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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“Are you… out of your mind…?”
The department head’s voice trembled as he spoke.
An unscheduled weekend supplementary lesson.
The complete destruction of one of the academy’s monsters.
A reckless exercise that endangered the students’ lives.
Of course, the monster I used was the weakest one, so there was no real danger, but still.
It was understandable that the department head was furious.
“Explain yourself… What were you thinking when you pulled such a crazy stunt…?”
“I wanted to create an opportunity for student Han Min-ha to awaken her Aura. And I succeeded.”
“Han who?”
“One of my students. She’s a hero family bonus points recipient with a strong Aura, but for some reason, she couldn’t use it at all…”
“It’s not about Han whatever; it’s about you dragging Yoo Hee-won into it!”
The department head finally threw the pen he was holding.
I created a subtle, angled barrier that he wouldn’t notice and deflected it.
“If Yoo Hee-won had gotten hurt, who would have taken responsibility?! Not just a mere professor like you, but even my head would have rolled! You… you did this before, too…”
Blah, blah, blah…
I let the department head’s ranting and raving go in one ear and out the other, thinking about something else.
A childish, cliché, and even crude method.
An old-fashioned approach straight out of an old shonen manga, but it had worked.
Like Alexander the Great cutting the Gordian Knot, sometimes the simplest and most direct method was the solution to a complex problem.
Han Min-ha before facing the mindless villain and Han Min-ha after accepting her parents’ death were different, and my prediction had been spot on.
She hadn’t just neutralized the Death Hunger; she had completely obliterated it.
But instead of feeling smug, I was already thinking about how to dramatically improve her grades.
I would probably need Yoo Hee-won’s help again.
I had initially misunderstood her due to various complicated circumstances, but judging by what I had seen so far, she would help Han Min-ha.
She was such a complex student, difficult to define.
Just then, the department head’s phone rang.
He looked at the caller ID and quickly picked up, his furious rant abruptly cut short.
“Ah, yes, Dean. Yes, yes.”
He sat up straight, glancing at me.
“Professor Hyun… Yes, he’s right here…”
The department head’s face contorted strangely as he looked at me.
“Student Yoo Hee-won is… in your office…? Yes…? Oh, no. Yes, yes… Yes… I understand…”
He slowly put down the receiver and slumped back in his chair.
“You can go.”
He waved me away dismissively, and I bowed my head without hesitation.
“Thank you. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
I left the department head’s office and took out my phone.
I opened the “Golden Viper and Gray Molds” group chat and typed a message.
[Thank you, student Hee-won.]
Yoo Hee-won replied almost immediately.
[ㅡㅡ] (Korean equivalent of -_-)
I chuckled and put my phone away and left the research building.
As I walked towards the lecture hall, I heard a rumbling sound from somewhere.
I looked around and saw a cloud of dust rising from the aerial combat training ground.
It was about time.
So far, they had only had a taste of Aura while learning the theory, but things would be different from the next semester.
They had to be ready for actual combat within three years, so the latter half of the first year was dedicated to using real Aura.
After the summer break, explosions would be heard all over the academy, and the infirmary would be overflowing with injured students.
That’s why I had taken the risk of being reprimanded and pushed Han Min-ha to face the Death Hunger.
If she hadn’t awakened her Aura now, she would have been left behind.
Left behind and relegated to another department within the academy.
Somewhere like Combat Support, which dealt with the aftermath of hero battles.
She could make a living that way, but it was a world of difference between being a hero and being a mere employee in a hero’s private office or the Administration.
And to keep the promise I had made to Han Tae-woo and Seo Ji-ah, Han Min-ha had to face the Death Hunger.
In the end, Han Min-ha had awakened her Aura, and I might have faced disciplinary action, but Yoo Hee-won had intervened.
Everything had worked out; now all that was left was to guide Han Min-ha.
Feeling lighter, I walked towards the lecture hall.
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Han Min-ha who was sprawled on the ground groaned as she slowly sat up.
This was the aerial combat training ground.
She had just managed to maintain altitude above the standard level and was about to move forward under Professor Jin’s guidance.
Excited about exceeding the standard altitude for the first time since entering the academy, she had lost control of her Aura and plummeted to the ground.
“Ouch…”
“Are you okay, Min-ha?!”
Professor Jin quickly flew over and checked on her.
“It seems like nothing’s broken. How’s your breathing?”
