I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

As the broadcasting stations of various countries were being cursed at by viewers for the sudden commercial break…

[Is there anyone who wants to be the first to go on stage?]

Below the stage, the order of those going on stage was being decided.

It was the loser’s revival round.

One person went up on stage, and another person from the remaining group challenged them.

The format was one-on-one.

The winner earned one point and could choose to leave the stage and take a turn to rest or stay and defend their position. If they continued to win without leaving the stage, their points would increase to two, three, and so on.

The person with the highest score at the end would be the winner.

There were many factors to consider, such as managing one’s stamina and judging the opponent’s abilities to decide whether to concede or go off-stage.

It was a match that required quick judgment at every moment, more than one might expect.

However, there was an exception.

“I’ll go.”

A student with snow-white hair neatly tied up, Baek Hana, raised her hand.

The other students, who were spread out around the stage, stiffened their faces as if they had expected this.

[Arena Academy’s Baek Hana, is there anyone else who wants to be the first?]

The referee on stage slowly turned around, making eye contact with each student.

[Baek Hana, please come up on stage. And for the student who wants to challenge Baek Hana, please raise your hand.]

Just as the referee was about to quickly continue the proceedings, thinking that no one would raise their hand…

“Me!”

The representative of Japan, who had lost to the French apprentice chevaliers by 11 points, raised her hand.

[Confirmed. Please come up on stage when signaled.]

The referee slowly descended from the stage.

This was because she had received a message that there were still many commercials left to air.

…

[You’ve been waiting a long time!! Right, commentator Ben?]

[Haha, the viewers watching this broadcast must be more anxious than I am. And I just received news that there are crazy posts on SNS threatening to kill Dr. Muah.]

[What?! Why?! I just followed the script prepared by the broadcasting station!]

[Well, I hope you can settle that matter personally. Let’s focus on the commentary as the match is about to begin.]

[No…!!]

The face of the aggrieved Dr. Muah disappeared, and the scene switched to the stage.

[The challenger, please come up on stage.]

The Japanese representative, who had raised her hand, went up on stage.

Baek Hana blinked as she looked at the female student standing in front of her.

“Mio?”
“You remember me?!”

Yuzuki Mio’s stiff face broke into a bright smile.

“Um, we… have to fight…”
“Yes! I’ll do my best!”
“Um, yes…”

Baek Hana had vowed to finish her opponents in one blow, but that vow was broken from the very first match.

‘One blow… I have to finish with one blow…’

Baek Hana scratched her cheek as she looked at Yuzuki Mio.

Her opponent was smiling as if she had met an old friend, not showing any signs of fighting spirit.

‘No, this doesn’t seem like she’s trying to lure me into a false sense of security… there’s no malice in her eyes…’

As Baek Hana was pondering what to do, the referee began the countdown.

“One, two, three…”

The referee slowly counted down from ten.

“Hana-san! It’s okay, give it your all! I’ll do my best too!”
“Um…”

She didn’t want to be rough with the person who had given her chocolate, but given the current situation, she had to put her personal feelings aside for now.

“Seven, six, five…”

The numbers quickly decreased.

A white tail slid down below Baek Hana’s hips.

And as the countdown ended…

-Swish!

A large number of talismans flew out from Yuzuki Mio’s sleeves, spreading out across the entire stage.

“These talismans explode on contact!”
“…”
“And when they explode, the curses or magic within them are activated!”
“…”

Baek Hana, who had been waiting for the opportunity to use her abilities, was startled by the sudden explanation.

“And I can do this too!”

-Swoosh!

The talismans that had been evenly spread out across the stage gathered around Baek Hana.

As Baek Hana was about to activate her abilities, anticipating the explosion of the talismans…

Whoosh!

A faint light emanated from the gathered talismans, intertwining and forming a semi-transparent barrier around Baek Hana.

Yuzuki Mio pointed to the spherical barrier surrounding Baek Hana and continued.

“As you can see, it can also serve as a protective barrier in an emergency!”
“…”

Why…?

Was she planning to trap her and then cause an explosion?

But before she could finish her thought, the semi-transparent barrier disappeared, and the talismans flew back towards Yuzuki Mio.

“Thank you for waiting.”

Baek Hana scratched her cheek as she watched Yuzuki Mio bow her head towards her. Seeing Baek Hana’s reaction, Yuzuki Mio’s face stiffened, and she spoke.

“I judged that no matter what preparations I make, I can’t beat you with my current abilities. So, I plan to focus all my strength on defense.”

