“Hey!”


  “Uh……”


  Kang Shin-hyuk roughly waved his hand at Lee Jinseok, who had shouted at him. Yoo Hye-na and Jo Woon-hyung, standing next to him, seemed to be calmer.

  “Please take care of us from now on, teaching assistants.”


  “Being assistants, we’re weaker than most students.”


  Lee Jinseok shook his head with an expression of disbelief at Kang Shin-hyuk. They had grown up together in the orphanage with him, fought together with him on the Africa expedition, and had awakened traits as superhumans under the influence of his trait. Lee Jinseok, a boy the same age as him, had acquired a B-rank trait called [Sharp Blader] that wrapped his sword in the wind to strengthen it. Likewise, Yoo Hye-na, a girl his age, had a B+ rank trait that fired off a powerful fireball named [Flame Shooter]. Finally, Jo Woon-hyung, a year younger, gained the A-rank trait called [Guardian], which could cause the earth to rise and strengthen his body.

  “The traits are good, but, well, it must be weak.”


  Looking at the trait itself, they could be seen as ahead of a lot of Shinyoung’s students, but the application of the ability itself was weak as they had just acquired the traits a few months prior. Kang Shin-hyuk nodded and agreed; then Lee Jinseok shook his head again.

  “Isn’t it time to focus on the strengths that only we have?”


  “There’s nothing to say about it. You’re in charge of the practice. It’ll be perfect for students who are still less experienced.”


  Although his intention was to grow his friends by keeping them close quickly, Kang Shin-hyuk wouldn’t have thought of using those unqualified. Although it hadn’t been long since they started working, the students would be able to see and learn a lot from the mercenaries.

  “More than that, he……”


  After greeting him, Lee Jinseok had a grimy expression as he struck Kang Shin-hyuk’s shoulder.

  “Shall we have a drink?”


  “Don’t bullshit. He’s spent a lot of money since becoming a mercenary.”


  “No, I’m not saying that.”


  “Hyung, that……”


  “Don’t worry; it’s okay. Woon-hyung and Hye-na too.”


  He knew what they were worried about. It was enough to take care of it, and in fact, they didn’t even need to interfere. Kang Shin-hyuk patted Lee Jinseok and Jo Woon-hyung on the shoulder, then frowned at Yoo Hye-na, who was behind them.

  “Ah, Hye-na, there’s a kid with the same name as you…… Don’t worry too much.”


  “Do you think I haven’t met a kid with the same name once or twice?”


  “It’s a very famous kid.”


  Yoo Hye-na immediately realized what he meant. The name of Oh Hye-na had been confirmed as one of those joining Masked Bacchus. Not to mention, she was now the Rookie King for the year and also his disciple.

  “Senior, you……?”


  Oh Hye-na, who came up after noticing Kang Shin-hyuk, glanced at Lee Jinseok with an odd expression. Kang Shin-hyuk could guess what she was thinking.

  “Teaching assistants. They’ll be in class today.”


  “Huh…… Ouch!”


  Oh Hye-na regarded them with cold blue eyes, making a face that said she couldn’t understand but was promptly flicked in the forehead by Kang Shin-hyuk. She quickly calmed down and bowed her head. Kang Shin-hyuk opposed corporal punishment, but there were times when he could sympathize with those old Spartan teaching methods.

  “Okay, thank you.”


  “Yes, yes.”


  “Then……”


  As soon as Oh Hye-na finished greeting them, she ran away, afraid of what trick Kang Shin-hyuk might try next. Lee Jinseok looked on blankly as she escaped.

  “Pretty…… Ooh!”


  And he was hit by the fireball that Yoo Hye-na made and was blown away. Did this guy really want to do well with Yoo Hye-na? Kang Shin-hyuk and Jo Woon-hyung sighed together as they watched.

  ***

  “Then, I’ll start class.”


  Today was the first day that Kang Shin-hyuk would teach a class. Of course, Shinyoung would’ve been satisfied if he only just reinforced the students with his ability (they hadn’t figured out what kind of ability it really was), but Kang Shin-hyuk actually wanted to teach them something. Classes A and B of the first years were combined to conduct a joint class. The students had to be reinforced as much as possible, so the classes were conducted without breaks in the morning.

  “I thought a lot about the content of the class, but exploring a mock dungeon, every class isn’t possible……”


  “Ugh?!”


  “Crazy……”


  As Kang Shin-hyuk flicked his fingers, the artifacts that the students had equipped floated in the air. In fact, it was the first time Kang Shin-hyuk had done anything like it. The armaments of the enemies he faced were usually strongly bound by their magical power, so it was difficult to manipulate at such a large scale no matter how well he handled his spiritual power. However, it was possible to manipulate the artifacts the students handled with only a basic application of his trait.

