I Became a Troublemaker at the Academy

In a corner of the ruined city, a man with black hair and handsome features was leaning against a wall, gasping for breath.

Beside him, a woman with striking red hair, whose beauty still shone even though she was drenched in blood, was desperately pressing down on his wounds.

“Haah, haah… Ugh. Han Suyeon, stop… I think it’s too late for me.”

“Shut up. If you say one more word, I’ll kill you.”

“Haha… I’m already dying…”

“I said stop!! I swear… Hic… I swear I’ll save you… So please, please! Stay with me! Kim Baram!!!”

Only three of them were left on Earth, which was on the brink of destruction. And soon, even Han Suyeon’s master, Cheon Yuha, who was buying time for their escape, would run out of life.

Meanwhile, Kim Baram, who was barely sitting upright in front of Han Suyeon, looked as if his life’s flame would flicker out at any moment, like a candle in the wind.

“Please… Kim Baram! Don’t lose consciousness! Get up! I said get up…!! Hic… If you leave too… What am I supposed to do…?”

Despite Han Suyeon’s desperate cries, Kim Baram’s dark eyes were gradually losing their light, growing dimmer and dimmer.

That was because Kim Baram, who had shielded Han Suyeon from the demon’s attack, had already lost half his body.

The fact that he was still sitting and conscious was a miracle in itself. As Han Suyeon tried frantically to stop the bleeding from his body, Kim Baram looked at her with a complicated gaze, one that was filled with regret.

‘If I had tried just a bit harder, could I have saved everyone? I shouldn’t have been content with just doing “enough.”’

But separate from the severity of the situation, Kim Baram, who didn’t want to see Han Suyeon cry, mustered the strength to lift his remaining hand.

He wiped away her tears with as cheerful a voice as he could manage.

“Han Suyeon… Heh, were you always this much of a crybaby? Back in the academy, you always walked around with that blank expression.”

“What…? You actually still have the energy to joke? This is serious…”

“I know, so don’t cry. Han Suyeon, you… You’ll have another ‘chance,’ right?”

At Kim Baram’s joke, which didn’t match the serious situation, Han Suyeon was dumbfounded, and her expression hardened as if she couldn’t believe the word ‘chance’ he had mentioned.

Then, with her red eyes trembling violently, she looked at him and muttered softly.

“You… How do you know…?”

“Heh, did you really think I wouldn’t figure it out? Han Suyeon, or should I say, Suyeon… Listen carefully. In your ‘next’ life, there probably won’t be a ‘me.’”

“What… What are you talking about? You won’t be there? What does that even mean…?”

Although Han Suyeon couldn’t fully understand what Kim Baram meant, deep down, she already had an inkling.

This Kim Baram in the 1000th loop was different — special, unlike the ones from previous loops or future ones.

Feeling his vision blur and his senses fading, Kim Baram knew his end was near.

With a weak smile, he said the last thing he had always wanted to tell her.

“Suyeon… I’m sorry. I couldn’t stay with you until the end… But you… You must never give up.”

“Baram! What are you saying…? Please… Please stay with me! If you leave… I don’t know if I’ll make it through this time… Please, hic…”

“Cough… Haah, haah… My real name is… ⋯⋯. Don’t forget me. Cough… I know, Suyeon, you… You’ll save the world…”

“No!!! Please…!! Hic… No…”

Despite Han Suyeon’s heart-wrenching sobs, Kim Baram — or rather, ⋯⋯—let his remaining hand, which had been wiping her tears, fall lifelessly to the ground. And with that, ⋯⋯’s fate came to an end here.

And then…

Gasp!

“This can’t happen. I have to do something…!”

The mysterious girl with blue hair and eyes, Lumina, woke from her dream.

With her awakening, the halted and seemingly broken wheel of fate started to mend and move once more. And it began to twist under her fingertips.

***

“Will you be okay? What are you going to do by yourself?”

“I’m fine. Training.”

Ko Jooyeon, who seemed to be in a better mood after the cookies Kim Baram gave her, nodded once to show she was alright and headed straight for the H Building’s training hall.

Kim Baram was still a little uneasy about leaving her alone, but seeing her mood lighten somewhat made him feel a bit better, so he could head toward the academy’s main gate with Joo Jinyong in a lighter frame of mind.

Step. Step. Step.

As they approached the gate, Kim Baram noticed Baek Yuseong with his messy light-gray hair and large horn-rimmed glasses standing next to a large bus, which looked like it could fit around 40 people.

Baek Yuseong, who had been chatting with another cadet, presumably a member of the dungeon-clearing clan, spotted Kim Baram and Joo Jinyong approaching.

With his usual kind smile, he waved at them in greeting.

“Hey, Baram, Jinyong. It’s been a while.”

“Hello.”

The two of them responded in unison.

“Great. You both came early. Go ahead and get on the bus and rest for a bit. We’ll probably leave for the dungeon around 1:30 once most of the group is here.”

