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In the end, my pyramid-style multi-level class was ruined before it even started.

Although I accepted the proposal from the academy to provide support with two teaching assistants.

The number was far from sufficient for the plan I had made with the god of wisdom, Baek Kang-woo.

Just one day after becoming an instructor, I was handed the Physical Category for first-year students, and my plan to leech off the salary using teaching assistants was cut off…

I couldn’t shake the suspicion that this was all a scheme by the academy.

It’s not just that the instructor Kim What’s-his-face, who had been teaching for years without any issues, suddenly picked a fight with me.

Or that they ignored Jeong Ha-yul and my connections in the process.

Going straight to the hospital… was too harsh. If you’re injured, you should go to the hospital.

Anyway, the academy gave me four weeks off and let me skip a semester.

At this point, it’s hard not to think that the academy drugged him.

In fact, if it weren’t for such a situation, it would be even harder to understand him.

If he caused such a ruckus on his own, he should have become a villain long ago, which means my deduction that the academy drugged him is the most realistic.

But… what kind of drug did they use to make him act like that?

It’s not a brag, but my connections are immense.

With just one word from me, Kim What’s-his-face could be kicked out of the industry.

The instructors must know that.

Yet they still moved… Whatever it was, they could have just given it to me.

Once again, the academy’s handling of the situation felt incredibly stupid.

‘If they had just given me that class, I would have worked hard.’

Hmm, maybe not?

***

Jeong Gyeoul had a meeting with her family on Monday evening.

The pyramid-style multi-level class that came out of that meeting was approved by the president on Tuesday morning.

Now, sitting in the cafeteria, it was 11:50 AM on Tuesday.

‘…Lunchtime is coming soon.’

I had to participate in the Physical Category class starting at 1:30 PM on Tuesday.

There wasn’t enough time to find two teaching assistants.

But I couldn’t give up lunch.

‘I’m barely holding on by having lunch, so I can’t give that up.’

I was sipping through a straw, watching students who had finished their regular classes wandering around.

“You’re not eating anything today?”

“No, lunch is in 10 minutes.”

Since Jeong Gyeoul usually ordered a cup of coffee and a dozen desserts to eat together, it wasn’t strange for the staff to be puzzled.

Whether she eats ten desserts after lunch or ten desserts before lunch, is there really that much of a difference? The staff, deep in thought, eventually gave up and continued wiping the table.

‘Let’s not try to understand Jeong Gyeoul.’

Surprisingly, the cafe staff seemed quite skilled at handling Jeong Gyeoul.

Perhaps they knew Jeong Gyeoul even better than her connections.

“By the way, boss.”

“…I’ve told you many times, I’m just an employee.”

“Yes, employee boss, but you know, I was assigned to the Physical Category class starting yesterday, and I have no idea what to do.”

10 minutes left until lunch.

I decided to pass the time by explaining my situation to the staff and asking for help.

It might seem like I was bothering the working staff as a troublesome customer.

But the staff likes to chat, and the manager likes Jeong Gyeoul for boosting sales.

Thanks to that, there’s an order at the cafe to always treat Jeong Gyeoul well when she visits.

Jeong Gyeoul, the cafe, and the staff.

It’s a win-win.

To add, not trying to understand Jeong Gyeoul is one of the cafe’s manuals.

Jeong Gyeoul became the cafe’s VVIP in just one semester.

“Hmm, you graduated and became an instructor right at the start of the second semester? But how did they think of assigning you a class…?”

“That’s what I’m saying…”

Jeong Gyeoul sighed, looking pitiful, but there wasn’t much advice to give.

“The academy is really mean! Assigning a class to an unprepared instructor on their first day.”

“I wasn’t looking for sympathy but a rational solution…”

“Wow, thinking about it, it’s really infuriating. It’s like handing over a store to someone on their first day without telling them anything.”

“Why is the boss suddenly getting excited…?”

“Should we gather the instructors who often come to the cafe and file a collective complaint?”

“…”

I came to ask for advice on the class content and ended up almost forming an instructor union.

Feeling uneasy about staying any longer, I sipped through the straw and finished my drink.

“Uh, I have to go for lunch!”

“There’s still 7 minutes left? Where are you going! Let’s finish the conversation…”

Jeong Gyeoul dashed out of the cafeteria and headed to the restaurant.

‘I hate being bothered, and if I make something like that, it’ll just get more annoying…’

If just being an instructor is this bothersome, the thought of becoming a union president made me shudder.

Shaking my head, I scooped food onto my tray and sat at a corner table.

