Thump-thump-thump.

The monster, which had been facing off against Lee Yoo-ri, turned its back and began to walk towards the podium at the front of the classroom.

With each step it took, the monster’s form began to writhe and contort.

Crackle-crackle.

First, its skin was covered by a black insect-like carapace. The extra arms and legs retracted back into its body, and the bald head was now covered in a lush head of gray hair.

The six eyes also merged and retracted, leaving two eyes in their place.

By the time it reached the podium, the hideous monster had completely transformed into a beautiful woman with long gray hair and a cheerful expression.

Chak.

“Hello, new students! I’m your instructor, Yumira, and I’ll be teaching you ‘Basic Understanding of Monsters’!”

She turned to face the students and greeted them energetically.

“……”

The students were so stunned by her dramatic entrance that they couldn’t even respond to her greeting.

“As you can see, my ability is transformation.”

Instructor Yumira continued, seemingly used to the students’ reaction. She then removed the round glasses from the middle-aged woman I was holding and placed them on her own face.

“And this guy here is a monster I’m researching by combining my genes with a monster’s… Obviously, it’s not quite right yet.”

At the instructor’s words, the woman in my grasp let out an unhappy groan before melting away.

The monster that had been disguised as the instructor was actually a blue slime.

I looked down at the slime before sheathing Moonlight back at my waist.

Instructor Yumira turned to me with a look of keen interest.

“What’s your name, Cadet?”

“Jin Yuha.”

“Ah, I see! The ‘Butcher Maniac’ has her eye on you, huh?”

Butcher Maniac?

I furrowed my brows at the unfamiliar term.

“Are you talking about Instructor Baek Seol-hee?” I asked.

At my question, her face turned pale, as if she had made a mistake. She stuttered, “Umm, Cadet… could you please keep it a secret that I said that?”

“Yes, of course.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Oh! Cadet Jin Yuha! You’re a reasonable person!”

Instructor Yumira patted my back vigorously.

‘Ouch.’

The next class was indeed with Instructor Baek Seol-hee, but I decided to worry about that later.

To be honest, I was a bit annoyed.

If it weren’t for the fact that I knew there were shape-shifting instructors who could mimic the bodies of various monsters, Yoo-ri might have been hurt during this non-party activity.

Hmm…

Instructor Yumira cleared her throat and said, “Anyway, since you’re already up here, why don’t you be my assistant for a bit?”

“Huh?”

“You just called me ‘you’, so I’ll take that as a yes! Let’s get started with the lesson!”

“Well, I didn’t say I would, but okay.”

The instructor in charge of the mandatory subject seemed to be quite laid-back.

.

.

.

“Ahem, today is the first day and an orientation, so I plan to give you a taste of what the ‘Basic Understanding of Monsters’ class is all about and why you need to take this class.”

Instructor Yumira adjusted her glasses.

“First, let me explain what this class is all about.”

Beep!

She pressed a small remote control in her hand.

A large hologram appeared behind her, displaying images of various monsters, from unknown F-rank monsters to famous S-rank ones.

Then, the monsters were shown bursting out of a gate and destroying buildings.

“You were all pretty startled earlier, weren’t you?”

Instructor Yumira paused the video and chuckled, looking at the female cadet who had screamed earlier. The cadet lowered her head in embarrassment.

“Velvet Hunter Academy is the world’s top educational institution for training hunters. It is also perhaps the safest place in the world, filled with experienced hunters.”

She spoke with the demeanor of an intellectual researcher.

“However, the appearance of gates is unpredictable.”

Hmm…

“To put it simply, just like in the situation earlier, a gate could suddenly open in this classroom, which everyone believes to be safe, and monsters could appear.”

She chuckled at the stiff expressions on the students’ faces.

“Well, of course, that’s an extreme scenario. It’s very rare for a gate explosion to occur immediately after a gate opens.”

Then, Instructor Yumira turned to face me.

“So, Cadet Jin Yuha. How did you know that I’m a shape-shifter and that the instructor here was actually a monster?”

I felt the need to answer this question carefully.

