"Leave your performance assessment assignments on my desk before the final homeroom."
The class president, Kim Seung-yeon, spoke in a calm voice.
A neat bob haircut. A perfectly fitted school uniform without a single crease out of place.
She was the model student of Class 1-2.
Her gaze instinctively drifted toward the back of the classroom, near the windows.
Glance.
"Today's supposed to be his first day back, but he's late..."
The owner of that empty seat was Cheon Do-hyeon.
The only No-Ma (No-Mana) student in the entire school.
And an outcast.
However, Kim Seung-yeon didn't see him as merely a victim.
He suffered contempt and violence simply because he couldn't use magic.
Yet through it all, Cheon Do-hyeon had never once behaved submissively.
Instead, he'd resisted with every means at his disposal.
She'd been deeply impressed by that side of him.
Then, when she'd recently heard about his grandfather's passing, Kim Seung-yeon had made up her mind.
'He must be going through so much. I'm the class president, yet I've been so indifferent. From now on, I'll help him.'
When he returned, she wouldn't let him fight alone anymore.
Just then, the rear door slid open roughly.
RATTLE—
"Ah, fuck. What's for lunch today?"
"Pork cutlets!"
It felt as though the very air had suddenly turned foul.
Kim Byeong-hak and his gang had entered the classroom.
They were the biggest troublemakers in the class and the main culprits behind Cheon Do-hyeon's bullying.
There were even rumors that Kim Byeong-hak had connections with people in high places.
"That bastard Cheon Do-hyeon still isn't here?"
"Guess he's running late because of the funeral?"
"When he gets here, tell him to buy us some bread as a consolation payment."
They snickered among themselves, exchanging vulgar, distasteful jokes.
'Those pieces of shit.'
Seung-yeon bit her lip.
Just then, the rear door opened again.
RATTLE—
The noise in the classroom abruptly stopped.
A dark silhouette filled the doorway.
A height exceeding 180 centimeters.
Muscles clearly outlined beneath a shirt stretched taut across his body.
It was Cheon Do-hyeon, returning after a week.
'Cheon Do-hyeon...?'
Seung-yeon's eyes widened.
His physical transformation was astonishing enough, but the real change lay elsewhere.
His eyes.
The fierce, defiant look he'd once possessed had disappeared.
In its place were eyes resembling an unfathomable abyss.
Kim Seung-yeon's gaze followed Cheon Do-hyeon as though she'd fallen under a spell.
"Hey, long time no see?"
Kim Byeong-hak greeted him with a mocking sneer.
But Do-hyeon treated them like they were invisible and simply took his seat.
At that indifferent attitude, Kim Byeong-hak's brow twitched.
'Has that bastard... lost his mind?'
Kim Byeong-hak was displeased.
Cheon Do-hyeon had never been particularly obedient, but today, he was outright ignoring him.
No, it was more than simply ignoring him.
He looked as uninterested as someone glancing at a stray dog passing by.
"Hah, what the hell's with that bastard?"
"He's ignoring you? Fuck, what an arrogant prick."
His lackeys exaggerated their anger, apparently trying to curry favor with Kim Byeong-hak.
Emboldened by their reactions, Kim Byeong-hak rose from his seat and approached Cheon Do-hyeon's desk.
"Hey, Tin Can. Shouldn't you greet someone when you see them?"
He deliberately picked a fight from a distance too close to ignore.
But Cheon Do-hyeon didn't even respond.
He was busy writing something in his notebook.
'......'
In truth, Kim Byeong-hak himself was hesitant to attack.
There had been that minor confrontation in the courtyard last semester.
The chilling killing intent he'd felt back then.
Of course, he'd repelled the attack with his Shield spell, but that unpleasant memory still made him instinctively hesitate.
Yet the moment he acknowledged that uneasiness, his pride would crumble.
Kim Byeong-hak clenched his fists.
'How dare you ignore me? You're just a No-Ma bastard. Just you wait. I'll make you tremble in fear whenever our eyes meet.'
He intended to use offensive magic if necessary to thoroughly crush Cheon Do-hyeon's arrogance.
School regulations?
He'd decided not to care.
As a mage and first-class citizen, he was merely disciplining an uncivilized Unawakened third-class citizen.
Even if the matter escalated, the school would never take the side of Cheon Do-hyeon, a No-Ma and an Unawakened.
And even if the worst-case scenario occurred, Kim Byeong-hak still had one final safety net.
'If things get bad, I can ask those guys for help.'
The moment the lunch bell rang, Kim Byeong-hak kicked Cheon Do-hyeon's desk.
"Hey, Tin Can. We need to talk."
"......"
