I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

[Annex Lecture Hall]

“Wow, I heard that the freshmen are protesting in front of the main building?”

The students waiting for Baek Woo-jin in the lecture hall turned their attention towards Lim Gyeong-su, who was leaning on the desk and browsing through the community website.

“A protest? What kind of protest?”

Lim Gyeong-su, who always stood at the forefront with the female student, answered while handing over his smartphone.

“They’re saying that they have the right to attend Professor Baek’s lectures too, and they’re demanding that the director come out and explain.”

Zzung!

Baek Hana, who was lying next to Nam Seo-hee, had her human ears twitch slightly at the sudden change in the environment.

“Wow, these days’ students are so passionate.”

“Yeah, we couldn’t even imagine doing something like this back then.”

“Well, I can understand how they feel.”

“That’s true.”

Except for Baek Hana and Nam Seo-hee, the other five students could sympathize with the freshmen. They themselves had gone through fierce competition to get into the school, and even after making it into the top 100, they had to fight desperately to survive. The seven students sitting in this lecture hall were the ones who had endured all that.

“I’m proud of myself today for enduring those hellish assignments and practices.”

“Ugh… What a crazy guy. His speech is so cringey.”

“Maybe he didn’t get beaten enough during the break. We should polish him up in the afternoon practice.”

The students, who had been reprimanding Lim Gyeong-su for his self-praise, now turned their heads towards the female student.

“But isn’t it sad for the freshmen?”

“What do you mean?”

The students turned towards the female student, who had been scolding Lim Gyeong-su.

“Well, Professor Baek hates disturbances, right?”

“Yes, he hates them almost pathologically.”

“I still get chills when I remember getting hit in the forehead with a chalk for sneezing.”

“That’s because you crossed the line.”

“I admit it. I should have at least tried to cover my mouth or something. Didn’t you just sneeze without any hesitation back then?”

“If I exaggerate a little, it was like an explosion went off.”

Lim Gyeong-su, who had brought up the topic, became the target of his classmates again. As a tank, he was definitely good at aggro management.

“Anyway, the more disturbances they cause, the further they’ll get from Professor Baek’s attention.”

“That’s right. If they wanted to protest, they should have pestered the academic affairs department instead of protesting.”

“And I overheard the teaching assistants talking about how the director was extremely cautious of Professor Baek during the faculty meeting.”

“Isn’t that strange? They’re a couple, and the director is so good-looking. His voice is amazing, and he’s incredibly handsome…”

“Hey, hey, snap out of it!”

The male student grabbed the female student’s shoulder and shook it vigorously, as she had momentarily spaced out.

“Phew… Well, anyway, it’s strange that he doesn’t notice his own abilities, which are at the level of a high-ranking player.”

“Wow, I was so pissed off in the morning when I suddenly got a link while playing The Guild, but I completely lost it when I saw that.”

The topic of conversation naturally shifted from the freshmen’s protest to Baek Woo-jin.

“Hey, Hana?”

“Hmm?”

Baek Hana, who had been dozing with her ears perked up, opened her eyelids halfway and turned towards the direction of the sound.

“Oh! Sorry, if you’re sleepy, keep sleeping…”

“It’s okay. What’s wrong?”

Since it was about five minutes until 9 o’clock, it was time to wake up. So, Baek Hana stretched and turned towards her classmates sitting above her.

“Well, I heard from other seniors that you danced with Professor Baek at the party… is that true?”

Baek Hana hesitated for a moment, feeling a bit uncomfortable under the gaze of the two female students, and then opened her mouth.

“Yes, it’s true…”

“Wow!”

“Crazy! You saw Professor Baek’s face up close?!”

The two female students, who usually found Baek Hana intimidating, seemed to have forgotten their distance as they jumped over the desk and sat right behind her.

“Did you apply for it?”

“What was it like to actually meet him? Come on, tell us!”

“Umm… well…”

And the barrage of questions began.

The three male students, who didn’t dare to join the conversation, remained silent. Nam Seo-hee didn’t push the two female students away, as Baek Hana was trying to continue the conversation.

-Crack…

“…”

The door to the lecture hall opened, and Baek Woo-jin, wearing his trademark black coat, stepped up to the podium.

Scurry!

Although they had been talking, Baek Hana and the two female students quickly returned to their seats and straightened their backs.

“I’ll skip the introductions.”

