Chapter 49: Public Humiliation

I checked on Kang Eunbyeol and my other students inside the dungeon.

At first, they were all unconscious, but after some time, they began to wake up one by one.

They seemed to have sustained considerable injuries, but their lives didn’t appear to be at risk.

I took them and exited the gate.

In case you’re wondering, once the boss inside a Black Gate is defeated, the dark energy dissipates, allowing free access in and out.

“Are you feeling alright?”

I asked Park Hyeyeon, who nodded in response.

“Thanks to you.”

Since entering the Black Gate, Park Hyeyeon had been speaking to me respectfully.

It felt odd, considering she used to talk casually before, but she ignored me when I brought it up, so I decided to let it be. After all, it’s only natural for a student to speak formally to their instructor.

…

The other students followed us silently, saying nothing.

‘I can’t blame them. This experience must have been a significant shock.’

They had witnessed a site where dozens lost their lives. Even if that hadn’t happened, just the near-death experience with Dertod would have been enough to leave them mentally shaken.

Still, a fierce determination remained in their eyes. I was getting increasingly curious about what kind of stories they might be hiding.

– Beep Beep

As we exited the gate, we found a line of ambulances waiting.

“Enter immediately!”

A man, who seemed to be an EMT, gestured, and the waiting personnel rushed in.

The man in charge approached me and asked, “Hello. I know you must be under a lot of stress from the Black Gate incident, but I apologize for asking—could you tell us what the situation was like inside?”

I answered calmly.

“A sudden Black Gate phenomenon caused many casualties. I’ve taken care of the monsters inside, so there shouldn’t be any left. Some survivors are still inside, but there’s no need for force to be used.”

“Thank you.”

He bowed slightly and quickly entered the gate.

– Thud, thud, thud

From afar, Seol Eun-ah came running toward me, looking me over.

“Are you alright, Juwon? Nothing happened to you, right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

She checked me over for a while, finally sighing with relief.

“It’s a relief… It doesn’t look like you got hurt.”

Then, looking straight into my eyes, she spoke.

“Juwon, please… don’t do anything this dangerous again. It’s good to save lives, but… you could have died.”

She seemed about to say more, but then noticed the students nearby and quickly covered her mouth.

It looked like she’d realized she’d used my name in front of the other students.

“No need to worry. Park Hyeyeon has already seen my face, and the five Helmunt Academy students have as well.”

“So… are you planning to operate publicly from now on?”

I shook my head.

“No. From the looks of it, my former students do seem to feel some guilt, even if it’s not my concern. As long as they’re human, they won’t go around casually revealing my identity, and even if they did, it wouldn’t matter. The media has already speculated on dozens of possible identities for the Masked Instructor. Without concrete evidence, it’s just another rumor.”

Then I looked over at my new students.

“As for my new students, they won’t go around talking about my identity either. If I get dragged into too much attention, it wouldn’t be good for them, either.”

As I looked at them, they nodded in agreement.

“We won’t tell anyone.”

Well, although I said that, it felt like the days of working in complete anonymity were over, now that so many people knew my identity. Of course, there are considerable advantages to remaining anonymous, so I planned to continue wearing a mask.

‘Until clear evidence surfaces, I’ll keep operating as the Masked Instructor.’

Just as I was thinking that, I heard the sound of a massive crowd approaching from the distance.

– Thundering footsteps

‘What is this?’

It looked like a flood of reporters with cameras and recording equipment heading our way. They’d likely seen the paramedics running toward us and had gathered to find out more.

“Let’s get out of here.”

If they managed to catch me, I’d be bombarded with questions. My students were in no condition to deal with that, so I needed to avoid any delays.

After a long run,

“Huff… huff… They should be gone by now, right?”

Seol Eun-ah panted as she asked.

We were now far from the gate, with no reporters in sight.

“What are you planning to do next?”

She looked at me, waiting for an answer.

“First of all… we need to restore the students and handle the aftermath. Many students from Helmunt Academy lost their lives. This incident won’t simply be brushed aside in any form. There may be troublesome consequences moving forward. People might start spreading conspiracy theories about some hidden forces behind this. Of course, it could just as easily pass without any issues, as Black Gates are often treated as natural disasters. After all, no one can create them by sheer will.”

