Chapter 88
The next day, I returned to the Academy.
Seo Da-hee seemed reluctant to leave, wanting to stay a bit longer, but I sent her back just in case of any unexpected danger.
She didn’t seem too disappointed, though.
Now that she could change her appearance, she could visit the Academy or go on small outings anytime she wanted.
But that wasn’t what mattered.
I recalled the item that Pandemonium had sent me as a “reward” yesterday.
A devil statue, small enough to fit in one’s hand—about the size of an action figure.
If I remembered right, they said it was something Pandemonium was currently researching.
A relic that strengthened the connection with a demon, acting as a totem that amplified demonic power.
Though calling it a “reward” felt rather questionable.
That made sense, considering this very item appeared in the game—it was used in the process of corrupting Yoo Iseo into a Demon.
I remembered the quest where the Player had to destroy all these statues scattered throughout the Academy.
The vivid memory of scouring the vast Academy map, staring at the screen until my eyes hurt, still lingered.
So, there must be similar items hidden within this Academy as well.
Perhaps the high-ranking figure of Pandemonium intended for me to use it to strengthen my power... but honestly, I could put it to far better use.
The statues resonated with one another.
Which meant—I could completely dismantle the core of the plan to corrupt Yoo Iseo.
I’ll make good use of it, oh “High-ranking Being.”
Just then, the class bell rang, signaling the start of morning assembly, and someone walked into the classroom.
“Shut your mouths and sit down, brats.”
“……?”
“Wait, isn’t that the School Nurse? Where’s Instructor Kang Jae-seok?”
The sudden appearance of the School Nurse instead of our homeroom Instructor caused a stir among the cadets.
It was probably because of what happened yesterday.
I had already heard all the details from Seo Da-hee.
I expected him to come looking for me—but I didn’t think he’d go so far as to accuse me of being a Demon in front of so many people.
Though the suspicion had been cleared, it seemed the incident had already become a topic of gossip among the cadets.
Well, whoever caused the mess should take responsibility for it.
Bang!
The School Nurse, Chun Ga-eun, slammed the podium once, frowning.
“Quiet down, everyone. Your homeroom instructor, Instructor Kang Jae-seok, has been suspended for a month due to unavoidable circumstances. As the assistant instructor, I’ll be taking over as your homeroom teacher, so if you have any questions—keep them to yourself.”
“……?”
“I said don’t ask.”
The cadets clearly had plenty of questions, but none dared to speak against her overwhelming presence.
Then Helena boldly raised her hand.
“Then… what about our practical training classes?”
“They say kids these days are bold with their opinions…”
The School Nurse muttered as she pulled out a candy from her pocket and bit into it.
“I’ll be in charge of your practical classes. Don’t worry—even though I’m a School Nurse, dealing with brats like you is a piece of cake.”
Now that I thought about it, I’d heard the boys whispering yesterday that the School Nurse had stepped in to stop the enraged Instructor Kang Jae-seok head-on.
Could she really be as strong as him?
She was a character I didn’t even know much about, even as someone who’d played the game.
I didn’t even know her name.
She’d never properly introduced herself.
I vaguely remembered hearing Instructor Kang call her something…
All I knew for sure was that she had a foul temper and was a heavy smoker.
“No more questions, right? I won’t take any more after this.”
She made it clear she was irritated and began the morning assembly.
Though our homeroom instructor had changed, classes went on smoothly.
After all, each theoretical subject was handled by its own assigned instructor.
After lunch, we sat in the classroom, chatting idly.
Helena, perched on the edge of a desk, grumbled.
“Did she say she’s the School Nurse? I really don’t like her. That slouchy attitude, and the way she looks at us—it’s like she sees us as delinquents.”
“Helena, you complaining about an instructor? That’s rare,” Park Siwoo remarked.
Helena scoffed.
“Instructors at the Academy are all either top experts in their field or hold doctorate credentials. But that School Nurse doesn’t even seem to have much of a career. And yet she’s teaching practical training?”
“Helena, were you always the type to judge people by their résumé?”
I looked at her with a hint of disbelief.
She frowned.
“Isn’t that normal? When we know nothing about a person’s past, the only thing we can judge them by is what’s written on paper.”
“Wow… spoken like a true noble. You’re drenched in elitism.”
When I looked at her with a pitying gaze, Helena swung her fist.
“Stop spouting nonsense. I’m not in the mood.”
Her punch landed on my arm, making it sting. I rubbed the sore spot.
Why was she so irritable today?
The bell rang again—it was time for practical training.
The School Nurse entered the room.
She swept her eyes lazily across the cadets and spoke.
“Everyone’s here? Good. I’ll skip roll call—it’s a pain. If you don’t listen, that’s your loss, and your life goes to hell.”
Her sharp, biting tone hadn’t changed at all.
Helena’s face twisted again in annoyance.
She hadn’t liked the woman since orientation.
That condescending way of speaking, the lingering smell of cigarettes that clung to her clothes…
But above all, it was her habit of speaking without the slightest regard for others’ circumstances that Helena hated most.
‘Dragon Eyes, huh. Never seen one of those before. You should count yourself lucky.’
Helena had never once considered her power a blessing.
If anything, it was a curse.
To run her mouth like that without knowing anything about someone else’s pain—
It was infuriating.
Of course, Helena’s foul mood today wasn’t entirely because of the School Nurse.
It was also because of a strange rumor she’d heard that morning.
That Instructor Kang Jae-seok had barged into the male dormitory, accusing Yoo Seongwoo of being a Demon.
By now, the story had spread like wildfire among the first-years.
‘They said Instructor Kang’s one-month suspension was because of that.’
Helena had always respected Instructor Kang.
He was strict, gruff, and unapproachable—but he was more heroic and dedicated than anyone else.
