Chapter 10

Chapter 10

'Ended up saddled with nothing but trouble.'

Inside a large, black limousine.

Sahyeon sprawled across the passenger seat and let out a long sigh.

'I'll just give them self-study.'

Oblivious to Sahyeon's inner thoughts, Haeseong diligently drove toward the Academy.

As the cityscape of towering buildings outside the window gradually gave way to green—

"Over there."

Haeseong pointed through the windshield.

"...That's supposed to be an Academy?"

Sahyeon tilted his head.

A white, towering wall standing alone in the middle of an open plain.

"Yes, they've laid defensive skills into the perimeter wall to prevent monster intrusion."

Haeseong added, pulling the car up to the front gate.

A brief security checkpoint, and then—

CREEEEAK—

The massive iron gate swung open.

Tall trees lined up in a long row from the entrance.

At first glance it looked like a university campus, but the scale was something else entirely.

Lavish, modern buildings flanking a large lake. Golden ornamental trim atop pristine white walls.

Sahyeon scoffed.

"They've gone and built a resort."

"Ha ha...... The Hunter Academy is known for its nice facilities."

Haeseong killed the engine in front of a building crowned with a central tower.

"Let's head to the main hall. The Chancellor is waiting for us."

Haeseong guided Sahyeon with familiar strides.

Stepping into the main hall, Sahyeon let out a short sigh.

"Is this an art gallery?"

A lobby ceiling blown wide open with a glass roof. Artwork hanging on the walls. Small carts gliding through the air above — presumably powered by Mana Crystals.

'Must not have known what to do with all their money.'

Sahyeon clicked his tongue and followed Haeseong into the Chancellor's office.

"Come right in~ I've been expecting you."

The Chancellor welcomed them with a bright smile.

In that moment, Sahyeon's eyes narrowed.

He looked oddly familiar......

"If it isn't Hunter Haeseong! Seeing a graduate return as a full-fledged hunter — what a feeling! Ha ha!"

The Chancellor clapped Haeseong on the shoulder with enthusiastic warmth.

"Ha ha...... It's all thanks to you."

Haeseong smiled awkwardly and bowed. A conspicuously deliberate show of pretending not to know Sahyeon.

So he was an alumnus too.

Sahyeon thought nothing of it and brushed past them to settle into the wide leather sofa.

Across from him was a large display case.

"Distinguished Service Award," "Municipal Council Citation"......

It was crammed with trophies and medals.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the Chancellor took his seat on the single armchair at the center.

He poured tea into the cups on the table and spoke.

"I've heard much from the Association President."

Sahyeon crossed his legs long.

"Probably nothing good."

He set three teacups on the table.

"Ha ha. Not at all. I hear you're the one who took down the Creature Falcon in Seoul?"

The Chancellor's eyes scanned Sahyeon up and down.

He gestured toward the cup placed opposite Sahyeon.

"Hunter Haeseong, don't just stand there — have a seat. Let me pour you some tea."

"Oh, no! I'm fine standing!"

Haeseong declined again, but under the Chancellor's persistent insistence, he eventually shuffled over and sat down.

Sahyeon, who had zero interest in the steaming tea, tilted his head and studied the Chancellor closely.

A man who looked to be in his mid-to-late thirties, with a slick sort of face.

Quite young-looking.

Beyond that......

'He looks familiar......'

That glossy, slicked-back fringe in particular.

Sahyeon hummed and dug through his memory, then blurted out.

"Got a criminal record, by any chance?"

Was this a face he'd seen in the prison?

"Pfft!"

Haeseong, mid-sip, spat out his tea.

The Chancellor blinked his small eyes in bewilderment.

"...? Did I hear that correctly? A criminal record......?"

Sahyeon studied the Chancellor's expression.

Bewilderment, surprise, confusion...... nothing else.

"Cough, th-that's—!"

Haeseong, hacking desperately, leapt to do damage control.

"Mr. Sahyeon doesn't know much about the Academy! He's asking about the department transfer system! You know, whether students can switch tracks!"

At the frantic save, the Chancellor put on a formulaic smile.

"Ahh, of course~ Ha ha ha. It is a position that was filled on very short notice."

A dry, obligatory laugh.

A textbook showman.

'Then again, there's no way a criminal would be the Chancellor.'

The Association President might look like a pushover, but he wasn't soft enough to let that slide.

'If I can't place him right away, he can't be anyone important.'

Having lost interest, Sahyeon raised an eyebrow and looked away.

The Chancellor cleared his throat and began his explanation in a measured voice.

"Department transfers are certainly possible based on aptitude. Students who Awaken new skills during their education or see their stats rise — there are plenty of them."

He eyed Sahyeon with a hint of displeasure and continued.

"I've already been briefed on you, Mr. Sahyeon. I was told you were stationed overseas and returned with this Dungeon Break? I don't know which unit you were with, though."

A deliberate addendum.

The phrasing carried a note of suspicion about Sahyeon's origins. Haeseong flinched and stole a glance at Sahyeon.

