Chapter 19: Teacher, Just Go Heal or Something

“Juju, aren’t you practicing?”

The friend holding the sandbag asked, but Juju just stared at the gym door where Ruah had disappeared.

“…I’m worried, is all.”

“About the nurse?”

Juju nodded.

“I heard from other teachers before that the third-year special class has bad personalities because they only focus on building their skills.”

“Come on, nothing will happen, she’s a teacher.”

“…….”

Juju recalled Ruah’s usual demeanor. A faint presence, easily startled when spoken to, and so shy that she stuttered when answering.

But seeing her shy smile from time to time was so cute that Juju often had to suppress the urge to pet her, regardless of her being a teacher.

Knowing that Ruah had gone to help the rough third-year special class with their practice, Juju couldn’t help but worry.

“Juju, if you’re not going to practice, I’m going to do something else.”

“Ah, I will.”

Even as she stood in front of the sandbag again, Juju couldn’t shake off her uneasy feeling.

—Boom!

—Thud!

The third-year special class practice was on a different level from the first-years. They sparred with real swords and spears, and unleashed terrifying attack skills on monster-shaped sandbags.

As they were preparing to join large guilds, they looked more professional than some active Hunters.

Of course, Ruah couldn’t just watch them.

She had to run around busily.

“Teacher! Injury here!”

“Oh, right!”

After treating a student who was sparring, she had to climb into the ring.

“Teacher! Here too!”

“I’m, I’m coming!”

From the ring, she had to run to the front of the sandbags.

“Some healing over here!”

“Huff, puff….”

While she was treating one person, two more would get injured.

“Here!”

“Pant, pant.”

Her mana was depleted from constantly using healing skills, and she was too exhausted to even run short distances.

“Heal!”

‘I’m, I’m going…!’

Despite her exhaustion, the third-years continued to demand [Healing] without a break.

Finally, Ruah collapsed in the middle of the gym.

“Oh, come on.”

The sweating students all looked at her with displeasure. Ruah used her trembling hands to push herself up.

“Teacher, you’re interrupting the flow.”

A student with a spear slung over his shoulder approached and grumbled. His shadow, cast by the gym lights, fell over Ruah.

“We’ve only done five sets.”

“S-Sorry.”

Ruah bit her lip.

‘I’m scared….’

She was already struggling to adapt to the unfamiliar atmosphere of the third-years, and being scolded triggered her PTSD from her school days.

The groups who used to tease her for always being alone had the same look in their eyes as this student.

“I-I’ll do it again. Healing….”

“Don’t make mistakes. Okay?”

“Y-Yes.”

The teacher-student relationship wasn’t helpful at all.

It was more like the relationship between a predator and its prey.

But Ruah, the herbivore, steeled her resolve and clenched her fists.

‘But I have to endure.’

The reason, of course, was to recruit Lee Hwi-seong.

If she couldn’t show a reliable and competent side here, it would be a problem when she tried to recruit Hwi-seong later. No tank would want to join a party with a mediocre healer.

‘Endure. For the future.’

“Alright. Now take off your equipment and practice basic skills!”

Hwi-seong shouted to everyone just then.

“What, is it this late already?”

“Good thing we’re done, I’m tired.”

At his words, the special class students obediently took off their equipment and switched to body-weight exercises. It seemed Hwi-seong was the leader of the special class.

‘Well, he’s the most skilled.’

After the students took off their dangerous equipment, the number of injuries significantly decreased. Thanks to this, Ruah could recover her stamina by moving only occasionally.

Ruah deliberately dragged a chair over to the boxing ring and sat down. She wanted to observe Hwi-seong.

—Bang!

—Wham!

Just like Juju had done earlier, Hwi-seong was hitting the sandbag with gloves. His well-developed muscles rippled, and loud sounds filled the air.

The female students aspiring to be healers, who were practicing nearby, blushed as they stole glances at him. Hwi-seong seemed to enjoy the attention without deliberately acknowledging it.

‘A true alpha male.’

Of course, Ruah wasn’t interested in men, so she was watching him for a different reason.

She was looking for a chance to interact with him and become closer.

—Wham!

—Bang!

“……!”

Ruah, who had been watching, thought it was her chance and approached the ring.

“Um, excuse me.”

“Yeah?”

Hwi-seong stopped punching and turned his head. Annoyed at being interrupted, he frowned slightly. Ruah struggled to lift the rope and entered the ring.

