“…Suhyeon, what is going on here?”
“I… I don’t really know either.”
We were walking together into the Academy building and saw an entirely different scene from yesterday.
“See, told you this would happen. Bronze or Silver, they’re basically the same.”
“Look at those Bronze losers talking so big. That one was just a freak, and you think you can do the same?!”
“If you got flattened by a Bronze, you should just drop that Silver title, right?!”
“Come fight us. If you lose, you give up your Silver rank, losers.”
It was tense. The air felt sharp enough to cut. It was a borderline riot, a chaotic free-for-all about to begin.
Something had definitely happened. The Academy was quiet the day before, so it was unbelievable it had devolved into this so quickly.
Particularly regarding the distinctions between ranks.
Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master— Every student strove to climb higher. The higher they stood, the more recognition and the faster their fame spread.
That strict structure wasn’t just for the top echelons like Platinum or Master. If anything, it was harsher lower down.
“If I recall, Bronze and Silver are the worst.”
Bronze folks faced academic warnings. Silver was considered the average rank at the Academy. There was apparently a lot of friction between those two levels because the difference in skill seemed both undeniable and yet not overwhelming.
From the Bronze side, they’d say that anyone could reach Silver, so it was basically the same. Silver would argue if Bronze students couldn’t even get into Silver, that revealed their true lack of skill.
Naturally, tensions between them were bound to flare up.
“Uh, Examiner… from what I’m hearing, there’s a name that keeps coming up.”
“Your Bronze comrade… oh, you mean Lee Hyunwoo?”
“Yes. I just heard that between yesterday and today, he’s defeated multiple Silver students.”
He must have run into people who stepped on his pride. Lee Hyunwoo wasn’t the type to remain docile when provoked. If a Silver openly disrespected him, a fight was inevitable. And no ordinary Silver could stand against him.
If they were a Silver on the cusp of Gold, that might be different. Though come to think of it, that still might not be enough. He would probably need a fully qualified Gold to beat Lee Hyunwoo.
A Bronze had beaten a Silver. That had never happened.
Bronze was considered the bare minimum to remain in the Academy, and Silver was at least the baseline. Had a Bronze shown real skill before? If so, they would have quickly promoted out of Bronze. No one with ability stayed there.
“Should we intervene? This is too intense.”
“It’s fine. As soon as a single professor arrives and clears their throat, everyone will disperse.”
In the Academy or in the outside world, raw strength was the alpha and omega in this realm of abilities.
Park Junwoo could still swagger around despite being a thug who chased women because he had enough power to back it up. Jung Yuhyeon could cling to his position as vice president because he was steeped in elitism but had the skill to justify it. That Irina was labeled crazy even by villain circles, yet she roamed free, because she held the ability to destroy anything in her path.
All of them were strong enough to ignore what others thought and do as they pleased. People normally tiptoed around them.
Bronze or Silver folks saw professors as unstoppable titans. Professors were often in their 30s, still at their prime, so there was no way for a Bronze or Silver to compete.
But I couldn’t help recalling a question: ‘Why did the professors remain silent when students were targeting the examiners?’
Maybe they didn’t see it as a severe matter, or perhaps they simply believed that no one had died, so it wasn’t urgent.
‘…Although, why isn’t anyone stepping in right now?’
Professors should be appearing to quell this crowd. Dozens of people were gathered, an obvious disturbance, yet no sign of faculty, staff, or even security.
Instead, the one who showed up was Student Council President Kang Hana.
“Lecture time is starting soon. Those who have classes, get to your classrooms. Those without classes, stop wasting time and do some training.”
A Platinum senior and Student Council President, no less. The uproar receded quickly at her words.
Yes, that’s how the world of superhuman abilities worked.
“Good morning, Examiner.”
After settling the commotion, Kang Hana noticed me and greeted me.
“It’s a fine morning, Kang Hana.”
“I can’t say it’s a fine morning.”
“Oh, really? I guess that ended up as an unintentional bit of ‘teabagging.’”
When I raised my hand slightly to convey an apology, Kang Hana waved hers as if to say, “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“By the way, Examiner, have you heard? About that student who really went all out against you last time.”
“Lee Hyunwoo, right?”
“Yes, Lee Hyunwoo—that was his name. I heard that underclassman beat someone from the Silver rank.”
I nodded, and Kang Hana responded with, “I see,” then scratched her cheek. Just by looking at her, I could tell she was thinking, “This is turning into such a headache.”
“It seems like there’s some sort of issue. Probably connected to that scene we just saw, right?”
“Yes. We’ve never had something happen before. Usually, if the Silver students provoke the Bronzes, the Bronzes just do whatever it takes to climb up to Silver themselves.”
“Well, because that’s the simplest and quickest route.”
It’s extremely difficult for a Bronze to beat a Silver. If it were easy, would the Academy bother to label someone as Bronze and threaten academic warnings over it? Honestly, it makes more sense just to shed that scorned Bronze label as fast as possible.
