Chapter 76: Chapter 76

The students gradually gathered in the Monsterology lecture hall.@@novelbin@@

Si-Hyun, who had arrived early, greeted the students as they came in.

Once the class started and attendance was taken,

Si-Hyun nodded in satisfaction, confirming there were no absentees.

“Today's lecture topic is orcs, and we’ll also cover trolls.”

With a relaxed tone, Si-Hyun brought up audiovisual materials on the screen.

The students placed printed papers they had brought onto their desks.

Some students already had notes, showing they had done their homework.

It was evidence that they had even prepared in advance.

“As you all know, monsters come in many types. Some of them change their attributes depending on the environment.”

The prime examples of this are the orcs and trolls, which we will focus on today.

Si-Hyun began the lecture, following the familiar approach he had grown accustomed to.

He carefully observed the students' reactions and actively encouraged participation.

The fifth period passed in no time, and after a break, the sixth period began.

“As with the previous lecture, we’ll be watching some video materials today.”

Click.

The screen froze on a black image.

The students relaxed and thought to themselves:

‘It can’t be anything too special this time, right?’

‘No way he’ll surprise us again, right?’

‘It’ll probably just be another video of the professor slicing up monsters.’

Click.

Si-Hyun pressed the play button, and the video started.

The students watched the video with a calm attitude.

The black screen disappeared, and a person appeared along with the background.

[Hello, academy students!]

[This is Hunter Ji-Ah, who is here as a guest.]

[Si-Hyun, do you really have to do this so stiffly? Should I edit this?]

[Umm, no need. Anyway, today I’ll be showing you the changes of orcs according to their environment in this dungeon.]

It was a bombshell from the start!

‘Huh? Hunter Ji-Ah?’

‘Why is Hunter Ji-Ah here?’

‘Wow, Si-Hyun and Ji-Ah together? It’s like a dream team.’

The students, eyes wide open, stared at the screen.

It wasn’t just anyone — it was Ji-Ah, Hunter Ji-Ah.

She was the specialist in the notoriously dangerous dungeons, the top-ranked spear hunter in South Korea.

After the death of the S-rank spear hunter often mentioned alongside her, many Koreans were eagerly waiting for her to become an S-rank herself.

Such a famous person appeared as a guest in the academy’s cultural lecture video.

All the students were stunned.

They blinked in disbelief and continued watching the video.

[Ugh!]

[Clang—!]

The orcs in the video fell to the ground with pig-like screeches.

The video captured the scene dynamically, from an intense viewpoint.

The spear’s angle and the orc’s hit points matched Ji-Ah’s precise movements.

She single-handedly took on multiple foes, showcasing the most efficient techniques.

Her ability to target monsters’ weaknesses was also perfectly demonstrated.

It was a rare and valuable video that students could hardly find even if they paid for it.

The students were captivated by the screen.

‘How did they film this?’

‘Wow, this is more fun than watching on Tube!’

‘Hunter Ji-Ah is so cool...’

The students were so absorbed in the video that they forgot to breathe.

The video, starting with cave orcs, naturally edited together scenes of swamp orcs, volcanic orcs, and more, showing how to deal with various types of orcs.

Finally, it showed a troll.

Si-Hyun’s sword cleanly severed its neck as the video ended.

The students stared at the screen in silence, as if the impression would linger.

Si-Hyun, who had been watching the students instead of the video, nodded in satisfaction.

A lot of time had been spent making sure the video was dynamic yet contained all the necessary information.

Honestly, filming it was many times more difficult than simply hunting monsters.

But seeing the students’ reactions made it all worthwhile, and Si-Hyun couldn’t help but smile.

“Now, as we saw in the video, monsters can have different attributes depending on their environment—”

Si-Hyun resumed the lecture.

The students, fully focused, poured all their attention into the professor’s teachings.

***

“That’s all for today. The midterm exam next week will cover everything up until today’s material, so make sure to keep that in mind.”

With the lecture wrapped up neatly, Si-Hyun quietly left the classroom.

Soon, the students began whispering among themselves, excitedly discussing what they had just witnessed.

“Wow, today’s lecture was insane.”

“Honestly, I think this class is more useful than my major.”

“Did you see him slice that troll? It was so clean.”

“Speaking of trolls, I never imagined Hunter Ji-Ah would show up as a guest.”

The conversation buzzed with excited voices.

Then, one student sitting alone suddenly shouted out.

“Wow, no way!”

Everyone’s attention turned toward him.

“...Oh, uh.”

The student, who hadn’t expected all eyes on him, scratched his head awkwardly.

He lifted his phone and said:

“...Guys, check out Professor Jeong Si-Hyun’s academic information.”

Curious, the other students immediately began checking the information.

Soon, their eyes widened in surprise as they stared at their screens.

“Wait, the connections list isn’t empty anymore?”

“Looks like the B-rank crafting hunter who was assigned to make models and Hunter Ji-Ah were added.”

The connections list was a major indicator of a hunter’s abilities and influence.

Now, two high-ranking hunters had been added to the list.

But that wasn’t all that was surprising.

“Professor was promoted to C-rank?”

“Whoa... that’s awesome.”

One of the only weaknesses of Professor Jeong Si-Hyun in the Monsterology class had been that, unlike most professors who were C-rank, he was still a D-rank adjunct instructor.

Now, that issue had been completely resolved.

The timing was perfect.

The students, already fired up from the lecture, were even more energized by the news.

A rank increase!

A dream for every student!

‘I want to get to D-rank too!’

‘I need to raise my rank!’

The classroom emptied in no time, and only silence and lingering excitement remained.

***

[Title: Look at the guys who were ignoring the Monsterology class]

[ㅇㅇ]

Professor Jeong Si-Hyun was promoted to C-rank! Hahaha

Really?

