Villain Professor of Heroes – Chapter 8

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“See you later, student Han Min-ha.”

“Goodbye, Professor.”

Han Min-ha bowed her head.

When I went to the desk, the nurses were playing rock-paper-scissors.

The nurse who won excitedly handed me a shopping bag.

“Here you go, Professor Kyo.”

“Thank you.”

As I received the bag, the nurse giggled and bounced on her feet.

Another nurse smiled and spoke to me.

“Professor, do you know how to disinfect the wound? We can show you if you don’t.”

“I know how.”

“Still, it would be better if you learned properly from us…”

Just then, the siren above the emergency room exit began flashing and rotating with a loud noise.

As the nurses instinctively came around the desk, the emergency room doors burst open.

Several medical personnel and Maroon Berets rushed in, pushing a mobile stretcher.

The Maroon Berets were a special forces unit that rescued heroes who were weakened or defeated after battles with villains, or those trapped in dangerous terrain.

Seeing the maroon berets, I immediately thought that another hero had been seriously injured and stepped aside.

Sure enough, a bloodied, unconscious man was lying on the stretcher, and a Maroon Beret on top of him was performing CPR with all his might.

The academy infirmary treated not only students and faculty but also injured heroes.

They were all academy graduates, so their medical records and biometric data were readily available.

Furthermore, there was no better place to treat the life-threatening injuries that heroes often sustained.

So, seriously injured heroes were frequently brought in.

The medical team pushed the stretcher and went straight into the operating room at the back of the emergency room.

Han Min-ha’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the long trail of blood on the floor.

A nurse went over to reassure her and drew the curtains to block the sight of the blood.

I glanced at them for a moment before turning and leaving the emergency room.

Back in my lab, my phone notification went off.

An announcement had been posted in the faculty group chat.

There were several red notification badges on my messenger list.

Messages from various staff members, starting with Professor Jin Se-young and administrative director Chae Ga-yoon.

I skimmed through them before entering the faculty group chat.

The announcement, posted by the head teaching assistant, stated:

I downloaded the attached Excel file, opened it, and immediately checked Han Min-ha’s scores.

Since it was in alphabetical order, I had to scroll down quite a bit to find her.

And the moment I saw Han Min-ha’s scores at the bottom…

“Oh, dear.”

Han Min-ha’s results were disastrous.

As expected, my subject was an F, and the highest score she received in other subjects was a B.

Most of her grades were Cs and Ds.

She should have at least one A.

Wasn’t she a hero family bonus points recipient? How could this be?

Had some genetic or biological problem occurred during the inheritance of her talent?

No, wait. This wasn’t the time for such thoughts.

The quest was the problem.

I had to make this girl an S-Rank hero, but how…?

I wondered if there would be penalties for failing the quest, but there was no way to confirm.

Nothing had appeared even when I encountered Han Min-ha again.

At this rate, knowing the entire plot of the original story offered no advantage.

However, one thing was certain: my cough had subsided after interacting with Han Min-ha, although I didn’t know the exact reason.

I didn’t know if it was a temporary relief or a complete cure, but it was reasonable to assume it was due to Han Min-ha.

The appearance of the quest and the alleviation of my lung disease.

These were significant changes after months of monotonous life as a possessed person.

So I had no choice but to help her.

By the way, how did Yoo Hee-won do?

Unsurprisingly, she had achieved the highest scores in all subjects, securing first place.

She was capable of becoming at least a mid-rank hero if she started right now.

If I had become Yoo Hee-won’s advisor as in the original story, the quest would have been a piece of cake.

No. I shouldn’t think like that.

The quest had already designated Han Min-ha.

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The academy was in a state of turmoil after the basic evaluation results were announced.

As it was a crucial evaluation that determined their future at the academy, the students’ reactions varied depending on their rankings.

Several students at the bottom of the ranking had already expressed their intention to withdraw, packed their belongings, and left through the main gate.

Worried that Han Min-ha might withdraw, I went to the administration office.

“The list of withdrawal applications?”

Administrative director Chae Ga-yoon showed me the list on her monitor, making a show of saying, “Ah, I’m not supposed to show you this, but…”

Fortunately, Han Min-ha’s name wasn’t there.

That was a relief.

“You smell nice, Professor.”

As I leaned over to move the mouse, Chae Ga-yoon, who was sitting next to me, spoke.

“Don’t I smell nice?”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on, give it a sniff.”

Out of courtesy, I brought my nose close to Chae Ga-yoon’s hair and inhaled slightly.

I had expected her to smell like an old broom or dust due to frequent late nights, but surprisingly, she smelled pleasant.

“Chanel Gabrielle…?”

“Oh my, oh my! How did you know?”

Chae Ga-yoon was delighted to have a common topic of conversation: perfume.

However, I didn’t have the time to chat about perfume with the administrative director.

Just then, the phone rang, so I put down the mouse and moved back.

“I should get going. You must be busy.”

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry, Professor Kyo. It’s an urgent call…”

Chae Ga-yoon checked the caller ID and picked up the phone with a sour expression.

“Yes, this is the administrative director.”

Chae Ga-yoon, who had been friendly just moments ago, turned serious, and her voice became cold.

