Episode 19: Do you have a boyfriend?
Episode 19: Do you have a boyfriend?
'Yesterday was truly incredible.'
Yoo A-ra shuddered as she recalled Kim Si-woo's tutoring session from yesterday.
It wasn't even a day she was scheduled for a lesson.
But she didn't want to send him away just like that, so she told him to eat some ramen before leaving, and because of that, she got swept up in the atmosphere and even received a Mana Circulation lesson.
"He wouldn't misunderstand, would he?"
Telling him to eat ramen before leaving.
It was a classic flirting line from back in the day.
What was she thinking when she said that?
Even now, she couldn't understand it.
She could have just sent him home.
'No, that's not right.'
If Kim Si-woo had just left, she wouldn't have felt that pleasure yesterday.
"Pleasure, huh... Get a grip, Yoo A-ra. That was just part of the lesson."
Yoo A-ra shook her head vigorously to shake off the stray thoughts.
Right. It's just one of those common lessons.
It's nothing special.
Even though she was essentially offering her bare skin to Kim Si-woo while undressed, there were no personal feelings involved.
There had to be none.
If there were, what she and Kim Si-woo were doing wouldn't be a lesson, but a lewd act.
"Phew, let's calm down."
Focus only on getting stronger.
Don't think about anything else.
Just pass the exam safely, graduate, and succeed.
The future of her family rests on her shoulders.
To succeed safely for the sake of the family who sacrificed for her.
That was Yoo A-ra's goal.
Just as she was trying hard to ignore the ticklish sensation between her legs.
"G-good morning..."
Lee Hye-ri arrived.
Unlike usual, she sat down with a somewhat flushed face.
Usually, Lee Hye-ri would sit right next to her, but today was different.
Lee Hye-ri sat one seat away.
'Why is she acting like that?'
She was frantically organizing her bag without even making eye contact with Yoo A-ra.
"What are you doing?"
"H-huh?"
"Why are you sitting there? Come here like usual. It makes things feel awkward for no reason."
"Ah, i-is that so?"
It was strange how Lee Hye-ri was stuttering without being able to meet her eyes.
"Are you sick?"
"N-no, it's not that... No. I think I am a bit sick. I have a bit of a fever. I don't want to get you sick, so let's sit a bit apart."
An Awakened with a cold.
If it's a cold caught by an Awakened, who is several times sturdier than an ordinary person, it must be a nasty one.
Then it makes sense why she's acting so strange all of a sudden.
"Got it."
As she was preparing for class, she felt a gaze on her.
When she turned her head, she made eye contact with Lee Hye-ri.
It was suspicious how she hurriedly turned her head away as soon as they made eye contact.
Lee Hye-ri's intentions were obvious.
"I won't tell you."
"H-huh? W-what?"
"I'm never going to tell you my secret method."
She couldn't let Si-woo ssaem be stolen by another woman.
She wanted him to be her own little Si-woo ssaem.
Because if the number of students he was in charge of increased, the quality of the lessons would drop.
It came out a bit weirdly, but she absolutely, definitely did not see Si-woo ssaem as a lover.
She hadn't even thought about dating while attending the Academy.
Of course, if Si-woo ssaem were to make a move on her, she didn't think she could refuse.
"Th-th-the secret method, you mean. Ha, haha. Y-yeah... That's right. Yeah. It would be hard to tell you."
Lee Hye-ri, who had been hesitating, rolled her eyes for a moment before leaning in and asking.
"A-ra-ya, do you happen to have a boyfriend?"
"A boyfriend?"
"Yeah."
"No? I don't?"
Why is she acting like that?
Why is she suddenly asking about a boyfriend?
"Y-you don't have a boyfriend?"
She looked genuinely surprised.
It was the face of someone who was certain that she had a boyfriend.
"Yeah. Where would a repeater find a guy to date?"
"No way. A-ra, you got 2nd place in the regular exam this time, and you're super pretty, and your body is really great too. There's no way you don't have a boyfriend."
