I’ll Retire After Saving the World

Chapter 34: Half-Baked Mage (1)

TL: SHW

Hong Seok-young looked around the classroom at the children for the first time in a while. After seeing them covered in dust and looking shabby for a while, it was refreshing to see them neatly dressed in their school uniforms.

This was why Lee Mi-seon had insisted that the children needed uniforms. After all, there was no easier way to instill a sense of belonging than with common clothing.

Hong Seok-young shifted his gaze. Unlike the children who were focusing intently with sparkling eyes, the man standing at the back of the classroom looked utterly uninterested. If he had heard Seok-young’s thoughts, he would have scoffed, saying that just wearing uniforms in this wreck of a place wouldn’t make it look presentable.

In fact, judging by his expression, he was doing just that. Seok-young, who had been chuckling for a moment, cleared his throat. He had an announcement to make today.

“It’s already been nearly three months since the school opened, kids.”

The students’ eyes became curious. Sitting them down and starting with this? It was a sign that something unusual was coming.

“Since we are, after all, an educational institution… we decided to imitate one.”

“Imitate?”

“Yes. We’re having a exam.”

* * *

Park Seo-hyun blinked. The ends of her hair were pricking her eyes.

“Of course, we’re not an ordinary school.”

Despite dropping such a bombshell, the principal explained it nonchalantly.

“So, instead of a normal test, we’ll be entering a dungeon.”

Dungeon!

At the word ‘exam’, the students had been silent as mice, but at the word ‘dungeon’, everyone stirred. Park Seo-hyun quietly held her breath.

The principal waited until the students naturally quieted down.

“I don’t think any of you have properly raided a dungeon yet.”

It was because everyone knew the circumstances: the standard wasn’t entering a dungeon but raiding it.

Among the remaining students at the pilot high school, only Yoo Hye-eun and Choi Jin-woo had never entered a dungeon.

Lee Seung-yeon and Sun Sun-jin had been taken around by Daseon’s master as part of early education. Han Eun-young also had an older brother who played that role despite their age difference. Oh Hyun-wook and Seo Han-seong…

Park Seo-hyun silently looked down at her desk. Papers with rune practice were scattered messily.

She, too, had entered a dungeon with her grandfather when she was young. And it had been an A-rank dungeon.

It seemed too terrifying a dungeon to take a young granddaughter into, but her grandfather had carefully chosen it. It was a place where they didn’t have to fight dangerous monsters.

It was a dungeon famous for its complex maze and traps that twisted dimensions to capture hunters.

So-called the Alice Dungeon.

The colorful walls and decorations, like a fairy tale, were enough to make a child laugh.

Her grandfather had leisurely raided the dungeon while holding his granddaughter in his arms. No matter how confusing the maze, it was no match for the Archmage nicknamed ‘Path Illuminator’.

“Due to the incident in Myeong-dong, our field training has been delayed… So, we’ll combine it with this.”

Ignoring the children’s noise, the principal continued his explanation.

Usually, they would have listened intently.

“……”

Park Seo-hyun brought her pencil to the paper filled with runes.

If it weren’t for the dense runes, one could have seen the delicate drawing made with the pencil.

Her grandfather’s unique magic.

She had learned not to draw magic formulas where others could see them. But…

‘It’s not like I can use it anyway.’

The paper tore as the pencil caught on it.

“But it’s been almost two months since Myeong-dong.”

“Ah, when you say it like that, it makes me nervous…”

“Hunter’s intuition?”

“Teacher Woo said Hunter’s intuition can’t be trusted.”

The children burst into laughter. The principal laughed along with them.

“Anyway, I think your skills have improved in those two months.”

“Teacher, I’m really nervous.”

“This time, you’ll be raiding the dungeon by yourselves.”

“By ourselves?”

“The dungeon you’ll be raiding is the one right next door…”

“Isn’t that a B-rank?”

“No. Not that one.”

“But it’s still C-rank, right?”

“Not confident?”

The principal’s question made the children look at each other.

“It’s a dungeon….”

“Are we really going alone?”

“Can we even handle a C-rank? What about D-rank or E-rank?”

“E-rank doesn’t have any monsters.”

“That’s why I’m saying it!”

The louder the children’s voices grew, the wider the principal’s smile became.

“Ahem.”

A small cough came from the back of the classroom. Park Seo-hyun glanced back.

Teacher Woo Hwijae wasn’t as talkative as the principal. Though he couldn’t be called taciturn, he always spoke only what was necessary.

So, although everyone grumbled about how hard his classes were, no one complained outright. After all, Woo Hwijae was the first reliable Hunter they had met outside of their families and Hong Seok-young. One who threw himself into danger without hesitation to save them.

“Teacher Woo will be going with you.”

“With Teacher Woo?”

“We’ve already scouted the dungeon’s interior. So from now on, you’ll learn how to raid the dungeon.”

Only then did a tense atmosphere start to form among the children, as the reality sank in.

“Teacher Woo will be grading you on how well you do. He won’t help unless it’s truly dangerous. Teacher Woo.”

The man standing at the back of the classroom stepped forward.

The teacher scanned the classroom with sharp eyes.

“From now on, you are a raid team.”

Gulp.

Someone swallowed hard. Park Seo-hyun, who had been looking at the torn rune and magic formula, slowly lifted her head.

“First, let’s review the dungeon information.”

The principal stepped aside for Teacher Woo. When it came to dungeon raid experience, few in the world could match him.

This implied how beneficial Teacher Woo Hwijae’s lessons would be.

