The Academy’s Unrivaled Professor - Chapter 77
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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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Academy Absolute Professor Episode 077
This Guy’s the Load-Bearer
The airport arrivals hall buzzed with chaos, but Kang Hyun had two sturdy tanks flanking him.
“Hunter Ma Chul-ung! Just one shot this way, please!”
“Is it true that the two of you resolved the Mongolia disaster?”
Flash-flash-flash-flash!
As dozens of camera flashes erupted, Kang Hyun, Baek Yu-yeon, and Lee Se-ah slipped quietly out through a back exit of the airport.
A Management Bureau sedan was already waiting there.
“Straight to the Special Operations Team.”
“Yes, Kang Hyun.”
Having executed a national mission well, it was only right to collect what was owed.
Fortunately, the Mongolian government had kept its promise regarding exclusive mining rights to the Lithium Mine, and the news had set Cheongwadae and the Management Bureau in a festive mood.
* * *
“Here it is—three kilograms of High-grade Mana Stone.”
Click!
When Kang Hyun opened the Titanium Briefcase, three crystals gleaming with a deep blue radiance lay arranged neatly inside.
Each one was worth a cool hundred billion won.
“I’ll put this to good use.”
Kang Hyun’s lips curled into a satisfied smile as he took hold of the briefcase.
This single expedition had yielded quite a haul.
With these three Mana Stones plus the thirteen Deep Red Ghost Cores he’d scraped together in the ravine?
In pure power-source value alone, it easily cleared a trillion won.
‘But.’
He couldn’t settle for just that.
The black market Kang Hyun would build would be worth far more and generate infinitely greater added value.
The ultimate goal was to make every hunter in the world have no choice but to use Taejeong Market.
Perfect global monopoly of the black market!
Kang Hyun was already looking that far ahead, and he had the confidence to get there.
* * *
Upon returning to the Academy, finals had wrapped up and the break season was upon them.
At an ordinary school, the campus would have emptied into silence, but the National Hunter Academy’s first-semester break was different.
There was one reason.
The Global Exchange Tournament was about to begin.
Prestigious hunter-training institutions from around the world would gather to test their mettle, and it was the stage where each nation proved the superiority of its hunter-cultivation system.
Tournament rankings would determine the nation’s funding allocation for the following year and the scale of sponsorships from major guilds.
Headmaster Seo Il-hyun selected nine combat students and three specialist students, announcing the roster on the Academy network.
3rd Year – Cha Yu-sik, Gwak Do-jin, Im Jin-uk
2nd Year – Seo Hae-in, Yun Hyun-jong, Kim Chul-soo
1st Year – Do Jeong-hyeok, Namgoong Seo-ha, Han Tae-ho
Martial Medicine – Baek Yu-yeon
Array Techniques – Min Seo-jun
Magical Beast Ecology – Ryu Ji-eun
└ And the lineup is ㄷㄷ
└ This is totally that specific professor’s supplementary class roster, right? ㅋㅋ
└ Even Han Tae-ho made the cut. The guy who placed 5th on the midterm (though nobody doesn’t know he’s actually 2nd) ㅋㅋ
└ I’m honestly hyped for this tournament
└ ㄹㅇ gonna be crazy fun
└ ㅋㅋㅋ I told my parents and got them to book plane tickets~ gonna watch in person~
The attention converging on the students was inevitable, and the selected candidates themselves lay awake at night, hearts bursting with anticipation.
Being selected for the World Exchange Tournament was as good as a guarantee of success for aspiring hunters.
Not only would they become known worldwide, but they’d also have the opportunity to build networks with other nations’ prospective S-rank Hunters.
For that reason, those selected hadn’t even clocked out from the training grounds.
They threw themselves into practice day and night.
Yet Kang Hyun himself remained uninterested.
If anything, his attention was fixed far more on Min Seo-jun.
* * *
Behind the New Training Hall, in an empty clearing.
“Master!”
Min Seo-jun, who had been crouching on the ground, snapped his head up.
“Hmm?”
“I was reading the Secret Manual and thought of something.”
He seemed to be rolling formulas through the air before nodding and continuing.
