TSCPTE 05

Chapter : 05

Kim Sungtae, the secretary of the Student Council’s dedicated secretarial office, entered the office anxiously.

All the other secretaries had already left after school, leaving only him behind.

Kim Sungtae immediately packed his belongings and bag, then locked the door to the secretarial office.

‘Is it just my imagination? No. Something was different. There have been rumors lately that the chairman’s personality has changed a lot…’

Kim Sungtae did not return to the dormitory and instead passed through the main gate of Miterichi.

Although nothing had been clearly confirmed yet, his instincts were sending a warning signal.

If his identity had truly been exposed, he would need to escape from Miterichi as quickly as possible.

‘Why did he say he would personally clean up the teacups and table? The chairman would never normally say something like that.’

Unable to suppress his growing suspicion, Kim Sungtae took out his smartphone from his pocket.

He quickly dialed a number and pressed the call button.

After a long wait tone, a voice finally came through.

— …It’s me. What is it?

— The Student Council President seems to have noticed my identity.

— “Seems to have noticed” means you are not certain yet?

— Yes. I haven’t done anything that would expose me, and I’ve been acting carefully in everything. But the Student Council President’s reaction is strange. There are even rumors that his personality and way of speaking have changed compared to before.

— Hm…

A heavy silence flowed through the phone.

If the Student Council President had noticed the information leak, the situation could become quite dangerous.

The Student Council President of Miterichi was notorious even within the Student Council itself and handled all affairs with extreme precision.

In the worst case, Kim Sungtae could be expelled, or even investigated by the Security Office or the Hunter Committee.

— Since nothing has happened to you yet, perhaps you should observe a little longer? If you are under suspicion, you can still act normally for now.

— I don’t care if I get caught. I’m only afraid that the other members will be exposed because of me.

— Don’t think so negatively. There are members active in both the Security Office and the Security Department. Even if you are captured, you could escape with their help.

— Then the plan moving forward would become impossible, wouldn’t it? I cannot sacrifice Rebellion and the members just to save myself.

Rebellion.

It was a small rebel force and an organization that completely denied the already stabilized social structure and the Hunter system.

The leader of Rebellion believed that awakened individuals with special powers should be the ones who rule this world.

Using the logic that the phenomenon of awakening itself was based on the laws of nature, they were gradually expanding their influence.

— There is no need to cling to Miterichi. It is the best training institution in the country, but replacing it with another would not make a huge difference.

— There is no training institute in the world comparable to Miterichi. Even overseas, they are desperate to adopt Miterichi’s barrier system and medical system. If we want to make the name Rebellion known, we must succeed in Miterichi.

— …Achieving a noble goal is important, but the lives of members should not be sacrificed. If you think it is dangerous, you may leave Miterichi.

— The reason I contacted you is to warn you in advance. And as you said, it is also possible that the Student Council President has not noticed the information leak. I still want to continue the mission.

The person on the other end of the call had already sensed Kim Sungtae’s resolve.

He intended not to step back until Rebellion’s plan succeeded.

If he were discovered mid-way, he would likely choose death without hesitation.

— If that is truly your will, I won’t stop you. But prioritize survival and escape. I will not allow a meaningless death.

— Understood. After this call, I will discard the phone and number.

— I will send the next contact in three days. Is there anything else to report?

— …Please tell the infiltrating members to be cautious of the Student Council President. Apart from his skill and talent, he seems to have a very sharp intuition.

— Understood. I will make sure to pass it on. You also be careful.

— I will.

Kim Sungtae ended the call and put his smartphone back into his pocket.

Then he glanced around briefly before quickly moving forward.

‘Student Council President… no matter how much you try to dig into Rebellion, it will be useless. Every member is risking their life for this mission. And I am already prepared to give up my life.’

* * *

Inside the park within Miterichi.

Seo Hyunwoo had finished lunch and was casually enjoying a cup of coffee.

Of course, he had not come to the park without reason.

The head of the Enhancement Department, Choi Jaeyeon, had asked to speak with him privately, so he had made time for it.

“I didn’t expect you to have something to say to me.”

“It’s less of something to say and more of a personal question. I got a bit curious.”

Choi Jaeyeon sipped a lemonade with ice and glanced sideways at Seo Hyunwoo.

At some point, Seo Hyunwoo’s personality and attitude had completely changed.

It felt quite unfamiliar, to the point where she had no idea how to respond to it.

However, since his personality had become somewhat more mild, she thought this level of conversation might still be possible.

“So what do you want to ask? I can answer most things, but I’d prefer you don’t cross the line.”

