Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Predator (10)

Shortly after the incident, the rescue team arrived on the scene and began to take control of the situation. They transported the injured and set up a temporary perimeter around the breached barrier.

I thought everything had gone well.
Th i s w as c o pied f r om k in g m t l. or g

Not only had we dealt with the high-level monsters that had crossed over to the northern sector, but we had also successfully taken down the most formidable adversary, the mutated Aiteranus.

I even made sure to stamp my identification tag on the device first. On top of that, I didn’t miss out on the teamwork bonus and the monster extermination bonus.

Honestly, I thought securing first place was a given. Returning and selecting Yeon Minha as my mentor was definitely part of my plan.

“You’re insane. Completely insane.”

But now, I was kneeling on the floor of a temporary barrack.

“You’re utterly out of your mind. What were you thinking, doing something like that? Hm?”

In front of me, a female professor, arms crossed, was lecturing me angrily.

She had a short bob and usually had a gentle demeanor, but now her face was filled with genuine anger.

“Do you think you’re someone special just because others praise you? Hm?”

At least I wasn’t alone in facing her wrath. Next to me, three other students were kneeling in the same posture.

Our particle suits were all soaked with monster fluids and blood, showing our shared experience.

There was Jin Yeseo, with her blonde hair and green eyes, looking very sulky.

Choi Woojin, who seemed to be half-listening to the professor’s words.

And the only one who seemed somewhat remorseful, Ryu Seunghun, Ryu Sehwa’s brother.

“Professor, class-2 monsters weren’t that big of a deal…”

“Mages like you are rare at our age. Do you know why? Because those who live for their pride are already dead!!”

Woojin’s excuse only fueled the professor’s anger. He had no choice but to shut his mouth again.

“Fine, Woojin is always like that! But Yeseo and Seunghun, I’m really disappointed in you! So disappointed!”

T hi s w a s c o p i e d f r o m ki ngmt l . o r g
Jin Yeseo, now unjustly scolded, glared resentfully at the side.

“You don’t have the authority to act on your own in emergencies! This is serious enough to warrant severe punishment! You should have fired flare spells and retreated to safety as quickly as possible!”

The professor’s eyes, blazing with anger, shifted to the gentle-looking male student.

“Especially you, Seunghun! What if something had happened to you? What would our Yeowool do? Were you planning to make her a widow before marriage? Hm?”

“I, I’m sorry… I have no excuse…”

He bowed his head deeply. I was also a bit surprised. He always had a gentle smile, but I didn’t expect him to be so competitive, just like his sister, Ryu Sehwa.

“And you, Yu Jinhyun! What were you thinking…!!”

Finally, the lecture turned to me. I didn’t think I had done anything wrong. In fact, I felt a bit resentful.
T his w a s c o p i e d f ro m k i n gm t l .o r g

But this was not the time to be defiant. I tried to show a humble attitude, but suddenly, a graceful voice came from the entrance of the barrack.

“Professor Moon, that’s enough.”

Turning reflexively, I saw a woman who seemed to be around the same age as Professor Moon, pulling back the curtain and entering.

“Principal Hae Wolhwa!”

“They’re still full of youthful vigor. Experiencing various things when young helps them avoid making the same mistakes as adults.”

The principal smiled gently.

T h i s w a s c opie d f r om k i n g m t l. o r g
“These kids did break the rules, but they helped contain the spread of monsters. They deserve credit for minimizing the damage.”

“That may be true, but…”

At Hae Wolhwa’s words, the short-haired professor hesitated visibly, her anger waning.

“Now, all of you, stand up. I’ll handle this matter with my authority, so you don’t need to worry too much. But please, think twice before acting next time. Understood?”

We stood up carefully at Hae Wolhwa’s words. Just as we were about to leave under the professor’s guidance, a voice from behind stopped me.

“Oh, and Yu Jinhyun? Stay for a moment. We need to have a talk.”

I turned back. The others looked at me curiously for a moment, then left the barrack. Only Seunghun exchanged a brief eye contact with me.

“Professor Shin Jae-yu did a poor job of disciplining the students… I should have a serious talk with her…”

With the lamenting words of the professor, silence fell over the barrack again. I approached a chair in front of the table and sat down.

The principal now had a tired and troubled expression, replacing her earlier smile.

“…Are you alright?”

“Don’t even ask. I came straight here after attending the emergency committee meeting. What a catastrophe…”

The principal sighed deeply, pressing her forehead. Then she looked at me with a curious tone.

“By the way, your first exam was quite spectacular, wasn’t it?”

