Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Song Seokhwan (4)

Inside the Slime Burrow.

Only the traces of battle remained on the first stage.

Signs of A-team defeating slimes were scattered throughout. So far, no issues.

"The next stage should've been fine too. Was there an accident in the boss room?"

The Slime Burrow's boss, Mine Crung, had low intelligence but high physical specs and fierce aggression—one wrong move and it could've been curtains.

I had a rough picture of what happened.

Had Song Seokhwan gotten cocky thinking he'd blaze through it, let his guard down, and gotten wiped?

He might have been anxious after bombing the last exam.

Mine Crung was a savage creature.

If A-team had been annihilated at the boss stage, their lives could very well be in danger. I needed to hurry.

"There he is. That's the man, right?"

"Yeah. No doubt about it."

Voices came from behind me.

Someone had just entered through the Gate. About ten people, by the look of it.

"Hey, Professor. Stop right there."

These people didn't look remotely like Heroes who'd come to clear a dungeon.

The smell of blood hung thick in the air. Not monster blood—human.

CLENCH—

My hand went instinctively to the sword at my waist.

The men started sneering.

"Listen, Professor. We know you're the type who sits behind a desk all day."

"Heheh! A pen suits you better than a sword, Professor."

They knew who I was.

My mind raced.

Was their goal to kidnap me? No Korean guild would pull something this insane.

A Chinese guild, then?

Was A-team still missing because these bastards had interfered?

That was too much of a stretch.

Due to the nature of dungeons, there was no way to monitor what happened inside—but the sensors outside the Gate had confirmed no one else had entered.

SHING—

I drew the sword from its scabbard at my waist.

Then it's simple.

These bastards have nothing to do with the kids.

Which means I can beat the shit out of all of them without a problem.

"Come on, bro. Don't try to look cool."

"We all know you're a theory-type profess—"

SLASH!

I closed the distance instantly and knocked out the man in front with the flat of my blade.

The thugs were horrified.

"Wh-what?!"

"This crazy bastard! Kill him!"

Right.

As if scum like these could be Heroes.

Creatures with no convictions or justice in their hearts.

And way too weak on top of that.

Every Awakened dreamed of becoming a Hero.

A dream job—respected by all, loved by all, and the pay to match.

But not every Awakened could become one.

Those who'd awakened but lacked the talent.

They weren't even given the right to enter a dungeon. Sending them in would only get them killed for nothing.

The talentless had no choice but to seek other lines of work.

They might not be able to slay monsters, and they might not earn a Hero's prestige—but there were plenty of ways to serve humanity, be it as researchers, porters, or other roles.

Not everyone walked the righteous path, though.

Even if they'd failed to become Heroes, every Awakened possessed strength that ordinary people couldn't hope to match.

That power was exploited in the underworld.

Awakened who committed atrocities for criminal organizations—they ruled the underworld like kings.

Occasionally, even low-rank Heroes, disillusioned by the gap between their ideals and reality, joined criminal outfits.

The one thing all such people had in common: they were pathetic losers, every last one.

SLASH! SLASH!

The thugs rushed me, but every swing of my sword sent limbs flying.

I could have gone for necks, but I had no intention of killing them.

In a world where healers and medicine coexisted, severed limbs could be reattached.

"GYAAAH!"

"What the hell, how is this guy so strong? He's supposed to be a theory-type!"

The thugs finally realized something was very wrong.

Not that it mattered. It was far too late.

I had no intention of letting them walk away in one piece.

"HRAAAAAH!"

WHOOOM!

A massive hammer came swinging at me.

Not even worth dodging—I caught it with one hand, then used its momentum to hurl it back.

"Wha—?"

The thug who'd swung it went flying.

I finished him off with a slash that took both his legs.

"GYAAAAAAH!"

That wrapped things up.

Men lay sprawled across the ground, limbs severed, screaming. An absolute scene of carnage.

I'd done this myself, but it was a brutal sight.

Still, I felt no sympathy.

I addressed the thug at the front.

"Tell me who hired you."

"Like I'd ever talk! You goddamn— GURK......"

