My Students Regret It After I Retired

9 – Former Disciples Begin to Reassemble

Whether it’s a battle or a game, it’s the same; if you’re thrown into the fray without knowing the strategy, you’re highly likely to fail, even with massive capital or combat power.

For example, what if someone in the past, with no agricultural knowledge, had tried to cultivate tropical fruits like durian in Korea? It would have taken them at least a year just to realize durian can’t grow in the Korean climate.

They’d have learned the simple fact that durian can’t be cultivated in Korea’s climate only after digging the soil, scattering fertilizer, and enduring long hours of patience. Despite that knowledge being common sense, something a modern person could tell them in a single sentence.

This is how information can drastically reduce someone’s time consumption and overwhelmingly lower the difficulty of a strategy.

Leos easily taking down the praying mantis-type mutant monster Lierard also aligns with this principle.

The man, having experienced countless Red Gate battles, not only knew the Lierard’s behavior patterns and abilities inside and out, but also knew its weak points perfectly.

Leos, who had taken on the Red Gate mutant monsters alone for fear of his comrades being a hindrance, or worse, getting hurt. He was nothing less than a living strategy guide for mutant monsters.

“Wow… what is this…?”

Heresia muttered, staring at the Lierard collapsed on the ground.

“No… are Red Gate mutants supposed to die this easily?”

Even as she asked, she already knew the answer was no. It was a monstrosity over 3m tall, after all; taking it down so easily was absurd. However, witnessing its slaughter in less than a minute, she simply couldn’t believe it, hence the question.

“They usually don’t die this easily. The first time I encountered one, I fought for over five hours.”

The number of mutant types in the Red Gate is limited. They aren’t overwhelmingly numerous, so you tend to encounter the same ones often, and in the case of Lierard especially, their appearance frequency is extremely high.

That’s why they’re considered low-tier; because they’re encountered often, and often defeated, making killing them now too easy despite their power or size.

Leos twisted his sword into the abdomen of the fallen Lierard. Just to make sure it wasn’t playing dead.

“Krrk… krrrk…”

Sure enough, the b*stard was still clinging to life, letting out a short death rattle. Only after his movements ceased did Leos hurriedly enter the cave, asking Herisia,

“You said Bendict was inside, right?”

“Yes, the location I confirmed with the distance is there.”

Leos, rushing forward, noticed his hand was damp.

– Bendict. Don’t go around acting up after you get out. You’ll meet your match someday and drop dead.

– Ah, hyung-nim. I survived after meeting you, who would I die to?

– Shut your dog mouth.

– If I’m in danger, you’ll help me, right? From what I hear, you just *shwoop* monsters and *crack* people’s skulls with your fist, what’s there to be scared of next to you… aaa… aaak! Hyung-nim, my ear! You tore my ear off before by pulling on it! aaak…!

The time he spent with that big, dumb oaf in prison wasn’t all that bad. Back then he thought of him as just a fool, but now he missed the way that guy acted without thinking, just like a moron.

‘Did he die? Or is he still alive…’

Since Leos had killed the Lyrad right outside the cave, he figured they might have been resting after finishing their hunt. That’s why Leos hurried inside.

“Ha…”

Leos reached the deepest part of the cave and let out a hollow sigh. That big, dumb oaf from prison, he wasn’t dead. He was just there, looking like a moron, staring at a piece of tofu and groaning.

“What are you doing?”

When Leos asked, Bendict jumped up, grabbed his sword, and shouted,

“Who is it! Who dares invade Bendict’s cave! Come any closer and I’ll kill you!”

Seeing the way he was panicking and brandishing his sword, Leos also raised his own.

“You want to fight?”

Then Bendict saw Leos’s face and instantly dropped his sword to the ground. He was clearly showing, through his body, that he had no intention of fighting.

“Hyung-nim…Hyung-nim, is that you!”

The guy, eyes glistening, tried to approach Leos, then quickly darted back to where he was before, snatched something, and returned.

“Hyung-nim, have some tofu.”

“What’s with the tofu?”

“You said it before. You said, where Hyung-nim used to be, it’s a custom to eat tofu after getting released. Why do they eat it…? I don’t remember exactly, but you said it was a must.”

Leos stared at Bendict’s face. The guy was huge, but his face was all gaunt. It was obvious why.

It had been about two weeks since Red Gate went completely berserk, and stuck in this cave, there was no way he could have found any food.

‘You idiot.’

He felt inexplicably annoyed. If he was hungry, he should have eaten the tofu he had. Why would he wait until he looked like this for a little bit of food?

“Please eat it quickly. If it was a day or two later, I might have eaten it myself.”

“Just eat it, why didn’t you?”

“Ah…it’s just, with the situation being what it is, I was afraid that if I ate it, we wouldn’t find more.”

“Haa…”

Leos reached out to whack him on the head, then pulled his hand back. Even though he was a murderer, the reason I’d grown fond of him was because of these idiot-like tendencies.

“Eat.”

Leos took out jerky and various other things from his inventory. Bendict, looking touched, started shouting noisily.

