Star Instructor, Master Baek

TL: FoodieMonster007

"Fuck… Fine, I'll help you. What's your mission?" Hyonwon Kang said begrudgingly. As long as his pouch was being held hostage, he had no choice but to cooperate with Yeo Min.

"I'll tell you when I need to."

"What?"

Yeo Min winked and waved Hyonwon Kang's pouch around playfully. "If I tell you now, you'll immediately start thinking of ways to sabotage me, won't you, Senior?"

Hyonwon Kang scowled. For some reason, he found Yeo Min's smile particularly irritating today. "Do you think everyone is like you? You scammer…"

"Excuse me? Who's the one who scammed poor, innocent Cheon? Not me, for sure."

"…You saw that?"

"I didn't have to see it to know what you did. Do you expect me to believe you took Cheon's sword by force? Your clothes are still neat and tidy, without a single tear."

Hyonwon Kang turned away and cleared his throat, his face flushing with embarrassment.

Yeo Min snickered. "Listen, Senior. This isn't a test of martial arts prowess. It's one that evaluates who can fool or exploit others the best."

"I know that!"

"If you know that, then why do you feel so guilty about scamming Cheon?"

"…Why do you keep bringing him up all of a sudden?"

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"Under normal circumstances, you would never have shown me such an obvious opening. I can tell. You were easily fooled by me because you felt sorry for tricking Cheon."

"……" Hyonwon Kang was speechless. Yeo Min had hit the nail on the head.

Slapping him lightly on the back, Yeo Min said, "Get a hold of yourself, you softie. For someone who looks so rough and tough, you're actually the most sensitive person among us, aren't you?" ṙἈ𐌽ôβËŜ

"Shut up, you impudent…" Hyonwon Kang began, but since he was unable to refute Yeo Min's words, his voice trailed off and he ended up just sulking.

Yeo Min smiled. Perhaps it was because she had grown up experiencing all kinds of hardships, but she was one of the few students who understood the true intention behind Baek Suryong's exam.

"Follow me," Yeo Min said, kicking off with her movement arts.

The distance between her and Hyonwon Kang quickly widened, but she didn't bother telling Hyonwon Kang where they were going.

Panicking, Hyonwon Kang hurriedly chased after her. "Is your mission to steal something from someone else, like mine?"

"I told you, my mission has nothing to do with you, so don't worry. If you really were my target, I'd have finished my mission a while ago."

"You seem unusually curt today."

Yeo Min glanced back. "Does it bother you that much?" she teased.

"……" Hyonwon Kang involuntarily cleared his throat and tried to hide the pounding of his heart.

Why is she smiling and looking back like that?

Ever since Yeo Min started practicing the White Ice Divine Art, she had stopped taking the medicine that kept her hair from turning white. Under the moonlight, the combination of her pale hair and the way she danced through the air with her long legs made her look otherworldly, like a celestial fairy descending to earth…

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SMACK!

Hyonwon Kang slapped himself so hard that his cheek instantly swelled up.

"What are you doing?" Yeo Min asked, startled.

"I won't fall for your honey trap!" Hyonwon Kang bellowed.

"…What on earth are you talking about?" Rolling her eyes, Yeo Min turned away, not realizing that a small smile had formed on her lips.

Some time later, Yeo Min crouched down on the roof of the Azure Dragon Academy's main building, and Hyonwon Kang followed suit.

"We'll observe the situation here before making a move," she said.

Hyonwon Kang grumbled, "Are you still not going to tell me what your mission is?"

"I'll tell you after I confirm who the worst scammer among us is."

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"The worst scammer?"

"Yes, I need to find that out to complete my mission."

Hyonwon Kang initially tilted his head at her cryptic words, but seeing Yeo Min staring at the Student Council building, he asked, "Is the worst scammer among the people there?"

"…Something like that," Yeo Min replied, giving Hyonwon Kang a surprised look. With a hint of expectation, she asked, "Who do you think is the best liar among us?"

"If it were limited to the White Dragon Manor, I'd say you or Senior Sangwoong, but there are people in our class I hardly know, so…"

Yeo Min shook her head. Fortunately, she didn't have high expectations of Hyonwon Kang's intelligence, so she wasn't disappointed by his answer. Besides, although there were twelve students in the Defense Against the Unorthodox Arts class, Hyonwon Kang was acquainted with only about half of them.

"Wrong. I think the most dangerous scammer among us is the model student who paid the most attention in class."

"Who's that?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Hyonwon Kang thought about who the model student who had paid the most attention in Defense Against the Unorthodox Arts class for the entire semester was… No, there was no need to think too much about it. A certain person's face immediately came to mind.

