Chapter 42

“Pro, Professor! Wh-what the heck is this?!”

Jae-woo shouted to Professor Jeong Si-hyun with a trembling voice.

What in the world is this mysterious goblin?

Even though Jae-woo’s hand and arm gripping the sword were still tense with strength…

…and his legs ready to move at any moment…

he didn’t take his eyes off the grotesque goblin.

However…

The goblin didn’t move.

“Hmm…?”

Unable to understand the situation, Jae-woo furrowed his brow.

At that moment, a small chuckling sound tickled his ears.

Jae-woo sneakily glanced at the professor out of the corner of his eye.

Professor Si-hyun straightened her posture from leaning on the lectern and approached the goblin.

She gently stroked the fearsome goblin’s head with her beautiful long fingers.

The ghastly appearance of the goblin and the elegant female professor created a striking contrast.

Jae-woo blinked rapidly.

“It’s a model, just a model.”

The goblin still didn’t move.

“…Phew…”

Only then did Jae-woo release the tension in his body.

Though he didn’t completely relax.

He cautiously took small steps toward the goblin.

“Um, may I touch it?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

With permission granted…

Jae-woo kept one hand firmly gripping the sword while tentatively touching the goblin’s arm with the other.

“Ahh!”

It wasn’t the texture of a living creature.

It felt somewhat hard, probably made of clay or stone.

Jae-woo let out a long breath and returned the sword to storage.

This was the most intricately crafted monster model he’d ever seen.

“It’s a magical artifact commissioned from a creation-type hunter. Isn’t it well-made?”

“That… it certainly is.”

Jae-woo slowly nodded and stepped back.

He sat in his usual seat near the window opposite the lectern, by the front row of the corridor.

While he normally sat there, today it was absolutely necessary.

He wanted to put as much distance as possible between himself and that terrifying goblin model.

There was no way he wanted to be anywhere near it.

Its appearance was too horrifying and menacing.

Even knowing it was just a model, it continued to evoke fear and unease.

The rear door of the classroom opened again.

Other students had started arriving.

“Kyaaak?!”

Arriving second, Ah-reum fell on her butt and tumbled backward, using only her arms and butt to slide all the way to the wall.

Dust clung to her pants, but she had no time to care.

“Hmm…”

Eun-byeol, who entered with Ah-reum, crossed her arms and glared at the goblin model.

For a moment, she nearly used a combat skill from her magic-based hunter repertoire, but fortunately spotted Jae-woo and Si-hyun.

Thanks to that, flames didn’t end up flying around the classroom.

Of course, that didn’t mean Eun-byeol fully understood the situation.

Though she appeared calm, her pupils were trembling slightly.

She tapped her left toe up and down while assessing the situation.

“Pro-professor…?”

Noticing Si-hyun late, Ah-reum stood up, adjusted her glasses, and brushed off her butt.

Si-hyun smiled lightly and tapped the goblin’s head twice.

“It’s a moving model. Isn’t it well-made?”

Her voice full of mischief.

Upon hearing those words, not only Ah-reum and Eun-byeol, but even Jae-woo’s eyes widened.

“Moves…?”

Jae-woo stared at the goblin with his mouth slightly agape.

So that’s why you called it a magical artifact earlier!

…This hideous thing actually moves?

Ugh…

Jae-woo unconsciously rubbed his arms as goosebumps rose on his skin.

To be honest, this model was scarier than a real goblin.

It truly looked disgusting.

While Jae-woo was rubbing his arms, Ah-reum and Eun-byeol took seats closer to the windows.

Not their usual front row, but a bit further back in the middle.

They too found the goblin model frightening.

They really disliked it.

Honestly, they wished it would just be removed from sight.

Meanwhile, Si-hyun happily observed her students’ reactions.

People from the Wings Guild had said:

To properly instill fear, students shouldn’t let their guard down when they encounter actual goblins in the future!

It was certainly a reasonable point.

That’s why she came early to set up the goblin.

Judging by the students’ reactions, she was quite satisfied.

All the effort in making it paid off.

“Hiiik?!”

“Hiik!”

“Ughh!”

Students arrived one by one.

Without exception, they screamed and stopped in their tracks.

Thus began the fifth period of Monster Studies 101 at the Academy.

The goblin model successfully made all 15 young students jump.

Especially those sitting near the front rows close to the lectern trembled in fear.

Though there weren’t too many seats, they weren’t insufficient either.

The last few students ended up having to sit near the goblin since there were no other empty seats.

They nervously glanced at the model with troubled expressions.

‘Hmph, just from one little goblin.’

Si-hyun thought how innocent and cute her students were while smiling cheerfully.

*

After finishing attendance, Si-hyun wore a deep, pleased expression.

All students were present for today’s lecture, and there were no latecomers yet.

Clap! Si-hyun lightly clapped her hands and began speaking.

“Everyone, last class we learned various things about goblins, right?”

She briefly mentioned prerequisite learning…

“Today, I’ll show you what real goblins are like through audiovisual materials.”

She played the pre-prepared video.

The projector cast a dim image of a cave onto the screen.

