Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Song Seokhwan (1)

"Hey! Over there, that's Professor Jeon Taejin."

"Shameless man. I hear the list of misdeeds that haven't been exposed is a mile long."

"I don't want to take classes from someone like that."

Jeon Taejin, professor of the Magical Research Department.

A professor respected by many students as one of Florian Academy's finest.

No—a professor who had been respected.

After Professor Yun Seongyeop's confession, his standing had plummeted.

Not just this incident—suspicions had emerged that Jeon Taejin was the mastermind behind every scandal his allied professors had ever caused.

'These brats run their mouths however they please.'

Jeon Taejin felt wronged.

Of course, he was behind most of them. But there were a few he genuinely wasn't responsible for.

Regardless, Jeon Taejin felt wronged.

'Professor Cha... I never imagined he was that big a fish.'

If he'd targeted some obscure nobody professor, public opinion wouldn't have soured this badly.

The price of messing with a star professor who'd been the hottest topic worldwide for the past few weeks was a bitter one.

"I will have my revenge......"

Jeon Taejin was the textbook bully-type—tough on the weak, meek before the strong.

So he'd swallowed his pride and gone crawling to Cha Eunwoo, ready to grovel and suck up.

The result was a humiliating rejection.

'Please leave. We have nothing further to discuss.'

'Professor Cha, Professor Cha!'

It was all that bastard's fault.

A cornered rat bites the cat.

If you push someone this far, the sensible thing is to meet them halfway. To cast him out this coldly?

That goddamn bastard.

I'll make you regret it.

Jeon Taejin entered his office.

The appointed time was almost here.

The blade—whetted with venom—destined for that man's heart was about to arrive.

TAP TAP—

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

With Jeon Taejin's permission, the door opened.

The man who stepped in for their appointment was someone who, like Jeon Taejin, harbored plenty of grievances against that man.

"Song Seokhwan, have you had lunch?"

Song Seokhwan.

The crown prince of Bisang Guild.

"I ate before coming."

"What a shame. I was hoping we could share a meal and get acquainted."

"Pass. I only came because our interests aligned. I've no intention of getting chummy with a research rat."

Jeon Taejin seethed internally at Song Seokhwan's attitude.

'Insolent little brat.'

Hoo. Hold it in. Keep it together.

Right now, he needed to stay on good terms with the kid.

"How hurtful."

"Let's get to the point. Cha Eunwoo. I can't forgive that bastard."

The grudge Song Seokhwan had nursed since orientation hadn't faded.

If anything, the inferiority complex born from things not going his way in Cha Eunwoo's class had deepened it further.

Kill him.

Kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him.

Kill him kill him kill—

Why?

'...Why am I trying to kill that man? He pisses me off, but going that far is...'

ZING—

"Ngh!"

His head hurt.

Song Seokhwan's thoughts gradually blurred and went blank.

What filled his mind again was nothing but the voice telling him Cha Eunwoo must die.

"So you want to hurt Professor Cha? Tsk. Don't you think that's going too far...?"

"Drop the holier-than-thou act."

Song Seokhwan smiled chillingly.

"You want to kill him too. That bastard."

"Haha... well now."

Under normal circumstances, Song Seokhwan would never have sought out a lowlife like this.

But once Cha Eunwoo's papers were announced to the world, everything went off the rails.

Song Seokhwan's father had repeatedly urged him to get on good terms with Professor Cha.

Use the guild's power to take Cha Eunwoo down?

Absolutely out of the question.

So instead, he needed a sacrificial pawn he could use.

"The plan is simple. This week is exam week, so we'll be leaving the Academy and heading to a dungeon. That's when you and I throw every card we have and kill him. Easy, right?"

Killing a person.

Words that carried an immense weight.

Who would believe an Academy student had spoken them?

"Yes. Quite simple indeed."

Nor was the answer befitting a professor.

What kind of professor would conspire with a student to murder another professor?

"What's the plan after the killing?"

"Don't worry about that. Right now, he's famous in name only—no connections, no nothing. If he suddenly disappears, sure, people might pay attention, but who's going to dig into the truth?"

"Precisely! A brilliant student indeed."

Jeon Taejin clapped and laughed heartily.

"What I can mobilize is one B-rank assassin and three C-rank warriors. Those men follow my orders over my father's—I can trust them with the job. What about you, Professor?"

"I know some mercenaries with proven skills. They'll do anything for the right price. Oh, and this too."

