A Veteran Teaches Very Well

part 39

“Tell me what happened to Song Seokhwan.”

He had gambled with his own life.

If the dagger had been aimed just a little closer to the vital point, he would have been dead.

Even knowing that, he opened a path toward the heart without hesitation.

I see.

This person is incomparable to someone like me.

Strong.

So incredibly strong.

“Sir, you’ve changed… What could have made you this way…?”

Could this person save the young master?

If not this person, then who could save the young master?

He knew it was an unreasonable request.

But he had nowhere else to turn.

Desperate to grasp at straws, Ryeoun squeezed out all his remaining strength to plead.

“Professor Cha… Please, save the young master, I beg you…”

—

With those words, Ryeoun finally lost consciousness.

* * *

“Ah, ow….”

The part that was pierced began to throb with pain.

I knew it was strong, but it was much stronger than I had anticipated.

I almost lost.

It was a relief that the last gamble had at least worked.

“What am I supposed to do….”

Just being pierced was a severe wound, and I had been exposed to the deadly poison for too long.

It hurts like hell.

The only fortunate thing was that, somehow, my body started to improve right after the battle ended.

What an incredible natural healing ability.

“Ha. Ryeoun, you useless b*stard.”

You put me in this state and then ask for something.

In the end, you didn’t tell me anything.

Song Seok-hwan has changed? I know that too. But how, and why did he change?

The really important parts are all missing.

After recovering my body to a reasonable extent, I moved on to the second stage.

This place was also empty.

Inside the tunnel, there were traces of magic that had been scorched. It was probably done by Song Seok-hwan.

“What on earth happened?”

The answer must be in the boss stage.

Without hesitation, I entered the boss stage.

Sssss—

The cold air filled the boss stage.

It was different from what I knew.

When I had scouted it in preparation for the exam, the boss stage of the slime tunnel hadn’t been like this.

It was dark, and powerful mana filled the stage.

“This is….”

There was a thick smell of blood.

An anxious imagination stirred in my mind.

I had to find out what was happening.

It couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be. The uneasy thoughts swirled in my head.

“Professor.”

It was Song Seok-hwan’s voice.

I could clearly hear Song Seok-hwan’s voice.

“Song Seok-hwan!”

In the direction of Song Seok-hwan’s voice, a horrific scene unfolded.

I wanted to deny reality.

There were members of Group A, covered in blood.

Fortunately, they looked terrible, but they were still alive.

“What on earth happened?”

“Hehe… Did you like it? This is a stage for you, Professor. A stage to kill you! Hahaha!”

Song Seok-hwan began to laugh like a madman.

At the same moment, a message window appeared before my eyes.

Ding!

───────────────

▼ First Scenario

─You have encountered the evil god, Bonibatus.

─Bonibatus is currently possessing Song Seok-hwan’s body.

─Defeat Bonibatus and save the students.

───────────────

“Ha, damn it.”

It felt strangely off.

If this b*stard was involved, everything that had happened until now made sense.

The evil god Bonibatus, who manipulates the human heart.

I had played this ridiculous game hundreds of times, but this kind of nonsense was a first for me.

It should have been at least another six months before the first scenario began.

Moreover, Bonibatus was an evil god that would only appear in the seventh scenario.

Why the hell was this b*stard showing up here already?

“Song Seok-hwan, get a grip! You’re being manipulated by that guy!”

My plea did not reach Song Seok-hwan.

The malevolent energy only grew stronger.

Song Seok-hwan looked at me with a crazed smile.

“Professor, I will definitely kill you.”

The Evil God.

The source of all evil in this world.

A transcendent being that exists to bring about the destruction of the world.

The ones responsible for opening the gate to Earth.

And the enemies that the players must defeat in this game.

There are twelve Evil Gods that have crossed over to Earth.

Their goal is the annihilation of the world.

Defeating all of them is the ultimate objective of the game.

Fortunately, Bonivatus was not one of the stronger entities among the Evil Gods.

Moreover, since he had forcibly appeared in the early stages of the game, he would likely be in a weakened state.

