Episode 25: The Battle for Ordinary People [1]

The news spread rapidly.

I had asked Deok-bae to deliberately leak some information to reporters from my maternal relatives’ broadcasting station whom I’d met at a press conference before—partly to reduce my workload—but they spread the news much faster than I expected.

[Yuseong Group Doubles Potion Prices Due to Rising Material Costs… Yuseong Group’s Tyranny?]

[“The Patents Are Mine Anyway” – Struggles of Small Guilds Due to Yuseong Group’s Monopoly on Potion Technology. If This Continues…]

[Threatening to Partner with Vultures for U.S. Expansion – Overwhelming Bullying That Even Domestic Guilds, Government, and Association Can’t Touch.]

“Hmm, but no outlets are directly criticizing us.”

“Right? I just came from a board meeting, and there were so many people who wanted to see you.”

During lunch, for some unknown reason, I was abducted to the chairman’s office, and this was Eve’s first remark to me.

“What was their general attitude?”

“No idea. Mostly, they just begged me to contact you and ask you to supply potions at the original price. Their instincts are disgustingly sharp…”

Even though the articles were calling it tyranny and demanding that the government reclaim the patents to make the technology publicly available for other guilds… the board members, unlike the trash disguised as reporters who only knew how to parrot rumors, seemed to have grasped the situation well.

“It cost quite a bit, but my biological father registering the patents with the Akashic Records was a really good decision.”

“Right. No one but the registrant can manipulate patents there.”

Among all the stupid things Yun Seong-ho had done, one of the few good decisions was registering all the potion-related patents not with the Korean Patent Office but with the World Patent Office, used globally.

According to information registered on the site known as the Akashic Records… the patents still had a whopping 52 years before expiration.

If it had been South Korea, all sorts of people would have swarmed in, crying about monopolies and whatnot, pressuring the Korean Patent Office to drastically shorten the expiration period.

And the government would have raided the headquarters daily with search warrants, taking any potions they found.

‘That’s why, right after the funeral, when I gave an interview saying I’d consider overseas expansion if they raided us, the government suddenly became overly cooperative.’

Thanks to Yun Seong-ho’s patent registration and the discovery of the option to expand overseas, Yuseong Group transformed from a weak goose laying golden eggs into a dragon guarding a treasure trove of gold coins.

Who knew revealing our dealings with the Vultures Guild would be this helpful?

‘For someone smart enough to register patents with the Akashic Records, how could he not think of overseas expansion when domestic guilds were colluding on potion prices?… Well, I do plan to release the patents eventually…’

At least by the time we face the final boss and the world needs supplies.

‘Yuseong Group’s current power is immense—enough to grab the collars of Korea’s top guilds.’

Until then, I’ll hold onto the overwhelming negotiation card of “suspending potion supply.”

‘While playing the game, there were too many nuisance elements—the Association, the government, guilds…’

Countless external forces obstructing the protagonist just because they didn’t join their guild.

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I’ll straighten them all out.

…

…

“By the way, I heard the special admission process is changing.”

“Yeah, from now on, only the cadets I personally select will get special admission.”

Hearing Eve’s statement, I was quite surprised.

‘That’s the method the protagonist chose when guilds were heavily obstructing them…’

It seems the original story is starting to change for the better, which makes me happy.

“I expected backlash, so I added the condition that they’d have to prove their abilities by fighting a simulated battle against a student with average grades for their year… But everyone kept their mouths shut and agreed, which makes me uneasy. Maybe I should’ve just admitted them without the simulated battle?”

“Still, making the board members speechless is really impressive.”

“Eh, it’s only possible because we have our chairman. The board knows you and I are a team now, so they’ll pretty much agree to whatever I say.”

Eve grinned, making a money gesture with her hand.

“By the way, how are the second-year classes?”

“…Hmm, they’re manageable.”

Integrated subjects for all second-years and elective classes from 1 to 4 PM on Wednesdays, where you could choose what you wanted to learn.

Most cadets chose popular subjects like Anti-Monster Combat or Human Combat… but I chose alchemy to research ways to improve the potions I knew and craft hidden pieces for the future.

I thought my schedule was smooth enough to laze around the academy without issues, but…

As expected, enjoying academy life as Yun Se-ah was quite difficult.

