[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 320

While listening to the lecture, drowsiness suddenly hits me.

Maybe it’s because the dorm is so bad, but even my back feels stiff.

I had forgotten that this academy is all about extreme winner-takes-all.

As proof, the room I’m using, Room 301 in the Cucumber Building, is barely big enough to lie down in. Plus, it’s not soundproof.

“No one knows what might happen inside a dungeon. Even if it’s a dungeon that’s been fully interpreted.”

Teacher Hwang swings his pointer while making eye contact with each student.

“After entering a dungeon, the most important thing isn’t showing off your strength, but gathering information. The environment, vegetation, types and characteristics of monsters, and so on.”

He shifts his gaze as he continues explaining.

I really hope he doesn’t make eye contact with me.

“Student Han Ga-eul.”

“Huh?”

When I respond weirdly to Teacher Hwang’s sudden call, laughter erupts around me.

“Instead of spacing out, shouldn’t you be looking at me?”

“I was totally looking at you.”

“Student Han Ga-eul, who was ‘totally looking.’ What are the typical characteristics of monsters that beginners should be most wary of?”

“Umm…”

It’s not like beginners are going to high-difficulty dungeons, so they’ll probably face equally weak monsters. I’m not sure what they should be wary of.

As I’m lost in thought, Shin Yong next to me taps me and points to his book with his finger.

There’s a drawing of a green-skinned monster with sharp teeth.

“Goblin?”

“Correct. But I asked for their characteristics. What characteristics do goblins have?”

“They’re ugly.”

Laughter bursts out again around me.

Teacher Hwang, who had been pressing his temples, shifts his gaze to Shin Yong next to me.

“Student Shin Yong.”

“Yes, Professor. One of the characteristics of monsters that beginners should be most wary of is their tendency to swarm.”

“Correct.”

Finally, the deep frown on Teacher Hwang’s forehead relaxes.

“Why should they be wary?”

“Numbers beat skill.”

“These kids, they know a thing or two. It’s fun to gang up and beat them down.”

Shin Yong, who seemed out of it earlier, looks refreshed after taking a nap.

“Han Ga-eul, one penalty point.”

While questioning Shin Yong, a thunderous announcement drops.

“Ah, Teach!”

“It’s Professor, you brat.”

If I accumulate a few more penalty points, I might have to do community service.

“Ugh.”

“Han Ga-eul, penalty…”

“So informative. As expected, our Teach is the best.”

After giving me a long look, Teacher Hwang raises his pointer again.

“Monster swarming isn’t just a concern for beginners, but even for seasoned experts…”

It’s a characteristic that even the wilds are wary of. For example, you can think of a high-difficulty dungeon with a pack of Lycanthropes. Because of this, high-difficulty dungeons with pack characteristics are often avoided in reality.

Monsters are pouring out.

The two warm ones are in my pocket, making me even sleepier.

This isn’t my fault; it’s because the cotton balls are so warm.

“Student Han Ga-eul.”

“Huh…?”

“In this situation, what kind of magic would be good?”

“Uh… Hellfire?”

“One penalty point.”

“Goodness. Is this really unsolvable?”

“As expected of our Supporter.”

Shin Yong, who was next to me, gave me a thumbs up.

Truly my friend.

“Han Ga-eul. You’re the mage of your party, right?”

“That’s right.”

“If you use fire magic in a narrow cave-type dungeon, the oxygen will run out in an instant. In such cases, ice magic is effective.”

“Bringing an oxygen tank and using fire magic to suffocate the monsters would be really efficient.”

If it weren’t for Teacher Hwang, I would have almost unleashed Hellfire in the cave.

This too must be the grace of a teacher.

“Knowing this information is important not only for mages but also for the attackers in the same party.”

It means that one troll mage can wipe out the entire party, so stop them if they do something stupid.

“I must not become that kind of mage.”

“An excellent aspiration, Student Han Ga-eul.”

“Kyah~”

Teacher Hwang’s sharp gaze is fixed solely on me.

If I were to interpret that look, it seems like I’m the one he’s most worried about.

“To summarize, most accidents happen right after entering the dungeon, so the attacker goes in first. Next is checking the environmental factors. If it’s so dark that visibility is limited, light up the surroundings with a prepared light source.”

I was wondering what kind of magic to learn, but Teacher Hwang’s lecture is helpful.

First, light-based magic that can serve as a light source seems good.

