A Veteran Teaches Very Well

part 58

That brief praise lingered in Song Seok-hwan’s mind for a long time.

The first compliment he received was so sweet.

Though he had never tried drugs, perhaps this was what it felt like?

‘I must be recognized.’

From that moment, Song Seok-hwan changed.

He had to be superior to anyone else. He must not be underestimated by anyone.

He wanted to be the proud successor of the Biseong family, the proud son of his father.

‘My son Seok-hwan, you are exceptional.’

‘Yes.’

‘Can you become the best in the country?’

‘Yes.’

‘Go to Florian and become the best.’

Florian Academy, where only the top talents from across the nation gather.

If he became the best here, it would prove that Song Seok-hwan was the most outstanding in the country.

‘Huh?’

But the reality was miserable.

Second place.

That was the result given to Song Seok-hwan.

‘I must be excellent. I must be…’

Outperformed by Park Seo-hu, ignored by Ahn Se-ri, crushed by Cha Eun-woo.

The days spent at the academy were the worst.

Every day felt like hell.

The more he struggled, the deeper he seemed to sink into the mire.

【Kill that b*stard.】

When did it start? The voice was heard.

Every time I heard it, a surge of murderous intent boiled within me.

A hero exists to protect people.

They must never kill.

But I couldn’t help it; I simply couldn’t suppress the urge to kill.

The professor who had made me this way.

If only Cha Eun-woo were to disappear, I felt I could return as an excellent successor, a beloved son.

“I will kill him. I will definitely kill him.”

The flames of Song Seok-hwan’s heart blazed fiercely.

* * *

Heroes are ranked from S to F based on their abilities.

At the lower ranks, one could easily rise by accumulating achievements, but from rank D onward, the skills had to match the rank.

Though it was just a single rank, there was a significant gap between them.

Ryeoun was a B-rank hero.

The level was different from the C-rank heroes I had faced until now.

Shu-yuk—

In an instant, a dagger aimed for my throat.

If I moved when I heard the sound slicing through the air, it would be too late.

I had to feel the tremor in the air on my skin and react in advance to evade.

Swish!

“Cough!”

Ryeoun’s dagger grazed my skin lightly.

It wasn’t a deep wound, but it hurt as if that area were on fire.

It seemed the blade was coated with poison.

A slight graze was manageable, but if this continued to accumulate, it would be dangerous.

Ryeoun attacked unilaterally once more, then vanished into hiding.

Swoosh—

“You coward…”

Hiding and stabbing with a poisoned dagger, then disappearing again.

It was the essence of an assassin.

In other words, it was disgustingly dirty and vile.

“Is this all you are? A man who thinks he can save the young master?”

I had no way to approach the swift opponent with my sword, and casting magic was proving difficult to land a hit.

Whoosh!

I swung my sword wide at the approaching Ryeoun, but it missed.

He was far superior in speed.

“Indeed, you have no right to save the young master.”

Yet, a clue began to emerge.

It seemed that Ryeoun’s stealth wasn’t as exceptional as I had thought.

Just before he attacked, I caught a glimpse of him as he drew near.

“So that’s it.”

This damned game wasn’t just a random complaint from users about its difficulty.

For instance, the mechanics of the skills were unnecessarily intricate and complex.

Not all stealth was the same.

Each faction that passed down skills had different mechanics, leading to varied strategies.

Ryeoun was a named NPC, but he mostly moved from the shadows, lacking any combat presence.

So even I had no idea about the skills he used.

But now that I faced him directly, I understood.

I knew how to bring him down.

“Let the lesson begin. The topic is how to deal with an assassin.”

“Nonsense! You can’t defeat me!”

* * *

Clang!

A swift attack while hidden.

Then back to stealth.

It was a simple pattern, yet the one on the receiving end had no idea what had struck them or how.

This was the assassin’s winning pattern.

There was no way a professor could escape it.

“Wind Burst!”

Whoosh!

The wind exploded like a bomb.

It was the magic of the wind attribute, the fastest among the four elements, but it did not reach Ryeoun.

So slow.

Moreover, the direction of the magic was off.

You can never defeat me.

‘Wow, that’s incredibly strong. Isn’t Ryeoun capable of defeating anyone?’

‘No. That’s just a grain of sand in the vast world.’

‘Hey, then what does that make me? Are you saying my loyal subordinate is a grain of sand?’

‘That is….’

‘Ryeoun must be strong. Only then will I, the master, hear good things.’

Young master.

The kind one who smiled at a sinner like me.

Your servant can kill anyone.

“Wind Arrow!”

“……!”

Whoosh-!

The arrow made of wind flew straight toward Ryeoun.

Ryeoun crossed his daggers to block the magic.

But he couldn’t hide his surprise.

He was clearly in hiding.

“How….”

“I realized your invisibility was a childish trick. It’s just a barrier that refracts light to block vision, right? When I stirred the wind loudly, it kicked up dust, and there was an unnatural movement in the dust.”

To think he had already seen through it.

I had faced countless duels, but this was the first time I encountered someone like this.

He was indeed extraordinary.

A professor, and a highly esteemed one at that in Florian.

Perhaps, perhaps this person could…

‘Young master, the one who was so kind.’

Just being by Song Seok-hwan’s side made me happy.

When he smiled, Ryeoun smiled along.

When he was sad, Ryeoun felt sad too.

Song Seok-hwan is the one who saved Ryeo-un.

─Did you touch the guild funds because of your family?

─Just an E-rank hero! Do you think someone has no family?

Even now, the day he committed an irreparable sin vividly comes to mind.

The night when he thought everything was over.

The one who reached out a hand to Ryeo-un.

‘What a funny guy. Give him to me.’

