Chapter 17

Chapter 17: The First Lecture (3)

Osung Building, 8th floor, faculty lounge.

I was clutching my pounding chest, trying to steady my breathing. The students' distrustful gazes still lingered before my eyes.

"Did I overdo the swagger? Ah, shit, I should've just gone with something safe."

The problem was that I had no confidence teaching with the currently accepted dungeon strategies.

Clumsily showing off knowledge in a class with An Seri and Song Seokhwan was dangerous. One slip and my very qualifications as a professor would be questioned. That was why I'd brought in the strategies I'd researched in the game, as-is.

The problem was that my course material had never been verified.

In the end, theory existed to be used in the field. The reason textbooks were textbooks was that they'd been validated through countless real-world applications.

But my theories? Of course they'd work if applied. I'd used them myself in the game, after all. The problem was that no one could vouch for that.

"Well, I've drawn the sword─might as well cut something with it."

I drank a cup of coffee to calm my nerves, then left the lounge. Wait─coffee is a stimulant. Why did I drink that? Scolding my own stupidity, I slapped my forehead.

Fortunately, being an Awakened meant coffee didn't have much effect. Then again, a body that could purge drugs wouldn't be fazed by coffee.

Thankfully, the lecture hall I returned to wasn't as hostile as I'd feared.

I'd expected plenty of students who'd looked down on my lecture, but Song Seokhwan sitting quietly was a genuine surprise.

Anyway, no complaints here. Time to continue the lecture.

"From now on, I'll teach you what to do in actual combat."

I snapped my fingers. The screen shifted to the preset sequence.

The five dungeons designated as practicum sites.

If they listened to all my lectures and could successfully clear every one of them, they'd have no trouble in any dungeon they encountered.

"First─do any of you know exactly what a dungeon is?"

When I posed the question, a lanky-looking boy raised his hand and stood.

"It's a passage where monsters appear!"

Unfortunately, that wasn't the answer I was looking for.

I quietly shook my head, and the boy sat back down looking disappointed.

"Then do you know what monsters are?"

"Uh...... bad guys? Hostile to humans."

The uncertain reply to my follow-up was also wrong.

"Think about it. Monsters don't hunt humans for food like wild beasts, and they don't have a reason to invade Earth for territory. They have no intention of attacking humans─so why are they humanity's enemy?"

Murmur, murmur──

The moment I finished, the lecture hall buzzed. In an era where news of monsters killing people aired daily, it wasn't the most convincing claim.

But this wasn't some obscure game lore only I knew─it was a truth well-known to those in the know.

"Monsters hold no hostility toward humans. They don't attack unless engaged first."

Foolishly, it had apparently taken humanity a long time to realize this.

After discovering that monsters didn't initiate attacks, the difficulty of clearing certain dungeons had reportedly dropped dramatically.

"But monsters have attacked humanity!"

A crew-cut boy in the back protested indignantly. I'd been about to explain that─someone was impatient.

"You're right. That's an indisputable fact."

The boy puffed up triumphantly, as if vindicated. But it wasn't something you could write off by treating monsters as absolute evil.

"However, Dr. Andrew noticed that the monsters appearing on Earth and those inside dungeons behaved in vastly different ways, so he ran experiments. The result: he discovered one key trait─when these creatures cross over to Earth, they lose their reason and repeat destructive behavior."

"S-So what? They should just stay inside the dungeons!"

"The reason they don't is that Gates possess a unique force that draws monsters in. When you think about it, the monsters are victims of the Gates too."

When I finished, the students showed mixed reactions.

Some nodded silently; others looked surprised. These were facts every Hero knew, but there'd been no reason to share them with the general public.

The reason Gates appeared...... that much I didn't need to explain.

Academia believed they'd occurred naturally, but that wasn't true. The Gates had been created by someone. Those were the enemies they'd face in the story ahead.

"So the Heroes clearing dungeons are......"

"Preemptively culling future threats. Strike before being struck. Simple, right?"

The boy froze as if shocked.

Children who idolized Heroes had a strong tendency to view Heroes as absolute good and monsters as absolute evil.

Unfortunately, reality was a bit different.

Both humanity and monsters were simply victims dragged into a death game where whoever struck first won.

