I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

Baek Hana stared helplessly at her phone, which had fallen to the floor and now lay there, its screen cracked and unresponsive.

[Professor: Baek Woo-jin | Basic Gate Mechanics Lecture | Annex A-1] (50/50)

No matter how many times she pressed the refresh button, the screen remained unchanged from its initial state.

“This must be a dream…”

The thought of not being able to attend his lectures pained her. If this wasn’t a dream, then what was it?

However, sadly, denying reality did not change anything. Hana knew this, and so she tried to react differently.

“It’s a new lecture. No one knows how it will go, and it’s even an elective. But why is it already full…!”

It wasn’t even the weekend yet; in fact, it was the first day after the entrance ceremony. Naturally, no one had yet experienced how the lectures would be conducted. Despite this, Woo-jin’s class was already at full capacity.

“No, this can’t be happening… If I miss this, I’ll only be able to see him on the weekends…”

Hana began biting her nails anxiously. Then, as if she had a brilliant idea, her eyes lit up.

“That’s right. If I ask Woo-jin, he’ll let me in.”

Hana quickly opened her email, intending to send a message to Woo-jin, whose name was at the top of her contacts. But instead, she turned off the screen.

“…He’ll be disappointed if I make such a request.”

While it was true that she wanted to be with him as much as possible, she didn’t want to impose her desires on him.

“It’s fine. I’ll see him on the weekend.”

After much deliberation, Hana decided to accept reality.

In the short span of five minutes, Hana had gone through a rollercoaster of emotions, but she finally managed to calm down and regain her composure.

“…?”
“…!!”

Her gaze met that of Lee Nayoung, who was lying on the opposite bed. Nayoung flinched and lowered her eyes.

Noticing her roommate’s reaction, Hana blinked and then spoke.

“Sorry for shouting like that. I must have startled you.”
“Oh, um, it’s, it’s okay… Yeah.”

Anyone could tell that Nayoung was not okay, and Hana knew it too.

She had just made a bad first impression on her roommate, with whom she would be living for the next year. And Hana blamed Woo-jin for it.

…Idiot.

Although Woo-jin had done nothing wrong, Hana grumbled about him in her mind. Then, she turned to her stiff and silent roommate and introduced herself.

“I’m Baek Hana. I’m 20 years old.”
“Oh, um, I, I’m Lee Nayoung… I’m also 20 years old…”

Nayoung slowly got up from the bed, stammering as she introduced herself.

From this brief conversation, Hana could already get a sense of her roommate’s personality.

Hana’s ears perked up.

“Huh…?”

Nayoung’s eyes widened as she noticed the white, fluffy animal ears that had suddenly appeared on Hana’s head.

Hana pointed to her ears and explained, “As you can see, I’m a Transformation-type Awakened. What about you?”
“Me? Um, I’m an Ability-type… But I’m non-combat…”
“Oh, so you’re a non-combat type. Are you an Alchemist, then?”
“Huh? How did you know…?”

Nayoung asked, genuinely surprised, and Hana scratched her cheek.

“Just a guess.”
“Oh, I see.”

In truth, Hana had deduced it from Nayoung’s small frame and timid personality, but she didn’t think it was something she should share, so she brushed it off.

After that, Hana took the lead in their conversation, and they exchanged contact information.

-Ding!

Just as Hana finished saving Nayoung’s contact information on her smart watch, a notification lit up the screen.

[Edyn: Let’s get dinner]
[Maria: I’ll wait for you at the main entrance of the cafeteria]
[Nam Seo-hee: Okay]

As soon as Edyn posted the message, the other two members of the group chat quickly replied.

[Hana: Is it okay if I bring my roommate?]
[Nam Seo-hee: Sure.]
[Maria: Of course.]
[Edyn: Let’s go. But Seo-hee, why do you only give short replies to me?]

Hana lowered her arm and asked Nayoung, “Do you have anyone to eat dinner with?”
“Huh? Um, no. I don’t know anyone here…”

Nayoung, who had just started to relax, began to shrink back into her shell.

“Then, would you like to have dinner with my friends or just with me?”
“Um, th-that…”
“I’m not forcing you. Don’t feel pressured.”

Despite her cold appearance, Hana was incredibly kind. Nayoung didn’t want to reject her offer, especially since the effects of the tranquilizer she had taken that morning were still lingering.

“I’ll go…”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”

The medicine was still working, after all.

