I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

The professors, who had been engaged in a power struggle, closed their mouths.

The administrative staff, who had been diligently doing their jobs in the corner of the conference room, stopped their work.

The eyes of everyone in the room turned towards me.

They all wore expressions of surprise, confusion, or stupidity.

I called out to the only one who maintained a proper posture, a middle-aged man.

“Kim Sung-won.”
“Yes, Professor.”

Kim Sung-won opened the bag he had placed on the floor, took out a clipboard with a document of moderate thickness clipped to it, and stood up.

‘A consistent fellow.’

I had told them to leave the documents on the table, but he got up and brought it to me.

“Here you go.”
“Just do what you’re told.”
“Hehe, yes.”

Kim Sung-won, after handing me the clipboard, bowed slightly and returned to his seat. And just as he sat down,

“Why are you…?”

I turned towards the source of the puzzled voice.

A group of people with physiques that seemed far removed from physical labor, all wearing bewildered expressions. And among them, a middle-aged man with blond hair, sitting closest to me.

Jaiden Martel.

A grateful fellow who would be offering me an artifact during the summer festival in a few months.

“I came to select the observers, of course.”
“But… why are you sitting there…?”

What a pointless question.

“Jaiden.”
“……Yes.”
“You’re not at the age of retirement yet, are you?”
“Yes? Yes, that’s true, but…?”

Sensing something strange, he furrowed his brows slightly. I flipped through the first page of the data prepared by Kim Sung-won and continued.

“After the meeting, you should visit any shrine. Any shrine will do.”
“I don’t quite understand the intention behind your suggestion.”
“I’m saying that you seem to be under a curse that impairs your reasoning abilities.”

I glanced at the other professors who were staring at me and said,

“Why am I sitting here? It’s because I have the qualifications to do so. Asking such a question is unbecoming of a professor.”
“……”

The one with the unusually pale complexion turned redder than anyone else in the room. Fortunately, he didn’t open his mouth again, indicating that the thing on his shoulder wasn’t just for show.

“If you have any questions, ask them now. If you bring up any unrelated questions after the meeting, you will be expelled immediately.”

Exactly one minute.

No one raised their hand or spoke up. They all knew that my authority was equal to that of the director, as they had attended the director’s meeting.

‘Jaiden is British, so he might need some extra time.’

He seemed a bit slow on the uptake, so I could be a little more lenient with him.

“If you’re not satisfied with the results, you can complain to the director or do whatever you want. Of course, that won’t change the outcome of today’s meeting.”

At my words, the professors looked at each other. They communicated silently, through their expressions.

“It’s a precious weekend, so let’s not drag this out. Let’s begin.”

I took in the neatly listed guild names and said,

“If there are any guilds you wish to recommend in addition to the candidates, please raise your hands.”

The professors at the end of each faction, the farthest away from me, glanced at each other and then at their counterparts sitting across the table. Without hesitation, one professor from each side raised their hand.

The last members of each faction.

The youngest ones in this room.

“Kim Soo-hwan.”

A man with slit eyes and broad shoulders, who taught sword skills to second and third-year students.

“Yes. I recommend the Märchen Guild.”
“And the reason?”
“Two years ago, they successfully bid for two level 5 gates offered by the government, and their finances have nearly doubled compared to last year. However, the number of guild members remains the same at 50.”
“So they have the financial means to support promising students.”

Slick.

I looked through the data on the Märchen Guild, which Kim Sung-won had prepared. I had already read through these documents before coming here, but I wanted to check if there were any updates.

‘Nothing new.’

Finding no additional information, I nodded.

“Alright. Next, Ahn Jin-hyuk.”

A man with rimless glasses and an ordinary appearance, who taught third-year students the intensification of elements.

“Yes. I recommend the Dawn Mist Guild.”
“And the reason?”
“First of all, the Dawn Mist Guild has thirty members, twenty of whom are alchemists.”
“A production-oriented guild, then.”
“Yes. Until last year, that was the case. Starting this year, they plan to use the funds from their workshop to actively train awakened combatants. Among the existing ten combatants, four are seven-year veterans, and the remaining six are also experienced, ranging from three to four years of service, so there shouldn’t be any issues with their teaching abilities.”
“I see.”

I looked at the other professors and asked,

“Anyone else?”

Then, the professors sitting next to the two who had raised their hands earlier also raised their hands. It was a blatant display of faction politics, but I suppressed the growing unpleasantness and watched their nauseating performance unfold.

“You two.”
“No, we don’t.”
“Hmm, nor do I.”

The leaders of each faction shook their heads, and I lowered the clipboard and said,

“Bae Cheol-soo, Jung Ho-young, and the professors below them can leave now.”

-……?

They looked at me with questioning eyes, and

Creak.

I even opened the door for them.

“You may leave.”

They glanced at their leaders, sitting next to me, unsure of what to do.

“It seems they listen to you two more than me.”
“Hmm! What are you doing? Get out!”
“I agree…”

The hesitant professors finally gathered their things and left the conference room after receiving permission from Jaiden and Lee Hyuk.

