Chapter 14: Skipping a grade.

“Start the report.”

In the center of the second floor of the faculty building next to the academy’s main building, the people seated around the round table swallowed at the words of the white-haired woman dressed in hanbok.

“No one has anything to say?”

As she pressed them, the man seated to her right opened his mouth.

“A total of 24 faculty members were dispatched to hunt the Level 1 Threat demon Basilisk that appeared in the Gangwon Sea. The results are… a total of fifteen casualties, four seriously injured, and eleven lightly injured. The Basilisk was… not captured.”

“The Basilisk should no longer be classified as a Level 1 Threat. I propose we raise it to Special Threat Level.”

The person next to him spoke as if passing the baton.

The people groaned with worried expressions.

“We’ve discussed that before. Who was it that objected at the time?”

The woman looked around sharply.

As her head turned, the blue petal drop earrings on her ears jingled.

All eyes turned to a man sitting opposite the woman.

“Didn’t Teacher Shim vehemently oppose it at the time?”

The man called Teacher Shim shrank under the woman’s gaze, unable to move.

The others were also looking at the man with suspicion.

He was the one who had actively agreed to the dispatch of twenty-four faculty members when the Basilisk’s appearance was announced.

Yet, he was also the one who had opposed classifying it as a Special Threat.

“Th, that is…”

The man spoke, sweating profusely.

“At the time, it was clearly identified as a Level 1 Threat demon, and I thought twenty-four of Jindal’s teachers would be enough… it seems I was mistaken…”

“Coincidentally, demons infiltrated Jindal that day? Two of them, at that.”

A young woman next to the man adjusted the glasses perched on her nose and interjected.

“According to Teacher Jung, the demons seemed to know that there were almost no faculty members in the academy at the time.”

“Th, that! I didn’t know anything about that! Su, surely I didn’t think that a demon would coincidentally infiltrate the academy that day…” The man desperately made excuses, sweating profusely.

“Hmm? ‘Coincidentally,’ you say. It’s not likely that a thoroughly individualistic demon would convey their situation, so ‘coincidentally’ the Level 1 Threat Basilisk and the Level 2 Threat demons Uroboros and Rubrum-Luna, three high-ranking demons, appeared in Korea on the same day and at the same time, Teacher Shim?” The woman behind the glasses’ eyes shone sharply.

“And they broke through the barriers we had put up to enter, right?”

“Huk! Th, that’s…!”

Thwack-

The white-haired woman slammed her hand on the table. The woman, who had been glaring at the man with a devouring gaze, straightened up and sat facing forward again.

“Teacher Shim?”

“Y-yes, ma’am!” The man answered stiffly.

“I don’t want to indiscriminately suspect people based only on circumstantial evidence. Especially not colleagues who I’ve worked with as teachers for a long time.”

“D-Director…!” The man seemed relieved by the woman’s warm tone, and relaxed his body.

But at the words that followed, the man could only freeze.

“But it’s also unsettling to just let this pass. Go to ‘Jindal’s Heart’.”

“Di, Director! Not that…!”

“If Teacher Shim is upright and honest, there shouldn’t be a problem, right? You didn’t go out to hunt the Basilisk, so you wouldn’t have had any contact with demons.”

“Th, that’s…” The man stammered, his whole body soaked with sweat.

“Teacher Jung, escort Teacher Shim to Jindal’s Heart.”

“Understood.”

“Th, that! Wait…” At Seohee’s gesture, sitting to the right of the white-haired woman, the pleading man disappeared from that spot.

“What is it?”

“…He’s dead.” Seohee replied at the white-haired woman’s words.

At those words, some people widened their eyes in surprise, and others nodded as if they had expected it.

The man, who had entered Jindal’s Heart, the heart of Jindal that devoured demons, had been devoured in an instant.

According to the report, he had had no contact with demons for nearly two years.

There was only one thing this meant.

“Teacher Shim really was…” A large man with a muscular build groaned.

