A Veteran Teaches Very Well

part 40

He wanted to be comforted by them.

Yet what he received in return was cold neglect.

‘He definitely told me to be his son.’

Song Ji-hyeok, instead, grew angry with Song Seok-hwan.

‘Ah, Father…’

—

‘What is that ugly sight? When did Song Ji-hyuk’s son become so weak? Did you think it was all over just because you’re on the family register?’

‘No, no…’

‘You were the one who said you wanted to grasp everything in the world. Prove your worth.’

Everything in the world?

I didn’t need that.

I just wanted to hear a warm word, even without that.

‘Yes…’

But Song Seok-hwan couldn’t bring himself to say what was in his heart.

As always, he just weakly nodded his head.

It’s cold.

So cold that my whole body trembled.

I miss the warmth of a person.

‘Huh, heh heh…’

You already know the answer.

What you need to do to be recognized by your father.

It’s not hard to receive praise from him.

My vision went dark.

There was a familiar place, a party venue.

There were familiar faces and unfamiliar ones.

─You’re the rising star, Song Seok-hwan?

─You’re the adopted son of Uncle Song Ji-hyuk? A filthy brat whose origins are unknown, just stay quiet from now on.

There was Ahn Se-hyun, criticizing Song Seok-hwan.

It was a familiar scene, almost welcoming.

Unable to hold back his anger, Song Seok-hwan knocked Ahn Se-hyun down.

And then he received praise from his father.

【Is that enough to satisfy you?】

Suuuh—

Before I knew it, Song Seok-hwan was holding a pitch-black sword in his right hand.

What is this?

When did I ever…

—

“Kill him.”

What are you talking about?

A hero shouldn’t kill.

“Kill Ahn Se-hyun with that. Then you will be recognized by your father.”

Recognized by my father?

Does that mean I can escape this cold and bask in warmth?

Ahn Se-hyun smirked and provoked Song Seok-hwan.

“What’s that sword? Are you really going to stab me? No way, a weak coward like you could never do that.”

Coward, huh?

No.

I am Song Seok-hwan, the son of Song Ji-hwan.

A man destined to become the leader of the guild one day cannot be a coward.

“Stab him!”

Yes, let’s stab him.

With this, I will kill Ahn Se-hyun and gain recognition.

Let’s end it all with this.

“You, a coward like you, could never kill me!”

Song Seok-hwan raised his sword high.

Now disappear, Hyung Se-hyun.

Just as he was about to bring the sword down—

“……!”

The sword did not move.

Why?

“That’s far enough.”

Someone grabbed the blade from behind.

Who the hell is it?

Turning around, I saw the face of a man so handsome it was almost infuriating.

“Song Seok-hwan, what is this disgrace?”

A man I loathed to the core.

Professor Cha Eun-woo was there.

“Why did you show up here?”

A surge of malice boiled within me.

It was a hatred greater than the one directed at Ahn Se-hyun.

I must kill.

I must kill that person…

“Song Seok-hwan, if you keep this up, you will never be recognized by anyone for the rest of your life.”

What do you mean?

That I cannot be recognized.

“Remember this. Heroes exist to protect people. What kind of hero harms others?”

Words my father once told me.

I always thought it was a good saying, keeping it close to my heart.

Cha Eun-woo recited it without missing a single word.

“You…”

It’s true.

My father wanted Song Seok-hwan to become the leader of the heroes’ guild.

A hero.

Song Seok-hwan must become a good hero…

“Don’t lie! My father never recognized me until the very end! A good hero? What does that even mean? I have to become stronger!”

Song Seok-hwan shouted in rage.

Isn’t that right?

I did everything I could.

But it was my father who never acknowledged me.

“Do you want to be recognized?”

“Yes! I want to be recognized! What’s wrong with that?”

Cha Eun-woo chuckled softly.

Am I ridiculous?

Is that so wrong?

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be a strong hero.”

“What?”

“It’s okay to be weak. You don’t have to be a competent guild master.”

