How to Take Revenge as an Academy Scoundrel

Chapter 54. School Trip

“Is everyone gathered?”

Instructor Astrid asked once more, checking the headcount.

“Yes!”

The first-year class 1 students, nearly a hundred in number, responded in unison, their excitement palpable. Astrid nodded and began the procession.

“Then we move out.”

Naturally, they weren’t flying to their destination in Japan.

This was the so-called era of magical science.

A means of transportation known as a ‘Portal’ existed, surpassing the capabilities of airplanes, and for the students of ‘Ark,’ using the ‘Portal’ posed no significant issues.

It required a vast sum of money, but it allowed for instantaneous travel not only to Japan but even to Uruguay, located on the opposite side of the Earth.

In any case, the 100 first-year students of Ark and one instructor stepped onto the ‘Portal’ device installed within the grounds of Ark.

And shortly after.

– Vwooom!

The immense mana condensed within hundreds of magical stones was injected into the ‘Portal’ device, finally triggering mass teleportation.

– Pahhat!

The 101 individuals standing on the ‘Portal’ vanished in an instant, engulfed by a blinding flash.

– Pahhat!

In the next moment, they reappeared atop another ‘Portal’ device in Japan.

“Ooh…”

A few students, experiencing a ‘portal’ for the first time, felt dizzy yet fascinated, while those who had used it before shook their heads in disbelief at the disorienting sensation.

Yet among them, one person, Kim Do-jin, displayed a reaction unlike any other.

He was neither amazed nor dizzy; his eyes sparkled with pure fury.

‘Ronan, this b*stard is still obsessed with making money. How has he not progressed at all in seven years?’

The reason for Kim Do-jin’s rage was simple.

The very ‘portal’ device they had just used was originally his invention.

However, Edward Ronan, the owner of ‘Ronan Industries,’ had colluded with Cheon Sang-seok to secretly steal the research results that Kim had been developing, and now, thanks to that theft, they had transformed into the world’s leading corporation.

Naturally, Kim Do-jin could not help but feel enraged, but for now, there was nothing he could do.

So, he suppressed his anger and looked around, spotting a truly luxurious and massive hotel standing resplendently in the heart of the forest.

‘As expected, this is a building that the Karasuma family put their heart into.’

The hotel was owned by the ‘Karasuma family,’ a power group that could be said to dominate Japan.

Based on the influence of ‘Karasuma Tenshin,’ regarded as one of the world’s top Awakened, the Karasuma family had built an absolute position within Japan, their power long since escaping the control of the Japanese government.

In fact, the Japanese government had never once opposed the Karasuma family on any issue, leading people to believe that the family held the real national power of Japan.

Of course, the Japanese government officially denied this fact, but it was impossible not to be awed by such a colossal group flaunting their power through the construction of a hotel.

“Wow~”

The students who saw the Karasuma family’s hotel for the first time gasped in awe, and soon all first-year students of ‘Arc’ completed their teleportation through the portal.

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The number of students alone reached a staggering 1,000.

Though a crowd swarmed around the portal device, it posed no problem.

The Karasuma family’s hotel was built not in the city center but in the midst of a vast park.

The students soon lined up and moved toward the hotel, unpacking their belongings in their respective rooms.

Kim Do-jin was assigned room 1822.

“Hmm…”

Standing by the window, Kim Do-jin briefly surveyed the structure outside before leaving the room.

He made his way to a corner of the hotel’s rooftop garden.

“This should be fine.”

As he approached the railing and looked around the building once more, he muttered to himself, slipping his hand into the pocket of his school uniform.

What he pulled out was a cigarette.

Though he had tried to avoid smoking as much as possible while inhabiting someone else’s body, he later realized that he was originally a smoker, and soon enough, he found it back in his mouth.

– Flick!

Finally, he placed a cigarette between his lips and lit it.

“Huuh….”

Kim Do-jin leaned back against the railing, half-exhaling the smoke he had deeply inhaled from his cigarette.

Then, he began to mentally reorganize the tasks he had to undertake in this place.

But it was in the midst of this contemplation.

“Eh?”

Suddenly, as he turned his head, Jin Seo-hyun came into view.

‘What brings him here?’

Curious about the reason for his presence, Kim Do-jin intentionally made a slight noise, and soon, Jin Seo-hyun, having noticed him, turned his head as well.

“Oh? Young Master?”

Jin Seo-hyun approached with a bright expression, but the moment he caught sight of the cigarette burning between Kim Do-jin’s fingers, his brows furrowed.

“Why haven’t you been smoking for a while?!”

Jin Seo-hyun began to scold him with a flurry of words, but Kim Do-jin completely ignored him and asked a question.

“What are you doing here?”

In response, Jin Seo-hyun shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it and answered.

“Well, I came to secure a sniping point. Isn’t that the reason I follow you, Young Master?”

Jin Seo-hyun had been granted the status of a special bodyguard by ‘Ark,’ and as he said, he was currently assessing the terrain for the mission.

“I see.”

Kim Do-jin muttered this and then asked more questions out of curiosity.

“What about the clones?”

“Yes. By now, Jin Seo-hyun Mk.5 and Mk.6 should be surveying the rooftops of different buildings.”

