Chapter 27. Southern Continent.

7th week, 5th day.

Instructor Andrei greeted the unchanging dawn sun as always. He washed up, got dressed, and then woke up Team 5 with a racket.

– Kisaaaang Kisaaaaangㅡ!

Still, Team 5 had mostly shed their chick status and were almost ready to become full-fledged members of the continent. They probably wouldn’t starve even if they left the academy right away.

After finishing the morning training preparations, Andrei, the swordsmanship instructor, gathered the trainees with a knack for swords and conducted intensive training. He had an uncanny ability to find hidden talents like a hawk and draw them out. Thanks to that, quite a few of his students had entered good guilds and made a name for themselves.

However, none of them surpassed Kang Jihyuk, his former student. Whenever he heard rumors about Kang Jihyuk, he would recall those old days.

He was certain that Jihyuk would be successful. But he didn’t know he would accomplish such great things.

The unprecedented hero who chose a 100-point mission for his first assignment and succeededㅡ!

Instructor Andrei proudly told his team members about Hero Kang Jihyuk whenever he had the chance. It was also a way of boasting about his own insight in recognizing Jihyuk’s talent at a glance.

While they were training hard, Chief Manager Lallop suddenly called for him. The instructor was a bit disappointed that he had to stop, but he couldn’t just ignore the person in charge’s summons.

“Don’t you dare slack off while I’m goneㅡ! If there are any guys who aren’t sweating when I get back, I’ll make you cry tears and snotㅡ!”

Instructor Andrei gave a warning growl and headed to the chief manager’s office. As soon as the secretary in front of the door saw the instructor coming, she knocked on the door.

“Chief Manager-nim, Instructor Andrei is here.”

– Come in.

The female secretary gestured that he could enter. The instructor straightened his clothes once in front of the door and went inside the chief manager’s office.

“Chief Manager-nim, you called me…”

Instructor Andrei’s eyes widened as soon as he saw the person sitting in the seat of honor. He smiled at the instructor and put down the teacup he was holding.

“Long time no see, Instructor.”

Andrei suppressed the smile that was about to burst out and went to the fancy table, bowing deeply.

“It’s been a while, Hero-gakha.”

Jihyuk got up from his seat and approached him, opening his arms. Only then did the instructor smile brightly, hug the hero tightly, and pat him on the back. He was overjoyed to see his student again after many years.

“You haven’t changed, Instructor. …But did you come straight from training? You smell like sweat….”

“Tsk, you little rascal talking to your instructor like that. …Sorry, just kidding.”

Hahaha.

As the two of them started laughing loudly, Lallop, the chief manager and person in charge, smiled slightly.

“Please, talk comfortably. I’ll leave you two alone.”

“Thanks.”

“Not at all. Then.”

The Orc Lallop bowed his head deeply enough to reveal his slightly balding crown and left the room. Jihyuk and the instructor sat down on the plush chairs.

“I heard the rumors. Do you know how surprised I was?”

“Was it that much?”

“Of course, I knew you would rise high. But I didn’t know you would succeed so quickly. It was beyond my imagination….”

“Well, I had to live up to your expectations, didn’t I?”

The instructor smiled proudly. His eyes resembled those of a parent looking at a child who had grown up so well.

The two of them had a long conversation about lighthearted greetings and daily life. A moment of silence passed, and the lukewarm tea filled the void.

“But, what brings you here? You wouldn’t have come all this way just to see my face…. Is it because of a mission?”

“Well, it’s a bit of both.”

“…I would have been touched if you said it was because of me, but I’m a little disappointed.”

“I’m not very good at making empty promises.”

Hehe. The two laughed lightly. Jihyuk put down the teacup he was holding and spoke again in a serious tone.

“I came to see if there are any promising candidates to become heroes. Someone with great talent and a good personality.”

“…Well.”

Instructor Andrei stroked his stubbly chin with his calloused hand and pondered.

“There was a good one two months ago….”

“There’s usually one or so per class, right?”

Seuㅡeupㅡ. The instructor thought deeply, then exclaimed softly as if he had remembered something.

“…Oh, there is one.”

“What’s their personality like? I’m a bit picky about that….”

“They get along well with everyone. I wouldn’t have recommended them in the first place if there was a problem. I hate rude bastards too.”

“Is that so? …Then, could you arrange a meeting?”

“Well, I guess I could. …It’s a bit of an abuse of power, though.”

“Ah, rightㅡ.”

Jihyuk took out a leather pouch from his pocket. Instructor Andrei quickly waved his hand, saying, “Aigo, no need for that. Really.”

“I’m giving this to you to thank you for taking care of me back in the day. Buy your friends some drinks with it. Ah, come on, take it.”

“Really, it’s okay. Something bad will happen if I take this.”

“I’m giving it to you because I’m sincerely grateful. Just accept it. Hmm?”

Haa. The instructor eventually took the pouch slowly and quickly stuffed it into his pocket, making sure no one was watching. Jihyuk grinned.

“Don’t feel pressured. It’s just a gift. It wouldn’t be right to come empty-handed, especially after making it this far.”

“…Okay. I’ll use it well, gakha.”

“Funny.”

“Keuheuhe, ah, I’m not laughing because I’m happy. Don’t misunderstand.”