“It was obvious. It’s a pity that Jindal’s Heart will be unusable for a while because of this, but I’m glad it wasn’t in vain,” the woman with glasses said calmly.

As the two opened the door, people began to murmur one by one. Chatter and voices went back and forth surrounding the round table, but when the white-haired woman raised her hand, everyone fell silent as if by magic.

“Teacher Jung, where did you say the demons are now?”

“Yes, they are currently being held within Jindalmok’s barrier,” Seohee replied in a level tone, but surprise flickered in the eyes of those watching her.

‘I’d received the report, but she really captured two Level 2 Threat demons alone? And without killing them.’

‘I can’t see the end. She’s amazing.’

“Uroboros was in Jindalmok, and Rubrum-Luna was in the old building, was that it?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The white-haired woman tapped the desk with her fingertips. It was a habit she had when she was thinking about something.

“I heard that two students in the old building held Rubrum-Luna for 20 minutes, buying time, and that Teacher Jung subdued Uroboros, then moved to the old building and also subdued Rubrum-Luna. Is my understanding correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct, Director. To be exact, Rubrum-Luna was almost subdued when I moved to the old building, and I only made the capture.” Seohee explained, but no one in that room believed her words.

She had heard that the two students in the old building were first-year students who had entered this year. There was no way that students who were now first-years could capture named demons.

The circumstances also supported this.

Those two students were currently being rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. Thankfully, they’d just received the news that their lives weren’t in danger.

“20 minutes, huh.” The white-haired woman also didn’t believe Seohee’s words.

That overwhelming ability to subdue a Level 2 demon alone… It was probably embarrassing with all the attention she was getting.

“That’s quite significant, even so.” Even so, the achievements of the two new students were amazing.

Currently, the damage was most of Jindalmok’s personnel who were injured by Uroboros and three people that Rubrum-Luna had encountered on her way to the old building. It was a considerable amount of damage, but it was fortunate that it had ended there. It could have easily led to a major disaster.

“What were the names of those two students again?”

“Kawada Arena, who entered at the beginning of this year, and Jeon Chayeon, who entered a month ago.” As the blond man who had been standing behind the white-haired woman since the start of the meeting answered, the people murmured again.

It made sense for the student who had entered at the beginning of the year, but a month ago? A month was barely enough time to get used to their ability.

The white-haired woman pondered, then made up her mind and opened her mouth. “Add those two students to the advancement list.”

“Both of them?” At those words, a gaunt woman sitting on the left gasped.

“Both of them. There was definitely one more student scheduled to advance next month, right?”

“Yes, it’s that one from the Joo family. He hasn’t relinquished his top position since he entered.” The gaunt woman answered.

At those words, the white-haired woman’s eyebrows furrowed unpleasantly, but soon returned to normal. “I see. So three students are advancing this year.”

Three students advancing from just the first-years. It was unprecedented.

“Then let’s end today’s meeting here. Dismissed.” As the white-haired woman stood up, everyone followed suit.

At her gesture, the people closest to the door began to leave the room in order.

Seohee was also about to leave the room when, “Teacher Jung.”

“Yes, Director.” At the white-haired woman’s call, she stopped.

“Those two students, Chayeon and Arena, was it? I’d like to meet them.”

“Understood. I will arrange a meeting as soon as the students have recovered.”

Seohee bowed her head, and the white-haired woman and the blond man passed in front of her and leisurely left the room.

Crunch, crunch.

He could hear the sound of something being bitten.

The scent was familiar.

Was it an apple?

Crunch, crunch.

His empty stomach protested with hunger.

He also felt thirsty.

Chayeon opened his eyes.

Where was he?

A white ceiling and neat cream-colored walls entered his vision.

Behind his back, he could feel a soft bed made of high-quality fabric.

His arm felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Turning his head, he saw an IV drip inserted into his arm, and fluids being administered.

Crunch, crunch.

