Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: The True Terror of the Snowfield
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[Did you come rushing over just because I messed with Yaksha's son? It's hilarious seeing you still playing lapdog to Yaksha after getting a bit stronger.]
"A bit? Deodor, then or now, you have no right to judge my power."
[Kahaha! This pup doesn't know his place! If I could just regain my power from my prime, I'd crush you and Yaksha together without breaking a sweat...]
"But you can't, can you?"
[...Tch, cut the mockery and kill me cleanly.]
An unimaginably distant past, his prime.
Back then, Deodor had clashed with the armies of the gods.
Even one or two National Treasures couldn't handle him at his peak.
But in the current situation, Deodor regaining his past power was impossible.
Pearl Island.
He had long been a specter haunting this small island where Lion's Castle stood.
His soul was nailed in place, with no way to escape.
He was killed without a chance to reclaim his strength, lost the power he'd barely gathered, died again, lost again—repeating that miserable cycle.
And what he needed to escape that fate was Yaksha...
It was at that moment, as Deodor smacked his lips in regret.
"Why did you bet on a single exchange instead of just killing Jae-hyeok?"
Seol Sua posed an unexpected question.
Deodor reacted with disgust.
[No way you were hiding and watching? Stalking Yaksha and now his son too... You haven't changed a bit. Even searching the entire universe, there wouldn't be another pervert like you.]
"Misunderstanding. I'm just a simple guardian."
[Guardian...? Looked like a lone wolf to me.]
Deodor's purple glowing eyes narrowed as he tilted his head.
He hadn't detected any systematic structure in Jae-hyeok's swordsmanship.
Not the type to lure situations with forms and then counter—instead, just swinging the sword to fit the moment.
Jae-hyeok's swordsmanship was built purely on knowledge and talent.
The knowledge was implanted, but the swordplay itself was close to self-taught.
The so-called "adapt to anything" level.
"It's only been a short while since that kid came under my wing. Being a guardian doesn't always mean being a master."
[Good thing you know that.]
Deodor grinned.
[The reason I let him live is simple. He'll definitely grow strong, and I expect him to fulfill the 'promise' in place of that demon-obsessed ghost who's forgotten all about me.]
"......"
For the first time, the beautiful face of Seol Sua, who had been smiling radiantly like a flower, hardened.
She didn't know exactly what promise Yaksha and Deodor had made.
But she knew why Yaksha hadn't sought out Deodor again.
Not because he'd forgotten the promise—he simply couldn't move.
Realizing Yaksha's situation anew made her heart heavy.
But it was bearable.
The boy named Kang Jae-hyeok gave her solace.
"...I'm looking forward to it too."
Crack, craaack!
As Seol Sua summoned her pure white mana, Deodor's body froze solid in an instant.
"Until then, I'll protect you."
***
"Is Jae-hyeok okay?"
"Yeah, apparently no threat to his life. They say the senior instructor protected him at the cost of his own."
"To sacrifice his life for a student... I was the idiot for calling instructors washed-up all this time."
"But how does he get kidnapped by a monster during early dismissal? Guy's got the worst luck."
"That's why Martial Force seals off danger zones so thoroughly."
In just one day, the rumors had gotten slightly(?) twisted.
The named-grade monster that nearly wiped out Class A had spotted Jae-hyeok nearby by chance and kidnapped him, or so the story went.
The senior instructor killed by Jae-hyeok in the process was being hailed as a hero who protected his student.
"Faces all glowing?"
Jae-hyeok entered the noisy classroom.
As he said, every student in Class B had radiant faces.
The day before.
After Jae-hyeok left early, they'd hunted snow flowers and leveled up at least twice each.
Everyone in Class B brimmed with energy, except Park Hae-rin, who had dark circles under her eyes.
"Hmph, my face is always great."
Cheon Hye-ji snorted.
The corner of her mouth twitched as she brushed back her flashy golden hair.
She was happy to see Jae-hyeok safe.
The other students felt the same.
Who would've thought Jae-hyeok, kidnapped by the monster that killed the senior instructor, would show up to school the next day like nothing happened?
Relieved to see him unscathed despite their worries.
Thud.
Hae-rin, forehead planted on her desk, fell straight asleep.
She hadn't slept a wink all night, and seeing Jae-hyeok's face made all her tension melt away.
"Quiet, quiet."
After about ten minutes, Kim Jin-myeong entered the classroom.
Spotting Jae-hyeok sitting normally, he wore a complicated expression, then startled at Hae-rin lifting her head like a zombie with cracks and pops, before speaking.
"As you all know, there was a big incident yesterday."
Kim Jin-myeong set aside time to mourn the fallen senior instructor.
The students, heads bowed, sincerely observed silence.
The sensitive Du Bae-su even shed tears.
Jae-hyeok, however, was indifferent.
'A trash heap luckily salvaged his honor.'
His great father had lost his.
After the not-so-short moment of silence, class began.
