I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

“Yes!”
“What…? Oh, um, congratulations…”

Lee Nayoung, who had been lying in bed, jumped up and clapped mechanically, sharing in Baek Hana’s joy.

Ever since the hands-on training started on Tuesday, the freshmen had been in a state of confusion.

They had encountered a professor they had never heard of before, and to top it off, the world-renowned Claire Bean Assen appeared as his assistant professor. The news spread quickly through the Academy’s community, but it was initially dismissed as a joke.

However, an upperclassman who had occasionally seen Claire during the break contacted the administration to verify the information, and it turned out to be true. The Academy was in an uproar.

The freshmen bombarded the administration with requests to increase the number of participants in Professor Baek’s class, not daring to approach him directly due to the presence of the famous Claire by his side.

The upperclassmen also requested that he open a class for their grade, but they directed their pleas to the administration instead of Professor Baek.

After all, it was impossible to get close to him with Claire’s cold and intimidating gaze always on them.

Fortunately, the upperclassmen soon gave up as they already had their own schedules, but the freshmen, who were still in the adjustment period and didn’t have much to do yet, ran around the dormitories and lecture halls like wild horses.

There was only one reason for this frenzy:

They were searching for their classmates who had signed up for the Basic Gate Mechanics class.

Since the roster wasn’t public, the freshmen had only one option:

They would challenge anyone they suspected of being in the class and demand to see the list of participants.

It was a primitive yet effective method.

This batch of freshmen was quicker than any previous batch to embrace the traditions of Arena Academy.

The indiscriminate challenges started on Wednesday, the third day since the entrance ceremony.

Since the freshmen didn’t have established rankings yet, they couldn’t refuse challenges from their peers, except for those in the non-combat specialties.

As a result, thirty out of the fifty students who had signed up for the class were exposed and replaced by new students.

Baek Hana, with her eyes shining, had also joined the fray, but unfortunately, she hadn’t succeeded in any of her challenges.

There was a simple solution: she could challenge the newly replaced students, but unfortunately, those who won a challenge were given two days of rest, during which they couldn’t be challenged again unless they proposed the challenge themselves.

Of course, if they were injured, the rest period would be extended, and if they accepted a challenge during this time, the rest period wouldn’t be renewed even if they won.

So, the freshmen who had secured their spots were protected by the rules and couldn’t be challenged for the time being.

On Thursday, the fourth day, a notification was sent to all freshmen, who had been wasting their precious adjustment period in their desperate search.

It was the news they had all been hoping for:

The number of participants in the Basic Gate Mechanics class would be increased.

The exact time when the registration page would be updated was not specified, only that it would be on Friday morning.

The number of additional spots and the exact time were not disclosed, but no one complained.

They were just grateful for the opportunity.

“Then, Hana… Wake me up in the morning…”

Lee Nayoung, who had stayed up with Hana until mEdynght, hoping to get a spot and then give it to her, fell back onto the bed.

Since the exact time wasn’t specified, the update could happen at any time in the early morning, so Nayoung had stayed up with Hana. If she succeeded, she planned to give the spot to Hana.

Of course, she had passed out from exhaustion at some point, but now that Hana had succeeded, she could finally get some well-deserved rest.

As Nayoung was about to let go of consciousness, she heard a voice.

“It’s morning now, isn’t it?”
“… Hmm?”

Nayoung forced herself to turn her head, still half-asleep, and looked at Hana.

Unlike Nayoung, who was exhausted, Hana looked refreshed, her porcelain skin glowing with health as she got out of bed, her fluffy ears perked up.

Hana approached Nayoung, who was lying face down on the bed, and hugged her to help her up. Then, she said, “It’s 7 a.m. Let’s go take a shower and have breakfast.”
“Ugh, I’m fi—… Waaah…”

Nayoung’s face buried itself in Hana’s chest.

Hana patted Nayoung’s back as she mumbled into her chest and said, “No, you need to eat breakfast. I’ll help you shower and get ready, so go back to sleep.”
“Mmm…”

Nayoung gave up on her train of thought.

Instead, she let herself sink into Hana’s chest, which felt a hundred times softer and more comfortable than any high-quality pillow.

**

“Open your mouth, Nayoung.”
“Huh? Oh, ah, aaah…”

Nayoung, who had been dozing off in her chair at the cafeteria, opened her mouth, and Hana fed her a spoonful of stew.

Edyn, sitting across from them, shook her head and said, “You’re relentless, Hana. Instead of forcing her to eat like this, it would be better to just let her sleep.”

Even Maria, who rarely agreed with Edyn, chimed in, “I have to agree with Edyn this time.”

Maria and Edyn looked at Nayoung, who was leaning against Hana’s shoulder, with concern.

“Do you want to bring more friends who will end up like this?”
“That’s why I brought more.”