‘It’s, it’s dangerous. How can a sinner be given to the young master…’

‘The decision is mine. Your family is struggling? I’ll help. Sell me your body and soul completely.’

From that day on, Song Seok-hwan became everything to Ryeo-un.

A person with a heart warmer than anyone else.

He was that kind of person, but he changed one day.

Ryeo-un closed the distance in an instant and thrust a dagger toward Cha Eun-woo’s brow.

Clang!

He reacted just in time.

Ryeo-un’s dagger was blocked by Cha Eun-woo’s sword.

Stealth became useless, but it didn’t matter.

Ryeo-un’s greatest weapon is speed.

Without giving him a chance to counterattack, she began a flurry of strikes with her dagger.

Cha Eun-woo looked strained just defending.

‘I couldn’t even change the young master, whom I brought here.’

Yeah.

It was a foolish thought.

Leaving the young master to someone else was absurd.

“Professor Cha! I couldn’t save the young master. But do you think you, weaker than me, can dare to save him? You’re boasting that you’ll save the young master with that skill?”

She swung her blade like a fierce downpour.

Ryeo-un’s blade was coated with a deadly poison that could affect even a hero.

If you dismiss it as just a superficial wound, you’ll face dire consequences.

Noticing that fact, Cha Eun-woo decided to take a gamble.

Swish!

—

Blocking Ryeoun’s dagger, I aimed my body at the blade.

Ryeoun immediately reacted, twisting his body.

‘I already know your sword!’

Swoosh—

The blade’s path sharply curved.

Ryeoun was already dodging the first strike. I perfectly seized the opportunity.

Cha Eunwoo’s carefully prepared decisive blow.

‘I’ll teach you that there’s always someone above the one who jumps.’

Boom!

A switch technique.

Ryeoun’s figure vanished, leaving only a log in its place.

Cha Eunwoo’s sword split the log in two.

“……!”

Cha Eunwoo looked around, searching for Ryeoun.

He was nowhere to be found.

Then he must be above.

Cha Eunwoo raised his sword high, preparing for an attack from above.

Ryeoun laughed.

“Too bad. I’m below.”

Crash!

The ground Cha Eunwoo was standing on collapsed, and Ryeoun appeared.

There was no way to block this ambush with a motion directed upwards.

Ryeoun’s dagger aimed straight for the heart.

“Cough!”

You truly had no right to save the young master.

How could a man who can’t even defeat someone like me save the young master?

Cha Eunwoo twisted his body, barely evading the attack aimed at his heart.

Well, that’s fine.

If I can finish it completely with the next strike…….

“……!”

What is this?

When exactly?

Ryeoun’s arm was caught by Cha Eunwoo.

This is absurd.

This was beyond the realm of reaction speed.

‘No way!’

A trap.

Everything, starting from the barrier above, was a trap.

This man had been thinking of nothing but this from the very beginning.

“If you catch the fast one, it’s over. Class dismissed.”

A massive surge of mana was felt.

Ryeoun could sense it instinctively.

Ah, this is the end.

“Lightning Strike!”

A blue bolt of lightning struck down on Ryeoun.

A powerful spell that could finish him off in one blow, even for a tank.

It was an attack that a frail assassin’s body could not withstand.

As Cha Eunwoo released Ryeoun’s arm, he collapsed weakly.

“…How could such a spell be cast in such a short time…?”

“Tell me what happened to Song Seokhwan.”

He had gambled with his own life.

If the dagger had been aimed just a little closer to the vital point, he would have been dead.

Even knowing that, he opened the path of the blade toward the heart without hesitation.

I see.

This person is incomparable to someone like me.

Strong.

So incredibly strong.

“Master, you’ve changed… What could have made you like this…?”

Could this person save the Master?

If not this person, then who could save the Master?

I knew it was an unreasonable request.

But I had nowhere else to turn.

With a heart desperate to grasp at straws, Ryeoun squeezed out all remaining strength to plead.

“Professor Cha… please, I beg you for the young master…”

With those final words, Ryeoun lost consciousness.

* * *

“Ah, ow ow…”

The part that had been pierced throbbed with pain.

I knew it was strong, but it was much stronger than I had anticipated.

I almost lost.

Fortunately, the last gamble had at least paid off.

“What am I supposed to do…?”

Just being pierced was a severe wound, and I had been exposed to the deadly poison for too long.

It hurts like hell.

The only silver lining was that, somehow, my body began to recover as soon as the battle ended.

What an incredible natural healing ability.

“Ha. Ryeoun, you useless b*stard.”

You put me in this state and then ask for a favor.

In the end, you didn’t tell me anything.

Song Seok-hwan has changed? I know that too. But how, and why did he change?

The truly important details were all missing.

After recovering sufficiently, I moved on to the second stage.

This place was also empty.

Inside the tunnel, there were traces of magic scorched into the ground. It was probably done by Song Seok-hwan.

“What on earth happened here?”

The answer would likely be in the boss stage.

Without hesitation, I entered the boss stage.

Sssss—

A chilling air filled the boss stage.

It was different from what I knew.

When I had scouted the area in preparation for the exam, the boss stage of the Slime Tunnel hadn’t looked like this.

It was dark, filled with powerful mana.

“This is….”

The thick smell of blood lingered in the air.

An uneasy imagination stirred in my mind.

I had to find out what was happening.

It couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be. The anxious thoughts swirled in my head.

“Professor.”

It was Song Seok-hwan’s voice.

I could clearly hear Song Seok-hwan’s voice.

“Song Seok-hwan!”

In the direction of his voice, a horrific scene unfolded.

I wanted to deny reality.

There were members of Team A, covered in blood.

Fortunately, they looked terrible, but they were still alive.

“What the hell happened?”

“Hehe… Did you like it? This is a stage for you, Professor. A stage to kill you! Hahaha!”