Red Yellow Red
The grade evaluation again. And another round of experience. Through it all, I realized once more just how terrifying it would have been if the Red Witch, Kim Suhyun, had truly become a villain.
“Haa… haa…”
Once again, her chronic stamina issue had tripped her up. Kim Suhyun, who had been breathing raggedly, collapsed right where she stood. But when it came to her offensive pressure, I could only click my tongue in awe. Even though I had already faced two Elders and the superhuman known as Irina, Suhyun’s relentless barrage was so fierce it sent chills racing down my spine.
She was the first person since the Elders and Irina to make me feel that bone-deep sense of dread.
Damn… this kid really is on the same level of broken as Lee Hyunwoo.
If Irina was a completed powerhouse from the start, then both Lee Hyunwoo and Kim Suhyun were the type who would keep growing into one. Honestly, I wasn’t worried about Hyunwoo since he was handling his own growth just fine. The one I had been concerned about was Suhyun, but if she kept performing like this, I’d have nothing left to wish for.
And thanks to her, my own level is rising quickly too.
As for stamina, I was training like a madman after work every day. But real combat experience had its limits when it came from simple grade evaluations alone. That limit was being filled thanks to Hyunwoo and Suhyun. The more evaluations I conducted, the sharper my judgment, reaction speed, and movement became.
Just clashing once with an Elder. Just facing Irina’s instantaneous power. I still couldn’t replicate them perfectly, but I had reached the point where I could at least imitate them to a similar degree.
At this point, the only explanation is my Gatekeeper trait.
If not, then maybe I was actually some superhuman who had escaped from a secret lab. Only something on that level could explain the growth rate I currently possessed.
Anyway, another reason to keep playing the role of gatekeeper had just been added to the list. I needed to keep sparring against more outstanding individuals, absorbing their movements, their judgment—everything. To the point where I could even recognize and distinguish the subtle rhythms of their combat breathing.
For that to happen, the people taking the evaluations had to improve as well. There was no benefit in testing kids who couldn’t even grow. It would be like a high-level player going to a level-one hunting ground to farm.
“I-I’m sorry… I can’t go on any further…”
“It’s fine. You did well. This much is more than enough.”
Honestly, I wanted to just sit down too, but I was still technically the examiner. It wouldn’t look good if I collapsed right after declaring another failed evaluation. So I gritted my teeth and forced strength into my trembling legs.
“I failed the grade evaluation again today… I’m sorry. I really tried my best…”
“If you’re the one apologizing, what are the other kids supposed to do? You can’t say things like that.”
Kim Suhyun had already shaken off most of her crippling inferiority complex. But faint traces of it still lingered. The moment she felt even slightly inadequate, the self-deprecation would immediately surface. As long as that didn’t disappear completely, I couldn’t relax.
A wound in the heart isn’t something that gets fully cured. It’s something you endure for the rest of your life. Remembering a phrase I’d heard somewhere, I gently comforted her.
“By the way, Suhyun. Did you learn swordsmanship from Chairman Kang Minsung?”
“Yes? Ah… he showed me a few things, but I didn’t get to learn properly like my cousin did. Back then I… I was so lacking and pathetic that I cried and said I didn’t want to…”
In other words, she had reached this level without ever receiving proper instruction? Even though the man called the Sword Demon hadn’t poured his full heart and soul into teaching her. And yet I—who could handle a villain at the very edge of B-rank without much trouble—had been pushed back, even if only for a moment.
“Ha…”
I let out an involuntary sigh of disbelief. If what she said was true, then Kim Suhyun’s talent was truly overwhelming. What would have happened if her ability had awakened properly from the beginning? Her family was the best in the weapon category, and she had an outstanding teacher like Kang Minsung right beside her. With plenty of other excellent ability users around, growth would have been inevitable.
Why had someone with such absurd talent been burdened with an inferiority complex? How had someone who could have become the greatest ability user ended up falling behind? No matter how much I thought about it, I just couldn’t understand.
…No. Maybe it’s only natural. She was a character created with exactly that in mind.
A figure standing at the opposite end of the spectrum from the protagonist Lee Hyunwoo. Someone several times more dangerous than any other villain. All of it had been deliberately designed to emphasize that point. The fact that I had stepped in and severed those chains myself was something I should consider a blessing.
Even half of what I was seeing now would have been enough to reach Gold rank by Academy standards. Even taking her stamina issue into account, Silver was practically guaranteed.
“W-why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?”
“Huh? Ah, no. No. That sigh just now wasn’t because of you, Suhyun.”
“Ah… I see. That’s a relief. I thought maybe I…”
Kim Suhyun clutched her chest as if relieved. Yeah. Those traces were still there, lingering in that way. She looked fine for now, but if any impurities slipped through those cracks, the wound would open again. It was fortunate that nothing serious had happened until now.
But things were different now. Kim Suhyun had already awakened as the Red Witch. If a psychological issue arose again in this state, it would be catastrophic.
“Suhyun.”
I wasn’t completely oblivious. I knew exactly who Kim Suhyun relied on most right now.
Me. Baek Seojin.
