Correcting the Villainess of the Academy

Early in the morning. I was just about to leave the dorm for class, but my steps were halted by someone blocking the second-floor hallway with a distressed expression.

“…?”

Yeon Minha, arms crossed, glared at me with a fierce look in her eyes. She was wrapped up like she was wearing armor, dressed in silk pajamas and draped in a shawl.

It had only been three nights since the blockade was imposed, but now she was radiating an energy I had never seen before. Her face was smooth, and her long, cascading hair shimmered with vitality.

However, one disappointing thing was that her previous audacity and arrogance had only intensified. She still had that unique gaze as if looking down on others.

Was she feeling so good that she thought she could give it a try?

Her ungratefulness was amusing, but I wondered how she could possibly know about my help.

It was much better than being questioned over unnecessary suspicions.

“What do you want?”

“You, you… Hehe.”

She remained silent, steadily glaring at me, so I asked what she needed. I needed to leave for class right away, so it would be better to settle any business quickly.

But behold. She melted away instantly with a mere casual comment.

The words she had prepared to hurl back at me evaporated into the air as she went flustered, her poised demeanor wrapped in embarrassment.

Covered in shame that overshadowed her carefully constructed dignity, her pale skin flushed a bright red.

Was that anger at herself, or was it just my imagination? Her whole body trembled slightly throughout.

Overcoming ingrained fear isn’t a simple task.

“So, how long are you planning to stay here…? If you were trying to humiliate me… isn’t that enough…!”

Finally managing to calm herself, Yeon Minha began pleading desperately.

“Th-This is where you stop… You said you wouldn’t bring it up… Why are you doing this…?”

“I intend to stay for a while longer. And enough? Who gets to decide that? In my view, it doesn’t seem like nearly enough.”

“Hehe.”

With a strange sound as she swallowed, her face went pale.

I stepped toward the stairs, but Yeon Minha quickly retreated two or three steps, backing herself against the wall.

I left her behind and continued down the stairs to exit the dorm.

If I didn’t have any business with her, I had no time to spare.

“Sniff… perverted jerk… crazy bastard… sniff, psycho-like motherfcker…”

Behind me, her curses echoed like white noise, softly resonating.

*

“Even now, big and small problems are scattered throughout our country. The emergence of mutants, warlocks, reports of suspected demon-related activities, and the appearance of danger-class 2 monsters, among others. Most of these issues are ones that ordinary people without magic cannot touch at all.”

The two-week external assignment period had just begun. The large lecture hall was bustling with first-year students gathered to hear the pre-lecture explanations.

“This is fundamentally something only wizards can solve. However, compared to the incidents that arise, the number of wizards available is always woefully insufficient. The area around the capital may seem peaceful at a glance, but if any of you ever venture to the outskirts or near the northern wall, you’ll find out just how perilous the situation of this country truly is.”

Standing at the podium was a young professor with horn-rimmed glasses and a neatly trimmed beard, continuing the explanation with a projector.

“Since the establishment of the 10th Republic system 32 years ago, various measures have been implemented to address this chronic manpower shortage. The current national policy is to maximize efficiency wherever inexperienced individuals can be utilized. The adult age was lowered to 17, the military service period was extended to a maximum of five years, and now the external assignments you’re about to undertake proceed within that context.”

When Professor Kwon Chanyul pressed a button on the device he was holding, the projector whirred with a whirr-ing sound and soon displayed the next slide.

A Level:
– Second-year students ranked above 30 can undertake solo missions.
– Eliminate medium-scale groups of 2nd-class monsters.
– Capture or kill criminals with a bounty classified as yellow or below.
– Reserve personnel for undeveloped areas.
– Regular or emergency requests.

B Level:
– First-year students ranked above 30, second-year students, or first-year students under the guidance of a second-year student can undertake mentoring groups.
– Eliminate individual 2nd-class monsters or large groups of 3rd-class monsters.
– Capture or kill criminals with a bounty classified as purple or below.
– Escort missions outside of urban areas for corporate requests.
– Regular or emergency requests.

