Academy's Silver Gatekeeper-Chapter 66

Shit. The first thing that came to mind was a curse filled with mixed emotions.

Painful, exhausting, and an extremely irritating situation. I forced myself to get up. A stinging pain pricked my body.

The thought of just lying here crossed my mind. After pushing away that ridiculous sulking, I checked on the superhumans standing in front of me.

"Hey."

After checking the condition of the man who had collapsed beside me, I bit my lip. No breathing. No pulse. No matter how many times I checked, it was the same.

"Examiner!"

I heard Kang Hana's voice from the side.

Why are you coming here when you should be focusing on the battle? Do you know how much firepower decreases when you're gone?

"Are you alright, Examiner?! Dasom! Dasom!"

"You should get back to your position. In the middle of combat, if one of our strongest superhumans is missing..."

As I instinctively attempted CPR, Kang Hana suddenly grabbed my hand and shook her head.

"What's wrong? Let go. I need to save this person first..."

"Examiner."

Kang Hana's pupils were trembling slightly. Though she tried to act calm, what I saw beyond that was fear. Only then did I properly see the state of the man lying there, different from what I had perceived.

"Shit..."

It seemed that magic had struck directly beside this person. If his limbs had at least been intact, I could have tried some emergency treatment. If he'd been breathing, Yoo Dasom might have been able to save him.

"It's too late."

Yoo Dasom, who had rushed over, shook her head and turned to me.

Despite a person dying right in front of her, her expression remained unchanged. And that was despite the truly horrific state of the body. Yoo Dasom's face was so expressionless it gave even me chills.

"Examiner. Your injury."

I couldn't respond right away. I felt dizzy. My body felt heavy.

"Examiner!"

Yoo Dasom's shout finally helped me regain my senses. My foggy mind cleared up a bit.

"Your injury. Just tell me the serious parts. I can't use all my magic during battle."

"...Leg."

"Confirmed."

Like before, a hot sensation lingered in my leg area before disappearing. During the treatment, I stared blankly at the man whose body was growing cold.

Just moments ago, we had been talking. I never imagined this would happen. That's why the shock was even greater.

I thought we'd be safe once we left the dungeon. But thinking about it, monsters weren't humanity's only enemies. In fact, you could say these were worse than monsters.

"Ugh!"

"Aaargh!!"

Glancing around, I heard screams and shouts from every direction. Students and ability users battling villains.

When someone fell, someone else quickly pulled them back. Then another person would rush in to provide first aid. Meanwhile, their comrades gritted their teeth to keep the enemies at bay.

"Student Kang Hana. Can you update me on the situation?"

"We just confirmed the villains' attack. We should have noticed something earlier, but it was such a perfect ambush that neither we nor the state ability users detected anything." ƒreewebɳovel.com

"What about the students? Surely..."

"There are some injuries, but they're okay. The first magic happened to fall right next to you, Examiner..."

I wasn't sure if that was fortunate or unfortunate. Thanks to me being the first one attacked, they had a moment to prepare.

I stood up immediately. The current combat situation wasn't good. At best, our top forces were a few B-rank state ability users and five Platinum-ranked students.

Though there were many Gold-ranked students, and they were decent in their own right, at best they were barely B-rank, not fully B-rank. The significance of that difference among ability users was self-evident.

'Above all, everyone's somewhat exhausted after clearing the dungeon. Especially the third squad.'

In contrast, the villains? They were fresh. They had chosen the perfect moment for the ambush. Plus, they were accustomed to harming innocent people. They had no hesitation.

And, though I hated to admit it, they were unnecessarily strong.

Those who showed aptitude in abilities but disliked being bound by the world's rules. It made sense that a group of these rejects would be villains.

"Watch out!"

A villain weaved through the students, charging forward. He seemed to be targeting the magic or support types in the rear.

"Ugh!"

My body moved before my mind could process.

When I came to my senses, a villain had collapsed in front of me.

The sensation transmitted through my sword to my fingertips, then from my hand to my entire body. The person I just killed, though a villain, was still a human.

Was this feeling compassion? Or guilt? I wasn't sure. I had felt this same sensation during the previous battle with villains.

I didn't feel sorry. But I didn't feel happy either. What mattered now was preventing these bastards from achieving what they wanted. Yes. All I needed to focus on was blocking what should be blocked and protecting what should be protected.

