I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

“I will change the content of the practical exam.”

At the stroke of midnight, when the day officially changed, Baek Woo-jin appeared and spoke to Baek Hana and the students.

“You’ve read the announcement, so you probably have an idea of the situation.”

The students nodded quickly without answering. They seemed to be acting as usual, but instinctively, they could sense that Baek Woo-jin was in a bad mood.

For this reason, the students didn’t dare ask any questions and were prepared to simply nod in agreement with whatever he said.

“One hundred people. That’s the number of people inside, excluding you. That’s also the number of crazy people who don’t care if they die inside.”

Gulp. The number was larger than they had expected, and Lim Kyung-soo, who had received a new shield, swallowed hard.

“Baek Hana.”
“Yes, Professor.”

Baek Hana, who was more sensitive to Baek Woo-jin than anyone else, answered seriously, without her usual playfulness.

“Take this.”

A map, folded in various ways, flew through the air and landed in Baek Hana’s hand.

“This is the terrain inside the gate.”

Swoosh.

Baek Hana spread out the map, which was much larger than she had expected, on the ground. At the same time, the students’ attention also turned towards the map.

“There are no monsters inside the gate. Well, there might be some wild animals, but they’re not at a level that would threaten an Awakened, so don’t worry about them.”

The students, who had been carefully examining the map, which was as tall as Lim Kyung-soo, quickly looked up and focused on Baek Woo-jin again.

“In three days, eliminate eighty-eight people. You can destroy the base camps and take the necklaces from them. You can even destroy the necklaces they’re wearing. Don’t worry if they get injured or die in the process. I’m telling you to use any means necessary. If you fail, I’ll expel as many students as the number you fall short of, so it’s best not to have any false hopes.”

Some of the students with good instincts had already guessed that this would be the general plan, but they never imagined that they would be told to kill without hesitation.

If any other professor had made such a statement, they would have thought it was just to create tension. However, everyone present knew that their professor was not the type to make such jokes.

So they couldn’t nod easily.

Except for two of them.

Baek Hana and Nam Seo-hee, who were confident in their abilities to easily subdue anyone, nodded without hesitation.

“Baek Hana, Nam Seo-hee.”
“Yes, Professor.”
“Yes, Professor.”

The two girls looked up at Baek Woo-jin with serious faces and answered.

“If there are any dropouts during the process of achieving the goal, you two will be held responsible.”
“Yes, we understand.”
“Also.”

Baek Woo-jin’s gaze, which had been directed at Baek Hana and Nam Seo-hee, shifted to the five students standing behind them.

“You should not rely on these two, but do your best to achieve the goal I have set for you.”

“Yes, sir!”

The five students answered with determination.

“Once the status check is complete, you will enter immediately.”

That was the last conversation between the students and Baek Woo-jin.

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.

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“What should I do…?”

Baek Hana looked down at Nayoung, who had fainted and was cradled in her arms, and scratched her cheek.

In fact, Baek Hana had discovered Nayoung purely by chance.

With her exceptional mobility and extraordinary ability to quickly learn maps, Baek Hana had separated from her party to act as a separate team, maximizing her efficiency in hunting.

In practice, she followed the hidden paths marked on the map and quickly moved through the snowy plains, destroying two base camps and breaking six necklaces in less than a day.

Even with her remaining stamina, Baek Hana didn’t rest but took advantage of the night’s freedom of movement to search for new prey.

And based on the map in her mind, she found this cave, which seemed like a good hiding spot and was the closest to her current location. It was there that she coincidentally discovered Nayoung running out in a hurry.

“This is all your fault.”

Baek Hana glared at the compass, which was pointing in an unknown direction, and muttered softly.

Her original plan was to quietly follow them and surprise everyone. But suddenly, the compass pointed in her direction, and Nayoung, sensing something strange, was about to shout.

So, in a panic, Baek Hana quickly came down and covered Nayoung’s mouth, and Nayoung, startled by the sudden appearance, looked into Baek Hana’s eyes and fainted, her eyes wide open.

Moreover, she had seen something she shouldn’t have seen, even though they were close friends.

“Hmm…”

Baek Hana, who had been hesitating for a moment, picked up the fainted Nayoung and stood up.

She thought that even if she apologized later, it was best to solve the clothing issue before her dear friend woke up.

As she moved quietly into the darkness, Baek Hana soon discovered the pleasant sound of a crackling campfire and found Na Yeon-ju sitting next to it.

“Ah, are you back…?”

Na Yeon-ju, who had been quietly waiting while sipping a yuzu-flavored recovery potion, greeted Nayoung as she emerged from the darkness, but then froze as she noticed that Nayoung’s clothes and physique didn’t match. However, her tension was short-lived.

“Hana, you…?” “Shh.”

Baek Hana placed her long, slender finger on her lips, signaling Na Yeon-ju to be quiet.

“Ah, okay.”

Na Yeon-ju didn’t need to do this, but she quickly covered her mouth with both hands and nodded.

