Academy's Silver Gatekeeper

‘Chang Juyeol. Second-year, martial arts type. If he’s ranked #1 in Silver, that means he’s probably attempted promotion to Gold multiple times.’

When I used the “Third Eye” to check him out, I saw that he wasn’t some thug like Park Junwoo or trash like Jung Yuhyeon.

He was just a normal superhuman. Somewhat talented, somewhat hardworking—an ordinary student, in other words.

“You say you want a duel. Why all of a sudden?”

“I’m already in the Silver rank, so I can’t be formally assessed. This isn’t about winning or losing. I just want you to see that we Silver-rank students belong at this level.”

From his point of view, maybe he’s saying all that because he’s worried he might actually win. Asking for a duel while claiming the outcome doesn’t matter? It’s nonsense. He must see me, a Silver-rank Examiner, as someone not that impressive.

“Alright, Chang Juyeol. A duel that’s basically an evaluation—let’s give it a try.”

“Thank you! Let’s get started right away!”

He turned and began walking toward the examination hall.

I never imagined keeping my match with Jung Yuhyeon a secret would snowball into this.

If word had gotten out that I sparred with someone at Gold rank—and beat him—this “easy victory scenario” wouldn’t be happening now.

No Silver in their right mind would ever challenge an Examiner who even defeated a Gold. They’d say “I’m sorry!” and run for their lives. No one would blame them.

Of course, an official exam isn’t exactly a duel—winning or losing isn’t the only concern. Examiners try to evaluate objectively; if they find you qualified, you can be promoted.

What if an Examiner accepted bribes and promoted people arbitrarily, you ask? The students sit through the professors’ lectures anyway, and their skill levels become obvious. These are all folks who have real-world experience; they’re not easy to fool.

‘Also, if you do get caught doing something shady like that, you go straight to jail.’

Besides, having a higher rank means you take on more responsibilities.

If your true level is Bronze, and you jump to Silver, can you really handle it? What if you go on field training and run into a monster or villain you can’t cope with? That’s exactly why both Examiners and students stay away from that kind of fraud.

Hence, students rarely question their current rank. They do their best, and the Examiner checks them without bias—so everyone is satisfied.

That goes for something as basic as Silver. So, they ended up quietly looking down on the Bronzes, who hadn’t passed yet.

Until Lee Hyunwoo came along like a giant wave.

“Examiner, are you really going through with this?”

I hadn’t noticed when she caught up, but Kang Hana asked in a worried voice. She must be concerned that, as a government official, I might face trouble for acting on my own.

I admit I was cautious about that myself during the time with Jung Yuhyeon. Luckily, that arrogant jerk knew enough shame to keep quiet, or else I might have been in a tight spot.

“Yes, I plan to go through with it.”

“Isn’t that too risky? You’ll have to file an incident report if something goes wrong, right?”

“Worst case, sure.”

I definitely don’t want to file an incident report. Absolutely not.

But I already spoke with Ma Hakjun—and in a surprisingly positive way. He fell for my sweet talk and asked me to do my best as an Examiner here. He also heard rumors that I might have some connection to Irina. Between those two, I had more than enough cover. In this world, having connections is just as vital as ever.

“I’m ready now, Examiner.”

“Great. Before we start, there’s something we have to clarify.”

“What is it?”

What else? The very important matter that you might end up in Bronze.

“If, by chance, you don’t receive a positive assessment from me, what do you plan to do?”

“Uh? What do you mean…?”

“From the look of things, you want to surpass the assessment that Lee Hyunwoo failed, so you can prove yourself. Am I wrong?”

Chang Juyeol said nothing. Because that was exactly his plan. He wasn’t the type to lie calmly about it.

“If I acknowledge you, then you can show you’ve outdone Lee Hyunwoo. That’s all well and good. But if I judge that you don’t meet the Silver standard, then what will you do?”

Maybe he already knew the answer but hesitated to say it out loud.

“Then I guess…”

He still wouldn’t say it. Maybe he found it too daunting to imagine losing his longtime status as “king of Silver” and dropping to Bronze. He wouldn’t be foolish enough to challenge me if he hadn’t considered the possibility, right?

“Obviously, you’d lose your Silver status. What more is there to say?”

“Huh? H-Headmaster?!”

I had no idea when he arrived, but there was Ma Hakjun, sitting on a nearby bench, laughing. Seriously, is he truly an old man who stepped away from the front lines?

