A Veteran Teaches Very Well

part 1

Prologue

Oseong Hall is the largest building at Florian Academy.

It bears the name of Oseong Corporation, a company boasting the highest revenue in South Korea, which sponsored its construction.

“Whoosh.”

My body unconsciously took a deep breath.

Ninth floor, Room 2 of Oseong Hall.

I came here every week, but I always felt nervous standing in front of it.

I still couldn’t believe that I, who could barely present in front of others during my school days, was now lecturing in one of the country’s top educational facilities.

Squeeze—

To shake off the tension, I pinched my innocent hand.

As the pain surged, I pushed through the anxiety and opened the door to the lecture hall.

Dozens of eyes converged on me simultaneously.

The emotions contained within ranged from anticipation to hostility. This was overwhelming.

My voice echoed in the quiet lecture hall.

“Nice to meet you, everyone. I will call the roll.”

I unfolded the attendance sheet on the podium.

Names listed in alphabetical order. I began to call them out one by one.

“Baek Seolhwa.”

“Yes.”

The response was stiff.

At first glance, it sounded like she was angry. In truth, she was just awkward in dealing with people.

“Seo Dayun.”

“Yes, four!”

A slightly nervous reply, as if she had bitten her tongue. A small snicker erupted from the crowd.

Embarrassed, Seo Dayun’s face turned bright red as she bowed her head deeply.

I understood that feeling well. I would have felt embarrassed too.

“Song Seokhwan.”

“Yes.”

This time, a sarcastic voice was heard.

At the end of my gaze sat a man with his legs crossed in a defiant manner.

His arrogant demeanor was reminiscent of a monarch.

“Put your legs down. You look uncouth.”

“Sure.”

He was so relaxed it was hard to believe a professor was sitting in front of him. In other words, he was downright disrespectful.

It was indeed the attitude of a young master from the ‘Emergency’ guild.

“Anseri.”

“Yes.”

Her confident voice was similar to Song Seok-hwan’s.

In fact, she and Song Seok-hwan resembled each other in many ways.

Both possessed the greatest talents of their generation and were prominent heirs of a colossal guild.

But the source of their confidence was different.

While Song Seok-hwan’s stemmed from a condescending arrogance towards others, Anseri’s came from a self-love that believed she was the best.

Similar yet distinctly different.

For a rookie professor’s first lecture, the lineup was far too extravagant.

And rightly so, for these kids would one day become the great heroes who would save the world.

How could I be so sure of that?

Well, those kids were playable characters in the game ‘Florian Rhapsody,’ which serves as the backdrop for this world.

A game I once lived for, filled with both love and hate.

After calling out a few more stragglers, attendance was concluded. As I closed the attendance sheet, I felt the intense gazes of the students. A damn burdensome scrutiny.

No matter how I thought about it, it felt strange.

After all, isn’t it?

I, of all people, only knew how to tap away at a keyboard in front of a computer; I had never held a sword or cast a spell.

Yet here I was, teaching someone.

This world was definitely off-kilter.

Chapter 1. Possession

My home is a tiny studio apartment, barely 4 pyeong in size.

It was dark, tightly wrapped in thick curtains, and the air was stale from two days without ventilation.

The sink was filled with dishes that hadn’t been washed in ages, emitting a foul odor, and trash was scattered around the room.

It was nothing short of a pigsty.

In one corner of the room, the monitor glowed, flaunting its presence.

On the black screen, the ending credits appeared in white letters. Things like producers and production companies.

It was the ending credits of the game that had set the entire global gaming community ablaze, “Florian Rhapsody.”

“Damn it, what a shitty game.”

Indeed.

The reason I speak of it in the past tense, as if it once burned bright, is because it no longer does.

Florian Rhapsody flopped shortly after its release, and I went down with it.

What does the game’s failure have to do with me, you ask?

Until last year, I was just a student at a so-called “second-rate” university. One located in Seoul, but with little merit for employment.

In high school, I had my heart set and studied diligently.

I thought that once I got into college, I could live life comfortably and enjoyably.

But damn it.

Once I got to college, the happy life I had imagined was nowhere to be found.

To get a job, there were countless things to worry about—grades, certifications, and whatnot. Back in high school, I thought everything would be solved just by getting into college.

In short, the idea that getting into college was all it took was a scam played on every high school student in South Korea.

Sitting at a desk and studying all day didn’t suit me.

So, for the first time in my life, I gambled.

Isn’t XTube all the rage these days?

If you can get in on the popular games, it’s not uncommon to earn ten million won a month, right?

Just in time, the single-player game Florian Rhapsody was released.

The production cost was nearly one trillion won, and the promotional video boasted unbelievable quality. The moment I saw it, I felt it—this was the game.

Without hesitation, I applied for a leave of absence and locked myself in my studio apartment, playing the game to the bone.

I had some confidence in gaming. I might have been weak in the trending AOS genre, but RPG game strategies were definitely my specialty.

