Chapter 14:  A Professor’s ID

For Kim Seo-jun, the long, long weekend finally came to an end, and a new week began.

It took only about forty minutes from his home to the academy, including walking time.

The subway was packed with commuters.

Kim Seo-jun stared out the subway window, lost in his own thoughts.

Last night, he had successfully secured a 20% increase in his allowance from his father.

Right now, Kim Seo-jun felt absolutely great.

Because so many changes had come over the past weekend.

He had dutifully repaid his parents’ nagging with devotion, and had given a thorough lesson to Go Han-seok, who had tormented him so much.

Moreover, he had provided his father with the opportunity to break through the lifelong barrier of magic power level 59.

In this world, martial arts didn’t exist, but it was possible to master them perfectly using existing knowledge—a fact that brought Kim Seo-jun immense joy.

Furthermore, if he played his cards right, awakening martial arts into mysticism might also be possible.

Of course, not everything had been positive.

On Saturday, a crack had appeared causing many casualties, and there was a possibility that the demonic disease terrorizing the world was connected to tactical robots produced by a company called Gaianix.

He had also obtained proof that the culprit who secretly injected demon parasite fluid to halt magic growth and worsen health was Go Tae-hwan.

But for now, even Kim Seo-jun didn’t possess the ability to solve those problems.

“Who should I find first?”

He was thinking about gathering comrades to assist him.

There were seven people he could trust to watch his back.

Five were men, two were women.

Of the seven, three men were older than Kim Seo-jun, two were the same age, and two were younger.

These comrades had always followed Kim Seo-jun like shadows in the other world, protecting him from danger.

One of them, Oh Chang-seok, had even crossed paths with Kim Seo-jun yesterday near his home at a barbecue restaurant.

But he seemed to have some secret identity, making it hard to find a chance to build a connection.

Having met Oh Chang-seok made Kim Seo-jun all the more curious about how the others were living now.

“I wonder if they’re all doing well here?”

In the previous world, they had all fought fiercely in the final battle against the Cheonma General and lost their lives.

At least here, he hoped deeply that they weren’t throwing away their lives in vain but were living well.

They were a unique group with such different personalities that it seemed impossible for them to ever be united.

They were strong martial artists, but more than that, they were fiercely determined to help Kim Seo-jun and defeat the Cheonma General.

“Especially Dae-man hyung was the worst.”

Bak Dae-man, the Invincible Yaksha (不壞夜叉).

Among the seven comrades, he was the eldest and the most righteous.

He was a towering man over 190 cm tall, a muscular mass with a bald head at 37 years old, who had played the role of leader to Kim Seo-jun and the others.

Despite his reckless appearance, Bak Dae-man was more cautious than anyone else and moved according to meticulously planned strategies.

If Kim Seo-jun could find him first, it would be much easier to find the others and gain their support.

“I wonder what he’s like here?”

Bak Dae-man had been the Anti-Demon Protector of the ‘Nuri Clan,’ a sect formed by undefeated martial artists from all over South Korea in the previous world.

If his personality and ideology remained unchanged, there was no way he would be living as an ordinary citizen here.

“He’d probably be a respectable hunter, actively delivering justice, right?”

In that case, Kim Seo-jun could just get a list of hunters in South Korea and check the names.

The problem was that getting a reliable hunter list wasn’t easy.

The personal information of hunters was recorded only in the Cracks Management Bureau’s main database, so no one could casually access it.

At least a C-class or higher mid- to high-rank hunter license was required to get an ID that could access the Bureau’s intranet.

In other words, even Kim Seo-jun’s father didn’t have such an ID.

“At the moment, I don’t even know any hunters…”

At the academy, Kim Seo-jun had been an outsider and didn’t have good relationships with peers or any close ties with well-known senior hunters.

He pondered ways to obtain an ID.

“I think the academy professors are given IDs because they have to educate students.”

Academy professors ranged from D-class to B-class hunters.

A-class hunters rarely became professors at the academy because they earned much more money by staying in guilds to train juniors.

Anyway, Kim Seo-jun remembered that professors were granted IDs that allowed access to the Bureau’s intranet, albeit with basic privileges.

