I Escaped the Exile Story Only To Find It Was a Regret Trope

chapter 21



20 – 3# What happened during his first year? (7)

Originally, it was such a story.

She had no interest in humans at all.

No, to be precise. She had cut off all interest and only revenge remained.

Meeting a human similar to her lost comrade, she regained interest in humans. That interest brought changes to her and the academy. That was the story.

However, the story was greatly twisted by the intervention of a third party.

Baek Yushin, who had all his connections and opportunities taken away, could not become as strong as the story demanded.

As a result, she could no longer hold any interest in humans.

The academy, which was supposed to change gradually, also remained twisted.

At least, until today.

The real one can recognize the real one without having to fight.

Baek Yushin, who was exuding fighting spirit in front of her, possessed such overwhelming power that even the students of the academy, let alone the instructors, could not match him.

Is he really Baek Yushin standing before my eyes? It was to that extent.

However, the saying that the real one can recognize the real one without having to fight.

It applied not only to Ban Serin but also to Yushin.

‘At best, the winning rate is about 20%.’

Unlike the chest boiling with competitive spirit, the head had already finished calculating calmly.

The gap between Principal Ban Serin and Yushin was enormous. Technique was not the problem. However, the biggest problem was that the hardware, the body, was too weak.

The hardware, the body, was too weak to fully implement the software, the technique.

But even if the winning rate was low, even if I was weak now. I did not want to avoid the fight.

Once you bow your head, you will bow for a lifetime. Just like in the past, in the fantasy world.

At that time, when I was thrown into the fantasy world by that damned flow. Yushin was too weak.

Perhaps it was inevitable.

How strong could an ordinary adult man, who had never practiced swordsmanship or magic, or even exercised properly, be? And yet, the hero they summoned was pathetically weak?

This made him an easy target for those who opposed the summoners.

[How can you call that a hero who will save the world?!]

[This is absurd! We cannot entrust our nation’s fate to someone like him!]

[This is just the beginning. We must trust the hero and support him with all our strength!]

[…….]

In that place, Yushin was treated like an object. Simply because he was weak.

And that day, Yushin made a decision. Just because I am weak now.

I will never bow my head to those who try to suppress me.

I would rather die fighting. And that resolve continues to this day.

Some might say it’s foolish. That it would be wiser to wait for the right moment.

‘But so what?’

I never want to feel that helplessness again.

And above all, those who try to wield others as they please just because they are strong.

I can’t stand it. It reminds me of the helplessness I felt in the past.

Like fighting a pointless battle against a petty tyrant who controls a forum for a monthly salary of 500.

Yushin’s will began to burn fiercely.

‘This is really fun!’

But seeing Yushin, whose blood was boiling with the spirit of rebellion, Serin completely misunderstood.

Of course, she would.

The empty shell that had succumbed to reality and taken its own life had returned so strong.

Then she too had to treat him accordingly, didn’t she?

Suppressing the competitive spirit rising in her chest, Serin explained directly to Yushin.

“Sorry, but we can’t fight right now.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m bound by a contract.”

“A contract?”

“A show contract to reassure humans.”

She was the hero who ended the Great War. Naturally, she possessed immense power.

There were those who revered and respected her, while others feared her.

And their fear became a significant obstacle to her revenge.

So Serin imposed considerable restrictions on herself to gain their cooperation.

As a result, Serin could not even fight as she wished. Of course, it was nothing more than a gilded cage. No one was directly watching her.

Nevertheless.

She had never once broken those restrictions until now.

If she didn’t keep them when no one was watching, it would be deceiving herself.

Having heard all of Serin’s circumstances, Yushin nodded and thought.

‘She’s scared.’

I won.

Winning by not fighting. It was an extremely disruptive mindset.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t read Yushin’s disruptive thoughts.

On the contrary, Serin was now calculating Yushin’s growth in her mind.

“What you want is severe punishment for those involved in this matter, right?”

“If you put it that way, yes.”

“Then I will grant your wish.”

“Your words change easily.”