Yet, this game was incredibly difficult for me. It took a full two months before I saw the ending for the first time.

However, the fruits of my labor were sweet.

When I uploaded the clear video to XTube, it caused a stir. According to the comments, I was the first in the world to clear it.

The edited video of the final boss battle garnered over three million views.

That day marked my first and last peak.

The next day, the strategy video I uploaded received a mere 3,601 views. And the day after that, the views for my next video plummeted to 949.

“Why the hell did I start playing this crappy game?

“It’s really hard.”

“What’s the point of using magic and aiming with a bow? This is an FPS game, isn’t it?

“What kind of tanker gets hit three times and dies? Stop acting like a fool.

“This is a piece of trash game. Can you really delete the character after you die once? That’s absurd.

“That’s the general evaluation of ‘Florentine Rhapsody’.

“I failed to adjust the difficulty level.

“I’m curious who in their right mind cleared this game, but I don’t think many people would want to watch someone play it like that.

“If I had stayed focused, it would have been great.

“At the time, I was suffering from what people commonly call ‘gaming addiction’.

“I had fun playing, so I thought others would too. People still don’t know about it, so it’s not popular yet.

“So, if I create a proper strategy guide, the game will become popular and my YouTube channel will increase in views too.

“That’s the result I got.

[‘I cleared Florentine Rhapsody.’ / 3.3 million views / 1 year ago]

[‘Introduction to Florentine Rhapsody’ / 36,000 views / 1 year ago]

…

…

[‘Complete Guide to Mage Skills!’ / 41 views / 3 weeks ago]

[‘Tutorial Boss No-Hit Clear!’ / 13 views / 1 week ago]

View count: 13.

It was the view count of my latest YouTube video, which I invested 1 year in.

“So that’s it. Why did I start playing this crappy game?”

In the end, my gamble failed.

All I got was dozens of strategy guides that no one cares about, a record of playing through every playable character, and a lesson on how hard it is to make money.

I’m just glad I could snap out of it.

I plan to go to the army next month and then come back to school.

“Maybe I can play for just a little while longer?”

That’s why I’m sitting in front of the computer again.

I just watched the ending of the last character, and my account became an all-clear account.”

As I turned on the main screen, a new option appeared—something that had never existed before.

▼ Customization Mode

: By selecting this, you can progress through the game with a new character. The character information can be shaped by the player themselves.

“This is it!”

In a way, it’s a hidden mode akin to a special perk for all-clear players.

Is there anything better to pass the time before enlistment? After all, whether I like it or not, I’ve spent a year with this game, so it feels a bit sad to just part ways here.

I’m determined to see the hidden ending and finish it.

“This is amazing! I can set my stats however I want?”

First, the name.

Let’s see… I decided on Cha Eun-woo.

It’s a form of customization, after all; good is good, right? I also made the appearance slightly resemble the image that popped into my head.

It’s thrilling. Always refreshing. Being handsome is the best!

“I can set my job too?”

All characters in Florian Rhapsody start at the ‘Florian’ Academy.

Playable characters are all students. Given that it’s a ridiculously difficult game, the tutorial held within the school was excessively kind.

Of course, I didn’t need that kind of kindness, being as stagnant as I was.

▼ Please select a job.

: 1. Current Student

: 2. Graduate

: 3. Professor

: 4. External Mercenary

.

.

.

Without hesitation, I clicked on option 3.

Then, the word ‘Professor’ appeared in the job field.

The reason I chose professor was simple.

I had tried playing all the other options in one way or another, but being a professor was an unfamiliar choice for me.

If I’ve diligently attended the academy to develop my character, I should go out and fight. Why stay at school just to teach the kids?

Next was the talent selection.

There were only three options to choose from.

The talents of the Sword Master, the Sage, and the talent for growth rate—each one would drastically lower the game’s difficulty.

If I were to take all three, wouldn’t clearing the game be a breeze?

But that would be boring.

Since I had already chosen the professor class, I decided to align my concept accordingly.

First, the talent of a Mentor.

This talent allows me to gain experience points proportional to the experience gained by my companions.

If I had to pick the most useless talent in Florian Rhapsody, this would definitely be a contender.

I thought about how to utilize it, and my initial idea was to latch onto a high-level character and leech off their experience, but that failed.

This talent grants experience based on how much I contribute to my companions’ growth.

Still, given the special condition of being a professor, it might actually fit quite well.

Next was the talent of Charisma.

This talent aids in recruiting companions, commanding subordinates, or negotiating with merchants.

This too was an utterly useless talent.

In this game, talents that have no use in combat or growth are generally considered trash.

The last one I chose was the Teachings of Sethhet.

According to the game’s lore, Sethhet is the goddess of records and history. It is said that she knows all the knowledge that has occurred in the world.

The effect of this talent is to borrow Sethhet’s knowledge.

In simpler terms, it’s a talent that allows me to view the lore book.