But Sahyeon propped his chin on one hand with evident disinterest and asked.

"What exactly am I supposed to do in Lee Haje's place?"

"Oh, let me start with that."

The Chancellor straightened his posture and put on another affected smile.

"All you need to do is take over the students Professor Lee Haje was responsible for."

He went on about how Lee Haje had been wildly popular with the students — the Academy's celebrity, he said — and how the two of them had been close and he was heartbroken about what happened.

The Chancellor chattered away happily.

"I don't care. Get to the point."

Sahyeon cut him off.

Haeseong swallowed and glanced at the Chancellor, bracing for impact—

"......?"

The reaction wasn't what he'd expected.

Rather than looking offended by Sahyeon's attitude, the Chancellor was......

"Um, Chancellor......?"

Pallid complexion. A bobbing Adam's apple.

Something that looked a lot like nerves.

Haeseong watched carefully and ventured to speak.

"Are you all right?"

"...Ah! Oh, yes, of course!"

The Chancellor snapped back to himself as if waking from a dream.

"It's just — your way of speaking is remarkably similar to someone I used to know. Ha ha! ......Can't be, though. I went through quite a lot of rough experiences when I was starting out."

A faraway look crept into the Chancellor's eyes.

"They were turbulent times. But it's precisely because I gathered real data in the field back then that we can run such a structured curriculum at the Academy today."

Sahyeon sighed and tapped the armrest with his fingers.

"The Chancellor's seat must be pretty cushy."

Stop rambling — that was the implication.

"...Ahem."

Despite the rude treatment, the Chancellor merely shifted uncomfortably.

He let out a thin sigh, pulled out a tablet, and placed it on the table.

"...The class you'll be taking over is Combat Department, Class A."

— Tae Euno (20)

— Ha Jaeyun (18)

— Go Gyeol (22)

.......

A screen listing the students' stats.

Unlike Sahyeon, who gave it no more than a passing glance, Haeseong read every detail carefully.

"Wow, they're all A-rank?"

"Yes, and any new S-rank who emerges will likely be placed in this class."

The Chancellor turned to Sahyeon with a smile.

"So it's the class where all the high-ranked Awakened are gathered."

"That, but also......"

The Chancellor trailed off.

"The kids in here have a bit of a...... problem — not that they're bad, mind you. They're just high-grade, so they've got energy to burn, and they're very......spirited. Keeping them in line will probably give you a fair bit of trouble."

"Doesn't matter."

Sahyeon parried with ease.

"I've handled far worse."

"?!"

Haeseong, who had been studying the tablet intently, swallowed hard and changed the subject.

"Um, are there any other classes scheduled for today?"

"Let me see. There's a test for three students at five o'clock."

"A test?"

At Sahyeon's question, Haeseong began to explain.

"Yes, the Academy runs on a three-semester system, and students need to pass a test at the end of each semester to advance. Once they complete all three semesters, they can operate as active hunters."

"Given the current emergency, tests are being administered and students graduated at the teacher's discretion."

The Chancellor added.

He then swiped to the next screen on the tablet.

"Here's today's scheduled Gate test."

Sahyeon's expression warped the instant he saw the screen.

"D-rank?"

— Combat Zone, Sector 0, D-rank Gate

Gates were unpredictable — anything could happen at any time. And they expected him to lead greenhorns in there?

When Sahyeon's eyes sharpened demandingly, the Chancellor wet his lips and spoke.

"Normally, combat-type hunters are tested inside Gates. Besides, these students were cleared by Professor Haje himself, so there's nothing to worry about."

He gave a kindly smile and pointed to his own eyes.

"I've confirmed it with my own eyes, so rest assured. I may not look it, but as a first-generation Awakened, I've got plenty of experience."

The Chancellor is a first-generation?

Sahyeon's eyebrow angled.

Was that why the face looked familiar?

Haeseong gestured politely toward the Chancellor and explained.

"Yes, the Chancellor possesses a skill that detects the flow of Gates, so he always personally verifies any Gate used for testing."

Detects the flow of Gates......

The inside of a Gate was unknowable until you actually entered — what the environment was like, what monsters might appear.

If the Chancellor's trait allowed him to know all that in advance, it was a rare and useful ability.

Maybe the reason the Academy was decked out in all that flash was that the man had more money than he knew what to do with.

'Come to think of it, there was someone with a trait like that back when I was active.'

"And it's thanks to these eyes that I was able to contribute so much to the Hunter Bible. Especially—"

Apparently taking Haeseong's explanation as an invitation, the Chancellor launched into a string of self-praise.

Sahyeon let it go in one ear and out the other as he slowly rifled through his memory.

...A first-generation, with eyes that read Gate flows.

"......Ah."

The fragmented puzzle of memory snapped into place.

— S-Sir! First-generation Awakened, ten days in — reporting for duty!!

A rookie who'd rolled around under the senior hunters back in the day.

'That kid grew up into this?'

A deflated laugh slipped through Sahyeon's lips.