The S-Rank Warden Devours the Academy - Chapter 10

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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 10

‘All the tedious work landed on me.’
Inside the black Limousine.
Sa Hyeon sprawled across the passenger seat and let out a long sigh.
‘Might as well make him study on his own.’
Hae Seong, oblivious to Sa Hyeon’s thoughts, drove diligently toward the Academy.
By the time the dense high-rise buildings outside the window gave way to green, the landscape had transformed entirely.
“There it is.”
Hae Seong pointed beyond the car window.
“…That’s supposed to be the Academy?”
Sa Hyeon tilted his head slightly.
A stark white, towering wall stood alone in the barren expanse.
“Yes, they’ve placed Defense Skills on the walls to prevent monster intrusions.”
Hae Seong added as he brought the car to a stop before the main gate.
After a brief inspection by the gate guard passed.
Creak—
The massive iron gate swung open.
Tall trees lined in a long row from the entrance.
At first glance, it resembled a university campus, but its scale was extraordinary.
Luxurious modern buildings encircling a vast lake. Gold fixtures adorned the pristine white walls.
Sa Hyeon let out a hollow laugh.
“They’ve built themselves a resort.”
“Hah… The Hunter Academy does have excellent facilities, I suppose.”
Hae Seong cut the engine as he parked in front of the building with the central tower.
“Let’s head to the main building. The Chancellor is waiting for you.”
Hae Seong guided Sa Hyeon with familiar steps.
Upon entering the main building, Sa Hyeon exhaled a short breath.
“Is this an art museum?”
The lobby ceiling stretched open beneath a glass roof. Art pieces hung on the walls. A small cart glided overhead as if moving through the sky—whether propelled by magic stone or some other means.
‘They must have nowhere left to spend their money.’
Sa Hyeon clicked his tongue and followed Hae Seong into the Chancellor’s office.
“Come right in~ I’ve been expecting you.”
The Chancellor greeted the two with a radiant smile.
In that instant, Sa Hyeon’s eyes narrowed.
There was something oddly familiar about his face.
“Hae Seong, the Hunter! Meeting a graduate who’s become such an accomplished Hunter stirs the heart, doesn’t it? Haha!”
The Chancellor first patted Hae Seong’s shoulder in greeting.
“Haha… It’s all thanks to you.”
Hae Seong smiled awkwardly and bowed deeply, pointedly ignoring Sa Hyeon’s presence.
So this man was also an alumnus.
Sa Hyeon paid it no mind and moved past them to settle onto the spacious leather sofa.
A large display cabinet was visible directly ahead.
‘Commendation for Merit’, ‘City Council Commendation’…
It was entirely decorated with trophies and medals.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the Chancellor took his seat on the single sofa in the center.
He poured tea into a cup on the table and began to speak.
“The Association Chairman has told me much about you.”
Sa Hyeon crossed his legs at length.
“I doubt it was anything flattering.”
He set three teacups on the table.
“Haha. That’s not true. I hear you’re the one who dealt with the Felcon Creature that appeared in Seoul recently?”
The Chancellor’s eyes scanned Sa Hyeon up and down.
Then he gestured toward the teacup placed before Sa Hyeon and spoke.
“Hunter Hae Seong, why don’t you stop standing there and have a seat? Have some tea as well.”
“Ah, no! This spot is fine for me!”
Hae Seong declined again, but eventually sat down hesitantly under the Chancellor’s persistent invitation.
Sa Hyeon, indifferent to the steam rising from the tea, tilted his head and studied the Chancellor closely.
A man in his mid-to-late thirties with a scraggly, unkempt impression.
Yet his face looked quite young.
And there was something else.
‘Where do I know him from…?’
Particularly that slicked-down forelock, glossy as if a cow had licked it.
Sa Hyeon rummaged through his memory, throat working, before the words tumbled out.
“Do you have a Major Change?”
Was it a face he’d seen in prison?
“Pfft.”
Hae Seong, mid-sip, spat out his tea.
The Chancellor blinked his small eyes, his face going slack with bewilderment.
“…? Did I mishear? A Major Change…?”
Sa Hyeon studied the Chancellor’s expression carefully.
Confusion, surprise, bewilderment—nothing else registered.
“Cough, well—!”
Hae Seong, coughing frantically, moved quickly to salvage the situation.
“Sa Hyeon didn’t know much about the Academy! That Major Change System—he was asking about that!”
At the desperate clarification, the Chancellor offered a formal smile.
“Ah, that’s possible, of course. Ha ha. It was rather a sudden replacement, after all.”
A flat, reluctant laugh.
The typical show-off type.
‘No way a convict becomes Chancellor.’
Even if the Association President looked like a lightweight, he wasn’t soft enough to let something like that slide.
‘Since I can’t place him immediately, he’s probably not important.’
Sa Hyeon, losing interest, quirked an eyebrow and looked away.
The Chancellor cleared his throat and began explaining in a measured tone.
“Major Changes are certainly possible based on aptitude. It’s quite common for students to awaken new skills or see their stats rise during their education.”
Then he swept his gaze over Sa Hyeon with a look of displeasure and continued.
“I’ve already heard about you. You were overseas on dispatch and came back because of this recent Gate Break? I’m not sure which organization you belonged to, though.”
The Chancellor added with pointed significance.
His tone suggested suspicion about Sa Hyeon’s origins. Hae Seong flinched slightly and snuck a glance at Sa Hyeon’s reaction.
But Sa Hyeon, unbothered, rested his chin on his hand and asked.
“What exactly am I supposed to do in Lee Ha Je’s place?”
“Ah, I should explain that first.”
The Chancellor straightened his spine and offered another artificial smile.
“Simply take over the students that Lee Ha Je was teaching.”
He rattled on about how Lee Ha Je had been popular with the students and was something of a school celebrity, how they’d been close and it pained him to see it all come to this.
The Chancellor chattered on merrily.
“Enough of that. Get to the point.”
Sa Hyeon cut short the Chancellor’s monologue.
Hae Seong swallowed, wetting his lips as he studied the Chancellor’s reaction.
……?”
The Chancellor’s response was not what Sa Hyeon expected.
There was no sign of irritation at Sa Hyeon’s attitude. Rather—
“Um, Chancellor…?”
His complexion had gone pale. His adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.
He seemed tense, almost nervous.
Hae Seong, observing his reaction, finally opened his mouth again.
“Are you all right?”
“…Oh! Oh yes, of course!”
The Chancellor seemed to snap awake, as if from a dream.
“Your manner of speaking just resembles someone I know very well. Ha ha! Though it probably isn’t them. I went through quite a lot of hardship when I was new to all this.”
The Chancellor’s eyes grew distant.
“It was an era of upheaval. But because I struggled through it myself and built up data firsthand, I’m able to provide systematic education here at the Academy now.”
Sa Hyeon exhaled and began tapping his fingers on the armrest.
“Seems the Chancellor’s office keeps you very free.”
It was a hint not to waste time on idle talk.
“…Ahem.”
Despite his rudeness, the Chancellor merely shifted uncomfortably, his expression troubled.
He let out a faint sigh, then retrieved a Tablet and set it on the table.
“…Sa Hyeon, the students in Combat Major Class A will be under your instruction.”

