Ch.59Work Is Expanding – 3

Most of the students standing in front looked somewhat surprised.

It makes sense. Not a professor, not even a teaching assistant.

Suddenly an examiner appears and talks about substituting for a professor.

‘Honestly, I also debated several times whether to take this on or not….’

Filling the examiner positions is the most important thing right now.

So I thought about refusing. I should be using that time to fill the examiner quota.

But at the same time, it’s important to meet opponents with better skills.

I can’t keep working with Bronze and Silver students forever.

Gold-rank students, and Platinum-rank students.

And beyond that, even Diamond-rank students who are said to be the top future talents.

I grew more curious about the level of those students.

‘I gain more by examining those students. Not just in terms of examination numbers, but countless experiences. To do that, showing my skills directly to those students is the fastest and most effective way.’

Additionally, I could reverse-engineer their know-how and teach it to the Bronze and Silver students.

Of course, not by kindly explaining with words, but by imprinting it on their bodies through dozens of examinations.

It would be a method requiring some pain and endurance, but still.

‘It’s not like I’m taking on everything anyway, just substituting for 5 teams. At most, twenty to thirty Gold-rank students, about five Platinum-rank. Diamond-rank… I’m not sure, but anyway.’

Not bad. It will definitely be a good experience for me too.

So I decided to take on this external support mission as a substitute professor.

It’s just a day trip, twice a week for a total of four days.

Taking a short break from examinations for that shouldn’t be a big problem.

“I can’t go, right?”

…Honestly, when Soohyun Kim said that, I flinched for a moment.

She didn’t look particularly angry, and her voice wasn’t low or subdued.

But looking at Soohyun Kim asking that question, why did it send chills down my spine?

“I’ll have to work harder then.”

No, Soohyun. Just keep doing what you’re doing. You need to stay in Bronze a bit longer.

External support substitute professor? This is really just a temporary position, like I said.

I won’t always be taking this role, so you don’t need to glare at me like that.

Worried that Soohyun Kim might go berserk, I reassured her again: “You’re already doing well enough!”

Going too fast can make you fall. Sometimes going slowly is the right answer.

Things must have been bad for me to pat her shoulder while saying such things.

“So you’ll be away two days a week and unable to conduct examinations.”

And another guy put me in a very awkward position.

The culprit was, of course, Hyunwoo Lee, who came for examinations every day.

“Shouldn’t I be allowed two more examinations on other days to make up for it?”

I was dumbfounded. He’s asking to make up for missed examination days.

I even suspected this bastard might know about my Bittersweet Triumph trait.

“For students wondering why I’m here, many professors haven’t returned yet, so I’ve been dispatched again. This Academy is my assignment location, but now I’m being dispatched from my dispatch location. Even I think it’s a bit strange.”

It was a joke I threw out without much expectation, but the students laughed lightly.

I was worried they might give me cold stares, but I guess Gold-rank students have different personalities!

‘Let’s see. The document with the personnel should be here… Ah, found it.’

The 5 teams going on this external support mission consist of twenty-one Gold-rank students and five Platinum-rank students.

No Diamond-rank students were visible. It seems they’re not participating in this external support mission.

They’re such valuable resources that the government probably manages them separately.

I was curious about what Diamond-rank students would be like, so it’s a bit disappointing.

While comparing the attendance list with the actual headcount, I spotted two familiar names.

The student council president, Platinum-rank Hana Kang, and the student council treasurer, Gold-rank Dasom Yoo.

These two were assigned to the external support team 5 that I’m in charge of.

I glanced up to see Hana Kang and Dasom Yoo smiling and waving.

I smiled back in greeting, then informed everyone about the upcoming schedule.

“As you all know, this external support mission will take place twice a week until next week, for a total of four times. Our Team 5 will be assigned to the Chungcheong area, and our main mission will be clearing dungeons that haven’t been fully processed yet.”

What they call “gates” here refers to entrances where monsters emerge.

And when these gates aren’t cleared within the time limit, they become fixed spawn locations called dungeons.

From that perspective, dungeons are double-edged swords.

They’re places that continuously supply monster by-products and various trophies essential in the current situation.

But if you let your guard down even slightly, you could be overwhelmed by monsters.

“The dungeon you’ll be handling has been classified as C-rank. National ability users and other clans have already cleared it once, but we’re being dispatched because there are so many dungeons in the area.”

