Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 104

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 104
‘Damn it.’
Leon swallowed hard, staring straight ahead.
On the surface, Grave was an instructor and Leon was a professor.
In reality, Grave had just used Leon to handle the dirty work.
But the students, unaware of the situation, brightened when they saw Leon come to the front.
“If he’s using that man as an instructor, how amazing must the professor be!”
Evangeline especially had set the mood in an odd way.
The problem was that the people with expectations weren’t just the students.
“A lecture with a perfect Satisfaction Rating. It’s truly an honor.”
Calix from the Academic Affairs Department had even pulled out his Pen and Notebook, waiting.
The expectations of the students and Calix weighed heavily on Leon’s shoulders.
The real problem was Grave watching from the back door.
Grave’s indifferent gaze went beyond burdensome—it was suffocating.
Cold sweat trickled down Leon’s back.
‘If I mess this up, I’m finished.’
Leon felt the pressure of mortal peril.
It felt like a Sword Master had placed his blade not against Leon’s throat, but against his soul.
He absolutely had to deliver a good lecture.
Under this sudden crisis, Leon’s mind raced.
What makes an excellent lecture?
There was already an answer.
Hadn’t Grave shown him?
But Leon couldn’t teach like Grave. In fact, no one could teach like Grave.
Handling the Four Attributes at that level of sophistication was impossible without Grave.
Still, he could at least follow his lead.
‘First, deliver a powerful impact.’
Leon recalled Grave and opened his mouth.
“I’m a soldier from the Southern Front. My senior officer lost an arm in a terror attack by the Republic and was discharged. My peer was possessed by a demon and went missing. My junior was devoured by a Barbarian.”
Leon deliberately lowered his voice.
The students focused even more intently on the shocking content.
“War is still ongoing. I’m going to teach you how to survive war.”
A sound of swallowing echoed through the room.
Leon pressed forward without missing the momentum.
“Now, let me teach you the most important thing in war: food and water. Even a Sword Master will die without food and water.”
Leon wove in compelling topics to maintain the students’ focus.
That’s when one student yawned.
‘Already?’
He’d barely said a few words, and they were already bored.
Leon recalled something he’d noticed earlier.
For some reason, these Failed Class students treated each other as rivals.
So—
“Then here’s a question. Where is the Southern Front located?”
Leon threw out a problem even the Failed Class students could answer.
The students urgently raised their hands.
Some even stood up from their seats.
Leon alternated between calling on different students, raising engagement.
“Impressive, getting that right.”
Leon lectured with desperate intensity just to survive.
He was so focused that he only snapped to attention when the bell rang to end the class.
“Just one more question!”
“This time I’m definitely getting it right!”
The students chattered loudly at Leon, but he barely heard them.
‘I’m going to be sick.’
Leon hurried out of the Lecture Hall.
“That was truly an outstanding lecture! So that’s why it earned a perfect Satisfaction Rating!”
Calix said something, but Leon brushed past him and rushed toward the Restroom.
* * *
‘He teaches surprisingly well.’
I nodded while watching Leon.
In truth, Leon’s lecture just now wasn’t spectacularly excellent.
It was merely decent, at best.
But the crucial factor was that his students were from a Failed Class.
The fact that he kept them engaged all the way through was impressive in itself.
Of course, the groundwork I’d laid by offering a reward before class and Evangeline’s instigation of competitive spirit surely played a significant role.
Still, that he pulled off the lecture like this was largely thanks to Leon’s own ability.
‘Why does he teach so well?’
In the game, Leon was quite an excellent professor, but his lectures hadn’t received particular acclaim.
It wasn’t surprising. A military officer turned professor’s lectures tend not to be entertaining.
But seeing it firsthand now, Leon’s teaching was objectively solid.
He seemed to be the type who performed better under expectations.
‘I should raise the bar for him more.’
Fortunately, there would be plenty of opportunities to build expectations for Leon.
Once the Twin Witches and Dracov started giving Leon’s Supplementary Lectures, word would spread loudly again.
And there were many problems to handle during the Midterm Exam period.
Each time I mentioned Leon’s name in connection with them, expectations around him would naturally climb higher.
Then he’d perform even better.
“Professor, let’s go together!!”
I nodded contentedly as I watched Calix and Leon dash off in the distance.
After confirming Calix had left, I entered the Lecture Hall.
The students who were standing looked confused when they saw me.
“Sit.”
The terse command made them sit back down without thinking.
“There will be Supplementary Lectures scheduled. The Twin Witches will teach Magic, and Professor Dracov will handle Black Magic. I’ll oversee the remaining two subjects.”
“Sup, Supplementary Lectures?!”
Evangeline reacted with exasperation. The other students had similar reactions.
The Twin Witches were currently the hottest new mages on the scene.
Dracov had an eccentric personality, but his lectures had a Satisfaction Rating of seven.
And they’d get these lectures for free—yet they were making such a fuss.
‘Truly a Failed Class.’
I held back a sigh that was about to escape.
These were people I’d deliberately gathered knowing they were Failed Class. Expecting much from them was foolish.
“Of course, attendance is optional. Only those who want to listen need come. Ah, and Chocolate Bread will be supplied freely throughout the lectures.”
“Choc, Chocolate Breeeead?!”
Evangeline shot up from her seat. Her mouth was already twitching with anticipation of eating.
“Evangeline, are you attending the Supplementary Lectures?”
“Of course!! I’m attending all of them!!”