“What if we combined the Overlapping Amplification Array from the Celestial and Terrestrial Eight Gates Diagram with the Spatial Transposition Array?”
“How so?”
“Like this!”
Scratch, scratch-scratch!
Min Seo-jun, holding a stick, began drawing rapidly on the ground.
“The Spatial Transposition Array normally requires you to place Mana Stones like stepping stones the farther the distance gets, right? But what if we mesh the Overlapping Amplification Array on both the entrance and exit sides like gears? Then the power of the Mana Stones would keep pushing and pulling each other in continuous circulation! Like a Möbius strip!”
“And?”
“So! If we do it this way, we don’t need to place Mana Stones along the entire path. Just two. One at the entrance, one at the exit—that’s all. With that red crystal you showed me, Master… we could maintain the array anywhere on Earth without any loss of energy.”
Kang Hyun looked down at the diagram Min Seo-jun had drawn.
With twisted lines and overlapping circles, even someone with a mind as sharp as his found it complex.
‘……What in the world is this drawing?’
This kid could practically be called the reincarnation of the Array Ghost grandfather himself.
Or perhaps he was arriving at ideas even the Array Ghost hadn’t conceived.
Because this theory was fusing traditional Martial World Array Techniques with modern mana circuitry.
“In any case, you’re saying we can save on Mana Stones?”
In fact, Kang Hyun had been planning to create waypoints throughout the city for numerous Spatial Transposition Arrays and embed High-grade Mana Stones to enable multiple movements.
But if his theory was correct…….
That wouldn’t be necessary.
One High-grade Mana Stone per gate!
In other words, two Mana Stones per passage.
He could open eight passages immediately.
‘Indeed…… this kid’s something special.’
Kang Hyun reached out and ruffled Min Seo-jun’s hair.
“Well done, little one.”
“Hehe, so I was right?”
“Your concept passes. Now that you’ve formed a hypothesis, we need to test it. Start packing.”
“Packing?”
“I told you. Your real playground isn’t here—it’s in the Philippines.”
“Wow!”
Min Seo-jun threw his arms wide in celebration.
He’d never been on an airplane before.
“We’re really going overseas?”
“That’s right. Once we succeed with the Spatial Transposition Array there, you’ll be able to come and go without a passport from now on.”
“Then I’ll install the entrance right away!”
“Let’s set it up temporarily in a room on the first floor of the Main Building for now. How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Two days if I push hard through the night!”
“Good.”
Kang Hyun accepted Seo-jun’s mention of staying up all night without hesitation.
When someone is truly absorbed in something, forcing them to sleep is actually torture.
‘I’m the same way—when my interest is piqued, I have to see things through to the end.’
With Min Seo-jun’s enthusiasm burning bright behind him, Kang Hyun pulled out his phone and pressed the call button.
– Yes, Major Shareholder. This is Yun Tae-jung.
“How are things progressing with the island I asked about?”
– Ah, I was just about to report. We’ve completed a 99-year lease contract on a remote island in the southern waters of the Philippines for 31 billion won. Fortunately, everything went smoothly.
“Excellent work. You move fast.”
– It’s all for Taejeong Trading, so I had to get out there myself.
“Now that it’s under contract, I should go see it. Can you adjust your schedule?”
– Of course! Just give me the dates and I’ll book the tickets right away.
“In four days—I’ll be bringing Director Yun, myself, and one little one, so prepare three tickets.”
– Understood.
“Oh, and for now, book one-way tickets instead of round trips.”
– Pardon? One-way tickets?
“Yes, let’s try it that way for now. I’ll explain later.”
Even through the phone screen, Kang Hyun could sense Yun Tae-jung’s hesitation, but the answer that came back was affirmative.
“Understood, Chairman.”
* * *
Hwangbo Cheon-gi’s secret technique, the Spatial Transposition Array, was essentially an impossible formation.
It was a formation built from the Shrinking Earth Technique, something only transcendent immortals could employ.
Naturally, the method of installation was extraordinarily difficult.