  “The only route for me is the cheapest, so let’s see if you improve if you fight me. Attack me with all you got. If an attack hits me, I’ll give you mileage.”


  “Can’t be done, ahhh!”


  Oh Hye-na spoke up for the wordless students and promptly received a sound hit to her forehead as Kang Shin-hyuk flicked the air at her.

  “Of course, I’ll try to match your level. So, go ahead and fight.”


  “What does this class mean?”


  A courageous male student spoke. Kang Shin-hyuk nodded, acknowledging it was a good question. At the same time, the armament the boy held struck him in the back of the head.

  “Kahak, kah……”


  “You lack actual practice. Duels and actual battles are completely different. You all lack the ability to cope with unforeseen surprises in particular.”


  “Oh, yeah……!”


  “That’s why I intend to have you deal with as many weapons and abilities possible in order to reproduce the environment of the battlefield as closely as possible.”


  Various abilities and weapons…… Honestly, he thought he could be confident in this field. With the various masteries he learned through the Hero Universe and his skillful mastery of weapons, he could give the students a wide breadth of combat experience.

  “I’ll do this over and over again. It’ll be a success if you grow even a little in your ability to resist.”


  “That just means we’ll keep being beaten by senior…… Ah!”


  Oh Hye-na, who bravely criticized Kang Shin-hyuk, leaned over to avoid the surprise attack as her greatsword rotated toward her rapidly.

  “Kh!”


  “Hm.”


  However, the moment she evaded successfully, the sword rotated back around and struck her back. She grew upset at her inability to escape.

  “That movement was fine, but in class, call me teacher.”


  “Ha……”


  “What is it really? Is that all?”


  “I saw you fighting in the gym…… That swordsmanship is real.”


  “Then, what’s that?”


  “I’m ruined……”


  All of the students hadn’t realized so far how Kang Shin-hyuk controlled the dozens of weapons at once. Which was, of course, his intention. The image of Kang Shin-hyuk was strong for them, perhaps even more so than his image as Shin Eun-hyuk.

  “Okay, everyone seems to be ready. Then…… Shall we start? First of all, the assistants.”


  “Yes…… Huh?”


  It was the moment Lee Jinseok realized what was happening, having assumed prior that he would be able to take it easy as an assistant.

  “Students should watch and see how the assistants cope. You’re similar in ability, but watch and learn how those ahead of you act.”


  “Ultimate……”


  “No, if you put this pressure on us……”


  “Then go.”


  “Ugh!”


  For Kang Shin-hyuk, there was no difference in who needed to be stronger between the teaching assistants and the students. Lee Jinseok and Yoo Hye-na were soundly beaten and forced to roll on the floor. Jo Woon-hyung, with his special defense trait, did much better, but as he was used to moving in a team, he struggled harder as he diligently tried to help his friends.

  “Kehek, haha……”


  “I’ll die, I’ll really die!”


  “Energy, overflowing, but…… Fuu.”


  “After roughly three minutes of battle, the assistants were barely released from their suffering. Kang Shin-hyuk instilled his trait in them to encourage natural healing and looked back at his students with a smile.

  “Now, did you get a sense from their movement?”


  “It only looked like they were barely surviving, but I guess!”


  That student was soundly beaten. He did worse than the assistants in that he didn’t even know how he was beaten. The students didn’t want to say anything else, but Kang Shin-hyuk’s bright smile forced them to.

  “Uh…… Something…… Desperately……”


  One finally spoke up.

  “Oh, that’s a good answer. Then do you know what makes them different from you?”


  “Well……”


  “Intuition?”


  Kang Shin-hyuk admired the words that followed.

  “Right. It’s the same that they were beaten in the end, but these guys keep getting nervous so they can react quickly to my attacks. Being able to sense and respond in a realm of intuition is the first step towards surviving on the battlefield.”


  At that moment, the weapons floating in the air flew at their masters. Some students, like Oh Hye-na, had the intuition that something was happening and managed to avoid it, but most of them found themselves on the floor.

  “Intuition is the body’s direct warning that involves all your stats. Of course, working in a dangerous environment will develop that intuition. But there’s one more answer that hasn’t come out yet……”


  That was teamwork. The assistants clearly divided their roles and tried to respond even in the midst of fighting systematically. However, expecting the young students who were desperate to develop their own abilities to come together was too much. Kang Shin-hyuk thought that cultivating teamwork would be the most effective way to increase their chances of survival.

  “Well, you’ll realize it after a few more times.”


  “Senior…… Sir, just let us know…… Shit!”


  “During class, use honorifics.”


  “Ughhhhhhh.”


  And so, Kang Shin-hyuk’s class began in earnest.

  It was the moment his power covered the whole school.