After confirming the video was playing properly, Si-hyun paused it temporarily to check on the students.

A considerable number of students were staring at the goblin model rather than the screen.

‘Too well-made can be a problem.’

Though their attention seemed focused, it was a bit excessive.

Si-hyun moved the goblin model behind the lectern.

“Phew…”

“Survived…”

The students sitting near the model sighed in relief.

Their gazes turned to the screen.

Si-hyun nodded and resumed the video.

It started off uneventful.

[These are D-rank hunters.]

[Hello!]

[Nice to meet you!]

The video Si-hyun showed briefly introduced some male members of the Wings Guild.

They initiated combat with the goblin.

Aware of being filmed, they occasionally added flashy movements, but overall proceeded smoothly.

When the male hunters’ battle concluded, the video ended as well.

‘Huh, today’s pretty normal?’

‘Was last week unusual?’

The hunters in the video were definitely stronger than E-rank students.

But only by so much.

Students accustomed to flashy, stimulating internet videos didn’t feel particularly moved.

Some even started dozing off.

Since the lecture time was right after lunch…

Sleepiness naturally crept in.

‘Anyway, it’s just a general education course.’

Eventually, a student blatantly laid down.

However, that action didn’t last long.

Snap!

Si-hyun lightly flicked her finger.

Suddenly, sleep vanished from the drowsy students like magic.

Rather, they were too清醒and alert to the point of confusion.

“Erm…?”

The laying student sat up again.

For some reason, sleep had suddenly disappeared.

The clarity of mind made the previous drowsiness feel like a lie.

The student scratched their forehead and eyebrows, wearing a bewildered expression while starting to listen to the lecture again.

It was too prime condition to ignore just because it was a general education course.

“Let’s watch the next video.”

Having easily dealt with the sleepy villains, Si-hyun played the next video.

And…

“Huh…?”

“What is that thing?”

“Eh?”

Students’ shock began.

[Let me explain using this guy first. First…]

An enraged goblin continuously attacked the Si-hyun in the video.

But she completely ignored it and continued explaining.

Unable to land a single hit, the goblin became furious and started stomping its feet.

Overheated, it wildly swung its club.

However, Si-hyun didn’t even glance at the goblin.

She kept looking at the camera while sharing information the students needed to know.

The goblin never managed to touch even a hem of Si-hyun’s clothing.

Finally, the goblin huffed and pointed at Si-hyun while screaming.

[Kehheek—!]

It was extremely angry.

The mouths of students watching the video dropped open.

They were too shocked to even think about closing them.

Though the battle hadn’t even started yet, it was already an artistic masterpiece.

“How is she dodging that?”

“The professor isn’t even looking at the goblin…”

“Is that even possible?”

[Let me finish the explanation here. Now, I’ll show you.]

Regardless of whether the students were shocked…

The Si-hyun in the video calmly continued her actions.

Pretending to manipulate the status window, she pulled out a sword from the bracelet-type magical artifact.

At that moment, the goblin swung its club again.

Si-hyun slightly twisted her body to naturally deflect the attack.

Then immediately, her sword flashed.

Swish—, thud.

In one clean slash, the neatly severed goblin’s head fell to the ground.

“…”

“…”

A brief silence.

No one among the students spoke.

The Si-hyun in the video neatly put away her sword and returned to a stable stance.

There was no showing off strength, nor unnecessary movements.

It was literally fast and clean motion.

While the Si-hyun in the video started moving…

During the brief pause, students whispered to each other.

“What the heck is that…?”

“I thought Professor Jeong Si-hyun was D-rank?”

“Wow, heard she’s a paladin, but she really knows how to wield a sword?”

The appropriately edited video skipped over the travel segment.

When Si-hyun encountered a group of goblins, she started another battle.

All students’ gazes locked onto the screen again.

There was not a single student doing something else or unable to concentrate.

Everyone was fully immersed in watching the video.

This was not the time for conversation.

Right now, this moment.

They had to deeply engrave the scene in the video into their eyes and imprint it in their minds.

It’s completely different from cheap internet promotional videos.

This was literally a condensed version of actual combat, a meticulously crafted lecture video.

Si-hyun quickly wiped out the group of goblins.

Then suddenly, she converted her weapon back into a magical artifact, leaving her unarmed.

[Since it’s a general education course, there will be students from various professions. This time, I’ll show you with a spear.]

Another shocking statement!

Moreover, the eccentricity didn’t stop there.

Axes, greatswords, etc. Si-hyun sequentially demonstrated weapons she received from Da-young.

Though the weapons themselves were affordable enough for E-rank hunters to use…

The person wielding them was Si-hyun.

Using the most systematic movements suitable for each weapon’s characteristics, she swept away the goblins.

Just like when using the sword.

There was no flair or ostentation whatsoever.

Simply the most basic motions and precise force to cleanly eliminate enemies.

“How about that? Quite easy, right? You guys can do it too.”

Kaboom!

After putting down the massive weapon as big as herself, Si-hyun lightly smiled and spoke.

That way, the long yet short-feeling video came to an end.