A Veteran Teaches Very Well - Chapter 56



part 56

“What are you talking about… huh?”

Swoosh—

Andrew’s body became transparent and then vanished.

Jo Seong-woong and I pretended to be surprised.

“Professor Cha, what on earth just happened? He disappeared!”

“It seems he had a hidden card up his sleeve.”

“Damn it, I let my guard down…”

“No, it’s my fault for not being more careful.”

“Damn, damn…”

Jo Seong-woong suddenly lunged, trying to bang his head against the wall.

This guy is too immersed.

I understand the desire to deliver a great performance, but that’s enough now.

“It’s okay to stop. He’s probably gone by now.”

“Really?”

Jo Seong-woong laughed heartily as if he had never been gloomy.

“Well, everything is going just as you said, Professor Cha! It’s truly a ghostly affair.”

What Andrew used was a skill called ghosting.

One of the skills developed at SH allows one to suppress their presence and become invisible.

Ghosting is a skill that cannot be released at will until a certain amount of time has passed, making it nearly impossible to use in combat; it is primarily a means of escape.

Of course, there was a reason for letting it go.

“Did you properly cast the tracking spell?”

“Of course. There’s no way he noticed.”

I had asked Jo Seong-woong to attach a magic circle behind me so that Andrew wouldn’t catch on.

It was a tracking spell developed together with Lee Ye-eun yesterday, and its performance was so exceptional that it could not be detected by any ordinary means.

This was also one of the spells that future Lee Ye-eun would develop.

“Hehe, by the way, how did Professor Cha know there was a spy?”

“About half of it was a lucky guess. I didn’t think Chairman Daniel’s disappearance was a coincidence.”

It was a somewhat vague excuse, but Jo Seong-woong nodded without a hint of doubt.

“Indeed, those who are meant to succeed can do anything.”

His unwavering trust made me feel guilty for lying.

Yet, this was a necessary deception.

My initial plan was to conquer the dungeon as quickly as possible and send the expedition team to America, but now it seemed I needed to revise that plan.

The dungeon conquest was progressing much more smoothly than in the game, giving the expedition team ample time.

Having discovered their base through the tracking spell, there was no need to wait for them to commit an act of terror before striking back.

Once I had located their base, that was the end of it.

It was time to move my strongest piece, the Queen.

* * *

Inside the cabin where three commanders were gathered.

I explained everything that had happened to them.

“How… could this be?”

Edeline, having heard the full story, was at a loss for words.

Chairman Daniel had been murdered, and the identity of the culprit, Director Andrew, was revealed to be a spy from SH.

It was an unbelievable situation, but there was clear evidence that Director Andrew had attacked me.

“It seems it’s really true.”

“That damn old fool! To play us like this…”

The commanders of the expedition team, Christian and John Dickel, were outraged.

The fact that the American Hero Association had been manipulated by SH was certainly not good news for them.

“Professor, I should tell you in advance that this is the first time we’re hearing this.”

“Right! We have no connection to those SH b*stards.”

“Convincing me isn’t that important.”

As I smiled faintly, they exchanged glances, their faces reflecting confusion.

“What matters is how the public will perceive this.”

Only then did their faces turn ashen.

Everyone knew that Director Andrew was Daniel’s closest aide.

This meant that it was highly likely all of Daniel’s policies had been shaped in a specific direction by SH.

Of course, that direction was one that benefited SH.

Christian and John Dickel had always been the ones at the forefront, supporting the Hero Association.

Naturally, if all the facts were made public, it was painfully obvious how their perception would shift.

In the worst-case scenario, they would be framed as no different from SH’s spies.

“Uh, Commander Edeline, you know our innocence, right?”

“Yeah! We’ve always fought together on the front lines for humanity!”

The public’s framing is a truly terrifying shackle.

If a plausible image exists and it becomes public discourse, the truth becomes irrelevant, and that image solidifies.

Clarifying the situation becomes impossible.

No matter how much truth you present, the speed at which clarifications spread pales in comparison to the speed of controversy.

Moreover, Christian and John Dickel were indeed the ones who played the role of the Association’s dogs for their own benefit.

In fact, they had no reason to feel wronged even if such a frame became known to the public.

This made it even easier for them to gain the upper hand.

“I have a proposal for you two.”

“A, a proposal?”

“I’ll minimize the fallout you’ll face from this issue.”

The two of them rolled their eyes around.

No matter how much they pondered, there would only be one conclusion.

The realization that I was the only one who could throw them a lifeline.

“…What are the conditions?”

The question I had been waiting to hear came from John Dickel’s lips.

My answer would be simple.

“Please grant me full command of this Pacific dungeon.”

“What, what!”

“Huh?”

The two stood up in surprise.

John Dickel shouted.

“Th-that’s absurd! What kind of command can a professor, who doesn’t even have the skills to enter the dungeon, possibly give?”

