“P-professor?! W-what on earth is this?!”
Jae-woo shouted with a trembling voice at Professor Jeong Si-hyun. What could this unknown goblin be?
His hands and arms, still gripping his sword tightly, were tense with anticipation. His legs were ready to spring into action at any mont.
Jae-woo did not take his eyes off the grotesque goblin.
However, the goblin did not move.
“Hmm…?”
Confused, Jae-woo frowned.
At that mont, a small, stifled laugh tickled his ears. Jae-woo glanced at the professor out of the corner of his eye.
Professor Si-hyun stood up from her lean against the lectern and approached the goblin. With her beautiful, slender fingers, she gently patted the goblin's head.
The stark contrast between the goblin's fearso appearance and the beautiful professor was striking. Jae-woo blinked rapidly.
“It’s a model, a model.”
The goblin still remained motionless.
“…Phew.”
Only then did Jae-woo release the tension in his body. However, he was not completely at ease. Cautiously, he stepped closer to the goblin.
“C-can I touch it?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
With the professor's permission, Jae-woo tightened his grip on the sword with one hand while reaching out with the other to poke the goblin's arm.
“Ah!”
It didn’t feel like a living creature. It was sowhat hard, likely made of clay or stone. That thought crossed his mind.
Jae-woo let out a long breath and returned his sword to his status window. He had never seen such a finely crafted monster model before.
“It was commissioned from a crafting hunter. Isn’t it well made?”
“Oh, I see.”
Jae-woo nodded slowly, backing away. He sat down in the front row on the opposite side of the window, away from the goblin.
He usually sat there, but today he felt it was necessary. He wanted to keep his distance from that dreadful goblin model. He absolutely did not want to be near it.
Its appearance was terrifying and sinister. Even knowing it was just a model, it continued to evoke feelings of fear and discomfort.
- Creak.
The back door of the classroom opened again. It was a signal that other students were arriving one by one.
“Ah?!”
The second student to arrive, Ah-reum, stumbled and fell onto her backside. She quickly used her arms and bottom to slide away against the wall.
Dust clung to her pants, but she had no ti to worry about that.
“……Hmm.”
Eun-byeol, who entered the classroom with Ah-reum, crossed her arms and glared at the goblin model.
She almost instinctively used her combat skill as a magic-type hunter but fortunately noticed Jae-woo and Si-hyun first. Thanks to that, the classroom was spared from any magical explosions.
Of course, that didn’t an Eun-byeol fully understood the situation. Trying to appear calm, her eyes were still shaking. She nervously tapped her left toe as she assessed the situation.
“P-professor…?”
Belatedly spotting Si-hyun, Ah-reum stood up. She adjusted her glasses and dusted off her bottom.
Si-hyun smiled lightly and patted the goblin's head playfully.
“It’s a moving model. Isn’t it well made?”
Her voice was filled with mischief.
At Si-hyun’s words, Ah-reum, Eun-byeol, and even Jae-woo all widened their eyes in surprise.
‘It moves?’
Jae-woo slightly parted his lips as he gazed at the goblin. So that’s what she ant when she said it was a magic tool! …That hideous thing can move?
Chills ran down his spine.
Jae-woo unconsciously rubbed his arms. Goosebumps rose on his skin, and he felt shivers run through him.
To be honest, that model was scarier than a real goblin. It looked truly hideous.
While Jae-woo rubbed his arms, Ah-reum and Eun-byeol took their seats by the window. They chose spots that were not in the front row as usual, but slightly further back.
They were also frightened by the goblin model. It was chillingly unpleasant. Honestly, they wished soone would just get rid of it.
Regardless of their feelings, Si-hyun enjoyed watching her students’ reactions.
The mbers of the Wing Guild had said that instilling real fear would prevent the students from becoming complacent around goblins in the future!
There was certainly rit in that. That’s why she had co early to set up the goblin in the classroom.
Seeing the students’ reactions, she felt quite satisfied. Her efforts in crafting it had paid off.
“Ah?!”
“Eek!”
“Ugh!”
As students arrived in succession, everyone scread and froze in place.
Thus, during the 5th period of the academy, the Introduction to Monsters class successfully terrified all fifteen young students with the goblin model.
Especially the students sitting near the lectern were trembling in fear.
Though there were enough chairs in the classroom, they weren’t overflowing. The last students to arrive had no choice but to sit close to the goblin.
They stole glances at the model, their faces showing confusion.
‘Heh, just a single goblin…’
Si-hyun smiled brightly, thinking how innocent and cute her students were.
---
After taking attendance, Si-hyun wore a deep, satisfied expression.
All the students had shown up for today’s lecture, and there were no tardies.
Clap! Si-hyun lightly clapped her hands and spoke.
“Everyone, we learned various things about goblins last ti.”
She briefly ntioned the previous learning.
“Today, I’ll show you what real goblins are like through audiovisual materials.”
She started playing the prepared video. The projector illuminated a dim cave.
Once she confird that the video was playing correctly, Si-hyun paused it for a mont to look around the classroom.
