Ch.95Let’s Work Hard, Examiner – 1

12:45 PM. There were still 15 minutes left until lunch time.

To be honest, I never wanted to come early.

I only went along with it because Soohyun Kim was so insistent.

“Principal. This is Examiner Seojin Baek.”

“Come in.”

As I opened the door slightly and entered, only Hakjun Ma was sitting in the principal’s office.

I guess I came too early after all. There’s really no point in arriving 15 minutes early.

I probably should have just spent those 15 minutes chatting with Soohyun instead.

“You’re early. The other professors haven’t arrived yet.”

“Well, I thought this would be an important discussion. Somehow I ended up coming early.”

Hakjun Ma smiled, seemingly pleased with my response.

Seeing that, I thought perhaps it was good that I listened to Soohyun after all.

“Come to think of it, you probably don’t know yet.”

“You mean why we were called to the principal’s office? About that…”

“We discussed that earlier. I’m talking about something else.”

Hakjun Ma stood up and asked me to look around the principal’s office.

I did as he asked, wondering if there was something special, but nothing seemed different from before.

When I showed my confusion, Hakjun Ma said:

“Do you know how many professors there are at this academy?”

“I believe there are at least double digits.”

“That’s right. But don’t you think this principal’s office is too small for all those people I’ve called here?”

Oh. Now that I think about it, that’s true. This is the principal’s office, not a conference room.

If there was something to discuss, why call me and all the professors to the principal’s office rather than a conference room?

I had missed something that should have obviously raised questions.

“…Is there perhaps a secret room?”

It was just a random guess, but Hakjun Ma nodded.

Then he approached the bookshelf and pulled out a book.

Woong—!

With a heavy sound, the bookshelf opened, revealing a door behind it.

“Let’s go in.”

I followed Hakjun Ma inside.

The interior was completely different from the relatively small principal’s office.

A large table, dozens of chairs, and a massive screen at the front.

It felt like some kind of “command center” straight out of a movie.

‘What is this ridiculous situation?’

I couldn’t help but be bewildered. A secret conference room in the principal’s office of all places?

They could have installed it anywhere in the academy, so why specifically the principal’s office?

“It must seem strange. Having something like this in the principal’s office.”

“To be honest… it is quite strange.”

“Let me explain. This place is used for truly important meetings.”

In other words, it’s not used regularly.

Given that it was installed in the principal’s office, that makes sense.

You wouldn’t attach a conference room to the principal’s office unless you were crazy.

You wouldn’t know if the meeting content was going in through the ears or the nose.

“And the professors I’ve called are only those I can absolutely trust. People who have been thoroughly vetted.”

“Weren’t all academy professors selected because they were trustworthy individuals?”

“Yes, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Besides, your opinion was quite persuasive.”

By my opinion, he meant the possibility of a traitor within the academy.

The villains attacked the practice team with too much precision about their location.

This couldn’t be a coincidence. There must be a traitor inside.

I had conveyed to Jiyoon Han that we needed to investigate internally.

And Jiyoon Han clearly passed that opinion on to Hakjun Ma.

“Are you certain there’s a traitor within the academy?”

When Hakjun Ma asked this, I answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“Yes. Traitors exist in every organization in the world.”

“Even with the best treatment and guaranteed prestige?”

“If things could be explained that simply, the world would be a much more peaceful place.”

They might have been threatened, or perhaps succumbed to persistent temptation.

Even the wealthy desire more money.

Whatever the villains offered, if it was tempting enough, someone might have said ‘yes’.

“Then the professors who received this summons…”

“Are those who have passed verification after verification. Professors who are completely clean.”

When someone like Hakjun Ma says this, it’s trustworthy.

Despite countless attempts to infiltrate spies, Hakjun Ma caught them all.

Considering that, the professors he verified were definitely allies.

“…It seems they’re starting to arrive.”

At Hakjun Ma’s words, I listened carefully and heard movement outside.

“Take a seat. The meeting will begin soon.”

*

The professors summoned by Hakjun Ma took their seats in the secret conference room beyond the principal’s office.

They had already been briefed on the general situation.

Given the current circumstances, everyone wore serious expressions.

“Is everyone here?”

“Yes, Principal.”

After all the professors were seated, Hakjun Ma also took his seat.

Shortly after, a middle-aged man appeared on the screen in front.

[I hope everyone had a good lunch.]

