Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Student Dean's Demerits
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html, body { margin:0; padding:0; } Teacher
"Classical music? Not even pussy, why learn that crap?"
"Ah, ahh, Beethoven..."
"Shut up and die."
American Lee's shotgun roared.
The music teacher's head exploded, successfully eliminating the final test subject.
"Back to the bulletin board!"
The board they returned to was glitching, its text corrupted.
[GRADUATEGRADUATEGRADUATEGRADUATE]
[DONTDONTDONTDONT]
[TEST SUBJECT: NONEXISTENTNONEXISTENTNONEXISTENT]
[WEALLLIVETOGETHERHERE]
[SCHOOLIS HOME CRADLE START OF LIFE NEST]
"Its newborn state means high growth potential, but also high destructibility."
"The glitches confirm it's far from normal."
『Things are starting to click, huh?』
Someone emerged behind the group.
"You brats still haven't taken it down?"
"Master...?"
"That's right, your master."
"No way! Why the sudden rejuvenation!?"
"Kehkeh! Enlightenment, what else?"
The veteran agents well-versed in wuxia novels cheered for Kim Go-dok.
"Did you undergo Marrow Cleansing and Bone Transformation!?"
"No, you fool! It's Return to Youth! Marrow Cleansing reverts the body to its prime!"
"Why use 'child' in Return to Youth? It's because he became a kid! Just getting younger is Marrow Cleansing!"
"Right! Agent Go-dok's prime was early fifties, so he looks just right!"
"Both are correct, so quit arguing. A bit of Marrow Cleansing, a touch of Return to Youth."
Having handled the outside, he joined the main building and was shocked to see Kim Mi-ri.
"Whoa! You've grown stronger than me!"
"Hehe, just happened that way."
"You're fully ripe. Your aura pierces the heavens, ready to burst! But your mental enlightenment lags, so your mind and qi haven't unified. Keep at it."
"I-is that so?"
"But in time, enlightenment will come. Obsess, and it flees—ignore it, focus on cultivation."
"Yes, sir!"
Then, the building's layout shifted.
In the blink of an eye, stairs vanished, leaving a straight corridor.
"It's blatantly luring us, right?"
"Seems so. Can't do anything without following, so let's go."
They advanced down the hall. Opening the steel door at the end revealed the gymnasium.
"......Ugh."
Crunch-! Grind-!
The sound of something chewing bones.
They faced a massive bulk in the gym's center, devouring something.
'Entity?'
The hulking man's arm bore a yellow badge reading 'Student Affairs Director.' As the agents arrived, it finished eating and wiped its mouth.
『Whew, not as good as students, but teachers are tasty enough. Power surging.』
The foe towered over 2 meters, dressed in a teacher's shirt.
But its mouth was torn grotesquely, revealing fangs like sharp canines.
『Anyway, you lot—what are you doing out of class? Delinquents.』
That guy's the one from the broadcast.
The Student Dean approached slowly. His iron hockey stick gleamed.
『Time for corporal punishment. First, beat you into pulp with this stick, then...』
"Make America Great Again."
The hockey stick's barrel flashed. American Lee, firing his shotgun, clicked his tongue.
『Doesn't work, huh.』
『......It's you?』
『The source is so fucking huge and tough?』
『The one smoking in the gym?』
『Gonna need a Scud missile for this bastard.』
The Student Dean's eyes turned blood-red.
『This trash dares smoke in our sacred school!?』
『Well, got your attention?』
In that moment, Kim Mi-ri had assumed position, palm extended.
A blinding blue flash unleashed a ferocious gale, swallowing the Student Dean.
So powerful it shattered the gym walls, exposing the outside, extending to the skies overhead.
"During my unification of the Central Plains, I learned this: don't hold back aces. Hoard them, and they rot."
Regrettably, the palm strike failed to breach the outer barrier, dissipating in the air.
"And ambushes are always right."
"......Disciple, what's with the speech? You're no old soul."
"Ahh! Sorry, slipped out! Got too immersed!"
"Well, you're strong. Pure inner power surpasses mine. But still green."
Kim Go-dok raised his guard.
"Celebrating before the enemy's down? Useless."
From the hazy dust, the Student Dean cracked his neck and appeared.
With each word, its form warped.
Its body doubled in size.
Arms tripled to three pairs.
Eyes multiplied to six.
Its abdomen split into a massive maw.
"What a scary punishment."
The agents drew weapons. Kim Go-dok posed, Kim Mi-ri followed, American Lee chambered his shotgun from cover.
"At least it's not a gimmick entity."
"Agreed."
The shotgun blazed.
『You know your stuff.』
『Collection complete. Extracted, organized, and outputting ghost story-related SNS, texts, and calls.』
"Thanks. No need to go slow—make it quick."