“Then, what value is there…?”

Cha Eun-woo smiled warmly.

“I will acknowledge you. It’s okay not to be a strong hero. Be a good hero and protect the world.”

“A good hero…”

Ah, I see.

So that’s what it was.

I was foolish.

A hero who is only strong holds no meaning. No one welcomes them.

【Stop! Stop it!】

Bonibatus struggled.

But as Song Seok-hwan’s consciousness gradually returned, the world of illusions began to crumble.

Finally, the sound of shattering glass echoed, and the world completely collapsed.

Only then did Song Seok-hwan’s mind clear.

He slowly opened his eyes.

* * *

“Ugh, ugh…!”

Bonibatus’s power was weakening.

The claws and tentacles that had sprouted from Song Seok-hwan’s body gradually shrank until they completely vanished.

He did it.

Song Seok-hwan succeeded in driving Bonibatus away.

“You’re awake.”

“…Professor?”

The malice that had once clouded Song Seok-hwan’s eyes was now clear and transparent.

They were beautiful, pristine eyes.

“Ugh!”

“Your wounds are severe, so don’t move.”

One arm was deeply cut by a knife and hung limply, and his body was in a state of overload from being used too roughly.

Just not fainting could be considered superhuman willpower.

“Where is that spider b*stard…?”

“Leave the rest to me and rest well.”

“That b*stard with my own hands…”

Song Seok-hwan’s voice grew quieter until it finally faded away. He had lost consciousness at last.

The sound of sharp breathing filled the air.

Fortunately, his life was not in danger.

【Ah, no…! This, this can’t be…】

At last, the true form of Bonibatus was revealed.

A slightly oversized spider.

There was a reason it possessed others.

Bonibatus’s true form had no combat abilities.

“Now disappear.”

【W-wait! I’ll grant your wish! I am a demon! Bonibatus the demon! If you just let me live…】

“Disgusting.”

Swoosh!

One of the final bosses of the game.

It was an utterly hollow end for something that was supposed to be one of the twelve demons.

Ding!

───────────────

▶ You have cleared the first scenario.

─Defeated Bonibatus (1/1)

▶ You have achieved a heroic feat.

─Survived facing the evil god (1/1)

▶ You have achieved a legendary feat.

─Saved a comrade from the evil god (1/1)

▶ You have achieved a mythical feat.

─Defeated the evil god (1/1)

───────────────

“Phew.”

Finally, it was all over.

The exam, the rescue of Team A, the defeat of the evil god.

After providing adequate first aid to the members of Team A, including Song Seok-hwan, I exited the dungeon.

—

As I returned, Lee Ye-eun welcomed me with fervor.

“Professor? Oh my! You’re a complete wreck! What on earth happened? And why are the kids like this? There couldn’t possibly be a monster in the slime tunnel that would threaten you…”

“To put it simply, it’s a long story.”

I wanted to tell her everything, but I didn’t have the energy.

My eyelids grew heavier, and my body felt languid.

Fighting against the thugs, battling Song Seok-hwan’s subordinates, clashing with the demon.

So much had happened today.

I just wanted to rest a little.

“Professor! Pull yourself together!”

My eyelids were heavy.

Right now, I felt like I could fall into a deep sleep.

Just a little, just a tiny bit of sleep.

—

Chapter 2. Reinforcements

Florian Academy was in an uproar.

The top professor of the Department of Magical Studies, Jeon Tae-jin.

He had allied himself with an unknown monster and manipulated Song Seok-hwan to ambush Cha Eun-woo.

This was no ordinary matter.

“Tae-jin, you’ve truly lost your mind!”

President Ryu Jeong-ah was furious.

The hero’s blade should only be directed at monsters.

It was unthinkable for a hero to attempt to kill another hero.

There were rules in the society of heroes.

Unless it was a legitimate duel, a hero should never seek to kill a person.

If this was violated, one would be treated like a monster, not a hero.

