CHAPTER 118

Lee So-Yeong’s personality became sensitive when her energy was drained. She often got angry easily and made misjudgments. If it weren’t for this, she wouldn’t have suffered a loss by speaking to the Yaksha’s son.

However, she became a completely different person once she started to concentrate. Regardless of her lack of energy, she truly displayed the demeanor of a great master.

The size of the area is around 420 square meters.

The domain of the unknown monster was silent. There were no signs of small beasts or insects, let alone a high-level monster.

Sooner or later, the plants would begin to wither as well.

Whatever it is, it’s an existence that rejects coexistence.It left a scent to prevent intruders while thoroughly erasing all other traces of itself...

Lee So-Yeong’s mana control technique was truly amazing. She spread her mana throughout the section of forest to search for clues. However, she found no traces of the creature living there.

There isn’t a single tuft of fur left behind. It’s definitely a beastman.

Erasing all other traces and leaving behind their scent was a tactic commonly used by highly intelligent beastmen. This tactic revealed their presence while hiding their identity, provoking the intruder’s imagination and maximizing their fear.

This beastman must be infinitely close to being human.

Although it’s said that Beastmen were half-human and half-beast, that wasn’t strictly true. Some beastmen—those with one human parent—were more human. Aside from certain parts of their bodies, such as their ears, nose, or tail, their appearance was practically human.

Such individuals usually had little fur on their bodies, making fur removal easier, and using clothing or accessories, they could perfectly disguise themselves as humans.

Around sunset, Lee So-Yeong completed her investigation and came to a firm conclusion.

“It is indeed a beastman who used this place as a hideout. Judging from the fact that they have infiltrated the school, this beastman must have adapted quite well to human society before infiltrating the school. I would guess it’s been around ten years since they crossed the gate? By now, maybe they have already blended in naturally around us.”

Beastmen could also awaken. The vast majority of beastmen who could successfully cross the gate and arrive on Earth were players, and it wasn’t strange for one to have a Skill that could help them infiltrate the school and pretend to be human.

Beastmen.

Jae-Hyeok’s expression became serious.

He thought of the beastman that Jang Yeon-Ju and Roh Jun-Yeop had encountered when they brought back Elder Song. They told him that the beastman was trying to steal something called the dragon harpoon from Elder Song.

Could it be that beastman followed Elder Song all the way to Seoul?

What if the beastman infiltrated Lion’s Castle to reach Jang Yeon-Ju and Roh Jun-Yeop in order to find the whereabouts of Elder Song?

They could be in danger.

Jae-Hyeok quickly grasped the situation and immediately asked, “Profession, you can easily find the beastman, right?”

A beastman could completely erase their body odor. Still, wouldn’t their nature and wavelength of mana be different from that of humans? If so, Lee So-Yeong could easily recognize it...

“No.”

Unfortunately, Jae-Hyeok was disappointed.

“There are many people in Lion’s Castle whose senses are just as sharp as mine. For example, the chairman or the captains of the armed forces. It’ll be hard for me to find someone who has pierced through their surveillance and blended into the surroundings... But I’ll try. Okay? I’ll do my best, so there’s no need to start criticizing me.”

“? ...Thank you.”

Lee So-Yeong’s attitude was very kind, but Jae-Hyeok also felt a strange sense of distance from her. Her conflicting emotions were sometimes a bit difficult for him to understand.

Seeing Jae-Hyeok’s strange expression, Lee So-Yeong spoke quickly. “It’s a professor’s duty to maintain the peace of the school and the safety of the students. So you don’t have to be grateful. This isn’t something a student like you should worry about, so don’t pay attention to it.”

Jae-Hyeok told her, “Actually, I think this beastman’s target is my friends.”

“Your friends? What friends?”

He had friends?

Lee So-Yeong gasped in disbelief. Then she recalled a certain incident with the Yaksha.

It was at a party the night they succeeded in conquering an SS-grade gate.

-Are you handing me a drink?Do you think we’re friends just because we shared a few moments of life or death?Strange.Considering the difference in our levels, such a misunderstanding shouldn’t be possible.

Those were the Yaksha’s words to a colleague he had been attacking the gate with for several years. The other person was a healer who had saved the Yaksha from danger many times.

Lee So-Yeong felt her head throb when remembering the events of that day, and she couldn’t help holding her forehead. She thought there was a high probability that the friends Kang Jae-Hyeok was talking about were just convenient people.

“Who are your friends?”

“That... ”

Jae-Hyeok hesitated for a moment. Was it okay to talk about Jang Yeon-Ju and Roh Jun-Yeop? He was worried that Elder Song's information might be leaked if she traced the incident back through the two of them.

Won’t it be okay?

After all, Lee So-Yeong was a professor. If she put her mind to it, she would be able to know all of Jae-Hyeok’s activities, who was close to, and what he had been through with them.

“Senior Jang Yeon-Ju and Roh Jun-Yeop.”

“......?”

There were thousands of students enrolled in Lion’s Castle, and as a professor, she couldn’t memorize the names of all the students. However, Jang Yeon-Ju and Roh Jun-Yeop were very famous.

The granddaughter of the Bow Saint and a genius bow with a great talent in marksmanship—they were on bad terms and often caused incidents, so the names of the two people were familiar to Lee So-Yeong.

That also meant she knew both of them were second-year students.

Senior Jang Yeon-Ju?

