I Became the Teacher of a Troll Tribe

Chapter 6: Private Tutoring (2)

“...Goooohhh!!!”

It wasn’t intentional. Who in their right mind hits their students in this day and age? It was purely reflex.

When Stone Grunder lost his balance during an attack and his head came into my range, my fist reacted on its own.

Honestly, I was the one more shocked.

‘...How is it this solid?’

His head didn’t even budge. Meanwhile, my fist throbbed as if I’d punched a rock.

“Kha! Khahaha!”

...And he was laughing.

‘Damn. Would a knife even pierce this guy?’

Stone Grunder’s skin possessed absurd durability.

“Harder! Hit me harder!”

At my eager student’s request, I threw punches at his head, chest, stomach, and even his legs.

Whoosh!

Stone Grunder endured it all with his hulking frame, swinging his fists wildly in return.

“Krrrk! Tutoring is funnnn!”

...Very enthusiastically, too.

“Humaaaannnn!!”

An hour passed as I sparred with him in the dark.

‘This is insane.’

I had completely lost feeling in both hands.

My legs were trembling.

I wasn’t confident I could dodge even his blind attacks anymore.

Meanwhile, Stone Grunder was thoroughly enjoying his first experience of close-quarters tutoring, showing no signs of fatigue.

“That’s enough for today.”

“Krrrk! Already? Don’t tell me you’re tired!”

“No. Time’s up.”

...Of course I was tired. Let’s stick to our schedule, okay? I could barely keep my legs steady.

“Krrrk!”

The future battlefield leader tilted his head regretfully.

“Next time, I’ll definitely twist your neck!”

Despite being thoroughly pummeled, he seemed to hold no grudges.

Well, it’s not like any of my hits actually hurt him.

“That was fun, human! Why didn’t you tell me about something this enjoyable earlier?”

He brushed the dust off his massive hands and shouted.

A sort of impromptu evaluation, I suppose.

“...”

The longer I stay in this world... the more surprising things I encounter.

“You’re hopeless with your fists.”

Technically, I was the one teaching...

“Next time, bring a weapon!”

...But sometimes, I end up learning more than my students.

“Next week... Friday works best!”

Today was one of those days.

***

A hand reached out from under the lectern.

The hidden trait [Calm Mind] was proving useful once again.

It was Evelyn.

Instead of troll bread, she was holding two old books.

“...Delivery.”

Geez. How many spy movies had she watched?

I also had something to tell her today.

“The Abyssal Stone Trolls?”

“Yeah. Can you look into them? No one in your circles knows about them?”

I had played as a troll character before.

However, the only playable trolls in Arcane Chronicle were the Fangtusk Trolls, whose starting point was the holy city of Zul Dron.

This world, however, had countless tribes with unique characteristics.

“Hmm... No, I don’t think anyone in my circle is from there. But I’ll check.”

“Thanks.”

“Got it! By the way, teacher, are you okay? You were shaking the whole class—your hands and your legs, too.”

Oh, right. The tutoring was a bit intense. How had three days passed without any improvement?

I decided to save that story for later.

“See you later!”

Not sure if she was worried or just teasing, Evelyn left for her work at the lab.

I stashed the books in my bag and headed to the staff room.

“Brilliant human Seong Jinyu! Let’s eat together!”

Lactomar called out as I settled into my usual seat.

Come to think of it, I should’ve asked him about the Abyssal Stone Trolls earlier.

I’d given Evelyn extra work for no reason.

“Krrrk! The Abyssal Stone Trolls have long been called the shield of the trolls! From lowly soldiers to their chieftain, they are all warriors brimming with combativeness and always stationed at the front lines—”

Long story short, they’re a muscle-bound tank faction. An entire tribe full of Stone Grunders? No thanks.

“By the way, how’s the tutoring going?”

“Oh, well, I’ve got enough to cover next month’s taxes.”

“As expected of the brilliant human! I knew you’d succeed!”

‘Succeed, my ass. I scraped by with just Stone Grunder.’

