This Time, I Will Also Live My Own Life
A Hanwoo restaurant in Jongno District.
Along with the sizzling sound of meat cooking, a toast echoed.
“Alright, to the lucky charm of our Special Task Force! Celebrating Agent Lee’s safe return! Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
“Seah, you are truly the treasure of our team!”
Faced with the enthusiastic cheers and barrage of compliments from her seniors, Lee Seah laughed awkwardly and clinked her glass.
She had indeed produced results that were hard to believe for a rookie just assigned to the field.
Completed the disposal of the Leviathan corpse.
Secured a first-rate martial arts manual.
And even placed Black into the Academy.
“Man, how did you even handle that Black… Gah!”
Section Chief Kim shuddered as he chewed his meat.
“Was it Assistant Manager Park before? He approached the safe house and got blasted into the air before he could even touch the doorknob!”
“Oh, come on, Senior! Even so, he persistently visited and at least saw his face. Ugh, he was terrifying, wasn’t he? I thought I was going to be torn apart right there. Honestly, those eyes… they’re terrifying. They say he popped the Leviathan with a single wave of his hand… Who’s to say my head won’t be next?”
“He is a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment. That’s exactly why our Agent Seah is so amazing!”
The seniors traded stories, gossip, and fears about Black over dinner.
Of course, it was natural for them to fear Black.
‘…He isn’t quite like that.’
Lee Seah clenched both hands tightly under the table.
The Black she had come to know was different.
A person who pushed them away out of fear they might get hurt, even while enduring pain so horrific it melted the furniture.
A person who did not turn away from a dying student despite being misunderstood.
A person who casually showed his gratitude by tossing them a martial arts manual.
‘What do you seniors even know?!’
Just as Lee Seah parted her lips to defend Black.
Bzz! Bzz!
The smartphone she left on the table vibrated loudly.
[Director Kim Hyeongseok]
“Ah, excuse me. It’s the Director calling.”
She hastily got up and ran outside the restaurant to answer.
“Agent Lee Seah speaking.”
– Ah, Agent Lee! Are you at the company dinner?
“Ah, yes! The seniors threw a welcome party for me.”
– It is well deserved. Thanks to Agent Lee taking charge of that bomb, the guys in the Special Task Force can finally rest easy. Looking at the Bureau as a whole, your contribution is massive. Enjoy yourself.
“Thank you, Director!”
– Ahem, anyway, the course registration for the Academy semester opens in a week, right?
“Yes, that is correct.”
The education system at the National Hunter Academy operates on a free-choice basis, similar to a university.
Starting from weapons like swords, spears, and bows, to energy arts, medical arts, formations, and more.
Cadets choose the classes they want from dozens of major lectures.
Naturally, lectures by famous professors are fiercely competitive, closing within seconds of registration opening.
– Still, it is Black’s very first class. Agent Lee, support him well and do a good job promoting Special Guidance.
“Ah, understood.”
Lee Seah was also worried.
Would any cadet want to take a weekend special lecture taught by an unidentified contract professor?
‘What do I do.’
A sigh escaped her already.
Should she hand out promotional flyers on the Academy bulletin boards?
Or personally contact promising students?
– And, Agent Lee.
The Director’s voice turned more serious.
– The real reason I called is this. No matter what happens inside the Academy, you must absolutely not let him cause an accident.
Lee Seah unconsciously swallowed dryly.
– It’s a good thing the Dean barely managed to cover up that Qi Deviation incident. Imagine if Black lost his temper and blew off Professor Jin Myeonghun’s head. Even we couldn’t clean that up. You know this, right?
“I will cover for him even if I have to throw my body in.”
– Never forget that you are currently handling the most crucial and heavy mission in South Korea. Hanging up.
Beep- beep-.
The call ended, and Lee Seah blankly stared down at her phone screen.
It finally felt real.
Exactly who she was taking care of.
“Hoo.”
Her alcohol buzz faded.
Given Black’s personality… there was no telling what kind of accident he might cause if students didn’t gather!
Slap! Slap!
Lee Seah slapped her cheeks hard with both hands to steel herself.
Right!
I just have to do my best!
* * *
At that time.
Sitting on the sofa, Kang Hyeon drank whiskey from a glass on the rocks and lost himself in thought.
The Demon God, Asura.
Where would that bastard be right now?
It took 20 years in Murim, but would it be the same this time?
He could not be certain.
He might even appear tomorrow.
‘Well, I wouldn’t be able to stop him even if the sky split in two.’
“Ugh!”
As his thoughts continued, the area around his energy core throbbed as if it were on fire.
The demonic aura Asura planted right before he died.
To deploy the Heavenly God Scripture, he had to drive out this demonic aura somehow, but it wasn’t easy.
‘I’ll probably need at least a 3-star Water Luminary Formation.’
The seven old men had each deployed a different formation.
Seven formations dealing with Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements.
Only when they interlocked perfectly would the Seven Luminaries Formation, necessary to activate the Heavenly God Scripture, be complete.
Bzz!
Then, the phone on the table vibrated shortly.
He picked it up and saw a message.
[Chick: Professor Kang Hyeon! I will visit the safe house tomorrow at 10 AM! The course registration period is almost over, so tomorrow is a must! We need to write a syllabus and discuss ways to recruit students. Have a peaceful night!^^]
A syllabus?
