The S-Rank Warden Devours the Academy - Chapter 42
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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 42
Scritch-scritch-scritch—
A bizarre rasping sound accompanied the flood of monsters pouring forth like a black tide.
Long legs, stubby bodies, fur bristling thick across every surface.
“They’re even more revolting up close…!”
Gyeol’s face contorted as he retreated backward.
Jae-yun dropped low into a combat stance, while Yu-weol racked the slide of her Magical Pistol.
The corridor grew taut with tension.
Twenty Wire Spiders now filled the passage completely.
“Okay, it’s crowded but I’m not complaining!”
Eun-o let out an eager shout and deployed his skill.
The rushing wind sent his wine-colored hair whipping wildly about his face.
Grrr—
Achinonnix’s eyes flashed, refusing to be outdone.
“You can’t beat me to it, you dumb cat!”
Eun-o pushed off the ground and bolted forward, leaving Achinonnix’s snort in his wake.
Condensed wind materialized in his palm, shaping itself into a razor-sharp blade.
In the next instant, as he began to swing the blade at the approaching monster—
“Ugh?!”
Something hooked his ankle.
Having lost his center of gravity, he crashed to the floor with all his momentum.
“What the—?!”
Eun-o ground his teeth and tried to push himself up, but the sensation of something squeezing his ankle didn’t fade.
The moment he yanked his foot to pull free—
Zzzt—!
“Aah!”
Lightning coursed down his ankle in a sharp, stinging shock.
Smoke rose from the cuff of his pants.
“What is this now?!”
“Idiot. I told you to stop charging in like a headless fool,” Gyeol muttered, shaking his head as he approached.
“That’s the Wire Spider’s signature move—Transparent Web and a Lightning Skill.”
“Wait, so what grabbed my ankle—?”
A light bulb seemed to blink above Eun-o’s head.
“I’ll cut you free, Eun-o!”
Jae-yun came over and felt carefully around Eun-o’s ankle.
Finding purchase on something invisible, he gripped it tight.
Tear-tear-tear—
With both hands, Jae-yun ripped the web apart.
“Wow. You got the strength of a bear,” Eun-o remarked with a wry grin as he got to his feet.
So it had electricity-attribute webs.
“No wonder that dumb cat’s having the time of his life.”
Eun-o cast a resentful glance in one direction.
Webs now spread across various points in the corridor.
Sparks erupted here and there, and Achinonnix looked like he was at a playground, thrilled beyond measure.
The lightning flowing from the Wire Spiders was clearly to his liking.
Zing-zing-zing— Bang!
Yu-weol had begun hunting with her Magical Pistol.
“Damn it, I’m already behind,” Eun-o breathed out in frustration.
But Yu-weol’s situation was hardly smooth either.
“Achinonnix, stop playing around and actually attack!”
Yu-weol lowered her pistol in exasperation.
The creature had grabbed one monster and was happily rolling it beneath its paws.
Thanks to this, the score gap hadn’t widened too much yet.
Eun-o snorted softly and bounced lightly in place.
“Heh, serves you right.”
“Instead of wasting time trying to counter Yu-weol, keep your eyes on your surroundings. If you weren’t Grade A, you’d have been roasted alive by now.”
“I won’t let my guard down again…!”
Stung by the rebuke, Eun-o launched himself upward once more, his eyes burning with renewed resolve.
Meanwhile, Hae-seong pressed himself flat against the wall.
‘At this rate, I’m going to get dragged into this myself…!’
Unlike the Training Hall with its control room, the corridor of the Individual Management Building had already become a war zone.
Wires swayed overhead, sparks flying from every direction.
-Monster Wave training in the Individual Management Building?!
He’d been surprised when Sa-hyeon briefed him on the lesson beforehand.
But to proceed this… unfiltered.
Crackle—
“Ahhh!”
In the blink of an eye, sparks flashed directly before him.
Hae-seong dropped to a crouch with practiced quickness.
His heart hammering in his chest as he narrowly dodged, he was still catching his breath when—
“Five minutes left.”
A calm voice echoed down the corridor.
Hae-seong turned around.
“……!”
In the midst of the chaos, Sa-hyeon sat perched on something with perfect composure.
His eyes had taken on a deep crimson hue.
“What are you doing over there? Planning to hunt with us?”
Around him hung a faint circular barrier.
Sa-hyeon stroked his chin and gave a slight nod.
“Come inside.”
“Y-yes!”
Hae-seong scrambled toward the barrier and ducked through.
A sharp herbal scent hit his nostrils—but unlike the chaos outside, the space within the barrier was almost serene.
Hae-seong dropped to his knees, exhaled in relief, then froze as his gaze locked on something.
“…?!”
The true nature of the ‘chair’ Sa-hyeon was sitting on.
A Wire Spider, trembling beneath him.
The other monsters gave out eerie cries and skirted around Sa-hyeon’s barrier.
‘So it can be used like a Defensive Skill in this way.’
Those long spindly legs jutting out from beneath Sa-hyeon were a bit unsettling, but…
As Hae-seong began to shiver with awe at the sight—
“What are you doing?”
Sa-hyeon’s sharp reproach came immediately.
He spoke with a hint of annoyance in his tone.
“Stop gawking. Watch how the students are handling themselves.”
“Y-yes! My apologies.”
Hae-seong quickly shifted his gaze and observed the students.
Eun-o had already entered full combat.
“Eun-o is using the Wind Skill to deflect the web strands.”
A spiral of wind surrounded his entire body, intercepting the spider silk that came at him from all angles.
It was a reasonable defense against the onslaught, but…
“He’ll burn out soon at that rate.”
Sa-hyeon remarked flatly.
“Yes. His control over the Skill seems too crude to sustain it for long.”
