Ch.83A Time for Change – 2

“Hey, did you hear about that news?”

“Yeah. People have been talking about it a lot lately.”

“Honestly, I don’t see why it’s such a big issue? It was their own choice in the end.”

“True, but the problem is that anyone could find fault with this if they wanted to.”

Several days after Seojin Baek returned to the Superpower Academy.

Whenever students gathered, they couldn’t help but discuss the recent news.

It started with one Gold-ranked student.

After that, though few in number, other Gold-ranked students approached Seojin Baek.

The reason was obvious—they wanted to take the Silver rank evaluation themselves.

These were students who had already secured their Gold rank and weren’t at risk of demotion based on skill.

Normally, such evaluations would be impossible. They were already Gold-ranked, after all.

Unless they were demoted for reasons stated in the school regulations, it simply couldn’t happen.

Yet somehow, they were allowed to take the Silver rank evaluation.

And the result was, predictably, demotion to Bronze.

Most students who heard about this thought it was only natural.

They weren’t forced—they requested the evaluation themselves.

They had even promised they would accept demotion to Bronze if they failed.

However, some students expressed negative opinions about the situation.

Some worried about external support if the number of Gold-ranked students decreased.

Others questioned why students who shouldn’t be eligible for Silver rank evaluations were allowed to take them, calling it an abuse of authority.

A minority even wanted this issue to become public so that Seojin Baek would step down.

Then the relatively easier Silver rank evaluations would return.

So they tried to spread the story beyond the Academy walls, hoping to get the government department involved.

Abuse of authority is something government departments find extremely unpleasant.

When they discover a low-ranking official doing something unauthorized,

it’s obvious what action they would take.

However, the response to these complaints was:

[Regarding the submitted complaint…]

[…as this was strongly requested by the parties involved, it is inappropriate to consider it problematic.]

The situation didn’t develop into a problem.

The Gold-ranked students had wanted it, and they acknowledged this themselves.

Under these circumstances, it was difficult to fault Arbiter Baek for conducting the evaluations.

Thanks to this, attempts to file complaints or objections with the department fizzled out.

Even those trying to make it public couldn’t proceed when officials confirmed there was no issue.

In fact, students who needed to take the Silver rank evaluation seemed pleased.

They had felt somewhat unfair that only they had to struggle.

In this situation, it was comforting that even Gold-ranked students voluntarily joined them.

“Honestly, with Arbiter Baek’s level, we should be grateful he’s evaluating us.”

“Exactly. These days he gives even more detailed feedback than before.”

“When I fixed what the Arbiter told me to, moves that used to give me trouble became so much easier.”

The evaluation of the Arbiter was incomparably better than before.

The biggest influence was, of course, his recent battle with The Elder.

If someone with such skill was serving as an Arbiter,

many students thought they might gain something from him.

And responding to this, Seojin Baek changed from his sharp evaluations.

Now, rather than just evaluating, he acted more like a professor overseeing practical training.

He would point out students’ weaknesses, advise on how to correct them,

and finally, give detailed guidance on how to sharpen their strengths.

Of course, he still didn’t allow a single student to pass beyond Silver.

He truly was The Silver Gatekeeper, showing his determination to let no one through.

But he also demonstrated that he wasn’t acting out of malice.

A person who had reasons for acting this way—

That was how most students now viewed Seojin Baek.

He had shared his story and proven his skills.

As evidence, not only Gold-ranked students but even Platinum-ranked ones viewed him favorably.

With their positive outlook, even doubtful students set aside their suspicions.

Naturally, the students’ ranks remained at Bronze.

They couldn’t advance to Silver. The Arbiter wouldn’t approve them.

This occasionally made them quite uncomfortable.

But were they actually at a disadvantage? Not at all.

Rather, in lectures, especially in practical training and sparring with other students,

they could feel themselves changing bit by bit, unlike before.

And this wasn’t just the students’ imagination.

“Everyone, I think your overall level has improved a lot lately. Very good.”

Both Bronze and Silver students received praise.

The professors in charge of each rank even applauded, which was unusual.

They said if everyone continued like this, they could all advance to the next level.

These were words from professors hardened by real combat.

Not empty flattery or mockery.

They were sincere admiration and encouragement from seniors.