Since I had entered the Black Gate myself, there was no need to worry excessively about any unintended associations. But, as is often the case, the world doesn’t always go the way we want.

‘This could turn into a hassle.’

I forcibly opened the Black Gate and entered the dungeon. This was something that had only happened once before in history—and even that one time, it had been done by me.

‘There’s no way no one saw that…’

To force the Black Gate open, I absorbed the dark energy within it and shot it toward the sky. It must have looked like a massive explosion of dark energy in the sky, which people would naturally investigate. And as they look into it, eventually, they’ll discover that I was the one who forcibly opened the Black Gate.

Ding!

At that moment, Seol Eun-ah’s phone rang. She glanced at it, then held it up to me with a grim expression.

• Black Gate incident in the heart of the city; current estimated casualties…
• What caused the dark energy that filled the city’s sky?
• People on the scene suspected to be Helmunt Academy students and the Masked Instructor…

As expected, articles about the incident were already flooding in.

“Let’s put this aside for now.”

With that, I sent Seol Eun-ah away and brought my students back to my home.

Whoosh

After repeating a healing spell several times, the wounds on their bodies started to fade.

“Thank you.”

Kang Eun-byeol, whom I healed last, bowed in gratitude.

I bowed to my students in apology.

“I’m sorry. I should have gone in with you.”

But Kang Eun-byeol shook her head in response.

“This isn’t something you need to apologize for, Instructor. Who could have predicted something like this would happen in a C-rank dungeon… Instead, you saved us. You saved not only me but my father as well… I can’t thank you enough.”

“More than that… I was surprised to learn that the Masked Instructor was once an S-rank instructor at Helmunt Academy. I’d heard about you before, about how you were unfairly dismissed…”

I let out a sigh, saying nothing.

After a short silence, I simply bid the students goodbye and saw them out.

“We had a big day today. Everyone, take a rest. We’ll resume training tomorrow.”

At my words, the students left one by one. Park Hyeyeon, who was the last to leave, glanced back at me before continuing on her way.

Sigh…

Finally, the situation had somewhat calmed down. The only relief was that none of my students had died. I decided to focus on that and let go of everything else.

Clatter

I took a brief bath, both mentally and physically exhausted.

Click

Then I went out and turned on the TV. A program discussing the incident was airing.

“Dr. Shim Ji-hyuk, given the scale of this Black Gate incident, rumors are circulating that some citizens spotted the Masked Instructor entering the Black Gate at the scene. Survivors even testified that he came in to help them. Online, many are already calling him a hero. But is such a thing even possible?”

Dr. Shim shook his head in disapproval.

“Entering a Black Gate after it has formed is impossible. I’d stake my Ph.D. in Magical Studies on it—no human could accomplish such a feat. If anything, the Masked Instructor must have coincidentally been in the dungeon when the Black Gate incident occurred and dealt with the creatures afterward. Even then, it’s quite impressive, but this would only be possible if it were a lower-ranked Black Gate.”

Dr. Shim’s tone grew more irritated.

“The media these days has an excessive tendency to glorify the Masked Instructor. He’s just a mere mage, not an omnipotent god. Some people are mindlessly idolizing him as if he’s capable of controlling everything just because he’s shared a few shortcuts with external mana. It’s absurd that people believe he could just enter a Black Gate alone. Black Gates aren’t bank vaults! It’s ludicrous.”

Dr. Shim passionately continued, waving his hands.

“P-please, calm down, Dr. Shim.”

The interviewer looked flustered as they tried to calm down the visibly angered Dr. Shim. Yet his rant continued.

“It’s pathetic that the Masked Instructor remains silent, as if he actually wants people to believe he entered the Black Gate afterward. He might be enjoying the praise as a hero now, but once the truth comes out, all that admiration will turn into condemnation. He’s achieved nothing on his own, yet he’s allowing these rumors to spread without correcting them—it’s truly disappointing.”

Whisper whisper

Just then, a staff member leaned over and whispered into the interviewer’s ear.

“Is…is that true?”

The interviewer looked shocked as he turned to Dr. Shim, who gave him an annoyed look.

“What’s wrong? Did you find evidence proving that the Masked Instructor was lying?”

The interviewer, after a moment of silence, responded hesitantly.

“We…we’ve just received a video submitted to our station’s email. It shows the Masked Instructor… entering the Black Gate.”