Ch.18You’re a Bronze. Forever – 1

A female student from the student council waited with me briefly before a male student approached.

‘That must be him.’

I thought he might bring his cronies, but surprisingly, he came alone.

Either he has principles, or he’s completely dismissing me.

The Third Eye will provide the answer.

– Activating The Third Eye.

◎ Yuhyun Jung

: Shadow Striker with Twisted Supremacist tendencies

◎ Details

: A typical example of someone who preys on the weak and cowers before the strong.

His critical hit rate increases when facing opponents weaker than himself.

As expected. A civil servant’s intuition is never wrong.

I sensed he was a troublesome complainant, and his traits confirm it.

‘Twisted. Supremacist. And Shadow Striker on top of that. Wow, just…’

He’s remarkable in many ways, none of them good.

If Hakjun Ma was a positive trinity, this guy is the opposite trinity.

I wonder how he even managed to become vice president.

“Examiner.”

At least he’s better than those troublemakers who start cursing the moment they see you.

“Hello. I’m Yuhyun Jung, the student council vice president.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Seojin Baek.”

While greeting him, I subtly observed his eyes.

Despite his seemingly polite words, his gaze was distinctly unfriendly.

He wasn’t even trying to hide it, clearly not here with good intentions.

“You wanted to see me?”

“Yes. If it’s not too much trouble, could I have a moment of your time?”

For someone concerned about being troublesome, you were pretty demanding earlier.

“Let’s talk here. There are no students around, and I’m hesitant to leave my post.”

“Ah, I see. Then I’ll get straight to the point.”

I wonder what he wants to say that required sending away even the female student.

As I waited patiently, Yuhyun parted his lips with a sharp gaze.

“Stop it. What you’re doing now.”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t pretend. What you’re doing now. Acting high and mighty during the Silver promotion exams when you’re nothing. I’m telling you to stop.”

So, in short, he finds it offensive that a mere Silver examiner is asserting authority?

Now I understand why The Third Eye described him as a “Twisted Supremacist.”

He’s telling a Silver to stop messing with Bronze students.

“Student Yuhyun Jung.”

From my position, there’s absolutely no reason to back down and say, “Oh, I’ll do as you say.”

I’m well aware of the student council’s power within the Academy.

Most students start watching their behavior when council members appear.

But I’m not an Academy student. I’m a “civil servant” dispatched to the Academy.

I’m performing official duties through legal procedures and under proper instructions.

“What you’re doing now is obstructing official business. You know that, right?”

“…”

“The Silver promotion examination is my assigned official duty. The only people who can directly intervene are the Academy’s principal or someone from my department. Despite being vice president, you’re ultimately just a student, Yuhyun Jung, and you have no authority in this matter.”

He’s not physically interfering like some troublemakers would, so it’s not obstruction of justice.

But it’s enough to count as interference with official duties. This should be a warning to this supremacy-obsessed guy.

Even if I’m not a talented ability user like him, he shouldn’t treat me like a student.

This could be considered challenging state authority.

“…I apologize for speaking so abruptly.”

He’s not just a simple villain with rocks for brains, it seems.

Once he realized he was at a disadvantage, he took a step back.

I suppose that’s how he managed to rise to the vice president position.

“But I have good reasons for my concerns.”

“Reasons?”

“Yes. Do you know how many Silver promotion candidates you’ve failed?”

Let’s see. It must be at least forty or so.

I don’t need to keep an exact count of that.

“Exactly forty-five people. These are students who need to advance to Silver rank quickly so they can focus on their studies again, but because they failed the promotion, they have to keep worrying about it.”

For someone consumed by supremacy, he sounds like someone who genuinely cares about Bronze and Silver students.

But that’s just a mask. In reality, he looks down on students below his level.

“You might not know this, but the Academy has rules. Students who remain at Bronze rank continuously receive academic warnings. It’s considered as making no effort to grow.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“And you’re still doing this? Among those forty-plus students, some might desperately need the promotion.”

The Superpower Academy is difficult to enter and even harder to graduate from.

I understand how devastating academic warnings can be there.

I checked that aspect several times before being dispatched here.

“So what the vice president is saying is that for the students’ sake, I should conduct the Silver promotion exams more leniently? That’s how it sounds to me.”

“That’s what previous visiting examiners did, and what the faculty members do. The problem is that you, Examiner Baek, have suddenly raised the bar.”

I couldn’t help clicking my tongue at Yuhyun’s words.

Since he can’t pressure me with his position because of my civil servant status, he’s trying to use moral grounds?

Honestly, this approach from Yuhyun doesn’t benefit me either.

It’s just a ‘Silver’ rank examination, nothing significant outside the Academy.

