Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: The Essence of Education is Communication
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Snore... Zzz...
Not even a minute after lying down on the sunbed, the temporary instructor Kim Cheol-su had already fallen into a deep sleep.
That guy.
He wasn't pretending to sleep. He was really out cold.
"Zzz... Pfft..."
His snoring was so loud that the noise filling Class A classroom came to a sudden halt.
Na Jin-il, the male student with the highest mana level in Class A.
He let out a hollow laugh at the sight.
"Ha. What a ridiculous bastard."
Usually, the people who came in here pretending to be teachers fell into one of two categories.
Like their current homeroom teacher, overwhelmed by the A-rank awakeners' mana and cowering in the corner.
Or trying to crack down weakly, only to tuck tail after one spell from the students and end up looking miserable.
For Na Jin-il, tormenting instructors was the one joy in his boring school life.
How entertaining it was to watch teachers panic at the front desk, their faces twisting in frustration.
No one who hadn't seen it firsthand could understand.
'But what the hell is that guy?'
Lies down on a sunbed and starts snoring the second he walks in?
This wasn't about neglecting his duties as a teacher.
It was a complete dismissal of Class A.
'That's why I want to mess with him even more.'
Na Jin-il signaled to the guy tapping away at his laptop in the back row.
"Hey. Seo Jin-wook."
"...?"
Seo Jin-wook, who was engrossed in running ranking matches, barely lifted his head.
Seo Jin-wook.
An assassin-type awakener specialized in stealth and speed.
The guy hated fighting and loved games, but his abilities put him in the top three of the class.
"Lend me a baseball."
"I don't play catch."
"I know you have one in your bag. Hand it over. I'm bored."
Seo Jin-wook pulled a baseball out of his bag with an annoyed look and tossed it over.
Na Jin-il gripped the sponge safety ball tightly and grinned.
"Been a while since I played some catch."
Na Jin-il stood up and headed to the back of the classroom.
He called over another guy and they started playing catch.
Thwack! Thwack!
A-rank awakeners. Physical enhancement types at that. Playing catch.
No gloves, bare hands exchanging the ball, and cannon-like booms echoed everywhere.
Boom! Kaboom!
A normal person would've had their palm bones shattered, but Na Jin-il reveled in the explosive sounds.
The mana-enhanced baseball screamed as if it couldn't take it anymore.
He glanced toward the podium.
But Kim Cheol-su slept on without stirring.
Was it his imagination?
The snoring seemed even louder than the catch sounds.
"That old man's got ears of steel."
The guy had a talent for pissing people off.
Na Jin-il twisted his lips and changed the ball's target.
Aim: right above the instructor's head, where he was blowing snot bubbles while snoring.
Pop those bubbles, and he'd probably faint and piss himself.
'Let's see how long you sleep!'
Whoosh!
The ball shot from Na Jin-il's arm, tracing a white arc.
A fastball over 150 km/h.
All the students watched its path tensely.
The baseball was just about to graze the instructor's snot bubble.
Thud.
"...?"
The temporary instructor caught the baseball casually.
Impossible.
Even if he luckily caught it, his wrist should've snapped.
Yet Kim Cheol-su gazed down at the ball with perfect calm.
Blinking like he'd just woken up from a real nap.
He yawned and said,
"You like dodgeball?"
"It was... catch?"
Na Jin-il crossed his legs and replied cockily.
"Throwing at people isn't catch. It's dodgeball. Want to play? Gym."
Kim Cheol-su loosened his tie and stood up.
"First day, so teacher'll play. 1 vs. 15 good?"
"... ."
Na Jin-il was briefly stunned, but soon curled his lips into a smirk.
Countless B-rank instructors had tried disciplining him with brute force like this.
'Some guys always get the wrong idea.'
That with B-rank experience, martial arts, and magic, they could school A-rank cadets.
Ridiculous misconceptions happened a lot.
But the results were always the same.
B-ranks weren't B for nothing. A-ranks neither.
The wall between them couldn't be broken by will or effort.
The instructors always got crushed trying to discipline.
"C'mon, guys. Teacher's gonna play with us."
Whoosh!
A chilling sound sliced across the gym.
Kim Cheol-su hadn't thrown a dodgeball.
It was a colorful beach ball for water play.
Air inside, vinyl outside.
Should be harmless.
Thwack!
"Gah?!"
The cocky male student flipped in midair and crashed.
He bounced off the gym floor twice before landing neatly on his feet.
By the rules, eliminated players went behind Kim Cheol-su to wait for passes.
But the guy stood dazed, unable to recover.
"...?"
Na Jin-il couldn't believe his eyes.
What just happened?
The beach ball that had smacked the student's head danced slowly in the air before landing back in Kim Cheol-su's palm.
Up to then, he could track it with his eyes.
Right after.
Thwack!
Another buffed-up student went flying through the air.
Thwack! Thwack! Boom!
Explosions erupted wherever the beach ball touched.
Hunter Officer Academy students heard gunshots and cannons regularly in training.
But in dodgeball? Never dreamed.
Kaboom!
"T-Teach! Timeout! Timeout!!"
Students screamed, but Kim Cheol-su impassively cocked his wrist back.
"No timeouts in combat."
Bang! Boom! Bang!
About three minutes into the game.
The 14 students strutting like A-rank hotshots lay scattered like fallen leaves.
Boys and girls alike, eyes glazed, mouths agape.
Only one left standing on the court: Na Jin-il.
Roll roll.
