up on the evaluation.

In a way, it was a favorable result since Hajoon’s objective was to fail them.

“Ah, that’s refreshing.”

After beating all the members of the first group, Hajoon left the dueling arena and approached the faculty member.

The faculty member then addressed Hajoon.

“Kim Hajoon.”

“Yes?”

“Why did you do that to them?”

He gestured towards the students who were lying unconscious on the ground.

To which Hajoon replied nonchalantly as if it was no big deal.

“I was just annoyed that they were brawling with the skills you instructors worked so hard to teach them.”

“Huh, well…”

The faculty member was left speechless by Hajoon’s candid response.

'He's definitely lying.'

'The last thing he said while beating those kids was probably his true intention.'

The faculty member shook his head in disbelief and turned his attention to the next group.

Incidentally, due to some students fleeing after witnessing Hajoon's thrashing, only one group remained.