“Got it.”

Following Baek Yuseong’s instructions, Joo Jinyong and Kim Baram boarded the large bus.

As they looked around inside the bus, they realized they were among the first to arrive, so there were plenty of seats available.

“The back seats are the best.”

“Let’s sit in the back.”

He nodded and led the way to the back corner seat.

Kim Baram followed and sat next to him on his left.

After sitting down, Joo Jinyong checked the time on his smartwatch and turned to Kim Baram.

“It’s 1:10 now, so we have about 20 minutes to wait. Baram, do you know much about the dungeon we’re going to today?”

“Of course. It’s one of the must-know dungeons for any Korean.”

“Oh, right…”

Joo Jinyong seemed a little flustered by his answer. Ah, Kim Baram forgot — he’s Chinese.

The City of Witches. That’s the name of the dungeon they were heading to today.

It was one of the most famous and important dungeons in Korea, at least in the context of the world they were in.

It was the first S-rank dungeon to appear in Korea, and it was also the dungeon where Ma Dongcheol, who later became the world’s first SS-rank player, earned his title of ‘Fist King’ after clearing it.

But what really made the City of Witches world-famous wasn’t the difficulty of the S-rank dungeon itself but the significant value it held.

In the story, the City of Witches was the only dungeon that introduced the concept of ‘magic’ to a world where skills could only be learned through skill books or training. It was because of this dungeon that Korea came to be known as the ‘birthplace of magic.’

Thanks to the immense value of the dungeon, Korea’s status at the time skyrocketed globally, to the point where other countries had to be mindful of Korea just to gain access to learning magic.

Although now, under the guise of world peace, magic had been shared with all countries, Korea still maintained a significant lead in anything magic-related.

While Kim Baram was lost in thought about the City of Witches, Joo Jinyong, who was next to him, spoke up excitedly.

“Isn’t it exciting? It’s the most famous dungeon in Korea, and every player who dreams of becoming a mage has to visit it at least once.”

“Wait, Jinyong, can you use magic?”

“Oh, no, not yet… But who knows? They say you can find out if you have magic talent there.”

‘Ah! That was part of the lore, too.’

In the City of Witches dungeon, there were actual inhabitants who weren’t from Earth.

As the name suggests, they were a race of ‘witches,’ and all of them were female.

Unlike typical monsters, they weren’t hostile toward Earthlings – in fact, they were quite friendly. They were also known as the teachers who introduced magic to Earthlings.

Because of this, witches from the dungeon were respected and protected rather than persecuted.

They were highly revered by all magic-using players. And yes, one of the witches could evaluate whether someone had magical talent, though, humorously, they had been influenced by capitalism and even charged money for it.

‘Jinyong might not know about this, but I probably don’t have any magical talent.’

He wasn’t guessing this because Kim Baram, his character, was known to be a talentless burden.

Throughout the story, Kim Baram had joined the dungeon-clearing clan in every loop, which meant he’d visited the City of Witches numerous times.

Yet, from Han Suyeon’s perspective, Kim Baram had never been shown using magic even once.

That’s why he figured he, as Kim Baram, wouldn’t have any talent for magic either.

‘Don’t get your hopes up. Not with this useless body.’

Still, even though Kim Baram had no magical talent, he couldn’t help but feel excited about visiting this dungeon.

It was a key plot point in the story, and as someone who had been a fan of Infinite Regression Player for seven years, he had looked forward to this moment.

After chatting a bit more with Joo Jinyong about the City of Witches, Kim Baram decided to rest for a while and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes.

Tap. Tap.

“Hey, Baram, wake up.”

“…”

It felt like only three seconds had passed since Kim Baram closed my eyes when Joo Jinyong began tapping his shoulder to wake him up.

“What is it?”

Without opening his eyes, Kim Baram asked Joo Jinyong in a slightly gruff tone, but he didn’t respond, maintaining a strange silence.

‘What the heck? Why call me and then not say anything?’

Kim Baram could feel someone sit down next to him on his left, prompting him to slowly open his eyes.

What came into view was the back of a girl with long, red hair.

‘Who is this, and why, out of all the available seats, did she sit next to me…?’

“Hello, Kim Baram.”

Before Kim Baram could finish his thought, a familiar voice greeted him.

The red-haired girl turned her head to face Kim Baram, revealing herself.

It was Han Suyeon, with her striking red eyes and radiant beauty. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at her.

‘What is she doing here…?’

***

“Alright. It looks like everyone’s here, so we’ll be heading out. The ride will take about an hour. Also, as I mentioned in the group chat, we’ve split into teams of two seniors and four juniors, so make sure to check before we arrive.”

After his explanation, Baek Yuseong sat down next to Jin Sua at the front of the bus, and soon after, they started moving. Meanwhile, Kim Baram was feeling incredibly confused.

‘Why is Han Suyeon part of this dungeon-clearing team? Judging by the fact that she has Aron, she’s clearly over 900 loops in. If the story followed its original path, she should be in that clan, not here.’

