The Academy’s Time Stop Player
chapter-78

"Kim Hajoon thought to himself, somewhat amused.

He had anticipated it to some extent, but indeed, the growth of the children seemed slightly delayed. Was Liam the only one who managed some decent growth here?

'Well... I do want to wrap this up quickly...'

A mix of boredom, wanting to end the training swiftly, and a genuine concern to teach the kids and aid their growth resonated in Hajoon's mind.

Honestly, he was more inclined towards the former.

If he just ended the training as is, the kids would move on to the next episode without any substantial growth. And it would undoubtedly be him bearing the brunt of their lack of progress later on.

Of course, there were ways around it.

Simply tackle both concerns at once.

'Maybe I should teach them quickly and wrap it up?'

After all, this training was not about winning or losing. Its primary goal was to teach the kids about decision-making and their shortcomings in a simulated villain terror situation.

Evidence of this was the fact that the training was set to end at 9 a.m. tomorrow and there were no elimination rules. Of course, if someone was incapacitated, they would inevitably be removed from the training.

But, with ample time and no elimination rules in place, it meant the kids had free Lain to challenge themselves.

That didn't mean Hajoon intended to drag the training out.

Was he crazy enough to stay here until 9 a.m. tomorrow?

Hajoon longed for a comfortable bed and some time with his smartphone.

'I'll probably just guide the situation so I can press the button when I feel like it.'

Hajoon, with the great hammer Maharazu slung over his shoulder, took a slow look at the kids.

They stood ready, wary of Hajoon.

Addressing them, Hajoon spoke, "Come within the circle. Let's finish this quickly."

Although a hint of selfishness might've been added to the training process since they interrupted his mealtime.

The bottom line was that this was still a training session, so he intended to teach them swiftly, even if it meant being a bit rough.

However, the children's response was quite different from what Hajoon had expected.

"Ugh!"

Anna, in evident frustration, clenched her teeth and activated the same loud magic as before.

A basic beginner spell that created an air bubble, producing a sound like a popping balloon.

Bang!! Bang!!

"Run!"

"Huh? Hey!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

And just like that, the children began their escape, leaping out of the windows once again.

Hajoon could only stand there, blankly watching the fleeing children.

"Wow..."

It was unbelievable.

Due to the rules, he couldn't pursue them outside this circle...

And Hajoon could only react and defend against attacks launched within this circle.

In other words, he was powerless against the escaping children.

"..."

With an incredulous expression, he watched the children run away for a few seconds.

Once again, someone began to ascend to the top floor via the staircase.

Sure enough, the figure that emerged was an instructor.

"It hasn't even been 10 minutes since the attack, and they're already fleeing. What happened now?"

Hajoon glanced briefly at the instructor before nonchalantly shaking his head.

"Nothing."

Of course, something had happened, but if he admitted it, it would be unjustly unfair to Hajoon.

Having received the signal again, the children managed to escape the building unharmed and were regrouping to devise a new plan.

"Ugh... I thought he was just strong physically."

The elite group, clearly flustered, tried to come to terms with the situation that had just unfolded.

They assumed they knew enough about Hajoon, but they were gravely mistaken.

The bizarre ability they witnessed was unlike anything they had seen before.

"Could it be telekinesis?"

"There wasn't even the slightest movement to suggest telekinesis."

"Ugh... How many abilities does he have?"

"I didn't sense any flow of magical power. It definitely wasn't magic."

As they exchanged their thoughts and concerns, Anna spoke up.

"It seems... this is the only way."

All eyes turned to Anna as she calmly began to lay out her strategy.

"We're short on numbers."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think the five of us can handle Hajoon."

"You mean we should increase our team size?"

Liam asked, to which Anna nodded in agreement.

Seolah then posed a question, "If we increase our numbers, we won't have enough to hold off the instructor."

"There's no need to hold him off."

"What?"

"We have no choice but to tackle this slowly and methodically."

At that, everyone looked puzzled.

Anna, with a grave expression, proceeded to explain her plan to the group.

It was already 11 in the late evening.

Even in the virtual training ground, the environment matched the current time, with the day fading into darkness.

"Hmm..."

Han Eeseul, the instructor guarding the first floor, let out a yawning stretch as he stood watch by the staircase.

"Sigh... When will they come again..."

It had already been 12 hours since the second attack. The lack of any raids during this time made it understandably monotonous, even for an instructor.

'Especially when they keep running away before I can even properly train them...'

He had planned to provide suitable training based on the situation, but they consistently fled before any combat could start.

How could he teach them properly like that?

Plus, he was clueless about what they were doing outside, given they still hadn't shown up this late.

Growing increasingly bored, Eeseul thought, 'I wish they'd hurry up.'

