Advisor Assignment (2)
I greeted her back. "Hello, Yoo Hee-won."
Yoo Hee-won stood right in front of me, tilting her head up like a cat and looking straight into my eyes. "Your complexion looks especially good today, Professor."
"Does it? It must be because the weather's getting warmer."
"When are you going to give me that consultation?"
Yoo Hee-won kept smiling as she drove the question straight at me without hesitation.
"When would be good for you? And what exactly is this about?"
"Just... this and that."
"Hmm. Well, my schedule's completely packed today. How about tomorrow or the day after?"
"Today."
"No, I told you today won't work. And stop blocking the entrance."
I gently pushed Yoo Hee-won's shoulder to the side. Because she had been standing in the doorway, the other students couldn't enter the classroom and were stuck waiting out in the hallway. But since they already knew about her background and abilities, none of them dared say a word to her. They just kept glancing at each other nervously.
It hadn't even been a full month since the start of the school year, but the power structure was already clear. By now, there were definitely some quick-witted little factions lining up behind Yoo Hee-won. This year's freshman class would probably revolve around them and cause all sorts of trouble and chaos.
Sure enough, the moment Yoo Hee-won stepped aside, several other students quickly slipped into the classroom and stuck close behind her.
Unlike the previous lecture hall, today's classroom was completely flat. The teaching assistants had cleared away all the desks, leaving an empty space where small individual mats had been laid out according to the number of students. The unfamiliar setup left the freshmen looking confused, but they quickly caught on and each claimed a mat.
Yoo Hee-won stood at the very front, her little entourage forming a protective circle around her.
"Hello, everyone."
I stood on the platform and greeted them, scanning the room. "Are you all adjusting well to academy life?"
Positive answers came from here and there across the room.
"Excellent. Then please sit down on the mats in front of you. Like this."
I sat cross-legged on the mat placed on the platform. The students looked puzzled but began sitting down on their own mats as well.
"Don't take out your books. No matter how much you read, you won't understand anything from them. At least not in Basic Defense."
Once I confirmed that every student was seated with their bags set aside, I continued.
"As I said in the first lecture, the foundation of defense is a calm mind. If your mentality wavers, your barrier will inevitably shake as well."
At my words, the students began exchanging uneasy glances. I could hear their inner thoughts without even asking.
'He's not going to make us close our eyes and meditate, is he...?'
Half right, half wrong. I would make them meditate, but not in the usual way.
"Then let's all close our eyes and calm our minds."
At my signal, four teaching assistants entered the classroom. The students' eyes widened in shock when they saw the solid steel pipes in the assistants' hands.
"There's no need to worry. Those are simply auxiliary tools to help students who have trouble focusing during the lecture."
"You're not seriously going to beat us with those if we doze off, are you?" someone protested.
This was the upper class. These were the children of powerful families who threw their weight around outside the academy. But that was the world beyond the academy walls. Inside these walls, the professor was the one who held the power.
"Beat you? Let's choose our words more carefully. They are merely auxiliary tools to increase lecture participation."
"That's the same thing! It still means you're going to hit us!"
Similar protests poured out from every direction.
"Everyone, shut your mouths!"
At that moment, Yoo Hee-won, who was sitting in the front row, shouted sharply. The students who had been on the verge of rebellion suddenly fell silent and started watching her reaction. After glaring at them with a murderous look, Yoo Hee-won turned back to me with a bright smile.
"Professor. I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"My uniform jacket feels a bit uncomfortable and it's interfering with my concentration. May I take it off?"
"Do as you like."
The moment I finished speaking, Yoo Hee-won stripped off her uniform jacket. She didn't stop there—she even removed the shirt underneath, revealing a white short-sleeved undershirt. A black bra was clearly visible beneath the thin fabric. With an exaggerated "Mmm~" she stretched her arms high, pushing her chest out toward me.
It was such an obvious move that it felt embarrassing. I pretended not to notice.
"Then let's begin."
