Teacher's Stock Soars!
Right after the spar between Si-hyeon and Jin-woo ended.
—Ring ring ring. Click.
"Hellooo? This is Dawn's Light underground training hall~ We've got one little kid passed out here, so come pick him up pleeease~"
Kang Eun-ha called the medical team with a perfectly casual, nonchalant tone.
"If you don't hurry, this kid might get socially buried alive~ Hee hee."
Less than a minute after she hung up—BAM!
"Guild Master Kang Eun-ha! Where's the patient?!"
"Oh my, you got here suuuper fast~"
She'd only reported one fainted student, but nearly 30 medical staff burst through the door in a panic. Stretchers, IV drips, AEDs, automated medical bots—the works.
"Oh dear, you didn't have to go this far~"
"Hahaha, it's a student of you, Guild Master Kang Eun-ha—of course we'd bring our A-game!"
Because the call had come from none other than that Kang Eun-ha herself, the medical team had mobilized at full capacity and rushed to the training hall.
"Move the patient to the medical wing, stat! There might be lasting damage!"
"Injured during sparring?!"
"No, physically he's fine."
"Then what kind of damage...?"
"......Can't you tell? It's a mental wound! A mental wound!!"
The medical team leader pointed at Jin-woo's limp body and the telltale dampness in his pants.
"Ah... Aaaah..."
"Such profound wisdom...!"
"Enough talk—get the patient to the medical wing. Execute!"
The staff loaded the pants-wetting Jin-woo onto a stretcher and whisked him out of the training hall at top speed.
His classmates watched the scene with incredibly complicated expressions.
"How's Jin-woo gonna show his face at school now..."
"Yeah~ He got totally wrecked by that powerless loser he was trash-talking. And he even used his ability."
"He fought pretty well, though?"
"Nah, he just pissed well."
"Pfft...! Oh, I shouldn't laugh."
The boys treated Jin-woo's defeat as prime gossip fodder,
"Guys! How about we gloss over what happened today so Jin-woo doesn't get hurt? Make it fun and forget it?"
"Vice class rep, everyone saw him piss his pants with their own two eyes. How do we make that fun?"
while the girls tried to keep the class vibe from turning weird.
"Hmm... What if we give him a cute nickname?"
"Like what?"
As the vice rep pondered nicknames, Seol-hwa—who'd been standing quietly—whispered in her expressionless face.
"......Thunder Pisser."
"......"
"...Seol-hwa, you serious?"
Her friends gawked at her in horror, but Seol-hwa calmly explained to them in her flat tone why she'd chosen it.
"Thunder Weasel pissed himself, so Thunder Pisser..."
"He'd drop out the second he heard that."
"But Seol-hwa's nickname is kinda funny. Admit it?"
"Yeah, gotta admit."
Jin-woo—transported to the medical wing, though he probably wished otherwise—would unfortunately be stuck with the nickname "Thunder Pisser" at school from that day on.
Medetashi~ Medetashi~
—Gasp! "Huff...!!"
Jin-woo, rushed to the medical wing, came to shortly after passing out.
"Where... is this?"
The boy scratched his head and looked around carefully.
[Dawn's Light - Emergency Medical Center]
[Private Room: Ha Jin-woo Student]
The moment he saw the sign on the wall,
"I... lost, huh..."
it all clicked for him.
—Tremble tremble.
His hands and feet shook involuntarily. Losing to a powerless guy—what a humiliation. After strutting around so cocky, bragging he'd win for sure.
"Ugh... I'm gonna die of shame."
Jin-woo replayed the spar in his mind.
Left hand. The instructor had only used his left hand the whole ten minutes. And only for defense. Like he was deliberately teaching something.
'I thought I had him overwhelmed...'
Suddenly, he recalled himself blabbering away, deluded into thinking he was winning.
How pathetic must that have looked to the instructor? A student chattering excitedly while he just defended one-handed, going easy.
"Couldn't even perceive his final strike..."
It was just beautiful. The instant the blade grazed past, slicing for his throat, time itself seemed to snap—the only feelings were awe and admiration.
'I really thought my head was coming off...'
He knew the practice sword wasn't sharp, but all he could think was death. The instructor's blade embodied death itself.
'Si-hyeon Instructor... really powerless? ...'
Son of the legendary Galaxy Teacher? Maybe. But overpowering Thunder Weasel's speed after unlocking it? And after hearing Jin-woo's insults, his face never changed. No pettiness—just calm advice on swordsmanship and behavior.
— "Targeting the right side when you judge it's a left-hand swordsman? Not a bad strategy."
— "But remember one thing. Left-hand users master defending their vulnerable right first."
— "Your speed's your strength, but don't obsess over it. Against someone it doesn't work on, you're done."
"Even after I insulted him... he still taught me..."
Jin-woo realized it wasn't just scolding.
'He took me seriously the whole spar...'
For the first time, he learned defeat could feel this warm.
—Thud.
Jin-woo got off the bed and picked up the practice wooden sword nearby.
Whoosh. Swish.
"Not relying on speed... just flowing with it."
He swung following Si-hyeon's tips from the spar.
