A boy suddenly spoke to me.

He couldn’t have been more than fifteen. Round, dark eyes like a puppy with drooping ears—he looked like the kind of kid you’d want to pat on the head right then and there.

But trusting that innocent face would be a mistake. This kid was a big deal.

‘There’s only one person with a curse tattoo covering that cheek.’

A being wielding power akin to a curse. The protagonist of the novel—Michael Foxin.

Before his Awakening, he had ordinary brown hair and was so thoroughly cowed that he didn’t look remotely like an overpowered character.

And yet here he was, trembling as he checked on a stranger dripping with blood. What a heart of gold.

Classic early-chapter protagonist behavior. Knowing how he’d later descend into darkness, I already felt a pang of pity.

But setting that aside, the real roleplay work was about to begin.

‘Time to get my head in the game. Unless I want to die treated like a monster!’

The roleplay I’d devised for survival, in a nutshell, was ‘Lazy Strongest True Master.’

You know the type. The trash character who crawls in calling themselves a professor, then never actually teaches and just naps all day.

But in reality! The strongest veteran who’d been through it all, a powerhouse who’d greatly aid the protagonist’s growth through piercing, on-point guidance.

Of course, I didn’t know the first thing about magic, so becoming a true master was out of the question.

‘But I can fake it.’

During the journey to the Academy, I fleshed out this ‘Lazy Strongest True Master’ roleplay. I already had the edgy, cool appearance down—next came the backstory.

In the past, Chris had lived a life of slaughtering enemies with overwhelming power. But one day, due to her own mistake, she lost someone precious.

If I set that person as her disciple, it would explain why Chris was reluctant to ‘teach.’

Having bitterly learned the price of wielding power recklessly, Chris had shut herself in her room ever since that day, a husk barely clinging to life.

Taking pity on Chris wasting away like that, the Principal of Bedallua Academy offered her a professorship—

‘And Chris reluctantly came to the Academy.’

Only the last part was true. I’d rummaged through Chris’s bag and found a letter personally sent by the Principal.

Regardless, Chris wouldn’t want to experience the pain of losing another disciple. She’d rather have her incompetence proven and be expelled from the Academy.

And above all—

‘Despite everything, she still has an arrogant streak.’

The core of this roleplay! The mindset that trash like this isn’t worth teaching because they’re too pathetic!

Chris was the kind of person who’d casually say, “If you want to see my magic, raise your level first. You don’t qualify yet!”

Dig a little deeper, and there was even this layer of consideration: ‘Half-assedly teaching half-baked kids will only get them killed, so it’s better to send them home now…’

‘The Roleplay Addict inside me is still alive and kicking.’

Good. There was plenty to refine going forward, but the basic framework of the roleplay was already in place.

So then, what attitude would ‘Chris’ adopt in front of this little protagonist who obviously looked like a new student?

“Why are you here?”

“Y-yes…?!”

“It’s still class time. I asked why a new student is here.”

Dismissing the other’s concern entirely and saying only what she wanted—utter rudeness. Yet seasoned enough to identify the other’s status at a glance.

To look like I couldn’t care less whether what was running down my forehead was sweat or blood, I shoved my hands into my pants pockets.

‘Though actually, I’m worried to death. Isn’t the blood going to get in my eyes at this rate? This seriously hurts.’

Fortunately, the protagonist, thoroughly terrified, kept his head bowed low as he answered.

“Um, w-well… I was told I couldn’t keep up with the class, and the professor told me not to come to the training grounds…”

I see. That explains it.

The only magic the protagonist could reliably use at this point was Fireball. Which fell short of Bedallua Academy’s standards as the finest institution on the continent.

His admission in the first place was thanks to the Principal’s special recruitment program, an attempt to soften the Academy’s elitism.

‘That’s too harsh. What kind of professor does that? Michael is a duly enrolled student.’

This was an educational institution—was blatant discrimination like this acceptable? If there were an inspector, I’d have reported them on the spot.

Instead, I wanted to give them a piece of my mind, but staying in character, I could only spit it out coldly with an expression of indifference.

“Tch. Trash.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

Hey, I wasn’t specifically calling you trash. Are you crying right now…?

