Academy’s Villain Professor-Chapter 146 : Chapter 146

Chapter 146 : Teleportation (2)
Hocheol, having left the cafeteria, immediately contacted the number on the business card.
As it happened, the owner of the card was also at work despite the vacation, so he was able to explain the situation and set up a meeting right away.
Following the directions, he arrived at a building on the outskirts of the academy.
"Here?"
Hocheol muttered doubtfully as he looked at the building.
Unlike the hero department buildings—Augmentation, Manipulation, Emission, etc.
Which were conveniently located in one block, the 'Unusual' trait department building was completely isolated.
And the exterior of the building was not very impressive either.
While the buildings of the other departments all had a strong character, this modest design of red bricks was a common sight anywhere.
Anyone passing by would probably think it was a building for general administrative staff.
In any case, he entered the building, found the room number he had heard on the phone, and stood in front of the door.
He knocked lightly, and a voice came from inside the door almost immediately.
Of course, it was the same voice he had heard on the phone.
"Come in."
As on the phone, the tone and the end of the words were drawn out, as if he had just woken up.
I don't think I get along well with this kind of personality.
Thinking that, Hocheol opened the door.
No, he tried to open it.
Creak—thud—
He had barely opened it enough to fit a finger through.
The door made a thud sound and stopped.
Of course, he could have forced his way in, but.
This was someone else's office door, so he couldn't just break it down.
As Hocheol was contemplating, the voice came again.
"Ah, just a moment."
He heard the sound of someone tidying up something on the other side of the door.
Only then did the door open smoothly.
Inside the office, a woman greeted him.
The sole professor of the Unusual trait department.
Although she was only one person, she was in charge of a whole department, so she also served as the department head.
Her hair, which reached down to her waist, was disheveled and sticking out here and there, completely unmanaged.
The white doctor's coat was stained with various colors, and could have been mistaken for a work of modern art.
Deep dark circles under the professor's eyes reached almost to her cheeks.
No, maybe it wasn't dark circles, but just a bad complexion.
Perhaps the long, drawn-out ends of her words were not due to her personality, but simply because she was tired.
"Nice to meet you. You're the vice-department head of the Augmentation department."
Even with her gesture to come in, Hocheol couldn't bring himself to step inside.
A mess would be an insult to messes.
It was a chaotic scene reminiscent of a garbage dump.
"Ah, um."
The Unusual trait department professor, having read the atmosphere to some extent, kicked the surrounding area with her foot.
With each kick, a space for one step appeared.
"Come in this way."
He finally followed the path she had created and sat down opposite her.
The sofa was also quite dirty, and he slightly regretted not wearing old clothes.
At least the things dirtying the floor were just dust and books, so it didn't smell too bad.
She seems to be diligent about ventilation.
"So. Ah, excuse me."
The professor sitting on the sofa opposite him suddenly turned her head to the side and let out a long yawn.
"Sorry. I pulled an all-nighter."
"...You're not an awakened person, I take it?"
Hocheol asked, surprised.
No matter the department, their stamina was on a completely different level from ordinary people.
There were very few who would look like they were about to die just from pulling one all-nighter.
There were a few professors who were not former heroes, but the professor in front of him was the first case of someone who was not even an awakened person.
The professor nodded obediently.
"Yes, I'm not an awakened person. I was researching unusual traits outside and was scouted by Clinton."
"Well, they can't just make anyone a professor just because they have an unusual trait."
Even within the same field, there was a mountain of things to know when analyzing traits in detail.
That's why they gave the title of professor to experts in the same field who at least knew the 'feel' of it.
But the unusual trait, despite its name, was just a hodgepodge of miscellaneous things that were ambiguous to fit into the other three fields.
And the sample size was so small that the training and education of this unusual trait was incomparably more difficult than the other three fields.
It was perhaps a natural course of action to invite a scholar as a professor to a position that purely researched how to analyze and train students' traits.
"Anyway, back to the main topic. You're putting together a physical training program for all the undergraduate students."
"Yes."
Hocheol answered shortly.
