Chapter 260: Temp Instructor

The guild hall was quieter in the morning as Nathan pushed through the heavy wooden doors and stepped inside. The same receptionist was behind the counter, the same quest board was covered in postings, but the energy had shifted. Adventurers huddled in small groups, their voices low and tense. A few were packing gear with grim expressions. Others stared at the board without really seeing it.

Something had happened.

Nathan walked to the quest board, scanning the postings. Most were routine monster hunts, escort missions, dungeon clears. But one notice, nailed to the center of the board, was different. It was printed on red paper, the ink still fresh.

EMERGENCY QUEST — VILLAGE OF DOURENT DESTROYED

Demon King forces have breached the eastern border. Village of dourent razed. No survivors confirmed. Adventurers of C-Rank and above are requested to report to the guild for immediate deployment.

This is not a drill.

Nathan stared at the notice. Dourent. He didn’t know the village, didn’t know the people, but the words still invoked his empathy.

No survivors.

He thought of Ashwick. The village he had saved. The village that had almost been destroyed because of the Court’s ambitions. The people who had welcomed him, fed him, believed in him.

He thought of Marta, the innkeeper with the iron poker and the sharp tongue. The woman who had held the line against an army of monsters with nothing but stubbornness and a piece of scrap metal.

He thought of what would have happened if he hadn’t been there. If his party hadn’t intervened. If they had arrived a day later, an hour later.

Ashwick would have been another Dourent.

’Master?’ Mirko’s voice was soft through the link. ’You are thinking about the village. The one we saved.’

’Yeah.’

’We cannot save everyone.’

’I know.’ He clenched his jaw. ’But I can try.’

Nathan turned from the board and walked to the receptionist. She looked up, her eyes tired. She had probably been fielding questions about the emergency quest all morning.

"I want to sign up for the temp instructor position," Nathan said. "The academy posting."

The receptionist blinked. "The academy? You’re sure? We’ve got emergency quests that pay better. And with the demon king’s forces moving, they’re desperate for capable adventurers."

"I’m an F-Rank," Nathan said. "I wouldn’t be much use on the front lines. But I can train. I can teach. And the academy is inside the city walls. Safe."

The receptionist studied him for a moment. Then she shrugged and pulled out a form. "Fill this out. Take it to the academy. They’ll interview you and decide if you’re worth keeping."

Nathan took the form. "Thanks."

---

The Marriet Adventurer’s Academy was a sprawling complex on the eastern side of the city. Stone buildings surrounded a large training yard, and a tall library tower rose from the center. Students moved between classes, their uniforms marking them as first-years, second-years, third-years. Some carried weapons. Others carried books. All of them looked young.

Nathan walked through the main gate, the form clutched in his hand. A guard directed him to the administration building, where a harried-looking woman with spectacles and a permanent frown took his paperwork.

"Another one," she muttered, scanning the form. "You’re the third applicant today. The others were C-Rank and D-Rank. You’re... F-Rank." She looked up at him, her expression unimpressed. "Why should we hire you?"

"I know how to fight," Nathan said. "And I know how to teach."

"Teaching experience?"

"Informal. I’ve trained a small team."

"References?"

"Not from this... kingdom."

The woman sighed. "Of course not." She stamped the form and handed him a visitor’s badge. "You’ll be evaluated by Instructor Harrow. Training yard three. Don’t be late."

---

Instructor Harrow was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a scar across his jaw and arms like tree trunks. He stood in the center of training yard three, watching a group of students run through sword drills. His voice carried across the yard like a thunderclap.

"Again! Faster! You call that a strike? My grandmother hits harder than that!"

Nathan approached, and Harrow turned. His eyes swept over Nathan, the silver bow, the dark cloak, the F-Rank guild card clipped to his belt. His expression didn’t change.

"You’re the F-Rank applicant?"

"Yes, sir."

"Don’t call me sir. I work for a living." Harrow crossed his arms. "You’re an archer?"

"Yes."

"Good. We need archery instructors. Most of our students can’t hit the broad side of a barn." He gestured to the training dummies at the far end of the yard. "Show me what you can do."

Nathan drew Moonlight. He didn’t use any skills, didn’t enhance the shot. Just a simple, clean draw and release.

The arrow struck the center of the furthest dummy.

Harrow raised an eyebrow. "Not bad. Again."

Nathan fired three more arrows in rapid succession. All three struck the same dummy, clustered within an inch of each other.

Harrow studied the grouping. Then he looked at Nathan. "You’re holding back."

