Academy’s Villain Professor

Chapter 40: Training (2)

“Calamity.”

Se-ah immediately understood my statement.

Indeed, for the current level of academy students, this artificial disaster scenario was child’s play, not a real catastrophe.

The two-hour time limit was a bit tight, but not a huge issue.

“You’re not wrong, but doesn’t this raise the difficulty too much?”

The real challenge of this situation came after collecting all the capsules.

Twenty-two meal vouchers for 43 people to share.

That alone was tough enough, but if I played the role of a “calamity,” it’d be a literal disaster for the students.

“That’s the point. They’re all worrying about that part, so they’re approaching this capsule hunt with a complacent mindset.”

A hero’s fate is to never know when or where something might happen.

To keep them from letting their guard down, a sudden shock like this was necessary.

“Well, you’re not wrong, but the kids will feel like they’ve been blindsided.”

Ignoring Se-ah’s comment with one ear, I put on the white mask.

It was just a plain white mask placed on my face.

A simple, unremarkable action.

But Se-ah took two steps back.

For a moment, she nearly attacked me out of instinct.

The shock she felt was beyond imagination.

As an A-rank hero and second-grade hunter, she’d fought in countless operations.

She’d faced S-rank villains and first-grade beasts, narrowly escaping death multiple times.

Yet, the feeling I gave her now was an unknown terror, something no villain or beast could evoke.

A primal fear, surpassing the dread of sinking into an endless abyss or facing the infinite expanse of the universe.

And she felt it from me, a human.

She couldn’t even guess the source of that fear.

Even my simple act of turning to look at her felt threatening.

I raised my index finger and pointed at the mask.

“How’s it look? Suits me, right?”

Her clenched fist relaxed at my overly cheerful voice.

“Weird.”

“Really?”

I scratched the back of my head and adjusted the crooked mask.

“Guess I bought the wrong size. Doesn’t fit well.”

Se-ah’s reaction was understandable.

The mask was just a toy bought online.

But it closely resembled the one I used during my villain days.

Just putting it on changed everything.

From small things like my breathing and stance to the habits and mindset ingrained from my villain days.

The aura of a villain came out instinctively.

These were traces of that time I hadn’t intended to bring out, so faint that an average hero wouldn’t even notice.

But to Se-ah, that faint aura felt all the more bizarre.

I clicked my tongue at the view and sensation through the mask.

“It does bring back old memories.”

My villain days, if I had to say, were filled with nothing but bad memories.

Unpleasant things I wouldn’t even call nostalgia.

But without the mask, I couldn’t run this test.

No choice.

Draped in a dark cloak, I looked like something out of a horror movie.

I tilted my head.

“I’ll be back.”

Having somewhat recovered, So-hee peeked out from the medical tent.

Seeing me, she asked?

“Where are you going?”

I thought for a moment before answering.

“Just a light stroll. Wanna come?”

Before finding the gate’s core, the situation was completely reversed—she’d have thought I was mocking her.

So-hee gave a wry smile and shook her head.

After the ordeal a few hours ago, the shock was too great to reignite her sense of duty.

* * *

The students, grouped in threes, climbed the mountain, diligently searching for places where an accident might have occurred, as I’d described.

While scouring the mountain, they found traces of a landslide.

The surrounding soil was intact, but one spot was conspicuously disturbed, clearly artificial.

They immediately poked the ground with branches.

A dull sensation hit their hands—not a rock, but the distinct, hollow sound of plastic.

“Found it!”

A student shouted, digging up the ground.

Soon, they unearthed a capsule with a meal voucher inside.

The three beamed with pure joy.

They hadn’t expected to find one so soon.

One student shook their wrist, marveling at the watch.

“This watch is more useful than I thought.”

In the pitch-black mountain, the light from the watches I’d given them was surprisingly strong.

Without it, they’d have struggled several times more.

The joy of finding the capsule was short-lived.

The student holding it muttered glumly.

“We need to find two more.”

They all groaned, facing the reality they’d been avoiding.

Three heads, one voucher.

If they didn’t find more, two of them would go hungry.

“Let’s keep looking. Only 40 minutes have passed.”

It was a bit unfair to the others, but there was a chance they could find all three.

As they prepared to move again.

Whoosh—

A chilling air, as if the temperature had dropped several degrees, brushed past them.

They instinctively turned around.