“What?”

Remembering the advice she had given Juju earlier, Ruah spoke to Hwi-seong bravely.

“Um, about your skills… after [Mega Assault], it’s better to mix in some evasion.”

“……?”

“Because it takes time to… not cooldown, but to regain your balance. If the enemy attacks then, you’re vulnerable.”

“…….”

“O-Of course, since you mainly use a shield, attack skills are secondary… but it’s a skill you can activate even with a shield equipped, so it wouldn’t hurt to know… I think….”

Hwi-seong stared directly at Ruah. Unnerved by his unreadable expression, Ruah trailed off, fidgeting.

But Hwi-seong’s silence didn’t last long.

“Puhahahaha!”

He burst out laughing, startling the other students enough to make them look over.

“W-Why…?”

“Hahahaha! Oh my god, that’s hilarious.”

He laughed heartily for a while and then stopped abruptly. He then snorted at Ruah and said,

“Ha, teacher, do you even know anything?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, it’d be understandable if you were a healer, but I’m a tank, you know? Right?”

“Ah….”

Ruah covered her mouth and took a step back, instinctively afraid of Hwi-seong.

“Don’t interrupt the flow of practice. I’m already stressed because of the upcoming exam, what are you interrupting for….”

Clicking his tongue, Hwi-seong adjusted his gloves. He spoke curtly, as if talking to himself.

“Did you think we brought you here for advice? Just stay there and heal. I’ll handle the skills.”

“Ugh….”

Ruah fidgeted with her fingers and looked down. Her vision blurred.

‘I was just trying to help….’

The pain hit her a moment later. To Hwi-seong and the third-year students, Ruah was just a tool. A convenient healing tool. That’s probably why they had worked her so hard earlier.

“I-I-I was just trying to help.”

As Ruah stammered, trying to make a desperate plea, Hwi-seong looked at her with displeasure once again. Then, as if a thought had occurred to him, a sharp smile appeared on his face.

“If you want to help so much, why don’t you come hold the sandbag?”

“H-Huh?”

“Come on, hurry up.”

Hwi-seong jerked his chin towards the sandbag. Reluctantly, Ruah approached, stood behind the sandbag, and wrapped her arms around the huge, pillar-like training equipment.

“Hold it tight.”

“O-Okay.”

Hwi-seong pulled back his fist and threw a light punch. He held back a lot of power, but the skill activated properly.

—Wham!

“Eek!”

Hit by the impact from the sandbag, Ruah fell back onto her bottom. Hwi-seong and his friends, who had gathered around, looked down at her.

They were grinning.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you want to help?”

“But this is….”

As Ruah tried to retort, Hwi-seong suddenly thrust his face close to hers.

“Eek!”

“So, don’t interfere unnecessarily. If our test scores drop and we can’t join places like Olympus or Murim League, are you going to take responsibility?”

Ruah bit her lip in frustration. Tears welled up in her eyes. She was just trying to help, so why did she have to go through this?

“I-I-I’ll tell the school about this.”

“Oh? Are you sure about that? The academy board will go ballistic if our graduation output is bad.”

From his words, Ruah realized why they could act so recklessly.

It was due to the tacit approval of the higher-ups at Felix Academy.

If the third-year special class students couldn’t get into large guilds, the academy’s prestige would drop, so they probably covered up most of their misbehavior. This probably wasn’t the first time either.

And Ruah’s position as a health teacher, not in charge of any important subjects, probably played a role.

‘I had no idea.’

In the game, the focus was always on the first-year students, so Ruah didn’t know the circumstances of the third-years.

‘Lee Hwi-seong… so this is what he’s like.’

The game story revealed that he wasn’t a nice person, but not to this extent. He only had a few grumpy lines after losing a match against the protagonist.

But with Ruah, who was weaker, his bad personality was on full display.

To him, Ruah was just someone he could bully, a convenient healing tool.

—Drip.

A trickle of blood flowed from Ruah’s nose, and large tears rolled down her cheeks.

“W-Waa…”

“Geez, why are you crying—”

Just as Hwi-seong was about to say something,

—Crash!

With a loud noise, the gym door opened, and a silhouette appeared.

“I saw everything!”

Wiping her eyes with her sleeve, Ruah saw the visitor. A dark-skinned girl. She stood there with her arms crossed, looking imposing.

“I’m taking back our nurse!”

It was Yoo Juju.