The S-Rank Warden Devours the Academy - Chapter 64

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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 64

[Hunter Academy Combat Match, Combat A-Class vs Physical Arts C-Class]
[100,000 viewers live]

A live stream broadcast directly from the combat match venue.
The camera had just caught Yeom Sa-hyeon and Ji Jae-hyeok shaking hands.
The viewer count climbed rapidly, the chat scrolling faster than anyone could read.

-Did Ji Jae-hyeok just fake that handshake? lol
-This is so good lol
-Ji Jae-hyeok trying to psych him out lol
-Isn’t Ji Jae-hyeok from an elite family? Feels like he picked the wrong opponent;
-Never seen the S-rank instructor before ㅇ_ㅇ

From Academy star Kwon Tae-jun to the enigmatic S-rank Lee Yoo-wol.
Each time the camera zoomed in on a student’s face, the chat erupted with instant reactions.

-The Physical Arts class is already all famous names??
-This is gonna be insane
-Does Combat A even stand a chance lol
-No matter how high S-rank they are, senior year experience is another beast

While the chat bubbled with anticipation,
Ji Jae-hyeok turned away without hesitation the moment the camera left him.
“If you’re going to act like that, just become a celebrity.”
Yeom Sa-hyeon let out a dry laugh.
“Has it started yet?”
Ha Yeon took her seat next to Hae-seong and greeted him.
“Oh, Professor!”
While the two exchanged pleasantries, Sa-hyeon’s gaze drifted toward the Tournament Arena, utterly unmoved.
“What’s that about?”
Each student standing in the Arena was being handed a Mana Stone, roughly the size of a baseball.
“It’s the Academy’s method of determining matchups.”
Hae-seong answered faithfully.
“When you channel mana into a Mana Stone, it randomly matches you with an opponent.”
“…?”
Sa-hyeon’s eyebrow creased.
“That’s just throwing money around for show.”
If it’s random anyway, why on earth do they need expensive Mana Stones for it?
Everything about this Academy was pageantry taken too far.
Hae-seong answered his blunt critique with a silent smile.
“Well then, let’s select the first match!”
At the MC’s call, the students channeled mana into the transparent Mana Stones.
The scoreboard above the Grand Auditorium’s bleachers flickered between student faces.
The tension rose steadily.
Ding—
Two Mana Stones lit up simultaneously.
Two faces appeared side by side on the scoreboard.
A roar erupted from the Grand Auditorium.
“Ugh… of all times, I have to go first.”
Go Gyeol drooped his eye corners and shook his head.
And then….
“Hah! Looks like I’m up first!”
Song Hyung-won adjusted his Combat Gi with an unbounded smile.
Hae-seong let out a quiet sigh.
“…Of all people, it had to be Song Hyung-won.”
“What? Is the matchup bad?”
Ha Yeon leaned forward with interest.
“Song Hyung-won was a taekwondo national team coach before his Awakening…and he was already a fighter even back then,”
Hae-seong said, moistening his lips.
“Go Gyeol is just a difficult type for him to face…”
Yeom Sa-hyeon gazed up at the Tournament Arena with detached eyes.
“Does that kid have any opponent who isn’t difficult for him?”
Go Gyeol was an Awakened One with the Darkness Awakening.
Since most of his skills specialized in Concealment, facing an opponent head-on in a Combat Match put him at an inherent disadvantage.
“I did conduct some research in preparation for this match, but still…,”
Hae-seong was in the middle of his thought when
—clang!—
the bell rang to signal the start of the Combat Match.
The crowd erupted into cheers.
Go Gyeol didn’t rush forward; instead, he studied his opponent first.
“Come at me!”
At that moment, Song Hyung-won closed the distance without hesitation.
Go Gyeol lowered his body and tracked the trajectory with his eyes.
Then, sensing his opening, he unfurled his skill.
One of Go Gyeol’s techniques: pinning an opponent’s shadow to the ground.
Just as Song Hyung-won was about to push off the earth—
“!”
Song Hyung-won leapt skyward.
Hae-seong, watching the exchange, spoke with a note of resignation in his voice.
“With Song Hyung-won’s Trait…”
Song Hyung-won hung suspended in the air.
As if he possessed wings, he lingered aloft far longer than expected.
His remarkably extended airtime prompted Hae-seong to add softly,
“…Go Gyeol has almost no chance to catch him.”
“An Extended Airtime Trait?”
Yeom Sa-hyeon propped his chin on his hand and let out a low hum.
So it wasn’t true flight—more a slowing of descent.
The Trait itself wasn’t particularly extraordinary by Physical Arts standards, yet Song Hyung-won wielded it with considerable effect.
Whish—slash!
A spinning kick came hurtling down.
The Combat Gi cut through the air with a sharp whistle.
A relentless barrage of strikes poured forth.
Even the crowd gasped in admiration.
“Wow—Go Gyeol’s just dodging for his life!”
“You can only hear the Gi—can barely see what’s happening!”
“Looks like it’s going to be over faster than expected, huh?”
Amid the murmur of voices,
Yeom Sa-hyeon, watching Go Gyeol’s movements with impassive calm, opened his mouth.
“Actually…”
His head tilted slightly to one side.
“That’s not half bad.”
Wait, what?
Go Gyeol’s just scrambling to avoid those attacks.
Ha Yeon blinked, bewildered.