“Yes, Chairman.”

The man was none other than the Chairman of the Superpower Association.

He held a position more powerful than most ministers.

[First, I’d like to apologize for gathering all you busy professors like this. But given the nature of the matter, I hope you’ll understand.]

After quickly apologizing and asking for understanding, the Chairman got straight to the point.

[I’m sure you’ve all heard the general news. The tragedy that occurred recently in Gangwon Province.]

At the Chairman’s words, Hakjun Ma and the professors wore solemn expressions.

The tragedy that occurred in an abandoned mine dungeon in Sokcho, Gangwon Province.

It was an incident where A-grade superpower users who entered the dungeon were completely wiped out.

They weren’t newly promoted A-grades who were closer to B-grade.

They were experienced hunters, literally seasoned veterans who ended up being hunted instead.

[The investigation into that matter has been completed.]

“What’s the conclusion?”

[It appears that the monsters’ level has significantly improved compared to before. However, the dungeon’s grade is still measured as A-grade.]

This caused a murmur among the seated professors.

Capable A-grade superpower users were completely wiped out.

Yet the dungeon’s grade remained unchanged at A-grade?

“Chairman, is that possible? A-grades were completely wiped out, yet the dungeon grade comes out as A-grade?”

[We naturally considered upgrading it to S-grade. But no matter how many measurements we took, the dungeon’s grade was determined to be A-grade. We’ll probably need to check again after it regenerates.]

The murmuring among the professors didn’t subside.

The professors gathered here were also individuals who had recently been active superpower users in the field.

That’s why they couldn’t understand how a dungeon capable of wiping out A-grades could still be classified as A-grade.

[Therefore, we’re currently considering several possibilities. First, villains used some method to abnormally strengthen the monsters inside the dungeon.]

It’s not entirely impossible or absurd.

Research on temporarily strengthening superpower users by injecting specific drugs has existed for some time.

While it’s now prohibited in all countries as an inhumane act,

some villains focus on researching this.

And they might have applied those results to monsters instead of superpower users.

“But how would villains breach the security and enter the dungeon? And considering the dungeon clear conditions, even if they did such a thing, they would immediately suffer the consequences themselves.”

At one professor’s opinion, other professors, including Hakjun Ma, nodded.

If villains used some method to strengthen monsters, they would ultimately need to enter the dungeon.

How did they breach the security around the area, and how did they clear it to escape?

Considering these points, there were many aspects that didn’t make sense.

The Chairman also seemed to have considered this point and acknowledged it.

[I understand. That’s why we’re leaning heavily toward the second possibility.]

“You mean a mutation?”

At Hakjun Ma’s question, the Chairman nodded.

Monsters are also living beings in a broad sense. And if they’re living beings, mutations can naturally occur.

The professors also seemed to find this quite credible.

After all, they had experienced such cases at least once when they were active in the field.

[That’s right. For now, the government seems to hope the second prediction is correct. If it was a mutation, it would mean they unfortunately encountered it by chance, so there wouldn’t be any issues.]

“So you’re saying those juniors were just unlucky.”

Hakjun Ma spoke in a cold voice, clearly displeased.

Several superpower users had died, and they were supposed to attribute it to mere misfortune?

Even if that was true, it was extremely unpleasant and left an uneasy feeling.

“Chairman.”

At this point, Seojin Baek, who was sitting among the professors, quietly raised his hand.

[Ah, Examiner Seojin Baek is here too.]

“Yes. Should I not be speaking up in this meeting?”

[Not at all. If you weren’t here, I would have asked the Principal about it.]

The Chairman then told Seojin Baek to speak if he had something to say.

The villains’ massive surprise attack and the battle with the Elder.

Though overshadowed by these events, Seojin Baek was also related to this matter.

From what he heard, a similar incident occurred in the dungeon assigned to Seojin Baek’s practice team.

The dungeon was clearly selected to match the level of the academy students.

But according to the students’ testimony, the monsters that appeared at the end were above their level.

Additionally, the boss could have even turned the tables on the students.

“You said the probability of a mutation is highest.”

[Yes, I did.]

“It would be nice if it were just a coincidence. But I think the situation might be more serious than that.”

[If you say the situation is more serious, what kind of situation are you referring to?]

At the Chairman’s question, Seojin Baek took a moment to gather his thoughts before answering.

“The monsters are changing. More precisely, they are growing too.”