“This is also just following my beliefs.”

At first, Serin judged that Yushin’s growth would only reach about A-rank.

However, after facing him directly, she had to drastically revise her previous judgment.

At this level, he would be at least S-rank. While A-rank can be replaced, S-rank cannot. In other words, gaining one S-rank is much better than saving dozens of C-class. That was Serin’s judgment.

“Is this enough to satisfy you?”

“Expulsion for everyone…”

When it came to actually expelling everyone, Yushin felt extremely conflicted inside.

There was no particular reason. If told not to do something, he would somehow do it, and if told to do something, he would then not do it.

That was the essence of disruption. And Yushin did not ignore his beliefs.

“No! I don’t like that either!”

“Then let’s conclude this matter like this.”

They naturally moved on to the next topic.

As the headmaster of Cheongwol, the pinnacle of the academy.

Serin had already grasped all of Yushin’s actions. Serin smiled and said,

“I have a tempting proposal for you.”

Not an ‘order’, but a ‘proposal’.

Treating each other as ‘equals’.

* * *

Just until yesterday.

Hyunwoo was genuinely in a bad mood.

But today was different.

He had decided to change his mindset completely.

Today is Friday, the day of the S-Class promotion exam.

Only the top talents selected by Headmaster Ban Serin can challenge the S-Class promotion exam.

And naturally, Hyunwoo, the top student of Class A, was also given the qualification to challenge the S-Class promotion.

‘I can’t stay tied to the past forever.’

Of course, losing Hayoung was a huge loss.

But that doesn’t mean the tower Hyunwoo had painstakingly built so far would collapse.

There was already an insurmountable gap between him and someone like Baek Yushin.

Right now, Baek Yushin is struggling in Class C, while he is challenging the S-Class promotion exam.

Moreover, the S-Class promotion exam is held only once a year. If he misses this opportunity,

he won’t be able to challenge it again until he becomes a third-year student. By then, the gap would widen even more.

In other words, Hyunwoo had no reason to care about Baek Yushin anymore. The gap was already overwhelming.

And this gap would never narrow in the future. Although he hadn’t completely taken the protagonist’s position,

with such a huge difference, wasn’t he already the protagonist in essence?

Congratulating himself with a mental victory, Hyunwoo moved his steps. There was a separate test site prepared by the headmaster at the academy for the S-Class promotion exam.

This time, the S-Class promotion exam was held at the training ground where Baek Yushin and Selena had dueled before.

Because it was a place that reminded him of Baek Yushin, Hyunwoo’s mood quickly soured again.

But he soon shook his head to shake off the bad memories.

Today is the best day when I get promoted to S-Class. If I let a bug ruin my mood,

it would only be my loss. Thinking so, Hyunwoo tried hard to cut off his thoughts.

Until he saw a familiar face at the test site.

Only five students, including Hyunwoo, were eligible to take the S-Class promotion exam.

In other words, there were only five people in that vast place.

Naturally, since they were all clustered together, it was easy to recognize each other’s faces.

But wasn’t there a face that shouldn’t be here?

“Hey, why are you here?!”

A boy with jet-black hair and a sharp impression, different from before, Baek Yushin.

The guy Hyunwoo had tried so hard to erase from his memory, was here, of all places.

The meaning was clear, but Hyunwoo desperately denied it. It couldn’t be.

For a moment, Hyunwoo tried his best to erase a thought that flashed through his mind.

However, as if mocking his desperate denial, Baek Yushin answered nonchalantly.

“Well, it happened.”

“No, I mean! How is that even possible?!”

“How would I know? Ask the principal yourself.”

‘He got a chance directly from the principal…?!’

Principal Ban Serin.

A hero who ended the Great War, known as the hero of the beginning.

And someone who has no interest in anyone he doesn’t acknowledge.

Hyunwoo, who had read the original work and knew everything about Ban Serin.

The shock was inevitable. Today was supposed to be the best day for Hyunwoo.

However.

Unfortunately.

Today turned out to be the worst day for Hyunwoo.


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