The Academy’s Time Stop Player
chapter-57

When Hajoon first entered this game world, he hadn't fully checked out the house, and had headed straight to the academy.

So, there might be something in the house related to Liber?

'It would make sense if I think about it...'

For some reason, Hajoon figured that since Liber had lived there before his soul took over the body, he might find something if he went there to look.

Of course, he didn't plan on going immediately.

His final practical test was tomorrow, given that today was Monday.

And he also had to keep an eye on the events unfolding this week.

After mulling it over, arms crossed, Hajoon spoke to Lorelei again.

“For now, I can't say anything until I take a look myself. I'll go there this weekend. But don't expect too much.”

-Hehe, okay. Then I'll wait quietly~ Is this Saturday good?

“Yes. I'll go then.”

-Okay, see you later~

Time flew, and after taking the final practical exam on Tuesday, it was now Wednesday.

It was anticipated that he would have scored full marks on Tuesday's test, given that he had plenty of time to prepare. Obviously, he knew what was on the exam in advance and it was a test that could be easily aced using Time Stop.

For clarity, the practical exam taken on Tuesday was about 'Dealing with Villains.'

The aim of the test was simple: the teacher played the role of a villain, taking citizens as hostages, and the student had to rescue them.

As it's clear, given the content of the exam, there was no way I could score anything but high.

'Sigh... I can finally relax a bit...'

So, in the special class on Wednesday morning, after the exams.

Some students sat in their seats, sighing with tired expressions, while the rest were chatting excitedly.

Clearly, this stark difference was because of the exam results.

Most of the students with downcast faces probably did not get the grades they hoped for.

Among these students, Anna eyed Hajoon with interest.

Soon, starting with Anna, Liam, Yoo Seolah, and Lee Jooah, they all slowly turned to look at Hajoon.

Speaking for all the students looking at Hajoon, Anna asked him, her tone cautious.

"Um... what rank did you get in the written exam, Hajoon?"

"Huh?"

At that, I silently pulled out my report card and showed it to Anna.

Soon, other students began to gather around Anna.

And the eyes of the students looking at the report card gradually widened.

Written exam rank 4th, Kim Hajoon.

Practical exam rank 1st, Kim Hajoon.

Average grade, Hero, expected rank: Top.

"...Is this your report card, Hajoon?"

"That's... unexpected, to say the least."

"Oh, no. This can't be... this can't be real..."

The last exaggerated comment was from Liam.

Liam's face was priceless.

He was truly surprised by my scores.

And I looked at Liam with disdain.

Why was he making such a fuss when he must have scored better than me... it's not like he's making fun of me.

I had a rough idea of who scored higher than me.

Likely Yoo Seolah, Anna, and Liam.

They were famous for studying hard enough to deviate from their game paths.

But surprisingly, Liam started to say something different.

"I can't believe I scored lower than Kim Hajoon..."

"...? What's your rank?"

"5th..."

"You're in 5th place?"

Wait? Then who's in 3rd place?

At that thought, Lee Jooah came into Hajoon's view.

'Ah yes, there was her.'

Somehow, without even checking, he could guess who was in 3rd place.

Just then, the classroom door opened with a creak, and Instructor Han Eeseul walked in.

Naturally, the chatting students returned to their seats, and Instructor Han Eeseul, standing at the front, quickly looked around at the students, marked the attendance, and began the morning announcements.

"Alright then, good job on your midterms. With these midterms, your student ranks have been finalized, so you'll be able to use the Student Request System from now on. Do I need to explain this system?"

The Student Request System was a learning tool created to give students more practical experience.

Hajoon thought about the quests for the main characters in this episode.

If his guess was right, Liam's red quest must be in this episode. The reason why Hajoon went to all the trouble of studying and scored the highest grade was because of this.

Hajoon turned his head slightly and looked at Liam.

To his surprise, Liam was mumbling things like, 'I'm lower than Kim Hajoon...' with a surprised face.

Looking at Liam, Hajoon thought to himself,

'Should I just let him be?'

That night.

Lying in bed, Hajoon opened the academy's app on his phone and looked at the student's quest board.

As soon as he confirmed that Liam had picked up a student's quest from the board, Hajoon immediately applied to help with the quest.

The student's quest system had a support function where, even if the quest wasn't specifically assigned to you, you could apply to join in other quests.

Of course, whether the quester accepts the help is up to them, but Hajoon wasn't particularly worried.

Not just his rank, but his name itself was somewhat well-known.

Time flew by and it was Thursday afternoon at 3 o'clock.

Hajoon and Liam were at the quest location.

The place was none other than the entrance gate near Bukhansan in Korea.

"Wow~ There are so many people. Is it because it's Bukhansan?"