Mana Studies.
Unlike Lee So-young, Kim Jin-myeong didn't offer profound teachings.
But he generously shared the know-how accumulated from his active days.
His earnest wish for his students to master mana operation even a little better kept them glued to the lesson, not daring to look away.
For Jae-hyeok, though, the class was useless.
He had mastered the Kang Family Mana Operation Method long ago.
Unless teaching a new mana operation method, even Seol Sua or Lee So-young would struggle to offer him useful lessons.
"Move your dantian, so why are you shaking your hips? Don't you know where your dantian is? Do I have to teach you that too?"
"Ugh..."
Before he knew it, Jae-hyeok was acting as teaching assistant.
He ghosted around, stabbing the bellies of struggling students with the flat of his blade.
The classroom filled with groans and screams, students sweating bullets.
Lee Jin-seong and Cheon Hye-ji, eyes closed and following the lesson well, lost focus imagining Jae-hyeok's ghostly face and nearly suffered internal injuries.
They immediately became targets.
"Why aren't you two improving? Reminds me of our house dog, Bong-sil, who wouldn't lift a paw even with a knife to her throat. She's a bit dumb like Kang Duna. Wonder which is dumber, you or her?"
"Why draw your sword, you psycho!"
"T-Teacher! Rein this lunatic in!"
Why'd he come back so fine?
Just dozens of minutes ago, they'd fervently welcomed Jae-hyeok's return, but now harbored fresh resentment.
***
"Snowfield adaptation training has been extended indefinitely."
After morning classes.
Kim Jin-myeong proposed a new training site to the students.
The jungle.
Compared to swamps or deserts, it was definitely higher difficulty.
With swamps as the base, poisonous plants and insects everywhere, adaptation took considerable time.
Above all, monsters ambushing from foliage and trees posed the greatest threat.
Still, it seemed easier than the snowfield.
The students were just starting to adapt to the snowfield.
They didn't want to lose their feel with the sudden schedule change.
"The named monster left the snowfield, right? Can't we just finish snowfield adaptation first?"
The students underestimated the snowfield.
All they'd faced yesterday were snow flowers.
Snow flowers.
Flowers blanketed in snow, as the name implied.
Immobile plant-type monsters, they hadn't joined the monster migration, so the isolated ones were easy pickings for the students.
They'd gained massive experience and leveled up rapidly.
No wonder they saw the snowfield as easy.
But today's snowfield was nothing like yesterday's.
With the troll lord dead, the monster migration had ended.
The moment students set foot in the snowfield, they'd face attacks from monsters piercing through blizzards.
As Kim Jin-myeong moved to explain.
"I'd like to finish snowfield training first too. It's the first time seeing the kids so full of confidence—curious how well they'll do."
Jae-hyeok slyly raised his hand.
"Plus, clearing the snowfield schedule first should make jungle adaptation easier, right?"
"Hmm..."
Kim Jin-myeong knew Jae-hyeok's character.
A noble bearing the duty to protect the people.
He wouldn't want students in danger.
Yet insisting on the snowfield...
'Because he's here.'
Kim Jin-myeong already felt indebted to Jae-hyeok.
Class B's pace was too slow for him.
The faster Class B grew, the better for Jae-hyeok.
'If we instructors protect thoroughly and stick to the outskirts?'
How hard the students had worked to adapt to the snowfield.
Kim Jin-myeong regretted postponing it too.
Above all, he trusted Jae-hyeok's skills.
After brief deliberation, he nodded.
"Teaching the true terror of the snowfield isn't bad either. Everyone, change into winter uniforms."
"Woooah!"
Class B erupted in cheers.
Their biggest reason for wanting snowfield training.
'Today's different.'
'Kang Jae-hyeok, time to taste ice.'
They saw it as a chance for revenge.
Unlike them training all day in the snowfield, Jae-hyeok had left early, so the gap should have narrowed.
One hour later.
"H-Hiiik! My bad! Spare me once... Aaaah!!"
Class B students wailed upon arriving at the snowfield.
Jae-hyeok force-fed them sled rides(?) or suddenly dragged in yetis to hurl at them—hell itself.
Instructors watched slack-jawed as he tormented the kids, sprinting across ice like grassland.
'Why doesn't he slip?'
'How's he navigating the zero-visibility blizzard alone...?'
'Antarctic native?'
That evening.
Entering the cafeteria after training, Class B students all wore funeral faces.
Shoulders slumped, dazed expressions—like only their world was apocalyptic.
In contrast, Jae-hyeok trailing them smiled brightly.
Freshly bathed alone, his appearance neat.
Naturally drawing eyes, a tall girl stuck to him.
A refreshing beauty with sky-blue hair that stood out.
Gungseong's granddaughter, Jang Yeon-ju.
"I've compiled the list of requests you wanted."
She whispered, naturally grabbing a tray.
"Got some things to discuss too. Can you come to the club room after dinner?"