“Why is Roh Jun-Yeop just Roh Jun-Yeop while Jang Yeon-Ju is a senior?”

In the Lion’s Castle, the school atmosphere was quite free, yet the son of the Yaksha, of all people, was treating someone as a senior just because she was older? This was a very dangerous sign.

“You... Are you targeting her?”

“Huh?”

“The Yaksha’s son can’t be swayed by looks alone... ”

Was he aiming for a relationship with the Bow Saint? Was he calling her a senior every time to gain her favor and win her over?

Lee So-Yeong’s expression became more serious.

This was a young girl’s life.

The life of the granddaughter of the Bow Saint was about to fall into the gutter, so she was worried in many ways.

“......”

Jae-Hyeok’s expression became cold. This professor started mumbling to herself just as they were about to have an important conversation. Once her mutters started to get off topic, he gradually started to realize something.

This person isn’t in her right mind.

In fact, he’d had doubts from the time he met her in the teachers’ lounge.

No, thinking back, he’d had doubts from the first moment he’d met her. It was unlikely that a teacher who shoved cream puffs into her mouth while teaching class would be sane.

He just hadn’t wanted to admit it.

Jae-Hyeok respected her.

“I don’t care about others, but Jang Yeon-Ju isn’t possible. The whole school would be turned upside down if her grandfather lost his temper. You don’t even plan to take responsibility for her! Just relying on that flashy face of yours... Hiccup!”

Lee So-Yeong was admonishing Jae-Hyeok while remembering Kang Dae-Seong during his promiscuous student days, only to hiccup.

She noticed Jae-Hyeok’s cold expression. No emotions could be read in his eyes. They were so similar to the Yaksha’s eyes that it sobered her up.

Jae-Hyeok said, “Forget it, just tell me how to solve the problem. Personally, I think the easiest solution is to stay here and wait until the beastman returns. Then, ambush and kill him. What do you think, Professor?”

Murder.

Even players who hunted hundreds of thousands of monsters couldn’t say it so carelessly.

“Hehe.” Lee So-Yeong stared at the boy who’d mentioned murder so casually, and laughed awkwardly. She really didn’t want to leave a bad impression on him.

“That method won’t work. Beastmen have highly developed hearing and smell as well as a strong sixth sense. There’s a high probability he will immediately notice any changes in his hideout. Instead of waiting here, we should go find a bald guy.”

“Why are you suddenly mentioning a bald guy?”

The mention of a bald person made Jae-Hyeok think of Kim Jin-Myeong. It was a very natural flow of thought.

Lee So-Yeong read his thoughts clearly and explained, “I don’t mean a bald spot, but a completely hairless guy. The owner of this territory must’ve been thorough with his hair removal. He might even have no eyebrows...”

“Um... ”

“Leave it to me. I’ll secure the profile pictures of the faculty members and pick out the bald ones. By then, it might be surprisingly easy to find the beastman.”

“He might be mixed in with the students. I’ll investigate them.”

“No. Leave that to me, too. How long would it take to investigate the students by yourself?”

“I have many people. They will help too.”

His teammates, the Shooting Club, his classmates in Class B, and Kim Jin-Myeong and Park Joo-Bong—Jae-Hyeok had many people he could ask for help. And if that wasn’t enough, he could also borrow Noble’s power since they were in his hands now, too

In addition... Jae-Hyeok wore a faint smile as he recalled the face of the vice president of the Student Council, Ban Hee-Yeol.

Lee So-Yeong gulped nervously.

He’s already gained slaves.

***

Bae Eo-Jin was a member of the third team of the Second Attack Squad and famous for his sharp senses.

Lately, he had been obsessed with Kang Jae-Hyeok.

The Death Knight’s Troll Lord hijacking incident and the tamed monsters’ attack on Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals shared only one point in common, and that was that Kang Jae-Hyeok had been at the scene.

It might be a simple coincidence, but Bae Eo-Jin wanted to investigate it in detail. However, where his attack squad was stationed was almost completely isolated from the students. And he was so busy lately that he couldn’t find a chance to go off and observe Kang Jae-Hyeok.

“Uh? That guy?”

But today, Bae Eo-Jin had been returning to the headquarters of the attack squad when he’d spotted Kang Jae-Hyeok. The boy was standing before the doors of a tall white building.

“The Student Council? What business would a first-year student have with the Student Council?”

Bae Eo-Jin’s eyes narrowed as he thought this.

The Student Council members probably sensed something, just like me.

Although the Student Council was composed of students, it was an organization with guaranteed independent rights.

If Lion’s Castle were divided into three major factions, they would be the Foundation, the armed forces, and the Student Council.

The Student Council is a place where many talented people are gathered. It’s not surprising they noticed suspicious things about Kang Jae-Hyeok.

Bae Eo-Jin clicked his tongue as he watched Jae-Hyeok enter the building.

Since he couldn’t step in himself, things would become rather boring. But he would wait for as long as he could—

“What’s this?”

Suddenly, Bae Eo-Jin doubted his eyes.

The vice president of the Student Council, Ban Hee-Yeol.

This arrogant, aristocratic boy, who usually rode on a palanquin, was being dragged out of the building with his ear in Jae-Hyeok’s hand.

“Hah, really.”

What bullshit about it being boring? A large smile spread across Bae Eo-Jin’s face as he extinguished a cigarette butt.