A figure in a white mask stood with hands behind their back.

Its presence was so faint they hadn’t noticed it until they turned to face it.

But once they did, its presence was overwhelming, almost inhuman.

The absurdly contradictory figure made them immediately assume combat stances.

“Wait, hold on.”

The student in front raised a hand to stop the other two.

With an uneasy expression, he asked?

“Are you, like, the island’s caretaker or something? We’re students from Clington, here for an MT with Professor Jeong Ho-cheol.”

I silently observed them.

Not attacking outright, explaining the situation, and assessing the context—these were positive factors.

At least their initial reaction saved them from failing.

Let’s see if they can pass.

I released my hands from behind my back.

The knife in my hand gleamed coldly.

“Damn it!”

Spotting the knife, the students instantly understood the situation.

“What the hell is that!”

I charged at them.

The student in front activated their trait and attacked, but I dodged with a light twist of my body.

Twisting further, I plunged the knife into their side.

Pushing the stabbed student aside, I grabbed another’s collar, tripping them with my leg.

As they fell, losing balance, the knife flew toward their throat.

They shut their eyes tightly.

The attack targeting such a critical vital point was impossible to dodge or block.

They braced for death.

But

“Huh?”

Not only did it not pierce their throat, it didn’t even hurt.

They fumbled at their necks with eyes closed.

It was definitely pierced, wasn’t it?

Opening their eyes, they saw me standing there, mask off.

I’d shed the cloak too, wiping sweat from my forehead.

“This cloak’s not great for this weather.”

The student stabbed in the side stood up, trying to make sense of the situation.

“Uh, so… what was that?”

“Keep questions short and to the point.”

After a moment’s thought, the student asked?

“I’m pretty sure I got stabbed…”

“Me too.”

I smirked, pressing the tip of the knife with my palm.

With a click, the blade retracted into the handle.

“It’s a toy for kids. No sharp edge to begin with.”

As if I’d use a real weapon on students.

But bare hands wouldn’t convey urgency or a real-combat vibe, so I used this toy.

“Then why are you here, Professor? Why’d you suddenly attack us?”

“It’s a disaster scenario. Villain appearances are a basic element in disasters—you’re not going to say you didn’t know that, right?”

They couldn’t respond.

They knew the theory that villain incidents spiked during disasters.

They just hadn’t expected it here.

Who’d predict their professor would attack them like a villain in the middle of the night?

That’d be weird in its own way.

“I was testing your response and judgment in a crisis, not your combat skills.”

I didn’t subdue them instantly for no reason.

“And if I had to score you, it’d be 50 points. That’s about it.”

Their faces stiffened at the lower-than-expected score.

They thought they’d done alright.

“Identifying the accident site, handling the rescue, and assessing the situation when you first saw me were all worth points. But the problem came after.”

I pointed at the student holding the capsule.

“That capsule was designated as an injured civilian. When a villain attacks during a rescue, what’s the proper hero response?”

The student glanced between the capsule and me before answering.

“Evacuate the capsule first.”

“Right. So why’s the one holding it still here? Was that the right call? You prepared to fight instead.”

“Sorry.”

“I’m not pointing this out for an apology. Save that for when you make the same mistake again.”

I sat on a nearby tree stump.

“Alright, one more thing to point out. Any guesses?”

The three huddled, thinking hard, but couldn’t come up with an answer.

They honestly had no idea what other mistake they’d made.

I gave the answer first.

“Using the tools you have appropriately for the situation is a core hero skill.”

“Oh.”

Only then did they realize.

The watches I’d given them also served as emergency call devices.

“You should’ve used the call function the moment you spotted me.”

I stood up.

“That’s the standard for a perfect score. Beating me was never on the table.”

I summarized briefly.

“You failed the rescue.”

I held out my hand.

It wasn’t angled for a handshake—my palm faced upward awkwardly.

After a moment’s hesitation, one student cautiously placed their hand on mine.

“No, give me the capsule.”

“Oh.”

They lowered their hands.

“You failed to rescue the victim, so the capsule’s confiscated.”

With glum faces, they placed the capsule in my hand.

“Honestly, isn’t this difficulty too high?”

One student asked, feeling wronged, but I put the mask back on and countered.

“When you become heroes, will you complain about difficulty in real situations?”

They couldn’t argue back.

After that, I visited several more groups.

