A Student's True Nightmare

"Count Kim Tae-hyun. No matter how much you hide behind Admiral Brangsong, you won't escape us forever. No church will ever agree to a cult worshipping a trashy god like yours holding Carbanog's holy relic! We are retreating for now, but we will meet again soon!"

"Wow. They really sound like the Sadiq Church."

But if they wanted to exploit my weakness, wouldn't it be better to target the Sadiq Church? Tae-hyun thought.

It seemed none of the other churches could have imagined that Tae-hyun was using the Sadiq Church's paladins as forced labor in his territory.

In any case, the Phytos Church NPCs vanished, shouting, "Hmph! Just you wait!"

Admiral Brangsong spoke with an indignant face. "Count Kim Tae-hyun! If those insolent priests try to harass you, just say the word! I will gather the nobles and stand by your side!"

"Thank you, Admiral Brangsong! Sob! I only wished to live an honorable life..."

"I know your heart well!" Admiral Brangsong comforted Tae-hyun several times before turning back to his warship.

"Phew. Fake crying is exhausting."

"I think you're already doing an amazing job," Lee Da-bi, who had been watching from the side, said with an exasperated look.

"Is the loot sorted out?"

"Yes. Everyone is dividing it up and taking their share right now."

"...You're not secretly wishing you could have kept all of that for yourself, are you?"

"N-N-N-No, I'm not!"

Lee Da-bi stammered, looking incredibly flustered—a rare sight for her. In truth, she had been thinking, Ah, if only I could have monopolized all of that, it would have been a jackpot! She had already hit the jackpot with her broadcast, and her face turned bright red at the thought of her greedy inner desires being exposed.

"I'm not that greedy..."

"Alright. Let's go check it out."

"Huh? Check what?"

"The gear Ed-an swiped."

"...!"

Only then did Lee Da-bi realize why Tae-hyun was acting so relaxed. He had already laid his hands on items far more precious than the gold and loot inside the pirate ships. It was Gardu's gear! Each piece was a unique item that current players couldn't dream of obtaining.

Normally, even if you defeated a boss monster, you'd be lucky to get one or two pieces of gear. But Tae-hyun had stripped Gardu of every single piece of equipment he was wearing!

"Let's go see!" Lee Da-bi wanted to see the gear too. For a merchant class, inspecting and identifying high-grade equipment helped level up their skills.

"Huh? But where did Ed-an go?"

"Now that you mention it, where is he?"

"Hey, have any of you seen Ed-an?"

"Master Tae-hyun..."

"Whoa!"

Tae-hyun gasped in surprise. Ed-an's appearance was... bizarre. Just like the cursed pirate warriors, octopus-like tentacles were writhing and sprouting from all over his body!

"I thought you were a mob."

"I thought you were Cain..."

"..."

"What happened to you?"

"What do you mean, what happened?! I stole that pirate bastard's gear, and when I came back, I turned into this! Sob! Please help me!"

"Um. Could you please not come any closer?"

"Master Tae-hyun!!!"

"Alright, alright. Stop ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shouting and just show me the gear."

Not only those two, but the armor and various protective gear Gardu had been wearing were all cursed. At this rate, identifying or equipping them was out of the question, and even just holding onto them seemed dangerous. After all, Ed-an had ended up like this just by carrying them!

Damn it. Tae-hyun made a sour face.

Whether he wanted to use the items or sell them, he had to lift the curse first. And to lift the curse, he had to go to The Exile! Tae-hyun had absolutely no desire to go there.

I don't want to go near the ocean for a while.

He had suffered so much at sea, and now he had a mountain of quests piled up. He had to clear the Archisus Church quests, deal with the provocations from the other churches, reinforce his territory in case the Guild Alliance acted up, and on top of that, manage his Archisus Authority and Carbanog Authority...

Actually, I don't really need to look for Carbanog's Authority right now. I should find the other things first.

Tae-hyun coolly pushed Carbanog's Authority down his priority list. In any case, The Exile was at the absolute bottom of his to-do list! Having made his decision, Tae-hyun spoke.

"Ed-an."

"...?"

"It suits you."

"...Pardon?"

"Right, Da-bi? Doesn't it suit him perfectly?"

"It... it really does!"

"...Master Tae-hyun. You're not saying this because you don't plan on lifting the curse, right...?"

"..."

"Master Tae-hyun!!"

"Well, I shall take my leave now."

"Goodbye. You did great work."

Tae-hyun shook hands with a satisfied-looking Smith, who was preparing to leave. In truth, a ranker like Smith was the one who benefited the most from this quest. He had cleanly hunted Gardu and gained experience, and while his other competitors were dragged off to some strange exile zone, he had luckily avoided that fate...

It would've been nice if he'd been dragged away too.

Unaware of what Tae-hyun was thinking, Smith tilted his head in confusion.

"I'm leaving now too."

"Go ahead. Who's stopping you?"

"But, you see..."

Evangeline stole glances at Tae-hyun.

"...?"

"Could I... maybe try it too?"

"..."

