The news that I had regained consciousness and been discharged must have already spread. It's become quite an attractive news item now, thanks to the power of mass media.
But even so, this is ridiculous. No one even knew when I'd return to work. What kind of mind would think of sitting there staging a one-person protest?
"Student Lee Hyunwoo."
"Oh! Examiner! Are you coming to work?"
"As you can see. But what are you doing, Student Lee Hyunwoo?"
"I was holding a protest, as you can see!"
I mean, why are you protesting, you idiot.
"I heard you were discharged. And I thought if it's you, Examiner, you wouldn't rest long and would return to the Academy. So I've been protesting here to request that you conduct all the evaluation you couldn't do while you were in the hospital!"
What's he so proudly smiling about, as if it's something impressive?
Looking at Hyunwoo, I honestly wondered: Does this guy somehow know about my "No Pain, No Gain" trait?
...No. That's impossible. There's no way. In the first place, traits are only visible to me through my Third Eye. Others can't see them. They don't even know such things exist.
"Why are you so eager to be evaluated?"
Since there's a possibility, I probed him with a question.
Hyunwoo is not a villain but a protagonist, the main character at that. And typically, such characters are bad at lying. Especially those with the "warrior" concept like him.
"Um... nothing special. If I had to give a reason, I've been working extremely hard lately and have made some progress. I want to show you the results of my efforts."
"Yes. Especially because it's you, Examiner."
Since he kept emphasizing "Examiner, Examiner," I asked again. What did he mean by that? What was the meaning behind his words?
"Didn't you fight an Elder?"
At my question, Hyunwoo gave me a look as if I was asking something obvious.
"Isn't that incredible? When I saw the Elder from a distance that day, my knees went weak and I could barely move. Yet you apparently fought fiercely against such a being."
"...To be precise, Professor Han Jiyoon arrived just as I was about to die."
"That's not important. What matters is that you're strong and admirable, Examiner."
The Examiner is strong, so he can see more of my shortcomings. By having these weaknesses pointed out and corrected, I can become stronger.
Moreover, since the opponent is strong, I can fight without any worry and. As a result, I'll learn more, which is a great benefit.
This was the reason Hyunwoo gave in response to my question.
"So right now! Please examine me!"
At Hyunwoo's words, I put my hand to my forehead.
As if it wasn't bad enough that I came to work 20 minutes early and was already tired. And now a protagonist whining for an evaluation the moment I arrive.
"If you take the evaluation now, that's it for today. You know that, right?"
"What? No, there's no such rule!"
"There is. Academy regulations. One evaluation per day per student, starting from the beginning of the Academy day."
"...Since I came early, couldn't you make an exception just once for me!"
"A civil servant who lives on taxpayer money must be fair."
Will you cover for me if a problem arises later? If not, be quiet. Among civil servants, overstepping authority is the most troublesome thing.
"What can we do? Student Hyunwoo, your lecture time is almost here too."
Tardiness or absence without a special reason is the quickest way to lose points. If you want to avoid being forcibly expelled from the Academy you worked so hard to enter...
Suddenly Hyunwoo begins to exclaim. Like Archimedes shouting "Eureka!" in the bath.
"What are you suddenly saying?"
"Just as you said, Examiner! Evaluations are once a day! And that day is based on the Academy's starting time! So, what time is it now?"
What time? It's now 7:43 AM...
"The Academy's day officially starts at 8 AM, right? Isn't that correct? So if I take the evaluation now, there's no problem! Let me quickly take yesterday's evaluation that I missed! Then I'll come back in the afternoon for today's!"
It was bullshit, but such creatively elaborate bullshit that I couldn't even think of a rebuttal. Originally, when people exploit loopholes , civil servants can only be defeated.
And thinking about it, it wasn't even completely wrong. It could even be considered correct.
It's not yet 8 AM, so there's no problem with an evaluation. And the evaluation now could be counted as yesterday's missed one. If that's all he's asking for, I had no reason to refuse the evaluation.
"Oh! You'll evaluate me?"
"But since we don't have much time, I'll do it quickly. No complaints, right?"
By saying I'd do it quickly, I wasn't going to see everything like before. I'd just go all out from the start, a kind of threat telling him to handle it himself. Despite this, Hyunwoo was smiling happily for some reason.
"I look forward to it again!"
I was already sad enough about coming to work 20 minutes early. This guy was just smiling, completely unaware of my feelings. This was crossing the line. An unforgivable sin against someone who came to work early!
"This might hurt a bit."
