Chapter 1- Something Wrong with this Development (1)
7 AM.
The phone alarm rang.
I was working on documents at the lab earlier than usual, turned off the phone alarm and opened the desk drawer.
Inside the drawer were several medicine bottles and pills packaged by date.
“Cough…!”
These are the lung disease medications that torment me endlessly.
After taking the medicine, I grabbed my coat and left the lab.
Today was the freshman orientation day.
All professors had to go to the main entrance to welcome the new students.
After closing the lab door, I stood for a moment looking at the nameplate on the door.
‘Professor Gyo Su-hyeon, Basic Defense Studies’. [Jin-ju Gyo clan (晋州 橋氏)]
The three characters of my name engraved on the silver nameplate feel very unfamiliar.
That’s because until recently, I had nothing to do with things like the academy or basic defense studies.
What happened was what people commonly call ‘possession’.
The trigger for all this was as follows.
A new web novel platform ‘Marvelpia’, or Mafia for short. [TL/N: 😉]
It all started when I left a comment on a completed novel there.
The novel was what’s commonly called a ‘low-view novel’, with over 100 chapters but less than 50,000 views.
The main content was about events at an academy that trains heroes to fight villains.
It was good that it followed trends, but something about it felt a bit amateurish.
The final chapter even had single-digit views with only one comment: ‘Thank you for your hard work until completion’.
I was the one who left that comment.
And when I opened my eyes, I was in the world of the novel.
What kind of situation is this?
If there’s any consolation, it’s that I DID NOT possess a minor character with a miserable end like ‘a villain destined to die by the heroine’s hand’, but rather an academy professor.
This Professor Gyo Su-hyeon I possessed was the heroine’s advisor in the original work.
A quiet professor who teaches basic defense.
Basic defense refers to methods of protecting oneself from various villain attacks, including strengthening one’s body to build resistance to physical attacks or learning to resist mental attacks.
This Professor Gyo I possessed was once a hero, but because his abilities were biased toward defense, he didn’t receive much attention.
This was because his role was mainly supporting other heroes rather than acting alone.
As soon as I possessed him, I looked for the original heroine, but surprisingly, she hadn’t even enrolled in the academy yet.
What’s funny is that this unknown lung disease I’m suffering from now wasn’t in the original story at all.
There’s not even a status window or quests.
I really don’t know what’s going on here.
“Hello, Professor Gyo?”
As I was walking down the hallway, someone called out to me from behind.
When I turned around, Professor Jin Se-young, who specializes in Flight and Guidance Studies, was approaching with quick steps.
Bob-cut hair and a puppy-like cute face.
Today, instead of her usual shabby tracksuit or flight suit, she was wearing a formal suit.
Perhaps because of that, her distinctive curves seemed particularly prominent.
The front buttons of her blouse looked ready to burst with just a deep breath, and beneath her black stockings, firm muscles were visible on her thighs.
It seemed like she was born with a natural build for flying.
“Professor Jin. Hello.”
“How are you feeling today?”
“I’m fine. I had milk with medicine this morning, and I’m feeling quite energetic.”
Though it was a silly joke, Professor Jin Se-young hit my shoulder while laughing heartily.
“Then you must always be full of energy?”
Professor Jin smiled with her eyes while winking.
I’m not unaware of the hidden meaning in those words.
But I wasn’t flustered by Professor Jin’s bold remarks.
It was because my ‘mental barrier’ firmly rejected it.
“That would be nice, cough! But as you can see, I’m not feeling well at all.”
“Come to my lab sometime. I’ve gotten some tea that’s good for coughs. I’ll brew it for you myself when you come.”
“Alright. Thank you for always being considerate.”
When I smiled, Professor Jin showed a somewhat worried expression.
“But Professor Gyo, why don’t you just stay inside after telling the department head? The outside air is cold, won’t your cough get worse?”
“It’s fine. It’s not just me going out, the entire faculty department is going.”
“Heh, as expected, Professor Gyo is so proper.”
Professor Jin, who was grinning, clapped her hands as if remembering something.
“Ah. Right. I heard that the Advisory Committee Chairman’s child is enrolling today. Yu Hee-won, I think…”
“Is that so?”
The original work’s heroine is enrolling at today’s entrance ceremony.
The person I want to meet first by going to the main gate.
It seems that the student is Yu Hee-won.
“But Professor Gyo. Will you really be alright? Other professors and I can go out, so maybe you should skip it and rest for a while.”
“It’s fine. After all, we’re meeting the students we’ll be teaching.”
Actually, I don’t feel that way at all.
I just want to meet the heroine who’s coming today as soon as possible.
The heroine who was my Advisory Student in the original work.
When I meet her, something new might happen.
Like receiving a quest or other common clichés.
“Ah… I see… Professor Gyo…”
But Professor Jin, who doesn’t know that far, brightened her eyes while clasping her hands together as if praying, touched by my words.
“Don’t worry, Professor Gyo! I’ll keep you warm so you won’t shiver in the cold!”
“Haha, okay.”
