Chapter 72
Students began gathering one by one in the Introduction to Monster Studies lecture hall.
Students who had just entered the lecture hall each stopped in their tracks upon seeing the object in front of the podium.
A petite skeleton model.
Prepared by Si-hyun after accepting Areum’s suggestion, the cutely deformed model stood in place.
It had an appearance cute enough to belong in an animated cartoon.
However, the students’ reactions upon discovering the model were cold.
“Surely we’re not practicing with that thing again today, right?”
“It does look cute, but after what happened before, it’s kind of scary….”
“If you get hit with something like that, wouldn’t that turn this into a horror story?”
Ordinary liberal arts courses were often so uneventful that they induced sleep.
But Introduction to Monster Studies offered fresh shocks with every lecture.
As a result, the students raised their guards, vowing not to be deceived by the model’s adorable appearance.
Si-hyun quietly observed the students’ reactions with a faint smile.
“How is it that every single one of them reacts the same way…?”
She found their innocent behaviour endearing. It was fun to observe.
“Is it about time to start?”
Si-hyun checked the time.
Straightening her posture from leaning against the podium, she adjusted her outfit.
“Good afternoon, everyone.”
The students heard Si-hyun’s clear voice for the first time in two weeks.
They greeted her warmly.
Si-hyun nodded and, with an apologetic expression, said,
“Last week’s lecture was suddenly cancelled. I’m sorry for not notifying you in advance. There were unavoidable circumstances.”
She glanced around at the students’ expressions.
There weren’t any particularly notable reactions.
“I’ve prepared a small gift for you all. I’ll hand it out as we take attendance.”
The unexpected announcement made the students’ eyes widen.
“A small gift?”
While the sudden cancellation last week had drawn complaints, it was uncommon for a professor to prepare gifts in response.
Usually, they would just make up for the missed lecture with additional classes.
But here they were.
She had prepared a gift.
“Kwon Jae-woo.”
“Yes!”
As Si-hyun took attendance, she personally handed out thin folders containing introduction letters.
The students energetically responded and politely accepted the folders.
When they checked the contents, their eyes grew large.
“A C-rank crafting-type hunter’s introduction letter?!”
“Wow, this is so hard to get!”
“I can’t believe she prepared something like this—so thoughtful!”
The atmosphere in the lecture hall quickly became lively.
Si-hyun slowly observed the students’ reactions.
Seeing them excited and pleased made her feel equally happy.
“I’m glad I asked the section chief for help.”
With a bright smile, Si-hyun clapped her hands loudly.
Clap!
The now-silent students focused their attention on her.
“Let’s begin the lecture.”
In a calm voice, she operated the equipment.
And so, the lecture began.
“Today, we’ll be covering undead monsters that appear in low-rank dungeons.”
On the screen, the materials Si-hyun had prepared were displayed.
The students also placed the printed materials they had prepared on their desks.
Not a single student had forgotten their handouts.
“Before diving into the main content, shall we start by looking at an article?”
As she turned the page, an article about a recent incident appeared on the screen.
“An A-rank double dungeon with an undead theme was recently discovered. It’s been the talk of the town, hasn’t it? The buzz still hasn’t died down.”
The students nodded their heads.
The incident had been widely covered, and no one was unaware of it.
It was an extraordinary, shocking event.
Because of this, the students’ curiosity was piqued.
“Why is the professor bringing up this incident?”
“Is she using it as an example for today’s lecture?”
Their attention was drawn to the lecture, and they began to focus.
“One day, you may rank up and become high-ranking hunters yourselves. Then, you could find yourselves facing such incidents. It’s not entirely unrelated to you.”
Si-hyun made them realize how the incident could relate to their own lives.
The students widened their eyes as if they had just realized something.
“Oh, I see! It wasn’t just some random event.”
“If I live as a hunter, I might face something like this one day….”
The fact that it could be an event they might personally encounter someday!
Naturally, they recognized the practical significance of today’s lecture, and their motivation to learn increased.
“Good. They’re all focused now.”
Si-hyun carefully observed how the students’ attitudes were changing, just as she had intended.
Watching their expressions, she delved into the lecture.
“You all remember what we learned about goblins last time, right? Goblins should feel familiar by now. Let’s use goblin undead as an example to start.”
Si-hyun linked what they had previously learned to what they would be learning today.
