Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Entrance Evaluation (1)
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How could I get people to shout, "That guy's a punk from the Yang family!"
How could I get pointed fingers for single-handedly dragging down the entire family's prestige.
How could I ensure that the moment I graduate the academy and step into society, newspapers splash headlines like "Exposing Yang Woo-bin, Eldest Son of the Yang Family."
"Passenger, we've arrived."
This was a life-or-death matter, so I'd been totally absorbed in fleshing out plans in my head. Before I knew it, we'd reached the destination.
"Ah, thank you for your hard work. Goodbye."
I gave a quick bow to the driver, then opened the door and stepped out of the taxi.
......Wait a second. If I'm gonna live like a thug from now on, shouldn't I skip the polite greetings? This is trickier than I thought. Next time, I gotta just hop out like a proper delinquent.
Seriously reflecting on that, I turned away from the road and looked straight ahead.
A hazy entrance path stretched out toward the towering mountain peak, shrouded in thick fog.
Even on this clear, sunny day with not a cloud in the sky, the dense fog blanketing the path from the very start felt utterly out of place to anyone who saw it. But not a single person passing by seemed to find it strange.
That was because this fog-enshrouded mountain had stood guard in exactly this state for a very, very long time.
"I thought it looked mystical even on the monitor, but seeing it in person is just absurd."
The Mist Mountain Path—the only entrance one had to pass through to enter the academy.
No time to stand around gawking in admiration. Burning with thoughts of revenge, I stopped marveling and set foot onto the entrance path, where I couldn't see even an inch ahead.
Whoosh—!
The moment I stepped in, a crushing pressure enveloped my entire body.
The fog had weight and force, pressing down on me from all sides.
Every step brought resistance like wading through water, but for a superhuman like me, it was more than bearable.
This was the academy's first trial: the Pressure Fog.
A path any superhuman could pass, but no ordinary person ever could.
That was why there were no guards at the entrance to the path.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
Blind in the fog, I just kept following the path, walking and walking, until before I knew it, I'd reached the mountain summit.
Whoooosh—!
Just like at the entrance, the fog scattered the instant I arrived at the top, clearing my vision. Only then could I finally take it in.
The massive tower built atop the misty mountain peak, soaring to heights that pierced even the clouds, vanishing from sight.
This tower was none other than Dabcheon Academy.
True to its name—"Stepping on the Heavens"—this colossal structure stood tall enough to pierce the sky itself. It was one of only ten official superhuman training institutions in the entire world, and the main stage for the early-to-mid game in Reverse Hero Tale.
"Whoa."
Even if I'd chosen to live solely for revenge, seeing Dabcheon Academy with my own eyes after only glimpsing it on a monitor was enough to draw out an involuntary gasp of awe.
In person, it filled my entire field of vision... and then some. Well, yeah—this was the scale needed to call it an academy.
The academy—also known simply as the Tower—was no human-made structure.
Back when calamity struck the world, these towers had emerged from rifts torn open across the globe. They were the outposts the disaster monsters had claimed as bases.
But the 108 heroes drove the monsters out of the tower after countless sacrifices, fierce battles, and desperate struggles. What had once belonged to the monsters became humanity's property, and in modern times, they served as academies to cultivate superhumans.
They'd been outposts for monsters invading to conquer the world, after all. Of course they'd be enormous.
And the most astonishing part? This tower, already sky-scraping and dwarfing my view, wasn't even its true size.
"The actual size is way bigger than..."
"Ah."
Already that time? No wonder there weren't any people around, even on enrollment day.
I swallowed my admiration for the real academy and dashed toward the tower's entrance.
"Hello, new students. I am Go Yeo-ryeong, who will be taking over as principal of Dabcheon Academy starting this year."
On the stage of the massive auditorium, the red-haired woman in a black robe introduced herself as Go Yeo-ryeong.
Just her announcing her position and name was enough to send murmurs rippling through the hall.
There wasn't a soul in the entire world who didn't know her name.
The superhuman from commoner origins who'd climbed to the absolute highest position. The hero of the Great War, revered by all. The one person who could thrash anyone—regardless of their family—with both fame and raw power backing her.
That was Go Yeo-ryeong. Her unexpected appearance left the audience buzzing.
"......"
But the freshmen murmurs didn't last long.
Tap.
After watching the chatter for a moment, Go Yeo-ryeong lightly stomped her foot. The mana wave spreading from her toe silenced the entire hall.
The one who could shut up over a thousand superhumans with a single casual footfall—that was Dabcheon Academy's principal, Go Yeo-ryeong.
Gazing down at the frozen freshmen, she continued.
"No matter what life you lived out there or what status you held, it means nothing here. Dabcheon Academy judges a person's worth solely by ability. Don't strut around just because you were born into a noble lineage. And don't shrink back just because you inherited commoner blood."
It was blunt talk that had the nobles frowning and the commoners' hearts swelling with pride.
"Welcome to Dabcheon Academy. That's all I have to say."
And that was it—the entirety of her prepared speech.
She stepped down from the stage and exited the hall.
As thoughts like "The principal's address can end this quickly?" filled everyone's minds, static crackled from the speakers, followed by an announcement.
"Wha—what? Entrance evaluation? What's that?!"
"They said the principal change shifted the academy's vibe, but this much?!"
"P-preparations? What kind of evaluation even needs prep? Combat stance?"
The noble freshmen—who knew the academy's info—were thrown into panic by the sudden evaluation announcement, floundering in confusion.
Paradoxically, the commoner freshmen with no prior info were handling the situation better, ready to judge and react on the fly no matter what happened.
5. 4. 3. 2. 1
The countdown ended amid the chaos.