None of the people in the audience noticed Park Jinsung’s transformation. The intense aura that he emitted was directed solely at Ahn Sungho.
“Ahaha…”
No one in the audience doubted the victory of the 3rd-year student. After all, there were only a few seconds left, and more importantly, there was no way Ahn Sungho would lose.
It wasn’t just because Park Jinsung was an F-grade student. The fight was already foreseen to be in Ahn Sungho’s favor. The performances that Ahn Sungho had shown until now were proof of that.
“…What’s wrong with him?”
Because of this, except for Ahn Sungho’s close friend, Juye, no one else noticed the change in Park Jinsung. Even Juye couldn’t understand the atmosphere that was enveloping Park Jinsung. But seeing Ahn Sungho trembling, Juye couldn’t help but imagine the worst possible outcome.
“This can’t happen… Everyone… Everyone, attack him!”
Though everyone seemed confused, Juye’s urgency was transmitted clearly. Juye was the first to launch an attack on Park Jinsung, and the other 3rd-year students quickly followed suit without showing any hesitation.
“Ahaha…, it’s a bit heavy?”
Almost nine 3rd-year students simultaneously piled on top of Park Jinsung. They covered him completely, pinning his head, hands, feet, and body to the ground.
Looking at Juye, who couldn’t hide her agitation, Ahn Sungho spoke, “What’s going on, Juye?”
“I have a duty to protect my subordinates.”
“There was no need to protect me.”
“Are you sure?”
“To be honest… I’m not entirely sure.”
Juye confirmed the smile of delight from Ahn Sungho. If that smile wasn’t delight, then there was no other explanation for it.
“Juye, quickly retrieve your Edeya before anyone else sees it.”
“What?”
In a daze, Juye finally realized that she was wearing her Edeya. Moreover, the Edeya on both sides of her head had already been crushed.
Head and heart.
Especially the forehead was completely shattered, naturally leading to the retrieval of the Edeya starting from the head.
“What? My bracelet suddenly broke!”
“Me too! What’s going on?”
“Could it be that Teacher Yang deactivated the Edeya?”
All of the other 3rd-year students’ bracelets were also broken. Only Ahn Sungho and Juye were still wearing theirs.
Ahn Sungho approached Park Jinsung, who was covered in dirt.
“Park Jinsung…”
“Can’t you please remove these guys? Ugh, it’s so heavy.”
“Has it changed again?”
“I didn’t know Edeya could be retrieved like this. But we endured for one minute, right? Whew. It’s really fortunate in many ways…”
The slightly worn-out watch on Park Jinsung’s wrist indicated that five minutes had passed.
“We won’t be disturbed next time. Don’t worry.”
“By the way, why is your tone so harsh, Corporal? Sorry, but do you have family in the mountains or something?”
“Haha, don’t be ridiculous, middle schooler. It would be better for you to put in some effort next time. Consider this advice.”
“Ugh. Corporal, wait a moment. I have a question.”
Ahn Sungho, taking Juye, who was lost in thought, disappeared into the crowd. Exhausted, Park Jinsung comfortably flopped onto the floor with his hands supporting his head.
“Oh my, it’s tough.”
“2nd Company, 10th Platoon, 3rd Squad… B-Byun….Team Byun! V-V-Victoryyyyy!!”
Surprisingly, the gymnasium fell silent. Only the physical education teacher, who barely held onto his chin, proclaimed the victory of the team.
* * *
Former Haeun High School, Current Haeun Special Education Brigade.
The Haeun Special Education Brigade has a total of three companies.
Due to its special circumstances, there is no higher unit above the Haeun Brigade. It can be thought of as an independent brigade directly connected to the government and military.
From 1st grade to 3rd grade, each grade was organized into 1st Company, 2nd Company, and 3rd Company, with each company divided into Platoons, Platoons into Squads, and Squads into Teams.
Unlike other military units, a strict merit-based hierarchical society was introduced. The title “military” was merely an imitation, but it served to fuel endless competition among the students.
Anyone with sufficient skills could climb up to higher ranks.
