I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor

Chapter 7

-Are androids human?

It was a hotly debated topic not only in the Synthetic Human Nation but also in the Free Planetary Alliance, known as the melting pot of species and a neutral country.

Legally, they were granted human rights, but the prejudice that they were artificially created had not completely disappeared.

In that sense, Jin Crow was, how should I put it,

‘A person easy to deal with.’

In fact, the training ground was not used by many people despite the excellence of its facilities.

There were few cadets who attended all the rigorous lectures and also did personal training.

-Lambda, you look pretty today too.

-……Haha, thank you.

Because of that, most of the people Lambda encountered were instructors.

-Let’s have a meal together sometime.

-Sure, okay. Ugh.

Of course, for the majority, it was obvious that their intentions were impure rather than focused on training.

However, Instructor Jin Crow was different.

Although he received somewhat poor evaluations, at least he didn’t waste time with clingy behavior or unfunny jokes.

‘Last time, he asked about security issues.’

Lambda watched Jin Crow’s back as he entered the most secluded training ground.

‘He seems to be as sensitive as the rumors say.’

She stopped thinking at that point and placed her hands back on the keyboard to finish her work.

Just because she was an android didn’t mean she had no overtime.

Rather, because she had excellent work processing abilities by default, she had even more work to do.

How much time had passed like that?

By the time she had almost finished a box of artificial jelly, the favorite food of androids,

Vroom-.

She heard the sound of a door opening at the end of the hallway, and soon Jin Crow was walking towards the desk.

“Ugh.”

His hair, covering his eyes, was soaked with sweat.

The already dark circles under his eyes grew even longer, and his pale, ghastly face and trembling fingertips showed how earnestly he had been training.

“The inside might be a bit dirty. That’s all.”

With those words, he lightly bowed and left the training ground.

“…Amazing.”

His retreating figure was no different from any other instructor’s, but Lambda, who saw his face, covered her mouth with her hand.

‘…Even disheveled, he’s handsome.’

Jin Crow. Does he know?

That the reason male instructors avoid him isn’t just because of his peculiar personality.

Anyway, it seemed like there was one more thing to post on the academy’s blind.

“By the way…”

She scratched her distinctive blue hair for no reason and got up from her seat, heading towards room F10 where he had trained.

After all, didn’t he say it?

That the inside would be dirty.

Though the sweat and minor malfunctions inside would be automatically cleaned up, there was no need to worry, but Jin Crow, who hated pretentiousness and idle talk, had said so.

If someone like that said it to such an extent, wouldn’t there be a reason?

Vrrr-.

Thinking that, she opened the door and couldn’t help but gape in surprise.

“…Oh, my God.”

The walls of the training ground that came into view were distorted and dented with various sword marks, and the automatic machines repairing them were constantly flashing red lights and beeping.

“…This isn’t just dirty, Instructor.”

Lambda’s expression turning into a frown was, in a way, only natural.

*

The assignment Jin Crow gave to the cadets was enough to become an issue in many ways.

After all, the cadets vividly remembered the classes Jin Crow had taught so far.

‘To put it nicely, it was a sedative; to put it bluntly, it lacked sincerity.’

One might think it was an excessive criticism, but it was rather an endlessly cold evaluation.

Maybe that’s why.

When he suddenly took a break from lectures due to ‘personal reasons’ not long ago, the cadets’ reactions were rather positive.

Who would miss the boring, unnutritious, and even unlucky instructor’s class?

When Jin Crow returned, the cadets’ reactions were intense.

“Ahhh! Damn it! Damn it all!”

Of course, it was in a negative direction.

Dokgo Ran scratched her short-cropped hair roughly, spitting out a nervous shout.

Watching her, her roommate Famille brought a teacup to her lips with elegant fingertips and said,

“Vulgar, Ran.”

“Shut up, Famille.”

On the surface, it was an endlessly savage conversation, but neither of them cared at all.

Naturally.

Dokgo Ran was not the type to be hurt by something as trivial as being called ‘vulgar,’ and Famille was the type to let curses go in one ear and out the other.

“I can’t take it anymore! Emergency escape!”

But that was only for a moment. Dokgo Ran, as if she couldn’t take it any longer, threw the device she was holding and immediately threw herself onto the bed.

Her bronze skin twitched along her muscles as she landed on the bed, and Dokgo Ran muttered with a blank expression as if she had lost everything in the world.

“Jin Crow Instructor. A veteran who has rolled on the battlefield for 20 years, they say. Then he must be damn strong. But why does he only give theory lessons…?”

“Just because he’s strong doesn’t mean he’s a good teacher. If you’re really frustrated, why don’t you provoke him like last time? You even made him draw his sword.”

“…They said if I pick a fight with the instructor one more time, I’ll be expelled.”

She’s not afraid of getting hurt during sparring.

That’s almost a martial artist’s fate.

But being expelled is a completely different matter.

‘If I think about how the elders and my brother will nag me, I’d rather die.’

It’s not a dysfunctional family like others, but it’s dangerous in a different way.

Thinking about her family gives her a headache.

Then, she just has to stop thinking.

Dokgo Ran came up with a simple and clear solution and let her mind go.

