The True Hero
Class A was composed of the academy's most exceptional students.
A week earlier, their homeroom instructor had been exposed as a Main—a human who had contracted with demonic power—and a temporary replacement had been filling the post ever since.
But that arrangement could not go on forever.
The Chairman himself had stepped in, scouting retired heroes until at last a permanent instructor was secured.
"Is that really true? They settled on him?"
"That's what I'm telling you. I was just as shocked."
The instructors who had heard the news could only trade doubtful looks and skeptical questions.
"He's been living in seclusion up in the mountains for ten years, hasn't he? Why would someone like that suddenly become an instructor?"
"Right? Isn't this just Choi's wild speculation? It doesn't make any sense."
"I'm telling you it's real! You think I'd joke about something this important? I heard it straight from Director Lee Dae-sik himself."
The man confirmed to fill the vacant post of Class A's instructor was Cheon Hae-beom.
A superhuman who could wield every weapon in existence as if it were an extension of his own body, and who possessed mana of an entirely different caliber. He was also a gifted teacher—a genuine powerhouse who had discovered and raised any number of talented heroes.
Of course, the years had reduced him to little more than the protagonist of an urban legend. Even so, his name alone was more than enough to send shockwaves through the academy.
"Hmm… if it came from Director Lee Dae-sik, that does lend it some credibility."
"Ah! I actually heard something similar from Instructor Kim Jun-ho yesterday. But at the time it still wasn't confirmed."
"So it's official, then…"
At last, the instructors had no choice but to believe it. And once they accepted the truth, other thoughts began to spiral one after another.
"Cheon Hae-beom… do you think the rumors are true?"
"Eh. There's probably some exaggeration mixed in."
None of them had ever met the man, so rumor was all they had to go on.
"I heard he shattered a mountain bare-handed and tore a wyvern's wings clean off."
"What is he, the hero of some martial arts novel? That's all pure nonsense. Total garbage."
"Hmm… I'm more curious about what he looks like."
"Same here. But he's probably an old man, right? The Chairman is already quite advanced in years, and if this guy is older than him, he can't be young."
"Oh… a white-haired veteran… now that has the feel of a real martial arts master. Haha!"
Most of the instructors were purely impressed, purely excited.
But of course, not everyone was pleased with the situation.
"This makes absolutely no sense!"
Not far from the instructors' office sat the principal's office. Inside, two men faced each other across a desk.
Grade Director Lee Dae-sik and Principal Kwak Sang-cheol.
Despite sitting across from the principal himself, Lee Dae-sik was practically shouting.
"There were plenty of other candidates, weren't there? Why him of all people? Retract it. Right now!"
Lee Dae-sik could not make sense of the news. Appointing a man whose abilities and background hadn't even been verified to an instructor's post? It was unthinkable—and it should never have been allowed.
"A decision already made cannot be withdrawn."
Kwak Sang-cheol's stance was unyielding.
Lee Dae-sik ground his teeth, his face twisted with frustration.
"Don't blame me for this. Selecting an instructor is not something I can decide on my authority alone."
Even a principal did not wield enough power to appoint instructors at will. Which meant—
"This was a special directive from the Chairman."
"…I figured as much."
Kwak Sang-cheol's bombshell left Lee Dae-sik trailing off. He had probably suspected it all along.
"So he's getting special treatment because of a personal connection…"
Lee Dae-sik had heard the rumors about Cheon Hae-beom well enough. But they were just that—rumors. An urban legend whose truth had never been confirmed. Installing a man like that as an instructor? No matter how many times he turned it over, it was a foolish decision.
"You simply don't understand. There is no one more suited to the post than Cheon Hae-beom."
"…A man with zero documented achievements and an unknown guild affiliation? I don't understand. Exactly which part of him qualifies as an instructor?"
"Dae-sik. Since when did achievements and place of origin become the measure of a man's fitness to teach students?"
"Then tell me—what use is an incompetent man with no record of accomplishment to this academy?"
Lee Dae-sik's neck flushed as he raised his voice again. Kwak Sang-cheol only let out a hearty laugh.
"Heh heh. An incompetent man, you say."
"You didn't even weigh ability or suitability. This is unreasonable."
Lee Dae-sik poured out every ounce of the resentment he had been holding in, laying out his position with full force—but Kwak Sang-cheol's reaction remained oddly mild. After listening in silence, the principal suddenly curved his lips into a smile.
"Ability and suitability. It was precisely because we weighed those things that we chose Cheon Hae-beom."
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. Su-jin. Bring those over, would you?"
"Yes, sir."
A clear, bright voice answered—different from either of the two men. Its owner was Kwak Sang-cheol's personal secretary, Lee Su-jin. With a single gesture of telekinetic force, she gathered several sheets of paper into her hands and brought them to the principal. Kwak Sang-cheol took them, spread them across the table where both men could see, and laid them out.
"These are student profiles. Why are you showing me these?"
"Read them."
Lee Dae-sik tilted his head. Holding a small seed of doubt, he began reading the profiles one by one. Even after finishing them all, he still could not grasp Kwak Sang-cheol's intent.
"We're discussing that man's suitability right now. What do these kids have to do with—are you messing with me—"
"Those children."
Kwak Sang-cheol cut him off, then delivered the words that mattered.
"Those children are alive because Cheon Hae-beom saved them."
"…What did you just say?"
