The Academy’s Time Stop Player

TL/Editor: looloo

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[World’s Youngest Top-Class Hero Rises! Who is the Triple Champion in the Video?]

[Unprecedented Prodigy Upends Superhuman History!]

After scanning the headlines of various articles and MewTube videos, Hajoon could only shake his head. The spectacle was too much, so he covered his eyes with his hands.

TV news and countless articles and videos were all buzzing about the same thing.

Simultaneously, old events started to reemerge due to the current situation. Even past incidents involving the Full-Power Man surfaced again.

[The ’Irregular’ Student who Defeated The Full-Power Man Revealed in the Video?!]

"Damn it..."

Hajoon wore a hollow smile as he saw these MewTube video titles circulate.

"Sigh..."

Truthfully, he didn’t see this coming.

Who would guess that someone would dare to film in such a situation?

Yet someone did.

He sighed and wiped his face with his hands.

The Academy claimed the video was doctored and quickly took it down after it was posted, but few people believed it.

"Is he the one who took down Karthon?"

"That video? Isn’t it fake?"

"Impossible! Didn’t you see the video? He uses that hammer."

"Really? But how can he take down Karthon?"

"Why not? There’s a rumor he killed The Full-Power Man in one hit."

For example, classmates kept stealing glances at Hajoon as they gossiped.

"Sigh... Life..."

He disregarded the students’ stares and hoped for the instructor to arrive soon.

As if his wish was heard, the school gate creaked open and a stern-faced man entered the classroom just as he thought about it.

It was Han Eeseul, the homeroom instructor who hadn’t been seen in a while.

With just a single warning, he silenced the buzzing classroom.

"From now on, anyone who talks gets a penalty."

At Han Eeseul’s words, the classroom quieted as if he had said something untrue.

After surveying the room for a moment, Han Eeseul nodded in satisfaction and spoke again.

"Before we begin, I will introduce a new student and one who has been promoted. Enter."

With his invitation, the front door opened and two girls walked in.

One with long white hair that gave off a dreamlike allure, and another with long black hair and distinctive round eyes that were captivating.

They were Yoo Seolah and Lee Jooah.

"These are the students admitted to this special class after proving their skills. Please introduce yourselves."

"My name is Yoo Seolah. Nice to meet you."

Yoo Seolah beamed, her smile enchanting. For a moment, the students who saw her were left speechless, staring at her wide-eyed.

"Wow... Is that the Yoo Seolah?"

"I heard it’s hard to see her face because her healing Ability is too strong..."

"It’s my first time seeing her..."

All the students began to gaze at Yoo Seolah in awe.

After all, she was the possessor of the most well-known rare Ability in Korea and the country’s youngest-ever hero.

While she had voluntarily returned her hero license due to recent events, she remained an object of admiration among the students.

"I look forward to working with you."

As she offered a charming smile, the classroom erupted into cheers. Shortly after, her gaze found Hajoon and Yoo Seolah smiled at him.

Leaning back, propping his chin with one hand, Hajoon returned her gaze indifferently. He was hardly surprised; they had met just yesterday. What puzzled him, however, was...

’Why is she here?’

The girl with the long black hair standing next to her, Lee Jooah, the younger sister of the student council president who had newly entered the special class, was an unexpected presence.

After all, she was a character who didn’t exist in the original story.

"Hello, I’m Lee Jooah. I’ve been promoted to the special class following this advancement test."

"Lee Jooah? As in, the student council president’s younger sister? But aren’t you in the support department?"

"That’s correct. I heard she chose the support department due to a lack of combat talent?"

The students began to view Lee Jooah skeptically.

Soon, Han Eeseul, chuckling softly, clarified their doubts.

"Lee Jooah has proven her worth in the advancement test. There’s no need for your baseless worries. Instead, you should be careful not to fall behind."

At his words, the students looked at Lee Jooah in surprise.

The Han Eeseul they knew was not one to give compliments lightly. For Lee Jooah to receive praise from him was certainly a surprise.

Meanwhile, Hajoon finally seemed to understand why she was here.

’Ah... is it because of me?’

Summoner.

It was clear she had acted upon the advice he’d given her on the bus and succeeded in forming a contract with the divine beast, Fenrir.

’Even if it’s this much, well...’

While it was slightly unexpected, Hajoon realized it wasn’t necessarily a bad development.

After all, he had shared that advice with her in hopes of securing her assistance.

Of course, he wasn’t certain whether the changes he’d incited would yield positive outcomes.

’It should be okay, right?’

"Now that introductions are done, you two can take your seats. We should move onto the main topic. You’re all aware that our joint training with external entities has been suspended due to recent events, correct?"

Following the recent villain incident at the hotel, joint training was stopped and recall measures were taken for students who were at other institutions for support purposes.

Although the Academy was in a state of disarray, evaluations could not be suspended, so they planned a new test to accommodate for the training.

"The suspension of joint training means that the first-year students’ evaluations will now take place in conjunction with combat survival simulation training."

Upon hearing Han Eeseul’s words, a student raised their hand to ask a question.

"Excuse me... how will this combat survival simulation training be conducted?"

"It’s a secret. You’ll find out on the day."

With that, the room was filled with a buzzing curiosity.

Meanwhile, Hajoon, with his chin resting on his hand, pondered the scenario that would play out during the test.

’A combat survival simulation training...’

As he had already played the game, he was familiar with the method of training evaluation.

And he was not overly worried as he was also aware of the happenings that would happen during that test.

There was no need for him to take the lead in this scenario.

’So, should I just focus on myself?’

