Chapter 138
Chapter 138. Ta-da (3)
Instructor Jin Seok-woo’s training session.
As usual, the heroes belonging to the 3rd year of Hero Academy gathered in the classroom for the training.
“James! Congratulations on your promotion!”
“Thank you.”
“I thought you would definitely rank up.”
The James Kang Party successfully ranked up to Rank 3.
Their peers congratulated them.
Being part of the Red Hole and showing exceptional fighting skills during training left no one doubting their promotion.
“Congratulations to the Jung Young-wook Party on your promotion too!”
“I heard this promotion test was really tough.”
“We had quite a few pass among us, too.”
In this promotion season, a total of four parties from the 3rd year of Hero Academy moved up to Rank 3.
The James Kang Party, Jung Young-wook Party, Shin Ho-yeon Party.
And finally, the Yoo Ji-han Party.
At that moment, a woman looking around spoke up.
“Did everyone see that?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“That… the spirit.”
“Oh, of course, I’ve seen it.”
The exclusive interview with Yoo Ji-han Party published in Hero Daily.
It caused such a commotion that it almost flipped the internet hero community upside down.
There wasn’t a single person among them who hadn’t heard the news.
However, just as everyone was discussing the Yoo Ji-han Party,
Creak!
Just as they say, if you talk about a tiger, the tiger will appear.
The door to the classroom opened, and the Yoo Ji-han Party made their entrance.
“……”
“……”
“……”
“……”
The chatter in the classroom fell silent as everyone zipped their mouths.
People started glancing at Yoo Ji-han entering through the door.
‘This is happening here too.’
Yoo Ji-han realized that the sudden quietness in the classroom was a result of his entrance.
Even though he had experienced this several times before, it never felt quite comfortable.
“Ji-han! Nice to see you.”
“Yes. Hello.”
The first to greet him was James Kang, with whom he had crossed paths during the 3rd promotion test.
It was a brief exchange, but it relieved the strange tension in the classroom, and conversation resumed.
The Yoo Ji-han Party sat down next to the empty Go Mina Party.
“Hello, Mina.”
“Uh! Hi! Hello!”
Go Mina, startled by Yoo Ji-han’s greetings, looked around before speaking.
“Congratulations on your promotion…”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“I saw the interview that came out today! I never expected you, Ji-han, to be a Spirit Master.”
“That’s right.”
Yoo Ji-han casually acknowledged it.
Even though Go Mina had seen the information in the article, she was still taken aback and opened her mouth slightly in surprise.
“I never guessed Ji-han would be a Spirit Master. Most Spirit Masters focus on using magic, right?”
“I just recently made the contract.”
“Then will you be switching your position in the future?”
“No, I will continue as I am now.”
The conversation between Go Mina and Yoo Ji-han continued.
The hero peers from Hero Academy listened closely to their exchange.
About 15 minutes later, Instructor Jin Seok-woo entered the classroom.
As soon as he walked in, he stood at the teacher’s desk and spoke.
“Today, there won’t be any training, but I have a few short announcements. As you all remember, I mentioned that during our first feedback training, I would reward parties that provided good feedback with bonus points and khwasam, right?”
“……!”
As Jin Seok-woo mentioned bonus points and khwasam.
Even the heroes who had been lost in their own thoughts perked up and awaited his words.
“I will now announce the party that will receive the first reward.”
Jin Seok-woo tapped his mobile phone with his hand.
Then, as he looked at the words on the phone screen, he announced,
“The party that received the best feedback in the feedback class is… James Kang’s Party. Congratulations!”
Clap clap clap clap—!
James Kang’s Party received both the bonus points and khwasam.
As the applause poured in, James Kang wore a very pleased expression.
Even being part of a large guild, obtaining good-quality khwasam wasn’t easy.
“And the party that provided the best feedback to other parties during the feedback class is…”
“……”
“The Sweet Fun’s Yoo Ji-han Party. Congratulations.”
