Like all intelligence operatives, Krasilov's agents share the characteristic of being impossible to find when you're looking for them, yet hazily visible in your peripheral vision when you're trying to ignore them. (Droan is the exception.)
Therefore, despite frantically searching the campus with bloodshot eyes, the four students, including Isabelle, couldn't find Ivan anywhere.
This was the story of the first day of school.
"Seriously, how is someone who's always staring intensely at us from somewhere suddenly nowhere to be found when we need him?!"
"Essie, calm down a bit. Elfihera, what about your tracking spell?"
"I'm using it! But I can't detect any trace of him no matter what I do."
"Maybe this guy isn't even at school right now?"
"No, he's definitely in this vicinity..."
Elfihera kept her eyes tightly shut while continuously chanting spells. Having experienced Ivan's magical energy several times before, short-range tracking spells shouldn't have been particularly difficult for her.
Yet, even though he was clearly somewhere nearby... As Elfihera's face scrunched up in concentration, Lundis, who had been munching on a waffle beside her, cheerfully spoke up.
"Oh, it's probably because of the item my father gave him!"
"Your father?"
"Yes! Hehe! Even pointy ears are helpless before the wisdom of our great ancestors! It's a spell distortion stone! Throw it and it destroys magic! Just carrying it provides some degree of magical protection! Isn't that amazing?"
"Why would he give him something like that...?"
"Well, if I explain that, it's quite a long story. Once upon a time..."
Lundis began explaining the traditional wedding customs and gift culture of her great ancestors. Everyone in the Hero Party ignored Lundis's words and started scanning their surroundings.
"Alright. Elfihera is useless now. What should we do? Essie, would it be okay to use the Droan method of solving this?"
"Um... my hometown's method? What's that?"
"Well, if we set things on fire, people who are hiding will come out, right?"
"Why is that my hometown's..."
Is it? It did seem like whenever someone stabbed a Yarul and ran away to hide, all the villagers would rush out and set fires nearby. That was part of a traditional game. (People caught this way usually moved on to other traditional games. The Blood Eagle was a popular choice.)
As Asidis bowed her head quietly in deep contemplation, they spotted Oskar in the distance. As usual, he was buried among a group of women, being force-fed snacks.
"Oskar! Have you seen the old man?"
"Ah, Miss Isabelle. I was actually looking for you about that. Have you seen the course schedule? There's a strange class that's been added."
"A strange class?"
"Go to the lobby of the Knight Department's first-year building. No, wait. Let's go together."
Oskar joined the Hero Party, ignoring the protests of the women who had been crowding around him.
[Elective Course: Demon Race Research and Countermeasures.]
[Professor: Ivan Petrovich Yeremov]
[5 credits. Pass/Fail evaluation]
"Now the old man is teaching as a professor? Wait, why is an elective worth 5 credits? And it's pass/fail? Don't you just need to attend to pass?"
"Wait, look at this. There's another one!"
Isabelle turned her head at Elfihera's words. Among the timetables and course plans plastered on the bulletin board, she spotted another familiar name.
[Elective Course: Basic Survival Skills.]
[Professor: Ivan Petrovich Yeremov]
[5 credits. Pass/Fail evaluation]
"My goodness, he's teaching two classes? For a total of 10 credits? Does he have two bodies or something?"
"Judging by Lord Yeremov's usual behavior, he might just not sleep at all..."
Asidis nodded at Oskar's words. It was hard to argue with that.
[Elective Course: Human Body Structure and Magical Energy.]
[Professor: Ivan Petrovich Yeremov]
[5 credits. Pass/Fail evaluation]
"15 credits?! If you take all of the old man's classes, you can complete more than half of the required credits?"
"Wait, Isabelle. Something seems off."
"Huh?"
"A trap... isn't this a trap?"
"Suddenly?"
Elfihera surveyed the Hero Party with a serious expression. Except for Lundis, everyone present had essentially been forced to "complete" these courses during the first week of the previous vacation.
Understanding demons? He had thrown them into the middle of an orc horde, claiming it was how to deal with orcs.
