The S-Rank Warden Devours the Academy - Chapter 59

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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 59

“I’ve already reported it to the President.”
Hae-seong set down several documents neatly on Yeom Sa-hyeon’s desk.
“Seems like it worked out well.”
Yeom Sa-hyeon didn’t so much as glance at the papers, answering based on Hae-seong’s voice alone.
Hae-seong nodded.
“Yes. The school’s also released a press statement about a ‘serious warning regarding unauthorized entry.'”

‘A journalist snuck into Master Craftsman Gwak Cheol-joong’s Workshop, and a commotion arose during the process of subduing him.’

It was Yeom Sa-hyeon’s move, exploiting how unusually lenient the President was toward Gwak Cheol-joong.
The journalists who’d been camped out in front of the Academy gates naturally beat a retreat as well.
The incident was smoothed over, the reporters driven off.
Two problems solved in one stroke.
With word of Cheol-joong’s arrival at the Academy already spreading, they’d decided to hold a special lecture as well.
Hae-seong spoke with a faint smile.
“We were planning to hold the special lecture anyway.”
“Though the timing has moved up a bit.”
Yeom Sa-hyeon let out a quiet laugh.
“Ha, that’s true.”
Hae-seong nodded, then carefully broached the subject, watching for Yeom Sa-hyeon’s reaction.
“By the way, Sa-hyeon.
“What is it.”
“The students in our Combat Class A are all asking if they can attend this special lecture too.”
“Attend his lecture? What do they need that for?”
Yeom Sa-hyeon’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The special lecture had been restricted by presidential authority to B-Rank and above students.
Yeom Sa-hyeon was plainly unhappy about it.
‘Equipment-focused students should be the ones attending, regardless of rank.’
Combat students won’t get much out of it anyway.

-For the next lecture, let’s try expanding the selection pool!

The President seemed intent on extracting maximum value from Cheol-joong.
“I think it’s because of this.”
Hae-seong held out his smartphone, showing the posted announcement.

[Master Craftsman’s Equipment Inspection
(5 participants selected from lecture attendees)]

“It’s not often you get the chance to have your equipment maintained directly by Master Craftsman Gwak Cheol-joong.”
Yeom Sa-hyeon exhaled softly.
“Just because of that? Better equipment doesn’t change anything. The problem’s always the person wielding it.”
“Ha, ha….”
Well, it was understandable that Yeom Sa-hyeon would think that way, since he treated the Master Craftsman like a neighborhood uncle….
Hae-seong swallowed the words he couldn’t quite voice aloud and laughed awkwardly.
To the students, Gwak Cheol-joong was practically a legend.
‘What kind of connection do those two have, anyway, to be so at ease with each other like that?’
The question suddenly struck him.
Cheol-joong, who called Yeom Sa-hyeon a youngster and swung his hammer at him with affectionate force.
And Yeom Sa-hyeon, who called the nation’s finest blacksmith an old man and put him to work.
What shared history could have forged such an unguarded bond between them?
As Hae-seong sat lost in thought for a moment.
“It’s an uncommon opportunity, that much is true.”
Yeom Sa-hyeon’s indifferent approval came through.
“Really?”
Hae-seong’s face lit up at once.
“But don’t skip evening training.”
“Of course not, sir!”
Hae-seong answered without hesitation.
Then he spilled out words in an excited rush.
“Oh, that reminds me—it looks like the students from Professor Ji Jae-hyeok’s class will be attending too. Since I’ll be facing sparring partners for the first time, should I take this opportunity to assess their abilities? I could gather intel on each student’s main techniques and mana control habits.”
“Do as you see fit.”
“Yes, sir! Then I’ll compile detailed notes on every student’s primary skills and mana deployment patterns.”
Hae-seong’s eyes sparkled as he tapped at his pad.
Even with more work piling up, his gaze only grew brighter.
“Oh, by the way…”
His busy hands suddenly stilled.
“Why aren’t you at Master Craftsman Gwak’s workshop? What brings you here?”
Lunchtime was drawing to a close.
Ordinarily, Yeom Sa-hyeon would be pinned down in the Workshop by now, eating under Gwak Cheol-joong’s relentless insistence.
“That place?”
Yeom Sa-hyeon leaned back in his chair, answering with ease.
“It’s been packed with students all day.”

* * *

Late into the night.
Deep within the Research Building of the Academy, a workshop chamber.

Clang—clang—clang—

The weighted ring of a hammer echoed in steady rhythm.
Sweat beaded on Gwak Cheol-joong’s brow and rolled down his jaw.
He wiped the perspiration with his sleeve and glanced back toward the doorway.
“Damn, it’s finally quiet out there!”
The hallway outside the research chamber had been swarming with students all day long.
“The whole thing’s been such a circus that I haven’t even been able to step outside.”
He muttered his complaints without once lifting his gaze from the object on his workbench.
This time’s variant Gate had yielded a Badge—something Yeom Sa-hyeon had brought back.
It was the final stage of refinement, meant to unlock latent potential.
He raised his hammer once more.
Sparks flew from the hammer’s strike.
And then—

A low hum resonated through the air.