"Are you deaf? Get your ass to the incinerator behind the school. You've got ten minutes."
Kim Byeong-hak signaled to his gang with his eyes and left the classroom.
The students who witnessed the scene looked at Cheon Do-hyeon with worried expressions.
But strangely enough, a faint smile had appeared on Cheon Do-hyeon's lips.
As though something he'd been waiting for had finally happened.
When Kim Seung-yeon returned from the teachers' office, she immediately sensed that something was wrong with the classroom atmosphere.
And sure enough—
Cheon Do-hyeon's seat was empty.
Kim Byeong-hak and his gang were nowhere to be seen either.
Just then, one of her classmates hurried over and spoke in a panic.
"Seung-yeon! What do we do? Byeong-hak took him away!"
"He told him to come to the incinerator. Looks like a certain Tin Can's getting crushed today."
As she listened to the students whispering, Seung-yeon's face turned deathly pale.
Why did they have to take him to the incinerator of all places?
The incinerator.
It was a blind spot without any CCTV cameras.
'No!'
This time, she absolutely had to stop them.
Seung-yeon sprinted down the corridor.
Her heart pounded so violently that it felt ready to burst.
At some point while running, she'd lost her indoor slippers and was now barefoot.
'Please don't let me be too late. Please don't let him be seriously hurt.'
"Huff, huff..."
The entrance to the incinerator came into view.
But something was strange.
It was far too quiet.
There were no sounds of punches landing.
No curses.
No screams.
An ominous chill ran down her spine.
'Don't tell me... It's already over?'
Desperate, Seung-yeon pushed open the iron door of the incinerator.
BANG—!
"Cheon Do-hyeon! Are you oka—"
Seung-yeon's voice abruptly died in her throat.
Her eyes trembled violently as she took in the scene before her.
What had happened was the exact opposite of what she'd imagined.
"Huh...?"
The person sprawled across the floor wasn't Cheon Do-hyeon.
One bastard lay unconscious, white foam bubbling from his mouth.
Another was groaning with his arm twisted at an unnatural angle.
And then...
"P-please... Spare me... Please spare me..."
Kim Byeong-hak was backing away in terror.
The face that had always worn an arrogant expression was now twisted with fear.
And standing before him was Cheon Do-hyeon.
His school uniform was perfectly clean, without even a speck of dust.
"Oh, it's the class president."
Cheon Do-hyeon turned toward Seung-yeon and spoke indifferently.
As though he'd merely been cleaning when an unexpected visitor arrived.
"Don't worry. We were just having a 'conversation.' Right, Byeong-hak?"
Cheon Do-hyeon's gaze returned to Kim Byeong-hak.
With a terrified squeak, Kim Byeong-hak collapsed onto his backside.
Seung-yeon couldn't close her mouth.
"H-how...?"
She didn't know what had happened during the past week.
But one thing was certain.
He was no longer the bullied, outcast boy she'd known.
Cheon Do-hyeon had returned as a monster.
"Are you deaf? Get your ass to the incinerator behind the school. You've got ten minutes."
Cheon Do-hyeon chuckled as he watched Kim Byeong-hak walking ahead of him.
'What simple-minded bastards. Give them a little nudge, and they'll roll out the mat for you themselves.'
"You're fucked today."
"Seriously, what the fuck makes you think you can act so tough? You're dead today."
Cheon Do-hyeon didn't answer.
He merely tried to soothe the hunger slumbering within his dantian.
The more he practiced the Great Art of Star Absorption, the more his dantian began craving energy.
Perhaps that was why he could almost smell the faint traces of Mana emanating from their bodies.
'Be patient. I'll feed you soon.'
The incinerator was situated behind the school, in its most secluded blind spot.
Neither CCTV cameras nor teachers' eyes could reach this place.
Perhaps that was why their attitudes changed the instant the iron door closed behind them.
"Do-hyeon! You fucking bastard! You actually crawled here on your own two feet? Fuck, I'm so grateful!"
"You son of a bitch. I've been itching to deal with you ever since you started acting so fucking cocky just because you know how to fight!"
"I'll send you straight to your old man today."
All three of them, including Kim Byeong-hak, simultaneously began rotating their Mana Circles in preparation to cast magic.
The surrounding area trembled faintly with the resonance of Mana.
Three mages radiating killing intent.
An ordinary person's legs might have given out at such a sight.
But Cheon Do-hyeon was different.
'They must think they've finally got me.'
However, Do-hyeon had been waiting for this exact moment too.
"What the fuck are you staring at? What can you possibly do he—"
WHOOSH—!
Before the bastard could finish his sentence—
"Huh?"
