Teacher Lee Ro-un

“Man, we have to start over from the beginning now. You have to infuse mana delicately into the engraving! You stupid bastard.”

Joo Hee-jun grumbled while holding the ruined engraving plate.
As if he himself didn’t only carve the engravings because he couldn’t handle it delicately either.
Ro-un ignored Joo Hee-jun grumbling with the broken plate in hand and asked Cheon Su-ho.

“More importantly, Cheon Su-ho. What do you mean, your next registration card? It hasn’t been long since you were promoted, so you shouldn’t have met the promotion conditions yet.”
“Not yet.”

Not yet?
At the vague words, Ro-un looked at Cheon Su-ho.
Feeling his gaze, Cheon Su-ho smiled brightly and spoke.

“But if my trait evolves one more time, I’ll have to update it again.”
“Kehek!”

Joo Hee-jun, who had been shoving snacks into his mouth, spat them right back out.
Seriously disgusting.
Why was he always like that?
Ro-un avoided the snack fragments and turned back to Cheon Su-ho.

“Y-you, you, you! Your trait is evolving again?!”

Come to think of it, had they said that if it evolved to S-rank, it would be called ‘Champion’?
Then if it became SS-rank… would it be called ‘Hero’ then?
While Ro-un was chewing over what In-woo had said, Joo Hee-jun cleaned up the snack crumbs and sprang to his feet.
Joo Hee-jun looked around, then lowered his voice and spoke.

“But is it okay for you to go around talking about your trait so casually?”
“It’s fine.”
“Well, it should be fine.”

Even In-woo, who had not interacted with human society for a long time, knew that those with the <Hero> trait had evolved their traits.
The Association, which held information on Awakeners, would know that evolving traits existed, even if they hadn’t made it public.
In fact, when Cheon Su-ho took the promotion exam, the Association didn’t react strongly to him.

‘They may have guessed it from the moment Cheon Su-ho entered the passage.’

Even though a trait being able to evolve multiple times was a unique case, the Association didn’t make any move to hold on to Cheon Su-ho.
Perhaps the reason those with the <Hero> trait recorded in history had different ranks was because the <Hero> trait could evolve multiple times.
Cheon Su-ho’s next words gave Ro-un certainty.

“I knew immediately after the <Mana Disability> was resolved. The fact that this isn’t all there is to my trait. It can probably evolve further.”

When the fact he had guessed flowed out of Cheon Su-ho’s mouth, Ro-un nodded.

‘When Princess In-woo said the <Hero> trait was an evolving trait, that didn’t mean it only evolved once.’

Ro-un remembered In-woo, who had heard that he ate with Yu-jeong and sent a barrage of messages saying that next time the two of them absolutely had to eat together, and thought he should visit her soon with a gift.
As Lee Ro-un was thinking about what gift to give In-woo, Cheon Su-ho spoke.

“When that time comes, I’ll be counting on you, Lee Ro-un.”
“Me?”

Why me again?
Was this guy asking him to enter a passage with him again?

“If it’s passage entry, you can go on your own now.”
“Eh? But we’re still students. Juvenile Awakeners can’t enter without a guardian.”

Right.
That was true.

“That’s so bothersome. You got a lot of scout contact codes, didn’t you? Pick any decent one and go with them.”
“Lee Ro-un. Are you telling me to abandon my friend and choose others?”

Entering a passage was not something that needed such grand friendship attached to it, was it?
Why was he making such a fuss?
Ro-un quietly avoided Cheon Su-ho’s gaze, which drooped like an abandoned dog.

Lick.

Ro-un looked down at his Hyung licking his hand.
The two whose gazes lowered along with his looked at the spirit lying calmly on Ro-un’s lap and let out an “Ah” as if they had realized something.

“I see. You have to look after Hyung-nim.”
“That’s right. I can’t leave Hyung behind and go.”
“Wait. To start with, isn’t your Hyung-nim a spirit? If he’s a spirit, shouldn’t he be fine even if he enters a passage?”

Joo Hee-jun, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, raised an objection.
Ro-un and Cheon Su-ho looked at Joo Hee-jun as though they were looking at the most cold-blooded man in the world.

“How can you say something so scary while looking at such a small Hyung?”
“I didn’t know you were so heartless.”
“Isn’t it strange to coddle a spirit that much in the first place? I won’t deny that he’s your Hyung-nim, but your Hyung-nim isn’t an ordinary puppy. He’s a spirit!”
[Whine.]

At Joo Hee-jun’s words, the spirit drooped his brows gloomily.
Ro-un and Cheon Su-ho’s gazes narrowed even further.

“You. Get out right now.”

Ro-un issued an order of dismissal.

The very bottom tier of worldwide academy rankings.
A garbage dump.
This place, saddled with such dishonorable names, was Jiri Academy.
Even with such disgrace attached to it, Jiri Academy was still one of the only five academies in Korea.