“Did I teach you to be this way! How dare you…”

“Hu, heh…”

Even the renowned Jeon Tae-jin could not escape this incident, bound and reduced to a pitiful state.

“Am I… going to die?”

“Why are you even asking such an obvious thing?”

“Hu, heh… I suppose so. I’ve come too, too far.”

—

It would have been better to die at Ryu Jeong-ah’s hands.

Even if I were acquitted, having touched Song Seok-hwan would mean I could expect no good outcome.

Surely, I would die the most painfully, without anyone knowing.

That’s the sin of touching the divine.

“Cough… may I leave a last word before I die?”

“What is it?”

“I have seen it. Their power, their authority…”

Jeon Tae-jin began to chuckle.

“They’re all going to die! It’s madness to oppose the mighty evil gods! Humanity will soon be nothing but a handful of ashes! You too will follow me soon!”

“You truly have gone mad.”

“No, I am not mad! I have seen the truth!”

As Ryu Jeong-ah gestured, the executioners dragged Jeon Tae-jin away.

She no longer wanted to witness the fate of her deranged disciple.

“Teacher, please open your eyes! Teacher, Teacher! Teach…”

Ryu Jeong-ah denied Jeon Tae-jin’s words, but in truth, she had known all along.

She didn’t know exactly when the crisis would come.

It could be in ten years, twenty years, or it could strike as soon as next year.

What was certain was that humanity would soon face a great crisis.

The image of the Nest of Destruction, which had driven humanity to the brink of annihilation in the past, resurfaced.

Humanity had lost far too many heroes back then.

“It’s different now. Humanity has a key.”

Being on the receiving end was now tiresome.

They had to unite and resist.

They had to raise the children.

There was only one person who could be that focal point.

“Professor Cha… I have no choice but to trust that child.”

* * *

After I collapsed, Lee Ye-eun busily moved to handle the aftermath.

Everyone who had been in the dungeon, including me, was transported to the hospital.

Though they were all seriously injured, fortunately, their lives were not in danger.

—

After that, Song Seok-hwan confessed to the whole incident.

What happened inside the dungeon was concluded to be the fault of the monster and Jeon Tae-jin, but he also confessed to tormenting Seo Da-yoon and received a one-year suspension.

Jeon Tae-jin was subjected to a hero trial and sentenced to life imprisonment.

No, that’s how it was known.

It’s a fact unknown to the public, but in reality, there was no life sentence in a hero trial.

To imprison a capable person requires an enormous amount of resources. However, there was no tax money to spend on criminals to that extent.

In other words, while it was superficially called a life sentence, secretly, they executed them.

It seemed like everything was resolved well.

Except for one minor issue.

“How long do you plan to stay here?”

“I’ll just be here for a bit.”

Song Seok-hwan.

It had been two days since he occupied the sofa in my office.

After being suspended, Song Seok-hwan moved out of the dormitory. But not wanting to go home, he made my office his nest.

“Do you have any intention of going home?”

“Absolutely not. If I go back, my father will probably try to kill me.”

It was half a joke, but half of it was the truth.

Because of this incident, the stock of the Emergency Guild plummeted. Song Ji-hyuk, who valued the guild’s reputation, would not let Song Seok-hwan off easily.

“You seem surprisingly relaxed about it.”

“No matter how much of a father he is, he can’t come this far, right?”

“If your father comes, I’d be more than willing to open the door for him.”

“Why are you being so petty?”

In the past few days, Song Seok-hwan’s attitude towards me had completely changed.

Before, he looked at me as if I were an enemy, but now it was as if he was facing a comfortable older brother.

Where did the respect and reverence for the professor go?

I felt a bit dissatisfied.

The change in attitude seemed to be influenced by the disappearance of Bonivatus.

Bonivatus manipulated by stimulating the trauma of the possessed person.

Defeating that guy meant he had, in a way, overcome his own trauma.

Song Seok-hwan will grow in a better direction.

It was a positive sign in many ways.

But still, no matter what, it was all about Song Seok-hwan’s circumstances, not mine.