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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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7:00 AM
My phone alarm rang.
I, who had come to the lab earlier than usual to work on some documents, turned off the alarm and opened my desk drawer.
Inside were several pill bottles and daily packaged tablets.
“Cough…”
The medication for the lung disease that plagued me relentlessly.
After taking the pills, I grabbed my coat and left the lab.
Today was the freshman entrance ceremony.
All the professors had to go out to the main gate to welcome the new students.
After closing the lab door behind me, I stood for a moment and looked at the nameplate attached to it.
‘Professor Hyun Kyo, Basic Defense Studies.’ (Jinju Kyo Clan)
My name, engraved in silver on the nameplate, felt incredibly unfamiliar.
Because, until recently, I had nothing to do with academies or basic defense studies.
So, what I had experienced was commonly called ‘possession’.
This is how it happened:
There’s a new web novel platform called ‘Marvelpia’, or ‘Mafia’ for short.
It all started when I left a comment on a novel that had finished there.
The novel was what’s commonly called a ‘dead fic’ – over 100 chapters long, but with less than 50,000 views.
The main plot revolved around incidents occurring at an academy that trained heroes to fight villains.
It was the kind of work that tried to follow trends but felt somewhat clumsy.
The final chapter had single-digit views and a single comment: ‘Thank you for completing the novel.’
I was the one who left that comment.
And when I opened my eyes, I was inside the world of the novel.
What was this?
Fortunately, I wasn’t reincarnated as a minor character with a tragic fate, like ‘the villain destined to be killed by the heroine’, but as a professor at the academy.
Hyun Kyo, the professor I possessed, was the heroine’s advisor in the original story.
A quiet professor who taught basic defense.
Basic defense included everything from strengthening the body to resist physical attacks, to methods for defending against mental assaults… all aimed at protecting oneself from the various attacks of villains.
Professor Kyo, whom I now inhabited, used to be a hero, but his abilities were skewed towards defense, so he didn’t receive much recognition.
This was because his primary role was to support other heroes rather than acting alone.
The first thing I did after possessing him was to look for the original heroine, but surprisingly, the heroine hadn’t even entered the academy yet.
The funny thing was, the unknown lung disease I was currently suffering from wasn’t part of the original story.
There wasn’t even a status window or quests.
I wasn’t sure what was going on.
“Hello, Professor Kyo?”
Someone called me from behind as I was walking down the hallway.
I turned around to see Professor Jin Se-young, a specialist in flight and guidance, approaching at a quick pace.
Short hair and a cute, puppy-like face.
Today, she was wearing a formal suit instead of her usual sloppy training clothes or flight suit.
Perhaps because of that, her characteristic curves seemed particularly prominent.
The front buttons of her blouse looked as if they would burst with each deep breath, and the toned muscles of her thighs were visible beneath her black stockings.
She had a physique seemingly born for flight.
“Professor Jin. Hello.”
“How are you feeling today?”
“I’m fine. I had some medicine with milk this morning, and I’m feeling energized.”
It was a lame joke, but Professor Jin Se-young found it hilarious, giggling as she playfully hit my shoulder.
“Then you must always be full of energy?”
Professor Jin winked and smiled.
I wasn’t oblivious to the hidden meaning in her words.
However, I wasn’t flustered by Professor Jin’s bold remark.
My ‘mental barrier,’ which protected my mind, firmly rejected it.
“I wish that were the case, but, cough! As you can see, I’m not quite there yet.”
“Come to my lab sometime. I’ve acquired a few types of tea that are good for coughs. I’ll brew some for you personally.”
“Alright. Thank you for always looking out for me.”
When I smiled, Professor Jin made a slightly worried expression.
“But, Professor Kyo, why don’t you inform the department head and stay inside? The air outside is cold, and your cough might worsen.”
“It’s fine. It’s not just me; the entire faculty is going out.”
“Heh, as expected, Professor Kyo is very conscientious.”
Professor Jin, who was grinning, clapped her hands as if she had remembered something.
“Ah, right. I heard that the chairman of the Administration’s advisory committee’s daughter is enrolling today. Yoo Hee-won, I think…”
“Is that so?”
The heroine of the original story was entering the academy this year.
The person I wanted to meet first at the main gate.
So that student was Yoo Hee-won.
“But Professor Kyo, are you really sure? The other professors and I can go out, so it might be better for you to stay behind and rest for a while.”
“It’s fine. It’s our duty to greet the students we’ll be teaching.”
In truth, I had no such sentiment.
I was merely trying to meet the heroine as soon as possible.
The heroine who was my student in the original story.
Meeting her might bring about some new change.
For instance, receiving a quest, a common cliché.
“Ah… Indeed… Professor Kyo…”
Professor Jin, unaware of my true intentions, looked impressed and clasped her hands together as if in prayer, her eyes were sparkling.
“Don’t worry, Professor Kyo! I’ll make sure you stay warm so you don’t shiver in the cold!”
“Haha, yes.”
Gently pushing away Professor Jin, who was about to hug me, I walked towards the main gate.