“How will we travel? Will we be going by vehicle?”

Come to think of it, I heard they used vehicles recently because the location was relatively close.

“Since the distance is considerable this time, we plan to use ‘portals’.”

“Ohh!”

“Finally!”

Portals. A new technological advancement that humanity gained after the Gate incident.

A device that can take you anywhere an exit is installed, as long as the mana stone supply is maintained.

Not everyone can use them easily. The usage fee is several times that of an airplane.

But for the Superpower Academy directly supported by the government, that’s not a concern.

When educating future talents who will be responsible for the nation’s safety,

providing portals isn’t an extravagance but a necessary investment.

Above all, it’s convenient. Unlike vehicles or airplanes that require travel time,

the portals we’ll be using just need you to be ready, and that’s it.

“Does anyone have any other questions?”

“Yes, I have a question, Examiner.”

A male student continues with a rather serious expression.

“You mentioned the dungeon is C-rank, but are there any B-rank or higher among them?”

“Good question. I’ve been informed that there are a few B-rank dungeons. However, since there have been no support requests for those yet, we don’t expect to handle B-rank or higher at this time.”

In the Academy, Gold-rank is equivalent to somewhere between C-rank and B-rank in the outside world.

This means that even for Gold-rank students, clearing C-rank dungeons requires constant vigilance.

“I see. Thank you.”

Judging by the slight disappointment in his expression, that student must be Platinum-rank.

As a confirmed B-rank ability user by outside standards, he doesn’t seem too pleased about subjugating dungeons below his level.

‘Don’t worry. You’ll forget about that once we get there.’

Various other questions followed.

Where would they rest, how would meals be handled,

where would the support team be located in case of emergencies, and which clan would be in charge.

These were all basic yet necessary questions.

‘All the questions are within reasonable bounds. Was I worried for nothing?’

I thought someone might pick a fight.

After all, a Silver-rank examiner suddenly taking charge of Gold-rank students.

Even though they now roughly know my abilities, “rank” is an absolute law.

I expected at least one student to question this, but apparently not.

“Examiner.”

At that moment, a female student raises her hand to ask a question.

“Yes, go ahead.”

“The professors in charge have the skills to evacuate students in case of emergency. By that logic, you standing before us must possess equivalent skills.”

Is this a case of words becoming reality? Is she picking a fight, expressing doubt?

Or is she questioning my level? I tensed up slightly.

“I’m curious why someone like you hid your true abilities. Why you remain in the position of a Silver-rank examiner.”

She seemed to be trying to phrase it as diplomatically as possible, but I could still feel the implication.

She probably wanted to ask, “Are you hiding your true power?”

Some murmurs arose suggesting the question might be disrespectful.

While it wasn’t entirely polite, I understood. It’s a reasonable curiosity.

“To be honest, I wasn’t always skilled.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I haven’t been at this level for long. I worked really hard, and luck was on my side too. In some ways, good luck might be the biggest reason. Anyway, I experienced certain things when I was still terrible. That’s why I chose a position where I could best help students similar to how I was.”

Then I brought up the story I had told Hakjun Ma before.

About the death of a friend who was an ability user, and how I hoped students wouldn’t lose their precious lives because of that.

A moderate tearjerker story that any Korean citizen would inevitably fall for.

Thinking this should be enough, I looked at the students’ faces.

‘As expected.’

It seemed they were more moved by the second reason than the first.

Mourning a dead friend and ensuring students like him don’t experience such sad fates!

Even I think it’s a well-crafted reason.

“I-I’m sorry, Examiner! I was just curious and… I was rude!”

Did she think she had dredged up a past I wanted to forget?

The female student who asked the question looked extremely uncomfortable and kept apologizing.

“It’s fine. It doesn’t bother me anymore. I just carry it in a corner of my heart, hoping such incidents won’t happen again.”

I do feel a slight pang of conscience. My friend’s death wasn’t actually the catalyst.

But it’s not entirely a lie either. I do hope students don’t meet tragic ends.

I hope they can endure, even a little, in all the events that will unfold later.

At first, this was just a fictional world I had possessed into.

Now it has become my real world. A world I have no choice but to live in.

And in this world, I’m not particularly fond of young souls perishing needlessly.