And it wasn’t even the kind of tutoring I had envisioned.

Life wasn’t getting any easier, I thought, as I popped a piece of dried jerky into my mouth.

Thud-thud-thud...

Slam!

“Seong Jinyu!”

“Toka?”

Toka burst into the staff room, swinging the door open with force.

She was a young troll who had taken over Troll Class B after me.

For some reason, her expression was unusually furious.

“What on earth did you tell them?”

Huh? Was this about the final class? I did talk some smack to emphasize my status as the only native speaker. But I was sure I’d told Class B to keep their mouths shut.

“Three of them skipped class yesterday without permission! They were all diligent warriors...”

“...They probably had tribal duties or urgent tasks.”

It wasn’t uncommon for trolls to miss a day or two.

After all, human language education wasn’t mandatory.

“No! Stone Grunder told me everything. What on earth are you doing out there?”

Damn it.

I forgot to tell him to keep the tutoring sessions a secret. If word got out that I wasn’t actually teaching human language...

“Speak! What did you do to them?”

Toka looked furious, her anger boiling to the top of her head.

Should I just come clean and wrap this up before it reached the director’s ears? If that crafty director suspected I was hiding traits beyond [Master of Languages!], I might end up under investigation.

That would completely ruin the plans I had been building for so long—

“...Did those clever ones all leave to take your tutoring? Tell me your secret!”

Wait, what?

“Stone Grunder has been bragging about how amazing your tutoring is all day! No matter how much I ask, he just tells me to try it myself!”

What kind of absurd nonsense was this?

Slam!

The staff room door opened again, and more trolls came in.

Their faces were familiar.

Of course—they were all renowned members of Troll Class B.

Bragnar, the current scout leader.

Tormag, the young warrior already known as the “Crusher.”

And Aisona, the daughter of a chieftain from some tribe I couldn’t quite recall.

“We’ve come to sign up for tutoring!”

SSS-tier trolls were lining up.

***

“...You lot.”

When I’d been begging for students, they ignored me.

Now they’re swarming me, asking for tutoring?

And these aren’t just anyone—they’re big shots with impeccable backgrounds.

‘What the hell did Stone Grunder say about me?’

I was dumbfounded.

Bragnar, whom I had specifically mentioned during the last class, was one thing.

But Crusher Tormag and Aisona, the chieftain’s daughter? These were serious players in their own right.

“See? Everyone’s clamoring to take your tutoring!”

“Krrrk-krk! As expected of the brilliant human, Seong Jinyu!”

You’re the ones clamoring.

The students had come to me, asking for lessons. For a moment, I felt like a star tutor...

“Toka, calm down for now.”

First, I needed to settle Toka down. ...I could understand how she felt. Then, I turned to my former Troll Class B students.

“You want tutoring?”

“Krrrk! That’s right!”

“Why? You didn’t say anything about this last week.”

“Stone Grunder hasn’t stopped talking about you for days! He says your tutoring brought him closer to his dream of becoming a battlefield leader!”

Bragnar spoke up.

‘What kind of impression did my lessons leave on Stone Grunder?’

At least it seemed he hadn’t shared any specifics. They probably thought I’d just taught him human language in a normal way.

“If he says that, doesn’t it mean there’s something different about your teaching? We want to graduate quickly too!”

“Spending two hours a day just learning human language feels like a waste. If there’s a faster way, I’ll pay whatever it costs.”

“I’ll pay twice what Tormag offers.”

Fair enough.

If I were in their shoes, I’d want to graduate quickly too.

Unlike the humans who were forced to learn Trollish, these trolls weren’t obligated to attend.

It must be torture for them to sit through lessons every day.

Still, this was unacceptable. Barging into the staff room like this and saying—

“Bragnar! Tormag! Aisona!”

“Speak!”

“Do you have no respect for your teacher?”

“...!”

My sudden rebuke left them confused, their expressions asking what they had done wrong.