Survival skills? He had driven them into a forest full of traps and tormented them day and night.
Human body structure and magical energy? He would probably shoot bullets into students' bodies while saying things like, "It hurts when you get hit here, and it hurts more when you get hit there."
The group fell silent at Elfihera's words. She wasn't wrong. In fact, no other explanation seemed possible.
It was impossible to imagine Ivan calmly opening a textbook at a podium and conducting a lecture.
"Wait, so he experimented on our bodies in advance for what he's going to teach next semester?"
"Let's not think such terrible thoughts, Bella. That's too depressing..."
"Doesn't that sound exactly like something Lord Yeremov would say? 'Hmm. Reasonable.' Don't you all think?"
"I can't argue with that..."
In response to Elfihera's words, Oskar quietly tilted his head and replied.
"Why are you all acting like this? Weren't those classes actually useful? Even if the content of these lectures is exactly what we experienced, aren't we basically getting free credits for a semester? We've already done the preview."
"This one's positivity is quite admirable."
"Are you crazy, Oskar?"
"Why? I liked the classes. I gained a lot and learned a lot."
"This one's positivity is quite admirable indeed."
Isabelle ignored Oskar, whose eyes were sparkling. Come to think of it, this guy had received the most traditional knight training in Tilles. Perhaps camping in the forest and slaying orcs was included in their basic curriculum.
Just then, Lundis's eyes suddenly widened.
"Wow, so we can meet the elder directly and take classes from him for 15 hours every week? I'm in!"
"...?"
"...!"
"...?!"
At Lundis's exclamation, the three women exchanged glances. They simultaneously scanned the course schedule. According to the timetable, the three classes were scheduled on different days.
This meant they could spend at least 5 hours with Ivan three days a week.
They looked at each other again. Despite having different iris colors and eye shapes, the three women's gazes were remarkably similar.
'If any of these girls takes this class...'
'These wenches might try to cozy up to uncle every week?'
'Even if we all take the class together, there's no way a human could beat an elf in the field of dog training.'
What they gain: 15 credits and Ivan (no, that's not it). What they lose: just some iron chains.
The three women simultaneously smiled gently and put the course plans into their bags. It was a secretive and swift movement that would have earned applause from counterintelligence agents.
"The credits are substantial! And Oskar's not wrong. We've all basically done the preview, right?"
"Exactly! And survival skills? That's actually a hobby activity in Droan!"
"Well, it's an elective. Let's attend the orientation and decide then, shall we?"
The three women moved toward the lecture building, looking at each other with warm smiles.
"Welcome."
The classroom fell silent at the voice that didn't sound welcoming at all.
The man who had climbed onto the platform was the protagonist of those 15 credits, currently the center of attention for all first-year students.
His tall stature and solid build made even an ordinary coat look stylish. Beneath his cuffs, powerful hands covered in numerous scars exuded presence.
His posture at the podium was picture-perfect. Piercing blue eyes that didn't waver. Below them, a long, well-groomed, full beard.
He looked like an officer who had just stepped out of war propaganda. (Which was true.)
He began writing on the blackboard behind the podium with sharp, precise movements. Angular, neat handwriting slid across the board.
"My name is Ivan Petrovich Yeremov. If you've heard my name before, you may have seen me at the last tournament."
The students murmured at his words. The tournament hosted by the princess herself had been Pritzenkaya's biggest event just before the summer break. Naturally, everyone present had been there.
Whispers of "That Black Knight?" "That butcher?" "The Human Tank?" circulated among the students. Ivan continued without bothering to stop them.
"I won't introduce myself. It's meaningless. I won't listen to your introductions either. It would be meaningless as well."
Ivan finished speaking dryly and turned around to continue writing on the board. Tap, tap. White letters continued to appear on the black board.
"In this class, I will teach you about demon research and countermeasures. I believe you've all already checked the course title. Therefore, I won't elaborate further."
Ivan surveyed the students again. Some were looking at him with interest, while others were yawning with boredom. No one seemed to be taking the class itself seriously.
