The Breaking Point
I quickly powered down the equipment and rushed over to Han Min-ha, who had collapsed on the floor. The sudden cutoff of the video left the students bewildered, and they began removing their helmets.
"What the hell? What's going on?"
"Huh? What's wrong with her?"
I dropped to one knee beside Han Min-ha, who had fallen forward, and carefully removed her helmet. Fortunately, the helmet seemed to have protected her head from injury. However, external wounds were not the issue. Her face had gone deathly pale, beads of cold sweat dotted her skin, and she was convulsing.
"If there's an assistant outside, get in here!"
"What's the matter, Professor?"
The teaching assistant who had been waiting outside burst into the room.
"We have a patient. Quickly, to the Academy Clinic... Damn it!"
Han Min-ha's jaw was trembling so violently that she looked ready to bite her own tongue. In a rush, I thrust my forearm into her mouth. She clamped down on it with tremendous force. Her teeth tore through my coat and shirt and sank into flesh. For someone who was merely an academy freshman, she possessed remarkable strength. Never having been bitten by anything stronger than a puppy, I found myself thinking that a knife wound might have been preferable. The pain was excruciating. Blood streamed down my forearm and splattered onto the floor.
I had not raised a barrier because biting into one with that kind of force would have shattered her teeth. The students recoiled in horror at the sight.
"Assistant. Go get help right now."
"Ah... Understood, Professor...! Please wait just a moment!"
The assistant dashed out of the room.
"Professor... Shouldn't we do something...?"
One of the students asked in a trembling voice, clearly terrified.
"No. You must not touch someone while they are convulsing. I only did this because I was afraid she might bite her tongue."
Luckily, the strength in Han Min-ha's jaw gradually eased, allowing me to carefully withdraw my arm. I turned her head to the side to help her breathe and loosened the front of her uniform. Only then did I understand why she always walked with such a slouch. How could anyone carry breasts that large...? How did she even manage to move around with... No, stop. What kind of thoughts was a professor having about a student right now?
I shrugged off my coat, pressed it against my bleeding forearm, and waited. Soon, the evaluation hall's security personnel arrived in force.
"Professor. Are you all right?"
"It's not me. This student collapsed during the evaluation and started convulsing. She seems to have calmed down a little now."
While watching Han Min-ha being loaded onto a stretcher, one of the security officers pointed at my arm.
"What happened to that wound?"
"I had to let her bite me because she looked like she was about to bite her tongue."
"Goodness. You should come with us. If that isn't disinfected properly, it will get badly infected."
"The evaluation is still ongoing, so just give me basic first aid. I'll visit the clinic after it's finished."
The security personnel cleaned the wound with saline, applied a dressing, and wrapped it tightly with bandages.
"You really must come in. Don't make things worse by putting off proper hospital treatment."
"Understood. Please take good care of the student."
After the security team left, I resumed the evaluation. Considering the sudden incident, I awarded a small bonus to the remaining group. This was a test of mental fortitude; it would not be fair for them to suffer because of an unforeseen situation that was not their fault.
Still, it hurt like hell. If I had not been wearing the coat, she might have torn off a chunk of flesh. I needed to finish the evaluation quickly and head to the clinic.
The Academy Clinic was so large that calling it a "clinic" felt inadequate. The eight-story facility boasted equipment and infrastructure comparable to any major hospital. All medical staff were drawn from university hospitals, and the surgical department in particular prided itself on being the best. This was no ordinary high school; it was an institution that trained heroes to fight villains. Consequently, injuries that would be considered catastrophic elsewhere were treated as minor scratches.
I passed the parked ambulances and entered the emergency room. Because the semester had only just begun and proper training had not yet started, the ER was quiet. The nurses at the desk spotted me and jumped to their feet in a flurry.
"Hello, P-Professor! What brings you here? Are you injured?"
"Hello. It's just a small scratch here."
When I showed them the tattered sleeve of my coat, the nurses hurried around the desk.
"What on earth...? Were you bitten by a monster?"
"A freshman."
"A freshman...? A person did this...? Please come this way."
I sat on an empty bed while the emergency room's attending physician examined my arm. The physician, Choi Seongjun, was a surgeon roughly my age. The clinic staff called him the "ER Chief," though no such official title existed; it was simply for convenience.
Choi Seongjun turned my arm this way and that, muttering to himself.
"The marks look like a human bite... but what happened to your coat?"
"She bit straight through it."
"Excuse me...?"
After I explained the situation, Choi Seongjun nodded in understanding.
"So that's the student who was brought in earlier."
"How is she now?"
Instead of answering, Choi Seongjun glanced toward one side of the emergency room. Following his gaze, I saw Han Min-ha lying on a bed, fast asleep.