'What's this feeling...'
The more he wielded it, the stranger it felt. Swordsmanship was useless since awakeners appeared—or so he'd thought. Yet his mind calmed bit by bit.
Whoosh!
Only the sound of cutting air and his quickening breath.
"Hoo..."
The shame of defeat, the pressure to win—they faded.
"Gotta apologize for calling him a powerless parachute..."
As Jin-woo gained his own insight and reflection,
—Whoosh!
"Jin-woo! You alive?!"
"Yare yare, Jin-woo-kun. In good health?"
A burly guy and a sleazy-looking otaku dude visited his room.
"As you can see, fine. Why're you here?"
Jin-woo replied nonchalantly, a bit wary.
"We're visiting the sick—bow and say thanks. 'Why're you here?' Cold bastard."
"Hee hee, prickly as ever, Jin-woo-kun."
"...Thanks for coming. Anyway, what about class?"
Jin-woo sighed lightly and asked.
The big guy laughed hard, slapping his back repeatedly.
"Puhaha! Worried about class now? Seol-hwa gave you a nickname and it's spreading like wildfire!"
A nickname? Seol-hwa, who barely cared about anyone, named him something?
'Maybe she sees me differently after my spar with Instructor Si-hyeon?'
"What's the nickname that's got you so hyped?"
"Pfft... brace yourself."
"Jin-woo-kun, the nickname Miss Seol-hwa gave you is... Thunder Pisser."
Twitch!
Hearing "pisser" yanked the spar's final moments back into his head—the one he wanted to forget.
Shhh— Pants soaking, passing out in front of friends! Girls looking at him with contempt! Utterly undignified humiliation!
"Ah... Aaaah...!!"
—Thud!
He dropped the wooden sword and collapsed.
"Bu... Buuurns..."
Soon, rage and humiliation boiled up from deep inside, and he bellowed,
"CHEON SEOL-HWAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!"
Twitch twitch—
"......?"
"Seol-hwa, what's up?"
"Nothing. My ear just itched suddenly..."
"Hee~ Someone must be talking about our Seol-hwa."
Oblivious that Jin-woo was grinding his teeth yelling her name, she scratched her ear with a blank face.
After the spar with student Jin-woo ended, thanks to Galaxy Mom's consideration, swordsmanship class wrapped up with a quick explanation.
"Babies~ Now you get why teacher makes such a big deal about swordsmanship, right~?"
"Yes! Swordsmanship is the shit!"
"Right right! Instructor Si-hyeon was so cool!"
"Hee hee, my son's coolness is finally appreciated~ Mom's so moved~♡ Now, everyone applaud Instructor Si-hyeon~!"
Clap clap clap!! Woooh~!!
"Haha... thanks, everyone."
Leaving the students' sparkling eyes and applause behind, I headed to the corner where Lea was running around swinging a sword.
Galaxy Mom must've changed her clothes again—Lea in her cute uniform, yelling "Yah yah!" as she swung, was adorably lovable, drawing smiles effortlessly.
"Ah, Si-hyeon!"
—Pat pat pat.
The red-haired girl spotted me and ran over for a hug.
'This is normal now. Used to be, even holding hands was tough.'
She'd flinch at the slightest touch before, but now she hugged freely. It hit me—we'd built real trust and bond.
Squeeze!
"Hehe, Si-hyeon~ Class over well?"
"Yeah, Lea. Bored waiting?"
"Mmm, a bit boring, but this body got to swing sword freely, so okay!"
Her clothes damp with sweat. Looking up at me with flushed cheeks and heavy breaths, that impure urge stirred again.
'Face screaming for a kiss... Haha, yeah, I'm trash!'
Whew, snap out of it! Galaxy Mom's here, and kissing Lea in front of all these students? I'd get arrested on the spot!
"Mmm? Si-hyeon, what's wrong?"
"Haha-hahaha, nothing~ Lea."
"??"
Anyway, shove the pervy thoughts aside... Remember the original goal!
I took this annoying instructor gig to restore Lea's memories. Freely wielding a sword might jog her Knight King days—
'Had that hope, but watching her... total bust.'
"Ehehe, Si-hyeon's hug... smells a bit sweaty but still good... sniff sniff."
Her innocent smile looking up wasn't recalling lost memories. Just happy, everyday Lea.
'Well, didn't expect it first try.'
One failure won't break me! Look at all the trials to awaken Luna's emotions!
'Lea's memories will come slow like Luna's feelings.'
......Probably? Haha.
Drool~
Unaware of my thoughts, Lea gazed up innocently.
'She looks like she has something to say.'
As expected, something popped into her head—she pursed her lips.
"Si-hyeon, actually, watching your swordsmanship earlier... this body remembered something."
"What?"
"It was......"
Lea paused ever so slightly.
Just five seconds of silence.
Why did that brief moment feel like an eternity?
When she finally looked up,
"Lea...?"
"......"
Sadness and complex emotions swirled in her purple eyes.
"Si-hyeon... your swordsmanship was just like—"
The word from Lea's small lips.
It was the one she'd murmured fondly even in her lost past.
"—Lucifer..."