I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

November 17th.

Almost a month has passed since the selection of participants for the Academy Festival.

“Refine your magical power a little more precisely. There’s still waste during the conversion to brain energy.”

“Yes…”

Seo-hee looked at Claire with a sickened expression as she pushed herself to the limit with just a wooden sword.

“Take a break.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Seo-hee left the training room, catching her breath.

“Good job.”

“Haa…”

Kang Hanna, sitting leisurely in a chair, tossed a towel to Seo-hee, who caught it and wiped the sweat from her face, letting out a short sigh.

-Kang Seok-ho.

“Yes, yes!!”

Kang Seok-ho, who had been waiting with a tense face, jumped up and entered the training room.

Seo-hee sat next to Kang Hanna and looked up at the screen, opening her mouth.

“Is the professor here?”

“No, but I don’t think she’ll be coming today.”

Kang Hanna took out one of the many snacks piled up below and stuffed it into her mouth. These were the snacks that Baek Woo-jin brought every day.

-Kyaaah?!

-In any situation, never close your eyes. That momentary blink can lead to death in actual combat.

-Yes, yes!!

On the first day, Kang Seok-ho had been completely overwhelmed by Claire, and his single-minded determination to avoid that terrible pain again led to his remarkable growth.

Clang!!

-Huff!!

-Your movements are still too big.

Crack!

-Kyaaah?!

Kang Seok-ho blocked Claire’s first attack by manifesting his steel ability on the desired part of his body, then immediately counterattacked. However, he was struck in the side by the follow-up attack and rolled on the floor.

“Is the whip the best method?”

Kang Seok-ho had not only learned to partially manifest his steel ability on the desired parts of his body but also to make his attacks more threatening by momentarily increasing the weight of his arm and wrist when swinging his sword.

Compared to his past, when he relied solely on the increased magical power from his innate talent and the elixir, and was beaten up by Baek Hana every day, his growth was astonishing.

“But what do you mean when you say the professor won’t be coming today?”

“Huh? Oh, you know, that thing.”

“What thing?”

Munch, munch.

Kang Hanna answered as she chewed on a milk chocolate with a fragrant butter scent.

“The practical exam for the new students who will be your juniors.”

“Practical exam…”

Seo-hee muttered and turned to Kang Hanna, asking,

“Are we on vacation?”

“Yes, we’ve been on vacation for two weeks.”

Kang Hanna laughed as she ate another chocolate.

“You didn’t realize how time flew by, did you? I was the same at first.”

Just as she said, they spent every day locked up in the training room, receiving guidance from the professors, and only returned to the dormitory late at night.

There were no holidays, and all meals except breakfast were taken in the training room. They always returned to the dormitory completely exhausted, so they would shower and fall asleep right away.

On top of that, they didn’t attend lectures, so they completely lost track of time.

Messages from Maria and Edyn came several times a day, but they were mostly small talk and stories about fairies.

“Is the professor a supervisor again this time?”

“Of course. Who else but Professor Baek could be a supervisor?”

“The chairman…?”

“He left right after the vacation ceremony to search for gates far away. Want some?”

“I’ll have it after lunch.”

Seo-hee threw the towel she had been wearing around her neck into the basket filled with other towels and stood up.

“Let me know when Hana comes out.”

“People might think you’re dating.”

“That is not so bad.”

“Well, even I, as a woman, think she’s pretty. But don’t do anything weird.”

Kang Hanna looked at Seo-hee with half-open eyes, and Seo-hee lightly brushed past her.

“I won’t do anything Hana doesn’t like.”

“That’s even more creepy.”

Seo-hee didn’t respond and entered the training room assigned to her.

Kang Hanna, now alone, searched for a new chocolate.

-Gak!!

On the screen, Kang Seok-ho rolled on the floor once again.

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.

.

Beep!!

An alarm sounded from Claire’s wrist.

She lowered the wooden sword she was holding.

“That’s enough for today.”

“Thank you so much…!!”

The third-year female student, who had been holding a spear like a cane, bowed to Claire.

Claire lightly waved her hand in response to the student’s greeting and left the training room.

“Thank you for your hard work today!!”

“Hmm.”

Kang Hanna, who had nimbly run over, naturally took the wooden sword from Claire’s hand.

She put the wooden sword in its rack and cautiously asked,

“If you’re free, would you like to have a meal together?”

The students who were resting nearby perked up their ears, ready to jump at the opportunity.

“I have a prior engagement. Let’s have a meal some other time.”

“Oh, I see!!”

Kang Hanna scratched her head and laughed, and the students, who had been listening with their ears perked up, relaxed and continued their rest.

Swoosh.

Claire, who hadn’t broken a sweat, stretched out her hand, and the small bag placed in the corner flew into her hand.

It was the storage artifact that Baek Woo-jin had been carrying around recently.

Claire stood in front of the door of the last training room, which had a red light on.

Beep, beep.

She manipulated the button on the tightly closed door.

Whoosh.

The door opened wide, and Claire entered.

Whoosh.

The door closed again, and Kang Hanna and the other students stared at the door with the flickering red light for a while.

.

.

.

Whoosh!!

The howling blizzard was about to swallow everything in its path.

“Stop.”

As soon as Claire closed her lips, the blizzard, which had been blowing so fiercely that it was impossible to see even an inch in front, came to a halt.

