Chapter 55: Entrance Ceremony (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 55: Entrance Ceremony (4)
I stood quietly in line, and soon it was my turn.
At the entrance stood a Hunter Association employee and a machine that verified identity through mana waves.
What was its name again?
Ah, the Haetae No. 1.
As you can tell from the name, it’s a machine made by a Korean artisan. They said it was named after the mythical creature that could distinguish between right and wrong.
But that’s just what it’s called in our country; abroad, it’s called an MWIV (Mana Wave Identity Verification).
The way the machine identifies people is simple.
Every Awakened Being has a unique mana wave, and it can only verify the identity of those who have pre-registered their wave in the database.
So what happens if you haven't pre-registered?
What do you think? You get immediately arrested as an unregistered Awakened Being. In our country, it’s the law to register your mana wave in the database once you awaken.
I placed my hand into the head, which was carved in the shape of a Haetae, and a moment later, my information appeared on the panel behind it.
“Kim Do-jin, you're confirmed. You may enter.”
At his words, the Association employee blocking the entrance stepped aside to let me pass.
As I walked past them and went inside, I noticed some strange movements.
It looked like they were watching me and whispering something into the mics on their collars. Was I imagining it?
I tilted my head, puzzled, and stepped inside, when someone suddenly appeared and blocked my path.
“Kim Do-jin…?”
The person blocking my way was none other than Yoon Ji-an.
So this is what the Association employee was talking into his mic just now.
Her expression looked very similar to the one I’d seen on Shin Yu-jeong a little while ago. A look of disbelief, wondering if I was really Kim Do-jin.
“It's been a while, Ms. Ji-an. Three weeks, right?”
As I greeted her warmly, Yoon Ji-an's eyes and mouth slowly widened.
“H-How…”
Her index finger, pointed at me, twirled in a circle. A gesture that seemed to ask how my face and body had changed so much.
“I worked out hard for three weeks, and also had a little… you know?”
I trailed off, hinting that there was something more to it.
At that, the bewilderment in her eyes turned serious.
“…I understand. It seems you've had some kind of special experience. Congratulations.”
This woman was the very model of competence—the kind of person who could figure things out and handle them cleanly.
“We should probably save the rest of this conversation for later. The entrance ceremony is about to start, so please head inside.”
“Alright, see you later then.”
After our brief reunion, I headed inside again.
For an entrance ceremony with only a handful of special admission students, the space that opened up before me was excessively large.
It looked like it could easily seat 200 to 300 people, but there were barely ten people sitting there.
Since I was one of the last to arrive, even if one or two more came, there would still be less than twenty of us.
“Special admissions really are tough to get into…”
As I mentioned before, only the Hunter Association or A-rank and higher Hunters can recommend someone for special admission.
Backed by their guarantee, the school treats these students as the best of the best.
Tuition waivers are a given, along with free meals and a 500,000 won monthly credit for the cafeteria. A whole host of benefits were attached.
Of course, none of this was given for free.
Having been exempted from the entrance exam and granted all sorts of benefits as a top talent, special admission students had to prove themselves in every test.
A practical exam score of B+ or higher.
If they fell below that, all their benefits would be immediately revoked.
And if that happened, the person who recommended them would also take the heat. They could even be investigated on suspicion of taking bribes, with people asking how they could possibly recommend such a person.
That's why being a special admission student was a position that came with more pressure than one might think. Not only were their own benefits on the line, but also the honor of the person who recommended them.
I'd heard that's why many people turned down special admission offers and chose to enter through the regular process instead.
[Ah, ah. Mic test. The entrance ceremony will begin shortly. All special admission students, please take your seats in the first and second rows.]
A young man with dark circles under his eyes spoke into the microphone.
At his words, the students, who had been sitting scattered about, stood up and began moving to the front.
I trailed behind them and took a seat at the end of the second row.
A moment later, people began to take their seats in the five chairs arranged on the stage.
Every one of them radiated an extraordinary aura.
They were the professors of Korea University.
The assistant standing by the microphone raised his voice once more.
[We will now begin the entrance ceremony for the special admission students. Before the main ceremony, we will have the National Ceremony….]
Everyone rose from their seats and looked up at the Taegeukgi waving from the auditorium ceiling.
[All rise. Salute the flag.]
A familiar song and words flowed from the large speakers placed below the stage.
[I proudly stand before the Taegeukgi, pledging to the free and just….]
Just when I thought everything was proceeding smoothly.
Fzzt!
An ominous sound hit my ears.
Crackle!
The sound of sparks came from the large speakers that had been playing music just moments before.
At the same time, a piercing noise filled the auditorium.
Screeeeeeeee—!
“Aaargh!”
“Ack!”
Overwhelmed by the sharp, ear-splitting noise, the special admission students clutched their ears and began to collapse one by one.
In an instant, the auditorium was thrown into chaos.
The Association employees surrounding us were communicating through the transceivers in their ears. As they continued to talk, their faces grew increasingly grim.
