I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

“Let go of me.”

A voice, obviously angry, but endlessly cold. The chilly voice quietly spread throughout the training room.

“You can’t suddenly rush at me like that, right?”
“I understand, so let go of me.”
“Uh, uh.”

At the slight sharpness in Baek Hana’s voice, Edyn quickly released her hands from around her waist and hid behind Maria.

Maria sighed at Edyn’s behavior of using her as a shield despite being taller than her.

“Seo-hee, you too, move aside.”
“……Yes.”

At Baek Hana’s firm attitude, Nam Seo-hee slowly stepped aside. Then, she glared fiercely at Na Joo-hee and the female student hiding behind her, who had stolen Baek Hana’s gaze.

As the three people who had been clinging to her moved away, Baek Hana put her hand in the front pocket of her jacket and approached Na Joo-hee.

“So…”

Kwaaaaack―!!

Baek Hana, wearing the black gloves that Baek Woojin had given her, stopped right in front of Na Joo-hee and looked down at her.

“If I beat you, I can do whatever I want with the girl behind you, right?”
“I won’t interfere with what you do, but you’ll have to deal with the aftermath yourself. Of course, that’s only if you beat me.”
“Yes.”

-……!!

The female student hiding behind Na Joo-hee swallowed her saliva as Baek Hana’s icy gaze swept over her, and quickly backed away.

When only the two of them were left on the prepared stage, Na Joo-hee asked,

“Knockout, ring out, or surrender. There’s no one suitable to referee, so I think we should decide the match by those three conditions.”
“I don’t mind. And…”

Baek Hana narrowed her eyes and said,

“We can make the area a little bigger.”
“It’s the same size as the area allocated in the sparring room, so I think it’s enough. Do you think it’s not enough?”
“I think you’ll be the one that will say that there wasn’t enough space.”
“……”

Na Joo-hee’s eyebrows curved slightly downward.

It was clearly a statement that insulted her.

But Baek Hana wasn’t finished yet.

“Just to make sure, it’s better to make it a little bigger so that there’s no excuse that the distance was too narrow or anything.”
“……Ha.”

A short exclamation escaped Na Joo-hee’s mouth.

She swept her red hair up and replied,

“I appreciate your consideration, but that’s what I want to ask you. If you want, I can make it narrower. What do you think?”

The ability users basically had more magical power in their bodies than the strengthening series awakeners. In addition, they could learn and use magic that matched their attributes and constitution, in addition to their awakened abilities.

Therefore, if they could maintain a sufficient distance, when an ability user and a strengthening series awakener of equal ability clashed, the ability user would win a hundred out of a hundred. Distance was a major factor in the match.

Knowing this fact well, the two glared at each other with their contrasting eyes.

“Then…”

Ssssss―!!

“Shall we agree to proceed like this?”

Na Joo-hee glanced at Baek Hana’s white tail, which had fallen to her buttocks along with her ears, and nodded.

“Of course.”
“Yes.”

Baek Hana turned around and walked to the end of the boundary line.

“The start…”
“It would be fair to ask the person who came with you to start.”

Na Joo-hee said to Maria, who was far away, holding Edyn’s lips.

“Can you throw a coin or something?”
“…That’s not difficult.”

Maria released Edyn’s mouth and took out a silver medal from her pocket. Then, she said to the two, who were glaring at each other,

“I’ll throw it.”

Ting―!!

The medal that bounced off Maria’s hand spun and rose high.

Everyone, who had been holding their breath, looked at the medal. As the slowly descending medal hit the floor, the top students of the two series clashed.

In fact, everyone thought that this place was where the top student of the first year would be decided.

And finally.

Ting―!!

The medal fell to the floor.

At the same time, Baek Hana rushed straight at Na Joo-hee without any special technique. The distance between the two, which had been wide enough, narrowed in an instant.

But Na Joo-hee was not at all flustered and swung her arm at the rushing Baek Hana.

Hwaruruk―!!

With just that simple movement, the surrounding space seemed to distort with the heat of the fire that rose.

To cast a spell, one had to understand the spell formula and chant it properly to shape it. But she was different. She only had to manifest the magical power, that she had transmuted into an element, in the form she wanted.

With that alone, she could do something that a typical awakener couldn’t even imitate. The world was unfair, and in such an unfair world, she was clearly a chosen one, an existence meant to rule over others.