The snow that had piled up all around also disappeared like a mirage, revealing the white walls and floor of the training room.

Claire stood in the center and called out to the girl who was panting as if she was about to lose her breath.

“Haaack, haaaack…?”

The girl, who had been breathing as if she was about to pass out, turned her head. When she saw Claire standing at the door, she plopped down on the floor.

“Uunhiiii…”

“You worked hard.”

Claire sat down next to Baek Hana with a faint smile.

“Slow down. No matter how extreme the situation, you must maintain your breathing.”

“Huff, huff… Huff, huff… Huff…”

Baek Hana closed her eyes and tried to calm her ragged breathing, repeating the advice she had heard countless times.

Meanwhile, Claire took out the lunch boxes that Baek Woo-jin had prepared early in the morning from her bag and placed them on the floor.

“Huff.”

Baek Hana opened her eyes as her breathing calmed down.

“Isn’t Woo-jin coming?”

“He’s supervising the exam.”

“The exam? The evaluation?”

“No, it’s the practical exam for new students.”

“New…?”

Baek Hana’s eyes widened at the word ‘new student.’

Clack.

While Baek Hana calmed down, Claire opened the lunch box, placed the chopsticks neatly, and set them in front of Baek Hana.

“Ah… Thank you.”

Baek Hana, having regained her composure, picked up the chopsticks and spoke.

“So, what about the second semester evaluation?”

“Ask Maria and Edyn later.”

“Tsk… Can’t you tell me, sister?”

Baek Hana pouted, and Claire silently laughed as she picked up her chopsticks.

Without hesitation, they both reached for the food prepared by Baek Woo-jin.

From the fluffy and springy egg roll to the well-cooked beef and vegetables, and the sandwich with perfectly dressed salad.

There was also cheese gratin, which Baek Hana loved, and the lunch box contained an extremely luxurious combination.

“How’s your training going?”

“It’s… hard.”

Baek Hana spoke while putting an egg roll in her mouth.

“It’s not fun… I have no motivation…”

Gulping down the egg roll with its perfect balance of sweet and salty flavors, Baek Hana pointed to her head with her chopsticks.

“I wanted to spend time with Woo-jin, not that…”

Baek Hana glared at Crystal for a moment, then slumped her shoulders.

“But the person I want to see is hard to see even once a day… And when I do see him, it’s only for an hour or so… If this is the case, I don’t want to be a candidate…”

“Hmm…”

Claire pondered how to cheer up the dejected Baek Hana.

“Hana, I understand how you feel, but to show a proper adult’s attitude, you must endure this situation as well.”

“Until when?”

“Hmm…”

Claire struggled to answer.

Baek Hana pouted and grumbled at Claire.

“You’re so lucky. Even if you’re busy during the day, you get to sleep with Woo-jin at night…” “No, that’s not true! The professor… has been coming home early in the morning and leaving right away… We don’t sleep together…”

“Even if you don’t sleep together, you’re still spending time with him…”

“That’s… because I’m an associate professor… and I have to clean the mansion…”

Claire, who had been watching the students with a cold and indifferent gaze while swinging her wooden sword, blushed and fidgeted with her fingers.

“Uuuu!! I can’t even see Woo-jin’s face, and I’m getting beaten up by this weird guy here!! It’s not fair!! It’s so unfair!!”

“Hana?!”

“And, huh? Isn’t Woo-jin doing the same thing?! If he’s going to neglect me like this, then…”

Baek Hana, who had been shouting in the training room, suddenly stopped.

“Uuuu…”

Claire blinked as she watched Baek Hana’s face turn redder and her gaze shift downward.

“Hana?”

“Uuuu!! You’re so mean!! So mean!! I really don’t like… but I don’t!!!”

Baek Hana, with her face flushed red, began to stuff the remaining food into her mouth with her chopsticks.

“Hana, don’t be too hasty. I promised I’d tell you when the opportunity arises.”

“Huff… It’s hard to wait for that… It’s not even certain…”

Claire seriously considered Baek Hana’s even more dejected state.

“Hana.”

“Why?”

Baek Hana looked up.

Claire whispered softly to Baek Hana, her eyes lacking strength.

“This year’s Festival…”

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.

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Beep, beep, beep!!!

A loud noise came from my pocket.

The sound should never come from my phone, which is always set to vibrate.

Since the culprit was obvious, I took out my phone.

[ (⇀‸↼‶) Eavesdropping on ladies’ conversations is a crime!! ]

“…”

[ (¬◡¬)✧ If you try to eavesdrop again, I’ll tell Claire everything. ]

[ ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ Hehe, but I’m going to listen!! ]

After that message, the phone screen turned black.

I seriously considered going to the Temple of Bwiar and destroying the culprit’s avatar.

‘… I can check it later.’

I put my phone back in my pocket, just in case I might break it, and called Kim Sung-won.

“You called me.”

I sent the documents on my desk to him.

“When assigning dormitory rooms, put those guys together.”

“I understand. Is there anything else you need me to do?”

“I’ll send you another list tomorrow, so take care of those guys too.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll prepare in advance to avoid any mistakes.”

Kim Sung-won bowed and left the supervisor’s office.

‘There are already ten of them today…’

After the practical exam ended, I took a look at the students roaming around the Academy, their bodies possessed by the intruders.

‘I wonder how many more will sneak in.’