Ch.182Episode 37. Certification Exam (1)

    “Ngh…”

    Yeon Muhui frowned as she tapped her textbook with a ballpoint pen.

    She scratched her head as if suffering from anxiety and couldn’t sit still, shaking her legs. Finally, she exploded, slamming her desk and shouting.

    “How am I supposed to memorize all this?!”

    I put my hand to my forehead at her outburst. This is troublesome if she’s like this on the first day of studying…

    “…Be quiet. Just memorize it somehow. Otherwise, you’ll fail.”

    I smacked her head with my rolled-up notebook. She rubbed the spot where I hit her and pouted.

    “I probably forgot everything I was memorizing because of that hit.”

    Geez. Such exaggeration.

    Yu Ari was quietly reading beside her. When I gently patted her head, she looked up and smiled brightly.

    How nice it would be if everyone studied this obediently.

    “Why do we need theory to be heroes?!”

    “As I’ve said before, using abilities without a license is illegal. You could be treated as a villain. Moreover, if you subdue or accidentally kill a villain, the responsibility becomes even heavier.”

    “Ngh…”

    “When you killed Shindo before, you weren’t held responsible because it was recognized as self-defense. If it hadn’t been recognized as self-defense, you would have had no excuse for being sent to prison.”

    Come to think of it, I was lucky that the Association Chairman covered up my beating those villains to scout me. It was a deal that could only happen because his situation and my position aligned perfectly.

    If the Chairman hadn’t scouted me, I might be operating as a villain by now. With a strange alias like Brain God.

    …Though that’s already written on the ranking app.

    “You need to start off on the right foot. If you have to study for the written test twice, you’ll have less time to train, which lowers your chances of defeating your father.”

    Even though she’s mastered the Yeonhwa style, she’s still not strong enough to defeat Yeonhwa Dragon. She needed to raise her proficiency even more.

    “Fine. I’ll do it.”

    Yeon Muhui grumbled but started focusing on her studies again. As I sat across from them watching the two study, my pocket vibrated.

    I checked my phone. Unknown number.

    I quietly got up and left the room. After checking for any presence around me, I answered the call.

    “Hello.”

    [Ah, hello? Is this Brain God’s phone?]

    Brain God…?

    Damn it. I should ask the Chairman to change my alias immediately. It’s too embarrassing to show my face.

    “…Not Brain God, it’s Yujin.”

    [Isn’t Brain God your alias?]

    “It is, but I didn’t choose it myself.”

    [Ah, I see. Well then, Yujin. I’m Department Head Ahn Jinwoon from the Aegis Association.]

    From the Association?

    It was rare for me to receive direct contact from the Association since I mostly communicated directly with the Chairman.

    “Yes. What can I help you with?”

    [This year, you’ve been recommended as an examiner for the hero license practical exam…]

    “…What?”

    My mind went blank for a moment at this unexpected news. Me as a hero license practical exam examiner?

    [Did you not hear me clearly? Um… you’ve been recommended as one of the examiners for the hero license practical exam.]

    “By whom?”

    [The Chairman.]

    That guy…

    He’s passing something strange to me. What if Akcheon’s executives make a move while I’m serving as an examiner?

    But the proposal itself wasn’t bad. I could go as an examiner and share what I see with the special class students.

    “Yes. Well, I understand, but what are the dates?”

    [From April 22nd to June 24th. We’d like you to take charge every other Sunday during this period. The Association will compensate you, of course.]

    “…That sounds good, but is it okay even though I’m an instructor?”

    [If you accept the examiner position, you must not disclose any content related to the exam to your students until at least June 24th. That would raise issues of fairness.]

    He’s right.

    I didn’t need to think about it to understand. If I were to tell the special class about the license exam content, it would be no different than taking the exam with a cheat sheet.

    “I see. If I accept the examiner position, are there any requirements about where I need to stay?”

    [The Chairman said that wouldn’t be necessary for you.]

    Oh. Could it be that the Chairman trusts me?

    [He said it would be more disadvantageous for you to leave the Academy for two months, so he’s treating this as a special case.]

    “…”

    Our Chairman really knows how to get what he wants, doesn’t he?

    It meant I was that capable, but I couldn’t help feeling somewhat displeased.

    [Still, disclosing the practical exam content is prohibited, so please be careful.]

    “I understand for now.”

