Chapter 111

Chapter 111: Second Semester (1)

Life at the Academy was essentially the Prologue of the game.

The first semester of the first year in particular could be called the Prologue within the Prologue — a stretch where you learned simple controls like how to move your character and how to use skills.

After spending the first semester familiarizing yourself with the game, the real events began once you entered the second semester.

However, because I had altered history, a great number of major events had already kicked off.

In particular, one of the Academy's four great events — the Academy Collapse Event — had already ended.

On top of that, my interference in countless incidents had thrown the future into disarray in more ways than one.

And there was one more thing.

A new character had been added — one who shouldn't exist in the original game.

"Freedom is sweet! To think I spent all my time in that dreary Demon Realm when such a beautiful world existed. What a waste of a life."

Persia.

The demon I'd rescued from the Demon King's Castle — the one hailed as the most talented demon of all time — was set to transfer in starting this semester.

For now, since I was her guardian, she'd be staying at my house.

If she got caught up in some incident at the dormitory, the Demon King wouldn't let me off the hook.

There was definitely an event where a major incident occurred at the dormitory, so extra caution was absolutely necessary.

And one more thing.

"By the way, who's she?"

The genius girl from China, Zhuge Soyon.

The girl who was smarter than active professors had come to Korea on exchange, saying she wanted to learn from me.

I was her guardian too.

Starting today, she'd be staying at my house. As an executive of Cheongseong Guild, it'd be a disaster if she got caught up in some incident at the dormitory and it escalated into a diplomatic issue.

Since revealing that Persia was a demon would cause enormous shockwaves, we agreed to keep her identity a secret.

After all, if she came from a dungeon, people would classify her as a monster — there'd be a truckload of people pestering about how you could possibly let her roam free in an Academy.

Setting aside the question of whether she counted as a monster or not, the important thing was that if anyone laid a hand on her, the Demon King would destroy the world.

Still, since Zhuge Soyon was an executive of Cheongseong Guild and a child who knew how to exercise good judgment, I'd given her a heads-up about Persia in advance.

I'd worried that hearing "Demon King's daughter" might make Zhuge Soyon feel intimidated around Persia, but —

"Me? I'm the Professor's prized pupil and... top disciple."

It was needless worry.

This girl, brimming with confidence, acted perfectly natural even knowing Persia was the Demon King's daughter — as if it were nothing worth fussing over.

When Zhuge Soyon said "top disciple," the corners of Persia's eyes rose ever so slightly.

"That's unfortunate. I'll be taking that 'top disciple' title starting today."

Unlike Zhuge Soyon, who followed me readily, Persia barely even thought of me as her teacher.

However, since Persia's official status was my student, Zhuge Soyon's claim of "top disciple" triggered her competitive streak — she took it as Zhuge Soyon looking down on her.

The two girls' gazes crossed in midair.

It was a childish battle of pride.

But honestly, I wasn't sure Persia could even pretend to be Zhuge Soyon's rival.

Objectively speaking, Persia's only advantage was her powerful mana, but because it was sealed, she couldn't use it at full strength right now.

In effect, it was as if Zhuge Soyon — whose only real advantage was her intelligence — had been robbed of that very trait.

The mention of "top disciple" reminded me of my student who'd been uniquely obsessed with that title — Lee Yeeun.

The child who had graduated from being my student and become a professor herself.

I felt a little proud seeing how she'd grown, and a little lonely too.

Just a little — the tiniest bit — I might even miss the sugar-bomb coffee Lee Yeeun used to make for me every day.

It was time to put an end to the pride battle between Zhuge Soyon and Persia.

"What's so hard about it? Whoever has better grades is the top disciple."

"......!"

At my proposal, both their eyes lit up.

"Fine."

"Sounds good!"

"Then let's start with your timetables. Both of you, show me what you've got."

The two of them pulled out their smartphones and opened the Course Registration app.

For reference, I'd bought Persia's phone not long ago, and after spending a few days doing nothing but staring at her smartphone in her room, she'd mastered it on her own.

First, the timetable Zhuge Soyon had put together.