Nayoung left the room with Hana.

**

Aside from the main building, the student cafeteria was the largest facility on campus.

It had to cater not only to the students from all four grades but also to the professors and staff who stayed for research and overtime. Hence, its size was impressive.

Additionally, to ensure smooth meals for students of different grades, there were separate entrances and sections for the four directions: east, west, south, and north, corresponding to the dormitory locations.

Thanks to this setup, Hana and Nayoung were able to reach the cafeteria, just a 10-minute walk away, without running into any upperclassmen.

“Those are my friends over there.”
“Oh, I see.”

Nayoung followed Hana’s finger and saw three distinctive-looking classmates standing by the cafeteria door.

One had pink hair, another beige, and the third had jet-black hair. Two of them even wore the pristine white robes provided by the Temple.

As Hana and Nayoung approached, the one with pink hair, Edyn, was the first to react.

“Your roommate?”
“Y-yes, this is Lee Nayoung…”

Squeak—!!

“Ahh!!”
“You’re making her uncomfortable.”

Maria, seeing Nayoung trying to hide behind Hana, gave Edyn a swift slap on the back.

“Hello. I’m Maria, the same age as Hana. This is Edyn, and that’s Nam Seo-hee.”
“Oh, hello.”
“You’re 20, right?”

Maria, treating Nayoung like a child, bent down to her eye level and offered a gentle smile. Nayoung, in response, nodded slightly.

Seo-hee and Edyn, witnessing this exchange from the side, muttered to each other.

“As expected of a trainee priestess…”
“You’re so different from her.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, you brat?”

Ignoring the bickering duo, Maria calmly closed the distance with Nayoung.

“Then, shall we be friends too? We can speak casually to each other.”
“Y-yes, um, I mean, no… Yeah…”

Nayoung cautiously reached out and shook hands with Maria.

“Okay, enough chatting. Let’s eat first. We can talk while we eat; there’s nothing else to do after we go back anyway.”

Edyn took the lead and entered the cafeteria.

“That pig… She doesn’t look like it, but she’s not a bad person, so don’t misunderstand.”
“Oh, um, okay.”
“Shall we go in too?”

The four of them followed Edyn into the cafeteria.

“Wow…”

Nayoung couldn’t help but exclaim in awe at the sight of the rare and exotic dishes laid out before her, something she had never seen before in her life.

She had seen photos and read about the cafeteria during her research on the Academy, but seeing it in person was a whole different experience.

The five of them, including Edyn, each took what they wanted or what they were curious about and found a vacant table to sit down.

Considering students who might feel uncomfortable eating with others, there were 100 more seats than the total number of first-year students, making the cafeteria feel spacious and peaceful despite the number of students present.

“An Alchemist?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm, but don’t they usually pair up students with the same specialty?”

Edyn, with a spoon in her mouth, expressed her curiosity, and Maria, sitting next to her, nodded in agreement.

“That’s right. They usually pair students according to their specialties.”
“Seo-hee, what about your roommate?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yeah, I figured as much.”

Edyn glared at Seo-hee, who was sitting next to Hana and nibbling on a salad. Then, she turned to Hana and asked, “Hey, Hana. Did you manage to get into Professor Baek’s class?”
“… ”

Hana, who was about to take a bite of a chocolate-covered marshmallow, froze.

“You didn’t, did you?”
“… Yeah.”

As Hana’s mood soured, Seo-hee, who was eating her forkful of food, paused as well.

“What about you guys?”
“We didn’t bother.”
“The mandatory electives are enough.”

It wasn’t a lie.

Unlike other students, trainee priests and priestesses had specific electives they had to take, depending on the temple they belonged to.

However, the real reason the two of them hadn’t signed up for Professor Baek’s class was because his assistant professor was Claire.

To them, she was still a figure of terror.

But there was one thing Maria and Edyn misunderstood: they assumed that Hana was also aware of this, but unfortunately, Hana had yet to find out about it.

“Haa…”

Just as Hana had calmed down, she started to exude a gloomy aura again, causing Edyn to panic and add, “Hey, don’t worry about it. Sure, everyone’s obsessed with the professor right now, but once they start the hands-on training tomorrow, many will drop out.”
“Yeah, he’s not your average professor.”
“… Do you think so?”

Hana looked up, and Maria and Edyn quickly nodded in response.