In the game, class and training content was all skipped, only showing which stats improved, so I struggled to keep up since I didn’t know exactly what was being taught.

I knew from multiple retries that a goblin’s weak spot was its neck, but I couldn’t answer a question about how to expose a goblin’s neck with [Just dodge everything and hit its head to kill it].

Other possession stories I’ve seen have systems that provide answers or authors/gods who accommodate the protagonist with glasses or lenses showing all the answers… but the god of this world was annoyingly strict.

“Oh, by the way, there’s a transfer student joining your class. Originally from Class B, but… whether they were hiding their skills or not, they defeated a Class A student in four seconds during the simulated battle.”

“A transfer student?”

My reminiscing must have gone on too long—the convenience store lunchbox was already empty.

Eve stood up, incinerating a towering pile of cup noodle containers with lightning magic until not a trace remained.

“Yeah, I’m about to clock out… I was going to keep it a secret, but I don’t feel like it. The detailed tests will take a while… They’ll probably arrive by dismissal, so look forward to it. You’ll be surprised.”

‘A transfer student…’

Whether transferring into third or second year, the entrance ceremony is mandatory.

‘Then, is it one of the people I glimpsed before?’

Most transfer students come from other academies.

‘They must be quite skilled if they got in through special admission… I’m looking forward to it.’

“Then, I’ll head back now.”

“Yeah, good luck with the rest of your classes!”

-Squeak

“Hmm… Next class was Practical Combat, right?”

And so, filled with anticipation, I finished the afternoon Practical Combat class and returned to the classroom.

“Hey, who do you think you are, sitting in my seat?!”

“That’s unfair. The chairman said transfer students can sit wherever they want.”

“There are plenty of empty seats. Don’t take someone else’s spot—go sit in an empty one.”

“That’s a problem. I owe the owner of this seat an unimaginable debt.”

A squint-eyed guy and Kang A-yul were grabbing each other’s collars, locked in a standoff.

…

…

…

Since the homeroom teacher and class members stayed together for three years, the second-year class remained mostly the same, except for a few who were demoted due to grades.

Kang A-yul, who had just finished Practical Combat and returned to the classroom, naturally couldn’t understand this situation.

The reason was the blind guy right in front of her.

Kang A-yul couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

Since enrolling at Raon Academy, the only person Kang A-yul had never beaten was Yun Se-ah.

Every time she lost, she felt unbearable rage and inferiority, but…

-Why do you consider them your enemies? Your positions aren’t even the same, and even if they were, haven’t you considered they could become comrades you can rely on, like me and Cheonma?

After hearing those words from her grandfather, S-rank hero Kang Jinmyeong, she acknowledged Yun Se-ah as both a rival to surpass and a wall to overcome—and eventually, a comrade she could trust when entering Gates as a hero.

But recently, Yun Se-ah had started acting strangely.

After returning home on Christmas Eve with a determined look, Yun Se-ah seemed… altered.

Normally, Yun Se-ah would use psychokinesis from her overwhelming mana to restrict movement with a gravity field, then attack while the opponent was slowed… but during this Practical Combat, she seemed unable to use it, barely dodging Kang A-yul’s sword strikes.

Her psychokinesis, which usually pressed down with unbearable force, now felt weak—like she was only focusing on suppression, allowing escape if you pushed hard enough in one direction.

Remembering research about sudden mental instability reducing an ability user’s output, Kang A-yul grew concerned for Yun Se-ah.

No matter how carefree Yun Se-ah acted, she always smiled and indulged Kang A-yul’s whims. This time, Kang A-yul thought she could finally help Yun Se-ah… but the moment she returned to class…

“Oh my, was this seat taken?”

An anomaly occurred.

Since enrolling at Raon Academy, Kang A-yul had never left the seat next to Yun Se-ah. The Class A students knew this, making it an unspoken rule.

Yet, the blind guy in front of her was sitting there boldly.

At first, she tried to persuade him nicely to move to an empty seat, but…

“Just give in this once. I heard you’ve been together for a year.”

His stubborn attitude, as unyielding as his tightly shut squinty eyes, made her momentarily lose her temper.

“What are you two doing?”

When she came to her senses, she realized she’d been caught grabbing the blind guy’s collar and fighting—by the last person she wanted to see her like this.