Black Ring
Black Ring
An Hyeon-do.
A first-generation Enhancement-type Awakened, a capable fighter who once climbed to 50th in the world rankings during his active years.
And currently the man serving as Chairman of Arena Academy.
"Hmm."
He was sitting in an ordinary chair in a perfectly unremarkable little room, looking at a small piece of letter paper.
'Baek Woo-jin.......'
He had returned to the academy earlier than planned after securing an artifact to offer as a prize, and two shocking reports were waiting on his desk.
One was a report stating that the academy's barrier had stopped functioning.
The other was a report concerning a professor of the Black grade.
The reports were written by different people, but after reading both, An Hyeon-do tossed the first one aside and contacted Kim Seong-won, who had submitted the second.
And he received a very detailed account of everything that had happened while he was away.
A young man registered at the academy, wearing a Black Ring.
The man's name was Baek Woo-jin, and An Hyeon-do had been told that the barrier ceasing to function—the subject of the first report—had also been the doing of this same Baek Woo-jin.
Naturally, he hadn't heard it from the man himself, but all the circumstances of that day pointed in that direction, so An Hyeon-do accepted it as fact without dispute.
For the first time since the academy's founding, a professor who had never once revealed himself appeared in an official capacity—exactly twenty years later.
"Did I go senile without even realizing?"
Though he looked like a man in his mid-thirties, An Hyeon-do's actual age was approaching his sixtieth birthday.
He read through the letter in his hand once more.
『I write this letter for my future self.
At some point, I may not even remember ever writing this.
But do not doubt it. The one who wrote this is unmistakably me, An Hyeon-do.
As proof, I will include a few shameful secrets that no one but me could possibly know.
At the age of 31, inside a 9th Stage Rift—a frozen snowfield—with Julia Grace, my first.......』
An Hyeon-do swiftly skipped the unnecessary parts and moved his gaze lower.
『Thus, I am truly An Hyeon-do.
Therefore, you must believe my words unconditionally.
I do not know when that being will begin to act.
Perhaps it will remain inactive until I return to the earth.
However, should a Black-grade professor ever appear, never go against them.
They are a being who contributed greatly to the founding of Arena Academy, a dangerous existence that mere humans dare not meddle with.
As I write this, I believe in no gods, but I cannot say the same for the me who is reading this.
Remember this.
The gods are distant, but that being is very close.』
"Good heavens."
The handwriting and the pointless bits in the middle confirmed that it was undoubtedly a letter he had written himself. The problem was that, just as the letter stated, he had no memory of ever writing it.
An Hyeon-do re-read the letter a few more times, then carefully folded it and tucked it into his chest pocket.
"For now, I've followed the warning, but still...."
A Black-grade professor.
On the academy system, the rank was below his own, but the authority the man possessed was identical to that of the Chairman.
That was why the incidents during the entrance exam had been smoothed over quietly.
-Ding.
A clear sound came from his smart watch.
A notification that everyone required for the meeting had assembled.
The new student entrance ceremony was just two days away.
An Hyeon-do had already called a full faculty meeting beforehand to explain the abruptly reshuffled professor lineup and to introduce the very special professor who had made it happen.
"Still, he doesn't seem like a completely rigid fellow."
He left the Chairman's office to see the main figure of the day, whom he had yet to meet.
**
[ Meeting Room 1 ]
A space capable of accommodating every faculty member in the academy's main building.
Since it was designed for the entire staff rather than a small group, its layout took the form of a lecture hall rather than a meeting room.
The meeting room, packed to the walls with faculty, was filled with an extraordinarily heavy atmosphere.
Granted, the setting required a certain amount of decorum, but the atmosphere was so tense you could say it was the first time since the founding of the academy that the room had been this silent—without even a scrap of small talk.
Thirteen professors had been abruptly dismissed.
And their places were filled by teaching assistants and associate professors.
The changes hadn't affected only the professors.
Several administrative personnel had also been quietly replaced.
In both cases, the cause was the under-the-table benefits they had tacitly collected until now.
