A Veteran Teaches Very Well

part 22

The primary issue was this.

The inability to predict the opponent’s hand.

To win, we had to take away the options of the red-haired one.

“So, if we knew what kind of magic they were preparing, do you think we could win?”

“Well, it might be worth a shot… but there’s no way to find out.”

“There is a way. It’s just going to be a bit burdensome.”

* * *

─Have you heard that the first years and third years are going to duel?

─Really? They say this year’s freshmen are that strong.

─Is it that top student, Park Seo-hoo?

─No, it’s someone from the magic department.

─Magic?

A duel between the first and third years.

Just hearing about it is intriguing. The rumor quickly spread throughout the academy.

─If it’s magic, could it be that guy? The second-ranked, Song Seok-hwan.

─They say he’s not just some ordinary crazy guy. It wouldn’t be surprising if he looked down on his seniors.

─No, they say it’s a girl?

─A girl? What’s her name?

─I think it’s a name I’ve never heard before. Seo Da-yoon, I think…

─I’ve really never heard of her.

The world of heroes is narrower than one might think.

Especially in Florian, where only the best elites of South Korea gather, the world of heroes who graduated from there is truly small.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that in about four years, you’re likely to run into each other for a lifetime.

That’s why there was a lot of interest between upperclassmen and underclassmen at the academy.

─Who is she fighting?

─Han Dae-dong from the Magic Research Department.

─Dae-dong is pretty much in the top ranks, right? There’s no way he’d lose to a freshman.

Moreover, there was an even more compelling reason for attention on this duel.

—

For a long time, it had been an unwritten rule that lowerclassmen could not set foot in the Central Tower.

Yet, a freshman had broken that unwritten rule and boldly challenged an upperclassman.

The outcome of this duel could change many things.

If the freshman won, it would serve as a signal for other lowerclassmen to step into the Central Tower.

─I hope Seo Da-yoon wins.

─Then we wouldn’t get in trouble for entering the Central Tower, right?

─Exactly.

On the other hand, if the upperclassman won and the freshman was expelled, this would solidify the custom, and lowerclassmen would never have the chance to use the Central Tower.

─How dare that arrogant freshman…

─Doesn’t anyone remember their own freshman days?

─Han Dae-dong, if you lose, I won’t let it slide.

As rumors spread, the duel became more than just a matter between Seo Da-yoon and Han Dae-dong.

It was a clash between lowerclassmen and upperclassmen.

This drew the attention of countless students—especially those in magic-related classes.

The Coliseum in Florian Central Square began to fill up more than ever.

The girl, who was the center of all this attention, said—

“Professor, th-there are too many people…”

…Yeah. I had a feeling it would turn out like this.

Seo Da-yoon was in a state of panic like never before.

I had given her a heads-up, but I never expected this many people to gather.

The Coliseum, which could accommodate over a thousand spectators, was nearly at full capacity.

I was the one who spread the rumors.

I had escalated a conflict born from personal issues into something much larger.

That was the goal.

In a fight between individuals, the opponent would inevitably bring tactics aimed solely at victory.

But now that it had turned into a battle of pride—freshman versus upperclassman, lowerclassmen versus upperclassmen—such methods could not be used.

Would an upperclassman come to the first casting with three shields, determined to crush a lowerclassman?

No one would acknowledge such a victory.

By escalating the stakes, he was forced to adopt the obsession of “overwhelmingly defeating and educating the freshman as an upperclassman.”

Moreover, if he secured victory here, it would be an opportunity to make the name Seo Da-yoon known throughout Florian.

—

On the other hand, there was no loss in losing.

It was a structure where we unilaterally gained benefits.

But there was an unexpected variable.

“People… so many people are looking at me… what should I do?”

“What are you worried about? If they’re watching, they’re watching.”

“I want to hide… I want to run away…”

I never imagined that Seo Da-yoon would be this agitated.

Maybe it’s because she’s never received this much attention before. Seeing her completely lose her composure in the face of such excessive interest makes me wonder if she can handle it.

She kept mumbling and even started to babble nonsense.

“C-could we postpone this until tomorrow? Like, due to rain cancellation or something…?”

“A duel isn’t some kind of performance to postpone. If you run away, the third-year kid wins.”

“Eek!”

Seo Da-yoon curled up in a corner, her body shriveling like a bug.

There were 15 minutes left.

It was time to loosen up and get ready.

I forcibly grabbed her arms and pulled her up.

“Ah, no! Don’t do this! Don’t touch me!”

“Don’t act like I’m the bad guy here.”

“But, but…”

Now she was starting to choke up.

This is incredibly annoying.

I wanted to yell at her, but pushing a girl with such a fragile mentality in this situation might make it worse.