It seemed like something was happening both inside and out.
At that moment, Yoon Ji-an, who had been guarding one of the doors, climbed onto the stage and shouted.
“A villain attack has begun outside! All special admission students, please follow the instructions of the Association staff and move quickly! I repeat!”
Her voice, shouted at the top of her lungs, began to cut through the piercing noise from the speakers and reach the students.
I looked at her with a sense of pity.
“It would have been better not to say that right now.”
The words she'd uttered to quickly control the students had instead pulled another trigger.
The trigger that unleashed the students' fear of villains—those heinous Awakened criminals.
“V-Villains…!”
“Villains are attacking!”
“Run!”
Fear spread like wildfire, consuming them.
Some panicked and scrambled to escape in any direction, while others collapsed where they stood, wailing.
Pathetic… No, I couldn't really say that.
The only thing these special admission students had proven was their talent. Peel away that shell of talent, and all that was left were fragile youths who had just turned twenty.
I sighed and looked around.
“It's complete pandemonium.”
All sorts of noises were running rampant.
From outside came the sounds of explosions, suggesting a battle was raging. Inside, some bizarre noise from the tampered speakers pierced my ears.
On top of that were the chaotic shouts of the Association staff trying to control the scene, and the students who weren't listening, screaming that they were going to die.
“The Association's work has been really sloppy lately.”
I had no idea how they could have assigned their personnel so poorly. Not a single Association employee inside was over forty.
This was happening because they were all just green-faced rookies. They should have at least left one experienced commander to control them. Tsk, tsk.
“What should I do…?”
It would be impossible to control everyone here with this body. Control and command only work when you have some authority.
Then maybe I should do something about those speakers first…
KWAANG!
A step too late.
One of the professors who had been sitting silently on the stage, watching the scene unfold, stood up.
A middle-aged man with a sturdy build. He looked exactly like a professor who would teach tankers or melee dealers.
The man pushed aside Yoon Ji-an, who was flustered and repeating the same words like a parrot, and shouted.
“Everyone, be quiet!”
Quiet, quiet, quiet….
His booming voice, loud enough to echo through the chaotic auditorium, captured everyone's attention.
“From this moment on, I am in control here! Everyone will move swiftly according to my instructions. Understood!”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
“Yes…!”
In a situation like this, the guy with the loud voice who looks like he knows what he's doing is bound to earn some trust.
Perhaps because of that, the Association staff and the special admission students began to slowly regain their composure.
“What's the situation outside?” he asked Yoon Ji-an, who was standing beside him with a dazed expression.
“…Not good. We're being flooded with requests for support from outside.”
“Hmm… In that case, some of you will have to go out and provide support.”
Aside from the speakers making that strange noise, there were no visible enemies inside. Since everything would be over if the outside was breached, his choice was reasonable enough.
Following his orders, half of the personnel surrounding the interior went outside to provide support.
“The remaining personnel will hold their positions and maintain a perimeter watch….”
Just as the professor was giving orders to the remaining people inside.
A powerful surge of mana suddenly began to leak from the two doors leading outside.
“Furthermore, the special admission students will….”
No one was paying attention to the doors.
No, it would be more accurate to say they couldn't.
Because I was the only one who could actually see the manifestation of mana.
Hiding among the students, I shouted.
“I can feel mana coming from the doors!”
“What?”
At my words, the professor hurriedly turned to look at the doors, but it was already too late.
The wide-open doors slammed shut on their own, and a distinct magic circle materialized across their entire surface.
“Dammit!”
The professor launched himself off the stage and threw a punch.
KWAAANG—!
A deafening roar that was hard to believe came from a human fist.
But the doors didn't even have a scratch.
The hexagram magic circle on the doors was holding them fast.
“Damn it, is this a sealing magic…?”
It was a type of magic normally used to lock things like boxes or safes. It was a good spell, created for security, but its one flaw was that villains loved to use it to trap people.
The professor bit his lip and said, “It was a feint.”
Just as he said, it was highly likely the commotion outside was just a diversion. The real threat was the small number of enemies hidden inside.
[Haha, the professor is correct. But you figured it out a little later than I expected.]
The assistant with the dark circles spoke into the microphone, his words laced with mockery.
Seeing him smile like that, there was no doubt he was the one who had cast the sealing magic on the doors.
Does that mean he was posing as an assistant just for today?
“…What a guy.”
He was an enemy, but he was certainly an impressive one. I heard being an assistant was a hellish job. I have no idea how he endured it.
The enraged professor tensed his entire body and kicked off the ground.
“You bastard…!”
As the professor charged, the assistant's form vanished in an instant.
“How impatient.”
He reappeared at the very back of the auditorium.
Blink.
A high-level magic that allows for instantaneous travel over short distances.
It went without saying, but high-level magic could only be used by high-level mages.
“Huh.”
So that means the frail-looking assistant with the dark circles is a high-level mage.
Which means.
“We're so fucked…?”
Yeah, it seemed we were well and truly fucked.