A Veteran Not Bound by Past Glories

Since the birth of ability users, who is the greatest ability user in South Korea? If the question considered the whole person rather than pure skill or power alone, more than half would probably speak this name.

This is making me nervous for no reason.

The reason he had suddenly summoned me was almost certainly the Silver-rank evaluation from a few moments ago. Even though I had come on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an official dispatch, I was still an outsider. Not a student, not faculty, not even a security officer. On the other hand, Park Junwoo behaved like a thug but was, after all, an Academy student. It was obvious whose side the Academy chancellor would take.

No. If it’s Ma Hakjun, he might consider the circumstances.

While turning these thoughts over in my mind, I arrived in front of the chancellor’s office. The security officer told me to go straight in and turned away. Before grabbing the doorknob, I took a deep breath.

“Huu.”

I couldn’t help feeling tense. The man on the other side lacked nothing in skill, character, or connections. The moment a mere civil servant got on his bad side, the chance my life would become hell was… one hundred percent.

No. Don’t cower. I’ve done nothing wrong.

When you thought about it, there wasn’t any part that could truly be called a mistake. The lower-bracket measurement evaluations might be low-level, but ability users were living weapons. Even in a simple spar, a single mistake could cause serious injury. I had heard that the risk of injury was simply daily life for Academy students.

“You’ll grow old just holding a doorknob. Come in already.”

I nearly had a heart attack. Had he even read my hesitation from beyond the door? I hurried inside at the dignified voice coming from within.

Contrary to the grandiose name of “chancellor’s office,” there was nothing special. Dozens of books, a few photographs, various medals of honor hanging on the wall. And a single sword radiating a remarkably refined aura. That was all.

Passing those, I finally met Ma Hakjun.

“Nice to meet you. So you’re the newly dispatched examiner this time.”

He looked exactly as described. A white-haired old man with narrow, squinting eyes. In the early parts of the story, opinions had been split on whether he was a villain hiding his true nature or a helper concealing his power because of that appearance. Of course, it was soon revealed to be the latter.

“It is an honor to meet you, Chancellor. My name is Baek Seojin, dispatched from the Ability Measurement Department.”

“Ma Hakjun.”

After a brief self-introduction, Chancellor Ma Hakjun offered me a seat and gazed at me steadily. There was no obvious hostility in his eyes, yet the look was incredibly burdensome.

“I will skip the formalities and get straight to the point. I will ask only once, so give me your answer in a single reply as well.”

Even the content of what he said multiplied the pressure tenfold. Was he truly angry about me injuring a student?

“Why have you come to this Academy?”

“…Pardon?”

Without realizing it, I reflexively questioned him back. The words made no sense at all. Why had I come here?

“Chancellor, sir. What do you suddenly mean by—”

“I said I would ask only once. And you may give only a single answer.”

The man before me was Ma Hakjun. Old or not, he was the greatest ability user. I knew perfectly well he was not the sort to joke in an atmosphere like this. He was asking with genuine seriousness and wanted a truthful reply.

“I…”

The problem was that the only answer I could give this chancellor was exactly that.

“I came because I was ordered to be dispatched.”

Chancellor Ma Hakjun said nothing in response. He simply stared at me with eyes that had grown even sharper than before.

“So that is all of your answer.”

When the chancellor’s mouth finally opened, I reflexively nodded. Class is eternal, they say. The aura he emitted was truly no joke.

“…I see. If that is your answer.”

The chancellor, having nodded, cleared his throat. “Ahem.”

“I heard there was a small accident during the rank evaluation.”

“Ah, Chancellor. That was—”

“Do not keep the matter in your heart. Student Park Junwoo must have been prepared as well.”

I knew Ma Hakjun cherished the Academy and its students with all his heart. That was why I had wondered whether he might become angry about me injuring one.

“He has met his proper match. I knew he would receive a serious lesson one day.”

As expected, Chancellor Ma Hakjun was different. From his reaction, it seemed he had already roughly grasped what kind of person Park Junwoo was.

“I will take measures so there are no issues even if the matter is reported upward.”

“Thank you, Chancellor. Thank you very much.”

“The road ahead will be even harder. With this incident, more students will come flocking in.”

