A ripping sound as paper was torn roughly.

Despite the late hour, one corner of the Velvet Academy faculty room was still brightly lit.

“This won’t do….”

A man sitting there crumpled the paper he had been scribbling on and tossed it into the trash. However, the bin was already full of discarded wads of paper, leaving no space for more.

Sigh…

With a disheartened sigh, the man with a cold demeanor ran his hands over his face. He used to boast an intellectual and always flawless appearance, but now he looked quite disheveled.

“…Seriously, this is madness.”

The man’s identity was Park Jin-soo.

He was the instructor for the class “Understanding Formations and Organizations”.

“Is this really the best strategy?”

A holographic window unfolded before him.

It was the solution proposed by a boy who had shown a defiant attitude throughout his class, Jin Yuha.

The tanks were spinning in place, and the healers were leading the charge to block the monsters. Then the monsters would end up devouring each other, causing chaos and self-destruction.

“This isn’t a solution that can be derived with sound mind….”

He may have called it a beautiful solution, but to Park Jin-soo, this solution seemed like the ravings of a lunatic.

A strategy that relied solely on coincidence. If the timing was even slightly off or if the positioning deviated even a bit, the entire party would be wiped out. He had confirmed through hundreds of trials that there was no timing or positioning other than the one he proposed.

“It’s impractical for practical use, and relying on such random chance strategies is tantamount to disposing of them… However.”

Normally, he would never admit this as a solution.

But.

The reason he had been vexed until now.

As he turned his head, a small screen was playing a video recording of basic training.

An awkward video of Jin Yuha, who was supposed to be the party leader, actively participating in a party with special admission students Kang Do-hee and Shin Se-hee, both women.

[ Shin Se-hee, explodes in 12 seconds. ]

[ Kang Do-hee, step back three paces now. Step back! Not stepping back!? ]

[ Tsk, Kim Cheol-hyun. Heal Kang Do-hee. ]

[ Kim So-hoon, reinforce me in 3 seconds. ]

The party members moved organically according to his orders, as if they were one unit.

“All the orders are calculated. And when the plan goes awry, the commands are adjusted in real-time….”

He was successfully executing this strategy, which was like a tightrope walk with every second counted.

So even if he didn’t acknowledge his strategy as the answer, to Jin Yuha, it was the right answer.

He had proven that he could use this absurd strategy in actual combat.

…Well, it’s a god-given talent.

Park Jin-soo, who had always been hailed as a genius and never missed the title of the youngest genius, whether he was enrolled in Velvet Academy, or as a researcher after graduation, was now overwhelmed by his overwhelming talent.

Jin Yuha blabbered about looking forward to his future classes and the strange solution he proposed spread as if it were his own intention.

“What can I possibly teach him…!”

As I recalled the humiliation I would face in front of the rookies tomorrow, darkness seemed to close in on me.

That’s when it happened.

Crunch…

“Huh? Instructor Park Jin-soo?”

The door opened, and a dignified voice echoed. A woman with a bear-like stature came into view.

Instructor Hong Jinada.

She was responsible for the class “Combat Training for Individuals,” which Kang Do-hee and Jin Yuha attended.

“Instructor Hong Jinada? What brings you here at this hour…?”

“Oh, you know, I left something behind. What are you doing here alone at this hour, Instructor Park Jin-soo? Aren’t you going home?”

Normally, Park Jin-soo didn’t engage much in casual conversations with fellow instructors. However, this time, feeling too frustrated, he poured out his heart.

“…I’m struggling to prepare my lecture.”

At this, Hong Jinada raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Struggling? You, Instructor Park Jin-soo?”

Since his days at the academy, Jin-soo Park had never missed the top spot in academic performance. He was a genius, a research-oriented instructor. Since his appointment as the youngest instructor last year, he had already proven that his genius reputation was not unfounded.

“Instructor Park Jin-soo is showing this kind of behavior? Is he preparing something extraordinary for his class?”

In an instant, the face of a boy flashed through her mind.

“Could it be that Jin Yuha, the rookie, also attends Instructor Park’s class?”

Park Jin-soo’s eyes widened.

“Oh, right. That might be the case. After enrolling, he’s been causing a stir everywhere. That rookie…”

Hong Jinada grinned, imagining the dark-haired rookie imitating the swordsmanship of the butcher maniac, Baek Seol-hee.

“Come to think of it, Instructor Park Jin-soo’s lecture is right after mine, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Trying to meet his standards in class… Honestly, it’s impossible.”

“Well, I thought he was just obsessed with swordsmanship, but is he also clever? Where did such a guy pop up from?”

“Sigh… That’s true, but meeting his standards would mean sidelining other rookies. He’s special, after all.”

