Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kim Sung-tae, a secretary in the Student Council’s dedicated secretarial office, anxiously entered the secretarial office.

All the other secretaries had already left school, and only he remained.

Kim Sung-tae immediately gathered his belongings and bag, then locked the door to the secretarial office.

‘Was it just my imagination? No. Something was different. I’ve been hearing rumors lately that the President’s personality has changed a lot.......’

Kim Sung-tae did not return to the dormitory and passed through Miterich’s main gate.

Nothing had been clearly revealed yet, but his instincts were sending him danger signals.

If his identity really had been exposed, he would have to escape from Miterich quickly.

‘Why did he say he would clean up the teacup and table himself? The usual President would never have said something like that.’

Unable to control his growing suspicion, Kim Sung-tae took his smartphone out of his pocket.

Then he quickly finished entering a number and pressed the call button.

Only after the ringing tone sounded for a long while was he finally able to hear a voice.

-......It is me. What is it?

-I think the Student Council President has realized my identity.

-If you think he realized it, does that mean you are not yet certain?

-Yes. I have not done anything that would expose me, and I have moved carefully in every matter. However, the Student Council President’s reaction is a little strange. I have heard rumors that, unlike usual, his personality and way of speaking have changed.

-Hmm.......

A heavy silence flowed from beyond the smartphone.

If the Student Council President had noticed the information leak, then they had fallen into a fairly dangerous situation.

Miterich’s Student Council President was infamous even within the Student Council, and he was also extremely thorough in handling work.

Kim Sung-tae might be expelled, and in the worst case, he might even end up being investigated by the Security Office or the Hunter Committee.

-Since nothing has happened to you yet, could you not watch the situation a little longer? If you are under suspicion, you can act normally even now.

-It does not matter if I am caught. I am only afraid that the other members will be discovered because of me.

-Do not think too negatively. Members are also active in the Security Office and the Security Department. Even if you are captured, you should be able to escape with their help.

-If that happens, we will not be able to put our future plan into action, will we? I cannot sacrifice Rebellion and its members just to save myself.

Rebellion.

It was an organization and small-scale rebel force that completely rejected the already stabilized social structure and Hunter System.

The rebellion's leader believed that Awakened with special powers should become the masters of this world.

-They were gradually expanding their influence while putting forward the logic that the phenomenon of Awakening itself was based on the providence of nature.

-There is no need to cling to Miterich. Miterich may be the best training institution in the country, but even if we replace it with another training institution, there will not be much difference.

-Even when compared worldwide, it is difficult to find a training institution on Miterich’s level. Even overseas, they are desperate to introduce Miterich’s Barrier System and medical system. If we want to make the Rebellion's name widely known, we must settle things at Miterich.

-......Achieving a noble purpose is important, but members’ lives must not be sacrificed for it. If you think it is dangerous, you may leave Miterich.

-The reason I contacted you separately was because I wanted to tell you that we need to be careful in advance. And as you said, the Student Council President may not have noticed the information leak. I want to continue carrying out my mission.

The person on the other end of the call had already understood Kim Sung-tae’s resolve.

It meant he would absolutely not withdraw until Rebellion’s plan succeeded.

If he was discovered midway, he would likely try to throw away his life without hesitation.

-If that is truly your will, I will not stop you. However, prioritize survival and escape. I will not tolerate a meaningless death.

-Understood. After the call ends, I will dispose of both the phone and the phone number.

-I will transmit the next contact information three days from now. Is there nothing else to report?

-......Please tell the members who have infiltrated Miterich to be careful of the Student Council President. Separate from his outstanding skill and talent, he seems to have fairly sharp intuition.

-Understood. I will make sure to tell them. You should be careful as well.

-I will keep that in mind.

Kim Sung-tae hung up and slipped the smartphone into his pocket.

Then he swept his gaze over his surroundings and soon moved quickly.

‘Student Council President....... No matter how much you try to dig into Rebellion, it will be useless. Every member has staked their life and death on this mission. And I am already prepared to throw away my life.’

***

A park inside Miterich.

After finishing lunch, Seo Hyun-woo was lightly enjoying a cup of coffee.

Of course, he had not come out to the park without any thought.

Choi Jae-yeon, the head of the Enhancement Department, had wanted to speak with him personally, so he had made time separately.

“I did not think you would have something to say to me.”

“Rather than something to say, it is closer to a personal question. I became a little curious.”

Choi Jae-yeon sipped lemonade with ice floating in it and glanced sideways at Seo Hyun-woo.

At a certain point, Seo Hyun-woo’s personality and attitude had clearly changed completely.

It felt extremely unfamiliar, to the point that Choi Jae-yeon could not even get a sense of how to deal with it.

However, since Seo Hyun-woo’s personality had become fairly gentle, he wondered if it would be fine to have at least this much of a conversation with him.

“So what do you want to ask? I can answer most questions, but I hope you do not cross the line.”

“Of course. First, I want to know what caused your personality to change.”

Hearing that, Seo Hyun-woo felt puzzled, but he fell into thought for a brief moment.