“P-Professor… I can’t… I can’t see…! I think I’m blind!”
Han Min-ha flailed her arms, her voice filled with fear.
“Your glasses are broken.”
“Oh…”
Professor Jin picked up Han Min-ha’s broken glasses from the ground.
“It seems like they’re not completely broken. You must not have been seriously injured since you were using your Aura. Can you get up?”
“Yes, I’m okay. Just a little sore.”
Han Min-ha got up with Professor Jin’s help, staring blankly at her shattered glasses.
“But what happened? How is your Aura…?”
Professor Jin tilted her head, still looking at the violet Aura emanating from Han Min-ha.
She hadn’t heard anything from Professor Kyo yet, so Han Min-ha’s sudden flight, considering she had barely been able to lift off the ground last week, was completely baffling.
“Well… you can’t fly without glasses, so take a break, Min-ha. After class, go to the infirmary and get new ones. It’s free for academy students. Though you might not like the designs.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Han Min-ha bowed her head and walked forward, arms outstretched, groping her way.
One of the teaching assistants, following Professor Jin’s instructions, landed and helped her.
It was good that she was finally using her Aura, but…
The problem was that she had just awakened it and couldn’t control its intensity properly.
Han Min-ha’s Aura was quite strong, which made it difficult to control.
It was like the difference between driving a compact car and a large dump truck.
Difficult to handle, and any accident would be a major one.
She had been lucky this time; the damage was limited to broken glasses, but there was no guarantee she would be so fortunate in similar situations later.
I needed to talk to Professor Kyo today.
I had been meaning to repay him for the egg bread he bought me on Friday anyway.
Hehe…
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“Huh? What’s that?”
Yoo Hee-won, who was walking with her entourage, spotted Han Min-ha approaching.
Han Min-ha was being helped by a classmate from the lower class, arms outstretched like a blind person.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Huh…? Hee-won?”
Han Min-ha turned towards Yoo Hee-won and smiled.
“What? Are you blind now?”
“My glasses broke when I crashed during flight class.”
Yoo Hee-won clicked her tongue, looking at the broken glasses in Han Min-ha’s hand.
“Still can’t control it, huh?”
“I’m not quite there yet.”
Yoo Hee-won looked at Han Min-ha, who was giggling, with a mixture of pity and annoyance.
“Where are you going?”
“To the infirmary. They said I can get new glasses there.”
“Really? Hmm…”
Yoo Hee-won thought for a moment, then spoke to the lower-class student helping Han Min-ha.
“You can go. I’ll take her.”
“Huh…? Um… but the next class…”
“I know your timetable.”
She had a copy of the lower-class students’ timetable, ostensibly to call Han Min-ha out during her free periods and bully her – or rather, to help her.
Han Min-ha’s classmate, unaware of this, wondered why someone like Yoo Hee-won would know the lower-class timetable.
“Anyway, you can go.”
“Uh… Min-ha, I’ll see you later then.”
“See you. Thanks.”
Han Min-ha waved her hand.
“You guys go ahead, too.”
Yoo Hee-won addressed her followers, and Song Do-yoon stepped forward.
“We’ll go with you.”
“Why? What for? What business do you have at the infirmary?”
“We’ll be going there often next semester, so it wouldn’t hurt to familiarize ourselves with the place, right?”
Yoo Hee-won smirked at Song Do-yoon’s reply.
She knew why Song Do-yoon was making such a flimsy excuse to follow her.
Jealousy.
‘Because you see me as more than just a friend.’
“Fine. Do what you want.”
But Yoo Hee-won pretended not to notice Song Do-yoon’s intentions.
Having Song Do-yoon around was convenient in many ways, so it was better to keep her on a leash and train her appropriately.
Yoo Hee-won turned to Han Min-ha and offered her arm.
“Hey, Titty Monster, take my arm.”
“No, I’ll help her.”
Song Do-yoon reached Han Min-ha first and linked arms with her.
“We’re ‘friends,’ aren’t we?”
“Really? Suit yourself.”
Yoo Hee-won turned and walked away, her other followers trailing behind.
“Let’s go, Min-ha.”
Song Do-yoon pulled Han Min-ha along, her expression cold and devoid of any warmth.
“Thanks, Do-yoon.”
Unable to see clearly, Han Min-ha missed the coldness in Song Do-yoon’s expression.
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