Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"......"

Irev stared blankly at Baek Seo-yeon, at a loss for words.

Baek Seo-yeon had fully unleashed her abilities, manifesting a silver crown and silver wings.

On top of that, she had silver-white lightning coiling around her entire body, radiating frigid hostility.

"You've got pointless pride. There are plenty of people stronger than you. And you request a Rank Battle the moment you become a Department Head?"

"Well, I...... AAGH!"

Baek Seo-yeon casually swept her hand and increased the volume of silver-white lightning.

Irev felt her entire body stinging and let out a pained cry.

But Baek Seo-yeon didn't care in the slightest, showing nothing but contempt in her gaze.

"You'd better learn your lesson while you have the chance. The Vice President seat isn't your toy."

"No, wait, I...... GYAAAH!"

CRACKLE, CRACKLE—!

Baek Seo-yeon leisurely adjusted the intensity of the lightning and began bearing down on Irev.

Irev flinched and couldn't even attempt a counterattack.

From Irev's perspective, it made no sense.

She had endured just about every attribute-type ability there was, yet Baek Seo-yeon's silver-white lightning was something she simply couldn't handle.

"I'm...... sorry...... NYAAH!"

"An apology...... is something you give when you have basic manners to begin with. And what about you? You requested a Rank Battle less than a day after becoming Department Head. Absolutely no discipline."

"AAH, AAAAH......"

Irev's body had gone semi-liquid, and she could no longer control it properly as she slowly reverted to her original form.

Irev's ability was both transformation-type and special-type, allowing her to shift her exterior into a slime.

A slime possessed exceptionally high resistance to physical attacks and could flexibly cope with attacks laced with mana or elemental attributes.

It was a rare and valuable ability in its own right, but against Baek Seo-yeon, it was all but useless.

"Reflect on what you've done. If you're a Department Head, act with some responsibility and use your head!"

"I'm...... I'm sor...... EEEK!"

"What's that weird noise? Are you even human?"

"I'm going to die at this rate! Please sav...... UWAAAH!"

Baek Seo-yeon casually brushed off Irev's pleas and unleashed an even more powerful current.

Irev felt her consciousness growing hazy as her body went limp.

But Baek Seo-yeon had no intention of ending this so easily.

"Stop being dramatic. You can't get hurt, so why are you talking about dying?"

"B-but...... still......"

"Think you need a little more punishment before you come to your senses? Yeah, I think so too."

"W-wait! NGAAAH!"

Baek Seo-yeon maintained an indifferent expression as she continued sweeping her hand.

She was already regulating her power at an appropriate level, so the pain wouldn't be that severe.

Besides, the Barrier System suppressed the risks that could arise from excessive pain to a certain degree, so there was no reason she couldn't attack freely.

"You know what? You're ridiculously weak. The other Department Heads wouldn't go down this easily."

"Please stop...... EEK!"

"Can you even handle your duties? You'll be lucky if you don't get cursed out. With this little awareness, what could you possibly accomplish?"

Baek Seo-yeon stole a glance through the glass and murmured under her breath.

Seo Hyun-woo and the Department Heads were watching the scene, each showing a different reaction.

Seo Hyun-woo in particular wore a faint smile, as if he had already predicted the outcome.

"Well, at least the President seems pleased. Are you satisfied now too?"

"Ugh......"

"Finally quieted down. Should I let you off this once?"

"Yes!"

"You've got no tact. You're not even human, so why do you talk like one?"

"AAAGH!"

***

"That seems a bit much......"

"Now the Vice President is finally showing what she's made of."

"......"

Choi Jae-yeon felt sorry for Irev, while Jin Se-hee was impressed by Baek Seo-yeon.

Yoo Si-eun looked slightly uncomfortable, as Baek Seo-yeon was showing an unexpected side of herself.

Seo Hyun-woo glanced back and forth between Baek Seo-yeon and Irev, letting out a hollow laugh.

'Slimes might seem weak at a glance, but they're really not. They nullify almost all physical attacks and can mitigate damage from mana or elemental attacks to a fair degree.'

Seo Hyun-woo had a rather favorable opinion of Irev's ability.

Transforming into a slime gave her considerably high defense, and since she became semi-liquid, she could execute complex movements.

On top of that, slimes had high acidity, so simply latching onto something was enough to dissolve most objects.

'But she picked the wrong opponent. Baek Seo-yeon is also a special-type Awakened and a tireless hard worker who trains without missing a single day. On top of that, the lightning attribute from Archangel Descent is far more powerful than ordinary lightning. This was a fight Irev was bound to lose.'

Of course, Seo Hyun-woo had reached that conclusion already knowing how the Rank Battle would end.

In the written story, Baek Seo-yeon had demonstrated an overwhelming gap in power and defeated Irev quickly.

But right now, Baek Seo-yeon seemed to be deliberately dragging the fight out to pressure Irev, which made it hard to call a quick victory.

'As expected, Baek Seo-yeon isn't pleased with Irev. Then again, requesting a Rank Battle the moment she became Department Head probably came across as cocky. And on top of that, she gave that absurd reason about wanting to watch me up close—I can see why Seo-yeon would find that ridiculous.'

Seo Hyun-woo slowly wiped the amusement from his face and looked at Irev.

She wasn't quite a heroine, but she was the only Department Head who had openly shown affection toward the original Seo Hyun-woo.

