Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 001
Chapter Title: Instructor Mode
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What if a game you'd ground through in your past life was getting a massive update after several years?
What if there was an announcement granting special perks to players who'd completed every single challenge?
How many people could actually hold back from jumping in?
The man trembled with excitement as he stared at the notice on the official website.
'Just when I'm about to snap from all the stress with these kids... perfect timing.'
He was a Korean language instructor at a prestigious cram school, but life had worn him down to the bone.
'Ah, who are you to tell me off? You're just someone my mom pays. Doesn't that make me a customer too? If you wanna nag, go study for the national exam yourself first.'
Some students didn't see him as a teacher at all, not even as someone above them.
'Teacher, my stomach hurts today, so I probably can't make it to class.'
Others lied straight to his face while sneaking off to play. But the biggest headache was the parents.
'Why is my kid's score like this? We're paying top dollar here. If the grades don't go up, isn't it the teacher's fault?'
'The kid won't listen because the teacher can't control them properly. Does that mean there's something wrong with our family discipline?'
Parents who dumped their kids at the academy expecting scores to skyrocket like some auto-farm in a game... He was exhausted by it all.
"Hoo..."
The man sighed deeply and launched the game.
Academy Heroes
A game about a protagonist enrolling in an academy, facing various events, and growing stronger through it all.
What he loved was the pure, untainted innocence of the kids in the game.
Striving to get stronger, laughing and goofing around with friends, burning with competitive passion, sharing innocent crushes...
He missed that world terribly.
But reality was always cruel. Caught between cunning kids and irresponsible parents, he was losing his drive bit by bit.
Maybe that's why he played this game, he thought as he started a new file.
"Let's see what they've added."
He quickly spotted the new feature.
'Play as an instructor?'
Academy Heroes was strictly played from the protagonist student's perspective.
Attend classes to grow stronger, go on adventures, build friendships or romances with classmates, overcome looming trials and tribulations.
But what if the protagonist was an instructor?
"How am I supposed to resist this? No way I can."
His job was teaching. He was confident he'd immerse himself more than anyone.
"Starting now."
Vrrr...
His old computer whirred to life with a racket.
"...Huh?"
And then his vision started spinning wildly.
"Wha...? What?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "I'm screwed."
Philip closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them.
But the scene before him didn't change. Days had passed already, yet the reality crashing down on him only felt more vivid, refusing to fade.
"This really isn't a dream...? So all of this is actually happening?"
He staggered like an undead to his desk—not the plain white multifunctional one he usually used, but an ornate medieval-style antique.
Atop it lay a single sheet of parchment.
A long letter, filled more with dense black ink than blank space.
Its contents read as follows.
My dear son Philip.
I know it breaks my heart to send you away like this. Your father was furious over that last incident—so much so that he wouldn't even listen to me properly.
He said he'd disown you from the family and ship you off to enlist at the northernmost frontlines.
But after a few days, my persistence paid off. He agreed to give you one last chance.
I've arranged a swordsmanship instructor position for you at Previa Academy. Head there right away.
As you know, the dean and I go way back. I reached out to ask if he'd take you in, and he kindly agreed without hesitation.
Even after hearing all the rumors about you. What a wonderful man.
Philip. My beloved Philip. Even your father acknowledges your swordsmanship talent.
Just teach the children well for five years—exactly five years. If you finish your instructor duties without any issues, he'll forgive you.
Thankfully, your sister is at Previa Academy, so she can help you out plenty.
But if any problems arise... I'm afraid even I won't be able to protect you anymore.
...
[Omitted]
"So basically, if I screw up again, they'll send me straight to the battlefield. Fighting demons on the front lines. That's just a death sentence."
Philip muttered in a hollow voice.
Philip Oswald. The wastrel youngest son of the Oswald Count Family, renowned for their swordsmanship. This was truly his last chance.
"What the hell was that last incident anyway? I deserve to know."
Unfortunately, he had no memory of the 'events' leading up to this final opportunity.
Not amnesia—just no memories at all. Because the Philip who'd lived that debauched life up till now was someone else entirely.
"Should've bought the character backstory guide. No wonder they were selling it."
Philip bit his nails anxiously.
The realism he'd ignored for days now hit him like a tidal wave, right before his first class as a swordsmanship instructor.
He had to face it now.
The fact that he'd really possessed a game character.
An extra villain with zero importance, no less.
The Philip Oswald he remembered was a textbook case.
Handsome face, exceptional sword talent—but for some reason, his personality was rotten to the core.
From his boyhood days, messy relationships with women, and his superior skills causing all sorts of incidents compared to his peers.
After becoming an academy instructor, he abused the prestige of the noble Oswald family, wreaking havoc everywhere until he picked a fight with the protagonist and got beaten like a dog on the hottest day of summer.
Unlike his little brother, he ends up ousted from the academy by his sister, Felicia Oswald—the protagonist's ally.
'What happened after that? Something about defecting to the demons on the northern front, gaining demonic powers...'
Philip racked his brain, trying to recall the past—or rather, his own future. But the character was such a minor one, nothing specific came to mind.
In the game, Philip was literally just experience points for the protagonist.
'No. I can't let it come to that.'
Snapping to attention, Philip shook his head. Now that he'd possessed him, 'Philip' couldn't meet that fate.
He had to survive somehow as 'Philip' at Previa Academy.
As a swordsmanship instructor, no less.
Realizing this, Philip trembled with fear and despair.
"How am I supposed to teach kids? I've never even been to a sword dojo."
And rightly so—he was a total beginner who didn't know the first thing about wielding a sword.
"Why possess me as an instructor instead of a student?"
He felt wronged, but there was no helping it. The reality had already set in.
'Yeah. Even a screw-up like Philip must have some prep for teaching the kids.'
Clinging to hope, Philip eyed the stack of papers in the corner of his room.
There had to be some solid plan written there.
"Marlene. Twenty-three. Affiliated with 'Gentle Cat Salon.' Likes perfumes or rare gems. Difficulty: medium-high? What the fuck is this?"
The contents were off.
"Narsia. Nineteen. 'Lady Goose Salon.' Likes handsome guys. Difficulty: low."
The next page, and the one after—all just women's names and their preferences. Piecing it together, Philip came to a quick conclusion.
"This is fucking intel on bar girls."
The belated realization only fueled even later rage.
"Philip... you absolute bastard..."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Pushing aside his splitting headache of anger, Philip sorted out his situation.
'So I'm a swordsmanship instructor at the academy, and I have to teach swordsmanship to kids when I know jack shit about it.'
"...Think it'll work?"
Common sense said no. But he had to make it work.
'What if I fail?'
He'd be tossed into the continent's northernmost warzone by Count Oswald—the family head and his father in this body.
'What if I run?'
A world he knew nothing about, surviving alone on his own power. Philip knew the odds were abysmal.
'Outside is hell. The front lines might actually be safer.'
The continent of Ituda, where Academy Heroes took place, was a land ruled by endless war. Against the demon race.
The safe inland was territory of nobles and religious orders—evading their eyes was impossible. He'd get found out eventually and dragged to the front anyway.
Philip only knew the academy's inner workings; he had no confidence in hiding from them.
If Philip could hide his identity and flee, it'd only be to places like living hells or asuras' fields.
How long could he last where human lives were worth less than bugs?
He knew several episodes about those places, and they terrified him more than the front lines.
Philip glanced at the calendar.
March 4th. Early spring.
Previa Academy's semester started on the 10th, so including today, he had just a week left. He had to find a way somehow.
A way to teach swordsmanship without knowing swordsmanship.