Understanding Tactics, World Hero History, Virtues of a Commander — this and that.

Next, Persia's.

Understanding Mana, Advanced Mana Studies, Introductory Magic — various magic-something-or-other courses.

Hmm.

The worst timetable imaginable. Didn't even need to say it.

"Redo them."

"Huh?"

"What?"

At my firm words, the two of them made dumbfounded noises.

What's there to be surprised about?

Do they actually think this is a timetable that makes sense?

"Wait, why?"

"We put effort into making these!"

"Why did you two come to the Academy? You came here to learn, didn't you? Do you honestly think these are courses you need?"

At my words, the two of them went silent as mute honeybees.

Honestly speaking, there wasn't a professor at Florian who could teach Zhuge Soyon and Persia on those subjects.

It wouldn't have been strange if the professors were the ones asking to learn from them instead.

Zhuge Soyon offered a small excuse.

"I'm a strategist, so there's nothing I need among the other classes."

"Okay, fine, I'll let that slide for Soyon. But Persia — you came here to build your stamina, so what were you thinking plastering your schedule with nothing but magic?"

"Uh, but that's all I know."

"That's exactly why you should be taking other things. Why learn what you already know? You should be learning what you don't know."

It seemed like I couldn't leave these kids to build their own timetables.

I decided to set the timetables myself.

First, everything they were currently enrolled in went straight to the trash. None of this was needed.

Where were the courses that actually seemed useful... I added a basic swordsmanship course for both of them.

At that, both their expressions twisted.

"Um, Professor......?"

"...Is this some kind of joke?"

"Both of you, go get some exercise."

"I'm a brains-type, you know? I don't want to do physical stuff."

"Same here."

"Is that so?"

I took their requests into account — added magic-related courses for Zhuge Soyon and tactics-related courses for Persia.

Their expressions soured even further.

"You're both experts in your respective fields, so study together and ask each other when there's something you don't know."

With every course added to their timetables, Zhuge Soyon's and Persia's faces twisted more and more grotesquely, and by the time they were completely filled, the two of them wore the faces of people who'd given up on life.

***

"Ahaha, so that's what happened. Your students are always so entertaining, Professor."

Professor Lee Yeeun laughed cheerfully as she listened to my story.

My student, whom I was reuniting with after a long time — now a fellow professor — wore a very bright expression.

Before I'd left for China, she'd seemed burdened by many worries, but she'd shed every last one and now stood proudly as a professor in her own right.

In an unfamiliar professor's office, the nameplate on the desk read "Professor Lee Yeeun." It was strange, but at the same time, I thought it was a fitting role for Lee Yeeun.

"How's the lecture preparation going?"

At my question, Lee Yeeun waved her hands frantically.

"Oh, don't even get me started. It's absolute hell."

"Really? I knew Advanced Magic Research Intensive was a tough course, but I thought you'd handle it well, Yeeun."

Lee Yeeun's expression shifted sharply.

As if she'd been waiting for a chance to talk about this, she poured out her grievances.

"No, the lectures are one thing, but the other professors are the problem! You wouldn't believe how much they pester me every single day. They come at me under the guise of helping since they're senior faculty, but they nitpick so much it makes me sick to my stomach."

After Professor Jeon Taejin was ousted, Chancellor Ryu Jeonga had tried to dump the vacant title of Top Professor of the Magical Research Department onto me.

But I'd refused Ryu Jeonga's offer and recommended she pass it to Lee Yeeun instead.

Ryu Jeonga had been skeptical at first, but after reading the paper Lee Yeeun had produced, she'd readily approved.

Lee Yeeun's paper was still the hottest topic in academia — ongoing research continued to build on it, demonstrating its authority by overturning existing magic theories one by one.

That said, when I'd first been floated as Top Professor, it had been a case of an outsider muscling the old guard out of their seats — the seasoned veterans of the Magical Research Department — so there could have been plenty of complaints. But my reputation had grown so immense that no one dared voice any.

But Lee Yeeun?

It was true she'd written a remarkable paper, but that was all.

