The Moment Change Is Needed - 1
"Student Lee Hyunwoo. I have one question for you."
"Yes, Examiner."
"Before you answer, let me make one thing clear. When I ask this, I want you to think of it as me speaking not to the person named Lee Hyunwoo, but to one of the Academy’s students."
I suddenly found myself wondering what thoughts ran through his head. I already knew he was different from the rest of the Academy’s students. True to his role as the protagonist, all he ever did was train, train, and train some more. He barely paid attention to anything else. Still, at the end of the day he was an Academy student like any other. What I wanted to hear right now wasn’t the opinion of the training-obsessed Lee Hyunwoo. I wanted the perspective of a Bronze-ranked student who simply attended this place.
"How do you feel about it, Student Lee Hyunwoo? About me conducting evaluations this strictly."
"For me personally, it’s—"
"I already told you. I’m not asking the person. I’m asking the student."
Lee Hyunwoo was the only one I could speak to this candidly. Kim Suhyun would have been an option, but she would only ever say good things about me, so she was out. Kang Hana and Yu Dasom weren’t Bronze or Silver either, so they were disqualified too. In contrast, Lee Hyunwoo could look at the situation with relative objectivity. On top of that, he was the protagonist and possessed an upright heart, which made him trustworthy.
"Hmm."
It seemed he had caught on to exactly what kind of answer I was looking for. After a brief silence, Lee Hyunwoo mulled it over and finally spoke.
"As an individual it doesn’t bother me at all, but as a Bronze-ranked student, I have to admit it feels burdensome."
"I thought as much."
"You’re not demanding that we defeat you, Examiner. You’re simply asking us to meet your standards, even if only by a little."
I gave a firm nod to show he had hit the mark. It always saddened me when students misunderstood that part. The evaluation rules had already been clearly announced. We weren’t asking them to beat the examiner standing in front of them. Even in defeat, showing something impressive was enough. What the examiner sought wasn’t just immediate sharpness. We were also looking for the hidden edge that could grow even sharper in the future.
"Even so, Examiner, that alone can feel overwhelming to the students."
"If it feels overwhelming, I suppose it’s because of everything I’ve done so far?"
"Yes. Fighting monsters, battling villains—those things were already intimidating enough. But then you went and fought an Elder on top of it all. It doesn’t affect me personally, but I doubt the other students feel the same."
How were they supposed to satisfy an examiner who had survived a fight with an Elder? No matter what they did, it would probably look like children’s play in my eyes. Some students might feel their flames of tenacity burn even hotter because of it. Others might watch the faint spark they had barely kept alive flicker out completely.
Lee Hyunwoo answered my question with sincere care, as if those concerns weighed on him.
"I see."
I understood. I had expected as much. They weren’t aiming for Platinum, just Silver. Of course it would be frustrating to have some weird examiner show up and judge them with such harsh standards. If I had been weak, they could have overpowered me and cursed me out. But after the fight with the Elder, everyone now knew I wasn’t ordinary. From the students’ perspective, I had become an obstacle that was simply too high to clear.
"Examiner. It’s not like there are no solutions at all."
"Of course. It’s actually quite simple. All you need is proof that the rest of them can do it too. That would be enough."
Whether they were Bronze students or the original Silver ones, I just had to pick one and say, “You pass the evaluation! Promotion successful!” Once people saw the possibility, their thinking would shift immediately.
"But from what I’ve seen, Examiner, you don’t seem like the type to go that easy."
Lee Hyunwoo had analyzed me quite accurately. As expected, even if he was a bit strange, the protagonist was still the protagonist.
"You must have a lot on your mind. I wish I could help more, but honestly I’m the kind of guy who just enjoys the evaluation itself, so I doubt I can offer any useful advice beyond this."
With those words, Lee Hyunwoo said he needed to swing his sword again before his sweat cooled. He spun around and sprinted madly back toward the training ground. At this rate, I thought his trait should be called Training Ghost rather than Genius of Effort. If someone trained like that and still didn’t grow, it simply meant they had no talent.
"Still… this is tricky."
At first I had believed that proving my ability would solve everything. Now that I had done exactly that, I found myself facing an even more troublesome situation. Why would someone like you bother doing this? No matter how much it’s for the students, isn’t the bar set way too high? When people reacted like that, even I had no response. To prove that wasn’t the case, I had no choice but to gradually start promoting people to Silver.
"Examiner. I… I’d like to take the evaluation."
Not long after Lee Hyunwoo disappeared toward the training ground, a male student cautiously stepped forward and requested an evaluation. He had come several times before. I remembered his skills were decent. Each time he tested, I could feel him growing little by little. If someone asked whether I would pass him to Silver, my answer would be… well. There were still too many holes to send him up that easily.
"It’s always the same. Just show me everything you’ve prepared."
