Chapter 1 : I Will Retire (1)

The day I requested retirement from the guild due to my terminal diagnosis, instead of retiring, I was “assigned” to a rural private elementary school that was affiliated with our guild.

At first, I tried to refuse, but then… this damn quest window appeared in front of me!

[Quest: Even someone who dreams of an ordinary life like you can do this!]

[Reward: Anything you desire, one wish granted!]

[Failure: The world will end.]

The world will end?!

[Content: Lava Elementary School is home to future heroes who will save the world. Earn their favor and help them grow properly. If even one of them dies, the quest will fail.]

If even one of them dies?!

Yeah, they’re supposed to be future heroes, so maybe teaching them will be easier?

Surely these kids will be brilliant enough to learn anything I teach… right?

Wrong!

These kids are weird!

There are returnees, reincarnates, soul possessors, and even… children of gods?!

What’s going on?!

Before the world ends, I think I’m already doomed.

One week before being assigned to Lava Elementary School, I had one motto in life:

“Live long and peacefully without accidents.”

“Hey, Kim Onyu.”

Just as I was lamenting my fate, a guild colleague, Lee Hogyul, called me.

“Let’s go grab a coffee.”

A little while later, at a nearby café.

“I want to retire…”

I said, sipping my bitter coffee, pouring out my frustration.

Retirement had always been one of my long-time wishes.

“Did you get rejected again today?”

My friend mocked me with a smirk, almost as if he was enjoying a show, sipping his coffee with a smug expression.

How could I have such a friend…?

“Isn’t quitting supposed to be free? Listen to this—today I handed in my resignation letter, and guess what happened?”

“What happened?”

“He laughed and tore my resignation letter apart!”

I could clearly see in my mind the image of the guild leader, still chuckling coldly as he shredded my resignation letter.

Today, I really thought I had a chance!

My stomach was burning, so I gulped down my coffee.

“It doesn’t make sense that a big guild is still holding onto you.”

“I know, right! If I’m an E-rank Hunter, shouldn’t they just let me go?”

I’m an E-rank Hunter, the lowest rank.

I have no use in combat.

Normally, Hunters stay at the rank they awaken to.

Even if they train their body, they don’t grow much.

But I’m different.

[Skill: Infinite Growth]

[Rank: A]

[Effect: Gain experience points by hunting monsters or performing specific actions. Gain points that can be used to increase stats each time you level up.]

So what?

Hunting monsters?

There’s no way I, an E-rank, could handle that.

The guild wouldn’t send me to dangerous dungeons either.

I know that my value doesn’t lie in my combat ability.

The tiny amount of points I get from daily actions all go to my students…

[Skill: Investment Genius]

[Rank: S]

[Effect: Consume your experience points to invest in the stats of others. Depending on how the target grows, you will either profit or lose. You cannot invest in yourself.]

I’m the only person in the world who can grow other Hunters.

Anyone would be drooling at the opportunity.

But not me!

“I need points to improve my own stats!”

All I have are skills that only help others grow!

“Why do I have so many flawed skills!?”

I can help other Hunters grow?

The guild would definitely laugh at me for having such a delusion as an E-rank Hunter.

Thanks to Yoon Kanghyun, the guild leader of ‘Hongyeom,’ I didn’t end up on the streets.

“I shouldn’t have joined the Hongyeom guild.”

I should have rejected his hand when he said I had talent.

After joining Hongyeom, I trained aspiring Hunters.

As a result, most of them awakened to A-rank, and a few of the exceptional ones became S-rank.

Thanks to that, Hongyeom became a large guild in a short period.

However, most of the S-rank Hunters left Hongyeom to create their own guilds.

“I’ve earned a lot of money, so now I just want to quit!”

When I complained, not even seriously, Lee Hogyul slapped the table and laughed.

“Are you talking about being full? Where else can you get a job like this?”

“That’s something you wouldn’t understand.”

I said seriously, and his expression froze.

The other staff around us also gave me puzzled looks.

“You’re taking care of kids, how hard could it be?”

When I was mocked like that, I couldn’t help but feel bitter.

But that’s what people who don’t understand say.

“These kids are monsters.”

“What?”

Lee Hogyul looked at me in disbelief.

Even if they’re future heroes, they’re just kids.

“Think about it. I’m an E-rank, and these kids are supposed to become top Hunters. What if they even lightly punch me?”

“No way, that wouldn’t happen.”

“I’m telling you, it would…”

If they hit me by accident, it wouldn’t be a simple bruise.

A broken rib would be the least of my problems.

These kids are pure evil.

The kids who approach me with smiles are like death reapers to me.

“I can’t even push them away when they come to me, and I’m going to end up torn apart at this rate!”

The more I thought about it, the more my whole body trembled.

Not to mention the overbearing parents who added to my stress.

“The obsession of the kids who graduated is getting worse every day…”

Some even became so obsessed that they wanted to bring me to their own guilds…

One even caused an incident that was almost like a kidnapping.

Thankfully, I was able to stop the situation where my S-rank disciple clashed with Yoon Kanghyun by talking things out.

But just thinking about that time still gives me a headache.

“I just want to retire quickly and farm in a quiet countryside…”

A life in a peaceful place was truly a sweet dream.

Right now, I looked like an exhausted office worker.

“Sigh… Anyway, the Guild Master is really stubborn. It’s already the dozens of times, and he still hasn’t accepted my resignation. At this rate, isn’t the only way for you to resign by dying?”