Looking around the lecture hall, I noticed some students whose moods had grown particularly heavy.

But that wasn't why I'd brought it up.

"The preamble ran long. Let's move on to the main topic."

I activated the Charisma talent slightly and clapped my hands. The students who'd been dazed snapped back to attention.

"Everyone, Heroes have another reason for clearing dungeons. Dungeons are sites where vast resources lie buried."

Mana Stones and EXP.

Mana Stones were materials infused with mana. They could be refined into equipment or broken down for energy. They were the primary income source for Heroes and guilds.

EXP referred to the special mana held by monsters and dungeons. It could be obtained by killing monsters or fully clearing a dungeon. Heroes grew by accumulating EXP.

"Here's the thing. Dungeons have a special rule: the faster the clear time, the exponentially greater the rewards."

This was the reason I graded by clear time. Some top-tier guilds even assigned better dungeons in order of fastest clearers to maximize rewards.

"So I'm going to teach you how to clear dungeons quickly and safely."

I distributed printouts I'd prepared in advance. They contained step-by-step responses to various situations, organized like a field manual.

Despite being a condensed summary of only the essentials, the stack was substantial.

"Mastering all of this is the ultimate goal of my course. I guarantee it: if you follow my course through to the end, every one of you will become an excellent field commander, no matter which dungeon you face."

Every dungeon theory I'd built up over the past year.

A course containing its very essence─if it couldn't deliver at least that much, something was wrong.

***

"Wow, you can really handle that situation so easily?"

"No way, right?"

Whispers from the front row tickled An Seri's ears.

And for good reason─the lecture content was simply beyond common sense. The professor had claimed he could handle a trap in under ten seconds that had taken over a minute even using the latest strategy published by the Bisang Guild just last month.

Listening to the lecture, An Seri recalled the syllabus Cha Eunwoo had shown her before. The first practicum was definitely Pale Monkey Forest.

Now she could see it: everything being covered in this lecture was designed for clearing Pale Monkey Forest.

If they memorized everything taught here and went into Pale Monkey Forest?

'Could we actually clear it in under twenty minutes?'

She'd thought it was an absurd evaluation standard back then...... but now she understood why he'd set it.

"This is when the tank's role is critical. You need to taunt at exactly this timing. If you're late, some will slip through and things get messy."

Students who looked like tanks were nodding in agreement.

He was a truly remarkable person. Setting the overall framework was one thing, but the detailed explanations could only come from someone with firsthand experience.

Yet Cha Eunwoo seemed to know every class as if he'd played them all─minute skill timings, common mistakes─in thorough detail. That lent his lecture immense credibility.

"Especially at this point, healers can't just stand idle. If the heal timing is even slightly late, the tank will take damage. So start chanting early. That's all for today."

When the lecture ended, everyone exhaled collectively.

Some students still doubted the content, but at the very least, not a single person had failed to pay attention. The quality of the material was that high, and above all, the delivery was outstanding.

His voice─crisp, standard pronunciation, pleasant to the ear─embedded itself in the brain. A truly natural gift for speaking. An Seri felt a touch of envy.

"Wow, doesn't it feel like it flew by? The content was hard, but somehow it was easy to understand."

Seo Dayun proudly showed An Seri her colorfully decorated notes. Like a puppy begging for praise.

It was nicely decorated, but the flashy embellishments meant the actual concepts didn't stand out. Still, An Seri wasn't tactless enough to point that out.

"Your notes are pretty. Nicely organized."

"Ehehe, right?"

Other students chatted about the lecture too. Everyone agreed it had been easy to follow.

Though they couldn't help being skeptical of content they'd never heard of or seen before.

The atmosphere in the lecture hall was naturally shifting toward everyone dispersing.

"I've posted the group assignments on the course page, so check them. If anyone has objections, come see me. Starting next class, sit together by group."

─until the professor dropped a bomb and left.

"Right. He said this course has group projects."

"Ugh! I hate this."

Students groaned as they checked their phones.

There were two groups of five and two of six, for a total of four. The most capable students in each had been assigned as team leaders.

Entrance exam 2nd place Song Seokhwan, 3rd place Baek Seolhwa, 4th place An Seri, and 26th place Oh Jaehak.

"Hey, which group are you in?"

"Group D."

"Group D? Me too."

