Even though I knew I could revive dungeons, I didn't have enough experience to use it right away. I went down the hill. I was humming a tune, feeling happy and enjoying the scenery, when a message appeared.

• 2/100 of experience recovered.

"Okay."

I still hadn't decided whether to allocate this experience to the Designer class. Since I had acquired the Artisan class, I wondered if I needed another class in the same field. Even if I did, it would be better to get it later. I had more urgent matters to deal with now.

'I need to be able to protect myself.'

That's why I was going to buy S-rank equipment and weapons. The advantage I had over my opponents was information. Park Seokcheol and the others who put me in this situation still don't know I've become S-rank. They didn't know I was a formidable being who could defeat all the S-rank hunters in South Korea combined.

If I revealed that, I could easily turn the situation around, but if I did, those who were trying to harm me would hide in rat holes. They would destroy the evidence too. Those evil, young bastards would hide behind the fact that they were promising hunters.

'They thought nothing of burying me, so they should be punished.'

They thought nothing of burying me. So, I'll do the same to them.

As I was coming down near my house, I suddenly realized that there was a human shadow moving there. I wondered who it was and enhanced my vision to see.

If an assassin had already come, it would be difficult to deal with. I felt a pang of guilt for being too relaxed.

But I soon realized that it was someone familiar. Someone who came to Alpha Academy a few weeks before I was fired. She was a hunter who had once made headlines in South Korea. She was outstanding, not only in skill but also in beauty. She had everything to attract hunter fanatics, including her unique character with a cold aura.

Her injury was serious and it was beyond recovery. Not being able to recover from the injury meant that she couldn't return to her former state. An S-rank hunter's status is secured by entering an S-rank dungeon. Kim Somi would never be able to regain her status.

'I tried to help her.'

I had offered to help her recover, but she slapped me when I was already in a difficult situation, and I couldn't just let it go. Shouldn't I be paid for treating her? She slapped me right away when I asked what she could do for me, so I thought she was a heartless woman.

'She wouldn't have come to kill me.'

It didn't make sense for a woman like Kim Somi to come all the way here to kill me on Park Seokcheol's orders. Even if an S-rank falls to the bottom, they're still S-rank. Especially an S-rank with Kim Somi's status, even if she's on temporary leave from her active duty, Park Seokcheol couldn't just boss her around.

As I stood there, Kim Somi suddenly turned her head. Even though we were quite a distance apart, she noticed my presence. We were standing in the middle of nowhere, so there was nowhere to hide.

"What are you doing! Come here quickly!"

She shouted at me. When I looked closely, she was holding something in her hands and dragging it.

'A corpse?'

A man with his neck twisted in a strange way, foaming at the mouth, was being dragged by her hand. Anyone could see he was dead. Why was she moving a corpse in front of my house?

Anyway, I went down the hill and approached her.

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here, Hyunho?"

"What's this?"

"You're asking me that?"

We were having a nonsensical conversation.

"I quit my job as a professor. I came here for a fresh start. How did you find this place, Kim Somi?"

"Ugh."

Kim Somi let go of the man's feet, as if she was annoyed. I looked closely at the corpse on the ground. It was definitely someone I didn't know, and it was more suspicious that he was here than Kim Somi finding this place.

I squatted down and searched the man's pockets. I found his phone, and using the man's fingerprint, I unlocked the phone, which was locked.

"What are you doing?"

Kim Somi asked, not knowing the reason.

"I need to know who he is. You said he's someone you don't know, right?"

"Of course. He was lurking around this house, so I thought he was a thief, but he tried to throw a knife at me when he saw me. So..."

"You killed him."

"Hmm..."

Kim Somi looked wronged. If someone attacks you, it's only natural to fight back. And if they're trying to kill you, it's only natural to respond accordingly. The problem was that Kim Somi was an S-rank hunter. There were plenty of ways she could have reacted without killing him.

'There's only one reason.'

An opponent she couldn't stop with a moderate response. In other words, this man who became a corpse was a hunter. And a very powerful one.

If it had been Kim Somi in the past, she could have reacted without killing him, but in her injured state, that 'moderately' wouldn't have been possible.

'I have a hunch, but...'

I knew why a suspicious man like this was lurking around my house, but I needed more solid evidence.

I went into the open phone's call log. I saw that multiple calls had been made to the same number that wasn't saved. So, this phone was used only for 'specific work'.

I called the number that was the only one that popped up in the call log. The call was answered after two rings.

-Hello! Did you do it? Is that guy dead?

"Hahaha."

I was glad to hear his voice after only a few days.

-Why are you laughing? Send me a picture of that guy's dead body, and I'll pay you!

"Oh, Chairman-nim~~"

I could feel Park Seokcheol flinch when he heard my voice.

"You sent someone to kill me? You're such a lazy guy, but you're really energetic when it comes to this kind of stuff, aren't you?"

A rough breath could be heard through the phone.

"Why are you silent? Are you surprised that I'm alive?"

Click. The call ended.

"What happened?"

Kim Somi asked with wide eyes.

"The Chairman sent someone to kill me. He didn't even give me severance pay, and he sent a strange gift instead? Man, what a fucked-up world, right?"

"The Chairman? You mean Park Seokcheol?"

"Who else could it be?"