I ran my sword straight through his neck.

A phantom blade technique—I made it look like a killing blow, but I didn't actually kill him.

It was purely a device to instill fear.

"Talk."

"W-wait, I don't know anything— AARGH!"

Next.

Eight left.

"Feeling more talkative?"

"H-hold on... I'll, I'll talk... just heal me first— AARGH!"

One after another, they were remarkably slow learners.

At this rate, we'd just be wasting each other's time.

Just as I was about to interrogate the next one, a thug from the back shouted.

"Professor Jeon Taejin! He's the one who ordered us to kill you!"

"Roy! You bastard, are you insane?"

"If you say his name here—"

"Shut up! We're all about to die, so what's there to be afraid of? What?! I told you everything, so let me go, please— AARGH!"

Jeon Taejin, again?

What an insufferable man.

Dealing with their resistance was more trouble than it was worth, so I knocked each one out and applied basic tourniquets.

"I'd love to go save the kids now, but... that's not happening."

WHOOSH—

Someone else entered through the Gate.

If they were cannon fodder like the last batch, that'd be nice—but a chilling presence radiated from them.

The energy flowing through their bodies was heavy and dense.

"I warned them those mercenaries were no ordinary men."

"I can only think the young master was insulted. Saddling him with scum like that."

Three warriors. One assassin.

All familiar faces.

I'd never met them in person, but they were named NPCs from the game.

The assassin at the back, especially, was unmistakable.

"Ryeoun."

Song Seokhwan's faithful subordinate, Ryeoun.

Why was he standing before me instead of guarding his master?

"How do you know Lord Ryeoun's name?!"

My head spun.

These men wouldn't budge even with a blade at their throats—they moved only on Song Seokhwan's command.

So Song Seokhwan had joined hands with Jeon Taejin to kill me?

If that was the case, everything made sense.

Go to the dungeon. An accident occurs.

The professor throws himself in harm's way to rescue the students.

Then they clear the dungeon and destroy the Gate to eliminate evidence.

A perfect scenario for getting away with murder.

"Answer me! How do you know Lord Ryeoun's name?!"

Song Seokhwan had been hostile toward me from day one.

Just recently, he'd aired his grievances about the course.

If all that resentment had built up into murderous hatred, it fit.

"This is your last warning! Lord Ryeoun's—"

"Shut up."

"Wh-what?"

"Did Song Seokhwan order you to kill me?"

Song Seokhwan's subordinates neither confirmed nor denied it.

The warriors began exchanging nervous glances.

It was Ryeoun who broke the silence.

"Kill him."

"Yes, sir."

The warriors answered in unison.

Aura flared along their swords as they charged.

CLANG!

The instant our blades met, I could gauge their level.

These were no pushovers.

Each one of them was Baek Seolhwa's equal or better.

I'd known they were C-rank Heroes, but now I felt firsthand just how strong that was.

"This professor's got some skill with a blade."

"Don't let your guard down."

The three had clearly trained together—their coordination was formidable.

They rotated in and out, each one striking and withdrawing in turns, leaving me no room to catch my breath.

After being cooped up in the Academy, meeting real Heroes drove the gap home.

They were strong.

If I kept fighting all three at once in this pattern, there'd be no way out.

Even if it meant overextending, I had to take one down first.

CLANG!

My strike was blocked.

How had Baek Seolhwa done it? I copied her movement exactly.

Let the blade slide along theirs and flow into an attack—

FWIP—

"Gkh!"

"What the— what kind of swordsmanship was that?"

Baek Seolhwa's swordsmanship was unremarkable by Playable Character standards, but it was more than enough to shock C-rank Heroes.

One went down in an instant, and the remaining two pulled back.

"Attack from both sides at once!"

"Got it!"

Song Seokhwan.

Because you hated me? Because the loathing ran deep enough to kill, you sent these men?

"......"

No. That couldn't be right.

A scene from the game floated to the surface—a conversation between Seo Dayun and Song Seokhwan.

—Seokhwan, you hate me, don't you......

—Yeah. Every time I see your shit face, it makes me want to puke.