The knot of mana buried deep within the item began to unravel.
A sharp hiss—
White vapor rose as he plunged the Badge into cold quenching water.
“…Hm? What’s this?”
On the Badge’s surface, as the steam cleared away,
an unfamiliar logo faintly emerged.
Gwak Cheol-joong’s eyes sharpened with focus.
“…What kind of marking is this?”
In an instant, the pattern began to fade again.
“No—wait!”
He hastily grabbed a blank sheet of paper from the workbench and traced the pattern.
As he drew the final line, the marking on the Badge vanished completely.
“Phew, a tricky one indeed.”
It had been giving him grief the whole time he worked on it, and now it was causing trouble right to the end.
Gwak Cheol-joong exhaled deeply and studied the paper with keen attention.
The shape was bizarre—gears and a serpent twisted grotesquely together.
“I’ve never seen a marking like this before…”
Was it some Guild or organization’s emblem?
‘Yeom Sa-hyeon said he brought it from a thematic Gate in the research wing, so it could be from that faction.’
In any case, everything that bastard brought back was anything but ordinary.
“…Well, I think it’s finally done, more or less.”
Gwak Cheol-joong lifted the badge with his rough hands.
The color was sharper and deeper than before.
A ripple like crimson mist drifted slowly across its surface.
“Phew. Been a while since I breathed some fresh air.”
Normally he would’ve summoned Yeom Sa-hyeon to come see it himself, but after wrestling with items all day, Gwak Cheol-joong swore he could taste copper in his mouth.
‘His research lab is somewhere near the Faculty Building, wasn’t it….’
Of course, spending a few weeks locked in the Workshop was nothing out of the ordinary for him.
But it had been only a few days since arriving at the Academy.
Something about growing accustomed to the warmth of human presence made the emptiness feel strangely acute.
Not that it helped that the person in question was an old colleague.
‘…That punk actually survived.’
Gwak Cheol-joong recalled the day he’d first met Yeom Sa-hyeon.
The boy had been only fifteen at the time.
A mere kid, really.
Others had called him the “Interrogator” or the “Demon,” feared him accordingly, but in Gwak Cheol-joong’s eyes, he remained the same boy from that day.
Back when his control and discipline were still unformed.
Back when a child who’d lost all his guardians in an instant had to forge his own path to where he stood now.
Gwak Cheol-joong was one of the precious few who’d watched it all unfold beside him.
‘Hell, am I getting soft in my old age? Getting sentimental for no reason….’
Gwak Cheol-joong sniffled and tilted his chin upward.
“…But that rotten attitude of his—it hasn’t changed one bit!”
Dumping work on someone’s plate and then not showing his face for days.
‘Only that old Association chairman would be crazy enough to put such a guy in front of students.’
Early Awakening education was far too important. The man would ruin every student’s character.
Gwak Cheol-joong shook his head as he gathered the badge and its blueprint into his belongings. ‘Might as well grab a late-night meal from the cafeteria on my way back.’
The moment Gwak Cheol-joong opened the Workshop door and stepped out—
“Eek! Good God!”
Something stood squarely in front of the door.
Gwak Cheol-joong stumbled backward in surprise.
A single-person tent pitched right in the middle of the hallway.
Zip—
Hearing the disturbance, the tent zipper slid open.
A student emerged, pushing up his sleep mask onto his forehead, tousled hair sticking up in all directions.
The moment the student spotted him, his face brightened.
“Good evening, Master Craftsman! What a fine night!”
“You’re,”
Gwak Cheol-joong narrowed his eyes to study the face.
“One of the students who came to the Underground Shop with that Yeom Sa-hyeon character, aren’t you?”
That enthusiastic one who’d asked for his autograph.
Kang Mu-geon.
Recognizing the face, Gwak Cheol-joong lowered his guard.
“What in the world are you doing pitching a tent here?”
This was beyond just strange.
Kang Mu-geon crawled out of the tent with a flushed, eager face and settled into a kneeling position.
“Well, you see, I wanted to get a front-row seat for the special lecture, so I’ve been waiting in line, Master Craftsman!”
Gwak Cheol-joong let out a loud, incredulous laugh.
“The lecture isn’t for four days! Four days away, you madman!”
“Yes, not much time left at all. My heart is already racing! To think I’ll actually hear Master Gwak Cheol-joong’s lecture in person—it feels like a dream. By the way, will the Mana Bond Stabilization Process you mentioned in your ‘Equipment Crafting Practical Manual’ be covered in this special lecture?”
“…The Practical Manual?”
Gwak Cheol-joong’s eyes narrowed.
A book published seven years ago.
The Association had pestered him relentlessly to compile a reference manual for junior Awakeners, so he’d reluctantly put it together.
“You’ve actually read that? The content is so poorly written.”
“Nonsense! That book is the very essence of Master Craftsman’s artisan spirit condensed into form! I’ve only done three full readings so far, but I plan on getting through two more before I graduate.”
The boy’s thirst for learning really was something else.
Gwak Cheol-joong felt caught between pride and bewilderment, waving his hand dismissively.
“Regardless, sleeping rough out here is insane. The work noise will keep you awake, and the sleeping conditions are terrible. Don’t torture yourself—go back and get some proper rest!”
Kang Mu-geon’s response came even more enthusiastically.
“Not at all! I fall right asleep when I use the sound of your hammer as a lullaby!”
……Anyway, this school is full of people who’ve lost their minds—teachers and students alike.
Gwak Cheol-joong fell silent, then laughed with hollow defeat.
“……Fine. Do as you wish. Do as you wish.”

S급 교도관이 아카데미를 씹어먹음 59화

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※ 이 전자책은 대한민국 저작권법의 보호를 받는 저작물입니다.
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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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