At that moment, Nayoung, who had been quietly munching on the marshmallow that Hana had given her, spoke up.

“Well, I don’t know what the lecture is about, but if it’s an elective, couldn’t you just challenge someone for their spot?”
“That’s right. We could do that.”
“Yeah, Hana. If all else fails, you can always challenge someone for their spot.”

The ‘challenge’ system.

It was the reason why the Academy was also known as the Arena.

Just as the professors fought for rings in annual battles, the students also engaged in challenges for various reasons.

One of these reasons was to take someone’s spot in an elective class.

Additionally, the reason why there were no valedictorians or salutatorians in the first year was also due to this system.

In the past, a salutatorian had been so traumatized after losing a challenge a few weeks into the school year that they had dropped out, so the valedictorian and salutatorian were only chosen from the second year onwards, when the rankings were more stable.

“Hehe.”
“Oh my, you really like the professor, don’t you?”

As Hana, who had been sulking, started giggling, Edyn shook her head, unable to keep up with her mood swings.

After Hana’s mood improved, the five of them chatted casually while enjoying their desserts. During their conversation, they learned that Nayoung was a skilled member of ‘The Guild,’ and Maria even moved to sit next to her.

“Thanks.”
“Good night.”
“See you tomorrow, Hana.”

The three who lived in different rooms left, and Hana and Nayoung returned to the room they would be sharing for the next year.

“Th-thank you.”
“Hmm? It’s nothing. They weren’t that heavy anyway.”

On their way back, Hana had carried Nayoung’s luggage, as it seemed impossible for her small frame to handle three suitcases.

“Are those books?”
“Huh? Yeah, they’re books about potions and notes from my experiments.”
“I see.”

Since there were separate shower facilities in the room, the two of them took a refreshing shower and then proceeded to unpack their belongings. Hana took out her diary and showed it to Nayoung, explaining, “It’s nothing special, but I write in my diary every day.”

“A diary…”
“Do you want to read it?”
“Huh? Are you sure it’s okay?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“Then… I’ll read it tomorrow when I get back, since it’s late now.”
“Sure.”

Hana turned off the lights after seeing Nayoung settle into bed. She then turned on a small lamp and began writing in her diary.

After finishing her diary entry for the day and turning off the mood lamp, Hana heard a soft voice from the other bed.

“Good night, Hana…”

It was a small voice, but it carried a lot of courage.

“Good night to you too.”
“… Yeah.”

Nayoung couldn’t hide the smile that was tugging at her lips, and she quickly buried her face in the blanket, falling asleep soon after.

**

“See you at lunch.”
“Yeah.”

Nayoung bid Hana goodbye and left, and soon after, Seo-hee approached.

“Shall we go?”
“Yeah, let’s head to the Practical Combat class first…”

Hana and Seo-hee, both being close-combat specialists, shared several of the same classes, so they decided to stick together for the morning sessions.

As the morning classes ended and it was time for lunch, a commotion broke out.

“Anyone who signed up for the Basic Gate Mechanics class, please come out!”
“Administration, administration department…”
“Damn it, why isn’t the roster public?!”
“Stop hiding and come out, you bastards!”

Numerous students ran around, exuding a menacing aura, searching for their classmates who had signed up for Professor Baek’s class.

Hana, perplexed by the sudden situation, turned to Edyn, who had been avoiding eye contact since morning, and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Well…”

In the morning, during the Basic Gate Mechanics lecture, something unexpected had happened.

Claire Bean Assen, who had completely withdrawn from public life four years ago, appeared as the assistant professor for the class.

The news spread like wildfire, and the students’ reactions were intense.

They were determined to find and challenge the 50 classmates who had signed up for the class, taking their spots for themselves. The number of students engaged in this pursuit was rapidly increasing.

“Hana…”

Edyn swallowed nervously as she saw the icy, piercing gaze in Hana’s sky-blue eyes.

The usually clear and bright eyes now held a depth that transformed them into those of a predator.

“Sorry, I need to go find someone who signed up for the class too. I really want to attend that lecture.”
“Huh? Um, do you want me to help…?”
“No, it’s fine. Enjoy your lunch, everyone.”

Hana smiled and left, and Edyn, watching her go, muttered under her breath, “I shouldn’t mess with Hana.”

Her smile remained, but her eyes were cold and unsmiling.

The three remaining girls quietly nodded in agreement with Edyn’s statement.