Her fiancé was humiliated by Hana in front of everyone every day. It was the same as humiliating her, and on a larger scale, it was the same as ignoring the 10th Guild as a whole.

In any society, there were implicit rules, practices, and a line that had to be maintained.

But the opponent in front of her had crossed that line too much.

‘I’ll show you the difference in our status……!!’

Not all top students were the same.

There was another heaven above heaven, and she would show that to them today.

Hwaaaak―!!

The fire that rose up spread thinly like a thin curtain and rushed at Baek Hana.

She could have jumped to avoid it, or she could have broken through it with her magically reinforced body. In the former case, she would have had the opportunity to attack her opponent, who would be defenseless in the air, from one side. In the latter case, she would have had to consume a considerable amount of magical power.

Hwaaaah―!!

A huge wall of flame covered Baek Hana.

And as Na Joo-hee had expected, Baek Hana broke through the burning curtain of fire with her magically reinforced body.

‘How stupid.’

Na Joo-hee radiated flames in a straight line toward Baek Hana, who was narrowing the distance in a straight line as if she didn’t know how to turn.

It was an intermediate-level pure elemental spell that third-year students could learn. The threateningly burning wall of fire blocked Baek Hana’s path.

However, the wall of fire did not stop Baek Hana’s advance.

In just a few steps, the distance was narrowed.

If someone who didn’t know the situation had seen it, they would have turned around, thinking that Na Joo-hee had lost.

While one could protect their body with magical power, doing so would accelerate the consumption of magical power. And unlike the strengthening series, the ability users, who had weak bodies, would become weaker than normal people once their magical power was depleted.

Hwoooook―!!

Baek Hana’s fist aimed straight at Na Joo-hee’s face.

At the relentless attack, Na Joo-hee smiled bitterly and muttered,

“I’ll show you how unfair the world is.”

Hwarurururuk―――!!

Before Baek Hana’s fist could land, Na Joo-hee’s body was engulfed in red flames. No, Na Joo-hee herself had become fire.

Without any intention of dodging Baek Hana’s fist, Na Joo-hee shouted,

【My body is fire itself, so your fist―】

Puhwaak―!!

Baek Hana’s fist exploded on Na Joo-hee’s face, which had turned into fire, and large and small sparks flew as Na Joo-hee, who had become a fireball, rolled on the floor.

Small embers remained on the floor where Na Joo-hee had rolled, letting everyone know how much she had rolled.

【……Eh?】

Blurred vision.

A throbbing cheek.

And students staring at her in astonishment.

Na Joo-hee truly did not understand what had just happened to her. Her magical power was decreasing rapidly, and she had clearly transmuted her body into fire using elemental transmutation.

‘But how……?’

Before Na Joo-hee, who had not yet accepted the situation, could react, a cool voice, contrasting with the blazing Na Joo-hee, sounded quietly in her ear.

“You. Went out of bounds.”

‘……Out of bounds?’

Na Joo-hee, startled by the chilly voice that made her heart ache, slowly got up and looked around. Then, she widened her eyes.

This was because her body, which had been outside the training room’s partitioned area, was outside the boundary line.

“You said you were going to show me something, but I’ll see it next time.”

Baek Hana turned around and started walking toward the dazed female student. Na Joo-hee stared blankly at Baek Hana’s back.

‘Did I… lose?’

She had even used elemental transmutation, but she had lost.

In front of her followers, no less.

She had pathetically rolled on the floor just because she couldn’t dodge a single punch.

‘I, I…’

Hwarruk―!!

Large and small sparks flew from Na Joo-hee’s body.

Just as the students behind her were about to sense something was wrong and take action.

【I……!!】

Hwarururuk――!!

Na Joo-hee’s body erupted in flames once again.

The change did not stop there.

Hwaaaak.

Some of the flames that Na Joo-hee had spewed turned into white powder and began to spread in the air. Kang Seok-ho, who noticed this, widened his eyes and shouted,

“Block it!! Ah, no, everyone get out of the way!!”

Along with Kang Seok-ho’s urgent shout, a gust of wind rose from Na Joo-hee’s body, carrying the embers with it.

As the wind and embers reached the white powder.

―――!!