As I was ruffling my hair, I stared at Lee Hogyeol.

I felt like I had been hit, completely dazed.

“What did you just say?”

“Uh… I said the Guild Master is stubborn?”

“No, the part after that!”

“I said, ‘The only way for you to resign is if you die?’”

I moved in very close to Lee Hogyeol, almost to the point of being uncomfortable.

He stepped back in surprise at my sudden move.

“How did I not think of that?! You’re truly a genius!”

“What?”

I couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.

‘From today, I’ll be on borrowed time!’

What’s the best way to become terminally ill?

After doing some research, I came to one conclusion.

Mana Syndrome.

It’s a disease where mana keeps accumulating in the body, and the person eventually dies without being able to release it.

Mana Syndrome could only be diagnosed with precise equipment using a mana stone.

It was the perfect illness for my current situation.

‘The problem is, I need a diagnosis report for Mana Syndrome.’

Yoon Kanghyun, who is known for being cool-headed and meticulous, would never let something like that slip by.

My plan needed to be flawless.

If I got caught, I’d never be able to use the same method to escape the guild again.

Yoon Kanghyun, that guy, might lock me in a room and make me raise children or something.

Like a crew member on a deep-sea fishing vessel who can’t even get off the ship.

That can’t happen!

“I have to somehow get a Mana Syndrome diagnosis report.”

Of course, I’d also need a doctor who could confirm the diagnosis.

But a regular doctor wouldn’t diagnose Mana Syndrome in a perfectly healthy person like me.

I couldn’t use a hospital sponsored by Hongyeom because Yoon Kanghyun would find out.

So the only remaining option was one:

“Looks like I have no choice but to forge it.”

I’ll close my eyes and do this just this once.

It’s the only way I can save myself.

“To handle this job, I’ll have to rely on that guy.”

There’s one person who’s skilled at forgery.

Although he’s B-rank, his forging skills are comparable to the best in the world.

Plus, he’s on bad terms with Yoon Kanghyun, so there’s no chance they’ll be in contact.

Perfect!

“His personality is the most dangerous, though.”

When I taught him, my phone was hacked several times.

Thinking about those times still makes me shudder.

‘Is it time to lift the seal?’

I searched through the endless list of blocked contacts and found his name.

I never imagined I’d have to unseal the person I had sealed myself.

With trembling hands, I pressed the call button.

Although I pressed it, I secretly hoped he wouldn’t answer.

But, of course, he didn’t disappoint me and answered.

After three rings, I heard his voice.

-What is it? You haven’t contacted me for years, so what’s going on?

“Cha Domin, I need your help.”

He was the one with a notorious reputation and a nickname.

A genius hacker, ‘Digit Gang’.

Although he operated independently, he demonstrated hacking skills that were on par with hacker groups.

He once hacked the system of a nuclear power plant just because he was bored.

‘I managed to convince him not to cause any trouble, though.’

He was the most dangerous person I had ever trained in the last 10 years.

-You need help from me? Well, I never thought I’d hear that in my life.

Cha Domin’s laughter surrounded my ears.

-The guy who even killed a dragon needs help? Did the sun rise from the east today? Haha!

He laughed so hard that my ears were ringing.

Is it really that funny that I called?

-Ah, I haven’t laughed like this in a long time. So what help do you need?

“I need a diagnosis report for Mana Syndrome.”

There was a brief silence.

What went wrong?

Cold sweat started to drip down.

If Cha Domin realized what I was up to or refused, it would be the end!

I’d end up like a deep-sea fishing crew member, stuck on a ship forever!

-… Why do you need a Mana Syndrome diagnosis? If you need it, just go to a doctor and get a diagnosis.

His tone was now serious, without the laughter.

Here it comes.

I had no intention of telling him about the fake terminal illness.

I swallowed dry saliva.

After rehearsing the lines many times, I finally spoke.

“I recently found out that I have Mana Syndrome through a magical tool.”

-A magical tool?

“Yes, but if the other guilds find out I have Mana Syndrome, our guild will be in big trouble.”

Of course, this was a lie.

A magical tool that diagnoses Mana Syndrome?

I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never seen one.

“The diagnosis will leave a record of me having Mana Syndrome. Other guilds will be watching the hospital too.”

-If the teacher is going to the hospital, it’s obviously expected.

Contrary to appearances, I’m an E-rank hunter with nothing special.

“I told the guild leader that I wanted to stop because of the Mana Syndrome, but he didn’t believe me.”

-…That bastard?

He seemed really angry for some reason.

Sweat started to drip from me for no reason.

“He said he’d believe me if I brought a diagnosis for the Mana Syndrome. The magic tool only shows that I have the disease, but to prove the severity of the symptoms, I need the diagnosis.”

I mentioned things that Cha Domin might ask about in order to avoid suspicion.

“I want to retire as quietly as possible, so I’m asking you. You’re the most trustworthy disciple I have.”

I tried to make my voice sound as sincere as possible.

Maybe I should become an actor.

This would fool anyone, right?

‘I guess it’s natural since I’ve lied to the kids so much.’

To assert my dominance, I once told them that I caught a dragon all by myself.

My acting was so convincing that the kids believed it without question.

I wonder if the ones who have already started their own guilds still believe it.

‘There’s no way, right?’

Without realizing it, the corners of my mouth curled up.

The kids who’ve graduated, how old are they by now?

-Alright, I’ll do it. But there are conditions.