Ch.16New Characteristic – 2

Hyunwoo Lee currently belongs to the Weaponry Class among superpowers.

The sword in his hand is undeniable evidence of this.

Later, through his relentless efforts, he will acquire the Martial Arts Class as well.

People refer to such cases as “Dual.”

Dual. A very rare case of possessing more than one class.

In this world, Dual is the exclusive domain of the strong.

Hyunwoo Lee will eventually reach the level of Dual through his ceaseless efforts.

‘Of course, that was after the impact of the gate surge and the united villain attack.’

As always, Hyunwoo also gains enlightenment after someone’s sacrifice.

That’s the expected plot development in fiction, but in the real world, it’s hardly welcome.

If he’s going to gain it anyway, better before anyone dies or gets hurt.

So. From today, Hyunwoo Lee is banned from Silver promotion.

If not forever, at least until he can push me to my limits.

◎ Sub-trait

: Bittersweet Triumph

◎ Details

: Stacks accumulate in proportion to the number of promotion failures of the designated target.

Upon successful promotion, the designated target’s abilities are enhanced by the number of stacks.

I can feel it just from one reading. This is, literally, a “cheat” trait.

Blocking promotions builds stacks, and when promotion finally succeeds, they become that much stronger?

And it only applies to targets I specifically designate?

‘Thank you. I believe in you, The Third Eye!’

Hyunwoo. Don’t misunderstand. This is all for your own good, this examiner is looking out for you.

Before entering the examination, I designated Hyunwoo as the target of the Bittersweet Triumph trait.

◎ Bittersweet Triumph

: Trait activated.

: Target – Hyunwoo Lee

“I’m ready, Examiner!”

Using the trait inadvertently made me give up the first move.

Immediately after, Hyunwoo’s sword comes straight at me.

He seems much better than the other punks I examined recently.

A speed my former self would never have been able to react to.

‘But not now.’

My body feels lighter than before. And stronger.

I can see it. How Hyunwoo will move next. How to counter him.

Swoosh―!

After avoiding one sword path, I immediately close the distance.

And I block the moment when Hyunwoo’s sword tries to advance.

Even the most excellent swordsman loses power when their “swing” is blocked.

Having your attack read is that fatal.

“Kuk!”

The outcome is already determined. Hyunwoo will fail his promotion again today.

What remains is how he loses. What he takes away from this.

I decided to slowly awaken Hyunwoo’s talent first.

To present the possibility of Dual to this guy who’s still focused only on his sword.

‘What will you do when the moment comes that you can’t use your sword, Hyunwoo?’

I continuously targeted Hyunwoo’s “sword” specifically.

Not just preventing him from swinging it, but even from properly holding it upright.

This is the weakness of the Weaponry Class. When you lose your weapon, your combat power drops.

There’s a penalty proportional to the advantage of using weapons.

‘Hakjun Ma and Minseong Kang covered this with overwhelming sword skills. Or as Duals.’

Jiyoon Han would be the same, and so would Rina Lee.

The Elders would have chosen the exact same countermeasure.

And Hyunwoo, too, needs to grasp the sense of Dual as soon as possible.

Bang―

Finally, the sword flies from Hyunwoo’s hand and embeds itself in the floor.

Other students would have immediately declared surrender.

But Hyunwoo was different. Like a true protagonist, his tenacity was remarkable.

“Hup!”

He seems to have targeted my body as it moved forward with the attack.

Hyunwoo’s body blow comes in precisely from the right.

As expected of a future powerhouse, a future Dual class user, it was incredibly sharp.

“Keouk!”

Unfortunately, my knee kick had already struck his chest first.

‘That was a bit dangerous just now.’

Even though he’s a confirmed cheat character destined for Dual class, this seems a bit much.

He should only be Bronze rank, yet his martial arts are already remarkably sharp.

I wondered if this guy might be training at some gym somewhere.

“Huh, huh….”

Hyunwoo, sprawled on the floor in a spread-eagle position, exhales rough breaths repeatedly.

Though it was a short time, he moved at tremendous speed, so his stamina must be severely depleted.

“I, I lost, Examiner. It’s my defeat.”

◎ Bittersweet Triumph

: Trait is active.

: Target’s stack increases by 1.

“Good work, student Hyunwoo. I hope you’re not too disappointed.”

Right. Don’t be disappointed. You’ll have to fail promotion several more times.

Anyway, even if promotion fails, stacks steadily accumulate, so it’s not a loss for Hyunwoo.

I extend my hand to help Hyunwoo up, and he grins.

“Not at all. If anything, it makes me want to work harder! Next time, I’ll definitely get promoted!”

Like a master of effort that surpasses talent, he burns with enthusiasm.

Whether it’s a protagonist buff or just his natural personality.

Anyway, I was glad he wasn’t disappointed or angry.

“Next student. Please step forward.”

