A Veteran Teaches Very Well

part 9

Song Seok-hwan’s expression was filled more with injustice than pain. He had an attitude of utter disbelief. Even after being attacked, he couldn’t comprehend why it had happened.

An Se-ri was equally bewildered, unable to grasp what had just occurred. That person, using magic without a medium? And with a silent spell, no less?

“Seok-hwan, don’t you have any experience in dueling?”

“Ugh, ugh…”

“I’ll give you a brief lesson for your foolishness. In a duel between wizards, big and flashy spells aren’t necessary. Because wizards aren’t as sturdy as monsters or warriors. Even the most basic spell, Magic Missile, can easily kill a person. You’re rolling around like that because you’re trying to show off with something like Fire Bolt. Remember, in a duel between wizards, the one who strikes first wins.”

“Shut up, ugh…!”

“Oh, the education is just beginning.”

Slap—!

Cha Eun-woo grabbed Song Seok-hwan by the collar and lifted him up before slapping him. The sound of the slap echoed loudly in the quiet classroom.

“…!”

With a shred of pride, Song Seok-hwan gritted his teeth and stifled a groan. Cha Eun-woo chuckled before delivering another punch.

“Cough…!”

As he took a direct hit to the abdomen, Song Seok-hwan had no choice but to expel his breath. The small sounds of his groans ceased only after several blows.

“Are you starting to reflect?”

“Fuck off, you b*stard.”

Song Seok-hwan spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva. Perhaps he lacked the strength to even aim it at Cha Eun-woo; it barely flew out with any force.

How dare you touch the pride? I will definitely take my revenge. I’ll tear you limb from limb and feed you to the dogs. Song Seok-hwan couldn’t suppress the boiling rage inside him and thrashed about.

“Dying like this wouldn’t be so bad.”

Huh?

What is he saying?

Song Seok-hwan tried to ask back, but no words came out.

“Guh, ugh!”

All that escaped his lips were choking sounds. He couldn’t breathe properly.

Cha Eun-woo was tightening his grip around his neck with both hands.

—

Song Seok-hwan desperately tried to pull his hands away, even tapping lightly as if to signal to let go, but it didn’t budge.

What is this?

I can’t breathe. It’s agonizing.

Am I going to die like this?

I don’t want to die. I’m scared.

I was wrong, please let me live.

“C-cough, h-h…”

Tears streamed down Song Seok-hwan’s pale face.

Even the prince, who had never succumbed to violence, could not remain calm in the face of death.

Just when he truly thought he was about to die, he could take a breath.

“Gah, cough! Hah… huff…!”

The air he encountered again was so sweet. Song Seok-hwan gasped and exhaled like a madman, repeating the cycle.

“I’ll ask again. Have you reflected at all?”

“Gah!”

It sounded like the call of the grim reaper.

As the fear of death mixed with Cha Eun-woo’s talent, Song Seok-hwan felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness and terror.

“I was wrong… I was wrong…”

Eventually, Song Seok-hwan knelt down, begging with his hands and feet.

A chill ran down Ahn Se-ri’s arms. She had been hoping that Cha Eun-woo would stop Song Seok-hwan. However, to think he would break that reckless fool, she couldn’t even imagine it.

“…Monster.”

Can this be passed over easily?

There was no way Song Seok-hwan would let this end like this. If he had accumulated such a grudge, he would surely seek revenge. No matter how great a person was, they were still just an individual. If he turned his wrath against them… just imagining it was horrifying.

Moreover, Ahn Se-ri had stood by while Cha Eun-woo nearly killed Song Seok-hwan. What if the fallout came back to her?

Ahn Se-ri looked at Cha Eun-woo, filled with concern about how he would handle the aftermath.

Cha Eun-woo chuckled lightly and said with a relaxed demeanor,

“It’s tough moving my body. Let’s go eat. Today, Se-ri will treat us.”

It was absurd. Something serious was happening, yet she felt no worry at all.

That man’s back looked so reliable.

So much so that it felt like she could trust him completely.

“Isn’t it embarrassing for a professor to be treated by a student?”

—

“Not at all.”

“Pfft… There won’t be a next time.”

* * *

A spacious room adorned with a magnificent chandelier and decorations.

This was the only place in the academy where such luxury could be displayed: the president’s office.

Florian Academy.

An educational institution that has nurtured 90% of Korea’s rankers.

Some say that Florian is the best academy in Korea.

Some say that if you’re not a hero from Florian, it’s hard to believe.

Some say that those who couldn’t enroll in Florian are worthless awakeners.

Some say that Florian is the heart of South Korea.

Some say that Florian is South Korea itself.

Perhaps those words are not exaggerations. In an era where awakeners hold greater value than intellectuals, the world desired strong heroes over brilliant inventors or great politicians.

