I Became a Swordsmanship Instructor at the Academy 45

Became a swordsmanship instructor at the academy

Chapter 45

After the eventful vacation ended, two weeks have already passed since school reopened.

The hot summer has passed, and nowadays a cool breeze blows.

Though today, autumn rain is falling.

DRIZZLE DRIZZLE!

I’ve been extremely busy over the past two weeks.

The beginning of the semester means a lot of paperwork, and regarding the lawsuit, although the lawyer takes care of most things, there are quite a few matters I need to pay attention to.

On top of that, I also have to look after my master, so even having two bodies wouldn’t be enough, but fortunately, Deathpatch raised the white flag yesterday.

The lawyers said Deathpatch wouldn’t agree to mediation, but contrary to expectations, Deathpatch agreed to follow the conditions we submitted to the mediation committee as they were.

Apparently, the malicious commenters I sued have united to file a lawsuit against Deathpatch, and it seems they’ve decided to focus on that rather than fight with us when there’s no chance of winning.

They weren’t originally a major media outlet, and after the false reports, many advertisements were cut off, so their financial situation is bad. I never really expected to receive all the compensation, but if I had known it would be like this, I would have asked for about 1 billion won.

Things ended like that with Deathpatch, but I’m still suing the malicious commenters.

At first, many people argued that they only commented after seeing the incorrect article and that this was too harsh, so I told them to ignore it all.

Because there were people who saw the same article but didn’t leave such severe comments like the malicious commenters.

Unfortunately, the maximum fine is only 200.

Still, almost no one is willing to just pay it, and most want to settle.

All three lawyers advised me that settling would be better.

They said that prosecutors sometimes defer prosecution, and even if it goes to court, since they’re first-time offenders who express remorse, the fine might not even reach 200.

For those willing to pay the maximum fine of 200, they asked if I would consider settling, but that’s out of the question.

I said if I had wanted to settle, I wouldn’t have started this in the first place, and demanded that they receive punishment, whether light or severe.

If I had settled, the media might claim that I’m greedy for settlement money after already receiving a large compensation from Deathpatch.

The purpose of the lawsuit was never about money in the first place.

“Teacher Kang, it’s raining today, how about a drink after work? Seafood pancake and makgeolli. Deal?”

Teacher Park is really consistent.

I have a lot of work, and today I need to visit my master, so I declined and headed to the swordsmanship training hall after the meeting ended.

After checking my stocks and browsing the web, I notice it’s getting noisy outside.

It seems class time has arrived, so I grabbed the box I prepared last evening and went outside.

Everyone greets me respectfully, and it seems the effect of treating them to the hotel buffet last time is still lingering.

“Teacher, what’s that?”

“Something I specially prepared for all of you.”

***

“Master, do you happen to know the Three Disasters Sword Technique?”

“Three Disasters Sword Technique? Never heard of it. Why are you looking for other martial arts when you haven’t even mastered what you’re learning now?”

“Then do you perhaps not know many martial arts other than what I’ve learned?”

“I know a few from that Heaven Demon guy and that Sambong fellow, why?”

“I want to teach them to my students.”

“By students, do you mean disciples? If they’re disciples, you should teach them your martial arts, why look for others?”

“The concept of students isn’t the same as what you think of as disciples.”

“Then what is it?”

How should I explain this… Ah!

“At a martial arts academy, when you’re paid to teach martial arts, you don’t teach secret techniques, right? It’s kind of like that, but because I received some help this time, I want to teach them something usable, even if it’s not my martial arts.”

Even third-rate martial arts from my master’s world would be quite useful here.

“I understand what you mean, but I can barely remember our sect’s basic martial arts… Why don’t you just buy them some ramen?”

The kids are crazy about food like my master… Well, they are, but just buying them a meal once doesn’t seem right.

“I’ve already bought them food. Come on, it doesn’t have to be something great, don’t you know anything?”

“Hmm, it doesn’t have to be martial arts, right? I did learn something from that Sambong guy when I went to Mount Mudang…”

“Oh, what is it?”