“Yes! Hello! I’m a second-year….”

After that, I was in charge of examining students still remaining at Bronze.

I looked carefully to see if there were any rough gems worth picking up.

However, most of them didn’t possess anything special.

‘No one else to give the Bittersweet Triumph trait to.’

I faced the next student with a sense of regret.

Needless to say, I have no intention of letting these students pass easily either.

After blocking the promotion of 10 students, my trait was strengthened to some extent.

Conversely, this means that allowing students to pass might harm the Gatekeeper trait.

I intend to only let through students who are qualified.

It’s unfortunate for students who urgently need promotion, but there’s no malice.

Rather, I thought it was right to be stricter for their own sake.

‘The majority of superpowered casualties occur at C-rank.’

And C-rank is exactly equivalent to Silver by academy standards.

If they become even a little stronger here, things will be easier going forward.

The probability of dying or getting injured while fighting monsters or villains will decrease.

‘So, you can’t go, you lot.’

It’s all for your own good. Yes. Absolutely.

*

“That concludes today’s lecture.”

The professor with a cast on his arm declares the end as he organizes his materials.

In sync with this, Soohyun Kim packed her books and writing tools a little faster than usual.

Normally, she would have been tense, constantly aware of those around her.

Honestly, she’s still not completely free of tension.

Just before the lecture started, weren’t some people whispering about her?

She’s the granddaughter of Minseong Kang yet hasn’t accomplished anything.

While everyone else is fighting, she does nothing, like someone without powers.

Is she really the cousin of Dokyung Kang and Jisoo Kang?

Crunch―

Soohyun Kim bit her lip, trying hard to erase those thoughts.

But it wasn’t easy. Being constantly compared was torturous.

Her grandfather who was a great hero in the past. Her uncle who, though retired from active duty, is still outstanding.

And now her cousins who are just beginning to show exceptional abilities as superpowered individuals.

Each one suffocated Soohyun.

Even the students who speak like that are all better than her.

While she’s still struggling in Bronze rank, they’ve already achieved Silver rank.

I’m lacking. So lacking. A terrible superpowered person.

Such thoughts kept raising their heads, driving Soohyun crazy.

Shake shake―

Just as Soohyun was about to fall into her own dark world once again.

“I’ve accepted that I’m worse than others right now.”

Seojin Baek’s morning words echoed in her mind.

Accepting that I’m worse than others. How could she do that?

‘Examiner… I miss you.’

Before she knew it, her feet were moving.

Her destination was the examination hall where rank assessments were taking place.

She’d heard that some lectures had been canceled or would be on break for a few weeks.

That means many would use their free time to take rank examinations.

‘I wonder if she’s not too tired…?’

Returning to work immediately after being discharged from the hospital. It’s absurdly unreasonable.

But Seojin Baek just smiled and said it couldn’t be helped.

Sensing she had her own circumstances, Soohyun didn’t ask further.

Fortunately, Minseong Kang had provided fatigue recovery medicine, so that was a relief.

Step―

As she reaches the examination hall, she sees an examination in progress.

A student sweating profusely while casting magic spells, and

On the opposite side, an examiner approaching slowly while deflecting the magic.

‘Examiner Seojin Baek.’

The examination result seemed already determined. The Magic Class student was too inadequate.

It takes too long to complete one spell, and the accuracy is terrible.

The situation could have been ended long ago. But Seojin Baek didn’t do that.

She dragged out the time as much as possible, allowing the student to use as many spells as possible.

“The examiner is really amazing. Doesn’t she get tired? That’s already the twelfth student.”

Startled by the voice beside her, Soohyun Kim turns her head.

“Are you here for an examination too?”

“…No.”

“No? Well, I guess. I saw some students going to the teaching assistants earlier. They say it’s much easier to get examined by them. But even if you get Silver that way, you won’t be able to grow beyond that. It’s better to get thoroughly beaten now like me and improve your skills a bit more.”

Soohyun slightly narrowed her eyes and looked at his name tag.

Hyunwoo Lee. The name of the male student who approached her was Hyunwoo Lee.

“…Did you lose to Examiner Seojin Baek?”

“Yeah. I was no match at all. She properly showed me why I’m still Bronze. She’s no ordinary person.”

At those words, Soohyun’s lips curved up ever so slightly.

Someone other than herself was highly evaluating Seojin Baek.

It wasn’t bad. She felt somewhat proud inside.

“If you’re going to take the exam, you should go to Examiner Seojin Baek, not anyone else… Oh. Are you perhaps a senior?”

Soohyun shook her head at Hyunwoo’s question.

“That’s a relief. Oh, are you already Silver rank or something?”

“…Bronze.”

“Bronze? That’s a relief. We’re comrades then.”

“Comrades?”

“Yeah. I’m Bronze too.”

For a while. No, for quite a long time, it was a meeting of two Bronze ranks who couldn’t even dream of Silver.