Lee Dae-sik's body went cold and still, as if he had come face to face with something unreal. Kwak Sang-cheol continued as calmly as ever.
"They are the irreplaceable treasures of this academy. It is thanks to Cheon Hae-beom's rescues in the past that we were able to take them in."
"Is that true?"
"It is. His heroic deeds have contributed no small amount to our academy as well."
While Kwak Sang-cheol spoke without pause, Lee Su-jin searched inside her jacket behind him. From within, a sealed paper envelope emerged.
"Ah, thank you, Su-jin. Here—this is Cheon Hae-beom's record of achievements. Information that has been scrubbed from the public record, but the Chairman passed it to me some time ago. Strictly confidential, of course."
"…"
Lee Dae-sik took the documents with trembling fingertips.
Heavy.
Even the weight of them at a glance told him this was no ordinary file. Swallowing his tension, he began poring over every single character.
The soft rustle of turning pages was the only sound that filled the room.
As he read, a single emotion settled over Lee Dae-sik's face.
Astonishment.
Then his eyes, which had been racing across the lines, stopped—fixed on one place.
"……Huh."
Confirming the number of people rescued, Lee Dae-sik could not contain his shock.
"Is this real?"
"Villain subjugations, Gates, dungeon clearances—Cheon Hae-beom's total record comes to two hundred and forty-eight operations. A truly staggering body of work."
And that was not all. Every one of Cheon Hae-beom's achievements was tied to the saving of lives.
"Beyond the capital region—Daejeon, Gyeongbuk, Busan, all the way to Jeju Island."
His activity logs spanned every region in the country. While other heroes scrambled to protect only their own territories, Cheon Hae-beom had reached out alone, extending a hand of rescue to every corner of the nation.
Without anyone's support. Entirely by himself.
How is that even possible…
A man who would walk through fire for the sake of a life. Was that not the very face of a true hero?
"Why would a man like this…"
The one bitter point was that a hero of Cheon Hae-beom's caliber had never received the recognition his contributions deserved. That injustice sat poorly with Lee Dae-sik.
"The bear does the tricks and someone else pockets the coin. This part is… honestly frustrating. The credit went to the wrong people, didn't it?"
As he spoke, he continued reading through the newspaper clippings. Then, turning to the next page, his hand flinched.
……
The content itself was nothing eye-catching—something about throwing himself into danger to save a young girl from orcs. But the face of that young girl in the article looked familiar.
Lee Dae-sik's head snapped up, and he stared hard at Lee Su-jin.
"That's right. Lee Su-jin was also saved by him. Thanks to that, I gained a highly capable subordinate."
Lee Su-jin slowly nodded. Even on her usually impassive face, a change stirred. For a moment, a new side of the professional secretary came into view.
"I…"
A warm smile on her lips, Lee Su-jin began to speak, unhurried.
"I lived through that day myself. And I saw him."
Her eyes grew distant, as if she were looking back on that day.
"In the middle of absolute chaos, that man came running straight toward me—completely unarmed."
Her expression softened with a fresh wave of emotion. Even now, she could not forget the sight of Cheon Hae-beom that day. In the way he charged forward without hesitation, she had seen a true hero.
"An ordinary hero would have prioritized eliminating the orcs. But he was different. His priority wasn't elimination—it was rescue."
"Hah…"
Lee Dae-sik felt as though he had been struck across the back of the head with a hammer. Rising shame forced his head down.
"I… I misjudged the man. I'm sorry, Principal."
"It's fine. You don't need to apologize to me."
Kwak Sang-cheol brushed it off with an easy smile, but Lee Dae-sik felt ready to crawl into a hole. He had always prided himself on reading people. And yet he had failed to recognize a great man when it truly mattered, treating him like some green novice. Mortification filled him to the brim.
"Cheon Hae-beom."
Suddenly, curiosity about the man himself welled up—his face, his personality, his beliefs, even the smallest threads of cause and effect. And as thoughts of Cheon Hae-beom rose, one question he could not ignore followed close behind.
"There's one thing I'm curious about."
"Ask. If it's something I know, I'll answer gladly."
"Why does this man hide his own deeds? His achievements alone would put him above S-Class. It's both tragic and bizarre."
"Hmm. You raise a fair point. I wonder about that myself."
Kwak Sang-cheol was no different. As the two men sat humming in thought, Lee Su-jin's voice cut gently between them.
"I think I know."
"……?"
"Knowing that man's character, there's only one answer. He simply doesn't want to become widely known. It's obvious."
"What? What do you mean by that?"
Every hero hungered for fame and fortune. The degree varied, but there was not a single hero who lacked that desire entirely.
"There's no reason to refuse the benefits that come with what you've done. Honestly… he's not a sucker."
"You understand one thing and miss two. Of course there's a reason."
Lee Su-jin offered a faint smile—captivating, and pure.
"I believe he was afraid that a steep rise in fame would interfere with his rescues."
"……!"
"Huh… so that's it."
Such misfortunes did occur from time to time. Civilians who recognized a famous hero would follow them into danger, or block the path and hinder a rescue. Incidents like that were everyday occurrences, and there had never been a real solution.
"He devoted himself to rescue so completely that he gave all of that up… and I failed to recognize a hero like that…"
Lee Dae-sik let out a long breath of wonder, and once more Cheon Hae-beom rose in his mind.