I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor

Chapter 60

“After you’ve settled your belongings at the resort, you may take the provided vehicles to hunt the released creatures.”

Artin’s explanation was succinct, yet laced with a warmth that felt almost disarming.

“Oh, are you worried it might be dangerous? I completely understand. However, we at Carpe Diem have worked alongside experts to temper their aggression to that of mere stray dogs, and they’ve been trained with specific commands, so there’s no need for excessive concern…”

He personally carried their luggage to the accommodations, handing over a list of precautions and waivers, adding with a reassuring tone.

“Though it’s unlikely, should any perilous situation arise, do not hesitate to contact us. Our emergency response team will be dispatched within five minutes. All of this is covered by the insurance included in your package, so if any issues arise, I highly recommend you press the button immediately, and also…”

What followed was a lengthy discourse primarily focused on safety, and after nearly thirty minutes of explanations and signing various documents, they found themselves gazing out at the night that had enveloped the world outside, left with no choice but to return to their lodgings.

“Yawn, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, we’ve booked for a week, so we should rest today.”

On the surface, it seemed they had merely arrived at the Free Planet Alliance, done some shopping, and taken a ride, yet there lingered an undercurrent of psychological fatigue.

Perhaps that was why.

The room shared by the women soon filled with the soft sounds of quiet breathing and the occasional rustle of sheets.

In stark contrast, the atmosphere in the men’s quarters, occupied by Baek Hwi-young and Beatus, was palpably different.

“Hwi-young.”

“Yeah.”

At least the two of them felt a disquieting sense of unease regarding the resort’s existence.

Beatus furrowed his brow, lost in thought for a moment before shaking himself back to reality and speaking.

“Doesn’t something feel off?”

“Yeah, it does.”

Creatures are not mere beasts.

They are not the kind that can be tamed.

Yet here they were, released into this vast expanse, treated like some form of leisure sport?

One could concede that a businessman with an uncanny nose for profit might find such a venture plausible.

‘Rather, it’s the suspicion that feels all too sensitive.’

One could dismiss it as merely the hobby of a wealthy man drawn by the scent of money, or perhaps consider it just another of the beastly alien species discovered thus far.

Creatures of this kind had always been underestimated.

Yet, between them lingered a peculiar dissonance that could not be explained by such reasons.

‘…This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. But why? Why does it feel so unsettling?’

Baek Hwi-young bit his lip, gazing far into the distance at the vast expanse of plains and forests, leaving Beatus behind.

The thought of utilizing the creature in some manner, and how could they not have a vested interest?

Even now, Instructor Jin Crow and Professor Lilian were skinning the creature’s corpse to fill it with an artificial skeleton, crafting a training dummy.

But creating training dolls from their corpses and directly manipulating them were entirely different matters, were they not?

‘They obey only the commands of the superior beings and their instincts.’

That is the very first step in understanding the creatures.

After the war had truly begun, what was the reason that the knights of the Empire and the special officers of the Synthetic Nation relentlessly sought to kill the superior species, cycling through soldiers?

‘To kill the commanding entity, so it becomes easier to eliminate the monsters left with only their instincts.’

And that remains unchanged even now.

Thus, how could one trust the nonsense they murmured about the Doctorate?

“…Hah, something always goes wrong when it feels this tense.”

Beatus, though unaware of the full details, wore a bitter smile, perhaps a product of his seasoned instincts, as he pulled a cigarette pack from his pocket.

He then offered one to Baek Hwi-young, casually holding it out.

“Do you smoke?”

“…”

For a moment, Baek Hwi-young stared at the tip of the familiar white cigarette, always offered to him first, before slowly accepting it and asking.

Sizzle, hiss—

Soon, the air in their dimly lit quarters was thick with the heavy haze of cigarette smoke.

*

There is something strange afoot.

But what it is remains unknown, so let us not lower our guard… that was the essence of their conversation throughout the night.

—Creeeak!

However, the next day, what they faced was a scene so peaceful it rendered their earlier tension almost laughable.