That was highly likely. A student with actual skill had failed the lower-rank evaluation that everyone had taken lightly until now. Naturally, there would be those who found it interesting or came harboring ill intentions.

“However, not all students are like that. There are far more good students. I called you here to tell you this. I hope you will not view the students only in a negative light.”

Of course, Chancellor. I know that better than anyone. The real trash is a small minority, and the rest are students who simply want to fulfill their duties as ability users. It is only that the few trolls stand out so sharply.

“Work hard. Take care.”

“Thank you, Chancellor. Then I will take my leave.”

It had not been a particularly long conversation, but I could feel it clearly. As expected, he lived up to being one of the greatest allies.

*

“Umm…”

Ma Hakjun closed his eyes and recalled the conversation from a moment ago.

“I came because I was ordered to be dispatched.”

The examiner newly dispatched from the measurement department. Baek Seojin, if he remembered correctly. On paper, there seemed to be nothing special about him. He was merely an ordinary civil servant.

Yet what had occurred during Park Junwoo’s evaluation could by no means be called ordinary.

His skill is no ordinary thing. He induced complacency and finished it with a single strike.

Just from reading the report, the situation drew itself clearly in his mind. It was absolutely not something a civil servant from the measurement department could display. He was hiding something, and that something had slipped out for an instant.

The possibilities Ma Hakjun considered were two.

The first was that he was a pawn of the villains who constantly eyed the Academy. It was not impossible. His skill level from the start made no sense. Ma Hakjun himself knew the capabilities of the Ability Measurement Department better than anyone. At that level, the man should have been working in the field, not behind a desk. The higher-ups would not be crazy enough to transfer field personnel to office positions.

If he is a greenhorn, there is a chance he revealed his power despite needing to hide it thoroughly. There have also been reports that the villain scum are moving in secret.

The other possibility was none other than an uninvited guest sent by his ‘friend.’

To think I kept such a fellow as my friend for forty years.

Ma Hakjun pressed hard on his temples as if his head ached.

For some time now he had been plagued by requests that bordered on begging.

“Please, I beg of you, Hakjun. Please look after my granddaughter. Make sure she does not mix with bad sorts. She is a particularly delicate child. I am so worried that I cannot even sleep.”

Kang Minsung. The hero who had saved Korea from the brink of destruction alongside him. The patriarch of a family renowned for weapon-type ability users. The Sword Demon whose overwhelming charisma and strength made even villains tremble. But in truth, an over-doting fool with a flustered nature. Even when scolded to act his age, he remained a child at heart who only behaved for that moment.

Such Kang Minsung’s granddaughter had entered the Academy not long ago.

She possesses decent talent but suffers from a sense of inadequacy and inferiority complex, he had said.

He understood. Kang Minsung’s children ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and grandchildren all took after him and were making their marks. In that great family, “decent” talent was as good as none. The pressure of becoming an ability user worthy of the family name must have been crushing. That pressure had made her passive and, further, pessimistic.

He had even heard that certain students who saw this and looked down on her were approaching her.

One of them had been Park Junwoo, and today that Park Junwoo had been utterly destroyed.

Therefore, from Ma Hakjun’s perspective, suspecting that Baek Seojin was a subordinate sent by Kang Minsung was only natural. Eliminate all the trash flocking to his granddaughter. For Kang Minsung, who doted on his children and grandchildren to an extreme degree, it was entirely possible.

But those eyes and that voice were definitely not those of a person speaking lies. He did not seem to be hiding anything, either.

In fact, there was one more possibility. The hypothesis that Baek Seojin was truly nothing special.

He might simply have gotten lucky, or his survival instinct might have triggered a miracle.

In the end, there was only one answer. Observe the young man Baek Seojin a little longer. If he was a villain’s spy, deal with him. If he was his friend’s subordinate, persuade him to return. And if he was really nothing yet had displayed such skill…

It could serve as good stimulation for the children.

Whatever the truth, time was needed first. There was no use in being impatient.

After organizing his thoughts, Ma Hakjun began clearing the documents on the table.

He clicked his tongue at the next document.

“Tsk—”

Damn it. Since it was his friend’s request of a lifetime, he could not completely ignore it. In any case, since it was that ‘Kang Minsung’s’ granddaughter, he would at least pay her a little attention.

Muttering to himself, Ma Hakjun examined the personal information on the document once more.