Chapter 10
But this was better than dragging out the original content—which seemed to be clearly uninteresting—of empathy-behavior-behavioral development for all 17 weeks.
It was needless to say that expanding the mock Gate simulation activity, which Ko Eungyo seemed to have reluctantly included, and assigning it as a team project was appropriate. First of all, it was true that practical training was more fun than listening to a boring lecture for a full hour.
The behavioral development of ability users and such could be explained and finished in one hour, or rather, in just ten minutes. In reality, for ability users, “Guiding” was something done according to instinct, so there was no need to teach “Guiding” like this or that, explaining in detail from A to Z. If anything, an explanation of Gate safety rules would have been more necessary.
No one has died while Guiding, but people have died while clearing Gates.
So he deleted all useless processes and instead decided to fill the semester’s curriculum by having each team conduct mock battles using the Gate practice simulation used in the field, and then leading them through it.
This was something he had done routinely when he was a team leader.
It did get longer because he became too immersed while filling in weekly detailed objectives, but he still felt proud. Still, he adjusted the difficulty level to match the students. Since special department students take Gate-related classes from their first year, he could only hope that this content wouldn’t be too easy for them.
However, the “Gate simulation” absolutely required a certain amount of time, and it was the daily work of ability users working in the field, so he was doubtful whether “students,” even fourth-year ones, could complete the assignment in just one week.
Still, the important thing is to try, so they should be able to manage somehow.
It might feel difficult right now, but once they go into the field, they’ll immediately understand how this class becomes their flesh and blood. If even one person feels a sense of accomplishment, that’s enough to justify this class.
However, on Monday morning, he felt an extreme headache.
For 30 minutes, he summarized and explained the basic overview of ability users and Guiding empathy-behavior-behavioral development. Then he began to add comments about the presentation classes that would begin from the next session.
“You can check the location in the pamphlets I’ve distributed. Thankfully, the Public Center and Central Center have agreed to lend all mock Gate simulation equipment to Korea University students until the end of December. Since it cannot be used before 9 AM or after 10 PM, please make a reservation with your student ID during available hours and use it.”
Originally, Ko Eungyo had rented the mock Gate facility only for December, but to assign tasks to students from now on, that period needed to be changed.
Fortunately, the school provided all support funds to be used for the mock Gate simulation equipment, and the Center also readily sent a reply to Ko Eungyo’s correction email saying it was possible.
The problem was that the expressions of the students, who had been listening to the class with bored faces, changed to look dumbfounded.
“All you need to do is record the ‘basic Gate process’ that you’re familiar with using the mock Gate simulation. And the preparation report you need to write before the presentation class is a mandatory report that everyone must submit. The preparation report must detail why each team chose that particular Gate, what affinities (相性) they expected between the ability users they have and the Gate monsters (Monster; a term collectively referring to the beasts that appear in Gates), and what the target values are when formally proceeding with the S.M.T (S.M.T; abbreviation for start-point, mid-point, top-point, referring to the beginning-middle-end of the Gate, that is, the entire Gate operation) of the relevant Gate.”
Still, since these were students who had never entered an actual field, there was a need to mention important parts again. But the more he spoke, he couldn’t shake the impression that the students were not only failing to understand his words but were completely zoned out.
“…Of course, before that, you should discuss sufficiently with your team members about the formation (陣形; the arrangement when fighting) and attack methods to be used when facing monsters. If the number of ability users in each team is too few or their grades are too low to carry out the Gate operation, you may use all weapons including firearms. However, since these attacks cannot distinguish between friend and foe, they must be used with caution, or they will be subject to point deductions. Don’t forget that safety rules are the most important when performing Gate operations. Also, finding out which strategy is most effective in the designated Gate is included in the assignment score, so make sure to consult well with your team members before conducting the mock battle.”
It’s not like this is their first mock Gate simulation, so why do they all have such stupid expressions?
He quickly became tired due to the constant questioning in his mind.
“Any questions?”
He faced the students whose expressions suggested they didn’t understand a single word he had said. Although only about ten minutes had passed since the class began, he felt suffocated. But even after waiting for a long time, the students just wore dumbfounded expressions and no one asked questions.
The reason the students weren’t asking questions seemed to be because they didn’t understand a single word of what he was saying. He hoped it was just his imagination.
“If there are no questions, lastly…”
As he was about to finish the class, someone bravely raised their hand. It wasn’t Park Kyungho who had ruined the previous class.
“Yes.”
“Um, what is affinity?”
I’m glad they didn’t ask what the “Gate basic processor” is. It means it’s not the worst case. He tried to reassure himself.
“For example, fire attribute monsters are vulnerable to water attribute Espers. That’s the affinity I’m talking about. Let’s see, what other example could there be? Ah, when you use an electric shock device on a water attribute monster, you can easily catch it. Do you understand now?”
“…”
He thought he couldn’t explain it more simply, but the classroom became even quieter. It felt less like the question had been satisfactorily answered and more like they didn’t know what else to ask.
He finished the lecture feeling somewhat uneasy.
“Lastly, when conducting mock battles, make sure to do Guiding only from the direction where the camera is. Similarly, no Guiding other than basic Guiding should be performed.”
Then hands went up sporadically. Everyone had very perplexed faces.
Why?
He, also with a puzzled face, pointed to one of them. The student who was called upon jumped up from his seat and, trying not to stammer but still urgently, asked:
“But how do we conduct a Gate… I mean, a Gate simulation with only basic Guiding?”
Well, it’s a mock battle, isn’t it?
He frowned.
Did that mean they wanted to perform mucous membrane Guiding inside the Gate? That was beyond embarrassing and not content that could be led during class. Even in actual field situations, while mucous membrane Guiding wasn’t unheard of in emergencies, most Gate operations were carried out with just basic Guiding.
“Please do it at a level that can be done with basic Guiding only.”
“…How?”
He was silent for a moment.
Could it be that these students have never actually done a mock Gate simulation before?
Looking around the classroom, he saw everyone watching his lips with puzzled faces.
“…I’ll need to add one more process. Each team leader, when your preparation report is complete, send it to my email and then come to my office before your presentation for feedback.”
That was enough to put out the immediate fire.
The office assigned to him was a space shared with other part-time lecturers. It reminded him of a high school teachers’ room. Something like a bustling reading room.
Feeling a mysterious nostalgia, he found his seat and sat down. A small engraved nameplate was neatly placed on the desk. <Ko Eungyo>. Still an unfamiliar name.
He had decided to provide feedback on students’ reports here.
A laptop was essential for feedback. He tried to search thoroughly around the house to find a laptop but couldn’t. It seemed Ko Eungyo hadn’t even thought of buying a laptop. He had no choice but to spend about 1 million won out of the 4 million won to buy a new laptop.
The students submitted their reports on time. They were reports that looked plausible, formatted neatly as if trained by numerous previous reports, but there was no substance at all, as if they had copied several small theses at once. So what’s the conclusion? He had to narrow his eyes many times and read the reports over and over again.
He called the team leaders of Teams 1 and 2 at the same time. In any case, the two just needed to show the beginning of the Gate well, so instead of presenting first, they were essentially presenting the easiest part of the Gate operation.
Smiling at the students, he said:
“You don’t need to be nervous. There’s no need to feel burdened either.”
He squeezed out the kind attitude he would normally give to greenhorns participating in a Gate operation for the first time.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
