Villain Professor of Heroes

The name was, of course, Han Min-ha.

The picture, seen once more, was undoubtedly that of the child who had given me a handkerchief earlier.

Let’s see… how did she get in here?

Extra points for being the child of a hero?

So that was it.

I had been puzzled as to how such a timid and withdrawn child could have entered the Academy, but it was due to the hero child bonus points.

The hero child bonus system is a sort of privilege granted when one’s parents or grandparents are former or current heroes.

To put it in real-world terms, it might be akin to what we call the national service candidate program.

The bonus points vary depending on the hero’s rank, but usually, most recipients of this bonus can enter the Academy.

Because, in many cases, a hero’s talent is passed down.

From the Academy’s standpoint, it is far more efficient to admit students with some degree of talent rather than start from scratch with ordinary children.

But… it’s strange. Why is the family relationship section blank?

If she was eligible for hero child bonus points, there should be listed the corresponding hero’s codename and rank in the family relations section… right?

At the very least, there should be the names of her parents or siblings, shouldn’t there?

Perhaps an orphan?

Even so, if the child were a hero, they would surely have to be entered here, even if her parents had passed away.

Could it be that her grandparents were the heroes and her parents are both deceased?

Hmm… what could it be?

And it’s not as if I can go back to the administrative office right now and ask about it.

Besides, this isn’t an immediately urgent matter, so I’ll investigate it step by step later.

There wasn’t much else to catch my interest.

So, I’m supposed to make someone like this an S-rank?

No, are those letters even really a quest?

Once a doubt forms, it tends to snowball.

I shook my head, trying to dispel any suspicion.

This isn’t like other stories where, after a merge, a status window pops up along with a helpful tutorial.

It’s better to grab onto even the smallest clue when you have no information at all.

At least I know the entire story until the end, so something will come up, right?

Upon returning to the research room, I quickly finished preparations related to tomorrow’s initial assessment.

We had already gone over this at several faculty meetings prior to the entrance ceremony.

Since it’s something that repeats every year, it didn’t take much time.

Once everything was done, I habitually rested my body on the sofa.

Though the coughing had stopped, I was quite tired from standing for so long.

As I started to drift off to sleep, my cell phone suddenly rang.

A message from Professor Jin was waiting.

[There’s a professor here!]

It was a link to a site I hadn’t seen before.

Once I opened it, I found that footage from this morning’s entrance ceremony had been uploaded to the news.

The new students walking through the main gate were visible along with the anchor’s clear voice.

And there I was, standing like a scarecrow, waving my hand…

Oh no… I look so unnatural.

Fortunately, the embarrassing scene where I coughed and ran off the stage didn’t make the cut.

It seemed they had edited it out, probably because it wasn’t relevant enough for the news.

As I scrolled down, I frowned upon reading the comments.

The comment section was completely covered with talk about a specific individual.

Who is the person standing at the gate?

– Is that a professor?

– How could the professor look like that?

– Total lifehack.

– Why does his art style differ?

– When this happens, it’s called resolution difference, you noobs.

Ah, what is the director of the Management Bureau doing?

– Why are they attacking the director for doing nothing?

– This guy has no shame, seriously. If he looks like this, how could he become an Academy professor?

– Noted.

– Fact) The Academy is not under the jurisdiction of the Management Bureau as explained so arguing with the director is off-base.

– Fact) Right!

To be honest, he doesn’t look good, somewhat sinister.

– Idiot.

– True.

– Haha.

– You’ve got to get out of that house and bask in the sunlight or meet people.

– We’ve decided to call that “decadent beauty.”

– Is there no mirror in your house? Even look at the off-screen phone display.

[ This comment has been deleted by the administrator. ]

– What did this guy say that got it deleted?

– This guy seems to think someone can kiss his behind once.

– Hahaha.

– Hahahaha.

– Except for the kiss, I think someone could get a blowjob once from him.

– Gay, gay…

Professor Jin… Out of all the videos, why did you send me a link to such a strange community?

I would’ve thought she’d avoid this kind of stuff.

Still, when I typed “Graford Entrance Ceremony” into the search bar, a list of related searches popped up.

“Graford Main Gate Professor,” “Entrance Ceremony Main Gate Professor,” “Academy Sickness King,” etc.

What is this “Academy Sickness King”?

When I clicked on it, a shaky video, seemingly taken by a student, started playing.

In it, I could see myself doing a self-introduction before suddenly coughing violently and leaving the stage.

