[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter 68
“But why… of all people, Kim Taek-hee?”
[May 15th. The Blood Demon will be beheaded by Kim Taek-hee’s blade.]
Reading the prophecy, I could at least guess that I’d end up playing the role of the field training’s boss villain and die.
But why Kim Taek-hee, of all people? That part was still unclear.
“The one who’s supposed to take down the Blood Demon should be the students…”
Do Jin-hak sets up a trap during the field training, forcing the player’s party into a confined space where they must battle the Blood Demon.
Professors and other students can’t interfere.
Just like during the Demonic Villain’s surprise attack event, if a professor were to step in and fight, it would completely break the ga balance. That’s why the developers made sure to prevent any possibility of professor involvent.
So how the hell does Kim Taek-hee end up killing in that scenario…?
“Wait, Professor Do?! What are you doing here?”
Just as I was lost in thought—
A loud, obnoxious voice pierced through my focus like a knife to the brain.
There was only one person in this academy who completely lacked any sense of decorum.
“It’s been a while, Vice Principal.”
Oh Ji-sung had been greeting soone else when he spotted . After exchanging a few quick words with them, he walked over with short, brisk steps.
“Well, well, I’ve been so swamped with work I haven’t even had the chance to visit your office, Professor Do! You understand, don’t you? This Vice Principal gig isn’t just about warming a chair all day, you know.”
He plopped down in front of uninvited, grabbed my untouched drink as if it were his own, and started rambling on about how busy he’d been.
Classic Oh Ji-sung, the least popular character in Military Chronicle.
“But what’s got you so serious over there?”
He pointed at the note in my hand.
Without a word, I crumpled it up and shoved it into my pocket.
“It’s nothing. By the way, sounds like you’ve been dealing with a lot.”
“Of course! That damn phantom thief had been giving a headache for days, and then yesterday—bam! Another incident in Sector M! I heard you were there too, Professor Do?”
“It just… ended up that way.”
“Man, I recruited you, but damn—you’re sothing else. You’ve caught a phantom thief, taken down villains… And I hear more and more students are curious about you these days. See over there?”
Oh Ji-sung gestured subtly toward the room.
Sure enough, when I glanced around, I noticed several students sneaking glances in my direction.
So had even chosen seats nearby, just to eavesdrop on our conversation…
Ding-!
[Your growing reputation has beco more noticeable due to your continuous quest completions.]
[Reputation score increased from -35 to 5.]
[Your reputation has entered positive territory! The Shop System is now unlocked.]
As soon as I realized the students’ attention, a ssage popped up, confirming the reputation boost.
Just like after the phantom thief incident, the increase was significant.
‘I never got a chance to use the Shop in my last cycle…’
But this ti?
It unlocked at the perfect mont.
It felt like a beam of light breaking through my growing sense of unease.
“…But you should be careful.”
Oh Ji-sung suddenly lowered his voice, an unusual shift for him.
“You know as well as I do—there are plenty of people who don’t like you. So professors aren’t thrilled that you’ve been inserting yourself into all these incidents right after your appointnt.”
“You an soone like Professor Kim Taek-hee?”
“Well, uh—Professor Kim is particularly… Puuhh!—”
He spat out his drink mid-sentence.
It spilled everywhere, so much that I could practically feel the café staff’s rage radiating from across the room.
‘Judging by his reaction… I think I can guess what’s going on.’
Soone like Oh Ji-sung hears a lot of things.
He must have caught wind of Kim Taek-hee plotting sothing against .
‘Which explains why the Prophetic Dream Spell gave that prophecy.’
I didn’t know exactly what Kim Taek-hee was up to, but I wasn’t about to sit around and wait to be ambushed.
I had foreseen a fragnt of the future using the spell.
That ant the advantage was mine.
“Ahem! Anyway! That reminds .”
Oh Ji-sung glanced around at the students nearby, as if checking to see if anyone was listening, before lowering his voice again.
“What do you think about helping out so of the other professors? It’d be good for your image.”
“What kind of help are you talking about?”
“Well… There’s a student causing trouble in Sector F. The professors are struggling to handle them.”
Sector F was where the Shop was located.
I’d planned to go there anyway, but… sothing about this scread trouble.
“We were going to have another professor deal with it, but—Professor Clentine is away on a business trip, and Professor Sarah has locked herself in her lab for days.”
Oh Ji-sung sighed heavily, clearly frustrated.
Sounded like Sarah had been holed up in her lab ever since our encounter at the library.
‘I must’ve really gotten under her skin when I pointed out the flaw in her summoning circle.’
She despised , yet she’d been called out by of all people.
She was probably obsessing over it right now, scouring her summoning formations for the flaw I had noticed.
“Anyway, Professor Kim Taek-hee has suddenly gotten so busy, and well… no one else is available, so that leaves you.”
“What about that student’s advisor?”
“They have one, sure, but… like I said, this one’s a handful. The advisor’s basically given up.”
