Has a Fateful Opportunity Rolled In?
Had a fateful opportunity come rolling in?
The professors' lounge.
One of the professors standing in front of the coffee machine casually broached the subject.
"About that contract professor they hired this time."
"Kang Hyun, you mean?"
"Yes. Did you see the course registration results?"
"I did."
His colleague let out a low chuckle.
"Three applicants. Didn't even fill the minimum quota, did he?"
"An obvious outcome. The course objective is 'how to become strong'… and the prerequisite is 'those prepared to die'… Even a full professor couldn't get away with writing something like that. You know what kids are like these days."
"Right? This is an academy, not some back-alley martial hall."
The two professors traded remarks for a while before turning their gazes toward Jin Myeong-hoon, who sat quietly on the sofa, scrolling through his tablet.
The only reason the conversation about the contract professor had come up at all was because he was present.
He had been the one who most fiercely opposed the appointment to the dean.
They were fishing for points.
"What does the Head Professor think? It turned out exactly as you feared, didn't it?"
Only then did Jin Myeong-hoon's finger stop on the screen.
He slowly lifted his head and spoke.
"Is that something worth gossiping about here?"
"…!"
"It was the result I expected. It will be handled according to regulations. Enough of this. Go prepare for your own classes."
"…My apologies."
Jin Myeong-hoon folded his tablet, rose from his seat, and left.
As he stepped out of the lounge, a faint, cold sneer brushed his lips.
You fool.
At the same time, he thought of Kang Hyun.
Even if you happen to have some skill, did you really think standing at a lectern would be that easy?
At that same moment.
"…What do we do?"
In the safe house, Lee Se-ah was sprawled out, half-drained of life.
Her face looked almost vacant.
The Director had specifically asked her!
Told her to assist him properly!
And the very first button had already gone catastrophically wrong!
"What do you mean, what do we do?"
In contrast, Kang Hyun was buried deep in the sofa, the picture of perfect nonchalance.
As always, a glass of whiskey rested in his hand.
Looking at him made her both thoroughly exasperated and, somehow, completely at ease.
Ah, to hell with it!
"No, not you, Mr. Kang Hyun."
"?"
Then who?
Kang Hyun furrowed his brow.
"Our country. What happens to our country now?"
"What kind of nonsense is that in the middle of the day?"
"The future looks bleak. They just kicked away the once-in-a-lifetime chance to receive your direct teachings? Haaa… our poor academy cadets."
"…"
"Still, those three were really lucky kids. Even if the class gets cancelled, you'll look after the three who trusted you and applied, right? Right?"
The corner of Kang Hyun's mouth twitched upward.
Chick.
She's gotten a lot bolder.
Even learned how to banter.
Well…
Kang Hyun was smiling on the outside, but inside he clicked his tongue.
To be honest, a cancelled class would cost him a great deal as well.
He needed to find seven vessels capable of handling the Chilyojin, and if the official channel for surveying students was cut off, that became far harder.
Even if a promising one appeared, it would be difficult to grab and train them without the pretext of a class.
"Hoo."
He exhaled a breath thick with liquor.
"If it really comes to that, I'll just hang an S-rank hunter license on myself. Then there'll be plenty of people wanting to learn, won't there?"
"Whaaat?"
In that instant, a pterodactyl-like scream burst from Lee Se-ah's mouth.
"Th-that won't do!"
"Why not?"
When Kang Hyun looked at her with genuine puzzlement, Lee Se-ah's words stuck in her throat.
Black's existence was South Korea's highest-level secret.
If he became an official S-rank hunter?
The fact that an Unmeasurable-class monster existed would be exposed to the entire world.
Of course some parts might be beneficial, but management would become far more intense.
We're not a hunter superpower, after all.
There was no telling what the great powers—America, China, Russia—might do to try to win him over.
And if that situation arose, the government would have no choice but to be even more at Kang Hyun's mercy.
How am I supposed to say any of this in front of the man himself?
Cold sweat beaded along Lee Se-ah's spine as she rolled her eyes, desperately trying to invent an excuse—when suddenly:
Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
Kang Hyun's phone vibrated briefly.
After checking the screen, his eyes narrowed with interest.
Seo Il-hyun, Dean: Professor Kang, if you have a moment, could you come by my office?
Kang Hyun tossed the phone down and drained the rest of his drink in one go.
"Have the car ready. I need to go."
A summons from the dean right when cancellation seemed certain.
Perhaps something that could turn this situation around was about to appear.
Knock knock.
"Come in."
When he opened the door to the dean's office, a white-haired old man—Seo Il-hyun—rose from his seat.
Over the past week, Kang Hyun had roughly investigated the dean as well.
Age seventy. S-rank hunter. Practitioner of the White Cloud Sword Technique.
As expected.
The moment he entered, he read the man's energy. It was clean, without excess—clear and deep.
Peak Realm level.
In Kang Hyun's mind, the ranks of this world and the realms of the Murim rapidly converted.
S-rank is Peak Realm, A-rank is First-rate, B-rank is Second-rate, C-rank is Third-rate.
It wasn't exact, but a rough calculation was enough.
What truly piqued Kang Hyun's interest, however, was the texture of the energy Seo Il-hyun radiated.
He cultivated the Cheongheo Mind Method?
There was no martial art Kang Hyun did not know.
Among that vast number, the Cheongheo Mind Method ranked quite high.
Reminds me of the old Taoist of the Qingcheng Sect.
It also suited the image of the gently smiling dean rather well.
"So why did you call for me?"
