The Time for Change - 4
The first Silver promotion had finally emerged. It was the first step toward showing the students that it was possible. But this wasn’t the end. Turning away now with a satisfied “That’s that!” would be a mistake. In fact, it could easily breed an even bigger misunderstanding.
Kim Suhyun, who had been nothing more than Bronze, could now hold her own against even Platinum-rank opponents. There was a chance the students were focusing only on that part. Or worse, they might interpret it as: if you don’t have this level of talent, don’t even dream of promotion.
“Everyone, I have something to say.”
Before that misunderstanding could take root, I made sure to speak clearly.
“I hope you won’t misunderstand. Yes, Kim Suhyun can now fight on par with Platinum ranks. But you must not fixate on that result. What I’m looking for is not simply the outcome.”
What mattered now was potential. And the will to reach that potential. I didn’t expect them to match Kim Suhyun’s objective level. That would actually be asking too much. What the evaluation truly valued was nothing more than the footsteps of someone striving to move forward. That was all.
That was why I kept hammering the point home to the students. I was being brutally strict with them precisely to help them even a little more. Don’t think of this as a mere test. Think of it as a wall you must overcome. A wall that must be crossed. And when you finally do cross it, feel the thrill of that victory. Don’t stop there. Remember clearly how you overcame it. Use that memory as a stepping stone to conquer the even higher wall that will appear next.
“I will continue to evaluate you all with the same strict standards. So, students, show me your potential. Make me feel your will. You can do it. Just like Kim Suhyun, who was Bronze, a mere D-rank hunter not long ago. Just like me.”
It wasn’t difficult. The students were already half out of their minds thanks to Kim Suhyun. Until recently, she had been a Bronze student with the slowest growth among them. Aside from being Kang Minsung’s granddaughter, she had nothing else to boast about. And now that same girl could fight Platinum ranks.
To the students, everything about her must have looked incredible and special.
Of course, Kim Suhyun’s effort, talent, and her originally hidden trait played a huge part…
But right now, the single thought filling their heads was this: the newly appointed examiner—the damn examiner who wouldn’t even allow Silver—had given them something new. In truth, that was partly why I had chosen Kim Suhyun as the first success story. A casual “The examiner’s test has something special to it!” would plant the right seeds. And Kim Suhyun was the perfect person to spread that wind.
Alright. Next order of business…
I had convinced the students. Now it was time to deal with the professors.
Why bring up the professors? Because this part mattered more than it seemed. The dispatched examiners hadn’t handled every single evaluation. The professors had also assessed students whenever they had the time. In fact, evaluations for Gold rank and above had been entirely their responsibility.
If things continued like this, the professors’ evaluations could come under fire. People might ask why they hadn’t evaluated with the same passion I did. Or question why the Gold students they had passed were now being demoted back to Bronze. From their perspective, I would look far more hateful than the students raising those complaints.
I could cover some of that with my future evaluations. The professors’ tests had simply been about passing or failing. Mine, however, was a slightly “different” method. The previous evaluations weren’t wrong. They simply had a different direction.
I kept emphasizing that to the students so the arrows wouldn’t turn toward the professors.
No matter where you go, it’s the same. I need to mediate properly in the middle so I don’t get crushed between both sides. If those two fight, the one who loses the most is always the one stuck in the middle.
I also explained this to the professors whenever I had the chance. Their evaluation method wasn’t wrong. Objectively speaking, it was actually more correct. But sometimes, rather than coldly cutting only at the line of passing, wouldn’t it be good to have an evaluation style that looked beyond the pass? One that could see the future even after someone passed? Wouldn’t that be better?
“I’ll handle the professors appropriately, so don’t worry too much.”
Ma Hakjun must have noticed I was worried about friction with the faculty. He offered to help ease my burden.
“You don’t need to worry too much, Seojin. Actually, I think the professors will like it. Thanks to you, the students are receiving a massive stimulus. If they train harder and grow even more, it will ultimately benefit both the professors and the Academy as a whole.”
Han Jiyun went even further, calling my concerns pointless overthinking and cheering me on. When I asked if it wasn’t overstepping since I wasn’t even Academy staff, and what if the professors felt that way, she actually let out a small laugh.
“Seojin? Who did you fight with not long ago?”
Ah, right. I did have a proper brawl with an Elder.
“Do you really think any professor who knows that would dare pick a fight with you?”
