The Start of the Semester

I clicked on the notification.

> Comment: Fucking god-tier lol
>
> Comment: If he’s A-rank in Elemental but only B-rank officially, how much of a monster is he?
>
> ㄴ Seriously;; Why is he even here?
>
> ㄴ And in Elemental, no less.

…Turns out, the larger the guild, the stingier they are with their internal ranks, so there’s less of a gap with the official government rank.

Smaller guilds, on the other hand, tend to hand out ranks generously to show off, like, ‘Ta-da! Look at all the amazing people in our guild!’ so the difference between the two ranks is much larger.

Of course, since only government-certified guilds can set their own ranks, there are limits, but major guilds are generally stricter.

It makes sense. They have more people, after all….

In my case, I was acknowledged as an A-rank despite being a newly-minted B-rank because I was a dual-elementalist, a spirit summoner, had high elemental sensitivity, and possessed a mana recovery skill that covered the weaknesses of both my elements.

…Looking at it like this, I guess I really am one hell of a guy.

Still, with reactions like these, when am I ever going to find teammates?

Come to think of it, just because my rank is high doesn’t mean I’m going to pick a difficult gate. I have no experience, so why would I needlessly push myself?

I edited the post slightly.

[Title: Seeking Teammates for Gate Conquest.

Seeking teammates for a gate conquest.

I haven’t decided on a gate yet. I’ll probably decide after seeing the team composition.

I’m a Magic-type, officially B-rank, and A-rank according to my guild (Elemental certified).

Just because my rank is high doesn’t mean we’ll be going somewhere difficult! Please don’t feel pressured and contact me.]

Of course, that didn’t make anyone contact me either.

It seemed that if your rank was high, they wouldn’t join because they assumed you’d go somewhere difficult anyway.

And if your rank was low, they wouldn’t join because they’d feel intimidated.

The only responses were comments telling me how envious they were or calling me a monster.

I guess I had no choice but to hope the contacts Elemental was making for me would pan out.

*

Tonight, again, I lay in bed as a man.

Choi Shin-woo seemed to be busy.

Park Se-hyuk hadn’t contacted me, perhaps still embarrassed about that day. Not that he was the type to reach out first anyway.

Yoo Yi-jun… no word from him either.

Since the semester starts tomorrow, I might as well just go to bed early.

I heard there was a major-specific course that all my classmates were taking tomorrow. Even though I couldn’t register for it, I figured I’d at least sit in for a bit.

*

“Next, regarding attendance. Arriving after class starts will be marked as tardy, so please be on time. Three tardies count as one absence, so be careful. If you miss more than a third of the classes—”

It was the first day, so it was just orientation.

Just listening to the course introduction made my body automatically squirm and feel lethargic.

Last semester was my first as a college student, so I only took introductory liberal arts courses that gave a taste of university life.

But now, in the second semester, it felt like things were starting for real.

The subject itself was boring (not that many subjects are fun, to be fair), and more importantly, the professor was dull.

Thank god I Awakened. To think I don’t have to listen to this.

My dear classmates, I’m leaving first. Have fun grinding away.

“You’re really sitting in on this?”

“It’s my last day anyway, what’s the big deal? Besides, he probably doesn’t even know I’m here.”

“Really?”

“Maybe not….”

The professor kept glancing in my direction.

I came wearing an Awakener’s robe… so I guess I stand out. Not just a little, but a lot?

Ye-eun had repeatedly emphasized that I absolutely must wear a robe when I’m around non-Awakeners.

Apparently, novice elemental mages are prone to losing control, which leads to frequent accidents. In such cases, the guild also receives a portion of the disciplinary action.

“How could you not stand out when you’re dressed like that? Then again, I guess you’d want to show off that you’ve Awakened.”

“…”

“What rank did you get?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“I’m so jealous. Seeing you drop out must mean you got a pretty high rank.”

…It was high, alright.

“Hah, I wish I’d Awakened too. Then I wouldn’t have to do this shit, cleaning up after Awakeners.”

My classmate, Bae Ju-won.

We were both in the ‘Mana Stone Engineering Department.’

“Didn’t you say it would be good for getting a job?”

“That’s true, but so is cleaning up after Awakeners.”

The ‘Mana Stone Engineering Department’ was a major that had sprung up like mushrooms at every university after the dawn of the Gate Era.

Its stated goal was to explore the infinite possibilities of mana stones; it was literally a department for studying the energy of mana stones.