I spoke in the gentlest voice I could muster.

“Then should we just stop here?”

“Stop… what do you mean?”

“If you want, I can at least convey your intention to forfeit.”

Seo Da-yoon lowered her head and began to hesitate.

What the hell, why are you thinking about it?

You should obviously shake your head and deny it; are you seriously contemplating this?

Seo Da-yoon spoke in a small voice.

“Then, I’ll forfeit…”

Smack-!

I struck Seo Da-yoon’s crown with the edge of my hand, filled with anger.

Seo Da-yoon let out a cry.

“It hurts!”

“My heart hurts more, so get a grip and prepare yourself.”

“Got it…”

Good grief.

Even if she got her act together, the chances of winning were less than half, and with her in this state, I was worried.

No, what do you mean half? It wouldn’t even be 30%.

“Do you remember what I said?”

“Yes.”

“Right. The skill gap is clear. To put it bluntly, even if we fight ten times, we’ll lose nine.”

Seo Da-yoon’s expression darkened a bit.

“But if our strategy works and we don’t lose heart, we can win nine out of ten fights.”

It was important to instill confidence in someone like Seo Da-yoon, who had such emotional ups and downs.

Even if we couldn’t win. No matter how slim the chances were.

You can definitely do it.

Seo Da-yoon nodded with a determined expression.

“Yes…”

“Always keep it in mind. No matter what happens, you must not lose heart.”

“Yes!”

“Good. Let’s get ready.”

There were 10 minutes left.

Seo Da-yoon began to pump her mana heart.

After activating her mana circuits, she cast the three spells she had thought of in advance.

The casting was faster than ever.

Once she had donned all her protective gear, Seo Da-yoon stood up.

“Professor, I’m off.”

“Okay.”

Seoda-yoon walked down the corridor on the side of the waiting room.

The corridor, devoid of light, was dark.

Seoda-yoon walked straight down the corridor and finally reached the door at the end.

Creeeak—

As the promised time arrived, the door opened.

From outside, a tremendous cheer erupted.

—Waaah!

“Ugh…”

Over a thousand students.

For a moment, Seoda-yoon was overwhelmed by their spirit.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and stepped forward.

Raising her tightly clenched fist, she shouted.

“Professor! I’ll definitely win!”

What I saw before me was the back of a small, frail girl.

But for some reason, that back seemed sturdy.

“Okay.”

It was a back that made me want to believe, just a little.

—From the 12 o’clock direction of the arena, a third-year student from the Department of Magical Studies, Han Dae-dong, makes his entrance!

From a corner of the audience, the commentator grabbed the microphone and shouted loudly.

A great cheer erupted from the cheering section filled with upperclassmen.

The most noticeable were Han Dae-dong’s friends, with their yellow and green hair, both third-year students from the Department of Magical Studies.

“If he loses to a first-year, he won’t let it go!”

“Make sure you win!”

The commentator, with a satisfied expression, introduced the next competitor.

—Facing him is first-year student Seoda-yoon from the Department of Combat Magic! She’s entering from the 6 o’clock direction!

This time, a loud cheer came from the lowerclassmen cheering section, filled with first and second years.

“Who’s that?”

“I don’t know. Just shout. If she wins, we can enter the Central Magic Tower too.”

“Really? Seoda-yoon, win it!”

Seoda-yoon felt as if her head was spinning.

Why are those people cheering here?

What’s with the commentary on this?

Can I really win?

Unaware of such feelings, the commentator continued.

─I will explain the rules! Only basic magic can be used! Both sides can cast four spells before the start! It’s no exaggeration to say that which spells you choose to start with will determine the outcome!

The professor had said that in spirit, I must not lose.

Seo Da-yoon steeled her resolve.

The person she must defeat isn’t just the third-year in front of her.

Countless gazes were directed at her.

She had to endure all this pressure to achieve true victory.

Seo Da-yoon slapped her cheeks hard and opened her eyes wide.

The professor had clearly said she could win.

Then she could win.

Both sides raised their hands high, signaling an “okay.”

Moments later, the commentator shouted.

─Now, the match… no, the duel begins!

* * *

In a corner of the audience, the man who instigated this fight, Jeon Tae-jin, muttered.

“Tsk, that kid… has really escalated things. What was supposed to be a light affair has turned into an incident.”

Jeon Tae-jin was displeased that the duel had spiraled into a major event.

Unwritten rules remain unspoken, allowing them to stay as unwritten rules.

If things escalated like this, even if Seo Da-yoon lost, the story would continue, and eventually, the professors of the Magic Tower would step in to abolish the bad practices.

Of course, it had nothing to do with Jeon Tae-jin whether a freshman set foot in the Central Magic Tower.

