Special Evaluation, Not Regular Ranking - 5
Just what on earth were you thinking, stepping forward like that?
Han Jiyun had returned to the Academy after slipping away in secret due to matters at the top. The moment she arrived, she marched straight to Ma Hakjun and fired off the question without preamble.
“I have no idea what you’re suddenly talking about, Professor Han.”
“Don’t play dumb with me. I really can’t get used to this.”
At her scolding, Ma Hakjun let out a soft chuckle. He offered her a seat, then slowly began to speak.
“I merely did what a chancellor must do.”
“That’s exactly why I’m asking—why now, of all times?”
Frustrated, Han Jiyun thumped her own chest. “If you do it this way, what happens to the Academy’s classes? We divided everything by rank for a reason.”
“Then we’ll simply teach them again. Do you really think the professors who handled Silver can’t manage Bronze?”
“What about practical training?”
“Bronze students don’t have practical training sessions, do they? And there are very few Silver classes as well. There shouldn’t be any major issues.”
“Are you seriously telling me you just don’t like the ranking system because it feels like a new caste system?”
The term new caste system had been circulating for a reason. Among ability users, ranks were enforced with almost religious strictness. At first it had been a practical measure to clearly divide mission danger levels and battlefront responsibilities. But over time it had warped into a tool for protecting the privileges of each tier. And the Academy applied that same system without exception.
What began as an attempt to separate students by skill level so they could receive more appropriate education had now completely split them apart and set them against one another.
“I know there’s a lot of talk about the ranking system. I understand. I recognize how serious it is. But if you push it like this, it’s going to cause absolute chaos. Do you really think the Silver students will just sit quietly?”
“Of course they won’t. A few might stay silent out of awareness of their own shortcomings, but most certainly won’t.”
“Exactly! They’re bound to push back somehow. And you think it’ll stop there? They’ll start dragging Gold students into it, claiming it’s unfair if only they suffer, and then we’ll have even more internal conflict.”
Internal discord like this was one of the easiest openings for villains to exploit. In times like these, if someone got hurt during a spar or suffered a bigger accident, it would be impossible to tell whether it was a simple mishap or a meticulously planned act of terror.
“I met with Examiner Baek Seojin too. I thought he’d just set an example for a few Silvers, encouraging them to work harder. Instead he looked ready to drop every last one of them straight back to Bronze.”
“I gently nudged him in that direction. Though it seems he wanted it as well.”
“You’re serious?”
When Han Jiyun asked again, Ma Hakjun nodded. It wasn’t a lie meant to protect Baek Seojin. He meant every word.
“No, seriously…”
Han Jiyun let out a long sigh and collapsed back into her chair. She pressed hard on her temples as if her head was killing her.
“…I admit that the overall level of the students is disappointing. Honestly, it frustrates me too.”
“It’s not just their skill level, Jiyun. It’s their mindset.”
“Their mindset?”
“Yes. Most of the students right now lack any sense of urgency. They’re all just trying to coast along.”
They figured the hard, dangerous work would be handled by the truly talented ability users anyway. The world was stable, so they could just hunt a few monsters at a comfortable pace, occasionally chase off some petty villains, and call it a day.
“But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it? Maybe they’re just choosing to live peacefully.”
At her counterpoint, Ma Hakjun nodded in agreement. It wasn’t that settling down was inherently wrong. That was simply a personal choice. The real problem lay elsewhere. If that complacency spread and became the norm…
“When someone chooses to push forward instead of settling, the other students mock them. They say things like ‘Why put yourself through that hell?’ or ‘What a stupid waste of effort.’ That cannot be allowed to continue.”
“So you wanted to create a massive wave to shake up this stagnant situation.”
The vast majority were Bronze and Silver. A small number were Gold, and an even tinier fraction stood above that. The current atmosphere was one of simply graduating the Academy with middling grades and living an average life as an ability user. That was precisely what Ma Hakjun was worried about.
“Ability users are not ordinary office workers. If that kind of mindset takes root too deeply, our world will collapse.”
After a brief silence, Han Jiyun let out a small sigh and spoke again.
“Alright, fine. I understand. I do. But you realize this is going to make everything incredibly complicated, right? The faculty who oversaw the Silver evaluations will be the first to complain, and if it grows any bigger, even the higher-rank evaluations will be affected. The professors involved will be put in an awkward position. Have you thought about how to handle that?”
“I have. There is exactly one method.”
Ma Hakjun smiled. At that, Han Jiyun muttered to herself, Don’t tell me this old man is actually…
“You’re planning to use Examiner Baek Seojin, aren’t you?”
“Use? That’s a rather crude way to put it. I prefer to say I’m asking for his help.”
“It’s the same thing. You want to show the students his true strength.”
A few years ago, the man had failed both the Academy entrance exam and the field agent test. After desperate effort, he had grown tremendously and reached his current level. Yet he hadn’t chosen fieldwork or joined a clan. Instead, he remained at the Academy as a Silver-rank examiner, showing everyone that if you refused to settle and pushed just a little harder, you could go far beyond where you started.