"We're fucked."

Students assigned to Oh Jaehak's group visibly deflated.

Oh Jaehak wasn't bad by any means, but there was an uncrossable gulf between the top tier and everyone below. Students in the top five, with slight exaggeration, were said to individually rival the impact of an entire party.

"Damn......"

The other three team leaders exchanged sidelong glances. Oh Jaehak didn't exist in their field of vision.

Oh Jaehak's group had higher individual quality among its members to compensate, but even so, the gap was insurmountable. A party leader was more than just an individual.

"Want to gather our group?"

"Group B, come together!"

Students quickly split into their groups. Seo Dayun confirmed she was in An Seri's group and breathed a sigh of relief.

Her team had five members. The six-member groups were Oh Jaehak's and Baek Seolhwa's. Oh Jaehak's was self-explanatory, and while Baek Seolhwa had scored higher than An Seri on the entrance exam, An Seri was considered the superior leader, hence the arrangement.

Once all the members gathered, An Seri broke the ice.

First impressions supposedly had an outsized effect on relationships. To lead a party, she needed to establish trust and earn confidence from the start.

"Nice to meet everyone. I'm An Seri, your team leader. Follow my lead and I'll get you all the best score."

An Seri introduced herself with a bright smile.

Rather than humbly downplaying herself, she asserted herself with confidence. It was a self-introduction that radiated assurance.

An Seri gave Seo Dayun a look, and introductions naturally proceeded clockwise.

"Um, hi...... I'm Seo Dayun. My major is Combat Magic."

After Seo Dayun finished, a round of applause followed.

Next was the bronze-skinned blond boy beside her.

His distinctive appearance put An Seri on guard internally. He looked dangerous no matter how you sliced it.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Gam Miseong. My major is spear arts. I'd follow you into the fires of hell, team leader."

His introduction seemed normal enough, thankfully. Another round of applause.

Next was the red-haired girl. Her slightly loosened uniform revealed a hint of cleavage, giving off a provocative air. Her teeth-baring grin exuded feral charm.

"I'm Nam Hyeju, sword major. Consider yourselves lucky. I'm fucking strong. One-on-one, I could probably beat anyone."

That last line was delivered while staring straight into An Seri's eyes.

The remark frosted over the group's atmosphere, but she didn't seem to care. If anything, Nam Hyeju appeared to be enjoying the tension.

An Seri cursed inwardly. I thought that Gold Sun bastard would be the one to tank the team mood, but this bitch was the real problem.

Still, she managed the situation with a smile rather than ruining the vibe.

"Oh my, how reassuring. Moving on~"

Nam Hyeju clicked her tongue. With An Seri having taken the high road, she wasn't rude enough to push the provocation further.

Last was the long-haired boy.

His flowing robe gave the impression of a priest or a mage. An Seri guessed he was a priest.

The reason: there was no one else on the team to handle buffs.

"May the Lord's blessing be upon you all. I am Abraham, a lamb of the Lord. Our meeting must be a fortune bestowed by Him."

The eccentric introduction caught everyone off guard. Only Nam Hyeju giggled and fired back.

"Hey─! That's a unique name. Are you foreign?"

"Yes. I am Israeli."

"You look totally Korean to me? That Gold Sun over there looks more foreign than you. Were you born there?"

"No. I was born and raised in Korea."

"What, you can still change your nationality?"

"On paper, I am indeed Korean. However, as a servant of the Lord, would I not naturally be a citizen of Israel, the land where He was born?"

"Bahahaha! This guy's a total nutjob! I like you! You're fun."

An Seri muttered internally.

I don't find it fun. You nutjob. The one I'd expected to be the most normal─the priest─turned out to be the craziest bastard of them all.

What kind of people did he stick me with? An Seri shot a dirty look toward the door Cha Eunwoo had exited through.

"Wow─! You guys are so unique."

"Yeah. Haha......"

Seo Dayun marveled. At what part, exactly?

Gam Miseong seemed to be forcing himself to go along since everyone else was treating it as normal.

Sigh, keep it together.

If she wanted to become a Guild Master someday, she'd need to lead even people like these with style.

An Seri felt like her insides were burning up, but she kept her expression carefully managed and smiled.

"Well then, let's all have a great semester."