* * *

Whoosh—
A leg sliced through the void, hurtling toward him.
Go Gyeol slid his body into the shadow, thinking to himself,
‘…He’s slower than I thought.’
Compared to Yeom Sa-hyeon…
he’s about the same pace as Tae Eun-o, maybe even slightly slower.
With a sense of dislocation, he poked his head out from the shadow.
But Song Hyung-won’s heel immediately came flying toward the crown of his head, and he yanked it back in.
Boom—!
Instead, Go Gyeol’s shadow kissed the ground—his heel driving down with brutal force.
The floor, specially reinforced for Awakened One combat matches, shrieked and convulsed.
Shockwaves rippled outward. A vicious wind erupted.
‘…If that connects, I’m done for.’
It absolutely could not land.
Go Gyeol resolved this to himself.
“Student, you’re not going to keep burrowing like a mole the whole time, are you?”
Song Hyung-won bellowed from where he clung to the cage ringing the octagonal Tournament Arena.
‘…I was already planning to come out anyway.’
Zing—
This time the skill collided head-on.
‘Two, maybe three more times like that and it shatters….’
Go Gyeol exhaled in short, controlled breaths.
After taking several kicks in succession, his Concealment skill had grown unstable—the shadow wavering.
He’d already mapped out Song Hyung-won’s pattern.
‘End it in one move.’
The drills he’d repeated with Hae-seong flickered through his mind.
‘…Though I bombed it yesterday with Yeom Sa-hyeon.’
This time might be different.
He burst from the shadow, slipping past the incoming strikes, hunting for an opening.
But the distance refused to close.
Whoosh—
Then a kick screamed toward his solar plexus.
Go Gyeol ducked low, pressing his hands to the mat.
A sharp, electric ache flared across his arms—the aftereffect of yesterday’s training.
In that same moment, a voice cut through his mind.

‘You’re throwing away the perfect opening.’
‘Even when you’re getting hammered, you keep your eyes open. You have to.’

