The lecture hall was still silent.
Ho-cheol frowned and leaned on the lectern with both hands. His already sharp features hardened, making the atmosphere rather menacing.
He openly displayed his displeasure.
“Doesn’t anyone here greet?”
Applause erupted belatedly among the students.
Ho-cheol used the applause as background music and slowly surveyed the entire lecture hall.
The spacious lecture hall, with seats spread out in a fan shape, was about half full—exactly 43 students, as he had heard.
The tiered seating made it easy to see the faces of even the students in the back row.
As he was checking each student’s face, his gaze stopped on one student.
With stark white hair, distinct features, and an emotionless, dry expression, the student’s remarkable appearance was instantly recognizable from the archery range.
For Ho-cheol, it was an unexpected reunion.
He knew the student was a second-year, dressed in a school uniform, but he hadn’t expected to see her in this lecture.
Given that bows typically matched control-type traits, he had assumed this student would be in that category, but perhaps it was enhancement instead.
Though the student might have multiple traits, in the case of mandatory majors, they could only attend classes related to their primary trait, indicating that enhancement was most suitable for her.
The student also stared back at Ho-cheol.
Like before, the student’s expression was mask-like, feigning disinterest, but the eyes fluttered slightly, unable to maintain complete composure.
After a brief staring contest, Ho-cheol lowered his gaze. His fingers, wrapped in white bandages, fidgeted.
What she had been up to for the past ten days was all too clear.
Regardless of recognizing a familiar face, there was still work to be done.
He slowly began to speak.
“I am originally from a villain background.”
His presence intensified, crushing the space with overwhelming pressure, making it hard to breathe and causing every nerve to stand on edge.
He intensified his aura, dominating the entire lecture hall.
It wasn’t just because the applause was weak or because no one had greeted him upon entry—though those feelings were slightly there, it wasn’t really the case.
It was more of a light test.
“This is part of a project conducted by the Hero Association’s Legal Department.”
Normally, there would be students ready to complain, but not now. They were merely holding on under Ho-cheol’s pressure.
Ho-cheol tapped his fingertips on the lectern.
Tap-tap—
Despite the students’ discomfort, the rhythm was leisurely and relaxed.
“In the first year, legal education and character education are the focus to obtain a temporary license, and the third year involves internships and license conversion as the main content. The only time purely focused on traits is the second year. This is the crucial period that defines a hero’s pure capabilities, and I believe no one wants to waste this important time questioning the qualifications of a professor.”
He stopped tapping and sat on the lectern.
“Those still dissatisfied can take it up with the director of the Hero Association’s Legal Department, the academy dean, and the S-class hero who endorsed my petition. Convince them, and I go back to prison, and a new, proper professor will replace me.”
Ho-cheol explicitly named these three, implying they should not bother him unnecessarily.
Assuming they understood the high regard in which he held these figures.
In reality, it was difficult for any student to meet even one of the three if Ho-cheol suggested it.
Ho-cheol reassessed the students’ conditions.
Was there anyone useful? This level of pressure was commonplace in the real scenarios a hero would face.
In less than three minutes of pressure, thirty-seven were overwhelmed, four barely hung on, and only two fully overcame it.
The fact that only a few out of over forty students were useful was truly sad. If they were freshmen, this might have been acceptable, but these were students who had already spent a year learning the basics of being a hero at the academy.
Even the enhancement type was lacking, let alone other types.
This is why untested rookies just don’t cut it. A decade ago, academy students were immediately pulled into the field…
Reflecting on the past academy standards, he stepped down from the lectern.
The oppressive atmosphere lifted.
The students, without anyone leading, sighed in relief or gasped for air. A few were nearly fainting.
Ho-cheol clicked his tongue again. How hard could it be?
“Today’s lecture won’t proceed as usual. Instead, I’ll just clarify the objectives of this course and some announcements, sort of an orientation.”
Given the current state, it wasn’t worth trying to conduct a lecture as there were few who would listen.
He picked up a piece of chalk.
Turning around, he drew a large circle on the blackboard, divided it into four quadrants with a cross, and wrote [Enhancement], [Emission], [Manipulation], and [Transmutation] in each section.
“Everyone knows there are four types of traits, and each type can be further divided into [Active], [Constant], and [Conceptual] forms. Normally, an academy lecture is handled in-depth by one professor per type or form, but not me.”
He erased the lines dividing the circle.
Effectively, he brought all four types together within one circle.
“Intuition governs traits. Some call it a sixth sense. While similar traits may exist indefinitely, no two traits are the same. How well can even a great hero understand a trait they have neither handled nor experienced?”
Then he erased all four types from the circle.
And in the empty circle, he wrote [Trait] in large letters.
“If there are a hundred awakeners, there are a hundred traits. A trait is individual because it is unique, and it is unique because it is a trait. How can such traits be categorized and taught together in vast categories?”
Ho-cheol sighed and shook his head.
“Academy professors are excellent heroes. However, how inefficient is it to convert experience and intuition into theory, write it on a chalkboard, and teach it? Can that experience and intuition even be expressed within a chalkboard? That’s why they are insufficient as educators.”
Someone gasped loudly.
Soon after, murmurs spread throughout the room.
This remark was tantamount to a complete rejection of the Academy’s curriculum and its faculty.
Despite the confused atmosphere, Ho-cheol waited in silence. He had expected some disruption, though this was quite mild by comparison.
After a brief wait, the murmuring subsided. With everyone’s attention focused, Ho-cheol continued speaking.
“In this class, we won’t treat traits as mere academic subjects.”