“Hmm, I see… It must be tough for you, considering Velvet Academy values nurturing one genius over a hundred A-rank hunters.”

Hong Jinada nodded.

The principle of Velvet Academy is fundamentally about pushing those who excel further.

Since one S-rank hunter is more valuable than a hundred A-rank hunters, Jin-soo’s dilemma was understandable.

However, while she understood, she couldn’t sympathize.

Her class was about endless sparring.

Encouraging weak individuals to continuously strive upward, and then critiquing each other’s weaknesses after the fight, formed the basis of her class. Therefore, she didn’t pay much attention to adjusting the difficulty level of her lectures.

“Hmm, but should Instructor Park Jin-soo’s class proceed like that too?”

She furrowed her brows.

“Instructor, do you absolutely have to teach it yourself? Can’t the students come out and teach? I mean, I can’t ask them to follow Jin Yuha, but maybe you could set the balance. You can’t do that yet, draw the line, and provide alternatives.”

“Balance, adjustment…?”

Park Jin-soo’s eyes widened at the unexpected suggestion.

It was as if he had found the answer he had been searching for a long time.

“…In that case, definitely. It’s possible, it’s possible.”

He stood up abruptly and shook Hong Jinada’s hands.

“…Thank you!”

“Uh, yeah. Yes. Uh, I’m glad I could help.”

Hong Jinada’s face turned crimson.

‘Oh… So someone who used to blow cold winds suddenly shows an unexpected side like this….’

“Um, well, I’ve been paying a bit more attention to that rookie… I’ll observe more in tomorrow’s class and let you know.”

“Really!? Thank you so much! I won’t forget this kindness!”

Instructor Park Jin-soo looked at Instructor Hong Jinada with sparkling eyes.

Thump, Thump.

Instructor Hong Jinasa turned her head with a composed expression.

.

.

.

The next day, in Instructor Hong Jinada’s “Anti-personal instructor Combat Training” class.

“Kang Do-hee, let’s grapple.”

Without warning, Jin Yuha approached Kang Do-hee and spoke.

Kang Do-hee looked at him with a puzzled expression, chewing on her lip.

“…You want to grapple?”

“Yeah, it was the condition of our match. We’ll be grappling.”

She remembered.

The day they returned after conquering the Thorny Meadow Dungeon. What had he done when he came to her house?

The video that had been played over thirty times, while being held captive by Jin Yuha. The humiliation she had felt then was still vivid in her mind.

“Why am I even there?”

“Wow, it’s like a movie. But who took this?”

“Repeatedly played… 257 times? Seriously.”

As that day came back to her, her body began to tremble again.

Sigh…

She took a deep breath to calm herself down.

“Wait… Jin Yuha. You said you wanted to teach me grappling.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Isn’t it a bit strange if I’m the only one on the receiving end? It’s important for me to learn how to deal with grappling, but isn’t it also important for me to learn how to grapple? That way, I’ll understand better, right?”

“Um…”

Jin Yuha looked surprised, as if he hadn’t considered that aspect.

“Then, let’s take turns.”

Kang Do-hee smirked triumphantly.

“Jin Yuha! Let’s fight!”

Suddenly, a female student with orange hair ran up to Jin Yuha and shouted.

“Oh, what’s this? Out of nowhere?”

The interruption was unexpected, and it wasn’t a student this time.

“Instructor?”

“Hmm, sorry, but today I need to have a demonstration match.”

“Uh… An instructor’s demonstration match? All of a sudden? Aren’t scores usually determined by matches between students?”

“Hmm…You might feel a bit burdened by a 1:1 match against an instructor. So, Kang Do-hee and Lim Min-young, join in too.”

Instructor Hong Jinada pointed to me, Kang Do-hee, and Lim Min-young.

“If you three face me, it might be interesting.”

Upon hearing this, Kang Do-hee seemed to find it amusing, while Lim Min-young, taken aback by the sudden turn of events, rolled her eyes before nodding.

And then there was me.

“Why am I being asked to fight?”

I narrowed my eyes, questioning the sudden participation of this instructor.

At that moment, Instructor Hong Jinada stuttered, her face looking uneasy. (ha ha ha It’s a battle for Love now for the Instructor Lmfao)

“Uh… I, I just wanted to… see your skills since you’ve been performing so well lately! I, I have no ulterior motives!”

“It’s quite suspicious…”

Hmm, well, practicing against an instructor isn’t a bad experience.

I’ve sparred with Instructor Baek Seol-hee plenty of times.

I nodded.

“All right. I’ll accept the challenge.”

And so, the match between Hong Jinada and Jin Yuha, Kang Do-hee, and Lim Min-young was set.