The Academy’s Deceased Ate It All-Novel

"Well… Anyway, it's not morning, but let's start the class."

At the words of Professor Grossman, who looked tired as always, Lee Yu-Na closed her eyes.

Professor Grossman, who looked at her figure for a moment as if it were cute, turned to us and said.

“Attribute, resistance, and tolerance… The magic aspect will treat them in more detail, but in fact, it is not limited to magic alone. Attributes and resistance to them can be considered very important. Even if I don't explain why, I think you all know it well, so I'll move on.”

Professor Grossman rummaged through her pocket.

“To give you one example, if you have resistance to poison, you will have a better chance of surviving not only in a combat situation, but also when someone maliciously attempts to poison you. Simply fire, ice, lightning, etc... some major and even some minor... anyway, it's too much to explain, but there are a lot of attributes, and the types of resistance you can get are much more diverse."

She coughed and stopped speaking for a moment.

“Simply put, you know Lee Myung-Joon, right? If that person had no resistance or tolerance to lightning, he would have been struck dead by the lightning he summons. Like a roasted electric chicken.”

As none of us laughed, she tilted her head for a moment.

Strange, that was a good gag.

She mumbled quietly.

“Anyway, to get back to the point, tolerance is both easy and difficult to get. What I mean is that the way to gain that tolerance is to get exposed and endure it a lot. There's nothing more certain than that. The problem is that aside from being painful, it takes a very long time."

So here… .

Professor Grossman took something out, making a sound effect from her mouth.

“Ta-da, Mana stone.”

To be honest, I was a little surprised to see what she took out.

Because I know the value of these things very well.

“This is called mana stone… For a detailed explanation, it would be faster to read the paper. The important thing is that this is something that helps you gain tolerance and resistance in a short time.”

She said that and handed it out to us one by one.

[Lightning strike Mana stone]

What she handed to me was a mana stone that increases tolerance to lightning strikes, that is, electric attacks.

And it seemed each of us was given something different.

"All right, then, each of you infuse some of your mana into it. By the time each of you will get used to what you have been given today, and the stone breaks on its own, tolerance will be in your body.”

“Isn't this a lot more expensive than that? I don't think it's something that's worth giving us."

She answered Jin Ye-Seul's question in a relaxed tone.

“It’s okay, so don’t worry.”

At her words, Jin Ye-Seul grasped the red-tinted mana stone with both hands as if she understood.

Then, she casually turned around and then immediately jumped at Lee Yu-Na, freaking out.

“You must be out of your mind, hey! Spit it out! That’s dirty, dirty!”

“Ebup!”

Jin Ye-Seul forced Lee Yu-Na's mouth open and put her fingers into it.

As soon as she took the blue mana stone out of her mouth, Lee Yu-Na started retching with the uwek sound.

“What the hell do you think this is, a peppermint candy!? Knowing what this is, you put it in your mouth!”

“No, Ye-Seul. Let me talk... Cough.”

Lee Yu-Na, who waved her hand as if as making an excuse to Jin Ye-Seul, who was pushing the mana stone in front of her eyes, bent her back down and coughed in vain.

Soon after, she began to explain to Jin Ye-Seul about her unusual constitution.

I was well aware of Lee Yu-Na's unusual constitution.

She is unrivaled in her sensitivity to changes in mana, and in her ability to sense and transform the flow of mana.

And, unusually, it was most efficient when she directly ate magical materials such as mana stones that raised resistance and mana nuclei that restored mana.

… Thanks to this, if other characters in the original story processed or smelt the magical materials they obtained to use them, in the case of Lee Yu-na, it was expressed as her cooking and eating them.

Whether it was the nucleus of a golem or the heart of a wyvern, it was strangely addictive to see her eating deliciously with a bright expression.

"Oh my God… .”

Meanwhile, Lee Yu-Na began chewing the mana stone in front of Jin Ye-Seul, as if to prove her words.

Jin Ye-Seul stared at her as if sickened by the sight and immediately shook her head as a weak cold air blew around Lee Yu-Na.

"Hu."

Watching them, I also used the mana stone and then felt static electricity emanating from around my body.