Hana fed another spoonful of stew to Nayoung and said, “She can sleep after she eats. She needs to eat to recover, and Nayoung needs to eat more because she’s so frail.”

Edyn scooped some stew and brought it to Nayoung’s mouth, forcing her to open her mouth.

It did look like torture if one didn’t know the context.

Or was it torture?

After all, they were forcing someone who wanted to sleep to stay awake and eat. Edyn thought to herself.

“I need to energize her a bit more.”
“Yeah. Nayoung looks like she could use some too.”

Maria and Edyn decided to infuse some divine power into Nayoung before returning to their room, as she looked like she was about to become a zombie.

“By the way, Hana.”
“Hmm?”

Hana, who had been feeding Nayoung stew from her lap, looked up at Nam Seo-hee, her voice slightly lower than usual.

“… I think we’re going to have some trouble.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”

Hana blinked, and Seo-hee, sitting next to Edyn, sighed and nodded in agreement.

“I didn’t realize because of Nayoung’s state, but…”
“What is it?”

Hana and Edyn gave them a blank look, and Maria, after shooting a quick glare at Edyn, continued, “To be honest, Hana’s quite pretty, and her white hair makes her stand out. She’s been walking around with a sharp gaze for the past three days, but now she suddenly looks happy.”

Edyn slowly nodded, her eyes narrowed. “I see. That explains why I’ve been getting glares from some girls. It’s because of Hana.”

“Yeah… There’s probably more to it than that, though.”

While they were in the cafeteria, they couldn’t cause a scene, so everyone was just glaring at them discreetly. But as soon as they stepped out, they would rush at Hana.

“But Hana’s skilled enough to handle anyone who challenges her, right?”
“That’s true. After all, she only has to fight one person, and the rest period ended yesterday. It’s actually a good thing.”

After all, the weekend was coming up, and they knew how much Hana had been looking forward to it.

At that moment, Seo-hee, who had helped them realize the problem, spoke up again.

“Hana…”
“Hmm?”

Hana, who had been munching on a chocolate bar, turned to her.

“I’m definitely on your side, no matter what. Just trust me on this.”
“Hmm? Okay, I trust you.”

Hana nodded, and Edyn, seeing this, turned to Seo-hee and said,

“Did you stay up too? Why are you suddenly saying weird things? It’s annoying.”

“Am I the only one?”
“What?! What did I do?!”

Edyn glared at Seo-hee, and Maria, sitting next to her, silently nodded in agreement.

After a more energetic meal than usual due to Baek Hana’s uplifted mood, the five cleared their plates and left the restaurant.

While leaving Maria and Edyn noticed a group camped out by the entrance.
Then, as they scanned the group’s faces, their expressions began to harden.

‘Hey, Nam Seo-hee.’
‘……This has nothing to do with me.’
Nam Seo-hee sighed at Edyn’s low call.
The reason was that the group waiting for Baek Hana included five children of the top ten guilds.

‘What’s wrong?’
‘……Nothing.’

In response to Baek Hana’s question, Edyn shook her head and glared at Nam Seo-hee.
Nam Seo-hee, on the other hand, ignored Edyn’s gaze and glared at the group that was gradually getting closer.

Finally, Baek-hana’s group exited the restaurant and approached the group waiting outside. “We’re sorry if we are disturbing you. Allow me to introduce myself first. I’m Kang Seok-ho, 20 years old.”

Kang Seok-ho, with his short, sporty haircut and pleasant demeanor, stepped forward and bowed politely.

Hana, who had been holding Nayoung, put Nayoung in Maria’s arms. Then, she introduced herself, her face devoid of its usual smile.

“Baek Hana. 20 years old.”

Seok-ho forced a bitter smile and continued,

“You seem displeased, so I’ll skip the introductions for now and get straight to the point.”

He coughed lightly, feeling the weight of Seo-hee’s glare, which was fixed on him.

“Please don’t misunderstand. We’re not here to threaten you, but to seek your understanding. That’s all.”

“Understanding?”
“Yes. The people here will be challenging each other today, and the winner will challenge you tomorrow.”
“Huh…?”

A small crack appeared in Hana’s otherwise expressionless face.

However, the crack was so subtle that Seok-ho didn’t notice it.

“Since you’re friends with Nam Seo-hee, we don’t expect there to be any major issues even if we go all out. We plan to hold the challenge tomorrow afternoon.”
“Why… Why not today?”
“Well, whoever wins today will need to rest for at least a day, right?”
“What…?”

Seok-ho bowed politely once more and turned to leave with the group.

Edyn cautiously stepped forward and looked at Hana’s face. Then, she turned around and said,

“She’s freaking out.”

Maria, holding Nayoung in her arms, quietly turned to look at Seo-hee.

“I, I’m innocent…”

Seo-hee averted her gaze.

That day, Seo-hee tried to talk and beg to Hana until just before curfew, but Hana remained tight-lipped even as they entered their room.