“H-Hyung-nim! Are you really giving me all this? Even though I’m a big dummy, I know how important food is in this situation! Me, Bendict, I haven’t done anything properly, I can’t just receive something so precious like this. I’ll wipe Hyung-nim’s feet that got dirty coming from far away. Oh, but there’s no water nearby so I’ll do it with my mouth…aaah! H-Hyung-nim! My ear’s going to rip offffff!”

Leos yanked on Bendict’s ear, who was spewing nonsense. The man rubbed his ear for a while, complaining that it hurt, then started devouring the food. Leos quietly spoke to him.

“Eat plenty. There’s more food.”

“Hehe, thank you Hyung-nim! I will never forget this kindness!”

Then Leos grabbed the tofu, haphazardly wrapped in plastic, he’d brought. It reeked, a foul odor rising from its aged state. The taste was predictable without even trying, but he still took a big bite. Watching this, Bendict chuckled, beaming.

“Congratulations on your release, boss!”

I stared up at the cave ceiling and answered,

“Yeah, finally out.”

Even countless of my own disciples had turned their backs on me, yet, ridiculously, a former inmate and community addict was following me. Stupidly trusting, believing in, and following me, someone who’s given them nothing.

It was completely different from how my disciples, who I’d poured all my strength into teaching, had betrayed me.

As much as revenge against the Empire, I’d set another goal. To protect them, as far as my power reached.

Now I’d live not for the Empire, but for myself, and for those around me.

*

By order of the Empire, the former Gatekeepers began gathering, one by one. Among them, the girl, Sirna, spoke.

“Feels like it’s been ages since we all gathered after Belin disbanded, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah…it does.”

Belin, by order of Keltazar of the Empire’s Shadow Unit, had again hidden her identity and was acting as a spy among the former Gatekeepers. Among them was Kozaric, a former comrade.

Kozaric spoke confidently.

“I think it’s been a while too. After Leos assaulted Belin, the public outcry was immense, and the Gate Management Headquarters was dissolved right away. If that b*stard hadn’t done that, we might still be active, right? Don’t you think?”

Belin went silent for a moment before awkwardly smiling and saying.

“Right… those memories were terrible…”

“Belin, you suffered so much. If that guy ever shows up, we’ll kick him out for you, so don’t worry. Okay?”

Sirna stroked Belin’s hair, and Belin just nodded.

Other former Gatekeepers began to gather as well, and they all stood before Keltazar.

“Welcome, everyone. I am Keltazar, the newly appointed director of the Gate Management Headquarters.”

Keltazar, concealing his affiliation with the Imperial Shadow Order, introduced himself. He proceeded to briefly explain the current situation facing the Empire, and what the former Gatekeepers needed to do. Only after all the explanations were finished did Keltazar speak.

“Any more questions?”

Sirna raised her hand and asked,

“Before us, I heard that a temporary team of Gatekeepers was formed. Where are they now?”

“Good question. If you’re Team 2, then the ones we made earlier are Team 1. Team 1 is comprised entirely of knights with excellent combat experience. They’ve been deployed to the field to quickly calm public sentiment.”

“The field, meaning…”

“They’re smashing the Red Gates, yes.”

“Even if the Red Gates are destroyed, they can’t be sealed, right? When we were active, Leos sealed all the Red Gates.”

“We can also seal some Red Gates with weak mana energy. However, we can’t seal the ones with strong energy. But by killing all the monsters, we can prevent their re-summoning for 24 hours. If we quickly attack the Red Gates, many areas can become safe zones for 24 hours. We dispatched the knights to test how many areas we can make safe in a day. Initially, I told them to just eliminate 10.”

“10, you say?”

Sirna thought it was less than she expected. After all, when Leos was active, he had smashed 20 Red Gates in a single day. For a group to act together and only manage 10.

‘What pointless thoughts. What does it matter how skilled he was? He’s a bad person who molested his disciples.’

Sirna shook her head, regaining her composure. Misinterpreting her gesture, Keltazar smiled and replied.

“Yes. They’re eliminating a whopping 10. They should be arriving soon. When the knights come and explain their strategy, be sure to follow along.”

-Knock…Knock…

A knocking sound came from outside the door. Keltazar hurriedly commanded.

“Come in quickly!”

He was anticipating it. Just how many Red Gates had the so-called Imperial Knights managed to eliminate in 24 hours? It had taken longer than expected, so they must have taken out at least 20. Or so he thought.

-Thud

The door burst open, and Terepian, drenched in blood, collapsed onto the ground.

“Le…Leos…”

He muttered, as if in a cry of despair.

“You…you must…bring him…back…”

But the man couldn’t finish, and blacked out right then and there.

The former disciples whispered amongst themselves.

– Wha…what happened?

– Didn’t he just say Leos’ name?

– What are you talking about? There’s no way a knight would speak that name.

– He’s not dead, is he?

Keltazar, who had been watching Terepian, began to feel rage welling up inside him. He spoke to his aide who stood beside him.

“Bring me all the related personnel and all the footage taken around the area, right now. I need to see what the hell happened.”

Surely there had been some kind of mistake. A large-scale attack or airstrike. There was no other explanation for such a devastating loss.