Considering the uses of mana stones today, it seemed like a good path for employment, and it was.

That’s why every university’s ‘Ma-e-gong’ (short for Mana Stone Engineering Department) had a slogan with the nuance of, ‘We will lead the Gate Era.’

But everyone knew the truth.

It wasn’t the researchers who led the Gate Era, but the Awakeners.

That’s why you’d often hear self-deprecating remarks about ‘cleaning up after’ Awakeners.

Honestly, Mana Stone Engineering was a department with a high ceiling.

It’s just that the ceiling for Awakeners was beyond common sense.

The story of the top student from Seoul National University’s Mana Stone Engineering Department dropping out immediately after Awakening was famous.

“But man, why is this professor so boring? You guys have fun grinding away. I’m escaping first.”

“Ah, this is so fucking annoying. You don’t have to listen to this? I want to Awaken toooo….”

*

In the evening, I went to a bar with three of my close classmates, the ones I had at least some interaction with (we did a group project together).

It was a huge department, so I didn’t know everyone….

My friends had finished the lecture and attended another major course, while I had gone to the academic affairs office to submit my withdrawal form.

When I told them I had Awakened as an official B-rank, the professor signed it without another word.

So, this was a party to celebrate my Awakening and withdrawal. My treat, of course.

I’d already paid for dinner.

Bae Ju-won had been curious about my rank since earlier.

“So what rank did you get? Is it higher than Kim Tae-min’s?”

Kim Tae-min.

A classmate in my department, one year older than me.

His defining feature: he was an Awakener.

Despite being an Awakener, he hadn’t dropped out and was still attending school. Of course, that didn’t mean he was a diligent student.

He was living the life of a total freshman… no, ‘living’ isn’t the right word. ‘Savoring’ would be more appropriate.

But if that was all there was to it—

“Ah, that C-plus bastard is so fucking arrogant.”

—you wouldn’t get a reaction like this.

Though, to be fair, this guy always had a bit of a foul mouth.

The ‘C-plus bastard’ was Kim Tae-min. Because his guild rank was C+. His official government rank was probably C.

“Did you see him bragging about his money on Instagram? I just unfollowed him.”

An impassioned reaction from another classmate, An Su-yeong.

She said she had rejected Kim Tae-min’s confession, but he kept bothering her, going on and on about being an Awakener and acting all high and mighty.

Honestly… objectively speaking, he wasn’t exactly handsome.

She said she rejected him because she couldn’t stand how he kept hitting on her, acting all arrogant and relying on his Awakener rank.

…I didn’t have much interaction with him.

But seeing him constantly post pictures of wads of cash on Instagram, along with stories like,

‘Made 3 million won in one day lol. Great work, everyone in the guild!’

…It was annoying, unsightly, and hateful, but at the same time, there was envy. All of it combined into a sense of deprivation.

No, that’s how it used to be.

Who am I now?

I’m Lee Han-gyeol, the ‘A-rank Awakener.’

Goodbye to the old me, the one who was so consumed by jealousy and deprivation that he ended up deleting his Instagram.

“It’s not like he just started acting like that. Anyway, I’m curious too. What rank did you get? Your Trait… can you not tell us?” Choi Yu-jin asked.

She was an older classmate who wasn’t usually very talkative, so for her to ask like this, she must have been really curious.

“My rank… I got an official B-rank this time.”

Bae Ju-won, An Su-yeong, and Choi Yu-jin’s eyes went wide—

“And my guild rank is A. Oh, and I joined the Elemental guild.”

“What?” “Holy shit.” “Oh my, really?”

*

I got an earful.

For being an A-rank Awakener from Elemental,

and treating them to pork instead of beef.

“Hey, we spent 150,000 won there, and I’m paying for this too—”

“Han-gyeol. Shut up.”

“Hey, for the third round, should we go to that place? The one with the salmon platter.”

“Sounds good. Should we call a few more of our classmates?”

“No, Yu-jin.”

“Ah—I’m so jealous. Lee Han-gyeol. So jealous!”

“If you were just B-rank, I would’ve told you not to drop out and just mess with that C-plus bastard. But A-rank? Tsk, you’re free to go.”

“I know, right? Let’s call more people and call Tae-min too. We need to knock him down a peg.”

“Yu-jin, you were this kind of person?”

…That Kim Tae-min guy must have been really unlikable.

“Cheers, cheers! To the A-rank Awakener, Lee Han-gyeol!”