"What? What do you mean..."
I didn't bother to hear the rest of his words. As soon as the evaluation began, I slammed Hyunwoo straight to the ground.
'And so, Hyunwoo, having tasted a bitter experience, decided to skip today's evaluation!'
...If that had been the ending, it would have been fine.
"Examiner! I'm here for today's evaluation!"
But Hyunwoo, with his indomitable will, the damn protagonist who never gives up no matter what trial comes his way. He eventually appeared before me again, saying he wanted another evaluation in the afternoon.
So what did I do? What else could I do? If he came for an evaluation, I had to evaluate him. That was my job.
Earlier, it wasn't officially work hours, so. It was annoying and frustrating to have my workload increased. But I don't maintain those emotions during official work hours.
"This time, please go a bit slower!"
"I was planning to do that anyway."
Earlier I had planned to test his martial arts. And now it was time for sword skills. As I drew my sword, Hyunwoo happily drew his as well. Then, as if claiming the first attack for himself, he leaped...
'What's with this guy.'
He had become even faster than when he last took the evaluation.
Although I had been unconscious and unable to conduct evaluations for a while. That time wasn't months or weeks, but just a few days. Yet our crazy protagonist had grown again in those few days.
'Is he really insane? This is practically cheating.'
Although I shouldn't be the one to say it, that thought came to mind. At this rate, he would reach Gold by the end of this semester at the latest. No, he could even aim for Platinum. And by the middle of next semester, he might even challenge Diamond.
He's faster than in the original story. And stronger than in the original story. If he maintains this pace, I couldn't ask for more.
'Thanks to this, my concerns only deepen.'
Should I let him pass, or should I hold him back a little longer? This simple yet extremely difficult dilemma lay before me.
Originally strong, he had come even further through my evaluations. At this level, it would be sufficient to let him go and handle things himself. I guarantee he would advance straight to Diamond by the start of the second semester.
But at the same time, I felt regretful.
He's already , but what if I pushed him a little more with the "No Pain, No Gain" trait? What if I gradually, subtly passed on to Hyunwoo what I had learned from fighting Kang Minseong and the Elder?
It might not make much difference. It might be just a tiny gap. But I didn't know what influence that small difference might have later.
Once again, blade met blade with a clear ringing sound. Thanks to that, I barely shook off my concerns and decided to stick to today's plan.
"Let's stop here. I think Student Hyunwoo has felt enough by now."
"Yes. I feel like if we had continued a bit longer, some part of me would have been cut off."
I had struck his shoulder, thigh, and side once each. Not with the blade but with the flat part of the sword. Hyunwoo must have felt it. That's why he would have gritted his teeth harder. But right now, I was still above him.
"Today's evaluation was enjoyable too! Thank you!"
"It's nothing. It's just my job."
Hyunwoo retrieved his sword and lightly stretched his body. He would probably run straight to the training ground from here and start swinging his sword. Normally, I would have sent him off with a "work hard," but today I wanted to talk.
"Student Hyunwoo. There's something I'd like to ask."
"Yes? Oh, if it's something I can answer, anything!"
"How's the atmosphere among the students these days? Specifically, the Bronze students attempting to reach Silver rank and the existing Silver students after hearing about my news."
My recent achievements had elevated the civil servant Baek Seojin to stardom. This could be good, but it definitely also had negative impacts.
"Oh, well. I was actually planning to mention that."
See that? Even Hyunwoo looks quite serious about it. Not good. Yes, very not good. For my Gatekeeper activities.
"Since it became known that you, Examiner, are strong enough to fight an Elder, students' opinions have largely split into two. Those two are..."
"One negative view asking how they can be evaluated by someone like that. And one positive view wanting to be evaluated and recognized by such a person precisely because of who you are. Is that right?"
Hyunwoo nodded at my answer, confirming it was accurate.
I understood. Yes, I didn't misunderstand the students. If I were one of the students, I would have complained too.
Someone who fought an Elder and even injured him. How are we supposed to satisfy this person and hear him say "Pass!"? He's the type who can't feel satisfaction looking at us, so what can we possibly do?
'Even if I just asked them to show real effort without expecting victory, they wouldn't believe it.'
My head was throbbing. Who would have thought that my recent achievements would become an obstacle in this way?
It's not that there isn't one. In fact, the solution is quite simple. It's to unlock the firm gate to show them that passing through is possible. Then students would have a reason to run again, seeing the possibility.
However, there's one problem...
'Come with a level that won't make me feel bad about unlocking the gate for you!'