The battle against an Elder, which must have felt like an unbearable burden to the students, had instead become an enormous advantage for the Academy faculty.
Good. The board is now perfectly set.
I had no intention of dragging the entire Academy down to Bronze. That much was certain. Students who were already doing well? They didn’t need to come. I already had too many students to look after; my head was spinning. I would be grateful if those students simply did their best where they were.
…Well, that’s what I said, but of course it would be better if they came. The more outstanding talents I faced, the more cards I would gain.
But my original intention, my plan, had not changed. Some people intervene in a new world because they want the protagonist to succeed. Others because they don’t want the heroine to fall into corruption. They step in for all sorts of reasons.
But I was different. What I wanted was both extremely simple and extremely difficult.
The nameless people who were hastily deployed in the worst situations, only to be swept away. The ones who died meaningless deaths because no one paid them any attention, making their ends even more miserable and tragic. I will stop that with my own hands.
I wouldn’t be able to save them all. In the first place, dying was their original fate. I simply hoped that even one more person could survive that cruel future.
A dim space lit only by faint illumination. Something stirred in one corner, slowly taking human shape. Soon after, Hyun Sujin emerged from the shadows and glanced around.
“You’re here.”
A familiar voice. Hyun Sujin didn’t even bother looking as she spoke.
“Aren’t you going to treat that? It looks hideous.”
“I have no intention of treating it. I’ll leave it like this so the scar remains.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? I don’t understand. Kwak Hyuk.”
Then the ghost lurking in the darkness on one side slowly rose to his feet.
“Because I can’t forget it. Because I must not forget it.”
Swish— He drew a line across his chest once, then twice, with his hand.
“I have to do the same to him. It would be even better if I pierce his heart.”
Kwak Hyuk grinned, a chilling smile. Hyun Sujin let out a short “Hah.”
“Fuck. You really are a crazy bastard.”
She tossed the words out casually.
“What about the others?”
“Who knows. Whether they came or not.”
“Why the sudden group summons? Have they all finally gone insane together?”
“How many sane people do we even have here?”
A very faint voice drifted in like an echo on the wind. Moments later, a black woman appeared across from where Hyun Sujin and Kwak Hyuk stood.
“Long time no see, you narrow-eyed yellow monkeys.”
She was openly provoking them. And not just anyone—an Elder. But the opponent had every right to speak that way. That black woman was also an Elder, just like Hyun Sujin and Kwak Hyuk.
“Your eyes look even narrower now? What, did you find some medicine that makes eyes bigger?”
The provocations grew sharper. At this point, it was basically an invitation to fight. Yet Hyun Sujin answered the taunt with perfect composure.
“Hey. Do you know what I hate the most? ‘Racism’ and ‘black people.’ Do me a favor and go back to your homeland—whether it’s a sugarcane field or a cotton plantation, I don’t care. You make me sick every time I see you.”
Extreme provocation poured out without the slightest hesitation. This was exactly when the saying “give an inch, take a mile” applied.
“…You want to die?”
“You think you can make me?”
The two women bared murderous intent toward each other without retreating an inch. Kwak Hyuk standing behind them maintained the attitude of ‘You two fight. I don’t care.’ After all, it wouldn’t cause him any problems if one of them died.
[Enough. Are you two betting on who’s the bigger idiot?]
A noisy screen flickered to life in one dark corner of the space. Starting with that, several more screens displaying male and female voices began appearing all around.
In response, numerous figures appeared on the opposite side as well.
“What the— Wow, the neck guards are doing their jobs pretty well, huh? I thought at least one of them would’ve died and not show up.”
“S-still… saying something like that might hurt the others’ feelings…”
“It’s not wrong. Should we ask how everyone’s been, all friendly and beautiful-like?”
A motley crew: a severely twisted young man, a woman who looked utterly terrified, and even a man whose face was half-melted, leaving no recognizable features.
“…What? They really all came?”
Hyun Sujin’s voice carried a hint of surprise after confirming every face. It made sense. There had never been a single time when all of them had gathered like this.
Every single one of them was insane. Nuts that had come completely loose. Yet the power each possessed was horrific—monsters in the truest sense of the word.
Elders. Beings who were once humanity’s hope but had turned their backs for their own reasons. Now they were traitors feared and hated by all of humanity, who wished them dead.
[Since these crazy bastards will throw a fit if we waste time, I’ll get straight to the reason for this gathering.]
The calamities known as unprecedented disasters had all gathered in one place.