Bronze Forever

"You're on the Bronze path. Forever."

A female student from the student council approached, and before long a male student came walking over. That must be him.

I'd expected him to bring his usual crew, but he came alone. Either he had conviction, or he was outright ignoring me. The Third Eye would give me the answer.

As expected. A civil servant's intuition never fails. The moment I got that shady complaint vibe, the trait turned out to be garbage too.

Twisted. Superiority. And Ambusher on top of that. Wow, what a combination.

If Ma Hakjun was a trinity in the positive sense, this guy was the opposite. It was a wonder how someone like him even held the vice president position.

"Examiner."

At least he didn't start swearing the second he saw my face, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unlike the usual problem complainants.

"Good afternoon. I'm Jeong Yuhyeon, vice president of the student council."

"Pleasure. Baek Seojin."

While exchanging greetings, I glanced at his eyes. Despite the polite words, his gaze was anything but friendly. He wasn't even trying to hide it, so this clearly wasn't a goodwill visit.

"You said you wanted to see me."

"Yes. If it's not too much trouble, could I have a moment of your time?"

Trouble? You're the one who summoned me here.

"Let's talk here. There are no students around, and I'd rather not leave my post."

"Ah, I see. Then I'll speak right here."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

He even waved the female student away. I waited quietly for whatever he wanted to say. Jeong Yuhyeon parted his lips, his eyes sharp.

"Stop what you're doing right now."

"...I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb. That thing you're doing. Acting like you're someone important just because you're in charge of the Silver promotion exam when you're nothing. I'm telling you to quit."

So, in short, he thought it was pathetic for a Silver to throw his weight around. Now I understood why the Third Eye had labeled him with "twisted superiority." He was saying a mere Silver shouldn't act cocky in front of Bronze students.

"Jeong Yuhyeon."

Of course, there was zero reason for me to bow my head and say, "Yes, sir, I'll do as you say." I knew the student council held significant power at the Academy—most students started watching their behavior the moment they appeared. But I wasn't an Academy student. I was a civil servant dispatched here. I was carrying out official duties under lawful orders.

"This is obstruction of official business. You know that, right?"

"..."

"The Silver promotion exam is part of the duties I was assigned. The only people who can directly comment on it are the Academy's chancellor or someone from my department. As vice president, you're still just a student. You have no authority here."

He hadn't resorted to physical violence like the usual problem complainants, so it wasn't interference with public duties. But obstruction of business was more than enough. That should serve as a warning to this superiority-obsessed brat. Even if I wasn't some high-ranking ability user like him, he shouldn't treat me like just another student. What he was doing now could be seen as challenging state authority.

"...I apologize for bringing this up so suddenly."

He wasn't completely brainless like a typical villain. The moment he realized he was at a disadvantage, he took a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠step back. That was probably how he'd climbed to vice president in the first place.

"But I have my reasons for doing this."

"Reasons."

"Yes. Do you know how many students you've failed in the Silver promotion exam so far?"

At least forty, probably. Not that I had any obligation to count them one by one.

"Exactly forty-five. These are students who should be focusing on their studies again after quickly advancing to Silver rank, but now they have to worry about the exam all over again because they failed."

For someone so full of superiority, he sure talked like he cared about Bronze and Silver students. In reality, it was just a mask. He looked down on anyone beneath him.

"You might not know this, Examiner, but the Academy has rules. If a student remains at Bronze rank for too long, they receive an academic warning. It's considered a lack of effort to grow."

"I'm aware."

"And you're still doing this even though you know? Some of those forty-plus students might be desperate to advance."

I knew how lethal an academic warning was at an ability user academy where admission was hard and graduation even harder. I'd double-checked that part multiple times before being dispatched.

"So what you're saying, Vice President, is that for the students' sake, the Silver promotion exam should be made easier. Is that it? That's what I'm hearing."

"All the previous dispatched examiners and faculty members have done the same. The problem is that only you, Examiner Baek Seojin, suddenly raised the bar."

I clicked my tongue without realizing it. Since I was a civil servant and he couldn't pressure me with his position, he was using principle instead. Honestly, if Jeong Yuhyeon kept pushing like this, it wouldn't do me any good either. It was just a "Silver" exam that meant nothing outside. Yet here I was, acting all strict like I was someone important. From the students' perspective, it was a matter of academic warnings. The custom was to go easy, but I was ignoring that and doing whatever I wanted.