“Chang Juyeol, can you accept that condition?”

“W-well… yes, Headmaster. I can.”

Realizing there was no room to retreat, Chang Juyeol accepted the “back to Bronze” condition in the end. If he refused, that, too, would cause him problems.

“Then by my authority as Headmaster, let’s call this a special evaluation, Examiner Baek Seojin.”

“A ‘special evaluation’?”

“A duel that’s neither a formal test nor quite a spar. Why not call it a special evaluation?”

Something about the way Ma Hakjun phrased it gave me a strange feeling.

It looked like he, too, had some ulterior motive.

Man, old folks are always so inscrutable.

“Someone wants to move forward, and someone else wants to block them. I’m curious to see how it’ll end.”

Me too, Headmaster. I’m also curious. Just how many Silvers might drop to Bronze today? From what I can gauge with my special ability—the glimpses I get of others—there seem to be a handful who really do belong in Silver or better besides Lee Hyunwoo and Kim Suhyeon. At least that’s a relief. I was worried there might be no one.

*

‘The Headmaster is here too? This is getting way bigger than I planned!’

Meanwhile, standing off to the side, Kang Hana silently screamed inside.

She had gone along with Kim Suhyeon’s suggestion and decided to let Baek Seojin do his thing, because she saw no better way to calm all the unrest in the short term.

But not all her worries were gone; in fact, this could blow up even more. If someone fails to pass Baek Seojin’s evaluation, then they get dropped to Bronze.

If the top Silver, Chang Juyeol, couldn’t pass, the rest were almost certainly doomed. If you decided not to take the test, your rank would be ridiculed. If you took it and lost, you dropped to Bronze.

Either scenario spelled disaster. As Student Council President, her mind was racing.

‘I know from experience that even Jung Yuhyeon, who was basically Gold, couldn’t beat the Examiner. Chang Juyeol? That’s not going to cut it, let alone any other Silvers.’

Then all those Silvers would be wiped out. Next, they’d definitely complain. They might even demand re-evaluation of the Gold rank. And given the Examiner’s skill, no one in Gold could stand against him either. Which would mean they’d all be demoted…?

‘Headmaster, what are you planning by naming it a special evaluation and backing Examiner Baek like this? Are you prepared to completely overturn the Academy’s entire ranking system?’

And then, as she kept thinking it over—

Boom—!

“Wha…?”

Someone tumbled across the floor and landed facedown. It was indeed Chang Juyeol. This was just ten seconds after their special evaluation had started.

Kang Hana clutched her head in dismay.

‘This… this is terrible, isn’t it?!’

Baek Seojin’s assessment of Chang Juyeol’s Silver rank? He basically answered, “Shut up and stay Bronze. You’re not ready for Silver at all.”

‘Hold on, so now…’

She was on the verge of panic.

“In that case, it looks like we’ll have to reassess the entire Silver rank.”

Yet Ma Hakjun sat there, laughing with delight as if he were thoroughly enjoying himself.

It was obvious chaos was brewing now that Baek Seojin had toppled the top Silver, Chang Juyeol. But instead, Ma Hakjun seemed thrilled.

At that moment, Kang Hana finally understood the Headmaster’s real intentions.

‘I see! The Headmaster wants to redefine the standard for all these students!’

If you let water sit still, it’ll stagnate. Once it rots, there’s no turning back. He decided to stir up a storm before that happened.

Sure, it would cause a lot of fuss, but… He intended to shock the majority who’d been idly complacent—whip them into shape, and raise everyone’s average performance.

‘Wow, this is serious. We’ll have to stay on guard.’

Silvers were beaten. They wouldn’t just go down alone. They might drag Gold along with them. Then if Gold got dragged, even her position as Platinum might not be safe.

For the first time in ages, Kang Hana sensed a crisis. She gazed silently at Baek Seojin.

‘If he’s not some special agent from who-knows-where, maybe I should try inviting him into my clan?’

Sure, he’s a government employee now, but clans typically outrank national positions in terms of popularity. If they invite you, rather than you applying, it means big leaps in status. That’s how the superhuman world works.

‘If we had him, it’d be a huge advantage for the Tower of Magic Clan.’

While Kang Hana stood there nodding to herself and thinking all kinds of thoughts—

“…”

Kim Suhyeon stood by, eyes bright, staring at Baek Seojin with an unwavering gaze.

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