Chapter 6

I quickly powered down the equipment and rushed over to Han Min-ha, who had collapsed on the floor.

The moment the video turned off, the students began taking off their helmets, looking utterly perplexed.

“What? What’s going on?”

“Eh? Why is he like that?”

I knelt down on one knee beside Han Min-ha, who had fallen forward, and carefully removed his helmet.

Thankfully, because of the helmet, it seemed that his head hadn’t been injured.

However, the issue wasn’t physical trauma.

Han Min-ha’s face had gone pale, and he was breaking out in a cold sweat while convulsing.

“Any teaching assistants outside, come in please!”

“What’s wrong, Professor?”

The teaching assistant who was waiting outside rushed in.

“We have an injured person here. Quickly, take them to the Health Center… Oh!”

Seeing that Han Min-ha was about to bite his tongue, I hastily pushed my forearm into his mouth.

In response, Han Min-ha bit down on my arm with great force, his teeth piercing through my coat and shirt, tearing into my flesh.

Even so, this is the Hero Training Academy.

Although I’ve never been bitten by a human—or even a puppy—before, for a moment, I thought that getting cut by a sword would be preferable.

The pain was immense.

Blood flowed down my arm and dripped onto the floor.

The reason I hadn’t activated the defensive barrier? If someone bit a solid defensive barrier with such strength, their teeth would shatter completely.

The students, seeing this, gasped in shock and took a step back.

“Teaching assistant. Quickly go gather some help.”

“A… Alright, Professor…! Please wait a moment!”

The teaching assistant ran out.

“Professor… Shouldn’t we do something?”

One of the students, clearly terrified, asked with a trembling voice.

“No. You shouldn’t interfere when someone is having convulsions. This was a necessary action to prevent him from biting his tongue.”

Fortunately, as the strength in Han Min-ha’s jaw began to fade, I carefully withdrew my arm.

Placing his head to the side, I undid the front of his uniform to help him breathe easier.

It was then that I realized why this student always walked so hunched over.

What kind of chest is this large…?

How does anyone carry this around and function properly…

No, no.

What am I as a professor thinking about my student like this?

As I waited while pressing on my bleeding arm with my coat, the Safety Officers from the evaluation area soon arrived.

“Professor, are you alright?”

“It’s not me; it’s this student. He collapsed during the evaluation and started convulsing. He seems to be getting better now.”

Looking at the stretcher carrying Han Min-ha, an officer pointed at my arm.

“What happened to that wound?”

“Preemptive action—Han Min-ha looked like he would bite his tongue, so I put my arm in.”

“Ah. You should come with us. It’ll get seriously infected if you don’t disinfect it.”

“I’m still in the middle of an evaluation. Please just give me a quick emergency treatment. I’ll visit the Health Center later.”

After cleaning the wound with saline and bandaging it tightly, the Safety Officers said,

“You must come later. Don’t end up in a real hospital later on, please.”

“Understood. Please take care of the student.”

After the Safety Officers left, I resumed the evaluation.

Considering the unexpected situation, I decided to give a slight bonus to this group.

This is an evaluation of Mental Arts, and it wouldn’t be fair for the students to be penalized for an unforeseen incident not of their making.

Still, it’s incredibly painful.

Had I not been wearing the coat, my flesh would’ve been torn off.

I need to finish the evaluation soon and visit the Health Center.

***

The academy’s Health Center is more like a large-scale hospital, making the name inappropriate.

The eight-story facility rivals any general hospital’s equipment and setup.

The medical team is all former university hospital staff, and especially the surgical sector prides itself on being among the best.

This isn’t just an ordinary high school, after all—it’s a Hero Training Academy where students fight villains.

Here, fractures are treated like minor cuts due to frequent, serious accidents.

Walking past parked ambulances, I entered the emergency room.

Since it was the beginning of the semester, and formal education hadn’t started yet, the ER was relatively quiet.

The nurses at the desk noticed me and got up quickly, alarmed.

“Hello, Professor! What happened? Did you get injured somewhere?”

“Hello. Just here…”

I showed them the tattered edge of my coat, which prompted the nurses to come around the desk.

“What happened here…Were you attacked by a monster?”

“It’s a freshman.”

“A freshman? A person did this…? Please, come this way.”

Sitting on an empty bed, the emergency room’s dedicated doctor came to examine my arm.

He was Choi Seong-jun, an orthopedic doctor around my age. The staff calls him the Emergency Room Director informally.

Choi Seong-jun murmured as he examined my arm closely.

“The bite marks look like they’re from a human, but why did the coat get so torn?”

“Because the student bit through it.”

“Hm?”

Once I explained the situation, Choi Seong-jun nodded in understanding.

“Oh, you’re talking about the student we brought in earlier.”

“How is that student?”

Instead of answering, Choi Seong-jun looked toward a corner of the ER.