However, Seo Da-yoon and Cha Eun-woo, who raised their voices to abolish Florian’s bad practices, would remain in everyone’s memory as heroes in the future.

He didn’t like that.

“It seems the kid has some brains. He’s pierced through the essence of the competition.”

Moreover, because the situation had escalated, Han Dae-dong could no longer be satisfied with merely winning.

To prove the dignity of the upperclassmen, he had to show overwhelming strength against the underclassmen.

A maximum of four times.

He had to see it through with just the four spells he had cast in advance. That would be Han Dae-dong’s “true” victory.

—

If it gave off the feeling of a standoff between freshmen, the repercussions would be too great to handle.

“Most likely, it was Professor Cha who devised the plan. The urgent one is Han Dae-dong. I wonder if that rookie can seize the opportunity.”

He seemed to have a decent grasp of the situation.

But that was all.

He had no understanding of why Jeon Tae-jin had created this conflict.

Foolishly. Thanks to that, Jeon Tae-jin’s plan became easier.

“Cough, cough… Just wait. Soon, you’ll be hitting the ground in regret.”

“What will I regret?”

“……!”

A man’s voice came from behind.

When Jeon Tae-jin quickly turned around, he saw a familiar man.

One of the few people he couldn’t look down on from Florian, the swordsman Jo Seong-woong.

“Professor Jo, what brings you here?”

He pretended to be pleased on the outside, but inside, Jeon Tae-jin was flustered.

Jo Seong-woong hadn’t taught a class in years and had been living in seclusion; seeing him again after such a long time felt unsettling.

“Well, I just happened to pass by and saw a lot of people, so I came.”

“Then why did you bring me along?”

“Shut up, you brat. The adults are talking.”

Jeon Tae-jin quickly realized why this old man had come out of seclusion.

Next to him stood a young boy.

“And this student?”

“This kid? He’s my disciple.”

“Hello. I’m Park Seo-hu.”

Park Seo-hu greeted politely.

Just as Jeon Tae-jin had expected.

The boy’s identity was the top freshman, Park Seo-hu.

He was rumored to be a genius who had appeared after decades.

When the rumors circulated, he had thought of him as just another inflated freshman, but if Jo Seong-woong had personally taken him under his wing, that changed everything.

At least S-rank or higher.

“Right, I’ve heard the rumors. Work hard and become a great hero.”

—

“Thank you.”

I was curious about why Jo Seong-woong had appeared here.

Was it simply to see Jeon Tae-jin’s face?

That couldn’t be it.

This old man wouldn’t be so easily swayed.

There had to be some reason behind it.

“Tae-jin, can you hear the gears turning in your head?”

I flinched.

Jeon Tae-jin felt a twinge of anxiety but tried hard to appear nonchalant.

“Haha, I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Are you not plotting something bad? For instance… stealing that female student away?”

As Jo Seong-woong flashed a sly smile, Jeon Tae-jin felt his heart drop.

‘How does this old man know?’

As Jo Seong-woong had said, Jeon Tae-jin was indeed planning to take Seo Da-yoon as his disciple.

After hitting a wall and facing defeat, who could refuse if the top professor of a department offered to take them under his wing?

Of course, he had no intention of nurturing someone as talentless as her.

His goal was to take Lee Ye-eun and serve a bitter pill to Cha Eun-woo, who would be left with nothing.

And then, he would make Lee Ye-eun do what he had intended for her. She had at least some value with her pretty face.

After that, he planned to discard her as miserably as possible.

“…I don’t understand why you’re saying that to me.”

It was a statement laden with multiple meanings.

It could imply, “Why are you slandering me without basis?” or it could mean, “Why are you interfering now after turning a blind eye until now?”

Jo Seong-woong chuckled before speaking.

“Tae-jin, do I look like I’m protecting that girl?”

“And if you are?”

“I’m saying this out of concern for you.”

“Excuse me?”

Jeon Tae-jin asked back, unable to comprehend.

Who are you worried about right now?

Not the rookie who just started, but me? This old man couldn’t possibly be saying this unless he had lost his mind.

“Professor Jo’s words, I will take them to heart. Then I must go, as I have someone to meet.”

He is still an awkward person.

Jeon Tae-jin hurriedly left the scene.

Jo Seong-woong waved his hand at his retreating figure, then clicked his tongue.

“He used to have some sense… but now he can’t even judge the situation properly. What a pathetic guy.”

“Master, we should go watch the fight now.”

“What good will that do? Let’s go back to training instead.”

“Ma—ster.”

“I told you not to act cute, you brat! Shut up and follow me!”

“Yes….”

Jo Seong-woong grabbed Park Seo-hu by the nape and led him outside.