A huge explosion engulfed the training room.

**

On a beach bathed in warm sunlight.

“Oh my―!!”

Kim Sung-won fussed and grabbed the fishing rod on the boat, quickly twisting and turning his body.

Chwaaak―!!

The fish that was pulled up from the surface of the water flopped its tail and writhed.

“Hey!! You!! Min-sik!!”
“Wait a minute, you bastard!!”

Kim Sung-won shouted, and Choi Min-sik, the head of the administrative department, frowned and picked up the landing net. Just as he was about to scoop up the fish,

―Woo-woong.

The smartwatch on his wrist rang noisily.

“What is it?”

It was the weekend, and since his family was on a separate trip, there was no one else who would contact him. So he checked his wrist, and it was a call from the staff member who was on duty today.

“Hey!! My arm is falling off!!”
“Wait a minute.”

Catching the fish was important, but since he had only caught one while Kim Sung-won had caught ten and kept pestering him, Choi Min-sik put down the landing net and took the call first.

“Yes. What’s up?”

-I’m sorry to bother you while you’re resting.

“It’s fine. So, what’s the matter?”
“Ahhhh―!!”

-…Are you all right?

“Yes. So, what is it?”

The subordinate reported, and Choi Min-sik narrowed his eyes and nodded.

-A little while ago, I received a report that part of the second floor of the first-year training room collapsed.

“……What collapsed?”

-I also found it hard to believe, but there are photos and videos.

“……Did the first-years collapse it?”

-Yes. For now, the students who caused the problem are not running away and are staying in their places, and they’ve admitted to it, and so have the others.

“Two people?”

-Yes. When I looked at the list, it was mostly the children of the 10th Guild and their followers. There were also three apprentice clerics.

“Ah……”

Choi Min-sik nodded heavily, as he already had a rough idea of what had happened.

“Hold a disciplinary committee meeting on Monday.”

-Do you want to call up everyone on the list?

“Aaaam!! Call them all up!!”

Kim Sung-won, who had been rolling on the floor with the fishing rod, got up with an angry face and interrupted.

“These bastards, who have just become adults, fought in the sacred academy? That’s enough to warrant discipline, but what? What did they break? These bastards, do they know how much that facility is worth?!”
“……”

Choi Min-sik glared at Kim Sung-won, who was stuck to the side of his ear, and asked,

“So, what were the names of the two people who caused the problem?”

He needed to know this in order to exclude them and select the rest of the students.

-Yes. According to the students, the two who caused the problem were Na Joo-hee and Baek Hana, and―

“Puh-heok!!”

“Hey, what are you―”

Before Choi Min-sik could say anything, Kim Sung-won’s face turned white, and he said,

“No discipline!!!”

-……What?

The administrative staff member asked, puzzled, and Kim Sung-won shouted,

“What, what? The kids fought a little, right? It’s not like they did anything that warrants discipline!!”

-Didn’t the deputy headmaster say that they were just adults?

“Hey!! What are you talking about? When I was young, didn’t people have to be at least thirty to be considered adults?!?”

-……So, what should I do?

“Just wait!! I’ll be there soon!!”

Kim Sung-won abruptly ended the call and shouted at the captain of the boat they had rented,

“Let’s go to land!!”

Since he had already been paid, the captain did not ask any questions and turned the boat around. Only then did Choi Min-sik, whose mouth had been blocked, glare at Kim Sung-won with sharp eyes.

“You bastard. If you want to die, die alone. Are you crazy?”
“Am I crazy? You should be grateful to me today.”

“What are you talking about―”

“Baek Hana.”

“……What about her?”

Choi Min-sik asked, and Kim Sung-won replied with a stiff face,

“She’s like a daughter to Professor Baek.”

Others might not know, but he knew.

Because he had personally taken care of Baek Hana’s dormitory issues and various other matters at Baek Woo-jin’s instruction. Above all, he had seen Baek Woo-jin holding the young Baek Hana tens of times.

“……Is that true?”

“Then would it be false?”

“……”

At Kim Sung-won’s answer, Choi Min-sik nodded heavily and muttered,

“……Kids grow up fighting. Yeah, that’s right.”

“That’s right.”

The two nodded quietly and began to think about how to handle the situation and what to do when they returned.

Unaware of another incident that had not been reported.