People came up with a few guesses.
Someone had crossed the line, or the Chairman had finally drawn his sword.
For those reasons, the assembled faculty had no time to open their mouths—they were too busy worrying if sparks might fly their way, or combing through their memories in case they, too, had forgotten something they'd done.
Not everyone was like that, of course.
Prime example: the head of the Finance Department, Kim Seong-won, sitting in the very front row.
Unlike the tense others, Kim Seong-won had his eyes half-closed, dozing off nonchalantly. Next to him, the head of Academic Affairs, Choi Min-sik, watched it all with a look of utter contempt.
Choi Min-sik had also met Baek Woo-jin on the day of the entrance exam, brought by Kim Seong-won, so this gathering didn't feel particularly burdensome either. After all, he'd already exhausted every ounce of his nervous tension the day he encountered Baek Woo-jin.
-The Chairman has arrived.
A voice came through the ceiling speaker, and shortly afterward, the meeting room door opened.
"Sorry for calling you all together when you're busy preparing for the new semester and the entrance ceremony."
Neatly swept-back hair.
Large eyes and an overall gentle impression.
Skin showing a few fine wrinkles.
A solid build and a tall stature.
An Hyeon-do, showing no discernible marks of age, ascended the podium in the meeting room.
"I won't keep busy people long. I'll keep it short and wrap this up quickly."
There was no voice amplification device, but An Hyeon-do's voice rang out clearly throughout the room.
"I'm sure you all know that a number of faculty members were dismissed recently and that young folks have taken their places."
An Hyeon-do scanned the faces of the new professors clustered together in the farthest corner.
"Don't go looking for fault for no reason. If you do and get caught, I'll kick you square in the rear."
He'd said it from the podium as a light joke to loosen the mood, but the professors listening couldn't take it as a joke.
Because if the still-spry An Hyeon-do, as vigorous as any active-duty fighter, kicked you in the rear, you might well end up half-paralyzed.
"And you young folks, don't go swaggering around outside—behave humbly."
The new professors in the corner quickly nodded.
"Ah... lastly, I'll introduce one professor and then wrap things up. Professor Baek Woo-jin?"
An Hyeon-do searched every corner of the meeting room but couldn't spot a new face.
"Is Professor Baek Woo-jin not here? I was told he atten—"
Click.
A short but distinct sound of shoe heels, clearly audible to everyone.
An Hyeon-do's eyes widened a fraction.
A figure that had been invisible only moments earlier materialized with that single sound.
An Hyeon-do wasn't the only one startled.
Choi Min-sik, seated next to the dozing Kim Seong-won, flinched in alarm as well.
That was because Baek Woo-jin had risen from the seat right beside him.
Click. Click.
Baek Woo-jin ascended the podium with steady, even steps.
"Professor Baek Woo-jin?"
"......."
Baek Woo-jin didn't answer, only gave a slight nod.
An Hyeon-do didn't find the attitude the least bit arrogant.
If anything, goosebumps erupted all over his body.
A man whose presence couldn't be felt even while he was looking right at him.
No. If the letter's contents were true, he likely wasn't even human.
A man with strangely unkempt hair and large glasses that might look a little comical.
But despite his outward appearance, he carried a weighty presence that made him difficult to approach life.
An Hyeon-do faced the assembled faculty again and spoke.
"Most professors know that, apart from me, there are only three ring grades: brown, sky-blue, and gray. But in truth, one more color exists."
He pointed to Baek Woo-jin's left hand.
"The Black Ring that Professor Baek Woo-jin is wearing right now. Yes, the Black grade exists at our academy. It has been a rank since the academy was founded—information disclosed only to a very small number of people until now. Now, you must be curious about this part."
An Hyeon-do pointed at himself with his right thumb and continued.
"The Black grade is directly beneath me. But it is beneath me only in position—the authority it carries is no different from my own."
The meeting room, which had been quiet until now, suddenly began to stir.
A rank that held the same authority as the Chairman.