That crazy bastard Bae Ju-won filled only my soju glass to the brim before making a toast. Ugh, this tastes awful.

I downed the shot, blinked once, and my glass was already full again.

“Hey, how so fast, shit, look at that surface tension.”

“You’re not leaving here sober tonight.”

“Fuck, Lee Han-gyeol, you’re dead today. Yu-jin, you can’t drink much, right? Excuse me, one cider over here, please.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey! This is so unfair—”

“What’s unfair is your A-rank future versus ours. And two more bottles of soju over here, please.”

*

Fortunately, they didn’t end up calling Kim Tae-min.

Unfortunately, we ran into him at the bar for our third round.

“Hey, An Su-yeong!”

The moment she heard Kim Tae-min’s voice, An Su-yeong’s expression soured.

“Ugh, for fuck’s sake, can’t he just piss off after being rejected? Why does he keep doing this shit?”

Either he couldn’t hear her over the noise of the bustling bar, or he just didn’t care about being cursed at. Kim Tae-min approached our table.

Since he’s an Awakener, it’s probably the latter, right? My hearing got a little better after I Awakened, too. But I think it’s the latter because he’s just that shameless.

“Have a good break?”

“Stop contacting me during the break. Seriously, what’s wrong with you? Haaah… we already ordered, so we can’t even go somewhere else.”

Can’t pass up a large salmon platter paid for with someone else’s money, that’s for sure.

“I told you, I can treat you to this place till you’re sick of it. I earn quite a bit.”

“I just fu-cking hate it when you talk like that. Hey, and do you think you’re all that just because you’re an Awakener? Han-gyeol here is an Awakener too, you know?”

Ah, I was enjoying the show, but now the fire’s spreading to me.

“An Awakener?”

“Uh, oh… Hi.”

I gave an awkward wave. We never really had any contact and hadn’t talked much, so we only knew each other’s faces and names.

Still, looking up at the standing Kim Tae-min, an Enhancement-type Awakener over 180cm tall, was surprisingly intimidating….

“You Awakened?”

“Yeah.”

“Magic-type?”

“Yep.”

“Congratulations.”

“Huh? Oh….”

He’s not being as much of a dick as I thought, I was thinking, when I caught a glimpse of the look in his eyes—

Ah, he finds me annoying.

…Come to think of it, he’d looked at me like that before, hadn’t he?

Especially when I was doing a group project with An Su-yeong, our eyes met briefly when he was in the same classroom, and the look he gave me then was the same as now.

It’s just that the emotion in his eyes was so much stronger now that I finally noticed it.

“What rank did you get?”

“Hmm?”

“I asked what rank you got.”

Wow, is he really asking me himself?

I was holding back from saying it first because it would sound like I was bragging.

“Official B-rank from the government.”

“B-rank? Oh….”

Kim Tae-min’s brow furrowed for a moment before smoothing out.

“About the same as me, then. I got C++ over the break.”

Hmm? Didn’t I just say I was an official B-rank?

Did he assume that since I just Awakened, my guild rank was the same as my official rank?

“Hmph, what do you mean, ‘about the same’? Is a guild rank of C+ the same as an official B-rank?” An Su-yeong sneered.

“Well, if I work hard, I’m sure I can catch up.”

“You? Ha, most people with your rank would have dropped out. You think we don’t know why you haven’t? It’s because you know you’d fall behind if you tried to compete as an Awakener, so you hang around non-Awakeners to—”

“Hey. Shut up. No matter how much you’re my type—”

“If you don’t like it, then don’t come over. Why do you keep pulling this shit when I keep saying no!”

The atmosphere was turning ugly.

Everyone in the bar was silently watching the argument, and even the owner just watched quietly.

Kim Tae-min was an Enhancement-type Awakener.

If a non-Awakener tried to intervene with a drunk Awakener, they’d only get hurt.

Hmm, it seems this A-rank Awakener has no choice but to step in.

“Su-yeong, calm down. Tae-min, it was good to see you. Let’s catch up next time.”

Of course, since I was dropping out, we’d never see each other again.

I placed a hand gently on Kim Tae-min’s shoulder and gave him a slight push toward his table.

Just go back to your table already—

“Huh? Did you just attack me?”

“Eh?”

“Don’t you know that among Awakeners, touching someone can be considered an attack? Son of a—who knows what kind of shit a Magic-type might pull.”

“Huh?”

“You attacked me, so I’m attacking back in self-defense, got it?”

“Uh—”

Thwack—!