Yeom Sa-hyeon’s face—clicking his tongue—overlaid itself.
The black Combat Gi whisked past his hair, a hair’s breadth away.
Go Gyeol bit down hard on his lip.
He despised pain.
That was why his Attribute appealed to him so much.
There was no need to step forward. No need to take the hit.
He understood what Yeom Sa-hyeon meant.
He’d simply never found the courage to attempt it.
‘But….’
Could he really win if he only dodged?
‘…No. Absolutely not.’
He clenched his fists.
The outcome was inevitable as things stood.
The skill would shatter. He’d be cornered. He’d lose.
Go Gyeol released his Concealment, breathing hard.
Without fail, a leg hurtled toward his head.
He did not dodge.
Instead, he raised his arm.
Crash—
The full impact slammed into him.
The breath flew from his lungs.
In that fraction of a second.
Go Gyeol’s eyes locked onto the Combat Gi billowing near him. And at the same time—
Boom!
“Ugh.”
His body rocketed backward, crashed into the cage mesh, and tumbled to the floor.
‘…Damn. That hurt like hell.’
As he steadied his breathing.
Go Gyeol’s eyes flashed.
Still….
A faint smile played at his lips.
Song Hyung-won leaped high once more.
‘So it’s this pattern after all.’
A spinning strike followed by a downward slam.
Song Hyung-won’s signature combination.
As he extended his leg mid-air, poised to drive it down with full force—
“…!”
Song Hyung-won’s eyes widened in shock.
His leg wouldn’t obey him.
His gaze dropped belatedly downward.
A shadow gripped his ankle.
It was Go Gyeol’s.
‘…When on earth?!’
The sensation from moments before came rushing back.
When Go Gyeol took the blow, a leg had brushed against his arm.
“Surely not….”
Song Hyung-won’s pupils trembled faintly.
Go Gyeol clenched his teeth and yanked at the tether of shadow connecting them.
Whoosh—!
The pulling force added to Song Hyung-won’s downward momentum.
His center of gravity collapsed beyond recovery.
He twisted his body to break free, but only accelerated his fall.
Then, in the final instant, Go Gyeol released the skill.
Crash—!
Song Hyung-won slammed into the ground.
A violent wind shook across the Tournament Arena.
‘I’ve got him.’
Go Gyeol’s shadow wrapped around Song Hyung-won’s body, holding it fast.
“Urgh….”
Song Hyung-won grimaced and struggled, but couldn’t budge an inch.
His limbs were bound completely immobile.
“…….”
“…….”
A brief hush fell over the Grand Auditorium.
Moments later, the referee waiting on standby rushed urgently into the arena.
“-The combat participant is incapacitated.”
As the referee raised the microphone—
“The victor: Go Gyeol of Combat A-Class!”
“Yaaaaahhh!! Combat A-Class is the best!!”
Tae Eun-o hung from the cage railing, shaking it wildly and cheering.
Could the tide really turn like this?
The crowd sat bewildered, trying to process what had happened. Then—
“Yaaaaaahhh!!”
“Insane!!”
“They actually turned it around?!”
Roars erupted, filling the Grand Auditorium at last.
Ha Yeon and Hae-seong jumped up arm-in-arm, while Ha Jae-yun clapped with a radiant smile.
Yeom Sa-hyeon exhaled a deflated breath.
“Ended it rather quickly.”
Combat A-Class was awash in cheers.
Meanwhile, only heavy silence settled over the Physical Arts C-Class section.
On the arena floor—
Go Gyeol released the skill and sank down slowly.
“…Hgh.”
With each breath, his ribs sent a sharp stab through him.
‘…I think it’s cracked.’
He breathed through gritted teeth.
‘Even a student’s strength does this much… so Yeom Sa-hyeon was holding back after all.’
Go Gyeol understood this anew in that moment.
Ha Jae-yun and Tae Eun-o came running over.
“Are you all right?”
“Wow! That was incredible! Go Gyeol, you looked good for the first time!”
“You lunatic, my ribs are broken! Get away!”
Ugh, even shouting hurts.
The moment Go Gyeol slumped down, medical staff rushed over with a stretcher.

As both participants were helped down, the microphone crackled to life again.
The announcer picked it up.
“All right, let’s select the next pair of competitors!”
Six remaining Mana Stones glowed on the scoreboard.
The light wavered, then two stones flashed brilliantly.
“From Combat A-Class: Ha Jae-yun!”
“Me? Really me?!”
Ha Jae-yun’s eyes widened at the roar that filled the Grand Auditorium as he handed Go Gyeol over to the medical team.
“And from Physical Arts C-Class: Go Yoo-gwon!”
The corner of Go Yoo-gwon’s mouth twisted upward.
“…Damn.”
The outcome of the first match had been anything but predictable.
He laughed quietly as he tightened his hand wraps.
“Things are getting interesting, aren’t they?”

S-Rank Instructor Devours the Academy 64

Author
Baek Ru-ga
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yun Tae-ri
Cover Design
Tom

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260512043.0064

ⓒ2026, Baek Ru-ga

※ This e-book is protected under the copyright law of the Republic of Korea.
No part of this work may 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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