At the same time, she made the content more relatable to the students’ experiences.
The characteristics of undead monsters.
A classification chart of famous undead monsters and their ranks.
The lecture followed a structure similar to the previous ones.
Yet, not a single student was dozing off or distracted.
This was despite it being a liberal arts lecture immediately after lunch.
The naturally heightened motivation to learn kept their focus sharp.
“……So then.”
Once the basic explanations had been sufficiently covered, Si-hyun posed a question to assess their understanding.
“Would undead monsters also be considered living creatures?”
“Huh?”
“Umm….”
Everyone was taken aback. It was a completely unexpected question.
The students squinted their eyes and began to think deeply.
They each tried to reason it out in their own way.
With a light smile, Si-hyun spoke.
“We previously discussed whether monsters could be classified as living creatures in an earlier lecture.”
The students nodded in agreement.
“I hope you think carefully about that part.”
Si-hyun checked the time.
It was almost exactly the end of the fifth period.
“Let’s discuss this again after the break.”
Creak—
Click, click.
Leaving the students with a head full of questions, Si-hyun exited the lecture hall. The sound of her low-heeled shoes gradually faded.
The students stared at the lecture hall’s front door for a moment.
A short while later.
Murmur, murmur.
One by one, they began engaging in heated discussions.
Break time naturally turned into study time.
No one had told them to do so, but everyone naturally joined the conversation.
That’s how captivating the Introduction to Monster Studies lecture was.
“Isn’t it the mainstream view that monsters are classified as living beings?”
“Still, wouldn’t the undead be different?”
“Um, what exactly does ‘undead’ mean again?”
“Wait a minute! Let me look it up.”
Undead. A term they used as naturally as breathing.
But none of the students could define it precisely.
Unconsciously, they began engaging in critical thinking.
What is the undead?
They carefully analyzed, synthesized, and evaluated the information.
So immersed were they that they hardly realized how much time had passed.
Creak—
Before they knew it, the break was over, and Si-hyun had returned.
Checking the time, she smiled gently as she looked around at the students.
The students gazed back at her with eyes full of enthusiasm.
“What’s the answer, in the end?”
“What is the professor going to say?”
“Is my guess correct? I’m kind of excited.”
Every student, unified in purpose, eagerly awaited the professor.
They perked up their ears, waiting for Si-hyun to speak.
In a soft voice, Si-hyun asked,
“Did you all think it through? Did you have many questions?”
The students nodded vigorously.
“Before I give you my answer, let’s hear your opinions.”
Si-hyun encouraged active participation from the students.
Those confident in their guesses eagerly raised their hands.
“Since they’re neither dead nor alive, shouldn’t they be classified separately?”
“Since they’re corpses, isn’t it hard to see them as living beings?”
“Undead is just a characteristic; they’re not living beings, right?”
Various opinions were voiced.
Si-hyun nodded with satisfaction.
She could sense how hard the students had thought, and it made her feel proud.
“The answer is…”
Si-hyun began slowly.
“Finally, we’ll know the answer!”
The students focused intently, waiting for the answer.
With an exaggerated shrug, Si-hyun said,
“All of you are correct.”
“What?!”
The unexpected response caused an uproar among the students.
Si-hyun gestured for calm and continued her explanation in a gentle tone.
“Undead isn’t a singular concept. It’s merely a broad classification. Sometimes, they’re magical living creatures, and sometimes, they’re simply corpses or souls controlled by mana. In the end, it depends on the monster.”
Her point was that it varied based on perspective and classification systems.
It wasn’t a particularly groundbreaking answer.
It was simple, foundational knowledge.
This was only natural; the course was Introduction to Monster Studies, after all.
It was a lecture aimed at E~D rank students.
But the students had genuinely learned something.
They had actively engaged and poured their focus into the lecture.
“Now, let’s use this.”
Si-hyun stood in front of the petite skeleton model.
At that moment.
Tension filled the air among the students.
“Surely not that again today?”
“Again, seriously…?”
“Why even bother making it cute if this is what we’re doing…”
Si-hyun watched as the students’ expressions hardened.
She could clearly see what was running through their minds.
“Heh…”
Without realizing it, she let out a small laugh.
It was amusing.
Very amusing.
The students seemed troubled, yet why was it so enjoyable for her?
Si-hyun smiled with satisfaction, fully savouring the students’ adorable reactions.
—
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