Thanks to the intimidating entrance of the teaching assistants and Yoo Hee-won's sharp command, the tense students quickly straightened their postures and closed their eyes.
Very good. Being the upper class, the students followed along quite well as I slowly explained things while they meditated. By the end of the lecture, several of them had managed to create something resembling a barrier using their aura, even if it was very faint. Yoo Hee-won had even succeeded in making hers visible.
Visualizing invisible aura was something usually only possible for seniors about to graduate. Her raw talent really was incredible.
"That will be all for today. When you return to the dorms, practice by recalling what we did today before you go to sleep. Eventually, you'll start to feel like you can touch your aura."
The next lecture was for the lower class that Han Min-ha belonged to.
Han Min-ha was curled up on the mat in the very back corner. Just like with the upper class, when the teaching assistants carrying steel pipes entered, students immediately raised their hands and fired off protest questions. I gave them the same answers and immediately moved on to meditation.
The start was promising. With assistants wandering around holding steel pipes, who would lose focus right from the beginning?
But that didn't last long.
About fifteen minutes in, the first student received help from the auxiliary tool.
"Ugh...!"
A student who had been nodding off took a direct hit to the back from a steel pipe and collapsed forward with a groan.
"Straighten your back, student. If you crumble from something like this, you can never become a hero."
"Y-yes, Professor..."
The sudden noise startled the students who had been drifting off, and they quickly straightened their shoulders.
"Good. Now stay like that and listen to what I say, then try to follow along."
I walked among the students, gently explaining how to manipulate aura.
Aura is an energy that everyone with hero potential possesses. It's usually imperceptible, but through training you can sense it, and eventually control it. Aura grows stronger through training and practice, enabling you to form barriers, fire killing beams, create sonic booms, and more. So try to feel the aura circulating around your body. It's easier if you imagine yourself submerged in heavy, dense jelly. And so on.
However, unlike the upper class, the lower class students seemed to be struggling quite a bit. More than half of them were groaning, frowning, or twisting uncomfortably. Mixed in were the sounds of steel pipes striking bodies and low screams.
This really was... the skill gap was far too extreme.
As I continued walking and explaining, I eventually reached Han Min-ha, who was sitting at the very back of the classroom.
She looked like she was desperately trying to sense her aura, her face scrunched up in concentration. Sweat had beaded on her forehead and was making her hair stick to her skin. Her thick glasses had slid halfway down her nose.
When I stopped beside her, Han Min-ha slightly opened her eyes and looked up. The moment our eyes met, she flinched in surprise and quickly bowed her head.
I silently examined the aura flowing around her.
Contrary to my expectations, her aura was incredibly solid. It seemed her aura purity itself was very high. So this was what they meant by hero descendant extra points. The Management Bureau hadn't given her special admission for nothing. If properly trained, she could become quite useful.
After finishing all my lectures, I stopped by the faculty office to check tomorrow's schedule before heading up to my lab. I needed to enter today's lecture results into the faculty system and take care of a few minor things.
As I walked down the second-floor hallway toward my lab, I saw someone standing in front of the door.
"P-Professor?"
Yoo Hee-won smiled and greeted me.
"Yoo Hee-won. What are you doing here? Isn't it time for physical training right now?"
"But I really needed to talk to you, Professor. It couldn't wait until another day, so I came anyway."
"No. Go attend physical training immediately. I clearly told you today wouldn't work."
I walked past Yoo Hee-won and reached for the door lock on my lab. At that moment, she stretched out her hand to grab my wrist. Just as her fingers were about to touch me, the barrier I had activated forcefully blocked her hand.
The aura wrapped around her hand collided with it, sending off a burst of intense sparks.
"Ugh...!"
Yoo Hee-won quickly pulled her hand back and rubbed her tingling wrist, her face showing clear disappointment.
Impressive. She could already manipulate her aura like that?
More importantly...
I smiled and looked directly at her.
"Yoo Hee-won. What exactly do you think you're doing?"