—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A bad feeling is always right.
After hearing confirmation of her parents’ death, Han Min-ha simply said, “Oh,” and fell silent.
She probably didn’t know what to say.
So, without waiting for her next words, I continued in a calm voice.
“As I said before… your parents were on the same team as me. A few years ago, we were assigned a mission and went to a certain area to carry it out. We were ambushed, and your parents died on the spot. And… their deaths were my fault. I failed to create a barrier in time.”
I recounted the scene I had witnessed at Administration headquarters to Han Min-ha without embellishment.
Han Min-ha listened to my story, slowly nodding with a somewhat pale face.
“That’s what happened. The shock of that incident caused me to lose all my memories… or rather, I blocked them out.”
“Because of… the Mental Barrier…”
“Yes. That’s why I only learned the full story after visiting the Administration this time. And… about your parents… I’m sorry.”
I bowed my head slightly.
“It’s all my fault for not supporting your parents properly. If I had created the barrier correctly, they wouldn’t have died.”
“No… it’s not your fault, Professor…”
Han Min-ha spoke quietly.
“You did your best… Thank you…”
She bowed her head to me.
“Thank you, student Min-ha, for understanding.”
“And Professor… don’t worry too much about my parents’ last request…”
Han Min-ha’s parents had made me swear to “make Han Min-ha an S-Rank.”
“It’s impossible anyway… I’m content that you took me on as your student… Thanks to you, I was able to stay in the academy and… make a friend like Hee-won…”
Han Min-ha spoke softly, her voice dry.
“You did your best, and you still are, so… it’s okay…”
Was it because of the Mental Barrier?
I felt like I should be crying, out of sorrow and guilt, but strangely, I felt nothing.
It was frustrating.
This damn barrier, not just protecting my mind but turning me into an emotionless husk.
I would feel so much better if I could just get rid of this passive barrier.
I wanted to cry my heart out.
I wanted to share the grief of losing Han Tae-woo and Seo Ji-ah, my only friends, with Han Min-ha.
But I couldn’t, and it was suffocating.
Instead, I reached out and patted Han Min-ha’s shoulder gently.
“I’m sorry. But my resolve to make you an S-Rank hasn’t changed. And it’s not impossible.”
“Yes…”
“Your parents were strong heroes, and you, having inherited their blood, have a very strong Aura. You can do it. So don’t worry, and…”
Oh dear.
What was I saying to a high school student who had just learned of her parents’ death?
Han Min-ha stared blankly at her knees.
Perhaps she wasn’t crying now because she had already cried enough alone over the years.
I was the one who wanted to cry now, but…
Damn this Mental Barrier…
“How… can I use my Aura…?”
Han Min-ha asked and looked up.
The moment our eyes met, I saw a glimmer of something in her eyes.
I wasn’t sure what it was, but her eyes were definitely different from yesterday.
Perhaps it was because she had finally accepted her parents’ death, or perhaps because she was now certain that I wouldn’t give up on her.
I answered her question.
“To use your Aura…”
There was one way, a brute-force method, but the fastest.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Seriously… I need to get a new phone.”
Yoo Hee-won grumbled, following behind me.
“Let’s just make some time. It’s for your classmate.”
When I admonished her, Yoo Hee-won glanced at Han Min-ha, then looked back at me.
“Buy me something delicious today, then.”
“You had rice cake ramen yesterday.”
“Is the sun that rose yesterday the same as the sun that rose today?”
“Of course, it is. There’s only one sun in the solar system.”
Yoo Hee-won gaped at me, dumbfounded by my strange analogy.
We were on our way to the Anti-Monster Combat Training Ground within the academy.
It wasn’t usually open on weekends, but it could be used under a professor’s supervision for supplementary lessons for underperforming students.
I planned to awaken Han Min-ha’s Aura in the training ground.
By forcing her to confront a monster she couldn’t possibly handle without using her Aura.
If you push someone standing at the edge of a cliff, they’ll fall to their death.
But a hero will take flight.
Yesterday, Han Min-ha, facing the villain, hadn’t been able to activate her Aura.
But today would be different.
The sun might be the same, but Han Min-ha wasn’t.
I had seen the look in her eyes at the infirmary, when she asked how to use her Aura after learning of her parents’ death, and I knew.
That’s why we were going to the training ground.
A brute-force method, but the fastest.
There were other ways, like meditation, but they weren’t suitable at this point, with more than half the semester already gone.
She needed to improve quickly before the end-of-semester evaluation to be placed in the upper class next semester.
The first year was for mastering the common fundamentals, and from the second year onwards, the curriculum focused on developing individual specialties.
Therefore, it was crucial to be in the upper class by then.
How well they honed their unique traits determined their hero identity and signature moves, which directly translated to popularity.
