The Academy Geniuses I Raised and Dressed-Chapter 192 : Demons Class (1)

It worked.
After ending my call with Cheon Jiweon, I let out a sigh of relief.
In the game, once the civil war scenario ended, if Jiweon was still alive, there was no way to stop him from falling to the Latesai.
Near the conclusion of Phase 2, when the civil war scenario was nearly over, Jiweon was tricked by the brainwashed Nadia and lured into the Demon Realm.
The people searched everywhere for their suddenly missing mayor, but he was nowhere to be found.
Not long after, Jiweon returned—as a soldier of the Latesai—appearing in Seoul alongside the enemy.
That was the shocking start of Phase 3 of the Latesai arc.
Now, I can keep using Jiweon’s strength. More than anything, not having to fight him as one of the Latesai’s forces is huge.
When he fell to them in the game, Jiweon’s power grew even more formidable. Of course, even that version of him was eventually beatable—but only because of the protagonist’s strength.
Without a protagonist here, and with our levels still too low, I absolutely cannot allow Jiweon to fall to the Latesai.
It’s possible that, eventually, even this world’s Jiweon will be taken.
But if, before then, I can succeed in raising the kids’ levels to 150, then it won’t matter.
All right. Time to get back to work.
I sat down at my desk.
It was nearly midnight, but I had far too much to do to think of sleeping.
The most urgent task was writing up a new document to send to Kim Sangshik.
Originally, I’d planned for the kids to spend a few weeks in the Fortress Dungeon, building teamwork and adjusting to their new gear while naturally learning their growth paths.
But with Nadia’s appearance, Phase 3 could start at any time.
I had to accelerate everything drastically.
So I decided to use the two Phase 2 open-world dungeons: the Magic Tower and the Arena.
Inside those, time flowed differently. No matter how long we stayed, we would return to the moment we entered. That meant I could buy all the time needed to grind levels.
And conveniently, both dungeons contained every material necessary for magic users, melee damage dealers, and tanks.
The problem is, since I changed the plan, I now need to feed Kim Sangshik a new batch of knowledge.
I resumed typing.
Details of dangerous monsters inside the Magic Tower and the Arena.
Boss weaknesses, abilities, strategies.
Gear adjustments the kids would need in line with the new dungeons.
“Hmm… I wonder if Sangshik can memorize all this by tomorrow.”
I crossed my arms, staring at the tablet.
“Well, he should be fine. His setting is that he’s smart, after all.”
As a contrast to Jodie the musclehead, Sangshik had always been portrayed as the brains.
If it came to it, I could always help him out directly.
“There. Done.”
I sent the mail and opened a new document app.
This time, I listed supplies needed before we entered the dungeon that weekend.
Water.
Food.
Cooking gear.
A large tent.
Portable toilets and shower facilities, and so on.
It’s going to be a long haul, so I’ll demand as much as possible.
If city support fell short, I’d dip into my own funds.
This wasn’t just a week-long survival scenario in a dungeon.
This time, we had to live inside for at least a month.
After finishing the draft, I checked my to-do list.
Sent the mail to Sangshik. Prepared the for Jiweon. Finished crafting twenty sets of gear for levels 35–60. Now, the only thing left is to start making calls after dawn.
I glanced at the time displayed on the tablet.
2 a.m.
Correction: this morning.
I turned off the screen and lay down in bed.
The rest can be handled by the me who wakes up.
Saturday morning was about to begin.
As I drifted off to sleep, one thought lingered—this might be the last weekend of Phase 2.
Saturday, 2 p.m.
The members of Demons Class gathered in their hideout.
Grouped by academy around tables, the students’ eyes shone with expectation.
I had told them that today, we’d be joined by a teacher invited to guide them.
“Nam Yein.”
I turned at the voice. Jin Cheongryong was looking at me.
“What kind of teacher is coming today?”
“Could it be Abel again?”
Maria’s face glowed with anticipation.
At her words, the expressions of Muimina, Nia, and several other female trainees lit up as well.
“Most likely someone none of you have ever met before.”
“Oh…”
Maria’s face fell in an instant, and several others looked just as disappointed.
Abel was still clearly very popular.
I wondered if those kids had already forgotten the face Abel wore back then, watching our struggles with amusement.
At that moment, the back door opened.
All eyes turned toward it.
Except for my squad, everyone else wore puzzled expressions.
“Heh.”
Beside me, Meiling stifled a laugh.
The person stepping inside was a man in a suit.
Tall, with a lean frame.
At his waist hung the telltale belt and pouch of a Hunter’s inventory.