“…You said you’d overlook it…”

“I’m not criticizing you. I said you should be credited. To be honest, I think your contribution is significant. Far more than the others. Actually, it’s incomparable.”

“I didn’t do it to be praised. At first, I really thought it was part of the exam. So…”

T hi s w a s co p i e d fr o m k i n g m t l . o rg
“Puhaha… I guess living on the front lines made it hard for you to gauge the level of the exams.”

Hae Wolhwa chuckled softly, covering her mouth.

“But sometimes the outcome matters more than the motive. I think this is one of those cases.”

“…”

“Although I knew you were skilled, I never imagined you could hunt a Toad Serpent alone.”

“Toad Serpent?”

“That’s the identification name for the mutated Aiteranus you hunted. It’s the most powerful monster in the Celestial Basin. We conducted this exercise because we observed it entering hibernation. We’ll need further investigation to find out why it woke up…”

As she continued her explanation, Hae Wolhwa’s expression grew apologetic.

“Anyway, thank you sincerely. As the principal of the Cradle, I deeply appreciate it. But I’m afraid it will be difficult to reward you separately for this…”

She explained that this exam was the first to be conducted under the curriculum revised by the state’s highest council’s strong request.

Given the major incident in the first exam, the Cradle and the highest council’s reputation could be severely damaged.

Thankfully, since there were no casualties and the situation was contained, the incident could be downplayed. But if they officially acknowledged faults and handed out punishments or rewards, all efforts to contain the situation would be wasted.

“…I’m sorry. If it were just me, it wouldn’t matter, but many people are involved…”

“It’s fine. I didn’t do it for a reward.”

“Although it’s not much, I can personally reward you. Is there anything you want from me?”

“…Um… Nothing in particular…”

A hint of disappointment seemed to flash across the principal’s face, but she soon smiled and nodded.

“Hehe, I guess it’s too sudden. Alright. Think about it slowly and let me know if something comes to mind later.”

“I understand. But what about the exam rankings?”

The principal’s eyes widened as if she had heard something unexpected.

“That’s important to you even now?”

“Yes. It’s important. And it should be important to you too, Principal.”

“What do you mean… Ah, I see.”

She looked puzzled for a moment but soon understood my point.

“You’re quite clever. I was worried about how you were doing. You’re very diligent, unlike your mentor.”

Hae Wolhwa’s face was filled with a satisfied smile.

“Well, the professors are racking their brains over it. The exam was a mess, and there’s no time for a retest because of the upcoming curriculum. But don’t worry too much. Even if the Toad Serpent hunt isn’t recorded, you should still have a high…”

“…First place.”

“Huh?”

“I stamped my identification tag on the machine as the first. So, I should be in first place, right? Plus, there are bonuses for monster extermination and teamwork.”

“Did you stamp your identification tag amidst all that?”

Hae Wolhwa looked surprised but soon smiled with satisfaction and nodded.

“Then… there’s no need to say more.”

***

A long time had passed since Lee Hyun left, but Hae Wolhwa was still sitting, lost in thought. Next to her, the short-haired professor, Moon Seonkyung, had returned after sending the students off.

“Professor Moon, did you make sure everyone stays quiet?”

“Don’t worry. They’re smart kids and understand the implications if this gets out. Sometimes they just act on impulse because of their youth…”

Hearing the professor’s reassurance, Hae Wolhwa nodded lightly.

“That’s a relief. What about the on-site personnel?”

“They’re all from the Cradle’s own team, so we should be able to cover it up.”

“What about the investigation team?”

“Professor No is out there. He’ll investigate the area around the barrier and then head to the Toad Serpent’s hibernation site.”

“Alright, good.”

Hae Wolhwa finally relaxed, leaning back and sighing deeply.

Despite being an institution emphasizing realistic training, this was a completely different situation.

If the response had been delayed even a little, the students in the northern sector would have been caught in the Toad Serpent’s rampage and turned to mincemeat.

It could have been the worst disaster since the Cradle’s founding, with a whole generation of future talents wiped out.

T h is wa s c o p i e d f ro m k i ngmtl. o r g
The loss of precious mages would have been devastating for their families, not to mention the country.

T h is wa s c o pi e d f r om ki n g mt l. o rg
And the one who played the most significant role in containing the situation early was, undoubtedly, Yu Jinhyun.
T h is w a s c op ie d fr o m k i n g m t l . o r g

It was a feat that couldn’t be adequately rewarded with a personal recompense, so Hae Wolhwa was prepared for him to demand recognition.

