Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Group Project (3)

"Hmm......"

The next day, Baek Seolhwa and Oh Jaehak brought their assignments.

Flip─

Oh Jaehak's report first.

Not a huge volume, but it looked decent enough at a glance.

A quick skim revealed that he'd loosely repurposed the feedback I'd given his own group.

Since they'd all used the same training ground and the same training session, the common mistakes beginners made were roughly similar.

So he'd cobbled things together. I could only scoff.

This was a mess on the inside.

Every party required different strategies, and just slapping things together like this didn't fit at all.

This was wrong.

All that work on the assignment had been meaningless.

Thud─

I set the report down in a corner of the desk and picked up the other one.

Baek Seolhwa's report.

This one wasn't exactly well-crafted either.

If Oh Jaehak's at least looked fine on the surface, Baek Seolhwa's was a wreck inside and out.

There were a staggering number of errors, and even the parts that were right frequently veered off track.

When I clicked my tongue, Baek Seolhwa's expression twitched slightly.

"I have some questions. Starting with Jaehak."

"Yes!"

"This part of the Group A report where you suggest using an archer. Why did you think that?"

"Uh...... because mages can only use spells they've prepared with Memorize, so I thought they should conserve."

"You didn't think that─you saw it in the feedback I wrote for your own report. Am I wrong?"

"Well......"

Caught dead to rights, Oh Jaehak hemmed and hawed.

Pathetic. I gave the model answer to the boy as he hung his head.

"In Song Seokhwan's party, the spec gap between the archer and the mage is extreme. If you run the strategy around the archer, the clear time slows drastically. Since Song Seokhwan uses magic far more often than anyone else, most situations should center on him."

"Yes......"

Despite watching Oh Jaehak get torn apart, Baek Seolhwa's expression showed nothing beyond slight tension.

That was confidence.

She seemed sure of herself.

Based on what?

Looking closer, her eyes were as sunken as someone who'd pulled an all-nighter.

She'd apparently put considerable effort into writing the report. That must be why she was under the impression she'd done a decent job.

The effort was admirable, but the world rewarded results.

Unfortunately, this report had nothing worth praising either.

"Seolhwa, this part about Group B─using the tank to draw aggro while the archer finishes them off. Do you really think that's feasible?"

"Yes."

"This won't work. A deal-tank isn't a dedicated tank─how is it supposed to fulfill that role? Absolutely not."

Baek Seolhwa, who'd answered confidently that it would, pressed her lips together at my emphatic rejection.

She'd wanted to argue, but the professor saying no had shaken her conviction.

In the end, neither report was particularly satisfying.

I hadn't given the assignment expecting good results in the first place, so it wasn't really a problem.

"Redo it. Remember that I said you could cooperate with your group members. Dismissed."

"......Yes."

Oh Jaehak and Baek Seolhwa said their goodbyes and left.

Right after, An Seri and Seo Dayun came in from outside.

"We're here, Professor!"

"Hello......"

Why were they here again?

Instead of a greeting, I shot them a look, but they sat on the sofa without a care.

Actually, this worked out.

I'd been planning to call them soon anyway, and they'd come on their own.

An Seri untied the plastic bag in her hand and dumped its contents onto the table.

Out poured a pile of snacks.

"Why are you bringing that stuff into my office?"

"Want one?"

I silently accepted what An Seri offered.

It came in an unfamiliar wrapper. Inside was a small bread with something green underneath.

I popped one in my mouth and chewed. A subtle flavor spread.

It was mint chocolate.

"That's good."

"Right?"

An Seri grinned.

Then Seo Dayun looked at us with revulsion.

"How can people eat that?"

"What's wrong with mint?"

"It's disgusting! I'd rather eat toothpaste."

"It's good, though."

Seo Dayun gagged, and An Seri cackled.

"She just doesn't know good taste yet."

"I know plenty about taste! You and the professor are the ones with broken palates."

"Anyway, what were those two here for? They don't seem like a natural pair."

"I called them."

An Seri looked surprised at my answer.

It wasn't exactly a secret, so I laid out the facts.

"There's a balance issue between groups, so they were getting special coaching."

"What's that about? That's favoritism! Do it for us too."

