The Academy’s Unrivaled Professor - Chapter 5

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

Academy’s Absolute Professor 005
This time, I’ll live my own life
A Korean beef restaurant in Jongno-gu.
A toast rang out over the sizzle of meat cooking on the grill.
“Here’s to our Special Forces Team’s lucky charm! Let’s celebrate this agent’s safe return! Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
“Lee Se-ah, you’re truly the treasure of our team!”
Lee Se-ah clinked her glass awkwardly amid the seniors’ enthusiastic cheers and praise.
For a rookie who’d just been deployed to the field, the results she’d achieved were almost unbelievable.
Leviathan corpse disposal: complete.
First-class Martial Arts Secret Manual: secured.
And on top of that, she’d managed to get Kang Hyeon into the Academy.
“Hey, how did you even manage that Kang Hyeon…… whew!”
Director Kim trembled as he spoke through a mouthful of meat.
“Back then, wasn’t it Deputy Director Park? He tried to approach Kang Hyeon’s Residence and didn’t even get to touch the doorknob before he was flung into empty air?”
“Goodness, sir! But I was persistent enough to at least see his face. Boy, he had this terrifying air about him, didn’t he? I thought I’d be torn to shreds right there. Honestly, those eyes…… they were frightening. They say he just waved his hand and burst the Leviathan apart…… who’s to say my head wouldn’t be next?”
“He’s a time bomb waiting to go off. That’s what makes our agent Lee Se-ah even more impressive!”
The seniors indulged in gossip and fearful talk about Kang Hyeon as if it were appetizers.
Of course their fear was understandable.
‘……That’s not quite it, though.’
Lee Se-ah clenched her fists beneath the table.
The Kang Hyeon she’d seen was different.
A man who endured such horrific agony that furniture melted around him, yet still pushed others away for fear they’d get hurt.
A man who didn’t turn away when he saw a dying student, even shrouded in misunderstanding.
A man capable of casually tossing her a Martial Arts Secret Manual and expressing gratitude without fanfare.
‘What do the seniors even know about him!’
Just as Lee Se-ah was about to defend Kang Hyeon, her lips parted—
Zing! Zing!
Her mobile phone on the table rang loudly.
[Director Kim Hyung-seok]
“Oh, excuse me. It’s Director Kim calling.”
She scrambled up and rushed out of the restaurant to answer.
“Director Kim, I’ve got you.”
— Ah, Agent Lee! You’re in the middle of drinks?
“Yes, sir! My seniors threw a welcome party for me.”
— That’s fitting. Thanks to you handling that bomb, the Special Forces Team boys can finally stretch their legs and sleep soundly. From the Management Bureau’s perspective, your contribution is substantial. Enjoy yourself.
“Thank you so much, Director!”
— Ahem, anyway, course registration for this Academy semester opens in a week, right?
“Yes, that’s correct.”
The National Hunter Academy’s education system works like a university—students choose their own courses.
Everything from swordplay, spearcraft, and archery to Qi Cultivation, medicine, and Formation Theory.
Students pick whichever of the dozens of major lectures they want to attend.
Naturally, courses taught by famous professors fill within seconds of registration opening, the competition is fierce.
— Still, this will be Kang Hyeon’s first class, after all. I need you to support him well from the sidelines and do some good promotion for Special Guidance Studies.
“Understood, sir.”
Lee Se-ah was already worried.
Would there be any cadets willing to attend a weekend intensive taught by a professor of unknown background?
‘How am I going to manage this.’
A sigh escaped her already.
Should she post flyers on the Academy bulletin board?
Or reach out personally to promising students?
— And, Agent Lee.
The director’s voice grew heavier and more grave.
— The real reason I’m calling is this. No matter what happens, you cannot let him cause trouble inside the Academy.
Lee Se-ah swallowed hard without realizing it.
— The Demon Possession Incident last time was only covered up because the dean barely managed it. If Kang Hyeon loses his temper and so much as snaps Professor Jin Myeong-hun’s neck, even we won’t be able to clean that up. You understand?
“I’ll cover for him with my own body if I have to.”
— Never forget that you’re currently carrying the most crucial and weighty responsibility in all of South Korea. That’s all.
Beep. Beep.
The call ended, and Lee Se-ah stared blankly at her phone screen.
Now it hit him—who exactly he was looking after.
Who he was taking care of.
“Sigh.”
The alcohol’s warmth had faded.
Given his nature, if students didn’t gather, there was no telling what kind of trouble he’d cause.
Slap! Slap!
Lee Se-ah struck both cheeks hard with her palms, steeling herself.
That’s right.
Let’s just do this.

* * *
At that moment.
Kang Hyeon sat on the sofa, nursing a glass of Whiskey on the rocks, lost in thought.
Masin. Asura.
Where was he now?
It took twenty more years in Murim—would it be the same this time?
There was no way to know.
He could show up tomorrow, for all he knew.
‘If he does, there’s nothing in heaven or earth that could stop him.’
“Ugh.”
As his thoughts spiraled, a burning ache pulsed through his core.
The Poison Qi that Asura had embedded before his death.
To unfold the Heavenly Divine Scripture, he had to purge this poison first, and it wasn’t easy.
‘I’ll probably need at least three of the Water Formation to manage it.’
The seven elders had each wielded different formations.
Seven formations that commanded Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements.
Only when these interlocked perfectly could the Seven Stars Formation be completed and the Heavenly Divine Scripture be activated.
Ring.
Just then, his Mobile Phone vibrated softly on the table.
He picked it up and checked—a message had arrived.
[Lee Se-ah: Professor Kang! I’ll visit Kang Hyeon’s Residence tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock! The course registration period doesn’t have much time left, so tomorrow is a must! We need to work out the course syllabus and discuss how to recruit students. Have a good night! ^^]
A course syllabus?
What’s that supposed to be?
He tossed the phone back onto the table carelessly.
He tossed the phone back onto the table carelessly.
Truth be told, he didn’t care about students.
He’d never gone into this with any intention of teaching anyone sincerely.
‘I have one purpose, and one alone.’
Finding seven vessels capable of wielding the Seven Stars Formation.
Preparing for the return of Asura.
He planned to walk through the Academy, assessing the natural talent and physiology of every cadet.
If there wasn’t a single useful one among them?
He’d search other national Academies, Guilds—whatever it took.
But in truth, will mattered more than physiology.
What good was a gifted talent blessed by heaven, born with a bone structure that appeared once in a thousand years?
You couldn’t do anything with someone who didn’t try, or who lacked drive.
‘I wonder if there’s anyone with poison enough in them.’
A sharp burn down his throat.
The bitter liquor went down.
‘Only one way to find out.’

