CHAPTER 133

From lectures and research to administration—professors were involved in the overall operation of the school. As such, mot had a close relationship with the group of students under their tutelage or supervision.

There were a few exceptions. But Professor Wu Gyo-Hwan of Tactical Studies was one.

Wu Gyo-Hwan was reluctant to engage in private interactions with others. Wu Gyo-Hwan’s students likewise avoided him. Any student who had studied under Wu Gyo-Hwan described him in the same way: he was mysterious, eccentric, and unpredictable, remaining reticent for days on end, only to suddenly explode over the smallest things.

In a word, he was strange.

“I see, I see. So you really faced a thunder tribulation during your re-examination... Unbelievable. The Kang’s Bloodline Skill is actually strong enough to attract tribulation... Even in Japan, there’s only one Bloodline Skill that powerful... ” Wu Gyo-Hwan adjusted his broken glasses as he went on mumbling. He didn’t seem to care that the tip of Jae-Hyeok’s sword was right in front of him.

Jae-Hyeok tightened his grip on his hwando. He doesn’t seem afraid, but why? Does he think I won’t kill him? No... I meant to kill with my last blow. Either he has something to rely on, or he simply doesn’t value his life.

Jae-Hyeok knew well the look of desperate desire. He saw it every day in the mirror, and although the source was different, he saw it in others when he killed, too. Jae-Hyeok could easily recognize someone’s desperate desire to live—whether they laughed or cried, the look in their eyes and the hope behind their words were all the same.

However, it was hard to see the will to live in Wu Gyo-Hwan right now, but he also didn’t seem resigned. Rather, Wu Gyo-Hwan’s eyes were filled with enthusiasm as he stared at Jae-Hyeok. It seemed that there was something more important to him than his life.

“How did he slash through a thunder tribulation? And, how did he withstand that tribulation thunder just now? Does that black hwando have resistance to lightning? No, no, it’s clearly ordinary....

“Maybe the Kang bloodline itself resists lightning? If so, that explains why the Yaksha in his prime became one of the most powerful National Treasures. He overcame his thunder tribulation more easily than others and leveled up faster, too. However, the Japanese Association and aristocrats have shown no interest in the Kang family. If the Kang bloodline really possessed inherent lightning resistance, then this child would’ve fallen into the hands of the Japanese by now... ” Wu Gyo-Hwan spoke faster and faster, but no one knew who he was speaking to. The look in his eyes and the way his lips barely moved made Jae-Hyeok a bit uncomfortable.

Should I really kill him?

Jae-Hyeok hesitated for a moment before giving up. Previously, when Wu Gyo-Hwan had talked about Cho Seong-Hyeon and Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals, Jae-Heyok had thought he was the original culprit who attempted to assassinate Cho Seong-Hyeon. But after thinking about it for a while, many things didn’t add up.

If he were the real culprit, would he have come here so openly? There is no reason to cause an accident in the middle of the city and advertise that he is the culprit.

The professors of Lion’s Castle had a lot to lose.

In the first place...

Jae-Hyeok reviewed the battle in his mind and realized Wu Gyo-Hwan hadn’t shown any killing intent from the beginning.

The Black Sights that came from the suitcase at the end might’ve threatened Jae-Hyeok’s life, but...

It seemed more like a desperate response rather than his original intention. He even suffered internal injuries to control those Black Sights. Luckily, he only managed to take control of half of the Black Sights. Otherwise, my half-hearted thunder tribulation wouldn’t have been enough to destroy them all.

Jae-Hyeok let out a groan and stretched his aching body.

He might have 40% lightning attribute resistance, but that didn’t mean the damage from being hit by the tribulation lightning was zero. His whole body was numb and his head buzzed.

Jae-Hyeok thought of his team and the Shooting Club members. They had no lightning resistance at all. Ugh. How do those guys endure it? Jae-Hyeok had to admit: he’d probably underestimated the pain they were enduring during his training sessions.

For a moment, a flower of compassion seemed about to bloom in Jae-Hyeok’s heart. But it immediately withered and died at Jae-Hyeok’s next thought.

Well, it is evasion training after all; they should dodge if it hurts. No one told them to be so slow. Besides, I even water them with potions afterward.

Jae-Hyeok couldn’t help pouting. His team and the Shooting Club members were basically potted plants: he trained and watered them every day. He practically did everything, yet they still grumbled over a bit of pain. Tsk. My thunder reaction training is something that even S-class players would envy.

As Jae-Hyeok’s anger increased, Wu Gyo-Hwan’s background mumbling became even more annoying to his ears.

“Ah, yes, yes. He must’ve relied on the Kang sword-drawing technique to have reacted to his thunder tribulation. Yes, that must be his secret. After all, he was only level 10 at the time... how else could he—”

Baam!

Jae-Hyeok finally couldn’t stand the nattering and slammed his scabbard into Wu Gyo-Hwan’s back, causing dark blood to fly out of Wu Gyo-Hwan's mouth.

Jae-Hyeok closed, enjoying the moment of peace he’d created for himself. But it didn’t last.

With wide eyes, the old pharmacist said, “You... you actually used a blunt strike to expel the blood clots from his body? Kang Jae-Hyeok, you brat, you also have knowledge in medicine?”

“......?”

I’m tired. The more Jae-Hyeok thought about it, the more absurd this day had been: He had come to the health store to buy snake wine, only to be treated as a debtor by the store owner; then, he was nearly killed by a crazy professor and had to take a bath in tribulation lightning to break free; and now, he was being told that he was well-versed in medicine just from swinging his scabbard.

Sigh. I just came to pick a birthday present for my friend’s father... As expected, the world is too dangerous.

