I’ll Retire After Saving the World - Chapter 24

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Chapter 24 – A Matter of Business Ethics (3)

For a smooth career, one must adhere to the rule of not standing out. This way, the amount of work assigned to me decreases.

But I failed.

It was inevitable. Wasn’t it unavoidable? The premise of being a time traveler was too far-fetched from the beginning. Doesn’t it sound like I’d end up dying a miserable death after a lot of suffering?

“You know, teacher.”

“Why?”

“Your main weapon is a sword, right?”

Lee Seungyeon, with a wooden sword loosely hanging at his side, and Sun Soonjin approached me.

I closed the notebook in which I was drawing runes. It was something requested by Lee Miseon.

‘Please let me know all the runes you’re going to make public. By the way, what has Hong Hunter been doing without preparing this?’

Exactly….

I reflected too. How could I irresponsibly ask someone to handle it without lifting a finger? No wonder Hong Seokyoung suddenly made things complicated by mentioning my achievements.

“Sword? No, I….”

I can handle most weapons to some extent, but my main weapon is a spear.

I almost answered without thinking but barely stopped myself.

Since awakening in my childhood, I learned all my fighting techniques from that man. It’s his fault that my main weapon is a spear. If I were to use a spear, it would be obvious. If an insider from the Ark acted exactly like Hong Seokyoung, there would be no excuse.

“Why?”

“Could you, by any chance, teach us?”

I raised an eyebrow.

“With Korea’s strongest Hunter available, you ask me?”

“But we use swords.”

Though Hong Seokyoung mainly uses a spear, it’s not like he can’t use a sword. He can defeat most A-rank Hunters with a sword, even with his eyes closed. That’s Hong Seokyoung.

“He said he might have to be absent from school frequently in the future, and that we should learn from you.”

“…From me?”

Well, it’s not incomprehensible.

A Hunter like Hong Seokyoung can’t stay tied down teaching kids forever.

He’s in his mid-forties now. If he were a civilian, his body would be starting to break down, but as a Hunter, he’s in his prime. Instead of teaching here, he should be out conquering dungeons.

After telling Lee Seungyeon and Sun Soonjin to wait for a moment, I asked Hong Seokyoung.

“Oh, I was going to tell you. With more faculty now, the principal doesn’t have to be at school all the time, right?”

“Of all people, the principal should be at school.”

“Our school isn’t a typical school, so it can’t be helped.”

Hong Seokyoung said calmly.

“Our new magicians will be taken care of by Teacher Kim…. The runes are just drawn based on the ones you provide, right?”

Saying it like that makes it sound like I’m getting paid for doing nothing. I haven’t even received my first paycheck yet.

“It’s hard to bring in more outsiders until the runes are made public….”

“There are plenty of Hunters in Daseon, aren’t there? Ask Lee Miseon to bring them in.”

“She’s too picky to lend out her people.”

Hong Seokyoung shook his head.

“And they’re still outsiders. It’s better to leave it to you.”

“What makes you so confident?”

“You can tell by looking into someone’s eyes.”

“…….”

“They say eyes are the windows to the soul. That’s exactly right.”

How did this person survive to become the strongest?

“Anyway, don’t let them use mana and just watch their movements. Just sparring with them should teach them something through experience.”

A teaching method where only the strong survive…. I barely survived it myself.

“What about the other kids? Are you going to look after them too?”

“I’ve already told them, so they’ll probably approach you quietly and target your neck.”

“My neck?”

“I promised them a reward if they hit you on the head.”

“…….”

“…….”

It’s strange. Why do I have to survive even as a teacher?

What choice do I have? I already signed the slave contract.

“What about the healer? Will you take care of them?”

“Hyeeun? I’ve asked Teacher Kim.”

magicians and healers have similarities. If she hasn’t been awakened for long, learning from Kim Chaemin would be greatly beneficial.

“Got it…. By the way, are you leaving right now?”

I pointed at the bag Hong Seokyoung was packing. He didn’t seem to have much to pack, but he kept stuffing things into it.

“Yeah. Teacher Kim will take the kids. You can get a ride too.”

“If I don’t want to sleep here, I suppose I have to. Are you going to conquer a dungeon?”

“Well, it’s more of a check than a conquest….”

Hong Seokyoung said, closing his bag.

“I’m going to take a look at the dungeon in Songpa-gu.”

“…What?”

“I want to check if there’s anything suspicious….”

“And What About Me?”

“You?”

“Yes.”

“It’s dangerous because we don’t know what the Ark has done.”

“…….”

Hong Seokyoung waved his hand and patted me on the shoulder.

“I’ll be back soon, so take good care of the kids.”

* * *

“Just remember one thing.”

While the magicians were attending Kim Chaemin’s magic utilization class.

I took the remaining children to the vacant lot. Well, it’s no longer appropriate to call it a vacant lot. In the past few days, Lee Miseon has brought in a lot of stuff.

There are parasols, sunbeds, and a beverage bar. When Lee Miseon comes to school, one of the Hunters who follows her occupies the beverage bar. It’s empty now, though….

Honestly, it doesn’t look like a vacant lot, and it certainly doesn’t look like a school playground. With the surrounding scenery as it is, it’s almost like a resort, isn’t it?

“The one who survives is the strongest.”

“Teacher, you don’t look cool when you say that seriously.”

The children burst into laughter. They laughed casually, but I felt sorry for them. With the administration gone, dungeon raids must be even more hellish.

“Who has entered a dungeon before?”

I asked, ignoring the children’s laughter. As I didn’t react, the laughter died down.

I asked again.

“Has anyone entered a dungeon before?”

“…….”

“…I have.”

At that moment, a child raised their hand.