Of course she depended on her grandfather Kang Minsung too, but not nearly as much as she did on me. In the current situation, I was the only one who could control her and guide her in the right direction. That was why I would use this. The current situation, Kim Suhyun, and even myself. For the best possible outcome for both of us. In the most positive direction possible.
“Now that I think about it, we couldn’t have that dinner together last time, could we?”
“Ah… that’s right. The villains ambushed me right at that time… I’m sorry…”
“Why are you apologizing again? It’s not your fault at all.”
“But still…”
I stroked her head to signal that it was okay. The villains may have targeted her, but that didn’t make it her mistake.
“So, are you free for dinner tonight? To be honest, I was really looking forward to whatever you were going to treat me to. Ah, if it’s too much of a burden then…”
“No! No!! Absolutely not! Yes! Today?! You’re free today too, right?!”
Hadn’t she been completely exhausted and collapsed on the ground just a few seconds ago? Where was all this energy suddenly coming from? She jumped up and down, grabbing my hand. And those eyes—how brightly they were sparkling.
If I said something like Actually, today doesn’t work, I had the feeling she would turn into the blackened Red Witch right then and there.
“Ah, right now! We can go right now! Should we?! I’m free until today anyway!”
“Suhyun. Calm down. I’m still on duty.”
The dean was covering for me and I was acquainted with Irina, but I was still a public servant. It was only right to keep working until quitting time. I had no desire to cross into illegal territory, even if legally skimming off a government salary was somehow acceptable.
It seemed Suhyun realized she had gotten too excited. Though she still couldn’t stop her hands from trembling with joy.
“When I get off work, let’s meet at the main gate. Okay?”
“Yes!”
Watching Suhyun beam with happiness, I felt my own mood lift a little.
*
…Or so I thought. I never expected the situation to turn out like this.
I finished work in a good mood and headed to the main gate as promised to meet Kim Suhyun. I sincerely hoped the villains wouldn’t launch another attack today. I had wanted to celebrate the fact that she had finally stepped onto the proper path of an ability user, but…
“There he is. Long time no see, handsome oppa?”
“…Irina?”
The crazy yellow bitch. Irina. That woman was standing right in front of the main gate.
Why the hell is she here again?
I glanced sideways. I saw Kim Suhyun with eyes full of wariness and the tense bodyguards standing at attention. Especially Suhyun—she kept sneaking glances at Irina…
That look in her eyes. It was bad. Really bad.
Don’t do it, Suhyun. That woman is still way beyond what you can handle right now.
Whether Irina didn’t notice Suhyun’s reaction or was doing this despite knowing, she approached with a sly smile and let out a little “Mmm~” through her nose.
“Strange. You look even more handsome than last time.”
“I haven’t had any plastic surgery.”
“Right. Of course you haven’t had plastic surgery.”
Then, without warning, Irina suddenly stepped right up to me. A strangely soft scent rushed straight into my nose.
“But you have gotten stronger, haven’t you?”
The moment I heard those words, my mind snapped back to full alertness. I hurriedly stepped back, and Irina broke into a wide grin.
She really was a crazy bitch, but damn, she was beautiful every single time I saw her.
…Does that make me crazy too for thinking that?
I was starting to think this insane woman’s madness was contagious.
“It’s quitting time, right?”
“Yes. As you can see.”
“Then why don’t you come with me for a bit?”
“I’m sorry, but I…”
“The examiner has a prior engagement!”
Before I could even answer, Kim Suhyun shouted. Her voice was so loud that even the bodyguards beside her flinched in surprise.
“…Oh? Did you just raise your voice at me?”
This is kind of refreshing, Irina seemed to say with her eyes as she looked at Suhyun. For now, she was still smiling. Smiling, yes—but her gaze had already turned icy.
“Do you not know who I am? If you keep yelling like that, I might get startled and accidentally smack you. Then you might end up getting found all crumpled and broken.”
A clear threat. The bodyguards flinched at her words. But they couldn’t recklessly step forward. Because the opponent was that Irina.
“The examiner has a prior engagement.”
But Kim Suhyun didn’t care about any of that. Her attitude screamed get lost. If this dragged on any longer, it looked like she might actually grab Irina by the collar.
The Red Witch and the crazy bitch. A situation on the verge of exploding. Naturally, Irina would win overwhelmingly. She could erase the current Kim Suhyun in less than five seconds. I really hoped Suhyun would come to her senses and back down now.
But there wasn’t the slightest sign of fear on Suhyun’s face.
“…Wow, this is ridiculous.”
Then, something completely unexpected happened.
That Irina. The crazy bitch who would throw a punch first if she didn’t like someone. She was the one who stepped back first, wearing an expression of pure bewilderment.
“Hey, Seojin oppa? What is this kid? Who is she to act so bold?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone like her. Does she really not know me? No way, right? In this hellish Korea—ah, sorry. In South Korea, there shouldn’t be a single person who doesn’t know this ultra-beautiful, ultra-powerful Irina, right?”
To think she could say something like that so casually in front of everyone. As expected, the nickname “crazy bitch” wasn’t given to just anyone.