How to Take Revenge as an Academy Scoundrel

Chapter 41. Intrusion

At last, the flag of Class 1 was planted atop the roof of Building 8.

“Done! We did it!”

“Is that already the third one!?”

In a twist of fate, they had claimed three territories, far beyond their original plan.

The team members reveled in the thrill of victory, while Kim Do-jin walked coolly to the railing, scanning the surroundings.

“…….”

Fortunately, there were no enemies targeting this place at that moment.

With that, Kim Do-jin allowed himself to relax, to take a breath.

But it was then, in that fleeting moment.

– Zzt!

A voice crackled from the walkie-talkie secured in his combat suit pocket, urgent and strained—Duk Go-su.

[Do-jin?]

Kim Do-jin swiftly pulled out the walkie-talkie and replied.

“What’s up?”

[How’s the assault on Building 8 going?]

“I just succeeded.”

[Oh! I knew you could do it! I had faith! But… there’s some bad news that just came in……]

“What is it?”

[We’ve just confirmed enemy forces moving towards our Building 7. It looks like two classes have united, and there are at least over a hundred of them. Can you send support right away?]

Of course, things couldn’t go smoothly.

Kim Do-jin frowned slightly, pressing for more information.

“What about Lee Jin-ryul and your team?”

[At this hour, Jinryul would likely be engaged in a skirmish with another alliance at the two o’clock position. It seems we must minimize the defense at Building 8 and assist those at Building 7.]

There was no other choice.

“Alright, understood. I’ll leave just three behind and head back to Building 7.”

With that, the communication ended, and preparations to return to Building 7 began.

“Can you believe they’re forming alliances…?”

The fourteen members listening in grimaced, their irritation palpable, but they could not simply stand by while their comrades at Building 7 suffered.

“Let’s go.”

Leaving only three at Building 8, they moved back toward Building 7.

While the comrades at Building 7 held the line, their goal was to strike from behind and sow chaos.

But then.

“What the hell! They’ve set up a defense at the entrance?”

As if anticipating their move, a force of fifty soldiers had taken position at the building’s entrance, guarding the rear.

They were determined to secure Building 7, no matter how long it took.

“Ugh…”

Hiding around the corner, Kim Dojin assessed the situation, pondering how best to approach the enemy.

‘They’ve surely stationed their strongest defenders at the rear, while the more offensive troops are targeting the rooftop. In that case…’

Before long, Kim Dojin devised the best strategy and turned to Yoon Yuna.

“Cast a buff on me.”

Yoon Yuna, curious about the reason, nonetheless complied without hesitation.

“Uh? Oh, got it.”

– Vroom!

A golden aura shimmered across his body, and he felt his magical power surge.

Next, he turned to Nasca and Renya.

“Renya, turn your body to stone.”

Nasca and Renya exchanged puzzled glances.

“Huh? Right now?”

“Yes, right now.”

“Why?”

Though baffled, Nasca and Renya complied, their bodies hardening into stone.

And in that very moment.

“Go ahead and help first.”

Kim Do-jin said this as he sent Nasca and Renya soaring into the sky without hesitation.

“What? aaah!”

Thanks to Yoon Yuna’s buff, the rock manipulation ability had grown strong enough to launch Nasca and Renya all the way to the rooftop.

“I’m flying, whale!”

With the capable tankers Nasca and Renya dispatched as reinforcements, Kim Do-jin prepared to ascend as well.

“Im So-hee.”

Im So-hee, who had been crouched low due to her dwindling skills, flinched and looked up at Kim Do-jin.

“Uh!?”

Kim Do-jin placed a hand on her shoulder, speaking firmly.

“Do you remember the promise we made? Your floating ability. You agreed to use it for me whenever I needed.”

Im So-hee recalled the promise, but perhaps she never imagined this moment would come, her eyes widening as she nodded vigorously.

“Alright. Then get ready.”

With that, Kim Do-jin turned back to Yoon Yuna.

“Buff Im So-hee too.”