└ Yup, it’s true. If you don’t believe it, check it yourself.

No way, why is this real? I thought he was just a madman from the exam stress.

└ Were you just living in deception? Hahaha

So the posts about how awesome the professor’s skills are weren’t lies?

└ Yup, for real, hahaha

I thought it was just fanboying over his looks, but if he's C-rank, then I guess it's legit, hahaha

[Title: We should invite Professor Jeong Si-Hyun as a full-time professor]

[ㅇㅇ]

I’m the first to recommend him.

Did this guy just say “ ”?

Hah... just this once...

I’ve never seen a post like this where there’s no curse words in the comments, hahaha

└ For real, hahaha

└ Hahaha

└ How can you curse out a C-rank professor, hahaha

[Title: Are you guys serious?]

[ㅇㅇ]

I don’t take the Monsterology class, but I remember when you guys were getting hit by goblin models, right?

Doesn't this mean that if this professor takes over as the major professor, he’ll personally beat the students?

What the heck;

Wait, that sounds a bit scary?

Don’t suddenly change the genre on us, hahaha

That’s a reward.

└ You’re crazy, hahaha

└ Hahaha

Actually, I’m fine with it, hahaha

[Title: Speaking of the video...]

[ㅇㅇ]

About the video from Monsterology where Professor Jeong Si-Hyun filmed with Hunter Ji-Ah, that was from a B-rank dungeon, right?

Did anyone who took the class watch it?

Hmm... now that you mention it, yeah?

└ Right? Things like volcanic orcs only show up in high-rank dungeons, right?

??? You filmed with Hunter Ji-Ah?

└ Yup, she appeared as a guest in today’s lecture video.

└ What the heck, now I’m so jealous of you guys.

└ Hahaha

└ I mean, it’s legit if it’s Hunter Ji-Ah, hahaha

└ Ugh; she’ll probably be teaching next semester, right? I’ll definitely sign up then.

└ Do you think you can even get in? Hahaha, the class has only 15 spots, hahaha

***

...Time passed, and another week went by.

It was the academy's midterm exam period.

“Good job.”

Si-Hyun spoke in a quiet voice to a student who had just finished their exam and was submitting their paper.

The student, with a tired expression, looked up at him and shyly nodded.

'Everyone’s working hard on the test.'

At the academy, general education grades weren’t as important as major grades.

As long as students met the minimum requirements for their GPA, it was enough.

Still, seeing the students work diligently on the problems made Si-Hyun feel proud.

It was rewarding to see them engaged and learning.

“Areum, you did great.”

“Hehe…”

One by one, the students left the classroom.

By the time the exam was over, it hadn’t even taken the full hour.

Si-Hyun glanced around the empty classroom.

It felt strange to see the room empty, since he usually left right after class and had never seen it like this.

It felt odd to have a classroom that should be filled with students, but instead, it was silent and empty.

When he first started teaching, he had worried, ‘What if no one shows up?’ or ‘What if there are too many students and it becomes overwhelming?’

Now, here he was, feeling strange in an empty classroom.

Perhaps this was a sign that he had grown?

With a soft smile, Si-Hyun picked up the stack of papers.

Tap, tap.

He neatly organized the pile of exam papers and placed them in his bag.

‘Now, it’s time to visit the elder.’

How long had it been since he last visited?

When he’d told the elder he’d come by after a long time, the elder had been so pleased.

He’d been working hard on solving complex games recently, so this time, he was determined to win without losing any pieces!

“Hehe…”

Si-Hyun left the academy building and walked quickly.

Using public transport, he arrived at the elder’s house without issue.

The elder, who had been waiting, immediately opened the gate for him.

“Hello.”

“Ah, my dear, you look so bright. Has something good happened?”

“…I guess I’m just happy to see you.”

“Hahaha.”

It was just lip service, but the elder seemed pleased, letting out a hearty laugh.

Si-Hyun smiled and walked through the garden to sit in a chair.

“Oh, is this yuzu tea?”

“That’s right. The refreshing taste of yuzu really suits spring.”

The elder smiled, sipping the yuzu tea and eating some rice cakes made with yuzu as well.

Si-Hyun took one too.

“Wow, it’s delicious!”

“Do you like it? Well, take some with you when you leave.”

“Yes! My younger sibling will love it too!”

“Hahaha, I’ll pack plenty for you.”

The elder stroked his beard as he laughed.

Si-Hyun looked at him for a moment, then turned to gaze at the garden.

The garden, neat and well-maintained, reflected the personality of the house’s owner.

Despite being an S-rank hunter and the master of a major guild, the house had a humble feeling to it.

Si-Hyun, while observing the garden, casually spoke.

“It’s peaceful here.”

“Hmm?”

“Well, I always thought that high-ranking hunters like you would live in fancy houses. But this feels so calm.”

“Hahaha.”

Hearing Si-Hyun’s words, the elder smiled gently and replied.

“I’ve shaped my life the way I wanted. This kind of house brings me peace.”

“Do the guild or the government ever pressure you?”

“Hm…”

The elder didn’t immediately answer.

His gaze became deep, studying Si-Hyun for a moment.

After a brief pause, he stroked his beard again and spoke.

“I’ve put in a lot of effort to live my way. So I’m not swayed by anyone.”

“Hmm…”

“That’s how it is.”

It was a condensed version of his life story.

But there was something about the words that stirred Si-Hyun’s heart.

“Hm, shall we play some Go?”

“Yes! I’m going to win today.”

“Hahaha.”

They spent the evening playing Go until it was time for Si-Hyun to head home.

Si-Hyun lost the first game, but won the second.