Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Omen (3)

Jo Seongung.

At his peak, he'd been ranked fourth in Korea. Renowned as the Sword Saint, he was a Hero who'd always stood at the front lines defending the nation.

Even after retirement, rather than basking in wealth and fame, he'd chosen to cultivate the next generation at Florian Academy, earning the deep respect of many Heroes.

However, for the past several years, he'd neither opened courses nor taken on disciples, effectively earning the treatment of a retired Hero.

That made his name somewhat unfamiliar to current freshmen.

The Hero Jo Seongung was equally foreign to me. By the time the game began, Jo Seongung had already been long retired.

Yet recently, Jo Seongung had emerged from seclusion to become Park Seohu's master and resume his work as a professor.

"Seohu! I told you to warm up and wait!"

"Oh, sorry about that."

"Sorry my ass! You little punk— Hmm?"

Jo Seongung spotted me and his eyes went wide.

Park Seohu had spoken as though Jo Seongung knew something about me. Perhaps I could learn details about my character's backstory that even I didn't know.

I greeted him first.

"Professor Jo, good to meet you. I'm Cha Eunwoo, from the Convergent Awakened Studies department."

"Cha Eunwoo? Huh."

The sound of air hissing through Jo Seongung's lips.

A complicated mix of emotions.

This man definitely knew something about me.

"Well then. Nice to meet you."

WHOOSH—

Jo Seongung seized Park Seohu's wrist and hauled him away.

"M-master?"

"We're going to train."

"Huh? But we always do it here at the training hall."

"Today's a special session."

He was blatantly avoiding me.

Baek Seolhwa seemed to think the same and remarked,

"Don't you think Professor Jo seemed like he was in a hurry? Almost like he was running away from something......"

Baek Seolhwa snapped her fingers as though she'd figured it out.

"He's scared of you, isn't he, Professor? You know how it is—worried that teaching in the same place would invite comparisons."

What a preposterous thing to say.

I considered delivering a flick to Baek Seolhwa's forehead, then held back.

"Don't say things like that in public. You'll make me a laughingstock."

"But you are impressive, Professor."

At best, I could rattle off a few game settings—whereas Jo Seongung was a Hero among Heroes who'd even braved Dragon's Roost.

His reputation as a brilliant instructor was well established on top of that.

Objectively, there wasn't a single area where I came out ahead. The excessive flattery just made my cheeks burn.

Still, I was curious about why Jo Seongung was avoiding me.

If I wanted to find out, there was no choice but to confront him directly.

"Seolhwa, do Jo Seongung and Park Seohu always train here?"

"Yes."

"Got it."

Professors generally had their own private spaces.

I had a research office where I taught my graduate students—though in practice, Lee Yeeun had it all to herself.

But Jo Seongung wouldn't have a training hall to go to right now.

He'd surrendered his when he went into seclusion but never reapplied, which was why he kept coming here.

Which meant—

There would be plenty of opportunities to make my face known.

***

Three days later. The training hall.

"Professor, Seolhwa."

Park Seohu was waving at us from the entrance.

Baek Seolhwa whipped her head away and didn't even acknowledge him. I felt bad enough to give him a small wave myself.

"So that's why you dashed out of class—you came here?"

"......"

"How about we come together next time?"

"No."

While the kids bickered, I checked my watch.

It was about time for Jo Seongung to arrive.

"Seohu, where's Seohu— Hmm."

Jo Seongung spotted me the moment he walked in and grimaced, right on schedule.

"We meet again."

"So it seems."

Jo Seongung heaved a sigh, then addressed me.

"Is there something you need from me?"

"Just curiosity. I wanted to know what you think of me, Professor Jo."

"Damn it, that loose-lipped punk ran his mouth... Well, fine. Since we're already here, laying our cards on the table isn't the worst idea."

It seemed he could have made a real effort to avoid me if he'd wanted to, but it wasn't worth that much trouble.

We excused ourselves from the kids and moved to a different spot.

A rest area in the corner of the training hall.

Jo Seongung pulled out a Macho and lit it.

He offered me one, but I declined. The act of smoking itself put me off.