Yoon Yuna seemed puzzled, unsure of what was happening, yet she complied without a word, casting the buff on Im So-hee.

– Whooom!

Soon, a golden glow began to ripple across Im So-hee’s entire body, just like Kim Do-jin’s. He suddenly pulled her close, speaking softly.

“How does it feel? Think you can float? It’s okay if you can’t, just give it your best shot.”

Im So-hee didn’t respond.

Or rather, she couldn’t.

Instead, her face flushed a deep red, radiating a fierce light.

– Whooom!

Before long, she began to rise into the sky like a hot air balloon.

* * *

“Kuh!”

A deep shadow fell over Carla Arlen’s pale face.

While guarding Building 7 with the other members of Team 2, they were suddenly ambushed by the combined forces of Teams 5 and 10.

They were over a hundred strong, pushing forward with an air of confidence, steadily overwhelming the defensive line.

At this rate, not only would they lose the 7th stronghold, but the 47 members on the rooftop would also be wiped out.

“Stop it!”

The members shouted with fervor, fighting valiantly, yet overcoming the numerical disadvantage proved to be a daunting task.

“No!”

At last, the third line of defense crumbled, and it was only a matter of time before the last remaining bastion would fall.

‘Is this how it ends?’

Karla Arlen let her shoulders droop as she gazed at the defense line, now on the brink of collapse.

But then, in that very moment—

“I’m coming, whale!”

A sudden roar erupted from beside her.

– Kwoom!

In an instant, Nasca and Renya, their bodies encased in stone, plummeted down among the members.

“What the hell is this!?”

The members were taken aback by the unexpected arrival, but that was not what mattered now.

“How did you get here… No, stop them over there!”

Nasca and Renya, following the frantic orders of the members, dashed toward the defense line.

With their remarkable tanking abilities, they began to block the passage, shifting the tide of battle.

“Where did they suddenly pop out from!?”

The enemies, who had thought victory was within their grasp, gritted their teeth in frustration.

Yet, their despair was far from over.

As Karla Arlen approached the railing from which Nasca and Renya had emerged, an unforeseen sight unfolded before her eyes.

“…Huh?”

For some reason, Kim Do-jin was floating up, tightly embracing Lim So-hee, before landing with a thud against the railing.

“Looks like I’m not too late, huh?”

Having quickly assessed the situation, Kim Do-jin finally released Lim So-hee from his grasp.

A push sound echoed…

It felt as if that was the noise resonating in the air.

Lim So-hee, her face flushed a deep crimson, nearly toppled over but managed to regain her balance just in time.

“Well done. Have you now mastered the art of floating at will?”

As Kim Do-jin asked this, Lim So-hee waved her hands in a flustered response.

“Uh!? Ah, no, not quite yet, just now….”

Kim Do-jin tilted his head at Im So-hee’s mumbling words.

But then.

“……?”

Suddenly, his gaze met that of Carla Arlen, who had been watching from the side.

“…….”

Carla Arlen looked at him with a strangely frozen expression, yet Kim Do-jin, undeterred, trudged closer and asked.

“How’s the situation?”

In response, Carla Arlen sharply turned her head aside and replied.

“Bad.”

“Is that so?”

Kim Do-jin wondered if he had asked something obvious as he continued his heavy-footed march toward the defensive line.

Without hesitation, he stepped into the fray where the enemies were gathered.

– Pah!

In an instant, a blinding light erupted, and he began to strike at the foes.

“Let’s go! It’s time for a counterattack!”

Thus, the tide of battle turned.

Thanks to Kim Do-jin’s efforts, they dispatched all the enemies lurking in the rooftop corridor, and those at the entrance of the first floor were also overwhelmed from both sides, ultimately eliminating them all.

“We did it!”

At last, the team members, having defeated over a hundred intruders and secured the seventh stronghold, raised their hands in jubilant triumph.

An achievement beyond their wildest imagination.

