The Academy’s Time Stop Player

TL/Editor: looloo

Schedule: N/A, just catching up to the previous tl

Illustrations: Here

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A criminal who turned an entire nation into his enemy. He epitomized the notion of an individual’s power surpassing a nation’s.

"Now then..."

Karthon bent his knees, and they began to bulge oddly. Hajoon, noticing something, slowly furrowed his brow.

"Those who aim to protect others can’t fully use their power and die."

A grin spread across Karthon’s face.

With a stretch of his leg.

Boom! Crash!

He bolted upward, shaking the whole building.

In one leap, Karthon landed on the 45th floor, bypassing the 30th and 40th floors in less than a second, where guests had fled.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"What, what the hell is happening!"

The screams of guests, security personnel, and students filled the air as thick dust swirled around them.

Then Karthon appeared from the dust.

Everyone on the 45th floor froze at the sight of him.

"Kar... thon?"

At that moment, Anna recognized Karthon’s presence.

Her eyes flashed with fury as she realized he was here.

Karthon noticed Anna too and approached her.

"Anna Elizabeth Hartel. So my life’s biggest mistake is here too..."

Just as Karthon was about to grab Anna,

That’s when it happened.

Bang! Crash―――Boom!!

Hajoon materialized in front of Karthon.

Upon his arrival, something hit Karthon, and he began to tumble to the ground.

Karthon plunged through the shattered ceiling, falling rapidly.

"...Hajoon?"

Anna turned her gaze to Hajoon.

Hajoon glanced at Anna, then clicked his tongue in apparent irritation.

"Tch, I see you’re watching."

"I’ll help you. You can’t handle this alone."

"I don’t need it."

Hajoon responded nonchalantly, turning away.

"But, how can you do this alone..."

"Hey."

Hajoon’s composed gaze settled on Anna.

For a moment, Anna felt a stifling pressure but didn’t look away. Her resolution was clear.

Hajoon looked at her.

After studying her, he sighed.

"Sigh... Just stay here."

At that, Anna’s pupils trembled.

"Why on earth..."

Hajoon didn’t reply.

He just stared at her.

Anna spoke quickly.

"You can’t win alone! Let me help!"

Unable to contain her anger, she yelled.

Hajoon looked at Anna and then,

"Anna."

He spoke calmly.

"You’re not a Grand Magician, you’re a sage."

"What does that..."

"Think wisely, as a sage would."

With that, Hajoon disappeared instantly.

---

Raei Translations

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A memory Anna would prefer to forget, yet is indelibly inscribed in her mind, resurfaces.

Whoosh-

Under the dark sky, an endless rain falls.

Staring at the red blood pooling on the ground, Anna’s eyes are wide with terror.

She looks up.

Her elder brother, cradling her in his arms, was dead.

"Interesting..."

Numerous swords and spears are impaled in her brother’s back.

Karthon, the man responsible for her brother’s condition, pulls out one of the spears lodged in his back and begins to speak.

"The fate of those trying to protect something has always been the same... yet you’re the first to successfully do so."

Despite the weapons that claimed his life, not a single one had pierced through.

In the end, he’d succeeded in safeguarding his little sister.

"I pay my respects... to you."

With these words, he slowly approaches Anna.

As his monstrous hand extends towards Anna, he continues.

"I am still alive."

As his hand draws near,

"Argh, aaaaaah!!"

Anna’s unbearable reality sends her spiraling into shock, and she sheds endless tears of grief.

At that moment,

Her eyes start to ripple with blue hues.

The rippling blue eyes begin to manipulate the magical elements in the atmosphere, which start to converge.

Before long, the magical energy of the entire area begins to form a magical array under her will, sparking a grand spell.

At this moment,

Anna Elizabeth Hartel awakens as a sage.

---

Raei Translations

---

"Heh heh! Hahaha!"

In the center of the first-floor main hall,

Dust spirals upwards from the impact of Karthon’s fall.

Flat in a deep pit amidst the smoke, he begins to laugh heartily.

"Are you okay?"

The Puppeteer inquires, looking towards the pit where Karthon lies.

All his leisure gone, the Puppeteer stares at Karthon.

"I can’t believe you fell for it twice."

"I miscalculated."

Brushing the debris off his body, Karthon slowly gets to his feet.

"It was the opposite," he says.

"...You mean it was the opposite?"

"I didn’t have the luxury of killing a hostage with that guy right in front of me. I didn’t even realize he was there."

"That means……."

Then.

Through the dust cloud, Hajoon emerges.

Tension creeps onto the Puppeteer’s face at Hajoon’s arrival.

But upon seeing Hajoon, a wicked grin stretches across Karthon’s face.

"I’ll leave the hostage to you. I’ll deal with him."

"Understood."

After that, a black swamp begins to swell behind the Puppeteer.

From it, countless hands begin to rise and crawl out.

The number of puppets that follow is a staggering 200.

And the count did not stop but kept steadily increasing.

"Go."

At the Puppeteer’s command, countless dolls began to move, starting to ascend the stairs.

However.

Rustle———! Crackle!

Before even making it up the stairs, all the countless dolls began to explode and scatter in every direction.

"This is……"

Bang!