—Tae Eun O (20)
—Ha Jae Yun (18)
—Go Gyeol (22)
…….

A screen displaying the students’ ability stats.
Unlike Sa Hyeon, who had merely glanced at it, Hae Seong read through each entry methodically.
“Wow, they’re all A-Rank?”
“Yes, if a new S-Rank Awakener appears, they would likely be placed in this class.”
The Chancellor turned to Sa Hyeon and narrowed his eyes.
“So this is a class that gathers only high-rank Awakeners.”
“Well, yes, but….”
The Chancellor’s voice trailed off.
“There are some issues with the students here… not that the kids are bad, you understand, but because they’re high-rank, they have so much energy they tend to be quite spirited. I suspect you’ll have your hands full keeping them in line.”
“That’s fine.”
Sa Hyeon deflected with ease.
“I’ve handled far more difficult ones.”
“?!”
Hae Seong, who had been intently reading the Tablet, swallowed hard and shifted the subject.
“Um, are there no other classes today?”
“That’s right. There are three student Tests at five o’clock.”
“Tests?”
At Sa Hyeon’s question, Hae Seong began to explain.
“Yes, the Academy operates on a total of three semesters, and students must pass a Test at the end of each semester to advance. After completing all three semesters, they can become active Hunters.”
“Since we’re in an emergency situation, instructors have discretion to administer Tests and graduate students ahead of schedule.”
The Chancellor added this note.
Then he slid the Tablet on the table toward them.
“Today’s scheduled Gate Test.”
Sa Hyeon’s expression crumpled as he examined the screen.
“D-Rank?”

—Combat Zone District 0, D-Rank Gate

Gates were unpredictable; you never knew when disaster might strike. Was he really being asked to lead a group of inexperienced students into such a place?
Sa Hyeon’s eyes sharpened with unspoken demand for explanation, and the Chancellor moistened his lips before speaking.
“Combat-type Hunters normally conduct their Tests within Gates. Besides, these are students Professor Lee Ha Je has already verified.”
And with a benevolent smile, he gestured to his own eyes.
“I’ve confirmed it with my own eyes, so you can rest assured. Even if I look like this, I’m a 1st Generation Awakener, so my experience is considerable.”
The Chancellor was a 1st Generation Awakener?
Sa Hyeon’s brows tilted slightly.
Was that why his face had seemed familiar?
Hae Seong pointed respectfully to the Chancellor and spoke.
“Yes, the Chancellor possesses a skill to detect Gate currents, and it’s said he always checks any Gate scheduled for a Test.”
Detecting Gate currents, he said.
You couldn’t know what environment a Gate held or what Creatures might emerge until you entered it directly.
If the Chancellor’s trait allowed him to see that in advance, it was a considerable advantage.
A useful and rare trait.
Perhaps all that shiny equipment adorning the Academy was a result of unbridled spending.
‘Come to think of it, I think there was someone with a trait like that during my active days.’
“Thanks to these eyes, I received considerable help with the Hunter Bible compilation. Especially―”
Whether the Chancellor had absorbed Hae Seong’s explanation or simply seized the opening, he began airing his own accomplishments.
Sa Hyeon let it pass through one ear and slowly sifted through his memory.
…A 1st Generation Awakener with the ability to see Gate currents.
“……Ah.”
The fragmented pieces of memory suddenly clicked into place.

—Ah, hello, seniors! A new recruit reporting in on my tenth day of Awakening!!

A rookie who’d spent those days rolling around under the core Hunters.
‘Is that him?’
A deflated laugh escaped between Sa Hyeon’s lips.

S-Rank Instructor Devours the Academy – Chapter 10

Author
Baek Ruga
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yun Tae Ri
Cover Design
Torp

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260512043.0011

ⓒ2026, Baek Ruga

※ This e-book is a work protected by the copyright law of the Republic of Korea.
No part or whole of this work may be reproduced or modified in any form without permission from the author and publisher.

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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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