I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

Splat.
“Damn it.”
Edyn grimaced as she stepped into the puddle on the ground.
“You didn’t say it would be this damp…”
“Yeah.”
Maria sighed softly, wiping the droplets running down her cheeks with the back of her hand.
Entering the gate was fine, but the problem was that the cave’s interior was extremely damp, as they could see. It wasn’t foggy or steamy, but the humidity was certainly high enough to cause discomfort.
“Hey, leader. Are you done yet?”
“I’m still searching carefully.”
Baek Hana answered, perking up her white animal ears.
“Seo-hee, don’t make any mistakes while tailing the leader.”
“You know I won’t, right?”
“No, but is that really…”
“Don’t fight…”
Lee Nayoung, who was walking in the center of the group, protected by the others, fidgeted, causing Edyn to scratch her head and nod.
She was aware that she was easily getting angry over minor things due to the rising discomfort.
“This way is a dead end too.”
A diagonally carved hole, with a steel plate engraved with the word ‘seat’ next to it.
In such cave-like terrain, the paths were complex and the width of the passages varied, so it was an unspoken rule to mark the way like this to ensure a route of retreat.
“Is it this difficult to catch a single monster?”
“Shut up and keep walking.”
“I’ll visit the magic workshop first when we get out.”
Edyn’s mind was filled with thoughts of drying her damp clothes.
“Haha…”
Although they hadn’t forced her, Edyn scratched her cheek, feeling annoyed at her friend’s frustration for coming to help her.
‘I need to find it quickly.’
Baek Hana infused her magic into her animal ears, making them even more sensitive, as she felt that Edyn might lose control if they spent more time there.
Drip.
“Huh? What is it? Did you find something?”
Baek Hana suddenly turned around, causing Edyn to draw her sword and hide Maria behind her.
“I don’t see anything…”
Edyn, who had spread her magic and heightened her senses to give her all in any situation, blinked and looked back at Baek Hana.
Seo-hee, who had also infused brain energy into her sword, ready to throw it at any moment, also looked at Baek Hana.
Baek Hana furrowed her brows slightly at her friends’ gazes and replied,
“Sorry, I think it was just the sound of water droplets.”
“You look pretty fierce for that.”
“I’m just a little sensitive right now.”
Baek Hana tried to smooth out her furrowed brows, and Edyn shrugged, retracting her magic.
“Seo-hee?”
“Huh?”
Seo-hee, who had dispersed the brain energy from her sword, looked at Lee Nayoung.
Lee Nayoung fidgeted with her fingers and cautiously opened her mouth.
“Um, it might be better to be careful with mental energy in here.”
“Huh…”
At Lee Nayoung’s response, not only Seo-hee but also Baek Hana, who was leading the way, widened their eyes. They remembered their first field practice a few months ago.
“I guess we should. Our clothes are already wet anyway.”
Seo-hee gave up on throwing her sword and chose to engage in close combat with Baek Hana.
“Then I’ll speed up a bit.”
“Please, let’s quickly behead them and get out of here.”
Baek Hana awkwardly smiled and nodded.
She focused on her highly sensitive ears and quickened her pace.
‘There’s someone there.’
Although she had told her friends it was a mistake, the sound she had heard earlier was definitely the sound of someone’s foot kicking a stone or debris.
Initially, she thought that one of the adults had secretly followed them out of concern, but Baek Hana quickly dismissed this thought.
The reason was the occasional sticky sensation she felt from the passageway, where no presence could be sensed.
‘We need to get out quickly…’
Although she hadn’t felt anything until a moment ago, once she became aware of it, she started to feel the unpleasant sticky sensation more clearly.
It was like the feeling of scanning through products on a shelf, an unpleasant one.
-Damn, of all times for my shield to break.
-Hey, at least you didn’t get hurt, right?
-Yeah, if you had, today’s earnings would have all gone to medical expenses.
Baek Hana’s ears perked up at the tired voices of the men.
“This way.”
“Finally!”
Edyn, whose discomfort had been building up, jumped with joy at the thought of finally escaping this horrible place.
“Huh?”
“Wow, as soon as we leave this gloomy place, we’re greeted by flowers.”
