Sorry, It's Not S-Rank - 1

The day had finally arrived. The day of the new ability measurement.

“Examiner Baek Seojin.”

A group of men and women in suits had once again been dispatched to my house. It was clear how much those above were anticipating my ability test. If that had been the end of it, the whole thing might not have been particularly pleasant.

“You don’t need to come into work today.”

“Pardon?”

“We’ve already processed it as paid leave, so you can just relax and take the measurement.”

For a moment I thought I’d misheard. Paid leave? In this world? I wasn’t even a regular company employee—I was a tax-funded civil servant. They had squeezed every last drop out of this low-ranking grunt every single day, and now they were giving ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me paid leave?

‘The higher-ups must be pretty desperate.’

Paid leave on a weekday, no less—and ordered from above! If my boss heard about this, his insides would probably twist with jealousy. I could already picture the face of the guy who gave me the stink-eye whenever I tried to use annual leave, yet took every single one of his own without fail. As expected, the Third Eye had been right. A textbook narrow-minded superior. The ironclad mindset of “It’s fine when I do it, but not when you do.” There were plenty of bosses these days who weren’t like that, so why did mine have to be?

‘But this time even he won’t be able to complain.’

The people at the top must have been waiting with bated breath. They had lost two S-ranks in just the past few years; they were bound to be extremely anxious. Especially since those two hadn’t died—they had become Elders. In this world, S-ranks were treated as national assets, recognized as the country’s definitive military force. Even though a few S-ranks still remained, it had to sting. And now a promising new S-rank candidate had appeared? Of course they would come running with fire in their eyes…

‘Sorry. It’s not S-rank.’

Surrounded by the suited group on the way to the measurement site, I offered a silent apology to the people sitting beside me and everyone else who was brimming with expectation. If I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were the one conducting the test, things might have been different. But being the one tested like this would drastically lower the chance of my trait manifesting. Even during the spar with Kang Minsung, it had only barely appeared.

“This might very well be the day a new S-rank is born.”

The team leader of the suited group I had met before let out a hearty “Haha!” and subtly floated the idea. I couldn’t exactly respond with Yeah, no. Give up. So I simply laughed along, said nothing, and stared out the window.

It wasn’t a long message, but even at a glance you could tell she had agonized over every word. She had probably woken up early, struggled for a long time, and sent it right before heading to school. Imagining Suhyun like that brought a smile to my face without me realizing.

‘She went through all sorts of trouble just to get my number.’

I remembered how Suhyun had been hovering around me and fidgeting for the past few days. She clearly wanted to say something, felt she had to say it, but was too embarrassed to speak. It was so obvious that I finally asked her directly. What was wrong? Did she have something to tell me?

“W-well… I, ah! To congratulate you on your first Silver promotion! Grandfather told me to congratulate both you and the examiner! He said you worked so hard and… wants to invite you to dinner again… something like that…”

“And?”

“So! To let you know the exact time, I needed to contact you…!”

“You’re asking for my number?”

“No! N-no! I just…”

“You’re not asking for my number?”

“Yes! Yes! That’s exactly it…”

What contact? She could have just come to the Academy and told me in person. And if it was a celebration, having just Suhyun there would have been more than enough. There was no reason for the chairman to suddenly call for me. In the end she had used her grandfather as an excuse!

It was absurd, but also so cute and amusing that I pretended to fall for it and gave her my number. The way she beamed at my answer was almost disorienting. How had a girl like this become the Red Witch? How had she turned into the worst villain—one that even the relentlessly positive Lee Hyunwoo ground his teeth at?

Thinking about it again, the villains, the Elders—every last one of them was a bastard.

Come to think of it, at some point I had started thinking of Kim Suhyun simply as Suhyun. At first it had only been because Kang Minsung asked me to speak more casually to her. Now calling her so formally felt stiff, and I genuinely wanted to treat her comfortably. It wasn’t bad. In fact, it felt good. Knowing that someone relied on me.

Maybe this is why those perverts exist—the ones who completely isolate the other person and make them depend solely on them!

‘Those guys are the real bastards, though.’

A single drop of cold sweat ran down my spine. Before it was too late, I quickly replied to Suhyun.

It was a little disappointing to waste the paid leave, but that was as far as it went. If I had truly wanted to rest, I would have taken a few more days off after leaving the hospital. Besides, these days my work was genuinely fun and rewarding—even without the Gatekeeper trait. The students who had already been working hard had begun pouring in even more effort.