“The process will be difficult and painful, but in the end it will bring change. Look at that student Lee Hyunwoo. Despite having enough skill already, he deliberately stands before a massive wall and drives himself even harder.”
“That kid’s a bit of a weirdo. And you think it’s easy to put in that much effort?”
Both Ma Hakjun and Han Jiyun had been keeping an eye on Lee Hyunwoo for some time. As past and present powerhouses, they had recognized the future powerhouse in him.
Han Jiyun scratched her cheek for a moment, then slowly rose from her seat. The moment she returned, all sorts of things had started happening. She was about to become extremely busy, and the cause of it all was the newly appeared examiner.
“Ah, did you look into the favor I asked?”
“I did what I could.”
One of the reasons she had left the Academy temporarily was Ma Hakjun’s request. She handed him several documents she had been carrying.
“I dug pretty deep, but nothing came up.”
“As expected… So he really is just a late bloomer?”
Ma Hakjun was tapping the table, about to sink into thought, when—
“But…”
Han Jiyun tilted her head, speaking carefully.
“Something feels a little off.”
“What do you mean?”
“Usually, even if you dig, you can at least find faint traces of the past. But with him, it’s too clean. It could just be that he became an orphan after getting caught up in a Gate incident, but… aside from his name and resident registration number, there’s nothing. How should I put it… It’s almost like…”
“Like someone intentionally erased it?”
“It’s only a possibility. It just feels too empty.”
Ma Hakjun let out a low hum and looked at the documents Han Jiyun had handed over.
“I’m not saying we should suspect him. I just mean…”
“I understand what you’re saying. Don’t worry. Neither I, nor that fellow Kang Minsung, nor you and that crazy yellow brat felt anything particularly suspicious about him, did we?”
Han Jiyun nodded. “That’s true.”
Photograph attached.
Name listed on the document.
“Me too! I want to take the special evaluation too!”
Yes, you too!
“I’ll take it!”
And you too!
“I challenge you, Examiner.”
You as well!
All of you—straight to Bronze!
“I’m sure you all remember what the chancellor said, right? If you fail the evaluation, you will automatically return to Bronze. Appealing it will do you no good, so keep that in mind before you step forward.”
Just today, more than thirty Silvers had already regressed back to Bronze. There were still well over a hundred Silvers left in the Academy, so there was no need to worry. On top of that, there were still plenty of students stuck in Bronze. This was truly an inexhaustible well!
Ma Hakjun really thought this through.
From the Silvers’ perspective, they had no choice but to take the special evaluation. If they didn’t, the Bronzes would look down on them even more. Some might ask if they could just grit their teeth and refuse—wouldn’t the friends who had already fallen back to Bronze let them off the hook? Of course not. They would make sure every Silver who tried to avoid it ended up taking it anyway.
People simply cannot stand to see only themselves suffer. If someone who used to be in the same boat stays untouched while you fall, how could you possibly let that slide?
On the other hand, the Bronzes had been stimulated by Lee Hyunwoo. They had realized that if they gritted their teeth and worked hard, there were things they could accomplish. A Bronze defeating a Silver? It was the first time it had happened since the Academy’s founding. There were definitely students whose hearts had been moved by that. And those Bronzes would become the core of a burning new enthusiasm.
At the moment when former Silvers were falling back to Bronze, if a Bronze rose to Silver, it would be a complete reversal of fortune!
The former Silver students will fight to reclaim their former glory. The Bronzes will see it as a chance to take revenge for everything they’ve endured. Any student with a working brain will grit their teeth and charge in.
A ripple had formed across the Academy, which had been as still as a calm lake. Ma Hakjun had even secretly called me over and said this:
“For the time being, I’ve informed the Academy that we will suspend the academic warnings normally given to students who remain in Bronze. We cannot let anything ruin this drastic prescription for positive change. And if anyone shows hostility toward the current situation, tell them to use my name. Say that the chancellor personally requested it.”
What a chancellor—lending his name exactly when it was needed. He had far more character than my own department head, who only ever tried to run away whenever overtime came up. There should be more people like him in public service. Truly admirable!
“Examiner! I challenge the Silver-rank evaluation!!”
Of course, no one knew how long this ripple would last. It might be nothing more than a brief, temporary disturbance. Especially if no one passed and no one grew. In that case, both my justification and Ma Hakjun’s reasons would grow blurry and lose all their power.
So, Lee Hyunwoo. And Kim Suhyun. I desperately need your help. And while we’re at it, any promising seedlings among the Bronze and Silver students too. Everyone, give it your all!
I had already set a goal. I would make a Bronze student defeat a Gold. If that happened, I could pull in all the Golds next. A Silver-level Bronze. A Gold-level Bronze. Just hearing it made my heart race. And as if that weren’t enough, a new message appeared.
The waiting period for the required value has ended.
Yes. This is it. This is exactly it!