Infinite System Inheritor Return From The Abyss-Chapter 422 - 420: The 10th

"Uh… hello?" Nayoung said carefully, blinking at the stranger.

The man nodded once and then looked directly at her.

"So," he said in a smooth, clear voice, "you're one of Professor Jihoon's students."

"Yes?" Nayoung replied,

The man reached into his coat and pulled out a small silver device that lit up with a soft sound, and a blue hologram appeared in the air, showing their faces—hers, Hannah's, Elshienne's, and the others.

"My name is Professor Gwan," he said as he looked at the list.

"What do you want with us?" Hannah asked, standing protectively behind Nayoung.

Professor Gwan smiled just a little, but it didn't feel warm.

"You all have great potential," he said slowly. "You could be better. Stronger. Smarter. But staying here… under him… it's a waste."

Nayoung frowned. "What do you mean?"

He continued, "When the board sees that he can't even gather ten students, they'll remove him."

Nayoung stepped back, her hands clenched tightly at her sides.

"Don't say that," she muttered.

"I'm giving you a chance," Professor Gwan said, ignoring her anger. "Come with me. Real training. Real professors. Real power."

There was silence for a moment, Then Nayoung shook her head slowly. "No… no thanks."

Nayoung stood firmly at the gate, her hands clenched into fists as she stared at the spot where the professor had just stood.

"I said no," she muttered, her voice sharp and loud. "We're not going anywhere. We're staying with Professor Jihoon."

Hannah nodded beside her, standing with the same strong look in her eyes, though her hands were still trembling slightly. "We're not interested," she added, her voice steady despite her worry.

But just as she finished speaking, a sudden voice echoed from the field behind them.

"Prof! You're back!" It was Minseok's voice, full of surprise and excitement.

"Hey, what are you two still doing out there?" Yoora called out as well, waving her hand. "Come on! Professor Jihoon brought us food!"

Both Nayoung and Hannah turned around quickly, their hearts still beating fast. But when they looked back through the gate—

Professor Gwan was no longer there.

"What…?" Nayoung whispered, her eyes wide. "He was just there."

"Where did he go?" Hannah added, scanning the road outside the gate. "He was right in front of us…"

Jinhyu, who had started walking over when he saw them frozen like statues, tilted his head and looked at their confused expressions.

"What's wrong?" he asked calmly as he approached them. "You both look like you saw a ghost."

Nayoung quickly pointed behind her, almost shouting, "A professor was here earlier, He wanted to take us away from Professor Jihoon."

Hannah gave a worried look and added softly, "Didn't any of you hear us talking to him?"

Jinhyu blinked and looked between them. Then he shrugged. "Nope. You two were just standing there, staring at the gate. None of us saw anyone."

The two girls looked at each other, unsure of what to think, but in the end, they just sighed together.

"Maybe he left too fast," Hannah mumbled, though her voice didn't sound convinced.

"Let's just forget about it for now," Nayoung said suddenly, shaking her head and returning to her usual tone. "I'm hungry! Prof looks like brought food! first time hehee."

They closed the gate behind them and jogged back to the field where the others were already sitting under the shade of a tree, food containers open and warm meals filling the air with a delicious smell.

There, standing in the middle of the group with a quiet smile on his face, was Seojun.

His clothes were slightly dusty, his sleeves rolled up, and there was a calm look in his eyes like nothing could bother him.

"Prof!" Nayoung shouted as she rushed toward him. "Where is the last student?! You're so late! The professors were here earlier and they were demanding to see you."

She stopped in front of him with both hands on her hips, her eyes wide and full of questions.

Seojun didn't say anything.

With a simple snap of his fingers, a girl appeared. Her brown hair was short, almost like a boy's. A long, silk-wrapped bag was slung over one shoulder, tied firmly, like she'd carried it for a long time. Her face was calm and she didn't seem surprised to see so many unfamiliar faces staring at her.

"Another guy?" Elshienne muttered in confusion,

Seojun, as usual, said nothing. He only turned away and let the girl take the attention But the new girl didn't wait for anyone else to explain who she was. She stepped forward,

"My name is Areum Jung," she said, "I'm from Hyeran Island."

She looked at all of them, "That's all you need to know."

Nayoung blinked and stayed quiet for a second before leaning slightly to whisper to Elshienne, "She's so cool…"

Minseok tilted his head. "Hyeran Island…?" he muttered, clearly unfamiliar with the name.

"Never heard of it," Yoora said beside him, her voice just as curious.

The others still stood in silence for a moment, unsure how to react.

Then Nayoung suddenly threw both her arms in the air. "Alright! We're finally ten now!" she shouted with her usual bright grin. "Welcome, Areum! I'm Nayoung! I talk a lot, so get used to it!"

Areum gave her a short nod. "Noted."

Nymira stood beside Seojun, her hands behind her back, The others were still surrounding Areum, still getting used to her sudden arrival, when without warning, Seojun and Nymira vanished.

"Where are they going now?" Jinhyu asked, blinking as he set the cloth bag full of food onto the grassy ground. His eyes followed the empty space where the two had stood.

Then he looked down at the food and tilted the bag slightly. The smell of dried herbs and steamed rice wrapped in leaves came out slowly. It wasn't like the cafeteria food, and it didn't smell like anything they usually had during training.

He looked over at Areum, who stood just a few steps away, her eyes still watching the spot where Seojun disappeared.

"Is this from your island?" he asked curiously, lifting one of the leaf-wrapped bundles and holding it up.

Areum blinked, then nodded. "Yes," she said.

Then to their small surprise, she continued talking.

"It's mountain rice, mixed with dried sea clams and honey fern," she said, her voice a little brighter now. "The wrapping is leaf from a kanga tree—it keeps the heat, and it smells good when you open it."

"Did you cook it?" Hannah smiled asking. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

"We only cook this during the change of season," she added. "But I made these last week. They keep well, especially for travel so i brought it."

Nayoung leaned over and took a bundle without hesitation. "You made these yourself? That's so cool! I don't even know how to cook instant noodles."

Areum just shrugged, a bit of pride still on her face. "It's not hard. You just need the right timing."

Hannah took one too, more careful than Nayoung. "It smells nice," she said softly.

Jinhyu smiled and passed the rest around. "Looks like we're lucky. The new student brought food on her first day."

"Better than cafeteria fish," Minseok muttered, already unwrapping his.