“Haa. There isn’t even a teacher to teach class, so why the hell do we have to sit here?”
“So. Are you leaving?”
“…What if the president catches you?”
“Didn’t Student Council President Lee Ro-un say he was quitting too?”
“Ahh. I heard that too. They said the president is quitting the academy to raise a kid.”
“I don’t think so. These days, the president has been walking around with some puppy.”
“Eh? The president adopted a puppy too?”
“No wonder we haven’t seen him much lately. So that’s what happened.”
“Then don’t we have no reason to be here either? The president won’t catch us anymore!”
“But… somehow it feels like we should stay here.”
“You too?”
“Yeah. I feel the same way.”

The students who had been about to escape the prison-like classroom hesitated.
When they tried to leave the classroom, for some reason, chills ran down their spines and alarm bells rang in their heads.
The memories engraved into their bodies made them hesitate to leave the classroom.

‘Guys. A student’s duty is to study, right?’

The voice of the student council president, deeply engraved into their souls, automatically stiffened their bodies.

“L-let’s study.”
“Y-yeah. Finals are soon.”
“We should… study.”

The students, seemingly having recalled the same thing, opened their textbooks.
The students downloaded the class materials from the website and, expecting that the teachers who had received complaint papers from the chairman and been dragged away would not be able to come, began self-study on their own.

♬♪♬

The class bell rang.
There were still scattered empty seats visible in the classroom.
The teacher wasn’t going to come anyway,

Slide!

“Huh?”

Step, step.

“Huh?”
“Th!”

Step!

“Th-uh. Why.”

When a person sees something unexpected, the brain takes time to process the information.
The students’ situation was exactly that.
The small white creature that looked soft stopped in front of the platform and barked with a bright face.

[Woof!]

‘A dog?’
‘A puppy?’
‘No, I don’t think that’s an ordinary dog.’
‘More importantly, why is a dog in our classroom?’

Many words came to mind, but none could be said out loud.
And no wonder, because the one who entered with the puppy that looked like he had only just been weaned was someone they did not dare treat carelessly.

“I am Lee Ro-un, here to substitute for today’s class because the <Introduction to Otherworld Passages> teacher has business to attend to.”

The student council president had appeared.
At the appearance of a wild student council president, the students froze stiff.
Lee Ro-un’s gaze, colder than before, turned toward the empty seats.

“Kwak Dong-hun. Moon Yi-su, Choi Chan-yang. Where did they go?”
“Uh, uh. Well.”
“Lee Do-na. Answer me.”
“Hik! Well, I think they said they were going to the bathroom for a moment.”
“Tell them that if they don’t come running right now, I’ll go catch them in the empty classroom.”
“Yes, sir!”

Seeing Ro-un, who clearly already knew where the three had gone as if looking into the palm of his hand, the student called Lee Do-na operated her D-Watch.
A short while later, full attendance, said to be difficult to see even in required classes, was achieved in Ro-un’s substitute lecture.

‘It really is the president.’
‘Why is the president here?’
‘No, why is that person here?’

The three who had been slacking off in an empty classroom turned pale and came running when they heard the president was looking for them.
They had skipped class thinking there was no way class would proceed properly when the teacher had been dragged away, but to think Lee Ro-un would come.

“Now everyone is here. Class was delayed because of you three.”

The three who were pointed out trembled.
A blue light flashed through Ro-un’s eyes.

‘What was that?’
‘A chill.’
‘Who turned on the air conditioning?’
‘Who used an ice skill?’

The students trembled at the unknown chill.

[Woof!]

The spirit barked loudly after seeing the students become docile.

‘A dog?’
‘A puppy?’
‘Why is there a puppy in the classroom?’
‘Be quiet. It’s the puppy the president brought.’
‘Ah, then we should shut up.’
‘Agreed.’
‘Agreed.’

The students exchanged glances at the sight of the puppy that had entered the classroom, but once they remembered there was a terrifying owner behind the puppy, everyone lowered their eyes.

“I don’t think you’ll understand after being told once, but still, listen carefully. I am Lee Ro-un, taking charge of today’s class in place of the <Introduction to Otherworld Passages> teacher.”
“W-wow.”
“Wooow.”

Clap clap clap clap!

The students responded passionately to Lee Ro-un’s words.
Because if they let the words go in one ear and out the other, Lee Ro-un might engrave them into their bodies.

“There’s no need to respond.”

Stop….

“It may not make sense that someone like me is teaching anyone. I also know very well that I am not at a level where I can teach someone anything.”

‘That’s probably not true.’

The same thought appeared in everyone’s mind.
If it was Lee Ro-un, the president was far superior to the idiotic teaching staff in both ability as an Awakener and knowledge.
They could tell just from the sight of teachers blankly accepting Lee Ro-un’s objections during class.