With spirits soaring, the team decided to establish a forward base at the central locations of the sixth, seventh, and eighth strongholds.

“Let’s go!”

Leaving only ten defenders at the seventh and eighth strongholds, the remaining thirty-three settled into the forward base.

Now, hidden here, they could scout while ensuring the safety of the sixth, seventh, and eighth strongholds, a situation that promised a high chance of victory.

“Are we really going to win?”

As the team members buzzed with excitement, Kim Do-jin carefully surveyed his surroundings.

A crossroads stretching in all directions—north, south, east, and west.

Indeed, it was a prime position to either send or receive support to any of the sixth, seventh, or eighth strongholds, depending on the situation.

Yet, he remained vigilant, knowing that variables always lurked in the shadows.

“……!?”

It was a variable they had never even imagined.

‘What is this magic?’

Someone was striding forth, exuding a power that no student of Arc could dare to confront, and Kim Do-jin sensed him with his keen intuition.

‘An instructor? No… an instructor wouldn’t interfere in the exam like this. The blatant hostility radiating from that magic feels unmistakable…’

As Kim Do-jin pondered this, he quickly scanned the battlefield once more.

“Uh? Who is that person?”

A figure clad entirely in black suddenly emerged from around the corner.

“Weren’t there supposed to be no one but students in the testing grounds?”

The students, puzzled, tilted their heads at the sight of him, while Kim Do-jin scrutinized his appearance closely.

‘A skinhead with a morbidly obese frame… Could it be Dominic Hayder, that b*stard?’

He had gained weight since the last time Kim Do-jin had seen him seven years ago, leaving him slightly uncertain, but his guess was correct.

And that was something that could be considered a boon from Kim Do-jin’s perspective.

‘What a sweet deal!’

The ‘Dominic Hayder’ that Kim Do-jin knew was a villain who deserved to die, and the superpower he possessed would be incredibly useful to Kim Do-jin now.

Of course, to seize that power, he would have to win in battle and kill him.

‘So, he hasn’t improved much after all. In that case, I can definitely take him down.’

While thinking this, Kim Do-jin warned his teammates around him.

“Everyone, be careful. He doesn’t look friendly at all.”

Perhaps sensing the same instinctively, his teammates fell silent, their senses heightened.

“Hmm…”

Meanwhile, Dominic Hayder, lumbering forward with an unusual aura, suddenly glanced over at Kim Do-jin and his group and spoke.

“Shall I kill them all?”

His words were casual yet laced with a chilling malice.

Even though they were merely seventeen-year-old students, they were the elite, the best of the best, attending ‘Arc.’

Yet here was Dominic Hayder, uttering such threats in front of thirty-three students from ‘Arc.’ Just how strong could he be to say such things?

“W-what did you say!?”

The students flinched in shock, each reaching for their weapons, while Dominic Hayder maintained a relaxed expression.

“Or should I just leave? The captain did say to avoid unnecessary slaughter…”

It was an absurd situation for the students, but Dominic Hayder muttered nonchalantly, attempting to move on.

But then, at that moment.

“Eh?”

Suddenly, Dominic Haider, who had been standing next to Kim Do-jin, turned his foot back down as he noticed Yoon Yoo-na and Im So-hee.

“Such pretty little things were here all along?”

Dominic Haider stroked his chin, a look of contemplation crossing his face, before nodding as if he had made a decision.

“Though time is short, shall we have a bit of fun?”

What those words meant was clear to everyone present.

Dominic Haider licked his lips with a sinister gleam and turned his body, causing the students to flinch, their faces painted with fear.

“Heh heh. This is the thrill of life.”

Savoring the terrified reactions of the students, Dominic Haider began to walk forward.

But in the midst of it all.

“Eh?”

The laughter that had filled Dominic Haider’s face suddenly froze.

For some reason, among all those students, there was one who showed a different demeanor.

“…Is he smiling?”

Dominic Haider’s previously rigid expression began to twist into something grotesque.

His gaze fell upon none other than Kim Do-jin.

—