C Level:
– Available for first-year students and above.
– Eliminate individual 3rd-class monsters or small groups, capture and kill mutants.
– Escort missions within urban or nearby areas for corporate requests.
– Regular requests.

“These are requests classified and graded according to the level communicated from the Special Crime Investigation Bureau and the National Security Agency, handled by the Academy’s administration. You will first experience a C-level request, then sequentially carry out B-level requests with a mentoring group. After passing both requests, you’ll gain the authority to undertake any request according to your qualification based on your judgment.”

“I’m sorry for repeating myself, but I must emphasize how vital it is to get off on the right foot. If you receive a failing grade during this external assignment period, you’ll have no choice but to wait for the next term, which will be several months later. While you’re stuck in the Academy, your peers will be free to roam and accept leads, boosting their performance. This will impact everything from immediate rankings, sponsorship contract renewals, even where you’ll work after graduation.”

Professor Kwon finished with the projector and surveyed the students in the lecture hall.

“Of course, C-level requests cannot be viewed as high-level requests. They were categorized considering your skill levels, and the average pass rate exceeds 70%. But unless you want to end up in that 30%, it’s wise to adjust your mindset instead of treating it lightly.”

He glanced at his wristwatch briefly to check the time.

“You can freely change group configurations, but once names are written on the request form, that’s it. Also, remember that students who ranked in the top ten from the last exercise must join different groups. Now, I wish you all good luck.”

As he yawned and exited the room, it suddenly turned into a bustling marketplace, filled with chatter.

“Hey, come over here!”

“Hey, it’s all release-type! Only one from the circulation type can join…!”

While it was possible for first-year students to take C-level requests on their own, the group of four had been enforced considering this would be their first external assignment.

“Hyun Ah, we met last time, right? These are my friends…”

I ended up teaming up with Yena again. Since our last team’s synergy had been good, I didn’t see a need to change.

Yena sat at the table and introduced the two female students she had brought along. Their faces looked familiar; after digging through my memory, I instantly recalled who they were.

They were the duo I encountered when fleeing from the attack of the Akrathes during the last practice. One of them screamed upon seeing me, while the other was injured severely and being carried on her back.

“Hello. I’m Sera. Hong Sera.”

The girl who had screamed flashed a wide smile and extended her hand to me. She had bleached ponytails and tied her uniform jacket tightly around her waist. The length of her school uniform skirt was about half of Yena’s.

Her outfit was rather striking, almost making one worry about violations of dress code. It looked like she and Yena were total opposites. How on earth did they become friends…?

“Uh… Hyun doesn’t really like that sort of thing… just a greeting will do…”

Yena said this while casting glances at me. I thought I held it together well, but perhaps she noticed how I flinched every time our arms brushed against each other. I felt a little guilty about it.

“Hmmm…?”

“W-Wait…”

Yena shrank slightly but pushed back. The girl retracted her hand with a mischievous smile as if teasing.

“Hehe, it’s fine. Let’s just greet each other. By the way, I really appreciate what you did last time. I think we managed to escape thanks to you stepping in.”

“Right. Thanks to you, I received treatment quickly. You can just call me Summer.”

The girl with medium-length hair next to her lowered her head in response.

“…It’s okay. I didn’t do it to help or anything.”

“Heh, let’s leave it at that. But honestly, you’re cuter than I expected. Is this why rumors can’t be trusted?”

“You’re right… I told you so…!”

At the girl’s words, Yena nodded repeatedly with a satisfied expression.

Sera was from the Masada metropolitan area, and her parents were government officials working in the Long-Term Strategy Department. Summer was the granddaughter of a famous logistics chain founder in the capital.

Both were first-generation natural-born wizards with ordinary parents but had remarkable talents that allowed them to enroll in the academy.

“So, about last time when Yena…”

“Ha, don’t mention it…!”

It was kind of fascinating to see people from all different backgrounds come together like this.

While the girls happily chatted amongst themselves, I suddenly turned my head to check my surroundings.

Soon, I spotted Muyeong in the distance, chatting with his group members. Whatever was so funny made him burst into laughter mid-sentence.

