A Veteran Teaches Very Well

part 60

Someone grabbed the blade from behind.

—

—

Who the hell is it?

As I turned around, the face of an annoyingly handsome man came into view.

“Song Seok-hwan, what is this mess?”

A man I loathed to the core.

It was Professor Cha Eun-woo.

“Why are you here?”

Malice boiled within me.

It was a hatred even greater than the one directed at Ahn Se-hyun.

I have to kill him.

I must kill that man…

“Song Seok-hwan, if you keep this up, you’ll never be recognized by anyone for the rest of your life.”

What do you mean?

That I can’t be recognized?

“Remember this. Heroes exist to protect people. What kind of hero harms others?”

Words my father once told me.

I always thought it was a good saying, keeping it close to my heart.

Cha Eun-woo recited it back to me without missing a single word.

“You…”

It’s true.

My father wanted Song Seok-hwan to become the guild leader of heroes.

A hero.

Song Seok-hwan must become a good hero…

“Don’t lie! My father never recognized me until the very end! A good hero? What does that even matter! I need to become stronger!”

Song Seok-hwan shouted in rage.

Isn’t that right?

I’ve done everything I could.

But it was my father who never acknowledged me.

“Do you want to be recognized?”

“Yeah! I want to be recognized! What’s wrong with that?”

Cha Eun-woo chuckled softly.

—

Am I being foolish?

Is it really that wrong?

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be a strong hero.”

“What?”

“It’s okay to be weak. You don’t have to be a capable guild master.”

“Then, what value is there…?”

Cha Eun-woo smiled warmly.

“I acknowledge you. It’s okay not to be a strong hero. Just be a good hero and protect the world.”

“A good hero…”

Ah, I see.

So that’s what it was.

I was foolish.

A hero who is only strong holds no meaning. No one welcomes them.

【Stop! Stop it!】

Bonibatus struggled.

But as Song Seok-hwan’s consciousness gradually returned, the world of illusions began to crumble.

Finally, the sound of shattering glass echoed, and the world completely collapsed.

Only then did Song Seok-hwan’s mind clear.

He slowly opened his eyes.

* * *

“Ugh, ugh…!”

Bonibatus’s power was weakening.

The claws and tentacles that had sprouted from Song Seok-hwan’s body gradually shrank until they completely vanished.

He did it.

Song Seok-hwan succeeded in driving Bonibatus away.

“You’re awake.”

“…Professor?”

The malice that once clouded Song Seok-hwan’s eyes had become clear and transparent.

They were beautiful, pristine eyes.

“Ugh!”

“Don’t move; your wounds are severe.”

One arm dangled, deeply cut by a blade, and his body was in a state of overload from being used too roughly.

Just staying conscious was a testament to his superhuman willpower.

“Where is that spider…?”

“Leave the rest to me and rest well.”

“I’ll take care of that b*stard with my own hands…”

Song Seok-hwan’s voice grew fainter until it finally fell silent. He had lost consciousness at last.

The sound of his breathing was clear.

Fortunately, his life was not in danger.

【Ah, no…! This, this can’t be…】

Finally, the true form of Bonibatus was revealed.

A slightly oversized spider.

There was a reason it possessed others.

Bonibatus’s true form had no combat abilities.

“Now, disappear.”

【W-wait! I’ll grant your wish! I am a demon! Bonibatus the demon! If you just spare me…】

“Disgusting.”

Swoosh!

One of the final bosses of the game.

An ending so hollow it was hard to believe it was one of the twelve demons.

Ding!

───────────────

You have cleared the first scenario.

─Defeated Bonibatus (1/1)

You have achieved a heroic feat.

─Survived facing the evil god (1/1)

You have achieved a legendary feat.

─Saved a comrade from the evil god (1/1)

You have achieved a mythical feat.

─Defeated the evil god (1/1)

───────────────

“Phew.”

Finally, it’s all over.

The exams, the rescue of Team A, the defeat of the evil deity.

After giving appropriate first aid to the members of Team A, including Song Seok-hwan, I exited the dungeon.

Upon returning, Lee Ye-eun greeted me with fervor.

“Professor? Oh my! You’re a complete mess! What on earth happened? And why are the kids like this? There’s no way a monster could threaten you in a mere slime tunnel…”

“It’s a long story.”