It looked strange, paired with formal attire, but no one thought it out of place. In the Latesai’s world, outfits like that were a common sight.
The real problem was his face.
“…A mask?”
“What the heck is that?”
“What’s going on??”
The students buzzed with confusion.
The man wore a wooden mask carved into the visage of a ferocious beast.
It radiated a strange, oppressive aura that silenced the room.
I told him I’d handle the disguise, but of all things, he chose that?
Did he think he needed to avoid being underestimated?
Or was Kim Sangshik’s sense of style just that twisted?
Since the game never mentioned his fashion sense, even I couldn’t be sure.
Masked like a monster, Sangshik walked forward under the barrage of stares and stopped before the whiteboard.
“Starting today, I’ll be the instructor guiding Demons Class. You can call me K.”
“K?”
“Who the heck is this guy?”
“Suspicious…”
Whispers spread.
“Teacher!”
A voice rang out—Zen, with his hand raised high.
“What is it?”
“Why are you wearing that mask?”
A blunt question, straight to the point.
“I have my reasons, but I don’t intend to tell you. The mask has nothing to do with what you need to do from now on.”
Zen pouted slightly.
“Now, let’s get straight to the point.”
Sangshik—no,
K
—raised his voice.
“Starting today, you’ll enter two of the newly appeared dungeons, one after another, and spend one month inside.”
“One month?”
“So like… eight weekends in a row?” George and Poff muttered.
“No. I mean one full month
inside
the dungeon.”
The hideout fell silent.
“What do you mean? A whole month
in
the dungeon?” Rune asked, incredulous.
“Exactly that. You’ll stay inside for a month and raise your levels to at least 150.”
This time, the silence exploded into uproar.
“150!?”
“No way.”
Zen and Rune spoke one after another.
“Hahaha! Teacher, isn’t that a bit too much?”
“The highest-level person in the world, Mayor Cheon Jiweon, is only in the nineties…”
Rio laughed as if it were a joke, while Ao looked puzzled.
Then came the sound of a chair scraping.
“Stop spouting nonsense.”
Iris had risen to her feet.
“Nam Yein. I don’t know where you dug up this shady con artist, but cut it out. Or do you think we’re just naïve little kids with no sense of reality?”
“Of course not.”
I looked her straight in the eye.
“I brought him here because I thought everyone would be pleased.”
“You thought we’d be happy to meet a fraud like him?” Iris sneered.
“Mr. K here is the one who coached our squad so we could compete in HAUT.”
“Ha. Sure he did.”
She crossed her arms. Somehow, every single one of her movements seemed designed to rile people up.
“Yein, is that true?”
Toby’s face was serious as he asked.
I nodded.
“Do you remember when you all asked me what level our squad was?”
“Oh, right.”
Rio gave a wry smile.
“It’s sixty.”
“…What?”
“Huh?”
“No way…”
Their expressions hardened.
“I said sixty.”
I repeated myself.
“That was one of the reasons we could perform so overwhelmingly well at HAUT.”
“Don’t give me that crap!” Iris shouted.
“Do you seriously believe that?”
I met her glare with one of my own.
“You fought us in HAUT. And you still think it’s nonsense?”
Iris faltered, her mouth snapping shut.
She wasn’t stupid. She knew exactly how wide the gap had been when we fought. That outburst just now was nothing but her grasping for something to argue about.
“If you really have any pride, don’t waste it picking fights with me or doubting me. If you’ve come this far, then use this opportunity to get stronger.”
The hideout fell quiet.
“…So it’s true.”
Toby muttered.
“Yeah. With that much of a level gap, it makes sense why you crushed everyone at HAUT.”
His gaze shifted to the masked Kim Sangshik.
“Mr. K. I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Yein said they’re level sixty. What about you? What level are you?”
All eyes turned to Sangshik.
“I’m level seventy-two.”
The room shifted. Toby’s face, and everyone else’s too, grew uncertain.
“You think it’s strange, don’t you—that I talk about pushing you to level one hundred-fifty while being only seventy-two myself.”
No one spoke, but no one denied it either.
“Unfortunately, my aptitude and my ability aren’t suited for fighting monsters. But when it comes to helping others grow, they’re perfect. For example, Toby Hobbs. Your aptitude ratings are Stamina A, Energy A, and Mental Strength A. Balanced across the board, with no weaknesses. And your ability—Healing Touch. You can restore HP with a touch and cleanse debuffs. A very rare healing skill.”
Toby’s eyes widened. His teammates from Crystal Academy all looked shocked.
“With triple-A aptitude, you can handle any role—melee, tank, mage, support, healer. Up to now, you’ve usually played as a mage in the backline while covering healing, or even stepped up as melee when needed.”