"Student Kang Hana. I believe in you. Be careful."

"Yes! You be careful too, Examiner!"

I nodded and rejoined the battlefield. Then I swiftly cut down a villain targeting a student's back.

- Activating The Third Eye.

◎ Silver Gatekeeper

Trait activation conditions have been met.

Trait activated

Reassessing opponent's rank.

Rank adjustment – Gold identification

◎ Sole Examiner

Trait activated.

Target has not received promotion from Baek Seojin.

Recognizing the target as an examinee.

"Kagh!"

Still an unpleasant feeling, an irritating sensation. But there's no choice. They are humans who aren't humans. If I hesitate, either I get hurt, or others get hurt. One of the two.

'This one's C-rank. Those over there are B-rank. This is going to get difficult as time passes.'

If this were in the heart of the city like last time, it would have been better. Reports would come in immediately, and all nearby ability users would provide support.

But this is an area where dungeons are concentrated. Civilians have long been evacuated in case of emergencies.

Though ability users are on standby nearby, this is a relatively remote area. It will take longer for them to notice the commotion and come to assist.

'And if the villains have ambushed the support routes, it'll take even longer.'

Clang—!

"Ugh!"

A student loses in a power struggle and falls to his knees. Thinking he's won, the villain bares his teeth in a grin.

Thinking to myself that humans could smile so disgustingly, I rushed behind him and slashed across his back.

"Gah!"

With a short cry, the villain collapses to the side. The student, whose face had gone pale, lets out a relieved sigh.

"Th-thank you! Thank you, Examiner!"

I helped the student to his feet and sent him back to the others. Then I took his place and continued the battle.

'We're holding on, but it's not good.'

The more I fought, the more a certain hypothesis gained strength. The precise knowledge of our location, the timing of the villains' attack. Especially the manpower allocation capable of overwhelming Team 5.

'Information leaked. External support information leaked completely.'

When the Academy sends students for practical training, it's not kept completely confidential. But due to various issues, it's not openly announced either.

At most, Academy staff, security personnel, the students going for practical training, and the state ability users assisting them. These are the only ones who know the exact schedule and location.

For villains to attack as if they'd been waiting? Something smells off. Something's wrong. Otherwise, such a meticulous ambush makes no sense.

Where did the information leak from, who leaked it, and how...

"Die!"

Yeah, you die instead.

I dodged the incoming fist slightly and struck the villain's face with my sword handle. With a "thwack" sound, saliva, blood, and teeth flowed from his mouth.

As the villain collapsed, another ability user nearby performed the kill confirmation. It might seem cruel, but it would be disastrous if they stabbed us in the back. So, even our side showed no mercy to the villains.

"Phew."

I took a breath and surveyed the battlefield. We were holding up better than expected. Especially the students' performance exceeded expectations.

The Gold-ranked students didn't retreat even as they took injuries. And the Platinum-ranked ones sometimes held the frontline to buy time, other times provided fire support from the rear to cover any gaps.

The state ability users were also performing well. They were truly demonstrating why they belonged to the state.

But, there was a separate issue.

'Those bastards over there.'

Three individuals standing at the front, just watching. I could sense it. Those villains were A-rank, or already at A-rank.

Unfortunately, in the current situation, no one could defeat them. Excluding myself, even the state ability users would struggle in a 1:1 fight. If they joined the battle now, our side, which was holding on, would collapse instantly.

They must know this too. If information had leaked, they should know. So why aren't they joining the battle? Their main goal is to kill ability users. Why are they just standing there with folded arms, watching? It's almost as if...

'Almost as if they're waiting for someone... Fuck.'

A tingling sensation ran through my entire body. This cold feeling running down my spine was definitely that sensation I experienced before.

I hoped it was just my imagination. Especially since there was no one here to help. I even wished it was the shadow-using woman, Hyun Sujin, as she seemed somewhat reasonable. At least she seemed like someone I could communicate with a little.

"...We meet again."

But, damn it. Sad premonitions are never wrong.

With an eerily large spear in hand. Dragging one leg, with an appearance reminiscent of a water ghost.

"Silver-rank Examiner."

And he even delivered the unwelcome line about remembering me.

Elder. The Spear Ghost, Kwak Hyuk. He appeared before me.

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