“You’re working hard.”
“Hmm, hmm…”

Na Yeon-ju, with her mouth covered, smiled widely as Baek Hana patted her head, expressing her emotions.

“We’ll talk later. Where’s Nayoung’s bag?”
“Ah, we’re using a shared bag… It’s in that tent over there.”
“Oh, I see…”

Baek Hana frowned slightly, then shook her head and sat Nayoung down on the empty spot.

Baek Hana had noticed the smell due to her exceptional sense of smell, but since it wasn’t noticeable from the outside due to the protective gear, she decided to pretend she didn’t know anything and changed the topic.

“I heard you’ve been busy lately. So, you decided to participate in this?”
“Heh, heh…”

Na Yeon-ju scratched her head awkwardly in response to Baek Hana’s question. It was true that she had been hiding it to surprise them later in the classroom.

“Then why are you here, Hana?”
“Do you want to know?”

Na Yeon-ju trembled as Baek Hana’s gaze narrowed.

“No, no…”
“I was just joking.”

Baek Hana approached Na Yeon-ju, who was shrinking back, with a faint smile.

“Don’t be too tense.”
“Ah, yes, yes…”

Na Yeon-ju swallowed as Baek Hana’s behavior seemed normal but also slightly different from usual. And she blinked at the sound of ‘clack’ that reached her ears.

“Hana?”

Na Yeon-ju looked at Baek Hana with surprise as she noticed the silver necklace in her hand.

“I’ll just hold onto it for a moment.”
“Ah, no, no…”

For some reason, the thought of the mittens that she had borrowed for a short time and hadn’t returned yet came to mind.

“If nothing happens, I’ll come back to return it. Do you trust me?”

If they eliminate eighty-eight people within the time limit, she will come back to return it. Unless, of course, they are extremely unlucky.

“Umm, umm…”

Na Yeon-ju looked at Baek Hana with the face of a woman who had just been dumped.

“I, I can’t return it right now.”

Baek Hana’s heart wavered slightly at the hurt look in her younger sister’s eyes, but she couldn’t give up something so precious, so she managed to regain her composure.

Clack.

Baek Hana then turned around and took the necklace from Nayoung’s neck as well. And she removed the blackout curtain from the tent to retrieve the necklaces of her two friends, who were sleeping soundly without knowing she was there.

Whoosh!!

“Ahh?!”

Na Yeon-ju screamed and covered her eyes with her hands at the sacred light that burst out of the tent.

“Die!”

At the same time, Edyn’s fist flew towards Baek Hana’s face.

It was a perfect ambush, hiding her presence.

The problem was that the opponent was Baek Hana.

Baek Hana slightly turned her head, avoiding Edyn’s fist, and glared at Edyn’s surprised face.

“Damn it…”

Edyn’s eyes seemed to ask, why are your eyes still intact after such a blinding light?

“Hmph.”

But all she got in return was a pouting snort and a punch from Baek Hana, who was wearing mittens.

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.

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“Ouch…”
“Stop exaggerating.”

Edyn, with a bruised left eye, scowled at the person who had caused her injury.

And Maria, who was watching from the side, shook her head.

“I told you it wouldn’t work. Even Jane Moore’s light couldn’t blind her, so how could we?”
“Be quiet, it’s my fault for getting hit.”
“It’s your own fault.”
“Yes, it’s Edyn’s fault for attacking first.”

Edyn didn’t respond to Maria and Baek Hana’s comments and simply closed her eyes tightly.

“So, if we take care of eighty-eight people, you’ll come back to return it?”
“Yes. I’ve already taken care of fifteen, and Seo-hee is also working on it, so we should have at least twenty by now.”
“I see.”

Maria nodded and then became lost in thought. After a while, she snapped out of it and called the youngest member of the group.

“Na Yeon-ju, where’s the compass?”
“Ah, Nayoung took it with her…”

Their eyes naturally turned towards Baek Hana.

“Is this it?”
“Yes, that’s it.”

Baek Hana held it out and said,

“I was going to surprise you with it, but it suddenly started pointing in my direction, and I was more surprised.”
“Really?”

Maria could see that the arrow on the compass was pointing in a completely different direction.

Swoosh.

And as soon as she took the compass from Baek Hana, the arrow turned back and pointed behind her.

“As I thought…”

Maria focused on the compass, holding it tightly.

Swoosh.

The compass turned again and this time pointed towards Baek Hana. Maria, now certain, handed the compass back to Baek Hana.

“This will probably help.”
“This?”
“Yes. If you hold it and strongly wish for what you’re looking for, it will tell you where it is.”

Baek Hana looked at the compass with a bit of surprise and took it back.

Swoosh.

The arrow turned again.

Baek Hana looked in that direction for a moment and then closed her eyes.

Swoosh.

After a while, the arrow moved again.

Baek Hana, who had wished to find the second closest base camp from her current location, turned around with the compass in her hand.

“I’ll go and check if it’s real.”