“You downloaded the class materials, right? If anyone hasn’t, download them right now.”

The three who had tried to skip class in an empty classroom hurriedly downloaded the class materials.

“I don’t think I can teach you anything tremendous with a short lecture of only about one day. Still, I should be able to teach you one thing. Watch carefully from now on. I’ll show you how dangerous the passages you will enter in the future are.”

At Ro-un’s words, the students’ backs immediately straightened.

“Today is the day Lee Ro-un teaches class, right?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go watch!”
“I thought you would say that, so I prepared in advance.”

Baek Ho-yeon’s secretary led the way as if he had known this would happen.
The two left the chairman’s office and went straight up to the rooftop.
It was a height that would make ordinary people’s legs give out, but the two were the king of the Tiger Clan, called the strongest species on the Korean Peninsula, and his secretary.
Cutting through the wind and silently leaping over buildings, they lightly sat on a tree beside the classroom where Ro-un was lecturing.

-The passages discovered so far are divided into labyrinth-type, defense-type, dungeon-type, quest-type, and condition-type, but there is no guarantee that new types of passages will not appear in the future. A close example is the trial-type passage where Alexander, an S-rank Awakener in Europe, underwent the trial of the Constellation Heracles. One more case will be announced soon. This is that very case. The C-rank passage in Gokseong was actually a dual passage with an S-rank trial-type passage hidden inside it. Cheon Su-ho, sitting there, was the owner of that trial-type passage.
-What?
-Cheon Su-ho?
-Didn’t that guy recently get promoted to A-rank?
-Was all of that because he cleared a trial-type passage?
-Everyone, be quiet.
-[Woof!]

They could see the students inside the classroom being shaken by Lee Ro-un’s lecture.
Everyone was startled by the truth behind Cheon Su-ho’s promotion, and they looked back and forth between Ro-un and Cheon Su-ho.

-The S-rank passage in Gokseong was….

Ro-un neatly laid out the clearing process for that passage, the characteristics of trial-type passages, and the strategy for handling the examiner.

-This is not the only type of passage that will change in the future. You know there was a sudden passage incident in Seocho-dong, Seoul, not long ago, right?
-I saw that!
-Me too.
-Me too!

Perhaps because it was the most talked-about incident recently, the students showed interest.
Seeing the students actively participate in class, Baek Ho-yeon spoke while comfortably crouching on a thin tree branch.

“Isn’t Lee Ro-un better than teachers who go around carrying rotten lumps inside them?”
“I think so as well. And unlike a student, he seems to have quite a lot of field experience.”

The secretary, who had been secretly listening to Lee Ro-un’s class from the shade made by the tree, also agreed with Baek Ho-yeon’s words.

“Lee Ro-un said that he’s entered passages many times, hasn’t he? Did he learn it there?”
“He also seems to have studied on his own. He seems to know strategy information about passages that cannot be known just by ordinary research.”
“As expected, he’s excellent!”

Baek Ho-yeon raised his firm hands, which looked as though they could break boulders, and clapped.

“You know. Wouldn’t it be fine to leave classes to Lee Ro-un from now on too?”
“No. Student Lee Ro-un doesn’t have a teaching license.”
“Even though he lectures that well?”
“That is the law. And did we not package this as student Lee Ro-un leading ‘self-study’?”
“So let’s keep doing that.”
“No.”

Baek Ho-yeon sulked.

“By the way. Was there anyone who acted differently than usual or suspiciously in the Seocho-dong passage matter?”
“There was. There is an executive who blocked support from the Association and the guilds.”
“Ah. That guy who came out on TV and made a ruckus?”

Baek Ho-yeon nodded as if he knew who it was.

“Proprietress Gu So-ye has released her foxes and is digging through everything about him.”
“Good. Right. Could you tell that sly fox for me? Once she is done stripping the Association bare, tell her to leave me a seat.”
“I will select personnel to take positions in the Association.”
“Yes. And the businesses we have been operating until now. We’re ready to expand them, right?”
“Yes. We are currently in acquisition negotiations with several companies.”
“Good. It’s proceeding well. Keep doing that going forward. It seems our benefactor needs money and power to act, after all.”
“Understood.”

After giving his instructions, Baek Ho-yeon looked at Lee Ro-un, who was teaching, with a gentle smile.

If you look at the number of passage anomalies being reported in each country right now, you can tell that passages are becoming unstable.
-B-but the Association says nothing is happening,
-Surely you aren’t stupidly believing only what the Association says, right? I’ll trust that even after seeing the Seocho-dong incident, you’re not thinking with udon noodles for brains that the Association is running properly.
-Y-yeah.

“Puha!”

Baek Ho-yeon burst into laughter at Lee Ro-un’s cynical fact bomb.
As expected, Lee Ro-un was too valuable a talent to leave as just a student council president.

‘How much was the lecture fee for a part-time lecturer again?’