Luck Comes Unexpectedly - 2
Second time visiting the principal's office. I might be the only one who comes this often while on dispatch duty.
"Have a seat."
At least this time I hadn't crushed any students like before. Honestly, I'd treated Jeong Yuhyeon similarly, but nothing came of it. He was probably too proud to speak up about it.
"I heard you had quite the ordeal yesterday."
"Ah… no, Principal. There were other ability users present, and the monsters weren't as bad as—"
"Not that."
Not that? Then what?
"You were with that crazy… ahem. With Irina."
I nearly let out an exclamation in my head. Just how unhinged did someone have to be for even Ma Hakjun to call her a madwoman?
"You mean Irina, sir?"
"Yes, Irina. She was one of our students until recently. She should have been in her second or third year by now."
"I heard. She was so overwhelmingly powerful that she graduated early."
"If that were all, it would have been fine. The problem was that she was just as impossible to predict or control as she was strong."
"…Was it really that bad?"
"I'm already softening my words as much as possible."
Ma Hakjun let out a long sigh. Watching him, I found myself newly impressed by Irina. There was a reason the villains called her the Crazy Yellow Bitch.
"Anyway, I'd like to hear more details about what happened yesterday."
"I'll answer honestly, though I don't know much."
"Was it really a Gate? Or did someone lure monsters in, or release captured ones?"
It was something villains occasionally did—luring or capturing monsters and releasing them in the city. Ability users would naturally engage in combat, creating a brief opening in the perimeter that could be exploited to rob somewhere or assassinate someone.
From Ma Hakjun's perspective, it was a reasonable suspicion. The suppressors had been working perfectly until now. The probability of Gate appearances had dropped sharply. So when one suddenly appeared, it was natural to consider other possibilities.
But everything that happened yesterday was real. It was a precursor phenomenon. We'd passed the beginning and were now entering the development phase.
"It was a Gate. I'm certain. I saw it right in front of me."
"It was truly a Gate."
"Yes."
"The suppressors clearly showed normal operation, though…"
Seeing him mutter while stroking his chin, it seemed he'd already confirmed it.
"If even you say so, then this is truly serious."
"Sir, about Irina…"
"That child is too difficult to believe. You've experienced it yourself, haven't you?"
He was convinced that even after one encounter, I'd understand Irina's unpredictable madness. I realized it once again—she really was more unhinged than the rumors suggested.
"Examiner Baek Seojin."
"Yes, Principal."
"Actually, I received a call just now. They want to see a field evaluation for you."
"Me? I already failed the field exam once before."
"Failing once doesn't make it impossible forever. And lately, they've been desperate to find new talent because there are too few ability users affiliated with the state."
State-affiliated ability users. Though they were also "civil servants," the treatment was worlds apart. Salary, pension, social standing—everything was different. Calling it "different" felt like an understatement.
"So I'll ask you directly. If you want, you can end your dispatch and return to your department. Then, in due time, you'll be given the chance to take the field exam."
"I see."
It wasn't bad. It was a good thing. Enough to call it a life-changing opportunity. If someone who awakened an ability failed to enter the Academy, the only path left was becoming a state-affiliated ability user. But Baek Seojin had failed even that and ended up as a ninth-grade administrative worker. Thanks to that, he'd been pushed around with the label of a low-ranking civil servant.
And now the higher-ups were pushing him toward the field exam? It meant they saw nearly a hundred percent chance of him passing and wanted to establish a new relationship.
So far, so good. But… but here's the thing.
Remember this: the moment things seem to be going perfectly is when you're most likely to trip. You always have to watch your step. What if there's a rock hidden somewhere? If you don't spot it and leap forward in excitement, you'll fall flat and crack your chin.
And right now, that rock for me was none other than the Gatekeeper trait that had turned everything around.
"Honestly, I'm not very inclined."
No matter how much I'd grown—enough to manifest my trait against monsters or even invisible game enemies—the place where I could grow most reliably was still the Academy. The waiting time was also fixed as "Academy internal examinations." I had no intention of stopping here. No, I couldn't stop. Like Lee Hyunwoo, like Kim Suhyun, I also needed to grow further. Even if I eventually had to deal with monsters and fight villains, right now the Academy was my battlefield and my Gate. In other words, the "lane" where I could grow was right here—the Silver-rank examination hall of the Academy.
"Why aren't you inclined? From what I've seen, your skills are incomparable to before."
"That's true."
"If you truly have nothing to hide, then refusing to move forward despite having such strength might look suspicious to others."