"I appreciate the compliment, but I really don't."
"Really?"
"Yeah. But why are you suddenly asking that?"
"It's nothing. Just, I was suddenly curious."
Yoo A-ra heard Lee Hye-ri muttering to herself, wondering if she really didn't have a boyfriend.
Why is she really like this?
Usually, this would be the time she'd be clinging to her, asking to be taught the secret method, but there was no sign of that.
Is she that sick?
It was a relief that she wasn't pestering her persistently.
It didn't matter either way.
The current Yoo A-ra could forgive Lee Hye-ri even if she was a bit annoying.
After signing the additional tutoring contract with Kim Si-woo, the burden regarding the tutoring lessons was gone.
Now that she thought about it, today was the day of the lesson.
She was looking forward to Kim Si-woo's lesson more than the Academy's classes.
When she recalled the sense of relief she felt when she entrusted her body to him and the sensation of mana filling her Dantian in her lower abdomen, she felt herself heating up.
"Oh no..."
She had thought about Kim Si-woo for a moment, and because of that, she got wet down there.
Because she remembered what she did with him.
She shouldn't be like this.
Calm down. Calm down.
She focused on taking deep breaths.
Because she was so focused, she didn't notice that Lee Hye-ri was looking at her with burning eyes.
Professor Park Ji-yoon was checking reference materials for her Urban Combat Instruction lecture after finishing her class today.
Among the countless papers and videos, the material that was still the most helpful was.
-Urban Combat Basics A-Z.
-Author: Shadow Mask.
It was a book by Shadow Mask, whose qualifications had now been revoked due to hunter crimes.
"It really is made so easily to understand."
It was a book written so that not only professors but also fresh graduates just starting their hunter careers could easily understand it.
Shadow Mask, who was a former valedictorian of the Academy, had packed all his information into the book, from his know-how to the experiences he had gone through and the conclusions he had reached in the process.
-Jungle Combat Basics A-Z.
-Desert Dungeon Basics A-Z.
-Dungeon Clearing Basics A-Z.
.......
The countless books he left behind.
These books, known as the 'A-Z Series', provided hunters with various information step-by-step, from basic to beginner, intermediate, and even advanced levels.
Shadow Mask's books could definitely be called the best among the books related to combat instruction currently used at the Academy.
Urban, jungle, desert-type dungeons, etc.
Shadow Mask was someone who had traveled to and cleared various dungeons.
They said he was a hunter who didn't have any active skills.
To graduate as valedictorian without active skills, she wondered if that made any sense, but.
She thought it was a record only possible because he was someone who was so diligent in analysis that he could create books like this.
Thanks to these books by Shadow Mask, it could be said that hunters' combat techniques had developed by at least one level.
"Even if the big shots don't acknowledge it."
One of the most promising prospects in the history of Korean hunters who stood in opposition to Daesung.
Even if his combat power was a bit weak, it was clear that the various lectures he possessed would be of great help in nurturing future students.
However, it was such a shame.
-Korea Hunter Academy record breaker, valedictorian Shadow Mask, indicted for hunting fellow hunters inside a dungeon.
He had committed the tragedy of killing fellow hunters in a dungeon.
"Phew."
It's a shame that more books couldn't be published because his hunter qualifications were revoked, but the various manuals he left behind were still helpful.
Starting with Shadow Mask, various books began to appear that approached combat instruction with new perspectives.
Various clearing methods and lecture manuals created by authors whose identities were not revealed continued to appear.
Of course, the Academy was blocking them from being used because the authors were unknown, but Park Ji-yoon knew.
That the books written by this nameless hunter were groundbreaking.
From the novelty of using stronger cold instead of heat to deal with Ice Golems, to the content of absorbing the heat of the desert and using that power in combat to reduce power loss.
It was such a great clearing method that even she, a professor, was impressed.
"The Hunter Association is still conservative, too."
Now, both the Gates and the hunter society have entered a stable period.
Everyone fears change.