Hae-seong nodded in agreement.
Training on fine-tuned Skill modulation would do him good.
Having noted the area for improvement, Hae-seong turned his attention to the next student.
Bzzzzzz—Clang!
“…Damn it.”
Yu-weol’s situation was no better.
Webs tangled from every direction, constantly disrupting her firing angles.
A bullet struck transparent wire and embedded itself in concrete instead of a monster.
“Yu-weol needs to build her physical Grade, not rely solely on marksmanship.”
Sa-hyeon offered the assessment with his chin propped on his hand.
“Yes, well… she’s a typical Skill-specialized Awakener, so it’s rather unavoidable.”
Hae-seong replied.
Yu-weol’s Skill Grade was S-Rank, but her raw Physical Grade barely exceeded B-Rank.
Such imbalance was common among Awakeners, yet it became a fatal weakness in actual combat.
Jae-yun was another case—his Physical Grade averaged S-Rank, but his Skill Grade was B-Rank, making his overall Grade measure as A-Rank.
‘Both being S-Rank is rare enough. Those S-Rank-among-S-Ranks Awakeners in this country… only Baek Yi-won at Rank 1….’
Hae-seong’s eyes flicked upward.
‘…and Sa-hyeon, I suppose.’
His pressed lips parted in a flat murmur.
“One minute remaining.”
The countdown fell like a death sentence, and the students’ movements quickened.
“Damn it! Time’s flying.”
Gyeol raked his hair back roughly.
They hadn’t even cleared half the monsters.
“…Brother! One’s getting away over there!”
Jae-yun pointed to a corner of the corridor.
Unlike Eun-o and Yu-weol, who fought individually, Jae-yun and Gyeol were in perfect coordination.
Gyeol would use his Concealment Skill to lure a monster, bind its legs in shadow, then Jae-yun would finish it.
But as the number of monsters increased, the Skill’s duration shortened.
And whenever the Wire Spider’s electrical discharge struck, the Skill would keep snapping back.
Each jolt sent sharp pain through Gyeol, his brow creasing in evident distress.
“Got them!!”
Gyeol shouted as he bound just four monsters’ legs.
Trapped like rats in a snap, they couldn’t move an inch.
As if he’d been waiting, Jae-yun threw his massive frame forward, drawing his fist upward.
Craaash—!
With crude, overwhelming force, the stacked monsters were crushed flat.
‘Almost done now!’
Gyeol turned his head to count the remaining creatures when—
“Time out.”
A low voice pierced his ear.
A gasp of surprise.
Every student’s gaze snapped toward one point.
Sa-hyeon’s hand was reaching for the Red Button.
Jae-yun caught his breath and spoke.
“Already?!”
“We were almost finished! Teacher, just three more minutes—no, even one minute!”
Eun-o cried out urgently, but it made no difference.
“Second Wave beginning.”
Sa-hyeon pressed the button without mercy.
Beep-beep-beep-beep—
The opening chime sounded again.
Twenty new Wire Spiders poured out.
Combined with the six that remained, that made twenty-six total.
“No mercy at all….”
Gyeol wiped beads of sweat from his forehead and muttered in defeat.
The entire area was already thick with electrified web.
Movement was restricted, and the number of monsters had swelled beyond before.
Worse, the unused wires from the previous battle still littered the space, making the hunt far more treacherous for all four of them.
The monsters hid between ceiling pipes and plucked new wire in mockery.
“This is never going to end…!”
Jae-yun punched at the swarm of spiders as he shouted.
Now monsters scampered across walls and ceiling pipes.
The sheer pressure of their numbers had intensified.
Yet amid this chaos, one presence moved with jarringly different grace.
Yu-weol’s Summoned Creature—Lightning Achinonnix.
It bounded across the ceiling pipes with such light, easy steps, as if it had entered a world all its own.
The way it batted the spiders away with its front paws and sent them flying was less like hunting and more like play.
‘Having the time of its life…’
Gyeol narrowed his eyes, watching Achinonnix’s movements.
That was when it happened.
Achinonnix landed on the ground.
A monster shot a wire precisely at the creature’s forehead.
Crack—!
Sparks flew from the wire attached to its forehead.
Shhhhh—
Achinonnix simply shook its head lightly as if ticklish.
And the next instant.
Blue electricity erupted across its entire body.
Crackle-crackle-crack—!
A current far stronger than before flowed along the web connected to Achinonnix’s forehead.
Shrieeeek—!
The electricity reversed course, leaving the monster charred black.
“…!”
Gyeol’s eyes snapped open.
Information that had been scattered through his mind suddenly wove itself together.
Webs spreading across the field.
And monsters connected to those webs.
‘I could take them all out in one shot with this.’
A smooth smile curved Gyeol’s lips.
He called out with unshakeable certainty.
“Hey, Yu-weol! Lend me that damn cat for a sec!”
“…?”
Yu-weol’s gun barrel wavered.
What cat?
While Yu-weol turned to him with a bewildered expression, Gyeol felt his stomach drop.
‘What the hell did I just say.’
Snap—
Thin, yellow eyes fixed on Gyeol.
Achinonnix stared at him, its tail tip twitching with acute irritation.
“Pfahahaha! Looks like it recognizes being called!”
Eun-o burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
Gyeol shut his eyes tight and bit down on his lip.
Damn it all—I’d accidentally used Tae Eun-o’s nickname for it.
An S-Grade Instructor Devours the Academy – Episode 42
Author
Baek Ru-ga
Publisher
Da On Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yun Tae-ri
Cover Art
Thorp
UCI
G720:N+A036-20260512043.0043
ⓒ2026, Baek Ru-ga
※ This e-book is protected under the copyright laws of the Republic of Korea.
The contents of this work, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced or adapted 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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