I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

Time passed, and it was now April.

After five lectures, the remaining number of students stood at seven, a not-too-shabby number.

“I think this color suits you better, don’t you think?”
“Hmm, I think this one looks good too.”

According to the original story, the academy would start to become chaotic in the spring of next year, as the barrier was destroyed. But that wouldn’t happen this time.

“But why isn’t Woo-jin’s hair growing?”
“Yeah, he doesn’t seem to style it either.”

Instead, the things that should have flowed into this place will cause trouble from the outside in some way.

The full-scale collision between the dark and the light.

The more chaotic the outside world was, the better. The more attention would be drawn away from what was happening here.

“Ugh, everything looks good on you, so it’s even harder to choose.”
“Yes. Not only are you tall, but your overall proportions are perfect too.”

I spoke to the two girls who were chattering as they walked around.

“It’s about time.”
“But we still have 30 minutes left?”
“There aren’t any more clothes left anyway.”
“Oh, is that so?”

Baek Hana, holding a gray shirt in her hand, blinked as she looked at the clothes on the bed. The other side of the room was similar.

“The boss is like his subordinate, huh.”
“……?”

Claire, holding several wristwatches, tilted her head slightly.

“Alright, get out now.”
“Ah, just a little longer!! Please!”
“Hmm.”

Baek Hana, caught by the magic I unleashed, struggled, while Claire quietly walked towards the door. Soon, the two left the bedroom, and I shook my head as I looked at the various clothes on the bed.

There were red shirts, as well as pink and purple ones.

Things that even they wouldn’t wear.

‘I guess I can reduce their allowance.’

Until now, they had only spent money on snacks and saved the rest. But now, they were using the money they had saved to buy me things like this. If they had purely wanted to show their affection for me, they wouldn’t have cared about the design and would have just worn those clothes themselves.

‘Have I been too indulgent with them?’

A small desire was hidden in their clear and transparent eyes.

It was the same kind of desire that Yesol showed towards Claire—Baek Hana wanted to dress me up in the clothes she choose herself.

Yet, the girl shamelessly claimed that she had ordered them for me.

She was becoming more and more brazen as she grew up.

-Piuuung~?

As I was about to tidy up the unnecessary things, a tiny troublemaker in a small basket rubbed its eyes and got up. Thanks to Claire’s education, even this little one was starting to develop a more regular routine.

-Pii?

The little one rubbed its sleepy eyes, poked its head out of the basket, and discovered the colorful clothes on the bed. Its eyes widened, and it carefully climbed out of the basket and hopped down to one side.

Right in front of the white shirt I usually wore.

-Pii.

The little one patted the shirt with its tiny hands and looked up at me.

I picked up the shirt in front of the little one as I cleared away the rest of the clothes.

“Today, you’re better than those two.”

**

[Conference Room 3]

A long, oval table.

The professors of the Reinforcement and Ability Departments sat facing each other, with the empty seat of the director in between.

“Haaauuumm~ Phew.”
“Are you yawning?”

At the back of the conference room, the heads of the administrative organization sat at a separate, straight table.

Kim Sung-won, the head of the Finance Department, glanced at Choi Min-sik, the head of the Academic Affairs Department, and replied.

“I’m yawning because you’re talking so much, jerk.”
“You’re quite old yourself, yet your mouth hasn’t matured at all. Tsk tsk.”
“You’re the one who gets steamed up and starts ranting. Don’t act so high and mighty.”
“……Anyway. You, why did you come empty-handed?”

Choi Min-sik and the other department heads were busy comparing notes, documents, and laptops in front of them.

On the other hand, the only thing on Kim Sung-won’s desk was an empty tumbler that he had used to drink a grain powder drink for breakfast.

“Ah, you little shit. They say curiosity fades with age, and since I came empty-handed, I came empty-handed. Why do you keep asking and making a fuss?”
“Are you crazy… Did you submit a letter of resignation?”
“I still have at least ten more years left. Why would I resign? Are you crazy?”
“……You’re the crazy one.”

Choi Min-sik shook his head, looking at his age-old friend whose words were becoming more and more incomprehensible.

“I don’t know…”
“What are you talking about?”

Kim Sung-won started looking at the stock market on his smartphone, and Choi Min-sik shook his head and turned his attention back to his laptop.