That was natural. They were young children who had never experienced war. When he recalled his time as Kim Seon-woo, elective courses with high credits were just times to attend and sleep through.
But that shouldn't be the case. Unlike South Korea, where war was just a story from distant lands, in this world, war was like a shadow.
Inseparable, inescapable, unavoidable. Always clinging to your back, following you, and gradually growing larger.
Ivan pressed firmly on the desk as he continued.
"All demons with physical forms have one common weakness. Does anyone know what it is?"
"..."
He hadn't expected an answer. Ivan nodded quietly and continued.
"They die when you separate their head from their body."
"Pfft!"
Laughter spread among the students. Their looks seemed to say, "Is this old man making jokes that don't suit him?" Ivan continued stoically.
"It's an obvious statement. But it's also the truth. All demons have different characteristics, threat levels, ecologies, and tactics. In this class, despite the different characteristics of each demon, you will learn how to separate their heads from their bodies."
"Any questions?" At Ivan's words, one student raised his hand high.
When Ivan nodded, the large male student smirked and asked:
"I'm curious about your experience, Professor! Have you actually faced 'all demons' as you mentioned?"
Laughter erupted among the students. While St. Yansk University was known for its high-quality lectures, everyone here was a noble's child. This meant they were all gifted students who had completed basic education on their estates.
From these students' perspective, professors, with a few famous exceptions, were just wage laborers. In a noble school, a professor's authority could never be high.
Most nobles of this era belonged to the high-ranking officer class with military backgrounds. It was a characteristic of the feudal system. The authority of nobles who led private armies and participated in wars, especially those who "survived," had become unprecedentedly high after the last war.
And these nobles were meticulously selected from the best of each country in the United Kingdom.
In the eyes of these students, Ivan's publicly known status was merely "the third son of a newly elevated baronial family from the north." This was due to his fame from the recent tournament.
A newly elevated baronial family was essentially just a group of mercenaries who had achieved military merit, and being the third son meant he was a wandering knight who had been pushed out of the succession line and expelled from his estate. Therefore, he was just a mere mercenary nobody.
In such a situation, even as a professor, he couldn't command respect from the students. It was close to an overt power struggle. Before the upcoming semester, they intended to put this new instructor in his place to ensure comfortable classes.
Of course, that was of no concern to Ivan.
"Every type I could face,"
From goblin slaves to the Seven Dragon Generals, all of them.
"I've killed at least once."
Ivan stared at the student with hollow eyes. The male student who had raised his hand sat down, slightly startled by the intensity.
Silence descended again. The students who had been planning to pass time in boredom were now gone. They momentarily felt fear in the face of this blood-soaked response.
This kind of fear tends to dissipate easily. Having experience training new recruits, Ivan didn't easily trust fear that stemmed merely from words.
Instead, he preferred to wield an axe and a pistol. This class wouldn't be much different.
"Any other questions?"
"Um... I have a question!"
A student hesitantly raised his hand. The short male student looked at the course plan and asked:
"The plan says all classes are practical, but how do we learn about demon ecology through practice...? It's not like we can bring demons here...?"
"Good question."
Ivan nodded briefly.
Watching this, Isabelle clenched her fist in tension and swallowed hard. This doesn't feel good, she thought.
"I will play the role of the demon throughout all classes."
"...What?"
"Through me, you will learn about demon ecology and countermeasures. Any other questions?"
"Um... I don't quite understand..."
"If there are no more questions, that concludes the course explanation. Next week, come dressed in clothes that allow for easier movement. There's no need to bring weapons. We will provide them."
Ivan abruptly ended his speech and left.
In the cold silence, Asidis whispered softly into Isabelle's ear.
"I knew this would happen."
"I'll... look into some illegal immigration routes. So we can flee together if the old man starts massacring noble children..."
Judging by what the old man said, this wasn't a joke. He wasn't the type to make jokes in the first place.
Is someone really going to die?
Isabelle picked up her bag, lost in worry.
This was just Ivan's first class. Since Ivan had to handle 15 hours of lectures in a week, she would encounter him again at another class orientation the next day.