The Academy’s Time Stop Player-Novel

"Gah! Ugh!"

The pain was evident as he groaned, collapsing and writhing on the ground.

Elaine, seemingly in disbelief, shouted at Hajoon, "What were you thinking, hitting him there?"

"Eh?" Hajoon looked taken aback by her reaction.

Hajoon asked, "Do you... like him or something?"

"Well... not exactly."

Thank goodness.

From Hajoon's perspective, even if he wasn't related by blood, he still felt a responsibility to protect his sibling from such people.

Though Elaine felt the main issue was elsewhere.

As she was about to decline whatever was offered, she was taken aback to see the guy get kicked. She sighed deeply, glancing at the man named Zhang Jiudong, who lay on the ground, eyes barely open, beads of sweat dripping as he waited for the pain to subside.

"Where are the others?"

"They went ahead to the training grounds. I was waiting to go with you."

"Alright, let's go."

At Hajoon's casual response, Elaine momentarily gazed at the still writhing Zhang Jiudong.

With no hesitation, Hajoon began to leave the scene. Elaine prepared to follow him.

Just then, the guy slowly got up, eyes filled with rage, glaring at Hajoon. "You bastard!"

Hearing this, Hajoon turned to face the now-standing Zhang Jiudong. His rapid breathing and perspiration indicated the pain hadn't fully subsided.

"This crazy freak!"

The angered man was fuming, not just verbally but physically too, as he charged at Hajoon.

Hajoon, seeing him approach, prepared to invoke some sort of ability.

That's when it happened.

Whoosh! Thud!

In an instant, Li Chen, with her hair flying, appeared in front of Hajoon, catching Zhang Jiudong's incoming punch with one hand. In quick succession, Zhang Jiudong threw a series of punches using both hands, but Li Chen blocked all of them with just one hand. Finally, she grabbed Zhang Jiudong's wrist and flung him towards a wall.

Boom!

Zhang Jiudong, from the impact, spat and collapsed to the floor. Though he hadn't passed out, he glared at both Hajoon and Li Chen with a twisted expression. Li Chen coldly approached him.

Li Chen remarked, "I did warn you not to mess around."

Zhang Jiudong, struggling to maintain his composure, gritted his teeth.

He suddenly got up, ignoring Li Chen, and exited the training grounds. Li Chen, letting out a soft sigh, approached Hajoon.

"Our teammate was out of line. I'm sorry."

Li Chen bowed, apologizing to Hajoon.

Upon hearing her words, Hajoon gazed at her impassively, offering no reply.

To be fair, she had apologized more reasonably than he'd expected.

Hajoon remarked, "It seems you have difficulty managing your team members."

She exhaled heavily, "Yes, as you can see. His temperament makes him hard to control. Moreover, he's marked by the Sura Guild, so I can't interfere too casually."

The Sura Guild, ranked second in China.

It was a name he hadn't heard in a while, especially since the controversy of the 'Elixir Incident'. Although the Hermes Guild's influence had waned after that event, the Sura Guild's position as China's second-best remained intact.

Even if she was the daughter of the top-ranked Paewang Guild, she couldn't afford to be careless.

However, Hajoon didn't seem particularly concerned.

He asked, "If he bothers me again, can I handle it my way?"

There was an edge to his indifferent tone that Li Chen couldn't ignore.

Handle it? Surely he didn't mean... killing?

With a growing sense of who Hajoon might be, Li Chen appeared more tense. Taking a deep breath, she finally replied, "Alright."

But what worried Li Chen wasn't so much the life of Zhang Jiudong.

There were not only individual matches in this exchange event, but also team confrontations. If Zhang Jiudong continued to make blunders and drew Hajoon's ire, Li Chen knew she'd be forced to make a difficult decision.

After some delay, Li Chen and Hajoon entered the arena, marking the start of the match between the U.S. and Chinese teams.

While this was just a simple exhibition match, participants played without revealing their full capabilities and abilities.

Still, unlike the previous match with the Korean team, this one proceeded without any significant issues.

In fact, the Chinese team's troublemaker was surprisingly subdued.

Hajoon's gaze landed on Zhang Jiudong from the Chinese team.

For a brief moment, their eyes met, and Jiudong looked at Hajoon with a seriousness that differed from earlier. It seemed his demeanor had become more grave.

The match itself ended smoothly with one side victorious, and they returned to the bench.

However, Jiudong's eyes gave away that he was still harboring some dissatisfaction.

The hostility in his stare was evident.

As the match between the U.S. and Chinese teams concluded, Hajoon was slowly finishing his business. He was preparing to leave, escorting Haruna and Elaine through the corridor.

"Hey, interpreter," Zhang Jiudong called out, blocking Hajoon's way in the corridor.

