Chapter 132 – 132. That’s a Bit…
“Mr. Kang Hyun-woo, please tell me anytime if it’s too much.”
I snapped back to reality at Professor Shin Min-ha’s cold voice, devoid of any emotion.
Just how did I end up in a gate with Professor Shin Min-ha?
It seemed necessary to rewind a bit.
***
After the bizarre interview with Lim Na-yeon, I headed to the Magic Tower as usual.
I chatted briefly with the lively girls in my class, had a short staring contest with Han Seo-ah when our eyes met, and listened to Professor Lee Chae-won, who still flaunted her figure in revealing outfits. That’s how my morning classes began.
I hadn’t slept a wink the night before, so I planned to sleep through the morning, but unfortunately, the first class was Professor Lee Chae-won’s.
Of course, she seemed like the type who wouldn’t say anything even if I slept openly, but could you really call yourself a man if you just slept during a lecture by a sexy, beautiful professor?
Just looking at her seemed to wake me up.
I spent the morning enjoying these small joys, and after a lonely solo lunch, it was already afternoon.
Honestly, I thought Grandma Choi Young-ok would call me separately because of what happened last night. I was aware that I had gone too far.
But since there was no contact from her even in the afternoon, I had no choice but to visit her myself.
The moment I saw Grandma Choi Young-ok greeting me with a knowing smile at the workshop, I felt the tension release.
Frankly, I thought she would scold me for dealing with Go Nam-seok and the redevelopment committee chairman too brutally.
But Grandma Choi Young-ok’s reaction was the opposite of what I expected. She said she was glad to know that I was merciless to my enemies.
Only then did I realize that my worries were unnecessary.
She added that I hadn’t left any traces, so the police were completely clueless.
Originally, it was a case that the Association should be involved in, but the Association was apparently too busy with something that had happened in Pyongyang.
The police had no choice but to request cooperation from the Magic Tower, but judging from the Magic Tower Master’s lukewarm response, the chances of it happening seemed slim.
“Still, be careful for the time being. The Black Mountain Guild won’t stay still. They have to be mindful of the Association, but it’s hard to say what they’ll do since their younger brother was killed.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Even as I said that, my mind was filled with the desire to face a strong member of the Black Mountain Guild.
Of course, I didn’t want an all-out war with the entire Black Mountain Guild. That would be a pointless death.
‘It would be nice to fight someone as strong as the leader of the guys who attacked Chun Yeo-hwa.’
If I could fight at least an A-class fighter, wouldn’t the frustration I’m feeling now be relieved a little?
The more I swing my sword, the more I feel a strange sense of incongruity, a disconnect that makes me feel unfamiliar.
The feeling of being in a state where all my magic and inner energy are exhausted from constant training comes to mind.
The state of emptiness and nothingness,
Empty and feeling nothing, but paradoxically, everything else felt vividly.
My teacher just repeated like a parrot to keep maintaining and recalling the current sensation, without giving any other advice.
And there was too much of a skill gap to gain anything from sparring with my teacher. I couldn’t even think of winning with pure swordsmanship alone, unless I used magic.
After solving one problem, and gaining another, I bowed and left Grandma Choi Young-ok’s workshop.
The only consolation was that I only had one class this afternoon.
Magical Biology, a subject that studies and explores creatures that defy existing laws, such as magical beasts, mythical creatures, and artificial life forms.
It’s also called Beastology or Mythical Creature Studies, but the official name was Magical Biology.
The reason I signed up for this class was simple.
I might be making a contract with a summoned beast soon, and if I lacked related knowledge, I might have to make a contract without even knowing what the summoned beast’s abilities were, let alone gaining an advantage in the contract.
‘This class is with an Ajumma again.’
I don’t know if I’m unlucky, but every class was taught by someone in their mid-40s or older. Well, there were a lot of women in the Magic Tower, but not many young professors.
Just as you have to go through master’s, doctoral, assistant professor, and associate professor to become a regular professor, the professors of the Magic Tower also had to go through a complicated process over a long period of time.
That’s how amazing Lee Chae-won and Shin Min-ha were.
“What is the difference between a magical beast and a mythical creature?”
A student stood up at the professor’s question.
“Whether or not they have hostility towards humans.”
“That’s right. Basically, magical beasts try to kill humans. There’s no reason for it. Not even for predation or fun.”
What would happen if you put 10 cows and one person in front of a hungry magical beast?
It would almost always kill the human first, then eat the cows.
“Humans shed tears when they’re sad. They sweat when they’re scared. That’s an instinct etched in their genes.”
The professor tapped the blackboard with her wand, and pictures of humans and magical beasts appeared.
“Magical beasts are the same. They harbor a strong murderous intent towards humans, as if it were an instinct etched in their genes. For hundreds, maybe thousands of years, humanity has been studying the reason, but there are still only numerous hypotheses, and no clear answer has been found.”
I listened attentively to the professor’s explanation. It was quite interesting.
“One hypothesis was that magical beasts were a new life form created by the Earth to punish humanity, which is harmful to the Earth, and that what lies beyond the gate is actually inside the Earth.”
The Hollow Earth Theory, the claim that a world similar to the surface exists inside the hollow Earth.
“It’s a somewhat interesting hypothesis, but there’s a big contradiction in this hypothesis. That’s because magical beasts and gates have existed since the beginning of human history. Even if it’s the modern era, humanity in those days was too weak to be considered harmful to the Earth. Their power was so weak that they couldn’t even dare to pollute the environment.”
