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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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I considered acknowledging her, but decided against it.
I was currently attracting a lot of attention due to the video that had spread yesterday.
Especially in a public place where all the new students were gathered, starting a conversation could lead to unpredictable rumors.
Just like how reporters swarmed after I exchanged a few words with Yoo Hee-won yesterday.
A handsome, young professor and a quiet, timid freshman.
Perfect fodder for gossip.
I needed to return her handkerchief, but I would create another opportunity later, much later.
The teaching assistant in charge of the group called out the names one by one, holding the list.
“Han Min-ha.”
“Yes…”
Han Min-ha hesitantly raised her hand when her name was called.
Her posture was still hunched and withdrawn.
She was incredibly timid; it was a bit excessive.
At this rate, I wondered if she would be able to make friends with the other students, let alone handle the basic evaluation.
Then, our eyes met.
“Ah…”
Seemingly recognizing me, Han Min-ha’s lips moved as if she was about to say something.
But she didn’t speak further and lowered her head again.
Right.
Let’s pretend we don’t know each other for now.
It’s for the best.
The groups of ten freshmen dispersed under the guidance of the teaching assistants.
There were so many subjects in the basic evaluation that even a full day wouldn’t be enough to complete them all.
So, groups were assigned to each station and rotated through them.
I also moved to the Basic Defense Studies set.
While it was called Basic Defense Studies, there were very few freshmen who could actually form anything resembling a barrier.
It was merely a check on their potential talent and mental fortitude.
The shape and strength of the barrier one could create varied greatly depending on individual ability.
This was because the more serene one’s mind, the more advanced techniques they could use in defensive skills.
Simply burning with fighting spirit wouldn’t create a strong barrier.
Therefore, most competitive heroes only learned the basics of defensive techniques and put them on the back burner.
Mastering them required long hours of training, and there was no time for such luxuries in the war against villains.
In my case, I knew a technique called the Mental Barrier, which could even block mental attacks.
Even for a professor specializing in defense studies, the ultimate skill was ‘mental fortitude’. What hero would bother putting effort into this?
They would rather learn intercontinental flight, deep-sea submergence, or bunker-busting techniques.
Perhaps the reason I didn’t have any students in the original story wasn’t because of my solitary nature, but because the subject itself was unpopular.
Arriving at the Basic Defense Studies evaluation site, I sat at the desk and organized the evaluation sheets.
Soon, ten freshmen entered the evaluation area.
Coincidentally, Yoo Hee-won was among them.
She smiled, as if asking for my attention.
“Hello, everyone.”
“Huh…? It’s Professor Hyun Kyo…”
The students whispered amongst themselves and lowered their voices upon seeing me.
I waited a moment for them to finish their whispers.
Meanwhile, Yoo Hee-won continued to stare at me.
Once the students quieted down and straightened their posture, I opened my mouth with a faint smile.
“First, congratulations on entering Graford. Graford is the world’s best hero training academy. You are chosen individuals, so you can be proud.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
“Understood.”
The students nodded and replied.
“From now on, we will conduct a small test to assess your aptitude for Basic Defense Studies. It’s nothing dangerous that will harm you physically, so don’t worry.”
I gestured for the students to sit in the prepared chairs.
Once they were all seated, I turned off the lights in the evaluation area.
“The strength of the barrier you can create depends on the serenity of your mind. Therefore, I will now assess your mental strength. You may experience some hallucinations during the evaluation, but don’t worry too much, as they’re not real.”
However, the freshmen were unlikely to be truly reassured by my words of comfort and reassurance.
The basic evaluation was a crucial assessment that affected their hero activities even after graduation, and the term “hallucinations” seemed to make them quite anxious.
I could hear someone gulping.
“Professor Hyun Kyo, I have a question.”
Yoo Hee-won raised her hand.
“Go ahead.”
“This is about putting us in extreme situations through hallucinations, right?”
“I see you already know. Yes, that’s correct.”