With a distorted face, Jiudong approached Hajoon, "Follow me to the arena. I'll repay what I owe from earlier."

Hearing this, Hajoon let out a sarcastic chuckle.

His anticipation was spot-on, leading to his amusement.

'Such a hassle...'

Soon, Hajoon's smirk faded and his face turned cold.

He turned to Elaine and Haruna, asking, "What will you two do?"

"I want to watch," replied one.

"If big brother is competing, I'll watch too," said the other.

Hajoon nodded. Though he wondered if there would be anything worth watching, he decided to get it over with quickly and headed to the arena with the kids.

Upon arriving at the arena, he spotted familiar faces: Anna and Liam Martel.

"Huh? Hajoon?"

"Hmm? Didn't you leave earlier?"

"He wants a match."

With a hint of irritation, Hajoon pointed at Jiudong.

Jiudong approached the two, "Can you clear the space? I need to have a match with him."

"Just give us some space. It'll be over quickly," Hajoon added.

"Well, if Hajoon says so."

"Uh, okay then."

Anna nodded calmly, while Liam exited the arena with a hint of unease. The source of his anxiety was a statement he had heard from Hajoon earlier.

'Unconscious or severely injured.'

Although it sounded serious at first, he had brushed it off as a joke. Now, however, the remark seemed ominously plausible.

Still, Liam chose to trust Hajoon.

After all, it was unthinkable that Hajoon would incapacitate a representative player from another country during a match.

Then, a series of loud noises echoed: Bang! Whoosh! Thud!

Liam's train of thought was suddenly cut off.

A massive crash sounded, and in tandem, a figure flew past Liam and Anna's gaze, slamming straight into the wall. The figure was stretched out, with its upper half embedded into the wall.

"..."

"..."

Watching the man's legs and hands tremble, a stunned Liam, mouth agape, shifted his gaze back to Hajoon.

Hajoon, seemingly unfazed by the chaos he had just caused, calmly spoke to Haruna and Elaine.

"Let's leave."

"Yeah, alright."

"That ended rather quickly..."

Elaine followed Hajoon, her face displaying a mix of shock and disbelief. Haruna, with an unperturbed expression, trailed behind Hajoon as they exited the arena.

The next morning at the headquarters building of the Sura Guild in Xi'an, China.

In the guild master's office of the building, shouts from the Sura Guild's leader, Wei Huan, echoed.

"What? What are you talking about?"

-"Sir, it's just that Zhang Jiudong was severely injured during a sparring match-"

"Do you think I asked the same question twice? So why did his limbs break and he got seriously hurt during the match? That doesn't make any sense!"

It's said that during an international exchange match, a promising fighter, spotlighted by the Sura Guild, was severely injured and couldn't compete.

How could such a situation happen?

How could one sustain a bone-breaking injury during a sparring session?

"Who was responsible for this?"

-"Well, it was someone unrelated to the current exchange match."

"What? That's your excuse? It's clearly an act of retaliation!"

He wasn't even a contestant in the exchange match and yet he was so severely harmed by an outsider.

Wei Huan could clearly understand the implications.

It was evident that someone harbored ill intent and retaliated against the Sura Guild.

"Contact the Korean Hero Association right now! Bring him to me immediately!"

-"Yes, understood."

Following Wei Huan's words, a guild member quickly ended the call.

A few hours later, Hajoon, who was relaxing on a sofa watching TV, received a call.

The caller was Kim Jeongyong, the chairman of the Korean Hero Association.

With a puzzled look, Hajoon answered the phone.

"Hello?"

-"Ah, Hajoon. How have you been?"

"I've been fine... What's the matter?"

-"By any chance, were you the one who broke Zhang Jiudong's arms and legs at yesterday's exchange match venue?"

I didn't exactly "break" them, but I did throw him against a wall. Did they break in the process?

Anyway, Hajoon admitted his involvement, given the circumstances.

-"This morning, the Sura Guild from China lodged a complaint. However, don't worry too much. I'll handle it. I just thought you should be aware of the situation."

"What did they ask for?"

-"They demanded the arrest and extradition of the superhuman who attacked Zhang Jiudong. Or at least to acknowledge and approve the arrest. But don't worry, I'll settle this matter."

Though assured, Hajoon felt a bit uneasy.

Considering the Sura Guild's reputation, they might break the law. By the time the association responds, some guild superhuman might have already sneaked into Korea. Once identified, they'd surely try to kidnap him.

"How annoying."

Feeling irritated, Hajoon thought.

He had clearly warned them before: One more misstep and he'd dismantle the guild altogether.

Rising from the sofa, Hajoon, stretching his neck, said to the chairman,

"I think I should pay them a visit."

-"What? What do you mean?"

"I'll handle it. Could you inform the Sura Guild? Tell them I'll be visiting."

-"Alright! I'll get the gate ready for you."