Yet this examiner acts like he’s something special by conducting extremely strict assessments.

For students, it’s a matter that could lead to academic warnings. So the convention is to be lenient.

He’s pressuring me by saying I’m ignoring this practice and doing as I please.

‘For a supremacist, he’s quite clever as vice president.’

You want to use the students as leverage? Build your case that way? Fine.

Then I’ll respond in kind. You want to challenge a civil servant who’s honed their communication skills dealing with complainants?

“Alright, Student Yuhyun Jung. I understand your logic that you need to stop me for the students’ sake.”

“Thank you. Then…”

“But consider this. When these students go out for external support as part of their practicals and suddenly face danger, which would be better? Those who worked harder and put in more effort, or those who just passed the exam easily? Wouldn’t the former be less likely to get hurt and perform better?”

Just like Yuhyun, I’m using the Academy students as my moral ground.

Preventing academic warnings to keep them in the Academy versus

Making them a little stronger before they face monsters and villains.

Which one truly benefits the students in the long run?

“That’s for them to figure out on their own.”

But Yuhyun’s answer made me frown involuntarily.

“If they have talent, they’ll overcome it; if not, they won’t. There’s no need to worry about that. It’s each person’s problem. They should figure out how to survive on their own.”

“Hey. Weren’t you just worried about the students a moment ago?”

“My point is that having many academic warnings is bad for everyone. Including the students, of course.”

Damn it. So that’s what this is about?

Not concern for students, but the fact that many academic warnings were issued while you were vice president.

That’s what bothers you the most. You damn supremacist bastard.

“Student Yuhyun Jung. I’m sorry, but it seems our negotiation has failed.”

“I see.”

At that moment, a strange light flashed in his eyes.

I suddenly wondered if he had calculated even this moment when he spoke those words.

“Then, let me see it.”

“Pardon?”

“Your skills, Examiner Baek Seojin. I want to see if you’re strict because you’re actually skilled, or if you’re just tormenting students out of an Inferiority-Driven Genius complex because you couldn’t even get into the Academy.”

No longer bothering with courtesy, he’s openly provoking me now.

My troublemaker detection radar works even at the Academy, it seems.

“Are you suggesting a duel?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m only here to evaluate students, not to engage in duels.”

I could get in serious trouble if a civil servant is caught doing something unauthorized.

My permission extends only to student evaluations.

If something happens while dueling with a student, it would become a real headache.

“Making excuses? After dealing with easy Bronze students, you run away when faced with someone you can’t handle. Isn’t that right, Examiner Baek Seojin?”

“Think what you want.”

He can’t do anything about my examination process anyway.

He has no authority, so he’s trying to block me in other ways, but it won’t work…

“Such low class. You really show that you have no parents.”

I’m not sure if he was muttering to himself too loudly or if he meant for me to hear it.

What’s certain is that those words came from Yuhyun’s mouth.

‘This bastard. Even Jesus and Buddha couldn’t turn the other cheek to family insults.’

If this is his trap, I’ll have to walk right into it. What choice do I have?

In Korea, the land of Confucianism, what kind of person would I be if I ignored a family insult!

“Fine, let’s duel. But I have a condition.”

“What is it?”

“If Student Yuhyun Jung loses the duel, you’ll give up your current rank and go back to Bronze. And you’ll only be able to advance to Silver again by passing my examination.”

Prepare yourself. You’ll be stuck at Bronze until you die.

*

Clank—

“…What? Where did the vice president go?”

“He’s not here? Huh, that’s strange. He was here just a moment ago.”

Two female students who entered the student council room tilted their heads in confusion.

“Just a moment, unni. I’ll go find out.”

Dasom Yoo, the student council treasurer, heads somewhere.

And a moment later.

“Unni.”

“Yes. Did you find out?”

“They said he just left.”

“Left? There’s a student council meeting soon. Where could he have gone?”

The female student called “unni” frowned at Dasom’s words.

“Well, you know that new examiner who just arrived?”

“I’ve heard about them. Why?”

“The vice president went to meet that examiner.”

At those words, the expression of Hana Kang, the Academy’s student council president, turned cold.

‘I’m worried.’

Good abilities and decent backing, but his supremacist attitude is the problem.

He looks down not only on non-ability users but also on ability users weaker than himself.

Though they’re classmates, he’s someone she’d rather not associate with.

That was Hana Kang’s conclusion about Yuhyun Jung.

And in the current situation, that supremacist went to meet the Silver rank examiner?

“Dasom.”

“Yes, unni.”

“Let’s go out for a bit.”

“Huh? Where?”

Hana answered Dasom’s question.

“Where that examiner is.”