In theory, students from all grades, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, could become Corporals. Of course, the probability of grade and rank being inversely proportional also existed.
The main purpose of this program was to explosively nurture students with exceptional Edeya.
Furthermore, it was a tactic to prevent private companies from hiring these exceptional students. The government wanted to create a sense of marking these students, making them exclusive for national defense purposes.
Exceptional Edeya directly translated to strong national defense power. The national defense power would determine how firmly South Korea could stand in international relations.
All countries in the world follow the global Edeya ranking system, which is agreed upon by the major powers. While overlapping with the original meaning of Edeya, it was used interchangeably for convenience.
The ranking system classifies Edeya, or the manifestation of Edeya in the world, arbitrarily. The focus is on how much impact an Edeya can have on the world.
The system does not solely revolve around destructive capabilities but also takes into account the potential to exert significant influence.
If there are ten A-rank individuals, they could either directly crush a thousand individuals without an A-rank or save more than a thousand individuals.
S-rank, also known as Special Class, is exceedingly rare even on a global scale. An S-rank possesses the destructive power equivalent to ten A-rank individuals.
The larger the population, the higher the probability of producing individuals with higher ranks.
Countries referred to as major powers mostly possess at least one SS-rank Edeya. Moreover, due to their large population, many of them also have multiple S-rank Edeya.
At some point, the presence of SS-rank Edeya became the criteria for assessing advanced countries.
Unfortunately, South Korea did not have any SS-rank Edeya, and it could only count a few S-rank Edeya. Nevertheless, despite this fact, it managed to barely ascend to the ranks of major powers.
The Chief Combat Advisor of South Korea possessed Edeya of S-rank but demonstrated comprehensive combat abilities far exceeding SS-rank.
In the sea, he held the title of the world’s only SSS-rank combat power. Hence, due to his exceptional maritime strength, South Korea, surrounded by the sea on three sides, was forcefully included in the ranks of major powers.
Over 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. In other words, there were no life forms on Earth that could defeat the Combat Advisor.
Such an outstanding individual had been keeping an eye on Haeun Special Brigade. In fact, the establishment of Haeundae Special Brigade was also due to the involvement of the Combat Advisor.
Lately, North Korea’s actions have been quite unsettling. They have been provocatively showing up with multiple Edeya of Special Class or higher.
So far, South Korea still had the upper hand over North Korea. However, the Combat Advisor had placed his expectations on Haeun Special Brigade for the future of South Korea. Although it was an experimental school, there would undoubtedly be gains to be had.
All societies in the world brand individuals from an early age.
The Combat Advisor had always pondered on this since his childhood.
He was becoming even more special than those who were already exceptional.
The beginning might have been insignificant, but the end would be grand.
Perhaps, within Haeun Special Brigade, there might be someone like him appearing, the Combat Advisor thought.
* * *
“Sigh. I look so ordinary.”
Looking at himself in the mirror, Park Jinsung absentmindedly touched his chin and muttered.
The current time was 7:00 AM.
Other students would still be struggling under their blankets. However, Park Jinsung had already completed his perfect preparations for school.
The combat uniform still felt awkward. It seemed like a mix of school uniform and military attire would be suitable for the occasion.
Wearing a standard-issue green T-shirt with a light gray digital camo uniform on top, he wondered why all military uniforms used to be green like frogs in the old days.
He even put on military boots with rubber rings, along with a mysterious military belt that he had no idea why he wore. Okay, he was all set with his regular backpack and school clothes to wear later.
“Off to the military? To school? Anyway, I’m going!”
He greeted the empty house as if someone would respond, but, of course, no one did.
With a beret on his head, Park Jinsung stepped outside.
“Ah, it’s hot. I want to change into regular clothes quickly.”
He always preferred taking the route to school where no one was around. It was quiet only when he was either too early or too late for school.
These days, with the increasing tasks, he tended to arrive at school quite early.