Even during the Daehos Guild Building terrorist attack yesterday, when the A-rank Villain Devil Knight tried to destroy the building and flee, he didn’t hesitate to prioritize saving lives.
Someone like him wouldn’t accuse Yoo Seongwoo without a good reason.
But at the same time, the thought that Yoo Seongwoo, the one who had stayed close to her, was a Demon—
He had been an annoying human being.
But within the Academy, he was one of the few people she could call a friend.
After all, she wasn’t someone who easily got along with others.
It was a truth she didn’t want to believe, but since the one who had raised the suspicion was Kang Jae-seok, a creeping fear began to rise within her—what if it was true?
If Yoo Seongwoo really was a Demon—
The fear of Demons carved deep into her bones began to slither up Helena’s spine.
If he had been deceiving me all this time?
If the person I thought was my friend had deceived me, and then…
Along with that, the power of the dragon coiled somewhere inside her began to stir faintly.
“Hey! Are you not paying attention? Your mana control is a mess.”
At the sharp voice pointing it out, Helena snapped out of her thoughts.
When she turned her head, the School Nurse was standing in front of her.
With a pen in her mouth, she sighed softly.
“What on earth are you thinking about, that you don’t even answer when I call?”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“Try again.”
The Nurse gestured toward the model in front of her.
Before Helena was a model arm that looked exactly like a human’s.
Across its forearm was a clean cut, as though sliced by a blade.
The topic of today’s practical class was emergency treatment and healing through mana.
Helena gathered mana into her hands and brought them over the wounded model.
She adjusted the flow of mana delicately, connecting muscle to muscle, flesh to flesh.
It was no different from performing a micro-surgery with mana—demanding meticulous precision.
And such delicate manipulation required extreme concentration. With her head full of thoughts, there was no way Helena could perform it properly.
The Nurse gave a short, dry comment.
“You’re thinking about too many things. You have to treat your mana like it’s part of your body.”
Hearing that, Helena retorted, unable to hold back her irritation.
“To be honest, I don’t really understand the point of this class. A wound like this can easily be healed with a potion. I understand that emergency treatment is important, but I don’t get why you’re making us do something this difficult. Is this even part of the official curriculum?”
Her tone was rather rebellious.
The Nurse fell silent for a brief moment.
Helena assumed she was angry—but instead, the School Nurse, Chun Ga-eun, found herself intrigued.
Because the girl’s defiance was simply too adorable.
“What, are you disappointed this isn’t combat training? Then I’ll tell you—the meaning of this lesson. Wounds like this, visible cuts, sure, they can all be healed with potions. But.”
After a short pause, she swung her fist down and struck Helena’s model arm.
With a cracking sound, the arm was crushed.
“Can you fix a wound like this?”
“……No.”
“The role of a potion is to accelerate the body’s natural regeneration to its limit. You can’t use it where the bones are broken. Same goes for internal injuries.”
“But those are things doctors handle, not heroes.”
“That’s true. But wouldn’t it be better for people who risk their lives in battle to learn even one more of these skills? In a desperate situation, this one thing could save your life.”
“……”
Helena couldn’t respond and simply shut her mouth.
She knew that what she had said earlier was nothing more than childish whining.
Chun Ga-eun pointed toward Seongwoo.
“What you’re doing now is something you’d have to pay seven million won a semester to learn in medical school. Look at that guy—he’s quiet, focused, and working hard, isn’t he?”
Helena lifted her head to look at Seongwoo.
Before him was a model arm, into which he was channeling mana.
Slowly, bit by bit, the arm began to heal.
“At the very least, shouldn’t you finish the assignment I gave before you start complaining?”
Saying so, she placed her hand over the completely crushed arm. As mana flowed through it, the twisted flesh began to writhe back into place, restoring itself to its original form.
It was an astonishing display of micro-level mana control.
“Ha, kids these days are really hard to please.”
The Nurse unwrapped a piece of candy, bit down on it with a crunch, and walked away.
Helena stayed silent, watching her leave.
Before she realized it, her suspicion that Seongwoo might be a Demon had vanished—replaced by defiance toward Chun Ga-eun, and a burning competitive desire to succeed no matter what.
When the practical lesson ended, I collapsed face-first onto my desk.
A healing class, huh.
They called it a healing class, but honestly, what they demanded from the cadets was excessive.
Of course, she probably hadn’t expected anyone to actually succeed.
The School Nurse’s real goal was likely to make students more familiar with delicate mana control.
Having tried it myself, I had to admit—it was excellent training for refining one’s control over mana.
I actually liked the lesson.
Unlike Instructor Kang Jae-seok’s classes, which were adjusted to the cadets’ level,
this one wasn’t bound by such limits.
It was pretty fun, too, learning how to guide mana delicately.
As Park Siwoo packed up his things, he asked,
“How did you do that just now? Everyone was struggling, but you were the only one who succeeded.”
“I just infused mana into the model and went—swish, swoosh, ta-da.”
“Swish, swoosh, ta-da? What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
Park Siwoo grumbled, demanding a real explanation.
“How can you not get it? It’s the same as in theory class. You plug the formulas in like this, combine them like that, and then—bam.”
Now you know how I felt, huh?
This was my revenge for theory class.
Then, staring hard at the model, Park Siwoo suddenly shouted,
“Oh, it’s working! Seongwoo, it’s really working like you said!”
I blinked, dumbfounded, staring at him.
Even I hadn’t understood my own explanation—so how did he?
“……Damn talented bastard.”
Just as I was despairing over the difference in talent, the door burst open and someone hurriedly called out to me.
“Hey, Yoo Seongwoo!”
“What’s up, Joo Sarang?”
What’s with her, coming to find me like this?
“The Vice President is calling you.”
Vice President—that meant Berid.
I frowned.