A Veteran Teaches Very Well

part 15

I knew there was something wrong with the report I had written.

But I had no idea what the problem was or how to fix it.

“I don’t want to…”

My head throbbed, and my body ached.

If I stayed like this, I felt like I would go crazy from frustration. Reluctantly, I decided to try just one more time.

Baek Seol-hwa stood up and picked up her sword.

“Just a little should be fine, right?”

Swoosh-!

As I struck down the sword with a familiar motion, the sound of slicing through the air echoed.

I felt a refreshing sensation as the cluttered thoughts in my head flew away.

Indeed, a person should engage in what they are suited for.

Sitting in a chair was not right for Baek Seol-hwa.

Whoosh-!

With every swing of the sword, my mind cleared.

Yes, this is it.

Even though it was midnight, the footsteps of the skilled warrior made no sound at all.

Only the sharp sound of slicing through the air resonated.

It was a movement so refined that it could not be compared to Cha Eun-woo’s.

Only after completing ten basic movements and twenty-one advanced techniques in an instant did Baek Seol-hwa set down her sword.

And then she regretted it.

“Oh, this isn’t good.”

Looking at the clock, I realized an hour had passed in the blink of an eye.

Moreover, my body had become heated, making it impossible to concentrate on the assignment in this state.

Baek Seol-hwa reluctantly entered the bathroom and washed her body with cold water.

“Huuh…”

As Baek Seol-hwa took off her clothes, toned yet unblemished muscles were revealed.

Despite the rough training, her skin remained smooth. She had never particularly taken care of it.

Others envied her, calling her a blessed body, but Baeksulhwa had never thought of it that way.

Rather, wasn’t her rough, scarred body more impressive? The reason was that it looked stronger.

Swoosh—

The water from the showerhead cascaded down Baeksulhwa’s body.

It was cold.

Even a trained superhuman body feels cold when it’s cold.

While she didn’t fall ill as easily as ordinary people, the sensation itself was no different from what they felt. In fact, her senses were so heightened that it felt even colder.

After cooling her body down sufficiently, Baeksulhwa stepped out of the bathroom.

Her heart, which had been pounding relentlessly just moments ago, had calmed a little.

After putting on her pajamas, she sat back down at her desk.

Then, the words she had heard from Cha Eunwoo echoed in her mind.

─Remember that you can collaborate with your group members.

Collaborate with the group members?

She didn’t want that.

No, the others would dislike it.

After all, this was a task assigned to the group leader, so it was right for the leader to handle it. What group member would enjoy shouldering the burden of the assignment unnecessarily?

Moreover… there wouldn’t be anyone who wanted to do something alongside Baeksulhwa.

“This is enough.”

Yes, that’s it.

If she just put in a little more effort on her own, that would be enough.

It should have been enough, but…

The next day, the situation changed strangely.

Baeksulhwa, dozing off while continuing her assignment, eventually fell asleep at her desk.

I must be crazy.

Still, she barely heard the alarm and woke up.

When she looked at her smartphone screen to turn off the alarm, it was filled with unread messages.

“What is this…?”

It was the group chat for the Dungeon Research and Practice course.

Curious about what had been discussed, she opened the chat room.

─Sasu Hyuk: Group D seems busy with some assignment, but what about us?

─Gong Hana: What’s the assignment?

─Kim Daehan: Was there an assignment? ㄷㄷ;

─Soo Hyuk: Yeah, they were watching videos from another group and giving feedback.

Baek Seolhwa forced a smile.

Well, this is probably normal, right? The professor encouraged collaboration among group members.

Let’s read a bit more; the group members reached a bland conclusion.

─Gong Hana: Maybe the group leader knows something? Let’s wait for Seolhwa to tell us.

─Soo Hyuk: Okay.

─Kim Seo Il: Confirmed.

Baek Seolhwa tapped her smartphone with her thumb.

It felt like the atmosphere demanded some words, but she couldn’t easily make a decision.

Even pondering alone didn’t seem to lead to any improvement.

Yet, she didn’t want to work on the assignment with others.

She hated the way people looked at something frightening.

She despised being seen as a strange person.

The fact that she couldn’t fit into the “we” was unbearable.

She loathed being different from others.

“…Avoiding this would be selfish, right?”

She didn’t like it, but it was familiar.

She had always suppressed her emotions. Today wouldn’t be any different.

If she just endured like usual, that would be enough.

She organized her thoughts and quickly sent a message.

─Baek Seolhwa: To be precise, it’s the group leader’s assignment.

─Baek Seolhwa: The content is to watch training videos from another group. Identify issues and provide feedback.

─Baek Seolhwa: Only those who can participate. Today at 5 PM.

* * *

“This is our chat room. I did what you asked.”

“Good job.”

Behind the building. An Se Ri, Seo Da Yoon, and Soo Hyuk gathered.

It was a combination that didn’t seem to fit at all.

It was, rather, a combination that could be called the worst.

Soo Hyuk’s major was combat magic, just like Seo Da Yoon’s.

In the first week, he was one of the group that had been tormenting Seo Da Yoon by sticking close to Song Seok Hwan.