"Dokgo Jun? Nah, no way…"

"That 'no way' will be your downfall," Yeo Min said, gazing grimly at the Student Council building. "Because it looks like our ever-trustworthy Student Council President has already ensnared quite a few people."

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"Thank you all for choosing to work with me," Dokgo Jun said, taking his seat in the Student Council President's office, where he had called a meeting with his fellow Defense Against the Unorthodox Arts students.

He had succeeded in forming an alliance with a total of eight students, including himself. There was the fourth-year Geo Sangwoong, the Azure Dragon Twins, and four random students.

Everyone except Wiji Cheon, Hyonwon Kang, Yeo Min and Ya Suhyeok are here.

The eight people here shared their secret missions with each other and decided to establish a full-fledged operation. As the Student Council President, Dokgo Jun had automatically assumed the leadership of the temporary alliance.

"I think it would be good to start carrying out the missions in earnest starting tomorrow."

Dokgo Jun nodded. "We should split into two teams. Team One will lure away and shake off the pursuers outside, while Team Two takes advantage of that gap to carry out the missions. Does anyone have any other ideas?"

Geo Sangwoong raised his hand.

"Please go ahead, Senior."

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"How do we decide who joins which group?"

"I think it would be appropriate to assign students with excellent movement arts and stamina to Team One, and students who are good at stealth and infiltration to Team Two."

"Hmm, I guess I can't be on Team Two because I'm big and stand out."

"I would also feel more confident if you could lead Team One. Since you're the only fourth year, Senior, you should be more familiar with academy geography than anyone else here," Dokgo Jun replied eloquently, like the seasoned Student Council president he was. He had formidable martial arts, a good reputation, and the authority of his position.

As Geo Sangwoong was the only one who could challenge his authority, the two of them inevitably dominated the discussion.

Geo Sangwoong nodded. "Okay, but on one condition: Team Two must hand their scented pouches over to Team One."

"…What? Why?"

"Our pursuers can track us by scent, so Team Two needs to hide them somewhere or erase the smell before moving. In that case, it's better for Team One to carry them all and distract the flies. We're just bait anyway."

"That sounds like you don't trust us," Dokgo Jun argued. Although he felt that Geo Sangwoong's logic was sound, he couldn't accept it in good faith.

Geo Sangwoong laughed good-naturedly. "Of course I don't trust you. If you finish your mission and run away, what will happen to the rest of us? I'm just preparing some insurance to prevent that from happening."

"You can join forces, but you fail if you lose your pouch or mission slip."

If Team One kept Team Two's scented pouches, then Team Two wouldn't be able to complete the missions and abandon Team One.

Still, Dokgo Jun frowned, clearly displeased. "Senior, we need to trust each other to work together."

"That's not what we learned in this class, is it?"

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"……"

"……"

The two men's unyielding gazes clashed, creating an atmosphere so tense that the other students could barely breathe.

Finally, Dokgo Jun sighed in resignation. "Alright, but Team Two will be taking over Team One's mission slips for the same reason. Is that acceptable?"

"Okay, let's do that. Everyone, take out your pouches and mission slips!"

Everyone took their mission slips out of their scented pouches and piled them on the center of the table.

"Now, we just need to decide the order of the missions. Should we draw lots?" Geo Sangwoong asked.

"I'll go last," Dokgo Jun said, subtly retrieving his mission slip from the table.

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At first glance, it looked like he was giving in to everyone else, but Geo Sangwoong didn't believe that.

"Hey, Student Council President," he said sternly.

"Yes, Senior?"

"Stop messing around."

"…What do you mean?"

"Don't you try to pull a fast one on me!"

BANG!

Geo Sangwoong slammed a fist the size of a pot lid on the table, causing cracks to appear. At the same time, the door to the Student Council President's office opened, and the Student Council members rushed in, weapons drawn.

The atmosphere in the room turned sour.

"What on earth are you trying to say, Senior? I really don't understand," Dokgo Jun said, glaring at Geo Sangwoong icily.

However, Geo Sangwoong didn't bat an eyelid at the threat. "Hand over your mission slip."

"Are you going to tear it up?"

"No, I'm just going to check if it's forged."

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All the gathered students stared at Dokgo Jun in shock, making the atmosphere even more frigid. The meeting was on a downward spiral, long past the point of no return.

Geo Sangwoong chuckled, "You stepped out alone for a moment earlier, didn't you? That's more than enough time to forge a mission slip."