    [Then can I assume you’ll take the examiner position?]

    “Yes.”

    [Good. We’ll send someone from the Association to the Academy in January. Please sign the contract at that time.]

    Being S-rank must be nice—they’re coming to me instead of asking me to come to them. As Forest said, the position of an S-rank is indeed advantageous.

    “Yes.”

    [Thank you. Thank you for your continued efforts for the safety of South Korea. I’ll hang up now.]

    “Yes. Take care.”

    After ending the call, I stared at my phone quietly.

    In any case, this was something I needed to experience at some point. Even if I couldn’t tell them the exam content, I could still give advice to the special class students after seeing it firsthand.

    After a year, much of the novel content I remembered had faded, so I needed to fill that information gap with experience.

    Of course, I had written down all the important details.

    “Hmm? Instructor! Why are you out here?”

    Gu Yeonhwa asked as she got off the elevator. Bin Yuni and Jeong Iyeon followed behind her. I was puzzled by the sudden appearance of these second-year students.

    “Why are you here?”

    I asked while checking the time on my phone. It wasn’t even noon yet.

    “We came to talk about having lunch together! Ah, these two are my accomplices!”

    “Hello, I’m Accomplice #1.”

    Jeong Iyeon is actually playing along. Looking at them, they seem to have become quite close.

    “Yuni, what about you?”

    “Wouldn’t it be good to get out of the lab for a change of mood?”

    Well, she must be exhausted from researching the seemingly impossible eX potion every day, so getting some fresh air would be good for her.

    “Right. Good thinking. Take it easy, don’t push yourself too hard.”

    Rushing would only lead to mistakes. Though time was short, I decided to at least maintain a relaxed mindset.

    “Are the seniors inside?”

    “Yes.”

    When I opened the door, the second-year students followed right behind me. I sighed at how casually they entered the room now. Should I teach them some manners?

    “Wow…! The seniors are really studying…! And it’s not even exam period!”

    “For them, the exam period starts today.”

    “Hehe. Poor little lambs…!”

    “Studying during vacation is definitely tiring.”

    “You guys are noisy, why are you here?”

    “Can you leave? You’re disturbing our studies.”

    A third-year student, irritable from study stress, glared at the second-years.

    “Right. Keep it down. The seniors are studying. You’ll have to do this next year too, you know?”

    The three soon-to-be second-years were in a relatively better position. They had brief information about the exam questions that appeared in the novel.

    “We’re about to go eat lunch anyway! Come on, everyone, put your books down and let’s go eat! Today—!”

    Gu Yeonhwa clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention, then suddenly raised her index finger toward the ceiling. Eventually, her finger pointed at me.

    “What should we eat, Instructor?!”

    Why the dramatic pose…

    “…Am I deciding?”

    “Of course!”

    “Then… how about army stew?”

    “Oh, army stew!”

    “That’s a very high-calorie food!”

    “Does it matter? You’ll burn more calories than the army stew contains during afternoon training anyway.”

    “Wouldn’t that be from overexertion?”

    At Bin Yuni’s words, the entire special class fell silent. They glanced at me with disbelief.

    “It’s nothing new. If you’re worried about overexertion, just eat less.”

    “Then I’ll be hungry!”

    “Yujin… No matter how much or little someone eats, they’ll end up throwing up if you push them that hard.”

    When Yeon Muhui spoke, everyone strongly agreed. The way they shook their heads in disgust suggested that the training so far had been quite hellish.

    But with Yujin’s naturally strong body, this was something I couldn’t understand.

    “Should I go easier on you then? But then you won’t grow much. I’ve been harsh to bring out your potential in a short time, but if you don’t like it, you can say so. I can adjust the menu anytime.”

    They all remained silent, apparently disliking the idea of slower growth. They must be enduring because the rewards match the difficulty.

    “I’ll pay for lunch. And let’s take a good rest today and start at 2 PM. How’s that?”

    Only then did their expressions brighten a bit.

    “Oh! Let’s go quickly!”

    Hearing that I would pay, Gu Yeonhwa jumped up and down excitedly. I put my shoes back on and opened the door wide. Yeon Muhui and Yu Ari also closed their textbooks and stood up. Jeong Iyeon and Bin Yuni followed Gu Yeonhwa with smiles.

    Well, let’s treat them to a delicious lunch today and then work them to death. Not literally, of course.


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