“So, having it suddenly go this way is a genuine problem.”
Then Kang Hana launched into a sudden outpouring of complaints.
“The way higher-ranked students ignore and look down on those below them is more serious than I thought. It’s a real issue. We all know that. But outside the Academy, it’s worse. At least here, since they’re all students, they keep a certain limit. I tried to fix things, but it caused way too much backlash.”
“I understand. Out in the real world, getting on the bad side of a high-ranked superhuman can drive you to suicide.”
“This might sound a bit flimsy, but here at the Academy, the reason we define ranks is to spark healthy competition. If you’re at a higher rank, you get better benefits, right? So that’s how this system was created and why it stays. And because the students know that, they keep quiet about it.”
“So, Miss Kang Hana, you’re worried that this particular incident is having a very negative effect on that structure?”
When I asked, Kang Hana paused for a moment, then closed her eyes as though unsure.
“I really don’t know. Whether it’s a breeze of positive change coming in, or whether it’s just a random outburst from a talented underclassman who’s only going to stay in Bronze for a short while anyway… I can’t say for sure.”
That remark finally let me figure out what Kang Hana was actually concerned about.
She wasn’t worried about the Academy’s entire order being upended. 1She was concerned about what would happen to the rest of the Bronze students.
Lee Hyunwoo would inevitably leave Bronze before long, since he was strong enough. But if someone who was just passing through stirred up trouble, only those left behind would be in a difficult position.
And that made perfect sense.
In reality, there were no other notable Bronze students right now besides Lee Hyunwoo. (Granted, Kim Suhyeon was a special case, so let’s set her aside.)
Silver wasn’t drastically better, but it was definitely stronger than Bronze. If Lee Hyunwoo stirred up a fuss, then shot straight out of Bronze, the Bronze students who remained would fall silent again—and end up being the target of huge hostility from the Silver side.
She was looking further ahead than I’d expected. Turns out she hadn’t become Student Council President for no reason.
At that point, Kim Suhyeon, who had been standing next to us, spoke up softly.
“You said it’s a problem right now, right? In that case, maybe the Silver students could prove their actual worth. If they do that, wouldn’t things quiet down quickly?”
“What do you mean, Suhyeon?”
“Well, Examiner Baek Seojin here is in charge of the Silver rank, right? And my fellow Bronze, Lee Hyunwoo, actually failed the test given by the Examiner. So if the current Silvers earn the Examiner’s recognition, that might just solve everything on its own… that’s what I’m thinking.”
Hearing this, Kang Hana went, “Huh?” in surprise. And I likewise repeated, “Huh?”—slowly mulling over her suggestion.
Basically, Lee Hyunwoo had beaten people from Silver but never managed to surpass me, the Silver-rank Examiner. If the Silvers, who do have my seal of approval, stepped in, it would create a reason for Lee Hyunwoo and the other Bronzes to accept them. And so, this fuss could be settled.
‘Suhyeon, you might just be a genius after all.’
No wonder she’s the granddaughter of Kang Minseong—our Suhyeon clearly thought it all through.
“It kinda makes sense, and at the same time, it kind of doesn’t…”
Kang Hana cocked her head, as if she was sensing something. I was about to jump on the idea and back Suhyeon’s logic when—
“Excuse me, Examiner Baek Seojin.”
Suddenly, someone addressed me from behind. I turned around to find a male student wearing a grim expression.
“I’m sorry to ask out of the blue , especially since we’ve never met, but… could I trouble you for a duel instead of a formal evaluation? I have an urgent matter on my hands.”
Abrupt requests seemed to be an Academy trademark.
Maybe guessing what was on my mind, Kang Hana stepped closer and whispered: “That’s Chang Juyeol, a second-year. Currently the best among the Silvers.”
“You mean he’s effectively the Number One Silver?”
“If we’re being technical, yes. I’m guessing the other Silvers asked him to step in and clean up the situation—show everyone the difference between Bronze and Silver.”
Wanting to display that gap, sure—but was it really meaningful?
If they truly wanted to demonstrate that there was a clear gap between Bronze and Silver, shouldn’t they bring out the weakest Silver rather than the best? Prove that even the Silver at the bottom was above a Bronze. That sounded more logical to me.
“They must be really desperate. Maybe they’re worried that the line between Bronze and Silver will collapse.”
I was starting to see the same implications that Kang Hana did.
Passing from Bronze to Silver was the line that determined whether or not you’d get an academic warning. If that boundary became blurry, only Silver would lose out. Hence persuading the strongest Silver to come forward.
They also hoped to get validation from the “hottest” Silver-rank Examiner in the Academy, reinforcing Silver’s legitimacy and quieting the Bronze revolt.
‘Let me apologize in advance, kids. Odds are you’re not going to get the result you want…’