The moment Suhyun finally shed Bronze and settled firmly into Silver, it seemed the other students had felt something real. The possibility I had shown them and that Suhyun had proven with everything she had: Hey! I did it! So you can too!

Even if they were weak right now, they could improve someday. All they needed was for someone to clearly present that single possibility they possessed. Then they too could proudly step through the Silver gate.

‘There are still some students wandering lost… but there’s nothing I can do about that.’

I couldn’t grab them by the collar, throw them around, and shout, “Shut up and just do what I tell you.” I was a gentlemanly civil servant—one who didn’t frown at the citizens. I wasn’t some demon instructor from a novel. I wouldn’t drag along those who refused. Instead I would leave them be and show them the ones who chose to grow. If that sparked jealousy, all the better.

She must have calmed down; the typos and spacing had been fixed. Sometimes she relied on me a little too much and it worried me, but the Third Eye still showed no signs of an obsession trait. Controlling things carefully so it never reached that point would be the next task for Suhyun—right after preventing any brainwashing. I wasn’t fond of regret, ruin, or obsession either.

“Examiner Baek Seojin. We’ll be arriving ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shortly.”

“Yes. Understood.”

The moment I sent it, Suhyun showed off her magic trick—the little “1” beside the message vanished instantly. It was class time right now; was it really okay for her to be glued to her phone like that?

“We’ve arrived, Examiner. You may get off.”

At the suited man’s words I glanced out the window. Normally I would have been standing in that very spot, waiting for the people about to be measured. Now the situation was reversed—I was the one coming to be measured. What’s more, the original owner of this body had already undergone measurement once. The rank Baek Seojin had received back then was D-rank. In other words, dead last. A faint memory remained that even an E-rank would have been perfectly acceptable. He had only managed D because his abilities leaned toward measurement and detection.

“Welcome, Examiner Baek Seojin.”

As I stepped out of the car, a middle-aged man in uniform offered a handshake. He wasn’t military—if he were, he would be wearing a proper military uniform. Yet he didn’t quite feel like an ordinary civil servant either; the atmosphere around him was different.

‘…Ah.’

The Third Eye immediately revealed his identity. He appeared to be a civil servant, but in truth he was an old-generation ability user with abundant combat experience. Most likely the generation after Kang Minsung and Ma Hakjun.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Im Jaewoo, in charge of today’s measurement.”

“Ah, yes. Please take good care of me.”

“Likewise. Everyone’s expectations are quite high.”

To casually drop such burdensome words right away… It seemed he had moved beyond prediction and was now completely convinced I was S-rank…

‘No. No, guys. Why do you keep drinking the kimchi soup before it’s even served?’

They really were thirsty for the appearance of a new S-rank. Well, after losing two priceless S-ranks, I could understand.

“Stories about Examiner Baek Seojin are the hottest topic these days.”

Are they? I hadn’t really noticed.

“Your expression says ‘thank you’ even if they’re empty words. But no, it’s true.”

The middle-aged man who had introduced himself as Im Jaewoo continued enthusiastically. Every S-rank that had ever appeared had either shown overwhelming talent from the very beginning, or—even if their ability manifested late—had been the strongest from that moment onward. There had never been a case like mine: starting from rock bottom and growing up from there. Because of that, a theory had even been established.

That while A-rank could be reached through acquired effort, S-rank could not. Whether early or late, an innate element was absolutely required.

“Now that theory will have to change as well.”

No. In my opinion that theory seems correct. In my case too, it wasn’t acquired effort but a talent that suddenly appeared.

Whether he knew my inner thoughts or not, Im Jaewoo smiled brightly and guided me to the measurement room. His face was already full of a huge grin, which only made me feel sorrier.

“Then we’ll begin the measurement.”

“…Yes. Please take care of me.”

The measurement process was simpler than I expected. The Academy’s rank exam was probably more difficult. It measured the total mana the current ability could output, the limit the body could endure, and then calculated how much mana and body could withstand together.

‘Hmm.’

Thanks to my experience in the Ability Measurement Department, I could already guess the result. At best this would be B-rank. Even if a miracle occurred, A-rank was the absolute limit.

“Ugh…”

Im Jaewoo, upon seeing the result, stroked his chin. Rub it gently, man. At that rate you’ll wear it away completely.

“Examiner… just one more time…”

He was desperately trying to hide his utter bewilderment. He looked so pitiful asking for a retest that I agreed. I returned to the measurement room.

But sorry. This time too, it was B-rank.