This Time, I'll Live My Own Life
A premium Korean beef restaurant in Jongno-gu.
The sizzle of meat cooking on the grill mixed with the ring of raised glasses as a toast filled the room.
"To the lucky charm of our Special Ops Team! Here's to Agent Lee's safe return! Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Se-ah, you're a real treasure to this team!"
Under the barrage of her seniors' enthusiastic cheers and praise, Lee Se-ah awkwardly smiled and clinked her glass.
For a rookie barely thrown into the field, the results she had delivered were almost unbelievable.
Leviathan's corpse processed and disposed of.
A first-rate martial arts manual secured.
And on top of that, she had even managed to plant Black inside the Academy.
"Hey, how the hell did you even get close to that Black… ugh!"
Manager Kim shuddered mid-chew, meat still in his mouth.
"Remember Deputy Park from before? He got near the house and got launched into the air before he could even grab the doorknob."
"Aigoo, Senior! I still went back stubbornly and at least saw his face. Man, it was terrifying. I thought I was going to get torn apart right there. Honestly, those eyes… they're scary as hell. They say he just waved a hand and blew Leviathan apart… who's to say that hand wouldn't turn my skull into the next target?"
"He's a time bomb that could go off any second. That's exactly why our Agent Se-ah is so damn impressive!"
The seniors poured out their fear and gossip about Black like it was free side dishes.
Of course it was natural for them to be afraid of Black.
…But he's not that bad.
Lee Se-ah clenched both hands tightly under the table.
The Black she had seen was different.
A man who, even while suffering agony so intense it melted the furniture around him, still shoved them away so they wouldn't get hurt.
A man who, even under misunderstanding, refused to turn his back on a dying student.
A man who could casually toss over a martial arts manual and express gratitude in his own blunt way.
Seniors, what do you even know about him!
Just as Lee Se-ah parted her lips to defend Black—
Bzzzt! Bzzzzt!
The phone she had left on the table rang loudly.
Director Kim Hyung-seok
"Ah—sorry! It's the Director."
She scrambled out of her seat and bolted outside the restaurant to take the call.
"Lee Se-ah speaking."
"Ah, Agent Lee. You're at the dinner, right?"
"Yes, sir! The seniors threw a welcome party for me."
"They should. Thanks to you taking full charge of that walking bomb, the Special Ops guys can finally sleep with both legs stretched out. Looking at the whole Bureau, your contribution is huge. Enjoy yourself."
"Thank you, Director!"
"Ahem. Anyway—course registration for the Academy semester starts in a week, correct?"
"Yes, that's right."
The National Hunter Academy's education system worked like a university's free elective system.
From weapons—swords, spears, bows—to qi arts, medicine, formations, and more.
Students picked whatever they wanted from dozens of major lectures.
Naturally, classes under famous professors filled up within seconds of registration opening.
"Still, this is Black's first class. I want you supporting him from the side and doing a solid job promoting Special Guidance."
"Understood, sir."
Lee Se-ah was worried too.
Would any cadets actually sign up for a weekend special lecture run by some unknown contract professor?
What am I going to do…
She was already sighing.
Should she post flyers on the Academy bulletin boards? Or personally contact promising students one by one?
"And, Agent Lee."
The Director's voice dropped, heavier and far more serious.
"The real reason I called is this. Inside the Academy, no matter what happens, you must never let him cause an incident."
Lee Se-ah swallowed dryly without meaning to.
"The qi deviation mess last time only got buried because the Headmaster barely managed to cover it. Imagine if Black had lost it and taken Professor Jin Myeong-hoon's head. We wouldn't have been able to clean that up. You understand?"
"I'll cover for him even if I have to throw my own body in the way."
"Never forget that you are currently carrying the most important and weightiest mission in the entire Republic of Korea. That's all."
Beep. Beep.
The call ended. Lee Se-ah stared blankly down at her phone screen.
Only now did it truly sink in.
Exactly who she was responsible for looking after.
"Hoo…"
The alcohol burned off in an instant.
Given Black's personality… if no students signed up, there was no telling what kind of disaster he might cause next!
Slap! Slap!
Lee Se-ah smacked both cheeks hard with her palms, pumping herself up.
Alright!
Fine. Let's do this!
At that same moment.
Kang Hyun sat on the sofa, wetting his throat with whiskey poured over rocks, lost in thought.
The Demon God, Asura.
Where was that bastard now?
In Murim it had taken over twenty years. Would it be the same this time?
He couldn't guarantee it.
The thing might show up as early as tomorrow.
If that happens, even if the sky splits in two I won't be able to stop it.
"Kh…!"
As the thoughts chained together, the area around his dantian throbbed as if it were on fire.
The deadly poison Asura had planted right before dying.
To unfold Cheonsingyeong, he first had to drive that poison out somehow—and it was not easy.
I'll probably need at least a three-star Suyojin.
The seven old men had each cast a different array.
Seven arrays governing yin-yang and the five elements.
Only when those arrays meshed and turned in perfect harmony would the Chilyojin—the Seven Star Array—be complete, and only then could Cheonsingyeong be activated.
Bzzzt.
His phone on the table vibrated once, short and sharp.
He picked it up and checked. A message had arrived.
A syllabus?
What the hell was that?
Thud.
Kang Hyun tossed the phone carelessly back onto the table.
Honestly, he couldn't care less about students.
