Trapped as an NPC in a Dating Sim-Chapter 39: Beast Tamer!

"Hello students, I am Professor Kael Draven, and I’ll be teaching Advanced Dungeon Ecology & Combat this term."

A tall, rugged man with a calm but commanding presence spoke, his eyes scanning the crowd of students.

Unlike other normal academies, the Elite Hunter Academy operated differently. Here, all hunters were given dormitories inside the academy, and classes were held every other day.

In the first semester of six months, students focused mostly on theory, dungeon survival, artifacts and their uses, and other related aspects.

It was designed so that students wouldn’t be clueless when they entered real dungeons.

Of course, the content of these lectures was highly advanced and couldn’t be found outside.

After all, not all hunters could enter and survive S-rank dungeons or higher.

So, even though it sounded boring, students rarely skipped any class.

"As you can see, I am an S-rank beast tamer. See him? This is my pet, Pyrospike. Isn’t he cute?"

Despite looking rough on the outside, Professor Kael seemed quite friendly as he smiled and pointed at the young wyvern, perched confidently on his shoulder.

Yup, it was a Wyvern, very similar to the one Soren and his team had defeated yesterday inside the dungeon.

Only, its size was quite small, and it looked a bit cute? Even the tiny flames dancing around it seemed harmless.

But Soren had to admit, this professor didn’t have much of a naming sense.

Still, he couldn’t help feeling surprised by the coincidence. He had a hunch that the professor was showing them this because of the incident yesterday.

"By the way, I heard that someone from your class managed to conquer an E-rank dungeon yesterday? And the final boss you defeated seemed to be a Crimson Wyvern, am I right?"

Sure enough, Professor Kael was prepared.

Even though he spoke normally, his eyes were already focused on the five people sitting in the corner of the classroom: Soren, Aria, Sylvia, Aurelia, and Evan.

There was no one in this class who didn’t know them.

They had become quite famous for managing to conquer the E-rank dungeon.

"Haha... don’t worry, I’m not upset or anything that you killed a Wyvern. Dungeon monsters and my pet are quite different, you know."

Maybe the professor thought they misunderstood him, because he quickly explained, which made Soren just roll his eyes.

Of course, he knew the professor wouldn’t hold them accountable for something like this.

It seemed that not only was his naming sense questionable, but his jokes weren’t that great either.

"Cough... anyway, what I really wanted to get at was, can one of you explain how you managed to kill that Wyvern? How you lured it, and what strategy you used?"

This was what Professor Kael wanted to know. Not for himself, but to proceed with the class normally.

After all, what he had to teach this semester was the classification of beasts, their habits, weaknesses, strengths, what kinds of ecology held which beasts, and so on. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

This was essential knowledge that every hunter had to understand.

Before entering any dungeon, hunters would study these details and devise their plan.

The reason Soren and his team had struggled so much to complete the E-rank dungeon wasn’t only because they were caught off guard and low level, but also because they were disadvantaged.

The mere fact that no one on the team could fly while the monster they had to kill could aerially maneuver was a huge challenge. Not to mention how heavily Aurelia had been suppressed.

In fact, it was Principal Logan’s order to throw the entire team into such a dungeon in the first place.

After all, not all dungeons were easily identifiable. Most of the time, hunters wouldn’t know what monsters they would have to face inside a newly discovered one.

In such cases, the situation everyone encountered yesterday would become the norm. Only when you knew the real danger could you prepare yourself thoroughly.

In the past, students easily conquered F, E, and even D-rank dungeons, all because they had knowledge of what was inside.

But many students later lost their lives in dungeons of the same rank outside the academy, simply because they had become complacent.

Maybe this was also the reason why Principal Logan gave such a tough test at the beginning of the semester.

"Don’t worry, if you are uncomfortable, you can opt not to share."

Professor Kael spoke again, giving them leeway. Then he stared at their group, scanning the five of them to see who would talk.