“That Sambong guy’s martial arts were the least impressive among the three of us, but perhaps because he lived in the mountains, he was very knowledgeable about herbs and made excellent medicinal concoctions. He taught me one to give to my disciples if I ever had any…”

“Wait a minute. Master, if you had something like that, why didn’t you tell me earlier? Ack! Why are you hitting me?”

“You’ve already eaten two wild ginseng roots and still want more? It’s just something that strengthens bones and muscles and cleanses the blood vessels, so someone of your level doesn’t need it.”

“Ah, so it’s just like a tonic.”

If it’s just a tonic, I might as well get it from an herbal medicine clinic. I got my hopes up for nothing.

“It’s much better than the tonics made by random people. It’s not an elixir that increases internal energy, but the effects are definitely real. Besides, aren’t tonics expensive? The Mudang Sect pursues frugality as a Taoist school, so they’re poor. That’s why all the ingredients in his concoction are common medicinal herbs easily found in the surroundings.”

“Alright, but don’t you have anything else?”

“I’m telling you the effects are good.”

They might have been common herbs on Mount Mudang, but they might not be common in South Korea.

Even if they are common, it’s useless if they don’t have any effect.

“Price isn’t the important thing; effectiveness is. If it’s not effective enough for me to use, you wouldn’t have tried it either, so how can you be so sure?”

“Both Sambong and Heaven Demon took in disciples of similar ages, but the disciple of Sambong who just ate wild vegetables in the mountains was much taller than Heaven Demon’s disciple who was well-fed three meals a day in the Evil Cult.”

That sounds quite convincing, but if there’s only one sample, couldn’t it just be a genetic difference?

Maybe the Evil Cult’s strict training didn’t allow for much sleep at night.

There might have been exercises that stimulated growth plates in the Mudang martial arts training.

“Couldn’t Sambong’s disciple just have been constitutionally prone to growth? Like his parents had large frames…”

“Both boys had the same constitution. And do you think I would say it’s effective based on just one person? All the Mudang children who drank Sambong’s concoction were consistently tall and strong.”

So there were more samples.

That means it does have some effect…

“Still, don’t you have to consistently take such medicine for a long time?”

“Not that long, actually. Sambong said he couldn’t spend all his time gathering herbs, so he only gave it four or five times a week for about two months.”

The more I hear, the better it sounds.

Alright, since my master doesn’t know any third-rate martial arts either, I might as well give them this as a consolation.

***

“Is it a snack?”

“A drink?”

The kids who approached with expectant expressions quickly changed to disappointed looks when I opened the box.

“Teacher, I’m healthy, so I don’t need anything like a tonic.”

“I’m also not the type to take herbal medicine…”

“Teacher, I don’t want to take it either.”

“I don’t like it too.”

Look at these brats!

I put so much effort into making this.

I didn’t brew it myself and left it to a health food store, but I even consulted not only a Korean medicine doctor but also a professor of Korean medicine to make sure there wouldn’t be any side effects.

“Everyone take one packet each. Teacher prepared this thinking of you, so no exceptions.”

Everyone had reluctant expressions, but they still came forward one by one to take the medicine.

“UGH. Teacher, this is too bitter.”

“What is this made of?”

“Stop exaggerating. Good medicine is naturally bitter. I only used herbs that are good for the body, so don’t spill any and sip it all up.”

“It’s not an exaggeration, this is seriously like poison!”

“This humble one is wrongfully accused. Please reconsider your judgment!”

“Jinsu, you get an extra lap of running.”

“No… Teacher, I really think I’ll die if I drink any more of this.”

Actually, I opened a packet yesterday and threw it all away after just one sip.

Even the experts I consulted said that while all the herbs are beneficial and can be brewed together without issue, it would be too bitter like this and suggested adding licorice…

But I didn’t want to add any other herbs in case it reduced or eliminated the effectiveness.

“For the next two months, you’ll take this medicine before class.”