It wasn’t the child from Myeong-dong. It was a child who sometimes bowed cautiously when our eyes met. The name was.

“Seo Hanseong?”

“Yes.”

Even sitting, he was a head taller than the other kids. He was tall, but still skinny, probably because he’s still growing. With that height, if he gains some weight, he would be more formidable. For close combat Hunters, physical build makes a significant difference.

Contrary to his initial hesitation, Seo Hanseong spoke firmly in a low voice.

“I have entered a dungeon.”

“Really? How was it?”

“…….”

Seo Hanseong hung his head low. The other kids quietly closed their mouths.

“The one who survives is not the strongest.”

Seo Hanseong also had no record on the mana watch. In fact, unless they were like Oh Hyunwook and Park Seohyun, there wouldn’t be any records. Although I knew about Lee Seungyeon because Lee Miseon kept mentioning her name.

Hunters who were active before the establishment of the administration couldn’t be helped.

Seo Hanseong or Soonjin might have died or retired by then. Even if the other kids didn’t know, Soonjin would have been taken into the guild by Lee Miseon, but there are no records….

“Only the strong survive.”

…Actually, I said that randomly to scare the kids.

Seo Hanseong’s eyes sparkled strangely. Unlike Park Seohyun, who is obsessed with perfect runes, his eyes were dark in a different way.

Does he have bad memories of the dungeon? If he entered the dungeon at that age….

Ah.

It must be that case.

Young awakened ones used as meat shields. The decisive reason why Hong Seokyoung decided to establish the pilot high school.

He must have been one of those rescued kids.

If Hong Seokyoung intended to leave such kids with me, he should have told me in advance.

Well, Park Seohyun also was dismissed as a style change, so I shouldn’t expect such sensitivity.

I nodded at Seo Hanseong’s words.

“Then, how can one become strong?”

“You need to build up your skills.”

“Skills? What kind of skills?”

Seo Hanseong couldn’t answer. Probably because he hadn’t really experienced a proper dungeon raid, he couldn’t think of anything beyond the textbook answer.

He realized that what I wanted wasn’t that kind of answer.

I made eye contact with each child. There were five kids sitting there, without a mage or healer.

According to Hong Seokyoung and Lee Seungyeon, there were originally a few more kids.

But after the incident where the kids who went to Myeong-dong for practice got isolated, worried parents took their children away.

Understandable. If I had a child, I would have done the same.

“Seo Hanseong. How was it when you entered the dungeon?”

“The dungeon?”

“Yes. How was it?”

Seo Hanseong gulped.

“It’s different there. Just…different.”

“Yes. There’s a theory that it’s another dimension.”

Even twenty years later, the existence of dungeons remains a mystery.

Humanity has merely adapted. To the monsters that emerge from the dungeons and the randomly occurring dungeons themselves.

“There are no humans inside the dungeon. So, to survive, one must give up being human.”

Seo Hanseong listened intently, focused on my words.

When he was rescued by Hong Seokyoung, if he had said he wanted to give up being a Hunter, Hong Seokyoung would have respected that. Not all the awakened become Hunters.

But Seo Hanseong is at the demonstration high school. This means he gave up on living as a civilian.

The same goes for the others.

I also had a moment when I could make that choice.

On the day I awakened, Uncle gave me a choice.

‘Hwijae.’

‘Yes?’

‘Just because you’re awakened doesn’t mean you have to become a Hunter. You do have to register as an awakened person, but you can do just that and then live your life doing whatever you want.’

‘Whatever I want?’

‘I’ll make sure you can do anything you want.’

‘Then I don’t want to be a Hunter.’

I was a kid with a very clear career plan. I later got a Hunter license because it gave me extra points when entering the administration.

Unlike me, these kids want to become Hunters.

In the past, in the original timeline, I don’t know how far Uncle went with these kids. It’s not just that there are no records, but when the Myeongdong incident happened, it’s safe to say Uncle’s plan failed. Not because of his lack of effort but purely due to external factors.

But now, it’s different.

There’s no one in South Korea who knows more about dungeon raids than I do.

These kids should be grateful to me.

Just like the magicians groaning over there in class, I’ll train these kids to become perfect Hunters.

Since Hong Seokyoung gave his permission…where should I start their education?

Hmm.

For a change, should I mimic Yoo Jieun? Yoo Jieun would probably say something like this.

“Don’t place too much value on the fact that you are human.”

I recalled Yoo Jieun’s special lecture at the academy. It sounded quite plausible when she said it.

“Hunters pretend to be human outside the dungeon…. But inside the dungeon?”

I looked at Seo Hanseong.

“In the dungeon, Hunters must act purely on instinct.”

When Hong Seokyoung came out of the training center, he took back Yoo Jieun’s sword from me.

And before entering the Bangi-dong dungeon, he gave me a wooden sword of the same length and weight as that sword.

Honestly, given that it had the same weight as a real sword, calling it a wooden sword was a bit of a stretch.

I held the wooden sword and tapped the ground with my toes.

Judging by the atmosphere, there are more kids besides Seo Hanseong who have entered the dungeon.

Oh Hyunwook probably has as well. But I didn’t make a fuss about it. People can have pasts they want to keep hidden.

“Your principal has always emphasized practical experience, right?”

“Yes….”

As I beckoned, the kids reluctantly stood up.

“The method is similar.”

I grinned.

“But I’m not as kind as the principal.”

You learn things when you get beaten in real-life situations, right? Didn’t they put a bounty on my head?

“I’m going to awaken your instincts. I won’t kill you, so try to survive well.”

When you aim for someone else’s head, you should be prepared to have your own head targeted.

Not that I’m venting my frustration for not being able to enter the Bangi-dong dungeon.

I’m not that petty.

I’m not, really.

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