I had no bad memories from our last session, so I wanted to team up with him again. After all, he was one of the few people I could comfortably talk to.

But in the end, I gave up after his polite and apologetic refusal.

Muyeong’s group was entirely male. He was also wearing a fresh expression, having taken off the mask he always wore. I couldn’t imagine even an ex-slave celebrating so joyfully after being freed from oppression.

No matter how I looked at it, he didn’t seem like a bad person. He truly was a unique friend…

“Alright, shall we talk now?”

Sera, who had been playfully tugging at Yena’s cheek, opened the floor for conversation.

“Uh… um…”

“Just call me Hyun.”

“Um, got it. As far as I remember, you’re specializing in circulation, right? And the three of us are all release-type.”

She spread out the request cards on the table in a shwiiiii-ing motion.

“Though the balance might be a little off, your overwhelming skill should cover that. Now about the mission…”

Despite her being a first-year, she seemed to know a lot of assorted facts.

“First-years can only take C-level requests, but even within the same level, the actual difficulty can vary significantly depending on distance and mission site. For instance, a simple extermination task for Nobekus in the underground waterway of Masada would have already been claimed by some sharp-eyed folks.”

“Nobekus…?”

“That giant, rat-like monster…”

When Yena looked puzzled, Summer exaggeratedly spread her arms like balloons to describe the size of the monster. Upon hearing this, Yena’s face turned pale.

“Yikes… I don’t like that…”

“Geez, when will she get over it like that…?”

Sera shook her head. I had seen Nobekus a few times as well. It was a transformed creature of the rodent family, about the size of a pony. They reproduce voraciously, gnawing through sewers and constantly blocking drain holes with their carcasses.

“And anyway, it’s probably already closed off, right? What we should aim for is this one: mutant extermination.”

Sera confidently slid the request card she had selected forward with a thud.

“Recently, there has been a surge in reports of mutants sighted in Sector B-143 of the capital. Let’s catch them. What do you think?”

While not being able to become a wizard, those who got negatively affected by particles turned weird in the head were dubbed mutants. Statistics indicated that more than 80% of those caught committing crimes hiding in the city’s alleys would often turn out to be mutants.

“I asked a senior last time, and they said that sometimes confronting mutants could be easier than monsters depending on the situation. Often, they develop an excessive obsession with specific targets, so as long as you set bait and set traps carefully, they’ll fall right in.”

“Excessively developed… obsession…?”

“For example, a bald mutant that only drinks virgin blood?”

“Yikes… that’s scary…”

“It’s fine. I don’t know why she’s so fearful when this girl here is more skilled than I am.”

Yena trembled, clinging to Summer. Sera shook her head at this reaction.

After a brief discussion, we decided to accept Sera’s proposed mutant extermination request. While it did seem a bit challenging compared to other C-level requests, the fact that it would take significantly less time than having to go to the outskirts for other requests was a considerable advantage.

But Sector B-143, huh? That sounded vaguely familiar.

I was certain I had seen that name in Yeon Minha’s reports. I think it mentioned that a research facility belonging to the Jeokhwa family was located within that area.

Wasn’t that a wealthy district? It seemed a bit strange that mutants had been sighted around such an area.

“Have you packed everything? Then let’s get the request forms signed and head out. We need to finish this quickly for peace of mind.”

Sera rose from her chair as she spoke. We each gathered our things and decided to meet up outside before heading out.

Naturally, my thoughts led back to Yeon Minha. I had encountered her briefly this morning on my way out.

Right now, I needed to stay away from the dorm for at least a day. There was no option to skip the request.

External assignments have a significant impact on one’s grades. And I had promised to graduate the Academy with distinction and excellent marks.

But then, while I was away, Yeon Minha would be exposed back to her previous environment.

…Well, she had lived for over ten years in such an environment. Even if she returned to that life for a day or two, I doubted it would have a substantial effect.

Anyway, I had extinguished the urgent fire for now. The rest could be dealt with gradually.

With that thought in mind, I stood up and exited the lecture hall, following the others.

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