Basic Evaluation (4)
「Then I'll see you later, Miss Han Min-ha.」
「Goodbye, Professor.」
Han Min-ha bowed her head. When I reached the desk, the nurses were in the middle of playing rock-paper-scissors. The nurse who ultimately won handed me a shopping bag with an excited grin.
「Here you go, P-Professor.」
「Thank you.」
The moment I accepted the shopping bag, the nurse squealed and hopped in place. Another nurse smiled with her eyes and spoke up.
「Professor. Do you know how to disinfect it properly? If not, we could teach you.」
「I know how.」
「Still, it would be better if you learned it properly from us...」
At that moment, the siren mounted above the emergency room exit began spinning with a deafening flash of light. The nurses reflexively spun around the desk just as the emergency room doors burst open. Several medical staff and members of the Maroon Berets rushed in, pushing a mobile stretcher.
The Maroon Berets were a special forces unit tasked with rescuing heroes who had exhausted their strength after battling villains or been defeated and left stranded in treacherous terrain. The instant I saw their maroon berets, I thought another hero must have suffered serious injuries and stepped aside.
Sure enough, the mobile stretcher carried a blood-soaked man who had lost consciousness, with one of the Maroon Berets straddling him and performing vigorous CPR.
This academy clinic treated not only current students and faculty but also injured heroes. Since they were all academy graduates, their medical records and biometric data were already on file. Moreover, there was no better place equipped to handle the fatal traumas that only heroes sustained. That was why severely wounded heroes were frequently brought here.
The medical team pushed the stretcher straight into the operating room deeper inside the emergency ward. Han Min-ha’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the long trail of blood on the floor. One of the nurses went over to reassure her and drew a curtain to block the sight of the blood. I watched them for a moment before turning and leaving the emergency room.
When I returned to my lab, my phone chimed with notifications. A notice had been posted in the faculty group chat. The messenger list was filled with multiple red alert markers. Messages had arrived from Jin Se-yeong, Chae Ga-yun, and several other staff members. After skimming through them, I entered the faculty group chat.
The notice had been posted by the head teaching assistant of the faculty department. Its content read:
Basic Evaluation results for new students have been shared. Please review them and report any corrections by 5:00 PM today.
I downloaded the attached Excel file and opened it, checking Han Min-ha’s grades first. Since it was sorted alphabetically, I had to scroll quite far down to reach her name. And the moment I saw her scores at the very bottom...
「Ah, damn.」
Han Min-ha’s grades were disastrous. My subject was, of course, an F. Among the rest, the highest was only a B. Most subjects were plastered with Cs and Ds. At this rate, there should have been at least one A somewhere. Wasn’t she a hero descendant with bonus points? How could this happen?
Had some genetic or biological issue occurred during the inheritance of talent? No, no. This wasn’t the time to think about that. The quest was the problem. I had to turn this girl into an S-class hero, but how on earth was I supposed to do that…?
I wondered if failing the quest would bring some kind of penalty, but there was no way to check. Nothing had appeared even when I met Han Min-ha again. At this rate, knowing the original story’s ending gave me no advantage whatsoever.
Still, one thing was certain: although I didn’t understand the exact principle, my coughing had decreased significantly after interacting with her. Whether it was only temporary relief or a complete cure, I couldn’t be sure, but it was safe to assume it was because of Han Min-ha.
Quest generation and relief from pulmonary disease. These were monumental changes after several months of tedious life as a transmigrator. Therefore, I had no choice but to help her somehow.
By the way, what about Yoo Hee-won?
As expected, she had taken the top spot with perfect scores in every subject. Her abilities were already at the level where she could be deployed as a hero right now and perform at least mid-tier. If I became her advisor as in the original story, the quest would practically complete itself.
No. I shouldn’t think like that. The quest had already designated Han Min-ha.
After the basic evaluation results were announced, the academy remained in a state of great commotion for some time. Since it was an extremely important assessment that would determine their entire academy life, students’ emotions swung wildly depending on their rankings. Already, several students at the very bottom had announced their intention to drop out, packed their bags, and left through the main gate.
Worried that Han Min-ha might do the same, I visited the administrative office.
「The dropout list?」
Administrative Manager Chae Ga-yun made a show of reluctance, saying, 「Ah, this is something I really shouldn’t be showing you,」 before pulling up the list on her monitor. Fortunately, Han Min-ha’s name was not on it.
That was truly a relief.
「Professor, you smell nice.」
While I was leaning over to move the mouse, Chae Ga-yun, who had been sitting off to the side, spoke up.
「Do I not smell like anything?」
「I’m not sure.」
「Come on, just take a sniff.」
Out of politeness, I brought my nose close to Chae Ga-yun’s hair and took a light breath. I had expected it to smell like an old broom or dust due to her frequent overtime, but surprisingly, it carried a pleasant fragrance.
「Chanel Gabrielle…?」
「Oh my, oh my, oh my! How did you know?」
Chae Ga-yun was delighted that they now had perfume as a common topic of conversation. However, I didn’t have the leisure to chat idly about perfume with the administrative manager. Just then, the phone rang, so I let go of the mouse and stepped back.
「You seem busy, so I’ll take my leave.」
「Ah, yes. I’m sorry, Professor. It’s an urgent call…」
After checking the caller ID, Chae Ga-yun picked up the receiver with a sour expression.
