You're Stuck in Bronze. Forever - 3
The moment Jeong Yuhyeon started screaming, I knew this was going to be a pain in the ass.
“I don’t accept this! I refuse to accept it! I’m not even incapacitated!”
“Vice President, calm down and let me look at that wound. Your nosebleed won’t stop.”
“It’s not over yet! My arms and legs are fine—what kind of defeat is this?!”
Even a fancy Gold rank should know how to accept defeat cleanly. If someone gets a double nosebleed—twice, no less—they’ve clearly lost.
Jeong Yuhyeon lunged toward me, still howling. Yu Dasom, who had introduced herself as the treasurer, was holding him back with surprising strength.
“Let go! I said let go! Yu Dasom! Get your hands off me!”
“Stop it. If you keep this up, someone’s really going to get hurt.”
“Damn it! Hey, Yu Dasom! Can’t you hear your senior talking?!”
“I can hear you just fine. But I’m more scared of the president than the vice president. So…”
“Guh—?!”
“Just stay still, will you?”
At first glance it looked like a back hug. On closer inspection, it was clearly a chokehold. A grown guy thrashing around helplessly in the grip of a girl much smaller than him. Was Jeong Yuhyeon that weak, or was Yu Dasom weirdly strong?
Activating Third Eye.
Yu Dasom was a support type. A healer, at that—one of the rarest kinds. But Warm Angel of the Frontlines? Healing power increasing the closer she got to the front? She was supposed to be someone protected safely from the rear. Was this really okay?
…Ah. Maybe that’s why she trained her physical abilities to the absolute limit?
That would explain why Jeong Yuhyeon was flailing so pathetically. While allies drew enemy attention, weapon-type fighters struck from the flanks or rear. In contrast, support types who had to heal from the very front gained strength the closer they were to the action. Naturally, Yu Dasom would face far more monsters and villains than Jeong Yuhyeon. It was easy to guess which of the two had trained their stamina more.
“Guhhh! President! This isn’t right! Kehuk! That guy’s an outsider! We’re the Academy student council! Gk—!”
Since he couldn’t break free with strength, he was trying to talk his way out. Kang Hana let out another sigh and stepped forward. In her hand, cold energy swirled as she prepared a spell.
Shaaaaa—
“That’s exactly why I’m only going this far, Jeong Yuhyeon. If you’re truly part of the student council—if you’re really the vice president—what you should be doing right now isn’t yelling that the match isn’t over. It’s shutting your mouth.”
Grabbing him by the collar, Kang Hana spoke in a chilling whisper. The tone practically screamed, One more word and I won’t let it slide.
Even Jeong Yuhyeon, who had been barking like a mad dog, finally yielded under her intense pressure.
“Go back. As I said, you’re suspended for a while. Don’t even show your face near the student council room.”
“…Understood.”
“Dasom, let the vice president go.”
“Yes, unnie. Ah, Vice President… your wound…”
“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it myself.”
Jeong Yuhyeon trudged past Yu Dasom and Kang Hana with slumped shoulders. The moment he walked by me, he shot me a venomous glare.
“You… I swear I’ll…”
“I told you to leave.”
What an idiot.
At Kang Hana’s single sharp word, he immediately tucked his tail between his legs. He acted like Bronze and Silver ranks were beneath him, yet turned spineless the second he faced someone stronger. How the hell did a guy like that become vice president? I could maybe understand if he were just a regular officer, but vice president?
…Something about this feels off.
Guys like him always grind their teeth and swear revenge later. And in my opinion, this student named Jeong Yuhyeon was one hundred percent the type to follow through. As long as he thought I was an easy target, he’d definitely try to crush me at least once. If he couldn’t win fairly, he’d use underhanded tricks. Or maybe apply social pressure. Either way, it wasn’t something I welcomed.
“I’m sorry you had to see such an embarrassing sight.”
Just as I was thinking this was going to be troublesome, Kang Hana approached and gave a small bow.
“Let me introduce myself properly. Academy Student Council President, third-year Kang Hana.”
Activating Third Eye.
She had a similarly positive descriptor to Yu Dasom. Well, that made sense—she was a normal person. If she’d been part of Jeong Yuhyeon’s crowd, she would have targeted me instead of him.
“First, I’d like to apologize. If the vice president said anything strange, please know that it has nothing to do with the student council. It was purely his personal opinion. I hope there’s no misunderstanding.”
Drawing a clear line right from the start—full marks. It seemed Kang Hana held a negative view of Jeong Yuhyeon as well. In that case, I could probably badmouth the guy just a little.
“That’s a relief. To be honest, some of his remarks crossed the line and left a bad taste in my mouth.”
“Crossed the line…? What exactly did he—”
“He told me I was showing off that I don’t have parents.”
“Huh?”
“What…?”
Shock spread across both Kang Hana’s and Yu Dasom’s faces at my words.
“Pretty heartbreaking for an orphan to hear, right?”
