I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 790 - Side Story 63: Private Lesson (3)

Pantos, who had approached sensing Rudger's presence, furrowed his eyebrows upon seeing Carlo standing beside him.

"Hmm?"

He had been concentrating his energy sense only on Rudger, so he was a bit late to notice. Once he did recognize it, he realized that the atmosphere emanating from Carlo was somehow peculiar.

"What exactly is this kid?"

Not only had Rudger, who had left saying he would see the world, come back to see him, but he had brought along some youngster with him. Pantos couldn't help but show considerable curiosity.

Facing Pantos, Carlo was completely intimidated, just like a frog before a snake.

'Wh-what the hell is this now?'

Carlo gulped down his saliva. He was so nervous that his fingertips tingled, and he couldn't help but clench and unclench his fists without realizing it.

Carlo had fought many people in the back alleys. From big guys to those with fierce looks, Carlo had knocked down all such guys with his own hands.

That's why Carlo thought he would never be affected by any external factors of his opponent.

But facing Pantos in person changed his mind.

He was literally a living, moving mass of muscle. But that didn't mean he was simply crude and rough. As could be inferred from his first appearance, he possessed agility and elasticity that was unbelievable for that massive body.

And most of all, what made Carlo afraid was the terrifying aura flowing from Pantos.

It was a tremendous pressure that could turn even wild predators into a handful of sand and Carlo couldn't even tell if he was breathing properly or not.

"Pantos, this child is one of the students I've recently been teaching, so how about withdrawing your energy a bit." 

"A student?"

Pantos, while puzzled by those words, withdrew his energy as Rudger said.

"Heok! Heok."

Carlo belatedly realized he hadn't been breathing and gasped roughly. Watching this, Pantos crossed his arms and evaluated.

"Hmm. Still a green youngster."

At those words calling him a youngster, Carlo momentarily flared up and glared at Pantos, but as soon as their eyes met, he had no choice but to lower his gaze.

Pantos gazed at Carlo with some interest, then immediately noticed that he was somewhat unusual.

"This youngster. He's half mixed." 

"As expected. I thought you would notice the moment you saw him."

Rudger nodded, confirming those words were correct.

Pantos immediately caught on to why Rudger had brought this youngster to him.

"Do you want me to teach this kid?" 

"As you can see, Carlo is a half-blood of human and beastkin. Half his body has beastkin blood flowing through it. Since he only recently became aware of this, I came to ask for help from someone with abundant experience in that area. You're the most outstanding beastkin I know."

Though it was half flattery, this was also Rudger's sincere feeling. At those words, Pantos stroked his chin as if considering.

Considering his personality, he must be feeling quite bothered by the mention of teaching Carlo.

Perhaps, given Pantos' personality, he might just tell them to leave since he didn't want to spend time with such a youngster.

But the answer that came out after a moment of consideration was truly unexpected.

"Fine. Let's try it." 

"Really?"

Rudger asked as if surprised.

"Didn't you come here needing my teaching? Why are you surprised?" 

"No. I was hoping you would, but I'm a bit surprised to actually hear words of acceptance." 

"Well, I understand. It's a proposal I wouldn't have even glanced at normally."

Pantos himself was properly aware of that part.

"However, if you ask why such a whim came over me, it's naturally because of you." 

"Me, you mean?" 

"Yes. It seems you've started playing teacher again, so I suddenly became curious. What would it feel like to take in and teach a student?"

Pantos has no master. He has never been taught by anyone and learned all combat techniques on his own.

Naturally, to him, the relationship between master and student only felt distant. A relationship that would have nothing to do with him going forward.

It would be ridiculous to serve a master at this point, and taking in a student naturally made him scoff.

But he couldn't help the peculiar curiosity. That was because he had clearly seen with his own two eyes the changes Rudger underwent while working as a teacher at Theon.

"It doesn't seem like it would hurt to try it once."

Pantos said this while gazing at Carlo.

"Besides, considering the atmosphere he gives off, his qualities don't seem entirely bad."

What he liked most would be Carlo's talent and his uniqueness as a half-blood of human and beastkin. His outward appearance resembled a human, but his inner nature most strongly took after beastkin characteristics.

Because it was Pantos, he could sense it. At the same time, he seemed to understand why Rudger had brought this brat to him.

"You heard that clearly, right, Carlo? From now on, Pantos here will be your teacher who will teach you as a beastkin." 

"W-wait a moment. Really?"

Carlo asked back as if he couldn't believe it. For him, it was quite difficult to accept this reality.

Whether he did or not, Pantos, having already finished the conversation, extended his huge hand toward Carlo and gripped his shoulder.

Just having his shoulder grabbed, Carlo became unable to do anything like a cat grabbed by the scruff of its neck.

"Now that it's come up, let's give you a lesson right away." 

"Ah. Can I watch from the side too?" 

"I don't mind."

Pantos forcibly brought Carlo in front of him. Then he said a word to him who was still bewildered.

"Come at me."

"Pardon?"

Carlo looked at Pantos and asked back. Soon he turned his head to look back at Rudger.

"Me?"

Fight? With this monster-like beastkin? The fighting spirit he had shown at Theon had long since become a candle before the wind and gone out. 

It couldn't be helped. The newly awakened sense as a beastkin was crying out that the beastkin before his eyes was an absolute powerhouse he could not oppose no matter what he tried.

"Didn't you come to receive teaching from me as a beastkin?" 

"No, that's true but..." 

"Now that you've come this far, I won't accept objections. By the way, since I have no experience teaching anything, all I can do is let you accumulate experience through actual combat. So take your stance. That is, if you don't want to die." 