Turning to look, I saw Han Min-ha lying on a bed, asleep.

“It’s not serious. Simply put, he was so shaken up that he lost his composure temporarily. He woke up a while ago, but I told him to rest, so he fell asleep.”

“That’s good.”

It was just a case of weak mental fortitude.

Fortunately, it wasn’t anything severe, and what brought me more relief was that it didn’t disrupt the quest’s progress.

It’s materialistic, but it couldn’t be helped.

Choi Seong-jun scrutinized my wound and remarked,

“Why didn’t you activate the defensive barrier?”

“Because it would’ve damaged the student’s teeth.”

“Ah, that’s true… Hmm, let me see. I’ll need to stitch this up.”

He called a nurse to disinfect the wound and prepare the suturing materials.

I hadn’t realized that a bite injury would require stitches, but upon disinfection, it was clearer than expected how deep the wound was.

No wonder it was mistaken for an animal attack.

Choi Seong-jun put on latex gloves and administered a few prickly anesthetic shots to my arm.

As sensation disappeared and the area went numb, he started suturing the wound without hesitation.

“Done, Professor. Come in daily to disinfect it. Otherwise, it will get infected.”

“Coming every day would be inconvenient. Could you provide me with some disinfectant and bandages? I’ll handle it myself.”

“Would you? Then I’ll prepare you enough. Though, professor…”

Choi Seong-jun glanced at me suspiciously.

“Why aren’t you coughing?”

“Coughing is required?”

“Not really. It’s unusual because you, who usually coughed every time, are quiet today. You’re not secretly drinking some unknown roots or anything, are you? That kind of…”

“Haha. No, I’m not.”

Smiling, I dismissed the notion, and Choi Seong-jun gave me a routine advice to keep the wound clean before leaving.

While the nurses were preparing the disinfectant and bandages for me, I noticed Han Min-ha had woken up and was staring at the ceiling.

Approaching her cautiously from a respectful distance, I softly called out,

“Han Min-ha Student.”

Looking at me, Han Min-ha startled and sat up.

“Professor…?”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine…”

Ah, right, I need to return the handkerchief.

But searching my pockets, I couldn’t find it.

Seems like I left it in the research room.

Han Min-ha’s gaze rested on my bandaged arm.

“Professor’s arm…”

“It’s injured. It’s nothing serious.”

It seems she doesn’t remember what happened during the convulsions.

Since it wasn’t intentional and unnecessarily bringing it up might discourage her, I left that out.

“I’m glad you look fine after I was so worried.”

“I’m sorry, for ruining the evaluation…”

“No, it’s not. The other group members continued their evaluation, and we’ve considered the circumstances while grading them. So, you don’t need to feel too guilty.”

“Thank you.”

“Han Min-ha Student, unfortunately, I had to score you as failing. Considering the other students present, it was unavoidable.”

“No, it was my fault for not holding on…”

Han Min-ha bowed her head deeply, muttering like she had committed a grave sin.

“However, don’t feel too disheartened. Even if your score in the Initial Assessment was low, there are plenty of opportunities later to make up for it.”

“There are many opportunities.”

“Just that not many people can seize them.”

I looked toward the nurses to confirm they were far enough away before speaking quietly.

“Because this happened during my evaluation, I hold some responsibility. I’ll do my best to assist you as much as I can.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

“Take good care of yourself and let’s meet again during class.”

“Goodbye.”

As I turned to leave, Han Min-ha called out to stop me.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Professor.”

“What is it?”

“Could I ask you one thing?”

“Go ahead.”

“About the video earlier…”

Han Min-ha spoke with a dry and labored voice.

“Is that… real footage?”

“Yes. It’s footage shot by senior heroes while fighting villains.”

“Did the heroes in that video… survive…?”

“Most of them perished. These recordings were salvaged from the bodycams inside their suits after their deaths. Of course, there are those who are still active.”

“Ah…”

Han Min-ha’s lips trembled slightly.

“Just in case, I’ll tell you this. The videos are selected to be the most stimulating ones to test your level of mental strength. So, naturally, the survival rate of the heroes in the videos is quite low. That’s why. The overall survival rate of registered heroes by the Organization isn’t that low.”

“I understand.”

“Don’t worry too much, Han Min-ha Student. I’ll make sure it doesn’t become your story.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

I won’t let you down.

If you fully master defense techniques, you can block even the average villain’s attacks.

Only, so far, no hero has ever approached combat with such calm mental strength.

Even though this Han Min-ha collapsed just from watching a video, I intend to bring her to that level as much as I can.

If we can improve survival rates, reaching S-class won’t be too difficult.

I will help you, Han Min-ha.

To faithfully accomplish the quest of making you S-class and escape my frail body to return to my original world.

First, for that, you need to continue attending the Academy.