Academy's Silver Gatekeeper
Ch. 120

Friday. A day that comes every week yet everyone always waits for.

A time when you can't hide your heart pounding with anticipation for the approaching weekend.

But today, even that Friday couldn't deliver any of its usual vitality.

[ As casualty counts continue to rise nationwide... ]

[ Today, both ruling and opposition parties suspended all work for the victims... ]

The sudden large-scale gate incident that occurred just yesterday.

Moreover, the places where those gates appeared weren't ordinary appearance areas but right in the middle of urban centers.

Naturally, human casualties followed and suppressor uselessness theory emerged in an instant.

[ Nationwide suppressor inspection results show no abnormalities. Cause of this incident cannot be determined... ]

[ Zero possibility of villain involvement. This gate incident falls into mystery ]

There were no problems with the suppressors. Villains weren't involved either.

Clearly the world was turning exactly the same as two days ago.

But yesterday, that world completely turned upside down and painted a scene of hell.

[ News Investigation - Are monster levels different from before? ]

[ Returned ability user interviews: They became stronger. They became faster. ]

Meanwhile, reports came out that monster levels had risen overall.

Public fear was already growing due to suppressor uselessness theory.

Hell-spawn monsters are getting stronger?

This is no ordinary matter. It could potentially cause great social chaos.

[ Currently the same situation is occurring in all countries, with worst case scenarios expecting millions or more... ]

Most decisively, it wasn't limited to South Korea.

All countries on Earth were caught up in the same situation.

It was said to be just over an hour.

During that time, suppressors had no effect and gates overflowed.

Monsters appeared and their power was much greater than before.

It's the same anywhere in the world. There's no place to escape anymore.

In such a situation, it was natural that no one could shout about a happy Friday.

"Quiet as a dead mouse."

Really. Really quiet. Unbelievably quiet.

Just last week, Friday was very noisy.

This week's Friday was so quiet it was eerie, beyond just silent.

Well, that's understandable. Such a shocking event happened just yesterday.

Fortunately, there were no gate incident casualties within the academy.

Thanks to the professors' quick initial response and students' rapid reaction.

Plus, my team and I somehow managed to defeat even the boss.

But some academy students suffered unfortunate losses.

Some lost friends, others lost family.

They survived but had to bid eternal farewell to those close to them.

Because of this, today became a truly bitter time.

Classes all ended early, and everyone returned to their homes or rooms.

Or some went to training grounds to improve themselves further.

"Are you alright, Examiner?"

At Lee Hyunwoo's words, I looked back at him questioningly.

Then Lee Hyunwoo shrugged his shoulders once and continued speaking.

"Your expression doesn't look good. It seems like you're thinking a lot about yesterday's events."

"I can't help it. The whole world is stained with tragedy. Are you okay, Lee Hyunwoo?"

"Yes. Fortunately, my family is safe. Thank you for your concern."

No need for thanks. Lee Hyunwoo's family are external figures I must definitely protect.

No matter how much of a Lee Hyunwoo he is, he can't become cruel enough to abandon his family.

So I must protect them even more. This time, something almost went very wrong.

"Over thirty students lost family members. Adding those who lost acquaintances makes it just over a hundred. It's truly... heartbreaking."

Kang Hana, sitting nearby, delivered the situation with a gloomy tone.

Being student council president, she seems to keep encountering such information inevitably.

Yoo Dasom also seemed to feel the same devastation, only sighing.

"It's more problematic that it's not just our country. I never imagined the whole world would be in chaos like this. Watching the news, it's absolute chaos. Already saying the world is ending, hell has arrived. What are they trying to do..."

They really love that hell talk. Though no one actually wants to go there.

Of course, the current situation is indeed a very great fear for current people.

Suppressors were breached, countless people died and were injured, and the whole world is in chaos.

Anyone would think it's worthy of calling world destruction or hell's arrival.

But if you think about it that way, when gates first appeared was much worse.

At that time, there weren't even proper ability users.

It was a time when those who could fight were close to zero.

In contrast, now, though chaos has erupted, it's not completely impossible to deal with.

Even if suppressors were breached, ability users who can fight remain.

That means suppressors can be improved and used again anytime.

'Just looking at the situation described afterward... it wasn't world-ending level.'

Certainly, many ability users will die from the overall growth of monsters.

Gates will appear randomly, requiring extreme vigilance.

But ultimately, the world didn't end. Humanity didn't perish.