Even Lactomar, watching from the sidelines, seemed puzzled as I turned down what appeared to be easy money.

“I cannot accept your request!”

I didn’t know how private tutoring worked in this world, but back in the education scene I knew, there were certain unspoken rules. One of the gravest sins?

‘Poaching students.’

Especially in front of their current teacher? That was a betrayal of professional ethics.

“...!”

“Toka is a competent teacher! How many times have I said it? Whatever your goals or dreams are, you can achieve them with her. Besides, all three of you have already attended my classes. What’s changed? Do you think tutoring will magically make your skills improve?”

If you’d paid attention during class, why would you even need tutoring? And it’s not like the teacher changed.

“T-that’s not it! It’s just—”

The momentum shifted in an instant.

The staff room’s “field effect” was real.

“Three months!”

“...!”

“Attend Toka’s classes for three months. If you still haven’t graduated by then, come back to me. I’ll consider it.”

That was the end of it.

The tutoring fees I earned now were enough to cover my taxes and basic living expenses.

Why push myself with additional lessons when I could use the time to read more books or plan with Evelyn for our return?

...Not to mention, Stone Grunder’s lessons were far more grueling than I had anticipated.

“If you understand, leave now! I’m not taking on more students for the time being. Spread the word. Oh, and don’t skip class!”

Ahem.

I felt a bit of regret after saying it, but I couldn’t afford to settle.

The spark of hope had just been lit, and I wasn’t about to let it die.

Gaining Toka’s trust as a fellow teacher was just a bonus.

“Uuuhhhh…”

Even trolls cry, it seems.

I now had one more story to share with Evelyn.

***

[Setagaya, the Beautiful Motherland]

[The Great History of the Trolls]

I lay on my bed, staring at the two books, each written in a different hand.

After another grueling day, my body still ached all over, but...

‘I have to do this.’

The main reason I had turned down high-paying tutoring was to figure out a way out of this world.

The keywords I had first asked Evelyn to investigate were related to the foundations of this world: “Setagaya Continent” and “history.” I needed to know exactly where I was.

In other words, I was trying to understand the world’s lore.

Why would a nine-year veteran need to do that?

Because the differences between the Arcane Chronicle I knew and this place were staggering.

‘Trolls learning human language at an academy.’

Even now, the idea made me chuckle.

Not that I could complain—it had kept me alive.

Carefully, I opened the first book.

[Setagaya, the Beautiful Motherland]

It covered the entirety of Setagaya, the backdrop of Arcane Chronicle.

The opening chapters described the thriving civilizations of humans and trolls, as well as the dwarves, beastfolk, and elves, who alternated between alliances and conflicts with them.

The description of the elves was sparse, but otherwise, it wasn’t too different from the game.

Well, elves were known for being reclusive.

The book continued with detailed descriptions of the major cities and holy sites of each faction, as well as the unique areas scattered across the Setagaya Continent.

‘I’ve been to all these places before.’

I carefully compared the book’s descriptions to my in-game memories, looking for any discrepancies as I moved to the next chapter.

The latter sections were mostly mundane.

After skimming for anything useful, I closed the book with a clearer understanding of the world’s context.

“Hmm.”

Next was the book on troll history.

Despite living among them daily, there was still much I didn’t know.

[The Great History of the Trolls]

It described how ancient trolls, once primitive monsters in a corner of the Setagaya Continent, had caught the attention of a godlike being from another dimension and evolved into intelligent creatures.

Scattered tribes eventually united into strongholds, attracting heroes and geniuses to form the holy city of Zul Dron.

The book also chronicled the initial conflicts with humans, the ensuing wars, and the great warriors who had earned glory for the troll race.

This section leaned heavily in favor of the trolls.

The author was likely a troll, so it wasn’t surprising.

‘...?’

While reading late into the night, one passage caught my eye.

It was just after the account of the First Racial War and led into a chapter on the subsequent Cold War period.

Multifaceted Ability User Kim Nam-cheol...?

What kind of absurd twist was this?