Chapter 15: The Hunter’s Gambit

“Kim Seo-jun. You do realize exactly what you’ve done, don’t you?”

Sim Jae-deok stood before the student, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his expression indifferent.

“Well, I’m not so sure.”

Kim Seo-jun’s half-hearted reply caused Sim Jae-deok to furrow his brow.

“You launched a surprise attack even though your sparring partner clearly didn’t want to continue, causing him serious injury. Don’t tell me you’re going to deny that?”

“… You say Ko Han-seok didn’t want to continue sparring? Who told you that?”

“I saw it myself. Ko Han-seok showed you his open palm as a signal to stop!”

“Hah. Then why didn’t you stop it, Professor?”

Kim Seo-jun found Sim Jae-deok’s ridiculous argument laughable.

It was obvious he was grasping at straws to find some reason to punish him.

“That’s… because you struck so quickly, I missed the timing.”

“To miss such an important timing… isn’t that a problem for a professor’s competence?”

“What did you say?!”

“Besides, we were clearly in a sparring session. Minor injuries are common. Moreover, I was clearly under a life-threatening threat from Ko Han-seok. You must’ve seen the news, right? Ko Han-seok’s mental state was unstable from the frequent use of Guihua juice. It wasn’t any different when sparring with me. If I hadn’t reacted properly, I could have been seriously hurt by a drug-addicted student’s hands. You could have become an incompetent professor who let this happen!”

Kim Seo-jun’s self-defense was surprisingly forceful.

Sim Jae-deok had tried to intimidate first to gain control of the conversation but found himself on the back foot.

The Kim Seo-jun he knew would never have acted like this.

Why has he changed so much?

He thought Kim Seo-jun’s victory over Ko Han-seok was a fluke and still underestimated the once timid student.

But after talking, he realized Kim Seo-jun was no pushover. Quickly, Sim Jae-deok shifted tactics.

“Ahem. I saw the news too. I had no idea Ko Han-seok was like that. Anyway, as his professor, I can’t deny that I bear some responsibility for failing to manage him properly.”

“So you admit it now? That your neglect pushed Ko Han-seok further down the abyss?”

“That’s… nonsense. I’m responsible for over forty students. I can’t possibly meddle in every single one of their personal lives.”

Sim Jae-deok took a step back.

He had questions he needed answered from Kim Seo-jun, and there was no point in making things worse by escalating.

Kim Seo-jun guessed Sim Jae-deok’s inner thoughts and pressed harder.

“It’s not meddling but showing concern. You do know that indifference is the most terrifying thing in the world, don’t you? It’s not too late now. I hope you show your students some interest.”

“Who said I don’t care? I guarantee there aren’t many professors in this Academy more concerned about their students than I am! And don’t be too harsh on a friend in a difficult situation.”

“Who’s your friend? Ko Han-seok? Are you pretending not to know now? I recall telling you multiple times how desperate he was to torment me.”

Kim Seo-jun attacked with cold facts.

The bullying at the Academy had been so severe that young Kim Seo-jun had made a major decision to seek help from Sim Jae-deok.

But Sim Jae-deok dismissed it as kids’ pranks and scolded Kim Seo-jun instead.

“That’s because, as an educator, I can’t just take one side and be biased. Besides… sigh no, never mind. Let’s drop that.”

Sim Jae-deok suddenly cut off the topic.

“Anyway, since Ko Han-seok will now have to face the consequences, let’s stop debating who’s right or wrong. And be careful not to speak unnecessarily about him anymore.”

Kim Seo-jun felt a flicker of suspicion.

Ending it so easily?

He suspected Sim Jae-deok bringing up Ko Han-seok was a setup to lure him into another conversation.

Sure enough, the next words confirmed Kim Seo-jun’s suspicion.

“Actually, Ko Han-seok was considered a very valuable talent here at the Academy. You know that, right?”

“And?”

“Originally, the Academy planned to send Ko Han-seok to participate in the upcoming weekend Rift raid to gain real combat experience. He was supposed to team up with other seasoned veteran hunters.”

Upon hearing this, Kim Seo-jun immediately understood what Sim Jae-deok wanted.

“You want me to take his place?”

The question came out without hesitation.

Sim Jae-deok flinched as if caught off guard, then cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Ahem. Yes, that’s right. Since Ko Han-seok was scheduled to participate, we want you to step in on his behalf. The roster is already set, and if we can’t fill the spot, it would be a disgrace for our Academy.”

Now Kim Seo-jun understood the reason for this meeting.

Using the Rift raid as an excuse to mess me up thoroughly?