Eraser cleaner, chalk charger, morning cleaning, mopping, bathroom cleaning, hallway sweeping, and so on. Park Jinsung took care of all the cleaning duties for the 2nd Company, 10th Platoon.
“Ugh, can’t I get a promotion or something?”
Looking at his empty rank insignia, Park Jinsung muttered to himself.
As he was lost in his thoughts, the main gate suddenly came into view. Unfortunately, the squad leaders were also seen chit-chatting together.
It seemed like they were conducting an appearance and dress inspection. Even though Park Jinsung had arrived at school quite early, the squad leaders were already on full alert.
“Hey, did you wear your belt?”
As soon as Park Jinsung entered the gate, the squad leaders started putting pressure on him.
“Yes! I did!”
“Wait a minute. What about your rank insignia?”
All the squad leaders held the rank of corporal.
Traditionally, the squad leaders were always 3rd-year students. They couldn’t possibly judge a corporal, who was of a lower rank than them.
“Oh no, well, about that…”
“Huh? Oh! Wait, are you the only trainee in the school?”
“Oh, is my reputation already that far? I’m embarrassed. Haha.”
Park Jinsung scratched his head, trying to act cool.
“You look even dumber than I expected.”
“It seems like the 1st Company is being lax. That guy, Ahn Sungho, seems to make all sorts of mistakes.”
The squad leaders were openly gossiping about Park Jinsung.
“Hey, trainee buddy. Your Edeya, a single dagger is all you have? Really?”
“Oh come on, is that true? How did you manage with just that last time?”
“So the 1st Company led by Ahn Sungho was overrated?”
This time, the squad leaders were not from Class 3-1.
“Hahaha…”
Park Jinsung stifled a chuckle, pretending to touch his nose. It seemed like they hadn’t personally faced Ahn Sungho’s prowess.
“From today on, you can put on a face mask and roll up your sleeves.”
“Phew, that’s a relief. It’s been so hot until now. Ahh. Can I go now?”
“Kid, you still can’t even talk properly. Seems like you are just as unrefined as they say?”
“Hey, wait a minute. Show us your Edeya. Since things turned out this way, let’s take a look.”
One of the squad leaders asked Park Jinsung to show his Edeya.
“Hmm, isn’t that a violation of the rules?”
“Trainee, what’s the highest rank here?”
“Corporal… right?”
“Come on, show it, punk. What are you going to do anyway?”
“Okay, then… [Dagger].”
In Park Jinsung’s right hand, a plain dagger with no particular features appeared. It was about 30 centimeters long, and although it looked somewhat sharp, it was still smaller than expected.
“Wow… Is this for real?”
“Haha! Is this the F-grade from Korea?”
“Oh my, Corporals. Can I really go now?”
Park Jinsung made a seemingly polite gesture.
“Look at this guy’s intonation this time. Correct it while dancing.”
“Oh my! Giving such an easy command to an F-grade like me.”
Park Jinsung danced around while correcting his intonation. It almost looked like an exercise routine.
“Hehehe! This guy! He’s really dancing while doing it?!”
Seeing Park Jinsung moving away, the squad leaders exchanged glances with each other.
“Tsk.”
Park Jinsung corrected his thoughts. The battle with Ahn Sungho hadn’t changed people’s perception of him yet.
There hadn’t been much of a transformation. In the eyes of others, Park Jinsung was still the same mediocre F-grade.
Park Jinsung untied his combat boots to enter the school.
[Why don’t you make an effort?]
While untying his combat boots, Ahn Sungho’s words suddenly came to Park Jinsung’s mind. Ahn Sungho had seen through Park Jinsung with just one encounter. Even when he found out Park Jinsung was an F-grade, he didn’t let his guard down. It was different from how other students treated Park Jinsung.
“Ahn Sungho…”
Ahn Sungho, who was evaluated as the best in the country, had a soul that was only B- grade. Yet, he possessed combat abilities that were on par with A+ grade.
“…Maybe I should make an effort too.”
Park Jinsung’s face, which had always been calm no matter what, showed a slight wrinkle. It was a rare sight to see such a change in his expression after a long time.
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