That meant he could involve himself in and make decisions about everything, from personnel appointments to the budget and beyond.
It was a bit absurd, but it essentially meant that suddenly there were two Chairmen.
Just then, a middle-aged man sitting in the second row raised his hand. A gray ring was on his finger.
The gray rank was higher than sky-blue.
The gray ring was given to special lecturers brought in personally from outside by the Chairman.
"I'm sorry, but questions..."
An Hyeon-do was about to say he wouldn't take any, but when Baek Woo-jin raised his hand slightly beside him, he closed his mouth.
Baek Woo-jin addressed the professor who had just raised his hand.
"Speak."
'Huh....'
An Hyeon-do, standing right beside him, was impressed.
Even to another man, his voice was truly captivating.
He wasn't the only one—others in the meeting room felt the same. A few of the female staff members even blushed.
"...I have a question for the Chairman."
The special lecturer who had raised his hand.
Jaden Martel, an outstanding combat mage in his active days and currently the professor in charge of destructive fire magic lectures.
An Hyeon-do nodded at Jaden, signaling him to ask.
"Can that ring be won as well?"
"Hmm."
An Hyeon-do didn't answer Jaden's question right away. He glanced sideways at Baek Woo-jin.
He had originally planned to end the meeting without taking any questions, but since the person in question had accepted the query, he left the answer to him as well.
As expected.
Baek Woo-jin nodded and spoke.
"This is Arena Academy. Therefore, I will also follow the academy's rules."
Every year, all professors except the Chairman had to participate in the Ring Scramble and prove their worthiness for the treatment they received.
Baek Woo-jin had just answered that he, too, would take part in the Scramble.
However, Baek Woo-jin's words didn't end there.
"But waiting until next year would be terribly dull. If anyone is confident they can take this ring from me, challenge me at the Summer Festival."
The Event Match, an indispensable part of Arena Academy's Summer Festival.
Juniors and seniors.
Seniors and teaching assistants.
Teaching assistants and professors.
Professors and professors.
A lower-ranked person issues a challenge to a higher-ranked person, and if the higher-ranked person accepts, the challenger can claim one thing they desire from them.
Usually it's for fun—making someone do an embarrassing dance or sing a song—but serious cases are also not uncommon.
Since the priests of the God of Amusement officiate and notarize these Event Matches, whatever is agreed upon must be honored without exception.
Because of that, you could often see higher-ranked individuals who found the whole thing bothersome demanding something outrageous to drive challengers away.
Baek Woo-jin had just told the assembled professors to challenge him through that very Event Match.
"Do you have any further questions?"
"......No."
Jaden lowered his hand and closed his mouth, and Baek Woo-jin turned to An Hyeon-do beside him.
"If you have nothing more to say, let's be on our way."
"Mm. Very well. Let us see each other at the entrance ceremony."
Without replying, Baek Woo-jin quietly descended the podium, opened the meeting room door, and left.
"Ahem. Well then, thank you all for gathering to hear something so trivial. Everyone, return to your duties."
An Hyeon-do smiled awkwardly and ordered the dismissal, and the staff rose from their seats one by one and filed out of the meeting room.
Just then, Kim Seong-won, who had kept his eyes closed as if sleeping, suddenly snapped them open, licked his lips, and muttered quietly.
"Summer Festival... Event Match...... This could make some money...."
"You're like a crazy money demon, I swear."
Choi Min-sik, sitting beside him, clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"So what? I'm about to lose all my hair anyway. Might as well make a lot of money."
Kim Seong-won snorted and rose to his feet. Choi Min-sik also got up after him and began making his leisurely way out of the meeting room.
"So. How exactly are you planning to make money?"
"How else? Betting, of course."
"You're pathetic."
Choi Min-sik clicked his tongue at Kim Seong-won once more, then stealthily brought his mouth to Kim Seong-won's ear and murmured.
"...Can I invest?"
Choi Min-sik's thick head of hair.
Kim Seong-won once again felt the deep unfairness of the world.