Humanity has faced countless attacks. In the midst of it all, South Korea has come close to destruction time and again.

Each time, it was the heroes from Florian who defended the nation.

“Have you been well all this time?”

A middle-aged man of small stature greeted the girl. The girl, dressed in a hanbok, looked no older than someone just entering puberty. To anyone watching, it seemed awkward for a middle-aged man to show such respect.

However, those who knew her would find it perfectly natural.

Ryu Jeong-ah.

A woman who could always become a queen, yet has been the president of Florian, safeguarding the academy for over a century.

Some regarded Ryu Jeong-ah as the guardian deity of South Korea. Even the president could not stand above her.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that all the notable heroes in South Korea were raised by her. Once, the president of Florian personally taught talented children, and they all became rankers. They were often referred to collectively as “Ryu Jeong-ah’s children.”

This man, too, had been taught by Ryu Jeong-ah over fifty years ago.

“Oh my~, has Song Ah-hee been well?”

“Thanks to your concern, sir.”

“You’ve grown old and only spout nonsense now. Words that don’t come from the heart.”

Yet, it couldn’t be said that the man was necessarily inferior to Ryu Jeong-ah.

In fact, he was on par with her, if not greater.

Song Ji-hyeok.

He was the leader of the Ascension Guild, one of the three major guilds in South Korea. Another title he held was that of Song Seok-hwan’s father.

“It’s sad, isn’t it? To have my love for you doubted.”

“Oh, my dear, no… I can’t call you ‘my dear’ anymore. That little child has grown bigger than me now.”

“How could I ever surpass you, teacher? Even after ten thousand years, that would be impossible.”

“Stop with the jokes. You come back after ten years, and you talk about love for your teacher? Especially with a knife in hand.”

“Haha… that’s quite unfortunate. I’ve been busy, you see. Besides, you should speak clearly. Wasn’t it you who started this?”

Goooh───

A massive flow of mana spread around Song Ji-hyuk.

Ryu Jeong-ah muttered to herself.

This guy.

When did he get so strong?

She had thought he would have grown since the last time they met, but she hadn’t expected it to be to this extent. This might make it impossible to guarantee a victory.

Song Ji-hyuk growled lowly.

“Even a beast knows the value of its offspring. Yet here you are, protecting the one who harmed my child. How am I supposed to interpret this situation?”

“Calm down.”

“Calm down? Did you just tell me to calm down!”

As Song Ji-hyuk shouted, the mana exploded.

Just before the massive shockwave obliterated the space, Ryu Jeong-ah waved her hand. The mana that was about to burst was compressed and gathered in her palm. As she clenched her fist tightly, it vanished.

It seemed like nothing, but in reality, it was far from it. Ryu Jeong-ah had suppressed enough energy to blow away Florian with just her grip.

“Don’t shout. You’ll disturb the old man’s peace.”

“Stop with the nonsense and hand him over. If you keep that attitude, I won’t stay quiet.”

“Are you declaring war on an old man?”

“What’s stopping me?”

“Haha… you really are something.”

Ryu Jeong-ah was a hero with more symbolic meaning than anyone else, but that was all she was.

The position of the academy’s president held no real power against the leader of a massive guild. If the two were to clash, the outcome was obvious.

Yet, Ryu Jeong-ah did not back down.

“By the way, do you know who harmed your son?”

“I do. It’s that new professor, Cha Eun-woo, isn’t it? A guy with no real achievements? How dare he harm my son…”

A faint cracking sound echoed.

Ryu Jeong-ah had tried to hide it as best as she could, but he was indeed the master of the emergency guild. Her prideful son wouldn’t have confessed, so he must have found out through his information network. However, there was one fact he was still unaware of.

Ryu Jeong-ah walked steadily toward the back of the president’s office. A massive safe loomed against the wall. She turned the dial, entered the numbers, and opened the safe. After that, she handed what was inside to Song Ji-hyuk.

“What is this?”

“Read it.”

It was a bundle of papers. After quickly skimming through all the pages, Song Ji-hyuk realized it was a thesis. The author bore the hateful name, Cha Eun-woo.

“So this guy actually had a thesis. I didn’t see it when I searched.”

“Hey, even if you’re the guild master above the law, you shouldn’t covet state secrets.”

“…What?”

This mere thesis is a state secret? Song Ji-hyuk hesitated at the unexpected response.

Ryu Jeong-ah grinned and urged him to read.

“Come on, take a look.”

It didn’t take long to read the roughly fifty-page thesis.

However, the lingering impact it left would not end so quickly.

“…What is this?”

“What do you mean, what? It’s a thesis written by Professor Cha.”

It was absurd. Is this even possible?