“Of course. First, I want to know the reason your personality changed.”

Hearing that, Seo Hyunwoo looked slightly puzzled and fell into thought for a moment.

It was a simple question for something so personal, yet strangely profound.

Whatever the intention was, the answer had already formed in his mind.

“First of all, I’m a student here at Miterichi before I’m the Student Council President. No matter how strong I am, that fact doesn’t change. At some point, I realized something. Was there really a need for me to treat the department heads as enemies?”

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

“Exactly. We are all members of the Student Council, aren’t we? If we’re going to see each other for a long time, there’s no need to constantly be at odds.”

Choi Jaeyeon accepted his words seriously with a solemn expression.

Her dark eyes, visible through her brown hair, sank deeply in thought.

It seemed as though she was reconsidering everything she had thought about Seo Hyunwoo until now.

“That makes sense. If we ignore the fact that you are aiming for the Student Council President position, we are in a relationship where cooperation is inevitable. There’s no benefit in hostility.”

“We should just fight when necessary. There’s no reason to sharpen blades against each other otherwise.”

“I understand what you mean. Next question. Have you perhaps developed feelings for a female student?”

“…What?”

Seo Hyunwoo barely swallowed the coffee in his mouth and turned his head.

It was the kind of question men might casually ask each other, but it was not the topic he expected right now.

Besides, wasn’t this something you would only ask after becoming closer?

“Do you have someone you like?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“When someone likes someone—whether male or female—they tend to change themselves to look better in that person’s eyes. They remove their bad traits and emphasize their good ones.”

“Oh, so you think that’s why I changed?”

“It’s only a guess. You are a man too, so it wouldn’t be strange if you had someone you like.”

Seo Hyunwoo felt somewhat flustered and almost let out a dry laugh.

Choi Jaeyeon was usually serious, but she was rarely this direct.

Judging by the atmosphere, she seemed somewhat convinced.

“I can see why you’d think that, but you’re completely wrong.”

“You denied that too quickly. At this point, you’ve already told one lie.”

“What kind of nonsense is that…”

“GRAAAH!”

A shout from nearby cut off their conversation.

Seo Hyunwoo and Choi Jaeyeon moved at the same time toward the source of the sound.

“Security Department… Security Department…”

“Uh…”

“Can the barrier system even hold that?”

They quickly moved forward while listening to the students around them.

Beyond the wide-spread barrier, an Advanced Battle was taking place.

Inside the barrier, a student wearing a purple uniform was being completely overwhelmed by another student.

“President, even if we intervene in this…”

“Enhancement Department head, I’ll borrow your ability for a moment.”

Seo Hyunwoo tapped Choi Jaeyeon’s shoulder a few times and immediately threw himself toward the barrier.

The barrier briefly repelled him, then gradually began allowing his body to pass through.

[An Advanced Battle is currently in progress…]

[Student Council President’s authorization code confirmed.]

[Intervention in Advanced Battle temporarily permitted.]

A signal rang out from the battle watch Seo Hyunwoo was wearing.

He ignored it completely and gathered mana into his right hand.

“Whoa, it’s the president!”

“What? The president is stepping in personally?”

THUD!

Seo Hyunwoo’s fist glowed blue as it struck the attacking student.

The student was sent flying and crashed into the barrier.

“Ugh…”

“Are you conscious? Don’t declare surrender yet. We need to subdue him before ending the battle.”

Seo Hyunwoo calmly said this while blocking the fallen student’s path.

As Student Council President, he had a duty to maintain order and ensure student safety at Miterichi.

Honestly, he did not particularly want to act all impressive, but he had no choice.

Too many people were watching, and even the original Seo Hyunwoo would have stepped in here.

“Grrrr…”

The opposing student was already back on his feet and taking a combat stance.

Wolf ears had formed on his head, along with sharp claws and a brown tail.

He had used a transformation-type ability, taking on animal traits.

‘His wild instincts are going out of control. He seems to be from the management department, but he can’t even control that much?’

Seo Hyunwoo let out a shallow sigh and poured more mana into his right hand.

Soon, the blue mana turned white and stretched outward.

The white mana formed the shape of a thin, long sword as its presence stabilized.

“Isn’t that the Enhancement Department head’s technique?”

“He used his ability!”

“Wow, I’m seeing this for the first time!”

Choi Jaeyeon listened to the students’ reactions while watching Seo Hyunwoo.

She had already participated in rank battles several times, so she understood his ability well.

He was using a special-type ability to replicate her own power.