The mouth of the document bag that Baek Woo-jin had placed on the podium opened, and the familiar paper handouts flew towards the students.

“Since it’s the first day, I won’t be giving a lecture. Instead, we’ll have some time to decide whether to proceed with theory or practice in the next class.”

Baek Hana began to read the handout, which was filled with her favorite handwriting in the world.

‘Artificial Gate Practice’

Difficulty: 5 levels Theme: Swamp Goal: Base Camp Construction and Stabilization of the Surrounding Area (3 days) *Food supplies required for base camp construction will be divided among the students after discussion.

‘Artificial Gate Practice’

Difficulty: 5 levels Theme: Snowfield Goal: Base Camp Construction and Stabilization of the Surrounding Area (3 days) *Food supplies required for base camp construction will be divided among the students after discussion.

There were a total of ten choices with the same goal but different themes listed on the handout.

“I have a question.”

Baek Hana raised her hand slightly, and Baek Woo-jin nodded without saying anything.

“It says stabilization will take 3 days. Does that mean we have to endure for 3 days?”

“You just need to defend the base camp from destruction for 3 days after its construction.”

“Thank you.”

As Baek Hana lowered her hand, Baek Woo-jin looked around at the other students and continued speaking.

“You’ve probably seen the schedule, but I’ve postponed the Thursday lecture to Friday. If you choose the practice, consider the weekend as non-existent.”

At Baek Woo-jin’s words, Baek Hana’s eyes began to shake violently. From now until the vacation, she wouldn’t have any free weekends to relax, and here he was asking her to give up her weekends.

“Even if you choose the theory, it will be similar.”

“…”

At Baek Woo-jin’s words, the eyes of the other six students, excluding Baek Hana, shook violently. The lectures given by Baek Woo-jin were known to be of a significant amount and high level. While the difficulty was manageable if one listened to the lectures and understood them, the problem was that other professors also assigned assignments.

“Is it okay to ask a question?”

This time, Nam Seo-hee raised her hand, and Baek Woo-jin nodded once again.

“If we choose the practice, I think it will be difficult to complete the assignments given by the other professors. I would like to ask if you can give us some leniency in that regard.”

“I will. If you choose the practice, I will use my authority to exempt you from the assignments of the other professors.”

At those words, Nam Seo-hee and the rest of the students made their decision.

“Hana, I’m sorry.”

“Seo-hee, you…?”

Baek Hana felt like she was beginning to understand the mind of Yoon Iseul, who insisted on meritocracy.

.

.

.

“Study on your own until the next lecture, and then move according to the schedule.”

As the majority decided on the practice for Friday’s lecture, I instructed the students to study on their own and left the classroom.

Since the lecture was ongoing, I left the annex and headed towards the main building. The reason for this was that before entering the lecture hall, I had received a message from Director Ahn Hyun-do, asking for some time.

“We demand an answer from the director!”

As I approached the main building, the voices of the damn trash I had seen earlier became increasingly clear.

.

.

.

“You guys are out of your minds.”

Kang Hanna glared at the freshmen who were protesting in front of the main building and scowled. She had spent a total of 9 years in the Arena, including her time as a student and a teaching assistant, but this was the first time she had seen students protesting. And these were freshmen who had just enrolled.

‘I can’t just beat them all up.’

She wanted to teach them some manners right away, but the situation didn’t allow her to do so yet.

The students were protesting as a group, but the freshmen didn’t block the entrance to the main building, allowing professors and teaching assistants to come and go as usual. This was also the reason why Kang Hanna and the other professors couldn’t forcefully disperse the students.

“We freshmen have the right to attend Professor Baek Woo-jin’s lectures!”

Shut up.

‘…’

A voice filled with authority instantly silenced the area around the main building.

Clack-clack-clack-clack…

As the sound of footsteps drew closer, Kang Hanna couldn’t help but swallow dryly.

Soon, she saw a gigantic shadow appear beside her.

“Opportunity. Good. I’ll give you guys a chance soon, Kang Hanna.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kang Hanna responded with military precision to the call of her superior, who had stolen her heart.

“Give them 10 demerit points and disperse them. If they refuse, you may use force.”

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

Kang Hanna maintained a standing at attention until her superior, whose every step exuded dignity, was out of sight.

And at the moment the main building’s door closed.

“Bow your heads, you idiots.”