Chapter 30: Tae-woo, You've Got It Wrong

"Ha, Ha-young-ssi?"

[ P-Please save meeee... ]

What on earth happened?

Through the phone, Ha-young was asking me for salvation with a voice that sounded like she was on the brink of death.

"No, what happened for you to be like this?"

It couldn't be that a Dungeon Break occurred somewhere.

If that were the case, I would have received an Association emergency alert, not a call from Ha-young's personal phone.

[ The Association President keeps bullying me. ]

"Yes?"

[ He keeps telling me to bring Eun-ha-ssi as the Academy instructor, like, constantly... ]

...That grandpa?

He didn't seem like the type of gentleman who would bully people or harass his subordinates.

By the way, what did she say?

"He asked you to bring me as an Academy instructor?"

[ As expected, you knew about it too. He said it would be great if Eun-ha-ssi were there as an instructor, told me to poke you about it... ]

I knew it.

No matter how I thought about it, there was no reason for President Park to bully Yu Ha-young otherwise.

"Ah, geez, you startled me."

[ S-Sorry. But seriously, the pressure was immense. Especially since there was that incident in the past. ]

Is she talking about the time I tried to pull out the Association building and throw it into the Han River?

Hearing Ha-young's words, I scratched the back of my head lightly.

Beside me, Jin-wook scolded, "You should have lived a better life," so I flipped him the bird and asked Ha-young again.

"But recommending me as an instructor? Why? I won't be much help."

[ Gasp, what are you saying! According to the Association's internal data, the strongest person is coming to train the successors. ]

"Strongest, my foot. Tell the Association President grandpa that I'm just an old lady in the back room and I'm not going. I'm hanging up."

[ W-Wait a moment! Among the prospective students for the first batch, Eun-ha-ssi's younger brother is included! Hwang Jae-hyun. ]

At Ha-young's words, I unknowingly smirked.

Jae-hyun?

He probably won't go.

If he goes there after giving me that wound, I won't let him be.

[ Wouldn't the probability of survival in a dungeon increase if you taught him directly as his older sister? ]

"Look here, Yu Ha-young-ssi. If that bastard goes there, I'm going to hang him from the roof of Lotte Tower, so why do you think he's going?"

[ Did you know? ]

"There was a bit of an incident because of that. Not a good one, more like a shitty one. Anyway, know this: the moment he takes even one step into that Academy or whatever, I'm going to flatten the Academy building entirely. I'm hanging up now."

If I speak like this, even the Association won't be able to use Jae-hyun to drag me into the Academy.

Feeling inwardly proud of saying everything I wanted to say, I stretched my arms. There was no reaction from beside me, so I turned my gaze.

Then, I saw Jin-wook looking at me with an appalled expression.

"Was it okay for you to say that?"

"Why."

"No, how can a person flatten a build..."

At that moment.

Seeing the streetlight behind me fold exactly in half, Jin-wook shut his mouth.

When I asked again, "What did you say?" Jin-wook coughed in vain, saying it was nothing.

"...I guess you could."

"I told you. I'm not an existence you can wrap around your finger as you please. But you took my virginity and my first kiss... Mmph mmph."

"Hey, hey!"

Jin-wook flusteredly covered my mouth.

Really, usually, he wins well with his words.

Seeing him unable to do anything because of his gender at times like this made me want to tease him even more.

"Why cover my mouth all of a sudden?"

"Because you keep spouting bullshit without stopping, so I have to block your mouth at least."

"Pervert."

"Pervert my ass. Anyway, if you have nothing to do, I'm leaving. I really don't have time."

Before Jin-wook, who stood up saying that, could leave.

I hurriedly grabbed his sleeve.

Feeling his sleeve being caught, Jin-wook turned his gaze asking, "Why."

I spoke to him cautiously, as if pleading.

"If... if anything happens, you must tell me."

"Got it."

"Okay. Good luck."

I waved my hand to see Jin-wook off.

I let out a small sigh, wondering if something was wrong.

Should I really feed him alcohol?

Sometimes it seems like his sincerity only comes out when alcohol goes in.

"Phew."

Let's stop thinking nonsense and go home.

Just as I turned my feet to head toward the main gate.

"Ack, fuck, what is that!"

As soon as Jin-wook's shout reached my ears, my body reacted automatically.

The moment I ran to where Jin-wook's voice came from.

I saw a monster that looked like a dog-shaped Chimera rushing at Jin-wook.

Simultaneously blasting the bastard toward the wall with telekinesis, I quickly shielded Jin-wook with my body.

"A-Are you okay?"

"Uh, uh? Hwang Eun-ha?"

"You're not hurt anywhere, right?"

I was so surprised that after blasting the monster away, I immediately checked Jin-wook's condition.

Although he rolled a bit while dodging, he didn't seem to be seriously injured, so only then did I come to my senses and raise my head.

Clearly, a Dungeon Break must have occurred somewhere.

I looked at the Magic Department building, the place with the highest probability.

Even my ears could hear the screams this loudly, so a massive massacre must be taking place inside the department building.

People outside were shouting, "M-Monster!" and chaos was already beginning to spread in the surrounding area.

"Grr, Grrrhk."