I wanted to tell her everything, but I didn’t have the energy.

My eyelids were growing heavier, and my body felt languid.

Fighting against the strange beings, battling Song Seok-hwan’s subordinates, confronting the demon god.

So much had happened today.

I wanted to rest a little.

“Professor! Stay with us!”

My eyelids felt heavy.

Right now, I felt like I could fall into a deep sleep.

Just a little, just a bit of sleep.

Chapter 2. Reinforcements

Florian Academy was in chaos.

The top professor of the Department of Magical Studies, Jeon Tae-jin.

He had allied with an unknown monster and manipulated Song Seok-hwan to ambush Cha Eun-woo.

This was no ordinary matter.

“Tae-jin, you’ve truly lost your mind!”

President Ryu Jeong-ah was furious.

The hero’s blade should only be directed at monsters.

It was unthinkable for a hero to attempt to kill another hero.

There were rules in the hero society.

Unless it was a legitimate duel, a hero should not seek to kill a person.

If this was violated, one would be treated like a monster, not a hero.

“Did I teach you to be this way! How dare you….”

“Hu, huhuh…”

Even the great Jeon Tae-jin could not escape this incident, bound and tied up in a pitiful state.

“Am I… going to die?”

“Why are you asking something so obvious?”

“Huhuh… I suppose so. I’ve come too, too far.”

It would have been better to die at the hands of Ryu Jeong-ah.

Even if he were acquitted, having touched Song Seok-hwan would mean he could expect no good outcome.

Surely, he would die in the most painful way, without anyone knowing.

That is the consequence of touching the emergency.

“Khuhuh… May I leave a last word before I die?”

“What is it?”

“I have seen it. Their power, their authority…”

Jeon Tae-jin began to chuckle.

“They will all die! It’s madness to oppose the mighty evil gods! Humanity will soon be reduced to a handful of ashes! You too will soon follow me!”

“You are truly insane.”

“No, I am not insane! I have seen the truth!”

As Ryu Jeong-ah gestured, the executioners dragged Jeon Tae-jin away.

She no longer wanted to witness the fate of her deranged disciple.

“Teacher, please open your eyes too! Teacher, teacher! Teach…!”

Ryu Jeong-ah denied Jeon Tae-jin’s words, but in truth, she had known all along.

She did not know exactly when the crisis would come.

It could be in ten years, twenty years, or it could strike as soon as next year.

What was certain was that humanity would soon face a great crisis.

The nest of the annihilating dragon, which had driven humanity to the brink of extinction, came to mind.

Humanity had lost far too many heroes back then.

“It’s different from that time. Now humanity has the key.”

It was tiresome to only be on the receiving end.

They had to unite and resist.

They had to raise the children.

There was only one person who could be the focal point for that.

“Professor Cha… I have no choice but to trust that kid.”

* * *

After I collapsed, Lee Ye-eun busily took care of the aftermath.

Everyone in the dungeon, including me, was transported to the hospital.

Though they were all seriously injured, fortunately, none of their lives were in danger.

Afterward, Song Seok-hwan confessed to the whole incident.

What happened in the dungeon was concluded to be the fault of the monster and Jeon Tae-jin, but he also confessed to tormenting Seo Da-yoon and received a one-year suspension.

Jeon Tae-jin was subjected to a hero trial and sentenced to life imprisonment.

No, that’s how it was reported.

It’s a fact unknown to the public, but in reality, there was no life sentence in a hero trial.

Imprisoning a person with abilities requires an enormous amount of resources. However, there wasn’t enough tax money to spend on criminals.

In other words, while it was superficially called a life sentence, secretly, they executed them.

So, everything seemed to have been resolved well.

Except for one minor issue.

“How long do you plan to stay here?”

“I’ll just be here for a moment.”

Song Seok-hwan.

It had been two days since he occupied my office sofa.

Song Seok-hwan had been suspended and moved out of the dormitory. But not wanting to go home, he had made my office his nest.

“Do you even plan to go home?”

“Absolutely not. If I go back, my father will probably try to kill me.”

It was half a joke, but half of it was the truth.

Because of this incident, the stock of the Emergency Guild plummeted. Song Ji-hyuk, who valued the guild’s reputation, wouldn’t let Song Seok-hwan off easily.