He began to think about how he might secretly steal a professor’s ID to use the Bureau’s intranet.

*****

After some time passed, Kim Seo-jun arrived at Bulgwang Station, where the academy was located.

Exiting through Exit 2 and walking about 200 meters northeast, he could see the main gate of the academy.

[The 3rd Hunter Academy]

The large letters on the gate marked the academy Kim Seo-jun attended.

There were three hunter academies in Seoul.

The 3rd Hunter Academy was considered the one that produced the lowest quality graduates.

Among the awakened students, those with magic power or mysticism ranked B or above were all admitted to the 1st Academy, and the rest were assigned to the 2nd or 3rd Academy.

Therefore, no 1st or 2nd-year students at the 3rd Academy had magic power or mysticism above B rank.

Then why was Kim Seo-jun, with an A-rank mysticism, attending the 3rd Academy?

Because during the Awakened Interview, his hunter suitability score was only 40, which was very low.

He had kept his head bowed in low self-esteem and stumbled over answers, so his suitability couldn’t be rated highly.

In fact, there wasn’t much difference in ability between the 2nd and 3rd Academies, but among students, the 3rd Academy was somewhat looked down upon.

Still, it wasn’t just any regular university—it was a hunter academy.

While they were scorned by hunters, ordinary people viewed students of the 3rd Academy as impressive and enviable.

Passing through the gate and crossing the elaborately decorated campus road, grand buildings came into view.

Several lecture halls and training buildings were followed by practice halls, cafeterias, and dormitories arranged neatly.

Kim Seo-jun headed to the building marked with the number 1, like a signboard.

Each grade at the academy consisted of 40 students divided into three classes, with no particular criteria for separating them.

From the third year, however, students specialized into Combat, Magic, or Support departments.

Kim Seo-jun, with his A-rank combat mysticism, was scheduled for the Combat department, but with such a low evaluation score, he might be expelled before even reaching the second year.

A minimum score of 50 was required to advance; below that, students were held back.

Students scoring below 20 were not just held back but expelled—though since the academy’s founding, there had been only one expulsion.

That was not due to grades but because the student had become a villain, a measure taken reluctantly.

Kim Seo-jun recalled his younger self with a bitter expression as he entered the classroom.

The noisy chatter instantly ceased.

All eyes turned to Kim Seo-jun.

In those gazes were unfamiliar feelings of wariness and fear.

“Knocking down that arrogant Go Han-seok seems to be working wonders.”

Students who used to pick fights with Kim Seo-jun and acted like bullies in middle and high school now avoided his gaze.

After all, Go Han-seok was not only among the top three strongest in this class and the entire first year but was also the son of Go Tae-hwan, vice guild leader of “Hyeonmu,” one of the teenage guilds.

Kim Seo-jun glanced indifferently at the students sneaking looks at him.

He then fixed his gaze on the burly student who had been closest to Go Han-seok.

The student flinched and turned his head away completely.

“Works well.”

Kim Seo-jun felt a sense of satisfaction and plopped down in a secluded seat.

At that moment, a few students a little farther away whispered quietly, tickling his ears.

Listening to their conversation was quite something.

The topic was Go Han-seok.

They said Go Han-seok had injected himself with the forbidden sap of ethereal beasts—taboo among hunters—and even used the demon parasite fluid, which was a serious crime just to possess without government approval.

They also revealed that he hired scavengers to commit illegal acts and might face jail time.

“My father is Go Tae-hwan, so no matter what, he’ll get a reduced sentence.”

But getting off innocent would be difficult.

Because of public opinion, even if it was only for a month or two, he’d have to serve time.

And then Go Han-seok would no longer be able to attend the academy.

Kim Seo-jun smirked quietly as he lost interest in their chatter.

“No more meddling from here on out.”

Here, he didn’t want to be a hero living for a grand cause but an ordinary citizen who knew how to protect and care for precious people.

What happened with Go Han-seok was a justified measure since the boy had first shown malice toward him.

But going further would be burdensome in many ways.

Of course, Go Tae-hwan, who was practically the final boss, would one day have to pay the price.