He wasn't going in because he sincerely wanted to teach anyone in the first place.
I only have one goal.
To find seven vessels capable of bearing the Chilyojin.
To prepare for the Asura that would come for him.
He planned to walk the Academy grounds and thoroughly scan every cadet's bone structure and constitution first.
And if the Academy didn't have a single usable one?
Then he would dig through other national academies or guilds until he found them.
But the truth was, constitution mattered less than the will of the one who wanted to learn.
What good was it even if someone was a once-in-a-millennium prodigy born with heaven-sent talent and bones?
You couldn't do a damn thing with someone who refused to put in effort or had no drive.
I wonder if anyone out there has that kind of venom in them.
Gulp.
The harsh liquor slid down his throat.
I'll know once I open the lid and look.
Becoming a professor turned out to be far more bothersome and full of chores than expected.
"What is all this?"
"That's your Academy access card. Just tap it on the terminal at the front gate and the doors will open."
"…And this?"
"A tablet linked to the electronic approval system. You'll use this to check student documents and academic schedules."
"…"
Every time he saw things like this, Kang Hyun was freshly astonished.
Strange inventions that looked like someone had cast an illusion array in midair were just everyday objects here.
Even in the thirteen-year-old memories he still retained, phones had existed.
They had been flip phones where you had to mash buttons to send a text, but still.
"Okay, now look at the camera lens here!"
On top of that came fingerprint registration, facial recognition, and a whole string of complicated procedures.
It was annoying, but he went along with it anyway.
This was also part of adapting to society—and he felt a little grateful watching Lee Se-ah sweat buckets while double-checking everything for him.
"Kang Hyun-nim. You need to write down the lecture objective."
"Just scribble something rough and submit it."
"How can you say that? This is where the elite of South Korea gather. Without a proper syllabus, no one will even register."
"Then don't. Their loss, isn't it?"
"Uh…"
She couldn't exactly argue.
Academy professors were only A-rank hunters at best, while the Black standing in front of her was a monster who sat above even S-rank.
"E-even so, the students don't know that. If we don't hit the minimum enrollment, the class gets canceled."
"Hm."
Kang Hyun drained the remaining half of the whiskey in his rocks glass in one go.
To be honest, the feeling was strange.
Is she… worrying about me?
It felt unfamiliar.
The seven old men who had taught him had been too busy beating him, and everyone he met while wandering the martial world had either hated or despised him.
Even after coming to this place, not much had changed.
The eyes of the government types who came knocking always held fear.
That little chick was the same at first.
A greenhorn who had trembled like a leaf and couldn't even breathe properly.
That same kid was now fretting herself sick over the possibility that he might embarrass himself at the Academy.
"How to get stronger."
"Pardon?"
"The objective. You said write it. Write 'How to get stronger.'"
Back in Murim, Kang Hyun had always wanted to return.
He had wanted to go back and live an ordinary life.
So what exactly was "ordinary"?
Kang Hyun's gaze drifted to Lee Se-ah, who was hugging the tablet and fidgeting in place.
Maybe it was something very small.
Listening to the advice of someone who worried about you.
In a situation like this, simply going along with what this greenhorn said might be the most ordinary choice of all.
Yeah.
Since he had become a professor by pure accident anyway…
Starting this second life on Earth by properly imitating the role of a professor didn't sound so bad.
Kang Hyun set the empty glass down on the table and asked himself.
He had thrown away an entire lifetime to save Murim.
He had been beaten like an animal until his bones shattered and he coughed blood.
So did he have to throw away this remaining life—miraculously returned to him—all over again just to stop Asura once more?
I don't want that.
He was sick of it.
This time, I'll live my own life too.
In this peaceful Earth he would drink good liquor, enjoy everyday life like a human being, and still willingly stop the Demon God when the time came.
That was the way of living Kang Hyun had chosen for his second life.
"Kang Hyun-nim? 'How to get stronger'… What else should I write after that? Surely those five words aren't the whole thing?"
The corner of Kang Hyun's mouth curled up faintly.
For a Murim man, that was plenty. Why write more?
"Add a condition too."
"A condition?"
"Yeah."
The lazy look in Kang Hyun's eyes flashed sharp for an instant.
"Those prepared to die."
"Pardon?"
"Only people who won't piss themselves and run when facing real death should apply."
Lee Se-ah's fingers froze over the tablet.
"…The wording feels a little too extreme…"
"Write it exactly like that."
Kang Hyun drove the nail in without room for argument.
"Anyone without at least that much venom won't last a single day in my class anyway."
A few days later. The night of the Academy course registration deadline.
Alone in the Special Ops Team office, Lee Se-ah clutched the mouse with a trembling hand, nerves frayed raw.
Please, please just the minimum number…!
The National Academy's special lecture minimum enrollment was five students.
Anything under that and the class was mercilessly canceled.
If cancellation made Black snap and he went on a rampage…?
Just imagining it sent a chill down her spine. The second the clock hit midnight she started hammering the refresh button like a madwoman.
The screen flashed, and the final registration results appeared on the monitor.
Course Name:Special Guidance
Instructor:Kang Hyun
Capacity:50
Final Enrollment:3
Clack.
The ballpoint pen slipped from Lee Se-ah's limp fingers and hit the floor.
Under the five-person minimum.
In other words—cancellation confirmed.
"I-I'm finished."