In terms of being interested in Seo Hyun-woo, she was similar to Jin Se-hee, but the key difference was that Irev approached him with full, deliberate intent.

'The original Seo Hyun-woo didn't think much of Irev. Said she was too thoughtless and seemed frivolous? Picky bastard. She's quite pretty and attractive by any standard.'

Seo Hyun-woo appraised Irev's appearance by very objective criteria.

Face, skin, figure, overall bodily proportions, personality and character, and so on.

She was a foreigner by the setting, but there was almost nothing about her that felt out of place.

It was simply that her excessive innocence and unconventional way of thinking earned her a reputation for being odd.

'Still, Baek Seo-yeon is the best fit for the Vice President seat. She handles Student Council work faster than I do. If Irev took over the Student Council duties, it would only make things harder for me.'

The moment Seo Hyun-woo saw the Barrier System deactivate, he immediately turned his gaze toward Baek Seo-yeon.

Baek Seo-yeon exited the sparring room first without so much as a change in expression.

"Good work. But was there really a need to drag it out that long?"

"......She looked a bit cute, so I gave her a proper fight."

"Ah, I see."

Seo Hyun-woo picked up on Baek Seo-yeon's sour mood and promptly shut his mouth.

The word "cute" coming from her likely meant she found the girl extremely irritating.

Irev would eventually reclaim her Department Head position, but for the time being, she was probably in for a great deal of criticism from Baek Seo-yeon on the work front.

"......"

The Department Heads kept quiet and watched Seo Hyun-woo for cues.

Irev was lying on the floor, slowly moving her body, but no one went to help her.

That morning, Seo Hyun-woo had said, "Why bother looking after someone that weak?"—so none of them dared step forward.

"The Rank Battle is over, so why is everyone standing around? It's already past dismissal time. You'd be better off heading back to the dormitory."

Baek Seo-yeon broke the silence first and began walking toward the stairs.

She didn't get far before she stopped and spoke again.

"Oh—no one's going to look after the weakling, right? The President said so himself, so the Department Heads would do well to follow suit."

"Mm......"

"She's right. No need to look after someone that weak."

Jin Se-hee, having already been on the receiving end once, passed by Baek Seo-yeon with a look of satisfaction.

Yoo Si-eun left without a word, and Choi Jae-yeon hesitated briefly before following after them.

Left alone, Seo Hyun-woo glanced at Irev for a moment before starting to walk.

"I didn't expect something I said in the heat of the moment to be used like this."

"Just for today, I intend to follow the President's words."

"Is what the Special Department Head said bothering you?"

"Of course not. That much is cute enough to overlook."

"......Don't take it too much to heart. People can have different thoughts, you know."

"Why would I take it to heart? She's so adorable, after all."

There was frost in Baek Seo-yeon's voice.

Seo Hyun-woo shook his head and left the indoor training grounds alongside her.

It was clear Irev had gotten on Baek Seo-yeon's bad side.

'Should I have just stopped her? What a headache.'

***

Inside Miterich's Chairman's office.

A woman with long black hair was scanning through a document folder while dressed in a suit.

She had only just turned thirty, yet she held a considerable number of titles.

Setinos Hunter, Chairman of Miterich, the Black Demon King, the strongest attribute-type Awakened.

Any other Hunter would have been unable to earn those titles even if they devoted their entire life to it.

"So among this year's new students, only this one shows promise?"

"That's correct, Chairman."

Miterich's Chancellor, Park Do-woon, stood before the desk and answered.

He was the older one in terms of age, but that counted for nothing in the face of rank.

And when factoring in Hunter grade and societal influence, there was absolutely no surpassing the Chairman before him.

"Are there any other Awakened who can transform into a nine-tailed fox besides this student?"

"From our investigation, there are none as of yet. There have been no reported cases overseas, either."

Han Yu-jeong, Chairman of Miterich, set the document folder on the desk and tilted her head.

The newly enrolled student, Kang Jin-ha, exhibited several distinctive characteristics.

The ability to transform into a nine-tailed fox—something previously unheard of—considerable skill, and the capacity to wield abilities from three different types, including the transformation type.

Given all of that, one couldn't help but consider Kang Jin-ha to be effectively a special-type Awakened.

"We should keep watching for now. I can't be certain that what he used during the entrance exam was actually a form-type ability."

"A wise assessment. It could simply be a case of exceptional mana utilization."

Transformation-type Awakened inherently possessed physical reinforcement, a characteristic of enhancement-type abilities.

However, they did not possess material reinforcement—the other characteristic of the enhancement type—and abilities like physical healing or mana transfer were possessed by only a minority even among enhancement-type Awakened.

Cases where someone simultaneously possessed abilities from other types like form or attribute were also quite rare within Miterich.

"The promotional video for Miterich will be filmed soon. Has the selection of candidates for the promotional model been finalized?"

"Ah, my apologies. The candidates were only finalized yesterday, and I forgot to inform you in advance."

"Is that so? May I see the list?"

"Would you give me just a moment? I'll have my secretary send the list over."

"Please do."

Han Yu-jeong moved the mouse and immediately opened Miterich's dedicated program window.

A notification that a file had arrived appeared within minutes.

She opened the file and began quickly reviewing the photos and names.

"You've included the Student Council President and Vice President on the candidate list?"

"Yes. Would you take a look at the attached photo? It was taken after the ambush incident involving Vice President Baek Seo-yeon, and I felt the impression wasn't bad, so I put them on the list as a priority."