I politely pushed away Professor Jin who tried to hug me and walked towards the main gate.
It’s time to meet the original heroine.
When I meet her, whether it’s a quest or awakening, something will change.
Anything is fine.
I’m prepared for whatever comes.
And several hours later.
I experienced something so unbelievable I couldn’t even express it.
So…
That strange and coincidental meeting was probably the beginning of everything.
* * *
It’s really cold. It’s still more winter than spring, a very chilly morning.
While standing at the main gate shivering, new students started flooding in.
Excited about new beginnings, nervous, or thoughtless, some even crying about leaving their parents for dormitory life.
The new students entered through the main gate with various expressions according to their situations and emotions.
This is ‘Graford’, considered the best among hero training academies.
Among those many students, very few will safely graduate to become heroes, and even fewer will become ‘high-rank’ heroes.
For them, this academy isn’t a place where they can laugh and enjoy like other normal schools, but a place where they must prove themselves through fierce competition and tests.
It would be burdensome even for adults, so how scared and nervous must those young-looking children be.
We stood at the main gate, waving and making eye contact to welcome such students.
Most of the new students passing in front of me, especially female students, kept glancing this way.
Some students even stopped to peek at me while whispering and laughing among themselves.
The new students wouldn’t know who I am or what subject I teach, so it must be because of my face.
What I couldn’t get used to after possessing this body was my appearance.
My pale and shadowed face due to my sickly body rather creates a decadent beauty in harmony with the thin lines of my features.
I don’t really like receiving unnecessary attention.
“Professor Jin. Let’s switch places.”
I turned to look at Professor Jin Se-young to retreat to the edge, but Professor Jin was openly staring at me.
“Professor Jin.”
“Yes… Ah, yes?! What did you say?”
“No. It’s nothing.”
I turned my gaze back to the new students from Professor Jin.
While halfheartedly waving, I examined their faces one by one.
The original heroine. Let’s see…
She was described as a beautiful blonde, so she should definitely stand out.
That’s when someone suddenly popped out from the crowd passing in front of me.
I caught them with both arms as they were about to fall towards me, but they were heavier than expected and I staggered.
“Ah, I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I kept getting pushed…”
It was a girl with ordinary features, jet-black hair and glasses.
The girl wearing a colorless hoodie and black pants was all black from head to toe.
She seemed just as surprised by the sudden situation, continuously apologizing while escaping from my arms as if running away.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay.”
The girl, who kept bowing her head with a timid voice, disappeared back into the crowd.
I wonder if she’s too passive to be here.
Professor Jin touched my arm in surprise.
“Professor, are you alright? You were swaying.”
“I’m fine.”
Just then, there was a commotion from the other side.
Looking back, the new students were parting to create a path.
Men in black suits were pushing the new students aside randomly.
Behind them, several reporters from broadcasting stations could be seen following.
At the focus of the reporters’ attention was an impossibly beautiful blonde woman.
I could tell without having to check.
So this is the heroine of the original work.
Yu Hee-won, who had almost reached the main gate, turned back and said.
“You can go back now, Dad. I’ll go in by myself.”
The man standing behind Yu Hee-won replied in a dignified voice.
“I have a meeting scheduled with the dean. Let’s go in together.”
“Alright then.”
Yu Hee-won walked with clicking heels along the path created by the retreating new students, wearing an arrogant expression.
Complex gazes filled with both admiration and jealousy followed her.
“That’s her. She was truly born to stand out. That man must be her father, the Advisory Committee Chairman of the Management Bureau.”
Professor Jin turned to me and asked.
“What do you think, Professor Gyo?”
“What do you mean?”
“About being her advisor. There must be quite a few professors who want to be her academic advisor. I heard she already has professional-level skills from early education and natural talent. Plus, her father was once a top hero and is now a big shot at the Management Bureau. Just being in charge of her would be a great career achievement, though it might be a bit tiring.”
“Well, not just anyone can be an advisor to such a student.”
“True… You’ve never taken on any Advisory Student until now, Professor Gyo.”
Is that so?
I had assumed I didn’t have any Advisory Students because of my recovery, but that was the reason.
Actually, how things were before doesn’t matter much.
Because I’m going to become that child’s advisor this year.
“That’s part of it.”
While agreeing appropriately with Professor Jin, I kept my eyes on Yu Hee-won.
Well then, novice writer.
What kind of quest will you give?
Should I help that child eliminate all the villains? Or must we overcome some desperate crisis together?
As Yu Hee-won got closer to us, I even felt somewhat tense.
Despite being an authority on mental defense who never wavers, I must have sensed this was a moment that could determine the fate of someone who’s possessed.
However, contrary to my expectations, no quest window or anything similar appeared even as Yu Hee-won passed through the main gate and turned this way.
What’s going on?
While quickly thinking about what this situation meant, Yu Hee-won approached with clicking heels, looking straight at me.
Standing right in front of me, Yu Hee-won looked up with a confident smile and spoke.
“Are you Professor Gyo Su-hyeon?”