"Are you accusing me of being a fraud?"

Geo Sangwoong smirked. "If you're so confident, show me your mission slip again and we'll check if my accusation is false. If I'm mistaken, I'll get down on my knees and apologize to you. How about that?"

Dokgo Jun's expression slowly warped into a twisted grin. "There's no need for that."

"I knew it! Cunning bastard!"

The four students with faint presences immediately jumped up and gathered around Geo Sangwoong, but unfortunately, they were outnumbered by the Student Council members who barged into the office.

Geo Sangwoong looked around warily. "Are you really going to have the Student Council attack us?"

"This is my exam. I would never do such a thing," Dokgo Jun replied, his eyebrows twitching as if his pride had been insulted.

"Really?"

"Everyone, get out! I'll tackle this exam myself."

The Student Council members turned to leave…

"Wait! I have an offer for all of you," Geo Sangwoong suddenly said. "I'll pay ten silver taels to anyone who helps me beat up Dokgo Jun."

"What…?!"

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As the son of a great merchant, Geo Sangwoong was familiar with how money could make even ghosts dance. In any other class, bribing martial artists would be condemned as cowardice, but this was Baek Suryong's exam, where the end justified the means.

"Is ten too little? Then I'll raise it to twenty. Are you just going to pass up this easy money?" Geo Sangwoong taunted, taking out a heavy pouch. "No, I'll make it thirty taels. As the successor of the Golden Dragon Trading Company, I'll show you what it really means to splurge."

"T-Thirty taels…"

Thirty silver taels was an enormous amount of money for even the richer students. This was an offer they couldn't refuse. The eyes of some of the Student Council members wavered, and some shamelessly reached for their weapons.

"Haha! Good thinking! The Student Council President won't kick you out for helping me, will he? Because this is how this exam is supposed to be!" Geo Sangwoong laughed.

Dokgo Jun gritted his teeth. "…You guys can help him if you want. Don't worry about the consequences, I won't blame you for this."

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Dokgo Jun was indeed a virtuous gentleman. Even though he knew it would put him at a disadvantage, he would tolerate the Student Council members' treachery.

Geo Sangwoong flashed a victorious smile. The momentum has shifted to my side now!

Dokgo Jun was a very proud person. Even if he had been influenced by some bad eggs lately, he wouldn't abuse his power recklessly. After all, this was a matter of pride for an orthodox martial artist.

But I'm different.

There was a glaring difference between a son born into a family of martial artists and a son born into a family of merchants, and a difference between a student who was beaten daily by Baek Suryong and a student who learned only in class.

The Student Council members who accepted the offer of thirty silver taels drew their weapons and pointed them at Dokgo Jun. There were more than ten of them.

"Junior Dokgo, how about surrendering and confessing the true contents of your secret mission? I'm not trying to bully you for no reason, and we can still collaborate. No matter how strong you are, you can't take on this many people, right? So…"

"Hahaha!" Dokgo Jun burst into laughter.

"…Why are you laughing? Do you not realize the situation you're in?"

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"Senior, money can't buy everything."

Geo Sangwoong scoffed. "Are you seriously talking about stuff like friendship and love? In this situation?"

"No, I'm talking about our Vice President."

"What…?"

Geo Sangwoong suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. One by one, the students who had changed sides under his bribe crumpled to the ground.

Poison! Geo Sangwoong realized, but it was too late. His strength was draining away and his vision blurring.

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"Ohohoho!" Tang Soso giggled, entering the Student Council President's office. Picking up one of the scented pouches on the table, she rubbed it against her cheek lovingly. "This is the secret key that will allow me to meet him next semester…"

Dokgo Jun flinched at the sight of his Vice President sniffing the scented pouch like a pervert, but he refrained from saying anything. It was only thanks to Tang Soso that their plan had gone smoothly.

"Vice President, everything has played out exactly as you predicted. Your foresight is nothing short of amazing," he praised.

"Surely his hand must have touched this… What? Oh, of course. Reading the mind of someone as simple as Senior Sangwoong was child's play," Tang Soso said, her heels clicking as she approached Geo Sangwoong and picked up the wallet he had dropped. "Thank you for your generous donation to the Student Council's operating expenses, Senior."

"You cunning foxes… Don't tell me… you planned this from the very beginning!" Geo Sangwoong glared at Dokgo Jun and Tang Soso alternately. Realizing that he had been completely fooled, he felt his blood run cold.

The more agitated he got, though, the faster the poison spread.

"My precious money…!"

THUD!

Geo Sangwoong blacked out and collapsed.

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