“…”
Toby stared at Sangshik in a daze.
“But being a jack of all trades often holds you back. If you focused on healing and supporting, or as a tank who can heal himself while facing monsters head-on—either path would maximize your potential. You don’t need to patch up every hole in the squad by yourself.”
“!!!”
Toby’s eyes went wide.
“Whichever path you choose, it’s your decision. But once you decide, I’ll support you fully.”
Sangshik pulled out two sets of gear from his inventory.
One was a robe and staff.
The other, heavy armor, a shield, and a mace.
“Whoa… They’re all rare-grade!”
“Those are insane!” Rio and Maria gasped.
“One set for a healer, the other for a tank. The robes and staff boost mana regen, amplify healing, and shorten cooldowns—perfect for endless buffs and heals. The heavy armor raises HP, defense, and regen. With your ability added on, you’d be an unbreakable tank.”
He turned his gaze elsewhere.
“And you. Jin Yuyeon of Martial God Academy.”
“M-me??”
Completely unprepared to hear her name, Yuyeon blinked rapidly.
“Stamina A, Energy B, Mental Strength B. Ability: Nimble Legs. It boosts movement and attack speed, and strengthens your kicks. But your damage output is lacking.”
“Ugh…”
She winced at the blunt comment.
“To fix that—this skill gem: Eight-Limbed Kick.”
Sangshik held up a red gem.
“A burst skill that unleashes eight strikes in an instant. And paired with these…”
He produced a set of light armor and bladed boots.
“The armor trades defense for a huge boost to speed, attack rate, and evasion. And these boots add a bleed effect to your kicks. With these, every step you take will tear enemies apart. Your low damage will no longer hold you back.”
“Th-that’s… for me?” Yuyeon swallowed hard.
“On one condition.”
Sangshik’s tone sharpened.
“You’ll only get them if you follow my training for one full month. And as your level rises, you’ll receive even better gear.”
He revealed another set.
This one for level sixty. Rare-grade.
[“Whoa!!”]
Gasps echoed all around—not just from Rio and Maria, but nearly everyone.
Impressive…
I had been the one to prepare the items and outline how to persuade them.
But Sangshik had gone beyond my expectations, completely winning them over.
As expected of a real teacher.
“And if anyone is still hesitating, then look at this.”
From his bag, not his inventory, he pulled out a tablet and played a video.
[“Greetings, members of Demons Class.”]
“Kyaaah!!”
Ao’s shriek was so shrill it could’ve been mistaken for a scream.
On the screen was the face of Mayor Cheon Jiweon.
And Ao wasn’t the only one rattled—the whole room stiffened at his sudden appearance.
[“You are the most talented Hunter trainees in all of Seoul. Yein told me about your upcoming training—attempting to reach level one hundred fifty. It will be grueling, beyond imagination. That’s why the city will support you.”]
“Hahh, hahh… T-the Mayor himself…”
Ao’s breath came in ragged gasps.
[“For the month you’ll spend in the dungeon, you’ll be supplied with food, water, large tents, portable showers, toilets, even laundry services. All you need to do is focus on training.”]
“No way…”
“So we don’t have to eat bugs in the dungeon again?”
“Thank the heavens…”
The kids still had scars from HAUT’s dungeon survival program, apparently.
[“Then I wish you luck. I look forward to seeing just how strong you’ve become when you return.”]
“Yes!!”
Ao shouted, practically glowing.
“Everyone, let’s go right now! What are we waiting for?”
“Ao… calm down.”
Jin Cheongryong tugged on his wrist to make him sit back down.
“Now, one last thing.”
Sangshik’s voice cut across the buzz.
“If you think you can’t endure this one-month training, leave through that door right now. Once you commit, there’s no backing out until the month is done. But if you stay, you’ll walk out at level one hundred fifty, equipped with gear worthy of your new strength. I’ll count to ten.”
He counted slowly.
“Eight… nine… ten. Good. Everyone stayed.”
He packed the gear back into his inventory.
“Then we head for the dungeon. Everyone, on your feet.”
The students all rose as one.
This is almost too easy.
I felt a grin tugging at my lips.
All I had to do was sit back, and Sangshik handled the rest.
As we left the hideout, Toby walked up beside me.
“Yein.”
“Yes, Toby?”
“The gear that K brought… It had the same mana signature as the ring you gave me. Does that mean…?”
I raised a finger to my lips and smiled faintly.
Toby froze for a moment, then nodded and rejoined his team.
Just as planned.
Everything was falling neatly into place.
(End of Chapter)