Liam was impressed by the number of heroes gathered at the entrance to Bukhansan.

After all, Bukhansan within this game was known as a haven for dungeons and artifacts, a place many guild heroes visited.

Soon after, Liam, who was briefly scanning the surroundings of Bukhansan, turned his confused look to Hajoon.

"But Hajoon, I didn't think you'd sign up for this quest."

Honestly, it was a bit surprising.

Who would have thought that Kim Hajoon would sign up for this quest?

Of course, Hajoon didn't really like going to such crowded places, but he couldn't tell Liam that he came to rescue him, so he brushed it off.

"I just wanted to see the view of Bukhansan."

"Haha! I thought you'd hate these kinds of quests because you don't like to move around."

Liam was cheerful, unlike the day before.

Well, one of his hobbies was hunting for artifacts, so it made sense he was excited.

Today's quest was to enter the dungeon and help gather artifacts.

"Hmm... Ah! There he is."

At that moment, a man walked towards Hajoon and Liam from afar.

He walked up to Liam, took a brief look at his face, and started to speak.

"You two are Liam Martel and Kim Hajoon, right?"

A tall man with a square face and brown hair. After looking at Liam and Hajoon, he gave a small smile and reached out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Han Seunghoon, from the artifact gathering team of Hanwol Guild."

Hanwol Guild.

Ranked tenth among local guilds, it was a guild focused on dungeon exploration, generally searching out and tackling dungeons.

By the way, the purpose of this quest was to act as a carrier during the exploration of a lower-level dungeon.

It was a quest to act as a carrier in a lower-level dungeon, but the difficulty of the quest was very high.

The reason was that the dungeon's grade was a guess, measured mechanically from the magical power inside the dungeon.

Naturally, a dungeon that hadn't been explored yet was largely unknown, so considering its danger, they raised the quest rank to very high.

No matter how low the estimated grade is, they couldn't allow a student to fight in a dungeon that hasn't been accurately assessed yet.

"Wow... I didn't think you'd take this quest. Especially Liam and Kim Hajoon."

Liam Martel, the user of a mythical-grade artifact, which is one of America's national treasures.

And Kim Hajoon, a student who helped top-tier hero Jin Ahhan stop the XX Department Store terrorist attack.

While Liam's involvement was expected, as we invited him, we didn't even think Kim Hajoon would sign up for this quest.

'They say he's incredibly powerful...'

Rumors about Kim Hajoon were diverse and entirely baseless. First, there were whispers of his monstrous strength and speed. Then there was talk that his power was space transportation, and lastly, the most famous 'Irregular' was rumored to be Kim Hajoon.

'Well, that's curious. He doesn't seem to be nervous at all?'

Even though the dungeon's grade, which was determined by a machine, was low-grade, the grade of an unidentified dungeon is defined as one level higher, which is intermediate.

Maybe as a beginner, an intermediate-level dungeon would be his first. But rather than showing any tension, he clearly seemed bored.

Whether he was underestimating the dungeon, or simply feeling comfortable, wasn't clear, but it seemed certain he wasn't an ordinary beginner.

"Well, then..."

After briefly checking the time on his wristwatch, Han Seunghoon turned his gaze back to Liam and Hajoon and began to speak.

"Since you two are here, should we leave now? The team leader is waiting at the dungeon entrance, so follow me."

Hajoon and Liam, who had been following Han Seunghoon for about 10 minutes through the gate into Bukhansan, were soon near a cave not far from the gate. About five superhumans armed and standing by were in front of the cave entrance.

"Team leader, I've arrived."

Then, one of the five, a woman with striking red hair, started to approach Han Seunghoon. She briefly looked at Han Seunghoon and then shifted her gaze to Hajoon and Liam, and began to speak.

"Who are these kids?"

"They're the first-year students mentioned in the disciple's request this time."

"Oh, you're Liam? Nice to meet you, I'm Lee Youngha, the team leader for this raid."

"I'm Liam Martel. I'm happy to work with you today."

"Hehe, I should be the one saying that. But who's the other one? I heard from Seunghoon that only one person was named?"

At that comment, Han Seunghoon quietly explained something to her, describing the situation, and shortly after, Lee Youngha's eyes began to widen as she looked at Hajoon.

"You're Kim Hajoon?"

"Yes, I am."

With that, Lee Youngha started to look at him as if he was an interesting creature.

She examined Hajoon with interest for a moment and then started to speak with a laugh.

"Well, I'm happy to work with you. This task is an easy one where you just have to carry the load, so there won't be much hard work. But still, don't let your guard down. Now,

Let's move ahead and............"

With that, she turned her head and looked at the team members.

She viewed her team members and shouted with energy.

"Alright! Everyone get ready! We're beginning the dungeon raid!"