Given Han Suyeon’s character, it didn’t make sense for her not to join that clan.

While lost in thought, Kim Baram eventually came to the conclusion that she had joined both the dungeon-clearing clan and that clan.

‘She must have joined this clan because of me.’

In the original story, Kim Baram always joined this dungeon-clearing clan. And Han Suyeon was probably curious about the changes in him, or rather, the new Kim Baram, which led her to join this clan, different from her usual path.

‘This might actually work in my favor. That incident would have been tough to handle with just me and Joo Jinyong.’

Kim Baram glanced toward the front of the bus, his eyes settling on Baek Yuseong’s pale gray hair as he sank deeper into his thoughts.

“Hey, Baram, did you check the team assignments in the group chat?”

As Kim Baram was contemplating the situation, Joo Jinyong, who had been unusually quiet since Han Suyeon’s arrival, spoke up.

“Huh? No, I didn’t. What’s the lineup?”

Instead of answering verbally, Joo Jinyong showed him his smartwatch which displayed the dungeon-clearing group assignments.

-Baek Yuseong, Oh Sehee / Jin Sua, Kim Baram, Han Suyeon, Joo Jinyong.

The team consisted of Kim Baram, Joo Jinyong, Han Suyeon, Jin Sua, and Baek Yuseong — key characters from the story. They were all coincidentally grouped together.

‘Oh Sehee… who was that again? The name sounds familiar, but where did she appear…?’

Kim Baram squinted, racking his brain to remember when he noticed Joo Jinyong sneaking a glance at Han Suyeon, who was sitting next to him. He leaned in and whispered to Kim Baram.

“Baram, isn’t that Han Suyeon from your class sitting next to you? She’s in our group too.”

“I can hear you.”

“Wha—!?”

Joo Jinyong flinched and quickly moved away from his ear, startled by Han Suyeon’s sudden voice.

She had been looking at her own smartwatch, but now she glanced at Joo Jinyong, gesturing toward him with her head before asking Kim Baram a question.

“Is he… a friend?”

“Yeah, he’s my ‘friend,’ Joo Jinyong from Class 5.”

‘Though you probably already know that.’

Han Suyeon’s face remained blank as she stared warily at Joo Jinyong.

It wasn’t surprising — after all, she already knew that Joo Jinyong was secretly a Chinese intelligence agent. Plus, in the original story, Joo Jinyong had never joined the dungeon-clearing clan, which likely made her even more suspicious.

As the tension hung between them, Han Suyeon leaned closer to Kim Baram, her lips near my ear. In a soft, concerned whisper, she warned him.

“Be careful. Something about him feels… Off.”

She was outright telling him that Joo Jinyong seemed suspicious.

‘Yeah. I already know that.’

***

Bang!

“Yushin! Something big just happened!”

At the entrance to Room 1403 of Building G, a short-haired girl barged through the student council office door, her face flushed with urgency.

She called out frantically to the student council president, who was calmly sipping coffee at his desk.

[Student Council President Lee Yushin]

On Lee Yushin’s desk sat a nameplate that clearly identified him as the student council president. His distinctive appearance — white hair and soft coral-colored eyes — matched the uniqueness of his position.

In a voice that was unexpectedly gentle for a man, Lee Yushin calmly addressed the girl who had burst through the door.

“What’s the matter, Seo Yoon?”

His composed question seemed to help his vice president, Seo Yoon, calm down as well. Her voice, which had been shaky, now came out more steadily as she began to explain.

“A female student was found hanging in Room 503 of Building K, in the Alchemist Clan’s branch office. Some members of the Alchemist Clan, who came back after lunch for their clan activities, all found her at the same time.”

At this shocking news, Lee Yushin’s previously relaxed expression hardened slightly, reflecting the seriousness of the situation.

“What information do we have on the girl? Is there no possibility of foul play?”

Leaning forward slightly, Lee Yushin asked for more details, his focus sharpening.

“The girl who committed suicide is a third-year student like us, a mage named S. Y.. I asked Nurse Lim Eunah to take a closer look at the body, and she confirmed there were no signs of foul play. But…”

Seo Yoon hesitated, recalling something unsettling she had witnessed earlier. Her eyes flickered with unease, and her words trailed off.

Lee Yushin, noticing her hesitation, didn’t push her to explain. Instead, his tone softened further, offering her reassurance.

“Seo Yoon, don’t worry about it. Take your time and tell me when you’re ready. I’ll wait.”

Lee Yushin’s considerate approach seemed to help Seo Yoon regain her composure. After taking a deep breath, she spoke again, this time with a more serious tone.

“Hoo… She was smiling…”

“Can you explain what you mean by that?”

“S. Y.’s final expression… It was like she was happy. She smiled as if she was at peace.”

——

Hello. Sorry for the late update. I will be releasing three chapters to compensate. Hope you are enjoying the novel. Happy reading!