First Class (2)

I needed to rewind about twenty minutes to understand how we’d ended up in this situation. I stepped into the classroom, doing my best to ignore the burdensome stares. The students of Class A came into view. Like everyone else, they were staring holes through me. ‘Wait, why are those three looking at me like that?’ Luden’s eyes were filled with pure curiosity. Well, that much I could understand after the message from last time. But why was Sherry staring at me with such burning intensity? ‘Is it because I cleared the class placement test?’ It made sense if she was aiming for first place to earn her father’s approval. Still, there was no reason for her to look at me with that kind of heat. ‘Did she see me training last time?’ With that thought, I shifted my gaze to Lillia. She was watching me with a sly, fox-like smile, scanning me from head to toe. ‘What’s with her now?’ My goal had been to live quietly. How had things turned out like this? All I’d done was clear the class placement test. ‘At least Shannon still doesn’t seem interested in me. That’s a relief.’ I let out a deep, silent sigh and quickly took an empty seat. Not long after, the front door slid open with a rattle. I wondered who the professor in charge would be. As I stared at the doorway, a familiar voice rang out. “Hello, everyone~” Dale appeared, his narrow eyes curved into a mischievous smile, black hair neatly combed. The moment I saw him, I frowned. ‘Fuck. Of all people, it had to be him.’ Unlike the other professors, Dale was full of variables. True to his squinty-eyed archetype, everything he did was completely unpredictable. ‘There’s definitely going to be a quest related to this class. Ugh.’ If Dale was the professor, staying under the radar was going to be difficult. Even now, if you looked closely, he was staring straight at me. It seemed my breaking of the illusion magic had sparked his curiosity. “Alright, everyone, let’s head to the sparring arena.” “Huh?” The students were all stunned by his sudden announcement. No one had expected his first words to be something like that. “Aren’t we taking attendance?” “Attendance will be done in the sparring arena. So please proceed there immediately.” With that, Dale left the classroom. The students stood there in a daze for a moment. Soon enough, everyone—including me—had the same thought. ‘At least give us a heads-up beforehand.’

When we arrived at the sparring arena, Dale was standing with his hands behind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his back. That sly smile of his looked annoyingly smug. ‘I seriously want to smack the back of his head just once.’ While I was thinking that, Dale, who had been taking attendance, called my name. “Has the last student, Baran, arrived?” I nodded and answered politely. “Yes, I have.” “Good. Now that everyone is here, I will explain today’s lesson.” He pulled out a single vest from the corner of the arena. Then, still smiling, he continued. “Today’s first class will be one-on-one sparring with me.” The students’ eyes widened in shock. No one had imagined they would be sparring with a professor on the very first day. I was just as surprised as the rest of them. Of course, the reason I was surprised was different. The author had thrown a quest at me. So much for living quietly. I hadn’t expected sparring on the first day, but knowing Dale, it wasn’t entirely surprising. What I really hadn’t seen coming was a quest appearing this quickly. ‘And what the hell is this penalty?’ It looked like the author had changed the quest details, anticipating that I might try to lose on purpose. ‘Sigh… I guess I really have to give up on living as a background character.’ As I let out a deep sigh, one of the students raised his hand with a terrified expression. “Professor. I’m Eden. No matter how you look at it, having us spar with a professor is a bit…” The rest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the students nodded in agreement. “Ahahaha. Yes, of course it would be if I used my full strength. But there’s no need to worry. I have no intention of using any mana at all.” The students’ ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠faces brightened at those words. Even if he was a professor, if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he wasn’t using mana, they probably thought they stood a chance. But they were wrong. An academy professor wasn’t a professor for nothing. I activated Mind’s Eye and looked at Dale. The next moment, his status window appeared. After seeing that, I seriously wondered if landing a valid hit on him was even possible. If he wasn’t using mana, his High-Speed Movement would be useless. He probably wouldn’t use any weapons either. ‘He’ll probably hold back his strength as much as possible.’ Even so, he was someone who had fought on the front lines. Just touching him would be lucky, let alone landing a valid hit. This difficulty level was pure hell. While I was silently complaining to the system, Dale dropped another bombshell. “Oh, and I will only be using one arm.” Everyone’s eyes widened at the unexpected declaration. ‘Sealing his mana and only using one arm…’ That changed things. Even if he was a professor, with those conditions, maybe a valid hit was actually possible. “Everyone, please put on these gauge suits. You will come forward when your name is called. First up is Eden, the student who asked me a question earlier. Please step forward.” Dale put on his own gauge suit and walked forward with confident strides. Thanks to his promise not to use mana, he looked far more self-assured than before. “Shall we begin?” “Y-yes…?” In an instant, Dale charged at Eden. It was clearly a movement without any mana. Yet it was fast enough that most students couldn’t even react. And that wasn’t all. With a heavy whoosh, Eden swung his signature hammer, but Dale casually dodged it while still running. Then, in an irritatingly calm voice, he said, “You shouldn’t swing so thoughtlessly, student.” The moment he finished speaking, Dale struck the back of Eden’s neck, knocking him out instantly. He then turned to the rest of us. “Next student, please step forward.” It was the moment we truly realized just how strong an academy professor was. After that, every single student was knocked out by Dale. Even the main characters were no exception. Sherry and Shannon, like the others, failed to land a single valid hit and were defeated. ‘Lillia gave up before she even started.’ Now, only Luden and I remained. Just as I swallowed nervously, wondering if I was next— “Luden student, please step forward.” “Yes.” Luden’s name was called. It seemed Dale planned to deal with me last. “Shall we begi— Oh?” Before Dale could even finish, Luden kicked off the ground. All the previous students had waited for him to finish speaking before attacking. But Luden, with her abundant real combat experience, launched a surprise attack without hesitation. Her wooden sword sliced through the air with a sharp whoosh. Of course, she seemed to have expected it to miss. She spun once and immediately followed up. “You really are different from the other students. I don’t sense any hesitation.” Luden then delivered a spinning kick straight toward Dale’s face. Her foot flew forward, just about to connect. If it landed, it would count as a valid hit. But— Thud! Dale blocked her kick with a single hand. No one had managed to touch his body until now. Yet the protagonist had done it. Perhaps that was why— Sherry’s eyes blazed as she glared at Luden with fiery intensity. ‘Sigh, doesn’t she get tired living like that?’ Unlike Luden, Sherry hadn’t even managed a proper attack. But truthfully, it was impossible for her attack to land in the first place. Their matchup was simply too unfavorable from the start. ‘An assassin getting hit by a mage would be game over anyway.’ Still, it seemed Sherry considered even that an excuse. Judging by the way she was glaring so fiercely. While I was shaking my head, the spar ended with a groan. I turned my head. Dale’s gauge was still at 100. As expected, even Luden couldn’t land a valid hit on him. “Then, the last student, Baran, please step forward.” Dale looked at me with a relaxed smile. I stared back at him and made a silent vow. Let’s make those narrow eyes open wide, just once. Finally, it was Baran’s turn. In truth, Dale hadn’t found the other students particularly interesting. Honestly, most of them had never once exceeded his expectations. ‘If there’s anyone worth paying attention to, it would be that student.’ Dale watched as Luden handed the gauge suit to Baran. Luden—the sole survivor of the Luden family. It was a name famous throughout the world. How could anyone not know the only survivor of the Luden family? She must have been grinding her teeth for revenge against the demon race. Even so, he hadn’t expected her to possess such rich real combat experience. After all, no matter how strong she was, he had assumed she was still just a student. ‘But even she isn’t as interesting as that man.’ A blind man who could shoot a bow. That alone was intriguing, but the real issue was that he had instantly cleared the illusion magic created by the First Sage. After witnessing something like that, how could Dale not be interested? ‘This is what makes the world fun.’ Just as Dale was smiling leisurely— Whoosh! A mana arrow suddenly flew into his field of vision. Dale casually tilted his head to the side and dodged it. “Is a surprise attack allowed?” “Didn’t you say after the class placement test, Professor, that sudden ambushes could occur? I simply wanted to see how you would respond.” Baran said with a bright smile. Then he crooked his finger. “Come at me, Professor.” It seemed the blind man in front of him had quite the personality.