“…Uuuuh!! It’s back! We climbed up again!”
Staring at the big “Victory” on the screen, Madcat—no, Seo Eunsol—cheered out loud.
Finally, she was back to promotion matches. Just three more wins to reach Silver. Once she hit Silver, this long, punishing mission would be over.
Sure, the prize money was nice, but more importantly, she wanted out of this hell. She had hoped to clear it yesterday, but it was a foolish dream.
Yesterday, right at the climactic final moment of her promotion matches, she got destroyed by an enemy mid-laner who didn’t look like any ordinary player.
That mid-laner single-handedly carried the game despite her worthless teammates. Seo Eunsol’s team was helpless, forcing her to end her stream out of frustration.
Seeing her meltdown, her older brother—former pro gamer Seo Jaehyeon—gave her some insight.
“Hey, I watched your promotion match replay. That opposing mid? Definitely not a local from that rank.”
“Why am I so sure? Watch how they calculate damage. They intentionally take some hits. They never take the hits that actually matter. They do it on purpose, making you think you can win, then punishing you the moment you overextend. Your rank shouldn’t even see plays like that.”
He even said the enemy mid might be a smurf, possibly a high Diamond or above.
He pointed out little details like ward control, skill accuracy, movement predictions, map reading, and exploiting minion damage in early trades. They had never looked like someone from that rank.
“It might even be a pro messing around on a second account. Be cautious. Their match history is suspicious. Looks like they’re intentionally queuing to align with your promotion time.”
Seo Jaehyeon normally couldn’t care less about his sister’s endeavors, typical of real-life siblings. But he was serious about this scenario, because both of them were streamers and were wary of malicious snipers.
“If they wanted attention, they should have just d on your stream.”
Sighing, Seo Eunsol grabbed a meal and returned to her seat. She debated streaming again but remembered she’d already posted a rest day notice. She decided to stick to it.
Plenty of streamers had burned out from not managing rest properly. Seo Eunsol prided herself on pacing her schedule.
Even her brother, a former pro, hated exercise but forced himself to do it. She also went to the gym to maintain at least minimal fitness.
Scrolling through online news, Seo Eunsol gasped. The headline itself was absurd: a Gate had appeared right where the barrier was supposed to block it.
A Gate was supposed to be drastically suppressed by the barrier. That invention was the reason society hadn’t collapsed. Yet here was a Gate ignoring it?
‘Is this just clickbait? No way, even the trashiest journalists wouldn’t go that far…’
And it wasn’t just one article. Similar headlines were flooding the news. Tilting her head in confusion, Seo Eunsol clicked on one at random.
“Maybe the suppression device malfunctioned? Or was it a villain’s doing?”
She found herself muttering aloud without thinking, a habit from streaming. Even though no viewers were there to react, her instinct was to talk as if someone was watching.
The article itself wasn’t anything special. A Gate had appeared, monsters had emerged, a few people had been injured.
And, of course, the usual complaints—That response was slow, that society was relying too much on suppression devices, that authorities should have been better prepared. Criticism was always easy when delivered from behind a keyboard.
‘Ugh, journalists are seriously the worst…’
Scrolling down, Seo Eunsol’s hand suddenly stopped at one of the photos.
A blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman. And a man shaking hands with her.
Every South Korean citizen knew who that Western woman was. S-Rank ability user. The strongest in Korea when it came to raw combat power. The craziest when it came to personality.
Some even said that thanks to her, South Korea could speak with confidence on the world stage. That was just how overwhelming her power was.
“The S-Rank ability user, Irina, who was en route to the Association, completely eliminated all the monsters that emerged from the Gate. It was confirmed that one of them was A-Rank, while the others were estimated to be between C and B-Rank…”
Seo Eunsol kept reading, but her gaze was fixed on the man in the photo.
Who was he, to be standing beside Irina? More than that, who was this man who had managed to shake hands with her? That same Irina, who even ignored the President, was shaking hands with him?
“The hero of the day, according to Irina, was another ability user who stepped up to block the monsters. That brave individual is a public servant currently assigned to the Ability Measurement Department—Baek Seojin. He is currently stationed at the Academy.
And apparently, this wasn’t his first time. During a major villain attack on the Academy not long ago, Baek Seojin had been there as a dispatched worker. He had been injured while helping the students evacuate, even though he wasn’t a security guard.”
Seo Eunsol found herself thinking, this guy is seriously amazing. If it had been her, she would have just run away without looking back.
‘That’s probably why he stepped up to fight when the Gate suddenly appeared.’
She zoomed in on Baek Seojin’s face. The more she looked, the clearer it became—he wasn’t just brave and kind.
He was also ridiculously handsome.
