I’ll Retire After Saving the World

Chapter 72: Portrait of a Kidney Bean (3)

TL: SHW

Kang Tae-woo, who had been neatly dressed in his school uniform when he first arrived at school, sitting next to Kim Chae-min, was now sitting at the back of the classroom in the afternoon, looking disheveled and dazed.

Becoming a Hunter is like that for everyone.

If becoming a Hunter were easy, everyone would be one.

I thought starting with fall training right off the bat might not be the best teaching method, but the old man used to say.

When your heart is in pain, your body needs to be in pain too.

That way, you can sleep without thinking about anything.

I don’t think it’s wrong, especially for someone with a personality that would dig yourself into a hole if left alone.

And there’s something the old man said to me while dragging me up the mountain.

‘Hwijae, do you know this? It takes a lot more strength than you think for an Awakened to get hurt.’

It didn’t take long to understand why he said that.

Anyway, that’s how it is.

The Awakened are tough. Hunters who can afford to pay the dungeon passage fee are even tougher. And the toughness of a Hunter is proportional to the dungeon passage fee they can pay.

From a rough glance, if Kang Tae-woo were to go get his Hunter license now, he’d probably be a D-rank. Considering he’s only recently Awakened, that’s about an average figure.

For someone as tough as a D-rank Hunter, even if they were tossed around in the dirt, they wouldn’t get a scratch. As for the mental shock… well.

Wasn’t the goal to keep him so busy that he couldn’t think of anything? If so, mission accomplished, right?

Besides, I told him to just sit in on the afternoon’s theory class, so it’s probably a good time to gather his thoughts.

“We’ll continue with classes like this for a while. In the morning, you’ll have combat training with Daseon’s Hunters. In the afternoon, you’ll learn dungeon raid strategies with me. Mages will attend Teacher Kim’s class in the morning… Whether you do practical lessons depends on Teacher Kim’s mood, so keep that in mind.”

“Uh… Teacher. Will the transfer student take classes with us too?”

Lee Seung-yeon chimed in to ask.

“Even if he’s a year younger, he’s still in the same class. Of course, he won’t be able to keep up right away, so I’ll be helping him out for a while. Any questions?”

“What about our Runes?”

Choi Jin-woo raised his hand high.

“Review them.”

“What about new Runes?!”

“You’re Mages, right? A Mage’s main job is Magic. That reminds me, Park Seo-hyun, how’s your apprentice doing in class?”

Choi Jin-woo obediently closed his mouth and started winking at Park Seo-hyun.

“Uh….”

Park Seo-hyun looked back and forth between me and Choi Jin-woo. She seemed to understand.

“So, how’s your Magic going? Got a feel for it?”

“Uh-uh….”

Park Seo-hyun shrank her neck and covered her eyes with her bangs. As expected.

Well, I’m not the kind of teacher who pressures students for not doing well in their studies. If you’re a student, it’s okay to not be good at it yet. It’s the teacher’s job to be patient and teach.

Besides, Magic isn’t my field anyway. Kim Chae-min will handle it. If things really get stuck, I can always think of Park Seo-hyun, the witch from twenty years later, and give a hint.

Anyway, it’s not Magic class right now. When Hong Seok-young comes back to school, I’ll make him take back his role as the homeroom teacher of the Magic class. What kind of Magic class homeroom teacher am I?

I pulled out a stack of papers from under the podium. It was an 80-page raid guide that the kids had written.

As I waved the guide covered in index stickers, the children’s eyes followed the fluttering papers.

“Do you see the stickers on this?”

“Yes.”

“What do you think they are?”

“……”

“Of course, they’re the parts you wrote wrong.”

I grinned.

“I praised you last time, didn’t I? So today is time for scolding.”

* * *

Kang Tae-woo wasn’t as dazed as Woo Hwijae had thought.

Of course, he was exhausted from running and rolling around the so-called playground that was really just an empty lot. He wanted nothing more than to take a hot shower and collapse onto a bed instead of sitting in the classroom.

But sometimes, even when you’re so tired it feels like you’re about to die, your mind can become strangely clear.

For Kang Tae-woo, now was one of those moments.

In fact, sitting at the very back, he hadn’t been completely lost in thought. The dungeon raiding strategies didn’t make any sense to him at all.

He’d rather ask about it later.

“Now, you guys wrote here that you’d first take care of the Goblin sentries. This is an error that stems from not understanding Goblin behavior. Goblins are very cautious creatures.”

The low voice continued calmly.

There wasn’t much variation in pitch. Despite the monotony, the voice wasn’t sleep-inducing; it was clear and precise like that of a news anchor, which made it stick in your ears.

If he had been wearing a more proper suit, one might have thought he worked at a securities firm rather than being a teacher. But right now, he was just wearing comfortable-looking sweatpants and a t-shirt.

‘He seems like a good person.’

That’s probably why, when the student he’d only spoken to for about five minutes called for help, he immediately drove over to assist.

Although it was on the director’s orders, seeing him help with the awakened registration made Kang Tae-woo feel a bit sorry.

When he had said he wanted to give it a serious try, he had meant it. Although Sohee’s smiling face still lingered before his eyes, it was also a perfect opportunity to completely escape from Ark.

If he was lucky, he might even be able to find out about his siblings from the research lab who had gone missing. Even if it would be difficult, if it was Hong Seok-young, the one hailed as the strongest Hunter…

He thought it would be best to be honest. But at the same time, he hesitated. Even though he believed he could trust Woo Hwijae, something about him kept nagging at his mind.

