TRPM 392

chapter 392

“Wow… wowww….”

“…Huff…! Huff…!”

The children who had been watching the boy’s sword strike let out gasps of admiration—or perhaps they had unconsciously held their breath and were now exhaling all at once.

“……”

It wasn’t just the children.

Even Sir Sergei, who was sitting next to me, couldn’t close his mouth as he stared at the boy.

For such a small child to unleash a strike like that—it was the kind of sword technique worthy of respect.

‘For someone like Sir Sergei, it must be even more shocking.’

In a sense, that strike carried power on par with his own… perhaps even greater.

“Artist….”
“Yes?”
“That child—what if I took him in instead of you? No, please! Let me be the one to train him!”

Watching the boy’s sword up close, Sir Sergei’s desire to take him as a disciple burst out uncontrollably.

…I could understand his feelings.

Right now, Sergei wanted to move on to the next realm. And instinctively, he must have felt that the boy’s sword held the key.

“Then you should ask him directly. Whether he wants to learn from me or from you.”

Sir Sergei surely knew by now—the boy seemed to put his family first above all else. If that concern could be addressed, he might very well choose Sergei over me.

“I see… in that case, right away—”
“Ah, hold on. I still have personal interviews scheduled with the six of them afterward. You can make your pitch then—I’ll let you sit in.”
“Thank you, Artist.”

As I watched Sergei begin scheming about how to coax… no, how to recruit the boy named Taiwoo as his disciple, I turned my gaze back toward the center of the sparring hall.

There, six figures stood frozen.

Taiwoo himself was motionless, overcome with the thrill of having truly succeeded.

The other five were frozen for a different reason—they had felt something in his sword strike and couldn’t move.

Just as my classmates had forgotten to breathe in awe, only to exhale in amazement.

‘Looks like the audience is the same.’

The higher-leveled ones snapped out of it quickly, but the ordinary awakened individuals in the stands were unconsciously overwhelmed.

As I was thinking they’d all need time to recover—

Beeeep—!
“Ugh?!”
“Argh?!”

A piercing, unpleasant noise blared from the hall’s speakers, jolting everyone’s eardrums.

The dazed spectators instinctively covered their ears, shaken back to their senses…

[This is the Seoul Awakened Academy. Verification has now concluded. Visitors, please exit in an orderly manner. The six candidates who have completed testing should follow the instructors to the Chairman’s office. Once again—]

The voice of Chairwoman Shin Hanji rang out from the speakers.

So she deliberately used that irritating noise to snap everyone awake.

“Looks like we’re headed to the Chairman’s office. And the children…”

Before Sergei even finished, my classmates, realizing they were the “children” he meant, quickly spoke up.

“We can just head home.”
“Gunwoo, see you later!”
“Looks like that’s settled.”

Sergei gave a light nod and rose to his feet. I followed suit, and together we made our way toward the Academy’s main building.

‘From here, the Chairman’s office is in another building, so… it’ll take a while.’

“Artist. It seems we’ve ended up alone together.”
“? Well, yes.”

Alone—though in truth, plenty of people were walking nearby. And those who saw me and Sergei walking together pretended otherwise but clearly strained to eavesdrop.

So this wasn’t meant to be a secretive conversation.

“Earlier, I was too swept up in the boy’s sword to ask, but—what did you think of my grandson?”
“……”

Ah, I see. The old man wants me to praise his grandson in public.

“He didn’t just master your swordsmanship perfectly—he reinterpreted and refined it in his own way. Truly impressive. Among the six, he handled the sword the best.”
“Exactly!”

Sergei’s face lit up in a smile. Hearing his grandson praised pleased him that much.

“But…”
“…But?”

Still, I couldn’t ignore what needed saying.

“I’d say he’s been overly influenced by someone.”
“…You mean me?”
“Yes.”

Of course, being influenced by a strong master like Sergei wasn’t inherently bad.

But for his grandson, it wasn’t ideal.

“From what I could tell, his body frame is soft, more suited to fluid, curved swordplay. Yet what he’s learned is your rigid, linear style.”

Sergei’s grandson was still just a high schooler, his body flexible and supple. Who knows how he’ll develop later, but for now, your straight-line swordplay doesn’t suit him.

“Hm… now that you say it, you’re right.”

Even doting as he was, Sergei didn’t deny my words. He had known.