That’s when he noticed it.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Beyond the door, he saw the group of students rushing towards the building.

"Ah! They're here!... Huh?"

What caught her off guard was their number. Contrary to their previous strategy, all of them were now charging towards the first floor.

"Oh... Seems like they've changed their strategy."

Of course, she hadn't failed to anticipate such a change. Eeseul was about to radio the instructors on the second and third floors when it happened.

Click-

"...What?"

From the shadow beneath his feet, a hand reached out, fastening a shimmering blue handcuff around his ankle.

'What's this? Handcuffs made through magic?'

From its appearance, it was undoubtedly a handcuff formed from a barrier.

More importantly, when did someone sneak up this close without him noticing? He hadn't sensed any presence.

"Ah... I'm caught."

While many thoughts raced through his mind, the outcome was clear.

Eeseul raised both his hands towards the approaching students, signifying his surrender.

"Sigh... They planned this pretty well."

They had made him grow complacent by making him wait for 12 hours, then taking advantage of that to secretly send someone who'd handcuff him with barrier magic.

And this barrier handcuff was created using the magic of Anna, the future sage, meaning it wouldn't be easy to break.

To think of using barrier magic to create handcuffs – was it not rather... creative?

With his hands still raised, Eeseul nodded in satisfaction.

Addressing the gathering students on the first floor, he said, "I'll stay put here, so go ahead."

"Thank you," one of them replied.

With that, the group swiftly made their way to the second floor. Using a similar strategy, they successfully incapacitated the instructor guarding the second floor.

“Sigh. I'll probably get an earful from Instructor Jang about this. Well, let's go up. I've surrendered, after all.”

With that, after neutralizing even the instructor guarding the second floor, all the elite class students were able to proceed to the third floor.

But the third floor? As expected, it was a challenge.

The previous strategy wouldn't work here.

“The plan was excellent. But what will you do next?”

The instructor in the third floor noticed Lee Jooah hiding in the shadows and effortlessly dodged their strategy.

Thus, they inevitably found themselves in a standoff.

Of course, Anna had anticipated even this scenario.

“Please handle it!”

“Alright, got it!”

They entrusted half of the students to deal with the instructor, while the elite group, including the top-ranking students, planned to move to the top floor.

With at least ten of them, there was no way they'd lose.

Leaving behind the ten students responsible for restraining the other instructor, eleven students made their way to the very top.

"Ugh... I almost pressed the button because you guys took so long," Hajoon said as the group reached the top floor.

However, the moment they arrived, the group felt a strange tension in the air, sensing that something was wrong with Hajoon's demeanor.

To put it precisely, he seemed uncharacteristically irritated.

"You sure took your time," Hajoon remarked, his annoyance evident.

Through Hajoon's eyes, the group appeared no better than villains. What kind of hero interrupts someone's meal and then runs off?

That's not a hero's deed; it's more like a villain's.

Between their interruption during lunch and making him wait for such a long time, Hajoon had accumulated a multitude of reasons to be upset.

"Come inside the circle while I'm still asking nicely," Hajoon instructed, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the group's numbers had grown since their last encounter.

And with that command, the atmosphere shifted.

"Group up and charge!"

"Let's go!"

Without hesitation, the entire group lunged at Hajoon.

Han Siyoung, Liam, and Lee Jooah, along with five others.

In total, eight physical-type students charged into the circle towards Hajoon, while Anna and Haruna, who used magic, were preparing spells to support them. Yoo Seolah stood beside Anna, ready to heal any of them in case of severe injuries.

For thirty minutes, they relentlessly rushed at Hajoon.

"Please, just die!"

"Drop dead!"

The expressions of some kids had turned vicious.

They swung their weapons and charged with what looked like genuine intent to kill Hajoon.

Well, given that they hadn't landed a single blow in thirty minutes and were continuously being countered by him, their frustration was understandable.

But that didn't mean he'd let any of their attacks hit him.

Another two hours of this perhaps?

"Ugh!"

"Ah!"

"Argh!"

Excluding the playable characters, the other five kids were thrown back and knocked unconscious. They didn't seem to have serious injuries, but being unconscious, they couldn't attack any further.

Only Han Siyoung, Liam, and Lee Jooah remained around Hajoon. Breathing heavily, they braced themselves, readying to face Hajoon again.

"Now, then..."

Hajoon's gaze shifted to the unconscious kids. Honestly, he couldn't have easily drawn out Maharazu in front of them, so he had been dealing with them barehanded.

But now, with them knocked out, it shouldn't matter.

Hajoon took out Maharazu. He wrapped it in the Perception Obstruction Bandage just in case and spoke up.

"Let's finally end this."