Of course, his real purpose was the academy student presumed who had run off with the money bag from Wolf Fang today.
But he couldn't just say that, could he?
Of course, he had prepared a plausible reason.
But to say it was a complete lie would be untrue.
This was exactly what the department head of the Augmentation department, that old man, had asked Hocheol to do with him.
It had been pushed back in priority because there were so many other things, but now that this had come up, he might as well take care of it.
"The department head of the Augmentation department strongly insists that students from all other departments, besides the Augmentation department, must also undergo physical training as a requirement."
"The Augmentation department head, you mean that person? The one who tries to make you exercise as soon as he meets you."
"Have you actually met him?"
"Yes. When I told him I wasn't an awakened person, he..."
The professor looked to the side.
Amidst the mess, in a corner, two pink dumbbells were neatly placed.
"He gave them to me as a gift. I use them sometimes."
Of course, judging by the dust on them, one had to wonder what the standard for 'sometimes' was, but it wasn't a question worth asking, so he kept his mouth shut.
"Physical strength is a prerequisite for unusual traits as well, isn't it?"
"Yes. There are quite a few cases where physical problems become an obstacle to the growth of an unusual trait. The purpose of the lecture is very good."
The professor's reaction to Hocheol's words was quite favorable.
There were cases where the growth of physical strength did not directly benefit a trait.
However, there were never any cases where improved physical strength was a disadvantage.
"But don't you need to get some cooperation from the other departments as well?"
"Not only Augmentation, but also Manipulation and Emission have already given a positive answer."
Of course, it wasn't an official position.
But since Se-ah and the dean had agreed when he had casually mentioned that physical strength was the most basic and essential for students, wasn't that the same thing?
If a problem arose, he could just say 'never mind' and move on.
He, who had unknowingly created a consensus at Clinton, continued his explanation.
An integrated physical enhancement project that spanned all departments and years.
It couldn't be held weekly like a regular lecture, but the gist was to hold it at least once a month in the form of a special lecture.
"But there will be a lot of noise if you proceed with something like this."
She spread her palm and placed her index and middle fingers on her lips.
She asked as she gently rubbed her lips.
"Isn't there any opposition from other departments or within Augmentation?"
"That's a problem we can sufficiently handle."
In fact, this was the very reason why the Augmentation department head had only been envisioning this large-scale lecture for several years and had not actually implemented it.
Such a large-scale lecture, and a mandatory one at that, required the consent and cooperation of other departments.
But currently, a fierce political power struggle is taking place within Clinton.
No matter how neutral the Augmentation department was.
No, precisely because they were neutral, it was difficult to rashly approve a large-scale lecture that could shift the balance of power.
If the professor in charge, whether from the union or the dean's faction, leaned even slightly to one side, the precarious balance of power would completely collapse.
But with Hocheol's existence, a new possibility had opened up.
A professor who was a member of the union, yet met with the dean privately more often than any other professor at Clinton.
Thanks to this strange relationship, he could maintain his neutrality more than anyone else, and could also minimize the opposition from both the union and the dean's faction.
"I see. Then will the lectures start right from next semester?"
"Yes."
In fact, Hocheol had intended to refuse the proposal.
He was already overwhelmed with teaching the students in his charge, and now he was supposed to conduct a large-scale lecture on top of that?
No matter how much it was a special lecture rather than a weekly one, it was not an easy task.
But he had decided to receive a corresponding reward for it.
"Then we'll need to coordinate with our lecture schedule to some extent. Please send me an official document later."
"I understand. Ah, and could I see the students' physical fitness results in advance?"
Hocheol revealed his true purpose.
It was called a physical fitness results sheet, but since it was included in the card, it was not much different from saying he would look at the entire card.
And the card contained all the detailed personal traits of the students.
If he had asked for the personal files from the beginning, she would never have given them, but now she didn't even have any suspicion.
According to Se-ah, there were no students with a teleportation trait anyway.
Of course, it wasn't that he didn't trust her, but she could have been mistaken or hadn't heard, couldn't she?