Tae-hyun didn't understand why everyone was so obsessed with the Goblin Universal Maker, but he didn't bother asking. He would just accept it and exploit it!

Slap.

Tae-hyun extended his hand. Evangeline took it and shook it. Was this the warm friendship of comrades who had overcome a grueling quest together? Just as a touch of emotion was about to swell...

"Wait, there's no way you'd do this out of the goodness of your heart. This is..."

"Yeah. It means pay up."

"..."

Having finished a major quest after a long time, Tae-hyun stepped out of his lodgings with a refreshed mind. He had received a call from his academic advisor.

Why did he call me?

"It's in danger."

"Pardon? What is?"

Professor Kim blurted out "It's in danger" the moment they met!

"Your college life."

"...Ah, right."

Since the conversation started so abruptly without any context, Tae-hyun nodded with a bewildered expression.

"You're still on a leave of absence, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And you were planning to extend your leave next year too, right?"

The year was drawing to a close, and the new year was only a few days away.

"I was."

Tae-hyun nodded. Next year would be a busy one. He had to form and lead his own gaming team, participate in tournaments... Naturally, a leave of absence was a given!

"You can't take a leave of absence next year."

"What?!"

"The regulations changed. There's now a limit on how long you can remain on leave."

"What kind of... Is a university allowed to torment an innocent student like this?!"

"...Are you innocent?"

"If I paid my tuition on time, I'm innocent!"

"Quiet. I didn't change the rules, so if you want to complain, go complain to the president... Hey, where are you going?"

"You told me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to go complain to the president. I'll be right back."

"Hey, hey! Are you crazy?!"

Professor Kim grabbed Tae-hyun's arm in a panic. This kid was absolutely crazy enough to actually do it. After about five minutes of desperate persuasion, Professor Kim finally managed to calm Tae-hyun down.

"So look, if we plan it out like this, this, and this... technology is so good these days that you can take most of your classes online. You don't even have to physically come to campus."

"But I still have to show up once a week, don't I?"

"Compromise on just one day! Are you really trying to complete your major entirely through online classes?!"

"From my perspective, virtual reality technology has been out for ages, so I don't understand why we're still obsessed with meeting face-to-face. Why not just hold lectures in Pan-On..."

Professor Kim stared at Tae-hyun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as if he were a madman. He knew the kid was a bit eccentric, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad.

"I know you're walking a path completely unrelated to your major, but as long as you're enrolled, you have to do at least this much, you rascal."

"Hmm... Isn't there some other system? Something to save an innocent student like me..."

"There isn't."

After agonizing over it, Tae-hyun ultimately had no choice but to accept reality. He would have to come to school once a week for the first period.

"Ughhh... Sob..."

"Is it really something to cry over?"

Half flustered and half dumbfounded, Professor Kim patted Tae-hyun on the shoulder.

"If I perform poorly in the tournament, I'm going to blame the school."

"D-Don't do that. Please."

Korea University was currently trying hard to build its brand image, and if Tae-hyun went around shouting "Korea University ruined me!!" after a tournament, it wouldn't look good for anyone.

"What department is that guy in?" → "Korean Language and Literature." → "Who's his advisor?" → "Oh, God, no!"

Professor Kim coaxed Tae-hyun. "Hey, you're talented, so you'll do great even while attending school. Ah, right, look at this. I saw you in this. It came out really well!"

It was a subject change so blatant that even a child wouldn't fall for it, but Professor Kim quickly pivoted. In his hand was a pictorial magazine featuring Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon.

"What's that?"

"Huh? What do you mean? It's the one you're in."

"I'm in it? Is it a gaming magazine about targeting boss weaknesses or something?"

"...It's a fashion magazine..."

"...??"

Looking at Tae-hyun's face, Professor Kim realized. This kid... he forgot about the advertisement he shot!

"Ah, that. Of course I knew. I've just been so busy and distracted that it slipped my mind."

It was obviously a lie, but Professor Kim let it slide. At least the subject had been successfully changed.

"Can I take a look?"

"Don't tell me you haven't even read it once... Fine, go ahead."

"Haha. Thanks."

Tae-hyun began to flip through the pages. Seeing himself all dressed up in a magazine was incredibly embarrassing.

How does Lee Se-yeon even get used to this?

"By the way, Tae-hyun."

"Yes, I'm listening," Tae-hyun replied as he scanned the pictorial.

Yuck.

The cringeworthy, cheesy captions made his skin crawl! Phrases like "perfect chemistry" were on the milder side. Tae-hyun flipped the pages rapidly with a disgusted look.

What 'chemistry'? Do they mean our chemistry in trying to kill each other?

No matter how much they needed to sell clothes, how could the media distort the truth so blatantly! Indignant, Tae-hyun pulled out his phone.

Time to leave a hate comment.

It was a thought that would have given the advertisers a heart attack!

Meanwhile, Professor Kim finished what he wanted to say. "When you return to school next year, make sure to show up for department events."

"Sure. Wait, what?"

"You definitely just said 'sure'!"

Tae-hyun looked up from the magazine. What was this out of the blue?

"Wait, why?!"