Duties Expanding - 4
“I didn’t expect to run into you again like this, Examiner! And as the substitute instructor, no less!”
Yu Dasom chatters away, looking utterly fascinated. Unlike Kang Hana, whom I see fairly often, this is the first time I’ve crossed paths with her since the Jeong Yuhyeon incident. When I asked Kang Hana about it later, she muttered something about getting hit with two separate group projects at once. The moment I heard that, I couldn’t stop an Aigoo from slipping out.
One group project is enough to kill a person. Two at the same time? I’m pretty sure strangling the professor would count as self-defense. Don’t professors usually coordinate with each other to avoid this kind of nightmare? Who in their right mind dumps overlapping group assignments on students and expects them to survive?
My thoughts weren’t all that different from what was clearly running through Yu Dasom’s head.
“So what did you say to them, Miss Yu Dasom?”
“I told them they might as well kill the professor or die trying.”
Yeah, that tracks. I’d probably say the same thing. Students pushing back with “We already have group work in our other classes, this is too much” should leave the professor with no leg to stand on.
“Oh, and you’re the team leader for both projects?”
Whoa. Hold on. Did I hear that right? Team leader for two different group projects? Just hearing it makes my head throb.
“I heard the news. Two group projects, and you’re leading both of them.”
“Huh? How did you know that, Examiner?”
“Kang Hana told me.”
“What? You’ve been meeting with her this whole time?”
The way she says it makes it sound suspiciously like Are you two dating? Kang Hana must have caught the same vibe, because she immediately snaps back.
“You’ve been too busy to talk, so I went to the examiner and chatted for a bit. That’s all.”
“Heeeh~”
But Yu Dasom clearly heard something entirely different in that explanation.
“Wait… Sis? Aha. I get it now. I’m rooting for you!”
“…Hey. You’re doing it again.”
This definitely isn’t the first time Yu Dasom has pulled something like this. Kang Hana crosses her arms and steps right up to her.
“It’s not what you think. Not even close.”
“Strong denial is just strong confirmation!”
“Strong denial is just strong denial, you idiot!”
Kang Hana’s voice rose a little too much. The students clustered in small groups nearby start shooting curious glances our way. Even among the elite, the student council sits at the very top. Sure, there had been a rotten apple like Jeong Yuhyeon, but the rest were decent. When the president and treasurer of that same council start bickering, it’s only natural for people to stare.
“This is weird, Sis. The harder you deny it, the more suspicious it looks.”
“You’re the one saying weird things!”
“Do you dislike the examiner?”
“Of course not!”
“Then you like him.”
“Hey!”
Watching the two of them, I can roughly guess what their relationship is like. Yu Dasom constantly teases, and Kang Hana keeps taking the bait seriously. They’re clearly senior and junior, yet the dynamic feels completely reversed.
“Ahem! Examiner. Ack! Anyway! Group projects are literal hell. These kids are perfectly fine when working alone, so why do they turn into complete disasters the second group work gets announced? Gack!”
Even while being grabbed by the collar by Kang Hana, Yu Dasom somehow manages to finish her sentence with a straight face. The support class really does shine on the front lines. No matter the situation, they always manage to do what needs to be done. Impressive.
“There’s that saying, right? When five people gather, at least one of them is guaranteed to be trash.”
“Whoa, there’s a saying like that? The wisdom of our ancestors really never misses!”
It wasn’t actually our ancestors who said that… Never mind. Better to just let her believe that.
“External Support Team 5, please prepare.”
After waiting a little longer, a security officer approaches us. Teams have been going through the portal one by one, and it’s finally our turn.
“The portal has just finished preparing. There was a slight delay with the Chungcheong region connection. We apologize for the wait. You may proceed with the transfer immediately.”
“It’s not your fault. These things happen. Alright, students! Let’s get moving!”
This feels exactly like those kindergarten field trips I used to see. All that’s missing is a whistle and a little flag. If you’re wondering why kindergarten suddenly came to mind—it’s because when I first joined the Ability Measurement Department, I got sent on dispatch to kindergartens pretty often.
Children with real talent sometimes show signs of their abilities from a very young age. Not full awakening where they’re scattering power everywhere, just faint hints. Of course, the probability of that happening is extremely low. Most S-rank ability users awaken in their late teens. Even Irina was just an ordinary blonde, blue-eyed girl when she was little.
But overly enthusiastic parents are the same everywhere. They’d come in claiming their child had already awakened, making a huge fuss. Since the country has to manage ability users, we had no choice but to verify their claims. That’s why I, a mere low-level employee, ended up visiting kindergartens all the time. There were days I genuinely couldn’t tell if I was a civil servant or a kindergarten assistant teacher.