If it was such a closed-off department, it wouldn't be strange for it to be confidential.
The professor stood up from her chair.
"Please wait a moment."
The student roster and cards she brought were extremely thin.
The number of students was only about a dozen.
Even with all three years combined, it was just a little over 40.
Thanks to that, he was able to quickly check all the students' traits.
And the result.
There was no teleportation trait in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd years.
Hocheol scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
It wasn't just teleportation, but there were no traits that acted like or looked like teleportation either.
It seems I've completely barked up the wrong tree.
"Is there a problem?"
Of course, he couldn't be honest, so Hocheol brought out the other answer he had thought of.
"Their physical fitness is quite poor."
"Unfortunately, yes."
This is going to be a lot of trouble.
In the worst case, Wolf Fang's nose was just crooked from the start.
Should I just not bother looking and let the Association catch them?
This could be a pleasant miscalculation.
Honestly, he was only moving to solve it on his own before the academy was branded as a villain training ground.
Now that he had confirmed that there were no criminals among the students, there was no need for him to make any further effort.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Then I'll be going..."
For a moment, Hocheol stopped speaking and turned his head back with a whip.
With his body half-turned, he glared at the door.
No, to be precise, at the woman who was holding the doorknob and coming in.
"Et."
The woman flinched in surprise.
Her black hair was disheveled and framed her shoulders, and her pale skin, in contrast, faintly reflected the light, making it look even more transparent.
"Uh, ah, hello?"
She met Hocheol's eyes and greeted him with an awkward smile.
"Who is this person?"
The professor answered instead.
"She's the only staff member in the department."
"A teaching assistant?"
"No. Not that. She's like an assistant I hired personally. There's just too much for me to do alone."
Hocheol stared at the assistant without a word.
The gloomy and desolate atmosphere she exuded was outside his interest.
He was simply amazed.
Even though she was standing right in front of him, her presence was so faint.
The reason he had glanced back a moment ago was because he was surprised by the sudden presence.
No, he hadn't felt a presence until the end.
If it hadn't been for the sound of the door opening, he might not have noticed until she was right behind him.
And even now, looking at her right in front of him, her presence was so faint.
"A trait that erases one's presence... is it?"
The assistant answered in a soft voice.
"Uh, ah. Yes. It's like a remnant of my trait. I'm always this unnoticeable. Actually, I was a Clinton student too. It's not a very suitable trait for a hero, so I gave up quickly."
The assistant laughed awkwardly.
"Gave up?"
"I dropped out. I was a sophomore until last year. Actually, it's called dropping out, but nobody picked me for the internship..."
"Dropped out."
Hocheol bent his index finger and rubbed his cheek.
Actually, dropping out was fine.
If she could erase her presence to the point where it was difficult for him to perceive it with just the remnants of her trait, how amazing would it be if she activated that trait at full power?
Wouldn't it look like she had disappeared from right in front of his eyes?
So that's why it took so long for her to reappear, for a teleporter.
Of course it took a long time, she was running around on her own two feet.
Since she was practically a resident at the academy, even the condition Wolf Fang had presented matched.
Hocheol stood up from his seat.
Then he approached the assistant and smiled warmly.
"I have a student in my charge who was also leaning heavily towards dropping out. I have a few questions I'd like to ask, could we talk privately?"
It seemed he had found the culprit.
A few minutes later.
Hocheol, who was sitting on a bench near the building, looked back.
It was a good thing the assistant had openly revealed her presence, or he wouldn't have even noticed her approaching.
"It's a really strange trait."
No presence, and even looking at her right in front of him required considerable concentration to perceive.
It wasn't just difficult to see with the eyes.
The stealth that blocked not only the five senses, but also the sixth sense, was one of the most unusual and bizarre types Hocheol had ever seen.
"What's the name of the trait?"
The assistant shyly turned her head away.
"The name is just unnecessarily grand."
"Unnecessarily grand? It's so useful. Thanks to it..."
Hocheol smirked.
"You earned over a billion in one go."
She, who had followed him without any particular thought, froze on the spot.