A bewildered noise escaped his mouth as Cheon Do-hyeon suddenly disappeared from his sight.
A mage's battle was a contest of distance.
But as though mocking that conventional wisdom, Cheon Do-hyeon erased the five-meter gap between them in an instant with an explosive burst of leg strength.
It was the combined result of Body Reformation and the support of his internal energy.
"W-wha...?"
The bastard panicked and hurriedly tried to chant a spell.
But Do-hyeon's hand was faster than his tongue.
CRUNCH—!
Cheon Do-hyeon's rough hand clamped over the bastard's face.
[Great Art of Star Absorption - Plunder]
Immediately, through the skin touching his palm, the Mana circulating inside the bastard's body was forcibly extracted.
"U-urgh... M-my Mana!"
It felt as though someone had shoved a powerful vacuum cleaner directly into his heart.
The horrific sensation of having the Mana deep within his body, along with his very life force, ripped out by the roots.
It was agony unlike anything he'd ever experienced.
His eyes rolled back until only the whites remained visible.
Then he collapsed, white foam bubbling from his mouth.
THUD—
Only then did Cheon Do-hyeon remove his hand from the bastard's face.
Everything had happened so quickly that the remaining two hadn't even managed to comprehend the situation.
"W-what the fuck did that bastard just do?"
One of the delinquents standing nearby quickly recovered his senses and cast a spell.
His reaction speed was fairly impressive.
[Bind]
Invisible Mana constricted Cheon Do-hyeon's limbs like ropes.
They were magical chains that couldn't be broken through physical strength.
RATTLE—!
Cheon Do-hyeon looked down at them for a moment.
Then he realized he could probably break them.
He reacted immediately.
Do-hyeon extended his hand and seized the magical chains.
"Hah! You ignorant bastard! These can't be broken with physical stren—"
CRAAACK—!
But that was merely conventional wisdom.
The moment magic came into contact with Cheon Do-hyeon's hand while he was using the Great Art of Star Absorption, it became nothing more than a mass of energy.
"AAAAARGH!"
The mage who'd cast the spell screamed.
The Bind spell had been forcibly dismantled, causing its caster to suffer mental backlash.
The bastard staggered, blood pouring from his nose.
A massive shadow fell across him.
"Uuuugh!"
Apparently possessing some backbone, the bastard threw a powerful left punch toward Do-hyeon.
TAP—CRACK!
Do-hyeon instinctively blocked the incoming fist with his left hand and twisted the bastard's arm with his right.
That simple counterattack was enough to snap the untrained bastard's arm, leaving it dangling uselessly.
"AAAAAAARGH!"
Experiencing such pain for the first time in his life, the bastard rolled across the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
Two opponents had been taken out in an instant.
Now only Kim Byeong-hak remained.
"W-what the hell...?"
Kim Byeong-hak couldn't believe the scene unfolding before his eyes.
'What the hell is happening?'
'Am I dreaming?'
His body was retreating before he even realized it.
He couldn't understand what he'd just witnessed.
But one thing was clear.
Magic didn't work on that bastard.
No.
The magic itself was being eaten.
'A monster... That thing's a monster.'
Fear consumed his rationality.
He had to do something if he wanted to survive.
After all, even a cornered rat would bite a cat.
Kim Byeong-hak gathered his remaining Mana and unleashed the most powerful fire spell he could muster.
"Don't come any closer! I'll burn everything!"
Crimson flames began surging above his palm.
But Cheon Do-hyeon paid no attention to the threat and slowly closed the distance between them.
The capillaries in his eyes had ruptured from the side effects of excessively using the Great Art of Star Absorption, staining them red.
He looked like a demon that had crawled straight out of hell.
Cheon Do-hyeon inhaled deeply.
And then—
[Great Art of Star Absorption - Vacuum]
The air around the incinerator seemed to grow unbearably heavy.
For an instant, Kim Byeong-hak felt his breath catch in his throat.
Every trace of Mana floating in the surrounding atmosphere evaporated.
"W-what...?"
FSSSS...
The flames burning above Kim Byeong-hak's palm dwindled as though they'd never existed.
A flame deprived of its fuel couldn't continue to burn.
"M-my magic... Why...?"
With the last weapon he'd relied upon gone, Kim Byeong-hak's legs gave out beneath the crushing weight of helplessness and terror.
THUD—
Cheon Do-hyeon stood before him.
And from where Kim Byeong-hak sat, his figure seemed even more enormous.
Pride?
Dignity?
Such things had completely vanished from his mind.
Kim Byeong-hak looked up at Cheon Do-hyeon with trembling eyes and spoke.
"P-please... Spare me... Please spare me..."