Superiority complex, yet he managed to become vice president. He's got brains.

He was going to use the students as leverage. Build his justification that way? Fine. I'd play the same game. Trying to mess with a civil servant who's dealt with complainants his whole life?

"Alright, Jeong Yuhyeon. I understand the logic—you're saying you have to stop me for the students' sake."

"Thank you. Then—"

"But let me ask you this. When those students who barely passed go out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on external support missions for practical training and suddenly find themselves in danger, which would be better? The ones who struggled and worked harder, or the ones who just scraped by? Obviously the former would get hurt less and perform better, wouldn't they?"

Just like him, I was using the Academy students as justification. Letting them avoid academic warnings so they could stay at the Academy versus making them stronger before they fought monsters and villains—which one was truly better for the students in the long run?

"That's their problem to handle."

But the answer that came from Jeong Yuhyeon made my expression twist.

"If they have talent, they'll overcome it. If not, they won't. There's no reason to worry about them that far. It's each person's own issue. They survive on their own."

"Hey. Weren't you just worrying about the students a moment ago?"

"If too many academic warnings come out, it's bad for everyone. Including the students, of course."

This son of a— So that's what it was? He wasn't worried about the students. He was worried that having too many academic warnings while he was vice president would look bad on him. This rotten superiority-obsessed bastard.

"Jeong Yuhyeon. I'm sorry, but it looks like negotiations have broken down."

"I see."

For a moment, something flashed in his eyes. I suddenly wondered if he'd been calculating this entire conversation.

"Then show me."

"What?"

"Your skills, Examiner Baek Seojin. Whether you're doing this because you actually have ability, or because you couldn't even get into the Academy and you're taking out your inferiority complex on the students. I'd like to see which it is."

He'd dropped all pretense of courtesy and was openly provoking me now. My radar for problem complainants really did work even at the Academy.

"Are you suggesting a spar?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, but I'm only here to examine students. Sparring isn't allowed."

If something went wrong, they'd accuse a civil servant of acting out of line. The only permission I'd received was to examine students. If I sparred with one and something happened, it would be a real headache.

"Making excuses? It looks like you're running away now that someone you can't handle has shown up after only dealing with easy Bronze students. Am I wrong, Examiner Baek Seojin?"

"Think whatever you want."

Anyway, he couldn't do anything about my examination. He had no authority, so he was trying to stop me another way, but it was pointless—

"Pathetic. You really reek of someone without parents."

Either he'd spoken louder than intended, or he'd said it on purpose. What mattered was that those words had come out of Jeong Yuhyeon's mouth.

This bastard. They say even Jesus and Buddha couldn't overlook parent insults.

If this was his trap, I had no choice but to walk into it. In South Korea, the homeland of Confucianism, what kind of person would just walk away after hearing that?

"Fine, let's spar. But I have conditions."

"What are they?"

"If you lose, Jeong Yuhyeon, you return your current rank and drop to Bronze. Then you'll have to pass my exam again to get back to Silver."

Brace yourself. You're staying in Bronze until you die.

*

Creak—

"...Huh? Where'd the vice president go?"

"He's not here? Wait, you're right. He was here just a moment ago."

The two female students who had entered the student council room tilted their heads in confusion.

"Wait a second, unni. I'll go ask around."

Yu Dasom, the student council treasurer, headed off somewhere. A short while later—

"Unni."

"Yeah. Did you find out?"

"They said he left a little while ago."

"He left? The student council meeting is soon. Where would he go?"

Kang Hana, the Academy's student council president, frowned at Yu Dasom's words.

"Well... you know that new examiner who just arrived?"

"I've heard about him. But why?"

"Apparently the vice president went to meet that examiner."

At those words, Kang Hana's expression turned cold.

This is bad.

He had both ability and a good background, but that superiority complex was the problem. He looked down on non-ability users and even ability users weaker than himself. They were the same year, but he was the kind of person she didn't want to associate with. That was Kang Hana's conclusion about Jeong Yuhyeon.

And now, in this situation, that superiority-obsessed guy had gone to meet the Silver-rank examiner?

"Dasom."

"Yes, unni."

"Let's step out for a bit."

"Huh? Where to?"

Kang Hana answered Yu Dasom's question.

"To where that examiner is."