“……!”
When the Yoo Ji-han Party was mentioned,
A brief silence filled the classroom.
Clap clap.
The sound of applause, slightly smaller than the previous one for James Kang, echoed.
The emotion behind that applause was mostly astonishment.
‘Just how well did they evaluate…’
‘What the heck, seriously.’
‘Did the spirit help them?’
The members of Yoo Ji-han Party bowed their heads to Jin Seok-woo.
Then Jin Seok-woo looked at them and said.
“Today, four parties from the Hero Academy 3rd year ranked up to Rank 3! As their supervising instructor, I feel very proud. You all did really well.”
“Thank you.”
“And here we have Ji-han… I hear you’ve been recognized as a Spirit Master.”
“Yes.”
Jin Seok-woo spoke with a peculiar sparkle in his eyes.
“Could you show us?”
Pyoong!
In response to his request, Yoo Ji-han summoned Sylph without hesitation.
There was no longer any need to hide it.
“That’s a real spirit.”
“Wow….”
Naturally, both Jin Seok-woo and all the seated heroes looked up at the Sylph floating in the air.
With Yoo Ji-han’s appearance, the number of Spirit Masters in Korea rose to 21.
Thus, spirits were indeed rare creatures to encounter.
Drrrrrrrr—!
Whether it was because they found the reaction amusing or if it was just Jihwan’s delight in appearing before so many people for the first time.
The Sylph darted around the entire classroom, moving quickly and energetically.
“Wow!”
The little spirit even playfully landed on the head of a stranger.
Watching that made Yoo Ji-han feel a bit guilty for keeping the Sylph hidden in his pocket or against his chest all this time.
‘This darn thing…!’
‘Why is the spirit with that guy…’
Meanwhile, Min Ju-yong and Moon Kyung-jin, who were not very pleased with Yoo Ji-han stealing the spotlight, simmered quietly inside.
But while everyone else was in awe, there was nothing they could do.
*
“Yang Ji-cheol! Do whatever it takes to keep that Spirit Master in Korea.”
In the Hero Department meeting, the topic of the Spirit Master that appeared that day was hotly discussed.
Yang Ji-cheol had been called in as a reference among several executives gathered in the meeting.
This was because he had the most connection with Sweet Fun’s Yoo Ji-han, who was announced as the Wind Spirit Master.
“According to our local informant, we’ve already received reports that they’ve begun preparations for outreach from China and the United States.”
“What dirty thieves…!”
The Spirit Master that suddenly emerged from a small guild.
The news spread not only throughout Korea but also around the world within a matter of hours.
Moreover, when it was shared that he belonged to such a small guild.
He seemed relatively easy to approach, prompting other countries to start reaching out.
“For now, let’s request a temporary travel ban to keep him from leaving Korea.”
“No, we can’t do that!”
The executives wanting to forcibly keep the Spirit Master in Korea faced immediate backlash from Yang Ji-cheol.
“If we approach him that way, we’ll only provoke Ji-han’s resentment.”
“Then what should we do?”
“Ji-han holds more than 10% of the guild’s shares. He can essentially be seen as an executive of the guild. With that in mind, does he really need to leave for another country?”
“If money comes from the US or China, we won’t be able to stop it.”
“From what I’ve seen of Ji-han, he doesn’t seem like the kind of person who can be swayed by money.”
“Is there really anyone in this world who doesn’t move for money?! Even Rank 2 heroes often move to different countries…”
The executives looking at heroes through the lens of money.
While not all the executives shared that sentiment,
Yang Ji-cheol worked hard to ease their worries.
“I will see if I can convince Ji-han to stay active in Korea.”
“If that hero leaves Korea, you’re going to take responsibility for it?”
“……If there’s something I need to take responsibility for then I will.”
The executives eager to pin the blame on Yang Ji-cheol if Yoo Ji-han left Korea wrapped the meeting up centered around the new Spirit Master.