"Have a seat first."
Once he sat on the sofa, warm tea was already prepared on the table.
Slurp.
After he took a sip, Seo Il-hyun got to the point.
"The registration results were unfortunate. To be honest, much of the fault is mine. I was the one who established the Special Guidance Studies course in the first place."
"It couldn't be helped. It's fine."
"It may be fine for you, but it is not fine for me."
Seo Il-hyun wore a meaningful smile.
"Preventing a man of your caliber from teaching over something as trivial as insufficient enrollment—that is not merely a matter of my authority. It is a national loss, is it not?"
Kang Hyun tilted his head.
Even for a dean, violating regulations carried considerable risk.
Did he have some other clever plan?
"I have a proposal."
"Please go ahead."
"There are cadets soon to face expulsion review."
Seo Il-hyun rested his clasped hands on the table.
"Abysmal grades, frequent incidents—the reasons vary, but in the end they fall short of the academy's standards. The professors have already given up on them. After all, applicants wanting to enter this place are everywhere."
Ah.
He's going to put them into my class?
Was there any real reason to bother?
If they already fell short of the standards, taking one more class wouldn't change anything.
"Ordinarily they would be expelled as is… but there is a regulation that allows them to be saved if they achieve a certain result in the midterm evaluation—that is, the sparring tournament—one month from now."
Seo Il-hyun's eyes fixed straight on Kang Hyun.
"By the dean's authority, I will place those children under you. Will you take them?"
There was no need for the word "favor."
What better mission could there be for establishing a foothold in the academy?
And above all—
He had already decided to live as a professor.
"You're showing me goodwill."
"Because you are worth it. Did you not already save one of our students?"
"…"
Kang Hyun looked at the dean.
The mild yet upright energy of the old man seated before him brushed against his skin once more.
The old Taoist of the Qingcheng Sect he had met in the Murim.
He had thought only the texture of their cultivated arts was similar, yet even the temperament of walking the righteous path without hiding one's true intentions was identical.
At this rate, he will achieve considerable accomplishments in the future as well.
Just as Kang Hyun felt a spark of interest, Seo Il-hyun waved a hand and continued.
"And do not think of this as pure goodwill. As I said earlier, I am also unloading some rather troublesome, headache-inducing brats onto you."
At that frank attitude, the corner of Kang Hyun's mouth curled slightly.
"Well, fine."
Kang Hyun rose slowly from the sofa.
He had already resolved to live as a professor here and search for vessels.
Since the dean had laid the board so carefully and offered goodwill first, it was only proper that Kang Hyun respond in kind.
"How far have you cultivated the Cheongheo Mind Method?"
"…!"
In that instant, Seo Il-hyun's hand, reaching for his teacup, froze in midair.
"W-what did you just say?"
His voice trembled faintly.
Cheongheo Mind Method.
That was the true name of the secret manual Seo Il-hyun had obtained by chance through a fateful opportunity.
The root of a martial art he had never spoken of to a single soul in the entire Republic of Korea—known only to himself.
And yet the man he had only just met uttered that name without the slightest hesitation.
Kang Hyun continued indifferently, watching Seo Il-hyun's stunned reaction.
"Your energy is clear, but the return path is slightly twisted. You are probably stuck at the Triple Gate."
"H-how could you possibly…!"
"Doesn't the energy cut off once at the Seventh Meridian?"
Thud!
Seo Il-hyun's heart pounded violently.
Exact.
The very point that had blocked him for years.
Kang Hyun turned toward the door and continued.
"Do not force it upward from there. The Cheongheo Mind Method is not a martial art that walks the tyrannical path in that manner. At the blocked point, abandon the breath and settle it down into the dantian."
"S-settle it down…?"
"Yes. Circulate it three times, then empty it once. It will open."
Creak, click!
Having finished speaking, Kang Hyun left the dean's office without a shred of lingering attachment.
Even long after the door closed, a heavy silence filled the room.
"…"
Seo Il-hyun stood rooted in place, unable to move.
The martial learning he had built over more than a decade of devotion.
Had this man seen through it simply by looking with his eyes?
Circulate three times, empty once.
Instinctively, Seo Il-hyun moved the energy in his dantian exactly as Kang Hyun had instructed.
Sssss…
"Ahh…"
The point that had always cut off now flowed as smoothly as melting snow.
I thought he was merely a monster…
Had a true fateful opportunity… rolled into the Academy?
"What happened?"
Lee Se-ah, who had been fretting and stamping her feet outside the door, latched onto him the instant he appeared.
"About what?"
"The class! What did the dean say? Is cancellation confirmed?"
"No."
"Then?"
"He's filling the seats with his authority."
"Whaaat?"
Lee Se-ah's eyes bulged as if they might pop out.
Was that even possible?
Even a dean couldn't just strip students of the freedom to take the classes they wanted.
"He's scraping together the ones on the verge of expulsion and dumping them in. Told me to take them."
"Isn't that just dumping the leftovers on you?"
"Don't know. Let's go home. Get the drinks ready."
"Yes, sir!"
During the car ride, Kang Hyun drank and cooled the residual heat of his energy.
And so, when they arrived back at the safe house—
Ding!
A cheerful notification tone rang from the professor-exclusive tablet.
Because he was terrible with electronic devices, Lee Se-ah managed the work tablet entirely.
"Huh? Just a second."
She reflexively turned on the screen, tapped the notification window, then jerked her head up.
"Mr. Kang Hyun! The student roster—it's already here?"
"Already?"