They managed to adapt and show endurance to some degree.

They even showed scenes of gradually growing to match the world.

So there's no need to view it only fearfully.

We can overcome it sufficiently. We overcame the gate crisis even in times when there was nothing.

What's needed now is people's firm will and achieving a step forward.

"Oh, Examiner. Look. Students are coming."

At Lee Hyunwoo's words, I looked up toward the front of the examination hall.

As he said, I could see a group of students approaching this way.

"Hello, Examiner."

"Hello."

Students greeting me as soon as our eyes met.

They seem to have come for examination. Right, that part is the same as before.

But unlike just a few days ago, not a single one was laughing or chattering.

Everyone had a very subdued atmosphere. Heavy, gloomy, and silent.

"We came for examination."

"Yes. Please prepare starting with prepared students one by one."

I roughly understand the reason. Directly or indirectly.

They must have seen and experienced things from all those incidents yesterday.

Someone saw their own powerlessness, others saw collapsing fear.

And yet others felt the desperation that they must change.

I can feel it. Something desperate from that student standing in front now.

A friend who's come for examination several times. He works hard, but that was his limit.

Without any particular opportunity or purpose, his limits were quickly revealed.

"Examiner."

Even that guy seems to have properly felt something now.

His eyes are different. That's the most powerful thing among human wills.

Something incomparable to wanting to kill or wanting to protect.

That was the will to live, the desire to survive.

"Really, please do it properly. Like you did with other students, not just examination but almost beating them up level is fine."

Now they've realized it too. If you stagnate, you definitely die.

To survive in this chaotic period, they must change themselves.

It would have been better if they knew a bit earlier, but now is fine too.

It's not too late. They didn't realize it just before death.

"If you want that, I can do it. But you'll have to be prepared."

The student answered by immediately running toward me instead of words.

Right. Getting hurt and aching here. That would be much better.

At least here there are no monsters with eyes rolled back wanting to eat people.

Ttiring!—

At the phone notification sound, I slipped my hand into my pocket.

Looking at the screen, I saw Irina's name prominently.

She says she's busy with aftermath cleanup, but has time for messaging?

[ Seojin oppa ]

[ Yes ]

[ You didn't tell anyone about what I sent yesterday, right? ]

What she told me yesterday would be referring to 'that matter.'

No, if you're going to worry about that, don't say it in the first place.

[ Of course I didn't say anything. Do you think I'm an idiot? It clearly said classified in front. ]

[ Originally, some people talk more when it says classified stuff. Don't you know? ]

Hmm. That's true too. Certainly, there are some people like that.

...No, but wait. Listening to this makes me angry.

[ What. Are you trying to say I'm that type of person? ]

Huh? Say it, you crazy woman.

[ No way, our Seojin oppa has such a tight mouth! He puts up such an iron wall, so naturally his mouth would be as heavy as an iron wall, right? Ah, is it because below is also an iron wall so you have no intention of putting it in? ]

[ Stop saying weird things. This is why you get called a crazy woman ]

After sending a slightly sharp text, there was no reply from Irina for a while.

She's probably laughing like crazy without time to type.

[ Anyway, thanks to that, S-rank management suddenly became much sharper ]

[ Can sharp management stop Elders? ]

[ Can't stop them, but they have to do it to feel relieved ]

The British S-rank killed by Elders this time, Bernard Shaw.

I heard he was the most powerful magic-type ability user in Britain.

He even received knighthood from the British royal family at a young age.

Being excessively arrogant was a problem, but since half of S-ranks are like that, pass.

[ Elder bastards. They only did individual play, didn't expect this. Got backstabbed hard ]

As Irina said, Elders are beings who absolutely cannot harmonize.

Would guys who hate mingling with society get along well holding hands?

So much so that the day all Elders die wouldn't be through S-ranks' large-scale subjugation.

It's faster for them to mutually destroy each other through internal fighting.

Uung—

[ Be careful ]

The moment I received Irina's next message, my body flinched.

It's not even face-to-face conversation, just messaging.

The seriousness felt from that one sentence probably isn't my imagination.

[ The world too, and villain bastards too. Now you never know where they'll jump ]

I pondered briefly. Should I convey these words? Because the other party is Irina.

But because it's Irina, I feel I must say these words even more.

[ Irina, you be careful too. Don't get hurt. ]

She definitely saw my answer. The read receipt appeared. But no reply comes.

...Could she be angry? Thinking I'm ignoring her?