“As long as mysticism exists, I’ll never be an ordinary citizen, but whatever. That’s that.”

Kim Seo-jun chuckled to himself.

Just then, the classroom door opened, and his homeroom professor, Shim Jae-duk, appeared.

He scanned the students as he entered, then briefly fixed his gaze on Kim Seo-jun.

Shim Jae-duk’s expression clearly showed displeasure.

It was as if he wanted to blame Kim Seo-jun, silently saying, ‘Because you beat Go Han-seok, this mess happened.’

Yet, despite that expression, Shim Jae-duk began the class without a word.

The morning lesson was about checking the Monster Codex and learning the characteristics of each monster and the locations of their respective cracks.

The interesting thing was that Kim Seo-jun already remembered the Monster Codex in quite some detail.

It was as if young Kim Seo-jun had already previewed it alone before class, with knowledge far deeper than the professor’s explanation.

The information in Kim Seo-jun’s head was far more extensive than expected.

Because of oxygen poisoning symptoms, using his body had been difficult, so young Kim Seo-jun spent his time reading books and swimming through the sea of information on the internet.

He had memorized the rankings of famous hunter guilds in South Korea and could recite personal details of renowned hunters without even looking.

“Smart kid, Kim Seo-jun.”

It was amusing to treat his younger self like a stranger, but he had to admit the boy was intelligent.

Still, in other respects, young Kim Seo-jun had been pitiful.

He had never recognized the happiness he already held, blaming only his fate with oxygen poisoning, and had closed off his heart.

“Even with that brilliant mind and mysticism, he ended up being a loner at the academy.”

Kim Seo-jun smiled bitterly as he quietly watched Shim Jae-duk pouring his heart into teaching.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as an idea struck him.

“Wait a minute. There’s no need to look far for a professor’s ID.”

Right there was a tasty target, arms wide open, practically shouting, ‘Steal my ID!’

Professor Shim Jae-duk.

A hunter in his early forties with a C-class hunter license.

He graduated from the 2nd Hunter Academy at 23, spent about five years in a private guild as a hunter, then for some reason joined the Cracks Management Bureau.

He worked as a bureau agent for seven years before being recommended and appointed as a professor at the 3rd Hunter Academy due to age.

Oddly, Professor Shim Jae-duk disliked young Kim Seo-jun.

He constantly blocked Kim Seo-jun’s actions, deliberately paired him with strong opponents in sparring, or asked difficult questions just to embarrass him, openly expressing his dislike.

Shim Jae-duk’s behavior stirred up the classmates.

A student disliked by a professor was the perfect toy to torment.

Besides, Kim Seo-jun was the weakest among all first-year students.

His body was frail, he barely knew how to use mysticism.

He showed no defiance when bullied, only quietly seethed to himself without openly confronting anyone.

So his life at the academy had been pure hell day by day.

The memory of his younger self’s dark past soured his mood rapidly.

“This time, I’ll make that professor regret it properly.”

Kim Seo-jun decided to steal Shim Jae-duk’s Cracks Management Bureau ID and use it freely.

He also felt the need to take appropriate measures soon so that classmates would no longer look down on him.

Though perceptions of him were already changing after he’d knocked out Go Han-seok, it wasn’t enough yet.

And Shim Jae-duk, who had cornered young Kim Seo-jun, needed a fitting lesson too.

“If I’m going to do it, I better do it right.”

He planned to change how those around him saw him without exposing himself too much.

While Kim Seo-jun was deeply pondering his next move, the morning class ended.

“… That concludes the morning session. Everyone, enjoy your lunch, and I’ll see you during the afternoon practical class. And, Kim Seo-jun?”

Shim Jae-duk suddenly called out to him.

“Yes?”

“Come to my office right now.”

“…….”

Kim Seo-jun didn’t reply, but Shim Jae-duk left the classroom as if it didn’t matter.

‘Calling me separately… Maybe he has something to say about Go Han-seok?’

Though he roughly guessed what it might be, he wasn’t bothered.

If anything, Kim Seo-jun thought it could be a good opportunity for what he planned.

He hurried toward Professor Shim Jae-duk’s office.