「Yes, this is the Administrative Manager.」
The moment Chae Ga-yun’s face hardened, her previously friendly voice turned icy.
「What? Excuse me. Why are you calling us to complain about the number of dropouts?」
It seemed to be the Management Bureau, the agency that oversaw heroes. They must have called because so many promising new students who would become future heroes were leaving.
「They’re leaving because their basic evaluation scores are too low to have any potential. Did the administrative department conduct the basic evaluation? You should be calling the faculty department for that. What? You called us because we’re the coordination line? What kind of nonsense is this…」
As Chae Ga-yun’s language grew increasingly crude, I gave her a light nod and left the office. The moment I closed the door, her roar erupted from behind me.
「Then you should have lowered the evaluation guidelines from the beginning!」
Administrative Manager Chae Ga-yun’s fiery temper was famous throughout the academy. It was precisely because of that personality combined with her impeccable work ethic that she had rocketed from a low-level clerical position to manager. When Chae Ga-yun stepped in, even impossible tasks somehow got done.
At the sudden outburst, the administrative staff peeked over their partitions like crabs, staring in this direction.
「Professor! Professor!」
Several female employees called out to me.
「Why is the manager like that again?」
「It seems to be the Management Bureau. They probably complained about the high dropout rate.」
「Ah, I see… It happens every year around this time…」
The female staff nodded in understanding.
「By the way, Professor~」
「Yes?」
「The manager has been coming to see you quite often lately… Is there something going on between you two?」
Even as she said it, the woman covered her mouth and laughed. The colleague next to her smacked her shoulder, repeatedly calling her crazy.
「No. There’s nothing like that. I only came to check on matters related to the new students.」
「Ah, I see. That’s a relief, then.」
I bid the staff farewell and left the administrative office, heading toward the lecture building. Today marked the start of the new students’ first classes.
The lecture hall for theoretical classes was built in a tiered style, so when standing at the podium, one could see the students’ desks rising in layers. I stepped up onto the podium, surveyed the new students filling the seats, and greeted them.
「Hello, everyone. I am Kyo Suhyeon, professor of Basic Defense.」
Yoo Hee-won sat in the very front row, eyes sparkling as she looked up at me. In the farthest back corner, Han Min-ha was hunched over, radiating a gloomy aura. She had always looked dark, but after the basic evaluation results, she seemed even more sunken.
「Isn’t that right?」
「For real…」
The new students whispered among themselves, heads together. I had no idea what they were saying, but I stood quietly and waited for them to focus on me again. After a moment, the freshmen stopped murmuring and turned their attention to me.
「Good. Then I should begin by explaining what the field of Basic Defense is.」
The students took out their notebooks and pens. However, I had no intention of reciting the subject’s history or writing on the board from the very start.
「That kind of thing isn’t necessary. Just watch.」
When the teaching assistant waiting outside brought a submachine gun into the lecture hall, the students began to murmur. The assistant, fully equipped with body armor and a helmet, stopped at the edge of the podium and looked at me.
「Basic Defense is, as the name suggests, the study of defensive techniques.」
At my signal, the assistant opened fire on me. The students flinched at the sudden gunfire and covered their ears. Only Yoo Hee-won watched with a relaxed smile as the bullets flew toward me.
The moment the assistant pulled the trigger, the basic physical barrier I had deployed in front of me blocked every single bullet. Because I had slightly lowered the barrier’s strength for safety, the bullets couldn’t ricochet and instead embedded themselves in the barrier, suspended in midair.
「I’m finished, Professor.」
The assistant, having emptied an entire magazine, lowered the gun and reported. When I dispelled the barrier, dozens of bullets that had been hanging in the air poured onto the podium floor with a clatter.
「There’s no need for applause.」
I spoke to the new students who were about to clap.
「By the time you graduate, you’ll all be able to block bullets like these with your bare bodies anyway.」
Afterward, I explained the types of basic defensive techniques and their development. At the end of the class, I told the students about Mental Barrier.
「Once you master defensive techniques to a high degree, you will be able to use the ultimate skill known as Mental Barrier. As the name implies, it defends the mind. However, using this technique is extremely difficult. Maintaining a calm heart in extreme situations…」
Then Yoo Hee-won suddenly asked without raising her hand.
「Isn’t calling that Mental Barrier thing an ‘ultimate skill’ a bit much?」
I turned to her with a faint smile.
「Why do you think so?」
「The only thing you get from diving deep into defense studies is basically ‘holding onto your sanity.’ By the time you reach the senior year, you’d already be immune to most things anyway.」
「That would probably be the case if someone were a congenital psychopath or sociopath.」
Yoo Hee-won smiled, but she couldn’t completely suppress the tremble at the corner of her mouth.
「Of course, no graduate has ever succeeded in using Mental Barrier. But if you master that technique, it will definitely be of great help. That’s all for today.」
The students began packing their bags one by one and leaving the lecture hall. I pushed my way through them. I was looking for Han Min-ha, who was standing helplessly, shoved around by the other students. I needed to return her handkerchief and offer some comfort regarding her poor basic evaluation results.
「Miss Han Min-ha.」
When I called out from behind, Han Min-ha flinched and shrank back.
「Professor…?」
「Let’s talk for a moment. It’s about the evaluation results.」
At that moment, Yoo Hee-won suddenly shoved Han Min-ha aside roughly and stepped in front of me.
「Professor. I need to have a meeting with you.」