Perhaps it's because of the past, where there were no established laws and things moved almost by anarchy and the principle of power.
They wanted the current order not to be broken.
Park Ji-yoon knew that change wasn't always the right answer, but she believed that clearing methods, at least, shouldn't become rigid.
That's why this nameless scholar's writing caught her eye more.
"It's a shame. Really a shame."
She let out a deep sigh.
"I really don't know where he is, but if I find him, I really want to meet him."
Just then, Yoo A-ra entered.
"Excuse me, Professor. I heard you called for me."
"Ah, you're here?"
She was the student who had shown the most change in this exam.
From a repeater to 2nd place in the 1st exam.
It was a dramatic change.
If she hadn't seen it herself, she wouldn't have believed it.
And rightly so, because it was extremely rare for someone to grow like this at the Academy.
The Academy's grading classification was that accurate. Sometimes there were cases where people became stronger by undergoing additional awakening, but such a rapid change was impossible.
10 years since the Academy was founded.
This was the first time someone had grown this much from being a repeater.
That's why she was curious.
Who the teacher was that made Yoo A-ra like this.
"I didn't call you here to scout you as a graduate student, so don't worry."
"Ah, yes..."
Yoo A-ra sat opposite her.
"First of all, congratulations. You've become the top priority for a scholarship. Originally, the 1st place scholarship should have gone to Lee Hye-ri, but she refused the 1st place scholarship, so you'll be receiving it, A-ra."
"Hye-ri refused the scholarship?"
"She said she was 2nd place, so she would receive the 2nd place scholarship."
"Ah..."
Yoo A-ra clenched her fists tightly.
Whether or not she cared, Professor Park Ji-yoon continued.
"Of course, if your 2nd exam results are bad, you might be dropped from the scholarship consideration. So I hope you maintain your current grades well."
"Yes, Professor."
"And A-ra."
This was the main point.
"Who else have you been learning from besides the Academy?"
"Yes? What do you mean by that?"
"Who is it?"
"Yes?"
"Who is the person teaching you? I'm not interrogating you. It's because of pure curiosity as a scholar. I'm curious how they made you grow in such a short period of time."
"Uh, that is..."
"The Academy doesn't stop private education. Rather, we encourage it. If you can become stronger that way, then one more strong hunter for humanity is born."
Yoo A-ra bit her lip, then jumped up.
"I-I'm sorry!!!"
She left the research lab as if running away.
However, Park Ji-yoon didn't bother to stop her.
"Looks like she doesn't want to reveal it."
She knew that feeling well.
That desire to keep it all to oneself.
How could she not know?
If it were her, she would have done the same.
Because it must be the person who changed her fate as a repeater.
It must be even more special.
"Doesn't look like she'll tell me easily."
Professor Park Ji-yoon, the professor of 'Urban Combat Instruction' and the homeroom teacher of Class D, muttered while looking at the empty seat where Yoo A-ra had been.
"Looks like I'll have to build up some rapport."
"Someone was definitely watching."
The curious gaze that was looking at the room.
Who on earth was it?
They were a master capable of killing their own presence.
Even though I was focused on Yoo A-ra's lesson, I hadn't noticed them until they looked at me.
If they had been an enemy.
My head would have definitely been blown off.
"This is annoying."
It was a gaze without malice, but I was angry at the feeling that I had been caught off guard.
"Have I been away from the field for too long?"
I've gone soft.
"I can't face my students like this."
Basically, the hunter world was survival of the fittest.
A world where if you're weak, you get eaten, and if you're strong, you eat.
Yoo A-ra's physical ability wasn't that high, so it didn't matter, but I couldn't assume that every student I would teach in the future would be a magic-type like Yoo A-ra.
Therefore.
"I need to train, too."
Appraiser work and tutoring.
If I started training, I couldn't handle both jobs.
I couldn't give up tutoring.
"Team Leader!"
I shouted toward the appraiser team leader, who was resting her chin on her hand with a gentle face.
"I'm quitting! I'm handing in my resignation!"