Jeon Taejin opened the third drawer of his desk.

It was the only drawer with a lock.

What he took out was a black vial.

"It'll come in handy in an emergency. It's a drug that momentarily causes the user's power to explode."

Song Seokhwan looked at it and felt something unpleasant.

The black liquid inside the transparent vial instilled unease in anyone who looked at it.

On closer inspection, it was questionable whether it was even a liquid.

It resembled jelly—or a slime.

Song Seokhwan stopped thinking about it.

He'd never even heard of a drug that could cause one's power to explode.

It was obviously something dangerous, traded only on the black market.

"I'll take it with gratitude."

But Song Seokhwan was a man who'd do anything to achieve his goals.

He accepted the drug from Jeon Taejin and tucked it inside his coat.

"Best of luck."

Coming from Jeon Taejin, that was a rare instance of genuine support.

That drug was dangerous.

Even more dangerous than the fact that Jeon Taejin was trying to kill Cha Eunwoo—it was something that absolutely could not come to light.

"Yes."

Song Seokhwan rose from his seat.

The moment he stepped out of the office, a figure emerged from his shadow.

"Young master."

Song Seokhwan's loyal hound, Ryeoun.

Ryeoun was a tool.

A hunting dog trained to completely abandon his ego and obey only Song Seokhwan's commands.

Even if it went against Bisang's interests, Ryeoun would carry it out if Song Seokhwan ordered it.

For such a Ryeoun to reveal himself without orders and address Song Seokhwan—that was a first.

"What?"

"Could you please reconsider this plan?"

"Ha!"

SLAP—!

Song Seokhwan struck Ryeoun across the cheek.

Ryeoun took the blow without so much as a whimper.

"Have you lost your mind? Are you more afraid of killing that guy than defying my orders?"

"No, sir. My life belongs to you, young master. I will slit my own throat to prove my loyalty."

Ryeoun drew a short blade from his coat.

And without hesitation, brought it down toward his own neck.

"Stop."

It halted.

By the narrowest of margins, Ryeoun's blade stopped.

A moment later and he surely would have done it.

"Are you more afraid of my father's wrath than dying?"

"No, sir."

"Then what are you afraid of?"

Ryeoun deliberated briefly, then forced the words out.

"I'm afraid of you changing, young master."

"......"

A moment of silence fell.

Song Seokhwan's mind was in chaos.

Changed?

Ryeoun was a loyal hound who would give his life without blinking.

Ryeoun was wholly on Song Seokhwan's side......

THROB!

His head ached again.

Strangely, once the brief headache passed, his mind felt perfectly clear.

Ah, right.

Ryeoun was a tool. A tool incapable of thinking for itself.

He'd simply made a bad call out of stupidity.

Cha Eunwoo must die.

"Nothing's changed. I'm going to kill him."

"Young master......"

"If you don't intend to follow, get out of my sight."

Ryeoun answered quietly.

"I only follow."

***

After that day, the atmosphere in my lectures changed dramatically.

My course had probably never been fully trusted by the students.

While my lecture content had proven effective in the practicum and exam, doubts lingered about whether it could be applied universally.

As a result, students had rated my course as "strange but useful."

But now, everything was different.

My course was the distilled essence of papers that had upended the entire world.

Going forward, every guild would abandon their existing strategies and adopt the new model—and at the forefront, these kids would be the commanders.

There were even rumors among the students that taking my course would earn preferential treatment from guilds.

So the students poured even more enthusiasm into my lectures.

Too much enthusiasm, if anything.

"Good grief......"

▼ Inbox (99+)

—Professor, I have a question about last week's lecture!

—Question!

Questions flooded in without a single day's reprieve.

I'd been so busy lately that I had no time for training or study.

The silver lining was that the Mentor talent kept raising my stats.

I'd also learned something new about the Mentor talent.

I'd hoped I could gain EXP from everyone who'd encountered my papers, but no such luck.

Apparently, there was some condition requiring direct, face-to-face interaction.

Still, I'd landed one jackpot.

—Mentor effect activates. A small amount of EXP gained. (Target: Edelin Pierce)

Unicorn's master, Edelin.

Currently the world's strongest Hero.

Gaining even a fraction of her EXP was significant.

The amount was overwhelmingly large, but more importantly, I could gain her experience.

Objectively, Baek Seolhwa's swordsmanship was absolutely not S-rank.