Immediately before my eyes, a notification window stating that lightning tolerance has newly been created appeared.

Jin Ye-Seul, who was looking at Lee Yu-Na with complicated eyes, also gripped the mana stone with both hands as if she had just remembered.

And after a while, heat began to flow around her as well.

“… Aren't you guys too much?"

And Professor Grossman, who was looking at us calmly, muttered as if she was dumbfounded.

“This should take at least three hours, and no matter how fast it is, it takes an hour… .”

She muttered with a small sigh.

“Well, anyway… Actually, I thought today's class would be about raising your tolerance with it and getting you used to it, but at least a three-hour class ended in 10 minutes."

She said, looking at us with strangely empty eyes.

“You finished it so quickly, but it's too early to let you go. I'll help you with your personal guidance for an hour in the order you finished first. The others are free to do whatever training they want during the remaining time... Personally, I recommend that you calmly look back on the tolerance you have just acquired.”

After saying that, she went to the adjacent guidance room with Lee Yu-Na.

And when I was somehow left alone with Jin Ye-Seul, I thought this was the time and approached her quietly.

"That thing."

Before I opened my mouth, Jin Ye-Seul pointed her finger at Yado's daggers hanging from my waist.

"Is it broken?"

“Uh, well… .”

I lifted it up with a furtive smile.

“I’m sorry, you gave it to me as a gift.”

Well, that's the way weapons are supposed to be.”

Jin Ye-Seul shook her head as if she didn't care much.

Then she stared at me and asked.

“Do you want me to buy you another one?”

"Huh? No, it's okay. Now."

"Ah… .”

Jin Ye-Seul looked somewhat hurt by my refusal.

She nodded as if she understood before I could react.

"Of course… Now, you can use things that are incomparably good than that. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stepped up... .”

"Wait a minute."

Sensing something strange in her words, I immediately approached her.

There was no need to build up misunderstandings.

“It’s not what you think. I just decided to use other weapons instead of just a dagger, and above all, I'm sorry to burden you anymore."

“But I never thought you were a burden at all.”

Looking at her shaking her head, I quietly opened my mouth.

“That’s because I’m sorry. And I think I know what you are misunderstanding right now, but I had something to tell you about that.”

"Misunderstanding?"

"You know. There's been a lot of noisy talk about me these days.”

"Oh."

Jin Ye-Seul nodded as if she understood.

Then she looked at me with a strange gaze and asked.

“… But is there a misunderstanding?”

“Not so much a misunderstanding, but more of the backstory and general story behind it. I thought I had to explain it to you.”

She looked at me without a word.

I hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

"And there's something I have to tell you."

“You have to tell me?”

"Yes."

“… Is it important?”

I nodded.

She then blushed slightly for some reason and muttered in a hazy voice.

“… I like Hawaii for my honeymoon. It's the best place to go, but, Ji-Hyuk, I'll unconditionally follow your opinion on where to go."

"What? No. I'm not talking about that... .”

"I know. I was joking.”

Jin Ye-Seul giggled.

Then she looked at me with her purple eyes shining like amethyst.

“Have you relaxed a bit now?”

She said and continued talking in a quiet voice.

“Ji-Hyuk, I've never seen you this nervous before. Are you sure it’s that important?”

Jin Ye-Seul gently reached her hand toward my chest.

Like a doctor palpating a patient, she touched the part of my heart with careful gestures.

"Can you hear that? Thump thump thump thump thump thump... It's the first time it has run this hard."

“…… .”

I didn't say anything.

After a while, Jin Ye-Seul slowly withdrew her hand.

"I'll wait for you. So when your heartbeat calms down a bit, you can tell me then."

"Okay."

I nodded.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Jin Ye-Seul didn't answer.

She just smiled a deep, picturesque, ecstatic smile.

* * *

“Yes, how is your training going these days?”

Professor Grossman, who muttered in her characteristic slack tone, looked at me as she took a soft breath.

Looking at her like that, I said what I had thought beforehand.

“Professor, actually… .”