Kim Do-jin let out a faint chuckle at the peculiar names Jin Seo-hyun had given to his clones.

Jin Seo-hyun was the rare possessor of the ‘Clone’ superpower, and he had created more than ten clones at present.

The ‘Clone’ ability operated on a principle similar to that of creating replicated humans, with each clone acting with a completely independent consciousness.

While they shared memories and personality traits up to the point of replication, allowing them to somewhat anticipate each other’s actions, it was still no easy feat, as one might imagine.

“…….”

Kim Do-jin marveled anew at the ‘Clone’ ability, which he himself had never possessed, lost in various thoughts.

But just then.

“Oh? Young Master?”

At that moment, one of Jin Seo-hyun’s clones appeared, raising a hand to Kim Do-jin.

“Uh. Huh….”

Kim Do-jin glanced back and forth between the true form of Jin Seo-hyun standing right in front of him and the distant doppelgänger, still struggling to adapt to the surreal sight.

Yet, neither the true form nor the doppelgänger seemed fazed.

Despite the fact that a person with an identical appearance and mindset stood mere feet away, they wore expressions of utter nonchalance.

“What’s this? You’re already done?”

“Yeah. I found a spot better than I expected, so no extra work was needed.”

“Oh, is that so?”

As they exchanged words, both the true form and the doppelgänger suddenly turned their heads in unison to look at Kim Do-jin.

“…What’s up?”

Kim Do-jin stared at the two Jin Seo-hyuns, astonished by their perfectly synchronized movement.

“No, it’s just that seeing you two talk is a bit surreal. There are superstitions about going mad when you encounter a doppelgänger, yet here you are, completely unfazed…”

In response, the doppelgänger glanced at the true form, which began to speak as if it understood.

“We weren’t like this at first. There was some resistance, but over time, it became easier. Well, to be honest, we haven’t had many chances to meet like this until now.”

Hearing this, Kim Do-jin nodded, beginning to grasp the situation.

He then casually looked over the weapons that both Jin Seo-hyun’s true form and doppelgänger carried.

Both were dressed in sharp suits, yet slung over their shoulders was a rifle, and in one hand, they held a large sniper rifle case.

A pistol tucked inside their jackets was just a bonus.

Of course, the ammunition they fired wasn’t ordinary bullets but Jin Seo-hyun’s specially crafted rounds, infused with mana.

Feeling a renewed sense of assurance, Kim Do-jin extinguished his cigarette and straightened his back.

After exchanging a brief farewell, he took his leave.

Some time passed.

Finally, the real itinerary of the school trip began.

On this day, even the students of ‘Ark’ moved about with excited faces, but Kim Do-jin was not among them.

As they visited various tourist spots according to the schedule, his mind was preoccupied with the tasks awaiting him that evening.

Before long, the first day’s itinerary came to a close.

As the sun began to set, the students of ‘Ark’ returned to the hotel, disembarking from the bus in a line.

Kim Do-jin stepped off the bus and trudged toward the hotel, when suddenly, something caught his eye.

“Huh?”

Two figures stood in one corner of the hotel lobby, engaged in conversation.

One was Misaki Ai, a classmate, and the other, unexpectedly, was Karasuma Seishiro, the eldest son of Karasuma Tenshin and the heir to the ‘Karasuma Clan.’

While he couldn’t compare to Karasuma Tenshin, the current head of the clan and a formidable force among the ‘Ten Pillars,’ Karasuma Seishiro was nonetheless regarded as one of the world’s elite, surpassing even SS rank.

Kim Do-jin suddenly halted his steps upon recognizing Karasuma Seishiro, whom he had met seven years prior. Lee Jin-ryul, walking beside him, tilted his head in curiosity and asked,

“What’s up? Why the sudden stop?”

Following Kim Do-jin’s gaze, Lee Jin-ryul turned to see what had caught his friend’s attention, and indeed, there was a sight worthy of such a pause.

“Oh….”

As Lee Jin-ryul reacted with intrigue, Kim Do-jin glanced back at him and inquired,

“Why? Do you know something? It doesn’t seem ordinary for those two to be engaged in such a close conversation.”

Lee Jin-ryul widened his eyes in surprise and replied,

“Huh? You don’t know what their relationship is?”

“No. I don’t. Why?”

“…Really?”

“I’m telling you, why do you keep asking? What’s their relationship then?”

Feigning ignorance, Lee Jin-ryul tilted his head slightly and answered,

“They’re promised in an arranged marriage, aren’t they? Misaki said she would marry after graduating from Ark, right? It’s a well-known story, especially since it’s a significant matter for the ‘Karasuma family.’ How could you not know that?”

Though Lee Jin-ryul looked at him with a strange expression, Kim Do-jin muttered nonchalantly,

“Oh, is that so?”

If they were indeed promised to marry, it wouldn’t be strange for them to converse like that.

Perhaps due to the considerable age difference, they didn’t seem overly affectionate, but still.

‘Hmm… Misaki Ai is more of a player than I thought. It might be wise to get closer to her.’

In any case, there was nothing more to see here.

Kim Do-jin decided to part ways with Lee Jin-ryul and returned to his room.