I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

In Baek Hana and Nayoung’s dormitory room.

The four of them sat around the table, drinking the beverages they had bought from the mart.

“So.”

Maria, who had quenched her thirst with milk tea, asked Baek Hana, who was nibbling on a stick snack across from her.

“Are you interested in getting the top rank now?”
“……Hmm.”

Baek Hana’s ambiguous reaction surprised Maria a little.

She had definitely widened her eyes and stared at her in the cafeteria, but now she seemed indifferent, as if she had lost interest.

“Hey, why are you two still pushing her when she’s not interested?”

Edyn, sipping on a cherry sparkling drink that only a very small minority enjoyed, asked, and Maria, narrowing her eyes, retorted,

“When she’s shooting such a challenging look, of course we have to respond, don’t we?”
“……No.”

Although it contained a slightly dense malicious intent, as Baek Hana had acknowledged, it was only natural for Na Joo-hee to be hostile when her fiancé was getting beaten up every day.

However, Maria, who didn’t think so at all, turned back to Baek Hana and said,

“Huh? Hana, didn’t you say you were interested earlier?”
“Well… the homework exemption is definitely tempting.”

But as she thought about it, that was about it.

Even if the curfew was extended, he wouldn’t meet her on weekdays anyway, and Saturday was an overnight trip. So, in reality, the only day she would benefit from the extended curfew was Sunday.

The problem was that he would definitely tell her to come back at the appointed time, even on Sunday. Of course, he would let her stay if she whined, but she didn’t want to give up being in his arms or sleeping with him just for that.

Next, private lessons.

If it weren’t for the condition of the summer vacation, that alone would have been worth aiming for the top rank. But with the summer vacation condition, it had become practically useless.

During the summer vacation, she would naturally return home, and he would always be there. In other words, even without that benefit, she could spend time with him.

It was essentially a useless benefit.

And,

“She doesn’t seem that strong anyway.”

The biggest reason she didn’t feel the need to spend her weekends training was that she didn’t think it was worth it.

The red-haired classmate who had glared at her in the cafeteria.

Her name was Na Joo-hee, if she remembered correctly.

Although she couldn’t be sure because she hadn’t examined her closely, it was clear that the amount of magic power she possessed was greater than Kang Seok-ho’s. But just because someone had more magic power didn’t necessarily mean they were stronger.

In fact, in the past, she had been beaten to a pulp countless times by Claire, who didn’t use her magic power during their spars.

“It’s a bit unlucky, but if I beat her once, it should be enough, right?”

Edyn, who had been nodding to herself, suddenly screamed and stood up. Then she started hopping around, holding her left foot.

Maria, who was sitting next to her, had stepped on her foot.

Maria completely ignored the hopping Edyn behind her and said to Baek Hana,

“Hana, you know that the nature of an awakened one’s power is determined by their awakening, not their effort, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And Hana, your power is…”
“Mid-tier?”

Those were things Claire had told her over and over again during their training.

“Of course, there are a very small number of people who surpass that with their personal effort or innate talent, like you, Hana.”

Claire had even affirmed that if Baek Hana continued to grow at this rate, she would definitely be in the upper tier.

“But Na Joo-hee, her nature is different.”

Among the departments, the Magic Department was particularly proud.

She had a unique ability that made all her classmates bow their heads, solely based on her skills.

“Elementalization.”

An absurd ability to transform the body’s composition into the four major elements. That was Na Joo-hee’s awakened power.

Of course, it required delicate magic power control, but she was also talented, in addition to having the ability, as the daughter of a top 10 guild.

“Not only that, but her skill in fire magic is also top-notch. And it’s not known how long she can maintain elementalization since she hasn’t had a proper opponent.”
“Hmm…”

As Baek Hana started to show interest again, Nam Seo-hee quickly added,

“Or, Hana.”
“……Huh?”

“We heard that the training room will be open this weekend, so why don’t you see for yourself and make a judgment?”
“Hmm……”

Baek Hana frowned and groaned softly.

As Baek Hana pondered her friends’ enthusiastic encouragement,

“Sii… But even if I beat Na Joo-hee, it doesn’t guarantee the top rank, right? There are other factors besides the practical exam.”
“……”
“……”

Edyn, who had been glaring at Maria and Nam Seo-hee as if they were monsters, flinched and took a step back at their intense gazes.

That’s because the real reason for Maria and Nam Seo-hee’s encouragement wasn’t the top rank.

Maria was simply annoyed by Na Joo-hee’s hostile gaze, and Nam Seo-hee’s true intention was to spend the weekend with Baek Hana.

“Are you two going to hit me?”
“Should we?”
“Me too.”

As if they had been waiting for it, the two of them spread their palms wide open towards Edyn.

“Hey, what did I do? This is really funny… And Baek Hana.”
“……Huh?”