“Is the content reliable?”

“While keeping it a secret, I verified it. I’ll announce it soon.”

“Wow…”

Looking at the thesis, he could understand why Ryu Jeong-ah had been so enamored with that professor.

The methods for efficiently operating a party and nurturing heroes, along with strategies for various bosses, seemed to completely disregard the concepts humanity had built up until now.

Though he had never confirmed its effectiveness in practice, Song Ji-hyuk, who had fought countless monsters in numerous dungeons, was convinced.

This was not something a fraud could create. It would definitely work.

“But… can a person really come up with something like this?”

Did he just casually think of it and then piece together specific figures? It didn’t make sense.

It was as if dozens of the world’s most renowned heroes had been forcefully gathered and meticulously crafted into a sample that had dramatically survived. Of course, such a thing was impossible. A mere professor could not mobilize that many heroes.

Song Ji-hyuk could only let out a deep sigh.

“So, it’s like a goose that lays golden eggs.”

“Exactly. Humanity needs Professor Cha.”

Damn it, Master, you’ve always been like this.

When Song Ji-hyuk was young, she was always on his side. Whether he faced injustice or, at times, when he was in the wrong, Ryu Jeong-ah stood by him.

Every time Song Ji-hyuk asked, Ryu Jeong-ah answered. Morality is a luxury suited only for times of peace. In chaotic times, one must always choose the best option.

“What if I insist on killing that brat…?”

She wanted to ask. Does that brat hold more value than me? But she lacked the courage to voice the question. If the master were to say yes, Song Ji-hyuk would surely kill both the teacher and that brat.

“What then?”

“…It’s nothing. It was a slip of the tongue.”

In the end, Song Ji-hyuk merely twitched his lips and retreated. The thought of his son’s situation made her stomach churn, but hearing that she was useless from the master was even harder to bear.

“I will take my leave now. But please ensure that such things do not happen again.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Though she could have caught up with her master after a long time, her heart was too troubled for that. They hadn’t met for a good reason in the first place.

After leaving the president’s office, Song Ji-hyuk let out a deep sigh. Her mind was a tangled mess in many ways.

* * *

A few days after the incident with Song Seok-hwan.

Strangely, nothing had happened. She had expected chaos, but the silence was unsettling. No matter how much An Se-ri tried to cover it up, it would only delay the inevitable.

Her head was spinning because of that reckless young master.

“Yeeun, could you make me a cup of coffee?”

“Yes!”

The brief sound of the coffee pot filled the air, and Lee Yeeun returned with a steaming cup of coffee. As she took a sip, the familiar sweetness hit her tongue. No matter when she drank it, she could never quite get used to it.

“By the way, how was the orientation?”

“Cough.”

She barely managed to stop herself from spilling the coffee. This was dangerous. It came on too strong.

“Were you trying to catch me off guard?”

“Pardon?”

“No, never mind.”

Without a doubt, it was the most chaotic orientation in the world. It was like something out of a bad ’80s movie, with a professor beating up students under the guise of education. After calming down, she thought, Am I going to get expelled?

The only relief was that this was an academy. The purpose of the academy was to turn awakeners into heroes to send to the battlefield. Implicitly, corporal punishment was a part of it.

However, there were few professors like hers who sought to kill students.

But there was nothing she could do.

If she had responded half-heartedly, it would have only provoked Song Seok-hwan further, worsening the situation. It was best to take a firm stance from the start.

Of course, the biggest reason was that she simply could not contain her anger.

“Hmm… perhaps the class might get canceled.”

—

“He’s joking again. It’s not funny, you know?”

I wish it were just a joke.

I instilled a strong fear in Song Seok-hwan using even my charisma, but would he really back down this easily?

What more is there to think about?

It’s already spilled water. It would be better for my mental health to care about it after the situation unfolds.

“…….”

That’s enough.

Let’s just prepare for the lecture.

“Well, it’s not exactly a delightful story, is it? Enough of this nonsense, would you take a look at this?”

I sent the lecture materials to Lee Ye-eun via email.

What was inside were the things I had prepared with great ambition. If I just hold onto this, the first practical evaluation dungeon, the Less Green Monkey Forest, should be no problem.

“Um… Oh!”

Seeing Lee Ye-eun looking at the lecture materials reminded me of the day I first received her report.

Lee Ye-eun, who reacted to every little thing I did with joy and despair. Though she didn’t show it, I too was sensitive to every one of her reactions. It was truly a terrible thing to tease her back then.

Fortunately, Lee Ye-eun’s overall feedback was very positive.

“Wow… Honestly, I was surprised. To be honest, when you said the Less Green Monkey Forest strategy would take ten minutes, I thought you were crazy, but after listening to this lecture, I really don’t know.”