After listening to me for a while, she looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“Um, you know. I understand your nervousness, but it's definitely counterproductive. At your level right now, let's get one thing straight... .”

“Could you take a look at it once? Then?"

Saying that, I picked up a false sword from the rack next to me.

Professor Grossman frowned slightly, but picked up a false sword just like me, as if she understood.

“Heup”

I immediately jumped on her and swung the sword.

After a few flowing-water like sword blows, she immediately straightened her posture and fixed her sword.

With her eyes wide open in surprise, she shook off a few of my sword blows and quickly backed away.

Then she picked up two spears from the rack next to her and threw one at me.

“Try it with a spear. Throw away the sword.”

As she said, I threw away the sword and held the spear in a peculiar posture.

She, too, threw away her sword, held the spear, and looked at me.

After a while, Professor Grossman said that's enough, put away her weapon, and muttered, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

“…Evil spirits are mourning?” [ Note: Korean idiom, meaning - How strange, how baffling.]

She murmured in disbelief.

“How on earth is this possible…? Surely you were a beginner at that time… .”

She stared at me after pondering for a while.

Unlike usual, her eyes were filled with something deeper.

“Looks like something big has happened. And it's too big to explain.”

"Yes."

"I see… .”

She nodded, as if that were enough.

When I paused for a moment in that nonchalant attitude, she looked at me as if she knew why I was doing it.

"Why? Is it strange that I didn't ask for details?"

"Yes. Honestly, I thought you would ask.”

So I had some excuses in mind.

But she laughed a small laugh, as if asking, why would I do that?

“If the disciple is happy with his growth, I'm happy. And I don't want to question you about something you don't want to say."

With a short shout, she put the spear and sword back on the rack, brought out a small easy chair, and sat down on it.

After confirming that I was also sitting on a chair, she nodded and stared at me.

"So, I suppose your trouble must be about what kind of weapon to use as the main weapon, right?"

"Yes. Because here they teach you to decide on one main weapon unconditionally. There is also a problem with the position... .”

In order to change the main weapon, the approval of the advisor was absolutely necessary.

To be honest, it didn't matter if you changed it arbitrarily without getting approval, but I didn't need to make something that I could be blamed for.

This place had a hard part in the unexpected parts.

“Do you really need to be tied to that? Just use whatever you want."

But she shrugged her shoulders and leaned back as if to say, what are you worried about?

“Ji-Hyuk, your position was indeed that of a Vanguard. But that's it. To put it bluntly, the position is just a half-forced setting for you to understand and keep in mind your role in the academy more deeply. You don't have to be tied to that. In the first place, if you get into a real battle, there are a lot of variables that occur, the Vanguard often acts as a guard with a shield, and the supporters do the supporting fire and so on.”

She scratched her forearm.

“Ji-Hyuk, the weapons you can use are swords, spears, bows, and daggers. These four, right?”

"That's right."

“Honestly, you can use all of them equally, but if you have to choose one and focus on it… As far as I know, the front line in your team uses a halberd, a sword, and a shield.”

She knew all about my team's composition that I hadn't told her.

With a serious, contemplative look on her face, she licked her lips.

“Considering the balance and other factors, the sword seems to be a good choice, but frankly, I think I'll have to watch you fight a little more to find out. But my body is a little under the weather right now... .”

As she said that, she secretly pulled her collar as if trying to hide the darkening tattoo on the nape of her neck.

If so, am I going to have a battle with either Lee Yu-Na or Jin Ye-Seul?

While I was thinking that there was a high probability it would be Lee Yu-Na, I suddenly heard Professor Grossman giving a small laugh.

“Come to think of it, yes… I heard that there was a guy who beat you easily during a fight last time, am I right?"

I think his name was Ahn Do-Hoon?

Professor Grossman, who had muttered like that, glanced at me.

“How about you, don't you want to face that kid once? I mean in the sense of a revenge match.”

“Revenge match?”

"Yes."

She nodded her head.

“And above all, I want to check your changed skills. That'll help when I teach you later.”

“…… .”

After pondering for a moment, I quickly gave her an answer.

Upon hearing my answer, Professor Grossman smiled a beaming, satisfied smile.