He drew another circle next to the first and wrote ‘traits’ in it as well.
“We will analyze and understand each student’s unique traits, and after establishing a solid understanding through endless repetition and mastery, we will apply them in real situations.”
Ho-cheol clenched his fist and struck the blackboard.
Crack!
A large crack formed across the blackboard.
“There’s nothing for you to learn from looking at a blackboard here. Naturally, future lectures will be conducted in a form of practice very similar to real situations. There will be no need to gather in this box filled with chairs and desks.”
Practical training resembling real situations.
This statement only added to the confusion among the students.
“Forget about the records of top and bottom students from your first year. Those grades won’t serve as any reference or indicator in my lectures. If it were just about memorizing books and scoring, I wouldn’t see any reason or need to teach.”
He scanned the room with a sharp gaze. Some students, seemingly stung by his words, shrank and trembled.
In truth, ‘not doing it’ was less accurate than ‘unable to do it’.
What would Ho-cheol know about theory? Honestly, if he were handed a first-year exam right now, it would be a miracle if he even got half of it right.
“Assessments will also be 100% practical. It doesn’t matter if you’re a tin can when it comes to theory. After all, most outstanding heroes operate solely on their intuition.”
For the first time, several students visibly brightened, relieved. They felt confident in practical skills but struggled with written tests.
Conversely, those who excelled in theory looked utterly dismayed.
“Next week’s lecture will include a test. Make sure you manage your condition properly. There will be no leniency for poor performance due to poor health.”
The atmosphere sank again.
No student ever liked exams, especially those that affected their grades.
Ho-cheol checked the time.
He set down the chalk and leaned against the lectern, arms crossed, and surveyed the lecture hall.
“Any questions?”
The lecture hall remained silent. No one dared raise their hand or meet Ho-cheol’s eyes.
There were certainly many questions.
If his declaration held, this course would diverge significantly from typical Academy lectures. What would the specific curriculum look like, how would it be conducted, and how would individual traits be analyzed and in what order?
Not to mention his traits, exam schedule, grading scale…
All of this was of interest, but the students felt more anxiety than curiosity.
Instinctively, they knew raising a hand would mark them. Indeed, his gaze seemed to threaten to strangle anyone who spoke up.
“Even if it’s trivial or silly, it’s fine.”
He asked again.
“Really, none?”
But his words echoed emptily around the lecture hall and faded away.
Thus ended a truly suffocating orientation, without a hint of exaggeration.
After class, the students grouped together and disappeared from the lecture hall. It would be more accurate to say they fled.
Ho-cheol sighed as he looked around the now empty lecture hall.
“What a day.”
He hadn’t planned on delivering a rigid lecture or acting like an oppressive professor. How had it come to this?
He had intended to size up the students with a bit of intimidation at the start, but it was a light pressure, devoid of any real malice. Their overly tense reaction to such a minor pressure was excessive.
‘That’s the problem with the youth today!’
No one raising their hand when he asked if there were any questions was quite hurtful.
He rubbed his chin, mumbling gloomily.
‘Was I that scary?’
It seemed everyone was too intimidated to speak, even though he had added that even trivial or silly questions were welcome.
The Q&A session was something he had invested more effort into than the rest of the class preparation.
He had prepared various interesting anecdotes, like stories about his first love or nearly being killed by an S-class hero during his early villain days, to reduce the distance between himself and the students.
But the chance to unravel these stories never came.
He sighed again.
‘I’m not that stern, but I guess I’ve instilled a strange stereotype in the kids. Hopefully, they’ll understand eventually?’
“It seems tough.”
The response came from the front, where Ho-cheol raised his head.
That was why he had remained in the lecture hall. Below the podium, a female student stood.
Ho-cheol stuttered for a moment, then scratched his cheek.
“Right. We didn’t even formally introduce ourselves last time. I didn’t call roll, so I don’t know your name.”
“Choi Da-yeon.”
“Yes, Da-yeon. I thought you didn’t know who I was last time, which is why you were so quiet, but you’re still not very talkative.”
The student, or rather, Da-yeon, shivered slightly.
“That’s right.”
“You don’t need to respect me, but you should at least show some respect.”
Ho-cheol straightened up from leaning on the lectern and stood face-to-face with Da-yeon.
“I asked earlier if there were any questions, and you said nothing, so what do you need?”
Da-yeon didn’t answer. Instead, she just continued to stare at Ho-cheol.
And after a moment, her red lips slowly parted.
“Quit.”
“What?”
“Being a professor.”
Ho-cheol sighed. How many times had he sighed today? His already scarce patience seemed to be fading away.
That level of audacity might be unrivaled in the Academy, though her memory seemed poor.
“I told you. If you want me gone, start with the trio I mentioned…”
“No, not them firing you. I mean you quitting of your own will.”
Ho-cheol chuckled dryly.
“Isn’t that the same thing? You’re basically saying go back to prison.”
“That’s not it.”
What followed was a proposition so astounding that Ho-cheol was left speechless.
“Instead, please take charge of my personal instruction. I can erase your record and provide a new identity if you wish. I’ll match the pay whatever it is.”
For a moment, Ho-cheol’s thoughts stalled. Da-yeon’s offer was beyond his comprehension.
Eventually regaining his composure, he massaged his temples with his thumb and pinkie, his head throbbing. This was utter nonsense.
“So, this is…”
Before Ho-cheol could finish, Da-yeon interrupted.
“It’s a scout offer.”
Her eyes shone brighter than ever before, but not necessarily in a positive sense.
“I have to have what I want.”
Cliche Novel 