Not only him, but all the students in the class were also looking at them, curious about how they managed to kill such a monster.

"..."

"Hey... Soren, what are you doing? Stand up already?"

For a moment, an awkward atmosphere surrounded them before Sylvia whispered while pinching his waist.

But she used a bit too much force, causing him to jolt in pain.

"The heck!"

Soren wanted to shout, but seeing everyone’s eyes on him, he coughed to ease his embarrassment.

Then he finally turned his head to look at the protagonist, who was also their leader in name, only to see that he was totally ignoring him.

This guy had been sulking since the beginning of class today. He didn’t know what happened, but it seemed he wasn’t going to stand up and explain.

Dejected, Soren cursed Evan in his heart before standing up.

"Ahem... Professor Kael, let me explain how we killed that boss monster."

"Oh... you are Soren, right? I know your name from Professor Lyra. She said you have good leadership skills."

Kael nodded lightly and signaled him to start with his eyes. The young wyvern still lazily perched on his shoulder, yawning in boredom.

But Soren didn’t know why he felt it was looking at him raptly.

"So, anyway, it wasn’t that difficult or extraordinary a feat. It was just what we discussed and the plan we made after analyzing the territory of the boss monster and the teammates’ abilities."

There was nothing to hide in that battle. So Soren vividly explained what he did, downplaying his role and focusing on their teamwork instead.

He pointed out how each team member trusted the others, smoothly carried out their roles, and didn’t flinch in the face of danger.

He also mentioned that they were lucky he had brought multiple bottles of potions before entering the dungeon, saving them from the initial attack, garnering sighs of admiration from the students around.

Finally, they realized that Soren’s team might have succeeded because of those potions.

Of course, their teamwork also played a role, but the students wanted to justify their own failures.

But neither the professor nor Soren cared.

"Excellent... really, Professor Lyra is right. You have a very keen presence of mind."

After hearing everything, Professor Kael clapped his hands, showing admiration.

"Although there were a few things you guys did wrong here and there, and you took too big a risk at times, in the end, results matter the most. Okay, you can sit down."

Professor Kael signaled before focusing on the whole class.

"Like you just heard, you realized how even a mere E-rank dungeon could become so dangerous. Unfamiliar environments, unfamiliar monsters, and being underprepared are the cause of most hunters’ deaths in this world."

Then he began his long speech, heralding the start of the class.

Professor Kael was really knowledgeable, carefully analyzing the dungeon Soren had been in, from the monsters and terrain to their habitats.

He even pointed out each skill of the monsters they encountered at each level while simultaneously explaining how students could tackle them according to their class.

A melee attacker’s way of dealing with such monsters was obviously different from an archer’s, and he even showed how a healer could defeat them if they used the environment and the right potions.

While the professor taught the class, Soren sat in his chair, still feeling the throbbing sensation in his waist.

Annoyed, he couldn’t help but look at Sylvia, who returned his gaze with an innocent look.

It was as if she wasn’t the one who pinched him just now.

Slightly irritated, Soren looked left and right first, making sure no one was paying attention, then slowly crept his hand toward Sylvia from under the desk.

"~~Mmm!"

Then, to her surprise, he directly grabbed her bare thigh from under her skirt, eliciting a muffled moan of surprise.

Sylvia was so shocked that she hurriedly closed her mouth with her hand while trying to push his hand off, only for it to be squeezed more strongly.

Her eyes widened, a mix of shock and flustered embarrassment crossing her face.

Not to mention, his hand kept creeping closer and closer, making her restless.

Soren was too bold.

In front of the whole classroom, he was playing with her thigh from under her skirt. Fortunately, they were in the last corner, and nobody saw them.

Well, except Aria, of course, who sat just beside Sylvia, watching his hand under Sylvia’s skirt and biting her lip in anger.

’This scumbag.’

She didn’t know why, but she was currently angrier than Sylvia.