"Why would he..."

Kim Somi had a shocked expression. But she quickly nodded in agreement.

"As I thought... it was a scheme to get rid of Hyunho."

I thought she would know. If it was those frogs at the bottom of the well in the academy, they wouldn't know, but she was an experienced hunter. She must have observed how this world works from her noble S-rank position. She had also enjoyed privileges. That's why she could come to the top academy in Korea and become the Principal without any relevant experience, even though she was temporarily out of active duty.

It only seemed like Park Seokcheol's scheme that she was recruited at this time. He needed someone to replace me. He probably thought that Kim Somi wouldn't work for long anyway, and she could also act as a buffer for the shock of firing me.

'That guy is smart when it comes to this sort of stuff.'

• S-rank hunter Kim Somi has suffered serious injuries.
• She has lost over 30% of her combat strength compared to her peak.
• Her injuries can be healed by registering her as a tutoring target.
• She is still not fully utilizing her potential and is the perfect candidate for mentoring.
• Strongly recommended as a tutoring target.

'That's why I asked.'

Normally, I wouldn't care if a woman like her was injured or retired. And she wasn't even a teacher, but she accepted the position of Principal with a high salary? It was even less sympathetic that she was recruited as a way to get rid of me.

'Experience is different.'

There aren't many opportunities to heal a serious injury of an S-rank hunter. And surprisingly, she hasn't fully developed her potential yet, has she? She looked like a lump of experience in my eyes.

'But it's a different story if she slapped me.'

I thought that was the end of it, but she appeared in front of me at a strange time.

"Why did Kim Somi come here?"

"That is..."

Kim Somi hesitated to answer.

"Go ahead and take this. No trespassing on private property."

"What? Why should I take this corpse?"

"Did I kill him? If you commit murder on private property, isn't it the rule to at least take the body with you?"

"What kind of rule is that... Anyway! You said Park Seokcheol, the Chairman, sent him, right? It's obvious that I'm helping Hyunho, so how dare you act so brazenly?"

"Brazen?"

I smiled.

"Who was the one who slapped me when I said I'd help you?"

"That, that was..."

"I know. I know that Kim Somi has suffered an injury that she can't recover from. If you continue like this, there's a chance you won't recover, let alone go back to your previous rank."

"R, rank decrease..."

"If that happens, it will be hard for Kim Somi to live in Korea with her pride. Your rank will keep falling. Your injury will get worse, and if your abilities drop to the level of an ordinary person, you'll eventually die."

"Die?!!"

"Six months. Well, that's about it."

What I said first wasn't based on nothing, but the six months was a lie. To be precise, it would be more accurate to say that I don't know.

"What basis do you have to say that?!"

Kim Somi asked with a pale face.

"Who else would say such a thing besides me? Go see a doctor."

Does Kim Somi not have money or connections? She must have used all the means at her disposal to recover from her injuries. More than anyone, she knows. She knows that she has nowhere else to turn. She knows that she can't ignore my words, the words of the one who made Alpha Academy into a world-class academy.

I kicked the corpse on the ground.

"Go ahead and take this."

"What, what are you asking for?"

Kim Somi asked, looking at the ground. Her face turned beet red.

"Are you saying that you want my body?"

"What, what, what are you talking about!"

"You actually believed those ridiculous rumors? I'm not going to say anything else, so just go. Damn it, who do you think I am, a pervert? If I'm going to date women, I'll date younger and prettier women, why would I date an older woman with a big ego..."

"See!"

Kim Somi clenched both fists and trembled. It was kind of cute to see the proud S-rank hunter like this. Honestly, Kim Somi is a rare beauty. She's in her early thirties, so there's not much of an age difference between us. And with her aura of being an S-rank hunter, she was the dream girl of men all over the world.

"Your ears aren't deaf."

"If it's not my body, you want money? How much?"

"Nonsense. Do you think I need money?"

"Do you want me to clear Hyunho's grievances? Should I hold a press conference right now?"

"Who would believe the words of a retired hunter?"

"Oh, come on!"

Kim Somi stomped her feet. To be honest, I didn't want to treat her now. The shock of being slapped was still fresh in my mind. It was the first time I truly understood the saying that I saw stars.

"Then what am I supposed to do?!"

Tears welled up in Kim Somi's eyes. She had been working as an S-rank hunter for over ten years. She could say that she had never been close to desperation.

I couldn't deny the bitter taste of victory.

"Ah, it's annoying. Go ahead and leave."

I went inside, picking my ears. Even after that, I could feel her intense gaze from outside, so I used the remote to close the automatic curtains.

'He sent an assassin already.'

I was surprised by Park Seokcheol's swift action. It was obvious that he had heard about my request to establish an academy.

'It's not the time to unlock the Designer class.'

I thought I should unlock a more fundamental, combat class.

-You have acquired the S-rank 'Sword Master' class.

Sword Master. It's the most basic close-range damage dealer class. It's quite difficult to learn the basics, but assuming it's S-rank, its growth is limitless.

'I know the theory.'

It's all about skills. And I don't even have to worry about that.

• You can acquire skills by using experience.

I brought up the skill list for the Sword Master class. Countless skills were listed, but I didn't need to look at them one by one. My focus was on the very top of the list.