After that day, Seo Da Yoon and Song Seok Hwan became the kind of people who acted as if the other didn’t exist.

Of course, even without that, there was no corner for them to get entangled in.

All of Song Seok Hwan’s lackeys apologized to Seo Da Yoon.

Though Seo Da Yoon did not forgive them, she knew that it wasn’t something they wanted to do.

So she didn’t expect any compensation in return.

But today, for the first time, Seo Da Yoon made a request to Soo Hyuk.

The content was to create an atmosphere of collaboration for the assignment in the White Snow group.

Soo Hyuk didn’t understand her intention, but he could only guess that she was doing this to gain an advantage in class.

“Why are you making me do this? It’s not that I dislike it… I just wonder if it makes sense to ruin our group in absolute evaluation…”

“It’s not ruining the group. I’m helping you guys, okay?”

An Se Ri replied bluntly.

Soo Hyuk felt a pang of guilt, as if he were betraying the group, but upon hearing that, his expression brightened.

“Oh, really? But why are you helping us…?”

“Do you know the saying that curiosity killed the cat?”

“Uh, I’m sorry. I think I’ll be going now.”

When An Se Ri indirectly told him to leave, only then did Soo Hyuk dash away.

In fact, An Se Ri didn’t know much either.

She had only heard it from Cha Eun Woo.

Watching Soo Hyuk’s retreating figure, Seo Da Yoon broke into a refreshing smile.

“Ah~! That feels good! Now, is there anything left to do? What should I ask the professor for?”

An Se Ri felt a twinge of worry.

She thought that Soo Hyuk must still be uncomfortable, and wondered if he was forcing himself to act that way.

She wanted to ask if he was okay, but she held back, fearing it would reopen the wounds that were beginning to heal.

So An Se Ri also tried hard to act cheerful.

“Let’s go eat something delicious. The professor will treat us.”

“Huh? Asking for something like that feels a bit much.”

“This much should be considered a service. Let’s go.”

An Se-ri pulled Seo Da-yoon’s hand and headed toward the professor’s office.

By the way, why did the professor make such a request?

The primary goal seemed to be gathering the Snow White group in one place to work on a common assignment.

I couldn’t understand why they were doing this.

Was there really a reason to create a space to strengthen teamwork?

Or was it to harmonize the Snow Whites, who didn’t get along well?

Both seemed meaningless.

Teamwork was something that could be resolved over time, even without this approach.

Snow White was famously known for not getting along with anyone except Park Seo-hu. If creating a space for the team members would have solved the issue, things would have changed long ago.

More than that, what that group needed was effective leadership.

That was the leader’s responsibility, Snow White’s.

Her clumsiness in dealing with people wasn’t the problem. It was her lack of leadership skills from the start.

“Well, it’s not really our group’s problem anyway.”

An Se-ri decided to stop thinking about it, believing that she would manage just fine.

After all, it was the professor’s doing.

There was a belief that somehow, it would all turn out as the professor intended.

* * *

“Thank you for gathering here because of my work.”

In the small seminar room of the Florian Library.

The third meeting of the Snow White group was held after the initial team formation and the weekend training session.

Everyone was secretly annoyed, but they moved their bodies, thinking they couldn’t fall behind others.

“First, I’d like you to take a look at this.”

Snow White took out everything she had received from Cha Eun-woo.

Cha Eun-woo’s feedback, training videos from other groups, and the report written by Snow White herself.

The feedback could have ended with something like, “As expected, the professor has a plan,” but the training videos from the other groups were shocking.

I thought the group was balanced enough, but I didn’t expect such a difference.

Finding the cause wasn’t difficult.

It was the presence of leaders Song Seok-hwan and An Se-ri.

Once I reached that thought, I could also understand why this assignment was given to Snow White.

“What do you think?”

The white snow flower asked a question, but an answer did not come easily.

It was the commander’s fault. It was an obvious answer.

But when I met the piercing gaze of the white snow flower, I lost my courage.

Especially since Sasuhyuk had already experienced that one should not offend the strong while looking at Song Seok-hwan.

“It seems like it’s a problem of individuals not putting in enough effort. Baeksulhwa has taken down more training dummies than Song Seok-hwan and Ahn Se-ri, but we haven’t been able to do that.”

“Right.”

“I also…”

As Sasuhyuk opened the floor, the other team members nodded in agreement.

Here we go again.

Baeksulhwa was not the type to voice a different opinion in this atmosphere.

“Yeah.”

With that, all the team members agreed with Sasuhyuk’s opinion.

Since the premise was wrong, it was only natural that the discussion wouldn’t proceed properly.

“Group A, what do you think is the problem in the 5 minutes and 9 seconds segment?”

“Well…”

“I think the Seolhwa report isn’t bad either?”

Everyone hesitated, unable to voice their opinions, merely glancing at Baeksulhwa until it came to an end.

As the frustrating atmosphere lingered, Baeksulhwa finally stepped forward.

“Let’s take a short break. Just one Macho.”

“Uh, okay.”

Macho. Its official name is Magic Grass.