For a public servant, he looked like he belonged on a broadcast. Honestly, he would probably do better as a streamer.
“What a genuinely good person…”
A guy like that would probably play games with perfect manners. He wouldn’t rage, he wouldn’t cuss people out, he wouldn’t trash-talk bad teammates.
‘And! He definitely wouldn’t smurf on a second account just to stomp lower ranks like that bastard yesterday!!’
People like him needed to exist to make the world a better place!
Seo Eunsol, now a simple citizen, clapped in appreciation for Baek Seojin.
After stepping off the subway and heading toward the Academy, I spotted something strange up ahead.
“There! Over there!!”
“Baek Seojin! Baek Seojin!!”
“Please, just a quick statement!!”
What the hell? Was this some kind of zombie apocalypse? A whole horde of people suddenly rushed at me, and my instincts screamed at me to turn and run.
“Where are you going, Baek Seojin?!”
“I’m a reporter from ◇◇ Daily! Please, just one comment!”
“▲▲ Newspaper here! We’d like to ask about yesterday!”
Did they even care about the person they were trying to interview?! Wasn’t getting permission first supposed to be the basic order of things?! Now I understood why Irina had immediately gotten annoyed when she saw reporters.
Yesterday, I had done a few interviews and thought that was it. But now, I realized it had only been that easy because all the attention had been on Irina.
Now that she was gone, they had chosen me as their next target. On top of that, they probably thought I was much easier to deal with than her.
“Where are you headed, Baek Seojin? How did you meet Irina yesterday?”
“What’s your ability rank? How did it feel when Irina shook your hand?”
“Did you and Irina work together to clear the Gate? Please answer us!”
What the hell were they even talking about? Why were they so obsessed with my handshake with Irina?
And now that I was actually listening, I realized none of their questions were even about the Gate itself.
It was all about Irina. Did these guys come from the entertainment section? Wasn’t this supposed to be covered by the social news department?
“The people have a right to know! Please answer us!”
Damn it, so that meant I had no rights?! I had nothing else to say! I had already answered everything yesterday, what more did they want?!
I hadn’t even made it to the Academy gates yet and was too busy dodging reporters.
Then, all of a sudden, a loud explosion went off right next to me.
For a second, I thought maybe it was another villain attack. The reporters, too, were startled, letting out shrieks of “Save me!!” and scrambling away.
“Tsk tsk. Can’t believe they followed you all the way here just for this nonsense.”
White hair, elderly features, and perpetually squinting eyes. A perfect combination of all three.
Standing right next to me, Ma Hakjun had somehow appeared without me even noticing.
‘Is he a ghost or something?!’
Seriously, why are all old men in this world so ridiculously overpowered? It’s basically an unwritten rule at this point.
Normally, superhuman abilities declined after people hit their 30s. The peak of most ability users was in their 20s and early 30s, after which their strength steadily dropped.
That was why most S-Rank ability users were in their 20s or 30s.
Of course, there were exceptions—those rare few who managed to maintain their power despite aging. But that usually required insane dedication and sacrifice.
By those standards, Ma Hakjun was one of the most impressive cases ever recorded.
“Let’s go inside. We have some things to talk about.”
He lightly tapped the ground with his sheathed sword before leading the way.
The reporters, finally realizing this wasn’t a villain attack, started to regain their courage and inch forward again. But just one glance at Ma Hakjun’s overwhelming presence made them freeze in place. Not a single one dared to take another step.
Despite the fear, a few reporters still tried to push forward. Whether that was bravery, professionalism, or just sheer shamelessness, I couldn’t tell.
“I just have one question— GAHH!!”
The reporter instantly collapsed to the ground under Ma Hakjun’s gaze. He hadn’t said a single word, hadn’t moved a single step. Yet just his eyes were enough to make a non-ability user crumble.
Incredible. Truly incredible.
“Regarding what happened yesterday, I’ve been briefed.”
If it was Ma Hakjun, he wouldn’t be asking about Irina. His priority would be the Gate that appeared inside the suppression zone.
He would probably want to know if anything about the Gate or the monsters was unusual.
Was it truly a natural occurrence? Or had someone orchestrated it?
Then he suddenly said—
“Who exactly are you?”
And just like that, my conscience felt a little guilty.
I mean, I was just a normal Grade 9 public servant. The only thing that had changed was that I had somehow awakened a strange ability. At this rate, I might as well just come clean and say—
“Actually, I’m a secretly dispatched special agent.”
That might be easier to explain at this point.
Yuyu: Bro, are you sure that’s a good idea?
Then again, maybe after some time we’re going to see that he is actually a special agent.
TN: Bro from almost getting SA ccandal to getting Relationship scandal with Irina