The S-Rank Warden Devours the Academy - Chapter 26

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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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Chapter 26

“Did you hear about Professor Seo? Combat Class A—apparently they all failed the Gate test yesterday.”
Faculty Lounge.
Seo Ha-yeon set down her cold coffee and pushed her glasses up as she fought off the afternoon drowsiness.
“Combat Class A?”
“Yes! They said they have to retake it.”
“How on earth did that happen?”
Ha-yeon’s question ignited the lounge into a flurry of gossip about yesterday’s incident.
“Nobody knows! There was no official announcement about the reason, and… isn’t that strange? Even if the new student hasn’t been here long, I thought Jae-yoon and Gyeol would pass easily with their skills.”
“That’s what I’m saying. Especially Gyeol—he’s ranked first in the Comprehensive Evaluation among first-semester students, isn’t he?”
“Right, the more I hear about it, the more odd it seems. Maybe it’s because a new instructor led them~”
A young professor smiled wryly, speaking with a hint of sarcasm.
Ha-yeon crunched an ice cube and let out a small, dismissive laugh. They’ll pin blame on anything.
Then a low, steady voice suddenly carried across the lounge from the far end.
“That’s not the issue.”
Every head in the room turned at once.
A man sat upright on the sofa by the window—a figure that immediately caught everyone’s attention.
It was Ji Jae-hyeok, the Combat instructor, dressed in a crisp three-piece suit with every hair perfectly in place, holding a teacup.
“Ah, that’s right! Isn’t your father the Vice-Director?”
When one professor tried to seem knowledgeable, curious questions followed.
“Do you happen to know what happened?”
“Yes. It’s confidential information shared only with high-ranking officials…”
Jae-hyeok set his teacup down on the table without a sound and continued flatly.
“There was a Gate Rank Change. To B-Rank.”
“…What?!”
“So that’s why it was suspended?!”
“Has a test Gate ever shifted to B-Rank before?”
“I think it’s the first time a Gate has shifted by two ranks or more…”
The lounge began to stir with unease.
The shock of such an unprecedented incident faded quickly.
“The new instructor seems quite skilled. He managed to escape rather well.”
The conversation shifted to the escort’s competence.
“He’s the one replacing Ha Je—he must be qualified~”
“Even if he came from outside, he’d have some skill. Otherwise, would he even be fit to teach Combat Class?”
The professors murmured and traded gossip.
“The problem is he’s an unverified Hunter, so there’s no trust there.”
Jae-hyeok chimed in with an indifferent tone.
Ha-yeon rolled her eyes in exasperation and swept her hair back.
They really do love talking about others.
“But is it even okay to tell us something like that? It’s supposed to be ‘confidential.'”
Ha-yeon deliberately emphasized those two syllables, and Jae-hyeok’s jaw tilted slowly.
“Sharing such information can do no harm. It allows everyone to prepare in advance, doesn’t it?”
And with an arrogant gaze that seemed to look down on her, he gave a slight nod.
“Since you have no reason to venture into the field, it’s understandable you’d lack interest.”
“…!”
The implication was clear: how would a theory professor possibly know anything?
Ha-yeon felt veins rise across her forehead. This bastard.
“Of course! Since I’m just a lowly theory professor, I’m hardly in a position to know!”
Bang—her coffee cup was set down on the table with a harsh clink.
The professors instinctively sensed it in that moment: Professor Seo had just lost her temper.
Ha-yeon twisted her lips into a mockery of politeness as she pointed at Jae-hyeok.
“Here you have a thoroughly verified professor right in front of you, and yet the President goes and suddenly appoints this random outsider as Combat Class instructor. You must be quite concerned about it, I’m sure?”
The Combat Class instructor—a position dedicated to training the elite Hunters.
It was a post every combat Hunter dreamed of.
Jae-hyeok was no exception. Everyone quietly knew that he’d been eyeing Ha Je’s position ever since taking his post.
“……”
Jae-hyeok turned to face Ha-yeon without a word.
Ha-yeon smiled pointedly and shrugged her shoulders.
I don’t back down from fights I didn’t start.
Sparks seemed to crackle between their locked gazes.
“Ugh, why do you keep doing this!”
“Professor Seo? How about we take a deep breath together?”
Their colleagues stepped between the two of them with practiced ease.
‘That pompous know-it-all acts like some spoiled aristocrat,’ she thought bitterly.
Ha-yeon blew a strand of hair from her forehead and took a step back.
Only then did the other professors release their held breath, hurrying to change the subject.
“So, did you see Ha Je’s office on your way in? All those letters on his door had been torn off.”
“Of course! That new instructor ripped them down, apparently? The students are absolutely furious about it….”
“Well, it makes sense—Ha Je was a 1st Generation Hero before he was ever a professor.”
If the letters needed to be removed, he could’ve just done it; pointless nitpicking otherwise.
Ha-yeon shook her head and reached for her coffee again.
“Speaking of which—do you think practical combat training is happening right now? Isn’t Professor Ji’s nephew in that class?”
“Yes.”
Jae-hyeok nodded slightly.
“Ji Se-yong, right? He topped the Comprehensive Evaluation last semester.”
“Both Class A and Class B went in together, didn’t they?”
“Whew—I wonder if that new instructor can even handle the first lesson!”
“If he doesn’t get a decent evaluation score, he’s done for, no matter how well-connected he is.”
“He won’t last long. Professor Ji! His position might open up soon~!”
Ha-yeon let the lounge chatter wash over her, her gaze fixed instead on the window beyond.
Another peaceful day on the Academy grounds.
‘Everyone here’s obsessed with gossip. Out there, they’re dealing with Dungeon Breaks.’
If I just hadn’t been injured….
Ha-yeon’s fist clenched involuntarily.
She exhaled heavily and rose from her seat.
‘I’d be better off preparing for class than sitting here.’
She was tidying up her coffee cup, about to leave the lounge, when—
“—Hey! Did you see?”
“This is insane. That’s—”
A commotion in the hallway flooded the lounge.
“Huh?”
“But class is supposed to be in session right now….”
“What happened?”
All the professors’ attention snapped toward the disturbance.
While everyone else’s focus surged outward, Jae-hyeok remained unmoved, his expression vacant.
He took a sip of tea, lowering the cup to its saucer, when—
A voice rang out through the lounge, sharp and clear.
“—Ji Se-yong’s been carried out!”
The cup clattered loudly against its saucer.
A visible crease appeared across Jae-hyeok’s brow.