—Then why... why did you save me......! Worry about yourself before—

—If I can't save the person right in front of me, how can I call myself a Hero?

Song Seokhwan's moral compass was severely warped.

He lashed out violently on a whim.

He understood full well how much suffering his actions inflicted on others.

Song Seokhwan was probably the Playable Character closest to being a villain.

But at the very least, he held human life sacred.

He believed that was the bare minimum duty of a Hero, and no matter which route the game took, that conviction never wavered.

And this Song Seokhwan had ordered my death?

CLANG!

It didn't add up at all.

I twisted out of a sword's path and called out to Ryeoun.

"Ryeoun, answer me. Did Song Seokhwan really order you to kill me?"

"......"

"Or did you betray Song Seokhwan?"

"Don't you dare speak his name so casually."

The mention of Song Seokhwan finally got a reaction from Ryeoun.

Something had happened.

If Song Seokhwan had lost his convictions—if he'd lost what made him a Hero—

The consequences wouldn't stop at one student going astray.

As a person who stood on the side of Heroes.

As a gamer who loved the game.

And as a professor, as a teacher—

I had to save Song Seokhwan.

Ryeoun addressed his men.

"Finish him."

"Yes, sir!"

In a battle between Heroes, not a single blow could be ignored.

Unless you were a tank, allowing a clean hit meant critical injury.

Reaction speed alone couldn't account for every variable.

That was why reading your opponent was essential—predicting what attack would come and how, then positioning in advance, like a boxer reading shoulder movement to anticipate a punch.

SHING—

I gripped my sword and drew my arm back.

Watching my motion, Song Seokhwan's subordinate would be tracing the blade's path in his head.

If I altered that path here—

FWIP—

Baek Seolhwa's swordsmanship bent my blade sharply, and his reaction was late.

He'd surely had a counterattack planned in his head, but it all fell apart.

"Annoying......"

What if I threw in one more variable?

Another feint, then I attacked.

"Inferno."

This time, not a sword strike—magic.

Against someone who'd been fixated on my blade, a spell cast point-blank with no incantation was the decisive blow.

"AAAARGH!"

"He used— magic—?!"

As Song Seokhwan's subordinates, they must have already known I could use magic.

But because I'd been fighting exclusively with a sword, they'd let their guard down.

One swordsman remained.

He charged bravely regardless.

"HRAAAAH!"

But there was a gap between us that courage alone couldn't bridge.

I alternated between sword and magic.

The remaining man quickly buckled under the onslaught and lost his grip on his weapon.

A light tap with the flat of my blade put him out cold.

The warriors were all done.

The only one left was Ryeoun, who'd been watching from behind.

"Some leader you are, standing by while your men hit the ground. You fail as a commander."

I said that, but inwardly I was relieved.

With only three of them, I'd been able to wrap things up easily—but if Ryeoun had joined the fight, the outcome would've been anyone's guess.

"How did it come to this?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're right, Professor Cha."

Our words didn't line up at all.

I had no idea what this man was saying.

"I'm the one who betrayed him. I betrayed the young master... I should have stopped him, but, ah......"

Ryeoun began to weep on his own.

Whatever grieved him so deeply, the sight of him sobbing brokenly stirred a pang of sympathy.

What was he mourning so bitterly?

At the very least, I understood that something had happened to Song Seokhwan.

"Tell me what happened."

"You want to know what happened?"

"Yes. There's no way Song Seokhwan ordered you to kill me. What's going on?"

"Heh heh......"

Ryeoun laughed.

It was a laugh as mournful as a wail.

"You're right. Ah, how wretched. I served him for ten years, yet I know less about him than a professor who's known him for barely forty days."

Ryeoun hung his head and asked.

"Professor—could you save the young master?"

"Yes. I can save him. So tell me what happened."

"Then prove it to me."

Ryeoun drew two short blades.

Blood-red steel, finely forged weapons.

Wolf's Fangs.

A treasure Ryeoun had received from Song Seokhwan himself, back when they were both young.

"Prove that you are someone who can save the young master."