『Understood.』
Sarang's gathered intel flooded the screen at blinding speed.
Even dynamic vision boosted by "Dried Friendship" could barely track it—reading was impossible.
『Done.』
"Thanks."
『Then, stay safe...』
Sarang powered down. He stored it in the Void Pocket and pulled out something else.
"Time to check the intel."
He gripped a snippet of "Notebook in My Head."
What he wanted: 「Info on the ghost stories Sarang showed.」 The whirlwind data etched into his brain as memory.
Not sequential—bulk imprint. He knew it all instantly, pinpointing what he needed.
[Remember the ghost story club? President was super handsome.]
[Yeah, wanted to join but never did.]
[Ghost story club made school ghost stories trend all three years.]
[Right, nothing but ghost tales. Fun then, weird now. Too obsessive?]
[Yeah, three years straight?]
[Asked juniors—after we graduated, ghost stories vanished.]
Chats from nameless alumni reminiscing.
[The story that senior told was weird and boring.]
[Really? Heard he only founded the club, didn't make stories.]
[Nope, first day.]
[What story?]
The ghost story he allegedly made.
[Model student about to graduate at our school. Frail, lived in nurse's office. Still studied hard. Teachers loved him, visited to tutor.]
The nurse's office he'd dismissed as empty.
[His sole hobby: crafting ghost stories. Loved hearing and making them. One day, collapses again, realizes on deathbed—dogs sense their end, so did he.]
Protagonist: obedient model student.
[No nurse that day, vomits blood and dies. Thinks: want to haunt school forever, haven't graduated, can't end like this.]
[Then?]
[That's it. Lame 'ghost story.' Only one by that guy who founded the club—what's his name? Forgot.]
[Boring. No talent, just listened.]
The tale ended bleakly, like true tragedy, not fiction.
"If the No-Name's ghost story is top intel quality?"
Hobby ghost-making; post-entity, it 'creates' real ones. One entity spawning multiples—prime specimen.
"Target: model student."
Obeys teachers.
"So Dr. Janus appeared in nurse's office to pose as nurse, taming it?"
Fool it as teacher; model student likely complies.
"Ghosts warp the longer they linger."
Time erodes obedience due to grudge over ungraduated death—fits perfectly.
"Maybe not, but only counter I see."
He exited to the hall, entered "Mechanics Repair Club"—likely had what he needed.
"Found it."
Junk everywhere; he picked a decent plastic rod.
"Good."
From floor trash, black insulation tape—plenty left. Wrapped it around the rod as antenna.
"To play teacher, need the rod of love."
『Hey! I heard! School ghost story boss is a student!』
Amid the frenzy, Shin Young-moon shouted.
"What?"
"What'd you say?"
"What is it?"
"What's that?"
Agents dashed wildly. Impossible to look away from the Student Dean—now twenty whip-arms, two faces, breathing fire.
『Rowdiness: +50 points.』
『Advice from my shadows! School ghost story boss is a student!』
"Hmm, so the ghost story master here is a student?"
"Not distorted—real student boss? All we've fought are derivatives; student entity births them!"
"Does that give a counter?"
Kim Mi-ri spoke.
"All students fear teachers. Only fearless ones drop out or skip school. Especially back when school ghosts trended."
Another agent backed her.
"Definitely old-school vibe. Teacher authority was ironclad—kids obeyed."
"So pretend to be teacher for that monster? I'll do it."
Kim Go-dok stepped up.
"Hey! Student Dean! Forgot to mention—I'm the new vice principal!"
The entity froze.
'It works?'
As hope rose, it bellowed.
Attacks sped 1.5x.
"Damn! No dice!"
"Detects lies?"
"That's anomaly territory."
"Entity ability, so peculiarity. Some sense truth—knew master wasn't teacher!"
An agent raised hand.
"I have teaching certification!"
"Please!"
"Got it!"
The agent advanced.
"New teacher at Deokcheon High!"
『......』
Longer silence.
『Not a true teacher.』
"Pardon?"
『No teacher doubts their own role! Impersonation: 500 points!!!』
Bulk doubled. Gym collapsed. Agents evacuated to field beforehand.
『Imposter! Imposter! Imposter! Punishment!』
"We're screwed!"
Even Kim Go-dok's enhanced arts.
Kim Mi-ri's matured techniques.
American Lee's source shots.
All futile.
"This chaos..."
Then, Lee Seung-hoon strolled onto the field, hands behind back.
『Student!? Skipping class!』
He greeted the meaty blob Student Dean.
"Hello? Lee Seung-hoon here."
Holding a rod wrapped in black tape.
"Just your average teacher."