“…Hehe, I want to eat mala xiang guo.”

She empties her mind while staring blankly at the ceiling.

But Famille, unable to stand seeing her foolish friend happy, got up with her characteristic elegant steps and lightly snapped her fingers.

Snap-.

“Eek!”

At the same time, Dokgo Ran, who was lying flat on the bed, straightened her back, and the device she had thrown floated into the air.

However, the screen was facing Famille, not Dokgo Ran.

“Hey! I told you not to use your powers!”

“Hmm, so this is it? The assignment Instructor Jin Crow gave us.”

“Exactly! Who cares if it’s a creature or crispy!”

At first, Dokoran was furious about using her powers, but she quickly turned her attention to the small bait.

In many ways, she was an easy child to handle.

Of course, if they fought seriously, she would lose.

Famille simply released her telekinetic powers, lay back on the bed, and began to skim through the data she had been looking at earlier, leaving the glowing girl behind.

“An assignment from Instructor Jin Crow. What got into him?”

In fact, Jin Crow’s lectures surprisingly had a high proportion of martial arts cadets.

In a way, it was only natural.

There were many vague rumors about his past and skills, but it was a confirmed fact that he was a soldier who participated in the Third Galactic War.

What does that mean?

It means he was a veteran who had experienced countless ‘real battles’ that martial arts cadets so desperately desired.

So it was not strange that not only Dokoran but also many martial arts cadets applied for his lectures.

“Though it was meaningless.”

No wonder it was called a sleeping pill.

However, she was also somewhat curious about the recent controversial assignment, so she began to skim through the device with a bit of interest.

“A creature.”

Was that the academic name for a space monster?

The content of the assignment was quite fresh.

It felt similar to a war game.

There was more information given than expected.

The defense organization of the Aurum Planet Defense Force, the initial manifestation time of the void rift, and so on…

“It’s more interesting than I thought.”

Maybe because it was an enemy she had never imagined before.

It was more enjoyable than she thought.

Thanks to that, she thought she had a toy to play with over the weekend, and at that moment, a smile lingered on Famille’s face.

Of course, at that time.

“Huh… I’m hungry.”

Dokoran was endlessly stretching and swimming on the bed.

*

Cold water drenches my head.

Swoosh…

As I absentmindedly glance at the mirror, I recall the first time I saw my own body and let out a small chuckle.

“I just can’t get used to it.”

Though I was always familiar with toned muscles due to my hobby of working out, the countless scars etched over them are something I can never get used to.

Creak…

The more I look, the more curious I become about my past.

Leaving such thoughts behind, I donned my military uniform and left the quarters.

‘I should save the alcohol.’

I had to make do with what I had until I could get more outside.

I had consumed too much during the last training session.

‘Well, at least I got a clue.’

I didn’t really consider it a loss.

How long had I walked?

Soon, I arrived in front of the lecture hall and couldn’t help but furrow my brows.

Despite the lecture about to start, the chaos inside the hall was palpable even from the corridor.

“Wow…”

Just then, I noticed Miel staring blankly at something outside the lecture hall.

“Miel Amber.”

“Huh? Ah? Yes, yes!? Hiccup!”

Was it because I called her suddenly?

Or was she surprised that Jin Crow remembered her name?

Miel couldn’t hide her embarrassment and kept hiccuping, but knowing it was her habit, I didn’t mind and asked again.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, well. Hiccup! The headmaster…”

Ignoring Miel’s answer, I looked past the lecture hall window and saw Ideale surrounded by quite a few cadets, looking utterly exhausted, just as she said.

“Ah, Instructor.”

Turning my head again at the familiar voice, I saw Baek Hwi-yeong approaching with a faint smile, his inscrutable gray eyes gleaming.

He looked at Ideale and spoke.

*

“It seems the cadets are quite excited, given that you rarely show yourself. By the way, an observation, you say…? This task must have been quite extraordinary.”

The languid tone of his voice grated on me.

Without needing to think deeply, I could sense that Baek Hwi-young was testing me.

‘Is it just my imagination, or has his personality shifted?’

In the original tale, Baek Hwi-young had lost his sanity after several regressions, but there was something even more chilling in his gaze now.

In moments like this, the unpredictable nature of Jin Crow proved to be quite helpful.

Instead of responding, I brushed past Baek Hwi-young and stepped into the classroom.

Tap—.

I lightly set the device I had brought on the lectern and opened my mouth.

“The break is over.”

Naturally, my voice was drowned out by the murmur of the cadets.

In that instant, Ideale, along with a few instructors who had accompanied her, attempted to speak up and usher the cadets back to their seats, but their control was far from perfect.

‘These fools…’

Was it because Baek Hwi-young had opened the floodgates?

Or perhaps it was the pressure, exhilaration, and tangled thoughts I had felt over the past few days that were corrupting my demeanor.

I felt irritation bubbling up.

The bell signaling the start of the lecture had already rung, so it wouldn’t matter much if I took a firmer stance here.

After a moment of calculation, I spoke.

“Everyone, shut up and take your seats.”

…Well, I hadn’t intended to curse.

Of course, by then, the atmosphere in the classroom had turned icy.