[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter 15
The first day of the new semester for the Masterclass had finally arrived.
The recent Phantom Thief incident had become a major issue across the entire academy. It was shocking enough that the thief turned out to be the famous Phantom Thief, but what was even more surprising was the fact that the person who had solved the case was Professor D.
"I heard that even the Military Association had a hard time finding the thief. How did he do it?"
"And I heard he tore apart Argonia's one-point radiation with his bare hands."
"I heard he just blocked it with one finger."
"No, I heard he just blew a puff of air and the flames parted..."
Rumors bred rumors, and the rumors swept through the academy like an avalanche.
By now, a strange shift in perception had begun among the students.
"Professor D... Maybe he's an amazing person?"
"Well, they say that geniuses and crazy people are only a thin line apart, right?"
Professor D's image gradually shifted from "a psychopath who does all sorts of crazy things" to "a genius that ordinary people can't understand."
As a result, some students began to think this:
"Come to think of it, aren't all the subjects in the Masterclass graded on a relative curve? Wouldn't it be better to join a class with fewer students?"
It seemed like a clever idea to aim for a high score in a class taught by a potentially genius but unpopular professor.
Those who signed up for the Deconstructionist Department class thought they had made a very witty decision that would outsmart everyone else.
However, there were two major problems with that judgment.
The first was that many more people had the same idea.
The second was the fact that there was an unexpected person among those people.
"...Why is the Sword Saint sitting there?"
The students stared at Seo Su-kyung in the middle of the classroom as if she were a ghost.
The four major main courses in the Masterclass.
Why on earth had the ace of the Emission Department, one of those four, appeared in this extremely minor class?
"Maybe she has the same goal as us? To easily get points in a minor class?"
"Come on, what does Seo Su-kyung need? She could be at the top of any of the four major departments."
Those in the lower rankings, who had been filtered out of the major departments, couldn't fathom the mind of a genius like Seo Su-kyung.
However, that wasn't the biggest problem. Even if she took first place in the class, they could still get a pretty high score by coming in second.
'I doubt she'll lose to us lower-ranked students.'
This was the common sentiment among them, who considered themselves to be relatively good compared to the others in this class.
That was until the moment the classroom door opened.
Creak-
"Huh?"
Everyone's attention focused on the door as it opened.
A familiar blond face appeared.
The moment they saw that exotic, tanned face, the students felt like denying reality just as much as when they saw Seo Su-kyung.
"It's Arche?"
"No way, is she taking the Deconstructionist Department class too?"
"Damn it, this semester is screwed..."
The appearance of Gianluca Arche, a special student of the Summoning Department and ranked 7th overall, made the already cold atmosphere in the classroom even more freezing.
However, it wasn't just the lower-ranked students who were dumbfounded by this situation.
Seo Su-kyung and Arche, who had discovered each other's presence, flinched at the same time when their eyes met.
"...Why are you here? The Summoning Department class is on the other side."
"...You're telling me. The Emission Department class is in a different building."
A cold aura passed between the two of them.
The students, well aware of the long-standing animosity between the two, felt like the few seconds of silence stretched into an hour.
“Ugh... why do I feel like I can't breathe?"
"Why do these two have to meet here of all places..."
"Someone, please, get me an oxygen mask..."
While both were members of the student council, the concept of friendship was sociologically impossible among the top-ranking members of the student council in the Masterclass, which was like a jungle where the strong preyed on the weak.
And yet, Arche deliberately sat next to Seo Su-kyung, right in the middle of the classroom. It wasn't out of some sweet reason like wanting to sit next to a familiar face.
It was a clear expression of her intention to not even feel the need to distance herself.
That she didn't care about her existence at all.
Provoked by Arche's provocative choice of seat, Seo Su-kyung's lips curled slowly.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
“Are you sure you want to do this? This class is pretty difficult. It's very different from the Summoning Department, where all you need is perception.”
Seo Su-kyung's remark, delivered with a sneer, was as sharp as her swordsmanship.
But her opponent was no pushover either.
“You should be more worried about yourself. You're not used to theoretical classes like this, are you? After all, the Emission Department is just about using your body, not your brain."
The students in the classroom were dumbfounded by the high-level verbal battle, as intense as their rankings.
Professor D turned his gaze away from Arche, who looked puzzled, and walked towards the wheelbarrow.
He placed his hand on the large rock and said, "This thing in front of you is what we call a rock. People usually associate it with concepts like hardness, solidity, or worthless minerals."
The students began to focus intensely on Professor D's words, like cosmic dust being sucked into a black hole. Strangely, they couldn't think of anything else while listening to him.
"But what would other species call it? For example, microscopic organisms that are invisible to our eyes. To them, this could be a planet. Or maybe some of them think of it as a universe, Caesar."
