The S-Rank Warden Devours the Academy - Chapter 52

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

Chapter 52

A chill swept across his entire body.
A sharpened blade tore through his skin, and through the gash, hot blood poured down like rain.
Unrecognizable corpses lay strewn across the floor.
The acrid stench of blood at the tip of his nose, the reek of charred flesh.

-…….

Yeom Sa-hyeon stared down at his hands, coated in blood.
The corpses melted into sticky crimson, becoming a swamp that dragged his feet downward.
Blood pooled already up to his ankles.
No matter how much he thrashed to escape, his body only sank deeper.
Then.
Tap-tap—
A clear, rhythmic sound embedding itself in his mind.
His vision scattered like grains of sand.
“…!”
Sa-hyeon’s eyes snapped open.
His breathing came rough, as though he’d just surfaced from underwater.
A dark ceiling above.
His racing heartbeat gradually subsided.
“…Damn.”
He let out a low curse and swept his hair back.
“…These aftereffects are a real pain in the ass.”
Pressing his throbbing temples, he dragged himself toward the bathroom.

Splash—
As cold water splashed across his face, sensation gradually returned.
Bang-bang-bang!
A sudden noise thundered through the space.
He turned at the violence of it, as though someone were about to break down the door, and a booming voice followed.
“You bastard, still passed out sleeping?!”
Sa-hyeon’s eyes narrowed.
‘Why am I hearing that voice here?’
He toweled his wet face and moved toward the source of the noise.
Through the door, he felt a familiar presence of magical energy.
Opening it, Hae-seong greeted him with an awkward expression.
“…Sa-hyeon, I’m sorry to disturb your rest.”
In the dream, it had felt like days had passed.
But outside the corridor window, the night was still dark.
“Sorry, my ass. You dump all the work and sleep your life away?”
The burly man beside him planted his hands on his hips and raised his voice.
“You take it easy sleeping alone while looking like you haven’t eaten a damn thing?”
At the earsplitting rebuke, Sa-hyeon cleared his ears and looked at Hae-seong.
“What are you doing here?”
“Well… as you know, the Master Craftsman’s workshop was damaged, so it’ll be unusable for a while. But then,”
At Hae-seong’s answer, Sa-hyeon’s brows furrowed.
What did the workshop being damaged have to do with him being here?
Gwak Cheol-joong quickly changed the subject.
“Yun Hae-seong told me! You little punk, you found the item, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
Sa-hyeon let out a flat acknowledgment.
Good timing.
He’d saved the trouble of going to find it himself.
Sa-hyeon rummaged through his Inventory and pulled out a leather pouch.
“Tsk-tsk, so this is the culprit. This time we can finally identify the cause—!”
Gwak Cheol-joong stretched out his large hand to snatch it, when—
“Wait.”
Yeom Sa-hyeon sidestepped it smoothly.
Gwak Cheol-joong, having swung at empty air, bellowed in frustration.
“You little bastard! What are you doing, huh?”
Ignoring the tirade, Sa-hyeon let out a low chuckle.
“Look, if you accidentally create another Gate the way you did last time, that’s going to be a problem. What are you planning to destroy this go-around?”
“What do you take me for! You think I’d make the same mistake twice? I need to figure out why this mutation even happened in the first place, so hand it over already!”
Gwak Cheol-joong swung his arm wide once more toward the leather pouch.
“Hmm….”
Sa-hyeon dodged his hand lightly again, then quirked an eyebrow and laid down a condition.
“Then do me a favor—take one more piece of equipment.”
“What’s with you? Always trying to dump work on me,”
The small item he held out to Gwak Cheol-joong
was a Badge he’d received as a reward from this Gate.
Gwak Cheol-joong’s contorted expression softened instantly.
He took the small item and examined it closely.
“Hmm, this is… another rare one, isn’t it? Items like this are hard to come by. How do you keep finding stuff like this?”
“Who knows.”
Sa-hyeon shrugged and tossed the leather pouch over as well.
“Might as well take that too while you’re at it.”
“…! Hey, handle it carefully, would you!”
Gwak Cheol-joong caught the pouch hastily, looking startled.
He cradled both items in his thick arms and asked,
“How soon do you need these?”
“The sooner the better.”
Sa-hyeon walked into the room and answered indifferently.
“The work itself isn’t difficult, but….”
Gwak Cheol-joong followed naturally and continued,
“There’s a problem.”
“A problem?”
Sa-hyeon raised an eyebrow and turned around. Gwak Cheol-joong threw up his hands.
“I told you—I don’t have the workspace right now.”
“The Association must have a workshop.”
Gwak Cheol-joong frowned and shook his head firmly.
“That place is absolute chaos—people coming and going all the time. There’s no shortage of ambitious types trying to make a name for themselves….”
That much made sense. Gwak Cheol-joong had always hated crowded spaces.
Sa-hyeon offered a flat response instead.
“So that’s it.”
Gwak Cheol-joong flashed a meaningful smile.
“I’ll need to stay here for a while.”
“…What?”
“Hae-seong mentioned that the Academy’s workshop is pretty well-equipped. Spotless and all. While I’m using it, I’ll just crash in your room for a bit.”
“Huh?”
Sa-hyeon let out a hollow laugh.
‘So that was his plan from the start.’
No wonder he’d come along so readily.
Gwak Cheol-joong exhaled proudly through his nose.
“What, you got a problem with that?”
“Of course I do.”
Sa-hyeon answered without hesitation.
He found it tiring enough to see this man occasionally; sharing the same space was another matter entirely.
The thought alone drained him.
Gwak Cheol-joong gestured broadly at the spacious living room and shouted,
“Come on! The room’s big enough for the both of us to share!”
“There are spare rooms in the Faculty Building. Go ask the President to give you one.”
“That’s being petty. They’re not going to hand out a room to someone who isn’t even faculty.”
Between the two of them, bickering endlessly,
“Um….”
Hae-seong raised his hand hesitantly.
Both their gazes snapped toward him at once.
“…Well then, how about we do it this way?”