He could hear the delicious-sounding sound from earlier.

Turning his head a bit more in the direction of the sound,

Munch, munch. “Oh, you’re finally awake.”

A blond, handsome man with an incredible appearance that seemed like he could seduce every woman he passed on the street was holding a smartphone in one hand and a slice of apple in the other, putting it in his mouth.

“…Who are you?”

“It’s only been a month since I’ve seen you, and you’ve already forgotten me? I’m so sad. I’ve missed our Chayeon so, so much.”

“Don’t bullsh*t me, why are you here? Jo Namyeon.”

The blond, handsome man, Jo Namyeon, said with a peaceful expression.

“My friend was injured and hospitalized. Of course, I rushed over. Ah, I need to contact them.”

Holding his smartphone, he tapped the screen, then came closer.

“Our Chayeon, you’ve gotten so skinny while I couldn’t see you…”

Quake-

“Aak!”

Chayeon bit down on the fingers of Namyeon, who was slicking back his hair with a greasy expression.

While Namyeon writhed in pain, Chayeon made a spitting gesture, “Ptoo!”

The salty taste lingered and made him feel bad.

“Wo, woah-. That’s too much. Are you on your period again today?”

“I’m going to kill you, really,” Chayeon said fiercely, remembering the period he’d actually experienced after entering the academy.

“Woah-. Do you know that you’ve become super sensitive since becoming a woman?”

“You’ve become even more greasy.”

He looked like he was in a lot of pain, but that was good.

Chayeon turned his head to the other side and looked out the window.

The vaguely visible street was a terrain that he had become familiar with for almost a month.

This was definitely the central hospital within Jindal.

“How did you get in here?”

“How did I get in here? I came with you. A month ago.” Namyeon had a look on his face as if he was saying something ridiculous.

Then he clapped as if he had suddenly remembered something. “Ah, you wouldn’t know my situation?”

“Of course I don’t know. I thought you had gone back, because Teacher Seohee said you were safe.”

“I got a job here.”

What kind of bullsh*t was that?

As he was about to question him, the hospital room door slid open.

“Chayeon, you’re awake. How’s your body?”

Seohee opened the door and came towards him.

Perhaps because of the sights he’d been seeing for the past month, the fact that she’d appeared through a normal method rather than teleportation felt unfamiliar to Chayeon.

“I think my body is fine,” Chayeon said, rolling his eyes around.

He couldn’t help but guess that Namyeon had contacted Teacher Seohee earlier.

Were the two of them acquaintances?

He was confused about what was going on.

“Oops, I’m going to be late. Well then, I’ll leave since I’ve passed the baton. See you later, Chayeon.” Namyeon waved his hand casually like he had a month ago and left the room.

He saw him lightly bowing to Seohee as he left. Seohee also lightly returned the gesture.

“…Do you know him?”

“Huh? Ah, Chayeon’s friend? Yeah, due to various circumstances. He’s become a colleague of sorts now.” Seohee approached the bed and sat in the chair that Namyeon had been sitting in.

“More importantly, are you really okay? I heard your recovery was abnormally fast, but you were in such a severe state…”

Hearing the words “severe state,” Chayeon finally remembered why he was here.

The demon with the red horn.

“We captured the demon, Rubrum-Luna, two days ago. Thanks to Chayeon’s efforts, the damage was minimized.” After Seohee resolved his question first, she began to caress Chayeon as if to praise him.

Chayeon, who would normally have screamed and pulled his head back, had other things he was worried about now.

“How’s Arena?”

He recalled her last image, being dragged around by her hair, tattered.

Seohee groaned slightly before rising from her seat.

“Can you walk? Do you need me to support you?”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay, then will you follow me?”

Chayeon took the elevator with Seohee, arriving in front of the intensive care unit. Seohee went in first, and Chayeon followed behind her.

There was a person lying down.

He didn’t recognize her at first.

Arena, with a respirator, was lying on the hospital bed.