While the previously chosen Charisma talent was trash, this one was truly, truly garbage.

The lore book is readily available online; what kind of fool would go searching for it in-game? There was really no difference between having it and not having it.

Finally, I maxed out all potential stats to 99.

This was the only truly overpowered condition I had encountered so far.

In the entire game, there were only a few characters with a potential stat of 99. The most any character had was three.

Having all six stats at 99 could only be achieved through a customized character.

Considering that I was creating a character with a Hell Mode concept, this was an extraordinarily inappropriate condition for the theme.

Yet, I couldn’t give up on the dream of having all stats at 99.

Moreover, given the state of my talents, reaching that stat level would be difficult, and I wouldn’t be able to utilize it properly anyway, so it was fine.

“Done.”

───────────────

▼ Name: Cha Eun-woo

▼ Gender: Male

▼ Occupation: Professor

▼ Stats

: [Strength 10/99] [Agility 10/99] [Stamina 10/99]

: [Magic 10/99] [Durability 10/99] [Luck 10/99]

▼ Talents

: Mentor

: Charisma

: Teachings of Sethhet

───────────────

Ah, this is it.

Seeing a well-crafted character filled me with pride.

To have all three talents that could be considered a silver spoon in Florian Rhapsody, this was undoubtedly a broken character.

Could I make it to the ending under these harsh conditions? Probably not. It was as if I was born without even a spoon, let alone a silver one.

Looking at this wretched difficulty, my motivation surged.

After all, the harder a game is, the more fun it tends to be.

Finally, a message appeared stating that once a character is created, it cannot be changed again, but I coolly pressed the accept button.

Then, I heard a clicking sound from the computer tower, and the monitor went dark.

“What the hell? Ah, damn.”

What’s going on?

I pressed the power button again and even banged on the tower, but it remained unresponsive.

The monitor flickered in three colors as if protesting that it was broken.

I had only bought this two years ago; has it really gone bad already? Maybe I played too much. I felt a twinge of regret.

──♪

Just then, my smartphone rang. The caller ID showed “Idiot 1.” It was Seok Jun-oh, a friend since middle school.

“Hey, what’s up?”

-Where are you?

“Home.”

-Come out. Let’s play billiards.

Seok Jun-oh, this guy has always been so out of context.

“Where to?”

– To Pungsa by 3 PM.

And then the call abruptly ended.

Damn it, that jerk. Just when I was feeling bored, this is perfect.

But hey, Jun-oh, Pungsa is that billiard hall near our middle school. How am I supposed to get there from my college dorm by 3 PM?

Ignoring Jun-oh’s words, it was easy to conclude that I should just take my time.

After a leisurely wash, I stepped outside for the first time in a while.

The outside scenery after three days felt refreshing. The chilly winter air, the bare trees, even the frosty breath that escaped my lips.

Forget that, it’s canceled.

It was so cold that I wanted to retreat back to my cozy corner.

On the way, feeling a bit bored, I put on my earbuds to listen to some music. The OST of “Florian Rhapsody” flowed through the earbuds.

I had listened to this song dozens of times in a single day, yet I never grew tired of it.

They really did a great job making this, considering how much money was spent.

I arrived at the bus stop, humming along to the song while waiting.

Did I look strange in that moment? A lady across the street waved at me.

What does that mean?

The lady wasn’t just waving; she was moving her body as if having a seizure.

Maybe she had a bit of day drinking, bouncing around with excitement. Should I show her some dance moves too?

Let’s not, that would be embarrassing.

But wait, looking closely, it wasn’t excitement. It resembled the frantic movements of someone in distress.

Her expression wasn’t one of joy but rather one of sheer terror.

As I looked a bit longer, I began to understand her intent.

The lady was desperately pointing at something beside me. I turned my head to see what it was.

What the hell, damn it.

A dump truck was barreling towards me. It had broken through the guardrail and was invading the sidewalk, the road being scraped by its massive wheels.

It was too late to dodge. A flash of thoughts raced through my mind.

Oh no, this is bad.

BANG!

“Student! Student, are you okay? Student!”

What kind of crazy b*stard is this…

All I could remember was the distant scream of a woman.

* * *

“From now on, we will begin the inauguration ceremony for the professors of Florian Academy. First, we will conduct the national ceremony. Please rise and face the flag.”

“Regarding the flag…”

“…”

Inside the spacious auditorium, hundreds of people in suits had gathered.

There were elderly men who looked unremarkable, women with striking appearances, and burly, muscular men—at first glance, they seemed to have nothing in common.

No.

To ordinary people, it might look that way.

But what if you’re not an ordinary person, but an awakened one?

Without a doubt, the moment they set foot in this place, they would be horrified.

Awakened individuals who have reached a certain level unconsciously emit mana from their bodies.

Everyone gathered here was a professor affiliated with Florian Academy. Most were proven experts.

Just having one such person in front of you would make your body tense up; what about hundreds of them?