While they both found my presence uncomfortable, and Jaiden in particular had ambitions to stand above me, they were also second-generation awakened ones who respected the first-generation awakened director and tried their best to follow the rules and maintain order.

“What do you think is the criterion that separates those who left and those who remain here? If anyone knows, speak up.”

The professors who remained in their seats showed no intention of answering my question. Instead, the Academic Affairs Director sitting next to Kim Sung-won raised his hand.

“Speak.”
“It seems to be a distinction between those who were once students of the academy and those who weren’t.”
“Correct.”

-Oh……
-Hmm.

Kim Sung-won was impressed, while Choi Min-sik coughed lightly and sat down.

“To be precise, it’s a distinction between those with and without field experience.”

Only then did the remaining professors glance at each other and nod slightly.

“Lee Hyuk.”
“I’m listening…”

I threw the data on the Märchen Guild, recommended by Kim Soo-hwan, the first professor to raise his hand, towards Lee Hyuk.

“Read it and answer my question.”
“Go ahead.”
“What do you need to become one of the top 10 guilds?”
“A great leader and strong awakened ones. That should be enough.”
“Can you become one of the top 10 guilds with just those two conditions?”
“It will be difficult to tackle challenging gates and handle matters that are beneficial to the country in various ways. The most important thing is recognition.”
“Speak after you’ve finished reading.”
“……”

The professor glared at me for a moment, then continued reading the data. After about ten minutes, he looked up.

“I’ve finished reading.”
“Do you think this guild can rise to the upper ranks?”
“……”

At my question, he closed his eyes for a moment, then,

“It doesn’t seem likely.”
“Professor?”
“Well, that’s…”

Lee Hyuk’s answer seemed unexpected, as murmurs started to fill the room.

“Shut up.”

“Huh……?!”
“Ugh, ugh…”

The professors who had been whispering among themselves flinched and closed their mouths.

“I didn’t tell you to chatter. Lee Hyuk.”
“Go ahead.”
“Tell me why.”

The professor held up the data in his hand.

“If everything written here is true…”
“It is.”
“It doesn’t seem like they’ve ever attempted to tackle a gate in the eight years since the guild was founded. They’ve only ever entered stabilized gates maintained by the government and other large guilds. You can’t call them veterans when they haven’t faced any real challenges.”
“That’s right.”

I took the data from his hand and said,

“What they’re aiming for is not promising students, but rather those who will remain in the lower ranks. They’ll lure them with a decent contract fee and sweet words, intending to use them as managers for the newly bid gates.”
“Hmm……”

I turned away from the professor, who was hesitating.

“Jaiden.”
“Yes……”

“I don’t think you need the data either.”
“I agree.”

The Dawn Mist Guild, recommended by Ahn Jin-hyuk from Jaiden’s faction.

“Personally, I think your faction is even worse.”
“……”

Jaiden’s face turned bright red.

He was a fire-attribute magician, after all.

“At least the other side recommended a combat-oriented guild, but your crazy subordinate recommended a production-oriented guild last year. And he had the audacity to call someone who had been gathering materials for seven years a veteran.”

White steam started rising from Jaiden’s head.

“Not only those two, but all the guilds recommended by those who aren’t here today are of similar quality. When I checked last year’s data, it was the same. Yet, those damn insects still obtained observer status.”

Not only Jaiden but also Lee Hyuk’s face started to turn red.

“You go out to investigate, but instead of doing the investigation you’re supposed to do, you just accept the gifts prepared by the guilds and come back. What a convenient way to work.”

I looked at the other professors, who had been glancing at me, and they lowered their heads and bowed.

‘…For such petty money.’

The insects step into the academy and show goodwill towards a friend of Baek Hana, a fellow student. And in the winter, Baek Hana, upon learning that her friend is trapped in a gate through a community post, defies the temple’s surveillance and acts on her own, perishing along with the guardian created by the gate.

Suppressing my rising emotions, I spoke.

“It’s fine to expand your influence. The difference in scale is something that cannot be ignored. But looking at your current state, it seems like you’ve let your bodies rot, unaware that your toes are already rotting away.”

I expected at least one of them to raise their head and protest that it was too much of an insult, but no one did.

“The students sign contracts with those damn insects because they trust you, the professors. Also, remember that your value lies in the students needing you.”

I buttoned my jacket and stood up.

“So, do your job.”

Thud!

The clipboard with the data fell onto the center of the round table.

“You have a week.”

The professors, who had been bowing their heads, cautiously raised their heads. I turned to Jaiden and Lee Hyuk and said,

“Make a list and submit it.”

I didn’t specify what kind of list. They would know what it was if they had any sense.

“If you do your job as professors properly, it doesn’t matter who you receive things from or what you do. But if you can’t…”

Squeak!

The rings on their left hands seemed to scream as if they were about to break.

Surprised, they looked at me, and I said softly,

“I will rip open all of your bellies.”