Chapter 15 – GOY 15

#15

After ​explaining ​the ​theory ​and ​basic ​posture for shooting, ​Professor ​Oh ​immediately ​began ​the training.

The shooting practice ​proceeded ​in order of ​rank.

As an S-Class, ​I ​was ​first. ​Among ​the ​currently enrolled students, ​I ​was ​the only S-Class ​Guide.

Even when training by ​rank, students ​are usually ​grouped with ​A-Class, but ​Professor ​Oh ​insisted that I ​shoot alone.

He ​probably wanted to find ​some trivial fault and ​earn a reputation for ​delivering cutting ​remarks ​even to an S-Class. Having suffered ​under him all last ​year, ​his ​behavioral ​patterns ​were transparent to ​me.

He had ​picked ​fights over absurd ​things ​during the theory lessons; how ​much more ​would ​he find to ​criticize ​during ​practical ​training? ​He was ​likely ​thrilled inside.

I ​took the practice semi-automatic pistol and stood ​before the target.

It ​wasn’t an ordinary ​handgun, but a special ​weapon crafted ​from minerals harvested ​from ​gates.

Normally, the bullets ​should also be ​made from ​mana ​stones, but ​cheaper ​metal products ​were ​used for ​practice.

The ​uniforms ​of the Esper ​Academy ​were [visit our site]white ​for ​Guides ​and ​black for Espers. Not [stolen content][stolen content]only the colors, but the materials and structures differed slightly.

While the Esper uniforms focused on mobility, the Guide uniforms emphasized aesthetics. Perhaps that was why the shoulder area felt a bit uncomfortable.

As I rotated my shoulders to adjust my posture, a thunderous shout flew my way without fail.

“Focus! Are you going to leisurely shake your shoulders while a monster is right in front of you!”

It was a complete fabrication.

The standby signal hadn’t even gone off yet. If I didn’t adjust my posture now, when was I supposed to do it?

However, this was a man who had once criticized me even for the type of ballpoint pen I used. Compared to last year, this was nothing.

Beep beep.

The standby signal sounded. I aimed the muzzle toward the target.

Then, following the start signal, I fired.

All ten shots hit the mark with ease.

It would be a lie to say my skills hadn’t rusted since I had once received a reward vacation for shooting in my past life; rather, it was the result of practicing in my spare time since last year.

As I finished shooting, small bursts of applause broke out here and there.

“Wow.”

“Lee Yeon-soo is good.”

“As expected of an S-Class. He’s on a different level.”

“He’s seriously impressive.”

They were chatting among themselves, but I could hear everything. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I scratched my temple, only for Professor Oh to bark sharply.

“Do not be complacent.”

When was I being complacent?

Though it was absurd, Professor Oh continued relentlessly.

“Because you are an S-Class, you’ve had more opportunities than others. Therefore, it is only natural that you hit all these targets. In a gate, you must deal with moving monsters. It is ridiculous to be smug over something like this.”

It is true that S-Classes get many opportunities. They can sign contracts with conglomerates at a young age and receive training perfectly tailored to them under corporate support.

However, since I hadn’t signed a contract with anywhere, I didn’t fit the example Professor Oh was describing.

The reason I got a perfect score today was the result of practicing since last year.

Since a few facilities, such as the physical training room and the shooting range, could be used outside of class hours, I went to train whenever I had spare time.

Any enrolled student could practice regardless of rank, so it wasn’t a privilege I received for being an S-Class.

But since I didn’t want to argue every single point in this setting, I gave a polite nod and returned to my spot.

Next was the A-Class turn.

Kang In-ho got a perfect 10 on all shots, while Jeong Sang-cheol was in the 4-point range.

“Kang In-ho, you’re too rushed. Jeong Sang-cheol, focus a bit more. Your posture is good.”

Professor Oh picked on Kang In-ho, who, like me, was an uncontracted Guide. Then, he gave forced praise to Jeong Sang-cheol, the main culprit of today’s verbal abuse and whose scores were a mess.

Good posture, my foot. His body was wobbling every time he fired because he couldn’t handle the recoil; I guess the mistakes of the Association Vice Chairman’s nephew were invisible to him.

He was that kind of person in the original story, too.

In The Swamp of the Guide, Professor Oh showered Lee Yeon-soo with praise regardless of what he did. He was flattering him because he was the exclusive guide to the youngest son of the Seong Han Group.

The original Lee Yeon-soo relied only on his rank, didn’t put in any effort, and was said to have terrible skills. But I was different. I had worked tirelessly for the past seven years. Thus, my skills would be far superior to the original. However, the current Professor Oh only found faults in everything I did.

After that, the B-Class Guides’ shooting followed.

Most scores hovered around 5 points, and there were no perfect scores.

Yet, Professor Oh’s evaluation was generous.

“For your first time, this is well done. Since this is your first attempt.”

“Do not be discouraged. Mid-ranks haven’t had the chance to hone their skills. It is not your fault.”