"You already know everything I'd teach, Seri. By the way, speaking of the special coaching─there's a favor I'd like to ask the two of you."

"A favor?"

"I'd like you to help them. I'll compensate you properly. Here's what it involves......"

After hearing the details, both of them made faces that said why should we?

It was entirely born of my selfishness.

Perhaps a natural reaction.

"It's not hard, but...... I'm not thrilled about it."

"Me neither."

So they didn't want to.

Nothing I could do. Maybe I should find another way.

Just as I was about to change my mind, the two whispered to each other at a volume I couldn't quite catch, and An Seri spoke up.

"But...... if it's a favor from you, Professor, we'll do it."

"I know it wasn't something you wanted to do. Thanks for agreeing."

"In exchange, you have to grant us a favor later too."

"Deal."

"Promise?"

An Seri flashed a smile that somehow made me uneasy.

It wasn't like they'd ask for something crazy, right?

After extracting my promise several times over, the two started munching on snacks and chattering.

Crunch, crunch.

So now my office was being used as a lounge instead of a study hall?

"Don't drop crumbs."

"Okay."

I reopened the magic tome I'd been reading.

Lately, Lee Yeeun's papers had gotten more complex and arcane.

Keeping up was a struggle. These days, outside of mealtimes, lectures, and the time I spent exercising─no, training magic at the Mage Tower─all my hours went to studying magic.

My reading must have looked unusual, because Seo Dayun peeked at my tome.

"Wow, the stuff you read really is on another level."

Seo Dayun, majoring in magic. She'd probably just finished the basics.

But she was one of the most talented Playable Characters.

On a whim, I pulled out Lee Yeeun's unfinished paper.

"If you're interested, give this a look too."

"Huh? Okay......"

She seemed burdened, but she didn't refuse.

Seo Dayun began reading the first page intently. My eyes, without my realizing, drifted toward her.

The sound of a page turning.

Two pages, three pages......

The pace grew faster and faster. She didn't even look at the last page before closing the paper.

Seo Dayun giggled, then said with a refreshed expression.

"I don't understand a single thing!"

"Good effort."

She was bragging about it. This kid.

Disappointment welled up, but I didn't show it.

Expecting results from a girl with no training was my mistake in the first place.

Even if Seo Dayun was a genius, that was in combat─in theory, she was nowhere near Lee Yeeun.

An Seri, who'd been watching quietly, spoke up.

"Professor, I've been curious for a while─why do you talk like that?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Come on. You've got the face of someone my age, but you talk like someone even grandfathers wouldn't use that speech style. Are you an alien from a drama or something?"

"Stop wasting time and clean up after yourselves."

"Fine."

A fair point, but I replied nonchalantly.

I'd always been told my face was an open book of emotions, but this possessed body was excellent at maintaining a poker face.

As An Seri said, it was an awkward speech style that didn't sit naturally on my tongue.

But without something like this, I might forget that I was their professor.

Twenty-something on the outside, a college dropout on the inside.

The master-student relationship didn't suit me and them. We'd fit better as friends.

But my role was professor.

I couldn't afford to get closer than necessary, so I drew the line through my behavior.

"We're heading to our next class."

"Goodbye......"

Even after the two left, I continued reading the magic tome.

Every time I tried to take a break, a nagging message kept appearing and wouldn't let me.

─Mentor's effect activates. A small amount of EXP gained. (Target: Lee Yeeun)

If my student was working this hard, the professor couldn't do less.

A substantial amount of EXP had accumulated by now, and I was much stronger than when I'd first created the character.

Back then, all stats were at 10. Now, I figured I was around 20 or so.

"Time to start locking in a class."

I didn't plan to remain a Theory-type professor forever.

Of course, I had no intention of becoming the protagonist myself, but at minimum, I needed to serve as a guide until the students had grown.

To progress the story, I needed to get stronger. And that meant deciding which direction to grow in.

The only thing I was confident in right now was magic.

But ending with just magic felt like a waste.

All potential stats at 99.

That meant I could do everything.

"Then it has to be Magic Swordsman."

A class I hadn't considered at first, but now the conditions were right.

Baek Seolhwa.

Once she started taking my course, things changed.