Or should that even be called peaceful?

“I’m going!”

“Yes!”

Dokkoran surged forward with a swift intensity, her long, black hair, tied back with a crimson ribbon, trailing behind her like a dark banner as Hino Kanae unsheathed her long katana, following closely.

—Kyaaah!

At last, a horde of creatures, a grotesque blend of wolf and monkey, revealed their sharp teeth and charged, but the outcome had already been sealed.

“Gya-hahaha!”

In an instant, Dokkoran closed the distance, her bronze skin rippling as she thrust her shoulder into the chest of the leading beast. With a swift pivot of her right foot, she twisted and burst the neck of the creature that followed.

Bang!

The sound echoed like a balloon bursting, and Dokkoran grinned widely, her prominent fangs glinting in the dim light as she shouted.

“Nice pop!”

“Get out of the way!”

In a heartbeat, Dokkoran’s bronze thigh twitched, and she leapt back, narrowly avoiding the claws of the creature aimed at her nape.

And in that fleeting moment, what filled the crossed gaze of the creatures was none other than—

“Gulp!”

Hino Kanae’s sharp blade, followed by a reckless slaughter unleashed by the two warriors.

—Kki, kkiii.

The creatures, lacking even a unified name and merely referred to as mass-produced, could only bare their teeth at the approaching death, despairing at their fated end.

The creature standing at the very back, torn between the instinctual fear and hunger imprinted in its being, would come to realize that day.

The terror of impending death, alongside the helplessness of a life meant to be hunted…

“What are you thinking about?”

“Huh? Oh. Nothing.”

Pamiu blinked, suddenly aware of her own daze, rubbing her eyes.

It seemed the cause lay in her frantic attempts to keep pace with Dokkoran, having not slept a wink until dawn aboard the ship.

“Pamiu, you look tired.”

“Uh? Yeah, a little.”

Aside from the two rampaging figures, the rest had settled down in front of a black pickup truck lent by Carpe Diem, resting on the ground.

Nodding at Miel’s words, she rummaged through her bag for a moment before pulling out a pink blanket and handing it over.

As Pamiu accepted it absentmindedly, Miel smiled brightly and said,

“Go inside and get some sleep. I’ll keep an eye on the kids.”

“…Oh. Uh-huh.”

What was she seeing with that unmistakable squirrel-like demeanor?

Pamiu thought this but felt a wave of gratitude for the kindness, nodding in appreciation.

As she stepped inside, Beatus, with a more relaxed expression, spoke to Baek Hwi-young, who was sitting nearby, sipping a drink while polishing his weapon.

“I suppose we overreacted. It’s not as bad as we thought.”

“…….”

Baek Hwi-young didn’t respond, but deep down, he couldn’t help but agree with him.

In the plains that reminded one of a golf course, creatures roamed in packs, yet they were all soon to be labeled as mere low-grade, mass-produced entities.

Even that wasn’t entirely true; their claws and teeth were all bluntly ground down, making one wonder if they were truly being managed.

‘Were we too sensitive?’

Anyone with dual-gear level power could handle such a situation without significant injury.

Not just the superhumans.

Even a single squad armed with powered exoskeletons could easily take care of such a mess.

Yet, despite the outward appearance of no issues, the paranoid unease lodged in his mind refused to dissipate easily.

Some called him cautious.

Others labeled him a nervous coward.

How was it that he, who had survived to lead humanity, was referred to as a foolish and dull commander?

That name was both a derogatory term and a title of caution from those who respected him.

‘Was it when I first cried out warnings about the creatures after my commission? Or was it when the war with the Empire loomed, and I insisted we must see the creatures first, only to be sidelined for not mobilizing the army?’

He couldn’t even remember when he had earned that name.

But he had always viewed everything through a lens of pessimism, and people called it the delusions of a coward or an exaggeration.

Yet he knew.

This paranoid unease, this pressure coursing down his spine even now, was the last driving force that sustained him.