Now that I look at it, it’s quite embarrassing.

After reading the comments on that video, I couldn’t help but curse under my breath.

“Damn.”

Because the very first comment I saw boldly declared me as “the embodiment of a fragile, whiny, attention-seeking sick guy being harassed by a stalker.”

I must have entered the wrong site.

It seemed like every community was talking about me.

Additionally, Hyun Yu-won’s interview was making headlines.

It was filmed in front of the auditorium after the entrance ceremony where her unique beauty and overconfidence were perfectly captured.

Thinking about it, perhaps it’s fortunate that it’s Han Min-ha rather than Yu-won.

If you asked me whether I could ensure the survival of Han Min-ha, who has to deal with her personality and family pressure while still managing to graduate unscathed—I don’t know.

Maybe the original Professor Hyun could, but I’m unsure.

Hum… Han Min-ha.

I reopened the dossier on Min-ha that I had saved in the gallery.

Her messy black hair, oversized glasses, and meek expression stared back at me.

So, the task is to make this child an S-rank hero…

—

The next day, all the professors gathered for the initial assessment.

Although the entrance ceremony is the administrative office’s responsibility, the initial assessment, which is closely related to the students’ grades, is entirely the faculty’s job.

“Everyone understands how important the initial assessment is, right?”

In response to the department head’s question, the professors nodded in agreement.

The initial assessment is incredibly important for students in the academy.

Through the initial assessment, students are categorized by level, and guidance is tailored accordingly.

Since the scores and rankings established here rarely change until graduation, it’s no surprise.

There’s really no other way about it.

Top students are grouped together and receive high-level education matched to their abilities.

Experienced academic advisors are assigned, and the Academy provides additional education separately.

The Academy’s reputation rises with the number of successful heroes it produces, so it pushes hard for those with the potential to become A-rank and above.

Most of these high-ranking students have already received private education before they even enter.

As for the rest?

For lower-ranked students, only the bare minimum education is provided, with no additional support from the Academy.

They’re essentially just graduating while the Academy pockets their tuition fees.

Many students who graduate after going through this end up starting at F-rank, where most stay indefinitely.

Instead of facing villains, they often end up working as manual laborers on construction sites until they eventually drop out of the Management Bureau out of self-loathing.

This is why freshmen put their lives on the line for the initial assessment.

“Especially this year… you know, right? Chairman. Hmm?”

They’re talking about Hyun Yu-won.

“In case anything goes wrong during the initial assessment, it would cause problems in various ways, so let’s conduct it thoroughly. Objectively and fairly.”

“Understood,” “Yes.”

“And, Professor.”

The department head called me.

“Yes, department head.”

“Behave yourself. Do you know what I mean?”

“Understood.”

It was regarding the commotion my situation caused in the communities.

“Then let’s move to the initial assessment venue.”

As we exited the faculty office, Professor Jin approached me.

“What’s with all this talk about behavior? Professor hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“I’m fine.”

“You need to change your habitual response of saying you’re fine. That’s why Department Head keeps thinking you’re easy to push around.”

“Haha, yes. Understood.”

The initial assessment venue is a massive set created using the entirety of the Academy’s second sports field.

Here, freshmen undergo comprehensive testing of their physical abilities, reflexes, endurance, judgment, and computational skills.

On the surface, it remains a ‘basic’ assessment to gauge the level of the freshmen.

But I could sense an invisible passion burning in the freshmen as they approached the venue.

At the very front was Hyun Yu-won with her shining blonde hair.

Such a character who enjoys being the center of attention wherever she goes.

Having noticed me from afar, Yu-won flashed a coy smile.

I ignored her smile, instead shifting my gaze to look for Min-ha.

However, I couldn’t locate the dark-haired, withdrawn girl in my visible field of view.

She must have fallen toward the back.

As the freshmen aligned in front of the professors, the department head moved to the front.

“From now on, freshmen will undergo the initial assessment. As all of you know, this is an extremely important assessment.”

The freshmen’s faces stiffened with tension in response.

Only Yu-won maintained a calm smile.

“Our professors will provide an impartial assessment, so please give it your all and strive for the highest scores possible.”

The professor’s teaching assistants randomly grouped the students into groups of ten.

“Professor. See you at the exit.”

Yu-won strolled away with a flirtatious glint in her eye.

Ignoring her words, I looked at the group standing in front of me.

“Huh?”

There stood Han Min-ha with long black hair and glasses, her head bowed as she stared at the ground.

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