A type of indulgence, it is a product made by grinding a small amount of magic stone and treating it specially.

As Baeksulhwa stepped out, the team members began to whisper among themselves.

“Did you see that look? It’s like she’s about to kill someone.”

“Baeksulhwa, does she smoke Macho too?”

“She has a piercing on her tongue, so what if she smokes Macho?”

“Wow, damn. I’ve never seen anyone smoke Macho before.”

Macho has completely replaced the tobacco that once dominated the world.

Instead of cigarettes made from highly addictive harmful substances, Macho contains murky magical energy.

It is not harmful to the human body, but it is even more addictive than cigarettes, and as a substitute for tobacco, it has inherited the negative perception associated with smoking.

There was simply no friend to tell Baeksulhwa about such things.

So, unaware that her self-assessment had worsened even further, she headed to the smoking booth behind the library.

Baeksulhwa took a puff of the marijuana.

The foreign mana invaded Baeksulhwa’s body.

Some say that smoking marijuana improves mana adaptability, but Baeksulhwa had never felt such a thing. She simply enjoyed it as a recreational item.

“Phew.”

As she exhaled, the murky mana poured out from her mouth.

By the time she had burned the tip of the marijuana sufficiently,

Baeksulhwa sensed a presence behind her.

It was the person who had assigned her the task, Cha Eunwoo.

“What a coincidence to meet in a place like this.”

* * *

Baeksulhwa awkwardly greeted me.

“…Hello.”

Her eyes were sharp, as if glaring.

It was a bit of an unfortunate remark, but Baeksulhwa always looked intimidating, no matter when you saw her.

I would bet that if a sister who looked like her had asked me for money during my school days, I would have handed over my wallet without hesitation.

“What brings you here?”

“For the assignment.”

Her tone was slightly curt.

If An Seria had said something like that, it would have been a sarcastic remark, like “Can’t you see I’m struggling because of you?” But Baeksulhwa wasn’t the type for that.

Her manner of speaking was just a habit of being wary of others, and it was likely a comment made without any real intention.

“Is the assignment going well?”

“No.”

“I see.”

The conversation paused for a moment.

The short answer could have seemed like a rejection of dialogue, but it was just her way of speaking.

If Baeksulhwa truly wanted to avoid talking to me, she would have left the spot entirely.

With patience, I tried to keep the conversation going somehow.

“Are your group members inside?”

“…Yes.”

“I’m glad you took my advice.”

Though, in truth, I had guided things to this point.

When I conveyed that I would only be observing for a moment, Baeksulhwa willingly led me to the seminar room.

We didn’t enter; instead, we watched the situation inside through the window for a while.

I could see the group members chatting amiably.

Though their voices weren’t loud, with an Awakened one’s hearing, it was more than enough to catch what they were saying.

“Doesn’t it seem like the attackers made a mistake here?”

“Yeah. I think it would be better to go a bit more to the right.”

“So they make mistakes too, huh?”

The discussion had some merit.

Not everything they said was correct, but at least it looked better than when Baeksulhwa had been working on the task alone.

Looking at Baeksulhwa, I noticed her slightly furrowing her brow.

It was a subtle change in expression, but upon closer inspection, her fearful face seemed even more intimidating.

Perhaps things were progressing more smoothly now than when Baeksulhwa was present. Was she feeling a sense of disappointment or self-reproach because of that?

“Shouldn’t we head in soon? The group needs a leader to guide them.”

“…Just a little longer, I’ll go in after watching a bit more.”

Baeksulhwa knew it too.

Those kids didn’t need a leader to guide them.

In fact, a leader would only ruin the group.

Various emotions crossed Baeksulhwa’s face.

I pulled a can of cold coffee from the vending machine in the hallway and handed it to her.

“Then let’s chat for a bit. I happen to be free.”

“…Yes.”

We stepped outside the library and sat on a bench.

As if we had made a promise, we left the middle empty and sat at either end.

Perhaps it was the lingering chill of spring or the fact that she was wearing a short skirt, exposing her pale legs, but today Baeksulhwa looked particularly cold.

Did I give her the cold coffee for no reason?

I went to the nearby vending machine and got a warm coffee, then swapped it for the cold one Baeksulhwa was holding.

I downed the cold coffee in one shot.

—

“You look like you have a lot on your mind. Why not share a bit?”

“Why, Professor?”

“Because I’m a professor.”

Baek Seolhwa had a complex expression in many ways.

There was a vividness that couldn’t be felt in graphics. In the game, the expressions were always similar, but in reality, there were subtle differences.

The expression now seemed quite melancholic.

Baek Seolhwa opened up as if resigned to despair.

“I just feel… maybe I’m not needed?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Having me around just brings the mood down… What do you think, Professor?”

“That’s true. Seolhwa, you lack sociability, and your unique appearance might make some group members uncomfortable just by being in the same space.”

As I gave an honest evaluation, Baek Seolhwa frowned.

This time, it wasn’t just a typical expression; he was genuinely angry.

He glared as if shooting lasers from his eyes, and it was slightly, no, very intimidating.