At the same time, the Puppeteer’s head burst once again.

His body also began to disintegrate into the air like the other puppets, breaking into fragments.

However, the number of puppets didn’t dwindle.

On the contrary, they only continued to multiply and get destroyed, repeating the cycle.

And Karthon, observing this spectacle.

"Heh... Truly amazing."

He couldn’t help but express his awe.

Even in that moment, he couldn’t see the boy’s movements.

Not even a trace.

"...Is the Association breeding a monster these days?"

The boy before him.

No, the monster masquerading as a boy had the strength to take on both him and the Puppeteer alone.

Yet, that only thrilled Karthon even more.

"Heh heh! I’m curious to see how much you can do."

At that moment.

Karthon’s leg started to swell enormously.

But unlike before, he wasn’t aiming for the ceiling; he was aiming at Hajoon.

Hajoon promptly activated Time Stop (SSS).

And the moment the stop was released.

Boom!!

A colossal shockwave began to pummel Karthon’s body.

The floor beneath Karthon began to crumble like a giant spider’s web.

Yet, Karthon was unharmed.

In fact, his leg only grew larger.

At the same time.

Bang!

The moment he leaped towards him, Hajoon also activated Time Stop (SSS).

However, Hajoon just frowned at the situation before him.

"...Damn."

His fist was frozen mere inches from Hajoon’s nose.

If he had activated Time Stop (SSS) even a tad later, his head would have surely burst.

"That was close...."

Hajoon gripped Maharazu.

Simultaneously, he began the same repetitive task as before.

It takes a significant amount of time to send him flying once.

However, there was something to be gained from the time spent.

Name: Kim Hajoon

Level: 3

Job: Student

Title: None

Reputation: 300

HP: 13

MP: 0

Strength: 10 (+3)

Agility: 8 (+1)

Stamina: 15 (+3)

Defense: 0

Magic Resistance: 999(Max)

Spirit: 999 (Max)

The growing strength, stamina, and agility stats.

The focus and mental power, already beyond human capabilities, enabled endless repetition, and that action naturally linked to my growth.

The state of mindlessness often depicted in martial arts novels.

I could easily achieve that state.

Endless concentration made it possible.

"......"

Simultaneously, Hajoon was able to feel his growth physically.

The more he swung at Karthon, the lighter Maharazu felt.

He typically despised physical labor and exertion.

But when the opportunity for growth presented itself, it would be foolish not to seize it.

However, that didn’t mean he had a plan to slay the beast.

"I can’t kill it now......"

A conclusion he’d reached after a week of relentless attacks.

He currently wasn’t capable of killing it.

"It would be good to kill it......"

If he could, he would have certainly tried to kill it. But for now, it was impossible.

In that case, he had to follow the scenario presented by the game episode.

Hajoon looked up towards the upper floor where Anna should be.

"I’ve given a hint...... she’ll manage on her own."

Anna’s red quest had choices.

A choice to descend the stairs and confront Karthon, and a choice to safeguard the guest and the student.

And I coerced her into choosing the latter.

Of course, it was the right choice.

If Anna had chosen the former, she would have awakened the sage’s power out of rage and confronted Karthon. But in the end, despite awakening, she would have been defeated by Karthon, leading to [Game Over].

And if Anna chose the latter, she would have awakened the sage’s power just like in the former scenario, but the way she used that power would be different.

That was the outcome I was aiming for.

Now that I’ve given her an opportunity, it’s up to her actions.

"Well then......"

So, the best thing I could do right now was to hold these two guys off until Anna’s awakening.

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Raei Translations

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Meanwhile,

Anna was staring at the stairs with a gloomy expression.

"Why the hell..."

She felt desolate, resentful, and enraged.

Her emotions were an inexplicable mix.

Her brother’s nemesis was right below her, but she was unable to move due to a single utterance from him.

However, that was something she had to endure.

"Karthon..."

She muttered his name, and once again, she revisited the past.

Following that, the rage in her heart began to flare up like a roaring inferno.

The reason she wanted to become stronger was right below her.

There was no reason for her to hold back.

Just as Anna was about to make a move.

That was when it happened.

Boom! Thump!!

"Kyaaaah!!"

"What, what’s happening! What the hell!"

"What on earth is happening downstairs!"

The entire hotel started shaking as if caught in an earthquake.

The guests inside the trembling hotel screamed in fear.

And amidst the shaking that felt as if the hotel might collapse any moment.

"Huuaaaah!!"

A little girl, only 7 years old, began crying out in fear.

The girl’s mother tried to comfort her in a hurry, but the child kept on crying.

Anna briefly looked at the young girl.

For some reason, she saw herself mirrored in the child.

And then, Hajoon’s words crossed her mind.

Are you a grand mage? You’re a sage, aren’t you.

"I am..."

Anna approached the crying child.

With a gentle smile, she softly stroked the child’s head.

"Don’t worry, everything will be alright."

"Sniff- Really?"

"Yes. I’ll make sure of it."

Kim Hajoon had said.

Think wisely, like a sage.

’I am...’

A sage.

The future sage.

Then, she must make the wisest decision now.

Not revenge with a low probability of success, but finding a way to protect them as her top priority.

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