Popular heroes were easily promoted, and if that happened, Han Min-ha becoming an S-Rank wouldn’t be a pipe dream.
“Min-ha, you absolutely have to master it today, okay?”
Normally, Yoo Hee-won would have called her “Idiot” or “Titty Monster” and threatened her with expulsion if she couldn’t awaken her Aura, but I had told her about Han Min-ha learning about her parents’ death, so she seemed to be choosing her words carefully.
She almost seemed like a normal high school girl at times.
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
Han Min-ha nodded resolutely.
“Hello, I’d like to use the training ground. It’s for supplementary lessons for an underperforming student. Basic Defense Studies.”
I greeted the staff at the management office, and the weekend attendant handed me an application form.
Supervising professor, student’s name, usage time.
And most importantly… the type of monster.
After filling out the form, we left our phones at the office.
In case they got broken during the intense activity.
Especially after Yoo Hee-won’s phone had been smashed during yesterday’s fight with the villain.
“Wow, it’s huge.”
The students had never been to the training ground before, as they hadn’t yet learned Anti-Monster Combat.
The training ground was so large it was practically the size of a small city’s zoo.
That’s why it wasn’t an exaggeration to describe the academy grounds as “vast.”
The Anti-Monster Combat Training Ground was divided into a lecture hall, a practice area, and a breeding facility.
The breeding facility was located furthest inside, surrounded by triple-layered super-alloy fences with high-voltage currents running through them.
The three of us entered the circular practice area and stood facing the thick metal door on the opposite side.
The monster, after passing through a corridor connected to the breeding facility, would enter the practice area through that door.
Han Min-ha bit her lip nervously.
She had been the one who insisted on doing this, but now that she was actually in the training ground, she couldn’t help but feel scared.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take some safety measures first, and then we’ll begin.”
“O-okay.”
“Student Hee-won, help me out. I can do it alone, but it won’t hurt for you to experience this beforehand.”
“Just make it quick. It’s hot.”
Yoo Hee-won was right; it was getting hot.
Especially in the unshaded practice area.
“Alright. Let’s finish quickly and go get something to eat.”
I raised my hand to signal, and the metal door slowly began to open.
“Gasp…!”
Han Min-ha inhaled sharply as she saw what emerged from the door.
Even Yoo Hee-won looked slightly surprised.
The monster I had chosen was a ‘Death Hunger’.
It resembled a scorpion made of various mechanical parts.
It wasn’t a naturally occurring creature but a case of a villain’s characteristics manifesting in an animal.
While not common, it wasn’t particularly rare either, and some villains tamed these creatures and used them as weapons.
The Death Hunger clicked its pincers, producing a strange mechanical sound, and twisted its eight massive legs.
It was incomparably larger than the mindless villain from yesterday, kicking up dust with every slight movement.
“I-I-I… I have to… fight that…?”
Han Min-ha stammered, then gave up trying to speak and looked at me with terrified eyes.
“You can do it, student Min-ha. This is the most effective method. This is the only way to see results before the end-of-semester evaluation.”
“H-huh… that…”
“Just watch out for the stinger on its tail.”
“I think I’ll die just from being stepped on…”
Meanwhile, The Death Hunger continued to watch us with its bowling ball-like eyes.
“Stay here. I’ll take some safety measures. Student Hee-won, come with me.”
“Okay.”
Yoo Hee-won, also nervous about facing a monster for the first time, obediently followed close behind me.
I planned to slow down the Death Hunger by inserting barrier fragments into its joints.
It was quite fast, being scorpion-like, so if I didn’t do that, Han Min-ha would probably spend the entire day just running away.
“Watch carefully. This will be helpful during the Anti-Monster Combat lectures.”
I encased the Death Hunger’s tail and surrounding area in barriers to immobilize it and slowly approached its front.
The Death Hunger furiously gnashed its gear-like mandibles, making no attempt to hide its rage, and Yoo Hee-won instinctively grabbed my arm.
“That’s… a bit tight.”
“Oh, sorry.”
Her grip was incredibly strong.
Now, I just needed to insert irregular barrier fragments into its joints.
Before starting, I checked the barrier around its tail again.
All good. Let’s begin.
“Huh…? Professor, that…?!”
Yoo Hee-won exclaimed, pointing at the monster’s mouth.
I didn’t hesitate and shoved her out of the way.
At the same moment, a sharp, circular saw blade shot out from the Death Hunger’s mouth.
Damn it…! A mutated variant?!
The gruesome saw blade embedded itself in my chest, and the barriers restraining the monster shattered.
“Professor!”
As Yoo Hee-won rushed towards me, the Death Hunger’s stinger plunged into her shoulder.
Struck by the venomous stinger , Yoo Hee-won collapsed helplessly.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
WHAT?