However, he seemed uninterested in such matters, much like his superior.

But even with the situation resolved, Hae Wolhwa’s mind was still full of questions.

How exactly did he manage to defeat the Toad Serpent?

According to the testimonies of the other three, Yu Jinhyun was already resting on the Toad Serpent’s corpse when they arrived.

The original Aiteranus was already strong enough that some argued it needed a new classification due to its power.

It instinctively used primitive lightning magic and had a tough exoskeleton resistant to particles.

Even an exceptional mage would find it difficult to handle alone, usually requiring a group effort with distributed roles.

But the Toad Serpent had mutated once more, making it even more formidable.

The Cradle had refrained from hunting it due to the collateral damage it could cause, sticking to tracking and observation.

Veterans with decades of field experience would struggle with it, so it was unheard of for a student to take it down solo.

No matter how talented he was, it was implausible.

Moreover, he didn’t have any visible signs of magical attacks on his body.

Even if he wasn’t a squirrel, dodging all attacks was impossible.

And there was only one particle trace left at the scene, making it unlikely someone assisted him.

“…”

T hi s w a s c o pi e d f rom ki n g m t l. o r g
Hae Wolhwa pondered.

She didn’t know the full details, but it seemed Sa Jaehyuk had brought something extraordinary into the Cradle.

They weren’t related by blood, so where did he find such a prodigy? And why did he, who never showed interest in such matters, suddenly make this move?

If Yu Jinhyun could indeed handle a mutated Aiteranus alone, revealing his capabilities would cause an uproar.

“Hmm…”

Hae Wolhwa redirected her thoughts to the main issue.

There were other strange points. The students reported that the monsters seemed agitated and forced out of their territories, and appeared scared.

While other monsters might have been frightened by the Toad Serpent’s movements, the problem was that Yu Jinhyun also testified that the Toad Serpent showed signs of fear. The sudden awakening of a hibernating high-level monster was abnormal.

A class-1 monster typically sits at the top of the local ecosystem’s food chain. Such creatures being scared is extremely rare, almost nonexistent.

This phenomenon had only been observed once before.

Fifteen years ago, during the Witch Uprising.

“…No way…”

Hae Wolhwa shook her head, dismissing the thought, but the doubt had firmly taken root in her mind.

She also thought of Sa Jaehyuk once more.

“Stupid fool…”

An old disciple, pitifully trapped in the past within a necklace.

***

“Huh?”
T h is w as c o pi e d f r om ki n gmt l . o r g

A group was investigating the southern sector beyond the breached barrier. Among them, a professor with a mustache, No Jongha, spotted something peculiar among the fallen leaves.

He carefully picked up the item. It was a square device that fit in his hand, with a processed starlight resonance stone as its power source in the center.

“This is…”

He quickly identified the device.

A monster lure. It amplifies specific wave patterns to agitate high-level monsters with developed fields, commonly used when establishing Eastern pioneer villages or colonies.

Activating it would drive nearby monsters into a frenzy, drawing them to the device and making them easy to hunt.

“Someone played a prank.”

The mustached professor muttered irritably.

“But this is too much. How dare they pull such a stunt in a sacred academy.”

He soon put on a polarized particle filter and rechecked the device.

“It’s probably those lowlifes’ trickery again. If I catch them, I’ll personally beat…”

The monster lure required a mage to inject particles into its power source to operate. Identifying the remaining particle traces would easily reveal the culprit.

Particle traces are unique to individuals, and access to this area was restricted.

“…?”

However, his confident expression soon turned puzzled. Even with the filter on, he couldn’t see any traces, as if only ambient ether had been used.

He removed the particle filter and examined the device again. There were clear signs of activation.

-Rustle

Suddenly, he heard something behind him, like a phantom presence.

“…? You…”

Turning around, he saw someone’s silhouette. At that moment, an inexplicable pounding started in his heart. His vision blurred and lost focus.

He couldn’t finish his sentence and froze on the spot.

“You seem to have lusted after me… How could a professor harbor such thoughts for a student…”

The person in front of him murmured softly.

“At least I don’t have to kill you… Maybe that’s fortunate…”

The voice was filled with sorrow.

“You found nothing suspicious here. Go back and report that everything is normal. Hand that to me.”

As the voice finished speaking, the professor’s eyes regained focus. He silently handed over the monster lure and turned towards the plains outside the basin.

Watching him leave, the voice crushed the monster lure with their hand.

“I’m sorry… Sob…”

Tears fell from the light brown eyes. She quickly hurried off to retrieve the remaining devices.

End of Chapter