『 Braver Guild 2730 New Recruit Development Status, Retention and Survival Rate – 3p
Silver Light Guild 2730 New Recruit Development Status, Retention and Survival Rate – 9p
Darkrion Guild 2730 New Recruit……』

A total of 37 guilds’ recent three-year trends in the number of awakened students applying, their growth, retention, and survival rates. And the current living conditions of the remaining new students, etc.

The files contained information gathered by the hard work of the staff below.

The heads of each administrative department were assigned to investigate items corresponding to the departments of the 37 common guilds, and they were in the final stages of reviewing the data before the upcoming meeting.

As Choi Min-sik reviewed the data, he opened his email to check if there were any updated documents.

“Last year’s freshmen had a higher percentage of Ability users.”
“……That’s correct.”
“So we added five more guilds that favor Ability users.”
“Hmm.”

Jaiden, a professor of the Ability Department, the head of the Magic Department, and the one who had spoken to Baek Woo-jin about the recruitment competition during the director’s meeting, frowned and coughed softly.

On the other hand, Lee Hyuk, a professor of the Reinforcement Department and the head of the Swordsmanship Department, smiled warmly and continued.

“Since the numbers are similar to last year, I think we should add a few more guilds that favor Reinforcement users this year. What do you think?”
“If there are no particular issues, then yes.”
“Hehe, of course.”

Choi Min-sik shook his head as he watched the two professors from opposing factions start their usual power struggle before the meeting.

Every year, at the end of May, during the academic year evaluation period, guilds from the outside would visit the academy as observers and watch the exams. If they found promising students, they could propose to recruit them.

It was beneficial for both the small and medium-sized guilds to obtain talented students, and for the students to receive guild support at a younger age.

However, the guilds that could participate in the evaluations for second to fourth years were fixed as the top 10 guilds and the upper-ranking guilds below them. So, the guilds selected in today’s meeting would only be able to observe the first-year evaluations.

The students were well aware of this system, so most of them waited until their fourth year to apply. The small and medium-sized guilds also knew this, so they were very desperate to change the students’ minds.

If they could recruit even one promising student, they would have a chance to rise to the upper ranks in the future, so they had no choice but to be desperate.

Then why were the professors from both sides engaging in this power struggle?

Just as there were different factions and alliances within the academy, the guilds also had similar factions and alliances based on their similarities.

In simpler terms, it was about expanding their social influence and networking.

When they were in their prime, their skills and reputation were their power, and they didn’t bother with these tedious and troublesome matters. But now, as they aged and their abilities gradually declined, they were actively meeting people, sometimes even having one external meeting a day.

Of course, some meetings were purely for conversation, while others had different intentions.

In addition, professors from the same department would also recommend guilds that they had connections with or wanted to establish new relationships with.

Some professors genuinely recommended good guilds, but most of them received something in return during the process. Naturally, everyone in this room knew this, but no one considered it a problem.

While it was wrong to accept something in return, when they actually investigated the guilds, they found no real faults. In fact, most of them had solid fundamentals but lacked manpower.

If they recommended a guild with some kind of flaw, they would be ostracized not only by the opposing faction but also by their own faction. So, it was only natural that they chose to maintain their dignity.

Both sides were trying to expand their influence, but they were not willing to lose their integrity in the process. At least, that was the case until last year.

‘This year, we’ll have to see what happens.’

The amount of data collected was by no means small, but after today’s meeting, the opposing factions’ professors would personally visit and investigate the guilds.

Only those that survived this process would be granted observer status.

‘Is the director skipping out again this year?’

While the meeting was held in the director’s name, in reality, the director rarely participated, with the number of times they had attended being countable on one hand.

Whenever there was an opportunity, the director would disappear into the rift to obtain artifacts or elixirs to give as prizes to the students, without even leaving a message.

So, until now, the meetings had mostly been conducted with the leaders of both factions reaching a compromise, and this year seemed to be heading in the same direction.

Creak.

Just before the conference room door opened,

Tap. Tap.

Unusually clear heel sounds reverberated throughout the conference room.

Everyone’s gaze turned to the owner of those sounds, and

The owner of those sounds sat in the empty seat at the head of the table, the director’s seat, receiving everyone’s attention.

Baek Woo-jin, wearing a jacket instead of his usual coat, unbuttoned it and spoke.

“Let’s begin the selection of observers.”