"D-damn it!"

Carlo realized Pantos wasn't lying and quickly drew up his fighting spirit.

At that appearance of not avoiding the fight itself despite everything, Pantos grinned.

"Good stance. We beastkin are a race of natural-born warriors. That's why awakening and suppressing those instincts can only be achieved through actual combat."

As soon as those words ended, Pantos' fist shot out.

Thwack!

Carlo was hit by it and bounced backward helplessly, rolling on the ground several times. In the eyes of Carlo lying spread-eagled, consciousness had gone out.

"Oh dear."

Pantos clicked his tongue looking at Carlo who had fainted from one punch.

"It seems I'll need to control my strength a bit."

What Carlo saw when he came to his senses was the corpse of a huge beast placed in front of him. Before he could scream in surprise at it, Pantos appeared from behind and asked.

"Are you up now? Fainting from just one hit. Quite weak." 

"...!"

Carlo jumped up from his spot in shock. As soon as he confirmed Pantos' appearance, he remembered what happened just before he fainted.

No matter what, fainting from one punch—what kind of absurd case is this?

"Anyway, now that you're up, eat. You need to fill your stomach well."

When he thought he smelled something delicious, it seemed he had been grilling meat. Carlo was about to question whether food would go down in this situation, but he involuntarily gulped at the smell stimulating his nose.

Moreover, what Carlo's eyes saw was Rudger's figure sitting quietly in front of the campfire grilling meat.

Wait, your student got hit by someone else and fainted, and you just watched? Feeling unnecessarily defiant, Carlo stood up abruptly.

"Fine, I'll do it then."

Right. Either way, it's not like I'll die, right? And if I'm going to do it anyway, it's better to fill my stomach well.

As Carlo sat in the empty spot, the meal began. Carlo had no experience eating meat grilled in the wild like this, so he worried whether it might not taste good.

But such worries melted away like snow the moment he bit into the first piece.

"What is this?"

After uttering that one word of admiration, Carlo wordlessly chewed the meat like crazy. Who would have thought that meat simply grilled without any special cooking method could be this delicious?

Carlo devoured the meat ravenously like someone who had starved for days.

Just as the meal was ending, Pantos stood up and said.

"Then let's start right away now." 

"Pardon?"

Before Carlo could ask back, Pantos moved like the wind and threw a punch toward him.

"Goddammit!"

Carlo questioned what kind of absurd case this was, yet moved swiftly. He tried not only to evade while covering his entire body with mana but also to counterattack toward Pantos.

It was a completely different movement from when he fainted helplessly the first time. Part of it was being able to respond because he had experienced it once, but it was also because Pantos had somewhat held back his strength.

Just when it seemed he had blocked Pantos' first punch and would succeed in counterattacking.

Thwack!

He was hit by the second punch and fell back just like that.

"Hmm. Weak." 

"Don't you think it's because you're too strong?" 

"Still, well, he looks like he'd be fun to raise."

Pantos bared his teeth looking at the slight burn mark remaining on his fist. In that brief moment, Carlo had somehow counterattacked and carved an effective hit into this side.

He had thought he held back his strength against the youngster, but he hadn't been completely off guard either. The fact that this was the result meant Carlo's talent was better than expected.

Though it was something he started out of curiosity, it seemed like it would get interesting going forward.

"Ah really. This is ridiculously too much."

Carlo lay spread-eagled on the ground, looking up at the sky beginning to set. He had already fainted and woken up more than 10 times. During that time, he hadn't properly landed a proper effective hit on Pantos.

Even though he had confidence in his abilities, to this extent—isn't this too much no matter what? Moreover, fainting every time he lost a fight. What exactly is he supposed to learn from this?

Rudger approached Carlo and looked down at him.

"How was your first lesson?" 

"How should I know what it was like?" 

"You'll get used to it as you do it. You don't realize it, but unlike the beginning, the time you're holding out is increasing as time passes." 

"Really?" 

"Yes. You managed to hold out a whole 5 more seconds." 

"Ha. How very comforting that is."

Just 5 seconds. Is he making fun of me? Carlo thought Rudger was joking, but surprisingly, he was serious.

It wasn't just anything—he had earned 5 seconds of time against that Pantos. It was proof that Carlo's talent was shining little by little.

"Anyway, you worked hard today. Let's head back now." 

"Heok. Heok. Do the other guys also receive lessons similar to mine?" 

"Didn't I say it's customized lessons? Of course they're different." 

"Ha damn. Only I'm doing the hard stuff."

Carlo breathed raggedly with an annoyed voice, but didn't forget to say one last thing.

"Next time, I'll definitely win."

Pantos, who had been secretly eavesdropping on that conversation, smirked as if looking forward to it. Right. Come at me as much as you want, youngster. Struggle is the very essence of beastkin. Through that process, you will be tempered even harder.

"H-hello, teacher."

With a cold impression and considerably tall height and build, Robert Histon, who had a particularly mature and distinctive impression even among his peers, greeted Rudger while extremely tense.

"Yes, Robert Histon. Have you been well?" 

"Y-yes. I've been well." 

"You know from what you've heard, but we'll start the lessons now. Naturally, they'll be customized." 

"D-do I also do actual combat?"

Robert asked back as if that was what worried him. Was that the reason for his nervousness? Rudger shook his head toward Robert.

"No. Your lessons will proceed differently."

At that moment, Carlo, who had arbitrarily butted in saying he would observe Robert's lesson, shouted.

"Why not him!"