Chapter 44

“Ugh!”

“Aaaah—!”

One after another, the students screamed and fell over.

All the students glared at the grotesque goblin.

No matter how you looked at it, the model goblin was definitely stronger than a real one.

That was thanks to Si-hyun meticulously controlling it, taking the wing guild members’ opinions to heart.

‘This is just lightly hitting, so this level of agility should be fine, right?’ also played a part in her judgment.

Thankfully, from the students’ perspective, the goblin model lacked vocal cords and remained silent. If it had been cackling maniacally, it would’ve been straight out of a horror movie.

“Hmm…”

Si-hyun glanced around at the students.

Even if there were only 15 students…

It was still clear that one goblin wasn’t enough time for everyone to get practical experience.

Some of the prettily dressed female students could be seen sneaking behind the male students.

Si-hyun didn’t feel the need to force them.

She checked the time again and looked around at the students.

“Unfortunately, we’re out of time.”

“…”

“Let’s have one more person come up before we finish the lecture.”

A brief silence followed.

And then…

“…Me! Me!”

One student bravely raised their hand.

It was Go Ah-reum.

Eun-byeol, who was standing nearby, widened her eyes and tried to dissuade Ah-reum.

“Ah-reum? You’re a support type…”

“It’s, it’s okay! It’s for experience!”

But Ah-reum shook her head and stepped forward.

Seeing her approach, Si-hyun worriedly asked, “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“…Yes!”

Ah-reum’s enthusiastic reply came back, though her body language and expression told a different story.

Her face was frozen in fear, her shoulders hunched up in terror – anyone could see she was extremely intimidated.

Looking at Ah-reum, Si-hyun was reminded of when she first arrived in this world.

When she first regained consciousness in an unfamiliar space…

She was half-forced onto the pulpit by unexpected congregants without fully understanding the situation.

She had to repeat unwanted training, and during her first live combat, she was thrown into a crowd of monsters with nothing but her bare hands.

Wasn’t that what she looked like back then?

Si-hyun felt as if she was looking at her past self through Ah-reum’s figure.

“…Of course, mine was different.”

Back then, Si-hyun had to fight for her life and heal all her wounds herself.

She couldn’t even get proper rest, let alone freedom. Even after joining the Holy Knight and becoming part of the Hero party, things didn’t change much.

Compared to that, academy students have choices and freedom.

And now, Ah-reum has made her choice.

To gain direct experience despite being terrified of the goblin.

Si-hyun looked warmly at the student’s courage.

“Alright then. Let’s begin.”

“Yes, yes!”

Ah-reum awkwardly assumed a stance.

Anyone could tell it was the posture of someone who had never properly fought before.

Nevertheless, Si-hyun watched the student with utmost concentration.

To not waste the courageous student’s time and experience.

Of course, she’d control her strength…

“Kyaaah!”

“…”

Ah-reum tripped on her own legs and fell flat on the floor.

Si-hyun, who had been about to move the goblin, hesitated and looked at the fallen student.

…Maybe I should go even lighter.

Ah-reum’s combat ability was far worse than expected.

***

After Si-hyun announced the end of the lecture and left her seat…

Some students started gossiping with pouty expressions.

“Seriously, what kind of goblin model is that strong?”

“The whole paladin thing must be a bluff. She’s probably actually a summoner.”

“Nah, that can’t be. It’s probably just some super expensive magical tool.”

“Oh, now that you mention it…”

One male student pulled out his phone and started searching for something.

“The very first video introduced the Wing Guild as D-rank hunters, right? But isn’t the master here B-rank in crafting?”

“Woah, so this was made by commissioning a B-rank crafter?”

The students chatting together gasped in surprise, their mouths agape.

Crafters are quite rare among hunters.

“Isn’t the money earned from teaching less than the cost of the model?”

“That too. It feels like the preparation costs more than the actual teaching.”

Some students talked only about the financial aspects.

However, students planning for their futures had slightly different reactions.

‘B-rank crafter connections, huh?’

‘I might be able to use a recommendation letter later…’

Connections between hunters are very important.

You can share knowledge and information about dungeons and monsters, which is useful for guild registration and party formation.

If you have personal connections with crafters…

You can easily custom-make equipment without going through intermediaries.

The academy is a recognized place to build such networks.

Thus, the connections a professor has play an important role in determining their value.

Da-young’s friendship significantly increased Professor Jeong Si-hyun’s worth.

“I wish she’d put these kinds of connections on her faculty profile.”

“Yeah, exactly. It looked like she had nothing because everything was blank.”

The academy’s academic information system was being discussed.

Professor Si-hyun’s introduction page was almost completely blank, so they weren’t wrong.

“I think signing up for this lecture was a good decision.”

“Me too, me too! The models are impressive, but Professor’s skills are really something else. Is she really D-rank?”

Various conversations went around among the students, but ultimately they boiled down to the same thing.

Professor Jeong Si-hyun’s ‘Introduction to Monsters’ is a quality lecture!