“You seem surprisingly relaxed about it.”

“No matter how much my father is, he can’t come this far, right?”

“If your father comes, I’d be more than happy to open the door for him.”

“Why are you being so petty?”

Over the past few days, Song Seok-hwan’s attitude toward me had completely changed.

He used to look at me as if I were an enemy, but now he treated me like a comfortable older brother.

Where did the respect and reverence for the professor go?

I felt a slight sense of dissatisfaction.

The change in attitude was influenced by the disappearance of Bonivatus.

Bonivatus manipulates by triggering the trauma of the possessed.

Defeating that creature meant, in a way, overcoming trauma.

Song Seok-hwan would grow in a better direction.

It was, in many ways, a positive sign.

However, no matter how I looked at it, it was all about Song Seok-hwan’s circumstances, not mine.

He wasn’t just coming by occasionally like the others; he was loitering around all day. I couldn’t stand this sight any longer.

I needed to have a serious talk with Song Ji-hyuk soon.

Knock, knock—

“Professor!”

Was it time for a break? I heard An Se-ri’s voice from outside.

“Come in.”

With my permission, An Se-ri entered.

Standing behind her was Seo Da-yoon.

“Hello!”

“Yeah.”

“Why is this person here?”

An Se-ri pointed at Song Seok-hwan and asked.

Song Seok-hwan flared up.

“Do you think a person is some kind of object? What kind of nonsense is that?”

“So why is he here then?”

“I’m here because I’m bored, why?”

Even though Song Seok-hwan’s personality had changed, his pride remained intact.

Not wanting to appear weak in front of An Se-ri, he spat out whatever came to mind.

“Seok-hwan ran away from home. You’ll be seeing him in my office often for a while.”

“Ugh! What are you, some kind of middle schooler? Running away from home like a kid.”

“Shut up! Why are you telling her that?”

Song Seok-hwan and An Se-ri bickered back and forth.

They sure knew how to have fun.

Seoda-yun took a step back, as if she didn’t want to be part of that ridiculous scene.

She looked at my desk and asked,

“What were you doing, Professor?”

“I’m selecting supplementary personnel.”

“Supplementary personnel?”

“Thanks to someone’s mishap, all the students in Group A are in the hospital, and we’ll need to fill their spots.”

At the mention of his own group, Song Seok-hwan flinched.

An Se-ri seized the opportunity to strike.

“You must be having a tough time, Professor, because of that troublemaker.”

“This, this is…”

The students in Group A had suffered serious injuries.

If it had been ordinary wounds, they would have returned quickly, but the power of the malevolent spirit was no trivial matter.

The doctors estimated it would take over a month for them to fully recover.

Originally, I had planned to continue the class with three groups.

After all, my class is graded on a pass/fail basis.

The decrease in student numbers wouldn’t affect the others, and above all, I preferred having fewer students; it was more comfortable that way.

That thought changed because of President Ryu Jeong-ah.

“Isn’t that kid doing the best these days?”

“I was just lucky.”

“Don’t you dislike that kind of humility?”

President Ryu Jeong-ah made a suggestion.

“There are many students who want to take your class. The registration period ended a while ago, but… I’ll allow an exception. Can you take a few of those who missed out and add them in?”

Though it was phrased as a request, it would be less menacing than holding a gun to my head.

A request from the academy president could hardly be called a request.

“Understood.”

…And then I regretted it.

“Here! I’ve organized the profiles, so please take a look and select.”

“…What is this?”

What Lee Ye-eun, the teaching assistant, brought was not just paperwork; it was a mountain of paper.

A staggering 877 pages.

In fact, nearly all the freshmen with a bit of leeway in their credits signed up.

“It took an enormous amount of time just to print this. Please pay me back for the copying later. Well then, I’ll go do some research.”

And with that, Teaching Assistant Lee Ye-eun ran off.

What a truly terrible person.

To think they put her in charge as a TA.

Seo Da-yoon was taken aback by the mountain of paperwork.

“Is all of this paper? Wow! It’s really paper? How many pages is this?”

“Just over 800.”

“Wow, so the competition ratio is 5 to 800. That means only the really exceptional students will gather, right?”