─Mentor's effect activates. A small amount of EXP gained. (Target: Baek Seolhwa)

I picked up the sword resting in the corner of my office.

At first glance, it looked like a finely crafted masterwork, but that was just appearance. In reality, it was a decorative piece─the blade wasn't even sharpened.

But there'd be no problem swinging it.

Shing─

Drawing the sword produced a weighty metallic sound.

A decorative piece incapable of cutting a person, but still a real sword. More than its physical weight, the sheer presence of a weapon made to kill made it feel unusually heavy.

Magic felt like something from another world, but a sword had existed in the world I'd come from.

Gulp.

I swallowed audibly.

I was afraid.

Someone once said that the advancement of killing tools had reduced the guilt of murder.

I could do it with magic. But could I kill someone with a sword?

I wasn't sure.

"Whew, here goes."

Swish─!

Swinging the sword through empty air produced a sound of slicing wind.

It was my first time, yet it didn't feel like a first─there was a strange familiarity.

This wasn't mine.

It was experience gained from Baek Seolhwa.

Whoosh─

With natural motions, I twisted my body and let it guide me to the sword path.

Probably swordsmanship ingrained in her body.

But I couldn't replicate it completely.

The skeleton was Baek Seolhwa's swordsmanship, but I had to put the flesh on it myself.

Step forward with the right foot─here, raise the sword.

Then, rotate.

Swaaash!

Good feeling.

The sword path was natural. Smooth, almost like a sword dance.

A little smoother, a little faster.

When I'd first formed my Mana Heart, I'd drawn on the concept of circles from fantasy novels.

This time was the same.

It was all I had to rely on.

A knight supposedly drew mana from within, formed Aura, and coated the sword with it.

The condition was supposedly something you'd naturally grasp upon reaching a certain mastery of swordsmanship.

If I'd absorbed Baek Seolhwa's experience, couldn't I do it?

Countless sword techniques surfaced naturally in my mind.

I tried executing them one by one.

Bwoong─!

Vertical, horizontal, diagonal─a sequence of slashes.

Simple in concept, but executing them with perfect form was far from easy.

Yet the experience gained from Baek Seolhwa let me internalize in a single attempt what others needed hundreds of swings to achieve.

Bwoong─!

Next, the ten basic forms.

I performed them one by one with crisp precision.

"Urgh......!"

Around the halfway mark, I felt my muscles and joints screaming.

A bad sign.

Even understanding the technique, my unfinished body couldn't handle the strain of executing it.

"Damn it!"

I forced a few more forms, but everything kept grinding and catching.

If I pushed any further, my body might suffer permanent damage.

Was I still lacking the foundation to handle Aura?

"Bullshit!"

CLENCH─!

I gripped the handle with all my might and pushed my body to its limit.

Muscles that wouldn't move─I drove them regardless.

With nothing but the single-minded resolve to create Aura today.

Bwoong!

The stuttering forms suddenly found their rhythm.

Swordsmanship executed by pushing the body to its breaking point.

Sixth, seventh.

As I moved my body to the brink of what it could endure, I could feel every muscle working vividly.

Which is to say─it hurt like hell.

"GAAAH!"

The tenth and final form began.

Just one more.

One powerful thrust right here─

"Gkh!"

I lost control of the sword.

Instead of extending where I wanted, it was knocked off course by a violent recoil.

Damn it. I was furious.

Was this one form truly impossible without building up the body first?

The sword path, careening wildly off course, ended up─

CRASH─!

"Well, shit."

The sound of something breaking.

Looking closely, the tip of the sword was touching a glass vessel. Judging by the flowers scattered alongside it, it was a vase.

What was that?

It was clearly out of place in the room's design. I'd never grown flowers in the first place.

"Ah......"

Then it was obvious.

The only person who'd put flowers here besides me was......

Click!

"Professor, I'm─ here?"

Lee Yeeun, walking through the door.

Her voice had been lively right up until the door opened, then it plummeted─down to the point where it could've burrowed into the ground.

"Professor...... why is the vase I placed there in this condition?"

The moment I heard that tone, I knew I was fucked.

It was an icy voice that left no doubt about how angry she was.

......From now on, I'm never overdoing it again.

In the end, it took until quitting time before I could make it up to Lee Yeeun.