But ‘Chris’ had to show irritation even at that pitiful face. This was harder on my conscience than I’d expected.

I deliberately furrowed my brow harder and spoke.

“Whiny little brats are the most annoying.”

“Ah, r-right, I… I won’t cry… *kuljjuk*, I’m sorry…”

“Haa… What class are you in?”

This wouldn’t do. I needed to get this kid to his classroom fast.

Actually, ignoring him and walking away wouldn’t break character, but in the meantime, a new quest had popped up.

[Main Quest: Request of the Earth God 1-2]

[Heart-pounding first day of work! Chris is the professor in charge of ‘X-Class.’ Arrive at the classroom within the time limit and conduct your first lesson.]

Success Reward: Bedallua Academy Map (2/4), Monkey Keyring

Failure: Death

Time Remaining: 00:09:48]

I had the ‘Map’ obtained from completing the first quest, but the problem was that I only had a quarter of it, so I didn’t know where the main building where classes were actually held was.

‘And yet they give me a quest like this.’

Ultimately, telling me to arrive within 10 minutes was basically saying to get help from the protagonist right in front of me.

But more importantly, I was the homeroom teacher for the protagonist’s class…

Then the professor currently running the class was some stand-in leading the class temporarily in the absent ‘Chris’s’ place.

Naturally, they’d have no sense of responsibility and would be enthusiastically discriminating against students.

“Hic!”

Whether my face had soured even further without my realizing it, the protagonist answered while practically streaming tears, looking like a victim being threatened.

“I-I-I-I’m in, X-Class…! Please s-save me…!”

“Guide me.”

“Y-y-yes…?”

Save him? I’m the one who should be saying that.

I looked pityingly at the protagonist, who had bitten his tongue, and continued.

“Can’t you understand instructions?”

“I-I’ll guide you right away…!”

If even his pronunciation was falling apart, there was no way the protagonist’s legs were working properly.

The kid was practically doing a crab walk.

How were we supposed to arrive within 10 minutes like this?

“Haa…”

It couldn’t be helped. If it were ‘me,’ I’d have quickly calmed him down and run alongside him, but ‘Chris’ was the kind of person who found that level of effort bothersome.

I immediately reached out, grabbed the protagonist, and slung him over my shoulder like a piece of luggage.

“Ah…!”

“That mouth of yours can still flap. Guide me.”

“F-first, please go straight to the left…!”

A human GPS, essentially.

Thanks to that, I was able to find the classroom smoothly following the protagonist’s directions.

The problem, however, was…

‘Damn it, this is killing me.’

The fact that my strength was trash?

She was short and scrawny, so I’d picked him up with bravado, but what had I done with F-Rank strength? I should’ve just carried him on my back, pride be damned.

I’d clenched my teeth so hard to keep from groaning while climbing the stairs that my jaw ached.

Never doing this again.

And so, I finally arrived at the door.

“Th-this is X-Class… Oh, the practical drill finished while we were gone. Everyone’s inside… A-are you going in…?”

“Hmm.”

Of course I was going in. But before that—

‘That’s my limit.’

I couldn’t hold him any longer.

Bang!

“U-uwaaaagh?!”

I kicked the door open and hurled the protagonist into the classroom first.

Sorry, every muscle in my body is spasming right now!

“What? Michael? You scared me! Making quite the entrance, aren’t you?”

“Attention-seeking bastard.”

I could hear the extra students snickering.

“…….”

The protagonist, face flushed red, glanced my way once before timidly shuffling back to his seat. It was heartbreaking to watch.

But don’t worry. From this point on, every single one of their gazes would be fixed on me.

‘Roleplay work is half about seizing the initiative.’

I took a deep breath and marched into the classroom with the gravity of a general taking the field.

The classroom fell silent in an instant.

Naturally. Some dark-haired stranger had suddenly barged in out of nowhere.

I swept a bored gaze across them all.

Sure enough, the characters who would go on to shine as the protagonist’s companions caught my eye. They looked exactly as I’d imagined them while reading the novel, so they were easy to recognize.

I was somehow glad to see them. But ‘Chris’ had to speak with contempt.

“Nothing but trash, I see. To think I’m supposed to teach the likes of you—Bedallua has truly lost its mind.”