Instructor Andrei couldn’t help but smile, his lips twitching as he tried to suppress his joy.

“Anyway….”

Jihyuk clapped his knee with his palm and said,

“Can we meet them now? I don’t have much time.”

“Now? …I’ll talk to my friend first. But it might not be possible right away. They’re not in my team, after all.”

“That’s fine. I can wait a bit.”

“Okay. Then, I’ll be back.”

Instructor Andrei jumped up, bowed lightly, and left the room. In the meantime, the female secretary briefly came in to refill the empty teapot and left again.

Jihyuk savored another cup of tea and pondered for quite a while. After emptying one cup and refilling it, he had drunk about half of it when Andrei finally returned. With a person in tow.

It was a woman with short black hair and neatly arranged, pretty features. If this were Earth, she’d give off the vibe of a fresh college freshman. Her physique clearly wasn’t the physical type. As soon as Jihyuk saw her, something seemed to come to mind.

“Thanks for bringing her.”

“Not at all. Then, please talk.”

Instructor Andrei bowed deeply and left the room. Left alone, she looked a bit nervous. …Well, it’s only natural to be nervous when the instructor who makes the trainees tremble bows so politely.

“Come and sit down.”

“Ah…, yes.”

The woman cautiously approached Jihyuk. When he held out his hand, she politely took it.

“I’m Hero Kang Jihyuk.”

Heroㅡ!

He was someone incredibly high up. She had met some guild members, but this was her first time meeting a hero.

“I’m Selly.”

“Selly?”

“Yes.”

“Sit down.”

Jihyuk persistently searched his memory. There was no Selly among the heroes. …It felt like he had to play Twenty Questions.

His gaze thoroughly examined her as she carefully sat down.

White skin, a fragrant scent, neat clothes, hands without calluses, slender legs.

“It seems like you’re a role that doesn’t use weapons separately?”

“Ah, yes. In my world, I was called an Esper. …Here, they call me a telekineticist.”

Telekineticistㅡ.

There, Jihyuk found the missing piece of the complicated puzzle of his memory. Telekineticist Sellyㅡ! …She was a member of the Red Hawk Guild, I think.

He remembered hearing that she was so skilled that she had received an offer to join an S-class hero team. Of course, she was very loyal and refused the offer, staying with the guild until the end.

If she received an offer to join an S-class hero team, that meant she was at least an A-class hero in terms of skill. Then there was no doubt about her ability. In fact, Espers were at least average. Even if she wasn’t a hero, she could do her part as a colleague.

The downside was that they usually focused on only one ability, making them extreme, and their mana efficiency was lower than magic, but even considering that, their strengths were good, making them a fairly popular role.

“Have you received recruitment offers a few times?”

“…Yes.”

“From the guild?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

The hero nodded lightly. Honestly, he was tempted. He wanted to recruit her first and then nurture her if he thought she had the qualities of a hero.

But he couldn’t force her to come if she didn’t want to. Jihyuk didn’t want that either. It would be better to take someone with passion, even if they were a little less skilled. After all, talent can only bloom brilliantly when passion and effort are the foundation.

Jihyuk didn’t want to beat around the bush. It was either yes or noㅡ. He didn’t want to hold onto someone who didn’t want to be there. The continent was vast, and there were plenty of talented people.

“I’ll be honest. I want to recruit you.”

“…Neeh?!”

“This will definitely be a rare opportunity for you. But I don’t want to force you.”

“Ah….”

Selly hesitated. Jihyuk thought it was natural. A hero she had never seen before suddenly appeared and made a recruitment offer, so it wouldn’t be easy to accept right away. Of course, he was willing to give her enough time to think. He wasn’t going to take her right away anyway.

“I’ll give you time to learn about me. It’s already the 7th week, so there’s still one week left. I have to leave tomorrow because of a mission, so I’ll send someone from the Cheonma Guild here exactly one week later. Make your decision then. If you accept, the guild will take care of you for a while until I return.”

“…Okay.”

“You’re called Selly, right?”

“Yes, Hero-nim.”

Jihyuk smiled kindly.

“To brag a little, I’m a pretty amazing person. So I can make you a very amazing person. I have the ability to do that.”

He paused for a moment and then opened his mouth again.

“I’m a hero of the continent. My activities are not for profit. I’m working for the peace and well-being of the continent. …If you’re looking for money, you might want to look elsewhere.”

The hero smiled even more brightly.

“My ultimate goal is to defeat the Demon King and return to my hometown. I’m a stranger like you, so I desperately want to go back home. If you feel the same way, I have no doubt that we’ll get along well.”

Selly swallowed hard. Jihyuk held out his hand to her again.

“That’s all I have to say. I’m sorry for holding you back for so long because of my greed. …Whether we meet again or not, I wish you infinite glory, Selly.”

She reached out her hand, trembling very slightly, and slowly took his hand.

“Thank you, Hero-nim. …It was an honor to meet you.”

“Take care.”

The two stood up at the same time. Jihyuk smiled and tapped her arm once before slowly leaving the room. She bowed her head towards his departing back.

The door closed, and a long sigh escaped, trembling slightly.

…Selly clearly felt the weight of the title of hero.