‘I knew because it was a monster I had never seen before…’

It would be unwise to mention that I already knew she was a shape-shifter and that her hobby was experimenting with creating humanoid monsters.

I turned my gaze to the blue slime next to me. The distinctive features of a Blue Slime…

I compared the appearance of the woman I had been holding earlier with what I knew about Blue Slimes and answered.

“To be honest, I didn’t know you were a shape-shifter from the beginning.”

“Oh?”

Instructor Yumira’s eyes widened at my response.

“Instead, I noticed the characteristics of a Blue Slime in the monster disguised as the instructor.”

“What were they?”

She asked with keen interest, her eyes sparkling. I seemed to have touched a nerve. Nonetheless, I continued.

“Despite trying to conceal it with a pale complexion, the veins visible on the surface were all blue. The color was too prominent to be human veins.”

“Ah! But wouldn’t that alone be insufficient to identify it as a monster?”

“And the sweat that dripped from the instructor. As the sweat fell, the clothes slowly melted, releasing a blue smoke. It seemed to be a feature of the acidic liquid continuously emitted by Blue Slimes.”

Instructor Yumira’s smile grew wider.

“And, most decisively. When the monster you brought attacked the students, you, as an instructor, took no action to stop it. Wouldn’t that be grounds for considering you a Demon, even if you weren’t a monster?”

“… .”

I shook my head at Instructor Yumira, who was staring at me with her mouth agape.

“Well, I thought it was more plausible that the monster was the instructor and that this one was the real monster, rather than the possibility of a Velvet Academy instructor being a Demon.”

Clap, clap, clap!

“Bravo!!!!”

Instructor Yumira clapped her hands together, a broad smile on her face.

“Now, everything I wanted to convey about why you need to take this class has been said by Cadet Jin Yuha here!”

She turned to face the students.

“The reason for taking ‘Basic Understanding of Monsters’ is to gain a comprehensive understanding of monsters.”

She cleared her throat.

“With sufficient knowledge, even in dangerous and urgent situations like earlier, you can remain calm and make appropriate judgments.”

Instructor Yumira scanned the room, taking in the students who were now focused on her every word.

“And perhaps that knowledge will save your life or the life of a comrade. Each one of you here is incredibly valuable. I want to ensure that you don’t lose your precious lives simply because of a lack of knowledge.”

Her eyes curved into a crescent shape.

“Please keep that in mind. And with that, today’s class is over.”

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

Her lesson, which had started with a shocking entrance, ended on a note that left a deep impression on the students.

.

.

.

Squeak!

“Wooooo! Nuwaaaaaaah!”

After class.

I immediately went to find Lee Yoo-ri and pinched her cheeks, stretching them out.

“You idiot! Why did you have to step up like that?”

I scolded her.

“I-I’m sorry…”

Lee Yoo-ri’s cheeks stretched like slime as she spoke.

“Thankfully, the situation earlier was staged by the instructor. What if it had been real?”

Squeak!

“Gyaaaaaah!”

“You did the same thing in the Carmella Forest. Is it a habit of yours to act without thinking?”

At my scolding, Lee Yoo-ri tried to lower her head.

Not on my watch.

Squeeze!

I held onto her cheeks and lifted her face up.

“Hey, Lee Yoo-ri.”

Her face turned bright red. She seemed to know that she had done something wrong.

“Why…?”

She replied in a meek voice.

“I know that you were the party leader before, but I’m the leader now. Acting without my command in an emergency is insubordination. Those were your words.”

“I know…”

“If there’s a dangerous situation, look at me first before you act.”

“… .”

“I will always be on your side, no matter what you want to do. Don’t you trust me?”

“N-No, it’s not that…”

Hmmph.

I was still annoyed.

Almost getting hurt in class, during a theoretical lesson, no less?

Instructor Yumira…

She did end with a nice sentiment, but still.

I needed to get my revenge.

.

.

.

“Instructor Baek Seol-hee.”

“Hmm?”

“What’s a ‘Butcher Maniac’?”

The moment I asked that question, I witnessed, for the first time, her expressionless face contort with rage.

‘… Did I go too far?’