-Woosh!

The talismans gathered around Yuzuki Mio formed a large pentagram and quickly burned with a bright purple flame. In its place, a dark purple barrier appeared, looking ominous.

In an instant, Yuzuki Mio, surrounded by the purple barrier, opened her lips.

“This is a barrier imbued with all the curses and magic contained within the talismans.”
“Is that your last move?”
“Yes. This is the best technique I can show you.”
“Okay.”

Baek Hana clenched her fist lightly.

“Don’t underestimate…”

-Baaang!

A loud noise shook their eardrums, and a strong wind blew towards Yuzuki Mio’s face.

“Huh…”

Yuzuki Mio couldn’t help but hiccup at the sight of the black half-glove in front of her.

-Crack.

Before she could notice, a small hole appeared, followed by large and small cracks, spreading widely. The ominous-colored barrier shattered like glass fragments and scattered in the wind.

At the same time, Yuzuki Mio’s legs gave way, and she fell backward.

“…”

Yuzuki Mio, who thought she would sit down on the floor, realized that her body was firmly held in place by something that had gently wrapped around her waist. She opened her tightly shut eyes.

“Are you okay?”

She took a deep breath at the sight of Baek Hana’s beautiful blue eyes, sparkling like jewels, instead of a terrifying fist.

“Mio?”
“Ah…!! Are you…?”

Yuzuki Mio, who was trying to respond in her still-clumsy Korean, stumbled over her words and shivered.

“Pfft…”

Baek Hana smiled at the sight of Yuzuki Mio covering her mouth and tearing up, and this scene was broadcast live to various countries through hundreds of cameras.

Baek Hana, unaware of this fact, quickly composed herself and stared blankly at Yuzuki Mio, who was looking up at her.

“Um, Hana-san…?”

Yuzuki Mio, startled by Baek Hana’s sudden princess carry, couldn’t hide her confusion and flailed her arms and legs.

“Here.”
“Ah…”

At the edge of the stage.

Only then did Yuzuki Mio understand Baek Hana’s actions.

“I, I didn’t see it well… but it was amazing…”

After saying what she wanted to say, she quickly jumped off the stage.

[Yuzuki Mio, out of bounds. Baek Hana wins.]

-Waaaahhhh!!
-It wasn’t as flashy as I thought, but it was great!!
-Please smile again!
-Kyaaaahhh!!

The audience cheered for Baek Hana and Yuzuki Mio, but the two couldn’t hear them.

This was because the organizers had set up a sound barrier along with the protective barrier to accommodate Baek Hana’s sensitive hearing.

When Baek Hana returned to her original position, the referee asked her,

[Baek Hana, will you maintain your position?]

“Yes, I will.”

[Maintaining position, confirmed. Then, the second challenger, please come up on stage.]

As soon as the referee finished speaking, Italy’s representative went up on stage and stood in the same position as Yuzuki Mio had earlier.

[Countdown begins.]

The numbers decreased rapidly, just like before.

“Nice to meet you.”
“…”

Baek Hana stared at the male student who greeted her with a blink of one eye and nodded her head indifferently.

And as the countdown ended…

“My spea…”

-Swoosh!

The Italian representative’s body flew out of the stage like a soccer ball bursting.

Baek Hana had quickly closed the distance and kicked him in the abdomen.

The Italian representative, who had been sent flying outside, rolled on the floor several times before finally stopping at the wall of the audience and stopped.

“Next.”

Baek Hana didn’t even look back as she searched for her third opponent.

[14 matches, 14 wins!! A record-breaking performance!]

[Considering that the previous record was 8 wins, it’s truly astonishing.]

[Moreover, except for the first challenger, Yuzuki Mio, she finished off all her opponents in one blow.]

[We might be witnessing a future high-ranking player. We should secretly get her autograph later.]

[That’s a good idea. But there’s something important to consider.]

[Another commercial break?]

[No! And I’ll say it again, the commercials are prepared by the broadcasting station, not me!!]

[Yes, we understand. So, what’s the important thing?]

[Hoo, although Baek Hana’s performance today helped Arena Academy advance to the top 16, this is a team game. Being individually outstanding doesn’t guarantee a win.]

[That’s right. Just looking at how Baek Hana was brought out today…]

Click.

Baek Hana opened the door to the waiting room, turning off the noisy broadcast, and blinked at the unexpected person inside.

“Hello.”

Jane Moore, with handcuff on her hands, greeted her politely.