As Yang Ji-cheol left the meeting room, he let out a long sigh.
‘These old folks…’
Since the heroic minister who had been a likable figure had been absent due to health issues.
The executives had been increasingly meddlesome in recent days.
Shaking his head, he headed down to the first floor of the building.
Soon, Yoo Ji-han was scheduled to visit the Hero Department.
“Ji-cheol!”
“Ah, Ji-han! You’ve arrived already.”
“……Ji-cheol? Are you feeling unwell? You look like half of your face has disappeared in just a few days.”
“Haha, I’m fine. Let’s go inside.”
Yang Ji-cheol guided Yoo Ji-han deeper into the building.
It seemed he had now become the one in charge of Sweet Fun.
“I heard Yoon Do-ha mentioned that he was looking for a Spirit Master before. But I never expected it would actually be you, Ji-han…”
“I’m sorry for not letting you know beforehand.”
“You don’t have to apologize to me.”
They reached the Hero Department’s research lab as they walked.
Yoo Ji-han looked around for Kazimir, but he wasn’t in sight.
“This person is the staff responsible for spirits at the Hero Department.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Today, I’ll help you with a simple test and the registration process as a Spirit Master.”
Yoo Ji-han listened to the researcher’s explanation while various white pads connected with wires were attached to his forehead, neck, and arms.
“Let’s start.”
Pyoong!
Following the instructions, as the Sylph was summoned.
Data started appearing on the monitor connected to the machine linked to the pads on Yoo Ji-han’s body.
“Gah! Your summoning speed is amazing! When did you form your contract with the spirit?”
“A little less than three months ago.”
“Ooh…”
Yoo Ji-han then demonstrated commands with the Sylph and performed various spells.
With each action, the expression of the researcher in charge of spirits grew increasingly astonished.
Yang Ji-cheol, observing his expression from the side, asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“Y-Yoo Ji-han’s sync rate and affinity with the Sylph are unbelievably high!”
“Is it really that surprising?”
“At this rate, even compared to a 2nd year… No, even a 3rd year Spirit Master, this is on a higher level!”
After one day, the researcher, who had become captivated by the unknown existence of spirits during his university days, would find this data among the most astonishing he had ever encountered in his life, even counting his experience abroad.
*
“Gang-seok, what on earth happened?”
At the headquarters of the Knife Guild,
The guild master, Moon Kyung-gu, stared at his party member, Ji Gang-seok, with an unhappy expression.
“How could that punk receive so much attention…?”
He grumbled, referencing the Yoo Ji-han Party that had become the talk of the town.
He had previously directed Ji Gang-seok to act as a promotion examiner to block their rise.
Yet, the Yoo Ji-han Party had successfully made a more dazzling debut than expected at Rank 3.
Moreover, Ji Gang-seok had gone off the grid for an entire day before showing up at the guild.
Bang!
Moon Kyung-gu slammed his fist down on the desk.
“Even if you’re fighting a Spirit Master, did you really get beaten by a Rank 4 punk? Do you seriously think that makes any sense?!”
“……”
“I’m not going to hold the submerged time against you, so just be honest. Why did you let him win?”
Moon Kyung-gu speculated that Ji Gang-seok must have gone easy on Yoo Ji-han.
He simply couldn’t believe that he had lost otherwise.
However, Ji Gang-seok shook his head and replied.
“I didn’t let him win.”
“What?”
“I might have gone easy up until the first attack, but after that, I didn’t hold back at all.”
“……!”
Moon Kyung-gu frowned at his words.
It didn’t sound like a lie.
“I’m sorry, but the kid who fought Ji-han, Kyung-jin, was just unlucky.”
“……That hero, Ji-han, is really that good?”
Moon Kyung-gu’s face was one of disbelief.
But Ji Gang-seok, who had unleashed an artifact in anger during the spar with Yoo Ji-han,
Rubbed the part of his chest that got hit and said,
“He’s the real deal.”