Fortunately, that Chimera guy seemed to have taken quite a big shock from my intervening telekinesis.

It hadn't regained its senses yet.

But this would only be for a very brief moment.

'The mana felt on my skin is at least high-tier B-Class. No, maybe A-Class.'

Soon, unkilled monsters will pour out of that building.

And this area will truly become a shambles.

A grade of Dungeon Break that even an ordinary A-Class Hunter would find difficult to block alone without sufficient preparation.

"Everyone run away! I will block this area!"

The reason I thought that was because Kang Tae-woo's rank is exactly A.

Perhaps receiving a high mana concentration detection alert on his phone, Kang Tae-woo had already arrived, holding up his Hunter License and shouting loudly. He had drawn his sword, which he must have brought from somewhere.

"You two over there, hurry...!"

At that moment, Kang Tae-woo opened his eyes wide upon seeing me and Jin-wook.

A sight that would have been misunderstood if not for the current situation.

Seeing me holding Jin-wook as if protecting him, Kang Tae-woo couldn't speak for a moment.

He must have hesitated.

I have lived without revealing that I am an S-Class Hunter.

I thoroughly made an image to avoid being caught by those around me, and this was the moment I was trying to live as a civilian, even returning my license.

"Run away."

But Kang Tae-woo, knowing it would be hard to block alone.

Perhaps trying to repay the grace he received back then by protecting the wish I wanted.

He turned his head and told me, a former S-Class, to run away.

He must have thought that if he could help me live as a civilian with this, he could repay his debt.

"Tae-woo, you've got it wrong."

Honestly, I hesitated for a moment too.

If I listen to Kang Tae-woo here and run away, I could live the life of a civilian I wanted.

Because in everyone's eyes, I am just a somewhat eccentric female student, Hwang Eun-ha.

"Hwang Eun-ha, are you sure?"

"Because I don't wish for the life I saved to be extinguished easily."

But if I run away here, I will definitely regret it someday.

The reason I could return home from the other world was also because I stepped up for things I didn't have to step up for.

"Kang Tae-woo, go in and bring the people out. I'll block the outside."

"...Okay."

I stood up.

While others were retreating according to Kang Tae-woo's instructions.

Perhaps I appeared as a girlfriend trying to protect her boyfriend.

Someone's voice shouted at me, "What are you doing! Run away quickly!"

"It's fine. Everyone, keep your distance and stand back!"

As soon as Kang Tae-woo finished speaking, a vibration resonated through the surrounding area.

As if everyone's bodies froze from the vibration felt from the ground, the area fell into silence in an instant.

But apart from that, the windows and glass doors shattered, creating perfect passages for monsters to escape.

As two terrifying bad factors erupted in succession.

Students watching this shouted, "T-They're coming out!" and just as the area was about to fall into chaos again.

"Uh...?"

Nothing happened.

Rather, even though the monsters tried to escape while screaming tremendously, they only swung their biological blades in the air as if blocked by something.

"Ah fuck, the Association, seriously."

The moment I show this sight to everyone, I will no longer be the female student Hwang Eun-ha who just sleeps at school and has an attitude problem.

I will become the S-Class Hunter Hwang Eun-ha, who has been hiding her identity at school all this time.

Therefore, while cursing the Association President who wasn't even here and had done nothing wrong...

I grabbed all the monsters sensed by my unleashed telekinesis and nodded. Kang Tae-woo jumped into the Magic Department building without hesitation.

'I guess I have to use my hands after a long time.'

Currently, a place that is practically an A-Class dungeon.

To ensure Kang Tae-woo, who jumped in alone, comes out safely.

I raised my hand and spread it forward after a long time, beginning to release increasingly strong telekinesis.

To prevent monsters from escaping through the opened Gate.

And to strongly grip every single monster inside the building, even the unseen enemies, so they couldn't move.

"These are all the survivors."

But my waiting didn't last long.

While Jin-wook and I were talking a little distance away.

The Dungeon Break must have already occurred, so there were truly few survivors.

"Got it. Stand back."

I began to clench my open hand into a fist.

Then, cracks began to appear on the entire Magic Department building, which was quite large.

As I slowly clenched my fist, everything inside began to compress, shatter, and turn into dust.

The vibration echoing through the entire earth showed us that the building was collapsing.

By the time I completely clenched my fist, everything had already turned to dust.

Only blood, concrete fragments, various metal shards, and a few wires on the ground indicated that a 6-story building had stood here.

"Wow..."

Perhaps thinking that the sight of a building collapsing was quite a spectacle even amidst the tremendous dust.

People around, forgetting the thought that they had to run away, were watching the scene in a trance.

Turning my head, I saw a group of Hunters, presumed to be a nearby guild, rushing over to handle the situation.

Recalling the request Ha-young made to me earlier, I asked Kang Tae-woo.

"Hey, Kang Tae-woo."

"Yeah."

"If I teach Awakened ones and make them into Hunters, could we handle situations like this more flexibly?"

Kang Tae-woo was silent for a moment, then his eyes went wide.

"Don't tell me you..."

At his words, I nodded.

Kang Tae-woo, who didn't answer as if thinking for a moment, gave me an answer with a single phrase.

"Of course."