Baek Hana looked up, and Edyn, coughing softly, said,

“If you want to stick with the professor during the summer vacation, you should be desperately trying to get the top rank, shouldn’t you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, thanks to the Executor, the professor’s lectures are extremely popular, and there are a lot of students who failed to enroll, right?”
“Yeah…”

Not only Baek Hana, but also Maria and Nam Seo-hee, who had been glaring at her, were now focused on Edyn’s words.

Then Edyn sat back down and continued,

“So, if I get the top rank, I think I’d want to take private lessons with the professor during the summer vacation, out of curiosity. And as a bonus, I’d get to see our Executor too.”

Slurp.

Edyn chugged the rest of her cherry sparkling drink and looked up, only to find her friends giving her a very strange look. She wrinkled her forehead in confusion.

“Why are you looking at me like that now?”
“Well……”

Maria, who seemed quite shocked at Baek Hana’s reaction, patted Edyn’s thigh.

“I guess it must have hurt a lot.”

Maria decided to let it slide this time, but she would definitely slap Edyn on the back if she had to.

**

[Conference Room 2]

“That’s all.”

Jaiden, who had reported on the preparation status of the graduating class, looked up at the podium.

“Proceed as planned.”

A place where one could overlook everyone.

Jaiden was only able to sit down after Baek Woo-jin, who had taken the director’s place on the podium, looked away.

An important meeting that required the attendance of all professors except for the administrative staff.

Baek Woo-jin, who had taken the director’s place on the podium, opened his mouth to address the meeting.

“If any of the newly appointed professors have something to suggest, don’t hesitate to speak up.”

The retired awakened ones who had started their professorship three weeks ago, replacing the faction-ridden professors who only sought their own gain.

Baek Woo-jin had told them not to worry about the others’ opinions, but as they were former powerhouses of well-known guilds, their connections were also top-notch, so the existing professors were even more cautious around them.

“I’m still adapting, so it’s a bit difficult to voice my opinions.”
“I agree. And if we make changes to the way things have been done, it might cause confusion among the students.”

At the remarks of the new professors, Baek Woo-jin nodded.

“Definitely. The third and fourth years will be sensitive to any changes.”

Especially the fourth years, as this was their last year, they would be quite flustered if something new was added or changed just a few weeks before the evaluation.

“Then, if there’s nothing else to discuss, only the first-year professors need to stay, and the rest can leave.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Jaiden and Lee Hyuk, who had already experienced Baek Woo-jin several times, were the first to get up and leave the conference room.

As the leaders of the two factions left, the other professors gradually got up and quickly exited the large conference room, leaving only the first-year professors, including Gangae and Yoon Do-sik, in the room.

Baek Woo-jin, with whom Yoon Do-sik was somewhat familiar, unlike the others, sat on the podium, and the rest of the professors fixed their gazes on him, tense.

“There’s no need to be nervous. I didn’t keep you here to pick on you. Only the lazy bugs who don’t do their jobs properly should worry. Everyone is still doing their jobs diligently, as far as I know.”

Gulping…

Some of the professors who had seen Baek Woo-jin during the entrance exam straightened their backs and tightened their waists.

“Since you’re probably the busiest people in the academy right now, let’s get straight to the point.”

The white papers flew out of the bag in the corner of the podium and landed in the hands of the remaining professors.

Just as everyone was about to turn their attention to the papers, Baek Woo-jin spoke.

“A new category will be added to the first-year evaluation this time.”

A unilateral announcement, not a request for opinions.

Yoon Do-sik raised his hand slightly.

“Speak.”
“Does this apply to us too?”

By ‘us’, Yoon Do-sik meant the non-combat departments, including the Alchemy Department and the Blacksmith Department.

Baek Woo-jin nodded and replied,

“The format will be a little different, but there are no exceptions.”
“Hmm…”

It was a bit sudden, but since the first years hadn’t experienced a proper exam yet, it probably wouldn’t be a big problem. That’s why only the first-year professors were left.

“The additional category and the direction of the evaluation are written in the distributed materials, so make sure to familiarize yourself with them. The students will be notified next week, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Baek Woo-jin reached out, and the bag in the corner flew into his hand.

“That’s all.”

Baek Woo-jin descended from the podium and quietly left the conference room without a sound.

-Whoosh~!!
-Haa……

The tense professors sighed and slumped in their chairs.

As he listened to the professors’ sighs, Yoon Do-sik turned his gaze to the paper in his hand.

“……?”

And he blinked in surprise at the four bold characters at the top of the paper.

“Have I been researching too much?”

He rubbed his eyes a couple of times, thinking that maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him, and looked at the paper again.

【Gate Conquest Plan】

The four characters were still on the paper, just as he had first seen them.

“This crazy……”

Yoon Do-sik, confirming that his eyes were still in good condition, hurriedly left the conference room, chasing after the man who had distributed the papers.