“This is my first time using a portal.”
“Really? I used one once when I went to England last time.”
“How was it? Way better than an airplane? Did you get motion sickness?”
“No motion sickness. It was comfortable, but… I don’t know, it felt like it was missing something. Like romance.”
“I heard that too. Whether to take a plane or a portal when traveling.”
“I’m team airplane. Sure, it takes longer, but flying still has that sense of adventure. Taking a portal just feels like the romance gets ruined.”
Are they talking about the feeling of takeoff and being up in the sky? Yeah, there is a certain charm to it. Plus it’s cheaper than using a portal.
I listen to the students’ conversation with one ear as we reach the portal zone.
“Students, please have your student IDs ready in advance.”
The security officers waiting ahead ask for student ID verification. An Academy student ID basically functions like an ability user registration card on the outside. In situations like portal use, it acts as a kind of passport. If you’re wondering why you’d need a passport for domestic portal travel, it’s because illegal portal usage has increased dramatically recently. And naturally, every single case of illegal portal use was connected to criminal activity.
The villains are apparently using them quite a lot.
From illegal border crossing to smuggling prohibited items. People really do have a talent for using new technology in the worst possible ways.
“Could I see the roster, Professor?”
The security officer must not have heard the news yet. He uses the title professor. I don’t bother correcting him. He’ll figure it out once he sees my ability user registration anyway.
“Here it is.”
“…Ah. So you’re the examiner.”
“The chancellor asked me to serve as substitute instructor for Team 5 this time.”
“I see. Roster confirmed. We can begin portal transfer starting with Kang Hana!”
One by one, following the order on the roster, the students disappear through the portal. After the very last student vanishes, I step through as well.
Shaaaaah—!
Baek Seojin, who had been standing at the very back of the students, disappears through the portal. Ma Hakjun watches the scene silently, then slowly turns around.
“Hakjun. Do you remember that man by any chance?”
“Sujin. Hyun Sujin’s fiancé.”
Kang Minsung’s words float through his mind once again. Why did that old man have to bring up that particular story and disturb everyone like this?
“He resembles that man. The way his ability suddenly bloomed—not just awakened but fully flowered. And how he instantly reads the techniques shown to him just moments ago and tries to make them his own.”
Yes, that’s exactly how it had been. That man had been the same. Everyone thought he was utterly ordinary, until the day he suddenly blossomed into a dazzling flower. But that brilliance hadn’t lasted long. A tragic end. An unbearably heartbreaking conclusion had come for him. The scene had looked almost as if someone had been jealous of his talent. Or perhaps that kind of ending had been foreordained from the start.
He kept pushing himself without rest. Almost like something was chasing him.
Even Ma Hakjun didn’t know the full truth. He had simply thought of him as a trustworthy young man. The person who knew the most about him was probably his fiancée, Hyun Sujin. But she was no longer the proud junior he once knew.
An Elder. An S-rank ability user who had betrayed everything and turned against humanity. A monster who had thrown away her once-kind heart into the shadows and now lived only for destruction.
What on earth happened to make her change like that?
The moment they first received news of Hyun Sujin’s betrayal, her former comrade Han Jiyun had refused to believe it. Everyone else had reacted the same way. There’s no way. They had all pushed back. That was how bright Hyun Sujin’s future had seemed. Just what could have driven her to such fury?
“Huu…”
Ma Hakjun let out a long sigh and sat down on a bench, staring blankly at the sky.
Unlike that man, Examiner Baek Seojin clearly remembers his past.
There were similarities, but just as many differences. Ma Hakjun tried to push away his uneasy feelings by focusing on those differences.
“Chancellor!”
One of the staff members was urgently calling for him from afar. When they learned Ma Hakjun was here, the man came running straight over.
“There you are, Chancellor. We’ve received contact from both the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the Ability User Association.”
Ma Hakjun had been about to ask why they were contacting him so suddenly, but he closed his mouth. Having worked as an ability user for many years, he could already sense what this meant. Simultaneous contact from both the Ability User Association and the Ministry? There was only one thing that could signify.
Something serious had happened.
“Do you have any information on what’s going on?”
“I don’t have the details, but it seems there was some kind of accident inside a dungeon.”
Whether it was a Gate outbreak or a dungeon raid, casualties didn’t care about time or place. At first everyone had been shocked and tense about such incidents, but now they had grown used to them. Yet if both the Ministry and the Association were reaching out at the same time…
It meant this particular accident was different from the usual ones.
“Let’s go. Quickly.”
Ma Hakjun rose from his seat at once and hurried off. The anxiety he had been feeling for the past several days had unfortunately not been mere worry after all.