The beach ball rolled limply to Na Jin-il's feet.
"What're you doing? Jin-il. Ball's to you."
Kim Cheol-su called from the opposite court, hands in pockets.
Na Jin-il couldn't move.
The beach ball at his feet looked like a timed bomb.
Throw it wrong, and he'd be next to die.
"Not picking it up?"
His heart pounded wildly.
Run.
Get out now.
His head knew, but pride kept him from leaving the court.
"Throw."
Kim Cheol-su's low voice rang out again.
The gym temperature seemed to plummet below freezing.
"Uwaaaah!!"
Na Jin-il screamed, snatched the ball from the floor, and hurled it.
No holding back.
He poured all his flame attribute mana into it.
The air-filled beach ball turned into a lethal weapon in an instant.
'Oh shit...!'
Regret hit Na Jin-il the moment it left his hand.
Full-power mana blast at a person?
Expulsion. Or jail if someone died.
But regret was fleeting.
Thud.
"Uh...?"
Kim Cheol-su caught the incoming ball softly with one hand.
The raging mana flames died out powerlessly in his palm.
Whoosh.
"Jin-il."
"Wh-what...?"
"Wanna die?"
Na Jin-il's jaw began to tremble.
He'd never seen eyes like that in his life.
Never heard a voice like that.
"Haha, st-student... C-can a teacher say that to a stu-student...?"
Na Jin-il stammered, and Kim Cheol-su glanced at the kids sprawled on the floor.
"This is an officer academy training frontline hunters. Right, kids? You came here to become hunters?"
A few conscious kids nodded fearfully.
Kim Cheol-su continued slowly.
"But talentless punks ignoring superiors in gates, not following orders, disrespecting everyone 'cause of their rank. Know what happens?"
He bounced the beach ball in place.
Boing. Boing.
Na Jin-il's heartbeat quickened with each bounce.
"Everyone dies. Like you lot, dragged here by one Na Jin-il, rolling on the floor."
Na Jin-il's legs shook uncontrollably.
His body trembled like a leaf, against his will.
Not fear.
Absolutely not.
Na Jin-il feared nothing in the world.
This was just... the gym heating broken. Cold.
'Fuck, why's it so cold here...!'
As Na Jin-il hypnotized himself, Kim Cheol-su slowly raised his arm.
A casual toss, like flicking tissue into a trash can.
"Here."
The beach ball arced through the air.
And very slowly began falling toward Na Jin-il's head.
"Uh... Uhh..."
Na Jin-il looked up, legs quaking, and...
Failed to dodge. Got hit.
Plop.
"Uh, ugh...!"
The beach ball rolled slowly across the floor.
Na Jin-il crumpled to the ground.
His legs had no strength.
Just trembled beyond his control.
One of his few friends crawled over and patted his cheek.
"Hey. What's wrong!? He went easy on you."
"G-get away. I'm not shaking. Not shaking."
"Your pants are wet..."
"I'm not shaking!"
Kim Cheol-su waited for everyone to calm, then spoke gently, warmer than before.
"Kids. Joking and having fun with friends is great. Hard to make friends like that as adults."
Meeting those kind eyes, Na Jin-il trembled again.
Arms clenched, legs tensed—still shook like a broken machine.
But not fear.
Definitely not chickening out.
Just unusually cold today.
Inexperienced minor Na Jin-il had no idea this was fear.
"But class time, listen to teacher seriously. We worry about your safety. Nothing else. Really."
The classroom was quieter than a library.
Not even a gulp could be heard.
All 15 Class A students sat ramrod straight at their desks, staring at their books.
'Ah. Now I can't sleep either.'
I just wanted to let the kids loose and nap alone, but somehow I'd ended up ruling by fear.
Couldn't be helped to save their lives.
With mindsets like that at training camp, a gate break meant 100% casualties.
'Still, seeing them study makes me proud.'
Maybe I'm cut out to be a teacher?
I smiled contentedly when Grandpa Hyung-seok—er, the chairman—passed by the open back door and peeked in.
He saw the well-behaved kids, eyes bulging in shock.
Our eyes met, and with a moved expression, he gave a thumbs-up and toddled away.
I had no classes in periods 3 or 4.
No friends in the staff room, so I was killing time with shorts videos.
"Teacher... Teacher Kim Cheol-su!"
A high-pitched scream pierced my earbuds. I looked up.
It was Class A homeroom teacher Na Yeo-rin.
She beamed excitedly.
"T-Teach-Teacher Kim Cheol-su! H-how did you do it?!"
"Huh? Do what?"
I pulled out my earbuds and asked.
Why did everyone at this school tremble when talking to me?
"Those troublemakers are studying so hard! I went in, and they greeted in unison on the class rep's command!"
"That's 'cause you're the teacher, and they're students. Normal, right?"
"No way! They treated me like air all last semester!"
Na Yeo-rin teared up, moved.
"Jin-il... Jin-il told me, 'Teacher, you're going too fast.' He listened to class! What's the secret? Please tell me!"
The secret.
Telling the truth: "Beat 'em a bit and they listened." Not educator talk.
I sipped coffee and dressed it up.
"Played dodgeball together, got closer. They respect me now."
"Dodgeball?"
"Yeah. Exercise is best for kids."
Na Yeo-rin stared blankly, then clenched her fist.
"The essence of education is communication after all. Not just words—physical bonding. I'll learn from your true philosophy, Teacher Kim Cheol-su!"
"Uh. Sure..."
Great she's learning.
But don't go getting hit by the kids.