Nathan met his gaze. "I’m an F-Rank. This is what an F-Rank can do."

Harrow stared at him for a long moment. Then he snorted. "Fine. Keep your secrets. I don’t care where you came from or what you’re hiding. All I care about is whether you can teach these brats to shoot straight." He jerked a thumb toward the students. "You’re hired. Temporary. Probationary. You’ll assist with archery training and basic combat drills. You’ll have access to the library and the training grounds. Pay is mediocre. Hours are long. Questions?"

"No, sir."

"I told you not to call me sir."

"Sorry, sir."

Harrow sighed. "Just start tomorrow. Morning drills. Don’t be late."

---

The academy library was three floors of dusty shelves and flickering candles. Nathan spent his first afternoon there, pulling books on history, geography, and magic theory. He was looking for one thing: information about dimensional travel.

The librarian, an elderly woman with silver hair and a quiet demeanor, pointed him toward the restricted section. "World gates are theoretical. No one has successfully opened one in centuries. But some old texts do mention them. Third shelf. Second row."

Nathan found the books. Most were crumbling, their pages yellowed with age. But one volume—"A Treatise on the Nature of Realms"—caught his attention. He pulled it from the shelf and sat down at a reading table.

The book was dense. Filled with diagrams and equations that made his head spin. But buried in Chapter twelve, he found something.

"It is theorized that all worlds are connected through a network of ethereal threads. These threads can be manipulated by those with sufficient magical power, allowing travel between realms. The demon king, in ages past, was said to possess knowledge of these threads. Whether he used them to summon his armies or to travel between worlds himself remains unknown."

Nathan stared at the page.

The demon king.

If anyone in this world knew about dimensional travel, it would be him. But seeking out the demon king was suicide. Even for Nathan.

He needed another option.

He flipped through more pages. Found references to "saints" and "oracles" who could perceive the threads. Found mentions of ancient artifacts that could open gates. Found a footnote about a "Tower of the Void" that existed between worlds.

Nothing concrete. Nothing actionable.

But it was a start.

---

That evening, Nathan overheard a conversation in the academy courtyard.

Two instructors stood near the fountain, their voices low. Nathan didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but his Hunter’s Insight made it impossible not to hear.

"The demon king’s forces are moving faster than we expected," one said. "Dourent was just the beginning. If they reach the capital—"

"They won’t. The kingdom has defenses. The other kingdoms will send aid."

"Will they? Valdris has been quiet. Solara refuses to commit troops. We’re on our own."

A pause.

"Then we need to prepare. Train the students harder. We might need them sooner than we thought."

Nathan walked past, his expression neutral. But his mind was racing.

The demon king was coming. The kingdom was preparing for war. And he was stuck in the middle of it, with no way home and no clear path forward.

He needed to get stronger. He needed to find a way back. And he needed to do it before the war consumed everything.

---

The next morning, Nathan stood in the training yard with Mira, Dax, and Ren.

They had officially enrolled him as their instructor. It was a simple arrangement, he would train them during their free periods, and they would help him navigate the academy and the city.

"Alright," Nathan said. "Yesterday, I showed you how little you know. Today, we start fixing that."

Dax groaned. "I still can’t feel my legs from yesterday."

"Then you’ll feel them today." Nathan picked up a wooden practice sword. "We’re starting with footwork. Mira, you’re too static. Dax, you’re too erratic. Ren, you’re too slow. By the end of the week, all three of you will be able to move without tripping over your own feet."

"That’s not encouraging," Ren muttered.

"It’s not supposed to be."

Nathan drilled them for hours. He pushed them harder than any instructor at the academy. He corrected their stances, adjusted their grips, forced them to repeat the same movements until their muscles screamed.

By the end of the session, all three were sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.

"You’re... a monster," Dax wheezed.

Nathan almost smiled. "I’ve been called worse."

He looked at the three of them—exhausted, bruised, but improving. They were rough, but they had potential. And training them gave him something to focus on. Something to do while he figured out his next move.

---

That night, Nathan sat in the inn, staring at the ceiling.

The fifth cocoon pulsed in his summon space. He could feel it through the link—a warm, steady presence that was both comforting and unsettling.

’It’s growing,’ Kuro observed. ’The energy fluctuations are increasing.’

’How long until it hatches?’

’Unknown. The data is insufficient.’

Nathan closed his eyes. "Then we wait. And we prepare."

’For what?’

"For whatever comes next."

He didn’t have a plan. He didn’t know how to get home. But he had his skills. He had his mind. And he had four voices in his head, reminding him that he wasn’t alone.