* * *

Academy Research Building.
The heavy automatic doors slid open, and a crisp, refined current of Mana Stone essence flooded in all at once.
“They’ve really loaded this place up with Mana Stones, haven’t they?”
Gwak Cheol-joong, leading the way, let out a long, appreciative whistle.
A massive glass dome covered the ceiling.
Moonlight poured down, illuminating the white marble floor below.
And above it all, Mana Stone Carts trundled along overhead rails, ferrying materials back and forth.
“That a Master Craftsman like yourself would grace our Academy as a special guest instructor…! It is truly our family’s greatest honor!”
A man with his hair swept back bowed repeatedly, his smile radiant.
Hae-seong returned the gesture with a respectful bow.
“I apologize for calling you out at such a late hour… Thank you for responding so promptly, Professor.”
“No, no, not at all!!”
The Professor shook his head emphatically.
“Of course, when the President contacted me so suddenly, I was startled… but when Master Gwak Cheol-joong himself walks through those doors, I’d leap from my bed at any hour! Absolutely!”
“Ah, well. Then I’m relieved.”
Hae-seong nodded, averting his gaze from the Professor’s overly gleaming eyes.
Gwak Cheol-joong scanned the workshop with a discerning eye.
“The furnace uses top-grade Fire attribute Mana Stones, then?”
In the center of the research chamber sat a towering blast furnace, its blue flames burning with pure, smokeless heat.
The Professor smiled contentedly and nodded.
“The President has invested quite generously in us.”
“I’ve heard the Academy pushes hard for students with equipment-related Attributes. They often release collections even while still enrolled here.”
Hae-seong supplied the observation.
Because there’s money in it.
Yeom Sa-hyeon let out a scoff and shook his head.
“Anyway, I like this. It’s right next to the dormitory, and it’s quiet!”
Gwak Cheol-joong chuckled heartily, and the Professor ventured a careful question.
“Pardon me, Master. When were you planning to hold your special lecture?”
“Oh, any time works. I can spare the hours without trouble.”
“…! In that case—”
The Professor’s face was about to light up with joy when Yeom Sa-hyeon cut in flatly.
“Given his personality, I’d recommend he stay holed up in the workshop for a while.”
Gwak Cheol-joong narrowed his eyes and fixed Yeom Sa-hyeon with a stare.
“You’re saying I should finish the work you handed me before I go anywhere, aren’t you?”
Now that he thought about it, Yeom Sa-hyeon gave a shrug.
“There’s a reason for it too.”
“Well…”
Gwak Cheol-joong shook his head as if he’d known it all along.
Then Hae-seong added his voice.
“I agree with Sa-hyeon. I think that would be best for now.”
“You too, Hae-seong?”
When even Hae-seong sided with them, Gwak Cheol-joong’s eyes widened slightly.
The old man listens more carefully to Hae-seong’s words than to mine, even though I’ve been grinding in the field with him for years.
Yeom Sa-hyeon’s eyes narrowed with a hint of displeasure.
“The Academy is going to be quite chaotic starting tomorrow. It’s already a time when attention will be focused…”
And with that, Hae-seong methodically provided his reasoning.
“Master Craftsman, you could end up caught in the commotion.
Gwak Cheol-joong’s brows drew together.
“Commotion?”

* * *

The next morning.
The Academy Main Gate was as bustling as a wholesale market at dawn.
The area in front of the gate was already packed with black sedans.
Each vehicle bore the logos of different Guilds and broadcast networks.
“I’m requesting an interview with Hunter Lee Yu-wol!”
“Please, everyone wait your turn! Don’t you see there are people ahead of you?!”
“Was it Hunter Lee Yu-wol who defeated the Felcon Creature at Seocho Station?!”
A surge of people pressed toward the Academy Main Gate as though they meant to break it down.
Voices erupted in competition, shattering the Academy’s quiet morning.

S-rank Instructor Devours the Academy Chapter 52

Author
Baek Ruga
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yoon Tae-ri
Cover
Thorpe

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260512043.0052

ⓒ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 reprocessed in any form without permission from the author and publisher.

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