Listening to him, I started getting curious about this troublemaker.
Then again…
At an academy filled with monsters, it wasn’t exactly uncommon for professors to have students they struggled to handle.
‘But it’s rare to see Oh Ji-sung so flustered over a student.’
Even when dealing with Seo Su-kyung, backed by an international conglorate, or Yang Hak-je, a descendant of the prestigious Yang Clan, he never seed this troubled.
Curiosity grew over what kind of student could cause such a reaction, and then Oh Ji-sung quietly revealed the answer.
"Actually… they’re a descendant of Harari."
The mont that na was ntioned, I imdiately understood why Oh Ji-sung was being so cautious.
In this academy, there was only one student with the Harari na.
‘Hival Harari of the Transmutation Departnt… so it’s him.’
A direct descendant of Solomon Harari—one of the founders of the Masterclass and a first-generation military hero, Hival Harari.
* * *
[Sub-Quest: Hival’s Mischief]
[The Vice President is struggling because of the troublemaker, Hival. If you put an end to his antics, not only will the Vice President be grateful, but many others might be as well.]
[Rewards: Increased favorability with Oh Ji-sung, increased favorability with the shopkeeper, reputation boost, trait experience gain.]
Inside the tram heading toward F District, where the shop was located.
As I sat by the window, my gaze wasn’t focused on the scenery outside but rather on the quest notification hovering in front of .
‘This is a first.’
It seed like a quest with fairly specific activation conditions.
Given that Oh Ji-sung had ntioned Sarah, Clentine, and Kim Taek-hee, the quest probably only triggered when all three of them were occupied with other matters.
‘It’s an unexpected bonus quest… but there’s no downside for .’
For a simple task like dealing with a troublemaker, the rewards were quite generous. Especially the increase in the shopkeeper’s favorability—sothing crucial for my future plans.
‘Then again, it makes sense… since that troublemaker happens to be Hival.’
Hival Harari was a descendant of one of the academy’s founders, and his family was a core part of the prestigious foundation which funded the academy.
In a way, he was even more politically troubleso to deal with than Seo Su-kyung or Yang Hak-je.
No wonder Oh Ji-sung and the other professors were on edge.
‘Fortunately, I have an advantage here.’
Hival wasn’t just so random student; he ranked sixth in the academy and was the only mber of the Student Council from the Transmutation Departnt.
In other words, he had a high probability of becoming one of the Seven Heroes.
Having encountered him in multiple cycles, I already knew him quite well.
‘I can even guess what kind of trouble he’s causing at the shop right now.’
I glanced down at the bucket placed beneath my seat.
A little gift for Hival Harari.
Just imagining his reaction—his frustration, his surprise—made look forward to arriving at F District even more.
* * *
- Next stop: F District. Passengers with business in the shopping area, Transmutation Departnt, or entertainnt facilities, please exit through the right doors…
As the announcent played, the scenery outside began to shift, revealing F District.
The landscape was just as I rembered—except for one glaringly out-of-place sight.
"What the hell is that?"
"A boulder? No… is that a mountain?"
"Has there always been sothing like that in F District…?"
Students stepping off the tram all stared in confusion at the massive, gray structure looming in the distance.
A rock—no, it was practically a small mountain.
Sothing that had never existed in F District before.
And it was now completely blocking the entrance to the only shop on campus.
"What the hell is this boulder?"
"How are we supposed to get into the shop now?"
"Hey! Everyone, give a hand! Let’s try pushing it with a lever!"
"It’s useless! It won’t budge no matter how hard we try…!"
As I approached the shop entrance, I found a group of students gathered around the rock, completely at a loss.
Judging by the sheer number of them, this had been going on for quite so ti.
Just then, a loud voice rang out from within the crowd.
"Hival! Enough with the pranks already!"
The owner of the booming voice wasn’t a student but soone wearing the uniform of a shop employee.
His neatly combed pompadour, stubbornly maintained mustache, and an old-fashioned pair of horn-rimd glasses seed at odds with his massive physique.
This was none other than Manager Jang.
A figure that no Masterclass player could possibly be unfamiliar with—the owner of the academy’s only shop.
"No matter how much you pull stunts like this, I’m not selling you that item! Do you even realize how many students you’re inconveniencing right now?!" Jang’s voice carried both frustration and fury.
To everyone’s surprise, a voice actually responded from within the boulder.
"Then you should’ve just sold it to in the first place! Why be so stubborn and make things difficult for everyone?"
That familiar voice coming from the rock…
‘Just as I thought. This boulder is Hival Harari.’
The Transmutation Departnt’s magic was entirely different from that of the Illusion Departnt.
This wasn’t a re illusion—this boulder had real weight and durability.
Of course, transforming one’s body into a material of this scale required imnse skill…
‘And yet, he’s pulling it off effortlessly, even this early in the sester.’
Even if players often cursed him as "that damn Hival," his bloodline was undeniably special.
Which ant he deserved so special treatnt in return.
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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