Evangeline threw up a sloppy salute and shouted.
The moment the most Failed of the Failed Class students said they’d attend, the atmosphere shifted instantly.
“Me too.”
“Kekeke, I won’t lose. How terrifying. Me after attending these Supplementary Lectures.”
They all raised their hands competitively. Every eye was fixed on Evangeline.
The psychology of not wanting to lose to Evangeline was brazenly apparent.
‘Remarkable in its own way.’
I regarded Evangeline with fresh admiration.
“I’ll announce the dates and times of the Supplementary Lectures later.”
The lecture portion wound down there.
I’d secured a professor and instilled motivation in Evangeline. As a bonus, I’d tied down the Failed Class students too.
The foundation for the Midterm Exam’s most difficult challenge—”getting Evangeline to study”—was now laid.
Now I had to tackle the real problems.
During the Midterm Exam period, various problems would erupt from various places.
The issue was that they all happened at once.
It was a structure where solving one would trigger another.
Even when I played through the game, I’d gotten game over dozens of times during the first Midterm Exam.
And this time, a Chasm would be added on top of everything else.
So—
‘I’ll need to handle things preemptively.’
In the game, even if I’d wanted to handle things in advance, I couldn’t have.
The problems erupted in places that were difficult to access as a student.
But I wasn’t a student anymore.
‘I’m in the Elite Security Corps.’
There were very few places on the academy grounds that the Elite Security Corps couldn’t access.
If the Security Corps couldn’t approach somewhere, it was also difficult for intruders.
Using my position in the Elite Security Corps, I could handle problems before they arose.
‘I’ll be busy for a while.’
I nodded lightly to myself.
* * *
“I’ll be going out on Night Patrol tonight.”
At my words, Hanswell adjusted his Glasses.
“Didn’t you just finish a shift?”
“I only provided lecture support. I’ve barely done anything.”
“Lecture support is the toughest duty there is, though—”
Hanswell, who’d been in thought, soon nodded.
“Can’t stop you if you want to go. If you get tired during patrol, just tell the supervisor and head back. We have enough patrol personnel anyway.”
Hanswell added matter-of-factly.
Elysium Academy’s grounds were vast. The urban legend that you could get lost forever if you weren’t careful wasn’t baseless.
With such expansive grounds, patrols were always understaffed.
“We have enough patrol personnel?”
“Previously there were so many inefficient route assignments. For instance, roads where checkpoints had to be passed were included in patrol zones. Once I excluded those sections, we had personnel left over.”
They even had surplus patrol personnel.
I couldn’t fathom how competent Hanswell was.
“Rudrick has the Night Patrol tonight, so you two can go together.”
Hanswell glanced to the side as he spoke.
Rudrick, who’d been smoking a thin cigar, squinted. His displeasure was obvious.
I nodded.
“Very well.”
Rudrick’s brows furrowed deeply.
“Then—”
“I’ll go too!!!”
Just then, Milo shot his hand up.
“Milo, didn’t you finish the morning shift?”
“I’m fine!! I can do it!”
Milo answered while glancing sideways at Rudrick. His face showed urgency.
He seemed to feel competitive toward Rudrick.
“Sure, the more the better. I’ll assign you to the Night Patrol. Rudrick, show him around kindly.”
Rudrick’s face fell as if he’d stepped in something foul, and he flicked away his cigar.
Then Hanswell leaned toward me and spoke softly.
“If you happen to run into conflict with another Security Corps unit during patrol and can’t avoid it, tell me right away. Personally, I’d prefer Class 29.”
Hanswell spoke in a calm voice as though ordering food.
Hanswell was already managing thirteen units including Class 42.
And he needed more units.
I couldn’t begin to imagine how much work he wanted to handle.
“I’ll look into it.”
Just then, Scarlet entered through the Office door.
In Scarlet’s hand was her usual large cup, which was filled with viscous poison.
The stench of the acrid poison was so strong it made nostrils burn, filling the entire Office.
“Scarlet, again—”
“I told you to stop!”
The moment Scarlet appeared, Hanswell and Milo moved in front of me.
“Scarlet.”
Even Rudrick squinted and moved to block her.
Scarlet looked at me wordlessly.
“I requested this.”
I pushed Milo aside and spoke.
“Yes?”
“I requested it directly. One cup a day.”
“But that’s… that’s poison.”
“Poison, if used well, becomes medicine.”
“Is that even reasonable?”
Milo pointed at the cup with a bewildered expression.
A droplet of poison rose and popped with a wet sound, showing how potent it was.
“A measured amount of poison is good for blood circulation.”
I gestured to Scarlet. She swatted Rudrick’s hand away.
‘I’ll be sleeping outside again tonight.’
I clicked my tongue watching Rudrick’s mouth twitch.
Scarlet offered me the cup.
I took it and downed it in one gulp.
This batch was quite potent.
My insides stung for a moment.
Of course, compared to a witch’s stew, it was mild liquor.
“A sharp, tingling taste. Splendid.”
Scarlet said nothing and withdrew with the cup. Her eyes remained cold.
‘Next time, I’ll bring something tastier.’
I nodded with satisfaction.
“Now, go on duty.”
“About that sort of thing, you should mention it ahead of time—”
“Yes! I’ll assist you!”
Milo cut off Rudrick’s complaint and hurried ahead.
“Class 29! Oh, Class 15 isn’t bad either! If not, maybe Class 37!”
Hanswell called urgently from behind me.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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