The S-Rank Warden Devours the Academy - Chapter 97

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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 97

One of the research labs in the Research Complex.
Light spilling from the monitor screen illuminated Park Woo-min’s anxious face.
His hand, gripping the mouse, trembled faintly.
He swallowed hard and fixed his gaze on the window displayed across the screen.
It was Yeom Sa-hyeon’s Status Window from just moments before.
‘……Do I really have to report this?’
Deep regret surged up from the pit of his chest.
If he’d known from the start that the person who’d submitted this request was concealing such an identity, he would never have accepted it.
He carefully compared the Status Window before his eyes against the one etched in his memory.
The first S-Rank in the country—it had burned itself into his mind all the more vividly because of that.
‘It’s identical.’
Of course, there were minor fluctuations in ability values like Mental Power and Stamina.
But from the Attributes—the very soul of an Awakened Individual—to the Unique Skills themselves.
Everything aligned with chilling perfection.
In the first place, it made no sense that two beings in this world could possess such a unique Status Window.
‘……How could it be the same person?’
He pressed his palms against his head.
That person was clearly supposed to no longer exist in this world.
“Sigh…. Get a grip.”
The researcher wiped his face roughly, trying to sort through the thoughts that felt ready to explode.
‘……The Gate Raid shouldn’t be finished yet.’
No matter how skilled A-Rank Awakened Individuals were, they were still students lacking practical combat experience, so it would take a bit longer.
He’d decided to submit Professor Yeom’s test results along with the Gate Test report, so there was still plenty of time to clear his head.
Just as he was consoling himself this way and sipping coffee that had grown lukewarm from melted ice.
Beep-beep-beep!
The walkie-talkie attached to the front pocket of his lab coat crackled to life.

-Gate Raid complete. Support team will be deployed before the entry personnel evacuate.

“Cough, cough.”
His torment shattered in an instant.
Woo-min, who’d nearly spat out his coffee again, hurriedly checked the time.
“…! No way, already?!”
Only two hours had passed!
He frantically switched off the monitor, then bolted toward the Gate.
As Woo-min ran frantically through the corridor leading to the Gate, he collided with Do-gyeong and Hae-seong coming toward him.
Both of them had clearly heard the news too, and their faces registered genuine shock.
“Wait, you’re telling me the kids already cleared the Gate?”
Do-gyeong tilted his head and let out a loud, bewildered laugh.
“…Yes, the command center just radioed in.”
The researcher responded hesitantly.
Even as he spoke, he wasn’t sure it was real.
‘No matter how many A-Rank Awakened Individuals gathered, does this speed make any sense?’
Depending on the Gate theme and Monster types, a group this size of A-Rank Awakened Individuals would normally need a minimum of five hours to clear a D-Rank Gate.
Yet they’d cleared it in two hours.
Hae-seong seemed to be thinking the same thing, and as he hurried along with the others, he muttered under his breath.
“You don’t think Sa-hyeon finished it alone, do you…?”
“Nah, no way! Even if that were possible,”
Do-gyeong waved his hand dismissively with a laugh, then narrowed his eyes slightly.
“…Hmm, or could he?”
Woo-min’s eyelids fluttered nervously.
‘Just what kind of person is he……?’
With that small question added to his growing confusion, Woo-min arrived at the Gate before long.
He immediately approached the staff members stationed in front of it.
“What’s the situation?”
“Yes, sir. All entry personnel have been confirmed to have moved to the Reward Zone.”
“Has the scoreboard come through?”
“Yes, we’ve just finished tallying it. I’ll pull it up on the monitor right away.”
Park Woo-min hurried over to the monitor room in front of the Gate and took his place.
Do-gyeong and Hae-seong, who had followed him in, cast their eyes toward the screen as well.
On the display, the scores began to reveal themselves one by one.
“…Huh…?”
A bewildered breath escaped Park Woo-min’s lips.

[1st Place: Lee Yu-wol – 151]
[2nd Place: Tae Eun-o – 116]
…….