‘It feels like I’ve seen him somewhere before…’

For some reason, he didn’t seem unfamiliar. How many opportunities would one have to meet a Hunter in their life? And how could you forget meeting one?

He was sure they hadn’t met before. But he still felt familiar.

“Got it? The sentries patrolling the area never have a break in their movement. They’re always linked, 24 hours a day. If a sentry doesn’t arrive at the designated time, a combat unit immediately comes to check the situation.”

As Kang Tae-woo continued his dazed thoughts, Woo Hwijae spoke with sharp precision.

To someone who had never even been inside a dungeon and had only seen monsters that had escaped from one, it sounded like he was talking about catching clouds. It felt more like a game strategy guide than a dungeon raid lesson.

“So if you act according to what you wrote, the Goblins will go on high alert. You haven’t even reached the dungeon core yet, right? If that happens, you won’t be able to reach the core, and with the Goblins swarming in, it’ll be hard to even make it back to the gate. What will you do?”

“……”

A male student sitting near the front of the class raised his hand. He had dark skin and was short. Although his body was thin and bony, his muscular arms made him seem intimidating.

Just a year older than him… He said he had already done dungeon raids. Is that what all pro Hunters are like?

“Oh Hyun-wook?”

“I’ve heard that Goblins have a keen sense of hearing and smell.”

“That’s right.”

“Then we should start by producing smoke to impair their sense of smell. There’s no need to start a fire. In fact, the fire could spread and block our escape route.”

“You create smoke. Then what?”

“Once they lose their sense of smell, Goblins will start relying on their hearing. There’s no need to be too noisy… I, as the leader, will take care of the combat units.”

“You’ll handle the combat units?”

“While moving in the opposite direction of the gate.”

“Why?”

“To lure them away.”

“…And the other Hunters?”

“They should head to the gate. The raid is a bust, so we need to get out of the dungeon.”

“You’ll buy them time? And how will you get out of the dungeon?”

“Well… I’ll do my best.”

“What if doing your best isn’t enough?”

“It can’t be helped.”

“……”

Having spent a long time observing researchers during his time at the research lab, Kang Tae-woo quickly realized that Woo Hwijae’s mood had darkened.

As Oh Hyun-wook continued to speak, Woo Hwijae’s expression grew colder.

“I understand what you’re saying. In the end, you’re saying you’ll act as bait so the others can escape, right?”

“Yes.”

“And the reason you’re doing it?”

“Because I’m the leader.”

Woo Hwijae glanced around the classroom. His eyes briefly met Kang Tae-woo’s before moving on.

It was as if cold water had been poured over him, jolting him awake. If he could, he would have shut Oh Hyun-wook’s mouth. When the researchers had that kind of look in their eyes, it always meant something terrible was about to happen. Either a researcher was about to be executed, or one of the children was about to be disposed of…!

“So, that’s your judgment as the leader. What do the others think?”

The classroom remained silent.

“Does everyone agree with Oh Hyun-wook’s judgment?”

Anyone with eyes could see that this wasn’t the answer Woo Hwijae wanted.

But no one spoke up to disagree. Everyone was just gauging the situation.

“Hyun-wook is the strongest among us, so… he’ll make it out fine.”

A female student whose name Kang Tae-woo didn’t know yet spoke in a small voice.

Woo Hwijae clicked his tongue with an incredulous expression.

“Oh Hyun-wook.”

“…Yes.”

“Let’s say you’re not the leader. Let’s say Seo Han-seong is the leader. Then, the leader says he’ll be the bait so the others can escape the dungeon. What will you do? Will you follow his orders?”

“…….”

“Answer me. Will you follow his orders?”

“I… I would stop him.”

“And after stopping him?”

“I would take on that role myself.”

“…….”

“…….”

Even Kang Tae-woo could tell that Oh Hyun-wook’s answer wasn’t the right one.

Should I just make an excuse to go to the bathroom and escape? Kang Tae-woo, unable to bear the chilling atmosphere in the classroom, shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“This guy is something else.”

Woo Hwijae’s voice cut through the cold silence.

“I’m being pretty patient with you all because I know you don’t have much experience. I really didn’t want to have to do this.”

“…….”

“Oh Hyun-wook. Stand up.”

Scrrr.

Oh Hyun-wook slowly rose from his seat.

From where Kang Tae-woo was sitting at the very back of the classroom, all he could see was the back of Oh Hyun-wook’s head.

“I was trying to keep things pleasant, especially since Tae-woo is here.”

No, please don’t bring up my name here.

The girl sitting next to Oh Hyun-wook briefly turned around. She had long bangs that nearly covered her eyes. She was supposedly a mage.

“What do you think Tae-woo will think if you all act like this? He’d think this place is supposed to be a Hunter training school, but it only produces garbage. Do you know how much the principal has bragged about you all?”

He… bragged… about them?

Kang Tae-woo swallowed nervously for no reason.

“Do you… remember the day you raided the Pixie Dungeon? You said you were going to quit, right?”

“…….”

“I made a mistake by stopping you back then. Just quit. I’ll speak to the principal for you. Quit. You’re someone who shouldn’t be entering dungeons.”

“But I—”

“I hate people like you. I understand why you came to that conclusion. I get it.”

“…….”

“You think you’re going to save others by sacrificing yourself? Is that what you were thinking?”

The voice, which had been calmly teaching without raising its tone, now sharply pierced through the chest. Even though he wasn’t the one being targeted, the tension was so high that Kang Tae-woo’s shoulders ached.

“I’ve seen several raid parties annihilated by guys like you.”

“…….”

“You know what? Whether you sacrifice others or sacrifice yourself, it’s the same as treating human life like it’s nothing.”

*****

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