* * *
Being a professor turned out to be more tedious and demanding than he’d expected.
“What’s all this?”
“It’s an Academy Access Card. Just tap it on the terminal at the main gate and the door will open.”
“…And this?”
“It’s a Tablet linked to the electronic approval system. You can check student documents and academic schedules on it.”
“……”
Every time Kang Hyeon encountered these things, he was struck anew.
Strange devices that seemed to deploy an Illusion Formation in empty space had become everyday reality.
Back when he was thirteen, in his memory, mobile phones existed.
Though they were flip phones — the kind where you had to punch buttons repeatedly to send a text.
“All right, now look at the camera lens here!”
After that came fingerprint registration, facial recognition, and various other tedious procedures.
It was annoying, but he complied anyway.
It was part of adapting to society, after all, and he was grateful for Lee Se-ah, who kept checking things while sweating profusely.
“Sir, I need you to write down the lecture objectives.”
“Just write something rough for it.”
“How can you say that? This is where South Korea’s elite gather. Without a proper course syllabus, students won’t even enroll.”
“Then don’t. Isn’t that their loss?”
“Well…….”
He had a point.
The Academy professors were A-rank Hunters at best, while Black standing before her was a monster operating on a level above even S-rank Hunters.
“But… the students won’t know that. If we don’t get enough enrollments, the course gets cancelled.”
“Mm.”
Kang Hyeon drained the remaining half of his Whiskey on the rocks.
To be honest, he felt strange.
‘Is she worried about me?’
It was unfamiliar.
The seven elders who taught him were too busy beating him, and everyone he’d met in Kangho either hated him or despised him.
Since coming here, things hadn’t been much different.
There was always fear in the eyes of those officials who came looking for him.
‘That chick was the same at first.’
A scrawny thing trembling like an aspen leaf, hardly able to breathe properly.
And now that same creature was anxious about him losing face at the Academy.
“How to grow stronger.”
“Pardon?”
“The objective. You said you need to write it down. Write: how to grow stronger.”
Back in Kangho, Kang Hyeon had always wanted to return.
He’d wanted to return and live an ordinary life.
But what was ordinary, exactly?
Kang Hyeon’s gaze shifted to Lee Se-ah, who was clutching the Tablet and bouncing on her feet.
Perhaps it was something very small.
Listening to the advice of someone who worried about you.
In a situation like this, simply following what this scrawny girl said — wasn’t that the most ordinary choice?
‘Yes.’
He’d become a professor on a whim, after all.
Starting his life on this Earth from the point of properly playing that role of professor didn’t seem like a bad idea.
Kang Hyeon set down his empty glass and questioned himself.
He had sacrificed his entire life to save Kangho.
He’d been beaten like a beast, his bones shattered, coughing blood.
So must he squander this remaining life, miraculously returned, once again fighting to stop Masin?
‘I don’t want that.’
He was sick of it.
‘This time, I’ll live my own life.’
On this peaceful Earth, he’d drink good Whiskey, live like a human being enjoying his days, and gladly stop Masin in the process.
That was the way of his second life, the one Kang Hyeon had chosen.
“Sir? How to grow stronger……. What else should I add after that? You’re not saying those five words are all, are you?”
The corners of Kang Hyeon’s mouth curved up faintly.
For a martial artist, that was enough. What more needed to be said?
“Add a condition.”
“A condition?”
“Yes.”
Kang Hyeon’s lazy eyes suddenly flashed with intensity.
“Only those prepared to die.”
“Pardon?”
“Write that only those who won’t wet themselves and run away in the face of real death should apply.”
Lee Se-ah’s fingers halted on the Tablet screen.
“……That phrasing seems a bit too harsh…….”
“Write it as is.”
Kang Hyeon drove the point home with finality.
“If they didn’t have even that much poison in them, they wouldn’t last a single day in my class.”

* * *
A few days later. The night of the course registration deadline at the Academy.
Lee Se-ah, alone in the Special Forces Team Office, trembled as she gripped her mouse, anxiety coiling through her.
‘Please, just the minimum enrollment, at least!’
The National Academy required a minimum of five students to open a special lecture.
Anything less, and the course would be cancelled without exception.
If Black threw a fit over the cancellation?
The thought sent ice down her spine, and the moment the clock struck midnight, she hammered the refresh button like her life depended on it.
The screen flashed, and the final course registration results appeared on the monitor.
Course Title: Special Guidance Studies
Instructor: Kang Hyeon
Capacity: 50 students
Final Registrations: 3 students
Clink.
The pen slipped from Lee Se-ah’s hand and clattered to the floor.
Below the minimum of five students.
In other words, cancellation confirmed.
“We’re… done for.”

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