To be exact, the existence of magical beasts was first confirmed in murals presumed to be from Sumer, the earliest known civilization of mankind.
Magical beasts appeared when mankind achieved civilization.
“The survival of mankind has always been precarious in any era. But somehow they survived and continued their lineage, and in the modern era, they have succeeded in achieving half-peace.”
The professor smiled kindly, pleased with the students’ attention to the class.
“The story has flowed into history. In summary, magical beasts invariably have hostility towards humans, and mythical creatures do not necessarily antagonize humans. Of course, there are mythical creatures that antagonize humans depending on the species, but it’s rare for them to try to kill without reason like magical beasts, and if they are highly intelligent mythical creatures, there’s a possibility of communication.”
Following the professor’s gestures, various pictures appeared on the blackboard. An eagle with flames around it, a horse with horns on its head, a ridiculously large snake, and so on.
She continued the class by telling us about the types of mythical creatures, their characteristics, their habitats, and what they liked and disliked.
After finishing the only afternoon class, I was about to go home early for the first time in a while when someone approached me.
“Mr. Hyun-woo.”
“Yes?”
It was Professor Shin Min-ha, with her neat black bobbed hair and clear blue eyes.
“Do you have some time?”
***
It was sudden, but I didn’t have a good reason to refuse, so I followed Shin Min-ha to her workshop.
Her workshop was generally clean. It was quite different from Grandma Choi Young-ok and Choi Hye-na’s messy workshop.
Thump, Shin Min-ha placed a teacup she had brought in front of me.
“I haven’t brewed it in a while, so I can’t guarantee the taste, but it’s made with expensive tea leaves, so it’ll be good for your body.”
“…Thank you.”
I clearly chose black tea from the options of green tea, black tea, and water.
But why is there an unidentified purple liquid in front of me?
It’s even bubbling.
I wondered if she was trying to do a biological experiment on me, but that thought disappeared when I saw the same purple liquid in her teacup.
Slurp, Shin Min-ha drank the purple liquid as if it were nothing. I guess it wasn’t weird.
“…”
But I didn’t want to drink it. Not only the visuals, but even the smell was terrible. I had no choice but to pretend to drink it and secretly put the teacup down.
“Professor, may I ask why you called me?”
I spoke first to divert Shin Min-ha’s attention.
“The reason…”
The atmosphere became more serious, and Shin Min-ha crossed her legs and tapped her fingers as if lost in thought.
Thanks to that, her fair legs were slightly revealed, and my gaze naturally turned towards them.
I could only see from her ankles to her shins and calves, but because Shin Min-ha usually wore long skirts and thick cardigans that covered her ankles, it looked rather seductive.
Her fair skin even looked transparent, and her flawless skin aroused curiosity about its texture.
“Mr. Hyun-woo mainly uses elemental magic and is currently in the Elemental Department, right?”
“Yes? Yes. Well, I guess so…?”
I almost got caught as a pervert for stealing glances at the professor’s legs. My heart was pounding.
“I’ll be direct. Please transfer to the Summoning Department.”
“…Yes?”
I was slightly taken aback by her unexpected proposal.
“…Why me?”
It’s true that I have an aptitude for summoning magic, but it’s only an interest.
My main strengths were elemental magic and the Unbreakable Vajra Body.
Of course, it would be convenient to make a contract with a strong summoned beast,
But those summoned beasts aren’t something you can use comfortably without any cost. Especially the stronger ones, the more they demanded.
“I’m interested in Mr. Hyun-woo’s talent.”
“Talent?”
At that moment, the space behind Shin Min-ha suddenly rippled, and a figure that seemed to be covered in shadows appeared.
It was the same presence I felt when I met Shin Min-ha in the faculty room last time.
“This is my summoned beast, Riyal. Usually, it hides around me and acts as my bodyguard.”
“Oh…”
I couldn’t tell its appearance or gender, but I knew it was quite skilled.
But it felt more like an assassin than a bodyguard.
“That day, Mr. Hyun-woo felt Riyal’s presence when you shook hands with me, right?”
“…Maybe?”
“Riyal’s ability isn’t just simple invisibility. To be exact, it’s the ability to fix its existence in both the Earth and the Beast Realm at the same time.”
“Um…”
Honestly, I didn’t understand a word of what she was saying.
“In simple terms, its spirit is on Earth, but its body is in the Beast Realm. It can summon its body to Earth at any time, so it’s essentially an absolute superior version of invisibility. Thanks to that, even people with excellent detection abilities can’t recognize Riyal’s existence.”
Is it like playing a virtual reality game?
The body is in reality, but you can enter virtual reality and observe that world.
“Of course, the Magic Tower Master noticed, but Mr. Hyun-woo is different. You haven’t reached a high level like the Magic Tower Master, but you immediately noticed Riyal’s existence.”
Suddenly, Shin Min-ha’s words became faster.
Her face was as expressionless as usual, but everything else proved that she was very excited.
“The reason you were able to notice Riyal’s existence is thanks to your talent. To be exact, your overwhelming ability to connect. When Mr. Hyun-woo first noticed Riyal’s existence, I felt the connection between me and Riyal become faint, even if it was very slight.”
Shin Min-ha, who was leaning on the sofa at first, was now leaning forward and talking to me.
“I’ll grant you anything you want.”
“…Yes?”
Shin Min-ha, who was leaning close to me with her hands on the table, said.
“So please become my teaching assistant.”
“…That’s a bit.”
I wondered what she was talking about, but it was just the devil’s whisper to become a graduate student.