But even weakened, an Evil God is still an Evil God.

To confront that, I would need at least President Ryu Jeong-ah by my side.

“Ha ha ha ha!”

Long tentacles sprouted from Song Seok-hwan’s back.

The long tentacles had sharp blades at their tips.

The Evil God that had taken over Song Seok-hwan was no longer something that could be called human.

Booom!

The tentacles came flying at me.

It was a fast and heavy strike.

I raised my sword to block it, but my hand went numb.

Song Seok-hwan then began to chant a spell.

“Stone Edge!”

Boulders began to fall from above.

Both the casting speed and the power of the magic were far superior to what Song Seok-hwan was normally capable of.

Bang! Boom!

I dodged the magic with my body, but it wasn’t over.

The tentacles began to fly at me again.

I was busy evading the magic and swatting away the tentacles with all my might.

“Professor, you can’t defeat me. Just die when you can let go.”

“Song Seok-hwan, get a grip! You’re being controlled by that thing!”

“Controlled? The only will behind wanting to kill you is mine.”

I knew this b*stard wasn’t in a state to have a conversation.

The fortunate thing was that Bonibatous’s power was much weaker than I had thought.

It seemed there was a significant penalty for appearing early.

At this level, it was worth a shot.

“Endure the pain, even if it hurts a little.”

Baeksulhwa’s swordsmanship had shown remarkable effectiveness in human combat, but it fell short against monsters.

The technique was superb, but the power was lacking.

I switched to Nam Hye-joo’s more brutal and violent sword style.

Crack!

“Ugh!”

I brought the sword down like an axe, crushing the tentacle beneath it.

It seemed that even the tentacle took damage, as Song Seok-hwan let out a pained groan.

“How dare you!”

Whooosh!

The tentacles all flew toward me at once.

In times like this, I couldn’t afford to be scared.

I moved forward, more boldly and more fiercely, cutting through the tentacles head-on.

“Professor, you can’t defeat me! Stop struggling!”

I reached right in front of Song Seok-hwan.

He was a wizard. If I swung my sword with all my might, he might die.

But in a state of being dominated by Bonibatous, his physical abilities would have increased significantly.

Whoosh!

“Hmph, this little sword!”

Song Seok-hwan caught the sword infused with aura with his bare hands.

—

This was as expected.

Then let’s see if I can endure this bare-bodied.

“Lightning Strike!”

A blue flash descended.

This time, the impact seemed significant; Song Seok-hwan trembled and dropped his sword.

Not missing the opportunity, I struck with all my might.

“Graaah!”

Black smoke billowed up.

Though Bonibatus had weakened, the pattern was just as I remembered.

That was the move signaling the start of Phase 2.

I quickly withdrew from Song Seok-hwan.

Kwah-aaang!

A black tornado enveloped Song Seok-hwan.

If I had greedily tried to deal more damage and taken that head-on, it would have been dangerous.

“Grrr… If you insist on drinking punishment, so be it!”

Song Seok-hwan, no, Bonibatus had now discarded even the formalities.

This was a troubling sign.

It indicated that Bonibatus had completely consumed Song Seok-hwan’s persona.

“Bonibatus.”

Upon hearing his name, he showed a reaction of surprise.

“I knew you weren’t an ordinary human, but to know my name!”

Of course, I knew it.

A malevolent deity that digs into a person’s weak points and topples them, then takes them as a host.

I had known all along.

Why hadn’t I been wary of this b*stard from the start?

The thought that a malevolent deity wouldn’t appear from the first semester was a miscalculation.

Originally, Bonibatus was supposed to possess Jeon Tae-jin.

But due to my intervention, an event that didn’t exist in the original story occurred, altering history.

I spotted a potion bottle discarded on the floor.

In the game, Jeon Tae-jin always consumed the black potion as Bonibatus awakened.

—

It seemed that the disease was that potion.

“I need to hear how you know me.”

Song Seok-hwan’s nails elongated.

They transformed, not into mere nails, but into something like blades.