Ma Hakjun's concern was entirely realistic. I was someone who'd taken both the Academy entrance exam and the field exam and failed all of them. Now that I'd become strong enough, I was suddenly saying I'd give up. Honestly, even I would narrow my eyes in suspicion.
Can't be helped. I'll have to talk my way through this.
Fortunately, I already had a rough idea of Ma Hakjun's personality. He gave high marks to those who cared for others. Even though he could live without worries like Kang Minsung, he'd willingly taken on the troublesome position of Academy principal.
"When I first awakened my ability, it felt like the whole world was mine. But as time passed, I realized there were plenty of people like me, and far more talented individuals. If I hadn't pushed myself harder, I wouldn't have grown this much."
In reality, I'd just repeated the cycle of going to work and coming home. I hadn't trained, hadn't even exercised properly—I'd just played games at home. But since investigating that far would be difficult, I decided to embellish it a bit. Something like a low-ranking civil servant who'd secretly sweated and worked hard alone.
"That's when I had a thought. Even someone not particularly outstanding might grow more if given full support. If I could do this much, then those more talented than me would surely be capable too. People who might seem insignificant now but could one day become outstanding ability users."
"…Then wouldn't it be more appropriate to become an instructor or at least a faculty member?"
"That would be good too. But what I want to see isn't the already outstanding people, but those like me who've been pushed aside for lacking talent. Among them, the ones who still want to move forward."
I seemed to have answered well. Ma Hakjun's eyebrows twitched slightly. That reaction definitely appeared when he heard an answer he liked.
"At first, I was more or less forced into this Silver-rank examiner position. But after doing it, I realized—this is exactly what I wanted. A position where I can push harder and pull more people forward."
"Then the harsh evaluations were for a similar reason. You didn't want to go easy on them, since that wouldn't help at all. It wouldn't provide any stimulus for growth."
That's right. That's exactly it, Principal Ma Hakjun. I beat the drum, and he played the janggu right along. There was no clearer moment than this. With this, I'd built a solid justification for refusing the field position and staying on dispatch duty. Ma Hakjun seemed to believe this was my genuine intention, as he kept murmuring in thought.
"Normally, taking the field exam would be the right choice, but…"
It was an unwelcome prospect. If my trait malfunctioned even slightly, it would be disastrous. The Academy, where my trait manifested at one hundred percent, was the safest place. Even if I eventually left the Academy, I needed to grow as much as possible here. Someday I'd have to teamfight and contest objectives, but for now, I had to grow steadily from the laning phase onward. It was no different.
"If your resolve is that firm, I can help you."
"Really?"
"I may not look it, but I know quite a few people. If I ask them, keeping you as an examiner here at the Academy won't be difficult."
As expected of a former hero—his connections were impressive. Yes, this was Ma Hakjun. With his help, the talk of field duty would stop. Taking the exam was my freedom and my decision anyway. They couldn't force me just because there was a shortage of state-affiliated ability users.
"If that's all, I'll return to my post now."
Though returning would probably just mean more flies buzzing around an empty office. Ma Hakjun nodded, signaling that I could go.
"Examiner Baek Seojin."
"Yes, Principal."
"Thank you."
The sudden gratitude caught me off guard. As I silently questioned what he meant, Ma Hakjun continued.
"Evacuating the citizens yesterday and helping your fellow ability users. It was an admirable sight. Things this old body can no longer do. I'm truly grateful that capable young people like you are handling them now."
I almost burst out laughing at those words. Nogu—literally meaning an aged body, a term for the elderly. That was how Ma Hakjun referred to himself. Which made it even more absurd. Was the man who'd blocked an Elder's spear head-on really an old man?
"Go on. And give it your all in that position, just as you said."
If you had him as an ally, he was the most reliable old soldier in the world. I nodded at Ma Hakjun's words and left the principal's office.
*
"…You heard everything, I suppose."
After Baek Seojin disappeared, Ma Hakjun slowly spoke. Then a voice came through the cleverly hidden phone on the desk.
[He's an unusual fellow, Senior.]
"No. He's an excellent fellow."
[Then, should we maintain his dispatch status?]
"I'd appreciate it. Having a young man like that at the Academy puts me somewhat at ease."
[Understood.]
"Thank you, Association President. It must have been a somewhat unreasonable request."
[Not at all. Actually, I received a similar request.]
"A similar request?"
At Ma Hakjun's question, the Ability User Association President paused before speaking.
[Actually, Senior Kang Minsung also asked me to keep Examiner Baek Seojin at the Academy.]