"It's nothing serious. Simply put, the shock was so great that she briefly lost consciousness. She woke up a while ago, but when we told her to rest before leaving, she fell asleep like that."
"That's a relief."
So it had simply been a matter of weak mental fortitude. Thank goodness it was nothing more serious. I was glad Han Min-ha herself had not been hurt, but the greater relief came from knowing the quest would not be derailed. It was a selfish thought, but unavoidable.
Choi Seongjun studied my wound and said, "Why didn't you put up a barrier?"
"I was worried her teeth would break."
"Ah, right... Hmm... Let me see. You'll need a few stitches."
He called a nurse to disinfect the wound and prepare for suturing. I had not expected stitches for a mere bite, but once the area was cleaned, the wound proved far larger than I had thought. No wonder people had mistaken it for a monster bite.
Choi Seongjun donned latex gloves and administered several stinging anesthetic injections into my forearm. Once the area went numb, he began suturing the gash without hesitation.
"All done, Professor. Come in every day for disinfection. Otherwise, it will rot."
"Daily visits are a bit much. If you could just give me some antiseptic and bandages, I'll handle it myself."
"You will? Then I'll pack you plenty. By the way, Professor."
Choi Seongjun gave me a suspicious look.
"Why aren't you coughing?"
"Do I have to cough?"
"Not necessarily, but it's strange to see you so quiet when you usually hack away. You're not secretly brewing some shady tree-root concoction, are you? That kind of thing is..."
"Haha. No, I'm not."
After a light laugh, Choi Seongjun offered the usual advice about keeping the wound dry and clean, then left. While the nurses gathered antiseptic and bandages for me, I glanced over and saw that Han Min-ha had woken up and was staring blankly at the ceiling.
I stepped down from the bed and slowly approached her. Stopping at a respectful distance, I called her name softly.
"Student Han Min-ha."
Han Min-ha, who had been gazing at the ceiling, turned to me in surprise and sat up.
"Professor...?"
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine..."
Ah, I needed to return her handkerchief. But when I checked my pockets, it was not there. I must have left it in the research lab.
Han Min-ha's eyes lingered on the bandage wrapped around my arm.
"Your arm, Professor..."
"It's injured. It's nothing serious."
She apparently had no memory of what had happened during the seizure. Biting my forearm had not been intentional, and there was no need to bring it up now and make her feel worse.
"I was worried, but I'm glad you look perfectly fine."
"I'm sorry. Because of me, the evaluation turned into a mess..."
"No, it didn't. The rest of your group continued the evaluation. We also took the situation into account when scoring, so there's no need to feel guilty."
"Thank you."
"I'm afraid I had no choice but to fail you, Student Han Min-ha. The other group members were watching, so it couldn't be helped."
"It's all right. It was my fault for not enduring..."
Han Min-ha muttered with her head bowed as though she had committed a grave sin.
"Still, don't be too discouraged. Even if your basic evaluation scores are low, there will be plenty of opportunities to make up for it later."
There were many chances to recover. The problem was that few people managed to seize them.
I glanced toward the nurses. Once I confirmed they were far enough away, I spoke quietly.
"Since the incident occurred during my evaluation, I bear some responsibility as well. So I'll help you as much as I can."
"Thank you, Professor."
"Then take care of yourself, and I'll see you in class."
"Goodbye."
As I turned to leave, Han Min-ha called out to me.
"Ah, I'm sorry, but Professor."
"What is it?"
"Could I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"That video earlier..."
Han Min-ha spoke with difficulty, her voice dry.
"Was that... really real footage...?"
"Yes. It was recorded by senior heroes fighting villains."
"What happened to the heroes in the video...?"
"Almost all of them died. Those recordings were recovered from body cams in their suits after they were killed. Of course, there are also heroes who are still alive and active in the field."
"Ah..."
Han Min-ha's lips trembled slightly.
"I should mention this in case you're wondering. The videos were carefully selected to be as stimulating as possible in order to measure how strong your mental fortitude is. Naturally, the survival rate of the heroes in those clips is low. That's why it seems that way. The overall survival rate of heroes registered with the Management Bureau is not that low."
"I understand."
"Don't worry too much, Student Han Min-ha. I'll make sure you never become the protagonist of one of those videos."
"Thank you, Professor."
My words were not empty promises. If one mastered defensive techniques to the extreme, it was possible to block almost any villain's attack. The issue was that no hero had ever been able to maintain such calm mental fortitude in combat. I could not guarantee that Han Min-ha, who had collapsed just from watching a video, would reach that level, but I intended to push her as far as possible. If I could raise her survival rate, reaching S-class would not be so difficult.
I will help you, Han Min-ha. I will faithfully carry out the quest to turn you into an S-class hero and escape this frail body to return to my original world. To do that, you must first continue attending the academy.