His teachings were indeed valuable. Every word he said, despite his indifferent expression, was precious. Some students had improved significantly in the absence of the principal.

Lee Seung-yeon said with a peculiar expression,

‘Honestly, the principal’s explanations are too vague. He says to do this and that, but what does that even mean? Only Oh Hyun-wook might understand.’

‘…I just guess based on intuition.’

“Still, being able to guess is something. Compared to that, Teacher Woo… he’s merciless, but he explains why something shouldn’t be done that way, and how to do it in a way I can understand.”

This wasn’t different for her and Choi Jin-woo.

‘Can we really learn this stuff ourselves?’

In Myeong-dong, she hadn’t thought deeply due to the chaos. But the more she pondered, the heavier the value of the runes felt. Why? Why teach this without any compensation?

Park Seo-hyun recalled what Woo Hwijae often said to her.

‘You will become an Archmage.’

‘You have the talent for it.’

Of course, she didn’t believe those words. Listening to the rune lessons, she knew she wasn’t an amateur in magic, but still, the teacher wasn’t a mage. Only mages can truly recognize mages.

‘Seo-hyun, you can become a greater mage than your grandfather.’

…That was just a grandfather’s compliment to his granddaughter.

Moreover, the things Woo Hwijae said weren’t even compliments. They were words meant to scold her.

‘You can take it easy.’

Grandfather worries you might focus too much on magic.

‘You’re doing well.’

There’s no need to be perfect.

‘Good job.’

You can become a great mage by doing your best.

‘With your ability, you can do it.’

Grandfather believes in Seo-hyun.

‘Future Archmage.’

Even without grandfather, Seo-hyun will.

‘See? It’ll be fine.’

You’ll be alright.

‘You can do it.’

So.

‘You.’

Seo-hyun….

Crack.

Her clenched jaw shifted, causing her teeth to grind.

Park Seo-hyun snapped to attention, startled. Fortunately, the other kids hadn’t noticed, as Woo Hwijae’s explanation continued.

“The monsters in this dungeon are of one type. You could say it’s the most basic kind. Even with your current skills, you can handle them.”

But she could feel eyes on her.

She knew.

She knew she couldn’t go on like this.

“If everyone works together, that is.”

Woo Hwijae drew a stick figure on the blackboard. The only clue that it wasn’t a person was the fairy wings he drew on its back, resembling dragonfly wings.

The C-rank dungeon near the pilot high school.

A no-name dungeon of the Fairy Forest type. The monsters inside were Pixies.

Pixies with green skin and sharp teeth moved in groups. Highly aggressive, once they developed a taste for human flesh, they became obsessed with it.

They were about the size of children, and their hideous appearance was more like goblins than fairies. However, the pair of wings on their backs weren’t just for show; they could indeed fly.

Park Seo-hyun curled up more and more. By the time she was almost buried in her squeaky chair.

“That’s the rough explanation. We’ll have individual interviews after lunch. Think about what you lack when facing Pixies.”

“Ugh.”

“Teacher, We’re going to get indigestion while eating.”

Lee Seung-yeon whined.

Woo Hwijae scoffed.

“A Hunter should be able to look at themselves objectively.”

“Listening to you, it sounds like Hunters are almost superhuman. They need to be able to do everything.”

“And they never have good intuition.”

“And no luck.”

“And no friends.”

“Teacher, you don’t have friends, do you?”

“…”

Woo Hwijae looked at Lee Seung-yeon with an incredulous face.

“Do you have friends?”

“Of course. Everyone here is my friend.”

Lee Seung-yeon smiled brightly and pointed to the classmates sitting in the classroom.

“And outside of here?”

“Uh….”

“You call them friends, but they’re just classmates. There are only eight of you. What happens if you fight? Drop out?”

“Wow, Teacher, saying it like that makes you sound really heartless.”

“Besides the people here. Do you have friends?”

“……”

Lee Seung-yeon pouted and fell silent.

Woo Hwijae smiled triumphantly, then wiped his face with a dry hand.

“…Alright, go eat. Today, the principal brought lunch.”

While the other children followed the principal out of the classroom.

Park Seo-hyun sat quietly in the classroom. Woo Hwijae started to leave but approached Park Seo-hyun instead.

“…What are you doing?”

The awkwardness was palpable. The teacher didn’t like her. Of course, it was understandable. Wasn’t it her fault that the teacher had been in danger in Myeong-dong…?

If only she had drawn the runes correctly.

She was a half-baked mage.

What was the use of knowing unique magic? What was the use of remembering all the magic her grandfather taught her?

She couldn’t use her grandfather’s magic at all and could barely manage basic spells.

“Uh… um, Park Seo-hyun?”

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

In the past, she wouldn’t have shown such a weak side. She would have hidden it and crafted the appearance of a capable mage no matter what.

“Is… is something wrong? Did I say something too difficult?”

“Teacher.”

“I… uh… why are you crying? Should I call the principal? Or Teacher Kim Chae-min?”

What had the principal said when he asked her to join the pilot high school?

“If you don’t know something, you should seek help from an expert. That’s what schools are for.”

But some things are just impossible.

Magic.

Park Seo-hyun wanted to be a mage like her grandfather.

But she was old enough to know that there are many things in the world that you can’t do just because you want to. She wasn’t that little girl who entered the dungeon in her grandfather’s arms anymore.

“I… I….”

“Yes, what’s wrong?”

“I want to quit school….”

Naturally, Woo Hwijae found this an utterly shocking statement.