Groups that found capsules, groups that didn’t—I attacked them all indiscriminately.

Finding every student in this vast mountain was impossible, but the watches’ tracking function let me reach ten groups within two hours.

At the last group, I tilted my head.

This is an unexpected combo.

It was none other than Ye-jin and Da-yeon, teamed up.

Not because I forced them, but because they chose it themselves.

Quite surprising.

They didn’t seem to get along during the daytime training, so what changed?

As I observed them, Da-yeon sensed my presence and turned around.

Our eyes met, and she instantly raised her bow, nocking an arrow.

Her dirt-covered fingers clearly aimed at my forehead.

“Warning. Take three steps back, or…”

Her voice was cold, devoid of the emotion she usually showed me.

“I’ll shoot.”

Ye-jin, turning late, grabbed her wrist urgently.

“Hey, what if it’s a civilian!”

Despite Ye-jin’s shout, Da-yeon pulled the bowstring tighter.

Creak—

She said curtly.

“Look behind. No footprints on the path. No sound approaching. A civilian? No way.”

Her instincts are sharper, huh.

With a brief assessment, I gripped the knife.

“As expected.”

With that, Ye-jin fired the arrow.

I dodged with a light twist.

Ye-jin turned her head to the student holding the capsule.

“You two, take the capsule and get out of the forest. Report to the professor.”

“Uh, okay!”

Of all the groups I’d visited, their reaction and response were the best.

The arrows, which had been targeting my upper body’s vitals, suddenly aimed at my leg.

I deflected it with the knife and lunged forward.

Closing the distance, I spun rapidly.

The knife, fueled by rotational force, slashed at Da-yeon’s throat.

Or tried to.

An attack one level above her current specs, impossible to react to—yet she dodged, thanks to Ye-jin.

Standing behind her, Ye-jin yanked Da-yeon’s collar, pulling her out of the knife’s range.

My knife only sliced empty air.

Their teamwork’s better than I thought.

Under the mask, I smiled faintly.

Seeing the students perform beyond expectations was rewarding as a teacher.

In the brief standoff, they spread out to either side.

Their strategy was clear: no matter which one I targeted, the other could flank me.

The spacing was perfect for reacting, and their focus was solid.

Seeing my short weapon, they improvised a simple but effective tactic.

I wasn’t focused on their combat skills, but this performance was unexpected.

Now I kinda want to crank up the difficulty.

I adjusted my grip on the knife.

* * *

Above the ridge where the skirmish took place, the villains’ cube stood.

When their target, Da-yeon, appeared, they considered altering the plan to kidnap her immediately.

But I showed up first.

Though they couldn’t tell by appearance, their trait tracker confirmed the masked figure was me.

Watching me face the two students, the big man let out a quiet exclamation.

“Nice moves. Not bad. I wanna take him on!”

Normally, the leader would’ve snapped at him to stay focused, but he just stared at me silently.

After a moment of thought, he spoke to Glasses beside him.

“…Call for support.”

“Support?”

Glasses asked, puzzled.

Having watched my fight, he couldn’t understand the order.

I was strong, sure—capable of subduing mid-tier B-rank villains or even A-ranks depending on compatibility.

But that was it, wasn’t it?

None of the four here were weaker than that.

They’d expected to disable the cube, subdue me, and kidnap the target right away.

Support?

The leader muttered.

“You didn’t feel it?”

Glasses, the big man, and the woman either shook their heads or shrugged.

Even Glasses, a detection type, felt nothing.

That fact chilled the leader even more.

Regular support wouldn’t cut it.

“Just an A-rank? Bullshit.”

The same unknown terror and eeriness Se-ah felt, the leader felt too.

The difference was, he knew exactly what that fear was.

It wasn’t just about trait power or strength built through experience.

It was the presence of someone who excelled at killing.

A beast in human skin.

No, a monster.

He’d encountered a monster like that before.

Surviving that encounter was pure luck and the monster’s whim.

That monster was the head of the organization he now served.

He felt the same ferocity from me as he had from that monster.

“The plan’s completely changed.”

The leader declared.

“Not regular support. Request a Sweeper.”

Glasses asked, shocked.

“A Sweeper? You’re really bringing in that monster?”

“Yes. I’ll take responsibility.”

The four here were undoubtedly strong.

But that was within the context of awakened beings.

“And monsters are best dealt with by monsters.”