“Shooting is unrelated to rank. Effort is everything. You’ll get better soon.”

If I felt like even those words were strangely targeting me, it must have just been my imagination.

Professor Oh’s only redeeming quality was that his lectures ended quickly.

To have both Jeong Sang-cheol and Professor Oh together… I wanted to drop the class immediately. Or move to another section.

However, practical training classes were determined by various conditions, including rank, trait, and matching rate. If one person moved, it would affect other students, so changing was not easy. For the same reason, dropping was also difficult.

Given the situation with Joo Seung-hyuk, I desperately wanted to take a leave of absence until the point where the original story ended, but the Esper Academy was similar to the military, making a leave of absence impossible unless there were extraordinary circumstances.

“Yeon-soo.”

“Oh, Noona.”

Ji-hee noona, dressed in her uniform, was walking toward me.

“Are you on your way to training too?”

“No, I’m finished.”

“What class is it that’s already over?”

“Shooting. Professor Oh’s class.”

“Ah.”

As soon as the name ‘Professor Oh’ came up, she nodded as if she understood perfectly.

“That must have been incredibly annoying.”

“Yeah. I can’t even put it into words.”

“I know, I know. That man picks one person to torture in every single lecture.”

Ji-hee noona was the highest-ranked among the third-years and came from a small guild, which made her a target for Professor Oh. A large part of why we became close was the shared sympathy of being tormented by him.

“Yeah. And then he gives good grades.”

“Exactly. He gives good grades. It makes it so you can’t even complain about it anywhere.”

Despite everything, Professor Oh gave good grades. The emails he sent after the semester ended were an added bonus.

I have high expectations for student Lee Yeon-soo. That is why I believe I was stricter. I trust you understand a teacher’s heart in cherishing his disciple.

It was roughly that kind of content. Ji-hee noona said she received similar emails.

He used relatively easy targets among the High-ranking Ability Users to boost his own popularity, but since he didn’t want to make enemies, he played the “mentor” card.

“Sigh, hang in there. Since he threw a fit today, he’ll probably be quiet for a while.”

“Yeah. He’ll be dormant for about fifteen days.”

Professor Oh’s rule was to rest for about two weeks, cause a scene again to manage his image, and then rest for another two weeks.

“I heard that man is going to the Center; I hope he stops bullying the kids and just disappears quickly.”

“He’s going to the Center?”

“Apparently, he’s going somewhere prestigious. He’s been bragging about it everywhere. It’s not certain, but the Center is the most likely. The keywords for this administration are reform and innovation. So there’s a rumor that Professor Oh will be inaugurated as the new Center Director.”

“Reform and innovation? Professor Oh?”

“He’s been talking a lot on TV. He’s exploding in popularity with the public.”

Professor Oh frequently appeared on current affairs programs and variety shows, gaining popularity by criticizing High-ranking Ability Users without hesitation and giving them “bitter medicine.”

There was no sincerity, only hypocritical words to gain popularity, but the public loved it.

“What did the people at the Center do to deserve this.”

I wanted to send my deepest condolences to the High-ranking Ability Users at the Center.

They probably chose the Center out of patriotism and a sense of duty, turning down sweet offers from conglomerates, only to fall as sacrificial lambs for Professor Oh’s ambition.

He would undoubtedly try to gain popularity there by hounding High-ranking Ability Users.

“If that man goes to the Center, I’m absolutely not going.”

My desire to go to the Center was already only about 10%, but hearing that Professor Oh might go there caused it to plummet to 0%.

“Right, don’t go. Why be a civil servant? There are countless places trying to scout you. Just pick and choose and go where they treat you the best.”

“Yeah. I will.”

“By the way, our Yeon-soo, Yeon-soo.”

The corners of Ji-hee noona’s mouth curled up.

“Why are you looking at me so scary?”

“Our Yeon-soo must have something to tell Noona.”

“Ah, I couldn’t give back the money you gave me yesterday. I was going to give it today.”

“Just how fun was yesterday that the sharp Lee Yeon-soo forgot about it?”

No. I didn’t forget because it was fun, but because I was scared.

But no matter how close I was with Ji-hee noona, I couldn’t tell her that.

The original Joo Seung-hyuk puts even the people around Kim Joon in danger just to possess him.

Since Joo Seung-hyuk’s obsession is now directed at me, Ji-hee noona might also be put in danger.

“It’s not like that.”

“It’s not?”

“Yeah…”

“Then you’re nothing more than just friends?”

I wanted to say that. But if I spoke prematurely and that fact reached Joo Seung-hyuk’s ears, it would be a disaster.

“…I’ll tell you later. Once things are a bit more certain.”

I should tell her after I’m certainly dumped. Once he meets the main uke, Joo Seung-hyuk’s obsession will disappear…

“Alright. Let me know when it’s certain.”

Ji-hee noona didn’t pry any further.