“Don’t let your guard down, Beatus.”

“Right, just in case.”

At his words, Beatus nodded, though he didn’t find it particularly reassuring.

He was undoubtedly wise, but he was a man who acted according to common sense and objective facts.

And the world Baek Hwi-young had experienced in the past had never easily betrayed the notion of common sense.

“Ah, this is it. What a stress reliever.”

“Indeed. We might just score full marks in the next practical exam!”

While he was lost in such thoughts, Dokgo Ran and Hino Kanae, having finished their hunt, approached, dripping with the creatures’ distinctive mix of green and purple blood.

“Here, a towel.”

“Oh! Only Miel could do this.”

The sight of the two drying themselves with the towel Miel had handed over resembled something once seen on the battlefield, yet at least for now, their expressions were nothing short of bright.

Just as Baek Hwi-young was striving to disperse the lingering shadows of that subtle intersection.

– Kkuaaak!

From deep within the dense forest, as if echoing from afar, a scream pierced the peaceful atmosphere, solidifying it in an instant. Without a moment’s hesitation, they faced each other and spoke.

“This…”

“Sounds like a human scream, doesn’t it?”

The cry of a person resonated in the field where they hunted creatures.

They were not foolish enough to imagine what that could mean.

*

“Huuh, huff.”

A metallic tang flowed from his lips, and the breath that surged to his chin felt as if it would burst his heart at any moment.

Had it not been for the implant where his severed leg should have been, he would have already stumbled and fallen.

‘What is this? What the hell is going on?’

Ten long years rolling as a special operations sergeant in the wretched Synthetic Nation. After retiring, he found himself in the Free Planet Alliance, unable to afford treatment for his lost leg.

There, by some twist of fate, he met Reaper Doc, an illegal doctor and bioengineer, who managed to attach a leg for him. But due to the cheap materials used, he had been living as a mercenary for several years, unable to bear the maintenance costs.

At first, his pride as a soldier and the prejudice against the alien races he had been trained with made it hard to even earn his keep. Yet now, he had made a name for himself as the leader of a relatively sizable mercenary group.

– “Boss, we’ve been getting a lot of jobs related to creatures lately. So, how about we take a vacation and check this place out?”

The catalyst was a strong suggestion and subtle pressure from Cecile, his lover and a sort of operator within the team.

His deliberation was brief, and as she had said, they were enjoying a rather smooth vacation-cum-training.

‘Cecile, did you betray me? But why?’

It was all a trap.

Cecile had vanished at some point, and in the midst of their exhaustion from hunting creatures, a series of enemies had surrounded the team, injecting them with sleeping agents.

He had no idea how things had turned this way.

But one thing was certain: if they were caught by those b*stards, there would be no good awaiting them.

‘If I can just reach the resort, or at least to where this emergency signal can reach…’

No matter how many times he pressed the emergency signal given by the company, it wouldn’t connect.

There must be some sort of jamming.

Just as he sprinted through the forest, clinging to a shred of hope.

“Just as Cecile said, being a former soldier must have its perks; your situational awareness is quick, even if your running is a bit slow.”

A chilling voice came from behind, and he gritted his teeth, revving up his inner single gear to draw his dagger in a reverse grip.

Kaaang!

Yet his attack was effortlessly blocked, and the man, his face obscured by a black cap and mask, stared at him with chilling eyes and spoke.

“Seems like you’re a hunting dog from the Synth State. Let’s see how you fare.”

“W-wait—! Kyaaah!”

The punch lodged in his abdomen sent the man tumbling down the slope, while the henchmen of the traitors closed their eyes, savoring the sound of his agonized scream as they moved slowly forward.

‘He rolled quite a distance.’

He chuckled softly and walked toward the one who had slid down near the edge of the forest.

But in that moment.

“…Oh.”

Seeing the black pickup truck racing from afar, he smirked beneath his mask and radioed in.

“I’ll need six more bags.”

It was a line thick with the scent of conspiracy.