Whether this was Sim Jae-deok acting alone or a consensus among the Academy professors, he couldn’t be sure.

It might even be possible Sim Jae-deok had been acting under Ko Tae-hwan’s orders without anyone knowing.

One thing was clear: this Rift raid was no ordinary event.

At least not for Kim Seo-jun.

He paused, considering.

He needed to figure out the hidden intentions behind Sim Jae-deok’s offer.

They wanted him to represent the Academy in a Rift raid Ko Han-seok was meant to join, but it was obvious this wasn’t a normal situation.

Sim Jae-deok listed the perks of joining the raid.

Since Kim Seo-jun’s evaluation score was very low, participating would grant him enough bonus points to avoid expulsion. He’d also get a share of byproducts and rewards from the raid.

To be honest, Kim Seo-jun didn’t care much about these benefits.

What interested him most was Sim Jae-deok’s real motive.

Did Ko Tae-hwan contact him separately over the weekend?

Since the Ko Han-su incident happened on Sunday afternoon, any contact with Sim Jae-deok must have been earlier.

Ko Tae-hwan was notorious for his obsessive love for his son; there was no way he wouldn’t know that his son had been beaten by an insignificant student.

It was very possible Ko Tae-hwan had already contacted Sim Jae-deok with secret orders before Ko Han-seok even hired Scavengers.

Even if it’s unrelated to Ko Tae-hwan, why should I walk into an obvious trap?

There was no reason to do so.

But someone like Ko Tae-hwan wouldn’t stop harassing him if he didn’t relent, so outright rejection would be futile.

I’ll use this chance to change how people see me.

That was Kim Seo-jun’s final decision.

He wouldn’t be a fool and take a beating; he’d prepare thoroughly and claim all possible benefits.

As he mulled this over, Sim Jae-deok spoke in a measured tone.

“I know it’s not an easy decision. But this is a great opportunity for you. For a first-year student, participating in a Rift raid is a chance worth more than gold. Plus, the hunters leading this raid are veterans recognized by the Rift Management Bureau. The raid leader possesses top-tier B-grade magic and B-grade Mystic powers. You have nothing to worry about regarding the Rift itself. It was recently upgraded to a D-grade Rift, but the monsters inside are mostly E-grade, so the difficulty is quite low. Besides, you’ll only be participating passively — no need to jump into combat. You can just watch it like a movie. How’s that? Sounds doable, right?”

Listening to him, Kim Seo-jun could clearly sense how eager Sim Jae-deok was to push him into the raid.

“Are you sure I don’t have to fight?”

“Of course. Just stick close behind the raid team. It’s a two-night, three-day event, but we’ll provide advanced gear, so no worries about lodging or food.”

“Will you be coming along, Professor?”

“… Huh?”

Sim Jae-deok flinched at the sudden question.

“Ahem. I’ll accompany you up to the entrance of Rift #57 in Yongin. I’d like to guide you inside personally, but there’s a limit on participants.”

“Too bad. It’d be nice if you came along.”

“So, will you accept the raid participation?”

“Before that…”

Kim Seo-jun hesitated and studied Sim Jae-deok.

The relieved expression on Sim Jae-deok’s face clearly showed he thought he had trapped Kim Seo-jun.

“I have one request.”

“Anything.”

“I want to see the members of the raid team I’ll be joining.”

“The team members?”

Sim Jae-deok frowned, clearly wondering why Kim Seo-jun wanted to see them.

“It’s just two nights and three days, but since I’ll be working with hunters I don’t know, I need to know who they are to feel safe joining.”

“Hmm. I can show you their names and photos, but I don’t know much beyond that.”

“That’s enough.”

“Alright. Wait here.”

Sim Jae-deok walked over to his desk and began operating an electronic panel.

A holographic screen appeared above the desk right in front of Kim Seo-jun, displaying a login interface to the Rift Management Bureau’s intranet.

Kim Seo-jun watched Sim Jae-deok’s hand movements discreetly.

His keen eyesight allowed him to pinpoint exactly which buttons Sim Jae-deok was pressing.

Academy2030?

That was Sim Jae-deok’s Rift Management Bureau access ID.

After also noting the password, Kim Seo-jun smiled faintly and focused on the hologram.

The screen showed a list titled “Raid Team 2-14” with photos and names of eight members.

Kim Seo-jun inwardly scoffed at Sim Jae-deok.

“Raid Team 2-14 means they’re the 14th team of the second division within the Rift Management Bureau’s numerous hunter teams.”