“Shut up, idiot. They obviously have some powerful backing.”
One of the awakened ones, who had been grinning, flinched and awkwardly lowered his smile.
“Can we go in?”
“Huh? Oh, sure. We’re leaving anyway.”
The awakened ones, their clothes stained with green fluid and dirt, slightly shook the bulky bundle they were carrying.
“But to hunt, we’ll need to go deeper.”
“It’s fine. Go ahead.”
Baek Hana entered the cave first, followed by Seo-hee and the others.
-I used to be as bold as her.
-What are you talking about, idiot? Stop whining and walk faster.
-Yeah, let’s finish this and go for a shower and a cold beer.
Even as they entered the cave, Baek Hana’s ears focused on the outside rather than the inside. And the men’s footsteps gradually faded away.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“Just a moment.”
Baek Hana continued to concentrate even after the men’s presence had completely disappeared.
‘They’re gone.’
The unpleasant sticky sensation that had clung to her dissipated. For some reason, it seemed to have followed the people who had just left the cave.
“I’ll go ahead, so follow me slowly.”
“What? No, wait! Baek Hana!”
Ignoring Edyn’s calls from behind, Baek Hana transformed into an animal and ran on all fours through the cave.
-Beep.
-Beep, beep.
After passing through several paths littered with remnants of battles and dead killer ants, they reached a fork in the road.
‘Left.’
Baek Hana left a large fist mark in front of the path where the monsters’ sounds could be heard, then ran again.
Rustle!
The sound was getting closer.
Baek Hana’s thighs swelled.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind blew in a place where it was impossible for the wind to blow.
-Kihiiik?
-Beep.
Baek Hana ran past the man-sized ants crawling in the tunnel, accompanied by the wind.
Thud!
Simultaneously, the head of the ant at the back burst open.
Green fluid splattered in all directions as the lifeless meat fell to the ground.
Whoosh!
Baek Hana, who had instantly beheaded the killer ant, spun in the air and landed on the ground, charging towards the killer ants that were hesitating.
-Kihiiik!
The soldier ant, who had belatedly regained its senses, tried to turn its head to swing its giant jaws, but—
Crack!
Baek Hana’s foot kicked the giant jaws first.
The soldier ant’s head turned to the side due to the overwhelming force, and its sharp jaws pierced the forehead of the worker ant next to it. After confirming that the worker ant was instantly killed, Baek Hana jumped onto the soldier ant’s head and punched its head.
Thud!
With a dull sound, green fluid splattered in all directions as the soldier ant collapsed to the ground.
Three ants were instantly killed in the blink of an eye.
Without hesitation, Baek Hana threw away the soldier ant’s head and returned the way she came, carrying only its giant body.
Their purpose in coming here was to secure a sample of the monster for dissection, not for money.
“Baek Hana!”
Not long after walking, Baek Hana met her companions, their faces filled with anger.
“You crazy bitch! Why did you bring us if you were going to leave like that?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Damn it…”
Edyn scratched her head and took out a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe off the fluid that had splattered on Baek Hana’s face.
Seo-hee, who had been watching, spoke up.
“We’ll be dirty again after the dissection.”
“Just wipe it again!!!”
“Yeah, with what handkerchief?”
Edyn gritted her teeth as she looked at her dirty handkerchief.
Maria, who had been tense, fearing a possible argument, sighed in relief and spoke.
“Let’s just finish the dissection quickly and get out of here. We need to eat.”
“Did you hear that, Lee Nayoung?”
“Yeah.”
Lee Nayoung took out the dissection tools from her bag and handed them to Baek Hana.
A sharp saw, a knife, and a hammer.
“I’ll take pictures.”
Lee Nayoung began filming with Baek Hana’s smartphone, while Baek Hana used only the knife to dissect the ant.
She cut off the long, thick legs at the joints and stacked them to the side, then cut off the chest and abdomen, which were missing a head, at the joints. Finally, she split the chest and abdomen in half to search for the magic stone that might be inside.
“I know I shouldn’t say this, but if you submit this, you’ll get a D at best, or maybe a C+.”
“It’s fine. I don’t care much about grades anyway.”
Baek Hana kicked away the ant’s body parts she had separated and stood up, only taking the tools with her.
