People valued different things, but survival was really valuable to me. Being carried by Kim Hyun-Sung was very important, but I also did my best to survive. I had put my life on the line several times, and I even threw the dice when I visited Cha Hee-Ra. Moreover, there had also been a lot of planning involved just to get rid of the crazy gramps I couldn’t get along with. Every day, I thought about how I could climb to a higher position. I knew I should belittle others or mock the worth every person had, but I just couldn’t relate to Yoo Ah-Young’s issue.

‘I understand it, but…’

She was in her early 20s, and I could understand that she needed someone she could rely on when living in a place where monsters existed. A relationship could really help the mentality of both sides, and even though I had no idea what she was thinking, I was sure she survived only because she had someone she had relied on mentally.

‘My mental stability lies with Kim Hyun-Sung.’

I could remember feeling a great sense of relief when I was with our warm-hearted regressor, and it may be a bit different from Yoo Ah-Young, but I had always been trying my best to stay close to Kim Hyun-Sung.

‘I understand now…’

The hidden camera prank that she and I were going to try out was really amusing. After all, I would definitely get angry if someone else tried to take Kim Hyun-Sung away from me after discovering that he was a regressor.

When I glanced to the side, I noticed Yoo Ah-Young looking nervous.

“Are you really okay?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. I do feel bad for my oppa, though… After hearing what Deok-Gu oppa said, there are a few things bothering me, so I want to confirm it with my own eyes,” she replied.

“It could be a bit shocking for you, though…” I warned her.

“I can take it. By the way, are you sure no one can see or hear us?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. Of course, it may not work for people who are sensitive to magic or have keen senses, but this is the training camp. The only people who can see or hear us are the instructors. Not even the attack team can see us,” I answered.

“Magic is pretty amazing. You can even make your body invisible. Or should I say that Miss Ha-Yan is incredible?” she asked.

“I don’t think there’s anyone else who can cast spells as perfectly as her,” I told her.

If I had to pick a type of magic that Jung Ha-Yan was skilled at other than attack spells, it was this kind of stalking-type spell. Jung Ha-Yan was an unrivaled specialist when it came to location tracking, camouflage, and sleeping magic. She was so skilled that even the Devil’s Guild said that a Jung Ha-Yan school had to be created.

‘I’m sure she developed spells I’m not even aware of.’

It was just my assumption, but it was possible because she could even check my heart rate.

“Anyway, let’s wait. We can talk while waiting,” I suggested.

“D-Do you think he’ll come?” she asked.

“You should be hoping that he doesn’t come,” I pointed out.

Going into an empty classroom after class was a red flag.

“I see…” Yoo Ah-Young mumbled.

After she nodded and went to the corner of the room, the classroom door opened. I assumed the test subjects had arrived, but what we saw were four girls. The three of them looked familiar, but when I saw the fourth girl who had been captured by the other three, I instantly deduced who they were.

‘Han Sora’s maids.’

However, they had switched to bullying Han Sora instead of being her maids, and it was obvious who they captured. It was none other than Han Sora, who was still limping and wrapped in bandages.

‘Oh my…’

I didn’t request to use camouflage magic to see this, but I couldn’t help but be worried about this sudden event.

‘I can’t let Yoo Ah-Young know…’

It was publicly announced that Han Sora had gotten into an accident after carelessly entering Jung Ha-Yan’s magic lab. We could have announced that she had received punishment because of her ill-will against me, but we couldn’t have done that when we saw her condition.

‘She was blabbering on about sexual harassment, so we crippled her!’

The former obviously sounded a lot better, but Jung Ha-Yan had become disqualified from teaching due to the careless management of her magic lab. Han Sora, who tried to steal Jung Ha-Yan’s magic, received a small compensation, and she wasn’t charged for breaking into Jung Ha-Yan’s lab. It had been an opportunity to show the Blue Guild’s generosity to the trainees.

There was still a bit of time left, so their arrival didn’t really matter, but if Yoo Ah-Young heard the maids chattering about the sexual harassment case, this could turn into a very awkward situation.

‘I’m sure they’ll keep quiet since they got a hundred gold for it.’

The girls would probably keep their mouths shut after seeing Han Sora, but I didn’t know what was going to happen, so I wasn’t exactly happy about them being here. Before I could organize my thoughts, the girls pushed Han Sora and she staggered to a corner of the classroom, and naturally, I could hear the girls talking.

“Look at you. You once acted like the queen, but you’re now a cripple, Miss Han Sora. Pffft.”

“I knew this was going to happen the moment you acted all high and mighty. Mr. Lee Ki-Young was right. The ones who run wild are the first ones to go.”

“...”

“Look at her expression.”

“Relax, bitch.”

“What’s wrong? You don’t like us anymore? Of course, you don’t since the maids that had been buttering up to you are now looking down on you. I’m sure it’s pretty frustrating. I’m sure you are cursing us a lot, but Miss Sora, it’s about time you learn your place!”

“...”

I was a bit shocked to see Han Sora getting beaten up. I knew she was getting bullied, but this was too much.

“Hey, don’t beat her up too badly.”