The close-combat male student nodded, settled into stance, then briefly gauged the distance before closing in. He aimed for the side of my torso. Not a bad body blow. His mana was quite clean, the speed was acceptable, and though I hadn’t taken the hit, the power looked respectable.
For a split second I considered dodging. It was fast, but not impossible to avoid. By my standards it was actually slow. Instead, I chose to block his punch with my arm.
This is an evaluation. Rather than showing off my strength, I need to make sure they feel like I’m properly assessing their skill.
The moment his attack was blocked, he immediately thrust his leg inward, targeting my knee. Aiming for such a vulnerable joint showed decent judgment. But if doing so exposed your own weakness, then what?
"Ugh."
I lightly tapped his throat and the male student reflexively staggered backward. He had been so focused on his own attack that he completely missed my counter.
"Your reaction itself was good. But before you react, you need to read your opponent’s movement first."
"I’m sorry. I got too excited…"
"Let’s try again. From the beginning. And stay calm this time."
I slightly altered my approach. Normally I gave advice only after the evaluation ended. From now on, I decided to offer feedback immediately after exchanging one set of blows. It felt less like an examination and more like a sparring session meant to provide guidance.
"Hup!"
This time the student didn’t start with a punch. He opened with a high kick. He probably thought it was a decent feint, but the way he had already shifted his center of gravity gave it away completely.
Next time I’ll have to tell him to pay attention to where he plants his feet.
Next came the angle and speed of the incoming kick. As I had mentioned before, this student’s kicks were far less polished than his punches. His hand strikes were average, but his kicks fell below average. More than half of close-combat types focused on their hands. It was far more comfortable and easier to wrap mana around them. It seemed this student had trained mainly in punches before recently switching his focus to kicks.
"Kgh!"
Thud!
Because of that, even a light touch was enough to collapse his core.
"It looks like you need more training on your kicks."
"I… I think so too. I was just testing it out… I’m sorry."
"There’s no need to apologize. Attempting change like this is actually very good."
After the male student bowed and stepped back, a female student came forward to request an evaluation. More students continued to arrive after that. Most of them were the ones who had visited frequently from the beginning—those who trained diligently without being swayed by my fame or skill. Even now, rather than resenting my presence, they probably saw it as a good opportunity and kept coming back. I suspected those students would survive the coming Great Cataclysm quite well. The sweat they shed today would spare them from shedding blood tomorrow.
Someone might ask, Wouldn’t it be fine to train closer to that future time?
Not even close.
When the gates run wild and monsters grow stronger, the number of ability users drops sharply. As a result, not only graduates but even enrolled students get dragged into combat. In that situation, there would be no leisurely time for training. Only those who had already sharpened themselves beforehand would survive and fight.
Maybe I really should have cosplayed as a prophet.
It was an idea I had considered before but abandoned because it sounded ridiculous. Yet the future looked bleak enough that it kept coming back to mind.
"Um, hello, Examiner."
I turned my head at the voice calling me. At first I assumed it was another Bronze or Silver student. But when I saw her face, I let out a surprised “Huh?”
"You’re… the student who was in my Squad One last time, right?"
"Yes. I’m glad you remember."
The female student standing with her sword smiled and nodded. She had been part of the fifth team’s first squad during the recent Academy practicum I supervised. In other words, this girl wasn’t Bronze or Silver—she was Gold rank.
"What brings you here all of a sudden?"
"Well… is it possible for me to take the Silver evaluation? Or… am I not allowed?"
I thought for a moment before answering.
"You’re not allowed."
"Ah…"
"The student standing in front of me is Gold rank, after all."
If I had been an Academy professor, I might have found a way. But right now I was here as a dispatched civil servant, not a professor. The authority I had been granted only extended to evaluating up to Silver rank. Conducting another evaluation for higher-ranked students would clearly be overstepping my bounds. Even if Principal Ma Hakjun said it was fine, someone else raising an issue would make things very tiring.
"I figured… that would be the case. Then…"
"But let’s say, hypothetically, that I did evaluate you."
That didn’t mean there were no options at all.
"If I told you that you were lacking, what would you do?"
"I would do the same thing. I’d give up my current rank and return to Bronze."
"That’s not something you can say so lightly."
"That’s true, but… I watched you evaluating the other students earlier. It looked like an evaluation, but at the same time it seemed like you were teaching them how to act in real combat—what their current strengths and weaknesses are."
When I nodded, the female student continued.
"I wanted to gain something new too."
"I see. In that case, let’s do it. The evaluation."
"Pardon?"
"If you want to take the evaluation, then you should."
"But… you just said I couldn’t…?"
I had. I had definitely said that. If this got out, there would surely be talk. But this was exactly where my newfound fame would prove useful. The fact that the nation had assigned an A-rank ability user as my bodyguard meant I was a special person of national interest. Fame was meant to be used in moments like these. No matter what complaints arose, those above would shut them down.