“T-two months?”

“How can we drink this for two whole months?”

“Teacher is trying to poison us!”

“Now, now, I’m not accepting any objections. It’s all for your own good.”

***

After finishing the afternoon classes, I have some paperwork to do, but nothing urgent, and since it’s Friday, I left work early.

I’m not planning to visit my master.

I already told my master I’d visit on Saturday last week.

I left work early today because of Choi Seo-ra.

During lunch, she contacted me saying she had something to tell me about Antas and asked to meet after work.

Since it’s Friday, we decided to meet outside instead of the usual teacher fitness center, so I quickly packed my things and went down to the parking lot.

After leaving the school, I parked my car in a corner and was about to call when she called first, being impatient as usual.

I told her my location and waited briefly before she arrived.

“Didn’t you park your car too far in the corner? It took me a while to get here.”

“It’s right in front of the school. If someone sees us, there could be misunderstandings.”

“Who cares?”

“What do you mean who cares…”

She was like this before too, sending signals despite saying she’s not interested in dating.

“Senior, you worry too much. If anyone sees us, we can just explain that we know each other because I went to Chase Guild for training. We’re not having an affair or anything.”

“Your words flow like a mountain stream. Fine, so what did you want to tell me?”

“You’ve become really famous this time, Senior. Your image has improved too. So they want me to try and recruit you again somehow.”

I actually expected this to some extent.

My abilities were revealed quite a bit during the process of clearing my name.

Most notably, during the practical evaluation last time, I handled a B-rank 10-person portal alone in just an hour.

Hwarang Guild members mentioned in an interview with the local newspaper that I use Aura Blade, so the duel with the vice principal is being revisited… There were even articles about how I killed an Ogre alone in the past.

The articles have mostly been taken down now, but this incident has made me extremely famous.

But the original Kang Shin-hyeok in the novel wasn’t like that.

While it might seem unrelated at first glance, there’s a saying called the “butterfly effect,” where small changes or minor actions can cause major changes.

I thought it was unavoidable since it was to prove my innocence, but I feel a bit lost.

I barely escaped the controversy, and now another crisis might be approaching.

“Senior?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Unlike last time, they said to use any means necessary to bring you in…”

“Don’t tell me they want to use force? Or do they want you to use your feminine charms?”

“They didn’t say that, but if nothing else works, they said to try blackmail…”

“Tell them it won’t work.”

“Then they might expose that you were once part of Antas.”

“I didn’t do anything after joining Antas. I just got scammed out of money like a fool. I’ll deny everything and say I didn’t know.”

In the past, that wouldn’t have worked at all, but the situation is different now.

This controversy hasn’t just made me famous; it’s also built me a benevolent image.

In reality, I really didn’t do anything except lose money.

“That’s true…”

Choi Seo-ra’s expression isn’t good as she answers.

Come to think of it, if I talk like that, it would put Choi Seo-ra in a difficult position.

After all, she’s the one who got me to join Antas.

“I don’t want to get involved with Antas anymore. Tell them that if they don’t bother me first, I won’t bother them either, so leave me alone.”

“…Alright.”

“Samwon Group Chairman Jung Pil-jae, Congressman Noh Gwang-sik, Ministry of Justice First Vice Minister Kim Jong-chul. This should be enough for now.”

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

“They’re all key figures in Antas Korea. Tell them that if they keep bothering me, I’ll expose not only their identities but everything else I know.”

“How did you find out about them?”

“I did my own investigation. Antas won’t act rashly either, so nothing will happen to you. So cheer up.”

Through this incident, I came to a conclusion.

I won’t cling to the original story anymore, nor will I fear changes.

Náng zhōng zhī zhuī (囊中之錐) – An awl in a pocket will eventually pierce through.

If not now, my abilities would have been revealed someday.

I’ve already done too much, and I can’t turn back time.

From the moment I met my master and learned martial arts.

No, from the moment I became Kang Shin-hyeok, the original story had already changed.