A considerable number of students were staring at the goblin model instead of the screen.
‘It’s a problem if it’s too well-made.’
Thanks to that, they seed to be focusing well, but perhaps it was a bit too much. Si-hyun quickly hid the goblin model behind the lectern.
“Phew…”
“Thank goodness…”
The students sitting near the model let out sighs of relief.
Their gazes shifted toward the screen. Si-hyun nodded and resud the video.
The beginning was uneventful.
[These are current D-rank hunters.]
[Hello!]
[Nice to et you!]
In the video, Si-hyun briefly introduced the male mbers of the Wing Guild. They then began their battle against goblins.
Perhaps aware they were being fild, there were monts of exaggerated bravado, but they managed to continue the fight without incident.
As the n finished their combat, the video also ca to an end.
‘Today seems normal?’
‘Was last week special?’
The hunters in the video were certainly stronger than the E-rank students. But that was about it.
The students, accustod to flashy and sensational videos on the internet, felt little excitent from this one. So even started to doze off.
Given that the lecture ti was right after lunch, it was natural for drowsiness to settle in.
‘After all, this is just a general studies class.’
Eventually, one student even laid down on the desk.
However, that behavior didn’t last long.
- Snap!
Si-hyun lightly snapped her fingers.
In an instant, the drowsiness that the students were feeling vanished like a ghost. Instead, their minds beca so clear that they were bewildered.
“Uh, um…?”
The student who had been lying down sat up again. For reasons unknown, the sleepiness had suddenly evaporated.
Feeling so refreshed, the previous lethargy seed like a lie.
The student rubbed his forehead and eyebrows, confusion clouding his expression as he began to pay attention to the lecture once more. He felt too good to be dismissing a general studies class by lying down.
“Let’s move on to the next video.”
Having easily dealt with the drowsy students, Si-hyun played the next video.
And then—
“Uh…?”
“What’s that?”
“Huh?”
The students began to gasp in shock.
[First, I’ll explain with this one. First—]
A furious goblin continuously attacked Si-hyun in the video. Yet, she continued her explanation without any concern.
As none of the attacks landed, the goblin began to stomp its feet in frustration, wildly swinging its club.
However, Si-hyun didn’t even glance at the goblin.
She kept her focus on the cara, sharing the information that the students needed to know.
The goblin couldn’t even touch the hem of her clothes. Eventually, it began to screech and point its finger at Si-hyun in anger.
[Keheh—!]
It was a sight of pure rage.
The students watching the video had their mouths agape. They were too stunned to even think about closing them.
Although the battle hadn’t even begun yet, it was already a work of art.
“What is that? How is she dodging?”
“The professor isn’t even looking at the goblin…?”
“Is that even possible?”
[Let’s wrap up the explanation here. Now I’ll
show you for real.]
Regardless of the students’ reactions, Si-hyun calmly continued what she had been doing in the video.
Pretending to manipulate her status window, she pulled out a sword from her magic tool.
At that mont, the goblin swung its club again. Si-hyun tilted her body slightly and smoothly dodged the attack.
Imdiately, her sword glead.
Swish—thunk.
In a single slash, the goblin’s head was cleanly severed and fell to the ground.
“……”
“……”
A mont of silence.
Not a single student dared to speak.
The Si-hyun in the video effortlessly retrieved her sword, returning to a stable stance.
It wasn’t a display of power, nor were there any unnecessary movents. It was simply a swift and clean action.
While Si-hyun in the video began to move, the brief mont of ease allowed the students to whisper amongst themselves.
“What the heck is that…?”
“Wasn’t Professor Jeong a D-rank?”
“Wow, I heard she was a paladin, but she really knows how to use a sword!”
The appropriately edited video skipped the travel intervals.
Once again, Si-hyun encountered a group of goblins and reinitiated the battle.
The students’ gazes fixed back onto the screen.
Not a single student was distracted or unfocused.
Everyone was fully imrsed in the video. It was not the ti for casual conversation.
Right now, they needed to engrave every mont of the video deeply into their minds. They had to imprint it on their brains.
This was not so cheap internet promotional video. It was a finely crafted instructional video that encapsulated real combat.
Si-hyun swept through a group of goblins in an instant.
Then, unexpectedly, she returned her weapon to the magic tool, leaving her barehanded.
[Since this is a general studies lecture, there will be students of various professions. This ti, I’ll show you with a spear.]
Another bombshell statent!
And the antics didn’t stop there. Si-hyun showcased various weapons one after another—an axe, a great sword, etc.—all received from Da-young.
While the weapons themselves were cheap enough for E-rank hunters to use, the one wielding them was Si-hyun.
She swept through the goblins with movents that were perfectly suited to each weapon's characteristics.
Just like when using the sword.
There was no flashiness or bravado. Just the most fundantal movents executed with precise strength to dispatch the enemies neatly.
[How about it? It’s really easy, right? You all can do it too.]
- Thud!
Setting down a massive weapon nearly as large as herself, Si-hyun said with a light smile.
Thus, the long yet fleeting video ca to an end.
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