“Explosions happening all around, limbs flying everywhere?”
“Something like that, but it’s not actually happening.”
“But haven’t there been cases of people withdrawing before even completing the evaluation due to the sudden shock?”
At her words, the students exchanged nervous glances.
She wasn’t wrong.
There had been many such cases in the past.
But if they couldn’t even handle a video, they would lose their lives on a real battlefield.
It was right to send home students who couldn’t handle it.
“Those were ‘withdrawals’. It’s okay even if you don’t pass the evaluation. If you fail, we will provide supplementary training according to your level. We don’t have much time, so let’s begin the evaluation.”
The students put on the VR headsets placed in front of them.
“If you can’t stand it, press the button on the side of the headset. The video will turn off.”
After confirming that everyone had properly put on their headsets, I turned on the equipment.
Now, the students would vividly experience a horrific battlefield.
What they were about to see wasn’t virtual reality.
It was footage of real battlefields captured by senior heroes’ bodycams for evidence gathering.
It would be on a completely different level from the sanitized, edited versions shown on the news.
“Gasp…!”
“Ugh…”
Within minutes, pained groans erupted from everywhere.
Some students jumped up from their chairs, while others cried out in anguish, trying to rip off their headsets.
“You son of a bitch! Get back right now!”
“No… No!! Don’t kill him! Don’t kill him! Put the baby down! You bastard!”
Completely immersed in the VR experience, the students hurled curses at the villains before them as if they were real heroes.
“Argh! I’ll kill you! I’ll tear you limb from limb!”
The students in this group felt anger before fear.
Anger certainly helped boost combat power on the battlefield.
But they couldn’t fight for long fueled by anger alone.
Still, none of them seemed ready to give up.
Let’s see how Yoo Hee-won was doing.
Surprisingly, Yoo Hee-won was sitting upright with her arms crossed, silent and composed.
The timer rang, signaling the end of the short evaluation period.
As I turned off the equipment, the students froze in surprise.
“It’s over. Everyone, take off your headsets.”
The students slowly removed their headsets with deep sighs.
Even though it had only been a few minutes, they were all drenched in sweat, as if they had been soaked in water.
“How was it? What are your impressions of experiencing firsthand the kind of scene you’ll actually face after graduation?”
“That was real footage…?”
“All of it was filmed by senior heroes.”
The students lowered their heads and their faces pale.
“Professor, the evaluation doesn’t seem very discriminating.”
Yoo Hee-won raised her hand again.
“Honestly, anyone can pass this test if they just grit their teeth and endure it. How does this qualify someone to become a hero?”
“Well, I don’t believe being able to watch people die without any emotion is a qualification for being a hero.”
Yoo Hee-won’s face hardened at my words.
“This evaluation is about assessing whether you have the courage and mental fortitude to overcome that and act.”
Speechless, Yoo Hee-won turned her head away without responding.
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Even after several groups had rotated through, there were no dropouts.
Some might withdraw later tonight, their resolve broken by the images they had seen, but at least no one had thrown off their headset on the spot.
“We’ll send in the next group, Professor.”
The teaching assistant opened the door and led the students in.
It was Han Min-ha’s group.
Han Min-ha quickly averted her gaze when our eyes met.
After seating the students and repeating the explanation I had given countless times, I had them put on their headsets.
As I checked their headsets, I noticed Han Min-ha’s back was already soaked with sweat from nervousness.
Hmm… this was making me uneasy…
With a bad feeling, I turned on the equipment.
“Oh my god!”
“Don’t come near me! Don’t come near me!”
As expected, the students screamed in terror and began flailing their arms.
I glanced at Han Min-ha and was surprised to see her sitting still and silent, just like Yoo Hee-won.
Contrary to her appearance, she seemed to possess considerable mental strength.
She must have some level of ability since she received hero family bonus points.
I thought so, but at that moment,
Han Min-ha collapsed forward.
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