For a personal question, it was ordinary and yet quite profound.

He did not know what intention was behind it, but his answer had already been decided.

“First, before I was the Student Council President, I was one of Miterich’s students. No matter how skilled I am, that fact does not change. At that moment, something occurred to me. Do I really need to be hostile toward the department heads?”

“So you mean you want to see the department heads not as competitors, but as students like you?”

“That’s right. We are all Student Council executives, are we not? If there are no problems, we will be seeing one another for a long time, so is there really any need to keep one another in check on ordinary days?”

Choi Jae-yeon wore a solemn expression and took Seo Hyun-woo’s words seriously.

The black eyes visible between his brown hair had sunk deeply.

For some reason, he seemed to be reconsidering the attitude he had shown toward Seo Hyun-woo until now.

“That is a reasonable point. If we exclude the fact that we are aiming for the Student Council President’s seat, we are in a relationship where we have no choice but to cooperate. There is nothing good about showing hostility toward one another.”

“We can just fight when we need to, right? Outside of that, there is no reason to sharpen our blades at each other.”

“I understand what you mean. Next question. Have you perhaps developed an interest in a female student?”

“......What?”

Seo Hyun-woo barely swallowed the coffee in his mouth and turned his head.

It was a question men could commonly ask one another, but it was not a topic that should come up right now.

Besides, was this not the kind of conversation one could only have after becoming a little closer?

“I asked whether you have someone you like.”

“Why are you asking that?”

“When someone, whether man or woman, develops feelings for someone, they try to improve themselves to look good to that person. They try to eliminate their bad points as much as possible and highlight their good points.”

“Ah, so you think that is why I changed?”

“It is only a simple guess. You are a man too, so naturally, there must be at least one woman you like.”

Seo Hyun-woo was considerably flustered, yet a hollow laugh almost escaped him on its own.

Choi Jae-yeon had a serious personality, but he was still not usually this direct.

Judging by the atmosphere, he seemed to be somewhat certain.

“Your guess sounds plausible, but you are completely wrong.”

“You denied it too quickly. At this point, you have told one lie.”

“What kind of nonsense is that......”

“Roooar!”

A shout from nearby cut off their conversation.

Seo Hyun-woo and Choi Jae-yeon moved at the same time and ran toward the source of the shout.

“The Security Department....... The Security Department.......”

“Uh, uh.......”

“Can the Barrier System even hold against that?”

The two quickly moved forward while listening to the conversations of the students gathered nearby.

An Advance Battle was underway beyond a wide-spread barrier.

Inside the barrier, a student in a purple uniform was being one-sidedly beaten by the opposing student.

“President, even if we mediate this.......”

“Enhancement Department Head, I will borrow your ability for a moment.”

Seo Hyun-woo tapped Choi Jae-yeon’s shoulder a few times, then immediately threw himself toward the barrier.

The barrier quickly repelled Seo Hyun-woo, then slowly began allowing his body to pass through.

[Advance Battle currently in progress.......]

[Student Council President’s exclusive code confirmed.]

[Intervention in the Advance Battle temporarily permitted.]

A signal sounded from the Battle Watch Seo Hyun-woo was wearing.

Seo Hyun-woo paid no attention to that signal and gathered mana in his right hand.

“Oh, it’s the President!”

“What? The President is stepping in personally?”

Crunch, THUD!

Seo Hyun-woo’s fist gave off a blue light and struck the attacking student.

The student who was hit was sent flying and collided with the barrier.

“Ugh.......”

“Are you conscious? For now, do not declare surrender. I need to subdue that guy first and then end the battle.”

Seo Hyun-woo calmly spoke while blocking the front of the student lying on the ground.

As the Student Council President, he had the duty to take responsibility for Miterich’s order and the students’ safety.

To be honest, he did not particularly want to act cool, but there was no helping it.

There were already many eyes watching, and even the original Seo Hyun-woo would surely have stepped forward in a situation like this.

“Grrrr.......”

The opposing student had already risen to his feet and taken a combat stance.

A pair of wolf ears were attached on top of his head, and sharp nails and a brown tail were visible.

Because he had used a transformation-type ability, he had taken on animal traits in that form.

‘His wild nature has gone berserk. He looks like a Managing Member, but he can’t even control that much?’

Seo Hyun-woo let out a shallow sigh and gathered more mana in his right hand.

Soon, the blue color of the mana turned white and stretched out long.

The white mana created the shape of a thin, long sword, and its force slowly stabilized.

“That’s the Enhancement Department Head’s technique, isn’t it?”

“He used his ability.”

“Wow, this is my first time seeing it!”

Choi Jae-yeon listened to the students’ conversation and watched Seo Hyun-woo.

He had already fought several Rank Battles, so he knew Seo Hyun-woo’s ability well.

Seo Hyun-woo had used his special-type ability to reproduce Choi Jae-yeon’s ability in a similar form.

‘No matter how many times I see it, it is astonishing. Not only did he copy my ability, he even implemented the related technique. At this rate, even if I challenge him for the rest of my life, I won’t be able to beat the President.’