No matter how much it was refined, A-rank was the ceiling.

Edelin's swordsmanship, on the other hand, stood at the world's highest level.

S-rank? Beyond that.

Unfortunately, unlike Baek Seolhwa—whom I knew deeply through extended interaction—I'd only met Edelin briefly, so I couldn't even obtain a fragment.

Still, I was more than grateful.

Edelin's swordsmanship wasn't under control yet. If I practiced in my office, it wouldn't end at just one broken flowerpot like last time.

I grabbed a wooden sword and headed for the training hall. Baek Seolhwa was already there.

"Professor."

Baek Seolhwa waved at me. I waved back.

"You're here early."

"I can't keep a busy person waiting."

There was a slight edge to the remark.

I'd been so busy with various things lately that my training time had dropped considerably.

That meant the time I spent coaching Baek Seolhwa at the training hall and Seo Dayun at the Mage Tower had also been cut significantly.

"I'll make it up to you with a gift today."

"A gift?"

Baek Seolhwa perked up with interest.

She was a born warrior who craved clashes with the strong.

She'd definitely be thrilled to see me wield Edelin's swordsmanship.

"Let's start."

After a light warm-up, I assumed a ready stance for sparring.

Baek Seolhwa matched my stance.

"I'll let you attack first."

"Okay."

CLANG!

A bolt-like barrage of strikes hammered down.

Since we'd begun sparring, Baek Seolhwa had grown.

Unnecessary movements had been trimmed, her technique had smoothed out, and she'd become noticeably faster.

WHIRR— CLANG!

The blade's trajectory shifted, targeting my neck.

I tilted my head and dodged casually.

If I ceded the pace to her, she'd keep pressing the assault.

I needed to seize the flow.

"HAAH!"

Time to attack.

I abandoned my defensive stance and went on the offensive.

Against Baek Seolhwa's speed, a halfhearted advance would invite an immediate counter.

I had to press relentlessly without giving her room to breathe.

I struck in short, clipped blows.

"......!"

WHOOSH—!

Baek Seolhwa thrust out her sword to defend.

But something unbelievable happened.

The sword she'd extended to block slid right past my blade and bore down on me.

It was as though my sword had never stood between us in the first place.

TAP!

I spun my sword up in a rapid rotation.

It barely caught Baek Seolhwa's blade, deflecting the attack's trajectory just enough to graze past me.

"Phew."

Baek Seolhwa had always been strong, but she was stronger now.

When we'd first sparred, her swordsmanship had sharp angles.

Put kindly, it was disciplined. Put harshly, the movement was too rigid.

But now, fluidity had entered her form.

Every angular edge had been rounded off, and the blade's path moved as though it were a living creature.

Sustained defense was getting difficult.

Time to bring it out.

"Your stance changed— ngh!"

What makes great swordsmanship?

It is swordsmanship that channels maximum force with maximum efficiency.

Merely assuming the stance made it feel as though every ounce of strength in my body was being drawn into the sword.

What would happen if I swung it?

SHING—!

"......!"

The swing generated an enormous shockwave.

On contact with my sword, Baek Seolhwa's blade shattered pathetically.

Her body was launched far through the air and slammed into the ground.

CRASH!

The sound was violent enough to suggest something might have broken.

"Ow ow ow......"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

Had I been too rough?

Fortunately, Baek Seolhwa rose without injury.

She immediately asked.

"What was that just now? I couldn't do a single thing."

I was just as surprised.

I knew it was powerful, but I hadn't expected this.

"Let's call it a finishing move and leave it at that."

"I lost today. I don't think I can beat that."

Baek Seolhwa gave up the spar with surprisingly little fight.

Then she asked me.

"So what's the gift you prepared?"

"Hm?"

"You said earlier. That you'd prepared a gift."

"I just showed you. Did you like it?"

"Huh? Oh......"

I didn't need to hear the answer. Of course she'd liked it.

The world's highest level of swordsmanship.

Not something just anyone could witness.

But something about Baek Seolhwa seemed off.

She'd looked unhappy the entire session.

"Seolhwa, everything alright?"

"What do you mean."

"No... just asking."

"I'm fine."

After we finished sparring, Baek Seolhwa left just like that.

What was that about? Did I get too strong, and she hit a wall?

She was proud, after all.

Getting thoroughly beaten and going sulky wouldn't be unusual.

I settled on that conclusion and headed back to my office to prepare for the exam.