“One hundred and fifty monsters?!”
Park Woo-min’s mouth fell open as he took in the top figure, his glasses slipping down his nose unnoticed.
“She handled all that by herself in just two hours?!”
He quickly pushed his glasses back up and pressed his eyes to the screen.
‘…Well, Lee Yu-wol is S-rank, so that makes sense, but what about the other Combat Class students?’
Out of a total quest count of five hundred monsters, more than three hundred and fifty had all fallen to the Combat Class.
And on top of that, the Boss Monster had been defeated by an A-combat class student.
‘Combat Class—weren’t they supposed to be freshmen?’
As Park Woo-min exhaled sharply.
Hae-seong scanned the screen and relaxed.
“Phew, thankfully Yeom Sa-hyeon’s name isn’t on here.”
“Yeah, lucky indeed.”
Do-gyeong nodded with satisfaction.
“?”
At the unusual reaction of the two, Park Woo-min’s eyes darted about in confusion—what exactly was he missing?
That was when it happened.
Whoooosh—
The Gate then shuddered violently, and students began emerging one by one.
Jun-hyeon, who stepped out first, wore an expression of utter desolation.
“…Wow, to think it’d end like this.”
“It’s a shame.”
Gwon Tae-jun, who appeared next, offered a brief observation.
“Ugh, so the Graduation Test is retake material after all!”
Hyeong-won let out a long sigh as he exited the Gate.
For all members of the Martial Arts Class to pass the Graduation Test, the requirement was one hundred points each.
But with the Combat Class’s exceptional hunting speed, the quest had ended before they could accumulate the full score.
“Come on, upperclassmen! This is just part of life—sometimes you flunk a test, right~”
Tae Eun-o followed at their heels with a radiant smile and a light step.
“Shut it, Tae Eun-o…….”
Jun-hyeon glared with wide eyes, but Tae Eun-o lifted his lips in an irritating smirk.
“Since it’s come to this anyway, why not take the Graduation Test with us too!”
“What—you bastard! Hey, isn’t there a sparring ground at the Research Complex?!”
Jun-hyeon bristled and rolled up his sleeves, but Tae Eun-o dodged nimbly with a giggle.
Watching their exchange, Hyeong-won let out a rueful sigh.
“Man, what a disaster. To think the freshmen would perform this brilliantly…. We should’ve moved faster.”
Gwon Tae-jun nodded quietly.
“Yes, if only we’d found the dungeon earlier. As it stands, when we return, I’ll need to sharpen my Mana Detection technique.”
As the students traded stories of what had happened inside the Gate.
Yeom Sa-hyeon emerged through the Gate at last, walking slowly.
Yeom Sa-hyeon’s gaze fixed on one person.
“But why did the Martial Arts Class start hunting so late?”
“There was a fork in the path partway through.”
“That’s because you took the lead, Gwon Tae-jun!”
Some distance away from the bustling crowd of students.
Kang I-su stood facing Ha Jae-yun, her expression somehow complicated.
In the moment her gaze was turning away.
“!”
Her eyes met directly with Yeom Sa-hyeon’s.
Yeom Sa-hyeon opened the conversation casually.
“Kang I-su. You watched the kids hunt pretty closely, didn’t you?”
I-su parted her firmly sealed lips and answered.
“…Yes, I did see it, but…”
“Good, then.”
Sa-hyeon gestured toward the Combat Class, which was bustling with chatter, and gave a subtle nod.
“You distribute the Boss Core points.”
“…Me? I should?”
I-su asked back, bewildered.
In a flash, a rational suspicion crossed her mind—was he dumping this on her because he found it a nuisance?
But Sa-hyeon simply shrugged his shoulders lightly with composure.
“You watched from beginning to end. Ha Jae-yun may have seized the Boss Core, but he didn’t do it on his own strength alone.”
“…Ah.”
He was right.
Sa-hyeon had moved with Jae-yun from the middle onward, so he wouldn’t know what happened after that.
I-su pressed her lips together for a moment, then nodded solemnly.
“Yes, then I’ll distribute it fairly.”
Only then did Sa-hyeon move forward, his eyebrows flicking as if relieved.
“…Ugh.”
He looked down at his clothes with displeasure.
From head to toe, he was caked in some unidentifiable liquid.
His mind was full of thoughts about getting back to the dormitory quickly.
Then a large figure of In-yeong blocked his path.
“Oh my, did you fall in the water or something? You’re soaked through and through.”
Do-gyeong scanned Sa-hyeon up and down, wearing a mischievous smile.
Behind him, Hae-seong greeted him with a bright smile.
“Sa-hyeon, you’re here!”
While Sa-hyeon stopped once more, Do-gyeong drooped his eyebrows and spoke.
“I thought you finished early, so I figured you’d swept everything clean yourself, you know?”
Sa-hyeon let out a flat sigh.
Still, it’s a test for the students….
“What do you take me for?”
At that, Hae-seong, who harbored a similar thought to Do-gyeong in his heart, flinched and awkwardly averted his gaze.
Sa-hyeon rubbed the space between his brows and exhaled a shallow sigh, then gestured toward Hae-seong.
“You came at the right time.”
And he pulled something out from his Inventory.
A black stone the size of a soccer ball.
It was heavy enough to fill his large palm and overflow.
“I need you to appraise this.”
“Huh? Yes?”
Hae-seong, who had taken the object without thinking, widened his eyes in wonder.
A faint Mana flowed softly from his hand.
At the alien yet familiar energy, Hae-seong’s pupils trembled minutely.
“Um, Sa-hyeon, what is this…?”
“A Boss Core.”
Sa-hyeon answered blankly, as if he were asking something obvious.
“……?”
Hae-seong blinked in confusion.
A brief silence fell.
“…Wait, you didn’t sweep it clean, then?”
At that confident attitude, Do-gyeong burst out laughing incredulously.
“But why’s a Core coming out of your pocket?”

S-rank Instructor Devours the Academy — Chapter 97

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

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260512043.0097

© 2026, Baek Ru-ga

※ This e-book is a work protected by the copyright law of the Republic of Korea.
No part or all of this work may be reprocessed 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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