“What? Excuse me. Why are you calling here to complain about the high number of withdrawals?”

It seemed to be the Administration, the organization that managed heroes.

They must have called due to the number of prospective heroes withdrawing.

“They’re leaving because their basic evaluation scores were low and they see no potential. Did the administration conduct the basic evaluation? You should call the faculty about that. What? You called us because we’re the liaison? What kind of nonsense…”

As Chae Ga-yoon’s language became increasingly colorful, I gave her a slight nod and left the office.

As soon as I closed the door, Chae Ga-yoon’s roar erupted from behind.

“Well, then you should have eased the evaluation guidelines from the beginning!”

Administrative director Chae Ga-yoon’s temper was well-known within the academy.

Thanks to her personality and efficiency, she had been promoted rapidly from a low-level clerical position to her current role as director.

Things that seemed impossible became possible when Chae Ga-yoon took charge.

Startled by the sudden outburst, the administrative staff peeked over their partitions like crabs, their eyes locked onto me.

“Professor Kyo! Professor Kyo!”

A few female employees called out to me.

“Why is the administrative director like that again?”

“It seems to be the Administration. They’re probably complaining about the high withdrawal rate.”

“Ah, I see… It happens every year around this time…”

The female employees nodded in understanding.

“But, Professor Kyooo,”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been visiting the administrative director quite often lately… Is there something going on between you two?”

The employee giggled, covering her mouth with her hand as if she had said something funny, and the employee next to her hit her on the shoulder, repeating, “You’re crazy.”

“No, there’s nothing going on. I’ve been coming here to check on things related to the new students.”

“Ah, I see. That’s a relief.”

I said goodbye to the staff and left the administration office and headed towards the lecture hall.

The freshmen’s first classes were starting today.

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The lecture hall had tiered seating, so from the podium, I could see rows of student desks rising in steps.

I stepped onto the podium, looked around at the freshmen, and greeted them.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Professor Hyun Kyo, and I’ll be teaching Basic Defense Studies.”

Yoo Hee-won was sitting in the front row, looking up at me with sparkling eyes.

Han Min-ha was huddled in a corner seat at the very back, emanating a gloomy aura.

She always seemed downcast, but she appeared even more dejected after the basic evaluation results.

“I told you.”

“Seriously…”

The freshmen whispered amongst themselves, heads together.

I didn’t know what they were talking about, but I stood there quietly, waiting for them to focus on me again.

After a while, the freshmen stopped murmuring and looked at me.

“Alright. Then I should start by explaining what Basic Defense Studies is.”

The students took out their notebooks and pens.

However, I had no intention of reciting the history of the discipline or writing on the board.

“There’s no need for that. You’ll just watch.”

The teaching assistant waiting outside brought a machine gun into the lecture hall, causing murmurs among the students.

Wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet, the teaching assistant stood at the end of the podium, facing me.

“Basic Defense Studies, as the name suggests, is the study of defensive techniques.”

At my cue, the teaching assistant fired the machine gun at me.

The students flinched at the thunderous sound and covered their ears.

Only Yoo Hee-won maintained a relaxed smile, watching the bullets fly towards me.

As the teaching assistant pulled the trigger, the Basic Physical Barrier I had deployed blocked every single bullet.

Because I had lowered the barrier’s strength for safety, the bullets didn’t ricochet but embedded themselves in the barrier and stopped mid-air.

“That’s all, Professor.”

The teaching assistant, having emptied an entire magazine, lowered the gun and reported.

As I dispelled the barrier, dozens of bullets clattered onto the podium floor.

“No need for applause.”

I said to the freshmen who were about to clap.

“By the time you graduate, you’ll be able to block machine gun fire like this with your bare hands.”

Afterward, I briefly explained the different types of basic defense techniques and their development.

Towards the end of the class, I talked about the Mental Barrier.

“If you master defensive techniques to a high level, you can use the ultimate technique called the Mental Barrier. As the name suggests, it defends the mind. However, this technique is very difficult to use. Maintaining a calm mind in extreme situations…”

Then, without raising her hand, Yoo Hee-won abruptly asked,

“Isn’t that Mental Barrier a bit underwhelming for an ultimate technique?”

I smiled faintly and looked at Yoo Hee-won.

“Why do you think so?”

“The ultimate achievement of studying defense is just ‘keeping your composure’? By the time we reach our senior year, we’ll be immune to most things.”

“That might be true for a born psychopath or sociopath.”

Yoo Hee-won smiled, but she couldn’t hide the trembling of her lips.

“Of course, no graduate has ever successfully used the Mental Barrier. But mastering this technique will definitely be a great asset. That’s all for today.”

As the students packed their bags and left the lecture hall one by one, I made my way through the crowd.

I wanted to meet Han Min-ha, who was standing there, seemingly frozen by the throng of students.

I had to return her handkerchief and offer some comfort regarding her poor performance in the basic evaluation.

“Student Han Min-ha.”

Han Min-ha flinched and cringed at my words from behind.

“Professor…?”

“I need to speak with you for a moment. Regarding the evaluation results.”

Suddenly, Yoo Hee-won roughly pushed Han Min-ha aside and stood in front of me.

“Professor Kyo, I need to have a meeting with you.”

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