Jo Seongung took a deep drag on the Macho, blew out the smoke, and began.

"Let me get one thing straight—it's not so much that I'm avoiding you, Professor Cha, as... I just don't want to get involved."

"I'm curious to know why."

"Professor Cha, you've got quite a few enemies."

"......"

"Jeon Taejin. And Song Jihyeok."

Jeon Taejin, the Top Professor of the Magical Research Department.

The very man who'd caused a small uproar at the Mage Tower not long ago.

That insufferable name had surfaced once again.

And Song Jihyeok.

There were surely many Song Jihyeoks in Korea, but nine out of ten citizens would think of one man upon hearing that name.

Song Seokhwan's father—the Guild Master of Bisang Guild.

As Jo Seongung implied, messing with Song Seokhwan was an act that turned his father into an enemy.

"You're more timid than I expected, Professor. Afraid of catching stray fire?"

I'd lobbed a deliberately provocative remark—borderline disrespectful—but Jo Seongung merely snorted.

"What a boring joke. You think I'm afraid of those two?"

Jo Seongung radiated confidence.

Both men were undeniably formidable figures that anyone would acknowledge.

But Jo Seongung himself was no less extraordinary.

"Then what is it that concerns you?"

When I asked, Jo Seongung jabbed a finger at me.

"You. The one who openly picked a fight with both of them. Professor Cha. You're a dangerous man."

"Dangerous—dangerous, you say."

"That's right. You reek of danger."

Quite the amusing claim.

Me, dangerous? Hardly. It was the exact opposite.

I was the one person who knew the future, the one person who could save the world. "Dangerous" was the last word that had any connection to me.

"You've got the wrong read."

Before I knew it, the Macho between Jo Seongung's lips had burned nearly to the end.

He stubbed it out, pulled out another, put it to his lips, and lit up.

"I've read some of your papers."

"Papers? Oh, you mean my papers."

The game walkthrough I'd written before inhabiting this body.

Calling it a paper felt embarrassing, but it would prove quite useful.

Still, part of me wanted validation from one of the Heroes who'd reached the summit—Jo Seongung.

"What did you think?"

"...Is that even a question?"

Jo Seongung's words bristled with thorns.

Thorns of anger—a subtle fury.

I didn't understand.

Why was he getting worked up over a simple question?

"If you don't feel like sharing, that's fine."

"Tch. This is why I can't stand geniuses."

Enough with the pointless preamble.

I'd appreciate it if he got to the point already.

When I said nothing and simply held his gaze, Jo Seongung clicked his tongue.

"A young man with his whole life ahead of him, and so impatient."

Jo Seongung puffed on his Macho, then spoke in a grave voice.

"I have a feeling. A great crisis is coming soon."

A sharp premonition.

Just as he said, the world would soon plunge into enormous chaos.

The true beginning of the game's main story.

The beings that had created the Gates—god-like or demonic entities—would descend upon the earth and set the world ablaze.

Dungeons that would make even Dragon's Roost—the worst in history—look like a joke would keep appearing, and before long, the world would teeter on the brink of annihilation.

Those who'd transcended a certain threshold of strength, like Jo Seongung, would have sensed it to some degree.

But all they knew was that a crisis was coming. No one knew what it was or how it would arrive.

Only I knew what threatened this world.

"But with my old, decrepit body, there's nothing I can accomplish... No, even in my prime, it would've been the same."

Jo Seongung disparaged himself.

If anyone else had heard him, they'd have fiercely denied it as nonsense.

The idea that the Sword Saint of Korea—once called invincible—would be powerless before the coming invasion was unthinkable.

"But my disciple is different. Park Seohu. That boy will save the world."

Love for and faith in his disciple dripped from every word.

He might not have known, as I did, that Park Seohu was one of the Playable Characters with the highest potential stats—but he'd at least noticed that Park Seohu was special.

"Aren't you the same as me, Professor Cha? I could tell the moment I first laid eyes on you."

Jo Seongung was right.

At our core, he and I were no different. I, too, was raising students in preparation for the coming crisis.

"But your method is the opposite of mine. I hid Seohu away. You've put your students out in the open."