Beyond that, she had no special accomplishments, and since it was her very first semester as a professor, questions about her ability were inevitable.

There was no way the professors — with the hearts of serpents — would leave such easy prey alone.

Under the pretense of helping a new professor, they meddled in everything and tormented Lee Yeeun.

I'd expected it, but now that it was actually happening, it annoyed me a little.

They'd done it knowing I was the one who'd recommended Lee Yeeun — knowing I was behind her. That meant they were looking down on me. I'd have to pay them a visit soon.

"Oh! What classes are you going to open this semester, Professor? The Course Registration period is coming up soon, but I don't see your syllabus anywhere?"

"Not sure. I need to think it over."

"Come to think of it, hasn't the submission deadline already passed?"

"I got permission to submit a little late since I've been busy with business trips."

"I see."

Lectures, lectures.

I'd been putting it off because I was busy, but with the start of the semester approaching, I couldn't delay any longer.

In particular, since expectations for me were high, everyone at the Academy was watching closely to see what lectures I'd take on.

Last semester I'd gotten away with just one course, but that was only thanks to the excuse of it being my first semester — normally, no professor got away with a measly single lecture.

"Basic Swordsmanship, for starters."

This had been decided from the moment I'd placed Zhuge Soyon and Persia into the same class.

Partly because I'd lumped two ticking bombs into one spot, and partly because Persia's physical training in particular wasn't something I could leave to another professor.

"Eeeh? Isn't that way too basic?"

"There's no 'too basic' in education. Without fundamentals, there's no advanced work."

And next... I couldn't decide.

Honestly, everything was more or less the same, so it wasn't easy to pick which course to open.

It wasn't as if I'd be gaining EXP from students at this point. And there wasn't anything I absolutely had to teach the Playable Character kids either.

As if reading my dilemma, Lee Yeeun suggested:

"How about reopening the dungeon strategy class you ran in the first semester? There are a lot of people looking forward to it."

"Not interested."

That course had served its purpose — giving the Playable Characters more than enough experience.

If I reopened it, only mediocre nobodies would sign up, and there was no point in wasting effort teaching people like that when it wouldn't benefit the future.

Park Seohu, Seo Dayun, An Seri, Baek Seolhwa, Na Jinsu.

The purpose of my lectures this semester was to develop the five first-year Playable Characters.

Among the reasons I'd taken on the basic swordsmanship class, Zhuge Soyon and Persia were a factor, but so were Park Seohu and Baek Seolhwa.

"Hmm."

Park Seohu and Baek Seolhwa were covered.

An Seri?

Thanks to obtaining Clairvoyance, she'd leaped several stages ahead of the others. There was nothing I particularly needed to teach her — for now, I'd let her practice handling Clairvoyance on her own.

I didn't especially want to bother with Na Jinsu.

That guy was talented, but he was inherently so lazy that he wouldn't budge until something lit a fire under him.

I didn't think personal tutoring from me would change things much.

By process of elimination, then, the one left was —

"I'll have to go with basic magic."

Seo Dayun.

A student with top-tier talent but whose actual ability right now amounted to absolutely nothing.

It was an unfair way to put it, but it was the truth.

Right now, Seo Dayun was so far behind that comparing her to the other Playable Characters felt almost rude.

Park Seohu, ranked first in the year.

Baek Seolhwa, who'd shattered fate and awakened.

An Seri, who'd obtained Clairvoyance.

Na Jinsu... let's just leave him as the exception.

At any rate, among these formidable peers, Seo Dayun was far too weak.

She especially needed personal guidance from me. Besides, Zhuge Soyon was also planning to take the magic class, which made it feel all the more worthwhile.

"Basic Swordsmanship and Basic Magic... That's a strange combination."

"There's no rule against it."

"I suppose not."

Alright, decided.

I promptly wrote up my syllabi and submitted them, and they were approved shortly after, opening the lectures.

I was told that once the Course Registration servers went live, both lectures filled up in under thirty seconds.

Compared to the first semester, when I'd scraped together a mere six students on the first day, it was an unparalleled triumph.