They were veterans, yes, but not the impressive raid team Sim Jae-deok had gushed about.

After a quick glance at the hunters’ faces and names, Kim Seo-jun deliberately wore a satisfied smile.

“They look reliable.”

“Right? Now that you’ve accepted, I’ll notify the Bureau to change the participant list.”

“Understood.”

Kim Seo-jun answered briskly, and Sim Jae-deok hurriedly typed to draft a notification before changing his mind.

“The departure is Friday at 3 p.m. There are no afternoon classes that day, so just have lunch and come to the parking lot of Zone C3. I’ll be waiting there.”

“Anything else I need to prepare?”

“Spare clothes, rations, and your favorite weapon should be enough.”

“You’ll cover the cost of these preparations, right?”

Kim Seo-jun grinned, prompting a vein to bulge on Sim Jae-deok’s forehead.

“Ugh… within reasonable limits… I’ll cover it.”

The reluctant answer was obvious.

“The Academy is so generous. Still, it won’t cost over a million won, right?”

That was a clear challenge: he was prepared to spend close to a million won on preparations.

“Make sure to keep the receipts…”

“I’m off now.”

Kim Seo-jun cut him off and stood.

After a quick word of thanks for the opportunity, he headed swiftly to the student cafeteria for a good lunch.

*****

Kim Seo-jun wrapped up the afternoon practical class quickly.

Perhaps because of the impact he’d made during last week’s sparring, there was no sparring among students that day.

Instead, the class proceeded by following the professor’s demonstrated moves.

Most students couldn’t even imitate the simplest motions properly.

In truth, Kim Seo-jun thought Sim Jae-deok’s own movements were awkward and clumsy.

Though performed with tense strength and precision, they were mostly useless showy gestures with little practical combat value.

Students trying to mimic that could only be worse.

No wonder even A-rank hunters struggle when their magic runs out.

Kim Seo-jun sighed deeply, thinking the Academy’s robotic dance-like lessons were why high-level hunters sometimes got torn apart by low-level monsters.

Of course, some rare hunters honed by real battle performed exceptionally well in close combat without much magical aid.

Ironically, the higher the Mystic grade, the worse the combat skills tended to be, while lower Mystic grades correlated with superior physical ability.

Hunters who were both highly skilled and high in Mystic rank were less than one in ten.

The way hunter ranks are judged based on magic and Mystic alone is ridiculous.

To Kim Seo-jun, the AA or AB hunter ranks weren’t an accurate measure of a hunter’s true ability.

The first part reflected magical strength and could serve as a rough standard of power, but the Mystic grade was assigned subjectively.

When awakening Mystic powers and becoming an official hunter, you must be rated by the Rift Management Bureau.

For Mystic grades, the evaluation relies solely on the candidate’s explanation and the examiner’s observation of the Mystic’s power.

If someone deliberately downplays their Mystic power, even the examiners wouldn’t know.

Thus, without real combat tests, the hunter ranks alone couldn’t guarantee actual strength.

Assigning ranks that factor in physical ability—like AAA—would be equally absurd.

Well… even in my old world, there were top-tier masters with enormous internal power but terrible real combat ability.

Compared to this place, some hunters had A-grade magic but panicked uselessly in battle — nothing but bubble hunters.

Kim Seo-jun was drenched in sweat, trying hard to follow Professor Sim Jae-deok’s moves amidst the other students.

He felt ridiculous but had no choice since refusing to follow the lesson might bring more trouble.

With that, the afternoon class ended.

On the subway ride home, Kim Seo-jun pondered whether he should tell his parents the truth about joining the raid.

At first, he decided to be completely honest, but then he doubted whether his father would just let it go.

The answer was obviously no.

Given his father’s personality, there was no way he would allow Kim Seo-jun to go into such a dangerous situation with obvious backstage scheming.

So he decided to keep it a secret.

Kim Seo-jun was determined to join the raid and had something to prove, especially to Ko Tae-hwan, who seemed to be backing Sim Jae-deok.

If you’ve prepared something, I’ll smash it all without leaving a trace.

So no one would dare set such childish traps again.

He wanted them to think, “This guy’s not someone to mess with.”

Kim Seo-jun knew all too well the psychology of those who wield power.

They were weak against those stronger than themselves but endlessly brutal to the weak.

If he didn’t show he was strong, people like Ko Tae-hwan would keep hunting and harassing him like hyenas.

Not just him, but even his father.

“I need to grow as much as I can in these next four days.”

Kim Seo-jun began to meticulously plan how to spend the remaining time before the raid, like organizing a curriculum in his mind.