Professor D snapped his fingers, and a hologram of the rock appeared on the lectern. The rock hologram grew larger and larger until it filled the entire classroom.
"Wow... what is this...?"
The students looked around the interior of the rock, as if they had become tiny microorganisms.
The inside of the rock was filled with countless particles connected to each other, and countless microorganisms were moving around inside it.
"What you're seeing now is a hologram of the inside of this rock. I created it to show you the next part."
Professor D raised a hammer and struck the rock. The entire classroom was illuminated with a flash of light as the world inside the rock surged violently.
At the same time, some of the particles within the rock shattered, and Professor D continued his explanation.
"From a microorganism's perspective, this rock isn't a solid stone, but a collection of particles that make up a vast world. And within it, there are weak points that can be easily destroyed with a gentle tap of a hammer."
Arche couldn't help but gasp. Professor D's lecture, which so vividly visualized such an abstract concept, was truly impressive.
However, Seo Su-kyung had a different opinion.
"But we're not microorganisms," she asked cynically, while everyone else in the classroom was marveling at Professor D's explanation.
"I understand what you're trying to say. Even the hardest rock has its vulnerabilities, but how can humans find them?"
Having already read various papers and materials on the Deconstructionist Department, she wasn't particularly surprised by Professor D's lecture. She was more interested in practical spells than these abstract theories.
Do Jin-hak smirked at her and replied, "Thank you for answering my question for me. That's exactly what I'm going to teach you."
Professor D chanted a spell, and a blue plasma shot out from his fingertips, enveloping the rock.
Instantly, a clear X mark appeared on the upper left side of the rock.
Professor D struck that spot with all his might.
CRASH-!
The rock shattered into pieces with a much louder sound than before.
The students were speechless as they watched the rock crumble with a single blow.
"This spell is called 'X-Mark'. It's a spell that uses ether to scan the internal structure of an object like an X-ray. It's the most basic spell of the Deconstructionist Department and what you'll be learning this semester."
In reality, he had only learned the spell the day before, but of course, the students didn't know that. They were simply excited by the power of the spell.
Seo Su-kyung's eyes sparkled as if they were about to light up.
"So, before we start learning the spell, let me ask you again. Who can tell me why the Deconstructionist Department is necessary?"
Seo Su-kyung raised her hand faster than anyone else.
"Because human perception has clear limitations. Humans can only perceive about 5% of the universe through their senses, so we're bound to have many biases, aren't we?"
Seo Su-kyung perfectly recited the contents of the papers she had read beforehand.
Professor D nodded slowly.
"And so?"
"So, we need to discard all our preconceptions and expand our human perception as much as possible. By doing so, we might be able to find new ways to change the long-standing pattern of battles against villains. Isn't that the reason for the existence of the Deconstructionist Department?"
The students gasped at her fluent explanation. They whispered among themselves, saying that Arche's explanation had seemed weak in comparison.
'I can't let this country bumpkin beat me.'
Seo Su-kyung glanced at Arche with a triumphant expression.
‘And the audacity of someone ranked 7th trying to form a rivalry with me. That's just crossing the line.’
Professor D smiled and said, "Very good. That's an amazing answer."
Seo Su-kyung nodded, satisfied. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. It was sarcastic. It was an incredibly stupid answer."
"...What?"
Seo Su-kyung thought she must have misheard. She had never been called stupid in her life.
But the shocked expressions of the students around her told her that she hadn't.
Professor D said in a cold voice, "As you said, this department is a place where we discard all fixed notions to see the true nature of the world. Yet, you're reciting the same old, outdated information I taught my previous classes word for word. I don't know where you heard it, but..."
"!!!"
Seo Su-kyung's heart sank. She hadn't realized that studying the lecture materials so thoroughly would backfire like this.
"From now on, when you come to my class, leave all your preconceived notions at the door. As a penalty for that, I'll give you minus three points."
"Three, three points?"
The students murmured even louder at the unexpectedly large deduction. Even for Seo Su-kyung, who was ranked 5th, minus three points on the first day was a fatal blow.
"Now, let's start learning the spell. To engrave the spell, you must first discard all the fixed notions that humans have..."
Ignoring Seo Su-kyung, who was too shocked to speak, Professor D continued his lecture.
The students couldn't take their eyes off Seo Su-kyung, who was sitting silently in her seat.
"Wow, this is the first time I've seen the Sword Saint get scolded like this in class."
"I know, right? The professor is even scarier than I thought..."
"It feels kind of good, doesn't it? She always acted so high and mighty..."
They whispered softly, but their words were loud enough for Arche to hear.
Arche quietly watched Seo Su-kyung, who was sitting next to her, trying to suppress her anger.
Her fists were trembling, as if she was trying with all her might to control her rage.
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]