“I knew it. I should have just waited outside…”
“Hana.”
Edyn grumbled and turned around, while Seo-hee, who had been holding the handkerchief, wiped Baek Hana’s cheeks and hands.
“Thanks.”
Baek Hana smiled softly, put the tools in Lee Nayoung’s bag, and slung it over her shoulder.
“Let’s go now.”
“Is this faster than boiling a pot of ramen?”
“Stop complaining and move faster.”
“I am moving.”
Edyn grumbled and took the lead, followed by the others who slowly retraced their steps.
Whoosh!
“Huh?”
As they approached the exit, Baek Hana frowned at the sweet scent that tickled her nose. And at that moment—
‘Huh…?’
Her vision, which had been fine until now, gradually started tilting to the side.
“Hana!”
Seo-hee, who was standing right next to her, quickly supported Baek Hana as she collapsed to the ground.
-Hana…
-Gap… What…
Their voices grew fainter, and Baek Hana lost consciousness without a moment to think.
Then—
Thud.
One by one, starting with Baek Hana, they all lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
.
.
.
Swoosh.
A middle-aged man appeared from nowhere in the empty space.
He glanced down at the girls entangled in the tunnel, then approached the girl with beige hair and picked up the smartphone in her front pocket.
Crack!
The smartphone shattered in the man’s hand.
“So you’re a priest of Bwiar, even though you’re young.”
He immediately made a video call to share the situation with someone, as if it wouldn’t be strange to overhear his friend’s sharp reaction.
-Third Bishop, I’ve found the core.
“Wait.”
-Yes.
The Third Bishop.
A devout follower of Amos, one of the four evil gods, he took out a mask divided into white and black from his pocket and put it on his face.
A god-grade artifact.
Loki’s Mask.
Not only did it perfectly transform the wearer into the target, including their face, build, gender, and unique wave, but it also transferred the target’s memories if their heart was taken. A god-like ability befitting a god-grade artifact.
‘Haste makes waste.’
The Third Bishop’s gaze shifted from Baek Hana to Lee Nayoung.
An unplanned situation.
He had discovered them by chance while waiting for reports from those who had infiltrated the Academy after the barrier’s restoration.
Two apprentice priests loved by the High Priestess.
And a female student who was personally vouched for by the Executioner, a symbol of fear for them.
The student closest to the target they needed to contact.
‘We must find the whereabouts of the Demon God’s Child at all costs.’
The field practice, which should have ended in chaos due to the explosion, concluded without incident, and the believer who had taken the Demon God’s Child inside vanished like a mirage.
Literally vanished.
After watching the gate for several months, the believer who had taken the Demon God’s Child inside never came out.
‘It must be those two.’
Yesol, one of the High Priestess’s apprentices.
She always had a smiling face, but those who had faced her in the past would vividly remember how chilling that smile was.
And the man who she bowed her head to.
Despite using all means to uncover his identity, all they could find was the publicly known name.
However, they recently learned through the memories of the faculty members that Jayden Martel, who had the same authority as the Chairman and was known for his strong pride, had bowed his head and entered the gate.
The Third Bishop intended to transform into one of the apprentice priests or the female student protected by the Executioner. It would be easier to approach them that way.
‘This is indeed a place where one can’t let their guard down.’
However, one of the apprentice priests acted quickly, preventing him from reaching out to them easily.
“Although you’re not a believer, I won’t forget your sacrifice.”
The Third Bishop’s hand reached for Lee Nayoung’s heart.
Thrust!
A horrifying sound of flesh being pierced echoed through the tunnel.
“Huff…”
The Third Bishop coughed up dark red blood, looking at him in disbelief.
Whoosh!
The Third Bishop’s body split in half and collapsed to the ground.
Plop.
The split flesh of the Third Bishop twitched, and his still-beating heart was pulled out by a blurry woman’s hand.
Viche picked up the mask that had fallen to the ground and looked at the heart beating in her hand.
[Merciful Master… You grant such a peaceful death.]
Viche’s figure disappeared with a chilling sound that seemed to stimulate the instinctive fear of life.
A moment later.
Drip, plop.
Two beating hearts and a mask were placed in Maria’s bag.