Knowing I was an orphan and still saying something like “showing off that you don’t have parents”—they seemed at a complete loss for words. Telling someone who lost their parents something like that? That was instant severance. I wouldn’t even feel guilty about never seeing his face again.
“That crazy bastard.”
Kang Hana bit her lip, looking like she genuinely hadn’t expected it. It seemed Jeong Yuhyeon had behaved himself inside the student council. That explained why she was reacting this way.
I could practically hear the sound of Jeong Yuhyeon’s reputation plummeting.
“I’m so sorry, Examiner. As student council president, I truly apologize…”
“It’s fine. It did ruin my mood, but after sparring with him, I feel much better.”
At my words, Yu Dasom burst out laughing. “Ahaha!” She was probably remembering Jeong Yuhyeon’s double nosebleed from earlier.
“Um, Examiner? Aren’t you hurt?”
When I looked where Yu Dasom was pointing, blood was seeping through my clothes. It had only stung a little, so I thought it was just a shallow cut. But as expected of an assassin, his attack had been quite sharp.
“Just a moment. I’ll heal it right away.”
Yu Dasom stepped closer and placed her hand over the wound. A bright light flickered, and I felt a hot sensation in my side. I couldn’t help letting out a small “Ugh,” which made Yu Dasom smile.
“It might feel a little hot or painful. That just means the healing is working properly, so please relax.”
“It’s fascinating. So this is how wounds get healed.”
“Um… is this your first time receiving treatment from a support type?”
“Probably. At least while I’m conscious like this.”
Yu Dasom, who had been healing me, made a strange face at my answer. Kang Hana, standing beside her, wore a similar expression. Why were they looking at me like that all of a sudden? Was not having received healing from a support type such a big deal?
“You’re saying you’ve really never been treated by a support type before?”
“That’s right.”
“No way! That’s impossible!”
I really hadn’t. Maybe they were asking if I hadn’t received treatment on the day I was one-sidedly beaten by an Elder? But I had passed out back then, so I had no memory of any healing at all.
“With the movements you showed in that spar earlier, you must have been active in the field several times!”
“Dasom is right. That’s why both she and I thought you might not be a new examiner at all, but someone who was originally in the field, got injured, and was transferred to desk work.”
I had heard that happened quite often. When ability users who worked in the field could no longer continue due to injury, they were given desk jobs as compensation.
“But I’m a civil servant.”
“Ah?”
“Oh. That’s true.”
It wouldn’t be strange for a field agent belonging to a clan to move to an internal desk position within the same clan, but it was impossible for someone who hadn’t even taken the national exam to suddenly receive a civil service appointment.
“Examiner, you really are such a mysterious person! Are you perhaps… one of those?”
“Pardon?”
“You know, like in the movies! A secret weapon secretly raised by the nation! Someone who just received a new mission and is now operating undercover as an ordinary person!”
A secret weapon of the nation? If they said I was a slave of the nation, I might believe it. Or maybe a pitiful soul who fought against the ultimate weapon known as complainants.
Beep-beep—
“Ah, unnie. It’s time for the student council meeting.”
“Already? You’re right. Examiner, we’ll take our leave now. We’ll see you again later.”
“Sure. But you really don’t have to…”
“We need to settle the matter with the vice president properly. I’ll take full responsibility and make sure he’s demoted to Bronze.”
At Kang Hana’s words, I cheered inwardly and clapped. Welcome to the club, Jeong Yuhyeon. It’s been a while since you breathed Bronze air, hasn’t it? You’ll be here for a long time, so I hope you get used to it quickly.
“Don’t you think there’s something about him?”
While heading back to the student council room, Yu Dasom spoke up quietly. Kang Hana, who had been walking in silence, nodded.
“Most of the fight was hidden by the vice president’s item, but… that last movement definitely wasn’t something a Silver-rank examiner should be capable of.”
“Exactly. If it had been even a little slower, it would have pierced straight through his back.”
Student council treasurer Yu Dasom—support type, Gold rank.
Student council president Kang Hana—magic type, Platinum rank.
Both were far more skilled than Jeong Yuhyeon. They were definitely not the type to be easily impressed. Yet even they found Baek Seojin’s movements extraordinary.
“Don’t you think he really is one of those?”
“What are you talking about?”
“What I said earlier. A secret ability user raised in secrecy by the nation. Not for handling Gates and monsters, but purely for fighting villains.”
“…That’s ridiculous.”
Even as she said it, Kang Hana didn’t sound entirely convinced.
Should I look into it?
Her father was the Clan Master of the Magic Tower, Korea’s top clan. The Magic Tower was a powerful combat organization filled with renowned experts. From Kang Hana’s position, it would be easy to ask them for information.
…No. That would be incredibly rude. I can’t.
Shaking her head, Kang Hana continued toward the student council room, listening to Yu Dasom’s chatter. Still, she couldn’t help but feel curious about the man named Baek Seojin.