"So that's how you see it."

"I acknowledge the difference in approach. Your method may be a faster path. But it's far too dangerous."

Suddenly, Jo Seongung exuded a massive, crushing hostility—nothing like the man he'd been moments before.

"But I have no intention of exposing Seohu to that kind of danger. If you so much as think about going after him, I may just kill you, Professor Cha."

The air deflated out of the moment.

So what this old man was saying was that he was afraid I'd poach his disciple.

Whether to chalk it up to excessive love for his student or a persecution complex, I wasn't sure.

I'd never had any intention of recruiting Park Seohu in the first place.

The answer came without a moment's hesitation.

"You have my word."

"Much appreciated."

Jo Seongung retracted his hostility and returned to his normal self.

By then, his Macho had burned down to nothing.

"Since you've honored my request, let me give you a small gift in return. Jeon Taejin is preparing something."

"Is that true?"

I feigned surprise, but I'd expected as much.

Jeon Taejin was a tenacious man with the persistence of a viper. There was no way he'd given up that easily.

"Playing surprised while you already knew, eh, kid?"

I'd thought it was a solid performance, but Jo Seongung saw through it instantly. That was a bit awkward.

"A word of advice: don't do anything rash. If you leave him be, he'll self-destruct."

Jo Seongung tossed his butt on the ground and walked away.

I called after him.

"Please dispose of that in a trash can."

Jo Seongung came sheepishly back, picked up the butt, and left for real this time.

***

—This concludes my report.

"Good work."

Florian Academy, Magic Hall 3, ninth floor, professor's office.

On the desk sat a nameplate bearing three characters: "Jeon Taejin."

Jeon Taejin opened the report in high spirits.

Its contents had been gathered by hiring a private investigator of proven skill, so the information was reliable.

The detective had brought Jeon Taejin welcome news.

Heh heh. Just as I thought.

No matter how squeaky clean a person is, how could they be completely free of skeletons?

And what he'd found on this particular man wasn't some speck of dust.

It was a staggeringly enormous flaw—so well concealed, it was a wonder how it'd stayed hidden.

"Heheh, hahahaha! A piece of trash like this had the nerve to lecture me and play the righteous hero? Look forward to it, Professor Cha!"

A mere rookie professor had been far too full of himself.

Within the Academy, there might be professors more capable than Jeon Taejin, but none with a wider network.

Jeon Taejin had assembled a group of professors under his wing.

In exchange for boosting the careers of the young professors in his circle, he'd skim a little of their accomplishments to maintain his own reputation.

Cha Eunwoo, the youngest professor ever appointed, had immediately landed on Jeon Taejin's radar.

He'd offered Lee Yeeun—who'd been a liability to him anyway—as an olive branch, and what happened? This lunatic had snatched her up and run.

It was an unmistakable challenge to Jeon Taejin's authority.

To preserve his honor and standing, retribution was in order.

"I'll destroy him."

Jeon Taejin called the newest junior professor in his circle.

After a few rings, the line connected.

—Why, Professor Jeon! To what do I owe the pleasure?

The exaggerated reaction drew a smirk from Jeon Taejin.

Right. That's how a junior professor should behave.

"Professor Yun Seongyeop. I have a favor to ask."

—A favor?

"Yes. If things go well, that research position you've been eyeing—it'll be yours."

—...What do I need to do?!

Greed-soaked eagerness poured through the receiver.

Jeon Taejin never exploited his subordinates one-sidedly.

He always offered what they wanted and negotiated on equal terms.

The fact that this was an invaluable benefit for junior professors—why couldn't that arrogant brat understand?

"I'll send you an email. See the details for yourself."

—Understood.

This was Jeon Taejin's way.

He never dirtied his own hands.

He always achieved his goals through his underlings.

Success meant a jackpot. Failure just meant losing one pawn.

This wasn't a transaction. It was war.

In transactions, fair dealing was the rule—but in war, playing dirty was the ultimate attack.

"Heheh, hahahaha!"

Jeon Taejin threw back his head and laughed at the ignorant upstart who'd dared to defy him.