* * *

Academy Infirmary.
“I’m sorry…. I’ll be good…. Please forgive me….”
Vacant eyes staring at the ceiling. A mouth muttering the same words as though possessed by something.
“…How did this happen?”
Jae-hyeok’s eyes narrowed as he stared down at Se-yong’s pitiful state.
A medical staff member consulted a chart and answered.
“It’s a Skill Side Effect. One leg has gone numb, and his mental state has taken a hit as well. We’ve tried relevant recovery treatments and skills, but the power was so overwhelming that none of them are taking hold. At this point, natural recovery seems to be the only option.”
“So you’re saying someone used a Skill against the student?”
Jae-hyeok’s sharp gaze shifted slowly to one spot.
The red residue of a Skill remained on Se-yong’s right leg.
This was clearly a Skill that induced paralysis of the body.
Hae-sung, standing beside the bed, parted his lips with a troubled expression.
“…It appears to have occurred when Se-yong damaged a Skill-Embedded Object during combat training.”
“You used a Skill this dangerous during class instruction? And aimed at a student, no less?”
“…That’s the thing.”
Hae-sung’s mouth opened, his expression troubled.
“It’ll fade on its own in a few days. I don’t know why everyone’s making such a fuss.”
A leisurely voice cut through, heavy with indolence.
All eyes turned toward the source of the sound.
Sa Hyeon stood askew in the doorway, thumb pressed firmly against the bridge of his nose.
Jae-hyeok recognized him at once—the new instructor.
“You’re the one who cast the skill?”
“What if I am?”
Sa Hyeon lifted one eyebrow casually, as if the question held no weight.
Jae-hyeok’s eyes turned cold.
“What on earth have you done?”
“He brought it on himself.”
Sa Hyeon let out a soft snort and ambled toward the bed.
“If you tear apart a Skill-Embedded Object, you should’ve expected your mind to get torn apart along with it.”
He stopped before Se-yong’s bed.
“Though I’ll admit, he didn’t pass out. That’s better than I’d have guessed.”
Sa Hyeon reached out with an indifferent hand and tapped Se-yong’s crimson-tinged leg.
“Hee-eek!”
The moment his fingers made contact, Se-yong’s body convulsed, trembling violently.
Jae-hyeok’s eyes narrowed further.
“I won’t tolerate such unethical instruction.”
As if your tolerance matters.
Sa Hyeon settled onto the edge of the bed with a hollow laugh.
“Skill Side Effects when you force a skill to release—that’s basic knowledge. Don’t they teach that at the Academy?”
A deep crease formed between Jae-hyeok’s brows.
“The problem is that you used a skill on a student in the first place. Do you not see that?”
“…? Do monsters in Gates choose between students and hunters before using skills?”
Sa Hyeon muttered softly, hands thrust into his pockets.
“There’s no reasoning with you, it seems.”
Jae-hyeok exhaled roughly and met Sa Hyeon’s gaze head-on.
“I’ll be requesting a formal meeting with the Rector.”
“!”
The medical staff’s eyes widened, their breath caught.
The situation was escalating.
A meeting with the Rector typically meant only one thing—disciplinary action or a request for resignation.
“Ah.”
Yet Sa Hyeon seemed unmoved.
A small exclamation slipped through his lips, as though he’d just remembered something.
‘I almost forgot about this.’
“Hae-sung, do you have that Gate report the Rector wrote yesterday?”
“Yes, yes! I’ll get it right away.”
Hae-sung pulled out his Tablet with nimble efficiency, responding promptly.
“I was going to meet with the Rector anyway.”
Sa Hyeon stood, rolling his neck, and for just a moment, a lingering crimson gleam flickered across the ashen depths of his eyes.
“…….”
Jae-hyeok’s eyelids fluttered with bewilderment at Sa Hyeon’s wholly unexpected response.
…What? A voluntary meeting? Even the medical staff blinked in confusion at that moment.
Sa Hyeon’s lips curved upward in a smooth arc.
“How convenient.”

S-Rank Instructor Devours the Academy: Chapter 26

Author Ji Eun-i
Illustrator Baek Ru-ga
Publisher
Da-on Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yun Tae-ri
Cover
Thud

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260512043.0027

© 2026, Baek Ruga

※ This e-book is a copyrighted work protected under the copyright laws of the Republic of Korea.
No part or whole of this work may be reproduced or modified in any form without the permission of 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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