“Let’s just eat and survive… Eat the food…”

“Gyeoul, hello. Long time no see, I heard you became an instructor.”

“…Teaching Assistant Im. Hello.”

“Is something wrong? You look like you’ve seen it all.”

Teaching Assistant Im Soo-ryeon, from Instructor Yoo Soo-gap’s class, sat across from Jeong Gyeoul.

Seeing Jeong Gyeoul’s sullen face, which she had never seen in the Introduction to Arrest class, she asked with concern.

“I tried to get several teaching assistants to take over the class for me, but I got rejected.”

“That’s… very like you.”

“If it were a set class like Introduction to Arrest, it would be one thing, but the Physical Category basics are too broad. And it’s not just one class, but the entire first year… Isn’t it too harsh for someone on their first day as an instructor?”

“That’s true, but… if you’re worried about the class content, isn’t it simple?”

“…Huh?”

Im Soo-ryeon casually said what I had been struggling to figure out.

“Just make them do physical training. Isn’t physical strength the foundation of national power?”

“…”

Eureka.

The god of wisdom wasn’t Baek Kang-woo, but Im Soo-ryeon.

Thinking about it, it was such a simple thing.

The Physical Category basics class is literally a ‘basics’ class.

Jeong Gyeoul had spent the first three months just swinging a sword when she learned from Hwarang Kim Yu-shin.

-5,000 horizontal swings.

-5,000 vertical swings.

-5,000 diagonal downward swings.

-5,000 diagonal upward swings.

-5,000 forward swings.

-5,000 backward swings.

It was a training regimen even Kim Yu-shin himself wouldn’t do.

And thanks to the Satan Church’s experiments and receiving Jeong Ha-yul’s genes, Jeong Gyeoul’s body had become ridiculously strong, making such training possible.

‘Back then, it was swordsmanship training… but for physical training, muscle exercises should do!’

Im Soo-ryeon had no idea that her advice would lead the students to experience hell.

“Thank you!”

“I’m glad it helped.”

Seeing Jeong Gyeoul’s bright smile, Im Soo-ryeon felt happy too.

Little did she know, this would later make her known as the academy’s public enemy.

***

1:30 PM on Tuesday. Physical Category Basics Class, 12A.

Jeong Gyeoul had no interaction with any class other than her own, 12D.

Even with 12D, she only greeted the students without knowing their names.

“Is it true that Jeong Gyeoul became an instructor?”

“Wow, what kind of instructor is a 14-year-old?”

“Early graduation was already controversial, but becoming an instructor? Isn’t that pushing it too far?”

“…As long as she teaches well, it doesn’t matter, but can she really teach well?”

Because of this, there was a lot of distrust among the students about Jeong Gyeoul’s abilities.

Even the indifferent students were swayed by the crowd mentality.

“But she’s the best fighter in our school, right?”

“Fighting and teaching are different.”

“That’s true… Maybe it would have been better if that crazy person kept going.”

“I heard that crazy person got beaten up by Jeong Gyeoul and was taken to the hospital yesterday.”

Giving teachers nicknames has always been a thing, in the past, present, and future.

Hero Academy was no exception.

“There was a rumor like that in the dorm yesterday, but was it true?”

“If it were fake, that crazy person would still be here, not her.”

“Wow, a class earned with fists? Are we just going to get beaten up?”

“They say you learn fastest by getting hit, so maybe infinite sparring…”

“It’s not about teaching well or not… Is it just me who’s bothered by a 14-year-old girl teaching?”

“Hey, be quiet, she’s coming.”

Seeing Jeong Gyeoul walking from afar, they quickly shut their mouths, but…

‘I heard everything, you guys.’

Jeong Gyeoul, using her magic power to carry heavy weight plates, had already heard everything.

Since it was the first day, she had planned to lower the intensity, but she decided to go ahead with her original plan.

‘It’s definitely not because they insulted me. Really.’

Jeong Gyeoul stood in front of the students and roughly set down the weight plates.

It felt more like she threw them.

BANG—

With weight plates ranging from 5kg to 50kg falling all at once, a huge cloud of dust naturally rose.

“Ugh, damn dust.”

With a wave of her hand, Jeong Gyeoul easily cleared the dust and bowed her head.

“Hello, 12A students. I’m the 14-year-old girl in charge of Physical Category basics.”

“…”

Disappointment, confusion, fear, shock, terror, and more.

As many emotions as there were students, they were all expressed in various facial expressions.

12A’s unity was better than expected, and the students all came to the same conclusion simultaneously.

‘…We’re screwed.’

 

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