“Right?”

I couldn’t tell if it was pure praise or just lip service, but it felt much better than being told it wouldn’t work.

So what if they were first-time newbies? If I pass on all the know-how I’ve worked hard to build up, that’s what makes them seasoned players.

Gradually, the outline began to take shape.

What I was looking at was after graduation. I felt like I was slowly getting ready to see the ending.

Chapter 6. The First Lecture

“This… damn b*stard.”

Song Seok-hwan was lying on the infirmary bed. After being humiliated by Cha Eun-woo, he had lost consciousness.

It was unacceptable. A professor, yet just a theoretical one with no real-world experience.

Such people are the ones who graduate after getting mediocre practical scores at the academy and then sit at their desks like useless trash. Cowardly fools who avoid the battlefield despite being awakened.

Thus, Song Seok-hwan did not recognize professors who were not heroes. Yet, in front of Cha Eun-woo, he felt powerless.

“Damn it!”

In a fit of anger, he slammed the bed sheets down. Should he protest to the academy like this? But it was embarrassing. Everything from being jealous of someone like Seo Da-yoon to losing to that theoretical professor was shameful.

Moreover, even now, thinking of Cha Eun-woo’s gaze from that time made the arm healed by the treatment magic throb painfully.

—

Fear.

It began to consume Song Seok-hwan’s heart.

“Damn it, really… what a worthless b*stard.”

He didn’t want to admit he was scared, so he tried to put on a brave face, even if it was just for himself. But no matter how much he pretended, the fear wouldn’t fade, and acknowledging it felt like everything would come crashing down.

This situation was unbearably frustrating.

“Ryeo-un!”

As Song Seok-hwan shouted, a figure emerged from the shadows.

An B-rank hero of the Emergency Guild, class: Assassin.

His direct bodyguard, tasked with protecting Song Seok-hwan.

“What the hell were you doing while your master was going through that?”

It was strange from the start that some professor dared to touch Song Seok-hwan. Wasn’t Ryeo-un supposed to be there to prevent such things?

“I’m sorry. There was an interruption.”

“An interruption? Who was it?”

“…It was President Ryu Jeong-ah.”

“What?”

Ryu Jeong-ah? Why was that name coming up here?

Ryeo-un wouldn’t lie.

“Why on earth was that person involved?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t disclose that…”

Ryeo-un had abandoned his real name to live under the shadow of the Emergency Guild.

Even so, like any other capable individual, he had grown up in Florian. Ryu Jeong-ah had always been an unattainable star in the sky, a presence that made it impossible to even muster the courage to ask why.

“Damn it…”

What kind of ridiculous situation is this? If Ryu Jeong-ah really was protecting Cha Eun-woo, there was no way to deal with it. He thought he was without backing, but it turned out to be Ryu Jeong-ah.

Then what if he could quietly kill him where Ryu Jeong-ah’s eyes couldn’t reach? Upon reflection, it didn’t seem impossible.

“That guy’s class was dungeon exploration, right?”

“Yes.”

“Phew, good. Anyway, that old hag Ryu Jeong-ah doesn’t come out of the academy. We’ll kill him during the dungeon practical assessment. Can you do that?”

To kill someone. It was a terrifying statement to hear from a first-year academy student.

Perhaps a seasoned hero might understand, but for an ordinary academy student, the concept of death should be foreign. Yet, Song Seok-hwan issued the command to kill so naturally.

“Understood.”

—

Ryeoun also didn’t find it strange.

* * *

Since that day, there had been several changes in the Combat Magic department.

Rumors spread that the professor and Song Seok-hwan had spoken privately during the dungeon research and practical classes.

No one knew what had happened between them, but it was easy to guess. Just seeing Seo Da-yoon made Song Seok-hwan want to devour her, but he began to ignore her.

As a result, Seo Da-yoon’s position in the department became precarious. Even if there was no longer a need to worry about retaliation from Song Seok-hwan, the situation had become awkward in many ways. It seemed that Seo Da-yoon would need a bit more time to blend into the department.

Those who had once considered themselves Song Seok-hwan’s lackeys suddenly found themselves in a precarious position.

Song Seok-hwan had taken them along out of necessity, but they were now discarded as they had lost their usefulness. In the department, they had already been branded as trash who bullied a girl, and they could only associate with each other.

“Thank goodness. Everything worked out well.”

“Thanks for worrying about me.”

With the worry of getting entangled with Song Seok-hwan gone, Seo Da-yoon no longer pushed Ahn Se-ri away.

Since Seo Da-yoon was not fitting in well with the other students, Ahn Se-ri seized the opportunity to close the distance between them.

“Phew, I still don’t understand magic well. I got scolded in class today for not getting it.”