“It’s okay. It won’t be noticeable. We can just focus on the bandaged areas.”

“No, she might die if we keep going. Her body is already in a bad condition. She can’t even walk properly…”

“Don’t worry. Bitches like her have the energy to take a beating.”

That sounded like a wise proverb.

“She’s not screaming. I told you she’s pretty spiteful. Sora unnie, say something. You acting like this is making us even angrier.”

“...”

“Hey, bring that.”

“O-Okay.”

After thinking about it for a moment, I understood why they were treating Han Sora that way.

‘Inferiority.’

It just so happened that all four of them took alchemy class. Han Sora’s mana circuits had been destroyed, so she had no choice but to pick alchemy. However, the remaining three had no choice but to complete the course. The funny part was that Han Sora’s grades were the best out of all of them. However, this was only natural since she was smart, astute, and focused on class.

‘She’s pretty determined.’

I couldn’t say she was talented, but she was definitely desperate, and I was sure that her behavior had disgusted the maids because they didn’t want the queen to stage a comeback.

Yoo Ah-Young wanted to stop them because she started talking, but I shook my head.

“S-Shouldn’t we stop them? Mr. Lee Ki-Young?”

“No, let’s watch for now. The three trainees will be punished, and I’ll take care of Miss Han Sora later. Nothing good will come out of it if we reveal that we have been using camouflage magic,” I replied.

“Ah!”

“There’s also something I personally want to check…” I added.

“What did you say?” she asked.

“It’s nothing,” I answered.

I didn’t understand why we were whispering when Han Sora and the girls couldn’t hear us anyway, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of the situation. I saw one of the maids holding a bag provokingly.

“Do you know what this is?”

“...”

“Haven’t you seen this before, Sora unnie?”

“G-Give it back,” Han Sora demanded.

“Sora unnie finally opened her mouth. Pffft. You didn’t care for it before. Has it become valuable to you now?” one of the girls asked.

‘Wow… they really are the devil…’

The maid was holding up a cheap, personal alchemist kit that had been handed out for training.

“Give it back!” Han Sora yelled.

Han Sora got up and ran toward the girl while limping, but she wasn’t able to catch up, so she couldn’t take her alchemist kit back. I felt somewhat heartbroken seeing her being bullied like this.

“Give it… back!” a girl imitated her.

“Your imitation of her is hilarious! Hahaha!”

“I told you to give it back!” Han Sora yelled once again.

“I told you to give it baaaaack~! I don’t want to. Hey, catch!” a girl mocked.

“Okay!”

The maids were throwing around the alchemist kit like kids, and when one of them dropped it, Han Sora grabbed the kit and held on to it tightly. The maids then tried to take the kit away from her, but the way Han Sora held on to the kit made her look resolute.

“Our Sora unnie pretty is determined. Hey, let’s break it,” one of them suggested.

“Huh? Really? But they gave it to us, so we could practice with them,” another pointed out.

“So? That’s not our problem. Whether she gets another one or not is none of our business because she’s technically the one who broke it.”

“Don’t…” Han Sora muttered.

“Don’t what? You don’t want us to break this? But I want to. You used to look down on people with production-type jobs, but now, you’re holding an alchemist kit like it’s some kind of treasure. Hey, grab her!”

“I told you to stop. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did,” Han Sora apologized.

“It’s too late to apologize, Sora unnie. Pffft.”

I guarantee that those three had the potential to become great villains in the future. I knew I had done some pretty shitty things, but seeing their actions made me think that I should probably learn from them. The scene had progressed to the point that it became ridiculous. The three scummy sisters were trying to step on the kit, but Han Sora was desperately protecting the items inside and she reminded me of Park Deok-Gu when he tried to protect me. However…

‘There’s no way she can stop them.’

In the end, two girls grabbed Han Sora and the other started stomping on the alchemist kit and since it was a cheaply-made kit, I could hear the items breaking even though they were inside the bag.

“Stop! I said stop!” Han Sora screamed.

“I don’t want to. I’m going to keep doing it. Pffft…”

“It’s my fault, so please stop!” Han Sora begged.

“Nope. Hey, Sora unnie is crying.”

“Heuk… stop…” Han Sora cried.

I couldn’t help but click my tongue when I saw how scummy the three sisters were and it had been a while since I thought of another person as trash.

I guess the girls lost interest when Han Sora grabbed the kit while crying because they started to leave.

“You should’ve acted that way in the first place, Sora. Do you know your place now? Don’t step out of line, got it? It’s really disgusting trying to get other people to pity you by doing your best. Let’s go girls.”

“Look at the time. We’ll be leaving now, Sora unnie.”

“Ptui! Go back to Asgard! You one-eyed Odin!”

“Hahahaha, that’s hilarious. Odin!”

Obviously, Han Sora didn’t follow them. I felt uncomfortable when I saw how she cried after checking the items in the bag.

“Waaaaaaaah…”

That was when the classroom door opened once again.

‘Is it time for the next bully?’

Yoo Ah-Young had been watching Han Sora with eyes full of pity, but her eyes widened when the classroom door opened. After the three sisters’ departure, another piece of trash arrived.