What would’ve happened if the person who’d attacked him today had been a high-level assassin instead of Wu Gyo-Hwan? Just imagining it gave Jae-Hyeok goosebumps. Looking back, he had grown far too relaxed following the rapid advances in his strength. Thankfully, today’s experience had helped him regain his sense of danger.

A chill swept through Jae-Hyeok. Complacency kills...

While Jae-Hyeok was in his thoughts, Wu Gyo-Hwan came to his senses and said, “I...I was disrespectful. I apologize for attacking without a proper explanation, but it’s not what you think.”

“Bah!” The old pharmacist sneered. “Is this something that would end with just an apology? What a shameful thing you are, attacking a student.” He turned to Jae-Hyeok and said gently, “Jae-Hyeok, come drink this potion. Also, put this burn medicine on. It works well.”

Jae-Hyeok stared at the old man in confusion. Not long ago, the old man had been glaring at him like a debt collector. Now, the old man was looking at him like he were his grandson.

The old man admired Jae-Hyeok’s medical skills. “Come here, Jae-Hyeok, I’ll do some acupuncture for you.... How’s that? Good, right? This is what true medical skills look like. So, how about it: do you want to become my disciple and learn from me?”

Hmm, it is nice. Jae-Hyeok entrusted his body to the old man, who accurately found and relaxed his muscles twitching with remnant lightning energy.

Jae-Hyeok didn’t reply to the old man. Instead, he gestured with his chin toward Wu Gyo-Hwan. “Let’s start with a detailed explanation. I will only accept your apology if I am convinced.”

“Um... ”

Wu Gyo-Hwan nodded obediently. “I should start with the fact that I recently signed a contract with an evileye”—Wu Gyo-Hwan snapped his fingers and everyone’s eyes widened. A sphere of pink flesh with a single massive eye appeared, floating above Wu Gyo-Hwan’s head.

Demons were objects of fear, but even among demons, there were differences in palatability. However, the evileye was repulsive even in appearance.

Everyone was shocked.

Jae-Hyeok was also surprised, but his reason was slightly different.

A demon. Jae-Hyeok had sensed the presence of the evileye from the beginning. However, only now did he learn that it was a demon. He had never seen a demon before, so he hadn’t made the connection prior to then.

First it was the Curse of the Surpant God, now it’s this evileye... It seems gods and demons really do exist...

All that information that didn’t feel realistic when learned through the Internet or in Player Manager suddenly felt much more believable after awakening and brushing against so many secrets. Jae-Hyeok’s heart was pounding. In the future, he might encounter that god mentioned by the lion’s statue or face that demon soul once sealed in Iyagurt. Those thoughts filled Jae-Hyok with anticipation.

The evileye stared back at Jae-Hyeok harmlessly. But its pupil was larger than a basketball by ten times—so big that Hae-Rin, the old pharmacist, and the middle-aged woman couldn’t tell where it was looking and thought it was glaring at them.

Wu Gyo-Hwan continued. “After I signed with the evileye, I spent a few days testing its abilities. Specifically, I tested how long it could remain in stealth and how far away I could send it out. During that time, I happened to come across something interesting: another evileye. It was observing a pack of tamed monsters.”

“Hobgoblins?”

“Precisely.” Wu Gyo-Hwan took out a handkerchief to wipe his glasses, but he gave up when he saw how cracked they were. “When I heard that Cho Seong-Hyeon had been attacked by tamed orcs and an ogre, I realized the earlier hobgoblin attack was no coincidence and those tamed hobgoblins were the culprits.”

Wu Gyo-Hwan took out a comb and began fixing his hair as he continued his story, “When the other evileye left the hobgoblin group, I commanded mine to trail from behind to avoid detection. However, the other evileye was already dead when I arrived at the scene.”

“Who killed it?”

“I don’t know. But one thing is certain.” Wu Gyo-Hwan tapped his left eye. “To sign a contract with an evileye, you need to link it to your left eye to sustain it with enough energy on Earth. And if the evileye dies, the contractor’s eye will also be destroyed. Moreover, it can’t be restored using potions or elixirs. Anything given as a condition to sign a contract with a demon is given as a sacrifice, so the loss is permanent.”

“You’re saying... ”

The old pharmacist clarified, “You’re saying the owner of this other evileye is the true culprit targeting that Cho Seong-Hyeon or whatever his name is?”

Wu Gyo-Hwan specified, “The culprit was the owner of that evileye, yes, but the point is that it’s dead, so the contract holder must also have lost an eye. In other words, beware of anyone with prosthetic eyes. That the culprit was contracted with an evileye and controls large numbers of tamed monsters means they are A-class at least. And since their range of activity is wide, they must have a position with plenty of autonomy at school. The culprit is likely a professor like me. They might even be watching you from a place closer than you think.”

Thinking the students might not know much about prosthetics, the middle-aged woman questioned Wu Gyo-Hwan on their behalf, “But it is impossible to distinguish a prosthetic eye from a real eye, right?”

Wu Gyo-Hwan nodded. “That’s right. It’s identical to a real eye. Mana can flow freely through it, so it isn’t easy to distinguish it from a real eye. However, this is the only clue I have for now. I am telling you this so you can keep it in mind and remain cautious.”

“Wait, wait, enough about eyes.” Jae-Hyeok waved his hand. “Is all of this to say, you attacked me earlier to teach me to be vigilant of the professors?”

“Yes.”

“... For a professor, your methods are really reckless.”

“......”

Jae-Hyeok clicked his tongue with a smile.

Hae-Rin blinked. It was quite something to hear Jae-Hyok criticize other people’s methods as reckless when he was the one striking his friends and seniors with thunderbolts under the guise of training.