The focus of the training was combat, as its name suggested.

Although the criteria had been broadened due to the suspension of joint training and changes in rules and methods, the primary emphasis was on combat and survival.

Targets for combat included not only monsters and magical beasts but also humans. The academy’s artificial uninhabited island was the perfect locale to assess all these aspects, including the expanded criteria.

Surviving on the uninhabited island.

The duration: three days.

During this time, evaluations would be based on battles against magical beasts or monsters, and fights among students.

’Ah... I really don’t want to do this.’

The prospect of having to camp for as long as three days already made him want to surrender.

Wait a moment...

Could he just give up?

The main quest of the system had vanished, so it crossed his mind that it might not matter if he gave up early.

However, the moment he entertained that idea, Han Eeseul’s face twisted into a stern warning for the students.

"If anyone fails to achieve satisfactory results in this test, be prepared. I’ll personally ensure you receive the education you need, right before your eyes."

Just like that, Hajoon was forced to immediately abandon the idea he had just conceived.

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Raei Translations

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Time flew by, and before he knew it, the day of the training arrived.

“Yawn~”

While stretching, Hajoon looked up at the still-dark sky, absent of the sun.

It was 5 a.m.

All 700 first-year combat students were headed towards a small island near the East Sea on a Wingbus. The island, roughly a quarter the size of Jeju Island, was an artificial construct designed for superhuman training by Sage Choi Jungwon and the president of the Magician Association.

Initially, it was built for studying the weaknesses and ecosystems of magical beasts and monsters during the age of great upheaval. However, as the number of beasts and monsters rapidly decreased, and villains became humanity’s main enemy, the island was now primarily used for student training.

“Alright, all first-year special class students, gather in the fourth column. Let’s start."

An hour later, the students who had arrived on the island began to assemble in their respective groups for an inventory check.

Truth be told, the so-called inventory that the students brought consisted of merely their smartphones and personal weapons.

Of course, this was to be expected.

All the instructors had kept the details of the training a secret, so who could be prepared in advance?

“……Kim Hajoon.”

Of course, I was not one of them.

However, I did take some precaution and prepared a little in advance.

"What is that?"

Instructor Han Eeseul, who was swiftly scanning the obviously empty-handed students, suddenly stopped at my spot.

Shortly after, Han Eeseul’s gaze fell upon the bag on my back.

I unzipped the bag and showed him its contents.

“It’s a sleeping bag.”

“A sleeping bag?”

“Yes. I thought it might get cold at night.”

At my words, Han Eeseul burst into disbelieving laughter.

"Old-fashioned. Wouldn’t a sleeping bag be provided by the academy?”

For the record, the sleeping bags provided by the academy were portable and could fit into a pocket. They were certainly more convenient to carry around than Hajoon’s sleeping bag, but there was a reason for it.

“I can’t sleep well without this particular sleeping bag.”

At my words, Han Eeseul chuckled, pulled out the sleeping bag, and then proceeded to thoroughly inspect the bag. After confirming everything inside, he nodded and turned his gaze towards the other students.

Watching Han Eeseul, Hajoon couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

In fact, he had brought a variety of necessities and food in his bag, the sleeping bag included.

Of course, as soon as he arrived on the island, he stopped time and hid the items in a cave somewhere on the island.

The academy did provide a bag of nuts as food, but it was far from sufficient to last three days.

This training was about survival in battle, which also entailed securing food for oneself. So that was precisely what he had done.

I had procured everything myself.

One could argue that this was meticulous preparation, and that’s how he planned to defend himself if he was caught.

Of course, he didn’t expect to get caught.

"Now, since we’ve checked personal belongings, I will explain the test method."

At those words, all the students started looking at the instructor with tense eyes.

The focus of this training was to gauge the students’ combat power, but with the cancellation of joint training, the criteria for evaluation during the test naturally expanded.

That’s why the selected location was an artificial island.

The artificial island was deemed suitable by the academy to test the increased range of evaluation all at once.

Of course, since the original evaluation site itself had changed, the evaluation method and rules had also changed.

"Each person will be assigned a beast to kill. You have to survive on this island for three days, find the assigned beast, kill it, and verify the kill with ’Bell Points’. We will confirm bonus points by the method of killing and the response, and then measure the score. An artificial drone will record the video, so all you need to do is give your all."

’Bell Points’ here referred to a lower-ranked magical device slightly smaller than a smartphone. This device, specially manufactured by the academy, was equipped with various features, including location tracking, barrier creation, and an island map.

So far, these were the original rules. Han Eeseul then explained the additional rules.

"Also, the targets you should be wary of are not just beasts."

The students turned their heads at that remark.

Han Eeseul continued.

"The special class will be assigned not only beasts but also one target per person. Define the assigned target arbitrarily as a villain and steal their given Bell Points. Of course, if you lose both your Bell Points and the target’s Bell Points, or fail to acquire them, you are out."

Although he explained it in a complicated way, to put it simply, it was a game of tag.

"The special class will be designated as targets for other upper, middle, and lower classes, so don’t let your guard down and be careful."

"So we just need to steal the Bell Points of the assigned beast and the target?"

"Yes. If you are confident, you can also steal one of the items placed by the instructors on the island. That will also be included in the score."

At this point, Instructor Han Eeseul made a joke, but surprisingly, there was a student who actually took up the challenge.

Of course, they took up the challenge because they couldn’t withstand the taunts of the placed instructors.

What was the taunting method?

Well, if you taunt hungry kids with food, anyone would take up the challenge.

"Now, the current time is 6:30. It will start at 7 o’clock. Get ready."

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