“I emphasize again, the most important thing is the environmental factors inside the dungeon. No matter how physically capable a hunter is, they are greatly affected by the environment. Literally, if it’s too cold or too hot, physical abilities drop drastically.”

The three companions sitting next to me nod their heads.

These friends also had their first dungeon experience in a cold place, so it resonates more with them.

“In the future, you will face various tests. A tip here is that most of the extreme environments prepared by the academy for tests are icy climates. Keeping this in mind will be a great help in future tests.”

As I raise my hand, Teacher Hwang nods.

“There are many different environments, so why is that?”

“You can’t push students into lava or pickle them to death with poison, right?”

“Ah, I completely understand.”

The first cave test I faced was overcoming a steep cave structure like a cliff and enduring the heat.

The second place I went to, the orc settlement, was disgustingly cold. Thanks to meeting a demon there, my head went flying.

Now that I think about it, the weather was always a problem before the monsters. I get why Teacher Hwang is so insistent on environmental factors.

“If the battle drags on longer than the supplies we’ve prepared due to unavoidable circumstances, we could end up starving to death. In such cases, we’d need to identify the vegetation within the dungeon to procure supplies, which would require knowledge of ecology and other fields, right, Cadet Han Ga-eul?”

“Yes…”

Teacher Hwang’s eyes are blazing.

Seems like they’ve seen my test scores.

I guess I’ve been firmly marked for slacking off and only doing what I wanted.

But I still have something to say.

Stuff like certain monsters’ shells being made of keratin or whatever is so boring I can’t even deal with it.

All the studying I’m doing now is because I enjoy it, not because someone told me to.

I like the astrophysics my grandfather teaches me.

He pats my head, saying I absorb it like a sponge.

I’m just living happily as someone said, and I’m perfectly content now.

“Today’s dungeon lecture ends here. And for the time being, it’ll be hard to get a pass to go out. We’ve received intel that nerds are running rampant again.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Professor!”

The sluggish cadets are quicker than anyone to shout their thanks. Even though something’s running wild, there’s not even a whisper.

Teacher Hwang casually packs the tablet from the podium table into their bag.

The academy has better infrastructure than most cities, so the cadets don’t seem too concerned.

“Hey, what’s a nerd?”

“People who use their awakened abilities to commit crimes.”

“Ah, so they’re villains?”

“Right, they’re bad guys. And they’re all completely insane. They kill people without a second thought.”

“Those guys would probably die of happiness if they had a meeting with me.”

Even on Earth, where I originally came from, criminals ran rampant. Were there any sane criminals on Earth?

Sane people don’t commit crimes in the first place.

Expecting only righteous people to exist in a place with abilities is a terribly naive thought.

“Teacher!”

“What.”

“I have a question.”

Grabbing my bag to head out of the classroom…

The students of Class J, who were in the middle of something, all freeze at once.

They’re all glaring at me.

I feel like that clueless student who asks a question right before class ends.

Teacher Hwang seems to have noticed too and nods.

“The other students can leave. Han Ga-eul is a special case as a Supporter, so I’m giving her a bit more advice.”

Thanks to that, the frozen students regain their energy.

Still, the three companions are waiting for me, claiming to be friends.

“So, what are you curious about?”

“What kind of support magic should I learn?”

“Most mages focus on one thing to maximize its power. A typical example is the unique ability gained during the Blooming Ceremony.”

On the day of the Wisdom Academy entrance ceremony, students who held the Sword of Blooming gained a unique ability called a Gift.

The possibility passed down by Gandharva, the Medicine God of Jinguo and Jingmu.

That possibility, which bloomed late, was my Gift, ‘Medicine Nature.’

Apart from the fact that it’s characterized by its healing skills, I don’t know much about it.

Son Goku’s excitement about being able to heal wounds inflicted by the Ruyi Jingu Bang is probably because of Medicine Nature.

“I’m working hard on developing my unique ability. Is there anything else?”

“Hmm, something else… How about Grease? It’s a very efficient magic.”

“What’s Grease?”

“It’s a magic that makes the opponent slip.”

“Make them slip?”

Slipping implies manipulating something.

You wouldn’t say you made someone slip by blowing wind to make them fall.

It probably means manipulating the friction coefficient, but I’m not sure if that’s possible with magic.

“Is there really such a cheat-like magic? If something like that existed, technology would have advanced so much that we’d already be terraforming Mars.”

“Ga-eul, can’t you use that sharp mind of yours to study something else? How can you just live doing only what you like?”