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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Shio
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Acasa Ardel.
She was tired of the drought in talent that had plagued Mirinae Academy for years.
‘Should I go back to being a mercenary?’
The headmaster had begged her to take the professor role, and she’d agreed—on the condition that she’d only teach if someone with
real talent appeared. If not, she wouldn’t lift a finger.
It turned out she hadn’t lifted a finger in years.
No matter how good the pay, her conscience prickled. It felt wrong to sit idle, doing nothing, just for a fat paycheck. The thought
of announcing the return of the Mercenary King and traveling the world again grew more tempting by the day.
She’d hoped to pass on her martial art to a disciple, someone worthy to inherit her unique techniques. But…
‘If there’s no one with talent here, maybe I’ll find someone elsewhere.’
Mirinae Academy, a place said to attract exceptional talents, had proven otherwise.
Still, her standards were high—perhaps too high.
She sought someone who couldn’t use mana but had a body honed to perfection. And if she added another requirement, it would be
someone able to sense natural mana. But…
She’d recently realized that such a person might not even exist, much less attend Mirinae Academy.
Her master had waited ten years for her to inherit his martial arts. Now, she understood his impatience.
‘Well, I’ll wait too. A disciple will appear eventually.’
As Acasa resigned herself to this thought and stood up to announce her departure—
“Huh, what kind of crazy bastard is causing that ruckus?”
A surge of black mana exploded near the Class S dormitory.
‘Finally, a distraction.’
She sped toward the source, but halfway there, the presence of black mana vanished.
Gone?
Whoever had dealt with it left no trace of mana behind—not even a flicker. Intrigued, Acasa quickened her pace and arrived at the
scene.
There stood a boy among the remnants of monsters and an unconscious student.
‘Huh?’
A first-year student had subdued a low-rank Main? And the strangest part—he had no mana. Upon closer inspection, though, she caught a
faint trace of natural mana clinging to him.
…!
The boy’s body showed signs of rigorous training.
Acasa licked her lips, excitement sparking in her. She decided to test him right then and there.
‘Let’s see how he handles killing intent.’
Her instincts, sharpened from years as a mercenary, had made her sense of “reasonable tests” a little…twisted.
Crash!
‘He dodged?’
She had only intended to spook him, maybe force him to block, but the boy had sensed her coming and dodged completely. Raising his
arms in defense would have sufficed, but he had surpassed her expectations.
‘Shall I play dumb and test him more?’
“Did you do this?”
“Y-y-yes… Ma’am.”
His voice wavered, but that didn’t matter.
‘Found you.’
After years of waiting, the disciple she sought had appeared right when she was about to give up. It was fate.
Acasa smiled broadly.
“You. Become my disciple.”
Refusal wasn’t an option.
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“You, become my disciple.”
“…”
I cheered inwardly at her words. Acasa Ardel, offering discipleship the moment she arrived?
‘She must have skipped over all the formalities in her head and already decided I’m worthy.’
Acasa was a critical figure when playing as Lee Seok-hyun. Her mentorship was essential to navigating the early stages of the game,
and becoming her disciple was a necessity.
But for her to come to me first? It felt like things were falling into place a little too perfectly.
’That killing intent must have been a test to gauge my potential.’
She’d probably sensed the black mana and, finding the situation resolved, noticed me—the one with no mana signature standing there.
Then, after observing the traces of natural mana and my well-trained body, she’d offered her mentorship immediately.
With no intention of letting me refuse.
Despite her mercenary background and fierce combat abilities, Acasa Ardel wasn’t hard to read. Her emotions were simple and
unguarded.
She was the famed ’Mercenary King,’ someone who never hesitated to follow her instincts and had little patience for things—or people—
she disliked.
Normally, her attention should’ve been on the captured Main, but to her, finding a disciple was far more important.
“Disciple?”
“Yes, disciple! You might not know who I am since you’re a first-year, but soon you’ll realize what an incredible opportunity this
is.”
Rather than brag about her past, she focused on painting a vivid picture of the future, explaining how prestigious it would be to
become her student and the doors it would open.
I found her surprisingly systematic sales pitch impressive.
’If it weren’t for me, she would’ve quit the academy by now.’
Her excitement was clear. She seemed to believe something impossible had just happened.
Then again, Lee Seok-hyun originally met her after she left the academy.
In the game, the only reason Lee Seok-hyun encountered Acasa was that she’d resigned.
My original plan was to spread rumors to meet her before she left, but the appearance of black mana brought her to me sooner than
expected.
This was actually much better. I didn’t even have to prove myself, and she was actively seeking me.
It was the perfect scenario.
Unaware of my thoughts, Acasa kept speaking, thinking I was still contemplating her offer.
“You don’t have to decide right away, but I hope you say yes. I’ve never seen talent like yours before.”
She was trying hard to sway me with praise.
I, knowing I needed to inherit her martial art, decided to accept without dragging things out. But just then—
“What’s going on here?!”
“Is that a Main?”
“Did Lee Seok-hyun do this?”
The first-year professors began arriving one after another, quickly assessing the situation.
They showed complete trust in Acasa, assuming she’d already secured my safety and checked for injuries. Their professionalism was
impressive as they each focused on their roles without question.
’This is a whole different side of them compared to when I was choosing my courses.’
They were proving their worth as the academy’s top instructors.
Among them, Gainad, who seemed the least experienced in handling such situations, carried the unconscious Kim Bae-Seong on his back.
Before leaving to interrogate him, Gainad glanced at Acasa and asked,
“Did you find a disciple?”
“Yeah, just now.”
“I knew you would. I told you to lower your standards and start from scratch… Wait, what?”
“I found one. Just now.”
Gainad stopped, his attempt at advice cut short by her declaration.
He glanced between Acasa and me before turning back to her with a look of disbelief.
“If you’re talking about Lee Seok-hyun, unfortunately, he’s agreed to be my disciple.”
“What? Gainad, I can’t just let that slide.”
“Indeed. We told you many times that Lee Seok-hyun chose ‘Other Studies.’”
“…”
At that moment, the subject of whose disciple I was caused all their professionalism to vanish.
I wasn’t trying to belittle them, but they resembled children fighting over a favorite toy. Their composed, duty-driven exteriors
crumbled as the dispute heated up.
’Is this really happening because of me?’
If this situation escalated, I knew they’d soon ask the inevitable question:
“So, whose disciple are you, Lee Seok-hyun?!”
To avoid that, I quickly spoke up.
“Then, I’ll prepare for questioning.”
It was natural for anyone involved with a Main to be questioned. That much I expected. However, I also needed a break, so I asked for
their understanding.
Since the moment I met Acasa, the suspicion that I might become a Main had been ruled out, so they granted my request.
’I’ve done everything I needed to do.’
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