The students’ motivation for learning sprouted nicely.

And though it wasn’t Professor Si-hyun’s intention…

“B-rank crafters can make stuff like this?”

“Expensive as it may be, it’s pretty damn cool.”

“The details on that goblin are insane. Honestly, it’s scarier than the real thing.”

The clay magic goblin model also increased Da-young’s value, even though she hadn’t participated in its creation at all.

***

[Title: Saw something weird at the academy today]

[User]

I was walking near the melee hunter building and saw students getting beaten up by a goblin.

– That’s the monster theory class lol

└ Really? Isn’t that a general education course?

└ Yeah, the professor brought the goblin

– A real monster was there?

└ Nah, it’s a model lol

└ Some kind of magical tool. The professor controlled it while moving

└ Haha omg lmao

└ So funny omg lmao

– Those guys rolling around were getting hit by the model? LMAO

└ Yup omg lmao

└ So funny omg lmao

***

[Title: Not just the model though]

[User]

Damn, the professor in the video was insane

– Stop talking and share the video already

└ It was connected via USB and there was nothing left on the computer…

– At this point, these guys aren’t just hyping stuff up, right?

└ No way

└ If you’d actually seen the students getting beat up by the goblin outside, you wouldn’t be saying that

└ Lmao omg

└ Lmao omg

– Honestly, that goblin seems as strong as the professor, bruh

└ Lmao omg

└ Wasn’t that you getting hit in the side of the head and rolling?

└ Nah, probably not. Definitely not me anyway

A man browsing academy-related communities closed his internet connection.

Not long ago, he had received instructions from his superior to investigate Professor Jeong Si-hyun.

Ye Do-hyeong, an S-rank hunter of the Dawn Guild, had his secretary steadily gather information according to his orders.

He had hunters under the guild investigate whether the knowledge about goblins was accurate.

After several dungeon runs, it was confirmed to be true.

He investigated the evaluations of the academy lectures.

Though it was early in the semester, rumors were noticeably spreading.

“But there’s no reply to the email…”

Having judged that Professor Si-hyun was hidden talent, he had immediately sent off a message.

But days passed without a response.

Eventually, the secretary called the number listed at the academy.

…

After waiting quite a while, just as the secretary was about to hang up, the other party answered at the last second.

– …Hello?

“Hi, is this Professor Jeong Si-hyun? I’m from the Dawn Guild–”

The secretary explained his business.

Naturally thinking that the other party would accept the offer from a large guild.

***

After finishing the lecture, I came to my private office and displayed the goblin model to the side.

That’s when a call came in from an unknown number.

Thinking it might be spam, I still picked up just in case.

The other party introduced themselves as a secretary from a large guild.

I quietly listened to their explanation.

…

In short, it was a scouting offer. An invitation to join the Dawn Guild.

– You’ll receive much greater resources and research support than now.

“…No, thank you for the offer, but I want to focus on teaching right now.”

– …I see. Please feel free to contact us again if you change your mind.

“…Alright, I’ll think about it.”

The conversation ended more neatly than expected.

…Hmm, so they sent an email. I didn’t check regularly since nothing was coming in, but I should do that periodically now that I’m working.

Anyway, I have no plans to join any guild. The academy affiliation is sufficient.

If I were to join, it would either be the Wing Guild or following Ji-a.

I have zero intention to join somewhere with no connections.

It’s annoying, so I hope there won’t be any more calls.

Still, why did a large guild take interest in me? I don’t think I’ve done anything particularly noticeable.

Could rumors about the lectures have spread that much already? Hmm…

A strange feeling tickled my chest.

Annoyance mixed with pride that my lectures were being recognized.

Human emotions are truly mysterious.

-Knock knock.

“Yes, come in.”

Responding to the knocking sound and raising my head.

The door slowly opened and a female student cautiously entered.

It was Go Ah-reum, who had contacted me earlier asking if it was okay to visit after the lecture.

“Huh?!”

Ah-reum suddenly let out a strange scream and dashed to the corner of the office.

The bookshelf she bumped into swayed violently, but fortunately it was empty.

“Ah, that’s the goblin model from earlier…”

“Hehe, that’s right.”

Ah-reum placed a hand on her chest and panted heavily.

Her appearance was inexplicably cute, making me unconsciously let out a small laugh.

“You wanted to have a consultation, right?”

“Yes, yes…”

Ah-reum approached me while keeping close to the wall, eyeing the goblin from the corner of her eye.

“T-that… I-I know it’s weird, but I was surprised by the goblin model…”

Trailing off and hesitating, she kept fidgeting with her hair.

I quietly waited for the student to speak.

“Th-that is…”

“Yes?”

Thanks to the ample time given…

The student, with flushed cheeks, looked at me with determined eyes.

“…M-me! I want to be like Professor! You’re too cool! You’re my role model–!”

Ah-reum loudly shouted with heightened emotion.

“…Hmm.”

…Is this, by any chance, that?