What’s that?
Toss.
Kang Hyeon carelessly threw the phone back onto the table.
Honestly, he didn’t care about students.
He wasn’t there to sincerely teach anyone in the first place.
‘My goal is one.’
To find seven vessels capable of handling the Seven Luminaries Formation.
And to prepare for Asura, who would inevitably come after.
He planned to roam the Academy and thoroughly examine the cadets’ bone structures and constitutions.
And if there wasn’t a single useful person in the Academy?
He would have to search other national academies or guilds.
But actually, more important than constitution was the will of the person who wanted to learn.
What good would it do if even a heaven-sent genius or someone born with a constitution seen once in a millennium tried?
He couldn’t do anything with someone who didn’t put in the effort or lacked motivation.
‘I wonder if there’s anyone with that much grit.’
Gulp.
The strong liquor slid down his throat.
‘I guess I’ll find out when the time comes.’
* * *
Becoming a professor was more annoying and required more work than he thought.
“What is all this?”
“It’s your Academy ID. The door will open if you tap it on the terminal at the main gate.”
“…And this?”
“It’s a tablet linked to the electronic approval system. You can check student documents or the academic schedule on this.”
“…”
Kang Hyeon was surprised anew every time he saw things like this.
To think that bizarre artifacts, resembling a Phantom Formation deployed in thin air, were a part of everyday life.
There were phones back when he was 13 too.
Though they were flip phones where you had to press buttons one by one to send a text.
“Alright, please look at the camera lens here!”
Besides that, he went through complicated procedures like fingerprint registration and facial recognition.
It was annoying, but he went along with it.
It was part of the process of adapting to society, and he was grateful to Lee Seah, who was sweating profusely while checking various things.
“Mr. Kang Hyeon. You need to write down the course objective.”
“Just write something down and submit it.”
“How can I do that? This is where South Korea’s elites gather. They won’t take the class without a proper syllabus.”
“Tell them not to. Isn’t it their loss?”
“Uh…”
He was right.
Academy professors were at best A-rank Hunters, and Black sitting in front of her was a monster far above an S-rank Hunter.
“S-Still, the students don’t know that. If we don’t gather a certain number of people, the class will be canceled.”
“Hmm.”
Kang Hyeon tossed back the remaining half of his whiskey.
Honestly, it felt strange.
‘Is she worrying about me?’
It was unfamiliar.
The seven old men who taught him were too busy beating him, and the people he met while roaming the martial world either hated or despised him.
It wasn’t much different even after coming here.
The eyes of the people visiting from the government agencies always held fear.
‘This chick was the same.’
A rookie who trembled like a leaf and couldn’t even breathe properly.
That same kid was now anxious that he might embarrass himself at the Academy.
“How to get stronger.”
“Pardon?”
“The objective. You said to write it. Write down ‘How to get stronger’.”
In Murim, Kang Hyeon had always wanted to return.
He wanted to return and live normally.
Then what was that normality?
Kang Hyeon’s gaze shifted to Lee Seah, who was hugging the tablet and stamping her feet.
Perhaps it was something very trivial.
Listening to the advice of others who worry about you.
In a situation like this, wouldn’t simply following this rookie’s words be the most normal decision?
‘Right.’
Since he became a professor unexpectedly anyway.
Starting his life on Earth by properly mimicking the role of a professor wouldn’t be bad.
Kang Hyeon set the empty glass on the table and asked himself.
He threw away his life to save Murim.
He was beaten like a beast until his bones broke and he vomited blood.
Then must he throw away the rest of this miraculously returned life just to stop Asura again?
‘I don’t want to.’
He was sick of it.
‘This time, I will also live my own life.’
He would drink good alcohol on this peaceful Earth, enjoy a daily life like a human, and willingly stop the Demon God as well.
That was the second way of life Kang Hyeon chose.
“Mr. Kang Hyeon? How to get stronger… What should I write next? Surely those few words aren’t the end?”
The corners of Kang Hyeon’s mouth curled up faintly.
For a martial artist, that was enough. What more was there to write?
“Add a condition there.”
“A condition?”
“Yeah.”
Kang Hyeon’s languid eyes suddenly flashed.
“Those prepared to die.”
“Pardon?”
“Only those who won’t wet themselves and run away in the face of true death should apply.”
Lee Seah’s finger paused over the tablet.
“…The expression seems a bit too extreme…”
Kang Hyeon left no room for argument.
“Because anyone lacking that much grit won’t last a single day in my class anyway.”
* * *
A few days later. The night of the Academy course registration deadline.
Left alone in the Special Task Force office, Lee Seah was trembling nervously as she held the mouse.
‘Please, please just the minimum number!’
The minimum number of students to open a special lecture at the National Academy was 5.
Any less, and it was mercilessly canceled.
What if Black threw a fit because his class got canceled?
Just imagining it sent shivers down her spine, and she frantically clicked refresh the moment the clock struck midnight.
The screen flashed, and the final course registration results appeared on the monitor.
Course Name: Special Guidance
Professor in Charge: Kang Hyeon
Capacity: 50 students
Final Applicants: 3 students
Clatter.
The pen Lee Seah was holding weakly fell from her hand.
Less than the minimum of 5 students.
In other words, cancellation confirmed.
“W-We’re doomed.”
Comment