“Then why didn’t you correct him?”
“Well… the truth is…”

Leaning closer, a little sheepish, Sergei whispered to me:

“…Whenever I saw that child practicing my sword with such a bright smile, my desire to correct him just… vanished.”
“……”
“So forgive me, but could I trouble you to make the corrections instead?”

This old man, seriously….

I sighed and nodded. I had planned to fix it anyway, even without his request.

After that conversation, we finally arrived before the Chairman’s office.

“Hm?”

Outside were six chairs lined up. And—

“Chloe?”
“Ah, hello, Gunwoo.”

Chloe Greenwood was waiting there.

“Oh? I’ve never heard of an elf surpassing the Wall before….”

Sergei instantly recognized her level at a glance.

“Ahaha… well, it hasn’t been very long since I crossed it, so…”
“Sir Sergei, if she didn’t bring it up herself, it means she wanted to keep it quiet.”

I added that reminder, warning him not to pry into others unnecessarily.

“Ah? Haha, you’re right. My apologies.”

Sergei chuckled, taking the hint. After all, Chloe was about to be his colleague—there was no need to sour things between them.

“But Chloe, why are you here?”
“The Chairman asked me to help, since I don’t have classes today. I’m supposed to let the six in one at a time for the interviews.”

…One at a time, huh.

That made sense. Among the six, some might not want certain things revealed in front of others.

“And the Chairman?”
“She’s inside. Knock before you enter.”

Taking her advice, I knocked lightly and stepped inside.

“Ah, you’re here, Gunwoo. And….”

Chairwoman Shin Hanji greeted me warmly—though her eyes widened at the unexpected sight of Sergei at my side.

“Sir Sergei? What brings you here?”
“Mm… I thought I might like to sit in as an interviewer.”

…He just came up with that on the spot. A convenient excuse to join in.

“Since you came with Gunwoo, I assume he has no objection. In that case, I have no reason to refuse.”

The Chairwoman rearranged the office’s furniture. A single seat near the entrance, and chairs beyond the desk for the interviewers.

“Here, Gunwoo—this will be your seat.”
“…Isn’t this usually yours?”
“But today, you’re the star, aren’t you?”

…She seemed oddly high-spirited today.

“You must be wondering why I’m in such a good mood?”

I touched my face unconsciously. She’d read my expression again.

“No need to hide it. It’s because this is my first time being an interviewer!”
“…What?”

Her words left me confused.

“What do you mean ‘first time’? Don’t you interview new Academy staff?”

She shook her head.

“Gunwoo, you’ve never worked for a company, so you wouldn’t know. People like me—the chairwoman—don’t interview applicants. We appoint designated interviewers. Of course, if it’s someone like Sir Sergei here, a level normal interviewers couldn’t handle, then yes, I’d get involved….”

“But in such cases, I scout them directly. I don’t interview them.”
“Ahh….”

Right. The shrine maiden from Japan, Chloe, Sergei—all the famous instructors had been personally scouted, not interviewed.

Now her explanation made sense. Up until now, she’d had no need to act as an interviewer.

Knock knock.

“Chairwoman, everyone has arrived.”
“Bring them in one at a time.”

The six candidates had gathered outside.

So the three of us took our seats, ready to greet the first interviewee—no, prospective disciple.

‘…Let’s ignore the fact I’m casually sitting in the Chairwoman’s chair.’

The first to enter was—

“Two familiar faces, one I’ve never met.”
“It’s been a while, Grand Spirit Master.”
“Yes, indeed. I don’t believe I even saw you during the Chicago zombie crisis.”
“I was in a dungeon with my disciples then. I only heard the news afterward.”

…Of all people, the first had to be the Grand Spirit Master.

Why her first…?

“Hello, Artist. I’ve heard much about you. Unlike the old lady next to you who only looks young, you really are just a child.”
“…Was that meant to provoke me?”

The Grand Spirit Master had casually jabbed at Chairwoman Shin’s age.

Judging by the atmosphere, she seemed to have some rapport with Shin and Sergei—which made sense, given their long lives.

But that wasn’t the point.

“Let me ask bluntly—what possessed you to get involved in something like this?”

I had wondered this the moment I saw her name on the list.

Her answer was—

“For fun.”
“For fun.”
“For fun.”

Sergei, Shin, and the Grand Spirit Master all gave the same reply in turn.

“……”

So it wasn’t just her—the others, with close ties to her, confirmed it too.

Which meant… unbelievably, it was the truth.