Not everyone was like this. Some students were still stagnating.

The common trait among these students was that they were waiting for the troublesome Arbiter to leave.

They were the ones who kept resisting, saying they didn’t want to do such foolish things.

As time passed, one fact became increasingly clear.

It was annoying, difficult, completely different from before, and not at all welcome.

But in the end, following Arbiter Baek’s instructions brought benefits.

And then, a few more days later…

“Hey! Amazing! I just heard a Bronze student was promoted to Silver rank?!”

“Really? No way!”

“It’s true. The news just came out. A Bronze-ranked student promoted to Silver! Directly by Arbiter Baek!”

“Who! Who is it! Who managed to please that strict Arbiter!”

Who could have been promoted? Who received permission from the Gatekeeper?

Several Bronze-ranked students came to mind.

Not only existing Bronze and Silver-ranked students,

but even Gold-ranked students who were gradually taking evaluations showed great interest,

and even Platinum-ranked students seemed quietly curious.

First, the most likely candidate was Hyunwoo Lee, who had recently shown remarkable progress.

He was known as a “training demon” due to his extraordinary efforts.

Originally, Hyunwoo Lee hadn’t shown any particular distinction.

He was just known for being generally hardworking.

But after being evaluated by Seojin Baek, his skills improved dramatically.

Recently, even Silver-ranked students training beside him were astonished.

He was the one who had ignited the evaluation fever among other Bronze-ranked students.

While several other students were mentioned, most expected it to be Hyunwoo.

If it was him, he could immediately rise to Silver and even aim for Gold in one go.

Soon after, the student who earned the honor of the first Silver promotion was revealed.

However, the name on the Silver rank promotion list wasn’t Hyunwoo Lee.

“What is this? Kim… Soohyun? Kim Soohyun?”

“Huh? Wait a minute. Who? Kim Soohyun?”

“Not Hyunwoo Lee? Why?”

At first, there was evident confusion and surprise.

The person was completely different from who they had expected.

But as time passed, the confusion and surprise faded,

replaced by disappointment—”I should have known.”

“Kim Soohyun is that girl, right? Minseong Kang’s granddaughter.”

“Ah, shit. What the hell. Acting all high and mighty, but in the end, he just bowed to Minseong Kang?”

To anyone watching, it looked like Seojin Baek had surrendered to Minseong Kang and his family.

Whether voluntary or forced, it seemed he had chosen Kim Soohyun because of this.

Kim Soohyun. A female student with nothing special about her except being Minseong Kang’s granddaughter.

At least Hyunwoo Lee had shown overwhelming growth recently.

But Kim Soohyun hadn’t displayed anything special in class.

She had the same mediocre skills as when she first enrolled.

So unremarkable that one might doubt she was really the granddaughter of Minseong Kang, the Sword Wraith.

“This isn’t right. This really isn’t right.”

“Hey. Let’s go right now.”

“Where?”

“To confront him. Is this why he’s been doing all this?”

Some of the angry students took initiative.

They united and rushed to Seojin Baek as soon as class ended.

Was this why he had been so strict with evaluations?

Making fine-sounding speeches while putting other students through hell.

And in the end, the person who gets promoted isn’t a hardworking student or a skilled one,

but a “silver spoon” student who just happened to be born into a good family.

“Arbiter…”

Clang! Clang!

But their objection never materialized.

More precisely, it was silenced by a duel taking place in the evaluation hall.

The student swinging a sword from the left was Platinum-ranked.

That was certain. Platinum-ranked students were well-known figures at the Academy.

Judging by the serious expression, they were clearly giving their all in the duel.

And their opponent was none other than…

“That’s Kim Soohyun?”

When she first enrolled, she had been worse than most Bronze-ranked students.

The students who gathered after hearing the news could only stare blankly at the scene.

She had been so terrible it was hard to believe she was Minseong Kang’s granddaughter.

Either out of fear or inability, she couldn’t even properly swing a sword.

That was the cold assessment students remembered about Kim Soohyun.

But now, as if denying all of that,

Kim Soohyun was displaying incredibly cold and precise swordsmanship.

Without giving an inch, she was dueling with a Platinum-ranked student.

Yes, a mere Bronze-ranked student was doing this.