“The times have changed. Haven’t you seen that one can lead without entering the dungeon?”

“W-well, that’s true… but Professor Cha! Do you think the other heroes will accept this? Will they really take orders from you as their commander?”

“I have sufficiently demonstrated my abilities.”

“Hmm…”

Despite their outward expressions, they had already made up their minds.

They knew well that the losses from being entangled with SH would far outweigh the gains from successfully conquering this dungeon as commanders.

In the end, the two accepted my proposal.

“Alright. We will transfer all authority as commanders to Professor Cha.”

“But you must keep your promises.”

“Thank you.”

Now that I had received command, the dungeon conquest was practically resolved.

What remained was simply to eliminate SH and protect the mainland of the United States.

“I have a request for the Unicorn Guild Master.”

“A request, you say?”

“I have cast a tracking spell and let Andrew go. As a result, I have located SH’s stronghold.”

“Is that true?”

Edelin’s eyes widened in surprise.

Despite SH’s numerous heinous acts, they had been elusive and difficult to catch.

Pinpointing their location was a significant achievement.

“We must strike before SH can terrorize the United States. Please lead the members of the Unicorn Guild and deal with them.”

Given that they were planning an assault on the mainland, SH would undoubtedly possess formidable strength.

The only card that could decisively handle SH was the Unicorn.

Christian opposed it.

“Wait a moment! It’s going to be tough to conquer the dungeon without a unicorn.”

“You don’t need to worry. It’s just an SS-grade dungeon. With this many people, it’s more than enough.”

“J-just?”

The goal was to conquer the SS-grade dungeon.

The available forces consisted of hundreds of S-grade heroes.

Considering the difficulty of the task at hand, the conditions were too favorable.

It was a luxurious setup that one could hardly imagine in a game.

If someone were to fail the conquest under such conditions, it would be forever impossible to see the ending with all playable characters in the game.

“Yes. I will finish it within a week.”

* * *

The dungeon conquest proceeded smoothly.

Once the three commanders stepped down and I became the supreme commander, there were initially more voices of concern.

However, as the conquest unfolded step by step under my orders, and with the support of the former commanders, Christian and John Dickel, no one voiced complaints anymore.

“Good job.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Professor!”

After successfully completing the conquest today, I embraced each of the heroes from the raid one by one.

The first hug with Rie Xiao was an impulsive act born from joy.

But when the second raid returned, the leader of the raid—a female hunter from France—requested a hug, and I lightly accepted.

From that point on, it became a promise that I would embrace the heroes who returned victorious.

From noble mtl dot come

So far, a total of seven raids had entered and successfully completed their missions.

Today marked the end of Stage 10’s conquest.

According to the information brought by the new advance team, the Pacific dungeon has a total of 15 stages.

As of today, there are five stages left.

Now that we were entering the latter half of the dungeon, the difficulty would significantly increase.

The expedition team took a day off to prepare for tomorrow’s attack.

“For that reason, we need to strike to the right here. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

During the break, I taught Je-Gal So-Yeon in the conference room.

At first, I only intended to teach her what was necessary for this dungeon, but she absorbed everything at an astonishing learning pace.

I found joy in teaching, so during every break, I shared various things with her. Je-Gal So-Yeon easily grasped even the difficult concepts.

“However, Professor, the top left corner here could be vulnerable to an attack, right?”

“It’s fine. This part is intentionally left empty. There’s no risk of an attack here.”

“No risk, you say… Ah. It’s in a direction where the current can’t reach.”

“Exactly.”

Jae-gal So-yeon stopped using awkward formal language and began to speak with proper respect.

Thinking back to when we first met, her attitude had made remarkable progress.

Moreover, she followed my lead without doubting my abilities as a strategist.

Still, her strong pride and competitive spirit remained unbroken.

“Hm~. If you keep teaching me like this, you might regret it later.”

“Regret?”

“Yes. I realized today that I will soon surpass you and become the world’s greatest tactician.”

“I’m looking forward to that.”

What once felt like a sharp edge of rudeness now seemed endearingly mild, almost cute.

Of course, not everyone shared my sentiments.

My first disciple scolded Jae-gal So-yeon.

“What do you mean by that, Professor? Show a little more respect.”

“Shut up. Don’t tell me what to do.”

The relationship between Lee Ye-eun and Jae-gal So-yeon worsened day by day.

What had started as a not-so-great relationship had now turned into something akin to enmity, making it impossible to intervene.

In such cases, it’s best to discreetly remove oneself from the situation.

As I stepped out onto the deck, I spotted Jo Seong-woong in the corner, puffing on a cigar.

As I approached him, he called out to me first.

“Professor Cha, what brings you out here?”

“It’s noisy inside.”

“Are they fighting again? Tsk, well, your disciples certainly have their own personalities. They’re cute in their childishness, but still, they lack the maturity and seriousness of our Seo-hu…”

“That’s enough of that.”

