Chapter 4: An Academy Without Lee Hyun-seung [Emptiness]

“Professor?”

Suddenly, a few students called out to her, pulling her back to reality after noticing she had stopped.

Taken aback, Jung Yoo-jin quickly regained her composure and resumed the lesson.

“Sorry, I got lost in thought. Let’s get back to class, shall we?”

Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-seung was inside a labyrinth teeming with monsters.

The labyrinth had been explored up to the 12th floor, but no one knew just how deep it went.

The only certainty was that the deeper one went, the stronger the monsters became.

At the moment, Hyun-seung stood on the first floor of the labyrinth, at a dead end.

Sssssss

He began feeling along the walls.

“D*mn… This is the place.”

There was a secret area on the first floor that hadn’t been unlocked yet. Hyun-seung only knew about it because he was a veteran at Broad Academy.

Clack!

As his fingers traced the wall, something clicked, catching his attention.

“Found it. Just like in the game.”

He removed a small brick, revealing a magic circle etched inside.

Crack!

Without hesitation, Hyun-seung bit his finger.

Drip

He let his blood flow into the magic circle.

Fwoosh!

In an instant, the magic circle lit up, pulling him in.

Once inside, grand structures and a single well came into view.

The place where Hyun-seung had been pulled was a hidden spot on the first floor of the labyrinth, known as the Goddess’s Well.

He had come here for one purpose: to acquire a profession.

The Goddess’s Well was a place that allowed one to awaken and gain a profession.

‘In the game, the profession was determined by the offerings.’

When playing Broad Academy Online, cutting a lock of hair and offering it to the Goddess’s Well would grant an epic-tier profession.

Professions were ranked in the order of Common, Rare, Epic, Unique, and Legendary, making even an Epic rank highly desirable. However, Hyun-seung hesitated.

He knew something that no one else did.

The Goddess’s Well didn’t just accept hair as an offering. Any part of the user’s body could be used as a sacrifice. In fact, the bigger the offering, the higher the potential for a better profession.

For example, offering only hair would grant an epic-tier profession, but if one offered both hair and nails, there was a chance of obtaining a profession of a higher rank.

‘A well that gives you a profession based on how much you’re willing to sacrifice…’

However, the profession given was random.

Additionally, this hidden space on the first floor of the labyrinth would disappear once someone either offered a sacrifice to the well or left.

That’s why very few people knew about it. In fact, Hyun-seung was probably the only one aware of its existence since he always monopolized it right at the start of every game cycle.

Hyun-seung hesitated.

‘Equivalent exchange…’

The more one sacrificed, the greater the return.

The chance of obtaining a high-tier profession would increase.

But offerings had to be parts of one’s own body; offering parts from monsters or other people wouldn’t work.

Judging by the fact that hair alone could yield an epic profession, it was easy to predict that cutting off a finger or toe might result in an even better profession.

Gulp

‘Should I just take it easy and quit? As long as I don’t end up with a common-tier profession, even an epic one would be fine…’

There was a high probability of obtaining an epic-tier profession just by offering hair.

If he were to offer nails or cut off a finger or toe, he might get something even rarer.

But the thought of sacrificing parts of his body terrified him.

Once he left this place, any wounds he sustained would heal completely, even if he cut off an arm. But he didn’t have the courage.

‘D*mn it… Do I really need to go this far for revenge?’

The thought of cutting and mutilating his own body filled him with fear. He dreaded the pain.

Drip Drip

Water dripped steadily from the ceiling. Five hours passed. For five hours, Hyun-seung stood frozen, unable to do anything.

If he placed his body parts in the well or left the dungeon, the opportunity would be lost.

He couldn’t bring himself to leave, nor could he take action, standing there consumed by indecision.

‘Maybe I should just offer the hair and… leave with an epic-tier profession…’

Just then, his phone started ringing.

Riiing

It was an unknown number. Given the situation, Hyun-seung hung up immediately.

Riiing

But the phone rang again, this time from a different number.

Click

He rejected the call once more, but the ringing persisted.

Riiing

‘What the hell? Is this someone calling me from multiple phones?’

Sensing something odd, Hyun-seung finally decided to answer the call.

“Hello?”

“Hah… Why the hell aren’t you answering your phone, you f*cker?”

‘What the…?’

As soon as he answered, a sharp, angry voice from a woman he had never heard before hit his ears.

“Who is this?”

“Who am I? You’ve got some nerve asking that! After stalking our Hee-yeon, you have the audacity to play dumb?”

“…Do you know Yoo Hee-yeon?”

He asked in a puzzled voice. Then, a shocking revelation came through the receiver.

“Of course I know her, you piece of sh*t. Hee-yeon is my daughter.”

Shiver

As he listened to the woman’s words, Hyun-seung quietly stared at his arm.

‘Should I… cut it off and offer it?’

Suddenly, an overwhelming impulse surged through him.

Kim Hee wouldn’t know just how much her words were influencing Hyun-seung’s decision at that very moment.

To be continued…