It was time to meet the original heroine.
Meeting her would surely trigger something – a quest, an awakening, anything.
Anything was fine.
I was ready for anything.
And a few hours later,
I experienced something so absurd that I couldn’t even find the words to describe it.
So…
Perhaps that strange and coincidental encounter was the beginning of everything.
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It was truly cold.
A very cold morning, still halfway between winter and spring.
As I shivered at the main gate, the new students began to pour in.
Excited for a new beginning, nervous, or perhaps without a thought, some cried at the prospect of dorm life away from their parents.
The freshmen entered the main gate, each with a variety of expressions reflecting their individual situations and emotions.
This place was called ‘Graford’, considered the best among hero training academies.
Of these many students, only a few would graduate to become heroes, and even fewer would go on to become ‘high-ranking’ heroes.
For them, this academy wasn’t a place to laugh and have fun like other ordinary schools, but a place where they had to prove themselves through fierce competition and tests.
Even adults would find it challenging, so how daunting and nerve-wracking must it be for these still youthful-looking children?
We stood at the main gate, waving our hands, making eye contact, and welcoming the students.
Most of the freshmen passing by me, especially the female students, glanced at me frequently.
Some even stopped and stared, whispering and giggling amongst themselves.
The freshmen wouldn’t know who I was or what subject I taught, so it must be because of my face.
One thing I hadn’t been able to adjust to since possessing this body was my appearance.
My pale and shadowed face, a result of my frail body, created a decadent beauty, strangely harmonizing with my delicate features.
I didn’t particularly like the unnecessary attention.
“Professor Jin. Would you mind switching places with me?”
I looked back at Professor Jin Se-young to move to the edge, but she was staring intently at me.
“Professor Jin.”
“Yes… Ah, yes?! What did you say?”
“No. It’s nothing.”
I turned my gaze back to the freshmen from Professor Jin.
I perfunctorily waved my hand and examined their faces one by one.
The original heroine. Let’s see…
She was described as a stunning blonde, so she would definitely stand out.
Just then, someone popped out from the crowd passing in front of me.
I instinctively caught them with both arms as they stumbled towards me, but they were heavier than expected, causing me to stagger.
“Ah, I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I keep getting pushed…”
It was an ordinary-looking girl with jet-black hair and glasses.
Dressed in a monochrome hoodie and black pants, she was entirely draped in black.
The girl, just as flustered by the sudden situation as I was, quickly escaped from my embrace and apologized repeatedly.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay.”
The girl, who kept bowing her head with a meek voice, disappeared back into the crowd.
I wondered if she was too timid for this place.
Professor Jin, startled, placed a hand on my arm.
“Professor, are you alright? You almost staggered.”
“I’m fine.”
At that moment, I heard a murmur from afar.
I turned to see the freshmen parting to the left and right, clearing a path.
Men in black suits were roughly pushing the freshmen aside.
Behind them, I could see several reporters from broadcasting stations following.
At the center of the reporters’ attention was an absurdly beautiful blonde woman.
I didn’t need to confirm it to know.
It was the heroine of the original story.
Yoo Hee-won, just about to reach the main gate, turned around and said,
“Go back now, Dad. I’ll go in alone.”
The man standing behind Yoo Hee-won replied in a deep voice,
“I’m scheduled to meet with the dean. Let’s go in together.”
“Alright, then.”
With a haughty expression, Yoo Hee-won click-clacked down the path the freshmen had cleared.
A mixture of admiration and envy followed her.
“There she is. She’s certainly born to stand out. That man must be her father, the chairman of the Administration’s advisory committee.”
Professor Jin turned to me and asked,
“What do you think, Professor Kyo?”
“What do I think about what?”
“About being her advisor. I bet more than a few professors want to be her advisor. She has natural talent, received early education, and is already quite skilled, I hear. Plus, her father was a prominent hero in the past and is now a big shot in the Administration. Just being in charge of her would be a significant boost to one’s career. Though it might be a bit tiring.”
“Well, I doubt just anyone could be the advisor for a student like that.”
“True… Professor Kyo hasn’t taken on any students so far.”
Is that so?
I had assumed it was due to my recovery, but that wasn’t the case.
Actually, it didn’t matter how things were before.
Because I was going to be her advisor this year.
“That’s part of it.”
I casually agreed with Professor Jin, keeping my eyes fixed on Yoo Hee-won.
Now then… Novice author.
What kind of quest will you give me?
Do I have to help her and annihilate the villains? Or perhaps overcome a life-or-death crisis together?
As Yoo Hee-won approached us, I felt a slight sense of tension.
Although my mind was as unshakable as always, I sensed that this moment could determine the fate of the possessor.
Contrary to my expectations, however, no quest window appeared, even as Yoo Hee-won crossed the main gate and turned towards us.
What?
While quickly racking my brain to understand the situation, Yoo Hee-won walked towards me, click-clacking her heels, looking directly at me.
Standing right in front of me, Yoo Hee-won looked up at me with a confident smile and opened her mouth.
“Are you Professor Hyun Kyo?”
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