As Bonivatus’s influence grew stronger, Song Seok-hwan’s body began to lose its human form, grotesquely changing.

At this rate, wings might sprout from his back.

Swoosh!

“Ugh!”

A claw strike came flying at me.

If I blocked that, there would be a tentacle attack; if I endured the tentacles, there would be magic, and then another claw strike.

The relentless barrage was enough to drive me mad.

“Khahaha! I’ll make your death as painful as possible! If you tell me how you know me, I might just let you die without suffering.”

“Pfft… Shut your mouth.”

There was no longer any room for leisure.

I too laid all my cards on the table.

Edelin’s swordsmanship.

I couldn’t fully master it yet, but in terms of a momentary peak, it was undoubtedly the best among the sword techniques I wielded.

The color of the aura surrounding my sword turned golden.

A simple horizontal slash, devoid of any fancy techniques.

Bonivatus lightly extended his arm to defend.

Swoosh!

“……!”

The golden aura was intense.

For the first time, Bonivatus was pushed back by my strength.

“Y-you little brat!”

Following the series of slashes, he unleashed magic.

Gradually, the tide of battle began to shift in my favor.

But this state wouldn’t last long.

Maintaining the aura with unfamiliar swordsmanship while casting magic was draining my mana rapidly.

Overpowering him by force was out of the question.

For a moment, Bonibatus, cornered, could not muster much strength against me through Song Seok-hwan’s mind.

This was the only chance to awaken Song Seok-hwan’s consciousness.

“Song Seok-hwan! Get a grip!”

“Ugh, you b*stard!”

“Get your head straight, you idiot! If you can’t even beat that kind of guy, how do you expect to defeat Park Seo-hu and Seo Da-yoon?”

Twitch—

Good.

As I brought up the keyword that would prick Song Seok-hwan’s pride, his personality began to respond.

As evidence, Bonibatus’s power slightly weakened.

It seemed this b*stard intended to put Song Seok-hwan’s consciousness back to sleep.

“Damn you, evil god! You’re supposed to play with me!”

Crack!

My sword pierced through Song Seok-hwan’s right arm without missing a gap.

With this, Bonibatus would no longer be able to interfere with Song Seok-hwan’s mind.

“Graaah! You, you b*stard!”

“Song Seok-hwan, get a grip!”

* * *

In his childhood, Song Seok-hwan’s world was entirely a small orphanage.

To him, being an orphan was a brand of shame.

Whether wandering the neighborhood or going to school, the label of “orphan” always followed him.

—Don’t play with that kid.

—If you hang out with an uneducated orphan, you might catch something.

What kind of disease is being an orphan?

What’s there to catch?

If being an orphan is contagious, does that mean a child who talks to him has parents who are bound to die?

Still, Song Seok-hwan found joy in every day.

The orphanage was poor, but it was always a vibrant place.

That little world shattered one day.

According to the Special Law for Awakened Ones, every citizen had the duty and right to undergo an aptitude test as an Awakened One.

The results of Song Seok-hwan’s test left everyone in shock.

─What is this kid… No, it doesn’t make sense…

─Hey, what’s your name?

From that day on, Song Seok-hwan’s life changed.

Countless powerful figures sought out Song Seok-hwan.

In a short time, he met many of South Korea’s influential leaders.

‘So many people were looking for me…’

And then he met his current father, Song Ji-hyeok.

‘I’ve heard a lot about you.’

Song Ji-hyeok.

The Master of the Guild of Ascendance, a name known to every citizen of South Korea.

‘Become my son. Then I will give you everything I have.’

For Song Seok-hwan, who had just begun to taste wealth and power, it was an incredibly sweet offer.

Without hesitation, he called Song Ji-hyeok “Father.”

And then he regretted it.

‘What is this?’

The life of an adopted son was far too difficult.

He needed a sanctuary to soothe his heart.

The nest that held his happiness was the orphanage.

But he could not return to the orphanage.

Where could he find comfort?

‘Father.’

A name he always wanted to speak.

The name he longed to call out, Father.

He wanted to be loved by his parents at home, just like everyone else.