As I cut him off, Jo Seong-woong made a disappointed expression.

I had heard enough of his praises for Park Seo-hu to last a lifetime; I didn’t want to hear any more.

Exhaling the smoke he had been holding, Jo Seong-woong said, “Soon, everything will come to an end. Professor Cha, are you confident about the remaining stages?”

“Yeah. Everything will be alright.”

“An S-rank dungeon. It was a terrifying name filled with so much meaning for our generation.”

Various emotions resonated in Jo Seong-woong’s voice.

Anger, regret, sorrow… He still couldn’t shake off the nightmare of the past, the lair of the annihilator.

Perhaps he was projecting that onto this expedition as well.

I spoke with a confident tone.

“Professor Jo, humanity has triumphed in the past, and it will do so now. Just as we conquered the lair of the annihilator, we will conquer the Pacific dungeon too.”

“Yeah… that would be wonderful.”

Jo Seong-woong nodded slowly.

It was a nod mixed with many emotions.

—

Chapter 1. Song Seok-hwan (2)

Inside the slime tunnel.

The first stage bore only the traces of battle.

Signs of Team A having defeated slimes were visible everywhere. Up to this point, everything was fine.

“The next stage should be okay too. Was there an incident in the boss room?”

The boss of the slime tunnel, Mine Krong, had low intelligence but high physical stats and a fierce aggression, making it dangerous if one slipped up.

I could roughly estimate the situation.

Did Song Seok-hwan get too cocky and let his guard down, leading to their annihilation?

He might have been anxious after failing the last test.

Mine Krong was a ferocious creature.

If Team A had been wiped out in the boss stage, there was a real possibility that their lives were in danger. We needed to hurry.

“There he is. That’s the guy, right?”

“Yeah. I’m sure of it.”

I heard voices from behind.

Someone had just entered the gate. There seemed to be about ten of them.

“Hey, Professor! Stop right there.”

They didn’t look like heroes who had come to conquer the dungeon.

A strong smell of blood filled the air. Not the blood of monsters, but the blood of humans.

Crack—

My hand instinctively went to the sword at my waist.

The men began to sneer.

“Hey, professor. We know you’re just someone who sits at a desk, right?”

“Ha! A pen suits the professor better than a sword.”

Those guys, they know me.

Thoughts raced through my mind.

Is their goal to kidnap me? The Korean guild wouldn’t do something this insane.

Could it be the Chinese guild’s doing?

Could it be that A-Team hasn’t shown up yet because these b*stards are up to something?

That would be too far-fetched.

Due to the nature of the dungeon, I couldn’t check inside, but I confirmed through the sensors outside that no one had entered.

Swish—

I drew my sword from the scabbard at my waist.

Then it’s easy.

These b*stards have nothing to do with the kids.

So, it’s fine to take them all down.

“Come on, man. Don’t try to act tough.”

“Everyone knows you’re the theoretical professor…”

Thud!

I closed the distance immediately and struck the one in front with the back of my sword, knocking him out.

The thugs gasped in shock.

“What, what the hell!”

“This crazy b*stard! Kill him!”

Yeah.

There’s no way these guys are heroes.

They have no beliefs or sense of justice in their hearts.

Moreover, they were too weak.

All awakened ones dream of being heroes.

A profession that is respected by all, loved, and makes money—like a dream.

But not every awakened one can become a hero.

Awakened, yet devoid of talent.

They were not even granted the qualification to enter the dungeon. For those like them, venturing into a dungeon would only lead to a futile death.

Without talent, they had no choice but to seek other paths.

Even if they couldn’t slay monsters, and even if they weren’t treated like heroes, there were many roles they could fulfill for humanity, such as scholars or porters.

However, not everyone walked the righteous path.

Though they could not become heroes, every awakened individual possessed a strength that ordinary people could not rival.

That power was misused in the underworld.

Awakened individuals committing heinous acts within criminal organizations. They ruled the underworld as if they were kings.

Even low-tier heroes occasionally felt the dissonance between ideals and reality, leading them to join criminal organizations.

The commonality among such individuals was that they were all pitiful losers.

Rustle! Rustle!

As the thugs charged, limbs were severed with every swing of my sword.

I could have aimed for their necks immediately, but I had no intention of killing.

In a world where healers and medicine coexisted, losing a limb could be mended.

“Gaaah!”

“What the hell? Why is this guy so strong? He’s supposed to be a theorist!”

Only then did the thugs realize something was amiss.

But by then, it was too late.

I had no intention of letting these guys go easily.

“Uwaaah!”

Whoosh!

A massive hammer came flying at me.

Without needing to dodge, I caught it with one hand and, using the force of its swing, hurled it back.

“Wha—?”

The thug wielding the hammer was sent soaring.

With a final swing of my sword, I severed his two legs.

“Gaaah!”

And with that, everything was settled.