Directional calculations were just the beginning—the curvature of the earth, the flow of magnetic fields, even the positions of constellations had to be considered, according to the manual.
But.
Tap. Tap-tap.
“Yes, Master. Right there.”
Min Seo-jun’s expression as he placed the Jade Stones was remarkably serene.
Of course, it wasn’t as if he was doing it easily.
“Hah.”
He released a sigh—rare for him—and when driving in the wooden supports, he’d spent more than an hour agonizing over whether this was the right spot.
Two days passed before the entrance installation was finally complete.
“Master, you can place it right here on top.”
Kang Hyun drew a Deep Red Ghost Core from his robes and carefully set it upon the Array Eye.
Hummmmm!
The crystal immediately blazed with crimson light, resonating with the Jade Stones scattered around it.
That alone was remarkable.
“The entrance is complete!”
Min Seo-jun beamed, wiping the sweat from his brow.
The formation’s shape was crude, but once they confirmed it was functioning properly, they could always dress it up convincingly with interior design.
Click, click!
Kang Hyun photographed the formation’s structure from several angles on his phone.
He’d need them as reference when constructing the exit later.
And the next day.
The three men who arrived at Manila Airport immediately boarded a rented helicopter.
Their destination: Paradiso, an island in the southwestern waters off Mindanao!
Whup-whup-whup-whup-whup!
As the helicopter descended, a vast island spanning a million acres came into view through the window in its entirety.
“Wow.”
Min Seo-jun’s mouth fell open, and Kang Hyun voiced his admiration as well.
It was a different experience entirely from photographs.
“The scenery alone is spectacular.”
“It’s no wonder resort development has been attempted so many times. Though it failed due to accessibility issues. But… how exactly are you planning to establish a black market here?”
It was a natural question.
The waters around the island were so full of reefs that even large cruise ships and cargo vessels had difficulty docking.
There were limits to helicopter transport, and the weather was far too hot and humid.
On top of that, the region faced typhoon risks.
The scenery was beautiful, but the world’s wealthy wouldn’t venture to a remote island for that alone.
“Heh heh.”
Kang Hyun merely smiled.
‘No fun in spoiling the surprise.’
So he gave only a hint.
By running his hand over Min Seo-jun’s head.
“This boy here will become the pillar of our Taejeong Market.”
“Min Seo-jun?”
Yun Tae-jung tilted his head in confusion.
Was he planning to do something with an array formation?
‘But.’
What could he possibly do with this vast island through that?
* * *
Once we descended onto the island, we made our way to its highest point.
What view should unfold the moment someone entering through the formation arrived at Taejeong Market?
A refreshing sea breeze coupled with a sweeping ocean vista!
And the island’s overwhelming natural beauty laid bare before them in a single glance—wasn’t that essential?
“We’ll construct the exit here.”
“An exit?”
Yun Tae-jung echoed the question, but Kang Hyun answered with a smile.
Representative Yun, as the saying goes, seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times.
You’ll be amazed very soon.
“Master, the qi here is remarkably clear and pure. The latitude difference from Korea means I’ll need to twist the coordinates quite a bit, but… it should work without problems.”
“Good. Get to it.”
The pupils of Min Seo-jun’s eyes began to glimmer with an eerie green light as his Spirit Eye activated.
The work took considerable time, and required vast amounts of material.
Yun Tae-jung, understanding nothing of what was happening, hauled stones while sweat poured down his face, while Kang Hyun prepared meals from fish and crayfish pulled from the sea.
Two full days passed in this manner, and as the red sunset began to stain the ocean.
“Ah.”
Yun Tae-jung gasped in wonder.
An Array Technique with geometric patterns had taken shape atop the elevated ground.
“Master, it’s finished.”
“Good.”
Kang Hyun withdrew the second Deep Red Ghost Core from his breast.
Thunk.
He placed it upon the Array Eye of the exit.
Hummmmm!
That was the moment.
The crimson crystal began to resonate with the one far away in Korea, releasing brilliance so dazzling it hurt the eyes.
Watching the space warp before him, the corners of Kang Hyun’s mouth curved upward in a smile.
“Well then, shall we see if it works?”
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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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